HomeMy Public PortalAboutCommunity Preservation Committee -- 2015-11-18 Minutes Approved: 12/9/15
VOTE: 5-0-0
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2198 Main Street
Brewster Massachusetts 02631-1898
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CONIEMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
Held a Public Hearing followed by a Regular Meeting
On November 18,2015 at 4:30 p.m.
At The Brewster Town Office Building, 2198 Main Street,Brewster,MA
Meetinp- Minutes of November 18, 2015,
Present: Chair Paul Ruchinskas, Jeanne Boehm, William Klein, Joan Carstanjen, Peter Johnson,
Roland Bassett, and Elizabeth Taylor.
Also Present: Bob Jones of Cape Cod Village, Leila Botsford of the Housing Authority, James
O'Leary of Finance Committee, Chuck Devito of the Finance Committee, Chris Miller of
Natural Resources, Claire Gradone of All Access Committee, Judy Llewellyn, Ruth Courtnell,
Vicki Goldsmith/Hebert, Ellen St. Sure, Rudy Eldredge, Gary Christen, Hal Minis, John Lamb,
Peter Hermann, and Ellen Bearse of the Recreation Department, Pat Hughes of the Board of
Selectmen.
The Chair called the public hearing to order at 4:30 pm
Recording or Taping Notification
"As required by the Open dleeting Law ive are informing you that the Town will be video taping and audio taping this
Public,'rearing and meeting. In addition, if anyone else intends to either video or audio tape this meeting they are
required to it/orm the chair."We request that all cell phones be turned off or to vibrate.
1. Public hearing- The Brewster Community Preservation Committee will hold a Public Hearing
on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 4:30 pm in the Brewster Town Hall, The purpose of
the hearing is to provide and gather information on the community preservation needs and
possibilities in the areas of community housing, historic preservation, open space, and
recreation. Information about current CPC priorities, resources, and past expenditures and
projects of the Town of Brewster will also be presented. The information gathered at the
hearing will be useful in assessing any funding applications that the CPC may be
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are invited to attend and questions and comments are welcome.
Chair Paul Ruchinskas reviewed the Cape Cod Land Bank that was adopted in November 1988
with each community allowed to charge a one to three percent surcharge on the property tax bill.
Then the town adopted the Community Preservation Act in September of 2002 with a state
match in funds that started out as 100 percent match and now is about 35 percent match. In 20044
Cape Cod communities were allowed to transfer from the Land Bank to the Community
Preservation Act and the Town adopted this in November 20041 with two amendments to the law,
one was the establishment of the Community Preservation Committee and the other was how the
CPC Public Hearing and Aleeting Minutes
November 18, 2015 Page I of 6
money collected was to be distributed. The Community Preservation Committee was formed at
that time and included nine members consisting of four citizens representatives appointed by the
Board of Selectmen, and one each from the Historical Commission, the Conservation
Commission, the Recreation Commission, the Housing Authority, and the Planning Board.
Requests for finding must be done through the CPC who makes recommendations at Town
Meeting on how the fiends should be spent, but final determination is made by Town Meeting.
Brewster also established at that time that CPA funds collected would be distributed with 50%
reserved for Open Space, 10%reserved for Historic Preservation, 10%reserved for Community
Housing, with the final 30%reserved for Recreation, Housing or Historic Preservation. In May
of 2005 the town voted in favor to adopt these provisions.
Over the 10 years that the CPA has been in existence, from July 2005 through June 2015,
approximately $11 million has been raised with approximately$7 million of local funds and $4
million in state matching funds. Historic Preservation funds provided for 19 projects totaling
approximately $1.5 million with another 4 historic projects underway totaling about $400,000.
Community Housing completed 6 projects totaling approximately$1.1 million and an additional
$1 million committed to current projects underway. Recreation completed 4 projects,totaling
approximately $625,000. Open Space has made 15 acquisitions totaling approximately $6.5
million with about 178 acres purchased for open space. Three projects have been bonded.
Current status—Application deadline for Spring 2016 Town Meeting is December 1, 2015 and
guarantees an answer from the Committee about the recommendation at town meeting.
Applications will be accepted after December 1, 2015, but there will be no guarantee of a
recommendation at town meeting and will depend on the complexity of the project. Breakdown
of current funds available total approximately $1.1million with approximately the following
amounts available; Open Space $490,000; Community Housing $134,000; Historic Preservation
$128,000 and $427,000 in the 30% pool available for Housing, Recreation, and Historic
Preservation. It is expected about $1 million in revenue will be received in 2017 to be allocated
accordingly so that there will be approximately $2.1 million funding available for worthy
projects to be presented to town meeting in May 2016.
Bob.Tones of Cape Cod Village spoke about providing affordable housing for individuals on the
autistic spectrum. They are hoping to build housing for 16 individuals with autism that will be
built in Orleans but will serve people all over the Cape. Towns are allowed to offer CPA funds
for buildings in other towns if it serves their residents. They are submitting CPA applications in
the towns of Wellfleet, Provincetown, Orleans, and Brewster. Orleans awarded $350,000 of
CPA funds for them to purchase the property for the housing and they will be submitting a
second application to them. There was a review of wiry such a development would make a
difference in the lives of autistic individuals providing them comfort and safety in an affordable
housing setting. The program will be staffed 24 hours a day and Cape Cod Village has a contract
with NEEDS, but they will not be providing housing for the staff. The staff will rotate through
on 8-hour shifts on a 24 hour a day basis. The funding necessary will come primarily from three
sources, a capital campaign recently kicked off that has raised a half million dollars with a goal
of raising $2,5 million, CPA monies and federal housing programs, and they have written 20
grants to private foundations. It was recommended that the needs and number of Brewster
Residents be identified when submitting the application since there will be no local preference.
CPC Public Hearing and Ifeeting,limites
November 18, 2015 Page 2 of 6
Three step process for living at Cape Cod Village will be (1) diagnosis of autism, (2)must be
able to sustain living there, and (3) goodness of fit. The NEEDS group will make the
determination of goodness of fit. It is estimated that there are 280 students currently on Cape
Cod that will need to be sustained. There are older autistic individuals currently living with
aging parents that will need to have a place to go when they are no longer able to care for them.
James O'Leary of the Finance Committee thanked the CPC for their work and applauded the
materials available. There was a review of the bonded projects to date. There was a review of
how properties are determined historic and the Secretary of the Interior standards are used for
rehabilitation and restoration purposes. The Housing Repair project is a wonderful project that
could help keep Brewster residents in their homes and it is hoped that this project could be
expanded. The All Access Committee is talking about some small All Access projects around
town for partial funding. Though they would be small amounts of money, it would make a
difference in people's lives. The organization overseeing the home repair project is HECH—that
originally stood for Harwich Ecumenical Committee for the Homeless but they have changed
their name to Harwich Ecumenical Committee for Housing. This repair program was a pilot
program and if it is successful will probably be continued and possibly expanded. There was a
request to bring the administration of the home repair project in-house, but Jillian Douglass,
Assistant Town Administrator stated that the HECH administrative fee of 18% is a bargain for
the town. The capacity to monitor and maintain current housing units is a worthy cause. The
Housing Needs Study probably needs to be updated. HECH will be submitting the Housing
Partnership supports an additional Housing Repair program application and this.
Hal Minus, Brewster Conservation Trust, and the Conservation Trust works towards the need to
protect open space and the character of Brewster and some of the drivers for open space: (1)
30% of Brewster is developed, 30% is protected open space, and 40% is available to be
developed so conservation needs to keep up with development; (2) Land protection is important
for protecting water quality both drinking water and pond water; (3) There is a high demand for
preserving the rural nature and character of Brewster; and (4) Conservation is important for
recreation and pond quality and waste water treatment avoidance saves the taxpayers money.
For every dollar invested in conservation, it generates$4 in revenues. Partnership funding was
reviewed.
Leedara Zola of Habitat for Humanity thanked the CPC for their contribution in their help in
purchasing the former Bassett Wild Animal Farm. The zoning has been going forward and there
will be a hearing on Tuesday, December 8, 2015. Habitat will be submitting an application in
the future for help with construction costs.
Ellen Bearse, Recreation Department will be submitting an application for fiends for renovation
of the Babe Ruth Baseball field at Freeman's Way that needs some major repairs, specifically
turf grass and resurfacing that is well outside the scope of normal maintenance.
Claire Gradone, Brewster All Access Committee are looking at making the beaches more
accessible. The Committee is looking at a constructing a platform for access to the beach at
Paine's Creek along with a sand wheelchair that could be stored in a shed at this location.
Handicap parking would be important at this location. The Committee would like to submit an
CPC Public Hearing and Meeting Alinules
November 18, 2015 Page 3 oJ'6
application for recreational CPA funds. Accessibility is within the purview of the act and the
CPC welcomes the application.
John Lamb asked about the criteria used in coastal projects as this area is all fragile and could be
washed away or damaged. The Committee's process is to refer a question in an application to an
appropriate Committee. In lieu of the issues and risks along the coastal areas, this is something
that will need to be considered going forward.
The CPC welcomes applications for these fiends, as it is the community's money.
Chris Polwicki would like to see a survey done with an inventory developed of the town's
property outlining how the property is held and its current usage. The Commerce Park held by
the town for a large-scale solar system project was used as an example. It was felt that general
and municipal lands are listed in the town so this list is already available, but it is not certain if
the CPA funds could find such a project and there would need to be some research done as to if
this would be a viable project.
Ellen St. Sure would like to have the CPC meetings videotaped and televised.
Ruth Courtnell asked if there were any restrictions on submitting an application for CPA funds
and there are not. The "fifth bucket" definition is a term used for additional funds received but
not anticipated by the town that have not been allocated yet by town meeting.
Peter Hermann would like to see more money designated for Recreation. This will need further
investigation to see if it can be done.
Motion made by Roland Bassett to close the public hearing. Jean Boehm seconded.
VOTE: 7-0-0
2. Votes to approve resolutions for mortgages for Harwich Ecumenical Council for the
Homeless' Housing Emergency Loan Program applicants.
Elizabeth Taylor recused herself.
Move that, pursuant to the Vote on Article 7 (Item 2) of the Brewster Special Town
Meeting held en Maw. ,12010 and the Grant Agreement dated August'75, 7015 by a d
between the Town of Brewster, acting by and through the Community Preservation
Committee ("CPC"), and the Harwich Ecumenical Council for the Homeless ("HECH"),
wherein the CPC agreed to grant the HECH One Hundred Eighteen Thousand and 00/100
($118,000.00) Dollars to administer the Homeowner Emergency Loan Program (HELP)
that would provide 0% loans of up to $25,000 for low income homeowners in Brewster to
make critically needed health,safety, and energy efficiency repairs to their homes, and as a
condition of the Grant Award, the CPC shall be entitled to recapture its funding should the
homeowner ever sell or transfer the Property except to an income eligible heir who will live
CPG Public Hearing and Meeting Minutes
Noiwnber 18, 2015 Page 4 of 6
in the home as their principal place of occupancy. Jessica DiGravio, 12 Daisy Lane,
Brewster, MA has been certified to have met all the underwriting and program criteria to
receive a loan under the HELP and to secure such loan and the aforementioned grant
condition, she has agreed to grant the Town of Brewster a mortgage interest of$23,401.17
(Twenty-three thousand four hundred one dollars and seventeen cents) in the property and
to record the mortgage instrument against the title to the property at the Barnstable
County Registry of Deeds, the Community Preservation Committee hereby Votes to accept
said mortgage interest on behalf of the Town of Brewster.
Motion made by Peter Johnson as presented and seconded by Roland Bassett. Tire vote
was 6 yes, 0 no and 0 abstentions.
Move that, pursuant to the Vote on Article 7 (Item 2) of the Brewster Special Town
Meeting held on May 4,2015, and the Grant Agreement dated August 25,2015 by and
between the Town of Brewster, acting by and through the Community Preservation
Committee ("CPC"), and the Harwich Ecumenical Council for the Homeless ("HECH"),
wherein the CPC agreed to grant the HECH One Hundred Eighteen Thousand and 001100
($118,000.00) Dollars to administer the Homeowner Emergency Loan Program (HELP)
that would provide 0% loans of up to $25,000 for low income homeowners in Brewster to
make critically needed health, safety, and energy efficiency repairs to their homes, and as a
condition of the Grant Award, the CPC shall be entitled to recapture its funding should the
homeowner ever sell or transfer the Property except to an income eligible heir who will live
in the home as their principal place of occupancy. Debra Demarais, 392 Main Street,
Brewster, MA has been certified to have met all the underwriting and program criteria to
receive a loan under the HELP and to secure such loan and the aforementioned grant
condition, she has agreed to grant the Town of Brewster a mortgage interest of$20,828.45
(Twenty thousand eight hundred twenty-eight dollars and forty-five cents) in the property
and to record the mortgage instrument against the title to the property at the Barnstable
County Registry of Deeds, the Community Preservation Committee hereby Votes to accept
said mortgage interest on behalf of the Town of Brewster.
Motion made by Roland Bassett as presented and seconded by Jeanne Boehm. The vote
was 0 nu aul l?stent'ians.
Assistant Town Administrator Jillian Douglass does vet these applications after HECH has
vetted the applicants. It is very clear that these are necessary repairs. To date,HECH has done a
good job on this pilot project. It was the consensus of the Committee that a summary and photos
of the projects will be enough information going forward.
CPC Public Nearing and Afeeting Minutes
November 18, 2015 Page 5 of 6
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3. Update and potential review of Brewster Cemetery Commission revised funding request and
potential vote to refer the request to the Brewster Historical Commission for its review and
recommendation.
This application will be submitted next spring.
4. Approval of minutes of the October 28, 2015 meeting.
Motion made by Roland Bassett to approve the meeting minutes of October 28, 2015 as
corrected. Bill Klein seconded.
VOTE: 7-0-0
5. Topics that can be legally discussed that the chair could not have reasonably anticipated.
Joan Carstanjen has resigned from the Brewster Historical Commission. The Committee
requested that Joan Carstanjen apply for the open citizen's representative on the CPC.
6. Next meeting: Wednesday, December 9, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 at 4:30 pm.
Motion made by Peter Johnson to adjourn the meeting at 6:00 pm. Roland Bassett
seconded.
VOTE: 7-0-0
Respectfully submitted,
Donna J. Moberg, Recording Secretary
information in the Meeting:
0 CPA FY '16 Budget as of 10/31115
• Community Preservation Fund Allowable Spending Purposes
• Current CPC Application
• Closed Projects as of 10/31/15
• October 28, 2015 Meeting Minutes
CPC Public Hearing and iVeeting Minutes
November 18, 2015 Page 6 of 6