Minutes for: COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
Meeting: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 7 pm
Buckley Room, Abington Town Hall
Committee Members:
In Attendance: Paul Mollica, Melodie Olson, Jack Buckley, Jeffrey Rangel, Kathleen Creighton, Denis Bergin, John Zimini, Susan Weaver
Absent: Rory Manning
Also in Attendance: Kelly Johnson, Shawn Reilly, and Griffin Dairy Committee
Public Hearing adjourned at 7:03 pm
Minutes from the meeting on February 8, 2017 were approved (unanimous)
Overveiw:
Paul began the public hearing by introducing the committee and their positions. He then discussed the function of the Community Preservation Act (CPA) and how the committee will decide on projects. Paul thanked Dori Jamieson, Leanne Adams, and Sue Moquin on behalf of the committee for their great effort in assisting the CPC. More information about the CPA can be found at communitypreservation.org or on the Abington website under the Community Preservation board. Paul noted that the first state match will be on November 15 and will match about 21% of what the town raises through taxes.
Paul opened the meeting for questions from the audience.
Audience member question: “Who will bring forward projects for the CPA funds to be used? Is it the community or can the committee decide on projects on their own?”
The committee explained that all projects will come from the Abington community.
Jack updated the committee that for fiscal year 18 the total amount will be $360,000 before the state match.
Paul will create a draft warrant article and send it out for everyone to view.
Jack reviewed the article that was sent out after his discussion with Sue Moquin from Accounting. There will be 5% set aside for Administration fees. There will also be 10% allotted for housing and moved into the next fiscal year. This is due to the fact that there were no projects brought forward in that category.
DPW Project:
The DPW playground project was unanimously approved to be written into the draft article providing they send out the second part of the application for the CPC to review.
Griffin Dairy:
The Chairman of the Griffin Dairy Committee, Carolyn Bates, came forward to present the project.
If approved, the money would be used to prepare two playing fields, a community garden, stone dust walking paths, one bridge, one identifying sign, some fencing, and an additional parking lot. The committee has amended the original amount and is now asking for $63.200. Carolyn discussed that the change in amount was because the committee decided to only build one of the three (anticipated) bridges for this year. For the future bridges and future projects they are hoping to apply to CPA funds in coming years.
After concern, Carolyn noted that the current plan has been approved by the Conservation Committee. It was suggested that the minutes from that meeting are attached to the application. It was also discussed that the stone dust will be packing down making the fields and walking paths accessible to wheels (strollers, wheel chairs, bikes, etc.).
The CPA discussed the budget with the Griffin Dairy Committee. Upon suggestion from the CPC, the Griffin Dairy Committee will rework the plan and reorganize the application. The committee will represent the project on Tuesday, March 14, to provide clarity on some areas of the plan.
Memorial Bridge:
Shawn Reilly present a project that would pay for someone to come out and evaluate the Island Grove Bridge. There are some problems under the bridge as well as with the iron within the bridge. In this plan, all the iron and concrete would be tested and evaluated to see what can be salvaged and used in future construction. The money would be used to educate the town on how to go forward with Memorial Bridge and what can be expected in price. Shawn discussed that if the CPA money is granted, the job would then go out to bid. The CPC approved the project to go into the draft article.
Reilly Track:
Shawn Reilly discussed the need to replace the rubber that is on the track around Reilly Field. The lifespan of the rubber is roughly 7-10 years and has not been replaced since it was created in 2003. The project would cost about $240,000 in order to replace the rubber with the best quality material, expanding the lifespan. The committee agreed that the project does need to be done and meets the eligibility requirements but will not be approved for this year due to the cost. The project may be reevaluated in future fiscal years.
Legion Building:
Following up from the last meeting, Denis verified that the Legion Building is on the historical building list in Abington. The Legion is asking for $18,210 to complete projects to protect the integrity of the building. Some of these include, new siding, replacing some of the glass, and repairing the rotunda. The project was approved to be put on the draft article with a suggestion to first check on how prevailing wage would factor into the cost.
Jack discussed that if all projects voted onto the draft article were completed, the total cost would be $203,877.39. In future meetings, the CPC decided it would be necessary to discuss how much is appropriate to spend each fiscal year and plan for some possible future projects.
Meeting adjourned at 8:32.