Hanson Preservation Committee Minutes~
August 5th,2009
Meeting was called to order at 7:05
Members present: Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, John Kemmett, Patty Norton, Bob Sears, Allan Clemons, Bill Clay
Not Present: Phil Lindquist, David Harris, Bill Strait
Others Present: Jim Egan from Board of Selectmen, Carol Brewster from WHCATV and Meaghan Glassett of the Hanson Express
Minutes of the July 15th , 2009 meeting were approved by a 5-0-1 vote with a minor amendment to indicate that Phil Lindquist was responsible for replacing the Community Preservation Allowable Spending Purposes table with the Community Preservation Coalition’s revised table in our application packet.
Communications and Updates
Bill Strait and Patty Norton attended the Conflict of Interest seminar in Hanover.~ Patty gave the CPC a brief overview of the seminar and discussed the resources available to aid CPC members with any questions regarding conflicts of interest.
Bob Sears discussed his visit to the Recreation Commission’s meeting where he was received warmly.~ He reviewed the CPA, uses for CPA funds and other related topics.
There was some type of technical error made when the article pertaining to the CPC being allotted administrative expenses was submitted at the last Town Meeting.~ As a result, we will not have any administrative expense money available to us until the article is again submitted at the October Town Meeting.
Bob discussed the Community Preservation Coalition dues with the CPC.~ Dues are $750 and will be payable some time after October
CP3 the CPC state filing is due September 15th.~ Patty Norton volunteered to fill it out with the proviso that she let everyone know ASAP if it proves too cumbersome.
Old Business
Jim Egan came to speak to the CPC regarding the Thomas Mill proposal on behalf of the Board of Selectmen. He emphasized that the Selectmen are still in general support of the project but wanted to make sure that the CPC was aware of the following:
-Current owner of Thomas Mill purchased the property in 2000 for $3100.
-The Town of Hanson has a 99 year lease on the Thomas Mill property with 60 years left.~ The property is leased for $1 per year.~ The lease does not include water rights.
-In 2003, the town assessed the property for $63,000.
-Although the site itself is of historical significance, the building is a replica and not historically significant per se.
-The property probably cannot be developed in any way other than it has been developed due to conservation, zoning and other related by-laws and regulations.
-Closing costs for this piece of property have been estimated by Town Counsel (Kopelman & Paige) to be approximately $5,000.
Jim indicated that Kopelman &~ Paige was reviewing the lease, the water rights and other information pertaining to the Thomas Mill property and would be rendering an opinion soon.~ Bob mentioned that the property owner had completed a 21E which essentially found there were no known contaminants of any significance on the property.
There was some discussion about the Conservation Deed Restriction that is mentioned on page 4 of the Thomas Mill application.~ Laura will follow-up with Phil Lindquist to confirm if there is indeed such a restriction on the property.
At this point, Mr. Egan excused himself from the meeting.
There was some general discussion about the pros and cons of the Thomas Mill proposal. The Board voted 6-0-0 to postpone taking a vote on the Thomas Mill proposal until the August 19th meeting at which time it was hoped that there would be more information regarding the water rights available, members will have completed the assessment sheet and we would have more CPC members present to vote.
The Board voted to postpone taking a vote on the Restoration and Preservation of Town of Hanson Historical Books and Records proposal until the August 19th meeting at which time it was hoped that members will have completed the assessment sheet and we would have more CPC members present to vote.
Next meeting will be August 19th at 7:00 pm in the Selectmen’s Room
Bill Clay will not be in attendance.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted:~
David K. Harris, Jr.~ ~ Clerk
Minutes were taken by Laura Fitz-Gerald Kemmett~ due to the clerk’s absence
Minutes approved: August 19, 2009~ vote: 5-0-3
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