Town of Hudson - Board of Selectmen
Minutes – March 5, 2018
C.A. Farley School, 119 Cottage Street
7:00 PM
Present were Mr. Parent, Mr. Durant, Mr. Lucy, Mr. Quinn and EA Thomas Moses. Also present were Atty. Cipriano and Ms. Santos.
Selectmen to discuss the disposition and reuse of the old Police Station located at 62 Packard Street.
Jack Hunter addressed the audience. He explained that the old station is located in the SA-8 District which is the single family district. The required lot size is 40,000 square feet. The parcel is approximately 1.9 acres of land which is just over 80,000 square feet. This would allow for two separate lots. The front and rear setbacks are 30 feet and the side setback is 10 feet. Affordable housing has been considered for the lot and there may be a grant available to help the Town with this.
Thomas Walsh, 6 Brenton Wood Drive stated that he would like to see affordable housing on the site.
Anna McCabe, 2 Shawmut Ave. said she does not love the idea of affordable housing because of what it brings in but does understand the need. Ms. McCabe stated that she would not want to see a very large fence or bright lights put up on the site. She said she would love to see it be turned into a dog park. This is one amenity that the Town does not have.
Michelle Resendes, 3 Shawmut Ave. asked if a financial impact analysis have been done with regard to the property. She also spoke in favor of a dog park, perhaps a pay per-use par. The funds from this could help to maintain the park. Mr. Parent stated that this may not be the best option for that location. Mr. Hunter said that no financial impact studies have been done.
Jeff Supernor, 18 Plant Ave. asked what the Town is going to do about the property now. He noted that the site needs to be cleaned up. Mr. Moses stated that there are still contents inside the building that will be auctioned off in the spring. Mr. Durant stated that it should a priority to clean up the site this spring.
Linda Shea, 68 Cottage Street stated that it is important to access the needs of the Town and to consider all options.
Karen McKnight, 19 Shawmut Ave. spoke out against affordable housing, citing crime and drugs.
Tami Dome 19 Plant Ave. stated that she would prefer to see either veterans housing or senior housing on the site as she noted that the school system is already over taxed.
Tim Vanderpoel, 43 Packard St. asked for clarification regarding the demolition of the building and the cost.
Ms. Shea asked if the Town has looked into how much it would cost to rehab the building and then asked if community preservation funds or historic preservation fund could be used. Mr. Parent said no however affordable housing trust funds may be used. Mr. Moses noted that last winter the building sustained a lot of water damage and would be too costly to fix. Mr. Parent stated that the cost was approximately $13 million for the rehab.
Brianne Miele, 23 Plant Ave. asked if half-way houses are under the guise of the Housing Authority. Mr. Hunter said no.
Steve Hildreth, 10 Plant Ave. asked what the plan is for the school facilities building. Mr. Moses stated that it is not in good shape. The School Department has done an analysis of the building. The major issue is that that building is not ADA compliant and when the work being done exceeds 25% of the value of the building then it must be brought up to code with regarding to ADA compliance. In doing this the price jumped from under a million to over 4.5 million dollars. The Town is looking into its options.
Ms. Resendes asked the Board how they plan on moving forward. Mr. Hunter said he was going to ask the Affordable Housing Trust and the Housing Authority if they would be willing to apply for a grant to hire someone to gather information like finding out how much it will cost to demo the building, what the financial implications are and much more.
Mr. Parent when they are further along in the process they will hold another meeting.
Selectmen to consider approval and authorization to sign a contract with Water Line Industries of Seabrook, New Hampshire in the amount of $7,470 for clarifier drive removal at the WWTF.
On a motion by Mr. Lucy, seconded by Mr. Durant, the Board voted 4-0 to approve and authorize the signing a contract with Water Line Industries of Seabrook, New Hampshire in the amount of $7,470 for clarifier drive removal at the WWTF.
On a motion by Mr. Parent, seconded by Mr. Durant, the Board voted 4-0 to adjourn its meeting of March 5, 2018 at 8:15PM.
| 
