Lenox Community Preservation Committee
April 11, 2016
Minutes
Members in Attendance
Frederick Keator (At Large); Gene Chague (At Large); Tom Delasco (Planning Board); Channing Gibson (Board of Selectmen); Al Harper (At Large); Catherine May (Housing Authority); Tony Patella (Chair, Community Center); Joe Strauch (Conservation Commission); Olga Weiss (Historical Commission)
Staff in Attendance
Gwen Miller (Town Planner)
Mr. Patella called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm.
Approval of Minutes
Minutes of March 7, 2016 were accepted with minor edits.
May Public Hearing: Schedule, Format, Outreach
The group discussed the public hearing scheduled for Monday, May 16 2016 at 6:00 PM. GM stated she would write up a press release, including information about the new schedule and timeline, and take care of the legal notice. The public hearing will be an opportunity to receive input from community members about what projects or type of projects they would like to see funded with CPA funds. CG stated that the BOS has requested that the various boards and committees such as Historical Commission, Planning, Land Management, Housing Authority, Affordable Housing Trust/Committee, should come to the hearing and identify their priorities to the CPC at that point.
The group concluded with identifying the following format for the public hearing:
Introduction & presentation
30 minutes per category (open space & recreation, community housing, historic preservation)
Brainstorming session
Recap and Conclusion
AH clarified that just because somebody mentions an idea at the hearing, there is no guarantee that an application will be submitted or approved. FK agreed, but expressed it would be good to hear from the community and hopefully include voices not so frequently heard from in town matters to get fresh perspective and input.
Town Meeting 2016
GM stated that the group had approved the three warrant articles at the last meeting. CG explained to TP that he would be responsible for presenting the warrant article at Town Meeting, and the BOS hoped the presentation could include a plan of the beach project. Town Manager Christopher Ketchen will provide motion language.
TP will attend the April 20th Selectmen’s meeting to present the warrant articles to the Selectmen.
New Schedule and Application: Materials, Outreach
GM provided the group with the new schedule (attached) for CPA applications. The group decided that they will use the weeks between September 1 and September 12 to review Step 1 applications, and that all applicants should attend the September 12 meeting to provide general information and answer questions. The CPC will decide at this meeting if the applicant is invited to submit a Step 2 application.
The group reviewed the draft application GM prepared (also attached). They made the following changes:
The applications must be typed
Early indication that projects may be subject to conservation, preservation or other deed restrictions and agreements between the Town and applicant.
Remove “funding needed by” question
Include question to determine that applicant is up to date on tax or other bills to the Town
Clarify that applicants need only fill out certain sections if their project fits in that category (i.e. a community housing project will only need to fill in the general questions and community housing questions. If a project fits two or three categories, the applicant will fill out all applicable sections)
Additionally, the group hoped that GM would discourage applicants from providing extraneous marketing or promotion material in their applications.
FK requested that GM provide a Word document and a fillable PDF document for applicants to use.
CPC Plan Update
The group examined the draft plan put together by AH. The group was supportive of the effort and provided a few tweaks to the text and language for clarity.
GM noted AH had highlighted a discrepancy between the Committee appointments and the Bylaw. She noted FK and GC have appointments that will expire in 2016. CG explained the BOS usually makes appointments in the fall.
AH elaborated that the BoS position is not explicitly described in the Bylaw. CG said that the BOS has made it practice to appoint a member for an At Large position.
GM indicated she would check with the Town Manager to see when the terms expire and when appointments/reappointments are made.
Old Business
New Business
The group scheduled a meeting for June 6 at 7:00 PM debrief the May 16 public hearing.
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM.
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