|
||||||
|
Selectmen's Meeting Library Project Commended Selectmen and Legacy Farms agree to agree by Christmas
December 15, 2010 — Dale Danahy spoke at last night’s meeting to inquire into recent changes that included disbanding the ADA (Americans with Disabilities) Committee without notifying members of the committee; “I found out by overhearing a conversation in the supermarket.” Ms. Danahy followed up by visiting Town Hall and finding out the committee she served on longer existed, and that their responsibilities had indeed been transferred to the Permanent Building Committee (PBC). She then received an email from the Town Manager’s Office later that day informing her of the changes and thanking her for her service. Mr. Khumalo responded that they had in fact attempted to reach the committee through the then Chairman several times not receiving any responses. Ms. Danahy then asked, “Is anyone from the town at large representing the interests of the disabled community in town?” Agreeing that advocating for the disabled community was a priority and hoping to explore how this change happened without most of the committee members knowing about it, Mr. Dourney asked to meet with both Danahy and Khumalo (File photos) in the next week.
Kim Brennan also took the opportunity to
speak about her concerns about the initiatives on the horizon from the
School
Vickie and Jody Lary were on hand to present gifts to the YMCA and the Youth Commission from proceeds raised at a recent fundraiser held in loving memory of their son Tyler who died suddenly five years ago at 14 years old. Their hope is take this difficult loss and turn it into something positive for others focusing on the concept that good physical health leads to good mental health. The “Run Around Hopkinton Marathon Relay Event” held October 3rd generated over $8,000; some of that money is to be used by the YMCA for camp scholarships, some by the Youth Commission in town and some for the skateboard park in town. The Larys hope to make this an annual event in memory of their son and to support organizations that promote healthy activities for young people. The Larys are especially grateful to Hopkinton Police Officer Phil Powers who was instrumental in making this year’s event such a success; “He has been there every step of the way helping organize and work through the red tape; we couldn’t have done this without him.”
Selectman Ben Palleiko gave a detailed update on the Library project. “They have done a lot of work and should be commended.” Palleiko mentioned progress that has been made on transferring ownership of the library and the adjacent property on Church St. to the Town; while there are still issues to be resolved, that transition should be finalized in the next few months. Palleiko highlighted the investment the Trustees have made on the expansion effort having spent over $110, 000 to pursue the expansion and design without coming to the Town for money. The schematic designs for the expansion at its current location are being finalized and an independent cost estimate is also underway to support the grant application. All efforts are aiming at a Special Town meeting in the Fall 2011 to seek funding. READ MUCH MORE... The Selectmen voted unanimously to enter into negotiations with Legacy Farms to consider changes to the Host Community Agreement (HCA); that effort is intended to be finalized before Christmas in large part to support the timetable requested by the developer. According to the Town Manager Norman Khumalo, the Town received a request to consider revising the assumptions built into the HCA specifically regarding the rental component planned for Legacy Farms. The Board then compiled questions and engaged Community Opportunities Group, Inc (COG) to evaluate the proposed changes on the town’s behalf and formulate a recommendation.
Judi Barrett from COG presented her findings to the Board; the new proposal will have 34 more 1-bedroom apartments, 34 less 2-bedroom apartments and no 3-bedroom units. Those changes reflect a cumulative fiscal impact to the town for the rental units that is a slight improvement over the initial project parameters; that is the fiscal impact is relatively neutral rather than a loss for the Town. The trade-off there is the loss of affordable units in the market that Hopkinton is most needing, that is affordable units for families. Ms. Barrett also highlighted the impact phasing of the development components can have fiscally. Building the rental units up front before more fiscally positive commercial components are built versus postponing the rental units can create a gap of as much as $5 million in the Town’s expected overall positive fiscal impact (see Scenario 1 and 2 from the Fiscal impact Analysis, Legacy farms, (2008)). The trade off here in Ms. Barrett’s recommendation to the Town is to help Legacy Farms be seen as an active development site to attract future investors. “In order to attract development partners for other components of the project, Legacy Farms has to become an “active” site.”
Roy MacDowell spoke encouraging the Selectmen to support the changes in the rental component; “the key lynch pin to getting the project going is to get the rental component in.” Speaking to the lender’s concerns for financing large upfront expenditures such as the spine road, the waste water treatment facility and the well; “the bank wants to know what justifies the financing.” Additionally he indicated that he is ready with a development partner for the rental component and needs to able to move forward quickly. The Selectmen responded positively, and have charged Town Counsel Ray Miyares, Planning Director Elaine Lazarus and the Town Manager to conduct negotiations on the Selectmen’s behalf; the Selectmen will have the opportunity to inform and impact the negotiations with one to one communications with Town Counsel, but the negotiations will not be public.
Palleiko spoke to the terms of the process for negotiations; “We all want to work with the developer, but we don’t want to establish a routine for changes. “ He advocated broader thinking for the negotiation process to consider additional benefits for the town as a result of the negotiations.
Selectman Chair, RJ Dourney took a different slant saying, “It’s not appropriate for the Town to take a second bite at the apple.” This process should be about protecting what has already been negotiated.
Miyares interjected, “I’d like to come down on Ben’s side on this. We are being asked to accept a change that involves a bit more risk; there should be a potential benefit. Ben’s point is a valid one.” Negotiations with Legacy Farms concerning changes to the HCA will happen before Christmas.
DPW Director Brendan O’Regan presented department highlights and achievements from his first four months as director. Highlights include: an estimated savings of $37,000 by collectively bidding on road salt with 15 other municipalities, the initiation of weekly task tracking & meetings with Division Heads, managing a competitive bid process for the Operations and Maintenance for the WWTF on Fruit Street, successful cost containment measures resulting in a savings of $4,000 by reducing the use of outside consultants in the Pavement Management Program, and initiating improved customer service and response times. BOS Chairman Dourney requested a more detailed “State of the Department” report in January and offered O’Regan a challenge. “If I were to say, I believe there is 12-20% savings to be realized in your budget, how would you do it?” In other business: Michael Manning was appointed to the Appropriation Committee. |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
| All content on this site and linked pages within this domain and affiliate domains are ©2010 Hopkinton News and may not reproduced in any form without written permission. Learn more. | ||||||
 |
||||||
"The News Starts Here!"
by
Muriel Kramer
Department including the new school at Fruit Street and the plan to
district students at the elementary level into three separate k-5
facilities. Ms. Brennan advocated for the Board and the School Committee
to more completely share the rational for these changes with the
community; the community at large should understand the pros and cons.
From Ms. Brennan’s recent letter to Board members, “There were clearly
many options that were evaluated in this study (the feasibility study
regarding Center School). I think taxpayers would appreciate having the
opportunity to review and discuss the rationale behind some of the
options that were evaluated.” She concluded her comments and her
previous letter similarly, “Whether my children are in a brand new
school or an older school that is a piece of our Town’s history, I
believe they will succeed not because of the age of the school or the
technology in it, but because of the people and teachers they are
surrounded by and learn from. I hope that we will set a good example to
our children with how we choose to proceed in this important decision.”
Ms. Brennan encouraged others with concerns to step forward now and
participate in the process leading up to an anticipated Special Town
Meeting in March to decide whether to fund a new elementary school at
Fruit Street.
Click here to make HopNews your default
homepage! <---works with Internet Explorer.