Community Preservation Committee
February 9, 2006 - Meeting Minutes
Committee members present: George Bailey, Robert Young, Corey Snow, Peg Arguimbau, Janet Sargent-Tracy, Arnold Cohen. Committee members absent: Arnold Kublin. Guests: Kathy Roth.
Minutes: A discussion of the minutes of January 26 ensued. Make sure all are posted in the yahoo group. Minutes accepted as amended.
Discussion of bylaws: Three pages submitted by Mr. Bailey. We went over them line by line.
A question was asked by Ms. Arguimbau with regard to taking voting action at a subsequent meeting. Why are we precluded from voting on a recommendation at the same meeting it is initially discussed? Answer: We are free to suspend section 3(4) by unanimous consent of a committee quorum, but by including the section in the bylaws, we make sure that our board as well as future boards will not take the voting action lightly.
It was agreed to take out minority report section. Costs do not need to be included in the bylaws of the CPC; they will be addressed in our project application process. In section 4(2) the word evaluation will be changed to explanation.
Ms. Sargent-Tracy asked if any member could call a meeting. It was decided that one must get an agreement of any three members to call a meeting, with not less than 48 hours notice. Mr. Bailey would check the General Laws.
Mr. Cohen moved to accept the committee bylaws as revised, Ms. Sargent-Tracy seconded. Voted unanimously in favor of adoption. [Final bylaws are attached.]
Protocol for submission of projects – application form. Review of form. Mr. Bailey passed out a draft of a submission form. Town of Sudbury application is preferred as a model because of their extensive experience. Category-specific criteria. Ms. Arguimbau suggested scaling the submission to suit Sharon’s needs. The committee went over each line to determine validity and appropriateness. Ms. Sargent-Tracy offered to suggest additional criteria later.
Discussion about dates and times for submission and presentations for Town Meeting. Placeholder for special circumstances. Mr. Young made a motion that we would present projects yearly at two town meetings and that cut-off dates for submission of applications would be on May 31 for the Fall Town Meeting and November 30 for the Spring Town Meeting. Corey Snow seconded the motion. One opposed; the remainder of the board voted in favor; the motion passes.
It was agreed to use the Sudbury criteria as a guideline for our draft.
Other matters:
Mr. Young made a motion that mail be logged in and available on the first floor of Town Hall (subject to Town Clerk approval). Ms. Arguimbau seconded, and it was accepted unanimously.
Corey asked that we get our Warrant Article prepared for May Town Meeting.
Ms. Arguimbau made a motion to adopt language similar to that available in the Community Preservation Coalition literature, to send to Ben Puritz. Mr. Young seconded. The vote was unanimous.
Mr. Bailey will update the Web page to reflect names, addresses, and phone numbers for those who wish it. There will be space for minutes on the Web page.
As to the public forum scheduled for March 9, Mr. Young was to send the press release to the local newspapers (Sharon Advocate, Boston Globe South, and Patriot Ledger). Mr. Bailey agreed to prepare the forms, and Kathy Roth was going to present the Coalition’s PowerPoint slide show. It was agreed that each member would read parts of the guidelines.
Mr. Snow made a motion to adjourn at 9:50 pm. It was so voted.
Submitted by Robert Young, Clerk
Community Preservation Committee - Bylaws
Written 1/26/06, Approved 2/9/06
Section 1 - Establishment
The Community Preservation Committee was established under Article 36 of the bylaws of the
Town of Sharon for the purpose of administering the Community Preservation Act, M.G.L. c. 44B, consisting of seven (7) members as follows:
One member from the Conservation Commission established under section 8C of chapter 40, as
designated by that Commission, who shall serve for an initial term of three years;
One member from the Historical Commission established under section 8D of chapter 40, as
designated by that Commission, who shall serve for an initial term of two years;
One member from the Planning Board established under section 81A of chapter 41, as
designated by that Board, who shall serve for an initial term of three years;
One member appointed by the Board of Selectmen, acting as Park Commissioners under section
2 of chapter 45, as designated by that Board, who shall serve for an initial term of two years;
One member from the Housing Authority established under section 3 of chapter 121B as
designated by that Authority, who shall serve three years;
One at-large member appointed by the Board of Selectmen for an initial term of one year; and
One at-large member appointed by the Moderator for an initial term of one year.
Thereafter each member shall be appointed for a three-year term. Members may be reappointed
for consecutive terms. Vacancies shall be filled by the original appointing authority.
Section 2 - Duties
1. The committee shall study the needs, possibilities, and resources of the town regarding community preservation in accordance with Section 5(b)(1) of M.G.L. c. 44B. The committee shall consult with existing municipal boards, including the conservation commission, the historical commission, the planning board, the recreation council, and the housing authority, in conducting such studies.
2. The committee shall make recommendations to the Town Meeting, in accordance with
Section 5(b)(2) of M.G.L. c. 44B, for the acquisition, creation, and preservation of open space; for the acquisition, preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration of historic resources; for the acquisition, creation, and preservation of land for recreational use; for the creation, preservation, and support of community housing; and for the rehabilitation or restoration of open space, land for recreational use, and community housing that is acquired or created as provided in Section 5(b)(2) of M.G.L. 44B. With respect to community housing, the committee shall recommend, wherever possible, the reuse of existing buildings or construction of new buildings on previously developed sites.
3. The committee may include in its recommendation to the Town Meeting a recommendation to set aside for later spending funds for specific purposes that are consistent with community preservation and otherwise conform to the requirements of Section 5(b)(2) of M.G.L. c. 44B. As provided in the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act, no expenditures shall be made from the Community Preservation Fund without the approval of Town Meeting.
4. The committee will submit an annual administrative and operating budget for the committee, which cannot exceed five percent (5%) of the annual revenues in the Community Preservation Fund, to Town Meeting for approval.
Section 3 - Organization
1. The Officers of the Community Preservation Committee shall consist of the following:
A Chair, whose responsibility is to preside at meetings and to post notice of the meeting in
accordance with the Open Meeting Law G .L. c. 39, sec. 23B.
A Clerk, who is responsible for distributing the minutes of each meeting to the members of the committee in advance of the following meeting for their review. The Clerk may advise the Chair of items that bear consideration on the meeting notice. In the absence of the Chair, the Clerk shall preside at meetings.
A Treasurer, who will prepare reports from time to time on funds available and any other information available to the committee from the Town Treasurer and the Board of Assessors relating to the Community Preservation fund. In the absence of the Chair and the Clerk, the Treasurer shall preside at meetings.
2. The terms of office of the Officers shall initially end on June 30, 2007, and thereafter be one-year terms.
3. Any committee member may request that an item be placed on the agenda for consideration prior to the posting of the meeting agenda.
4. The Committee will take no action regarding recommendations for expenditures or action by the Town Meeting unless the action has been listed on the committee’s meeting agenda and ratified at a subsequent meeting held at least 7 days following.
5. The bylaws of this committee may be amended by majority vote after due notice.
6. The bylaws of this committee may be temporarily suspended only by a unanimous vote of a
Committee quorum.
7. The Committee will meet no fewer than once each quarter each fiscal year with at least one such meeting advertised specifically as a public hearing. In accordance with Section 5(b)(1) of M.G.L. c. 44B, the committee shall hold one or more public informational hearings on the needs, possibilities, and resources of the town regarding community preservation, notice of which shall be posted publicly and published for each of two weeks preceding a hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the town.
Section 4 - Requirement for a Quorum, and Town Meeting Recommendations
1. The committee shall not meet or conduct business without the presence of a quorum. A majority of the members of the committee shall constitute a quorum. The committee shall approve its actions by majority vote.
2. Recommendations to the Town Meeting shall be accompanied by estimates of the costs of the recommended projects and an explanation of the project’s relation to the Town’s overall preservation goals.
Section 5 - Amendments to Town Bylaw
Article 36 may be amended from time to time by a majority vote of the Town Meeting, provided that the amendments would not cause a conflict to occur with M.G.L. c. 44B.