Town of Sharon

Sacred Heart Reuse Committee

Meeting Minutes of 3/29/11

Amended and Approved on 4/13/11

Sharon Community Center

 

Committee Attendees

John Davis, Chair

Jim Michael

Valeda Britton

Ed Keenan

Larry Seggelin

Karen Friedman

Carl Gladstone

David Straus

Michael Ginsberg

 

 

Other Attendees

Alice Cheyer

 

 

Chair Report

Chair Davis opened the meeting at 7:35 PM. He began by stating that the Board of Selectmen had appointed 5 new members to the Committee. The Sacred Heart Reuse Committee is an advisory board; a governmental body for the purpose of open meeting law. Deliberations outside of the meeting are inappropriate. He said that each new member had to file certification with the Town Clerk.

 

Committee Introductions

Chair Davis began the introductions by stating his expertise is in municipal law. He lives in Sharon for 26 years and has served on various committees. He is committed to the process and wants the best use for the site.  Mr. Keenan said he is retired and lives in Sharon since 1977. Ms. Britton said she is a retired attorney and would like to see the Committee move forward. Mr. Gladstone said he is an IT Manager who grew up in Sharon. Mr. Seggelin said he is a landlord and Sharon resident for 17 years. Mr. Ginsberg said he appraises rare books and manuscripts and chaired the Recreation Advisory Committee. Mr. Straus is an 8 year resident and serves on the Transportation Advisory Board. Ms. Friedman is a 3 year resident and was a former director of housing policy in Maryland. Mr. Michael is an architect in Sharon.

 

Background History

Chair Davis provided the new members with background information. He said that most people are familiar with the site which consists of 2 parcels of land totaling 5.1 acres. The Committee had toured the inside of the building and it is scary. There is intrusion of water. They got opinions from the Building Inspector, DPW Superintendent and Town Engineer. All concur the building needs to come down. They did not look at how it would come down. The estimate is $250K – $350K for demolition. It was thought this expense could be put on the developer. They solicited resident’s opinions, the Recreation Department. Conservation Commission, and Wilbur School to get ideas. The Board of Selectmen asked that they think outside of the box. At the last Town Meeting, warrants were approved to issue an RFP. Chair Davis said we are disappointed with the outcome. He is not sure if it is timing, the economy or combinations of both but only two submissions were received. 50 had been sent out. Cornerstone and B’nai B’rith replied and they are primarily residential.

 

Both entities were invited to come in. Cornerstone expressed genuine interest. B’nai B’rith was a 66 unit senior housing facility. Chair Davis said the Committee came to the conclusion that these requests were not responsive to the RFP. If we want residential then the RFP needs to be retooled to frame it that way. At the 1/5/11 meeting the Committee discussed and concluded to go back to the Board of Selectmen for guidance on the path of a recreational facility or residential housing. On 2/1/11 members of the Committee met with Board of Selectmen who made it clear that housing is not what the Board thought was needed. The question is how do we retool/frame the RFP and how do we market to the right people/developers. What is the timeframe to complete this? He said the old RFP is on the website. It included restrictions on the property, an invitation for a recreational facility and a matrix of what is needed. The question is, can it be revised or modified or should it be completely redone to bring more success.

 

Discussion

It was also mentioned that at the BOS meeting tonight, a resident is proposing to make the land available for housing.

 

Mr. Ginsberg suggested that everyone read the RFP and commented that if Town Meeting approves the verbiage to add housing to the RFP that could change things. Mr. Davis said it could change things. He thinks it will lift the restrictions but not require use of the property for residential purposes. He commented that Colony Y partnered with Cornerstone and their role was to manage the pool.

 

A brief conversation ensued between the members regarding the costs to run a pool and its likelihood. Mr. Davis said it would be good to have something else to work with the pool like an indoor athletic facility. A combination of things might make it doable.

 

Mr. Keenan said it is a small parcel but a good parcel that has to be shared with the dog park and baseball field, walking trails and skating rink.

 

Mr. Ginsberg suggested that there is a restriction on the land that only allows one way in and one way out of Cedar Street. Town Engineer, O’Cain would need to be asked about this as well as the Board of Selectmen to determine if an agreement was made with Cedar Street residents. This restriction was not included in the original RFP.

 

Mr. Ginsberg also said there is a SYBSA meeting on 4/20/11 regarding putting a fence around the parking lot. He suggested various changes are occurring for the safety of the ball fields. Chair Davis said this is all relevant because of the proximity to the space. This would have to be able to work with the project. Whoever wants to build must discuss area parking and conduct a traffic study.

 

Chair Davis said he will circulate the PDF’s of Cornerstone and B’nai B’rith.

 

Town Meeting is May 2nd. Mr. Gladstone said that he received an email from Temple Sinai’s Rabbi requesting all go to Town Meeting to support Cornerstone.

 

Mr. Michael asked if a real estate attorney should look at the property to provide an opinion of what could be put there.

 

Mr. Davis said they need to go to the Board of Selectmen to obtain someone for an advisory opinion. It would be helpful to know what should be added or not allowed within the RFP. The RFP does go before Town Counsel for review.

 

Chair Davis said the options to proceed are to reach out to the community to get a sense of are we in the right direction, should we do another mailing? Do we want to target the School Department, SYBSA or the Recreation Department? Who do we want to contact? We need to get ideas of what is really wanted for the space. Everyone needs to feel comfortable we are in the right direction. He suggested we keep an open mind. We need to better identify potential developers and reach out to them first before just sending a mailing.

 

Mr. Michael says he knows a national consultant and will reach out to him for ideas. Mr. Seggelin asked if ideas were solicited in the Advocate and Chair Davis said that he wrote one article but no feedback was ever received.

 

Mr. Gladstone said he will talk to Peter O’Cain regarding the roof at Sacred Heart and Mr. Davis will ask the Selectmen about the Cedar Street restriction.

 

Meeting Minutes

Mr. Keenan moved to approve the meeting minutes of 1/5/11 and Ms. Britton seconded the motion. The Committee voted 4-0-0 in favor.

 

New Business

Chair Davis circulated his memo of resignation as Chair of the Committee but said he wants to remain as a member of the Committee. Tonight or at the next meeting he will accept a motion to appoint someone new as Chair. Karen Friedman said she will consider the position. The discussion was tabled until next meeting.

 

Mr. Michael stated that Chair Davis was very professional and did an extraordinary job. Chair Davis said he thinks the additional people added to the Committee is good. He wants to create a viable RFP targeted to the right people and said that a lot of the due diligence piece has been done already.

 

Next Meeting

4/13/11

 

Adjournment

Mr. Keenan moved to adjourn at 9:02 PM and Mr. Ginsberg seconded the motion. The Committee voted 9-0-0 in favor.

 

Attachments

Chair Davis resignation letter.