Wilber School Redevelopment Committee

Approved Minutes of December 1, 2004

Attendance: 

Committee Members: Jim Goldsmith- Chair, David DePree, Vice-Chair, Bob Levin, Melissa Mills, Marcia Liebman, David Gordon, Craig Edwards, Jim Glaser, Marilyn Kahn, Reese Schroeder, Michael Baskin.

The meeting was called to order at 7:50 by Jim Goldsmith.

It was decided that the Meeting Minutes of the November 15 meeting would be redistributed to the Committee for review, to be approved next meeting.

It was discussed and agreed among the Committee that (i) it would be beneficial to have an agenda for each meeting and that the agenda should, to the extent possible, be posted on the Committee’s schedule on the Town’s website; and (ii) that the Committee should map out a strategy for the next couple of meetings prior to the New Year and further, a plan to get from January 1 to Town Meeting in May.

Jim Goldsmith provided a brief introduction to a financial model developed by David DePree, the purpose of which is to determine the economics relating to particular uses of the Wilber site given the return on such uses.  David DePree then distributed copies of the model and gave an overview of the spreadsheet.  After a brief overview, David walked through the spreadsheet in some detail, including the various sample scenarios that he had created:

§ 90% residential use

§ mixed commercial and municipal use

§ 90% commercial use

§ mixed municipal, commercial and residential use

David stressed that in order for the model to be useful, it would be necessary to come up with various realistic income parameters for the various scenarios.

Jim Glaser then mentioned that the Town of Westwood has recently raised bond financing at a low interest rate to finance a hybrid project of affordable housing, commercial and municipal uses.  The Committee briefly discussed such financing and Jim Glaser agreed to obtain additional information on the Westwood bond financing to report back to the Committee.

The Committee then briefly discussed the operation of the Housing Authority and how best to work with that entity.  Bob Levin gave a short overview of how the Housing Authority fits into the Town’s governance superstructure.  It was concluded that the Housing Authority acts as an essentially independent body, outside the purview of Town government.

The Committee’s discussion then returned to the financial model and how it may be best utilized to focus the efforts of the Committee towards constructing realistic scenarios for presentation at Town Meeting.  It was then concluded that it the Committee (and particular committee members) should obtain concrete information relating to:

• The costs of commercial, residential and municipal development from developers and builders (DePree)
• The tax implications of various types of development, as well as the various tax credits that might be available for particular uses (Mills, Goldsmith)
• The various types of financing available for development, including combinations of 2 or more financing sources (Glaser)
• The valuation of the land, building valuation and rents (Tran)

It was agreed that the Committee would strive to use the framework and the model to drive and evaluate ideas as they are presented over the next few months.

Bob Levin stated that he thinks that the Selectmen seem to be hoping for 25%-30% of the Wilber School to be allocated for municipal use.  Michael Baskin said that our Committee is a technical resource and advisory committee for the Selectmen and that we should seek out direction from the Selectmen.  It was agreed that we would invite the Committee to our first or second meeting in January to inform them of our progress and seek out their instruction.

Bob Levin then raised the subject of abatement at the site.  The Committee agreed that regardless of the ultimate use of the building, it would likely make sense to abate the hazardous substances in the building as soon as possible.  The Committee concluded that a request for funds for abatement would likely go through the Capital Outlay Committee, and that such a request should be approved by the Selectmen.  The Committee agreed that we would raise this with the Selectmen when we meet with them.

The Committee then discussed the prospective agenda for the remainder of the calendar year.  It was agreed that on December 6, we would attempt to refine the model by inserting specific information and also discuss the calendar for the beginning of 2005.

Next Committee Meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 6.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

James H. Goldsmith