Wilber School Redevelopment Committee
Approved Meeting Minutes
3/14/05
Present: Jim Goldsmith (Chair), Dave DePree (Vice Chair), Michael Baskin, Craig Edwards, Jim Glaser, David Gordon, Marilyn Kahn, Marcia Leibman, Bob Levin, Melissa Mills, Reese Schroeder, and Joel Tran
Guests: Jim and Jeanette Keating
Jim Goldsmith called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM.
Jim began the meeting with some brief comments about the 3/7/05 public meeting. He noted that he had heard very positive feedback about the meeting from several sources -- both from people who had attended the meeting and from people who had since watched it on cable TV. In general, people were very impressed with the level of knowledge and thoughtfulness projected by the committee, and attendees felt that their concerns were heard and addressed. The "common threads" that Jim saw in the various comments were: 1) the committee should be sure to address the septic/water issues at the site; 2) if we recommend developing municipal space on the site, that should include space for the Library; 3) we should seriously consider plans for the site as a whole, and not just for the building itself; 4) we will need to address traffic concerns once we know how the site will be used; and 5) a surprising number of the abutters who attended the meeting (but by no means all) seemed to be open to potential uses for the site other than municipal use, including commercial and retail.
With this as a backdrop, Jim cautioned the committee not to expect to develop a set of recommendations that would generate full consensus within the committee; there are bound to be honest differences of opinion about how to proceed, but as long as we develop reasonable recommendations that take different points of view into account, we all will be at least partly, if not mostly, pleased with the final outcome. Jim added that he had spoken with David Gordon about several of these issues and that there may be reason to envision a "Wilber Center" redevelopment project on the entire site, not just within the building itself. He concluded that the committee should now prepare to develop more specific recommendations for the selectmen.
Marcia noted that two speakers (Eli Hauser and George Bailey) spoke very clearly against the idea of using the building/site for residential needs. After follow-up comments by several committee members, Jim Keating urged the committee to think of the project as a "focal point" for an expanded town center, but he also urged the committee to be sure to look at both parking and traffic issues -- two concerns that are especially important to many abutters.
Joel raised the question of whether the Library would necessarily be the "best" municipal use at the site. At the 3/7/05 meeting, George Bailey had referred to possibilities for using Community Preservation Act funds for the Wilber redevelopment project; the committee will need to clarify this point with George.
Michael elaborated on several points highlighted in an e-mail that he had circulated to the committee late in the day on 3/14/05. He suggested that the Library could be a free-standing element on the site and that the committee should consider the options of either rehabbing the existing building or razing it. The latter option should be considered since the building is less than optimally located within the site and because any developer would face significant engineering challenges in creating useful space within the existing structure (in part due to the different height/floor levels within each of the three sections of the building).
The committee then discussed some of the elements of a "framework" for a Request for Proposals (RFP) to which developers would respond (note: to help with this process, the committee will also examine the original RFP and will adapt it to the currently preferred priorities for redeveloping the building and site). The range of options under consideration should include keeping the existing building, keeping part of it (perhaps while "pulling the facade forward" to the curb), or razing the building with an eye towards developing the entire site, not just the structure itself. In an informal straw poll, the committee unanimously agreed that there should be some municipal space on the site, and all but one committee member agreed that the Library should be a prime candidate for any designated municipal space. Though no "poll" was taken, the committee then discussed (and there were no objections raised) about the need to incorporate historic district guidelines, historical elements (e.g., brick walkways, lighting, prominent clock, etc.), and open space in the RFP design guidelines. In regard to potential residential uses at the site, the committee would prefer either age-qualified and/or income-qualified housing, but not market rate housing. Also, the committee will want to consider the feasibility of doing redevlopment incrementally at the site (perhaps with the town acting as the "developer"), rather than all at once.
Some questions arose about the possible need to abate the building, who would do it (i.e., the town or the developer), and when. Jim was asked to e-mail the selectmen to confirm whether they intended to develop a Warrant article concerning abatement.
In response to a question from David about whether all three sections of the building are considered "historic" or whether only certain sections are "historic," Reese said that while he couldn't speak for the entire Historic Commission, his sense was that the committee is most interested in preserving the South Main Street, Station Street, and, to some extent, Chestnut Street facades, but not necessarily the rear of the building facing Pleasant Street.
Finally, Jim noted that the committee had received two e-mails at its Web site this week, and it was agreed that these would be handled in the future on a case-by-case basis, some with a simple "thanks for your comment" note, others with more susbtantive responses.
The meeting concluded at 9:45 PM.