Wilber School Redevelopment Committee

June 6, 2005 Meeting Minutes

Amended and Approved June 27,2005.

Committee Members: Bob Levin, Joel Tran, Craig Edwards, David DePree, Marilyn Kahn, Jim Goldsmith, Michael Baskin, David Gordon

Guests: Diane Langley, Jeanette Keating, Stephen Crane

Meeting called to order 7:43 pm by Jim Goldsmith

Goldsmith/Kahn moved to hire Stacey Sullivan for Secretary for the Wilber Redevelopment Committee; unanimously approved. Bob Levin or Marcia Liebman to sign timesheet for Stacey Sullivan for payroll.

Presentation: Stephen Crane gave a presentation for the RFP drafting. He is the Urban Project Manager for the Lowell RFP drafting and has worked for 4 years with the town of Lowell as a consultant for RFP drafts. Has also worked with Congress in Washington for 6 years, assisting with the National Historic Park and adhering to the stringent guidelines for historic buildings under Federal law.

A successful RFP leads to many bids and an unsuccessful RFP results in no bids. Keys to unsuccessful RFPs

• more strings attached to the contract, resulting in more guidelines
• lease vs. sale less profitable to the developer and would be reflected in the bid price

Keys to successful RFPS

• flexible uses, reuse
• what the town could offer to make it a worthwhile investment for the developer
• what the town would do to get the project done and would result in the most value for the project

 Money is restricted by law regarding the structural assessment and the professional service contracts for short money. Town can do own lead/ asbestos testing, rather than the contractor, for less money, since this has become a very competitive business. A building that is lead-free and asbestos-free will have more value and be more worthwhile to the buyer; the sale price would reflect that and the town would benefit.

Lease on Chapter 149 could be big money, however, this means big money for building coding requirements. The deed converts to all town right-to-repurchase after so many years, subject to the project Ch 149; every case is different.

Key development to a central business district and smart growth

• more dense of a project
• parcel out site, with a part for the library and section for condos with a buy-back in with rent after, say, 30 years. Selling land for municipal use and after 30 years should be avoided.
• Chapter 149 around the library something to avoid or something to deal with?
• retail on the first floor and library on the second?

Need to outline a target RFP audience—scope of services up to committee—shape the vision of project with planners to be 30B compliant. It cost more money to rehab than to build new. In theory, to get the Wilber School done cost ¼ million a year, totaling $10 million. Get 36% of the cost of the Library from the state, finance 64% with low cost bonds, and finance the rest of the debt from the lease. However a lease process is less successful, so if offered 3/4 of building to lease, would there be any bids? The Cambodian Mill Building had 1/3 renovated, 2/3 kept in a long-term lease to a third party.

How can there be partial savings and the demolition for the reuse of the historical district and still make money? Mixed use would include residential space with retail underneath it. These would need to be financially supportive. Other issues include

• structural issues involved
• long-term control
• condo purchase—one-time deal?

Another option is to retain the land and preserve the building itself. However, the marketable use would be for housing; residential potential all over would sell best. The other factors

• commission to do the work and how much
• how long is the turnaround for the basic RFP
• what is the time frame for creating project description and comparative criteria

Tax improvements could be dedicated back to the property infrastructure of the building itself which would save tax and which can be bonded out; the Town assessor can do an estimate of the plans and the anticipated revenue involved. There are the options of looking into DIF & TIF and the savings and locking in the assessed values; the collected revenues would go up and that goes back to the municipality. Improved quality available retail space can support residential space for 5, 10, or 15 years.

Summary: Need to decide

• for sale or for lease

• reuse restrictions have to be specified under 30B
• comparative criteria grids to be used

Committee discussion:

The old RFP was sent out 10 years ago resulting in the sale of the property to be developed into Senior housing; abutters sued the town for the adverse effects that the dense housing would have on the town water and that pressured the town to buy back the property. The main issue is the septic and water; it is an up-gradient for the most important wells in town. The Board of Health is holding ongoing discussions of the development. Should the RFP include a study in the addendum to give to the developers? The better we are with the land disposition and design guidelines, the better off we will be. The waste issue is that the town center does not have a big enough system and wants to use the Wilber School site. The Town engineer has looked into other sites available for the center of towns' disposal.

Results of RFP presentations: The vote on the presentations were as follows: Bargmann Hendrie + Archetype Inc.: 3—Goldsmith, Tran, Gordon; SEA—none; Larry Koff & Associates & Bluestone Planning Group, Design; 5—Kahn, DePree, Baskin, Edwards, Mills. Still waiting for Liebman, Glaser and Schroeder for their votes. Any question we may have should be addressed

• What will they provide for the money?
• What is the scope of services we want for a contractor?

The cheapest way equals the least comfort level with who you work; the higher price, a higher comfort level. It is still an interactive process to identify what can be done with the Wilber building.

Levin/Kahn moved to adjourned at 9:34 pm; approved unanimously.

                                                                        Respectfully submitted,

Stacey Sullivan