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Home My WebLink About2025-01-28 ad Hoc - Community Preservation Act Study Committee Minutesr ��. Town of Reading = Meeting Minutes _p Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Ad Hoc Community Preservation Act Study Committee Date: 2025-01-28 Building: Reading Town Hall Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Time: 7:30 PM Location: Select Board Meeting Room Session: Open Session Version: Final Chair Joe Carnahan, Vice Chair Sarah Brukllacchio, Margaret Donnelly -Moran (remote 7:38 pm), Eric Gallen (remote), Sandy Matathla, Martha Moore; Advisory Member: Katie Gallant (remote) Members - Not Present: Carlo Bacci Others Present: Kim Honetschlager, Mike Bettencourt Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Jacquelyn LaVerde Topics of Discussion: This meeting was held in -person in the Town Hall Select Board Meeting Room and remotely via Zoom. Call to order and welcome Chair Joe Carnahan called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. Roll call attendance: Katie Gallant (remote), Eric Gaffen (remote), Sandy Matathia, Martha Moore, Sarah Brukllacchio, Joe Carnahan. (Margaret Donnelly -Moran joined the meeting later at 7:38 pm.) Kim Honetschlager, Chair of the Community Preservation Act Study Committee in 2001, reviewed the chronology from that failed ballot measure. In February 2001, the then Town Manager, Peter Hechenbleikner, suggested creating a CPA Study Committee, which was then established in May. That Study Committee met with major committees that had an interest in the CPA, and met with various other committees in July. They met with the Board of Assessors for revenue projections under every possible permutation, and reported to the Select Board In October, who voted to put it on the November Town Meeting Warrant. the State Office of Executive Affairs hosted an informational presentation In early November. The Study Committee made a presentation to Subsequent Town Meeting, who agreed to put the CPA on the ballot for the spring local election. The recommendation was a 1% surcharge, plus an exemption for the first $100,000 assessed home value. The Study Committee lasted through April, and the ballot committee was formed in early March. The Ballot Committee put information in the newspaper, the Daily Times Chronicle, did mailings, and had the Recreation Committee send Information to their distribution list. The ballot also Included an Initiative to pay for design for renovations for the High School. The questions were on the back side of the ballot, and it seems many voters simply did not Page 1 1 turn the ballot over. The CPA question failed by 73 votes, though the High School question passed. Ms. Honetschlager stated that she did not have a detailed recollection as to why 1% was recommended, but thought that if it was adopted at a low level, in five years the community could vote again to eliminate it, or increase the percentage. The estimated impact to the average residential property bill was $24 per year. Challenges from the ballot campaign include not getting any support from people in town who are active on boards and committees, and the Select Board and volunteer board and committee members would not endorse on a personal level out of fears of conflict. There was a "No Way CPA" ballot committee that was influential. Ms. Honetschlager named a few projects that have been completed since the failed 2001 attempt, including the purchase of Mattera Cabin, and replacement of the Senior Center roof, and noted that she would provide a longer list. She noted that when opportunities happen, the Town usually cannot move fast enough due to available funding, but having this pot of money could have helped purchase other properties including Longwood Place and Spence Farm. Discussion with representative of Winchester's 2024 CPA adoption p Mike Bettencourt, a Winchester Select Board member, and member of the Winchester CPA Study Committee, provided a thorough overview of his community's recent successful vote to adopt the CPA. They engaged the Community Preservation Coalition (CPC) early In the process. Based on CPC's advice, they had their vote on this past November's state/presidential election ballot, and had a year to do outreach and planning. The Study Committee was established, and they leaned on stakeholder groups and stakeholder boards and committees, such as the Finance Committee, Select Board, School Committee, and Parent Association groups. They found strong support from young families. They were successful making the financial argument, prepared a lot of data, showed how much revenue could have been generated since the first attempt failed In 2008, listed projects that the town was going to fund anyway that are eligible for CPA, and provided information on the state match. The Study Committee recommended a 1.5% surcharge, and all available exemptions (low -Income, low/medium-income elderly, first $100,000 residential, and commercial), which amounts to an average additional $20 per quarter per tax bill. It is estimated to generate about $2 million per year, with state match. The Winchester Study Committee made several presentations to stakeholder boards and committees, made an initial presentation to Town Meeting in the fall of 2023, and included an article on the spring 2024 town meeting warrant for CPA to be included on the November state election ballot. Mr. Bettencourt noted that the campaign could have started a little sooner and done better fundraising. They did two post card mailings to residents. They were concerned about a "No" campaign group, which never happened. They had the unanimous support of all the pertinent boards and committees, except for one Finance Committee member. There was some concern from the Capital Planning Committee about how the CPA might impact their authority on capital projects, so one of the members was appointed to the Study Committee. There was concern from some people who were hesitant to vote for the CPA unless they knew what the make up of the Community Preservation Committee would be, so an interim advisory committee was formed to gather recommendations beforehand. The Winchester Study Committee arrived at the 1.5% recommendation by looking at the overall target revenue and considering what would be needed to support the capital process, and meet policy objectives. It would impact the average tax bill between $20-$30 per quarter which they felt would be agreeable to the voters. Discuss future meetings and agendas The Committee agreed to reschedule the upcoming meetings to Monday, February 240, Monday, March 24'h, and Monday, May 19'h. The Committee hopes that the representative from the Natick CPA Committee can attend the next meeting in February. Ms. Donnelly - Page 1 2 Moran agreed to lead the discussion on eligible Affordable Housing projects at the February meeting. Ms. Moore volunteered to lead the Open -Space -Conservation discussion at the May meeting. Stakeholder organizations will be Invited such as Trails Committee, Town Forest Committee, Open Land Trust, Climate Advisory Committee, and Walkable Reading. Open Space -Recreation and Historical will lead the discussions in March and June, depending on staff availability. Other stakeholder organizations to invite for Recreation may include Pickleball, staff, and sports organizations; and for Historical, the Historic District Commission and Reading Antiquarian Society. Discuss and approve meeting minutes from January 14. 2025 On a motion by Martha Moore, seconded by Eric Gaffen, the Ad Hoc Community Preservation Act Study Committee voted 5-0-1 to approve the meeting minutes of January 14, 2025, with Sarah Brukilacchio abstaining, as she was not present at that meeting. Roll call vote: Eric Gaffen - Yes, Margaret Donnelly -Moran - Yes, Sandy Matathia - Yes, Martha Moore - Yes, Sarah Brukilacchio - Abstain, Joe Carnahan - Yes. On a motion by Sandy Matathia, seconded by Martha Moore, the Ad Hoc Community Preservation Act Study Committee voted 6-0-0 to adjourn at 9:35 pm. Roll call vote: Eric Gaffen - Yes, Margaret Donnelly -Moran - Yes, Sandy Matathia - Yes, Martha Moore - Yes, Sarah Brukilacchio - Yes, Joe Carnahan - Yes. Page 1 3