HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-05-04 Board of Selectmen Executive Session Minutes Minutes of the Board of Selectmen Meeting
Executive Session
May 4, 1993
The meeting convened at 7 : 30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting
Room. Present were Vice Chairman George Hines, Secretary Sally
Hoyt, Selectmen Bill Burditt and Eugene Nigro, Town Manager Peter
I. Hechenbleikner and Town Counsel H Theodore Cohen.
On motion by Burditt seconded by Hoyt the Board voted to go into
Executive Session for purpose of discussion of real estate nego-
tiations, not to come into open session. All four members
present voted in the affirmative and the Board went into Execu-
tive Session.
The Town Manager reviewed a three-page memo outlining possible
negotiating positions for Bear Hill. The Board agreed: 1) nego-
tiation to be delegated to ;he Town Manager with frequent contact
with the Board of Selectmen; 2) their negotiating positions will
be as follows:
1) There be not less than 100 units and that the
final number be left to the CPDC as part of the PRD
review process.
2) The justification for the number of units over and
above 100 will also be left up to the plan review
process. The Board indicated that protection of addi-
tional open space, solving of an existing drainage
problems, and creating a useable open space recreation
area for the neighborhood at no cost to the Town were
significant items in the proposals which might result
in a somewhat higher density.
3) A purchase price of $12, 000/unit be established, and a
developer would be allowed to deduct from that price
the cost of Town required off-site improvements. The
maximum amount for off-site improvements under this
scenario would be established after discussion with the
Planning Director, but is probably in the area of
$110,000.
4) The Town and the bidder rely on the U. S. Army Corp ,of
Engineers' completion of the clean-up of the site as of
January, 1994 . If the developer wants to do a 21E,
then the timing for that should be established. There
are some pros and cons to doing it early in the process
and late in the process.
5) The major dialogue between neighbors and the developers
should be through the PRD process.
6) A cap for off-site improvements should be established
following review by Town staff as to what a reasonable
amount is. Preliminarily, the $110, 000 figure is es-
tablished. The Town will reserve the right to do the
off-site improvements itself and not have it count as a
"deduction" from the purchase price.
7) The exact location design of the open space will be
left up to the PRD approval process. The Town wants
the open space and recreation area to be owned,
developed, and maintained by the bidder and its use
scheduled by the Town. The open space needs to be of a
meaningful size and should be a large level spot that
Board of Selectmen Minutes - 5/4/93 Executive Session - page 2
can be used for baseball and/or soccer. Additional
on-site play equipment for the use of the project resi-
dents only could be included as part of their plan.
8/9) The bidder needs to propose a method to the Town that,
will ensure the completion of the purchase, and that
will guarantee the developers' performance and comple-
tion of the project as designed.
10) With regard to Executive Sessions no comment.
11) The issue of tying the access for Summit Towers to the
new access road should stay as part of the PRD process.
The access road to Summit Towers is illegal in that it
is a violation of the zoning laws. A tie-in could be
important for securing permanent access to Summit
Towers, and for traffic consideration.
12) To avoid any zoning problem relative to the proposed
access road being located in a residential zone, the
Town is agreeable to the concept of establishing the
front part of the access as a public street, with an
agreement that the property owner will maintain it and
plow it.
13) The affordable housing issues were discussed as part of
the PRD process. The Housing Partnership will be made
part of the process of reviewing options and will make
recommendations as to affordable housing, some of which
may by implemented by the Reading Housing Authority.
14) State law and any other regulation to the contrary, the
Town will not provide rubbish collection disposal, snow
plowing, street lighting or other similar services to
the development.
15) The Town Manager will come back to the Board of
Selectmen with a proposed revised outline. The Board
discussed the issue of encouraging or discouraging
three bedroom units, and agreed that the goal would be
approximately 10% of the units would be three bedrooms.
16) The Town asks to show in future proceeds if the project
is converted to condominiums.
On motion by Burditt seconded by Nigro the Board voted to adjourn
the Executive Session at 10: 15 p.m. All four members present
voted in the affirmative.
Respectfully submitted,
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