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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-08 Master Plan Implementation Committee Minutes Master Plan Implementation Committee Meeting Minutes January 8, 2024 Attending: (in person): Jon Strauss (Chair), Meredith Barnes-Cook(Vice-Chair), Richard Vaillancourt, Hollie Williams, Amy Mabley, and George Koehler Absent: Al Manzi, Sean Kevlahan, and Stan Limpert Staff: Andrew Shapiro (Assistant Town Manager/Director of Community and Economic Development) Call To Order Chair Jon Strauss called the meeting to order and noted those who were present for the meeting, consisting of a quorum. Public Comment No public comments were received by Andrew Shapiro by the time the meeting had started and no members of the public were present to offer comments. Approval of December It. 2023 meeti-- inutes Jon Strauss called for a motion to approve the minutes. George Koehler offered suggested edits to the minutes, noting on page 3 that"economic development strategy 20"was written twice - one of them should be "strategy 30." He also pointed out that on page 4, first bullet, 5th line, the word"include" is shown twice. Andrew Shapiro noted that he would make the edits as suggested. Amy Mabley motioned to approve the minutes from December 11, 2023 as amended. Meredith Barnes-Cook seconded the motion. The vote was 5-0 in favor with 1 abstention (Strauss). Old Business: Continued discussion of updates on Master Plan strategies that have been made on the PIC I le entation e Page Andrew Shapiro provided the following updates: Historic, Cultural, and Natural Resources, Strategy 73: Create a local Historic Preservation Master Plan to identify resources for stronger protection of historic resources, improvements to strengthen effectiveness of existing historic and neighborhood conservation districts, and protection of historic town records. • In January of 2024, after a solicitation, the Town awarded Heritage Strategies a contract to assist the Town in producing its Historic Preservation Master Plan. Heritage Strategies has a robust staff of consultants that are experienced in the field of historic preservation and the firm has developed several master plans, including ones for communities in Massachusetts. Work will get underway in early 2024, with the hope that it will be complete by the end of the calendar year. Mr. Shapiro noted that this was the only strategy he had an update for. Mr. Strauss requested an update on 400 Great Pond Road, and to confirm that the Committee's recommendation was to remove the structure on site. Mr. Vaillancourt confirmed that the Committee had come to that conclusion and made a recommendation as such, and also recommended that the existing foundation be left in place in order to accommodate a future potential pavilion or some such structure. Mr. Vaillancourt noted that their recommendation will need to go to Town Meeting to be voted on and explained that their recommendation was the most economically feasible presented to them while also protecting the water supply. Ms. Barnes-Cook inquired about the MassDOT project on Route 114. Mr. Shapiro explained that the project proposed by Merrimack College to build two new dormitory buildings was approved by the Planning Board, and a such, there was interest on the part of the Board to see if Merrimack could work with MassDOT to add a dedicated right turn lane coming from Elm Street onto Route 114. Mr. Shapiro noted that this issue was raised at a recent public meeting regarding the Route 114 project, and that in response, MassDOT indicated that they could look into the issue with Merrimack. The College indicated that they would be cooperative. MassDOT would need to look at traffic counts to justify an additional turning lane. New Business Discussion and vote: Prog ess_:__e or t Mr. Shapiro covered information included in the draft progress report, which would need to be provided to the Select Board and Planning Board. This included changes to the Committee's composition, such as the introduction of Al Manzi, Sean Kevlahan, and Amy Mabley. The report also contained information about how the Committee continues to regularly update the Master Plan Implementation website, as well as information about which Master Plan strategies had been addressed and/or discussed over the last few months. Mr. Shapiro also noted that the report contains a request of feedback from the Select Board and Planning Board, as to whether the Committee should (or should not) undertake a review of the proposed MBTA Communities zoning bylaw being brought forward to Town Meeting 2024, in order to see whether it aligns with the Town's Master Plan. Ms. Mabley suggested that with respect to requesting feedback from the Boards on whether the Committee should evaluate the MBTA Communities bylaw, that they request that feedback by a firm deadline. Mr. Shapiro agreed that he could integrate a reasonable deadline into the report, which would be reviewed by Mr. Strauss prior to the report being finalized. Meredith Barnes-Cook made a motion to accept the progress report with future amendments to be reviewed and approved by the Chair. Seconded by Hollie Williams. The vote was 6-0 in favor. The Committee collectively agreed to meet again on Monday, February 12th at 5:30pm. Adjournment: George Koehler moved to adjourn, and Amy Mabley seconded. The vote was 6-0 in favor.