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| In Board Of Aldermen | |||||||||||||||
| Real Property Reuse Committee | |||||||||||||||
| Meeting Report | |||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, March 26, 2002 | 7:45 PM | Aldermanic Chamber, City Hall | |||||||||||||
| Present:
Ald. Bryson, Chairman; Gerst, Basham, Schnipper and Yates Absent: Ald. Ciccone, Fischman and Salvucci |
| Also
present: Ald. Johnson, Lennon, and Linsky City officials: Lou Mercuri (Planning), Eileen McGettigan (Law), Linda Finucane (Clerk) |
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| A
PUBLIC HEARING WAS HELD ON THE FOLLOWING ITEM, AFTER WHICH THE COMMITTEE HELD A WORKING SESSION : |
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| #58-02 | HIS
HONOR THE MAYOR requesting that the Board of Aldermen consider a request to lease the Carr School to the Jewish Community Day School for a period of one year begining on or about August 1, 2002. |
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| Referred
to the Real Property Reuse Committee on 2/4/02 Awaiting Committee Recommendation 22 - 0 (Lipsitt Absent) on 3/4/02 |
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| The
public hearing was opened. Chief Administrator Mike Rourke, representing
he Mayor's office, explained that renovations at Memorial Spaulding will be completed by early summer at which time the City's current use of the Carr School as a swing school will terminate. An interim one-year lease will allow the City sufficient time to explore alternative future uses for the school. The lease will stipulate elementary through middle school educational use and a July, 2003 termination, as well as prohibit any structural changes. The Planning Department tried to find some comparable spaces/uses to gauge going rents, e.g., the Rashi School pays $7.30 per square foot with no utilities and a two-year lease and Trinity Catholic High School pays $8 and $10 per square foot without utilities, with leases for three and ten years. The Carr School contains 40,000 square feet of space, including 18 classrooms. Attorney Alan Schlesinger, representing The Jewish Community Day School (JCDS), and Diane Kolh??? Chief Operating Officer for JCDS, both spoke. The NCDS is a private non-profit school whose students come mostly from the Newton area. The JCDS has leased space since 1998 from Our Lady Help of Christians Church; however, the lease expires this year and the Archdiocese needs the space. The school is in the process of purchasing a building in Upper Falls, but it will be a year before it is completed. The JCDS projected enrollment for next year is 150 students, less than half of the 400 students currently at Carr. The school has regular school hours, closing early on Fridays and has two buses. The school contemplates no structural changes and will need only 12 or 13 of the 18 classrooms, as well as the gym, library, and offices. Mr. Schlesinger pointed out that a lower rent would be more in line since the JCDS is a small school and will have to move in a year. Ald. Yates asked if the JCDS will use the entire 40,000 sf. Ald. Gerst wanted to know if the JCDS would consider sharing unused space with another tenant. The school doesn't object to sharing space, but there could be a problem finding a compatible tenant, particularly for such a short time. George Kaplan, 251 Linwood Avenue, asked about the City's long term plans for the school and who will be responsible for maintaining the grounds. Mr. Rourke said the City will be looking at potential uses in the coming year and will continue to maintain the grounds. Chris Marzilli, 246 Linwood Avenue, also wanted to know about the long term plans. He pointed out that Horace Mann is overcrowed, with 3 fifth grades and no cafeteria or library. Mr. Marzilli's concerns were echoed by his neighbor from 258 Linwood Avenue. Louise Paolini and Joseph Paolini of 262 Nevada Street, said that parking is a problem. They don't want to see an already difficult situation become worse. |
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William Ferguson, 233 Linwood Avenue, the site has 27 spaces to the rear and 12 to the side, but the rest of the current staff and visitors park on Linwood and Nevada Streets. Mr. Schlesinger pointed out that the since the JCDS has less than half the enrollment of the current school and a smaller staff, the parking situation will not be exacerbated. Ald. Gerst suggested the existing parking regulations for those streets be reviewed. This concluded the public hearing and the committee convened a working session. The Chairman reviewed Sec. 2-7, then Assistant City Solicitor Eileen McGettigan explained that section 16 of MGL 30B requires the City to determine the value of the property through procedures customarily accepted by the appraising profession, prepare a Request for Proposals to solicit proposals, advertise in a newspaper at least once a week for two consecutive weeks, and in the case of property containing more than twenty-five hundred square feet publish at least thirty days before the opening of proposals in the central register published by the state secretary. Each proposal will be evaluated and the one that most closely follows the Board Order will be awarded the lease. Ms. McGettigan also pointed out that the new Board Order will supersede #135-99 because termination of the School Department's custody will overlap the proposed lease, since the City anticipates the building to be availabe by August 1, 2002. Ald. Basham pointed out that the Committee's charge was to set broad parameters and the Mayor could lease only a portion of the building. She proposed a resolve to limit the use to an educational use for elementary through middle school, with a demand for staff parking not to exceed the on-site capacity, i.e., 39 spaces. Ald. Gerst suggested it be tightened up further by noting "classroom based," to which the Committee agreed. After some further discussion, the Committee agreed that remaining space may be retained either for the City's use or to be leased and that a proposal to lease less than the entire space will be acceptable, as long as the total parking by all uses will not exceed what's on site. The Committee agreed on $8.00 per square foot as the minimum rental price. In the hearing Ald. Johnson had brought up the removal of the modular classrooms currently in use at the Carr School. This was reiterated and Mr. Rourke agreed that they will be removed as soon as the school is vacated by the City. |
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| Recommended for Approval 5 - 0 (Ciccone, Fischman and Salvucci Absent) | |||
| Respectfully submitted, | |||
| D. Pauline Bryson, Chairman | |||