Meeting Minutes
FALMOUTH EDIC OPEN MEETING: November 9, 2021
Falmouth Town Hall, 59 Town Hall Sq., Falmouth, MA 02540, Select Board Meeting Room
PRESENT
Christopher Land (C), Thomas Feronti (CK), Kevin Holmes (T), Michael Galasso, Samuel Patterson
8:30 am* CALL TO ORDER
A quorum was established. The Chair called the meeting to order.
8:31 PUBLIC COMMENT
None
8:31 MOTION: Galasso made a motion to change the order of agenda items, to allow Cait Cantella to present first on the agenda. Patterson 2nd. All in favor. Motion approved.
8:32 GUEST SPEAKER: Cait Cantella, Sr. Analyst Special Projects, Cape Light Compact
Ms. Cantella went thru a PowerPoint presentation to review energy efficiency incentives from CLC (Cape Light Compact) for the business community.
CLC is a Joint Powers Entity comprised of 21 towns on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard.
Energy Assessments are available to all businesses at no cost to the business owner to provide a customized energy action plan to save energy and money through efficiency improvements.
CLC are available for non-gas systems and equipment replacement.
Retrofits programs are offered to existing businesses that can replace existing operable equipment with more energy efficient equipment and are available to non-profit organizations and tenants.
There are 4 pathways to new construction projects, prior to construction 1. Zero Net Energy, 2. Whole Building EUI Reduction, 3. Whole Buildings Streamlined and 4. Systems.
CLC is the Program Administrator of the 3-Year Energy Efficiency Plan – a statewide document complied by the State’s PAs in cooperation with the Atty. General, Dept. of Energy Resources and consumer stakeholders.
Patterson inquired about any programs targeted at municipal buildings. Ms. Cantella said, yes there are and that CLC is currently working directly with Town of Falmouth to meet their energy and project goals. Patterson requested that CLC present at a future Select Board Meeting.
8:42 APPROVAL OF BOARD MEETING MINUTES
MOTION: Galasso made a motion to approve the October 12, 2021 Public Session Board Meeting Minutes. Patterson 2nd the motion. All in favor. Motion approved.
MOTION: Galasso made a motion to approve, but not release, the October 12, 2021 Executive Session Board Meeting Minutes. Patterson 2nd the motion. All in favor. Motion approved.
8:44 FINANCE
Kevin Holmes
Holmes referred to the financial reports. The balance sheet is fairly static. The cash position is strong at $373K. Regarding the P & L and variances, some rental payments are 2 months of outstanding income due from a bus tenant as well as Solar 2 income that is expected.
Holmes advised that the EDIC retains good expense control and are $12K ahead of budget on expenses. The total positive variance vs. budget is $9K.
Patterson inquired about the EDIC financials outlook for the longer term. Holmes responded that optimizing the income of the Falmouth Station will be helpful, however he foresees the cash position to be reduced. The EDIC will need to remain mindful of the use of cash asset in the future.
MOTION: Holmes made a motion to approve the warrant in the amount of $17,137.33. Galasso 2nd the motion. All in favor. Motion approved.
Lingafelter referred to the draft 2022 budget document and did a brief overview of various income and expense items. The draft displayed a comparison to 2021. It was agreed an updated draft would be sent to the Board members prior to the December Board meeting, for review and preparation for discussion.
Galasso made mention of fact that when he joined the EDIC Board many years ago, it had no income sources. He spoke of the tremendous amount of work done by the past and current Boards and staff to obtain the current $400K a year in income to sustain the EDIC operations.
Patterson suggested that grants are researched for funding assistance for some of the proposed improvement projects for the Falmouth Station. Lingafelter said he is looking into a historical commission grant and will continue to look for other opportunities.
Patterson mentioned that some of the ARPA funds may be a resource for the HVAC work at the Falmouth Station. Land is to reach out to Susan Moran regarding this subject.
9:04 EDIC AMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS
New Board Member Recruitment
Lingafelter referred to the Recruitment handout in the Board member documents.
Lingafelter stated he felt that filling the two open Board positions is one of the most pressing matters for the Board to address. The Board agreed.
The Board discussed the application and selection process and the experience representation categories as noted in the EDIC Bylaws required to be filled.
Land requested that the Board Members who suggested a candidate, that they reach out to them to inquire if they will complete a board membership application.
Lingafelter noted he was working a couple of other angles in regards to encouraging recruitment of applicants that will increase diversity as is the preference of the EDIC Board.
Sub-Committee to Review/Update EDIC Bylaws and Enabling Legislation
Galasso questioned if the last edit of the bylaws were executed; noting they were done long ago. Broderick advised that the older bylaws were executed, however, they are very old and need updating, noting this is a project that has been in discussion for the last couple of years.
Galasso mentioned an Article coming up at Town Meeting that reorganizing it’s home charter and committees. He is uncertain if it affects the EDIC. Galasso reminded the Board that the EDIC was created by State Legislation and this legislation needs to be reviewed to determine what flexibility and powers the EDIC has in this matter. Patterson said he reviewed the Town Warrant and said he did not see any changes in power/ authorities to the Town committees noted within the Article.
Feronti and Land volunteered for this sub-committee.
Feronti requested that the current bylaws be distributed to the Board for initial review.
9:21 GUEST SPEAKER: Thomas Bott, Falmouth Town Planner
Mr. Bott advised that the Falmouth Planning Board adopted designs standards a year ago and the project is almost complete, the last part is replacing the photographs and images. The Planning Board is requesting $6,000 to finish the project.
The Planning Board’s Design Standards are used for all site plan reviews including the mixed used commercial overlay district, to create additional housing in Falmouth.
Galasso reminded the board that the subject of increasing density in Falmouth, particularly in commercial business districts is an Article on the Town Meeting Warrant to address housing needs. Galasso feels it is important to have well-built and designed mixed use buildings in Falmouth.
Feronti inquired about the timing of funding and what town(s) will be used for photos. Bott said Falmouth photos are preferred, but priority will be based on best designs and not geography.
Bott advised that typical zoning changes require a 2/3 vote, but because of the housing community initiative law that was passed, zoning for housing now requires 50% plus 1 vote.
Lingafelter asked why funding is not being provided by the Town. Bott replied that they originally thought they could capture images in-house and did not request Town funds, however, staffing became limited and they now need funding to obtain the images.
Patterson suggested approaching the Falmouth Affordable Housing Committee as they may have images that can be used by the Planning Board. He also suggested asking the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce for funding assistance. Bott said he would research other funding sources.
Land tabled discussion of funding until the next board meeting.
9:36 COMMITTEE REPORTS
CDBG Community Development Block Grant Update
Wayne Lingafelter, Lynne Broderick
Lingafelter advised the sub-committee met yesterday to discuss the disbursement of the balance of the grant funds. A detailed recommendation will be forthcoming. There remains approx. $20K in EDIC grant funds and $25K of additional grant funds the Town offered to the EDIC that were not used by another source.
Falmouth Station Update
Wayne Lingafelter
There was a successful Falmouth Station Master Plan - Stakeholders meeting on Oct. 20th – 2 sessions. It was well attended and the consultants received much feedback from the attendees. A detailed update will be provided in the upcoming months. Lingafelter will continue with the consultants on moving this project forward.
Lingafelter advised the CPC funding application for the Station brick repair project is in process. The CPC committee toured the site on Oct. 18th. The Historical Commission gave approval for the Falmouth Station to be added to the list of significant historical buildings – a requirement by CPC to be considered for funding.
OpenCape Main Street Gigabit Project
Lynne Broderick
Postponed until the next board meeting.
9:38 MOTION: Land made a motion to move into Executive Session, not to return to the Public Session, to discuss the Falmouth Station cafe lease and procurement process as discussing this subject in a Public Session would be detrimental to the EDIC’s negotiation position. Patterson 2nd the motion. Patterson Aye, Land Aye, Galasso Aye, Feronti Aye. Motion passed.
NEXT MEETING – December 14th, 2021, 8:30am
*Times listed are intended merely for guidance.
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