um my name is Susan gtic and I am chair of the CPC um I want to give you first of all thank you all for coming it's important to have these discussions and we want to hear from you and this is really an important issue for us um let me give
you an idea of what the lay of the land's going to be and then we'll we'll start the meeting officially um we will have a very quick discussion of what our process is and at that point you can ask us any questions you would like uh once
we start the public hearing on um the applications we're going to go Application by application so if you're here to talk about several things we are going to ask you to wait to talk about those things so that we can keep a clear understanding of which
thing you're talking about and be able to make it clear for us as we're doing our analysis of what we're we're going to be doing when once we get to the next stage um and um so it will be it's uh if you we uh if you as
you as people are coming in if you'd sign in and if you'd note which um application you want to apply uh you want to discuss and then we will have that discussion uh we'll get we'll get that list and we'll use that for our our discussion
today um okay so um let let me call this meeting to order um and I'll do a roll call um let me just say that the meeting is being recorded by the community preservation committee and if any other persons presents are doing the same um
you must not must notify me at this point is anyone recording this you you are okay thank you thank you okay um calling this meeting to order and I'm going to do a roll call of the members
um Vice chair Dell here uh Travis jury here p mcarver is not here Jack Redmond here wiy rora backler here G shanfeld
gu yeah he was online I'm here okay great Becky George here Sarah Balu here okay we have a quorum um we are not going to view our our minutes of our last meeting at at uh
at this time we will do that at our next meeting okay so we're going to do a brief discussion about where we are in relation to the process so that you all have an understanding of what we're doing and how we're doing it um and we
will start that okay so this is our overall process that um it happens we work throughout the year so we create and update our community preservation plan we then have pre-applications that are due in September we have our full
applications that are due in November then we go through a discussion with the applicants During the period between then and now and this is where we are right now is on our public feedback process we will then we have a
a uh a review process that we go through you can look on our website and see questions we're we're going to be looking at and how we how we score them all of that is available to you and from there we'll take any uh we also have a
online survey that that is is online right now so if you know someone who wanted to say something but could not be here tonight we will be happy to uh have them and respond to the survey all of that information is put into a huge some
some Absol absolutely wonderful um databases that we look at and we try to make some decisions about that in relation to what we said what you said here tonight what is in the U responses that we get all of those things fit
together in terms of our then having a discussion about what we are going to do in the with the funds that we have we have $213,000 um there was $20,000 from last year that was returned to us um and we have
$248,000 worth of requests so and that this is actually the closest we've had in a long time we often have requests that are the multiples of two or three and um it's a very difficult process so this is actually helpful to us uh once
we go beyond that we will vote on our recommendations those recommendations will then go to the city council for uh a vote and that is the process overall all um in terms of
the of of what we have this on on Deck right now in terms of our historic preservation funding requests we have Connecticut River Conservancy asking us for $45,988
the Franklin County Agriculture Society is asking us for $1 17,18 and the Greenfield Public Library is asking us for $7,000 all of those and and every other proposal that I have I'm
talking about tonight is online and we also have a few copies in the back um if people need to look at them again um in terms of housing the Greenfield Housing Authority is asking for $8,000 for additional units to be created on Conway
Street they are also asking for security deposit deposit and rental assistance fund for $15,000 uh Greenfield housing Associates Inc um is asking for $18,000 for preservation and updating of the
Windslow the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity is asking for $15 for their Birch Street project and Noble Home LLC is asking for funds to uh do the pre uh review on greywater collection for condo
development um in at Stone uh at Stone Farm Lane um okay we've had what we had one application um in housing that was uh withdrawn from Valley Housing Cooperative that was
withdrawn because they were not they did not feel they were ready to be able to move ahead we expect that they'll be back to see us uh in Recreation we have two pickle ball U projects one for $
22,36 for the present pickle ball court um one for $50,000 for the projected new pickle ball court and one for $32,000 for um a stem installation
project at the at Hillside Park so um in summary what we're looking at is 24852 of requests and we have $213,000 available to us this year to be to put
in for applications so um not everyone will get funded fully we don't know what we're going to do yet on any of that we could partially fund we could F not fund at all all of those things are in on on the table and we have not had that
process done yet we will be all of our meetings um in terms of deliberations are open and people can either come to the uh the discussion at uh we're usually at City Hall and or they can um
watch Us online um however um unless uh there is something very specific we probably will not be taking questions at that time because we'll be in deliberations okay with that let me just
one just one one thing we we also don't have to spend all the money we have available that's that's correct that's correct and we have we have in the past we have put money aside for specific things because we expect that there will be future things that that we will need
to do uh um in in another year then that's an application process that we that's part of the application process um are there questions about the process that we put before you or anything else around the CPA law or
anything in that category yes go ahead sometimes we do um it dep it depends um that could be because we are there's a a large request and we're giving we are going to fund a portion of it and we will say we will fund this but
not that or we could say we don't have the money to do the whole thing we are giving you X number of dollars in in the hopes that you can find additional funds from elsewhere but it it it depends it's it's project by project we we there's no
hard and fast Rule and there's no no simple um statement that we can make on any of the applications any other questions about our process Susan can I just clarify one thing about the process sure go for it
um also um we keep saying that we we give the money but technically we're making recommendations to city council and then city council is the body that votes on whether to um give this funding to the projects or not um city council can't give funding to the projects
unless we make the recommendation first though that's correct thank you Travis any else in terms of the discussion of the process as opposed to the applications
themselves okay Jack could you go and get the um the sign in sheet for us whatever is signed in on thank you sir okay okay um okay um all right
we're this is somewhat helpful uh in many of you did not say which projects you're doing but so I'm just going to go through this I'm going to name the project if you wish to speak on it please come forward if you want to speak on multiple projects I ask you to speak on these projects one at a time so that
we have the ability to be able to be clear on what you're speaking toward or against and why that's important to you yep and if you're online and when Susan names a project just raise your Zoom hand then we'll get to you yeah yeah oh yes and um the we'll have a three minute
time limit on it you will hear a um a bell or or or some sort of thing there um that will be at two minutes and 30 seconds and you will have another 30 seconds to respond Al um considering the number of
applications we have um we had agreed on three minutes prior to this okay um yes yes sir okay the the way the the this part of
the process works is that applicants um are not expected to make any response in in any way we are just here to listen to what the public has to say um but you know and that's also helpful for for the applicants because if there is something
that comes up we may be coming back to you and saying what about this so that's that's absolutely fine thank you all right with that I am going to start this process um is there um anyone here to
speak in response to to the Connecticut River Conservancy um development Nancy and would you say your name and um and your address Nancy Hazard 30 spring Terrace
Greenfield so um I'm I'm a member of the Connecticut River Conservancy because I think it's a fabulous organization and I think we're very lucky it's a huge it covers a huge geographical area I they were very fortunate to have them in have their
headquarters here in Greenfield and to have them have chosen to to uh be in a building which has huge historic significance for the community I always forget exactly what it was but I think it was the first Courthouse something
like that in Greenfield and it's a beautiful building so what they're planning to do at this point is and they put a lot of money into this in the past they've put PV on the roof solar on the roof they've done a huge amount of insulation they have upgrad completely
change their uh heating system to be electric and at this point they're taking it in the next step and uh I think the steps they're taking you know so that they it's more usable for them so more office space for them but one of the things I'm particularly excited
about is that they're going to be uh creating a um a new public a meeting space which the out which the community can use that would hold a 100 people and it seems like we're always searching for that uh we've been searching on it for
as many years as I can remember so I think it' be really exciting they are asking for a large amount of money um but I'm hoping that given the requests that have been made this year that that perhaps the entire amount could be given to them but I leave that up to you guys
but it's fabulous project thank you is there anyone else would like to speak to this application now press the button press the button here we go thank you uh committee members I think you probably be tired of
hearing me say it tonight but um the proposals that I'm here to to support are all housing and I think you understand that uh Al we we're talking about the Connecticut River Conservancy I'm going to address that to my three minutes no no go
ahead uh the reason this particular project isn't on my list is that I'm only supporting the housing projects that are coming before you the Conservancy is a good group um in a historic building um their request is high uh I just don't think that at this
point in terms of what the town is the city is having to deal with that renovating office space for uh a private nonprofit I believe uh is is a top priority um so I I I I speak uh you know
as a as someone who is supporting other projects instead of ones like this because I think we need to deal with something a little bit more critical and I hope that the Conservancy will consider doing some crowdsource funding or something for that project rather
than looking for this fund uh because I think I I'm not going to be supporting any of the recreation proposals and I'm not trying to be unpleasant about those other proposal I just think we have something far more critical uh to discuss tonight thank you thank
you anyone else to speak to the Connecticut River Conservancy proposal some on zo good hi my name is Patty O'Neal I live in Precinct one um and just hearing about um this being a an important
meeting space I agree I feel like there are not enough U meeting spaces and um I'm interested to hear how that might benefit the community if there especially if you're looking for um Community funds for this um third spaces are important and um
just good meeting spaces are important um but I also am not sure how how the the money is being um uh given out to all these projects housing is really important to me too so I will speak on those as well but yeah
that's it thank you is there anyone else online who would like to speak to the Connecticut River Conservancy project okay okay and we'll move on um Franken County Agricultural Society uh phase two project to preserve
Greenfield's agricultural history at the fairgrounds is there anyone here to speak to that please come forward push the button so it's there you go there we go okay just keep on my name is Don babitz I live at 131 wisdom way I am right across from the
fairgrounds and as everyone knows through the course of the year they've had many many events events that myself and the neighbors have no saying what goes on the only thing that we get to do is pay our taxes unlike the uh the fairgrounds
which is supposedly a nonprofit which I really don't understand why um they do not pay any taxes if this was maybe 10 years ago or whatever when the fairgrounds was in dire needs they needed these things you
know help from you know these funds these projects that's one thing but you know when they only had like um the fair or they had the good Sim somebody like that a few organizations that were there to help
them that's you that's one thing but now with all that they have they have enough money to do these things on their own as far as I'm concerned I mean you can ask you know myself and the neighbors I mean what we have to put up with all year
long and so somebody's making money they have to be making money so that's why I feel that um for them to come up for this is not right when there's other project well we've got the whole list of them
people that in different projects that should be funded with this CPA funds and not the Franklin County beer thank you thank you is there anyone else who would like to speak to it
Nancy Nancy has 30 spring Terrace Greenfield um I this is another organization that I feel strongly about is is really important and the what Mike Nelson has done with this place in the last couple
of years has been completely nothing short of amazing and his goal has really been to rebuild the agricultural side of the fair grounds what the what he's requesting what they're requesting is
for money to upgrade the um this the animal stalls area so it's an agricultural thing and um yeah I I'm not in favor of all the things that are held there I can appreciate if you're you
know live across the street from me there's some things that are that you might not like um and hopefully those things can be ironed out but in this case it's it's the money's for agriculture he's doing a great job with the agricultural side of the place and I
would like to see it funded thank you thank you um Jimmy on um online um yes Ryan Whitney uh CH Street n uh I share the same sentiment as the first gentleman I've seen the
fairgrounds evolving from an agricultural Fairgrounds and involved into now what is known as a concert venue is what the place is now like I think these people are generating a lot more money than they have before and we
we just help them with a lot of money to do new roofs a little while ago also as taxpayers and now that they're um a concert venue pretty much and they're doing all these concerts that the taxpaying neighbors really don't
appreciate it would be really rude to just tell the the taxpayers that you're going to help fund that stuff that's bothering you so so I don't I don't agree with this the money going towards it at all even though I do attend a lot of um events at the fairgrounds but and
appreciate them but what it has turned into it's a money-making uh money-making entity now it's not just like some Fairgrounds that's used once or twice a year so I don't agree with this uh project at all for UPS funding it that's all thanks thank
you any else who wishes to speak either online or in the room on the fair on the fairgrounds yes I'm Mary mcdonut 54 Brier way Greenfield and it's I don't know uh
anything beyond the fact the last time I was at the fairgrounds going through the animal sites I can say I app the idea of upgrading them
and if they need the money if they can justify needing the money to do it and it's being a well-managed place we appreciate you know the neighborhood but uh as a visitor to an Agricultural Fair uh I'd
appreciate those animals stalls being betterk thank you is there anyone else either online or um here in the room who would like to speak to this Al okay another one
okay Al Norman um I I want to to say that I I I go to the fair every year with my children love the animal portions don't have particular interest in the rest of it but um I'm sensitive to the fact that again this is a lower priority project
uh in this year that should be I think should be a year of housing um but I think that the I would also look to the Agricultural Society to raise its fees that it charges to groups like the people that put on soulfest to raise their ticket fees as a as a source of
Revenue I don't know if they listed that some of these proposals you received uh took no time to to seriously respond on to what would you do if you didn't get sufficient funding from CPA uh and I'll talk about that later but that to me suggests that there's
there's something that's wrong there if people don't have an idea of what they would do if you don't give them money if we as taxpayers don't give them money uh I don't believe that uh more tax dollars at this point should go into this project for cattle barns uh when we have
problem uh housing real people um but I do support the organization I just agree with Ryan that I agreee with Ryan that this is a this is not a suitable source of of funding at this point they they have branched out their revenue and I I would look that hopefully they would
turn to their revenue stream uh as opposed to asking for tax funding for this particular project thanks thank you I'm sorry to have to do this but that your format requires me to keep coming up we understand that thank you
Stephanie online hi Stephan uh apprent dat um I just um I do support um a lot of what goes on at the Green Field uh at at the FR County Fairgrounds
I have real concerns about the noise that it creates for the neighborhood um that being aside um when when we get these applications in are we aware of all their funding sources I mean they do
have an organization called Friends of the Franklin County Fairgrounds which I know is a source where money goes in and then they reallocate it so I'm just wondering you know as we go through these applications have we checked all of the additional funding sources like
El said are you know what are they going to do they we don't give them that money I mean it it there's a lot of housing on that um the applications this year I'm I'm actually would support more
historical preservation and more Recreation you know maybe even contemplating what they're going to do over on seven seventh street but but this it seems like they have additional sources that they could go and and get
the money from and and given the fact that there hasn't been a lot of conveniences made to that neighborhood and I've heard multiple complaints about the events seems to go on deaf ears a lot of times when people speak out so I
just wanted to say no I don't really support this I think they should go to their friends of the um Franklin County Fairgrounds for that funding thank you is there anyone else either online or here in the room who would like to speak to the Franklin County
Fairgrounds okay seeing none we will move on to the Greenfield Public Library local history room collection um is anyone here who uh in the room who would like to speak to that Carol Carol Leon Precinct 3 glad to be
here do I say am I a street address or just a preing you're okay I'm uh my field is history and um I did a great deal of work with uh history in the region uh in
my career and so I also very familiar with the facilities at the new Public Library they're very handsome but there aren't enough um materials to handle all those
wonderful documents that they have and they're storing and they're trying to conserve and they are conserving uh they need the help of this Grant and I want to speak up for this particular request for the local collection room at the
public library uh great deal needs to be done with those materials and uh the staff is so busy with their public service that this additional Grant is very useful for for going forward in the collection thank you thank
you anyone else in the room who would like to speak to this Lise Louise Amo Madison Circle excuse me um excuse me I also support um the history room I
think mainly I'm here to support housing but uh the history room seems like a small input um into preserving the city's history and I think that at this point we really need to
learn history we can't let it go it's very very important that we hold on to it so um I would like to speak in favor of the funding for the history room the library thank you thank you anyone else in the room who would like to speak to this yeah
goe Beth Loren 39 Sunrise Avenue in Greenfield remind me again the amount that they would like um they are asking $7,000 I'm in support of providing them with the $7,000 I believe that the Greenfield
Historical Society has tried to maintain documentation and other important things that are referenced for Franklin County and Greenfield are not able to do that and the library should be able to support that historically it makes very good sense as a referencing location to
be able to have the library and I think that the multitude of dollars that have been provided to it already through both the private funding um of the friends of the library and others would very much appreciate having that support thank
you any anyone else here um in the room who would like to speak to the question of the B the Greenfield Public Library is there anyone online who would like to speak to that issue Stephanie is your hand your hand
is up I don't know if this is a new yes I'd like to speak to it okay thanks Stephanie I am I am in full support of the preservation of historical documents I would love to see maybe in the upcoming years preserving some of our um
vaulted historical maps of our city so if if they need this money to help digitize and preserve those documents I'll fully support that thank you is there anyone else online who would like to make a comment
in regard to the Greenville Public Library R request is there anyone in the room who would like to do that okay moving on then we're going to move into the housing requests that we have we'll be starting off with the
Greenfield housing authorities Conway Street um additional housing request um would anyone like to speak to that um please Louise Amo Madison Circle um yes I support this housing project um I
believe that the plan is to build four I think new apartments at least one of which would be uh fully accessible and I am very strongly in favor of any accessible any new housing and especially accessible housing um is
there is a dir of housing available for anyone but in particular people who are Mobility um I forget the word challenge challenge thank you thank you thank
you um is there someone else Nancy hazard Hazard um like Al I'm housing is a huge issue for this community and a huge priority for me uh this particular project I'm excited about I think it's
very creative that uh as I understand that they were thinking of maybe five units that land is is pretty small and they're they were very creative in order to be able to to design it and be able to put it there and it's close to uh Oak
courts I believe is that right um so it's in a it's in a great location in terms of you know for the housing authority to keep track of it and as I say it's greatly needed and I'm I'm impressed with the design that they've
come up with figuring out how to have the maximum number of units on such a small piece of property and it fits I'm excited about it thank you thank you is there anyone else who would like to speak in regard to the Conway Street a
of additional units Al I'm delighted to be uh on the same side with Nancy my neighbor on this one um this is the the first of uh three Greenfield Housing Authority proposals
that I will support um this one uh the this 8,000 for the Conway Street units for a project that will continue its geotechnical investigations to continue work on five units of affordable housing
is the first so I applaud this effort I strongly support it I uh I will be talking in a minute about one of the GHA proposals that I think you should double but this one is a good program and I'm I appreciate that it's been submitted thank you thank you is there anyone on
the line who would like to speak to the this proposal and Carol get back Carol go ahead and then we'll go online Carol let in Precinct 3 um I too want to support this I'm a neighbor of this development and I know several
people who have been finally accepted to have an apartment in that area um and anyone who's accepted has to be able to go to the second second floor Apartments because they just not enough first floor
apartments available so you have to be capable of going upstairs every day to your apartment and this project is a wonderful project I want to support additional units at the Housing Authority thank you thank
you is there anyone else in the room who would like to speak to this project okay is there anyone online who would like to speak in regard to this project okay seeing none we'll move
on um the second is also a Greenfield Housing Authority project this is a security deposit and rental assistance fund um would anyone like to speak to to that Nancy the idea of a rental assistance program
has been around for a little while and it's fabulous as I understand it it it hand it will handle the security deposit and the um and the you know first month's last monthes that Ena people get it they're asking for 30 thou $155,000
with and they have a goal of 30,000 and um yeah I I think if this group had if if all the money is not spoken for this is one area that I would say please uh offer them more than uh they're asking for it's and as I understand it the
money um comes back like if the person uh gets into the apartment and is there and obviously the landlord land owner would keep it for until that person left uh in which case they would then return well actually the first last month well
yeah well the security deposit gets returned excuse me but not the other two pieces so um it it's a fabulous thing thank you um Joe Joe Mary Jackson two Chestnut
Hill uh I'm in I'm in favor of this um this proposal uh with the security deposit and rental assistance fund uh I do believe it it deserves to have more monies uh added to it I agree
that it should be doubled uh just today um Mitchell and I uh we spoke to another Resident in Greenfield um who rents an apartment and he said he's very concerned with the uncontrollable and unregulated
rising cost of rent here in the city of Greenfield this person expressed concern that his rent has increased by $250 this year he would like the CPA funds um going more towards creating
stability for affordable housing and people who rent apartments thank you thank you is there anyone else Louise yes um I'm very much in support of this uh proposal to put more money into
rental support first and last security all of that I received yesterday an email from I don't know one of many organizations stating that the proposed budget by the house Federal house uh um
the house house would would cut back on housing vouchers by as many as 250,000 housing vouchers we already know there are not enough to go around people are on waiting lists that I'm told will go as long as eight years they want to
cut them back um the the Senate is also calling for cutbacks on housing vouchers so anything that we can do to help people stay housed I'm very much in support of thank you thank you this um this project from the GHA is my
favorite proposal that you have before you I would like to see them get $30,000 uh and I'd like to suggest an edit and I want to tell you a story that happened to me uh this year uh I was working with a 79 year old neighbor of
mine who was being evicted from his apartment um not for cause because he paid his rent Faithfully year after year he was evicted by because somebody bought his house and wanted to renovate it update it and kick out kicked out all the tenants he happened to be living in
one of the units had been there for 25 years um and and basically has no money lives on almost nothing uh and um had uh had to to contemplate moving to another place and he had no money for uh uh
first and last month's rent but also he had no moving money he had no money to move his belongings and unfortunately he had what many 79 year olds have is a lot of stuff to move so anyway um he had we
tried to help him get into the raft program if you're familiar with that it's a program that provides support for moving assistance and they pulled a patch 22 on him that said that once he found a place that he was no longer homeless so therefore they wouldn't
allow moving expenses to help him and took him off the list so fortunately his new landlord a different landlord I won't get into why that happened but a landlord who subsequently took over the property wanted him gone so much so that he could renovate the units that he was
willing to pay for the cost of his moving to get him out so um this is a this is something that's happening I think probably more frequently than I would like to believe but um this uh this project uh is for $155,000 and the
project says it's going to serve 5 to 10 people I mean that's that's nothing I'd like to see them get more money they could serve more people and I'd also like to see the project provide moving assistance if you could uh negotiate that with the GHA because I know that
that it's out there and that it's needed as a project I I thank the GHA for putting this one in because it is a gap thanks thank you is there anyone else in the room who would like to speak to this Pro Prospect is there anyone online oh I see
we have a couple okay Patty hello Patty oal at percent one uh yeah definitely in support of this um seems like it would
be uh super helpful for somebody who is unhoused to get housing and I um hope that they will um that this fund can continue to grow because people are going to need it that's all thank you
thank you Stephanie thank you Stephanie Duos um I'm just curious as to uh there's so limited amount of people that are going to be served how they
determine who is most worthy so I agree with the prior speakers I'd love to see this funded more um I know that what Al was speaking about his 70-year-old neighbor 79 year old neighbor um across the street from me the exact same thing just happened they evicted all the
families so that another LLC could come in and hire raise the rents and and rent it out so I I do see that happening a lot in my neighborhood I think it happens a lot throughout the city um people are struggling and uh I know
that I just had an increase of my tax bill for $100 a month so that means I got to go find an extra day of work so um some people that are above a certain age don't have that ability and so I really do support this and if we can increase These funds maybe shift some of
the funds for other less important needs um I would love to see this at least doubled so we can serve more people thanks thank you is there anyone else either in the room or online who would like to speak to this
proposal okay seeing none we will move on um Greenfield housing Associates uh Winslow preservation would anyone like to speak to that issue Nancy Nancy Hazard housing housing housing here we are uh this project you
know has been around for um talked about for a number of years and it's in tremendously exciting to be able to uh renovate what was the um Wilson's department store and to put in I think
they're aiming for 55 units um are you did you want to correct me I just wanted to to correct you that we're not talking about Wilson's we're talking about the Winslow which is on the windlow yeah which is on the corner of Main oh thank you for correcting me well
and Wells yes okay well I feel similarly about the Windslow it was it was updated a number of years ago and accommodates I don't know how many people it's accommodating right now um but there's as again that income level people who
are in the wind low that income level incredibly that facility offers uh incredible it it offers housing for that demographic and I appreciate that and I appreciate that they're um continuing to
work on renovating and keeping it up to date thank you thank you is there anyone else who would like to speak to the Windslow preservation Al uh this this location um on Well street is is an interesting building an
interesting history um it's about it's over a 100 years old and um it currently has 55 units of Sr single resident occupancy so it's kind of unique is for people who clearly have a lot of challenges that they're facing lwi
income and no companion no one else to help them that lives with them so their single occupancy single room resident occupancy um the building hasn't been renovated for the past 15 years um and it needs uh according to
the application it needs roof repairs repointing repairing cracks and so forth It's a prominent structure also budding on Main Street so everybody in town sees it and uh I think that that the upkeep of that building is important uh on that
level as well so I strongly support this uh project as well um the uh the $188,000 um again that's probably not enough to do what they need to do but uh I think that most taxpayers in in the
city would support spending of this kind of resource for that kind of constituency uh without too many objections so I hope you will fund this one fully funding fund more if you have have it thank you thank
you is there any other anyone else either in the room or online who would like to speak to the Winslow preservation project okay seeing none uh we'll move on to oh wa there is some one okay
Patty uh hi um Patty O'Neal at presinct one um I'm just in support of single occupancy uh housing uh there's doesn't seem to be a lot of it and um yeah I would I'm just in support of this thank
you thank you Louise I just want to say [Laughter] ditto anyone else who would like to speak to the Winslow preservation either online or in the
room okay seeing none uh we'll move on to pioner Valley Habitat for Humanity um their Birch Street project I'm Mary mcdunn Precinct 7 and I think everyone here has heard of
knows and probably has an excellent uh opinion of Habitat for Humanity when um my da when we moved here 12 years ago I went to volunteer at my daughter's
workplace Habitat for Humanity no it's Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity which serves Three Counties and one of the most surprising things I
learned was that when you've made a donation to Habitat for Humanity which we all know and appreciate and applaud that is to a national and international
organization that creates great publicity for the cause but Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity is solely supported by donations grants fundraising in kind
with their name on it you what you if you're going to make a donation and you want it to be local and do something good for your neighbors your immediate communities in pineer
Valley it has to have their name on it and so their request is for house here in Greenfield and I it seems short compared to the numbers I
totally Comm support all housing efforts that you're hearing about but supporting habitat where it is owner all everything that they support it's owner
uh work on the units you get all kinds of volunteers from communities schools uh the knowledge to your community is spread about housing and what it's involved in it
and like the uh the money that would be lended out housing that belongs to P Pioneer Valley habitat returns to Pioneer Valley habitat so it is a continuing unit of
affordable housing so please I all of your housing units deserve help but please consider keeping habitat here in Greenfield and
supporting their request thank you thank you is there anyone else who would like to speak John jel Mar Jackson to Chestnut Hill Greenfield uh I am in support of the pyer valley Habitat for Humanity on bir
street that project $15,000 um because it does help to create a stable um Pathway to home ownership and that's what we need more of in in our city it helps to develop
more equity and generational wealth people to take responsibility and build on their life and make more of it and it helps community relations to neighborly relations our resourcefulness how we can
work together and help each other so I appreciate that thank you thank you is there anyone online who would like to speak oh Mitch um why don't we do that first and then we'll go online
just coming up here because he's has a vision issued to okay yeah good evening uh committee I support this uh proposal for Habitat for
Humanity pioner Valley habitat for human Humanity project as you know I'm a big advocate of uh creating Pathways to home ownership and this is a great one uh between Dron and the previous speaker uh it also helps
to uh recognize neighborly relationships which I think in this community right now is it's it's eroding and I don't want that to happen so we can sort of get on the same page and PRI prioritize
uh what's important tonight I support most of the housing projects um I'd like to see that happen uh again uh you've heard me in the past how passionate I am about
uh Pathway to home ownership creating generational wealth gives people dignity thank you thank you is there anyone else in the room would like to speak to this nany Nancy Hazard housing housing
housing so um this project the as the speakers have said the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity is an amazing organization Fab it's I guess my one I would just share that the 15,000 only creates one unit I would wish it was
going to be a duplex um but if we look at the other projects before that similar kind of amount amount of money is is is producing several homes however uh as previously pointed out the Habit pioner valy Habitat for
Humanity also does offers an opportunity for a community project and bringing the community together so there's many benefits Beyond even having created this one home and and creating one home at a time is pretty amazing so I my hats off
to them and I definitely support this program thank you thank you is there anyone else in the room who would like to speak to this Carol Carol Leon Precinct 3 I um wanted to speak from my point of view is that
uh pioner Valley um Habitat for Humanity um used to be focused on town south of us and I for years I wondered why couldn't they offer to build a home in Franklin County not just
in the next County south and I'm thrilled that they're doing this now they are moving North and realizing they can find land here in this town and help us out and I certainly support this grant thank you anyone else in the room
who would like to speak to this Al I wanted to uh also point out on this project that it is a a project for lowincome people which is different than just uh any any housing need that might be um you know affordable to you know
someone who's of a higher income level this is targeted towards low-income people it says I I hope it will be 60% of areawide median income that they use to select uh you know an owner for this house but they're saying that the house will be so for under 200,000 well that
makes me a little nervous in terms of what else will need to have happen to make this habitable I'm assuming these folks will be working with local banks uh to help with mortgages and other other ways of supporting people because I think $200,000 is a lot of money for a
house and I say that because when I bought my house back in the Dark Ages I I bought a house here in Greenfield for $30,000 um that was truly priced for for people with uh a little money at the time so I I support this project it's a
great group with a great history um and this will be a two-bedroom energy efficient home it won't be uh um it'll be something that a family could actually live in as opposed to smaller units that don't really accommodate children so this is another
one on my list of projects to support thanks thank you is there anyone on line uh Stephanie hi Stephanie to close um I support this project I love ha for Humanity I love
the whole concept of people working together to build these units for people who are in need um I supported the request last year um and I support this one thank you thank you is there anyone else either online or in the room who
would like to speak to this particular issue okay seeing none we we'll move on uh the next one is the noble Home LLC gr graywater collection for the condo development there um would anyone like
to speak to this issue Carol Carol lson I was um very interested in this proposal I didn't know any details about the plan for Noble Home LLC and I read as much as I
could about it I know that the plan is to build homes on land that is not horizontal so um I think this plan for graywater collection probably is because of the
terrain they're trying to build on I admire their ability to find property in the town city of Greenfield to even try to build multiple dwellings so I'm eager to see how this graywater collection uh system can work to make
additional uh housing lots available I support this number this number eight category of um request thank you thank you is there anyone else who would like to speak to this death Beth Loren 39 Sunrise Avenue in
Greenfield I recently had eye surgery so I'm looking at things very closely so I apologize for looking down when I should be looking up at all of you um I am here because I believe that the applicant who I have met and I had a good discussion
with two and a half months ago about the project actually should withdraw the application and request for the funding I have three separate reasons why I feel it should be with with drawn um I think they are legitimate in my mind but
perhaps not in yours and the purpose of my discussion is fostering around um what I believe to be inconsistent language in different grants and pro uh proposals he's made for the project
going forward in Greenfield in one moment it's called Low Income Housing and another it's called Condo Association and another one it's called multifamily dwellings that all when you come to different sources of funding and trying to do things when you're using different
languages requires different surveys to be completed the survey that recently was done to be able to take a look at the sewer system and water system that's a part of this project was done by someone who was not informed that the word condo was affiliated with the discussion and
that requires different certifications I'm understanding the second reason that I feel that it should be withdrawn is that although I think the project is really interesting one and could probably be pushed forward by those that aren't looking deep enough into
long-term aftermath or effects is understanding graywater itself and his definition that he uses in his application which is to do if and pardon me just for a second is
to where is the part about the the ah there we are the system would collect water from the residential sinks showers and or laundry machines filter them mechanically and or biologically and then be deposited into the landscape or
collected for reuse my understanding when it comes to graywater systems in Massachusetts um in 200 I think it was six going forward in 2016 going forward has been redefining
how they want to incorporate graywater systems but on this exper exp mental site which is why I think the town was excited about taking a look at it 30 seconds is not necessarily
um focusing on what would happen if there's a failure of the system so he has seven acres he wants to put the complex under the central core of the building structure what does he do if he has a failure in the system in the long term and if you don't have a planning
site and source for where that would be taken care of or how it would be resolved in the meantime if there's a problem with it and the second is that if you have a failure it could be due to also toxins that are in the laundre mat that should not be going into the groundwater so that would be the definition that I
would have trouble with thank you you're welcome is there anyone else who would like to speak to this yes sir hi uh Chrissy the year 26 Sunrise I have uh Beth and I are both neighbors um my one of my major concerns with what's
going on is um this placement of this particular uh project which by the way as far as I know and I've checked I was away last week so I hav't checked this week but has absolutely no paperwork in the town at all so it's hard to follow
it um but it's the major Wildlife Corridor that is along the Connecticut River we're talking about the area um which is directly opposite the Turner Falls Canal um which means that the
water rises and sets um almost man-made uh according to how much power we need coming out of the uh uh Canal itself uh it was interesting when they cleaned it uh the canal and actually drained it this year and you went down there and
watched the water which I am to live there so I do I at my dog and um it's really you there we talking about mostly at least 90% of the time about a condo unit and it isn't just about the unit
itself uh it's about all the regulations which follow it um one of my big concerns is uh the lighting of the parking lots it sounds crazy but I mean I am to live overlooking the site so I am a n I'm standing here sitting here as
a nmi that is just great because it's my neighborhood um it's very concerning to me that if we spend essentially taxpayers money on a project which hasn't been before the Conservation Commission uh there's been other
projects attempted down there and they've run into heavy heavy snags with a Conservation Commission uh several studies uh have been done uh I'm questioning whether you shouldn't get more information before you give away
taxpayers dollars uh on something that is going into a LLC uh and yes I this is Greenfield this is the city this is the town seat and we need more housing and we certainly need more affordable housing but let's make
sure we spend the money wisely thank you thank you is there anyone else in the room who would like to speak to this Joe Joe maray Jackson to Chestnut Hill excuse me um I'm
speaking about the number eight noble home L LLC grve water collection for condo development I'm I have some concerns about this um I have concerns about CPA funding to be appropriated to
defray or cover the cost of the proposed Noble homes uh LLC graywater treatment system request in the amount of $188,000 the proposed 24 24 small
affordable units is equivalent to the purchase the purchaser or buyer paying $600 per square foot uh this is not in alignment with Greenfield's supposed urgency of
creating affordable housing a developer with a project of this magnitude should be able to absorb the cost of say $750 per unit if this is a committed and
worthwhile project by said developer based on the incomplete and opaque data furnished uh by Noble Holmes LLC I recommend uh the green Unity preservation act committee
table this application regarding uh in reference to Noble homes LLC graywater treatment system requests for $118,000 at this time thank you thank you anyone else in the room Sarah
hello um Sarah Brown 112 Stone Farm Lane um I'm speaking on behalf of myself but also I'm a member of Valley Community Land Trust um I just want to uplift the importance of all the housing projects as a huge priority um and also
particularly excited about this project because I feel like it is addressing both the climate crisis and the housing crisis um and the Community Land Trust model is unique because um homeowners are applying for a home only mortgage and that is making the
unit more affordable um and the affordability is preserved in perpetuity in the ground lease um also this is a climate resilient model because returning sink shower and laundry water into the aquifer rather
than burdening the municipal sewer system is better for the river when there's a combined sewage overflow event also this site is a good site for housing because it's within half a mile to public transportation um even though it has the nice benefits of being in the
woods and it's the housing design of smaller units with shared common spaces is important and having a multif family uh clustered on less than like three acres including the parking and the road
is um better to preserve 30 the rest of the 32 acres for open space in public Trails um and so this is beneficial not just to the residents but also is a model that can be Innovative and transferable to other communities um
gray water is something that we should be working on more and also affordable housing and community-led solutions like Community less so I think this is a good model um and just to clear up some misconceptions while I still have time as long as it less um it's not mutually
exclusive to be um affordable housing multif family and the condo association um and if there's a system failure it's still connected to the public sewer um and biodegradable soaps would be
required um it's not really related to the Steep terrain um permitting would be in early spring um and also isn't a requirement for a project to receive funding lights would be downcast and motion censored I'm not sure where the $600 per square
foot amount came from and also the previous project for this site was approved and that was a subdivision for 12 for 12 um mcmansions sorry you have 30 you have 30 seconds and that would have moved Wetlands over and not
preserved the public Trails so I think this is a low impact ecological and affordable housing project that would be great to support thank you thank you is there anyone else who would like to speak anyone else in the room uh Mitch good evening committee Mitch Spade to
Chestnut Hill uh I'm not in support of uh the $188,000 for the graywater uh project there for Noble homes um as a previous speaker said
uh we're still trying to figure out what is what is this project is it Condominiums is it low income you know affordable housing based on what I'm meing uh
$150,000 for uh 250 square feet you do the math on that that's it's about $600 $600 a square foot you know uh I don't think that's addressing of water B housing here in
Greenfield those kind of numbers May address Bing space in Boston but not here in Greenfield um again I'd like to see that money if applicable and by state law uh
we have a new Fund in town called the elderly disabled taxation fund and I think a lot of the seniors and disabled folks who struggling here in this town could benefit by that thank you thank
you is there anyone else in the room who would like to speak Al this is the sole housing project on the list that I cannot support um I have been trying to read a lot about what Noble homes LLC is proposing here and I
have to say it is been has been difficult to really ascertain the nature of what they're working on and I think it's still evolving as we speak but the developer said at one point that that he wanted to create 24 small affordable condo units uh and these condos would be
between 250 and uh 500 square feet in size would sell for 150,000 to 200 $50,000 and they said that these units would serve medium to lower income people but approximately half of the units will be sold to people
with incomes up to 80% I don't know how they're going to afford that and half to those at 100% of the area media income now on top of the sales price you have to remember that these folks are going to be paying condo fees and I know from talking to the folks at solar way that's
a killer for them there are a lot of people in this town now living in condos who who tell you that the the condo fees are what are really pounding them and making it difficult for them to economically survive so condo fees plus the cost this is not affordable housing
um I do not like the location of this project I'll be totally honest with you I think it's a terrible location they bought that land the valley Land Trust which does not pay taxes property taxes they bought this project for a million dollars uh from a local uh uh you know
real estate agency it's B basically heavily forested and the idea of cutting down a lot of trees in that area to create housing doesn't make sense to me at this point we should be working on undeveloped land that where that that we don't have that resource already there because we're also dealing with trying
to deal with uh you know Carbon uh reduction decarbonization so why would would be developing something on the edge of very edge of town not near anything walkable um maybe stop and shop but why would we be developing uh major
project on the edge of town uh in in a highly forested area near the Connecticut River I I just don't I just don't understand why this was attractive to anybody um but and I I assume that you all saw our statement which Christian I I think gave to everybody
right Christian everybody saw so there's a long paragraph here I'm going to just end by saying that um note that the Greenfield Health director did not make a comment on this project um that the uh the uh approval of of D has not been reviewed for this graywater
plan um and that uh I don't know how much of these 32 acres is even buildable and how much will be Forest of forest land will be cutting so for all these reasons I support what was said earlier that this project is not ready for p time uh for this kind of uh uh
additional taxpayers expense because we'll be foregoing probably at least almost $20,000 in taxes that we will not receive from this project because of the ownership because the on the ground lease is owned by a nonprofit uh I'm sorry tax exempt organization so
unfortunately uh I'd like to support almost anything that comes in uh wearing the appearance of housing to this group but I cannot support this one thank you thank you is anyone else like to speak to this uh project I've got three online okay we'll
start there Nevin hi never very want thank um I'm in support of this project um generally sorry I know said not to all the projects up but just to S time gener and support of all the housing projects
that we're proposed tonight um I'm a member of d Housing Co-op who is you speak a little excuse me could you speak a little more slowly we're having difficulty understanding you I'm sorry oh no worries um um yeah so I'm a member of Valley
Housing kop who is the other lease holder on the Val un interest land um and I'm just generally supportive of the housing on that land um at this point in where we're at in development um in terms of Greenfield as a whole it's very
hard to find land to build that many units on without lots of lots of subsidies and I think um the way that Noble home is doing it right now um they're doing it without any subsidy which is pretty amazing um this is the first thing in ask for I believe um in
terms of any sort of uh tax funding or you know town or state funding um so I I think that's something to keep in mind is that they uh I'm also a builder but I do know how much things cost um and it's it's sort of like that they they've done on the math and this is kind of they're
not making really any money off this and this is kind of the only way that they've been able to come up with to build housing um affordably without any subsidy um so in general I'm support of the project supportive of this project because of that um I think uh gray water is a is a good thing for Greenfield to
be sort of looking towards in the future uh towards more you know uh just uh I guess you call it infastructure um you know whatever as as um yeah as uh you know we get more
storms and more flooding It's s in the years to come and you know whatever weather becomes more volatile um I think that that gr water will will become a larger you know part in um trying to keep our infrastructure working and not overflowing into rivers so I think it's
a great combination of you know supporting more housing creation and although it's not you know yeah I would love to also buy a $30,000 house in Greenfield but that just simply doesn't exist anymore and this is sort of a realistic um I think this is kind of
like a realistic proposal based on what's happening in the real estate market and what's happening in the um in the in in the building sphere as well so so I'm really um in support of that um I guess I'd like to clear up one thing um
we do so as lease holders a Val value Community Land Trust we pay all property taxes um and value housing or Val Community Land Trust pays the taxes and then we pay Val Community Land Trust as lease holders to pay for the taxes so
all the property taxes get paid for both on this land and any land um in the valley that Valley Community Land as well as any other manest thank you very much um P Patty hello Patty O'Neal Precinct one um
I am also a member of valy housing Co-op and and I'm part of their land stewardship Circle I have a degree in ecological design and everybody here cares so deeply about um ecology and
living um as smartly on the land as possible within the constraints that exist in our economy so um I'm really in support of this um gray water does require um gray water Safe products um
but I think that that's something people want and this is infrastructure that would support that um it would be a really great example to show that this is how you can transition into um living more lightly on the land every kind of like
infiltration um uh management will be considered here and this landscape has was previously used um in the past decades for gravel mining it has a lot of invasive plants
um it it has been very disturbed so um that's something to keep in mind about this being um a housing site and and those those locations are going to be in mind for housing um and it's much
better than what the alternative would have been which would have been an entire clearcut subdivision and that the the ethos of this um everybody on this Community Land Trust project which is for affordable community housing um with
the combined uh uh intent to manage everything as um ecologically supportive as possible um is really uh really lucky to have in your backyard um and uh I I
hope that they get the money to do this in a really great way so that we can have nice things being built into our future thanks thank you um Stephanie hi s CL for um I do not support this I
have many many reasons why I do not support this um part of me has this like gut wrenching feeling about putting any kind of housing on land that was stolen from another person um but that aside um
I would really like to see things go through the commissions it needs to go through the Conservation Commission and wait for all of the Appeals that the neighborhood I've I've gone to the zoning board U meetings the planning board meetings and I would like us to
pause on um allocating something that we don't have uh approval from the boards that I think that are necessary um I am I too have education in sustainable and environmental energy and
sustainability um you know the number one thing we learned there was uh carbon sequestration and deforestation impact on um air quality um which we have a lot of problems with here in this city um so
that aside I do support additional housing I think that um you know they have a great concept going that they're going to you know almost Renaissance Community their their properties um however to this particular LLC and this
particular um project I I request that we please don't don't fund this um there's a lot more to be known about this thanks thank you Adelaide hi thank you um my name is ADN
I live at a three Valley View Drive um I support uh this housing plan and um the gray water system as a lot of people have said so far there's a huge um need for housing in Greenfield as somebody
who is in my early 30s and I would love to live in Greenfield for a long long time and to be a taxpayer here for a long long time but if I can't findy affordable housing here um that just can't happen so for you know um I I just
really want to support um development in this this direction and I'm hearing a lot of people who are saying that they don't want to see this Lan
Disturbed or to see it cut down but um you know the neighborhood that sits right next to it is a pretty recent development and um I wonder you know if similar conversations were happening when this uh you know this neighborhood
that currently exists was was being developed um with that aside the ecological benefits of having a gr water system I think are great um and I think that it's something that we should be trying out it's something that we
should from I hear a lot of hesitation about um you know not knowing and wonder what will happen but I think that um you know by designing a realistic plan for this uh it's a great way to problem
solve a lot of these questions and then Greenfield as City will be better prepared for the future um to handle these things because we know that um the climate crisis is happening and water water shortages and changes in our
climate are happening and I think that we as a city should be investing in being uh well positioned and well prepared for that and I think we're really lucky to have people who are working towards um you know pushing the
field into um developing a lot of these new infrastructures and plans and ideas to make our community more welcoming um more affordable and more prepared for uh the future um you know climate that we will be living in uh so I just want to
say that I I do support this and I think that we will learn a lot from this project and it's something that can be transferable and um you know can be modeled for for future projects as well thank you thank you is there anyone else
um in the room or online who would like to speak to this okay see none we will move on to Recreation um the uh Greenfield pickle ball enhancement and climate change Medi Med excuse me m mitigation we are
talking about the uh present pickle ball court um near the dog park is there anyone who would like to speak to that anyone online okay it looks like no one wants to speak to that that's fine um the also
the that we'll go on to the next one which is the new Greenfield pickle ball courts that are trying to be developed over uh near abomi is there anyone who wishes to speak about those yes I push a button here I heard I think
it's on oh good hello uh Gary tan 224 Green River Road um I have never been to a meeting like this before this meeting I guess thank you very much for um volunteering your time I don't think it's paid is it
paid thought um you have a difficult job I understand that in listening to all the not all about the housing ones I think that many of us feel that that's of a lot of import maybe even the extreme importance on the ones that you
have listed um I am here to talk about the pickle ball because I think it is as somebody said earlier critical as well um it's critical though for the healthful Greenfield not the or just not the
people going and playing and moving their body but I think the health of a town or a city um can be marked by how many green places they have how many um playgrounds in basketballs and tennis
courts and um um baseball diamonds we have one uh P ball court on many days from let's say March to like November there could be upwards to 50 people um at 9 o' 8 o'clock in the morning playing
um that represents a lot of people that are coming to Greenfield living in Greenfield um spending their dollars in Greenfield um this new courts proposed courts I believe although I think we're
we're going forward this money I believe will help um the project keep on going um a group of um Greenfield citizens have we have raised about I think it's $1,000 um by our own account this money
goes to the recreation department Friends of the recreation department um so that they can apply for Grants and whatever so this money just helps the process be pushed along so people can see it's being done um with the um rise
in pickle ball people are going so many different places I think at right now there's one being built in the Holy Oak Mall there's one that was just built in Westfield um Hatfield is building one process of building one I would hate to
see all the people that I have come to um know leaving um because we haven't built something I believe the project was was put forth about a five years ago I don't know if my numbers are correct the price
was like $200,000 maybe $300,000 last year we went further um the price was 650,000 without any changes or very minor changes now the project is up into a million if we don't act it's just going to keep on going up
not because we're adding things or people are adding things just by the cost of what it is so I hope um that you can find in your wisdom any money to go toward this um so that um again we that
want this keep on working um to build pickup all courts in Greenfield thank you thank you very much uh anyone else either online or um in the room who wants to speak uh
Stephanie hi um Stephanie close again um I'm actually not in supporting funding this at this time um I believe they need to raise about $25,000 they haven't met that goal yet I think that with the
opening of the new um pickle ball uh looks like a pickle ball arcade something like that at the Holy Oak Mall I mean uh let's get it let's see how uh what the demand is I know we said 50 people but we're looking at limited
amount of funds and um you know we did spend money on a Bachi Court uh I don't know how much that's actually being used I do realize that people do use pickle ball courts they can't really use them in the winter time as much um a million
dollars seems like a lot of money that I don't believe we have Capital funding for so I kind of caution throwing money to the wind um especially when there are other needs of the city and we have the option to um Bank whatever we don't
allocate and that might be more helpful to them in the long run um prices might come down I mean everyone's assuming it's all going to go up um we don't know there may be a change so I think we should pause and until they've met their
$25,000 goal and um see where we're at then thank you thank you is um I can't let you do that I'm sorry I'm sorry I understand um is there uh anyone else either online or in the room who
would like to speak to the abber cromi pickle ball courts okay with our last one is the hillside Park stem installation um which is also a recreation development is there anyone who um in the room who
would like to speak to that okay seeing none anyone online okay seeing no one wishes to speak to that um I'm closing the public hearing for this we have a little bit
more business to do here which um is uh people are welcome to stay and um and then we will be closing the meeting shortly um is there anything more on updates for fiscal 2023 or 2024 projects yeah just one
quick update on the Agricultural Society Barn rehab project um the one the piece that was funded in the first year CPA in Greenfield um the historical preservation restriction uh for that project was approved by the um Greenville ccal commission and it'll be
heading to city council uh via an order from the mayor great thank you um the I want to remind all of the members of the committee that now that we've had our public hearing on we are to do our um
analysis of all of the proposals and have that into Christian by um March 3D so it's not it's a few days don't but um we now have enough information I think to be able to do that um and other than
that our next meeting is scheduled for March 13th 2025 at 5:30 and I believe that will be um at the at City Hall correct okay um so with that I entertain a
motion motion to adjourn do I have a second second all those in favor I I and uh G left okay so U it's all the folks who are here thank you very much and uh have
a good evening [Music]