Selectmen review plans for Mann building
Published on October 21st, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - The new owners of the Mann property on Central Street went directly to the source on Thursday night, as they sought out the School Committee's willingness to work out a deal that would satisfy the school department's interest in the property.
As co-sponsors of the warrant article that seeks Special Town Meeting approval for acquisition of the property at 103-105 Central Street which abuts the Middle School and the future new Central School, the School Committee listened to the petitioner's offer of supplying the school with additional parking spaces and responded by vowing to take the matter under advisement.
Charles Houghton, attorney for the petitioner, KLKM, LLC explained the current proposal to the committee and advised the status of the site plan.
The four-story, 41,224 square foot office building will feature 10 feet of green space buffer on each side of the property, in excess of the three feet required by Stoneham's bylaw.
According to Houghton, the petitioner is interested in opening up discussions with the School Committee regarding offering it some of this space for additional Middle School parking. Houghton stated that the area could be developed with a strip of parking along the school with the possibility of 30-40 angled spaces.
"We'd be happy to design that parking layout...My clients are interested in doing this for the benefit of the community," stated Houghton. "This may not be as many as you want, but it's a lot less money."
Article 7 on the Special Town Meeting Warrant seeks to authorize the Board of Selectmen to acquire the land in question. The value of the land has yet to be determined but is estimated to be well above the $350,000 price tag attached to it this time last year when the Selectmen first tried to acquire the land. Town Meeting voters rejected last year's article to do so.
"We want to hear from the School Committee," stated Houghton.
"It costs money for us to do this," he continued, explaining that while his clients would like to work out an agreement, they would rather not spend the time and money to pursue if there is no School Committee interest.
"We need a sense that you want to look at something. If yes, we can get it to you next week," Houghton offered. Last week's site plan hearing on the matter was continued to the Board of Selectmen's October 27 meeting. A traffic study of the area is expected at that time.
School Committee Chairman Stephen Gucciardi expressed his appreciation to the petitioner for the consideration given to School Committee.
"I think that the current property owners are presenting very creative ideas...that the School Committee should take under advisement," stated Gucciardi. "There is some real value here to take another look at."
Gucciardi also suggested that the selectmen's review of the warrant article, which was scheduled for October 20, be postponed to allow the School Committee, along with its co-sponsor, the School Building Committee, to take the evening's events under advisement.
Committee member Marie Christie questioned possible use of a triangular-shaped area in the back of the property and requested that the petitioner consider providing the school with 135 parking spaces rather than the 30 to 40 offered.
School Committee Vice-Chairman Jeanne Craigie clarified that while the additional parking spaces will be helpful to the school site, they are not required for state approval of the new school. She also questioned the petitioner's impression of the cleanliness of the land.
"I want it said so if we take the land (it will be understood that) we won't contaminate our children," said Craigie. Despite reports from various sources confirming its cleanliness, many residents still fear potential effects from past uses of chemicals on the site.
"It's clean enough to allow us to build our building," stated Houghton. He advised that environmental consultants will also address the selectmen on October 27 regarding this issue.
Property owner Jeff Cataldo stated that there is evidence of vinyl chloride on the site but that a risk assessment was completed, yielding DEP assurance of no significant contamination.
"It's not perfectly clean...once vapor barrier goes in and topped, it will be cleaner," Cataldo stated.
He added that a licensed site professional, reporting to the DEP, will be on site during excavation and construction of the office building to address any issues that might arise.
Committee member Mary Carey thanked the petitioner for the effort to compromise with the School Committee.
"I appreciate you making the effort...You've made an impression on my opinion of this situation," she stated.
"We're here to try and work with you...If we can help you, we will," stated Cataldo.
Houghton stated that an agreement should be reached between the parties before Town Meeting and reminded the committee that the property is no longer a $350,000 item.
"If you're interested, its negotiable," he said. "We're interested in working together rather than fighting each other."
The School Committee's next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 22.
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