475 Bedford Street (Boston Sports Club property)

[Sean Dugan]

Hello Town Meeting Members,

                  Following discussion at the 2020 Special Town Meeting last fall relative to the purchase of the property at 475 Bedford Street (Boston Sports Club), Town and School staff met with the owner of the property to tour the facility.  Following the site tour, and deliberation among staff, it was found not to be a suitable property for the Town to pursue.

 

For additional information, please find the attached memo from Recreation & Community Programs Director Melissa Battite to Town Manager Jim Malloy.

 

Thank you,

 

Sean Dugan|Public Information Officer

Town of Lexington|Town Manager’s Office

1625 Massachusetts Avenue

Lexington, MA  02420

(direct) 781-698-4548

 

[Prashant Singh]

Good morning, 

Are there any avenues and proven successful models for public/private partnerships to get an organization like the Boston Sports Institute that constructed the sportsplex in Wellesley with a full size indoor pool, 2 ice rinks, weight room, indoor lacrosse/field space to evaluate this specific location and come up with ideas? Such a modern facility in Lexington will do so well. I haven't done my research so I can't add more value here at this point but what I had heard was that the town of Wellesley did a 99 year deal with that organization. 

Thank you! 

- Prashant Singh, New Town Meeting Member, Precinct 3

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[David Kaufman]

It is pretty clear that the current building is not worth saving, and is not attractive as a sports facility, to the Town or a commercial entity like the Boston Sports Institute. The owners have been trying to sell it for some time. It is time to think of this property as some potentially open land with an obsolete structure or two to be demolished, and with some problematic rights of way for pipelines and power lines.

What is apparent is that of all the participants in the Town evaluation of the current facility (See below) there was no representative of affordable housing, either Lexhab or the Housing Authority.

.

 Jim Malloy (Town Manager), Carol Kowalski (Asst. Town Manager of Development), Derek Sencabaugh (Fire Chief), Timothy Flaherty (Fire Captain), Mike Cronin (Director of DPF), Dave Pinsonneault (Director of DPW), Ross Morrow (Asst. Town Engineer), Dave Coelho (Asst. Superintendent of Finance/LPS) and Melissa Battite (Director of Recreation & Community Programs). 

David L. Kaufman, Precinct 3

The border is what joins us, not what separates us.

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[Leonard Morse-Fortier]

All:

 

As a neighbor to the Boston Sports Club, and as someone who has had to dodge vehicles entering and exiting the facility, it seems to me that the logical fate of this property might be to decommission the Bedford-Street access drive, remove the current buildings, preserve the outdoor pool, and consider expanding the Drummer Boy condominium complex to add more units of housing at a density commensurate with the current Drummer Boy.  This would allow for additional housing in a way that would not appreciably alter the current neighborhood, it would eliminate a very dangerous driveway, and it would expand the facilities available to the collective owners of Drummer Boy to include a nice swimming pool.

 

Len Morse-Fortier, new TMM, Precinct 7

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[Umesh]

Prashant, welcome to Town Meeting!

Set aside the appearance of the BSC for a moment.

Having an athletic complex open to residents of Lexington provide a number of benefits:

1. The obvious YEAR-ROUND health benefits to those interested in strength and cardio fitness, swimming, and tennis would accrue to all of Lexington: young/old; wealthy/less wealthy; men/women/other; Black/White/Asian/Other.
2. The less obvious benefits are the social benefits. A facility like this would provide a place for all of Lexington's residents to meet, socialize, and strengthen community bonds, while keeping healthy.

Wellesley and Concord have such facilities that benefit their communities. There is every reason to believe such a facility would benefit Lexington.

In my opinion, these benefits outweigh issues related to the attractiveness of the building. In any case, those issues can be addressed. 

Lexington should move forward to purchase and refurbish this facility, and make it available to town residents.

Umesh Shelat, TMM Precinct 7

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[andrei radulescu-banu]

Is the facility is not profitable to run as a private business because of Covid? Or do we expect this to be temporary, and the profit to come back in the post Covid future?

Andrei Radulescu-Banu, Pct 8

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[Andrea Fribush]

The outdoor pool is relatively new, in comparison to the rest of the facility.

Andrea Fribush

Pct 6

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[Vicki Blier]

Umesh.....
Just a thought about the less-wealthy who you wish to serve.

Purchasing this very expensive property (right at a highway exit) with the vast amount of rebuilding or new building that it will require will necessitate a huge debt exclusion.... to be paid for by the less-wealthy whether or not they want or use the facility.
.... and then there's the upcoming high school which will cost in the hundreds of millions, also paid for through higher property taxes.
A hundred million here, a hundred million there and pretty soon you're forcing people out of Lexington.

Maybe we need a different model for acquiring this property. 

How about organizing a group of citizens to form a non-profit and see what can be done?

Vicki Blier

Pct. 9

781-862-1804 Landline First

617-549-3207 Mobile

    

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[Vicki Blier]

David--

Please do not use CC on postings to this list.

Sean Duggan does not need to get bombarded by our emails discussing information that he posted, but is not involved with.

Thanks,

Vicki Blier, TMMA nag

781-862-1804 Landline First

617-549-3207 Mobile

    

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[Prashant Singh]

I wouldn't pick this capital expenditure over the school any day but was suggesting incentivizing a private organization to fund it and run it. Unsure whether a conversation like that has actually happened with any potential suitors. 

Thank you! 

- Prashant, Pct 3

[David Kaufman]

The building is in bad structural condition and would cost more to repair than to tear it down and replace it. That is not just a matter of attractiveness.

The Town has multiple recreational facilities, including those at Hayden Recreation Center and the facilities at Minuteman Tech, as well as the ones directly supported by the Recreation budgetThere are YMCA Pools in adjacent towns too.

You need to consider how much money a facility might cost and not just what might be nice to have. It obviously was not making enough money to be a viable business investment any time soon. The Town bought the Community Center and has invested a lot more in upgrading that facility which was in excellent physical condition. It already has cardio equipment, and spaces for residents to meet and socialize while  keeping healthy.

What Town funding would you be willing to divert from a Police Station or a new High School, which we really need, to pay for another $10 million dollar facility with a swimming pool, tennis courts and some more treadmills? Would you love to have to pay an additional tax of several hundred dollars per year to finance it via the Real Estate tax, and then pay annually more to staff the site year round too?

  

David L.  Kaufman, Precinct 3

It turns out that governance,the creation and execution of policy, is hard. It requires acquired skills. Most of all, it requires prudence.

David Brooks, NY Times 9/16/08

[Meg Muckenhoupt]

The Town has multiple recreational facilities, including those at Hayden Recreation Center and the facilities at Minuteman Tech, as well as the ones directly supported by the Recreation budgetThere are YMCA Pools in adjacent towns too.

The Minuteman Tech pool disappeared when the building was torn down and Minuteman High School was rebuilt.

As I understand it, the Lexington High School swim team was using the Minuteman pool for practices, and has tried-and failed- to find an alternate location for swim team practices since then. Has the LHS swim team found a location to hold their practices, post-COVID? 

Meg Muckenhoupt

Precinct 1 

 

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[Umesh]

Vicki,

Several weeks ago, before mortgage rates rose, I could not find a single single family detached home on Zillow in Lexington for under $1MM (has changed since). So, in my opinion, anyone living in Lexington is at least, house wealthy. ;) 

Lexington spends a lot of money on a lot of different things. Not many of those things benefit residents directly, individually, AND societally. Not surprisingly, residents will exercise more regularly with friends they have or have not yet met. The pool is fully functional, and is being used by private swim clubs. If I recall, the tennis courts are in good shape, and as mentioned the outdoor pool is relatively new. If one is interested in a place to meet friends and exercise, I think it works. If one is interested in a pretty building there is always Lifetime Fitness.

To me this facility should be treated as a public good, not as a cost center. Having said that, there is a huge demand for pool space, and the pool can easily be rented out to offset operational costs.

David, the Minuteman Tech pool was in terrible condition years before Minuteman Tech was demolished. LHS Girls practiced at BSC, but we have not heard of any plans for a Boys team this year because there is no pool available for them. Keep in mind, LHS Boys consistently win the League Championships.

This facility would bring together residents from completely different backgrounds with greater frequency and contribute to a substantially healthier resident population. Isn't that the definition of a greater public good?

Umesh Shelat 

On Thu, Mar 4, 2021 at 3:47 PM Vicki Blier <v...@blier.net> wrote:

[Sanjay Padaki]

As much as we might want more recreational facilities, there has to be a prioritization of needs. FWIW, when I joined TM in 2015, a cricket field was on the 5yr capital plan for FY2020. It is still in this year's 5yr capital plan now targeted for FY2026! It is obviously a matter of priorities.

Purchase and reconstruction of this BSC facility is not on any financial planning model I have seen to date. Until we pay down some of our existing debt and have more clarity on the cost and timing of a new LHS, it would be extremely difficult to garner public support for such a project. Someone has to make the case why this likely multi-million dollar project is more important than say, a $200K cricket field. A hard sell in my opinion.

Regards,
Sanjay Padaki
Precinct 8

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[Dinesh Patel MD]

I fully agree with David and others 

We need to be fiscally responsible 
for the citizens we serve and not add more projects which the citizens may not agree. 

The biggest feed back I get is taxes ?

Please do not add any more projects to increase taxes .

There is also this topic of affordable housing - where and cost

School cost

Police station 

May be some other capital project etc 

There is just so much discussion taking place — last meeting and now so let us hope that town leadership and town manager bring thoughts on the table based on their hard work and discuss 

I personally feel like David and support his thoughts 

Dinesh Patel

Precinct 6

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 4, 2021, at 5:53 PM, Meg Muckenhoupt <meg...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Vicki Blier]

Umesh-

I am shocked to see the concerns of many people who live in Lexington so glibly written off... based on a review of the houses that are currently on the market (!). 

Incomes in Lexington, while high in the mean, vary widely.  They include people on fixed incomes, people with incomes well below the mean, and many, many people with very good incomes who have stretched their budgets in order to live here.

If you feel that this purchase is both feasible and needed, I invite you to organize a non-profit to do it. 

Maybe you can do some fundraising among the townsfolk whose ability to pay you feel is so infinitely expandable, even with the many very high priority and high cost projects on our horizon.

[Umesh]

Vicki,

You have mischaracterized my response. I would direct you to my sentence which specifically refers to owners of single family homes being house wealthy. This is fundamentally distinct from being wealthy based on income.

But, I mistakenly used the word 'anyone'. Thank you for pointing that out.

Umesh

[David Kaufman]

If the issue is a pool for the LHS swim team, then an appropriate location would be inside the new LHS which we need to build anyhow. Note that the new Newton North High School included a pool and a lot of people complained about the cost of the school frills, but I suspect that the swim team there is very happy to have it. So are the community residents that use it at off hours.

The incremental cost of an indoor pool at LHS would not include a need to add a lot of permanent pool staff, so it would be cheaper to operate than anything at the BSC site. It then becomes a Town recreation facility, whenever not in use by the school, and Minuteman Tech might be happy to share it with LHS too. Inside the new LHS it would also be more energy efficient since it would not require a separate HVAC system running 24/7 as one at BSC would.

David L. Kaufman, Precinct 3

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is. .... Yogi Berra

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[Umesh]

David,

What you say makes sense. However, the state will not provide MSBA funding (essentially approximately 30% rebate) if a pool is constructed on the school grounds. Newton built their pool before this rule was put in place.

Umesh Shelat P7

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[David Kaufman]

So just leave room for the addition of a pool next to the HS building, and fund it later without asking MSBA for money for that section of the building. We add temp classrooms etc to school buildings all the time without MSBA funding.

David L. Kaufman, Precinct 3

"People like us, who believe in physics, know the distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." --Albert Einstein
 

[Lin Jensen]

Beede Swim and Sports Center shares the same parking lot as Concord-Carlisle High School. It seems to belong to Concord’s Recreation Commission. 

Lin Jensen TM P8

Sendt fra min iPhone

Den 4. mar. 2021 kl. 9.07 PM skrev David Kaufman <davidl...@rcn.com>:

So just leave room for the addition of a pool next to the HS building, and fund it later without asking MSBA for money for that section of the building. We add temp classrooms etc to school buildings all the time without MSBA funding.

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[Charles Lamb]

Umesh, be careful. MSBA will not provide 30% funding for the parts of the project that don’t meet its criteria. We are free to build whatever we like and MSBA will just not reimburse us for the ‘extras’ that we might choose to add on to the project, like a pool (assuming that does not qualify). It does not mean they will throw the baby out with the bath water and not fund *any* of the project. In fact, we generally do not receive full funding for our projects with MSBA.

As an aside, Vicki, I was under the impression that we are only supposed to be discussing matters relevant to the upcoming ATM. Does this qualify?

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[Vicki Blier]

We haven't yet declared "Town Meeting Season" when that rule applies.

We usually start Town Meeting Season around the time of the first Info Session when motion details have been decided and the Boards have issued their analysis.

I'm happy to take advice from whoever wants to offer it regarding when we should declare Town Meeting Season.

Vicki Blier

TMMA List Moderator

781-862-1804 Landline First

617-549-3207 Mobile

    

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[Dawn McKenna]

Vicki

Thanks for asking this question.

Keeping in mind that the purpose of the TMMA email list is to provide information about the business of Town Meeting, my suggestion is that town election day  or 3 weeks prior to a Special Town Meeting be the guideline. After that we get more and more info from article related boards, committees, and citizen article sponsors. 

There are many other email lists people can subscribe to for other types of information in which we may have an interest. There is only one list for Town Meeting.

Dawn McKenna

Precinct 6

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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[Glenn Parker]

On 4 Mar 2021, at 19:43, Umesh wrote:

You have mischaracterized my response. I would direct you to my sentence

which *specifically refers to owners of single family homes being house
wealthy.* This is fundamentally distinct from being wealthy based on income.

Umesh,

Nobody is ever “house wealthy”, they’re just “wealthy”. The actual phrase is “house poor”. And you seem to agree that a home’s value does not always reflect the income of its owners, so any argument that residents can afford something based on the value of their home is suspect.

Furthermore, you are mistakenly conflating the full inventory of housing in Lexington with the limited set of listings in the current housing market. There are better sources than Zillow to understand the distribution of value for Lexington’s residential housing, starting with the FY 2020 Lexington Residential Assessed Values published by the Town Assessor.

Another source is the MA Dept. of Local Services, which reports the average single family home value for Lexington has risen from $697,450 in 2012 to $1,128,624 in 2021. That works out to a very robust 5% increase per year. I’m sure most people would be stunned if their salaries had enjoyed that kind of steady growth over the last decade.

So, what is our message to residents with more limited income, who did not enjoy ten years of 5% annual raises, and yet may find themselves living in a $1 million asset? Is it: “pay up or leave”? If you can’t afford Lexington, then liquidate this juicy asset, aka the place where you live, and, well, go find someplace else. Is that the kind of stark choice we want to offer?

I guess I’m confused. I’m used to hearing how a truly free market handles these kinds of problems better than a local government. I kind of expected the argument to be more in favor of lowering taxes, not raising them.

Glenn P. Parker, TMM Pct. 3
glenn....@lexingtontmma.org

[andrei radulescu-banu]

I wonder if what happened here was the law of unintended side effects. Once the rest of Hartwell St was zoned to allow for larger buildings, the Town created an expectation that the same would happen with 475 Bedford Street. The owner is not interested in leasing the building as a sports club, which, while profitable, would bring less in than a very large lab space. I'm speculating here.

I don't think we should count on a new pool at a new high school. There are too many known unknowns about a new highschool, not in the least, the price tag, and how it could technically be built, without disrupting the school year. There's wet lands all around and a culvert cutting the high school play fields in half.  We are not free to build whatever we like, unfortunately.

Andrei Radulescu-Banu Pct 8

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Andrei Radulescu-Banu

86 Cedar St, Lexington MA
617.216.8509 (m), 781.862.5854 (h)

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[Umesh]

Glenn,

Individual net worth (or wealth) is primarily a function of:

1. Equity (assets-liabilities) and/or
2. Present value of future earnings; investments and/or
3. Other (expected inheritance, etc.)

"House wealthy", the implication being "income poor", and the point of discussion here is related only to Point 1, above. It is a situation where the homeowner (homeowner, as I have specified previously is the owner of a single family detached home) owns, debt free,  a long dated asset (their home) that has increased substantially in value. The typical situation is an individual or couple who have bought their home in Lexington many decades ago, perhaps raised their children here, and are now retired. They are indeed "house wealthy" because the house they bought decades ago (for perhaps <$100,000) is now worth close to $1MM. They are probably living off Social Security and/or retirement investment income. In some cases, this may be substantial. In most, it is not. They can also be considered "house wealthy" because their house is worth 4x (actually more given a house that would suit their needs would be smaller than the average sized house in the US) the price of the average house in the US.

The real issue, as you said, is: What happens when the retiree can't afford the taxes on their valuable asset (house)? I recently had a typical discussion with a constituent (typical of many), and I basically told her, she couldn't have it both ways. The reason she enjoys ownership of a high value asset is because of the demand for housing in Lexington generated by the belief in the high value of the school system. You can either own a higher valued asset and pay higher taxes or vica versa. 

Lexington has mechanisms, such as property tax deferral programs to help these homeowners who are "house wealthy" and "income poor." Relatively few take advantage of them. For those who choose not to, then yes the answer may be to sell their high value home, bank the $500,000 in tax free gain (if married), and pay cash for a house in a lower tax locale. 

The issue of "full inventory" is yours - not mine, so I won't address it.

475 Bedford St may be a moot point. I drove by several days ago and saw that the BSC sign was replaced with Lexington Tennis Club / Gators (Swim Club). It seems someone will make use of the property - at least for now. 

Umesh Shelat, TMM Precinct 7

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[Vicki Blier]

I SO very much want to respond to Umesh's vision of what homeowners in Lexington who want to avoid property tax increases for low-priority capital expenditures should do with their property....

But Town Meeting Season begins shortly and neither Umesh nor anyone else will , under our List rules, be able to respond unless they can post it darn quick.

So I will not post anything further on this topic.

And, unless it can be done before midnight, no-one else should either.

Vicki Blier

Precinct 9 TMM, and a bit of List Moderator as well. Sorry.

781-862-1804 Landline First

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[Umesh]

Vicki,

I was simply RESPONDING to Glenn. 

What does it say that you would call me out, specifically, by name and not him?

Umesh Shelat, TMM Precinct 7