Selectmen mull special town meeting for ice rink vote
By Mike BergerSelectmen are tentatively considering December 12 as the date to hold a special town meeting to consider additional town expenditures to build a new ice rink at the site of the Metropolis Rink, which has been vacant since the roof collapsed in the winter of 2015.
Aerial photo by Bill McGonagle
Architects have pegged the cost of the new rink at $10 million. The town has thus far received insurance proceeds amounting to $2.5 million and the funds remain in the town treasury, according to Town Administrator Charlie Aspinwall. The town could also receive an additional $1 million in insurance proceeds if it has a contract in place by February 2019 to rebuild the rink. Other potential revenue sources include a 75 percent reimbursement for eligible structural costs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and a $5 million state bond bill appropriation, which is awaiting action by Governor Charlie Baker.
Selectmen expect the rink expenditures to be the lone proposal on the STM warrant, but once a date is set for the meeting, it would open up the potential for other articles to be filed.
In other major action from Tuesday’s meeting, selectmen formally approved a 10-year lease agreement with Northern Spy LLC to operate a destination restaurant at the Paul Revere Heritage Site. The terms of the lease were negotiated by the town’s Paul Revere Heritage Commission and first reported in the Citizen earlier this month.
The owners of Northern Spy currently own and operate Loyal Nine, an award-winning East Cambridge restaurant known for its Colonial era inspired dishes and ambiance. The Canton eatery would be housed on the main floor of the renovated copper mill building and would dovetail thematically with the museum/cultural complex that is also planned for the site. Northern Spy would also share space with the town on the second floor of the mill. The anticipated opening date for the restaurant is sometime in the spring of 2019.
In other major news concerning the Paul Revere Heritage Site, selectmen voted 4-1 to enact a series of amendments to the original development agreement between the town and Canton Holdings LLC, the site’s master developer. Whereas changes to the agreement previously required the approval of town meeting, voters at the 2018 ATM approved an article enabling changes to be made with a super-majority (four-fifths) vote of the Board of Selectmen following a public hearing.
Under the terms of the amended agreement, the rolling mill is to be used as restaurant and event space and not for office space, while the renovated barn will be used for public event space. Other amendments include the following:
* Canton Holdings is willing to commit $185,000 to remove hazardous waste from Factory Pond, which is located on the northern end of the site. The full cleanup could take 10 to 25 years, and until it is cleaned up that area will not be part of any residential development. Further, the town will not own or be responsible for the clean up.
* Canton Holdings will first develop age-restricted (over 55) apartments with the units to be completed by June of 2020 …
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Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=41692
Posted by Mike Berger
on Sep 29 2018. Filed under News, Town Government.
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