HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1340        FILED ON: 1/15/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 57

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Bradley H. Jones, Jr. and Bruce E. Tarr

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act authorizing the Commissioner of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to convey certain parcels of land in the town of North Reading.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1340        FILED ON: 1/15/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 57

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act authorizing the Commissioner of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to convey certain parcels of land in the town of North Reading.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding sections 32 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may convey the parcels of land parcels located at 102 Lowell Road and 104 Lowell Road in the town of North Reading, which parcels are shown on North Reading Assessors Map 14 as Lot 148 consisting of 2.49 acres and on North Reading Assessors Map 7 as Lot 2 consisting of 34.21 acres, respectively.  The exact location and boundaries of the parcels to be conveyed shall be determined by the commissioner and agreed to by the town after the completion of a survey.  The use of the parcels to be conveyed to the town shall not be restricted to use for general municipal purposes or other specific uses; provided; however, that the town may so restrict the parcels at a later date, in accordance with any applicable general and special laws.  The parcels shall be conveyed by deed without warranties or representations by the commonwealth.

SECTION 2.  As consideration for the parcels described in section 1, the town of North Reading shall pay the commonwealth certain costs incurred after the closure of the facility, including, but not limited to, the cost of capital expenditures and operating expenditures (hard costs and soft costs) incurred by the Commonwealth to improve, maintain, replace, or repair the parcels conveyed to the Town, which includes land, infrastructure, and improvements, but excluding costs associated with the closure or demolition of the facility and/ or the environmental remediation of the facility or parcel, as determined by the commissioner and agreed to by the town.  The town of North Reading may pay the amount so determined by the commissioner and agreed to by the town upon its purchase of the parcels described in section 1, or the town may pay the amount so determined in 10 annual payments pursuant to sections 20A of chapter 58 of the General Laws.

SECTION 3.  In the event that the town of North Reading sells or leases any portion of the parcels described in section 1, the net proceeds from such sale or lease as determined by the town and agreed to by the commissioner shall be allocated between the town of North Reading and the commonwealth in equal shares: provided, however, that the commissioner may agree to reduce the share of the commonwealth’s proceeds to not less than 30 per cent of net proceeds in order to provide certain incentives to the town of North Reading to sell or lease some or all of the parcels described in section 1 expeditiously or to facilitate the development of some or all of the parcels in accordance with smart growth principles promulgated from time to time by the governor and the secretary of energy and environmental affairs.  In the event that the net proceeds as so determined are a negative amount, the commonwealth shall not be required to make any payments to the town of North Reading.

SECTION 4.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the town of North Reading shall pay for all costs and expenses of the transactions authorized in this act as determined by the commissioner including, but not limited to, the costs of any surveys, appraisals, recording fees and deed preparation related to the conveyances and for all costs, liabilities and expenses of any nature and kind related to the town’s ownership of said parcels; provided, however, that such costs may be included for the purposes of determining the net proceeds of the town’s sale or lease of any portion of the parcels described in section 1.  Amounts paid by the town of North Reading pursuant to section 2 shall not be included for the purposes of determining the net proceeds from a sale or lease.

SECTION 5.  (a) In the event that the town of North Reading does not complete a purchase of the property described in section 1 on or before December 1, 2015, then notwithstanding sections 33 to 38, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner may sell, lease for terms of up to 99 years, including all renewals and extensions, or otherwise grant, convey or transfer to purchasers or lessees an interest in the property described in said section 1 or portions thereof, subject to this section and on such terms and conditions that the commissioner considers appropriate.  In making any such disposition pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall use appropriate competitive bidding processes and procedures.  At least 30 days before the date on which bids, proposals or other offers to purchase or lease a property, or any portion thereof, are due, the commissioner shall place a notice in the central register published by the state secretary pursuant to section 20 A of chapter 9 of the General Laws stating the availability of the property, the nature of the competitive bidding process and other information that the commissioner considers relevant, including the time, place and manner for the submission of bids and proposals and the opening of the bids or proposals.

(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the grantee or lessee of all or any portion of the property described in section 1 and subject to this section shall be responsible for costs and expenses including, but not limited to, costs, associated with deed preparation and recording fees related to the conveyances and transfers authorized in this section as such costs may be determined by the commissioner.

(c)  The commissioner may retain or grant rights of way or easements for access, egress, utilities and drainage across any of the parcels described in section 1 and subject to this section and across other commonwealth property contiguous to any of the parcels, and the commonwealth may accept from the town or developer such rights of way or easements in roadways or across any of the parcels to be conveyed or transferred for access, egress, drainage and utilities as the commissioner considers necessary and appropriate to carry out this section.

(d)  No agreement for the sale, lease, transfer or other disposition of the property described in section 1 and subject to this section, or any portion thereof and no deed executed by or on behalf of the commonwealth shall be valid unless the agreement or deed contains the following certification, signed by the commissioner:

“I, the undersigned commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, hereby certify under penalties of perjury that I have fully complied with the relevant provisions of general and special law in connection with the property described in these documents.”