AN ACT RELATIVE TO CERTAIN STATE LAND IN THE TOWN OF NORTH READING AND THE TOWN OF WILMINGTON.
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. As used in this act, the following words shall, unless the content clearly indicates otherwise, have the following meanings:-
"Commissioner", the commissioner of the division of capital asset management and maintenance.
"Committee", the J. T. Berry reuse committee.
"Developer", the entity or entities, to which the commissioner may convey all or part of the commonwealth's interest in the property located at the John T. Berry Rehabilitation Center.
"Division", the division of capital asset management and maintenance.
"J. T. Berry center" or "site", all land owned by the commonwealth as of January 1, 1998 located upon the John T. Berry Rehabilitation center located in the towns of North Reading and Wilmington.
SECTION 2. The commissioner of the division of capital asset management and maintenance is hereby authorized and directed, subject to the provisions of sections 40E to 40J, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws, to convey by deed, approved as to form by the attorney general, or to lease for a period not to exceed 99 years, all or parts of the commonwealth's interest in all or portions of the land and buildings located at the J. T. Berry center to a developer or developers, selected in accordance with the provisions of this act. Said land is shown on a "Plan of Land in North Reading owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts", dated September 2, 1992, prepared by Robert E. Anderson, Inc., which plan is on file with said division. Said deeds and leases shall be consistent with the policies set forth in this act.
SECTION 3. Within 90 days of the effective date of this act, the division of capital asset management and maintenance shall issue a Memorandum of Agreement between said division and the towns of North Reading and Wilmington concerning the reuse of the site. Said division shall negotiate the terms of said agreement with the town administrator of the town of North Reading and the town manager of the town of Wilmington with the advice of the state senator and state representatives representing said towns of North Reading and Wilmington in the general court. Said agreement shall incorporate the requirements of existing zoning regulations and the provisions of this act, including, but not limited to, a commitment by said division to undertake predevelopment studies of the site, to resurvey the site, to fund site assessment sufficiently to adequately determine the nature and extent of oil or hazardous materials on the site and the cost of remediation, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and to market the site to potential developers; provided, however, that said agreement shall exclude the use of any portion of the site for an incinerator, landfill, or other means of permanent disposal of solid or hazardous waste, house of correction, jail or prison. Said agreement shall include a timetable within which said division shall complete said surveys, evaluations and assessments of oil and hazardous materials.
SECTION 4. Within 180 days following the approval of the Memorandum of Agreement and pursuant to sections 40E to 40J, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws, the commissioner of the division of capital asset management and maintenance shall issue requests for proposals for the reuse of all or a portion of the site. Said requests for proposals shall be based on the provisions of the Memorandum of Agreement and this act, and shall include, but not be limited to, the following:-
(a) the time and date for receipt of proposals, the address of the office to which the proposals are to be delivered, and the maximum time for proposal acceptance by the division;
(b) a description of the property offered;
(c) a description of evaluation criteria that will be utilized for the evaluation of proposals, together with a statement that evaluations shall be based solely on the criteria set forth in the request for proposals;
(d) a list of all items or categories of information which must be included in each development proposal, and a format for submitting such information.
SECTION 5. The commissioner of the division of capital asset management and maintenance shall, 90 days before the execution of any land disposition agreement authorized by section 3 or any subsequent amendment thereto, submit the land disposition agreement or amendment and a report thereon to the inspector general who shall review and comment upon said land disposition agreement or amendment within 15 days of the receipt thereof. Said commissioner shall submit the land disposition agreement and any subsequent amendments thereto, the reports, and the comments of said inspector general, if any, to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the committee on state administration, the house and senate committees on post audit and oversight, the J. T. Berry reuse committee, and the state senator and state representatives representing said towns of North Reading and Wilmington in the general court at least 75 days prior to execution. Said land disposition agreement shall include conditions adopted in the Memorandum of Agreement including, but not limited to, the provision that the developer or developers consult with the J. T. Berry reuse committee during the planning, development, construction and management of said development on a schedule established by said committee.
SECTION 6. Within 30 days of the effective date of this act, there shall be established a J. T. Berry reuse committee, hereinafter referred to as the committee, to consist of not more than 13 members to be appointed by the division of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with state and local officials; provided, however, that one member shall be a member of the Wilmington board of selectmen or its designee, one member shall be the town manager for the town of Wilmington or his designee, one member shall be the town administrator for the town of North Reading or his designee, one member shall be the planning director for the town of North Reading or his designee, one member shall be a member of the North Reading Community planning commission or its designee, one member shall be from the North Reading Business Association, and the remaining members shall be residents of the town of North Reading, the names of whom shall be submitted by the town administrator to the commissioner of said division. The state senator and state representatives representing said towns of North Reading and Wilmington in the general court shall serve as ex-officio, nonvoting members of the committee. Said committee may review, comment and make recommendations concerning the implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement.
SECTION 7. The commissioner of the division of capital asset management and maintenance is hereby authorized to retain or grant rights of way or easements for access, egress, utilities and drainage across property described in section 2 and across other commonwealth property contiguous to said property, and the commonwealth may accept from the developer rights of way or easements in roadways or across property to be conveyed by deed or leased pursuant to said section 2 for purposes of access, egress, drainage and utilities.
SECTION 8. The amount of consideration for the sales, lease, sublease, granting of easements or other conveyances authorized by the provisions of this act shall be equal to the fair market value of any portion thereof, as established by taking the averaged appraised fair market value from three independent appraisals from three independent appraisers selected by the commissioner of the division of capital asset management and maintenance throughout the competitive bidding process and with a methodology approved by the inspector general. Said commissioner shall, in like manner, conduct an appraisal of such property, or any portion thereof, every ten years to determine the current fair market value; provided, however, that such appraisal shall not include any privately constructed building thereon. Any subsequent sale, lease, sublease or other conveyance shall be adjusted based upon subsequent appraisals. Consideration for parcels within the site, portions thereof, easements, or other conveyances at less than fair market value shall be allowed if said commissioner, in consultation with the J. T. Berry reuse committee, determines that a direct public benefit is provided to the citizens of the commonwealth and approves such lesser consideration; provided, however, that if said commissioner selects a developer who did not offer the highest price, said commissioner shall include a justification for such decision in the notification required by section 40H of chapter 7 of the General Laws. Said commissioner shall maintain a written record in reasonable detail of evaluations and negotiations undertaken pursuant to this act and shall retain such record with the proposals in accordance with said section 40H. All funds derived from the sale, lease, sublease, granting of easements or other conveyances related to parcels within the site shall be credited to the General Fund.