COUNCILORS

AT LARGE

Jesse M. Adams David J. Narkewicz

WARD

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Maureen T. Carney Paul D. Spector Angela D. Plassmann Pamela C. Schwartz David A. Murphy Marianne L. LaBarge Eugene A. Tacy

CITY COUNCIL

CITY OF NORTHAMPTON MASSACHUSETTS

February 25,2011

Michael Bardsley

50 Union Street, #4 Northampton, MA 01060

Dear Michael,

I am responding to your February 16, 2011 e-mail to City Solicitor Elaine Reali requesting copies of any e-mail conversations I had in my role as City Council President in which I commented on statements you made during the public session of the February 3, 2011 Northampton City Council meeting.

A search of my e-mail account identified two separate but related e-mail conversations with a city resident that meet your request criteria and I have enclosed copies of them in accordance with the Massachusetts Public Records Law.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss the enclosed documents with me.

Sincerely,

8~

David J. Narkewicz

President, Northampton City Council

Enclosures (5)

cc: City Solicitor Elaine Reali

1

i David Narkewicz <dnarkewicz@gmail.com>

What's The Problem?

2 messages

Gerald Budgar <gbudgar@rcn.com> To: dnarkewicz@comcast.net

Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 9:59 AM

Hi David:

I'm dealing with roof issues so didn't get a chance to read yesterday's Gazette until this morning. I read the story about the Skibiski land twice and it's still not clear to me what MB and his crew are complaining about. Is it only the price? I'm interested in this

because, as a high school and college student, I worked summers cutting vegetation from around the city's reservoirs so I know the area well.

It is really important that the city gain control of properties

surrounding the reservoirs to prevent unpleasant things from happening in the future.

Sorry to bother you, but I just wanted clarification on what's going on with this. Hope you and the family are well and keeping ahead of the snow (if that's possible).

Jerry Budgar

David Narkewicz <dnarkewicz@comcast.net> To: Gerald Budgar <gbudgar@rcn.com>

Hi Jerry,

Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 10:10 AM

Sorry to hear about your roof woes -- we're having the same issues here. Two ceilings and some walls are currently being aired out and will need replacing come spring because of roof dams. It's never happened in the 17+ years we've lived here, but I guess this is a winter like no other ...

I hope my other e-mail answers your questions. Please call if you want to discuss more.

All best, David

[Quoted text hidden]

David J. Narkewicz Councilor At-Large

City Council President 31 South Park Terrace Northampton, MA 01060 413.586.7230

i

David Narkewicz <dnarkewicz@gmail.com>

Mountain Reservoir Land

Gerald Budgar <gbudgar@rcn.com>

To: David Narkewicz <dnarkewicz@comcast.net>

Man, Feb 7, 2011 at 9:42 AM

Hi David:

Thanks. That helps me better understand the situation.

Jerry Budgar

David Narkewicz wrote:

Dear Jerry, Below is a detailed explanation that I provided to another constituent. Gene and Marianne fancy themselves as land development experts and disagree with the professional land appraisal used to determine the purchase price. David Murphy, who does know a little something about development, reviewed the appriasal and found no issues with it. Angela was completely silent during the entire debate, but I guess her vote was consistent with her overall views on land protection. Michael Bardsley is simply looking for any issue to put the mayor, council, and city in a bad light so as to create some justification for his impending candidacy. Never a dull moment with that crew! I hope all is well with you. Best,David

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: David Narkewicz<dnarkewicz@comcast.net> Date: Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 10:33 PM

Subject: Re: Mountain Reservoir Land

To: Eric Stahlberg <EricS1943@msn.com>

Cc: Gail Stahlberg <GaiIPS43@msn.com>, Pamela Schwartz <pschwartz77@gmail.com>

Dear Eric, The land in question, like the reservoir and adjacent water treatment plant, is located in the Town of Whately. Any/all property taxes paid by Mr. Skibiski (who is a realtor) were paid to Whately. I cannot speak for Whatley's assessment practices except to say that I suspect they, like many towns, are not aggressive about assessing forest land for its future potential development value. It would probably be difficult to defend and carries a "be careful what you wish for" risk.

The City had the property appraised by an outside firm (FSI Appraisal), which determined the fair market value of the land based on a combination of its development value (frontage lots only) and the value of the timber rights (which is part of the financing). This was the basis for the price negotiations and the state's financial assistance in the purchase ($302K). Our city's water commissioners (a.k.a. the BPW) and MA DEP place a high value on this land, 77 acres of which feeds the reservoir which supplies the water you and I drink. Here's the full breakdown of how the purchase is being

financed: 43% funded by DEP watershed protection grant, 29% funded by Water Enterprise Fund (water ratepayers), 28% funded by sale of timber rights, and 0% funded by the general fund (property taxes).

This kind of watershed protection land is so critical that state law grants Northampton eminent domain powers over it despite the fact that it is in another municipality. I went over this process in detail during our December debate on the purchase. It requires the city to reimburse the property owner at fair market value, not assessed value. Stop me if this sounds familiar, but we would need to have the land appraised by a third-party firm and reimburse the owner for the land taking based on said appraisal. The only difference between that and the current transaction is the additional 5-10% estimated legal costs involved with eminent domain transactions.

The stewards of Northampton's drinking water system have had a longstanding, prudent strategy of trying to acquire buffer land adjacent to our water supply whenever possible. These properties do not become available very often and our water commissioners have been proactive in trying to secure them when they do.1 support their watershed protection strategy and voted to support this particular

decision to use Water Enterprise Fund dollars to leverage the purchase of this environmentally significant property.

I hope this info is helpful. As always, let me know if you have additional questions or concerns. Best regards, David

On Sat, Feb 5, 2011 at 4:58 PM, Eric Stahlberg <EricS1943@msn.com> wrote:

Reservoir land assessed by city for $82000 and we should buy for

$ 500000! What am I missing? If it's worth that kind of money why isn't it assessed for that value and taxed accordingly? How many years has the land been assessed at $82000? Is this Skibiski the realtor? Assume the owner been paying taxes to the city based on the assessed value NOT on what the city NOW thinks it's worth. Now all of a sudden Huntley "thinks" it is really developable land and worth half a million. !!!!!!! Dave, I'm sorry but this smells. If the city thinks it's that important to own, take it by eminent domain and pay the current assessed value. EricPO Box 815 Easthampton, MA 01027

David J. Narkewicz Councilor At-Large City Council President

31 South Park Terrace Northampton, MA 01060 413.586.7230

David J. Narkewicz Councilor At-Large

City Council President 31 South Park Terrace Northampton, MA 01060 413.586.7230

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David Narkewicz <dnarkewicz@gmail.com>

Fwd: Request for public documents

attyreall@comcast.net <attyreall@comcast.net> To: Michael Bardsley <michael.bardsley@me.com> Cc: "Narkewicz, David" <dnarkewicz@comcast.net>

Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 11 :27 AM

Dear Michael:

I have forwarded your request for certain public records to City Council President Narkewicz with the instruction that he furnish to you any records that fall within the ambit of your request within ten (10) days from the date of such request. As legal counsel to the City Council, I generally forward requests for public records within the care and control of City councilors to the elected official named in such request. It is my understanding that Councilor Narkewicz will be furnishing you with a timely response pursuant to the provisions of M.G. L. c. 66, section 10 (a).

Please be advised that pursuant to M.G. L. c. 66, section 10 (b) and 950 CMR 32:00 you have the right to petition the Supervisor of Public Records (Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth) for review of your request should you disagree with Councilor Narkewicz's response. Such petition must be in writing and be made within ninety (90) days of the date of his letter of response.

Sincerely,

Elaine M. Reali

Elaine M. Reali, Esq. City Solicitor

City of Northampton

20 Hampton Avenue, Suite 160 Northampton, MA 01060

Tel: (413) 584-0177

Fax: (413) 586-2088

The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you received this email in error, please contact this office and delete the material from your computer. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not read, use or disseminate the information contained in this email. Your anticipated cooperation is most appreciated.

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