Whereas, the deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is forthwith to provide for the lease of property used by non-profit yacht clubs and other non-profit organizations operating boating programs, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
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. Chapter 92 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:—
Section 121. (a) The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may, in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation and notwithstanding the provisions of sections 40E to 40J, inclusive, of chapter 7, enter into leases or other agreements for an initial term of up to 10 years, with an extension of the original term for an additional period of up to 10 years, with any existing non-profit organization currently operating a yacht club or other boating facility on public park land under the care and control of the department of conservation and recreation, of the land used by those yacht clubs or boating organizations. Yacht clubs and other boating organizations and facilities covered by this section include but are not limited to the following: Union Boat Club, Boston; Cambridge Boat Club, Cambridge; Riverside Boat Club, Cambridge; Buckingham, Browne & Nichols Boat House, Cambridge; M.I.T. Boat House, Cambridge; Belmont Hill / Winsor Boat House, Cambridge; Tufts University, Medford; Harvard Sailing Pavilion, Cambridge; Boston University Sailing Pavilion, Boston; M.I.T. Sailing Pavilion, Cambridge; Puritan Canoe Club, Boston; Neponset Valley Yacht Club, Milton/Braintree; Wollaston Yacht Club, Quincy; Squantum Yacht Club, Quincy; South Shore Yacht Club, Weymouth; Charlesgate Yacht Club, Cambridge; Charles River Yacht Club, Cambridge; Newton Yacht Club, Newton; Columbia Yacht Club, Boston; South Boston Yacht Club, Boston; Riverside Yacht Club, Medford; Medford Boat Club, Medford; Mystic Wellington Yacht Club, Medford; Winterhill Yacht Club, Somerville; Watertown Yacht Club, Watertown; East Boston Yacht Club, Boston; Dorchester Yacht Club, Dorchester; Boston Harbor Yacht Club, Boston; Blessing of the Bay Boat House, Somerville; and Boston University DeWolfe Boat House, Cambridge.
(b) Such leases or other agreements shall be on terms and conditions acceptable to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, after consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation, and shall require appropriate public access to public park land and outreach and stewardship by the lessees. In determining the consideration for any such lease, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall consider the following criteria: the services provided by the lessee to the public; programs and access provided by the lessee to the public; the amount of revenue generated by the club; the number of years the club has occupied that location; the size of the club’s dues-paying membership; the nature and type of services the yacht club provides to its members; any capital improvements and maintenance to be conducted with respect to leased premises by clubs; the need for improvements to the facilities; the historic nature of the facilities and their use; and the fees and taxes paid by the club to the municipality in which it is located.
(c) The lease or other agreement shall be prepared in accordance with the generally accepted real estate principles and in accordance with the criteria in section (b). The inspector general shall review and approve the lease or other agreement, and his review shall include an examination of the methodology used to determine the consideration for the lease. The commissioner shall, 30 days prior to the execution of any lease or other agreement authorized by this section, submit the lease or other agreement to the inspector general. The inspector general shall prepare a report of his review of the lease or other agreement and file the report with the commissioner, and copies of the report shall be filed with the house and senate committees on ways and means and with the chairmen of the joint committee on bonding capital expenditures and state assets at least 15 days prior to the execution. All funds received under the lease or other agreement shall be deposited into the Urban Parks Trust Fund, established pursuant to section 34 of Chapter 92.
(d) The commissioner and the lessee shall each be responsible for their own costs associated with any appraisal, survey or other expense, unless otherwise specified in the lease or other agreement.
(e) Any yacht club or other boating organization leasing park land under this act shall be responsible for operation and maintenance of the leased premises and any associated costs during the term of the lease and any extension thereof. .