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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE REPORT TO THE MARCH 2013 STM Warrant Article Analysis and Recommendations This report discusses the deliberations and the official recommendation of the Appropriation Committee. Town Meeting Members should also consider related reports from the Community Preservation Commit- tee, the Capital Expenditures Committee, and the Town Manager's FY2014 Recommended Budget & Fi- nancing Plan (March 1, 2013). Article 2: Land Purchase Off Funds Funding Committee TOTAL Requested Source Recommendation Marrett Road $10,950,000 First Year's Debt Service $115,000 $7,390,000 CPA Debt Ancillary Costs $262,500 CPA Cash Approve (9 -0) TOTAL $3,560,000 Tax Levy $3,560,000 $11,212,500 $11,212,500 This Article asks Town Meeting to authorize the Board of Selectmen to offer $10,950,000 for about 10 acres of the property commonly referred to as 33 Marrett Road, and to appropriate an additional $262,500 to cover ancillary purchase costs and associated debt service during FY2014. The costs would be financed using a combination of debt and cash from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) fund, and cash (tax levy) from the General Fund. A breakdown of the costs and funding sources is shown below. Note that if this proposal succeeds then, as part of Article 14(n) of the March 2013 Annual Town Meet- ing, there will also be a request to appropriate $100,000 for design and engineering work to begin re- purposing the existing buildings. The Property This property is currently owned by The Trustees of the Supreme Council of the Ancient Accepted Scot- tish Rite of Free Masonry (the Scottish Rite). The property offered for sale is a subset of lots 63A and 63B on Lexington Assessors' Property Map 31. The land is approximately 10 acres and has two structures. The larger structure is the "Old Mansion" with a connected office building totaling 31,505 gross sq. ft.. The original mansion was built in 1905 and the office building was added in 2000. The smaller structure is a detached wood - frame building totaling 8000 gross sq. ft. that served as the original carriage house for the Old Mansion and was also built in 1905. There are also paved parking lots with a total of 88 spaces. A third structure, a large single - family home with direct access to Marrett Road, sits on the southwestern edge of lot 63A. This structure and a small plot of land around it is excluded from the current proposal, but the Town would retain the right of first refusal should the Scottish Rite decide to offer it for sale in the future. Other than the parking lot and structures described above, the land in this property has been maintained as a large and open landscaped lawn with a colonnade of mature trees, along with some undeveloped forest- ed areas along the west and north boundaries. The aerial photograph below indicates the proposed bound- aries of the purchase. CPA Debt CPA Cash General Fund TOTAL Purchase Price $7,390,000 $3,560,000 $10,950,000 First Year's Debt Service $115,000 $115,000 Ancillary Costs $147,500 $147,500 TOTAL $7,390,000 $262,500 $3,560,000 $11,212,500 Note that if this proposal succeeds then, as part of Article 14(n) of the March 2013 Annual Town Meet- ing, there will also be a request to appropriate $100,000 for design and engineering work to begin re- purposing the existing buildings. The Property This property is currently owned by The Trustees of the Supreme Council of the Ancient Accepted Scot- tish Rite of Free Masonry (the Scottish Rite). The property offered for sale is a subset of lots 63A and 63B on Lexington Assessors' Property Map 31. The land is approximately 10 acres and has two structures. The larger structure is the "Old Mansion" with a connected office building totaling 31,505 gross sq. ft.. The original mansion was built in 1905 and the office building was added in 2000. The smaller structure is a detached wood - frame building totaling 8000 gross sq. ft. that served as the original carriage house for the Old Mansion and was also built in 1905. There are also paved parking lots with a total of 88 spaces. A third structure, a large single - family home with direct access to Marrett Road, sits on the southwestern edge of lot 63A. This structure and a small plot of land around it is excluded from the current proposal, but the Town would retain the right of first refusal should the Scottish Rite decide to offer it for sale in the future. Other than the parking lot and structures described above, the land in this property has been maintained as a large and open landscaped lawn with a colonnade of mature trees, along with some undeveloped forest- ed areas along the west and north boundaries. The aerial photograph below indicates the proposed bound- aries of the purchase.