2013-04-03-TFMP-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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(HDC). They didn't express any objections to the proposals being considered at the time, and they were willing to discuss either new locations for these facilities or using the current sites for new/renovated buildings. West of Lexington center, the Historic District stops at the corner of Bedford St. and Worthen Rd. In response to questions, Chief Wilson commented that the police and fire station needs have very little overlap, but there is the potential to share some space such as for training. As mentioned at previous meetings, Chief Wilson believes that a new fire station is a likely higher priority than a new police station. 4. Hastings School: Ms. Lipsitz, principal of the Hastings School, reported that Hastings is the only Kindergarten through Grade 5 school in Lexington that has not been upgraded or replaced in recent years. A. Space: The school is currently using modular units that were previously used at Clarke Middle School. Classroom sizes do not meet the state's standards for new schools. The Town is expecting an additional 200 students in the near future, and those students need to be serviced differently from the way students were serviced in the past. Additional special needs students require additional space to provide special services. Space for the school nurse needs to be increased because with improved health care, the number of fragile children attending the schools has increased. B. Acreage: Hastings can be rebuilt in its current location, but it will be a multi -story building with a smaller footprint than the current building. Finding swing space will need to be addressed. The School Committee expects to apply for Massachusetts School Building Authority funding for a Hastings School feasibility study in 2014. It is expected that a new building will be more cost effective than renovating the current building. 5. Cary Memorial Building: There wasn't time for a full report from Mr. Johnson, but Mr. Pato reported that the Selectmen had supported indefinite postponement of Article 8c (Cary Memorial Building Upgrades), included on the Town of Lexington Warrant for the 2013 Annual Town Meeting. He explained that he initiated the motion because he felt there was value in waiting for a decision on pursuing the upgrades until after this Committee completed its work. He asked whether this Committee felt there was value in postponing the article. It was generally agreed that the Police and Fire Stations were high priority projects. The proposal for investment in the Cary Building presumes financing fully with Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds. There was discussion about the use of CPA funds for the Police and Fire Stations, as well as the currently proposed Cary Building, and currently considered new Community Center. It was noted that the Town's financing model shows that these latter two projects as well as others can be financed comfortably. It was generally agreed that the sequencing of these projects does not impact the use of the CPA funds. It was noted that Article 8c only includes funding for design and engineering work; actual construction would require another vote by Town Meeting in 2014. There was discussion about using the basement of the Cary Building as swing space during