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Acquisition of the Scottish Rite Property on Marrett Road <br />Special Town Meeting Vote: At the Special Town Meeting on March 18, 2013, Town Meeting <br />Members approved the acquisition of the historic Scottish Rite property on Marrett Road for a <br />purchase price of $10,950,000. This parcel included the historic mansion with its modern <br />addition, the adjacent carriage house and sweeping grounds. Its acquisition provides a unique <br />opportunity for long- sought after space for a Community Center. (For additional information <br />about this project, please see the CPC Report to 2013 Special Town Meeting dated March 18, <br />2013.) <br />Of the agreed -upon price for the property, $7,390,000 was eligible for CPA funding — driven by <br />an appraisal of $8.2 million and reduced by parcels excluded from the sale. An additional <br />$362,000 of CPA funding was appropriated in ancillary costs, which broke down as follows: <br />survey, $15,000; legal (including the cost of a permanent historic preservation restriction on the <br />property), $120,000; site assessment, $12,500; and short term debt service and issuance costs, <br />$115,000. Design and engineering costs of $100,000 have also been recommended for <br />appropriation from CPA reserves and will be discussed when the Town's budget comes under <br />consideration under Article 14(n). <br />The Acquisition's Impact on the Community Preservation Fund: During the process of reviewing <br />this proposal, the CPC was involved in numerous discussions with the Board of Selectmen, the <br />Town Manager, the Assistant Town Manager for Finance, the Capital Expenditures Committee <br />and the Appropriation Committee. The CPC paid special attention to the impact of the Marrett <br />Road acquisition on the projects currently under consideration for FY 14 funding as well as those <br />which are anticipated in future years. As part of the these discussions, the CPC was presented <br />with a model, prepared by Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, that <br />demonstrated that the CPC could responsibly vote to approve the appropriation for the Marrett <br />Road acquisition, while meeting the ongoing and future requests for CPA funding. Among the <br />most important of these future applications was the design and engineering work proposed for <br />the Cary Memorial Building in FY 14, and its renovation funding anticipated in FY 15. The <br />Committee believes that this work should continue on schedule, and confirmed its commitment <br />to the FY 14 funding of the design phase in a (7 -1) vote on March 27 The CPC believes this <br />two - phased project is well underway and that CPF budget modeling indicates that it can be <br />responsibly funded. Other claims against the CPF in the CPC budget model included debt service <br />on the Wright Farm, renovations to the Marrett Road property, a potential Center Pool project <br />and a potential Center Track project. There are additional projects that the CPC will also keep in <br />mind as it refines its budget model in upcoming years. These include renovations to the Stone <br />and Hosmer buildings, commitments to LexHAB's community housing work including work on <br />the Leary and Busa parcels, support for the Lexington Housing Authority, Police Station <br />renovations, upgrades to the Visitor Center, and future athletic field renovations. <br />As part of the Marrett Road acquisition, the CPC carefully reviewed the term of the bond which <br />is anticipated to be issued in FY 15. The CPC currently anticipates that the Marrett Road <br />acquisition and its renovation, the Cary Memorial Building design and engineering and the Cary <br />Memorial Building renovations will be bonded for a term of ten years. The CPC and Assistant <br />Town Manager for Finance are committed to keeping a careful eye on CPF revenue and setting <br />debt service terms to accommodate the Town needs. To date the CPC has not had to vote down <br />2 <br />