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May 9, 2013 Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee May 9, 2013 Place and time: Reed Room, Town Office Building, 7:30 p.m. Members present. Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Alan Levine; Susan McLeish; Jonina Schonfeld; Rob Addelson (non- voting, ex officio) Members Absent: Robert Cohen; Mollie Garberg; Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier Other Attendees: Carl Valente, Town Manager; David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee; Andrei Radulescu -Banu, Town Meeting Member The meeting was called to order at 7:38 p.m. 1. Announcements: Mr. Bartenstein reported that he and Ms. Schonfeld recently attended the Selectmen's Tax Deferral and Exemption Study Committee meeting. The current work program to assist senior citizens with their property tax obligations is not using all the funds that have been appropriated by Town Meeting in recent years, triggering an interest in changing some of the guidelines for program participants. Changes that have been considered include increasing the wages for those who participate in the program, increasing the maximum number of working hours allowed, and increasing the eligibility income threshold. On May 20, the Tax Deferral Committee expects to present some modest recommendations to the Selectmen. Mr. Parker attended the Town Meeting Members Association Executive Committee meeting on May 8. At that meeting, School Committee Member Mary Ann Stewart announced that the School Department expects to return a smaller amount of funds to the General Fund at the end of the current fiscal year as compared to previous years. Last year the School Department returned approximately $2,000,000; this year the Department expects to return approximately $185,000. Costs associated with transporting non - resident students, placed by the state in temporary living arrangements in Lexington, to their home -town schools are a significant factor affecting the size of the year -end surplus. Mr. Levine reported that the Ad hoc Town -wide Facilities Master Planning (MP) Committee plans to submit a report to the Selectmen by June 1. A draft outline was reviewed on May 8, and a first draft may be made available on Friday of this week. Mr. Levine said he had submitted some written suggestions for the report. He noted that the MP Committee has not yet made many of the decisions that will be necessary for the report, so they will need to do a lot of work over the next few weeks. The MP Committee plans to meet on May 15 and May 22. 2. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for Hartwell Ave. Property: Mr. Valente reported that the Town recently received an inquiry about a potential TIF request for property on Hartwell Avenue from uniQure, an Amsterdam -based bio -tech company that is interested in opening a manufacturing facility in the U.S. It will be a bio- safety level 2 facility, which is allowed in Lexington. The company is looking at two potential locations in Lexington, nos. 17 and 113