2013-08-30-Ad hoc Townwide Facilities Master Planning Committee (Final Report of Committee)

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Scenarios The first scenario, Scenario A. All Projects, shows the values for all of the projects to be funded as suggested by the phasing. This scenario balances with available CPF funds until FY22 when the School Central Administration project for renovation of Old Harrington School is proposed to be funded. This scenario also requires a commitment to debt that exceeds the level of the previously approved excluded debt service. The second option, Scenario B: Priority Projects, removes those projects that did not receive a priority designation by the Committee. While CPF provides a generous source of funding, the total commitment of funds still exceeds the level of debt previously approved by voters. Financial Demands and Risks The findings from this Committee's work are that the projects may be phased in certain ways to reduce the burden on Town finances. However, to accomplish the priority projects within a 10 -year time frame will require a commitment of Town finances that will exceed previous commitments to Town facility building renewal and replacement. The Town buildings considered in this study with more than 500,000 square feet of space are assessed by the Town at more than $100 million. This does not include the value of new construction. The total costs for all projects considered - which includes new construction, replacement buildings and extraordinary improvements - is more than $300 million. With a total of almost 1.3 million square feet of all existing municipal and school buildings, the replacement costs are estimated to be more than $500 million; this is based on projected construction costs averaging $400 per square foot. The calculation of value of the buildings should also consider the value for responsible delivery of public services and for promotion of effective civic discourse and education. Moreover, the value of the historic and iconic buildings as part of the identity of Lexington, beyond the government functions, must be included when calculating the values of the facilities, the ultimate disposition of the buildings and the financial commitments necessary to maintain them. The values of the facilities to the community have been stated, and the costs to create the facilities have been calculated. Because of the very large funding needed to handle even just the highest priority projects, it is clear to this Committee that the willingness of Town residents to support the necessary funding through likely more than one debt - exclusion referendum is essential. The Committee sees no responsible way to defer the needed projects so as to avoid one or more debt exclusions; however, the Committee recognizes it is the Board of Selectmen that will evaluate and decide if and when any such debt exclusions should be recommended to Town Meeting and what project(s) would be included. Therefore, no recommendations are made in that regard. 42 LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS