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7/09/15 Minutes <br />Minutes: <br />3.There was a review of eight sets of minutes for which technical and <br />clarification-related edits were recommended. <br />A motion was made and seconded to approve minutes ofmeetings on the following dates, as <br />amended: February19,2015; February 26, 2015; March 5, 2015;March 30, 2015; April 1, <br />2015; April6,2015; April 8, 2015; and April 15, 2015. The motion passed. VOTE: 5-0 <br />Adjustments to the FY2015budget <br />4.:Ms. Moore reported thattwo avenues are being <br />pursued tobalanceline items in the Fiscal Year 2015(FY15)budget: <br />Salary Adjustment Account: <br />The Board of Selectmen(BoS)recently approved the <br />transfer of $549,000 from the Salary Adjustment Account for allocation to the appropriate <br />line items, as identified on a handout. When the FY15 budget was adoptedat the 2014 <br />Annual Town Meeting (ATM), many salaries, particularly those associatedwith union <br />contracts that were being negotiated at the time, had not been finalized. Also, buy-back <br />policies associated with unused sicktime and vacation time resultedin the need for <br />adjustments.The Salary Adjustment Account is a continuing balance account. At the 2015 <br />ATM,$878,000was appropriated to the account for use during FY16. <br />A motion was made and seconded to endorse the transfer as approved by the BoS.The <br />motion passed. VOTE: 5-0 <br />Reserve Fund: <br />The Appropriation Committee controls the use of funds in the Reserve <br />Fundto cover unanticipated expenses. FY15 legal fees exceeded those anticipated by <br />$24,000 because of costs associated with the solar panel installation at Hartwell Avenue <br />\[AL1\] <br />and warrantyissues associated with an artificial turfinstallationon Lincoln Field. The <br />current Reserve Fund balance is $634,380; the fundstartedFY15with $900,000. <br />A motion was made and seconded to approve the transfer of $24,000 from the Reserve Fund <br />to cover legal fees,as discussed. The motion passed. VOTE: 5-0 <br />5.LiaisonReports: Mr. Parker reported on recent events associated with the April 2015 <br />Special Town Meeting(STM)#1, Article 2: Appropriate for School Facilities Capital Projects. <br />Prior totheSTM, the BoS adopted a consensus document, which outlined the anticipated <br />approach to the project and aplan to allocate the appropriated design funds to two phases. The <br />documentspecifies that the BoS should seek input from the school and finance committees <br />before issuing approval to releasefunds for workbeyond Phase 1.Phase 1 includeda design and <br />feasibility study to determine the most feasible,cost effectiveand educationally desirable <br />approach for addressing space needs associated with increasing school enrollment. DiNisco <br />Design Partnership was hired in the spring, and there is a summitmeetingscheduled fortwo <br />daysnext week to review the Phase 1work. This is being done in anticipation of a requestto <br />release thefunds reserved for the tasks that go beyond the Phase 1 effort. <br />There was discussion about a number of alternatives for addressing enrollment increases at the <br />elementary schools, the middle schools, and the pre-kindergarten program. It was noted that the <br />enrollment increases at Fiske Elementary School are at the high end of projections and <br />overcrowding is already a problem. <br />2 <br /> <br />