2015-11-02-CEC-STM#2-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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CAPITAL EXPENDITURES COMMITTEE REPORT TO NOVEMBER 2,2015, STM#2 determine whether the Town will authorize the Selectmen to apply for, accept, expend and borrow in anticipation of or from federal and state aid for such projects; or act in any other manner in relation thereto." "DESCRIPTION: Funds requested in this article will be used to repair and replace large water mains in east Massachusetts Avenue. Some of these water mains date from 1896 and have deteriorated and have pin-hole size leaks." [Town Warrant] The Town's water mains from the Arlington line to Woburn Street, which deliver potable water, range in age from 119 years to 80 years. They have served Lexington well. A series of investigative tests for tensile strength and corrosion were conducted by engineering consultants for the Department of Public Works (DPW). Test results indicated that the aging water mains were beyond repair and will need replacement. It also was found that not replacing the aging water mains would leave the Town vulnerable to emergency water main breaks and costly emergency repairs. This funding request is for the first segment of the proposed replacement work, replacing the water mains on Massachusetts Avenue between Pleasant Street and Marrett Road,with additional replacement work in the Woburn Street area. A significant portion ($1,878,985) of the replacement work is eligible for Massachusetts Water Resource Authority zero-interest loans. This Committee strongly supports water-main strategic replacement with the expectation that there will be future DPW funding requests for the remaining water-main segments requiring replacement in the Arlington to Woburn Street area. TM#2 Article 5: Amount Funding Appropriate For Requested Source Committee Recommends Property Improvements-241 $200,000 CPF Approval(5-0) Grove Street (Cash)(Community Housing) "To see if the Town will vote, upon recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee [CPC], to raise and appropriate a sum of money to remodel, reconstruct and make extraordinary repairs and related improvements to the existing farm house at 241 Grove Street for community housing purposes, and for other mitigation to the property, determine whether the money shall be provided by the tax levy, by transfer from available funds, including the Community Preservation Fund, by borrowing, or by any combination of these methods; or act in any other manner in relation thereto." "DESCRIPTION: This article is to request funding for necessary improvements to the farm house on the Wright Farm property owned by the Town in order to provide a unit of affordable housing." [Town Warrant] A request for the funding to make those improvements to the farm house was originally planned to be included along with the request to purchase the land (2015 ATM, Article 9) for both affordable housing and conservation land; however, the scope of that Article's language did not include improvements. (This Committee noted at the time that a future Town Meeting would be asked to fund that work.) The estimate last year for the renovations to make the house into an affordable 4-bedroom unit—based on an initial walk-through—was on the order of $140,000. A walk-through last month led to a revised estimate that made provision for additional work found to be needed and, in discussion with the CPC, there is now an additional contingency allowance for the potential of having to do the work in accordance with historical-preservation specifications and procedures. (As with any appropriation, if the approved amount is not required to accomplish the purpose described to Town Meeting at the time of the request, the unused funds are returned to the source or, if for debt that wasn't issued, the authority is ultimately rescinded.) 2