2016-03-21-CEC-ATM-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES COMMITTEE REPORT TO 2016 ATM Five -Year Capital Plan The table on the next three pages summarizes the five -year capital plan that this Committee is submitting for Town Meeting's consideration. It reflects the expected FY2017 appropriations at the 2016 ATM; those provided for by STMs 2016 -1, 2016 -2, & 2016 -3; and the FY2018– FY2021 requests this Committee contemplates. We started with the amounts and timing shown in the Brown Book, Page XI -3 & 4, for FY2017, and XI -26 & 27, for FY2018– FY2021. Those requests have been updated based on any information we received after it was published and we have made some additional entries or changes in the out years where we feel, based on earlier studies, design & engineering (D &E) (also architect /engineer [A /E]) work, or the existence of a multi -phase project, that there might be future requests, but where there is no formal position taken by the Town. In that vein, there are important caveats to that table: Q Please see the footnotes for information on the status of many of the entries and how this Committee's position differs from that presented by the Town in the Brown Book. Q Excluding the many tens of millions of dollars of to- be- determined (TBD) entries, the total in this Committee's Plan for FY2018– FY2021 is already approximately $197 million. The TBD entries include such major undertakings as the construction phases and yet to be determined elements of projects for which there may be additional phases addressed (e.g., Lexington Public School Educational Capacity Increase) or entire major facility projects (e.g., new public - safety headquarters). The TBDs are likely to exceed the total estimated amounts. Q The Capital Stabilization Fund (CSF) is receiving another meaningful appropriation for FY2017. (See Article 21) For several years we have been building the resources of this Fund so that we can use them toward mitigation of the tax impact of the debt service from our capital projects. Given the current proposed and possible out -year projects in our Capital Plan, it is expected that the use of the CSF to mitigate our debt service will fully deplete that reserve. Additionally, one or more appeals to the voters to support exclusion of the major capital projects from the limitation of Proposition 2'/2 are to be expected. Q Compounding the challenge of the next five years, inevitably there will be Big - Ticket Projects facing the Town in the years past FY2021. The largest of these not shown would be the replacement or major renovation of the High School, which was preliminarily estimated near $200 million in the final report of the Town's Ad hoc Townwide Facilities Master Planning Committee (August 30, 2013). Q Because of the huge challenge this Town faces with regard to the renovation /replacement/renewal of its Capital Assets, this Committee continues to urge the BoS to move forward promptly to develop a formal, Town -wide, Facilities Master Plan for the Municipal facilities. A BoS- appointed committee has provided its input to the BoS for such a Town -wide Plan. This Committee stands ready to assist in any way that it can toward creation of such a Plan Q This Committee appreciates the Town's concern about citing a preliminary estimate for projects that are not at all well defined. We continue to urge the Town to present a prioritized and time- phased list of Big - Ticket Projects and their funding using a "best guess" for the likely costs. The Town's out -year amounts generally do not reflect the costs in then -year dollars. As this Committee does not have the means reasonably to adjust current -year values to then -year values, we are using the Town's dollar values unless we have made a change for another reason —in which case there will be a footnote explaining that. 9