2024-01-04-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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1/4/2024 AC Minutes 3 School operating budget Dr. Hackett (LPS Supt.), Dave Coelho (Asst. Supt. of Finance & Operations) Revised tree bylaws, noise bylaw To be determined Mr. Pressman suggested that the Committee should hear from additional members of the Commu- nity Preservation Committee regarding the appropriation to the Affordable Housing Trust. Mr. Parker suggested that he could arrange the guest list so that upcoming meetings featured two or three speakers from the list above. Liaisons from the Appropriation Committee Mr. Parker reported on a conversation he had with Ms. Kosnoff in which he suggested that he and Ms. Kosnoff should have a brief meeting prior to the main Committee meetings in which they coor- dinate topics and review issues that might come up. Ms. Kosnoff agreed that this would be helpful, but she also pointed out that the Committee would benefit from being more directly engaged with some of the activities related to finance in the Town. Mr. Parker noted that some Committee mem- bers are already very involved with specific topics, while some members do not routinely monitor or participate in outside committee meetings that impact the Town’s finances. Mr. Parker and Ms. Kosnoff are concerned that the Committee is too reliant on Ms. Kosnoff’s per- sonal reporting on the wide range of issues facing the Town. They feel that the Committee should cultivate its own perspective where feasible. In particular, the Committee does not have liaisons to the Community Preservation Committee, the Recreation Committee, or Sustainable Lexington. On occasion, the Planning Board also addresses issues that the Committee might want to follow, such as new fees or zoning changes intended to spur commercial growth. While the Committee does not routinely attend School Committee meetings, Mr. Parker feels that the participation by Mr. Levine and himself in the School Building Committee work is sufficient for now. Mr. Parker serves as liaison to the Capital Expenditures Committee and monitors the Select Board agendas, providing a highlighted version with extracts from the agenda packet to the Com- mittee. Mr. Bartenstein is very involved in all aspects of the Town’s Water and Wastewater sys- tems. Mr. Michelson monitors the Minuteman Regional High School and the Town’s small business climate. Mr. Parker asked Mr. Padaki and Mr. Ahuja to consider how they could participate in an outside committee. Both responded that attending meetings could be a challenge due to conflicts with their work schedules, but Mr. Parker suggested that there might be other ways to be engaged that would not directly conflict with work. Mr. Ahuja suggested that we could follow up offline. Proposed Changes to Tree Bylaws Mr. Michelson agreed to review all articles with proposed changes to the Town’s Tree Bylaws with an eye towards possible financial implications. Water and Wastewater Rates Review Mr. Bartenstein asked Ms. Kosnoff if a committee would be appointed to review how the Town sets rates for water and wastewater customers. Ms. Kosnoff responded that she had submitted a Program Improvement Request for this, which would fund an outside consultant to perform an in-depth re- view of the Town’s water use and rate-setting model, and whether going to quarterly billing would be advisable.