2016-11-29-CEC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting November 29, 2016 #896 School Furniture, Equipment, & Systems Program: A prior Annual Town Meeting appropriated $100,000 for funding an inventory of the schools’ furniture, equipment, and systems; the goal was to develop a tool that could be used to track purchases, estimate their longevity, and identify potential spikes in funding needs. A Request for Proposals did not generate a viable candidate. In response to continued concerns by this Committee regarding the need for a methodology for developing this funding request, it was agreed that school department staff would work with Pat Goddard, Director, DPF, and building Principals, to create a broad evaluation of existing items, their anticipated longevity, and an estimated time line for replacements. It was suggested that this might be a summer project for high-school students. It was noted that recent large building projects have covered items that might otherwise have been included in this funding request. Additionally, the curriculum budget includes funding to outfit two additional classrooms each year. #945 LPS Technology Capital Request: An Educational Task Force Committee has been created to develop a three-year plan to identify technology needs. Each classroom is being evaluated. A final draft is scheduled for late January 2017. There are 25 members, including staff, parents and students. The State has mandated on-line testing, making it necessary to increase the number of students using digital learning devices. Costs include licenses as well as software. Estimated costs are based on experience with prior projects. Students are generally able to adapt to new platforms comfortably; staff can assist. Old equipment can frequently be re-purposed. A new email system is being considered. Security needs are considered as part of the evaluation. It was agreed that Tom Case, Chief Information Officer, would be kept informed; a meeting is already scheduled. Committee request: Discounts, such as State discounts that are being applied to purchases, should be identified to keep residents informed of such. Land Use, Health and Development: Staff reported on the following projects, including, but not limited to, the following information: #980 Bedford St. at Eldred St. Safety Improvements: Alternatives for facilitating the safe crossing of Bedford Street by pedestrians have been studied since 1980. The State supports the installation of a Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon, assuming the Town assumes financial responsibility of its purchase and installation; this approval is critical because Bedford Street is a State right-of-way. The requested funding would be used for further design work. The project will be handled by the DPW when it proceeds to the construction phase. Committee request: Specific support from the Lexington Police Department should be sought and the CIP should then be updated to include reference to such support. #981 Transportation Mitigation: Partly because the work previously done by the Sidewalk Committee is now undertaken by the Transportation Safety Group (TSG), the number of requests to the TSG for safety-related improvements has increased; there are currently 20–25 active requests. Requests for new sidewalks are analyzed before being recommended for construction; that analysis is funded as part of this project. Construction would be funded in a separate DPW project. This prevents the blurring of funding for one purpose over the other; however, the departments coordinate the new and old sidewalk projects. Page 2 of 4