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2/22/2024 AC Minutes 3 construction of 20 units of affordable housing on it. The cost of the land would not be a major ob- stacle to the project. Mr. Parker disagreed, noting a contribution of land the Town already owns costs nothing, but the overriding fact is that the Town simply could not afford to build 20 affordable houses with no other outside funding. And that outside funding relies on a development having a certain minimum num- ber of units. Mr. Levine responded that if Parcel 68-44 could satisfy the requirements for an all-af- fordable development, then other sites in the Town could also work if the Town was willing to pur- chase the land, but he agreed that the Town could not finance 20 new units on its own. Mr. Michelson responded that he did not know where the Town could find another comparable par- cel, at any price. The large properties that are now available in Lexington would all require exten- sive site preparation before they can be developed, and they are expensive even without considering that extra burden. Mr. Levine stated that his comments were more in the context of future developments, and he agreed that there were no conveniently empty 3-acre parcels left in Lexington, but there are large parcels with houses that might be suitable, even if they cost more. Mr. Sandeen thanked the Committee for its input. Mr. Parker asked Mr. Sandeen how the Select Board might proceed on this matter. Mr. Sandeen responded that it would be useful to meet with Se- lect Board members encouraging them to place an item on the agenda for an upcoming meeting be- fore the town meeting begins. Mr. Parker hoped that the Select Board would publish a clear state- ment of their intent regarding Article 33. Status of the Report to Town Meeting Mr. Parker asked for comments from the Committee about their progress on drafting the report for the 2024 Annual Town Meeting. Some members have started entering text while others who have not yet begun to draft their sections agreed that they would start on them this weekend. Mr. Levine responded that he was waiting for information from Carolyn Kosnoff about stabilization funds, and, in regard to the article to appropriate funds for 173 Bedford St., for the Select Board re- sponse to the RFP for leased space to temporarily house the LPS Central Office followed by other departments in place of 173 Bedford St. Mr. Parker responded that responses to the RFP were sum- marized in the Select Board’s agenda packet, which he had already shared with the Committee by email. Mr. Levine stated that he would wait until the Select Board had actually met to discuss the matter. Mr. Padaki stated that he had flagged Article 10 for review. Mr. Michelson responded that the writeup was accurate. Mr. Parker noted that he is working with Ms. Impink and Mr. Michelson to link important numbers in the report to the data base. He will also work on the introduction and with Mr. Bartenstein to try to write something for Article 33. Mr. Osborne added his votes to the tally, which were all in support of the articles the Committee had voted on the previous week. Mr. Ahuja asked if there was a staff member who could answer questions about the proposed col- umbarium at Westview Cemetery. Mr. Parker noted that David Pinsonneault, Director of the DPW, would be attending the meeting next week and might be able to provide some information, although the cemetery building may be under the purview of the DPF, which is headed by Mike Cronin.