2017-10-16-CEC-STM2-STM3-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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CAPITAL EXPENDITURES COMMITTEE REPORT TO OCTOBER 16,2017, STMs 2017-2&-3 This Committee recognizes the important function of the Visitors Center in welcoming thousands of people each year, introducing them to Lexington and encouraging them to spend time and money here. The Committee strongly supports the renovation or replacement of the current Visitors Center, which is inadequate to accommodate large numbers of visitors, and provide them with necessary services. This Committee remains disappointed that despite earlier discussions of changes that could be made to the conceptual design to significantly reduce the remaining costs of the project, such a reduction was not achieved. However, the Committee recognizes that the stakeholders believe this is the right project for their programmatic needs Conclusion A majority of this Committee supports the full Design Development funding with the expectation that a reduction in total project cost and the support of the Historic Districts Commission are to be achieved. The minority holds that this Town Meeting should only appropriate the further-design funding needed— thereby supplementing the approximately $38,000 that's available—to achieve those same two objectives. In any case, this Committee is unanimous in opposing funding at this STM anything past Design Development—for example, for Construction Documents (estimated at$200,000). Article 9:APPROPRIATE Fund Funding FOR SOLID WASTE Authorization Source Committee Recommends COLLECTION Requested EQUIPMENT Not Applicable Not Applicable Indefinite Postponement (7-0) "To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money for recycling and solid waste collection equipment; determine whether the money shall be provided by the tax levy,by transfer from available funds, by borrowing,or by any combination of these methods; or act in any other manner in relation thereto." "DESCRIPTION:The funds will allow the Town to explore equipment options for its Recycling and Solid Waste Collection program. The current contract expires on June 30, 2018, and the Town is reviewing proposals to replace it." (Town Warrant, 18 Sep 2017) In conjunction with developing the replacement contract, the Town is evaluating a change to its trash and recycling methods to provide for automated collection of either or both of those waste streams whereby residents would be given larger, closed containers, and the trucks would have a system to grab and empty the containers as they drove the route. While the contractor would likely have an added expense for the trucks with automation,there would be savings in personnel costs. If the Town decides to automate collection of either or both waste streams, it will also have to decide whether to purchase the containers itself or to include those costs in the collection contract. If the decision is for the Town to make the purchase, this Article would have provided the opportunity to appropriate those funds. As the Town is not prepared to make either decision before this Town Meeting is otherwise ready for dissolution, this Article will be Indefinitely Postponed. 10