2018-01-18-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

01/18/2018 AC Minutes Ms. Yang reported that she had heard from some members of Lexington's Chinese-American community that their residential property tax bills had increased by as much as 20-30%. She has asked Carolyn Kosnoff„ Assistant Town Manager, Finance, for information on the average increase. There was discussion about the factors that influence property tax increases for a residence, including upgrades, classification, assessed value, and the growth factor. It was noted that residents can pursue an abatement request if they believe there is an error. It was agreed that if Ms. Yang wishes to have further discussion on this issue, it would be best to defer it until after this Committee completes and presents its report to the 2018 ATM. 2. Review of FY2019 Budget Issues Center Field Track and Field Reconstruction and Athletic Facility Lighting: Mr. Kanter and Mr. Pressman provided background information about a Community Preservation Act(CPA)proposal for Center Field track and field reconstruction and athletic facility lighting. This matter had been scheduled for a"plus-one"meeting in early January because of concerns that the project could potentially result in conflicts with a future high school replacement or renovation project. Due to snow, that discussion was postponed until the upcoming Budget Summit 4 on January 24. Mr. Pressman explained that the Recreation Department's CIPs for these two projects rely mainly on CPA funds. The $3.4 million cost for the track and field reconstruction includes $500,000 that is not eligible for CPA funds, and which would be funded by the tax levy. The entire $985,000 requested for the lighting is CPA-eligible. The CPC voted to support these two projects, but the vote was not unanimous at this point due to concerns about potential conflict with a future high school project. It was suggested that the track area and new lighting for the baseball and softball fields might be impacted by a high school project, but conflict seemed unlikely for the basketball and tennis court lights included in the project. Mr. Kanter reported that the CEC is looking into this potential conflict and has requested a sketch showing how a new high school project might involve the areas in question, including the location of a staging area. It was noted that the current track has already been resurfaced twice, but the actual dates when this was done were not readily available. A third resurfacing is not advised from an engineering point of view, and the current condition of the track is such that it may have to be closed within a year if it isn't replaced. It was agreed that additional information is needed regarding the dates of prior resurfacing, lifespan of a new track and the plan for the high school. • Lexington Police Department Replacement: Mr. Bartenstein noted that the preliminary list of warrant articles for the 2018 Annual Town Meeting includes a funding request for over$1 million to develop designs for a new Police Headquarters building, and that the BoS recently voted to use the current Police Station location for a new facility rather than using the 173 Bedford Street site. He noted that this project would require another debt exclusion referendum, raising questions about the timing of the design work in relation to the timing of the referendum. 2