2017-Annual Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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All, .. Board of Selectmen Five members elected by the voters at large to overlapping The Ad Hoc Center Streetscape Design Review Commit- 3-year terms:Chairman Suzanne E.Barry,Vice Chairman tee presented its final report evaluating and making recom- Michelle L.Ciccolo,Peter C.J.Kelley,Douglas M.Lucente mendations on the various design elements (excluding en- and Joseph N.Pato.Norman P.Cohen did not run for re- gineering items related to traffic)for the Center Streetscape election after serving 9 years and Mr. Lucente was elected Project to the Board in January 2017.The Board reviewed to the Board along with the reelection of Ms. Ciccolo in the report and asked for a revised 25% design from the the March 2017 election. consultant based upon the Board's feedback and recom- Staffing changes: in November of 2016, Lynne Pease, Ex- mendations. Special Town Meeting 1 in March of 2017 ecutive Clerk for the Board of Selectmen retired after 21 approved design funds for Fire Station Swing Space at 173 years of service to the Town. Ms. Donna McIntosh was Bedford Street, design funds for a new Fire Headquar- named Office Manager/Executive Clerk in November ters at 45 Bedford Street and design funds for Lexington 2016. Ms. Kim Katzenback was named municipal assis- Children's Place(the School Department's State mandated tant to the Executive Clerk in January 2017 and Ms. Kim preschool) at 20 Pelham Road. Design work also contin- Siebert was named Recording Secretary to the Board of ued on a new Hastings Elementary School. It is antici- Selectmen in August 2016. pated that the Hastings School project,Fire Headquarters/ The Board of Selectmen is committed to balancing all the Fire Swing space and Lexington Children's Place projects interests of Lexington and continuing to ensure the Town will come before the voters in a debt exclusion vote in the remains a strong,diverse and healthy community. fall of 2017. In June of 2017,the Board voted to increase the fees at Westview Cemetery for the first time since 2005 Fiscal Matters to bring them in line with surrounding communities and as Lexington continued to maintain its positive financial a means to help offset the cost of building a new mainte- standing.Property tax revenues rose due to new growth in nance building at the Cemetery.Town Meeting approved both the residential and commercial sectors. Home pric- design funds for the new Westview Cemetery building at es have continued to rise rapidly during the year, and the the 2017 Annual Town Meeting. housing market continues to be robust. Residential prop- erty values, however, grew faster than commercial values Community Engagement shifting some property tax burden from commercial to res- Communication to and from the Board is an ongoing pri- idential payers for the third year in a row.As a result, the ority of the Board. All Board members maintain office Selectmen maintained the split tax-rate factor at its maxi- hours; a time set aside to meet with residents about issues mum to soften the impact on residential tax-payers. or concerns they may have.For the third year in a row,the We have maintained our Aaa rating from our bond agen- Board participated in the annual Discovery Day event as cies, and our cost of debt is very low.The Selectmen kept part of their community outreach program. Board mem- their goal to have no operating overrides. The Selectmen bers also spoke at various town and civic related groups over have continued their policy to set aside a portion of rev- the course of the year.The Board evaluated over 60 poten- enues in a fund that would be used to reduce the impact of tial goals at their annual goal setting meeting for the year excluded debt and to support capital projects. that were submitted by members of the Board, staff, and Boards and Committees; ultimately the list was narrowed Land Acquisition and Use to 17 priority goals for the Board to focus on.In February At a September 2016 Special Town Meeting, members 2017, the Board heard the final report and recommenda- authorized the acquisition of 171-173 Bedford Street,the tions from the 2020 Vision Committee's Subcommittee on former Liberty Mutual property.Pending a successful debt Asian Communities which had been charged with identi- exclusion vote in the fall of 2017, the property would be fying lessons that can be learned regarding increasing in- remodeled to serve as Fire Station Swing Space while Fire clusion of residents of Asian ancestry from communities Headquarters is rebuilt at 45 Bedford Street. across the U.S.A. that have proportionally higher Asian population. Capital Planning The Board continues to address the issues of maintaining Sustainability and improving infrastructure,including,but not limited to; Several sustainable initiatives came to fruition as a result our roads,water and sewer systems, parks and fields, and of the Board's commitment to sustainability and the Sus- buildings. tainable Lexington Committee's hard work.In October of