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TOWN GOVERNMENT
<br />Board of Selectmen
<br />ELECTED by the voters at large: Chair Leo McSweeney, Peter
<br />Enrich, Bill Kennedy, Jeanne Krieger, Dawn McKenna.
<br />The year 2002
<br />was marked by a
<br />series of changes,
<br />developments,
<br />and complicated
<br />issues for the Town of Lexington. The Board regularly discussed
<br />new initiatives, old programs, and continued efforts to modern-
<br />ize Lexington's infrastructure. Throughout it all, however, the
<br />active participation of Lexington's citizens in numerous activi-
<br />ties, boards, committees, and initiatives strengthened
<br />Lexington's democratic processes and contributed to its vitality.
<br />Expenditures
<br />FY02
<br />FY01
<br />Payroll
<br />$ 67,794
<br />$ 60,708
<br />Expenses
<br />$ 55,352
<br />$ 44,503
<br />Capital Projects
<br />If 2001 was known as the year that Lexington was under con-
<br />struction, then 2002 should go down as the year Lexington was
<br />under reconstruction. Another year of record construction pro-
<br />jects meant that somewhere a road was being repaved, a sewer
<br />main repaired, a roof mended, a new building built or a new
<br />facility planned. It also marked the third year of the Town's
<br />street reconstruction project with a sizeable amount of
<br />Lexington's major and minor streets seeing repaving, recon-
<br />struction, or utility repair during the summer months.
<br />Construction continued on the Cary Memorial Library. With
<br />completion set sometime in the summer of 2003, the Library
<br />prospered in its temporary home at Cary Hall. Depot Square
<br />was completed, allowing for new turnouts for LexPress and the
<br />creation of a gathering place for events, such as the Lexington
<br />Center Committee's Summer Saturdays.
<br />In addition to these facility completions, the Town also spent
<br />money to restore important elements of its past. The Revolutionary
<br />War Monument on the Battle Green is the oldest war memorial in
<br />the country. Created in 1799, the wear of over two centuries had
<br />started to take its toll on the obelisk. At the behest of citizens, the
<br />Board contracted with Ivan Myjer and Joseph Gnazzo Company,
<br />Inc. who repaired the monument for just under $20,000. The mon-
<br />ument has been restored to its former luster and will continue to be
<br />a proud testament to our community's past.
<br />New facilities were also planned. As part of a debt exclusion
<br />vote passed in May, citizens of Lexington authorized $32.15
<br />million for the construction of two new elementary schools to
<br />replace Fiske and Harrington, $3.4 million to reconstruct fields
<br />at Lincoln Park and $7 million for street - related improvements.
<br />Continuing study on two capital improvements, the DPW facil-
<br />ity and a new Senior Center, generated a great amount of inter-
<br />est and debate from Lexington residents. Midway through the
<br />year the Board worked to combine the efforts of the COA Siting
<br />Committee and the DPW Facility Site Working Group into the
<br />DPW Facility /Senior Center Siting Advisory Committee. The
<br />L -R: Dawn McKenna, Peter Enrich, Leo McSweeney, Executive
<br />Clerk Phyllis Smith, Jeanne Krieger, Bill Kennedy, Town
<br />Manager Rick White.
<br />committee's charge has been to continue study of both facili-
<br />ties, evaluate potential site locations, and prepare the Town for
<br />action on a debt exclusion vote sometime in the future.
<br />Town staff also worked to take care of closing the old landfill
<br />on Hartwell Avenue. Due in large part to the enterprising solu-
<br />tions brought forth by staff, Rep. Jay Kaufman and Selectman
<br />Krieger, Lexington successfully lobbied the State Legislature to
<br />become the pilot community under the Hazardous Materials
<br />closure process. This dramatically lowered the closing costs of
<br />the landfill from over $3,500,000 to less than $500,000. The
<br />2003 Town Meeting will consider appropriating that lower
<br />amount for the closure of the landfill and the return of that
<br />space to useable land within the Town of Lexington.
<br />Land Use
<br />Managing land within the community has always been of impor-
<br />tance to Lexington citizens. The role of the Board of Selectmen
<br />during 2002 was to maintain the tradition of good stewardship of
<br />our physical and natural resources while creating sufficient
<br />opportunities for our citizens to live, work, and play.
<br />This year presented the Town with its first opportunity to adopt
<br />the Community Preservation Act's (CPA) option for towns to levy
<br />a property tax surcharge to provide earmarked funding for open
<br />space, historic preservation, and affordable housing. In advance of
<br />the 2002 Annual Town Meeting, the Community Preservation Act
<br />Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, which the Board had established in
<br />2001 to assess the Town's options, presented its final report to the
<br />Board. The Committee identified both advantages (including eli-
<br />gibility for State matching funds) and disadvantages (including
<br />competition with other demands on property tax resources) of
<br />adopting the CPA, and presented the Board with a range of
<br />options. After consideration of the Committee's careful analysis,
<br />the Board decided not to propose the adoption of the CPA at the
<br />present time, and Town Meeting accepted this recommendation.
<br />The question of whether to adopt this new funding opportunity for
<br />these significant town objectives will remain before the Town in
<br />coming years. Adoption would require both a favorable vote by
<br />Town Meeting and approval in a town -wide referendum.
<br />Page 4 2002 Annual Report, Town of Lexington
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