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Board of Selectmen continued from previous page facility. Work to restore Cary Hall to its former glory will begin soon thereafter. Final phases of the secondary school renovations and addi- tions were completed. Although some minor items still remain, adequate funds are available in the budget to meet those needs. The High School and the two middle schools, Diamond and Clarke, all meet required codes and will accommodate enrollment projections. The start of construction of a new Harrington Elementary School began this year. It is being built beside the existing operating school and will include a separate wing for the Town's Early Childhood Education program. Both this new school and a new Fiske School have been funded by a town - wide vote in a debt exclusion override and have been approved for State reimbursement at up to 50 percent of their cost. After Harrington is completed, Fiske students will move to the old Harrington while the old Fiske school is razed and a new one is built on the same site. At a youth summit at the High School, the Selectmen were presented with six items of importance to the youth. One item was to find a way to complete the skatepark. Students explained that skating in the Center was not their choice, but with no place to go, people tended to gather there. The Skatepark Committee had already found a site, had it approved, and raised enough money to build the platform. What was needed was money to buy the events and landscap- ing. The Selectmen worked with the Recreation Committee and Skatepark Committee to bring to Town Meeting a pro- posal to fund the balance from the Recreation Enterprise Fund. The facility has been a phenomenal success with stu- dents enjoying it even before all the events were installed. Road reconstruction continued throughout Town. Buckman Tavern received a new roof. Maintenance contin- ued on town buildings. Several projects are underway through the Building Envelope Initiative, including making public access to the main Fire Station ADA- compliant. Land Use Development on the site of the former Metropolitan State property advanced toward reality. The Division of Capital Asset Management selected a developer who will come to Town Meeting with a housing proposal for the hospital campus including 25% affordable housing. The 23 -acre hospital site is surrounded by over 300 acres of open land, 97 acres of which are in Lexington, the balance in Waltham and Belmont. Study of proposals for siting a Senior Center is continuing. Using the site of the DPW facility remains an option. Town Meeting appropriated $30,000 for programmatic analysis of the Senior Center, as a prelude to design. The Selectmen supported the efforts by the Paint Rock Neighborhood to seek sound barriers along the Route 3 /128 interchange. Despite the valiant efforts of our state legislators, the Governor cut the funds for the barriers from the budget. Developments at Hanscom Field continue to be monitored by the Selectmen and HATS (Hanscom Area Towns Committee comprised of representatives from Lexington, Bedford, Concord and Lincoln). The Selectmen joined local and State officials in signing on to the Addendum to Hanscom at the Crossroad, decrying the proposed initiation of scheduled cargo flights at Hanscom. LEXPRESS One of the services lost as a result of the failed override was the Town's public transportation service known as LEX- PRESS. It had been in operation for 25 years and was the envy of many communities. LEXPRESS service was ulti- mately partially restored thanks to the hard work and inge- nuity of the Transportation Advisory Committee and the financial support of citizens. A Lexington resident whose son is Bruce Springsteen's manager donated multiple tickets to his sold -out concerts September 6 and 7 at Fenway Park and raised thousands of dollars. Citizens who don't use LEXPRESS bought yearly passes to support the service. Routes and hours of operations were reduced and weekend service eliminated, but most needs have been accommodat- ed as the buses rolled again. As private funds became avail- able, more of the operations have been restored. Traffic Issues This year saw an extraordinary number of requests for speed humps, signage, and other methods to calm traffic. An experimental speed hump was placed on Middleby Road near the Bridge School. In many cases, driver's atten- tion will best help in mitigating the traffic impacts. At the suggestion of the School Department, a representative from the School Administration was appointed to the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee as many traffic concerns cen- tered around schools. Early Retirement Initiative (ERI) In an effort to address the fiscal challenges, the Board considered various options in adopting early retirement legislation. There were 140 employees who would be eligi- ble across departments if the Board gave unlimited access to the program. The law also allowed communities to offer the plan to specific departments. In the end, a majority of the Board voted to make 35 slots available across depart- ments to employees with a total of five years service or age added. As of December 30, 34 employees retired under this program, further changing the way the Town does its busi- ness. Finances dictate that approximately half of the posi- tions remain unfilled in order that a net savings is realized. The impact of the ERI will be felt in the second half of the fiscal year. continued on next page 2003 Annual Report, Town of Lexington Page 5