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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-08-18-CEC-min Y Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting August 18, 2021 4 APRIL III' ��IN4i'47�r Location and Time: Remote Meeting; 8:00 A.M. CEC Members Present (remote participation): Charles Lamb, Chair; David Kanter, Vice–Chair & Clerk; Sandy Beebee; Rod Cole; and Frank Smith CEC Members Absent: None Others Present (remote participation): Other Lexington Committees: Sara Cuthbertson, School Committee liaison; Glenn Parker, Chair, Appropriation Committee (AC); John Himmel, Chair, Permanent Building Committee (PBC); Lexington Staff: Department of Public Facilities: Mike Cronin, Director of Public Facilities; Finance Department: Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Documents Presented: • Notice of Public Meeting/Agenda CEC Meeting, August 18, 2021 • Schedule for Police Headquarters, including 173 Bedford Street Renovations for swing space and replacement headquarters Call to Order Mr. Lamb called this Remote (Virtual) Meeting, which had been posted as such, to order at 8:00 A.M. As all those present had been previously advised of the special conditions of this meeting, he passed on repeating them (i.e., the authority to not require a physical presence of a quorum and other selected terms under the Open Meeting Law is legislation signed on June 16th of this year by Massachusetts Governor Charles D. Baker). Mr. Lamb advised that materials provided electronically to the Committee or presented at the meeting, would be available upon request and are those listed in the Minutes as Documents Presented. Any votes during this meeting would be taken by a roll call. Further, this meeting would be recorded to assist in preparing Minutes, and the recording would be deleted once the Minutes is approved. Mr. Lamb took a roll-call vote and confirmed the five Committee members were remotely participating. Update on Capital Projects: Police Headquarters and Westview Cemetery Project Mr. Kanter shared a schedule for replacing the Police Headquarters at 1575 Massachusetts Avenue and for preparing swing space at 173 Bedford Street (173") to be used during construction. Mr. Cronin reported that plans to renovate 173 for that temporary facility include adding two holding cells. He added that the serious space shortages in the Town Office Building (TOB)—known for several years and growing worse—have triggered conversations by the Town Manager about possibly renovating the 2nd floor at 173, which could provide office space for approximately 15 staff members. This requires, among other things, adding an elevator, a sprinkler system, and some renovations of the 2nd floor—all of which would increase the renovation costs by about $1.5 million, or more. If 173 were to become a permanent location for office space, additional modifications would be necessary after the Police Department moved to its new facility. Page 1 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting August 18, 2021 In response to concerns about changing the scope of work and potentially delaying the police station project, Mr. Cronin reviewed the timing, noting that renovations of the temporary facility, but not the police station, would be impacted. He added that a request for additional funds for the design would be brought to the fall 2021 Special Town Meeting. Mr. Himmel noted that the Historic Districts Commission has issues with the impact that the new station could have on Fletcher Park. This will be discussed at the PBC's meeting tomorrow evening. Mr. Cronin noted that for this reason there are plans to use Tekton Builders & Design, Inc., to work on the canopy designs for the new station; an approach supported by Mr. Himmel. In response to questions about the shortage of space in the TOB, Mr. Cronin explained that staff positions have been added. As just a few examples, Human Services does not now have space for confidential interactions and Economic Development has already been moved to the new Visitors Center. He agreed that additional evaluation is needed before deciding to use 173 for permanent office space, but that could be done during the construction of the police station. Mr. Cronin said that if a master plan should include continued, permanent, use of 173 for staff, some additional work would be required at that location. Ms. Beebee asked for further information on the additional space needs for the Town staff. Mr. Cronin described the findings of his own, recent, walkthrough of the TOB and the multiple, specific, shortfalls of the personnel placement adaptation. Ms. Kosnoff added that the TOB needs to be open to the public, thus requiring staff presence; although some people continue to work at home one day a week, sharing a desk and office space is problematic. Committee members expressed hesitation about changing the scope for renovating 173. Mr. Cronin suggested that particularly the long-term use of 173 needs to be considered in conjunction with a Master Plan and, in response to Committee questions, acknowledges there is not now such a plan. He also agreed that even using 173 to address short-term space shortages needs further discussion and some additional funding is likely needed at the fall Special Town Meeting to both address the impact of the about 1-year pause to the new Police Station Project, any revision of the scope of work at 173 to address relocating staff there, and for the earlier mentioned new canopy design for that Project. Regarding the Westview Cemetery Project, Mr. Cronin reported that $3.0 million was budgeted after obtaining a second cost estimate, but bids came in $500,000 to $600,000 over budget. The question is whether to request additional funding (presuming about $3.5 or $3.6 million is likely to be the new floor to bids as the prior bids are now public) or try to modify the program and the design to reduce cost. Ms. Kosnoff added that the additional debt service would need to come from the tax levy. Mr. Himmel stated that there had been several value—engineering proposals before the solicitation that would have reduced the estimated cost. Mr. Himmel suggested that there needs to be a process for downsizing projects that come in over-budget and added that, based on an earlier review by the PBC, it would be possible to reduce the scope for the Westview Cemetery Project. He also expressed concern about balancing the financial needs with the new police station and new high school. Page 2 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting August 18, 2021 During discussion before and after Mr. Himmel's comments, members of this Committee acknowledged the various options and approaches to take with the Westview Cemetery Project, but their general thrust indicated that requesting additional funds for the Westview project was preferable to reducing the program—which program had been justified over two years—and risking citizen support of the presented scope or the need for the additional space within the next 20 years. The Committee thanked Mr. Cronin for his time today for the extensive discussion. Minutes A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Open Session Draft Minutes for June 22, 2021, with minor edits; and to approve the Executive Session Draft Minutes for June 22, 2021, but not to be made public at this time. Roll-Call Vote: 5-0 Adjourn A Motion was made and seconded at 8:55 A.M. to adjourn. Roll-Call Vote: 5-0 This Minutes was approved by the CEC at its meeting on September 14, 2021 Page 3 of 3