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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-02-28-CEC-minMinutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting February 28, 2017 Location and Time: Town Offices Building, Reed Room (111); 7:30 A.M. Members Present: Jill Hai, Chair; David Kanter, Vice -Chair & Clerk; Wendy Manz; Charles Lamb (remote participation) Member Absent: Rod Cole Others Present: Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Sandy Beebee, resident; Elaine Ashton, Town Meeting Member; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Documents Presented: • Notice of CEC Meeting, February 28, 2017 • Draft #3 Minutes of the CEC meeting, February 14, 2017 CaII to Order: At 7:31 A.M., Ms. Hai called the meeting to order and announced she had authorized Mr. Lamb to participate remotely as he was not local. Follow -up discussions regarding FY2017 projects and purchases Ms. Hai reported on several projects that were discussed at the previous evening's Board of Selectmen's (BoS) meeting, as follows: • Annual Town Meeting (ATM) Article 17 (Appropriate for Hastings School Replacement Design): The BoS selected design elements of.an all- electric design with geothermal systems and the no- additional -cost options that would result in the indoor CO2 levels being reduced to an estimated 720 -810 parts per million (ppm). BoS did not support elements that would have projected a further- reduced the CO2 level, but which had both cost impacts and some non - cognitive health risks; a humidifying system for the whole building; or elements that would have enhanced resilience for extreme events of up to 5 days— creating an emergency evacuation center as a back up to Lexington High School. • Special Town Meeting (STM) Article 4 (Appropriate Design Funds for Lexington Children's Place (LCP) /20 Pelham Road): The recently released FY2018 Recommended Budget and Financing Plan ( "Brown Book ") identifies using $771,000 for designs of the LCP and space for municipal uses (e.g., by the Lexington Community Center (LexCC)), but the Town Warrant only identifies the funds being used for the LCP. To align with the Warrant, the STM funding request is being reduced by approximately $190,000. Increases in the funding under for ATM Article 16(e) (Public Facilities Bid Documents) —which scope does allow funding to be used for both school and municipal purposes —will be requested to support designing the municipal portion of the building. Mr. Kanter advised he found the nonbinding language traditionally used in the Brown Book to describe Article 16(e) indicated that it was for school facilities. That is being reviewed by Town staff. Ms. Hai reported that the School Committee suggested apportioning all elements of the 20 Pelham Road building renovations, such as the heating, ventilation, and air - conditioning systems, the roof, and site abatement to the two different purposes. This Committee disagreed and said doing so is not advisable as those costs, in their entirety, are essential for the LCP —which is the first and primary use for which the land was purchased —and, thus, should remain allocated to the LCP project. Page 1 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting February 28, 2017 Ms. Hai also reported that the presentation on the items being considered for a fall debt - exclusion represented presenting one question for the two parts of the project at the Pelham Road site. This Committee noted that if such a referendum question fails, both elements lose the exemption. This Committee expressed concern about "mission creep" as adding the build -out for municipal uses, while an additional, contemplated use, changes the renovation plans and adds an estimated $6.1 million to the $18.3 million already estimated for the build -out to provide just the LCP. Mr. Kanter suggested that this Committee's report include ATM Article 21 (Appropriate to Post Employment Insurance Liability Fund). Although it is not directly a capital project, most of the funding request is from sources that might better be appropriated to the Capital Stabilization Fund to help mitigate the expense to the tax payers for the very expensive capital projects planned for new /renovated facilities. A Motion was made and seconded to include ATM Article 21 in this Committee's report to the ATM, for the purpose of expressing this Committee's concerns over the allocation of available funding. A roll -call vote was taken. Vote: 4 -0 Ms. Manz reported that, to respond to an earlier question by a member, she had received an explanation regarding the use of the Community Preservation Committee's administrative budget. She plans to prepare an explanatory table demonstrating the expenditures. Ms. Hai reported that recently implemented methods for extending the life of roadways have positively influenced the curves associated with roadway pavement -index changes. Committee's Report to the 2017 ATM and Special Town Meeting (STM) 2017 -1 Ms. Hai discussed the Executive Summary. She plans to create a project priority list and to discuss a range of important projects for the Town from addressing school - enrollment increases, to upgrading public- safety facilities, to purchasing new voting equipment. It was noted that this Committee does not perceive the planned spending as wasteful, but at some point the voters may object to the debt - exclusion requests. Quality of service is important to residents, but it can be expected that the taxes required to meet expectations could change the Town's demographics. Mr. Kanter identified sections of the report that require additional information and who is responsible for those sections. It was agreed quoting the State statute on the membership of the Community Preservation Committee would be included in the report. The goal is to approve the report at this Committee's March 7th meeting, with a back -up meeting on March 10th, both at 7:30 A.M. It is hoped the meeting on March 10th would be primarily to capture votes from members who had not attended the March 7th meeting and it is assumed the meeting on the 10th would be over by 8:00 A.M. when the BoS is meeting to receive a report on the Police Headquarters location study— thereby allowing those Committee members to attend the BoS meeting if they wish to do so. Approval of Minutes A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft #3 Minutes of the CEC meeting, February 14, 2017, as amended. A roll -call vote was taken. Vote: 4-0 Next Meeting Recommendations should be brought to this Committee's March 7th meeting for Articles /sub - Articles the Committee should propose to the Town Moderator for consideration to be included in a Consent Agenda at the 2017 ATM. Page 2 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting February 28, 2017 Adjourn: A Motion was made and seconded at 9:03 A.M. to adjourn. A roll -call vote was taken. Vote: 4-0 These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on March 7, 2017. Page 3 of 3