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Y Minutes of the
Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
February 25, 2021
Location and Time: Remote Meeting; 7:30 A.M.
Members Present (remote participation): Charles Lamb, Chair; David Kanter, Vice-Chair
& Clerk; Sandy Beebee; Rod Cole; Wendy Manz; and Frank Smith
Members Absent: None
Others Present (remote participation): Members of Other Committees:
Sara Cuthbertson and Scott Bokun, School Committee liaisons; Glenn Parker, Chair,
Appropriation Committee (AC) liaison; Town Meeting Member: Taylor Singh; Staff: Finance
Department:Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary
Documents Presented:
• Notice/Agenda of CEC Meeting, February 25, 2021
• Draft #2 Capital Expenditures Committee Report to 2021 ATM, February 21, 2021
("Report")
• Editable Proposed Supplemental Language for Articles/Sub-Articles in the Report,
February 22, 2021
• CEC Officers, Subject Areas and Liaison Assignments, January 14, 2021
Call to Order
Mr. Lamb called this Remote (Virtual) Meeting, which had been posted as such, to order at
7:30 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 requirement to have a physical presence of
a quorum had been suspended in an Executive Order by Massachusetts
Governor Charles D. Baker, on March 12, 2020, after having proclaimed, on
March 10, 2020, a STATE OF EMERGENCY in the Commonwealth due to the outbreak of
the 2019 novel coronavirus, known as "COVID-19.).
Mr. Lamb further reported that the documents for this meeting, which had been provided
electronically to the Committee and would be available upon request, were those listed as
Documents Presented. Any votes during this meeting would be taken by a roll call. This
meeting is being recorded to assist in preparing Minutes, and the recording would be deleted
once the Minutes were approved. Mr. Lamb took a roll-call vote and confirmed that six
Committee members were remotely participating.
Discussion of the Status of the Report; and other matters related to it
Members reported on the status of the material that they are preparing for the Report.
Mr. Kanter asked that this Committee start reviewing the Town's 4-Out-Year Capital
Financing Plan and identify those items that need further discussion and/or changes based
on CEC's evaluation for inclusion in the Report's Five-Year Capital Plan. He said he plans to
prepare a Draft #3 Report in the near future. When asked about their preliminary votes to
date, no member identified any they wanted to change.
Mr. Kanter then lead a page-by-page review of the separate document he had prepared with
annotations on each Article/Sub-Article in that section of the Report suggesting which he
proposed did or did not warrant having additional text to supplement the already existing text.
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
February 25, 2021
(If he proposed adding supplemental text, he added a phrase indicating what he saw as the
purpose to do so.) A unanimous conclusion was reached by the Committee on each
Article/Sub-Article. Where supplemental text was needed, the member responsible was
identified for submitting an input of it to Mr. Kanter.
When Article 22, Appropriate for Authorized Capital Improvements, was reviewed—it was a
means with which to provide supplemental funding, if needed, to the design phase of the
Police Station project—Mr. Lamb reported on the February 22nd Select Board (SB) meeting
at which the timing for re-starting the SB's now long-time pause of the Police Station Project
was discussed.
• He and Mr. Parker explained to the SB that their committees strongly supported the
lifting of the pause on the project and the justification for doing so.
• Although some members of the SB asked questions, and it was reported that delaying
would cost $50,000—$70,000 per month, no final positions were expressed by SB
members. The SB deferred any decision until an SB meeting this March.
• Mr. Lamb asked this Committee if it wanted to use Article 22 as a mechanism for
bringing this Committee's concerns to the floor of the upcoming Annual Town Meeting
(ATM). After discussion of various options, Mr. Lamb agreed to get some additional
information about the timing and costs associated with the project. There was general
consensus that if the SB does not lift the pause on this project at its March meeting,
this Committee should consider means for further expressing its views.
When Article 29, Clean Heat—Authorize Special Legislation to Regulate Fossil Fuel
Infrastructure and Adopt Bylaw Amendment Enabling Legislation was reviewed, some
members were not sure there had been a previous preliminary vote on it, A Motion was made
and seconded to recommend support of it. Roll-Call Vote: 6-0
At the conclusion of the review, a Motion was made and seconded to affirm all votes taken
on the Articles/Sub-Articles in this Report were unanimously in support. Roll-Call Vote: 6-0.
Member Concerns and Liaison Reports
Mr. Kanter noted that this Committee's list of officers and liaisons—both informal and
formal—does not include a liaison to the AC. After a short discussion, a Motion was made
and seconded to add Mr. Kanter as a formal liaison to the AC. Roll-Call Vote: 6-0
Future Meetings
It was noted that meetings are planned on March 41h, 8:00 A.M.; on March 11 th, 7:30 A.M.; and
on March 18th, 8:00 a.m. It was agreed also to plan to meet on March 91h at 8:00 A.M. The
upcoming ATM starts on March 22nd, so Mr. Kanter reminded the Committee that, to meet its
routine obligation, its Report needs to be ready for distribution not later than March 15th.
Adjourn
A Motion was made and seconded at 8:30 A.M. to adjourn. Roll-Call Vote: 6-0
This Minutes was approved by the CEC at its meeting on March 4, 2021
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