2000-01-13-CEC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Capital Expenditures Committee Proposed Minutes January 13th, 2000 Meeting 1. Meeting was called to order by the Chairman in the Civil Room at Cary Hall at 7:35pm. All members were present: Narain Bhatia, George Burnell, Tom Griffiths, Charles Hornig, and Shirley Stolz. The Appropriation Committee was represented by Sheldon Spector. Rick White and Jeanne Krieger were also present. 2. Rick made the following points: ?? He is worried that the amount of near-term capital spending needed may be exaggerated. He mentioned that a figure of $120M was possible if one believed all the numbers we see thrown about. ?? He emphasized that the large-ticket capital spending process involved the Selectmen, the School Committee, and the “Blue Ribbon Committee” to be appointed by the Selectmen. ?? Concerning roads, he’s convinced that the recent study overstates the amount of work needed on the roads. For example, he believes that reconstruction isn’t needed for some of the roads listed as needing it. Rick also believes that we will soon see Chapter 90 funds restored to their traditional levels. ?? He feels strongly (with Jeanne’s support) that a DPW building study should be done. He believes that it would show that the cost of relocating to Hartwell Ave. would be mostly offset by the revenue the Town could gain by selling the present site. He also reminded the Committee that the current site, in private hands, could generate significant tax revenue. 3. Jeanne made the following points: ?? She hopes the Committee’s five-year plan will reflect priorities more than numbers. She feels we would better serve the community if we came to the capital summit with questions/concerns rather than a proposal like that th voted at our January 6 meeting. ?? Jeane (with Rick’s agreement) felt that the COA proposal made sense and doesn’t require a preliminary needs study. The current site doesn’t meet COA needs, and the Town wants to support its seniors. (Rick said about $25K was being allocated in FY 2001 for a design study.) 4. After Jeanne and Rick left, the Committee decided to re-engage the DPW and COA issues. th 5. The Committee also decided to have a meeting on February 9 to discuss strategy for the Capital Summit Meeting. 6. George and Charles agreed to cover School Committee Meetings while Tom is away. 7. The following Committee actions were by unanimous vote: ?? Rescind the Committee’s December vote that for FY 2001, the Committee recommends the inclusion of the DPW’s Lake Street Drain Replacement at $52,500. If there is insufficient money in the cash capital budget, cut the School Technology program by $50,000. Instead, the Committee recommends inclusion of the Lake Street project in FY 2002.