2008-03-03-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

March 3, 2008 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee March 3, 2008 Place and time: Town Office Building, Room G-15, 7:30 PM Members present: Alan Levine (Chair), John Bartenstein (Secretary), Deborah Brown, Richard Eurich, Michael Kennealy, Susan McLeish, Eric Michelson, Rob Addelson (ex officio, non-voting) Also present (for portions of the meeting): Gerry Paul, John Frey, and Karen Longeteig of the Lexington Tree Committee; Betsey Weiss, Chair of the Community Preservation Committee and a member of the Lexington Housing Partnership; and William Hays, Acting Chair of LexHab. The meeting was called to order at 7:40 PM. Miscellaneous Budget items. 1. Rob Addelson confirmed that $750 will be appropriated from Free Cash for FY2008 for Battle Green guides. He also indicated that snow and ice removal are over budget for FY2008 and that the reallocation of surpluses remaining in other line items in the FY2008 budget to help cover line items with overruns would be included in Article 27 (Amend FY2008 Operating Budget). The Free Cash available has all been accounted for – there are no additional amounts available. Lastly, Rob indicated that the amount in FY2008 for collective bargaining has not been used, and that it will be available for police and other settlements. Article 7 – Appropriate for Street Trees. 2. GerryPaul, John Frey and Karen Longeteig of the Tree Committee were present to discuss Article 7 (Appropriate for Street Trees). Gerry indicated that the Tree Committee is asking for $24,000 to replace 70 trees that will be removed next year (natural loss due to age/disease). This is in addition to $5,000 in the budget for tree replacement. The Tree Committee believes that keeping up with replacement is a critical issue. Historically, tree replacement has not made it through budget cuts. The Tree Committee sees this more as a program reinstatement than a program improvement, and in the current budget environment it is difficult to get something reinstated once cut. This is the third year that the committee has tried to get budget money for tree replacement. They have now gone through the appropriate process, but they have not been successful and every year that passes finds the Town further behind in terms of trees lost and not replaced. The Committee has planted 120 trees at Lower Vinebrook as a future source of trees (they won’t be available for 3-4 more years) and, in the meantime it costs $250 to purchase a tree and $250 to plant it. Gerry has spoken with the DPW and they are able to provide labor to plant 40 of the trees to help keep the costs down. As the municipal budget has been submitted and is in balance, it is difficult to free up the funds to make them available for this request. Use of funds currently planned for the Stabilization Fund was discussed as a possible source. The Committee discussed the issue, and it was agreed that it would be useful to determine - 1 -