2012-10-23-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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October 23, 2012 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee October 23, 2012 Place and time: Stone Room, Cary Hall, 7:30 p.m. Members present. Glenn Parker, Chair; Joe Pato, Vice Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Alan Levine; Richard Neumeier; Robert Cohen; Mollie Garberg; Rob Addelson (non- voting, ex officio) Members Absent: Eric Michelson; Jonina Schonfeld Other Attendees: Carl Valente, Town Manager; Pat Goddard, Director of Public Facilities; Margaret Coppe, School Committee Chair; Mary Ann Stewart, School Committee; Andy Friedlich, TMMA; David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee The meeting was called to order at 7:34 p.m. 1. Liaison Reports: Robert Cohen reported that Carl Valente's negotiating team for the Vistaprint tax increment financing (TIF) proposal met with Hobbs Brook, owner of the properties called Ledgemont 2 and 3. Vistaprint is currently leasing the Ledgemont 2 building and is interested in leasing the proposed Ledgemont 3 facility. The discussion at the meeting with Hobbs Brook focused on the role Hobbs Brook might play in helping to keep Vistaprint in Lexington. Hobbs Brook stated that they plan to build the Ledgemont 3 building whether or not Vistaprint decides to lease it, and that all other facilities in their portfolio are fully occupied and thus unavailable to Vistaprint. It was noted that Vistaprint is expanding rapidly and needs an additional facility as soon as possible. It was also noted that Vistaprint is the kind of business that fits well in Lexington. 2. Special Town Meeting Article 6, Estabrook School: Margaret Coppe provided a broad overview of the financial aspects of the project to replace Estabrook School, and she and Pat Goddard explained why the construction estimates for the project now exceed the $31.0 million previously approved. It was noted that it is too early to use any of the contingency funding to make up the difference. Margaret Coppe reviewed the process and considerable efforts taken by the School Committee and Permanent Building Committee (PBC) to reduce the gap and added that the scope of the project has not changed. The School Committee plans to ask Special Town Meeting to supplement the original appropriation by an amount somewhere between $2.0 -2.8 million. This amount is needed to avoid project cuts that the School Committee found untenable and should be sufficient to prevent the project from going over budget. The PBC will be meeting on November 8, 2012 to make a recommendation for the exact amount of the request, and the School Committee will be meeting on November 13, 2012 to vote on that recommendation.