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10/27/2021 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) October 27, 2021 Place and Time: Remote Participation: in accordance with Section 20 of Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2021 "An Act Relative to Extending Certain COVID-19 Measures Adopted During the State of Emergency", communication took place via a Zoom teleconferencing session that was open to the public; 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary; Anil Ahuja; John Bartenstein; Eric Michelson; Meg Muckenhoupt; Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Member(s)Absent: None Other Attendees: Eileen Jay, Vice-Chair, School Committee; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Mr. Parker reviewed the authorization for meeting remotely, noted that the meeting was being called to order at 7:32 p.m. on October 27, 2021, stated that the meeting was being recorded for the purpose of creating minutes, and confirmed attendance by roll call. Announcements and Liaison Reports Ms. Muckenhoupt reported on efforts by the Stone Building Feasibility/Re-Use Committee (ad hoc) to prepare a report by December on potential future uses for the Stone Building. The building is owned by the Town and is under the control of the Library Trustees, who have said that they do not wish to use the building for library purposes. The deed shows that it was given to the Town and cannot be sold. Ten years ago, it was determined that renovating the building to meet then-current standards, including the Americans with Disability Act, would be approximately $1.6 million. The Community Preservation Committee would need to know the intended use of the building before it would support the use of Community Preservation Act funds for such a renovation. No Town entity or non-profit has been identified that would fund operating costs. Preparation of the Committee Report to Special Town Meeting (STM) 2021-1 Mr. Parker asked for comments on the draft report that he had distributed. Suggestions were made to clarify text, and it was agreed that additional non-substantial edits would be forwarded to Mr. Parker. Ms. Kosnoff responded to questions, with comments including the following: • Although the Town Manager wants to adopt procedures that move available funds into the Capital Stabilization Fund (CSF), he also wants to maintain flexibility regarding that effort to avoid any hardships. • Free cash has been appropriated into the CSF in the past; there was discussion of whether the current proposal is the first time recurring revenue would be used for this purpose. • Excluded debt service is not expected to increase when the police station project debt service becomes due because the debt service on other projects will be decreasing at about the same time. • The recommended $200,000 appropriation into the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Stabilization Fund reflects a reduction in the transportation operating expenses line item in the budget. A $200,000 Massachusetts Department of Transportation grant, which must be used for transportation operating expenses, will then be used for that purpose. 1