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3/3/2016 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee(AC) March3, 2016 : ParkerRoom,Town OfficeBuilding,7:30p.m. : Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; MollieGarberg;Alan Levine;Beth Masterman;Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier; AndreiRadulescu-Banu;Rob Addelson (non-voting, ex officio) Members Absent:Kate Colburn Others Present:David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) The meetingwas calledto order at 7:40pm. 1.Announcements: Mr. Michelson reported thatthe recently approved agreement for the current16 member communities in the Minuteman Technical High School districtwould not go into effect until after positions are taken on the capital project to rebuild the school building. The lack of a position by a member community will be deemed an approval. The Lexington Board of Selectmen has not decided whether to bring the project to Town Meeting for a vote or let the lack of a vote be registered as an affirmative position. The project is expected to be $144.9million withapproximately $45millionprovided by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Because six communities plan to resign from the district in the near future, responsibility for the balance will be covered by the 10 communities that plan to remain in the district. Lexington’s share is expected to increase its annual contribution to the school by approximately $500,000, i.e., 50% more than is currently being contributed annually. The increase impacts theoperating budget, thus the CEC is not taking a position. There was discussion about taking this issue to Town Meeting for a vote. It was agreed that, at a minimum, a special report should be made available for Town Meeting members to ensure the project and its impact on the budgetare publicized and understood. Mr. Parker plans to discuss this with Joe Pato, Chair, BoS. 2.Report to theAnnual Town Meeting (ATM) and Special Town Meeting (STM) 2016-3: Mr. Parker asked Mr.Kanterto share the CEC’s positions on the Capital Articles. Using a handout showing a list of the Articleson which the CEC is taking a position, Mr. Kanter explained that all were supported unanimously unless identifiedin bold.He stressed that all the votes were rd preliminary, as of March 3. He noted that although the appropriation request for the STM 2016-3, Article2,Appropriatefor Middle Schools—Additions and Remodeling isnot yet available, it is supported unanimouslyby the CEC. He then discussed ATM Articlesidentifiedin bold, as follows: Article 8(c),Lexington Arts and Crafts Society Parsons Gallery Lighting Renovation: The CEC does not support Town funding of the project, which is for indoor lighting ina privately owned building. The building is considered an historic structure, andis eligible for CommunityPreservation Act (CPA) funding, per Town Counsel; however, the CEC believes this isnot a prudent use of CPA funds and would be precedentsetting. Article 8 (d),Visitors Center Renovation: It is expected that this project will be indefinitely postponed (IPed). Current plans involve a complete rebuild of the Center, which would makeit ineligible for CPA funds. 1