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1/4/2024 AC Minutes 1 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) January 4, 2024 Place and Time: Remote participation via a Zoom teleconferencing session that was open to the public; 7:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary; Anil Ahuja; John Bartenstein; Eric Michelson; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Members Absent: Sean Osborne; Lily Manhua Yan Other Attendees: David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee; Bob Pressman, Community Preservation Committee At 7:34 p.m. Mr. Parker called the meeting to order and took attendance by roll call. All votes recorded below were conducted by roll call. Announcements and Liaison Reports Mr. Levine reported that the School Building Committee (SBC) has formed several sub-groups with added public participation to focus on various parts of the high school design. The sub-groups will be holding meetings in addition to the main committee, so there will be a lot of activity in the com- ing months. Ms. Kosnoff reported that the Town Manager has reconvened the Article 97 working group, now that we have a designer on board who can provide rough sketches of where construction might oc- cur. The goal of this working group is to determine the details of a “land swap” that will allow con- struction to proceed on land protected by Article 97 restrictions. Alan Levine is the Appropriation Committee’s liaison to this working group, which also includes representatives from the Recreation Committee. Mr. Bartenstein asked about the Article 97 process, and how a land swap would work if the new construction occupied more space than the original buildings. Ms. Kosnoff responded that the Town could incorporate additional land into the swap from other sites in Town. Mr. Levine noted that the new construction could provide more floor space in a smaller footprint by virtue of a more compact design that could, e.g., feature three floors in height. Mr. Parker reported that he had attended an SBC meeting in December and volunteered to partici- pate in the MEP/Sustainability sub-group (where MEP means “mechanical, electrical, plumbing”). The focus of that sub-group will be green technology and net zero energy usage. Ms. Kosnoff reported that the Town’s tax rate has been set and approved by the Department of Rev- enue, and tax bills have been sent out. Ms. Kosnoff reported that the Town will issue a small amount of debt in February with some bond anticipation notes coming due. More details will be provided later. Ms. Kosnoff stated that the Town has continued to refine the FY2025 budget, and the municipal and school departments are both satisfied with the results. As a result, some Select Board priorities may be able to be funded, and this will be covered at the Select Board meeting on January 22. The White