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1/11/2024 AC Minutes 1 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) January 11, 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; Sean Osborne; Lily Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Members Absent: None Other Attendees: Suzie Barry, Select Board and Lex250 Committee; Charles Lamb, Capital Ex- penditures Committee; David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee; Deepika Sawhney, School Committee At 7:32 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. Padaki announced that he had agreed to act as liaison to the Recreation Committee. Mr. Parker added that Lily Yan had agreed to act as liaison to Sustainable Lexington. Funding for Lex250 Celebration Ms. Barry, in her role as Chair of the Semiquincentennial Commission, discussed issues around funding for numerous events starting on April 19, 2024, and culminating over the 2025 Patriot’s Day weekend on April 19–20, 2025. The Lex250 Celebration Committee has made a request to the Select Board for funding to support these events at the upcoming 2024 Annual Town Meeting, and the Select Board approved the use of $500,000 of ARPA funds, but federal constraints on the use of ARPA funds will be very difficult to satisfy due to the nature and timing of the events. In particular, ARPA requires that all services must be under contract by the end of calendar year 2024, meaning that many of the anticipated expenses, such as overtime costs, will not qualify. The Town anticipates a modest amount of state funding for Lex250, on the order of $100,000 to $250,000, but our representatives have indicated that it is not guaranteed. Governor Healey recently announced reductions in state support for travel and tourism that will affect many communities. The Town of Concord expects to spend from $300,000 to $400,000 on public safety alone during the 2025 Patriot’s Day weekend, with staff assigned to 12-hour shifts over 5 days. Ms. Barry is in- vestigating whether Lexington should plan for a similar demand on public safety staffing. The Town will host the main re-enactment on Saturday, April 19, 2025, along with other events on Friday, Sunday, and Monday. This will include a parade, concerts, and possibly a naturalization cer- emony. Mr. Michelson asked how the $500,000 request would be spent. Ms. Barry responded that it would mostly likely go to staffing and supplies. Some items could be rented, but rental availability is lim- ited due to the overlap with the Boston Marathon.