2024-02-29-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

2/29/2024 AC Minutes 1 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) February 29, 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; John Bartenstein; Anil Ahuja; Eric Michelson; Sean Osborne; Lily Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Members Absent: none Other Attendees: Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Community Programs; Christian Boutwell, Vice Chair, Recreation Committee; David Pinsonneault, Director of Public Works; David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC); Bob Pressman, Community Preservation Commit- tee; Lisah Rhodes, CEC At 7:35 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 reported that the Recreation Committee met yesterday. While that committee has not yet determined a course of action for the Old Res Bath House, it doesn’t intend to ask for an additional appropriation. Mr. Bartenstein reported that the preliminary MWRA assessments have been received, with the wa- ter assessment dropping by about 4% while the wastewater assessment is rising by about 4% for a net change of 0%. The assumption in the Town’s proposed operating budget, as published in the Brown Book, was a net increase of 10%. Ms. Kosnoff reported that the Town received preliminary rates from the Group Insurance Commis- sion (GIC) which provides health insurance for Town employees. Based on guidance from the GIC, the proposed operating budget assumed an overall premium rate increase of 9.6% for health insur- ance. The actual rate increases vary, depending on the particular insurance plan, from 7% to 11%, with an average rate increase of 8.5%. The increase in the Town’s cost will be a function of the number and type of plans chosen by employees. Ms. Kosnoff believes the proposed budget appro- priation will be adequate to cover the increases, though the annual surplus from this line item will be lower than in past years. Article 11 Recreation Capital Projects—Melissa Battite, Director of Recreation and Commu- nity Programs; Christian Boutwell, Vice Chair, Recreation Committee Ms. Battite stated that Article 11 will request $110,000 from the Recreation Enterprise Fund to ren- ovate fuel bays and practice bays at the Pine Meadows Golf Course. Article 25 will request $2,575,000 in General Fund debt to renovate the golf course clubhouse, which includes reconfigur- ing the main entrance, bringing the property into compliance with ADA standards, updating to cur- rent electrical building codes, and the possible addition of solar energy panels. The project will not increase the footprint or square footage of the building.