2009-05-04-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee May 4, 2009 Place and time: Ellen Stone Room, Cary Memorial Building, 6:30 PM Members present: Alan Levine (Chair), John Bartenstein (Vice Chair), Richard Eurich, Mollie Garberg, Pam Hoffman, Susan McLeish (Secretary), Eric Michelson, Glenn Parker, Mike Kennealy, and Rob Addelson (ex officio, non - voting). Also present: Ethan Solomon (for Patriot Partners) and Robert Buckley (counsel for Patriot Partners) The meeting was called to order at 6:40 PM. Busa land. The CPC will have a meeting regarding the purchase of the Busa property on Lowell St. at 6:30 in Estabrook Hall tomorrow evening. 2. Special Town Meeting Report. Pam Hoffman and Mike Kennealy voted on Articles 4, 7, and 49 — the votes for each are now 9 -0. 3. Busa Land Purchase. A discussion of the status of the land purchase was held. There is a handshake deal for the sale and a letter of intent is expected to be finalized tomorrow. There is a CPC meeting tomorrow evening at 6:30 P.M. and a public information meeting at 7:30 P. M. The main question at this point is the use of the property. There was a meeting last Thursday for the abutters. Sasaki and Associates has been hired for the design of a soccer field and affordable housing and pockets of community gardens are being considered. The use of the land will not be specified at this point. There will be a master plan study completed. Rob Addelson explained that, statutorily, debt could be 20 years but it should be for a short period — 5 -7 years. The committee had a discussion about the considerations of debt and for what period. There were concerns expressed for a period exceeding 7 years and one member was not in favor of the use of debt to finance the purchase at all. 4. Patriot Partners — Proposed Traffic Mitigation Package. The Selectmen have not yet taken a position on the traffic mitigation. The Patriot proposal includes funding for two up front studies — the first is $65,000 for a traffic study to analyze the corridor. Another is for traffic calming measures on Shade Street. Patriot will commit $15,000 to study this. They would also expend up to $75,000 to implement changes. Additionally, there would be general mitigation payments paid to the Town based on the number of parking spaces added, which, in a worst case scenario, would be approximately $1,400,000. There are 5 -6 identified projects that this funding would be used to cover. Additionally, there is $12,000 annually (in perpetuity) for Lexpress which is adjusted by the CPI. The Patriot Partners