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Home My WebLink About2012-03-13-AC-min March 13, 2012 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee March 13, 2012 Place and timer Cary Hall, Ellen Stone Room, 7 30 p m Members present Glenn Parker, Chair, Joe Pato, Vice Chair and Acting Chair for this meeting, John Bartenstem, Vice Chair and Secretary, Robert Cohen, Mollie Garberg, Alan Levine, Enc Michelson, Richard Neumeier, Rob Addelson (non-voting, ex officio) Members absent Rob Addelson, Jomna Schonfeld Also present Theo Kalivas, Budget Officer The meeting was called to order at 7 34 p m 1 Announcements Eric Michelson informed the Committee that he had spoken with Facilities Director Pat Goddard about TLT Construction, the firm that the Town has selected as the general contractor for the Bridge and Bowman renovations He discussed with Mr Goddard concerns that had been raised in the community about low scores TLT had received in the bid process for references and litigation history Eric said that Mr Goddard had reassured him that the Town was aware of these issues but is nevertheless satisfied that TLT is a good choice and the best qualified for the job There was a brief discussion of anticipated GIC rates for health benefits for the coming fiscal year Theo Kalivas advised that although the rates have not yet been set, the increases are expected to be very modest 2 Minutes Minutes of February 23 and March 8 were approved with minor edits 3 Warrant Articles The balance of the meeting was devoted to the review of warrant articles on which the Committee has not yet taken a position Glenn Parker joined the meeting at approximately 8 00 p m after attending a Town Meeting planning session • Article 5—FY2013 Enterprise Fund Budgets John Bartenstein led a discussion of the proposed budget for the Water and Sewer Enterprise Funds, noting that increases in both MWRA and Town costs are relatively modest this year and that the amounts of potential appropriations from retained earnings have not yet been determined Dick Neumeier provided an overview of the Recreation Enterprise Fund budget Vote Approve (8-0-0) • Article 8—FY2013 CPA Projects. Robert Cohen addressed several sections of Article 8, which were discussed and voted on separately o 8(b)—Paint Mine Barn Preservation— Glenn Parker asked if there is any environmental contamination work planned on this project Per the CPC request, it does not appear that any such work is envisioned Vote Approve (8-0-0) 1 March 13, 2012 o 8(d) Cary Memorial Building Upgrades—There was extended discussion of the Selectmen's proposal to reduce the requested appropriation from $550,000 to only $75,000 It was decided to defer voting on this article until additional information can be obtained o 8(e) Center Playflelds Drainage Phase III—This section seeks $605,718 for Phase III of the Center Playground Drainage project Dick Neumeier explained how Phase III relates to the work previously done Vote Approve (8-0-0) o 8(t) Battle Green Master Plan Implementation—This section seeks $143,845 for the Battle Green Master Plan It is the second phase of a multiphase project, and funding for an additional phase will be sought next year Vote Approve (8-0-0) o 8(g) LexHAB Set-aside for Housing Acquisition—LexHAB seeks $450,000 to replenish its housing acquisition fund This is an annual request made in anticipation of purchasing opportunities that may come up during the year Mollie Garberg raised questions about how LexHAB spends these monies, she will speak with Wendy Manz, Chair of the CPC, to obtain more information about LexHab's compliance with guidelines and promises made to the CPC in the past Vote Approve (7-0-1) o 8(h) Buckman Tavern Historic Structures Report/Restoration Plan Seeks $65,000 to fund a study for the Buckman Tavern Vote Approve (8-0-0) o 8(i) —Historic Records Preservation—The Lexington Historical Society seeks $77,268 to digitize many historical Town documents before the Town's 300th Anniversary celebration Vote Approve (8-0-0) o 80) Greeley Village Accessible Housing Project— Seeks $810,672 for the construction of four units of affordable, handicap-accessible one bedroom units of housing for people with special needs These units will help the Lexington Housing Authority move closer to the state target of 5% of total inventory for this type of unit Vote Approve (8-0-0) • Articles 9 and 10—Wright Farm Purchase Alan Levine explained that these two articles achieve the same goal, passing one of them will negate the need for the other one Alan outlined the history of this property and of negotiations for the potential purchase of this 14+/- acre parcel While the Committee agreed that it was premature to vote on these articles because no agreement has yet been reached, a straw vote indicated unanimous support for the purchase if it materializes • Article 11—Recreation Capital Projects Dick Neumeier led the discussion of this article and outlined it in separate sections a) $46,000 to replace a lawn mower used at Pine Meadow, b) $120,000 for hard-court resurfacing, c) $65,000 for parks and playgrounds, and d) $60,000 for Athletic Fields Item A will be covered with Recreation Funds and items B, C, and D will come from the tax levy Vote Approve (8-0-0) • Articles 13 and 14—Water and Wastewater System Improvements. John Bartenstein led the discussion of these articles The water system improvements are part of an ongoing 2 March 13, 2012 program to repair our water lines About $1 2 million of the wastewater system improvement request will be used for sewer line repairs concerning infiltration issues Pump station upgrades are also envisioned under this request Other capital projects that will be funded by the water and sewer enterprise funds are addressed in Article 12 the cost of a new Ford F-450 pick-up truck to be purchased by the DPW will be split 50/50 between the water and sewer funds, and $25,000 will be requested from the water fund to cover half of the cost of the annual fire hydrant replacement program Articles 13 & 14 were moved, seconded and voted separately both with 8- 0-0 votes • Article 15— School Capital. Article 15 requests $1,307,685 for various school capital and equipment projects Vote Approved (8-0-0) • Article 17— School Bus Transportation Subsidy— There was further discussion of this article but no vote was taken • Article 18— OPEB Funding Alan Levine noted that he would like to have a detailed discussion of the policy issues related to funding OPEB liabilities at some point, but for present purposes would be prepared to support funding this year at the $500,000 level requested in the Warrant Vote Approved (8-0-0) • Article 28—Accept MGL Chapter 200A Section 9A—John Bartenstein led the discussion of this article, which would establish an accelerated procedure for resolving claims for un-cashed Town checks and restoring unclaimed funds to the Town Vote Approve (8-0-0) 4 Committee Report. Glenn Parker said that he would aim to have a draft of the Committee's Report to the 2012 Annual Town Meeting out before the next meeting on March 21st Editing will continue at the next meeting The meeting was adjourned at 10 01 p m A list of documents and other exhibits used at the meeting is attached Respectfully submitted, Robert Cohen Approved August 2, 2012 3 March 13, 2012 Exhibits Appropriation Committee Meeting March 13, 2012 1 Meeting Agenda posted by Glenn Parker, Chair 4