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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-11-BOS-min Selectmen’s Meeting November 13, 2006 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, November 13, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. Chairman Krieger, Mr. Kelley, Mr. Pagett, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Manz; Mr. Valente, Town Manager; and Ms. Pease, Executive Clerk, were present. Selectmen Concerns and Liaison Reports Mr. Cohen and Mr. Manz enjoyed a visit from students and teachers of the Cotting School. One of the questions from a student was do Selectmen have to take a test. Mr. Cohen and Mr. Manz plan to make arrangements to visit the students at the school. st The Communications Advisory Committee will be evaluating the 1 year performance of LexMedia on Tuesday, November 21, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. The State Election on November 7 had a high turnout and the Selectmen thanked the efforts of the Town Clerk’s office and the Registrars of Voters. The Selectmen decided to change the budget presentation meeting from December 8 to December 11 from 8 to 10 a.m. in the Selectmen Meeting Room. Town Manager Report Mr. Valente reported to the Selectmen that the town had received a check from Keyspan for $430,946, which concludes the settlement. All issues have been resolved and the money will be used to repair and resurface streets this fall and next spring. Hearings Alcohol Compliance Violation – Bollywood Mrs. Krieger read a letter from the manager of Bollywood, who was unable to attend the meeting. He has voluntarily surrendered the liquor license to the Selectmen and will not be renewing the liquor license for next year. Mr. Pagett requested that the Town Manager follow-up with the Police regarding Lexington Liquor Mart’s recent offense. Grant of Location – AT&T - Hartwell Avenue The petitioner stated all work to be done was off of the roadway. Selectmen’s Meeting – November 13, 2006 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to approve the petition of AT&T Corp. (TCB) to lay and maintain underground conduits and manholes, with the wires and cables to be placed therein, under the surface of Hartwell Avenue from an existing Nstar manhole in front of #40, northeasterly along said roadway, to the property of #32 Hartwell Avenue, a total of two (2) 4-inch PVC conduits, approximately 191 feet in length. Vinny T’s of Boston – Transfer of Stock, New Officer/Director and Transfer of Indirect Beneficial Interest Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to approve the application for the transfer of stock, new officer/directors and the transfer of indirect beneficial interest and issue a license for an all alcoholic liquor Common Victualler license to Buca Restaurants 3, Inc., d/b/a Vinny T’s of Boston, 20 Waltham Street. Water/Sewer Commitments/Adjustments Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to approve the following commitments of water and sewer charges: Commitment of Water/Sewer Charges for October 2006 (Cycle 9) $241,156.16 Commitment of Water/Sewer Charges for 10/1/06 through 10/31/06 (final bills) $7,346.22 Commitment of Water/Sewer Charges for Town-Wide Billing (Section 1 – Fall) $1,935,339.58 CPA Proposal for Cary Hall Performing Arts and Civic Facility Sheila Watson, representing the Lexington Center Committee, has submitted a proposal to the Community Preservation Committee for funding to enhance Cary Hall so it could be used as a public presentation and performance center and would like to have the Selectmen’s support. She presented a possible sequencing for Cary Hall restoration and renovation. The first sequence would provide an evaluation and plan for renovating and restoring Cary Hall to its full meeting and performance capabilities. Selectmen were supportive of restoring Cary Hall to a useful state and of trying to figure out the impact and liked the idea of sequencing the work. Selectmen suggested that the study include a business plan and determination of what the market is willing to pay for using such a facility. Battle Road Scenic Byway Richard Canale, Planning Board and MAPC member, informed the Board that the Battle Road Scenic Byway Bill was enacted by the Legislature and was signed on November 8, 2006 by the Governor as Chapter 345 of the 2006 Massachusetts Session Laws and will become effective 90 days after signing, which will be February 6, 2007. Selectmen’s Meeting – November 13, 2006 Mr. Canale requested the Selectmen’s support for a Federal Highway Scenic Byway Grant for $120,000, which requires a 20% match by either direct funding or in-kind. Mass Highway may fund the total or may ask from $0 to $6,000 from Arlington, Lexington, Lincoln and Concord as a token amount. The grant money would be used for a corridor management plan for the four towns, which could include signage, maps and brochures. This is the time for the four towns to say what they would like the plan to include. The money should be used to enhance the four towns as destination locations. The grant due date is February 1, 2007. The Selectmen asked if the Tourism Committee’s request to the Community Preservation Committee for money to do signage could be considered as the match. Mr. Canale will get back to the Selectmen after the Scenic Byway December meeting. Lexington Heritage Landscape Inventory Report Mr. Canale presented the Selectmen with copies of Lexington’s Heritage Landscape Inventory Report, which was completed by the State Department of Conservation & Recreation. The report includes special places in Lexington that are potentially threatened. Mr. Canale would like all stakeholders to review the report’s recommendations and to identify priorities and decide on next steps. The Selectmen thought it was a great report and felt there needed to be follow-up on the sites. Mr. Canale recommends there be a Heritage Landscape Committee formed to do the necessary follow-up. Mrs. McKenna wanted to make sure that the Battle Green needs were included in the follow- up sites. In particular the Battle Green flagpole is in very poor condition. Selectmen thanked Mr. Canale for his work in getting the report completed and distributed. DPW Facility The Selectmen requested additional comparable information. Mr. Pagett was extremely disappointed with the comparable material that was provided. He stated that the Selectmen had requested the comparable information two months ago. The following information needs to be provided: the total cost of the facility not just the construction cost; the basis of escalating costs; cost per component (office, vehicle storage, mechanicals, etc.) and a cost benefit analysis of why it is better to park vehicles inside. Mr. Pagett feels the project will fail if there is no quantitative or solid information provided. Selectmen’s Meeting – November 13, 2006 Mr. Kennedy, member of the Permanent Building Committee, stated that some of that information had been presented to the Committee. He believes someone is working on the comparable information and the escalating costs. Mr. Valente stated that the comparable project costs from other municipalities are not clear and that it is difficult to make meaningful comparisons. It is also difficult to get the information from the towns. Mr. Kelley reminded everyone of the timeline that goes back over 5 years. The Town looked at programs and decided moving the Administration to the DPW facility would be good for communication and facility operations and that it would be cost effective to combine the operations. He feels the new facility is well designed and believes the estimators will look at the comparisons for the cost analysis. The Town needs to move ahead with this project for better operations of DPW. Mr. Kelley reminded everyone that the design team would be at the TMMA information meeting with a breakdown of dollar costs. Regarding construction documents, Mr. Kelley does not want to continue with construction documents until citizens have voted in March 2007. There is concern that if the process has to stop the Town will lose the current architect team that is in place, which will delay the project. Mrs. Krieger believes that the cost to delay will be $1 million, which is the same cost to move forward with construction documents. Selectmen discussed the need for an energy analysis. The calculation of operating costs will be done and that information needs to be shared with the community. Mr. Kelley believes there are lots of decisions that still need to be made. This is a substantial project, and the Town has never built a $30 million facility (including schools). There needs to be a process with due diligence and a schedule. Mr. Kelley would like to discuss the construction document process with the Permanent Building Committee and the design team to see what has been spent and what costs are necessary to carry through at a slower pace. Mr. Kennedy believes more information will be available to the Selectmen at its meeting on November 20. Selectmen need to know exactly what the cost of construction documents will be. Selectmen briefly discussed how the building would be heated/cooled. Mr. Kennedy said that many options will be looked at and will be discussed during the construction document phase. Mr. Valente discussed with the Selectmen what date the architect team should be available for the Special Town Meeting. Selectmen requested that the TMMA be asked what their preference would be, either November 30 or December 6. Selectmen’s Meeting – November 13, 2006 FY2008 Revenues Mr. Addelson presented the FY2008 Revenue Projections in preparation for the Summit meeting on November 16, 2006. The summary presented the general fund revenues on two bases: gross and net. Gross general fund revenues include all revenues projected as available for FY2008. Net general fund reserves are gross revenues less sources deemed to be non-recurring. In FY2008, Gross revenues are projected to increase by approximately $1.47 million, or 1.23%, while net revenues are projected to increase by approximately $3.17 million, or 2.7%. Gross General Fund Revenues include property tax levy, state aid, local receipts, available funds, revenue offsets and enterprise receipts. Resignation – 2020 Vision Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to accept the resignation of Gerald Lacey from the 2020 Vision Committee, effective immediately. Town Manager Appointment/Reappointment – Recreation Committee and Commission on Disability Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to approve the Town Manager’s reappointment of Victoria C. Buckley to the Commission on Disability for a three-year term to expire October 30, 2009. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to approve the Town Manager’s appointment of Wendy Carolyn Rudner to the Recreation Committee for a three-year term to expire May 31, 2009. Consent Agenda Local Cultural Council Member Disclosure Form Approval Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to approve and sign the Local Cultural Council Member Disclosure Form for Janet Post. Ratify Poll Vote – One-Day Liquor License – St. Brigid Parish Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to ratify a poll vote for a one-day liquor license for a St. Brigid Parish Fundraiser on Saturday, November 11, 2006 from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at 2001 Mass. Avenue. Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to approve the minutes of October 30, 2006. Selectmen’s Meeting – November 13, 2006 Executive Session Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to approve the executive session minutes of October 30, 2006. Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted by roll call 5-0 to go into executive session for the purpose of labor negotiations, not to return to open session. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to adjourn at 10:00 p.m. A true record; Attest: Lynne A. Pease Executive Clerk Budget Collaboration/Financial Summit 2 November 16, 2006 A joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Finance Committees was held on Thursday, November 16, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. Present: Chairman Krieger, Mr. Kelley, Mr. Pagett, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Manz; Mr. Valente, Town Manager, Ms. Chabot, Assistant to the Executive Clerk; Mr. Ash, Superintendent; Ms. Dunn, Assistant Superintendent; all members of the School Committee; all members of the Appropriation Committee; all members of the Capital Expenditures Committee with the exception of Mr. Borghesani and Mr. Hurley. Special Town Meeting (November 29 – 30) FY2007 Budget Amendments Mr. Valente presented a Special Town Meeting Revenue Reconciliation to discuss additional revenues available for appropriation regarding Article 2 (Amend FY2007 Operating Budget) and Article 8 (Appropriate for Senior Service Program) of the Warrant. Total revenue change amounted to $1,185,229, while expense change totaled $1,228,130, leaving a deficit of $42,901. One expense unaccounted for in the deficit total is the amount of unpaid bills. The Appropriation Committee indicated that they are reluctant to release their reserve to deal with the deficit, and the possibility of using the approximately $91,000 METCO surplus was discussed. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the School Committee voted 4 – 1 (Mr. Griffith opposed) to use the $91,000 METCO surplus to reduce the deficit. DPW Facility – Dates to Consider Mrs. Krieger stated that the discussion of the DPW facility would start on Wednesday, December 6, 2006. If necessary, the discussion will continue on Thursday, December 7, 2006. Community Preservation Act Projects The Capital Expenditures Committee has made a positive recommendation on the following projects: Hancock-Clarke House Restoration - Phase I ($25,000), the Lexington Depot Elevator purchase and installation ($44,000), and the Cary Memorial Building Vault moveable shelving ($60,000). They are also in favor of accepting $20,000 from the Jefferson Union settlement. The Appropriation Committee is in favor of Jefferson Union, Hancock-Clarke, and Cary shelving, but not in favor of the elevator at the Depot building. The concern about the Depot building project was that taxpayer money would be used for an asset not owned by the Town. Mr. Pagett suggested asking the Lexington Historical Society for a contract whereby the money would be returned to the Town at some rate of interest if the use of the Depot building were to change in the future. Budget Collaboration/Financial Summit 2 – November 16, 2006 FY2008 Revenue Projections Mr. Addelson presented a report of FY2008 revenue projections. He began with a summary of general fund revenues on two bases: gross and net. In FY2008, Gross Revenues are projected to increase by approximately $2.97 million, or 2.48%, while Net Revenues are projected to increase by approximately $3.16 million, or 2.7%. Gross general fund revenues include all revenues projected as available for use in FY2008. Net General Fund Revenues are gross revenues less sources deemed to be non-recurring, and therefore, not recommended for use to support recurring annual costs. Mr. Addelson then gave revenue projections in the following areas: Property Tax Levy, State Aid, Local Receipts, Available Funds, Revenue Offsets, and Enterprise Receipts. Mr. Addelson noted that the free cash figure of $3.8 million has been certified by the Department of Revenue. He recommends that of the $3.8 million, $1.75 million be used to support recurring costs, $1.8 million be designated for non-recurring costs, and $200,000 be set aside as emergency reserve for the current fiscal year. Establish Date for next Collaboration – Summit 3 Meeting The consensus was that January 18, 2007 would be the date for the next meeting. Mr. Valente will look at the new revenue for FY2008, allocate it between the school and general government, and bring it to the group. He will also bring recommended budgets to the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9:20 p.m. A true record; Attest: Diana B. Chabot Assistant to the Executive Clerk Selectmen’s Meeting November 20, 2006 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, November 20, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. Chairman Krieger, Mr. Kelley, Mr. Pagett, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Manz; Mr. Valente, Town Manager; and Ms. Pease, Executive Clerk, were present. Selectmen Concerns and Liaison Reports Mr. Manz said it was a great weekend in Lexington; there was the Holiday Lighting, the presentation at the DPW Barn, the Library book sale, the hazardous waste collection, the Mystic Chorale concert and the Farmers Market dinner. The Selectmen revised the Budget Presentation dates. The Budget Presentation dates will be: December 1, 4, 8 and 11 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. Mrs. Krieger reminded everyone that there will be a Public Hearing to discuss LexMedia’s performance evaluation by the Communications Advisory Committee on Tuesday, November 21, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. Everyone is encouraged to come and participate. Tax Classification Presentation The Board of Assessors (William Jackson, Chair; Steven Foster, and Edmund Grant) presented classification information in preparation of the Tax Classification hearing on December 4, 2006. The Board will have to vote on four items: 1. selection of a minimum residential factor 2. selection of a discount for open space 3. a residential exemption; and 4. a small commercial exemption. st Mr. Jackson noted that the CIP value increased 7% this year; the 1 time in several years that there has been an increase. The residential value also increased by 4.6%. Per state law (Chapter 3), the CIP Factor has to be down to 1.70 by FY2009 and the maximum allowed CIP Factor for FY2007 is 1.74. Mr. Jackson noted that if the Board voted a 1.74 CIP Factor that the commercial rate would increase 6.49% and the residential rate would increase 6.73% Mr. Pagett and Mr. Kelley were pleased to see the split rate so close together and hope that the Board will vote for the 1.74 CIP Factor. Selectmen’s Meeting – November 20, 2006 There was some discussion about the residential exemption and whether Lexington should consider it. The Tax Deferral and Exemption Study Committee did not make a recommendation to the Selectmen. Mr. Foster has spoken to different communities who say the program is difficult to administer because there are time and staff constraints and it takes a while to figure out who is entitled and who is not. Staff would be required to track nd properties and ownership. The program is attractive to towns where there is a large 2 home tax base and those with many apartments. The Tax Classification hearing is scheduled for Monday, December 4, 2006, at 8:00 p.m. DPW Facility Mrs. Krieger started off the discussion by stating she believes the proposed DPW Facility is the right building to meet the needs of the DPW and the citizens, but many questions have come from Town Meeting members over the last week. The current proposal lacks the depth of engineering analysis to address some of the fundamental questions such as what will the operating costs be, what are the costs of maintenance and the details of the phasing process. We need to have the answers to these questions when we present the project to the community; consequently, she recommends that Town Meeting be asked to fund the next phase of construction analysis, construction documents and defer the request for the full appropriation until after an estimate is prepared from construction documents. There would then be a Fall Town Meeting in September 2007 and the debt exclusion vote late October/early November for the total cost of the DPW Facility. Bidding would be done concurrent with the debt exclusion vote. Mr. Kelley is concerned that bidders will not submit bids if there is a pending debt exclusion vote. He agrees there are issues to be worked out and questions to be answered; but feels the project should be moved forward. He suggested getting together the Capital Expenditures Committee, the Appropriations Committee, the Permanent Building Committee, the Energy Conservation Committee, and the Design Advisory Committee to see if all the questions can be answered and provided in time for the Special Town Meeting on December 6, so that the community can debate and vote in March 2007. Some Selectmen are concerned that there will not be the necessary 2/3 vote in favor of the DPW project moving forward. There needs to be a backup motion that would be for the cost of construction documents only. Mr. Levine, Chair of the Appropriation Committee, informed the Selectmen that the Committee had voted 8-0 to recommend that the Special Town Meeting only appropriate money for the design and engineering work for construction documents. The Committee does not feel they can evaluate the project in time to make a recommendation to Town Meeting. They need information on indoor versus outdoor parking of vehicles, energy analysis, operating cost impacts on DPW operations and cost impacts on equipment in the Selectmen’s Meeting – November 20, 2006 garage. Currently the Committee is uncomfortable with bringing the project to Town Meeting. Mr. Lamb, Chair of the Capital Expenditures Committee, sent questions to the Permanent Building Committee and Mr. Hadley, Director of Public Works, regarding utility costs for the new facility. It is Mr. Lamb’s understanding that the information cannot be provided until mechanical drawings have been completed. The CEC is also looking for information on transition and phasing. Ms. McKenna spoke about the deplorable conditions of the current DPW facility and the need to move the project forward now. She asked if Town Meeting could be delayed to allow time for questions to be answered. The Selectmen discussed if the December 6 Town Meeting could be adjourned to a later date. Mrs. Krieger will work with Mr. Kelley to get together the Permanent Building Committee, the Appropriation Committee, the Capital Expenditures Committee, the Energy Conservation Committee, and the Design Advisory Committee to try and resolve outstanding issues and questions prior to the Special Town Meeting on November 29. Mr. Kelley is not supportive of asking Town Meeting for just construction document money. Selectmen will have a meeting prior to the Special Town Meeting that will begin at 6:00 p.m. Special Town Meeting The Selectmen discussed article positions for the first Special Town Meeting. The articles include: Article 2 Amend FY2007 Operating Budget Article 3 Amend FY2007 Enterprise Fund Budgets Article 4 Community Preservation Fund Article 5 Accept MGL Chapter 39 Section 23D Article 6 Appropriate for Affordable Housing Purposes Article 7 Accept MGL Chapter 71, Section 37M (Joint Facilities Department) Article 8 Appropriate for Senior Service Program Selectmen are supportive of all the above articles, except Mr. Kelley does not support the Community Preservation Committee request for funds for the Depot Building elevator and also is holding off on support of the Hancock/Clarke study. Selectmen’s Meeting – November 20, 2006 Appointment – Historic Districts Commission Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Daniel J. Griffin, Jr. to the Historic Districts Commission as a full member representing the Board of Selectmen for a 5- year term to expire on December 31, 2011. Town Manager Appointment – Council on Aging Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0-1 (Pagett abstained) to accept the Town Manager’s appointment of Jane Pagett to the Council on Aging for a 3-year term to expire on May 31, 2009. Consent Agenda Tax Bill Insert - Sidewalk Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to authorize the Sidewalk Committee to include an insert in the December tax bill. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9:55. A true record; Attest: Lynne A. Pease Executive Clerk Selectmen’s Meeting November 29, 2006 A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Wednesday, November 29, 2006, at 6:00 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. Chairman Krieger, Mr. Kelley, Mr. Pagett, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Manz; Mr. Valente, Town Manager; and Ms. Pease, Executive Clerk, were present. DPW Facility The Selectmen discussed the proposed DPW Facility. There have been two important meetings that include representatives of the Selectmen, Permanent Building Committee, Appropriation Committee, Capital Expenditures Committee, Energy Conservation Committee, Design Advisory Committee, and other interested citizens. The sense of the meetings is that more analysis needs to be done. The agreed timeline is that in 6 to 8 weeks additional data will be available, then design has to be finalized and relevant questions need to be answered so that information can be presented to citizens and at the Annual Town Meeting. At the Annual Town Meeting the cost of the project will be requested for appropriation. The recommendation for the December 6 Special Town Meeting is to request and have appropriated money to allow for the completion of construction documents and for the preparation of bidding documents. The amount to be appropriated is expected to be $1.6 million that will allow for at least 6 months of work. At the Annual Town Meeting in March, 50 percent of the construction documents will be complete and that will provide a better estimate of the cost of the proposed DPW Facility. Mr. Kelley requested additional detail in the motion. Majority of Selectmen felt it was important for the motion not to be too complicated since the money is to be borrowed. Mr. Valente can prepare a contract that includes appropriate checkpoints. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 to request $1.6 million under Article 2, Appropriate for DPW Facility, for the proposed DPW Facility for preparation of construction documents. Article 4 – Community Preservation Fund Mr. Pagett requested clarification on whether Mr. Kelley supported providing CPA funds for the Hancock-Clarke House ($25,000) and the Depot Elevator ($44,000). Mr. Kelley confirmed that he does not support either project. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 6:30 p.m. A true record, Attest: Lynne A. Pease Executive Clerk