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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-02-06-CEC-min CEC minutes - 6 February 2001 (draft) The meeting was called to order at 7:37 PM by the chairman. Members Tom Griffths (TG), Shirley Stolz (SS), George Burnell (GB), Narain Bhatia (NB), and Charles Hornig (CH) were present. We were joined by Deborah Brown (Appropriations). The minutes of the meetings 30 January 2001 (Summit V) were approved. The Moderator has advised that she would discourage members of the committee, especially the chairman, from taking prominent roles in local political campaigns. Library: It appears that the construction cost for the new library may exceed the 1997 budget by as much as $3M. The fundraisers do not feel that they can cover this increase. There may be a request that the Town's share of the cost be increased by about $2M. There was much discussion about what position the committee should take if this turns out to be the case. No concensus was reached. Eventually, the committee took these positions: VOTED: That any increase in the Town's commitment above the existing $2.6M commitment should be treated according to the capital policy. (That is, that if the increase is more than $1M that the debt be excluded from the levy limit by the voters.) Passed 3-2. VOTED: That Town Meeting should delay action on any increase in the Town's share until after bids on the project are opened. Passed 3-1. DPW Facility: We discussed whether the committee should pursue replaciong the vehicle storage building in 2001. It was agreed that we should wait some more. There was much discussion of the merits of various siting choices. The Selectmen plan to have a committee look into this after town meeting. VOTED: That the committee recommend that the DPW facility remain at 201 Bedford Street. Passed 4-1. VOTED: That the committee recommend pursuing replacing the vehicle storage building and minor additions and renovations to the newer buildings at a total cost of about $3.5M. Passed 4-1. VOTED: That the committee recommend that the DPW facility upgrade be presented to a fall 2004 Town Meeting for funding. Passed 4-1. Landfill: VOTED: That the committee recommend that the landfill closure should be subject to the capital policy. Passed 5-0. VOTED: That the committee recommend that the landfill closure be presented to a fall 2004 Town Meeting for funding. Passed 5-0. Senior Center: The COA is now proposing a new facility of 22,000 sq. ft. (gross), renovations to the existing center, and 125 parking spaces. VOTED: That the committee recommend that the new Senior Center be presented to a fall 2004 Town Meeting for funding of about $5.25M. Passed 4-0. Streets: VOTED: That the committee recommend that the street repair project be presented to a fall 2001 Town Meeting for funding of $6M. Passed 5-0. Schools: There was much discussion of whether to support the old Option II (1 new school) or III (2 new schools). VOTED: That the committee recommend that the Fiske and Harrington replacementsa and the Bowman and Estabrook renovations be presented to a fall 2001 Town Meeting for unding of $53.5M and that the Hastings and Bridge renovations be presented to a fall 2004 Town Meeting for funding of $21M. Passed 5-0. Conservation: VOTED: That the capital policy should be applied to any conservation land purchases. Passed 5-0. The committee will wait for input from the Community Preservation Act committee before taking a position of the CPA. Charles Hornig will be our liaison. Cash capital: VOTED: That the committee recommend that the cash capital policy be restored to be based on 5% of the current year's estimated revenue rather than 5% of the previous year's revenue. Passed 5-0. The cash capital program from the Town includes much more short-term borrowing than last year. The committee quickly reviewd the FY2002 cash capital proposals to identify issues. Issues were noted with: - Timing and cost of Rescue 2 replacement in FY2005 should be reconsidered due to longer life of new Rescue 1. - We need more information on the building envelope program for FY2002. The fire station exhaust system seems to have moved here. - How many portables do we need this year? Could we wait until the middle schools are done? - Where should the playground money come from? - Should tree replacement come from capital or operating funds. We will meet jointly with the APpropriations Committee on 2/8 to review the capital budget together and try to reach agreement with them. Our report to Town Meeting is due at the printer on 3/12. The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 PM. Minutes were taken and submitted by Charles Hornig, clerk.