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April 21, 2005
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee
April 21, 2005
Members present: John Bartenstein, Deborah Brown, Paul Hamburger, Richard Eurich,
Alan Levine, Rod Cole, David Kanter, Ron Pawliczek
Also present: Norm Cohen, Shirley Stolz, John Rosenberg, Charles Lamb, Michael
Young
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 P. M. in Town Hall, Room G-15
There was a discussion of how to handle any overrun on the elementary school project in
anticipation of the opening of the bids for the Fiske School on April 27. On the
assumption that the bid would exceed the amount of the debt exclusion override vote
($32,150,000) a number of options were discussed.
1. Cut furniture and other items in the option list when the project was initially sent out
for bid.
2. Add the amount over the expected projected cost to the amount originally mentioned in
the approved debt exclusion vote.
3. Fund any additional amount needed through the existing tax levy.
4. Cut some items from the proposed Fiske School and start the bidding anew.
Item 1 was not viewed as favorable in that one of the major items on the option list was
the geothermal system that is expected to result in operating savings in the future. In
addition, other items on the list would most likely have to be purchased in the future with
no state reimbursement.
Item 3, funding within the existing tax levy, would impact future capital projects in the
amount of the increased debt service.
Item 4, cutting the project and sending the project out for bid, was viewed as having
significant negative implications. In light of rising construction costs of approximately
1% per month, a delay would result in an increased project cost of $150,000 per month.
Item 2, funding the over run by increasing the exempt debt was the option supported by a
vote of 8 to 0. The motion that was approved is as follows:
In the event that the increase falls within an amount that would be approved by the state
and the total cost of the two school projects including contingencies is less than
$35,365,000 the increase should be included within the existing debt exclusion.
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April 21, 2005
With respect to a need for a supplementary appropriation included in Article 35, the
Appropriation Committee would recommend instead that the reserve fund of the current
year be increased by an additional $150,000 to accommodate the expected cost overrun.
At 7:15 P.M. the committee moved upstairs to join Town Meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Ron Pawliczek
Approved July 7, 2005
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