HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-11-09-CEC-minMinutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
Open Session
Date, Place, and Location: November 9, 2012, 9:00 A.M., Town Office Building, Parker
Room (G15)
Members Present: Charles Lamb, Chair; David Kanter; Bill Hurley; Jill Hai
Member Absent: Beth Masterman, Vice -Chair
Other Attendees: Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Sara Arnold,
Recording Secretary
Document Presented: Draft #5 Capital Expenditures Committee Report to the 2012
Special Town Meeting (STM), November 19, 2012
Call to Order: Mr. Lamb called the meeting to order at 9:03 A.M.
Move to Executive Session: Mr. Lamb declared that an Executive Session is warranted
under the Open Meeting Law Exemption 6 (To consider the purchase, exchange, lease or
value of real property), with the other attendees being present, as the discussion in an open
meeting may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Town —and with
the intention to reconvene in Open Session. A motion to do so was moved and seconded.
Each member was polled. Vote: 4 -0
The Committee went into Executive Session at 9:04 A.M.
Return to Open Session: The Committee returned to open session at 9:30 A.M.
CEC Report to 2012 Special Town Meeting (STM), November 19, 2012: The Committee
reviewed the articles for the STM, and comments were made, as follows.
• Article 3 (Establish and Appropriate to Specified Stabilization Funds): Mr. Kanter is
planning to verify —and if necessary, enhance —the explanation that is in the current
draft regarding the source of the unallocated FY2013 revenue.
• Article 5 (Estabrook School Access Improvements): There was some discussion
about the proposed width of Robinson Road.
Article 6 (Appropriate for New Estabrook School): Mr. Kanter expressed support for
the $2.6 million being requested to supplement the new Estabrook School
reconstruction project and was prepared to present such a motion. He pointed out
that there had been a thoroughly vetted value- engineering process to keep the
supplemental request as low as practical. He added that the Town should get
more - favorable proposals if the bid documents are issued in December, as planned,
but this means there is no time left to go through another value- engineering exercise
to find additional items for reducing the shortfall.
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Mr. Hurley felt that the Town was being constrained by the schedule. He supports
the project, but expressed strong reservations about supporting the request for
$2.6 million in additional funds. He would be more comfortable with $2.0 million.
Ms. Hai expressed similar concerns. As a new member of the Committee, she felt
she didn't have adequate background information to judge fairly the request and
wanted to speak with representatives from the School Committee, Permanent
Building Committee, and Appropriation Committee to learn what the process had
been, understand how the dollar amount had gotten where it was, why the Town was
so short on time, and what the parties involved could learn from this experience.
Mr. Lamb listed various options for Mr. Hurley and Ms. Hai, including presentation of
an amendment at Town Meeting, abstaining, or presenting a minority report.
Mr. Hurley and Ms. Hai wanted Town Meeting to understand their reservations, but
they support the project. They agreed that a strongly worded section in the
Committee's report to Town Meeting could satisfy their concerns. They will write this
and submit it to Mr. Kanter for inclusion in the next version of the report.
A motion was made and seconded to support the $2.6 million request with the
understanding that the narrative would be expanded to include a discussion of the
reservations detailed in the text provided by Mr. Hurley and Ms. Hai. Vote: 4 -0.
• Article 7 (Appropriate for Authorized Capital Improvements): A motion was made and
seconded to support Indefinite Postponement as there at no known requests for
funding. Vote: 4 -0.
• Article 2 (Amend FY2013 Operating, Enterprise Fund and Community Preservation
Budgets): A motion was made and seconded to support the element under this
Article related to the Community Preservation Budget. Vote: 4 -0.
The articles will be reported on for this Committee at STM, as follows: Articles 2, 5, and 7—
Mr. Kanter; Article 3 —Ms. Masterman; and Article 6 —Mr. Hurley.
A straw vote unanimously supported the report as it is written, with the caveat regarding the
analysis under Article 6 discussed above. Votes on the Articles will be taken again at the
Committee's meeting on November 15 th when Ms. Masterman will be present to ratify her
votes.
Future Meetings: As the planned November 13 meeting has not been posted, the
members will hold an information -only session to hear the presentations of the Community
Development and Recreation Departments' FY2014— FY2018 Capital Improvement
Projects. The Committee will meet during the Budget Collaboration — Financial Summit 2 on
November 15 th , as discussed above. The Fire Department will make its presentation at the
November 27 meeting; Management Information Systems (MIS) at the December 4 th
meeting; and Department of Public Facilities at the December 11 meeting.
Adjourn: A Motion was made and seconded at 11:14 A.M. to adjourn. Vote: 4 -0
These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on December 4, 2012.
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