HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-03-13-CEC-min-execMinutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
March 13, 2013, Executive Session
Date, Place, and Location: March 13, 2013, 8:00 A.M., Cary Memorial Building, Ellen
Stone Room
Members Present: Charles Lamb, Chair; Beth Masterman, Vice - Chair; Jill Hai; Bill Hurley;
David Kanter
Others Present: Carl Valente, Town Manager; Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for
Finance; Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice - Chair, Lexington Community Preservation Committee
(CPC); Nathalie Rice, Administrative Assistant, Lexington CPC; Glenn Parker, Chair,
Lexington Appropriation Committee
Document Presented: Financial Model of "Impact of 33 Marrett Road Financing on CPA
Funds" prepared by Mr. Addelson. (Copies returned to him at the end of the Executive
Session.)
With Mr. Lamb, as Chair, having called to order at 8:00 A.M. the Open Session — which had
been posted also to involve an Executive Session —he subsequently declared that an
Executive Session was warranted under the Open Meeting Law Exemption 6 (to consider
the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property) 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 made and seconded.
Each member was polled and each voted "yes" The Committee went into Executive
Session at 8:01 A.M.
Potential Acquisition of Property at 33 Marrett Road
Mr. Addelson presented his financial model that showed the impact on the projected
availability of the Community Preservation Fund (CPF) through FY2021 considering the
Town's offer to purchase that property. It is contemplated that of a $10,950,000 offer, the
Town would request a recommendation from the CPC to the March 18, 2013, Special Town
Meeting to use CPF- supported, 10 -year, debt to $7,390,000 (67% of the total purchase
price, but the maximum eligible under the Community Preservation Act [CPA]) plus a
smaller amount of CPF cash for ancillary expenses. The balance of the purchase would be
funded with General Fund cash. The model projected that the CPF not only could
accommodate its contribution to the land purchase, but also multiple other big- ticket CPA -
eligible projects currently contemplated while still allocating several million dollars each
year to the required CPF reserves and for other projects.
Mr. Lamb expressed his concern that the model assumed there would continue to be the
annual State match, at the current percentage, as part of the yearly revenue into the CPF
as that is not only subject to fluctuations in the State's Community Preservation Trust Fund,
but also to future Legislative actions. Mr. Addelson acknowledged that potential variability
on the down side, but noted that he had deliberately not presumed any up -side in the
revenue from the Governor - approved Legislative action to provide in FY2014 up to
$25 million from any surplus in the State's FY2013 budget when that year closes and the
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
March 13, 2013, Executive Session
expression by the Legislature of an intent to repeat the provision in future budget or the
$561,518 in last- year's appropriation to Muzzey Senior Center Upgrades which may well
close back to the CPF if the Senior Center should become part of a new Community Center
on the land to be purchased. Mr. Kanter asked that the Committee be provided with the
model extended beyond FY2021 in order to see if and when a further projection of the
bottom -line Net Balance Available would take a positive slope, reversing the negative slope
shown through FY2012.
The Committee noted that among those items explicitly included in the model, in addition to
the land purchase, were funding both the Design & Engineering (D &E), and then the
construction, for the Cary Memorial Building Upgrade; the D &E, and then the construction,
of the full -scale build -out of a Community Center on the land to be purchased; and two
multi - million - dollar recreation - facility projects that would now be eligible under the recently
amended CPA.
Although no formal position was taken by the Committee, there was general agreement that
the model, while needing to be routinely updated, was a reasonable one at this point in time
to show that the CPF could remain viable beyond the burden imposed by its share of the
funding of the proposed land purchase.
Return to Open Session: At 9:30 A.M., it was moved and seconded that the Committee
return to Open Session. Each member was polled. Vote: 5 -0
These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its Open- Session meeting on April 10, 2013,
but without making the content public as it was still sensitive at that time.
In response to a query by Mr. Kanter on April 11, 2013, Carl Valente, Town Manager,
advised on April 12, 2013, that the content of these Minutes could then be made public and
the CEC did so by submitting these Minutes to the Town's public archives on that same
date.
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