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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-04-30-CEC-minMinutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting April 30, 2013 Date, Place, and Location: April 30, 2013, 8:00 A.M., Town Office Building, Reed Room (111) Members Present: Charles Lamb, Chair; Beth Masterman, Vice - Chair; Jill Hai; Bill Hurley; David Kanter Others Present: Aaron Henry, Lexington Assistant Planning Director; Bob Pressman, Lexington Community Preservation Committee; Deborah Mauger, Chair, Lexington Board of Selectmen Documents Presented: • Presentation: Westmetro HOME Consortium Update for Lexington, December 3, 2012 • HOME Materials for Next Week's Meeting (Mr. Aaron's e-mail, April 23, 2013, with four attachments (HOME Investment Partnerships Program Summary, Outline of HOME Project Requirements, Lexington's HOME Program Summary, & Massachusetts Income Limits) • Background Information on the Federal HOME Program (Mr. Kanter's e-mail, April 29, 2013, to the Committee members. • Charge for the Ad hoc Community Center Advisory Committee (AhCCAC) (Adopted by the Board of Selectmen [BoS] on April 23, 2013) • Outline Minutes of the CEC Meeting, April 30, 2013 Call to Order: Mr. Lamb called the meeting to order at 8:00 A.M. Lexington's Continued Participation in the HOME Consortium As the BoS had requested this Committee's input on the pros and cons of the proposed changes to the administration of the MetroWest HOME Consortium —of which the City of Newton is the lead entity and Lexington is currently a member —and whether Lexington should continue its participation, Mr. Henry had been invited to brief the Committee on the Federal HOME program that was created by the Federal HOME Investment Partnerships Act and is managed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). That program provides local governments that would not otherwise qualify for funding to meet their affordable housing needs may join with other contiguous units of local government to form a consortium that can directly participate in the HOME program for Federal funding. The Lexington BoS plans to address whether Lexington should continue its participation at its meeting on May 6, 2013. Because of the need for each member to be geographically contiguous to another member, and as Lincoln has already discontinued its participation, if Lexington were not to continue its participation, then Bedford, Concord, Sudbury, Wayland, Natick, and Framingham would lose a contiguous relationship with a remaining member of the consortium which, in turn, has a contiguous relationship to Newton and, thus, those named municipalities would not be eligible to continue as members. Page 1 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting April 30, 2013 Mr. Henry discussed funding that Lexington has gained by having been in the consortium, Lexington's current project, and the Town's remaining grant balance after that project. For all practical purposes, it is the Lexington Housing Authority that has the potential for identifying HOME - eligible projects. He explained that funds are, and would continue to be, allocated to members by HUD; the past administrative practices used by Newton with regard to to grant balances; and the new practices contemplated to be used during the upcoming 3 -year qualification period. Mr. Henry then presented the pros & cons for Lexington's continued participation as seen by the Lexington Planning Department and why, in the end, it believes the Town should continue its participation —at least for the next 3 -year term. The key accommodation for Lexington's continued participation is that administrative changes would give Lexington priority access to the pooled funds if the Town only requests them once every three years. The Committee then discussed the matter. That included questioning whether the HOME - related effort by the Planning Department during the upcoming 3 -year term would impair its ability to address other priority, on- going, efforts such as the development of an affordable- housing production plan for presentation to the BoS for approval. Mr. Henry replied that, in his opinion, it wouldn't. The consensus of the Committee was to support continued participation for the next 3 -year term, but still had strong reservations about the "distractions" that continued participation creates for the Planning Department with potential —if not probable —low return on the Department's time. If the geographical considerations affecting the other member towns were not present, then the Committee's recommendation might have been different. It was moved and seconded that the Committee's input to the BoS be that the Committee supports Lexington renewing its participation in the MetroWest Consortium for the next 3 -year qualifying period (FY2014 -2017) with serious concerns with respect to the Town's ability during that period to find one or more eligible projects and whether Lexington could prevail in the new lottery process even with a preference to gaining funding in light of the competition within the consortium. Further, the CEC recognizes the other housing - related activities that the Planning Department has and remains concerned about that Department's ability to focus on those as well as about the Lexington Housing Authority's ability to identify eligible projects. Vote: 5-0 Mr. Lamb will advise the BoS of the Committee's conclusion. Ad hoc Community Center Advisory Committee (AhCCAC) The Committee discussed the recently adopted Charge for the AhCCAC and how its recommendations to the BoS will have a bearing, over time, on the Town's Capital program. As the Charge provides for this Committee to designate a non - voting liaison, this Committee discussed which member would be willing to serve that role. Ms. Masterman Page 2 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting April 30, 2013 volunteered and her designation was unanimously endorsed by the other members. Mr. Lamb will advise the BoS of that designation. Member Concerns and Liaison Reports Mr. Kanter alerted the Committee that the BoS has drafted a Charge for a Community Farming Committee and is asking for comments from the public. Ms. Masterman expressed a concern about Committee members on occasion as Town - Meeting members having voted contrary to the positions they have taken on the Committee. Mr. Lamb and Mr. Kanter responded that they hold their responsibilities as different in the two roles and, thus, sometimes find their votes are different. While they see the Committee as responsible for advising and making recommendations to Town Meeting on what Capital program is viewed by the Committee as being in the Town's best interests under the policies that have been established —with that establishment not within the purview of the Committee —both feel their Town - Meeting- member responsibility is to look beyond just the Committee's role. That broader view can lead them to vote differently than they do as Committee members. Approval of Minutes As no other business was before the Committee, the Committee then reviewed the presented Outline Minutes for this meeting and updated it to reflect the actions taken. Then it was moved and seconded to approve the updated version with the inclusion of what will be the actual time of adjournment —and with Mr. Kanter authorized to make the needed changes. Vote: 5 -0 Adjourn: A Motion was made and seconded at 9:45 A.M. to adjourn. Vote: 5 -0 These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on April 30, 2013. Page 3 of 3