Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-12-03-CEC-min Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 3, 201 3 Town Office Building, Parker Room; 8:00 .. Location and Time: AM Jill Hai, Chair; David Kanter, Vice-Chair; Wendy Manz; Members Present: Beth Masterman Bill Hurley Member Absent: Mary Ellen Dunn, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Business, Others Present: Lexington Public Schools (LPS);Tom Plati, Director of Educational Technology and Assessment, LPS;Debbie Harvey, Assistant to Business Office, LPS; Marianne McKenna, Director of Technology, LPSIan Dailey, Budget Officer, LPS; Pat Goddard, Director of ; Public Facilities(DPF); MarkBarrett, Project Manager, (DPF); StephenKeane, Lexington Housing Authority (LHA); Bill Kennedy, Co-Chair, Lexington Housing Assistance Board (LexHAB); Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Documents Presented: Notice of Public Meeting/Revised Agenda, December 3, 2013 LPSÈ FY2015ÃFY2019 Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs) DPFÈs FY2015ÃFY2019 CIPs, including revised CIPs, 11/27/2013 PowerPoint Slides prepared by Mr. Plati regarding iPad use in the schools LHAÈs Application for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds LexHABÈs Application for CPA funds Draft #2 Minutes of the CEC Meeting, November 19, 2013 Ms. Hai called the meeting to order at 8:05 .. Call to Order: AM There was a Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) Access Revolving Fund: motion and second to approve the increase in the spending limit of the PEG Access Revolving Fund from $450,000 to $490,000 to accommodate the estimated cost of the underground installation of a redundant fiber-optic data connection. Vote: 4Ã0 ACTION ITEM: Ms. Hai will advise the Board of Selectmen (BoS) of this vote. Ms. Dunn reviewed the CIPs, as follows: School Department CIPs: Food Service Equipment (#668): New equipment will improve safety and reduce/eliminate Board of Health citations. Clarke Middle School, Bridge Elementary School, and Bowman Elementary School are converting to gas, which will improve efficiency and be more cost effective. The Food Service Revolving Fund will be used for routine maintenance, such as repairs on the High School refrigeration system. The middle schools and high school need pot dishwashers, but this requires additional planning. Page 1 of 6 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 3, 2013 School Classroom Furniture (#896): There are a variety of reasons, in addition to normal wear and tear, that furniture is needed. The Bowman Elementary School and Bridge Elementary School renovation projects did not include funding for furniture. Furniture replacement was stopped at Estabrook Elementary School when it was determined that the building would be replaced. It may be possible to purchase fewer pieces of furniture than currently identified because some of the furniture at the old Estabrook building may be salvageable. Extra office furniture may be used in Town facilities. The School Department will try to avoid storing furniture. Mr.Kanter asked for a total value of all the furniture and for information regarding the life span of furniture to demonstrate the favorable basis of the funding request. He also asked that the CIP be renamed as the request extends beyond just classroom furniture as it includes administrative furniture as well as equipment and software. In response to questions, Ms.Dunn clarified the need for some of the items on the requested list of furniture/equipment/software: The print shop renovation project is starting in the spring of 2014; funding for two pieces of equipment was excluded from that project a year ago; they are included on the current list of requested items. The workstations being requested will accommodate six or seven people. The transportation-related request includes software that will assist in designing school-bus routes. It was suggested that the CIP include a paragraph explaining this equipment. The schools currently have eight Augmented Audio Communication (AAC) devices; the number of students needing these devices is increasing. A master plan is identifying classrooms that need acoustical treatments (e.g., acoustical tiles, drapes, blinds, etc.) and FM systems to assist hearing-impaired students. It was noted that the high-school modular buildings coming in 2014 & 2015 will have less ambient noise than the current classrooms. School Technology Capital Request (#897): Mr. Plati reviewed the major components included in this project, as follows: Tech workstations; Additional iPads for students; the project includes professional development for staff to ensure staff can use and monitor the equipment efficiently and securely in a school environment before the equipment is deployed; Replacement of old equipment, partially for elementary-school equity; Updating network components; Interactive projector/whiteboard units, the purchase of which is being coordinated by DPF. Mr. Kanter asked that a timeline be created to demonstrate the progress being made toward total implementation of this project. In response to questions, Mr. Plati clarified the following: Not all public schools in the region are using Apple products although most of them are now moving toward the use of iPads. There is a trend away from using desktop computers. Buying technical equipment in quantity does not result in discounts, although the town does get a 7-8% educational discount off the unit prices. Page 2 of 6 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 3, 2013 The schools are moving toward wireless technology. The schools have had few requests for wireless technology from the public; public access is a policy issue because of security concerns. Design Funds for School Traffic Safety Mitigation (#898): Ms. Dunn explained that the School CommitteeÈs Traffic Safety and Mitigation Study is nearing completion. She can provide a draft copy at this time. This study will be used to design clearly identified traffic plans for school properties. Those plans will be included in a Geographic Information System(GIS)program that is compatible with the TownÈs GIS programs. This project will be used to design the identified plans, although they cannot all be implemented at one time because of staff ÅbandwidthÆ limitations. Ms. Dunn noted that the modular buildings that were recently approved by Town Meeting will impact traffic at the High School and the Estabrook Elementary School project included implementation of traffic studies. Mr.Kanter suggested listing each school and including one sentence to identify unique situations associated with each one, as appropriate. He also requested a short paragraph describing how the School CommitteeÈs commissioning of the Traffic Safety and Mitigation Study represented taking a District-wide view of the matter that would not have been considered as each of the schoolÈs prior major projects were undertaken. School AED (Automated External Defibrillator) Replacement (#899): Ms. Dunn reported that there are eight AEDs that are 12 years old and need to be replaced. In response to questions, she said she did not believe there were any other safety devises that needed replacement at this time; the two-way radios were upgraded a year ago, and there are regular inspections of equipment. There was a brief acknowledgment of the changes Department of Public Facilities CIPs: that had been requested at the CommitteeÈs November 12, 2014, meeting and made in the following revised CIPs: School Building Envelope and Systems Program (#562) Cary Memorial Building Upgrades (#639) East Lexington Fire Station Physical Fitness Room (#739) Hastings School Renovation/Replacement (#870) The following revised CIPs, which had also been reviewed at the November 12, 2014, meeting, triggered the following comments: Visitor Center (#835): The CIP now references the basis of the cost projection, but Mr. Kanter asked for clarification of the allocation shown of the projectÈs total to the amount being requested from Community Preservation Fund (CPF). Cary Memorial Building Updates (#639): It was noted that requested amount has increased and in anticipation of $391,050 of the total being for audio-visual equipment that may not be deemed eligible for funding from the CPF, that amount is now shown being from the General FundÄwhich the BoS would be asked to support, too. Middle School Science, Performing Arts, and General Education Spaces (#838): The project now includes an increase of $20,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 for evaluation of the Diamond Middle School Food Services. The Committee recommended that Page 3 of 6 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 3, 2013 effort be included in the Renovation & Update of Diamond Kitchen and Cafeteria (#900) that, in FY2016, includes the funding request for the implementation based on the evaluation. Mr. Addelson and Mr. Goddard will review and report back to this Committee. The following comments were made regarding the DPF CIPs that had not been previously reviewed: 39 Marrett Road Community Center Renovation (#892): Mr. Kanter noted that the original cost basis for this project (developed by The Cecil Group a year ago) addressed the potential for a half-court gym; however, a full-court gym may be recommended by the Ad hoc Community Center Advisory Committee (AhCCAC) on December 16, 2013, when the AhCCAC reports to the BoS. The cost of a full-court gym will be approximately $5million, and none of this will be CPAeligible. Mr. Goddard noted that the project includes $250,000 in FY2015 for construction of a sidewalk. The sidewalk analysis (funded at the November 4, 2013, Special Town Meeting) will be done after the purchase (anticipated for this week) is complete. Renovation & Update of Diamond Kitchen Cafeteria (#900): As previously addressed regarding the Middle School Science, Performing Arts, and General Education Spaces (#838) CIP, this Committee recommended this project #900 be revised to include the funding in FY2015 for the evaluation of the Diamond Middle School food service improvements that is currently in #838. Finance Office Reconfiguration (#901): This CIP has been withdrawn as the work is integrated into School Building Envelope and Systems Program (#562) CIP. Clarke Gymnasium Dividing Curtain (#904): The Town is getting a quote for this project and it is yet to be seen whether it will still meet the $25,000 threshold for capital funding. Clarke Gymnasium Lockers (#905): This request is in FY2016 so the Town and Schools will have a better understanding of the space needs. Clarke Auditorium Audio Visual System (#910): This was discussed in conjunction with Middle School Science and Performing Art Spaces (#838). Mr. Keane discussed the LHAÈs request for $300,551 of CPA LHA Funding Request: funding toward the Vynebrooke Village Exterior Preservation Project (total estimated cost is $901,653. The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) voted 9Ã0 to support the project. The LHA sought and has received assurance from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development it will fund the predevelopment costs ($90,165) and, subject to that CPA funding being approved, the funding of the balance of the project. Mr. Keane reviewed the complexities involved in funding these projects. Mr. Kennedy discussed LexHABÈs request for $750,000 of LexHAB Funding Request: CPA funding to a $1,200,000 project for the construction of two buildings for affordable housing on the Busa Farm property on Lowell Street near Westminster Avenue. While some of the neighbors continue to have some reservations, adjustments have been made in response to neighborhood concerns. Those neighbors would like a traffic study done, but as the current design is for not more than a total of six units (each building having two Page 4 of 6 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 3, 2013 2-bed-room units and one 1-bedroom unit), such a study is currently not planned. The BoS will make the determination of how many buildings and units would be proposed for Town MeetingÈs approval. The buildings will be designed to use passive and active measures to achieve net-0 energy use. The Committee made the following suggestions: The Sustainable Lexington Committee should be apprised of the project; it is likely it would support the project at Town Meeting. The drawings should show where the photovoltaic cells would be installed. The funding components should be clarified so the source of the other funding (i.e., $450,000 of prior CPA funding) is detailed. The Minuteman Regional High School should be approached aboutits ability to have its students (with its staffÈs supervision) assist with constructing these buildings. (The current funding request is based on no such assistance being provided.) A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft #2 Minutes of the CEC Minutes: Meeting, November 19, 2013. Vote: 4Ã0 Mr. Kanter reported: Liaison Reports: At last-nightÈs meeting of the BoS it was announced that the closing on the purchase of the 39 Marrett Road property has been postponed for a few days to accommodate preparing the necessary paperwork. The BoS voted that the Warrant for the 2014 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) will be closed on December 27, 2013; that the Town elections will be held on March 3, 2014; and the 2014 ATM will begin on March 24, 2013. Scheduling the Cary Memorial Building Upgrades project is challenging because the building is heavily used by the Town, its heating and cooling systems also support the Town Office Building, and the project will take about 15 months. Summer experiences the lowest demand on its space, making the beginning of the summer 2014 the best time to start the projectÄwith completion of the project by the early fall 2015. This would require going out to bid in the spring of 2014. To accommodate that, it is being considered to request that the BoS include a Special Town Meeting that would begin and be dissolved near the start of the 2014 ATM to address the construction funding of this project. At its meeting on November 21, 2013, the CPC took positions on applications it had received for the use of FY2015 CPA funds for the following projects/purposes: Hennessy Field Conservation Extension: 0-9 Cary Memorial Building Upgrades: 9Ã0 39 Marrett Road Community Center Renovation: 9Ã0 Visitor Center Design Phase: 9Ã0. Mr. Kanter that while the BoS had voted to include this funding request in the Warrant for the 2014 ATM, the BoS withheld it support pending the Historical Society and the Tourism Committee having resolved their differences relating to the Visitor Center Upgrades Hastings Park Gazebo Renovation: No vote The undergrounding of power lines at Hastings Park (companion to the gazebo renovations: 0Ã9 Page 5 of 6 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 3, 2013 Completing the inventory of 259 homes that are currently identified by the Historical Commission as provisionally historically significant: 9Ã0 Phase 3 Battle Green Master Plan: No vote LHAÈs Vynebrooke Village Renovations: 9Ã0 LexHABÈs Set-Aside Funds for Development of Community Housing at Busa Farm: 8Ã0Ã1 The Recreation DepartmentÈs multiple projects: 9Ã0 Debt service associated with the purchase of the property at 39 Marrett Road and the Wright Farm: 9Ã0 The administrative budget request: 9Ã0 th The next two meetings will be on Mondays: December 9 at 11:00 .. Next Meetings: AM thth and December 16 at 8:00 .. The agenda for the December 9 meeting will include going AM into Executive Session under Exemption 6. A Motion was made and seconded at 10:36 .. to adjourn. Adjourn:Vote: 4Ã0 AM These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on December 20, 2013. Page 6 of 6