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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-12-04-AC-min 12/04/13 Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee December 4, 2013 Place and time Legion Room, Cary Memonal Building, 7 30 p.m. Members present Glenn Parker, Chair, John Bartenstem, Vice Chair and Secretary; Mollie Garberg; Alan Levine, Susan McLeish, Eric Michelson, Richard Neumeier, Rob Addelson (non- voting, ex officio) Members Absent Robert Cohen, Jonma Schonfeld Others Present Dawn McKenna The meeting was called to order at 7 35 p.m. 1 Announcements and Liaison Reports. Mr Neumeier reported on a recent Cary Memonal Renovation Design Committee meeting. It now appears that renovation costs are going to be $669,350 greater than originally projected. Among the reasons for the increase is the addition of a shed for storing snow removal equipment that was not ongmally included in the project. It will cost $30,000 (reduced from $47,000) and is not expected to be Community Preservation Act eligible Other issues include the discovery that some concrete columns have deteriorated. The project cost is now $8,537,126, and it is anticipated that the project will take 15 months to complete The plan is to go out to bid as soon as possible so the project can begin in early summer, when the building experiences its lowest usage, and be completed by the end of summer 2015 Mr Parker reported that the Selectmen have voted on a schedule that includes holding town elections on March 3rd and starting the Annual Town Meeting on March 24th There may be a Special Town Meeting on the first day of the Annual Town Meeting to address funding for the Cary Memonal Building renovation project. Mr Parker reported that the Ad hoc Community Center Advisory Committee has solid Phase 1 plans to renovate 39 Marrett Road for a Community Center They are now addressing plans for Phase 2, including an extensive addition that could include a gym, banquet hall and greenhouse, but a Phase 2 project of this magnitude may not be politically feasible at this time 2. Minutes. A motion was made and seconded to accept the November 24, 2013 Minutes with changes made by Mr Bartenstem. The motion passed. VOTE 7-0 3 Increase Expense Limit for Public, Educational, and Government(PEG)Access Revolving Fund. The Town is pursuing plans to use a Verizon underground conduit for fiber- optic communication cables that will connect 201 Bedford Street with the Town Office Building and the Police Station. Currently, the Town is using RCN connections that are on poles, which are subject to disruptions from weather, accidents and other potential incidents The underground conduit will provide valuable redundancy and less vulnerability 1 12/04/13 Minutes The PEG Access Fund has available funds to cover the $40,000 needed to pull the fiber through the conduit and cover the necessary police details, however, Town Meeting voted a $450,000 ceiling on FY2014 expenditures from the PEG access fund that was based on the LexMedia contract. The ceiling can be increased if the Appropriation Committee and Board of Selectmen vote to do so There was a motion and second to approve raising the spending ceiling on the PEG Access Fund by $40,000 to accommodate this expenditure The motion passed. VOTE 7-0 4 Reserve Fund Transfer for Patriots Day Safety and Security Measures. To address heightened concerns about secunty and safety during 2014 Patriots Day activities following last year's Marathon bombing, a request for additional funds has been made by the Police Department ($20,000) and by the Department of Public Works ($22,000) A transfer from the Reserve Fund, which has not yet been tapped in FY2014 and has a current balance of$900,000, can cover these expenses It was noted that no Reserve Fund transfers were made in FY2013 Mr Addelson will get answers to the following questions • Will the added safety and secunty measures be in place all three days of Patnots Day activities? • What is the current Police and DPW budget for Patnots Day activities? • Will there be a similar need for additional secunty at other Town events such as the Memorial Day parade? There was a motion and second to approve the transfer of$42,000 from the Reserve Fund to cover the costs of additional safety and security measures during Patnots Day activities VOTE 7-0 5 Errata for the Committee's Report to the November 2013 Special Town Meeting. Mr Parker distributed a memorandum identifying five corrections he proposes to make to the Committee's report to the November 2013 Special Town Meeting. There were questions about the process for making and circulating such corrections and whether the corrected report would need to be accepted by Town Meeting. Mr Parker will get more information before pursuing this 6 FY2015 Budget Projections and Recommendations for the next Budget Summit: This Committee discussed the approximately $1 9 million in unallocated funds for FY 2015 that was recently reported at a budget summit as open for discussion. A variety of potential uses were identified and various opinions were shared but there was no consensus Mr Addelson discussed the disposition of reserves contained in the Health Insurance Trust Fund that are no longer needed due to the Town's participation in the GIC There will be a report with various scenarios One proposal is to use $1 0 million (out of$6 0-7 0 million)to help fund the FY2015 Health Insurance budget, thus reducing amount required from the General Fund by $1 0 million. The money freed up could then be applied toward the Town's OPEB liability 2 12/04/13 Minutes With respect to the preparation of the FY2015 budget, Mr Addelson reported the following • The Town Manager will be presenting his budget to the Board of Selectmen in early January • There will be a General Fund component for Phase 2 of the Community Center project. • Pavement projects are being adequately funded, although some roads need reconstruction, not just repaving. • It is anticipated that costs associated with Cary Memorial Building or Visitor Center renovations that are not CPA-eligible will be covered by within-levy debt. • The general Stabilization Fund has not been funded for several years so it is a smaller percent of the total budget; however, funds have gone into other stabilization funds, thus maintaining an adequate aggregate Ms McKenna reported that the Selectmen recently expressed support for upgrading the Visitor Center At the same time, Selectman Peter Kelley commented that the Town should build a new police station and fire station before the Visitors' Center is renovated. Ms McKenna noted that tounsm is a growth industry in Massachusetts, and taxes for food and accommodations plus the multiplier effect provide revenue for the Town, if the Town supports tounsm, this can help pay for projects such as a new police station or fire station. The meeting was adjourned at 8 55 p.m A list of documents and other exhibits used at the meeting is set forth below Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold Approved January 23, 2014 Exhibits 1 Meeting Agenda posted by Glenn Parker, Chair 2 MEMO Report to the November 2013 Special Town Meeting Corrigenda, prepared by Glenn Parker, December 2, 2013 3