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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-18-CEC-min Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting March 18, 2014 Town Office Building, Parker Room (G15); 8:00 .. Location and Time: AM David Kanter, Vice-Chair; Wendy Manz; Beth Masterman Members Present: Jill Hai, Chair; Bill Hurley Members Absent: Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Bob Pressman, Others Present: Community Preservation Committee; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Documents Presented: Notice of Public Meeting/Agenda for March 18, 2014 Meeting (Posted March 13, 2014) E-mails, March 27 & 28, 2014, between Bella Tsvetkova and Mr. Kanter; Re: CEC Report to the 2014 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) and 24 Mar 2014 Special Town Meeting (STM) Form for Identifying Presenters of CEC Response When Called Upon by the Town Moderator Listing Articles for the ATM and STM that are included in the CEC Report to the ATM and STM, prepared by Mr. Kanter CEC Report to the 2014 ATM and 2014 STM, March 24, 2014, Released March 17, 2014 In Ms. HaiÈs absence, Mr. Kanter called the meeting to order at 8:02 .. Call to Order: AM : Mr. Kanter reported on three items that were Member Concerns and Liaison Reports discussed at the Board of SelectmenÈs (BoSÈs) March 17, 2014 meeting: Electronic Voting at Town Meeting: The BoS voted 4Ã0Ã1 (Mr. Kelley abstaining) to rd support the use of electronic voting during Town Meeting. This will require a 2/3 Town Meeting vote before it can be implemented. Cary Memorial Building Upgrades: The BoS voted 3Ã2 in support of STM Article 2 for Cary Memorial Building upgrades. Deb Mauger, BoS Chair, and Selectman Joe Pato opposed the article because of the financial challenges the Town will be facing in the near future; they expressed concern for the burden on the taxpayer. Not only are there other already-identified capital projects that need to be addressed, but an Enrollment Working Group for the public schools has indicated that a new elementary school may be necessary. Ms. Mauger and Mr. Pato believe the Cary Building upgrades are necessary, and they expect Town Meeting will support the project, but they prefer postponing it at this time. Use of $1 million Now Available as Increase in FY2015 Health Premiums Confirmed at 1% Versus the 6% Used in the Budget: To reduce future debt service, the BoS voted to recommend using $495,000 of the $1 million, rather than debt, to fund the supplemental funding for the High School Modular Units and using the $505,000 balance to augment the proposed deposit into the Capital-related Stabilization Fund. A Motion was made and seconded to support the BoS position on use of the additional $1 million. Vote: 3Ã0 Mr. Addelson agreed to explore alternatives for using the Community Preservation Fund (CPF) that avoid borrowing the full value of the Cary Memorial Building project over Page 1 of 2 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting March 18, 2014 10 years. He will re-run his financial model to identify the implications. He suggested that there be an effort to reach consensus with other committees on an acceptable funding approach. If applying currently available cash from the CPF is desired, that would need to be appropriated at a Town MeetingÄpotentially at a STM this fall. He cautioned that these mechanisms will result in less available funding for other projects brought to the Community Preservation Committee, and that Committee should be included in the decisions made.. Mr. Kanter reported having had an e-mail exchange with Ms. Tsvetkova regarding this CommitteeÈs report on the history regarding funding for affordable housing and the position taken regarding 2014 ATM Article 8(g): LexHAB Set-Aside Funds for Development of Community Housing at the Busa Property. First, she believes that the report needs to be corrected because this Committee had misrepresented last-yearÈs debate on the proposed Lexington Housing Assistance Board (LexHAB) support for community housing in regard to the number of units of such housing on the Busa properties in that the BoS had agreed to restrict it to four units. Mr. KanterÈs response explained that she did not understand that last yearÈs motion regarding this subject included both the Leary and Busa properties, and at the time the number of units to be included on the Leary land had not been determined. He does not believe there is anything substantively wrong with the report; Ms. Manz, who wrote this part of the report, concurred. A Motion was made and seconded that this Committee does not believe it is necessary to correct its report. Vote: 3Ã0 Mr. Kanter said that Ms. Tsvetkova then asked this Committee to reconsider its support of Article 8(g) because, in her opinion, nothing has changed since last yearÈs ATM when the project wasnÈt supported. Mr. Kanter disagreed with that assessment, saying that, unlike last year, there is now a site plan and building drawings that identify the number of buildings, the number of units that are proposed in each, and a preliminary budget for the project. A Motion was made and seconded that this Committee does not change its support of the 2014 ATM Article 8(g). Vote: 3Ã0 The CommitteeÈs Verbal Reports to the 2014 ATM and Accompanying : Mr. Kanter distributed this CommitteeÈs recently published report. March 24, 2014, STM The Committee discussed who would make this CommitteeÈs verbal position reports to the STM and ATM for most of the articles. Mr. Kanter is to coordinate with Ms. Hai and Mr. Hurley to gain their input to the assignments before they are reported to the Town Moderator. A Motion was made and seconded at 8:53 .. to adjourn. Adjourn:Vote: 3Ã0 AM These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on March 26, 2014. Page 2 of 2