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Home My WebLink About2014-05-07-CEC-min 2014-05-07 Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee and Capital Expenditures Committee May 7,2014 Place and time: Parker Room,Town Office Building,7 30 P.M Members present for the Appropriation Committee Glenn Parker,Chair, John Bartenstem,Vice Chair and Secretary; Mollie Garberg; Alan Levine, Susan McLeish, Eric Michelson, Rob Addelson (non-voting,ex officio) Members present for the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Jill Hai,Chair, David Kanter, Vice Chair, William Hurley; Wendy Manz, Beth Masterman Members absent from the Appropriation Committee Robert Cohen, Richard Neumeier, Jomna Schonfeld Others Present Carl Valente,Town Manager, Peter Kelley,Board of Selectmen, Joe Pato, Board of Selectmen, Shawn Newell,Department of Public Facilities, Bob Pressman,Community Preservation Committee, David Beavers,Cadmus Group, Mark Sandeen,Chair, Sustainable Lexington Committee, Dan Voss,Chair, Solar Task Force The meeting was called to order at 7 30 P.M 1 CEC Minutes: A motion was made by Mr Kanter and seconded to approve the Draft#2 Minutes of the Committee's meeting on April 29, 2014 VOTE 5-0 A motion was made by Mr Kanter and seconded to approve release to the public of the previously approved Minutes of the Committee's December 9, 2013,Executive Session Mr Kanter noted for the Committee that the reference in these Minutes to"Buckman Tavern area" had been corrected to "Munroe Tavern area" VOTE. 4-0-1 (Ms Masterman had not been present at that Executive Session The two committees decided to take a brief recess until the Appropriation Committee had a quorum. The meeting was called back to order at 7 33 P.M by Mr Parker 2. Sustainable Lexington plans for solar installations on Town buildings and at the Hartwell composting site (Mark Sandeen): Mr Voss gave a presentation,based on slides dated May 7, 2014,updating the Appropriation and Capital Expenditures Committees on the project status for solar installations on Town buildings and at the Hartwell composting site Mr Voss described the focus of the solar task force • Selection of the most qualified vendor,Ameresco • Site survey and technology assessment • Review of agreement and contract with Ameresco 1 2014-05-07 Minutes Mr Sandeen explained the net meter credits and the construction sequence after the permitting process is complete He gave an overview of solar rates versus net meter projection based on historical trends A question was raised regarding the value of the solar panels throughout the 20-year contract Mr Sandeen provided statistical basis for the value of the solar panels, degrading about 0.5% each year and performing at 90% of its current value at 20 years The presentation continued to show potential savings at various PPA rates Mr Valente explained the next steps of the contracting process • Proposal presentation by Ameresco • Representatives from both the Appropriation and Capital Expenditures Committees will work with staff on negotiations • Recommendations will be given to the Board of Selectmen • Town Manager's approval required 3. Participation by finance-committee members in campaigns for local elections: Mr Parker commented that a policy and proposal is currently being developed regarding participation by finance committee members in campaigns for local elections Ms Hai sought a general sense of the Appropriation and Capital Expenditures Committees It was determined that both committees needed to participate in further discussion on development of a consistent policy Ms McLeish proposed inquiring how other communities handle this particular matter 3 Goal setting for the Board of Selectmen: Mr Kanter gave an overview of the topics that were submitted by the CEC for the Selectmen's goal setting last year • Commitment to Increased Extraordinary Maintenance Funding • Cash Financing for Capital"Programs" • Roads (Declared Plan for Achieving a Specified Pavement Condition Index [PCI]) • Residential Sidewalks (A Global Look and Plan as Done for Roads) • Affordable Housing Policy (Establish an Objective) • Enhance the Town's Recreational Field Capacity • Improved Capital Planning (A Long-Term Plan) • Capital Project Submission Process • Enhanced Transparency of the Board's Decision Making (Exclusive of Executive Session) • Early Positioning-Taking Regarding Town Applications for USE of the Community Preservation Fund CEC Adjourns: A motion was made and seconded at 9.08 P.M to adjourn VOTE. 5-0 The Appropriation Committee agreed to continue discussion on goal setting for the Board of Selectmen with Mr Kanter present One member suggested the review of the Appropriation and Capital Expenditures Committees goal setting lists from the previous year Additional topics for goal setting were discussed. 2 2014-05-07 Minutes • In-house legal service • Earlier Selectmen approval on warrant articles • Policy for process of land acquisition • Community Center • Commercial assessments • Wireless capability in Town buildings • Data policy and public access • Earlier committee involvement in capital projects Mr Kanter suggested that the Appropriation Committee develop a framework for submitting comments and then the Capital Expenditures Committee will aid with the implementation strategy Mr Parker presented a one-page document titled,"Mayor Elements of Municipal Finance" describing the role finance committees play in town finance Mr Kanter offered to be present at the next Appropriation Committee meeting for further discussion on this topic 4 Next Meetings and Next Steps: The Appropriation Committee set the next meeting date to May 28, 2014 at 7 30 P.M An Executive Session will be held on June 2, 2014 The meeting was adjourned at 9 40 P.M A list of documents and other exhibits used at the meeting are set forth below Respectfully submitted, Michelle Morelli Recording Secretary Approved July 10, 2014 Exhibits 1 Meeting Agenda posted by Glenn Parker,Chair,Appropriation Committee and Jill Hai, Chair,Capital Expenditures Committee 2 Draft#2 Minutes of the CEC Meeting,April 29, 2014 (distributed electronically May 4, 2014) 3 Minutes of the CEC Meeting,December 9, 2013, Executive Session (approved December 20, 2013) 4 PowerPoint,"Solar Task Force Update—Capital Expenditures and Appropriation Committees,May 7, 2014" 5 One-page document submitted by Glenn Parker,"Mayor Elements of Municipal Finance" Addendum The portions of these Minutes that report on the participation by the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee were approved by that Committee at its independent meeting on May 29, 2014 David G Kanter, Vice-Chair, Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee 3