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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-12-09-CEC-min LL n Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 9, 2014 APRIL Y$ Location and Time Town Office Building, Selectmen's Meeting Room, 8.00 A.M Members Present Jill Hai, Chair, David Kanter, Vice-Chair & Clerk, Elizabeth Barnett, Wendy Manz Member Absent Rod Cole Others Present Donna Hooper, Town Clerk, Nadie Rice, Town Clerk effective December 15, 2014, Nasrin Rohani, Archivist, Town Clerk's Office, Melisa Tintocalis, Economic Development Director, Mary Ellen Dunn, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations, Lexington Public Schools (LPS), Marianne McKenna, Director of Information Technology, LPS, Tom Plati, Director of Educational Technology and Assessment, LPS, Ian Dailey, Assistant Director of Finance, LPS, Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Documents Presented • Notice of Public Meeting/Revised Agenda for December 9, 2014 • FY2016—FY2020 Capital Improvement Projects (CIPS) for Economic Development Office, Town Clerk's Office, and LPS • CEC Comments/Questions for 12/9/2014 CEC meeting, as compiled by Ms Hai for the Economic Development Office, Town Clerk's Office, and LPS regarding their CIPS (distributed by her e-mail to representatives for those entities, to Mr Addelson, to the other CEC Members, and to Ms Arnold, December 7, 2014 1035 P M ) • Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee Department & Liaison Assignments as of 8 Dec 2014 with changes proposed for the 9 Dec 2014 Meeting, prepared by Mr Kanter (distributed by his e-mail to the other CEC members and Ms Arnold, December 8, 2014 7.05 P M ) • Organizational Chart Preliminary Concept by Town Manager presented 3 Dec 2014, to the Ad hoc Community Center Advisory Committee (AhCCAC) • Draft Minutes of the CEC Meeting, June 2, 2014 (distributed by Mr Kanter's e-mail to the other CEC members and Ms Arnold, November 22, 2014 9.30 P M ) • Draft #2 Minutes of the CEC Meeting, October 28, 2014 (distributed by Mr Kanter's e-mail to the other CEC members and Ms Arnold, November 1, 2014 11 45 P M ) • Draft #3 Minutes of the CEC Meeting, November 4, 2014 (distributed by Mr Kanter's e-mail to the other CEC members and Ms Arnold, November 17„ 2014 2 42 P M ) • Draft Minutes of the morning CEC Meeting, November 10, 2014 (distributed by Mr Kanter's e-mail to the other CEC members and Ms Arnold, November 18, 2014 441 PM ) • Draft Minutes of the evening CEC Meeting, November 10, 2014 (distributed by Mr Kanter's e-mail to the other CEC members and Ms Arnold, November 18, 2014 441 PM ) Page 1 of 7 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 9, 2014 • Draft #2 Minutes of the CEC Meeting, November 18, 2014 (distributed by Mr Kanter's e-mail to the other CEC members and Ms Arnold, December 8, 2014 7.05PM ) Call to Order Ms Hai called the meeting to order at 8.02 A.M Discussion of Town Clerk's CIPS Ms Hooper supplemented the CIPS as follows • Archives and Records Management/Records Conservation & Preservation (#307) Some archived material is already on the Town's website, but there is more to be added No FY2016 funding is requested as this project has recently been on hold to allow time to complete the necessary server upgrades required to handle the data. It is anticipated that the project can resume in FY2017 and then be funded for one more year CEC Comments/Concerns Mr Kanter suggested that there will be a continuing need past FY2018 as each year he believes more of the Town records will become eligible for such conservation and preservation Ms Hooper acknowledged that and will propose the funding continue in at least FY2019 & FY2020 • Election System Upgrade (#851) It is being recommended that a new election system be purchased in FY2018, after the State's 2016 elections, because the current system would by then reach its expected "end of its life" Only two systems are currently certified by the State—both of which are similar to the Town's current system Staff will be looking at the experience of other Towns to help determine the preferred system for Lexington CEC Comments/Concerns Because "end of life" is difficult to predict and having a gap in vote-counting capability must be avoided, it was recommended that the funding request be moved to FY2017 This will allow more flexibility once the fall 2016 elections are over Ms Hooper agreed to look into making that change in the CIP • Cary Memorial Building Records Center Shelving (#953) The estimated cost for this project is currently being re-evaluated because of complexities, including fire-department requirements, associated with upgrading the non-vault storage center in the Cary Memorial Building A better estimate should be available by December 18th The current shelving was designed for books and is inadequate Because this shelving is associated with retention of historic material and because it is being located in the historic Cary Memorial Building, this project is eligible under Community Preservation Act (CPA) Past CPA funding has been critical in helping preserve and organize historic materials Although off-site storage has been used in the past for some materials, the State now requires it to be located so it is easily accessible It is hoped that the use of electronic files will begin to reduce the amount of paper that is stored The Town Office Building basement is used for material that can be rotated (i e , periodically destroyed and replaced with more current comparable material) In general, the archiving process has been proceeding well CEC Comments/Concerns Mr Kanter asked for floor-plan sketch that delineates how this project affects that space which also includes the "cloak room"/Robbins Room and archives vault. Member Concerns and Liaison Reports Ms Hai advised that "Tax Classification" has been added to the agenda for the Budget Summit scheduled for December 11th Page 2 of 7 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 9, 2014 Approval of Minutes A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft Minutes of the CEC Meeting, June 2, 2014, as presented Vote 3-0-1 [Ms. Barnett abstained as she was not a member at that time] A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft#2 Minutes of the CEC Meeting October 28, 2014, as presented Vote 3-0-1 [Ms. Barnett abstained as she was not a member at that time] A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft#3 Minutes of the CEC Meeting, November 4, 2014 Vote 3-0-1 [Ms. Barnett abstained as she was not a member at that time] A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft Minutes of the morning CEC Meeting, November 10, 2014, as presented Vote 4-0 A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft Minutes of the evening CEC Meeting, November 10, 2014 Vote 3-0-1 [Ms. Barnett abstained as she was not present at that meeting] A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft #2 Minutes of the CEC Meeting, November 18, 2014, with the changes to be made by Mr Kanter Vote 4-0 Member Concerns and Liaison Reports (continued) Updated Liaison Assignments In addition to ratifying the two changes indicated on the listing prepared by Mr Kanter, he agreed to replace Ms Manz as the liaison to the Ad hoc Community Center Advisory Committee Ms Hai reiterated that liaison attendance at any of those committee, commission, and board meetings is only expected if there is a capital-related agenda item A Motion was made and seconded to accept all three revised liaison assignments Vote 4-0 Next Meetings of this Committee Ms Hai reminded the members that there are two meetings of this Committee scheduled for next week December 15th at 7.30 A nn in this building's Reed Room to discuss this Committee's preliminary positions on the CIPS, and December 16th at 8.00 Av in this building's Parker Room to report those preliminary positions to Carl Valente, Town Manager, and Mr Addelson Jeanne Krieger will be attending the December 16th meeting to discuss the Parker's Revenge Restoration application to the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) for funding under the CPA. Mr Addelson will try to determine who should come on December 16th to discuss the funding request for Minuteman Bikeway Wayfinding—which is a new CIP Mr Kanter reported on the following • Based on a response from Ms Hooper, he said the draft Minutes for this Committee will continue to be listed in the Documents Presented of the Minutes for a meeting at which those draft Minutes are being considered for approval • When this Committee convenes during another entity's meeting, that other entity's Minutes may be referenced in this Committee's Minutes as the resource for finding what transpired This most commonly occurs when the Board of Selectmen (BoS) holds a Budget Collaboration/Summit Meeting that includes this Committee, the Appropriation Committee, and the School Committee He recommends there needs to be a process by which this Committee—along with the other participating Page 3 of 7 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 9, 2014 committees—has an opportunity to review the other entity's draft Minutes before they are approved to ensure they agree with any representations in those Minutes of the participating committee's actions are acceptable He suggested that having just the Chairs of the participating committees do that review is sufficient. Ms Hai agreed to discuss this with the BoS • He provided a copy of a preliminary organization chart prepared by Mr Valente, and distributed at the December 3, 2014, meeting of the AhCCAC, reflecting how the management of the Lexington Community Center (LCC), including two new positions and one retitled position, could be incorporated into his staff Karen Simmons, Recreation Director, would become the retitled Director of Recreation and Community Programs, and Sheila Butts would continue as Assistant Director of Recreation According to Mr Valente, there are approved funds in the FY2015 budget for funding one of the new positions, the Director of Community Center, but the funds are not in a personal-services line as they would need to be if they are to be applied to filling that new position, a Town Meeting approval would be needed to transfer those funds between the line items There isn't a position in the current Human Services department that would fit into this position Also, Mr Valente envisions starting with a 9 A.M to 5 P M operation at the LCC, but the AhCCAC feels strongly about having some expanded hours, including on the weekend Although this Committee does not generally take a position on the operating impact of a project, there were some concerns expressed about the long-term financial commitments associated with operating the new LCC It was agreed that Ms Manz will discuss this with Ms Simmons in conjunction with Ms Manz's preparation of her inputs on the Recreation Department and the LCC to our report to the 2014 Annual Town Meeting Discussion of Community Development's CIPS Ms Tintocalis supplemented the CIPS as follows • Grain Mill Alley (#963) The project aims to develop a unique "pocket park", based on both new and traditional ideas, that will connect the bikeway with Lexington Center Three workshops each drew approximately 50 attendees Based on input, the CIP is being changed to reflect a FY2016 request for $16,000 for additional design and data collection and a request for $325,000 in FY2017 for construction This is being presented to the CPC for CPA funding as an open-space project. Although this project and the Center Streetscape project have different consultants, there is communication and coordination The Center Streetscape project is focusing on the areas between the businesses on both sides of the street while the Grain Mill Alley project is considered a specific accent in Lexington Center It does not directly impact the Town's revenue stream, it serves as a park—an amenity that draws people to the businesses CEC Comments/Concerns Metrics that could estimate how this impacts the businesses' revenue stream and how this might be reflected in the Town's revenue would be helpful (i e , it would be beneficial to know if there is any identifiable return on this investment.) It was noted that this area might be used by bicycle clubs, and the impact of such use should be understood • Parking Meter Replacement (#962) The BoS accepted a report that supports the concept of having the highest parking rates for premium spaces, identified as those Page 4 of 7 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 9, 2014 on the main streets near the businesses This is likely to result in long-term parkers parking on the periphery of the business district, thus providing efficient access to businesses by consumers The report also supports the installation of upgraded parking meters that are linked to computers "Smart meters" allow payment using a cell phone, credit card, or cash, and can be programmed to provide 20 minutes of free parking to allow for a quick stop There are two kinds of such meters Multi-space pay stations (kiosk style), which are generally used in parking lots, and . Single-space parking meters that would be installed on the poles that are already installed throughout Lexington Center Experience indicates that both of these options improve compliance by 25%, partly because the person parking has multiple options for paying and partly because enforcement is simplified—an expired meter can be located by a computer rather than by a staff person walking around a large area looking for potentially expired meters Improved enforcement may increase citation revenue, but this is not a goal of the program The Metropolitan Area Planning Council is assisting the Town during the procurement process, no grant money is currently available The Town Manager's Parking Management Group has been assisting in analyzing options It is anticipated that an updated funding request, to be available in January, will be less than is currently reflected in the CIP It will include removal of old hardware and installation of new hardware for the system and will include all three phases identified in the CIP CEC Comments/Concerns It was agreed that any committee member's additional questions could be sent to Ms Tintocalis by email for clarification Discussion of School Department's CIPS Ms Dunn and other attending LPS staff supplemented the CIPS as follows • School Furniture, Equipment and Systems Program (#896) The School Department has been grappling with how to manage the annual needs for replacement furniture FY2016 has been identified as the last year for a replacement program, but the needs continue Some of this involves end-of-life issues, some is associated with increasing enrollment. In some cases, staff members going into new buildings expect new furniture, this expectation needs to be mitigated Funding for a furniture inventory with life-cycle projections is being requested in an effort to better understand the needs going forward On an immediate basis, this CIP includes a funding request for a service that cleans and repairs furniture The refurbished furniture looks new and this process is less expensive than buying new This CIP also includes funding for emergency-response replacement equipment, this is being coordinated with the Police and Fire Departments CEC Comments/Concerns There was discussion about the inclusion of furniture repairs and refurbishing being inappropriately included as part of a capital project. Because Ms Dunn has some furniture-purchasing funds in her operating budget, she agreed to switch that furniture-purchasing request into this CIP and move the funding request for repairs and refurbishing that is currently in the CIP into her operating budget. Regarding the request for replacing emergency response equipment, it was agreed that if the total cost of the equipment is over $25,000, a threshold used to evaluate whether a Page 5 of 7 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 9, 2014 funding request belongs in the capital budget, then it can be a capital project even though the individual parts may each cost under $25,000 Ms Dunn will verify whether this is the last request for currently-scheduled emergency-response equipment replacement. • LPS Technology Capital Request (#945) The rebuilding of Estabrook Elementary School included upgraded technology equipment, and there is now a proposal to bring the other elementary schools up to that standard, a $50,000 request is part of a three-year plan to achieve this goal Electronic whiteboards are not included in the CIP, alternative equipment (Interactive Projector/Whiteboards) is being used The School Department staff is working with the Town's Information Technology department to facilitate integration of the head-end support systems for electronic devices used by Town employees, school employees, and students, voice over internet protocol devices are used by both By contrast, the schools need to acquire and manage the electronic equipment for the School Department, currently it has approximately 9,000 electronic devices One challenge is the need to increase the efficiency of WiFi in the school buildings School visitors must request a password for temporary WiFi access in a school building, there is limited bandwidth in the schools Cell-phone access in the schools depends on an individual person's carrier Replacing iPads for student use is on a four-year replacement cycle, assuming Apple Corporation does not make changes that require an adjustment to this schedule There has been an annual 10% loss or repair experienced with the iPads, usage is tracked, but it isn't possible to identify what a student is actually doing when using an iPad Privacy is an issue that is still being explored It was too complex to implement a program that had parents purchasing this equipment for school use School-purchased equipment gets State support. CEC Comments/Concerns It would be useful to receive some narrative—probably best in table(s)—regarding the life cycles of the electronic equipment through FY2020, identifying how complete each objective is within the elementary schools, the middle schools, and high school, and with an explanation describing how the mix of needs leads to the flat number being requested over multiple fiscal years It would be helpful to have a document that identifies the different roles and responsibilities assumed by the School Department and the Town for electronic networks and equipment. • Additional Time Clock System Funds (#950) This CIP is going to be revised Price proposals that were received in the spring of 2014 were considerably greater than the approved funding The Kronos Time Keeper system tends to be expensive, and Kronos did not submit a proposal The Request for Proposals (RFP) is being scaled back, January 2015 is targeted for the RFP's release Staff reductions based on having a new system have already occurred, making it critical to get the RFP issued as soon as possible The RFP requires the system to be connected to the Town's MUNIS financial-accounting system One complexity is that the Affordable Care Act requires that time be logged in hours, not days, which affects the tracking of sick time It is important that there be alternative resources in the event of a power failure The Town could join the LPS' system because it would add less than 25% to the contract. CEC Comments/Concerns It is important that the Town be able to meet its legal obligations regarding time records, therefore, this Committee urges Page 6 of 7 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting December 9, 2014 that all possible speed be taken to get the new system in place, training done, and full usage achieved The reference in the CIP to a "preferred vendor" is not to be interpreted as the Town proceeding on a sole-source basis The wording should be changed to avoid that misinterpretation Adjourn A Motion was made and seconded at 10.26 A.M to adjourn Vote 4-0 These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on January 13, 2015 Page 7 of 7