Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-01-29-AC-min 01/29/15 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee January29, 2015 : Parker Room, Town Office Building, 7:30 p.m. : John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Mollie Garberg; Alan Levine; Eric Michelson; Andrei Radulescu-Banu; Rob Addelson (non-voting, ex officio) Members Absent:Glenn Parker, Chair;Beth Masterman;Susan McLeish;Richard Neumeier; Other attendees: Patty Moore, Budget Officer The meeting was called to order at 7:37p.m. Minutes: 1.A motion was made and seconded to approve the November20, 2014 Minutes, as previously distributed. The motion was approved. VOTE: 5-0 Announcements: 2.Mr. Bartenstein reported that the Board of Selectmen(BoS)had votedon Monday nightto support the smaller of two options presented by the Lexington Solar Task Force for installing solar panels on the Town’s landfill on Hartwell Avenuebut would be seeking input from the financial committees. The Task Force had projectedthat a larger array ofpanels couldsave the Townas much as$20.0 million over 20 yearsbut the Selectmen were reluctant to commit such a large proportion of the Hartwell landfill for this purpose.The smaller option could generate savings of approximately $11 million. It is anticipated that the solar panels currently on the school and Town buildings will yield $3.0 to $5.0 million over 20 years. Thesolar project mayrequire a reconfiguration of the composting windrows. Also the Town may need to purchase a windrow turner, bins may need to be removed, and piles of debris may need to be moved. The cost implications are being defined. Article 7 in the 2015 Annual Town Meeting(ATM)Warrant will likely include proposedfunding for the solarproject using theCompost Revolving Fund. If the funding is approved, the Town will enter into an agreement with a solar company. Itwas suggested that Mr. Parker invite Mark Sandeen, Chair, Sustainable Lexington Committee, Task Force member DanVoss, and/or a knowledgeable person from the Department of Public Worksto a future meeting to make a presentation. Funding for School Expansion Projects and Municipal BuildingReplacements: 3.Mr. Levine presented a preliminary analysisof, and a number of questionsabout, about the financial implications of pending proposalsfor a number oflarge capital projects, includingschool expansions, new Fire Headquarters, and new Police Headquarters.His comments included the following: This Committee needs to understand the financial implications associated with these projects. The Town doesn’t know if the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) will help fund a project to replace/rebuild the Hastings Elementary School(Hastings).Until this is known, financial models should assume Townfunding without State assistancefor Hastings. 1 01/29/15 AC Minutes If the Town were to receive MSBA approvalfor Hastings,it is anticipated that the State would provideapproximately 32%, or approximately $19million, for what is now estimated to be a $59million project. The financing model prepared by Mr. Addelson and Carl Valente, Town Manager, and discussed at the recent Budget Summit contemplated an appropriation at the 2016 ATM for Hastings design fundsand atthe 2017 ATM for Hastings construction funds. There are some School Committee members and others who would prefer to start this process at a spring 2015 Special Town Meeting. Mr. Levine discussed his handout and questionsabout thedata included in the financing model. He noted that the model contemplates particularly dramatic property taxincreasesin 2019, 2020 and 2021. Hesuggested consideration ofsteps to offset these increases, such as: Aceiling on the percentage of exempt tax revenue in the total budget; A ceiling on the annual tax rate increase;and/or Increases in annualappropriations into the CapitalProjectsStabilization Fund(Capitalization Fund). Mr. Levine also suggested that consideration may need to be given to reducingin magnitude and/or stretching out the sequencingof some of the projects. Mr. Bartenstein commented that, prior to the establishment of the Capitalization Fund,the Town relied mainly onexcluded debt to fund major projects; the Capitalization Fund is a vehicle for using tax levyrevenue for major projects.Mr. Addelsonnoted that, in recent years, taxpayers have benefitted from new growth, reduced health care costs, and low inflation rates, all of which have helped control annualincreases in tax rates. There was discussion about the work done bythe Ad hoc School Master Planning Committee (AhSMPC) and its consultant; conceptual ideas for addressing the space needs in the schools based on projectedenrollmentwere identified. The next step isto develop schematicdesigns to understand whichprojects are the most realistic.Debt exclusion referendums will be needed to fund the school expansion programs as they are now identified. It isn’t clearwhether it is preferable to have one large referendumor several small ones. In response to theidea of waiting to see whether the enrollment projections are realistic, it was noted that there are immediate space needs withoutthe projectedadditional students. The middle schools already need additional space, and the projected increases at that level havenarrow error bands. Ms. Garberg noted that, given the total size of the requests,it is going to be important to determine how to present themto the community. She stated that phasing the requests might be a more pragmatic approach. She also suggested that a more robust discussion about setting ceilings be had at the next full committee meeting. Mr. Addelson noted that his current financial modelincludesa new fire station and $10.0 million for aLexington High School heating system upgrade. He expects the commercial and residential relationship for tax purposes to remain stable. He noted that the model is just a template, so can be used fora variety of scenarios. He also stressed that the project costsused in the model are not design-based; they are soft numbers. 2 01/29/15 AC Minutes There was general agreement that the issues are complex, with many “moving parts”, and that this Committee will need to provide the School Committee with its input.Mr. Michelsonreported that Joe Pato, Chair,BoS, is setting up a meetingwith representatives of the finance committeesto discuss planningfor Town Meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:27p.m. The documents used at the meeting are listed below. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold RecordingSecretary Approved February 5, 2015 Exhibits 1.Agenda,posted by John Bartenstein,Vice Chair and Secretary 2.Comments on Financing a Capital Master Plan, prepared by AlanLevine 3