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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-26-AC-min 02/26/15 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee February26,2015 : Town Office Building,Parker Room, 7:30 p.m. : Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Mollie Garberg; Alan Levine; Beth Masterman;Susan McLeish;Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier; Andrei Radulescu-Banu; Rob Addelson (non-voting, ex officio) Members absent:None Other attendees: DeborahBrown, Town Moderator The meeting was called to order at 7:37p.m. Announcements: 1.Mr. Radulescu-Banunoted that a recent Lexington Minuteman article that discussed the plans for addressing current and projected school capacity needs did not appear to correctly characterize plans for Harrington Elementary School. Based on a situation arising from a recent School Committee meeting, Mr.Parker urged membersto distinguish clearly between personal viewsand positions of this Committee,and to be cognizant of the potential for the public to misunderstandwhat is saidwhen misreported or heard second-hand . Consent Agenda for Annual Town Meeting(ATM): 2.Ms. Brown discussed a proposalto presenta “consent agenda”tothe 2015 ATM.Itwould includepre-selected, non-controversial,and administrative articlesfor presentation asa single motion.She noted that this is done in other Towns, and that this year’slongwarrantprovides an opportunity to introduce the idea as a pilot program this spring. She identifiedarticles that might be includedandmade the followingcomments: The included articles would be identified and described well in advance of being presented. Only articles that are unanimously supported by the BoS, the Capital Expenditures Committee, and this Committeewould be included. Any article that becomes controversial would be removed; this is preferable to having extended discussion on the consent agenda itemas a whole. rds rds If anyof the included articles require a 2/3vote, the consent agenda wouldrequire a 2/3 vote. Committee member commentsincluded the following: There should be clearly identified parameters for determining inclusiononthe agenda. Town Meeting members need to understand the process for removing an articlefrom the agenda. There should be time allowed at Town Meeting for questionsregarding the included articles; discussion should not be curtailed. Articles that are going to be indefinitely postponed are obvious candidates for inclusion. Ms. Brown asked for additional feedback at a future meeting. She will be discussing the idea with other committees. 1 02/26/15 AC Minutes Report to the 2015 Special and Annual Town Meetings: 3. Special Town Meeting (STM) #1, Article 2; Appropriate for School Facilities Capital Projects: Mr. Parker reported that a draft “consensus” document \[by School Committee, BoS, Capital Expenditures Committee, Permanent Building Committee, and Appropriation Committee\]on the next steps associated with the School Building Master Planis in its final iterationsand will form the basis of a motion.The School Committee has agreed to consider redistricting forthe near term as well as the long term. Commitments will be flexible to allow for changes in school enrollment. It is expected that the School Committee will recommend that some projects move beyond the design stage; if so, the BoS has agreed to hold a Budget Summit before releasing funds.Mr. Parker acknowledged thatthis approach is precedent-setting, but noted that the Town has never before faced complexities comparable to the current situation. A motion was made and seconded to support STM #1 Article 2. The motion passed. VOTE: 9-0 STM #2,Article4; Appropriate forCary Memorial Building SidewalkEnhancement:Ms. McLeish reported that the current sidewalk design includes granite paversfor the handicapped unloading zone,as requested by the Historic Districts Commission.The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) supporteda$32,000 increase in the funding requestto th accomplish this.Thismatteris expected to go to the Board of Selectmen on March 5. Victoria Buckley, Chair of the Commission on Disability, hasexpressed some concern about the granite pavers being potentially slippery. Ms. McLeish questionedthe increased cost and is reluctantto support a project that isn’t supported by the Commission on Disability. ATM, Article 8; CommunityPreservation Act(CPA) Projects: Mr. Radulescu-Banu will get additional information for his write-up.It was noted that the CEC currently has reservations about the requests for Streetscape Improvements and Grain Mill Alley Design Funds. ATM, Article 9; Land Purchase –241Grove Street: Therequest for $755,000 will be used to purchase a house and land,some of which will be used for housing and some for open space. ATM, Articles 12 and 13(Citizen Articles);Pleasant Street Sidewalk and13 Prospect HillRoad Sidewalk:It is anticipated that these projectswill be moved into Article 11 (e) -Municipal Capital Projects and Equipment –Sidewalk Improvements, Additions, Designs and Easements. The funds for Pleasant Street ($20,000) would support a study;funds for Prospect Hill ($100,000) would be used for sidewalk construction. Ms. Garberg reported that the proponents for these projects have been working on them for years. Mr. Bartenstein expressed concern about the cost of continued maintenance, including snow removal,for new sidewalks. A motion was made and seconded to support ATMArticles 12 and 13, as discussed.The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0-1 ATM, Article 16; Appropriate forSchool Capital Projects and Equipment:Mr. Radulescu- Banu wantsmore informationregarding the upkeep and replacement needs associated with the th program to purchase iPads for 8graders. He questioned whethersome of theseitems should be includedin the operating budget instead of the capital budget becauseof their less-than-five- year life span. ATM, Article 17; Technical Correction to the borrowing Authorization under Article 13b (School Capital) of the 2014 ATM: This article seeks to correcta typographical error and is a candidate for the consentagenda. A motion was made and seconded to support ATM Article17.The motion passed. VOTE: 9-0 2 02/26/15 AC Minutes ATM, Article 18;Appropriate for Public Facilities Capital Projects:It was noted that $350,000 for space mining at the Diamond Middle School has been removed from this request. ATM, Article 21;Appropriateto thePost Employment Insurance Liability Fund:It is currently proposed to transfer $1.86million transfer from the Health Insurance Fundto the OPEB Fund. It was noted that this is a substantial increase over last year’s appropriation of$1.2 million, and this year the Town has fiscal challenges that may take precedence over the Town’s effort to fund its liability for post-employment benefits to the extent recommended. Ms. Garberg added that the state budget deficit may impact Lexington’s local aid receipts. It was generally agreed that the BoS should be asked to considerreducing the request to $1.2 million. Additional funds can be appropriated for this purpose in the fallif it still seems wise to do so. ATM, Article 22; Adjust Retirement COLA Base for Retirees:Mr. Addelson reported that neither he northe Town Manager supportsthis article. The adjustmentwouldresult in impacted retirees receiving an additional $30 per year and would cost the Town $8,220 per year. He said that the Lexington retirement package formunicipal employeesis better than the package inother townsbecause of the greater amount Lexington contributes to the cost of health insurance for retirees.It was noted that approval would increasethe Town’s unfunded pension liability. A motion was made and seconded to support ATMArticle22. Themotion failed. VOTE: 3-6 ATM, Article 23;Accept Chapter 235 of the Acts of 1994:This proposal would allow firefighters who have beenlaid off and recalled within three years to continue to payinginto the retirement system for up to the three years. Theythen receive credit for those years when calculating their years of service for retirement purposes. This provision wouldalso potentially increase the Town’sunfundedpension liability. A motion was made and seconded to support ATMArticle23.The motion passed. VOTE: 8-1 ATM, Article 24Bonds and Notes Premiums:Mr. Addelson reported that a bond was recently issued that included three school projectsand the Town received a premium of $138,033. It was agreedthat a motion to appropriate the premium to lower the debt service on the borrowing would be an appropriate item for a consent agenda. A motion was made and seconded to support ATMArticle24.The motion passed. VOTE: 9-0 The meeting was adjourned at 10:07p.m. The documents used at the meeting are listed below. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold Recording Secretary Approved July 9, 2015 Exhibits 1.Agenda,posted by Glenn Parker 3