HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-04-08-AC-min 04/08/15 AC Minutes
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC)
April 8, 2015
Place and time- Lexington High School, Room 221, 7 00 p.m
Members present Glenn Parker, Chair, John Bartenstem, Vice Chair and Secretary; Mollie Garberg;
Alan Levine, Beth Masterman, Susan McLeish, Enc Michelson, Richard Neumeier, Andrei
Radulescu-Banu, Rob Addelson (non-voting, ex officio)
Members absent None
Other attendees None
The meeting was called to order at 7 03 p.m.
1 Announcements. Mr Parker reported that he would be attending a meeting of the Ad Hoc
Community Center Advisory Committee on Monday Current plans are for a June opening of the
new Lexington Community Center
2. 2015 Annual Town Meeting (ATM)Articles.
• Article 25. Rescind Prior Borrowing Authorizations. Mr Addelson reported that there
will be a request to rescind two pnor borrowing authorizations under Article 25 First, $1,002,600
from the 2010 Cotton Farm land acquisition appropriation is available for rescission, as a
"bookkeeping" matter, because Town Meeting subsequently voted a cash appropriation from the
Community Preservation Fund to pre-pay a seller-granted note Second, approximately $2.2
million of the amount authorized for construction of the Public Services Building can be rescinded
because that project has now been completed and came in under budget.
A motion was made and seconded to Support Article 25, as described by Mr Addelson. The
motion passed. VOTE 8-0 (Mr Neumeier arrived after the vote was taken)
• Article 44. Resolution on Fossil Fuel Divestment(Citizen Article). Ms McLeish asked to
change her previous abstention to a vote in support of Article 44, making the Committee's vote 3-6
Ms Masterman explained that the current motion for this Article seeks a non-binding resolution. It
asks the Town to identify its investments in fossil fuel companies and to reduce those investments
over five years if it is feasible to do so in a reasonable and responsible manner She noted that
twelve other Massachusetts communities have passed comparable resolutions, and that the proposal
is part of a process where some action can lead to more action and the cumulative impact can make
a difference Mr Levine agreed that this Article increases awareness of the issue Ms Garberg
commented that incentives may be more effective than disincentives, and that she would prefer to
see subsidies for clean fuel sources She also noted that 12 out of a total of 350 communities in
Massachusetts is not a large percentage
There were no further vote changes after the discussion.
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04/08/15 AC Minutes
3 Minutes. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Minutes for March 30, 2015 and
Apnl 1, 2015, as edited. The motion passed. VOTE 9-0
The meeting was adjourned at 7.29 p.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 Mr Parker
2 Spreadsheet prepared by Mr Addelson regarding rescission of borrowing authorization associated
with the Cotton Farm land acquisition
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