HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-09-01-CEC-min.exec e)c ,A0R,veyr,��
LL n Minutes of the
',(1 , ,,,j ; Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
," , n September 1, 2015, Executive Session
Location and Time Town Office Building, Reed Room, 7.30 A M
Members Present Jill Hai, Chair, David Kanter, Vice-Chair & Clerk, Elizabeth Barnett,
Rod Cole, Wendy Manz
Members Absent None
Others Present Joe Pato, Chair, Lexington Board of Selectmen (BoS), Suzie Barry,
Member, BoS, Judy Crocker, Member, Lexington School Committee (SC)
Document Presented Notice of Public Meeting/Agenda for CEC Meeting,
September 1, 2015
With Ms. Hai having called to order at 7.33 A.M the Open Session—which had been posted
also to involve an Executive Session—at that same time she then declared that an
Executive Session of this Committee was warranted under the Open Meeting Law
Exemption 6 (to consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property) as the
discussion in an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of
the Town, that the others present at that time were invited to join the Executive Session,
and with the intention to reconvene in Open Session to address further business. A Motion
to do so was made and seconded Each member was polled Vote 5-0
The Committee went into Executive Session at 7.34 A.m
Potential Acquisition of the Armenian Sisters Academy (20 Pelham Road, Lexington,
MA 02421)
Mr Pato, with assistance from Ms Barry and Ms Croker, advised
That since May of this year, the BoS has been aware of the potential for an acquisition
of the school building at the Academy as, having faced dwindling enrollment, the Order had
decided it was no long a viable operation
The 1-story building, built in 1961 and is on approximately 8 5 acres (including some
wetlands) in residential zone, could be a 10-classroom elementary school and has a full
gymnasium and cafeteria that can accommodate 200 students There is parking for 47 cars
and there is a small playground
A sub-division site plan is being prepared in order to ascertain what by-right,
residential, build-out could be done on the property—presumably the "highest and best use"
for the property—and therefore what is the fair-market value of the property Architects
(DiNisco Design Partnership, the same firm that has been working on the Multiple Schools
Construction Projects [MSCP]) and the Town's Department of Public Facilities had only
initial access to the property and, among much else, the state of the mechanical systems
has not been ascertained
There are site issues (e g , the access Pelham Road is narrow and includes a portion
with an 8 5% grade) Also, the Fire Department will determine whether a second access
would be required—perhaps most easily accomplished by expediting the creation, and
extension, of the "back" access road off Marrett Road that has been contemplated to the
Lexington Community Center—which is adjacent to the Academy—if an additional building
were to be added to that Center The costs of even those two site issues have not been
determined
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
September 1, 2015, Executive Session
A full analysis of the potential use(s) of such a building has not been completed As an
additional elementary school, that would be a major step toward "right-sizing" the
population at our other elementary schools to their current facilities and, in turn, eliminate
the pre-fabricated additions that had been proposed as an element of the MSCP (At this
point, no details have been proposed for any redistricting that would be required to support
that use of the new school )
The last vote by the BoS on this matter was 5-0 in favor of pursing the acquisition, the
last by the School Committee was 3-1 (Bill Hurley was not present) in favor
There followed an extensive discussion with this Committee over the many unknowns and
concerns
Ms Hai thanked Mr Pato, Ms Barry, and Ms Crocker for providing this Committee an
initial insight into the increased, multi-faceted, issues that the Town faces with the addition
of this potential acquisition to what already were the challenges in moving forward in a
timely manner with the MSCP in order to address what had been the existing overcrowding
in the School District and, now, the increased enrollment pressures already being
experienced and projected to increase
Return to Open Session At 8.38 A M , it was moved and seconded that the Committee
return to Open Session Each member was polled Vote 5-0
On October 7, 2015, in response to a query from Mr Kanter, Mr Pato advised that the
content of these Minutes could, at that time, be made public
These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its Open-Session meeting on
October 20, 2015, and the CEC also authorized making them public Mr Kanter then did so
by submitting these Minutes for the Town's public archive on October 21, 2015
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