HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-10-20-CEC-minMinutes of the
Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
October 20, 2015
Location and Time: Town Office Building, Parker Room, 7:30 A.M.
Members Present: Jill Hai, Chair; David Kanter, Vice -Chair & Clerk; Elizabeth Barnett;
Wendy Manz
Member Absent: Rod Cole
Others Present: Jon Himmel, Chair, Permanent Building Committee (PBC); Elaine Ashton,
Town Meeting member; Joe Pato, Chair, Board of Selectmen (BoS), Sara Arnold,
Recording Secretary
Documents Presented:
• Notice of Public Meeting for CEC Meeting, October 20, 2015
• Proposed Financial Actions at 2 Nov 2015 Special Town Meeting (STM) #2 under
Articles 7, 8, & 10; prepared by Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance
for presentation to the Lexington BoS at its meeting on 19 Oct 2015
• Draft #2 of the Committee's Report to the November 2, 2015, STM #2 (Distributed by
Mr. Kanter's e -mail to the other Committee members and Ms. Arnold,
October 19, 2015 4:58 P.M.)
• Draft #4 Minutes of the CEC meeting, October 2, 2015 (Distributed by Mr. Kanter's
e -mail to the other Committee members and Ms. Arnold, October 18, 2015 2:13 P.M.)
• Draft #4 Minutes of the CEC meeting, October 7, 2015 (Distributed by Mr. Kanter's
e -mail to the other Committee members and Ms. Arnold, October 18, 2015 2:13 P.M.)
• Draft Minutes of the CEC meeting held in conjunction with the Budget
Collaboration /Financial Summit I, October 8, 2015 (Distributed by Mr. Kanter's e-mail
to the other Committee members and Ms. Arnold, October 14, 2015 00:37 A.M.)
• Draft #4 Minutes of the CEC Executive Session, September 1, 2015
• "Myths & Facts about Lexington's Roadway Projects" (Friends of the Lexington
Center Streetscape Project, 14Oct2015) (Distributed by Mr. Kanter's e-mail to the
other Committee members and Ms. Arnold, October 19, 2015 2:33 P.M.)
Call to Order: Ms. Hai called the meeting to order at 7:35 A.M.
Announcements: Ms. Hai reported that this Committee's photo for the 2015 Annual Town
Report will be taken at 8:30 A.M. on Friday, October 23rd
Ms. Hai reported that she will be late arriving for the STM #2 on November 2nd. It was
agreed that Mr. Kanter will attend the pre -STM Moderator's meeting and will provide this
Committee's positions at the STM #2.
CEC reporting to the November 2, 2015 STM #2— debate to begin that night: Updates,
if applicable to Draft #2 of the Committee's report were provided for and then formal votes,
if warranted, were taken on the following STM #2 Articles:
• STM #2; Article 2: Amend Minuteman Regional Agreement: Because this Article
has no immediate Capital impact, the Committee agreed there was no reason to
take a position on it —and, thus, it would not be included in its report to Town
Meeting. Ms. Hai, however, provided some background information because there
may be future implications on the Capital budget. The Article presents the
Town of Wayland's request to withdraw from the Minuteman Regional School
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
October 20, 2015
district, which must be approved by all 16 member communities and the State, to be
accepted. Some of the issues relating to Wayland leaving the district, include the
following:
➢ Mr. Valente, Lexington Town Manager, has expressed concerns relating to
the funding of that District's Pension and Other Post - Employment Benefits
(OPEB) liability; fewer member towns would result in a higher funding burden
on the remaining communities.
➢ The building project has been accepted by the Massachusetts School
Building Authority (MSBA) to continue the process to gain State funding. The
Minuteman School Committee must report Schematic Design to MSBA by
December 1, 2015, and the required support of the debt financing of the
project by June 30, 2016 if it expects MSBA to approve the State support.
➢ Were Wayland to prevail in its request to leave the District, it would still be
financially liable for all costs incurred prior to it's departure, including those
relative to plans to replace the Minuteman School building.
➢ Ms. Hai noted that in the spring of 2015, a new regional agreement for the
District's member communities had been presented to each community's
Town Meeting. That agreement would have reduced the threshold to withdraw
for any member town. Lexington is still seeking Wayland's support for the new
agreement.
• STM #2, Article 3: Transfer of Property to LexHAB: A Motion was made and
seconded to support Article 3. Vote: 4 -0
• STM #2, Article 4: Appropriation for Water System Improvements: It was noted
that the funding request is now for $2.5 million rather than an earlier referenced
$2.2 million.
A Motion was made and second to support Article 4. Vote: 4-0
• STM #2; Article 5: Appropriate for Property Improvements -241 Grove Street:
It was noted that this Article is supplementing the funding approved under an Article
presented to the 2015 Annual Town Meeting which only addressed the purchase of
that portion of the Wright Farm property as the scope of that Article didn't include
improving the house at 241 Grove Street. The current funding request has increased
from the previously estimated $140,000 to $200,000 to accommodate additional
work that has recently been determined to be need and also to provide for a greater
contingency amount. There was discussion about the potential need for additional
environmental mitigation funds, which could be brought to a future Town Meeting. It
was agreed that this Committee's report to the STM #2 should address this potential.
Mr. Kanter agreed to draft such wording for review by Ms. Hai and if need be then by
Mr. Valente.
A Motion was made and seconded to support Article 5 with the added language.
Vote: 4 -0
• STM #2; Article 6: Appropriate Funds for Fire Station Site Study: While differing
amounts had been associated with this appropriation request, it has been
established that the request is for $20,000. Additional information on the sites to be
studied may be available at this Committee's meeting on this Friday (the 23rd)
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
October 20, 2015
A motion was made and seconded to support Article 6. Vote: 4 -0
• STM #2; Article 7: Amend FY2016 Operating, Enterprise Fund and Community
Preservation Budgets: Mr. Kanter made reference to a list of items distributed at
the BoS October 19th meeting that are being considered for inclusion under this
Article. He reviewed some of the items, as follows:
➢ Info only for this Committee: There will be an appropriation request to retire the
Bond Authorization Note associated with the Town's previous purchase of a fire
engine.
➢ Info only for this Committee: There will be an operating- budget appropriation
request for $10,000 in design funds for replacing some of the sidewalks around
the Cary Memorial Library; this is expected to generate a future capital project.
➢ If the Town receives information on the amount of the FY2016 State match under
Community Preservation Act prior to the adjournment of STM #2 and the
upcoming tax -rate setting, there may be requested adjustments associated with
the Community Preservation Committee's (CPC's) budget.
A Motion was made and seconded to support any adjustments to the CPC's budget
under Article 7 or, if not, Indefinite Postponement of that aspect of Article 7. Vote: 4 -0
• STM #2; Article 8: Appropriate to and from Specified Stabilization Funds:
Mr. Kanter listed the Stabilization Funds into which funds would be allocated under
this Article if Town Meeting approves, as follows:
➢ Traffic Mitigation Stabilization Fund: $1,481 from Cubist Pharmaceuticals and the
Inn at Hastings Park
➢ Transportation Demand Management Stabilization Fund: $481 from Cubist
Pharmaceuticals
➢ Transportation Demand Management Overlay District Stabilization Fund:
$87,000 from King Street Properties
A motion was made and seconded to support the Capital- related elements under
Article 8. Vote: 4 -0
• STM #2; Article 9: Appropriate for Authorized Capital Improvements:
Mr. Kanter advised that at this time no action is expected under this Article.
A Motion was made and seconded to support Indefinite Postponement of this Article.
Vote: 4 -0
There was a review of the plans to publish this Committee's report to STM #2. It is
anticipated that Mr. Cole's votes on the report will be obtained at this Committee's October
23rd meeting. The report would then be printed and distributed on October 26th; thus it will
be available one week prior to STM #2 commencing on November 2nd. The morning of
Friday, October 30th, is on hold for a meeting, if necessary.
A motion was made and seconded to release this Committee's report to STM #2, as
discussed and with any non - substantive changes determined by the Chair to be
appropriate. Vote: 4 -0
CEC reporting to the November 2, 2015, STM #1 —debate expected to begin on
December 2, 2015: There was a review of dates associated with STM #1, as follows:
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
October 20, 2015
• November 10th: CEC meeting
• November 10th: DiNisco Consultants present reconciled financial estimates for
school projects at the PBC meeting
• November 12th — Budget summit
• November 16th: School Information Session
• November 17th: CEC meeting to be used for approving the report
• November 25th: Publication date
CEC reporting to the 2016 Annual Town Meeting: This Committee begins its review of
each department's Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs), as follows:
• October 27th: Recreation and Planning Departments
• November 3: Department of Public Works
• November 10 (and 17th, if needed): Department of Public Facilities
Approval of Minutes: Minutes were approved, as follows:
A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft #4 Minutes of the October 2, 2015
meeting. Vote: 3 -0 -1 (Ms. Barnett was absent and so abstained.)
A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft #4 Minutes of the October 7, 2015
meeting. Vote: 3 -0 -1 (Ms. Barnett was absent and so abstained.)
A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft Minutes of the October 8, 2015
meeting held in conjunction with the Budget Collaboration /Financial Summit I. Vote: 3 -0 -1
(Ms. Barnett was absent and so abstained.)
A Motion was made and seconded to: (1) Rescind the approval at the Committee's meeting
on October 7, 2015, of the Draft #3 Minutes of its Executive Session, September 1, 2015;
(2) Approve Draft #4 of those Minutes; and (3) Authorize making the final version of those
Draft #4 Minutes public. Vote: 4 -0
Member Concerns and Liaison Reports: Ms. Manz suggested that members review the
responses that were prepared by the Friends of Lexington Streetscape as one perspective
on matters representing that project. She noted that the Town has two consultants working
on the project, one of which is looking at the potential for installing roundabouts rather than
traffic lights; the other is exploring calming measures. The latter will also look at calming
measures for the Massachusetts Avenue/Woburn Street intersection.
A third consultant is looking at the potential for a one -lane roundabout at the intersection of
Harrington Street and Bedford Street; this consultant previously concluded that
conventional solutions to the safety concerns at that location would not help.
Ms. Manz also reported that there are people who are concerned that the Town would
purchase and open the Armenian Sisters Academy on Pelham Road as an elementary
school without ensuring that the building meets the environmental standards. Mr. Pato
stressed that the Town would ensure the building meets Lexington's standards for its
schools.
Adjourn: A Motion was made and seconded at 9:10 A.M. to adjourn. Vote: 4 -0
These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on November 17, 2015.
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