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Minutes of the
Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
November 23, 2015 (non-Summit)
Location and Time: Town Office Building, Reed Room, 8:00 ..
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Members Present: Jill Hai, Chair; David Kanter, Vice-Chair & Clerk; Elizabeth Barnett;
Rod Cole; Wendy Manz
Members Absent: None
Others Present: Jon Himmel, Chair, Permanent Building Committee (PBC); George
Burnell, Town Meeting member; Elaine Ashton, Town Meeting member; Jim Osten, Town
Meeting member; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary
Documents Presented:
Notice of Public Meeting for CEC Meeting, November 23, 2015
Mr. ColeÈs Draft Report for Article 2, Special Town Meeting #1, v. 2; 2015.11.11
Draft Table with Article 2 appropriation request
Table with School Projects that have been considered in recent months, with
identification of those being recommended by the School Committee
PowerPoint: Lexington School Committee Meeting; Multiple Schools Construction
Project; November 17, 2015; prepared by DiNisco Design Partners
Call to Order: Ms. Hai called the meeting to order at 8:02 .. She reported that the
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posting of this meeting was 17 minutes shy of the 24-hour-in-advance-posting requirement,
but there were unusual circumstances caused by the timing and speed at which meetings
were taking place on the day and evening prior to the posting, plus the time at which the
Town ClerkÈs office opened on the day of posting, that resulted in the delay.
Updates on Information regarding the Multiple School Construction Projects:
Ms. Hai reported that this Committee had received a flurry of emails from Hastings
Elementary School (Hastings) parents supporting the need for a new Hastings facility. One
letter suggested that if the Town purchases property on Pelham Road, as is now being
pursued, it would be reasonable to build a third middle school at the location and have all
the middle schools accommodate grades 5 through 8. Mr. Cole noted that the Ad hoc
School Working Group, that just a year ago had reviewed many alternatives to
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accommodating students in Lexington, had not found a 3 middle school at the Central
Administration Building to be viable. Mr. Himmel noted that the Pelham site is limited to
accommodating a 24-classroom school.
Mr. Cole reviewed the recommendations that were recently supported by the School
Committee, as follows:
Pre-School Program: A stand-alone building for this program will be needed in a few
years, but on an immediate basis, the program would remain at the new Harrington
Elementary School (Harrington), with space in the Central Office Building (old
Harrington) being used, as necessary.
Elementary Schools: Plans for rebuilding Hastings would be pursued, whether or not
funding assistance becomes available from the StateÈs Massachusetts School
Building Authority (MSBA). Six, mid-grade, modular units would be leased and put at
Bridge, Bowman and Fiske Elementary Schools. Initial redistricting would be
implemented by September 2016. Efforts to purchase property on Pelham Road
would continue, but how the current facility would be used, or whether it would be
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
November 23, 2015 (non-Summit)
replaced, has not been determined.
Middle Schools: Construction projects plus Åspace miningÆ for addressing enrollment
growth would be pursued at Diamond and Clarke Middle Schools (Diamond and
Clarke). Value engineering has been pursued to reduce the costs of the
recommended construction. The heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC)
system at Diamond would be upgraded.
Lexington High School: The HVAC system would be upgraded.
There was discussion about the complexities associated with unknown elements, and it
was noted that the projects, as currently envisioned, would not relieve all of the ÅdiscomfortÆ
currently being experienced at the schools. Further projects will likely be needed in the
not-too-distant future. The Pelham property and Harrington would be the most likely
locations for further expansion. It was generally agreed that Town Meeting members and
taxpayers need to be kept informed of the issues associated with the unmet needs.
Positions of this Committee, to be shared at the Summit meeting being held this evening,
were identified, as follows:
The wording for a motion to request funding for design work should be broad enough
to allow for shifts in the specific design work that is to be done. It was noted that it
may be advisable to expand at Diamond more than is now envisioned and only
address inside efforts to increase class rooms at Clarke, although this results in the
two schools being considerably different in size.
Deferring a project at the Pelham Road site is advisable, thus allowing more time to
determine how many classrooms would be advisable.
Installing six modular units at the elementary level provides some immediate relief. It
isnÈt clear if the units should be equally distributed at the three schools currently
identified. Harrington and the Pelham Road site should be used as Årelief valvesÆ if
enrollment continues to grow.
Plans for redistricting are applauded.
The HVAC units do not need to be high end.
Ms. Hai noted that a year ago this Committee did not support the leasing of modular units
at the elementary schools. It was agreed that the circumstances have changed and there is
far more information about the alternatives.
A Motion was made and seconded to bring the five positions identified above to this
eveningÈs Summit meeting. Vote: 5Ã0
Mr. Cole departed at 9:15 ..
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A Motion was made and seconded to endorse replacing Hastings versus the expense of
trying to upgrade and maintain it. Vote: 4Ã0
Ms. Barnett departed at 9:25 ..
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There was discussion about the availability of classrooms at the elementary level and the
challenges in mainstreaming special-education students.
Adjourn:A Motion was made and seconded at 9:37 .. to adjourn.Vote: 3Ã0
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These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on January 5, 2016.
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