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Minutes of the
Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
January 5, 2016
Town Office Building, Reed Room, 7:30 ..
Location and Time:
AM
Jill Hai, Chair; David Kanter, Vice-Chair & Clerk; Elizabeth Barnett;
Members Present:
Rod Cole; Wendy Manz
None
Members Absent:
Bob Pressman, Community Preservation Committee (CPC);
Others Present:
Bill Kennedy, Chair, Lexington Housing Assistance Board (LexHAB); Caileen Foley,
Executive Director, Lexington Housing Authority (LHA); Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary
Documents Presented:
Notice of Public Meeting for CEC Meeting, January 5, 2016
LexHAB Application to the CPC, Funding for the purchase of one unit of Affordable
Housing, Keeler Farm, revised December9,2015
Plot plan for Keeler Farm Development, 71 East Street, Lexington; provided by
Mr. Kennedy
Map views of Keeler Farm Development location; provided by Mr. Kanter
LHA Application to the CPC (with presentation slides), Greeley Village Rear Door
and Porch Preservation Project, December 3, 2015
Latest Drafts of Minutes for the Capital Expenditures Committee Meetings
(10 Nov 2015Ã15 Dec 2015) pending approval (distributed by Mr. KanterÈs e-mail to
the other Committee members and Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary, 29 Dec 2015
5:19 p.m.)
List of proposed, future, meeting dates (January 12ÃApril 6, 2016); prepared by
Mr. Kanter
Ms. Hai called the meeting to order at 7:34 ..
Call to Order:
AM
Ms. Hai reported on an effort being strongly
Update Regarding Multiple School Projects:
supported by Jon Himmel, Chair, Permanent Building Committee, to ensure the
middle-school construction project incorporates the most efficient and most cost-effective
approach to addressing current overcrowding and projected enrollment increases while
addressing necessary extraordinary maintenance. Several meetings are scheduled for the
next few days. Hill International has been hired as the OwnerÈs Project Manager and is
being asked to expand that role to provide an architectÈs judgment about possible ways to
reduce costs.
A Motion was made and seconded that the following 10 draft
Approval of Minutes:
versions of this CommitteeÈs Minutes, identifying any absent members, be approved as
previously distributed or as revised:
10 Nov 2015, pending final #2, Mr. Cole absent;
17 Nov 2015, pending final;
23 Nov 2015 (including Summit), pending final as revised, Ms. Barnett absent;
23 Nov 2015 (non-Summit), pending final;
01 Dec 2015, pending final;
02 Dec 2015, not numbered, Mr. Cole absent;
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
January 5, 2016
04 Dec 2015, pending final;
08 Dec 2015, #3, Ms. Barnett and Mr. Cole absent;
10 Dec 2015 (Summit III), not numbered, Mr. Cole absent; and
15 Dec 2015, #3, as revised;
withthe Chair allowed to make phrasing changesto the 8Dec2015 Minutes, in
coordination with Mr. Kanter, that do not affect the points being made.
Vote: 5Ã0 for the five Minutes cited in the Motion without any absent member, 4Ã0Ã1 for the
four Minutes cited with one member absent, and 3Ã0Ã2 for the one Minutes cited with two
members absent.
Ms. Hai stated the importance
CEC Reporting to the 2016 Annual Town Meeting (ATM):
of each member submitting his/her front-section material for what will be this CommitteeÈs
th
report to that ATM to Mr. Kanter by this January 15. Ms. Manz noted that she is adding a
section for the Planning Department. The submitted material will be reviewed at this
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CommitteeÈs January 19 meeting.
Future Meeting Dates:
Mr. Kanter reviewed a list of proposed future dates for both Committee meetings and other
critical meetings or events, such as Budget Summits, the 2016 ATM. The Committee
agreed to put each of those events on their private calendars.
Ms. Hai reminded the Committee that the FY2017 Preliminary Town ManagerÈs Budget &
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Financing Plan (the ÅWhite BookÆ) remains scheduled for distribution on January 11.
Mr. Kanter noted the two public forums Board of Selectmen had scheduled to discuss the
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Center Streetscape Project (January 12) and the East Lexington Massachusetts Avenue
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Intersection-Upgrades Project (January 19)Ätwo projects of importance to this
Committee.
Non-Town-Entity CPA Projects Recommended by the CPC:
LexHABÈs Keeler FarmÄAffordable Housing Purchase: Mr. Kennedy reported that
the developer of the Keeler Farm property is required to include one affordable-
housing unit. To meet that obligation, the developer has offered to sell one unit to
LexHABÄwhich would then offer it on a rental basis to qualifying families. LexHAB,
through the Planning Department, is requesting Federal funding that is under the
control of the WestMetro HOME ConsortiumÄof which Lexington is a memberÄto
fully fund this project. If approval is received before the 2016 ATM, the CPC would
recommend Indefinite Postponement at that Town Meeting of this request to use the
Community Preservation Fund.
The agreed upon price is $185,000. Ms. Barnett suggested that the developer is
saving money because he will not have to market the unit, and this should be
factored into the purchase price; Mr. Kennedy agreed to look into whether this had
been considered during negotiations.
The Committee agreed that the acquisition of that unit at no more than the present
price is advantageous when compared to the costs LexHAB has had to deal with in
other recent acquisitions.
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
January 5, 2016
Discussion of the last of this cycleÈs non-Town-entity CPA projects to be addressed by the
Committee will occur when Ms. Foley arrived at the later, scheduled, time during this
meeting.
Ms. Hai provided an update on the efforts to
Member Concerns and Liaison Reports:
reach the required unanimous agreement on a revised Minuteman Regional Vocational
High School District Agreement by all 16 communities currently in that District. All of those
communities have agreed to bring the revised agreement to a vote during this February;
th
Lexington it is expected to present the revision to its February 8 STM. Changes from the
previous revision that Town Meeting had approved \[at the 2014 ATM, Article 23\], but which
did not gain the required unanimous agreement by the other member towns, include further
provisions to facilitate member communities leaving the District while making it desirable for
new communities to join the District.
Non-Town-Entity CPA Projects Recommended by the CPC (continued):
LHAÈs Greeley Village Rear Door and Porch Preservation:Ms. Foley reported that
the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development had
confirmed its commitment to subsidize this project if the Town approves the balance
of the needed funding from the TownÈs Community Preservation Fund. In response
to questions, she said:
There is a long list of projects for the housing villages, and each year these
are prioritized. She will make an effort to identify those most likely to be pursued during the
next five years to assist this Committee in preparing its Five-Year Capital Plan.
There is a waiting list for those seeking subsidized housing. Lexington
residents and veterans must wait approximately five years. Others must wait closer to 10
years.
A Motion was made and seconded at 8:58 .. to adjourn.
Adjourn:Vote: 5Ã0
AM
These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on January 12, 2016.
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