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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-05-28 SB-min Select Board Meeting May 28, 2020 A remote participation meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 5:00 PM. on Thursday, May 28 2020 via Zoom remote meeting services. Mr. Lucente, Chair; Mr. Pato; Ms. Barry; Ms. Hai and Mr. Sandeen were present, as well as Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. Upon a motion duly made and seconded by roll call vote, the Board immediately voted 5-0 to enter Executive Session under Exemption 10: Community Choice (Electricity) Aggregation to discuss confidential, competitively-sensitive, or other proprietary information; and further to enter Executive Session under Exemption 3: Discuss Contract Negotiations Regarding Lexpress Transportation Services to discuss strategy regarding contract negotiations. Open Meeting discussions of these items was determined to have a possibly detrimental effect on the bargaining and/or litigating position of the Town. Upon exiting Executive Session, Open Session was reconvened at 6:17 p.m. Mr. Lucente stated that this meeting was being held in accordance with Governor Baker’s March 12, 2020 Executive Order suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law to allow remote participation during Massachusetts’ state of emergency due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Mr. Lucente provided directions to members of the public, watching or listening via the Zoom application, regarding the procedure for making a public comment. SELECT BOARD MEMBER CONCERNS AND LIAISON REPORTS Ms. Hai noted that the second Sunday in June is recognized as Race Amity Day. This year, through a joint effort of the Human Rights Committee and the Town Celebrations Committee, the event will be held virtually instead of live. More details will be forthcoming. Mr. Sandeen attended a multi-town Gas Leaks session with about 65 other municipal leaders. Locally conducted research shows that dying trees are 30 times more likely to have been exposed to natural gas leaks. Session participants described ways to detect gas leaks before planting trees. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. Covid-19 Update: Discuss Strategies, Implementation and Community Response Actions Related to Covid-19 Guidelines and directives The update included information from the most recent draft of the plan being developed by the Return to Work Re-opening Task Force as well as the latest statistics and local data. Mr. Malloy stated the total number of confirmed cases today in Lexington today was 310. Town Offices will remain closed at least through June 1, 2020 but more likely until June 8, 2020. Staff are working from home. When re-opening does occur, 25% of staff will work in-office, the other 75% from home; the building will not be open to the public until a later re-opening phase. Two 1 firefighters tested positive and they have been staying in a hotel set aside for public employees in order to protect their families. Staff have completed all Covid-19 related training. Regarding holding a remote Town Meeting: Relevant legislation has not yet been brought to the State House floor. Mr. Malloy has been in contact with Representation Michelle Ciccolo to have language included in an amendment that would retroactively apply to communities who conduct remote Town Meetings. Town Counsel also filed a complaint for injunctive relief to have the courts approve Lexington’s remote Town Meeting, thus providing two possible avenues to validate remote Town Meeting voting. The Attorney General’s office has issued an opinion letter to the courts in support of the injunctive relief complaint. The judge reviewing the case, however, has not yet ruled because s/he believed the Legislature was about to make a decision. Ms. Axtell said the Return to Work draft has undergone a few changes that will be reviewed by the Board of Health. One change is that the focus has shifted from glove-wearing to handwashing, although gloves are still recommended in certain circumstances. Employee travel guidance is being updated as well, now that states are re-opening and restrictions vary from place to place. The language of the draft is being guided by Labor Counsel. The proposal for a Industrial Hygienist has been received. DPW Director Dave Pinsonnault is reviewing the document and Mr. Malloy has received the copy as well. Ms. Axtell asked the Select Board to submit feedback about the draft. The Task Force hopes to finalize the document soon. Mike Cronin, Facilities Director, said all custodial and maintenance staff are back full-time. All HVAC filters across town have been replaced and all HVAC equipment is running on 100% outside air. This has a negative effect on energy efficiency, however. Systems have been automatically programmed to turn on 1 hour before the first employee is scheduled to arrive at work and 1 hour after the last employee departs. Glass partitions have been installed at 201 Bedford Street and the glass partitioning at the Town Office Building will be completed by tomorrow. More glass deliveries for partitions are expected to arrive soon so partitions can be erected at the Community Center and the Visitors Center. Bottles of sanitizer and cleaner have been made. Training will be done, once workers have returned, to show employees how to maintain sanitary work spaces. Common spaces are to be cleaned before and after use. High- touch areas will be cleaned with greater frequency. Ms. Hai said the document and effort that went into it seems thorough. She asked how much input staff have had into the re-opening plan. Ms. Axtell said all staff were canvassed before the Task Force was formed so that it was known what key points employees were concerned about. Senior management has seen the document in all the draft forms but it has not yet been rolled out to the departments as a whole. Before the document is released, it will be reviewed by the union presidents who will share it with the membership. Mr. Lucente asked if touchless hand sanitizer dispensers could be installed in the buildings. Mr. Malloy said they are currently none available. Ms. Barry asked Mr. Cronin if there would be signage noting the number of people allowed in elevators. She asked if a deliver door will be indicated at each building. Ms. Barry said guidance related to weekend and summer travel would need to be clear. Mr. Cronin said he would be 2 happy to provide signage inside and outside elevators to limit ridership. For delivers, there is one delivery point outside each of the buildings. Mr. Sandeen applauded the changes made to the draft, particularly with regard to ventilation. He asked that the filters used in the ventilation system be capable of filtering PM 2.5 particulate matter. He asked if the criteria would change moving from phase to phase. Ms. Axtell said the Task Force is following the State’s guidance and will develop protocols as needed. Ms. Hai noted, per a texted comment from a resident, that signage should be in at least two languages. 2. Authorize Town Manager to Accept Bids for Community Choice Program Mr. Malloy stated that the Town would open bids on June 2, 2020 for the Community Choice Aggregation program. For reasons of timing and flexibility, the Town Manager must be able to act with alacrity because we have very competitive rates right now to secure the best terms. The Town is perusing a three-year contract to secure low pricing with a long timeline. Mr. Pato stated he felt the motion was appropriate and appreciated the flexibility to increase the percentage of New England generated Class I RECs while keeping rates low. Mr. Lucente and Barry agreed. Mr. Sandeen said he was looking forward to increasing the percentage of Class I RECs while at the same time lowering the electricity rate below the current rate. Ms. Hai agreed with the rest of the Board. Board members agreed that price, local generation, increasing Class-1 Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), and flexibility were high priorities. Todd Rhodes, Vice Chair of Sustainable Lexington Committee, emphasized the value of increasing the percentage of Class I RECs. The Community Choice Program has saved the community about $3M since its inception although the original intent of the program was to increase the amount of renewable energy available to residents beyond what Eversource was offering. He mentioned that many neighboring towns were offering substantially higher percentage above 20% additional Class I RECs. He encouraged the Town Manager to be as aggressive as possible in his negotiations in order to increase RECs. Dan Voss, Chair of Sustainable Lexington, asked that the motion be expanded to include the objective of maximizing the Class I RECs up to 20% while maintaining a price below $ 0.12 per cents/kWh. Mr. Lucente reported that the Board had discussed the motion in Executive Session and all felt that the motion as written would be acceptable, based on information discussed with Mr. Malloy. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 by roll call to authorize the Town Manager to execute an aggregation supply agreement if the price is below the estimated price of $0.12 per kWh for up to a 36-month period. 3. 2020 Annual Town Meeting & Special Town Meeting  Confirming the Vote Taken for Remote Participation (Includes both 2020 Annual Town Meeting and Special Town Meetings) 3 Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 by roll call to confirm the Board's intent on the vote during the May 18, 2020 Board meeting relative to holding a remote Town Meeting to confirm the intention was to include both Annual and Special Town Meetings held during the current state of emergency.  Alternate Date Selection Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 by roll call to set June 29, 2020 as an alternate date for the Annual Town Meeting should Town Meeting vote to not hold a remote Town Meeting.  Town Meeting Remote Participation Process/Procedure Mr. Lucente reminded Board members to be prepared with their article presentation assignments.  Article Discussion/Position The chart was updated. 4. Application: Common Victualler License—La Dolda, LLC, 1736 Massachusetts Avenue The applicant has worked with the Health, Building, Fire and Zoning Departments for their respective required permits and inspections. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 by roll call to approve a Common Victualler License for La Dolda, LLC, 1736 Massachusetts Avenue for the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday - Sunday. 5. Select Board Committee Appointment Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board vote 5-0 by roll call to appoint Stewart Smith to the Noise Advisory Committee to fill the unexpired term of Dr. Holly Sweet with a term expiration date of September 30, 2021. 6. Review and Sign Proclamation—Race Amity Day The Human Rights Committee has asked the Board to sign a revised version of a proclamation that recognizes the second Sunday in June as Race Amity Day in Lexington. In 2015, Massachusetts legislature passed a bill signed by Governor Charles D. Baker Jr. proclaiming the second Sunday in June as "Race Amity Day' annually in the Commonwealth. The proclamation is to encourage citizens of Lexington to celebrate the racial, cultural, and religious diversity of our community. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 by roll call to approve and sign the proclamation. ADJOURN 4 Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 7:00 p.m. A true record; Attest: Kim Siebert Recording Secretary 5