HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-18-EDAC-min Town Of Lexington
Economic Development Advisory Committee
March 18th, 2021
Minutes for the meeting of March 18, 2021. This meeting was held remotely pursuant to
Governor Baker's March 12, 2020 order suspending certain provisions of G.L. c. 30A, section 18
and subsequent orders imposing strict limitations on the number of people who may gather in
one place.
Members present: Rick DeAngelis (Chair), Co-Vice Chair Larry Smith, John McWeeney,
Charles Minasian, David Pronchick, Co-Vice Chair George Burnell
Liaisons and Town Staff: Mark Sandeen (Select Board), Jill Hai (Select Board), Charles Hornig
(Planning Board), Sandhya Iyer (Economic Development Director), Casey Hagerty (Economic
Development Coordinator),
Guests: Matt Daggett
The Economic Development Advisory Committee reviewed the Annual Town Meeting 2021
Article 44 at their meeting on March 18, 2021. A motion to recommend approval of Article 44 to
the Select Board and Planning Board by the committee was made by Mr. DeAngelis and
seconded by Mr. Pronchick The motion was approved 5-0 and 1 absentee by a roll call vote.
The Economic Development Advisory Committee reviewed the Annual Town Meeting 2021
Article 45 at their meeting on March 18, 2021. A motion to recommend approval of Article 45 as
written including the changes to the Table of Use to the Select Board and Planning Board by the
committee was made by Mr. DeAngelis and seconded by Mr. McWeeney. The motion was
approved 5-0 and 1 absentee by a roll call vote.
Mr. Matt Daggett presented Article 36 again to the committee and discussed the need and the
benefits that other communities have achieved through a surcharge levied on commercial
developers for affordable housing in a community. The committee discussed the article and took
a vote on their position for not supporting the article.
The Economic Development Advisory Committee reviewed Annual Town Meeting 2021 Article
36 at their meeting on March 18, 2021. The Committee discussed affordable housing surcharge
on commercial development needs additional assessment and comprehensive analysis using
comparative communities based on the tax rate as well as the Triple Net Lease value in each
community. This discussion was followed by a motion not to recommend the approval of Article
36 to the Select Board made by Mr. Smith and seconded by Mr. Burnell. The motion was
approved 6-0 by a roll call vote.
The committee discussed new committee appointment and recommendation to the Select Board.
The committee recommended appointing Adrienne D. Ortyl, Bridger McGaw, John Wu, and
Lisa R. Murray for the open positions. In addition to the selection of these four candidates, the
committee also discussed recommending the Select Board to increase the current membership
requirement from nine members to ten members to accommodate all four candidates.
Sandhya Iyer presented Economic Development office updates regarding One Stop Grant
funding, Small Business funding from the State for Lexington for $3.9 million, and outdoor
dining permits.
Rick DeAngelis suggested inviting Rep. Ciccolo for a future meeting to get updates and discuss
state priorities related to Climate Bill and Housing Bill.
Approved: 4/15/2021