HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-10-20-AC-min 10/20/2021 AC Minutes
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC)
October 20, 2021
Place and Time: Remote Participation: in accordance with Section 20 of Chapter 20 of the Acts of
2021 "An Act Relative to Extending Certain COVID-19 Measures Adopted During the State of
Emergency", communication took place via a Zoom teleconferencing session that was open to the
public; 7:30 p.m.
Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary;
Anil Ahuja; John Bartenstein; Eric Michelson; Meg Muckenhoupt(arrived at approximately 8:30
p.m.); Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager,Finance (non-voting, ex
officio)
Member(s)Absent: None
Other Attendees: Eileen Jay, Vice-Chair, School Committee; Deepika Sawhney, School Committee;
Philip Hamilton, Conservation Commission; Karen Mullins, Conservation Director; Sara Arnold,
Recording Secretary
Mr. Parker reviewed the authorization for meeting remotely, noted that the meeting was being
called to order at 7:36 p.m. on October 20, 2021, stated that the meeting was being recorded for the
purpose of creating minutes, and confirmed attendance by roll call.
Announcements and Liaison Reports
Ms. Kosnoff reported the following:
• At the October 18, 2021 Select Board (SB) meeting, senior staff presented possible options
for using the approximately $9.9 million that is available to the Town of Lexington under
the American Rescue Plan Act(ABPA). It must be committed by late 2024 and spent by
2026. Based on this information, Jim Malloy, Town Manager plans to present his
recommendations at the November 1, 2021 SB meeting.
• A presentation of the recommended water/sewer rates is now scheduled for the
November 1, 2021 SB meeting.
Mr. Levine and Mr. Padaki reported that they had been reappointed to this Committee and had also
recently completed their ethics on-line training. Mr. Levine noted that when a committee goes into
executive session during a virtual meeting, the chair must verify that no one attending the session
has anyone else who can hear the discussion.
Preparation of the Committee Report to Special Town Meeting (STM) 2021-1
Mr. Parker introduced Ms. Mullins and Mr. Hamilton. Ms. Mullins reported that one project
included in Article 6: Appropriate for Community Preservation Projects, is seeking a supplemental
appropriation for creating an accessible trail in Parker Meadow, a high priority for the Conservation
Commission. Funds were previously appropriated for this project, but bids exceeded the
appropriated amount, particularly because lumber costs have increased considerably. Based on the
middle-amount bid, this article is requesting an additional $235,750. Assuming this request is
approved, bids using the same scope of work would be solicited as soon as possible. Only one
construction season should be needed to complete the project.
Mr. Parker added that Article 6 also includes a request for an additional $75,000 for playground
improvements because the scope for this project was changed. The third component of this article is
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a request to use a previous appropriation for the installation of a new prefab bathhouse at the Old
Res rather than renovating the existing bathhouse. No additional funds are needed.
Mr. Parker reviewed the status of this Committee's report, asking that missing material be
submitted before next week's meeting. Ms. Kosnoff reported that the motions for the articles should
be available in a day or two. She commented on other material that she will provide for various
articles, hopefully by Friday, as follows:
• Article 4: Amend FY2021 Operating and Enterprise Budgets: Operating adjustments to the
general fund and the water/sewer fund are expected, including the following:
➢ A new management analyst position, for which a job description and rationale are
being prepared, may be funded using ARPA funds because ARPA requires
considerable documentation and management oversight.
➢ Water/sewer salary line items will be reduced to correct a previous error.
➢ Adjustments to the police department are expected.
➢ Shifting a management analyst position in the IT Department to the library Personal
Services line item is anticipated because of the IT needs at the library.
➢ Increased funding for Fire Department overtime is needed after several years of
being level-funded.
• Article 3: Establish, Dissolve and Appropriate To and From Specified Stabilization Funds:
Recommended amounts to go into the Capital Stabilization Fund (CSF) and the
Transportation Demand Management Stabilization Fund are being finalized. The Town's
new growth, which ultimately needs to be certified by the State Department of Revenue, is
currently estimated to be approximately $2.15 million greater than projections used for the
FY2022 budget. It may be recommended that a small portion of that additional amount be
used to support some of the operating budget adjustments with the balance going into the
CSF.
• Article 5: Appropriate for Police Station Architectural Design and Swing Space
Construction and Article 7 Appropriate for Westview Cemetery Building Construction: An
alternative to tranferring the additional new growth funds into the Capital Stabilization
Fund, would be to use some portion as cash capital to help fund these two articles.
Additional information provided during the discussion, included:
➢ Funds that are borrowed for the new police station will be included in a debt
exclusion package, but it might be advisable to use cash capital for renovating the
swing space for this project.
➢ Westview Cemetery generates revenue from burial fees, which are currently going
into the general fund and the sale of plots. Although these are used to help cover
operating costs, it is also expected that the Town will help cover some of the costs.
Current thinking is that some of the new growth funds could be used to offset some
of the costs of the new building.
➢ Although interest rates are currently low, they are not expected to remain so.
➢ Some of the previously incurred debt will be paid off before new debt service is
added for the police station, so that the portions of tax bills from exempt debt service
will not increase due to that project.
Votes on articles were taken as follows:
• Mr. Michelson added his support for recommending approval of Article 5: Appropriate for
Police Station Architectural Design and Swing Space Construction and Article 7:
Appropriate for Westview Cemetery Building Construction, making the vote 8-0 for both.
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• A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of Article 6: Appropriate for
Community Preservation Projects. The motion was approved. Initial VOTE: 7-0
Ms. Muckenhoupt added her vote after she arrived. Final VOTE: 8-0
• Ms. Yan reported that Article 8: Climate Action Plan is requesting $61,800 to develop a
plan, working with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, for moving forward on
sustainability efforts. The request identifies $30,000 being transferred from the Getting to
Net Zero fund, which will then be closed out. The balance of$31,800 would come from the
tax levy. After discussion (during which Ms. Muckenhoupt arrived) a motion was made and
seconded to recommend approval of Article 8. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0-1
(Note: Mr. Ahuja abstained.)
It is expected that votes for Articles 3 and 4 will be taken next Wednesday.
Minutes of Prior Meetings
A motion was made and seconded to approve the draft minutes for October 13, 2021, with edits
prepared by Mr. Levine. The motion was approved by a roll call vote. VOTE: 8-0.
Other Business
In response to questions about financial and union contract impacts of a potential increase in
elementary school hours from four and a half days to five days, Ms. Jay and Ms. Sawhney reported
the following:
• If adopted, there would be an additional cost for support staff for special education students,
but teachers are already paid for five full days of teaching.
• The teachers currently use a half day for preparation.
• Through ABPA, schools are receiving Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
(ESSER)funds, which amount to approximately $1.2 million in Lexington.
• The Town could also decide to share additional ARPA funds with the schools.
• The superintendent is currently exploring cost saving opportunities for funding this program
when ESSER funds are no longer available.
It was noted that, according to the Department of Education website, Minuteman Technical High
School is receiving $511,000 in ESSER funds.
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn at 8:44 p.m. The motion was approved by roll call
vote. VOTE: 8-0
Respectfully submitted,
Sara Arnold
Approved: October 27, 2021
Exhibits
• Agenda, posted by Mr. Parker
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