HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-02-03-MMC-min RECEIVED
2022 21 I aui , 128 Ruin
Monuments & Memorials Committee
Meeting Minutes I OWN CLERK
Thursday, February 3, 2022
Conducted by Remote Participation LEXINGTON
7:00 PM
Members Present
Linda Dixon, Chair; Avram Baskin, Bebe Fallick, Chuck French, George Gamota,
Leslie Masson, Charles Price
Members Not Present
Glen Bassett, Danjun Pu
Guests
Doug Lucente, Vice Chair, Select Board
Jessie Steigerwald, Betty Gau, Meredith Bergmann & Michael Bergmann, Michelle
Tran, Marlene Stone, Wendy Reasenberg, Valerie Overton, Martha Wood, Judy Zola,
Corinne Steigerwald, Sophie Culpepper, Martha Leticia Valencia
Business
Chair Dixon convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. She extended the Committee's
heartfelt condolences to member Glen Bassett and his family on the death of his
wife, Shirley Bassett.
LexSeeHer— Progress Report-Budget Review
Doug Lucente (Select Board Liaison) reported on an informal meeting with Select
Board Chair Jill Hai and LexSeeHer Steering Committee members Jessie
Steigerwald and Martha Wood. With $250,000 raised in a private fundraising
campaign, LexSeeHer has demonstrated its fundraising ability. Given this track
record, Doug sees a high probability that LexSeeHer will raise the remainder of the
projected project cost over the next 12-15 months, should the project be approved.
To protect the Town's interest, if sufficient funds have not been raised when
LexSeeHer is ready to apply for a building permit, the Town will not issue a
building permit. Doug suggested that, on these terms and for this project only, the
Committee consider accepting a 90% fundraising achievement as meeting the
project cost threshold.
The following motion was made and seconded:
The Monuments and Memorials Committee adopts the policy that
documented achievement from the LexSeeHer Steering Committee of 90% of their
fundraising toward the cost of their proposed monument will be considered as
having met the Committee's cost/budget standard, regarding the Committee's
deliberations and reaching a final vote. No building permit will be issued until
LexSeeHer has raised 100% of the monument cost plus the maintenance
contribution and a contingency fund. These matters will be negotiated by the
Select Board.
The motion was approved on a roll call vote with yes-3; no-1; recuse-2.
Michelle Tran presented the most current project budget, attached to these minutes.
The total project cost is now $279,837.00. Chair Dixon shared the Lexington
Historical Society letter stating that LexSeeHer has over $250,000 in the bank.
She stated that the $250,000 funds raised has met the 90% project cost threshold.
Ms. Fallick expressed support of the project and the art and artist, but not the
process. She felt that all money expended from these funds, including startup costs,
needs to be listed. In addition to the project cost, LexSeeHer anticipates costs for
setting up a Maintenance Fund ($10,000) and a 10% Contingency Fund
(($27,983.70). According to artist Meredith Bergmann, this is a very labor-
intensive project. It will take 12 to 15 months to complete. Assuming the project
has received approvals, LexSeeHer and the Select Board will determine that all
these budget targets have been reached before a building permit is issued.
0,ff
IF P A
Jill
IP 10
Ag,BIW
I,,,"011
I,I'lle A
/,(w a,
A
CAW""
IN
W%04'fi b,1H 1,10 Mol,4 0
Several members supported the idea of including the words "Welcome" in several
languages, along with "Lexington MA" among the inscriptions on the proposed
monument.
Approval of Minutes 2021
Upon motion moved and seconded, the minutes of December 2, 2021, and
January 6, 2022, were approved by roll call vote.
Monuments and Memorials Database
Leslie Masson, Chuck French, and Linda Dixon met with Judy Baldasaro,
GIS/Database Administrator, and Kathy Santos, Town Webmaster, to discuss GIS
mapping infrastructure for our monument database project. The Town has some
sophisticated software and has agreed to incorporate our database project into their
system. Judy designed a test application which has been incorporated into our
committee website. Users who locate a monument can report the GIS map
coordinates and monument details using this application. The working group can
now begin to send some targeted messages as part of their pilot Crowdsourcing
program. The first one will be sent to the Link for Lexington.
Policies and Procedures Manual
The group reviewed the latest draft of the Policies and Procedures Manual.
Anne Eccles, Former Chair of the Historic District Commission, reviewed the
document and gave some very positive input. The Committee will reach out to a
variety of sources in Town who have relevant experience to comment on the draft
document. They include Tourism, DPW, Historical Commission, Secretary of
State, DAR, Center Committee, Committee on Disabilities, Rotary, Historical
Society, LexArts. We will ask Town Counsel to review the final draft before
presenting it to the Select Board.
Members' Concerns and Comments
There was some discussion as to the need for interaction with the various groups in
town who are anticipating future monuments and memorials.
By roll call vote the meeting adjourned at 8:59 p.m.
Next meeting: March 3, 2022, 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bebe Fallick, Secretary