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TOWN CLERK Minutes
LEXINGTON MA Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC)
March 23, 2022
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; Lily Manhua Yan;
Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio)
Member(s) Absent: None
Other Attendees: David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee liaison; Cindy Arens, Sustainable
Lexington Committee (SLC)
Mr. Parker called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m., reviewed the authorization for meeting
remotely, and stated that the meeting was being recorded for the purpose of creating minutes.
Announcements and Liaison Reports
Mr. Parker reported that the Select Board (SB) voted to hold a 2022-2 Special Town Meeting
(STM) on April 11, 2022, which will include two articles on which this Committee plans to
comment: Article 2 requesting funds for the Lexington High School feasibility study and Article 4
requesting funds to complete the comprehensive plan. The funding requests remain at $1.825
million and $75,000 respectively. Charles Hornig, Planning Board Chair, plans to attend this
Committee's March 28 meeting to answer questions about the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Parker also
reported that he had moved draft material for these two articles into a new report in Wdesk. This
report needs to be approved at this Committee's March 30 meeting so that it can be published on
April 4. This means substantial comments should be submitted by March 29.
In response to a question, Mr. Parker suggested that members who wish to comment on Town
Manager Jim Malloy's email regarding Preliminary Site Development and Use Plans should send
those directly to Mr. Malloy.
Special appreciation was extended to Mr. Parker, Mr. Levine and Mr. Bartenstein for their work in
preparing and completing this Committee's report to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) and
the 2022-1 STM. Mr. Parker shared his thanks to everyone for their contributions.
2022 ATM Article 31: Amend General Bylaws -Reporting, Disclosing, and Assessing the
Energy and Water Use of Large Buildings
Mr. Parker introduced Ms. Arens, who explained that because of misunderstandings, an Article 31
funding request for $70,000 did not get included in the budget, but the SLC plans to apply for a
grant and/or hopes to have access to some free software that would, at least temporarily, meet the
needs of this project. The purpose of the project is to initiate a program for getting measurements of
energy, fossil fuel, and water use by large facilities (both commercial and residential) in Lexington.
Such measurements are needed to determine strategies for building owners to make cost-effective
energy efficient investments and thereby reduce the use of energy and water. There was discussion
about the use of fines to encourage compliance with providing these reports and establishing a fund
03/23/2022 AC Minutes
that would be used for sustainability projects. Because there are no financial implications at this
time, it was noted that this Committee does not need to comment on this article in its report.
Review of this Committee's Report to the 2022-2 STM
There was discussion about 2022-2 STM Article 2, during which it was noted that support of this
article is the first step required for the Town to receive Massachusetts School Building Authority
(MSBA) funding support for a new high school or for renovations of the existing high school, and
such funding is important. Additional discussion points included the eventual need for a
referendum, that the MSBA does not help with preliminary costs, such as the feasibility study
included in Article 2, and that there are many factors that influence the final rate of reimbursement
by the MSBA. There was also discussion about the schedule for this project, which included an
observation that construction would not start before 2025.
A motion was made and seconded to recommend support of the 2022-2 STM Article 2. The motion
was approved. VOTE: 8-0
Mr. Michelson explained that 2022-2 STM Article 4 requests $75,000 to complete the
Comprehensive Plan. In response to questions, he explained that this appropriation will not be used
to address the State's housing directive that is currently being finalized. The directive, when
adopted, will provide the regulations associated with the recently -passed law in which zoning by-
laws must allow higher density housing than may currently be allowed in areas served by the
MBTA. Addressing this issue would be included during an implementation effort. It was agreed to
delay voting on this article until after Mr. Hornig answers questions at this Monday's AC meeting.
Minutes of Prior Meetings
Approval of the March 16, 2022 minutes was postponed.
Adjourn
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn at 8:33 p.m. The motion was approved. VOTE: 8-0
Respectfully submitted,
Sara Arnold
Approved: April 13, 2022
Exhibits
Agenda, posted by Mr. Parker
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