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Home My WebLink About2021-06-22-CEC-min(Executive Session) RECEIVED �aswnaoav®y� 2022 27 Apir, IZ58 IIIm Minutes of the s \aLexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting T N CLERK xx LEXINGTON MA Executive Session APRIL19 June 22, 2021 t AINGI,� Session Location and Time: Remote Meeting; 4:03 P.M. CEC Members Present (remote participation): Charles Lamb, Chair; David Kanter, Vice-Chair & Clerk; Sandy Beebee; Rod Cole; and Frank Smith CEC Member Absent: Wendy Manz Other Present (remote participation): Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance Documents Presented: • Notice of Public Meeting/Agenda for the CEC Meeting, June 22, 20 Call to Order (See the Minutes for the Open Session of this meeting for that Session having been Called to Order at 4:01 P.M. as a Remote (Virtual) meeting and then the 4:03 P.M. Seconded Motion to go into Executive Session under Exemption 6 (To consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property), Community Center Land, for all the CEC members present and with Ms. Kosnoff. Roll-Call Vote: 5-0.) Mr. Lamb called on Ms. Kosnoff to introduce the specific matter under consideration. Ms. Kosnoff provided the situation of that funding which included, in part, the following: • Nearing the end of each fiscal year (FY), the Open Article Report is reviewed by her staff and Mr. Jim Malloy, the Town Manager, for those Articles with remaining funding balances to ascertain what, if any action (e.g., closed out, borrowing authorizations to be rescinded, repurposed, etc.) should be taken—especially for the ones getting much older. This year, the 2017 Annual Town Meeting's Article 160), Parking Lot at Community Center, drew special attention. • That Article approved a $425,000 cash appropriation (from "Free Cash") to purchase and reconfigure 20 parking spaces at the end of the parking lot closest to the Lexington Community Center (LexCC) that are currently owned by the Scottish Rite (SR); spaces that the LexCC users currently have permission to use on a space-available basis. Concurrently, there was need for a roadway to connect to the parking on the recently purchased 20 Pelham Road property (20PRP). • Also driving that funding initiative was anticipation of a LexCC expansion, but that has not happened. • The Town has a formal, perpetual, easement with the SR granting the Town use of all the spaces in their parking lot on a space-available basis and, so far, there has always been available space for the users of the LexCC. (That access granted by the easement continues to hold if that space were to be sold and/or the area were to be changed that, otherwise, would adversely affect the Town's continued use of those 20 spaces.) The LexCC Director believes the current arrangement is expected to be sufficient for the LexCC operations going forward. Page 1 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting Executive Session June 22, 2021 • Article 16(j)'s $425,000 total ($400,000 was for the parking spaces; $25,000 was for the Town's ancillary costs). In comparing the price per space of the SR non-Town-revenue-generating spaces ($20,000 with no ancillary costs) with a recent purchase from the Town's Historical Society of its Town-revenue-generating 19 spaces ($9,300), the cost of the planned purchase of the SR spaces is not considered fiscally prudent nor should it continue to exist as a benchmark for the cost of any such a parking space in the future—especially in the light of the use granted by that easement regarding those SR spaces. • As for a roadway to connect to the recently purchased 20PRP, that was provided for by aligning that road to the property lines of the two adjacent, Town-owned, properties (LexCC & 20PRP). • In consideration of the current status, the Town Manager recommends the $423,375.00 balance of that appropriation (only $1,625.00 has been expended and none is encumbered) be released. No Town-Meeting action is required as it was all a free-cash funding. • That recommendation was presented to the Select Board and while it's position by many was in favor of the release, they wished to have the positions of both Finance Committees—hence this session. • If the Select Board authorizes release of the remaining funding, it would be added to the cash balance of the Fiscal Year at the time of the release—and be included in the "Free Cash" available for the following Fiscal Year. As the FY2021 accounting will be "closed" on the 15th of next month, that would be the last day to include the released balance in FY2021. Future use of the released funds would always be dependent on all the then-prior-year free cash having been certified—which usually takes place around November. (A Town meeting with an Article approved following that certification, whether a fall Special Town Meeting or the next Annual Town Meeting would make all that free cash available for use in the then-current FY.) There was then a discussion by our Committee and with Ms. Kosnoff. Some, but not all, of the comments included: • Mr. Kanter pointed out that neither the Select Board's nor this Committee's Five-Year Capital Plan (FY2022-FY2026) included funding for a LexCC expansion. • Mr. Smith asked for confirmation where the roadway from the 20PRP ended. Ms. Kosnoff confirmed the whole roadway is on Town property. • Mr. Cole asked whether the purchase of parking spaces from the Historical Society represented a market price. Ms. Kosnoff said the Town and that Society had their independent appraisal. The Society's was modestly higher than the Town's and it was agreed to split the difference. • Ms. Beebee asked about the past and present relationship between the Town and the SR. Ms. Kosnoff said that negotiations continued after the appropriation, but the SR was not interested in selling any of the parking lot to the Town. When it became clear that no LexCC expansion is in the near future and roadway placement had become all on Town property, there had been no further negotiations with SR. However, Page 2 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting Executive Session June 22, 2021 especially as there's new administration at SR, Mr. Malloy intends to check back with SR so they are aware that the Town is thinking about closing out any plan to purchase any of their parking-lot spaces. Ms. Beebee asked that if the current funding is released, at some later time, could the Town initiate a new funding request if the need for ownership of some SR-owned parking spaces materialized. Ms. Kosnoff said "yes". • Mr. Lamb asked if any concerns or objections raised at the Select Board's Executive Session on this matter haven't been addressed at our meeting. Ms. Kosnoff said that while they were mostly in favor of releasing the funds, but they wanted the opinions of the Finance Committees and one concern was that the Town Manager hadn't checked in with SR, but as she had noted earlier, he will be doing that. Mr. Lamb asked if the Article 16(j) Motion was specific as being for the SR-owned parking Spaces or could the Article fund other parking spaces. Ms. Kosnoff said it would depend on the wording of the Motion, but that she did not have that at hand. [The Motion was "Parking Lot for Community Center - $425,000 to purchase from the Scottish Rite the portion of their parking lot that was most recently expanded and is adjacent to the Community Center parcel, and that to meet this appropriation$425,000 be appropriated from the General Fund unreserved balance.'? • Mr. Kanter Moved, and it was Seconded, that this Committee endorses the release of the balance of the funds that had been appropriated under the 2017 Annual Town Meeting, Article 16(j). Roll-Call Vote: 5-0 Adjourn A Motion was made and Seconded at 4:28 P.M. to adjourn and return to the Open Session for further business of this Committee. Roll-Call Vote: 5-0 (See the Minutes for that Open Session of this meeting for the continuance of that Open Session.) This Minutes was approved by the CEC at its meeting on August 18, 2021, but not for public release. This Minutes was approved for public release by the CEC at its meeting on April 13, 2022. Page 3 of 3