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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-06-27 SB-min Select Board Meeting June 27, 2022 A remote participation meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 6:01 p.m. on Monday, June 27, 2022 via hybrid meeting services. Ms. Hai, Chair; Mr. Lucente; Vice Chair, Mr. Pato, and Mr. Sandeen were present, as well as Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. Ms. Hai stated that the meeting was being conducted via Zoom as posted, with the agenda on the Town’s website. PUBLIC COMMENTS None at this time SELECT BOARD MEMBER CONCERNS & LIAISON REPORTS 1. Select Board Member Concerns & Liaison Reports There was discussion regarding the reduction in ballistic wall protection, the reduction in locker numbers and the reduction in AV scope for the Police Station renovation project. It was noted that it was determined that these items could be reasonably reduced at a cost savings. Mr. Pato stated that the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has disallowed Article 17, which was the incentive zoning change article that established for lab buildings in the Hartwell area, a requirement to have a partial electric component to their HVAC system when beyond a certain size. He asked if the community is allowed to appeal this decision. He also asked if there are financial incentives that the Town can offer in order to accomplish a similar goal. Mr. Sandeen asked if the Board could consider discussing two recent Supreme Court decisions at a future working session. DOCUMENTS: Select Board Concerns and Liaison Reports - June 27, 2022 TOWN MANAGER REPORT None at this time. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approve the Addition of Management Analyst to the Fiscal Year 2023 Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for Non-Represented Employees To add the Management Analyst position in the Town Manager's Office to the TNON COLA list for FY23. 2. Appoint Lexington Representative and Alternate Representative to Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) To appoint Abby McCabe, Planning Director, as the Representative to MAPC and Sheila Page, Assistant Planning Director, be appointed as the Alternate Representative to MAPC. 3. Review and Approve Amendment to Regional Housing Services Fiscal Year 2023 Agreement To authorize the Town Manager to execute the RHSO amendment for FY23. DOCUMENTS: RHSO Amendment 4. Approve Select Board Meeting Minutes To approve and release the Select Board meeting minutes of: December 2, 2021 Budget Summit II; January 13, 2022 Budget Summit III; May 19, 2022 Financial Summit/DPF 20-Year Capital Plan (Part 1) May 23, 2022 and June 6, 2022. DOCUMENTS: DRAFT 12.02.2021-Budget Summit II, DRAFT 01.13.2022-Budget Summit III, DRAFT 05.19.2022 Financial Summit - DPW 20-year Capital Planning, DRAFT 05.23.2022 Select Board, DRAFT 06.06.2022 Select Board 5. Letter of Support Regarding Bill H.4852: An Act to Assess the Future of Mattress Recycling in the Commonwealth To authorize the Town Manager to sign and submit the attached letter to State Rep. Michelle Ciccolo regarding support for Bill H.4852: An Act to Assess the Future of Mattress Recycling in the Commonwealth as proposed. DOCUMENTS: H4852 letter 6. Select Board Committee Appointments & Reappointments To appoint the committee members with terms as indicated in the attached list (Select Board Committee Appointments - June 27, 2022). To appoint the Select Board Members to boards and committees with terms as indicated in the attached list (Select Board Member Committee Appointments - June 27, 2022). To reappoint Kim Katzenback as Executive Clerk to the Select Board for a one-year term ending on June 30, 2023. To reappoint Police Chief Michael McLean as Keeper of the Lockup for a one-year term ending on June 30, 2023. To reappoint Jill Hai to the Minuteman Advisory Group for Interlocal Coordination (MAGIC) for a one- year term ending on June 30, 2023. To reappoint Linda Dixon and B. Gresh Lattimore Jr. to the Town Celebrations Committee for a three- year term ending on June 30, 2025. To reappoint Sudha Balasuryan, Yifang Gong, Mary Hutton, E. Ashley Rooney, Susan Stering and Hong Xie to the Town Celebrations Subcommittee for a one-year term ending on June 30, 2023. DOCUMENTS: Select Board Committee Appointments - June 27, 2022, 2022 Lexington Center Committee Application - U. Chhabra, 2022 Tourism Committee Application - C. Ward, 2022 Town Celebrations Subcommittee Application - K. Collins, 2022 Transportation Advisory Committee Application - K. Botla, 2022 Tree Committee Application - B. Tarrh, 2022 Vision for Lexington Committee Application - J. Giudice, Select Board Member Committee Appointments - June 27, 2022, June 2022 TCC & TCC Subcommittee Reappointments 7. Water and Sewer Finals To approve the above Water & Sewer Finals as listed in the May 2022 Finals. DOCUMENTS: May 2022 Finals 8. Dissolve Ad Hoc Stone Building Feasibility/Re-Use Committee To dissolve the Ad Hoc Stone Building Feasibility/Re-Use Committee. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 4-0 to approve the Consent Agenda. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. Application: Common Victualler License - Coco Boston LLC d/b/a CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice, 1764 Massachusetts Avenue VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 4-0 to approve a Common Victualler License for Coco Boston LLC d/b/a CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice, 1764 Massachusetts Avenue for the hours of 10:00am to 9:00pm Sunday through Saturday. 2. Grant of Location for Eversource – 10 Maguire Road Ms. Hai opened this public hearing at 6:14pm. Mr. Sandeen noted that Section 4A of policy to grant locations for poles states that applications shall identify all other poles located within 500’ of the requested location and that the owners of such poles and the owners of the equipment located there on shall be identified. That requirement has not been met for this particular application. Also, Section 6B of the policy states that the Select Board may condition grants of location on the applicant’s commitment to request any other owner to remove their unused wires, bundled wires, or double poles within 500’ of the requested location. There are four double poles within 270’ of the proposed grant of location at 10 Maguire Road. He noted that Eversource has already begun work at this location, prior to Board approval. He suggested that the Board could grant a conditional approval based upon compliance with the terms of the Select Board policy. The Select Board expressed concern that Eversource had not supplied, as is required in the Select Board Grants of Location in the Public Way policy, to specify the poles in the area of work being done. The Board also expressed concern that it appeared work was already performed in advance of the approval for manhole 23846. Joanne Callender, Right of Way Agent, stated that she was unaware of the Board’s policy and unaware that work had already begun at the proposed location. The Board agreed to wait to vote on this item until the additional information regarding is submitted prior to a future meeting. Ms. Hai closed the public hearing at 6:27pm. DOCUMENTS: Eversource Grant of Location Petition - 10 Maguire Road, Abutter Notification 3. Grant of Location for Eversource – 106 Laconia Street Ms. Hai opened the public hearing at 6:27pm. In response to a question from Mr. Sandeen regarding if the temporary pole will be removed after the conduit is in place, Ms. Callender stated that she would get confirmation on this item. Ms. Hai closed the public hearing at 6:29pm. Mr. Sandeen asked Eversource to update the application to include requirements from Section 4A of the Select Board Grants of Location in the Public Way policy, to specify the poles in the area of work being done. Ms. Callender stated that she would bring this request back to her superior. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 4-0 to approve a Grant of Location to NSTAR ELECTRIC COMPANY D/B/A EVERSOURCE ENERGY to construct, and a location for, such a line of conduits and manholes with the necessary wires and cables therein, said conduits and manholes to be located, substantially as shown on the plan made by T. Thibault revised Date April 28, 2022 and filed herewith, under the following public way or ways of said Town: Laconia Street - Southwesterly from pole 119/18, 623 feet northwest of Rumford Road, install approximately 29 feet of conduit. DOCUMENTS: Eversource Grant of Location Petition - 106 Laconia Street, Abutter Notification 4. Review and Approve Designated Polling Places Ms. de Alderete, Town Clerk, explained that the stipend for the polling location at Keilty Hall is proposed to be tripled for all future elections. In order to be more fiscally responsible, she started looking into alternative poll locations for precincts 7 and 9. She stated that she believes the Lexington Community Center will be an appropriate place to include precinct 7 and 9 for upcoming elections. If the change in location is approved, postcards will be sent to every voting household in those precincts, and phone calls may also be directly made. There was concern expressed regarding the distance of residents located in Precinct 7 to travel to the Community Center, but it was agreed that the relocation of precinct 7 voting location to be the Community Center is a reasonable solution for the next few years. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 4-0 to relocate Precinct 7 and Precinct 9 designated polling location from Keilty Hall to the Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Road. DOCUMENTS: Precincts 7 and 9 Polling Relocation Request Letter, Precincts 7 and 9 Polling Relocation Presentation 5. ITEM POSTPONED TO A DATE TO BE DETERMINED - Review and Approve Vision Zero Traffic Safety Plan 6. Update on Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Dave Pinsonneault; Director of Public Works; David Pavlik, Water Sewer Superintendent; Vyctoria Walsh, Utility Billing Manager; and Ian Kasowitz, Vice President Stiles Company - metering consultant, addressed the Board. Ms. Walsh explained that the AMI allows for access of meter readings online. It also allows for detection of any issues with the equipment and more time to repair these issues. The new system comes with an online app for customers to access leak alerts. With a more accurate billing system, access to usage, and the option for customers to get leak alerts, it is hoped that a decrease in water sewer payments will be seen. The Town completed approximately 500 installs before the meter project started. From September to June 22, 2022, approximately 8,500 accounts have changed to the new AMI system and the remaining accounts are set to be completed by the Spring of 2023. Eye On Water will hopefully be available on the July 5, 2022 for a slow rollout to customers. Mr. Pinsonneault explained that he worked with the consultant, Western and Sampson, and Thielsch Engineering, to guarantee that a vaccinated person will show up to do the install if requested by a customer. All vehicles used by installers have a Water Management Services (WMS), a division of Thielsch Engineering, stickers on them, and all installers carry Lexington ID badges. The Board reviewed the new online user system. The Board thanked the group for the presentation. DOCUMENTS: AMI Presentation 7. Water and Sewer Abatement Appeal - 19 Sanderson Road The owners of 19 Sanderson Road have submitted an appeal to the Select Board regarding the decision of the Water and Sewer Abatement Board. Ms. Hai explained that the Water Sewer Abatement Board (WSAB) reviewed 19 Sanderson Road request for an abatement at its regular meeting on May 5, 2022. The WSAB denied the request based on the following:  The property was given 4 separate blue cards during the last four billing cycles stating an estimated read had to be taken. The cards instructed the resident to call the Water Division to have the meter replaced or repaired.  Each bill states clearly that if you receive estimated reads you are to contact the Water Division to assess the meter. No contact was made.  The high reading is the result of an actual read after the meter was upgraded and after numerous estimated reads.  The WSAB policy is to not grant abatements on large catch-up bills due to customer failure to get the estimated meter reads resolved. Director of Public Works recommended to the Select Board that the Select Board uphold the May 5, 2022 decision of the Water and Sewer Abatement Board. Ms. Jenny Ye, applicant, explained that she is the trustee and property manager of 19 Sanderson Road. She is representing the owners, as they are overseas. She explained that the billing and mailing address for the property was updated with the Town to reflect her home address, but she has never received any alerts or warnings in regard to not paying the bills for the readings. In April, she received a large bill, which was a catchup for over five years of billing. The homeowners think that the bill was not fair due to the calculation of it being inflated. The owners are requesting the Board’s help in lowering the bill to be paid under a lower tier rate, as the current bill is a financial hardship. Mr. Pinsonneault noted that difficult to do an average bill on a rental property with potentially different users in any given year and not a set pattern of use. It would also be hard to apply an average based on estimated bills. In response to a question from Mr. Lucente, Ms. Ye stated that this property is a long-term rental. Each lease is over one year. Mr. Pinsonneault stated that he has a bill for 19 Sanderson Road which clearly states that it was estimated. There is a highlighted section regarding contacting the Water and Sewer Billing Department by phone or via email if receiving estimated bills. This is to ensure the bill is properly invoiced to the usage and to prevent the large catchup bill. In response to a question from Mr. Pato regarding the number of overages seen per year, Ms. Walsh stated that not many to this extent are seen; usually approximately twelve catchup bills per billing cycle are distributed. Ms. Ye noted that there was a leak in the bathroom which was fixed in June of 2021. She stated that she did not previously notice the section of the bill stating that homeowners would need to contact the Department directly. This was an honest mistake. Ms. Walsh explained that the WSAB discussed that the leak happened in the billing cycle for the fall bill. Technically, that would be a late application to apply for the leak. The Board felt that this did not warrant an abatement. Ms. Ye stated that she never knew that this bill was an estimate for the past five years. This was never brought to her or the homeowner’s attention. She wished there was a better system for the Town to help homeowners in this situation. In response to a question from Mr. Sandeen, Mr. Pinsonneault stated that, typically, a homeowner would get a larger bill during a leak situation. The homeowner would then have 30 days to file for an abatement. The WSAB can then choose to grant an abatement. Mr. Pato stated that he is sympathetic to the property owner. However, the bill sequences dating back to 2020, along with information regarding the bills being estimates, were being delivered to the property manager. This is the same way the information is delivered to all residents. The Board may want to look at ways of improving this process, but he does not see a reason to not uphold the WSAB’s decision. Ms. Hai noted that there are over 15,000 water meters in Town, and there is only so much that can be expected of the DPW to get the word out, other than by putting it expressly on the bill and leaving cards. Ms. Lucente agreed that there appears to have been outreach over several cycles through notifications on the bills. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 4-0 to uphold the decision of the Water and Sewer Abatement Board (WSAB) in this matter. DOCUMENTS: WSABAppeal Request Letter - 19 Sanderson Road The Board took a brief five-minute recess. 8. Update on Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee Ms. Roy, Chair of the Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee (AHTSC), presented to the Board. She explained that there are two reasons why Lexington needs an Affordable Housing Trust. One is the need to create more affordable housing units. In the past decade, Lexington created 41 affordable units and lost 41 in group home units. The Town has been stuck at 1,320 SHI units since 2011. Moreover, over 11% of those units are counted on the SHI, but only half of them are truly affordable. The other reason is that an Affordable Housing Trust provides a flexible funding entity, which can act quickly. Votes through Town Meeting may lead to missing out on current market opportunities. CPA funds also need to go to Town Meeting. She noted that So 128 municipalities in the State have Affordable Housing Trusts. Ms. Roy explained that the main goal of an Affordable Housing Trust is to create affordable housing opportunities. Some examples of this include: the Bedford Housing Trust distributed $600,000 of CPA funds to subsidize eight units of ownership housing under the LIP program; Weston, over four years, had an Affordable Housing Trust distribute $3.4M of CPA funds to construct eight units of affordable rental housing on town-owned land; and Sunbury distributed 7$50,000 of CPA funds to purchase a one-acre property that was developed into three units of affordable housing. Ms. Roy stated that the statute being proposed would allow an Affordable Housing Trust to sell, acquire or lease property; make grants or loans; enter into contracts with third parties; retain ownership of revenue from any source, including municipal appropriations; borrow money, and mortgage or pledge trust assets as collateral; and employ/contract with advisors, staff, and consultants. A Lexington Affordable Housing Trust could get its funding through Community Preservation Act transfers. It could also be funded through the fee from resale of affordable units, Federal Home funds, or ARPA funds. The Trust would work with the CPC and Town approval would be required for project proposed funding. Ms. Roy stated that, without prefunding a trust, effectiveness to be able to respond to the dynamic market is curtailed. The ability to fund the purchase of properties, plus holding costs, and consultants to help prepare RFPs for development and housing needs assessments, are reasons to have a prefunding for the Trust. Ms. Roy explained that the Trust is a Town entity. It's subject to municipal laws, including open meeting. The trustees will authorize payments, but the Town Finance Department will administer payments and oversee the audits. The trustees are appointed by the Select Board and a Select Board member will be a voting trustee. The Trust statute requires that CPA funds appropriated to the Trust retain all CPA requirements and constraints. The Select Board will have approval for real estate transactions and borrowing above the pre-determined limit. If the Select Board approves the proposal, adoption of MGL Chapter 44 Section 55C would be proposed at Town Meeting, and the Select Board would approve the bylaw. Then the Select Board would appoint the trustees in accordance with the bylaw. The trustees would next draft and record a Declaration of Trust and create an action plan for creating or preserving affordable housing. Ms. Hai noted that Lexington is the singular outlier in the regional MAGIC communities for not yet participating in this type of Trust. Board members voiced their support for this proposal and trying to advance it for fall Town Meeting. DOCUMENTS: Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee Presentation, Draft FAQs 9. Request for Letter of Support - Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District's Appropriation to Capital Stabilization Fund Superintendent Bouquillon, Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District, addressed the Board. He explained that the request is for a positive action by each of the member towns to approve transfer of excess funds into Capital Stabilization Fund. In response to a question from Ms. Hai, Superintendent Bouquillon stated that the District uses excess and deficiency funds to lower assessments in the next fiscal year. For the FY23 budget, $650,000 of the excess and deficiency funds have been allocated to the overall budget. These funds are not being proposed for that because they are coming as a surplus from FY21. Superintendent Bouquillon explained that the District is trying to expand the capacity of the school facility without borrowing any money. The Capital Stabilization Fund is a tool to do that. Currently the Fund is supporting an expansion on the north side of the building to expand the metal fabrication shop and a project to develop the East Campus. Once these projects are completed, likely by fall of 2023, the District will be able to eliminate its waiting list and expand its capacity to 800 students without having to borrow any additional money. Dawn McKenna, Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member, expressed concern that this item does not need to go before Town Meeting for a vote. Mr. Pato noted that it is within the Board’s authority to not call a Special Meeting for an item of this nature. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 4-0 to support the amendment to the Minuteman budget as requested to appropriate $500,000 from their excess and deficiency funds to their Capital Stabilization Fund. DOCUMENTS: Request Letter, Minuteman excess and Deficiency Recertification Follow up memo 10. Fiscal Year 2022 Year - End Transfers Ms. Kosnoff explained that The Lexington Compost Facility has had a remarkable year, with product sales exceeding $715,000 and more than $175,000 in permit revenue. Accordingly, a number of expenses exceeded original forecasts, and the fund will need to spend more than originally authorized. This is due to a number of factors - sales tax on the higher product sales and additional costs for grinding brush. The Compost Fund balance as of 6/30/2021 was $504,232 and is expected to end the year in a surplus which will add to fund balance. The request is for an additional $50,000. The FY2022 Snow Removal budget had more spending on Wages and Overtime than originally budgeted, however sufficient funds remain in the Snow Removal Expense lines to fully offset the shortfall in Personal Services (overall snow expenses were within the appropriated budget). The request is to transfer $89,274.11 from the Expense line to the Personal Services line. The Fire Department will experience a significant overage in FY2022 in Personal Services- Overtime budget. A number of factors are contributing to this, including vacation buybacks, payouts for accrued leave at retirement, and overtime to backfill employees on extended leave. The department has also experienced, and continues to experience, Covid-19 illnesses and quarantines which require the backfilling of shifts with overtime. A transfer from the Salary Reserve Account is requested to partly cover the overage that was due to retro, buy-backs, and accrual payouts. The amount being request is $44,812.00. There is also a request to transfer $75,000.00 from the Fire – Expenses, to the Fire – Personal Services line. Further, there is a request for transfer of $80,188.00 from the Reserve Fund to cover the overage that could not be covered by the Salary Reserve Account, or the remaining expense budget. There is also the ARPA allocation which could be used to cover this final amount. The Appropriation Committee did contingently approve a Reserve Fund transfer, if the Select Board is not comfortable releasing ARPA funds. The Select Board Personal Services budget is experiencing a small shortfall in FY2022 due to retro payments that could not be absorbed into the FY2022 appropriated budget. A request from the Salary Reserve Account of $1,500 is requested to cover this shortfall. The Human Services Personal Services budget is experiencing a shortfall in FY2022 due to a number of staff receiving retro payments and vacation buybacks that could not be absorbed into the FY2022 appropriated budget. A request from the Salary Reserve Account of $8,200 is requested to cover this shortfall. Ms. Hai stated that the Board has made clear collectively that it wants to do something(s) significant with the ARPA funds. She noted that not all Board members are present to hear this item and vote on it, and this is the first time the Board is hearing about it. In response to a question from Mr. Lucente, Ms. Kosnoff stated that she believes at least $80,000 of the Fire Department transfer expenses could be attributable to COVID. Mr. Pato stated that he supports using ARPA funds for this overage item. Fire Chief Sencabaugh agreed that COVID outbreaks have hit his Department hard within the last few months. Dawn McKenna, Chair of the Tourism Committee, stated that the Liberty RIDE program is not operating at full strength. The Liberty RIDE program is a moneymaker for tourism and has been for years, but for COVID. The $80,000 being proposed for this overage would easily backfill the Liberty RIDE to allow it to operate seven days a week, instead of currently only operating four days a week. Ms. Hai suggested the Board vote on all transfer items except for the one that could come from ARPA funding instead. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 4-0 to approve the following budget adjustments: An increase in the spending limit of the Compost Revolving Fund by $50,000 from $787,000 to $847,000. A transfer of $44,812 from the Salary Reserve account to the Fire Department Personal Services budget. A transfer of $8,200 from the Salary Reserve account to the Human Services Personal Services budget. A transfer of $1,500 from the Salary Reserve account to the Select Board Personal Services budget. An End of Year transfer of $75,000 from the Fire Department Expenses to Fire Department Personal Services; and An End of Year transfer of $89,274.11 from Snow Expenses to Snow Personal Services. DOCUMENTS: Year-end Transfer Cover Memo & Support 11. Award Sale of Bond Anticipation Notes VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 4-0 to approve the sale of $3,127,587 3.00 percent General Obligation Bond Anticipation Notes of the Town dated June 30, 2022 and payable February 24, 2023 (the “Notes”) to Piper Sandler & Co. at par and accrued interest, plus a premium of $12,823.11. and Further: that in connection with the marketing and sale of the Notes, the preparation and distribution of a Notice of Sale and Preliminary Official Statement dated June 16, 2022 and a final Official Statement dated June 22, 2022, each in such form as may be approved by the Town Treasurer, be and hereby are ratified, confirmed, approved, and adopted. and Further: that any certificates or documents relating to the Notes (collectively, the “Documents”), may be executed in several counterparts, each of which shall be regarded as an original and all of which shall constitute one and the same document; delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page to a Document by electronic mail in a “.pdf” file or by other electronic transmission shall be as effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart signature page to such Document; and electronic signatures on any of the Documents shall be deemed original signatures for the purposes of the Documents and all matters relating thereto, having the same legal effect as original signatures. and Further: that the Town Treasurer and the Select Board be, and hereby are, authorized to execute and deliver a significant events disclosure undertaking in compliance with SEC Rule 15c2-12 in such form as may be approved by bond counsel to the Town, which undertakings shall be incorporated by reference in the Notes, as applicable, for the benefit of the holders of the Notes from time to time. and Further: that we authorize and direct the Town Treasurer to establish post issuance federal tax compliance procedures and continuing disclosure procedures in such forms as the Town Treasurer and bond counsel deem sufficient, or if such procedures are currently in place, to review and update said procedures, in order to monitor and maintain the tax-exempt status of the Notes and to comply with relevant securities laws. and Further: that each member of the Select Board, the Town Clerk and the Town Treasurer be and hereby are, authorized to take any and all such actions, and execute and deliver such certificates, receipts or other documents as may be determined by them, or any of them, to be necessary or convenient to carry into effect the provisions of the foregoing votes. DOCUMENTS: BANBidResults, BANPurposes, Note Form & Opinion, No Litigation & OS Statement, Tax Certificate, Significant Events Disclosure, Form 8030G ADOURN Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 4-0 to adjourn the meeting at 9:01 p.m. A true record; Attest: Kristan Patenaude Recording Secretary