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11/30/15 AC Minutes
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee
November 30, 2015
: Town OfficeBuilding, DawesRoom,7:30 p.m.
: Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Kate
Colburn; Mollie Garberg; Alan Levine;Andrei Radulescu-Banu; Eric Michelson; Richard
Neumeier; Rob Addelson (non-voting, ex officio)
Members Absent:Beth Masterman
Others Present: Elaine Ashton
The meeting was called to order at 7:36p.m.
Report on November 18 Chairs +1 Meeting:
1.Mr. Parker reported that the Chairsof the
Board of Selectmen, the School Committee, and both finance committees plus one other person
th
from each committee met on November 18. The group sought feedback from the full
committees on whether modular classroomsshould be leased or purchased. The purchase price
was $450,000 and could be financed with debt. The lease price was $100,000 per year and
would be paid from operating funds. Because it was expected that the classrooms would be
needed for more than 4.5 years, the group thought purchasing would make more sense. This
would require adding $450,000 totheappropriation requested under Article 2 of Special Town
Meeting 1.
Mr. Parker also reported that the “plus one” group discussed whether the school building
plans could evolve further after the Special Town Meeting, as concerns had been raised as to
whether the current plan created enough capacity. The group thought it would be helpful to
understand the timeline of expected expendituresto determine whetherthere was flexibility in
the plan.
Mr. Radulescu-Banu expressed concern that modifying projects after the appropriation could
cause an increase in soft costs associated with the projects.
Discussion of Article 2 of Special Town Meeting 1:
2.Mr. Addelson said Town Meeting
will be asked to appropriate approximately $5.4 million, comprised of approximately $3 million
for modulars, $520,000 for Hastings design, and the remainder for middle school designs. The
language will be flexibleand will not attribute specific amounts to the proposed projects. If the
funds are not needed, theauthority to borrow will be rescinded. If the MSBA does not support
the Hastings project, there may be another discussion of how to spend the $520,000.
Mr. Parker and Ms. Colburnnoted their concern that the current set of school building
projects do not create enough capacity at the elementary level to meet either current or projected
enrollment. Mr. Levine responded that Mr. Goddard had presented tothe committee a chart
showing enough classrooms being created under the current plan. Ms. Colburn said those
classrooms did not all have appropriate core spaces, such as art rooms, music rooms, special
education rooms, and other spaces that comprise the capacity of a school.
11/30/15 AC Minutes
Mr. Parker and Ms. Garberg noted that there should be checkpoints for the Board of
Selectmen to release appropriated funds in order to provide oversightgiven uncertainties about
the building plan.
Mr. Parker asked members to send him ideas for how the Appropriation Committee should
evaluate the school capital projects moving forward.
A motion was made and seconded to approve Article 2. The committee voted 8-0 in favor of
the motion.
Discussion of Article 3 of Special Town Meeting 1:
3.Mr. Parker reported that Article 3
would be indefinitely postponed because negotiations regarding 20 Pelham Road were ongoing.
Discussion of Article 4 of Special Town Meeting 1:
4.Mr. Parker reported that it was
uncertain whether Article 4 would be indefinitely postponed, as it was unknown whether the
Selectmen would study access to Pelham Road before the purchase of the property was
complete.The Committee agreed to modify its report to indicate its recommendation was
“pending.”
Discussion of Committee Report for Special Town Meeting 1:
5.The committee
discussed several additional small changes to the draft report. A motion was made and seconded
to approve the report as modified. The Committee voted 8-0 in favor of the motion.
Approval of Minutes:
6.A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the
Committee’s November 19, 2015 meeting. The Committee voted 8-0 in favor of the motion.
The meeting wasadjournedat 9:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathryn Colburn
Appropriation Committee Member
Approved January 28, 2016