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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-01-28-AC-min 1/28/2016 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee(AC) January 28, 2016 : ParkerRoom,Town OfficeBuilding,7:30p.m. : Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Kate Colburn; Alan Levine;Eric Michelson;Richard Neumeier; Andrei Radulescu-Banu;Rob Addelson (non- voting, ex officio) Members Absent:Mollie Garberg;Beth Masterman Others Present:Carl Valente, Town Manager; Elaine Ashton, Town Meeting member The meetingwas calledto order at 7:33pm. 1.Warrant Articlesfor February 8Special Town Meetings(STMs)2016-1 and 2016-2: th Mr. Parker requested completion ofthearticlereports, as assigned at the January 19AC meeting. The articles were discussed as follows: STM-1, Article 2: Amendments to the Regional School District Agreement of the Minuteman Regional Vocational School District: Mr. Michelson addressed a concern th raised at the January 19AC meetingrelating to this article.Under the proposed new Minuteman Regional Agreement, it has now been determined that towns requesting to leave the district willnotberequired by the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to provide an alternative plan for students desiring access to vocational education. This eliminates any risk that a Town couldvote to withdraw and be relieved of responsibility for future capital costs yet remain a member of the District. He addedthat the communities wishing to leave the district must in any event meet the requirements of the agreement at the time of the community’s departure. There was a motion and second to support STM-1, Article 2. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 STM-1, Article 3: Appropriate for Hastings School Feasibility Study: Mr. Addelson stated that the request for $1.5 million in this Article was triggered by the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA’s) recent invitation to Lexington to participate in its State funding program forthe Hastings School replacement/renovation.It is expected that MSBA funding for the Hastings project will be minimally 32% of the allowable costs, although the effective reimbursement rate may be a bit lower ifthe Town adds components not approved for state funding.The $520,000 appropriatedat last fall’s STM for a Hastings feasibility study assumed the Town would not be gettingMSBA support and was for a lower amount because that study would not have beenrequired to meet MSBA guidelines. The funds previously appropriated will be rescinded or partially reallocated in the event there are increases in costs for the modular classrooms that are being purchased to help address overcrowding at the elementary level. Therewas a motion and second to support STM-1, Article 3. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 1 1/28/2016 AC Minutes STM-1, Article 4:Establish, Rename and Appropriate to and from Specified Stabilization Funds: Mr. Addelson reported that the funds proposed tobe appropriated under this articlecameprimarily from Cubist Pharmaceuticals and will go intothe Transportation Demand Management Stabilization Fund and the Traffic Mitigation Stabilization Fund. Therewas a motion and second to support STM-1,Article 4. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 STM-2, Article 2: Land Purchase –20 Pelham Road: Mr. Parker shared written responses he had received from Joe Pato, Chair, Board of Selectmen, to questions submitted, primarily by Mr.Bartenstein. Mr. Valentereported thatbecause negotiations for purchase of the Pelham Road site are still ongoing,the Board of Selectmen plan to open STM-2and rd then adjourn it until a later date, potentially as late as March 23, after the start of the Annual Town Meeting.Purchasing 20 Pelham could alleviate some of the space needs of the school department. Mr. Valente provided additional information in response to questions, as follows: TheMuzzeyCondominium space that was previously used for the senior centeris not largeenough to accommodatetheschool administrative offices.Efforts to repurpose thatspace are under way but requirethe Town torenegotiate the deed restriction (which requiresapproval by 75% of the unit owners); and to addressany fire code issues that would be triggered by renovations.The space could be sold for condominiums. Survey work for the 20 Pelham Road access study has begun. In letters of intentthe Town enters intofor the purchase of land, there is typically a 60- daydue diligence period.If materialproblems are discovered during this period, the Town is not obligated to proceed to a purchase and sale agreement and/or closing. Thesource of funding for this proposed purchaseis still under discussion. There are funds in the Capital Stabilization Fund, and excluded debt financing could be sought even though the purchase would not be contingent on the passage of a debt exclusion th override. This may be discussed at the February 10budget summit. School uses are considered the highest priority for 20 Pelham; the gymnasium and cafeteria could be used by the Community Center. Because the matter will not be ready for consideration at the February 8 STM, the Committee determined not to take a vote at this time and to defer its report on the article until a later date. 2.Techniques and Technology to Enhance Budget Visualization: Mr. Radulescu-Banu discussedsome “visuals” he has been working on that might be simple to use and understandwhen presenting Town and School Department budgets. Mr.Valente observed that simple models tend to leave out detail that Lexington residents want, but if this is requested by the Town Meeting Members Association(TMMA), it would be considered. He added that the School Department budget is extremely complex and includes a lot of fluctuations;and the Townbudgethas some strict reporting requirements that work for control purposes but don’t always help with policy discussions. Mr. Radulescu-Banu will talk further with the TMMA andbegin testing some of his ideas forTown Budget presentations. 3.Minutes: Three sets of Minutes were presented for approval, as follows: 2 1/28/2016 AC Minutes A motion was made and seconded to approve the Minutes of November 12, 2015. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 A motion was made and seconded to approve theMinutes of November 30, 2015. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 A motion was made and seconded to approve the Minutes of January 19, 2016. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 4.Liaison Report: Mr.Parkerdiscussed a draft memo he has been working on with Jill Hai, Chair,Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC); Mr. Cole, CEC; and Ms.Colburn(members of the Town Manager’s “chairs-plus-one” group) in an effort to improve the evaluation and analysis of school capital projects proposed in response to enrollment growth. The memo, which would be directed to the School Committee and/or Dr. Mary Czajkowski, Superintendent ofLexington Public Schools, identifiesevaluation criteria for large building projects and would serve as a framework for evaluating building proposalsfrom a system-level view.One of the goals is to be able to evaluate a series of projects as a total plan, not just lots of pieces. Thisanalytical frameworkis envisioned as a toolto assist the finance committees in taking positions and writing their reports to Town Meeting. AC members expressedsupportforefforts to enhance communications with the School Committee, but there were reservations about the memo, as written, being the right tool to use toward that end. A variety of concerns were expressed, including the opinion thatthe draft memo is asking too much of the School Committee and/or Dr. Czajkowski, particularly at this stage in the process for the projects that are being considered at the STM. There were differing views about howthe memo might be perceived or interpreted. th Mr. Parker said that he would attend the CEC meeting scheduled for January 29and report on this Committee’s response. The Committee adjournedat 9:32p.m. The documentsused at the meeting arelistedbelow. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold Recording Secretary Approved March 3, 2016 Exhibits 1.Agenda,posted by Glenn Parker, Chair 2.Joe Pato Email Responsesto QuestionsRe: Pelham Road Purchase, January 28, 2016 3.Draft Evaluation of School Capital Projects Memorandum prepared by Mr.Parker, Ms.Hai, Mr.Cole, and Ms.Colburn, January 27, 2016 3