HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-02-25-AC-min
2/25/2016 AC Minutes
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee(AC)
February25, 2016
: ParkerRoom,Town OfficeBuilding,7:30p.m.
: Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Kate Colburn;
Alan Levine;Beth Masterman;Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier;Andrei Radulescu-Banu
Members Absent:Mollie Garberg
Others Present:Elaine Ashton, Town Meeting member
The meetingwas calledto order at 7:40pm.
1.Announcements:
Ms.Masterman apologized for the distribution problems associated with
this Committee’s report to the Special Town Meeting(STM)2016 #1. It was her understanding that
th
the copies had been delivered to the Police Station on February 8but because of the snowstorm the
delivery was not made.
Mr. Michelson reported that all 16 member communities in the Minuteman Technical High School
district had approved a new agreement, as discussed at previous meetings. As a result, six of the
seven communities that had verbally said they planned to leave the districtif the new agreement
was approvedhave started the process for doingso. They will pay for some residual funding to
fulfill theirobligations.
The project to renovate/rebuildthe Minuteman Technical High Schoolbuilding must be presented
to the Town Meetings in the current16communities. While all 16 must vote on the project, the six
that are leaving the district will not incur the new capital obligations. If all 16 approve the project,
it wouldmove forward. If all 16 do not approve, the district can choose to hold a district wide
referendum on the question. If a majority approvethe referendum, the project wouldmove forward.
Another STM is likely because Lexington does not currently have an Article in any Warrant for
supporting the renovations/rebuilding project.
2.Report to theAnnual Town Meeting (ATM) and STM 2016 #2:
Mr. Parker distributed a
draft tablelisting the Articleson which this Committee will be taking a position and commenting in
its report. For most of the Articles, he identified an author and a reviewer for the text.Starred
Articles indicate those which he believes this Committee could recommend for an ATM Consent
Agenda.There wasdiscussion of addingthe following Articles to the list based on their havinga
potential financial impact:
ATM Article 34: AmendGeneral By-laws –Guns:
Mr. Neumeier agreed to research
whether there is any potential compensation liability associated with banning guns in
Lexington.
ATM Article 40: Amend Zoning By-Law –Accessory Apartments:
Like Article 42
(Two Family Homes),this article has the potential for increasing the school population,
which has a financial impact.
It was noted that Charles Hornig, Planning Board member,has raised questions about
discrimination against families with children if a potential increase in school age children is
advanced asa reason for opposing by-law changes. Advice from Town Counsel is being sought.
1
2/25/2016 AC Minutes
Mr. Parker reported that proponents for ATM Article 16: Appropriate for Advice and Analysis –
Getting to Net Zero, have volunteered to attend an Appropriation Committee meeting and answer
questions.
There was a review of the list and the assignments. Changes were made.
3.Funding of School Capital Articles, Debt ExclusionReferendum Strategy:
With respect
rd
to the anticipated debt exclusion referendum, tentatively scheduled for May 3,totaling
approximately $80 millionfor various school-related capital projects, Mr. Bartenstein suggested
that consideration be given to using funds from the Capital Stabilization to lower the amount
borrowed, as opposed to saving those funds for use at a future date to “shave” the required principal
and interest payments. There was a brief discussion about how the Capital Stabilization Fund might
be used to help offset the financial impact on the taxpayers. It was noted thatdebt exclusion
question(s) request support for project(s), not an amount of money. The actual cost to the taxpayer
isn’t known until a bond is issued for the project(s).
4.Future Agenda Items:
Mr. Parker commented that there are only three more meetings of
this Committee prior to Town Meeting. It was agreed that future agendas should include:
Pat Goddard, Director, Department of Public Facilities, to discuss capital projects;
Adraft memo, discussed at previous meetings, relating to school projects and offering
suggestions to the School Committee;
The structure of adebt exclusion referendum.
The Committee adjournedat 9:28p.m.
The documentsused at the meeting arelistedbelow.
Respectfully submitted,
Sara Arnold
Recording Secretary
Approved March 23, 2016
Exhibits
1.Agenda,posted by Glenn Parker, Chair
2.Table listing ATM Articles, assignments, and suggested consent agenda items; prepared by
Mr.Parker
2