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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-08-07 SB-min Select Board Meeting August 7, 2023 A meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 6:30p.m. on Monday, August 7, 2023, through remote participation via the webinar meeting platform. Mr. Pato, Chair; Ms. Barry, Vice Chair, Mr. Lucente, Mr. Sandeen, and Ms. Hai were present, as well as Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. PUBLIC COMMENTS Judy Crocker, 5 Currier Court, thanked the Select Board for engaging in a thoughtful and transparent effort to create a more open Minuteman School Committee member process. SELECT BOARD MEMBER CONCERNS AND LIAISON REPORTS 1. Select Board Member Concerns and Liaison Reports There were no additional comments at this time. TOWN MANAGER REPORT 1. Town Manager Weekly Update There were no additional comments at this time. DOCUMENTS: Weekly Update 7-28-23, Weekly Update 8-4-23 CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approve Select Board Committee Appointments  Housing Partnership Board: o Nanette Byrnes o Margaret Heitz To appoint Nanette Byrnes and Margaret Heitz to the Housing Partnership Board both for a three-year term set to expire on September 30, 2025. DOCUMENTS: 2023 Housing Partnership Board Application - N. Byrnes, 2023 Housing Partnership Board Application - M. Heitz VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 to approve the Consent Agenda. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. Review Sealer of Weights and Measures Proposed Fee Increase Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development, explained that the fee structure for the Sealer of Weights and Measures has not been adjusted since 1983 (40 years). The fee schedule proposed is very close to the average that communities with a population of over 20,000 are now charging for this service. Approximately 35 communities were reviewed by Staff. It would also be more efficient to do this through the Viewpoint Cloud system. Ms. Barry asked what type of business has to pay this fee. Ms. Kowalski stated that generally gas stations, pharmacies, and stores that sell by the measure including prepared foods, have to pay this fee. Ms. Hai stated that, while she agrees with updating from 1983, this appears to be a large increase. She has some concerns regarding small businesses and how this proposal stacks up against Burlington. She noted that she does not believe the fee structure amount is tied to updating to Viewpoint Cloud. Mr. Malloy stated that Burlington’s scales range from $20-$80, weights are $5, and liquid measuring is $20. Jim Kelly explained that Burlington’s fees are also outdated. The range of fees across the State varies widely. He noted that the fees collected cover only about 90% of the actual costs. The overall costs are approximately $13,000 and the amount collected will be approximately $10,000. In response to a question from Mr. Pato, Ms. Kowalski stated that these fees are incurred annually. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 4-1, with Ms. Hai against, to approve the FY24 Fee Structure for the Sealer of Weights and Measures as attached in the Proposed 2023 Fee Schedule. DOCUMENTS: Proposed 2023 Sealer Fees, Sealer Fees Memo, Massachusetts Sealing Fees by Municipality, Recently Updated Comparisons 2. Approve Use of HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) Funds for Rental Assistance Ms. Kowalski explained that the Housing Partnership Board (HPB) worked with the Regional Housing Services Office (RHSO) and voted on July 27, 2023 to utilize uncommitted HOME funds, $61,820, from FY22 & FY23 to establish a rental assistance program in relation to move-in/upfront costs. Liz Rust, Director of the Regional Housing Services Office, explained that Lexington gets approximately $30,000-$35,000 allocated on an annual basis. This proposal is to use two years of accumulated monies. Otherwise, the funds would go to the consolidated pool for other regional housing projects. This program will be particularly useful for tenants who have section eight vouchers, which is usually approximately 30% of tenants moving into affordable units. In response to a question from Mr. Sandeen, Ms. Rust explained that this is a newly proposed program in Lexington and so there is not a track record yet of how many people would apply. In other towns these programs are marketed through property managers. Ms. Hai noted that the Housing Partnership Board was very excited and supportive of this program proposal. In response to a question from Mr. Lucente, Melissa Interess stated that the Human Services Department does not frequently get requests for first, last, and security, as proposed by this program, but promoting this will be a good addition. Mr. Pato asked for public comment. Melinda Walker, 14 Larchmont Lane, suggested changes to certain language within the document. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 to approve amending the Annual Action Plan to include a rental assistance program using $61,820 uncommitted HOME funds as recommended by the Housing Partnership Board and outlined by the Regional Housing Services Office. DOCUMENTS: Housing Partnership Board Cover Memo, Lexington TBRA Using HOME Funds Memo - Revised 3. Update to the Select Board on the Bike-Friendly Report Card Susan Barrett, Transportation Manager, provided the Board a report on the Bike Friendly Report Card. Lexington has received the Bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community designation, which will be in effect for four years. There are 506 Bike Friendly Communities in the United States. In Massachusetts, there are 15; three of which are suburbs, Lexington, Newton, and Beverly. Of those 15, Somerville is the only Gold Level Community. The purpose of the designation is to provide metrics by which to evaluate the Town's progress as a bike friendly community. Pages 4 & 5 of the report provide recommendations on how Lexington could become a more bike-friendly community, including improving low stress on the Town’s road/bike network. She stated that it would be interesting to hear which of these recommendations the Select Board would be interested in pursuing. Mr. Sandeen stated that the report card notes no bicycle fatalities in the last five years, but he believes this may be incorrect. One area the Town may want to focus on is policies and design standards for building separated and connected bike lanes. Mr. Malloy noted that that fatality was a bike-to-bike instead of bike- to-car, which is what this study was researching. Ms. Barry expressed concern regarding calling out only one of the Town’s specific cultural partners in the report. This could lead to others feeling excluded. DOCUMENTS: Bike Friendly Report Card, 2023 Bicycle Friendly Community 4. Review and Approve Traffic Safety Group's Recommendation to Revise the No- Parking Area on Worthen Road John Livsey, Town Engineer, stated that the Transportation Safety Group (TSG) was asked by the LHS Principal to review safety issues on Worthen Road and, as a result, is recommending adjusting the parking prohibition code on Worthen Road in front of LHS. TSG is recommending widening the sight line of the crosswalks by pushing the parking further away, installing additional striping to re-enforce the parking prohibition, and realigning the No Parking signs, which triggers the need to make this parking code change. The LHS Acting Principal and Assistant Superintendent are supportive of these changes. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 to amend the Traffic Rules and Orders of Lexington, adopted on November 13, 1967, now Chapter 192 of the Code of Lexington, as follows: BY AMENDING CHAPTER 192-18 SCHEDULE 1 PARKING PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED THE FOLLOWING: (Deletions are crossed out and additions are bold and underlined Location Side From To Restriction 360 390 feet north of 150 130 feet Worthen Road East No parking Waltham Street northerly 860 840 feet north of 130 150 feet Worthen Road East No parking Waltham Street northerly 20 150 feet north of Worthen Road West Waltham Street No parking Baskin Road 500 395 feet north of Worthen Road West 40 120 feet northerly No parking Baskin Road BY ADDING TO CHAPTER 192-18 SCHEDULE 1 PARKING PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED THE FOLLOWING: Location Side From To Restriction 1430 feet north of Worthen Road East 75 feet northerly No parking Waltham Street 1010 feet north of Worthen Road West 75 feet northerly No parking Baskin Road BY DELETING FROM CHAPTER 192-18 SCHEDULE 1 PARKING PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED THE FOLLOWING: Location Side From To Restriction 150 feet north of Worthen Road East 40 feet northerly No parking Waltham Street 580 feet north of Worthen Road East 40 feet northerly No parking Waltham Street 20 feet north of 130 feet Worthen Road West No parking Baskin Road northwesterly DOCUMENTS: Memo, CodeAmendmentVote, Parking Layout 5. Review and Approve Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) Sewer Bond Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, explained that this request to for approval of the Board to enter into a $1,590,000 Financial Assistance Agreement with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) to fund sewer system improvements through MWRA's Infiltration/Inflow Local Assistance Program. The $1,590,000 financial assistance package includes a $1,192,500 grant and a $397,500 loan. The MWRA requires the issuance of a municipal bond to secure the loan which will be issued under the wastewater borrowing authorization approved by the 2021 Annual Town Meeting. The principal-only bond will be repaid in equal installments of $39,750 over 10 years, beginning in FY2025. The issuance of this Sewer Bond requires a vote of the Select Board. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 that the sale of the $397,500 Sewer Bond of the Town dated August 28, 2023, to Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (the “Authority”) is hereby approved and the Town Treasurer or other appropriate Town official is authorized to execute on behalf of the Town a Loan Agreement and a Financial Assistance Agreement with the Authority with respect to the bond. The bond shall be payable without interest on August 15 of the years follows: Year Installment Year Installment 2024 $39,750 2029 $39,750 2025 $39,750 2030 $39,750 2026 $39,750 2031 $39,750 2027 $39,750 2032 $39,750 2028 $39,750 2033 $39,750 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 vote. DOCUMENTS: MWRA Sewer Bond, MWRA Certificate, MWRA FinancialAssistanceAgreement_08.2023, MWRA Loan Agreement_08.2023 6. Approve Community Preservation Committee's (CPC) Execution of Grant Agreements Ms. Kosnoff explained that the 2023 Annual Town Meeting approved three appropriations of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds to private entities for restoration and preservation of historic resources. The Community Preservation Committee has drafted grant agreements to govern the use of CPA funds for the following three projects:  The appropriation of $9,600 for Follen Church to fund the restoration of the East Village Clock at 755 Massachusetts Avenue;  The appropriation of $12,000 for First Parish to fund the restoration of the steeple clock at the First Parish Church Building at 7 Harrington Road; and  The appropriation of $118,419 for the Lexington Historical Society to fund the stabilization and restoration of the Barn at the Hancock-Clarke House. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 to approve and sign the attached Grant Agreements between:  The Town of Lexington and Follen Church for the restoration of the East Village Clock at 755 Massachusetts Avenue;  The Town of Lexington and First Parish for the restoration of the steeple clock at the First Parish Church Building at 7 Harrington Road; and  The Town of Lexington and the Lexington Historical Society for the stabilization and restoration of the Barn at the Hancock-Clarke House. DOCUMENTS: Follen Church East Village Clock_Grant Agreement_8.3.23, First Parish Church CPA Grant Agreement_7.23, Hancock-Clarke Barn CPA Grant Agreement_7.23 7. Review Proposed Process for Appointing a Lexington Representative to the Minuteman School Committee th Mr. Pato explained that the Board consensus at the July 24 meeting was to revise the process for appointing a Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District School Committee member. Ms. Hai has drafted a set of questions to be distributed to all candidates as part of the application process. The Board should review and finalize these questions. Mr. Pato stated that he has contacted the Minuteman School Committee Chair and verified that no special qualifications are needed prior to a new duly appointed individual participating as a member of the School Committee. The individual must be sworn in by the Town Clerk prior to participating and must complete conflict of interest, open meeting law training, and Mass Association of School Committee training in due course. Mr. Pato has sent letters to all previous applicants informing them of the pending change to process and has received replies from three of those applicants indicating they do not wish to continue to be considered for this appointment cycle. The Tentative timeline for appointment process is as follows: 8/7/2023- applicant questions finalized. 8/9/2023 - public announcement of re-opened application period. 8/23/2023 - deadline for completed applications including responses to questionnaire. 8/24-8/31/2023 - interview slot opportunities (each candidate with 1 or 2 members of the Board) 9/6/2023 – targeted date for deliberation and appointment vote at Board meeting. Mr. Pato noted that, as there was no opposition from the Board, this process and set of questions will be adopted and there will be a public announcement planned for this Wednesday. DOCUMENTS: Proposed MSCApplicant Questions 8. Discuss Proposed Updates to Select Board Procedures, Policies and Regulations Manual Mr. Lucente reviewed the proposed update to the Board's Procedures, Policies and Regulations Manual. The Board is being asked to review and approve this initial set of revisions in order to have a more current manual on the website. This manual is a dynamic document and future updates should be ongoing and published as updated. Of note, some portions of the section on the Advisory Committees of the Select Board require collective input from the full Board in order to be updated. There was discussion regarding potential amendments to the document. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 to approve the revisions proposed to date to the Select Board Procedures, Policies and Regulations Manual and to publish an updated version on the Town's website with said revisions, with the additions of language changes as submitted by Ms. Barry and Ms. Hai and the correction of the term “citizen” throughout. DOCUMENTS: 2023 Proposed updated Select Board Procedures Manual - redline version, 2023 Proposed updated Select Board Procedures Manual 9. Discussion on Select Board Goal Setting Process The Board discussed the process for engaging staff, committees, and the Board itself on developing actionable goals for the next two years as well as finalizing the schedule for the goal setting process. The Board agreed to review the goals list in hopes of having further discussion at a future meeting. ADJOURN VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 8:16pm. A true record; Attest: Kristan Patenaude Recording Secretary