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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-09-20-CEC-min 41,0 0 Minutes of the 4 Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting ook September 20, 2017 kA PcG: Location and Time Town Office Building, Reed Room (111), 7 30 A.M Members Present Jill Hai, Chair Charles Lamb , Vice-Chair; David Kanter, Clerk, Sandy Beebee, Rod Cole„ Wendy Manz, Frank Smith Members Absent None Others Present Shawn Newell, Interim Director of Public Facilities, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Documents Presented • Notice of CEC Meeting, September 20, 2017 • Draft#2 Minutes of the CEC Meeting, September 13, 2017 • Lexington Children's Place (LCP) Site Plan/Site Master Plan and Option 0/ Floor Plan Updated, September 19, 2017 • LCP Project Cost, September 19, 2017 • FY2019–FY2023 Capital Improvement Project (CIP) #989 Lexington High School (LHS) Security Evaluation and Upgrade, Revision Date September 20, 2017 Call to Order Ms Hai called the meeting to order at 7 32 A M Approval of Minutes A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft #2 Minutes of the CEC meeting, September 13, 2017 Vote 6-0-1 (Mr Lamb abstained as he had not attended that meeting) LHS Security System Design (funding proposed under Special Town Meeting (STM) 2017-3, Article 11) Ms Hai, Mr Kanter, and Mr Newell reviewed the history and provided an update on plans to enhance security at LHS On October 5, 2015, a CIP requested funds for a security study for the school, and funds were approved at the 2016 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) Based on the study's recommendations, the 2017 ATM approved funds for upgrading the LHS closed-circuit TV system—which was recently completed Securing visitor entry and the school's perimeter are complex because of the multiple classroom buildings that are on the campus The School Committee (SC) is supporting an approach that brings the LHS closer to the security standards of the other schools in the district with an estimated cost of $369,600 The new system would require some cultural changes to the open-campus environment, special cards would be programmed to lock- down doors, as needed, and control of all doors could be managed remotely Some funds are included for signage and traffic-control measures for adjustment of the usage of the LHS parking lots A $31,000 request will be made at the STM for design and engineering funds for the project with the now-estimated balance of $338,600 to be requested at the 2018 ATM An updated CIP is being prepared for that ATM A motion was made and seconded to support the LHS security project as supported by the SC Vote 7-0 Discussion Relating to the September 13, 2017 Special Financial Summit Meeting with the Board of Selectmen (BoS), the Appropriation Committee, and the SC Page 1 of 4 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting September 20, 2017 Ms Hai initiated a discussion about plans for a fall 2017 debt-exclusion referendum to address the projects for replacing the Maria Hastings Elementary School (Hastings), building a new Lexington Children's Place (LCP) for the pre-school program, renovating swing space at 173 Bedford Street for use during construction of a new Fire Headquarters, and for replacing that Headquarters at its current position Following approval by previous Town Meetings, the Town has committed to purchasing two parcels for the Fire Headquarters swing space and for the new LCP, although the exact method of funding those purchases has not yet been determined Prior to the debt-exclusion referendum, the projects will be presented to the STM 2017-2 for approval The Motions will identify whether the BoS is recommending that funding for the projects be contingent on passage of each related question in the referendum There could be amendments to those Motions during the STM If the funding of a project is contingent on passage in the referendum and that question fails, the project would not move forward until a funding source is approved The BoS has not yet identified their recommended contingency positions This Committee's discussion focused on the ramifications associated with making the Hastings project contingent on passage of the debt-exclusion vote There was consensus that the Hastings project should move forward even if the referendum question does not pass, because that school's infrastructure is currently a challenge to maintain, the elementary schools are already overcrowded and need a larger Hastings School, and the Town would lose its MSBA grant for the project. Funding it without the debt exclusion would deplete other funding sources, impact the operating budget, and have to be confronted at the 2018 ATM If the specific impacts associated with the referendum failing could be identified at this time, it would help voters understand the consequences of voting against debt-exclusion for the project, but Carl Valente, Town Manager, has said that it is not possible to provide such information within the time frame required The lack of information also made it difficult for this Committee to evaluate the pros and cons for making the STM Motion contingent on passage at the referendum Mr Lamb suggested that voters should understand the importance of the project and not think that it will be easy to fund it within the tax-levy limit. He expressed concern about the complexity of the campaign if the project is not contingent on the passage of the project, as is expected for the other referendum questions He noted that there would still be time to hold another STM after the referendum and before losing the grant money, should the referendum question fail Mr Kanter noted that it would be disingenuous for the Town to say the project is contingent on passage and then find funding sources elsewhere Ms Beebee added that Dr Mary Czajkowksi, School Superintendent, does not want the project to be contingent on the referendum given the project's importance Committee members agreed that they should not be supporting a contingency position based on the campaign issues, but on what is financially best for the Town A Motion was made and seconded to support a non-contingent Motion at STM 2017-2 for the Hastings project. It was added that this is with the understanding that Mr Valente and Dr Czajkowksi plan to work on funding-contingency plans should the vote fail Vote 7-0 Preparation of this Committee's report to the fall STM 2017-2 and 2017-3 After a review of the assignments for drafting the different portions of the report, the STM Articles Page 2 of 4 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting September 20, 2017 on which this Committee will comment in the report were briefly discussed and/or straw positions were taken on them STM 2017-2 • Article 2 Appropriate for Hastings School Construction Straw Poll 7-0 • Article 3 Appropriate Design Funds for Lexington Children's Place/20 Pelham Road It was noted that the Conservation Commission had reviewed the site plans for this project and some lay-out adjustments are being made to avoid problems with infringing on the wetland 100-foot-buffer zone The result is some reductions in the potential additional parking for the Lexington Community Center Straw Poll 7-0 • Article 4 Appropriate Design Funds for Fire Headquarters Straw Poll 7-0 • Article 5 Appropriate for Temporary Fire Station Construction Straw Poll 7-0 STM 2017-3 • Article 6 Establish and Appropriate to and from Specified Stabilization Funds No position taken by this Committee as no information has been provided on any action(s) under this Article • Article 7 Amend Revolving Fund Authorization No position taken by this Committee as no information has been provided on any action(s) under this Article • Article 8 Appropriate Design Funds for Visitors Center It was reported that the BoS had not taken a position, but it appears that they would not support a request for $350,000 There was concern expressed by this Committee that the current estimate of $4,315,000 as needed to complete the project was too high No position was taken by this Committee at this time • Article 9 Appropriate for Solid Waste Collection Equipment. Although not so stipulated by the BoS, this Article could well be indefinitely postponed No position was taken by this Committee at this time • Article 11 Appropriate for Lexington High School Security System Design Earlier voted (See above) • Article 12 Appropriate Community Preservation Act Projects More information is needed No position taken by this Committee at this time • Article 13 Appropriate for Authorized Capital Improvements No position taken by this Committee as no information has been provided on any action(s) under this Article It was agreed to meet on September 26th and October 4th to review drafts of the report with the objective of providing it to the printer in time to enable release of the report not later than October 9th Ms Hai agreed to ask Mr Valente about several outstanding issues related to a Plan B if the Hasting referendum question fails and to the funding of the two land purchases Member Concerns and Liaison Reports Mr Kanter advised that the Board of Selectmen, at its meeting on September 18, 2017, had discussed whether to pursue the purchase of a now-vacant lot at 44 Adams Street as Page 3 of 4 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting September 20, 2017 open space using the Town's Community Preservation Funds That lot is adjacent to the Town-owned Chiesa Farm conservation land Mr Kelley reported on his discussion with the current owner The BoS directed Carl Valente to obtain an appraisal of that property and to submit it and an application for such a purpose to the Community Preservation Committee Mr Kanter initiated a discussion about the role Committee members might play in political and issue campaigns Ms Hai and Mr Kanter asked that Committee members consider how their actions might influence a campaign or how their actions may be perceived as resulting in inappropriate influence They expressed their preference that members avoid taking an active role in a campaign, or publicly endorsing or sponsoring candidates, or making major contributions to a candidate's campaign Regarding issue campaigns, this caution does not apply if this Committee has taken a position on the issue, such as the upcoming debt-exclusion referendum questions, but it would apply, for example, to the Streetscape Project on which this Committee will eventually take a position Spouses are not affected by this request. A Motion was made and seconded to support the approach described for involvement in Lexington campaigns Vote 7-0 Adjourn A Motion was made and seconded at 9 07 A M to adjourn Vote 7-0 These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on October, 4, 2017 Page 4 of 4