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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-11-08-CEC-min Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting November 8, 2017 Location and Time: Town Office Building, Parker Room (G-15); 7:30 A.M. Members Present: Jill Hai, Chair; Charles Lamb, Vice-Chair; David Kanter, Clerk; Sandy Beebee; Rod Cole (arrived 7:45 A.M.)' Wendy Manz (arrived 7:39 A.M.); Frank Smith Members Absent: None Others Present: None Documents Presented: • Notice of CEC Meeting, November 8, 2017 • Revised Lexington Board of Selectmen Remote Participation Policy & Guide (Mr. Kanter's e-mail October 30, 2017, to the other CEC members and to Sara Arnold, our Recording Secretary) Call to Order: At 7:35 A.M., Ms. Hai called the meeting to order. Discussion of Committee Responsibilities under the State's Amended Open Meeting Law (OML): Ms. Hai briefed the Committee on the training session by the Town Clerk and Town Counsel she just attended. Some, but not all, of the matters she covered and the Committee discussed were: • Town Clerk desires having meeting-posting requests provided to her Office at least 72 hours in advance of the start of the meeting. • The posted Agenda is to have as specific information as is known when posted about just what matters will be discussed at the meeting so the public is properly informed. Only a matter of an emergency nature, as deemed by the person chairing the meeting, can be discussed without having been listed in the posted Agenda. However, when approved by that person and to the extent provided for in the posted Agenda, the public body can entertain public comments on matters that are not on the posted Agenda. It was pointed out that in that case, our Board of Selectmen has chosen only to ask questions to clarify those comments and deferred any discuss of those matters until included on an Agenda for a subsequent meeting. • Draft Minutes for other than Executive Sessions are subject to release upon a request from the public until the Minutes have been approved—at which time the drafts can be deleted. • Minutes should avoid becoming transcripts. • Approval of Minutes by the public body must be accomplished within 30 days or three subsequent meetings, whichever is later. Non-substantive changes can be made after the Minutes have been approved. • Deliberations cannot be held by using serial discussions between the public-body members, even if each discussion involves less than a quorum. Further, do not have substantive discussions by a quorum of the members before or after a meeting as those would constitute deliberations that must be done at a formally posted meeting. Page 1 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting November 8, 2017 • The person chairing a meeting should inquire if anyone will be recording (other than taking notes) at the meeting so others in attendance will properly be forewarned. • Lexington's Policy and Guide for Remote Participation has been revised by eliminating the locally imposed restriction against Remote Participation in an Executive Session and adopting the State's simplified definition of the circumstance under which Remote Participation may be authorized by the body's Chair or the person designated to chair the meeting. (The red-lined revision was previously provided to this Committee's members.) Review of the FY2019-FY2023 Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs) Process: The Committee discussed how the preparation for, and the initial review of, the departmental CIPs went for the last meeting (on the 1St) • It was agreed that the Committee's liaison for the department will continue to be responsible for assembling, as the liaison saw fit, the questions & comments that all Committee members had input on that department's CIPs and to provide that assembly to the department's director as soon as practical. • To allow the liaison some reasonable time to do the assembling, the other Committee members are to provide their inputs on the CIPs next to be reviewed to the liaison not later than the Friday before the review scheduled for the next week. • The last departmental review is scheduled for this Committee's meeting on this December 5th; however, this Committee will also need to review any non-departmental applications that the Community Preservation Committee has recommended be presented to the 2018 Annual Town Meeting. Ms. Manz will coordinate those reviews. • Ms. Hai advised that this Committee is planning to provide its initial positions on the CIPs including FY2019 funding to the Town Manager and Assistant Town Manager for Finance at the December 20th meeting of this Committee—for their consideration as they prepare the FY2019 Town Manager's Preliminary Budget & Financing Plan (the "White Book")—and then this Committee's presentation at the Budget Summit IV (scheduled for January 25, 2018) of this Committee's position on the Capital Plan in the FY2019 White Book—for consideration in the preparation of the FY2019 Approved Budget & Financing Plan (the "Brown Book"). Discuss the Committee's Organization with regard to the On-Going Budget Process: Ms. Hai announced that she had to step down as the Chair due to personal commitments. The Committee expressed its great appreciation for all that Ms. Hai has done as the Chair. Mr. Lamb, as the Vice-Chair, called for nominations for being the Chair. After a discussion, a Motion was made and seconded that Mr. Lamb be the Chair. Vote: 7-0 Mr. Lamb, then as the Chair, called for nominations for being the Vice-Chair. After a discussion, a Motion was made and seconded that Mr. Kanter would be the Vice-Chair (and continue as the Clerk). Vote: 7-0 Discuss Matters Related to the Debt-Exclusion Referendum Scheduled for December 4, 2017 Mr. Lamb announced he wishes to write a letter, as both previous and current Chair of this Committee, for publication in the Lexington Minuteman newspaper that would address his past and present positions with regard to the matters that will be addressed in that Page 2 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting November 8, 2017 Referendum—including that the Committee unanimously supports all three questions in that Referendum. A Motion was made and seconded to endorse his action and to reaffirm that the Committee does support all three questions in that Referendum. Vote: 7-0 Adjourn: A Motion was made and seconded at 8:38 A.M. to adjourn. Vote: 7-0 These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on November 15, 2017. Page 3 of 3