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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-06-STM-AC-rpt RECEIVED 2024, 07 II , 927 airy°m TOWN CLERK LEXINGTON MA APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE TOWN OF LEXINGTON _ ' A °fie '"�; �' ll/r%i;, r"'�,► APRIL 191" ".�.��' � REPORT TO SPECIAL TowN MEETING 2024- 1 RELEASED NOVEMBER 6, 2024 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS Glenn P. Parker, Chair • Sanjay Padaki, Vice Chair• Alan Levine, Secretary Carolyn Kosnoff(ex officio; non-voting) • Anil A. Ahuja • John Bartenstein Eric Michelson • Sean Osborne • Vinita Verma• Lily Manhua Yan STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 Table of Contents Summary of Warrant Article Recommendations . u u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Warrant Article Analysis and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 SPECIAL TOWN MEETING 2024-1 Article 2 Appropriate for Prior Years' Unpaid Bills 3 Article 3 Establish,Amend, Dissolve and Appropriate To and From Specified Stabilization Funds 3 Article 4 Amend FY2025 Operating, Enterprise and CPA Budgets 4 Article 5 Appropriate for Authorized Capital Improvements 5 Article 6 Establish,Amend and Continue Departmental Revolving Funds 6 Article 7 Appropriate for Schematic Design Funds -Harrington Athletic Fields 6 Article 8 Delay Massachusetts School Building Authority(MSBA)Filing Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Article 9 Resolution -Design Process of Crematory at Westview Cemetery 10 i STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 Summary of Warrant Article Recommendations Abbreviations EF Enterprise Fund CPF Community Preservation Fund GF General Fund SF Stabilization Fund RE Retained Earnings IP A motion to Indefinitely Postpone is expected RF Revolving Fund SPECIAL TOWN MEETING 2024-1 Art- Funds Funding Committee icle Title Requested Source Recommendation 2 Appropriate for Prior Years' Unpaid Bills None N/A IP (9-0) Establish,Amend, Dissolve and 3 Appropriate To and From Specified $4,362,799 Tax Levy Approve (9-0) Stabilization Funds 4 Amend FY2025 Operating, Enterprise and See below See below Approve (9-0) CPA Budgets 5 Appropriate for Authorized Capital $1,240,000 GF Debt Approve (7-2) Improvements 6 Establish,Amend and Continue None N/A Approve (9-0) Departmental Revolving Funds 7 Appropriate for Schematic Design Funds - $100,000 Tax Levy Approve (9-0) Harrington Athletic Fields 8 Delay Massachusetts School Building None N/A Disapprove (0-8-1) Authority (MSBA)Filing Resolution 9 Resolution-Design Process of Crematory None N/A Approve (9-0) at Westview Cemetery ii STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 Introduction This report includes the Appropriation Committee's analysis and recommendations regarding all appropriations of Town funds that are anticipated at this special town meeting, and other municipal matters that may be considered. This report is distributed as an electronic document via the Town website. The Committee also makes presentations during Town Meeting, including recommendations on appropriations and other matters for which the Committee's formal position has been revised since the time of publication. The Committee published its Report for the 2024 Annual Town Meeting on March 13, 2024. Please refer to the preface of that report for more details of how this report is prepared and the conventions used within. The Committee's goal is to publish its report at least one week prior to the date when the articles covered in this report may be taken up by Town Meeting. That date is typically the same night that the annual town meeting or a special town meeting is convened. Committee Membership On May 6, 2024,the Moderator appointed Vinita Verma to the Appropriation Committee, filling the one empty seat on the Committee. Alan Levine, Sanjay Padaki, and John Bartenstein were each reappointed to a 3-year term by the Moderator on August 14, 2024. There have been no other changes to the Committee's membership. Reserve Fund On August 8, 2024, the Committee approved a Reserve Fund transfer of$60,000 for repairs at the Pine Meadows golf course. The cost of these repairs would normally be covered by the Recreation Enterprise Fund, but the size and urgency of the repairs necessitated using the Reserve Fund. The Committee expects that a future transfer (in combination with an increased spending authorization) from the Recreation Enterprise Fund will restore this amount to the Reserve Fund. The FY2025 Reserve Fund appropriation was for$750,000. The balance is now$690,000. Developments Since Adoption of the FY2025 Budget On July 11, 2024, the Committee reviewed final budget adjustments for FY2024 as recommended by Town staff. The end-of-year(EOY)budget adjustments were to: 1. Transfer$25,000 from "Health Insurance"to "Property&Liability Insurance" 2. Transfer$9,500 from "Board of Health Contract Services"to "Board of Health Regular Wages" 3. Transfer$96,000 from "Multiple Lines -Town Manager&Land Use"to "Legal Services" 4. Transfer$15,000 from "Elections Seasonal P/T Wage"to "Elections Contract Services" 5. Transfer$8,000 from "Innovation&Technology Townwide Software Support"to "Innovation& Technology Overtime" 6. Increase the spending limit of the Compost Operations Revolving Fund by $65,000 from $875,000 to $940,000 The Committee voted to approve the EOY transfers for the requested budget line items, and to increase the spending limit for the Compost Operations Revolving Fund. 1 STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 Revenue Additional revenue has become available for appropriation since the budget was approved at the annual town meeting. Revenue Category From To Change New growth(General Fund) $ 3,000,000 $ 4,247,789 $ 1,247,789 New growth(Capital Stabilization Fund) $ — $ 2,526,677 $ 2,526,677 State aid $ 19,943,523 $ 20,451,907 $ 508,384 Cherry Sheet assessments $ (1,198,657) $ (1,203,708) $ (5,051) Snow and ice removal set aside (FY2024) $ (400,000) $ — $ 400,000 TOTAL $ 4,677,799 The Town's New Growth was certified by the state Dept. of Revenue at$6,774,465. The FY2025 budget estimated new growth conservatively at $3,000,000, resulting in $3,774,465 of unbudgeted new growth revenue. In the table above, this additional revenue is divided into two parts, with $1,247,789 flowing into the General Fund, and $2,526,677 being earmarked for the Capital Stabilization Fund (CSF). The rationale for the use of this additional new growth is explained below. The Town has adopted a policy for funding the Capital Stabilization Fund (CSF) that earmarks a portion of each year's new growth to build a recurring revenue stream. Earmarks from prior years are cumulative, meaning that the annual revenue stream is the sum of all prior earmarks. Each year, the size of the earmark is set based on the certified new growth revenue attributable to PSDUP and Hartwell Avenue building projects. This year that amount is $2,526,677,which derives largely from the new office building at 440 Bedford St. Combined with $4,036,373 of prior-year earmarked revenue that was already appropriated at the 2024 Annual Town Meeting,the revenue earmarked for the CSF will total $6,563,060. The remaining new growth revenue of$1,247,789 is not earmarked for recurring appropriation to the CSF, but it is proposed to incorporate this money into a one-time appropriation into the CSF under Article 3. State aid has come in higher than the projected amount of $19,943,523 by $508,384. The State cherry sheet assessment was revised upward by $(5,051) from the projected amount of$(1,198,657). An increased assessment reduces the Town's revenue. Finally, $400,000 that was set aside in the FY2024 budget for snow and ice removal was not needed,and that amount is now available. The changes yield a total of$4,677,799 above the estimated revenue for the FY2025 budget approved at the annual town meeting. The bulk of this new revenue will be appropriated into the CSF under Article 3, with a small portion funding requests in Articles 4 and 7. FY2026 The first Budget Summit for FY2026 was held on September 19, 2024. This was a joint meeting of the Select Board, School Committee, Capital Expenditures Committee and Appropriation Committee. The summit opened with a review of the financial results from FY2024 which concluded on June 30, 2024. The Committee has also participated in several Finance Summits focused on the high school project. Updates This report presents the official positions of the Committee as of the date of publication. The Committee will continue to meet as necessary prior to and during Town Meeting and it may revise its official positions based on new or updated information. The Committee also reports orally to Town Meeting on each article. The oral report summarizes the Committee's final recommendation. 2 STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 Warrant Article Analysis and Recommendations SPECIAL TOWN MEETING 2024-1 Article 2 Appropriate for Prior Years' Unpaid Bills Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation None N/A IP (9-0) As of publication, staff has not identified any unpaid bills from prior years.No action is required under this article. Article 3 Establish, Amend, Dissolve and Appropriate To and From Specified Stabilization Funds Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $4,362,799 Tax Levy Approve (9-0) Appropriations Requested From To Amount Tax Levy Capital Stabilization SF $4,362,799 This article requests an appropriation into the Capital Stabilization Fund (CSF). The size of the request is based on budget guidelines that are discussed in more detail below. The CSF was established as a repository of funds to mitigate debt service payments on future capital projects. In September 2021 at the Fall Fiscal Guidelines Summit, the Town Manager proposed, and the major boards and committees agreed on, a Capital Stabilization Funding Framework that would help to grow the CSF significantly in anticipation of the high school project. Taking advantage of robust growth in the Town's commercial tax base, the framework dedicates "new growth"revenue from certain new commercial developments (those in the Hartwell area and planned developments approved by Town Meeting) as a recurring revenue stream to fund annual appropriations into the CSF. This guideline has been applied from 2021 onward. At the 2024 ATM, $4,036,373 was appropriated into the CSF based on dedicated new growth revenue from FY2024 and FY2023. New growth in FY2025 includes $2,526,677 from developments earmarked under the CSF guideline. This revenue will be added to the dedicated annual appropriation into the CSF in this year and in future years. In addition, this article seeks to appropriate to the CSF, on a one-time basis, $1,836,122, which represents all other newly recognized revenue not otherwise proposed for appropriation at this STM. The sources of this new revenue are discussed in the Introduction, and the Town routinely appropriates one-time revenue not needed for any other purpose into the CSF. The sum of the newly dedicated revenue and the one-time revenue is$4,362,799. The primary capital project on the horizon that will draw on the CSF is the renovation or replacement of Lexington High School. On March 2, 2022, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) invited the Town of Lexington into the MSBA's Eligibility Period for a new or renovated Lexington High School. The project is currently in the later stages of Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Module 3 -Feasibility Study and, contingent on a future debt exclusion referendum, is expected to be completed in the 2030 to 2033 time frame. 3 STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 Article 4 Amend FY2025 Operating, Enterprise and CPA Budgets Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation See below See below Approve (9-0) At last spring's Annual Town Meeting (ATM), operating and enterprise fund budgets for FY2025 were presented and approved based on the FY2025 Recommended Budget and Financing Plan (RBFP). This article allows Town Meeting to adjust those budgets to account for developments which have occurred since the ATM. The Line column in the tables below references budget line items specified in the RBFP. There are no proposed changes to the CPA budget at this special town meeting. The Introduction of this report discusses additional revenue and available funds that support funding for these requests. Operating Budget Staff proposes three changes to the current year (FY2025) operating budget that was voted under Article 4 at the 2024 ATM. Please see a summary in the table below. The additional funds for Public Works Expenses would be used to purchase battery-powered equipment in order to comply with recently updated noise bylaws. The increase in the Town Manager Expenses line would be used to conduct a study of the Fire and Police Departments in order to understand how best to address heavy use of overtime in those departments. The additional funds for Finance Expenses would be used to backfill for an employee on parental leave. The total increase in the operating budget due to these three items is $215,000. Line From To Change 3300 Public Works Expenses (public grounds) $ 7,884,124 $ 7,954,124 $ 70,000 8210-8220 Town Manager Expenses $ 414,962 $ 534,962 $ 120,000 8400 Finance Expenses $ 510,260 $ 535,260 $ 25,000 Water/Wastewater Enterprise Funds Two categories of adjustments are proposed for the water and wastewater enterprise fund budgets. These adjustments are routine housekeeping matters made annually in response to updates from the MWRA. The first updates the appropriations for MWRA assessments. The appropriations made at the 2024 ATM for MWRA water and wastewater assessments were placeholders based on assumed increases of 10%. The revisions now requested amend the original appropriations to reflect the actual, final assessments issued by the MWRA in June. The adjusted numbers, much lower than the placeholders, reflect a combined decrease of 0.6%from the final water and wastewater assessments for FY2024. These revised appropriations will be used when the Select Board sets FY2025 water and wastewater rates this fall. Line From To Change 3620 MWRA Water Assessment $ 10,277,096 $ 8,432,204 $ (1,844,892) 3720 MWRA Wastewater Assessment $ 10,284,483 $ 9,153,352 $ (1,131,131) The second proposed adjustment updates the debt service appropriations made for the water and wastewater funds. The appropriations at the 2024 ATM were based on estimates of the debt service to be incurred in FY2025. The revised appropriations reflect the actual amounts finalized subsequent to the ATM. Line From To Change 3610 Water Fund Debt Service $ 1,386,157 $ 1,368,116 $ (18,041) 3710 Wastewater Fund Debt Service $ 1,592,858 $ 1,569,746 $ (23,112) 4 STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 Article 5 Appropriate for Authorized Capital Improvements Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $1,240,000 GF Debt Approve (7-2) At the 2023 ATM under Article 16(1) Solar Canopy & System Police Station, $3.4 million was approved for this project. Unexpected increases in the cost of the steel canopy and solar power components now require additional funding if the project is to be completed. Net-zero design The new Police Headquarters was designed and intended to operate as a net-zero facility, relying on power generated by photovoltaic cells (solar) to offset its electricity usage. The design calls for the installation of solar power arrays on the building and on canopies along the perimeter of Fletcher Park, as well as battery storage. The overall cost equation for the police station assumed that its operating costs would be significantly reduced by virtue of the solar power offset. As long as there is no solar power array,the facility cannot be net-zero, and the Town will pay standard utility rates for the electricity used in the police station. The Town plans to begin using fully electric vehicles as police cruisers. The new facility was designed for future electric vehicle charging, including six "level 2" regular speed chargers, and three "level 3" fast chargers, all of which will further increase the building's use of electricity. The Town wishes participate in the electric utility's "Connected Solutions" program allowing it to deliver stored battery power to the utility grid upon request. This program could generate up to $135,000 in annual revenue. The solar array and local battery storage could further reduce utility costs by shaving the peak electricity demand for the building. Finally,the battery storage would be available to briefly provide uninterrupted power to the police station during utility blackouts until the diesel-powered generator can come online. Timing and federal funding The timing of this request is based largely on a desire to complete all construction and site cleanup at the Police Headquarters in advance of the Semiquincentennial celebrations that will hit peak activity in April 2025. The outward appearance of the Police Station and Fletcher Park at the center of Town will affect visitor experience during an important time for tourism. Town staff believes that if construction can begin in January 2025, it will be completed in time. The nature of this request is unusual because the Town has already applied for a federal earmark to cover these expenses, and the Town's request was incorporated into a bill awaiting final approval. Unfortunately, that approval has been delayed and there is a risk that the outcome of the election could lead to cancelling the federal funding. This appropriation, which would authorize debt financing, was requested in order to establish a guaranteed funding source for the solar array project. Without such a backup, the Town cannot put the project out to bid before the federal funding is confirmed. If the federal grant is eventually confirmed, then this appropriation would not be needed and the debt authorization would be rescinded. If this appropriation is not approved, then the project will not proceed unless and until the federal funding is confirmed, or another source of funding is provided. This would likely delay the start of the project,meaning that it could not be completed before April 2025, so the start date would have to be pushed until after April 2025. Finally, once the project is completed,the Town would be able to apply for a federal reimbursement of 30%to 40% of the total project cost under the Inflation Reduction Act. Cost estimates and return on investment Some members of the Committee expressed concerns about the process that the Town followed when first determining the costs of the solar canopy project. The solar panels, batteries, canopy structures and other components were not originally put out to bid as a standalone project, and the initial pricing from the contractor working on the Police Headquarters project was not accepted because it was perceived as noncompetitive. In 5 STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 addition, earlier cost estimates did not anticipate the requirement for a more expensive method of steel construction that was later imposed by the Historic District Commission. Town staff have since made significant changes to the project to lower the construction costs, and this is reflected in the size of the appropriation being requested now. The updated design is awaiting review by the Historic District Commission. The complete project, including the steel canopy, solar panels and batteries, will now be put out for competitive bidding. For solar projects, it is important to understand the lifespan of the system and the expected return on investment (ROI). This includes the projected operating budget savings from net metering, along with annual revenue generation from battery power,which determine the expected number of years until the project pays for itself. Solar panels are expected to last 20 years, so an ROI period of about 5 years is considered favorable. However, without detailed bid responses, it is difficult to project the ROI for this project. Town staff have offered to present ROI calculations to the Select Board and this Committee once bids have been received, but once funding is approved the project can proceed regardless of the ROI figures. A majority of the Committee recommends approval of this request. A minority of the Committee feels that the funds needed for this project could be put to better use elsewhere in the Town budget, and/or that the rush to complete the project by April 2025 is unnecessary. Article 6 Establish, Amend and Continue Departmental Revolving Funds Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation None N/A Approve (9-0) This article seeks to rename the "Lab Animal Permit Applications/Inspections Revolving Fund" as the "Lab Inspections Revolving Fund" to better reflect the activities that will be conducted using this revolving fund. Receipts into the fund will be from lab permit application fees. The Health Director will continue to be responsible for the administration of the funds and may utilize consulting services to perform inspections of life science and research labs. This will require an amendment to Section 110-1 of the Code of Lexington. Article 7 Appropriate for Schematic Design Funds - Harrington Athletic Fields Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $100,000 Tax Levy Approve (9-0) This article requests funding from the Tax Levy for the survey, design, and engineering services for construction of athletic fields at 146 Maple Street, Central Office, adjacent to the Harrington School. It is anticipated that the final project design and project cost estimate will be completed in time for an appropriation request for construction funds at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting. The 2021-2022 Comprehensive Study of Athletic & Outdoor Recreation Fields identified the development of athletic fields at Harrington as the project with the greatest potential to increase the field inventory. The proposed design will include two full-sized fields situated to support concurrent independent use or single use for sports such as cricket, parking areas outside of school traffic lanes, and ADA-compliant access pathways that connect the parking areas to the different fields throughout the site. The design process will include an overall site assessment conducted collaboratively with the Department of Public Facilities in preparation for the demolition of the Central Office Building. The design process will also include community meetings with stakeholders and discussions to determine the best choice of playing surface. 6 STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 The Harrington Athletic Fields project is now proposed in FY2026 of the FY2025-FY2029 year 5-year capital plan. The project construction and timing is contingent on the approval and timing of demolition of the LPS Central Office building. Article 8 Delay Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Filing Resolution Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation None N/A Disapprove(0-8-1) Executive Summary The Committee is unanimous in recommending disapproval of the motion under this article. This executive summary covers a few highlights of our analysis. Current enrollment trends in lower grades suggest that high school enrollment could begin to decline over the next few years, but the current high school would remain significantly overcrowded for the next 5 years or more and unprepared to handle a large influx of new students. We agree that there is great uncertainty about the pace of development under the MBTA Communities zoning, and its future impact on school enrollment. Even if every development application submitted to the Town comes to fruition,the number of public school students that would live in the new units is difficult to project. In any case,the Town retains the ability to update its zoning bylaws in order to moderate future development. The current designs allow for expansion up to 2,895 students at 85% utilization, which could be pushed to 3,065 students at 90% utilization. At that point, rather than increasing the population of the high school, we believe the School Department would begin to consider redistributing the ninth grade to the middle schools to avoid having a single school with well over 3,000 students. Splitting the project into two major phases that are started years apart would likely increase the total project cost by a large amount, and there is no guarantee the MSBA would fund a second phase in a timely manner. The delay between phases would drastically increase the financial risks to the Town by extending the use of facilities at the current high school that are reaching, or have already passed, their end of life. The wait for a second phase means most of the existing issues in the current buildings would linger for an uncertain number of years. While the second phase remains completely unspecified, we expect it would involve a complete renewal of the remaining buildings. This negates any design options that are not in-place renewal, and it raises awkward questions for the design of the first phase. Imposing a multi-year delay between phases would ultimately degrade the educational experience for many more students,while increasing the time before the center athletic fields could be restored to regular use. Discussion The Appropriation Committee has sent a non-voting liaison to meetings of the School Building Committee (SBC) since its inception and has been following the project development closely since it began. We also heard from this article's proponent before the citizen's petition for this warrant article was filed. Over many years, the Committee has supported the high school project, and we have helped to shape financial policies that will enable this project to move forward. The motion under this article proposes a non-binding resolution with no direct financial impact, but we offer our perspective because the article envisions a retreat and a retrenchment from a major goal of the Town at a critical point in the project timeline, with major financial consequences. The proposed resolution asks the Select Board, the School Committee, the School Building Committee, and Lexington's state legislators to request a significant change in the ongoing MSBA-guided development process for Lexington High School in response to uncertainty about future school enrollment. Proponents note that construction of new residences under the MBTA Communities zoning will bring new families to Lexington, and this is certain to increase enrollment throughout the school system. Since the timing, distribution across grades, and overall 7 STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 magnitude of increases in school enrollment are difficult to predict, the proponents suggest delaying any major construction until the Town has better knowledge about the impending changes. This new approach would essentially discard all previously developed LHS designs that have been considered by the SBC, particularly where in-place renovation/reconstruction was not used. The project would be split into two phases, imposing a delay between the phases of from two to five years, and it would ask the MSBA to provide supplemental funding for both phases. The motion provides no details for either phase, but proponents have suggested that the first phase could address the current overcrowding at LHS by demolishing the World Language building and replacing it with a larger four story 172,000 sq. ft. building. Deficiencies in the remaining LHS buildings and any further response to enrollment changes would be addressed in the second phase. LHS enrollment A major point of concern for the proponents is the initiation of development for more than a thousand new dwelling units under the MBTA Communities zoning overlay districts adopted at the 2023 Annual Town Meeting. It is important to recognize that not all these developments will necessarily proceed to completion, and those that do may ultimately result in fewer units than described in their initial applications. Nevertheless, the number and scale of applications suggests that a notable growth wave is coming. In determining the target enrollment capacity for the new high school, it is important to analyze the potential for increased school enrollment arising from this residential development,which will impact every public school in Lexington. There are strong reasons to proceed with the current project designs using the target enrollment of 2,395 together with expansion space for up to 500 additional students, for a total nominal capacity of 2,895 students. • Lexington's elementary school (K-5) enrollment has dropped from 3,203 in June 2018 to 2,546 in October 2024, a decrease of just over 20%. Since the future high school population is largely fed by students from our elementary schools, this trend will tend to reduce LHS enrollment as the smaller cohorts advance through the grades. This will at least partially offset the influx of new students. The midpoint of the high school cohorts is grade 10.5, while for elementary schools it is grade 2.5, suggesting that high school enrollments, excluding additional students coming from newly built residences, would tend to follow a trend similar to that of the elementary schools but delayed about eight years. • While the pace of development under the MBTA Communities umbrella is faster than projected when Article 34 was approved,we do not yet know if this is a short-lived burst of development for properties that were ripe for"upgrade", or if the development will continue unabated. • The Town retains the authority to modify its zoning bylaws at future town meetings to reduce the pace of development. • One can envision scenarios in which a substantial numbers of MBTA Communities residences are built,but LHS enrollments do not exceed the limit of 2,895 students. There are currently 2,420 LHS students in a town with about 12,000 residences, a ratio of 0.2 high school students per residence (not accounting for the small number of non-resident students, e.g., METCO students). Under the MBTA Communities zoning, we anticipate many smaller dwelling units to be built, with a larger proportion of one- and two-bedroom units compared to the existing housing inventory. This suggests that the ratio of high school students from new developments may be less than or equal to the current ratio of 0.2 per dwelling unit. As an illustration, assume that 2,000 new units are built under the MBTA zoning and the ratio of high school students per unit holds steady at 0.2. If the number of high school students from existing residences declines by only 5% (compared with the actual 20% decline in elementary enrollments since 2018) then the high school enrollment would reach roughly 2,700 students, which is well within the expanded capacity options in the current designs. • Finally,the current high school has been struggling with overcrowding for years, and it is simply incapable of handling continued increases in enrollment. Core components that are already strained by overcrowding, such as the library, gym and cafeteria, would not be enlarged for years under the plan proposed by this motion. The need for a larger and redesigned high school is urgent and unavoidable. 8 STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 Expansion options in the current designs We know from experience that a large high school building has a great deal of flexibility in the number of students it can support. The current high school is at roughly 98% utilization, meaning that it is severely overcrowded. That's a real problem,yet even at this extreme the school continues to function. The target enrollment capacity of the new designs assumes a nominal 85% utilization of available classrooms and certain other spaces. Current designs include 20,000 sq. ft. for the School Administration ("Central Office"), but if necessary, that space could be converted into 12 classrooms to accommodate another 250 or so students. The designs also include an option for a future building addition that, combined with the space initially designated for the Central Office, would increase capacity by 500 students, for a total enrollment capacity of 2,895 at 85% classroom utilization. Increases above 2,895 students are still possible, but this implies a higher utilization level. At 90% utilization, the school would have 3,065 students, and at 95% utilization, the enrollment would hit 3,235 (an additional 340 students). In circumstances where the space utilization is 90% or less, the building would be somewhat overcrowded but would not be subject to the extreme overcrowding in the high school today. Both the Superintendent and the School Committee have expressed serious concerns about increasing the size of a high school beyond the maximum capacity of the proposed designs. In brief, the practicalities of operating a high school do not scale well with an enrollment in excess of 3,000 students. If enrollment continued to grow past that point,the Town would likely have to consider a new school building to offload enrollment from the high school. Delays and cost escalation Delaying the start of construction will be very costly,not only in terms of construction costs and soft costs, but also in the quality of education we are providing to public school students. Town staff has estimated that every year of delay would increase the total project cost by$15 to $20 million. Much of the infrastructure in the present high school, e.g., HVAC boilers, piping, control systems and roofs, are in poor condition and may fail at any time. Extending the time by years before those systems are replaced greatly increases the risk that the Town will face costly emergency repairs,while temporarily losing use of parts of the high school. There is no precedent in the history of MSBA funding for an extended two-stage project as proposed here. In other large multi-phase developments, the MSBA has required separate statements of interest, which must each undergo the complete formal MSBA process of review, development, and funding approvals. We waited patiently for several years before our current statement of interest was accepted by the MSBA. It could be five to ten or more years before they are ready to consider a second one from the Town. Problems with the two-stage concept Overcrowding creates problems in many areas of the existing high school, e.g., there is insufficient space for students to eat lunch in the cafeteria, the science labs are inadequate, choke points in hallways create major traffic jams,many classrooms are well below standard size,the gym is too small, etc. The construction of a 172,000 sq. ft. building could alleviate some overcrowding issues, but many fundamental problems related to core functions such as those provided in the cafeteria and gym would remain. It is not clear how the uses of the spaces built in the first stage would be coordinated with the uses of the spaces built in the second stage. If a 172,000 sq. ft. building constructed for the first stage includes supplementary eating and gym space, for example,then it is not clear what would become of those spaces once fully adequate eating and gym spaces are provided in the second phase. We have no clear idea of what a stage two might involve, but at a minimum it would have to address the remaining problems we have already identified that require attention today, necessitating an almost complete renewal of the facility. Furthermore, this stage two would presumably be implemented as a phased-in-place project. The current work by the design team has shown that: • Phased-in-place construction on the existing footprint is far more expensive than the alternative. • Multiple phases during a phased-in-place approach can almost double the construction timeline. • Phased-in-place construction is far more disruptive to the operation of the school, and to the education received by students during construction. 9 STM 2024-1 APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE 6 NOVEMBER 2024 Each of the two phases in the proposed concept would require modular classrooms and potentially other temporary structures be installed, likely on the athletic fields,before construction could begin. Impact on Athletic Fields Since even a phased-in-place construction project impacts the recreation complex fields due to construction access, lay-down areas, and the possible installation of geothermal wells, a longer project timeline with two stages implies that the nearby athletic fields would be impacted for a much longer time than in the current single stage concepts. One current design option would build on the fields, splitting the current athletic field complex into two areas with the high school sitting in between. The proponents of this article argue that the resulting loss of contiguity in the athletic field complex is qualitatively undesirable. However, no specific problems have been identified — the number and quality of the fields will be at least as good after completion of the project as they are now, and bathroom facilities to serve users of the fields on the Waltham St. side of a new building may be provided in the new building in this design option. Conclusion The Town cannot delay action on the high school project, in spite of the uncertainties we face. All the current SBC designs already provide sufficient enrollment capacity to handle the largest high school that the Town would want to operate. We are not convinced that a drastic change in strategy is required at this time. Rather, we assert that the strategy proposed in this article would produce highly undesirable results. Article 9 Resolution - Design Process of Crematory at Westview Cemetery Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation None N/A Approve (9-0) We first note that two members of the Appropriation Committee are proponents of this citizen's petition. Based on advice from Town Counsel, and with the agreement of the Moderator, these members were not required to recuse themselves from deliberations or voting on this recommendation. This resolution urges the Town to research, develop and present a plan to Town Meeting to construct a crematory as an addition to the Westview Cemetery building. Such an addition,which was envisioned in the design of the current cemetery building, would be able to provide regular cremations as well as suitable end-of-life ceremonies for several faith communities in our town. Based on the 2019 report of the Ad Hoc Crematory Study Committee (AHCSC), we understand that a new crematory facility would be a significant capital investment, and it might require ongoing operational support from the Town, particularly during the first few years of operation. For these reasons, the report recommended against proceeding with the project at the time. Notably absent from the 2019 report was information from our Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist communities regarding their experiences in meeting their religious end-of-life obligations. The proponents assert that the percentage of cremations is trending upwards at the national, state and local levels, and that providing a local crematory would be comparable to other end-of-life options currently available to our residents at Westview Cemetery. They also highlight the issue of cultural equity for those whose religious practices require them to witness the cremation of family members. We believe it would be reasonable for the Town to examine current market conditions and reconsider the need for a crematory facility in Lexington. The committee recommends approval of this motion, and we appreciate the proponents' willingness to coordinate this work under the Town's capital planning process. 10