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Home My WebLink About2025-02-27-AC-min 2/27/2025 AC Minutes 1 Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) February 27, 2025 Place and Time: Remote participation via a Zoom teleconferencing session that was open to the public; 7:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary; Anil Ahuja; John Bartenstein; Eric Michelson; Lily Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Fi- nance (non-voting, ex officio) Members Absent: Sean Osborne, Vinita Verma Other Attendees: David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee; Charles Hornig, Planning Board; Juan Cai At 7:33 p.m. Mr. Parker called the meeting to order and took attendance by roll call. All votes recorded below were conducted by roll call. Announcements and Liaison Reports Mr. Levine reported on the School Building Committee’s February 24 meeting at which options for the high school fieldhouse renovation/addition were discussed. Four options were presented ranging from $26 million for renovation only to $57 million for a more elaborate renovation and addition. The MSBA has requested that the SBC submit a single preferred option by a date in March. There was also a brief discussion of whether two options for the debt exclusion referendum would be of- fered. Two other topics covered at the SBC meeting were the potential use of mass timber and cost estimates for high school concepts advanced by community members. Mr. Ahuja reported on the Recreation Committee’s meeting at which options for the new fields at the old Harrington School site were discussed. The Lincoln Park field replacement project was put out to bid, with estimates ranging from $1.8 million to $2.4 million depending on what options are included. Ms. Kosnoff announced the publication of the “Brown Book”, the FY2026 Recommended Budget and Financing Plan. The timing means that Town Meeting may not take up financial articles until the second session on March 26, but the Moderator may still ask for committee reports on March 24. Future Meeting Schedule The next AC meetings will be on March 4 and March 13. Ms. Kosnoff will not be available on March 13 due to a conflict with the TMMA Information Session scheduled for that evening. Discussion of the Report to the 2025-1 Special Town Meeting Mr. Parker asked the Committee to review the Committee’s report in Wdesk. 2/27/2025 AC Minutes 2 Discussion of Articles at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting Article 4: FY2026 Operating Budget Ms. Kosnoff noted that GIC has provided updated information regarding increases for health insur- ance. The increases will be higher than in recent years. Premiums for active employee plans are ex- pected to increase by 10.5% to 14% while retiree Medicare plans are expected to rise by 7% to 8%. The Salary Adjustment account is a continuing balance account with a substantial balance. The rec- ommended budget does not include an appropriation into this account for FY2026. A one-time expense for extraordinary tree-pruning work will be appropriated in the Public Works operating budget. The funds will come from free cash. There may be a need make this item an an- nual expense, but that is not being considered at present. Article 6: Amend FY2025 Budgets The only anticipated amendment is a transfer into the Reserve Fund from the Recreation Enterprise Fund to restore funds transferred in August 2024 from the Reserve Fund to the Recreation Depart- ment to repair golf course water pumps. Article 23: Disposition of 116 Vine Street Mr. Michelson will reach out to Ms. Kowalski for further details on the RFP process. LexHAB is a potential bidder. Articles 26 & 27: Local Voting Rights for Non-Citizens & 16-Year-Olds Mr. Michelson presented cost considerations for these proposals, including administrative expenses for the Town Clerk’s office. He noted that similar home rule petitions have not progressed beyond committee at the state level. Mr. Ahuja commented that Green Card holders might face difficulty applying for citizenship if they have voted in a previous election. Consent Agenda for the 2025 Annual Town Meeting The Committee discussed an updated list of proposed items for the Consent Agenda. Ms. Kosnoff agreed to submit a revised list to the Moderator or Deputy Town Manager that would include some additional financial articles that have been on prior consent agendas. The latter may include the items in Article 12 parts (a), (e), and (l), and Article 16 parts (a) and (c). Minutes of Prior Meetings No minutes were ready for review. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Glenn P. Parker Approved: March 19, 2025 Exhibits ● Agenda, posted by Mr. Parker