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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-06-16 SB-min SummitSummit Select Board, School Committee, Appropriation Committee, Capital Expenditures Committee and Planning Board June 16, 2025 The Summit was called to order by Select Board Chair Doug Lucente at 6:31 p.m. on Monday, June 16, 2025, via a hybrid meeting platform in Estabrook Hall, Cary Memorial Building, 1605 Massachusetts Avenue. Present for the Select Board (SB): Mr. Lucente, Chair; Mr. Pato; Ms. Hai; and Ms. Kumar as well as Mr. Bartha, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager: Ms. Kosnoff, Deputy Town Manager for Finance; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk Present for the School Committee (SC): Ms. Jay, Chair; Ms. Cuthbertson; and Ms. Lenihan Present for the Appropriation Committee (AC): Mr. Parker, Chair; Mr. Bartenstein; Mr. Levine; Mr. Michelson; Mr. Ahuja; Ms. Verma; and Ms. Yan Present for the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC): Mr. Lamb, Chair; Ms. Beebee; Mr. Cole; and Ms. Rhodes Present for the Planning Board (PB): Mr. Schanbacher, Chair; Mr. Creech, Mr. Hornig; and Ms. Thompson Also Present: Dr. Hackett, Superintendent of Schools; Ms. Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; Abby McCabe, Planning Director All boards and committee called their groups to order with a roll call of attendance. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. Residential Impact Study Debrief Mr. Bartha explained that this presentation is to update attendees on the status of several MBTA projects and provide a high-level review of the March 2025 residential development impact study prepared by Mark Fougere and Jeff Donahue. Ms. McCabe stated that 1,096 dwelling units have been approved by the Planning Board over the last two years since the 2023 zoning changes. They are almost all, except for ten, under the MBTA Zoning. No new applications have come in since March. There are two projects currently before the Planning Board, including one for 15 units and another for eight units. For all the projects that have gone through the Planning Board process, ten have been approved. If they all go forward according to their estimated timelines, 2027 will likely be the occupancy of most of these projects. Ms. Kosnoff stated that Lexington has a split tax rate, and so commercial properties and residential properties are charged at different rates, with commercial being higher. When new projects come online, especially these larger developments, they will initially be valued at an approximation of what their construction cost is. Going forward, the properties are valued based on whether or not they are apartment buildings or condominiums. If it is an apartment building, those properties will be valued on the income method. On the other hand, a condo, will be valued using the market or sales approach, based on similar types of units in Lexington that have sold recently. Mr. Bartha stated that, regarding potential impact on Town services, the key takeaway is that Emergency services may see a slightly higher impact than other departments. There are some operating costs for departments, such as DPW, which were not reflected in the report because they are not significant. Mr. Parker (AC) stated that his Committee submitted a memo on this topic. It included a general concern with the per student costs. The Committee feels that the estimate was not done very logically or with numbers that made sense. The Committee would like to see break points at which the Town would seriously have to consider capital investments. Mr. Levine (AC) stated that he believes the scope of the report is insufficient. The magnitude of the problem needs to be known first. A large fraction of the financial impacts of coming new housing has to do with new students moving into the district and paying to educate those students. The Foundation budget numbers are not marginal costs, and they were never intended to be marginal costs. They are not relevant to actual education spending per pupil in Lexington. Mr. Bartenstein (AC) stated that there is an addition of new residential homes that are above average price, which creates new substantial growth. As this is above average and at the high end of the valuation curve, it provides the Town an additional revenue, beyond 2.5%. The Town has also have benefited from significant commercial development, which has also been a boost to the annual revenue growth. From a macro level, there appears to be a major change in the proposal for how to develop the Town. The Town will now have apartment buildings and condominiums that will presumably be at or below the average valuation of other homes in Town. He stated that he believes the Town will see a declining amount of new revenue per new resident, which will create financial challenges to the budget. Mr. Michelson (AC) stated that the community needs to know at what point it will need new schools, or to increase the capacity of the water and sewer system, or to add more firefighters/police, or when the traffic will be overwhelming. It also needs to be determined how those items relate to population growth and how the number of new units translates into these break points. This information is not available in the report. Mr. Cole (CEC) suggested a breakpoint analysis and eventually a buildout analysis. Mr. Lamb (CEC) asked if fire trucks were taken into account. Mr. Fougere stated that only ambulances were considered. Mr. Lamb stated that a fire truck is sent on every medical call and therefore need to be accounted for in the impact analysis.Mr. Lamb also stated that there will be a breaking point where a third fire station is needed. Ms. Lenihan (SC) stated that many who can afford to move into affluent towns in the Commonwealth can also afford to send their children to private schools. This may be something faced by Lexington. The enrollment working group may want to consider looking into this. Ms. Jay (SC) stated that in the last couple of years, the Schools have seen an increase in more students with higher needs. This led to a situation of lower enrollment but much higher costs due to an increase in staffing levels to accommodate that. There is not extra revenue to cover these costs. Mr. Schanbacher (PB) stated that prior to Special Town Meeting in March, the pace of unit development was faster than the Planning Board anticipated. However, these projects take time to come online and so there is some time available to absorb some of these impacts. There is only one data point for apartments, which was from 15 years ago. The data is fairly limited on what impact any of these developments will have on the Town. As each building permit comes online, better data is achieved. Ms. Thompson (PB) stated that Special Town Meeting Article Two put a big slow down on development. Ms. Hai (SB) stated that she is not in favor of a buildout analysis, as this would require a lot of speculation. She asked about mixed-use development in terms of valuations. Ms. Kosnoff stated that there would be a total valuation of the building, with a commercial component of it broken out for that square footage. Ms. Kumar (SB) stated that she found the report to be informative and that it gives direction for the new units. This could be a basis for extrapolation for the future. The groups could consider at what volume the Town’s service needs will have need for additional expenditure, whether capital or operational. Mr. Pato (SB) stated that as the community evolves, its needs will change. These changes need to be articulated and assessed as to the cost and effort associated with accommodating them. The groups should also consider the values that the community has driving how to provide for that kind of change. Mr. Lucente stated that his main takeaways were tipping points and service levels. The Town’s population over the course of time has changed. The Town has done certain things over time to deal with that change. It is important to understand the tipping points for that change. Mr. Levine (AC) stated that, in terms of marginal costs for students entering the school system, there is not a single marginal cost. The marginal cost depends on the situation and how many students are coming in. This is a difficult analysis to begin with. The report largely agrees with the report of the Appropriation Committee to Special Town Meeting, and the memo the Committee released in February with regard to the property tax revenues and the projection of the number of new students that will come into the schools in approximately 1,100 units. The impact study extends the Committee's work in a number of useful ways. He liked the way the consultants interviewed department heads, received input, and presented it with detail. This was a worthwhile exercise. Mr. Bartenstein (AC) stated that he believes the Town should start considering how it may need to tighten or loosen its belt now, particularly related to the School budget. Mr. Ahuja (AC) asked about the Town’s liability if the existing level of service does not carry over to the new developments. Mr. Bartha stated that there are services in place to make sure that emergencies do not go unmet. Mr. Schanbacher (PB)stated that he has spoken in past meetings about how years of exclusionary zoning, single family zoning, has led to this point. The Town must now reconcile how to keep the services exclusionary zoning has allowed it to provide while creating and supporting the inclusionary zoning it claims to want. Mr. Lamb (CEC)stated that there has been discussion regarding maintaining reasonable services, but if school enrollment is added in, this could lead to a redistricting. There will be some big bang points along this process, but the incremental points can also be significant. Mr. Lucente stated that he feels the Human Services Department should be considered more closely as there are additional needs in the community. DOCUMENTS: MBTA Study Follow Up (June 2025), Lexington Residential Impact Report (April 2025) ADJOURN Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 by roll call to adjourn the meeting at 8:00p.m. The Appropriation Committee, Capital Expenditures Committee, School Committee and Planning Board followed suit. A true record; Attest: Kristan Patenaude Recording Secretary