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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-06-23 SB-minSELECT BOARD MEETING Monday, June 23, 2025 A meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 6:30p.m. on Monday, June 23, 2025, via a hybrid meeting platform. Mr. Lucente, Chair; Mr. Pato, Ms. Hai, Mr. Sandeen, and Ms. Kumar, were present, as well as Mr. Bartha, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. PUBLIC COMMENTS Peter Kelley, 24 Forest Street, expressed his concern of the Lexington High School project Bloom design being built on park land. He stated he recalled this land was deeded for parks and recreation from Augusta Scott in 1915. It is valued for its size, location, and sight lines across multiple activities. Placing a 60’ tall building in the middle of it would destroy its uniqueness. This is very unnecessary. This land is also protected under Article 97. When looking at the Bloom proposal, the Board should apply common sense. Dawn McKenna, 9 Hancock Street, stated that engagement of the public has long been cherished by this community. She said she feel the Select Board should always allow public comment on all items. Time limits should also be reevaluated and considered based on public interest of an item, and agendas can be designed to accommodate that input. She also noted country is celebrating the 250th through 2026. It is important that the Town take this momentum and keep Lexington’s 250 celebration going into 2026. Regular events need to be organized, supported, and posted so that the Town can continue to reap the benefits for years to come. SELECT BOARD MEMBER CONCERNS AND LIAISON REPORTS 1. Select Board Member Announcements and Liaison Reports No additional comments at this time. TOWN MANAGER REPORT 1. Town Manager Weekly Update Mr. Bartha referenced the recent successful workshop. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approve: Proclamations To approve and sign a proclamation recognizing the month of July annually as National Minority Mental Health Awareness. To approve and sign a proclamation recognizing July 8, 2025 as Massachusetts Emancipation Day aka Quock Walker Day in the Town of Lexington. DOCUMENTS: 06232025 BIPOC Mental Health Awarness Proclamation, 06232025 Massachusetts Emancipation Day aka Quock Walker Day Proclamation 2. Approve: Town Manager Appointments To confirm the Town Manager's appointment of Sandra Hackman to the Council on Aging with a term set to expire May 31, 2028 and Andrea Jackson and Sean Bridgeo to the Recreation Committee with terms set to expire May 31, 2028. DOCUMENTS: Hackman-Application-COA, Hackman-Resume-COA, Jackson-Application-Rec, Jackson-CV -Resume, Bridgeo-Application-Rec, Bridgeo-CV -Rec. 3. Accept: LexHab Committee Appointments To confirm the LexHAB Board of Directors appointments as submitted in their memo dated June 11, 2025. DOCUMENTS: Memo for Select Board confirmation of LexHab appointments 4. Approve: Select Board Committee Reappointments To reappoint Police Chief Mike McLean as Keeper of the Lockup for a one-year term ending on June 30, 2026. To reappoint Kim Katzenback as Executive Clerk to the Select Board for a one-year term ending on June 30, 2026. To reappoint Linda Dixon, David Grabel, Mary Hutton, and Susan Stering to the Town Celebrations Committee for a three-year term ending on June 30, 2028. To reappoint Sudha Balasuryan, Brianna Bennet-Karshbaum, Bonnie L. Karshbaum, James Jackson Lee III, Pamela Winters, and Hong Xie to the Town Celebrations Subcommittee for a one-year term ending on June 30, 2026. To reappoint Jill Hai to the Minuteman Advisory Group for Interlocal Coordination (MAGIC) for a one- year term ending on June 30, 2026. To reappoint Jeanne Krieger, Katheryn A. Roy and Mark Sandeen to the Community Preservation Committee both for a two-year term ending on June 30, 2027. 5. Accept: Select Board Committee Resignation To accept the resignation of Suzie Barry from the Semiquincentennial Commission effective June 30, 2025. DOCUMENTS: 2025.06.11 Suzie Barry - Semiquincentennial Commission_Redacted 6. Approve: Water and Sewer Commitments To approve Water and Sewer Commitments/Finals April 2025 in the amount of $18,584.88. DOCUMENTS: commit 18584.88 7. Approve: Entertainment License - Association of Black Citizens of Lexington, Visitor Center Lawn To approve an Entertainment License for the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington for the 5th Annual Quock Walker Day Community Celebration on Saturday, July 5, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 2:20 PM on the Visitors Center Lawn, 1875 Massachusetts Avenue, including live performances, recorded music, and poetry readings. DOCUMENTS: Quock Walker Day - Event Diagram 8. Approve: Eagle Scout Commendation Letters - Hakan Bendlin & San Wang To approve and sign a letters of commendation congratulating Hakan Bendlin and Sam Wang of Boy Scout Troop 160 for attaining the highest rank of Eagle in scouting. DOCUMENTS: Eagle Letter - Hakan Bendlin – 160, Eagle Letter - Sam Wang - 160 9. Approve: Regulatory Agreement for 28 Meriam Street To approve the regulatory agreement for Edgewood at Meriam Hill, 28 Meriam Street, between the Town of Lexington, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and 28 Meriam St, Lexington LLC as proposed and further to authorize the Town Manager to execute the agreement. DOCUMENTS: Meriam Street Lexington Regulatory Agreement 10. Approve: Placement of Temporary Signs at Lincoln Field and/or Center Track Field - Lexington High School Girls Soccer Boosters To approve the request from the LHS Girls Soccer Boosters for the placement of temporary signs at Lincoln Field and/or Center Track Field consistent with the Recreation Committee's approval and conditions outlined in the Recreation Committee memo dated May 23, 2025. DOCUMENTS: LHS Girls Soccer Booster - request to Select Board, Recreation Committee Memo of Approval VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 to approve the Consent Agenda. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. Lexington Civic Academy Graduation Abe Fofanah, Management Fellow, reviewed the Lexington Civic Academy, now in its 16th session. At Lexington Civic Academy, residents met for 12 weeks to learn about local government, specifically, the role each department plays in serving the public. The goal of the program is citizen engagement. The program is designed to connect residents with the Select Board and Town staff, as well as encouraging participation on Town committees/boards and as Town Meeting Members. Jean McDermott, 10 Field Road and participant of the Academy, spoke about the importance of democracy during the process. The Academy participant list was read. DOCUMENTS: Civic Academy Spring 2025 Participant List 2. Update: Waste Reduction Task Force Maggie Peard, Sustainability and Resiliency Officer, provided an update from the Waste Reduction Task Force, including an overview of the proposed edits to the Residential Solid Waste Regulation, a proposed bulky item fee schedule, and next steps. She explained that the Task Force created a Waste Bin Survey. Over 1,400 households or 12.5% of households served by the trash collection program were surveyed. 98.6% of households put out either zero, one or two bins, with only 1.3% of households putting out three bins, and 0.1% putting out four bins. The most common bin size was 35 gallons but there were many of larger sizes as well. Regarding the number of recycling bins per household, the majority are putting out one, but plenty are also putting out two or more. On average, households in Lexington produce 38.4 gallons of trash per week. Ms. Peard explained that the current solid waste regulations have a trash bin limit of six bins per household. This is a large outlier in terms of what other communities have, as many have limits of one, two, or three bins. Lowering the number of bins is an incremental step to move towards automated collection, or hybrid pay-as-you-throw programs. The substantive changes include eliminating a trash bin size limit which is not currently enforced. The regulations currently limit to a 35-gallon bin, but, per the survey, there are many bins larger than that. The proposal is also to change the maximum number of trash bins from six to two. Mr. Pinnsoneault noted that, due to the six-barrel limit, there are grants that the Town is not eligible to receive. Mr. Pinnsoneault reviewed the draft fee schedule. This was passed by Town Meeting, but, at the time, the Select Board decided not to institute any of the fees. As a result of that, these numbers are currently in the budget. Ms. Peard noted that Mass DEP has a Technical Assistance Grant for communities considering pay-as- you-throw. It provides 80 hours of their staff support time to help with engagement, materials, and a plan for implementation. This could be applied for in the fall. If there is continued support for this proposal, the bylaws currently state that there should be a free place to dispose of rubbish. This would need to be amended before implementing a hybrid pay-as-you-throw system. The proposal is to bring a bylaw amendment to Annual Town Meeting 2026. At that Town Meeting, there would also be a request for appropriation for standard waste carts for the roll out of an automated collection. Ms. Hai asked about language to address for multifamily housing. Ms. Kumar suggested leaving a baseline service which contains everything that the Town currently does but with reduced limits, such as weight or number of bins. There could then be a fee for anything that goes beyond the limits. Mr. Sandeen suggested that the E-Z pass automated system could be something to model the pay-you-as- throw program after. He also asked about having mixed sized bin allowances. Ms. Peard agreed that this could be considered with the help of Mass DEP. Mr. Pato stated that the hybrid path is important. This is not just a transition to payment. The rate of increase of trash disposal costs is going up significantly. The hybrid system will lead to taxes not increasing as quickly and, as they pay for the additional amounts, they will more directly notice how much waste they are contributing. This should lead to direct incentives to find alternative ways of reusing, repurposing, or disposing through sharing environments. Mr. Lucente agreed that the language “pay-as-you-throw” is a bit confusing and may be misleading, as it is truly, “pay-if-you-throw-too-much.” Dawn McKenna, 9 Hancock St, agreed that going from six bins to two bins seems to be too much at first. The bulky fee item is a concern. If it is already in the budget, then there should not yet be a discussion to remove them from the FY26 budget. Automatic pickup may be a large issue due to the rolling carts necessary. Laura Swain, 29 Locust Ave, stated that she recently used the bulky waste service and found it easy to do. She is slightly disappointed that the bulky fees would be implemented in a delayed fashion. It will be important to align residents’ interests with the Town’s costs and interests. Cindy Arens, 7 Kitson Park Drive, Chair of the Sustainable Lexington Committee and a member of the Waste Reduction Task Force, stated that she heard concern expressed regarding limiting bin size and that leading to waste that might attract pests at people’s houses. She stated that a good solution would be signing up for weekly curbside food waste pickup. She noted that any of the proposed programs would include assistance for income limited households. DOCUMENTS: Presentation, Draft Fee Schedule, DRAFT Residential Solid Waste Regulations_Redline 3. Update: Community Choice Low-Income Discount from Solar Partnership Ms. Peard and Paul Gromer, Peregrine Energy Group, provided an update to the Board regarding a Community Choice Low-Income Community Solar program. Mr. Lucente asked how the term “low-income” is defined for this program. Mr. Gromer stated that this is defined by Eversource’s low income rate. The same qualification mechanism would be used to qualify. This would include an income-based qualification. If one is eligible for certain benefit programs, that person becomes eligible for this program. A large benefit is receiving 40% discount off the bill. Mr. Pato asked about what happens if there are more kilowatt hours consumed than there are funds in the escrow account. Mr. Gromer explained that an estimate of the solar production is made and monitored over time. If there was more demand than originally anticipated, the amount of the discount would be reduced. Ms. Hai asked who carries the risk if the program is not funded in next year’s budget and the Town holds a multiyear contract. Mr. Gromer stated that the core promise of the Town is to distribute to low-income customers money that it receives. If no money is received, there is no money that the Town is obligated to distribute. Cindy Arens stated that the Sustainable Lexington Committee is excited to get this program going. The Committee will keep reaching out to the community in hopes of finding residents that qualify for the program. Mr. Sandeen noted that Town Counsel has drafted the agreement in such a way that if the solar developer had another project that would qualify it could be added in the future. DOCUMENTS: Lexington Community Choice and Low-Income Community Solar 4. Update: Capital Projects & Solar Canopy Integration Policy (CSIP) Ms. Peard explained that the proposed Capital Projects & Solar Canopy Integration Policy (CSIP) seeks to cement a process for integrating the evaluation, design, and installation of solar canopies into Lexington’s non-building capital projects. It does not seek to be an exhaustive solar policy for the Town, rather it solidifies a workflow to both maximize solar on feasible capital projects (e.g. parking lots) and reduce delays to the underlying capital project. The policy has been reviewed by the Department of Public Facilities, the Department of Public Works, the Recreation Department, the Recreation Committee, the Sustainable Lexington Committee, and the Capital Expenditures Committee. There was discussion regarding how the feasibility is determined for certain items. Mr. Sandeen suggested a one-year pilot for the program in order to come back with statistically significant data to move forward with. Dawn McKenna, 9 Hancock St, stated that she has noticed that over the last several years the decision making about land use and when to pursue these types of projects has gotten away from the Select Board. There should be specific language included which states that it is the Select Board's responsibility to decide whether projects go forward. DOCUMENTS: DRAFT Capital Solar Integration Policy, Attachment A Lex Solar Screening 5. Update: Plan of Action for Potential Amendments to the Battle Green Use Policy Mr. Pato explained that the goal of this discussion is to revise regulations for preserving public safety on and protection of the Battle Green without compromising the opportunity for spontaneous public expression. He proposed three parallel activities that he would undertake, with assistance from Ms. Hai. First is to review with the Police Department and DPW the safety and maintenance challenges that were driving the need for clarity regarding group use of the Battle Green area. The second activity is for discussions with small groups and individuals in the community regarding how they would look to use and/or preserve the Battle Green in order to formulate a set of concerns expressed by residents. That input would then help draft any proposed regulations for Chapter 187 Article 9. Dawn McKenna, 9 Hancock St, stated that she hopes the Board will also agree to look at the entire regulations recommended for the use of the Battle Green, not just around this one issue. She stated that it will be important to speak with the neighbors around the Battle Green. Charlie Bauer, 2 Oakland St, complimented the Police Department regarding the June 14th matter. He expressed interest in participating in outreach for this item. 6. Request for Approval: Lexington Council for the Arts' Request to Paint Additional Town-Owned Utility Box Alix Fox, Co-Chair Lexington Council for the Arts, explained that the Lexington Council for the Arts respectfully requests to paint a Town-owned utility box located at Lincoln Park. This has already been discussed with Melissa Battite, Recreation Department Director. Ms. Battite stated that the Recreation Department has approved this request. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 to approve the request from the Lexington Council for the Arts to paint the Lincoln Park Utility Box, with the condition that the painting can only commence after the October 30, 2025, Utility Box Warranty expiration date. DOCUMENTS: Request Memo to paint utility box ADJOURN VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 to adjourn at 8:43p.m. A true record; Attest: Kristan Patenaude Recording Secretary