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Home My WebLink About2025-03-19-SBC-min (Communications Working Group) Ip Iii°` MEETING NOTES DQi:Z1�.:.: ...IILi I�....li"rTil1�.:.J1R Meeting Date: March 19, 2025 Project Name: Lexington High School Project Number: Click or tap here to enter text. Subject: LHS Communications Working Group Meeting Attendees: Christina Dell Angelo (CA) DWMP Project Manager Mike Burton (MB) DWMP- Partner F Jacob Greco UG) DWMP -Assistant Project Manager Lorainne Finnegan (LF) SMMA - Principal in Charge Anoush Krafian (AK) SMMA - Assistant Project Manager Mark Barrett (MB2) LHS- Public Facilities Project Manager • Mike Cronin (MC) SBC Vice Chair & LPS Facility Director l Joe Pato �..__�J (JP) Select Board Julie Hackett UH) Superintendent Jon Himmel (JH2) PBC Chair F. Kathleen Lenihan_1 (KL) SBC Chair • Kseniya Slaysky (KS) SBC Community Representative Hsing Min Sha (HMS) SBC Community Representative • Jonas Miller UM) Communications Director Agenda Item Description 1. Introduction: Refer to attendees list. Verirrncairnt MaSSadhUseUs �rr�rnr.ri¢aire ��r�aFnrlhliu::u::ii r„r�rerrn 2. Old Business - The working group discussed the need for website updates, with J.Greco confirming he had addressed some outdated financial materials. J.Miller was asked to verify a page issue, which K.Lenihan had identified. C.Dell Angelo reported that the Forum was still in progress, with some slides needing final confirmation from DPF. K.Slaysky suggested adding more details about the Forum's agenda to the website or Facebook post to help attendees decide whether to attend. 3. New Business - J.Pato suggested publishing a list of frequently asked questions or topics on the website, with M.Burton agreeing that most questions revolved around cost and size. J.Miller proposed adding a general question about community interests, which included sustainability, interior design, and traffic mitigation. The team agreed to prepare for these topics during the meeting. - M.Burton suggested the creation of an interactive tool to understand tax impacts, similar to one seen on other projects. J.Pato agreed that they would be putting up such a tool,but the numbers were not yet firm enough to assign a cost. He also suggested that the tool could be ready by June but was concerned about providing individual bills based on current numbers. K.Slaysky proposed a table or chart instead, which could be updated more quickly and would include disclaimers. J.Pato agreed to take this suggestion away but did not want to promise anything until they were further along. A question about why taxes have gone up more than the cost of living was raised, but J.Miller suggested it was beyond the project's scope. - The meeting involved a discussion about the town's financial situation and the need for a more holistic approach to presenting information to the public. K.Slaysky suggested that the school project could be used as a portal to educate people about town government, and that joint presentations with other committees could provide a more complete picture. J.Pato Page 2 of 4 agreed to take this suggestion to the Board and the financial summit. C.Dell Angelo reminded the group about the upcoming community meetings scheduled for May 21 st and June 17th, where they would provide updates on the schematic design phase and the total project budget numbers. - M.Burton raised a question about an article in the Lexington Observer, which he believed contained incorrect tax impact information. J.Pato agreed to review the article, noting that the numbers seemed high. J.Miller clarified that the article's author is not a journalist but a knowledgeable columnist, and the Observer should label his pieces as such. K.Slaysky brought up the potential for questions about the impacts of federal changes on the project, and M.Burton confirmed that they have a consolidated response to such questions. M.Cronin questioned the tax bill figures used in C.Kosnoff s budget and financing report, and J.Pato confirmed that they are the published figures. 4. General Communications - The working group discussed meeting dates, including May 21st, June 17th, and August 13th. They also mentioned an abutter meeting on April 8th. J.Miller suggested that the SBC should not be solely responsible for educating people on the town's financial scheme, and J.Pato agreed, taking it as a homework assignment to organize the communication path and bring people on board. - The group discussed the upcoming meeting format and content. K.Lemhan suggested a physical layout for the meeting, with SBC members seated in the front rows. M.Burton confirmed that the questions submitted in advance would be presented as they were submitted. J.Pato emphasized the importance of content clarity in the questions and suggested outlining the plan for future meetings. K.Lenihan agreed to include the meeting dates in her reminders and confirmed the dates for the next few meetings. - The team also discussed the current cost of the project, which was around $662 million, and the need for further mitigation plans. 5. FAQs Page 3 of 4 6. Close Sincerely, 11)URllf °ii° III°III III F`TIIllllii: Jacob Greco Assistant Project Manager Cc: Attendees, File The above is my summation of our meeting. If you have any additions and/or corrections, please contact me for incorporation into these minutes Page 4 of 4