HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-01-24-CEC-min Y Minutes of the
Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
January 24, 2018 (morning)
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Location and Time: Town Office Building, Reed Room (111); 7:45 A.M.
Members Present: Charles Lamb, Chair; David Kanter, Vice-Chair & Clerk;
Sandy Beebee; Rod Cole; Frank Smith; Wendy Manz (arrived at about 7:55 A.M.)
Members Absent: None
Others Present: Sergio DeMango, Engineer, Department of Public Facilities;
Peter Noonan, Executive Director, Supportive Living, Inc., (operates the Douglas House in
Lexington); Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary
Documents Presented:
• Notice of CEC Meeting, January 24, 2018
• CEC's Report to Budget Summit IV Highlighting this Committee's Concerns
Regarding the FY2019—FY2023 Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs) with Emphasis
on FY2019 Funding; prepared by Charles Lamb; January 24, 2018
• E-mail from Sergio DeMango to Colin Smith, architect, Re: Munroe Center
Windows/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Project; November 13, 2017
• Munroe School Budget Matrix prepared by Sergio DeMango; December 21, 2017
• FY2019—FY2023 CIP for 9 Oakland Street—Renovation and Adaptive Re-Use
• Draft #2 CEC Report to the 2018 Annual Town Meeting (ATM)
• Corrected Minutes of the CEC Meeting, December 13, 2017
• Draft #3 Minutes of the CEC Meeting, December 20, 2017
• Draft Minutes of the Cancelled CEC Meeting, January 17, 2018
Call to Order:
At 7:47 A.M., Mr. Lamb called the meeting to order.
Minutes:
A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Corrected Minutes of the CEC Meeting,
December 13, 2017. Vote: 5-0
Mr. Kanter read recommended edits for Draft #3 of the CEC Minutes for the
December 20, 2017 meeting. A Motion was made and seconded to approve said Minutes,
as revised. Vote: 5-0
Mr. Kanter read draft Minutes of the CEC Meeting, January 17, 2018. A Motion was made
and seconded to approve said Minutes. Vote:5-0
Member Concerns:
Mr. Kanter made two requests regarding email communications:
• Instead of using a Subject entry from an earlier e-mail string when changing the
purpose of new e-mail, use a new Subject entry. This helps when searching emails
for a particular subject matter.
• When an e-mail requests action, make sure only those receiving it for action are
included in the "To" addressing; others should be in the "CC" section.
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
January 24, 2018 (morning)
Mr. Kanter also affirmed that he still will not be sending out new versions of this
Committee's draft report for the ATM every time he receives new material for it, thus
reducing the number of versions that are fully distributed.
Upon Ms. Manz' arrival, she added her vote in favor of the earlier approval of the three
Minutes—which raises those votes to 6-0.
Review of Two Non-Town-sponsored projects that have been reported to the
Community Preservation Committee (CPC):
• Munroe Center for the Arts: Mr. DeMango reminded this Committee that $675,000
from the Town's Community Preservation Fund (CPF) had been appropriated at the
2017 ATM for the Munroe Center for the Arts: $620,000 to replace/repair windows
and $55,000 for upgrades under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Bids
exceeded the appropriation and DPF decided to manage the project in-house to
reduce costs. There is no request for additional funding, but the amount of funding
for each component is expected to change. Mr. DeMango has advised the Town
Manager, the CPC, and now this Committee of this anticipated adjustment. Although
the CPC did not need to vote on this change, its members expressed their support
for the new approach—as did the CEC members.
Mr. DeMango explained that the project includes asbestos removal and de-leading
of windows. There is a $10,000 abatement contingent. It is anticipated that the
Town's Commission on Disability will be pleased that the project now can include
installation of a lift and upgrades to the ramp.
• 9 Oakland Street—Renovation and Adaptive Re-Use of the Douglas House:
Mr. Noonan reported that the Trustees for Douglas House, which is a non-profit
facility for brain-damaged individuals, is requesting $200,000 from the CPF towards
a $425,000 project to make an annex at Douglas House structurally sound and
useable. Town Counsel has determined that the project is eligible for funding under
the CPA. Fund raising will be pursued to pay for the balance of the project.
Mr. Noonan added that a Dana Home grant is used to assist stroke victims. He also
noted that students provide free services at Douglas House as part of training for
their scholastic programs.
A Motion was made and seconded to support the 2018 ATM Article (currently
identified as 9(d)): 9 Oakland Street—Renovation and Adaptive Re-Use. Vote: 6-0
Prepare for Budget Summit IV:
Mr. Lamb summarized the comments he planned to share at this evening's Budget Summit.
Following a discussion of this Committee's concerns and how they are addressed, a Motion
was made and seconded to endorse Mr. Lamb's comments. Vote: 6-0
Continue discussion of the FY2019 budget-review cycle and the Committee's report
to the 2018 ATM and potentially also to a 2018-1 Special Town Meeting (STM-1):
The Committee reviewed a preliminary list of Articles, included in its Draft #2 CEC Report,
that might be in the Town Warrant for the 2018 ATM and a STM-1, that included
Mr. Kanter's suggestions for reporting, possibly reporting, and not reporting. After the
Committee's review, it endorsed retaining, at this time, all those Articles that were
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
January 24, 2018 (morning)
suggested for reporting or possible reporting. There were significant comments on the
following Articles:
• Article 6: Appropriate for Advice and Analysis-Getting to Net Zero: Likely to have
financial—including Capital—and staffing implications.
• Article 8: Authorize Departmental Revolving Fund Budgets: These could have a
capital element.
• Article 9: Appropriate for Community Preservation Committee Operating Budget and
CPA Projects; (a) Conservation Land Acquisition—TBD: This is not in the FY2017
Town Manager's Preliminary Budget & Financing Plan (White Book)—and
Mr. Kanter brought this to the attention of the Board of Selectmen (BoS) and the
Town Manager at the BoS' meeting on the previous Monday.
• Article 22: Appropriate to Post Employment Insurance Liability Fund: This has
Capital implications because this appropriation is discretionary; alternatively, the
funds could be allocated to the Capital Stabilization Fund.
• Article 33: Amend General Bylaw Make Lexington a "Welcoming, Inclusive, Safe
Community" (Citizen Article): Could amount to an unfunded liability involving Capital.
• Article 34: Resolution to Request Warrant Articles to be Accompanied by Financial
Projections (Citizen Article): It is not clear what is being requested.
• Article 41: Amend Wright Farm Parcel Split: The title to the Capital-funded land
needs to be changed, so that the housing is legally owned by the Lexington Housing
Assistance Board.
There was also discussion about the funding included in the White Book for these projects:
• Public Safety Radio Console Replacement: This Committee had recommended, and
still recommends, that the funding be in FY2019, rather than FY2020, to avoid risk.
• Lexington Community Center Expansion: Although the FY2019 funding is proposed
to be deferred (with follow-on funding still shown for FY2020 & FY2021), the
Committee believes any funding should be further deferred until this project is
explicitly included in an update to the Capital-cost modeling for future years and, in
any case, not until after the new Police Headquarters and the new/renovated High
School are fully funded. The Expansion project is estimated to be a major project—
likely on the order of $20+ million—which would warrant a Proposition 2'/2
Debt-Exclusion Referendum and that should not precede the Referendum that will
be needed for the High-School project.
• Lexington High School Upgrade: The Committee reiterated its concern as to whether
the projected initial appropriation for this project (shown for FY2022 with a "TBD" for
FY2023) is the correct timing if the School Committee maintains its intent to submit a
Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority on that project
in Calendar Year 2019. Also of concern, therefore, is whether the future-year
Capital-cost modeling can be constructive if the timing isn't correct and, in any case,
with the absence of estimated full-design and construction costs.
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
January 24, 2018 (morning)
Member Concerns and Liaison Reports:
Mr. Kanter reported on four recommendations/concerns that he had raised at the BoS'
January 22nd meeting—having made clear then that only the last reflects a Committee
position:
• Still awaiting the promised revisiting by the BoS of its funding policy for Other
Post-Employment Benefits.
• The General Stabilization Fund is now underfunded based on current policy.
• Noted that the Police Station FY2019 funding request does not include construction
documents.
• The delay in replacing the Public Safety Radio Console equipment exposes
Lexington to unwarranted risk.
Mr. Kanter reported that the Town plans to issue bonds on February 6th. He noted that most
vehicles are considered, for allowable bonding purposes, to have only a five-year life span,
but the just-put-in-service ladder truck is expected to last at least 10 years, so the BoS had
to vote to affirm that longer life span. He added that the Operating Budget for the Town
Manager's Office proposes funding for a Public Information Officer (a new position) and
including it received strong support from the BoS.
Review of Report Preparation Process:
Mr. Kanter noted that all the previously submitted front material for the report has been
incorporated into the Draft #2 Report. Missing pieces should be sent to him as soon as
practical and everyone should now be reviewing the Articles material that has been added.
He asked that "track changes" be used. This Committee would be taking straw votes on the
individual Articles at future meetings. A final vote would be taken on March 14th, and
March 16th if necessary—even if only to get the votes of members who didn't attend the
meeting on the 14th. The file should go to the Schools Print Center on March 18th for
printing then our distribution the next day. April 2nd has been identified by the Town
Manager as the first ATM session when financial Articles may be presented to the ATM.
It was agreed to cancel the currently planned January 31St meeting—with possibility also
not to hold the planned February 8th meeting—if the Committee would not be ready to have
useful discussion on the report by those dates and no other matter warranted a meeting.
Adjourn: A Motion was made and seconded at 9:19 A.M. to adjourn. Vote: 6-0
These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on February 21, 2018.
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