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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-03-01-AC-min 03/01/2018 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) March 11) 2018 Place and Time: Parker Room, Town Office Building, 7:30 p.m. Members Present: John Bartenstein, Chair; Alan Levine, Vice-Chair & Secretary; Ellen Basch, Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier; Sanjay Padaki; Andrei Radulescu-Banu; Lily Manhua Yan; Ran Helen Yang; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex-officio) Member(s)Absent: None Other Attendees: David Kanter, Vice-Chair and Clerk, Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC); Mark Sandeen, Chair, Sustainable Lexington Committee; Mark Andersen, Town Meeting Member The meeting was called to order at 7:36 p.m. 1. FY2019 Budget issues • Article 35, Citizen Article, Resolution to Request Warrant Articles to be Accompanied by Financial Projections: Mr. Andersen,proponent for this article, used a handout to explain the purpose of the article and the current problems that would be addressed by this article, while identifying some of the details that have not yet been fully developed. The general concept is for Town Meeting members to receive a completed template for most financial articles that would increase clarity, consistency and efficiency. The article would be a resolution that would not be binding, but he anticipated that it would set expectations and encourage proponents to provide the requested information. During the ensuing discussion, members of the AC expressed support for the intent of the proposal but had some reservations about certain aspects of it,particularly related to implementation details. • Article 7: Appropriate for Advice and Analysis—Getting to Net Zero: Mr. Sandeen explained the following: The FY2019 appropriation request is the last of three requests for $40,000 each for this project. It is currently estimated that a total of$90,000 will be expended to complete the project, with the balance being returned to the Town. ➢ A consultant was used to generate a report on best practices for reducing building emissions. This report took as a starting point a similar report prepared by the City of Cambridge, at a much higher cost of approximately$250,000. In 2016, the Peregrine Group was contracted to prepare a Town energy inventory for carbon emissions, which was presented to Town Meeting in 2017. The next step is to continue to contract with the Peregrine group to develop an annual tracking tool for the Town energy inventory. Subsequently, opportunities for reducing carbon emissions will be reported to the Board of Selectmen (BoS). The objective is for the town to reach net zero emissions, not net zero energy use; it is expected that new building codes will eventually have to be put in place to require net zero emissions, but the effort to change building codes could take as long as a decade. 1 03/01/2018 AC Minutes While the current focus has been on commercial buildings, Lexington participated in a National Grid program to help residents upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties. The level of participation by residents resulted in Lexington receiving a grant of approximately$41,000 from National Grid. :s- Residents have also benefited from the Lexington Community Choice Program, which was able to provide businesses and residents with electricity generated 100% from renewable sources at a lower cost than the Basic Service Rate charged by Eversource. On average, this has resulted in electricity bills being lower by $18.57/month/household. The RFP for the Community Choice Program is published after EverSource proposes its Basic Service Rate, but before the rate is approved by the Mass. Department of Public Utilities. RFP responses have an incentive in providing a quote lower than the proposed EverSource Basic Service Rate, while providing the generation mix desired by the Town. If no quotes come lower, the Town can still pick the EverSource Basic Service Rate. It is likely that the Community Choice Program will continue to be able to provide electricity generated in high proportion from renewables at beneficial rates to the residents. It was agreed that Mr. Sandeen should report on the positive results of the project to the ATM, even if the article is included on the Town Moderator's Consent Agenda. A motion was made and seconded to support Article 7 for $40,000, as discussed. The motion passed. VOTE: 9-0 • Article 11, Westview Cemetery Building Construction: Mr. Padaki discussed his write up on this project and reviewed supporting background information. Although it is expected that the sale of burial plots would be used to cover associated costs, there was discussion about the adequacy of the Cemetery Sale of Lots Fund to cover the anticipated 20-year debt service. Ms. Kosnoff agreed to review and provide additional information. Some suggestions for the write-up in the report were made. A motion was made and seconded to support Article 11 for $3,040,000, as discussed. The motion passed. VOTE: 9-0 Article 4, FY2019 Operating Budget-Minuteman Regional Technical High School (Minuteman Tech): Mr. Michelson explained that the $2,126,217 being requested in this article represents Lexington's assessment for FY2019, which is 27.3% greater than the FY2018 assessment. The increase was driven in part by an increase in Lexington's rolling enrollment from 48 students to 49.6 students, and in part by a cost per student increase of approximately 9.0%. The debt service for the replacement building increased from $207,000 to $477,000. Mr. Michelson explained that, after the new building opens in the fall of 2019, the number of member towns may increase, which would likely generate an increase in in- district enrollments and reduce assessments. Ms. Yan expressed concern about the assessment increase and wanted to abstain at this time. It was noted that Lexington has an obligation to pay this assessment. A motion was made and seconded to support Line 1200 in Article 4: Minuteman Tech, as discussed. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0-1 2 03/01/2018 AC Minutes 2. Consent Agenda Using lists of potential Consent Agenda items approved by the BoS and/or the CEC, this Committee determined the items it would support for inclusion. Only items that were supported unanimously were included per instructions from the Town Moderator. The following articles were approved for the Consent Agenda. VOTE: 9-0 for each one. • Article 6, Appropriate for Senior Service Program: Since there appear to be considerably more than enough carryover funds in this continuing balance account to support the runout of the current fiscal year and all reasonably foreseeable expenses for next year, this Committee believes that this article should be Indefinitely Postponed(IP'd) for this year and would support its inclusion on the Consent Agenda on that basis. • Article 7, Appropriate for Advice and Analysis—Getting to Net Zero • Article 10: Appropriate for FY2019 Community Preservation Committee Operating Budget and Community Preservation Act Projects; only the following sub-sections: 10(a), Conservation Land Acquisition (to be IP'd) 10(c), Archives and Record Management 10(k), CPA Debt Service 10(l), CPA Administrative Budget • Article 15, Appropriate for Recreation Capital Projects • Article 16, Appropriate for Municipal Capital Projects and Equipment; only the following sub-sections 16(d), Townwide Culvert Replacement 16(g), Sidewalk Improvements 16(m), Transportation Mitigation • Article 17, Appropriate for Water System Improvements • Article 18, Appropriate for Wastewater System Improvements • Article 20, Public Facilities Capital; only the following sub-sections: 20b, Public Facilities Bid Documents 20c, Facility and Site Improvements 20e, Municipal Building Envelopes and Systems 20g School Building Envelopes and Systems 20i, Public Facilitv Mechanical/Electrical System Replacements • Article 25, Rescind Prior Borrowing Authorizations 3 03/01/2018 AC Minutes • Article 28, Appropriate from Debt Service Stabilization Fund It was noted that certain articles receiving a yes vote for the Consent Agenda had not yet been reviewed, discussed, or voted on by this Committee, but based on past experience, they seemed to be reasonable candidates for inclusion. It was understood that if there is any question about their inclusion at a later date, they can be removed. During the approval process of the Consent Agenda items, it was noted that Article 27: Appropriate to Stabilization Fund was included on the BoS' list to be IP'd, but this did not have the support of the CEC. Mr. Kanter explained his personal opposition to the BoS' position. Using a handout, he reported that, in 2006, guidelines were adopted to bring the Stabilization Fund up to 7% of the prior year's General Fund revenues to protect the Town against reduced state aid and declining local receipts. The fund is currently well below that threshold. Mr. Kanter reported that he is currently considering presentation to the ATM of an amendment that would infuse $1.0 million into the Stabilization Fund and reduce the funds currently being considered for the Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB)Fund accordingly. During discussion it was noted that several stabilization funds have been established since 2006,perhaps changing the need for such funding of the Stabilization Fund, and the OPEB Fund gets a higher rate of return than the Stabilization Fund. There was general support for revisiting the guideline. 3. Report to 2018 Annual Town Meeting Logistics for completing the report were reviewed. Mr. Michelson will be out-of-town March 17-26, returning in time to attend ATM on March 26. Ms. Kosnoff will be out-of- town March 22-25. It was noted that the BoS plan to discuss the Visitors' Center at their March 19 meeting; an effort is being made for this Committee to get information about this project before March 19 to assist in writing the report, although tradition dictates that such information is first presented to the BoS. 4. Next Meetings AC meetings are scheduled for March 8 (Hudson Room), March 15 (Hudson Room), and March 22 (Parker Room). If necessary, a meeting will be also held on March 13. Items for next week's agenda were identified. This Committee is scheduled to meet on March 26 prior to the ATM and vote on the final report. The report is expected to be distributed electronically the following day and printed copies will be available prior to the second day of ATM, which will be approximately a week before financial articles are addressed. 5. Minutes A motion was made and seconded to approve the February 8, 2018 Minutes. The motion passed. VOTE: 9-0 The meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Approved.- March 15, 2018 4 03/01/2018 AC Minutes Exhibits Agenda, posted by John Bartenstein, Chair 2018 ATM, Potential Consent Agenda Articles, Board of Selectmen Review—February 12, 2018 • CEC Nominations for 2018 ATM Consent Agenda as unanimously voted by the CEC at its meeting on 21 Feb 2018 • Article 35: Resolution to Request Warrant Articles to be Accompanied by Financial Projections; PowerPoint prepared by Mr. Andersen • Article 11: Westview Cemetery Building Construction Supporting Information,Prepared by Mr. Padaki, February 23, 2018 • Stabilization Fund History, extract from the FY2018 Recommended Budget &Financing Plan ("Brown Book"), Page C-3 (distributed by Mr. Kanter) 5