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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-03-22-AC-min 03/22/2018 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) March 22, 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, Richard Neumeier; Sanjay Padaki; Andrei Radulescu-Banu; Lily Manhua Yan; Jian Helen Yang Member(s)Absent: Eric Michelson; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non- voting, ex-officio) Other Attendees: Dawn McKenna, Chair, Tourism Committee; David Kanter, Chair, Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC); Carl Valente, Town Manager; Suzie Barry, Chair, Board of Selectmen(BoS) The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. 1. Minutes A motion was made and seconded to approve this Committee's draft minutes for March 15, 2018. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 2. Announcements Mr. Padaki noted that a Town Meeting member had asked about discrepancies in the 2016 actuals reported in the FY2019 Recommended Budget and Financing Plan (aka: Brown Book) as compared to the FY2018 Brown Book. He is waiting for an explanation from Ms. Kosnoff. Mr. Bartenstein suggested that internal reviews, audits, and/or Department of Revenue reviews probably resulted in changes to the actuals. Ms. Basch reported that the $75,000 request for Article 10(i) Old Reservoir Bathhouse Design includes a feasibility study, design development, and construction documents. 3. FY2019 Budget issues and Report to 2018 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) on Financially- Related Warrant Articles The following article was reviewed in preparation for this Committee's report to the ATM: Article 22: Visitors' Center Funding: Mr. Bartenstein reported that Deborah Brown, Town Moderator, had decided to bring Article 22 to Town Meeting floor on April 2. Ms. McKenna reported that design development on a new visitors' center was complete except for some final details, including inclusion of an additional toilet on the lower level and selecting the outside color for the building. The cost estimate is $4.5 million, which includes $200,000 for completing design development and construction documents, about $25,000 for swing space, and funds for an exhibit designer. Swing space options are being explored. The Board of Selectmen is supporting the project 4-1 and the CEC is supporting it 4-2. The Selectman in opposition would prefer to wait to appropriate construction funding until after it is determined whether some potential outside construction funding becomes available. Mr. Kanter reported that the minority on the CEC would like construction documents completed before construction funds are appropriated, consistent with standard procedure. 1 03/22/2018 AC Minutes There was discussion about funding $200,000 for construction documents at this ATM and waiting until a fall Special Town Meeting to consider construction funding. It was noted that if the Town received grant money after an appropriation, the Town would issue a bond for less than the appropriation. In response to questions, Ms. McKenna reported that none of the alternative funding sources that are being pursued would be impacted by postponing the vote for construction funds. She added that this will be the fourth time this project is brought to Town Meeting, all stakeholders are now supportive, value engineering has been completed,past delays have resulted in increased costs, and it is important to arrange for swing space in the near future if the project is to begin in the spring of 2019 as currently scheduled. She noted that the new facility would indirectly increase tax revenue for the Town by helping local businesses. She also explained that if the appropriation request were to fail this spring, there would be time to go back to a fall 2018 Special Time Meeting (STM) and keep the project on schedule. This would not be true if the project failed at a fall 2018 STM. Mr. Padaki explained that he opposes the project based on his support for having completed construction documents before appropriating construction funds. There was discussion about an additional $200,000 being needed to cover staffing of a temporary location during construction. Staffing costs are normally covered by income from the Visitors' Center store, but such revenue cannot be assumed during construction when operating the store will be disrupted. A motion was made and seconded to support an appropriation of$4.5 million for Article 22. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-1 Mr. Valente arrived later in the meeting and explain that$4.575 is needed for construction and possible renovations for swing space, of which$200,000 would be from"free cash" and the remainder would be borrowed. Because the project isn't scheduled to start until May 2019, the impact on staffing expenses would be negligible in FY2019; the FY2020 operating budget will need to address the revenue loss at the 2019 ATM. Mr. Neumeier added his votes in support of the following articles: • Article 4, Appropriate FY2019 Operating Budget Line 1100 School Expenses • Article 8, Appropriate to Create Diversity Advisory Task Force • Article 10, Appropriate the FY2019 Community Preservation Committee (CPC) Operating Budget and Community Preservation Act(CPA) Projects: ➢ (b) Community Center Sidewalk ➢ (c)Archives &Records Management/Records Conservation &Preservation ➢ (d) 9 Oakland Street Renovation and Adaptive Re-Use ➢ (e) Public Grounds Irrigation Improvements ➢ (f) Playground Replacement Program Bowman School ➢ (g)Athletic Facility Lighting ➢ (h) Center Track and Field Reconstruction ➢ (i) Old Reservoir Bathhouse Design ➢ (k) CPA Debt Service ➢ (l)Administrative Budget • Article 12, Appropriate for Lexington Children's Place Construction • Article 13, Appropriate,for 45 Bedford Street/Fire Station Replacement 2 03/22/2018 AC Minutes • Article 16, Appropriate for Municipal Capital Projects and Equipment: ➢ (a)Hydrant Replacement Program,- (b) rogram;(b) Storm Drainage Improvements and NPDES compliance ➢ (c) Comprehensive Watershed Stormwater Management Study and Implementation; ➢ (d) Townwide Culvert Replacement ➢ (e), Center Streetscape Improvements-Design ➢ (g) Sidewalk Improvements ➢ (h) Equipment Replacement; ➢ (i) Townwide Signalization Improvements ➢ (j)Pelham Road Sidewalk and Roadway Improvements ➢ (k) Street Improvements ➢ (l)Hartwell Area TMOD Plan Update ➢ (m) Transportation Mitigation ➢ (n)Municipal Technology Improvement Program ➢ (o)Application Implementation ➢ (p)Network Core Equipment Replacement ➢ (q)Police Radio Console Equipment Replacement: • Article 19, Appropriate for School Capital Projects and Equipment • Article 20, Appropriate for Public Facilities Capital Projects: ➢ (a)Meeting Room High Definition Broadcasting Upgrade ➢ (b) Public Facilities Bid Documents ➢ (c) Facility and Site Improvements ➢ (d) Public Service Building Vehicle Storage Area-Floor Drainage System ➢ (e)Municipal Building Envelopes and Systems ➢ (g) School Building Envelopes and Systems ➢ (h)LHS Security Upgrade ➢ (i)Public Facilities Mechanical/Electrical System Replacements • Article 22, Visitors' Center Funding • Article 24, Appropriate to Post-Employment Insurance Liability Fund • Article 28, Amend FY2018 Operating, Enterprise and CPA Budgets • Article 37, Accept Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59, Clause 5Y2 Mr. Neumeier added his vote opposing the following article: • Article 21, Appropriate to Reimburse Resident for Sewer Back Up (Citizen Article) It is expected that the following articles will be indefinite postponed (IP'd) and therefore do not require comments by this Committee: • Article 16(e), Center Streetscape Improvements-Design • Article 16(f), Automatic Meter Reading System • Article 23, Appropriate for Visitors Center (Citizen Article) • Article 35, Resolution to Request Warrant Articles to be Accompanied by Financial Projections (Citizen Article) The following articles were reviewed in preparation for this Committee's report to the ATM: 3 03/22/2018 AC Minutes • Article 4, Appropriate FY2019 Operating Budget: A motion was made and seconded to support Article 4. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 • Article 25, Rescind Prior Borrowing Authorizations: Mr. Kanter provided a current list of prior authorizations slated to be rescinded. A motion was made and seconded to support Article 25. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 • Article 26, Establish, Dissolve and Appropriate to and from Specified Stabilization Funds: A motion was made and seconded to support Article 26. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 • Article 37, Accept Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59, Clause 5C%: It was reported that the BoS had voted to support increasing the benefit amount of all personal property tax exemptions to 100%. A motion was made and seconded to re-vote this article, supporting a 100%increase in the personal property tax exemptions. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 • Appendix A: There was a brief discussion/updatc regarding Appendix A. Mr. Bartenstein reviewed articles that had notably different voting positions by this Committee as compared to the CEC, as follows: • Article 10(d), Appropriate the FY2019 Community Preservation Committee (CPC) Operating Budget and CPA Projects, 9 Oakland Street-Renovation and Adaptive Re-Use: The CEC has unanimously supported this article, while an earlier vote by this Committee supported it 6-3. Mr. Bartenstein noted that CPA funding had been previously used to renovate this historic building. He asked whether any of those in opposition were interested in reconsidering. Those in opposition reconfirmed their position that, while this is a worthwhile project, CPA funds should not be used for it because it is not a town-owned facility. • Article 11, Appropriate for Westview Cemetery Building Construction: Mr. Kanter reported that the CEC unanimously opposes this article because design development and construction documents are not yet available, and there are previous appropriations available to fund these two stages. The current appropriation request is based on schematic design estimates. Mr. Valente, who arrived during this discussion, noted that this is not a complex construction project, and the BoS are unanimously supporting it. A motion was made and seconded to re-vote on this Committee's support for Article 11. The motion passed. VOTE: 5-3 • Article 106), Appropriate the FY2019 Community Preservation Committee (CPC) Operating Budget and CPA Projects, Lowell Street/Farmview Affordable Housing Supplemental Funds: Mr. Levine recused himself from participating in this discussion and vote because of a possible conflict of interest. It was noted that the CEC is unanimously supporting this article. Ms. Basch reviewed the opposition's position and asked Mr. Valente to explain the extraordinary increase in per-unit construction cost compared with last year. Mr. Valente explained that the plan is to build two triplexes, in which units will be Americans with Disabilities Act accessible. The projected cost per unit is higher than for past affordable housing units because this is new construction, the units will be highly energy efficient, the labor cost includes prevailing wages, and the public procurement process requires filing of sub-bids as well as using Division of Capital Asset Management 4 03/22/2018 AC Minutes and Maintenance (DCAMM) certified contractors. The latter means that it is impractical to use Minuteman Tech students, who have helped minimize costs of past projects. Sometimes, the number of bids received on a project is small. The lack of competition drives up the project cost. For example, the recent Munroe building roof renovation project received only one bid. There was discussion about the advantages of having developers include affordable housing units in their building projects. Mr. Valente noted that there are policy issues when negotiating with a developer. A motion was made and seconded to re-vote on this Committee's support for Article 160). The motion failed. VOTE: 3-4-1 Mr. Bartenstein reviewed plans for finalizing the report before this Committee's meeting on March 26 at 6:30 p.m.,just prior to the start of the ATM. Mr. Michelson will be available that evening so that his votes can be incorporated. 4. Report on Town of Lexington Legal Expenses: Mr. Bartenstein reminded this Committee that,based on Mr. Neumeier's periodic reports that the Town could reduce its legal expenses by hiring in-house counsel, this Committee had: • Included a comment in this Committee's 2017 report to the ATM supporting a review of alternatives for procuring legal services. • Submitted to the BoS for its June 2017 goal setting session a recommendation to conduct a study of possible cost-saving measures for legal services, a recommendation that was not adopted. • Asked Mr. Neumeier to prepare a report documenting his research and logic for supporting the use of in-house counsel. While forwarding his report to this Committee prior to this meeting, Mr. Neumeier asked that this subject be part of tonight's agenda. Mr. Neumeier reported that he had met with Mr. Valente and Ms. Barry last March. During the discussion, Mr. Valente commented that there was no available office space in the Town Office Building. Mr. Neumeier noted that he considered this to be a positive situation because it would protect the in-house lawyer from random access by Town employees and residents. Mr. Neumeier noted that he may bring a motion to this Committee to support a reduction to Line Item 8120, in the operating budget, which is for legal services, noting that not all legal expenses are included in this line item. Mr. Bartenstein suggested that there wasn't time for this Committee to take up this issue before this Committee's report goes to be printed next week, and it would be best to discuss this issue after ATM is complete. Ms. Yang suggested that a more thorough review of the operating budget after the ATM might help identify a variety of cost saving measures. It was also suggested that Mr. Neumeier could add a comment in this year's report to the ATM similar to the one included in 2017. The meeting adjourned at 10:27 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary 5 03/22/2018 AC Minutes Approved.- April 2, 2018 Exhibits • Agenda, posted by John Bartenstein, Chair • Jennifer Hewitt, Budget Officer, email to Mr. Kanter, March 22, 2018, Subject: Initial List of Rescinded Authorizations • Richard Neumeier's Report to the Appropriation Committee Regarding Options for Procuring Legal Services 6