HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-04-11 BOS-min
Selectmen – April 11, 2018
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Selectmen’s Meeting
April 11, 2018
A meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen was called to order at 6:08 p.m. on Wednesday,
April 11, 2018 in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room of the Town Office Building. Ms. Barry,
Chair; Mr. Pato; Mr. Lucente; and Ms. Hai were present as well as Mr. Valente, Town Manager
(delayed arrival); Ms. Axtell, Assistant Town Manager; and Ms. Siebert, Recording Secretary.
Ms. Ciccolo was absent.
Selectmen Concerns and Liaison Reports
Ms. Hai reported she attended an informative Pelham Road abutters meeting at which Facilities
Director Mike Cronin provided a Lexington Children’s Place construction updates.
Application for a Common Victualer License—Abbott’s Frozen Custard
The Board was asked to consider a request for a Common Victuallers License for
Abbott's Frozen Custard. Proprietor Jason Denoncourt was present to answer questions.
The Board of Appeals granted a Special Permit on March 8, 2018 which will require renewal
prior to the expiration on March 8, 2023. The Building Department has completed inspections
and issued a Certificate of Occupancy. Health Department final inspections are scheduled on
Thursday April 12, 2018.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to approve a Common
Victuallers License for Abbott's Frozen Custard, 1853 Massachusetts Avenue for the hours
of 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday - Sunday, pending final approval from the Health
Department.
Mr. Valente arrived at this point in the meeting.
Review Town Meeting Motions
Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, presented information about four 2018
Annual Town Meeting motions.
Article 25: Rescind Prior Borrowing Authorizations
Ms. Kosnoff identified Article 25 as a standard housekeeping item for old borrowing
authorizations that were not fully expended; a similar article is presented at each Annual Town
Meeting. The projects associated with the items are now complete:
# 16……….2017 Annual Town Meeting LHS Nurses Office and Treatment Space……$7,677
# 15H..…... 2016 Annual Town Meeting Munroe School Roof………………………$140,450
# 16C……..2015 Annual Town Meeting Additional Time Clock System Funds…… $208,000
# 11B……. 2015 Annual Town Meeting DPW Equipment…………………………... $47,355
# 6………...Special Town Meeting 2015-2 High School Modular Classrooms……… $22,000
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All four Selectmen supported the motion as written.
Article 29: Appropriate for Prior Years’ Unpaid Bills
There are no prior year bills. All four Selectmen supported indefinite postponement.
Article 30: Amend FY2018 Operating, Enterprise, and CPA Budgets
Ms. Kosnoff recommended three Operating budget adjustments and one Water Enterprise Fund
budget adjustment.
# 2120……………. Non-Contributory Retirement: Adjust from $14,620 to $14,650.
This item is related to the COLA increase that was voted at Annual Town Meeting 2017; one
retiree was not accounted for and the total needs to be amended.
# 7100……………. Land Use Personal Service: Adjust from $1,868,974 to $1,854,974.
# 7100……………. Land Use Expenses: Adjust from $495,738 to $552,238
These two items are related to the Hartwell North zoning project. The Land Use department is
requesting funds for Phase 2, which includes a fiscal impact analysis; a financing plan; zoning
and design consulting services; and a legal review. Grant funding will cover some Phase 2
expenses but Ms. Kosnoff asked that the Selectmen approve the remaining $42,530 from the
General Fund/Free Cash.
# 8400……………. Finance Personal Services: Adjust from $1,394,395 to $1,349,395
# 8400……………. Finance Expenses: Adjust from $485,630 to $530,630
Ms. Kosnoff asked that an even swap of $45,000 be made between Personal Services and
Expenses. An expense for contracted services was incurred due to the long-term Town
Accountant vacancy.
Ms. Barry recused herself on Article 30 because her mother is a retiree of the Town. Mr.
Lucente, Mr. Pato, and Ms. Hai supported the motion as written.
Article 31: Appropriate for Authorized Capital Projects
Ms. Kosnoff stated there are no requests for additional funding for existing Capital projects and
the article can be indefinitely postponed. All four Selectmen agreed with this action.
Annual Town Meeting 2018 the Planning Board intends to make a presentation, explaining why
it supports passage of Article 42. If the article fails to garner a 2/3 majority vote, the article could
not come back for consideration for two years unless it receives a positive vote from the
Planning Board.
Mr. Pato said he would normally choose to refer the matter back to the Planning Board but he is
not sure, without additional support resources, that the Planning Board would be able to move
forward the article forward in time for the fall 2018 Special Town Meeting. Mr. Pato noted that
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Special Permit reform has been a high priority of the Board of Selectmen for the last two years;
given that, he is open to referring the article back to the Selectmen instead of the Planning Board.
The Selectmen could choose to set up an ad hoc committee or work instead with the proponent to
amend the current motion for a fall Town Meeting vote.
Ms. Hai said she wants to make sure that the recipient board will move the initiative forward. If
the Planning Board and staff are at capacity, can the Selectmen provide the needed resources?
Mr. Valente said use of Planning staff to further the initiative is one option but doing so might
slow down progress on the Comprehensive Plan. A second option would be hire consulting
expertise to provide technical support for an ad hoc committee. Ms. Hai said she would be in
favor of whichever option ensures a quality and timely outcome.
Mr. Lucente said a community conversation needs to take place about the goals and purposes of
the Special Permits; he does not believe technical adjustments alone will satisfy the need for a
unified vision of development diversification. To put a community process into place, he prefers
referring the matter back to the Selectmen.
Dawn McKenna, Precinct 6 Town Meeting member, agreed, saying that without a common
understanding of goals, Special Permitting reform initiatives such as Article 42 are apt to fail.
She believes the Selectmen are the best people to guide the process forward.
David Kanter, Precinct 7 Town Meeting member, noted that the Planning Board has voted 4-1 to
support Article 42. Further, the Planning Board has stated there is not enough time before fall
Special Town Meeting to revise the article, given the Comprehensive Plan work. Mr. Kanter
believes that since the Planning Board will retain discretionary approval on the accessibility
component of Special Permitting, amendments to Article 42 are possible after it passes Town
Meeting.
Diane Biglow, Precinct 8 Town Meeting member, believes there are a wealth of people in town
who understand Special Permitting issues and could serve on an ad hoc committee.
Ms. Barry asked if funding would be available to hire outside consultants. Mr. Valente said, he
would first like to discuss the approach with the Planning Director and Assistant Town Manager
for Development but both the Selectmen’s and Town Manager’s budgets contain funds for
contingencies such as this. Policy work could be started before a consultant is on board; outside
help would focus on the technical aspects of writing the zoning language. Ms. Barry noted that
consultants could understanding is that the projects would be free to go forward until an
alternative bylaw is filed. Ms. Barry noted general uncertainty about the number of projects
affected.
Article Positions and Presenters
On the Town Meeting agenda tonight are Articles 39, 40, 45, 42.
Mr. Pato said he believes there has been substantial confusion about Article 42—Amend Zoning
Bylaw for Special Permit. Because of this, he believes it would be best to clarify at the start of
the discussion that the Board intends to offer a substitute motion that would refer the matter back
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to committee for further study. It was noted that the article’s proponent, Matt Daggett, has not
expressed an interest in either a referral or an indefinite postponement. Mr. Valente reported that
Mr. Lucente said he is comfortable recommending that the article be referred back to the
Selectmen and he would support the concept of setting up an ad hoc committee, assisted by an
outside consultant. Mr. Pato agreed, adding that the current motion has problematic language that
should be addressed. He does not want to approve a bylaw that inhibits incentives for creating
more diverse housing and he fears this would happen with the current motion. Because zoning
bylaws require a 2/3 majority, Mr. Pato does not believe zoning should be attempted casually or
under the presumption that Town Meeting will amend it in a few months. He wants to firmly
target fall Special Town Meeting for the revised motion. Ms. Hai said she is not fully
comfortable with either option but, of the two, will support referral because it is a better policy to
fix problems first than to pass a flawed bylaw with the intent to fix it later. Additionally, citizens
are confused about what is included in the current motion. Ms. Barry agreed that the motion
needs more time to be vetted and that policy should be made carefully.
Mr. Pato said, in his presentation of the article, he will make clear that the Selectmen intend to
offer a substitute motion to refer the article back to the Board of Selectmen once there has been
some discussion. The other Selectmen said they would support this approach to guard against the
question being called before the substitute motion is on the table.
Mr. Valente asked what the Board’s position would be if the substitute motion failed. Board
members agreed they would not alternatively support the current motion. If the current motion
failed, the Board would still want to offer resources to move the matter forward for the fall.
Discuss Discovery Day Participation
Mr. Lucente and Ms. Hai will not be available for Discovery Day. Mr. Pato and Ms. Ciccolo are
available; Ms. Barry can participate until 1:00 p.m.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to participate in the
2018 Discovery Day program on Saturday, May 26, 2018.
Review Selectmen 2018 Liaison Assignments
Ms. Hai will become the Energy Conservation Committee liaison, replacing Mr. Lucente.
Lexington will assume the HATS chairmanship on April 26, 2018.
The list was amended to include Ms. Ciccolo as ad hoc 40C Committee liaison.
Discuss Schedule for Upcoming Meetings
Hartwell North Zoning Community meeting will take place Wednesday, May 30, 2018;
Center Streetscape Community meeting will take place Monday, June 11, 2018;
Automated Recycling Option Community Meeting will take place September 26, 2018;
Fall Special Town Meeting—Hold nights of November 13,14,15 (two nights are likely);
The second June Selectmen’s meeting will take place June 25, not June 18 (Mr. Lucente
out of town on June 25);
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also help with public outreach.
Ms. Hai asked what would happen to projects already in the pipeline if the matter is referred
back to committee. Mr. Valente said he would double check with Town Counsel but the Board of
Selectmen/School Committee meeting was rescheduled to May 2 rather than April 26 due to a
conflict with an important HATS meeting.
Town Manager Appointments and Resignations
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to approve the Town
Manager's re-appointment of Ruth Ladd to the Conservation Commission for a term to expire
March 31, 2021. Ms. Ladd’s ethics training is up-to-date.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to approve the Town
Manager’s appointments of Sudhir Kumar Jain and John Zhao to the Council on Aging. Sudhir
Kumar Jain will be filling the unexpired term of Marion D. de B. Kilson. His term will end May
31, 2019. John Zhao will be filling an upcoming open position that was previously held by
Sophia Ho. Mr. Zhao's appointment will begin June 1, 2018 and expire May 31, 2021.
Selectmen—Committee Appointment and Resignation
Mr. Pato asked that the Board defer the appointment of a Lexington Arts and Crafts member to
the Historic District Commission until he has been able to interview the second of two members
nominated. The matter will come back before the Board on April 23, 2018.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to accept the
resignation of Charles Mabardy from the Ad Hoc Residential Exemption Policy Study
Committee, effective immediately. The Board extended its thanks and appreciation to Mr.
Mabardy for his time and effort in serving the Lexington community.
Ms. Barry noted that all those not chosen to serve on the ad hoc Residential Study Committee
have been contacted to ascertain their willingness to remain on the list in case a vacancy occurs.
The names of those who expressed continued interest will be forwarded to the Selectmen. Ms.
Hai asked that she be sent the list of those actively serving since the committee configuration
predates her arrival on the Board.
Review Chamber of Commerce Use of Visitors Center
With Town Meeting's approval of the Visitors Center building project, staff is working to
finalize the non tax-revenue funding sources. One such source is a monthly payment from the
Chamber of Commerce, which would like to occupy an office on the second floor of the new
building. The proposed payment agreement of $300/month is based on an $18/SF rate which
was identified by the Office of Assessors as the viable charge for such space.
Mr. Lucente said the lease amount seems low. Mr. Pato said he does not object to the price but
would like to verify with a commercial real estate broker that it is fair market rent. Ms. Hai
agreed, adding that, with the controversy over the cost of the new building, she wants to make
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sure the space is appropriately priced. Ms. Barry said she is happy that the Town and Chamber
have a strong working relationship but asked that the rate be reviewed.
Dawn McKenna, Tourism Committee chair, said she consulted with a realtor when developing a
funding plan for the new Visitors Center. In her analysis, the expected Chamber rent was indeed
pegged higher than $300. She believes the Assessors rates are consistently lower than actual
market rate. She said she would not have a problem if the Board decided to reduce the market
rate for the Chamber but she would also like to maximize the Center’s revenue.
Consent Agenda
Approve and Sign Proclamations
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to approve and sign a
proclamation for the Minuteman Cane Award to be presented on Patriots’ Day, Monday, April
16, 2018.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to approve and sign a
proclamation for Bike Walk ‘N’ Bus Week, May 12-20, 2018.
2018 Outstanding Youth of Lexington Awards
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to sign commendation
letters for the 2018 Outstanding Youth of Lexington Awards to be presented Monday, April 16,
2018.
Approve One-Day Liquor License
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to approve and sign a
one-day liquor license for the Human Services department and the Friends of the Council on
Aging for Friday, June 29, 2018 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. for the purpose of a fundraiser event being
held at the Community Center, 39 Marrett Road.
Approve Lexington Education Foundation Water Bill Insert
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to approve the
Lexington Education Foundation Water Bill insert.
Adjourn
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selection voted 4-0 to adjourn at 7:05 p.m.
A true record; Attest:
Kim Siebert
Recording Secretary