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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-01-10-CEC-min.exec Minutes of the c Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting January 10, 2017 (Executive Session) APRIL 1911 �INti„'47�r-: Location and Time: Town Offices Building, Reed Room; 7:30 A.M. Members Present: Jill Hai, Chair; David Kanter, Vice-Chair & Clerk; Rod Cole; Charles Lamb; Wendy Manz Members Absent: None Others Present: Carl Valente, Town Manager; Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Carolyn Kosnoff, pending Assistant Town Manager for Finance Document Presented: Notice/Agenda of CEC Public Meeting, January 10, 2017 Call to Order: At 7:30 A.M., after Ms. Hai had called the meeting to order in Open Session, she declared that an Executive Session is warranted under the Open Meeting Law Exemption 6 to consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property as the discussion in an Open Meeting may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Town. She moved to go into Executive Session with the others present with the intention to reconvene in an Open Session to continue with other business of this Committee, It was seconded, the members of this Committee were individually polled (Vote: 5-0), and Ms. Hai declared this Committee is now in Executive Session. Mr. Valente reported that the Town is in negotiations regarding three Lexington properties, as follows: • Judges Road Affordable Housing Units: There are 16 affordable-housing units that were built approximately 50 years ago as a Chapter 40B housing project. Organized as a Cooperative, 11 units are owned and 5 are rented. The original financing will be paid in 2019, and the owners are interested in converting their 11 units into a market-value condominium while selling the five rental units to the Town's Lexington Housing Assistance Board (LexHAB) or to the Lexington Housing Authority. Town Counsel believes that all the units must remain affordable in perpetuity. The unit owners believe there should be compensation for the decreased value if they are prohibited from selling their units at full market value. The Cooperative has applied for a MassHousing loan to help with renovating the 11 units, but the status of the units must be resolved before that financing could move forward. Negotiations continue between the Town and the Cooperative. The Town is estimating a cost to purchase the five rental units, to upgrade those units, and to provide compensation for limits on the re-sale value of the 11 owned units. This would keep all 16 units in the number of Lexington's affordable housing on the State's Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) and thus help toward providing the Town protection under Chapter 40B. Funding of this has been discussed with the Community Preservation Committee and it has a placeholder for Community Preservation Act funding for these purposes. If the negotiations are successful, a request for the appropriation would likely be included in a Special Town Meeting to be held along with the 2017 Annual Town Meeting (ATM). Page 1 of 2 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting January 10, 2017 (Executive Session) This Committee expressed its preliminary support for this action assuming that all 16 units would remain on the SHI and that the Town's purchase would only be the five rental units. • Additional Parking Lot Owned by the Scottish Rite: After the Town purchased what is now the LexCC from the Scottish Rite, the Scottish Rite converted a pine-grove area at the end of its main parking area into additional parking, at a cost of approximately $300,000, with the understanding that it, too, could be used by both entities. (It is covered under an easement granted to the Town for use by those visiting the Lexington Community Center (LexCC).) Experience indicates that the additional parking is heavily used by only the LexCC patrons. The Scottish Rite has asked the Town to purchase that area for $400,000. There are three things of interest to the Town that would involve the Scottish Rite: ➢ Construction of a sidewalk from Marrett Road to the LexCC that, in part, would cross some Scottish Rite property; ➢ LexCC signage on the Scottish Rite wall near the joint-use driveway; and ➢ Use of the joint-use portion of the driveway owned by the Scottish Rite for additional traffic that may be generated by a connection between the 20 Pelham Road property (which the Town is pursuing ownership) and LexCC property. If the Town does purchase the 20 Pelham Road property for at least a new Lexington Children's Place facility, a roadway connection through to the Community Center Parking lot, which would provide egress to Marrett Road, is considered advisable. A proposed $425,000 funding request to the 2017 ATM (which includes $25,000 for legal and other ancillary costs) from the general fund is in his FY2018 Preliminary Budget & Financing Plan that has been presented to the Board of Selectmen. • Recreation Site Assessment: Lexington has a major shortage of athletic fields. The Minuteman High School—whose main building is currently located in Lexington—is now authorized to build a replacement main building (which will be in the Town of Lincoln). Once the new building is in use, the existing main building would be demolished. There are preliminary discussions with Minuteman High School regarding the possibility of creating joint-use athletic fields in the area that would be available for use following that demolition. Return to Open Session: At 8:23 A.M., Ms. Hai moved to end the Executive Session and reconvene in Open Session to continue with other business of this Committee. It was seconded, the members of this Committee were individually polled (Vote:5-0), and Ms. Hai declared this Committee is now in Open Session. See the separate Minutes for the Open Session. These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on January 31, 2017, but not for public release. These Minutes were approved for public release by the CEC at its meeting on September 12, 2018. Page 2 of 2