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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-09-12-CEC-min �y w-AOR yrry. Minutes of the s \�� Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting September 12, 2018 � APRIL&", yI,E XI NGT.O, Location and Time: Town Office Building, Dawes Room; 7:45 A.M. Members Present: Charles Lamb, Chair; David Kanter, Vice-Chair & Clerk; Sandy Beebee; Rod Cole; Wendy Manz; and Frank Smith Members Absent: None Others Present: Kathy Linehan, School Committee; David Pinsonneault, Director, Department of Public Works; Melissa Battite, Director, Recreation and Community Programs; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Documents Presented: • Notice of CEC Meeting, September 12, 2018 • Approved (but not for public release) Minutes of the CEC Meeting, Executive Session, January 10, 2017 • Draft#3 Minutes of the CEC Meeting, June 25, 2018 • Conceptual Site Plans—Athletic Facility, Minuteman Vocation Technical High School (Minuteman Tech), Lexington and Lincoln, Massachusetts, Full Build and Alternate 1, received September 6, 2018 • Board of Selectmen's List of Potential Warrant Articles for Fall 2018 Special Town Meeting (STM), July 5, 2018 • Town of Lexington, FY2020-2024 Capital Budget Preparation Manual, July 17, 2018 • Comments for Carl Valente at his Retirement Event, 2 Aug 2018, on Behalf of the Capital Expenditures Committee Call to Order: Mr. Lamb called the meeting to order at 7:47 A.M. Approval of Minutes: A Motion was made and seconded to release to the public the previously approved Minutes for the Executive Session held by this Committee on January 10, 2017. Vote: 5-0 A Motion was made and seconded to approve the Draft#3 Minutes for this Committee's June 25, 2018 meeting, as presented. Vote: 5-0 Mr. Cole arrived at 7:52 A.M. Future Meetings: It was agreed that this Committee would meet on the following mornings at 7:45 A.M.; all Wednesdays except as otherwise noted: • October 10, 177 23 (Tuesday), and 31 • November 7, 14, and 28 • December 4 (Tuesday), 12, and 19 It was noted that the STM is being scheduled for the evenings of November 13, 14, and 15; so this Committee has meetings blocked for each of those evenings from 7:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. It was agreed to meet on the morning of Friday, November 2, at 7:45 A.M., for final approval of this Committee's report to the STM if it is not approved at a prior meeting. Recreation Department Report on Potential Agreement with Minuteman Tech Regarding Use of Space for Athletic Programs: Ms. Battite reviewed the history related Page 1 of 4 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting September 12, 2018 to the current exploration of a joint venture with Minuteman Tech to develop and share the use of athletic facilities on the Minuteman Tech site. Minuteman Tech is currently constructing a new high school, after which the current facility will be demolished. This will provide space for new athletic fields. Minuteman Tech is interested in sharing financial responsibilities and use of those fields with Lexington. This past July the Massachusetts' Legislature passed an Act (House No. 4503) that allows the Town and the Minuteman Tech District to pursue an Inter-Municipal Agreement (IMA) for up to 50 years for this purpose. Minuteman Tech is paying for design costs and currently has conceptual designs for a $12.0 million-dollar plan (Alternate 1) that would only serve Minuteman Tech students and a $20.0 million design that would also serve the Town of Lexington (the "full Build"), assuming Lexington provides the additional $8.0 million. The Scopes for the project's two plans have been determined, and there are no plans to reconsider the basic designs, but Lexington's input can influence the materials to be used and associated amenities. Ms. Battite reviewed the process going forward, as follows: • The Recreation Department plans to submit an FY2020-FY2024 Capital Improvement Project (CIP) requesting Lexington's to-be-determined portion of construction funds for this project. This will replace the Recreation Land Acquisition CIP request that had not included a funding amount because no available land had been identified, but had been submitted as a placeholder in years prior. • A working group met in the summer and will meet again next week; and today's meeting is the first of many to solicit input from stakeholders. Questions and comments are being compiled in an effort to identify the important elements for an IMA. The IMA will need to address everything from the division of responsibilities for the initial construction costs and maintenance, including capital upgrades, to potential changes that may surface over the next 50 years. • Minuteman Tech would like a decision from Lexington by March 31, 2019, as to whether Lexington plans to participate. If questions and comments are compiled by the end of 2018, that leaves three months to finalize an IMA and then get funding approved by Town Meeting. It is unlikely that Town Meeting action would take place by then, but it should be possible to get approval not long after that. Minuteman Tech is aware of Lexington's timetable. • Minuteman Tech hired the Wass Donahue Institute to facilitate the IMA negotiations. Comments by Committee members included, but were not limited to, the following: • Mr. Lamb expressed interest in maximizing Lexington's influence on the project by assuming additional financial responsibility and/or purchasing some of the land. He noted Minuteman Tech's financial vulnerability. He also noted that Lexington's bond rating is better than Minuteman Tech's. • This is an aggressive time line; it will be a challenge to have a well-crafted project and a near-final IMA ready for spring Town Meeting. The costs need to be justified and should use future dollars. (It was said that the current cost estimate is in current- year dollars.) The traditional "Lexington process" can be drawn out, and it would be unfortunate to have that process be an obstacle to this project. For many Lexington Page 2 of 4 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting September 12, 2018 residents, this will feel like a new project that may be superseding projects that have been "waiting in line". • Identifying the party responsible for maintenance is critical and, for practical purposes, it should not be bifurcated. Ms. Battite's and Mr. Pinsonneault's responses to comments included, but were not limited to the following: • Minuteman Tech is not interested in selling any of its property. Also, 20% of the property is in Lincoln. Staff has not discussed the possibility of a land acquisition. • The working group is generally in support of Lexington's participation in the full-build project, but Lexington and Minuteman Tech need to identify the intended uses and where there will be conflicts. • The Recreation Department has documentation supporting the needs for this space. Ms. Lenihan added that as school enrollment increases, the need for athletic fields increases; the School Committee recognizes the need for additional space. • The full-build option includes lights, which would extend the hours when Lexington residents could use the facilities and reduce the need for lighting at neighborhood fields. • Town staff plans to meet with the project's architect (Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc.) to review and ensure a comfort level with the costs in then-year dollars. • Although Minuteman Tech could decide to build a pool at some point in the future, a pool is not part of this project. • Minuteman Tech is moving forward on both options knowing that Lexington may not participate. • Noted this Committee does not support a dual-responsibility-arrangement for providing the maintenance. So, while it may well be necessary to have a commercial firm under contract for maintenance, either party would be responsible for managing all the maintenance—with input of needs from the other party. • As noted, one major factor is that the property is owned by Minuteman Tech. An `air-tight" IMA is critical. Photo for FY2018 Annual Town Report: A photograph of this Committee was taken for that Report. Ms. Beebee departed at approximately 8:55 A.M. November 2018 STM: Mr. Kanter reviewed 18 items that the BoS had earlier listed as potential items for the Warrant for the November STM. Based on a conversation Mr. Lamb had with Suzie Barry, Chair, BoS, just before this meeting, six items have been deferred and this Committee identified those remaining that are related to this Committee's responsibilities. These are the matters on which this Committee plans, at this time, to take a position in its report to the STM: • Appropriate for Center Streetscape Design: Mr. Pinsonneault reported that this project will be brought to the BoS on September 15, 2018. Mr. Smith will contact Mr. Pinsonneault to schedule a time for a presentation to this Committee. Page 3 of 4 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting September 12, 2018 • Amend FY2019 Operating, Enterprise, and CPA (Community Preservation Act) Budgets: While this Committee would not report on amendments to the Operating Budget, it would on the Enterprise Budget if amendments relate to Capital (not normally the case), and in any case, report on any CPA-budget amendments. • Appropriate for Authorized Capital Improvements • Appropriate for Hosmer House Reuse Study: Mr. Lamb will contact the Department of Public Facilities to schedule a time for a presentation on this project. • Appropriate To/From Stabilization Funds • Appropriate for [High School] Science Classrooms: Mr. Cole agreed to ask Ms. Beebee to find a time when a presentation on this project could be made. 2019 Annual Town Meeting Report from CEC: Mr. Kanter urged all members to begin working on the front parts of that report. The need for edits are normally relatively minor. Member Concerns: Mr. Kanter commented as follows: • He hoped the remarks he had prepared for the retirement event held for Carl Valente, departing Town Manager, were acceptable to this Committee. There was full support for them. • The BoS did not support a goal, as requested by this Committee, to review its policy regarding the use of discretionary funds. • The directions to staff describing how to complete the CIP form were updated in this year's Town's Capital Budget Preparation Manual. It addressed many, but not all of the concerns previously expressed by this Committee. Ms. Kosnoff reviewed new software that will be used for preparing the upcoming operating budget. Such a transition is expected in the fall of 2019 for the CIPs. It was agreed the demonstration of the software's capabilities, that had previously been expected, could at this date be postponed until 2019. Mr. Kanter asked that the CIPs be released to this Committee at the same time they are released to the BoS. Ms. Kosnoff asked for comments on holding only four budget summits rather than five. It was agreed that seeing an outline of the contents of each of the fewer summits would be helpful before commenting. Mr. Kanter suggested that it would be helpful if this Committee could receive feedback from the Town Manager on this Committee's preliminary positions on the CIPs prior to this Committee going to the Budget Summit with its report on them. Adjourn: A Motion was made and seconded at 9:17 A.M. to adjourn. Vote: 5-0. These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on October 17, 2018. Page 4 of 4