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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-02-AC-min 10/02/2018 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee(AC) October 2, 2018 Place and Time: Parker Room, Town Office Building, 7:30 p.m. Members Present: John Bartenstein, Chair; Glenn Parker, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary; Ellen Basch; Richard Neumeier; Nick Nichols; Sanjay Padaki; Lily Manhua Yan; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex-officio) Member(s)Absent: Eric Michelson Other Attendees: Dave Pinsonneault, Director, Department of Public Works The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. Mr. Bartenstein welcomed Nick Nichols as a new member of this Committee, 1. Special Town Meeting, Center Streetscape Project: Mr. Pinsonneault reviewed the history of this project. Initially it included plans to install a traffic light at Massachusetts Avenue (Mass. Ave.) and Woburn Street, but that element was removed when the light became controversial. The Board of Selectmen (BoS) subsequently created an ad hoc committee to review the project, including materials for sidewalks and street lights, and that committee presented a report to the BoS about a year ago. The BoS held public meetings, and the Town Manager created a working group, including staff and citizens, to work with an architect. A 25% design plan, being developed by Beta Engineering, will be presented to the BoS on October 15. Mr. Pinnsonneault reported that the project incorporates Mass. Ave. from Cary Memorial Library to the Police Station, and Waltham Street from Mass. Ave to Vinebrook Road. His handout reviewed the goals and elements of the project, as well as the schedule for implementation. The Battle Green Streetscape project is being pursued separately but with the same engineering firm. There are no current financial estimates for the Battle Green project because it is only at the schematic design stage. The intent is to eventually link the two projects so that they are both completed by 2025. It is anticipated that the November STM 2018-1 will include a request for $650,000 to complete a 100% design plan for the Center Streetscape project. The design should be completed by March 2019, in time to request construction funds at the 2019 Annual Town Meeting (ATM). In order to take advantage of the best time to go out to bid, it is anticipated that construction would not begin until 2020. Mr. Pinsonneault and Ms. Kosnoff plan to develop modeling for the funding options. It was noted that borrowing for the project could be phased in even if the ATM appropriates the total needed for construction. It is currently estimated that $9.5 million is needed for construction. This is more than the amount included in the five-year capital plan. Perhaps 20-30% would be eligible for Community Preservation Act funding. Ms. Kosnoff added that the funding of the project would likely include an assortment of sources, all within the tax levy, and borrowing would likely be for 10-15 years. The funding sources must be included in the motion for the article at the ATM, so Ms. Kosnoff plans to develop funding source information in the near future. I 10/02/2018 AC Minutes Mr. Levine expressed his opinion that Town Meeting should be given as much information as feasible about plans for funding the complete project before being asked to appropriate design funds at the upcoming STM. Mr. Pinsonneault reported that the Center Streetscape Design Plan will be posted on the DPW website in the near future. 2. Announcements: Ms. Kosnoff reported that the new Town Manager started October 1. He hopes to meet with both finance committees in the near future. There is an opportunity to meet him at a"meet and greet" event on October 15 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. Mr. Parker reported that he had attended a Comprehensive Plan"World Cafe"forum, during which participants met at small tables where they responded to sets of questions about the future of Lexington. About 80 people attended. There is also a survey for residents to complete on line. Ms. Basch reported that the Town and Minuteman Technical High School (Minuteman Tech) continue to discuss a potential Inter-Municipal Agreement that would allow Lexington programs to use the new athletic facilities being constructed for Minuteman Tech. Mr. Padaki mentioned that a resident contacted him about the need for access to an indoor pool for the high school swim team. Mr. Bartenstein reported that in an updated presentation to the BoS on Monday evening, staff reduced its water/sewer usage projections for FY2019, which is expected to result in an increase in water/sewer rates of about 6%instead of the originally projected 3-4%. The update was based on recently obtained data on actual usage during the past summer in the first of the Town's three billing sections. The BoS is scheduled to finalize the FY2019 rates on October 15. After a brief discussion, Mr. Padaki volunteered to draft a submission describing this Committee's FY2018 activities and accomplishments for the Town Report. Mr. Levine reported on the School Master Planning Committee's (SMPQ first meeting, which was held in September. It was generally agreed that a planned School Master Planning Report should look forward 10 years, although it is understood that generating enrollment projections for that time period would be challenging. Mr. Levine noted that comprehensive needs and space analyses were completed about five years ago. The SMPC plans to meet monthly on Friday mornings. 3. FY2020 Budget and Financial Outlook: Ms. Kosnoff reported that the first Budget Summit is scheduled for October 22, when a set of economic indicators would be presented. The school budget and updated school enrollment data will also be discussed. Ms. Kosnoff reported that new growth, originally projected to be $2.5 million, is now estimated to be in the range of$3.1-3.2 million. The additional FY2019 revenue could be appropriated at the fall STM to fund the streetscape design request, discussed above, or it could be added to the Capital Stabilization Fund. 4. AC Report to the STM FY2018-1: Mr. Bartenstein reported that Mr. Parker has agreed to shepherd the production of this Committee's report. Noting that there were no citizen petitions, Mr. Bartenstein distributed the most current list of potential articles for the STM FY2018-1 and reviewed assignments for each article. He and Ms. Kosnoff noted the following: 2 10/02/2018 AC Minutes • The new school superintendent is reviewing scheduling options to determine whether adding science lab classrooms at the high school is necessary. If they are necessary, the project would require funding for both design funds and construction funds in order to have the rooms available by the fall of 2019. • Transferring 18 Rangeway to the Lexington Housing Assistance Board(LexHAB) would be a"housekeeping" article. • Goals for the Hosmer House Reuse Study are currently unclear. • Amending the FY2019 Operating, Enterprise, and CPA budgets could include appropriating funds from new growth, discussed above; authorizing the use of CPA funds for a crematorium design and/or the purchase of 39 Highland Avenue, discussed below; and some non-controversial recommendations. • It is anticipated that requests to appropriate for authorized capital improvements and to appropriate for prior year's unpaid bills will likely be indefinitely postponed. • It is anticipated that there will be a request to appropriate to/from stabilization funds. For example,payments from the Town of Bedford for water are being submitted monthly and should go into the new stabilization fund for water infrastructure. • The purchase of 39 Highland Avenue is being considered for conservation land and LexHab use. • There is citizen interest in installing a crematorium at Westview Cemetery. An ad hoc committee is reviewing this. • The rezoning of 7 Hartwell Avenue to allow use by the Russian School should not have significant financial implications for the Town budget. • The rezoning of 331 Concord Avenue and 55-56 Watertown Street, both being considered for senior living facilities, are scheduled for discussion at the Planning Board's October 10 public hearing. It was noted that both proponents had submitted favorable fiscal impact reports. There was discussion regarding this Committee's responsibilities and expertise for evaluating the submitted reports. Mr. Levine, Mr. Nichols, and Ms. Yan agreed to do some research regarding these proposals. 5. Future Meetings: Mr. Bartenstein distributed a list of future meeting dates. It was agreed that the meeting tentatively listed for Thursday, October 25 might be postponed until Thursday, November 1. 6. Minutes: A motion was made and seconded to approve the September 13, 2018 minutes, with edits proposed by Mr. Bartenstein. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 The meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Approved: October 17, 2018 3 10/02/2018 AC Minutes Exhibits • Agenda, posted by John Bartenstein, Chair • Update: Center Streetscape,Public Meeting June 11, 2018,presented by Mr. Pinsonneault Page 657 from BoS Agenda, 2018-10-1; STM 2018-1 Potential Articles STM 2018-1 AC Report Planner as of 10-02-18 2018-10-02 Tentative Future Meeting Schedule 4