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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-17-AC-min 10/17/2018 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) October 17, 2018 Place and Time: Hudson Room, Cary Memorial Building, 7:30 p.m. Members Present: John Bartenstein, Chair; Glenn Parker, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary; Ellen Basch; Eric Michelson; Richard Neumeier; Nick Nichols; Sanjay Padaki; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex-officio) Members)Absent: Lily Manhua Yan Other Attendees: None The meeting was called to order at 7:36 p.m. 1. Announcements: Mr. Bartenstein reported the following: • Mr. Padaki, Ms. Basch, and Mr. Levine are due for reappointment to this Committee by Deborah Brown, Town Moderator. Mr. Padaki said that he had been notified of his reappointment. Ms. Basch and Mr. Levine reported that they had been in contact with Ms. Brown regarding reappointment. • At their October 15 meeting the Board of Selectmen (BoS): ➢ Adopted a 6.3%water/sewer rate increase. ➢ Expressed guarded enthusiasm for endorsing an Inter-Municipal Agreement with Minuteman Technical High School (Minuteman Tech)for joint use of new athletic facilities being built by Minuteman Tech. Such an agreement would require the Town to contribute financially to the project. ➢ Discussed establishing a Stormwater Enterprise Fund to cover the approximately $2.0 million per year that is being spent on stormwater management. The funding would come from fees charged to property owners based on their contribution to stormwater runoff Fees could be designed to encourage the adoption of best practices that reduce runoff This approach could reduce volatility and demand on tax levy revenue. If implemented, the BoS would decide whether to reduce taxes accordingly or apply the savings to other budget needs. • The first Budget Summit for FY2020 is on October 22. • The TMMA bus tour for the Special Town Meeting (STM) 2018-1 is being planned for October 28 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Mr. Neumeier reported: • The August 27, 2018 Massachusetts (Mass)Lawyers Weekly listed an opening for a Workers Compensation Attorney in the City of Worcester; salary $69,835-$91,792. • The September 10, 2018 Mass Lawyers Weekly listed an opening for an Assistant City Solicitor/Land Use-Public Construction in the City of Newton; salary $92,000-$99,000. • The September 10, 2018, National Law Journal had an article titled, "Fewer Legal Jobs for Second Consecutive Month as US Economy Continues Growth Streak". Mr. Neumeier stated that the Town could save money if it did not hire outside counsel for all of Lexington's legal needs; he added that the current market for lawyers favors the employer. 1 10/17/2018 AC Minutes Mr. Levine reported that the School Department is preparing a Statement of Interest(SOI)for replacing Lexington High School with much assistance from the Department of Public Facilities. Early 2019 is targeted for submitting the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority. 2. Open Meeting Law Issues and Preparing this Committee's Report for the Special Town Meeting (STM) 2018-1: Mr. Bartenstein discussed the impacts triggered by the 2018 Boelter vs Board of Selectmen of Wayland case as they relate to preparing this Committee's report. Committee members cannot share their opinions on matters within the jurisdiction of the Committee, which opinions arguably may be embedded in some draft article write-ups, with a quorum of this Committee unless the material is made public at the same time. In other words, a conservative interpretation of the Open Meeting Law(OML) counsels against distributing draft article write-ups to the entire committee in advance of a meeting, unless they are contemporaneously made publicly available, even if there is no ensuing email response or debate among Committee members outside of a meeting. Since Lexington does not currently have a satisfactory mechanism for publicly posting such material, the plan until such a facility can be created will be not to circulate draft write-ups in advance of a meeting but instead to bring hard copies to the meeting, with extra copies for potential public attendees, for review and discussion during the meeting. Although this process will undoubtedly be inefficient and extend the duration of meetings, it should be manageable for this fall's upcoming special town meeting report given the relatively small number of warrant articles now requiring comment and analysis. It was noted that the two people assigned to a section of the report can continue to work together and send the resulting draft to Mr. Parker and Mr. Bartenstein because this arrangement, although outside of a meeting, does not result in a quorum receiving the material. Mr. Bartenstein and Mr. Parker discussed a tentative schedule for distribution, discussion and voting on material for the STM 2018-1 report, following the process described above, noting that it will be imperative to meet deadlines. To that end, it was agreed to hold a meeting on November 1 rather than on October 25. All draft material should be submitted to Mr. Parker and Mr. Bartenstein by the end of the day October 28. Mr. Parker will subsequently prepare a draft report for distribution and discussion at the November 1 meeting. Ms. Kosnoff noted that material related to"housekeeping" articles would be available on October 26, providing the necessary information for those articles. 3. Financial Articles for the STM 2018-1: The following articles were discussed: • Article 3: Appropriate for Center Streetscape Design: Mr. Michelson plans to draft the material for this article, which is requesting $650,000 for design funds with the expectation that construction funds, currently estimated to be $9.5 million, would be requested at the 2019 ATM. Ms. Kosnoff said new growth in FY2018 was greater than budgeted, which results in the availability of approximately $700,000 in cash. She expects to recommend using most of this for the design funds. She anticipates that bonds (probably 10-15 year bonds)would be used for construction funds but details beyond that are not available and cannot be determined until the total package for FY2020 capital projects can be analyzed. Town departments recently submitted requests for over$70.0 million to fund such projects. There was discussion about the desire to have more information regarding the sources for construction funds before voting design 2 10/17/2018 AC Minutes funds, but it was concluded that this project involves safety issues and should move forward. A motion was made and seconded to support Article 3. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 • Article 4: Transfer of Property to LexHab: After a brief discussion, it was concluded that this article has no financial impact and discussion will not be included in the report. • Article 5: Appropriate for Hosmer House Reuse Study: The BoS is interested in moving the Hosmer House to allow its current location to be used for part of a Police Headquarters' rebuild and expansion. The building's future use would influence where it might be moved. Some years ago, the Historic Districts Commission determined that the house could be moved within the corner lot where it is currently located, but not off of that lot. Because the funding amount for the study has not been identified, this Committee postponed a vote on whether to support it. Mr. Neumeier will pursue additional information for writing material for the report. • Article 6: Amend FY2019 Operating, Enterprise, and Community Preservation Act (CPA)Budgets: Ms. Kosnoff reported that there would be no changes to the FY2019 CPA allocations. She added that the new growth adjustment, as referenced earlier, would be addressed in this article. Mr. Parker plans to prepare the material on this article for the report, using data that is to be available on October 26. A vote was deferred. • Article 7: Appropriate for Prior Years' Unpaid Bills: Ms. Kosnoff reported that there may be one unpaid bill. Mr. Nichols plans to prepare the material on this article for the report, using data that is to be available on October 26. A vote was deferred. • Article 8: Establish and Appropriate To and From Specified Stabilization Funds: Ms. Kosnoff reported that there will be some transfers into specific stabilization funds. In response to questions, Ms. Kosnoff explained that a new Ambulance Stabilization Fund, if created by Town Meeting, would be used to hold funds received from new senior housing facilities for use to cover ambulance expenses, when such a contribution is negotiated with a developer. She noted that ambulance use by such existing facilities are negatively impacting the life span of the vehicles. Although there is only one such facility being proposed this fall, others may be proposed in the future. Mr. Padaki plans to prepare the material on this article for the report, using data that is to be available on October 26. A vote was deferred. • Article 9: Amend Zoning Bylaw-55 & 56 Watertown Street(Owner Petition): If approved, this article would allow the development of a senior housing facility to be built on the identified site. The proponent submitted a fiscal impact report that was reviewed by Mr. Levine, Mr. Nichols, and Ms. Yan. Mr. Levine distributed draft material describing their conclusions, indicating that the developer's fiscal analysis was too limited to be definitive. After Committee members read the draft material, it was 3 10/17/2018 AC Minutes agreed that including it in this Committee's report would be informative for Town Meeting, but because of its length, an Executive Summary was advisable. Mr. Levine and Mr. Nichols agreed to refine their report, taking members' comments into consideration. A vote was deferred. 4. Budget Summit and FY2020-2014 Capital Improvement Plan: Ms. Kosnoff reported that she will provide information regarding fiscal indicators and the total debt at the October 22 Budget Summit. The School Department plans to discuss school enrollment. Ms. Kosnoff reiterated that town departments recently submitted requests for$70.0-75.0 million in capital improvement projects, which will be posted on-line on Friday. New projects include the Minuteman Tech athletic facilities, referenced above, the high school indoor track, which is disintegrating, and a Police Department indoor firing range. The firing range could involve revenue sharing. Additionally, the program for replacing water infrastructure needs to be accelerated, which would impact water/sewer rates. 5. Liaisons for New Committees: Mr. Bartenstein reported that two new committees had been established and this Committee had been invited to appoint liaisons to them, if desired. • Ad hoc Crematory Study Committee: Mr. Padaki agreed to serve as liaison if the meeting schedule is compatible for him. He said that his Hindu background would provide insight into the issues, but he would be unbiased, representing this Committee and its need to understand the financial implications. If scheduling issues preclude his attendance, Mr. Michelson and Mr. Neumeier agreed to serve in this capacity. • Ad hoc Special Permit Residential Development Zoning Bylaw Amendment Committee: It was agreed that this Committee would not assign a liaison unless it is determined that there are financial implications. 6. Minutes: A motion was made and seconded to approve the October 2, 2018 minutes, with edits proposed by Mr. Bartenstein. The motion passed. VOTE: 8-0 The meeting adjourned at 9:43 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Approved: November 1, 2018 Exhibits • Agenda, posted by Mr. Bartenstein, Chair • STM 2018-1 AC Report Planner as of 10-17-18 (Updated) • Draft material for Article 9: Amend Zoning Bylaw-55 & 56 Watertown Street 2018-10-02, presented by Mr. Levine and Mr. Nichols, 10/17/2018 4