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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018 11-29-CPC-min Minutes of the Community Preservation Committee Thursday, November 29, 2018 Parker Meeting Room Town Office Building 1625 Massachusetts Avenue 4:00 PM Committee Members Present: Marilyn Fenollosa (Chair); Dick Wolk (Vice-Chair); Charles Hornig, David Horton, Jeanne Krieger, Joe Pato (arrived at 4:03 PM), Bob Pressman, Lisah Rhodes. Remote Participation: Melinda Walker joined the meeting remotely at 4:02 PM due to her physical presence being unreasonably difficult. Administrative Assistant: Gina Federico Other Attendees: Wendy Manz, Capital Expenditures Committee liaison to the CPC; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance (arrived at 4:06 PM); Shawn Newell, Assistant Director of Public Facilities; Bob Phelan, LexHAB (arrived at 4:04 PM); Nathalie Rice, Town Clerk. Ms. Fenollosa called the meeting to order at 4:02 PM and announced that Melinda Walker would be participating remotely due to her physical presence being unreasonably difficult. Ms. Fenollosa also stated that all votes taken during the meeting would be by a roll call vote. 1) Archives and Records Management/ Records Conservation & Preservation- Ms. Rice requested $20,000 in CPA funds for the conservation and preservation of historic municipal documents and records. The funds would be used to continue the program that is already in place to conserve School Committee Minutes, Board of Registrars Minutes, and Records of Overseers of the Poor, from the years of 1850 through 1910. Ms. Rice stated that Lexington's Historical Commission has deemed the documents to be historical records. The CPC had general questions about the preservation and archiving process. Ms. Rice explained that the documents are first preserved and then re-preserved and bound in a 600 page book that is stored in a climate controlled vault located at the Records Center in Cary Hall. Northeast Document Center is the company that has been hired to complete the preservation. Ms. Fenollosa asked where can the documents be viewed and if only a digital copy is available or can a physical copy be viewed as well. Ms. Rice responded and said that the preserved documents are archived on the Towns website 1 using Laserfiche and that only historians under specific circumstances are allowed to view the physical documents. Mr. Wolk asked if this request is anticipated to be a perennial one since it has appeared before the Committee for numerous years. Ms. Rice stated that it is her intention to request $20,000 a year for the next 5 years from the CPC. Ms. Rice does not have an anticipated end date for her request but noted that with technological advances more recent documents will not need to be preserved because they are being digitally archived daily. It was also stated that documents that are 50 years and older are considered historic and that anything before 1870 must be kept for permanent retention. Ms. Rice extended an invitation to the Committee to tour the Records Center located in the lower level of Cary Hall. The Committee raised the question of priorities. Ms. Fenollosa repeated the earlier statement from Ms. Rice that the Historical Commission did vote to consider the documents to be historic.The project is not a top priority but is small in the grand scheme of things. The CPC voted in a straw poll to support the project (8-0) and 1 "maybe" from Mr. Wolk. 2) Playground Replacement Program Bowman-Bridge School- Mr. Newell requested $302,000 in CPA funds to update and replace the playground equipment and surfacing behind the Bridge Elementary School and playfields. Mr. Newell explained that the goal of the project is renovate and rehabilitate the area so that it confirms to compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSP), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The project will be similar to the Bowman School renovation which was completed with a surplus of funds to be returned back to the CPA. Mr. Newell stated that there are handicapped children in the neighborhood and an updated park would create inclusivity for not only children but all people with different abilities. Ms. Fenollosa asked about the fate of the current equipment. Mr. Newell responded that they will repurpose what they can and discard the equipment that is past its life expectancy. Mr. Horton asked about the average life expectancy for new equipment and surfacing, as well as any warranties. Mr. Newell stated that with proper maintenance the life expectancy is around 15 years. A 1-year warranty is typical for construction and a 3 to 4-year warranty is standard on most equipment. Mr. Pressman commented that the Department of Public Facilities has a budget of over$10 million and asked why this request should be funded through the CPA instead of the Department of Public Facilities budget. Mr. Newell explained that Public Facilities has budgeted for general maintenance only and that budget is an operating budget.The CPC questioned Public Facilities priorities. Mr. Newell explained that this project is a top priority because of the lack of ADA compliance. 2 The CPC voted in a straw poll to support the project (9-0). 3) LexHAB: Preservation, Rehabilitation & Restoration of Affordable Housing- Mr. Phelan requested $99,700 in CPA funds for the preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration of 12 affordable housing units, many of which were acquired with CPA funds. Mr. Phelan went through all 12 units detailing the work that needs to be done. The work includes large projects such as kitchen and bath renovations, as well as small projects such as front and rear door replacement. Mr. Phelan explained that the figures provided on the summary list are rounded up estimates by LexHAB construction experts. LexHAB anticipates a start date of August 2019 and a completion date some time in 2020. The CPC questioned the priorities of LexHAB since they have appeared before the committee for numerous years. Mr. Phelan explained that it is the position of LexHAB to come before the Committee with allowable projects as much as possible.The supplemental CPA funds allows LexHAB to maintain lower rents and continue affordability for their tenants. Mr. Hornig inquired if there are any other known acquisitions in the future. Mr. Phelan responded that LexHAB is always interested in acquiring properties and that homeowners who sell to LexHAB receive a tax benefit. An example of a recent purchase is 22 Hamblen Street where the homeowner approached LexHAB. Lester Savage, a local realtor and LexHAB board member actively looks for properties for LexHAB to acquire. Ms. Fenollosa asked if LexHAB would rather use CPA funds to purchase properties or to maintain properties. Mr. Phelan stated that LexHAB would like to use CPA funds for both acquiring and maintaining properties. He also noted that the economy is strong and that the employment rate is at an all-time low. LexHAB's position is to have a strong cash position so that they can be prepared for future hardships, such as, a tenant's loss of employment or lowered income. Mr. Phelan gave a general update regarding Farmview (Lowell Street). He stated that they have gone out to bid two times and will go for a third because both bids came in higher than expected. One reason for the high bids is the prevailing wage requirement which is typically 30% higher according to Mr. Phelan. Mr. Horton asked if the work for the project that is before the Committee needs to go out to bid. Mr. Phelan responded that it does need to go out to bid and students from Minuteman Vocational Technical School District (Minuteman) will be utilized as much as possible. The CPC voted in a straw poll to support the project (9-0). 4) Debt Service- Ms. Kosnoff distributed two excel spreadsheets to the Committee detailing CPA funds, projected revenues, and expenditures (CPA-Funds Projected 3 Revenues and Expenditures) and CPC fund balances (Community Preservation Fund Balance). Preliminary estimates suggest that the Community Preservation Fund balance is $6,397,013 after debt for FY20. The figures are preliminary due to multiple factors, such as, the FY20 tax rate has not been set, the FY20 state match is estimated, and unspent money from previous CPC projects still needs to be returned. $3,094,680 is obligated to debt service including the cost of a 3-year Bond Anticipation Note (BAN) for the Center Track and Field Reconstruction. Mr. Hornig requested that a document be produced detailing the debt trend for the past 5 years and the projected trend for the next 5 years so that the Committee can visualize the implications of borrowing. Ms. Fenollosa asked Ms. Kosnoff for her recommendation of how much debt the Committee should take on. Ms. Kosnoff explained that if the Committee funded every project that was presented for FY20 it would limit their ability to fund projects in the future. 5) Needs Assessment-The Committee discussed the first draft of the Needs Assessment Report. It was determined that a few minor edits were necessary. A second draft of the Report will be distributed before the next meeting on December 13, 2018. Ms. Fenollosa requested that Ms. Walker, Mr. Hornig, and Mr. Pressman consult with one another to review the guidelines for use of CPA funding by LexHAB located in the Town of Lexington Community Preservation Committee Report to Annual Town Meeting and present their recommendations to the Committee at their meeting on January 10, 2019. 6) Committee Business- Ms. Federico updated the Committee regarding the return visit from the Recreation Department to discuss the Inter Municipal Agreement. Recreation will appear before the Committee on January 10, 2019. 7) Minutes-After a motion duly made and seconded, the CPC voted in a roll call vote (9-0) to approve the meeting minutes from the CPC meetings on 11-8-18, 11-15-18, and 11- 15-18 Executive Session but not to release the Executive Session minutes until authorized to do so. After a motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 5:47 PM. The following documents were used at the meeting: 11 Summary of costs for Bridge Playground by O'Brien &Sons 3D image of the proposed Bridge Playground Area site map of Bridge Playground 4) CPA Fund Projected Revenues and Expenditures 5) Community Preservation Fund Balances 6) Minutes from 11-8-18, 11-15-18, 11-15-18 ES 4 Respectfully submitted, Gina Federico Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 5