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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-11-19 BOS-min November 19, 2018 Page 1 of 9 SELECTMEN'S MEETING Monday, November 19, 2018 A meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen was called to order at 6:47 p.m. on Monday, November 19, 2018 in the Selectmen's Meeting Room of the Town Office Building. The Board went immediately into Executive Session under Exemption 3 to discuss strategy related to collective bargaining Lexington Police Association and Crossing Guard unions. Upon exiting Executive Session at 6:54 p.m., the Board took a 5-minute recess before reconvening in open session at 7:02 p.m. Present were Selectmen Ms. Barry, Chair; Mr. Pato; Ms. Ciccolo; and Mr. Lucente as well as Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Assistant Town Manager; and Ms. Siebert, Recording Secretary. Ms. Hai was absent. Selectmen Concerns and Liaison Reports Mr. Lucente reported that the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Crematory Study Group will take place on December 10, 2018 at 7 p.m. in the Hadley Public Services Building at 201 Bedford Street. Mr. Lucente reported that the Fund for Lexington annual appeal letter will arrive in residents' mailboxes this week. Mr. Lucente reported that the Tourism Committee is reviewing options for temporary quarters for the Visitors Center during upcoming construction of the new facility. Mr. Pato reported that the Communication Advisory Committee has asked two of its members to compose a letter in response to proposed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules changes as discussed at the Board of Selectmen's meeting on November 5, 2018. The Selectmen should expect to review the draft at the December 3, 2018 meeting. Deadline for submission to the FCC is December 14, 2018. Mr. Pato reported that the Residential Exemption Policy Study Committee will have a second public meeting on December 11. 2018 at 7 p.m. in Estabrook Hall. The Committee will review the residential exemption proposal as well as a means-tested program, similar to that which has been adopted in Sudbury and other towns. The Committee seeks public feedback to include when making its recommendations to the Selectmen. Ms. Barry invited the community to the holiday tree lighting that will take place Friday, November 23, 2018 at 6 p.m. at Emory Park. Mr. Barry thanked First Parish Church for hosting the Transgender Day of Remembrance last weekend that had be relocated indoors from the Battle Green due to poor weather. Ms. Barry and approximately 1500 others attended the yearly event organized by Shishu Bharati, the 40-year old Indian school located in Lexington. The program was held at Lexington High School. November 19, 2018 Page 2 of 9 Town Manager Report Mr. Malloy reported that the November 27, 2018 National Grid meeting on gas leaks has been cancelled. Mr. Malloy said the MAPC has invited him, two Selectmen, and two additional committee/board representatives to participate in the Metro Common 2050 regional planning process. The first meeting is on December 6, 2018 at 9 a.m. in Maynard. Mr. Malloy asked the Board to support his candidacy for President of the International City and County Managers Association and requested that a formal vote take place at the Board meeting on December 3, 2018. Ms. Barry encouraged Board members to make an appointment with Mr. Malloy to discuss any concerns. FY19 Tax Classification Hearing Ms. Barry opened the Public Hearing at 7:12 p.m. Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Rob Lent Director of Assessment; Greg Johnson, Chairman, Board of Assessors; and Ed Grant and Cass Groblewski, members of the Board of Assessors; accepted public comments for the Board's consideration when determining the tax rate options available under property tax classification. The Board will set the FY2019 tax rate at a Board meeting on December 3, 2018 at which time four votes will be taken: • Establish a residential factor; • Determine whether to adopt the Open Space Discount; • Determine whether to adopt the Residential Exemption and, if so, the percentage (up to 35 percent); • Determine whether to adopt the Small Commercial Exemption Ms. Kosnoff noted some changes that were made to the back-up material between the first presentation and tonight's Public Hearing; some of the changes were corrections and others were the result of Board feedback from the first presentation. Mr. Johnson explained one change: Tax Increment Financing (TIF) allocation is no longer included in the commercial evaluations. The numbers listed are now net of TIF. Mr. Pato asked why the first presentation showed a 3.23% Residential Single-Family Dwelling tax increase but the chart in today's presentation shows a 3.7% increase. Ms. Kosnoff explained that it was because the original total Commercial valuation had included the non-taxable TIF value that has now been adjusted. With regard to Commercial Parcels, Ms. Barry asked why the numbers of units in each of the categories has changed and why there are an additional 19 units overall that were not in the first presentation. Mr. Lent said he had done some recategorizing; the numbers are now correct. Ms. Ciccolo asked if the $188,666,233 maximum allowable levy limit includes the TIF values and what the meaning is behind the rapid increase in value of Retail properties. Ms. Kosnoff said the levy limit includes the taxable portion of the TIF properties, which is approximately 78% of November 19, 2018 Page 3 of 9 total value. Mr. Lent said the reason for the retail increase is not market-based; it is due to moving Professional Office Building properties into a category of its own so that it no longer causes a drag on the Retail category; the true values are now clear. There were no public comments/questions about the presentation. Ms. Barry closed the Public Hearing at 7:49 p.m. Update: Emerald Ash Borer Pest Dave Pinsonnault, DPW Director, reported that two sites were confirmed to be infested with the Emerald Ash Borer in the summer of 2018, one on Shade Street, the other at the Munroe Center for the Arts. Staff has now inspected all 300 Ash trees in the Town right of way all over Lexington; no further Town trees appear to be problematic. He emphasized that private property owners are responsible for maintaining their own trees. Mr. Pinsonnault said, while conducting inspections, staff also evaluated the overall health of the Ash trees and found that a significant number should be removed due to poor health that make them more vulnerable to the Ash Borer. About 35 trees have been removed to date; in the spring, the Town will work with the State to implement an injection programs to improve the health of the viable Ash trees. Monitoring will continue. The next Emerald Ash Borer update will be in mid-March. Update: Green Burials In a follow-up to a presentation given in September 2018, David Pinsonnault, DPW Director, reported that staff have contacted other towns to see how they handle green burials. In collaboration with the Green Burial representatives, the Town has developed simply worded guidelines to allow green burials in the municipal cemeteries. For Westview, Mr. Pinsonnault recommends adding a new section to the current burial rules. He asked the Board to include the green burial rules as an agenda item for a vote in January or February 2019. The expectation is for the new rules to be implemented in June or July 2019, after allowing time to publicize the new option. For now, no pricing changes are recommended. Mr. Lucente asked if there had been any feedback from residents on this subject. Mr. Pinsonnault reported that the residents who inquired about green burial originally are amenable to what is being proposed. Mr. Lucente asked if the green burial portion of the cemetery will be set off or landscaped differently. Mr. Pinsonnault said a rail fence might be added. Ms. Barry asked how green burial will be publicized. Mr. Pinsonnault said he will get the word out via the usual media outlets as well as Town listservs and funeral homes. Mr. Pato and Ms. Ciccolo believe the green burial option expands choices for the community. Ms. Ciccolo asked if different maintenance or safety considerations would be required. Mr. Pinsonnault said that green burial is relatively new to the area; the communities report that some November 19, 2018 Page 4 of 9 sagging has been noticed but this also happens with conventional burial. He believes regular maintenance will suffice. Human Services Department Update Charlotte Rodgers, Director of Human Services, reported the Mental Health Summit initiatives and the work within the Community Hospital Needs Assessment(CHNA)15 mental health grant have now been combined into one coordinated effort under the newly formed Mental Health Task Force. The Task Force plans to submit an implementation grant application to CHNA 15 in January; the grant will be awarded in April/May 2019. Melissa Interess, Assistant Director of Senior Services, reported that the Task Force creates the municipal structure that will report directly to the Town Manager's and School Superintendent's offices. Four internal working groups within the Task ForcePrevention, Intervention, Postvention and Research & Identification—will include stakeholder membership from throughout the community. So far, the Task Force has: • Implemented a Community Intervention Team, formally known as the At Risk Team made up of representatives from the Police, Fire, Health, Human Services, and other departments such as Schools have been invited to participate. The emphasis is on communication and alignment of protocols and to examine how the Task Force can be more proactive in the community; • The William James Interface mental health referral website and service has been launched; • Question Persuade Refer (QPR)trainings have begun. This is an evidence-based suicide prevention protocol. So far, about 100 people have been trained and 4 more sessions have been scheduled over the next few months; • A Community Stakeholder meeting will occur in late December. Invitations have been sent out to specific groups for participants that will also become members of one of the four Task Force working groups. The goal for the December meeting is to introduce the Task Force structure to participants, describe the work done to date,preview the goals moving forward, and welcome members into the four working groups. • A logo for the Task Force has been chosen. Ms. Interess demonstrated the William James website. The Town controls the content under the Lexington listing only; information and links are still be added. Mr. Lucente asked if a QPR training session could be scheduled for the Selectmen and School Committee members. Mr. Lucente emphasized that getting the word out to the community about the mental health initiative, especially the Interface referral service, is extremely important. Ms. Barry noted that this is the next-to-last meeting for Ms. Rodgers before she officially retires. On behalf of the community, she thanked Ms. Rodgers and wished her well November 19, 2018 Page 5 of 9 Electric Vehicles Charging Stations Mark Sandeen, Chair of Sustainable Lexington; and Mark Rooney, Eversource Account Executive requested that the Board authorize the Town Manager to take the necessary steps to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the Center parking lots under the terms of Eversource's EV charger installation program. The Historic Districts Commission is scheduled to review this proposal on December 6, 2018. One additional charger (serving two parking spots) is proposed for the NStar lot. Two additional chargers are proposed for the Muzzey lot and for the Depot lot; each charger serves 2 spots so these additions would increase total capacity by 8 spots. Both the Depot and Muzzey lots would have the potential to add a third charging station in the future; Eversource would install the additional infrastructure. Eversource assumes the cost of the infrastructure, including engineering, materials, and labor for the proposed charging stations; the Town would purchase the Chargepoint EV equipment. Questions remain about how the charging fees should be structured. Sustainable Lexington recommends that regular parking fees continue to be charged and that parking time limits apply. Currently, fees are charged for parking but there has been no cost to the vehicle owner for the electricity. Mr. Lucente noted that other towns or parking areas charge for EV charging station use in a variety of ways. Mr. Pato believes the cost of the electricity should be assumed by the vehicle owner, not the Town; this will help cover the cost of the equipment. He said it would be convenient if one meter charged both the parking fee and the charging fee so EV owners do not have to pay at two different locations. Ms. Barry said she is generally supportive but questioned whether funding is available in the current budget. Mr. Rooney reported that Chargepoint unit prices are in the $5,000-$7,000 range; Eversource requires that the chargers use Smart technology to gather data that the Town would own but Eversource, per program agreement, would have access to. Eversource's contribution includes engineering, materials, and labor for "everything up to the pad"; the Town pays for the chargers and installation. Ms. Barry asked Mr. Malloy how these units could be funded. Mr. Malloy said some funds are available but probably not enough for five units. Mr. Mooney said Eversource's minimum requirement is for the Town to commit to one charger/two spots but Eversource would then install expansion infrastructure for up to two more chargers. Total Eversource program funding is $45M, which is expected to last three years, depending on demand. Municipal, corporate, industrial, commuter, and privately-owned lots are all eligible. Mr. Rooney said Eversource would work with the Town to reach out to some of the private lot owners. Ms. Barry said a policy discussion may be in order to decide if conventional vehicles would be ticketed if they park in the EV spaces. November 19, 2018 Page 6 of 9 Ms. Barry asked if the DPW has been consulted about the spaces chosen for EV charging. DPW Director Dave Pinsonnault said these locations were discussed generally but he would like to look more closely to make sure trees would not be harmed by infrastructure installation. Ms. Ciccolo believes the Town should consider installing charging stations in Municipal and School employee parking areas. Ms. Pato stated that funding sources should be studied and recommended that the Town consider using the Center Parking Fund if EV stations are found to be an appropriate use. Ricki Pappo, Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member/Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition (GWAC) co-chair said transportation is a topic that runs throughout Lexington's Climate Action Plan. She believes it is necessary to put funding behind the Plan if it is to be successful. Ms. Pappo recommended the Community Center as another good location for charging stations. Dawn McKenna, Tourism Committee Chair, agreed that additional charging stations would be good for tourism. Judith Glickson, Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member, said the Center charging stations are frequently full. She believes charging hourly fees to park, as well as charging for electricity, will discourage overnight parking. Ms. Glickson believes signage would be helpful to direct drivers to the charging stations. Edward Ganshirt, 48 Fletcher Avenue, suggested establishing an Enterprise arrangement in which the spaces are leased to another entity that would administer the spaces and fees. John Briggs, 36 Lawrence Lane, said as the ability to charge vehicles improves, more people will consider buying electric vehicles. He is in favor of charging EV owners for the electricity. Stephen Schick, 27 Rangeway/First Parish Climate Action Team member, asked the Selectmen to seriously consider the proposal so that Lexington can stay ahead of the sustainability curve. He agreed that fees should be charged for the electricity. Mark Fortin, 6 Hancock Avenue, said he is in favor of the proposal. Mr. Malloy will look into available funding; the matter will come back before the board at a later date. Update: Solar Storage Request for Proposal Mark Sandeen, Chair of Sustainable Lexington, and Shawn Newell, Assistant Director of Public Facilities, reported for the Solar Task Force saying that an RFP will be released for rooftop and parking lot canopy solar energy generation and energy storage at Hastings School, the new Fire Station, and the Lexington Children's Place. Other Town-owned locations are also being considered. The State is launching the SMART solar energy and solar battery storage program and the faster the Town acts to take advantage of it, the sooner it will be able to avoid costly peak energy charges (45% of annual municipal utility costs). November 19, 2018 Page 7 of 9 The RFP is expected to be released in the next couple of weeks; bids will be evaluated during the months of January and February 2019. Projects should commence in May/June. Mr. Lucente asked if the SMART incentive and the State incentive that Mr. Sandeen spoke of were recurring or one-time benefits and if the revenue could be counted on every year. Mr. Sandeen said the SMART incentive is a 20-year program with revenue coming in every year. The ground source heat pump system is expected to have a 50-year lifespan and Mr. Sandeen understands the incentive payments will continue every year. Ms. Barry asked if the payments would remain the same or change over time. Mr. Sandeen said the amounts will depend on the annual market rates for alternative energy credits for every megawatt hour of heat that is produced by the ground source heat pumps. The calculation is based on current rates. Mr. Lucente asked what the scope of the RFP is and whether it will be presented to the Selectmen more formally before it is released. Mr. Sandeen said the Solar Task Force hopes to get a response to the RFP that will include not only Hastings School, the Fire Station and the Lexington Children's Center, but also Diamond Middle School, the Hadley Public Services Building, and the three municipal parking lots. The work is expected to be staggered. Mr. Malloy said he will distribute copies of the RFP to the Board. Mr. Pato asked if the RFP is intended to solicit power production agreements or solar installation capital projects. Mr. Newell said it is hoped the bidders will submit for both alternatives. Ms. Barry said she is happy to see the Hadley Public Services Building included on the list for solar panels and added that the Town pool building would also be a good location. Ms. Barry asked if there is staff capacity to get the RFP out in good time, Mr. Newell reported that the Town received a $10,000 grant to generate the RFP and there are also some Operating funds that could be used, if necessary. He added that two Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) grants have been received: one for $250,000 for Hastings Elementary and another for $79,000 for LCP. Two more awards are anticipated, one for the Visitors Center and another for the main Fire Station. Edward Ganshirt, 48 Fletcher Avenue, asked if the storage is both electric and thermal and what the battery life is expected to be. Review and Approve Updated Battle Green Board of Selectmen Regulations The Police and DPW departments asked for several changes to the draft that have now been made. The most significant changes were the prohibition against use of grills/open flames and the placement of portable restrooms on the Green. The use of marijuana is also prohibited, similar to the consumption of alcohol. The language regarding drone use, which was included in a previous draft, remains the same. A request to prohibit signs on sticks was reviewed by Town Counsel and found to be inappropriate, although the general posting signs remains prohibited. November 19, 2018 Page 8 of 9 Dawn McKenna, Tourism Committee Chair, asked for clarification to ascertain that none of the Battle Green-related signage would be affected by the regulations. Mr. Pato said it is his understanding that these official, permanent signs are exempt from the regulations. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted 4-0 to approve the amended Battle Green Regulation as proposed. Battle Green Request—Lexington Tea Burning Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to approve the use of the Battle Green by the Lexington Minute Men on Sunday, December 9, 2018 for a musket drill (non-firing) at 10:00 a.m. and several musket fire volley demonstrations between 12:15 - 3:00 p.m. pending issuance of required approvals by Town Departments for the Lexington Tea Burning event being held on the Visitors Center Lawn. The Town Manager's Office is coordinating approval for use of the Visitor's Center Lawn. Future Meeting Dates The Selectmen reviewed meeting dates through the end on 2018 as well as the potential for a Board Meeting on February 22, 2019 at 9 a.m. to approve the FY20 Budget; a Joint Meeting with School Committee for update on Mental Health issues on Monday, January 14; a Joint Meeting with Appropriation Committee, Capital Expenditures Committee and Board of Assessors to begin a policy discussion on Personal Property Tax; a Joint Meeting with the Planning Board regarding procedures and shared vision; and scheduling the annual June Goal Setting meetings with the Town Manager. Ms. Barry reminded Board members to put a hold on Mondays at 6 p.m. as potential start times for Executive Session on nights prior to Regular Session meetings. Selectmen Committee Appointments Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to appoint John Frey as Honorary Member to the Tree Committee. Consent Agenda • Approve Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to approve the Regular Session minutes of. July 9, 2018; July 23, 2018; August 6, 2018 August 27, 2018; August 28, 2018 (Joint meeting with the School Committee); September 5, 2018; September 17, 2018; and September 26, 2018. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to approve but not release the Executive Session minutes of August 6, 2018 and August 27, 2018. Adjourn November 19, 2018 Page 9 of 9 Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selection voted 4-0 to adjourn at 9:35 p.m. A true record; Attest: Kim Siebert Recording Secretary