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Minutes of the
s \�� Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
n March 20, 2019
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Location and Time: Town Office Building, Reed Room (111); 7:45 A.M.
Members Present: Charles Lamb, Chair; David Kanter, Vice-Chair& Clerk; Sandy Beebee;
Rod Cole; Frank Smith; and Wendy Manz
Members Absent: None
Others Present: Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance;
David Pinsonneault, Director, Department of Public Works; Sara Arnold, Recording
Secretary
Documents Presented:
• Notice of CEC Meeting, March 20, 2019
• Draft#4 CEC Report to 2019 Annual Town Meeting (ATM); Compiled by Mr. Kanter
Call to Order: Mr. Lamb called the meeting to order at 7:45 A.M.
Preparation for the 2019 ATM, including Review of Draft#4 of this Committee's Report
to that Town Meeting (CEC Report):
Mr. Lamb reported that his report to the ATM for this Committee under Article 2: Election of
Deputy Moderator and Reports of Town Boards, Officers and Committees, would be short
and based on the Executive Summary.
Mr. Kanter initiated a page-by-page review of Draft#4 of the CEC Report to address/clarify
comments/questions, make corrections, and verify the person responsible for additional
actions needed to complete the report. Edits made since the last version were accepted
and/or tweaked.
During the review, Mr. Pinsonneault stopped in (7:55 A.M.-8:03 A.M.) to answer questions
regarding DPW-related projects. The discussion with Mr. Pinsonneault focused on Article 16:
Appropriate for Municipal Capital Projects and Equipment; f) Automatic Meter Reading
System (AMR) (Article 16(f)). Comments included but were not limited to:
• Assuming this project is funded, the water meters that are installed in the next few
years will need to be replaced in approximately 15 years.
• Funding for meter replacements is included in the operating budget, using Enterprise
Funds. Currently, this is handled by staff. Under the new program it is anticipated that
a contractor would be used.
• The system is expected to identify 80-90% of leaks in a shorter period of time than is
now the case. The Town can turn off a resident's water if the resident is out-of-town.
• A resident can use an on-line system to monitor water usage and establish thresholds
for identifying when water usage is out of the ordinary.
Ms. Kosnoff stopped in (8:19 A.M.-9:30 A.M.) to answer questions. She noted that the
average additional cost per household for the AMR system is estimated to be approximately
$80 per year. Regarding Article 22: Establish, Dissolve, and Appropriate to and from
Specified Stabilization Funds (Article 22), Ms. Kosnoff reported that the Memorandum of
Understanding associated with the King Street property is being reviewed by the Town to
determine which stabilization fund, or funds, will receive the nearly $1.0 million payment that
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Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting
March 20, 2019
the Town is receiving. If not resolved in time for this Annual Town Meeting, that action would
be deferred until a later Town Meeting.
Mr. Kanter resumed the page-by-page review of the draft CEC Report. Comments and/or
votes taken included, but were not limited to, the following:
• Article 16(f): A Motion was made and seconded to support this Article. There was
agreement that the process for developing and sharing information about this project
had been lacking in terms of justification and clarity. Despite these concerns,
Mr. Smith added that he believes that ultimately the new technology is worthwhile, and
it is expected to improve equity and provide some emergency response improvement.
Mr. Cole, Mr. Kanter, Mr. Lamb, and Ms. Manz added a concern that the arguments
for supporting the system were being "oversold", but generally concurred with
Mr. Smith. Ms. Beebee did not find the arguments for the system to be convincing,
adding that they provide a false sense of security. She noted that the benefits do not
justify the costs, and she does not like the need for using consultants. Vote: 5-1
It was agreed that Ms. Beebee would prepare text to explain her dissenting vote and
work with Mr. Smith who would describe this Committee's support for the project.
• Article 22: It was agreed that To Be Determined would be inserted into the report for
the King Street property, if needed. A Motion was made and seconded to support this
Article. Vote: 6-0
• A Motion was made and seconded to approve Draft #4 to be the CEC Report to the
2019 ATM as presented, with the changes discussed at this meeting, with the votes
contained and or taken at this meeting, and with the understanding that
non-substantive changes can be made by the Chair and/or the Vice-Chair. Vote: 6-0
Mr. Lamb thanked the Committee members for their hard work, with special thanks to
Mr. Kanter for his management of getting the report written and compiled. He noted that the
Committee worked well during this endeavor and he is pleased that, as a whole, they are
functioning so well.
Mr. Kanter will take the actions necessary to have the report printed and distributed not later
than next Monday, the 25th—thereby achieving the standing goal of having the report
available a week before any strictly financial Article is brought to the floor of Town Meeting.
Member Concerns and Liaison Reports: As the report to the 2019 ATM was approved, it
was agreed to cancel this week's Friday morning meeting and to post Committee meetings
at 7:00 p.m. on the Monday and Wednesday evenings before the ATM session, starting
March 25th. Mr. Kanter will take the actions necessary to those postings.
Minutes: No Minutes were presented for approval.
Adjourn: A Motion was made and seconded at 9:46 A.M. to adjourn. Vote: 6-0.
These Minutes were approved by the CEC at its meeting on April 1, 2019.
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