HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-28 SB-min
SELECT BOARD MEETING
Monday, September 28, 2026
A meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, September 28,
2026, via a hybrid meeting platform. Mr. Pato, Chair; Ms. Kumar, Vice Chair; Ms. Hai; Mr. Lucente, and
Mr. Sandeen were present, as well as Town Manager, Mr. Bartha; Deputy Town Manager, Ms. Axtell;
and Executive Assistant, Ms. Katzenback.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Dawn McKenna, 9 Hancock Street, read a letter on behalf of Elena Proakis Ellis, which noted that the
comment period is open for the MWRA's long-term combined sewer overflow control plan and expressed
support for the MWRA's proposed plan. The MWRA's proposed plan includes a balanced approach with
select sewer separation, along with significant storage and treatment of both stormwater and wastewater.
The letter urged the Select Board to become fully educated on these issues before taking any votes for or
against the MWRA's proposed plan.
SELECT BOARD MEMBER CONCERNS AND LIAISON REPORTS
1. Select Board Member Announcements and Liaison Reports
Mr. Pato noted one additional item from the Historical Commission supporting inclusion of the proposed
zoning change on the Special Town Meeting Warrant.
Ms. Hai noted that she, Ms. Kumar, and Mr. Lucente, had the opportunity to visit Lexington’s sister city
in Antony, France along with the Director of Public Health, Management Fellow, Visitor Center
Manager, Economic Development Coordinator, and Assistant Superintendent for Finance. These
exchanges are fully self-funded by the individuals participating. The group had important informational
meetings and learned some items that could be implemented in Town, particularly around the arts and
culture, visitors' economy, and academic and sports initiatives.
DOCUMENTS: 2026-09-28-Email-Updated.pdf
2. Lexington High School Project Update to Board
Mr. Pato explained that the School Building Committee met earlier today. The budget remains on track.
Some savings have been obtained through the total value design process. Those savings have been moved
to the contingency for construction, so that they remain in the target budget. The second item is that the
review of the external appearance is near final.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
1. Town Manager Weekly Update
Mr. Bartha stated that there was a business roundtable this morning There was discussion regarding the
success of FIFA this summer and some of the transportation challenges facing local businesses.
CONSENT AGENDA
1. Approve: & One-Day Liquor License - Spectacle Management, Inc., 1605 Massachusetts Avenue
Love Letters (play) - Thursday, October 22, 2026
To approve a One-Day Liquor License for Spectacle Live to serve beer and wine at Cary Memorial
Building, 1605 Massachusetts Avenue, Thursday, October 22, 2026 from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM.
2. Approve: & One-Day Liquor License - Wilson Farm, 10 Pleasant Street
3rd Annual Beer Garden Event - Thursday, October 1, 2026 & Friday, October 2, 2026
To approve a One-Day Liquor License for Wilson Farms to serve beer outside their farm greenhouse #7,
10 Pleasant Street on Thursday, October 1, 2026 & Friday, October 2, 2026 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
3. Approve: Water and Sewer July Finals
To approve:
Water and Sewer July 2026 Finals $ 23,879.26
DOCUMENTS: July Finals SB 9-28-26.pdf
4. Vote and Sign: November 2026 State Election Warrant
To approve and sign the November 3, 2026 State Election Warrant.
DOCUMENTS: Lexington Early Voting - November 2026.pdf; Town Clerk Notice about information on
the November State Election Warrant; State Election Warrant 2026.pdf
5. Approve: Proclamation
Employee Recognition Day
To approve and sign a proclamation for Employee Recognition Day to honor all Town employees and to
recognize those employees with 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 40 years of service.
DOCUMENTS: 2026 Employee Recognition Day.pdf
6. Approve: Select Board Meeting Minutes
To approve and release the following minutes:
August 17, 2026 Select Board
August 31, 2026 Select Board
DOCUMENTS: DRAFT 08172026 Select Board minutes(.pdf; DRAFT 08312026 Select Board
minutes(.pdf
7. Approve: Select Board Committee Appointments
To approve the following committee appointments:
Board of Registrars
o Johnathan Cohler
Communications Advisory Committee
o Arindam Biswas
Council for the Arts
o Raj Kamala
o Jane Paulson
Lexington Human Rights Committee
o Robert Wahlert
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
o Designee - Matthew Jarell, Lexington Transportation Services Manager
o Alternate Desinee Meghan Roche, Lexington Assistant Planning Director
Noise Advisory Committee
o Joseph Campbell
Town Report Committee
o Rasya Krishna
8. Approve: Select Board Committee Reappointments
To reappoint the board and committee members with term expirations as indicated on the attached
document, titled September 2026 Committee Reappointments, to be effective on October 1, 2026.
Board of Appeals:
o Ralph Clifford
Board of Appeals Associates:
o Scott Cooper
o Jeanne Kriegar
o Kathryn Roy
o Thomas Shiple
Communications Advisory Committee:
o Robert Avallone
o Shabbir Bagasrawala
o Dorinda Goodman
o Steven Kaufman
o Nicholas Lauriat
Council for the Arts:
o Alix Fox
o Eric Hellweg
o Jennifer Zacharis
Design Advisory Committee:
o Minhaj Kirmani
o Danit Netzer
Economic Development Advisory Committee:
o Jingshi Hu
o Adrienne Ortyl
o David Pronchick
Fence Viewers:
o David Burns
o Dawn McKenna
Greenways Corridor Committee:
o Margaret Enders
o Eileen Entin
o Susan Kenyon
Housing Partnership Board:
o Christopher Herbert
o Joyce Murphy
o Melanie Thompson
o Betsey Weiss
Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee:
o James Cadenhead
o Jason Dearling
o Jonathan Schwarz
o Thomas Shiple
Lexington Center Committee:
o Katherine Huang
o Kathleen MacDonald
o Innessa Manning
Lexington Human Rights Committee:
o Stephanie Hsu
o Hafsah Syed
o Judith Zola
Lexington Scholarship and Education Fund Committee:
o Julie Hackett
o Raquel Leder
Monuments and Memorials Committee:
o William Bassett
o George Gamota
o Nicholas Wong
Noise Advisory Committee:
o Barbara Katzenberg
Sustainable Lexington Committee:
o Daniel Voss
o Richard Reibstein
Tourism Committee:
o Melissa Clifford
o Margaret Coppe
o Gardy Desrouleaux
o Bebe Fallick
o Ting Fang
o Katia Gacanovic
o Marie-Tristan Rago
Town Report Committee:
o Gloria Amirault
o Beverly Liu
o Susan Myerow
o Varshagouri Ramanathan
o Ragan Robertson
o Vicky Sax
o Karyn Zhao
Transportation Advisory Committee
o Lance Bradley
Tree Committee:
o Frances Frankenburg
o Patricia Moyer
o Kenneth Prescott
o Barbara Tarrh
o Benjamin Fein-Cole: non-voting
Trustees of Public Trusts:
o James Cavallo
Vision for Lexington Committee:
o Sara del Nido Budish
o Andrew Dixon
o Tingwei Lin
o Carol Marine
o Placid Shiu
o Catherine Yan
Water and Sewer Abatement Board:
o James Osten
DOCUMENTS: September 2026 Committee Reappointments.pdf
9. Accept: Select Board Committee Resignation
Lexington Council for the Arts - Mamata Banerjee
To accept the resignation of Mammata Banerjee from the Lexington Council for the Arts, effective
September 30, 2026.
DOCUMENTS: Mamata Banerjee - Council for the Arts.pdf
VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 to approve the Consent
Agenda.
ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION
1. Hearing: FY2027 Water and Sewer Rates
The hearing was opened at 6:46pm.
Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, presented the proposed Water and Wastewater
rates for Fiscal Year 2027, along with supporting information. This item also serves as the public hearing
on Water and Wastewater rates for FY2027 ahead of the Board’s final vote which is expected on October
5, 2026.
Ms. Kosnoff stated that for FY26, the overall water revenue was projected at $13.95M and came in at
$15.93M. There was a large surplus of water revenue FY26, just under $2M. A large amount of that is
under the user charges line, $1.2M, which was primarily driven by irrigation revenue. The water
enterprise retained earnings are not certified by the Department of Revenue yet but are projected to be
approximately $4.48M. This is a higher amount of retained earnings than the Town typically holds. There
was total water revenue projected at approximately $13.2M which came in at approximately $13.3M. The
fund balance in the wastewater enterprise fund increased from $1.05M to $1.21M. The combined
proposed rate increase for FY27 is 2.8%. This reflects a 3.8% increase in the water rates and a 2.3%
increase in the wastewater rates. Staff are proposing a couple of small adjustments to the budget for Fall
Annual Town Meeting to bring the MWRA's assessments for both water and wastewater to the actuals
from the preliminary, and the same with debt service. Slight downward tweaks were made to Tier 2 for
both water and wastewater which is reflective of a consistent three-year trend. Slight increases were made
on the water side to both the VA and Hanscom Lincoln Labs, which is also reflective of recent trends.
The water budget is proposed to increase 4.2% for the year. This is primarily due to the MWRA
assessment and the Town’s cash capital. The cash capital built into the budget is $1.4M, up from $1.2M
last year. The total water consumption is only projected to increase by 0.4%. The wastewater budget is
proposed to increase approximately 1% from the analysis. The estimated average Lexington household is
using approximately 70 hundred cubic feet. At 70 hundred cubic feet, the total bill for FY27 would be
estimated at $1,140 or an increase of $0.30 over last year, which is a 2.8% increase. MWRA considers an
average household to be 120 hundred cubic feet, which is a larger amount of volume of water than is
typically seen in Lexington.
Ms. Kosnoff noted that there are two large capital projects coming down the line. The first is some soil
remediation at the site where the water towers are located. This is a three-year project and estimated to
cost approximately $3M. After that, there will be a significant rehab needed for the water tanks. As
estimate for that is in the works but will likely cost $5M+. It is staff's recommendation to hold onto the
retained earnings balance for now to avoid having to debt finance these larger projects. An alternative
would be to consider paying down the rates and putting some of that surplus to lower the rates.
John Bartenstein. member of the Appropriations Committee, expressed concerns regarding the usage
projections and the retained earnings as mentioned, particularly on the water side, where the Town
currently has approximately $4M in retained earnings. He does not have an issue with setting these aside
for future capital projects but is concerned with doing that again this year and bringing the retained
earning up to potentially $6M. It should be clear that the Town is raising money for those capital projects
and not by setting rates that are too high and then accumulating significant retained earnings balances that
get applied after the fact.
Mr. Sandeen stated that he received an email from a resident asking about raising irrigation rates. Ms.
Kosnoff stated that the point of an enterprise fund is to cover the costs of a service. The Town is not
attempting to generate a profit from this. The rates do not all have to go up at the same percentage and
could be changed. This would require rebuilding the model. The Town funded a water and sewer rate
study in last year's budget, which is currently underway. Currently, the rates are billed semi-annually. The
intention is to build a quarterly rate structure, and there will be opportunities for modifying the structure.
Options will be presented to the Board in the future. These changes would likely occur after July 1, 2027.
Mr. Sandeen asked about EPA compliance costs, as there is a compliance cost for the municipality in
terms of the MS4 permit for phosphorus runoff. Irrigation is one of the drivers of phosphorus runoff. Ms.
Kosnoff stated that the stormwater program is currently managed separately from the water and
wastewater programs. This can be examined further.
The hearing was continued to 6:30pm at the October 5, 2026, Select Board Meeting.
DOCUMENTS: FY26 Water and Sewer Rate Setting Presentation_9.28.2026.pdf; Water-Sewer Rate-
Setting FY2027_v2_posted 9.24.2026.pdf
2. Update: Lexington Community Farm Programs
Pam Tames, Executive Director Lexington Community Farm, provided the Board with an update on
current programs, activities, and initiatives, including recent accomplishments and plans for the coming
year. Since 2014, there has been significant revenue growth, believed to be directly related to the quality
of food, commitment to the land, education and volunteer programming, and community satisfaction and
demand. The revenue also shows that the farm is a sustainable nonprofit organization.
The Board thanked the Farm for all of its work and acknowledged its importance in Town.
DOCUMENTS: LexFarm Presentation
3. American Public Works Association Presentation of Accreditation to Lexington Department of
Public Works
Rich Benevento, Region 1 Director National APWA Board of Directors, noted that the Lexington
Department of Public Works received its fourth accreditation through the American Public Works
Association (APWA) Accreditation Program. The Lexington DPW achieved its first accredited status in
2014. The APWA Accreditation Program evaluates public works agencies against nationally recognized
management practices and promotes continuous improvement, accountability, and effective service
delivery. Accreditation is a mark of professionalism, indicating a public works agency has made a
commitment to continuous improvement in the delivery of public works operations and service in the
community that it serves. Accreditation recognizes an agency's policies, procedures, and practices, which
have been evaluated by experienced public works professionals by comparing them against
internationally recognized management practices appropriate for that specific agency. There are over
19,400 cities and towns in the United States, and another 3,700 in Canada. There are currently only 235
accredited agencies and only 188 accredited organizations. There are only three in Massachusetts, along
with Lexington, just Brookline, and Sudberry.
The Town acknowledged this important accomplishment.
4. Review: Draft Warrant for Special Town Meeting
Ms. Axtell will review the draft warrant for the Special Town Meeting 2026-1. She explained that six of
the Articles on the warrant are financial articles. The last one is a Planning Board article.
Ms. McCabe explained that if the Board puts Article 7 on the warrant tonight, a public hearing would be
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scheduled for the October 21 Planning Board meeting. A second public hearing is tentatively scheduled
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for October 29. The suggested changes are based on experience from three SPRD applications in Town.
One of the major changes of this proposal is to preserve historic structures if they are subject to the
demolition delay bylaw, or within a historic district. Another major change includes some limitations
lowering the maximum size of the gross floor area, and less site coverage than what is allowed today.
There was some concern expressed on the Board regarding a tight timeframe for this Article and the
process in having it heard.
Hariet Cohen, Clerk of the Housing Partnership Board, stated that the usual criteria for adding a warrant
article to Special Town Meeting is that it addresses an urgent or pressing issue. The proposed zoning
article does neither. It was first discussed by the Planning Board in December 2025. The first discussion
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of the complete set of proposed zoning changes was on September 2, with further discussion scheduled
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for October 21 and 29. If these proposed zoning changes were urgent or pressing, discussion of the full
information should not have been postponed for almost nine months. The new zoning proposes significant
changes to the SPRD zoning. The original SPRD Committee spent five years working on the SPRD
zoning. She asked if it is appropriate to include significant zoning changes in the November Special Town
Meeting warrant with little notice or outreach to the community or Town Meeting Members and very
limited opportunity for discussion.
Sandra Hackman urged the Board to include the proposed amendments to the SPRD bylaw on this year's
warrant. These changes are important and timely. When Annual Town Meeting approved the new SPRD
bylaw in 2023, proponents promised that it could and would be updated based on experience. The
Planning Board has since approved three SPRDs, and developers have submitted several more proposals.
SPRD developments can occur by-right anywhere in Town if builders can assemble two lots. Lexington
needs to ensure that this bylaw encourages the kind of development that the Town wants and needs.
Applying these updates sooner rather than later will ensure that the Town receives proposals that reflect
residents' preferences and values, as well as real-world experience.
Dawn McKenna, 9 Hancock Street, stated that she would like to review the full language for this Article.
It is unfair to Town Meeting members and the community to put this forward until more information is
available.
Tom Shiple, 18 Phinney Road and Town Meeting Member Precinct 1, expressed concern that the required
due diligence has not been completed on this item. People have been referring to some of these changes
as modest but there are some that are not so simple, and the consequences of which have not been studied
enough. As an example, lowering the maximum dwelling unit size could have an effect on what type of
developments are proposed in Town. One of the motivations for this bylaw was to obtain a certain style of
development. Lowering the minimums for the dwelling unit sizes could prevent that type of development.
With respect to the historic structures, this bylaw forces a choice between preserving historic structures
and creating more housing. This is an unnecessary choice as there is an approach that could incentivize
historic structures and obtain housing.
Margaret Heitz, Precinct 4, stated that she is not in favor of having this broad language before the Town
this fall. The changes could be quite consequential, and the public needs longer to consider what the
Planning Board is proposing.
Tina McBride, Planning Board member, stated that she proposed this amendment to the Planning Board
almost a year ago in November 2025. That was a result of six months' work. The work was compelled by
residents’ concerns regarding changes made to the SPRD bylaw in 2023. Special residential developments
can occur by-right in any neighborhood. The Planning Board's role is to act as stewards of the Town's
comprehensive plan, guiding long-term goals for zoning, housing, and community preservation in the best
interest of current and future residents. The proposed changes to the SPRD bylaw are incremental and
based on experiential data. Resulting SPRD developments provide examples of what the Town can expect
to see. The proposed changes are based on what has been learned in the last 3.5 years. Town meeting
members should have the chance to hear from constituents and vote on the amendment.
Betsy Weiss, 8 Dover Lane and a former SPRD Committee member, stated that the amendment is not
ready for the November Special Town Meeting. The amendment states that all historic structures must be
preserved, including 2,000 historic forms in town. She asked if these 2,000 residents have been notified
and asked for input. Also, the open space site coverage would be increased from 15% to 28%. She asked
about the impact from this. The landscaping buffer change would require a street side to have a 5’ wide
and a minimum 6’ high landscape buffer area. She asked if this is even possible. The amendment has not
had consultation with developers yet.
Gil Benghiat, 5 Sunny Knoll Ave, asked the Board to put this on the warrant. The current regulation can
be improved. The proposal will be better for the Town. The changes are incremental based on lessons
learned, not a brand new initiative. This will bring the bylaw in line with the MBTA overlay and other
single-family rules. There will be public hearings and input,
The Board agreed to continue discussion on this item at its next meeting.
DOCUMENTS: 2026-1_Special_Town_Meeting_Warrant_DRAFT_9.25 .pdf; Comment from Housing
Partnership Board; Comment from Historical Commission
5. Receive: Ad Hoc Crematory Study Committee Report**
**Note: Public comment will not be taken on this item at the meeting
Mr. Pato recused himself from the Select Board for this discussion.
Mr. Pato, as chair of the committee, explained that the Ad Hoc Crematory Study Committee II was
established in early 2025 to study options for a potential crematory at Westview Cemetery and provide
recommendations to the Select Board. The Ad Hoc Crematory Study Committee II considered three
options: constructing a crematory adjacent to or connected to the Westview Cemetery Building,
constructing a crematory at another location on the Westview Cemetery property, or not pursuing
construction of a crematory at this time. The Committee has submitted its final report, including its
findings and recommendations, for the Board’s receipt, completing the work of the Committee.
The Board thanked and acknowledged the committee for its work on this topic.
Mr. Lucente asked about opportunities beyond a municipally staffed facility. Mr. Pato stated that this was
not explored in depth. One of the recommendations is to look at a public-private partnership engagement,
either with an existing operator or a nonprofit, but this went beyond the scope of the committee, and so
was not more deeply pursued.
VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 4-0, with Mr. Pato abstaining, to
receive the report of the Ad Hoc Crematory Study Committee II and place the report on file with the
Town Clerk.
DOCUMENTS: Presentation; Ad Hoc Crematory Study Committee II Final report
6. Review: Proposed 2027 Select Board Meeting Dates
The Board reviewed its proposed 2027 meeting dates.
DOCUMENTS: Proposed 2027 Select Board Meeting Dates.pdf
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Exemption 6: To Consider the Purchase, Lease, Exchange, Value of Real Property - Silk Fields
VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded the Select Board voted by roll call 5-0 at 8:51pm that the
Select Board go into Executive Session under Exemption 6: To Consider the Purchase, Lease, Exchange,
Value of Real Property - Silk Fields, and to not reconvene in Open Session. Further, it was declared that
an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Town.
ADJOURN
VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call, the Select Board voted 5-0 from
the Executive Session to adjourn both the Executive Session and the Regular Meeting at 9:25p.m.
A true record; Attest:
Kristan Patenaude
Recording Secretary