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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-05-CEC-min (AM) JS /�° \9� Minutes of the �3 Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting Morning November 5, 2020 Location and Time: Remote Meeting; 8:00 A.M. Members Present (remote participation): Charles Lamb, Chair; David Kanter, Vice-Chair & Clerk; Sandy Beebee; Rod Cole (departed at 8:50 A.M.); Wendy Manz, and Frank Smith Members Absent: None Others Present (remote participation): Thomas Martellone, Director of Innovation and Instructional Technology, Lexington Public Schools (LPS); David Coelho, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, LPS; Scott Bokun, School Committee liaison; Glenn Parker, Chair, Appropriation Committee; Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Jennifer Hewitt, Town Budget Officer; Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary. Documents Presented: • Notice of CEC Meeting, November 5, 2020 • Schools Department FY2022-2026 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) • Schools Department responses to CEC Questions Provided Regarding the Schools Department CIP (Schools Q&A) • Draft #3 of CEC Meeting Minutes, October 6, 2020, Open Session Call to Order Mr. Lamb called this Remote (Virtual) Meeting, which had been posted as such, to order at 8:01 A.M. He announced that the requirement to have a physical presence of a quorum had been suspended in an Executive Order by Massachusetts Governor Charles D. Baker, on March 12, 2020, after having proclaimed, on March 10, 2020, a STATE OF EMERGENCY in the Commonwealth due to the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus, known as "COVID-19". Mr. Lamb announced the Documents Presented at this meeting and stated that any votes during this meeting would be taken by a roll-call vote—which he will call. He advised that the meeting is being recorded to facilitate the preparation of the Minutes and the recording would then be deleted. A roll-call vote was taken and confirmed that six CEC Committee (Committee) members were remotely participating at the beginning of the meeting. Review of the Schools Department FY2022-FY2026 CIP Appreciation was expressed by the Committee for the work done by staff to prepare the CIP and to respond to the Committee's questions & comments by the Schools Q&A. Mr. Kanter asked whether the CIP had been updated in response to comments made by this Committee, Mr. Martellone advised that he had made such changes to the CIP; however, Ms. Hewitt advised the Committee would not see the changes as the Committee's access to the Wdesk data is only to a snapshot in time she authorizes—as is the snapshot this Committee had received. Ms. Hewitt noted that the CIPs are not published externally; they are working documents. Mr. Kanter explained that his requests for changes in the CIPs reflect his opinion that the CIPs should stand alone as part of the record, the text helps in preparing the Town Manager's Preliminary Budget & Financing Plan (White Book) and the Recommended Budget and Financing Plan (Brown Book), and clarification assists this Committee in understanding the funding requests. Page 1 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting Morning November 5, 2020 In response to questions, staff comments included the following: • Responding to the current COVID-19 environment and the additional demand for electronic devices has been a challenge. Fortunately, Lexington had been able to order new devices at the end of the budget year to ensure availability at the beginning of the school year. • Since coming to Lexington, Mr. Martellone has been creating an equipment replacement plan. • Document cameras are interactive projectors primarily used at the elementary level. They generally have a 10-year lifespan, and it is time to replace this equipment in some of the schools. The goal is to replace this equipment one school at a time. • The schools have field technicians who can repair broken Chrome Books. Loaner Chrome Books are available, as necessary. Chrome Books at the Middle School level have a life span of approximately three years. If a student loses or irreparably damages a Chrome Book, the school asks parents to help with the replacement cost. Those funds go to the Town, not the School Department's operating budget, because they were purchased with capital funds. • At the end of the school year, the equipment that has been used by eighth and twelfth graders is sold. Most recently the sold devices garnered approximately $133,000, which was added to the Town's Miscellaneous Receipts. • It is not always clear whether the devices being sold were debt funded. There is an effort to move away from debt funding for this equipment going forward. • A couple of years ago, the Town upgraded its infrastructure to accommodate up to 5 gigabytes (GB), and the RCN connection was recently increased to 10 GB. The next jump would be to 40 GB at an approximate cost of $500,000, which is deemed to be unnecessary at this time. • Some electronic equipment expenses shown for specific fiscal years need to be reclassified to show that more has not been spent than appropriated, as the current CIP appears to indicate. This will be corrected in the near future. The original Motions are general, so the funds are fungible between years. When a project is complete, the funds are returned to the Town. • The schools account structure is extremely complex. Mr. Kanter cautioned that maintenance generally should not be included in a capital budget. There was a discussion about the difference between Capital Projects and Capital Programs. Ms. Kosnoff explained that Capital Projects are generally large, onetime events with funding that is available over time and the balance of which is returned to the Town at the end of the project. Capital Programs, which are generally for expensive, tangible items, are funded every year (e.g., technology upgrades). These funds usually roll over multiple years, with the oldest amounts used first. Mr. Cole departed at 8:50 A.M. Mr. Kanter's suggestions about the use of "To Be Determined" in the CIPs triggered discussion about some of the restrictions regarding the CIP production process and potential methods to improve clarity. Page 2 of 3 Minutes of the Lexington Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) Meeting Morning November 5, 2020 Approval of Minutes A Motion was made and seconded to approve the October 6, 2020, Open Session Minutes. Roll-Call Vote:5-0 Member Concerns and Liaison Reports: Ms. Kosnoff invited members of this Committee to attend a Board of Assessors meeting on November 9, 2020, 4:00 P.M. that will include a presentation from Vision Government Solutions regarding real estate market analyses. This may be particularly interesting because of the effect the pandemic has had on commercial property. This information may influence the tax rate-setting process. The Town Manager plans to attend this Committee's December 17th meeting at 8 a.m. There was discussion about access to the CIPs on Wdesk, and the need to get updated CIPs. It was agreed that updates would be available in late November and again when the White Book is published. Appreciation was expressed for the work by staff to create a better process for creating and sharing the CIPs. Adjourn A Motion was made and seconded at 9:12 A.M. to adjourn. Roll-Call Vote:5-0 This Minutes was approved by the CEC at its meeting on November 13, 2020. Page 3 of 3