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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-03-30 SB-min Select Board Meeting March 30, 2020 A remote participation meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on Monday, March 30, 2020 via Zoom remote meeting services. Mr. Lucente, Chair; Ms. Hai; Mr. Pato; Ms. Barry; and Mr. Sandeen participated remotely, as well as Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. Mr. Lucente stated this remote participation meeting is being held in accordance with Governor Baker’s March 12, 2020 Executive Order suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law to allow remote participation during Massachusetts’ State of Emergency due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. Mr. Lucente provided instructions to members of the public, who were watching or listening to the meeting via the Zoom application, regarding the procedure of making a public comment. PUBLIC COMMENT Albert Montgomery via email, 49 Outlook Drive, requested that the Lexington Public Health Department provide best estimates for expected cases and hospitalized cases of COVID-19 and that they identify specific enhancements in Lexington. SELECT BOARD MEMBER CONCERNS AND LIAISON REPORTS Ms. Hai stated that she had attended a virtual meeting of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) on Friday regarding planning during COVID-19 in a fast-changing landscape. She also stated that the Deputy Mayor of Lexington Sister City Antony, France, Patrick Devedjian, passed away yesterday from complications of COVID-19. He had welcomed members of the Select Board, as well as a delegation from Lexington during the September 2019 trip to Antony. Mr. Lucente thanked the Human Services Department for their continued efforts in reaching out to Lexington residents in need during the pandemic. Mr. Sandeen stated that he, Mr. Pato, Mr. Malloy, and other Town staff had met with Eversource this week regarding building a microgrid, based at the Lexington Fire Department, for an extended source of energy in the event of an outage. Mr. Sandeen suggested, amid the guidance from the Governor regarding essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, that the Select Board or the Town Manager send a letter to the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) regarding the continued allowance for construction of the seven solar projects throughout the town. Solar construction is currently considered essential, but the request would recognize Lexington’s need to move forward with their own projects in case solar construction is eventually deemed non-essential. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. COVID-19 Update - Strategies, Implementation and Community Response Actions Related to COVID-19 Guidelines and Directives Mr. Malloy presented the following public health information and Town response actions related to COVID-19 guidelines and directives to the Board: As of March 30, 2020, there were: 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Town; 36 residents under quarantine, and 43 residents off of quarantine. Town/School Operations:  The Lexington Public and Private Schools, Cary Memorial Library, Community Center, Town Offices, Public Services Building, Fire Station and Cary Memorial Building (including the temporary Lexington Visitors Center in Cary Memorial Building) remain closed to the public, consistent with the Governor’s order and public health guidelines. The golf courses are now also closed. It is anticipated this will continue through the month of April (the Governor closed schools until May 4, 2020).  Playgrounds are closed to all and parks are closed to group sports, but residents are continuing to use parks in large groups. The Town would like to reiterate, that if residents want to use parks for individual activity, that’s acceptable, but there should be no group sports. Due to complaints regarding people continuing to play basketball at Town parks, we have blocked the hoops so that they cannot be used. On Monday, March 30, 2020, the Town will also be closing all tennis courts.  All restaurants and on-premise license holders are closed except for the takeout option. The Town has put together a resource guide on the Town website that shows which restaurants are open for takeout. The Town Manager’s Office has approved the use of sandwich boards for restaurants that remain open to assist them during this state of emergency. All daycare centers are closed until further notice from the Governor. The Board of Health has issued an order closing personal care businesses, such as: nail salons, tattoo and body art parlors, hairdressers, and barbers as it is not possible to conduct these businesses and maintain a safe social distance.  The Town has not taken any action to restrict or halt construction activities in Lexington. As such, the Lexington Fire Station, Lexington Visitors Center, and other private projects continue to make progress.  All public restrooms remained locked.  Town Staff - Town staff are working a reduced schedule, with all Town Offices remaining operable and non-essential staffing remotely as of March 24, 2020 at noontime. The remaining staff have been maintaining safe social distancing and using remote meetings to communicate. Town Departments are continuing to respond to emails, processing payments, as well as processing accounts payable and payroll. All permitting will continue on an as- needed basis. The Town is conducting interviews to fill vacant positions using Zoom remote meeting services. Full-time employees that voluntarily self-quarantine may utilize sick leave or vacation leave and employees that are tested and have a presumptive positive test (and are required to be quarantined) will be provided paid administrative leave until they are cleared to return to work. Public safety employees that are exposed at work will voluntarily self-isolate and will be placed on paid administrative leave. As stated at last week’s Select Board meeting, the Town will continue to pay staff their full rate of pay.  Annual Town Meeting - As previously mentioned, the Town Moderator has officially postponed 2020 Annual Town Meeting until April 15, 2020. The Town will reassess this date as mid-April nears. Additionally, the Town Manager copied the Board on his comments to the legislature in relation to Town Meeting and including remote participation for Town Meeting as an amendment to the Governor’s bill. Mr. Malloy has spoken with Senator Mike Barrett and he has indicated a willingness to sponsor an amendment to the Governor’s bill and Representative Michelle Ciccolo has asked the Joint Committee on Municipal and Regional Government (who is holding hearings on this bill) to include the amendment the Town requested. To date, though an amendment to the bill (H. 4572) has not been seen, this may be something that is included elsewhere in the legislative process.  Boards, Committees & Commissions - The following Boards, Committees and Commissions will continue to meet via virtual meetings: Select Board, Appropriation Committee, Board of Assessors, Board of Health, Capital Expenditures Committee, Conservation Commission, Historic Districts Commission, Planning Board, School Committee, Zoning Board of Appeals, Retirement Board and Historical Commission. The following Committees have been added to the list: Neighborhood Conservation Districts and the Lexington Housing Assistance Board (LexHAB).  The Hartwell Avenue Compost Site will be closed on Sundays for the time being. The schedule will be Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  As of March 15, 2020, the Lexington Police Department has been: suspending all night parking enforcement, enforcing hazardous parking only, and suspending all meter enforcement through April 1, 2020. These suspensions and enforcements will be reviewed next week as well as suspended paid parking at the Depot Lot.  The Town Manager continues to have a regular conference call each morning with the Senior Management Team and Health Officials to review the change in the number of local cases, discuss actions that the Town is taking, and to discuss any issues or concerns of various departments.  We have already taken measures for non-essential staff to be working remotely, so we were well prepared to respond to the Governor’s order on March 23, 2020. Non-essential staff that need to work in the office will coordinate so that no more than one person will be working in an office at a time to maintain safe social distancing. Financial Implications:  The Town will begin reviewing the impact that the Coronavirus is having on the economy and related impact on the Town budget. For now, the impact will be to the Fiscal Year 2020 budget, but if it were to continue into July, there will be impacts to the Fiscal Year 2021 budget as well. Even if it does not continue, there may be impacts to the Fiscal Year 2021 budget from the potential lingering effects of a general and continuing downturn in the economy. In Mr. Malloy’s communications with other Town Managers, many are looking at using Fiscal Year 2008 for fiscal modeling for Fiscal Year 2021. The main concern right now is that it’s simply too early to predict what the financial implications will be to municipalities, but as state revenues drop, state aid may be reduced (likely only in the area of unrestricted aid, which will not have a significant impact on Lexington). More likely to have an impact is: meals tax, room tax, excise tax and many people’s potential difficulty in paying property taxes, water/sewer utility bills, etc. The time that the state of emergency continues will also have a major impact on our revenues for this fiscal year and next. As stated above, the Town will begin reviewing the potential impact and looking at some different modeling for Fiscal Year 2021, while continuing to keep the Board apprised. It may be that we are not able to provide accurate new estimates on the impact until the fall, so the Town may approach Fiscal Year 2021 with current revenue/expenditure estimates, hold off on any new spending and then address any potential revenue shortfalls once the actual impact is better known through budget adjustments at a Special Town Meeting in the fall. Mr. Malloy stated that late last week, the Town received a donation from Takeda Pharmaceuticals in the amount of $250,000. The donation will be used as an Emergency Assistance Fund for residents in the community. The Human Services Department is currently working on guidelines for eligibility and all approvals will be going through the Town Manager’s Office. The funds were designated to go into the Lexington Emergency Assistance Fund. Mr. Pato stated that residents can also donate to the Fund for Lexington to specifically aid those in need during the pandemic. Mr. Lucente stated that he drafted a thank you letter on behalf of the Board for the donation from Takeda Pharmaceuticals. He also reminded residents to avoid gathering in large groups and maintain social distances or keep to immediate family members only. The Town is not responsible for disciplining those who are not in compliance and has asked residents to use discretion when out in public. Mr. Sandeen stated that he has heard concerns from residents regarding being able to safely ride bikes on the Minuteman Bikeway and proposed coordinating with other towns to possibly close the bikeway temporarily. Dr. Wendy Heiger-Bernays via phone, Chair of the Lexington Board of Health, stated that we should not be focused on the number of confirmed cases because public health officials are significantly underestimating those who are actually infected due to lack of testing. She stated that Kari Sasportas, Health Director, is working with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to arrange for housing for first responders so that they are not exposing their families or vice versa whilst at home. 2. Update on Police Station Building Design Schedule Mr. Lucente stated that the discussion on the police station would involve critical decisions needed in order for the design work for the new police station building to continue moving forward amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. He stated that the project should continue to move forward despite the uncertainty. The discussion will include the consideration of an enclosed garage for nine patrol vehicles (or the option to consider the project without the garage element), as well as the new front entry design with universal access. The front entry will include public restrooms in the event that they are needed for activities at Fletcher Park. The design and construction schedules will be set once the Board is in agreement on the aforementioned items. Mike Cronin, Director of Public Facilities and Jeffery McElravy, AIA, Principal, Public Safety at Tecton Architects, provided an overview of the latest design for the proposed new police station. Mr. McElravy stated that the design includes the necessary program areas as follows: Public; Dispatch Center; Traffic Records; Community Training Room; Patrol Facilities; Conference Facilities; Investigative; Department Administration; Staff Facilities; Property and Evidence; Prisoner Processing; Detention Facilities; Vehicle Storage; Building Services and Vertical Circulation. The current design is new construction with a complete rebuild of the police station and primary entrance facing at 1575 Massachusetts Avenue. The proposed design is around 29,625 square feet, which is reduced from the last design presented in December of 34,791 square feet. The new proposed design presented cost savings, however an additional cost estimate would not be available until later on in the Schematic Design process. Mr. Lucente read the following comment, submitted via email for the record by Charles Lamb, Chair of the Capital Expenditure Committee, on behalf of the Committee: “The Capital Expenditures Committee unanimously supports the currently projected $25.5 million Police Headquarters construction cost, which includes an enclosed garage and its entrance. Each design element makes the Headquarters a proper home for our Police Department—not only to correct current significant deficiencies, but to serve our public safety needs for decades to come. Police Chief Mark Corr has outlined many significant advantages that only an enclosed garage and entrance provide that are fundamental needs for the Department to fulfill its responsibilities. The Lexington Police Patrolman’s Association has detailed many fundamental needs from its members' perspective. Public safety is a high priority for the Town. The new Fire & Rescue Headquarters will fully address that Department’s needs; the current Police Headquarters design achieves that for the Police Department.” Mark Corr via phone, Lexington Chief of Police, stated that the design process included input from a broad spectrum of members of the Lexington Police Department, ranging from dispatchers to patrol and up through the ranks. The program presented tonight has been addressed by many people and was brought forth thoughtfully. Bridger McGaw via phone, Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member, stated that he supports the addition of the entrance on Massachusetts Avenue as well as the universal accessibility. He also expressed support for the cost savings of the project and the garage that would extend the life cycle of the patrol vehicles. Deepika Sawhney via email, 6 Porter Lane, inquired about the Information Technology Department being included in the new proposed police station design. The Board was in agreement that the entrance of Massachusetts Avenue was a great addition to the proposed new design of the police station, as well as the universal access and public restrooms off of the front lobby. The Board was in consensus on the garage for police patrol vehicles and the cost savings of the new design. The Board would like to see where Special Town Meeting and a Debt Exclusion in the fall fits into the timeline of the project. The Board was comfortable with the project moving forward with the current design updates. 3. 2020 Annual Town Meeting  Discuss Planning for Town Meeting A Board discussion took place with Town Moderator, Deborah Brown, on next steps for 2020 Annual Town Meeting. The 2020 Annual Town Meeting had been postponed to April 15, 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Board’s discussion included the decision as to whether or not to go forward with a virtual Town Meeting and how that would be managed, as well as the possibility of Town Meeting being postponed further. If the Board were to go forward with the virtual Town Meeting, the following would also have to be considered in order to simplify the process: a possible shortened agenda with a longer than normal consent agenda, set of citizens petitions that may be referred back to the Select Board or Planning Board, and pared down Planning Board articles that would be referred back to the Planning Board. The Board would need to be in consensus on which budget is being presented at Town Meeting. The discussion on the comfort level of Town Counsel in regards to holding a virtual Town Meeting would need to be discussed and agreed upon as well. The timing of a virtual Town Meeting is of importance because the Town Meeting Members would need time to train for participation. Mina Makarious via phone, Town Counsel, stated that there is legislation pending in the State House that would provide relief to some municipalities on Town Meeting procedures (it would allow for a lower quorum to be established, to push out Town Meeting dates past June 30, 2020 for in-person meetings, etc.). A legislation was drafted by Mr. Makarious and his colleagues strictly for the remote participation aspect that has not yet passed. He expressed that he was comfortable that it is legal and feasible to move forward with the virtual Town Meeting, but was unclear about Bond Counsel, since they are held to a different standard. He stated that there are two options to accommodate that concern: (1) to have special legislation filed that doesn't even have to pass before Town Meeting itself occurs, ratifying the votes taken at Town Meeting or (2) to have a ratifying Town Meeting effectively when you're able to do so in-person that may have on it one simple article to take action and ratify everything that was done on a virtual Town Meeting. The Board Members expressed support for developing a plan for a virtual Annual Town Meeting. The expectation would be that the meeting could not be held before the second half of May. The first step in developing a remote meeting process would be to send a survey to Town Meeting Members to learn what technology each member can use – for example, do members have access to tools like Zoom on a computer or smartphone? Do households with multiple Town Meeting Members have access to enough devices to be able to vote independently? These and other questions will be circulated to Town Meeting Members, so that an inclusive proposal can be developed. Mechanisms for how residents attend the meeting will also be considered. A small working group consisting of Deborah Brown, Town Moderator; Mr. Lucente, Chair of the Select Board; Mr. Pato, Select Board Member; and Ben Moroze, Chair of the Town Meeting Member Association, will continue to develop a recommendation for the virtual Town Meeting process. The Board supported simplifying a virtual Town Meeting by reducing the number of articles and placing most on a robust consent agenda. Many sponsors of citizens’ articles have agreed to defer consideration until a Special Town Meeting later in the year, so the Board agreed to place those articles on the future warrant relieving these citizens from getting new petition signatures. The Board asked the Town Manager to review some elements of the proposed budget to see if the Town could delay appropriations to certain Stabilization Funds until the Special Town Meeting later in the year, by when, we should have a better sense of any financial impact to the Town from the current pandemic emergency. Avram Baskin, Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member, expressed concern in regards to Town Meeting Members being precluded from the virtual Town Meeting due to limited technology. He also expressed concern in regards to changing or reducing the quorum as it may effect representation from certain precincts (not being able to address concerns from that precinct). Dawn McKenna, Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member, expressed concerns regarding a virtual Town Meeting based on the importance of debate and participation. She also expressed concerns about which items are included on the consent agenda. She does not feel that Sunday should be considered a day to hold Annual Town Meeting due to the religious aspect.  Consent Agenda/Article positions The Board reviewed their positions on the proposed consent agenda and article positions. The resulting chart is appended to the end of these minutes. 4. Discuss Parking Meter Discounts and Policy Mr. Pato presented the suggested parking meters and discount policy. He stated that Board members have heard concerns from seniors regarding parking in the Center Business District. Previously, a proposal was brought forth to the Parking Management Group to provide an annual sticker program for discounted parking rates to senior residents in the Center Business District in April 2019, but no progress has been made since that time. There are existing parking programs for seniors in neighboring communities (i.e., Waltham, Medford). The request of the Board is to recommend moving the proposal forward to begin implementation. Mr. Pato stated that another factor in the parking policy are wintertime weather conditions. He mentioned that some seniors expressed concern regarding the challenge of accessing meters, especially in the winter when there are snowbanks. Even when the snow accumulation is not particularly obstructive, they have a greater concern with slipping on ice/snow. The current practice for the Lexington Police Department is to not enforce meters when they are obstructed but the degree to which a senior perceives an obstruction may be differ from that of the Parking Meter Attendant. The Board was in consensus in moving forward with the proposal for discounted parking rates for senior residents and anticipate more detailed feedback from Mr. Malloy at a future meeting. 5. Waste Disposal Discussion - Expansion of Partnership for Townwide-Curbside Compost Pick-up Availability of Recycling Totes for Purchase Cindy Arens, Sustainable Lexington Committee, representing a collaboration between the Lexington Public Schools (LPS) Green Teams and the Sustainable Lexington Waste Reduction Task Force, led a discussion on issues around reducing the waste stream. She stated that compostable waste – organic and paper – is the largest category of waste delivered to the North Andover waste-to-energy facility, which is where Lexington’s solid waste is received. Reducing this category of waste could substantially reduce Lexington’s tipping fees. In order to reduce this waste, the following suggestions were made: (1) consider opportunities to create incentives to expand curbside compostable collection and diverting food waste from the solid waste stream, (2) education campaign to help residents reduce waste generation, (3) review the Residential Solid Waste Regulations as they have not been updated in 20+ years, and (4) research the possibility of the Town partially subsidizing the waste pickups of those residents who currently privately pay for removal. The Board discussed waste reduction in Lexington and supported developing a plan for exploring what might be done in anticipation of the next solid waste disposal contract negotiations. In addition, Mr. Pato conveyed a request from residents to have wheeled recycling containers made available for purchase through the Town (these are the heavy-duty barrels that are intended for automated collection and are challenging to find for retail purchase). The Board supported exploring what options could be provided to residents. With the guidance of the Town Manager, Town staff will begin to work with the presenters and establish a working group to develop a plan before the next contract period. Lin Jensen via phone, Precinct 8 Town Meeting Member, stressed the importance of community education of waste reduction and composting as a separate organic waste prior to the contract renewal in 2023. Marcia Gens via phone, 16 Dane Road, stated that the presentation came from the Sustainable Lexington Waste Reduction Task Force and welcomed members of the Select Board to join their task force, as opposed to creating a new one through the Town. 6. Select Board Committee Reappointment Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call vote, the Select Board voted 4-0-1, (Ms. Barry abstained), to appoint Suzie Barry to the Policy Manual Committee to a two-year term to expire March 31, 2022. ADJOURN Upon a motion duly made and seconded, by roll call vote, the Select Board voted 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 10:54 p.m. A true record; Attest: Stacey Prizio Department Assistant Select Board Article Positions (as of 3/30/20) Preparation for 2020 Annual Town Meeting Potential Consent Agenda Articles DL JP SB JH MS Article 2 - Reports C C C C C Article 3 - Cary Lecture Series C C C C C Article 4 - Appropriate FY 2021 Operating Budget C C C C C Article 5 - Appropriate FY 2021 Enterprise Funds Budget C C C C C Article 6 - Establish Qualifications for Tax Deferrals C C C C C Article 7 - Petition General Court to Amend Legislation C C C C C Regarding Tax Deferrals Article 9 - Establish/Continue Departmental Revolving Funds C C C C C Article 10 - Appropriate for Community Preservation Committee (Articles 10a thru 10l and 10n thru 10o only) Article 11 - Appropriate for Recreational Capital C C C C C Article 12 - Appropriate for Municipal Capital and Equipment C C C C C Program Article 13 - Appropriate for Water System Improvements C C C C C Article 14 - Appropriate for Wastewater System Improvements C C C C C Article 15 - Appropriate for School Capital and Equipment C C C C C Article 16b - Center Recreation Complex Bathrooms & C C C C C Maintenance Bldg Renovation Article 16c - Public Facilities Master Plan C C C C C Article 16d - LHS Science Classroom Space Mining C C C C C Article 16e - Townwide Roofing Program C C C C C Article 16f - School Building Envelopes and Systems C C C C C Article 16g - Municipal Building Envelopes and Systems C C C C C Article 16h - Facility and Site improvements-Building Flooring C C C C C program and School Paving Program Article 16i - Public Facilities Bid Documents C C C C C Article 16j - Public Facilities Mechanical/Electrical System C C C C C Replacements Article 17 - Appropriate to Post Employment Insurance Liability R Fund Article 18 - Rescind Prior Borrowing Authorizations- IP IP, IP, IP, IP, C IP, C C C C Article 19 - Establish, Dissolve, and Appropriate To/From Stabilization Fund Article 20 - Appropriate from Debt Service Stabilization Fund C C C C C Article 21 - Appropriate for Prior Years Unpaid bills- IP IP, IP, IP, IP, C IP, C C C C Article 22 - Amend FY 20 Operating, Enterprise, CPA budgets Article 23 - Appropriate for Authorized Capital Improvements C C C C C Article 26 - Amend Historic Districts Commission Enabling C C C C C Legislation Article 27 - Amend General Bylaws- Noise Construction C C C C C Article 30 - Land exchange (Citizen) C C C C C Article 31 - Historic Preservation demo delay (Citizen)- IP IP, IP, IP, IP, C IP, C C C C Article 32 - Extend Hancock-Clark Historic District (Citizen)- IP IP, IP, IP, IP, C IP, C C C C Article 46 - Amend zoning- Reduce GFA (Citizen)- IP IP, IP, IP, IP, C IP, C C C C Potential Consent Agenda Articles - Motion will state DL JP SB JH MS refer back to Planning Board Article 35 - Amend Zoning Bylaw- Distances from RB RB RB RB RB basement, slab or crawl space and groundwater Article 36 - Amend Zoning Bylaw- Short term rentals RB RB RB RB RB Article 37 - Amend Zoning Bylaw-Site plan review RB RB RB RB RB Article 38 - Amend Zoning Bylaw- Financial services RB RB RB RB RB Article 39 - Amend Zoning Bylaw- Solar energy systems RB RB RB RB RB Article 40 - Amend Zoning Bylaw-Wireless RB RB RB RB RB Communications Facilities Article 41 -Amend Zoning Bylaw-Technical Corrections RB RB RB RB RB Article 43 - Amend Zoning Bylaw and Map- Hartwell Ave RB RB RB RB RB Area Article 44 - Amend Zoning Bylaw and Map- Bedford St RB RB RB RB RB near Hartwell Ave Article 45 - Amend Zoning Bylaw-Front year, transition, RB RB RB RB RB and screening areas Motion will state refer back to Select Board DL JP SB JH MS Article 8 - Short term rental fee RB RB RB RB RB Article 24 - Reduce Legal expenses (citizen) RB RB RB RB RB Article 28 - Amend general bylaws- (citizen) RB RB RB RB RB Article 29 - Declare climate emergence (citizen) RB RB RB RB RB Article 33 - Amend general bylaws-Running bamboo RB RB RB RB RB (citizen) Article 34 - Amend special legislation surcharge- (citizen) RB RB RB RB RB Articles that are time sensitive DL JP SB JH MS Article 10m - LexHab-116 Vine St Design funds Article 16a - Police indoor/outdoor firing range Article 16k - Westview Cemetery building construction Y Y Y Y Y Article 25 - Purchase of land (parking spaces) W W W W W Article 42 - 1050 Waltham Street (developer) Y Y Y Y Y