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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-04-AC-min 03/04/2021 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee (AC) March 4, 2021 Place and Time: Remote Participation: in accordance with the Governor's March 12, 2020 Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law; communication took place via a Zoom teleconferencing session that was open to the public; 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Glenn Parker, Chair; Sanjay Padaki, Vice-Chair; Alan Levine, Secretary; John Bartenstein; Eric Michelson; Meg Muckenhoupt; Lily Manhua Yan (arrived 8:08 p.m.); Carolyn Kosnoff, Assistant Town Manager, Finance (non-voting, ex officio) Member(s)Absent: None Other Attendees: Eileen Jay, Vice-Chair, and Deepika Sawhney, Lexington School Committee; David Kanter, Vice-Chair and Clerk: Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC); Matt Daggett, proponent of Article 36; Anil Ahuja, Sara Arnold, Recording Secretary Mr. Parker confirmed attendance by roll call, reviewed the authorization for meeting remotely, noted that the meeting was being called to order at 7:35 p.m. on March 4, 2021, and stated that the meeting was being recorded for the purpose of creating minutes. He also noted that materials for the meeting were available on-line. Announcements and Liaison Reports Mr. Parker reported that copies of the FY2022 Town Manager's Budget&Financing Plan (Brown Book) are available in the Police Station, and if members drop off their FY2022 Town Manager's Preliminary Budget& Financing Plan (White Books) when picking them up, the White Books will be recycled. The School Budget is expected to be available tomorrow. Mr. Parker reported that he had attended the CEC meeting that morning. He also recognized Mr. Ahuja, Mr. Kanter, and Mr. Daggett's attendance. Committee Report to Annual Town Meeting 2021 (Report) Mr. Parker introduced Mr. Daggett, who used slides to share new information regarding Article 36: Authorize Special Legislation-Development Surcharge for Affordable Housing(Citizen Petition), which proposes linkage fees for commercial development to support the creation of affordable housing. He provided the following updates: • The motion now includes language that provides a fee exemption for the housing portions of mixed used developments. • The surcharge fee per square foot of development should be sufficiently small for Lexington to remain competitive in attracting building projects. Based on a Somerville study, this would be $8-10 per square foot, with an exemption for the first 30,000 square feet. • Modeling using 2021 dollars has been used to determine revenue based on assuming all 33 properties on Hartwell Avenue are developed. • Modeling has also been used to project the number of affordable housing units that could be built with this funding. • Creating a housing trust fund for holding such fees would better facilitate the support of affordable housing projects than using the Affordable Housing Stabilization Fund. 1 03/04/2021 AC Minutes Mr. Parker reported that he had been updating the draft report to town meeting with material submitted by the members of this Committee, noting that some material is still needed. He said that this Committee needs to vote on the report at its March 11, 2021 meeting and then publish it on March 15, 2021. Mr. Parker led a review of the sections of the report for which there was draft material and a vote had not yet been taken. In some cases, the person who had prepared the material provided a brief summary, questions were asked, and information was clarified. Additionally, votes were taken, as follows: • Article 4, Appropriate FY2022 Operating Budget: Mr. Padaki provided updated information about waste disposal and recycling fees. After discussion, a motion was made and seconded to recommend support of Article 4. There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 5, Appropriate FY2022 Enterprise Funds Budgets: Mr. Bartenstein reviewed the pandemic's impact on the Recreation Enterprise Fund, which resulted in a considerable reduction in retained earnings and a request for tax levy funding. After discussion, a motion was made and seconded to recommend support of Article 5. There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 7, Appropriate for Municipal Organizational Assessment: It was noted that this was a Program Improvement Request submitted by the Town Manager's office. After discussion, a motion was made and seconded to recommend support of Article 7. There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 8, Appropriate for 20120 Vision Survey: Ms. Muckenhoupt noted that this request is for the Lexington Vision Committee. After discussion, a motion was made and seconded to recommend support of Article 8. There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 9, Establish and Continue Departmental Revolving Funds: After discussion, a motion was made and seconded to recommend support of Article 9. There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 12, Appropriate for Municipal Capital Projects and Equipment(a-o): In response to questions about (o)Parking System, Ms. Kosnoff explained that the new charging stations included in this project are designed to support Town-owned vehicles, but staff is also looking at options for charging the public for the use of public charging stations. After additional discussion, a motion was made and seconded to recommend support of Article 12 (a-o). There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 18, Rescind Prior Borrowing Authorizations: Ms. Kosnoff reviewed the three rescissions that will be included in the motion for this article. A motion was made and seconded to recommend support of Article 18. There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 19, Establish, Amend, Dissolve and Appropriate to and from Specified Stabilization Funds: Ms. Kosnoff reported that she hopes to finalize the details for three such appropriations by tomorrow. After additional discussion, a vote was postponed until the information is available. • Article 20, Appropriate for Prior Years' Unpaid Bills: It is expected that this article will be indefinitely postponed (IP'd); this Committee usually does not vote on IP'd items. • Article 21, Amend FY2021 Operating, Enterprise and CPA Budgets: Ms. Kosnoff reported that there will be two adjustments included in the motion for this article. 2 03/04/2021 AC Minutes ➢ A request to replenish the uninsured losses account with funds received from an insurance claim; ➢ A small decrease in the use of funds from the Public, Educational, and Governmental Access Revolving Fund. Ms. Kosnoff also explained that the Health Department had spent beyond its budgeted amount because of Covid-19, but because of CARES Act funding, an adjustment may not be necessary. It also may be possible to do an end-of-year transfer for the Health Department. Because elements of this article could change, a vote was postponed. There was concern expressed that this article should not be put on the Consent Agenda, as is currently the situation; Ms. Kosnoff expects to discuss this with the Town Moderator. • Article 23, Appropriate from Debt Service Stabilization Fund: A motion was made and seconded to recommend support of Article 23. There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 24, Appropriate for Lexington High School Feasibility Study: Ms. Kosnoff explained that the current motion assumes hearing from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA)that the Lexington High School project has been selected for State assistance. It currently seems unlikely that the MSBA will make that decision before the ATM is completed, in which case the article will be indefinitely postponed. Because this funding is only needed if the project has been accepted by the MSBA, a vote by this Committee was postponed. If MSBA approval is received after the ATM, the appropriation request for the study could be brought to a fall town meeting and still meet MSBA deadlines for proceeding. • Article 25, Amend Borrowing Authorization Conservation Land Acquisition: A motion was made and seconded to recommend support of Article 25. There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 • Article 36, Authorization Special Legislation Development Surcharge for Affordable Housing(Citizen Petition): Ms. Kosnoff reported that the Select Board is not in unanimous support of this article because of concern that it might discourage commercial development. After discussion, a vote was not taken. • Article 31, Street Acceptance:Penny Lane, Winding Road and Luongo Farm: A motion was made and seconded to recommend support of Article 31. There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 Minutes of Prior Meetings A motion was made and seconded to approve the draft minutes for the February 24, 2021 AC meeting, with edits. There was a roll call vote. The motion was approved. VOTE: 7-0 Future Meetings It was noted that future meetings are scheduled for March 8 and March 11. The meeting adjourned at 9:41 p.m. by a roll call vote. VOTE: 7-0 Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold 3 03/04/2021 AC Minutes Approved: March 11, 2021 Exhibits • Agenda, posted by Mr. Parker • AC Report to 2021 ATM-v2 Changes • Article 36 PowerPoint, prepared by Mr. Daggett for the 2021 ATM • Town of Lexington Motions 2021 Annual Town Meeting 4