HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-08-26-AC-minAugust 26, 2010
Minutes
Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee
August 26, 2010
Place and time: Town Office Building, Room 111, 7:30 p.m.
Members present: Glenn Parker (Chair), John Bartenstein (Vice Chair and Secretary), Joe Pato
(Vice Chair), Mollie Garberg, Alan Levine, Eric Michelson
The meeting was called to order at 7:37 p.m.
1. Announcements. The Selectmen have scheduled a Budget Collaboration/Summit
meeting for Wednesday, October 6, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room. This
will be the first summit for the FY2012 budget process and will focus on an overview of the
Town's financial condition.
2. Proposed Street Light Replacement. Glenn Parker reported on the latest
developments involving the pending proposal to replace the bulbs and related fixtures in virtually
all of the Town's street lights with energy - efficient bulbs and better - shielded fixtures. Rob
Addelson will present a draft financial report on the lighting replacement proposal at the next
meeting of the Board of Selectmen to be held Monday, August 30. Rob also hopes to meet with
NSTAR representatives on Friday, August 27 and to discuss with them the December 1
completion deadline that NSTAR had imposed as a condition of participating in a rebate program
for a substantial portion of the costs of the project. Committee members reiterated the concern
expressed at their August 9 meeting that it would be desirable to have some flexibility in this
deadline to avoid the potential for rushing the implementation or requiring overtime shifts.
3. Health Benefits. Joe Pato and Alan Levine reported that they will need to schedule a
session with Denise Casey to obtain updated utilization data. They also reported that they had
received from Patrick Mehr a copy of a report prepared for the Town by Group Benefit
Strategies, a health benefits consultant, for use in coalition bargaining negotiations that Mr. Mehr
had recently obtained from the Town Manager.
4. Enterprise Funds. John Bartenstein reported briefly on the status of the water and
wastewater enterprise funds and upcoming rate proceedings. He has spoken with Robin
Fullford, who recently replaced Barbara Stevens as the Utility Enterprise Business Manager and
has also reviewed consumption data supplied by the MWRA. He noted that the dry summer will
likely lead to an increase in receipts and "profits" to the water enterprise fund in FY2011 due to
an increase in the use of water for irrigation, which is billed by the Town at the highest rate.
According to data provided by the MWRA, Lexington's July water consumption in 2010 was
running at 50% over the previous year. John also noted that, as a result of a significant reduction
in demand for water in the MWRA system over the past two decades — attributable to changes in
the state plumbing code, repair of water leaks, and other MWRA conservation policies, as well
as to the significant increase in the price of water following the Boston harbor cleanup — the
annual draw on the Quabbin reservoir has fallen to levels well below that facility's "maximum
safe yield." Even with increased consumption throughout the system due to the dry weather,
reservoirs in the MWRA system are at 95% of capacity.
August 26, 2010
5. Minutes and Record - Keeping. John Bartenstein reviewed his updated system for
maintaining the Committee's minutes and records, including copies of documents and other
materials presented or otherwise "used" at meetings, to comply with amendments to the state's
Open Meeting Law that became effective July 1, 2010. Minutes of the meetings held on May 10,
2010 and August 9, 2010 were approved with minor editorial changes. Draft minutes of the
August 23, 2010 meeting will be revised and submitted for approval at the next meeting.
6. Community Preservation Act Summit. A summit will be held with the Community
Preservation Committee, the Board of Selectmen, the Appropriation Committee, and the Capital
Expenditures Committee on September 14 to discuss a number of issues relating to the
Community Preservation Act (CPA). Alan Levine is preparing a presentation that he plans to
make available prior to the summit outlining this Committee's concerns about the CPA process.
He proposes to structure it as a set of discussion points rather than recommended solutions. The
Committee discussed a number of issues that might be addressed in Alan's memo.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:08 p.m.
A list of documents and other exhibits used at the meeting is attached.
Respectfully submitted,
Joe Pato
Approved December 6, 2010
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August 26, 2010
Exhibits
Appropriation Committee Meeting
August 26, 2010
1. Agenda circulated by Glenn Parker, Chair, on August 24, 2010