HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-02-28 TAC-min TAC Minutes
Meeting Date: February 28, 2005
Attendees: Sara Arnold, Sally Castleman, Don Graham, Eric Eid-Reiner, Francine Stieglitz,
Gail Wagner, Diane Pursley; Guests for first agenda item: Ed Grant, Ernie Rogers
TDM Discussion: Waltham Street Project
Ed Grant and Ernie Rogers gave the Committee an overview of the Waltham St project. Committee members
gave an overview of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) in Lexington and agreed to discuss TDM
in relation to this project further and get back to Ed by Wednesday, March 2. Based on recently negotiated,
comparable office properties in Lexington TAC agreed an annual amount between $3000 and $5000 was
acceptable for this project. This payment would represent support for Lexington transportation services that
would support the Waltham Street property. TAC agreed the Hayden property was not comparable for this
discussion because it was negotiated many years ago, before the TDM policy was fully understood in
Lexington. Sally agreed to call Ed Grant to finalize the recommended amount.
TDM Discussion: Battle Green Inn
The current offer from the developer of Battle Green Inn (Eric Shapiro) is 3 month Lexpress passes for new
condo buyers. TAC agreed that this property should participate in some additional TDM program because
the project's objectives are based on "smart growth" planning policies and TDM is a very important
emphasis in smart growth projects. There was debate about the appropriate type of payment for this
residential property—annual or one time upfront. Although in general annual payments are preferred, there
were questions on whether an annual fee payable by the condo association was appropriate given that
residents will be paying property tax already for town services and that some of the units would be affordable
housing. Some felt an annual payment was more appropriate given that it is payable at the time of
redevelopment. There was discussion of an upfront payment of$25,000. Sara agreed to call Dawn McKenna
to find out her viewpoint since she has been conducting talks with Eric Shapiro on TDM and other subjects.
Sara also agreed to follow up with Eric, based on TAC's discussions and her conversation with Dawn.
Baby Safe Haven Poster
Gail was asked to post the public service announcement for Baby Safe Haven on Lexpress buses. There is no
precedent for posting public service announcements on the bus, although Lexpress has sold advertisements
for payment in the past. TAC agreed it would not support the change in this policy. Gail will deliver the
decision to the Baby Safe Haven organization.
Funding for 6 route summer service
There is no funding in the FY06 budget for 6 routes during this summer, only 4 routes. Bill Hadley
recommended an addition of the 2 routes (so Lexpress can maintain its current route system during the
summer) in the budget and the Selectmen denied the request. An alternative available to keep the 6 routes is
to use the funds in the Lexpress gift account. However, if those funds are used in FY06 there will be nothing
left for future years. We need to get the 2 summer routes added back into the base budget in order to ensure
continuity in future years. Sara agreed to talk to Dawn about this issue.
Bus exteriors
Currently, one of the Lexpress buses is riding around town with no identification markings,just a white bus.
Gail presented four options to address the current situation. The recommendation was to keep the bus white
and apply turquoise vinyl decals with the logo, phone and web address on two sides and the back. There
were questions whether this was just a short term fix or a long term solution. The meeting had to adjourn
because of inclement weather so TAC agreed to resume debate at the next meeting.
Next TAC meeting: Thursday, March 10,2005