 I'm going to call the meeting and we are on the finance committee to order. The minutes are to be forwarded. Are there any corrections or questions? Any further discussion? All those in favor of accepting the minutes as presented? We say aye. Opposed? Okay. Now, we have several things to get done today. Hopefully that will not take us to the full meeting. The first are two reserve fund transfer requests. Let me take the school one first. This is a transfer request. This is the $200,000 special education. So the request is for $200,000 to be transferred from the reserve fund to the special education account in the school budget. Remember then what we will do later on today is transfer $200,000 or vote to recommend an appropriation of $200,000 through a transfer from the school budget to the special education stabilization fund. So this is sort of the first step. It would be nice if we could have transferred the money directly from the reserve fund to the fund but the controller said we can't actually agree to statute these requirements. So this is the request for that $200,000. Do I have any? No. Okay. Second. Is there any questions? Turn it on. Maybe I've answered this question before but I have to answer it again because this seems just so round about to me. Couldn't you just transfer this $200,000 to the school directly at some point from the reserve fund next year? Well because the money disappears at the end of this year. Remember this happened from last year when they had planned to put $200,000 last fiscal year into the special education stabilization fund. The trouble is nobody actually put a warrant article in for as a vehicle. So the arrangement we made with the school department and they wanted to make it transparent was that we would increase the reserve fund for this year by $200,000. They would allow over $200,000 plus a little bit to go to free cash to sort of compensate. And then this year we transferred to the school budget and then the town meeting puts in the special education stabilization fund. It's a little roundabout but it's basically the only way we can do it. Well they want to set aside money for special education in case for especially how to district in case they get a big thing. And this is the only stabilization fund is the place to do it. It stays under town meetings control. They put it in. They have to approve it coming out again. So it's all sort of above board and very transparent. Okay any other questions? Okay all those in favor please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Okay and the second transfers the one we've all been waiting for since last January. And why don't I let the manager give a brief description of what's going on. Thank you Mr. Chairman. Good evening. So there's a memo that was just distributed to the committee. My apologies I had failed to get it to Gloria in a timely fashion for you to have an opportunity to review it today. But I'll briefly go over it. So the superintendent and I have been working with Triumph who is the modular company that was awarded the bid to put the modular classrooms at the Straton School for the renovation project to be able to put a few additional modulars down at the Thompson to meet the space needs for the next school year with the goal of having them in place by this September, September of 2016. We requested a price from them. We did a site walk and they had several sort of we'll call in stock buildings, buildings they currently have or were being utilized at another local school district so they didn't have to fabricate new buildings like they're being fabricated for the Straton School. The superintendent settled on a complex of modulars that are currently located at Concord Academy. It actually makes up three small classrooms that would be placed on the front rectangular lawn on the Everett Street side entrance to the Thompson School. Their initial cost proposal was quite shockingly surprisingly much higher than what's before you tonight. We negotiated and discussed that with them having two further site meetings to try to get that price down. It's still resulting in a price that I didn't expect and I'm not entirely happy that I'm here before asking tonight, but confident that it gets us the modular classrooms we need for both next year and the year following in the case that either permanent construction is not complete at the Thompson or they need to balance some space issues at the heart in the following school year. So what you have broken out before you is what we expect for funds to be needed over the course of the next three years. What I'm asking for tonight in a reserve fund transfer is for the actual quoted construction installation amount of $394,615, 7% contingency that I added on and the first year's lease payments of $105,000. So that would add up to tonight's requested transfer of $527,238. Then we would need to plan for not this upcoming budget but the next budget, FY18, of budgeting the second year's lease payments, which would be the matching $105,000 and then in the FY19 budget, if there wasn't any further negotiation for either a move or continuation release, we would need to budget $103,000 for removal of the modulus. So with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions from the committee. Okay. Are there any questions from the committee? Could we keep this a third year if we want it? Or would that have to be a renegotiated? I guess there's more than likely some procurement challenges with doing that. So I can't confidently say we could. Okay. Any other questions? Peter? Adam, how much is the lease at Stratton School from those? So the total at Stratton is $3.1 million. I believe the lease portions are $1.8 million? For 26. More than three buildings. Any other questions? Okay. Do I have a motion? No more. Second. Okay. Moved and seconded. Any further discussion? So, I mean, just a quick comment. As we move through the larger school enrollment issues, you know, we had the Stratton Modules committee that got them just put out. I think they totaled like $3.9 million. We've got this number coming in. You know, as we try to work on ways to deal with the challenge, I think what we start to realize is, Modules are a terrible answer for this. Like, really, I mean, spending, I mean, only two years for two years, spending $600,000 for this is really a bad idea. Like, we're going to vote, we're going to do a captive, but from an economic sense, this is really bad. And so I think when we think about how do we deal with the middle school and the Hardy and then the Thompson, which if we did nothing in a year, we'd have to add two more. I mean, I think it really shows, you know, the economics have tilted significantly away from this is a viable thing that will capture us. And we really, you know, I know the enrollment task force is working on it. But we really want to get an answer and figure this out with something permanent where we're not doing this. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Okay. Motion has been made and seconded. Any further discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay. So we have two more people come in. So, zero. Okay. Would you by chance take both and answer the controller? Okay. Thank you very much. You're welcome to say, but you don't. Okay. Now there's two budgets that have to be modified. Actually, three budgets. Two budgets are being modified. One budget is being re-voted in order for it to be accurate because the minutes were off by a few dollars. The first one, Alan, why don't you take the lead here as the assessors? I'm sure I've got it. Yeah. So the expense on numbers 310640. The personal service is 266246 and the bottom line 297894. Okay. I'm sorry. 297894. That's what we voted. Okay. Apparently that wasn't the number that ended up in the minutes. Okay. So we're just re-voting the same thing. We're not changing anything. So in the minutes it could show that it was corrected. So all those in favor of 297894, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay. So the assessors, official. The ZBA salary was, okay. No, it's budget 16. Okay. So, 91. It's just dealing with the salary. The salary was adjusted to 20,812 with no longevity. So the total there would be 24,912. Okay. This was in a memo that never quite made it to us. And so the salary is 20,812 dropping the total down to 24,912. So about $800 or $900 decrease. So this is simply to correct an error from the budgets that we got. Any questions? Okay. Motion? So moved. Okay. Second. Any further discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay. And the last one is the controller. So that the, apparently the expense item to find the munis training with the munis update was double, double counter something. So the expenses are lowered to 102,972. We're totaling. You spent it slowly? 102,972. So we're dropping the training, which was 22,500 down to 7,500. Drops the expenses to 102,972. Okay. So total? 467,476. Sorry. 467,476. Oh, sorry. That's total. After the offset, 428,942. 428. 942. 942. So we picked up an extra 15,000 there. We're trying to get to the reserve fund, to the finance committee budget, but nobody seemed to go along with that idea. Okay. So basically the training sort of, it was ended up in two different budgets rather than double count. Okay. So the recommendation is 428,942. Is there any questions? Paul. What question did it end up in? Well, it's going to go to the override stabilization. No, no. But what was the other budget besides the controller? I see. Okay. I have a motion. Second? Okay. Okay. Any further discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Opposed? Okay. unanimous? Okay. Alan, I think that's the last budget. Okay. Now. That's done. Okay. I have a motion. Second? Okay. Any further discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Opposed? Okay. unanimous? Okay. Alan, I think that's the last budget. Okay. Next up. Next up. Articles. So I'm going to start with a special town meeting and then go back to the two articles in the regular. Okay. So starting with article one of the special. This was amendments to the fiscal year 16 budget. I have been assured by the town manager that this was put in in case as it turns out that's not the case anymore. So I did entertain a motion of no action. Second. Second. Okay. Any discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. A favorable action. unanimous? No. I'm sorry. No action. unanimous? 413. Okay. Transfer of funds for the special education stabilization fund. This is where we, now this is in two different places. We'll go back to this in a minute. The first word is going to come up is in the special town meeting. So it might as well get the 200,000 done in the special town meeting. The second one comes up really late at the end of the annual town meeting. And so I've asked the superintendent, you know, in case you have any other funds you come up with that you can transfer, we can do it there. But this gets this done. So I'd recommend that the sum of $200,000 being hereby is appropriated to the special education stabilization fund. Set some to be transferred from the Arlington Public Schools fiscal year 2016 budgets and funds established in accordance with. Second. Okay. Moving seconded. Any discussion or questions? Okay. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Favorable action. Unanimous? 413. Okay. Article 3 is done. Article 4 is done. Article 5 is the high school feasibility study. I just got a brand new motion from MSBA through our town council this afternoon. I will read the whole thing. Basically the town appropriated the amount of $2 million for the purpose of paying cost of the Arlington High School project feasibility study through Arlington High School including the payments of all costs in its center related there too. It may be eligible for an MSBA grant to meet this appropriation. The Treasury will be approved with the Board of Selectment. Is authorized to borrow. The town is important. The town acknowledges that the MSBA grant program is a non-entitable discretionary program based on need as determined by the MSBA. And any cost the town occurs in excess of any grant approved that received from the MSBA shall be the sole responsibility of the town. Further provided the appropriation shall be subject to a contingent upon an affirmative vote of the town to exempt the amounts from prop two and a half. And that the amount of the borrowing authorized pursuant to this vote shall be reduced by any grant received from the MSBA. So we're making this contingent to it. Let me take a step back. So right now we're not quite sure how much this is going to cost the feasibility study but the estimates that we've gotten are between a million and a half and two million. Since I don't want to have to come back there and do it again, chose the two million dollars. Now, we need a debt exclusion vote for this. At a meeting this morning of the Long Range Planning Committee which had been delegated by the Board of Selectment to give it a recommendation on when debt exclusions are going to take place, they voted unanimously this morning to recommend to the Board of Selectment which of course can do whatever it chooses to do. So it's only a recommendation but I would assume that they would follow that recommendation is to have a debt exclusion this June, probably on June 11th. And on that June 11th, that exclusion will be the Feasibility Study for the High School, the Middle School, whichever project is taken, expansion of the Thompson School and Minuteman if that's still viable at that point. So this fits in with that because we have to take the vote within 90 days. I think it was decided to a large degree on the basis that we've got to give the tenants and the gifts if we go in this direction by June 30th. We've got to give them notice. We don't give them notice by June 30th that it puts off the whole project for the Middle School at least another year, which as Dean pointed out means we're going to spread modular classrooms all over the Middle School playing fields. So in order to get that done, we simply got to get this project moving. And so we'd see those four projects this June, if that's successful then the next phase of it probably in another year, maybe a year and a half, we'd see the High School, the actual construction project for the High School and in all likelihood the Hardy School because the Hardy School is going to need an addition too. So that's the plan. The first four and then the last two a year to a year and a half later. How did they get to bundle this whole thing together for a project? Are they going to show individually or as one bundle? That would be up to the Board of Select. We really didn't discuss that. I think the belief would be that they'll be bundled. They'll list all four projects. And so you vote for the bundle? You vote for the bundle. Now again, we didn't discuss that this morning to be honest. We were looking at timing. So I think the select will have to deal with that issue. So if we, Minuteman could be in there, could vote. Could be. Well, the Minuteman member, this does not authorize any debt. The debt exclusion does not authorize debt. Does not authorize projects. It just provides that if the projects are authorized, the funds can be raised outside of the limits of about two and a half. So let's say the timing is that Minuteman is voted down. Either because we voted down or Belmock votes it down or we both voted down or somebody else votes it down. I think by that time the select will pull it out. But even if they weren't able to, because of the timing of all this, it really wouldn't make any difference. It doesn't authorize the project. It just allows funds for the project to be raised outside of the limits. I understand that. I doubt the public will understand that. Well, it's an issue on timing. I think the question has to go 35 days. Now, the last I heard from Minuteman was that they're not going to go for a referendum. They'll live or die with the town meeting on that. So hopefully Arlington and Belmock will make their decisions fairly early in the season. And the select can pull that out. John? They were sort of sure earlier that they were going to do a referendum. I'm really surprised at what you're saying right now. Well, I sort of ran too. But as you know, I'm very concerned about the project. I think most of you heard from Charlie Foskett on his concerns on the project. I'm going to go out and meet with the superintendent myself. Tomorrow he invited me for lunch. Hopefully it's not one of those things where, you know, the poison is delayed or something. But I heard from somebody very close to the project they moved away from it. One of the reasons is that if it goes to a referendum and it passes all the towns but loses in Arlington, then we under the new agreement can pull out. So I don't think they want to take that risk. So that's my end. Last night what we heard was that our school committee did not vote to put it on referendum. So they needed a two-thirds vote of that. I know some were against it. So that's my understanding, Steve. Have you heard anything else? I have not. The reason you said this, it sounds right, even if we stay in, if a community voted it down and voted against it in the referendum, there's no capital cost to that community while you stay in. So it's a disincentive to the other communities. So we're going to go away from Article 5. But that's what the long-term planning committee is recommended to the Board of Select, and that we do it in two shots. The first one in June, the second one a year until a year and a half later, which involved the high school and the Hardy. So that's the plan. And another reason is, I think you've all seen it, there's a lot of people involved in this whole issue, and they want to move. So why wait? Also, if you wait until next fall, then you get mixed up, should you put it on the presidential ballot or should you not? I think most people wanted to have it stand alone to be focused on. Okay, so anyway, this would be the recommendation for the feasibility study of Arlington High. It'll be a max of $2 million. There would be contingent upon this passing. Now if it doesn't pass, maybe they'll take another shot at it in the fall, but right now that's the plan. So is there any other questions on Article 5 of the feasibility study for the high school? Peter, did you have a? Yes. What's specifically the Thompson Middle School part? I'm sorry? What is specifically the Thompson and Middle School part of the project? Well, that's not part of this. Oh, there's only two items. I thought you said there were four. There were four articles for the debt exclusion. The only project that's being taken up under Article 5 is the High School Feasibility Study. So this is just the High School Feasibility Study alone. We'll deal with the other issues in a few minutes. Okay, the authorization to borrow, how much is it going to be? $2 million. They said, like I said, a million and a half to two. So you go with the higher company. Okay, any other questions? Okay, do I have a motion? Second. Okay, moved and seconded. Any further discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay, unanimous? Favorable action. Ordered team. Article 6. Now, I'm asking for, at this time, a motion of no report at this time. The, as you know, the, the Seweckman appointed a task force from the FITCOM, it's myself, Charlie Foskett, Steve DeCorsi. It's also a couple of Seweckman, school committee chair, the superintendent, the manager, and the, our representative to the school committee and invited also somebody from the administration to come together. That's meeting next Wednesday. I haven't received official notice, but I believe it's next Wednesday, early morning, by K-30 to discuss this whole issue. So I think, you know, I've asked you all to, you know, look at the materials you've gotten, to discuss it with others. And we've had, you know, there's been some discussions around the town. It's not an easy decision on how it goes. But I think at this time, you know, I'd like to have the task force make their decisions and make their recommendations back to us. And so one of the meetings before town meeting, I might even try to expand the meetings so we could discuss and vote on it at that point. So if it's okay with the committee, we have a motion of no report at this time. Okay, second? Okay, discussion. John and then John. The right hand, my right hand, John. I think it's very important to hint at town meeting and we have to do this vote. I hope that we can get a majority, you know, a large number of the people on the finance committee at that meeting, which would be a half hour before town meeting is actually what you're thinking about. Well, now remember there'll be a meeting on the 28th, where the, no wait, that's a different one, I'm sorry. I will ask, trouble is trying to pull so many people together. I had hoped that the meeting would be earlier than this. Now, we're not having the State of the Union at the town meeting. Does anybody know? Well, I think so, the State of the Town. The State of the Town. You think that'll be at town meeting before? I think that's before it starts. Okay. I will try to get a written piece out of the task force and get their recommendations to you, you know, that day. I'll... Okay, just a second. Now, so I'll try to get... John, this article comes up on the 27th. Yeah, it's not the first night. What day are you talking about? Okay. The meeting of the... of the bit of man task force, for one of a better word, is next Wednesday. I will email you that date. So it'll be an open public meeting. So if anybody wants to come, they can. Okay, let me make a note of that. And then once the group makes its recommendation, I'll get that recommendation to you, along with the reasons behind it. I think the reasons against going forth with this are pretty well, I think, laid out by Charlie. I think he did a good job with that. I think that the reasons before it were laid out by the superintendent the other night and that. And I think, I'll try to get as much time as I can. Now, just because the special town meeting starts on the 27th, I think we can get all of it done and then move to postpone or move to table if everybody wants more time on that. Well, the morning deadline is the 15th of May. So we've got time. And to get this. So we don't have to, you know, we don't have to do it that Wednesday. I could move to postpone the special town meeting until or lay it out, I'll have to figure out with the moderator. So the finance committee will not be rushed. I've also asked the select committee. They should take a position. I think Dan Dunn has been involved in this very extensively and I think he'll request a select one. It's a big decision. And it's sort of one of those decisions that, for those of you who were here when Bob O'Neill took his first speech before the town meeting, way, way back. And he ended the speech with a story that was way too long. But he ended it with no matter what decision you make, you'll probably live to regret it. It's not an absolute right or absolute wrong. And it's one of the tougher ones. Okay, so John, did you have a... I shared John's concerns. Okay. Half an hour before that. I know. Maybe what we need to do is schedule, you know, an hour on Saturday morning or a Tuesday or something like that. Or we just get everybody together. You know, that might be the best option. We also had the school enrollment task force, which I'll get to in a second. So motion made in the second in for no report at this time. All those in favor? Is it no report at this time or will report at town meeting? Good report. Like, I'm just wondering, because we're going to send this out to people and it's going to say no report. And the little, you know, language-wise. I don't have any strong feelings one way or the other. Do you think that would be better? The phrase no report at this time makes me a little... Like, we're going to give them something. No report tonight. Right. Okay, I'll accept that as a friendly amendment. We'll report at this time. And I think I'll have to go through... I think we have one or two others that we need to do. Okay, so we'll report at town meeting. Instead, I'm going to report at this time. Okay, any other? Paul? I'm a little bothered by Charlie's e-mail that it was sent by e-mail. Can we include Charlie's e-mail in the minutes of the meeting? I think that probably... I was thinking about that too. And so, Peter, could you include Charlie Foskett's e-mail as an attachment or however you usually do it in the minutes? Yes. Okay. Good point, Paul. Thank you for bringing that up. Any other questions? Okay, all those in favor of a reported town meeting, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay. Okay. So, I think the special town meeting, we can take action on one, two, four. Oh, okay. Can I have a motion on article three? Well, tell you what, I'm just going to change no report at this time too. We'll report at town meeting. I think that is probably administrative enough that we don't have to take a new vote. Okay, so three we can do... Well, three will put on the table. Four we can do, five we can do, and six, again, will be that. So, now, there's two articles left in the annual town meeting. Article 53 is the Special Education Stabilization Fund. I'd like to just leave that open and modify the comment that if additional funds are available. Okay. So, if I could get a... I think that I include a vote there with... in the last round I put out. So, what I had is that the sum of blank, being hereby is appropriated to the Special Education Fund, I'll modify the comment a little bit to let town meeting know that if additional funds beyond the Special Town Meeting transfer are available, we'll take action. Otherwise, if not, we'll vote no action on this. So, I guess basically I just need a vote to proceed with this wording with a blank in there. So moved. Okay, second? Okay, any questions? Anybody, everybody? So, if the school committee by the time we reach this at the end of town meeting has an additional $80,000 they could put into this, we'll plug in $80,000 and make that recommendation. If they have no additional funds, I'll change the recommendation to no action. Okay. Okay, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay. Okay, and then the last one is the Fiscal Stabilization Fund. Article 56. So, Alan, how much goes into the fiscal? Two million, five hundred and twenty-one thousand and thirty-six dollars. Two million, five two one, zero three six. Okay. So, remember this is how you balance the whole thing out. So, if we put that amount, it's zero down the bottom. Okay. Now, this amount, now, actually, let me mention one thing to you. The local aid numbers came out today and they included an additional sum of money for Chapter 7. Now, when the manager was negotiating, I think I, we discussed this right at the beginning, when the manager was negotiating, you know, the Longer Planning Committee had come up, they wanted this, you know, I wanted it over. That's my job. And we went back and forth, the manager negotiated with the superintendent for the increases that we have in the budget. And then, as a caveat, he mentioned that if additional funds come in at the stabilization in the Chapter 70 account, that he would recommend that the school budget be increased by that amount. And so, but this is just a house. We don't know what the Senate is going to do. So, right now, we're not changing the school budget and that money is in the fiscal stability fund. Now, if by the time we get to the budgets, we are reasonably assured and we either, you know, have the final vote of the House and the Senate, you know, the Senate budget comes out very quickly after that, if we have that, or if we have a reasonable level of assurance that that money will stay in. And I think we can feel comfortable with that since, you know, if the House puts it in, I don't think the Senate's going to want to go against education. Then, I'll make the motion on the floor, if you're approval, to increase the school budget by X and take that money from the fiscal stabilization account. So, it was good news. Now, for some reason, there was a little piece of bad news. They dropped the veterans benefits by like reimbursement by 50 grand. So, we've asked the veterans agent to look into that with his colleagues and find out what the heck is happening. Is it that's really the number or is it the House has just arbitrarily decided to cut veterans benefits, which I find a bit amazing. Well, actually, they're not cutting veterans benefits. They're cutting the reimbursement for the veterans benefits. So, we can come back, depending on our assurance on the Chapter 70, and I'll recommend that you increase the school budget and take it out of the fiscal stability fund. And on that, okay, John and Derek. Did you have some estimator of how much money we're talking about, the increase? About $180,000. And the manager, I talked to him about, you know, it's only $180,000 in all likelihood, that's three to four new positions, could be teachers, could be teachers' aides, could be whatever. He feels he has enough money built into the health insurance to cover three to four or five additional people on that. I'm sure this will make the school department very happy. But we just want to make sure that that money is going to stay. And if it's in the House of the Senate, I cannot imagine the government dealing with it. Derek? I don't know if that was my question. Okay. Paul? The most recent long-range projection I have was, in my hands, is from December 16th. Is there a more recent one than this that anyone has available? Because this one had a number for fiscal 2017 of putting this into a $3.3 million into the Override Stabilization Fund. So this is a significant difference. What date was that, Paul? December 16th, 2015. Yeah, yeah, so Paul, if you go to the age 13 of the budget, Paul? Yeah, it has an updated one. Okay. What's the figure there? Well, I believe the evaporation of the school adjustment, the home adjustment. Right, so that was done before all the negotiations on the school budget. Okay, thank you. Okay. So right now, the recommendation is $2.5 million, $5.21 million, $0.36 million into the fiscal stability fund. You have a motion? Okay. And that's made for the discussion. Okay, all those, by the way, we did have a drop in our reimbursement for veterans, but we didn't have a substantial increase in Turner School reimbursement. So, and more than the drop in the veterans. So, not quite sure what's going on there. Well, and then increase in Turner School assessments. They're getting more and taking more. Yeah. Okay, so all those in favor of $2.8 million, $5.21 million, fiscal stability stabilization fund, would you say aye? Opposed? Okay, unanimous. That's all I have. Is there any other questions, thoughts, direction we're going? I was a lot amazed at it. Because the House budget is not as high as the Governor's budget. And they put more money in Chapter 70. Now, the data increased in Chapter 70 and increased other general government assistants that, you know, the school's group forgotten again. Because that's, you know, that's just the shulking. But, you know, the man who will be putting the superings, I didn't know. You know, the direction of the government. And in spite of that one, would it be in the, would it be $188,000? No, the surplus is $188,000. So that would be in addition to what's in there, what's in the, what we've already recommended from the schools. What's the $500,000? The $500,000. Okay, fine. I'm not sure. You said that the extra money in Chapter 70 is $580,000. No, he won it. No, he won it. Okay, there are many other questions. Any other business before the committee. So please think about that man on, you know, come to the committee if you're around. The other issue is the enrollment task force. Please come to the presentation on the 28th. It's going to be down in the auditorium. So, you know, and then we're going to be meeting again on the following one day to make sure to make a recommendation on going to the Gibbs versus expansion of the Odyssey. So there's, I've never, you know, I've been on the finance committee about as long as Dufan has. And so, yeah, and so, well, we're going to talk to our therapist about that. I have never had so many balls up in the air at the same time. It's just been incredible. Did they ask for a raise? Yeah, that's great. Okay, there's no more business. It is your...