1997-01-21 Board of Selectmen Minutes

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Board of Selectmen Meeting January 21, 1997 The meeting was convened at 7:36 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman George Hines, Vice Chairman Camille Anthony, Secretary Bruce MacDonald, Selectmen Dan Ensminger and Sally Hoyt, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner and the following list of interested parties: Nancy Eaton, Steve McLaughlin, Connie Sforza, Richard Smith, Bill Scully, Jonathan Edwards, Joe Delaney. Approval of Minutes On motion by MacDonald seconded by Hoyt, the Board voted to approve the minutes of January 7, 1997 with no amendments. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Reports and Comments Selectmen Liaison Reports and Comments - Bruce MacDonald noted that the entire Board had attended the MMA Conference and that they all learned a lot. He attended sessions on regional economy and on overrides. He asked the Town Manager to report on the follow up on the water taste issues. He also noted that there was an accident on I-93 near Reading and wondered what was going on with our water supply protection program. - Sally Hoyt noted that this was the best MMA meeting ever. The Selectmen's Town Meeting focused on County Government. The concerns expressed were that the County owns the buildings and the Registrar of Deeds generates a lot of money. The Middlesex County debt is $17 -$20 million plus the pension liability of$261 million. The Town Manager noted that some of their pension liability is for municipal employees who are part of the county retirement system. Camille Anthony noted that Saturday is the RMLD site visit - it leaves at 9:00 a.m. from the Ash Street facility. Anthony also noted that the Town should try to educate people about driving, especially exhibiting more civil behavior and slowing down. Dan Ensminger brought back packets of material from the law review session at MMA. He also attended the session on electrical restructuring and felt this could be very exciting for the community. He feels that Reading is well positioned for the electric restructuring. George Hines noted that Reading was prominently featured at the MMA, having received the Piccard Award and an MIIA award. The story board on the Piccard Award is here at Town Hall. Hines noted that the deadline for filing for elections is close, and he urged incumbents to declare whether or not they intend to run. He also acknowledged the passing of Senator Paul Tsongas and asked that the flag on the Common be flown at half staff in honor of his service. Sally Hoyt and Dan Ensminger will represent the Board of Selectmen at the Chamber of Commerce tomorrow.