2017-04-27 Annual Town Meeting Minutes

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ANNUAL TOWN MEETING Reading Memorial High School April 27, 2017 Performing Arts Center The meeting was called to order by the Moderator, Alan E. Foulds, at 7:40 PM, there being a quorum present. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was said by all in attendance. Motion made by John Arena, Board of Selectmen to dispense of the reading of the warrant and all motions in their entirety. Motion Carried A presentation was done in honor of long time Town Meeting Member, Bill Brown. Bill has been a member of Town Meeting for fifty years. The following speech was given by past Town Meeting Member Frederick Van Magness Sr: Before I begin, please join me in thanking John Keough (firefighter & bagpiper extraordinaire), and members of the Reading Police Honor Guard, led by Lt. John McKenna, for the outstanding opening ceremony. It is indeed with a great deal of pleasure that I speak tonight on this very special celebration of Bill Brawn achieving, and tonight surpassing, 50 years as a Reading Town Meeting Member! Imagine, he's been an elected Town Meeting member longer than some folks in this room have been alive 11 When his daughter Darcy spoke to him Tuesday, she asked if they played "Hail to the Chief' for him Monday. According to Darcy, Bill said no and seemed disappointed! Well Bill, tonight is YOUR "Hail to the Chief' moment which has been secretly planned with Darty, Stephen, Sarah, town officials, and others for quite a while now, all along keeping you in the DARK! With Bill, there is really so much material from his 50 years of service, it is hard to pick just a few highlights, but I will try. Bill first started his quest for a Town Meeting seat in Precinct 8...a historically difficult precinct in which to win a place on Town Meeting...back in the late 1950's. As a matter of fact, it took him 9 attempts to finally gain a seat. I often wonder what those folks were thinking when they took so long to elect him, but in 1967 Bill finally won and was officially sworn in. For more than 17 additional election cycles the folks in Precinct 8 re-elected him over and over......according to Bill, he was never the top vote-getter but never the lowest either. Through all these years, Bill has educated himself in the operation of Town Meeting, become an outspoken local resource on Robert's Rules of Order, periodically driving town counsel nuts along the way, and through it all worked to make Town Meeting a continuing vibrant local legislative body. He was actively involved in the Town Charter Commission and its' recent redo as well as serving many times as his Precinct's Chairman, a member of the Rules Committee, the Cemetery Board of Trustees, RMLD Commissioner, and numerous study committees. Bill used to boast that because of his years of Town Meeting experience, he knew where a lot of the dead bodies in town were buried. Guess the Board of Selectmen took that to heart when they appointed him to the Cemetery Board of Trustees to finish the job .....and keep him out of their hair ! In case you somehow missed it, Bill is usually a fiscal conservative and an outspoken critic of attempts by anyone to spend money and increase taxes WITHOUT knowing all the relevant facts. Bill is renowned for doing his research and digging up details to spur discussion. You had better have your facts right when debating with Bill. And he is the first to point out the differences between a Prop 2 1/2 override and a debt exclusion! Past efforts to argue against tax increases have earned him the moniker of Mr. Malcontent....according to Webster's....a person who can be dissatisfied, rebellious, a mischief maker, sometimes making trouble, an agitator. That sure seems to fit well I think 111 As a matter of fact, Bill must have liked the Malcontent label because in several Reading Town directories, he listed his official iiva9e