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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-12-20 Board of Selectmen HandoutDRAFT MOTIONS BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING DECEMBER 20, 2011 Anthony, Goldy, Tafoya, Bona-z-oli, Schubert Hechenbleikner 4) Move that the Board of Selectmen accept the report of the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee and confirm the following appointments to the following Boards, Committees and Commissions: ♦ Richard Foley to one position on the Contributory Retirement Board with a term expiring June 30, 2014; ♦ Colleen L. O'Shaughnessy to one position on the Cultural Council with a term expiring June 30, 2014; ♦ Robin I. Decker to one Associate position on the Human Relations Advisory Committee with a term expiring June 30, 2012 5a) Move that the Board of Selectmen approve the 10 year lease agreement between the Town of Reading and the Reading Ice Arena Authority for the operation and management of the Nelson S. Burbank Ice Arena, at 15 Symonds Way effective February 24, 2013. 5c) Move that the Board of Selectmen approve an application by: ♦ JA.'s Market, 212 Main Street to open at 5:45 a.m., Monday through Friday, effective January 1, 2012, and excluding State designated holidays. This approval will expire December 31, 2012. The Board of Selectmen finds that in accordance with Section 5.10.4 of the General Bylaws: • It is in the interest of the public health, safety and welfare or that public necessity or convenience will be served by permitting such operation; and • There is no detrimental effect of such operation on the Town or the immediately abutting neighbors. 6a) Move that the Board of Selectmen approve the minutes of November 22, 2011 as amended. 8a) Move that the Board of Selectmen approve the Executive Session minutes of November 22, 2011 as written. CA BT RS SG Move that the Board of Selectmen adjourn the meeting at p.m. TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT Tuesday, December 20, 2011 Administrative matters ♦ Due to Election deadlines the Town Clerk's .office only at Town Hall will be open this Friday December 23rd from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. o Reminder - the Town election and the Presidential Primary election will be held. on March 6 at the Hawkes Fieldhouse at RMHS ♦ Due to the precinct line changes the location in which the Warrants are posted need to change as well. Attached is a list of the old location and the new. ♦ Census forms will be going out the first of the year. Remember to license your dog. ♦ Nomination papers for the Town election are now available in the Town Clerk's office. All Town Meeting members must run for election due to re-precincting. Nomination papers must be returned by 1-17-12 ♦ A double pole list from the RMLD is included in your packet this evening. ♦ There will be a MLK celebration this coming January 16, 2012. While the Clergy Association will not be able to be a major sponsor this year, the Superintendent of Schools and I agree that this program should continue, so we have agreed to make it happen. Look for an update on this program in the coming weeks. ♦ As of right now Package Stores in Massachusetts will be closed December 25th and December 26th. There is a bill on the Governor's desk to allow opening on the 26th Community Services ♦ The first of the modular units for the Oaktree development have been delivered to the site and the first units will be stacked probably beginning on Thursday. Public Safety ♦ We have discovered some minor cracking in the floor of the Main fire station, and the Facilities department has responded and hired a structural engineer. Some remedial work will be needed - but this is not an emergency situation and the building and the apparatus floor are sound. ♦ The Police Department and Middlesex Sherriff's office worked with the Reading School Department to conduct a "lock down" at RMHS last Friday. The drill went very smoothly, and there was no contraband discovered. Public Works ♦ Construction work is shut down for the season. ♦ The MWRA needs to blast until Thursday night for blow-off connections in cloverleaf in Reading and in Stoneham end by North St. That should be it for blasting. They should also be paving Thursday night and come back in Spring for Final Paving. ♦ Reading's annual share of the MWRA water use has declined over the past year by 4.4%. We went from 1 % of the system annual use, to .9%. 12/20/2011 1 J TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT Tuesday, December 20, 2011 ♦ We are notifying the residents of Old Sanborn Lane and the private portion of County Road that they need to make repairs to their street or we will not be able to plow this year. The needed repairs are relatively minor, but the Town is not allowed by law to repair private ways. 12/20/2011 2 0 New Posting Locations 2012 Precinct 1: Old: J. Warren Killam School, 333 Charles Street New: J. Warren Killam School, 333 Charles Street Precinct 2: Old: Peter Sanborn Place, 50 Bay State Road New: Reading Police Station, 15 Union Street Precinct 3: Old: Reading Police Station, 15,Union Street New: Reading Municipal Light Department, 230 Ash Street Precinct 4: Old: Joshua Eaton School, 365 Summer Avenue New: Joshua Eaton School, 365 Summer Avenue Precinct 5: Old: Town Hall, 16 Lowell Street New: Reading Library, Local History Room, 64 Middlesex Avenue Precinct 6: Old: Austin Preparatory School, 101 Willow Street New: Barrows School, 16 Edgemont Avenue Precinct 7: Old: Reading Library, Local History Room, 64 Middlesex Avenue New: Birch Meadow School, 27 Arthur B Lord Drive Precinct 8: Old: Wood End School, 85 Sunset Rock Lane New: Wood End School, 85 Sunset Rock Lane Townwide: New: Town Hall, 16 Lowell Street ULA RMLD SHOULD NOT SELL ITS RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATES Massachusetts' investor-owned electric utilities are required by state law to have a specified portion of their power supply from renewable resources. Municipally-owned electric utilities, such as the Reading Municipal Light Department ("RMLD"), are exempt from such requirements. However, the RMLD Board of Commissioners (`Board") believes that it is prudent and responsible to voluntarily include renewable resources in the R ILD's power supply portfolio. I know this because several years ago the Board unanimously adopted a policy direction to (a) implement an RMLD Green Choice program and (b) add renewable energy resources to the RMLD's electric supply portfolio. The desirability of having renewable energy was confirmed by a recent RMLD survey, where nearly 75% of our residential customers supported the inclusion of renewable energy in RMLD's supply portfolio. RMLD staff was directed to bring desirable projects to the Board and the Citizens Advisory Board ("CAB") for their review. The Board and the CAB reviewed several projects, and unanimously approved two projects, knowing that they would cost more than conventional power supplies. To prove that these sources of power are renewable, the output of each project is certified as renewable energy and is issued Renewable Energy Certificates ("RECs"). Some have suggested that the RMLD now sell the RECs associated with its renewable projects and use that money for other, unspecified purposes. I oppose the sale of RMLD's RECs at this time for the following reasons. o Selling the RECs will cause our-current renewable resources to no longer be renewable, as they will lose the certification that proves that their output qualifies as renewable energy. Such a move will undercut the policy direction unanimously adopted by the Board and the CAB and the preferences of our customers. • RMLD staff has stated that the current value of these RECs is about $500,000. RMLD's annual revenue is about $89,000,000, so the value of the RECs is less than six tenths of one percent of RMLD's total revenue. For the typical residential customer, selling the RECs would save only $0.50 per month. Such a small savings is not worth undercutting a sound policy to be environmentally responsible. If customers wish to save money on their electric bills, please call the RMLD and sign up for our energy conservation programs. You will save much more than $0.50 per month. • Renewable energy costs about $0.10 per kilowatt-hour compared to $0.05 per kilowatt hour for conventional non-renewable power supplies. If we sell the RECs for $0.03 per kilowatt-hour, we will no longer be renewable but the net costs from these purchases will be $0.07 per kilowatt-hour, or 40% more. than conventional power supplies. Thus, if we buy renewable energy and sell the RECs, we will have raised our costs unnecessarily, and we won't have any renewable energy resources. • There would be severe restrictions on what the RMLD could do with the revenue from the sale of RECs. The only proper use for such funds would be to offset purchased power costs. Such funds could not be used for other purposes, such as funding the construction of RMLD's own renewable projects. Some have suggested that RMLD should purchase the output from renewable sources now, and annually sell RECs until municipal electric systems are required to have renewable sources. The specter of very high prices for renewable energy projects due to a sudden demand for renewable energy by Massachusetts municipally-owned electric companies is offered as a rationale for such a strategy. Such an argument should be rejected for the following reasons. ® All of Massachusetts' municipally-owned electric utilities account for less than 10% of the state's total electricity sales. Imposing requirements for renewable sources for these utilities would not represent a huge increase in the demand for renewable energy. ® Even if requirements for renewable sources of electricity were imposed, such a requirement would be accompanied by advance notice and would be phased in starting at a very low level. Municipal electric systems will not see a large sudden increase in state-imposed requirements. • Massachusetts law establishes caps or limits on how much RECs will cost, thus limiting RMLD's exposure to the cost of compliance with any future renewable energy requirements. Be environmentally and fiscally responsible. Keep the RECs. Dick Hahn, Chairman RMLD Board of Commissioners 31 ) Sb I Upcoming RMLB Vote on RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates) & Rates . Tomorrow evening, December 7, the Reading Light Board will vote on what use to mare of the RECs the RMLD receives from its sustainable power contracts- For the years 20111 and 2012 the value of these RECs averages $495,000 per'year - with the value increasing to nearly $1.7 million per year for 2013 and after. At its December 5 meeting, the RMLB`s Power & Rate Committee voted 2 to 1 not to sell these RECs, but just to hold on to them and let them expire. So I come before the Board of Selectmen these evening to inform you and the community of this upcoming vote in the hope that community pressure may convince the RMLB to overturn the committee's Monday vote and to sell these RECs. The RMILB members who voted not to sell the RECs are Richard Hahn and Gina Snyder. The two other RMI B members who will be voting on Wednesday are Mary Ellen O'Neill and Philip Padno. Thank you, Robert Soli, RMLB Commissioner Q C7 C-7 e -a ra 32 ~ sb'21 ~ T I •f ~ i I I l I I M > O 7 l ! ' ! 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N M 0 M c w M n w .W n d .M n d n C n i o ° o C C » ~ w S N ~ 5 N O ~ I N N ~ N d ' N ~ ' N tU 5 N N ' N d ' N d S ; ID!:= Q co . ir co c ) co co o c c c c c c n c n U S S ~ S S i N r co r V' 1. ltd r m r 1~- m r m r O m co N m C7 m V' m m m tp m h- m m m m m O rn m N rn M ('V' rnlm N C6 ti m ti m m m m m O o N! C~'> 1ol0 0 35 - GO TOWN MANAGER OVERALL BOS EVALUATION Manager Name: Peter Hechehbieikner Evaluation for the period: CY 2011 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES DURING THIS EVALUATION BOARD OF SELECTMEN RATING (AVERAGE OF FOUR PERIOD RATINGS) RATING SCALE FROM 1 - 5 _ i. Development 5.0 i , • Personnel 4.8 5.0 • Finance • Operations 4.5 . Services 5.0 • Policies and Procedures 4.9 ACHIEVEMENTS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND RESPONSIBILITIES (completed by employee) • See attached self evaluation and individual Selectman evaluations OVERALL EVALUATION (aggregate average rating for 6 goals) 4.87 SELECTMAN COMMENTS • See attached Selectmen evaluations Highlights: Pete continues to set a high standard for professionalism and hard work.... We will need all his creativity as we continue to manage the community in tough financial times. - Ben Tafoya This past year was the most successful since I was elected to the Board. It was a real pleasure to serve this year with Pete. - Steve Goldy Leadership starts at the top. Peter has been extremely successful in assembling a strong leadership team which is managing the departments with strong results. - Camille Anthony I admire Pete's dedication, ability to be nimble and his creative thinking to the challenges we face. - James Bonazoli The increasing challenge of funding local services will always be a factor, yet reflection on the year (and the list above), shows that Reading is still making positive progress in achieving its community goals. Pete's experience and leadership are important in facilitating that forward movement. - Rick Schubert TOWN MANAGER SIGNATURE Name: BOS CHAIRMAN SIGNATURE Name: Date: . Date: 36 ~ sd 2011 Town I Goals and O Developmei Personnel Finance Evaluation Policies and Procedures 1B CA R5 BT SG Avg 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 4.00 5.00 4.80 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 4.50 5.00 5.00 4.00 4.00 4.50 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 4.50 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 4.90 4.83 5.00 5.00 4.67 4.83 4.87 3 7- TOWN MANAGER EVALUATION Manager Name: Peter Hechenbleikner Evaluation for the period: CY 2011 Evaluator: Steve Goldy GOALS AND OBJECTIVES DURING THIS EVALUATION BOARD OF SELECTMEN RATING, RATING SCALE FROM PERIOD 1(LOW) - 5 (HIGH) Development 5 Personnel 5 Finance 5 l.. Operations 4 Services 5 Policies and Procedures 5 ACHIEVEMENTS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND RESPONSIBILITIES (completed by employee) EVALUATION (aggregate average rating for goals) 4.83 SELECTMEN COMMENTS Great year for Pete and all Town Staff. Pete accomplished quite a lot including first steps for regionalizing Community Services, significant advances with downtown parking, successful labor negotiations, addressing drug use and violence in our community and many more. Pete's leadership this past year was very important because of the challenging economy but more importantly Pete proposed and made many significant changes. These proposals and changes were not easy but Pete moved forward because they were in the best interest of our community. This past year was the most successful since I was elected to the Board. It was a real pleasure to serve this year with Pete. 38 l~ ~d3 • If successful in obtaining the grant implement the "Green Repair" program at Birch Meadow and Killam Schools. Complete on scaled back basis - limited by code on what we could do at Killam School. Killam Roof complete; Birch Meadow windows in progress. • Subiect to funding approval in 2010, implement the Haverhill Street water main distribution proiect Proiect into construction - 30% complete • Secure the services of a Landscape architect for Birch Meadow site. Complete and plan adopted Services CDMDletE • Train employees on the customer service policy' continue to measure customer sanstaction: iaemnv ano recommenu changes to regulations that do not meet customer service goals or that will make them easier for customers to understand and use. • Identify areas that need to be targeted for future training DPW trained in November 2011 • Continue Customer Service Survey report tote h Board of Selectmen semi-annually complete Develop mechanism to capture customer comments that are not included in the survey • Implement broad based customer request module accessible from the web site Develop and implement programs at the Mattera cabin and develop a funding program to make the cabin self sustaining Some rentals and Recreation is developing some programs Open some weekend hours with volunteer staffing. Policies and Procedures • Develop funding for comprehensive review and revision of the Zoning Bylaw. • Review the need for Earth Removal regulations and determine the best way to implement regulations. Regulations completed No apparent interest in adopting them. • Fstahlish a nolicv on namina of facilities and sites in the community. Conduct a complete review and re-write of the Traffic Rules and Regulations. 5U'/0 complete C_omplete with the Bylaw Committee Town Clerk and Town Counsel a full review of the general bylaws (required every 10 years by Charter) Complete EVALUATION (aggregate average rating for goals) 4.83 SELECTMEN COMMENTS What a tremendous year for Reading under the leadership of Pete Hechenbleikner! Despite the ongoing challenges of limited budget and less resources we continue to grow and remain a strong community on many levels. We have seen growth in new developments such as Pulty Homes, the old Atlantic site and the expansion of Calereso's Market. Pete has continued to show true leadership and fiscal responsibility in all departments while continueing to look at ways to improve resident satisfacation. L admire Pete's dedication, ability to be nimble and his creative thinking to the challenges we face. 'These are attributes that he and staff will need in the coming fiscal year. 42. 3 • Subject to funding approval in 2010, implement the Haverhill Street water main distribution project Proiect into construction - 30% complete Secure the services of a Landscape architect for Birch Meadow site. Complete and plan adopted • Continue efforts to add to the Town's trail system including progress to implementing the Ipswich River Greenway; Services • Complete evaluation of regionalization of Public Safety Dispatch Phase III is underway and includes a grant through the State 9-1-1 Department Enabling legislation has been passed and the state 9-1-1 Department has awarded a $455,000 to develop Phase III which is the implementation phase. • Focus public health School Substance Abuse and other resources on a Healthy Community model with an initial focus on obesity prevention as one of the maior health crises facing our country. Find ways to encourage walking cycling, and other activities These efforts may involve many departments with efforts led by the Health Division. No progress-due to changes in Public Health Administration • Train employees on the customer service policy' continue to measure customer satisfaction; identify and recommend changes to regulations that do not meet customer service goals or that will make them easier for customers to understand and use. • Identify areas that need to be targeted for future training DPW trained in November 2011 • Continue Customer Service Survey report tote h Board of Selectmen semi-annually Complete • Develop mechanism to capture customer comments that are not included in the survey • Review and improve the Town web site Provide electronic customer interaction with the Town including a "customer service request" module. • Implement broad based customer request module accessible from the web site • Develop and implement programs at the Mattera cabin and develop a funding program to make the cabin self sustaining Some rentals and Recreation is develoriing some programs Open some weekend hours with volunteer staffing. Policies and Procedures • Develop fundina for comprehens Establish a policy on naming of facilities and sites in the community. • Establish a communications policy for the town working off the elements of a past Department. head retreat on 'communications Specifically include in the policy and subsequent training policies on the use of social media as part of the • uonauct a pumrJICIC I@VICw iiilu IC-WIItC yl li1G Iai nli nu~co anu ~ncyurauvnu. v Complete with the Bylaw Committee Town Clerk and Town Counsel .a full review of the general bylaws (required every 10 years by Charter) Complete EVALUATION (aggregate average rating for goals) SELECTMEN COMMENTS What an amazing year the Town Manager and staff have completed! As I thought of the activities that have occurred and the many endeavors undertaken by the departments, I can categorically state that the Town is in extremely capable hands. During last year, many milestones were reached in all of the departments. The successful completion of these initiatives will prepare us to move.to the next level of service which ensures that Reading remains a_desirable place to live. Leadership starts at the top. Peter has been extremely successful in assembling a strong leadership team which is managing the departments with strong results. Peter always states that we have great employees as evidenced from the progress we continue to make in dealing with the day-to-day issues which arise. This year I can actually say that I do not have any comments or. suggestions to make. I have never given the Town Manger a perfect evaluation in the past, but I believe he certainly deserves one for the leadership, energy, and commitment that has transpired this past year. As a community, we should be very grateful for the employees which are serving us. 46 TOWN MANAGER EVALUATION Manager Name: Peter Hechenbleikner Evaluation for the period: CY 2011 Evaluator: Rick Schubert . GOALS AND OBJECTIVES DURING THIS EVALUATION PERIOD Development Personnel Finance Operations Services Policies and Procedures BOARD OF SELECTMEN RATING, RATING SCALE FROM 1(LOW) - 5 (HIGH) Rating: 5 Another amazing year - even in a down economy, Reading seems to be attracting. new business. While the large scale projects (Pulte, Oaktree, Mawn) garner most of the focus, there is plenty other activity that is equally exciting: Calareso's, Cup Cake City, Sense of Wonder, E- Cars, etc, The planning staff, inspections and volunteer boards and committees are working hard to achieve key community goals. Reading apparently is a friendly and welcoming place to do business! Rating: 5 As funding is stretched further and further, CY2011 brought the hard. realities of staffing reductions, Tough choices were made and Community Services absorbed the impacts.. The department heads worked together to see and understand the big picture, and then recommended a way to minimize the negative impact on the community.. This approach is a credit to Pete's leadership and the management team he has in place. Rating: 5 The ongoing conservative approach to municipal finances has served the community well. Again, the staff under Pete's guidance has maintained this perspective even in difficult financial times. With the planned retirement of the Town Accountant in June 2012, the Board of Selectmen will need to be diligent in filling the position with the right person. Rating: 5 Expanded recycling and the new Mass Communications system: while many enhancements to operations are unnoticed to the general public, these two have been high profile and highly successful in their first year of implementation. They are visible signs of cost savings and efficiencies that our residents demand and deserve. Rating: 5 -'The necessary staff reduction, restructuring and, regionalization in Community Services (see Personnel comments above) at the beginning of the fiscal year are still settling in. It will be important to monitor the overall impact on customer services, B/C/C support and employees over the coming year. Rating: 5 Significant time, effort and creativity was put forth by Pete (and staff) last winter in an effort to streamline town government. While ultimate acceptance of the various proposals was up to the BoS or Town Meeting, Pete and staff deserve credit for their willingness and ability to see things differently. ACHIEVEMENTS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND RESPONSIBILITIES (completed by employee) Development Continue progress towards meeting the required 10% of housing units (as re-defined by the 2010 federal census) as affordable This goal maybe met through development of the:. o Addison Wesley. Pearson site, Under Construction o Oaktree Under Construction o Mawn Site Plan Application submitted o - Peter Sanborn Place, All local approvals in place /I 47 VIP Sd I V years by Charter? Complete EVALUATION (aggregate average rating for goals) Aggregate average rating: 5 SELECTMEN COMMENTS Again, much has happened in 2011. The increasing challenge of funding local services will always be a factor, yet reflection on the year (and the list above)r shows that Reading is still making positive progress in. achieving its community goals. Pete's experience and leadership are important in facilitating that forward movement. 51 V Sj • If successful in obtaining the grant implement the "Green Repair" program at Birch Meadow and Killam Schools. Complete on scaled back basis - limited by code on what we could do at Killam School. Killam Roof complete; Birch Meadow windows in progress. • Subiect to funding approval in 2010implement the Haverhill Street water main distribution proiect Proiect into construction - 30% complete • Secure the services of a Landscape architect for Birch Meadow site. Complete and plan adopted • Continue efforts to add to the Town's trail system including progress to implementing the Ipswich River Greenway; Services Complete evaluation of regionalization of Public Safety Dispatch Phase III is underway and includes a -grant through the State 9-1-1 Department Enabling legislation has been passed and the State 9-1-1 Department has awarded a $455,000 to develop Phase III which is the implementation phase. Train employees on the customer service policy; continue to measure customer sanstacnon: ioenurv ano recommenu changes to regulations that do not meet customer service goals or that will make them easier for customers to understand and use. • Identify areas that need to be targeted for future training DPW trained in November 2011 Continue Customer Service Survey report tote h Board of Selbctmen semi-annually complete Develop mechanism to capture customer comments that are not included in the survey • Review and improve the Town web site Provide electronic customer interaction with the Town including a "customer service request" module. . Implement broad based customer request module accessible from the web site Develop and implement programs at the Mattera cabin and develop a funding program to make the cabin self sustaining Some rentals and Recreation is developing some programs Open some weekend hours with volunteer staffing. Policies and Procedures Develop funding for comprehensive review and revision of the Zoning Bylaw. Review the need for Earth Removal regulations and determine the best way to implement regulations. Regulations completed No apparent interest in adopting them. Establish a oolicv on naming of facilities and sites in the community. EVALUATION (aggregate average rating for goals) 4.67 SELECTMEN COMMENTS Development Pete and staff continue to do an excellent job managing the development process in Reading. The ongoing construction work at the Calaressos, Oaktree and Pulte sites are a major testament to Pete's hard work and dedication to the redevelopment of the downtown and expansion of the tax base. The slow progress on south Main Street has been improved by the opening of eCars. Each of these required some timely intervention and negotiation by Pete and staff. A prime example was the work with Oaktree and the Affordable Housing Trust, which was time consuming but yielded a positive result. The town does need to focus attention on South Main issues without losing downtown momentum. 55 `g Conduct a complete review and re-write of the Traffic Rules and Regulations. 5U'/0 compiere Complete with the Bylaw Committee Town Clerk and Town Counsel a full review of the -general bylaws (required every 10 years by Charted Complete Personnel This was a challenging year for personnel with the changes brought about due to financial concerns and the retirement and resignation of various managers. In addition to ably managing these transitions, Pete continued the strong labor relations practice from the past. He has launched a process to insure that we are getting the best possible value for the health insurance dollars spent by the employees and taxpayers. Finance A hallmark of Pete's work has been the strong financial sustainability of the community. We finished the year with a reasonable cash surplus that seriously reduced the required free cash contribution for the budget. This enabled the community to increase one-time expenditures at the subsequent town meeting. This plan will mark a significant increase in infrastructure spending by the community. Much of this capability is due to the comprehensive Plan put forward by staff to address the financial challenges of fiscal year 2012. The staff continues to leverage outside resources to increase investment and services on behalf of the residents; great examples include the downtown decorations and the upcoming bus shelter. Operations There are a number of important initiatives underway to improve operational efficiency for the community. Among the most significant are the regionalization of services and the improvement of IT and telecommunications strategies for the community. The implementation of the permit tracking system, new assessment system and community alerts shows the capability of Pete and staff to adopt new methods in the face of declining resources. The effort to launch a regionalized health department and the continued work toward regional dispatch illustrates Pete's leadership capabilities. Services Pete and the staff reacted well to the personnel changes in 2011 and managed to keep work flowing without major problems. In fact, the staff picked up major initiatives such as regionalization and the community conversation about substance abuse and related issues without missing a beat. The continued focus on customer service and the measurement and reporting of comments is important for a high level of service delivery. Policies and Procedures Pete did a good job on the rewrite of the Town By-Laws, which passed at Town Meeting. In addition he took a leadership role in the process to make changes to Conservation regulations, which may help the residents undertake projects in a smoother and less costly fashion. I look forward to a conversation about the redo of zoning by-laws and getting Reading involved in the discussion of potential 56 D s~2~ statewide changes to zoning regulations. Pete continues to set a high standard for professionalism and hard work. This year we will have major challenges as we absorb the major construction projects that are underway. In addition, we need to search for a high quality replacement for Town Accountant Gail LaPointe who is retiring. We will need all his creativity as we continue to manage the community in tough financial times. 57 0 Irr 1,~,a Y ~ Y Idl' ~ t ` ~ ~ I ~ ,1'c ~'~r/G/.~1 •)/4~ ~d ~;I~r~ ~r{I~7 ' 1 _ 7 ~1`~~^f _ ICI _ t' y ~ Surveys > Results, K ~ Options SURVEY REGARDING AMPLIFIED SOUND IN THE. PARKS Show All Show; Download Spreadsheet Download PDF I CSV By Taker Display by Taker ( Manage Labels Print 1. What is your address? Answered: 73 Skipped: 57 • 249 Woburn Street • Pine Ridge Rd • 282 South • 114 Prescott Street • 20 Emerson St • 4 Oakland Rd • Lowell Street • Bob Quinn 42 Benton Circle Reading • 267 South Street • 323 south street • 87 Dana Rd. • 114 Hanscom Avenue • sturges rd • 228 Forest St. • One Chafes St Unit B • estate lane • Riverside Dr • Tower Road • 12 Knollwood Road Reading,MA 01867 • 142 Belmont St • 14 Frank Tanner Dr. • 35 glenmere circle • 26 Francis Drive Reading • 42 Locust Street • 512 Summer Ave. Reading,MA 01867 • 52 Weston Rd • 48 Dana Rd • 245 Pearl St. • 1 Charles Street • 30 Harrison St • 75 Beaver Road • 199 Summer Ave • 91 Spruce Road • 79 grove street • 76 Grove St • Belmont Street, Reading • 104 Forest St • 42 Winthrop Avenue, Reading. • Warren Avenue • Beaver Rd Reading • 7 beacon.street • PEARL ST • Reading • 20 track rd • 12 Pearl St • 14 Vale Road • glen rd • e ora rive • 49 Grand St. 0'' • Warren Ave: • 322 Haven St. • 23 John Carver Road • Arcadia Ave • Vale Road • This artclie is a home. run, pure and simple! • 137 Pleasant St • 115 HANSCOM AVENUE • 32 John Street 309 Pearl Street why doesn't that say RMHS fields, people don't know them as.BM fields. BM/RMHS • upper wnthrop ave • 38 Ash Hill RD • 16 Mt. Vernon St • 34 Hillside Rd • Fox Run Lane • 201 West Street • 38 Deering St. • 30 Longfellow Road • 201 West Street • 163 Forest St. • 93 Vine St. • 119 Winthrop Avenue • Bancroft Ave • 33 Chequessett Rd 2. Do you live near a park, field or School? Answered: 130 Skipped: 0 Yes (99) No (31) 3. If Yes, which park, field, school do you live near? Answered: 102 Skipped: 28 BARROWS ELEM. SCHOOL (5) BANCROFT AVE TENNIS COURTS (16) BIRCH MEADOW - MORTON FIELD (23) BIRCH MEADOW - SOFTBALL FIELDS (25) BIRCH MEADOW - STADIUM FIELD (33) BIRCH MEADOW - TENNIS COURT BALL FIELD (21) COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL (16) HUNT PARK (6) JOSHUA EATON ELEM. SCHOOL (12) KILLAM ELEM. SCHOOL (8) MEMORIAL PARK (19) PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL (12) STURGES PARK (10) SYMONDS WAY (0) WASHINGTON PARK (12) WOOD END ELEM. SCHOOL (3) Z-240/6 4°'`6 W6 A W* 77i6 _r6 x 7% 1o 4. Should the Town allow Amplified Sound in public parks and school grounds? Answered: 130 Skipped: 0 9 Yes (91) 5. What types of amplified sound do you find acceptable? Answered: 129 Skipped: 1 Public Address Announcements (Announcing player info) (86) Play by Play Announcing (56) 12°~b ; Win,, National Anthem (96) Pre-recorded Music (46) l - s Live Concert Music (78) None (22) ' 22% J 6. Please add any comments you have regarding amplified sound in parks near your home. Answered: 64 Skipped: 66 • Assuming this is done at reasonable hours and not continuously • By Permit Only, restricted to under certain number of decibels at a certain distance • My home is further away from amplified sounds of any kind - it's relatively quiet. However, I feel strongly that during reasonable hours (9am-8pm at least, maybe later), amplified sound be allowed. This pertains to music at street fairs, the Reading concert series, games, etc. • It is difficult enough to cope with the constant traffic, haphazard parking, unruly and inconsiderate parents and trash that inevitably ends up in our yard. To even consider adding sound to that mix goes well beyond our ability to tolerate the overuse of the baseball fields near our home! • I would assume that Live Concert Music would need a permit. We have work to do at home and find. noise coming from the High School make it difficult to concentrate. We value the peace and quiet of the neighborhood. • Should only be allowed during certain hrs perhaps Noon to 6:00 pm on weekends • Our parks are there to be used. I'm not opposed to the reasonable use of AS in certain parks, provided that such use is subject to some common sense limitations. • Many events are far louder than necessary or comfortable for the neighbors. • If sound is of reasonable volume and during hours that are reasonable feel use of certain amlified sound is acceptable. • On a clear day I can hear football comments from Birch Meadow. • NONE of the homes nearthe Birch Meadow fields have owners who bought their homes before Birch Meadow became a recreation area. That means EVERY homeowner knew that they would hear the sounds of children having fun. There is no reason, given this prior knowledge, that any abutter should complain. • This survey doesn't give many options. 1 could see having one live concert in a year, but there's no way to say that. • I would find announcing player info ok if it only for special events - not routinely. The same with the national anthem. 1. Austin Prep should be included in t his survey. The football game announcements were loud this past fall. 2. The RMHS band should not be curtailed during practice time at the high school. • reasonable sound levels are acceptable. Long periods of constant noise would be too much. • -allow permits based on amplification, location, # participants, publicality of event, IE: a running permit for band music in Memorial Park every Sunday when only a few people attend (sometimes less people than band members!) is not a good use of a permit. Amplified sounds enhances activities at the fields. I think the amplified sound if acceptable as long as it is not too early (8am) or too late 9pm. • Should end by 10 PM, weekends 8 PM weekdays • Town/school property should be subject to the same standards as private property. with regards to being good neighbors. Occasional loud noise can be tolerated. Institutionally-sanctioned loud noise cannot. Hours of noise, should also follow common expectations of what is appropriate and what is not (i.e. no Sunday mornings or late at night). Events do not need sound. I can understand how this can annoy someone who can hear the sound at different times of the weekend. • I find them all acceptable depending upon the type of event. • The issue with sound is intensity and duration. The program content (question 5) is largely irrelevant. If the discussion becomes content / merit, conversation will end as an arguement. Its amplified sound, not an editorial review of a speaking tour. • OK occasionally for a special annual event. • Amplified sound should be allowed. It is entertaining and adds to the experience of watching a game. The volume can be monitored so that it isn't too loud so as to be offensive. • People should be able to enjoy the parks and have festive events. As long as the sound is of good quality (no distortion/static) and ceases by 10:00 PM or so, I see no problem. We do not live in the country. • Obviously time restrictions should be in place, but date restrictions should be also - say, perhaps, every other weekend or something similar. • I don't leave too close but can hear the sound in the distance. • Currently l.do not live immediately adjacent to a park. In a previous home I was next door to a very active park. I did that by choice as I enjoy the vibrant activity, including amplified sound that goes along with leaving near a park. • I'm not sure how you define "near". However, we most certainly DO hear amplified sound from the Birch Meadow complex on Spruce Road. • It should be allowed only during specific times (12 - 6 pm) and should not be allowed in the evenings. • I live over a block away from these locations and already put up with the noise on game days or other events. I can't imagine how loud it will be with amplified sound. • As long as local residents are notified and the sound does not occur beyond reasonable hours (8PM weekend; 7PM weekday) I think it's fair. • In ##9 below, "occurrances should be spelled "occurrences" without an "a" • We live quite far from the High school, and we do hear the football games announcements and band practice; though these are for short periods. • Wouldn't want to hear it on a regular basis. Have heard it while visiting friends, can be very disruptive and disturbing. Answer to question 5 - dependent of frequency. Live concert music acceptable a few times during the summer, not all the time. There is no need for amplified sound. • The ONLY people who should be able to weigh.in on amplified music in the parks are the neighbors of that park. Period. The only truly quiet time in this (Birch meadow) area is Sunday afternoon. To take that away from us all summer would be a travesty. The excellent community softball program has been going on for years with no amplified music. Last time I walked past one of the baseball games in question there were about 20 spectators--for this they are going to ruin the neighborhood??? • Its a pleasure hearing "life" going on around me and people emjoying themselves. • although I may be about a mile from the HS 1 can hear band practice and other activities. I am close to the train tracks and made sure that I could live with the sound of that before I bought my home. • I live a distance about a half mile by road from Birch Meadow but can hear the band and the noise from football and pop warner. The repition from the band instruments is piercing, repetitive and annoying. a It's all for family fun and I have no problem with it. That being said I would expect to hear amplified sound but not at a volume that would be bothersome to me. Owners directly abuting parks or schools should be involved in forming policies on times and duration of the events. However they should not be allowed to halt the use of the sound entirely if the majority of the town is for it. • It is the sound levelthat needs to be regulated. Some bands increase the sound to unacceptable levels • I can't imagine any of this occurring in the middle of the night so there is no reason why it should not be allowed. It's a park, for public gathering, one should assume that comes with noise of all kinds including amplified sound. If it's loud enough to be heard by me several blocks away, it's loud enough to damage hearing (especially in children) for people who are near the amplification source. I strongly suggest you look into OSHA recommendations for dB level limits over time, and the level of physical damage that can be caused by sustained exposure to loud sounds. If my house'were very close to a park I would not want the intrusion of amplified sound for any reason. The users of town parks should be held to the same standard as any other neighbor. • The rights of residents to peace and quiet has to be respected. Neighbors endure problems with traffic, parking and litterbugs: Neighbors shouldn't have to also listen to Public Address systems. Noise travels far when the wind is in the right direction. Sometimes I can hear the marching band practice even though I live about 3/4 of a mile away from the high school. • This artclie is a home run, pure and simple! • One reason people move to the suburbs is because they value the quiet, even if they happen to live near a park. Most activities in Readinga®®s parks can be (and have been) enjoyed WITHOUT amplified sound. The intrinsic sounds of these activities are one thing, and neighbors know what to expect; but the addition of amplified sound would change the circumstance completely. It is important to remember that no one is asking to deny or even curtail park activities in any way; they would continue to occur as they always have. But by introducing the extraneous use of amplified sound, neighbors would be denied the relative quiet they deserve; and entire neighborhoods Would have to endure the negative consequences for absolutely no valid reason. • While probably not near enough to Hunt (or Memorial) to qualify as "near" in question 2, 1 am not particularly far from either of these parks, Hunt particularly. • I AM MY FAMILY PERSONALLY DO NOT MIND AS LONG AS THE SOUND LEVEL IS NOT EXTREME. LIVE AND LET LIVE.!!!! M! Im my opinion - I think the need for announcing player info and singing of the National Anthem at the High School level should be acceptable. Sports events at the Hollingsworth Field should be permitted to provide announcements and the band s/b allowed to play at football games. This is the American way. All other fields and playgrounds should have restrictions on amplified sound as they are smaller and more thickly settled areas. There has to be a limit to the amount of noise residents are subjected to. However, the property owners in and around,the Hollingsworth Field need to accept that a High School Football Field abuts or is in earshot of their property. When purchasing property near a HS football field a buyer should consider this element. Perhaps the decibel level in which the announcements are made should have restrictions, perhaps this will appease both parties. • We can hear everything from the RMHS Stadium field if the wind is right - clear as a bell! The minimal added value to the event does not justify the hours long disruption to the neighborhood. If you are in your home with the windows and doors closed, and you can still easily hear the amplified sound, it is much too loud. We live very close to Sturges Park and are OK with the loud noises of the softball and soccer'games but do not want to hear any amplified sounds. • There should be a time at night at which all amplified sound should stop. • so loud I hear it with windows closed.Now that the field is rented it is invasive often.Tune it down.Limit it • I do not think loud music and sporting events is necessary. It disturbs the neighbors. • These adults should act like adults and not little kids with a fantasy to have their names announced. You don't need to have your name announced, and annoy neighbors, to enjoy the benefit of athletics. People are nuts. Get over it. Grow up. Quit being so self focused and instead be a considerate member of a larger community. • The decibal level and length of time is critical to the decision to allow amplified sound. Allowing it at a reasonable level for a few hours is much different than 14 hours of very loud amplified sound. This should not be a straight yes/no decision - there must be clear and easily understandable guidelines around the policy. • I think that people who want amplified sound should use it...you move into a neighborhood near a park or school and you know what you are getting yourself into • In my opinion, the yes/no framing of question #4 will skew the results of this surrey. The question should have included a third option that reads something like: "Only by permitted exception." I believe that users of public fields situated in residential neighborhoods should be allowed to apply for variance permits to use amplified sound only during infrequent events such as 4th of July celebrations and All-Star games; and that in such instances the permit holder should be restricted with regard to number of uses per year, level of sound, and duration of event. I think abutter impact should be the town's primary consideration in setting policy for public land use. • If use of sound, limited to "waking" hours, enhances enjoyment of sporting and musical events at parks/ fields for those in attendance, it should be allowed. • It's the pre-recorded crap that grates on the ears and nerves. Because it is always, always too loud and it is just always on, . there's never any break. • Reading is primarily a residential community. Amplified sound in parks is not compatible with that. The music played at the Bulldogs games was the most egregious example. 7. For which of the following events should amplified sound be permitted? Answered: 129 Skipped: 1 School Sponsored Games/Events/Programs (98) Community Sponored Annual Events (Town Faire/Town Day) (112) Reading Youth Sports All Star Games (72) Reading Youth Sports Playoff Games (74) Private events (Birthday Parties, Public Rentals) (25) None should be allowed (15) 8. What type of restrictions should be placed on the permit holder? Answered:' 124 Skipped: 6 Duration of the event (94) Number of uses per year (43) Level of Sound (105) No Restrictions (4) 9. How many total occurrances of amplified sound do you feel is acceptable per park per month? Answered: 122 Skipped: 8 0 Times per month (31) Once a month (14) Less than 5 times per month (44) -r" Less than 10 times per month (33) -2% 2s 10. What is the longest amount of time you feel is appropriate for amplified sound in the parks? Answered: 129 Skipped: 1 Should not be allowed (24) Less than 1 Hr per occurance (10) 1 - 3 Hrs per occurance (61) 3 - 5 Hrs per occurance (26) More than 5 hrs (8) 11. What time of day is acceptable for use of amplified sound in the parks? Answered: 129 Skipped: 1 Mid-Morning Weekdays (9AM - 12PM) (57) Mid-Morning Weekends (9AM -12PM) (50) Afternoon Weekday (1 213M - 4:00 PM) (82) Afternoon Weekend (12PM - 4:00 PM) (105) Early Evening Weekdays (4:00 PM - 6:00 PM) (80) Early Evening Weekends (4:00 PM - 6:00 PM) (87) Evenings Weekdays (6:OOPM - 8:00 PM) (53) Evenings Weekends (6:OOPM - 8:00 PM) (70) 12. Which locations do you find to be acceptable to have amplified sound? Answered: 102 Skipped: 28 BARROWS ELEM. SCHOOL (47) BANCROFT AVE TENNIS COURTS (48) BIRCH MEADOW - MORTON FIELD (76) BIRCH MEADOW - SOFTBALL FIELDS (73) BIRCH MEADOW - STADIUM FIELD (94) BIRCH MEADOW - TENNIS COURT BALL FIELD (56) COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL (57) HUNT PARK (58) JOSHUA EATON ELEM. SCHOOL (49) KILLAM ELEM. SCHOOL (49) MEMORIAL PARK (71) PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL (56) STURGES PARK (52) SYMONDS WAY (51) WASHINGTON PARK (58) WOOD END ELEM. SCHOOL (49) -6% u d_rJnr n 13. Do you have any other comments~Y,ou would like to pass along to the amplified sound committee? ( Answered: 72 Skipped: 58 If someone buys a house near a public field you can expect parking, noise and crowd issues. It is like buying a home accross form an empty lot that is zoned for business, eventually you could get a gas station or convience store - buyer beware. I have no sympathy for those living near a field - even if they are a selectman. It would be helpful to define "amplified sound", including if there is a decibel min/max to be considered. Amplified sound at the high school football stadium is expected. Anywhere else, think long and hard about the inconvenience to the neighbors. Question 9 should be split. into two catergories, one. for sporting events and another for private events. Sporting events would be unlimited in a specific time frame from 1 Oam-7pm. And less than,4 times per month for private events with durations of 3 hours max, 'once per day. question 11, the. time frame for early evenings, both weekend and week days should be from 4- 7pm. We should also open it up to business that can benefit from, low ambiance music, such as restaurants with outdoor seating as well. The type of music for these businesses could be restricted however as to not have obtrusvie styles of music played. Experiencing our great town is amplified by not. only the physical interaction with our businesses and towns people, but its also hearing the sounds of a community as well. The call of a local baseball game, the slow jazz of an outdoor cafe and the appropriate music of an up-in-coming local musician on a common area. We should allow our citizens to be heard, it will only make us a more suoght after community. During band practice they have amplifiers and megaphone that are used. The sound penatrates the house. The practices last until 8:30PM, Be consistent and do not censor. Don't allow the National Anthem only because it would be politically incorrect not to, but then not allow other music genres. Don't allow music for certain town events (street fair, and founders day) and then deny private events (Bull Dogs & Babe Ruth). Restrict sound levels, but be reasonable. Sound travels awkwardly. I could hear last Tuesday's football game announcer at the Wilmington line of Lowell St, a mile away. Not a complaint, just never heard the announcer before; could have been the time of night and less traffic going by. • AS should GENERALLY only be allowed at these core venues in the heart of the Town during daylight hours. That said, BOS s/b empowered to grant special permits for events that will begin/continue after dark or are better suited for some other venue. • These questions are difficult to answer because they miss the point of the issue. The problem is not the time of day or day of the week or duration of the event but the obnoxious volume of the sound. Some of the answers I checked only because the software will not accept the survey unless I answer all the questions. • Don't let one Selectman and his wife dictate who, when and where amplified sound is regulated in our Town. • Reading is a family-oriented community, and positive, family/youth-oriented activities including sports, concerts, fairs, dances, etc. should be encouraged. A few grouches should not be able to limit the agreed and obvious (and permitted) uses of Reading's public spaces. • Question 9 should offer a couple times a year as an option. I'd pick that one, see question 6 • Amplified Sound should be the exception not the rule. Parks should be for quiet enjoyment. However, it is also great to have community concerts; Friends and Family Day, Fall Street Faire, road races, etc. And the HS athletic events. The Band should not have.mega events on weekends with' outside college or professional bands - the Reading High band is ok, and maybe one competition a year. They also need to be mroe reasonable about where, when,and how often they practice. Semi-pro ball games are fine in Reading but without amplified sound for announcing and definitely nothing between innings or quarters. • occasional use by groups other than Reading Youth sports (like the Bulldogs) would be acceptable. Reasonable sound levels should be.established. Different fields would have different restrictions i.e. play by play at some fields, music at some • Sporting events should not be amplified. They could be broadcast to cell phones etc without creating noise. • I think Reading should be proud of it's athletic and community programs and should allow amplified sound at events to enhance the programs. Having a vibrant and active community is the reason why many of us moved here.. . • If the event brings the town revenue I'm more willing to accept the amped sound • The rights and concerns of the neighbors to parks and fields should always trump the mercantile ambitions of potential users. If the Town would simply conduct itself like a neighbor/property owner on an equal status with the abutters in terms of resolving noise disputes (rather than making decisions as a loftier entity working for a debatable "greater good"), reasonable outcomes can be expected from all concerned. • No amplified sound period. • I can hear the games and music from the high school at my house and I enjoy it. I love to haver kids hear the town events. • Why was the question of Band practices or contests not asked? • the authority to manage this issue should have remained with the Recreation Dept; the treatment of the Bulldogs issue and the BOS 'overruling' the rec dept was a slap in the face to them • poorly designed questionnaire • questions 9&10 - depends upon the event; a band competition will go on for several hours; we're going to end up with 15 pages of amplified sound policies in an attempt to codify all possible situations... bah humbug • 1) Should add former Pearl Street School (now Longview Place) to the survey - Field there is used constantly for youth soccer and other events. 2) Many of the multiple choice questions beg for a text input from the user to qualify or further support his / her reasoning. Not to challenge or question it, but to understand the foundation of the response. 3) Would be useful to have on hand both the past use history of amplified sound at fields as a precedent setting activity, and any written restrictions placed on properties by their terms of use or deed. Reasoning being that past use history establishes a tolerance of the community. Today's one-of objections need to be rationalized against the lengthy history of community acceptable use at the HS, Morton, Symonds and other parks, otherwise the standard for making the call becomes ".one complaint is sufficient to demand a stop" • All in #12 are acceptable but only for a RARE special event. • Why do we need amplified sound?. • Overuse of amplified sound permits would make me less supportive. 1 can tolerate this if the frequency is not great. • Nobody wants to hear sound continuously but I think sound limited to reasonable decibels and for limited amounts of time(a few hours at a time)is fine and adds to the community. • Did not fill out time of day as I do not view Saturday and Sunday as equal - would be a bit more lenient on Saturdays. Sundays should be a day off, a day of quiet. (Survey would not allow me to submit my answers without answering the time of day question, so I went back and marked off the first one, but please disregard that.) • I believe that in this day and age park users, especially young people have an expectation of information,sound and in some cases music as part of the experience of the event they are attending. I further believe the more "park events" young people attend and the longer they stay, the better off we all are......... • I hope you'll take into consideration the interests of any residents within hearing of amplified sound, even though not necessarily fitting a geographic definition of "near". • First - I would separate Saturday and Sunday in your survey. 1 think that no amplified sound should be allowed on Sunday morning. Although I do not think that amplified sound should generally be allowed at the softball fields, I do not mind amplified sound associated with town events held there, like Town Day. 1 am not sure whether the concerts at Memorial Park are amplified, but I also think they should be allowed to continue as they are. With baseball being the only outdoor sport which can't be played at the Stadium, I think limited amplified sound should be allowed at Morton Field. We live within easy listening distance of the Stadium Field and our property backs up to the Coolidge field. We chose this location because of its proximity to the schools and knew that would mean we would hear the community at play. This has never been a problem to us, except when an occasional sporting event in the Stadium has had canned music playing over the loud speakers, and when lacrosse at Coolidge used loud air horns in officiating (not "amplified" per se, but extremely loud). Amplified sound can be heard for many blocks and therefore affects hundreds of people. Most of the sound will be broadcast in the summer months, when nearby residents will trying to enjoy the quiet of the outdoors. Allowing amplified sound will greatly decrease the quality of life in Reading. • Thank you for doing this survey. The issue I am most concerned about is decibel level. • 1 live quite far from the RMHS football field and do hear public annoucements. I think sound volume should be monitored as well as duration of sound and number of events. • Very confusing survey - what would Bulldogs be? Private event? Once a month or less than 5?? How about every other week? Community sponsored annual events? What about weekly concert in the park for August? Where does that fit in? Not a well thought out questionnaire. The key is MODERATION. • no • Amplified sounds in the parks is just a bad idea. So many better ways for people to enjoy the outdoors. • I answered Questions 8, 11, 12 only because they were required and no other options were available. I find no locations acceptable for amplified sound. it is always pleasant to hear the band rehearse and play at the games -although I do live a distance from the school complex. • You have slanted your questions. Numbers 9 and 11 assume some kind of permits allowed. Number 5 is also subject to interpretation. Yes, announcements and play by play should be allowed--at the hs stadium field. I hope you are keeping open minds and that any permits come only after actual neighbors (who will actually be affected by the noise). Perhaps you should read about some of the health effects of this type of noise pollution. • 1 have no problem with the amplified sounds at sporting events, local functions I believe you should not limit this as long as you respect the people around you • Please lets not cater to the minority of naysayers in this town! • Obviosly the high school fields should be allowed amplified sound more than 5 times monthly . • Infrequent, a few times a year, at a reasonable level would be fine The rights of homeowners and abutters to peaceful enjoyment of their property should not be violated by the school dept or parks division for the sake of loud noises, repetitive sounds, a loud, band music. The playing of music for short periods of time should be all that is allowed. • Private events in question 7 is a broad label. For private use is not well described. It can take to many forms. Could be a birthday party or private group sports events. I checked that private events should be allowed but I was assuming types of events would be screened and move through the permit process involving alpine judgement on if the event was worthy of sound use. I am a little concerned about the question and some may not choose this because of the concern anyone who wanted to use the park for a private party would be allowed to use amplified sound. That portion of the question regarding amplfied sound use is misleading. For example where would the bulldogs fall. Would they be in the same category as a party? It needs more detail for pros to adequately answer that question. I think events should bemonitored to ensure the neighbors are not unduly disturbed and events should be staggered to give the neighbors some relief. • In question 12 1 only selected the locations that I am familiar with their physical layout. I didn't think it was appropriate to checking a location I have not knowledge of. • Sound level can be difficult to measure accurately and I would not want to have a situation where people get away with inappropriately loud amplification just because nobody in town has the equipment to accurately measure it. So I would tend to not approve of any use of amplified sound at all, regardless of limits on duration, time of day, location, or context (e.g. sports events vs. community sponsored things like Town Day) until knowing for sure that there are practical and enforceable limits on sound level. Sound level can be more than a matter of inconvenience to neighbors, it can be a matter of safety to those in attendance at an event. Also, DISTANCE is a huge factor in the effect of sound (both for safety and for the neighbors' comfort). So the smaller parks should have a different set of restrictions than', for example, an event set in the middle of Memorial Park or the middle of the high school grounds. There are parks. where I would think no amount of amplified sound would be appropriate, but others where it's clearly fine because of the amount of distance we're looking at. Thank you for volunteering to take on this mostly thankless task. I urge you to consider that none of your Reading neighbors bought their homes with the expectation of amplified sound except possibly for football games about 5 times a year. Please respect your neighbors and treat them the way you would want to be treated in your own home. • This committe should never been formed. The BOS dropped the ball and needs to start doing there jobs! • This artclie is a home run, pure and simple!. • Many of the survey questions are worded in a way that limits responses to supporting amplified sound in one form or another, thereby leading to false conclusions. Reading has always placed the highest value in protecting neighborhoods from unnecessary, negative impacts. I hope that continues to be true. Key (and hardest to enforce?) is probably sound, level at perimeter(s) of the parks abutting either residential properties and/or pubic ways. The the Birch Meadow/RMHS athletic complex is probably the most conducive to amplified music/sports announcements/etc., though Mem. Park os probably large enough also. Sturges, Hunt, etc. and the elementary (and middle?) schools on the other hand are probably too small for amplified sound. At modest levels of amplification impact on abutters should be minimized w/o draconian restrictions • I BELIEVE TOWN RESIDENTS NEAR THESE PARKS AND FIELDS WOULD BE UPSET AT EXTREME SOUND LEVELS,OTHER THAN THAT GO FOR IT.!!!!!!!!!!!!! Reasonable amplified sound at appropriate events, during appropriate times of the afternoon and evening and the events that use such sound adds to the vibrance of the community. From 11 am to 9 or 10:00 PM seems like a reasonable window of time with a max of 4 continuous hours, or longer for school oriented events when necessary/appropriate seems about right. Many towns have sound ordinances that take care of what is and isnt acceptable rather than permit every circumstances - not sure why that couldnt work for Reading too. The kids and the schools should not be subject to any limitations that would prevent them from sucessfully running regional band or sporting events that bring other communities (and potential prestige and revenue) to our kids and our community. 0 • I hope that the committee and citizens affected by the amplified sound can come to a reasonable agreement that pleases everyone. The addition of sound is uplifting and makes me happy. Silence is boring. When people come together it adds to the experience. • This is life, live it, listen to it. • At best, amplified sound is done with amateur ability with no regard to it's disruptive nature. All the organizer cares about is how amplified sound can enhance their event. With this imbalance, why should it be used at all? Have the event organizer do it right by hiring a sound professional to set up and measure sound levels properly. • Volume levels should be measured both at the event as well.as some distance away (500 yds? 1/4 mile?) • measure the decibel level,no play by play needs to be heard outside the perimiter of the park involved • Amplified sound at sporting events, unless announcing players at High School Sports, is not necessary. I think I would allow it at some sort of annual fundraising event (i.e. Professional Sports Figures vs. Reading PD in a one-time softball game). I do not feel loud music should be played on a weekly, or even monthly basis. I would attend concerts in a park even for a nominal fee. I would be a great public event opportunity and could be revenue for . the town. • In general, I feel that we over-emphasize the importance of sports, and winning at these games, in this town, as well as others. IMO, they have become too structured, too competitive, and are often a vehicle for adults' ego, or the drive for potential scholarships, rather than for the enjoyment and development of the children involved. Amplifying the sound in the parks, to me would further feed this skewed perception of the importance of these games, and also expose neighbors' to unnecessary noise and disruption. The right to live peacefully in your own home is more important than the desire to inflict the details of one's game onto your neighbors. I could make an exception, with restrictions, for those activities that would benefit the entire town. Concerts, town days, etc. Thank youl • I sit in my living room and can hear every drum on the band when they practice and the sound is bounced back off the field House, thus nearly doubling it in the direction up Arthur B. Lord Dr. Since it's nearly doubled, it's in essence amplified. • I think that people should be allowed to use the fields how they want. It's not bad noise..people should see what the noise is about rather then complain. Question #8 is also framed in a way that limits respondent options, because it doesn't offer a choice like, "X times per year", which would have been'my preference, and I might have said something like 6 times per year in any given field, with no more than one occurrence in any month. It is my preference that no amplified sound at all be permitted on Sundays. And I believe that because, Symonds Way offers a ball field environment sufficiently distant from residential properties, it is the best choice for any baseball teams that wish to employ amplified sound during their games. Thank you for your consideration. • Amplified sound should not be used at fields near schools during hours when classes are in session, or students are taking exams (finals, SATs, etc.). • It needs to be like any othef abutting permit. Those who live nowhere near whichever park is in question have no right at all to have any say in the decision about what sort of noise they subject the parks neighbors to. The only ones who should have --any-- say are the neighbors who have to listen to the inane blaring 'til o'dark thirty at night. But, I have no doubt that y'all will go ahead and let the 'majority' roll over the neighbors and every Sunday we'll have hellish and god awful blaring crap music so that one guy can make money: All in the name of 'America'and... 'Apple Pie'. • Please minimize the use of amplified sound... none would be preferable. Question 12 requires me to select a location, even though no location is acceptable. I selected Wood End Elem schoool since it is the furthest from my street. 5urveyMagik 5.0 ©Copyright, All Rights Reserved SurveyMagik.com