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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-03 Board of Selectmen Handout - Part 1DRAFT MOTIONS BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING JANUARY 3, 2012 Anthony, Goldy, Tafoya, Bonazoli, Schubert Hechenbleikner lc) Move that the Board of Selectmen approve the filing of a Community Innovation Grant consisting substantially the substance submitted to the Board of Selectmen on 1-3-12, the purpose of which is to enhance the newly created regional Public Health Administration program between Reading, Melrose, and Wakefield. 5c) Move that the Board of Selectmen reappoint Gail LaPointe as Town Accountant with a term expiring June 1, 2012 or until a successor is appointed. 5e) Move that the Board of Selectmen approve in concept. the construction of a Town of Reading Bandstand as presented by the Town Manager on 1-3-12, with a condition that the Town Manager submit the final design to the Board of Selectmen for comment. Move that the Board of Selectmen adjourn the meeting at p.m. 10 TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT . Tuesday, January 03, 2012 Administrative matters ♦ Reminder - the Town election and the. Presidential Primary election will be held on March 6 at the Hawkes Fieldhouse at RMHS ♦ 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 ♦ There will be a MLK celebration this coming January 16, 2012 at 10 am in the Performing Arts Center at RMHS. The lobby will open at 9 and food will be available at that time. ♦ Staff has been working on a Community Innovation Grant application for enhancements to the Public Health regional initiative begun in 2011. 1 have created a motion for the Board of Selectmen to support the application and also a letter of support. ♦ The Town has received an anonymous donation of funds to support trail work, as well as to support tree adoption. ♦ There is a vacancy on the Board of Library Trustees, to be filled by a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and the remaining Library Trustees. Community Services ♦ The modular units for the Oaktree development are being delivered and are being stacked probably since last week. Public Safety ♦ The Fire Department has been notified that they have been awarded a grant under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. We applied under Firefighter Safety and requested funding for a joint training program for Reading and Wakefield Firefighters. The concept is to bring in an outside training vendor to develop advanced skills in Firefighter Safety, Engine Company and Ladder Company operations. The goal is to enhance skills, develop new skills and to increase the performance of our Firefighters. The grant is for $111,600 and will be spit between Reading and Wakefield. The grant requires a 10% local match. Reading's share will be $5,500. Captain Boisvert was the lead grant writer. Public Works ♦ The MWRA project is done except for final paving in the spring. ♦ We are applying to Longhorn's Steak house for a trails grant for enhancement to the trail entrances in town Forest, and for partial funding of the Town Forest Master Plan. 1/3/2012 TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT Tuesday, January 03, 2012 ♦ We have received a check from Dunkin Donuts in the amount of,$30,000 which will be used to improve the entryway to Washington Park from Washington Street. o We have been informed that the Stoneham Board of Selectmen no longer supports the Northern Intermediate High water redundancy project. (see attached materials) 1/3/2012 2 WRA. BQARD N: i w s c. N 0 T E DECEMBER 2011 Proposed FY 13 CIP Transmitted to Advisory Board At its December meeting, the MWRA Board of Directors voted to transmit the FY13 Proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to the Advisory Board for its statutory review. Highlights of the proposal include: • The proposed CIP for the FY09-13 cap period is $898.8 million, or $245.0 million less than the base- line cap established in FY09 Y Proposed capital spending for FY13 totals $191.4 million, with 45.8% dedicated to wastewater capital projects, and 48.7% proposed for waterworks projects. • $10.5 million in new projects requests were added, with the majority of spending beyond FY13 • By the end of the cap period, more than 96% of the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) program will be completed. Total future spending is estimated at $2.1 billion beginning in FY 12. Below is a chart highlighting the capital spending for FY09-13 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 issues anti move tms project rorware. FY09 G3 CSO c Waterworks o All Other Wastewater a Business and Operations A PUBLICATION OF THE MWRA ADVISORY BOARD Upcoming Changes to EPA Stage 2 Disinfection Byproducts Plan The MWRA. will be -undertaking changes to the Disinfection Byproducts (DBP) plan this spring. In preparation for this change, the MWRA Advisory Board operations committee will convene in February and Director of Planning Stephen Estes- Smargiassi will be making a presentation on Stage 2 of EPA's DBP monitoring plan. This presentation will highlight increased monitoring at sites in every community. In addition, the compliance metric will also change. The MWRA will be judged on the basis of the running annual average at each location, rather than averaging across all locations. Stoneham Opposes MWRA Construction of Northern Intermediate High Redundant Water Line In a letter sent to the MWRA Board of Directors, the Stoneham Board of Selectmen stated their opposition to the MWRA's construction of a redundant water line through Stoneham. The Northern Intermediate High Redundant water pipeline would ensure reliable water service to Stoneham, Woburn, Reading, Wakefield, Winchester and Wilmington. Click here to.read Stoneham's letter to the MWRA and click here to see MWRA's response to Stoneham. Since its earliest days, the MWRA and the Advisory Board have adopted a "one system for all" approach toward capital improvements; specifically, all capital improvements regardless of their direct benefit to one community and lack thereof to another benefit the system as a whole and therefore all member communities. This project represents a critical improvement in meeting the Authority's goal for system redundancy, and as such is a critical improvement for all conunurlities in the waterworks system. The Advisory Board is ready, willing and able to provide whatever assistance necessary to resolve the UPCOMING MEETINGS January 2" a Observance of New Year's Day-Office Closed January 13°i Advisory Board Exec. Conan. Mtg. in Charlestown January 16`h Martin Luther King Day-Office Closed January 18th MWRA Board of Directors Mtg. in Charlestown January 19'h Full Advisory Board Mtg. at the Chelsea Facility If you have any questions regarding topics raised in this newsletter or any other AIWRA issue, please contact: Maggie Atanasov, Government & Media Coordinator • Pbone: 617.788.2055 • Fax: 617.788.2059 Email: maggie.atanasov c@i mwra.state.ma.us Web Site: www.mwraadvisorYboard.com R. Paul ltotondi, Chairman Frank Vallarelli, Vice Chairman Richard S. Gregorio, Secretary/Selectman Board of Directors ' Massachusetts "Water Resources Authority Charlestown Navy Yard 100 First Avenue, Builditig 39 Charlestown, MA 02129 • Dear Board of Directors: TOW"N OF S T 0 N E H A M ZvfASSACHUSETTS TOWN HALL' 99 CENTRAL STREET, STONEHAK MA02180 781/279-2680 .John F. DePinto, Seiei;tmah. Robert W: Sweeney, Selectman . • Muriel Doherty; Office Manager December 13, 2011 This letter is to inform the MWRA Board of Directors this( the Stoneham Board of:::._ Selectmen voted at their Dec 13, 2011 ineeting.to•oppose the MWRA'S tlii-ee. rnile pipe:.... ' line through Stoneham. As you are aware the Town of .Stoneham has been .one. Of the original members of the water and sewer commission dating back to' 1900: 'As' .4•foi ndirig member, we were quite surprised and disappointed that the MWRA first found it • necessary to take 5 acres, which was planned for affordable housing, to place a water" " 'tank that will serve the purpose of feeding the future northwest'expansion of MWRA • . . water. This project will cause undue hardship on the citizens of Stoneham through a long construction process that will result in congestion acid digging up our streets, increasing • traffic, increasing our noise and increasing the long term presence of heavy construction equipment in our neighborhoods, Additionally, this pipe line will take up four feet of Stoneham land that could have an adverse affect on future development.. These hardships will affect-our quality of life and the people of Stoneham will not receive any benefit from it. We find this unfair to the Stoneham MWRA ratepayers. The Board cif Selectmen urges the MWRA to find another route for this pipeline, one that does not, once again, ' . require the Town of Stoneham to solely bear the -burden, Two years ago, for reasons that were never explained, the MWRA purchased land in Stoneham to place an underground water tank even though the State owned enough land just next to it. That resulted in the Town. of S toneham losing ninety (90) affordable housing units and over $1'00,000 a year in property taxes. Stoneham was told that we would get a soccer field as mitigation for the loss of the tax revenue. After the deal was Board of Selectmen Massachusetts Water Resources Authority December 13,2011 - Page (2) done, the MWRA reneged and Stoneham received nothing. Now, it is the Stoneham rate payer that has to subsidize the cost of the land and construction while absorbing the lost revenue the land would have produced. We find this unfair to our Stoneham MWRA rate payers. The Board of Selectmen has written the MWRA Board and asked for a meeting between the Boards, we still await the meeting. The people of Stoneham are tired of being the pawns in the MWRA's expansion and demand that another route for this pipeline be found. The Town of Stoneham's rights have been disenfranchised by the MWRA and, without immediate recourse, we will be forced to take further actions to protect our citizens. We await your response. Very truly yours, Board of Selectmen f ` R. Paul Rotondi Chairman cc: Gov. Patrick Rep. Lewis Senator Clarke John Deamicis, Board of Selectmen's Appointee to MWRA Advisory Board 4~S01"I fS ?G ti ry0 4 ~ ~y 9SSACH US~~ Frederick A. Laskey Executive Director December 22, 2011 R. Paul Rotondi, Chairman Board of Selectmen Town Hall 35 Central Street Stoneham, MA 02180 Dear Mr. Rotondi: Telephone: (617) 242-6000 Fax: (617)788.4899 TTY: (617) 788-4971 The MWRA Board of Directors has asked me to respond to your letter of December 13, 2011. Both the Board of Directors and staff were disappointed to, learn of your opposition to the proposed Northern Intermediate High (NIH) redundant water pipeline, which would ensure reliable water service for Stoneham as well as the other five N H communities of Woburn, Reading, Wakefield, Winchester and Wilmington. As we have described to the Town, the MWRA NIH service area is served mostly by a single water transmission main (Section 89) and a single water tank. Although Section 89 was constructed in the mid-1970s, a critical portion of it is a pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe, a material which the water industry has identified as prone to sudden failure. Stoneham is particularly vulnerable because, unlike the other NIH communities, Stoneham does not have any distribution storage of its own and relies entirely on the MWRA to provide water storage for peals demands and emergencies. Therefore, if the single pipeline feeding the water tank were to fail, Stoneham would immediately lose water service. In addition, a smaller, second supply pipeline (Section' 29), which solely serves Stoneham, is an undersized, unlined cast iron pipe and is over 100 years old and heavily corroded. The new redundant pipeline would also address this problem. MWRA has a proven track record of working cooperatively with other communities and abutting residents during the planning, design and construction of MWRA facilities. MWRA has been working with Stoneham on the routing of this proposed pipeline for five years and we have evaluated alternative routes and incorporated features such as local water main replacement and road drainage improvements into the project at Stoneham's request. MASSACHUSETTS WATER RESOURCES AUTHORITY Charlestown Navy Yard 100 First Avenue, Building 39 Boston, MA 02,129 ® Pdnted on 100% Recycled Paper R. Paul Rotondi December 22, 2011 Page 2 In the interim, MWRA has initiated several short-term measures to provide partial redundancy for Stoneham and the other N H communities. MWRA has purchased trailer- mounted pumping units that could partially supply the service area if Gillis Pump Station were to fail, and MWRA has constructed emergency water connections between several NIHH communities including Stoneham and Reading. However, these are short-term, emergency measures, not long-term solutions. We also feel it is important to correct a misconception the Selectmen seem to have regarding the proposed Spot Pond Storage Facility that will soon be under construction off of Woodland Road. MWRA has briefed the Town on this project on several occasions. This -new water tank is not being constructed to support future expansion of the MWRA system, but will replace distribution storage within the existing service area that was lost when the Spot Pond open reservoir was removed from service in the late 1990s to improve drinking water quality for Stoneham and the other NIH communities. The new facility will directly benefit the Town'of Stoneham by including a new pump station to provide redundancy for the Gillis Pumping Station, which is the sole source of supply for the Town. Providing redundancy to the Gillis Pumping Station was a principal recommendation of the post 9/11 federally mandated vulnerability assessment of the MWRA water system. The Selectmen's letter of June 15, 2009 to then-MWRA chairman Ian Bowles both endorses the storage tank project and acknowledges a mitigation payment of $293,720 to the Town by the developer, which includes "per unit" mitigation for the 95 units displaced by the storage tank. In addition, MWRA has agreed to include some $300,000 worth of additional work requested by the Stoneham Conservation Commission. Due to the nature of the regional water and sewer systems, it is common for one or more communities to host infrastructure within their bo d r~ that benefits other downstream communities. As you no doubt recall, Stoneham was the direct and principal beneficiary of a regional water supply improvement project fifteen years ago when Malden and Medford hosted construction of a 6-foot diameter pipeline so that MWWRA could remove Spot Pond from active service to meet state and Federal drinking water regulations for open distribution reservoirs, measurably improving the safety, security and quality of drinking water to the Town of Stoneham. MWRA. has invested nearly $2 billion to modernize the water system from Stoneham all the way out to the Carroll Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough. Ratepayers in all MWIEZA member communities have paid their equal share for these improvements, whether or not the facilities in their communities directly serve them. 0 R. Paul Rotondi December 22, 2011 Page 3 The May 2010 water main break in Weston was a powerful reminder of the importance of redundancy in the water system. Lnplementation of an alternative alignment will significantly delay MWRA.'s ability to provide adequate drinking water services to Stoneham and the other communities in the NIH service area if the existing pipeline were to have a major leak or break. However, based upon your opposition to the routing of the proposed pipeline through Stoneham, MWRA will now proceed with alternative pipeline alignments outside of Town boundaries. Sincerely, P Frederick A. Laskey Executive Director cc: Senator Katherine Clark Representative.James J. Dwyer Representative Jason M. Lewis John DeAmicis, Stoneham Representative to MWRA Advisory Board MWRA Board of Directors Joseph Favaloro, MWRA Advisory Board O Camille W. Anthony, Chairman Stephen Goldy, Vice Chairman Town of Reading Ben Tafoya, Secretary James Bonazoli 16 Lowell ~ Street Richard Schubert Reading, MA 01867 BOARD OF SELECTMEN Reading, (781) 942-9043 FAX: (781) 942-9071 Website: www.ci.reading.ma.us January 4, 2012 Tim Dodd Program Manager Executive Office for Administration and Finance Phone: 617-727-2040 Email: CICGrants@state.ma.us RE: Community Challenge Innovation Grant, 2012 Dear Mr. Dodd: The Reading Board of Selectmen (BOS) would like to enthusiastically offer this letter of support for the Town of Reading application jointly with the City of Melrose and the Town of Wakefield.to the Community Challenge Innovation Grant, 2012. As lead agency on the application, the three communities hope to utilize technology and implement additional software and hardware capabilities to enhance our existing regional health department services. The goal is to streamline and standardize the way we do business, which will result in improved staff efficiencies, better records management and enable us to provide the residents of all three communities with the high quality and "high-tech" customer service they want and deserve. Reading is very happy with the way that the regional Public Health Services are operating, and we know that with the help of this grant the services to all three communities can be made more efficient and effective. Additionally, the proposed grant will allow.the three communities to easily explore additional ways that we can work cooperatively, because the technology platforms will be in place to add other regional services, particularly in the community development areas of municipal operations, We offer our full support to this effort and appreciate your consideration for this opportunity. Sincerely, Camille Anthony Chairman, Board of Selectmen cc: Mayor, City of Melrose Town of Wakefield Board of Selectmen Town of Reading Planning Division 0 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION Application deadline: January 17, 2012 Submission Instructions: This application form and all supporting documents must be submitted electronically by January 17, 2012 to: ClCgrants@state.ma.us Please read the Grant Guidelines before _completing this application. Applications will not be considered complete unles's all requested information is provided. Signoff by participating entities must be included (see form at end of application). Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. For more information, contact: Pam Kocher Director of Local Policy Executive Office for Administration and Finance Email: ClCgrants@state.ma.us Phone: 617-727-2040 Tim Dodd Grant Program Manager Executive Office for Administration and Finance Email: ClCgrants@state.ma.us Phone: 617-727-2040 FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 1 of 17 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION Project title: Innovations in Public Heath through enhancements to the regional services being provided in Reading/Melrose/Wakefield that achieve cost savings. Amount requested: $500,000 Identify the lead applicant entity: Town of Reading If applying for internal efficiency grant: the single local government entity If applying for regionalization grant: a lead municipality chosen from among municipalities participating in initiative, a ,lead school district among school districts considering forming a regional; school district, a lead school district among school districts considering regionalizing services, a regional planning agency or council of governments, or a regional planning agency or council of governments serving as the administrative/fiscal agent on behalf of municipalities. Lead applicant primary contact.: First Name, Last Name: Peter Hechenbleikner Name of Municipality, School, RPA or COG: Town of Reading Phone Number: 781-942-6643 Email Address: phechenbleiknerCa)ci.reading.ma.us Lead applicant secondary contact: First Name, Last Name: Ruth Clay Name of Municipality, School, RPA or COG: Town of Reading, City of Melrose and Town of Wakefield Phone Number: 781-942-6653 Email Address: rclayC«Dci.reading.ma.us Check type of participating entities: q Two or more municipalities seeking to collaborate ❑ Regional school(s) FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 2 of 17 l Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION ❑ School districts considering forming a regional school district or regionalizing services 0 Regional planning agency or council of government 0 local government entity and non-profit seeking to collaborate 0 Single municipality (for internal efficiency grant proposal) List all participating entities: Town of Reading, City of Melrose, Town of Wakefield Purpose of the grant: The Executive Office for Administration and Finance is soliciting thoughtful plans and proposals for innovative initiatives. Describe proposed initiative in detail, including exact purpose of the grant funds, objectives, problems trying to address, any efforts or steps already taken to address the problem, any obstacles encountered to date and plans to resolve those challenges, the manner in which economies of scale or efficiencies would be achieved, change in service delivery, what entity would be responsible for service delivery, how participating entities would retain oversight/responsibility of service, and how the population would continue to be served, and ,how any new service costs will continue to be funded once service is established and grant project completed. In addition to providing a general description of the proposal here, applicants should also complete the sections below: Overview In an effort to meet budgetary constraints while also preserving excellent customer service, The Town of Reading has regionalized Public Health services with the City of Melrose and the Town of Wakefield. Through inter-municipal agreements, the communities share a single Health Director who leads the regional initiative. The arrangement with the Town of Wakefield also encompasses several other shared Health Department staff. These inter- municipal agreements have met the fiscal objectives but have highlighted some obstacles. A regionalized public health service has been a cost efficient approach to service delivery. The next step, with the assistance of the CIC grant, would be to add much needed tools mostly through technological improvements to enhance service delivery and allow staff to work more efficiently. Specifically, regional services will benefit from: 1.) Standardization; 2.) State-of-the-art communication tools; 3.) More focus on customer service; 4.) Being more business friendly; and 5.) hiring a project manager to lead the implementation of these additions to regional services. FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 3 of 17 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION First, each community does business in different ways. Greater efficiencies would be realized through more streamlined and standardized processes. It is the intent to use this grant to use technology to improve and standardize health services. This will improve the way the general public and other customers are served, boost operational efficiency of each municipality and build a solid foundation for further regionalization efforts between these and other communities. Second, during recent storms that caused extensive power outages, it became clear that state-of-the art communication tools are essential. This grant will also fund both emergency and mobile communications devices, so that physical location is not an impediment to providing vital emergency services for all communities. Third, providing excellent customer services is a major goal shared among the communities. By developing a regional initiative that achieves cost savings are we also meeting our customer service goals? The scope of this project would also include an analysis of how we are doing in terms of customer service. A survey tool can be put in place to get feedback from stakeholders' to provide input into the areas that have been identified as needing attention. This will insure that we are addressing the needs of the communities, in the best way possible thereby improving our delivery of services. It will also establish a measure of "before" and "after" the enhancements to public health services have been undertaken by this grant. Fourth, promoting economic development and a business friendly environment has been another goal identified by the communities. There have been some criticisms that we could do more to make permitting and other approvals easier on businesses. Steps have been taken to simplify and streamline processes. This has including addressing the regulations that govern those processes. The use of more standardized forms, checklists and FAQ's has received positive feedback as well as expanding the use of the website. This is an area that. should see improvement with the new permit tracking software that would enhance the permitting process for both applicants and for staff. Fifth, hiring a project manager is critical to the success of the regional health services proposal. Having a point person who will lead the project is essential to staying on task and managing this project so that it comes in on time and on budget. Technology is at the core of the effort so the project manager will need to be adept at working with technology to improve services and to support the staff that provides the services. INSERT MAP OF EASTERN MA ILLUSTRATING THE THREE COMMUNITIES AND TO SUPPORT FUTURE REGIONALIZATION DESCRIBED IN THE PROPOSAL. FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 4 of 17 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION Existing Commitment and Qualifications in 2007 Reading's Town Meeting agreed to fund a carefully designed Five-Year Technology Plan with $1.25 million of debt. Since then the Town has spent additional funds from annual budgets in excess of $250,000 to make further improvements (such as virtualized networks) that were not plausible when the original Plan was designed. As a result of innovative and extensive collaborative efforts between the usually independent town, school .and light departments there has been significant improvements to internal operations that have allowed customer service levels to remain very high at a time when budgets are being reduced. Several new technology systems have been brought in and integrated in ways that vendors had not seen in the municipal marketplace before. Based on this recent experience, the Town of Reading is in a unique position to oversee a regional technology initiative that will require the same level of communication and cooperation between parties whose interests will not always be 100% aligned. For this specific Community Innovation Challenge Grant there are two relevant technology systems. In a time of dwindling budgets focus must be on thoughtful analysis and ensuing high-quality customer service. First, a comprehensive document management system is vital to eliminate duplicative efforts, drastically reduce information retrieval time, and have all eyes on current relevant facts. Reading has engaged the services of General Code and Laserfiche Corporation and several departments have begun to use this system on a'going forward' basis, with some also,able to begin the lengthy process of back-scanning historical records. Second, communication between all parties is substantially improved through a comprehensive license & permits tracking system. Reading is in the process of installing ViewPermit by ViewPoint Engineering in all town departments, such as Health. Staff training is scheduled to begin in early 2012. The combination of ViewPermit and Laserfiche is integral in unifying the three Health Departments in Melrose, Wakefield and Reading. Once complete, the end result will be a common system that the shared Health staff can readily navigate and easily provide thorough and timely responses. This becomes particularly important in times of a Health Emergency. During recent storms that caused extensive power outages the shared Health Administrator was located in the Emergency Operations Center for Reading, which also houses a new data center built under the Five Year Technology Plan. Communications within Reading went smoothly, but less so between the other communities. Health needs do not always divide themselves into tidy blocks of time where shared staff can plan their locations in advance. It is critical that shared staff have access to all information from every community from every location - including out in the field - at all hours day and night. FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 5 of 17 ,s Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION Project Scope Funding from this grant would expand on the Town of Reading's implementation of ViewPermit and Laserfiche to create a regional permitting tracking effort and record management system that will include Melrose and Wakefield. While this would be innovative within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, such an effort exists in Connecticut between several communities: z. On-line Perri Center Capitol Reg,iorn, Council of Governx n.ents Connecticut Regional E-Government Initiative d Viii Permit. select a community r - },h w t''a ti I ay.. ~ t r1 r i v~pfi~ i ( 3 ~ „ ~~il✓ t FY " a1 ~ General Into Technical Support To learn more about r t j Contact ro: j4irJP...S MewPermit On-line Permit Center ck eed ve e interested in very innterested in your f feedbaack. We are Please Select: Send us your SuggestioZ Getting Started Terms R Conditions Privacy Policy Usage Fees Melrose and Wakefield would receive the full permitting modules with ViewPermit and records management implementation through Laserfiche, similar to Reading. While each community will retain the option to customize their other department's license & permitting modules, the module for Health will be standardized between the three communities. The funding will also introduce mobile device capabilities for field operation of the Health Department staff that will include smart phones and tablet devices. During emergency conditions, the physical location of shared staff will become irrelevant to the vital tasks at hand. In addition to enhancing emergency operations, this will enable staff to complete routine electronic reports while in the field. Hand written, time consuming, community specific inspection and other reports can be streamlined with the right tools and technology. FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 6 of 17 V Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION These non-uniform practices make for cumbersome and confusing operations, as inconsistencies arise between each Health Department. Standardizing and streamlining among the 3 communities will enhance service delivery while achieving cost savings. Benefits: Identify cost savings and benefits for each participating entity. Identify cost savings and how such savings will be achieved, including any removal of redundancies, reductions in personnel or unfilled positions eliminated. Identify other benefits. Other benefits may include enhanced level of service, improvements to organization or management structure, improved public access to local government services, a more efficient level of service that still meets the population's needs, improvements in qualifications or efficiency of staff, increased hours of operation, new online availability, or reduction in capital facilities to maintain. Identify need for funding such that the initiative would not happen or would not achieve the identified benefits without the funds provided by this grant program. Economies of Scale - Cost Savings The current Health regionalization effort between Reading, Melrose and Wakefield produces a combined cost saving of over $250,000/year among the three communities. Reading saves over $79,000/year by sharing the Health Administrator. If this grant application is successful Reading expects to save an additional $12,000/year by eliminating a vacant part-time Health Inspector` position because of operational efficiencies brought about by the use of mobile devices and the standardization of the permitting process. Further savings are possible if more Health staff is shared in the future. It is difficult to assign exact savings to Melrose and Wakefield because they already share a larger staff. The total combined savings is nearly $200,000/year presuming each would not need to fully duplicate the shared staffs. This shared staff arrangement is new, however. There will be many challenges ahead and no assurance that these savings will be able to continue. High levels of customer service - especially during an emergency - will strengthen the regional collaborative and likely entice more communities to join the group. The investment of CIC one-time grant funding in regional health services would bring common technology systems and a unified approach. The technological upgrades and standardization/simplification of operations will go a long way towards ensuring the long-term viability of regionalized health services. The cost savings alone would support a very high-payback for the participants. In essence, providing the right tools for the job are what is at the core of this initiative. Current technology in managing data, systems, communication, and workflow are essential components to providing enhanced services at a much reduced cost. FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 17 Page 7 of e Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION Improvements to Internal Operations There are several benefits to enabling communities with the technology needed to perform daily operations and eliminate unnecessary paper-work associated with permitting efforts. Not only will each community see time and cost savings, but the shared Health Administrator position will have the ability to better serve each community in a management role, as intended with the existing inter-municipal contracts. Municipal Health staff will also benefit from this initiative. Less time will be spent searching. for files and document retrieval requests from public will be done more quickly and effectively. This improvement in customer service will also extend to businesses we regulate. Inspection times will be reduced and scheduling will be more flexible. Following is a screen shot of what an. Inspector might see with this new combined system: F Icr Oy. f'urmit Count -c^:lional SeMce~~_ _I ~ I a ~t I~ Pa., TY(ka W Da onal Sem;.a ~ ~ '717on11 ' P,P[mJt.7ypca ra,0 IISog Elembl CMG IMPl-W9 Appointment, far.' " Wmk Waek Mmlh In,PeGbn Iw ~.I~ Day `dA~ Mruvlm T -d- ' Wadnaadav . Tlvnda RIdaY. MY TASO (D.ubb tick any row to view .01bote4 Portal) I Pn•.jea Rare, (IOY ~ Ooao PmrecU.N) ~ C O.O.SWnaR.(0) ~ Protect 5 DuraOOn (6lorth.) 3 - J Imm.noro Shnrv pll 5aladaY. - Sunay,..::' ^ a, 31 January 1 1 8 . . . . .1 i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 141 5 . E 21.. 22 ~7; 29I 29;'r I , Fee Collection Tmallne Permit Type OWdng ' O.-Ion (13-that 3 40 50 66 30 70 So AVG, Procoa,ing Tim. 10„ ~ 0Hour, '.y Poor3 months Wa. 0nmlion (Month,) 3 PIN Owner Name H.-Ho Snot MbL 11 T&1 100 t+1,5Itl STREET flEA.. 100 ! . _ tdAIN ST . 246004W00001350 _ - I ,:H W~ W vy10 MILL 57 2460'afidj000010e ' IN HwafAMD t M10. .n1 . : 7 . . 111 ~f 7 ~'..1 (S ded Rvx) (Over 30daya) ] (21 • 30 deY 1 (11 20dayay WU 11 d") CS~ awn: Logpedl Fin., Applluatipna n aa:admin Lp00u.. bY: ~ My Pend APPIUVIts Dal.Submtted Peery r" a 9/158011 IJcr Cc ~:j 1f7PJ7011 P4j1 Pa r'cii~il _ i 17Fr - --I { ~ r 4 Additionally, several redundancies will be eliminated through the standardization process. Reading has already conducted independent Needs Assessments for both document storage and the license & permitting process. Each study, with substantial input from Town staff, discovered better ways to operate across many functions of local government. Both Melrose and Wakefield will immediately benefit in the Health Department. In fact, ViewPermit's current Health module was redesigned based on this work done by Reading. FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 8 of 17 0 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION Replacing the paper-based system with an electronic system will eliminate much of the storage required for hard copy documentation. This will free up much needed office space in all three communities as well as staff time spent organizing hard copy files. It will also assure that files are not lost, are properly stored with back up, and easy to access. Mobile technology such as tablet devices will allow Health Department staff to complete required documentation while on-site during scheduled inspections, eliminating the need for paper forms that are currently filled out by hand. This will ultimately result in less errors and time spent for each appointment. Smart phones will bring full communication to the field and allow staff to work more efficiently while out of the office. Between the tablet and smart phone devices, staff will be. able to schedule appointments, create electronic reports, and connect to customers and other staff in real-time, eliminating much inefficiency (and errors) that occurs in the field. Improvements to Customer Service The general public will be asked for feedback on their suggestions on ways we could improve so that we are addressing problem areas. With the added technology, customer service will be enhanced. With an electronic,permitting tracking system, retrieving and providing information to the public will be less tedious and less time-consuming for staff, resulting in reduced waiting times for customers. Shared information among internal departments will eliminate the chances of hard-copy paperwork getting `lost somewhere in the bureaucracy'. Permitting is streamlined and customers get their permits more quickly and with greater accuracy since the software will guide the process. Audit.trails will provide constant feedback to management, which can continuously improve processes as bottlenecks are discovered. Upon full implementation, instant access to permitting records will be available to the public via the internet from any location and at any time. Customers will be able to apply for simpler permits on-line and check the status of any open permits. Contractors will be able to update registration information at their convenience. Individuals contemplating actions can learn about the license and permit requirements before spending time and money. As noted in the Overview section, a customer service survey will be part of the scope of work and will be placed on the communities websites to help identify how we are doing currently as well as after we implement the needed changes. Feedback from the public will guide us as we develop the improvements so we are addressing problem areas from customer's perspectives which will insure high marks on service delivery in the future. Here is an example of what the online Connecticut regional system looks like: FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 9 of 17 l~ Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION s .ads On-line Permit Center Town of Tolland, CT il I E r • « CYapholfl.9lan <ouncU al GOY.n1m.m. }Y Tallaudun.n.TOli.n4CT40o4. nhon.I(...1411-s4 l~C/f ~ ~ Sign in n. hIP., a m. mna,*ma I 1 1 hm ex I mmwr M1 i111 F Cop C~(~,~.~~,S f I kai FIX 0 1W for Contractors f`tp,;ti Na Contrattor Registration for Home Owners New User Reelstration r i 1 f~Ll ~ t j x ~ I Utilities. Businesses, Other New Registration Ganorai Info rachntcai Support To find out Mora about Vi:Penlt Ondino Permit Cantor Contact Info: ,17ARRA.i<3!Y.luikl''_9LtL1.91p.,::RLAi Pleas. S.Iw We ate very intora.tod in your feedback. En', AA.(AIY.r31!kF,.414 A'.r1LlP!.!G. Send us your .UQ0.iSiIRll3 rd.Rll.tft9..`,i.tA.tiR(~ U-0, F... Term. & Co,diti.,+ P'._- 17.1". WOW t'inn 1hY ~TIEW~YYYi.`i t. Cost impact: For each participating entity, identify any new costs that will be incurred and how the costs will be paid for or offset. Describe how new initiative will be made financially viable for the long- term once` established. This initiative will have recurring annual software maintenance costs: in FY12 the Town of Reading has budgeted about $35,000 for these two systems. Regionalization and data plans for field devices will add to these recurring costs. Reading will pursue a discounted three- community annual license fee for these systems. Ultimately, this will have to be worked out with the vendor and at this point it can not be guaranteed. There are three possible sources of funding for these additional costs that each community may make independent choices from. First is a small increase to license and, permit fees; second is a more confident reallocation of the over $250,000/year combined savings generated by sharing Health staff; and third is savings generated by further regionalization efforts made easier through this common technology. Both Melrose and Wakefield are committed to these new annual costs as is reflected in their letters of commitment. FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 10 of 17 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION Measures of success: Propose approach to evaluating and measuring the success of the initiative, both the success of implementing the proposed project and the success of the initiative or reform going forward once implemented. Include expected measurable improvements in service delivery or efficiency. In order to properly evaluate and measure the success of the initiative, each municipality will obtain baseline measurements of current operations. In addition to the customer service measurements noted previously, this will also include: - Average number of Inspections per week Average length of time of inspector Average time to prepare reports and issue permits Average staff time for document retrieval upon request After implementation of the program, measurements will be obtained to evaluate improvements. The data will be shared and presented at regular meetings with the staff involved with this initiative. Customer surveys will also be created to evaluate customer and staff satisfaction. The value of the program will be demonstrated to the decisions-makers and the public through the significant increase in efficiency of governmental operations and the resulting measurable outcomes. Project budget for requested amount: Provide a detailed and realistic project budget estimate. Include breakdown of amount requested by activity/task and type of cost. If other sources of funds are have been sought for this project, please identify other sources and whether those funds have been applied for (provide copy of application) or secured (provide evidence). Note if project budget is attached as separate document. See attached spreadsheet. PREFER NOT TO ATTACH SINCE DOCUMENT IS SMALL. ALSO FURTHER WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE ON THIS. FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 11 of 17 1` Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION Project timeline: Projects must be completed before or by December 31, 2012. However, special consideration maybe given to extended timelines for extraordinary projects. Note if project timeline is attached as separate document. With a dedicated project manager hired, ViewPermit and Laserfiche can easily be implemented in the Health Departments of both Melrose and Wakefield within the specified time frame. This is made possible by several factors - Reading has engaged in a long-term technology planning process; gone through extensive Needs Assessments to improve internal processes and select the optimal vendors & systems; carefully crafted technology systems implementations to maximize 'buy-in' from a diverse group of employees across all parts of town, school and light departments; all three communities already have a demonstrated desire to share services and a commitment to make that a long-term arrangement. The Town of Reading will retain oversight and responsibility over this initiative. However, each community will control their own permitting records and have the responsibility of maintaining their respective documents and data entries. The existing inter-municipal contracts for the shared Health Administrator extend through 2014. It is anticipated that the agreement will be renewed after such time and be continued into the future. Attached is a copy of Reading's six-month deployment schedule - which included several town departments and not simply the Health function. In addition to this deployment example, the regional effort would add public workshops to determine preferred standardized practices for Health Department licenses and permits. Identify innovative aspects of proposal: ...including changes in way local government does business Over the past five years the Town of Reading has been involved with many potential software vendors that do business across the Commonwealth in a wide variety of fields, from Assessing to Zoning. Three surprisingly common themes have been learned through this process. First, municipalities are often internally fragmented and have poor communication, which results in software systems often being stand-alone. In seeking to integrate many systems, Reading quickly became the efficient exception to this trend. Second, communities that suddenly found one-time funding (often due to grants) had not thought through the longer-term costs of maintaining new systems, and abandoned them after a few years. Third, very few communities sought to create 'user buy-in' and a 'bottom-up' approach to the implementation of new systems. Instead, new systems were handed down from the top and FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 12 of 17 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION viewed as a perhaps political fix to a problem. This lack of 'user buy-in' often stalled or derailed projects, and the problems persisted. The combination of these three common themes usually left vendors with products in the field that simply were not being close to fully utilized. Sadly perhaps, the most innovative aspect of this proposed grant funding for the technology project between Reading, Melrose and Wakefield is that it will be put to very good use. The one-time grant funds will accelerate efforts to a point where tenuous savings become permanent and the prospect for additional future savings appear sooner than hoped. The near-term success of this project will be measured by the combination of the cost savings due to economies of scale, the improvements to internal operations and the improvements to customer service. Real innovation will only play a small part in the near-term in such areas as collaborating to streamline and improve different Health Department processes and develop a common approach, as well as to sell any changes to the various constituents. However the longer-term success will rely substantially on future innovative thinking and planning. The following section describes the high probability that other local government shared services will readily arise from this project. As complex relationships build between communities, considerations ranging from sophisticated technology to the psychological well- being of shared employees will take a great deal of creativity to monitor and balance. Potential applicability to other local governments: Projects will be evaluated in part on potential for applicability to other local governments and/or potential for expansion. Describe how proposed project meets this requirement of serving as a viable prototype for other local government entities. Describe how, this project can be expanded. There is a very high probability that this effort can be expanded in the future. A likely outcome would involve four types of further shared services: > First, the combined Health Department would take on additional neighboring communities once the common technology framework and processes are established; > Second, Melrose and Wakefield would likely roll out the combination of document storage and license & permit software to other departments. Each rollout increases the probability of further regionalization efforts among the three communities. In 2011 alone the communities have had detailed discussions of sharing Assessing, Technology, Conservation, Inspections, Veteran's Services, Recreation and certain facets of Public Works. Some of these discussions have even involved joint meetings of elected Boards; FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 Page 13 of 17 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION > Third, as the three communities regionalize more services, additional communities will seek to join; and > Fourth, other communities beyond these three will seek out Reading as a partner once the Health Department regionalization is deemed successful. In 2011, Reading has had discussions with several communities about long-range regional possibilities. Evidence of commitment among applicants/participants: As evidence of commitment to the proposed project, applicants must submit documentation of signoff from each participating entity: if a city by the mayor or city manager, if a town by the. board of selectmen, if a town with a town council by the town'manager or administrator, if a school district by the school committee, if a district by the prudential committee. Complete the form provided on the next page of this application. FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 17 Page 14 of (0 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION LOCAL SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION FORM Project Title: Lead applicant primary contact: First Name, Last Name: Peter Hechenbleikner Name of Municipality, School, RPA or COG: Town of Reading Phone Number: 781-942-6643 Email Address: phechenbleikner@ci.reading.ma.us List all participating entities: Town of Reading, City of Melrose, Town of Wakefield Sign on behalf of the Applicants: As evidence of commitment to the proposed project, applicants must submit documentation of signoff from each participating entity: if a city by the mayor or city manager, if a town by the board of selectmen, if a town with a town council by the town manager or administrator, if a school district by the school committee, if a district by the prudential committee.. Original signatures are required. Attach additional signature pages, if necessary. Applicants may duplicate this form, if desired, in order to gather required signatures on multiple copies of the form.) Signature Print Name Entity Title Signature Entity FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012. Page 15 of 17 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION Print Name Title LOCAL SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION FORM (continued) Signature Print Name Entity Title Entity Title Signature Entity Print Name Title Signature Entity FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 17 Page 16 of (9 Community Innovation Challenge Grant APPLICATION Print Name Title. Duplicate this page if space needed for additional signatories FY12 Application Deadline: January 17, 2012 17 Page 17 of T®: Board of Selectmen From: Peter I. Hechenbleikner, Town Manager Date: Thursday, December 22, 2011 Re: Substance Abuse and Violence Since the August 2011 very visible shooting in Reading in a substance abuse related case, and the subsequent death of a Reading man in a nearby community, Reading has ramped up its focus on substance abuse. The Community participated in 3 community dialogues in the fall focused on the issues of substance abuse and violence. As a result of those dialogues, the Superintendent of Schools, Police Chief, and Executive Director of RCASA have discussed what efforts we as a community can take to address these issues at a higher level than previously. The intent is to take a comprehensive, holistic approach to the issue: ® RCASA - continue work on Substance Abuse Prevention, and act as the primary community outreach mechanism on these issues ® Police - enhance law enforcement and investigative capabilities ® Schools -Address expanded health, and counseling efforts related to school aged residents and their families Attached are summaries from RCASA, the Police Chief and the Superintendent of Schools outlining their particular elements of this community priority. More detailed discussion including the financial implications of the proposals will be discussed as part of the budget process. ® Panc 1 8 9SLI Memo from RCASA Role Convene stakeholders to develop strategies to reduce substance abuse-in Reading. The Problem Youth in Reading, MA are using alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, and heroin early, frequently and heavily. Adults in Reading, MA are also experiencing addiction and community members are affected by strained relationships, crime and health issues. Mission Our mission is to promote a healthy community environment so that everyone who lives, work, or goes to school s in Reading can enjoy an optimum quality of life. Specifically, we aim to reduce substance abuse among youth and adults by addressing substance abuse and related risk factors and by promoting factors that minimize substance abuse and related risks. Goals 1. To strengthen collaboration in our community on substance abuse issues. 2. To reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, among adults by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse. Strategies RCASA focuses on seven community change strategies to reduce substance abuse including:-Providing Information, Enhancing Skills, Providing Support, Enhancing Access to Healthy Opportunities, Changing Consequences, Physical Design, and Modifying Policies. Need for Staff Sustainability RCASA staff plays a key role in coordinating community efforts across the police, town, school and community sectors. According to partners, RCASA staff has been instrumental in leading efforts to recruit and train youth leaders; engage stakeholders; and advocate for change in enforcement, policy and educational efforts. Staff directly engaged 904 individuals in coalition events in 2011 compared to 292 in 2008. Over the past 4 years, 5,250 individuals were educated through prevention workshops for parents, faculty, police, town, and youth. The Project Director oversees personnel, fiscal management, public relations, and coordinates collaborative coalition work, including community.planning., training, coalition communication, data collection, dissemination, reporting, and dbZ 2~ J 9 program evaluation. The Director oversees projects impacting the town, police, school, and community sectors. The PD is a Certified TIPs Trainer. ® The Outreach Coordinator coordinates project services and project activities, including training, communication and information dissemination. The OC will • dedicate time to the proposed RPS Teen Screen Program (Behavioral Health Assessments including substance abuse) and enhance adult support (workplace trainings, adult/family support group). The OC is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselor (CADAC). Leveraging Resources Since 2008, RCASA staff has worked with police, town and school partners to apply for grants to benefit coalition work. Since 2008, resources garnered include $15,000 in funds for alcohol compliance and $41,160 in mini-grants for youth development and healthy community efforts. Pioneering Efforts 0 Gained the trust of key partners to coordinate critical data collection efforts that has yielded the most comprehensive needs assessment on substance abuse issues in town history. 0 1St community in our region to 1) conduct a field-based environmental scanning process; 2) operate a_ 24/7 medication collection program; 3) strengthen local town, police and school polices. ® One of the first in our region to develop and sustain a strong youth leadership program focused on substance abuse prevention. ® 1 of 70 communities in'Massachusetts to adopt a public consumption by-law on marijuana. Accomplishments ® Recognized by the MA Public Health Association for Outstanding Community Outreach. ® Recognized by the U.S. Presidential Volunteer Service Award Program for youth and adult leadership contributions. ® Recognized by the national publication of the National Community Anti-Drug 'Coalitions of America (CADCA) for commitment to quality needs assessment and medication collection. 10 5,~3 RCASA STRATEGIC PLAN The Reading Coalition Against Substance Abuse (RCASA) is a community-wide coalition focused on substance abuse prevention within the broad context of a healthy community in which quality of life is a priority for all who live, go to school, and work in Reading, Massachusetts. 11 0 RCASA Strategic Plan RCASA Strategic Plan 10111 /201 1-9/301/2014 Youth in Reading, MA are using alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, and heroin early, frequently and heavily. M issn Our mission is to promote a healthy community environment so that everyone who lives or works in Reading can enjoy an optimum quality of life. Specifically, we aim to reduce substance abuse among youth and adults by addressing substance abuse and related risk factors and by promoting factors that minimize substance abuse and related risks. tt€ES 1. To establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, private nonprofit agencies, and Federal, State, local, and tribal governments to support the efforts of community coalitions to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth. 2. To reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, among adults by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse. ® 904 individuals were directly involved in the coalition in 2011 compared to 293 when in 2008. • 5,250 individuals reached through prevention workshops in the past 4 years. Intended Long Terni Outcome& Decrease percent of youth.... • using tobacco before age 13 • first using alcohol before age 13 12 ('age J RCASA Strategic Plan • first using marijuana before age 13 • using alcohol within the past 30 days • using tobacco within the past 30 days • first using marijuana in the past 30 days • using Rx drugs to get high • binge drinking Intended Sharti-Term Outcomes 1. An integrated, community substance abuse prevention system-to establish a sustainable community coalition through which a prevention framework is implemented. Progress: Coalition formally established in 2005. Board representation from key sectors recruited. Funding secured from 2007-2012. Staff hired in 2007. Youth Crew and Student Club established in 2008. Community involvement prioritized through info-gathering sessions and community events. 2. Behavior Change-to reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, among adults Progress: 5,000 individuals have been reached through prevention workshops for parents, faculty, police, town, and youth.- Reductions in substance use include: Data Declines: High School Survey Results Got in car with alcohol or drug-impaired driver (past 30 days) Drove alcohol-impaired (past 30 days) Drove drug4mpaired (past 30 days) Smoked first cigarette use (before age 13) Used cigarettes (lifetime) Used cigarettes(past 30 days) Used smokeless tobacco (past 30 days) Binge underage drinking (page 30 days) Used marijuana (lifetime) Used marijuana (past 30 days) First marijuana use (before age 13) Data Declines: Middle School Survey Results- Got in car with alcohol-impaired driver (past 30 days) Drank alcohol (lifetime) Used marijuana (lifetime) Used marijuana (past 30 days) First marijuana use (before age 13) Page 2 . 13 RWA Strategic Plan Data collected: ✓ Middle and High School Youth Risk Behavior Surveys ✓ PRIDE Surveys ✓ Coalition/Partnership Survey ✓ One-on-one interviews Focus groups ✓ Trainings/workshop data ✓ Police Data ✓ Health Data (local CODs (Cause of Death) ✓ EMS calls for service ✓ Compliance Surveys for alcohol and tobacco; Enviro Scans; policy reviews (alcohol, tobacco, police/school protocols) p 5aitcaCided oift"vG Ce~niter; r`4.- a. Mobilize the community to increase substance abuse prevention protective factors and decrease risk factors: Progress: The following areas were completed during the previous planning period. ✓ Implement Strategic Prevention Framework (SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Prevention) ✓ Create opportunities for participation and collaboration for youth and adults ✓ Develop coalition infrastructure, funding & membership ✓ Conduct community outreach ✓ Share information dissemination ✓ Host Conversation Hours ✓ Build youth leaders activities To be done: Expand sustainability efforts b. Limit access to substances ✓ Learn more about what the community needs ✓ Review school, town, organizational policy and implement evidence-based policy ✓ School Search, Seizure & Breathalyzer Policy Implemented ✓ Town Alcohol Policies Updated ✓ Police Medication Collection Policy Implemented ✓ Build enforcement capacity of police department for all substances thru training and community support ✓ Increase Enforcement of alcohol retailers, servers in new retailers o The alcohol compliance rate amongst 23 licenses for 2011 was 22% of retailers sold to an underage operative conducted by Reading Police. The average failure rate since 2008 has been 9%. To be done: Implement and/or sustain priorities from community needs assessment Page 3 14 RCASA Strategic Plan c. Change the culture and contexts in Reading within which decisions about substance use are made ✓ Change Social Norms-Media Campaigns- Promote healthy community alternatives ✓ Evidence Based Programs such as Life Skills, Strengthening Families, All Stars ✓ Skill based workshops, training, technical assistance for parents, coalition members, community, organizations, youth d. Change the consequences associated with use (incentives/disincentives ✓ School "personalization" plan ✓ Enforcement of alcohol servers and retailers ✓ Community Recognition activities ✓ Parent workshops, limit setting skills; social host liability e. Assess Community/physical design ✓ Explore community design in relation to substance abuse prevention, e.g. lighting and signage at parks and youth hangouts; To be done: Implement and/or sustain priorities from Behavioral Health Task Force Report. 91 - e " P. I A S Rs °t G R' D r_ E P'S Ur Page 4 15 3s fig. R.CASA Strategic Plan RCASA ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS- OCT. 201-11 HTTP /ARCHIVE CONSTANTCONTACT COM/FS02511 10 163 80980201A R CHIVE11 108079_819041 HTML RCASA CALL TO ACTION EXCERPTS- OCT. 2011 Leadership • Getting community leaders aligned is critical-everyone on same page • Keep it in the open • Keep talking/be visible, Educate/communicate/outreach Professional Development • Education for all parents/recognition and signs of substance abuse • Can we start earlier? At grade school level. More education on time, pressure w/ academics, sports, outside activities... Access to Resources and Services • Follow up of 16 Year Old Me/Teen Hang Out • Put all information in one place • Better utilize school counselors as a resource Academic and Non-Academic Supports • Kids need somewhere to go • More counselors in school • Need middle school health and sex education Policies, Procedures and Protocols • Teachers need to know what the underlying issues are with students • Open communication through everyone (parents, students, staff...) ® A pre-school meeting before the start of the school year w/ staff to inform about student issues Page 5 16 3~ RCASA Strategic Plan Collaboration w/ Families ® The last thing your kid needs is another friend....6e a PARENT ® Family Dinners ® Communication-saturate the community wl information, how can churches/faith groups help? PROPOSED COALITIO WORKP ,AN ACTIVItJlInS TO ACiM VE 0 Offer capacity-building training for board members, subcommittee members, and Youth Crew. ® Engage World Cafe consultant to provide coalition technical assistance and training on community, engagement strategies. ® Support community partners continuation of parent education offerings. ® Promote k-12 Comprehensive Health Education including evidence-based substance abuse prevention across the school-age span. ® Partner with School Wellness Coordinator and school coaches to promote ATOD prevention. ® Provide ATOD educational personnel training. . ® Continue Rx. Round Up Program o Support the Police Department to determine officer training needs. ® Conduct outreach to PTOs and other parent groups to continue informal parent networking ® Explore collaborative school and RCASA activities ® Collaborate with Reading HS to adapt the results of "School Personalization Initiative" ® Continue U.S. President's Volunteer Service Recognition Program for youth and adults. ® Adapt materials from SAMHSA behavioral health stigma campaigns for local use and dialogue ® Support continued alcohol compliance operations (compliance checks, surveillance, and party patrols) ® Recognize businesses and volunteers at RCASA meetings, community forums, website, and media ® Conduct environmental scan every 6 months with community volunteers to review the parks, landscape, signage, lighting and outlet density in Reading for risk factors. ® Develop path to referral system including early intervention, screening, disciplinary procedures, and family support protocol. ® Coalition members review substance abuse policies.in their workplace and/or nonprofit organizations. Page 6 17 QN OFRF,~4/ of / y 17D11VG PoucE EPART ' EN 1 OFFICE OF THE CIEEF 1NR4~, .-Co 15 Union Street, Reading, IM&%sachusetts 01.867 Jam1w W. Cormier Emergency only: 911 All Other Calls: 781-944-1212 Fax: 781-944-2893 Chief of Police L-Mail: JCormier@ei.reading.ma.us December 28, 2011 To: Town Manger, Peter I. Hechenbleikner From: Chief James W. Cormier RE: Community Priorities FYI 3 Peter, I would like to take this opportunity to recommend to you an increase in the size of our police force in response to on-going law enforcement challenges within the community. As a collaborative effort with the Reading Public Schools and the Reading Coalition Against Substance Abuse (RCASA) we have identified increasing the Police Department- as one of a number of community priorities we recommend for consideration for the Fiscal Year 2013 budget. During the past several years, the Town has seen growth in its residential and business sectors both of which have contributed.to increased demand for Police services, and we know that the residential population increases are not complete. Some examples of these demands include a federal agency drug arrest in the Home Depot parking lot and a situation where four local individuals have been charged with committing a home invasion. Our location at the busiest highway interchange in New England creates opportunities for transient buyers and sellers of illicit narcotics, as well as those Within our community, to target customers from near and far. Recently, a local homicide and out-of-town homicide of Reading residents were both directly related to substance issues. Seventeen drug-related deaths and at least 123 overdoses of individuals in Reading in the past 8 years is another measure of the on- going problems that substance use/abuse has created. With substance use/abuse come collateral impacts, such as increases in property crimes, thefts, sexual assaults and domestic violence. The RCASA program, which receives direct support from the RPD and the Detective Division in particular, focuses on stopping children and others from becoming users of drugs. This important role needs to be complemented by public safety's primary role in the fight against drug abuse, which is interdiction, and the School Department's educational components for a community wide effort. It is important to note that demand for Police services continues to grow. Our total calls for service are steady, but the volume of crime reports and the type of crimes are creating an increase in workload for the entire department. Criminal applications (summons, warrants) have doubled in the past five years and are approaching nearly 1000 per year. Breaking & Entering 18 '3043, crimes are up 400% in 2010 (214) from the preceding year and the trailing five year average. See Figure 1. 400 _ _ - - - 4 350 300 250 200 . LARCENY 150 100 5a a 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Figure 1 Robberies and sexual assaults, both of which require lengthy investigations, are. up 200%. See Figure 2. While some common police service requests are within historical averages, many others are trending upward and two new types were added in 2009, including Marijuana Citations (possession under 1 oz.) which recorded 71 offenses in 2010. 25 wn'rs t rl r~N1fy y . 6 3 +I Ir t ~ lx f } t tl l S '`3L+ ~ Y x i. + r + ~t;n.7r +'+.~d ve ~a w It~~Ett t ~a IrC s r ~ ~ 'i 20 t s k i + i i r! r k ~ r~.~. 7 ~,9 1 . +Itl + i L r4 tt 717 1 t 2~t if 15 ',~j`5Y«~ Str 7 ra,~ e a+ Stf I i }S ~i'~r Frk +Y~ ~:r5 txa e dt 4 s ' ; i h tE d a -r- ROBBERY al+z+w ~r(f ~s+" 'y d x r hn ~zt a J r t a.. SEXUAL ASSAULT 10 YTfd'° s 3Y~ r ' ~k t e i t~v ~4 > 7 t2 k+ -z + .a Sf )r is v re f,~ v~S.i. aaf" x "x~+y~. 11-k9`/ D~~ st`sr~fpp 14 1~h. 11- t yr N01, }Y Y.f,I..a"' } ' Id t',?'1 h 1. 774 2006 2007 2008 2008 2010 Figure 2 We are very fortunate that our clearance rates in these areas are above the national averages, and in some cases significantly above. The Police Officers and Detectives are doing a very good job responding to and investigating the criminal activity. By adding additional staff this ,coming fiscal year we will begin to be able to make some. adjustments and assignments, that will allow the department to more effectively address these challenges. Just a word of caution that the modest addition of staff will not be the answer to our crime and substance issues, but by properly staffing and utilizing our resources we will provide better services to focus. on and address these issues. 19 354 3 54" zsa ao t 214 42 54 d 51 _ V Sib i2 superintendent's Office 82 Oakland Road Reading, MA 01867 Jdoherty@reading-k12.rna.us Memo To: - Peter Hechenbleikner; Town Manager, Town of Reading From: John Doherty, Superintendent of Schools CC: Reading School Committee Date: 12/27/2011 Re: Community Priorities for FY13 Budget Over the last few months the Town of Reading, Reading Public Schools, Reading Police Department, and the Reading Coalition Against Substance Abuse have engaged the community in dialogue about . substance abuse and violence. During the FY13 budget development, some needs have been identified which will begin to address some of the issues that emerged during the discussions. The following community priority areas will be addressed in the FY13 Superintendent's Recommended budget: 1. Expanding Health Curriculum at the Middle and High School Currently, the only formal health class that exists in the Reading Public Schools is the Grade 9 Decisions class. In Grades 3-8, students receive about 10 hours of physical education per year in their physical education classes: Students in grades 10, 11, and 12 do not receive any formal health education. During the fall a comprehensive analysis was completed by the Behavioral Health Task Force and the Reading Public School Health and Wellness Department as to the gaps in our health education curriculum. The groups used the latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, as well as, the School Health Index analysis tool, and the HCAT: The analysis showed that our PreK-12 Health Education program has significant gaps. At the elementary level, one of the gaps is growth and development in Grade 5, an area that used to be addressed several years ago in collaboration. with the Town Health Department. At the middle school level, there are gaps in several areas including substance abuse prevention, growth and development, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, and mental health. At the high school level, similar gaps occur in substance abuse prevention, medication safety, mental health, HIV/AIDS, and pregnancy prevention. Recommendation The recommendation in the FY13 budget is to add a grade 5 unit on growth and development, which will be taught by our school nurse staff, a middle school health education class in either grade 7 or 8, and a grade 11/12 health education elective. The recommendation in the FY13 budget would be for additional staffing, training, and curriculum material for these areas. 20 fqc 2. Development of Therapeutic Support Program At Reading Memorial High School, there is currently a population of students in grades 9-12 who have significant depression and anxiety issues. Their typical profile includes chronic absenteeism, chronic tardiness, multiple hospitalizations, history of residential placement, and frequent dismissals from school. For these students being in the mainstream classes is not an option. The type of program that is necessary for these students is a self-contained, small group program which will provide academic instruction, 'social skills instruction, individualized behavioral interventions, and individual counseling. If we do not develop an in-house therapeutic program for these students, the students are at risk for dropping out of school entirely or will be placed in an out of district placement. Recommendation. The recommendation in the FY13 budget is to add staffing to provide. clinical counseling and academic instruction to implement this program. Because there is. a significant need for this program during the current school year, the Reading School Committee authorized the development of this program at the December 19th School Committee meeting. The program is scheduled to begin during the second semester. 3. Additional Counseling Services More and more students in grades K-12 are in the need for additional counseling services. Unfortunately, there is not enough staffing to provide these services throughout the district. Currently, each elementary school has one school psychologist, each middle school has two school psychologists, and the high school has 1.6 school psychologists. Over the last several years, their role has been expanded to provide more student assessment for special education services. This leaves less time for student counseling services. Recommendation The recommendation in the FY13 budget is to add staffing to provide additional clinical counseling services throughout the district. a Page 2 21 Instructional Motion Move that the Town Meeting instruct the Board of Selectmen to direct the Reading Historical Commission to draft a clear, concise process for property owners to appeal the -addition of their properly to the list of historically significant structures subject to the demolition delay bylaw. A draft of this appeal process shall be created in an opera and transparent process, including one or more opportunities for public comment, and shall result in a bylaw amendment article for debate and consideration by Town Meeting members during the Spring Town Meeting in 2012. Town Counsel should be made available as a resource to answer written questions from the committee regarding constitutionality. The goal of this motion is to establish a clear, concise and equitable bylaw that enables the Town to balance its desire to preserve properties of historic significance while fully respecting the rights of the individual property owner in a .manner that harmonizes relationships between concerned parties. , Submitted by: Erin Calvo-Bacci, Precinct 5 ~ L 5642 23 DRAFT 2012 Town Manager's Goals and Action Plan Town of Reading MA Finance - Reading will continue to evaluate revenue sources, cost reduction, regionalization of services, other methods of providing services, and level of, services with the goal of maintaining long term fiscal stability of the community while providing a level of service that the community can sustain. 1. Work with the Board of Selectmen to find a replacement to our retiring Town Accountant, and work with staff to provide a smooth transition. 2. Limit reliance on non-recurring revenue including reserves. 3. Develop a plan to draw down the overlay surplus in a sustainable manner to appropriate levels. 4. Apply for outside resources funding to support operating and capital or other one time expenses. 5. Participate in and encourage public/private partnerships that provide in-kind services provide significant cost savings and as such should be expanded to achieve added savings. 6. Begin the process of implementing the following approvals from Town Meeting which will then be placed in the Sale of Real Estate or other stabilization fund to be made available for Capital Improvements, debt service, or unfunded pension liability: a. Sale of land - Pearl Street b. Sale of land - Lothrop Road c. Use/sale of Oakland Road 7. Continue to monitor and advocate as opportunities arise, for the following potential revenue raising activities: a. Additional cell sites b. Advertising via billboards 8. Develop a proposed OPEB funding mechanism including recommendations to begin to modestly fund this long term liability Services - Reading will continue to provide municipal services in as cost effective, efficient, and customer service friendly manner as possible. Where reasonable a self service element to Town services will be available for those who choose to use it. 9. 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. 10. Review and improve the Town web site. Provide electronic customer interaction with the Town, including a "customer service request" module. Operations - Reading will continue to provide as full a range.of municipal services that meet community needs and desires as resources allow. 11. Implement additional technology including: a. Assessors CAMA b. Master Address database c. Mass Communications system d. permits and licenses e. integrated public safety system f. new technology in public meetings (electronic voting; tablets for BCC members) 12. Conduct an operational review of one. additional programmatic area in the Community Services Department. 12/29/2011 30 9 5q( DRAFT 2012 Town Manager's Goals and Action Plan Town of Reading MA 13. Apply for funding from the Community Innovation Challenge Grant and/or other sources to enhance the recently created regional public health services program. 14. Expand the Records Management efforts including beginning to provide records as appropriate to the public via the web site. Health and Safety - Reading will continue to focus on strong public health and safety services with a goal of making the community one of the healthiest and safest communities in suburban Boston. 15. Complete evaluation of regionalization of Public Safety Dispatch. 16. Develop and implement a program or programs intended to address issues of substance abuse and related violence in the community 17. 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 major 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.. Community Development / Sustainabili ty - Reading has worked to maintain the character of the community, while making planned and deliberate improvements to the Town. Major efforts have been led by the Board of Selectmen, the CPDC, the Economic Development Committee, and the Advisory Committee on Cities for Climate Protection. The World Cafe held in 2008 helped inform the above bodies of public opinion on the future of Reading. 18. Continue progress towards meeting and maintaining the level of 10% of housing units (as re-defined by the 2010 federal census) as affordable. This goal may be met through development of the a. Mawn property b. Peter Sanborn Place, c. Johnson Woods Phase 2 (19 affordable); ' d. additional units in downtown as feasible. e. Working with DHCD on a new approach to preserve affordable units that don't sell in 90 day period through a new deed rider f. Housing Production Plan - update in 2012 19. Complete South Main Street design guidelines based on "best practices" 20. Implement high priority parking recommendations for downtown: a. improve parking directional signs; b. sharing of private parking spaces; c. identify opportunities to expand parking supply; d. bike routes throughout town 21. Continue sign enforcement efforts to bring all non-conforming signs into compliance 22. Implement new gateway signage - South Main Street (paid for by Reading Woods mitigation) 23. Develop an action plan for re-use and/or redevelopment of the properties behind the R LD in the area bounded by Ash Street, the RR tracks, and Pond View Drive 24. Continue to work with Town, School, Facilities, and Light Departments to meet Sustainability goals for CO reduction, anti-idling, etc. Consider a regional approach to these efforts, to include the RMLD and some or all of the 4 communities that are served by the- RMLD. 12/29/2011 2 Or 31 v' K DRAFT 2012 Town Manager's Goals and Action Plan Town of Reading MA Asset ManaLyement - Reading will strive to maintain and improve the current and desired capital assets of the community through long term capital planning in a fiscally prudent manner. Where resources for major projects are not available within available resources, and grants and outside resources are also not available, the community may be asked to support such improvements through additional taxes. 25. Continue established efforts to implement high priority building projects: a. Cemetery Garage b. Library c. DPW vehicle maintenance d. Improvements to operation, safety/security, and aesthetics of DPW site e. Killam School project to include HC access, fire protection, energy, and administrative space improvements. 26. Complete the Haverhill Street water main distribution project, and begin and complete the Howard Street water main distribution project 27. Continue efforts to add to the Town's trail system, including progress to implementing the Ipswich River Greenway; 28. Continue to work towards funding for the West Street project. 29. Implement the first phase of the use of one time revenues for capital projects, as it was submitted to the Board of Selectmen and to Town Meeting. Governance, Regulation, and Policy Development - Reading will continue to address major emerging issues through development, modification, improvement, and simplification of bylaws, regulations, and Selectmen's policies. As a general rule, the fewer and simpler the regulations the better. Additionally, Selectmen's policies may be used to memorialize current and proposed administrative practices to provide an historical record and direction for the community in the future. 30. Develop funding and a work plan for comprehensive review and revision of the Zoning Bylaw, taking a piecemeal approach if necessary to address parking regulations, definitions, and signs as priorities.. 31. Establish a policy on naming of facilities and sites in the community. 32. Make amendments tot the Parks Rules and Regulations to address issues raised and recommended through the ad hoc committee on amplified sound in Parks. 33. 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 Town's efforts to communicate with its residents and others. 34. Complete the review and re-write of the Traffic Rules and Regulations. 35. Develop regulations for posting street numbers on all buildings. 36. Decide on whether the Board of Selectmen will permit remote participation of members of BCC in public meetings pursuant to regulations adopted by the MA Attorney General's office, and if so develop the policies to implement that decision Human Resources/Personnel - The human capital of the community is the major resource that is necessary to achieve the provision of services to the community. This human capital includes employees, officials, members of Boards, Committees and Commissions, and the human capital of the community as a whole. Human capital is to be supported and respected by the Town. ` f , 12/2912011.. 3 q3 32 DRAFT 2012 Town Manager's Goals and Action Plan Town of Reading. MA 37. Continue B/C/C ChairNice Chair training. 38. Complete labor negotiations with the Police Patrol Officer's Association and the Police Superior Officer's Association. 39. Complete the bidding and negotiation and/or implementation of a health insurance program Town employees and retirees effective in FY 2013, with a goal of providing a cost effective comprehensive insurance program that is sustainable by the community. 4 12/29/2011 t0~ 33