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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-24 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting January 24,2012 For ease of archiving, the order that items appear in these minutes reflects the order in which the items appeared on the agenda for that meeting, and are not necessarily the order in which any item was taken up by the Board. The meeting convened at 7:00 p.m. in the Police Community Room, 15 Union Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Camille Anthony, Vice Chairman Stephen Goldy, Secretary Ben Tafoya and Selectman Richard Schubert, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, Police Chief James Cormier, Fire Chief Greg Burns, Public Works Director Jeff Zager, Community Services Director Jean Delios, Library Director Ruth Urell, Office Manager Paula Schena and the following list of interested parties: Jamie Maughan, John Arena, Andrew Jeronski, William J. Hecht Jr., Fred McGrane, Ralph Colorusso, Mark Dockser, Marsie West, Paula Perry, Cherrie Dubois, Andrew Grimes, Karen Herrick. Reports and Comments ' Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments — Camille Anthony noted that former Public Works Director Ted McIntire passed away last week. The Town Manager noted that he was a dedicated employee and 250 people were at the church to attend his funeral. Town Manager's Report—The Town Manager gave the following report: Administrative matters ♦ Potential changes in MBTA service affecting Reading. ♦ Town Clerk's office will be open until 8:00 PM on Wednesday, February 15 — this is required for voter registration. ♦ The annual census should be in the mail in about a week. Remember to license your dog. ♦ The Presidential Primary Election and the Town Election will be March 6 from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM at the Hawkes Field House. You will also be able to license your dog that day. ♦ We have received the large excise tax commitment, so bills will be coming out shortly with a due date on or about March 1 —check the bills for details. ♦ There have been several Cable TV problems over the past couple of weeks, and RCTV informs me that they believe that they have everything fixed. Community Services ♦ Re: Oaktree, they will be done setting the boxes by the end of the day today. They still have work to do from the street by way of breaking down the crane and use of a man lift that will keep them in the street until at least Thursday. Public Safety ♦ Three men arrested in the 2011 Home Invasion in Reading have pled guilty. The judge sentenced them to 5 years of probation only, with no jail time. This was contrary to the recommendation of the District Attorney and the Reading Police Chief. Board of Selectmen Minutes—January 24, 2012—page 2 ♦ The Fire Chief is in the process of putting together the filing for FEMA reimbursement for the Halloween snow storm. In a departure from many past such incidents, the RMLD will also be eligible for reimbursement. Public Works ♦ We have had a downtown sewer main back-up in one local business that was caused by another of our businesses. The investigative and corrective work is what you may have been seeing on Main Street in downtown. ♦ As part of our ongoing and comprehensive town-wide recycling efforts/educational process, we are considering textile recycling, To date, the Town web site has information on what recycling opportunities are now available. ♦ DPW had its first plowing event of the season on Saturday with approximately 4 inches of snow and made a decision to scrape everything once. ♦ Once the gas company is done replacing the main on Wilson Street they will go to Condor Road, Pearl Street (to abandon the low pressure main) and then to Track Road to replace the main. The work will continue right throughout the winter. The work on Pearl Street will consist of swapping services over to the high pressure main and a few other excavations to install vales and cross connections. They will not have to dig up the entire length of the roadway. Track Road work will be similar to the work done on Wilson Street. ♦ The rest of the year,National Grid will be replacing mains on: Willow Street—(RR to Lowell Street) Linden Street—Lowell Street to Woburn Street Glenmere Circle & Winslow Road Oakland Road Gould Street—to service 30 Haven Project Main Street— South to Hopkins Street to service Pulte Discussion/Action Items Hearing — Policy Establishing Town Accountant Search Committee — The Secretary read the hearing notice. The Town Manager noted that the committee consists of two members of the Board of Selectmen, one member of the School Committee appointed by the School Committee, and one member of the Finance Committee appointed by the Finance Committee. There was discussion among the Board to amend the policy to have one member appointed by the School Committee instead of one member of the School Committee to give them leeway to appoint a staff person. A motion by Goldv seconded by Tafova to close the hearing approving the policy establishing the Town Accountant Search Committee was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. A motion by Goldy seconded by Tafova that the Board of Selectmen approve the policy establishing the Town Accountant Search Committee as amended so that there is one member appointed by the School Committee but does not have to be a member of the School Committee,was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. i i Board of Selectmen Minutes—January 24, 2012—page 3 FYI Budget—Bob LeLacheur noted that State aid for Reading is $400,000 higher in school aid. We are still in negotiations regarding health insurance, but the bid is below the budget. There is an article on the warrant to set up a trust for OPEB. Board of Assessors — Assessors Ralph Colorusso, Bob Nordstrand, Fred McGrane and Bill Boatwright were present. The Town Manager noted that last years' Assessors budget was reduced by the cost of the part time appraiser. The FYI budget has $24,000 to put the position back. Fred McGrane noted that the Mass BLA requires that all Town property be inspected every nine years. In FY12 there were 8,030 parcels in Reading with buildings. There are 3,945 parcels that did not have interior inspections and 1,643 of those did not have outside inspections. Mr. McGrane noted that it is not critical to gain access to the interior but a good faith effort must be made. In FY09 there were 1,774 inspections and in FY12 there were 661 inspections. Mr. McGrane also noted that a subscription to MLS/PIN is $800 and that would assist the department. There are 4,000 properties that need to be inspected and they are asking for $24,000 for the part time appraiser but they don't feel it is adequate. Ralph Colorusso noted that the Town will not get certified if all the inspections are not done. Bob LeLacheur noted that if we fall behind we can contract out. Camille Anthony asked what the deadline is to get 4,000 properties inspected and Ralph Colorusso indicated September 13. The Town Manager noted that using the FY09 and FY10 rates it will take only four years to inspect 8,000 properties. t Ben Tafoya indicated he would like to see a task list of what the other employees are doing. Community Services — Bob LeLacheur noted that there are small changes to the Community Services budget. There is a 2% step increase; regional health; lower wage cost due to turnover; will move grant funding to offset wages; and an increase of the Veteran Services Officer of a couple of hours a week. 4 t Community Services Director Jean Delios noted that her department is responsible for r inspections, planning, health, and elder services and have nine required boards — Zoning Board of Appeals, Community Planning and Development Commission, Conservation Commission, Economic Development Committee, Town Forest Committee, Board of Health, West Street Historic District Commission and the Historical Commission. There are 15 FTE's (the same as last year) and staff is doing more with less. She noted that the department was cut by 9% in FY12 and the core plan is to preserve customer service, improve technology and continue 3 regionalization. M Current activities include submitting paperwork for 40R bonus money; working on reduced regulations; minor site plan review; and to make the process easier for the aquifer protection district. Conservation needs to streamline and the licensing permitting software is about two i months away. Coming attractions include work on the industrial zone, the housing plan, south i t Board of Selectmen Minutes—January 24, 2012—page 4 Main Street best practices, and two grants for the downtown initiatives and one for improvements to the regional health including smart phones and tablets. Conservation members Bill Hecht and Jamie Maughan were present. Mr. Hecht noted that Conservation Administrator Chuck Tirone is doing a great job, but he is only 20 hours per week. Site visits are now Conservation Commission duties. Minor project inspections are not a problem yet. Jamie Maughan noted that Mr. Tirone cannot be at any morning meetings. He also noted that the alternative under the bylaw is to hire a consultant. Mr. Maughan also noted that Mr. Tirone is not available to work on grants. Jean Delios indicated that there have only been a handful of DRT meetings since Mr. Tirone came to work for us and they were small projects. She will schedule any future meetings in the afternoon if conservation is needed. Stephen Goldy asked if there was a subcommittee reviewing the regulations and Mr. Hecht indicated there is not. The Commission is doing everything at the public meetings. Stephen Goldy asked if we are still exploring regionalization for conservation and the Town Manager indicated we are. He noted that Mr. Tirone is doing an excellent job and we are checking with another community to see if they want to regionalize to offer some flexibility, but E he is not sure if the other community will agree because there are health care costs associated with doing that. Richard Schubert noted that it has only been six months with cut staff and the Board needs to find where the real risks are. The Town Manager noted that there are resources in the inspectional revolving fund to hire a consultant for the Pulte project. He also noted that the clerical staff is helping out more too. } Camille Anthony indicated she would like to know what they are asking for and how much will it cost and bring that back to the Board next week. The Town Manager noted that the conservation function is running much better now. Library — Library Director Ruth Urell and Library Trustees David Hutchinson, Karyn Storti, 1 Vicki Yablonsky and Cherrie Dubois were present. Bob LeLacheur noted the Library budget includes a 2% step increase, and 16% increase in Noble software licensing. Ruth Urell reviewed the statistics for the past year. She noted this is a level service budget including Sundays and Saturdays; step increases; maintains staffing levels. The book budget increased $20,000 and she is asking for $5,000 for software licenses for web, museum passes, etc. She also noted there is a need for new technology and $10,000 has been budgeted for P.C.'s for staff. fi The Town Manager noted he is rethinking the step increase and might do a cost of living instead for those employees on the last step who wouldn't be eligible for a step increase. i i 4 Board of Selectmen Minutes—January 24 2012—page 5 Richard Schubert asked if there were any unmet needs because of the renovations and Ruth Urell noted that there are a lot of leaks and we are working on borrowed time. DPW — Public Works Director Jeff Zager, Town Engineer George Zambouras and DPW Business Administrator Jane Kinsella were present. Bob LeLacheur noted that there is a 2% increase for both non-union and existing contracts; the FY13 restores a seasonal park employee to keep the parks clean; the FY12 overtime was underfunded and we may need a transfer. The overtime has been level funded for FYI 3. The equipment repair budget is level funded; street lighting has been reduced and snow and ice is going from $565,000 to $600,000. Rubbish collection is increasing 1.9%. Jeff Zager noted that the overall budget is up 1%. Expenses have decreased 3.8%. The hotbox works really well. Professional development has been stepped up and is an ongoing process. In the past couple of years there have been 25 personnel changes and there will be more. Everyone is happy with the new trash services. Security has been updated at the DPW garage. Enterprise Funds - Bob LeLacheur noted that the storm water maintains at $40 rate raises almost $400,000. The Saugus River drainage project is scheduled for FY15 and the Aber ona drainage project is scheduled for FYI 6. Stephen Goldy asked for more details on penalties if the two river drainage projects do not get done. The Town Manager noted it has nothing to do with penalties. We have to do the work because our residents are being flooded out. Bob LeLacheur noted that the water and sewer reserves are over 10% of the target. He noted that there is no new debt in the water fund until FY16 for the amount of$500,000 to rehab the water tank. The sewer budget increased 2.9%. There is a decrease in capital and debt for FYI 3. There are also 12 sewer stations that need to be rehabbed over 7 years. Ben Tafoya asked if any of the big construction projects were paying for any of these and the Town Manager noted that one is giving us $500,000 and that will go to towards one station. On motion by Schubert seconded by Tafoya to adiourn the meeting at 9.13 p.m. was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Respectfully submitted, 6d) Secretary