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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-02-07 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting February 7,2012 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 Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Camille Anthony, Secretary Ben Tafoya, Selectmen James Bonazoli and Richard Schubert, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, Office Manager Paula Schena and the following list of interested persons: Bill Brown, John Arena, Karen Germain, Ralph and Adele Blunt, Karen Herrick, Manuel German and Andrew Jenowski. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments — Richard Schubert noted that the Mass Cultural Council nominated Reading's Cultural Council video for outstanding exemplary of arts advocacy. He noted the Town's website has the full video on it. Ben Tafoya noted that he, Camille Anthony and Richard Schubert participated in a battle of the wits with the School Committee on"Time will Tell." James Bonazoli noted that he received an email regarding the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee. He noted that the cleaner next to Quick Stop is asking for a 30 minutes parking space because vehicles are parking there for six hours. The Town Manager noted he will follow up with the PTTTF and the Safety Officer. James Bonazoli suggested that when we rebuild Imagination Station we should have a look at the Coolidge Middle School operation because everyone is using Imagination Station as a turnaround. Town Manager's Report—The Town Manager gave the following report: Administrative matters ♦ Town election with Presidential Primary Election is March 6. ♦ Last day to register to vote is February 15, 2012, until 8 PM. ♦ For Reading's Town Meeting there are only 134 people running for 192 seats on Town Meeting. If you plan on running a write in for any office, sticker campaign or otherwise, it would be advisable to contact the Town Clerk's office prior to doing so. ♦ Absentee ballots for the Town and Presidential Primary Election are now available in the Town Clerk's office. ♦ The census will go out this week along with the dog licensing reminder. You can also license your dog during the election in the field house (bring proof of Rabies, Proof of Spay or Neutered if new dog, $10.00 Cash or Check made out to Town of Reading). ♦ Precinct Change effective January 1, 2012. Every household with a Registered Voter will be receiving a letter later this week stating New Precinct and information on the ballot questions Board of Selectmen Minutes—February 7, 2012—page 2 ♦ Taste of Metro North—sponsored by Reading Rotary—on "Leap Day" February 29. ♦ I have sent to our legislative delegation an article on instituting a sales tax on internet sales, as a number of other states are doing. Community Services ♦ Through LEAP, which is funded with support from the Barr Foundation, MAPC will be working with Marlborough, Medford, Medway, Stoughton, and the towns served by the Reading Municipal Light Department — Lynnfield, North Reading, Reading, and Wilmington —to plan for long-range energy efficiency and renewable energy work. This was a competitive program with 21 applications, and the MAPC was impressed with our regional approach. Thanks to Staff Planner Jessie Wilson and Jared Carpenter from RMLD for spearheading this project. ♦ Roll Your Own cigarette machine in Reading. Library ♦ April 8 is National Library Week. There will be programs about Financial Literacy — called "Money Smart" ♦ There will be a transition to new software in May 2012 — after Memorial Day. The program is called Evergreen. Public Safety ♦ Information has been received regarding suspicious calls received by elders from individuals wishing to update/verify bank account information. The caller has a very thick accent, noise in the background and has the elders name and address. In some cases the caller states their Medicare benefits will be discontinued if they did not provide their account number and ABA. Some of the victims claim the calls are coming from Social Security, while others claim to be from Medicare. Currently these notifications that have been received are from the upper cape area and Middleboro area. Public Works ♦ Drainage—Osborne Avenue. ♦ Strout Avenue planning site walk Saturday February 11 — 9 am. ♦ Gas Company finished the main\service replacement on Wilson & Ide Street. Next project is a portion of Pearl Street—should start in a couple of weeks. ♦ Working on contracts for Howard Street water main replacement and Lewis Street sewer repair, contracts should be advertised end of the month/first of March. Discussion/Action Items Present Amplified Sound Policy to Board of Selectmen — James Bonazoli noted that the Amplified Sound Committee met 12 to 15 times. They looked at the existing language and worked on defining amplified sound. They defined amplified sound as any sound that goes above normal level using a device. The Committee considered no sound at all, but it is used at events that are appropriate. A survey was sent out and there were 140 responses and the results were balanced. It was found that amplified sound is more of a nuisance based on duration and frequency. The Committee held a public meeting on January 30, 2012 and two residents e Board of Selectmen Minutes—February 7 2012—page 3 attended. The residents who were there liked the language. Variances will have to come before the Board of Selectmen. Ben Tafoya noted there were a couple of sentences that ended in etc. and should be re-worded. Follow Up on Haven, High Street Improvements — The Town Manager noted this is a follow up to a previous presentation. Randy Collins from Beta Group was present. He noted that the roundabout is gone; and the sidewalk at the corner of Chute and High has been elongated. The enlarged end area of Haven at High Street will not accommodate a tree, but there will be plantings to frame the area. Camille Anthony suggested asking the owner of the building where the Green Tomato is for an easement. Ben Tafoya asked if they looked at additional crosswalks and Randy Collins indicated they did, but we would lose two parking spaces. Richard Schubert asked about the materials for the crosswalks at Haven/Chute/High Streets and Randy Collins noted that the sidewalks will have brick banding and the crosswalks will be brick. There will also be a planter area. Richard Schubert asked if the crosswalks will be raised for traffic calming. Randy Collins indicated no, he wasn't aware of any speeding issues. Camille Anthony indicated she would like a bankers' clock at the depot and asked about compact car spaces. Randy Collins indicated we might be able to put some compact spaces on the depot side. Mr. Collins went on to discuss the area in front of Oaktree on Haven Street and noted that if the sidewalk was expanded 15 feet then 6 parking spaces would be gained. He then noted that there will be parking on both sides of Linden and Sanborn Streets. Karen Germain, 12 Linden Street, asked if the sidewalks will be brick and Mr. Collins indicated they will. Ms. Germain noted that the lack of curbing has created drainage issues. Adele Blunt, 22 Linden Street, asked about the width of the sidewalks. Mr. Collins indicated the right of way determines what the width will be. Ms. Blunt noted there was parking on both sides in the past and she couldn't get out of her driveway. She does not want parking signs in front of her house and she does not want her property taken. She requested that the Town contact her the next time this is on the agenda. Review Affordable Housing Status and Need to Update Housing Plan — Town Planner/Community Services Director Jean Delios was present. She noted that the State maintains the inventory and we check and verify the list. The list is updated every two years and we are at 7.15% affordable housing and the goal is 10%. We are 140 units short of the 10%, but we have a number of units coming on line over the next few years. Mass Housing denied a proposal for Main Street but commended Reading for our planning. Board of Selectmen Minutes—February 7, 2012 —page 4 Jean Delios noted that the Housing Production Plan needs to be updated. Planning staff can start working on the plan and she can take on some additional part time staff. The update should take about six to seven months to complete. Richard Schubert asked what the plan is and Mrs. Delios noted that we look at existing housing and reach out to property owners or could look at zoning. Richard Schubert noted that if a property owner of an affordable unit cannot find a buyer that meets the guidelines, then they get market value and we lose. Jean Delios noted that if they can't find a buyer that fits the guidelines, then the Town can put a place hold on the unit. Ben Tafoya noted that development of the Housing Plan is a huge priority and when it is finished we need to talk about what we do if we don't achieve 10%. Preview 2012 Annual Town Meeting Warrant — The Town Manager reviewed the Warrant. He noted that Article 5 is to establish an OPEB Trust Fund. Article 11 is acceptance of a gift for a Reading Football Scholarship. Article 16 is acceptance of an easement from Haven Street to the "upper" Municipal parking lot and granting an easement for installation of an ATM. The Town Manager noted that the plan is to allow for two way traffic into the parking lot off of Haven Street. Article 17 is a petition article asking the Town to support a resolution to overturn a ruling that allows unlimited spending by corporations, union and others in our elections. Article 20 is a charter amendment regarding the number of Town Meeting members. Discussion of Scope of Affordable Housing Trust Fund — Camille Anthony asked if we should discuss this with the Housing Authority and the Town Manager indicated that the role of the Housing Authority is to expend money. He also noted that the money comes from one time sources and the balance in the Trust Fund is $158,000. The Town Manager noted that possible uses of the money include grants to developers; loans to developers; use it to buy down a price; offer rehab grants or loans; renter assistance with security deposit; and assistance with down payments. Unfortunately, the cost of some of these uses is way beyond staff ability to manage. The Town Manager suggested sending his memo to the Reading Housing Authority and Peter Sanborn Place and to invite them to a workshop. Camille Anthony indicated the Board will have to decide if they are looking for additional money or just deciding how to distribute. Review Process for Sale of Town Property — The Town Manager noted that Town Counsel gave guidance on a couple of issues. i Pearl Street at Audubon Road — the Town Manager had discussions with two abutters who are interested in purchasing a portion of the property on Pearl Street at Audubon Road. Town Board of Selectmen Minutes—February 7, 2012—page 5 } Counsel indicates that we can do a negotiated sale of lower value properties. The Town F Manager noted that there will be one condition of no driveway from Pearl Street or a turn around. He is asking the Finance Committee for a reserve fund transfer to do the appraisal. Camille Anthony noted that the abutters need to be made aware there is a cost to file the deed, etc. Oakland Road—This will move forward to land court to eliminate paper streets. Lothrop Road—Town Counsel has recommended that the Town apply for zoning relief and then we will have a parcel ready to sell that should return a high price. The Town Manager noted that one appraisal is $4,000. He will move forward with the appraisals for Lothrop, Pearl and Audubon and the appraisal will take about six weeks. Report of the Fall Street Faire Committee — Ben Tafoya noted that the preliminary report is in the packet. The Fall Street Faire was a huge success and the Committee is surveying the vendor community. In the future; the Committee would like Accounting to handle all of the bookkeeping, paying bills, etc. Ben Tafoya noted that the Faire cleared over $20,000 for the Downtown Trust. The Committee needs help dealing with the amusement vendors and determining what is appropriate. There needs to be a better effort of keeping better records also. This year's Faire will be on September 9, 2012. A motion by Bonazoli seconded by Tafoya to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 p.m. was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Respectfully submitted, Secretary