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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-31 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting January 31, 2012 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Camille Anthony, Vice Chairman Steve Goldy, Secretary Ben Tafoya, James Bonazoli, student members Jordan Coleman and Avery Stroman, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur and the following list of interested persons: Phil Pacino, John Arena, resident Bill Brown, Karen Herrick, Fred McGrane, Ralph Colorusso, Bob Nordstrand, William Boatwright and Gina Snyder. Camille Anthony explained that the Board would be going into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to labor negotiations for the Police Patrol Officers union and to review health insurance negotiations. Mr. Tafoya moved that the Board of Selectmen go into Executive Session for the purpose of strategy with respect to labor negotiations for Police Patrol Officers, Police Superior Officers and health insurance, to come back into Open Session at approximately 7:30 p.m. Ms. Anthony counted the following votes: Mr. Tafoya — yes; Mr. Bonazoli—yes; Mr. Goldy—yes; Ms. Anthony—yes. The Board reconvened in open public session at 7:20 p.m. Mr. Goldy moved that the Board of Selectmen approve a contract between the Town of Reading and the Police Patrol Officer's Association, in substantially the form submitted, for a term beginning July 1, 2012 and expiring June 30, 2014, and the Board of Selectmen authorizes the Town Manager to sign the contract on the Town's behalf, seconded by Mr. Bonazoli, and approved by a vote of 4-0. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments — Mr. Goldy noted the ongoing dialogue about Reading Municipal Light Department's Renewable Energy Certificates in the community. He said his concern was primarily one of fiscal responsibility. Mr. Tafoya said he thought RMLD should ask for bids on the RECs in order to make a fully informed decision. Mr. Bonazoli agreed, saying this is the same discussion as the Selectmen were having on proposed land sales. Ms. Anthony said the Audit Committee met recently and that it was always a pleasant experience because the Town did such an outstanding job on financial reporting. Mr. LeLacheur noted that this was primarily due to the excellent work by the Town Accountant and Finance department staff. Ms. Anthony noted the concern about the s Other Post Employment Benefits liability and it would be good to address this as soon as practical. f i s Board of Selectmen Minutes—January 31, 2012—page 2 Ms. Anthony noted that the state had said there would be no more alcohol advertising on state-owned land which would include the MBTA train station in Reading. Mr. Tafoya said the current ad campaign by the MBTA would stop in July 2012. Ms. Anthony noted ongoing blasting at the Pulte Homes sight, and Mr. Hechenbleikner said that would continue for eight more weeks. He added that the Fire Department has been very helpful for residents during this process. Ms. Anthony concluded by saying she looked forward to a discussion about the Tennyson area at the next Selectman's meeting. Mr. Coleman mentioned that midterms had just concluded and that juniors were exempt if they signed up to do projects in groups of ten. The projects lasted one week. He said at the conclusion that the Administration thought the idea worked well, and students had mixed views. The two projects were a teen center and expanded trails. Mr. Hechenbleikner added that he was on a judging panel at the end of the week and the students all did very good work. Mr. Coleman added that the application to college process was well underway for the senior class, with some early decisions and early actions already completed. Ms. Stroman talked about the Battle of the Bands fundraiser for the senior class and that over $1,000 was raised. Ms. Stroman mentioned the news that Reading Memorial High School Principal Friedman announced her retirement effective the summer of 2012. i Mr. Hechenbleikner pointed out that on page three of the meeting packets there was a E discussion between Stoneham and the MWRA. } Mr. Bonazoli mentioned that the Amplified Sound Committee had completed their work and sent it along to the Selectmen. Mr. Tafoya asked if much had changed since the last draft, and Mr. Bonazoli said several improvements had been made. Ms. Anthony said once the Board had a chance to read the new policy a public hearing should follow. She deferred further liaison reports in order to continue with the Agenda. Y Public Comment - Mr. Brown asked Ms. Anthony if she had ever participated in the annual perambulation of the Town's boundaries, and she replied she had not. Discussion/Action Items s General Comments/Recommendation — Budget - Mr. Hechenbleikner then reviewed the Town Manager's FY13 budget. He noted that after a discussion with the Conservation Commission he had agreed to add three hours/week to the Conservation Administrator position. This would cost a bit over $4,000/year, and be partly offset by drawing on the Wetlands fund. Mr: Bonazoli said he was fine with the increased Conservation budget, but it should instead be directed towards the Mattera cabin and not an increase in staff hours. He said i he is still seeking to remove local conservation regulations. Mr. Tafoya said he wished the Conservation Commission had gone to department head Jean Delios first with their request for additional hours, instead of bringing that up for the first time in front of the Board of Selectmen at their budget meetings. He said he will wait for their response to i Board of Selectmen Minutes—January 31, 2012 —page 3 the local regulations situation before making a decision. Mr. Goldy said a deadline of June 30, 2012 was in place as far as he was concerned for the Commission to present a reason why the local regulations needed to be kept, or he would seek to remove them. Ms. Anthony commented that the public was certainly clear in their critical remarks through the customer service survey and she shared the Board's frustration. She agreed that the increase of three hours/week seemed reasonable. Mr. Hechenbleikner then reviewed the Assessor's requests and comments about their budget. He mentioned that he and staff had met with the Board of Assessors and worked out a new three-year plan to catch up on needed property inspections. Spending $24,000/year for three years beginning in FY12 would meet the objective to catch up with the State required re-inspection of all properties on a nine year cycle by September 1, 2013. This $72,000 would be done as an outsourced contract to inspect about 4,000 properties in Reading over that period of time. He said in FY13 that $24,000 requested for a seasonal appraiser would be shifted to expenses for this outsourced contract. He added that after the three year period, the annual expense for maintaining the required level of property re-in.spections should drop into the $8,000 to $10,000 area. Mr. Colorusso, Chair of the Board of Assessors, stated that they voted 3-0 last night to accept Mr. Hechenbleikner's proposed changes. Ms. Anthony thanked all participants for this agreement and that a good process was followed. Mr. Goldy said he liked the idea of outsourcing this work as a solution. Mr. Bonazoli asked about the current FY12 funding, and Mr. LeLacheur said he had sufficient funds in the current Finance budget because of an open clerical position. April 2012 Town Meeting would be requested to move $24,000 from wages to expenses for this purpose. Mr. Tafoya agreed that this was a good solution. A motion by Bonazoli seconded by Tafoya that the Board of Selectmen recommends the Town Manager's FY2013 budget was approved by a Yote of 4-0-0. Review Strout Avenue Propegy - Town Engineer George Zarnbouras, Recreation Administrator John Feudo and Civil Engineer Chris Cole were present for a discussion on the Strout Avenue property where the former water treatment plant was built. They envisioned a new recreation practice field in the area, and had a few traffic/parking options to show the Board concerning access to the compost center and the new field. These options are intended to also serve the growing dog walking community, as well as others who want to access the Town Forest and adjacent Town owned properties. Mr. Hechenbleikner mentioned that the largest constraint in the use of the recreation area and Town Forest was parking, and there was a need for 40 to 75 additional spaces. Mr. Feudo gave a PowerPoint presentation to the Board. Mr. Zambouras described three options for parking and vehicle traffic. Mr. Hechenbleikner stated that security cameras in this location would be advisable to ensure that the property was used only during the hours it was open (Dawn to Dusk) and to prevent illegal dumping. Mr. Tafoya said he did not like Options I or 2, but 3 was a maybe. Mr. Goldy said he thought the DPW garage should be moved to this area and the current location sold for Board of Selectmen Minutes—January 31, 2012 —page 4 economic development. Of the choices, he preferred Option 1 or 2 but did not care for 3. Mr. Bonazoli said that the project should be phased, and therefore Option 3 should be done first, leaving open the possibility of later extending either of the first two options. Ms. Anthony said she preferred either of the first two options. Ms. Stroman said she liked Option 2 best. Ms. Anthony agreed that a site visit was necessary. Rain Gardens — Instructional Motion from November 2011 Town Meeting - Ms. Snyder made a presentation to the Board, describing what a rain garden is. She also had some suggestions on locations in Reading where one (or more) would be appropriate. Mr. Goldy asked if Pulte Homes was doing a rain garden, and Mr. Zambouras replied that they are. Mr. Bonazoli spoke in favor of the Birch Meadow school area. Mr. Hechenbleikner added that Killam would also be a good spot. Ms. Anthony wondered if one could be incorporated into a new Library design. Zoning Bylaw — instructional motion from November 2011 Town Meeting - Mr. Pacino said that the Rules Committee consists of the eight Chairs of the voting precincts, and they are instructed to meet once every year to review the Rules. His instructional motion was to allow for corrections to proposed Bylaws, such as to grammar or spelling, but to disallow any substantive amendments on the floor of Town Meeting as to intent. He said this up or down vote would avoid any unintended consequences of a hasty revision. He stated that current Town Moderator Alan Foulds and former Town Moderator Paul Dustin liked this idea. Mr. Goldy said the Rules Committee and Bylaw Committee should work more closely together to save time on such matters. Mr. Tafoya said one unintended consequence of this suggestion was the up or down nature would mean more Articles would probably fail, therefore invoking in some cases a two year wait before the matter could be back to Town Meeting, unless 8/10 of CPDC prevailed to overturn. Mr. Hechenbleikner agreed that CPDC, the Bylaw Committee and the Rules Committee should all be involved in this discussion. First he will check with Town Counsel as to the legality of such a proposal.. s Mr. Brown asked that Town Meeting Time be consulted. I Mr. Tafoya noted that the MMA Administrative Committee has notified that some land use changes may be proposed and this would be a significant change to the way we do development and planning in Reading. He said that some area Planners have signed on in agreement, including our MAPC representative. Mr. Hechenbleikner stated that our s Planner has not signed on. Debt Refinancinp, - Mr. LeLacheur reviewed a possible refinancing of outstanding debt, including the RMHS debt that is excluded from the tax levy. He asked that the Board approve a motion that would allow the Town to pursue this opportunity. The Board will z still retain a final vote to authorize the sale of new debt, which would be scheduled for i early March. Mr. Goldy moved that in order to save interest costs, the Treasurer is authorized to x provide for the sale and issuance of bonds under G.L. c. 44 Section 21A, to refund t t i Board of Selectmen Minutes—January 31, 2012—page 5 all or any portion of the Town's General Obligation Bonds dated January 1, 2002; January 1, 2004; and January 1, 2005 and that for this purpose the Treasurer is authorized to provide for the preparation and distribution of a Preliminary Official Statement; provided, however, that no bonds shall be issued under this vote unless and until the final interest rates and other terms of the refunding bonds are approved by the Board,seconded by Mr. Tafoya and approved by a vote of 4-0. Town Accountant Screening Committee - Mr. Hechenbleikner asked the Board to nominate two members to serve on the ad hoc Town Accountant Screening Committee. He said that Mary DeLai had been selected by the School Committee, and Mr. LeLacheur added that FINCOM would select a member next week. Mr. Bonazoli moved that the Board of Selectmen place the following names into nomination for two positions on the ad hoc Town Accountant Screening Committee for terms expiring 6-30-12: Ben Tafoya and Steve Goldy, seconded by Mr. Tafoya and approved by a vote of 4-0. Review 2012 Goals - Mr. Hechenbleikner reviewed the proposed Goals for calendar 2012. Mr. Tafoya had a process comment on #6 land sales asking that we make sure to evaluate what the costs are to put two vacant lots into residential use, that is to estimate school and municipal service costs against the annual tax revenue. He asked if any zoning changes were needed to steer development, and Mr. Hechenbleikner said the Lothrop parcel should first go before the ZBA to get a frontage waiver before it is sold. He said that the Lothrop and Pearl Street properties would be considered first, and the Oakland Road property would require a further public process. Mr. Goldy agreed that Oakland Road may need some discussion on proposed usage and zoning, but that Pearl and Lothrop should be ready to go. Mr. Arena asked if the property had been offered to abutters, especially Pearl Street. Mr. Hechenbleikner stated that in fact two abutters on the Pearl Street parcel were each interested in acquiring a portion of land that would not detract from retaining a buildable lot to be sold by the Town. Ms. Anthony asked about #13 CIC grant, and Mr. LeLacheur briefly described the technology grant application to be shared by Melrose, Wakefield and Reading. Ms. Anthony asked about asset management, especially as it pertained to Roads. Mr. Hechenbleikner pointed to #31. Ms. Anthony also requested that a Master Plan for shade trees be included in Community Development/Sustainability. Approval of Minutes Mr. Tafoya moved that the Board of Selectmen approve the minutes of December 6, 2011, seconded by Mr. Goldy and approved by a 4-0 vote without changes. Mr. Tafoya moved that the Board of Selectmen approve the minutes of December 20,2011,seconded by Mr. Goldy and approved by a 4-0 vote without changes. Board of Selectmen Minutes—January 31, 2012—page 6 Mr. Tafova moved that the Board of Selectmen approve the minutes of January 3, 2012, seconded by Mr. Goldy and approved by a 4-0 vote without changes. Mr. Goldy moved that the Board of Selectmen adiourn the meeting at 9:45 pm, seconded by Mr. Tafova and approved by a 4-0 vote. Respectfully submitt d, Secretary