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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-06-14 Adjourned Annual Town Meeting Minutes176 Adjourned AnnualTown Meeting June 11, 1979 - the lot was held in common ownership with adjoining land onFebruary 2, 1978; - the lot has at least five thousand (5,000) square feet of area and fifty (50) feet of frontage; - the area and frontage of the lot are similar to or greater than the area and frontage of a substantial number of built -upon lots which are located wholly or partly within three hundred (300) feet of the property line and in the same district; - all abutting lots, excepting lots in recreational, public or quasi -public use and lots located in an overlay district, are built upon, and such lots have at least five thousand (5,000) square feet of area and fifty (50) feet of frontage, or the lot and each abutting vacant lot(s), irrespective of ownership, has at least eighty (80) percent of the minimum area and frontage required in the district; and - all zoning requirements other than area and frontage are met. On motion of Roberta G. Botticelli it was voted that this meeting stand adjourned to meet at 8:00 P. M. on Thursday, June 14th, 1979, in the Reading Memorial High School auditorium. Meeting adjourned at 11:12 P. M. 155 Town Meeting members were present. A true copy. Attest: Lawrence Drew Town Clerk ADJOURNED ANNUAL TOWN MEETING Reading Memorial High School Auditorium June 14, 1979 The meeting was called to order by the Moderator, John W. Faria, at 8:00 P. M. The invocation was given by the Rev. Willard C. Arnold, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ARTICLE 39. On motion of Gail F. Wood as amended by James R. Boucher it was voted that the Town amend the Zoning By -Laws by adding the following as paragraph 6.3.1.3: 6.3.1.3 INTENT It is the intent of this paragraph to provide a limited, controlled and reasonable vehicle for lots which do not conform to existing standards to be built upon and prevent unfair or arbitrarily unbalanced sacrifices to be required of a few individuals when the resulting benefit to the public good is minimal, and the damage to the public good by providing an exemption is also minimal. The Board of Appeals may grant a Special Permit to build upon a non - conforming lot for one family use in any district permitting such use provided the applicant establishes: - at the time of its recording or endorsement, whichever occurred sooner, the lot conformed to the then existing requirements; - the lot was held in common ownership with adjoining land on February 2, 1978; - the lot has at least five thousand (5,000) square feet of area and fifty (50) feet of f rontage; - the area and frontage of the lot are similar to or greater than the area and frontage of a substantial number of built -upon lots which are located wholly or partly within three hundred (300) feet of the property line and in the same district; Adjourned AnnualTown Meeting 177 June 14, 1979 - all abutting lots, excepting lots in recreational, public or quasi -public use and lots located in an overlay district, are built upon, and such lots have at least five thousand (5,000) square feet of area and fifty (50) feet of f rontage, or the lot and each abutting vacant lot(s), irrespective of ownership, has at least eighty (80) percent of the minimum area and frontage required in the district; and - all zoning requirements other than area and frontage are met. 71 voted in the affirmative 31 voted in the negative 2/3 vote required UW0 ARTICLE 37. George A. Theophanis moved that the Town of Reading amend Article II, Section 4 of the General By -Laws by inserting after the first sentence a new sentence which reads: If written notice is given to the Town Clerk within twenty -four (24) hours after the adjournment of such session, then said written notice must be signed by at least twenty (20) Town Meeting Members. This motion did not pass. ARTICLE 40. On motion of Barry J. Mitchel it was voted to accept the following report under Article 40. PLANNING BOARD REPORT Pursuant to Section 5, Chapter 40A, General Laws, the Planning Board held a duly advertised public hearing on this proposed amendment to the Zoning By -Laws on Monday, April 9, 1979 at 8:00 P.M. in Room 17 of the Community Center. Three persons attended the hearing, two of whom were candidate members of the Board. There was no opposition. The amendment contained in the Article deletes 'public buildings' as a listed permitted use in the Town. It has been proposed in response to the recently enlarged definition of the term in law and practice, which now encompasses all buildings open to and used by the public in addition to those owned by governmental agencies. In the context of the Zoning By -Law, this means that an applicant could now persuasively argue his right to locate a restaurant, a large commercial building or a long list vim of other imappropriate uses in any Residential District. We are of the opinion that this was not the intent of Town Meeting when Zoning was adopted. We conclude that removal of this provision, originally designed to grant special treatment to county, state and federally owned facilities, is the best way to close an undesirable loophole in our By -Laws, and recommend that the Article be adopted. The undefined phrase "public building" is a permitted use in most of the zoning districts in the Town, including all of the Residential Districts. It has always been locally understood to relate to buildings owned by the county, state and federal govermmnet. (There is a separate provision in the By -law which exempts Town -owned buldings and their sites.) It has been recently called to our attention that a broader definition of the phrase "public building" has become current in use and law. For example, Section 13A, Chapter 22, General Laws, defines a public building both as a building constructed by a governmental unit and a building used by a large group of people. This latter clause specifically cites institutional buildings, commercial buildings, places of assembly, hotels, motels and funeral homes, among others. As soon as the Planning Board became aware of this situation, we felt we should bring it to Town Meeting's attention and start remedial action before someone using this enlarged definition made a development proposal of a nature and in a location which we could consider inappropriate. We considered two alternate ways of correcting this situation. One simply left the term "public building" in place and added a definition of "public building" which explicitly limited this term to our own historical meaning. The other, which we prefer, is to remove the category "public building ", thereby reflecting a change to a Town policy which regulates use on the basis of its characteristics rather than its ownership. We believe, for example, that the location of a truck repair garage should be decided on what it is and how it affects its neighborhood and the Town rather than who owns the garage. We have acordingly sponsored this Article to remove the provision, granting special treatment to county, state and federal facilities, as the best way to solve this problem of definition and to close an undesirable loophole in our By -law at the same time. Adjourned AnnualTown Meeting June 14, 1979 Adoption of this amendment would create two new non - conforming uses, - the Mass. D.P.W. highway yard off Causeway Road, and Camp Curtis Guild on Haverhill Street. Questions have arisen as to the effect of this amendment on the proposed leasing of the Prospect Street and the Lowell Street Schools to the State Welfare Department and C.E.T.A. respectively. Adoption of the amendment would have no effect on either of these potential rentals since the former school buildings are Town -owned and therefore are execpt f rom the By -law under the provisions of paragraph 4.1.1. ARTICLE 40. On motion of Barry J. Mitchel it was voted unanimously that the Town amend the Zoning By -Laws by deleting, in paragraph 4.2.2., Table of Uses, the line entitled "Public Buildings" in its entirety. 89 voted in the affirmative 0 voted in the negative 2/3 vote required ARTICLE 41. To see if the Town will vote pursuant to General Laws,Chapter 258, Section 9, or otherwise, to indemnify Frank A. Smith, Jr., James J. Sullivan, Jr. and Marvin M.Rosenthal each from personal financial loss and expenses, including legal fees and costs, if any, by purchase of insurance or otherwise in an amount to be determined by Town Meeting arising out of any claim, action, award, compromise, settlement or judgement by reason of an intentional tort, or by reason of any act or omission which constitutes a violation of the civil rights of any person under any federal or state law, or by reason of any other act or omission for which indemnification may be made, arising out of said individuals October 3, 1978 vote not to grant a common victualler's license to Sambo's of Massachu- setts, Inc. or arising out of any of said individuals prior or subsequent actions with regard to Sambo's of Massachusetts, Inc. and its application for a common victualler's license, or take any other action with respect thereto. On motion of James J. Sullivan, Jr. it was voted that Article 41 be indefinitely postponed. ARTICLE 42. The Board of Selectmen are instructed to issue a victualler license to Sambo's Restaurant, Main Street, Reading, Massachusetts, without further delay. No action was taken on Article 42. ARTICLE 45. On motion of Douglas A.Cowell it was voted that the Town accept the layout as Public Ways of the following private ways: C. Street Extension, County Road Extension, Countryside Lane Extension and Pasture Road as laid out by the Board of Public Works in its reports and plans, both of which were filed in the Town Clerk's Office on April 19, 1979 to which reference is made for a more particular description and adopt the recommendations contained therein, and that the Town authorize the Board of Public Works to take such land in fee or rights of easement therein by eminent domain, under the provisions of Chapter 79 of the General Laws, as amended or acquire said land in fee or rights of easement therein by purchase, gift or otherwise, and to assess betterments therefore and to make entry for the purpose of construction before all claims for damages by reason thereof shall have been finally adjusted or determined, and that the sum of Seventeen Thousand Nine Hundred and Three Dollars ($17,903.00) be raised from the tax levy and appropriated to the Board of Public Works for expense incurred in the layout and construction of such ways as follows: each item being considered as a separate appropria- tion: C Street Extension County Road Extension Countryside Lane Extension Pasture Road Total $14,800.00 470.00 360.00 2,273.00 17,903.00 101 voted in the affirmative 1 voted in the negative 2/3 vote required ARTICLE 46. On motion of Douglas A.Cowell it was voted that the Town rescind the action taken under Article 2 of the Special Town Meeting held November 14, 1977, whereby the Town voted that the sum of One Hundred Twenty -Six Thousand Dollars ($126,000) be appropriated for consulting exgineering services, surveys, preliminary plans, designs, con- tracts, specifications, final plans and estimates for reconstructing remodeling, enlarging and extending the Town sewer by and under the direction of the Board of Public Works, and whereby such appropriation was met by transferring the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) from surplus revenue and authorizing that the sum of One Hundred Sixteen Thousand Dollars ($116,000) be raised by borrowing. On motion of James J.Sullivan, Jr. it was voted to take Article 2 from the table. r 1 i v Adjourned AnnualTown Meeting June 14, 1979 ARTICLE 2. The following report was read by Malcolm E.Reed, Chairman of the Treasurer's Study Committee. FINAL REPORT Having filed its report at the May 1, 1978 Town Meeting and Article 33 of the 1979 Annual Town Meeting having been voted in the negative, the Treasurer's Study Committee hereby submits its final report. Malcolm E. Reed, Chairman Carol A. Anderson, Secretary Vincent C.Connors Bayard R. Lincoln Catherine A.Quimby This report was accepted as a final report. ARTICLE 2. The following report was read by Bayard R. Lincoln, Chairman of the Personnel Board. In order to comply with the motion under Article 3 moved by Mr. William C. Brown on June 1, 1978 at Annual Town Meeting, the Personnel Board is submitting this report. The motion instructed the Board of Selectmen and Personnel Board to investigate the need of physical standards for all Town employees as a condition of continual employment, and to make recommedations at next Annual Town Meeting. Listed by Departments are the number of employees who are physically active in their work: Police Dept. Fire Dept. D. P.W. Cemetery dept. Municipal Custodians School Custodians School Cafeteria Sub -total All others (in sedentary occupations) Total 43 52 65 5 4 40 50 259 675+ 934+ Research of records kept in this office since May 1974 shows that 4 Police officers have retired under disability after average service of 22 years, and 4 firemen after average of 19 years service. Two other Police officers have also been retired under physical disability caused by injuries received while on duty which incapacitated them to the extent that they were unable to perform efficiently the usual and required duties of Police Officers. The Department which records most accidents is the Public Works. Mostly these are caused through carelessness and down time is minimal except in few cases where back strain has occurred with consequent disability claims under Workmen's Compensation. Most of these back strain injuries occurred in the Sanitation Dept. during rubbish collection, which operation now does not require the use of Town employees - hence one "trouble spot" has been eliminated. There have been no retirements in any Departments other than Fire and Police through illness. These facts do not point to a need of setting physical standards, nor would a physical examination annually or other periods of time show the potential expectation of disability, especially that caused through accidents, as long as the individual is able to carry out his duty as required at that time. The Town Physician confirms that periodic back x -ray would not reveal potential spinal weaknesses. It would show congenital defects at the time of pre - employment examination. This x -ray is not required now but should be considered for future pre- employment checks, particularly for those who will be physically active in their jobs. The cost of examinations for all Town employees would depend upon the thoroughness of the exam. Pre - employment examinations now cost the Town $25.00 for each employee, so if this post- examination were given annually, assuming a fairly stable number of employees, the cost to the Town would be: 934+ X $25.00 = $23,350.00+ Igoi Adjourned AnnualTown Meeting June 14, 1979 Should the Town deem some kind of physical check be needed, perhaps Free Clinics for specific diagnostics could be used or possibly an agreement could be reached with a Medical Center, such as that in Wilmington, to give "Bulk Rates" for periodic examinations. The particular health concern which was mentioned at the time of this Motion being made was "overweight ". Not mentioned by equally important was "underweight ". It appears that neither of these two conditions, of themselves, need be a disadvantage to performance, but the cause of them might be. A visual check by the employee's immediate supervisor would indicate if a duty is being performed up to standard, whether that duty be of a physical or sedentary nature. If performance standards are not being reached then, possibly, would be the time for a particular individual to take a physical examination rather than that all Town employees be so directed. So far as Collective Bargaining Units are concerned there should be no problem with members of these Units if they look at individual physicals from a practical point of view. Where hazardous duties may be involved it would surely seem that team - workers would feel more at ease if all were in top physical condition. Or where physical labor is concerned that each should "pull his weight ". For necessary physical standards and responsible fiscal management, this Board feels that individual examinations might be made as determined by the employee's immediate supervisor. This report was accepted as a report of progress. On motion of James J. Sullivan, Jr. it was voted to lay Article 2 on the table. On motion of James J.Sullivan, Jr. it was voted to take Article 3 from the table. ARTICLE 3. On motion of Douglas A. Cowell it was voted that the Moderator appoint a committee of six people to review and report to the next Annual Town Meeting the question of means for funding the Contributory Retirement Fund. Such committee to consist of one (1) member from the Municipal Light Board; One (1) member from the Contributory Retirement Board; three (3) Town Meeting Members and the Town Treasurer. ARTICLE 3. On motion of Donald E. Trudeau it was voted that the Town exceed the appropriations limit established under Chapter 151 of the Acts of 1979. 78 voted in the affirmative 32 voted in the negative 2/3 vote required ARTICLE 3. Donald E. Trudeau moved that the Town vote to exceed the tax levy limit established under Chapter 151 of the Acts of 1979 as it affects FY180. This motion did not pass. 53 voted in the affirmative 53 voted in the negative 2/3 vote required ARTICLE 3. On motion of Donald E. Trudeau it was voted that the Town exempt $227,283 of free cash from the provisions of Section 12A of Chapter 151 of the Acts of 1979 and that such free cash not be utilized for reducing the property tax levy for fiscal year 1980. 110 voted in the affirmative 2 voted in the negative 2/3 vote required ARTICLE 3. On motion of Pasquale M. Iapicca it was voted to set up a special committee to look into the feasibility of having motorcycles and other energy saving vehicles on the Reading Police Department. The committee shall consist of at least one policeman and four citizens of the Town of Reading. The committee shall be appointed by the Moderator. A report will be made at the Fall Town Meeting. ARTICLE 3. On motion of Edward F.Fuller it was voted that the Selectmen report to the Subsequent Town Meeting on the status of the Town's compliance with Chapter 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The report should include the buildings to be modified, an approximate cost impact on the Town for compliance with the law as well as the impact of non - compliance with the June 2, 1980 deadline set by the federal government. Adjourned AnnualTown Meeting 181 June 14, 1979 ARTICLE 3. On motion of Stephen G. Viegas it was voted that the School Construction Committee be instructed that if it elects to renegotiate its contract with Morello Brothers Construction, Inc., to spend funds appropriated by Town Meeting in Article 5 of the Special Town Meeting of May 14, 1979, that the new contract provide the following: I. That all work thereunder will be completed by September 1, 1979, or the contractor will be considered in breach thereof. (Extensions beyond the stated date will be granted by the School Construction Committee for good cause shown only.) 2. That the precise specifications be contained in the contract to clearly define the scope of all the work to be completed thereunder and that the extent of the work then reasonably foreseen by both parties be clearly described in the contract. 3. That the contractor post a 100% performance bond to guarantee completion of all work required under the contract. ARTICLE 3. On motion of James R.Valentine as amended by Michael L. Garroway it was voted that a committee of seven (7) citizens of the Town of Reading be appointed by the Moderator, some members of which are to attend and observe each meeting of the Northeast Regional Vocational School Committee. Said committee of citizens is directed to prepare and present a report of those meetings and the activities of the School Committee to the Annual Town Meeting in Spring, 1980. ARTICLE 3. On motion of James J. Sullivan, Jr. it was voted that this Town Meeting show its appreciation to our new Moderator for a job well done. die. On motion of James J. Sullivan, Jr. it was voted to lay Article 3 on the table. On motion of James J. Sullivan, Jr. it was voted that this meeting stand adjourned sine Meeting adjourned at 10:16 P. M. 116 Town Meeting members were present. A true copy. Attest: Lawrence Drew i Town Clerk