HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-04-13 Special Town Meeting Minutes306
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING
Reading Memorial High School
April 13, 1981
The meeting was called to order by the Moderator, John W. Faria, at 8:30 P. M.
ARTICLE 1. On motion of John W. Price it was voted to lay Article 1 on the table.
ARTICLE 2. On motion of John W. Price it was voted to lay Article 2 on the table.
ARTICLE 3. On motion of Maureen T. O'Brien, as amended by Carl H. Amon, Jr.
which changed the vote to two - thirds required in place of "majority" of votes present, it was
voted that the Town amend Article II, Section 4 of the By -Laws of the Town by inserting at
the conclusion thereof the following:
V "The foregoing provisions relating to motions to reconsider shall not apply to any such
motion made by the Board of Selectmen and authorized by the Town Moderator as
necessary for the reconsideration of actions previously taken by Town Meeting by
reason of state or federal action or inaction or other circumstances not within the
control of the Town or Town Meeting. In the event such a motion to reconsider is
made and authorized, said motion may be made at any time before the final
adjournment of the meeting at which the vote was passed, said motion may be made
even if the vote was already reconsidered or was the subject of a vote not to
reconsider, and reconsideration may be ordered by a vote of two - thirds of the votes
present."
L" ARTICLE 4. On motion of John W. Price, as amended by William C. Brown, it was
voted that the Town amend Article I, Section 7 of the By Laws of the Town by deleting
Section 7 in its present form and substitute the following: "Section 7. All articles for the
Annual Town Meeting shall be submitted to the Board of Selectmen not later than 8:00 P.M.
on the fifth Monday preceding the date of election of Town Officers, unless this day is a
holiday in which case the following day shall be substituted. All articles for the subsequent
Town Meeting shall be submitted to the Board of Selectmen of later than 8:00 P.M. on the
fourth Monday of September of the year for the subsequent Town Meeting in which action is
to be taken, unless this day is a holiday in which case the following day shall be substituted.
ARTICLE 5. On motion of William H. Diamond it was voted that Article XIX of the
Town By -Laws be amended by adding to said Article XIX the following:
Section 2. This Article shall not apply to the disposition of old books, magazines,
periodicals, recordings and printed materials in the custody of the Board of Library
Trustees, which may be disposed of at the discretion of said Board.
ARTICLE 6. On motion of George A. Theophanis it was voted that Article 6 be
indefinitely postponed.
ARTICLE 7. On motion of Robert I. Nordstrand it was voted that Article 7 be
indefinitely postponed.
- ARTICLE 8. On motion of John W. Price it was voted that the Town amend Article
XVI, Section 5 of its By -Laws by substituting the word and number two thousand dollars
($2,000) with the word and number four thousand dollars ($4,000) so that the first sentence
of Section 5 shall read as follows: "The Town Boards and Officers of the different Town
Departments authorized to make contracts shall call for competitive bids on all labor
(except professional services) or material to be furnished to the Town where the cost or
estimated cost to the Town of said labor and materials to be so furnished equals or exceeds
the sum of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000) except in cases of special emergency involving
the health or safety of the people or their property," and further that the Town amend
Article XVI, Section 6 of its By -Laws by substituting in the first sentence the word and
number "one thousand dollars ($1,000)" with the word and numbers "three thousand dollars
($3,000)" and the word and numbers "two thousand dollars ($2,000)" be substituted with the
word and numbers "four thousand dollars ($4,000)11, so that the first sentence of Section 6
shall read as follows: "The Officers of the different Town Departments shall attempt to
obtain at least 3 bids on all labor (except professional services) or material to be furnished
to the Town where the cost or estimated cost to the Town of said labor or material to be so
furnished exceeds the sum of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000) but is less than the sum of
Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000).
J ARTICLE 9. On motion of John W. Price it was voted that Article 9 be indefinitely
postponed.
3:07.
Special Town Meeting April 13, 1981
ARTICLE 10.On motion of C. Dewey Smith it was voted that the Town transfer the
sum of Ten Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($10,500.00) from free cash and appropriate for
the purpose of upgrading and maintaining an existing central processing unit and furnishing,
installing and maintaining a time sharing electronic Data Processing word station and
appurtenances or take any action with respect thereto.
ARTICLE 11. On motion of John W. Price it was voted that pursuant to Article 6,
Section 3 of the By -Laws of the Town, the Town approve the compromise or settlement of
the lawsuit brought by the Trustees of the Anthony L. D'Annolfo Trust against the Town of
Reading for land damages, currently pending in the Middlesex Superior Court as Civil Action
No. 335860, for an amount not to exceed $20,000.00, which amount includes the pro tanto
award of $7,108.00 which has already been awarded and paid to the Trustees of the Anthony
L. D'Annolfo Trust, and that the sum of $2,906.00 be transferred from the Conservation
Fund and that the sum of $9,986.00 be transferred from Free Cash and that said sums
totalling $12,892.00 be appropriated to pay for said compromise or settlement of such
lawsuit.
ARTICLE 12. The following motion by Sally M. Hoyt was indefinitely postponed on
motion of Sumner H. Weston, by a vote of 67 in the affirmative, 55 in the negative, a two -
thirds vote required:
Moved: That the Town vote to transfer the care, custody and control of the following
described Parcels of land to the Conservation Commission and to dedicate said land for
conservation purposes under MGL Ch. 40, s. 8C:
These parcels of land comprise lots 114 through 120, lots 133 through 143 and lots 147
through 165 as currently shown on Town of Reading Assessor's Plat Map #79. Said lots are
located south of Salem Street in an area formerly known as Quannapowitt Park and contain
an estimated 5.081+ acres of land. These lots formerly appeared as lots 29 through 47, lots
51 through 61 and lots 72 through 78 in a Plan of the Wakefield- Reading Fairgrounds,
recorded in the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds, Plan Book 295, Plan 46.
Said land was acquired by the Town from Henry A. Murphy, Jr. and Natalie W. Murphy
by foreclosure of tax lien for non - payment of taxes under a certain deed dated July 9, 1951
and duly recorded on November 6, 1953 in the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds, Book
7775, Page 226. On November 3, 1955 a decree was entered and the notice of final
disposition was recorded on December 21, 1955 in Book 8637, Page 412. This covered Land
Court Case #33632.
ARTICLE 13. The following motion by Sally M. Hoyt was indefinitely postponed on
motion of Thomas J. Ryan:
Moved: That the Town vote to transfer the care, custody and control of the following
described parcel of land to the Conservation Commission and to dedicate said land for
conservation purposes under M.G.L. Chapter 80, Section 8C:
This parcel of land, 37,767+ square feet in area, comprises lots 33 through 45 located
on Governors Dr. as shown on the current Town of Reading Assessor's Plat Map #93.
Governors Drive was formerly known as Sunnyside Road and Map #93 was formerly
numbered as #101.
Said land was acquired by the Town from Patrick H. and Henrietta R. Stanton by
foreclosure of tax lien for non - payment of taxes under a certain deed dated June 30, 1959
and duly recorded on August 19, 1959 in the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds, Book 9439,
Page 267. On April 20, 1966 a decree was entered and the notice of final disposition was
recorded on April 25, 1966 in Book 11098, Page 130. This covered Land Court Case No.
40353.
ARTICLE 14. Motion by Sally M. Hoyt that the Town vote to transfer the care, custody
and control of the following described parcel of land to the Conservation Commission and to
dedicate said land for conservation purposes under M.G.L. Chapter 40, section 8C was voted
in the negative:
This parcel of land, 26,960+ square feet in area, comprises lots 6 and 7 as currently
shown on Town of Reading Assessor's Plat Map #35. Said land is located on the northerly
side of Knollwood Road. These lots formerly appeared as lot numbers 71 and 72 on Plan 53
on the Assessor's Map in effect in 1935.
This land was acquired by the Town from Charles P. Stockwell by foreclosure of tax
lien for non - payment of taxes under a certain deed dated Octoberr 9, 1931 and duly recorded
W
on October 26, 1931 in the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds, Book 5604, Pages 48, 49, and
50. On March 5, 1935 a decree was entered and the notice of final disposition was recorded
on March 12, 1935 on Book 5915, Page 8 and 9. 67 voted in the affirmative, 38 voted in the
negative, a two - thirds vote required.
On motion of John W. Price it was voted that this meeting stand adjourned to meet at
8:00 P.M. on April 21, 1981 in the Reading Memorial High School auditorium.
Meeting adjourned at 11:35 P. M.
165 Town Meeting members were present.
A true copy. Attest:
Lawrence Drew
Town Clerk
ADJOURNED SESSION, SPECIAL TOWN MEETING
Reading Memorial High School
April 21, 1981
.The meeting was called to order by the Moderator, John W. Faria, at 8:00 P.M., there
being a quorum present.
The invocation was given by the Rev. Willard C. Arnold, followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Flag.
The Town Meeting body, by a unanimous vote, adopted a motion presented by Carl H.
Amon, Jr. that the Town Meeting body observe a moment of silence in memory of Clifford
P. Wadman, Chairman of the Board of Cemetery Trustees, who passed away April 19, 1981.
ARTICLE 14. Motion by Ellen C. Childress for reconsideration of Article 14 as voted
at the Special Town Meeting, April 13, 1981, was voted in the negative by a vote of 83 in the
affirmative, 47 in the negative, two - thirds vote required.
ARTICLE 1. On motion of John Zorabedian, Jr. it was voted to take Article 1 from
the table.
ARTICLE 1. The following report, presented by John Zorabedian, Jr., was accepted as
a report of progress.
Planning Board Report
Special Town Meeting Warrant Article 15
Extension of Bus. A to Include Dooley & French Property on Main Street
Pursuant to Section 5, Chapter 40A, General Laws, a public hearing on this proposal
was held on Thursday, April 9, 1981 at 7:30 P.M. in Room 17, 52 Sanborn Street (the
Community Center), with Board members K. Messina, J. Shaw, E. Childress, B. Mitchel and
Chairman J. Zorabedian present.
There were three citizens present as well as Mr. and Mrs. French, the petitioners and
their Attorney, Daniel Kasper.
In accordance with Section 11, Chapter 40A, General Laws, the public notice was
published in the Reading Chronicle on Thursday, March 26 and April 2, 1981 and was read
into the meeting record.