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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-07-29 Board of Selectmen Minutes Town of Reading Meeting Minutes iOWN ECEIVED r ADING. MASS. Board - Committee - Commission - Council: IBIII SEP -3 A 0 IS , Board of Selectmen Date: 2014-07-29 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Selectmen Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Chairman John Arena, Vice Chairman Marsie West, Secretary Daniel Ensminger, Selectmen John Halsey and Kevin Sexton Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Robert LeLacheur, Town Counsel Raymond Miyares, Police Chief James Cormier, Police Detective Richard Abate, Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, Community Development Administrator Jessie Wilson, Office Manager Paula Schena, John Freitas, Robert Corwin, Mary Ellen O'Neill, Marla Clough, Everett and Virginia Blodgett, Alison Stager, David O'Connor, Carl McFadden, David Godwin, Cynda Rohmer, Bob Drake, Anne Godwin, Annika Scanlon, Christine Parks, Joanne Senders, Christopher Crane, Lorraine Salter, Robert Salter, Susan Coccoluto, Sharlene Reynolds Santo, Virginia Adams, Demetra Tseckares, Luca Restuccia, Joe Lupi, Elizabeth Lupi, Frank Keane, Leslie Marsh, Larry and Lisa Gilligan, Stephen Crook Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Secretary Daniel Ensminger Topics of Discussion: Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments - Daniel Ensminger noted that the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee met and he will report on that later. He also participated in an Adopt an Island Event. John Arena noted that he attended the Historical Commission meeting regarding the demolition delay at 186 Summer Avenue and it was a well-run meeting. Marsie West noted that she had been contacted by a RMLD CAB members about the sale of bucket trucks at the RMLD for $350 and they had concerns with the process and the lack of follow up by the RMLD Commissioners. Public Comment - Elizabeth Lupi, 167 Summer Avenue noted that the 01867 Neighborhood r Preservation Association was formed last night. They are against the Criterion Group [L coming into their neighborhood. A resident from 199 Summer Avenue indicated he was a member of the newly formed Association and requested that the Town help them. They have a lot of questions regarding the bylaws. John Arena noted that the Board of Selectmen is the last recall to the demolition delay but the applicant has accepted the delay. Page 1 1 Board of Selectmen Minutes - July 29. 2014 - page 2 Bob Salter, 257 Summer Avenue noted that the Dover act will be used to build the school. He wants the Board of Selectmen to act to incorporate that house into the Historic District. John Arena indicated the Board cannot do that because the property is under a contingent sale. Mr. Salter indicated that there Is a strong feeling that the sale of the property for that purpdse is not in the best interest of the Town. A resident from 70 Howard Street asked if Criterion will be looked into. lean Delios noted that the applicant came to the Building Inspector to apply for a demolition permit. The Historical Commission issued a six month delay. The permitting process will start at any time. The Town needs to see ownership for the Dover Amendment to go into effect. Town Counsel Ray Miyares noted that the Dover amendment basically says that no zoning bylaw shall prohibit or regulated on land owned or leased for religious or educational purposes. They do, however, have to prove they are a nonprofit educational organization and that the property is to be used for educational purposes. The property owner's lawyers have to make that case. There would be two hearings - site plan review and Board of Appeals, but the applicant has to apply. The articles of organization say education but they have to prove it. A resident from 189 Summer Avenue asked if Summer Avenue can be made a Historic District and Town Counsel indicated that a Historic District would affect any new applicants. If the Historic District is put in place quickly then it would apply to the new structure going In place. Sharlene Santo noted there is a Historic District Bylaw in Town. If there was a 12 month demolition delay then the Town would have more time to act. She also asked when the current owner transfers to the new owner and Town Counsel indicated the demo permit can be transferred, but there are usually steps to do during the delay. Demetra Tseckares, 106 Oak Street noted that the temple in Melrose was voted down because it was too big. Parking, safety of kids, and project reasonably fitting In with the beauty of the neighborhood should be considered. Bob Salter asked when a new Historic District could be in place. The Town Manager indicated the warrant for a Special Town Meeting on September 29" will be closing on September 2nd and he needs a lead contact for the group. It was noted that Mary Ellen O'Neill will be the contact. John Halsey noted that the current ownership is maintained by the current owner but there is a P & S. Ownership has to be identified for a building permit. The demolition permit will not be Impacted by the new district. John Arena noted that there is an urgency to find out if this is covered under the Dover amendment and also to add Summer Avenue to the Historic District. Cynda Roma noted that the owner is supposed to work with the Historical Commission to find an alternate purchaser but she said she can't because the P & S has been signed. Sharlene Santo Indicated there Is no requirement that they cooperate. Town Counsel indicated there is no consequence if they don't cooperate. A member of the Association noted that they do not Intend to "stick it" to the current owner and he noted that the Town might have to bend some rules to make a compelling argument to move to a different alternative. Page 1 2 Board of Selectmen Minutes - July 29, 2014 - page 3 Everett Blodgett, Chairman of the West Street Historic District Committee indicated they should be involved to give input on what works and what doesn't work. Sharlene Santo indicated the Historical Commission can talk with the property owner about keeping some of the structure and that would allow them to release the delay early so there is encouragement to work with the Historical Commission. Cynda Rohmer indicated Criterion is unlikely to keep any of that building because it has asbestos and lead paint. Personnel and Appointments Conservation Commission. Historical Commission and Cultural Council - Daniel Ensminger noted that the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee interviewed applicants for these committees. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by Halsey that the Board of Selectmen confirm the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee's recommendation to appoint Ronald Weston to the Historical Commission with a term expiring June 30, 2017 was approved by a vote of 4-0-0 (West was not present). A motion by Ensminaer seconded by Halsey that the Board of Selectmen confirm the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee's recommendation to appoint Jonathan Barnes as an Associate to the Historical Commission with a term expiring June 30, 2015 was aporoved by a vote of 4-0-0 (West was not present). A motion by Ensminaer seconded by Halsey that the Board of Selectmen confirm the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee's recommendation to appoint Alison Stager to the Conservation Commission with a term expiring June 30. 2015 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by West that the Board of Selectmen confirm the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee's recommendation to appoint Rosemary Lewis to the Cultural Council with a term expiring June 30. 2017 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by West that the Board of Selectmen confirm the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee's recommendation to appoint Maryann Kozlowski to the Cultural Council with a term expiring June 30, 2015 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Discussion/Action Items Amplified Sound Permit - Carl McFadden noted that this is the third year for Flag football in a partnership with Reading Recreation. Last year 350 kids participated and this year they are up to 500 kids with a waiting list. Mr. McFadden noted this is a community event with cheerleaders, face painting, and the RMHS football team will coach. There will be food from Portland Pie and Cupcake City. They are cognizant of the families in the neighborhood. The DJ is G rated and the concession stand profits go to different teams each week. John Arena asked if there were any complaints and Chief Cormier indicated he i5 not aware of any C complaints. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by Halsey to approve the amplified sound permit as resent subtect to the approval by the Recreation Committee was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Page 1 3 Board of Selectmen Minutes - July 29, 2014 - page 4 Change of Manager - Chili's - Rob Harris noted that he has worked for Chili's for 19 years. He's been dealing with alcohol for a long time and there have been no issues since he's been General Manager. A motion by Ensminger seconded by Sexton that the Board of Selectmen approve the Change of Manager for Pepper Dining. Inc. d/b/a Chili's Grill and Bar from Ron Dumont to Robert Harris was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Hearing - Liquor Violation - Ricky's Liquor - Sales to a Minor - The Secretary read the hearing notice. Police Chief James Cormier indicated the department received anonymous tips. Police Detective Robert MacHugh noted that he received information that Ricky's Liquors was selling to minors. On July 3, 2014 he noticed a car pull into Ricky's parking lot and teenagers entered Ricky's Liquor. He saw one male go up to the register and leave with a bag. He followed the vehicle to Berger King where all of them went inside but were not purchasing anything. They then exited with a small bag of food. He spoke with the driver and was told that nobody in the vehicle was 21 years old. He questioned the male who had the bag and he admitted to buying and stated it's a well-known fact that Ricky's Liquor sells to minors. Detective MacHugh then removed the alcohol from the vehicle. All of the occupants were from out of town. On July 8, 2014 he spoke with the owner and asked to see the video from that night. He saw the male enter, buy and leave the store. He requested a copy of the video and has not received it yet. Daniel Ensminger asked he can view the video for other instances and Detective MacHugh noted there is no way to verify the age. Attorney Chris Coleman noted he was there to represent Kalpesh Patel and Bruce Armstrong. He feels the implications of the reports makes Ricky's look bad. He noted that Mr. Patel has 20 years of experience operating his store and selling cigarettes and asking for ID's. Attorney Coleman noted that July 3 was a busy night and Mr. Patel was there until 6:00 p.m. and then returned at 9:00 p.m. The minor was 6 feet tall, 20 years old and looked older. Mr. Armstrong has been the Manager of CVS for many years and he has finished his TIPS training. Mr. Patel is currently hiring a fourth person and will be purchasing a check ID machine. He also noted that they have never seen that minor in the store before. John Halsey asked why the employee was not properly trained and Mr. Patel indicated they were trying to find a place to do training. He had missed one and finally did it online. Mr. Armstrong noted that he works full time for CVS and did training for them. He works part time for Mr. Patel. John Halsey asked why the surveillance video was not turned over to the Police and Attorney Coleman indicated it is difficult to transfer the tape from a laptop. John Halsey indicated when the license is in question he should have hired someone to do it. John Arena noted that their business and reputation are at risk. Marsle West asked if Mr. Patel and his wife are TIPS trained and it was noted they are. Marsie West indicated that any new employees must be trained before they start working. John Arena noted that Reading focus' on substance abuse and alcohol is the single most used drug. He also noted that if the comments are believed, It wasn't this minor's first visit and he lives out of town. Mr. Arena also noted that this was not a compliance check, it was a tip. Attorney Coleman indicated that the Town was putting a lot of stock in a young persons words when he was under duress. Page 1 4 Board of Selectmen Minutes - July 29. 2014 - page 5 John Halsey noted the Police received an anonymous tip and the Detective immediately sees it happen. These out of town kids were not there because there was a sale going on. He is not happy that there was a six month delay in training and a delay in getting the video to the Police. He couldn't understand why he would spend $4,000 for an ID checker but won't hire an IT person to give the Police what they ask for. John Arena asked if there was more than one tip and Chief Cormier indicated there was - one verbal and one week later a text tip. Kevin Sexton asked if the Police went back to view the tapes to see if other purchases were made by minors and Detective MacHugh indicated no because they had a hard time narrowing down the tape to July V. Marsie West asked how long their license has been valid and it was noted It was issued on June 24, 2013. The Town Manager noted that the Selectmen's Policy suggests a warning to three day suspension for the first offense. Town Counsel Ray Miyares noted that the polity is a guideline. John Arena noted that three indicators are a trend and he is inclined to do greater than the minimum. Kevin Sexton suggested five days, but five days was for a third violation. Marsie West suggested four days which is in line with a second violation. John Halsey noted that it is very troubling that there has been no compliance check in over one year; the TIPS training has been ignored; and there's been halfhearted support to the Police. He feels that four days will send a message and if another violation happens he will vote to suspend and revoke the license. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by West that the Board of Selectmen close the hearing on the Possible modification, suspension or revocation of the Retail Package Store License to Expose. Keep for Sale and to Sell All Kinds of Alcoholic Beverages for Jay & Ricky. Inc. d/b/a Ricky's Liquor. 214 Main Street. for violating MGL Chapter 138, Section 34 for the sale or delivery of alcoholic beverages to a Person under 21 years of age. was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by Sexton that the Board of Selectmen find Jay & Ricky. Inc. d/b/a Ricky's Liauor, 214 Main Street. Reading in violation of MGL Chapter 138. Section 34 for the sale or delivery of alcoholic beverages to a person under 21 years of aae on July 3. 2014, was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by West that Jay & Ricky. Inc. d/b/a Ricky's Liauor. 214 Main Street. Reading be penalized with a four day suspension for violation of MGL Chapter 138, Section 34 for the sale or delivery of alcoholic beverages to a person under 21 years of aae on July 3. 2014, was approved by a e vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by Sexton that the four day suspension for Jay_& LRicky. Inc. d/b/a Ricky's Liauor. 214 Main Street. Reading take place on September 15, 16. 17 and 18. 2014: that the license be surrendered to the office of the Town Manager no later than 9:00 a.m. the first day of the suspension, to be returned to the licensee by 9:00 a.m. the first day following the suspension; and that a placard be placed on the premises during the period of suspension Page 1 5 Board of Selectmen Minutes - July 29. 2014 - page 6 indicating the business is -unable to sell liauor due to a suspension of the liauor license for sale of liauor to an underage person- and that Jay & Ricky Inc reimburse the Town of Reading for Constable and advertising fees and this decision including the designation of the dates of suspension was rendered on the basis of Kalpesh Patel's waiver of appeal, was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Continued Hearing - Proposed 4 Way Stop at Sunnyside and Fairview - John Arena noted this is a continuation of a hearing and the proponent is not here tonight. He noted that several Selectmen have since visited the location. The bush was removed and the site line is a non-issue now. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by West to close the hearing on the proposed four way stop at Sunnyside and Fairview was approved by a vote of 5-0-0 No further action was taken. Planning Overview - Community Development Administrator Jessie Wilson, and Chris Kuschel from MAPC were present. Jessie Wilson noted that the Complete Street Policy is to make streets safe, comfortable and accessible for all users, Including vehicles. A handful of communities have adopted. We are already doing most of what Is in the policy. It codifies what we are doing now and sets a vision for the Town. Finances and rights of way are taken into consideration. The policy allows for exceptions. It is not a one size fits all. It is a policy in practice. The team projects, large projects and subdivision regulations exist. This policy Is a criterion for funding. The Bike and Pedestrian Plan is to create bike lanes using low cost short term Improvements giving access to schools, downtown and Walkers Brook Drive. The Town should look for opportunities to make lanes or do signage or consider striping on West Street. The Town Manager noted that West Street is a state project. We can ask them to do striping but can't make them. He also noted that we have to adopt this plan if we want to get money in the future. John Arena noted that there is a need to retrain people when it comes to parking lanes - adjacent to bike lanes. It was noted that requires training and education to have people look over their shoulder before opening the car door. It was also noted that not all bike lanes are adjacent to parking lanes. John Halsey noted that there are two new dedicated turn lanes on north Main Street. Chris Kuschel noted the,plan is to give pedestrians access to schools, retail and to the lake. The Town has crosswalks with no curb cuts. Sidewalk priorities are Salem Street at the rotary and Grove and Hopkins Street. John Halsey indicated if the Board adopts we are not bound by all suggestions. Chris Kuschel indicated the Town just needs to consider certain items. The Town Manager indicated this does not supersede local control. Jessie Wilson noted that the Community Planning and Development Commission made recommendations and adopted the plan because It gives them more teeth when developers come before them. John Arena asked that the Board be given periodic updates in the future. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by West to adopt the Town of Reading Complete Streets Policy wasaoproved by a vote of 5-0-0. Page 1 6 Board of Selectmen Minutes - July 29, 2014 - pace 7 A motion by Ensminger seconded by West to adopt the Town of Reading Bike and Pedestrian Plan was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Jean Delios gave an update on the south Main Street DIET. She noted that is conceptual at this point and under the jurisdiction of MASSDOT. The number of driveways could be problem on south Main Street. The test on reducing the lanes will be when the road is under construction for the water lines. Discuss Reading 2020 Working Groups - The Town Manager reviewed the groups. He noted that we are starting to work on Community Partners. For Services and Performance a list of what Town government does and how it is measured will be developed. How we communicate to the public we need to be Flexible. For strategic planning we need to determine what the key areas are and need to prioritize. We also need to determine what the actual action items. John Arena noted that people don't correlate services with spending. The mission or end goal is more critical. The Town Manager noted that a multi-board summit is needed. John Halsey recommended picking four or five pillars otherwise it would be too onerous. The Town Manager noted that the Finance Committee will want a two year budget. That can be done but we will have to revisit the second year. The Town Manager also noted that community priorities need to be determined. During last year's budget sessions those who asked the loudest got what they wanted. John Halsey noted that the strategic planning committee met with the Town Manager first. The Town Manager noted that the first thing is to determine if something matters. He also suggested involving the schools and use committees to do the work. John Arena noted we should advertise our strengths. Jean Delios noted that visioning is part of the Economic Development Plan. She recommends knowing your audience and what they want. Public input is helpful. John Halsey recommended going to the committees as a first approach because they are an instant audience and it will be a bottom up buy-In. Kevin Sexton recommended getting committees' Input and then going out to the public and seeing what matters. Marsie West suggested finding out not only if something matters, but how much something matters. Jean Delios noted that the Community Preservation Act is pretty rare but a potential - resource to raise money. A town can collect 1% to do open space preservation, housing, or historic preservation. Reading tried to get this through years ago but It didn't pass by a narrow margin. Town Manager Evaluation Process - John Arena noted that the Board needs a mechanism to do the Town Manager's evaluation. Most communities look the same and use a scale of 1 - 5, but he would be happy with 3 levels. The Town Manager noted that the employee evaluations have three levels. He feels August is generally a good time to do the evaluation. He is interested in detail honesty. He noted that the School Committee each do Individual evaluations then release a collective one. He suggested that two Selectmen create the form. Page 1 7 Board of Selectmen Minutes - July 29. 2014 - pane 8 Kevin Sexton asked if they are doing a two year goal setting and John Arena asked for two Selectmen to review the July 101h goals and craft a score sheet. Daniel Ensminger and John Halsey volunteered to do that. The Town Manager noted that there are three Selectmen meetings scheduled in September but only two are needed. . John Arena recommended using the third night to meet with Department Heads beginning as early as 5:00 p.m. It was also determined that there would not be a quorum on August 19`h so that Selectmen's meeting was moved to August 12, 2014. Approval of Minutes A motion by Ensminaer seconded by West to approve the minutes of July 15. 2014 as amended was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by West seconded by Ensminaer to adiourn the meeting at 10:42 p.m. was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Respeubmitted, Secretary r� Page I a