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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 Annual Report - Part 1 Town of Reading Massachusetts OF RE `s it,u L A- u) 439:INCOR 2014 Annual Report (,A b) 2014 Annual Report �.A Table of Contents �J'9i!NCORQ� PAGE(S) 2014 YEAR IN REVIEW Town Manager Annual Letter& Table of Organization 1 ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Board of Selectmen 5 Town Counsel .. 7 Town Clerk 8 Human Resources 10 Technology & Operations 10 COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT Planning Division 12 Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) 18 North Suburban Planning Council (NSPC) 24 Conservation Division 25 Historical Commission 26 Historic District Commission 27 Inspections Division& Zoning Board of Appeals 28 Health Division 29 Elder/Human Services Division 30 Recreation Division 37 Veterans' Services Division 46 The Arc of Middlesex 47 Mystic Valley Elder Services 49 Trails Committee 51 FINANCE DEPARTMENT Accounting 52 Assessing 52 Treasurer 53 Collector 53 PUBLIC SAFETY Fire Department 55 Police Department 61 Animal Control 66 Parking Enforcement Officer 67 Police Roster 68 Reading Coalition Against Substance Abuse (RCASA) 71 PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Director's Report 75 Administration Division 77 Cemetery Division ... 77 Custodian of Soldiers' and Sailors' Graves 78 Engineering Division 78 Highway Division 83 Forestry Division: Tree Warden's Report .. 84 Parks Division 84 Water Supply Division 85 Water Distribution Division 85 Sewer Division 85 READING PUBLIC LIBRARY Report 89 HOUSING AUTHORITY Report 96 SCHOOL DEPARTMENT Superintendent's Report 106 Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School .. 147 BOARDS, COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS Report 161 APPENDIX A. Legislative Reports 170 B. Financial Statements 345 Dear Fellow Reading Residents, The Town of Reading Annual Report covering calendar year 2014 is attached. This report both summarizes and provides great detail for many Town activities during the year. During the latter half of calendar 2015 we will be reaching out to you to help guide us as to what you would like to see (and not see) in the Annual Report. In an age of information overload, we want to ensure that we produce a document that provides you with what you want, subject to some requirements imposed on us by state law. Reading continues to be an exciting place to live and work. The Town took some enormously important steps forward during the calendar year in some areas that will have an impact for many years. Some of those steps will be described below. Town government and School department employees are privileged to work in a community where so many residents and businesses truly care. Reading boasts one of the highest rates of volunteerism in the state. If you have an interest in an area, chances are we have a group that is just right for you! These groups range from formal Boards or Committees of the Town to an informal collection of interested folks. Town government is flexible enough to work equally well with either format. Both the volume, and we hope the quality, of services provided by Town government are generally high compared to similar communities. In the next year or so we will be having a discussion with the community as funds available are becoming challenging to balance against these services. In the meanwhile the accomplishments by volunteers and staff alike continue to be heroic! Following is a list of a few of the larger issues addressed. While the list is impressive, please know that we understand that sometimes the most important accomplishment during the year might have affected only one resident, perhaps in ways none of us,will ever fully know. Charter Review Committee The Reading Home Rule Charter establishes the form of your local government and was first approved over twenty five years ago. Annual Town Meeting in 2013 established a Charter Review Committee (CRC) to review the Charter to see if any changes should be made, given the passage of those many intervening years. For the next 18 months the CRC, composed of the Moderator and every Town Meeting member that was interested, held dozens of public meetings and received input from many Reading residents. A Special Town Meeting in January 2015 heard the CRC's suggestions, which included updates to conform to state law, to reflect current practice, and to clarify language. Town Meeting added a few additional suggestions, and voted overwhelmingly to approve a new Charter. The changes then took two paths —one set of changes were approved by the legislature in the form of a Home Rule petition, and local voters in April 2015 approved the other set of changes. For a detailed look at the CRC's work and an explanation of the changes, please visit the Town's website at http://www.readingma.gov/ad-hoc-committees/pages/charter-review-committee. Zoning Advisory Committee Zoning determines the allowable use of land. Zoning regulations provide a community with rules for how land can be used and under what circumstances. Certain (largely protected) uses 1. may bypass local zoning. Zoning is important because it is the primary development control available to a community. The rationale for control is to protect the public interest. Approximately five years ago, the Town of Reading surveyed the community to learn that while customer service was generally outstanding, the zoning and permitting requirements needed improvement. A first set of changes brought forward by the Community Planning and Development Commission (CPDC) were approved by November 2013 Town Meeting. A second set of changes involved a comprehensive update to the Zoning Bylaw. This task included the formation of a local Zoning Advisory Committee (ZAC) and funding to hire independent outside consulting services. The stated goal of the ZAC was to simplify, modernize and clarify - and to make changes to both zoning and the permitting process to be more user- friendly. The ZAC conducted dozens of meetings over a one year period, and received feedback from the Zoning Board of Appeals as well as other interested parties. November 2014 Town Meeting took a few nights of debate and resoundingly approved the comprehensive update to local zoning laws. More work remains to be done in a few discreet sections of the zoning bylaws, and this work should be completed in the next year or two. For a detailed look at the process and explanation of the changes, please visit the Town's website at http://www.readingma.gov/ad-hoc-committees/pages/zoning-advisory-committee. Library Building Committee In early 2014 local voters approved a second debt exclusion for the Public Library renovation and expansion project. Total project costs came in at $13.4 million from the community and about $5 million from a state grant. The year was spent on planning and designing the new building, as well as a temporary location to be used during what was expected to be about 18 months of construction. Extensive and careful public procurement for the temporary location, a project manager, a project architect, and finally a general contractor ensued. The Library Building Committee (LBC) and Town staff worked closely together to ensure that the final results are something the community will show off with pride for decades to come, and will be a warm home for the world-class Library staff and their many happy patrons. In December 2014 the old Library site was turned over to the general contractor, and site work began shortly afterwards. The project is expected to be completed by early summer 2016, and as of this writing is both on time and on budget. For a look at the LBC's work, including project updates during construction, please visit both http://www.readingma.gov/ad-hoc-committees/pages/library-building-committee and also http://www.readingpl.org/about/library-building-program/. Board of Selectmen "Reading 2020" As part of the annual goal-setting process for the Town Manager, the Board of Selectmen discussed and laid the foundation for a look at the community's future in the year 2020 by creating four working groups. The focus of these groups is as follows: Community Partners—to explore the resources available in the community beyond those that are formally a part of town government. These resources may be leveraged in creating and/or delivering services to the community, in a public/private partnership. Services and Performance Measurement — to inventory the services provided by town government to the community, and come up with ways to measure and evaluate how important 2 those services are and if they are being delivered efficiently. This effort is meant to lead into a discussion about the Community Partners group listed above. Communication - to evaluate and improve communication that is 1) internal to the organization; 2) between volunteer Boards and Committees; and 3)with the general public. Strategic Planning- to study real estate projects, long term community planning, Town policies and Town infrastructure. Excellent progress has been made to date on all of these areas however the magnitude of the task list above will take at least one more year to complete. Summary It has been a very busy year- surely we set the record for the amount of Special Town Meetings -and the year ahead promises much of the same. We continue to be pleased to be recognized by outside authorities such as bond rating agencies and other data driven organizations for doing high quality work. Yet we recognize the real value added to the community is not easy to measure, as it is the spring in your step and the pride you have when you think of the Reading community. As always we look forward to hearing from you as to how we can improve! Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager Email: townmanager @ci.reading.ma.us Website: www.readingma.gov 3 ���il', Town of Reading, MA g v, 7 Executive Branch �, ' My,Q: Table of Organization 9 l69:iNC°Rp°�P�. (April 2015 Town Meeting 9 ) VOTERS BOARD OF SELECTMEN BOARD OF (elected) LIBRARY TRUSTEES (elected) i Town Accountant Town Manager Town Counsel ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES PUBLIC SERVICES FINANCE PUBLIC SAFETY PUBLIC WORKS PUBLIC LIBRARY Administrative Services Director Assistant Town Manager Town Accountant Police Chief& Director of Public Works Library Director Fire Chief Board of Selectmen Police Finance Committee Public Svc Administration Accounting DPW Administration Library Administration Town Manager Office Community Development Assessment Animal Control Engineering Circulation 9 Traffic Enforcement Highway Children's Law Building Collections Human Resources Planning Treasury Telecommunications Equipment Maintenance Reference Fire Parks/Forestry/Cemetery Tech Services Operations Historical Emergency Management Technology Conservation g y g Rubbish/Recycling Town Clerk Community Services Street Lighting Elections Elder/Human Snow/Ice Insurance Public Health Water Recreation Sewer Veterans Stormwater ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT The department consists of the Office of the Town Manager, Human Resources, Technology, Operations and the Town Clerk. The department head position remained vacant during the year and was filled on a temporary basis by the Town Manager. Changes brought about by the Charter Review Committee (that were approved by both Town Meeting and local voters) restructured the position to formally include the role of Ombudsman — an advocate for the residents. A new department head will be in placed by May 2015. Below is a brief summary of events during 2014: Board of Selectmen John R. Halsey and Kevin M. Sexton were elected to three year terms replacing James Bonazoli and Ben Tafoya who both chose not to run for re-election. For Fiscal Year 2015, John Arena served as Chairman, Marsie West served as Vice Chairman and Daniel Ensminger served as Secretary. Personnel and Volunteers The Town Manager: • Appointed Caitlin Saunders as Administrative Secretary in the Town Manager's office to be shared with the Community Services Department. • Appointed Judith Perkins as Human Resource Administrator to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Carol Roberts. The Board of Selectmen: • Appointed the firm of Miyares and Harrington as Town Counsel to replace Brackett and Lucas. • Reappointed Sharon Angstrom as Town Accountant. • Approved the results of a Compensation and Classification Study that was done for all Town non-union positions. • Attended a Selectmen/Department Head Retreat for Strategic Planning for Town Government. This resulted in the formation of Reading 2020 Working Groups: Community Partners; Services and Performance Measurement; Communication and Strategic Planning. • Approved a Regional Appraiser Agreement with Wakefield, a Regional Health Agreement with the City of Melrose, and a Regional Housing with North Reading, Saugus and Wilmington for shared services. • Amended the Board of Selectmen Policy 3.2.7.4 Agents of the Licensing Authority to include the Deputy Chief of Police. In the area of Boards, Committees and Commissions,the Board of Selectmen: • Approved the revisions to the members of the ad hoc Library Building Committee, including a change from Facilities Director to the Assistant DPW Director, and a reduction from two members to one appointed by the Library Director and an increase from none to one member appointed by the Town Manager, as requested by the Board of Library Trustees. • Voted to extend the term of the ad hoc Zoning Advisory Committee from August 20, 2014 to February 20, 2015. 5 Licensing and Permits In the area of licenses the Board of Selectmen: • Approved an early opening request for Pure Fit Studio at 34 Gould Street. • Approved and early opening request for Cumberland Farms, 303 Salem Street. • Approved the liquor license transfer from Reading Fine Wines, 676 Main Street to Brooks Brew and Fine Wines at the same location. Also approved the Change of Manager and Pledge of License for the same transaction. On July 29, 2014 the Board of Selectmen found Jay & Ricky, Inc. d/b/a Ricky's Liquor, 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 age on July 3, 2014 and penalized them with a four day suspension of the liquor license. This was a result of tips that the Reading Police Department received that Ricky's Liquor was selling alcohol to minors. On September 2, 2014 the Board of Selectmen once again found Jay & Ricky, Inc. d/b/a Ricky's Liquor, 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 age on August 3, 2014. In addition,the Board of Selectmen took a formal posture that there was substantial evidence of this being a regular business practice and suspended the liquor license for an additional 90 days. Jay and Ricky, Inc. appealed this decision to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission who upheld the Board of Selectmen's decision but requested that it be split into 50 days immediate and 40 days held in abeyance for two years, to be rescinded if no other license violations occur during that time frame. On October 20, 2014, the Board of Selectmen voted to amend its prior vote so as to suspend the liquor license for Jay &Ricky, Inc. DBA Ricky's Liquor for a period of ninety (90) days, with fifty (50) days to be served/closed, and forty (40) days to be held in abeyance for a period of two (2) years provided no further violations of Chapter 138, Local Board, or Commission Regulations occur. The licensee did not appeal the four day suspension which was also served. Community Development The Board of Selectmen voted to prohibit a right turn on red at the traffic lights in front of CVS at the intersection of Lowell and Main Street. In addition,they voted to designate the two most westerly parking spaces on the north side of lower Haven Street as"30 Minute Parking." In July 2014, the Board of Selectmen approved the Town of Reading Complete Street Policy and the Town of Reading Bike and Pedestrian Plan. These plans codify what the Town is doing now and sets a vision for the Town. Infrastructure Design review and reviewing bids results took up much of the Library Building Committee's time in 2014. They appeared before the Community Planning and Development Commission where the Fire Chief and Police Chief indicated their concerns related to parking, site circulation and traffic. The Fire Chief's main concern was that the plan did not accommodate fire trucks. Also, meeting rooms that can accommodate 150 people are being created but there are only 40 parking spaces in the plan. His recommendation is to have a driveway in the front of the building with additional parking spaces on that driveway. The Reading Public Library moved into their temporary location at 80 General Way in October 2014 to make way for the upcoming construction. 6 The Board of Selectmen approved an Order of Taking of 87 and 93 Belmont Street for water easements. The water easement is to improve water flow in the Libby Avenue area. This easement is over the existing drainage and sewer easement and does not increase the easement space it simply adds water use to it. The Board of Selectmen approved the construction of dugouts at Morton Field with the Town doing the demolition work of the existing dugouts, and the Babe Ruth League will fund and take care of the rest of the project, with Town Meeting funds serving as bridge financing. Financial The Board of Selectmen voted to approve an increase in ambulance billing rates effective March 1, 2014 with the increase in fees equaling about $100,000. Fees will now be slightly below the average of area communities. The voters approved an additional $3 million to fund the Library Building Project. Economic Development In July 2014, Professor Bluestone from Northeastern University reviewed the results of the Economic Development Self-Assessment (EDSAT). He noted that Reading's strengths include excellent highway access, comparable traffic, good infrastructure, good workforce, access to public transit, good office space, cultural opportunities, low crime rate, good housing, good school system, good local tax rate (including a meal tax) and proximity to the airport. Reading's weaknesses include high cost of housing and low vacancy rate, small amount of available space for development, perception of parking issues, lack of timeliness in some permit approvals due to complex Board and Committee process, no checklist of permitting requirements for prospective developers, no economic development marketing, no business tax incentives and the lack of a webmaster to maintain a vibrant and welcoming website. Town Counsel The role of Town Counsel is to provide information about what the law requires, to advise Town officials and boards concerning the law, to protect the legal interests of the Town in the conduct of its affairs, and to represent the Town in judicial and administrative proceedings. This involves the preparation of legal memoranda and the negotiation, drafting or review of protocols, memoranda of understanding or other types of agreements and contracts. In addition, Town Counsel answers questions on topics such as procurement, contracts, insurance, land use, environmental law, wetlands protection, municipal finance, construction law, employment, open meeting and public records requirements, and ethics. In 2014, we represented Reading in three litigation matters: Fulgoni v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Reading, Superior Court Case No. MICV2009-03499. This case concerns a vacant lot that is the remnant of a larger parcel of land that was partially taken by the Commonwealth by eminent domain in 1959. The lot was buildable under the then-existing business zoning district requirements. In 1966, it was rezoned residential and became nonconforming but, because residential use had not been permitted previously, the lot was not grandfathered as a buildable lot. The owner requested a variance to construct a single-family home, but the variance was denied and the owner appealed. After a jury-waived trial in 2012, Superior Court Judge Daniel 7 Wrenn concluded that the Town had taken the owner's property without just compensation and ordered a further hearing on damages. That trial was scheduled to occur in 2014. Prior to trial, the parties negotiated a settlement. The Town voted at the Subsequent Town Meeting in November to amend the Zoning Bylaws to permit the owner to construct a single-family home on the lot. Beltran v. Reading Zoning Board of Appeals, Superior Court Case No. MICV-2014-00062- D. This case involves a request from the owner of 29 Gardner Road to amend a variance issued in 1957, so as to allow the continued use of a detached structure as an accessory dwelling. The Zoning Board of Appeals issued a decision denying the requested amendment, and the applicant filed this appeal in Superior Court pursuant to M G.L. c.40A, §17. The case is currently active, and the applicant/plaintiff will be filing a motion for summary judgment early in 2015. In re:Jay and Ricky, Inc. d/b/a Ricky's Liquors,Appeal Hearing, ABCC, and Superior Court Case No. MICV-2014-07294. The Reading police observed three different purchases of alcohol, on two different days, by underage buyers. The Board of Selectmen held two hearings and after the second, voted to suspend Jay and Ricky, Inc.'s liquor license for 90 days, with the four-day suspension imposed at the first hearing to run after the 90 days was served. The license holder appealed the 90-day suspension to the ABCC. The license holder also filed a complaint in Superior Court seeking an immediate injunction against the suspension. The Superior Court, after hearing, denied the injunction. The ABCC, after an evidentiary hearing, recommended that the suspension remain 90 days•but that only 50 days be served, with the remaining 40 days to be held in abeyance for the next two years, provided that there are no further violations. The Board of Selectmen subsequently accepted the ABCC's recommendation and modified its suspension order accordingly. The year 2014 marked the beginning of our tenure as Town Counsel in Reading. We believe that each matter that comes before Town Counsel deserves careful thought, and we strive to provide the Town with personal, direct and responsive legal counsel, diligent attention to the Town's needs, and good humor. Respectfully submitted, J. Raymond Miyares Miyares and Harrington LLP Town Counsel Town Clerk Elections In 2014, there were five Elections in the Town of Reading; the Special State Primary was held on March 4th, the Special State Election as well as the Town Election was held on April 1st, the State Primary was held on September 9th and State Election was held on November 4th. Election Turnout On March 4th, there were 1,136 votes cast with 43 Absentee Ballots, a turnout of 6.3% in the Special State Primary; on April 1st there were 4,373 votes cast with 119 Absentee Ballots, a 8 turnout of 24.4% in the Special State Election and 4,468 votes cast with 131 Absentee Ballots, a turnout of 25% in the Town Election; on September 9th there were 3,360 votes cast with 113 Absentee Ballots, a turnout of 18.1% in the State Primary; and on November 4th there were 10,791 votes cast with 700 Absentee Ballots, a turnout of 60.3% in the State Election. Board of Registrars Registrars Krissandra Holmes, Gloria Hulse, Harry Simmons, and Town Clerk Laura Gemme registered 965 voters; made 922 voter changes (name, address, status); and deleted 1497 voters in 2014. There were over 10,400 signatures certified on nomination and petition papers for the 2014 election year. Registrars also offered assistance to voters on election days. Census The Annual Town Census was conducted in January, entirely by mail, with over 11,000 forms mailed to residences. The local census assists Town Clerks in putting together the Street List (resident book) and the Jury List. Major functions served by an annual local census are: • Information collected for municipal purposes • School needs • Growth and planning needs • Resident identification for police and fire • Collection of dog information • Veteran Information • Information for the Jury Commissioners • Determining inactive voter status for voter removal as required by the National Voter Registration Act. Town Meeting Town of Reading held an Annual and Subsequent Town Meeting in 2014 as well as three Special Town Meetings. The Annual Town Meeting was held in two nights on April 28th and May 1st. The Subsequent Town Meeting was held in four nights on November 10th, November 13th, November 17th and November 20th. The three Special Town Meetings were held on February 13th as a one night meeting, April 28th as a two night meeting continuing on May 1st, and September 29th as a one night meeting. Vital Statistics and Licensing During the calendar year 2014, the following Vital Statistics were recorded in the Town Clerk's Office: • Births—244 • Marriages—95 • Deaths—399 The Town Clerk's office issued: • 2444 dog licenses • 2 commercial dog kennel licenses • 0 residential kennel licenses • 128 business certificates • 18 renewals for 67 underground storage tanks • 42 cemetery deeds 9 The Town Clerk became the Burial Agent for the Board of Health on October 1st and issued 70 Burial Permits. Total receipts collected in the Town Clerk's office for the calendar year 2014 amounted to $96,143.60. Human Resources The Human Resources Division supports the Town (under the direction of the Town Manager and the Administrative Services Director), Schools (under the direction of the Superintendent), Light Department (under the direction of the RMLD General Manager), and Retiree benefit activities. Employee benefits administered through this Division include health, dental and life insurance, deferred compensation, flexible spending accounts, the sick-leave bank, the Employee Assistance Program, paid time off, leaves of absences, professional development and unemployment benefits. Job related injuries covered by worker's compensation or MGL Chapter 41 Section 111F (for public safety employees) are also administered through this department. Worker's compensation is a premium-based program purchased through the Massachusetts Inter- Local Insurance Association (MIIA). The Town is self-insured for job related injuries of its public safety employees qualifying under Section 111F. This program is fully administered within the Human Resources Division. The Town's health insurance program is currently administered through MIIA, with large losses being shared by all members of the MIIA Health Benefits Trust. The Town recently went through an open bidding process weighing the future options of the health insurance plans. Longfellow Benefits was contracted for consulting services to assist the Town through this process. A number of meetings were held with the Public Employee Committee throughout the summer and fall months of 2014. Proposals were fielded from a number of health insurance vendors including MIIA, Aetna, Neighborhood Health Plans and Tufts Health Plan. The GIC option was also investigated and considered. In December of 2014 the Public Employee Committee voted unanimously to remain with MIIA who remained the lowest bidder with an 8.2% increase for FY16. These new rates go into effect on July 1, 2015. Technology The Technology Division is responsible for providing and maintaining the necessary computing and telecommunications infrastructure and systems that the various Town departments use, in a secure and thoughtful manner. Additionally, the division administers the geographic information system (GIS), and provides the town's departments, boards, committees, and commissions with custom maps and analysis. Although the changes made during the past year weren't as visible as some of the changes made in recent years, they were nevertheless just as important. The division replaced the storage that all departments rely on, with a better performing, more fault tolerant, scalable solution that the town should be able to leverage over the next 6+ years. We were also able to upgrade the wireless infrastructure, so that the various departments can better communicate using the ever expanding pool of wireless devices. This solution allows for expansion as the needs increase over the next few years, and provides functionality and security options that our previous 10 solution could not. We made great strides in replacing outdated equipment which, in many instances, was a few years past the time that we had originally expected it to last. Technology was also successful in moving all of the technology needs from the library being renovated, to their temporary location. We were able to do this in a way that will save us money moving forward, and at the same time provide the library with a greater level of fault tolerance and flexibility. 11 COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT Planning Division The Planning Division provides technical and professional planning services to the Town of Reading and the relevant land use boards. The Town of Reading Master Plan (and other plans) serves as a guide for planning staff to assist in achieving stated goals for the Town of Reading. Planning helps civic leaders, businesses and citizens envision new possibilities for the future. In addition to long-range planning, we also develop action plans aimed at providing solutions to current community problems. Site Plan Review (SPR) is the zoning tool used to evaluate development projects. This is an important tool as it allows us to shape projects so that they respect the existing fabric of the Town and are carried out in harmony with the rest of the community. Planning staff works with appointed and elected leaders, including the Community Planning and Development Commission (CPDC), in reviewing development proposals. SPR decisions contain conditions for approvals that reflect development review comments including input from the public. In 2014, Charlie Adams resigned from the CPDC after serving as a member for many years and as Chairman from 2012-2014. Jeffery Hansen was voted Chairman and continued to be supported by long-term members John Weston, Nick Safina, Dave Tuttle and associate member George Katsoufis. The Planning Division undertook many notable projects in 2014, including the completion of the Comprehensive Update of the Zoning Bylaw. The project, which began in 2013, was divided into two Phases. The first Phase, which kicked-off in the summer of 2013, addressed immediate needs to the Zoning Bylaw resulting in four Warrant Articles proposed at Subsequent Town Meeting in November of 2013. Town Meeting approved all four Warrant Articles which included a temporary moratorium on medical marijuana treatment centers/registered dispensaries, a prohibition on electronic billboards (off-premises signs) and adding new regulations for uses protected under the Dover Amendment (MGL Ch40A Section 3). The fourth Warrant Article proposed a new overlay district called the PUD-Residential-Corona that would provide for an additional buffer and setback area to the Johnson Woods development off of West Street. Phase 2 of the Comprehensive Update of the Zoning Bylaw occurred throughout 2014 with the goal to Simplify, Streamline and Modernize the Zoning Bylaw while making the document more user-friendly and to improve and clarify the permitting process. Most of the work was completed by the Ad Hoc Zoning Advisory Committee (ZAC), Planning Staff, and Vanesse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), a specialized Planning consulting firm who provided expertise in zoning matters. In the course of 2014, the ZAC held over 40 public hearings including 4 public forums. The draft Zoning Bylaw was presented to the Board of Selectmen in July of 2014. The ZAC and the CPDC agreed to present a number of changes at a Special Town Meeting held in September 2014. The remainder of the bylaw was presented and adopted by Town Meeting in November. Although a number of changes did not make it into this phase of updates, the CPDC and Planning Staff will continue the work of the ZAC into future years. 12 Other long range planning activities include the development of a Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. In late 2013 the Planning Division requested assistance from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) on the development of a Town-wide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. A final draft plan was presented to and adopted by the Board of Selectmen in July 2014. As part of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, MAPC worked with Planning Staff to develop a Complete Streets Policy. This policy was vetted through the Parking Traffic Transportation Taskforce (PTTTF) and also adopted by Board of Selectmen in July of 2014. Another notable project in 2014 was the start of an Economic Development Action Plan. With assistance from Northeastern University's School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, the economic development plan began an initial assessment known as the Economic Development Self-Assessment Tool (EDSAT). This tool, which was executed in the spring of 2014, evaluated Reading's strengths and weaknesses as it relates to economic prosperity. Using a variety of criteria, the EDSAT measured Reading's ability to stack up against other communities for potential future development. The final EDSAT report was issued in July of 2014. With this information, as well as a better understanding of some of Reading's current economic challenges, the Planning Division requested the assistance of the MAPC to create an Economic Development Action Plan. This plan will build off of the EDSAT as well as the Priority Mapping Project which was completed in 2013. The Economic Development Action plan will focus on the areas identified as regionally significant in the Priority Mapping Project and determine the most suitable type of development based on a thorough and detailed market analysis. The result will be an action plan that includes development recommendations based on the market analysis and innovative modeling that will identify the amount of commercial square footage/housing units/% total development, etc., the site could support. This plan development is on-going and will be complete in 2015. The Planning Division also began work to support Reading 2020 under the Town Manager's Goals. Again, with the assistance of MAPC, Planning Staff began to build an inventory of all the services provided within and by Town Departments. This work will continue in 2015 as part of the Town Manager Goals. In regional planning efforts, Staff continued to work with the towns of North Reading, Wilmington and Saugus on a shared housing services office named the Metro North Regional Housing Services Office (MNRHSO). In May of 2014, a Request for Proposals was prepared to seek out a consulting firm who could staff this office. Upon review of the responses, it became clear that it would be more cost-effective and efficient to hire an employee to Staff the MNRHSO. Being the lead community, Reading will begin the hiring process for this position. It is anticipated this person would start in early 2015. The Economic Development Committee (EDC) continued to offer the Building Façade and Signage Improvement Program (BFSI) in 2014. The program was revised to put emphasis on and target installation of blade signs. The EDC also devotes efforts to ongoing activities such as business retention/expansion, new business development, wayfinding, and making Reading more business friendly including streamlined permitting. The EDC also applied for and received a grant under the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative (MDI) for a Cultural District Exploratory Study. Under the grant, a Consultant was hired to evaluate the feasibility of a Cultural District in 13 Reading. A working group was established and included a number of Town Staff, members from the EDC, members from the Historical Commission, members from the business community, and members from various cultural organizations. After collecting an inventory of all the cultural assets in Town, it quickly became apparent that there is an abundance of cultural assets in the community. The final report from the Consultant identified several action items to establish a Cultural District in Reading, including a recommendation for district boundaries. The Working Group continues to meet in hopes to carry forward some of the recommendations and action items contained within the final report. Their goal is to better promote cultural organizations and bring people to the downtown to bolster the local and creative economy. In 2014 the West Street Historic District Commission proposed a new local historic district along a portion of Summer Avenue. The Commission prepared a report to the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) who issued support for the proposed district. Town Meeting was also in support and voted to approve the proposed Summer Avenue Historic District in November of 2014. The Attorney General will review the action by Town Meeting and issue a decision in January of 2015. • CS Staff, including planning, provided support to the: Conservation Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, Historical Commission, West Street Historic District Commission, Ad Hoc Zoning Advisory Committee and the Board of Selectmen. Planning Division Activities-CPDC In 2014, the CPDC met 24 times and with the assistance of the Planning Division reviewed 44 requests for a variety of approvals including: site plan review, subdivision, signage design and modifications to existing SPR decisions. There were a combined total of 28 Development Review Team (DRT) and Construction Review meetings with Town Staff and Applicants to provide guidance on permitting and development. Major Accomplishments-2014 • Phase 2 of the Comprehensive Update to the Zoning Bylaw — ZAC Planning Division Staff and the Consultant worked through the major update of the Zoning Bylaw • Special Town Meeting (September 2014) -Adopted changes to: o Section 3 —Deleted obsolete Wetlands Protection Overlay District and Mixed Use Overlay District, Clarified Lots in Two Districts; o New Section 4.13 — Special Requirements for Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers/Registered Dispensaries (identified the Special Permit process for Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers/Registered Dispensaries) • Subsequent Town Meeting(November 2014) - Adopted changes to: o Entire Re-Organization to Zoning Bylaw; o Updated Definition Section to delete obsolete definitions, added new definitions, clarified existing definitions, and included graphics where necessary; o Updated the Table of Uses including having two Tables (business uses and residential uses) and added several new uses; o Clarified the roles of the Special Permit Granting Authorities, including Zoning Board of Appeals and Community Planning and Development Commission (CPDC); 14 • o Added new regulations pertaining to accessory apartments; o Revised Site Plan Review regulations to streamline and clarify the process; o Added new regulations for accessory uses such as temporary uses (storage trailers/pods, etc.); o Clarified regulations for accessory structures (sheds); o Updated the Nonconforming Section of the bylaw to clarify the requirements for alterations to nonconforming uses and structures. Now allows for more staff review. o NO changes to: Sign Regulations, Parking Regulations, Overlay Districts (those Sections will be updated in the future) • Sign Bylaw Enforcement — Worked with businesses to correct multiple violations including removal of defunct signs; • Vacant Properties Bylaw Enforcement — Identified and worked with a dozen property owners to come into compliance. Economic Development Committee The Economic Development Committee (EDC) continued to be chaired by Karl Weld and Vice Chair George Rio. Other members include Sheila Clarke, Meghan Young-Tafoya, Maria Higgins and associate members Jack Russell and Sandra Popaja. Planning staff continue to provide support for the EDC and execute projects identified on the work plan. As noted above, the EDC has continued the BFSI Program into 2014. Regional Planning Initiatives As mentioned above, the Planning Division continued to work on the development of the Metro North Regional Housing Services Office (MNRHSO) which would serve the communities of Reading,North Reading, Wilmington and Saugus. Major Redevelopment Projects In an effort to keep the public informed the Bi-Weekly Notes were continued in 2014. This continues to generate many accolades from readers. The maps below highlight the major redevelopment projects that were permitted or in construction in 2014 15 Development North Dye r 1a51 '0 t; , 4a� _sir• v "1 CfOAR v/ ' 1•.... • y- -GLEN . i ' Y. • 1 1 1! Mn land Orne Su BCmr:on l� "y/}�'�ti' -�; ' 1 `►1" • Bu In '�6 l' .s 1. q � •uil:f ?r000ENO1 •`.� •,� T2 _) �I.4, r 18C 10 11 1 sGM00l, a t 1 'N., • : ' i t. 'It"fs".240Vsa • ;..--. ' - ' : • - ' .• -. . . .... tit: ' l•-•411, . ••&•+--, •=4,----,...• • .-4-0.• .4, . . �� � Z _ rte 4a. .. �!�'•aM ♦� �� �=� - >� t ' ��`. ' ,g. 1.* . ails T" � . t a; •: I <.' V1•r�!Arl.SenorLMrrp •�. Ytt►r r: -- ,� 6... .7�` 1..,._,,, r. i' 4i (tonne Erk'aG eenAeraN) ���•M5'...I'.► .�a�,��� .:. ` S �: �•�,• ,f 1►�� p ��ltt" aa'♦ 4 r ♦.y.a� UtZ1111� r NUAM� �� \`SIP!7r?;•.v$•\``-`•JOa r►uf' e •tia, r i.g3�rya11�� SCHOOL "' I� ' ' rte 0i Reading Woods, 1 Jacob Way Reading Woods is a 24.8 acre site being developed by Pulte Homes of New England, LLC and is a redevelopment of a former office complex known as Addison Wesley. The former office use consisted of 208,000 square feet of vacant and dilapidated buildings and related parking. In total the project will include 424 for-sale residential homes (208 age restricted and 43 low/mod housing units as required under the 40R zoning district designation) that are mostly garden style condominiums with the exception of 16 units which will be townhouses. Construction of the first phase of the project has commenced. The construction of the townhouses and clubhouse is complete as well we all four buildings located in the 40R district. Construction has begun on the first of five age-restricted buildings. Perfecto's, 285 Main Street — A coffee shop/cafe is being planned for this former tux shop building that had a fire some years ago. Originally permitted in 2009, the project has undergone several modifications and changes over the years. A Building Permit was issued in September of 2014 and construction has commenced. It is anticipated the construction will continue through 2015. MF Charles Building,600 Main Street—A mixed use building that is largely vacant with some active tenants. Redevelopment commenced focusing on the commercial retail areas located on the first floor. Upper story residential use will follow in a future phase. Construction commenced in 2012 and continued into 2014. First floor tenants began individual build-outs in 2013 beginning with Orange Leaf which was completed and opened in December of 2013. D'Amicci's Bakery and Healthy Changes Pilates opened in the summer of 2014. Bunratty Tavern remains under Construction. One first floor commercial space remains vacant. Oaktree, 30 Haven Street — A mixed use redevelopment of approximately 100,000 square feet with 20,000 square feet of first floor commercial/retail space and 80;000 square feet of both underground parking and upper level housing (53 units). This redevelopment replaces a former vacant, closed, downtown supermarket. This is the first project to be built under the Town's Downtown Smart Growth District (40R). Construction on the base building was completed at the end of 2012. Several first floor tenants were permitted and underwent construction in 2013. In 2014, the building became fully occupied and commercial tenants open for business. Portland Pie, Pamplemousse, Snap Fitness and Reading Pediatrics all occupy the first floor. Artis Senior Living Center, 1090-1100 Main Street—A nursing home development consisting of 64 beds specializing in Alzheimer and memory care patients. This two story structure has a proposed footprint of approximately 18,000 square feet and will be located at the former Eric's Greenhouse site totaling 3.5 acres. This project was permitted in 2013 and demolition began in February 2014. Criterion Child Enrichment, 186-190 Summer Avenue — A proposed redevelopment project that will involve renovation of the existing historic house for use as an early childhood intervention program. The project also proposes a 5,000 square foot addition and playground area. The CPDC received the Application for Site Plan Review in November of 2014. It is anticipated the project will receive Site Plan Approval in January of 2015. Due to the historic nature of the existing home and barn, the project will also require review with the Historical Commission under the Demolition Delay Bylaw. In addition, the project may also be subject to 17 the Local Historic District Regulations pending AG Approval of the Summer Avenue Historic District. Mariano Drive Subdivision – A 3 lot subdivision proposed at 92 Sanborn Lane. Approved by the CPDC in June of 2014, this project will subdivide a 143,400 square foot single-family home lot into a new 3 lot subdivision. In 2014, revenue generated from Plapning Division activities totaled $32,768. The Planning Division is located at Town Hall, 16 Lowell Street, telephone 781 942-9056. Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) 2014: A year of inclusion, innovation, and celebration As our three-year Sustainable Communities regional planning grant drew to a close in 2014, we commemorated its achievements and on-the-ground change across the region, and turned our attention toward the next five years by crafting a forward-thinking and progressive new Strategic Plan to guide our work. With our mission of promoting smart growth and regional collaboration as the backbone, this new Strategic Plan provides a detailed roadmap to achieving the vision for equity and prosperity laid out in our bold regional plan, "MetroFuture: Making a Greater Boston Region." Embedded in our new Strategic Plan are four critical areas of focus to guide us as we work toward a more sustainable, resilient Greater Boston: encouraging development and preservation consistent with smart growth principles; partnering with our cities and towns to promote regional collaboration, enhance effectiveness and increase efficiency; playing a leading role in helping the region to achieve greater equity; and helping the region reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the physical, environmental and social impacts of climate change and natural hazards. With these four topics as guideposts, we are poised to grow our work into innovative, inclusive new directions while staying true to the core services and expertise that we offer the region's residents, businesses, and elected officials. From land use planning to data, research, education and direct services to cities and towns, we are honored to continue making Metro Boston a national model and regional resource on smart growth and inter-local coordination. Highlights MAPC believes the best way to grow our region is to conserve natural resources and preserve open space while concentrating new development in places where jobs and infrastructure already exist. A key way we do this is by encouraging mixed-use developments to locate in downtown areas and village or town centers, always in alignment with each area's unique local character. Our planners bring an expert and interdisciplinary approach to this work, and have partnered with rural, suburban and urban municipalities to realize these smart growth goals in 2014. As part of our new Strategic Plan, we are engaging with more cities and towns on master plan projects, including in Ashland, Boxborough and Woburn, as well as doing an economic development plan for Reading and for Stoneham. We also worked with two state agencies—the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (EOHED), and the Executive Office for Energy and Environmental Affairs 18 (EOEEA)—to conduct a regional study of land use opportunities north of Boston. This Metro North project identified areas in Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Revere, Somerville, Winthrop, East Boston and Charlestown that are ripe for new housing, employment growth, open space, and the infrastructure improvements necessary to support such growth. In total, MAPC has worked with 52 cities and towns to map priority areas for development and preservation across the region, and we've added capacity on our housing team to respond to the resulting need for local housing production plans, residential zoning bylaws, and housing studies. We also hosted a day-long summit on value capture techniques to emphasize our new focus on ways of financing smart growth development last year, and our executive director serves on the state commission tasked with bringing innovative methods to recover value from public infrastructure for private landowners. In Somerville, we further refined our economic analysis north of Boston to include a comprehensive study of the effects the Green Line Extension may have on housing, income diversity and displacement of longtime residents in that historically working-class city. Our research showed which areas were most at risk for dramatic increases in rent and land values as a result of the transit expansion, and recommended ways that the city and community partners could mitigate these impacts, including incentivizing housing production and planning proactively for preservation of affordable units. This work continued in Revere's Shirley Avenue neighborhood, a lower-income area near Revere Beach where the city is aggressively pursuing new development. MAPC worked with Revere officials and residents to lay out a plan for preventing displacement and stabilizing existing businesses; action steps from this community effort are already being implemented. For more than 50 years, MAPC has been a leader in innovative transportation planning, policy and project work. We have focused our work on residential and commercial transit-oriented development, around subway and light rail and critical bus connections, as well as on promoting innovative parking solutions and street planning for all users. This year, we brought a special focus to the creation of Complete Streets, which are streets that are designed for everyone: they are safe, convenient and accessible for pedestrians, cyclists, transit users and motorists, and are comfortable and barrier-free for people of every age and mobility level. This year, MAPC helped Acton, Everett, Littleton, Maynard, Middleton, Reading, Salem, Somerville and Stoughton to pass "Complete Streets policies," which allow cities and towns to make sure roads are designed, constructed, refurbished and maintained in a way that's inclusive of all users. Littleton's local policy was even recognized nationally with an award from the National Complete Streets Coalition. MAPC also worked closely with DCR, the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation, to identify ways the parkway system in Massachusetts can become safer for cyclists and pedestrians. A study began in late 2014 and will continue in early 2015 to review all DCR parkways and off-road facilities, such as the Neponset River Greenway and Watertown Rail Trail, to recommend ways to promote non-car transportation along these historic routes while 19 improving road conditions for drivers. Bike infrastructure will be added as capital improvement projects unfold in the next few years, as a way to enhance public health, improve cycling and walking safety, and preserve and beautify this paths and roadways. Parking is a critical link between land use and transportation, and parking policies have a tremendous effect on transportation choices and the built environment. Effective parking strategies can also help cities and towns meet their goals around affordable housing, reducing pollution, improving residents' health and attracting good development. MAPC assists communities in turning parking challenges into assets. This year, we brought together leaders and innovators in the parking field at our "sPARKing Ideas" conference in Boston, where planners, elected officials and experts gathered to share ideas and tools for improving parking strategies on the local level. Stream the presentations at mapc.org/parking. In 2015, we will be working with the City of Malden for a downtown parking study, building off our collaboration with the Harvard Graduate School of Design to "Plan Downtown Malden" in 2013, helping that city to reconnect their business district to transit by relocating City Hall and encouraging new transit-oriented mixed-use development. MAPC transportation planners and engineers also worked to study parking in Cohasset Village, Downtown Foxborough and Grove Hall this year. In addition to diagnosing and recommending solutions for parking dilemmas, MAPC has also begun helping municipalities purchase the latest technology in parking meters this year, including smart meters and pay-by-phone services. Massachusetts has a robust food system and a proud tradition of buying and eating local. However, the system faces real challenges: despite enjoying great growth and increasing diversity in recent years, our farmer population is aging, and we must work harder to replenish with the next generation of farmers in order for our output to keep pace. Additionally, we must look for ways to address the problem of size: most Massachusetts farms are smaller than 50 acres, posing economic challenges that we will have to overcome if we want to grow and eat more of our own food. MAPC is working with a coalition of allies led by the state's Department of Agriculture to address these issues as part of the state's first comprehensive food plan since the 1970s. Learn more at our food plan website and get involved on twitter at @mafoodplan. 2015 saw many exciting changes in water policy and infrastructure planning Massachusetts. A major piece of legislation, the water infrastructure finance bill, was enacted in July, increasing the amount of low- and no-interest loans available to cities and towns for water infrastructure improvements. Under the law, the state will also match municipal entry fees for regional water systems like the MWRA, and allows cities and towns to establish a water surcharge of up to 3 percent to fund repairs for aging pipes. MAPC worked hard to push for this bill, and we will help staff a commission set up to monitor the condition of the state's deteriorating water infrastructure, which required unfunded repairs to the tune of$21.4 billion over the next 20 years. 20 MAPC's legislative division works annually to shore up support for the Shannon Grant, which works with at-risk youth in cities and towns struggling with gang violence and crime, and to staff the Metro Mayors Coalition, a group of 13 communities whose leaders come together to troubleshoot and share solutions to common problems. This year, the coalition focused on common-sense strategies for reducing gun violence in cities, policies around rideshare programs such as Uber and Lyft, cohesively tackling climate change preparedness, and regionalizing emergency communications. In the wake of this fall's ballot question de-indexing the gas tax from the rate of inflation, an estimated $1 billion of transportation revenue will not be collected over the next decade, so MAPC and allies across Massachusetts will have more advocacy work ahead to help stabilize and support public transit and infrastructure improvement funding. Other legislative goals for 2015 will center on modernizing parking regulations and allowing for regional transportation ballot initiatives around the region, while keeping a continued focus on working successfully with the incoming gubernatorial administration. Public health, increasingly seen as a core discipline within professional planning, has grown as an area of expertise for MAPC in recent years. This year, our public health division wrapped up the third and final year of its Community Transformation Grant (CTG) for Middlesex County, a project that brought healthier food into neighborhoods with limited access to affordable fresh groceries, changed policies and practices around building streets for all forms of travel, and promoted smoke-free housing conditions in public units across the state. Building on these substantial successes, the public health team is shifting into a "Health in All Policies" approach to integrating lessons learned from CTG into our broader planning work. Working with other staff at MAPC, the public health team will explore ways to expand use of bike share (such as Hubway) among minority and lower-income residents of the region, and has already conducted several focus groups on the issue in late 2014. In Somerville and Chinatown, our staff is working with residents who live near highways to study the effects of roadway pollution in collaboration with Tufts University researchers, with an eye toward making policy and development changes to mitigate negative health impacts of living near high-volume traffic and related air pollutants. This past summer, the public health division combined traditional place-based planning with a pilot "photovoice" project, which offers residents the opportunity to show via digital photography the assets and drawbacks of their neighborhoods, as a way to visually showcase opportunities for better planning. A photovoice project in East Boston engaged underrepresented residents in the photography project, offering them a voice in deciding which unsafe intersections, sidewalks, plazas and roads should get attention from the city. Boston will consider the areas identified using photovoice for funding toward safety improvement in 2015. A similar placemaking photovoice project in Malden this year won a Social Advocacy Award from the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association alongside local health partner"Malden is Moving." 21 Democratizing data remains a core service MAPC provides to cities, towns, residents,journalists and researchers. This year, our Data Service staff created a new version of our DataCommon website for Central Massachusetts. This next generation of the DataCommon features a new design with added features such as downloadability and cataloging. The Boston area will get an enhanced DataCommon in 2015 thanks to continued support from the Barr Foundation. MAPC's Data Center is also building up the development database this year at MAPC's Development Database. This site catalogs current and planned development projects and helps our staff track the region's growth and forecast its future around housing and employment. This summer, our Data Services staff debuted The Massachusetts Housing Data Portal, a groundbreaking website rich with housing figures on every municipality in the state. Featuring information on demographics that previously took weeks to generate, this new portal allows citizens and experts alike compare towns with their neighbors and to access visualizations, statistics, text and metadata at the click of a button, with full downloads available and staff support from MAPC just an email away. Finally, in addition to these new areas of work, our data staff continues to provide modeling and indicators training nationally, and trains users locally in accessing the latest Census figures and the MetroBostonDataCommmon. Trainings are offered every month; find the next one at mapc.org. MAPC has piloted the notion of integrated energy planning for Greater Boston over the last few years. Our Clean Energy division provides a range of technical assistance services to communities, including comprehensive local energy planning, energy-related technical assistance, and regional procurement. Our goal is to advance markets for clean technology while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuel consumption. Our Local Energy Action Program (LEAP) helps communities plan and implement local clean energy projects, and we also offer solar development, LED streetlight retrofits, and expertise to help cities and towns share energy staff. We currently have 17 communities in our collective procurement to bring solar to municipal rooftops, ground mounted arrays and parking canopies, and we have helped 16 cities and towns to select a contractor to complete LED streetlight retrofits, with five more coming in 2015. Together, completed retrofits have replaced upwards of 15,000 traditional streetlights in Arlington, Chelsea, Natick, Sharon, Winchester, Woburn and soon Somerville, saving approximately 5.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually. A great first step toward getting involved with MAPC's clean energy services is to visit our online Clean Energy Toolkit which has step-by-step instructions for instituting a clean energy strategy in your city or town. One of the many ways we help cities and towns save money is to assist them in creating regional partnerships with their neighbors. Often, smaller towns and cities lack the resources to provide full time services for every local department, so we help them form regional entities for such services as energy planning,public health, public safety and more. MAPC staff is working with a group of policy chief and town officials in MetroWest to regionalize animal control services this year. We are studying facilities, personnel, equipments costs and scope of services already 22 provided, and will recommend a plan of action for Ashland, Framingham, Hopkinton, Holliston, Sherborn, and Natick to combine animal control. The state's Executive Office of Public Safety will continue engaging MAPC as fiduciary agent for the Homeland Security Program in Massachusetts, giving us oversight of the state's central, northeast, southeast and western Homeland Security regions. We provide management, administrative, and planning support to these four regions and their local advisory councils. We also work with our counterpart regional planning agencies (or RPAs) in those areas, including the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission, Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District, and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments. We look forward to continuing our work with EOPSS and the Homeland Security Regions to enhance emergency preparedness capabilities at the state, regional, and local levels. Our municipal collaboration team also works to secure cost savings for public works, police, and fire departments across Eastern Massachusetts through our collective purchasing program. This year, orders for fire apparatus and ambulances totaled $25.5 million, or 73 pieces of equipment. On the police and DPW side, total sales numbered $29.5 million in 2014, or 757 units ranging from police vehicles to public works trucks. As part of this work, we facilitate the Northeast Region Homeland Security Advisory Council, or NERAC. NERAC operates three "cache" sites packed with equipment designed to help the region respond to natural and man-made disasters. These three sites, in Beverly, Lexington and Framingham, keep resources such as road signs, generators, cots, light towers and more at the ready for cities and towns to use in times of emergency. More than $2.4 million has been invested into this system to provide resources that are too costly for individual municipalities to purchase and maintain, keeping the region safer for all residents and better equipped to respond to major events. Effective community engagement is central to the way we do all our work. We strove this year to enhance our role as educators and engineers of inclusive planning processes by piloting newer, more effective ways of gathering public input and reaching under-represented communities this year—including communities of color, lower- and moderate-income groups, youth, the elderly, and those with language isolation. In our work in Downtown Framingham and along Boston's Fairmount corridor, we used techniques such as translation, interpretation, open house meeting formats and leading community tours to increase engagement and participation. Internally, we are helping our staff to share effective engagement techniques through"talkshops" over lunch and a brown bag series on knowledge sharing. We've also stepped up our efforts to track how well our work promotes and advances equity in the region, and will be unveiling an interactive online map this year for the public to see how and where we are doing our work. Building off the momentum and success of our Sustainable Communities regional planning grant, MAPC has this year opened up new opportunities for cities and towns to contract with our staff for technical assistance. Upwards of 10,000 people participated in public meetings for 23 Sustainable Communities projects in our region, and we are eager to continue building off the success of that program in implementing our bold regional plan, MetroFuture. Our new Planning for MetroFuture program will fund dozens of new local projects in 2015, helping us to continue promoting smart growth and regional collaboration for all who live and work in the 101 cities and towns of Metro Boston. To view MAPC's full Annual Report, visit http://2014.mapc.org/. North Suburban Planning Council Burlington, Lynnfield, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, Wilmington, Winchester, and Woburn The North Suburban Planning Council (NSPC) is composed of eight towns and one city that have formed a voluntary association to facilitate cooperative regional planning. The goals of NSPC are to facilitate communication between member communities on planning topics of interest including issues of growth management and land use and to provide a forum for members to create a shared agenda for action that, if thoughtfully addressed, will allow the region to continue to thrive as a desirable place to live and work. NSPC held eight meetings in 2014. Danielle McKnight, North Reading Town Planner/Community Development Administrator, and Kristin Kassner, Burlington Planning Director, served as co-chairs. Amanda Chisholm, MAPC Regional Planner, served in the role of NSPC Subregional Coordinator. NSPC members interacted with guest presenters and MAPC staff around topics of transportation, local and regional development, preservation, infrastructure investment priorities, housing, and stormwater management. One forum was cosponsored by a neighboring subregion, the North Shore Task Force, providing an opportunity for members to network with planners from other municipalities. NSPC also sponsored a Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC) Workshop entitled How to Hold a Perfect Public Hearing. This workshop was conducted by NSPC Chair and Burlington Planning Director Kristin Kassner and attracted about 14 participants, many of whom serve on local boards in and around the subregion. The final report for the NSPC Priority Mapping Project (mapc.org/nspcprioritymapping) was completed in January 2014. This regional process involved identifying local and regional priority development and preservation areas and the infrastructure investments needed to support those priorities. The project began in April 2012 and involved the active participation of eight out of nine member municipalities. This project was funded through three sources: the 2012 District Local Technical Assistance Program, the Unified Planning Work Program, and funding allocated to subregions through the Metro Boston Sustainable Communities Consortium. In February of 2014 a forum was held to follow up on the results of the NSPC Priority Mapping Project. Participants brainstormed projects, studies, policies, and advocacy needed to support the implementation of the preservation, development, and infrastructure priorities identified through this project. Some of the NSPC member municipalities are now pursuing individual technical assistance projects with MAPC staff to do more in depth studies on the areas that were identified through the priority mapping project. 24 In an on-going effort to provide member communities with better access to information, MAPC updated the NSPC webpage on a regular basis and released a monthly Constant Contact newsletter that reached over 320 people in 2014. The page can be accessed at http://www.mapc.org/nspc. Conservation Division The Commission holds public meetings on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, or as otherwise announced. Meetings normally begin at 7:00 p.m. The Commission's office is located at Town Hall, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, MA 01867, and the telephone number is (781) 942-6616. Wetlands Protection Activities During 2014, the Conservation Commission reviewed 37 permit applications for proposed work and wetlands delineation. The Commission held 22 public hearings and meetings and performed more than 260 site inspections. The Commission also issued 101 decisions including permits, resource area delineations, extensions, and amendments. The Commission made final site inspections and closed 28 project files. The Commission identified and resolved 3 Of 4 violations. The Administrator reviewed and signed off on 475 building permits and 23 minor projects, and performed 417 site inspections. The Commission collected $3,325.00 in filing fees under the Wetlands Protection Act and $14,515.78 under the Wetlands Protection Bylaw. The Commission has a primary role in administering the following statutes and regulations: • Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, M.G.L. Chapter 131, Section 40; • Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act Regulations at 310 CMR 10.00; • Town of Reading Wetlands Protection Bylaw, and Reading Wetlands Protection Bylaw Regulations The Conservation Commission administers several types of permit review processes under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and the Town of Reading Wetlands Protection Bylaw. Projects involving proposed disturbance within a Wetland Resource Area, associated Buffer Zone, or Riverfront Area will require the filing of a Notice of Intent by the project sponsor. This process involves a comprehensive review of potential project impacts to protected areas, and eventually results in the issuance by the Conservation Commission an Order of Conditions or an Order of Denial. An Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation (ANRAD), for review of Wetland Resource Areas, is generally utilized for large tracts of undeveloped land, and results in an Order of Resource Area Delineation. Applicants proposing projects with limited potential impact may be advised to submit a Request for a Determination of Applicability (RDA). The RDA process is generally less demanding upon the applicant than the NOI process. Projects with insignificant potential impacts may be reviewed under a Bylaw Minor Project Permit. The Commission is also involved in coordination with other governmental bodies, in numerous other regulatory activities including the following: • Management of conservation properties in Reading; • Administration of the Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act, M.G.L. Chapter 91 and associated Public Waterfront Act Regulations at 310 CMR. 9.00; 25 • Review and comment on forest land and agricultural land purchase options under M.G.L. Chapters 61 and 61A; • Review and comment on housing development plans under M.G.L. Chapter 40B; • Review and comment on forest management plans under M.G.L. Chapter 132; • Review and permitting of beaver activity controls in Wetlands Resource Areas under M.G.L. Chapter 131. In addition to the statutes and regulations listed above, the Conservation Office reviews permit applications received by the Planning, Building Inspection, and Public Health matters within the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission. In many cases, this "sign- off' process involves a visit to the site to ascertain whether jurisdictional areas are present. Natural Resources Conservation Activities The Conservation Commission engages directly with Community outreach during the Town's Earth Day and Friends & Family Day events. The opening of Mattera Cabin has provided a venue for many town wide activities. Scheduling is done by the Recreation Department, with many Town groups using the facility. Conservation has welcomed nature walks led by Library staff; including an "owl prowl" in March, a spring walk in April, and a summer walk in July. Conservation has worked cooperatively with Eagle Scouts and the Trails Committee to improve trail information and conditions Town-wide. Membership and Office Management The Reading Conservation Commission is composed of seven volunteer members appointed by the Board of Selectmen for renewable three-year terms, and is supported by a Full-time Administrator, Charles Tirone, Ann Gentile Clerk, and Julia Rodger Minutes Secretary. Annika Scanlon Chair, Brian Sullivan Vice Chair, were voted in on June of 2013, Jamie Maughan, Rebeca Longley, and Alison Stager are also full members. Reading Historical Commission The Reading Historical Commission's (RHC) work in 2014 included regular monthly meetings, upholding town bylaws, handling questions from the public and work in the Town Archives. Membership at the end of the year consisted of Sharlene Reynolds Santo as Chair, Carl Mittnight as Secretary, Sally Hilgendorff as Treasurer, Robyn Parker and Ron Weston as members along with Virginia Adams,Nancy Kohl and Jonathan Barnes as associate members. Virginia Adams and Carl Mittnight maintained the Town Archives, while Elena Dube was hired again this year to assist with data entry. Throughout the year, several donations were received; including articles from the school department, and an archival reproduction of a 1783 deed transfer for 607 Pearl St. The RHC handled inquiries regarding many properties including some that were not on the Town's list of Historic and Architecturally Significant Properties from prospective buyers, owners, realtors, developers, and concerned neighbors. There were several requests for impact 26 statements regarding the impact on historic structures in town from Mass DOT regarding the West St reconstruction project and from cell service providers regarding the impact of potential cell phone towers. Of the many issues the RHC dealt with this year, dealing with the Demolition Delay Bylaw was the most involved. At the beginning of the year, the RHC finalized working procedures for the handling of demolition delay hearing process. Working with the planning department, packets were created for owners/developers to help them through the demolition delay process. These procedures/packets were put to use with three demolition delay hearings, 186 Summer Ave, 163 South Street and 119 Salem St. The RHC met several times with the new owners of 75 Pearl St regarding proposed interior and exterior renovations. Coming to agreement on a new entry that best suites and protects residents and visitors while respecting the historic aspects of the building. The RHC was also involved with the plans for updating the Reading Public Library and with Haven Properties, LLC regarding renovation revisions of the MF Charles Building. Members of the RHC represented the commission on the West Street Historic District Commission and the Celebration Trust Committee. Members were also was involved with the Zoning Advisory Commission's work on the revamping of the town's zoning bylaws. Virginia Adams and Sharlene Reynolds Santo attended many meeting regarding the Cultural District Grant awarded to the town. A group of town residents worked hard to create a new historic district including the Summer Ave area and the RHC supported this by attending many meetings with the West Street Historic District Commission and town residents along with town meeting. Town residents Virginia and Everett Blodgett did the footwork for a Civil War Preservation grant application submitted to the Massachusetts Sesquicentennial Civil War Commission that the RHC supported. The purpose of this $15,000 grant is to restore civil war veteran's monuments. While donations and in-kind work will fund some of the restoration the RHC voted to support the application with additional funding should donation not be enough to reach the 50% ($7,500.) needed. Virginia Adams, Carl Mittnight and Nancy Kohl compiled supporting documentation and submitted an application nominating the Old South Church Steeple and Bell Tower Restoration Project for the MA State Historic Preservation Award. The state did not choose this nomination. The RHC, did however, present the Old South Methodist Church a plaque and the RHC's own Preservation Award to commemorate the restoration project on October 24th. Sharlene Reynolds Santo—Chair Historic District Commission The purpose of the West Street Historic Commission is to administer Section 7.3 Local Historic District of the General Bylaw as it pertains to the West Street Historic District. The District was created to preserve the distinctive characteristics and architecture of the West Street area. Through its required review of all construction projects in the District, the Commission seeks to maintain and improve the settings of the buildings within the District and to encourage building designs compatible with the historic character of the area. In 2014, the Commission received nine (9) homeowner applications and issued six (6) Certificates of Appropriateness and three (3) Certificates of Non-Applicability. The Commission 27 also proposed the Summer Avenue Historic District in accordance with Massachusetts General Law (MGL) Chapter 40C. The preliminary report for the proposed district was finalized on August 14, 2014. The public hearing was held on October 15, 2014 in advance of November Town Meeting. A total of 25 properties were included in the proposed district. The final report was issued on November 5, 2014 and November Town Meeting voted favorably for the proposed district on November 10, 2014. As a result of the approval and changes to the General Bylaw,the West Street Historic District Commission is now referred to as the Historic District Commission and will continue to enforce the Bylaw as it applies to the West Street Historic District and the new Summer Avenue Historic District. The Commission is currently composed of five voting members. The voting members are: Everett Blodgett, Chairman; Ilene Bornstein, Virginia Adams, Priscilla Poehler and Greg Maganzini. Currently there are no alternate members but the Board of Selectmen may appoint up to four alternate members to the Commission. For more complete information about the Historic Districts and the Commission please refer to the Town of Reading's website (readingma.gov). Under `Boards' choose Historic District Commission and find: the Mission, quick links including Design Guidelines to the Historic District, and a link to the Bylaw. Respectfully submitted, Everett A. Blodgett, Chairman Inspections Division The Inspections Division is responsible for carrying out inspectional services on commercial and residential construction in the areas of building& sheet metal, gas, plumbing and wiring. In addition,the division is responsible for enforcing the Town's Zoning By-laws and providing staff to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Statistics Year End 2014 Previous Year End 2013 Building: Building& Sheet Metal 969 784 Permits issued Inspections 1,337 1,257 Fees received $359,369* $259,161* Occupancy Permits 161 175 Wiring: Wiring Permits issued 715 652 Inspections 1098 1016 Fees received $52,298* $45,353* Plumbing/Gas: Gas Permits issued 334 313 4 28 Gas Fees received $15,355* $10,278* Plumbing Permits issued 494 413 Plumbing Fees received $28,154* $18,045* Combined Inspections 998 1059 Gas/Plumbing TOTAL FEES $455,176* $332,837* * Totals do not include permit fees for Johnson Woods or Reading Woods deposited in revolving building account. Zoning Board of Appeals The Zoning Board of Appeals met 13 times in 2014. The ZBA voted on petitions for 22 Variances, Special Permits and appeals. ZBA Members are Chairman Robert Redfern, Damase Caouette, John Jarema, Kathleen Hackett, David Traniello and Associate Member Erik Hagstrom. Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, Community Development Administrator Jessie Wilson and the Commissioner of Buildings Glen Redmond provide primary support to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Health Division Introduction The Health Division continued to be part of a regional health department with Wakefield and Melrose, which will be reduced in 2015. The Division was staffed by the Health Director and Senior Health Inspector who were shared with the other communities, two part-time Inspectors, and a part-time Public Health Nurse. The Board of Health, appointed by the Board of Selectmen, continued to work collaboratively with Melrose and Wakefield to standardize regulations. In addition, the Board passed an updated Regulation Restricting the Sale of Tobacco Products & Nicotine Delivery Products to restrict sale to any individual who is under the age of 21. Environmental Health The Health Division enforces 14 state regulations, 18 local Board of Health regulations, and Town By-Laws. This includes regular inspections and responding to complaints concerning housing, food service, air quality and noise control, semi-public swimming pools, camps, tanning, and animal licensing. In 2014 the division received 82 complaints and performed 634 inspections, 552 of which were food establishment inspections. The Health Division continues to maintain a Sharps Disposal Kiosk for the use of Reading residents who may have medication for their families and pets that require injections. Public Health Nursing The Public Health Nurse was responsible for the follow up of all reportable communicable diseases, immunization clinics, blood pressure clinics and health education activities. The nurse 29 was also part of the team which inspects recreation camps. The annual flu clinics were held during the fall of 2014 and 942 immunizations were given. Emergency Preparedness Reading is a member of the Mystic Valley Emergency Preparedness Coalition, a six community coalition, which meets monthly to continuously prepare for emergencies. Weights and Measures The Weights and Measures function is contracted to the State Division of Standards. There were 102 scales in 18 businesses checked, 237 gasoline pumps at 13 stations checked and 11 price verifications performed. Mosquito Control Reading continues to be part of the Eastern Middlesex Mosquito Control Project. The project conducts mosquito surveillance and spraying for larval/adult mosquitoes. The adult mosquito surveillance program used traps to collect mosquitoes from 5 Reading locations. Data was compiled from 21 mosquito trap collections. The larval mosquito control program relied on the larvicides, Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) and Bacillus sphaericus, which are classified by the EPA as relatively non-toxic. An April helicopter application of Bti controlled mosquito larvae at 322 wetland acres. Field crews using portable sprayers applied Bti in the spring and summer to 12 wetland acres when high densities of mosquito larvae were found in stagnant water. Project personnel applied packets containing Bacillus sphaericus to control mosquito breeding in 2,759 catch basins. For adult mosquito control, there were 7 crews assigned to apply Sumithrin to 3,564 acres at night, using truck mounted aerosol sprayers, when survey traps indicated high populations of mosquitoes. Other Funds are included in the Health Division Budget for outpatient mental health services provided by Riverside Community Care. Funds are also included to help pay for vocational services for Reading residents with Eastern Middlesex Association for Retarded Citizens. Elder/Human Services Division The Division of Elder/Human Services provides social services, advocacy, activities, transportation, educational programs, and a meal site for Reading residents age 60 and over. In addition the Division also aids Reading residents of all ages with social services, advocacy, referrals and holiday programs. In assisting residents both young and old, the Division works closely with all town departments in receiving referrals and ensuring safety and quality of life are maintained to the highest standards. Elder/Human Services partners with many outside organizations. The Division's state designated ASAP (Aging Service Access Point) is Mystic Valley Elder Services (MVES). ASAPs manage the state-based Massachusetts Home Care Program, and work with Councils on Aging (Elder Services), established under the federal Older Americans Act, to make sure that seniors have access to all essential services. Through MVES a variety of services are provided. 30 These programs include home care, personal care, protective services, meal-site catering and home-delivered meals through the Meals on Wheels program. Not all residents are eligible for MVES nor do all accept the services provided. In these situations the Division plays a vital role in ensuring Reading seniors are able to remain at home with the proper safe guards. The staff consists of an Administrator(16 hours/week), a Case Worker (35 hours/week), a Social Worker (19 hours/week), a Senior Center Coordinator (35 hours/week), a Van Driver (35 hours/week), a Nurse Advocate (20 hours/week) and a Clerk(19 hours/week). Highlights of the Year • In February the Case Worker returned from a leave of absence and the Social Worker covering her position was retained at a 19 hour per week schedule. • In September the Nurse Advocate resigned to take another position. • In October the Division hosted a Virtual Dementia Tour for residents. • November was the start of the Alzheimer's/Dementia Caregiver Support Group. Social Services The Social Worker and Case Worker address the needs and concerns of Reading residents of all ages. Assistance for those under the age of 60 often involves crisis intervention, goal-setting, food pantry, information and referrals about financial, housing, mental health, and disability- related concerns. For those age 60 and over, assistance includes crisis intervention; addressing housing concerns; mediating intergenerational disputes; intervening in cases of neglect, loneliness, or depression, hoarding, coordinating appointments with area medical and social service agencies; as well as providing information and referrals with regard to nursing home/rehabilitation placement and eligibility for State and Federal programs. It is often the goal of the Case Worker to assist the resident in aging successfully at home for as long as possible. The Division receives referrals and assistance from many Town Departments as well as outside agencies. The Fire Department and Police Department refer elders to the Division when there is an observed need for assistance. Other areas in which the Social Worker/Case Worker partners with Town Departments include the Health Division in assisting with hoarding and unsanitary living issues, as well as vaccinations; the Veterans Agent in ensuring services for veterans; the DPW in holiday programs; the High School in coordinating volunteer service and Library on a variety of programs and referrals. The Social Worker/Case Worker provides eligibility screening for, and assistance with, applications for the Reading Food Pantry. In order to qualify for the Food Pantry the Case Worker meets with the applicant to review their financial qualifications and residency requirements. The Division also provides transportation to the Food Pantry which is coordinated by the Case Worker. There are a variety of transportation programs available to Reading residents. The Social Services division assists with referrals for the MBTA Ride program and coordinates services for the Reading Response Medical Transportation program. This service provides taxi or chair car transportation for medical appointments throughout the Boston Area. The Reading Response 31 • Program is funded by the Town of Reading's Hospital Trust Fund, the income on which helps to defray medically related services to Reading citizens as authorized by the Commissioners. During 2014 the division scheduled 814 rides through the Reading Response program. Nurse Advocate The Nurse Advocate is dedicated to helping Reading seniors manage their health care needs. The main responsibilities of the Nurse Advocate include educating, counseling and advocating for seniors. The Nurse Advocate also serves in a leadership role in coordinating a variety of wellness programs for seniors at the Pleasant Street Center. New programs for 2014 included a Chronic Pain Workshop and a pilot program with Winchester Hospital Physical Therapists conducting personal balance screenings, In March the Nurse Advocate began SHINE training (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) with Mystic Valley Elder Services. Upon completion of the 3 month training and a mentoring period, the Nurse Advocate was able to meet and counsel seniors on Medicare and health insurance choices. This position is instrumental in identifying the frailest seniors in Reading, especially those who live alone and do not have someone nearby for support. Through outreach and referrals the Nurse Advocate is able to help seniors better understand changes in their medical conditions and/or medication. She is available to seniors at the Pleasant Street Center and home visits. Helping seniors understand their health care needs and plan strategies for managing these needs both in the short term and future is the goal of this program. The Pleasant Street Center 2014 marked the 21st anniversary of the Pleasant Street Center. The goal of the Center is to be a place of education, socialization and wellbeing for Reading seniors. The Center is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 am — 4:00 pm. Lunch is served Monday through Friday (except holidays) at noon and meals are provided by Mystic Valley Elder Services. There is a suggested donation for lunch of$2.00 per senior and $3.50 for visitors under 60. During the year, 3,890 meals were served at the Pleasant street Center. The Center is staffed daily from 8:30 am — 4:30 pm. The Center Coordinator's primary responsibility is to manage the daily operations of the Center including the care of the facility and the coordination of activities. Below is a summary of the daily programs. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Zumba fitness Motion to Music Zumba Motion to B.E.S.T. - —aerobics Music-aerobics Strength Training Hairdresser* Art Lessons Knitting Club Manicures Painting Group Yoga Facials Billiards Chair Massage Chess 32 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Tai Chi Brain Yoga Computer Computer Party Bridge Lessons Lessons Cribbage Bingo Tai Chi Book Club* Clean& Sober Support Group Birthday Lunch* Computer Parkinson's Movies* SHINE -health Lessons Support Group* insurance info* Podiatry Clinic* Alzheimer's/ Low Vision* Blood Pressure Dementia Clinic Support Group* *Meet monthly In addition to the programs above, the Center also hosts bimonthly Lunch n' Learn programs, a variety of entertainment and sports trivia days. Guest speakers are often invited to present education and alternate viewpoints. Intergeneration Programs Elder/Human Services continues to reach out to the community particularly the younger generation. Intergenerational projects are an important teaching tool in cooperation with the Reading Schools. High School students act as servers, bingo callers and kitchen staff during the summer months. In 2014 several high school students assisted frail elders with snow removal. Also The Honor Society held two successful `Game Days' at the Pleasant Street Center Through fund raising efforts for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society, the Wood End Elementary School students received a complimentary lunch from the Olive Garden restaurant. The student body chose to donate the luncheon to Reading Seniors. In June under the direction of the school Principal, students served the lunch and visited with the seniors at the Pleasant Street Center. As in past years the middle schools provided entertainment during the holidays. They also made cards, cookies, and tray favors at holiday times. In the Spring, Parker Middle School hosted the annual intergenerational Cribbage Tournament. During 2014 the Division also began partnering with the Recreation Division on Intergenerational programming. During April school vacation, a Bingo Night was held at the Pleasant Street Center. The Division played an active role in Downtown Trick or Treating and in December we cohosted a character breakfast at the Center. 33 Volunteers The division recognizes the importance of volunteers. Few of our programs would run smoothly without volunteers from the community. The volunteers themselves learn new skills, meet new people, and enjoy an increased sense of self-worth. For these reasons, the division places great emphasis on offering a variety of volunteer opportunities for a diverse set of skills, abilities, and interests. Positions filled by volunteers include: Pleasant Street Center receptionists, gardeners, book discussion leaders, game leaders, income tax preparers, computer instructors, COA members, friendly visitors, medical escorts, office workers, newsletter editor, kitchen helpers, shoppers for homebound seniors, and shopping escorts. When reporting statistics, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs has requested a differentiation between "registered" volunteers and "unregistered" volunteers. Registered volunteers include those who have completed the volunteer application process including; the application; Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check, interview,training, placement and ongoing support. Unregistered volunteers include, but are not limited to, students, civic groups, town departments, and free performers. In the past year 144 registered volunteers gave 7319.58 hours of service. The financial equivalent for these services is approximately$90,300. Property Tax Workers The Property Tax Worker program allows Reading seniors to perform various tasks for Town departments in exchange for an abatement on their property taxes. The program is open to Reading residents age 65 and over or disabled, who own property and have a household income that does not exceed limits set by the program. In 2014 there were 23 tax workers (30 positions available) and each participant was permitted to earn a maximum abatement of$1,000 annually. The 23 workers performed 2,833.50 hours of service. In 2014, participants were compensated at a rate of $8.00 per hour for a program total of $22,668.00. The program has been funded through the Assessors' Overlay account. Van Transportation The van transportation program provides a vital service for those seniors that don't drive. Transportation is provided in-town and surrounding shopping plazas for the following purposes: errands, grocery shopping, voting, pharmacy needs, and visiting the Pleasant Street Center. For younger residents, the van services offers transportation to and from the food pantry and other vital destinations. In 2014, the van provided 5,553 one-way trips. In the spring of 2014 the Division applied for and was awarded a grant through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for a new van. The grant amount was for $46,495 with a match by the Town of$11,624. The Division expects to take delivery of the van in the spring of 2015. 34 Newsletter The Pleasantries newsletter is a monthly publication created by the division. The publisher of the newsletter is Senior News Publications. There is no cost to the Town for this arrangement. SNP's revenue is derived from selling advertising space in the newsletter. Each month 900 copies of the newsletter are available by subscription or at various locations throughout town. The annual monthly subscription is available by mail for $5. Residents can also subscribe to the newsletter online at no cost and receive it via email. Three times per year the Division has a `Big Mailer' in which the newsletters are delivered to approximately 3,000 senior households in Reading based upon the most recent local census. The Burbank Trust Fund provides the funding for postage. The goal of the newsletter is to increase awareness of the programs and services available to Reading's seniors and their caregivers. The newsletter also provides important information about benefit changes and helpful agencies. In addition to this monthly newsletter Elder Services has a twice monthly on-line update about programs and services. This is a one page email highlighting significant events/programs within the Division. It is available by emailing the administrator at jburns @ci.reading.ma.us and joining the distribution list. Burbank Trust Fund The fund was established by the Burbank Family of Reading. This fund can be used in a variety of ways to benefit seniors. The fund was established with no usage restrictions however the COA determined the fund cannot go below$250,000.00. In 2014 the Council on Aging approved expenditures from the Dorothy L. Burbank Trust to pay for the following: the Volunteer Recognition Reception; three months of postage cost for bulk mailings of the newsletter; monthly entertainment for the Pleasant Street Center's special lunch program; birthday cake, gift certificates, and lunch for the monthly birthday celebrants. In December the Council reviewed the entertainment budget. Based upon the findings that the original budget was established in 2005, the Council approved a slight increase to the following year's entertainment budget. 2014 beginning balance= $264,223.00 2014 ending balance =$261,497.16 Patrons for Older Adults Support Fund In 2010 Town Meeting (Article 17) the members voted to accept a gift from the Patrons for Older Adults. This fund used to support programs not funded by the Town of Reading. "New" programs can be funded year after year. The fund came to Elder Services/COA as a gift from The Patron for Older Adults, who donated the money when the organization dismantled. The fund when originally established was in the amount of$125,000.00. 35 In 2014 the Council on Aging approved expenditures from the fund to support the Volunteer Appreciation Event and a Lobster Roll Dinner. This year the Patron's also funded a Virtual Dementia Tour for residents. 2014 beginning balance =$134,892.00 2014 ending balance= $134,606.92 Schroeder Trust Fund The Schroeder fund is a goodwill fund that can only be used to provide small gestures of kindness to seniors. This fund allows the COA to purchase and deliver meals to seniors on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. The Schroeder fund allows interest only spending, and cannot go below $10,000. In 2014 the Thanksgiving meals were once again generously donated by Christopher's Restaurant and not purchased by the Schroeder Trust. All meals were delivered by Council on Aging members and staff. In 2014 the Council on Aging also approved a discretionary fund of $300.00 annually through the Schroeder Trust. This allows the Administrator to purchase meals and small gifts for home bound seniors. 2014 beginning balance= $22,707.00 2014 ending balance= $23,501.87 Donations Many individuals and organizations have generously supported Elder/Human Services' efforts by providing money, gifts, and in-kind services. Some of the donations have included: sponsorship of an event, program or meal; senior center decorations; baked goods; flowers; plants; art work; refreshments; and more. The Elder Services Donations Fund covers situations for persons age 60 and older who lack financial resources to cover basic needs or emergencies. The Human Service Donations Fund is for persons under age 60 who lack financial resources for emergency situations. In 2014 the Town purchased a freezer for the Reading Food Pantry through the Human Services Donation Fund. Human Services Donations 2014 beginning balance=$7706.00 Human Services Donations 2014 ending balance = $5,814.97 Elder Services Donations 2014 beginning balance=$42,727.00 Elder Services Donations 2014 ending balance= $41,561.73 Holiday Programs Adopt-a-Family Once again the Reading Rotary Club and ReadingCARES coordinated the Adopt-A-Family holiday program. Elder/Human Services assisted them by verifying eligibility and distributing food and gifts to families in need. The Adopt-a-Family program matches low income Reading families with confidential donors of food and gifts for children. Reading residents, businesses, out-of-town businesses that employ Reading residents, youth organizations, school groups, nursery schools, churches, and municipal 36 departments join together to make this program a success. This past year, 120 donor groups, families, and individuals made donations of food and gifts to the Adopt-A-Family program. Recipients Households Thanksgiving Food 43 Christmas Food/Gifts 56 Thanksgiving/Christmas Baskets The Social Worker supplies the Wakefield Elks with a list of 10 seniors who would welcome receiving a basket of uncooked holiday food. Hitching Post Gift Shop Giving Tree During the Holidays the Division partnered with the Hitching Post Gift Shop. Through the Center, seniors were able to refer friends and neighbors for the giving tree. The division staff coordinated the names and gift suggestions and anonymously submitted them to the Hitching Post. Shoppers to the gift shop selected the seniors and purchased gifts. A reception was held at the Pleasant Street Center in December for recipients. Council on Aging Board The Council on Aging is a 10 member advisory Board. They meet the second Monday of the month September through June. The role of the Council is to aid the division in promoting the needs of Reading Seniors. The Council is also responsible for overseeing the Burbank, Patrons for Older Adults and Schroeder Trust Funds. The purpose of these funds is to help subsidize the activities of the Division to the benefit of Reading seniors. Recreation Division Mission Statement The mission of the Reading Recreation Division is to provide the community with year round recreational activities. Recreation programs are broad based to meet the recreational needs of all segments of the population. The Recreation Division must continually update and modify its programming to meet the current needs of the community. As the community's participation and awareness of local recreational programs increase, so does their expectation of Recreation Division programs. The Recreation Division must be ready to anticipate and adapt to these growing expectations and trends. Division Overview The Recreation Division finished its first full year back under Community Services. The transition was generally seamless as relations with DPW continued and new interdepartmental relationships were built within Community Services. The Recreation Division continued to host over 200 different programs in 2014, including several new events and trending programs. The Recreation Division was also able to complete several park enhancements for the community to enjoy. Projects After 5 years, the skating lights were finally restored at Memorial Park. In early January, crews bared the frigid temperatures and ducked snowflakes to install six new light poles with 16 LED 37 fixtures. The lights will be scheduled until 10 PM each night when the weather permits. The project was done with the help of the Army Core of Engineers, Delta Company 249th Engineering Battalion out of Rhode Island. The Delta Co. spent its time assisting with running wiring, digging pits and setting poles. Meanwhile, the DPW Highway Department augmented the work with technical know-how and a can do attitude. Residents skated under the lights for the first on January 8th, 2015. Sadly, the area received close to 2 feet of snow on January 23`d, followed by another one foot plus the following week, promoting the closure of the skating areas for the rest of the winter. Washington Park continued its transformation in 2014. The park underwent significant construction in the Summer and Fall seasons. A newly paved entrance way will lead to a brand new tennis and basketball court area. The addition of a new stamped concrete walkway and water fountain as well as carefully planned drainage improved the overall functionality and aesthetics of the park and playground. The renovation project at the Birch Meadow School Rockwall area served two purposes. First and foremost the new play area replaced an old decaying pressure treated wood retaining wall and pseudo staircase. Secondly, the replacement addressed the issue of rubber mulch creeping down the hill of the school playground. This was a maintenance hazard and took many man hours to clean each year. The new playground features a composite timber style planking that will not decay over time. The material is made from recycled plastics and fiberglass and should stand the test of time. The existing rubber mulch was used as an underlayment for the new poured in place rubber surfacing. The new surfacing is bonded and wheelchair accessible. Reading Fall Street Faire Reading Recreation and its staff again played a large role in the Fall Street Faire in 2014. The Recreation Director, John Feudo, served on the FSF Committee and staff liaison once again. Also assisting with the day of logistics was Jenna Fiorente who worked with the Children's Area at the Faire. The faire was estimated to have over 12K people in attendance with close to 200 vendors. Mattera Cabin Reading Recreation increased it use of the cabin in 2014. With the addition of the Outdoor recreation supervisor position, the cabin saw a plethora of new and exciting recreation programs. The cabin is a small building, but the users seem to like the feel of using it for programming. Mattera cabin again got a lot of use through rentals in FY14. It was rented 40 times by various users excluding Reading Rec Programs. This included trails committee meetings, birthday parties, baby showers, town government meetings and our first wedding! The cabin has seen revenue increase each ear it has been open. Rental Revenue Breakdown FY 2012 - $930.00 FY 2013 - $1,260.00 FY 2014 - $1,750.00 FY 2015 —$950.00 (to date) Generally more rentals occur for the cabin in the spring months than any other season. 38 Reading Community Courts Tennis Monitor Program For the third straight year the Town has hired staffing for the Reading Community Tennis Courts on Bancroft Ave from the late spring to early Fall. This was done to combat the issue of over use of the courts. Currently players (residents) may purchase a priority pass for the tennis courts at a nominal rate ($10) to be able to use the courts in the evening from 5:00— 8:00 PM Monday— Friday. This program is staffed by 3 monitors that rotate on a nightly basis. They carry a check-in clip board and track what time folks arrive and leave. The positions are paid for by the Recreation revolving fund mostly using the revenue that is collected for the passes. Passes can be purchased online on the Recreation website. The Recreation Division has hired "Reserve a Game", an online tennis reservation system for 2015. This will be an enhancement to the current priority pass system and give tennis players the option to reserve a court in advance during non-peak hours. Programming 2014 Winter/Spring Reading Recreation highlights the following programs for the winter/spring season: • March Madness Clinic • Spring Tennis Clinics for Youths and Adults • 8th Season of Reading T-Ball • Reading Junior Soccer League • Personal Best: Mental Toughness Training • Flag Football for Kids • April Vacation Soccer Clinic • School's Out- Sports Central Feb/Apr • Baby Sitting Course • Crafts programs for Adults • Fencing for Youth - Adults • Pickleball - Adults The Winter/Spring season featured many great programs for participants of all ages. Reading Recreation T-Ball, in its 8th season had another successful year with 188 participants. This program has become a mainstay and intricate part of the Recreation Division's programming line-up. T-Ball became a program for 5 and 6 year old boys and girls in 2014. The 7 year olds now need to go to RYS or RYB as a natural progression. The program also catches the kids that do not make the age cut off for Reading Youth Baseball, so no player is left out. Our Rocket Volleyball program is also very popular. The program is run by RMHS Varsity Coach Michelle Hopkinson. This program has served as one of the more popular spring programs. 39 Reading Recreation continues with the Jr. Soccer League. It was set up at the Barrows Elementary School. 51 kids participated and were grouped by age 4-7. Siobhan O'Brien and Jenna Fiorente were the directors of the program. The Recreation Egg Hunt was again a huge success this year. The event was held again this year at the Tennis Court field at the HS. This worked out well due to the close proximity of the parking area to the event and the fencing around the site. Close to two hundred kids ranging from the age of 2—8 participated. Every kid walked away happy. The Recreation Division continues to offer programs such as a babysitting class from the staff of Winchester Hospital as well as Fencing for all ages. The Recreation Division believes that recreation is more than just the typical four major sports and can and should include enrichment type programs. Additionally the Rec. Division runs several popular adult programs such as fencing, pickleball and volleyball. Volleyball and pickleball expanded this year to a second night due to the increased interest. The volleyball matches are pick up and in nature and anyone can join. Pickleball continues to grow to multiple nights with multiple sessions offered each night. It is now offered year round. The Rec. Division decided to implement a February & April Vacation Program for kids grades K-5th. The program was directed by Paul Orlando under the supervision of Jenna Fiorente. Paul was also assisted by part-time staff. The program participated in a variety of sports and games for the week. The program was offered with half day and full day options. February Vacation had 26 total participants and April Vacation had 29 total participants. Recreation will continue to grow this program to offer for those full-time working parents who need the coverage during vacation times. Reading Recreation and Human & Elder Services teamed up to hold a Bingo night for kids, parents, and grandparents in an effort to create a multigenerational atmosphere. The night featured bingo, pizza, ice cream, popcorn, and numerous giveaways. The event was a free one to drive interest but still required registration due to limited space. The Pleasant Street Senior Center was at maximum capacity with about 60 people. Fun was had by all. Summer 2014 The Summer Camp program averaged approximately 79% capacity in summer 2013. This is an increase of about 5% from the previous summer. The program was a great success with over 633 kids taking part over 8-weeks. Thanks to Program Coordinator, Jenna Fiorente and the hard work of the summer camp staff the program was a success. The Recreation Division continued theme weeks for each week of camp which were very popular. Jamie Walsh continued as camp director of the 4th— 8th grade participants and staff. John Bruno served as the director of the K— 3`d grades. Both working under the guidance of Jenna Fiorente, steer the program in its many directions. This year's camp staff saw approximately 80% returning staff. With a high rate of returning staff we were able to add more to the program. This summer we held excellent weekly "bonus" events within camp such as Slush day, Moon bounce day and had a caricature artist 40 come visit on carnival day. The goal is to continue with the strong numbers for summer camp again this summer and make Reading Rec. Camp part of most kid's summer experience. Summer Camp in 2014 was a great success. In only 7 weeks (one week less than 2013), Regular Day camp had 694 participants. This was an increase from the 633 participants last year. Jamie Walsh continued as camp director of the 4th— 8th grade participants and staff. John Bruno served as the director of the K — 3`d grades. Both working under the guidance of Jenna Fiorente, steer the program in its many directions. The Summer Camp continued to incorporate various themes and special guests like Curious Creatures during Animal Adventures Week and the Coconut Tree Climb during Beach Party week. These special "bonus events" add an element of excitement to the camp that kids do not expect. With several returning staff, the camp was able to run smoothly and at top-notch quality. Junior Camp also saw an overwhelming increase in participation from 2013 to 2014. The Director for this Camp is long-time staff, Emily Wilson. The enrollment for participation was 205 for full and half day compared to last year's number of 94. This is over a 100%increase. The Recreation Division had steady numbers in many of the summer sports clinics from the previous year. These sport clinics continue to thrive. Successful clinics and programs included: • Challenger Little League Baseball • Volleyball Clinics • Tiny Tot Soccer • Basketball Clinics for Boys and Girls • Reading Baseball Clinic • Super Sports • Lacrosse Clinic • Bricks 4 Kids • Wicked Cool for Kids • Top Secret Science • Jr. Field Hockey • Tennis Clinics The summer featured new clinics like Color Guard, Wicked Cool Vet School, Bricks 4 Kids Movie Making, and Minecraft Mania. All clinics were well attended and liked. After 30 years, Pete Moscariello ended his Reading Baseball Clinics. David Blanchard, new varsity head coach of RMHS, quickly swept in and took over the task of running the baseball clinic. He had 37 participants in his first week of the clinic. The Track & Field All Corners Meets are hosted at the RMHS Stadium Track on Wednesday nights. 61 participants were enrolled each week and would participate in 3 events. Events featured were 100, 200, 300 meter, long jump, and shot-put. This program continues to see an increase in participation that will force us to explore additional nights or move the start of the program to an earlier time. 41 "Theater on the Green" and "Touch of Class" concert series were again a great hit. "Theater on the Green" had a successful turnout this summer each Wednesday afternoon, five concerts highlighted by All Hands Drumming and The Toe Jam Puppet Band. These concerts are very well attended by anywhere between 75 — 125 people each Wednesday. These concerts take place on the Marge and John Pacino band stand at Memorial Park. The "Concerts on the Common" concerts included Reading's own "Steven Savio" among the five concerts. The concert series also featured 4EverFab and a Beatles Cover Band which brought many young families down to the common. Between donations that were collected during each of the concerts and sponsors the Recreation Division was able to run these concerts at minimal cost. These concerts are held on the Common and front lawn of Town Hall. This turned out to be a very good location and attracted more people than the remote location of Memorial Park. • The Summer also featured Fireworks in Reading. On Friends and Family Day, Reading Recreation partnered with FORR for the 7th consecutive year to put on a great display of fireworks. Working closely with the Reading Fire Department and Police, the show was enjoyable for all. They were shot from the outfield at Morton field and could be seen from miles around. The estimated crowd was about 3,000—3,500 people. A spectacular event! Finally, the Reading Recreation Division sponsored its 25th Annual Reading Tennis Open. The Tournament was a success once again this year with over 100 players participating. All proceeds go back to the RMHS tennis program and new equipment for the Town courts. The Tournament was again held on the "Reading Community Tennis Courts at Bancroft Ave". The program is run by Kate Kaminer and Lorraine Salter from Friends of Reading Tennis. Gregg Luongo again served as the Recreation Tennis Professional for the 12th year. Gregg did a good job working with kids and adults and the program is very steady each summer with more than 250 participants. Many kids enjoyed the clinics so much that they signed up for more than one week. Summer Tennis is also a very popular adult programming activity. The sessions are run by Tennis Pro Gregg Luongo and were run Tuesday nights throughout the summer. Due to the popularity of pickleball, 2 courts were painted on the old volleyball court next to the basketball court behind RMHS. Organized pickleball was held once a night and there were other nights that people would bring down their own equipment and play amongst their peers. The majority of the organized sessions had 12 picklers playing which is the maximum capacity for 2 courts. Fall/Winter The Fall/Winter season for the Reading Recreation Division produced many programming opportunities. The Recreation Division offered a host of programs such as Baseball, Basketball, Flag Football, Karate and an Art program among others. Saturday Night Lights Flag Football returned for a third season. The program continues to grow. This year enrollment hit 554 from 400 kids last year. This program has quickly become a top three program in size for Reading Recreation. The program was again directed by Jimmy Murphy and Carl McFadden. This year, the Directors implemented a Girls Only League which 42 boasted 59 players in its first attempt. The steady increase of this program has also forced the Recreation Division to get creative and utilize the outfields on the lighted ball fields at the Birch Meadow Complex. Fields were lined and Portable Lights were even brought down to offer more light on the darker areas of the fields. Each Saturday night for 8 weeks, players congregated at the RMHS Hollingsworth field to participate in flag football games. Teams were coached by volunteer parents and the response for this program was expectedly very good. The Recreation Division again offered a Jr/Sr. Volleyball program for 4th — Stn grade students. The program had 78 participants. This was an increase of 15 participants from the prior year. The program was run by RMHS Varsity Coach Michelle Hopkinson and several HS volleyball players. Recreation will continue to look for ways to enhance this program and take advantage of its popularity. The Recreation Division continued to offer a Fencing program with Olympic Coach Michael Tarascio. The program was open and populated by students from 3`d grade — adults. The program is offered on Mondays. 14 people participated in Fencing in September's session and 13 more participants tried fencing in the November session. Another very popular program was the Halloween Parade which had over 250 participants this year and was hosted by the Recreation Division in conjunction with the Friends of Reading Recreation at Coolidge Middle School. The parade route was flanked by police and fire department equipment and toured around Arthur B Lord, Forest Street and Whittier Road back to the Middle School. The route is approximately 1 mile long. This program was staffed by Recreation and volunteers from FORR. In addition to the Halloween Parade, the Recreation Division offered a Downtown Trick or Treat. Over 50 Downtown businesses participated in the Downtown Trick or Treat by handing out candy, stickers, tattoos, etc. The event took place down both sides of Main Street (including the Town Hall) and both sides of Haven Street. The non-downtown Reading businesses set-up on the Town Common with some DPW and Light Department Trucks. The 1St Downtown Trick or Treat was a huge success. There were easily over 1,000 people at this event. Another great event was a combined effort between the Recreation Division and Human&Elder Services. This event was the Holiday Character Breakfast. The breakfast included pancakes, fruit, bacon, French toast sticks, Danishes, coffee, hot chocolate, juice, Etc! The main features were our characters Frosty, Rudolph, and Anna & Elsa from Frozen who sang and took pictures all morning. The breakfast was held in three sittings, all of which were full, and each person was charged a nominal fee of$3. Seniors were free. Recreation will keep collaborating with Human &Elder Services to offer multigenerational programming. The Travel Basketball program in 2014 featured over 80 participants with 7 travel teams competing in the Metro West Basketball League. This was our second year participating in the Metro West League and we continued to enjoy the league and its amenities. Players come to a 2- day evaluation and the teams are selected by coaches with input from the Recreation Staff and independent evaluators. Every player that signed up made a team, unless there are not enough coaches and players. The teams are coached by volunteer parents and friends of the Recreation Division. 43 The Sunday Basketball program continues to grow each year. A flex time was added to the schedule due to overflow in 2&3 boys and 2&3 Girls. Paul Orlando supervised for the second year. He again showed outstanding communication with parents and great management of the program as far as set-up, organization, and delegating of the high school aged employees. Fourteen high school students were hired to work this program. Sunday Basketball had approximately 465 participants this year. This was 48 more participants than last year. Sunday Basketball continues to be one of the most important programs for the Recreation Division. We continue to use the Alphabasketball Coaches Training tool to support our volunteer coaches. Alphabasketball is an on-going training tool for all Sunday basketball coaches to take advantage of It includes weekly practice plans and instructional videos to help coaches. The Learn to Ski program at Nashoba Valley ran again this year. There were 30 kids that participated for 4 weeks of skiing. The program was directed by Caryn Hayes and volunteer parents went each week as supervisors. The program seems to be gaining interest again so 5 and 6 week options will be looked at going forward. The Nashoba Valley Ski & Snowboard Program was extremely popular this year. There were a total of 35 kids for the 4 week program. The program was directed by Program Coordinator, Jenna Fiorente, and parent volunteers. Due to the popularity of this program, the Recreation Division will look into a 6 week program for the future. Special Needs Programming Special Needs programming this year was offered by The Arc of East Middlesex Recreation in conjunction with the Recreation Division. Reading Recreation values this relationship for programming and as a support network on all things tied to the special needs programs. Programs such as aquatics, social club and social dances were offered. The Arc offered successful programs such as Special Olympic training, bowling, teen groups, and social clubs to name a few. The participants are asked at the end of each session to fill out an evaluation form to give feedback. Aureen Currin ran the Challenger Bowling program this past fall. Challenger Soccer was managed by EMARC only this year. The Recreation Division had Meghan and Siobhan O'Brien as volunteers for the program. Challenger little league was run by Allison Zaya, Jed Donahue, and Chris Hanson in the Spring. The league was combined with North Reading to allow for more participants which in turn makes game-play more fun! Games were played in North Reading at the Benevento Little League Complex. The children also participated in away games with other towns and received t-shirts and hats. The Recreation Division also resurrected the Special Skates Program at the Burbank Ice Arena. This program used to be headed by Karen Ghirardi who decided it was time to pass the program on to others. John Feudo teamed up with the Northshore Skating Club to offer this program. The Directors of NSSC were able to provide several volunteers and experienced staff to make this program a success. The numbers were great this season. The Division continues to look for other programming areas to expand into. Brochure and Advertising Reading Recreation continues the mailing of Reading Recreation Magazine to every household in Reading, three times a year. Participating agencies include Recreation, Police Department, Fire Department, Library Services, Elder Services, the YMCA, Creative Arts, RCASA, Friends 44 of Reading Recreation and other various in-town organizations. The magazine also features interest articles for the community to keep them connected to what's happening around Town. The Recreation Division staff continues to work hard to put out a quality magazine that the public will look forward to receiving and reading each season. The Reading Recreation Division posts all of its programming at www.readingrec.com. At this website, patrons can easily search and sign up for programs. They have the option of either paying on-line or they can print a registration form and mail a check to pay for the class. The website also allows for opt-in direct emails to the public. Email blasts can be sent to the entire database at the click of a mouse or can be sent to specific participants in a specific program. Reading Recreation continues to use many different advertising avenues, including email blasts/newsletters from our database, social media including Facebook and Twitter, as well as newspapers and on-line forums. Personnel Jenna Fiorente entered her third year as Program Coordinator for the Town. Jenna has brought energy and excitement to our programs. Jenna has excelled at finding innovated new programs to offer the general public. She has done a nice job not only finding these new programs but positioning them and marketing them in a fashion that allows them to run. The addition of programs such as Parkour, Super Soccer Stars, Archery, Youth Boxing and the restructuring of several special needs sport programs were important to the mission of the Recreation Division to keep things fresh. She has also worked hard in her third year surrounding herself with seasonal staff members that she trusts and knows will do a good job for the division when called upon. Sue Simeola enters her 7th year with the Recreation Division. The principle clerk position was refreshed during the pay and class study and was renamed Administrative Secretary. This better described the work Sue does on a daily basis for the Division. Sue handles many of the records for the Rec Division including payment plans, outstanding balances, medical records, CORI records, etc. Sue also helps out with events such as travel basketball tryouts, pre-fit night, the Halloween parade and the Egg Hunt. Sue handles much of the face to face customer service for the Recreation Division as well as serves as the frontline for our phone system. Sue is the glue of the Recreation Division. In March of 2014, Reading Recreation hired its first part-time Outdoor Recreation Coordinator. Eric Pederson, a former Appalachian Mountain Club Leader,joined the Rec Staff. Eric ran new programs such as fishing trips, hiking trips and wilderness education programs. He did a great job coordinating activities for all ages. He also established a new field day program for the after the summer concerts for the smallest of kids. Eric left the Recreation division after to the summer to pursue a new career. Rachel Gasowski joined the Recreation staff in January 2015. The goal will be to have this position become a full time job as early as Fall 2015. 45 Administration John Feudo begins his 13th year as Recreation Director. John, under the direction of the Recreation Committee, continues to manage the scheduling of all town fields and oversee the everyday operation of the Recreation Division. Permits are issued for every field in Town. Reading Recreation will continue to work with the local Youth and Adult sports organizations in maximizing field space. Over the past nine years, capital and master planning have become a very high priority for the Recreation Division and the Town. John has worked with many volunteer groups to design master plans that are functional and advantageous for the Town. This process involves working with members of the DPW, School and other leaders in Town. • John is currently working with engineering on design plans for a renovation for Killam field. The new field, expected to break ground in late-June, is scheduled to have irrigation, improved drainage, a new clay infield surface and a new state of the art backstop. Reading Recreation is continuously looking for available land for the development of new recreational facilities. A comprehensive capital plan has been developed to include tennis courts, basketball courts and backstop replacement over the next twelve years. The Recreation Director continues to work with leaders of the sports organizations to develop other field opportunities within what is already provided. The best chance of expanding fields is the addition of lights as most developed land opportunities have been exhausted. The Reading Recreation Division and the Recreation Committee continue to develop policies that will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of each Reading Recreation program. Reading Recreation has been glad to offer the public over 200 recreational programs throughout the past year. Reading Recreation hopes to meet the communities changing recreational needs while providing them with a combination of safe, fun, and educational programs. Suggestions of new programs are always welcomed and encouraged. Veterans Services The Veterans' Services office is the main point of contact for advocacy and support of veterans. A full range of benefits and services are available to veterans and their families based on certain qualifications and eligibility requirements. State Veterans' public assistance, mandated by Chapter 115, Mass. General Laws, is administered by the Secretary's office of the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services and implemented locally through this office through adherence to 108 CMR, Commonwealth of Mass Regulations. This program assists eligible Veterans and their families with income maintenance, medical care and emergency services. The state repays 75%of these costs in the following fiscal year through state aid payments. Applications for federal benefits are also processed through this office coordinated with the regional office of Department of Veterans Affairs and various Veterans Administration medical and support facilities. Demand for these services is steadily increasing to include claims for veteran, dependent and survivor pensions, disability and indemnity compensation, medical and death benefit entitlement, along with GI Bill Education benefits. The office provides outreach to veterans to ensure they are aware of and utilizing additional state benefits to include tuition waivers, motor vehicle benefits, property tax exemptions, annuities 46 and bonuses, counseling, employment assistance, housing assistance and many more. The goal is to identify and obtain necessary assistance that veterans and their family have earned and deserve. The Veterans' office works with other Committees to coordinate public events such as annual Memorial Day services at all four Reading cemeteries and Veteran's Day ceremonies throughout the town. Additional outreach is provided during the Reading Lions Club Reading Friends and Family Day. The Veterans' Services Officer became a full time position in May 2015. Office hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 7:30 AM — 5:30 PM. Tuesday 7:30 AM — 7:00 PM. Home visits can be arranged as well. You may reach Kevin Bohmiller at 781-942-6652. East Middlesex Arc, INC. Listed below is a detailed analysis of the number of individuals serviced during CY2014 by the East Middlesex Arc, INC. in Reading as well as in the surrounding cities and towns. Program Statistics for CY 2014: Day, Recreation and Residential Program Reading Other Total Day Services 27 214 241 Recreation 54 500 554 Residential Range heights Road, Lynn 4 4 Rustic Lane, Reading 5 5 Woodcrest Drive, Wakefield 5 5 Main Street, Melrose 7 7 Haven Street, Reading 8 8 Hopkins Street, Reading 5 5 Pitman Drive, Reading 4 4 Newcomb Avenue, Saugus 4 4 Albion Street, Wakefield 5 5 Water street, Wakefield 5 5 Nahant Street, Wakefield 3 3 47 Spruce Street, Wakefield 3 3 Independent Living 4 21 25 Total Supported 100 783 879 Day Services EMARC's Day Services Division includes Life Choices Day habilitation program, Community Based Day Services and Career Services employment program. Life Choices offers skill building in areas that allows for more independence in daily life, and offers opportunities to use learned skills in the community as well as becoming active members of the community. Career services promote skill building to prepare individuals for independent and group employment in the community. Community Based Day Services is both a pathway to employment as well as a community based day program. Recreation Program The East Middlesex Arc, Inc. provides therapeutic recreational services throughout the year for children and adults with developmental disabilities. The funding to run these programs is raised through grants, fundraising efforts and individual attendance fees. Although these programs are staffed by employees, not all of them could be run without the assistance of volunteers. A variety of sports and recreation programs are held throughout the year, and it should be noted that approximately 50 Reading residents have volunteered to assist in these successful programs. Residential Services Residential services are currently provided at several sites throughout the area to 91 adults who have developmental disabilities. Residential programs are funded primarily by the Department of Developmental Services (DDS). Room and Board fees charged to the residents are used to offset DDS funding. The goal of residential services is to provide individuals with an opportunity to live and participate in the local communities that we serve. Family Support Services EMARC's Family Resource Center offers assistance to parents and caregivers who provide supports for children and adults with developmental disabilities. Our philosophy is to support families by offering services that are flexible, individualized and family directed. We assist with referrals, support groups for parents, elders and siblings; educational programs and trainings, advocacy, DDS Family Case Management, School to Work, Transition services, and Adult Family Care. Reading Residents • Senior Group 7 • Adult Foster Care 2 • DESE/DDS 1 • IFFS 3 • School to Work 12 • On-Going Family Support 15 • RPS Specialized Services 1 48 • Sib-Shop groups for siblings of individuals with DD 9 • Adult Waiver Services 2 • Total 52 The East Middlesex Arc, Inc. (EMARC) is appreciative of the partnership and continued support that the Town of Reading has provided to its residents with developmental disabilities. Mystic Valley Elder Services Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield In FY14 over 508 Reading residents used Mystic Valley's services valued at $2,644,378, of these 110 were eligible for Nursing Facility care while remaining at home. Mystic Valley Elder Services is a nonprofit organization, which has been helping people find practical solutions to long term care issues since 1975. Our goal is to help seniors, disabled adults and their family caregivers find the best available services that fit within family resources. We offer a wide range of services creatively designed to support the challenges of daily life and independent living. Some are free of charge, others are offered on a sliding fee scale or private pay basis. Information & Assistance Resource specialists offer FREE advice and referrals from our extensive database of local, state and national resources. Assistance is available by telephone, email or a home visit by an experienced Care Manager. 438 Consumers served at a Cost of$14,175 Care Management & Home Care Services A range of programs for older residents and adults living with disabilities designed to provide assistance with activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, etc.) for those who wish to remain in their own homes. Includes: in-home assessment by a care manager, development of a care plan, and delivery of approved services. 280 Consumers served at a Cost of$2,472,663 Caregiver Support Services may include an in-home assessment, caregiver training and education regarding such areas as memory loss, home safety, respite care and fall prevention. Provides useful resources especially for working and long distance caregivers. 11 Consumers served at a Cost of$7,221 Transportation Providing rides to medical appointments and adult day health centers. 3 Consumers served at a Cost of$2,159 Meals on Wheels A mid-day meal and daily check in by a friendly driver for those over 60 who are homebound and unable to prepare their own food. 49 18,429 Meals served at a Cost of$91,731 Senior Dining Sites Centers in 14 locations offer seniors an opportunity to meet and enjoy a nutritious lunch. 3,826 Meals served at a Cost of$31,115 Behavioral Health Services Clinical Caseworker provides outreach and connects consumers to behavioral health services in home and community settings. The program provides assistance with coordination and payment of behavioral health services. 5 Consumers served at a Cost of$4,290 Outreach Services for non- and limited-English speakers include information and referral, translation of and assistance responding to important documents, health insurance information counseling, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes. 0 Consumers served at a Cost of$0 SHINE Health Benefits Counseling Trained counselors provide older residents and adults living with disabilities with no-cost, confidential counseling and unbiased information regarding health insurance and prescription drug options. 249 Consumers served at a Cost of$6,080 Money Management Assistance Trained volunteers provide assistance with bill paying, budgeting and banking tasks. A volunteer may also serve as a Representative Payee. 12 Consumers served at a Cost of$12,346 Volunteer Program Dedicated volunteers augment the agency's capacity by sharing their expertise with a variety of professional and administrative functions, providing bill paying assistance to elders, counseling Medicare and MassHealth recipients, staffing congregate meal sites and/or food pantries, and serving as literacy tutors in area elementary schools. 23 Volunteers performing 2,302 hours of service Legal Assistance No-cost legal assistance and education on issues such as public benefits, landlord tenant disputes and loss of independence. 5 Consumers served at a Cost of$1,056 TRIP Metro North A free, passenger-controlled transportation program open to older adults and adults living with disabilities. 2 Consumers served at a Cost of$1,543 50 Trails Committee The Reading Trails Committee did the following in 2014: Co-lead a Winter Walk in Bare Meadow with Walkable Reading and ROLT on February 9th Participated in the Earth Day Fair held at the Mattera Cabin on April 5th. Took a walk in the Town Forest on April 13 with the Town Forest Committee to plan future projects. On May 4, conducted a"Birds Before Breakfast" walk and breakfast at the Mattera Cabin. During the weekend of 5/31 &6/1, the Committee participated in the Walk Reading Weekend by leading walks at various locations in Town. On June 21, 22, and 28th —The trails committee repaired the approaches to the Cranberry Dam Bridge. Volunteers put in more than 125 volunteer hours in this project. Four Committee members put in 10 volunteer hours to rebuild the Higgins Bridge. Lead a Fall Foliage walk to the Town Forest on October 18`h. Two members of the Committee attended the Mass Trails Conference. On November 15 & 16t, 12 volunteers put in over 80 volunteer hours to rebuild the bog bridges and do other trail maintenance in the Pinevale Conservation area. Installed an educational kiosk in the Town Forest that was funded by the Ipswich River Watershed Association. Worked with Conservation Committee to clarify the use of the town-wide trails permit. Donated $80 towards the printing of, "Get to Know Your Backyard", a booklet published by Girl Scout Grace Stroman. 51 FINANCE DEPARTMENT The Finance Department, under the direction of the Town Accountant, supports a wide variety of financial and administrative functions. The Finance Department staff are designed to be flexible and experienced in many of these divisions as work flows vary throughout the year: a.) Accounting: The Accounting Department is responsible for maintaining financial records. These records facilitate the preparation of financial reports and schedules that provide meaningful, accurate information for comparability and for management's decision making process. The Accounting Department ensures that all financial transactions are in compliance with legal requirements and are properly recorded on a timely basis. The Town used the auditing firm of Melanson& Heath in FY 2014. b.) Assessors: Assessment of property is the first step in the process of tax revenue collection for the Town of Reading. The Assessment division's function is to provide for the fair and equitable assessment of all taxable real and personal property. A three- member Board of Assessors sets policy. c.) General Finance: Collections is responsible for collecting all taxes and other charges (including ambulance and water/sewer/storm water bills). They also receive and process all deposits (such as schools and recreation). Treasury is responsible for providing the cash for the operation of all Town, School and Light Department functions on a timely basis. In addition, it conducts all borrowing and investing activities, including those on behalf of the Town's Trust Funds (assisted by the Trust Fund Commissioners). Finance: Assessment Division Assessment of property is the first step in the process of tax revenue collection for the Town of Reading. The Assessment Division's function is to provide for the fair and equitable assessment of all taxable real and personal property. The Assessors trend the values each year so that the revaluations done every three years won't result in substantial changes. The Assessors must annually determine the tax levy and obtain State approval of the tax rate so that bills can be issued in a timely manner. The tax rate for FY 2015 was set at $14.70 per thousand, a $0.04 decrease per thousand from the FY 2014 rate. The total assessed value of all properties and accounts for FY 2014 is $3.999 billion which is a 4.45% increase from the previous year. The breakdown of Reading property for FY 2015 is as follows: Assessed Value Share Change Residential $3,657,108,918 91.4% +5.0% Commercial $ 295,682,305 7.4% -.26% Industrial $ 9,711,300 0.2% +0.01% Personal $ 37,135,230 .9% -15.75% TOTAL $ 3,666,637,753 100.00% +4.45% 52 Finance: Collection Division The Collection Division is responsible for collecting all taxes and other charges (including ambulance and water/sewer/storm water bills). This Division also receives and processes all deposits (such as schools and recreation). Massachusetts does not allow Towns to pay any charges associated with electronic collection of tax bills — such as a flat fee or credit card fee. Debit card usage is comparatively inexpensive, and an economical method to pay online. Electronic Payments (*to 12/31/14) CY14* CY13 CY12 Registered Users 4250 3741 3106 Real Estate 380 407 370 Excise 1574 1356 1108 Water/Sewer/Storm Water 1190 873 489 Municipal lien certificates have increased due mainly mortgage refinancing activities. Foreclosures dropped off from a high in 2008, in sharp contrast to economic measures nationally. Municipal Lien Certificates (to 12/31/13) *Fee increased 12/1/2010 Issued Fees Foreclosures (Foreclosure deeds recorded at FY14 702 $37,600 the Registry of Deeds as of 12/31/14) FY13 1251 $66,450 2014 2 FY12 1170 $61,400 2013 6 FY11* 1107 $40,525 2012 5 FY10 859 $24,875 2011 10 FY09 969 $26,901 2010 _ 18 FY08 743 $22,350 2009 11 FY07 698 $21,252 2008 20 FY06 930 $30,800 2007 10 FY05 991 $28,327 Real estate taxes collected were $55.8 million—a 3.3% increase from the$54.0 million in the previous year. Personal property taxes collected decreased to $0.544 million from $0.622 million; and Excise tax collections increased to $3.34 million in FY14 from $3.02 million in FY13. Finance: General Division This Division is responsible for providing the cash for the operation of all Town and School functions on a timely basis. In addition, it conducts all borrowing and investing activities, including those on behalf of the Town's Trust Funds. 53 Interest earnings for the General Fund during FY 14 were only $132,876 - a few years ago this figure was about $1.7 million before interest rates began their historic drop. General Finance-Trust Funds: FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 Beginning Balances $8,501,857 $8,775,298 $8,882,468 $9,025,026 $9,125,527 Contributions $292,348 $92,097 $154,858 $91,384 $115,146 Disbursements ($256,135) ($255,805) ($288,129) ($262,441) ($275,268) Interest $237,227 $270,878 $258,171 $271,558 $323,783 Ending Balances $8,775,298 $8,882,468 $9,025,026 $9,125,527 $9,289,189 The Trust Funds disbursed over $1 million in the past five years as shown in the table above. The Hospital Trust Fund continued to provide aid through the Reading Response Program, which provides skilled health care services, respite care, medical transportation and Lifeline Emergency call systems to Reading residents who meet specific health and income guidelines. Ending Ending Ending 1-year Ending Ending 1-year Balance Balance Balance Change Balance Balance Change FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 Cemetery $3,710,648 $3,784,637 $3,849,339 2.0% $3,926,015 $4,021,156 2.4% Hospital $4,178,520 $4,203,279 $4,223,461 0.5% $4,246,326 $4,302,000 1.3% Library $60,930 $62,524 $59,491 -4.9% $61,301 $59,095 3.6% Scholarships $173,131 $171,628 $159,428 -7.1% $173,145 $172,384 -.4% Veterans Memorial $101,165 $104,503 $114,130 9.2% $112,472 $119,634 6.4% Downtown Imp $17,659 $41,100 232.7% $37,208 $37,363 -15.3% Celebration $47,608 $44,146 $42,804 -3.0% $44,106 $43,923 18.0% Historic $68,058 $70,925 $75,765 6.8% $76,613 $79,409 3.6% Preservation Elder Services $411,930 $416,790 $420,535 0.9% $422,850 $427,823 1.2% Loans $23,307 $24,035 $24,737 2.9% $25,490 $26,401 3.6.% Respectfully submitted, Sharon Angstrom, CPA Town Accountant 54 PUBLIC SAFETY Fire Department The Reading Fire Department is responsible for four major functions: fire suppression, fire prevention, the emergency medical system and emergency management. This Department is also responsible to coordinate and apply for all reimbursements for State and Federal disaster declarations. The Reading Fire Department provides emergency medical treatment at the Advanced Life Support level (ALS) of care to sick and injured patients. This is the highest level of pre-hospital care available and we are continually expanding this program as the budget permits. Emergency Management continues to expand in importance. The primary goal for Emergency Management is to identify areas of vulnerability to the community, to prepare for all disasters whether natural or manmade, to coordinate the response of a wide range of agencies and assist in the recovery phase. A secondary goal is to ensure the Town of Reading is in compliance with all Federal and State requirements to enable the community to remain eligible to receive reimbursement for Federal and State disaster declarations. This year the Insurance Services Office Inc. evaluated the Town of Reading's fire protection system consisting of the Fire Department, Water Department and Central Dispatch. As a result of that evaluation the Town of Reading's fire protection system has been classified as a Class 3. A Class 3 rating is a very good rating for our community. Emergency Activity In 2014 the Fire Department responded to 3,190 emergency calls for assistance. Of these calls 2,024 involved some level of emergency medical response. A review of our Massachusetts Fire Incident Report data revealed fire responses have increased over calendar year 2013. In 2014 we responded to 43 fires defined as structure fires, 7 fires in mobile equipment and 17 outside fires. All these fire incidents were required to be reported to the State Fire Marshal. Significant Events On Tuesday, January 28, 2014 we responded to a structure fire at 23 Old Farm Road. The home was occupied when the fire broke out in a second floor bedroom. Firefighters were able to confine the fire damage to the room of origin. On Saturday, May 3, 2014 Firefighters responded to a fire in the roof of the Burger King Restaurant located at 357 Main Street. Firefighters were able to confine the fire to the roof area of the restaurant. On Friday, August 8, 2014 Firefighters responded to a fire in storage shed located at 10 Hartshorn Street. The shed was destroyed by the fire. On Sunday, August 10, 2014 crews responded to a structure fire in the basement of 340 Haven Street. The home was occupied at the time. The fire was confined to the basement of the home. 55 On Sunday, November 5, 2014 Firefighters responded to 23 Gardner Road for a fire in the house. The home was occupied at the time of the fire. Firefighters were able to confine the fire to the area of origin. Emergency Medical Services The Reading Fire Department provides an Advanced Life Support Level (ALS) of care to the community and this allows Reading Firefighters to treat patients with a wide variety of medications and sophisticated treatment techniques. This level of care is essential to patients who are experiencing a medical emergency that is an immediate threat to their lives. Our emergency medical program is coordinated by Firefighter Joseph Lapolla and Firefighter Garret Antanavica. Total emergency medical responses have increased over calendar year 2013. The most troubling statistic is the response to overdoses (chemical, poly-substance, prescription and substance abuse). Our calendar year 2013 data revealed 12 patients received the medication Narcan. In calendar year 2014 we have seen the number of patients receiving Narcan increase to 32. This is a 266.67% increase over last year. All personnel have been trained on Naloxone administration. This medication has been highly successful with certain types of overdoses. Below is a graph indicating the clinical impression of patients transported in calendar year 2014. Pregnancy OB Delivery 1 Obvious Death r Syncope _wow= Seizure Poisoning Pediatric r Psychological Emergency r_111. Overdose Medical Behavioral/Psychological Disorder ^ Influenza/Pneumonia mom Respiratory •• Trauma _ Stroke _le Diabetic Emergency Altered Neurological Status Allergic Reaction _�` Cardiac I 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 Clinical Impression Calendar Year 2014 56 As a result of concerns of the possibility of encountering a patient with Ebola virus symptoms we instituted a training program, reviewed and updated equipment supplies and our policies and procedures. Emergency Management Emergency Management is an active component of the Department. Housed within Reading's Emergency Management system are three components: Emergency Management, the Local Emergency Planning Committee and the North East Homeland Security Region (NERAC). NERAC is one of the 5 Massachusetts homeland security regions created by the Executive Office of Public Safety. Federal and State legislation requires every community in the country to have a Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). The LEPC identifies areas where the population is most at risk from a hazardous materials release, facilities and transportation routes that contain hazardous materials and resources that would be used to mitigate an incident. To pool resources the Town of Reading has joined with other communities and formed the Mystic Regional Emergency Planning Committee. The Mystic Regional Emergency Planning Committee has grown to nineteen member communities and is designed to facilitate the sharing of resources in the event of an emergency. The Mystic Regional Emergency Planning Committee has achieved Full Certification Status by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. The Reading Fire Department has developed a Hazardous Materials Emergency Plan to meet both Federal and State statutory planning requirements. For the Town of Reading the Fire Chief is the Local Emergency Planning Committee Chairman. Keeping current with State and Federal requirements is required to remain eligible for reimbursement of expenses when a Presidential Disaster Declaration is granted. Fire Prevention The fire prevention duties are assigned to the Day Officer. This position is staffed by Lieutenant Paul Jackson and he is responsible to ensure all life safety systems for new construction and renovations are designed and installed properly. This requires pre-construction meetings, plan review, code research and continual site visits to ensure proper installation. In 2014 the Department issued 674 permits and monitored several building renovations. Major projects include: Pulte Homes, M.F. Charles Building, Parish Center for Saint Agnes Church and Johnson Woods. For existing buildings, the Day Officer is responsible to ensure all life safety systems are maintained properly. Other areas of responsibility include ensuring the safety and code compliance of flammable and combustible product storage and coordinating the maintenance of Department vehicles. Lieutenant Jackson is also involved in school safety initiatives. He is an active member of the NEMLEC (North East Metropolitan Law Enforcement Counsel) Stars Program. This program is 57 designed to assist school systems to prepare and respond to a wide variety of threats in the school environment. Regional Initiatives We have three Department members who serve on specialized regional response teams. One Firefighter serves on the State Hazardous Materials Team and two personnel serve on the Essex County Technical Rescue Team. In June of 2014 Lieutenant Nelson and Firefighter Dole, as members of the Essex County Technical Rescue Team, participated in a 24 hour long large scale exercise. This exercise was designed to measure the regional technical rescue teams and the Massachusetts National Guard's capability and ability to respond to a tornado event. The exercise took place at Camp Edwards in Cape Cod. This exercise highlights the importance of these regional teams and the Massachusetts National Guard in these large scale events. Each team was required to transport their equipment and any needed supplies to operate continuously for 24 hours at a remote site. Firefighter Pelrine, as a member of the State Hazardous Materials Team, provided Hazardous Materials monitoring during the Boston Marathon event. Firefighter Pelrine was deployed along the route and provided public safety monitoring services during the race. SAFE and Community Education This year we have expanded our community education program. In addition to our existing school based SAFE Program we have added a new Senior SAFE Program. Funding for these programs is provided by two State grants that total $7,704. Lieutenant Mark Dwyer is coordinating the Senior SAFE program and Firefighter John Jenks is coordinating our school program. The SAFE program is funded by a $4,686 grant and features Reading Firefighters who are trained as SAFE educators. These Firefighters visit each school classroom of Kindergarten through grade 5 to deliver the fire safety and anti-smoking message. Firefighters use a specially designed trailer that is shared by the Metrofire District to present a very real fire scenario to the students. Using this training aid, the children are taught lifesaving skills in a controlled setting that is not possible to duplicate in the classroom. Our Senior SAFE program is funded by a $3,018 grant that has just become available this year and is designed for senior citizens. Statistically, seniors have a high rate of fire injuries and our program has been designed to increase the safety of this population. This year Lieutenant Dwyer gave several group presentations, made home visits to the elderly and assisted needy elderly residents with the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Fire Alarm The municipal fire alarm system in Reading is in good condition. This is a direct result of the planning, care and maintenance given to the system by our dedicated Fire Alarm Technicians Brian Ryan, Michael Holmes and Bruce Ayer. When appropriate, we are connecting new and remodeled buildings to the municipal fire alarm system to ensure a rapid response to an incident. 58 In addition to servicing and maintaining the municipal fire alarm system, the Fire Alarm Technicians put up and take down the Town of Reading's flag display and Christmas decorations on the decorative light poles in Reading Square. These displays take a considerable amount of time to install and remove. Personnel Lieutenant Dwyer, Firefighters Daniel Cahoon, Paul Roy, Scott Myette and John Keough were awarded the Liberty Mutual Insurance Fire Mark Award on Monday, June 16, 2014. They were recognized for their creative efforts in performing an elevator rescue of a mother and two small children. The Firefighters determined the most efficient way to extricate the family would be to use two ladders. Firefighters saw the four year old child was scared and they wanted to lessen the child's anxiety. Firefighter John Keough learned Kaelyn was a fan of the Disney movie "Frozen" so Firefighter Scott Myette brought the music up on his iPhone and they all sang "Let it Go" to calm the girl as she was removed from the elevator. This year we had one retirement from the Department and one Firefighter was hired. Firefighter Lisa Palermo retired in July of 2014. Firefighter Mathew Berger was hired in December of 2014. Conclusion Over the last year we have striven to make advancements in all areas of the Department. We have increased the level of training for our personnel, introduced new technology and equipment and aggressively pursued resources through public safety grants. The Advanced Life Support Program has been expanded to all fire apparatus and continues to provide Reading residents with the highest level of emergency medical care in this area. The condition of our fire apparatus is excellent and this increases our efficiency and capability at the scene of emergency. I would like to thank all Town Officers, Boards, Departments, members of the Reading Fire Department and especially the citizens of Reading for their continued high level of support and assistance. Respectfully submitted, Gregory J. Burns Chief of Fire Department 59 Reading Fire Department 2014 Roster Chief of Department Gregory J. Burns Captains Kenneth N. Campbell Philip B. Boisvert Paul F. Guarino Peter L. Marchetti Lieutenants Paul D. Jackson Richard L.S. Nelson David T. Ballou Mark F. Dwyer Richard A. Puopolo Firefighters Daniel Cahoon Michael Wood Joseph Lapolla Michael Holmes Scott Dole Paul Damocogno David Roy John Jenks Garrett Antanavica Robert McCarthy Eric Blackman David Ferreira Patrick Wallace Paul Roy Christopher Germain Brian Ryan Derek Loftus Robert Loring Stephen Pelrine Dana Ballou Stephen Binari Robert Beck Thomas McCarthy Robert Drake Stephen Murphy Sean Devlin Daniel Pouliot David Robidoux Scott Myette John Keough Anthony Delsignore Bruce Ayer Mathew Berger David Gentile Paul Dalton Michael Belmonte Ryan Buckley Secretary Cynthia M. Keenan Fire Department Statistics for 2014 Permit Fees collected (FY 14) $21,055 Ambulance Fees Collected(FY 14) $616,839 Total Emergency Responses 3,190 Emergency Ambulance Calls 2,024 Inspections 728 60 Police Department Mission and Value Statement The Reading Police Department is committed to providing the highest level of public safety and service to the citizens and business people within the community. . The members of the Department are empowered to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and By- laws of the Town of Reading to ensure that the peace and tranquility of our neighborhoods are maintained and that crime and the fear of crime are reduced. We emphasize and value integrity, honesty, impartiality and professionalism from our members in order to create an environment that values differences and fosters fairness and flexibility in our mission. We encourage citizen input and interaction that will assist us in developing sound partnerships between the community and police. Working together we can protect our future and enhance the quality of life for everyone within the town. This report summarizes the participation, activities, sponsorships, enhancements, accomplishments, and other notable events of the Reading Police Department in Calendar year 2014. Personnel Changes The following personnel changes and adjustments were experienced by the Police Department in calendar year 2014: April 2014 • Lieutenant Peter Garchinsky retired after 33 1/2 years of service. • Sergeant Detective Mark D. Segalla was promoted to Deputy Chief. • Dispatcher Christina Paterno resigned to become a police officer in New Hampshire. • Officer Michael Bouvier resigned to take a position with the Lowell Police Department. June 2014 • Dispatcher Matthew Vatcher was hired as a police officer and began his academy training in June at the Lowell Police Academy. July 2014 • Sergeants Richard Abate and David Clark were promoted to Lieutenant. Officer Patrick Silva, Safety Officer Christine Amendola, Officer Christopher Jones and School Resource Officer Corey Santasky were promoted to Sergeant in the Department's new re- organization. • Due to the promotions, Officer Savio was appointed as the Safety Officer and Officer Michael Muolo was appointed as the School Resource Officer. • Matthew Orr and Kaylyn Gooley were hired as new Police Officers. Both were previously academy trained. Both were assigned to the Night Shift after completing the Field Training Officer(FTO) Program. • Officer Sean Wilson was assigned to the Day Shift. November 2014 • Officer John Edson resigned. • Officer Michael Fitzgerald was assigned to the Detective Division 61 • Officer Ian Nelson transferred to the Day Shift. Awards, Recognitions and Other Noteworthy Events May 2014 • The Board of Selectmen recognized National Police Memorial Week. December 2014 • AAA Southern New England presented the Reading Police Department with three awards: 1) The Gold Award of Excellence—recognizes achievements in traffic safety, 2) Nine consecutive years without a pedestrian fatality, and 3) Safety Officer David Savio was named AAA Traffic Safety Hero of the Year. Community Policing The Reading Police Department continues to work closely with the community and other Town Departments, as well as State and Federal Agencies. The Police Department strongly promotes the philosophy of"working with the community". The Department sponsors or participates in a number of community events and/or programs. The following are a number of those. • The Police Department continues to be an active member the Reading Coalition Against Substance Abuse (RCASA). Chief James Cormier and School Resource Officer Michael Muolo are members of the RCASA. • The Police Department collaborated with RCASA and was awarded grant funding that enables the Department to conduct alcohol compliance checks. The Detective Division has worked closely with the RCASA to be trained and implement alcohol compliance checks throughout the community. • The Police Department is represented on the Human Relations Advisory Committee (HRAC) by Deputy Chief Segalla. • In June,the Department participated in Friends and Family Day held at Birch Meadow. • The Department participates annually in the Library's Vehicle Day in August, where children of all ages get to enjoy the Town vehicles of the community. • Throughout the year, the Department participated in the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau's "Click-it or Ticket" program. This program is an intensified traffic enforcement effort subsidized by a grant that targets specific traffic issues, such as seat belt use or impaired operation. • In October, the Department in conjunction with its labor unions organized its annual Senior Ham and Bean Supper at the Senior Center. • In December, the Department in conjunction with its labor unions organized the 34th annual Children's Holiday Party at Austin Preparatory School. Again collaborating with the Free Masons (Reading Lodge) to offer the Child Identification Program (CHIP) providing over 50 identification kits. • The Department's Web Site - http://www.readingma.gov/police-department, Facebook and Twitter pages are very successful and offers a variety of information for the public. • Officer David Savio replaced Sgt. Christine Amendola in the Safety Officer role. • Highlights of presentations and traffic assistance follow: 62 • Safety presentations conducted at Cobblestone Family Day Care, Little Treasures Pre-School, Joshua Eaton School, and for various Cub Scout packs. • Safety literature was provided to all of the Elementary School Principals for key points in their weekly news bulletins. Topics included bicycle safety, snow safety, and stranger safety. • Traffic assistance was provided for The Barrows School Fun Run, Joshua Eaton School Jaguar Jog, and The Downtown Trick or Treat. • Signage improvements were installed in the driveway of the Killam School and in the driveway of the Birch Meadow School (One Way and Do Not Enter Signs). • Community Service Officer James Collins gave a safety talk to the Low Vision Group at the Senior Center. • School Resource Officer Muolo participated in the Reading Memorial High School Health Fair. • In September, the Police Department was actively involved in the planning and successful implementation of the sixth annual Fall Street Faire. The Faire continues to be a huge success. • In September, the Department was awarded a grant to participate in the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau's Pedestrian Crosswalk Safety Initiative ($3000). An officer in plain clothes and a uniformed officer worked in tandem stopping motorists who failed to yield to the officer in the crosswalk in an effort to raise awareness and educate the motoring public on crosswalk safety. The two crosswalk decoy programs in September of 2014 yielded 27 issued citations and 1 arrest. Patrol Division The Reading Police Patrol Division is the core of policing services in the Town of Reading. The Patrol Division falls under the command of Lieutenant David Stamatis during daytime operations and Lieutenant David Clark on nights. The Patrol Division is comprised of 2 Sergeants and 8 Patrol Officers during the day; and 8 Sergeants and 15 Patrol Officers on nights. It currently operates a marked fleet of 5 Ford Crown Victoria style and 3 Ford SUV style cruisers as well as unmarked units. In addition to standard patrol vehicles, the Reading Police Department's Patrol Division also uses 7 pedal bikes. The Patrol Division is the most visible section of the police department, providing around the clock service to the citizens and visitors of Reading. They are the uniformed officers who provide the first line of defense for the public's safety. Each law enforcement patrol officer works to protect life and property, uphold the civil rights of individuals, preserve public peace, provide citizen assistance, enforce criminal and motor vehicle laws, and respond to emergency situations. These are dedicated and committed professionals who place their lives and well- being in jeopardy for the citizens of Reading on a daily basis. The men and women of the Patrol Division are responsible for; enforcing state and municipal laws and regulations designed to protect life and property; maintain order in an assigned sector or beat; patrol the community to preserve the peace and to prevent crime; take criminal reports and interview witnesses and suspects; apprehend fugitives and criminals; collect evidence and 63 4 • give testimony in court; conduct investigations for all misdemeanor and many felony cases; direct traffic, issue traffic citations, investigate accidents, and make arrests; participate in crime prevention, public information, and safety programs. Patrol officers maintain closer contact with the public than any other section of the police department. Most likely, the first person you will see when you are in need of the police will be the patrol officer. The men and women of the Reading Police Department's Patrol Division take great pride in serving the citizens of Reading. It is important to realize that in a split second, the most inconsequential and routine activity can develop into a potentially hazardous situation. Without question, the Patrol Division is the backbone of the police department. In 2014, the Patrol Division issued 5,299 moving violations, made 134 arrests and answered 14,209 calls for service throughout the Reading Community. Detective Division The Detective Division is the liaison of the Police Department with the Reading Public Schools, Austin Preparatory School as well as the Northeast Regional Vocational School in Wakefield. • In January the Detective Division activated the Reading Police Departments Facebook Page. Currently we have 1,260 followers. In addition, the Division had been maintaining the Department's Twitter page. The Twitter page currently has 4,267 followers, up from 2,336 in 2013. Besides those that follow us directly, our messages get shared to thousands more on a regular basis. These pages allow the Department to get important public safety information out quickly including information on; road closures, special events, press releases, weather related concerns, Level 3 Sex Offender notifications, and safety tips. They also give citizens another way to interact and send messages to us. • The Detective Division conducted alcohol compliance checks of all licenses and party patrols to identify intoxicated youth throughout the year. In August, 24 liquor license locations were checked with zero violations for `sale to a minor'. • The Detective Division handles all court matters, including processing the court paperwork for all arrests, summons, hearings, restraining orders, citation appeals, and any other pertinent issues that deal with the court. The Division makes all officer notifications for court appearances, gives information on the status of on-going cases. In addition, the Division is responsible for all discovery requests by the Commonwealth and Defense. All juvenile cases that meet the standard for diversion are monitored to make sure all of the obligations set forth for the juvenile are met. • Detectives processed over 200 anonymous tips via the Department's Text-a-Tip program. • In the Spring of 2014, the School Resource Officer conducted opiate prevention workshops with RCASA in all freshman Decisions classes and underage drinking prevention in all 11 grade Health issues classes. • In the Spring of 2014, the School Resource Officer promoted safe party prevention for 11th and 12th graders to reduce underage drinking and impaired driving at student assemblies. 64 • The Detective Division began a coordinated effort to properly track and account for drug overdose deaths that occur in, and out of town that involve Reading Residents. • In August the School Resource Officer partnered with RCASA and the Athletic Director to train 62 captains and club leaders in leadership development/substance abuse prevention. • SRO participated in monthly RCASA Board of Directors meetings and quarterly special events. • The SRO and Detective Division held numerous ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) trainings with all school personal and conducted ALICE drills in each school in the district and Austin Prep. The philosophy of ALICE is to use technology and information • in a way so that staff and students can make informed decisions. In a crisis, this program recommends removing as many people as possible from the danger zone. • Detectives worked in conjunction with RCASA to collect and properly destroy prescription drugs through the "RX Round-up" program. Since the program was developed in November of 2009, over 15,754 bottles of prescription and over the counter drugs have been collected. In 2014, 4,900 bottles were collected. This was a 20% increase from the previous year. • Detectives fingerprint residents for business purposes upon request. • In October a member of the Detective Division was reassigned to work with The FBI Boston Strike Force. • In November the Detective Division added a second Detective to be primarily assigned to narcotic investigations. This new Detective also became a member of the "Southern Middlesex Regional Drug Task Force". • The Detective Division executed three separate search warrants of buildings during 2014. As a result of those search warrants, three arrests were made. In addition they led to the seizure of numerous drugs and currency. • Major crimes the Detective Division investigated this past year included sexual assaults/rapes, B&E's, larcenies, sudden deaths/suicides, domestic violence, ABDW, child/elder abuse and cyber-crimes. In addition, the Detective Division reviews all patrol reports, and conducts investigations on numerous other types of crimes. • The Detective Division developed numerous informants in order to obtain information on various crimes being committed. • The Detective Division registers and monitors all Level 1 and Level 2 Sex Offenders that live and/or work in Town. In addition, Detective's makes the required community wide notifications. • Members of the Detective Division attended many training programs in the areas of, cybercrime investigation, search warrant preparation, domestic violence, drug and narcotics investigatory techniques, legal updates, and prosecution. 65 • The Detective Division reviews all new/renewal or change in manger applications for Alcohol Licenses or any modifications for existing licenses. In addition, numerous Class 2 Licenses (License to buy, sell, exchange or assemble second hand motor vehicles or parts), Livery Licenses, Precious Metal License, and Auctioneer's License which are submitted to the Town. • The Detectives Division conducted background checks on 4 dispatcher hires and 3 police officer hires. Detective Criminal Investigations= 151 Public Safety Dispatch The Reading Public Safety Dispatchers provide, through communications, a lifeline for the community, Police Officers and Firefighters. Eight full time dispatchers are under the direct supervision of Head Dispatcher Victoria Avery and under the command of the Day Shift Patrol Division Commander Lt. David Stamatis. Dispatchers receive requests for information and services, then triage those requests based on available resources and disseminate those requests to the emergency personnel in the field. Dispatchers greet the public entering the police station and provide a valuable service to our community. Each year, Dispatchers attend various training seminars to expand their knowledge and provide a higher level of service. Dispatchers issued 4,087 Community Access Stickers. The Dispatch Corps are the face of Reading Public Safety. In most cases, they are the first interaction the public has with a Public Safety agency. Crossing Guards The school crossing guards are part-time, civilian personnel. Currently there are nineteen permanently assigned crossing guards and eight spares. They fill in when a regular crossing guard is unable to cover his/her post. They are under the direct supervision, coordination, and control of Safety Officer David Savio. Each crossing guard plays an essential role in the safe commute of children to and from school. They also serve as an extra set of eyes and ears for the police department and the community as well. These crossing guards have proven to be devoted to their duties and are a great asset to the Town of Reading. Animal Control The Animal Control Officer is Ronald Burns and he works 13 hours per week and is on call for emergency situations. There were more than 400 calls for service received by the Animal Control Officer. There were 14 dog bites over the year resulting in injuries to humans. There were 12 dog to dog bites resulting in veterinary care. There were 18 bites over the year resulting from animal of unknown origin (14 dogs and 4 cats). There was 1 cat bite to a human reported. Those that tested negative for rabies were quarantined for 10 days. There were over 10 coyote sightings reported. Over 300 citations were issued to residents for failure to keep their dog on a leash, failure to license their dog, for biting and disturbing the peace. The majority of the calls were received from neighbors complaining about other dogs. There was one bat call which tested positive for rabies. One opossum was euthanized but did not test positive for rabies. 66 The Animal Control Officer is authorized to isolate and confine domestic animals suspected of being exposed to rabies. Acting according to state regulations and guidelines, Animal Control Officers must: • Investigate reports of domestic animals exposed to rabies. • Determine if the domestic animal has or may have been exposed to a rabid animal, and if the domestic animal has been properly vaccinated. • Make an evaluation of the exposure of the vaccinated animal and prescribe the appropriate action according to state regulations. • Obtain permission to euthanize exposed, unvaccinated animals from their owners or from the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture. (MDFA) • Carry out euthanasia permitted by the animal owner or MDFA. • Collect the head of the euthanatized animal and deliver or send it to MDPH State Laboratory Institute, if the animal has bitten or otherwise exposed a human or domestic animal. • Inspect residential kennels that house 4 or more dogs. • Ensure that vaccinated domestic animals receive a booster vaccination if needed, and that the animal remains under appropriate strict confinement or isolation. • Contact local officials when exposed domestic animals have exposed humans. Although the Animal control Officer is not responsible for handling wildlife calls, he evaluates such calls and assists where possible. He provides contact numbers for the appropriate State or private agency to handle wildlife issues beyond the Town's control. Parking Enforcement Officer The Parking Enforcement Officer is Ronald Burns. He works 18 hours per week. The major responsibilities of the Parking Enforcement Officer are: • Identify and cite motorists who violate Reading's parking regulations and reduce opportunities for violations to be committed through preventive patrols of all parking areas. • Tally and inventory tickets daily. • Identify parking problem areas within the town and forward this information to the Safety Officer. • Perform related duties as required. • Total citations issued by the Parking Enforcement Officer in 2014 were 1,274 • Total citations issued by police officers in 2014 were 573 • Total income from parking citations is $46,910 • 87%of the citations were paid • 7%of the citations were marked for non-payment. The following is the Department Roster, a statistical analysis of our enforcement efforts and a record of revenues generated by our department for calendar year 2014. 67 READING POLICE DEPARTMENT 2014 ROSTER • CHIEF James W. Cormier DEPUTY CHIEF Mark D. Segalla LIEUTENANTS Richard W. Robbins David M. Stamatis David J. Clark SERGEANTS Mark J. O'Brien John J. McKenna Christopher R. Picco Kevin M. Brown Christine M. Amendola Christopher E. Jones Patrick R. Silva Corey P. Santasky DETECTIVE DIVISION Lt. Det. Richard Abate Detectives: Michael D. Saunders Derek R. Holmes Pasquale M. Iapicca Michelle E. Halloran Robert J. MacHugh Jr Michael P. Fitzgerald School Resource Officer: Michael A. Muolo SUPPORT SERVICES Community Service Safety Officer Armorer/Fleet Maintenance Officer James P. Collins David V. Savio Justin P. Martel PATROL OFFICERS Joseph J. Belmonte Matthew B. Vatcher Laura M. Bullis Anthony F. Caturello Patrick A. Dawley Erik W. Drauschke Sean M. Wilson Matthew C. Edson Michael S. Scouten Keith D. Hurley Matthew J. On Salvi A. Lavita 68 Mark R. Mullen Michael R. Lee Ian A. Nelson Kaylyn A. Gooley Kristen L. Stasiak Christopher J. Voegelin Reading Police Department 2014 Ancillary Personnel CLERKS Administrative Assistant Victoria Cummings Administrative Secretary Joanne Power DISPATCHERS Head Dispatcher Victoria Avery Christopher Finnegan Debra Haynes Ryan Mahoney Joseph Pagnotta - Regina Saunders Susan Tapley SCHOOL CROSSING GUARDS (s=Spare) Cindy Asci Mildred Barton Bob Bent John Cain Claude Miller(s) Bob Dewolfe Art Dickinson Peg Faulkner Mary Fitzgerald James Hubbard (s) Gerry Intonti (s) Lucy Intonti Tina Lantz Marsha Leighton Ann Lipchus Joe Lopiccolo Louann Kris McNiel Dick Prudente Al Sletterink MacKinnon George Snow(s) Robert Matarazzo Lynn Upton Mike Upton(s) Joe Veno (s) (s) (s) Rosemary Barbara Wilson Violante ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER/PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER Ronald Burns 69 Service Statistics calendar year 2014: • Arrests 134 • Protective Custody 58 • Motor Vehicle Citations 5299 • Parking Violations 1274 • Detective Criminal Investigations 151 • Automobile Crashes Investigated 554 Fees Collected calendar year 2014 • License to Carry Permits $ 4,050.00 • Firearm Identification Cards $ 450.00 • Police Reports Copied $ 3,017.00 • Parking Fines $ 46,910.00 • Administrative Fees for details $ 38,623.00 • Community Access Stickers $ 83,405.00 • Parking Space Rentals $ 34,100.00 • Civil Motor Vehicle Infractions $ 39,948.50 • Community Room Rental fee $ 960.00 • Motor Vehicle Lease Surcharge $ 2,746.00 Conclusion To summarize our Mission Statement, we are empowered to enforce the laws of our land, but in order to do this appropriately and adequately we have to work with the community. Providing the community with the highest level of police service is a goal that will require dedication, hard work and a strong commitment to and from our community. I want to thank the citizens of our community for their support and cooperation. Working with the community your police department will accomplish its mission. Respectfully submitted, ( aviOtal James W. Cormier Chief of Police 70 READING COALITION AGAINST SUBSTANCE ABUSE (RCASA) Staff The RCASA staff included two full time employees. The Director oversaw personnel, fiscal management, public relations, and coordinated coalition work, including planning, training, communication, data collection, dissemination, reporting, and evaluation. The Outreach Coordinator coordinated project services and activities, including communication and information dissemination. As a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, the Outreach Coordinator supported residents impacted by substance use disorders. A new part-time Youth Coordinator will join the RCASA team in 2015, supported by new grant funds. Leadership The 24-member Board of Directors met monthly to accomplish critical tasks including data gathering, outreach, and leadership development. Adult and student representatives provided valuable status reports on initiatives. New members appointed in the spring included Adam Bakr (RMHS), Officer Michael Muolo, John Halsey (Selectman), and Sherri VandenAkker (Parent, Documentary Filmmaker). In June and August, the Town Manager, Chief of Police, Deputy Chief, Elaine Webb, and Pat Shannon met with members of the Zoning Advisory Committee to review the options for potential zoning of medical marijuana dispensaries. The options presented included placement in the industrial zone near Walkers Brook Drive with a buffer zone from schools or places where children gather. Board leaders participated in additional ZAC meetings and issued a letter in support of the 500sq foot zoning by-law, which Town Meeting approved in September. In September, the RCASA Nominating Committee also conducted officer elections and reported roster changes at their Annual Meeting. Professional Development The Director was submitted as Candidate for the new Certified Prevention Specialist credential through the MA Board of Substance Abuse Counselor Certification. The credential required completion of 100 hours of continuing education in prevention practice, theory, ethics courses; 2,000 hours of substance abuse experience; and competency in Planning, Evaluation; Skill Development; Community Organization; Public Policy, and Environmental Change. The Outreach Coordinator was renewed as a Licensed and Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Regional Connections The Outreach Coordinator participated as a judge for the Middlesex Partnerships for Youth PSA Contest through the DA's Office and as an expert panelist at Wakefield's opioid abuse forum in April. A team from Newburyport Public Schools visited Reading to learn more about the School District and RCASA on May 20 and met with the RCASA Director to learn more about the Chemical Health Education program. The Reading Public Schools, MA Advocates for Children and Lesley University co-sponsored a conference for 13 Safe and Supportive Schools grantees on June 3. The RCASA Director was on the event panel to share behavioral health initiatives. The Mystic Valley Public Health Coalition involving the communities of Malden, Medford, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham and Wakefield continued their opioid prevention and intervention project. Reading benefits from the collaborative through access to data, capacity building and training. The regional team presented their needs assessment results to all six communities involved in the spring. State Senator Jason Lewis, in partnership with the Mystic 71 Valley Public Health Coalition and RCASA, hosted a regional forum in Reading in October to discuss opioid abuse. The forum generated a deeply meaningful discussion, with a focus on challenges faced at the local, regional, and state levels. The Director also presented at conferences in Wilmington, Ashland, Pittsburgh, PA, and Washington D.C. Proiects/Events Staff carried out federal Sober Truth on Underage Drinking Prevention (STOP) grant activities throughout the year and launched new grant activities in October through the SAMHSA Drug Free Communities Grant and Project AWARE Grant. The Director met weekly with the School Support Services Administrator to collaborate on the School Climate Grant and the AWARE Grant. She also met with the Finance and School Leaders to outline responsibilities. A. Targeted Alcohol Prevention Al. Implement Extracurricular Alcohol Education Programs RCASA hosted a series of WHO CARES ABOUT KELSEY documentary screenings for 100 High School staff, the principals of all 8 schools, 65 students enrolled in special programs, and an event for 225 residents. The film addresses a young women's behavioral disability while coping with her mother's alcoholism. The film discussions and expert panel promoted access to supportive services for managing dual disorders. Kelsey visited the district in February to meet with 350 faculty, students and community members. RCASA hosted THE ANONYMOUS PEOPLE film screening on May 21 at the Showcase Cinemas for 110 participants. The film focuses on changing the addiction conversation from problems to solutions. We recruited 14 sponsors to help screen the film including-12 Step Education of New England, Comics for Recovery, Hallmark Health System, MA Organization for Addiction Recovery and 9 local coalitions. The post-film discussion focused on enhancing referrals for families impacted by substance use. The School Resource Officer and Administrators promoted safe party prevention for upperclassmen in 2014. Trained adult chaperones used breathalyzers at school dances. The High School purchased new breathalyzers for 2015 activities. A2. Health Educators use Glencoe Health Education Program Staff worked with the School District to continue integration of substance abuse prevention lessons in grades K-12 using interactive elements, skill building and relevant content. To supplement regular curricula, staff and the School Resource Officer taught opioid and alcohol prevention classes for 400 students. Staff educated 25 students on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in the Child Development class and discussed the impact of underage drinking on adolescent brain development. The Director presented a detailed presentation of the Glencoe curriculum to the School Committee and addressed questions regarding efficacy. A3. Improve Underage Drinking Prevention Policies The high school issued Chemical Health violations under their progressive discipline policy for students enrolled in sports, clubs, drama, and band during the school year and summer. Police continued their Zero Tolerance Policy for youth caught with substances and enrolled youth in their pre-trial diversion program. Staff presented the Annual Update of the Chemical Health 72 Policy to the School Committee on May 6. To keep the community informed, staff demonstrated the policy impact through the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Results compared to the state and national data (released in the summer of 2014) for the RCASA Board, School Committee, Selectman and community members at our Annual Meeting in September. The results showed decreases in underage drinking for three data points. The RCASA Director participated in interview teams for key positions that impacts policy implementation including the high school Principal and School Resource Officer positions. A4. Improve Local Sanctioning Procedures RCASA staff conducted classes for youth with violations and provided case management for court-involved youth. School violations result in 25% loss of activity season (games only) and participation in a 2-hr class. Pre-trial violations results in community service hours, 2-hr education class and other court conditions. High school administrators (school violations) and police (Pre-trial Diversion Program) referred 40 youth as of December. Overall 95% of these offenses involved underage drinking. Staff conducted monthly Chemical Health Education classes (using Hazelden's Alternate Routes curriculum) for youth with violations. A5. Provide Chemical Health Expectations and Attitudes Training Working with high school staff, we implemented a new Youth Leadership Program "Reading Rocket Revolution" and Coaches Education "Adults Assist". Staff offered the first ADULTS ASSIST To Deter Substance Abuse Workshop on May 13 for 10 coaches. During the summer, RCASA staff formed an Action Team including a high school Guidance Counselor, Teacher/Coach, and Assistant Principal to develop the "Rocket Revolution". The name captures the school's mascot name and the spirit of changing school culture. The Rocket Revs engaged 62 students to promote the Chemical Health Policy and school core values. On August 14, the Action Team hosted the first training for all of the school's captains and club officers to develop their leadership capacity. One activity demonstrated that the youth felt their leadership skills should focus on their capacity to be seen by their peers as hardworking, honest, respectful, understanding and approachable. The second leadership event in October was the formal "Rocket Revs" Kick Off for 60 students, focused on mission, vision, and planning. A6. Enhance Referral and Counseling Staff members met frequently with key school leaders to build the support network. Staff provided consultation and referrals to families calling RCASA for assistance. Youth involved in the Chemical Health Education Program was required to meet with staff within two weeks of the class to debrief Staff provided youth with referrals for additional services. In June, staff partnered with the Schools and Police to expand resources for referrals to counseling through a grant application which was ultimately funded. Staff developed info kits for 20 local healthcare providers and 150 parent kits. We disseminated these small gift bags filled with resources by visiting local providers and via two community events. Over the next two years, 600 adults will be trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid to enhance referrals to counseling or other support services. A 7. Provide Risk Screening Staff compiled the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey questionnaire (including grant core measures) and provided guidance to the School District to engage a qualified consultant to 73 analyze the data. Students will take the survey in early 2015. In September, the District was awarded a School Climate Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, which allows for full implementation of the Multi-Tiered Support System, which helps identifying and addressing students' needs. B. Conduct Alcohol Compliance Program On March 7, two teams of officers conducted surveillance of package stores. No underage persons observed trying to purchase liquor. On March 21, one officer conducted surveillance of package stores. No underage persons observed trying to purchase liquor. The Director presented to Police Supervisors on the text a tip and the juvenile diversion programs to reduce underage drinking in June. Staff conducted field training for new police officers on underage drinking in July. Promotion of the anonymous tip line was conducted throughout the year including outreach conducted at the High School Future Freshman Night (300 students and parents) and the Town Fall Street Faire (5,000 visitors). Based on tips, Reading Police found three violations for sales to a minor. The Selectman issued an unprecedented 90-day suspension, upheld by the ABCC upon appeal. With state funds, local detectives conducted alcohol compliance checks and party patrols. In August, there were 24 checks with zero failures. Police conducted surveillance on September 5 and 12. Finance RCASA staff worked diligently with town, police and school staff to generate quality grant proposals for a number of public funding entities. RCASA, Police, and the Reading Public Schools were successful in securing five grants to support substance abuse prevention and mental health education. RCASA contributed to grant proposals for the Police ($5,000 for Alcohol Compliance) and Schools ($1.25 million for School Climate). Grants Supporting RCASA Annual Amount End Renew SAMHSA STOP Act, awarded 9/30/12 $48,258 $190,032 9/30/15 Yes SAMHSA/White House Office of the National $125,000 $625,000 9/30/15 Yes Drug Control Policy, awarded 9/30/14 SAMHSA President's Projects of Significance, $50,0000 $100,000 9/30/15 Yes awarded 9/30/14 The Director compiled the required federal Prevention Management Reports. These 100 page reports cover all aspects of grant implementation. The town, school and police departments contributed $160K in match resources for RCASA's office/meeting space, supervision, and financial oversight. A donation from the Young Women's League of Reading was also received. Public Relations Staff created newsletters, updated the website and social media to keep the community informed. Police posted RCASA news on their twitter reaching over 2,200 followers. Large posters, online invitations, flyers, and a program were developed for the Coalition Film Series, which reached 500 people. Staff sent Press Releases to three local news outlets. RCASA also used YouTube to release four new videos. Staff connected with elders through two senior center events including their Annual Health Fair. 74 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Directors Comments I am pleased to submit the 2014 annual report for the Department of Public Works. I would first like to thank the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager Bob LeLacheur for all their help and support over the past year. In addition, I would like to specifically thank all supervisors for their continued support, cooperation and dedication, as well as all other members of the Department for their continued hard work, cooperation, and pride, which is evident in the excellent professional service and programs you provide, and projects you complete. By the end of 2014 the succession process/reorganization within the department has been nearly completed, with the exception of replacement of long time Water Supply Supervisor, Peter Tassi, who is scheduled to retire early in 2015-this position will be filled early in 2015 to provide some overlap/training potential. The new, now in place, supervisory structure includes Joe Huggins (Assistant Director), Peter Isbell (Supervisor Water/ Sewer), and George Strazzere (Supervisor Highway/Equipment Maintenance). In addition, as a result of a recently completed town wide job classification study, long time clerk Deb Malonson has been upgraded from clerk, to Administrative Secretary. A special thanks goes out to Jim Richardson (Water/ Sewer supervisor), and Mike DeBrigard (Highway/ Equipment Maintenance Supervisor), both of whom retired in 2014 after over 40 years of dedicated service to the Town of Reading. I thank them for all their help and dedication, and wish them the best of luck/health in their retirement. They may be gone, but they will never be forgotten. Department personnel continue to be actively involved as members or liaisons to a number of Boards and Committees (examples of this being our coordination/ work with the Town Fall Street Faire Committee, annual tree lighting ceremony, as well as the Town Friends and Family Day event). Specifically, work with the newly comprised Town Forrest Committee, resulted in the implementation of new rules and regulations regarding use of the Forrest, monitoring/ tracking all Town Forrest activities, as well the installation of appropriate signage and dog waste dispensers. We also assisted other Departments throughout the year on many projects and programs, as identified in the following report. The engineering division continues to be extremely active with a number of ongoing projects (approximately 25 between FY14 and FY15), including outside agency project oversight/ inspection monitoring on West Street regarding work from MA DOT, National Grid, and MWRA . 75 In addition, the Town continued with its aggressive road paving program, with the paving/ repair of 26 streets, as well as construction of a new sidewalk on Vine Street, as well as ongoing repairs to a number of sidewalks throughout town. Town meeting also authorized the continuation of a major water capital improvement program, which was initiated in 2014, that will only further enhance the Towns' water quality and infrastructure for generations to come. The Town initiated a new customer service program titled "See click Fix", where residents can, via on line or mobile application, initiate requests for services, or report on issues that need departmental attention, including pot holes, missing signs, hanging tree limbs, etc.,- with over 100 requests received by the end of 2014. Discussions have been initiated with the Town of North Reading and the Mass Water Resource Authority (MWRA), regarding the potential of wheeling water through Reading into North Reading. MWRA is projected to continue its aggressive capital/infrastructure improvement program, in hopes of this potential becoming a reality in the not too distant future- stay tuned. The department also participated in a number or professional development/safety training programs including driving/chainsaw safety, injury prevention, work zone safety, effective communication in the workplace, etc.- many of which were sponsored by MIIA, the Town's insurance carrier. These ongoing programs not only continue to professionalize the department, but help to reduce the town's insurance/obligations. The department continued its success in applying for and receiving outside grants, including one from DEP in the amount of$1300 to be used in our recycling program , as well as a MIIA Safety grant for $5000 of a state of the art safety "trench box", to be used during various excavation projects. As you will see in the individual Division reports, the Department continued to be extremely active in 2014 with our many projects, programs, ongoing daily type maintenance work- while continuing to assist and service the general public on a daily basis. All this work requires a major teamwork/group effort approach to accomplish. It is a credit to the staff that these major high profile projects were completed in a timely, cost effective manner, while at the same time, performing the daily, routine tasks needed to serve our residents. I am confident that in the year ahead this department will continue on its path of excellence. Jeffrey T. Zager Director of Public Works 76 Administration Comment The Administration Division supported the Department with procurement administration, budget preparation and coordination, departmental personnel and payroll services, accounts payable processing, cemetery administration services and responses to public inquiries and concerns over all Public Works areas of responsibility. Significant projects included: > Procurement, project support, and contract management for over 10 contracts throughout the public works divisions including highway projects and supplies, water and sewer main projects, fuel, salt, and snow removal. > Oversight of a five year contract for our Town-wide solid waste collection and curbside recycling. The contract ends in July 2016. The program includes weekly dual-stream recycling for paper and comingled items, scheduled events for rigid plastics, paper- shredding, metal pickup, (5) curbside leaf collections, along with (1) bulk item picked up weekly curbside at no charge, and a reduced charge for curbside TV/CRT pickup through the vendor. > Coordination of(2) Household Hazardous Waste Day collection events with the Town of Wakefield. > Overall facilitation of the Water Conservation Rebate Program: Appointment scheduling, rebate processing and tracking of high-efficiency washing machines, low- flow toilets, and irrigation system rain sensors, and rain barrels. > Significant strides have been gained in reducing disposal tonnage. Increased recycling efforts through continued media and educational initiatives have led to new programs and new initiatives being instituted. > Implementation of See-Click-Fix in the community. See-Click-Fix is a mobile app that enables residents to enter issues such as potholes, downed tree limbs, water leaks into 1 the system. The system is monitored by the Administration and work orders are routed to our supervisors, and they address each concern. > Re-configuration of recycling at Newcrossing Road. New layout allows for safer access 0 and incorporates a more self-service approach. > Purchased a 30' enclosed container for Styrofoam at recycling center. Emphasis continued on providing public information, responding to inquiries and concerns, and improving all areas of public communications. Cemetery Division To the Board of Cemetery Trustees The following is from office records for calendar year 2014. Interments— 130 Interments for all years— 15,114 Markers set—28 Foundations—27 Monuments re-set— 12 77 Sale of Lots Forest Glen—3 lots in the Urn Garden. Total for all years—2,074 lots, 798 single graves. Charles Lawn — 4 lots, Total for all years 518 lots, 6 single grave 263 single and veterans graves. Wood End—27 lots and 2 single graves—Total for all years—457 lots, 39 single graves. Cooperation from other divisions of Public Works was outstanding and much appreciated. The Board of Cemetery Trustees has been very supportive of all the numerous programs and goals of this division. I thank them for all their assistance. Respectfully submitted—Robert L. Keating, Supervisor Custodian of Veteran's Graves—Calendar year 2014 Interments—WWII—5 Korea—6 Vietnam— 1 Peacetime -2 Total of all veteran's interred— 1,847 As has been the custom for many years, all veteran's graves were decorated with a flag and a potted flower for Memorial Day. Respectfully submitted—Frank Driscoll, Custodian of Soldiers and Sailors Graves. Engineering Division The Engineering Division provides engineering services to all Departments within the Town of Reading. The Division is responsible for: preparation of plans, contract documents, specifications and estimates; survey layout, inspection, design and construction management of Town construction projects; upkeep of traffic markings and traffic signals; review of subdivision plans and site plans for accuracy and conformance with the subdivision and site plan rules and regulations; review of conservation submittals, preparation of subdivision and conservation bond estimates, inspection of subdivision construction and the administration of the pavement management program and Chapter 90 roadway improvement program. The Division also provides technical assistance and guidance on various Town projects, performs traffic studies, regulates and inspects private construction activities within Town roadways; and is responsible for the maintenance of all records concerning the subdivision of land, roadway, water, sewer and drainage construction, town maps and the issuance of various permits. The division provided field survey, design and construction management services for the following construction projects designed and completed during the year: 78 Roadway Improvements Prepared bids, provided project management and inspection for roadway improvement program consisting of the following: Mill and overlay the following roadways; • Lisa Lane (Randall Rd. to Cul-de-sac) • Randall Road (Dead-end to Cul-de-sac) • Willow Street (Lowell St. to Railroad Crossing) Reclaim the following roadways; • Apple Gate Lane (Covey Hill Rd.to Cul-de-sac) • Ash Hill Road (Walnut St. to Maple Ridge Rd.) • Balsam Road (Red Gate Ln. to Ash Hill Rd.) • Breton Circle (Border Rd. to Cul-de-sac) • Border Road (500' from West St. to end) • Cherry Lane Drive (Summer Ave. to Cul-de-sac) • Coolidge Road (Wescroft Rd. to end) • Covey Hill Drive (Franklin St. to Apple Gate Ln.) • Deborah Drive (Apple Gate Lane to Cul-de-sac) • Marla Lane (Apple Gate Ln. to Spruce Rd.) • Putnam Road (Main St. to Pearl St.) • Reading Terrace (Putnam Rd. to Cul-de-sac) • Springvale Road (300' E of Overlook Rd. to Coolidge Rd.) • Wescroft Road (West St. to County Rd.) • Vale Road (Woodward Ave. to Vine St.) • Woodward Avenue (High St. to Vine St.) • Pine Ridge Circle (Pine Ridge Rd. to Cul-de-sac) Crack Seal the following roadways: • Birch Meadow Dr. (Arthur B Lord to John Carver Rd.) • Franklin St. (Main St. to Haverhill St.) • Grove St. (200' N of Lowell St to Franklin St.) • Haverhill St. (Timberneck Dr. to River Rd.) • High St. (Washington St. to Vine St.) • Hopkins St. (Summer Ave. to Main St.) • John St. (Salem St. to Walkers Brook Dr.) • Middlesex Ave. (Lowell St. to Vine St.) • New Crossing Road (Walkers Brook Drive to End) • Prescott St (West St to Lincoln St.) • South St. (Whitehall Ln. to Walnut St.) • Summer Ave. (Willow St. to Oak St) • Symonds Way (Haverhill St. to Dead End) • Walkers Brook Dr. (Washington St. to Town Line) • Walnut St. (South St. to Hopkins St.) • West St. (Longwood Rd. to Town Line) • Willow St. • (RR Tracks to Summer Ave.) • Woburn St. (Main St. to West St.) 79 Sidewalk and Curb Installation and Repairs • King Street — southerly side along Walter S. Parker Middle School property, 300 feet new granite curb Roadway Traffic Improvements • Salem Street\Bay State Road Pedestrian Warning Flasher— project delayed due to funding, re-design project to remove flasher from state property, project to be bid 2015 Water Projects • Water Main improvements, project expanded to include additional mains and separated in Phase I and II Improvements — Phase I contract advertised and awarded, contractor has completed the following improvements: Length Location Project Limits (feet) Improvement Type Minot Street Main St to Washington St 1,559 Replace w/ 8" DI Libby Avenue Salem St to end 2,282 Replace w/ 8" DI The balance of the work listed below to be completed in 2015 Length Location Project Limits (feet) Improvement Type Main Street Ash St to Hopkins St 4,633 Replace w/ 12" DI Main Street South St to Hopkins St 658 Abandon Bear Hill Road Summer Ave to Hopkins St 1,186 Clean& Line Summer Avenue Hopkins St to Bear Hill Rd 1,486 New 12" DI X Country Belmont St to Libby Ave 1,105 New 8" DI • Phase II Improvements - performed project survey and design the following water main improvements: Location Project Limits Length Improvement Type (feet) Main Street Woburn St to Mill St 12,313 Clean& Line Mill Street Main St to Town Line 1,724 Clean& Line Locust Street Main St to Auburn St Tank 1,016 Clean& Line Linden Street Woburn St to Lowell St 992 Replace w/ 12" DI Salem Street Main St to Bay State Rd 4,567 Replace w/ 8" DI • Auburn Water Tower — met with cell companies on equipment relocation; project delayed to develop RFP for additional cell company equipment and lease extensions. Expected bid date 2015 pending Town Meeting approval of RFP and leases • Water System Hydraulic Model — worked with Town's consultant and North Reading's consultant to determine required system improvements to supply North Reading with MWRA water through Town's system 80 Sewer System and I/I • Whittier Rd.\Tennyson Rd. Area — completed 90% of MWRA Phase 8 project to test and seal main lines and manholes. • Howard Street Improvements — (Sigsbee Avenue to County Road) contractor completed sewer replacement project • Lewis Street\Charles Street — advertised and awarded contract, contractor completed sewer slip line project • I/I Program — manage TV inspection of 22,141 if of sewer; tested 332 joints; sealed 153 joints; repaired 2 manholes; prepared and submitted quarterly and annual reports to MWRA Parks & Playgrounds • Washington Park — project awarded in July contractor completed all work except for decorative sidewalk, court markings and final loam and seed • Sturges Park — prepared plans; submit NOI for restoration of stream bank, Order of Conditions expected in 2015 • Memorial Park Lighting — layout field lighting and conduit location for installation by Army Corps of Engineers • Birch Meadow School—assist recreation in tot lot wall design and construction Stormwater • Walnut Street\Curtis Street Drain Installation — received order of conditions from Conservation Commission; advertised and awarded contract; project start delayed due to hash winter conditions • Howard Street Drain Improvements — prepared final design plans and prepare plans and documents for submission of NOI to Conservation Saugus and Aberjona River Study Consultant completed draft and final report. Division reviewed draft and final report and provided comments to consultant. Final report presented to Selectman. Scheduling of identified projects to be determined at a later date. Stormwater Mapping and NPDES MS4 Assistance Consultant completed the field verification phase of the Town's stormwater GIS plan data. The division continued verification of stormwater GIS data. Work continued on meeting the requirements of the NPDES MS4 Phase II Stormwater program with the submission of the annual compliance report; system mapping, distribution of storm water awareness information, and flyers; presented stormwater information at the Parker Middle School Science Fair Day. Attended EPA meeting on release of MS4 draft permit. Miscellaneous Projects • Cemetery Garage & DPW Facility Site Study and Improvements — review DPW site options developed by consultant. Draft final report submitted • Wood End Cemetery—field located new burial plots for Cemetery Division • Town Hall - prepare draft office space plans for Town Hall reorganization • Property Plans: Woburn Street School -ANR plan 81 • Traffic Markings — repainted roadway centerlines, edge lines, stop lines, crosswalks, roadway stencils, parking stalls and parking lot markings Federal\State Programs and Projects • West Street Roadway Reconstruction Project: MassDOT awarded contract, work to start spring 2015 • MWRA's 36 inch diameter redundant water main: provide project oversight to MWRA's water main project on West Street • Main Street \ Franklin Street Intersection — MassDOT installed right hand turn lane and handicap ramps within intersection • MassDOT—met with district staff to discuss Main Street roadway diet and repaving project Traffic Signal Maintenance — During the year the Division performed site and equipment investigations, and contracted consultants and contractors to perform repairs to the following traffic signals: Town Wide • repaired school zone flashers • replaced faulty walk signs Main Street\Haven Street • replaced signal controller • consultant adjusted signal timing, replaced load switch and BIU Main Street\Fire Station • reset signal controller Main Street\Washington Street • replaced signal controller Summer Avenue\Prescott Street • repaired signal head West Street\South Street • replaced signal post due to accident • review signal timing The Engineering Division performed engineering reviews of plans submitted to the Community Planning and Development Commission and performed site inspections for site plan compliance, adherence to subdivision regulations and conformance with DPW utility standards for the following private development projects and subdivisions: 2 Audubon Road 285 Main Street 92 Sanborn Lane Austin Prep. 306 Main Street 303 Salem Street 198-202 Ash Street 1090 -1100 Main St Sailor Toms Way Bethune Ave. One General Way Town Library 30 Haven Street 10 Osborne Ave 57 Village Street 312 Haverhill Street 75 Pearl Street 87 Walkers Brook Johnson Woods 10 Pierce Street Woburn Street 364 Lowell Street Reading Woods 82 I In addition to the above private developments the Division provided general oversight and field inspected work performed by NGRID in the replacement of cast iron gas mains on the following roadways: West Street Pleasant Street During the year the Engineering Division issued permits, performed utility mark outs and performed construction inspections for the following: Sewer Connections 20 Gas Permits 132 Sewer Disconnections 16 Street Occupancies 8 Sewer Repairs 9 Street Openings 21 Water Renewals 20 Driveway Permits 1 Water Connections 6 Jackie's Law Permits 43 Dig Safe Requests 249 Soil Test Inspections 5 Highway Division The Highway Division at the Public Works Facility consists of eighteen employees; four are Mechanics, one is a Dispatcher and the twelve that are left maintain the infrastructure of the Town of Reading. The regular projects such as street sweeping, catch basin repair (62), roadside cutting, sidewalk and street maintenance (potholes), tree lawn repair, mixing and sifting loam and compost, traffic control, street signs, cleaning of catch basins (approximately 2600), and ditches continued by priority and need. Street sweeping was started on April 7, 2014 and finished on May 21, 2014 Miscellaneous Placed and filled planters for ADOPT-AN-ISLAND program, did Styrofoam and electronics recycling on a daily basis, Held Hazardous Waste Day, Paper shredding and Rigid Plastic recycling, and had ADOPT-A-FAMILY in November and December, and Equipment Day at the Library and Town Day. Provided support for the annual Street Faire, did traffic control for Christmas on the Common, and the Halloween Parade. We installed Brackets and Banners, Flowers and Hangers in the square. Vehicle Maintenance Repaired and serviced the equipment from Police, Fire, School, Building Maintenance, Council on Aging, and Public Works Departments with 4 mechanics. They continued to take waste oil from the public during the week and on Saturdays, and did emergency in the field repairs as needed. 83 Snow and Ice During the winter season of 2013-2014 we plowed eight (8) storms and sanded Twenty-one (21) times. Special Projects Installed Concrete sidewalks on Woburn St, Vine St. and Highland St. Paved, Pratt St. Skim coat sections of Grove St., South St., Birch Meadow Dr., and Van Norden Rd. Police Station replaced concrete entrance Memorial Park Lights construction Hot top berm and sidewalk on King St. After over forty years of service Highway Supervisor Mike deBrigard retired. His service and dedication to the Town will be missed. Forestry-Tree Warden's Report Eighty-seven trees were removed. These trees were dead or in a dangerous condition as to be a threat to public safety. Fifty-seven hazardous tree stumps were removed from the tree lawns, parks, schools and playgrounds for public safety. One hundred and twenty-two trees were trimmed. Dead wood and low branches were removed from the public trees as requested or observed. A street-by-street hazardous tree survey of the Town was completed during the winter months. As a result of the survey 29 hazardous trees were identified as well as 14 trees to be trimmed. There were 51 hanging limbs removed from over the street and sidewalks. Forty-eight trees were planted by the Town as street trees the varieties included Zelcova, Sweet Gum, Gingko, Elm and Red Maple. Trees were planted roadside and in Hunt Park, Reading Memorial High school, Barrows school, Memorial Park and the Wood End Cemetery. The Compost Center on Strout Avenue continues to accept brush and leaves from residents. The Compost Center had 37,893 cars come through in 2014. Residents are required to purchase stickers for use of the compost center. The holiday lighting put up by the tree crew in the town square was once again very successful. There were 20,000 colored bulbs installed on the common. RMLD donated 40 strands of the new LED lights. The Town of Reading was awarded "Tree City USA" for the Twenty-eighth consecutive year by the National Arbor Day Foundation. Five hundred Tulip trees were purchased and distributed to all the fifth graders. Thanks to the Reading Rotary Club that has sponsored and assisted in this program to make"Arbor Day 2014"a success in Reading. A special thanks to all the committees and commissions working toward the preservation of Reading's public shade trees. Parks The division continues to maintain 80 acres of grassed area though out the town, also the facilities within the parks and schools. This includes the renovation as well as continued maintenance of all the ball fields on school or parks grounds. The division maintains 16 tennis 84 and basketball courts,.the tot lots, and the skating rinks. The Division maintains the grounds for all municipal as well as school buildings. The division also assists all Town departments, committees and commissions with tree maintenance, snow and ice removal and election set-up. Respectfully Submitted— Robert L. Keating, Supervisor-Tree Warden Water Distribution A total of 9 new water services were installed, 21 old water services were replaced, repaired 20 water service leaks, repaired 20 broken water mains, replaced 3 old fire hydrants, repaired 11 broken fire hydrants, rebuilt 36 fire hydrants. Disconnected 5 water services for house demolition, replaced 2 water main gate valves, replaced 50 old water services from the water main to the sidewalk shut off on Sturges Rd., Parkman Rd., Margaret Rd., Linden St., Mt. Vernon St., Longview Rd., Laneton Way, Palmer Hill, Shady Hill, and Scout Hill for Chapter 90 road reconstruction, assisted with friends & family day and vehicle day at Reading Library, inspected the installation of water mains at Reading Woods, Johnson Woods, Libby Ave., Ivy Lane and Heritage Rd., continued cross connection control program, flushed water mains in various sections of town, inspected Auburn St. water tank, all drinking fountains and town irrigation systems turned on in spring and turned off and winterized in fall, 2 seasonal laborers painted and lubricated hydrants over 1/4 of Town, completed annual water inventory, loam and seed on all water jobs, hot topped water and sewer trenches, checked and maintained 2 water booster stations daily, cleaned and maintained the grounds, cutting grass, etc. at the Auburn St. tank site, lowered and raised water gate boxes for construction jobs, conducted a leak detection survey, assisted Highway Division during snow plowing operations, The Town's water conservation program awarded rebates for 102 energy efficient washing machines, 12 water saving toilets, 3 irrigation rain sensor and sold 60 rain barrels. Meter Room The regular quarterly water meter reading cycle was supported, 335 work orders were received and completed, 285 bill-to-date readings were taken, 7 meters were removed, 4 meters were reset, 0 meters tested correct, 0 meters tested incorrect. Sewer Distribution Approximately 18,107' of sewer mains were cleaned and T.V. inspected, 460 sewer main joints were tested and 192 sewer main joints were sealed, 0 vertical feet of sewer manholes were sealed, replaced 3 sewer manhole frames and covers, cleaned wet wells at all sewer stations, checked and maintained 12 sewer stations daily, cleaned approximately 1/4 of the sanitary sewer main system, cleaned and maintained the grounds, cutting grass, trimmed bushes etc., around the sewer stations, completed work orders re: leaks, broken gates etc., exercised emergency generator weekly, completed the annual sewer inventory. Assisted Highway Division during snow plowing operations. Water Supply Division The DPW Water Conservation Program (WCP) continued with great success. In 2014, close to $24,000 in rebates were distributed to residents who participated in the program. Over 85 $555,000 has been rebated to residents since the program's inception in July 2003. The program incorporates emphasis on rebates for low flow washing machines, toilets, irrigation system rain sensors, and rain barrels, along with free home and irrigation system water use audits and reports and home water saving devices for residents available through the Water Department and DPW office. The WCP school educational phase continued with Meg Tabasco, Education Coordinator for the MWRA, making presentations to all 3`d grade classes in Town focusing on water supply and conservation. As required by the August 6, 2006, Administrative Consent Order (ACO) the Town entered into, with (DEP), the Town continued to retain ownership and control of the Zone I (400' radius) and protection of the Zone II (well recharge area) of the emergency water supply wells and well field. As a condition of the DEP ACO, the water supply wells and well field continued to be maintained as an emergency water supply to pump water to the distribution system with disinfection capabilities. All nine (9) of our Town wells were exercised monthly; all such wells are ready and fully operational in the case of a water supply emergency situation. The MWRA in conjunction with the Water Supply Division compiled and mailed the sixteenth drinking water report to all customers in June. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act requirements, quarterly EPA Uncontaminated Monitoring Rule 3 required sampling was completed and we were fully within all regulations. Weston & Sampson Engineers completed their 2014 Water Hydraulic Study and Report of our Town's Water Quality and Distribution Supply System. The study and report will be very helpful and fully utilized to allow our Water Department to continuously improve and always offer the best quality water and distribution system to both the Residents and Businesses of Reading. The Town has started and is proceeding forward with discussions and proposals for Reading to be a `wheeler of water' for the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) in order to provide North Reading with entry and provision of water from the MWRA's Water Distribution System. The Town of Reading, North Reading and the MWRA will all greatly benefit individually and collectively from the inclusion of North Reading into the MWRA water distribution system. The Town of Reading Water Department is looking forward to see where the discussions and proposals of such may lead. The Town of Reading wishes to thank Peter Tassi, Reading's Water Supply Supervisor and previous Supervisor for Reading's former Water Treatment Plant, for his 42' year of service to the residents of Reading and his work with the DPW and Water Department. Peter's experience, knowledge, and countless contributions have been instrumental for our Water Department's ability to provide Reading Residents and Businesses with award winning water quality and a well-run water supply and distribution system. Peter retired at the start of 2015, and we as a department, as well as our Town collectively, want to congratulate Peter and wish him the very best in his retirement. 86 With the retirement of Peter Tassi, the Reading DPW and Water Department wants to announce and welcome on board Erik J. Mysliwy as our Towns new Water Quality & Supply Coordinator. We believe Erik will be an excellent addition to our DPW and Water Department team. Supply The Reading Water Department and DPW has operated and maintained our water supply valve, vault, SCADA and security systems, and emergency water supply wells, pump station and all emergency power equipment. We have collected and delivered to laboratory for analysis over 500 water system water quality samples. A total of 582.78 million gallons of water was purchased from the MWRA and delivered to the distribution system in 2014. The highest single days' consumption was 2.42 million gallons on June 30, 2014. The highest seven (7) day consumption was for the period of June 27, 2014 to July 3, 2014 an amount of 15.53 million gallons, and the highest month was June with an amount of 59.03 million gallons. The Town of Reading's average daily usage for 2014 was 1.60 million gallons. The average daily per capita use (use by each individual) for 2014 was 46 gallons per person per day, which is 29.2% below the State required maximum of 65 gallons per person per day. The MWRA Redundant Water Main Supply installation work continued with the installation of approximately 1600 linear feet of 36-inch diameter water main, installed valves and pipe connections into Louanis Drive for a future meter pit, and started the pipe connections at South Street and Oak Street. The Town of Reading and the MWRA look forward to Reading's Redundant Water Main Supply to be fully operational in 2019 when the MWRA's Northern Intermediate High System Master Plan is completed. 87 2014 MWRA WATER PURCHASED MILLION AVERAGE MONTH GALLONS DAYS MILLION GALLONS DAY JANUARY 45.49 31 1.47 FEBRUARY 40.18 28 1.44 MARCH 45.73 31 1.48 APRIL 41.24 30 1.37 MAY 54.05 31 1.74 JUNE 59.03 30 1.97 JULY 57.90 31 1.87 AUGUST 57.63 31 1.86 SEPTEMBER 52.83 30 1.76 OCTOBER 44.79 31 1.45 NOVEMBER 40.75 30 1.36 DECEMBER 43.16 31 1.39 TOTAL 582.78 365 1.59 2014 READING, MA RAINFALL RECORDS http://www.mass.gov/dcr/watersupply/rainfall/ MEASURED MAXIMUM DAY DCR POSTED MONTH RAINFALL & RAINFALL & NORMAL RAINFALL MELTED SNOW MELTED SNOW & MELTED SNOW JANUARY 2.88 0.79 3.62 FEBRUARY 4.08 1.35 3.26 MARCH 4.63 3.73 4.09 APRIL 3.76 1.01 3.74 MAY 2.5 0.87 3.54 JUNE 3.14 1.21 3.51 JULY 7.59 2.37 3.47 AUGUST 3.74 1.64 3.65 SEPTEMBER 1.33 0.95 3.60 OCTOBER 6.52 3.15 3.75 NOVEMBER 4.44 1.23 3.99 DECEMBER 6.59 3.83 3.90 TOTALS 51.20 3.83 Dec 9th 44.12 Total precipitation in 2014 as measured at the DPW, 75 New Crossing Road was 51.20", which is 7.08" above the Department of Conservation and Recreation(DCR) composite normal for the Northeast Region as posted for 2014. Monthly normal values computed by DCR are based on averages for the entire period of record for northeast region stations having the longest period of record and are located in Concord, Lawrence and Waltham. 88 READING PUBLIC LIBRARY Report of the Library Board of Trustees The year 2014 was an exceedingly busy one for the Reading Public Library. Through its collections, programs, and outreach activities, the library serves the entire community by supporting the intellectual, civic, cultural, and educational needs of all its citizens. In addition to the many services and programs that the library provides under normal circumstances, this year was also one of building for the future. The library staff has explored popular and emerging technologies to provide content and services and to make new connections with the community. Enhanced digital services will also allow the library to supply needed material while in its temporary location. The library implemented an LSTA (federal) Customer Service in the Digital Age grant that is focused on providing advanced staff training in public technologies and devices. The demand for traditional materials and services remains high, and the library continues to strive to meet those demands. A high point of library programming this year was the "Big Read," funded by a highly competitive grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which engaged the entire community in activities based on reading Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake. Progress began on the long planned renovation and addition to the Reading Public Library this year. When extensive building tests revealed the need for a budget adjustment for the library project, a special Town Meeting approved another debt exclusion question at the April 2014 election. The community again supported the library by approving the ballot question. The Library Building Committee and the library staff worked with the architects and project management team to develop a building design that will meet the needs of the Reading community for many years to come. A general contractor was chosen and a contract signed in December. Work has now begun on this very exciting phase in the history of the Reading Public Library. After a few closed weeks for packing and moving, the library reopened at its temporary location at 80 General Way on November 8th, 2014. The staff worked diligently preparing for the move, evaluating collections and measuring and mapping the temporary space to create a plan to allow all library divisions to function smoothly in the smaller facility. Our custodians, the town's Facilities and Public Works Departments, and a professional moving company all contributed to developing and moving into a warm and welcoming temporary space to serve the community for the duration of construction. The Board of Trustees extends its thanks to the Library Building Committee, town officials and departments, our supportive fundraising groups, the Friends of the Reading Public Library, the Reading Public Library Foundation, all the citizens of Reading, and the neighbors of the library at 64 Middlesex Avenue, for their continued support and willingness to endure the inconveniences as we move into a full year of construction on our lovely historic building. Victoria Yablonsky, Chair, Board of Library Trustee 89 Report of Library Services and Activities Information Services The Reading Public Library won a prestigious $6500 National Endowment for the Arts grant to participate in The Big Read. The Big Read is designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment. The Big Read in Reading focused on at town-wide reading of The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. The Library partnered with the Reading School Department, Creative Arts, and the Senior Center to make The Big Read a source of pride and inspiration in Reading. Our kickoff event drew 225 attendees. The evening included a festival with music, Indian appetizers, henna artists, reference librarians to research the meaning and origin of names, children's Indian themed art projects and plenty of copies of The Namesake to check out. The night concluded with a Classical Indian Dance performance and lecture on the art form. The kickoff succeeded in pulling in all ages with thoughtfully designed activities for each age and a higher percentage of Indian Americans in attendance compared to previous library events. The Big Read continued to be a success over the next month as the Library hosted six book discussions with a total of 110 attendees and supported twelve private book groups with a total attendance of 102. Five groups opted for a librarian-on-loan to facilitate the discussion. We had overwhelmingly positive feedback with many participants claiming that the librarian led sessions were the best discussions in the history of their groups. Collections and Electronic Resources In the fall of 2014 the library subscribed to two new eservices, Zinio online magazines and Indieflix streaming videos. In the final quarter of 2014, Reading residents downloaded and read close to 200 online magazines and viewed over 50 free streaming videos. Other popular eservices included: • Freegal Music - 6000 downloaded songs • Mango Language Learning- 429 languages sessions • Tutor.com - 600 live homework help sessions • Consumer Reports - 927 usages viewing 15000 pages • Ancestry.com (in-library only) - 132 sessions with 6000 record searches Local History Our Local History Librarian worked with a volunteer intern to review Ben Nichols Town Forest papers. The work resulted in a complete tracing the owners of various lots that became the Reading Town Forest, a map, a finding aid and the placement of important papers in archival sleeves and folders. Shortly after the work was completed a gentleman contacted the Library because he wanted to walk on the land that had belonged to his ancestors before it became part of the Town Forest in 1931/32. Because of the work, it was easy to direct him to a map which he could overlay and figure out exactly which part of the Town Forest had been in his family. He enjoyed a Sunday afternoon and feels he found the piece of land. 90 Children's Services In 2014 we launched new Minecraft and Literary Lunch series that are big hits! In the months leading up to "the Move", children's librarians conducted early literacy classes, programs for parents and children, and a full range of school-age activities for afterschool, summer and vacation times. The Summer Reading Program was developed in conjunction with the national Collaborative and we offered a popular online reporting feature this year. Seven Hundred children reported reading for over 10,000 hours over six summer weeks. Librarians added more online resources to prepare for the move and update reference and curriculum-support materials available in new formats. Children's librarians conducted workshops at Reading Schools for teachers on these useful electronic resources. In 2014, use of the online book database, Tumblebooks rocketed to 32,856 book views (from 14,932 in 2013). Purchases of Scholastic's BookFlix, FreedomFlix and TrueFlix databases increased our online offerings for children. In addition, librarians increased purchases of ebooks available on Overdrive. Teen Services Teen Librarians managed several new technology programs including a weekly Minecraft Club and a Bristlebot robot building event. Teen librarians kicked off a winter event entitled BoSwaMoCo - Book Swap, Movie & Cocoa. The fun title and successful social media promotion of the event resulted in 24 teens attending, a 100% increase in the previous book swapping event! "Spark!A Reaction" the summer reading program for teens, had 150 students participate and together they read a total of 434 books! Community Partners The library is grateful to the many loyal groups and individuals who support library activities and programs through in-kind donations, gifts, grants, and shared resources. In 2014, the library received memorial gifts, support for its museum-pass lending program, and generous donations from local individuals, groups, and the Foundation and Friends of the Library. The library is especially grateful during its tenure in a temporary location to the partners who've allowed us to place deposit collections with them and host library programs in their classrooms, meeting, and conference rooms. The Big Read grant provided tremendous opportunities to work with community partners. The innovative town-wide "Baby Shower" Fair showcased local schools, parents' groups and community resources like the Independent Daycare Providers Network and Hallmark Health. Joint programs with Creative Arts set the stage for future activities, especially while the library is in a temporary location. Customer Service Grant Forty library users benefited from two different technology programs presented by library staff: ebooks! Ereaders! Egads! and Gadgets, Gizmos and Apps. Staff members trained weekly from January through August on a variety of technology and library skills, these skills translated to even better customer service for library users. 91 Electronic content and books were purchased for the collection as well as podcasting equipment to engage library users remotely and within the library. Move out& "The Library @ Walker's Brook" On October 11, 2014, the library closed for 27 days to move all materials, staff, usable technology and furniture to a temporary location ("Walker's Brook") at 80 General Way (the "Market Basket Plaza") in order to make way for planned construction and renovation at 64 Middlesex Avenue. Planning and implementing a move of this scale was the major focus of work for several months and included all Library staff members, coordination with Town departments and Facilities, and a professional moving company. Library administrators researched and learned about a full range of special considerations for moving a library, storing library materials, and preserving rare and precious items and special collections. Reading library senior staff members worked on a thorough review and overhaul of the library collection and planned carefully for items to be culled out for storage or "live" shelving for the anticipated 18- month tenure in a temporary facility. Some of the logistics involved: • Build-out and finishing of approximately 8,000 of public library space and additional storage area at 80 General Way; • Moving 105,000+ Books, DVDs, CDs; • Disassembling and reassembling metal shelving for the entire collection; • Installation of 17 Public workstations and 16 Staff workstations; • Installation of printers, copiers, fax machine,telephones, scanners; • Preservation and moving of all artwork,historical materials, microfilm; • Moving all chairs,tables, desks; • Moving Chumley the Gerbil and the grandfather clock; • Offsite storage for the grand piano. On Saturday, November 8, the library celebrated the opening of the "temporary library" at 80 General Way, a full service, working library with approximately 60% of the full collection available for circulation, 17 public workstations, Wi-Fi, print/copy/fax services, and a bright welcoming reading area. The library in its temporary location continues to offer a full schedule of literacy and learning programs for all ages. Working in cooperation with the school and town departments, the library moved most programs to outreach locations including many of the schools, the Pleasant Street Center, the Reading Police Department and the Mattera Cabin. We'd like to particularly acknowledge the assistance we received from the School Facilities, Department, Department of Public Works, Town IT, and all other Town departments during this major upheaval and relocation. We greatly appreciate your assistance. The work of the library staff throughout this stressful period and their efforts to restore service as quickly and seamlessly as possible was simply phenomenal and reflects their dedication and commitment to outstanding public service. Thank you all very much! Respectfully submitted, Ruth Urell, Director 92 LIBRARY SERVICE STATISTICS 2014 Circulation (total) 484,610 Adult circulation 220,767 Children's circulation 180,123 YA circulation 18,579 Interlibrary loans 65,141 Visitors 260,484 Volunteer Service Hours 1,437 Library collections (total) 122,725 Adult Books 44,870 Adult Video, DVDs, CDs 16,723 Children's Books 35,676 Children's media 4,903 Teens 5,380 Mixed media 3,808 EBooks and Downloadable & E Subscriptions 10,993 Print periodical subscriptions 360 Electronic database licenses 12 Meeting room reservations 626 Museum passes borrowed 1,977 Program attendance (Adult=2,316/ Teens=890/ Children=12,680) 15,886 Reference Consultations (Adult= 35,917/Children= 20-,605) 56,522 Library Card Holders: Registered Borrowers 18,620 Open Hours 3,032.5 93 Reading Public Library Staff 2014 Administration Director Ruth S. Urell Assistant Director Amy Lannon Administrative Assistant Kathryn Melesciuc Reference Division Division Head Lorraine Barry Adult Services Librarian Andrea Fiorillo Local History Librarian Rachel Baumgartner Young Adult Librarians Susan Beauregard, Renee Smith Promotional Services Librarian Kathleen Miksis Reference Librarians Eileen Barrett Danielle Kimerer Technical Services Division Head Jamie Penney Senior Library Associates Dawn Didham Colford, Allison DaSilva Library Associate Judy A.Newton Circulation Division Division Head Michelle A. Filleul Senior Library Associate Patrice A. O'Donnell Library Associates Donna Beaulieu Maureen Conwell Mary Ellen Downey Susan R. Haggerty Louise Hetherington Danielle Kimerer Carol Macomber Joanne H. Penta Christine Rutigliano Danielle Kimerer Pages Neftali Gonzalez Andrea Hogan Lisa Li Children's Department Division Head Corinne Fisher Children's Librarians Brenda Wettergreen Rachel Baumgartner Ashley Waring Kathryn Geoffrion Scannell Megan White Senior Library Associate Mary McIntire 94 Library Associate Meaghan F. Kinton Pages Meaghan Coughlin Theresa Teixeira Custodian John Davis Reading Public Library Board Of Trustees 2014 John Brzezenski Alice Collins Cherrie Dubois Andrew Grimes David Hutchinson Victoria Yablonsky Reading Public Library Foundation Board 2014 Bruce Austin, Secretary John Brzezenski Lynne Cameron Elise Ciregna, Vice President Amy Coumounduros, Treasurer Russ Graham Bill Hecht Barbara Mulvey Bob Nordstrand Maria Silvaggi, President Friends Of The Reading Public Library Board 2014 Jean Clark, Secretary Eleanor Delaney Kathy Egmont Leslie Haley, Co-President Cathy Hoodlet, Treasurer Beth Klepeis Liz Krugman, Co-President Alissa Onigman Fran Sansalone Anne Schofield Lynda Zarrow 95 READING HOUSING AUTHORITY It is with great pleasure that I share with you the activities and accomplishments of the Reading Housing Authority over the past year. The start of the New Year has seen a continued decline in our economy and we remain cautious during this somewhat unstable time. The pressure on the real estate market has continued to create a critical challenge for poor and lower income families to find, keep and maintain their housing. As the real estate values escalated over the past few years, it was certainly felt most dramatically at the low-income levels. Rental units have been at a greater premium in this area and we continue to see a limited availability. Previously, landlords had been able to ask for and receive high rents, which historically priced the poor and lower income families out of the rental market but with less available rental funding, many housing authorities are not approving any large rental increases. Most landlords are being cooperative within our rental market area and • working closely with staff to coordinate fair market rents. The Reading Housing Authority (Authority) strives to assist these families to seek and obtain housing that is decent, safe and sanitary. In an effort to ameliorate this impact,the Authority will continue its efforts to develop new units and purchase affordable units when the opportunity arises. The Authority recently attained an additional site to ready for use in their family program in the upcoming year. Plans are presently underway to best develop that location. We continue to support private developers and the Town in their efforts to set aside units for low/moderate income families in their proposed developments. We reach out to owners of multi-family units who would like to work with us to serve our clients. As always, the Authority goes beyond the bricks and mortar and provides assistance to families, elderly and disabled persons to obtain the services they need. We work closely with Mystic Valley Elder Services and other home care agencies to meet the needs of the elderly residents as they strive to remain independent and age in place. With budget cuts affecting all of us, we strive to maintain our programs, work with other supportive agencies and still offer a safe and decent place for our seniors, disabled and families in need. On behalf of the Board, we want to thank Executive Director, Lyn Whyte and her staff for their continued dedication, commitment and service to the Reading Housing Authority. We look forward to working with them as we meet the new challenges that lie ahead. Respectfully, Diane Cohen, Chair Organization Organized in 1963 to address the housing needs of the Town's low and moderate income residents, the Reading Housing Authority (Authority) is "a public body politic and corporate" duly organized and authorized by Massachusetts General Laws (MGL), Chapter 121B, s.3. The Authority receives it funds from the State and Federal government to assist our clients with their housing needs. Although the Authority does not receive any local funding, five unpaid Reading residents compose the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Selectmen appoints four of these 96 board members and one is the Governor's appointee. Each member serves for a 5-year term. The Board is responsible for the overall operation of the Authority. The day to day responsibility is delegated to the Executive Director. The Board meets regularly and has scheduled their monthly meetings for the first Monday of each month. The Annual Meeting of the Board is currently scheduled for the month after the Selectmen makes their annual appointment of a Board member. As of December, 2013, the Board Members and their term of office are as follows: Diane Cohen Vice-Chair and State Appointee 173 Hillcrest Avenue Term expires 6/30/2016 Timothy J. Kelley Vice-Chair 84 Woburn Street Term expires 6/30/2019 Kevin Mulvey Treasurer 67 Whittier Road Term expires 6/30/2018 Madeline J. Hodgdon Asst. Treasurer and Tenant Representative 4-7 Frank Tanner Drive Term expires 6/30/2017 Karen L. Flammia Chair 19 Vista Avenue Term expires 6/30/2015 Lyn E. Whyte Secretary and Executive Director 41 Shore Road, Saugus Administrative Staff The Board contracts an Executive Director who manages the day-to-day operations of the Authority. Within State and Federal guidelines and other budgetary limits, the Executive Director hires the supporting staff necessary to achieve the goals and responsibilities of the Authority's programs. The Executive Director, Lyn Whyte, is in a five-year contract that expires August 29, 2015. Administration: Lyn E. Whyte Secretary and Executive Director Catherine Sutherland Office Manager Kathleen Rolli Federal Program Coordinator Michelle Hudzik State Program Coordinator Vacant Part-time Program Assistant Maintenance: Frank Veglia Maintenance Supervisor Joseph Costello Maintenance Staff Kevin Boyle Maintenance Staff Edward Bennett Maintenance Staff 97 Supportive Services Affiliations Home Care. Jacqueline Carson Sanborn Home Care Director Daniel J. O'Leary Director, Mystic Valley Elder Services Jane Burns Town of Reading, Elder Services Administrator Kerry Valle Town of Reading, Case Worker Financial Institutions Reading Cooperative Bank Eastern Bank Affiliations o National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) o Massachusetts Chapter of National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (MassNAHRO) o New England Regional Council of National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NERC/NAHRO) o Section 8 Administrators Association o North Shore Housing Executive Directors' Association(NSHEDA) o Adult Literacy Committee of Reading/Wakefield YMCA Consultant Accountants: Fenton, Ewald & Associates Legal: Latham Law Offices, LLC & DHCD Legal Counsel, Lori McBride Contractors Hiltz Waste Disposal Mystic Painting Avon Plumbing Supply Wayne's Drains Hodson S M Co Inc Banner Glass Shelmar Mystic Landscaping American Alarm Automatic Laundry Home Depot Maintenance We do it all—from the beautiful paint job to the new appointments before you move into your new apartment. The maintenance staff meets the challenges on every occasion and has done an excellent job. With the four seasons here in New England, maintenance has to be ready to take it all in stride. They do the spring clean-up and plantings; the summer mowing, watering, weeding and trimming; the fall leaf pick-up; and winter's snow and ice removal. The maintenance staff works tirelessly to keep our developments looking beautiful. We have been lucky enough to have the assistance of the Work Release Program from the Middlesex Sheriff's Department. They have been exceptional in the work that they have done with our landscaping and painting projects. 98 These programs are cost effective and have become a critical component to maintaining our properties. During the course of this past year, this program enabled us to maintain the grounds of our properties with a spring clean-up and prior year snow removal. This annual scheduled project assists us with maintaining these properties and it greatly enhances their appearances. We hope to continue our relationship with the Middlesex Sheriff's Department to afford us the opportunity to enhance the appearance of all of our properties. The Authority is responsible for 108 individual units located on 10 different sites. It is no easy task to keep each one looking in its top form. The maintenance staff is also responsible for the daily work orders and any emergency work that has to be done. The Authority has an extensive preventative maintenance program for all major components and has a cyclical paint schedule for all units. 2014 Funding Received Each year the Authority applies for several grants or capital funding when available to improve our properties and better serve our residents and the community. Included in this year's awards were: Modernization of State Housing The Housing Authority had the opportunity to install new rear entry doors throughout our elderly complex known as Tannerville as a result of an Imitative Safety Grant of approximately $11,700. In addition, we received state capital funding in excess of $64,000 for our fiscal year 2015 through Department of Housing and Community Development that was used to upgrade kitchens at both our elderly development and our special needs home, along with the opportunity to replace three boiler/furnaces within our family development. All of these improvements will benefit all of our residents that live in our developments. Supportive Services Grant—HUD No funding available since we no longer administer an FSS program. Supportive Services Grant—STATE Funding of Resident Service Coordinator to address elderly/non-elderly needs for Frank D. Tanner Drive residents was approved; however, it is now categorized as an administrative expense. Audits The Authority has a Single Audit of all programs by an independent auditor each year.-Ross and Company of Nashua, NH was engaged to perform the latest review of the Authority's programs for fiscal year end June 2014. The audit was completed in November 14 and final submissions to designated agencies were completed in December 2014. The Authority had no findings or additional recommendations as a result of this latest audit. The Authority's financial position is adequate to meet the needs of the operation and development of the programs and we are fortunate to maintain a retained revenue agency status. A compliance audit for FYE June 2008 and June 2009 was conducted by the Commonwealth of Mass State Auditors office in February 2010 and completed with no findings. The 99 Commonwealth of MA has not yet scheduled our next compliance audit, however, it is our understanding that overall changes to the system are being addressed through legislation with new audit requirements for housing authorities to be enacted by June 2015. Management Review The Authority has had a current Management Review done of all State programs. The Asset Managers from the State's Department of Housing and Community Development reviewed all the operations of the State programs to insure compliance in the daily operation of the Authority's budget, occupancy, administration, maintenance, services and tenant participation. The Authority received an excellent review with minor comments. In regard to our federal program, the Authority submitted its annual Section 8 Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) reports for fiscal year end June 2013 to HUD for review and subsequent scoring. The purpose of SEMAP is to measure public housing authority performance in key areas of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program management. It is a tool used by HUD to effectively monitor and assist PHA's. It is our pleasure to report that the Reading Housing Authority received an overall score of 100 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. As a result of this score, HUD designates the Authority as a "high performer" with credit going to Section 8 Program Coordinator, Kathy Rolli for her continued efforts in administering an ever-changing federal program. We will not submit additional SEMAP reports until fiscal year June 2015. These assessments are now performed every two years for an agency of our size per latest HUD changes. State Programs The Authority currently manages the three programs under the State's Department of Housing and Community Development: 667 Housing (elderly/handicapped housing); 705 Housing (Family housing); 689 Housing (Special Needs Housing). All of our wait lists are open at the present time; however, estimated wait times can be long. All information regarding our agency and the programs we administer can be found on our website at www.readinghousing.org. We encourage applicants to apply for our elderly/handicapped (667) housing by contacting the Housing Authority at (781) 944-6755 or by accessing the application on our website. Housing for Elderly/Handicapped Persons (667) effective 5/1/14 80 units Frank D. Tanner Drive Complex Eligibility 60 years of age or disabled Income 1 person- $47,450 2 persons =$54,200 Housing for Families (705) effective 5/1/14 6 units Waverly and Oakland Road(six 3BR units) 4 units Pleasant and Parker Street(two 2BR units; two 3BR unit) Eligibility Family of 2 or more depending on Bedroom size 100 Income 2 persons- $54,200 3 persons - $61,000 4 persons - $67,750 5 persons - $73,200 6 persons - $78,600 7 persons - $84,050 8 persons - $89,450 Federal Programs The Authority manages 125 subsidies for persons of very low income under the Federal Section 8 program. Currently, the RHA participates in a centralized waiting list administered by the MASSNAHRO organization. Applications for this wait list are available at the administration office building at 22 Frank D. Tanner Drive, Reading or online @ www.readinghousing.org. The income limits are: Section 8 Rental Assistance Income limits 1 person—$32,950 2 persons - $37,650 3 persons - $42,350 4 persons - $47,050 5 persons - $50,850 6 persons - $54,600 7 persons - $58,350 8 persons- $62,150 RHA-Owned Properties The Authority presently owns and manages sixteen family units located in various locations throughout the Town of Reading. We continue to pursue opportunities to expand low income housing units within the Town whenever possible. Applications Elderly/Handicapped Housing(667) The Authority manages 80 one-bedroom units of housing for elderly/handicapped persons at our Frank D. Tanner Drive complex in Reading. To qualify for this housing, a single person or couple must meet the eligibility guidelines and be 60 years of age or older or handicapped. The Authority sets aside 13.5%of these units for non-elderly handicapped persons. The wait list is currently open for all seniors' 60 years of age and older. We encourage Reading residents to apply and are making special outreach efforts to elderly of minority representation. The 13.5% non-elderly handicapped requirement has been fulfilled but applications are still being accepted for our wait list. Non-elderly applicants will be served after the Authority has placed all qualified applicants if the 13.5% requirement has been met. You may obtain an application at the office of the Authority, 22 Frank D. Tanner Drive, Reading, MA 01867 or by accessing one online at www.readinghousing.org. Family Housing—State (705) The Authority operates the State's Family Housing Program with 2 different developments. The first family housing development that was built by the Authority is located at Oakland and Waverly Roads and is called Waverly Oaks. There are six 3-bedroom units. Our second state 101 family development is near the center of Town and is referred to as our Pleasant/Parker location. There are only four units available at this site. Our wait list is open. Approximate wait times for those presently on the list remains in excess of ten years. Section 8 Federal Housing Assistance Program Currently the wait list for our Section 8 Program is open. We now participate in the centralized wait list program initiated in December 2002 and administered by Mass NAHRO. Applications are available at our administrative office or online at www.mnahro.org. An application can be downloaded from that site and submitted to any agency participating in the centralized wait list program. There are currently over 125 member agencies taking part in that joint process. At present there are almost 200,000 families on this waitlist with waiting times for assistance quite long. The State maintains a wait list for its programs through the Metropolitan Boston Housing Program (MBHP). Anyone seeking an emergency application should contact MBHP at (800) 272-0990 to obtain an application. The local area service agency for emergency applicants is Community Service Network. You may contact them at(781)438-1977. Summit Village First Time Homebuyers Program The Authority continues to oversee the maintenance of the wait list for qualified and eligible applicants for the affordable units at Summit Village through the First Time Homebuyers Program. We presently have nine potential buyers on our waitlist. During the past year, no affordable unit was made available and subsequently sold at an affordable price to a family on our wait list. The "affordable" owners must have a fair market appraisal done; the Authority reviews the appraisal and if accepted, provides the owner with the maximum resale price for the affordable unit. If the owner has a friend who would be eligible and income-qualified, then the Authority reviews their qualifications and provides them with an "Eligible Purchaser Certificate". If the owner wishes to select an applicant from the wait list, the Authority would send the next available and eligible buyer's name to the owner to negotiate the sale. Interested applicants may pick up applications packets at the Town Clerk's office in Town Hall; at the Reference Desk at the Reading Public Library; or at the office of the Reading Housing Authority, 22 Frank D. Tanner Drive. When making an application, a $10 fee made payable to the"Reading Housing Authority"must be included along with all pertinent documentation. If the family applying for the affordable unit is headed by 2-persons, both parties must execute the application as applicant and co-applicant. Income from all family members age 18+ is included in family income for eligibility. However, if the income of one of these persons is from a dependent (not spouse) who is a full-time student, then a deduction for out of pocket expenses for books, tuition, fees and/or travel is allowed. Documentation from the school must be provided and verification for employment and expenses must be provided with the application. All persons must sign a "Release of Information" to have their documentation verified by the Authority. Highlights of the program are: First Time Homebuyer Cannot have owned a home within the last 3 years; divorced persons cannot currently own home but 3 year restriction is excused. 102 Maximum Family Income Currently, the maximum family income cannot exceed 80% of FY 2014 Medium Family Income presently set at $94,100 (effective 12/18/13) for all persons in the family from all sources (wages, interest, dividends, etc.) Family Housing The 2 bedroom units must have a minimum family size of 2 persons. The maximum number of persons that can qualify for a 2-bedroom unit would be 4 persons. The 3 bedroom units must have a minimum of 3 persons with 2 being minor children living in the household. The maximum number of persons that would qualify for a 3-bedroom unit would be 6 persons. Affordable Price The affordable price is based on a 20% discount from the current fair market appraisal of the unit, which must be verified by the Authority. Deed Restriction Anyone wishing to purchase an "affordable" unit should be aware that a permanent deed restriction would be recorded with their deed. This restriction states that the unit must be sold to a qualified and eligible purchaser at a 20% discount from the fair market value as approved by the Reading Housing Authority. Single Persons Applications are accepted from single family households but persons on the single person wait list will be chosen only after all the eligible family applicants have been served. Local Preference Applicants from the Town of Reading are given preference over other applicants if their application is made on the same day. This local preference is given if a person is employed in the Town of Reading; has a business or enterprise in Reading which has been established for one or more years; if they are parents of a school child in Reading; persons who were residents of Reading for 5 or more years. Conclusion The Reading Housing Authority is proud to provide this information to you. Anyone interested in obtaining an application for any of our housing programs: elderly/handicapped housing, state family or the Federal Section 8 Rental Assistance Program, should contact the authority at 22 Frank D. Tanner Drive or by calling the office at(781) 944-6755. 103