HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-04-27 Annual Town Meeting MinutesANNUAL TOWN MEETING
Reading Memorial High School April 27, 2015
Preforming Arts Center
The Precincts listed below met at 7:00 PM to conduct the following business:
Precinct 1 - With a Quorum present elected Douglass Webb as Precinct Chair and Sheila Mulroy as
Precinct Clerk.
Precinct 2 - With a Quorum present elected Stephen L Crook as Precinct Chair and Denise Iozzo as
Precinct Clerk. A vote was taken to keep Denise M Benard and Walter J Carroll as a Town Meeting
members and to remove Carol Sampson as a Town Meeting member.
Precinct 3 - With a Quorum present elected Paul J Sylvester as Precinct Chair and Jane Fiore as Precinct
Clerk. A vote was taken to elect Francis P Driscoll and Ricard M Nohl on a tie breaker vote from the April
7, 2015 election. A vote was taken to remove Michael Giglio as a Town Meeting member.
Precinct 4 - With a Quorum present elected Glen M Hartzler as Precinct Chair and Mary Ellen O'Neill as
Precinct Clerk.
Precinct 5 - With a Quorum present elected Angela F Binda as Precinct Chair and Anne DJ Landry as
Precinct Clerk.
Precinct 6 - - With a Quorum present elected Greg F Selvitelli as Precinct Chair and Jeanne M Borawski
as Precinct Clerk. A vote was taken to elect William E Ahlert and Allen H Lawrence on a tie breaker vote
from the April 7, 2015 election. A vote was taken to keep Kenneth Mathew Lafferty and John M Miles as
Town Meeting members and to remove Lori Ann Russo as a Town Meeting member.
Precinct 7 - With a Quorum present elected John E Carpenter as Precinct Chair and John C Segalla as
Precinct Clerk.
Precinct 8 - With a Quorum present elected William C Brown as Precinct Chair and William J Hecht as
Precinct Clerk. A vote was taken to elect Ian Charles Brown on a tie breaker vote from the April 7, 2015
election.
The meeting was called to order by the Moderator, Alan E. Foulds, at 7:44 PM, there being a quorum
present. The Invocation was given by Philip Pacino, Precinct 5 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the
Flag.
The Warrant was partially read by the Town Clerk, Laura Gemme, when on motion by Dan Ensminger,
Board of Selectmen, it was voted to dispense with further reading of the Warrant.
Motion made by Dan Ensminger, Board of Selectmen to dispense of the reading of all motions in their
entirety.
Motion Carried
ARTICLE 2: To hear and act on the reports of the Board of Selectmen, Town Accountant,
Treasurer - Collector, Board of Assessors, Director of Public Works, Town Clerk, Tree Warden, Board of
Health, School Committee, Contributory Retirement Board, Library Trustees, Municipal Light Board,
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Finance Committee, Cemetery Trustees, Community Planning and Development Commission, Town
Manager and any other Official, Board or Special Committee.
State of the Town
Dan Ensminger
INTRODUCTION
Mr. Moderator, Fellow Town Meeting Members, Citizens of Reading:
It's a great honor and privilege to speak to you tonight about the State of the Town. There is much good
news to report, but we must also talk tonight about the fiscal challenges we will face, going forward. The
state of our Town is thus both positive, but guarded:
• Positive, because we have a well- functioning government that is run efficiently and frugally, that
has dedicated employees who work as a team with their managers, and that prides itself on
maintaining a high level of service to the public.
• Guarded, because storm clouds are gathering on Reading's financial future, despite having a
management team that is the envy of other towns. That team, led by Town Manager Bob
LeLacheur, his predecessor, Pete Hechenbleikner, and School Superintendent John Doherty, have
helped us weather past financial turbulence through shrewd negotiation of health -care and special -
education costs, multi -year fiscal planning, cooperative union negotiations, and an uncanny ability
to underspend budgets and underpredict revenues. However, future predicted increases in certain
costs not under the Town's control, threaten to create a future imbalance between services and the
revenues needed to sustain them.
There are three major areas I'd like to cover this evening:
• A review of our key achievements as a Town in the last year,
• A summary of the town's fiscal outlook, going forward,
• Some options and strategies for proactively managing our future finances
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Just prior to our 2014 Annual Town Meeting, Reading welcomed its new State Senator, Jason Lewis of
Winchester. Reading is very fortunate to have a strong local legislative team that also includes
Representatives Brad Jones and Jim Dwyer. I must say that Senator Lewis' constituent service to Reading
over the last year has been very good. He has worked proactively with Town Officials to address issues
ranging from traffic hazard mitigation to the curbing of opioid abuse in our community. Welcome, Senator
Lewis!
As part of the annual goal- setting process for the Town Manager, the Board of Selectmen discussed and
then laid the foundation for a look at the community's future in the year 2020 by holding a Department
Head Retreat in mid -2014, which resulted in the formation of four Reading 2020 Working Groups. The
focus of these groups is as follows:
1) 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.
2) 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
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. The MAPC presented a draft
Services and Performance Measurement assessment on at the Selectmen's April 14 meeting.
3) 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. A
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major step in fulfilling this task has just been accomplished with the hiring of our first
Administrative Services Director, who will also serve as our Town Ombudsman under our
amended charter.
4) 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.
Reading also concluded important Union Negotiations in 2014. Reading town employees have worked in
tandem with the town for many years during the good times, and have stood with us during the bad
times. During periods of austerity over the last 25 years, they have agreed to four years of salary freezes.
Our Town employees are currently paying a percentage of their health -care premiums that is comparable
to what is paid by many private- sector employees. I salute their spirit of cooperation, and their daily
dedication to the work they do for the Citizens of Reading.
In 2014 the Town Manager and his staff successfully negotiated new 3 -year contracts with each of the
Town's six bargaining units. I was struck by the Town Manager's straightforward negotiating style with the
unions, which was to put all cards on the table upfront, tell the unions what the town could afford, ask
them about their needs and then help both sides get to 'yes'. There was a minimum of positional
bargaining during the whole process by both sides. Hat's off to Bob LeLacheur and the unions for a job
well done!
In 2014 the Selectmen sought the services of a new Town Counsel. Four strong finalists were interviewed
by the Board, and the law firm of Miyares and Harrington was selected in June. Ray Miyares has become a
familiar face at Town Meeting over the last ten months, as he has helped us navigate the intricacies of a
complete rewrite of our zoning bylaws and several important amendments to the Reading Home Rule
Charter. We hired Ray's firm in part because of their expertise in zoning, and he proved to be a rock of
support to the Zoning Advisory Committee, the Charter Committee, and Town Meeting in their lengthy
deliberations over zoning and charter changes. Thanks to everyone (especially you folks out there in the
seats) who took the time over the last year and several Town Meetings to slog through a lot of
unglamorous, but very necessary work! Ray tells me that the Attorney General begged him not to allow
Reading to have any more Special Town Meetings!
The remainder of my Year in Review will summarize some of the highlight accomplishments of the various
Town departments. Time only permits me to report a fraction of the numerous tasks accomplished by our
Town staff in 2014, so I apologize for all those efforts I was not able to mention.
In early 2014 local voters approved a second debt exclusion for the Public Library renovation and
expansion project. Total project costs came in at $18.4 million, $13.4 million of which will be paid from
the tax levy and about $5 million of which will be paid by a state grant.
The year 2014 was spent on planning and designing both the new library building and a temporary
location to be used during what was expected to be about 18 months of construction. An extensive and
careful public procurement process was conducted for the temporary location, and a project manager,
project architect, and finally a general contractor were hired for the renovation. The Library Building
Committee 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 which 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. Congratulations to the
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Library Trustees and staff for making the temporary space so welcoming for their patrons, and getting the
library renovations off on the right foot!
The Department of Public Works, aka the "Colossus of Roads," has been very busy in 2014 - Our
Engineering Division has been extremely active with approximately 25 ongoing projects between FY'14
and FY'15, including outside agency project oversight and inspection monitoring on West Street regarding
work done by MA DOT, National Grid, and the MWRA. In addition, the town continued with its aggressive
road paving program, with the paving or repair of 26 streets, construction of a new sidewalk on Vine
Street, and ongoing repairs to a number of sidewalks throughout town.
The long awaited paving and signalization of West Street has just begun its two -year construction
schedule. The first phase of the project will reconstruct West St. from Summer Street south to Woburn
Street and construction will move south from there in subsequent phases to the Woburn city line.
Sidewalks, curbing, and several traffic signals will be added, and the Summer / Willow / West St.
intersection will be substantially reconfigured. A reminder to Town Meeting - the state is footing 90% of
the capital cost of this project.
The DPW initiated a trial customer service program titled "See click Fix ", where residents can, via online or
mobile applications, initiate requests for services or report on issues that need departmental attention.
Items reported via "See click Fix" include potholes, missing signs, hanging tree limbs, and overgrown
sidewalks. Over 100 requests were received, tracked, and completed using "See click Fix" by the end of
2014. This year the DPW and Board of Selectmen will review the efficacy of "See click Fix" and decide
whether or not to subscribe to it permanently and extend it to other Town departments.
After ten years of negotiations with MA DOT, the Main St. / Franklin St. intersection, the most accident -
prone intersection in the town and one of the worst in the state, was finally reconfigured in mid -2014 to
add protected left -turn lanes and crosswalks. A tip of the hat goes to former Town Meeting member Fred
Van Magness and to State Reps. Dwyer and Jones and to Sen. Lewis for their dogged persistence in
getting this important project expedited at MA DOT. I am pleased to report that there has been a 30%
reduction in reportable accidents at this intersection since these improvements were made.
Finally, the DPW initiated a major water capital improvement program in 2014 that will only further
enhance the towns' water quality and infrastructure for generations to come. In addition, discussions have
been initiated with the Town of North Reading and the Mass Water Resource Authority (MWRA), regarding
the potential of wheeling of water through Reading into North Reading. Reading's water distribution
infrastructure is more than adequate to handle this project. 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.
Not to be outdone, our Police and Fire Departments and the Reading Public Safety Dispatchers have also
had a busy year. In late 2014, Sergeant Detective Mark D. Segalla was promoted to the newly created
position of Deputy Police Chief. Numerous other police department badge pinnings and promotions, too
many to mention in this brief report, also occurred in 2014. I must admit that these ceremonies, to me,
are always the high point of any Selectman's meeting!
The Police Department, led by Chief Cormier, continued to be an active member of the Reading Coalition
Against Substance Abuse (or RCASA), and was awarded grant funding that enables the Department to
conduct alcohol compliance checks. In the Spring of 2014, the School Resource Officer conducted opiate
prevention workshops with RCASA in all freshman Decisions classes, underage drinking prevention training
in all 11th grade Health Issues classes, and promotion of "safe parties" at 11th and 12th grade student
assemblies, whose goal is to reduce underage drinking and impaired driving.
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The Police Department's Detective Division has worked closely with RCASA to be trained in the
implementation of alcohol compliance checks throughout the community. Most of these checks result in
100% compliance by our local liquor licensees. However, when a local liquor store was observed by alert
Reading police officers to be selling alcoholic beverages to underage teens on multiple occasions following
their first offense, a complaint was lodged with the Board of Selectmen. The Board, after hearing the
officers' testimony, imposed an additional 90 -day suspension on the owner. This suspension was
substantially upheld by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, one of the longest liquor store
suspensions ever upheld by that agency.
The Reading Public Safety Dispatchers provide, through communications, a lifeline for the community,
Police Officers, and Firefighters. 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 also greet the public entering the police station and provide a valuable service to
our community. The Board of Selectmen is pleased that the FinCom has included our requested two
additional Tele- Communicator positions in the FY'16 budget, which will provide greater margins of safety
for all our residents.
The Reading Fire Department, not to be outdone by the Police and the Dispatchers, provided what had to
be one of the most heartwarming stories of 2014. Lieutenant Dwyer, Firefighters Daniel Cahoon, Paul Roy,
Scott Myette and John Keough were recognized in 2014 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 that Kaelyn, a four year old child, was scared and
they wanted to lessen the child's anxiety. Firefighter John Keough learned that 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 story tells you everything you need
to know about the skills and resourcefulness of our first responders and the leadership of Fire Department
Chief Burns.
Quietly the Finance and Administrative Services departments at Town Hall conduct the internal operational
business of Town government. Working closely with the School department, they handle efficiently the
intricacies of employee and retiree HR relationships. The Town's technology infrastructure is the envy of
many neighboring communities as information flows readily to all departments so that effective decisions
may be made. The recent borrowing for the Library's excluded debt for ten years at 1.5 %, showed the
investment community's view of the financial strength of our Town's operations.
In the last year our Town Clerk, Laura Gemme, has skillfully managed four elections and a record five
Town Meetings. In our most recent election she reacted quickly and seamlessly to arrange for manual
counting of two precincts' ballots when their primary and backup machines failed. Great work, Laura!
Finally I'd like to summarize some of the key accomplishments of our Public Services Department, headed
by Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, and assisted by Community Development Director Jessie Wilson
and Community Services Director John Feudo.
Many of you know John Feudo as the quiet leader behind the Town's incredible Recreational programs,
which are the envy of nearly every community in the state. John has been tasked with weaving his
program - building skills into the areas of human /elder services, veterans, public health and recreation.
Moving forward, we expect a lot of synergy among our boards and committees in these areas as we offer
community -wide programs for you and your fellow residents.
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Jean and Jessie do the work of a much larger planning department. They were instrumental in developing
Reading's new Complete Streets / Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.—The Complete Streets concept, as
sponsored by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), formalizes a community's desire to have
streets that are safe for users of all ages and abilities. For example, Complete Streets emphasizes the
needs of children to walk or bicycle to school safely, promotes safety for older adults through signal timing
at intersections for safe - street crossing, and helps people with disabilities via fully accessible curb ramps
at intersections.
In late 2013 our Planning Division requested assistance from the MAPC with 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 and
adopted by the Board of Selectmen in July of 2014.
Another notable Public Services project in 2014 was the start of an Economic Development Action Plan.
With assistance from Professor Barry Bluestone of Northeastern University's School of Public Policy and
Urban Affairs, the economic development plan began with an initial assessment known as the Economic
Development Self- Assessment Tool (or EDSAT). This tool, which was executed in the spring of 2014 with a
focus group consisting of members of Reading businesses and government, evaluated Reading's strengths
and weaknesses as it relates to economic prosperity. Using a variety of criteria, the EDSAT measured
Reading's ability to compete with other communities for potential future development. The final EDSAT
report was issued in July of 2014.
With this information and 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 four areas in Reading identified as regionally
significant in the Priority Mapping Project, and determine the most suitable types 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, number of housing units, percentage of total development, etc., the site could
support. This plan development is on- going, with two well- attended public forums having been held in
2015, and will be completed later in the year.
THE FINANCIAL ROAD AHEAD
I'm going to conclude my State of the Town talk by elaborating more fully on the issue I touched on
briefly at the beginning: the guarded future state of our Town finances due to an imbalance of available
revenues vs. needed services. My discussion will only be an overview of the subject: I will leave a fuller
facts - and - figures discussion to the Finance Committee, who will be addressing you in a few minutes.
The Town and Schools have, since the passage of Proposition 2 -1/2 in 1980, been required to do more
with less. By reputation, Reading delivers both a high quality and volume of services given the funding
that is available. We understand the daily challenge of improving, and if that was not ingrained upon the
passage of Prop 2 -1/2, it surely is now. We use an extensive and public planning process that looks ahead
several years and we adapt thoughtfully to the rapidly changing present. The planning process, combined
with prudent reactions, allows us to deliver good value. Financial reserves continue to be at an all -time
high. Significant ongoing investment in infrastructure has improved the condition of buildings and
equipment over the past decade, which has in turn lowered operating costs. Standard & Poor's recently
increased Reading's credit rating to AAA, which is higher than that of either the federal or state
governments.
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Employees and retirees have contributed significantly with increased out of pocket expenses in order to
keep health insurance premium increases lower. Wage growth has been very modest, not even keeping
pace with inflation. These savings have, in turn, led to fewer layoffs, which has allowed strong service
levels during a period when the community demand for services has actually increased (as is typical in the
municipal sector during an economic downturn). Staff responded well, and measures of customer
satisfaction remain high.
However well- managed our expenses have been in the past, the two greatest threats to balancing our
future budgets are 1) cost increases outside the Town's control, and 2) an increasing reliance on property
taxes for town revenues.
Two of the greatest uncontrollable cost increases are those in accommodated costs such as health -care
expenses, and special education expenses. The outlook for accommodated costs is difficult to forecast
because of the national uncertainty on health insurance. We have it pegged at about 5% annually through
FY18, which will certainly be higher than expected revenues. And while the School Department has made
great strides in controlling Special Ed costs by increasing in- District offerings for students, the number of
students needing Special Ed services can still fluctuate considerably and unpredictably from year to year.
Future labor negotiations on salary and benefits, which are controllable, will need to respect the level of
available funds.
On the revenue side, communities are becoming increasingly more self - reliant on local sources of revenue.
In Reading this has been driven by lagging state aid, plus the effects of one operating override and two
debt exclusions over the last 12 years. Since FY'03, state aid to Reading as a percentage of overall
revenues has declined from 24% to 16 %. State aid, forecast at $13.6 million for next year, would need to
increase by about $6.5 million in order to regain FY03 's share of the revenues .
Other local revenues have not even kept up with our property tax growth, let alone made up for any
relative decline in state aid. The bottom line is that revenue growth looks to have settled in at or near the
3% level through FY18, and there are no obvious new revenue sources of any significance on the horizon.
Given the 2.9% increase in available revenues and higher projected accommodated costs of 4.4 %, there
is enough funding for a 2.75% increase in town and school operating budgets in FY16. This is the lowest
increase in operating budgets during the last four years - these budgets averaged an increase of 3. 6%
from FY13 through FY15.
The Town and School budgets, even at this lower rate of increase, are able to maintain core services, but
not quite level services, in the face of increasing demands. The use of several one -time sources of funding
- grants on the Town side and both grants and a heavier use of offsetting revolving funds on the School
side - allow for the core services to be protected for one more year. However, faced with the same
revenues and accommodated costs in FY17, it appears that each side will need to make reductions to
these core services a year from now, unless other cost savings are found.
Reading should be proud of how the Town and Schools work together and spend efficiently. The Board of
Selectmen and the School Committee are the Town's two chief policy- setting boards. It is my goal as
Chairman in 2015 to work across the aisle with the School Committee to explore all possible economies of
scale in combining our operations as a prelude to the FY'17 budget planning season. It is important that a
good measure of progress be made in achieving such cost reductions before any measures such as an
operational override are considered by the Town. This will be an open and transparent process, with ample
opportunity for all stakeholders to comment. As a show of solidarity, Acting School Committee Chairman
Chuck Robinson has agreed to share the podium with me at this time and add his own comments in
support of this process.
Reading Memorial High School
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ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
Chuck Robinson
April 27, 2015
Thank you Dan and Good Evening Mr. Moderator and Town Meeting members. As you will see Thursday
night the School Committee and School Department is very thankful for the budget that will be presented
to Town Meeting and we appreciate all of the discussion and collaboration that went in to forming this
budget. It is imperative that we remain unified and on the same page, because nothing positive and
sustainable moves forward otherwise and the community and children lose out. Surely that is an outcome
no one wants to see.
As Mr. Ensminger mentions, since the passage if the last Proposition 2 '/z Override both the Town and the
Schools have been continually asked to do more with less. This ultimately becomes an uncomfortable
discussion of wants vs. needs and the fact of the matter is our ever changing society has shifted what
would have previously been called wants over to the needs category. Unfortunately, societal needs and
changes sometimes move faster than the process of thoughtful and thorough planning of local
governments to obtain the necessary resources.
Mr. Ensminger also mentions our financial reserves being at an all -time high. To expand on that I will say
that the Town and Schools are very judicious in their use of reserves and this is done with great purpose
and thorough and thoughtful discussion prior to doing so. I sincerely hope that gone are the days of
cutting capital and maintenance spending and depleting our bank accounts to sustain day to day
operations. Frankly, today's better approach coupled with good management has sustained us longer than
anyone predicted at the time of the last Proposition 2 1/2 Override.
I agree that Reading should be proud of the collaboration between Town and Schools staff and elected
officials as it is the envy on many communities. I gladly accept the invitation to ask the school committee
to evaluate and implement where appropriate any economies of scale and agree that this should
commence immediately following Town Meeting as it will give us a baseline to begin FY17 budget
discussions. It will have also vetted any additional savings that can be deployed elsewhere.
We also need to continue and expedite the discussion of wants versus needs. If we expect the Town and
Schools staff to continue to deliver the excellent product currently being offered, we as elected leaders
need to lead these discussions in the community. These discussions might be difficult, but they are
necessary in order to give the staffs the resources they need to be successful in making Reading great.
Dan Ensminger
Last year Chairman Arena and the Town Manager stated that the Town of Reading was nearing a
significant decision point about the imbalance between the quality and amount of services desired versus
what is sustainably affordable. As soon as we turn our attention to the FYI 7 budget planning process next
summer, we will know whether the time has arrived for additional revenues, or a reduction in core
services.
Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Selectman, and thanks for the opportunity to speak to you
tonight on these important issues.
Presentation given by:
• Dan Ensminger, Board of Selectmen - See Attached
On motion made by Dan Ensminger, Board of Selectmen Article 2 was tabled
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ARTICLE 3: Move to choose all other necessary Town Officers and Special Committees and
determine what instructions shall be given Town Officers and Special Committees, and to see what sum
the Town will vote to appropriate by borrowing or transfer from available funds, or otherwise, for the
purpose of funding Town Officers and Special Committees to carry out the instructions given to them, or
take any other action with respect thereto.
Finance Committee Report: No report
Bylaw Committee Report: No report
Motion made by Dan Ensminger, Board of Selectmen to table Article 3
Motion to Table Carried
ARTICLE 4: Move to see if the Town will vote to amend the FY2015 -25 Capital Improvements
Program as provided for in Section 7 -7 of the Reading Home Rule Charter and as previously amended, or
take any other action with respect thereto.
General Fund
FY15: $1,557,000
$ 1.0 million Recreation: Birch Meadow field lighting (moved up from larger project in FY17) as debt
$ 500,000 School Facility: RMHS Retaining wall repairs as debt (reduced by $120k)
$ 34,000 DPW Car #5 Chevy Blazer (replace 2000 model)
$ 23,000 Firefighter breathing air bottles & related safety face pieces (moved up from FY17)
FY16: - $314,000
($ 134,000) Town Facility: Main Fire Station roof repair project (defer to FY17)
($ 120,000) Town Facility: Town Hall roof repair project - retain only $80,000 for connector repairs
($ 60,000) Town Facility: West Side Fire Station roof repair project (defer to FY17)
FY17: +$519,000
$ 134,000 Town Facility: Main Fire Station roof repair project (from FY16)
+$ 120,000 Town Facility: Town Hall roof repair project (from FY16 - now $420k total)
$ 115,000 DPW Truck #10 (move up from FY19)
$ 100,000 DPW Aerial Pickup Truck #14 (replaces 1994 model)
$ 60,000 Town Facility: West Side Fire Station roof repair project (from FY16)
($ 10,000) Firefighter breathing air bottles (move up to FY15)
FY17+
($ 800,000) Reduce Birch Meadow field project to $1.5 million
Various other changes made
tnterprise runas - water
FY15 and FY17: $0
No changes made
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FY16: +$150,000
$ 150,000 Utility Truck #5 (move up from FY22)
Y18+
Various changes made
Enterprise Funds - Sewer
FY15: +$600,000
$ 520,000 Batchelder Road Sewer Station (move up from FY16)
$ 80,000 SCADA programming for Sewer Station projects
FY16: ($480,000)
$ 40,000 Pickup truck #8 (moved up from FY17)
($ 520,000) Batchelder Road Sewer Station (move up to FY15)
FY17: ($40,000)
($ 40,000) Pickup truck #8 (moved up to FY16)
FY18+
Various changes made
tnter rise runas - Storm water
FY15: $0
No changes
FY16: ($25,000)
+$ 100,000 General drainage improvement projects (total now $ 125,000)
($ 125,000) Eliminate purchase of new dump truck
FY17: ($25,000)
+$ 125,000 General drainage improvement projects (total now $ 125,000)
($ 150,000) defer Saugus River Design to FY18
FY18+
Various changes
April 27, 2015
Finance Committee Report- given by Paula Perry: The Finance Committee recommends the proposed
amendments to the FY 2015 - FY 2025 Capital Improvements Program by a vote of 8 -0 -0 at their meeting
on March 25, 2015. Placing items in the Capital Improvement Program is a prerequisite but in itself does
not authorize spending funds towards these items.
Bylaw Committee Report: No report
Board of Selectmen Report: The Board of Selectmen at their meeting on March 24, 2015 voted 5-
0-0 to support this Article.
Motion Carried
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April 27, 2015
On motion by Dan Ensminger, Board of Selectmen, it was voted that this Annual Town Meeting stand
adjourned to meet at the conclusion of Special Town Meeting at the Reading Memorial High School
Preforming Arts Center.
Meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM with 162 Town Meeting Members in attendance.
Annual Town Meeting reconvened at 10:46 PM
On motion by Dan Ensminger, Board of Selectmen, it was voted that this Annual Town Meeting stand
adjourned to meet at 7:30 PM at the Reading Memorial High School Preforming Arts Center, on Thursday,
April 30, 2015.
Meeting adjourned at 10:46 PM with 162 Town Meeting Members in attendance.
Motion Carried
A true copy Attest:
Laura A Gemme
Town Clerk