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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-01-26 Board of Selectmen Minutes r Town of Reading i Meeting Minutes RECEIVED w TOWN CLERK _"'' READING. MASS. Board - committee - commission - council: Board of Selectmen lOfb APO 1 I A 43 ' Date: 2016-01-26 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Selectmen Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: General Business Version: Attendees: Members - Present: Chair Dan Ensminger, Kevin Sexton, John Halsey, Barry Berman Members - Not Present: John Arena Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, Police Chief Segalla, Town Clerk Laura Gemme, Town Counsel Ray Miyares and Jenny Merrill, Administrative Assistant Caitlin Saunders, Stephen Crook, Jack Sullivan, Mike Sullivan, Sid Silveira, Elaine Webb Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Secretary ' Topics of Discussion: Reports and Comments Selectmen's Llaison Reports and Comments - Mr. Halsey noted he attended Birch Meadow Committee meeting. They are moving field by field at the moment and they will probably have an Info session in the spring. Mr. Berman attended the Mass Municipal Meeting. He noted Reading is doing a lot of things right. There was a lot on opioid use and attendees were impressed with RCASA. There was a section on what towns should do when building so we had a lot to offer with the new Permanent Building Committee that was just formed. He said overall they had a great turnout and it was a great learning experience. Mr. Ensminger said he watched the financial forum and said It was a very good turnout.Mr. Berman noted there were a lot of new faces in the room looking to help. Mr. Halsey noted a lot of people with ideas have been filling their inboxes. Mr. Berman suggested letting them know about the Selectmen's next meeting. Town Managers Report - Mr. LeLacheur just wanted to remind the BOS that Town Meeting Is not necessary to get the override on the ballot. Mr. Halsey noted there seems to be a strong urgency to get this for the FY18 budget and people are looking to us to take a leadership role. F Mr. LeLacheur suggested a joint meeting to see the boards you don't Interact with on a Lregular basis. Discussion/ Action Items Animal Control Bylaw - Town Counsel Ray Miyares and Jenny Merrill were present. Page 1 1 Board of Sel9ctmenMin_ t 5 January 26 2016 pace 1 Ms. Merrill noted they changed the Bylaw to bring it up to date. It now cites to statue regarding hearings. They took out numerous repeated definitions and made it clear the Animal Control Committee was the authorizing board. Our Bylaw gives authority to the ' Animal Control Officer to give restraining orders. Mr. LeLacheur asked if a constable is necessary for that. Mr. Miyares said no the officer can do that. Mr. Berman asked what changes if we regionalize animal control. Mr. LeLacheur said we would hope all participating towns would just adopt our bylaw. Mr. Miyares said that would not even be necessary but it would make things easier. Mr. Ensminger asked for a quick summary of the major changes in the bylaw. Ms. Merrill noted the hearing process is slightly different, a lot of definitions were removed and there are four different categories of kennel licenses now. Mr. LeLacheur asked the best way to present this to Town Meeting so they understand it. Mr. Miyares said he could provide us with a bold and cross out version. Mr. Halsey also suggested doing a summary of new vs old. A summary would probably be best with the Interest in time at Town Meeting. Mr. Berman asked when the last time we had a dangerous dog hearing was. Town Clerk Laura Gemme answered in 2012. Town Meetlao Warrant Summaries Mr. LeLacheur noted Article 5 is changing the current years' budget. ' Article 6 closes the OPEB Issue. He noted we fund about 25% of what we should be. Article 8 is to approve the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Allocation Plan which is something we do every year. Article 9 is the annual revolving fund authorization and there are no changes to that. Mr. Berman asked if we talked about creating one for the building committee for when they do studies. Mr. LeLacheur noted there was a conversation about funding them but not which avenue to take to actually do it. Article 10 is surplus. Article 11 is an unpaid bill. Article 12 is the budget. Article 13 is Chapter 90 funding and we accept whatever they give us. FY17 Budoet Mr. LeLacheur noted there is $29,000 that did not get allocated. He prioritized what he thought the departments would want as follows: • $2,000 to the Library to average with all the other town departments. The library always wants more but It is hard to say what they will need because they will be moving to a new building. , • Any amount towards the pay and class. • Any amount to technology but not more than $5,000. • Any amount for overtime for public safety. • Any amount for facilities. Page 1 2 Board of Selectmen Minutes -January 26 2016 - page 3 Asking for more money for the Public Services Department. A planning position would cost upwards of $80,000. Mr. Halsey stated he would rather see us fund one meaningful project rather than allocate $29,000 to little things. He would like to see a planning position get funded to help with economic development. Assistant Town Manager lean Delios noted she would like to sit down and come up with a job description with goals of what this person needs along with what type of economic development work they would be doing. Mr. Sexton said his thoughts are this person would be like a sales person to go out and market the town to businesses. Mr. Halsey commented we need to find the right person for this job and not just hire someone because we need someone. He suggested having a meeting to discuss this specific position. Woburn Street Housing Project Update - Mr. Ensminger wanted to announce that he is a parishioner at St. Agnes but is not Involved in any decision making process so if no one has any objections he would like to stay on the quorum. There were no objections. Attorney Brad Latham, Applicant Mike Sullivan, Engineer Jack Sullivan and Mike Jacobs were present. Mr. Latham stated there was an applicant before this one for this location but that applicant wanted more units and CPDC shut It down so he dropped it. Mr. Latham noted the applicant ' plans on softening the front appearance and doing a lot of landscaping to make it attractive. There will be 20 units with affordable units. The parking exceeds the zoning requirements. The applicant would like to work with the town and make this a friendly 40B. Engineer Jack Sullivan, representing the developer, noted there will be no footprint change. They would make it a one way traffic Flow. They may eliminate a few parking spaces along the entrance to make sure there Is the 18 foot width for the fire truck. There were previous concerns from neighbors about drainage which will be looked at if the project moves forward. The applicant also plans on changing the fence in the back for the neighbors. Mike Jacobs noted 1/0 of the units will be affordable, which will be 5 units. There will be a lottery to determine who gets the units. He also noted 70% would get local preference. Mr. Ensminger asked if this is currently zoned residential and it was noted it is. Mr. Berman asked that if the recycling and trash are at the end of the property, does that mean residents will have to carry out their trash all the way out there. Mr. Latham noted as of right now, yes, but they are looking Into a trash room in the building with internal recycling bins. Ms. Delios asked If parking will be Included in the rent and it was noted it will be and they will most likely assign specific spots to each tenant. Mr. Halsey asked the applicant to please invite the Board of Selectmen to their ' neighborhood meetings when they have them. Attorney Miyares asked what their time frame was to get this permitted and Attorney Latham noted about a month. Attorney Miyares asked If we could please work on having most of the issues resolved before we go into hearings and Attorney Latham agreed. Page 1 3 Board/ecrmen Minute -January 26, 2016 Mr. Sexton asked about snow storage and Mr. Sullivan noted they are thinking of doing a turf surface but in the event of a large snow storm they will most likely need to have snow trucked out. ' Mr. Ensminger asked what the next steps are for this project. Attorney Latham said a neighborhood meeting is next and then they will come back to the Board. Mr. Berman asked the applicant to please communicate a lot with the neighbors. Ms. Dellos asked if this will actually be a friendly 40B and filed as a LIP or a normal 40B. Mr. Jambs noted he does not think this can be formally a LIP but they want to work with the Town as much as possible as if it was. Ms. Dellos asked if that means they will be filing with MassHousing and Mr. Jambs said yes. A motion by Sexton seconded by Halsey to oo into Executive Session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining litigation and that the Chair declares that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining Position of the body, and will reconvene m Ooen session at 9 PM was approved with all four members voting in the ... matry The Board reconvened in Open Session at 9:10 PM. Hearing - Request for 2nd driv t 1 6 1 B High Street - The Secretary read the hearing notice. Applicant Robert Aiello was present. He noted the purpose of the circular drive is not for more parking but it is a safety concern so the tenants don't have to back out on High Street. Mr. Aiello Is the new owner of the property and he is trying to make the property nice while updating and renovating It. He noted parking is on the left or right and , there will be no cars parking in the circular drive. The Engineers suggest eliminating the parking spot in the front so no one has to back out onto High Street and make the arc wider so the cars can make the swing around. Mr. Berman asked if you cut that corner does the applicant still need both driveways. Mr. Aiello noted yes because It is atwo family home. Mr. Halsey said the existing parking requires users to back onto High Street and he thinks this makes perfect sense to do. Jim Denardo, neighbor, noted there has never been parking there before until Mr. Aiello bought this property. This is such a tiny yard he would hate to see It paved over and does not think this is the right direction to go for the neighborhood. Mr. Ensminger noted the owner has a right to have as much parking as they want. Mr. Denardo commented their driveway is directly opposite of theirs and they have to back out and it is already tricky without having to now watch out for a driveway behind us. Mr. Ensminger noted the memo from Safety Officer Savio noting they have no objections from a public safety standpoint. Mr. Denardo disagreed and said there is a huge safety concern and they complain to the police all the time about it. Mr. Ensminger noted the owner has a right to do whatever they want with their property. ' Mr. Halsey noted this would help Mr. Denardo's safety concerns. Mr. Aiello commented it would be safer for this driveway because no one will be backing out they will be driving out. Page 14 Board Of Selectmen Minutes -January 26 2016 - pace 5 Mr. Denardo also wanted to point out the tree in the front of the house is very old and ' should be saved. Mr. Aiello noted he is not touching the tree. A motion by Mr. Sexton seconded by Mr. Berman that the Board of Selectmen close the hearing on the second driveway request on 126-128 High Street was approved with a 4-0-0 vote. Mr. Ensminger move that the Board of Selectmen approve the second driveway request on 126-128 High Street provided the driveway and proposed parking space, along the side of the house identified as #128 is moved forward closer to the house, the tree out front to stay as is landscaping to be done in the front yard and the driveway to be configured as a one-way in and one-way out to Prevent vehicles from backing out onto the street. second by Mr. Berman and approved with a 4-0-0 vote. Hearing - Request for second driveway at 315 Pearl Street - The Secretary read the hearing notice. Applicant Elaine Webb was present. She noted her and her husband recently purchased the 315 Pearl Street and they currently live next door. The driveway is in bad shape and it is a big struggle to get in and out of the driveway. They are renovating the house. The new proposed driveway would be the daily driveway but they would keep the current driveway to be able to use the garage. The Town Engineer wrote a memo expressing he has no objections and Public Safety also has no concerns. A motion by Sexton second by Mr. Halsey that the Board of Selectmen close the hearing on the second driveway request at 315 Pearl Street. was approved by a 4- 0-0 vote. Mr. Sexton moved theBoard of Selectmen approve the second driveway request at 315 Pearl Street, seconded by Mr. Halsey and approved with a 4-0-0 vote Close Warrant for April 25 2016 Annual Town Meeting and Close Warrant for Presidential Prima ry - A motion by Sextonseconded by Berman that the Board of Selectmen close the Warrant for the Presidential Primary to take place on March 1 2016 from 7am to Bonn at the RMHS Field House, 62 Oakland Road, was approved with a 4-0- 0 vote. Mr. Berman said at the MMA meeting he attended, they talked to the See, Click, Fix people and asked them how to get more residents to use It. He asked if the Board could ask for 5 minutes at Town Meeting to ask Town Meeting members to download the app on their phones. Mr. LeLacheur noted the Selectmen can put it in their report but they cannot make It a separate report. Mr. Halsey suggested making a handout to give out. A motion by Mr. Sexton seconded by Mr. Berman that the Board of Selectmen close the Warrant consisting of 14 Articles for the 2016 Annual Town Meeting to take Place on April 25. 2016 at 7:30pm in the Performing Arts Center. 62 Oakland Road was approved with a 4-0-0 vote. Mr. Sexton moved that the Board of Selectmen adiourn at 10.00om seconded by Mr. Berman and approved with a 4-0-0 vote. Respectfully submitted, Secretary Page 1 5