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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-01-19 Board of Selectmen Minutes �N OF Town of Reading 0�� � � Meeting Minutes r °ea,ptoxrjPt Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Selectmen Date: 2016-01-19 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: Chairman Daniel Ensminger, Vice Chairman John Halsey, Secretary Kevin Sexton, John Arena and Barry Berman Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Bob Lelacheur, Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, Fire Chief Greg Burns, Police Chief Mark Segalla, Library Director Ruth Urell, Public Works Director Jeff Zager, Jeanne Borawski, Nancy Docktor, Stephen Crook, Paula Schena Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Secretary Topics of Discussion: Reoorts and Comments The Town Manager announced that on Monday, January 18, 2016, there was an accident In front of 279 Lowell Street between a Town of Reading sidewalk plow and a resident. The resident was taken to the hospital and died of his injuries. The State Police are conducting an investigation and that is all of the information that is available at this time. Selectmen Liaison Reports and Comments Barry Berman noted that he attended the Martin Luther King Celebration and It was a fabulous event that was well attended. Kudos to the Human Relations Advisory Committee and thanks to Bagel World and Honey Dew Donuts for contributing. Town Manager's Report - Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios noted that she received a filing for Reading Village 40B. The ZBA will hold a hearing on February 4"'. The developer is showing a collaborative style and will have 77 units in a building taller than the Doucette building. It is a dense development. We will file a grant application with the state and the state will hire consultants and they will assist the ZBA. The ZBA can put conditions on the project. It is 63 feet high. Barry Berman noted that this will bypass zoning so what leverage does the ZBA have? Jean Delios noted that they could have one member meet with the developer to negotiate. John Arena noted there are public safety parking issues and Jean Delios noted that there is but we cannot speak to density. Barry Berman noted that parking overflow hurt other businesses and Jean Delios noted that we have to discuss residential parking, visitor parking, etc. Page I 1 Board of Selectmen Minutes -January 19 2016 - pace 2 John Arena noted that 30 Haven Street is already there but we have to include it in that area because it is more developed now. John Arena asked how many spaces the project ' has and Jean Delios indicated they have 83 spaces for 77 units. We will need a parking consultant. John Halsey asked how many two bedroom units and Jean Delios noted she was not sure but there will be seven three bedroom units. She also noted that the state cited certain things that they must work out with the Town. Jean Delios noted that she is scheduling a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and CPDC to review this project. Discussion/Action Items Hearing - Alteration of Premises - Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza - The Secretary read the hearing notice. Attorney Caroline O'Connell and the Regional Manager for Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza were present. Attorney O'Connell noted that the verbiage was not on the license for the patio plan which shows four tables with 16 seats and four bar stools. She noted that CPDC has approved this plan. The Regional Manager gave an overview of their restaurant and the Board welcomed them. A motion by Sexton seconded by Halsey that the Board of Selectmen close the hearing on the alteration of Premises for Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Sexton seconded by Arena that the Board of Selectmen approve the alteration of premises to include the Patio area as shown on Plan A101 for Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza 48 Walkers Brook Drive was approved by a vote of 5-0- ' Q FFY17 Budget - Public Safety - Fire/EMS - Fire Chief Greg Burns noted that the department functions include fire suppression, fire prevention, EMS and emergency management. The Department responded to 3507 emergency calls and 2166 of those were medical. They also responded to 38 fires and treated 17 patients with Narcan. They collected $784,518 in ambulance fees and there has been an increase in storm events since 2001. The Safe Program is done in the schools and now includes seniors. Barry Berman asked if FEMA reimbursements go to free cash and the Town Manager indicated it does. John Arena suggested that next year it would be helpful to see the description of trending breakdown by category. Kevin Sexton noted that the ambulance fees were Increased in 2014 to get closer to the average so where are we now? The Town Manager noted that we are at more than expected but still below the average. Kevin Sexton asked if the fees are sufficient and Chief Burns noted that he would have to look at other communities. Daniel Ensminger asked if the Fire Chiefs salary was bumped up and the Town Manager noted yes, it was changed from 37.50 hours to 40 hours. Barry Berman asked If the revenue from running ALS could be used to ease out overtime ' costs or medical supply costs. Chief Burns noted that right now we are trending $2000 less in overtime than last year. We hired a new Fire Fighter because the trend was if a Fire Fighter was out on medical or vacations then more overtime. The Town Manager noted that there are costs that need to be covered. We only hire ALS Fire Fighters and they are more expensive. John Arena asked where ambulance billings go and Sharon Angstrom noted into a miscellaneous account. Page 1 2 Board of Selectmen Minutes - January 19. 2016 - pace 3 Mark Dockser asked if we could look at how we bill compared to other communities and ' Chief Burns noted that we could. Police Chief Budget - Police Chief Mark Segalla reviewed the Department's vision and goal. He feels we could improve on Community Policing. We need to make the Honor Guard permanent. He wants to reinstitute the Police Academy and the RAD Program. We are hiring two new officers now. The Community Service Officer will be the liaison to the business community for such events like the Fall Street Faire. He wants to hold an Open House and institute"Coffee with a Cop." Chief Segalla noted that calls for service are down a little bit. John Arena asked how long a typical investigation takes and Chief Segalla noted it could be 2 days or 30 days. Chief Segalla noted that the proposed budget has an increase of 4.4%. Over 95% of the budget is spent on personnel. His request for an additional School Resource Officer was removed by the Town Manager even though there is an Increase in requests from the schools, parents and students. There has been 173 documented Incidents since September. Expenses have Increased 7.4% over last year. We are negotiating with North Reading to regionalize an Animal Control Officer. John Arena asked if the Animal Control Officer was the only thing to regionalize and the Town Manager noted RCASA could if it wasn't grant funded. Kevin Sexton noted that the School Resource Officer began in 2006 and he asked if the responses increasing because there is more need or because they know us better? Chief Segalla said both. ' Barry Berman asked what he would do with another School Resource Officer and Chief Segalla noted he would use that Officer in the Middle Schools because we are triaging right now. John Arena noted It would be Interesting If the School Resource Officer tracked the trends by category. John Halsey noted that there is an absence of proactivity without another School Resource Officer. The impact could be a life. We need to quantify the absence - this is not just a budget discussion. Mark Dockser asked if the RCASA grant Is expiring and the Town Manager noted that not the whole grant, just the alcohol part. The Youth Coordinator position is eliminated next year because that part of the grant expires. Chief Segalla noted that the Dispatch budget has an Increase of 5.3% and 95% of the budget Is spent on personal. There is $500,000 in the FY21 capital budget for new Dispatch equipment. Library - Library Director Ruth Urell, Assistant Library Director Amy Lannon, Library Trustees David Hutchinson, Alice Collins, Vicki Yablonsky and Cherrie Dubois were present. Vicki Yablonsky noted that they are facing going Into a new Library and they just completed ' a five year planning process. They are trying to bring the budget back up. Ruth Urell reviewed the Executive Summary. She noted that 9000 children attended educational programs. They support lifelong education for adults. They held two Harry Potter events and winter warmers and held pints and pages for young adults. Page 13 Board of Selectmen Minutes - January 19 2016 - page 4 John Arena asked if the visits by youth were by group or with parents and Ruth Urell noted that was an actual head count. John Arena asked if they were 30 groups of 30 or 900 , families. Ruth Urell indicated she didn't have that information but they keep a lot of statistics. John Arena asked the age of young adults and Ruth Urell noted 20 - 21 year old. Daniel Ensminger asked about their three year forecast. Ruth Urell noted they need to maintain the level of staffing. Updating the Librarians with MLS degrees cost $18,000. John Arena asked if we are at or below surrounding communities and are we doing a good job i.e. are we equivalent to others. Ruth Urell noted she will have to look that up. Ruth Urell noted that she is requesting a Digital Services Manager to do staff training and public classes. John Arena asked what kind of training and Ruth Urell noted Internet, software, etc. John Arena asked if that could be done by a third party and we could charge to cover it and Ruth Urell noted that the Library doesn't charge for services. Ruth Urell noted she is also requesting $5800 for substitutes when people are absent and there is a $22,000 difference from what the Town Manager recommends for the books line. Daniel Ensminger noted that a budget Increase of 8 - 10% each year is not sustainable. Ruth Urell noted that the reality Is they are asking for a position to manager the move Into the new Library. Daniel Ensminger asked how she reconciles or prioritizes and Ruth Urell noted that adding Thursday hours is pushed Into the second year and Sunday hours the third year. John Arena asked if there are any costs improved by virtue of what we just purchased and ' Ruth Urell noted in circulation services. John Arena asked why it drops in year 3 and Ruth Urell noted in year 1 we have more to learn and will have a three level building. In year 2 and 3 people are more comfortable and we could see savings. Barry Berman noted that the Town spent a lot of money on a new building and we need to staff it adequately. He suggests figuring out the minimum for this year and then come back next year. John Arena noted he is surprised with the amount spent on reference services when more is available electronically. Ruth Urell noted that it is more complicated now. Previously, encyclopedias were self-intuitive but people don't know which data base to go through electronically. She can't forecast when we will see a savings in circulation but she is sure by year three. Kevin Sexton asked if there is any game plan for rental of conference rooms and Ruth Urell noted they have discussed that. They currently use the Town rates. There is a lot of tutoring done at the Library. A nominal fee is charged for use of the meeting room during hours. Alice Collins noted that they are looking at the same thing that the Schools do. John Halsey asked if the revenue could be used to offset expenses and Sharon Angstrom noted that it can but we have to decide what expenses and how to identify it. It has to be identifiable costs such as custodian expenses, etc. John Halsey noted there are a whole series of things that could be used to create revenues. There is a huge demand for meeting space. He thinks there could be ways to get Ruth what she needs. The Town Manager agreed. He noted that the schools are taking the professional approach and we're ' amateurs. We need to talk to the schools and now is the time with the new Library coming onboard. John Arena noted that the meeting room holds 150 and we should be able to offset expenses. Vicki Yablonsky noted that the Library Trustees are open to discussion on anything but they don't charge for services. John Arena noted that circulations, etc. are Page 14 Board of Selectmen Minutes -January 19. 2016 - pace 5 free. Ruth Urell noted that their policy is not commercial events in the meeting rooms. She ' also noted that there is a fair amount of public ownership with this building. Barry Berman noted that we could charge a user fee for major authors and Ruth Urell noted that this discussion would be more useful in 10 months. Nancy Docktor asked how Boston Library manages to rent out for weddings and Ruth Urell said she did not know. John Arena noted that the new Library will have more potential and if someone wants to use it then take advantage of it. He feels 10 months is too long to wait and we should at least start now. DPW - Public Works Director Jeff Zager and Assistant Public Works Director Jane Kinsella were present. Jeff Zager noted that the budget has an increase of 1.7%. They have 55 FTE and are down one Engineer position. The intern in Engineering is being eliminated and that will leave five Engineers. The current Town Engineer is retiring in June. He has added $4000 in overtime In Engineering to cover Inspections on Fridays. Administration wages is increasing to 40 hours per week. There Is a small increase in professional development and a small increase In traffic control to do maintenance. There Is a small increase in Highway for parts. Snow and ice is level funded. Street lighting has a slight decrease and rubbish has a slight - decrease. The current trash vendor proposed a 10 year contract but that is too long so we're looking for a proposal for 5 years. ' Kevin Sexton asked if we would consider manual recycling and Jeff Zager noted we could go to single source but automatic is expensive to buy containers. In 2012 we were awarded winning community for recycling. John Arena asked if there is any revenue source from old televisions and Jane Kinsella noted that we pay a nominal fee to take them away so there is no money to be made. Jeff Zager noted that there are three new supervisors in place. They have a strong professional development training going on and the Town receives benefits from MIIA for these. Since 2011 we have resurfaced 107 roads or sections of roads at a cost of $6.1 million. John Arena noted that it would be nice to have public index availability. The Town Manager noted that there Is new legislation being offered to towns re: double poles and utilities digging up the roads. Jeff Zager noted that 35% of all trash Is recycled. There were 557 Issues reported on See Click Fix and 92 potholes fixed. There is online access to water and sewer cards. They will be starting capital projects in the spring. Barry Berman noted that in previous years the bids have come in out of sorts and Jeff Zager noted the estimates have been an Issue for the past two to three years. The Town Manager noted that there is not a lot of competition. John Arena asked if there Is any volatility in asphalt and Jeff Zager noted that there have been some reductions in other communities. ' Enterprise Funds - The Town Manager noted that one full time Engineer is paid out of water fund but not doing water all of the time. Sewer is % MWRA so sewer staff cost is smaller. Federal regulations have had an increased effect on storm water. There will be a series of infrastructure needs over the upcoming years including sewer station repairs. Page 1 5 Board of Selectmen Minutes - January 19 2016 - paae 6 Shared Costs - The Town Manager noted that health insurance has increased 8%. Previously the schools were higher than the Town and that has reversed now. ' Debt and Capital - The Town Manager noted that our reliance on debt is far less than It was 10 years ago. John Arena asked if we have been reimbursed from the state for snow and ice and the Town Manager noted that we are still waiting they keep changing liaisons. The Town Manager noted that the overall budget is well behaved. If there are available funds he would fund the Economic Development Planner; $2000 for the Library; a Crossing Guard; the pay and class; Human Resource training and Public Safety training. The Town Manager noted that we will be making cuts in FY18. Daniel Ensminger asked if the Finance Committee can develop two budgets - one with override and one without. Barry Berman noted that we cannot ask for more unless adding services. John Arena asked if we can do three budgets. The Town Manager noted it is mostly a marketing tool and he would prefer a list of items. He also wants to discuss how the money is split - 2/3 and 1/3. A motion by Sexton seconded by Berman to adiourn the meetina at 10:05 o m was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Respectfully submitted, Secretary ' 1 Paye 16