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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-05-03 Board of Selectmen Minutes FR Town of Reading Meeting Minutes ed'+nrcoa Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Selectmen Date: 2016-05-03 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 John Halsey, Vice Chairman Kevin Sexton (arrived at 7:10), Secretary Barry Berman, John Arena and Daniel Ensminger Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Police Chief Mark Segalla, Elder Services Administrator Jane Burns, Steven Sadwick, Judy Barolak, Kathi Crook, Joh Carpenter, Stephen Goldy, Phil Rushworth, Steven Crook, Attorney Brad Latham, Tirak Patel, Attorney Thomas Fothergill, Executive Assistant PauI Schena Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Secretary Topics of Discussion: Resorts and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments - Daniel Ensminger commended the Town and Schools staff for the information supplied at Town Meeting - job well done. Town Manager's Report - The Town Manager noted that the Board needs to reappoint the Town Accountant because her term expired in March. The Charter Committee removed Town Counsel and Treasurer/Collector positions from the Charter because they are hired and fired at will. The Town Manager also noted that the Board of Selectmen liaison assignments have been finalized. A motion by Berman seconded by Arena to reappoint Sharon Angstrom as To n Accountant for a term expiring March 31, 2017 was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Proclamations/Certificates of Appreciation Women's Lung Week - A motion by Berman seconded by Arena to approve the proclamation for Women's Luna Health Week was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Personnel & Appointments Police Officer Badge Pinning - Brian Lewis - Chief Segalla introduced Officer Brian Lewis. He noted that he grew up in North Reading and has worked for six years for the Portsmo th Police Department. Brian Lewis' wife Colleen pinned his badge and the Board congratula ed him. Page I 1 Board of Selectmen Minutes - May 3 2016 _page 2 Discussion/Action Items Garden Club - May 14th Annual Plant Sale; ARTS Reading Cultural Group - Demetra Tseckares, Denise McCarthy, Jean Maloney, Eileen Cohen, and Mary Anne Higgins were present. Ms. Tseckares noted that they planted 12 Cherry Trees at the Depot and they need adopters. The Geranium sale will be May 14th at Town Hall. Mary Anne Higgins noted that all proceeds go back to the Town. There will be a plant sale, bake sale, members' plants sale, lots of geraniums, annuals, vegetables and herbs in hanging baskets. ARTS Reading will join them on the common with five groups participating from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Town Manager noted that the street in front of Town Hall will be closed. The CVS lot will have Police to help cross the street and scouts will help carry plants. The Board thanked them for their hard work. Council on Aging Update - Elder Services Administrator Jane Burns and several Council on Aging members were present. Jane Burns noted that a Town wide survey was taken by 378 people in February and she has the preliminary results. The top rated programs include: socialization at the Pleasant Street Center; communication; medical transportation; the Elder Human Services/Van. The biggest challenges for elders is health, then financial, and companionship/relationships. Jane Burns noted that it is helpful having the Nurse Advocate social services at the Center. Social services involves many hours of relationship building. The need for social services is increasing. Barry Berman asked what steps they take to find the elders in need and Jane Burns noted that they hear from the Police and Fire a lot. The paramedics break down the barriers. They have also received referrals from the Library and Mystic Valley Elder Services is a two way relationship. Jane Burns noted that last August they dealt with three homeless situations. They also work with RCASA regarding addiction in seniors. John Halsey asked what the data is to determine if they need more staff and Jane Burns noted they are looking at that now. She also noted that they are not the only ship in the water and they have many strong partners. John Arena asked if the total population growing or is use and intendancy growing. Jane Burns noted she would have to get that information. Jane Burns noted that they have two vans now that take trips to the grocery stores, downtown, and YMCA. The vans made 6000 trips. The medical transportation does approximately 78 rides per month. Over the past year 1000 seniors visited the Center over 10,000 times. Jane Burns noted that future planning includes; review of comparable communities; communication of programs and services via Facebook, Website. She did thank the Board for the electronic sign in. There are space constraints at the Pleasant Street Center and some programs cannot be offered due to lack of space. Dinners and special events sell out quickly and they can only accommodate 70 people. Page 1 2 Board of Selectmen Minutes - May 3, 2016 - page 3 John Arena asked if there are any thoughts to regionalize and Jane Burns noted they have not looked at going out of town. They are looking for space in town that is handicap accessible. MAPC Member Report - MAPC Rep Steve Sadwick was present. He noted that Reading is in the North Suburban Planning Council. They are working on the transportation improvement plan and the Town had hired MAPC to work on the hazard mitigation plan. MAPC has finalized the Economic Development Plan. Steve Sadwick noted that the zoning workshop that was held was great. He suggests the town look at the strategy of the parking plan. He feels the funding of the Economic Development Planner will help to implement the Economic Development Plan. He feels the services that the MAPC is providing today are so much better than 10 years ago. RCN Report - Kathi Crook, Stephen Goldy, John Carpenter and Phil Rushworth were present. Kathi Crook noted that the present meeting coverage is 62.50 hours. At this time last year it was 39.5 hours. They covered 14 hours of 40B meetings. RCN is working hard to make sure we have fiber in all of the buildings. The Library Community Room will have a mini work station. They are talking to the Schools about getting back in there. They are combining theater with technical. The annual meeting is May 19th and they will do a 72 hour film festival. In addition they are planning on upcoming contracts. John Arena asked about coverage of High School athletics and it was noted that the plan going forward is to talk with the High School about getting parent groups to cover events. John Arena suggested they might get better coverage with seniors. He also suggested giving the students credits for the programs. John Arena suggested they put a small room at the High School and it was noted that there is no room there. The Town Manager noted that the High School changed their schedule to staggered wh ch makes it impossible to schedule. Review Town Manager Goals - The Town Manager reviewed his goals. Regionalization - The Town Manager noted that regionalization goals have been met. He has strengthened community relationships and examined Town/School. He has talked with other communities regarding regionalization of senior services and they are not interested in crossing the borders. Facilities is working out great and the shared Human Resource person with the schools is working out great. Explore public/private partnerships - he is working on a survey. Performance Measurement - The peer community data is good and it is helpful to Town and Schools. Communication is doing well. Board, Committee and Commission communication ne�ds improvements. See Click Fix is going well. The 911 is coming up for renewal and it might be time for a change. Strategic planning is being done. He doesn't know where a Master Plan Committee fits in because we are doing so much it almost seems like it is being done by piece meal. Real Estate - The Post Office is moving across the street. The Town Manager noted that he knows the person purchasing the Post Office and working with the federal government as been difficult. Review Downtown Parking - This has been looked at and it was determined that there is plenty of parking it's just not where people want it to be. Page 1 3 Board of Selectmen Minutes - May 3 2016 - page 4 Recreation Improvements - These are low on his list. The lighting is being done. DPW Location - The Town Manager noted that the Permanent Building Committee met last night and they have narrowed down to two cemeteries for the Cemetery Garage. Six neighbors of Wood End showed up and they are not happy. Library Project - The project is going slow. The construction manager quit two weeks ago. It is more important to do it right than do it fast. Oakland Road - This is on Town Counsel's lap. The Town Manager noted that a new Town Engineer was appointed on Monday. The Town Manager noted that he would like to meet with a couple of Selectmen to review the Selectmen's Policies. Daniel Ensminger asked if the MMA has model policies. The Town Manager noted that he needs to spend more time on financial planning. The financial calendar for neighborhood meetings includes: June 1 at Coolidge Middle School at 7:00 p.m.; June 7 at the Pleasant Street Center at 1:00 p.m.; and June 16 at Parker Middle School at 7:00 p.m. August 16th is the last day to close the Warrant. Financial Update - The Town Manager noted that he and John Halsey met with the Assessor. He identified three articles to address elderly tax payers. We can expand the Senior Tax Work amount from $750 to $1000. We currently have 20 folks in the Senior Tax Work Program. In addition, there is the Senior In Home which requires a Home Rule Petition. Anyone who files for the circuit breaker would qualify for this. People will need to apply each year and this will be a burden on staff. He recommends graduate per income so that the less you earn the more you save. He recommends setting the objective at $500,000. We have two options - Option 1 is to leave $500,000 on the table and Option 2 is to redefine revenue within residential. Barry Berman suggested finding out what the people have to say. The Town Manager noted that it is up to the Board of Selectmen on whether it gets tied into the override. He recommends tying into the FY18 budget. He noted that the community who did this found out they had a much larger amount who qualified but Victor Santaniello already knows the numbers for us. He noted that this can go the next Town Meeting. The Town Manager noted that the third option is that the homeowner can defer taxes until the house is sold or the person dies. The risk with this is if the person passes away while they own the house they pay 8% in taxes instead of 4%. John Arena asked what the interest rate is on arrears and the Town Manager noted 16% set by State law. Barry Berman noted when we ask for the override we will ask if people will pay more to help the elderly. If we give too much information people might default to no. John Halsey noted that we have to give people credit on understanding. John Arena noted that we have to talk about why we are here. Nobody did anything bad - it's the health insurance costs. The Town Manager asked if we should talk about peers and Barry Berman noted yes. John Arena noted we could talk about peers but the residents won't get anything out of it. Hearing - Application for Wine and Malt General on Premise Liquor License for the Art Lounge on Haven, 78 Haven Street - Attorney Brad Latham, Judy Barolak and her husband were present. Attorney Latham gave the certified green cards to the Town Manager. Page 1 4 Board of Selectmen Minutes - May 3, 2016 - page S Attorney Latham noted that the floor plan has changed. The door to the back area was not shown and the bathroom door on the side was not there. The back room will be locked. Their hope is that the patrons will go to restaurants afterwards. They will attend the class and have a glass of beer or wine and drinks will be limited to no more than two drinks per person and classes are no long than three hours. There will be no more than 24 people at one time. The Town Manager noted that the applicant came in late today with the floor plan cha ge and he suggests the Board continue the hearing to allow time for staff to review the cha ge in plan. John Arena asked about our unused licenses and the Town Manager noted that theBo rd needs to determine if any future applicants serve a public need. It is also first come first serve. John Arena noted that previously he was in favor of this but he is afraid of unintended consequences on someone we don't want. He suggests the Board of Selectmen decide a framework for the remaining licenses. Barry Berman noted that our Economic Development Plan recommends clustering restaurants. John Arena asked if the intent is to have more than one class per evening and Judy Baro ak noted she could start one on Saturday afternoons. John Arena noted that on page 59 the corporation says food and Attorney Latham responded that the corporation is allowed to serve food but will not be serving food. Barry Berman asked if the displays will be moving in and out and Judy Barolak noted that the left side will be emptied out. The Town Manager recommended continuing the hearing until May 17 at 7:20 p.m. A motion by Berman seconded by Ensmin er that the Board of Selectmen contin e the hearing on the application for a Wine and Malt General on Premise Li uor License for The Art Lounge on Haven 78 Haven Street to May 17 2016 at 7: 0 R-111. was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Transfer of All Alcohol Package Store License from Busa Reading Li uors LLC to HT Readil Liquors LLC, 345 Main Street - The Secretary read the hearing notice. Attorney Tho as Fothergill and the applicant Tirak Patel were present. Attorney Fothergill noted that the transfer from Busa to HT Reading Liquors LLC is a straight transfer. Everything will remain the same except for the name. They own other stores and have a good reputation. Barry Berman asked Mr. Patel if he will be the onsite Manager and Mr. Patel noted that he will be at first then he will hire a new Manager. The Town Manager noted that page 29 of the packet is a letter from the Police Department giving their approval. John Arena noted that Reading takes a dim view on selling to minors and noted that they had a recent repetitive case. John Arena asked if the store sells tobacco products and' it was noted they do. John Halsey noted that the owner of that store has been a great citizen in town. A motion by Ensminger seconded by Sexton that the Board of Selectmen close the hearing on the transfer of the All Alcohol Package Store License from Busa Page 1 5 Board of Selectmen Minutes - May 3, 2016 - page 6 Reading Liquors LLC to HT Reading Liquors LLC, 345 Main Street was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Berman seconded by Sexton that the Board of Selectmen approve the transfer of the All Alcohol Package Store License from Busa Reading Liquors LLC to HT Reading Liquors LLC, 345 Main Street for a term expiring December 31, 2016 subiect to the following conditions: All Bylaws, Rules and Regulations of the Town of Reading and of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shall be followed, and subiect to a satisfactory inspection of the establishment by the Town Manager or his designee was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Approval of Minutes A motion by Berman seconded by Ensminger that the Board of Selectmen approve the minutes of April 19, 2016 was approved by a vote of 4-0-1 with Arena abstaining. A motion by Berman seconded by Sexton that the Board of Selectmen approve the Executive Session minutes of April 19, 2016 as written was approved on a roll call vote with Halsey, Sexton, Berman and Ensminger voting in the affirmative and Arena abstaining. A motion by Berman seconded by Sexton that the Board of Selectmen adiourn the meeting at 10:29 p.m. was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Re ctfully submitted, ' S reta Page 1 6