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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-03-08 Board of Selectmen Minutes ooh OF[? FH . Town of Reading e Meeting Minutes � , RECEIV, t7 �� r�°f �° T `��h`N CLERK 1.14 G. M t1 Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Selectmen iblb APR ' I P 2: 55 Date: 2016-03-08 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, Secretary Barry Berman, John Arena and Daniel Ensminger Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Executive Assistant Paula Schena, Al Sylvia, Greg Stepler, Nancy Twomey, Rachel Baumgartner, Vicki Yablonsky, Joe Huggins, Bob Labrecque, Jane Kinsella, Michael Bean, Alice Collins, Geoffery Coram, John Coote, Mark Dockser, Linda Snow Dockser Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Secretary Topics of Discussion: Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments - Barry Berman noted that he attended the Library Building Committee meeting. He had sad news that Jody Avtges died last week and she was on the front Fine of everything positive, he sends his condolences to her family. Daniel Ensminger noted that he had breakfast with the Town Manager, the Superintendent of Schools and the School Committee Chairman. John Halsey noted that he attended the RCASA meeting. There is concern about funding going forward. We have been extremely successful in getting grant funding and some of it cannot be reapplied for. Many things are going on including mental health, first aid, etc. Public Comment - Bill Brown noted that the Finance Committee was out of line at the January 20th Financial Forum. He noted that they were lobbying for an override when their role is to advise Town Meeting. John Arena noted that members of this board have had comments of advocacy but at the end of the day it is up to Town Meeting, Town Manager's Report - The Town Manager noted that the Town of Reading had two robberies with one hour and he showed the picture of one of the thieves. There was no picture available of the other robber. Discussion/Action Items Board Reorganization - The meeting was turned over to the Town Manager who requested nominations for Chairman of the Board of Selectmen. Page I 1 Board of Selectmen Minutes - March 8, 2016 - page 2 Sexton moved and Berman seconded to nominate John Halsey for Chairman. A motion by Ensminger seconded by Berman to close the nominations was approved by a vote of 5-0-0 and John Halsey was named Chairman by a vote of 5-0-0. Ensminger moved and Berman seconded to nominate Kevin Sexton for Vice Chairman. A motion by Ensminger seconded by Berman to close the nominations was approved by a vote of 5-0-0 and Kevin Sexton was named Vice Chairman by a vote of 5-0-0. Ensminger moved and Sexton seconded to nominate Barry Berman as Secretary. A motion by Sexton seconded by Ensminger to close the nominations was approved by a vote of 5-0-0 and Barry Berman was named Secretary by a vote of 5-0-0. Board Liaison Assignments - John Halsey noted that the Board members should discuss changes to the liaison assignments. He will confer with each Selectman separately to find out their interests. The assignments will be made in a couple of weeks. 116 Van Norden Road Tax Title - The Town Manager noted that the Town took possession of this property one year ago and a private party has stepped up to finance. He recommends that the Board of Selectmen approve. He noted that the Town does try to work with residents. John Halsey asked if the person living in the house is the person who is paying and the Town Manager noted that no, an independent third party is paying. He believes it is a friendly acquisition but he is not privy to the details. John Arena asked why we vacate the tax title before payment is made and the Town Manager noted that is because of the third party's payment agreement. Barry Berman asked if anyone else who is elderly is in this position can we put them in touch with Elder Services and the Town Manager noted that we can if that person welcomes us into their home. A motion by Berman seconded by Sexton that as provided under MGL Chapter 60, Section 69, the Board of Selectmen hereby move to vacate the final iudgment entered on February 24, 2014 in tax lien foreclosure case Town of Reading v. Frederick J. Boni, Case No. 13 TL 147026 covering the property located at 116 Van Norden Road, Reading, MA, Assessors' Map 39, Lot 72, formerly known as Map 155, Lot 1, upon payment by FREDERICK J. BONI on or before MARCH 31, 2016 of all amounts due to redeem the tax taking covering the property, which include, but are not limited to, taxes and interest to the date of payment, all charges and fees associated with the foreclosure case and any costs incurred by the Town in the care, custody and control of the property after the entry of the Judgment. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Preview Annual Town Meeting - The Town Manager reviewed the articles regarding money. He noted that there is rearranging of funds that result in the use of $32,000 in free cash. Items included funding for an Economic Development Planner; the consulting services for security system evaluation at $125,000; and first year funding for a new K-12 science curriculum materials at $150,000. Board members had some concern about the funding of the science curriculum for the first year because it is unknown how it would be paid after that. Daniel Ensminger strongly suggested that the Economic Development Planner report to the Town Manager because that person will be more about economic development. Page 1 2 Board of Selectmen Minutes - March 8, 2016 - page 3 Project Update - Library Building Committee - Library Building Committee Chairman David Hutchinson noted that the project is well managed. They plan to be on target and within budget. This is an $18.4 million project with $5.1 million being paid from the state. They are targeting opening in Q3 2016. The project has been tightly managed by the Library Building Committee, Selectmen liaison Barry Berman, the Finance Committee liaisons, the Library Trustees and the MBLC. Also, STV's project manager, the architect and general contractor. John Arena asked how much the not committed amount is and Bob Labrecque noted under $1.5 million. John Arena asked if the deficit is $100,000 - $200,000 and Bob Labrecque noted there is no deficit yet. He estimates $150,000 but we should be able to manage. Bob Labrecque noted that they are into finishes now and finishes that we missed in the documents. All major elements have been brought up and they are down to basic fit up items. John Halsey asked if they are $150,000 over, where they would get the money. David Hutchinson noted probably out of FF&E. Bob Labrecque noted they are driving down the price of A/V and they were just awarded the furniture contracts. John Arena asked if the forecast is to spend $18.550 million and the Town Manager noted no, that the forecast is to spend $18.4 because we don't have any more to spend. Some things won't get done. David Hutchinson noted the plan is to negotiate down. The bid came in under but unforeseen conditions used that up. There have been no designer changes other than reacting to discovered conditions and the sense is to do it right while we have things open. A substantial amount of money went into masonry and brickwork. Bob Labrecque noted that once they opened up the walls it kept expanding. Unforeseen conditions so things had to be rebuilt. David Hutchinson noted that was hazardous material in the masonry. The porte cochere was built on rubble so we had to remove it and rebuild the foundation. The plan was to have good drainage and they discovered ledge under the parking lot. Daniel Ensminger asked if it is earthquake proof and Bob Labrecque noted that seismic was designed in. Bob Labrecque noted that they found the original foundation was porous with rainstorms so they did additional waterproofing. David Hutchinson noted that waterproofing was planned but not this much. David Hutchinson noted that site plan discussions caused delays, a protest on the bid delayed the project one month and we ran out of time before winter. Kevin Sexton asked if they are scaling back on the A/V and Bob Labrecque noted that they received competitive pricing and Facilities can install the wireless outlets. The book display cases can be delayed. John Arena asked if anything historical was found and Bob Labrecque noted an old safe that had a couple of books in it. John Halsey asked if there will be space for historical document storage and Vicki Yablonsky noted there will not. There will only be space for the historical material they had. John Halsey noted that is very discerning. John Arena noted they need to look at a way to make space. Page 1 3 Board of Selectmen Minutes - March 8, 2016 - page 4 The Town Manager noted that a lot of the unforeseen conditions were due to poor workmanship during the last renovation so that is a lesson for the future. Project Update and Committee Overview - Permanent Building Committee - Permanent Building Committee Chairman Greg Stepler, Patrick Tompkins, John Coote, Nancy Twomey, Brad Congdon, Michael Bean, David Trainiello, Cemetery representative Bill Brown and Finance Committee rep Paula Perry were all present. Greg Stepler noted the committee was formed on October 6, 2015. They have met seven times. They are looking at the cemetery building and developing a process for projects coming before them. They will make objective decisions. An ad hoc committee in 2010 mentioned the water problem at the Library but it never got put in the plans. John Arena noted that they need to collect data on all Town buildings. Greg Stepler noted that the project assessment process will consist of an application, evaluation and reporting. Projects will be filtered by the Board of Selectmen, Library Trustees and Schools. The MSBC requires a statement of interest which is a four page document. Greg Stepler noted that if someone has a need they should go to the Permanent Building Committee and get into evaluation mode. John Halsey asked if they will be holding public hearings with stake holders and Greg Stepler noted they could. For the cemetery they poured through material already acquired and did site visits. Reports will be addressed to the Board of Selectmen, the Town Manager and Boards and Committees. Barry Berman asked if there is any vision of creating a fund so they don't have to wait for Town Meeting. Greg Stepler noted they have discussed a small amount of $20,000 - $30,000 but there have been no decisions yet. The Town Manager noted that the key to that would be to identify who authorizes. It could be a capital account or a revolving fund. It may be best to put a line in the Town Manager's budget and renew each year. That seems like best practice. Greg Stepler noted that the information needs to be archived for the next time to go back and reference in the future. Town Meeting approval will be final. The Town Manager noted that this group does not want to be involved in politics. John Arena asked how the workload has been and Greg Stepler noted that they are meeting every two to three weeks. Barry Berman noted that all of the buildings are different and Greg Stepler noted they are but they will all have to use the same process. Kevin Sexton asked how they envision archives being set up and Greg Stepler indicated however the Town feels is best. The Town Manager noted that we have electronic storage. Bill Brown noted that an archive is a great idea. When we built the Fire Station we paid a consultant to determine the location and we already knew the location. Greg Stepler went on to note that the sponsoring agency is one of three boards - the Board of Selectmen, Library Trustees or School Committee. Daniel Ensminger noted that siting is not in the Bylaw and a dollar threshold should be used for all projects. Barry Berman noted that the MGL says $1.5 million for owners OPM so the threshold should be the same as the state. Greg Stepler noted that there shouldn't be a Page 1 4 Board of Selectmen Minutes - March 8, 2016 - page S dollar value. The Town Manager noted that roof repairs could be $2 million and there is no need for the Permanent Building Committee to be involved. Barry Berman asked if there is any way the Committee can play a role in the Capital Planning. Greg Stepler noted that the charge of the Committee is to evaluate all of the buildings and Joe Huggins has sent us that information already. John Arena noted he was worried that they will get buried with small items so they should concentrate on the big projects. Greg Stepler agreed and said that routine maintenance has no question of feasibility. They don't want to take on each single project. We should use them when we need our expertise. Greg Stepler noted that the Bylaw doesn't reference associate members or when the project exists or when we call for temp members. The Committee has decided that when Town Meeting approves a project then they will call for temporary members. They will meet monthly during construction and then closeout and archive. Barry Berman noted that if they have two projects at one time it could be difficult to attend all of those meetings. Nancy Twomey noted they could split up the committee for continuity. John Halsey noted that the sponsoring committee needs to look at the band width of the projects. John Halsey said what happened with the Library Building Committee will never happen again and Greg Stepler indicated that was correct. The Town Manager noted that the Permanent Building Committee is more of a middle ground. The time and work that went into the Library was huge. Greg Stepler noted that they reviewed all the available information on the cemetery garage and did site visits. They need input from Conservation and then they will develop details for the scope of work for design services. The Board thanked the Committee for their update. Town of Reading Financial Overview - The Town Manager noted that the last override was between FY03 and FY04 and we had increases of 3.1% and 3.2% after the override. He noted spending less on capital inside the levy and we got rid of debt so the money all went to health benefits which is why we've been able to get by for so long. We also saved $4 million when we refinanced the High School. John Halsey noted that our free cash numbers get us in the position of good financing rates. The Town Manager noted that the year before the override we spent $25,000 on capital and $10,000 of that was the Town Manager's rainy day account. That resulted in not taking care of the fleet, etc. Capital came last if there was any money left over. We've had 5.7% - 7% increases each year in health insurance. This year there is a 7.6% increase in health insurance. In 2010 the Town brainstormed on ways to raise new revenues and come up with the following suggestions: • Sale of Town land - one-time thing • Cell towers - opportunity there • Economic Development position The Town Manager noted that all of these are low revenue items. John Arena asked the -" Town Manager to monetize them and he noted all of them are $25K per year or less. Page 1 5 Board of Selectmen Minutes - March 8, 2016 - page 6 Cost cutting efforts include: • Shifting costs to employees • Saving money in electric costs by doing improvements • Regional assessment - better service The Town Manager noted that people in general don't want to pay more money; they want you to manage better. The chart shows we've been managed well over the last 10 years. Barry Berman noted that some towns ask for an override every year. Reading has done a good job managing and we only ask when we really need it. We have a good history. John Halsey noted that residents need to be educated on the difference between a debt exclusion and an override. There seems to be some confusion about that. He noted that we need to talk with the neighborhoods and to work closely with the School Department to get information out there. A resident asked why cash reserves cannot be tapped into; if reserves are at 5% and if there is any wiggle room. The Town Manager noted that reserves are at 9% - 10% right now and 5% is the floor that we shouldn't go below. The Finance Committee spends free cash to balance the budget and on capital. The same resident asked if there is any free cash that can be spent to help the tax problem and John Halsey noted that the Selection are looking at a variety of tools to help the taxpayer. If we take money that is earmarked for other things then we will be on a collision course. We do have to maintain some to cover unexpected expenses. We need to look for tools to help those who will be mostly negatively affected. Mr. Halsey noted that Representative Brad Jones did a good article on circuit breakers and people would find that helpful to read. John Arena noted that the most confusing part of free cash is that the sources are not guaranteed and the likelihood of getting replenished is getting smaller each year. Mark Dockser, Precinct 1 noted that if we take money out of free cash to pay for the operating budget it will not be there next year. A resident from 31 Ridge Road noted that 80% of the School Budget is employee benefits. A resident asked about the philosophical approach of the Permanent Building Committee. The Town Manager noted that they are developing a process to use for future projects. They are "learn as they go." The Town Manager noted that there shouldn't have been any surprise to the community regarding the Library and the override - they are two different things. Linda Snow Dockser, 85 Beaver Road noted that the Town has a program to work off debt by working for the Town. The Town Manager noted that a resident can work off $750 towards their taxes, but the income requirements are very low so not many people qualify. Linda Snow Dockser asked if Reading or the States sets the requirements and the Town Manager noted that the State establishes the requirements but the Town gets to set a few criteria. Leah Barton asked is the Town is considering an override with cost cutting efforts. John Arena noted that as far as cost reduction ideas go the big rocks have already been lifted and the small rocks are there but there is not much savings. We are always spending more than what comes in. Page 1 6 Board of Selectmen Minutes - March 8, 2016 - page 7 Barry Berman indicated he feels people are more inclined if we don't ask every year. As far as economic development the rate of new growth is small. We have limited commercial tax base and we will never grow our way out of the problem. ` Daniel Ensminger noted that we are demonstrating tightening our belt. We are doing that in FY17 by reducing staff, both Town and Schools. John Halsey noted that we have to bring commerce to the area and limit residential development. We need to mitigate what we have. Daniel Ensminger noted that 40B's are being thrust upon us and we can't turn them down. We had a proposal years ago to Zone 40R but the neighbors didn't want it. Eric Burkhart noted that he saw on Facebook something about the schools need $10 million more to educate 24 more students. He noted this is a mischaracterization and the Town needs to be careful how we present the need analysis. It would be helpful to see what the path looks like and what is the timing. A resident from Precinct 7 noted that Reading ranks on the bottom of the list in per pupil spending. We need to ask people where we should be because they don't realize we are at the bottom. John Arena noted that data is based on State criteria and the Town of Reading does not bus so the numbers are not correct. A resident from Precinct 6 noted that money does not equal results. The Schools are strapped to meet the needs. We have unfunded mandates and we are on a downward trend. John Halsey noted that we have financial issues that prevent us from doing things. Linda Snow Dockser noted that no teachers are being laid off for the science program. She feels we need to work together. Daniel Ensminger noted that the School Committee needs to talk about common core. The Town Manager reviewed the proposed calendar in reverse as follows: • 11-8 Presidential Election • 10-18 Special Election • 9-13 Notify Town Clerk of Special Election • 9-12 Special Town Meeting (Arena suggested adding a second night on 9-15) • 8-16 Close the Warrant for the Special Town Meeting • Do Neighborhood meetings in May at the Schools (Barry Berman requested doing one at the Senior Center) The Town Manager noted that the Board needs to decide how long the override will last and how much the Town and Schools need each year. John Halsey suggested doing a blended override. A motion by Ensminger seconded by Arena to proceed with the calendar to hold an override vote on October 18, 2016 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0 Approval of Minutes A motion by Berman seconded by Sexton to approve the minutes of January 19 2016 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Berman seconded by Sexton to approve the minutes of January 26 2016 as amended was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Berman seconded by Halsey to approve the minutes of February 23 2016 was approved by a vote of 4-0-1 with Arena abstaining Page 1 7 Board of Selectmen Minutes -.March 8, 2016 - page 8 A motion by Berman seconded by Sexton to adjourn the meeting at 11:17 p.m. was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Respectfully submitted, Sec etary Page 8