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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-11-15 Board of Selectmen Minutes F # Town of Reading '• Meeting Minutes RECEIVED TOWN CLERK HADING, MASS. Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 101b DEC 15 A 4 321 Board of Selectmen Date: 2016-11-15 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, Daniel Ensminger Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, Jessie Wilson, Executive Assistant Paula Schena, Bill Brown, Nick Gagnon, Julie Mercier, Cy Caoutte, Erin Calvo Bacci, Al Sylvia, Mark Dockser, Everett and Virginia Blodget, Gina Snyder, Robert Redfern, Stephen Crook, Michael Giacalone, Nancy Docktor, Victor Santaniello, Frank Golden, Andrew Corona Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Secretary Barry Berman Topics of Discussion: Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments - Kevin Sexton noted that he attended the last ZBA meeting for Reading Village. Parking will be discussed tonight. John Halsey noted that the Board has not received anything from the developer. Kevin Sexton noted they are coming in to see our tolerance. They need one loading space onsite per 20 units. The ZBA is amenable to only one spot onsite. Julie Mercier noted it is a two part waiver - the total number of spaces and the location of the loading space. Daniel Ensminger cited #28 in the conditions and asked if they have made any offsite arrangements for parking. Kevin Sexton indicated he did not know. Barry Berman noted that he and Kevin Sexton attended the Chamber of Commerce breakfast where the head of Mass Retail Association was the presenter and he gave Reading a big shout out. He also noted that they are seeing national and statewide issues. Barry Berman also noted that John Halsey gave a very touching speech at the Veterans Day event. Daniel Ensminger gave kudos to Keven Boehmiller for all of his hard work. He also noted that he received an invitation for the Suburban Coalition meeting on November 30th at the Newton Marriot from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. and he will try to go. John Halsey gave accolades to Kevin Boehmiller for doing a great job with the Veterans by looking after their needs. He goes above and beyond the call of duty. Page 1 1 Board of Selectmen Minutes - November 15, 2016 - page 2 Town Manager's Report - The Town Manager noted they had a record Town Meeting last night. Both Special Town Meetings will be on Monday. The Selectmen should still vote to declare the Oakland Road surplus. An instructional motion to reconsider the Oakland Road article will be made because Town Meeting needs to clear the title before anything is done with the property. Discussion/Action Items Economic Development Update - Jessie Wilson noted that she has been working on this project to identify the best practices from our peers. The Town had an EDSAT done in 2014 and that evaluated our strengths and weaknesses. An Economic Development Action Plan was done in 2015 and that evaluated the economic development opportunities in four of the priority development areas (PDA's). She noted that Melrose was added to the list of peers - there are 26 communities. John Arena asked how the peer communities were deemed. The Town Manager noted that the first consultant came up with 23 communities and the most recent consultant added three more. Jessie Wilson noted that she looked at population, household incomes, and home sales. Belmont, Concord, Lexington and Winchester had the highest home sales and Danvers had the lowest. She also looked at tax rates. John Arena noted that it would make sense to look at the cost of the tax bill. In addition, Jessie Wilson noted that she looked at Commercial/Industrial land use. Danvers is the highest; Concord is high; Belmont and Reading are the lowest. She also looked at the tax levy and Reading is at 60% which is below average of our peers. Jessie Wilson noted that she sent a survey to our peer communities with 11 questions on three topics: What are the key objectives in community development; how do they measure success and how does the town government impact community development. She has received 15 responses and she will continue to collect data on the peer communities by going out and interviewing them. �+ Jessie Wilson reviewed the annual growth chart. John Arena noted that it would be helpful to explain what each peak was i.e. Jordans, Home Depot, etc. Daniel Ensminger noted that we shouldn't ignore residential either. Jessie Wilson noted that Reading lags in CIP growth. Reading is average in residential growth but rent is high. Kevin Sexton noted that sales information is available to the public but rent is not easy to find out. The Town Manager noted that the Assessors have the most information but it is not public. John Arena noted that we have the best access to highways but are not doing anything with it. Jessie Wilson went on to talk about the correlation between residential growth and CIP growth. She noted that how we classify vacant land determines a lot. She also looked at the CIP growth and vacant land in Lynnfield regarding their Market Place. They did not have a lot of vacant land; in fact, it was built on a golf course. Barry Berman noted that not all of the communities have public transportation. Jessie Wilson noted that public transportation is an issue for a lot of communities. John Arena noted that we need to do another sizable event to get growth numbers up. Jessie Wilson noted that higher CIP taxes correlate with growth. Page 1 2 Board of Selectmen Minutes - November 15 2016 - page 3 The Town Manager referred to Reading and Wakefield's' CIP growth from 2003 - 2016. He noted that Reading's personal property has grown faster than commercial and industrial. Wakefield's personal property has grown but commercial and industrial has stayed flat. Introduce New Economic Development Director - The Town Manager introduced Andrew Corona. The Town Manager noted that Andrew had live in Kent, Washington and Glendale, Arizona and has had a career in economic development. He has no idea of what Massachusetts is like. The Board welcomed Andrew to the Town. Reading Village (Depot 40B) - The ZBA called to order at 8:10 p.m. Matthew Zuka and other representatives from Reading Village were present. John Halsey noted that the Board of Selectmen had no idea why they were coming in tonight. They did not receive any information. Matthew Zuka noted that they are asking for a waiver of the requirement for four off street loading spaces per 20 units. Daniel Ensminger noted that overview shows the parking taking up a lane on the street. Matthew Zuka noted the Engineers rendering is more accurate and they are not changing the width of the pavement. He noted they had a loading spot on the property but it was awkward because it had to be backed into. Mr. Zuka noted that there are 57 spaces across the street that the Town owns for commuter parking and he would like to take part in discussion about those spaces. He is asking that an area be designated as a loading zone per the Traffic Rules and Regulations. John Arena asked what the required size for a loading zone is and Mr. Zuka did not know. John Arena asked if a 20 foot setback from the corner is being taken into consideration and Mr. Zuka indicated yes, the best place for the loading is at the front door. John Arena asked how many parking spaces they have and Mr. Zuka noted 72 - one per unit. Daniel Ensminger asked if there have been any discussions with private land owners and Mr. Zuka noted there are no private spaces available. He did speak with the Town about parking. Jean Delios noted that there is no overnight parking in municipal lots. Daniel Ensminger noted that the Selectmen are not comfortable with a one ratio. Jean Delios noted that she encourages shared parking. She has no idea of how many cars will come here. The 1.25 ratio is what generally is acceptable. Daniel Ensminger noted that they need 18 more spaces before we can talk about a loading zone. Mr. Zuka noted that almost all of the units are one bedroom. The market dictates the parking. If someone needs three spaces they will go elsewhere. If someone doesn't need a space they can rent the space to someone. John Arena asked Mr. Zuka if he can market/formalize some units with no parking and Mr. Zuka noted that the problem is they could end up with empty spaces - 1.0 is a trend. John Arena noted if they ended up with empty spaces they can negotiate to undo it. Once again, he asked Mr. Zuka if he will market some units with no spaces and Mr. Zuka noted he is comfortable at 1.0. John Halsey asked if he would consider formalizing no space and Mr. Zuka noted he can't say - he would have to formulate that. John Halsey requested that Mr. Zuka send the Board of Selectmen the plans. He noted that the process is choppy and everyone is trying to work with him. Page 1 3 Board of Selectmen Minutes - November 15, 2016 - page 4 The Town Manager noted that he will need the Police Chief and Town Counsel to review. Then we can hold a hearing and notify abutters. ZBA Chairman David Traniello noted that the ZBA made certain recommendations that the Selectmen should consider. ..... Update on 40B Projects - Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios noted that we have a robust housing market. We have a current approved Housing Production Plan. Approximately 22% of households in Reading would qualify for subsidized housing. It is also estimated that the elderly population will increase 57%. John Arena asked if we need to be the leader of the pack and Jean Delios noted that we have an obligation to meet 10% and we will have 40B's until then. In 2011 the state said no to a 40B proposal due to our Housing Production Plan. Reading is at 7.78%. Jean Delios noted that there are five 40B's in the cue. Beacon Street near the water tower - there's been no activity; Lyle Estate at 364 Lowell Street filed for a 40B which might be four lots; Reading Village at Lincoln/Prescott Streets; Schoolhouse Common at 172 Woburn Street; and Lakeview is the pending 5th 40B. She refers to Lakeview as "ElGrande" and they are looking at shared parking with Jordans and could have as many as 300 units. Jean Delios noted that with the two pending 40B's we are still short 113 units. We need 48 units to get certification for one year and the 300 would get us there. She also noted that the Housing Authority has lost 10 - 12 affordable units and they have no interest in keeping them. She has offered to help them attain more but they are not interested. The Zoning Board of Appeals adjourned at 9:05 p.m. Hearing - Tax Classification - The Secretary read the hearing notice. Assessor Victor Santaniello and Board members Frank Golden and Stephen Crook were present. Victor Santaniello noted that Reading has never adopted a split tax rate. The average home value is $533,500. With a CIP of 1 the tax rate would be $14.04 with a tax bill of $7490. The total amount of the FY17 debt exclusion is $3,001,933 for an increase of $.65 which is included in the $14.04 rate. The average commercial property is $1,563,000 with a factor of $14.04 the average commercial tax bill will be $21,945. Six properties are valued over $10 million and 81 under $500,000. Commercial sales are pretty stable and have been flat for the past five years. Barry Berman noted that the data collected by the Assessors is voluntary from the business owner and they could under report but we can't hide residential sales. Victor Santaniello noted that they request data annually and if they fail to comply then it will hurt the tax appeal. Open Space - Victor Santaniello noted that Reading has never adopted an exemption for open space because there is no property that fits the classification. Residential Exemption - Adopting a residential exemption up to 35% would raise the residential tax rate to $19.98 from $14.04. Daniel Ensminger noted that the Town adopted senior tax relief instead of this. Small Commercial Exemption - The small commercial exemption goes to the real estate owner and not the business owner. Barry Berman asked how many properties would qualify 1 and Victor Santaniello noted approximately 40. Kevin Sexton noted these factors don't Page 1 4 Board of Selectmen Minutes - November 15 2016 - page 5 make sense for Reading and Victor Santaniello noted this has been on the books for years and is outdated. Victor Santaniello noted that out of our neighboring communities, Reading is the only one with a residential factor of 1. Barry Berman noted that commercial property tax has not gone up in five years yet the homeowners have gone up 20%. He noted that other communities deal with the-same problems yet have a split rate. John Halsey noted that one does not subsidize the other. The Town Manager noted that we have to look at the risk because it can swing in both directions. John Arena noted that resident's property is more valuable than commercial. Barry Berman noted that we chose senior tax relief and some people taxes will go up while some will go down. John Arena noted we are protecting elders and seniors to keep them in their home. Daniel Ensminger read Barry Berman's instructional motion from Town Meeting regarding splitting the tax rate and noted that he never ran it by the Board of Selectmen. John Arena noted that none of the business owners were invited to discuss the motion regarding the tax rate. He also noted that the Selectmen are not compelled or obligated to do anything. Town Meeting does not get involved in setting the tax rate. John Halsey noted that Barry Berman's instructional motion tied a hook to anything that was done for the seniors next tax year. He does not see any connector with the senior tax relief. Barry Berman noted that he feels the business community should pay more if the tax relief gets approved. John Halsey noted it's about parody, not picking and choosing. Barry Berman asked Victor Santaniello if Home Depot was moved to the other side of the lake how much would their taxes go up and Victor Santaniello noted 75%. John Halsey asked Barry Berman if that means he wants to punish the rest of the businesses. Home Depot has a lot of attorneys that deal with tax appeals. Barry Berman noted that a business owner makes money from their property. John Halsey asked why we should slap 180 businesses just to get 10 to pay more. The Town Manager noted that communities go to a split rate due to a set formula. Victor Santaniello noted that Wakefield has always been that way. Barry Berman noted that what we always do is not an appropriate answer. John Halsey noted that the five Selectmen have agreed in principal to split 1.02 or 1.03 to keep parody so business share equally to their size - it is a net zero difference. The rate will be shared equally. Andrew Shultz, Chairman of the Reading/North Reading Chamber of Commerce noted that the business community neighbors feel sandbagged that Barry's instructional motion was brought up at Town Meeting without notifying the business community. He noted that was deplorable. The commercial properties in Reading have not appreciated in the last five years. It's only going to be worse because they will have to raise prices to cover the increase and that hurts seniors. Barry Berman noted that five people set the tax rate and they decided it was time to look at the tax policy. His instructional motion was to spark _ discussion from Town Meeting. Andrew Shultz responded that the business community is upset with him. Page 1 5 Board of Selectmen Minutes - November 15, 2016 - page 6 Victor Santaniello noted that he interprets the information that he receives and that governs the value. Andrew Shultz noted that the problem is that there is no parking downtown. He also noted that businesses don't use schools or pay for trash removal. Mark Dockser, 1 Beaver Road, noted that instructional motions are cold. He is also concerned that the commercial values don't go up and we have a parking problem. He feels it is time to consider a split business tax and he wants large businesses to pay more. He noted that we need more businesses in Town. Erin Calvo-Sacci noted that residents in town don't work here so they don't shop here. Unemployment tax increased, employees have to be paid time and one half on Sundays so she has gone totally online to cut costs. She noted that the businesses support Reading by donating to the library, trick or treat, etc. She also noted that Melrose, Wakefield and Winchester have small business turn over. Nancy Docktor, resident, noted that she is opposed to the split tax and thinks it is foolish to think it will be attractive. Barry Berman noted that he's not anti-business and all retailers are dealing with the same issues. He suggests creating an ad hoc committee to look at the tax rates. Daniel Ensminger read into the record the emails received in favor of the split tax rate from: Peg Raciti, Angela Binda, Jeffrey Dietz, Heidi Bonnabeau and Anthony Bastiani. Emails were also received opposed to the split tax rate from: Mark Beckley, Diane Manahan, Sarah Blumenstock Girrell, and Leslie Leahy. Peter Simms noted he sent a letter in the summer. He noted that we have vacancies and Wakefield does too. He wants to work with the Town. Nancy Docktor, resident, noted that Town Meeting approved senior tax relief clearly ~~•~ understanding where the burden would rest. A motion by Berman seconded by Ensminger that the Board of Selectmen close the hearing establishing the FY2017 tax rate was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Berman seconded by Arena that the Board of Selectmen not grant an open space discount for Fiscal Year 2017 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Berman seconded by Arena that the Board of Selectmen not adopt a residential exemption for Fiscal Year 2017 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Ensminger seconded by Arena that the Board of Selectmen adopt a residential factor of 1 for Fiscal Year 2017 was approved by a vote of 4-1-0 with Berman opposed. A motion by Berman seconded by Ensminger that the Board of Selectmen not grant a commercial exemption for Fiscal Year 2017 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0 Oakland Road - Vote to Declare as Surplus - John Halsey noted this is a housekeeping issue. The Town Manager noted that this come before the School Committee a few weeks ago. Town Counsel recommends this action so no stone is unturned. He is throwing all of the past out. John Arena asked if the School Committee approved this and the Town Manager noted they did. John Arena asked if Town Meeting will reconsider last night's vote on Oakland Road and the Town Manager reviewed the ruling by Town Counsel indicating it can be Page 1 6 Board of Selectmen Minutes - November 15, 2016 - oage 7 reconsidered. Town Counsel also indicates that the Selectmen can move to amend the original motion by striking the sentence authorizing the Selectmen to sell or otherwise dispose of said Oakland Road parcel. A motion by Ensminger seconded by Sexton to adopt Town Counsel's recommendation of a revised motion at Town Meeting as stated above was aaRproved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Berman seconded by Ensminger that the Board of Selectmen determine that the real property shown as "Oakland Road Parcel" on a plan of land entitled "Plan of Land Oakland Road Town of Reading," prepared by Town of Reading - Department of Public Works, Engineering Division, Jeffrey T. Zager, Director D P W Ryan Percival, P.E., Town Engineer, dated September 13, 2016, is no longer required for municipal purposes was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Town Manager Evaluation - Daniel Ensminger noted this is a good review and he likes the new form. Kevin Sexton noted that Bob had another good year. John Halsey echoed his appreciation for the amount of hours and quality of work. Barry Berman noted that he always gives himself meets or below because he has high standards. He feels the comments are a more real reflection. He noted that the Selectmen are ready to do the work and it is not all on him. Daniel Ensminger noted that 10 of 15 grades were exceeds standards and meet standards is a high grade. He noted that Bob initiates a culture of trust and he thanked him for staying with us. The Town Manager noted that ethics and standards are most important for transparency. The hardest challenge is the depth of staffing which is not sustainable to keep all services. He noted that two nights for budget will not be enough. Daniel Ensminger noted that a zero budget is a good place to start. The Town Manager noted that they need to get the Boards, Committees and Commissions in to talk to. Barry Berman agreed that a zero budget is a good place to start. The Town Manager noted that we need to cut some of the Boards and Committees because there is too many and not enough staff. John Arena noted the hardest thing is to decide what to cut. The Town Manager noted that a group of citizens can serve as well as a Board, Committee or Commission. Approval of Minutes A motion by Berman seconded by Ensminger that the Board of Selectmen approve the minutes of October 13 2016 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Berman seconded by Ensminger that the Board of Selectmen approve the minutes of October 25 2016 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Berman seconded by Arena to adiourn at 10:53 p.m. was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. R ectfully sub ' ted, e eta r Page 1 7