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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-06-02 Board of Selectmen Minutes r . t Town of Reading ' Meeting Minutes RECEIVED 4a TOWN CLERK ' READING, MASS, board - Committee - Commission - Council: ,_,j JUL 22 A 11 I 1 Board of Selectmen Date: 2015-06-02 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Selectmen Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Chairman Daniel Ensminger, Secretary Kevin Sexton, John Arena, Barry Berman Members - Not Present: Vice Chairman John Halsey Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Assistant Town Manager Jean Dellos, Community Services Director John Feudo, Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom, School Committee member Jeanne Borawski, Martha Sybert, Stephen Crook, David Swyter, Justin Lizotte, Richard Hand, Jonathan Weber, I Dan Creamer, Tom Fratto, Molly Baker, Brian Healy, Executive Assistant Paula Schena ` Minutes Respectfully Submitted By; Secretary Kevin Sexton Topics of Discussion: Reports and Comments - Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments - John Arena thanked his colleagues for covering the Memorial Day ceremonies and he also thanked the veterans for their services. Barry Berman noted that he gave an address at the Forest Glen Cemetery. He attended the school assessment meetings at the various schools and people are satisfied wlth 'the schools. Kevin Sexton noted that he marched in the Memorial Day parade with his daughter and gave a speech at the Charles Lawn Cemetery. He gave kudos to Veteran's Agent Kevin Bohmiller, Bill Brown, Frank Driscoll and the Boy and Girl Scouts for all of their hard work in putting this event together. He and John Halsey met with the Firearms Safety Committee and Town Counsel attended the meeting. Town Counsel is not crazy about the language and they will meet again next Monday at the Police Station. John Arena asked if he had a sense of the overall schedule end date for this committee and Kevin Sexton noted that they will meet every two weeks until they have something to report. They hope to present to the Board of Selectmen in late August. Daniel Ensminger noted that he spoke at Laurel Hill and Wood End Cemetery on Memorial ' Day. It was a great event and it is Boy Scout Troop 702 1001h Anniversary this year. He attended the May 26`h walk with Secretary Ash from Economic Development Executive Office of Housing. They walked the downtown area and Secretary Ash praised the Town for being proactive. It was a very successful visit. Page 1 1 Board of Selectmen Minutes -June 2 2015 - page 2 Town Manager's Report - The Town Manager thanks Kevin Bohmlller and everyone else for ' a job well done on Memorial Day. He also noted that June 13`h is Friends and Family Day and he will bring info on 40B sites, Bunratty Tavern and other projects. Daniel Ensminger suggested also bringing the MAPC sites. Discussion/Action Items Appoint Town Counsel - The Town Manager noted that he recommends reappointing Mlyares and Harrington. John Arena noted that selection of Town Counsel is like finding the right match. Barry Berman noted that Ray Mlyares brings everything down to everyone's level. He asked at what point does it become fiscally prudent to have an in-house counsel? The Town Manager noted that historically Reading has been tight with money and the question is what are the common things that we are dealing with. He categorizes and we are all over the place. He would like to have an In-house Counsel but he would want to wait. The nice part about having a firm Is the breadth of knowledge within that firm. A motion by Sexton seconded by Arena to appoint the firm of Mlyares and Harrington as Town Counsel was approved by a vote of 4-0-0 Town Accountant Report - Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom noted that the Town Is in good shape. The "other excise tax" is low but that is the meals tax and we receive that quarterly and have not received it yet. The RMLD payment in lieu of taxes comes in at the end of June. The "miscellaneous revenues" Include $160,000 for Insurance dividends and $25,000 for health Insurance reimbursements. Daniel Ensminger asked where the RMLD payments show up and Sharon Angstrom noted ' under"other funding sources" - $2.3 million distribution. Sharon Angstrom noted that money was taken out of Administrative Services salaries account for snow and ice. The Town Manager noted that we are having problems with bids recently not coming in on budget. Kevin Sexton asked if that was because of the amount of work going on and the Town Manager it could be that, plus there is also a limited number of contractors. Sharon Angstrom noted that Town Meeting approved a line for Fire Fighter disability but she hasn't added that in yet. In addition, the schools capital seems high. Martha Sybert has indicated to her that she will have signed contracts before the summer. Sharon Angstrom noted that there was an Inquiry from Linda Phillips regarding the school revolving funds and whether It is legal for the schools to run an entrepreneur business as a public entity. The State has responded that revenues and expenses should match. The revenues should be just enough to cover the cost of the program. John Arena asked what happens to the money and Sharon Angstrom noted that the school department is paying direct and indirect costs. The school person believed that an excess should remain in the revolving funds and there is no way she can move the money. They differ on opinions, it is her understanding that they cannot grow the funds over two years. John Arena noted that it is fine to accrue a positive balance as long as the expenses equal , it. Barry Berman asked if they are allowed to charge back the wages costs part of salaries and Sharon Angstrom Indicated yes and we do that also. Page 1 2 Board of Selectmen Minutes -June 2. 2015 -page 3 ' John Arena asked if a reconciliation sheet can be done every year and Sharon Angstrom indicated it can and she will be working with Martha Sybert on this. John Arena asked how we unwind this account and Sharon Angstrom indicated they could refund money to those who contributed to the fund. The money has to be used for what the fund was created for. The management letters says the school department has 6 - 24 months of excess in that revolving fund. Daniel Ensminger asked if there are any revolving funds on the Town side with a lot of excess and Sharon Angstrom Indicated only one in building and that money was used for snow and ice. The Town Manager noted that Town Meeting will have to vote any changes on how the money is spent. Daniel Ensminger noted that Kathleen Colleary's letter indicates the fees must be calculated. John Arena asked the Town Accountant to come back in the first quarter of the new fiscal year with the result of solving these problems. Ms. Angstrom noted that they could lower fees or refund fees if there is too much excess. She also indicated she doesn't like when the auditors are finding things but they did mention that we were easy to work with and we do have an AAA bond rating. Martha Sybert noted that she reported to the State on May 18d that she will have the report in approximately six months. ' Barry Berman asked if the expectation Is to be a zero at years end and Sharon Angstrom indicated no, there should be zero growth, not a zero balance. Sharon Angstrom noted that the auditors will start their field work for FYSS on June 22nd. The Town Manager noted that the Department of Revenue has Indicated that the tax rate setting could be difficult this year due to early retirements but they will bring in people to help out. Hearina - Second Driveway Reauest - 137 - 139 Salem Street - The Secretary read the hearing notice. The Town Manager noted we received comments from DPW, the Town Engineer and Police and they have no problem with the request. Developer Al Couliard noted that he will be raising the existing building and increasing the frontage separation from 29 feet to 81 feet. Barry Berman noted that he is creating two instances of driveways emptying onto a busy street at the same time. Is there anything in the code regarding distance between separate properties? The Town Manager noted there Is not and noted that one of the driveways Is shared. Mr. Couliard noted that the other driveway is big enough so they can turn around and pull out forward. Molly Baker, 143 Salem Street, noted she shares the driveway and they are going to a non- shared which she likes. She asked what will happen to the shared piece. Mr. Couliard ' noted it will go to grass. After two to four months he will cut and loom that piece. Ms. Baker asked If there will be any trees planted there and Mr. Couliard noted they will talk about this. Mr. Baker asked about the grading of the property and Daniel Ensminger noted this is not the forum for that discussion. Page 1 3 Board of Selectmen Minutes -June 2. 2015 - pace 4 A motion by Sexton seconded by Arena that the Board of Selectmen close the , hearing on the second driveway request for 137 - 139 Salem Street was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. A motion by Sexton seconded by Arena that the Board of Selectmen approve the Proposed driveway separation for 137 - 139 Salem Street as indicated on the plan by Christiansen & Sergi. Inc. dated April 16. 2015 subiect to the following conditions: 1. That the applicant submit a grading plan to Engineering for review and approval as a substantial grade differential exists to each of the abutting properties: 2. The existing shared driveway does not have an outstanding legal document prohibiting this action: was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Birch Meadow Field Lighting - Recreation Administrator John Feudo, Recreation Committee Chairman Richard Hand and Tom Fratto from the Little League were present. John Feudo noted that they are interested in hearing from the neighbors. This is the first of three neighborhood meetings. They have filed with Conservation for borings and the plan/design should be complete sometime In July/August. They hope the procurement will be in August. John Arena asked what the borings are for and John Feudo indicated that is for the construction of the lights. We will be going from 17 lights on a pole to 27 lights on a pole. , John Feudo noted the intent is to light the Little League field, turf 2, the softball fields, the lighted softball field and Morton Field. John Arena asked if there is any thought about getting nets on Birch Meadow Drive and John Feudo noted they could put them on the fence. Daniel Ensminger asked what type of lights we will be using and John Feudo noted Musco lights. We will use directional lights that are a green system and don't waste light. Barry Berman asked about the height difference and John Feudo noted the current poles are 30 feet. The poles on the fields will be 50 feet and on the turf will be 50 - 60 feet. Barry Berman jokingly asked if we will put tires around them and John Feudo noted we will put padding around them. John Arena asked if there is any engineering for future development. John Feudo noted that some of the lights will be tied Into the tennis box and the others will tie Into the existing boxes. John Feudo noted that parking is an issue with or without lights on the fields. He recommends restricting parking on the resident side of Bancroft Street to resident only; have tennis parking only at the courts and baseball parking at the fieldhouse. John Feudo noted that the light schedule will vary by field and they will keep the neighbors in mind. There will be a little bit of light spillage. Moving the vehicles to the fieldhouse ' should cut back on the noise and the Little League will park at RISE. Kevin Sexton noted that beyond RISE is a court not being used and he asked If that could be used for parking. John Feudo noted that Is possible to look at but it is close to houses on Longfellow. Page 14 Board of Selectmen Minutes -June 2. 2015- pace 5 John Arena asked about the problem of turning around on Bancroft Avenue and John Feudo noted that is why he suggests making It one way directed to the parking. John Feudo noted that we changed the address on all of the websites to 62 Oakland Road. The Recreation Committee is committed to accommodate the neighbors. He is adding way finding signs also. Kevin Sexton asked what is done for resident guest parking and the Town Manager noted that there are resident guest passes. . The Town Manager noted that the schools have activities all year round. He suggests giving people a chance to change their behavior before making the street a one way. Dave Swyter, 98 Hartshorn Street, noted he had a hard time linking to the 2009 Master Plan. He suggests doing some Master Plan refiguring. John Feudo noted that when the first Master Plan was finished the Selectmen asked the Recreation Committee to relook at it. The first step is to light the fields. Imagination Station needs have changed. The Recreation Committee is doing a survey which was released yesterday. Daniel Ensminger asked what the timetable Is for updating the plan. John Feudo noted it will take 30 days to get the results of the survey. He feels they will be looking at a 20% to 30% tweak. Dave Swyter asked if the Board of Selectmen is creating an ad hoc committee to update the ' Master Plan and John Feudo noted they are not, they gave that task to the Recreation Committee. Mr. Swyter noted that part of the Master Plan Is not to add more parking. Barry Berman noted that most of the parking already exists and he doesn't see a divergent from the original plan. Dave Swyter noted that the Master Plan calls for no tree removal, no fences if possible, no advertising, etc. and he feels the Selectmen need to assign an ad hoc committee to Investigate this. He noted that the lights at the tennis court are 40 feet high and we are adding 70 foot lights. He feels the neighbors will get glare from the vertical lighting. He noted that Musco can model the light glare on the houses. He noted that hours of operation need to be considered. The tennis court is lit and nobody is on It. John Feudo noted that it Is difficult to determine when people will play and there is a schedule for the tennis court. The fields will only be lit when being used. Barry Berman asked if we can have an authorized user to turn the lights on and off and John Feudo indicated yes. Jonathan Weber, 84 Hartshorn Street, asked it we are taking the basketball court near RISE for parking and John Feudo indicated we are not. Mr. Weber noted that traffic must be looked at. He feels signage will make a difference and he is concerned about the lighting. He is concerned with tennis only parking because it will be hard to enforce and he doesn't like giving one group something more than everyone else. He thinks lights are workable if they are only on for events. He also noted that everyone is waiting for something to be ' done with Imagination Station. Julie Scott from Hanscom Avenue noted that Morton Field keeps getting closer to her home. She has dents in her siding. She asked if night games will be allowed and if the lights will be on until 10:00 p.m. She noted that games start at 8:00 a.m. John Feudo noted that the Recreation Committee will determine if it will be lit at night. They will get input from neighbors. He also noted that fields are not used until 9:00 a.m. Ms. Scott asked if the Page 1 5 Board of Selectmen Minutes - June 2, 2015 - pace 6 benches will be steel and John Feudo noted they will be covered with plastic. Ms. Scott , asked if there was a possibility of getting some netting and John Feudo indicated yes, If she wants it. Justin Lizotte, 246 Bancroft Street, noted that he is in favor of netting. He suggests putting signage in the batting cages with hours of use. He noted it is a private individual using the field early in the morning. John Arena suggested putting up some greenery and John Feudo noted that he would have to check with Conservation about that. Dave Swyter noted that horizontal is birds eye and vertical are headlights glare and Musco can model that. He asked the cost of the lighting and the Town Manager indicated $1 million. Mr. Swyter asked who is paying and John Feudo noted that the users will pay for the use. The Town Manager noted that Recreation charges fees and if they are below costs we can increase the fee to cover the costs for debt service for all of this. Dave Swyter asked about field maintenance and the Town Manager noted that maintenance is in the budget and users pay. Recreation also has playground funds to cover the fences if needed. John Feudo noted that they have an organization raising money to do field clean up. Dave Swyter asked if the basketball court was off the plan and John Feudo indicated it Is not off the plan, it's just not a priority. A resident noted that the chain link fence has a hole in the side at the basketball court. ' A resident requested a speed bump on Bancroft. A resident from 77 Hanscom asked If the better hours are to satisfy existing customers or to bring In more groups. John Feudo noted it is for Town use. The resident asked if the Town rents out to out of towners and John Feudo noted we do, but try to discourage that. John Feudo noted that the Recreation Committee will hold a second hearing once they get the results of the borings. The Town Manager noted that the existing Master Plan is the default - we are just tweaking and making suggestions. Barry Berman noted that we also need the results of the survey before the second hearing. Dave Swyter requested that the foot candles and hours of operation be available at the second hearing. A motion by Sexton seconded by Arena to co into Executive Session to discuss Strategy with respect to collective bargaining, and that the Chairman declares that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the baroaining position of the body and not to come back into Open Session was approved on a roll call vote with all five members voting in the affirmative. Respectfully submitted, ' Secretary Page 1 6