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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-05-02 Board of Selectmen Minutes k Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 4: Board of Selectmen li Date: 2017-05-02 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Selectmen Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Purpose: General Business Version: Attendees: Members - Present: Chairman John Arena, Vice Chairman Barry Berman, Secretary Daniel Ensminger, Andrew Friedmann, John Halsey Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Public Works Director Jeff Zager, Assistant Public Works Director Jane Kinsella, Executive Assistant Paula Schena, Bill Brown, Paul Barutta, Gina McCormick, Beth Shurland, Stephen Crook, Tim Kelley, David Bumha, Demetra Tseckares, Gina Snyder, Carl McFadden, Erin Gaffen, Amy Cole, Kaitlyn Mercurio, Dick and Kris Holmes, Michael Giacalone, Linda Snow Dockser, Susan A. Churchill, Larry Immerman, Donna Beaulieu Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Topics of Discussion: Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments - John Arena noted that Executive Assistant Paula Schena has reached a milestone and is retiring on Thursday after 24 years of working for the Town of Reading and the Board thanked her for her hard work. Andrew Friedmann thanked everyone who voted for him. Daniel Ensminger noted that he attended the community forums regarding Elder Services and it was noted that transportation is a big issue with the elders. He also noted that the pool of volunteers is getting smaller. John Arena indicated he was under the impression that we had plenty of volunteers and Daniel Ensminger noted that there are fewer volunteers doing all of the work. Daniel Ensminger also noted that the Town is in the process of renewing the Comcast license and RCN will hold focus groups for community comments on June 7th and June 8th. Barry Berman asked if they could do one more night session and Phil Rushworth noted that he can if there is a need for it. Barry Berman noted that he attended the Climate Advisory Committee's Earth Day Faire at the Parker Middle School. It included solar displays, a kids scavenger hunt, the RMLD was selling light bulbs, and there were electric vehicles. The Climate Advisory Committee did a good job. In addition, he attended the REF fundraiser that raises $50,000 for technology for the schools. Also, Coolidge Middle School won the Science Olympiad for the last 24 years. They are also doing a fundraiser to raise $50,000 to attend the finals in Ohio in May. Page I 1 John Arena noted that he attended the April 25, 2017 School Committee meeting. The revolving funds balance continues to grow even though the expenses were raised. They are thinking of charging less to even it out. Public Comments - Bill Brown thanked everyone for last Thursday and congratulated the two Selectmen on their election. He also noted that he hasn't heard anything regarding the DPW site and he asks that there be more transparency on that. Lastly, in response to Andrew Friedmann's comment at the last meeting, about no decision has been made regarding the cemetery site. Bill Brown noted that someone needs to make the decision to move forward with this. Ben Tafoya noted that residents from Oak Street were in to see Daniel Ensminger before the meeting regarding the MWRA work being done on Oak Street. There are issues regarding the sidewalks and Daniel Ensminger took notes on everything. He noted that the residents on Oak Street are frustrated by the construction process. John Arena asked what the estimated finish date is for Oak Street. Public Works Director Jeff Zager noted that the sidewalks will be done first but that has to be coordinated with the school and then the road will be done. There are multiple contractors involved. The Town Manager noted that the gas company owns some of the sidewalks and the MWRA owns another will there be two contractors. Jeff Zager noted there will be one contractor. Paul Barutta, 44 Oak Street, noted that two kids fell in front of his house on their bikes. Tom Loughlin, resident of Oak Street, noted that the contractors told him they are only repairing the parts that were dug up but it sounds like they are all being done? Jeff Zager noted that only the sidewalks they worked on will be put back to original or better condition. Tom Loughlin noted that the sidewalks that were not cut through are in worse shape - when will they be done? He noted there are also drainage issues on Oak Street and we need to be consistent with Complete Streets. He wants to see the plans. Jeff Zager noted there will be full reclamation of the road. Tom Loughlin asked if there will be curb placed in missing sections? Jeff Zager noted there is no money in the current budget for that but he can look at it. Paul Barutta noted that they were told there will be curbing. Discussion/Action Items Meadowbrook Golf Club - Expand Liquor License Discussion - The Town Manager noted this is an informal step for a change in their liquor license. Bob Morelli, Manager of the Meadowbrook Golf Club for 15 years noted that they are not allowed to serve beer on the course but many places do. They are thinking of a safe way, perhaps a beer and wine chart that operates on a schedule. Everything is billed to the member so they know who is doing what all the time. Mr. Morelli noted that he is 100% open to working with the Police and Town Manager. The Town Manager noted that Town Counsel says this already occurs in other communities and the ABCC has a process in place for this. Barry Berman asked if abutters will be invited to the hearing and the Town Manager noted they will and he will widen the scope. John Halsey asked if this would be another license or a modification and the Town Manager noted that it would be a modification and he would have Town Counsel present at the hearing. John Arena asked if only members can purchase and Bob Morelli noted that was correct. John Halsey asked how a golf tournament would be handled and Mr. Morelli noted that they could not do it at all or change to cash and still have control over who gets what. Page 1 2 Fall Street Faire Committee and Rotary Club - The Town Manager noted that this is the most successful thing that the Town has done. The Rotary Club has expressed interest in taking over. The financial cost to the Town is that the Town's participation will be less. Brian Snell, Chairman of the Fall Street Faire Committee and Rotary noted that Rotarians and members of the Fall Street Faire Committee were present tonight. He noted they will try to grow the Faire. In addition they will keep the cost close to what it is now but there will be a modest increase in cost because there hasn't been an increase in a few years. John Arena asked what kind of communication to the Town will continue and Brian Snell noted that he didn't see anything aside from applying for permits and putting information on the website. Brian Snell noted that they are asking the Board of Selectmen to disband the Fall Street Faire Committee. John Arena asked if there are any outstanding issues and the Town Manager indicated there is not. A motion by Ensminaer seconded by Berman to sunset the Fall Street Faire Committee effective May 2, 2017 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Barry Berman asked if he wanted to be on the Fall Street Faire Committee does he have to be a member? Brian Snell noted that they are setting up a service membership for only one meeting per month at no cost. Barry Berman noted that he doesn't want to limit the number of volunteers. Brian Snell noted that he doesn't see the fee being a problem. Sheila Mulroy, member of the current Fall Street Faire Committee noted that many members will take advantage of the free membership. She noted that they didn't have resources to go after sponsors and the Open Meeting Law created problems for them. The Board thanked the Fall Street Faire Committee for growing the event. The Town Manager gave a special thanks to Jenna Fiorente and John Feudo. Reading Garden Club and ARTS Reading - Marianne Higgins from the Reading Garden Club noted that the Geranium Sale will be May 20th on the Common from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. They will be selling geraniums, herbs and members plants. There will also be a bake sale. She noted that they moved from the Library to the Common when it was under construction. She thanked the Boy Scouts for their help. She noted that they raised funds for the Adopt an Island program, the gardens at Town Hall, taking care of the cherry trees at the depot, they also planted trees at the schools, they provide scholarships for students and they do planting with the residents of Danielle's Nursing Home. ARTS Reading will be there also showing casing what they are about. John Arena asked how their turnout was last year and Marianne Higgins noted they had a huge turnout due to the location. She noted they missed a lot of sales last year because they didn't take credit cards but they will be taking credit cards this year. Bill Brown noted that two weeks after Memorial Day 2000 geraniums from the cemeteries are available for free or a donation to the veterans flower fund. A Garden Club member noted that they will be ordering more native plants this year to support bees, butterflies and bats. The Library has been supporting them with plant information. Daniel Ensminger asked for examples of native plants and it was noted that allysum, asters, day lilies, butterfly plant, milkweed, bleeding hearts and dahlias are all native. A representative from ARTS Reading noted that they are trying to bring the cultural groups Page 1 3 together. They are looking at becoming a 5013C and looking for donations. Barry Berman asked what efforts have been made to bring the groups together and it was noted mostly monthly meetings, collaborating with the Garden Club and getting artists paintings in the Library. It is an informal group with an end goal of a cultural district. The Town Manager noted that Jessie Wilson first brought up the notion of a cultural district and asked what would be needed and they replied a free building. Wakefield has one. Climate Advisory Committee - David Zeek, Gretchen Latowsky and Gina Snyder from the Climate Advisory Committee were present. David Zeek reviewed their mission statement and noted that they have a sunset clause. He noted that they held an Earth Day Fair at Parker Middle School for a sustainable future. Doyons, DPW, solar vendors, and geothermal vendors participated and there were about 80 attendees. In addition, they have weekly Green Sense articles in the Chronicle; there is a bike swap on May 5th and 6th; there is environmental material on the website; the Before the Flood video was shown at the Library; they implemented social media on Facebook and websites and email. David Zeek went on to speak about solar installations. He noted that the RMLD built a solar farm in Wilmington and they sell shares to it. They have 567 participants and a wait list of 67 people. This helps to shave the RMLD peak hour prices. The Town could get about $40,000/year rental income for one of these and if we used it ourselves we would save $100,000/year. David Zeek went on to speak about gas leaks. He noted that there were many new gas leaks in 2016. Grade 3 leaks went from 1000 to 600 in the state. Coordinating gas leak repairs is getting better and the City of Boston passed their own gas leak ordinance. In addition there will be an instructional motion at Town Meeting to explore options for banning plastic bags. He noted that the thin plastic bags dirty the environment, animals eat them, etc. Daniel Ensminger asked if they would be willing to replace the word "ban" and use "regulate use of" to be more flexible. David Zeek noted that they could do that. John Arena asked who is sponsoring this and David Zeek noted that he is because he thought it was the best way to explore options. Daniel Ensminger asked what the Board of Selectmen's role is in this and David Zeek noted to be advisory and get input from businesses on how to enforce. John Arena noted that he might want to consider starch base options and Mr. Zeek noted they can do that. Barry Berman noted that Stop and Shop and Market Basket need to be approached about this. Mr. Zeek noted he spoke with Market Basket and they don't really want to do it but they can adapt. Many customers are already bringing their own bags. John Arena asked if he will change the instructional motion to include starch base, biodegradable and Mr. Zeek noted these are all good options. Andrew Friedmann asked if much of our trash is burned and Gina Snyder noted that Covanta burns to energy but some goes to landfills. The Town Manager noted that this instructional motion could put a lot of work on someone's plate because it would need to be complete by July in time for November 2017 Town Meeting. Demetra Tsekeres noted that she would love to be involved with this. Barry Berman asked if they will discuss the CAC sunset clause tonight and John Arena noted they will deal with that in June. Reading Ice Arena Report - Carl McFadden, 33 Wakefield Street, noted that the Ice Arena is a private/public partnership and they have made $2.3 million in payments to the Town so far. They gave $58,000 this year and next year it will be almost $100,000. They keep Page 1 4 $300,000 in their rainy day fund. Reading's facility is owned by the Town. Reading kids come first and excess time is given to Austin Prep. The school department gets approximately $150,000 in discount rates. John Arena asked what the operating hours were and Carl McFadden noted 6:00 am to 11:00 pm. John Arena asked what covers the variation and Mr. McFadden noted that they purchased a Zamboni and maintain it; they built locker rooms and they spend a little less than $100,000 on capital items. RMLD Citizen Advisory Board Member - Citizen Advisory Board member Neil Cohen was present. He noted he has only been on the Board for two to three months and he is still learning. John Arena noted that issues of concerns in the past were renewable energy certificates and the manner in which old capital equipment is disposed of. Neil Cohen noted that he has not seen anything that causes concern. The Town Manager noted that there will be an instructional motion at Town Meeting on Thursday night and he will keep him abreast of it. Housing Authority Report - Housing Authority Chairman Kevin Mulvey was present. He noted that the state lack of funding creates problems. They have a 1 to 3 year wait list for elderly housing and they have 10 family units with little turnover. The Housing Authority recommends $240,000 for projects in FY18 and FY19. They have spent $77,000 on flooring, lighting and painting. The Reading Housing Authority has undergone four audits and there were no findings. He noted that Lyn Whyte is a great Executive Director. John Arena asked for the total number of units and Kevin Mulvey indicated 223. John Arena asked if some fell out of our hands. The Town Manager noted that was correct, Lyn Whyte said her job was not to worry about the Town's numbers. Barry Berman found it troubling that a Board of the Town doesn't share the same zeal. He asked if we can do an audit of the deeds to see if anymore expired. He noted that it takes hours to create affordable units and he wants Town Counsel to do an audit of the affordable units. John Halsey agreed and noted that if it left to the Board of Selectmen it will get done. The idea of losing units because the paperwork was not done correctly is a problem. John Arena noted that he can't fathom for a moment how a Board of the Town doesn't know about this. Kevin Mulvey noted that he doesn't know but he will reach out to the rest of the Board and Lyn Whyte. Update from BOS Working Group - Human Rights Resolution - John Arena noted that he and Barry Berman met with the signatories on March 6 and March 9 and the minutes and audio on are the website. Andrew Friedmann noted that he listened to the audio and he's up to speed with the topic. Gina McCormick, member of the subcommittee, noted that they just found Town Counsel's opinion on the revised resolution and she asks that the communication be expanded. She noted that they disagree with Town Counsel's opinion that a Town body cannot condemn hate speech. She got an opinion from Sarah Wunsch at the ACLU who does not feel that the 1St amendment would be prohibited. Ms. McCormick then went on to read a revised resolution and then asked the Board of Selectmen if they wanted to vote tonight on approving this. John Arena noted the Board of Selectmen is not ready or prepared to vote tonight. Andrew Friedmann noted that there seems to be some misconception about Town Counsel's Page 1 5 opinion and John Arena noted that the Board is not debating what it is tonight. Daniel Ensminger asked if the group discussed authorship of the resolution and Barry Berman noted that people got together in an ad hoc manner. Daniel Ensminger noted that the original email chain was a form of the download from San Francisco. Gina McCormick noted that Demetra said other communities are doing this but this is not that resolution. John Halsey noted that was not imagined, it is in the public record - it is there. If you compare this to what is in the email chain there is an alarmingly strong resemblance. Demetra Tsekeres noted that the San Francisco version was in an email chain but not before their presentation. She also noted that Town Counsel was not make available to them. John Arena noted that Town Counsel is not available to residents. Town Counsel advises the Board of Selectmen. Linda Snow Dockser noted that the email chain was from her. The Human Relations Advisory Committee was recommending that the Board approve one sample. Kris Holmes, 77 Red Gate Lane, noted that she didn't understand the need for this document because she has not seen any problems. Her sons went through the school system with no problems. She feels this is regulating speech and asked who determines what is hate speech. Michael Giacalone noted that he is concerned that a group wants to put an opinion document in the Town. He noted they do not speak for him. It is not okay to say Reading feels this way. It is not a binding document and it is not lawful. They can't force someone to feel a certain way. If this is put in place it will lead to other things. He can't believe the amount of time that the Board of Selectmen have spent on this. A proclamation will not change a person's opinion. This group does not speak for him. The Board of Selectmen is the protector of his rights - this does not need to exist. Another resident noted he seconds what Mr. Giacalone said. Theresa Wiggins noted she hasn't felt anything herself but she likes this. She feels it does not infringe on her rights. Lori Hodin, Summer Avenue, note that the leaders stand for our shared standards and values. She feels this is a reasonable aspiration statement. Beth Shurland noted that she is married to a black man and her husband was stopped by Police because he was black. She supports this. Michael Giacalone noted that he listened to the audio online and everything was "we" feel, "we" do this. They don't have the authority to determine what the Town wants. How is this defined, who sets the perimeters. An attack on one is an attack on all - not very loving. People are not united about this document. He feels they are trying to impose their beliefs on him. He also noted that not wanting this does not make you a bad person. Gina McCormick noted that will put in a more formal record. She thought it would be helpful to see Town Counsel's opinion. John Arena noted that the rest of the Board of Selectmen had not see Town Counsel's opinion which is why it was not given to the subcommittee. Gina McCormick went on to cover the timeline of this issue and noted that Town Counsel's opinion was dated March 3, 2017. John Arena noted that the Board of Selectmen will have an informal session to discuss what they agree with and what they don't agree with at their meeting on May 30tH Human Relations Advisory Committee Mr. Arena gave an overview of HRAC's recent mission to decide what format they wish to be, Page 1 6 and from the material he has reviewed he likes the model used in Wakefield that HRAC put forward. He offered that their committee sunset on June 30, 2017 was too soon, even though they have had two years, and requested a motion to add another 60 days. He offered that the two main choices were to be independent or advisory. HRAC Chair Linda Snow Dockser asked if other models could be considered in addition to the two mentioned by Mr. Arena, because other models exist. Mr. Berman asked them want they wanted if given a wider array of choices, and Mr. Halsey agreed that a wider spectrum of choices was worth considering but wondered what those might entail. Mr. Ensminger moved that the Board of Selectmen extend the term of the Human Relations Advisory Committee to August 30, 2017 seconded by Mr. Halsey. Mr. Berman asked if an additional 30 days would be beneficial, and Ms. Snow Dockser indicated that any additional time might be helpful. Mr. Arena responded that this extension gives the committee almost five months to come up with an approach, in addition to the time already spent. Mr. Halsey added that if there was evidence of good progress but another extension was warranted then it was a simple matter for the Board to do so. The motion to extend by 60 days was approved by a 5-0 vote Mr. Arena described the Selectmen liaison assignments. Mr. Friedmann asked about the Board of Health role where he was the recent Chair, and Mr. Arena responded by saying that as the Health division is in the midst of hiring a new Health Agent that for now he thought some separation was appropriate for the new Board of Heath Chair, but would welcome further interest after the transition was complete. Mr. Ensminger moved to go into Executive Session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining and the Chair declares that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the body, and not to reconvene in Open Session, seconded by Mr. Halsey, and approved by a roll call vote Halsey-yes; Berman-yes; Arena- yes; Ensminger-yes; Friedmann-yes. Page 1 7