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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-06-27 Board of Selectmen Minutes R x Town of Reading Meeting Minutes RE=CLI'd J Q [ TOWN CLERK ��'s,►xcoR�° (\LADING. MASS; Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Z011 OCT 12 AI1: 411 Board of Selectmen Date: 2017-06-27 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Selectmen Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Purpose: General Business Version: Attendees: Members - Present: Chair John Arena, Dan Ensminger, Barry Berman, Andrew Friedmann, John Halsey Members - Not Present: Others Present: Administrative Services Director Matt Kraunelis, Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom, Town Engineer Ryan Percival, Community Development Director Julie Mercier, Bill Brown, Michelle Sanphy, Stephen Crook, Nancy Docktor Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Topics of Discussion: Chairman Arena called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Selectmen Liaison Reports Mr. Berman attended the Library Trustees meeting and noted there are a lot of summer programs happening. They would like to talk in the future about potentially tweaking the uses of their funds. He also attended and served on the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee and they will be recommending applicants later this evening. Mr. Friedmann noted the Climate Advisory Committee is working diligently on.changes to usage of plastic bags around town. The Town Forest Committee is working on a dog etiquette program. Mr.'Arena attended the meeting with the clergy association and rabbi. He also served on the Finance Committee Appointment Committee and the Bylaw Appointment Committee last week. Public Comment Bill Brown wanted to let the board know our very new cemetery director is leaving us due to money. Nancy Docktor handed over the last Board of Health Agenda and asked why a cop was present for their meeting. She also noted the Health Department has had a lot of turnover recently and it is very concerning and something that needs to be looked at. Michelle Sanphy requested the board vote to put the override on the ballot now to show the community that is something they are serious about. It was noted they cannot vote to put it on the ballot until the warrant closes. She also asked if the health insurance number came in at what was budgeted for and it was noted that it came in very close to it. Page 1 1 2017-06-27 Board of Selectmen -Page 2 Change of Officer - Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza sent in an application for a change of officer/beneficial interest. The police department reviewed their application and wrote a memo seeing no issues with the request. Mr. Ensminger made a motion that the Board of Selectmen approve the change of officer/ beneficial interest application for an Annual All Alcoholic Beverages Restaurant License - Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza of Reading LLC d/b/a Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, 48 Walkers Brook Drive, Reading, MA. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 5-0-0 vote. Minutes The board reviewed the meeting minutes from May 30th, 2017. Mr. Friedmann corrected some grammatical mistakes on page three. Mr. Ensminger made a motion to approve.the May 30th, 2017 meeting minutes as amended, seconded by Mr. Halsey and approved with a 5-0-0 vote. Hazard Mitigation Plan Community Development Director Julie Mercier was present to answer any questions. Mr. Arena noted a typo on page one and discussed some wording. Mr. Halsey felt the document was very weak. The board felt addresses would be better sufficed than just the names of businesses in the document. Ms. Mercier noted a lot of the document is a template they have to follow. Mr. Halsey expressed that the town has paid for this document and it should be fixed before a vote is taken. The board had a lengthy discussion about the document and how they felt it was not quite what they expected. . Mr. Arena agreed and asked the board to send their comments to Julie and she will contact MAPC to have them revise the document. Appoint Boards and Committees Mr. Ensminger moved that the Board of Selectmen accept the recommendations of the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee as follows: Animal Control Appeals Committee Tina Ohlsen 6-30-20 Board of Appeals Damase Caouette 6-30-20 Board of Appeals Associate Nick Pernice 6-30-19 Board of Registrars Harry Simmons 6-30-20 Climate Advisory Committee David Zeek 6-30-20 Climate Adv. Com. (Associates) Jeffrey Everson 6-30-19 Commissioners of Trust Funds Elizabeth Klepeis 6-30-20 Barry Berman 6-30-20 Commissioner (Associate) Kevin Briere 6-30-19 The motion was second by Mr. Berman and passed with a 5-0-0 vote. Page 1 2 2017-06-27 Board of Selectmen -Page 3 Mr. Ensminger moved that the Board of Selectmen accept the recommendations of the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee as follows: Conservation Commission Rebecca Longley 6-30-20 Constable Sally Hot 6-30-20 Community Planning & Karen Goncalves-Dolan 6-30-20 Development Commission David Tuttle 6-30-20 Council on Aging John Parsons 6-30-20 George Wetmore 6-30-20 Sandra Shaffer 6-30-20 Council on Aging (Associate) 3ayna Stafford 6-30-19 The motion was second by Mr. Berman and passed with a 5-0-0 vote. Mr. Ensminger moved that the Board of Selectmen accept the recommendations of the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee as follows: Cultural Council Nancy Ziemlak 6-30-20 Rosemary Lewis 6-30-20 Donna Schenkel 6-30-20 Cultural Council (Associate) Megan Fidler-Carey 6-30-18 Historic District Commission Ilene.Bornstein 6-30-20 Historical Commission Ron Weston 6-30-20 Samantha Couture 6-30-20 Human Relation Adv. Com Linda Snow Dockser 6-30-20 Kyung Yu 6-30-20 HRAC (Associates) Joshua Goldlust 6-30-18 Jamie Michaels 6-30-19.. Permanent Building Committee John Coote 6-30-20 Nancy Twomey 6-30-20 PBC Associates Michael Bean 6-30-19 The motion was second by Mr. Berman and passed with a 5-0-0 vote. Mr. Ensminger moved that the Board of Selectmen accept the recommendations of the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee as follows: Reading Ice Arena Authority Carl McFadden 6-30-20 Recreation Committee Adam Chase 6-30-20 Richard Hand 6-30-20 Recreation Committee (Associate) Gil Congdon 6-30-19 Page 1 3 2017-06-27 Board of Selectmen -Page 4 RMLD Citizen Advisory Board Neil Cohen 6-30-20 Town Forest Committee Farrukh Najmi 6-30-20 Town Forest Committee (Associates) Nancy Docktor 6-30-19 Trails Committee Will Finch 6-30-20 The motion was second by Mr. Berman and passed with a 5-0-0 vote. Mr. Arena thanked all our volunteers for their work and expressed his gratitude for having so many volunteers here in Reading. Mr. Berman also noted how wonderful it is to see new people joining and getting involved. Review DPW Policies Town Engineer Ryan Percival informed the Board that he and other town staff have had several meetings to go over the DPW policies, fees and procedures. They Looked at other towns fee schedules and noted Reading does not charge for a lot of things that other towns do. Mr. Berman asked-if he could figure out an estimate of how much it is costing the town for all these services we don't charge for. Discuss Cell Tower Project Town Engineer Ryan Percival explained they need to repaint the water tank and in order to do that all the cell phone carrier equipment needs to come off of it. After a couple of internal meetings it was decided to replace the tank at this time and put up a cell tower for the cell equipment. Essentially this is two projects, a cell tower and a water tank, that go hand in hand. They are working with a consultant and looking at details including height. T-Mobile's lease expires in November and they are looking for a 2 year extension. All other carriers will get new leases when they switch tanks. . Mr. Halsey inquired about our obligations to those long-term lease holders during construction and switching towers. Mark Delaney of 26 Beacon Street expressed his disappointment that this is the first notice the neighbors have gotten when they have already built it. There is no concern for the neighborhood. The new tower is 160 feet sitting next to the current 110 foot one. The decision has already been made but this is the first we're hearing of it. These cell carriers are leasers, what happens when there no towers anymore. Carriers are already going towards small cell sites on utility poles, and asked why we can't look into that more. Mr. Arena assured Mr. Delaney no decisions have been made yet and this is only the second time this discussion has come to this board. Mr. Berman asked if other Iocations have been looked at. Mr. Percival noted they could but this site is elevated and, centralized in town and already has power on site. Mr. Delaney asked if it would_be smart to.continue to combine the cell and water tower and Mr. Percival noted it was smart back in the day but maintenance to the water tower with cell equipment on it is difficult which is why 2 structures are better. Mike Lacey from 9 Beacon Street completely opposed this idea noting it is an eyesore and bad for our health. Mr: Percival noted they are actually moving the carriers further away from where they are now. Mr. Arena noted these are not new carriers, it's equipment that is already currently there. Page 1 4 2017-06-27 Board of Selectmen -Page 5 Mr. Lacey noted this does.not belong in a residential neighborhood and this is detrimental to his 2 young kids' health. The cons outweigh the pros. Bob Connors from 7.Beacon Street asked if there were any cell tower experts here to accurately say having a higher tower means it is safer. He also asked what the limit on the number of carriers that can go on the cell tower is. He expressed his concern for their property values with these towers. Mr. Ensminger looked up the American.Cancer Society Website and noted it says right there that there is no real danger at ground level from cell towers. A resident from 28 Auburn Street also expressed concern for their property values and noted it is an eye sore for such a small neighborhood. They asked when the start date for this project is and Mr. Percival noted there is no start date yet. Mr..Arena noted they still have to go thru the design phase and the public process.. Mr. Delaney asked the board to please consider other options like the smaller cell sites around town. Mr. Connors asked if those smaller cell sites are safer though, noting a safer option is what he wants here. Mr:Arena noted the board is taking this seriously and listening to everything residents are bringing to them. Bond Sale Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom was present to inform the board and explain the bond sale. Mr. Ensminger made a motion that the sale of the $6,645,000 General Obligation Municipal Purpose Loan of 2017 Bonds of the Town dated June 30, 2017 (the "Bonds"), to Fifth Third Securities, Inc. at the price of $7,449,981.97 and accrued interest, if any, is hereby approved and confirmed. The Bonds shall be payable on June 15 of the years and in the principal amounts and bear interest at the respective rates, as follows: Interest Interest Year Amount Rate Year Amount Rate .2018 $735,000 4.00% 2023 $715,000 4.00% 2019. 720,000 4.00 2024 715,000 4.00 2020 720,000 4.00 2025 715,000 4.00 2021 720,000 4.00 2026 445,000 4.00 2022 715,000 4.00' 2027 445,000 4.00 Further Voted: to approve the sale of a $1,490,000 1.25 percent General Obligation Bond Anticipation Note of the Town dated]une 30, 2017, and payable December 15, 2017 (the "Note"), to Eastern Bank at par and accrued interest plus a premium of $1,201.93. Further Voted: that in connection with,the marketing and sale of the Bonds, the preparation and distribution of a Notice of Sale and Preliminary Official Statement dated June 14, 2017, and a final Official Statement dated_ June 21, 2017 (the "Official Statement"), each in such form as may be approved by the Town Treasurer, be and hereby are ratified, confirmed, approved and adopted. Page 5 2017-06-27 Board of Selectmen -Page 6 Further Voted: that in connection with the marketing and sale of the Note[s], the preparation and distribution of a Notice of Sale and Preliminary Official Statement dated June 16, 2017, and a final Official Statement dated June 21, 2017, each in such form as may be approved by the Town Treasurer, be and hereby are ratified, confirmed, approved and adopted. Further Voted: that the Town Treasurer and the Board of Selectmen be, and hereby are, authorized to execute and deliver continuing and significant events disclosure undertakings in compliance with SEC Rule 15c2-12 in such forms as may be approved by bond counsel to the Town, which undertakings shall be incorporated by reference in the Bonds and Notes, as applicable, for the benefit of the holders of the Bonds and Notes from time to time. Further Voted: that we authorize and direct the Treasurer to review and update the Town's post-issuance federal tax compliance procedures with such changes, if any, as the Treasurer and bond counsel deem necessary in order to monitor and maintain the tax=exempt status of the Bonds. Further Voted: that each member of the Board of Selectmen, the Town Clerk and the Town Treasurer be and hereby are, authorized to take any and all such actions, and execute and deliver such certificates, receipts or other documents as may be determined by them, or any of them, to be necessary or convenient to carry into effect the provisions of the foregoing votes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Berman and approved with a 5-0-0 vote. Climate Advisory Committee Sunset The climate advisory committee is set to sunset June 30, 2017. They are working.on some projects and would like to be extended to continue. Mr. Ensminger, second by Mr. Berman.moved that the Board of Selectmen extend the sunset clause for the Climate Advisory Committee to the date of December 31, 2017. Mr. Friedmann felt it was unnecessary for them to come back in December to be extended again and instead proposed an amendment to'the motion to extend the Climate Advisory Committee'to June 3.0, 2019. Mr. Berman seconded the amendment and the motion failed.with a 2-3-0 vote. The Board of Selectmen voted on the original motion and it was passed with a 5-0- 0 vote. Mr. Ensminger made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:33 PM, second by Mr. Berman and approved with a 5-0-0 vote. Page 6