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Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 1811 OCT 2b P V. 2.1 �
Board of Selectmen
Date: 2017-09-26 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, Barry Berman, Dan Ensminger, John Halsey, Andrew
Friedmann
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Police Chief Segalla, Town Counsel Ray
Miyares, Executive Assistant Caitlin Saunders, Bill Brown, Nancy Forsberg,
Eileen Litterio, George Kacher, James Martin, Diana Halsey, Meghan Young,
Dan Dewar, Krissandra Holmes, Stephen Crook, Nancy Docktor, Bryn
Burkhart, Carl McFadden, Josh Latham, Kaitlyn Mercurio, Karen Hennessy,
Kate Goldlust, Angela Binda, Mary Ellen O'Neill, Sherri VanderAkker, Karen
Clarke, John Costigan
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By:
Topics of Discussion:
Chair John Arena called the meeting to order at 7 PM.
Mr. Arena started the meeting off by urging everyone to come out for the RED event next
Tuesday.
Mr. LeLacheur wanted to make a comment to the public and note that himself, Chief Segalla
and Dr. Doherty all work together for one Reading. We work together on press releases; we
do not compete with each other. He would like everyone to know they work closely together
on all issues.
Mr. Arena noted they posted'a hearing for the Board of Health tonight, however, they
learned today that the notice was never-sent to the member. This means there is no other.
alternative but to continue/postpone this hearing to our next meeting on October 10th after
talking to Town Counsel.
Ms. Docktor stood up and said she was just notified today that the supposed letter was not
delivered and she wants to do this properly and wants the hearing to be extended.
Mr. Friedmann asked if the causes are the same as when they voted and Mr. LeLacheur
noted yes, they're identical.
Mr. Halsey asked if we were sure we have enough time to continue this hearing and have it
held at our next meeting and Mr. LeLacheur noted yes, Town Counsel said earlier it was.
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Liaison Reports
Mr. Friedmann noted the Climate Advisory Committee is proposing a bylaw in the town
meeting warrant but we will talk about that later on in the meeting.
Mr. Berman noted on October 4th there will be an Economic Development forum at the
Library and urged everyone to attend.
Mr. Ensminger noted all Town Manager review inputs are due by Friday the 29th. He
reminded Mr. LeLacheur we will need to set up a hearing about the cable franchise review.
The new Board of Health met for the first time on the 6th and they appointed Laura Vlasuk
as Health Agent and the board seems'to be functioning well.
Mr. Arena attended the School Committee last night and noted it was very well attended.
Public Comment
Bill Brown noted the Cemetery Trustees next meeting is to discuss decoration regulations
and any comments or suggestions are welcome.
Carl McFadden wanted to publically note that SNL Football is holding a 'Mission of Deeds'
night this Saturday. They are asking for kids to bring items to donate and they will hold
raffles as well.
Nancy Docktor stood up and read a couple of names. She then proceeded to say those
names she read are the names of women volunteers who have resigned and noted that is a
problem and an outside investigation needs to happen. She also noted qualified women are
not getting interviews for some reason.
Emmy Dove then stood up and noted she applied for the board of health but was never
given an interview.
Mr. Ensminger.pointed out she was given an interview but could not be there. To which she
responded she was not given enough notice to change her schedule in time. Ms. Dove then
went on to explain she thinks it wasn't right that the town didn't try harder to accommodate
her schedule and find a different time for her to come in.
Mr. Berman noted they saw her resume and were excited for her to interview, however,
they had other candidates who did come to their interviews.
Ms. Dove noted.she applied a while ago and heard nothing until September and asked why
they didn't do anything until then.
Mr. LeLacheur responded saying the Fall Street Faire was coming up and they realized they
needed to make an appointment.
Ms. Dove said she would have let this go if they appointed someone with experience but
instead the board appointed a realtor with no experience.
Kaitlyn Mercurio noted she found it alarming the board didn't interview Emmy Dove and
asked who actually saw her resume to which Mr. Berman noted they all saw her resume.
Ms. Mercurio then went on to say the board appointed two members-on the Sth but they
didn't post a vacancy for Ms. Shurland's position therefore they could not appoint someone.
Mr. Ensminger noted they consulted the Town Clerk and Town Counsel when Ms. Shurland
resigned and they said we could appoint another member.
Ms. Mercurio asked the board why they thought it was okay to appoint a realtor and not
someone with experience.
Mr. Arena exclaimed it was enough with the personal attacks and those comments will not
be tolerated. There are no prerequisites to be on any board.
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Megan Young asked if we did not have a health agent for the Fall Street Faire and Mr. Arena
noted we were using North Reading's on a temporary, parttime basis who was already here
for much longer than he should have been.
Mr. Friedmann asked if there was actually a need, legally, for an appointed health agent. He
noted usually we have inspectors that take care of issues then report back to the health
agent.
Mr. LeLacheur explained we needed to make sure we were fully staffed if something were to
happen.
Mr. Friedmann then asked if we legally appointed Heidi Pfiefer..
Town Counsel explained while the process was wrong, the appointment is still legal.
Heather Mclean, the Chair of HRAC, noted she is disheartened by her fellow members'
resignations. She feels the board has been met with resistance every time they try to hold
events. She understands they are an advisory board but does not feel the Selectmen are
listening to them.
Mr. Berman noted he has been attending most of the HRAC meetings. He thinks there is a
very important place for them here in town and we will figure out exactly what it is.
Mr. Arena agreed with Mr. Berman and noted he looks forward to moving forward with the
group.
Mr. Friedmann asked Ms. Mclean if the Selectmen voted not to allow HRAC to do their
events. Ms. Mclean noted she asked their liaison and staff contacts at the time and they said
no.
Mr. LeLacheur noted a memo that was sent to the Town from MassDEP and asked Mr.
Friedmann if there would.be any conflicts for him regarding this.
Mr. Friedmann explained he already checked and noted he cannot call the state on the
Town's behalf but other than that there is no conflict.
Mr. Ensminger asked when we expect to see the survey results. Mr. LeLacheur explained
they are trying to figure out the best way to tabulate the data.
Mr. Halsey explained the comments will be very useful but very hard to categorize.
George Kacher of 66 Colburn Road asked if they could release the survey results for the
public to see.
Mr. Arena noted once the board goes thru it and figures out how to best summarize it then
yes it will be released to the public.
Mr. Kacher cautioned the board, of quantifying the information too much. There are a lot of
lessons in the.raw data and you don't want to lose that.
Mr. Kacher explained to the group that he is currently on a board called the'Middlesex
Three' and they are tasked with getting 9 communities to'work together on economic
development that would benefit all of them.
Board of Health Hearing
Mr. Ensminger read the hearing notice.
He then explained again how notice was not properly delivered to the associate member.
Mr. Ensminger made a motion to continue the hearing until October 10th, 2017 at 9
PM. The motion was seconded by Mr. Halsey and approved with a 5-0-0 vote.
School House Commons Sign Request
Josh Latham was present on behalf of the applicant.
He explained that the town traffic consultant was the one who recommended the no parking
sign along the south side of Woburn Street. The applicant has already been before the
Zoning Board and had a PTTTF meeting. The PTTTF agrees with the request and saw no
issues with it from a safety standpoint. The reason for the sign is because there is not a lot
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of space there in general and now there will be the enter/exit driveway for the development
going there.
Mr. Ensminger, second by Mr. Berman, moved that the Board of Selectmen approve
the sign request from School House Commons as presented. The motion passed.
with a 5-0-0 vote.
Economic Development Update
Mr. LeLacheur wanted to remind everyone there will be an economic development forum on
October 4th at the Library. Jay Ash will be a key note speaker that night.
Mr. LeLacheur then explained the Town Of Wakefield and Reading have been actively
working together to build a combine DPW facility at Camp Curtis for the past three years.
He can publically speak on it now and wanted to give everyone a brief overview. There are
no promises it is going to happen at this moment but they are trying. It is very difficult
because they have to work with the Army, National Guard, the State and both
municipalities. It is a very exciting but challenging project. Wakefield is all in on making it
happen. Developers are interested in the current DPW site especially if it can be paired with
other parcels around it.
Pearl Street Lease Amendment
Town Counsel was present to explain.
Itis a revision to the current lease the town has to make it more clear on the intentions.
It is what was intended in the first place but now it just written correctly. Nothing has been
changed; it is just worded to reflect what was meant to be originally.
Mr. Ensminger moved that the Board of Selectmen approve the lease amendment
at 75 Pearl Street as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Halsey and
approved with a 5-0-0 vote.
Town Meeting Instructional Motion Update - RMLD
There will be a meeting tomorrow night to address this and hopefully move forward.
Mr. Ensminger will be there as the Selectmen liaison and will keep the board updated.
Discuss BOS Policies - Licenses
Police Chief Segalla was present to talk about the Class I, II, III licenses. Currently they
fingerprint to sell second .hand goods, however, the Chief feels that is unnecessary unless
that is their main business.
Mr. Halsey explained his thoughts are this is judgement call that should be made by the
Chief. If he is satisfied with only fingerprinting some, that is okay with him.
Close Warrant for November Town Meeting
Mr. LeLacheur went through the warrant which consists of 10 articles. He noted nothing has
changed since the last time they viewed it.
The board discussed Boards and committees and how communication can be better.
Mr. LeLacheur noted when John Fuedo left and his job was eliminated, he staffed a lot of
boards that are now without or have minimal staff.
Mr. Berman suggested an on-boarding process for new volunteers. The board also discussed
volunteer policies and how to integrate the boards better.
Mr. Arena suggested having a large joint meeting with the boards once a quarter so they
can all stay on the same page.
The board all agreed communication needs to improve between all the boards and that is
something they need to work on how to accomplish that.
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The board also briefly brought up entertainment licenses and Mr. LeLacheur noted he has
town counsel working on redoing our entertainment licenses to bring them up to date and
current for today's society.
Mr. Ensminger moved that the Board of Selectmen close the Warrant for
Subsequent Town Meeting consisting of 10 Articles to take place on November 13,
2017. The motion was seconded by Mr. Berman and approved with a 5-0-0 vote.
Mr. Arena wanted to take a minute to discuss Mr. LeLacheur's comments in the beginning of
the meeting. He explained there are people out there that want to divide us and I don't/
won't let that happen.
Mr. Halsey also noted that personal attacks on certain people are absolutely not allowed. We
can disagree all we want but bringing certain people into question, especially while they are
not here, is not okay and will not be tolerated.
Mr. Berman explained the board will defend the votes they take and the positions they take
on every topic. Some people aren't always going to get what they want.
Mr. Berman made a motion to adjourn at 9:48 PM, second by Mr. Ensminger and
approved with a 5-0-0 vote.
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