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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-01-09 Board of Selectmen Minutes or Town of Reading Meeting Minutes �C�EIl��� U TOWN CLERK READING, MA.Q Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 2018Aft -6 AM 9: 01 Board of Selectmen Date: 2018-01-09 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, Fire Chief Burns, Deputy Fire Chief Jackson, Executive Assistant Caitlin Saunders, Barbara Melanson, Demetra Tskeras, Rebecca Bailey, Mark Dockser, Gary Baker, Kristyn Kaupas, Kathleen Donnelly, Erin Gaffen, Michele Sanphy, George Kachen, Nick Bonanno, Todd Merkle, Elaine Webb Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Topics of Discussion: Chair John Arena called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Mr. Arena started off the meeting by noting the efforts of National Grid over the weekend while they battled a water leak in one of their gas lines. Mr. Halsey wanted-to announce that long time employee Ann Gentile retired last week. She has been working in the Elder Services department and helped over at the Senior Center. He thanked her for her years of service and wished her well in retirement. Mr. Berman noted he attended the.School Committee meeting last night which was about their budget. It will be a very tough process for them. Mr. Berman also noted that the town received a grant for wayfinding and they have been working on that and will unveil it to the board at the end of the month. Mr. Friedmann also went to the School Committee and noted they had a very interesting presentation to explain to everyone their needs. Chief Burns was present to talk about the National Grid issue over the weekend as a lot of unhappy residents came to share their stories.. Chief Burns explained that he got word Friday morning that about 78 homes were without heat. National Grid,came out and found a leak in one of their lines. As the town was setting up a shelter for people without heat, National Grid brought in a temporary truck and got their heat back on. However, because it was so cold, the truck froze and people lost their heat again late Friday afternoon. Saturday morning heat was restored again. The Page 1 1 department sent out a reverse 911 stating their heat was back on. Right after that message was sent out, they lost it again. The Town's water department was brought in to help find the water leak. What was happening was the town's water pipe was leaking into National Grids gas line, causing an outage. They had to dig up 3 sections of the street trying to find where the leak was. Eventually, the leak was found and repaired and National grid went door to door and made sure every house was back on. Dan Cameron, our National Grid district manager, was present to answer any questions. Mr. Berman felt their needed to be better communication in what the town can do to let residents know what is going on. Mr. Arena agreed better communication is needed for our residents instead of them just calling the general National Grid service number. Mr. Cameron noted they usually do set up a local command center if they plan to be on site for more than a day, however, they thought they had the problem fixed the first day so they did not set one up. Mr. Friedmann suggested .Mr. Cameron and the Fire Chief sit down and come up with a plan for future events. Kristyn Kaupas of Timberneck Drive explained that she called the Fire Department Thursday night when they first lost it and she did not like the answer she got. She said she also called National Grid Thursday night and they didn't come out. She noted she still doesn't think this issue is resolved and it's a huge concern to her. Kathy Donnelly of Charles Street noted the 1-800 number for National Grid is not effected and she would have liked.to see more of a town presence and communication. Another resident noted the only reliable information he got was by going outside and talking to the guys actually working on the street. The call center in Brooklyn is a hit or miss when you call there and all the neighbors are really skeptical if this issue is really fixed. Mr. Cameron noted the situation is fixed but they will continue to monitor the situation as the temps are expected to drop again this week. Demetra Tskeras wanted to comment about her concern about campaigning and governing. The Chair of the Selectmen is up for reelection and he launched his campaign at a Selectmen meeting and she doesn't think that is right. She also noted his social media is misleading and the board needs to have a serious talk about a social media policy. Part of her wanted to ask Mr. Arena to step down because of how he-has been campaigning. She then asked about the policy they have that says you can't be chair if you're up for reelection. Mr. Arena responded noting he did some research and showed that 7 out of the 12 past chairs have served in their last year. Mr. Berman felt there is a misconception out there that the board is not following its policies. Mr. Friedmann feels they should keep in mind the role of the Chair and what we want it to be when going through the general operating procedures policy. Town.Manager Report Mr. LeLacheur noted the Library Trustees would like to meet jointly at the Selectmen's next meeting to vote on a new member. Page 12 Reappoint Retirement Member Mr. Ensminger moved that the Board of Selectmen appoint Carol Roberts to the Retirement Board with a term expiring December 31, 2020. The motion was seconded by Mr. Halsey and approved with a 5-0-0 vote. Discuss BOS Policies - Article 1: General Operating Procedures The board had a discussion on some of their policies. They agreed the reorganization is best suited in June. They discussed the need to talk more about communication and social media. Mr. Berman brought up the idea of having an onboarding process and also suggested committees have 2 co-chairs. Mr. Halsey expressed this article needs a lot of work with some more conversation. Mr. Arena noted he doesn't want to think this`trust gap' is because of this policy. Peter Lydecker called the Finance Committee to order at 8:45 PM. Continued Hearing - BOS Policies, Article 3: Licenses . The board briefly discussed entertainment licenses. They also discussed if they would like to have a separate fee schedule. They decided that would probablybe the simplest way. The board also touched upon A-Frame signs. Because they would be using our property to put the signs on we would need a liability number from our insurance company. The board decided it was best if we used MIIA's recommendation for how much liability. Mr. Ensminger made a motion to close the hearing regarding the BOS Policies, Article 3, Licenses: The motion was seconded by Mr. Berman and approved with a 5-0-0 vote. Nick Bonnano wanted to bring forward his thoughts on the liquor policy. He believes it is very inconsistent for club licenses. He also noted he was looking on the ABCC website and explained there s such thing as a `war veterans'.club license and asked why we.don't.:bav_e any in town. He noted right now all clubs are lumped together into one leaving it hard to regulate certain things. He also expressed how relaxed regulations are right now for clubs. He also wants regulations for outdoor use in residential neighborhoods. Lindsey Baker from Grove.Street also noted she is concerned about clubs being allowed to serve alcohol from 8 am - 2 am. She is also worried about the peace of her neighborhood when people are outside having a good time at the golf course. Mr. Ensminger moved that the Board of Selectmen accept the changes to the Board of Selectmen Policies in regard to Article 3, Licenses, as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Berman and approved with a 5-0-0 vote. Review Town Manager's Budget The board reviewed what the Town Manager prepared for them. Mr. LeLacheur noted this budget does not include everything the departments wanted and what he thought was the most necessary. Mark Dockser feels the town needs to look at all the fees we charge again. Certainly there are some that are outdated that we can up. Elaine Webb asked about fees to offset salaries. Mark Dockser asked if there was any update about the RMLD payment conversation. Mr. Ensminger noted they are not meeting again until February. Mr. Dockser also wanted to remind everyone that RCASA is going to be a FY20 issue that we need to keep in mind. Page 1 3 Peter Lydecker felt there is an issue with sustainability and adding positions we may not be able to fund in the following years. Mr. LeLacheur noted when he built in new positions he did build in some sustainability like benefits. George Kachen suggested in the next coming days/ meetings that they keep the budget very simple, easy for people to understand. Minutes Mr. Ensminger made a motion that the Board of Selectmen approve the meeting minutes from December 12th, 2017. The motion was seconded by Mr. Berman and approved with a 5-0-0 vote. Mr. Ensminger made a motion that the Board of Selectmen approve the meeting minutes from December 13th, 2017. The motion was seconded by Mr. Halsey and approved with a.5-0-0 vote. Mr. Ensminger made a motion that the Board of Selectmen approve the meeting minutes from December 19th, 2017. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 5-0-0 vote. Mr. Berman moved that the Board of Selectmen adjourn at 10:52 PM. The motion was seconded by Mr. Ensminger and approved with a 5-0-0 vote. Page 4