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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-12-11 Select Board Minutes C� OFq�O tr ° Town of Reading Meeting Minutes i% Board - committee - commission - council: 2819 JAN 23 AM 9: 42 Select Board Date: 2018-12-11 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Select Board Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: General Business Version: Attendees: Members - Present: Andy Friedmann, Barry Berman, Vanessa Alvarado, Dan Ensminger, John Halsey Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Executive Assistant Caitlin Saunders, Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom, Human Resources Director Judi Perkins, Finance Committee Members: Erik Burkhart, Mark Dockser, Anne Landry, Dan Dewar, Sean Brandt, Karen Herrick; Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Topics of Discussion: Mr. Friedmann called the meeting to order. Liaison Reports Mr. Ensminger noted the final contract for the Comcast renewal has been signed and executed. Mr. Berman let the board know that Elaine Webb and Linda Snow Dockser will be joining the ad-hoc committee regarding the new human rights board. Mr. Halsey explained the Postmark Square project (the old post office) is moving forward with their next steps. Town Manager Report Mr. LeLacheur noted that Wakefield voted on the Inter-municipal agreement and we now officially have Victor as our shared assessor for another three years. Town Manager Evaluation Process Mr. Berman explained he wanted to put this on the agenda to start discussing the way the board evaluates the Town Manager. The whole board was not a fan of the process that was used this year or the form that was used as well. He feels the form and the goals go hand in hand and need to be incorporated into the form and process better. Mr. Berman suggested putting together a subcommittee to work on this for next year with the following motion: To create a subcommittee of the Select Board, (2 members) which will have the responsibility of formalizing the process of evaluating the yearly performance of the Town Manager, as stipulated in the contract signed between the Board and the Town Manager. The sub-committee will recommend to the full Board a yearly process and timeline (with dates certain) for creating jointly agreed upon goals Page 1 1 between the Board and the Town Manager, and a suitable form for Board members to evaluate the town manager's performance based on those goals. The subcommittee will also consider implementing multiyear goals. In carrying out this task, the sub-committee will work with town staff including the Head of Administrative Services, the Head of Human Resources and the Town Manager. j The sub-committee will present its recommendation to the full Board no later than ri! April 1, 2019. Mr. Ensminger seconded the motion and the board moved into discussion. Mr. Halsey asked for clarification that this would not undo the goals the board just finalized for Mr. LeLacheur. Mr. Berman noted that is correct, this is for the future and hopefully for next year. Ms. Alvarado agreed with Mr. Berman's thoughts on this topic, however, they have created so many subcommittees this year with regards to goals, she is hesitant to create another. Mr. Ensminger noted he would like to be on this subcommittee if someone else could commit to the April 1s`date and work with him on it. Mr. Friedmann felt the current subcommittees have a lot of work to do already. He agrees a subcommittee is needed to work on this but not sure it can be accomplished right now or by the April date with all the other work that needs to be done. Mr. Halsey feels they can make it work and he thinks it would be good to get Mr. Ensminger's expertise before he leaves. There was a friendly amendment added that the subcommittee will also take into consideration the core competencies the board previously created for the Town Manager evaluation. Erik Burkhart called the Finance Committee to order. A few other amendments were thrown out on the table regarding the date and the wording of the motion. Mr. Friedmann expressed a desire to continue discussing the motion at the next meeting in order to be able to get to other items on the evening's agenda. Mr. Friedmann made a motion to postpone this discussion until January Sth. Ms. Alvarado seconded the motion and the board voted 3-2 with Ensminger and Halsey opposing. Hearing - Transfer of Bertucci's Liquor License Ms. Alvarado read the hearing notice. Bertucci's went bankrupt and was bought out. They are transferring the liquor license to the new corporation. Nothing will be changed in their stores as far as management. The ABCC is already aware of the transfer and just needs a vote of approval at the local level to complete the transfer. Ms. Alvarado moved to close the hearing regarding the Bertucci's liquor license transfer. Mr. Berman seconded the motion and it was approved with a 5-0 vote. Ms. Alvarado moved that the Select Board approve the Annual Restaurant All Alcoholic Beverages license transfer from Bertucci's Restaurants, LLC, to Bertucci's Restaurant Corp. The motion was approved with a 5-0 vote. Change of Manager - Longhorn Steakhouse Ms. Alvarado moved that the Select Board approve the Change of Manager for an Annual Restaurant All Alcoholic Beverages license at Longhorn Steakhouse, 39 Page 1 2 Walkers Brook Drive. The motion was seconded by Mr. Berman and approved with a 5-0 vote. Approve Remaining Liquor Licenses It was noted this was to approve the rest of the liquor licenses that hadn't been turned it yet before their last vote. It was also noted two licensees did not renew this year. Ms. Alvarado moved that the Select Board approve the All Alcoholic Restaurant Liquor Licenses for: • Bertucci's Restaurant Corp, d/b/a Bertucci's Brick Oven Ristorante at 45 Walkers Brook Drive • Chipotle Mexican Grill of Colorado LLC, d/b/a Chipotle Mexican Grill at 46 Walkers Brook Drive • Mandarin Reading Inc, d/b/a Mandarin Reading Restaurant at 296 Salem Street for a term expiring December 31, 2019 subject to the following conditions: All Bylaws, Rules and Regulations of the Town of Reading and of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shall be followed, and subject to a satisfactory inspection of the establishment by the Town Manager or his designee. And move that the Select Board approve the Wine and Malt Restaurant Liquor License for: • Palatat Pattenesuan d/b/a Bangkok Spice Thai Restaurant, 76 Haven Street for a term expiring December 31, 2019 subject to the following conditions: All Bylaws, Rules and Regulations of the Town of Reading and of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shall be followed, and subject to a satisfactory inspection of the establishment by the Town Manager or his designee. Mr. Ensminger seconded the motion and it was approved with a 5-0 vote. Before the board moved to the next discussion to finish up the budget presentations, Mr. Halsey wanted to ask the board if they had any interest in exploring the option of obtaining beer and wine package store licenses. He noted he would be happy to do the research on what would need to be done and report back to the board. He feels there is a need for this type of license in town. Mr. Friedmann suggested Mr. Halsey bring the Board of Health into that discussion as well. Town Department Budgets Benefits - Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom and HR Director Judi Perkins They first talked about the Town's pension and myths about it. The liability for the pension will be fully funded by 2029 but that is always changing. Health Insurance - Larry from MITA Larry also showed some common myths about health insurance and coverage. He did a HMO, PPO and GIC comparison. There was some further discussion about the GIC in particular and why the town did not choose to go that route based on experiences with other towns. Larry then talked about the PEC which is the group of employees dedicated to discussing/reviewing/approving our health insurance interests while working with the Town ' Manager and staff. Larry has a great working relationship with the PEC. A couple finance committee members raised the question of why we budget so high for health insurance if it continuously comes in lower than what we budget for. It was noted it is very hard to predict health insurance numbers and the Town Manager prefers to over budget rather than be short. Mr. LeLacheur also noted that the timing of when the health insurance numbers are released is very challenging to work with. Page 1 3 Anne Landry also suggested being more modest with the number we use to budget for state aid because it always comes in lower. Capital and Debt - Town Manager Bob LeLacheur ' Mr. LeLacheur ran through the capital and debt Munis spreadsheet. He then presented a memo written to the board a couple months ago describing the capital projects in the works and upcoming. Recreation fields were on the list and Ms. Alvarado asked if recreation has weighed in on their priorities when it comes to the fields. Mr. Dockser feels it's important to keep talking more about a new senior center. Enterprise Funds - DPW Director Jane Kinsella Jane went through Water, Sewer and Storm water departments. The Auburn Street water tank replacement Is a major project coming up for that department. Reading has a UDF program; when flushing the water lines they do it unidirectional which is something not many other towns do. Stormwater is rainwater or melted snow that runs off streets, lawns and other sites. The runoff is carried in underground pipes or open ditches and discharges untreated into local streams, rivers and other surface water bodies. To date, the town has sampled and inspected all the town owned outfalls. The town has also created a stormwater enterprise fund, one of the first communities to do so. The water department currently has 2 long term seasonals but they would like to transition to 1 laborer and 2 short term seasonals. Water expenses have increased costs associated with computer software and licenses. Sewer expenses have also increased due to the same reasons. Stormwater is seeing a slight increase In overtime costs and an increase in costs again, due to software and licenses. Mr. Berman brought up the question about allowing second water meters. They frequently get asked by residents about this. Ms. Alvarado asked if there was a minimum rate that people are charged for water. It was noted, yes there is a minimum rate, however it is very low. She would like to look into that and maybe help out seniors who live alone and don't use a lot of water. Mr. LeLacheur summed up the final presentations of the budget they saw tonight. He noted the town is interested in long term benefits and that's how they put their budget together. He suggested the board take some time and then send them any thoughts they have on the budget over the next few weeks. Ms. Alvarado made a motion to adjourn at 10:49 PM; the motion was seconded by Mr. Berman and approved with a 5-0 vote. Pa9ea