Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-06-13 Appointment Committee - Finance Committee Minutes Town of Reading R E C E I V E D e Meeting Minutes TC`NN CLERK 00 REAT) iNG, W Boa d - Committee - Commission - Council: 2819 JUL -9 dM 8: I Appointment Committee -Finance Committee Date: 2019-06-13 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Berger Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: FINCOM Appointment Interviews Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Chair Moderator Alan Foulds, FINCOM Chair Eric Burkhart, Select Board Chair Vanessa Alvarado Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Bob LeLacheur Topics of Discussion: Called to order at 7:03pm by Chair Foulds. Carlo Bacci - Mr. Foulds asked the candidate to introduce himself. Mr. Bacci said that he moved to Reading in 2006 from Medford as they relocated The Chocolate Truffle business located in the bottom floor of their house on Main Street. He has been fortunate enough to be self-employed for thirty years which has included serving as a commercial real estate broker as well as buying and selling businesses. Personally, he spent time as a soccer coach and enjoyed giving back to the Town. Their business has donated time and money to the community. He also serves as a mentor in Entrepreneurs For All. Mr. Burkhart asked why FINCOM? Mr. Bacci replied because he is very comfortable with numbers, and he noted that he recently joined Town Meeting. Ms. Alvarado noted the surplus of FINCOM candidates and asked if he had other volunteer interests, and the response was yes - CPDC. Mr. Foulds asked if he had any know conflicts, and the response was no. Mr. Foulds asked if Mr. Bacci had any questions, and he did not. Mr. LeLacheur asked if he was familiar with the FINCOM meeting commitment and calendar, and he said yes he was. Andrew MacLauchlan - Mr. Foulds asked the candidate to introduce himself. Mr. MacLauchlan explained that he had also applied for ZBA, CPDC and Historical Commission but there were no openings. He grew up in Reading and currently serves as a construction superintendent. He is very experienced in procurement, and has served for 15 years as a project accountant. He has an MBA and a MA in Healthcare Administration. He spent 12 years in the military. Ms. Alvarado noted that she interviewed him previously as part of the SB VASC. Mr. Burkhart asked if he has volunteered in any other capacity in town and the response was no; Mr. Burkhart then asked why the interest now? Mr. MacLauchlan explained that with three kids he is becoming involved in activities, such as being a youth wrestling coach. He said that he recently moved back to town because of his love for Reading. Mr. Foulds asked if he was a Town Meeting member, and he said no but he has attended some meetings. Did he have any known conflicts - no. Mr. Burkhart asked if he had any questions, and then described the seasonality of the FINCOM meeting schedule, Page I 1 plus the December and January budget meetings for the Select Board and School Committee. William MCIsaac - Mr. Foulds asked the candidate to introduce himself. Mr. MCIsaac is a retired CPA, who spent a long career at Teradyne. He also volunteered for 14 years on the Reading Housing Authority, serving as Chair for 7 years. He has good time availability for meetings and other work as needed. Respectfully he noted that he is not interested in using this appointment as a stepping stone for other volunteer or elected positions. Mr. Burkhart asked why FINCOM? The response was that Mr. MCIsaac enjoys'punishing data until it yields information'. He noted the extensive data involved in any budget process. Ms. Alvarado noted the surplus of FINCOM candidates and asked if he had other volunteer interests, and the response was that his past choices on the application form were related to openings that were posted at the time, and that he had no other specific interest at this time. Mr. Foulds asked about his availability for the meeting schedule, which was then explained by Mr. Burkhart, and the response was yes. Mr. Foulds asked if he was a member of Town Meeting, and he is not. He was encouraged to run for Town Meeting. Mr. Foulds asked if he had any known conflicts, and he did not. Eric Burkhart - Mr. Burkhart explained that he is in his 3rd year on FINCOM, currently serving as Chair. He noted that the first two years involved a great deal of listening & learning before he believed he was really up to speed. He said that he would like to keep going on FINCOM, and had no other aspirations beyond FINCOM. Ms. Alvarado had no questions, and Mr. Foulds asked about conflicts to which the response was none. Mr. LeLacheur thanked him for his highly organized approach as Chair. Sean Jacobs - Mr. Foulds asked the candidate to introduce himself. Mr. Jacobs has lived in town for 10 years, and has been more involved in activities for the past 5 years due to the age of his kids, as the oldest is now 6 years old and in Kindergarten. He serves as a consultant in 'user experience' design work. He is currently at Charles River as an Investment Product Manager, after recent work at Fidelity. Ms. Alvarado asked why he was interested in FINCOM and why now, and he responded that he loves numbers and budgets. Mr. Burkhart asked about his interest in and experience with budgets, and he repeated his love of numbers. He also noted that he grew up in Lexington and after some Lexington friends have moved to Reading that he became more interested. Ms. Alvarado noted the surplus of FINCOM candidates and asked if he had other volunteer interests, and the response was not really at this time. Mr. Foulds asked if he currently volunteered in any other boards or committees and he did not, nor was he on Town Meeting. Mr. Foulds encouraged him to become interested in Town Meeting in order to be involved in the community. Mr. Burkhart asked if he had any questions for the group, and he did not. Mr. LeLacheur asked if he had any know conflicts, and Mr. Jacobs said that he did not, and that his workplace had thorough vetting of his outside involvement. Marianne Downing - Mr. Foulds asked the candidate to introduce herself. Ms. Downing is a Patent Attorney and a former electrical engineer. She likes to stay involved in the community, and has studied many issues in detail and spoken at several public meetings. She founded PRESERVE when the Rte 129/93 interchange project threatened to impact some Reading neighborhoods; then was involved with the proposed life style mall at Addison Wesley; Reading Cares; and then Cub Scout and Girl Scout activities. She was on the Joshua Eaton task force when that became a level 3 school, and in 2015 was elected to Town Meeting. She has watched FINCOM meetings but not attended them. Her interest is not in just the numbers but the way they represent the spending priorities of the community. She is a very quick learner, as evidenced by quick turnaround detailed work required of a patent attorney. Mr. Burkhart said he knew how active and involved she was, but why FINCOM? She replied that she likes the details, and is comfortable with numbers, and likes to understand 'why'. She said she does not intend this position to be a stepping stone for any other volunteer position. She noted that several people in the community have told her she would be a good fit on FINCOM, so she applied. Ms. Alvarado had no unanswered questions, and Mr. Foulds asked about known conflicts of interest - she had Page I 2 none. Mr. Burkhart mentioned the FINCOM meeting schedule and asked if she would be comfortable in the role of FINCOM liaison to other groups and she said she would. Two candidates (Edward Ross and Mark Zarrow) could not make the meeting tonight. The Appointment Committee agreed that they should try to meet on another date to include these applicants, and the dates lune 19; June 24; and July 1st were agreed upon. Mr. LeLacheur will reach out to the applicants to set up such a meeting. Given that FINCOM meets in late June, the sooner meeting dates were preferred. Ms. Alvarado nominated Mr. Burkhart for a full three-year term on FINCOM throuah June 30. 2022, seconded by Mr. Foulds and approved by a 3-0 vote. Mr. LeLacheur noted this was helpful especially if the appointment process went beyond Eric's current June 30, 2019 term expiration. Mr. Foulds described the remaining process which should be to include all applicants interviewed into a pool for the remaining two full 3-year terms, and then any unsuccessful candidates to be included for the vacant one-year term. Ms Alvarado moved to adjourn at 8.07pm seconded by Mr. Burkhart and approved by a 3-0 vote. Respectfully, Secretary Page 1 3