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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-05-21 Select Board Minutes Town of Reading a Meeting Minutes RECEIVED fro TOWN CLERK 'r READING, MA. Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 1113 JUL 30 PM 4 36 Select Board Date: 2019-05-21 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Select Board Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: General Business Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Vanessa Alvarado, John Halsey, Anne Landry, Andy Friedmann Members - Not Present: Mark Dockser Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Executive Assistant Caitlin Saunders, Bill Brown, Alan Foulds, Ace Foulds, Jeanne Borawski, Marianne Downing, Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Caitlin Saunders ' Topics of Discussion: Ms. Alvarado called the meeting to order at 7 PM. Proclamation Mr. Halsey noted the board was going to sign a proclamation tonight to give to General Jack Hammond on Memorial Day at the services. The proclamation was in recognition of his decorated military career and continued outstanding leadership with Home Base, to heal the invisible wounds for Veterans, Service Members and their Families. With a motion from Mr. Halsey and a second from Mr. Friedmann, the board voted 4-0 to approve the certificate of recognition to General Jack Hammond. Liaison Reports Mr. Friedmann noted the Board of Health is considering working with RCASA to do some outreach on nicotine addiction and vaping. Thursday, May 30, at the Reading Public Library is the 'Pulse of Reading'. Ms. Landry noted the Wakefield ZBA will be meeting tomorrow night on the Tarrant Lane project again and she will be attending the Reading ZBA meeting. Town Manager's Report Mr. LeLacheur thanked Matt Kraunelis for attending the Garden Club Plant Sale and Police Department Open House this weekend. The Volunteer Appreciation dinner at the Senior Center is this Thursday. The School Committee will be doing an update on Capital projects at their meeting at the end of June. We have hired a new Economic Development Director. The Haverhill Street speed limit discussion is in the hands of Town Counsel who is reviewing some old documents. Page I t Public Comment Bill Brown noted he had the pleasure of meeting General Jack Hammond and he is a great guy. MWRA Borrowing ' This is an interest free loan to do phase II of the MWRA project. Mr. Halsey moved: I, the acting Clerk of the Select Board of the Town of Reading, Massachusetts, certify that at a meeting of the board held May 21, 2019, of which meeting all members of the board were duly notified and at which a quorum was present, the following votes were unanimously passed, all of which appear upon the official record of the board in my custody: At this time Ms. Alvarado moved to suspend the reading of the full motion. With a second from Ms. Landry the board approved with a 4-0 vote. BeatHeart Foundation - Founders of the BeatHeart Foundation were present before the board to give an update on their annual Jams For lake event. The event is in memory of their late friend Jake who had a love for music. Jake passed away after a struggle with addiction. This event which lead to the creation of the BeatHeart Foundation was created to raise awareness in Reading about addiction as well as provide help and information about resources to those who need it. This year, Jams for Jake will take place on Saturday, June 22nd at Birch Meadow field from 12-6 pm. Mr. Halsey wanted to thank the young founders of this organization noting they are doing a great thing for the people of Reading in honor of their friend. He noted it is a fantastic, meaningful event that is a great approach to bringing awareness and he thanks them for doing such a good job. ' Reading 375 Jeanne Borawski was here to give the board a little more information on some events and encourage the board to participate and advertise the week celebration of Reading's 375th anniversary. The complete list of events and times can be found on the town's website and on reading375.com. Mr. LeLacheur also wanted to take a minute to note he bought himself a copy of Everette and Ginny Blodgett's book on the history of Reading. It is a fantastic read and people can get a copy at RCN or thru Everett and Ginny themselves. Firefighter Badge Pinning Chief Greg Burns and Deputy Chief Jackson were present to pin five new firefighters as well as recognize many more who have been with the department for over 20 years. Service awards went to the following Firefighters for their years of service: Deputy Chief Jackson - 36 years Captain Peter Marchetti - 33 years Captain Paul Guarino - 32 Years Captain Mark Dwyer - 31 Years Lieutenant Brian Ryan - 30 years Firefighter Pat Wallace - 31 years Firefighter Stephen Pelrine - 30 years ' Lieutenant Tony DelSignore - 25 years Firefighter Bob Beck - 28 years Firefighter Stephen Murphy - 26 years Firefighter David Robidoux - 25 years Firefighter David Gentile - 25 years Captain Richard Nelson - 22 years Page 1 2 Firefighter Michael Wood - 21 years The Chief then presented the five new firefighters: ' Danny Ruiz who was pinned by his father. Ashley Auld who was pinned by her son. Adam O'Doherty who was pinned by his girlfriend. Marckendy Vernet who was pinned by his fiance. William Madden who was pinned by his wife. The board congratulated all the firefighters receiving service awards as well as the five new firefighters joining the department. Kevin Sexton called the Board of Health to order. FY20 Classification and Compensation Plan Mr. Halsey read the hearing notice. Mr. LeLaucher explained the changes and noted they are not doing steps this year just a COLA. Mr. Halsey moved to close the hearing. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4-0 vote. Mr. Halsey moved to approve the FY20 Classification and Compensation Plans as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Landry and approved with a 4-0 vote. Tree Lawn Pesticide Policy The Board of Health presented a polity banning the use of pesticides on tree lawns. ' The town already does not use pesticides to treat town land but homeowners are allowed to use what they want. This policy will be enforcing the pesticide companies they cannot treat the tree lawns in front of people's homes. Mr. Halsey asked if we are creating this because we currently have a problem. The BOH noted they want to prevent any potential problems in the future. Mr. Friedmann wanted to clarify this is a regulation not a policy. Mr. Sexton noted it is almost impossible to enforce this regulation and will require someone to rat out their neighbor to make the town aware someone is using pesticides on a tree lawn. Mr. Halsey asked what the BOH has planned to educate people. The BOH noted they are working on educational pieces to possibly send out in a town bill and put on social media. Ms. Alvarado asked if this limits what the town can do. It was noted the town already does not use pesticides and does have a clause for extreme cases. Mr. LeLacheur asked if the BOH has reached out to local lawn companies. Mr. Friedmann asked the BOH to explain some of the exemptions in this policy. Ms. Alvarado asked if the schools have been notified. ' It was noted this policy was taken from another town that has had it in place for over 20 years. The board would like the Board of Health to answer their questions and come back for another discussion. Page 1 3 Select Board Onboardin0 Manual Discussion Ms. Alvarado thought this would be very helpful to newly elected members and wanted to see if the board had any interest and putting something together. The board agreed it wouldn't hurt and could be beneficial to getting up to speed. They , discussed if they should work on this as a working group. The board decided to have a brainstorming session at their next meeting to give ideas of what to put in the manual and go from there. Charter Change to allow Non-Residents on boards Ms. Alvarado noted this got brought up recently and she wanted to feel the board out on how they felt about potentially asking the Bylaw Committee to look at changing the charter to allow non-residents to hold seats on non-elected, policy setting, non-regulatory boards. Mr. Friedmann asked if the reasoning for this would be to provide more expertise to a board. Mr. Halsey doesn't think a non-resident has any place on any board voting on things having to do with our Reading residents. Ms. Landry asked if there was specific case that is bringing this to us. It was noted the most recent example would be the Ad-Hoc Human Rights Board. They could benefit from some members with outside perspectives. Mr. LeLacheur wanted to let the board know he asked the Charter Review Committee this question about three years ago and it was an outstanding no from them. Mr. Halsey reiterated his feelings and agreed to disagree on the topic noting, only Reading , residents should be voting on Reading topics. Mr. Friedmann feels most people in town probably agree with Mr. Halsey but also feels it can't hurt to look into it. Ms. Landry suggested having this conversation with the Ad-hoc Human rights Committee since this is the stem of this conversation and they should be meeting soon. The board agreed to that suggestion and will discuss it again after that conversation is had. Select Board Office Hours Ms. Alvarado suggested having office hours at different times and locations throughout the town so that more people are able to talk to them. The board agreed that would be a good idea stating the Senior Center would be a great place to hold one. The board discussed rotating different locations and times every month or even more than once. They also discussed keeping the regularly scheduled office hour before their first meeting every month. They decided to start this in July with Mr. Halsey at the Senior center. Andy will continue on in August with a location he will decide on. Minutes Mr. Halsey moved that the meeting minutes of May 7r", 2019 be approved as ' amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4-0 vote. Mr. Friedmann moved to adjourn at 10:01 PM. The motion was seconded by Ms. Landry and approved with a 4-0 vote.