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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-02-11 Select Board Minutes Town of Reading ? Meeting Minutes , Board - Committee- Commission - Council: 2UiL Jiffs I J PM 3121 Select Board Date: 2020-02-11 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Select Board Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: General Business Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Vanessa Alvarado, John Halsey, Anne Landry, Mark Dockser, Andy Friedmann Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Alice Collins, Dan Ensminger, John Arena, Derek Holmes, Rich Abate, Allen Boyer, Erica MacNamara, Michelle Sanphy, Justin Martel, Susan Craven, Pete Commounduros, Bill Brown, John LJppitt, Donna Beaulieu, Rick Nelson Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Caitlin Saunders Topics of Discussion: Vanessa Alvarado called the meeting to order at 7 PM. Liaison Reports Ms. Alvarado started off the meeting by thanking John Halsey for his years of service on the board. Mr. Halsey noted he had his monthly visit to the senior center recently. He would really like if the board would continue with his'office hour' going forward. He usually goes the second Tuesday of the month at 11 am. Ms. Alvarado noted the Saturday goal meeting was very productive and she would like to continue having those meetings. Town Manager's Report Mr. LeLacheur noted there is a 'New Resident Open House' planned for April 70. Congressman Moulten will be in town on February 290. He also noted he has no update from Town Counsel on the farmer Daniel's House yet. Public Comment Bill Brown noted on June 14th they will be recognizing Frank Driscoll. John LJppitt from 23 Mineral Street wanted to comment on the Police Chief process noting that very little public information or participation had been made available. He also noticed that was unsettling that the announcement of the selection was made by a former member of the Select Board the previous evening at a public forum. He wished here could have been a public survey. He indicated he understood privacy concerns in intervewing, and short of Page I 1 the candidates having been interviewed in public for anyone to attend, he wished de- identified resumes and detailed ratings of candidates could have been made available to the public. He feels neither the board not the public have enough information before they vote on a new Chief. Alan Beaulieu of Belmont Street noted his different opinion. He indicated that the assessment center gave their recommendation to promote Deputy Chief David Clark to Police Chief in November. Deputy Chief Clark has been acting Chief for over a year and it is time to make it official. Pete Coumounduros echoed the previous statement noting it is time to put this to bed and put the department in good shape. Rich Abate of Applegate Lane asked the Chair whether the public would be able to comment at the time the Police Chief selection process was on the agenda. The chair indicated that would be able to take place before the board began to deliberate. Dan Ensminger of Oakland Road and former Select Board member, indicated he had read Bob's well-written treatise and that Bob is the sole appointer of the Police Chief. He asked the board to proceed quickly on this and vote a new Chief as soon as possible to benefit the town and the department. Rick Nelson of Vine Street explained how disturbing it is that there hasn't been a Chief for this long. It is very unsettling that the board has not taken action yet and asked the Board to move the issue. Justin Martel of Chestnut Road, wants to know more about the process. Final Proposal from Ad-hoc Human Rights Committee Ms. Landry explained their proposal is for an organization that would structurally emulate the Reading Coalition for Prevention and Support and housed in the library, with a full-time executive director, similar to the Reading Coalition. It would have a board of directors with an interim board or advisory board set up initially to get everything in order. Mr. Friedmann explained the Ad-Hoc committee is now asking the full Select Board if they can reach out to the Library Board of Trustees to gauge their interest in taking this on. Ms. Alvarado asked for more information about the funding structure. Ms. Landry indicated that she had been in touch with Bob, who indicated that the proposal still had to go through a process with the Board of Library Trustees and was not sure whether a position might turn out to be a part time or full time but that he was theoretically prepared to stand up and ask for funding at November Town Meeting for such a position. Mr. Halsey felt it is a lot to ask for a full-time staff person right now when their next agenda item is to talk about the RMLD payment to the town being cut significantly which is going to impact our budget. Ms. Alvarado expressed concern for the anticipated cost of a full-time position and asked about the source of funding since it would be a new item in the budget. Ms. Alvarado thanked Ms. Landry and Mr. Friedmann and everyone on the ad-hoc for their participation to get us this far. The Board agreed that Ms. Landry as the liaison to the Library Board of Trustees could and should reach out to the Library trustees to bring the proposal to them. RMLD Payment to the Town Discussion Mr. Dockser explained to the board he came up with four options for the CAB to consider. Mr. Halsey noted a lot of these options are based on consumption and maybe there is a way to base it off of the rates. Ms. Alvarado agreed an option based on rates with a revenue consideration would be good to look at too. Page 12 Mr. Friedmann asked if the CAB would be willing to have a meeting with the board before they vote. The board then authorized Mr. Dockser to include some options based on revenue/rates and then present these options to RMLD Commissioners at their upcoming meeting. Town Manager's Review The board had each individually reviewed the Town Manager and sent their responses to the Human Resources Director. She then compiled all the responses into one document that is seen here tonight. The board went through each category and explained anything they felt necessary while the Town Manager made comments when he felt necessary. Police Chief Hirino Process Ms. Alvarado noted they will start this agenda topic off with more public comment and then they will close public comment while the board discusses. Donna Beaulieu of Belmont Street noted she is disappointed it has taken so long to appoint a Police Chief but notes she Is optimistic the board will move forward with appointing David Clark without any further delay. Lt. Detective Rich Abate of Applegate Lane asked why this agenda item is just an update and discussion on the process. He noted the board approved the process and there was an assessment center that happened back in November. The department hasn't had a Chief in over a year, it is time to officially appoint someone. He explained that operating without an official Chief is putting a drain on the department and they are afraid this is going to create an employee morale issue when people keep asking them what is going on with the position and assuming their department is dysfunctional because of it. He asked that the Board take action on something that has been before the Board for an exorbitant amount of time. Detective Derek Holmes noted he is disheartened to hear the board is not voting tonight after a long process. He asked the board what other matters were more crucial than filing this position the past few months. Erica MacNamara, Reading Coalition for Prevention and Support Director, noted herself and a number of members of the Police Department are here tonight to support Deputy Chief Clark. It is time to get this done. Michelle Sanphy wanted to know why she heard about this at a meeting last night and is not sure what information the board has had. She would like to hear more about the process, as she is more familiar with the school department process. Justin Martel, Reading Police Officer, explained he read through the meeting packet which entailed the process for this appointment. It seems everything has been done and is in order and asked what the hold up is. Susan Craven noted she has never recalled such a long period of time for an appointment like this to be made. She supports the selection of Deputy Chief Clark without further delay. Pete Coumounduros noted he thinks it is a shame the board has taken so long to do this and urged not to wait any longer. Deputy Chief Clark is more than qualified for this position. John Arena of Francis Drive commented that this board owes the community an explanation on why this hasn't happened yet. He explained if the board is unhappy with the process they should speak to that and explain. He noted there is no reason to delay this vote into March or even for another second. Page 1 3 Town Manager Bob LeLacheur then took a few minutes to explain the process that was taken to determine a viable candidate for Police Chief. The position was advertised. A draft hiring process was designed by the Town Manager in August. Two members of the Select Board participated on the 7-member selection committee and witnessed the assessment center. The Town Manager offered up to 5 members of the community to participate, which the selection committee agreed to; the residents who were selected and present at the assessment center were promised anonymity. After the assessment center, Amy Lannon, representing the selection committee, and Matt Kraunelis, representing Human Resources, together with the Town Manager, interviewed the two finalists. Mr. Lelacheur was satisfied with the process used as thorough. Mr. Friedmann asked why the meeting packet was not posted online on Thursday like normal. It was noted the Chair, Ms. Alvarado, requested certain information first be communicated to the board before it was announced to the public. Mr. Friedmann then noted that this is the first opportunity the board has had to address the process and the board does think it is important. He noted his concerns about the process are the Town Manager only bringing one candidate forward and not giving them options. They also didn't get a chance to hold a public forum and ask what qualities the public wants in a Police Chief. Ms. Landry suggested reconvening at a time certain while Mr. Halsey is still on the board to vote, as Mr. Halsey and Ms. Alvarado, as the town members of the selection committee, are the best informed of any Board members. She explained the conversations she had had and the process she had engaged in to be as informed as possible for this evening's meeting and what information she felt still lacked. Mr. Dockser felt the structure and process were awkward even though the board voted on said process. He also noted he hasn't heard from two members of the selection committee about their thoughts. The Town Manager noted the Chair Ms. Alvarado instructed him in late January not to allow any of the members of the selection committee to talk to anyone. Mr. Halsey noted the Charter states the Town Manager brings forth one candidate for the board to ratify or not. The board does not get options; it is not the board's job, it is the Town Manager's job. The Chair, Ms. Alvarado, felt it would be best for her to be involved instead of the two Public Safety Liaisons but then did not discuss or inform the rest of the board of anything until a few days ago. She never set up any of listening sessions that she wanted and now we are here. The Town Manager made a decision around January 111' and since then, Mr. Halsey has tried to get this on the agenda but the Chair Intentionally slowed the process but taking it off the agenda every time for no good reason at all. Now we are here talking about this at 10 pm in the evening during the last meeting before the election to try and slow roll and keep Mr. Halsey out of this decision. This is so disrespectful to the Police Department and everyone in this room. The Chair intentionally worded this agenda item tonight so that they could not vote tonight; with that being said he must agree with Ms. Landry and welcome her suggestion to create another meeting date before the election and vote this immediately. The Chair also refused to allow anyone to speak to anyone on the selection committee also slowing down this process because the rest of the board would like to hear their thoughts but haven't been able to. Ms. Alvarado stated Mr. Halsey was grandstanding and lying. Mr. Friedmann then asked the Chair Ms. Alvarado how she felt about being thrown under the bus. Some members of the audience expressed disapproval calling out shame. Mr. Friedmann then stated that, as an elected official, he was feeling intimidated by the police officers in the crowd. He then responded to the public, stating they found this funny but that he has to live in this town and all the police officers drive around town carrying guns. Page 14 At this point, all the police officers in the room and most of the audience got up and left the meeting. Ms. Alvarado noted she was disappointed with how this process had unfolded. She explained we can try and find a date to hold a public forum and vote but she doesn't think it can be done in two weeks before the election. Ms. Landry explained that hearing our own Police Officers say they think the board does not care about them really hurts and she feels we need to show them we hear and respect them and vote this soon. Ms. Alvarado noted the board has not been involved in the process as much as the board indicated they would have liked to have been. She then asked if the board was okay approving a candidate not knowing who else is out there. She feels the board is being unfairly asked to vote on one person with serious concerns being raised about the process. She explained they can either vote the only candidate or request a new process and start over. Mr. Dockser noted he is uncomfortable voting here tonight without more information. Mr. Friedmann agreed with Mr. Dockser but also noted hearing the Police tonight say that morale is dropping in the department because they are down a position is upsetting. Mr. Friedmann asked what would happen if they voted to deny the appointment. Ms. Alvarado noted they are now being asked to rush the process and next week is school vacation so it is challenging time for her and others to schedule a meeting as many people are travelling. The board discussed ways to reach out to their networks and the public to inform them of the upcoming meetings. Mr. Friedmann wanted to take a minute and note he believes he probably offended every officer in the room with his previous comments but police can be intimidating by the nature of their jobs. He asked that the Deputy Chief that he spoke in the heat of the moment when he was feeling intimidated he spoke too harshly. The Deputy Chief indicated he should not worry as the Reading Police Department is one of the most professional police departments in the State and perhaps the country. Mr. Friedmann indicated concern we would have a bad relationship with the Police Department if we were to vote no. Mr. Dockser feels the board needs to feel comfortable with their decision too and there may be opportunities to provide coaching or comment prior to a vote. The board checked their calendars and decided on the following meetings to continue the Police Chief discussion: February 191h at 7:30 PM for the public listening session February 2Wh at 7:30 PM for the board to finish their discussion and vote. Mr. Dockser move to approve the meeting minutes of January 7'", 2020. The motion was seconded by Mr. Halsey and approved with a 5-0 vote. Mr. Dockser noted he feels some of the board's comments tonight got out of hand and he thinks they need to do better. Mr. Dockser moved to adjourn at 11:43 PM. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 5-0 vote. Page 1 5