HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-05-13 Select Board Minutes �a ornego
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Meeting Minutes
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Board - committee - commission - Council:
Select Board s-::A
Date: 2020-05-13 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: Location:
Address: Session:
Purpose: General Business Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Vanessa Alvarado, Karen Herrick, Carlo Bacci, Anne Landry
Members - Not Present:
Mark Dockser
Others Present:
Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios,
Community Development Director Julie Mercier, Board of Health Member
Kevin Sexton, Town Clerk Laura Gemme, Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Caitlin Saunders
Topics of Discussion:
This meeting was held remotely on Zoom.
Acting Chair Anne Landry called the meeting to order just after 7 pm.
Board of Health Member Kevin Sexton gave the board an update on the current COVID-19
situation in town. They are starting to work on figuring out how they can hold elections and
discussing summer camps.
Town Manager Bob LeLacheur noted the Town will be holding another mask distribution
event on May 20th from 9 am - 11 am again at the Field House. He assured the board they
will have plenty of masks for everyone 60+ and medically fragile.
The State has gotten back to the board regarding Haverhill Street. They did their traffic
study and they have recommended and will amend the speed limit to 35 mph if the board
agrees.
Carlo Bacci moved that the Select Board approve Special Speed Regulation #933
as presented tonight. The motion was seconded by Karen Herrick and the motion
passed with the following roll call vote:
Bacci - Yes ; Herrick - Yes ; Alvarado - Yes ; Landry - Yes.
The Board then discussed volunteers and the upcoming renewal process. Carlo Bacci and
Karen Herrick are the two members of the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee (VASC).
They are urging volunteers to turn in applications by June 11t, 2020 and plan to start
interviewing the week of June 81h. Please check out our website for volunteer opportunities.
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The Board then did their liaison reports if they had any. Karen Herrick noted she reached
out to the Climate Advisory committee and they are working on the methane gas leak audit
project.
The Board moved on to discussing virtual hearings going forward should the pandemic
continue. It was noted the Board of Registrars is looking for some guidance on how to
proceed with a hearing. The board felt one uniform policy would not work for all the boards.
They want to encourage boards to meet and allow public participation virtually. They felt
maybe a list'best practices' would be best to put together for guidance for the other boards.
Next up the Board discussed RMLD and the 20-year agreement they have with the Town.
The goal for tonight is to vote to extend the 20-year agreement another 10 years. Right
now, the current agreement ends in 2030, the extension would move that end date to 2040.
Carlo Bacci moved to extend the 20-Year Agreement with RMLD for another 10
year term through July 9th, 2040. The motion was seconded by Vanessa Alvarado
and approved with the following roll call vote:
Bacci - Yes ; Herrick - Yes ; Alvarado - Yes ; Landry - Yes.
The board did public comment next.
They read an email from Madeline Liberman, 50 Pratt St, noting a resource for families
struggling to entertain their kids during COVID-19. Visit Reading Kids Connect on Facebook
for more information.
The next email was from Lois Bell, 35 Washington St, urging the board to get back to what
they were elected to do instead of wasting time on trying to summarize minutes.
The next email was from Bob Holmes, Gleason Rd, who asked where the Chair was this
evening.
The following email was from Brook Chipman but they did not read it because there was no
address submitted with the comment.
The next email was from Eileen Litterio, 22 Deborah Dr, voicing her opinion against the idea
of summarizing minutes.
The last email was from Angela Binda, 10 Orchard Park Dr, noting residents should stop
attacking the Select Board for any changes they try to implement.
The Town Manager then talked about the Town Meeting Task Force. They are working on
how to hold a safe Town Meeting during COVID-19. They are working on a limited agenda to
get it done as quickly as possible. They are going to reach out to Town Meeting members to
gather their appetite on the situation.
The Town Manager then gave the board an update on the FY21 budget. He noted the MWRA
is providing some relief which will help when the board sets the rates soon.
The board then discussed public comment during the remote meetings and any strategies to
make it better. Members had reached out to surrounding communities with varied
responses from some Towns not allowing any public comment to some Towns still struggling
to figure out this common problem we're all facing. Some board members do not like the
idea of reading the residents emails out loud and will not do it. They discussed starting to
allow residents into the meeting just during the public comment portion to let them speak
what they want and then have them leave the meeting.
The board decided to hold the agenda topic on communications until Select Board Chair
Dockser could participate.
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The board then focused on minutes. Karen Herrick noted she planned to not vote because
she was not present for some of the meetings. Carlo Bacci noted although he was not at the
meeting, he did attend them all and felt comfortable voting on the minutes. Members put
forth all their edits to the minutes and all agreed on what was changed but for the 2/19
minutes, which were tables for a later meeting to allow for additional review of proposed
changes.
Ms. Herrick moved that the board approve the following minutes with the edits
presented by the board members as follows:
February 4th, 2020
February 11th, 2020
April 1°t, 2020
April 8th, 2020
The motion was seconded by Mr. Bacci and approved with the following roll call
vote:
Herrick - Yes; Bacci - Yes; Alvarado - Yes; Landry - Yes.
Last meeting there was discussion about doing minutes in more of a summary format from
now on because of how long it takes the board to approve more detailed minutes. The
board continued this discussed and suggested the next set of minutes from this meeting be
written in a 'summary version' and they can see if they like the format. There was some
concern about summarizing public comment.
The board discussed future agenda items.
Ms. Herrick moved to adjourn at 10:06 PM with a second from Ms. Alvarado and
approved with the following roll call vote:
Herrick - Yes; Bacci - Yes; Alvarado - Yes; Landry - Yes.
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