HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-06-30 Select Board Minutes OF 4,4
.I ° Town of Reading
:, Meeting Minutes
Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
Select Board
Date: 2020-06-30 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: Location:
Address: Session:
Purpose: General Business Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Mark Dockser, Anne Landry, Carlo Bacci, Karen Herrick, Vanessa Alvarado
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Town Manager Bob Lel-acheur, Fire Chief Burns, Superintendent Doherty,
CFO of Schools Gail Dowd, Eleanor Shankoff, Lisa Cavallo, Phillip Dobbyn,
Jane Harrison, Peter Simblaris, Julie Centrella, May Mu, Scott Harris, Ketul
Patel, Eilish Havey, Kevin O'Connor
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Caitlin Saunders
Topics of Discussion:
This meeting was meeting was held remotely on Zoom.
Mark Dockser called the meeting to order at 7pm and started off with a statement about the
circumstances of todays world and society. He asked everyone to work together and calm
things down a bit. There are a lot of voices out there and we need to talk to each other and
listen better to work together.
Eleanor Shonkoff gave an update from the Board of Health started off with some good news
that Massachusetts has the lowest spread rate right now. She noted the BOH now has an
advisor team stacked with three doctors and health professionals to help aid the board when
needed.
Fire Chief Greg Burns gave an update on elderly residents noting they are doing well
generally but the request for the van to start running again is common. The town has
received a lot of donations of gift cards for families in need.
Superintendent of Schools John Doherty and CFO of Schools Gail Dowd also gave an update.
They are working on graduation plans for the Class of 2020. The fields and turfs are open
again. They are working on plans for next school year for all possible options.
Public Comment
Phillip Dobbyn and Meghan Burke asked the board if they can change their address. They
are on the corner of West Street and King Street and they use the King Street door so they
would like their address to be King Street instead of West Street.
Jane Harrison, owner of the Animal Clinic on Main Street wanted to let the board know they
she and many other of Venetian Moon's neighbors did not know about the tent plans and
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were not involved in this decision at all. The tent negatively affects her business and others
that the tent is taking away the parking for. She believes the tent only benefits Venetian
Moon.
Peter Simblaris, owner of Simms Jewelers, noted he was disappointed there was no
notification at all that the parking lot would be closed. The parking is already bad downtown
and this makes it worse. He feels we can work better together and come up with a solution.
Julie Centrella, owner of Aine's Boutique, feels this tent is a great solution for a couple of
the businesses downtown who can now have outdoor dining. She noted it is not permanent
and we all should be helping everyone during these times. It should not be business vs.
business right now, were all in tough times.
May Mu, owner of Family Dental, noted she also had no idea about the tent plans until it
was up and the parking lot was closed.
Town Manager Bob Lel-acheur explained four possible options to help the situation.
Kevin O'Connor, owner of Reading Trophy and Shirt, was disappointed there was no
communication with the abutters.
Lisa Cavallo, owner of Venetian Moon, apologized if she offended anyone and noted she
would do anything to help work this out for everyone.
Jane Harrison noted the only option in her mind is to take down the tent.
Liquor Junction
Liquor Junction is before the board for an approval to an alteration of premises to their
liquor license.
Scott Harris, a longtime customer at Liquor Junction, wanted to express his thoughts about
how great this expansion would be for Liquor Junction and its customers. He noted they
have the best selection and prices in town and this would only add positivity to the store.
Ketul Patel, Business Manager for Liquor Junction, explained to the board their expansion
plans while noting the building owner has approved their plans and is happy their doing so.
They plan to add a wine educational center.
Mark Dockser noted that the board believes that liquor law enforcement by our licenses
establishments is very important and counts on license holders to be very vigilant in their
assuring compliance.
Carlo Bacci moved to approve the alteration of premises as presented by Liquor
Junction with respect to their liquor license. The motion was seconded by Karen
Herrick and approved with the following roll call vote:
Herrick - yes; Landry - yes, Alvarado - yes; Bacci - yes; Dockser - yes.
All board members thanked Liquor Junction for their support of the community and wished
them well with their new expansion.
Outdoor Dining Licenses
Bunratty Tavern was before the board seeking to expand their liquor license to include some
tables out front on the sidewalk. Eilish Havey, owner, is proposing eight 2-person tables out
front to add to her seating. The board had no issues if the EAT staff have no issues.
Carlo Bacci moved to approve the extension of Bunratty Tavern's liquor license to
their outdoor dining area, subject to the following conditions: (a) recommendation
of an outdoor dining plan by the Expedited Approval Team; (b) approval of such
plan by the Town Manager; and (c) subject to legislation or clarification that the
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two-week notice for a Public Hearing is waived for this purpose. The motion was
seconded by Karen Herrick and approved with the following roll call vote:
Herrick - yes; Landry - yes, Alvarado - yes; Bacci - yes; Dockser - yes.
Minutes
The board discussed 10 sets of minutes to approve.
Carlo Bacci moved to approve the meeting minutes of January 21, February 8,
March 17, April 22, April 29 as amended and May Sth. The motion was seconded by
Karen Herrick and approved with the following roll call vote:
Herrick - yes; Landry - yes, Alvarado - yes; Bacci - yes; Dockser - yes.
The board will approve the rest of them with their edits at their next meeting.
Class H License
The Class II License held at 4 Minot Street is being transferred as a new owner has taken
over. Business will be the same and the new owner is not asking for any changes to the
license. The Police gave a report and had no issues with this moving forward.
Carlo Bacci moved that board approve the Class II License for 4 Minot Street
d/b/a Lusso Imports. The motion was seconded by Karen Herrick and approved
with the following roll call vote:
Herrick - yes; Landry - yes, Alvarado - yes; Bacci - yes; Dockser - yes.
Open Meeting Law Complaints
The board has 3 open meeting law complaints against them.
The first one from Kendra Cooper regarding the meetings 2/11 and 5/13. The board is not
required to answer the substance of the complaint because it did not meet the timing filing
requirement but they do have to send a formal notice back. The board can have Town
Counsel send a response.
Anne Landry wanted to clarify one point of the complaint that all approved changes to the
minutes at issue were in the packet for the public to see.
Mark Dockser moved that the Select Board direct Town Counsel to draft and send a
response regarding the Kendra Cooper 6/18/20 OML complaint subject to
approval of the Chair and before the deadline. The motion was seconded by Karen
Herrick and approved with the following roll call vote:
Herrick - yes; Landry - yes, Alvarado - yes; Bacci - yes; Dockser - yes.
The second complaint was from Kevin Leete regarding emails sent by Mr. Bacci to the whole
board.
Mr. Bacci apologized for the emails noting he did not do it on purpose, it was an accident
and he will be better in the future. He also wanted to know how these emails got out.
The board noted this is a great topic for the retreat and all members thanked Carlo for his
apology.
Carlo Bacci moved that the Select Board direct Town Counsel to draft and send a
response regarding the Kevin Leete 6/23/20 OML complaint subject
to approval of the Chair and before the deadline. The motion was seconded by
Karen Herrick and approved with the following roll call vote:
Herrick - yes; Landry - yes, Alvarado - yes; Bacci - yes; Dockser - yes.
The third and last complaint was from Alicia Williams regarding text messages during a
Select Board meeting. Town Counsel noted it is open meeting taw violation if the text
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messages were about town business or it was between a quorum. It is not a violation just
because it was sent during a meeting and not a public record.
Mark Dockser asked Karen Herrick if the text messages in question were about town
business or with a quorum of the board. She noted they were not.
Mr. Dockser was satisfied with this answer. It was also noted this is another subject covered
in open meeting law trainings.
Carlo Bacci moved that the Select Board direct Town Counsel to draft and send a
response regarding the Alicia Williams 6/26/20 OML complaint subject to approval
of the Chair and before the deadline. The motion was seconded by Karen Herrick
and approved with the following roll call vote:
Herrick - yes; Landry - yes, Alvarado - yes; Bacci - yes; Dockser - yes.
Anne Landry noted perhaps the subject/topic of cell phones pertaining to open meeting law
would also be good for the retreat.
The board then picked a couple of potential dates for their retreat and added a meeting on
July 13'".
Vanessa Alvarado moved to adjourn at 11:12 PM with a second from Carlo Bacci
and approved with the following roll call vote:
Herrick - yes; Landry - yes, Alvarado - yes; Bacci - yes; Dockser - yes.
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