Loading...
The URL can be used to link to this page
Your browser does not support the video tag.
Home
My WebLink
About
2020-11-17 Select Board Packet
Office of the Town Manager 781-942-9043 16 Lowell Street townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us Reading, MA 01867 www.readingma.gov/town-manager To: Select Board From: Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Date: November 10, 2020 RE: November 17th agenda The meeting will begin with a meeting overview from the Chair, followed by a roll call vote to enter Executive Session to discuss strategy with respect to litigation on 59 Middlesex Avenue, returning to open session approximately at 7:30pm. That will be followed by the Covid-19 response, Select Board liaison reports and Public Comment. Please find behind this memo in your packet the written summaries of the recent Command meetings. One is new from this week. Then at 8:00pm the Board will begin a series of three short Public Hearings: first will be a liquor license transfer at Fuddruckers on Walkers Brook; second at 8:10pm will be a liquor license transfer for Baystate/HT Reading Liquors at 345 Main Street; and third will be a class II Motor Vehicle license request by JD Petroleum at 1337 Main Street. Please see additional information in your packets, including a police report for each saying they have no reason to not allow these requests to move forward. At this time, all; three will have applicants present. At approximately 8:30pm RCTV Executive Director Phil Rushworth will be in to see the Board. He will play a 4m30s video for you and the public that may be previewed here: https://youtu.be/JdmelYavi3g and he also has included a text version in your packet. Along with Phil will be Chris Cridler, Select Board appointee and new RCTV Board President, as well as Stephanie Johnson, Board Vice president. They are interested in feedback from Select Board members as they build their budget for next year. This will be followed by a discussion about Camp Rice Moody, and a request to approve a conservation restriction. Town Counsel will be present to help assist the Board. Should the Board vote to approve, we will make arrangements for you to visit Town Hall as well will require your signatures. Town Counsel will then be present as the Board has a brief discussion on the Auburn Street water tank/cell tower. Today Town Counsel sent you each a letter that is protected attorney/client communication, so I am not sure what the public discussion will be – as a result there is no other information in this packet. Since the last meeting, in addition to several discussions with counsel, staff has continued to work with the carriers and make sure they understand the current situation. We are still gathering information on our own equipment, which is mentioned in counsel’s letter. Town Counsel will then have a discussion with the Board about their services, and communication with Board members. Chair Docker and Vice Chair Landry have held discussions with Town Counsel and may lead the full Board discussion. In your packet is the full year budget summary shown to the Board last summer. Finally, the Historical Commission has requested to swap two full members with two associate members. The typical process is for all positions to be advertised publicly for two weeks+, and then the VASC to invite all applicants in and then bring recommendations to the full Board. Looking at the meeting calendar, it is possible this could be done at one of your December meetings. A few days ago, in a monthly update, Town Counsel mentioned the use of federal covid-19 funds to assist those in need in a community. This was the first time I had seen the topic presented this way, and indeed this angle has not been covered in remote meetings that we have attended. Staff is looking into examples in other communities, and may have more information to share on November 17th. From my perspective, if we can help those in need we must, and then let the chips fall where they may in terms of federal reimbursements later. This is an area that other communities tend to use community partnerships and not fund with taxpayer funds, so we will need good legal guidance as to our options. On a related noted, we are moving ahead with the annual Adopt-a-Family programs on November 24 th and December 22nd. More details will be publicized at we get closer to those dates – we have discussed at Command and therefore included needed public health precautions. The Board will then approve Minutes and discuss future agendas. Please note there are four meetings scheduled in December, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays December 8,9 and 15,16. The first meeting will have ‘regular business’, and the other three will be dominated by budget discussions. To remind the Board, we will post you to attend a public meeting at 7:00pm on Wednesday November 18th that will review in some details the Recreation Committee’s work on the Birch Meadow area. It is important that one or more Board members attend as is possible – there is a lot of information, that we will share in advance of a future visit to the Select Board after this public meeting. Also, we will post you to attend CPDC at 7:30pm on Monday November 23rd. As possible it is important for every member to attend, as previously mentioned this meeting will preview thoughts on Outdoor Commerce, Dining, Programming or Storage. The two reasons for your attendance are in preparation for what is likely to be a requested vote on December 8th at the Select Board meeting on options that CPDC will present for Outdoor dining next season, and also in advance of an Article going to spring 2021 Town Meeting. Reading COVID- 19 Command Meeting Draft NOTES November 2, 2020 Attendance: Mark Dockser – Chair, Select Board Kerry Dunnell – Board of Health Bob LeLacheur - Town Manager Jean Delios – Assistant Town Manager Greg Burns – Fire Chief Dave Clark – Police Chief Matt Kraunelis – Administrative Services Director Peter Mirandi- interim Health Director John Doherty – Superintendent of Schools Gail Dowd – Chief Finance Officer, School Department Paul Jackson – Deputy Fire Chief Jayne Wellman – Business Administrator Goal 8: Review community events for safety and provide planning assistance when appropriate. Presidential election • Security update • Support and preparations for election Update from Chief Clark – met with Mass Chiefs last week. No intelligence specifically pointed to Reading. NEMLEC on full standby, but we lose Reading officers to NEMLEC and National Guard. No days off on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Can’t manage road details that day - polls are the priority. The entire RPD Command staff took a two-hour refresher class on election law, which was helpful as we don’t regularly deal with those laws. Sent out info to the entire department. Don’t anticipate any problems. Concerns that most issues could be from AFTER the election. Turnout with early voting and mail in has been strong, not expecting a big turnout tomorrow. Would Reading PD need to send resources out of town? Mutual Aid to some of our neighbors, and then other neighbors help with covering routine calls in town. NEMLEC officers already on standby, as well as with National Guard… Unless NEMLEC is overwhelmed, then would send additional resources to help. Fire will have normal staffing and trucks. Laura wanted an EMS detail – so they plan to have a paramedic at the Fieldhouse with full equipment. Good to have eyes and ears there. They also have 2 on the Northeast Technical rescue team. We are in good shape for tomorrow. Unsure if Camp Curtis is activated at this time. Melrose/Malden branch is on standby. Chief Clark - will have a member of the command staff working with Laura, and will be with her on election. Full team effort with the town, whatever she needs we will make it happen. Deputy Chief Jackson – 3:30 this afternoon they will go into the FIELDHOUSE, with DPW and Facilities starting to set it all up tonight. Facilities is setting up two tents outside, a larger tent going up by the shack. Facilities has drops for this and inside the field house. Reduced wiring o n the ground. Laura, quite a few things coming in ahead of time. Provided her with 10 radios. Be able to bring in people more. Jayne to post parking and voting entrance info: ENTRANCE with tents and precincts 1-4 on one side, 5-8 on another side. Find your Precinct Map, entrance A or B (not left or right). People will be in line to help people find their precincts when they come into the voting area. EVENTS: Santa Holiday Tour Reading-North Reading Sunday 11/29 More to come as we get closer. Friday, Nov. 20: Gender and Sexuality Alliance at RMHS, (GSA) Vigil set up for transgendered people who have been murdered over the last year. Civic function permit has been emailed to organizers. They are working on planning the event. Goal 1: Protect the health of residents. a. Progress on preparations of possible vaccine distribution. Deputy Jackson, Chief Burns, Peter Mirandi, and Kerry met at the police station. Laura Vlasuk has been working on this awhile too. Region 3B. Kerry notes that a tremendous amount of work has been done across the state since 2003 – lots of planning, common planning goals, planners paid for by the state that work with the communities for strategic national stockpile distribution and typical distribution events. A lot of work happening over the last 15 years. And Kerry talked to the planner assigned to Reading, who has worked with Laura. Kerry was concerned about the site, but RMHS is the primary site, there are flow charts, lists of equipment, ways to calculate the amount of staff you need, this is not something that we have to build from scratch. We will be in good shape. What I know right now, public distribution would only occur for tiers 3 and 4 of a regional distribution plan, that gives us a little bit more time. It will come out in bits and pieces, and prioritized, we have great resources and staff to work with, and we have time to keep working on this. (tier one is first responders and health care workers – then long-term care, people who support tier one, tier three is general public and younger people, and tier 4 is everyone left). Peter adds that Laura Vlasuk is working on finalizing this, and will send to COMMAND shortly. Mark asks about Flu vaccinations, we are doing flu clinics, not sure of how many are vaccinated in the community. All students need to be vaccinated for the Flu per the state. Kerry – the Town does not vaccinate people under 18. Contact your physician. Also available at local pharmacies. School Committee on the third reading of a related policy, hasn’t been adopted yet. Open Town Hall for indoor appointments Bob will talk to the BOH on Thursday about what to do going forward. He has had discussions with Kerry since August. They agreed to wait until after the November election, which would coincide with colder weather – and unfortunately a likely uptick in Covid-19. Bob shared his information on CDC guidance for space utilization. Include Select Board’s meeting room, with a maximum capacity of 8 – cannot realistically have public in the space while the board is meeting, and all meeting members would need to be masked. Discussion, limited office time in Recreation, and most is done electronically. It has been 6 -7 months now, and only had three comments from residents about opening the building, we are taking care of business in many different ways. However, the weather is going to cause some of those options to go away. Jean’s staff if frequently out in the courtyard with maps on tables, Finance staff has used that space, received things handed through the door, used the parking lot for meetings. Given the covid-19 facts on the ground, the Town Manager is not completely comfortable to open the building to the public soon, but believes it is necessary. He will work with staff to talk about specific areas of priority – such as individuals who need abatements. He will get a sense from Dept Heads on Thursday. He will also outline a cautious approach to the BOH, including a publicity campaign to reminder folks of other options; a screening and approval process for requests to come in the building (copying the Library); an appointment process to ensure safe numbers and not rush those that must visit; and screening forms for entering the building to check for health before and then contact trace after as needed. He believes that people have just had it in many ways and are not being as careful. He is concerned that so many functions at Town Hall rely on one or two staff members, and needs to protect the services they provide to the community and organization. Often Town Hall visitors are elderly, and they especially need to be protected this winter. Jean Delios notes that when she went to the flu clinics, the attendees were using it as a social opportunity. The loneliness has set it, any opportunity to bring people together is an opportunity for social interaction, bringing more risk to everyone including employees. People right now are feeling safe, but when members of the public come in that can put people at risk. Its an imperfect process… Appointment process: how to decide who gets an appointment and who doesn’t. Screening for contact tracing purposes. Do we want to ask medical questions? Someone acts as a door monitor, not sure how to deny entry to someone with symptoms, etc.? It should be comprehensive. Active rather passive services model – like meals on wheels – and may be an opportunity to reach out to seniors. Maybe a matching service for RMHS NHS students to do Zoom calls with seniors. Mark asks – is there any reason we cannot mandate a mask for people in Town Hall. We can mandate that – assuming an appointment system. The SB would feel the same way, but we need to explain to the community how to do business, here is how to do, and if you can’t figure it out, call this number and we will guide you. Otherwise, no real requests from the public. Once process is set up, we will begin Public Info campaign. Kerry wants to be careful not to call things normal, or a new normal, because it sets the wrong expectations for people. Best to use a term like “different” to help set the expectations for how to do things in a new environment. Another notice in the water bill would that be helpful? CoA meeting on the 17th. Bob welcomes emails and opinions re: reopening Town Hall? Kerry – asking people if they have traveled should be part of the screening. The library has a good one and the schools do too. It should also ask if they are currently quarantined. THANKSGIVING: Mark – there is a recommendation that if you want to get together with people you begin a real quarantine beginning the 15th. That means not going out, not going to the grocery store, etc. Mass DPH has issued some guidance on Thanksgiving. https://www.mass.gov/news/thanksgiving-during-covid-19 CONTACT TRACING: Staff are currently staying ahead of it right now and have capacity for more volume. Not having to call in CTC yet – an outside agency for additional help with contact tracing. Kerry says they are there when they need them. They have made some changes in their procedures and become timelier. In the dashboard there is some percent of tracing completed within 48 hours. As cases go up, that metric will vary. Goal 3: Provide aid and assistance to residents in need. FOOD DISTRIBUTION DISCUSSION Discussion on how the School Department can safely distribute food to families who are quarantined. Gail explains that the schools provide free meals to all age 0-21. We cannot provide food for the adults in the house. We have had a couple of families where the grandparents are the caretakers, and they are sick, and the kids too young to leave to collect food. So, they are having some drop-offs. She is concerned that as the numbers go up and people are quarantined, we will do what we can. We are not sure what we can do for how to safely distribute food during quarantine? Similar concerns about apartment buildings. Also concerned about the safety of the staff. Gail and John are helping. If we have a food safety director gets sick, we don’t have a lot of depth for continuity of services. The USDA boxes are 40 lbs - heavy and tricky to move. We are seeing an uptick in requests for help, I am concerned. We may need to figure out how to get food pantry aligned with the school services people. Nurses started delivering food last week. METCO delivery is also a challenge. One person is bringing food back for ten families, which is of great help. Chief Burns recommending this to ICS Planning to come up with resources for those that don’t qualify for the school program, use volunteers to work with the drop offs. He thinks we can provide a lot of assistance and take some of this off his plate. This cannot continue. With the weather turning, with more and more getting isolated, with families getting laid off, it is getting too big to manage. They are distributing right now twice a week – Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning. Need more help with food distribution. Staff are older, so asked facilities to help with that too. Distribution has to be from a school. Other towns are doing much the same - some are bringing the food outside, into tents, have to have a good place to store it. Breaking it out into multiple days. People with food allergies is also challenging. Thinking about a placard system. It is an open site, anyone from any community from children can go to either place. As for the METCO families, they have sites in Boston, but prefer our food. Not sure how many sites in Boston, and they are providing these families with that information. Not many people have vehicles big enough to take the volume of food. Chief Clark offered to ensure that they had a car at distributions if tempers begin to deteriorate. Clark sees that they are seeing people getting into some altercations re: masks. Bob offered any logistics or other help the Town could provide. Jean Delios will look at other community wide food distribution efforts. Planning will work on a plan, it will go to Command, and then it will go to Operations – and that will be when messaging will be developed. Tentative meeting for Command is for next Monday in case we need to review the plan. 2:30 is food distribution on WED. for distribution. Goal 4: Provide essential services to the public. School update of the phase in plan. Grade three (other than Birch Meadow) started today, and grades 9 & 10. Typical hybrid model. Everyone has been in for a few weeks now. The week in and week out model was working with disinfection day on Friday. Everyone in last week at Birch Meadow will be out this week. Started finding out on Friday that may have a positive student. Over weekend it increased to 6 students. All out of the Soccer Team, related to a parent. And now have 11 staff members at Birch Meadow quarantined, as an office staff member who is positive, was in close contact with covering classes and office staff. At HS 6 positive, and 80 that are quarantined, all interrelated to this latest round of positives. This all broke over the weekend. Found out a little bit Friday, then blew up yesterday. Best part, impacted teachers, paras, entire front office, custodians, IT, and waiting on food services. John not sure he will have enough staffing for two weeks. Shut down all athletics and extra curriculars. Some people are having difficulty getting testing. The Stop the Spread sites, can just show up, we think. Discussion of Covid-19 Testing sites – check Mass.gov, and more information. School update on the BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 test that is being rolled out for pilot schools. DESE got ~2 million doses of the rapid test. Does Reading want to be part of the pilot testing. They are still undergoing research through Lawrence general to test the efficacy of the test. We could sign up to the part of it DESE would decide which towns, how many tests, for staff and students that are symptomatic only – not for asymptomatic. Would have to give up isolation rooms at each location, and would need the highest level of ppe for nurses. Would require negotiations, how to dispose of tests once taken, and these are not the gold standard of tests. PCR tests are better. Where does town liability end if we the test is negative and they go back into the classroom, and it was a false negative. We opted to wait until round 2, because in part inviting symptomatic people back into the school system to get tested, or parents sending in symptomatic students just to get tested rather than keep them at home. Surprised that some school committees are thinking of closing after Thanksgiving, and some that do can expect DESE audits. Wakefield is in the third week of ‘Red’- so back to step 1 of Phase 3. Kerry – Thanksgiving to February, college students will be coming back, so that will be a complicating factor. Other items General agreement that Patriots performance is not helping mental health in the region. (chuckle) Chief Clark noted that Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times for the Police Department – with substance use, domestic calls, etc. Not sure yet how pandemic will affect this general trend, but looks like substance related calls already on the rise. Mental health calls began to rise last spring. Reading COVID- 19 Draft Meeting Notes November 9, 2020 Attendance: Selectmen: Mark Dockser Health: Kerry Dunnell Staff: Bob LeLacheur, Town Manager Jean Delios, Assistant Town Manager Greg Burns, Fire Chief David Clark, Police Chief John Doherty, School Superintendent Matt Kraunelis, Administrative Services Director Gail Dowd, School Dept Chief Financial Officer Peter Mirandi, Interim Health Director Jayne Wellman, Business Administrator Kevin Bohmiller, Community Services Director Goal 1: Protect the health of residents. • Discussion on new Governor’s face covering Order and enforcement. Discussion – that there is not a lot of compliance at this point. Enforcement equally problematic. Kerry asked if we can put signs in parks. Bob thinks that should be possible. Chief Clark – Mass Chiefs has put out that the goal is to educate. Police are going to have a hard time with enforcement. It puts officers in a bad situation. Mark D.- Can we as a group make a much stronger statement about expectations. IF you are not in your house or your car, you need to be wearing a mask. Dave, this is about notice more than anything. Jayne mentioned language for a presser under work… Kerry concerned that we don’t want to over praise, because we know that there are folks who are complying and others who aren’t. Things have changed with new Governor orders, need to wear a mask. Expectation is now higher- presser to reflect this. Not as an issue of enforcement, but rather information. How are we doing? 11 new cases from last week. 10 also on the state website. Peter Mirandi: Baseball themed party, sent an inspector who drove by two times, and later in the day compliance slipped. Anecdotal, we don’t know the percentage of people in compliance. WE want a message that is more firm, continuing messaging on website, etc., but most get news from tv news. Reinforce through the website, and not sure how many people are visiting our website. More signage. And how many people do you see that are non- compliant, what trends, what times of day, etc.? We need more data about risky behaviors in the community. Example of encouraging children to improve parent behavior- the seatbelt example. Highest spread is in 0-19 and 20-29, then 30-39 and 40-49. Moving ahead to messaging directing to diverse groups. Kevin B mentioned that might be useful to have people who have survived COVID discuss it. Peter asked -What’s happening on WED? Is there a message about COVID for the Veterans Day ceremony? All will be wearing masks. Jayne shared a meme design for a new communications campaign to align with a BOH letter. Future Candlelit ceremony – will be held, how to manage. Should we have a booth there to remind folks to mask up. Chief Burns noted that they have the acknowledgement that they need to mask up. Political events are exempt from enforcement. We agree that there needs to be a message. Scoped out ways to do that intervention. Kerry – we need to all share the education. Chief Clark noted that we are all about education, and not trampling on people’s rights. Capturing the data – who is out of compliance? Police can pass that information to the Health Department. Police will log any interactions – if we go to a house with a big party, that info will be logged. Health doesn’t typically respond to rumors. But there were gatherings, but police didn’t respond to anything specifically. • Discussion of the latest standards from the State for sports and recreational activities and the metrics change that was announced on Friday November 6th. o Impacts on the Schools and the impact on parks and Recreation. Most sports are red. Track is yellow. Most gymnasiums are being used as cafeterias. It’s an issue from a rental perspective as well. Looking at what peers are doing. John D noted that the state is using 3’ as the guidance, not 6’ separation. By Thanksgiving everyone will be hybrid. I can’t see how we would have every single student in person every day. Schools will be staying with the hybrid model for the foreseeable future, but they do not want to go below 6’. There is group of parents advocating to go down to the three feet, and want to reopen full time to all folks. Bob – schools and town should be doing the same things, vis a vis sports and recreational programs. John agrees… it’s bad enough we get compared to other communities, want to have congruency between town and schools. School staff don’t feel comfortable coming in with less than 6’ separation, too many students. Without staff, there won’t be school, period. Goal 3: Provide aid and assistance to residents in need. • Progress on assisting the School Department with the distribution of food to families in need. Gail – we have hired Paul Jackson permanently. He didn’t get sworn at, or yelled at, everyone loved him. It helped with distribution, we implemented a lot of the changes on Friday. The placard system actually works. On Friday, got the count, put the bag in the car, took the signs off. Laminated signs, and facilities will put out more signs, and that will help too. So right now, they (the state) have lost the produce boxes for the next 6 weeks. Hope that MA wins the bid next time. Should we get the 40lb produce boxes again, we need to revisit the storage issue. Also need to figure out how to get home deliveries sorted out. Time well spent with the group, made some significant changes. General discussion about vaccine storage and distribution. What are the alternatives, how much to store, where to store, how to distribute? They are in the middle of this discussion. Peter noted that this is an area where they cannot trim corners. Not sure we should procure extra refrigeration, at this time. This is something that local health has been working on forever. Kerry has already reviewed the preliminary dispensing site plan for MA, the plan from regional planners for Reading, and also supplemental info from the CDC. 351 communities, millions of dollars, plans for receiving and distributing, down to Do I have a loading dock that I know can receive the shipment. The level of detail is granular on this topic. John – one more question on the refrigeration units? How big? A lot of health departments have units that are room sized, and hard wired to the generators, etc. with temperature monitors, etc. Do we need to look at a space for you just in case? It wouldn’t make sense to buy a fridge just for this purpose, but what is the refrigeration capacity in the district? Needs a location that has a generator as well. We are not the only town grappling with this. Bob doesn’t want refrigeration units in town hall – no generator and capacity. He walked the space in the PD. Power failures in Town Hall are capricious. Need something more secure and reliable. PD won’t be the solution for a big vaccine storage event. State may retain control over distribution. There is a diesel-powered generator at the Pleasant St center. There could be a refrigeration unit there, would need to provide good security. Chief Burns talked with Joe Huggins about it on Friday. Goal 4: Provide essential services to the public. • School update of the phase in plan. John Doherty – this week is the second cohort of grade 3. Next Monday is first cohort of grades 4 and 5. Following is the last cohort of 4 and 5. Everyone else other than high school will be week on and week off and 6 days remote. High school is six days out of ten. They are looking for volunteers to cover the classrooms and going through a process of signing up and training. Possibly 300 volunteers between thanksgiving and Christmas. Volunteers go through CORIs and SORIs, and then the volunteers have to go to Tewksbury to get fingerprinted. Right now, they are not using any volunteers, usually at the elementary level. So right now, none, but at RMHS that volunteer number may ramp up. Jayne to ask MIIA about volunteer coverage under school liability coverage. Goal 6: Communicate effectively with the public. • Comprehensive update to the Select Board on the Town’s response to COVID-19. Discussion – thought was that given the new orders, this was a time to update the community about what Command is working on and what is the most important information to communicate. Different boards may have different constituencies to chime in. Mark D. doesn’t think it needs to be in-depth, but more, the team continues to meet, more issues come up as the situation changes, update on the latest guidelines, and things may change again. Chance to reach several hundred people at a time, and it is replayed too. Chief Burns noted that since March COVID-19 changes by the week. Even right down to the meaning of exposure. Kerry and Bob always update weekly at the Select Board meetings about what is happening. But this is an opportunity to highlight changes, particularly in light of recent changes. Meeting notes are going out weekly as well. Peter M. notes that the cohesiveness of the team and cross- functional problem solving grows weekly. Bob noted that while much has changed, the ICS structure we always used for practice drills has remained firm and helpful. He asked for more info on the ICS structure to be added to the packet as well as a refresher. Goal 8: Review community events for safety and provide planning assistance when appropriate. • Town Meeting Monday, November 9th. o 2-4 people planning to be at the PAC, there will be one Police officer to be at the meeting. Roll Call votes would add significant difficulty on this with the technology. Put up MaskUp! Reading per Alan’s approval. • Discussion on the distribution of Thanksgiving meals on November 24th and Holiday meals on December 22nd at the DPW garage. The December 22nd event also includes gifts. o Kevin B explained that this is the Rotary Adopt a Family program. As the community always has been, we have 164 people stepping up to donate. The DPW will use the garage on the Tues before Thanksgiving, Donors will show up, be masked, open up their trunks, donations removed (contactless), inspect no dairy products, shrimp platters, etc. Turkey, gift card, non-perishables, etc. Enough to make a good meal on Thanksgiving. Volunteers will put the donations in for families driving through to receive the meals. o In December, includes a gift. For children under 18 they can give a gift up to $100 – some families do more. They have done it for a bunch of years, and they are meeting on Thursday to go over everything. o Asking to see if they can give out gift cards in meal disbursements – have about $9K in gift cards already. Note that the pantry has been busy as well. o Toys for Tots is an FD effort, headed up by Bob Beck. Chief Burns will circle back with him. o With the Pleasant Street Center, they have some individuals that are frail and need special attention, they will check in and help with that. o Mark D asked if any chorale groups at RMHS will be producing any holiday music. o Kevin B “Its going to be a long winter”, seniors are most concerned about social isolation and loneliness. • Congregational Church request to use the Town Hall parking lot for two events (Town Counsel is reviewing also): o Sunday November 22nd from 11:30-2:00 pm Thanksgiving food pantry collection. ▪ Planning with the church to safely plan this. They will be asked to complete the civic function permit. Hard to know what the volume. Limited hours on a Sunday. not sure of the Patriot’s schedule. o Sunday December 6th from 11:30-2:00 pm. Advent collection. Goal 2: Protect the health of employees. • Progress on the policy on employee quarantine Bob would like to have a policy that would apply as apropos to job duties. The public hasn’t noticed when we have been impacted by COVID positive rates. This is important as our employees have a right to medical privacy. Concern about COVID impacts on snow and ice operations. Will need to work with Jane K. The usual backups are not always sufficient during a pandemic. Also note that you cannot test out of quarantine – per CDC guidelines. John is happy to share info with Sean. Bob - good discussion with the BOH. Dr. Lopez has sent a bunch of thoughts to the Town Manager. Thinking of a limited opening of Town Hall by appointment only. Many towns are open with certain precautions, some are still completely closed. Today is the first day that could be habitable by the public on a limited basis without election and security personnel using the space. The only thing that must be done in person in the building is Marriage Intentions. Laura is managing that so far, but that’s the only one in person requirement. Victor feels that abatement applications have to be able to be able to come in and do that in January 2021. Jean notes that need to create passageways that don’t create cross connections and have people move carefully through the building. Parse appointments as well. Jean will look at the logistics. Some discussion about Shop The Block. Some discussion that the group needs to fill out a civic function permit, as it was done about the sidewalk sale. After the tent incident, we wanted to make sure the businesses weren’t surprised. Haven’t gotten any complaints so far. The Thursday night folks should do the same. John Doherty – staff member tested positive at the Eaton. The students are remote this week. Everyone that was in close contact was contacted this morning, and they are quarantined until the 18th. Town of Reading COVID-19 Command Goals August 17, 2020 Goal 1: Protect the health of residents. Goal 2: Protect the health of employees. Goal 3: Provide aid and assistance to residents in need. Goal 4: Provide essential services to the public. Goal 5: Meet Public Health requirements. Goal 6: Communicate effectively with the public. Goal 7: Assist residents and businesses recover. Goal 8: Review community events for safety and provide planning assistance when appropriate. Goal 9: Use volunteers to assist when appropriate. Goal 10: Track costs and apply for all eligible financial assistance. Goal 11: Use the Incident Command System to manage the incident. Town of Reading COVID-19 Response Command Bob LeLacheur Chief Burns Kerry Dunnell Dr. Doherty Chief Clark Finance/ Administration Sharon Angstrom Endri Kume Allison Jenkins Logistics Joe Huggins Kevin Gerstner Allison Jenkins Andy Strutt Patrick McLaughlin Planning Asst. Chief Jackson Paula Curren Peter Mirandi Jean Delios Jane Kinsella Gail Dowd Coleen O’Brien Joe Huggins Lt. Amendola Lt. Det. Abate Kevin Bohmiller Kevin Furilla Julian Carr Operations Asst. Chief Jackson Captain Nelson Kevin Cabuzzi Gail Dowd Laura Vlasuk Lieutenant Brown Joe Lapolla Liaison Officer Matt KraunelisPublic Information Jayne Wellman Safety Captain Nelson Page 1 of 2 Reading COVID-19 Response November 1, 2020 Emergency management and incident response in the Town of Reading is coordinated using the Incident Command System (ICS). ICS enables effective incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures and communications operating within a common organizational structure. ICS is used to organize both near-term and long-term operations for a broad spectrum of emergencies, from small to complex incidents, both natural and manmade. ICS is used by all levels of government, federal, state, regional and local as well as by many private-sector and NGOs. Due to the impact of COVID-19 throughout the community a Unified Command structure is required. Under a Unified Command two or more individuals share the authority normally held by a single incident commander. Unified Command may be used during larger incidents, or incidents involving multiple agencies or jurisdictions. A Unified Command typically includes a command representative from major involved agencies and/or jurisdictions. A Unified Command acts as a single entity. It is important to note that in Unified Command the command representatives will appoint a single Operations Section Chief. Unified Command: Unified Command will develop the overall incident goals objectives and strategy. It will approve the Incident Action Plan (IAP) developed by Planning, approve resource orders and demobilization. Command is also responsible to approve all information disseminated to the public. Bob LeLacheur (Town) Greg Burns (Fire/EMS) Kerry Dunnell (Board of Health) David Clark (Police) John Doherty (Schools) Liaison Officer: The Liaison Officer will coordinate with the public and will act as the primary point of contact for the public. Matt Kraunelis Pubic Information: The Public Information Officer will provide information to the public regarding the incident’s size and current situation and the resources committed to stabilize and mitigate the incident. All information provided to the public must be approved by Command. Jayne Wellman Planning Section: The Planning Section manages the planning process on how the goals provided by command will be executed. It produces the Incident Action Plan (IAP) that describes in Page 2 of 2 detail what is to be accomplished by Operations. The Planning Section also provides status reports. Paul Jackson (Fire, Section Chief) Jean Delios (Town) Gail Dowd Paula Curren (Board of Health) Peter Mirandi Coleen O’Brien (RMLD) Joe Huggins (Facilities) Christine Amendola (Police) Rich Abate (Police) Kevin Bohmiller (Community Services) Kevin Furilla (Town Technology) Julian Carr (Schools Technology) Operations Section: The Operations Section carries out the Incident Action Plan developed by Planning and identifies assigns and supervises the resources needed to accomplish the incident objectives. The Operations Section also assists with developing strategy Paul Jackson (Fire, Section Chief) Rick Nelson (Fire, Section Chief) Kevin Cabuzzi (Facilities) Gail Dowd Laura Vlasuk (Health) Joe Lapolla (Fire/EMS) Kevin Brown (Police) Logistics Section: The Logistics Section orders resources and develops the transportation, communications and medical plans. For this incident this section will be focused upon obtaining resources to respond to the incident. Kevin Gerstner (Facilities) Allison Jenkins (Procurement) Andy Strutt (School Technology) Patrick McLaughlin (Town Technology) Finance Section: The Finance Section develops cost analyses, ensures the Incident Action Plan is within the financial limits established by Command, develops contracts and pays for the resources. Sharon Angstrom (Town, Section Chief) Endri Kume (Town) Allison Jenkins (Town) 65230302 October 1st, 2020 Jd Petroleum, LLC. 1010 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02110 Jd Petroleum, LLC. 2020October13th Massachusetts SECOND HAND MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER BOND Bond No. Form F6333-7-2003 (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. 140, § 58(c)) Paul T. Bruflat, Senior Vice President KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS: as Principal, and WESTERN SURETY COMPANY, a corporation authorized to do surety business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as Surety, are held and firmly bound unto persons who purchase a vehicle from the Principal and who suffer loss on account of a breach of the condition of this bond described below, in the sum of not to exceed TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND AND NO/100 DOLLARS ($25,000.00), for the payment of which well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves and our legal representatives, firmly by these presents. Principal WESTERN SURETY COMPANY, Surety By: Effective Date: That we, WHEREAS, the Principal is a second hand motor vehicle dealer and is required to furnish a bond or equivalent proof of financial responsibility pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. 140, § 58(c)(1). NOW, THEREFORE, the condition of this obligation is such that if the Principal shall pay the amount of actual damages, not to exceed the amount of this bond, to any person who purchases a vehicle from the Principal and who suffers loss on account of: (a) the Principal's default or nonpayment of valid bank drafts, including checks drawn by the Principal for the purchase of motor vehicles; (b) the Principal's failure to deliver, in conjunction with the sale of a motor vehicle, a valid motor vehicle title certificate free and clear of any prior owner's interests and all liens, except a lien created by or expressly assumed in writing by the buyer of the vehicle; (c) the fact that the motor vehicle purchased from the Principal was a stolen vehicle; (d) the Principal's failure to disclose the vehicle's actual mileage at the time of sale; (e) the Principal's unfair and deceptive acts or practices, misrepresentations, failure to disclose material facts or failure to honor a warranty claim or arbitration order in a retail transaction; or (f) the Principal's failure to pay off a lien on a vehicle traded in as part of a transaction to purchase a vehicle when the Principal had assumed the obligation to pay off the lien, then this obligation to be void; otherwise to remain in full force and effect. PROVIDED, that recovery against this bond may be made only by a person who obtains a final judgment in a court of competent jurisdiction against the Principal for an act or omission on which this bond is conditioned, if the act or omission occurred during the term of this bond. No suit may be maintained to enforce any liability on this bond unless brought within one (1) year after the event giving rise to the cause of action. This bond shall cover only those acts and omissions described above. The Surety shall not be liable for total claims in excess of the bond amount, regardless of the number of claims made against this bond or the number of years this bond remains in force. This bond shall be continuous and may be cancelled by the Surety by giving thirty (30) days' written notice of cancellation to the municipal licensing authority at , Dated this day of ,. By: by First Class U.S. Mail.Address , Second Hand Motor Vehicle Dealer 65230302 Jd Petroleum, LLC. 25,000.00 13th October 2020 13th October 2020 In Witness Whereof, the said WESTERN SURETY COMPANY has caused these presents to be executed by its who, being by me duly sworn, acknowledged that they signed the above Power of Attorney as and Assistant Secretary, respectively, of the said WESTERN SURETY COMPANY, and acknowledged said instrument to be the voluntary act and deed of said Corporation. L. Nelson, Assistant Secretary Paul T. Bruflat, Vice President Western Surety Company further certifies that the following is a true and exact copy of Section 7 of the by-laws of Western Surety Company duly adopted and now in force, to-wit: Section 7. All bonds, policies, undertakings, Powers of Attorney, or other obligations of the corporation shall be executed in the corporate name of the Company by the President, Secretary, any Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, or any Vice President, or by such other officers as the Board of Directors may authorize. The President, any Vice President, Secretary, any Assistant Secretary, or the Treasurer may appoint Attorneys-in-Fact or agents who shall have authority to issue bonds, policies, or undertakings in the name of the Company. The corporate seal is not necessary for the validity of any bonds, policies, undertakings, Powers of Attorney or other obligations of the corporation. The signature of any such officer and the corporate seal may be printed by facsimile. L. Nelson . ,day ofwith the corporate seal affixed this ATTEST W E S T E R N S U R E T Y C O M P A N Y By Form F1975-1-2016 STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA COUNTY OF MINNEHAHA On this day of ,, before me, a Notary Public, personally appeared and Notary Public Paul T. Bruflat Vice President Vice President ss My Commission Expires June 23, 2021 One bond with bond number for as Principal in the penalty amount not to exceed: $. That WESTERN SURETY COMPANY, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of South Dakota, and authorized and licensed to do business in the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the United States of America, does hereby make, constitute and appoint KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: POWER OF ATTORNEY of , its regularly elected as Attorney-in-Fact, with full power and authority hereby conferred upon him to sign, execute, acknowledge and deliver for and on its behalf as Surety and as its act and deed, the following bond: , State of , Paul T. Bruflat Vice PresidentSouth Dakota Sioux Falls To validate bond authenticity, go to www.cnasurety.com > Owner/Obligee Services > Validate Bond Coverage. 10/13/2020 Jd Petroleum, LLC. 530 Winthrop Street Medford, MA 02155 $625.00 $625.00 65230302 Western Surety Company 10/01/2020 10/01/2023 $25,000.00 Second Hand Motor Vehicle Dealer Mc Walter-Volunteer Insurance Agency 30 Monument Square, Ste. 135 Concord, MA 01742 (978)369-4313 Jd Petroleum, LLC. 65230302 0601 20-18526 Mc Walter-Volunteer Insurance Agency 10/01/2020 $625.00 0003001 02018526000010012020 00601006523030200 00000006250006 Bond Detail Notice of Premium Due Premium Bond # Company Effective Date Anniversary Date Bond Amount Description Billing Questions (888) 866-2666 Email info@cnasurety.com Messages Agent Information Payment Instructions Pay Online at ONLINEPAY.CNASURETY.COM If paying by mail, please send payment 2 weeks prior to due date to ensure receipt Make check payable to CNA Surety Detach payment stub and return with payment Note-Renewal documents will only be sent upon receipt of full payment Payment Due Amount Due CNA Surety Direct Bill PO Box 957312 St Louis, MO 63195-7312 Bond # Company Agency • • Amount Due ** Please Obtain Proper Indemnity and Return **65230302 X Jd Petroleum, LLC. 1337 Main Street, Reading, MA 01867 Second Hand Motor Vehicle Dealer $25,000.00 October 1st, 2020 Massachusetts Mc Walter-Volunteer Insurance Agency 30 Monument Square, Ste. 135 Concord Massachusetts 01742 2 0 1 8 5 2 6 Tell us what you know and think of the applicant. AGENT: Check here if this correspondence was previously faxed or emailed to CNA Surety. Form 10-1-2016 WSCo. 2016 TOTAL Liabilities and Net Worth Stocks + Bonds — Describe ASSETS Check applicable section on the reverse side to see whether a financial statement is necessary. Check one: Business Financial Statement Personal Financial Statement Note: Personal indemnitors should print and sign their names before the word "indemnitor" in their own handwriting, e.g. Mortgage on Real Estate Mortgage on Real Estate Real Estate, Homestead Real Estate, Investment The undersigned applicant and indemnitors hereby request Western Surety Company, Universal Surety of America, Surety Bonding Company of America and any affiliated company, their successors or assigns (with such company/companies referred to herein as the "Company") to become their surety. The undersigned applicant and indemnitors hereby represent and warrant: (a) they have a substantial, material, and/or beneficial interest in obtaining bonds; (b) all information provided to the Company is true, accurate and complete; and (c) they hold the title shown with their signature and that they are authorized by the business entity to execute this document. The undersigned applicant and indemnitors authorize the Company to verify this information at the time of application and as needed, on an ongoing basis and to obtain additional information from any source, including obtaining credit reports at the time of application, in any review or renewal, at the time of any potential or actual claim, or for any other legitimate purposes as determined by the Company in its reasonable discretion, and jointly and severally agree: To completely INDEMNIFY the Company from and against any liability, loss, cost, attorneys' fees and expenses whatsoever which the Company shall at any time sustain as surety or by reason of having been surety on this bond or any other bond issued for any applicant and or indemnitor, or for the enforcement of this agreement, or in obtaining a release or evidence of termination under such bonds, regardless of whether such liability, loss, costs, damages, attorneys' fees and expenses are caused, or alleged to be caused, by the negligence of the Company. To furnish the Company with satisfactory and conclusive termination evidence that there is no further liability on this bond or any other bond issued for applicant. Upon demand by the Company for any reason whatsoever, to deposit current funds with the Company in an amount sufficient to satisfy any claim against the Company by reason of such suretyship. To pay premiums, including renewal premiums and any other charges, to the Company or its agents, when due. ( 2) ( 3) ( 4) That the Company shall have the right to handle or settle any claim or suit in good faith and the Company's decision shall be binding and conclusive on the undersigned. An itemized statement of loss and expense incurred by the Company, shall be prima facie evidence of the fact and extent of the liability of the undersigned to the Company. ( 5) That the Company may decline to become surety on any bond and may cancel or amend any bond without cause and without any liability which might arise therefrom.( 6) That this indemnity may be terminated by the undersigned, or any one or more parties so designated, upon written notice sent registered mail to the office of the Company at Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57103, of not less than twenty (20) days. In no event, shall any termination notice operate to modify, bar, discharge, limit, affect or impair the liability of any party hereto, for any bonds, undertakings and obligations executed prior to the date of the Company's receipt and notice of such termination. (11) (10) In the event of any payment by the Company, to pay the Company interest on such amounts at the highest legal rate from the date such payments are made. Agency Address Agent's Code City State Zip Signed this day of ( 7) That if a contract or performance bond is issued hereunder, the undersigned hereby assign to the Company any monies now due or hereafter becoming due under the contract, including all deferred payments and retained percentage, supplies, tools, plants, equipment and materials due or used on the contract. ( 8) , At the Company's discretion, this indemnity agreement shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of South Dakota and the undersigned applicant and indemnitors consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of South Dakota and the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota in all actions or proceedings arising from or relating to this indemnity agreement. ( 9) AGENT'S RECOMMENDATION INDEMNITY Business Address LIABILITIES FINANCIAL STATEMENT as of Form 10 APPLICATION FOR BOND—ANY KIND Individual Partnership Corporation Limited Liability Company Limited Liability Partnership B B A A Last Year Last YearNet Income - Two Years Ago ( 1) Gross Sales - Two Years Ago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SectionPublic Official Fidelity Probate Referee, Receiver, etc. Court License Lost Securities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTION ON REVERSE Applicant Name (Exactly as shown on License or Bond) Please print or type Social Security #Date of Birth Residence Address Street That the Company shall, without notice, have the right to alter the penalty, terms and conditions of any bond issued for undersigned, and this agreement shall apply to any such altered bond. The liability for the undersigned shall not be affected by the failure of the undersigned to sign any bond, nor any claim that other indemnity or security was obtained, nor by the release of any indemnity, nor the return or exchange of any collateral obtained and if any party signing this agreement is not bound for any reason, this agreement will still be binding on each and every other party. How long so engaged? Type of Bond Amount of Bond Effective Date Complete Name and Address of Obligee No If yes, give name and reason for change. (Zip)(State)(City)(Street and Number) (Zip)(State)(City)(Street and Number) Previous Surety Yes Married Single The submission of this application by the Applicant and its owners is authorization to the Company to obtain a credit report on the Applicant and its owners. The Company reserves all rights and legal duties associated with this application and any and all bonds issued as a result; including, but not limited to the right to handle or settle any claim or suit in good faith and the Company's decision shall be binding on the Applicant and its owners. This Agreement shall be in addition to and not in lieu of or in replacement of all other indemnity agreements. Merchandise or Material in Stock Notes Receivable — Describe Accounts Receivable Furniture and Fixtures Other Assets - Describe TOTAL ASSETS Notes Payable to Bank Accounts Payable Other Liabilities — Describe Capital Stock (Paid in) NET WORTH OR SURPLUS TOTAL LIABILITIES Notes Payable to Others (Describe) Taxes due & accrued (Telephone #) (Telephone #) Occupation or Business "Indemnitor" "Indemnitor" Signature & Business/Corporate Title "Indemnitor" (Fax #) (Fax #) (Email Address) (Email Address) www.cnasurety.com John Doe Cash (List Banks) Signed this PARTNERSHIP Complete Section One 1 using the full names of all partners indi- cating the business trade name, e.g. John Doe and James Doe DBA Doe Company. "Indemnitor"Signature & Business/Corporate Title Form 1509-3-2016 Guidelines for Completing and Signing a Form 10 Application For Bond—Any Kind We have examples showing five ways to sign an application. a) INDIVIDUAL OR SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP Complete Section One 1 in the Individual's name showing the business trade name, if there is one, e.g. John Doe DBA Doe Company. Signed this day of , "Indemnitor" NOTE: Personal indemnitors should sign their names before the word "indemnitor". 21 2 "Indemnitor"Signature & Business/Corporate Title b) Signed this day of , "Indemnitor" NOTE: Personal indemnitors should sign their names before the word "indemnitor". 2 "Indemnitor" "Indemnitor"Signature & Business/Corporate Title c) Signed this day of , "Indemnitor" NOTE: Personal indemnitors should sign their names before the word "indemnitor". 2 "Indemnitor"* * * In some cases the owners' spouses may also need to sign. "Indemnitor"Signature & Business/Corporate Title d) day of , "Indemnitor" NOTE: Personal indemnitors should sign their names before the word "indemnitor". 2 "Indemnitor"* * * In some cases the members/owners'/partners' spouses may also need to sign. OUTSIDE INDEMNITY (Relatives, Friends, etc.) Complete Section One 1 in the applicant's name following (a), (b) or (c) above. "Indemnitor"Signature & Business/Corporate Title e) Signed this day of , "Indemnitor" NOTE: Personal indemnitors should sign their names before the word "indemnitor". 2 "Indemnitor" LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (LLC) OR PARTNERSHIP (LLP) Complete Section One 1 in the name of the limited liability company or partnership only, e.g. Doe Company, LLC or Doe Company, LLP. CORPORATION Complete Section One 1 using the name of the corporation only, e.g. Doe Corporation, Inc. HELPFUL HINTS a) INDIVIDUAL OR SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP—The individual or sole owner and spouse should sign Section Two 2 before the word "Indemnitor". When providing financial statements, separate business and personal statements are preferable. PARTNERSHIP—Each partner and his or her spouse should sign Section Two 2 before the word "Indemnitor". If additional personal indemnity is required, the individual may sign their name and write the word "Indemnitor" after their name in their own handwriting. When providing financial statements, send a financial statement for the partnership along with personal statements for each partner. b) CORPORATION—An officer should first sign Section Two 2 on behalf of the corporation (indicating his/her corporate title; however, "owner" is NOT an acceptable title) and then sign a second time as a personal indemnitor, before the word "Indemnitor". All other owners should also sign as personal indemnitors before the word "Indemnitor" on each line. *In most cases, the owners' spouses also need to sign. If additional personal indemnity is required, the individual may sign their name and write the word "Indemnitor" after their name in their own handwriting. When providing financial information, supply a corporate financial statement along with individual financial statements and current addresses for the owners. c) LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (LLC) OR PARTNERSHIP (LLP)—An authorized manager, member, or partner should first sign on behalf of the Limited Liability Company or Partnership (indicating his/her company/partnership title; however, "owner" is NOT an acceptable title) and then sign a second time as a personal indemnitor, before the word "Indemnitor". All other members/owners/partners should also sign as personal indemnitors before the word "Indemnitor" on each line. In most cases the members'/owners'/partners' spouses also need to sign. If additional personal indemnity is required, the individual may sign their name and write the word "Indemnitor" after their name in their own handwriting. d) OUTSIDE INDEMNITY (Relatives, Friends, etc.)—When outside indemnity is required, the proposed indemnitors should sign Section Two 2 below the applicants' signature(s) and before the word "Indemnitor". If additional personal indemnity is required, the individual may sign their name and write the word "Indemnitor" after their name in their own handwriting. The outside indemnitors should provide their personal financial statements and current addresses. e) NOTE: Financial statements may be submitted on the FORM 10 APPLICATION or on CNA Surety's Form #60—Financial Statement. Copies of Bank or Accountant prepared financial statements are also acceptable. Over the past few months, our town and nation grappled with the effects of COVID-19, yet Reading Community Television rallied to retain and in many cases, expanded the coverage and services it seeks to provide to the Town of Reading. While historically coverage of local government meetings has always been an important aspect of our mission, we’ve recently expanded our coverage to include meetings by the Board of Health, Board of Library Trustees, Board of Registrars, Reading Historical Commission, and Historical District Commission further promoting transparency among our local officials and enabling members of the public to live-stream meetings in real-time from the comfort and safety of their own homes or to review them at their own convenience at a later date. We also ensured coverage of important events ranging in scope from Memorial Day Ceremonies held on the Town Common, honoring service members both in our community and nationwide, to celebrating RMHS’s class of 2020. As hundreds of students and their families drove up Main street during the Car Parade we had our camera’s set up at key points along their route, capturing the festivities and applause from their former teachers and community members. Several weeks later we further celebrated these seniors with a full crew and multiple cameras documenting their socially distanced graduation ceremony held on RMHS’s field. Also, at the High School, our TV Production teacher, Anna Cuevas, helped her students create a variety of projects ranging from cooking shows to music reviews and recreating famous photographs. As RMHS closed down Anna helped compile and edit a video of teachers and staff members encouraging students to keep their heads up amidst the unpredictability of the Spring. This summer protests against systemic racism and police brutality inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement spread nationwide. On June 4th, RCTV turned its cameras towards the Town Common as community members organized and participated in a “Vigil for George Floyd and Peaceful Rally Against Police Brutality.” Our coverage of speakers amplified their voices and expanded their audience garnering 1,700 views via RCTV’s Facebook page alone. RCTV Fall 2020 Report 1 Two months later, we also filmed a similar event on the Town Common featuring youth poetry, music, and art by People of Color celebrating their community. Following tremendous demand ever since last year’s Reading 375 celebrations ended, musicians again banded together this year, collaborating with RCTV to create a virtual version of Porchfest. So many talented local musicians and bands participated that we streamed their performances in two separate segments throughout the entire July 4th weekend. This summer, RCTV also managed to host several youth summer camps for aspiring local filmmakers and actors. While carefully ensuring the safety of participants and staff through social distancing and increased sanitary practices, participants in these workshops learned skills ranging from digital photography to conceptualizing, shooting, and editing short documentaries. While COVID-19 created hurdles for traditional filming of shows by our members, our Deputy Executive Director, Angela Merrill filmed many well-received episodes of “Read Aloud with Angela,” providing animated and upbeat readings of popular illustrated children’s books. Another community member and Production Assistant at RCTV, Niles Singer, also filmed a comedic rap video encouraging the use of masks. While these last few months have undoubtedly been challenging for our community, RCTV has continually gone to significant lengths to ensure the continuity and expansion of its programming and services in order to best serve Reading. We’re looking forward to continuing our work and are excited about future opportunities to document and collaborate with Reading residents in the coming year! RCTV Fall 2020 Report 2 LEGAL BUDGET YTD ACTUAL BUDGET BALANCE YTD Run Rate Est. Balance 11/10/2020 LEGAL BUDGET TOTAL 4,725$ 280,000$ 275,275$ 2%261,100$ Town Counsel -$ 245,000$ 245,000$ 0%245,000$ Typical Issues -$ 215,000$ 215,000$ 0%215,000$ Other Issues -$ 30,000$ 30,000$ 0%30,000$ Town Labor Counsel 4,725$ 35,000$ 30,275$ 14%18,900$ 16,100$ YTD ACTUAL BUDGET BALANCE YTD July August September October November December January February March April May June TOWN COUNSEL TOTAL -$ 245,000$ 245,000$ 0% Typical Issues T -$ 215,000$ 215,000$ 0% Other Issues other -$ 30,000$ 30,000$ 0% Miyares & Harrington Total -$ 245,000$ 245,000$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ Public Policy ###### -$ 110,000$ 110,000$ 0% Town Meeting T -$ 20,000$ 20,000$ Zoning Bylaws T -$ 2,500$ 2,500$ General Bylaws T -$ 2,500$ 2,500$ Licensing T -$ 15,000$ 15,000$ Elections T -$ 10,000$ 10,000$ Select Board T -$ 25,000$ 25,000$ Board of Health T -$ 25,000$ 25,000$ CPDC T -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ CONSCOM T -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ RCTV T -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ other T -$ 7,000$ 7,000$ Management Policy ###### -$ 80,000$ 80,000$ 0% RMLD T -$ 10,000$ 10,000$ School dept T -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ Retirement Board T -$ 10,000$ 10,000$ Town departments Public Safety T -$ 10,000$ 10,000$ RCASA/Opiods -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ Public Works T -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ Facilities T -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ Comm Development T -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ Comm Services T -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ Finance T -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ Public Library T -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ Human Resources T -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ General Town issues T -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ YTD ACTUAL BUDGET BALANCE YTD Construction projects ###### -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ 0% Public Library T -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ Bld Secuirty T -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ Perm Bldg Comm T -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ other other -$ 2,000$ 2,000$ YTD ACTUAL BUDGET BALANCE YTD July August September October November December January February March April May June Land Use Issues ###### -$ 30,000$ 30,000$ 0% Lakeview 40B other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ RVill/Met@RSta 40B other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ Post Office Sq 40R other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ Gould Street 40R other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ Symonds Way parcels other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ Timberneck Swamp other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ Mdwbrook/Bonanno other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ Afford Hsng other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ 506 Smr Ave/Gallo other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ Ferrazi v. ZBA other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ D'Arezzo v. ZBA other -$ 1,000$ 1,000$ 59 Middlesex (Daniels)other -$ 10,000$ 10,000$ other other -$ 9,000$ 9,000$ Other Issues ###### -$ 20,000$ 20,000$ 0% Miyares & Harrington T -$ 20,000$ 20,000$ LABOR COUNSEL TOTAL 4,725.00$ 35,000$ 30,275$ 14% Morgan, Brown & Joy 4,725.00$ 30,000$ 25,275$ 1,215$ 1,890$ 1,620$ Other -$ 5,000$ 5,000$ Town Counsel 11515530 530110 LAW LEGAL COUNSEL Cable Counsel 11515530 530117 LAW OTHER LEGAL SE Labor Counsel 11515530 530115 LAW LABOR COUNSEL Town Counsel - Storm Water 65005530 530110 LAW LEGAL COUNSEL Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Page | 1 2016-09-22 LAG Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Select Board Date: 2020-10-27 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Location: Address: Session: Open Session Purpose: General Business Version: Draft Attendees: Members - Present: Mark Dockser, Carlo Bacci, Vanessa Alvarado, Karen Herrick, Anne Landry Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Executive Assistant Caitlin Saunders Nocella, Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, Police Chief Clark, Fire Chief Burns, DPW Director Jane Kinsella, Assistant DPW Director Chris Cole, Business Administrator Jayne Wellman, Veterans Agent Kevin Bohmiller, Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom, Deputy Fire Chief Jackson, Human Resources Director Sean Donahue, Facilities Director Joe Huggings, Assistant Facilities Director Kevin Cabuzzi, Library Director Amy Lannon, Administrative Services Director Matt Kraunelis, Community Development Director Julie Mercier, Assistant Finance Director Endri Kume Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Topics of Discussion: This meeting was held remotely on Zoom. Board of Health Member Kerry Dunnell gave an update. She noted there has been information going around about a lot of in-home playdates with kids without masks; that is deeply concerning and a bad idea. Hockey in Massachusetts has been cancelled because teams were not cooperating with COVID contract tracing. She urged everyone to be smart on Halloween. Town Manager Bob LeLacheur informed the group about a letter the RMHS Principal sent home to all students. There were rumors swirling around the school about a large Halloween party planned for students. The principal is asking the parents for help to please not allow large gatherings for your kids; you could hurt your family and other people. He also mentioned that there will be security at our ballot box from now until the election due to the incident in Boston the other day. He also noted early voting turnout has been great so far. Liaison Reports Karen Herrick reminded everyone of the informational Stretch Energy Code meeting on Thursday night. Vanessa Alvarado wanted to remind everyone to shop local businesses during this tough time. She noted a new Mass Growth Capital Program for small business grants. Lastly, at Page | 2 the financial forum Sean Grant made a point about maybe not holding back capital projects during this time because of the low interest rates. Mark Dockser noted Veteran’s Agent Kevin Bohmiller is looking for someone from the Board to speak on Veteran’s day. He noted he would like to do it if no other board members want to. He reminded everyone about the Elder/Human Services survey that is out right now and the Recreation survey as well. Town Manage Bob LeLacheur noted the Stretch Code meeting was advertised to over 300 people. He noted there will be a gas leak project update at Town Meeting. He noted staff is working on getting the board an update on the cell tower project. They could potentially be ready to give an update in November but they may not be ready by then. Mock Town Meeting will be Saturday, November 7th. Communication Policy Anne Landry has been working on updating this policy with the help of the Town Manager. The new policy talks more about the boards electronic correspondence and closing the loop with resident emails. It does not address how they manage liaisons as much. The board discussed a new addition to the policy regarding publishing information on minors and legal matters. There was also addition to opt out of having your email in the Select Board Packet. While members agreed legal information and matters regarding minors should be redacted, there was hesitation about giving people an option to not make their emails public. The board has not seen many issues or requests to not publish their emails. As of right now it is handled more on a case by case basis and it seems to be working at the moment. Ms. Landry noted she intended for it to be incase people were unaware their comments would be public. Bunratty Tavern Liquor License Eilish Havey, owner of Bunratty Tavern, applied for an alteration of premises to her liquor license. The reason for this application is because they have expended into a new space next door to them. They will be using it primarily as a function room when COVID is over but right now during COVID they will be using it as more socially distant dining space. The board congratulated them on their expansion and wished them well. Carlo Bacci moved to approve the Alteration of Premises application as presented for an Annual All Alcohol Restaurant Liquor License for RKR Corporation d/b/a Bunratty Tavern at 620 Main Street, Reading, MA. The motion was seconded by Karen Herrick and approved with the following roll call vote: Bacci – yes; Alvarado – yes; Landry – yes; Herrick – yes; Dockser – yes. Easement Request Attorney Brad Latham was present to answer any questions from the board. This is an easement request previously approved by Town Meeting. In 1979 Town Meeting approved an easement strip but taking a closer look at it Town Counsel noted that action is incomplete or incorrect. The strip is not continuous and not all the land has been treated the same. A better long-term remedy will be looked at by Town Meeting again but this is the request for a temporary solution that Mr. Latham and Town Counsel has come up with. It is for three different easements. The Town Manager used a map to show the exact areas for the easements. This will allow Mr. Latham’s client to proceed with her expansion project. Carlo Bacci moved to approve the driveway, walkways, and utilities easements for 1312 Main Street as presented. 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. Page | 3 Carlo Bacci moved to close the hearing regarding the Bunratty Tavern Liquor License application. 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. Gas Leak Project Update Town Engineer Ryan Percival gave an update noting the consultant found 84 known leaks, 36 with no readings and 69 other locations. He showed the map of where the leaks were found but also noted it may not be completely accurate at the moment as work has been being done and some may be fixed now. He explained the phases and next steps. Mark Dockser suggested setting up a working group to continue with this project consisting of Andy Friedmann and David Zeek with Karen Herrick as the boards liaison. The board agreed to have the Town Manager enter Phase II of the project. Town Manager Goals The board went through the FY21 Town Manager goals they have been working on the past couple meetings. The edited document can be found in the 10/27 Packet and Minutes. Carlo Bacci moved that the board approve the Town Manager’s FY21 Goals as amended. The motion was seconded bv Karen Herrick and approved with the following roll call vote: Herrick – yes; Alvarado – yes; Bacci – yes; Landry – yes; Dockser – yes. Town Manager Review All the Town’s department heads and assistant department heads were present. The Town Manager’s review has been published in the past two packets and the board tonight was taking the time to speak about any comments they made and wish to elaborate on further. Mark Dockser spoke about communications with respect to process. He and the Town Manager would like to try and get meeting packets out on Tuesdays now so that the board has a whole week to read it. The Town Manager would also write more in-depth memos regarding each topic. Anne Landry noted she did have a conversation with Bob regarding his review. She also mentioned when she did her review she made comments about the health department to which some issues have already been tackled. Vanessa Alvarado noted her consistent comment throughout his review was the lack of information coming from the Town Manager to the board. She believes it goes without saying that the board needs and deserves every ounce of detail to make any decisions. Karen Herrick noted the absence of direct notice to residents on a few items has come back to bite the board a couple times this past year and it is completely unacceptable. She also noted the health department needs a lot of help. Carlo Bacci commented that the Town Manager and staff have done a great job dealing with COVID this year but we all can improve. He has learned we cannot make every resident happy but they can try to make the best decisions based on the facts. Bob LeLacheur, Town Manager, noted staff has done amazing with COVID this year. This is nothing they could have ever trained for but they have done the best they can. Anne Landry mentioned the Town Manager has done a great job managing staff this year as we had not had to lay off anyone where many others have had to. Page | 4 Karen Herrick noted the Town Manager has strong financial management which is great to have. Mark Dockser mentioned his concerns regarding some issues managing conflict. Vanessa Alvarado noted she did not like the lack of communication regarding the morale of the police department and she wish she knew that. Anne Landry felt the town has done a great job communicating with residents regarding COVID updates. The Town Manager noted he is very proud of the staff. He knows they are not perfect but they do their best. Minutes The boarded edited the minutes from October 6th and 20th. Mr. Bacci moved that the board approve the meeting minutes of October 6th as amended. The motion was seconded by Karen Herrick and approved unanimously with a roll call vote. Mr. Bacci moved that the board approve the meeting minutes of October 20 th as amended. The motion was seconded by Karen Herrick and approved unanimously with a roll call vote. Mr. Bacci moved to adjourn at 11:14 PM. The motion was seconded by Karen Herrick and approved with a unanimous roll call vote. November 17, 2020 Tuesday Overview of Meeting Dockser 7:00 EXECUTIVE SESSION To Discuss Strategy with respect to Litigation on 59 Middlesex Ave.Board 7:00 Covid-19 Response Command 7:30 Liaison Reports Board 7:45 Public Comment Board 7:50 HEARING Liquor License Transfer - Fuddruckers LeLacheur 8:00 HEARING Liquor License Transfer - Baystate/HT Reading Liquors LeLacheur 8:10 HEARING Class II MV License Application - JD Petroleum LeLacheur 8:20 RCTV general update and discussion related to their FY22 budget Rushworth 8:30 Approve Conservation Restriction for Camp Rice Moody Board 8:45 Cell Tower/Auburn Street Water Tank update Board 9:00 Town Counsel update on services Board 9:15 Historical Commission re-organization/VASC Board 9:35 Use of Covid Funds For Those In Need Board 9:40 Minutes Approval Board 9:45 Future Meeting Agenda Topics Dockser 9:55 November 19, 2020 Subsequent Town Meeting IV Thursday 7:30 December 8, 2020 Tuesday Overview of Meeting Dockser 7:00 Covid-19 Response Command 7:05 Liaison Reports Board 7:10 Public Comment Board 7:15 HEARING Approve Licenses 7:30 HEARING Approve Liquor Licenses 7:30 Discuss Outdoor Commerce, Dining, Programming or Storage - follow up from 11/23 CPDC meeting Discuss Draft DPW Protocols - Tree Safety within Conservation Jurisdictional Areas Kinsella Birch Meadow - update Rec Comm Discuss Select Board Policy Article 1 Section 1.4 Communication Landry Vote to Reappoint Member to Retirement LeLacheur Future Meeting Agenda Topics Dockser December 9, 2020 Wednesday Town Department FY22 budgets December 15, 2020 Tuesday Town Department FY22 budgets December 16, 2020 Wednesday Town Department FY22 budgets Future Agendas - other items Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Update Burns Sustainability, Electrification, Reading Opportunities Board/RMLD Discuss Tree Lawn Pesticide Policy BOH Discuss Early Sunday Hours at Recreational Fields & Parks Rec Comm Review Town Personnel Policy and SB Policies: Article 6 Personnel Related Policies LeLacheur Spring '21 HEARING Approve Town Personnel Policy and SB Policies: Article 6 Personnel Related Policies Board Spring '21 Discuss recent land purchases and any other land issues around town CONSCOM Spring '21 Recurring Items Close Warrant: Annual Town Meeting by 2/25/20 Close Warrant: State Primary by 8/25/20 Close Warrant: Subsequent Town Meeting by 9/22/20 Close Warrant: State Election by 10/27/20 Close Warrant: Annual Town Meeting by 3/2/21 Review Select Board Goals Review Town Manager Goals Parking/Traffic/Transportstion Task Force Town Board & Committee visits Town Department visits Appoint Town Accountant March Annual Appointments of Boards & Committees May/June Annual HEARING Approve Classification & Compensation May/June Annual HEARING Tax Classification October Annual HEARING Approve licenses Nov/Dec Annual Reports Given to SB Town Accountant Report Qtrly Economic Development Director Semi-ann RCTV members Report Annual CAB (RMLD) member Report Annual MAPC member Report Annual Reading Housing Authority Report Annual Reading Ice Arena Report Annual SB Appointed Boards & Committees as needed 2021 DRAFT - SELECT BOARD AGENDAS 2021 11/10/2020 Staff Estimated January 5, 2021 Tuesday Overview of Meeting Dockser 7:00 Covid-19 Response Command 7:05 Liaison Reports Board 7:10 Public Comment Board 7:15 Town Manager Goals Update LeLacheur January 7, 2021 School Comm Budget Meeting Thursday January 14, 2021 School Comm Budget Meeting Thursday January 19, 2021 Tuesday Overview of Meeting Dockser 7:00 Covid-19 Response Command 7:05 Liaison Reports Board 7:10 Public Comment Board 7:15 HEARING Vote to Approve Verizon cable TV contract (tentative)Kraunelis Review Downtown Parking PTTTF January 21, 2021 School Comm Budget Meeting Thursday January 25, 2021 School Comm Budget Meeting (vote)Monday February 2, 2020 Tuesday Overview of Meeting Dockser 7:00 Covid-19 Response Command 7:05 Liaison Reports Board 7:10 Public Comment Board 7:15 February 16, 2021 Tuesday Overview of Meeting Dockser 7:00 Covid-19 Response Command 7:05 Liaison Reports Board 7:10 Public Comment Board 7:15 February 24, 2021 FINCOM Budget Meeting Wednesday March 2, 2021 Tuesday Overview of Meeting Dockser 7:00 Covid-19 Response Command 7:05 Liaison Reports Board 7:10 Public Comment Board 7:15 Vote to close Warrant - Local election & state Board Vote to close Warrant - Annual Town Meeting Board March 3, 2021 FINCOM Budget Meeting Wednesday March 10, 2021 FINCOM Budget Meeting Wednesday March 17, 2021 FINCOM Budget Meeting Wednesday March 23, 2021 Tuesday Overview of Meeting Dockser 7:00 Covid-19 Response Command 7:05 Liaison Reports Board 7:10 Public Comment Board 7:15 Appoint Town Accountant (deadline 3/31)Board April 6, 2021 Local Elections Tuesday April 20, 2021 Tuesday Select Board Vote to Reorganize 7:00 April 26, 2021 Annual Town Meeting I Monday April 29, 2021 Annual Town Meeting II Thursday May 3, 2021 Annual Town Meeting III Monday May 4, 2021 Tuesday May 6, 2021 Annual Town Meeting IV Thursday May 18, 2021 Tuesday June 1, 2021 Tuesday VASC meetings TBA June 15, 2021 Tuesday June 29, 2021 Tuesday July 20, 2021 Tuesday August 10, 2021 Tuesday August 31, 2021 Tuesday September TBA Tuesday September TBA Tuesday October TBA Tuesday October TBA Tuesday November TBA Tuesday November TBA Tuesday December 7, 2021 Tuesday HEARING Approve licenses HEARING Approve Liquor Licenses December 8, 2021 Wednesday Town Department FY23 budgets December 14, 2021 Tuesday Town Department FY23 budgets December 15, 2021 Wednesday Town Department FY23 budgets Future Agendas - other items Recurring Items Close Warrant: Annual Town Meeting on 3/2/21 Close Warrant: Subsequent Town Meeting TBA Review Select Board Goals Review Town Manager Goals Parking/Traffic/Transportation Task Force Town Board & Committee visits Town Department visits Appoint Town Accountant March Annual Appointments of Boards & Committees May/June Annual HEARING Approve Classification & Compensation May/June Annual HEARING Tax Classification October Annual HEARING Approve licenses Nov/Dec Annual Reports Given to SB Town Accountant Report Qtrly Economic Development Director Semi-ann RCTV members Report Annual CAB (RMLD) member Report Annual MAPC member Report Annual Reading Housing Authority Report Annual Reading Ice Arena Report Annual SB Appointed Boards & Committees as needed 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:DLS Alerts <dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us> Sent:Thursday, October 22, 2020 2:29 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:DLS Alert: Community Estimated Cherry Sheets for Page 2 of FY21 Tax Rate Recap To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Community Estimated Cherry Sheets for Page 2 of FY21 Tax Rate Recap As we all are aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has created both a financial strain on local government and budget uncertainty. Recently, the Governor submitted a revised Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) House 2 budget recommendation. In accordance, DLS has updated the preliminary cherry sheet estimates to reflect these new funding levels. Preliminary Cherry Sheets can be found on the DLS website. The Bureau of Accounts (BOA) will require that Cherry Sheet estimated receipts not exceed the revised FY21 House 2 budget recommendation. For Cherry Sheet assessment estimates, we will not allow estimates lower than the revised FY21 House 2 budget recommendation. For cities and towns that have previously set their FY21 tax recap no additional action is required. Please Note: Once the state budget is approved, the actual cherry sheet estimates must be used if the Tax Recap has not previously been submitted to DLS. You are receiving this message through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's Division of Local Services DLS Alerts system. These periodic notices include our City & Town e-newsletter, IGRs, Bulletins, Cherry Sheets and other municipal finance-related information. To unsubscribe to DLS Alerts and the City & Town e-newsletter, please email dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us. 2 This email was sent to selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Massachusetts Department of Revenue - Division of Local Services · 100 Cambridge Street · Boston, MA 02114 · USA 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Lisa Egan, Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce <legan@rnrchamber.com> Sent:Thursday, October 22, 2020 3:43 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:New Grants for Small Business Announced To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. North Shore Magazine Spotlight on R-NR Chamber Thank you to North Shore magazine for featuring Reading and the Reading-North Reading's Chamber's work in Reading along with our collaboration with the town to provide sidewalk bistro tables. The link is here; go to page 100! To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. New Grants for Businesses Announced To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Baker-Polito Administration Announces Partnerships for Recovery, $774 Million Economic Recovery Plan BOSTON — Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced a $774 million comprehensive plan to stabilize and grow the Massachusetts economy. The plan focuses on getting people back to work, supporting small businesses, fostering innovation, revitalizing downtowns and ensuring housing stability. Partnerships for Recovery begins today by directing $115 million in new funding to small businesses and Main Streets hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and for workforce training efforts. Additionally, the Administration is aligning multiple funding sources, both existing and proposed, to appropriately respond to the crisis. Partnerships for Recovery supports five key recovery efforts: Getting Massachusetts back to work 2 Supporting small businesses Revitalizing downtowns Supporting housing equity and stability Fostering innovation Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, Labor and Workforce Secretary Rosalin Acosta, and Administration and Finance Secretary Michael J. Heffernan joined Joe Kriesberg, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations to announce the plan at the Gardner Auditorium. “This plan represents a comprehensive strategy to get people back to work and to support the small businesses hit the hardest by the pandemic, putting the Commonwealth on a path to recovery,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “By leveraging existing tools and programs and implementing new ones this plan will allow us to make critical resources and assistance to those who need it most available now.” “While we continue to combat this pandemic, this plan takes an approach that addresses key needs of the businesses in downtowns and main streets, provides housing support for vulnerable families, and opens new doors for people seeking to return to work,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “While we acknowledge we still have a ways to go, this plan will help to jumpstart our innovation economy and position Massachusetts to be on a path for success.” Putting $115 million to work right away for small businesses and workforce training, including more than $25 million to get people back to work; Directing $323 million in existing capital programs as part of the response to continue doing more of what works; Filing for $122 million through the Revised H.2 budget to supplement existing funding in support of struggling Main Street businesses and skill building for residents; Steering $43 million in Federal, trust and other state funding toward our most critical needs; and Committing $171 million to keep people safely housed during the pandemic. Getting People Back to Work In order to get people back to work, new investments are being made to build workforce skills, growing training programs and pathways, forging new partnerships between employers and workers, and supporting internet connectivity to facilitate remote work and online career advancement. The more than $25 million available now includes: 3 $10.4 million to engage Massachusetts employers by expanding workforce partnerships with large employers in target sectors to create aligned statewide training-employment pathways; $9.2 million to subsidize internet for low-income populations, and to expand hot spots in unserved and underserved communities; $3.2 million to modernize MassHire virtual pathways to assess and connect UI claimants to appropriate services and supports; $2 million to bolster manufacturing training by purchasing a standardized virtual training program to increase workforce for the manufacturing sector; and $300,000 to supplement $8.4 million toward Career Technical Institutes in H.2 to help close the skills gap for skilled technician jobs and align training to industry needs. An additional $54 million is available to support workforce recovery efforts through existing programming such as the Skills Capital Grants program, the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, and the Workforce Training Trust Fund. Revised House 2 also proposes $17.9 million in workforce funding, including $8.4 million in funding to transform vocational high schools into Career Technical Institutes running three shifts per day. This initiative is designed to train 20,000 new workers over four years in skilled trades and technical fields including plumbing, HVAC, manufacturing, and robotics. This will consist of a combination of enrolling more high school students in high-impact vocational trade programs and expanding capacity for adults to earn industry-based credentials, aligned to apprenticeships and post-secondary degrees. "These funds will provide critical re-employment services to our workforce, helping people make the transition from unemployment benefits to good paying jobs in some of the Commonwealth's key long term job growth sectors," said Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Rosalin Acosta. Direct Support to Small Business and Main Street To generate economic growth amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and support Main Streets across Massachusetts, the Administration is investing $322.8 million in direct support of small and diverse businesses and local communities. This funding includes grants (see details below) to the hardest hit small businesses, especially small businesses owned by women, minorities, veterans, or members of other underrepresented groups. These grant awards will allow small businesses to cover expenses such as rent, payroll, and utilities as they get back on their feet. Additional funding will support small businesses through hands-on and personalized technical assistance, including targeted support for women- and minority-owned businesses around digital and online technology as their business model pivots away from a brick-and-mortar location. Many communities have seen their Main Streets and downtown districts hit particularly hard by the pandemic, and new funding aims to help cities and towns plan for short -term 4 innovations and long-term recovery. A new $10 million round of the Shared Streets and Spaces Grant Program will continue to help cities and towns quickly implement or expand improvements to sidewalks, curbs, streets, on-street parking spaces and off-street parking lots in support of public health, safe mobility, and renewed commerce in their communities. Separately, local recovery planning grants will soon be available to cities and towns to assist with long-term planning for their business districts. A total of $10 million is available for this program. To support the museums and other cultural facilities that have faced a particularly challenging reality this year, but remain a cornerstone of what Massachusetts offers to visitors, these institutions will be eligible for $10 million in Cultural Facilities Operating Grants. This funding will help these organizations to make safety improvements and other upgrades to allow them to continue to offer their unique attractions and exhibits. As part of this recovery plan, the Governor’s recently filed revised budget proposal recommends over $100 million in additional funding for economic recovery and development efforts, including $35 million for community development financial institutions (CDFI) grants and loans, and $15 million for matching grants for capital investments by businesses with 20 or fewer employees. Additionally, more than $115 million in existing capital through programs such as MassWorks, and those in the MassDevelopment portfolio (Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, Site Readiness Program, Transformative Development Initiative, and Collaborative Workspaces), will be leveraged in support of economic recovery. This recovery plan complements the Administration’s $275 million economic recovery package, which was announced in June. Small Business and Main Street Highlights (new funding): $50.8 million in Small Business Grants to help the hardest hit businesses; $10 million to continue funding the Shared Streets and Spaces Program; $10 million for local recovery planning grants to support cities and towns; $10 million to support cultural facilities such as museums; $8.3 million in small business technical assistance to help businesses access grant programs and loans, as well as help build business management skills, resilience, and other support in navigating pandemic impacts; Including $2.3 million to provide personalized technical assistance to woman- and minority-owned businesses; “Our current circumstances call for a plan with the size and scope to match the urgency we need to address the most pressing challenges we now face,” said Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy. “By targeting vital resources toward these key areas, this strategy will allow us to lay a solid foundation for our path to recovery.” 5 “During this unprecedented public health emergency, the Baker-Polito Administration is continuing to invest significant resources to support recovery and growth initiatives for small businesses and Main Streets across Massachusetts,” said Secretary of Administration and Finance Michael J. Heffernan. “Through close coordination with federal, state, and local partners – including our Legislative colleagues – we are proud to put forth a plan that thoughtfully invests funds from multiple sources to equip employers with the tools, resources, and supports to help navigate the new COVID-19 landscape.” “We greatly appreciate Governor Baker’s sense of urgency to move these grant dollars now, while also working with the Legislature to secure additional funds in the state budget and the economic development bill,” said Joseph Kriesberg, President of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations and Board Member of the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation. “Small business owners have sacrificed to help keep all of us safe and healthy. This initiative is our opportunity to have their back.” Additional Investments In order to keep people safely in their homes during the pandemic and support small landlords with expenses, the Administration recently announced $171 million in support of the Eviction Diversion Initiative. This comprehensive strategy includes funding to help to cover housing costs such as rent and mortgage payments, invest in new programs around mediation and legal representation, and provide repaid rehousing when a tenant is evicted. Additionally, the Administration continues to invest in the Commonwealth’s stock of affordable rental housing with $121 million in direct subsidies. Massachusetts has long been a hotbed of innovation and creativity in science and technology, and sectors such as the life sciences and advanced manufacturing are not only critical to the innovation economy, but also continue to contribute to the response to the coronavirus. To ensure we continue to lead in this space, $62 million in existing capital funding through the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and MassVentures is available to support recovery and growth. Small Business Grant Program Details Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) is administering the Small Business Grants program, with $50.8 million available beginning today. Grant awards range between $25,000 – $75,000, and eligibility criteria and applications are available here. As part of this grant program, preference is given to small businesses whose owners are women, minorities, veterans, members of other underrepresented groups, or focused on serving the Gateway Cities of Massachusetts, who have been unable to open and those most adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Preference is also given to applicants that have not been able to receive aid from other federal programs, including PPP and other relief related to COVID-19. The program has two distinct funding “doors” based on business size, with different eligibility criteria, which is available online. Applicants must review the information to determine which program to proceed with applying. 6 To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Thank You to Reading Select Board Thank you for voting to NOT increase the rate rate for businesses. We appreciate your support! North Reading Tax Vote Date is planned for mid- November and more details coming soon. Are Ready for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act? October 26th 1 - 2 PM October 28th 8:30 - 9:30 AM Bring your questions and join legal employment experts and the Department of Family and Medical Leave for a no-cost online discussion on the complex Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) benefits that workers can begin utilizing in January. The Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law created new responsibilities for businesses of all sizes, even businesses with fewer than 25 workers. Be prepared before this new program is rolled out. We are co-hosting two FREE sessions: October 26 from 1 - 2 PM. Registration here. October October 28 from 8:30 - 9:30 AM Registration here. Thank you to NFIB for making these events possible. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Micro Grants for Businesses Additional Funding If you were unable to take advantage of applying for the first round of grants available to income-eligible small business owners, but are still interested in the program, funds remain available. A new application round is now open, and the online form can be found here: https://massgcc.submittable.com/submit/175985/community- development-block-grant-covid-19-cdbg-cv-microenterprise- To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 7 assistance-p. The deadline for Round 2 is October 23, 2020. PLEASE NOTE that in this round, you many submit your projected income for 2020, rather than relying only on your 2019 income as stated on your tax returns, for income eligibility (2019 tax information or a 2018 extension is still must be provided). This would be useful for those not considered to be low- or moderate-income in 2019, but suffered significant income loss in 2020. Questions? North Reading Businesses may contact Danielle McKnight and Reading Businesses may contact Erin Shaeffer. Chamber Platinum Partners To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Lisa Egan Executive Director Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce PO Box 771 Reading, MA 01867 legan@rnrchamber.com www.readingnreadingchamber.com To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Facebook To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.LinkedIn To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Instagram Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce | PO Box 771, Reading, MA 01867 Unsubscribe selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by legan@rnrchamber.com powered by To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today. Try email marketing for free today! 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Brad Latham <bradlatham@lathamesq.com> Sent:Thursday, October 22, 2020 6:09 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:October 27th Select Board Meeting Re: 8:10 pm agenda item: easement previously approved by Town Meeting – Main Street I do not intend to talk unless questions are asked. Thank you. O. Bradley Latham, Esq.* Latham Law Offices LLC 643 Main Street Reading, MA 01867 telephone 781-942-4400 FAX 781-944-7079 *Licensed in MA and NH Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. WARNING: DUE TO CYBERFRAUD, NEVER WIRE FUNDS BASED ON INSTRUCTIONS RECEIVED BY OPEN EMAIL. This e-mail, including any attachments, is intended only for the confidential use of the designated recipient. It may contain confidential or proprietary information and may be subject to attorney-client privilege or other confidential protections. If you are not the designated recipient, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message. Neither this e-mail nor any attachment to it shall (a) satisfy the requirements for a writing, or (b) give rise to or constitute a contract, or (c) bind our client, or (d) constitute an electronic signature, under any law, now or hereafter in effect, unless this email expressly states that it does. HTTP://WWW.LATHAMLAWOFFICES.COM This e-mail, including any attachments, is intended only for the confidential use of the designated recipient. It may contain confidential or proprietary information and may be subject to attorney- client privilege or other confidential protections. If you are not the designated recipient, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message. Neither this e-mail nor any attachment to it shall (a) satisfy the requirements for a writing, or (b) give rise to or constitute a contract, or (c) bind our client, or (d) constitute an electronic signature, under any law, now or hereafter in effect, unless this email expressly states that it does. . IRS CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. tax advise contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Ann Dillaway <anndillaway@hotmail.com> Sent:Friday, October 23, 2020 9:34 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Thank you I just want to say thank you on behalf of myself and my husband David for your time and effort regarding the Auburn street cell tower proposal. We are very appreciative of having the opportunity to voice our concerns and we greatly appreciate your listening and providing your own expertise in matters such as this. We both feel strongly the correct decision was made and we will continue to stay involved with the upcoming procedures as they take place. We realize how much of your personal time is dedicated to the wellbeing of this town and the people who live here. Thank you for that commitment. Respectfully, Ann and David Dillaway 32 Beacon St. Reading 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Essential Business Financing <andrew.brown@goessntialbusinessfinancingnow.com> Sent:Friday, October 23, 2020 12:45 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:September is here - Trearsurer Approval is waiting To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Essential Business (866) 207-0572 Business Owner, Hope your day is going well. I wanted to stop by and let you know that since the last time Trearsurer applied for funding your D& B credit score has gone up and Trearsurer is still locked for 350,000 at 3.75% even with the recent economic climate. If you are still in the market for piece of new or used equipment or just old fashion working capital, please let me know. You can use the funding for anything from PPE for employees to expansion of your fleet, there are no restrictions on how you use the funding. To get your funding as soon as possible please click here to start. All the best, Andrew Brown P: (866) 207-0572 To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Essential Business Financing Essential Business Financing 5901 W. Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045 Don' t like these emails? Unsubscribe Here To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Apply Today 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Friday, October 23, 2020 1:00 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:FW: Scenic Rd Notice Attachments:South Street_Scenic Road CPDC Public Hearing Notice_10-15and10-22_Posted.pdf Please see the attached, and email below. Thanks, Bob From: MacNichol, Andrew Sent: Friday, October 23, 2020 12:31 PM To: LeLacheur, Bob Cc: Mercier, Julie Subject: Scenic Rd Notice Hi Bob, If you can, could you please forward the attached notice to the Select Board. The Scenic Road regulations request that a copy of the notice be sent to them and we have an upcoming application at the Nov. 2 CPDC. The plans should be available next week. If you need any more detail please feel free to reach out to Ryan, Julie or I. Thanks, Andrew Andrew MacNichol Staff Planner Town of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 amacnichol@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-6674 Office Hours Mon, Wed, Thur: 7:00AM – 4:30PM Tue: 7:00AM – 6:00PM Friday-CLOSED Reading is updating its Open Space and Recreation Plan! Please take our survey and help us understand your issues and concerns about the Town’s open space and recreation areas. Visit www.readingopenspaceandrec.com to learn more about the plan and the update process. 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:DLS Alerts <dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us> Sent:Friday, October 23, 2020 12:51 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:DLS Alert: Covid-19 Small Business Grants To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Community Compact Connector: Small Business Grants are now open! COVID-19 Small Business Grants: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has made $50.8 million in grants available to support small businesses, microenterprises, and their employees, families and communities. Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) will be administering these funds to businesses experiencing economic hardship and a loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds were appropriated through the Commonwealth’s Supplemental Budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) as well as the CARES Act of 2020 and are divided into two programs, Small Business Grants for 5 or fewer employees and Small Business Grants for 50 or fewer employees. The application opens at 12:00PM on 10/22/2020 and will close at 12:00PM on 11/12/2020. For more information click here. To stay informed regarding both existing and upcoming grant opportunities, please bookmark the Community Compact Connector website. You are receiving this message through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's Division of Local Services DLS Alerts system. These periodic notices include our City & Town e-newsletter, IGRs, Bulletins, Cherry Sheets and other municipal finance-related information. To unsubscribe to DLS Alerts and the City & Town e-newsletter, please email dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us. 2 This email was sent to selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Massachusetts Department of Revenue - Division of Local Services · 100 Cambridge Street · Boston, MA 02114 · USA 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Walt Tuvell <walt.tuvell@gmail.com> Sent:Friday, October 23, 2020 11:47 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Re: Select Board & Cell Tower: Failure to communicate To SB: In case there's been any concern about the OML, there shouldn't be now: https://readingma.us/comment/131#comment-131 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:DLS Alerts <dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us> Sent:Friday, October 23, 2020 2:29 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:DLS Alert: Covid-19 Small Business Grants (updated) To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. (Please note: The previous DLS Alert included an incorrect link. See below for updated Covid-19 Small Business Grant link.) Community Compact Connector: Small Business Grants are now open! COVID-19 Small Business Grants: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has made $50.8 million in grants available to support small businesses, microenterprises, and their employees, families and communities. Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) will be administering these funds to businesses experiencing economic hardship and a loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds were appropriated through the Commonwealth’s Supplemental Budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) as well as the CARES Act of 2020 and are divided into two programs, Small Business Grants for 5 or fewer employees and Small Business Grants for 50 or fewer employees. The application opens at 12:00PM on 10/22/2020 and will close at 12:00PM on 11/12/2020. For more information click here. To stay informed regarding both existing and upcoming grant opportunities, please bookmark the Community Compact Connector website. You are receiving this message through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's Division of Local Services DLS Alerts system. These periodic notices include our City & Town e-newsletter, IGRs, Bulletins, Cherry Sheets and other municipal finance-related information. To unsubscribe to DLS Alerts and the City & Town e-newsletter, please email dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us. 2 This email was sent to selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Massachusetts Department of Revenue - Division of Local Services · 100 Cambridge Street · Boston, MA 02114 · USA 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Burns, Greg Sent:Friday, October 23, 2020 4:01 PM To:Delios, Jean; Jackson, Paul; Kraunelis, Matthew; LeLacheur, Bob; Martel, Justin; Paul Guarino (pfguarino@comcast.net); Reading - All Fire Department; Reading - Police Dispatchers; Reading - Selectboard Subject:Reading Fire Department's Weekly Notes Weekly Notes October 23, 2020 1. If you need a flu shot please contact FF Lapolla as soon as possible. 2. We have interviewed six candidates for our upcoming Firefighter vacancies and selected 3 Firefighter candidates. The background checks have been performed and the next step is medical evaluations and physical abilities testing. One of the candidates has completed the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Recruit Program. 3. The DPW has instituted a new policy where all after-hour emergency calls for a mechanic should go through the scheduled highway call person. The highway call person will then contact a mechanic to respond to the call. 4. Facilities had a roof contractor repair some roof leaks at Station 1 this week. Next week a contractor is scheduled to address the roof leaks at Station2. 5. We have begun the process of installing the Knox box key safes in our vehicles and Stations. Once they are installed they will be programmed and placed into service. 6. On Saturday, October 23rd there will a March beginning at 3:30 P.M. The participants will begin at the Reading Town common and walk to Reading Memorial High School. The march will cross Lowell Street at the signalized crosswalk between Town Hall and Old South Church. The participants will use sidewalks where available. The expected route is Lowell Street, right on to Highland Street to Bancroft right on Weston Road, left on Parkview Road to Oakland Road. 7. This week we had a meeting with our local Red Cross representative to discuss sheltering and COVID- 19 impacts to sheltering. Chief Gregory J. Burns Reading Fire Department 757 Main Street Reading, MA 01867 (P) 781.944.3132 (F) 781.942.9114 www.readingma.gov 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Carolyn Whiting Sent:Saturday, October 24, 2020 2:45 AM To:walt.tuvell@gmail.com; Reading - Selectboard; j.r.e.mccarthy@gmail.com; anndillaway@hotmail.com; davedillaway@hotmail.com; baystatescubaschool@gmail.com; jamie.diclemente@gmail.com; hayes_associates@yahoo.com; bethanntowsley@yahoo.com; forbes1997@aol.com; 13award13@gmail.com; readingbobc@gmail.com; info@galanteinsurance.com; mplacey89@gmail.com; bateyc3@yahoo.com; jpmartel@gmail.com; dmpenney@gmail.com; jdasilva12285@gmail.com; carolynreopel.okeefe@gmail.com; joanna.moulton@outlook.com; goodhuewhitney@gmail.com; jenriley@gmail.com; hkemery3@gmail.com; pjmorje@yahoo.com; vpmorje@yahoo.com; annamolettieri19 @gmail.com; gmolettieri@gmail.com; bucketlist23@comcast.net; llcooltique@gmail.com; nickersonfamily@verizon.net; lizwitham11@gmail.com; michelle.a.ferraro@gmail.com Subject:Re: Select Board & Cell Tower: Failure to communicate Thank you, Walt! This sounds like a good idea to me, so I will try it out. To my neighbors: I have known Walt for many years. He lives in our neighborhood, and I know that he cares about Reading. He is a retired computer architect who is creating this website as his retirement project. Thank you again to Jackie and Mark and everyone who has been participating in the neighborhood effort to prevent construction of a cell tower in our neighborhood! Carolyn -----Original Message----- From: Walt Tuvell <walt.tuvell@gmail.com> To: selectboard@ci.reading.ma.us; j.r.e.mccarthy@gmail.com <j.r.e.mccarthy@gmail.com>; anndillaway@hotmail.com; davedillaway@hotmail.com; baystatescubaschool@gmail.com; jamie.diclemente@gmail.com; hayes_associates@yahoo.com; bethanntowsley@yahoo.com; forbes1997@aol.com; 13award13@gmail.com; readingbobc@gmail.com; info@galanteinsurance.com; Carolyn Whiting <crwhit99@aol.com>; mplacey89@gmail.com; bateyc3@yahoo.com; jpmartel@gmail.com; dmpenney@gmail.com; jdasilva12285@gmail.com; carolynreopel.okeefe@gmail.com; joanna.moulton@outlook.com; goodhuewhitney@gmail.com; jenriley@gmail.com; hkemery3@gmail.com; pjmorje@yahoo.com; vpmorje@yahoo.com; annamolettieri19@gmail.com; gmolettieri@gmail.com; bucketlist23@comcast.net; llcooltique@gmail.com; nickersonfamily@verizon.net; lizwitham11@gmail.com; michelle.a.ferraro@gmail.com Sent: Thu, Oct 22, 2020 11:34 am Subject: Select Board & Cell Tower: Failure to communicate Hello, everybody — Please, I hope you will receive this note in the good faith it is intended. (It is NOT a spam mass mailing.) Judging from the two Chronicle articles this past Fri. and Mon., there seems to be a major lack of communication between town govt and residents happening just now. Quotes: "Neighbors are furious." "Deceived by the town." "Betrayed by local officials." "First time we learned the Town Manager had complete reversed what he told everybody in 2018." "Process about to get a lot worse." "He [TM] didn't tell anybody." "There is no process." "Neighbors launch counteroffensive." "Lifetime of harm to neighborhood." "Town's process is sneaky." "Huge safety risk." "Communication has been a struggle [citing Venetian Moon]." "Karen Herrick [SB member] disappointed in lack of communication with neighbors." I feel your pain. Because I felt the same way a couple months ago, around Recall Election time. Regardless of which way you swing on that issue, you probably agree with me that miscommunications were a big factor there too. We could extend this list indefinitely. I decided to something about it (the miscommunications, that is). There's got to be a better way to communicate. And there is. I offer it to you here: 2 I'm in the process of launching a website specifically for Reading (all aspects, but esp. govt comms). It's at https://ReadingMA.us. It is currently in "last beta" stage (the biggest current problem is some font issues, my apologies for that, I'm working on it). The Big Feature of this website is so-called Internet "forums," i.e., places to make discussion "comments" on "topics" of interest. Think of LTEs (Letters to the Editor), except much, much better: no editors deciding whose LTS gets published (they all get published, except for obvious "trolls"); the distribution is faster/wider; and it's INTERACTIVE: people on all sides of issues get their say. Wouldn't it be great if you had a direct channel to the Select Board & TM? And, they had a direct channel right back to you? Well, here's your chance. So, I invite you all to sign up. Right now, today. I've already started a Cell Tower Topic, and put the two Chronicle articles there. It's at: https://readingma.us/ForumSpace/Category%3ATownAffairs/Forum%3ASelectBoard/Topic%3ACellTower Hopefully, one of you will now add the next comment, and all of you will comment soon after that. Cheers! — Walt Tuvell, Main St. PS: I'm also sending this email to the Town Manager, via his web email form (https://www.readingma.gov/user/431/contact). 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Walt Tuvell <walt.tuvell@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, October 24, 2020 8:02 AM To:Carolyn Whiting; Reading - Selectboard; j.r.e.mccarthy@gmail.com; anndillaway@hotmail.com; davedillaway@hotmail.com; baystatescubaschool@gmail.com; jamie.diclemente@gmail.com; hayes_associates@yahoo.com; bethanntowsley@yahoo.com; forbes1997@aol.com; 13award13@gmail.com; readingbobc@gmail.com; info@galanteinsurance.com; mplacey89@gmail.com; bateyc3@yahoo.com; jpmartel@gmail.com; dmpenney@gmail.com; jdasilva12285@gmail.com; carolynreopel.okeefe@gmail.com; joanna.moulton@outlook.com; goodhuewhitney@gmail.com; jenriley@gmail.com; hkemery3@gmail.com; pjmorje@yahoo.com; vpmorje@yahoo.com; annamolettieri19 @gmail.com; gmolettieri@gmail.com; bucketlist23@comcast.net; llcooltique@gmail.com; nickersonfamily@verizon.net; lizwitham11@gmail.com; michelle.a.ferraro@gmail.com Subject:Re: Select Board & Cell Tower: Failure to communicate Carolyn, thank you for that very nice letter of introduction! As Carolyn mentions, I do know a few of you on this list, though not very many yet, partly because I live further from the tower(s) than most of you, partly because I haven't been able to participate a lot in local affairs heretofore. My wife, Linda King (and our children, Eric & Suzie, now living out of town), have been more civic-minded, and are much better known around town than me. But now with my "retirement" (at least from the day-to-day work grind), the time has arrived for me to "give back" as best I can. As I mentioned in my earlier note, the Recall Election spurred me to get involved politically (well, OK, national politics has something to do with that too), and what immediately struck me there was the regrettable disconnect between govt and governed. Not placing "blame" at anyone's doorstep (certainly not dissing govt, who've kept this place going pretty damn well all this time!), but I do have some tools/experience that I think can help improve the communications situation. So that's what I've been doing exclusively since the Recall Election. I've put together this new website with the single- minded goal of freely contributing a resource to the community. And, as of this morning, I can, right now hereby, declare it FULLY OPEN FOR BUSINESS! So, all of you — governed and govt alike — please consider yourself invited to now join Carolyn and sign up. I'm confident this can help make this town work better for all of us — but only if we do the work to make it so. I'm humbly offering this with my gratitude to all you Readingites who've made my 31 years here the best time of my life! — Walt, 836 Main St. — https://ReadingMA.us On 10/24/20 2:45 AM, Carolyn Whiting wrote: Thank you, Walt! This sounds like a good idea to me, so I will try it out. To my neighbors: I have known Walt for many years. He lives in our neighborhood, and I know that he cares about Reading. He is a retired computer architect who is creating this website as his retirement 2 project. Thank you again to Jackie and Mark and everyone who has been participating in the neighborhood effort to prevent construction of a cell tower in our neighborhood! Carolyn -----Original Message----- From: Walt Tuvell <walt.tuvell@gmail.com> To: selectboard@ci.reading.ma.us; j.r.e.mccarthy@gmail.com <j.r.e.mccarthy@gmail.com>; anndillaway@hotmail.com; davedillaway@hotmail.com; baystatescubaschool@gmail.com ; jamie.diclemente@gmail.com; hayes_associates@yahoo.com ; bethanntowsley@yahoo.com; forbes1997@aol.com; 13award13@gmail.com; readingbobc@gmail.com; info@galanteinsurance.com; Carolyn Whiting <crwhit99@aol.com>; mplacey89@gmail.com; bateyc3@yahoo.com; jpmartel@gmail.com; dmpenney@gmail.com; jdasilva12285@gmail.com; carolynreopel.okeefe@gmail.com; joanna.moulton@outlook.com; goodhuewhitney@gmail.com; jenriley@gmail.com; hkemery3@gmail.com; pjmorje@yahoo.com; vpmorje@yahoo.com; annamolettieri19@gmail.com; gmolettieri@gmail.com; bucketlist23@comcast.net; llcooltique@gmail.com; nickersonfamily@verizon.net; lizwitham11@gmail.com; michelle.a.ferraro@gmail.com Sent: Thu, Oct 22, 2020 11:34 am Subject: Select Board & Cell Tower: Failure to communicate Hello, everybody — Please, I hope you will receive this note in the good faith it is intended. (It is NOT a spam mass mailing.) Judging from the two Chronicle articles this past Fri. and Mon., there seems to be a major lack of communication between town govt and residents happening just now. Quotes: "Neighbors are furious." "Deceived by the town." "Betrayed by local officials." "First time we learned the Town Manager had complete reversed what he told everybody in 2018." "Process about to get a lot worse." "He [TM] didn't tell anybody." "There is no process." "Neighbors launch counteroffensive." "Lifetime of harm to neighborhood." "Town's process is sneaky." "Huge safety risk." "Communication has been a struggle [citing Venetian Moon]." "Karen Herrick [SB member] disappointed in lack of communication with neighbors." I feel your pain. Because I felt the same way a couple months ago, around Recall Election time. Regardless of which way you swing on that issue, you probably agree with me that miscommunications were a big factor there too. We could extend this list indefinitely. I decided to something about it (the miscommunications, that is). There's got to be a better way to communicate. And there is. I offer it to you here: I'm in the process of launching a website specifically for Reading (all aspects, but esp. govt comms). It's at https://ReadingMA.us. It is currently in "last beta" stage (the biggest current problem is some font issues, my apologies for that, I'm working on it). The Big Feature of this website is so-called Internet "forums," i.e., places to make discussion "comments" on "topics" of interest. Think of LTEs (Letters to the Editor), except much, much better: no editors deciding whose LTS gets published (they all get published, except for obvious "trolls"); the distribution is faster/wider; and it's INTERACTIVE: people on all sides of issues get their say. Wouldn't it be great if you had a direct channel to the Select Board & TM? And, they had a direct channel right back to you? Well, here's your chance. So, I invite you all to sign up. Right now, today. I've already started a Cell Tower Topic, and put the two Chronicle articles there. It's at: https://readingma.us/ForumSpace/Category%3ATownAffairs/Forum%3ASelectBoard/Top ic%3ACellTower Hopefully, one of you will now add the next comment, and all of you will comment soon after that. Cheers! — Walt Tuvell, Main St. PS: I'm also sending this email to the Town Manager, via his web email form (https://www.readingma.gov/user/431/contact). 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Carolyn Whiting Sent:Monday, October 26, 2020 2:37 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Follow-up on Auburn Street Water Tank Wireless Transmitter Plans Dear Reading Selectboard Members: Thank you for allowing my neighbors and me to express our concerns regarding a proposed cell tower at the Auburn Street Water Tank site during your October 20 meeting. As you know, my preference would be that the wireless transmitters be permanently removed from the site, but I am hoping that, at the very least, we end up with no more transmitters than we have now and that, if we have any remaining wireless transmitters, they be located on a water tower, not on a separate cell tower. For your convenience, I am including the text of the remarks that I offered during the October 20 meeting, folllowed by the contact information for the people whom I mentioned, in case their advice may be helpful. "My name is Carolyn Whiting, and I live at 17 Chestnut Road, where I have lived for 35 years. I don’t remember hearing about the initial wireless transmitters before they were installed on the water tower, but I was active in my neighborhood’s effort to keep the third wireless communications company’s transmitters from being installed on the water tower back in 1999 to 2000. We were initially able to convince the Board to deny Sprint’s application, but then, after Sprint threatened to sue the town, the Board gave in and the transmitters were installed. I still believe that it is not appropriate to allow wireless transmitters, regardless of whether they are located on a water tower or on a cell tower, within 1500 feet of residences and schools. My first choice, therefore, would be to consult with experienced telecommunications lawyer Andrew Campanelli, to find out whether it might be feasible to permanently remove the commercial transmitters from the water tower. According to Cecelia Doucette, Director of Massachusetts For Safe Technology, Mr. Campanelli indicates that the industry provides our towns with fraudulent information to lead them to believe that they have no recourse and he has taken more than 7,000 individual and municipal cases and won 75-80% of them. I would be happy to provide contact information and additional information about his services if you would be interested in looking into this possibility. My next choice would be to keep the wireless transmitters on the water tower, either by leaving the current tower and the transmitters in place even after the tower is no longer is used for water storage purposes and build the new tower on a different footprint on the same lot, perhaps where the old “Rocket” water tower used to be, or by moving the transmitters to the new water tower. I am strongly opposed to having a permanent cell tower located on the Auburn Street lot, in the middle of a residential neighborhood. I believe that having such a tower would have a detrimental effect on neighborhood health, property values, and aesthetic values. It could also potentially expose us to the risk of someday having additional carriers apply to have transmitters installed on the new water tower in addition to the ones on the proposed cell tower. I had a layer of metal installed under the shingles of my roof many years ago in an effort to reduce the impact of the transmitters on my health, but I don’t know of anything I could do to prevent the damage to property values and aesthetic values. Thank you for your consideration of my views." 2 Andrew Campanelli website/contact information: https://anticelltowerlawyers.com/attorneys/andrew-j- campanelli.html Andrew Campanelli interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtT6gVH584s&feature=emb_logo Cecelia (Cece) Doucette, MTPW, BA Technology Safety Educator Director, Massachusetts for Safe Technology Founder, Understanding EMFs Education Services Director, Wireless Education City of Boston Legal Comment to FCC HiBR Conference @ NIH Expert Forum on Wi-fi in Schools Municipal Presentation on 5G & EMFs Additional YouTube EMF Talks Generation Zapped Award-Winning Film EMF Conference for Health Practitioners I appreciate all of your work on this issue, and I will appreciate your keeping the neighborhood informed regarding the plans for the water tank replacement project. Sincerely, Carolyn Whiting 17 Chestnut Rd Reading MA 01867 781-944-1917 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Saunders, Caitlin Sent:Monday, October 26, 2020 11:17 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Cc:LeLacheur, Bob Subject:Grand Street Issue Hi All, Just an FYI - There is an issue on Grand Street with a limited SWAT call out. A code red will be going out to neighborhood momentarily. Thanks, Caitlin Saunders Nocella Executive Assistant Town of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 781-942-6644 csaunders@ci.reading.ma.us Town Hall Hours: Mon, Wed, Thurs 7:30 am – 5:30 pm Tues 7:30 am – 7:00 pm Friday - CLOSED 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Monday, October 26, 2020 11:48 AM To:Saunders, Caitlin; Reading - Selectboard Subject:RE: Grand Street Issue Issue has been resolved peacefully with no injuries, one person in custody. Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record From: Saunders, Caitlin Sent: Monday, October 26, 2020 11:17 AM To: Reading - Selectboard <selectboard@ci.reading.ma.us> Cc: LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: Grand Street Issue Hi All, Just an FYI - There is an issue on Grand Street with a limited SWAT call out. A code red will be going out to neighborhood momentarily. Thanks, Caitlin Saunders Nocella Executive Assistant Town of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 781-942-6644 csaunders@ci.reading.ma.us Town Hall Hours: Mon, Wed, Thurs 7:30 am – 5:30 pm Tues 7:30 am – 7:00 pm Friday - CLOSED 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:DLS Alerts <dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us> Sent:Monday, October 26, 2020 1:03 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:DLS Alert: Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CvRF) Program To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CvRF) Program As you are aware, the Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CvRF) Program was created to provide up to approximately $502 million for municipalities to address unanticipated costs incurred as a result of the public health emergency caused by COVID-19. On September 30th, Secretary for Administration & Finance Michael J. Heffernan issued guidance to municipal officials for Round 2 of the program. This alert serves as a reminder of three key elements: the deadline for Round 2 submission is October 30th expenses must be incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 30, 2020 a set FAQ’s including questions regarding eligibility are available here If you have any specific questions regarding eligibility, please submit them here. You are receiving this message through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's Division of Local Services DLS Alerts system. These periodic notices include our City & Town e-newsletter, IGRs, Bulletins, Cherry Sheets and other municipal finance-related information. To unsubscribe to DLS Alerts and the City & Town e-newsletter, please email dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us. 2 This email was sent to selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Massachusetts Department of Revenue - Division of Local Services · 100 Cambridge Street · Boston, MA 02114 · USA 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:R Connor <readingbobc@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, October 26, 2020 5:44 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:here thanks a bunch selectboard@ci.reading.ma.us 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:cmsmailer@civicplus.com on behalf of Contact form at Reading MA <cmsmailer@civicplus.com> Sent:Monday, October 26, 2020 5:54 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:[Reading MA] Issue with water/sewer billing/new lawn (Sent by James Gallagher, jaygallagher@comcast.net) Hello Select Board, James Gallagher (jaygallagher@comcast.net) has sent you a message via your contact form (https://www.readingma.gov/user/475/contact) at Reading MA. If you don't want to receive such e-mails, you can change your settings at https://www.readingma.gov/user/475/edit. Message: Hello, I was hoping you could help me deal with an issue I am having regarding my water bill. We recently put in a new lawn in June, and thus had to do a lot of watering. I understand the increase in water usage leading to an increase in the cost of the water bill. What I do not understand though, is also being charged for sewage for the water we use for the lawn which has not gone into the sewer. I called the water department and was told there is nothing they could do. They did confirm that the town does offer abatements on the sewer bill for new pools, thus there is precedent for an abatement, and a way to demonstrate that water used did not go into the sewer. I would ask that we are given the same consideration. Our water usage has been largely stable in the 4 yrs in our home, and then dramatically increased in the last water bill due to the watering. I understand if the town is not able to offer continuing abatements, but would ask for the same consideration a new pool owner is given with a one time adjustment. Thank you, James Gallagher 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Pete Dana <pete.dana@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, October 27, 2020 9:05 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Proposed Cell Tower Hello, We would like to thank the select board for voting against the proposal to build a separate cell tower on Auburn St. We appreciate the opportunity to provide our feedback to the board and the board taking our concerns into consideration. Regards, Peter Dana & Carlyn Peters 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:cmsmailer@civicplus.com on behalf of Contact form at Reading MA <cmsmailer@civicplus.com> Sent:Tuesday, October 27, 2020 9:22 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:[Reading MA] Why is Town Hall still closed? (Sent by Karen Dolan, karengdolan@gmail.com) Hello Select Board, Karen Dolan (karengdolan@gmail.com) has sent you a message via your contact form (https://www.readingma.gov/user/475/contact) at Reading MA. If you don't want to receive such e-mails, you can change your settings at https://www.readingma.gov/user/475/edit. Message: Why is the Reading Town Hall still closed to the public? The state has been in Phase 3, part 2 for some time now of our Covid plan, which includes Reading. Essential Reading resident matters and business is falling by the wayside and not being handled in a timely fashion (or handled at all) by having Town Hall closed! There are safe ways to have Town Hall open and all Town Staff working and present in a safe manner. By having the public with various Town Hall staff by appoint, of course always wearing masks while present in the building. Other cities and municipalities with MUCH higher COVID rates than Reading implemented this model for their municipal buildings many months ago with great success. I ask again, why is our Town Hall still closed?! 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:DLS Alerts <dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us> Sent:Tuesday, October 27, 2020 12:26 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:DLS Alert: Free 2020 “What’s New in Municipal Law” Seminar Available Online To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Free 2020 “What’s New in Municipal Law” Seminar Available Online Developed by our Bureau of Municipal Finance Law, the Division of Local Services is pleased to announce that its annual “What’s New in Municipal Law” presentation on recent legislation and court decisions is now available online and at no cost for the first time in our organization's history. The presentation consists of five narrated videos discussing recent laws and cases related to municipal finance and municipal law. You can view the videos individually or together as a group on our YouTube channel listed under What’s New in Municipal Law 2020. The estimated viewing time and a link for each segment are included below. We hope you find this resource helpful and informative! Part 1 – New Legislation (19:34) Part 2A – Property Tax Decisions (21:15) Part 2B – Tax Collection and Public Employment (14:43) Part 2C – Finance and Land Use (10:27) Part 2D – Other Municipal Decisions (16:04) You are receiving this message through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's Division of Local Services DLS Alerts system. These periodic notices include our City & Town e-newsletter, IGRs, Bulletins, Cherry Sheets and other municipal finance-related information. To unsubscribe to DLS Alerts and the City & Town e-newsletter, please email dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us. 2 This email was sent to selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Massachusetts Department of Revenue - Division of Local Services · 100 Cambridge Street · Boston, MA 02114 · USA 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Tuesday, October 27, 2020 1:52 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:RE: Goals and Review Process for tonight--please share with full board Good afternoon, Please see these comments below, sharing as requested: -----Original Message----- From: Dockser, Mark Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 1:42 PM To: LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: Goals and Review Process for tonight--please share with full board Hi Bob, On the agenda tonight is to complete the Town Manager goals for FY21. I plan to review the status of the goals we completed a few meetings ago from the document you enclosed in the packet, finish the last few goals that we discussed but did not address in detail, and then agree on priorities from the approximately 10 goals. For our discussion this evening of the Town Manager review, i plan to go through each of the main sections (Community, Policy, Operations, Overall Review) and ask each member if they have specific comments or suggestions that they would like to make. I want members to have a heads-up about this process so that they can come in prepared this evening. Please share this with the full board. Thanks, Mark 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Mass Cultural Council <Newsletters@ART.state.ma.us> Sent:Wednesday, October 28, 2020 1:05 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Community Initiative - October 2020 View this email in your browser To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Man plays a stringed instrument while a woman sings into a microphone at event hosted by Urbano. Photos by Faizal Westcott. Community Initiative News You Can Use (And Share Locally) To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.The side of The Faces & Voices art-mobile ArtSpace Maynard presents Faces & Voices: A Traveling, Public Art Exhibition. Governor Baker's FY21 “Revised H2” Invests $16.3M in Cultural Sector : This figure equals the line item appropriation the Governor proposed in his original H2 budget bill in January – prior to the onset of the COVID- 19 pandemic. Our advocacy strategy to secure public investment to help creative individuals and cultural nonprofits implement COVID-19 recovery measures is working. The Commonwealth stands poised to make a $69.3M investment of new public funds into the cultural sector through Mass Cultural Council, pending necessary approvals on Beacon Hill. 2 Applications for Cultural Facilities Fund grants are available until January 15, 2021. Mass Cultural Council seeks content experts to assist nonprofit organizations responding to the unique challenges of operating and programming during the COVID-19 crisis. Reply to the RFP by Nov. 9. As part of our Universal Participation (UP) Initiative , Mass Cultural Council invites cultural organizations that demonstrate inclusive practices to apply for an UP Designation by Dec. 7, 2020. Get More Updates From Our Blog Complete our COVID-19 Impact Survey by Oct. 30 Please complete Mass Cultural Council's latest COVID-19 impact survey by this Friday, Oct. 30 and directly inform continued advocacy efforts on behalf of the cultural sector for public relief and mitigation assistance. Survey for Artists/Individuals Survey for Cultural Organizations 3 On the Podcast Unpacking Bias and Privilege in Cultural Organizations To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Sandra Bonnici Sandra Bonnici is a Senior Diversity Fellow for the American Alliance of Museums and a diversity and inclusion consultant. She says that doing the work to make a cultural organization diverse and inclusive requires deep and constant reflection. Institutions need to challenge their processes by asking, "For whom does this work? For whom does this harm? For whom do we exist?" Listen now or read the transcript. Opportunities & Resources New England Foundation for the Arts' Public Art Learning Fund grants New England artists in their public art practices. Deadline: Nov. 16. New England Foundation for the Arts' Regional Dance Development Initiative elevates and strengthens institutional and community-based networks for dance inside of New England. Deadline: Nov. 10. 4 The Small Business Administration issued a new PPP Forgiveness Application Form 3508S and 3508S Instructions for small businesses that secured a PPP loan of $50,000 or less. Do you start your meetings with land acknowledgments? Search for your community’s indigenous land history. Resources to note for indigenous people: Massachusetts' Commission on Indian Affairs, Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness , Northeast Indigenous Arts Alliance , and the Native Governance Center. Multicultural BRIDGE, a Berkshires-based grassroots organization, is hosting Justice, Transformation and Healing, an online conference on continuing the movement for gender, race, and economic justice. Nov. 6-9. The Association of Performing Arts Professionals has tips for Livestreaming, reopening, and more. The Mayor of Boston Arts and Culture Office’s Opportunity Fund is accepting applications on a rolling basis. Grants of up to $1,000 are available for individual artists looking for professional development support or assistance with community arts events. 5 In the News Museums refocus and reinvent to survive COVID (Commonwealth Magazine, October 18, 2020) State Cultural Council hopes grants spark recovery (Gloucester Times, October 12, 2020) Community Foundation of W. Mass. Grants $2M to 70 Nonprofits (Mass nonprofit news, October 10, 2020) Racial equity in the arts: Multicultural Bridge, state agency eye diversity, inclusion (Berkshire Eagle, October 9, 2020) Medford releases ‘roadmap’ for fighting racism (Boston Globe, October 6, 2020) Vacant police barracks could become arts center (Boston Globe, October 6, 2020) Mass Humanities Grants $224K to 56 Bay State Nonprofits (Mass nonprofit news, September 22, 2020) Read More Header image: Gian Carlo Buscaglia and Glaisma Perez Silva perform an homage to Puerto Rican Poet Julia De Burgos. About the Mass Cultural Council 6 Mass Cultural Council is a state agency supporting the arts, sciences, and humanities, to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts and its communities. It pursues its mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. About the Community Initiative Mass Cultural Council’s Community Initiative unleashes the power of culture in cities and towns across the Commonwealth. We help communities create rich cultural experiences that improve our quality of life, foster growth and economic development, and celebrate the authentic power of place. We form partnerships between developers, cultural leaders, and municipalities that transform cities and towns through culture. And we’re leading a movement to bring people of all backgrounds in the arts, humanities, and sciences together for a common cause: to elevate the importance of culture to create a better Commonwealth. Community Initiative Team Lisa Simmons, Community Initiative Program Manager Festivals, Cultural Districts, Local Cultural Councils Regions: Boston, Martha’s Vineyard, The Berkshires, Plymouth County, North Central Mass Luis E. Cotto, Program Manager Cultural Districts, Local Cultural Councils Regions: Greater Merrimack Valley, Metro West Ricardo Guillaume, Program Officer Local Cultural Councils, Cultural Districts Regions: Franklin County, South-Central Mass, Cape Cod (excluding Gosnold) Mina Kim, Program Officer Cultural Districts, Local Cultural Councils Regions: Hampshire County, North of Boston, Bristol County Timothea Pham, Program Officer Local Cultural Councils, Cultural Districts Regions: Greater Springfield, Greater Boston (excluding Boston), Nantucket Verónica Ramírez Martell, Program Officer Local Cultural Councils, Cultural Districts Regions: Berkshire, North-Central Massachusetts, Plymouth County Map of staff assignments by region (PDF) List of staff assignments by city/town Copyright © 2020 Mass Cultural Council, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in. Our mailing address is: Mass Cultural Council 10 St. James Avenue Boston, MA 02116 7 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Lisa Egan, Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce <legan@rnrchamber.com> Sent:Thursday, October 29, 2020 8:54 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Santa's Going on Tour to your Neighborhood To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Santa's Holiday Tour Sunday, November 29th from 9 AM - 1 PM To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Chamber is pivoting from our traditional Holiday Tree Lighting Celebrati on and instead offering a neighborhood parade featuring Santa! We are calling it "Santa’s Holiday Tour". In the past you have come to our party on the common, and this year we are taking the fun to you! We will travel to many neighborhoods in Reading and North Reading and a fire engine will lead us on the Tour. The route will be posted in advance. Reading Tour: 9 - 11 AM North Reading Tour: 11 AM - 1 PM This is the safest way for us to continue our tradition of hosting the holiday kick off event! Masks and social distancing will be required. Want to Join the Fun? Sponsor Santa's Holiday Tour! To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Contact Lisa via email or at 978-664-5060 to sponsor this event. 2 Canva for Marketing and Print PR November 12, 2020 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Via Zoom Do you want to design your own invitations, cards, flyers and more? Are you looking for an economical way to promote your company or organization? We will explore Canva, an online graphic design tool that's fun and easy to use! Canva is great for creating digital & print materials. This intro training will get you started on the the road to professional looking personal and business creations.The possibilities are endless! Event is free and hosted by the Reading Public Library. Limited to 25 spots so reserve yours online here. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Multi Chamber Networking Wednesday, November 18th 3:30 - 5 PM Via Zoom Even if you can’t meet in person, that doesn’t mean business — or the need to build relationships — stops. In fact, without the natural interactions that go along with in-person work and events, it’s even more important to be proactive in your networking efforts. Join us via Zoom for a relaxed but structured virtual networking session. It's networking...a new way! Member Tickets: $10 Non Member Tickets: $20 To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Role of the Chamber 3 To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. As we all try to rebuild our businesses and overcome the hardships that COVID-19 created in our community, working together is the best way to accomplish our goals – and our goals are still ahead of us and are attainable. In the middle of a pandemic, the Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce is working hard for members and the community. Here our some of the ways we have helped: Leveraged state partnerships to get accurate and unbiased information about COVID-19 to our members and to spread the word that the economy and public health can co- exist. Promoted online sales, curbside pick-up options and carryout/delivery of local restaurants. We produced 40 COVID-19-based updates with news and information on resources available to businesses We made more than 100 different points of contact with local, state, and federal legislators to communicate business hardships and discuss possible solutions. We also joined with our elected officials, SBA, National Federation of Independent Business and Retailer’s Association of MA to promote pro- business legislation to help our members. Hosted or co-hosted eight sessions to help foster understanding of the federal programs and state guidelines for businesses. We continue to field questions about loans, unemployment, eviction and other urgent matters for local businesses on a weekly basis. If you value this local resource, join as a member and enjoy two months' membership for free. Funding Opportunities for Businesses To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 4 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has made $50.8 million in grants available to support small businesses, microenterprises, and their employees, families and communities. Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) will be administering these funds to businesses experiencing economic hardship and a loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant funding is intended to help businesses adversely impacted by the pandemic. Preference will be given to small businesses whose owners are women, minorities, veterans, members of other underrepresented groups, who are focused on serving the Gateway Cities of Massachusetts, and those most negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Preference will also be given to applicants that have not been able to receive aid from other federal programs related to COVID- 19. Applications and full details online. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Welcome New Member Margaret O'Sullivan of William Raveis Realty Margaret O'Sullivan is a realtor with William Raveis. She is dedicated to client satisfaction which she delivers with the latest technology and personalized concierge services. Make sure to check her social pages, too, to see her viral “Woman Crush Wednesday” series lifting up local business owners! 781-439-2566, Margaret.Osullivan@raveis.com Instagram: @margaret_rose_osullivan margaretosullivanrealtor.com To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Chamber Platinum Partners To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 5 To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Lisa Egan Executive Director Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce PO Box 771 Reading, MA 01867 legan@rnrchamber.com www.readingnreadingchamber.com To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Facebook To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.LinkedIn To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Instagram Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce | PO Box 771, Reading, MA 01867 Unsubscribe selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by legan@rnrchamber.com powered by To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today. Try email marketing for free today! 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Burns, Greg Sent:Friday, October 30, 2020 3:32 PM To:Delios, Jean; Jackson, Paul; Kraunelis, Matthew; LeLacheur, Bob; Martel, Justin; Paul Guarino (pfguarino@comcast.net); Reading - All Fire Department; Reading - Police Dispatchers; Reading - Selectboard Subject:Reading Fire Department's Weekly Notes Weekly Notes October 30, 2020 1. FF Pizzimenti will be graduating the Fire Academy on Friday, November 6 th. Unfortunately, the Department of Fire Services does not permit anyone to attend the graduation due to COVID-19. 2. The DPW performed a number of punch list repairs to Engine 3. 3. Greenwood Emergency Vehicles performed a pump tested of a pump with exception of Engine 2. 4. The road layout in front of 24 Gould Street will be changing in the next few days. We will still have a 12’ wide roadway as we currently have. The FDC is being moved to the exterior of the building. 5. Facilities repaired a roof leak at Station 2. The leak was caused by a broken shingle due to wind damage. Chief Gregory J. Burns Reading Fire Department 757 Main Street Reading, MA 01867 (P) 781.944.3132 (F) 781.942.9114 www.readingma.gov 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Walt Tuvell <walt.tuvell@gmail.com> Sent:Friday, October 30, 2020 3:52 PM To:Reading - Selectboard; j.r.e.mccarthy@gmail.com; anndillaway@hotmail.com; davedillaway@hotmail.com; baystatescubaschool@gmail.com; jamie.diclemente@gmail.com; hayes_associates@yahoo.com; bethanntowsley@yahoo.com; forbes1997@aol.com; 13award13@gmail.com; readingbobc@gmail.com; info@galanteinsurance.com; Carolyn Whiting; mplacey89 @gmail.com; bateyc3@yahoo.com; jpmartel@gmail.com; dmpenney@gmail.com; jdasilva12285@gmail.com; carolynreopel.okeefe@gmail.com; joanna.moulton@outlook.com; goodhuewhitney@gmail.com; jenriley@gmail.com; hkemery3@gmail.com; pjmorje@yahoo.com; vpmorje@yahoo.com; annamolettieri19 @gmail.com; gmolettieri@gmail.com; bucketlist23@comcast.net; llcooltique@gmail.com; nickersonfamily@verizon.net; lizwitham11@gmail.com; michelle.a.ferraro@gmail.com Subject:Re: Select Board & Cell Tower: Failure to communicate FYI: I've been advised that some people "prefer" simple ad hoc email groups, because of its PRIVACY, as opposed to the public nature of forums. So in response, I have added a PRIVACY feature to the website. So, any person or group can specify the members it wants to read/write the forums/topics (and this goes for webpages too, which obviously email doesn't support in any sense). For example: If a church group wants to have a bake sale, and wants to organize via a forum/topic (or webpage) without unwanted "lurkers" snooping around, they can do it. (Or, say, a Cell Tower organizing group …) This is now documented on the Introduction and Forums How-To pages of the website: search for the word "Private," near the bottom of those pages. It's also mentioned in the MOTD (Message of the Day, on the Home page). Cheers! — Walt — https://ReadingMA.us On 10/22/20 11:34 AM, Walt Tuvell wrote: Hello, everybody — Please, I hope you will receive this note in the good faith it is intended. (It is NOT a spam mass mailing.) Judging from the two Chronicle articles this past Fri. and Mon., there seems to be a major lack of communication between town govt and residents happening just now. Quotes: "Neighbors are furious." "Deceived by the town." "Betrayed by local officials." "First time we learned the Town Manager had complete reversed what he told everybody in 2018." "Process about to get a lot worse." "He [TM] didn't tell anybody." "There is no process." "Neighbors launch counteroffensive." 2 "Lifetime of harm to neighborhood." "Town's process is sneaky." "Huge safety risk." "Communication has been a struggle [citing Venetian Moon]." "Karen Herrick [SB member] disappointed in lack of communication with neighbors." I feel your pain. Because I felt the same way a couple months ago, around Recall Election time. Regardless of which way you swing on that issue, you probably agree with me that miscommunications were a big factor there too. We could extend this list indefinitely. I decided to something about it (the miscommunications, that is). There's got to be a better way to communicate. And there is. I offer it to you here: I'm in the process of launching a website specifically for Reading (all aspects, but esp. govt comms). It's at https://ReadingMA.us. It is currently in "last beta" stage (the biggest current problem is some font issues, my apologies for that, I'm working on it). The Big Feature of this website is so-called Internet "forums," i.e., places to make discussion "comments" on "topics" of interest. Think of LTEs (Letters to the Editor), except much, much better: no editors deciding whose LTS gets published (they all get published, except for obvious "trolls"); the distribution is faster/wider; and it's INTERACTIVE: people on all sides of issues get their say. Wouldn't it be great if you had a direct channel to the Select Board & TM? And, they had a direct channel right back to you? Well, here's your chance. So, I invite you all to sign up. Right now, today. I've already started a Cell Tower Topic, and put the two Chronicle articles there. It's at: https://readingma.us/ForumSpace/Category%3ATownAffairs/Forum%3ASelectBo ard/Topic%3ACellTower Hopefully, one of you will now add the next comment, and all of you will comment soon after that. Cheers! — Walt Tuvell, Main St. PS: I'm also sending this email to the Town Manager, via his web email form (https://www.readingma.gov/user/431/contact). 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Walt Tuvell <walt.tuvell@gmail.com> Sent:Friday, October 30, 2020 4:13 PM To:Reading - Selectboard; j.r.e.mccarthy@gmail.com; anndillaway@hotmail.com; davedillaway@hotmail.com; baystatescubaschool@gmail.com; jamie.diclemente@gmail.com; hayes_associates@yahoo.com; bethanntowsley@yahoo.com; forbes1997@aol.com; 13award13@gmail.com; readingbobc@gmail.com; info@galanteinsurance.com; Carolyn Whiting; mplacey89 @gmail.com; bateyc3@yahoo.com; jpmartel@gmail.com; dmpenney@gmail.com; jdasilva12285@gmail.com; carolynreopel.okeefe@gmail.com; joanna.moulton@outlook.com; goodhuewhitney@gmail.com; jenriley@gmail.com; hkemery3@gmail.com; pjmorje@yahoo.com; vpmorje@yahoo.com; annamolettieri19 @gmail.com; gmolettieri@gmail.com; bucketlist23@comcast.net; llcooltique@gmail.com; nickersonfamily@verizon.net; lizwitham11@gmail.com; michelle.a.ferraro@gmail.com Subject:Re: Select Board & Cell Tower: Failure to communicate Oops, sorry, forgot to mention: If using a webpage (as opposed to a forum/topic), a groups of people don't have to worry about the concurrent/simultaneous editing problem (potentially "tromping on one another's edits"), because the website also supports "automatic content locking" (documented on the Introduction page). (I've also added this to the MOTD too.) — Walt On 10/30/20 3:52 PM, Walt Tuvell wrote: FYI: I've been advised that some people "prefer" simple ad hoc email groups, because of its PRIVACY, as opposed to the public nature of forums. So in response, I have added a PRIVACY feature to the website. So, any person or group can specify the members it wants to read/write the forums/topics (and this goes for webpages too, which obviously email doesn't support in any sense). For example: If a church group wants to have a bake sale, and wants to organize via a forum/topic (or webpage) without unwanted "lurkers" snooping around, they can do it. (Or, say, a Cell Tower organizing group …) This is now documented on the Introduction and Forums How-To pages of the website: search for the word "Private," near the bottom of those pages. It's also mentioned in the MOTD (Message of the Day, on the Home page). Cheers! — Walt — https://ReadingMA.us 2 On 10/22/20 11:34 AM, Walt Tuvell wrote: Hello, everybody — Please, I hope you will receive this note in the good faith it is intended. (It is NOT a spam mass mailing.) Judging from the two Chronicle articles this past Fri. and Mon., there seems to be a major lack of communication between town govt and residents happening just now. Quotes: "Neighbors are furious." "Deceived by the town." "Betrayed by local officials." "First time we learned the Town Manager had complete reversed what he told everybody in 2018." "Process about to get a lot worse." "He [TM] didn't tell anybody." "There is no process." "Neighbors launch counteroffensive." "Lifetime of harm to neighborhood." "Town's process is sneaky." "Huge safety risk." "Communication has been a struggle [citing Venetian Moon]." "Karen Herrick [SB member] disappointed in lack of communication with neighbors." I feel your pain. Because I felt the same way a couple months ago, around Recall Election time. Regardless of which way you swing on that issue, you probably agree with me that miscommunications were a big factor there too. We could extend this list indefinitely. I decided to something about it (the miscommunications, that is). There's got to be a better way to communicate. And there is. I offer it to you here: I'm in the process of launching a website specifically for Reading (all aspects, but esp. govt comms). It's at https://ReadingMA.us. It is currently in "last beta" stage (the biggest current problem is some font issues, my apologies for that, I'm working on it). The Big Feature of this website is so-called Internet "forums," i.e., places to make discussion "comments" on "topics" of interest. Think of LTEs (Letters to the Editor), except much, much better: no editors deciding whose LTS gets published (they all get published, except for obvious "trolls"); the distribution is faster/wider; and it's INTERACTIVE: people on all sides of issues get their say. Wouldn't it be great if you had a direct channel to the Select Board & TM? And, they had a direct channel right back to you? Well, here's your chance. So, I invite you all to sign up. Right now, today. I've already started a Cell Tower Topic, and put the two Chronicle articles there. It's at: https://readingma.us/ForumSpace/Category%3ATownAffairs/Foru m%3ASelectBoard/Topic%3ACellTower Hopefully, one of you will now add the next comment, and all of you will comment soon after that. Cheers! — Walt Tuvell, Main St. 3 PS: I'm also sending this email to the Town Manager, via his web email form (https://www.readingma.gov/user/431/contact). 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Karen <kmmc101@aol.com> Sent:Friday, October 30, 2020 5:47 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:No Cell Tower Dear Board Members, The Board needs to vote on whether cell towers belong in residential neighborhoods, so all of us can move on. This should be an easy NO vote. Karen Carneglia 13 MacIntosh Rd 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:michelle.a.ferraro@gmail.com Sent:Friday, October 30, 2020 7:35 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Cell tower on Auburn St Dear Select Board, I am a resident of Auburn Street. I ask that the board put to vote whether a cell tower should be constructed in the middle of a residential neighborhood at your meeting on Nov 17. If you do vote that day, I hope your vote is TO “NOT ALLOW” this cell tower to be built. Thank you for listening and understanding about how detrimental the cell tower is to our area. Michelle Ferraro 12 Auburn St Reading Sent from my iPhone 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:David Gilblair <dmgilblair@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, October 31, 2020 10:46 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Auburn Street Cell Tower Proposal by Town Manager To my incumbent select board members, Why is the Town Manager allowed to delay a Board vote on his cell tower proposal after 4 years? What information could our Select Board possibly need after all that you have heard on this? It's time to reject this proposal. Respectfully, The Gilblair Family 28 Chestnut Road Reading 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Mike Lacey <mplacey89@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 01, 2020 9:40 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Re: 10.20.2020 - Cell Tower Meeting Dear Select Board Members, I am writing to you, requesting that you make an immediate vote against the cell tower proposal during the November meeting. It is evident, to all of us, that the Town Manager gave himself a few more "outs" last meeting and is buying more time. That is very concerning, to all of us. Classic manipulative sales crutch that he has leveraged over the past four years. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY! Please put your foot down and stand up to him. Please demand a vote on this matter. You all know and feel, a cell tower does not belong in our neighborhood. Nobody wants it, not even you. Without any question, reservation or hesitation, this should be an easy "NO". Furthermore, knowing how the Town Manager operates, what is your call to action that ensures he does not try to resurrect this topic in years to come? Thank you for your continued support opposing this matter. We need to come together on November 17th and put this matter to rest. My neighborhood has suffered enough. Respectfully, Mike Lacey 9 Beacon Street On Thu, Oct 22, 2020 at 9:53 AM Mike Lacey <mplacey89@gmail.com> wrote: Dear Board Members, Thank you very much for your time this past Tuesday evening. It is very relieving to have the town officials side with the comforts of their residents. The past few months have been very strenuous on our neighborhood, something I hope the town never has to put us through again. That being said, this is the second time since I have moved into Reading in 2012 that I have had to fight together with my neighbors to reject the construction of a cell tower on the corner of Auburn and Beacon St. What is your course of action to ensure this topic gets permanently dismissed? Thank you once again for your time and continued support. Respectfully, Mike Lacey 9 Beacon Street 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Mike Lacey <mplacey89@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 01, 2020 9:40 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Re: 10.20.2020 - Cell Tower Meeting Dear Select Board Members, I am writing to you, requesting that you make an immediate vote against the cell tower proposal during the November meeting. It is evident, to all of us, that the Town Manager gave himself a few more "outs" last meeting and is buying more time. That is very concerning, to all of us. Classic manipulative sales crutch that he has leveraged over the past four years. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY! Please put your foot down and stand up to him. Please demand a vote on this matter. You all know and feel, a cell tower does not belong in our neighborhood. Nobody wants it, not even you. Without any question, reservation or hesitation, this should be an easy "NO". Furthermore, knowing how the Town Manager operates, what is your call to action that ensures he does not try to resurrect this topic in years to come? Thank you for your continued support opposing this matter. We need to come together on November 17th and put this matter to rest. My neighborhood has suffered enough. Respectfully, Mike Lacey 9 Beacon Street On Thu, Oct 22, 2020 at 9:53 AM Mike Lacey <mplacey89@gmail.com> wrote: Dear Board Members, Thank you very much for your time this past Tuesday evening. It is very relieving to have the town officials side with the comforts of their residents. The past few months have been very strenuous on our neighborhood, something I hope the town never has to put us through again. That being said, this is the second time since I have moved into Reading in 2012 that I have had to fight together with my neighbors to reject the construction of a cell tower on the corner of Auburn and Beacon St. What is your course of action to ensure this topic gets permanently dismissed? Thank you once again for your time and continued support. Respectfully, Mike Lacey 9 Beacon Street 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Jamie DiClemente <jamie.diclemente@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 01, 2020 10:23 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Cell Tower To whom it may concern: My name is Jamie DiClement, resident of 33 Beacon St. I have emailed the Board members previously encouraging them to vote against placing a nearly 200 ft. cell tower on Auburn St. My husband Mike and I appreciated the members taking the time to listen to the voices of concerned residents during the October meeting. This cell tower affects us as individuals and as a neighborhood, in particular, negatively impacting our property values. Our homes are the biggest investments most of us will make in a lifetime. I think Jackie McCarthy and Mark Delaney made a clear and compelling case about why the cell tower should not be built. I will not reiterate their points. But what I will say, is that the lack of transparency amongst the residents, the Town Manager and Town Engineer is truly despicable and frankly, unacceptable. Thank goodness we had residents keeping a watchful eye on town matters, otherwise, we would have been kept completely out of the loop. It has been a shady process all around. This topic of a cell tower needs to be put to bed once and for all. I am strongly advocating for a vote from the Board in November in favor of the residents, and prohibit the town from allowing this. Thank you for your time. I hope the right decision will be made Jamie and Mike DiClemente 33 Beacon St 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Elizabeth Witham <lizwitham11@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 01, 2020 4:11 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Request for Update and Vote on Cell Tower on Auburn Street To the Select Board, A few weeks ago the neighborhood of Auburn St, Beacon St, and Chestnut St requested that the Select Board vote against constructing a cell tower in our very close, residential neighborhood. At the 10/20 meeting it was decided that the board agreed that alternatives should be considered and asked the Town Manager and Engineers to reconsider the construction. You also asked the Town Manager to come back with an update at following meetings on the options and alternatives to building a 200ft cell tower next to the current water tower. I understand that the Town Manager did not have an update at the following 10/26 meeting. While I understand coming back with a significant update and new design in a few days is not reasonable, I’d expect to hear what steps the Town Manager and Engineers are currently taking to find alternatives. I fear that this will be delayed again and again and we will have to continue this discussion in years to come. I’d also like to request that the Select Board votes against constructing a cell tower (separated from the water tower) in such a dense neighborhood, to ensure the Town Manager and Engineers to either focus on a design for the water tower that will include the cell antennas or relocate the tower to another location within town. Thank you for your attention to this matter and your time. Elizabeth and Paul Witham 28 Auburn Street 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:National Civic League <ncl@ncl.org> Sent:Monday, November 02, 2020 10:36 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Hope Springs Local To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Hope Springs Local Tuesday’s presidential election couldn’t be more critical to the well-being of our nation. But don’t forget state and local races! In some ways, these elections affect our lives as much as who’s living in the White House. When it comes to addressing public issues, local governments are often more successful at making a difference and more responsive to our particular points of view. Read more. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. President, National Civic League States and Cities Working to Boost Voter Turnout Preventing Election-Related Violence Fees, Fines, Equity and Trust To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. As we approach the 2020 election during a pandemic that is causing many to not want to vote in person, 34 states have taken actions to make it easier to vote, mostly by facilitating voting by mail or early in-person. According to Fulcrum News, nine states are mailing absentee ballots to all registered voters, twelve others have made it easier to justify the request for an absentee ballot and ten are mailing absentee ballot requests to all voters. A recent Washington Post article calculates that 84% of the nation’s voters can vote by mail without an excuse this year. Read more. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. The Political Stress Indicator (PSI) shows how American democracy is increasingly polarized and, in the buildup to the U.S. 2020 elections, vulnerability to violence is escalating. No matter the results of the U.S. election, community coalition-building and violence mitigation will be key in moving forward as a nation. ‘The TRUST Network,’ convened by Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI), seeks to prevent violent conflict before, during, and after the U.S. 2020 elections. Learn more about the TRUST Network and how to join and contribute to this important effort. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. One of the biggest challenges facing American democracy is the decline of trust in public institutions. Polls suggest that local governments enjoy higher levels of trust than, say, the federal government, but such was not always the case. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) named “trust” as one of the five pillars of its e-book, Foundation for Thriving Communities. More recently the association published a resource aimed at eliminating one obstacle to public trust—the unfair imposition of fees, fines and asset forfeitures. Read more. Learning to Solve the Nation's Problems Together Fall Edition of National Civic Review Now Available Webinar: So You Want to be an All-America City? To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. David Mathews, president of the Kettering Foundation, recently penned this article in USA Today To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. This edition of the Review includes articles: Between Thick and Thin: Improving Public Engagement To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Join the National Civic League on November 23rd to learn more about the 2021 All-America City 2 on the effectiveness of deliberative practices to create opportunities for people to make better informed decisions together. The National Issues Forums’ 40 years of research and practice in local deliberative forums reveals we truly have more that unites us than divides us; and that by creating intentionally deliberative space, we can allow for better listening, ability to weigh options, and make sounder decisions. Read more. through a Wicked Problems Lens; Moving from Collaboration to Coproduction in the Opioid Crisis; Flexing Our Civic Muscle; Revising the Model City Charter: The Case for Change; A “Springboard” to Thriving Communities; Empowering New Immigrant Civic Leaders through Adult Schools; and more. To access, go to the Table of Contents and enter the access code NCL2020 when prompted. Award Program, which will recognize communities for the strength of their civic capital and community-driven projects that have transformed the community to be more equitable and resilient. Previous winning communities and our jury foreperson, Angela Romans, will be presenting on the AAC journey with tips for applying, the types of projects submitted and an update on the benefits of winning the award. Register today. Enjoying the Newsletter? Send your feedback and ideas to ncl@ncl.org Additional Information and Upcoming Events 2021 All-America City Award Theme Announced Building Equitable and Resilient Communities Download the application. Virtual Book Club Engaged: A Citizen's Perspective on the Future of Civic Life RSVP here. Workshop: Building Public Trust in Government Register here. Civic Saturday Gathering, November 7th Learn more. Citizen University's Guide for Gathering on Election Night Learn more. COVID-19: Resources for Individuals and Governments Click here. National League of Cities: COVID-19: Local Action Tracker Preview Learn more. NCDD Event Calendar The calendar lists upcoming events related to dialogue, deliberation, and civic engagement. Click here. Now accepting article proposals for National Civic Review We are interested in 1,200-3,000 word articles. The deadline for the winter issue is December 15th. Contact mikem@ncl.org for more information. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Thank you to National Civic League Sustaining Member Communities: Asheboro, NC Aurora, CO Chula Vista, CA Thank you to National Civic League Partner Organizations: American Society for Public Administration Bridge Alliance Campaign for Grade-Level Reading 3 Decatur, GA Denver, CO Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. Dublin, CA Ft. Lauderdale, FL Gladstone, MO Hayward, CA Illinois Municipal League Las Vegas, NV Oakridge Neighborhood, IA Rancho Cordova, CA Roanoke, VA San Antonio, TX Tallahassee, FL Tampa Housing Authority Tupelo, MS Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation CGI Colorado Health Foundation Government Finance Officers Association Greenberg Traurig ICMA-RC International City / County Management Association Kaiser Permanente Kettering Foundation National Academy of Public Administration National Coalition on Dialogue and Deliberation National League of Cities National Forum for Black Public Administrators Rawson Family Foundation Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Southwest Airlines United States Census Bureau United Way Worldwide Well Being Trust W.K. Kellogg Foundation To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Facebook To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Twitter National Civic League | 190 E. 9th Avenue, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80203 Unsubscribe selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by ncl@ncl.org powered by To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today. Try email marketing for free today! 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Monday, November 02, 2020 4:38 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Cc:Doherty, John; Saunders, Caitlin; LaVerde, Jacquelyn Subject:Invitation Good afternoon, This coming Thursday night the School Committee, meeting remotely, will be receiving an update on enrollment/school space study. You are welcomed to join at 7pm, and we will post the Select Board to attend in case there is a quorum. Please email John Doherty if you need more information. Thanks, Bob 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Vanessa Alvarado Selectboard Sent:Monday, November 02, 2020 5:00 PM To:LeLacheur, Bob Cc:Reading - Selectboard; Doherty, John; Saunders, Caitlin; LaVerde, Jacquelyn Subject:Re: Invitation Thanks, Bob. I'll attend. Best, Vanessa On Mon, Nov 2, 2020, 4:38 PM LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us> wrote: Good afternoon, This coming Thursday night the School Committee, meeting remotely, will be receiving an update on enrollment/school space study. You are welcomed to join at 7pm, and we will post the Select Board to attend in case there is a quorum. Please email John Doherty if you need more information. Thanks, Bob 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Doherty, John <John.Doherty@reading.k12.ma.us> Sent:Monday, November 02, 2020 5:19 PM To:LeLacheur, Bob; Reading - Selectboard Cc:Saunders, Caitlin; LaVerde, Jacquelyn Subject:RE: Invitation Good Afternoon, If you plan on attending, please let me know. We will have to invite you to the live teams version so that you are part of the meeting. Thanks. John F. Doherty Superintendent Reading Public Schools 82 Oakland Road Reading, MA 01867 781-944-5800 -----Original Message----- From: LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us> Sent: Monday, November 2, 2020 4:38 PM To: Reading - Selectboard <selectboard@ci.reading.ma.us> Cc: Doherty, John <John.Doherty@reading.k12.ma.us>; Saunders, Caitlin <csaunders@ci.reading.ma.us>; LaVerde, Jacquelyn <jlaverde@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: Invitation Good afternoon, This coming Thursday night the School Committee, meeting remotely, will be receiving an update on enrollment/school space study. You are welcomed to join at 7pm, and we will post the Select Board to attend in case there is a quorum. Please email John Doherty if you need more information. Thanks, Bob 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Tuesday, November 03, 2020 8:32 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:FW: Reading - Haverhill St Speed Zone Study Please see below - unfortunately still no progress on the Haverhill Street speed limit change: Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record -----Original Message----- From: Wilson, Richard F. (DOT) <richard.wilson2@state.ma.us> Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2020 5:47 AM To: Percival, Ryan <rpercival@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: RE: Reading - Haverhill St Speed Zone Study Just an update...I still haven’t heard back from the RMV. There must be a disconnect somewhere our their end, but I will stay on them. Once again, my apologies for the delay. Rick -----Original Message----- From: Percival, Ryan <rpercival@ci.reading.ma.us> Sent: Thursday, October 29, 2020 9:26 AM To: Wilson, Richard F. (DOT) <Richard.Wilson@dot.state.ma.us> Subject: RE: Reading - Haverhill St Speed Zone Study CAUTION: This email originated from a sender outside of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts mail system. Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Thank you. Ryan Percival, P.E. Town Engineer Town of Reading, Engineering Division 16 Lowell Street 2 Reading, MA 01867 Phone: 781-942-6690 -----Original Message----- From: Wilson, Richard F. (DOT) <richard.wilson2@state.ma.us> Sent: Thursday, October 29, 2020 6:51 AM To: Percival, Ryan <rpercival@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: RE: Reading - Haverhill St Speed Zone Study Hi Ryan, Checking through my emails, this was sent to the RMV for signature on 8/25/20. It was never returned, apparently must've got lost in the shuffle somewhere. I will re-send it today. My apologies for the delay. Rick -----Original Message----- From: Percival, Ryan <rpercival@ci.reading.ma.us> Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2020 8:39 AM To: Wilson, Richard F. (DOT) <Richard.Wilson@dot.state.ma.us> Subject: RE: Reading - Haverhill St Speed Zone Study CAUTION: This email originated from a sender outside of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts mail system. Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Tuesday, November 03, 2020 11:16 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:polls update Quiet in general when I visited just now – was busy for about 30 minutes around 8am but everyone moved along. Laura and elections staff are doing a great job. Bob Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Lisa Egan, Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce <legan@rnrchamber.com> Sent:Tuesday, November 03, 2020 11:18 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Taking Control of your Financial Future To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Lisa Egan Executive Director Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce PO Box 771 Reading, MA 01867 legan@rnrchamber.com www.readingnreadingchamber.com To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Facebook To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.LinkedIn To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Instagram Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce | PO Box 771, Reading, MA 01867 Unsubscribe selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by legan@rnrchamber.com powered by To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today. Try email marketing for free today! 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Tuesday, November 03, 2020 2:07 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:FW: Letter for SB & Fincom Attachments:20201103120619.pdf Forwarded as requested. Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record From: LaVerde, Jacquelyn Sent: Tuesday, November 3, 2020 12:15 PM To: LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us>; Saunders, Caitlin <csaunders@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: Letter for SB & Fincom Hello! Mr. Brown sent the attached letter to the SB & FINCOM. Want me to go a head and email it to the FINCOM? Many thanks! Jax Jackie LaVerde Sr. Administrative Assistant Town of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 781-942-6643 jlaverde@ci.reading.ma.us Town Hall Hours: Mon, Wed, Thurs 7:30 am – 5:30 pm Tues 7:30 am – 7:00 pm Friday - CLOSED 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Barbra Batshalom <bb@sustainable-performance.ccsend.com> on behalf of Barbra Batshalom <bb@sustainable-performance.org> Sent:Tuesday, November 03, 2020 5:16 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Something for everyone: Product Innovations, AIA 2030 Secrets of Successful Firms and more! SPI helps you deliver on your promise of sustainability! Transforming practice, recognizing excellence. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.SPI logo To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.autumn-winding-road.jpg Product Innovation, Build the Future Webinars + more! Well it seemed like Fall in New England lasted for five minutes, but it was beautiful while it lasted! We have been busy here at SPI so check out all the goodies below! Whether you are a product manufacturer, building owner, designer, contractor - there is something in here for you! In this issue, scroll down to the section you want to see: Products, carbon and innovation Webinar Series: Building the Future: negotiation, zero carbon + positive cost, green leases Resources: COVID mitigation, Free trainings for your firm, interviewing design teams... Products, embodied carbon and innovation! BuildingEase Promotes Product Innovation & Thought Leadership BuildingEase, a project of SPI, is in the works! Two programs have started already. First, we want to highlight design thought leadership with our Integrated Exhibits so click here to learn more! To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 2 Second, we want to keep you inspired by showing you the coolest, bleeding-edge technology coming to market! Check out our first bulletin here! If you are a startup, or an established brand with a new offering, let us know! If you are a building owner or architect, sign up here to get our future bulletins (scroll to bottom of page) or you can check out our LinkedIn group where we have a new forum for you to ask questions or discuss what you see! Embodied Carbon in Products I don't think I've ever seen industry momentum build as fast as the activity around embodied carbon this year! Every owner we work with is rolling out new initiatives. Uptake is rapid on many fronts: from new tools like EC3, Tally, and Kaleidascope to new industry groups like CLF, MaterialsCAN, AIA's Materials Pledge and ILFI's LP50. There have been a wide range of educational series that you can still access, like BSA's EC101 and BuiltEnvironment+ Exchange (scroll down to the MaterialsCAN section) - it's exploding! BuildingGreen has also begun a new group for manufacturers, to help them meet the requirements of LEED, WELL and LBC. If you are a manufacturer and you haven't yet figured out how to navigate or produce the HPDs, EPDs or other that architects are increasingly demanding - now is the time! Check out BuildingGreen's link above and get support! To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Building the Future Webinar Series Renegotiating Agreements in Challenging Times 11/11/20 Negotiating agreements is often stressful. Going back to REnegotiate them, especially in times of crisis can feel daunting. This session gives you practical tips to use in any situation - whether you are a pro or a novice, everyone will walk away with new insights. If you don't think you negotiate every day - guess again! Improving this skill will help you no matter what your job is or who you have to come to agreement with! If you can't make it live, you'll get a link to the archived presentation. Sign up here! To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.negotiation Positive Energy Buildings - Least Cost Option 12/3/20 We Cannot Waste This Time! Presented by Bill Maclay 3 Bill Maclay, award winning architect and author of "The New Net Zero" shares his experience creating carbon (and cash flow) positive projects. Presentation will be archived if you can't make it live! Sign up here! To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Green Leases: A Tool for Resilience + Energy 12/9/20 Green leases can hold the key to energy efficiency, resilience and managing occupancy in a crisis. Learn how landlords and tenants benefit and get more value. Presented by the Institute for Market Transformation. This session will be archived if you can't make it in real time! Sign up here! To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. AIA 2030 Signatories: 12/15/20 Secrets of Success Celebrate them and learn from their leadership! In 2019, 27 Architecture firms successfully met the AIA 2030 Commitment's 70% reduction targets. They will be sharing their stories and lessons learned. In collaboration with AIA, we will be hosting 3 webinars showcasing small, medium and large firms who have achieved this amazing goal! Sign up and if you can't make it live, you will get the links to the archived sessions. Sign up here! To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Resources: Free Trainings, Interviewing Design Teams Interviewing Design Teams Building owners have been contacting us looking for the secrets to finding the best teams, capable of delivering (net) zero carbon buildings. Part of the challenge is knowing how to frame the RFP and asking the right questions in an interview. These two resources will help! New Buildings Institute has this list of questions and SPI has a different take on both the questions to ask AND the answers to look for! To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 4 Free Training Opportunities I know, I know, you are "zoomed-out"!! But don't let that stop you from taking advantage of these great opportunities! For MA-based companies OR companies who have just one office in MA, with100 employees or fewer, this program is fantastic and easy to sign up for! Alternatively, If your firm has an office in MA (of any size) and is interested in a more comprehensive workforce development program, which can be spread out over a 2 period, then this program will meet your needs. You can access up to $250,000 worth of training, including a wide range of topics from sustainability to more general business related topics. SPI's leadership, integrative design, change management, resilient design, team effectiveness, negotiation and other courses are included! To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. COVID Mitigation Strategies: Resource BuiltEnvironment+ (formerly USGBC MA) has curated and developed a one-stop resource for you, looking at mitigation strategies through a sustainability lens. Check this link to find all of the information and resources and if you have more information or something new to share back, there is a contact form at the bottom of the web page. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Sustainable Performance Institute * info@sustainable-performance.org STAY CONNECTED: To hel p prote To hel p prote To hel p prote To hel p prote Sustainable Performance Institute, 1089 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02115 SafeUnsubscribe™ selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us Forward this email | Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by bb@sustainable-performance.org powered by To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Constant Contact Try email marketing for free today! 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Pamela Goodale <pamela.goodale@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, November 04, 2020 8:58 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Cell tower on Auburn st. Dear Selectboard, Please vote on this issue once and for all. Obviously a cell tower does not belong in a very densely populated residential neighborhood, and it's time to declare that and move on to better solutions without the cell tower being one of the options. The delay is causing needless and prolonged distress in the neighborhood. Please vote as soon as possible to put this to rest once and for all. Thank you. Pamela and Thomas Goodale 52 Weston Road 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Colleen <bateyc3@yahoo.com> Sent:Wednesday, November 04, 2020 11:58 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Auburn St. Cell Tower Proposal Dear Select Board- I am writing to you to ask that you please take a vote at your next select board meeting in opposition of the cell tower proposal. It is clear to me that no more information is needed against this tower and that a vote is necessary so that we can stop worrying about this issue that has been ongoing for 4 years. The town manager appears to be delaying this vote and if you believe that this tower doesn't belong anywhere near my or YOUR home, please vote NO on it now. Then the next steps can be taken in regards to replacing the water tower. Thank you for your consideration to this matter. Colleen Lacey 9 Beacon St. 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Herrick, Karen Sent:Wednesday, November 04, 2020 4:21 PM To:Doherty, John; LeLacheur, Bob; Reading - Selectboard Cc:Saunders, Caitlin; LaVerde, Jacquelyn Subject:RE: Invitation Thank you. I would like to attend. Karen. Karen Gately Herrick Select Board Town of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 781-942-9001 ________________________________________ From: Doherty, John [John.Doherty@reading.k12.ma.us] Sent: Monday, November 02, 2020 5:19 PM To: LeLacheur, Bob; Reading - Selectboard Cc: Saunders, Caitlin; LaVerde, Jacquelyn Subject: RE: Invitation Good Afternoon, If you plan on attending, please let me know. We will have to invite you to the live teams version so that you are part of the meeting. Thanks. John F. Doherty Superintendent Reading Public Schools 82 Oakland Road Reading, MA 01867 781-944-5800 -----Original Message----- From: LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us> Sent: Monday, November 2, 2020 4:38 PM To: Reading - Selectboard <selectboard@ci.reading.ma.us> Cc: Doherty, John <John.Doherty@reading.k12.ma.us>; Saunders, Caitlin <csaunders@ci.reading.ma.us>; LaVerde, Jacquelyn <jlaverde@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: Invitation Good afternoon, 2 This coming Thursday night the School Committee, meeting remotely, will be receiving an update on enrollment/school space study. You are welcomed to join at 7pm, and we will post the Select Board to attend in case there is a quorum. Please email John Doherty if you need more information. Thanks, Bob 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Wednesday, November 04, 2020 5:54 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Covid-19 Command meeting notes Attachments:20201102 Command Meeting.pdf Good evening, Attached please find the notes from 11/2 Command meeting. Thanks, Bob Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record Reading COVID- 19 Command Meeting Draft NOTES November 2, 2020 Attendance: Mark Dockser Chair, Select Board Kerry Dunnell Board of Health Bob LeLacheur - Town Manager Jean Delios Assistant Town Manager Greg Burns Fire Chief Dave Clark Police Chief Matt Kraunelis Administrative Services Director Peter Mirandi- interim Health Director John Doherty Superintendent of Schools Gail Dowd Chief Finance Officer, School Department Paul Jackson Deputy Fire Chief Jayne Wellman Business Administrator Goal 8: Review community events for safety and provide planning assistance when appropriate. Presidential election Security update Support and preparations for election Update from Chief Clark met with Mass Chiefs last week. No intelligence specifically pointed to Reading. NEMLEC on full standby, but we lose Reading officers to NEMLEC and National that day - polls are the priority. The entire RPD Command staff took a two-hour refresher class on election law, which was helpful as we any problems. Concerns that most issues could be from AFTER the election. Turnout with early voting and mail in has been strong, not expecting a big turnout tomorrow. Would Reading PD need to send resources out of town? Mutual Aid to some of our neighbors, and then other neighbors help with covering routine calls in town. NEMLEC officers already on additional resources to help. Fire will have normal staffing and trucks. Laura wanted an EMS detail so they plan to have a paramedic at the Fieldhouse with full equipment. Good to have eyes and ears there. They also have 2 on the Northeast Technical rescue team. We are in good shape for tomorrow. Unsure if Camp Curtis is activated at this time. Melrose/Malden branch is on standby. Chief Clark - will have a member of the command staff working with Laura, and will be with her on election. Full team effort with the town, whatever she needs we will make it happen. Deputy Chief Jackson 3:30 this afternoon they will go into the FIELDHOUSE, with DPW and Facilities starting to set it all up tonight. Facilities is setting up two tents outside, a larger tent going up by the shack. Facilities has drops for this and inside the field house. Reduced wiring on the ground. Laura, quite a few things coming in ahead of time. Provided her with 10 radios. Be able to bring in people more. Jayne to post parking and voting entrance info: ENTRANCE with tents and precincts 1-4 on one side, 5-8 on another side. Find your Precinct Map, entrance A or B (not left or right). People will be in line to help people find their precincts when they come into the voting area. EVENTS: Santa Holiday Tour Reading-North Reading Sunday 11/29 More to come as we get closer. Friday, Nov. 20: Gender and Sexuality Alliance at RMHS, (GSA) Vigil set up for transgendered people who have been murdered over the last year. Civic function permit has been emailed to organizers. They are working on planning the event. Goal 1: Protect the health of residents. a. Progress on preparations of possible vaccine distribution. Deputy Jackson, Chief Burns, Peter Mirandi, and Kerry met at the police station. Laura Vlasuk has been working on this awhile too. Region 3B. Kerry notes that a tremendous amount of work has been done across the state since 2003 lots of planning, common planning goals, planners paid for by the state that work with the communities for strategic national stockpile distribution and typical distribution events. A lot of work happening over the last 15 years. And Kerry talked to the planner assigned to Reading, who has worked with Laura. Kerry was concerned about the site, but RMHS is the primary site, there are flow charts, lists of equipment, ways to calculate the amount of staff you need, this is not something that we have to build from scratch. We will be in good shape. What I know right now, public distribution would only occur for tiers 3 and 4 of a regional distribution plan, that gives us a little bit more time. It will come out in bits and pieces, and prioritized, we have great resources and staff to work with, and we have time to keep working on this. (tier one is first responders and health care workers then long-term care, people who support tier one, tier three is general public and younger people, and tier 4 is everyone left). Peter adds that Laura Vlasuk is working on finalizing this, and will send to COMMAND shortly. Mark asks about Flu vaccinations, we are doing flu clinics, not sure of how many are vaccinated in the community. All students need to be vaccinated for the Flu per the state. Kerry the Town does not vaccinate people under 18. Contact your physician. Also available at local pharmacies. School Committee on the third reading of a related Open Town Hall for indoor appointments Bob will talk to the BOH on Thursday about what to do going forward. He has had discussions with Kerry since August. They agreed to wait until after the November election, which would coincide with colder weather and unfortunately a likely uptick in Covid-19. Bob shared his information on CDC guidance for space utilization. Include Select Board meeting room, with a maximum capacity of 8 cannot realistically have public in the space while the board is meeting, and all meeting members would need to be masked. Discussion, limited office time in Recreation, and most is done electronically. It has been 6-7 months now, and only had three comments from residents about opening the building, we are taking care of business in many different ways. However, the weather is going to cause some Finance staff has used that space, received things handed through the door, used the parking lot for meetings. Given the covid-19 facts on the ground, the Town Manager is not completely comfortable to open the building to the public soon, but believes it is necessary. He will work with staff to talk about specific areas of priority such as individuals who need abatements. He will get a sense from Dept Heads on Thursday. He will also outline a cautious approach to the BOH, including a publicity campaign to reminder folks of other options; a screening and approval process for requests to come in the building (copying the Library); an appointment process to ensure safe numbers and not rush those that must visit; and screening forms for entering the building to check for health before and then contact trace after as needed. He believes that people have just had it in many ways and are not being as careful. He is concerned that so many functions at Town Hall rely on one or two staff members, and needs to protect the services they provide to the community and organization. Often Town Hall visitors are elderly, and they especially need to be protected this winter. Jean Delios notes that when she went to the flu clinics, the attendees were using it as a social opportunity. The loneliness has set it, any opportunity to bring people together is an opportunity for social interaction, bringing more risk to everyone including employees. People right now are feeling safe, but when members of the public come in that can put people at risk. Its an Screening for contact tracing purposes. Do we want to ask medical questions? Someone acts as a door monitor, not sure how to deny entry to someone with symptoms, etc.? It should be comprehensive. Active rather passive services model like meals on wheels and may be an opportunity to reach out to seniors. Maybe a matching service for RMHS NHS students to do Zoom calls with seniors. Mark asks is there any reason we cannot mandate a mask for people in Town Hall. We can mandate that assuming an appointment system. The SB would feel the same way, but we need out, call this number and we will guide you. Otherwise, no real requests from the public. Once process is set up, we will begin Public Info campaign. Kerry wants to be careful not to call things normal, or a new normal, because it sets the wrong expectations for people. Best to the expectations for how to do things in a new environment. Another notice in the water bill would that be helpful? CoA meeting on the 17th. Bob welcomes emails and opinions re: reopening Town Hall? Kerry asking people if they have traveled should be part of the screening. The library has a good one and the schools do too. It should also ask if they are currently quarantined. THANKSGIVING: Mark there is a recommendation that if you want to get together with people you begin a real quarantine beginning the 15th. That means not going out, not going to the grocery store, etc. Mass DPH has issued some guidance on Thanksgiving. https://www.mass.gov/news/thanksgiving-during-covid-19 CONTACT TRACING: Staff are currently staying ahead of it right now and have capacity for more volume. Not having to call in CTC yet an outside agency for additional help with contact tracing. Kerry says they are there when they need them. They have made some changes in their procedures and become timelier. In the dashboard there is some percent of tracing completed within 48 hours. As cases go up, that metric will vary. Goal 3: Provide aid and assistance to residents in need. FOOD DISTRIBUTION DISCUSSION Discussion on how the School Department can safely distribute food to families who are quarantined. Gail explains that the schools provide free meals to all age 0-21. We cannot provide food for the adults in the house. We have had a couple of families where the grandparents are the caretakers, and they are sick, and the kids too young to leave to collect food. So, they are having some drop-offs. She is concerned that as the numbers go up and people are quarantined, we will do what we can. We are not sure what we can do for how to safely distribute food during quarantine? Similar concerns about apartment buildings. Also concerned about the safety of the staff. Gail and John are helping. If we have a food safety director gets sick, we - heavy and tricky to move. We are seeing an uptick in requests for help, I am concerned. We may need to figure out how to get food pantry aligned with the school services people. Nurses started delivering food last week. METCO delivery is also a challenge. One person is bringing food back for ten families, which is of great help. Chief Burns recommending this to ICS Planning qualify for the school program, use volunteers to work with the drop offs. He thinks we can provide a lot of assistance and take some of this off his plate. This cannot continue. With the weather turning, with more and more getting isolated, with families getting laid off, it is getting too big to manage. They are distributing right now twice a week Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning. Need more help with food distribution. Staff are older, so asked facilities to help with that too. Distribution has to be from a school. Other towns are doing much the same - some are bringing the food outside, into tents, have to have a good place to store it. Breaking it out into multiple days. People with food allergies is also challenging. Thinking about a placard system. It is an open site, anyone from any community from children can go to either place. As for the METCO families, they have sites in Boston, but prefer our food. Not sure how many sites in Boston, and they are providing these families with that information. Not many people have vehicles big enough to take the volume of food. Chief Clark offered to ensure that they had a car at distributions if tempers begin to deteriorate. Clark sees that they are seeing people getting into some altercations re: masks. Bob offered any logistics or other help the Town could provide. Jean Delios will look at other community wide food distribution efforts. Planning will work on a plan, it will go to Command, and then it will go to Operations and that will be when messaging will be developed. Tentative meeting for Command is for next Monday in case we need to review the plan. 2:30 is food distribution on WED. for distribution. Goal 4: Provide essential services to the public. School update of the phase in plan. Grade three (other than Birch Meadow) started today, and grades 9 & 10. Typical hybrid model. Everyone has been in for a few weeks now. The week in and week out model was working with disinfection day on Friday. Everyone in last week at Birch Meadow will be out this week. Started finding out on Friday that may have a positive student. Over weekend it increased to 6 students. All out of the Soccer Team, related to a parent. And now have 11 staff members at Birch Meadow quarantined, as an office staff member who is positive, was in close contact with covering classes and office staff. At HS 6 positive, and 80 that are quarantined, all interrelated to this latest round of positives. This all broke over the weekend. Found out a little bit Friday, then blew up yesterday. Best part, impacted teachers, paras, entire front office, custodians, IT, and waiting on food services. John not sure he will have enough staffing for two weeks. Shut down all athletics and extra curriculars. Some people are having difficulty getting testing. The Stop the Spread sites, can just show up, we think. Discussion of Covid-19 Testing sites check Mass.gov, and more information. School update on the -19 test that is being rolled out for pilot schools. DESE got ~2 million doses of the rapid test. Does Reading want to be part of the pilot testing. They are still undergoing research through Lawrence general to test the efficacy of the test. We could sign up to the part of it DESE would decide which towns, how many tests, for staff and students that are symptomatic only not for asymptomatic. Would have to give up isolation rooms at each location, and would need the highest level of ppe for nurses. Would require negotiations, how to dispose of tests once taken, and these are not the gold standard of tests. PCR tests are better. Where does town liability end if we the test is negative and they go back into the classroom, and it was a false negative. We opted to wait until round 2, because in part inviting symptomatic people back into the school system to get tested, or parents sending in symptomatic students just to get tested rather than keep them at home. Surprised that some school committees are thinking of closing after Thanksgiving, and some that do can expect DESE audits. Wakefield is in the third week - so back to step 1 of Phase 3. Kerry Thanksgiving to February, college students will be coming back, so that will be a complicating factor. Other items General agreement that Patriots performance is not helping mental health in the region. (chuckle) Chief Clark noted that Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times for the Police Department with substance use, domestic calls, etc. Not sure yet how pandemic will affect this general trend, but looks like substance related calls already on the rise. Mental health calls began to rise last spring. 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Mike Lacey <mplacey89@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, November 05, 2020 7:05 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Cc:Mike Lacey Subject:Mike Lacey - Time Slot Good morning, I would like to request a time slot to speak during the November 17th meeting. Respectfully, Mike Lacey 9 Beacon Street 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Deana Martel <dmpenney@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, November 05, 2020 12:16 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Opposition to Auburn St Cell Tower - please vote this down Dear Select Board- We are writing to you today regarding the proposed cell tower at the Auburn St location. We listened to the very informative October 20th Select Board meeting. Our neighborhood residents provided more than ample information needed to reject this proposal. We are asking that you vote this down. It has been over 4 years of discussion and it is time to move past it and redo the water tower without the additional proposed cell tower. We ask for your support to protect our neighborhood as we would ask that you do for any other residential neighborhood in Reading. Thank you for your time, Justin and Deana Martel 38 Chestnut Rd 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:DLS Alerts <dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us> Sent:Thursday, November 05, 2020 5:42 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:City & Town - November 5th, 2020 To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Don't Delay Submitting Proposition 2½ Question Results to DLS Data Analytics and Resources Bureau DLS reminds all local officials to submit specimen ballots with certified election results for all Proposition 2½ questions voted this year in a timely fashion. Your submission should include votes that have passed and failed and clearly indicate the purpose and type of vote (override, underride, debt exclusion or capital expenditure exclusion). These votes should be emailed to the Data Analytics and Resources Bureau at databank@dor.state.ma.us. Missing or incomplete documentation may cause a delay in certifying your community’s annual tax rate. The Importance of the Utility Class and Valuation Methodology Joanne Graziano - Local Assessment Bureau Chief The methods derived for assessing property in communities are November 5th, 2020 To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. In this edition: Don't Delay Submitting Proposition 2 1/2 Question Results to DLS The Importance of the Utility Class and Valuation Methodology Free 2020 "What's New in Municipal Law" Seminar Available Online Ask DLS: Community Preservation Act - Part 5 By the Numbers City & Town provides updates on the progress of the tax rate and certification season while also allowing you to follow the tax rate setting process in real time. Thanks to our Municipal Databank staff, this public information is available 24/7 by clicking here. Prelim. Certifications Approved: 36 Final Certification: 23 (of 70 total) LA4 Approved: 164 (194 submitted) LA13/ New Growth Approved: 164 (180 submitted) Tax Rates Approved: 34 Balance Sheets Approved: 153 2 subject to review by the Bureau of Local Assessment (BLA) every five years to ensure the community is utilizing accepted mass appraisal methods. Most taxpayers are familiar with the local revaluation programs being conducted on real estate; however, personal property assessments are also subject to this review. Personal property generally includes tangible items that are not firmly attached to land or buildings and are not specially designed for or of such a size and bulk to be considered part of the real estate. This includes, for example, merchandise, furniture, machinery, tools, and equipment. Personal property is taxable unless a specific exemption provision applies. G.L. c. 59, § 2. For many communities, their largest personal property owner that is assessed is the utility companies. This class of property, listed as property use code 504, includes public utilities that provide the transmission and distribution of gas and electricity. A significant class in the tax levy, they comprise 47% of the total personal property value in the Commonwealth with close to $18.3 billion in assessed value (AV) recorded in FY2020. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Communities have been basing its utility assessments on “net book value” due to a longstanding position of the Department of Public Total Aggregate Free Cash Approved: $814,177,266 Important Dates & Information DLS Cybersecurity Reminder Have you recently received an unsolicited email, supposedly from the Division of Local Services Bureau of Local Assessment (BLA)? You may have been a target of an email attack known as Phishing. This malicious activity uses email to try to gain access to systems or to gather information by posing as a trustworthy organization (like BLA). Contact information for most DLS staff is readily obtainable on our website, and it has previously been used in phishing attempts. If you receive an email from DLS with a suspicious sender’s address, a strange greeting or signature, or anything that doesn’t seem normal, just delete it. When in doubt, delete! DHCH Eviction Diversion Initiative Launches New Awareness Campaign The Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development is raising awareness of its Eviction Diversion Initiative with a new video. To view and share it, click here. More information is available at mass.gov/CovidHousingHelp. Latest Issue of Buy the Way Now Available Don’t miss the October-November 2020 edition of Buy the Way, the bi- monthly magazine of the Operational Services Division (OSD). Click here to get news and updates from OSD delivered to your inbox. DLS Links: COVID-19 Resources and Guidance for Municipal Officials 3 Utilities (DPU) stating that “if a regulated utility sells an asset to another regulated, public utility, the basis of that asset in the hands of the transferee remains the same as that of the transferor for rate- making purposes”. Basically, this followed a net book value approach. Assessors have relied heavily on the utility companies reporting the net book value of their property and assessed them at their word. Over the years, assessors questioned this method and challenged valuing at net book value, believing it was not representing fair cash value. By 2011, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) considered an appeal from the Appellate Tax Board (ATB) in Boston Gas Co. v. Assessors of Boston, 458 Mass. 715 (2011). In this case, the assessors had used a valuation method other than net book value to value the taxpayer’s utility property. The SJC held that changes in the utility regulatory environment and other special circumstances justified the use of a valuation method other than “net book” and that the method used provided a reliable estimate of the fair cash value of the property. Specifically, they used a valuation method that gave equal weight to the property's net book value and its reproduction cost new less depreciation. There have been recent court cases that continued to support this method and over the past two years, the Division of Local Services (DLS) has guided assessors. In 2019, DLS issued a Legal Finance Opinion (LFO 2019-1 Assessing Utility Properties) to explain the changes in the law. Additionally, to further support the collection of data required to value utilities, DLS issued Bulletin 2019-5 , which released two new personal property returns approved by the Commissioner of Revenue under G.L. c. 58, § 5. While optional forms for FY21, State Tax Form STF 2-504-G (for gas companies) and STF-2-504-E (for electric companies) will be required returns for FY22 for the utility companies. See Bulletin 2020-11 for Updated Form of List Forms FY2022. For FY 2021, a significant change was made to the certification review of utility property for communities. BLA expects more substantiation of a community’s valuation and for purposes of mass appraisal, we will be accepting a method that gives equal weight to the property's net book value and its reproduction cost new less depreciation. Guidelines are published in IGR-19-08, referred to as the Certification Standards. Municipal Finance Training and Resource Center Local Officials Directory Municipal Databank Informational Guideline Releases (IGRs) Bulletins Publications & Training Center Tools and Financial Calculators To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 4 Generally, the net book value valuation method resulted in an undervaluing of the assets. Principal Assessor of Hopkinton John Neas commented, “[N]et book value of utility companies does not represent the full and fair cash value and an assessor is required to assess property at full and fair cash value.” Assessors may need an appraiser or consultant that can assist with valuation of this type of property and, hopefully, it will be cost- effective for your community when you weigh the benefit. Karen Tonelli, Director of Assessing of the Town of Montague, hired a consultant for FY2020 and reported that by adopting the updated methodology, “the total increase in tax dollars for FY19 from using the appraisal figures vs. Net Book Value from the Form of List Reported for these companies was $11,252,202 in Personal Property value and $294,700 in tax dollars. This is additional value in the class that relieved some of the residential tax burden from 58.08% in FY18 to 56.75% for FY19. Assessor Tonelli reports, “We were all very pleased with the result to say the least.” Free 2020 “What’s New in Municipal Law” Seminar Available Online Developed by our Bureau of Municipal Finance Law, the Division of Local Services is pleased to announce its annual “What’s New in Municipal Law” presentation on recent legislation and court decisions is currently available online and at no cost for the first time in our organization's history. The presentation consists of five narrated videos discussing recent laws and cases related to municipal finance and municipal law. You can view the videos individually or together as a group on our YouTube channel listed under What’s New in Municipal Law 2020. The estimated viewing time and link for each segment is included below. We hope you find this resource helpful and informative! Part 1 – New Legislation (19:34) 5 Part 2A – Property Tax Decisions (21:15) Part 2B – Tax Collection and Public Employment (14:43) Part 2C – Finance and Land Use (10:27) Part 2D – Other Municipal Decisions (16:04) Ask DLS: Community Preservation Act - Part 5 This month's Ask DLS features Part 5 of frequently asked questions concerning the Community Preservation Act (CPA). Additional questions about the CPA will be featured in future editions of City & Town. For Part 4 of the series, see the October 1st, 2020 edition of City & Town. For additional information on the Community Preservation Act, see Informational Guideline Release (IGR) 19-14. Please let us know if you have other areas of interest or send a question to cityandtown@dor.state.ma.us. We would like to hear from you. Are there any prerequisites for a CPA expenditure? The CP Fund is a special revenue fund subject to appropriation. A recommendation by the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) and an appropriation by the legislative body of the city or town are both required to spend any monies belonging to the fund. G.L. c. 44B, § 7. Appropriations are by majority vote, except in the case of borrowing (G.L. c. 44B, § 11 and G.L. c. 44, § 2) and eminent domain (G.L. c. 44B, § 5(e)) where a two-thirds vote is required. What is an allowable CP Fund expenditure? CPA appropriations fall into two categories: (1) for the CPC’s administrative or operating budget; and (2) for eligible community preservation projects. What expenditures fall into the CPC’s administrative or operating budget? 6 Community preservation funds may be used for the administrative and operating expenses of the CPC. Annual appropriations for these expenses may not exceed five percent of the year’s estimated annual CP Fund revenues. G.L. c. 44B, §§ 6-7. Committee administrative expenses are limited to expenses necessary to support the CPC’s statutory responsibilities. Eligible expenditures include: A. Clerical support for the CPC (i.e., transcribing CPC meeting minutes). B. Wages or salary of a person providing direct administrative support services to the CPC. C. CPC office supplies. D. Newspaper advertisements for CPC hearings. E. Expenses for contractual or consulting services that assist the CPC in making its decisions or that provide information needed by the CPC to make spending recommendations to the legislative body, including feasibility studies, assessments, appraisals or preliminary plans related to a proposed CPA project under consideration by the CPC. F. Funding for historic resource or affordable housing inventories or historic preservation plans or affordable housing plans or similar plans if the purpose is to assist the CPC in performing its statutory duty to study the community preservation needs, possibilities and resources of the city or town and make spending recommendations to the legislative body. G. Tax billing software changes and outside vendors necessary to integrate such software for the implementation of the CPA (first year only). G.L. c. 44B, § 6. What are examples of ineligible expenditures? The following are examples of ineligible expenditures: A. Salaries, wages or benefits or other indirect costs incurred by other general government departments such as assessors, 7 treasurer/collector, accounting officer, town counsel, planning department or others. B. Costs of a study to determine if a particular property is a historic resource. (A particular property is a historic resource if it meets the definition of “historic resource” under G.L. c. 44B, § 2.) C. Costs of studies, assessments, plans or other information required in seeking the designation of a historic district. If, however, the studies, assessments or plans result in information to assist the CPC in performing its statutory duty to study the community preservation needs, possibilities and resources of the city or town and make spending recommendations to the legislative body, then the costs allocated to that portion of the work could be an allowable CPC administrative expenditure. D. Costs of feasibility studies, assessments, appraisals or plans unrelated to the CPC’s statutory duties or a proposed CP project or related to a project which is not eligible for funding under the CPA. E. Supplemental costs of a community preservation project approved by the legislative body. The CPC’s approved administrative/operating budget appropriation is a separate appropriation from an approved project appropriation. A transfer of funds from one appropriation to another, in this case from the CPC administrative appropriation to a CP project appropriation, requires approval of the legislative body upon a CPC recommendation. G.L. c. 44, § 33B. F. Contracted services to implement a particular community preservation project approved by the legislative body, for example, contract legal services regarding the acquisition of a particular parcel of land or architectural services regarding the preparation of construction documents for creation of a community housing development. Such project expenses, together with any other acquisition or construction expenses, must be paid from the project’s appropriation, not from the CPC’s administrative budget. What are allowable community preservation project expenditures? G.L. c. 44B, § 5. The three community preservation asset categories are: (1) open space (including land for recreational use); (2) historic 8 resources; and (3) community housing. In each asset category, CP funds may be appropriated for the following projects: A. Open Space: i. The acquisition, creation and preservation of open space. ii. The rehabilitation or restoration of open space; provided the open space was acquired or created with community preservation funds. B. Land for Recreational Use: The acquisition, creation, preservation, rehabilitation and restoration of land for recreational use. C. Historic Resources: The acquisition, preservation, rehabilitation and restoration of historic resources. D. Community Housing: i. The acquisition, creation, preservation and support of community housing. ii. The rehabilitation or restoration of community housing; provided the housing was acquired or created with community preservation funds. iii. Appropriations to a municipal affordable housing trust fund created by a municipality pursuant to G.L. c. 44, § 55C; however, the affordable housing trust may expend CP funds only for community housing purposes described in sections (a) and (b) above. G.L. c. 44, §§ 55C(a), (c)(1). Whenever possible, the CPC should recommend projects that reuse existing buildings or construct new buildings on previously developed sites. G.L. c. 44B, § 5(b)(2). Stay tuned to next month’s City & Town for Part 6 in our FAQ series on the CPA. For more information see Informational Guideline Release (IGR) 19-14. Editor: Dan Bertrand Editorial Board: Sean Cronin, Donnette Benvenuto, Linda Bradley, Paul Corbett, Theo Kalivas, Ken Woodland and Tony Rassias 9 Contact City & Town with questions, comments and feedback by emailing us at cityandtown@dor.state.ma.us. To unsubscribe to City & Town and all DLS alerts, email dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us. This email was sent to selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Massachusetts Department of Revenue - Division of Local Services · 100 Cambridge Street · Boston, MA 02114 · USA 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:DLS Alerts <dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us> Sent:Friday, November 06, 2020 11:26 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:DLS Alert: FY21 Preliminary Cherry Sheet Estimates To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. FY2021 Preliminary Cherry Sheets Estimates On November 5th the House Ways & Means Committee (HWM) released their version of the FY2021 budget proposal. The HWM proposal increases funding for charter tuition assessment reimbursements, library aid and regional school transportation. As a result, DLS has updated the preliminary cherry sheet estimates to reflect these new funding levels. The preliminary cherry sheets can be found on the DLS website. Click here for Preliminary Municipal Cherry Sheet Estimates or here for Preliminary Regional Cherry Sheet Estimates. If you have any questions about the preliminary estimates, please contact the Data Analytics and Resources Bureau at databank@dor.state.ma.us. You are receiving this message through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's Division of Local Services DLS Alerts system. These periodic notices include our City & Town e-newsletter, IGRs, Bulletins, Cherry Sheets and other municipal finance-related information. To unsubscribe to DLS Alerts and the City & Town e-newsletter, please email dls_alerts@dor.state.ma.us. This email was sent to selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Massachusetts Department of Revenue - Division of Local Services · 100 Cambridge Street · Boston, MA 02114 · USA 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Burns, Greg Sent:Friday, November 06, 2020 3:37 PM To:Delios, Jean; Jackson, Paul; Kraunelis, Matthew; LeLacheur, Bob; Martel, Justin; Paul Guarino (pfguarino@comcast.net); Reading - All Fire Department; Reading - Police Dispatchers; Reading - Selectboard Subject:Reading Fire Department's Weekly Notes Weekly Notes November 6, 2020 1. Assistant Chief Jackson and the Town’s COVID-19 ICS planning group worked with the School Department to streamline their food distribution to needy families. Twice each week more than 85 families are assisted by the School Department by this important program. 2. Please review Order 20-6. This Order was issued to bring us into compliance with the Governor’s COVID-19 Order No. 55. This order of the Governor’s requires face coverings when in public spaces. 3. This week EMS Coordinator Lapolla provided several sessions of a training program to Reading Police Officers entitled Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Special Needs Response. 4. Fleetmasters repaired the rear intake on Engine 2. Next week it will go to Greenwood for pump testing. 5. The School Department reports that Grades 3 and 5 will be returning on to in person instruction on Monday, November 16th (one cohort the 16th and one cohort the 23rd). 6. Thanks to Captain Antanavica for repairing the rear jump seat in Engine 1. 7. The SAFE Trailer has been wrapped by Wrap Solutions located in Woburn. The owner of the company is Keith Ronan and he is a Reading resident. Keith and his staff designed and installed the graphics a discounted rate. The graphics are design to enhance and make the instructional program that we and the 34 other Metrofire communities deliver more fun for the children. The cost of the wrap was paid for by Metrofire. 2 Chief Gregory J. Burns Reading Fire Department 757 Main Street Reading, MA 01867 (P) 781.944.3132 (F) 781.942.9114 www.readingma.gov 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:David Dillaway <davedillaway@hotmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 08, 2020 7:56 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Auburn St. "TEMPORARY" cell tower First off, I would like to thank the select board for hearing the Auburn St. neighborhood's opposition to the so called proposed "TEMPORARY" cell tower. We all know when all is said and done, this will become a permanent eyesore in our neighborhood. The town manager along with the town engineer have no respect for our neighborhood's reasoning for not wanting such a tower. All they see is a quick fix to get their project through. Granted we all know that the existing water tank needs to be replaced. We have no grievance for that. It is that the town manager and engineer tried to pull a fast one on our neighborhood to get the project through behind our backs. Again, with no regards on how such a cell tower would affect our neighborhood's property values. And being such an eyesore for the town, putting it in a residential area. This cell tower does not belong in our neighborhood. Or in any other residential neighborhood. It belongs in commercial style location. Not to beat a dead horse! But would the town manager, and or town engineer want the proposed "TEMPORARY" cell tower in their neighborhood? I am sure they would be hearing from their surrounding neighbors as much as you are hearing from us. Again, I would like to thank the select board for all their time listening to our grievances. 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:cmsmailer@civicplus.com on behalf of Contact form at Reading MA <cmsmailer@civicplus.com> Sent:Monday, November 09, 2020 10:08 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:[Reading MA] Town Manager's Review (Sent by John Lippitt, jlippitt@verizon.net) Hello Select Board, John Lippitt (jlippitt@verizon.net) has sent you a message via your contact form (https://www.readingma.gov/user/475/contact) at Reading MA. If you don't want to receive such e-mails, you can change your settings at https://www.readingma.gov/user/475/edit. Message: To the Select Board: Thank you all for your thoughtful and valuable input to the Town Manager’s review and FY21 goals. Thank you for acknowledging the challenges we face and the successes we’ve had in dealing with the COVID pandemic. I thank you, the Town Manager, Town staff, and the volunteers who serve on all our Boards, Commission, and Committees, as well as Town residents, for all the hard work, discipline, and special efforts that have been required to deal with the pandemic. Unfortunately, we are not yet at a point where we can relax on these efforts. Relative to the Town Manager’s review, as a Town Meeting Member and resident, I agree with your emphasis on the need for better, more open communication from the Town Manager. I do have one suggestion for next year’s review. I strongly urge you to implement a process for getting feedback on the Town Manager’s performance from Town employees. Such a process, often referred to as 360-degree feedback, is used by more than 85% of Fortune 500 companies as well as many organizations of all types, large and small. Feedback from everyone an employee interacts with – bosses, peers, subordinates, and customers – provides a an in-depth, accurate, and comprehensive perspective on an employee’s performance. Organizations that use a 360-review process find that the enhanced feedback aids the ability of an employee to improve performance, including leadership, communication, teamwork, and customer service. The employee benefits from a more complete picture of how he is performing, his strengths and weaknesses, and how to engage in continuous improvement. In order to obtain honest, frank feedback it is, of course, essential to design a process that is completely anonymous. Based on the written and verbal comments of the Town Manager’s review, the benefits of a 360-review seem to be quite relevant. Communication with the Select Board and with customers – residents and local businesses – was mentioned multiple times. Issues with personnel and department performance, turnover, and decision-making also surfaced. I urge you to implement a 360-review process for next year’s Town Manager review. Thank you for your time and attention and for all that you do for Reading! Sincerely, 2 John Lippitt 23 Mineral St. Reading, MA 01867 781-944-7829 jlippitt@verizon.net 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LaVerde, Jacquelyn Sent:Monday, November 09, 2020 10:28 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:FW: Select Board meeting and email subject Good morning All, Please see below for a request from the Reading Historical Commission to reorganize. Thank you and kind regards, Jackie From: Mercier, Julie Sent: Monday, November 09, 2020 10:15 AM To: LaVerde, Jacquelyn <jlaverde@ci.reading.ma.us>; LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us> Cc: Everett Blodgett <eblodg-wshd-350@comcast.net> Subject: FW: Select Board meeting and email subject Hi Jackie, Bob, The HDC would like to reorganize – see below. Can you forward this to Carlo and the SB for consideration? Thanks! Julie From: Everett Blodgett Sent: Monday, November 9, 2020 8:26 AM To: Mercier, Julie <jmercier@ci.reading.ma.us>; Beatrice, Amanda <abeatrice@ci.reading.ma.us>; Everett Blodgett <eblodg-wshd-350@comcast.net> Subject: Select Board meeting and email subject Good morning, Thanks so much for all the help at last week's HDC meeting. Enclosed are a couple of things that I have to do as follow-up. First we had talked about you contacting Jackie LaVerde and Carlo Bacci to inform them that the HDC is looking into "reorganizing its full member and alternate members by changing 4 positions. Specifically, Priscilla Poehler and Virginia Adams would change from Full members to alternates and Amelia Freedman and Pino D'Oranzio from alternates to full members on the HDC. Second, concerning an issue of received emails. Other than the checking of email addresses or the mechanics of the email system I was thinking that because of the virtual situation it would be most helpful to those, like myself, that have difficulties with the technology, if emails sent were titled (subject) with the content of the email. It seems that many emails are a "reply" (from a previous email) and then the actual content of the email is something different. 2 Let me know if this note is unclear or if there is anything I can do to help. Have a great day, Everett 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Ann Dillaway <anndillaway@hotmail.com> Sent:Monday, November 09, 2020 2:55 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Auburn Street Cell Tower I am a bit bewildered as to why the Town Manager is taking so much time to bring information together regarding the cell tower. If this were a case in front of a judge in a court situation, he would be given a time frame to put his case together and would have to abide by that time frame. Town management has had three years already. The board has already approved a decision and plan to replace the cell antennas on a new water tank. I ask that the Select Board take action now and vote on this issue with the “no” it deserves, as its fraying on the nerves of every resident in the surrounding neighborhoods. The town Manager makes me extremely nervous as his concerns are based on his own personal agenda without any regard for the residents of the town in which he serves. Please. It is time to put a NO vote on this once and for all. Thank you. Ann Dillaway 32 Beacon St. Reading 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Lynn Landes, Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce <lynn@rnrchamber.com> Sent:Monday, November 09, 2020 2:56 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:November Food Drive - Facebook Changes To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. November 9, 2020 Membership News Burlington Self Storage 114 West Street, Wilmington (978) 988-8000 To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Did you know hunger in America exists for over 50 million people? That is 1 in 6 of the U.S. population - including more than 1 in 5 children. That is why Burlington Self Storage is happy to give back and run our annual Food Drive through the month of November. If you have any non-perishable goods please stop by our front office in Wilmington from 9am to 5pm to donate! Happy 5th Anniversary! Tin Bucket 12 Woburn Street Reading https://www.tinbucketshop.com/ To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Sweet on Facebook 2 Business Suite? Another day, it seems, another Facebook update. This one, according to their announcement last month, was to provide a single interface for businesses to manage their Facebook and Instagram accounts across mobile and desktop devices. For businesses that use both platforms, this integration is a welcome improvement. The Facebook Business Suite, which replaced Facebook Pages Manager, was introduced for small business pages starting in September 2020, with planned expansion to larger businesses next year. A post by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg cited the changes as Facebook’s response to help small businesses “find new ways to sell and reach customers online” in response to the impact of coronavirus. Read more To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Happy 3rd Anniversary! Whitelam Books 610 Main Street Reading https://www.whitelambooks.com/ To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Restaurant Love Governor Baker's new curfew will impact many businesses, but likely will hurt the restaurant industry the most. With cold weather coming, make an effort to support our local restaurants to keep them alive! Ideas: Order take out. Buy a gift card. Order an additional meal for tomorrow. Post 5 positive yelp and google reviews. Contribute to fundraisers Buy gift cards Thank you for supporting our restaurant members! Harrows Chicken Pie To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 3 The Chocolate Truffle Perfectos Caffe Bertuccis Biltmore & Main Mario's Manadrin Reading The Horseshoe Grille Bunratty Tavern Venetian Moon Christopher's Joe Fish Laurie's 9:09 Columbo's Pizza Cafe Dos Lobos To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Let’s Help Our Neighbors. You Buy Dessert, We Donate! November 3 - November 30 For every dessert we sell in November we will donate $1 to the North Reading Food Pantry. Last year we donated over $500! With circumstances being far more difficult this year, the good people at the North Reading Food Pantry could really use our help. As always, thank you! See our dessert menu Horseshoe Grille 226 Main Street North Reading (978) 664-3591 Lynn Landes Executive Assistant Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce PO Box 771 Reading, MA 01867 4 Got an anniversary or a promotion you'd like to share? Send them along! Members may submit news to our membership newsletter up to three times a year. This is one of our many benefits of membership. CONTACT US To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Facebook To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce | PO Box 771, Reading, MA 01867 Unsubscribe selectmen@ci.reading.ma.us Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by lynn@rnrchamber.com powered by To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today. Try email marketing for free today! 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Monday, November 09, 2020 6:29 PM To:Alan Foulds Cc:Reading - Selectboard Subject:RE: Methane Gas Project Update for Town Meeting Good evening, In a related thread late today a member of the Board asserted that since Town Meeting was not subject to Open Meeting Law, that other SB members could be included on an email. I am therefore including the whole Board so they are aware. Right now Ryan is out of touch – ironically working with Town Counsel on a document at the request of Chair Dockser for distribution asap. I do not know what capability staff has to meet this request if it is needed tonight. Certainly I can give an update but without Ryan’s background and material he used at your meeting, it will be minimal. I also have not had an update from our consultant since the day after the Board met on this, as I mentioned earlier today. We’ll do our best, I’ll send this request to Ryan now. Thanks, Bob Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record From: Herrick, Karen Sent: Monday, November 9, 2020 5:46 PM To: Alan Foulds <alanfouldsmoderator@gmail.com> Cc: Alvarado, Vanessa <vanessa.alvarado@ci.reading.ma.us>; LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: Re: Methane Gas Project Update for Town Meeting Hi Alan- Just confirming Vanessa’s previous two emails. Both Town Meeting & SB have requested updates on the $50k project. I appreciate the efforts you put into planning this second virtual town meeting together and rely on Town Manager to select the staff to deliver the brief oral update. Thank you for understanding. 2 Karen. Karen Gately Herrick Reading Select Board. On Nov 9, 2020, at 4:42 PM, Alan Foulds <alanfouldsmoderator@gmail.com> wrote: Hi Karen et al, We have put these rules in place because of the virtual nature of the meeting. We are trying to give town meeting members as much advance notice on everything as possible. That is the reason for the change. That being said, however, if the SB feels strongly about giving a verbal report, as it apparently has been requested at previous town meetings, I'll allow it. Who will be giving the update? Thanks, Alan On Mon, Nov 9, 2020 at 11:12 AM Herrick, Karen <karen.herrick@ci.reading.ma.us> wrote: To further clarify - nothing written has been requested therefore the Town Meeting Warrant printing deadline and the Town Meeting email is irrelevant. This is not a Motion. As an approaching 20 year Town Meeting Member - I have never been presented with a list of "presentations" in advance. The most recent example of a "last minute" items added to a Town Meeting presentation was the passing of Nelson Burbank and other long term Town Meeting members. As this update has been requested several times at 2020 Select Board meetings as well as Town Meeting last fall - I am surprised that at this late date it is still not included. Is it our duty under the Charter to respond to Town Meeting and I would again that we fulfill our responsibility with a brief verbal update from the Town engineer as a summary of his most recent Select Board presentation. Thank you, Karen. ________________________________ From: LeLacheur, Bob Sent: Monday, November 09, 2020 9:50 AM To: Herrick, Karen; Alan Foulds (alanfouldsmoderator@gmail.com) Cc: Alvarado, Vanessa Subject: RE: Methane Gas Project Update for Town Meeting Good morning, 3 I mentioned a few times that if you wanted anything to go to Town Meeting members in writing that last week was a deadline. Laura Gemme waited and then sent out Motions late in the week. I am not aware of any other method or format for updating Town Meeting? Perhaps Alan can share his view? Thanks, Bob Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us<mailto:townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us> 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record From: Herrick, Karen Sent: Monday, November 9, 2020 9:43 AM To: LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us>; Alan Foulds (alanfouldsmoderator@gmail.com) <alanfouldsmoderator@gmail.com> Cc: Alvarado, Vanessa <vanessa.alvarado@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: Methane Gas Project Update for Town Meeting Good morning! I just wanted to follow up to make sure that an update for Town Meeting is planned as requested November 2019 by Town Meeting and was again requested at a recent Select Board meeting. Ryan Percival's Select Board update was excellent - so if he could summarize it in 5 minutes that will keep us on schedule. Thank you for all the preparation that has gone into this Subsequent Town Meeting. Karen Gately Herrick Reading Select Board 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Vanessa Alvarado Selectboard Sent:Monday, November 09, 2020 6:46 PM To:LeLacheur, Bob Cc:Alan Foulds; Reading - Selectboard Subject:Re: Methane Gas Project Update for Town Meeting Thanks, Bob. To clarify, the discussion is about providing a report to town meeting about the status of the gas leaks audit. Please do not reply with any opinions, thoughts or preferences for future issues related to this project. On Mon, Nov 9, 2020, 6:29 PM LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us> wrote: Good evening, In a related thread late today a member of the Board asserted that since Town Meeting was not subject to Open Meeting Law, that other SB members could be included on an email. I am therefore including the whole Board so they are aware. Right now Ryan is out of touch – ironically working with Town Counsel on a document at the request of Chair Dockser for distribution asap. I do not know what capability staff has to meet this request if it is needed tonight. Certainly I can give an update but without Ryan’s background and material he used at your meeting, it will be minimal. I also have not had an update from our consultant since the day after the Board met on this, as I mentioned earlier today. We’ll do our best, I’ll send this request to Ryan now. Thanks, Bob Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 2 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record From: Herrick, Karen Sent: Monday, November 9, 2020 5:46 PM To: Alan Foulds <alanfouldsmoderator@gmail.com> Cc: Alvarado, Vanessa <vanessa.alvarado@ci.reading.ma.us>; LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: Re: Methane Gas Project Update for Town Meeting Hi Alan- Just confirming Vanessa’s previous two emails. Both Town Meeting & SB have requested updates on the $50k project. I appreciate the efforts you put into planning this second virtual town meeting together and rely on Town Manager to select the staff to deliver the brief oral update. Thank you for understanding. Karen. Karen Gately Herrick Reading Select Board. On Nov 9, 2020, at 4:42 PM, Alan Foulds <alanfouldsmoderator@gmail.com> wrote: 3 Hi Karen et al, We have put these rules in place because of the virtual nature of the meeting. We are trying to give town meeting members as much advance notice on everything as possible. That is the reason for the change. That being said, however, if the SB feels strongly about giving a verbal report, as it apparently has been requested at previous town meetings, I'll allow it. Who will be giving the update? Thanks, Alan On Mon, Nov 9, 2020 at 11:12 AM Herrick, Karen <karen.herrick@ci.reading.ma.us> wrote: To further clarify - nothing written has been requested therefore the Town Meeting Warrant printing deadline and the Town Meeting email is irrelevant. This is not a Motion. As an approaching 20 year Town Meeting Member - I have never been presented with a list of "presentations" in advance. The most recent example of a "last minute" items added to a Town Meeting presentation was the passing of Nelson Burbank and other long term Town Meeting members. As this update has been requested several times at 2020 Select Board meetings as well as Town Meeting last fall - I am surprised that at this late date it is still not included. Is it our duty under the Charter to respond to Town Meeting and I would again that we fulfill our responsibility with a brief verbal update from the Town engineer as a summary of his most recent Select Board presentation. Thank you, Karen. ________________________________ From: LeLacheur, Bob Sent: Monday, November 09, 2020 9:50 AM To: Herrick, Karen; Alan Foulds (alanfouldsmoderator@gmail.com) Cc: Alvarado, Vanessa 4 Subject: RE: Methane Gas Project Update for Town Meeting Good morning, I mentioned a few times that if you wanted anything to go to Town Meeting members in writing that last week was a deadline. Laura Gemme waited and then sent out Motions late in the week. I am not aware of any other method or format for updating Town Meeting? Perhaps Alan can share his view? Thanks, Bob Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us<mailto:townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us> 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record From: Herrick, Karen Sent: Monday, November 9, 2020 9:43 AM To: LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us>; Alan Foulds (alanfouldsmoderator@gmail.com) <alanfouldsmoderator@gmail.com> Cc: Alvarado, Vanessa <vanessa.alvarado@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: Methane Gas Project Update for Town Meeting Good morning! I just wanted to follow up to make sure that an update for Town Meeting is planned as requested November 2019 by Town Meeting and was again requested at a recent Select Board meeting. Ryan Percival's Select Board update was excellent - so if he could summarize it in 5 minutes that will keep us on schedule. Thank you for all the preparation that has gone into this Subsequent Town Meeting. Karen Gately Herrick Reading Select Board 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Robert Siciliano <sicilianorob@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, November 09, 2020 7:47 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Auburn Street Cell Tower Members of the Reading Select Board - This email is to request the board vote on the Auburn Street cell tower proposal at the November 17, 2020 meeting. This matter has been open for four years, casting grave concern over Reading residents both within and outside of the fall zone of the tower. It is a disservice to the residents that this matter has been allowed to linger this long, and the inaction reflects negatively on the governance of our town. Please bring this topic to a vote on November 17 and allow the Reading residents the comfort of some certainty regarding what lies ahead for this proposal. Robert Siciliano Bethesda Lane 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:R Connor <readingbobc@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, November 09, 2020 8:01 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Cell Tower Hello Board members, I would like to speak at the upcoming meeting concerning the cell tower. And I thank you for the time you put in on this matter, and of course other town business. I would like to stress that the phone companies have overcome moving their antenna when the structure they were on were renovated, removed, etc. I am guessing this has happened scores, if not hundreds of times, in their business. As was pointed out in a prior meeting, by Mark and Jackie, there are portable systems that can be brought in, other locations can amp up the power to cover the loss of the Auburn street location, and many other solutions we are unaware of. We are making their problem our problem. Let them figure out how to do it, they are companies with hundreds of millions in revenue, and can afford to do the research and engineering to make it work. But we must act now, this has been going on long enough. Sincerely, Robert Connor 7 Beacon Street 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Mike Lacey <mplacey89@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, November 05, 2020 9:49 PM To:Bacci, Carlo Cc:LeLacheur, Bob; Saunders, Caitlin Subject:Re: Mike Lacey - Time Slot Thank you Carlo. Please make sure Bob is front and center as this topic (cell tower) has surpassed its life expectancy. > On Nov 5, 2020, at 8:06 PM, Bacci, Carlo <carlo.bacci@ci.reading.ma.us> wrote: > > > > > Hello, > Please add Mike to speak at our next meeting. > Thanks for your email and reaching out to the Select Board. Your >>> comments will become public record and will be published in the >>> packet for the next board meeting. We appreciate your thoughts and >>> concerns and will address them if it is part of the agenda. >>> We are doing doing the best we can during this Covid-19 virus to >>> address all concerns of residents. > >> Thank you, >>> >>> Carlo Bacci >>> Select Board Secretary > > > Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone > > > > -------- Original message -------- > From: Mike Lacey <mplacey89@gmail.com> > Date: 11/5/20 7:05 AM (GMT-05:00) > To: Reading - Selectboard <selectboard@ci.reading.ma.us> > Cc: Mike Lacey <mplacey89@gmail.com> > Subject: Mike Lacey - Time Slot > > Good morning, > > I would like to request a time slot to speak during the November 17th meeting. > > Respectfully, > > Mike Lacey 2 > 9 Beacon Street > > 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Tuesday, November 10, 2020 12:35 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:RE: MBTA service cuts Ah, ‘progress’ – the 137 bus is slated for reduced service, not elimination according to a correction from the Senator’s office. Thanks, Bob Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record From: LeLacheur, Bob Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2020 12:23 PM To: Reading - Selectboard <selectboard@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: MBTA service cuts Preliminary plans include permanently discontinuing both bus lines (#136 and #137) in Reading. Although the ridership is low, it serves a vital link to Oak Grove, especially for some of our workers in downtown restaurants. I’m in touch primarily with Senator Lewis’ office on this issue. Thanks, Bob Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:LeLacheur, Bob Sent:Tuesday, November 10, 2020 3:27 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:FW: Posting of Audit Attachments:2020-11-13 Audit.pdf Good afternoon, Please see the attached. I commend the Town Clerk for taking this action. An unexpected staffing change near the end of the election hit a minor bump. The State mentioned that many would not have bothered to take this extra step, but I agree it was needed. Elections require absolute perfection. Thanks, Bob Robert W. LeLacheur, Jr. CFA Town Manager 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us 781-942-9043 (Fax 9071) Town Hall hours 7:30am-5:30pm MWTh; 7:30am-7:00pm T; closed Friday Please remember when writing or responding that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that general email is a public record From: Gemme, Laura Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2020 3:19 PM To: Harry Simmons <harrysim62@gmail.com>; 'Krissandrah' <Krissandrah@yahoo.com>; 'Nancy' <njziemlak@gmail.com> Cc: LeLacheur, Bob <blelacheur@ci.reading.ma.us>; Kraunelis, Matthew <mkraunelis@ci.reading.ma.us>; Rodger, Julia <jrodger@ci.reading.ma.us>; Kyle, Rebecca <rkyle@ci.reading.ma.us> Subject: Posting of Audit The posting of the Precinct 2 - Audit Laura A Gemme, CMC /CMMC Town Clerk Board of Registrar Elections Official Justice of the Peace Notary Burial Agent Public Records Access Officer Commissioner to Qualify Census Liaison 2 Town of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 (P) 781-942-6647 (F) 781-942-9070 (E) lgemme@ci.reading.ma.us (W) http://www.readingma.gov Town Hall Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday - 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM Tuesday - 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM Friday - CLOSED When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of State's Office has determined that email is a public record. This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you have received this communication in error, please do not print, copy, retransmit, disseminate, or otherwise use the information. Also, please indicate to the sender that you have received this email in error, and delete the copy you received. Town of Reading Meeting Posting with Agenda This Agenda has been prepared in advance and represents a listing of topics that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting. However the agenda does not necessarily include all matters which may be taken up at this meeting. Page | 1 2018-07-16 LAG Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Registrar Date: 2020-11-13 Time: 9:00 AM Building: School - Memorial High Location: Address: 62 Oakland Road Agenda: Purpose: Audit of Precinct 2 - 2020-11-03 Election Meeting Called By: Laura A Gemme Notices and agendas are to be posted 48 hours in advance of the meetings excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Legal Holidays. Please keep in mind the Town Clerks hours of operation and make necessary arrangements to be sure your posting is made in an adequate amount of time. A listing of topics that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting must be on the agenda. All Meeting Postings must be submitted in typed format; handwritten notices will not be accepted. Topics of Discussion: After the polls closed on November 3rd it was discovered that the hand counted ballots of Precinct 2 inadvertently were mixed with the counted ballots. They had not been counted at that point. Therefore, I have contacted the Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division and requested the ability to conduct an Audit of Precinct 2. This Audit will take place on November 13th at 9:00 AM until complete. Location will be the Reading Memorial High School Field House. This Audit is being conducted to ensure that all of the ballots have been properly counted. Observers will be allowed to witness this Audit keeping social distancing in mind, therefore number of observers may be limited.