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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-12-16 Select Board Packet1 Saunders, Caitlin From:EKS Reading <eks.reading@gmail.com> Sent:Friday, December 11, 2020 7:42 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Subject: Beer and wine allocation in the Town of Reading Good Morning To Select Board Members Town of Reading From Chitrarth Patel Shell Gas station 110 Main Street, Reading Ma 01867 I was attended Tuesday, Dec 8 meeting regarding the discussion on beer and wine licenses. I heard concerns from select members regarding the safety of town but all businesses in town are in compliance with their tobacco and alcohol regulations. My Family is doing business for the last 15 years across the state and we always are a complaint about town and state regulations. Due to the Tobacco Regulation change in June 2020, We are affected a lot in business revenue that goes to adjacent states. Shell gas station is located at the city line of Stoneham and Wakefield, If we got a beer and wine License which give us an opportunity to get some revenue back to Town of reading and our business. We are not saying the town can issue a license to every convenience store/Gas station in town but you able to filter for convincing for the residence of town. Adding to our location benefit, we are located right on the exit of I95 which brings travelers revenue to the Town of reading. We are requesting select board members to discuss this topic in details and we can help with any other business insights if the town needed. Regards, Chitrarth Patel 516-474-4647 2 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:WaltTuvell@ReadingMA <WaltTuvell@ReadingMA.us> Sent:Friday, December 11, 2020 1:20 PM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Police political activity supporting Trump To the Select Board — I have added the following comment to my website, at https://readingma.us/comment/194#comment-194. In addition to its substantive content, as you know, I'm trying to get Readingites more involved in town affairs, so please feel free to advertise this, and invite people to respond. — Walt Tuvell 2 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:pat@horseshoegrille.com Sent:Saturday, December 12, 2020 10:49 AM To:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Liquor License Fees Select Board Members, On behalf of the Liquor License holders of Reading I would request you consider some accommodations for their 2021 license fees. I obviously have nothing to gain by this request but I can surely have empathy for their situation. We were closed for almost 90 days earlier this year, most full service restaurants are experiencing 50%-70% decline in their dine in business, our bars are extremely limited to seating, we now face a curfew when bar business would be active and the general attitude is to stay out of public places. There is a distinct possibility indoor dinning will be shut down in the near future. Even if restaurants are not shut down there is very little consumer confidence and it is very likely to stay that way at least into the third quarter. All in all a gloomy outlook for 2021 for our industry. Many businesses are struggling to survive and it is quite possible we will have permanent closures in Reading and North Reading. I am sure you already know, numerous municipalities around the Commonwealth have significantly reduced or waived the fees for 2021. Restauranteurs are looking at every way they can to keep costs down in the light of record low sales. Reducing or eliminating the fees would help in their finances and go along way of solidifying a good working relationship. Thank you for your consideration. __ Pat Lee Horseshoe Grille 226 Main Street, North Reading MA (978) 664–3591 Horseshoegrille.com 1 Saunders, Caitlin From:Dockser, Mark Sent:Saturday, December 12, 2020 12:24 PM To:pat@horseshoegrille.com Cc:Reading - Selectboard Subject:Re: Liquor License Fees Hi Pat, Thanks for writing and sharing your thoughts on the license fees for this year. The board will have a discussion about offering some relief next week. Really appreciate you being such a good neighbor. Take care, Mark Mark Dockser Chair, Reading Select Board Sent from my iPhone On Dec 12, 2020, at 10:48 AM, pat@horseshoegrille.com wrote: Select Board Members, On behalf of the Liquor License holders of Reading I would request you consider some accommodations for their 2021 license fees. I obviously have nothing to gain by this request but I can surely have empathy for their situation. We were closed for almost 90 days earlier this year, most full service restaurants are experiencing 50%-70% decline in their dine in business, our bars are extremely limited to seating, we now face a curfew when bar business would be active and the general attitude is to stay out of public places. There is a distinct possibility indoor dinning will be shut down in the near future. Even if restaurants are not shut down there is very little consumer confidence and it is very likely to stay that way at least into the third quarter. All in all a gloomy outlook for 2021 for our industry. Many businesses are struggling to survive and it is quite possible we will have permanent closures in Reading and North Reading. I am sure you already know, numerous municipalities around the Commonwealth have significantly reduced or waived the fees for 2021. Restauranteurs are looking at every way they can to keep costs down in the light of record low sales. Reducing or eliminating the fees would help in their finances and go along way of solidifying a good working relationship. Thank you for your consideration. __ Pat Lee Horseshoe Grille 226 Main Street, North Reading MA (978) 664–3591 Horseshoegrille.com 2 <image002.jpg> Reading COVID- 19 Command Meeting Agenda December 7, 2020 Attendance: Mark Dockser – Select Board Kerry Dunnell – Board of Health Bob LeLacheur – Town Manager Jean Delios – Assistant Town Manager Greg Burns – Fire Chief David Clark – Police Chief Matt Kraunelis – Administrative Services Director Paul Jackson – Deputy Fire Chief John Doherty – Superintendent of Schools Gail Dowd – School Dept Chief Financial Officer Peter Mirandi – Interim Health Director Jayne Wellman – Business Administrator Goal 8: Review community events for safety and provide planning assistance when appropriate. Discuss the Middlesex League’s vote to not have spectators at winter season sporting events. John: The ML voted not to have spectators at sporting events. It would become a management issue to make sure folks stayed apart and not enough staffing to manage that. And then having people from other communities coming to events. So, the Middlesex League made a recommendation to the superintendents and superintendents voted to support that recommendation. There was a spirited discussion THURS night on this topic, as the school committee has received a number of emails from parents. Athletic Directors are meeting tomorrow and it is on the agenda, not sure what will happen as a result of it. John is concerned about the health piece, which is the reason that they did this. Bob noted that while the town can and does contact trace local residents, it cannot easily manage parents and those attending the games from outside of Reading. In the fall, each family received 1 ID, with a maximum of 50 people that could attend outdoors events. For the most part, it worked well. At Turf Two they had folks that watched from outside the fence. If you didn’t have restrictions, at a hockey game, lots of parents and students typically attend. This ML discussion is just to allow parents to come, not even the student body. They would normally fill Burbank Ice Arena for a hockey game. In order to control entry, would need staffing. Capacity is 50% of the building. Gail noted that in the fall, they didn’t open the bleachers for the RMHS venues. People had to stand. At Burbank they would have to open those bleachers. Peter said he would rather see his child survive high school and into college without the long-term effects that can come with this virus. Peter suggested being patient for six months. Waiting for cleaning plan for Burbank area, and for the RGA gymnastics area. Gail is more concerned about the Burbank – as we cannot control timelines, access before and after, etc. Gail is also concerned about the crowd monitor concept (ticket collecting). She cannot make them wear a face covering, ask them to leave, but what safety nets do we have in place other than hire many police officers. Gail has volunteers working these events, how do we handle this group. Outside is one thing, inside is more concerning. Hard to enforce the mask wearing. Because Burbank is private property so the manager has to identify who needs to be removed. Once police are called, the expectation is that they will have to act. People are so on edge right now. Games are starting right after the first of the year. Bob asked about RCTV – live broadcast? Limits the number of the people going in, and maybe that is the best scenario here. Doesn’t put additional danger into the situation, and be able to watch the games, and gets rid of most of the issues that we’re talking about. John said that RCTV can do it. Peter noted that civil unrest is a concern for public health officials, and Kerry agreed. Pressure is coming on the Governor to do more following public criticism. Middlesex League needs to think about what will the rules be? Are we acting locally, or acting as a group? Athletic Directors are discussing this tomorrow. John would prefer no spectators. Hockey rinks increase chances of infection, due to humidity levels and temperatures. We are trying to hold three sports this winter for students – said John. Mark wants to have this group reach out to RCTV to see if we can get live broadcast. Kerry – concerns about safety, solid roster of who is in there for contact tracing, making sure people understand the rules and are following them. Ensure that the messaging includes that athletic coaches and trainers always plan to care for student athletes. Field House occupancy is 3,000; 50% is 1,500 Burbank occupancy – 926; 50% is 463 Have already seen challenges at the rink with some folks already refusing to mask. BOH is meeting again on the 17th. Discuss regional approach to issuing fines for large gatherings in community. Some peers have requested we have this discussion in light of identified super- spreader events in the region and the holiday season upcoming. All towns are concerned that we as local officials are not doing enough to discourage people from acting badly. We can fine these people, but the courts may not uphold that. One town had a party where adults violated the social host rules and fined the parents for underage alcohol, but nothing related to holding a covid gathering. School openings have been impacted in some towns due to these parties in multiple communities, etc. Mainly that happened earlier in the school year, but the holidays will likely show similar behavior. The enforcement piece is the real challenge. The ability to enforce is really limited. Mark noted that in Burlington there was an advertisement for the public health department to hire people for enforcement? What is their approach? Mark thinks bigger cities are about to engage in more enforcement- Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Boston, etc. Massachusetts has generally been behaving well, but seeing some fraying at the edges. I think we have done a pretty good job listening to health as a profession. I think we have done ok, it is a question of how we move forward. One resident thinks the mask up campaign goes too far. Further discussion of the Police Department protocols. Goal: 1 Protect the Health of Residents and Goal 2 Protect the Health of Employees. Discuss Watertown’s COVID-19 surveillance testing in the school system using self-swab tests. This is weekly for staff, two times per week for students. Surveillance strategy relies on ability to identify cases early and minimize likelihood of transmission. It has been used successfully on college campuses, and with employers, including hospitals. Using surveillance testing would necessitate change in policy requiring quarantine while waiting for test results. Some other jurisdictions have implemented this in other towns. Chamber of Commerce in Needham is going to implement for businesses in their area. Looking at school system – concerned about medical waste, taxing nursing staff because they would have to do it. Then the symptomatic piece, with parents sending kids to school when they have symptoms just to get tested… not the behavior we are looking for. Tests are about $50+ each, so it could be significantly expensive. Kerry noted that pooled testing will bring testing numbers and prices down significantly. With the self-swab – in Watertown, nurses are doing it for the elementary kids, but otherwise it is self-done even by the students, visually monitored. It may still be too expensive and may not have the utility you are looking for. It would be something worth looking into, and perhaps hiring a company to do the work and preserve nursing bandwidth. Kerry will continue to gather information and review logistics and bring it back to review, if the school department believes it may be efficacious. Some towns put it out to bid, and they shared their RFP process. Due to cost it would have to go out to bid, through procurement. John, if going down this road, it would be on a regular basis. Testing employees may require a collective bargaining process. Update from Planning on progress of possible testing site in Reading. Paul Jackson – after last week’s command’s meeting, he did some reading and research, and he followed up with local health center 30 New Crossing, Hallmark Health. Jean, Gail, Joe Huggins, Lt. Amendola, etc. See where it may take them. Goals would be to increase the testing in the area. Additional testing resources. Would be great to be able to send an employee without having to wait for a test somewhere else. Bob and other Managers have urged the state to add testing resources in the area, and been supported by our legislators. Goal 3: Provide aid and assistance to residents in need. Update of Town rental and mortgage assistance program using CARES Funds. Where does RAMA stand? Bob heard of two that came in on Friday, but in general they have put out a program on website and social media. It was announced on Thursday, max $5K, up to two mortgage or rent payments. No income restriction. Reading Cooperative Foundation partnered. They will decide who qualifies, along with Sharon Angstrom. Town Manager will not be involved in the finances. An MOU has been drafted and signed between town and the bank. Not sure what the demand will be. They are going to accept applications until 5PM on the 21st. If you find it on the Town’s facebook page or website, please share with contacts. We have used many different distribution methods in the last few days. Program is for residents, and parents who have students in the school system (like METCO). Its been quiet, haven’t heard much about it. Would be nice to help the people who really need it. School dept sent out through Connect Ed and through Social Media. Update: Goal 4: Provide essential services to the public. Translation services are now available to the Health Department. Its an on-demand service with a vendor, and it is a very big question. Peter also praised the contract tracing lead person for the town who has been part time and recently had her schedule adjusted to reflect the work she is doing. John noted that the school staff and students are getting responses much quicker, and its due to the town and school partnership with the school department nurses. Other items: Police Chief - Need to bring in towable light boards soon due to snow and ice operations. The DPW ones are heavier duty, but the police dept will keep them out as long as they can. Parking Ban Suspension: Police will go back to lift the ban until the next storm happens. RCTV was thrilled to jump on board. Lots of positive feedback from residents on the new policy. Worked well for the town. Jayne updated the group on the Mask Up campaign. Printables all delivered on Friday, banners should be going up soon. 18x24 signs distributed to the DPW for parks and fields, etc.