HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-10-20 Select Board Minutes rq TO':^� '>' CLERK
Town of Reading
boa Meeting Minutes
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Board - committee - Commission - Council:
Select Board
Date: 2020-10-20 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: Location:
Address: Session: Open Session
Purpose: General Business Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Mark Dockser, Carlo Bacci, Vanessa Alvarado, Karen Herrick, Anne Landry
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Kerry Dunnell, DPW Director]ane Kinsella,
Assistant DPW Director Chris Cole, Town Engineer Ryan Percival, Town Clerk
Laura Gemme, Town Assessor Victor Santaniello, Jackie McCarthy, Mark
Delaney, John Means, Lisa Egan, Lisa Goldsmith, Amy Ward, Ann Dillaway,
Carolyn Whiting, Mike Lacey, Larry Hayes, Colleen Lacey, Bob Connor, Dan
O'Keefe, Anastasia DaSilva, Mike Splain, Lindsay Fitzgerald
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Caitlin Saunders
Topics of Discussion:
This meeting was held remotely on Zoom.
Board of Health Member Kerry Dunnell gave an update. They are still seeing cases so please
keep wearing masks and social distancing. Halloween guidelines are on the website, be safe
and smart if you go out trick or treating. The health department hired a new Health
Director.
Town Manager Bob Lel-acheur gave a command update noting they recently discussed town
meeting warrant distribution. We will be mailing them out to people who requested hard
copies. They are working on a plan for vaccine distribution to the community come time but
noted it is hard to plan with all the unknowns right now.
Town Clerk Laura Gemme gave an update noting early voting is going strong. She explained
the reasoning some people got ballots in the mail even if they didn't request one is because
of a system processing error. She has fixed the error. If you received a ballot but did not
request one, you can still use that ballot and vote or you can throw it away and vote in
person, whichever you wish to do. Early voting is taking place at the library; the exact hours
for each day are on the website.
Minutes
Anne Landry, Vanessa Alvarado and Karen Herrick offered up edits to the minutes.
Carlo Bacci moved to approve the meeting minutes of September 22nd, 2020 as
amended. The motion was seconded by Anne Landry and approved with the
following roll call vote:
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Alvarado - yes; Herrick - yes; Bacci - yes; Landry - yes; Dockser - yes.
Liaison Reports
Karen Herrick noted recreation is doing an open space survey right now which can be found
on the website.
Vanessa Alvarado noted she had a conversation with Bob about MWRA fee structures and
rates and she will be looking into more about why our residents' rates are so high.
Mark Dockser attended the economic development summit which was well attended.
Bob LeLacheur noted there is an educational meeting on the Stretch Energy code for anyone
that wants to attend on the 29th. Town flu clinics will be ending next week because we are
out of flu vaccines; if you still need one, check with your physician or local drug store.
Mark Dockser then reminded everyone of the precinct meetings starting next week and the
mock town meeting planned for November 7th.
Tax Classification Hearing
Lisa Egan from the Reading/ North Reading Chamber of Commerce asked the board to
please maintain the current split as business are still trying to survive this pandemic.
John Means, Reading business owner and resident echoed Lisa Egan's thoughts noting it is
not the right time to further split the rate.
All Board members agreed this year they would like to see the current split stay the same
due to the circumstances of the pandemic. Some members feel Reading does need a bigger
split eventually but not this year.
Carlo Bacci moved that the board close the hearing establishing the FY2021 tax
rate. The motion was seconded by Karen Herrick and approved with the following
roll call vote:
Alvarado - yes; Herrick - yes; Bacci - yes; Landry - yes; Dockser - yes.
Carlo Bacci moved that the board grant an open space discount for FY2021. The
motion was seconded by Vanessa Alvarado and failed with the following roll call
vote:
Alvarado - no; Herrick - no; Bacci - no; Landry - no; Dockser - no.
Carlo Bacci moved that the board adopt a residential exemption for FY2021. The
motion was seconded by Vanessa Alvarado and failed with the following roll call
vote:
Alvarado - no; Herrick - no; Bacci - no; Landry - no; Dockser - no.
Carlo Bacci moved that the board adopt a residential factor of 0.998481 for
FY2021. The motion was seconded by Karen Herrick and approved with the
following roll call vote:
Alvarado - yes; Herrick - yes; Bacci - yes; Landry - yes; Dockser - yes
Cell Tower Discussion
Town Engineer Ryan Percival, DPW Director Jane Kinsella and Assistant DPW Director Chris
Cole were present.
Town Manager Bob LeLacheur showed the board the project timeline as this has been
ongoing for years.
Town Engineer Ryan Percival gave the board the presentation they had seen before.
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Residents Jackie McCarthy and Mark Delaney from 26 Beacon street spoke at length the
reasons they feel we dont need a cell tower. They expressed dissatisfaction at the way they
feel the Town Manager and Town Engineer have handled the issue, and felt that staff should
have provided more notice to residents. They feel that the carriers should figure out what
to do, not the town.
Dan O'Keefe, 34 Auburn Street, agreed with the previous residents and noted the carriers
should figure out the tower.
Colleen Lacey, 9 Beacon Street, noted a cell tower would be an eye sore and she is opposed
to it.
Larry Hayes, 29 Beacon Street, noted the town is being sneaky and he is opposed to a cell
tower.
Carolyn Whiting noted the cell carriers should stay on the water tower because a cell tower
would damage property values.
Ann Dillaway, 32 Beacon Street, noted she won't be able to sell her house if we put a cell
tower.
Bob Connor, 7 Beacon Street, is worried about property values if a tower goes in.
Amy Ward, 15 Beacon Street, is opposed to a cell tower in her front yard. She has Verizon
and Verizon is not one of the carriers on the water tank so she's not worried about losing
cell coverage. It's not fair and she does not want it.
Lisa Goldsmith, 16 Parkview Road, claimed she received no notice of this. She then noted
her neighbor wasn't allowed to put a porch on the front of his house but the town being
allowed to build a cell tower doesn'tseem right.
Mike Lacey, 9 Beacon Street, opposes the tower completely and noted his opinion on the
lack of transparency for this project.
Anastasia DaSilva, 42 Chestnut, is not a fan of a cell tower noting it doesn't belong in a
neighborhood.
Mike Splain, 32 Chestnut, noted he wouldn't have bought his house if there was a cell tower
there. He doesn't think we need a cell tower and is worried about property values.
Lindsay Fitzgerald, 16 Eno Circle, noted cell towers are not for residential neighborhoods
because they are an eye sore and are a safety risk.
The board went on to have their discussion and Carlo Bacci started off the by asking about
the urgency of this project. The town manager noted this work has needed to be done for
years and we have never waited this long to do required maintenance.
Vanessa Alvarado noted she is not comfortable building a structure for the carriers even if it
is temporary. Vanessa Alvarado stated she was frustrated at the lack of communication with
the neighborhood and would like to see a plan where there is no separate cell tower. She
feels this is the cell carrier's problem and they need to figure it out not the Town.
Karen Herrick noted she would hate to have a cell tower in her front yard especially if the
town did not notify her beforehand so she agrees with Vanessa.
Carlo Bacci suggested we just pick a date to break ground, inform the carriers and let them
figure out what to do while we build our new water tower.
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Anne Landry indicated that she had watched the 2018 meeting and heard the Board
promise to keep neighboring residents informed relative to the water/cell tower project and
she regretted that had not happened prior to the lune meeting. She asked that residents be
notified in advance of future meetings.
The board discussed things like security, notification and process. They discussed when they
could get another update on a timeline and if they should take an official vote.
Karen Herrick commented that she is surprised Town Counsel hasn't been involved but the
Town Manager noted he has been involved since day one but every time the board raises
new questions, they must go back to him and it takes time.
Larry Meuse asked about public safety antennas on the tower.
Mark Dockser asked that the TM speak with town counsel about the implications and risks of
informing carriers that a temporary tower is off the table. He also requested that the town
engineer explore public safety antenna placements and possible temporary solutions for
this. Also asked town engineer to speak with carriers as he expressed concern that loss of
service could harm many residents that now are reliant on cell service since they no longer
have land lines.
The board requested this information asap, ideally in November so the board could vote to
move ahead on the water tank project now.
The board discussed their agendas for the next two meetings.
Carlo Bacci moved to adjourn at 10:38 PM. The motion was seconded by Anne
Landry and approved with the following roll call vote:
Alvarado — yes; Herrick — yes; Bacci — yes; Landry — yes; Dockser — yes.
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