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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-29 Select Board PacketMAIN STREETCHAPINAVENUEMAIN STREETCHAPINAVENUE cAll Rights ReservedCopyright 2021 Allen & Major Associates, Inc.100 COMMERCE WAY, SUITE 5WOBURN MA 01801TEL: (781) 935-6889FAX: (781) 935-2896civil engineering land surveying environmentalconsulting landscape architecturew w w . a l l e n m a j o r . c o mALLEN & MAJORASSOCIATES, INC.PREPARED BY:MANCHESTER, NHLAKEVILLE, MAWOBURN, MA1 inch = ft.( IN FEET )GRAPHIC SCALE10 Select Board Meeting Minutes Draft – June 9th, 2021 Karen Herrick started off the meeting noting tonight’s meeting is a suitability hearing for the potential occupant of 59 Middlesex Ave, Lowell House. William Garr of Lowell House, thanked the board for tonight’s meeting and gave a brief overview of what Lowell House is all about and introduced his team. Dan Botwinik, the property owner, also thanked the board for tonight and noted he is excited to partner with Lowell House. The Lowell House team gave a presentation that can be found in the Select Board packet on the town website. The board asked more questions specifically about staff; the type of staff on duty and the times they will be there. They also asked more about their state licenses and the protocols they follow from them. It was noted the length of stay of any individual is anywhere from 90 days to potentially 6 months if needed. The board opened it up to the public for questions: Heather Clish from Deering Street asked the board what the criteria is for determining suitability tonight. She also asked if there will be conditions put on the approval; i.e. would they have to come back to the board if they wanted to change the use of the building. She asked about parking and outdoor play for the kids. Janet Flynn from Deering Street had concerns about outdoor play. Kathleen OLearly from Middlesex Ave asked about the admissions criteria for the kids coming into the program. Tracy Giles from Middlesex Ave asked if any of the kids are convicted felons. Jesse Arnold from Middlesex Ave asked about outdoor play and if a pest abatement will be done before demo. Alma Jeleskovic of Middlesex Ave asked if any of the kids are homicidal. Dan Baptise of Middlesex Ave asked about renovations and if the outdoor space will have any privacy. Nicole Nicosia of Middlesex Ave asked about the safety of the community; specifically, what they plan to do to keep the current children of Reading safe. She asked if the kids in the program are violent or committed any crimes. Mike Monahan of Bancroft Ave asked if the kids are allowed to leave the facility unattended. Larry Meuse of Lowell Street asked about the facility; if it is smoke free, will each kid have their own room and will the kids be detoxing once they arrive. Samantha Carreiro of Middlesex Ave asked how the long the lease will be for and what their long term and short-term plans are for this facility. The Lowell House team answered many of the questions with the following: • No pest problems that they are aware but of course will be taken care of if there are any • The kids will be detoxed BEFORE arriving at the facility; no detoxing at this site • No smoking facility • The kids are not homicidal; they would be in a different program if they were • Kids will be escorted anywhere and everywhere • There will be no change to the use of the building while Lowell House is the operator • The lease will be 5 years the first time Jeff Winward is a current neighbor of ‘Zach’s House’ in Lowell, which is another program Lowell House runs and is similar to what they are proposing here in Reading. He explained that Zach’s House has been a great neighbor; the staff is fantastic. They hold BBQ’s and open houses for the neighbors to come see what they are all about. They have been there 4 years now with no uptick in crime, noise or issues. They are a great asset to the neighborhood. Town Counsel Ivria Fried explained the suitability criteria and factors the board can take into consideration tonight. The board asked if there is an opening date planned if this goes forward. It was noted probably not until January 2022; they will need time to renovate and get things in order. Mark Dockser moved that the Select Board votes that Lowell House is a suitable tenant to operate a licensed substance abuse treatment program at 59 Middlesex Avenue, Reading MA. The motion was seconded by Carlo Bacci and approved with a unanimous roll call vote. Pride Month Anne Landry created a Pride month resolution she hopes the board will adopt tonight. She also noted they will be hanging a pride flag on the flag pole for the month of June. Carlo Bacci and Chris Haley noted while they fully support this, they do believe they need to talk about a flag policy in the future. Mark Dockser moved to approve the Pride Month resolution as presented. The motion was seconded by Carlo Bacci and approved with a unanimous roll call vote. Mark Dockser moved to go into Executive Session including staff members Bob LeLacheur and Caitlin Nocella and Counsel Ivria Fried, pursuant to Executive Session Purpose 2 and Purpose 3, to vote to approve Collective Bargaining Agreements (Reading Facilities Maintenance Workers and Town Custodians - AFSCME Council 93, Local 1703; Public Works Supervisory Union, AFSCME Council 93, Local 1703), and that the Select Board Chair declare that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the body, and, pursuant to Executive Session Purpose 1, to discuss an Open Meeting Law complaint filed against the Select Board by Walter Tuvell, and to reconvene in Open Session after the executive session. The motion was seconded by Carlo Bacci. Before the board voted, Chris Haley asked why the board discussed this in open session last week but we are moving it to executive session this time. He also asked why the texts he provided were not included in the packet. He noted he is very concerned doing this in executive session and not being transparent. Carlo Bacci agreed noting he feels this should be done in open session as well, however the other members disagreed. Counsel also felt from a legal perspective this should continue in executive session. The board took a vote on the motion to go into executive session and was approved with the following roll call vote: Dockser – yes; Haley – no; Bacci – no; Landry – yes; Herrick – yes.