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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-04-19 Select Board Minutesrq o'� �i e Town of Reading RECEIVED ?�o Meeting Minutes TOWN CLERK R€ A4ING, MA. v'':rrcoxvoP - PL. Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 2022 JUN - I AM H: 51 Select Board Date: 2022-04-19 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Select Board Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: General Business Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Mark Dockser, Carlo Bacci, Chris Haley, Jackie McCarthy, Karen Herrick Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Fidel Maltez, [aura Gemme, Bill Brown, Nancy Docktor, Caitlin Nocella, Julie Mercier, Jonathan Barnes, Sharon Angstrom Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Caitlin Nocella Topics of Discussion: This meeting was held in person and remote via Zoom. Town Clerk Laura Gemme started the meeting off explaining the training and guidelines every member must do yearly. Reorganization Town Manager Fidel Maltez opened the floor for nominations for Chair. Haley nominated Dockser for chair. Herrick seconded this. With no other nominations for chair, the board voted 5-0 for Dockser as chair. Dockser took over the meeting and opened the floor for nominations for vice chair. Bacci nominated Haley for Vice Chair. Herrick seconded this. Dockser nominated Herrick for Vice Chair. McCarthy seconded this. Haley made a statement of why he would like to be Vice Chair and then Herrick did the same. A public comment from Karen Janowski noted that this seems out of precedent to have Herrick as Vice Chair when she was just Chair and is in her last year of her term. Dockser disagreed with this statement. The board took a vote on Haley for Vice Chair with the following results: JM — no; MD- no; KH- no; CH- yes; CB- yes Page 1 1 The board took a vote on Herrick for Vice Chair with the following results: JM — yes; MD- yes; KH- yes; CH — no; CB — no Dockser made a statement about how he hopes as his new role of chair to help bridge the divide in the town. Dockser opened the floor for nominations for secretary. McCarthy nominated Haley for Secretary and Herrick seconded. Herrick nominated McCarthy for secretary. The board took a vote on Haley for Secretary with the following results: 1M — yes; MD- yes; KH- yes; CH —yes; CB — yes Public Comment Bill Brown made a public comment to say he does not appreciate his name being dragged in the mud over a comment he made that was taken out of context. Nancy Docktor commented that it doesn't matter if someone is in their last term to be vice chair, that this practice is only with the chair. PARC Presentation PARC called to order at 7:35 PM and gave a full presentation to the board on their recommendations for downtown parking regulations. The presentation can be found on the town website in the Select Board meeting packet. The recommendations were received and a few comments from the audience included questions about enforcement, handicap parking, special rates for the elderly and some questions surrounding the specifications of the kiosks and prices of tickets. The board decided to digest all the information and postpone the vote until their next meeting. Haley moved to continue the hearing until May 3rd, 2022 at 7:45 PM. The motion was seconded by Herrick and approved with a 5-0 vote. Extending PARC The PARC committee needs to have their sunset date extended until the board votes. Haley moved that the board extend the sunset date of the Parking Advisory and Recommendations Committee to July 32, 2022. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with a 5-0 vote. The PARC committee adjourned at 9:07 PM. Trails Committee The board was asked to remove a trails committee member due to absence. Page 12 Haley moved to remove board member Susan Churchill from the Trails Committee. The motion was seconded by Bacci and approved with a 5-0 vote. New Process for BCC's to request funds In a new process being set up, boards and committees can come to the Select Board and request funds. Prior to this, a few boards had their own small budget each year. Jonathan Barnes of the Historical Commission commented that they were never notified of this change and their input was never asked for. Historical Commission is a board that had an annual budget each year and they would prefer to keep it that way. Herrick informed the Select Board that she had just learned that several Boards and Committees had their long standing annual budgets removed in order to fund this $15k Select Board discretionary line item including Trails and The Reading Historical Commission. Members Herrick, Dockser, Haley and Bacci noted they would be in favor of keeping the budgets that current boards have and putting this new process in place for boards and committees that do not already have budgets. Haley moved to approve the process for BCCs to request funds from the Select Board Reserve Fund as presented. The motion was seconded by Herrick and approved with a 5-0 vote. Water/Sewer Rates Town Manager Fidel Maltez gave the board a presentation about water and sewer rates which the board will need to set. Maltez presented 3 options which included using various amount of money from ARPA funds and the reserves. The board leaned towards option 2 but using $750K from ARPA and $SSOK from reserves. The board compromised and suggested doing $650K from each fund instead. The board will proceed to vote at a future meeting. Bacci leaves the meeting due to discomfort on his shoulder from a recent surgery. Loss of Revenue Election for ARPA Funds Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom explained Reading must make a decision if the Town wants to use the standard allowance for revenue loss. This decision must be made by April 30'. It is a one-time option, and the first filing is due April 30`h. The Select Board should make the decision to use the standard allowance for revenue loss or not. Haley moved to adopt the standard revenue loss allowance for the ARPA funds up to the full amount of the grant. The motion was seconded by McCarthy and approved with a 4-0 vote. Town Manager Goals Maltez gave the board a presentation of goals which can be found in the Select Board packet. Liaison Assignments Page 1 3 The board was presented with a draft of liaison assignments for each of them. The board is going to give feedback to the Town Manager's office next week for the Select Board meeting on May 3rtl. Liaison Reports Herrick thanked the Conservation Commission volunteers and noted they got an update on the community gardens. School Committee formed a committee to name the RMHS track; they will come to the Select Board with that latef. Dockser reported the Council On Aging is very active right now. RECALL had two public forums well attended and are meeting again tomorrow. COA is interested in reaching out to the 60t community post covid to discuss what's going on. Town Manager Report Maltez noted that Town Staff is making final preparations for Town Meeting. Town Staff put a couple of information videos up on the Town's website to help people understand articles before town meeting begins. Future Agendas The board discussed future agenda topics, along with hosting a retreat. Minutes Haley moved to accept the meeting minutes of March 22nd, 2022 as presented. The motion was seconded by Herrick and approved with a 3-0-1 with McCarthy abstaining. Haley moved to adjourn at 10:45 PM. The motion was seconded by Herrick and approved with a 4-0 vote. Documents Used: 2022-04-19 SB Packet Page 1 4