HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-10-29 Select Board Minuteso� rx c Town of Reading RECgCp.ED
a�x Meeting Minutes R OWN CLERK
AD!Nr,,, MA.
2023 JAN9 LG,
Board - Committee - Commission - Council: PM 3: Qg
Select Board
Date: 2019-10-29 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Select Board Meeting Room
Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session
Purpose: General Business Version: Draft
Attendees: Members - Present:
Vanessa Alvarado, John Halsey, Anne Landry, Mark Dockser, Andy
Friedmann
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Executive Assistant Caitlin Saunders, Bill
Brown, Lisa Egan, John Douglas, Everette and Ginny Blodgett
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By:
Topics of Discussion:
Chair Vanessa Alvarado called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM
Mr. Friedmann noted he received a few complaints about the Met at the depot regarding
compliance with landscaping and the exits for vehicles. He attended the Economic
Development forum last week about redevelopment in the area near RMLD.
Mr. Dockser also attended the Economic Development summit as well and noted it was a
great opportunity for residents to get involved. Himself and Ms. Alvarado had a meeting as
the RMLD Payment subcommittee.
Mr. Halsey explained about an old fire apparatus that recently found its way back to
Reading. It was built in 1835 and they are working to put in on more permanent display at
the West Side station.
Ms. Landry noted the Cultural Council is reviewing applications now and are looking for new
members to join if anyone is interested. The Reading/North Reading Chamber of Commerce
had an award ceremony for first responders and handed out three awards to Reading Public
Safety. Detective Michael Fitzgerald, Dispatcher Deb Haynes and Firefighter John Keough
were all recognized an awarded at the ceremony for their hard work and dedication to the
job.
Ms. Alvarado responded to the recreation concerns from last meeting and noted recreation
is in the process of working on those safety concerns. She noted there is an effort on social
media to change Halloween to Saturday due to weather concerns.
Fr , v-1 .'
Pag¢ 1 1
Mr. LeLacheur noted there was a letter regarding idling at the train station. He noted there
is no idling allowed anywhere in town and they will put in an effort to enforce that more.
Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios prepared a statement regarding the Lincoln/Prescott
project which the Town Manager read because she was not able to be here.
Public Comment
Bill Brown noted moving Halloween is not under the purview of this board.
Eric Barrier noted he was the one who wrote the letter about the softball fields and their
safety. He thinks this needs to be taken care of immediately.
Audra Cashen agreed the safety of the softball field is extremely important and she thinks
there needs to be more equality between boys' and girls' sports.
Another resident stood up and noted there is a huge liability if one of these girls gets hurt
during a game explaining they only need about 10 feet of fencing to protect them.
Jodi Seroni noted the softball field is very sad compared to the baseball field.
John Meanes stood up switching the conversation to the tax split. He runs a business in
town and does not believe this is the right time to split the rate noting there are already
empty store fronts as it is. He spoke on behalf of the Reading Chamber of Commerce noting
he wants Reading to stay a great place to live and work.
Lisa Egan noted she sent a petition to the board earlier. We need to keep the tax rate lower
to keep businesses wanting to come here.
Tax Hearing
Town Assessor Victor Santaniello was present to answer any questions the board may have.
Mr. Halsey asked Mr. Santaniello if he could explain small commercial exemption a bit more.
Mr. Santaniello noted the requirements to be considered small commercial are very strict
and very few businesses in Reading would qualify.
Ms. Landry expressed her thoughts on keeping the split at 1.02 for this year but noted she
does think it needs to increase in the future.
Mr. Dockser noted he would like to see the split move a little forward and be somewhere in
the 1.02-1.04 range.
Mr. Friedmann explained that many of our surrounding towns have a bigger split and he
thinks Reading needs to move in that direction as well. He would also be in favor of the
1.02-1.04 range.
Mr. Halsey is against any kind of split and he would actually like to see it go back down. The
time is not now; the small businesses in town cannot handle it and they are begging the
board not to do it.
Ms. Alvarado believes they need to be moving in the direction of a bigger split but this year
is comfortable with the same 1.02 split as last year.
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board close the hearing establishing the
FY2020 tax rate. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a
5-0 vote.
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board adopt a minimum residential factor of
.998411 for Fiscal Year 2020. The motion was seconded by Ms. Landry and
approved with a 4-1 vote with Halsey opposing.
Page 2
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board not grant an open space discount for
Fiscal Year 2020. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a
5-0 vote.
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board not adopt a residential exemption for
Fiscal Year 2020. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a
5-0 vote.
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board not grant a small commercial exemption
for Fiscal Year 2020. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann with a 5-0 vote.
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board adopt a factor of 1.5 for senior tax relief.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 5-0 vote.
Onboardina Manual
Mr. Friedmann had been working on an onboarding manual for future Select Board
members. He ran through his draft so far which is meant to be high-level for new members.
The board liked what he has come up with so far and agreed he should keep going as is.
Pedestrian/Traffic Safety Improvements
First up was Town Engineer Ryan Percival who was going to update the board on Haverhill
Street. He noted the speed study has been done and the recommendation would be a
consistent 35 mph. He has a drafted a letter from the board to the State requesting they
change the speed limit to a consistent 35 mph.
Ms. Landry noted she can discuss and vote on this matter but due to her professional career
cannot sign the letter. Mr. Friedmann noted he may have the same conflict and will check
on that.
Mr. Halsey and Ms. Landry expressed interest in making this a two step process and also
doing a home rule petition to try and regain control of our local roads as well.
Mr. Dockser Move that the board sign a letter expressing our support for change to
special speed regulation 933 for Haverhill street. The motion was seconded by Mr.
Friedmann and approved with a 5-0 vote.
Mr. Percival then explained they did a brief study at Franklin and Haverhill to see about a
potential stop light there. The study concluded that it is a possible location for a stop light
but further evaluation will be needed.
Downtown Parkina
Community Development Director Julie Mercier presented the board with a presentation
about downtown parking and some possible new ideas. The PTTTF have been working to
listen to businesses, customers, and residents of the downtown area to try and find a new
solution to a growing problem with downtown parking. PTTTF needs some more time to
evaluate some possible solutions but it is also time to start selling passes for 2020; with
that being said, PTTTF is requesting that the board only hand out 6 month permits for 2020
with hopes they can implement a new parking plan by June 2020.
Mr. Halsey feels leaving the parking situation as it is right now for another 9 months is too
long. It's a huge problem and we need to start making changes now.
Ms. Alvarado expressed her wish for this new parking plan to be done thoroughly and not
rushed.
Mr. Friedmann asked if we could just add more employee parking since that seems to be
the biggest problem.
Ms. Alvarado noted the staff is asking for more time and she thinks the board needs to allow
them the more time so they can properly study this.
Page 1 3
Mr. Halsey asked about doing a 3 month permit instead of 6 months
Mr. Dockser supports the 6 month permit but asked if the group could come back in January
to update the board on their progress and thoughts.
Mr. LeLacheur then asked the board how they want to Police to enforce the current parking
issues while they are studying the situation.
Mr. Friedmann suggested the Police use their discretion when it comes to giving tickets.
Ms. Alvarado and Mr. Dockser agreed.
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board authorize the Town Manager or designee
to sell Employee Parking Stickers - Downtown Business District as described in
section 5.2.1 of the Traffic Rules and Regulations, but that the term be for 6
months (effective 1/1/20) with a cost of $20 per month paid upfront. The motion
was seconded by Ms. Landry and approved with a 4-1 vote with Halsey opposing.
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board authorize the Town Manager or designee
to sell Leased Parking Program for Merchants and Employees Permits as described
in section 5.14 of the Traffic Rules and Regulations, but that the term be for 6
months (effective 1/1/20) with a cost of $30 per space per month paid upfront or
$25 per tandem space per month paid upfront. The motion was seconded by Ms.
Landry and approved with a 4-1 vote with Halsey opposed.
The board then discussed the depot parking passes and second cars. The board all agreed a
discount for a second car is a good idea. The board has mixed opinions on pricing noting
that $150 is a generous price to park every day, all year. Some members agreed the price
is a little low while some thought it was high and would not change it.
The board then discussed the price of the second sticker for the same household with some
differing views. Mr. Friedmann and Mr. Halsey feel the second sticker should be much lower.
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board authorize the Town Manager or designee
to sell resident 12 month (effective 1/1/20) combination train depot and compost
stickers for $150. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with
a 5-0 vote.
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board authorize the Town Manager or designee
to sell one additional combination train depot and compost stickers to residents at
the same address at a discounted price of $25. The motion was seconded by Ms.
Landry and approved with a 3-2 vote with Halsey and Friedmann opposing.
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board authorize the Town Manager or designee
to sell resident 12 month (effective 1/1/20) compost only stickers for $25 with
seniors age 65 or older eligible for a $15 discounted price. The motion was
seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 5-0 vote.
Halloween
Ms. Alvarado noted there has been some requests on social media from parents to move
trick or treating to Saturday due to the expected bad weather.
Ms. Landry noted she pulled up the weather report just now and it looks as though it is not
supposed to be as bad anymore with rain stopping during the day.
The board seemed content with the current weather report to leave trick or treating on
Halloween night.
Minutes
Page 1 4
Mr. Dockser moved that the board approve the meeting minutes of October
15t",2019 as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and passed
with a 5-0 vote.
Mr. Dockser moved to adjourn at 10:57 PM. The motion was seconded by Mr.
Friedmann and approved with a 5-0 vote.
Page 1 5