HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-05-02 ad Hoc - Symonds Way Exploratory Committee Minutesorq
Town of Reading TOWN CLERK
RECtiVED
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g'I Meeting Minutes READING. MA.
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Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
Symonds Way Exploratory Committee
Date: 2023-05-02 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:
Chair Carlo Bacci, Vice Chair Chuck Robinson, Angela Binda, Heather Clish,
Karen Janowski, Nancy Twomey
Members - Not Present:
Andrew Dribin
Others Present:
Town Manager Fidel Maltez, Eric Boemer, Karen Gately Herrick (remote),
Anna DeNardo (remote), Jackie McCarthy (remote)
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Jacquelyn LaVerde
Topics of Discussion:
This meeting was held in-person in the Town Hall Select Board Meeting Room and remotely
via Zoom.
The Committee discussed issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to invite potential
developers to come up with proposals for uses of the site. An RFI is non-binding, and a
contract cannot be executed from it. They compared the recent RFI from Wellesley and
noted that the RFI that community Issued was very specific and had been in development
for a year.
The Committee expressed concern for issuing an RFI without knowing more about what is
needed, and suggested developing a master plan for the area, having a site plan to clarify
what is developable, discussing the best use of the property, scheduling a public forum, and
hearing from other committees.
The consensus of the Committee was to expand the scope of the charge to Include all the
adjacent Town -owned parcels on Symonds Way, but it would be beneficial to have guidance
from the Conservation Administrator on how much and what land would be developable.
Heather Clish noted that the charge just says the Symonds Way land, and while it was
understood in Select Board discussions that it referred to the parcel purchased at Town
Meeting in 2019, it may be as simple as asking the Select Board to update and clarify the
charge. Carlo Bacci stated that he would request to include it on the agenda for discussion
at the next Select Board meeting.
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On a motion by Heather Clish, and seconded by Carlo Bacci, the Symonds Way
Exploratory Committee voted 6-0-0 to encourage the Chair of SWEC to request
that the Select Board update and clarify the SWEC charge to look at potential uses
for all Town -owned land surrounding Symonds Way, with the specific area to be
determined by the Conservation Agent.
Discuss adding a member from the Reading Ice Arena Authority to SWEC:
The Committee discussed including a member of the Ice Arena Authority to the SWEC.
Because a representative of the Ice Arena Authority is not part of the Town's volunteer
status, and would be very specific to the Ice Arena's needs, members of the Committee
agreed that it would not be appropriate to include them on the Committee. Though the
Committee does want to hear their feedback throughout the process.
Discuss Next Meeting Dates and Future Agenda Items:
The Committee will discuss the criteria for evaluating projects at the next meeting
scheduled for May 30°M1, 2023, at 6:30 pm.
On a motion by Karen Janowski, and seconded by Angela Binda, the Symonds Way
Exploratory Committee voted 6-0-0 to adjourn at 8:25 pm.
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