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Board - Committee
Date: 2023-05-23
Town of Reading
Meeting Minutes
Commission - Council:
Select Board
Building: Reading Town Hall
Address: 16 Lowell Street
Purpose: General Business
Attendees: Members - Present:
Time: 7:00 PM
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Location: Select Board Meeting Room
Session: Open Session
Version: Final
Jackie McCarthy, Mark Dockser, Karen Herrick, Carlo Bacci, Chris Haley
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Town Manager Fidel Maltez, Executive Assistant Caitlin Nocella, HR Director
Sean Donahue, DPW Director Jane Kinsella, Assistant DPW Director Chris
Cole, Bill Brown, Peter Kramer, Nancy Ziemlak, Heather Clish, Community
Planning and Development Director Andrew MacNichol
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Executive Assistant Caitlin Nocella
Topics of Discussion:
This meeting was held in person and remote via Zoom.
Chair McCarthy called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
Public Comment
Bill Brown noted the preparation for Memorial Day will start tomorrow if anyone wishes to help. They
will be putting the markers up by all the veteran's graves.
Peter Kramer expressed his dissatisfaction with non -ADA compliant port -a -potties in town.
Nancy Ziemlak asked the board to please support the RFP for a feasibility study for the Senior Center
which is on their agenda later tonight.
Liaison Reports
Haley attended the Police and Fire badge pinning ceremony and the ribbon cutting for a new business on
Haven Street.
Herrick attended a 101 birthday celebration for a veteran resident in town. She attended an MAPC
update with our Economic Development Director Ben Cares in which they discussed META Communities.
She attended the RPD open house. She attended the Killam School Building Committee in which they
heard from the firms bidding the project.
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Dockser noted PAIR had their monthly meeting and they have a lot of activity going on and would love to
have some more volunteers. He also noted the Police and Fire badge pinning specifically noting Tanya
Jarzyniecki also received an award for her efforts at the Coalition.
McCarthy noted Board of Health met last week and they discussed the high presence of rodents this
spring that they are keeping an eye on. They also got an update on emergency preparedness drills. They
will be holding a hearing on updating their tobacco regulations and body art regulations.
Town Manager Report
Maltez thanked DPW for going out in their trucks and picked up scrap metal that was not picked up by
our trash vendor. They believe they have gotten everyone's but if yours hasn't been picked up, please call
DPW.
National Public Works Week Proclamation
Herrick read the proclamation.
Herrick moved to accept the proclamation as presented. The motion was seconded by Dockser and
approved with a 5-0 vote.
Arbor Day Proclamation
Herrick read the proclamation.
Herrick moved to accept the proclamation as presented. The motion was seconded by Dockser and
approved with a 5-0 vote.
Classification and Compensation Schedules Hearing
Herrick read the hearing notice opening the hearing regarding the FY24 Non -Union Classification and
Compensation Schedules.
Human Resources Director Sean Donahue was present to answer questions.
Dockser moved to close the hearing; with a second from Herrick the motion passed with a 5-0 vote.
Herrick moved to approve the FY24 Non Union classification and Compensation Schedules as
presented. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with a 5-0 vote.
Pride Month Resolution
Herrick read the resolution.
Herrick moved to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was seconded by Docker and
approved with a 5-0 vote.
luneteenth Resolution
Herrick read the resolution.
Herrick moved to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was seconded by Haley and
approved with a S-0 vote.
MBTA Communities Grant Letter of Support
Maltez explained they are asking the board for a letter of support for a newly created grant. The grant
would provide up to $100,000 for community outreach and technical assistance to achieve compliance
of the MBTA Communities Legislation.
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Herrick moved to approve signing a letter of support for the MBTA Communities Grant as presented.
Dockser seconded the motion and it was approved with a 5-0 vote.
Water & Sewer Rates Hearing
Maltez gave the board a presentation about water and sewer rates and what the numberswould look
like with a tiered system. The presentation can be found in the Select Board meeting packet on the town
website. There will also be a public forum next Wednesday for residents with any
thoughts/comments/questions about water rates.
The board will have more discussion at their next meeting.
Herrick moved to close the hearing on the water and sewer rates. The motion was seconded by
Dockser and approved with a 5-0 vote.
CPDC Committee Report
Director of Community Development Andrew MacNichol and CPDC Chair Heather Clish gave the board a
presentation an overview of what CPDC has been up to lately. The presentation on be found in the
Select Board packet on the town website.
Town Masterulan Next Steps
There was recently an instructional motion to instruct the Select Board to put together a committee to
discuss a townwide master plan. The board discussed timing on when to form the committee and when
it should get to work. They discussed forming the committee the end of the year for work to begin in the
new year of 2024.
COLA Increase for Retirees
The board received a presentation and information regarding this request from Town Accountant Sharon
Angstrom at their last meeting. It was noted again this is a one-year request for the retirees only. The
board will now vote on that request.
Herrick moved to increase the Cost of Living Adjustment ("COLA") for Fiscal Year 2023 to up to 5
percent on the base amount specified pursuant to G.L. c. 32, § 103, for retirees. The motion was
seconded by Haley and approved with a 5-0 vote.
Liaison Assignments
The board discussed their liaison assignments making some changes and noting that there a lot of
boards and committees for them to cover. They also felt a few were unnecessary to keep on the list.
Dockser moved to approve the Liaison Assignments as amended. The motion was seconded by Herrick
and approved with a 5-0 vote.
ReCalc Charge and Sunset Date discussion/vote
ReCalc is set to sunset on lune 301h 2023. Dockser feels the committee may be needed in action for a
little longer. As we go forth and do another RFP for a feasibility study, the committee may be useful. He
would like to speak with the committee once more before voting but he would like to see them
extended one more year if they agree as well. He would like to come back to the board at their next
meeting for a vote.
SWEC Charge Discussion/Vote
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At their last meeting the board was asked to discuss include new land in the SWEC charge. The map of
the land is in the Select Board packet on the town website. The board discussed adding specifically the
new senior center/community center to the charge. They also discussed how close this land is to the
refile club and how that will impact what will go there.
Herrick moved to revise purpose of the Symonds Way Exploratory Committee to include the area
shown on Exhibit A (page 40 of the Select Board Packet). The motion was seconded by Dockser and
approved with a 5-0 vote.
Vote on issuing RFP for Feasibility Study for new Senior Center
Maltez explained in their packet is a copy of Newton's RFQ that can be a template for Reading to use.
Dockser noted that since things didn't work out with 17 Hamden, this feasibility study should be done to
find more potential sites that exist.
Herrick moved to direct the Town Manger to issue a Request for Proposal for a Feasibility Study for a
New Senior/ Community Center in Reading. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with
a 5-0 vote.
Future Agendas
The board discussed future agenda items.
Dockser moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:55 PM. The motion was seconded by Herrick and
approved with a 5-0 vote.
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