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Home My WebLink About2024-07-16 Select Board Minutes�� Orgrq Town of Reading ,., Meeting Minutes 'xcanr°3r { Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Select Board Date: 2024-07-16 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: Carlo Bacci, Karen Herrick via Zoom, Mark Dockser, Chris Haley, Melissa Murphy Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Matt Kraunelis, Executive Assistant Caitlin Nocella, Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Caitlin Nocella Topics of Discussion: Bacci called the meeting to order at 7 PM. Public Comment Angela Binda feels Haley's actions atthe last meeting were unacceptable and that he owes people apologies. Dan Dewar noted the board needs to get back to doing the business of the town. Liaison Reports Herrick attended a Killam sustainability working group in which they discussed the difference HVAC options. They will be picking the preferred option in August. Murphy noted the School Committee met and they had an update on their new ELA curriculum for Parker and Coolidge. They also approved a amendment to the Superintendent's contract. They announced a new principal for Parker Middle School. CPDC last night noted on July 31", there will be a MBTA communities meeting. Haley noted Shawn Brandt was appointed to the Killam School Building Committee to replace Sarah McLaughin. The Killam School Building Committee held a public forum last night. Dockser noted ReCalc and PBC both met since the lasttime the board met. ReCalc is preparing to make their final presentation to the Select Board at our August meeting. The PBC met and the next step is to do an RFQ to hire a Owners Project Manager. Page 1 1 Bacci noted the CPA met at the same time as the Select Board meeting last week so he unfortunately was unable to attend. Town Manager Report Kraunelis noted the Zip Trip was great and Porch Fest was also a great turnout. Wellman noted that Katie Gabriello was promoted to Director of Operations. She was previously the Executive Assistant for Operations and has gotten her MPCCO for procurement and has her master's in public administration. She gave a quick update on the kiosks noting the vendor has been difficult to work with getting them programmed properly but they are close. Executive Session Haley moved to enter into Executive Session under purpose 3 for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to the following litigation matters: (1) Catherine Rawson, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Alan Greenough and Athony Perrotti v. the Town of Reading, Officer Drauschke, et. al., and (2) potential litigation pertaining to unpaid police detail invoices and involving B&E Services; Heyland Development; Champlain Excavating; and Delphi Construction, because the Chair finds that an open session may have a determinantal effect on the Board's litigating positions, and to invite into the Executive Session: (1) MIIA Senior Claims Representative Louise Saunders and Attorney Doug Louison from MITA for the Drauschke matter only, (2) Police Chief David Clark for the police detail matter only, and (3) Town Counsel Ivria Fried, Town Manager Matt Kraunelis and Executive Assistant Caitlin Nocella for all matters, and to return to open session to continue on with the meeting.The motion was seconded by Dockser and the following roll call vote was taken: Haley - yes; Murphy- yes; Herrick - yes; Dockser- yes; Bacci - yes. The board returned to open session at 8:22 PM. Waive Attorney Client Privilege on Killam School Building Committee Memo Town Counsel provided the board with a memo regarding the appointment processes for the Killam School Building Committee. The memo falls under attorney client privilege, however, because of all the interest in the topic, the board is here tonight to discuss waiving the attorney client privilege and releasing the memo to the public. Dockser noted the board normally should not be doing this but feels in this case, it seems appropriate to release the memo to the public. Haley, Murphy and Bacci agreed with Dockser's comments while Herrick noted she had no comment. Haley moved to waive the attorney client privilege relative to a letter dated July 5, 2024, from Town Counsel's office that pertains to the Killam School Building Committee P,,, 12 membership. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with the following roll call vote: Haley - yes; Murphy- yes; Herrick - yes; Dockser- yes; Bacci - yes. Safety Amendment Hearings Haley read the hearing notice to open the public hearings regarding amendments to the Traffic and Parking Regulations. Lt. Jones was present to explain the requests. Amendment 2024-5 seeks to Improve traffic and pedestrian safety at the intersection of Grove Street and Franklin Street with an official placement of an isolated stop sign on Grove Street at the intersection with Franklin Street. The second amendment, Amendment 2024-6 seeks to parking on Grove Street shall be prohibited on the northeasterly side opposite 374 Grove Street to Strout Avenue along the northerly side only. Both these requests came from PTTTF and the board had no issues with them. Haley moved to close the hearing regarding safety amendments 2024-5 and 2024-6 to the Traffic and Parking Regulations. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with the following roll call vote: Haley - yes; Murphy- yes; Herrick - yes; Dockser- yes; Bacci - yes. Haley moved to approve safety Amendment 2024-5 of the Traffic and Parking Regulations as presented. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with the following roll call vote: Haley - yes; Murphy- yes; Herrick - yes; Dockser- yes; Bacci - yes. Haley moved to approve safety Amendment 2024-6 of the Traffic and Parking Regulations as presented. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with the following roll call vote: Haley - yes; Murphy- yes; Herrick - yes; Dockser- yes; Bacci - yes. Discuss Vine Street Parking Situation Lt. Jones explained this also came from PTTTF. They are having problems/ complaints with an overflow of Austin Prep students parking on Arcadia Street. The short-term solution is to ask the students to park on Vine Street where there is more room. It appears they just have more students driving this year and they will reassess the situation next year. Ice Arena Update Carl McFadden gave the board an update on the Ice Arena business the past year. They just finished up their 31°' year. He noted they're approaching $3.5 Million in payment to the town in those 31 years. They did a capital project this year and replaced the roof for $284,000 and is completely paid for. They did not do solar panels because it didn't make financial sense; there was not a good return on their investment. It would have cost them $125,000 to put the solar panels on the roof and they would only save about $5,000 a year. The other major issue would have been the contractor doing the new roof would not have warrantied the roof if they put the solar panels on. Snow removal on a roof with panels is also very difficult. Page 1 3 He mentioned that Nelson Burbank intended for the money that went to the town would be used for recreational activities. He would love to have the Select Board work with the Recreation Committee to earmark the funds that the Ice Arena turns back every year go directly to recreational activities or improvements to recreational areas. Bacci wants to amend the lease to include pickleball in the back parking lot. Review Code of Ethics and Select Board Policies Bacci wanted the board to look at the Board ethics and protocols document and review it and see if things need to be added. He wants to discuss how the board can work together and be the most productive they can be. The biggest thing for him is being present and on time to be respectful of everyone's time. Dockser noted the board needs to police themselves. The list of procedures and policies doesn't have to be this all-inclusive list, it should be the most important things for the board to get work done properly. Haley noted everyone, including himself, is guilty of breaking some of these ethics and procedures and we just need to do better. Murphy agrees with all the previous comments and think we need to think before we speak and respectfully agree to disagree when necessary. Herrick agreed with all comments previously stated. Board Retreat The board discussed their schedulesto plan the next Select Board retreat. They are hoping to do it before the end of the summer. Future Agendas The board discussed future agenda items. Minutes Haley moved to approve the meeting minutes from June 4, 2024 as amended. The motion was seconded by Murphy and approved with the following roll call vote: Haley - yes; Murphy- yes; Herrick - yes; Dockser- yes; Bacci - yes. Haley moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:08 pm. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with the following roll call vote: Haley - yes; Murphy -yes; Herrick - yes; Dockser-yes; Bacci - yes. Page 4