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Home My WebLink About2025-10-21 Select Board Packet (PDF) Town of Reading Meeting Posting with Agenda 2018-07-16LAG Board -Committee -Commission -Council: Select Board Date: 2025-10-21Time: 7:00PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Select Board Meeting Room Address: 16 Lowell StreetAgenda: Purpose:General Business Meeting Called By:Madeleine Baptisteon behalf of Chair Chris Haley Notices and agendas are to be posted 48 hours in advance of the meetings excluding operation and make necessary arrangements to be sure your posting is made in an adequate amount of time. A listing of topics that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting must be on the agenda. All Meeting Postings must be submitted in typed format; handwritten notices will notbe accepted. Topics of Discussion: *Public Comment is permitted after each Agenda Item limited to that Item* Zoom Option:PAGE # Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87322150591 Meeting ID: 873 2215 0591 Dial by your location 7:00 Pledge of Allegiance Overview of Meeting 7:05 Public Comment (For any items not included on the agenda) 7:15 Town Manager Report 7:20 Community Spotlight 7:25 Fiscal Year 26 Tax Classification Preview 7:55 Vote to Close Special Town Meeting Warrant Discussion and Potential Vote to Support the Local Initiative Program 8:00 Application for Local Action Units to be Submitted with the Executive This Agenda has been prepared in advance and represents a listing of topics that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting. However the agenda does not necessarily include all matters which may be taken up at this meeting. Page | 1 Town of Reading Meeting Posting with Agenda Office of Housing and Livable Communities by BLVD Reading, LLC for a lot of land at 258-262 Main Street, Reading Discuss and Vote on Amendment to Select Board Communication 8:30 Policy Section 1.4:Addition of Social Media and Cell Phone Sections - 9:00 Review of Town Financial Policies from Division of Local Services Financial Management Resource Bureau (FMRB) Discuss and Vote to Instruct Town Manager to Explore Friday and 9:15 Saturday Only Valet Parking License Agreement 9:30 Select Board Liaison Reports 9:35 Future Agendas Approve Meeting Minutes September 9, 2025 9:40 September 16, 2025 October 7, 2025 Executive SessionPurpose 2 & Purpose 3: To Conduct Strategy Discussions with Respect to Collective Bargaining and Collective 9:45 Bargaining with the Facilities Union Executive Session will be held in the Select Board Meeting Room This Agenda has been prepared in advance and represents a listing of topics that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting. However the agenda does not necessarily include all matters which may be taken up at this meeting. Page | 2 Reading Senior Circuit Breaker Credit Details Percent Change Avg Single Family Tax Bill Tax Rate Residential Val Single Family Avg Fam Single Parcel Single Family Assessed Values Fiscal Year Total Amount of the FY 2026 Debt Exclusion is ZERO!This adds ZERO to the FY 2026 Res Tax Rate ZERO to the Average Single Family HomeZERO to the Average Commercial Property 3.15% 5.7%0.007%0.13%1.48% -.488%1.59%1.29%-6.36%3.65%-0.68%-4.5%1.52% 10.46%5.87%7.74%18.99%2.35%1.84%- 24,772 15,92616,86018,16421,61422,12122,52721,22121,32521,66521,94522,00223,40324,25724,25124,41723,64725,14724,774 67 12.613.2113.7513.814.1514.9414.7614.7114.5114.0413.9214.2014.2114.0613.5512.8312.3412.12.23 $1,263,953 $1,276,308 $1,321,054 $1,566,208 $1,563,322 $1,507,900 $1,493,100$1,563,000$1,580,062$1,648,064$1,707,018$1,721,818$1,802,000$1,843,134$1,917,351 $1,439,700$1,449,700$1,984,800$2,025,653 198201194192190193194192193 203206205204205199198196197193 368,131,400383,070,400 256,582,400262,919,463270,816,033319,506,376320,481,055300,063,400285,068,700284,141,800294,140,500309,470,100317,592,400319,725,400327,747,500327,145,600347,922,700357,568,000383,070,400 est 20242025 20082009201020112012201320142015201620172018 2019 20202021 2022 2023 2026 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Middlesex, ss. Officer's Return, Town of Reading: By virtue of this Warrant, I ______________________________, on ____________, 2025 notified and warned the inhabitants of the Town of Reading, qualified to vote on Town affairs, to meet at the place and at the time specified by posting attested copies of this Town Meeting Warrant, in the following public places within the Town of Reading: Precinct 1 J. Warren Killam School, 333 Charles Street Precinct 2 Reading Police Station, 15 Union Street Precinct 3 Reading Municipal Light Department, 230 Ash Street Precinct 4 Joshua Eaton School, 365 Summer Avenue Precinct 5 Reading Public Library, 64 Middlesex Avenue Precinct 6 Barrows School, 16 Edgemont Avenue Precinct 7 Birch Meadow School, 27 Arthur B Lord Drive Precinct 8 Wood End School, 85 Sunset Rock Lane Town Hall, 16 Lowell Street The date of posting being not less than fourteen (14) days prior to November 10, 2025, the date set for Town Meeting in this Warrant. _____________________________________________ Constable A true copy Attest: _____________________________________________ Laura Gemme, Town Clerk 34 SPECIAL TOWN MEETING WARRANT COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Middlesex, ss. To any of the Constables of the Town of Reading, Greetings: In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are hereby required to notify and warn the inhabitants of the Town of Reading, qualified to vote in the Local Elections and Town affairs, to meet at the Reading Memorial High School Performing Arts Center, 62 Oakland Road, in said Reading on MONDAY, the TENTH DAY of NOVEMBER A.D., 2025 at seven- upon and determined exclusively by Town Meeting Members in accordance with the provisions of the Reading Home Rule Charter. ARTICLE 1 Reports To hear and act on the reports of the Select Board, School Committee, Library Trustees, Municipal Light Board, Finance Committee, Bylaw Committee, Town Manager, Town Accountant and any other Town Official, Board or Committee. ARTICLE 2 To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Select Board, on behalf of the Town, to petition the General Court for passage of a special law, as set forth below; provided, however, that the General Court may make clerical or editorial changes of form only to the bill, unless the Select Board approves amendments to the bill before enactment by the General Court; and provided further that the Select Board is hereby authorized to approve amendments which shall be within the scope of the general public objectives of this petition; or take any other action with respect thereto. AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF READING TO ESTABLISH A MEANS TESTED SENIOR CITIZEN PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows: SECTION 1. There shall be an exemption from the property tax for each qualifying parcel of real property classified as class 1 residential in the Town of Reading in an amount to be set annually 35 by the Select Board as provided in section 3. The exemption shall be applied only to the domicile real property as defined by the board of assessors under the deed for the property and shall include a condominium unit. The exemption provided for in this act shall be in addition to any and all other exemptions allowed by the General Laws. SECTION 2. The board of assessors in the Town of Reading may deny an application if they find the applicant has excessive assets that place the applicant outside of the intended recipients of the exemption under this act. Real property shall qualify for the exemption under section 1 if: (i) income would make the person eligible for the circuit breaker income tax credit under subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws; (ii) the qualifying real property is owned by a single applicant not less than 65 years old at the close of the previous year or jointly by persons either of whom is not less than 65 years old at the close of the previous year and the other joint applicant is not less than 60 years old; (iii) the qualifying real property is owned and occupied by the applicant or joint applicants as their domicile; (iv) the applicant or at least 1 of the joint applicants has been domiciled and owned a home in the town for not less than 10 consecutive years before filing an application for the exemption; (v) the maximum assessed value of the qualifying real property is no greater than the income tax credit under subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws as adjusted annually by the department of revenue; and (vi) the board of assessors has approved the application. SECTION 3. The Select Board of the Town of Reading, shall annually set the exemption amount under section 1 at 100 per cent of the amount of the circuit breaker income tax credit under subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws for which the applicant qualified in the previous year. The total amount exempted by this act shall be allocated proportionally within the tax levy on all residential taxpayers. SECTION 4. A person who seeks to qualify for the exemption under section 1 shall, before the deadline established by the board of assessors of the town of Reading, file an application, on a form to be adopted by the board, with supporting documentation rel and assets as described in the application. The application shall be filed each year for which the applicant seeks the exemption. SECTION 5. No exemption shall be granted under this act until the department of revenue certifies a residential tax rate for the applicable tax year where the total exemption amount is raised by a burden shift within the residential tax levy. SECTION 6. This act shall expire 3 years after implementation of the exemption under this act. Select Board 36 ARTICLE 3 To see if the Town will vote to accept the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40, Section 8J to establish a commission on disability or take any other action with respect thereto. Select Board ARTICLE 4 To see if the Town will vote to rescind, reallocate, and transfer $198,681.73 or any other sum of money, from previously approved appropriations, for the purpose of paying any and all costs associated with the Killam School Building Project, or any other Town project, as itemized and described below: Original Project Original Amount to New Purposes Town be Meeting Reallocated Approval Police Station Renovation 10/18/21 $1,302.63 Killam School Building Project Energy Improvements II 10/18/21 $17,977.73 Killam School Building Project Parker Roof 4/26/21 $42,447.62 Killam School Building Project Building Security Project 4/22/19 $13,996.56 Killam School Building Project Turf II Improvements 4/22/19 $882.00 Killam School Building Project RMHS Turf/Track 4/26/21 $13.29 Killam School Building Project BM Field Lighting Design 4/27/15 $28,349.21 Killam School Building Project Library Renovations 1/28/13 $93,712.69 Killam School Building Project Total: $198,681.73 or take any other action with respect thereto. Select Board 37 and you are directed to serve this Warrant by posting an attested copy thereof in at least one (1) public place in each precinct of the Town not less than fourteen (14) days prior to November 10, 2025, or providing in a manner such as electronic submission, holding for pickup or mailing, an attested copy of said Warrant to each Town Meeting Member. Hereof fail not and make due return of this Warrant with your doings thereon to the Town Clerk at or before the time appointed for said meeting. th Given under our hands this __ day of ___________, 2025. _______________________ Christopher Haley, Chair _______________________ Melissa Murphy, Vice Chair _______________________ Karen Rose-Gillis, Secretary _______________________ Carlo Bacci, Member _______________________ Karen Gately Herrick, Member SELECT BOARD OF READING _______________________________ , Constable 38 39 40 41 42 43 Section 1.4 Communication 1.4.1 - Select Board Communication It is important to the public and to the Select Board itself to make it clear when individual members are speaking for the Board as a whole, or when they are speaking for themselves as individuals. In order to ensure this clarity of communication, the following shall be the policy of the Select Board: 1. Members of the Select Board shall be given stationery with the Town seal in printed and electronic format for their use. This stationery shall name only that member of the Board on the masthead. Board members may only use this stationery for correspondence relative to Town matters. Any such correspondence shall state that the views expressed are those of that member of the Select Board only. 2. The Select Board stationery, naming all five members of the Board on the masthead, shall be used only for correspondence from the full Select Board. This stationary shall be used to communicate positions of the full Select Board based on consensus of the full Board or based upon actually voted positions of the Board. 3. The Select Board may take votes on recommendations on Warrant Articles appearing before Town Meeting, and the Chair of the Select Board or the designee thereof shall be responsible for communicating those recommendations to Town Meeting based on votes of the Board. 4. When Board members rise to speak at Town Meeting, they shall identify whether they are speaking for the full Board or as individuals. 5. In todays society, much of the correspondence to the Select Board is electronic, and often is copied to all members of the Board. The Select Board acknowledges that correspondence in electronic form that is made and/or received by it and its individual members are public records, unless specifically exempted from the definition of public record. Additionally, the Select Board acknowledges that the manner in which it deals with electronic correspondence may raise concerns relative to the Open Meeting Law. The Board also feels it is important to ensure that a proper response is given to an email request. Correspondence shall be handled in the following manner:: a. Secretary shall respond to electronic communication sent to the entire Board and acknowledge receipt of the correspondence. i. If the correspondence may require actions by Town staff, the Town Manager shall be copied and so noted to the sender. 44 ii. If the correspondence requests action from the Board on a particular matter within appropriate. iii. All non-electronic correspondence shall be converted to an electronic format and forwarded to the full Select Board in a timely manner. All correspondence circulated pursuant to this provision shall be subject to the terms of subsection a, above. b. Select Board members may respond directly to any email correspondence received, provided they do not violate the Open Meeting Law in doing so. They are encouraged to copy the Town Manager on issues that may involve Town staff. c. The Town Manager is encouraged to reply directly to the sender on issues that have been noted under section 1.4.1.5.b.i above and to update the entire Select Board on a timely basis either through email or at the next Select Board meeting. The Town Manager shall maintain a record of outstanding resident requests and inquiries that Such a record shall be included in each meeting packet and shall contain the name, request, and status of response, which shall be provided to the Board as part of the consolidated into one record. If an inquiry relates to interaction with a member of Town staff, the Town Manager shall provide all relevant updates to the Board as permitted by law or pursuant to the advice of Town Counsel. The Town Manager, the Ombudsman and the Human Resources Director shall make themselves available to the public as may be helpful for further follow up on the inquiry; provided, however, that the Town Manager, the Ombudsman and the Human Resources Director shall provide an acknowledgement but shall not provide substantive responses to such inquiries when doing so would violate a contract or other law and need not so respond when such response would be contrary to the advice of Town Counsel. d. Members of the Select Board may communicate electronically as a quorum on the scheduling, cancellation, and time of meetings. e. Documents may be distributed via email from the Select Board to all members of the to be discussed at upcoming meetings, provided such distribution does not violate the Open Meeting Law. f. Relative to information potentially of interest to members of the Select Board, the Town Manager shall err on the side of providing that information to all members of the Board on a timely basis either through email or at the next Select Board meeting. Correspondence relative to setting meeting agendas may be limited to the Town Manager and Chair. 45 g. The Town Manager shall respond individually to members of the Select Board who email the Town Manager as individual members, unless the individual Board member requests that the Town Manager provide the information to all members of the Board and such communication does not violate the Open Meeting Law. a. If individual Board members request the Town Manager or Town staff take a particular action and it is unclear whether that request is representative of the will of the Board as a whole, the Town Manager may request the Board provide additional instruction or take a formal vote to indicate their preference or instruction for staff action. Section revised March 9, 2004 revised June 5, 2007 revised February 16, 2021 revised August 10, 2021 1.4.2 Access to Public Records The Select Board is committed to the philosophy that the citizens should have access to public records that are not exempt by law. To this end, the Town Clerk is hereby designated as custodian of public records for the Town of Reading (not including the School or Light Department). The custodian of public records will carry out the duties and responsibilities of a record custodian as required by Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 66, Section 10, and may establish and charge such reasonable fees and establish other regulations in accordance with rules and regulations established by the Supervisor of Public Records, Regulation 950 CMR 32.06, or other applicable laws and regulations. Section revised December 13, 1994 Revised February 16, 2021 46 47 48 49 November 4, 2025 Pledge of Allegiance 7:00 Overview of Meeting Public Comment (for any items not 7:05 included on the agenda) 7:15 Town Manager Report Community Spotlight Select Board Reorganization Public Hearing: Discuss and Vote Santaniello Public Hearing Fiscal Year 2026 Tax Classification REPC Proclamation 5 mins Public Hearing: Discuss and Vote on Transfer of Annual Wine and Malt Liquor License for Bangkok Spice LLC d/b/a Bangkok Spice, Located at 76 Haven Street Public Hearing Discuss Future of Pleasant Street Center Review 2026 Meeting Schedule Select Board Liaison Reports Future Agendas Approve Meeting Minutes November 10, 2025Town Meeting November 13, 2025Town Meeting November 17, 2025Town Meeting November 20, 2025Town Meeting December 2, 2025 Pledge of Allegiance 7:00 Overview of Meeting Public Comment (for any items not 7:05 included on the agenda) Town Manager Report 7:15 Community Spotlight Approve Annual Licenses Discuss Town Manager Evaluation Select Board Liaison Reports Future Agendas Approve Meeting Minutes December 3, 2025Budget Presentations Department Budget Presentations Night One 7:00 7:05 7:15 50 December 9, 2025Budget Presentations Department Budget Presentations 7:00 Night Two 7:05 7:15 Possible Regular Business Meeting (If needed) December 16, 2025 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70