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2008-07-29 Board of Selectmen Packet
Page 1 of 1 J,/C 160b)~ . C 6D 0-% Schena, Paula From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 8:16 AM To: 'Neil and Anne Joyce'; Reading - Selectmen Cc: Schettini, Pat; 'Eric Sprung'; ccaruso@reading.kl2.ma.us; Schena, Paula Subject: RE: Birch Meadow Crosswalk Anne As I've mentioned the curb and sidewalk installation has no effect on whether or not a crosswalk is installed at this location at a later date. Pete Hechenbleikner I/c Board of Selectmen From: Neil and Anne Joyce [mailto:najoyce30@comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 6:44 PM To., Reading - Selectmen Cc: Schettini, Pat; 'Eric Sprung'; ccaruso@reading.kl2.ma.us Subject: Birch Meadow Crosswalk Dear Members of the Board, Thank you for taking the time to listen to the concerns of the Birch Meadow Community regarding the issue of adding a new crosswalk on Birch Meadow Drive at the emergency access road to the Birch Meadow Elementary School. A crosswalk at the proposed location would allow the physical education classes at the Birch Meadow Elementary School a safe place to cross to the fields across Birch Meadow Drive. Additionally, it would guide pedestrians to cross in one location instead of haphazardly along Birch Meadow Drive during the school day. Finally, it would provide a safe link between the Birch Meadow School Playground to the Birch Meadow Fields, further enhancing the safety of the whole Birch Meadow Complex. I hope you will take this matter under consideration before the proposed curbing and sidewalk are installed. I look forward to speaking with you and working with the town to resolve this matter. Sincerely, Anne Joyce 23 Cape Cod Avenue Reading, MA 01867 781-944-8719 7/10/2008 OF Town of Reading `moo q 16 Lowell Street ~w 1639`INC Q°4,t Reading, MA 01867-2685 FAX: (781) 942-9071 Email: townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us Website: www.readingma.gov July 16, 2008 Patricia A. Leavenworth, P.E., District Highway Director 519 Appleton St. Arlington, MA 02476 Re: Reading - Route 28, Roadway Construction and Related Work Contract No. 51620 Project File No. 602617 Dear Mrs. Leavenworth, TOWN MANAGER (781) 942-9043 Thank you for agreeing to include the 325 linear feet of Ash Street as .additional work on Marchese's contract. The inclusion of this work as an extra will enable the Town to perform the improvements sooner with less confusion. I understand and agree that the additional work will be considered Non-Participating work and all costs associated with such work including police details will be the responsibility of the Town of Reading. Funding for the improvements is in place and will forward any documentation required to amend the present Non-Participating Agreement 51639. Unless our involvement will cause any legal or union issues, to prevent any additional work on your staff, our Engineering Division can provide the construction layout needed for the additional work. When appropriate our Town Engineer will contact Mr. Mark Cain to discuss layout of the proposed work. Again thank you for accepting our request and look forward to working with you and your staff in completing the roadway improvements. ince ely, i Peter I. Hechenbleikner Town Manger cc: Robert Bosy, MHD George J. Zambouras, P.E., Town Engineer Document? / e// - Page 1 of 1 Hechenbleikner, Peter From: McIntire, Ted r Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 10:56 AM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter; LeLacheur, Bob Cc: Kinsella, Jane Subject: FW: House & Senate Approved FY09 State Budget The MWRA Assessments voted by the MWRA Board of Directors in late June were based on $15 Million DSA. The MWRA would get approx. $11 million. If the Governor approves the increase to $20 million, it would further reduce our assessment. Stay tuned! From: McClellan, Mary Ann [mailto:Maryann. McClellan@mwra.state.ma. us] Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 12:39 PM To: undisclosed-recipients Subject: House & Senate Approved FY09 State Budget HOUSE & SENATE APPROVED FY09 STATE BUDGET INCLUDES $20 MILLION IN STATEWIDE DEBT SERVICE ASSISTANCE Thanks to the actions of the Legislature, which included $20 million in statewide Debt Service Assistance (DSA), MWRA wholesale water and sewer assessment increases can be further reduced from 4.45% to 3.72%. The next step lies with the Governor who has ten days to concur or veto any and all sections of the Budget. The MWRA Board of Directors next meets on July 16. At that time, the Board will revisit the MWRA's FY09 Operating Budget and make the necessary modifications/changes to community assessments. Once again, we owe a debt of gratitude to all of our MWRA Service Area Legislators, Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, Senate President Therese Murray, Senate Ways & Means Chairman Steven Panagiotakos, with special recognition to House Ways & Means Chairman Robert DeLeo, MWRA Caucus Chairman Ron Mariano and Vice Chairman Anthony Petruccelli. Have a happy and safe 4th of July! Mary Ann McClellan, Executive Assistant MWRA Advisory Board 11 Beacon Street, Suite 1010 Boston, MA 02108-3020 p: 617-742-7561 f: 617-742-4614 marvann.mcclellanO.mwra.state.ma.us ~cz 7/9/2008 TA: Board of Selectmen From: Peter I. Hechenbleikner, Town Manager r Date: Friday, July 25, 2008 Re: Agenda Notes - July 29, 2008 2a) Please see the attached material and Proclamation from the Silver Star Banner Program. Our VSO has checked out this organization and it seems to be legitimate. The date of the celebration is next Spring but the organization is trying to collect the Proclamations from every community in MA prior to the May 1, 2009 date - their goal is to have one from all 351snmmundiaa_ 4a) The hearing on Baldwin Lane Extension is intended to accept this street and to convey to abutters the abandoned portions of the old cul-de-sac. This issue would then be placed on the Warrant for the Subsequent Town Meeting. 4b) The Change of Manager for the Reading Mandarin has to be approved by the Board of Selectmen but a hearing is not required. The Police Chief, Health Services Administrator and Building Inspector have no objections to this change. 4c) 1481 Main Street Cabin. As we had indicated to Town Meeting when we got approval to purchase the Mattera property, we have had staff working on the development of an RFP for the lease of the cabin. It turned out to be a fairly involved process, and I had expected that I would have a last review before it was advertised. That did not happen. Fairly recently, the BOS has expressed some thought about doing something else with the cabin. Where we are right now is that the lease of the cabin has been advertised, and we will go ahead and secure any bids or proposals under that bid - they are due on September 5th. I will schedule a review of those bids with the Board of Selectmen at that time so that we can then compare the options available in that scenario, with any other thoughts that the Board of Selectmen may have. It would be helpful for the Board to articulate what ideas they have so that if needed, we can do whatever staff work may be needed to compare those options with any bids received. 4d) Recreation Administrator John Feudo and Town Engineer George Zambouras will be present to review the status of the Bancroft Avenue Tennis Courts and how we move forward from here. The court material is being tested, and it is not certain that we will have the tests available by Tuesday. • Page 1 aa PROCLAMATION SILVER STAR BANNER DAY WHEREAS: The Town of Reading has always honored the sacrifice of the men and women in the Armed Forces; and WHEREAS: The Silver Star Families of America was formed to make sure we remember the blood sacrifice of our wounded and ill by designing and manufacturing a Silver Star Banner and Flag; and WHEREAS: To date, The Silver Star Families of America has freely given thousands of Silver Star Banners to the wounded and their families; and WHEREAS: The members of The Silver Star Families of America have worked tirelessly to provide the wounded of this Town and Country with Silver Star Banners, Flags and care packages; and WHEREAS: The Silver Star Families of America's sole mission is that every time someone sees a Silver Star Banner in a window or a Silver Star Flag flying, that people remember those who have sacrificed for this Town, State and Nation; and WHEREAS: The Town of Reading wishes that the sacrifice of so many in our Armed Forces never be forgotten. NOW, THEREFORE, WE, the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Reading, Massachusetts do hereby proclaim May 1, 2009 to be Silver Star Banner Day, the permanent and official day to honor the wounded and ill service people from the Town of Reading with our appreciation for their service, and we urge all citizens of the community to be aware of this event and to participate fittingly in its observance. BOARD OF SELECTMEN Stephen A. Goldy, Chairman Ben Tafoya, Vice Chairman James E. Bonazoli, Secretary Camille W. Anthony Richard W. Schubert aa,l Page 1 of 4 Marino, Lillian From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 11:00 AM To: Marino, Lillian Subject: FW: 2009 Silver Star Letter and proclamation Please prepare as a proclamation for the Board of Selectmen - see the end of the email for the proclamation form. Pete From: Nancy [mailto:cocobear710@comcast.net] Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 2:46 PM To: Undisclosed-Recipient:; Subject: 2009 Silver Star Letter and proclamation Dear Mayor or city/town representative: Within the state of Massachusetts we have one of the best VA systems in our country. I state that through reading letters and statements written by parents or spouses of injured veterans from other states. I have also seen how our VA system works with and cares for each individual they treat, as my son is a wounded veteran. Our state should be proud of what our VA does for each veteran while helping with their needs and at the same time dignifies their honor for what they have encountered during their service for our country to protect each citizen, each of us. As of April 29th 2008 the Pentagon found a conservative figure of 31,848 wounded service members in the current conflicts nationwide. They estimate the number of brain injuries alone might total 320,000, or 20 percent of the 1.64 million who have served so far. In addition to the physical injuries, there are thousands of cases (averaging approximately 40-45% returning war veterans) of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This only includes the number cases receiving help. These veterans average in age of 19-30 and these numbers are only from the current conflicts. Now, add in those from previous wars such as Vietnam, Korean, and WW II and you will see why there is a need to show they are not and will not be forgotten. On May 1, 2008, 46 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and over 180 towns and cities across the country joined with Silver Star Families of America and declared "Silver Star Day" to remember the wounded and ill of our Armed Forces. httD://www.silverstarfainilies.orOSilverStarDav2OO8.htil-A Across the country, in Gennany, Iraq and Afghanistan the wounded and ill from ALL wars were remembered and honored. In Massachusetts, our Governor signed the state's proclamation; I can proudly say that 19 of 45 cities that have mayors proclaimed May 1, 2008 as Silver Star Day. I do need to apologize for the short timeframe allotted because of a communication error. 7/9/2008 g j~u 2, Page 2 of 4 If you were one of our wonderful Mayors, I thank you and we, as an organization thank you. What happened next surprised us. The organization received notes and letters from many towns thanking us for including them AND we started to get complaints from Mayors and other cities/towns across the country who wanted to know why they were not included. Many stated if there had been more time then something could have been planned within the town or local VSO office to show the appreciation of the sacrifices made. The simple answer is that we did not have the volunteer power to reach out to everyone in a very short window of time. This was the first time that this was done at this size scale. Many states, cities, and towns have a specified timeframe they are allowed to make proclamations and the timeframe was just too short to make all the connections. Therefore, the organization has decided to get a jump-start on 2009. We hope the state, mayors, and selectmen/town government will do what they can to get our state showing the best support we can for our military men and women that have returned home from deployments injured in some manner;, whether physically or psychologically, whether visible or invisible wounds. That is what this organization supports, those wounded... We would love to see all of the cities and towns represented, I personally would love to see Massachusetts the first state to have them all represented... all 350. Sounds far fetched doesn't it? Other states have already started sending proclamations in. They are signing the proclamation permanently. We are asking you to join with us NOW to remember and honor our wounded. Suspend your time limits and issue Proclamations for next year's Silver Star Banner day and send them as soon as possible. We are even asking if you would like to sign one for the permanent status of allowing those injured to be recognized yearly for their sacrifices. We already have two MA towns that have previously taken this route. This would also help us with the yearly request as it would be already completed and your town would not need to send out a new proclamation each year. By acknowledging our request in advance it will give the cities, towns, VSO Agent, VFW, American Legion, VA hospital or Vet Center, or other groups or organizations that wish to recognize and honor their wounded, time to plan an event or recognition. On May 1, 2009, we want to tell the media and our wounded warriors that their entire state, every city and town within the state, are thinking and praying for them and that we appreciate them. That their sacrifice isn't going unnoticed. Following May 1 st, your proclamations will be donated to the Stars and Stripes Museum where the original Silver Star Flag is on display for all to see. If you look at the following site you will see what the 2009 page looks like so far: httn://w-vvw.silverstarfamilies.ora/SilverStarBalmerDav2009.1-itlnI Now, can our state fill a lot of spaces? Wouldn't that give each city/town a warm feeling and a lot of pride? We, as an organization, thank you for you patriotism and care for the wounded of our Armed Forces. They need to know we all care and appreciate what they have personally sacrificed. I, personally, thank you as a mother of a wounded soldier. Please let me know of your city/town's decision at: cocobear710 cr,comcast.net If you choose to sign, which I hope you do, please send your proclamation to either myself at: Nancy Spoerke, 88 Francine Drive, Brockton MA 02302 7/9/2008 ~~,3 T®: Board of Selectmen From: Peter I. Hechenbleikner, Town Manager Date: Friday, July 25, 2008 Re: Agenda Notes - July 29, 2008 2a) Please see the attached material and Proclamation from the Silver Star Banner Program. Our VSO has checked out this organization and it seems to be legitimate. The date of the celebration is next Spring but the organization is trying to collect the Proclamations from every community in MA prior to the May 1, 2009 date - their goal is to have one from all 351 communities. 4a) The hearing on Baldwin Lane Extension is intended to accept this street and to convey to abutters the abandoned portions of the old. cul-de-sac. This issue would then be placed on the Warrant for the Subsequent Town Meeting. 4b) The Change of Manager for the Reading Mandarin has to be approved by the Board of Selectmen but a hearing is not required. The Police Chief, Health Services Administrator and Building Inspector have no objections to this change. 4c) 1481 Main Street Cabin. As we had indicated to Town Meeting when we got approval to purchase the Mattera property, we have had staff working on the development of an RFP for the lease of the cabin. It turned out to be a fairly involved process, and I had expected that I would have a last review before it was advertised. That did not happen. Fairly recently, the BOS has expressed some thought about doing something else with the cabin. Where we are right now is that the lease of the cabin has been advertised, and we will go ahead and secure any bids or proposals under that bid - they are due on September 5th. I will schedule a review of those bids with the Board of Selectmen at that time so that we can then compare the options available in that scenario, with any other thoughts that the Board of Selectmen may have. It would be helpful for the Board to articulate what ideas they have so that if needed, we can do whatever staff work may be needed to compare those options with any bids received. 4d) Recreation Administrator John Feudo and Town Engineer George Zambouras will be present to review the status of the Bancroft Avenue Tennis Courts and how we move forward from here. The court material is being tested, and it is not certain that we will have the tests available by Tuesday. 0 Page 1 a/, L5UL NOME, TOWN FAI T RIWIW kh0; r tath- r-, kkoown SAW`- - Lon, Win me, 1u h carltotlllah 5holl. 4nolud f 1f r., Io'n, *_.I #h-6, 0 a h0 ow. you from, i. a i.OM4. of, M* Own, S"Swi 2z << :j; ~ r h mtIfa M,z the nth ~alhhu ly of otn. ` oy Comi1misMa o WIN hold-in piubtlo~'hoarlin-V "Urns * JWk 24R.i Vat "1* F ,i m in tho I i `f't fxlF~ NU All Boom F 163= L,owo.11 S tr t, t- inter=w. . Ulu ww- vn It atl ffR In* the Tb Y f.9 7 51 ?x y 7~ l t' S from fi`r~w! i?ta 'z ,xp`~t !kt?~` 61 F ( IM-F t All~ ' appear h arslxrt. May siubr°h #MM to Mahioor; ~'Sys:z,~~zmaasn;>wxw..ssssr.a;..~rs ~YZ.:a.~vxm+xz'ts:•as:suxsa»a . y a~- Po~Tlon Of L / r- To I; vlscorL r D , 1 xxL+w ~ 1 ^rWTe,w+~ ~ y car ~ Lor u _ / 'ZTIOLI OP LAXQUT / ~ / ~1I . BE ACCEPTED rc { t ,tiE ~ ~.eaw s°" i 1 a p{t9.~ia~&$ AF a4LDWN LANE r pt~.3 EXTENSION G"" P 5~ se.8r cW ~i3 X952 tried with iM1e 5ow^ QeM U BAL.DWIN LANE Oata:_ (PUBLIC) r ~tt«n U Aga tt9e pblK•'5 ar y~,•_ Tnwn n Of a~I51W ~l py, ~kµ_...~rsa.4. aK~W (Ik p.`~t0 ~'J) gt N,rES~CM"`pycpA9r tAU ✓ r4 r99V ypJ. { .„,.,ttp{'1311'~ SAtTiiron' ~ .Irv DETAIL U-w- 8t^ ud , for sr ~ ' rl ~ Boo n ~t5efx~gn t _ y Raa i T°D,PpR{N'EtSt aF p PLAN SEE[ ACCEPT DE BAl~~1N IANE qaoNs1oll .Lon 5~! BY~~ DEtL+~ 23.L9o4 EQwAHa 0. vo~ve. tgcEN ~,°"ns sHd"" s ~ ~ +i,.nw ~ s ' 5~ t ~ ~ ~ _ • ~ u~;t3W.8. ~'-aaot. Ln®wLSmw~"c. ~,„w sNOS ^ aF 5tH ~ wAYa AtPL1~~,pyMP - - t DINAPOLI GARY MCGURN ROSS KRAFT ROBERT A 21 BALDWIN LN KRISTIN MCGURN MARY D KRAFT READING, MA 01867 5 BALDWIN LN 20 BALDWIN LN READING, MA 01867 READING, MA 01867 MARSHALL WILLIAM H ETAL TRS THE 6 BALDWIN LANE TRUST 6 BALDWIN LN READING, MA 01867 HARDY ANN M 24 BALDWIN LN READING, MA 01867 ROSS DANIEL W CAROL F ROSS 13 BALDWIN LANE READING, MA 01867 HIBBARD WILLIAM J LUCY M HIBBARD 16 BALDWIN LN READING, MA 01867 4a,q % Gv,:Gt?'~ /1b is . S q Ft. A. leo Sq" Ft' 2.1 369 `~3 -54 -0° Jf 1 49 1Z 800 g~ p, ~ C ' 2.4,'S $ oP' $4,37 `~2;`:=•.;,.'~' ci. h 138 00 , -jD 0 ls< to b y Zo. 2 9 s.7 3> h d laa 0 ~ Sq.1~ t. 20 . a 10 0 IV 4.r a. a~, 5q• F Z,Z.3 0 N Sq. M, 42 Z-;~ 3401 41 w 4 " w. 131, 1 r" e P Q 1r0 , o aN t lr.7•a Q 50 w q7, 06 y i '3 2b, 0 4 4'6 7 a S F~' -0 ZN 1 2 ~ ~ ~1 q q a° '0'0ao 45 5q- 0 OA% e h ly a~ 03 9 X08 ± t6~ oa, 2oo37 0, { 49 x ro L 265 zo, Z~yQd 4 ro ti rn 5q•ff. N .01 #NIL 27 .~sp 7d ° 160. 04 'rrz~ 3f 2,`~ r' ¢ to -45 0 0 \ 0 24 8 N\o p 2134 a2.e~ 2Or2o2 0 '0 20'SS2 o o\a 54• Ft -sq. Ft. rb CL h u o 'r Cl) ftZlt~ f 2a.55'^ ~0, 2t.80` 30,74 ~ 0 0. " vgoser.~e~ g 7.01 ' 6.14 --2 $y~~ 3' c 74,''~~ 128.5 76.70 - t09.1g' f..ro 205.6 yb} 3 ~ 1 C { R. 0 BART IETT ¢ + TP~ 6tia' 75.42` ro to • 36~~3 37.93. qti ~e n- ?.2%0.70 `fi 0 ~y 46 ~~'t72 2p.00'~r 47 4 X92.36 N ( b* S q. 10,0 tao N } b. rn ~2 00 85'O Q e~ o .i Sy t o i s 800 O 7 132 1 L9 119.22` rye~•~ 0 tt t tt6.a 7 a i ~ Q n b `4 d 23~ Cn c0 N ai ~tb 0 t2 ~ 5 ~ 5g fit' © yg goo cr- Q 14.4-.80 Q - ei 0' Lnt TO: Board of Selectmen f From: Peter 1. Hechenbleikner, Town Manager r Date: Friday, July 25, 2008 Re: Agenda Notes - July 29, 2008 2a) Please see the attached material and Proclamation from the Silver Star Banner Program. Our VSO has checked out this organization and it seems to be'legitimate. The date of the celebration is next Spring but the organization is trying to collect the Proclamations from every community in MA prior to the May 1, 2009 date - their goal is to have one from all 351 communities. 4a) The hearing on Baldwin Lane Extension is intended to accept this street and to convey to abutters the abandoned portions of the old . cul-de-sac. This issue would then be placed on the Warrant for the Subsequent Town Meeting. 4b) The Change of Manager for the Reading Mandarin has to. be approved by the Board of Selectmen but a hearing is not required. The Police Chief, Health Services Administrator and Building Inspector have no objections to this chan9p 4c) 1481 Main Street Cabin. As we had indicated to Town Meeting when we got approval to purchase the Maftera property, we have had staff working on the development of an RFP for the lease of the cabin. It turned out to be a fairly involved process, and I had expected that I would have a last review before it was advertised. That did not happen. Fairly recently, the BOS has expressed some thought about doing something else with the cabin. Where we are right now is that the lease of the cabin has been advertised, and we will go ahead and secure any bids or proposals under that bid - they are due on September 5th. I will schedule a review of those bids with the Board of Selectmen at that time so that we can then compare the options available in that scenario, with any other thoughts that the Board of Selectmen may have. It would be helpful for the Board to articulate what ideas they have so that if needed, we can do whatever staff work may be needed to compare those options with any bids received. 4d) Recreation Administrator John Feudo and Town Engineer George Zambouras will be present to review the status of the Bancroft Avenue Tennis Courts and how we move forward from here. The court material is being tested, and it is not certain that we will have the tests available by Tuesday. ® Page 1 A! r p READING. POLICE. DEPARTMENT as 15 Union Street • Reading, Massachusetts 01867 I Emergency Only: 911 - All Other. Calls: 1 (781) 944-1212 - Fax: (781) 944-2893 DATE: JULY 18 08 TO: CHIEF AMES W. C IER FROM: LT DE R.W.RO RE: MANDA 'IN O A. ING CHANGE OF GENERAL MANAGER Enclosed is an Application for Change of Manager for the Mandarin of Reading restaurant, 296 Salem Street. N E3 coo r-- iv A check of the proposed new General Manager, Hiu Hung Lee as well as a review of the call history for the restaurant reveal nothing to preclude the application from going forward. Cam' I - Page 1 of 1 Marino, Lillian From: Ramdin, Larry Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 10:32 AM To: Marino, Lillian Subject: Change of manager- mandarin N 8 Lillian °O , We have no issues with the application to change manager for licensing purposes c r- Larry A. Ramdin MA REHS CHO N Health Services Administrator Reading Health Division 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 " w 781-942-9061 . try 781-942-9071- Fax When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of State's Office has determined that email is a public record. This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you have received this communication in error, please do not print, copy, retransmit, disseminate, or, otherwise use the information. Also, please indicate to the sender that you have received this email in error, and delete the copy you received. q -3 1- 7/11 /2008 Page 1 of 1 Marino, Lillian From: Redmond, Glen Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:56 AM To: Marino, Lillian Subject: RE: Change of Manager - Mandarin Restaurant Lillian I have no problems or issues with the change of Manager at the Mandarin Restaurant Glen Redmond From: Marino, Lillian Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 2:59 PM To: Redmond, Glen Subject: Change of Manager - Mandarin Restaurant Glen: Do you have any comments about the application for Change of Manager for the Mandarin Restaurant. Lillian 4,6~q.~ 7/23/2008 Douglas W. Resnick, P.C. Attorney at Law Douglas W. Resnick, Esquire Cheryl H. Stock, Paralegal ILA 77 Main Street, 3rd Floor Next to the Hopkinton Fire Station C / Hopkinton, Massachusetts 01748 Vgrvw~b- TEL: (508) 435-8600 FAX: (508) 435-3355 Email: doua adouaresnicknc.com Email: chervl(@douaresnickuc.com June 30, 2008 FEDEX #8659 9427 2837 Lillian Marino Town of Reacting 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 RE: Mandarin Reading 296 Salem Street Change of Liquor License Manager Dear Ms. Marino: N 8 c r-- t 0 As you may recall, this office represents Mandarin Reading with regard to its application for a change in liquor license manager. Enclosed please find the following: (1) Check in the amount of $200.00 (2) Petition for Change of Location or Manager (3) Form 43 (4) Corporate Vote (5) Forth A, Licensee Personal Information Sheet Please let this office know when the Board of Selectmen will have this matter on their agenda for hearing. Very your , o as W. Resnick q4' , THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES CONTROL COMMISSION. FORM 43 fo1doTd. License Number Tvoe of Transaction (Ph ( )New- License ( ) Transfer of License Change of Manager ( } Transfer of Stock 4 g00.- 941g fee Reading City/Town Date :ase check all relevant transactions) ( ) New Officer/Director ( ) Pledge of License Change of Location' Pledge of Stock ( ) Alter Premises Other Mandarin Reading, Inc. Name of licensee FID of Licensee Mandarin Reading Restaurant Yuk Ping Wong DB/A Manager 296 Salem Street, Reading, MA 01867 Address: Number Street Zip Code Annual All Alcohol Restaurant Annual or Seasonal Category: All Alcohol, Wine & Malt Type: Restaurant, Club, Package Store, Inn, General on Premise, Etc. Description of Licensed Premises: Two-storv building with waitina area and lobbv in front, restrooms in rear, four dining rooms, kitchen and storage on main level One entrance/ exit at front three other exits Application was filed: Advertised: Date tim Date & Publication Abutters Notified Yes . No Person to contact regarding this transaction: Name: Attornev Doualas W. Resnick Address: DOUGLAS W. RESNICK, PC, 77 Main Street,. Hopkinton, MA 01748 Phone 508-435-8600 Remarks: FAX". 50 9 - 4 *3~5 - 33 5 S7 The Local Licensing Authorities By: Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission Men Moriarty E~,,ecutive Director Remarks: J~k-- PETITION FOR CHANGE OF LOCATION OR MANAGER THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS MGM 2008 Ga G7 r To the Licensing Board for the Town of Reading, MA The undersigned respectfully petition for l u•• Change of Manager from Yuk Ping Wonq to 10 Huncx Lee (Dougl s . Resnick, Secretary, MANL RIN ADING, INC. Form 997 4,14,/70 Secretary's Certificate of Vote Mandarin Reading, Inc. Dated: May 30, 2008 At a Special Meeting of the Stockholders and Directors of MANDARIN READING, INC., pursuant to a Waiver of Notice, held at the office of the Secretary of the Corporation, 77 Main Street, Hopkinton, Massachusetts on May 30, 2008, with all directors being present, the following actions were unanimously taken: Upon Motion duly made and seconded, it was: VOTED: To accept the resignation of Yuk Ping Wong as Director of the Corporation, and as Manager under the Liquor License issued by the Town of Reading for the restaurant conducted by the Corporation known as Mandarin Reading. VOTED: To accept the resignation of Yau Ring Tai as Director of the Corporation. The Directors VOTED: To leave vacant the two positions of Director left vacant by the above resignations, and to appoint Hiu Hung Lee as Manager under said. Liquor License, until such time as a respective successor is named. This is also to certify that all of the directors and stockholders of MANDARIN READING, INC., a corporation duly organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, are residents of the Commonwealth and that the Corporation has not been dissolved. The undersigned Secretary of the Corporation hereby certifies that the forgoing is an accurate record of the Votes taken at said Special Meeting of Directors and kholders. _ Doug s Resnick, Secretary +k~ The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES CONTROL COMMISSION ~FO,RIU~ATION sSH~ET,: . THIS FORM MUST BE COMPLETED FOR EACH: A. NEW LICENSE APPLICANT xx B. APPOINTMENT OR CHANGE OF MANAGER IN A CORPORATION C. TRANSFER OF LICENSE (RETAIL ONLY-SEC. 12 & SEC. 15) (Please check which transaction is the subject of an application accompanying this Form A.) PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT ALL INFORMATION ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS'PROVIDED OR APPLICATION WILL NOT'BE ACCEPTED. 1. LICENSEE NAME Mandarin Reading, Inc. (NAME AS IT WILL APPEAR ON THE LICENSE) , 2. NAME OF (PROPOSED) MANAGER i Huna Lee ` 3. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER 4. HOME(STREET)ADDRESS 41 Pear Tree Road, Haverhill, MA 01830 5. AREA CODE AND TELEPHONE NUMBER (S): (Give both, your home telephone and a number at which you can be reached during the day). DAY TIME # 978=390-1395 HOME# 978-390-1395 6. PLACE OF BIRTH: 7. DATE OF BIRTH: 8. REGISTERED VOTER: Xx YES NO 8A. WHERE?: Haverhill, MA 9. ARE YOU A U. S. CITIZEN: . xx YES NO U.S. District Court for the Western 10. COURT AND DATE OF- NATURALIZATION (IF APPLICABLE): District of Virginia 774-99 (Submit proof of citizenship and/or naturalization such as Voter=s Certificate, Birth Certificate or Naturalization Papers) O-Aq f 11. FATHER'S NAME: How Lee 12. MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME: Yule 5helc 13, IDENTIFY YOUR CRIMINAL RECORD, (Massachusetts, Military, any other State or Federal): ANY OTHER ARREST OR APPEARANCE IN CRIMINAL COURT CHARGED WITH A CRIMINAL OFFENSE REGARDLESS OF FINAL DISPOSITION: YES xx NO (MUST CHECK EITHER YES OR NO) IF YES, PLEASE DESCRIBE OFFENSE (S) SPECIFIC CHARGE AND DISPOSITION (FINE, PENALTY, ETC.) 14. PRIOR EXPERIENCE IN THE LIQUOR INDUSTRY: Xx YES NO IF YES, PLEASE DESCRIBE: Mandarin Readinct General Manaaer, Februarv 2002 to the present; TIPS certified Chinese Gourd R t set; gCr~ to jai rgi ui - Uta:jtjjaM P-r, 19.9 . 2-200 15. FINANCIAL INTEREST, DIRECT OR INDIRECT, IN THIS OR ANY OTHER LIQUOR LICENSE, PERMIT OR CERTIFICATE: XX YES NO IF YES, PLEASE DESCRIBE;: Mandarin Bedford 16. EMPLOYMENT FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS (Dates, Posltion, Employer, Address and if known, Telephone Numbers): Mandarin Reading, General Manaaer, Februarv 2002 to Present, 296 Salem St., Reacting, MA 978-390-1395 Chinese Gourmet, Charlottesville, Virginia 1992 to 2002 17. HOURS PER WEEK TO BE SPENT ON THE LICENSED PREMISES: 45'-50 hours 18. 1 HEREBY SWEAR THAT UNDER THE PAINS AND PENALTIES OF PERJURY THAT THE INFORMATION ! HAVE GIVEN IN THIS APPLICATION-IS TRUE TO TE BES F MY KNOWLEDGE/A D BELIEF. BY: Hitt HUncr Lee 7Y' 6 Z f t PROPOSED MANAGER SIGNATURE DA E F:IFI I.ESIMAU REEN.I IMAUREMFORMS\PORMA.W PD 9/99 z 4 z r: No Z5 017 011 1 975 5 1 7 eta 21, ~(1Y1:~ft3 N.3ALL q7 urn it ~ f tl 11{7a,4G ,v,O `v . wozj~d--' ~~~Wy xiym~ , ttl~' ~jlt!`sttttlZG ~ `7"r ARIJNuTt)N, VA M N 0 0 cl- N tV a m N ct c 14 CD N {.Lt,, Copy. TO UN~SHASLE 8Y U. 5. GAS 1; t5 p P"ATOGitApti Ttits CgrttTiFICAYE14WAi OR 'fHOEt1TY ,atTNQUj LAYIFUL No L.Wrovl V ccO PE V. 6.9t 1(;T t}U , L'1K tN14 DISTX1(;1 ()1' G X ndu":, ~T~ t nR T11L• IDLY 4TV, 1999 a arul Yk j,, ~t~on• ~run9~lzo-J yrtrrt~lasus 00 d C-4 .4C TO: Board of Selectmen N From: Peter 1. Hechenbleikner, Town Manager Date: Friday, July 25, 2008 Re: Agenda Notes - July 29, 2008 2a) Please see the attached material and Proclamation from the Silver Star Banner Program. Our VSO has checked out this organization and it seems to be legitimate. The date of the celebration is next Spring but the organization is trying to collect the Proclamations from every community in MA prior to the May 1, 2009 date - their goal is to have one from all 351 communities. 4a) The hearing on Baldwin Lane Extension is intended to accept this street and to convey to abutters the abandoned portions of the old cul-de-sac. This issue would then be placed on the Warrant for the Subsequent Town Meeting. 4b) The Change of Manager for the Reading Mandarin has to be approved by the Board of Selectmen but a hearing is not required. The Police Chief, Health Services Administrator and Building Inspector have no objections to this change. 4c) 1481 Main Street Cabin. As we had indicated to Town Meeting when we got approval to purchase the Mattera property, we have had staff working on the development of an RFP for the lease of the cabin. It tumed out to be a fairly involved process, and I had expected that I would have a last review before it was advertised. That did not happen. Fairly recently, the, BOS has expressed some thought about doing something else with the cabin. Where we are right now is that the lease of the cabin has been advertised, and we will go ahead and secure any bids or proposals under that bid - they are due on September 5th. I will schedule a review of those bids with the Board of Selectmen at that time so that we can then compare the options available in that scenario, with any other thoughts that the Board of Selectmen may have. It would be helpful for the Board to articulate what ideas they have so that if needed, we can do whatever staff work may be needed to compare those options with any bids received. 4d) Recreation Administrator John Feudo and Town Engineer George Zambouras will be present to review the status of the Bancroft Avenue Tennis Courts and how we move forward from here. The court material is being tested, and it is not certain that we will have the tests available by Tuesday. 0 Page 1 L C, Hechenbleikner, Peter L From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 10:25 AM To: Feudo, John; Fink, Fran Cc: LeLacheur, Bob; McIntire, Ted Subject: RE: RFP Mattera John Pagel of 2 Thanks for the information John. I knew we were working on it, but I would' like to have had a final review of it before we advertised it. I have this on the Board of Selectmen agenda for July 29, and at least some members of the Board of Selectmen have other thoughts than renting it out. I would like to have had that conversation with the Board of Selectmen before advertising it. That being said let's finish out the process and see what proposals we get. I would suggest mailing the notice to REI, Ipswich River Watershed Association, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Friends of Reading Recreation - and any others that might have interest. Pete From: Feudo, John Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 10:07 AM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter; Fink, Fran Subject: RE: RFP Mattera It is available today! We started advertising it in the Cent. Reg. last week. Would you like to see the package? I will be mailing invitations to local interested parties this week. The RFP is about 25 pages long and will include a mandatory site briefing in late July 31. The schedule to award the contract is around the 2nd week of September. This process was very long, but we need to make sure we covered all of our bases. Jane Kinsella and Fran did an excellent job helping pull this thing together, John John A, Feudo Recreation Administrator Town of Reading From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 9:57 AM To: Feudo, John; Fink, Fran Subject: RFP Mattera What is the status of the RFP? 7/9/2008 q~ 2 0 TO: Board of Selectmen / From: Peter I. Hechenbleikner, Town Manager Date: Friday, July 25, 2008 Re: Agenda Notes - July 29, 2008 2a) Please see the attached material and Proclamation from the Silver Star Banner Program. Our VSO has checked out this organization and it seems to be legitimate. The date of the celebration is next Spring but the organization is trying to collect the Proclamations from every community in MA prior to the May 1, 2009 date - their goal is to have one from all 351 communities. 4a) The hearing on Baldwin Lane Extension is intended to accept this street and to convey to abutters the abandoned portions of the old cul-de-sac. This issue would then be placed on the Warrant for the Subsequent Town Meeting. 4b) The Change of Manager for the Reading Mandarin has to be approved by the Board of Selectmen but a hearing is not required. The Police Chief, Health Services Administrator and Building Inspector have no objections to this change. 4c) 1481 Main Street Cabin. As we had indicated to Town Meeting when we got approval to purchase the Mattera property, we have had staff working on the development of an RFP for the lease of the cabin. It tumed out to be a fairly involved process, and I had expected that I would have a last review before it was advertised. That did not happen. Fairly recently, the BOS has expressed some thought about doing something else with the cabin. Where we are right now is that the lease of the cabin has been advertised, and we will go ahead and secure any bids or proposals under that bid - they are due on September 5th. I will schedule a review of those bids with the Board of Selectmen at that time so that we can then compare the options available in that scenario, with any other thoughts that the Board of Selectmen may have. It would be helpful for the Board to articulate what ideas they have so that if needed, we can do whatever staff work may be needed to compare those options with any bids received. 4d) Recreation Administrator John Feudo and Town Engineer George Zambouras will be present to review the status of the Bancroft Avenue Tennis Courts and how we move forward from here. The court material is being tested, and it is not certain that we will have the tests available by Tuesday. 0 Page 1 OF R. town ® ead.in f t.; I 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867-2683 s39INCOR4~¢P Fax: (781) 942-5441 Website: www.ci.reading.ma.us Mr. David White, President David W. White and Son, Inc. 454 Sheffield Rd. Manchester, NH 03103 Dear Mr. White: PUBLIC.WORKS (710) 942-9077 G July 25, 2008 N vn N. It is the intent of the Town of Reading to inform you that the 1" bituminous top course of pavement installed on May 28, 2008 at the Bancroft Avenue tennis courts, part of contract 08-11 Bancroft Tennis Court Renovations, has been rejected due to material failure. As a result of the unacceptable quality, poor construction and material failure resulting from the suspected hydraulic fluid contamination of the bituminous top course of pavement, the entire 1" top course shall be removed and a new top course installed as specified per contract and drawings. The Town reserves the right to take further action and replace the bituminous binder course, contingent on the findings of Miller Engineering & Testing, Inc. who has sampled two areas of the court per David W. White and Son, Inc. Additional action may also be required upon the full exposure of the binder course and its thorough inspection. The Town expects an expedient response to the problem and a time table of when the unsuitable top course will be removed and replaced, along with the remaining work associated with the completion of the Bancroft Tennis Court Renovations. The Town has met with White on location on two separate occasions, July 8 and July 16, to discuss possible remedies, of which was isolated patching requiring the surface to be heated to extract the failed material. The Town feels that given the 50 plus locations that have been identified to date, this is more than an imperfection and requires a permanent solution, rather than multiple repairs that result in a non-homogeneous surface. If you have any questions please feel free to contact George J. Zambouras, Town Engineer, @ 781-942-6683. Cc: P. I. Hechenbleikner E.D.McIntire, Jr. V tiny yo rs, e ouras, P.E. i eer ~J 2-- 4e) Please see the email of the request for modifications of the curb cuts. Several issues may be relevant: The curb cuts as they exist are what the Board of Selectmen had approved when Route 129 was reconstructed, and reflects the Board of Selectmen's decision on an appeal to allow a wide open curb cut at that time. The curb and sidewalk will not be disturbed on Salem Street as part of the Downtown construction project - only pavement milling and overlay will be done in that area. 4f) The Town Engineer has made revisions to the proposed plan for improvement to Gould Street based on input to the Board of Selectmen on their site walk. 4g) Included in your packet is a copy of a draft PowerPoint presentation by the Engineering Division for discussion on Tuesday night. Also included is a copy of the Instructional Motion from Town Meeting. The options that the staff was able to develop to address improvement of roads in the community include the following, and some combination of these approaches will probably be appropriate: • Increase crack sealing funding by $20,000 per year. • Increase the skim coat funding by $30,000. This allows the Department to do a certain amount of work, on minor streets to help hold them together until more major work can be done. • Consider incorporating other treatments like micro sealing. • Do debt exclusion for curb/sidewalk/pedestrian improvements for a five year program, thereby allowing all of the pavement money to be spent on pavement. This would allow considerable progress to be made on curb, sidewalk and pedestrian improvements, and would shift about $115,000 into direct road surface improvements. • Authorize debt in the amount of $1.531 million for a five year period, and construct that much in priorities in 2009. The cost of the debt would be paid by shifting the $300,000+ per year in municipal expenditures for roads to pay that debt leaving the Town the annual expenditure for roads in 2009 at approximately $2 million (including Chapter 90), and $450,000 per year for FY 2010 through 2013. If that approach works well, consider repeating it again for another five year cycle. When the Water or Sewer Division constructs a project on a roadway, charge the cost of reasonable improvement to the road to the enterprise fund (Sunnyside and Fairview). Use Sale of Real Estate funds, 40R funds, or other funds to increase the amount spent on roads. 0 Page 2 Page 1 of 1 Hechenblefter, Peter From: Janice Conyers [half.Iight@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, June 27, 2008 4:27 PM To: Town Manager Subject: Curb Cuts at 28 Salem St. Attachments: Easterly Cut.jpg; Middle Cut.jpg; Westerly Cut.jpg Dear Peter, At a time when many curbs are being worked on in the center of town, Reading Commons Condominiums would like to make a request of the board of selectmen for relief from the town policy for driveway openings (see attached photos). We would ask that: • the opening on the easterly side be expanded an additional 5 feet • the opening on the westerly side be expanded an additional 5-6 feet • the middle curb be eliminated. The reasons are that our tires and the tree lawn are being damaged. We hope you and the selectmen will give this matter your strongest positive consideration. Thanks in advance, Janice Janice Conyers Reading Commons Condominium Trust President Cell: 781-956-7756 7/25/2008 4e) Please see the email of the request for modifications of the curb cuts. Several issues may be relevant: The curb cuts as they exist are what the Board of Selectmen had approved when Route 129 was reconstructed, and reflects the Board of Selectmen's decision on an appeal to allow a wide open curb cut at that time. The curb and sidewalk will not be disturbed on Salem Street as part of the Downtown construction project - only pavement milling and overlay will be done in that area. 4f) The Town Engineer has made revisions to the proposed plan for improvement to Gould Street based on input to the Board of Selectmen on their site walk. .._4g3 Muded in your packet is a copy of a draft PowerPoint presentation by the Engineering Division for discussion on Tuesday night. Also included is a copy of the Instructional Motion from Town Meeting. The options that the staff was able to develop to address improvement of roads in the community include the following, and some combination of these approaches will probably be appropriate: • Increase crack sealing funding by $20,000 per year. • Increase the skim coat funding by $30,000. This allows the Department to do a certain amount of work( on minor streets to help hold them together until more major work can be done. • Consider incorporating other treatments like micro sealing. • Do debt exclusion for curb/sidewalk/pedestrian improvements for a five year program, thereby allowing all of the pavement money to be spent on pavement. This would allow considerable progress to be made on curb, sidewalk and pedestrian improvements, and would shift about $115,000 into direct road surface improvements. • Authorize debt in the amount of $1.531 million for a five year period, and construct that much in priorities in 2009. The cost of the debt would be paid by shifting the $300,000+ per year in municipal expenditures for roads to pay that debt leaving the Town the annual expenditure for roads in 2009 at approximately $2 million (including Chapter 90), and $450,000 per year for FY 2010 through 2013. If that approach works well, consider repeating it again for another five year cycle. When the Water or Sewer Division constructs a project on a roadway, charge the cost of reasonable improvement to the road to the enterprise fund (Sunnyside and Fairview). Use Sale of Real Estate funds, 40R funds, or other funds to increase the amount spent on roads. 0 Page 2 4e) Please see the email of the request for modifications of the curb cuts. Several issues may be relevant: The curb cuts as they exist are what the Board of Selectmen had approved when Route 129 was reconstructed, and reflects the Board of Selectmen's decision on an appeal to allow a wide open curb cut at that time. The curb and sidewalk will not be disturbed on Salem Street as part of the Downtown construction project - only pavement milling and overlay will be done in that area. 4f) The Town Engineer has made revisions to the proposed plan for improvement to Gould Street based on input to the Board of Selectmen on their site walk. 4g) Included in your packet is a copy of a draft PowerPoint presentation by the Engineering Division for discussion on Tuesday night. Also included is a copy of the Instructional Motion from Town Meeting. The options that the staff was able to develop to address improvement of roads in the community include the following, and some combination of these approaches will probably be appropriate: • Increase crack sealing funding by $20,000 per year. • Increase the skim coat funding by $30,000. This allows the Department to do a certain amount of work on minor streets to help hold them together until more major work can be done. • Consider incorporating other treatments like micro sealing • Do debt exclusion for curb/sidewalk/pedestrian improvements for a five year program, thereby allowing all of the pavement money to be spent on pavement. This would allow considerable progress to be made on curb, sidewalk and pedestrian improvements, and would shift about $115,000 into direct road surface improvements. • Authorize debt in the amount of $1.531 million for a five year period, and construct that much in priorities in 2009. The cost of the debt would be paid by shifting the $300,000+ per year in municipal expenditures for roads to pay that debt leaving the Town the annual expenditure for roads in 2009 at approximately $2 million (including Chapter 90), and $450,000 per year for FY 2010 through 2013. If that approach works well, consider repeating it again for another five year cycle. When the Water or Sewer Division constructs a project on a roadway, charge the cost of reasonable improvement to the road to the enterprise fund (Sunnyside and Fairview). • Use Sale of Real Estate funds, 40R funds, or other funds to increase the amount spent on roads. t • Page 2 I ANNUAL TOWN MEETING April 28, 2008 ARTICLE 3 - On motion by Harvey (Pete) J. Dahl, Precinct 7, it was moved to request the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee to bring a warrant article or other plan to Fall 2008 Town Meeting that will address the much needed road repairs in the Town of Reading, and do so without proposing a debt or capital exclusion, or a proposition 2 V2 override. Motion carried. A true copy. Attest: Cheryl A. Johnson Town Clerk 43 2~' . Message Hechenbleikner, Peter From: LeLacheur, Bob Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 4:59 PM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter Subject: Reading Debt Projection 4-30-08 Attachments: Reading Debt Projection 4-30-08 Page 1 of 1 Here's how much we could borrow to repay (1) $350k/yr and (2) $500k/yr. It's expensive, but looking back it would have been a lot cheaper than pavement inflation costs. It would be nice to talk the state into letting us use (future & unknown Ch 90 funds to pay debt service on road repairs as well. Then we could put a dent in things! Bob 7/25/2008 Reading, MA Debt Service Projection Year Principal Interest Rates Interest Debt Service 2009 295,000 3.50% 55,335 350,335 2010 305,000 3.50% 45,010 350,010 2011 315,000 3.50% 34,335 349,335 2012 327,000 3.50% 23,310 350,310 2013 339,000 3.50% 11,865 350,865 1,581,000 169,855 1,750,855 Year Principal Interest Rates Interest Debt Service 2009 420,000 3.50% 78,925 498,925 2010 435,000 3.50% 64,225 499,225 2011 451,000 3.50% 49,000 500,000 2012 466,000 3.50% 33,215 499,215 2013 483,000 3.50% 16,905 499,905 2,255,000 242,270 2,497,270 43 q Town of Reading Pavement Management Program Alternatives Distribution of PCI (in Miles) for all Roadways -12!1!2006 ~......1 21444 1--- - 26s ..............j............ ( 24'; ......_1 . _..............._f.78.31&:L_... 22 20 ~ . 113.863 195 d29 a... .I :13.3. Miles 14. 10 8 4:- 2; I - 0 Poor r- - Fair - ~ pd Vy Good Excell C P I % Average PC:I 4r'CVfAnes; = 75 Pont Dale* 7:25'200e lj~ i Town Streets 2008 Average Pavement Condition = 75 v 100 Do Nothing 90 Routine Maintenance c a _ 80 5 t Preventive Maintenance Prevent . ~ \ 70 ; Structurol Improvement U 60 c E E 50 Base Rehabilittition a~ a 40 Years List of Treatment Alternatives Alt Code Alternative Description BCBRAC Reclaim ArteriaBCeilector BCBRLO Reclaim Local BCPMBB Patch and Prevlvlalnt Overlay BCPMCB Patch and Chip Seal BCPiAC Chip Seal BCPMG Prevtvtalnt Overlay BCRI`ABB Crack Seal & Full Depth Patch BCRr,4G Crack Seal or Full Depth Patch SCSIAC 3" Overlay Oil Arb'COII BCSIAr•A 3" Overlay vNmill ArVCOll BCSILM 2" Overlay rti9mtll Local BCSILO 2" Overlay on Local GRBR Base Rehab - Gravel GRPPA Neal Gravel/Blade/Correct Drain GRPMD GravellBladclOrainagelPipe GRRM Gravel blading & Routine Drain GRRIv1D Gravel Routing Drainage Work GRSI Gravel/Drain Structural Impmv NONE Do Nothing STBR Reconstruction or Reclaim C2 .J Scenario Cost Chart: 07-Split-10yr 5340,000<_.____..._-_..._ S320A00 '.$268.035________________ 5300,000 5280,000 - _i,"'...._.i.. i....._ ...............1 szso,ooD S240,000~ __._L _..._t..... S220,000;' _.....i .............__.._..1........_.__._...._5..... S200,000f ' N 6180000; .............__..........i 0 5160,000? 5101;144 S 140.007 ' ! i.. S1 000, - 5606601. _ ,t gam- . 3100000_' r"" . $60.000: '.629,53Tr. $60000; 574.3 $13.9221 540.000 - - $20.000' BCBRAC BCPMBS BCRN-108 BCSILM Alternative Filter-Plan Date: 711/2008 Print Date: 7/2512008 Scenario Cost Chart: 07-Split-10yr 5560.000: I.S464:75. 1 S500,000~ ( r~-a . .......t. 5450,0007 . . S400,000i ' ' $350,000; . ' _.1.'273.381 I_. _ 0 $300 000 U -50000 S200.U., S150.000, - 'i .........1$28.5131....... S I~i0.000~ 560 000 ' S0: BCBRAC BCBRLO BCRMGB Alternative Filter-Plan Date: 7'12009 Pnnt Date: 725/2008 ® $281,060 BCBRAC M $268,035 BCBRLO 0550,660 BCPhABB ® $14,300 BCPNIGB CI$29,937 BCRMGB M$101,144 BCSIAM p $13,922 BCSILM i 0$273,381 BCBRAC M S464,758 BCBRLO O $28,513 BCRlv1G8 r C / k J f/ 1-1 3 Scenario Cost Chart: 07-Split-I 0yr M $735,347 BCBRLO S735347 ' 0$4,364 BCPlAGB . 1-3$29,867 BCRMGB 5600.000 575o.66u ~ ~ . $700,000 T 5650.000.,.... ....................:.............................y........_...... 5600,000 : - _ 5550.000 5500.000 . 0 $450900 - . U 5400.0001 5350,000? 5300,0001 . 5250,000 . , 515:000, 5100900 550,000 ~~"~?j-.•.- BCBR1.0 BCPMGB BCRMGB Alternative Titer-Plan Date: 711/2012 Print Date: 712512008 Distribution of PCI (in Miles) for all Roadways - 711/2008 30' 1 23.37511 _ 124187, { 25 - 20,. i' 115:061 1,13663.1 Miles 15: n n -r-.• r 0- Poor d Fair C ' Vy Good Excell I ~ ~ P .4veiage PCI tPClrMilest = 75 Print Date: 712512008 p)G 9 v ' 4 Distribution of PCi (in Miles) for all Roadways - 7/1/2014 . _ _..I'. 32021 I 1 35 1 %2137 " 25 Miles 20, 1 _1 ses.I ' 3333, 15:..._ : 10- 5 ' Poor Fair Vy Good Excell d PCB ~ ) Average PCI (PCIIPAiles) = 71 Print Date: 772512009 Program Options (Existing) • Full Depth Reconstruction • Mill / Overlay • Overlay • Crack sealing • Skim Coat 5 2006 Road Resurfacing • Deering Street - 2" Overlay • Arcadia Avenue - Crack Seal, 3" Overlay • Edgemont Avenue - Crack Seal, 3" Overlay • West Street - Mill, Crack Seal, 2" Overlay • Bancroft Avenue - Reconstruction • Cape Cod Avenue - Reconstruction • Deering Street - Reconstruction • Eaton Street - Reconstruction • Green Street - Reconstruction • Harriman Avenue - Reconstruction • Middlesex Avenue - Reconstruction • Wood End Lane - Reconstruction 2007 Road Resurfacing • Cumberland Road - Crackseal, 3" Overlay • Maple Ridge Road - Crackseal, 3" Overlay • Bancroft Avenue - Reconstruction • Franklin Street - Reconstruction Hampshire Road - Reconstruction • Hillcrest Road - Reconstruction • Lawrence Road - Reconstruction • Locust Street - Reconstruction • Wells Road - Reconstruction • Wentworth Road - Reconstruction 6 Cost Summary - Roadway • Mill, 2" Overlay - $ 9.75 / sy (2006) • Full Depth Reconstruction - $ 18.00 / sy (2006) - $ 25.00 / sy (2007) Cost Summary - Roadway • 2" Overlay - $ 8.00 / sy (2006) • Crack Seal, 3" Overlay - $ 11.50 / sy (2006,2007) • 1" Overlay (Skim Coat) - $ 3.00 / sy (2008) ~J 7 Cost Summary - Curb • Curbing Cost (2006) - $ 62,600 • Curbing Cost (2007) - $ 171,650 Total Cost (2006 / 2007) - $ 234,250 Future Network Condition - 07-Split-I 0yr 77, 76 75 w 73- c ti 0 72. a 71- 70- 67- 7/1/2007 _ 1a k 1 7/1/2009 7/1/2012 711/2015 YEARS 7r25r2008 0 75.4 7/1/2007 0 75.07/1/2008 c 74.3 71112009 0 73.3 7/1/2010 0 72.4 711/2011 c 71.7 7/112012 c 71.0 7/1/2013 0 70.2 7/1/2014 0 69.7 7/1/2015 0 69.4 7/112016 a 68.9 7/1/2017 ~ry 8 Town Streets 2014 Average Pavement Condition = 71 = 100 m.- a Do Nothing y 90 Routine' Maintenance " v e 80 Preventive Maintenance c 70 U . Structural Improvement C U 60 c d E 50 _ Base Rehabilitati m a 40 1 Years Program Options (Proposed) • Increase Mill / Overlay • Reduce Full Depth Reconstruction • Increase Crack Sealing • Increase Skim Coat • Incorporate Micro-Surfacing qC, j3 . Micro-Surfacing • Quick Economical Surface Treatment • Used in More Than 30 States Nationwide • Prevents Water Penetration • High and Low Volume Applications • User Friendly to Pedestrians and Bicyclists • Prolongs Projected Life of Pavement by 6 to 9 Years Micro-Surfacing (cont.) • Cost Effective • $ 3.83 / sy Two layers • $ 4.30 / sy - Two layers including crack seal ll~ 10 10 Funding Options Crack seal - increase funding from $20K to $40K 2. Skim Coat - increase funding from $35K to $55K Establish Debt Exclusion for Sidewalks and Curbing 4. Bond 5 Years of Local Roadway Funding - Complete in 1 Year Increase funding from operating budget Within the CIP - move Non-Roadway Capital to Roadway Program (i.e. don't fund other capital requests) 7. Make Use of Enterprise Funds when water or sewer project are constructed 4 • Decrease the amount spent on other capital items in the Town in order to increase the amount spent on, roads;. or decrease the amount of funds spent on other operating budgets in order to increase the amount of money spent on roads. i 4h) Please see the attached memo from Town Counsel re: requiring property owners to install curb and sidewalk. Based on this memo, we would-have to amend the current policy, and perhaps reverse some recent decisions by the Board of Selectmen. PlH:lm • Page 3 t Hechenbleikner, Peter From: ecdoucette@brackettlucas.com Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 10:18 AM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter Subject: Section.4.5 - curb/sidewalk policy Peter, I left a message that I would not be in the office today and could be reached at home, but I thought it might be best to reduce to writing my concerns and advice re: the Selectmen's imposition of the above policy. In sum and substance, it is my opinion that portions of the policy are beyond the selectmen's authority, and are invalid, specifically,those that require property owners to install curb and sidewalk in the right of way before they can receive an occupancy permit. Because your request to this office was for guidance on how the Selectmen could be creative in requesting monetary contributions in lieu of curb and sidewalk installation, and the problems those impact requests often create, I thought it best to first analyze whether or not there was authority for the adoption of such a policy. Additonally, because of the importance of your request, I wanted the opportunity to discuss the issue with Gary so that I was clear on what our response to your request would be. Of primary concern, is the fifth bulletted paragraph in both Sections 4.5.1 and 4.5.2 which states that "the owner shall install curbing/sidewalks along the full frontage of the property on the existing street prior to receiving a certificate of occupancy." As a preliminary matter, I did not find a file in this office indicating that Joan Langsam had reviewed or provided advice on this policy. If prior town counsel issued an opinion, I would appreciate seeing it, if available. As you know, policies do not have the same weight of authority as statutorily authorized regulations or bylaws. They are generally adopted for guidance only and to bring consistency to a board's decision making. Because the policy cites as its authority the Selectmen's "role as Highway Commissioners", I reviewed the statutes apropos to the authority of road commissioners (as the statutes call it). The duties of road commissioners are set forth in c.84, sec. 7, but there is no provision, or case, that stands for the proposition that road commissioners have authority to withhold building or occupany permits unless a property owner improves the public way with curbs and sidewalks. Among other powers, the road commissioners may order the repair of streets, but the order to repair is directed to public officials. Also, there are no provisions in the General or Zoning Bylaws which give the Selectmen this authority. The only reference that is some0at related, is Section 5.2.6 of the General Bylaws which requires the DPW Director to issue driveway permits. Of equal importance however, is that a town may not withhold the issuance of a building or occupancy permit, unless the reason for withholding the permit is based upon a violation of either the local zoning bylaw, or the state building code. Requiring home owners to install curbing/sidewalks before an occupany permit issues, is not permissible. This was made very clear to another of the firm's clients quite recently when the Department of Public Safety iissued an opinion informing the town that it could not withhold a building permit because of unpaid sewer fees. Because I have formed the opinion that the policy, or portion thereof, in question is invalid, I am unable to conclude that the town can implement a mechanism to require a monetary contribution in lieu of the curb/sidewalk, construction. With respect to such contributions, you cited the Danvers sewer case in a previous email. The case you are referring to is Berry v. Danvers where a sewer connnection fee was struck down as being an invalid tax rather than a properly imposed fee for services. The rational of Berry (which is based upon the seminal case of Emerson College v. Boston) applies to many cases where a muncipality attempts to impose a charge for town services. (Mr. Brown is trying to use the Emerson College case to invalidate the stormwater fee). Please fee free to call me to discuss any or all of the above. I understand that this may not be the position that you wanted, but I cannot provide either you or the Selectmen with advice on a course of action that is not defensible. Ellen Ellen Callahan Doucette Brackett & Lucas 165 Washington Street Winchester, MA 01890 (781) 729-1500 (781) 729-5444 (fax) Proposed Amendments Section 4.5 - Installation. Construction and Reconstruction of Curbs and Sidewalks This policy has been developed in order to provide guidance to future Boards of Selectmen in their role as Highway Commissioners, and to provide direction to the Community Planning and Development Commission and the Department of Public Works. Any variance from this policy will require the specific action of the Board of Selectmen. As the Town has grown, there has developed a disparate pattern of curbing and sidewalks throughout the Town. While recognizing and wanting to preserve the character of different areas of the Town, it is also in the Town's interest to develop and adhere to certain standards of the type of improvements installed either through private initiative or through public action. 4.5.1- Curbing Curbing that is installed in all areas of Town shall conforn to the following: ♦ At all intersections, vertical granite curbing will be installed, meeting all requirements as specified in the Subdivision Control Policy of the Town and as specified in applicable State and/or Federal law at the time; ♦ Along rural roads in locations where vertical granite curbing is unnecessary or where it is inconsistent with the character of the roadway, bituminous "cape cod bean" type of curbing will be permitted; ♦ Where a new development takes place along a rural road, vertical granite curbing will be used within the new development streets and along the existing rural road for the entirety of its frontage; ♦ In all other locations, and including "infill" locations along existing streets, vertical granite curbing shall be used; ♦ )A%efe a single le 1V+4 V l lots en CIiL-LR + ~g ~/"VV~ y~ 7 . a 7 a vV111C l1V Y V1lS~eQ~ -LV"L,iTi theugh. the eenstmetion may not require approval from the Genununity Planning and De elopment Go i--- 1 the owner- shall install veffieal granite ourbing aleng the full fn ntage of ffie property on the ex-isting street, 1 ♦ The CPDC may, as part of an application for Scenic Road approval and with the recommendation of the Board of Selectmen, approve an alternative form of curbing. 4.5.2 - Sidewalks It is the intent of the Board of Selectmen that, over time, all areas of Reading will have sidewalks on at least one side of every street, and that on busier streets, sidewalks shall be provided on both sides of the street as follows: ♦ In areas that have intermittent sidewalks, sidewalks shall be installed of a type (either cement concrete or bituminous) that is predominant in the area; In the area generally bounded by Lowell, Salem, John, Washington, Willow, Summer and Prescott Streets, sidewalks shall be constructed of cement concrete; s In other areas of the community where there is no predominant type of sidewalk, bituminous sidewalk will be permitted; o Where sidewalks are repaired or replaced, they will be repaired or replaced with the same type as previously existed, unless the previously existing sidewalk is not of the type that predominates in the area; 4 Where or lots on an ekisting stfeet is being developed, even Plannin and Development Goniffiission, the owner shall install sidewalks a eeffifieate ef oeoupaney. The type E)f sidewalk shall be eensistent with the a of this rE)t,z J, ♦ As new areas of the community develop and the issue arises as to the need for sidewalks within a development, the Board of Selectmen urges the Community Planning and Development Commission to evaluate the need for sidewalks on both sides of the proposed street(s). In instances where the CPDC feels that the roadway is not a major one, that the road is not subject to further extension, and that the public interest is served by having sidewalks on only one side of the street, the Board of Selectmen urges the CPDC to require the developer to extend an amount of sidewalk equal to that being waived, in a location to be determined by the Town Manager. 4.5.3 - Tree lawns In most areas of the community, there is a tree lawn consisting of a strip of planted material that exists between the curb or curb line and the sidewalk area. The tree lawn is to be preserved as such, and is not to be used as a parking area or widened sidewalk unless specifically approved by the Board of Selectmen. Adopted 3-30-93; Revised 12-13-94, L~I I I Board of Selectmen Meeting May 27, 2008 For ease of archiving, the order that items appear in these Minutes reflects the order in which the items appeared on the agenda for that meeting, and are not necessarily the order in which any item was taken up by the Board. The meeting convened at 7:05 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman James Bonazoli, Vice Chairman Stephen Goldy, Secretary Ben Tafoya, Selectmen Camille Anthony and Richard Schubert, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, DPW Director Ted McIntire, Town Engineer George Zambouras, Town Accountant Gail LaPointe, Recreation Administrator John Feudo, Office Manager Paula Schena, and the following list of interested parties: Michelle Ferullo, Alan Rosh, Susan Giacalone, Russ Graham, Sheila Clarke, Meghan Young- Tafoya, Jack Russell, Gary Gresh, Chris Caruso, Mary Anne Kozlowski, Jamie Maughan, Ed Rivers, Bill Brown. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments - Chairman James Bonazoli and Selectmen Camille Anthony and Ben Tafoya thanked everyone for the Memorial Day event. Vice Chairman Stephen Goldy also thanked everyone for the Memorial Day event. He noted that he held Office Hours at the Senior Center. He is working with Recreation Administrator John Feudo, Friends of Reading Recreation and Elder/Human Services Administrator Dawn Folopoulos on an intergenerational event. He also noted that Mystic Valley is running a program on the safety for senior citizens. Town Manager's Report The Town Manager gave the following report: • The Town Manager gave an update on the Downtown Improvement Project, the new US-ANG maintenance facility at Camp Curtis Guild and the Trail Build on June 7th. • The Memorial Park petition has been withdrawn but the Town will move ahead with the improvements. • The Housing Authority has withdrawn the 40B application for 79 Pleasant Street and will try to sell the property privately. DPW Director Ted McIntire was present and noted that bituminous curbing is needed on Dudley Street at High Street and King Street. The Town Manager noted that when the contractor was digging up the road on Main Street, the traffic dummy started to tip over and the electrical conduits broke. Town Engineer George Zambouras recommended making Lowell Street one way and have stop signs at all four corners. No Left Turns onto Main Street from Lowell or. Pleasant Street. He noted that this meets the warrants for a four way stop while waiting for signalization. ~57 /i ` Board of Selectmen Meeting - Mav 27, 2008 - Paee 2 A motion by Anthonv seconded by Goldv to approve an amendment to the Traffic Rules and Regulations to make the intersections of Pleasant Street. Lowell Street and Main Street a four wav stop regulated by stop signs. until the traffic signal can be restored to this location on or about September 30. 2009, and that Pleasant Street at Main Street be a Right Turn Onlv, and Lowell Street at Main Street be a Rieht Turn Onlv, also until the traffic signal can be restored to this location on or about September 30. 2009 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. The Assistant Town Manager noted that Munis is on track. Personnel and Appointments Economic Development Committee - The Board interviewed Michelle Ferullo for one Associate position on the Economic Development Committee. Tafova moved and Goldv seconded to place the following name into nomination for one Associate position on the Economic Development Committee with a term expiring June 30, 2008: Michelle Ferullo. Ms. Ferullo received five votes and was, appointed. Trails Committee - The Board interviewed Alan Rosh and Susan Giacalone for two positions on the Trails Committee. Tafova moved and Goldv seconded to place the following name into nomination for one position on the Trails Committee with a term expiring June 30, 2008: Alan Rosh. Mr. Rosh received five votes and was appointed. Tafova moved and Goldv seconded to place the following name into nomination for one Associate position on the Trails Committee with a term expiring June 30. 2008: Susan Giacalone. Ms. Giacalone received five votes and was appointed. Discussion/Action Items Town Accountant Ouarterly Meeting - Town Accountant Gail LaPointe was present. She noted that she is notifying departments of the end of year wrap up. Munis has been her major focus, and many employees have been working many hours to make sure that we're up and running live on July 1, 2008. Selectman Richard Schubert asked what the back up is in case Munis fails. Ms. LaPointe noted that the old system will be up and running for two more years. Confirmation of Betterments - Woodland Road, - The Town Manager noted that the work was done primarily by the Town, and the cost came in at more than one half the original estimate. Town Engineer George Zambouras noted that the total cost was $44,882 and the cost is distributed by frontage. The Town Manager noted that the Selectmen need to confirm the betterments. He recommends an interest rate on the unpaid balance at 5%. ~~z Board of Selectmen Meeting - Mav 27, 2008 - Paae 3 Ed Rivers of 11 Woodland Road suggested making the payments quarterly. He noted that the water is pooling at the end of his driveway, and he would like someone to go out and assess the best course of action. He also noted that the drain has debris and should be cleaned on a regular basis. He stated that the Town employees did a remarkable job. A motion by Tafova seconded by Goldv to confirm the betterments for the improvement of Woodland Road east of John Carver Road at a total cost of $44,822.02 with the assessments apportioned as follows amone the benefiting property owners: Calculated Calculated Abuttin g Cost per Linear Foot Plat Parcel Owner Frontage Frontage Assessment Daniel LeLacheur and $ 122 79* Nancy Kearney 28.75 86.63 2,490.56 Jeanette Rivers Trustee, $ $ 122 80 The Rivers Trust 75.00 86.63 6,497.11 John Holland and Patricia $ $ 122 81 Holland 149.29 86.63 12,932.71 Thomas Hatch Jr. and $ $ 112 38* Laura Ryan 26.46 86.63 2,292.18 Robert Tucker and $ $ 112 37 Michele Tucker 94.63 86.63 8,197.62 Christie Williamson and $ $ 112 26 Christopher Jarvis 40.00 86.63 3,465.12 Christie Williamson and $ $ 112 25 Christopher Jarvis 103.97 86.63 9,006.72 $44,882.02 and the rate of interest on unpaid balances shall be 5% per annum was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Close Warrant for Special Town Meeting - June 30. 2008 - The Town Manager reviewed the Warrant consisting of 11 Articles for the Special Town Meeting to take place on June 30, 2008. A motion by Tafova seconded by Goldv to close the Warrant consisting of 11 Articles for a Special Town Meeting on June 30. 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the Reading Memorial High School Auditorium on 62 Oakland Road was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. 5C,(, 3 Board of Selectmen Meetina - Mav 27. 2008 - Paae 4 Retort - Economic Development Committee - Russ Graham, Chairman of the Economic Development Committee, noted that the Committee is an advisory committee. They have conducted meetings, hosted a business breakfast and attended workshops. He also noted that Peer to Peer recommendations are to use the website as a marketing tool, and to do outreach to businesses as to their needs. He noted that there is an unmet demand for a full service restaurant, individual shops and children's shops. Sheila Clarke reviewed the brochure that is being developed and spoke about the website. Chairman James Bonazoli asked if there was a comments section, and the Assistant Town Manager noted that comments can be sent on the home page. Selectman Richard Schubert suggested having a pdf map for both regional and Downtown areas on their web page. Meghan Young-Tafoya spoke about Community Outreach. She noted that the Chronicle has offered to highlight one business a week. She also noted that Arlington has a design facade program called 5/5/5 which is $5,000 for five years at 5%. They have "assigned" architects to help streamline the permit process. She noted that they need a master list of businesses in Town, and they are also looking to expand the farmer's market. Jack Russell spoke about partnering with CPDC to promote businesses and restaurants in Downtown. He attended a meeting with the State environmental people regarding the Downtown buildings, and they will be looking at increasing the Business-A Zone. Michele Williams noted that she is working on the alley way initiative. She indicated that brick pavers, a mural (done professionally) and lighting would help to beautify the area. She is working on defining the cost of these items. Selectman Richard Schubert noted that the 51515 concept is a great idea, and that CPDC could come up with an architect. He also noted that the Town will have to work with abutters regarding the zoning issue on south Main Street. The Town Manager noted that the property on south Main Street is a wide band of wetlands. He has spoken with two developers who deal with environmentally challenged properties. The Board thanked the Economic Development Committee for their report. Birch Meadow Master Plan Presentation - Recreation Administrator John Feudo, Gary Gresh, Chris Caruso, Mary Anne Kozlowski and Jamie Maughan were present. Mr. Gresh noted that a survey was done of 10-14 year olds. A water park or pool was the number one request, and a teen center was second. Mr. Maughan noted that comments made in the survey included maintaining the character of Birch Meadow, maintain the open appearance and to add a focal point. sue- Ll Board of Selectmen Meeting - Mav 27.2008 - Paae 5 Recommendations Mr. Gresh noted that the Committee recommends leaving the hill natural and clean up the underbrush. The open space between the hill and new field could be used as a multi-use court. In the space between the hill, Morton Field and the practice field, they recommend moving the batting cage toward the right center field of Morton Field, and to also build an open air pavilion with picnic tables. Mr. Gresh noted that the Committee recommends using the top soil from the Parker Middle School project to fill in and resurface Coolidge Field. The three softball fields need to be reconfigured. The trail system at the Higgins Conservation Area needs to be expanded. There are no proposed changes to the Castine Area, just new lights. The Bancroft Street tot lot needs no changes but the "No Parking" signs on Bancroft Street need to be lowered. They recommend upgrading the volleyball court to a basketball court with lights, and to replace the current basketball court as a splash pad. Selectman Richard Schubert noted that the YMCA is exploring having a splash pad, and the Town should work out an agreement with them for public use. A committee member noted that the survey indicated that the YMCA is not public friendly accessible. Mr. Gresh noted that the Committee recommends that Morton Field needs a storage structure near the backstop, a scoreboard and protective seating. Imagination Station should be rebuilt and that should include a unique playground for older children too. There was also a long list of amenities for that area that were reviewed. Bill Brown noted that the High School policy on the use of fields allows use anytime on Sunday and the Town does not. He feels that the two policies should be consistent. He also noted that conservation doesn't allow bikes in conservation areas. The Town Manager indicated that he will schedule a public meeting to adopt the Master Plan and get a set schedule of what needs to be done. Selectman Camille Anthony asked if there was an analysis of what is needed for storage. Mr. Gresh indicated that there is not - they just looked at what they currently store. Selectman Richard Schubert noted that we need a landscape architect to capture what we want. He also noted that we need to clarify ownership/control and look at traffic and parking. Selectman Ben Tafoya suggested clarifying how much is under the Town's control before the site visit. Selectman Camille Anthony asked about skate parks, and it was noted that there was no tremendous demand but that multi-use courts could be used. She also asked about a Teen Center, and it was noted that there is a big demand and the teens want something close to Town. SJ. Sa' Board of Selectmen Meetinc - Mav 27.2008 - Page 6 Review Potential Land Acouisition Onbortunities - The Town Manager noted that there are grants available for land acquisition. There are four possible properties. The State will reimburse up to 52%. The grants are due by July 15, 2008 and the appraisals are $300.00 each. The property abutting the Mattera property is under threat of being sold to a developer. The consensus of the Board was to move ahead with the appraisals. A motion by Goldv seconded by Tafova to adjourn the meetine of Mav 27. 2008 at 10:50 mm. was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Respectfully submitted, Secretary s&L Board of Selectmen Meeting July 9, 2008 The meeting convened at 5:00 p.m. at Gould Street and Ash Street. Present were Chairman Stephen Goldy, Vice Chairman Ben Tafoya, Secretary James Bonazoli, Selectman Camille Anthony, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, and residents Donna Moran, Kathy and Wayne Dwyer and Rick Wetzler. Site Walk - Gould Street at Ash Street, - The Board walked Gould Street from Ash Street to Haven Street and back. They looked in several areas and asked questions. Mr. Dwyer was concerned about the sidewalk being constructed in the public right of way but close to his home. The property across the street has been utilizing an ad hoc curb cut in excess of Town standards, and the Town is looking at options for two 12 foot curb cuts and angled parking. Donna Moran was interested in parking in front of her house on the street. Kathy and Wayne Dwyer were interested in not having parking on the street in front of their house. Rick Wetzler was satisfied with the parking situation that they would have. Three trees on Gould Street near Haven Street would be removed in order to widen the roadway and allow parking on both sides. Alternative locations for trees would be created on abutting private property; in addition, three more shade trees would be planted along the frontage of Mass Bank. The Board was concerned about parking along the Mass Bank property and whether car doors would have room to open because of the slope in that area. This matter is scheduled for discussion by the Board of Selectmen at their meeting on July 29, 2008 and the issues raised will be addressed. Site Walk - Birch Meadow Drive at Im p-ination Station - The Board then adjourned to the Imagination Station area at the Birch Meadow Complex. Chainnan Stephen Goldy did not join the group at Birch Meadow but Selectman Richard Schubert did. In addition, Recreation Administrator John Feudo and the following members of the former ad hoc Birch Meadow Planning Committee Shannon Fratto, Gary Gresh and Mary Ann Kozlowski were present. Also present were Bill Brown and Frank Driscoll. The Board looked at the Imagination Station site, the proposed driveway relocation, and the buffering required along the Aberjona. The Board then looked at three baseball fields and how they would be located. New lighting would be required for the lighted ball field. The Board then reviewed the Morton Field location, and the batting cage along with the proposed location for the Pavilion. At that time, the Board's onsite review was interrupted by a heavy rainstorm. Members of the Board along with the Town Manager 5-6~- I Board of Selectmen Meetiniz - July 9. 2008 - Paae 2 and Recreation Administrator adjourned to Town Hall to have dinner. The discussion at that point was that staff should come up with a schedule including a proposed hearing, and proposed storage needs and plans for the site. Additionally, the Board talked about the possibility of moving any proposed water feature from the location where it was proposed to a location more central to the site or abutting Imagination Station. The Town Manager suggested that a decision be made as quickly as possible on the Imagination Station portion of the site so that we could move forward with restoration along the Aberjona River, development and gating of the roadway to use as access for voting purposes and planning for Imagination Station. On motion by Anthonv seconded by Bonazoli. the Board voted to adjourn their meetinLy of July 9, 2008 at approximately 7:00 n.m. by a vote of 4-0-0. Respectfully submitted, Secretary Board of Selectmen Meeting July 22, 2008 The meeting convened at 7:00 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Vice Chairman Ben Tafoya, Secretary James Bonazoli, Selectman Camille Anthony and Richard Schubert, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, and the following list of interested parties: Bill Brown, Meghan Young- Tafoya, Kathy Spurr, Debbie and George Rio, Priscilla Gottwald, Brant Ballantyne, Jack Russell, Sharon Petersen, Peter Simms, Ken Rossetti, David Tuttle, Michael Giacalone, Tina Brezinski. Discussion/Action Items Presentation by Consultant for Downtown Parkina Studv - Vice Chairman Ben Tafoya opened the meeting and indicated that there was a sole agenda item which was a presentation by Nelson/Nygaard on their proposed scope for the parking study for Downtown Reading. The Town Manager indicated that the process has included a screening committee and staff support. Four proposals were received and reviewed, and two consultants were interviewed. The screening committee has recommended the firm of Nelson/Nygaard, The Town Manager is the contracting authority for the Town but as Town Manager, he wanted to make sure that the Board of Selectmen would be satisfied with the results of the study. Jason Schrieber from Nelson/Nygaard presented their approach to the scope of services. They fully meet all of the requirements for the request of proposals, and would finish the work by the end of December or early January. The following is a suminary of major questions/comments made by the Board of Selectmen: Selectman Richard Schubert liked the proposal and range of topics that would be covered. He felt that it would be helpful to have a transportation planner doing the study. The program would reflect the dynamics and changes in the Downtown, and set up the timetable for making the decisions now and in the future. Selectman Camille .Anthony asked about the process in Belmont, and why the zoning and parking formulas did not work. She also asked about changes in behavior for those who are driving and parking in Downtown. Selectman James Bonazoli noted that in business, one sizes the infrastructure for fihe peak of business use. Don't we want to do the same thing for Downtown parking? Mr. Schrieber indicated that the peak demand for uses in Downtown happens at different times, and the intent is to size parking for the peak overlapping demand. Board of Selectmen Meeting - July 22. 2008 - Paize 2 Vice Chairman Ben Tafoya noted that Downtown is not yet the exciting place that we want it to be. He is concerned that if we charge for parking in Downtown, we would not be consistent even with other business uses in Reading. Downtown does not have a traffic problem. We need to create the infrastructure for a successful Downtown. Mr. Schrieber noted that the study would give the Board the tools to make the decisions, and the methodology to determine future demand. The consultant will do a lot of studying and surveying about how parking is used now, and snake recommendations on how that can be improved so that the community makes the best use of existing parking infrastructure. The Downtown Improvement Project will limit the applicability of the surveys depending upon the status of the construction when they go to do these surveys. In addition to the surveys, they will use ITE, Urban Lane Institute, CPTS planning data, census tract data and other information from consultant case studies. Vice Chairman Ben Tafoya opened the meeting to the public. The following is a summary of comments and questions from the public present: • Bill Brown noted that the consultant stated that a garage has a life span of 35 years, and Medford just tore one down after 35 years. Reading would not maintain a parking structure. • Jack Russell, a member of the Economic Development Committee, indicated that he was also on the ad hoc Parking Task Force, and this proposed study is exactly what the Parking Committee wanted to see and would recommend. • Priscilla Gottwald, President of the Chamber of Commerce, asked if the consultant would be talking to the businesses and the response was affirmative. • Michael Giacalone asked whether the roadway construction project would skew the data. Mr. Schrieber indicated that it might but they would have to address that as they go along, and work around that situation. There will always be some changes going on in the Downtown. • George Rio, an associate member of the Economic Development Committee and also a member of the former ad hoc Parking Task Force, noted that Downtown is in transition with some empty store fronts. He asked whether improved parking begets improved businesses or vice versa. Mr. Schrieber indicated that one could not dictate the other entirely. • Peter Simms, President of the Downtown Steering Committee, spoke and noted that he is pleased that the study would address the issue of the utilization of current parking. He also felt that satellite parking would not work for our Downtown at this time. He indicated that there is not a current parking problem in Downtown but that there is a fairly large number of store vacancies at this time. • Tina Brezinski noted that satellite parking would not work. She indicated that there is a serious parking problem today for employees. • David Tuttle, Chairman of the CPDC, indicated some potential for Downtown activity is limited by parking. We also need to make sure that we take into account 40R development which would be limited by parking supply. "_S-62' Board of Selectmen Meetiniz - Julv 22, 2008 - Pave 3 Brant Ballantyne of the Community Planning and Development Commission suggested that we not restrict consideration of structured parking to the three sites noted in Jason Schrieber's presentation. He also noted that we need to work with the 40R planning consultant. Selectman Camille .Anthony asked that the study review the zoning provision that properties within 300 ft. of a municipal lot not be required to place off-street parking. Selectman Richard Schubert liked the idea of addressing financing, and noted that the walking experience is important. Selectman James Bonazoli indicated that we need to make sure that we get the tools to continually evaluate the need for additional parking, including parking structures so that if we do not proceed with a structure at this time, we can look five and ten years from now and make decisions. Vice Chairman Ben Tafoya noted that successful downtowns are created by incremental decisions, and are built "inch by inch" not by one single action. He felt that the RFP is fine and if the consultant addresses all of the questions in the RFP, then he would be satisfied. Selectman Camille Anthony asked that we get back to the Board of Selectmen at discreet intervals in the study period. There being no further business before the Board, On motion by Anthonv seconded by Bonazoli, the Board of Selectmen voted to adiourn their meetins of Julv 22, 2008 at 8:35 p.m. by a vote of 4-0-0. Respectfully submitted, Secretary THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS V, Number: 2008-31 TOWN OF READING Fee: $50.00 This is to certify that SECATORE, LLC D/B/A LONDI'S FAMOUS ROAST BEEF, 214 MAIN STREET, READING, MASS., seating 16 customers IS HEREBY GRANTED A COMMON VICTUALLER'S LICENSE in said Reading, Massachusetts and at that place only and expires December 31, 2008, unless sooner suspended or revoked for violation of the laws of the Commonwealth respecting the licensing of common victuallers. This license is issued in conformity with the authority granted to the licensing authorities by General Laws, Chapter 140, and amendments thereto. Pursuant to Section 3.6 of the Board of Selectmen's Policies, patrons are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages on the premises for their own consumption and licensees are not permitted to keep alcoholic beverages on the premises except for a small quantity that is used in the preparation of certain specialty cooked foods. All signs shall conform with the sign regulations of the Town of Reading. In Testimony Whereof, the undersigned have hereunto affixed their official signatures. a Date Issued: July 21, 2008 s P THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Number: 2008-32 TOWN OF READING Fee: $50.00 This is to certify that R.L.D.W., INC. D/B/A CHRISTOPHER'S RESTAURANT,. 580 MAIN STREET, READING; MASS., seating 75 customers IS HEREBY GRANTED A COMMON VICTUALLER'S LICENSE in said Reading, Massachusetts and at that place only and expires December 31, 2008, unless sooner suspended or revoked for violation of the laws of the Commonwealth respecting the licensing of common victuallers. This license is issued in conformity with the authority granted to the licensing authorities by General Laws, Chapter 140, and amendments thereto. Pursuant to Section 3.6 of the Board of Selectmen's Policies, patrons are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages on the premises for their own consumption and licensees are not permitted to keep alcoholic beverages on the premises except for a small quantity that is used in the preparation of certain specialty cooked foods. All signs shall conform with the sign regulations of the Town of Reading. In Testimony Whereof, the undersigned have hereunto affixed their official signatures. Date Issued: July 21, 2008 6 J'~ T THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Number: 2008-33 Fee: $50.00 TOWN OF READING This is to certify that DAVID D. MYERS AND MICHAEL N. VALSAMIS D/B/A TOWN PIZZA & DELI, 648 MAIN STREET, READING, MASS., seating 16 customers IS HEREBY GRANTED A COMMON VICTUALLER'S LICENSE in said Reading, Massachusetts and at that place only and expires December 31, 2008, unless sooner suspended or revoked for violation of the laws of the Commonwealth respecting the licensing of common victuallers. This license is issued in conformity with the authority granted to the licensing authorities by General Laws, Chapter 140, and amendments thereto. Pursuant to Section 3.6 of the Board of Selectmen's Policies, patrons are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages on the premises for their own consumption and licensees are not permitted to keep alcoholic beverages on the premises except for a small quantity that is used in the preparation of certain specialty cooked foods. All signs shall conform with the sign regulations of the Town of Reading. In Testimony Whereof, the undersigned have hereunto affixed their official signatures, yel .-,t - Date Issued: July 21, 2008 . 3 C-1 L1c 65 Jill M. Reddish Franchise Operations Manager Verizon Video July 7, 2008 Town of Reading Board of Selectmen 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 Dear Reading Board of Selectmen: 20 JUL °8 AN 10, 52 Verizon Communications Inc. 125 High Street Boston, MA 02110 617-342-0558 Jill.m.reddish@vefizon.com Verizon is excited to announce the addition of new channels including several new sports networks. In order to accommodate these additions and future growth we will be implementing a channel realignment. A new channel lineup card has been enclosed, which lists the new networks and channel numbers. As stated in the attached customer notification, your residents who are ROS TV customers can look forward to these changes on or about 08/20/08. We realize that our customers have other alternatives for entertainment and our goal is to offer the best choice and value in the industry. Verizon appreciates the opportunity to conduct business in your community. Should you or your staff have any questions, please contact me at 617-342-0558 or email me atjill.m.reddish@verizon.com. Sincerely, Jill M. Reddish Franchise Operations Management MA/RI Verizon Video cc: Reading Telecommuications and Technology Advisory Committee 6U I-- P.O. Box 9000 Annapolis, MD 21401-9000 Sample A. Sample 123 Main Street Anytown, USA 12345-6789 p 17 - LI, e ' IDO With a channel lineup expanding faster than you can click. Dear Sample A. Sample, YEAR-END 2008 The best part about being aVerizonFiOS°TVcustomeristhatyourjaw-dropping, VERIZON ILL OFFER: room-shaking service just keeps getting better. From interactive services to innovative channel selections, you've got plenty more to look forward to, thanks to your FiCS More than 900 HD channels fiber optics. ° Over 10,000 Video On Demand titles This is just the beginning. per month We'd like to announce the addition of more than a dozen exciting new HD channels. ° 1,000 HD VOD titles per month Including Starz Comedy HD, Smithsonian HD,The History Channel HD, Animal Planet HD and Lifetime HD.' Please review the enclosed channel lineup card for a complete list of VERIZ N Fi S EXTRAS YOU new networks and channel numbers. You'll notice that in order to keep your favorites CAN CURRENTLY ENJOY: ° arranged by genre and easy to find, some of your current channels may have shifted position in our lineup. These changes will automatically take effect 8/20/08. ° FREE interactive traffic and weather service Enjoy all your new choices and click back to old favorites. It's easy to ensure a seamless transition of your viewing preferences. Just follow these ° Home (Media DVR - watch three simple steps on the day of the realignment: different recorded shows on three • Adjust your channel favorites to the new channel numbers different TVs, all at the same time, Validate that Parental Controls are accurate by going to the Parental Controls menu and access PC-stored photos Verify that your DVR/Home Media DVR is set to record the correct channels/programs and music through your TV. For by going to the DVR menu and checking upcoming recordings more information and to order, go to verizon.com and access If you need a refresher on Favorites, Parental Controls or the Digital Video Recorder, refer your account. to the ROS Help Videos located in the Help section's Video On Demand menu or go to floshelp.verizon.com. Thank you for your patience during this channel realignment. It's all part of making ROS TV even more entertaining for your whole family. Sincerely, Shawn Strickland THIS IS Vice President,Video Solutions H"Is IS Please visit verizon.corn/fiosty for additional channel lineups. r~ L c "Following the realignment, not all new channels will be immediately available. CCT80024 (L 2, . ~J M Q A 1533 Gaiwisidn 1508 WAPATV 1520. ESPN Deponos 1521 RMSportsen Esparrol 1523 GotTV 1540CNN en Espanol 1549 CirmISUR 1560 1VElntcnadonal 1561 HistoryEspanol 1563 Dbcovery on ESpafial 1620 infinlto IM Hfrn 1660 MTVTrjs 1662 Telehit 1680 De Pelkela 1681 De Pelfculacimlm 1685 Clue Latino 1686 CI-Maxicano ,701 L. Famllle 1702 Dismvery Familia 1704 TV Chile 1705 TV Colombia 1720 ISarpresal 1722 Taon Disney Espedol 1724 Boomerang iESP)• 1740 TBNEelace '741 EWTN Espefio) 1 f : 1 1800 Soundsoftheseasom 1801 Today's Country 1802 C7assic000ntry 7803 Bluegrass 1804 Hip-Hopand R&B 1805-Classic 6&8 7886 R&BSOUI. 1807 R&S Hits 1908 flap 7609 Metal 1610 flock 1611 Arena Bac, 1612 Classic Bock 1813 AdultABemmive 1814'Ahernadve 7675 RetrstAtttw 7876 Dernunice 7877 Danrn JET We Hit 7819 AdultTOp40 1820 MtUst 1827 Kid. OSdyi 1822 ParryFavadtes 1823 Showcase 1824 '90s 1825 'BBs 1826 70s 1827 Solid Geld Oldies 1828 Smooth lace 1829 J.. 1830 Blues 1831 Reggae 1832 Soundsopm 1833 FsyUstening 1834 819 Band & Swing 1835 Singers & Su mdasds 1836 Sh-TUncs 1837 Contemporary Chdstlan 1838 Gospel 1839 Classics) Masterpleces 1840 UghtClasslcal 1841 Pop Latino 1842 Muslce Utbana ,843 5a1ayMerengue 1844 Meximna 1845 Facka.F P-Ao1 1846 Opera +titsl,l _.-1 1900 MN'sTRL 1901 TadW,;Top 40 1902 Modem Pop 1903 Caver2 Craver 7904 Soft Pap 1905 1 I we the 701 1906 1Love the 805 1907 1Laveshe 901 1908 Solid G.IdOldles 1909 Dlscotech 1970 Dance Club 1911 Dactmnio 1912 MTV2 1913 Rack legends 1914 Arena Rock 1915 Altemamm, Bock 1916 Adult Back 1917 MM Headbangers Ball 7918 fl&B Hlts 7919 CWsslc R&8 7920 Classic flap 1921 Modem Rap 1922 Modem SOUI 1923 CMTRed]. ,924 Bluegress 1925 CWsslc Country 1926 Willett County 1927 Reggae 1928.Ladn Hip-Hop 1929 MTVTr3s 1930 Udnlace 1931 PadtoAltema 1932 Telano 1933 Easy Listening 1934 Smooth1e. 1935 i-Stsedams 1936 Blues 1937 Opera 1938 Classical 1939 Christian 1940 Gospel 1941 P.pSomalmds 1942 hoop Broadway 1943 Onema 1944 VaiceBox 1945 Meditation 1946 Dream Sequence 1947 Accoulle Chill 1948 Swing 1951 Comedy 43 And 45 Amlm,mGm 47 A dower Put ,s ~:{~ulLLnt:.;. ~ 24 Arlington Ed. . 26 Arlington Go. 31 Adingem Publcn cess : lI` -j 28 Bedford Ed.ACCese 29 BedfordGw.A,,,,, 30 Bedford P.L: c n..... 28 BcMon[Go:. 29 Belmont Ed 30 Belmont Publ I A- is rT~{ t,~.trt~: 39 8.xb.mugh Ccv. Access 39 . Ba xfonl Go 45 ford Public Aaess o 24 Braintree Ed Aaess 26 O'ntreeG-ACrnss 28 galntree PubllcAccess 39 Burlington PUblicAccess 40 Bud ington Local Ed. 41 Budmgron Local Gav. I- UFFSTYLE I-'OIGITALMUStC ptOCALPUBLLC/EpUC'ATIOWWYERNMENT 0110 YT?,.1, 41 Canton Ed Arress 42 Can-C--- 43 Caton PU1,111,ccess 38 Dedham Ed 39 Oedham G.v .ccess 40 Dedham Publlc Access 31 Ounstable P,blc1C w.ACCes. "In,11IRC.i.lai,'. 39 Framingham Ed. Acc:rss 42 Framingham Ga,Aaess 43 Framingham Public Access 41 George- Ed.Access 42 GeosgerimmGVAcome, 43 George- Fu...'c A.ce:, 36 Hamliron 011,Acc~:s1 37 Hamilton Publ'.c Access] 30 Hopkinton PUbllcAaess&Gav. 31 Hopkinton Ed. 32 H iltsron Pub llcAaess 33 A Halib[on Ed.aess 34 HoiRstenGw Acces 31 Ipswich Ed.Access 32 Ipswich Gov Access 33 Ipswich Public Arcess 35 l ington Pubic 36 Lexington Ed. 37 Lexington Go, xj t 14~i.. 3 32 Lincoln Ed. 33 Unoin Gov. 36 Lynn Ed Access 37 Lynn Gov. Access 38 Lynn Publlc Access ,-ivda8714u,1 28 Lynnfieid Public Access 29 Lynnfieid G- 30 Lynnfieid Ed. Uq: 33 Marlborough Ed.Access 34 Marlborough G.v.A¢esz 35 Ma4bomugh Public Acrnss {1u ,iimg14a, _~J 29 MarshfieldG-Aaess 33 MarshfieldEd.A.- 34 Marshfield Public Access z 36 Medfield Ed Aaess 45 Medfield GO%Access 47 Medfield PubllcAccess 24 Medway E&Access 35 Medway Gov.ACCess 36 Medway Publlc Access '.hHetTk}i Vi 37 M I se Ed.Aaess 38 Melrose G-Aecom 39 Melmse Publlc Access {i aAe sld~., ~i 31 Methuen Ed.Acrrss 32 MethuenGm,.A¢ess 33 M lhu P bllc ACCes at~i!r lrla317.t•lrtq.t ::'":I{ 33 Middleborough Ed. Access 34 MiddleboroughG.1A,- 35 Middleborough Public Access 45 Nzhant Publir,Ed& G.w.Aaess 'L:f:Y S(91i _ 28 Natick Gav. Aaess 29 NaUckPublic Assns 30 Natick Ed Access s1s'14a71:h71,i.. ~ 19 Needham Public Access 30 Needham Gov.Acress 31 Needham Ed FCmss 32 Newton Ed Channel 33 Newton Gm, Channel 34 Newton COmmuniryTY `I2L1i41iAiL s•Il~lr. i 24 North Reading Public Access&Gov. 26 N..h Reading EL 33 Norwood Public Aaess 34 Norwood Ed. A-' 35 Norwood Gov.A=, e 3' k 47 shetd(ab1eN 10147 47 Top 28 Tyugsbc rn Ed.Access 29 TY g b o -ALI- 30 a7yng b Public Access smo LLL-_vla°. I 40 Wakefield P. Be Access 41 Wakefield Ed.Access 42 Wakefield GOY.Accesl 30 Wareham Ed&G.Y.Acoms t 77401 leas.. _ 38 Wellesley[: d, Accsss 39 Wellesley r„L'llc ncc,.:+ 40 WellesleyG ,F.ccesi X14 I.f:iSi :-r 36 Hamilton PUbbc Accessl 37 M rallem Public ACCCSS2 ,l ! 3d,737FP8+ _ 42 West Newbury Public Ed.&G-ACCess 1'iiilk:7.11{flrfLS:l.. ' 24 Westborough EcLAccess 26 Westborough Gov. Access 23 WeiUmmidgh Public Access islLullNniq t ;.+.i 37 Wlaningmn Publk:Access 38 Wilmington Gov. Access 39 Wilmington Ed Access 36 W1.hmm1L.olPubRc Access&Gav.-WnCAM 37 Wnh,,aerlnolEd.-WmCAM 43 WobumGov.Acess 45 Woburn Public Access 47 Wobum Ed.ACCess 31 Heading Publlc Access Veditn HOSTVisfrequentlydReging 32 Reading Gov. Its channel eEerings.To view our lalest 33 Readmg W. publihedchannellineup,pleasevisit IAOIX I5117 ' s vedmnfios.mMty. 30 nd Ed Access 31 B kl.nd Gov.Aaess `ASpanisManguage5eaundarypudiD 32 9ockla,d r„br'o Access Program (SAP) is available ferickahe. I pr e - i ..Subscription to ca esponding premium 26 26 1 yGO:.Aaess 1s, channehandpackagesrequhad 34 Stoneham wbc: Lt:: tNota8lamipubli4 eduta0pnal and 35 Stoneham EoLA11- govemmental(PEG) channels may be 36 Stoneham G-Access availabieat the time of Installation. LlIId: 30 1In;A, Sudbury Public Access 1 Programmingseryicet offered within each 31 Sudbury Gav.Aaess package amSabjecttothang"rid not all 32 Sudbury Ed. Access progranirl Services will be available at all ,11a'ril:l Pr I times. BUdoutrestriNons also appill. 32 Tewksbury PubficAccess 02008YedmR MASS-9108 CCT80014 33 T ksburyGov.Aaess 34 Tewksbury Ed Access MASSACHUSETTS CHANNEL LINEUP EFFECTIVE AUGUST 2008 ( l 2 PBS-WGBWrv 3 WSOK--TV38 4 CBS-WBZ-TV4 5 ABC-WCVB-TVS 6 My-WZMY-TVS9 7 NBC-WHDH-TV7 8 FOX-WFXT-TV25 9 ABC-WMUR•TV9 10 Telemunda-WNEU•TV60 11 ETV-WENH-TV 11 12 CW-WLVHTV56 13 SupenmUon-WGN-TV9 15 ION-TV60 21 Telefumm-WUTFTV66 24 IoolPSOgmmmlog 2S ETV-WYDN-TV48 26 Local Programming 27 Univiflon-WI]WTV27 2843 LooiPmgrammmg 44 PBS-WGBX-TV44 45 Local Programming 47 L-Iftgramming 48 TV Guide 49 Wotherson Local pLp-1 Programming -See back (whelreapplicehiejmmming Fyelltl:iWJ4rL1 _ n..._I 460 NBCWwther Plsrs 470 P85-WG8H2 471 P85-WGBH44 472 PBS-'GBHKids 473' ..PBS-WGBN1VOdd 474 PBS-WGBH Crtate 491 club. 492 ION Ufe 494 Warship Nownink 50 -USA Network 51 TNT 52 185 53 Fit 54 SpikeTV :..70 ESPN 71 15PNCWssic5pons. 72 ESPNews 73 ESPNU 74 ESPN2 76 New England Spam Network 77 Camcros SpomNet New England 83 Speed Channel 84 F-S.-Channel 85 BigTen Network 88 NFL Network 90 VERSUS 100 CNN 101 CNNHeadlhmNa- 102 C1,9C 103 MENBC .104 SlamebmEiTV 105 CNN international 106 CNBCWmid 107 BBC Wedd 108 ABC News Now 109 C-SPAN 110 C-SPAN 2 111 C-SPAN3 115 New England Cable Ness 117 Fox Bsulness Network ,18 Fax News 119 The WeatherChannei d -MA!601'.ac C1e lTo 0 ® LOC U. C ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS 120 Dbc ry Channel 121 National Geographic Channel 122 Selena Channel 123 Inver llimen0ismwry 124 Pentagon Channel 125 MilitaryChannel 126 MIIlmryiibtory Channel 127 History Channel summational 128 Hlstary Channel 129 BIo 130 Animal Planet ,31 TV into 139 TLC 140 Ufetlme 141 Lifetime Movie Network 142 Lifetime Real Women 143 SOAPnet 144 Oxygen 149 WE.Women's Entertainment )„{i'lF1:L:l 011.1 pX~__ 150 OVC 151 HEN 155 Jewelry 157 Shop NBC E 1%f'7iiwad;:IAT 160 Style 161 ObmwryHeaith 162 VmI.TV 163 FitTV 164 Food Network 165 HGTV 166 Fine lJving 167 DD(Wownk 168 Planet Green 169 WcalrhTV 170 Travel Channel THIS IS ISG THIS IS BIG. NEWSANFO & EDUCATION IJ LIFESTYLE 100 Sd-Fl Channel 181 A&E 182 Crime&iwesdgmkm Network 183 It 184 GSN 185 Bravo 186 Sleuth 187 Logo 188 Ovatlan 189 SBCAmeda 190 COmedyConhal 191 64 192 Curmnt7V 196 El EmartalnmentTelevIsion .197 Fox Reality 198 Fuel 199 AeC Famiy. F t;'uci{` _k 210 MTV 211 MTV2 212 MTVU 213 MTVJams 314. MTVHRs 216 fuse 217 VHI 218 VHi Classic 219 VHi Soli 220 BETJaa 221 -CMT 222 CMT Pure Country 223 GreatAnmoan Country 224 Gospel MUSicChennel 225 BETGospei 319- Soundtrack Channel 230 Turner Classic Mwles 231 AMC 232 Fox Movie Channel 233 Ro brChannel F:4VAM e r 240 Halimnrk[hannei 242 Family Net 243 Amerl"UfeN 244 NWnd 245 Retirement LWing 247 RFDTV 7jjjj 250 DtsneyChannei .251 Toon Disney 252 Nickelodeon 353 NkkTOo 254 Nick Toons 255 TheN 256 Noggin 257 CannonNetwork(ESP)- 258 Boomerang 0P)• 259 DiscoveryKids 260 Varsity 262 FUNlmadon 263 PBS KIDS Spmut 4.19114.1401 R L111~_ 270 BET 271 NOne 273 MFVTr3s 274 Gobvis16n 275 Mun2 276 SIN 278 BddgezN 279 HITn 285 EWIN. 286 INSP 287 Wt. 388 Church 289 JC1V 290 BYU 391 ThReArsgels 292 TheWOni Network 293 Daystar 294 Smileafa Child 295 Trinity Bmadcauling Network 296 Bosmn CathaBc 300 Fax College 50 arts-AOandc 301 Fax COlle9eSPOrts-Cenirzt 302 Fat Cdllege5pons-Padfic 303 Tennis Channel .304 GuffChannei 307 Ourd...Channel 308 The Sportsman Channel 311 F. 5". an Espanol 313 GelTV 315 NG(Hume Racing) 316 Morse RacingTV 317 World DSbing Netsvark 318 MavN 319 elackbeliN 340 Slam 341 SuRaWast 342 StarzEdge 343 S-EdgeWest 344 Smaln8lack 345 St-KIds&Fomily 346 StaroCinema 347 StoaComedy 350 Encore 351 EncoeWezt 352 ER..WVe 353 Encore Love West 354 EncomWworna 355 E-Westerns West .356 Encore Mystery 357 Encore Mystery West 358 Encore Drama 359 Encom DmmaWast 360 En-Aalon 361 Encore Action West 362 EncomMot 365 Shawtime 366 Sh"AlumWect 367 Showdme5hwvase 368 Shawtime5howcaseWaR 369 Shmank-2 370 ShmWme2Wen 371 Showdmelleyond 372 Showdme Beyond West 373 Sho rd-Extreme 374 Shbv41me Extreme Wnt 375 ShowrlmeWomen 376 Sh.wl-Vito en West 377 Showtinte Nett 378 Showrime Next West 379 Show[ime Family Zone 380 Shm,rd-FamilyZO..West .385 Th.MwieChannei 386 The MOVIeChannalWest 387 The McvleChannel Xtm 388 The MWEChannelXtmWest 390 Flix 391 FUIVESt 392 Sundana 394 Film Channel BIM NITS& ENTERTA1MAENT ,-!PREMIUMS -141-0EHMTION _J 1 400 HBO 401 HBO West 402 H802 403 HeOOSign xwesr 404 HBature 485 HBOSIgnatuto West 406 HBO Family 407 -HBO ForelyWest 40B HBOComedy 409 HBOC-AyWon 410 HBOZme 411 HSOZoneWom 412. HBO Wdno 413 HBOWtinoWam 6.'FdN1iT~B4;E 420 Cinemax 421 ❑nemaxWast 422 More Max 423 MomMmWest- 424 Aalon Max 425 Action Max West 426 'h Max 427 Th rOler Max West 428 WMAX 429 At Mat 430 "I'S" Max 431 Worm. ~2nsaaa;li5t4irV-y. 440 PlayboyN 441. Playboy TVen ESpaA.I 445 beret 502 PBS-WGBHHO BOB W58KHD 504 CBS-WBZHO 565 ABC-WCVBHD 507 NBC-WHDHHD 508 FOX-WFXTHD 512 CW-WLVIHD $50 USA HD 551 TNTHD 552 TBS HD 567 Universal HD 569 HDNEE 570 ESPN HD 574 ESPNZHD 576 New England Sports Ne work HO 577 Cann""'5por at - New England HD 585 BlgTen NetwmkHD 588 NFLNetwork HD 590 VERSUSIGOIfHD 591 O tdoor Chenne12H0 600 CNNHD 602 CNBCHD+ 619 ThlVather ChannoiHD 620 Discovery Channel HD yaphk 621 Channel HD 622 SclemaChannelHD 625 Smll almlen Ch.-IffD 628 HkaryChommitlD 630 Animal Planet HD 631 HDTheater 639 TLC HD E;WOM .l 1 I _j 640 Ufedme HD 641 UfedmeMovIeNometrkHD ['3:L•J~ IJ-Jtle491~{a,,' . ,sd 664 Food Network HD 665 HGTV NO 669 %Va.IdiNHD 680 ScFFl Channel HO 681 A&E H. 685. Brava'. 711 746 HDNet Movies 640 S. HO 841 StalKids&FamOyHD 842 S..COmedy HD 843 Start Edge HD 865 ShowOme HD 666 ShowiimeWestHO 867 Showdme 2HD 885 The Mavle Channel HO 851 HBO HD 901 HBOWestHD 920 Cinemax HD 921 CimmuWastHO 900 HOSVIdeoOnDemond - ALLFREE. Home&UNime 1200 [C::-: info&Eduallon 1201 CTI-Zhoma7l.o Channel X" 1 Marketplace 1220 ZeeN Music 1222 TV Alto News - __j People&Culture 1240Thtpnounannel Pop Culture 1241GMAPInoy Sports Women En Espanol 1250 MBC. M.W. 1251 I3SB4CBS International Hims 1253 KLSSSMBN Ubmry 1255 KGB My Baduk MwieTmilers J New Releases 1260 SSTN E. Bpanol ttKathl:ll•tt:it_ I Su6scrlpo.ns 1270 CTN Cinemax 1271 NK HBO HSSf:dAI11_ Showtlm , 1280 Map- Store u"' totY3' Sundan z •h•tl' TheMwle[hannel 1301 RTPI Playboy IIN8;V31tli' hem J -1310 W5 KamakeChannel ` J WW'E24.7 1320 RAI 'Events Ii714ii Ida'. _ Sports _ 7340 Channel I Unansored 1341 RTNRUSSI. En BPaAOI 1342 FITS Monet Adult FIOS W Help 1350 NP Paten PAYPERVIEWI 1370 ON SUBSCRIPTION SPORTS 1371 NTVHayal 1000 TVN Events h'~7i cik6Tdddii-i 1009 S.varma sports 1381 Public TV, 1010-1075 hw91N1Af5Nld.-- FSPNGame HaNFailC lul _ - 1390 PmN I~1g3~9~1R~SCI 1400 ARI 1401 Kuwalt7V 1402 MBTN 1410 Rang ARang(Forsi) 1,.9 incAL f INEWSANFO&EDUFATION DVIDEOONOEMAND PAY PERVIEWISUBSCRIMON SPORTS 1500 USA Network 1501 TNT 1502 T85 1503 C A.hidn 1504 FX 1505 SpskeTV 1508 WAPAN 1520.ESPN Depones 1521 Fox5ponsen Bpafiot 1522 Fox SoaerChannel JS23 GoiTV - 1S25 NewEngland5ponz Netwok 1526 ComastS --Net New England 1540 CNN en Bpanol 1541 CNN 1542 CNN Headline News 1543 Far News 1544 CNBC 1545 MSNBC 1546 C-SPAN 1547 Fox Busmen Network 1549 Canal SUP 1560 NElntemackmal 1561 History Bpanol 1562 Discovery Channel 1563 Dls mA y.nBWAOt 1565 Animal Planet 1566 TLC 1580 Ufedme 1581 Ufedme MovleNet-kc VAIMM au:L:- ' 1600 OVC 1601 HSN 1603 Shop NBC 1 f1Tt~N4ytiil 1 , r.. :'1 1620 Infinlm 1621 road Natvrodt 1622 HGTV 1623 TmvelChannel 1625 DI'ommryHealth L2 _ 1640 EI EmertainmentTdwislon 1641 RISE 1642 SIN 1643 Mun2 1644 CcmedyCenhei 1645 Ski-RChannel 1648 Hrrn 1660 MNTllS 1661 MM 1662 Telehh 1665 CMT 16800e Po1(cula -1681 De Poitou]. Clasim 1685 Cine W[ina 1686 Clne Maxixano 1700 ABCFamily 1701 W PomBia 1702 Discovery Familia 1704 TV Chile 1705 TV Colombia 1707 TV Land 1720 ISorpresal 1722 T on0lsney Espanol 1724 0oomemng (ESPj• 1725 8oomemng 1726 Catroan Network(ESP)• 1728 Nickelodeon 1729 DUneyen Bp iml TTo°BPfiT kf ::1 1740 TBNEnlace 1741 EWTN Espanol •A Spanish-language SemndaryAudio Program (SAP)is avaltabie ft rselecllon. ••Subscdptiootocalm ilandingpremium channels and packages required. -HBO orMemaxsu uallillon includes Independent Film Channel. Programming services 4Heredwithin each package are subject to change, and nut an programmingservices will be available at all Hall Blackout msMctiom also apply. vertzky bf C, to W W M1 ' } H 7C vy. a1,k'~.j0 OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE • BOSTON, MA 02133 (617) 725-4000 o.,; , c ,lam DEVAL L. PATRICK GOVERNOR TIMOTHY P. MURRAY LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR July 1, 2008 Dear Municipal Leader: N Development decisions with profound implications for future generations are made every day in city and town halls across the r Commonwealth. These decisions produce the new homes and businesses; we need to house our residents and grow our economy. It is vital that we make development decisions that are best for our environment, our economy and our Commonwealth. Therefore, today I am releasing the 2009 version, of Commonwealth Capital, which has proven to be an effective program for promoting better land use choices. Commonwealth Capital explicitly endorses planning and zoning measures that are consistent with the Commonwealth's Sustainable Development Principles and encourages municipalities to implement these measures by using state funding as an incentive. Communities that have planned for land conservation and development and enacted zoning, subdivision and other regulations consistent with the Sustainable Development Principles are more likely to receive financial assistance from the Commonwealth. Over the past four years this incentive has produced dozens of plans and hundreds of improvements to zoning and other local land use regulations.. Enhancements to the Commonwealth Capital criteria* for 2009 incorporate comments received from communities as well as important initiatives of my Administration. For example, a new criterion encourages communities to implement prompt and predictable permitting practices in order to make timely decisions without compromising public health, the 1 ® Pwxrtn on RECraEU Pni+ea V Municipal Leader July 1, 2008 Page Two environment or quality of life. Other new criteria encourage communities to promote environmental equity, plan regionally, implement innovative transportation measures and conserve energy. Working together, we can do a better job of conserving. land, energy and natural resources.while expanding housing and business opportunities. At the state level, my Administration is striving to make our policies and programs ,consistent with the Sustainable Development Principles, and I ask municipalities to do the same. Together, we can create a more successful and' sustainable Commonwealth S 71 y Commonwealth Capital - 2009 Summary The Commonwealth Capital Policy coordinates state capital spending programs in order to invest in projects that are consistent with the Commonwealth's Sustainable Development Principles and to partner with municipalities seeking to advance our shared conservation and development interests. Commonwealth Capital explicitly endorses planning and zoning measures that are consistent with Administration policy and encourages local implementation by linking state spending programs to municipal land use practices. Municipal smart growth / smart energy consistency is assessed through a Commonwealth Capital application that examines municipal implementation of 32 land use planning and regulatory practices. Resulting scores are part of the proposal evaluation process for each grant or loan program. f 1 Programs Included. For fiscal year 2009 the Commonwealth Capital policy will apply to the following grant and loan programs offered by the Executive Offices of Administration and Finance, Energy and Environmental Affairs, Housing and Economic Development, and Transportation and Public Works. All municipalities seeking funding from these programs will need to submit an FY 2009 Commonwealth Capital application in order to receive points associated with their smart growth / smart energy consistency: 1. Public Works Economic Development Program (EOTPW) 2. Transit Oriented Development Bond Program (EOTPW) 3. Water Transportation Caoital Funding Program- (EOTPW) 4. Small Town Road Assistance Program- (EOTPW) 5. Communitv Development Action Grant Program (EOHED-DHCD) 6. Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation and Expansion (MORE) Jobs Capital Program- (EOHED-MOBD) . 7. State Revolving Fund (EOEEA - DEP) 8. LAND (formerlv Self-Help) Program (EOEEA- DCS) 9. PARC (formerly Urban Self Helo Program) (EOEEA - DCS) 10. Drinking Water Supply Protection Grant Program (EOEEA) 11. Coastal Pollutant Remediation Grant Program (EOEEA - CZM) 12. Alternative Energv Propertv Program- (EOEEA -DOER) 13. Municipal Sustainabilitv Grant Program (formerly.the Solid Waste Management & Recycling Technical Assistance & Regulatory Development Program) - (EOEEA- DEP) 14. Off-Street Parking Program (EOAF) How, to Apply: Grant applicants will continue to apply directly to each of the Commonwealth Capital programs. In addition, municipalities, need to apply annually for a Commonwealth Capital score. For FY 09, Commonwealth Capital applications will again be submitted electronically. The application and guidance to assist applicants can be found at http://www.mass.gov/commcai). As before, the application will be accessible via a log-in system. While anyone can visit the site and view the application each community has been assigned a usemame and password that will be required to submit a municipality's official application. A sheet containing the community's username and password, plus instructions on how to log-in and register has been enclosed with letters mailed to Chief Elected Officials. Note that local officials in more than 275 communities have already established individual passwords which remain effective. Each municipality will have one official application, but may have multiple users accessing it. The system will allow applicants to submit the application only once, although changes and updates may be requested later via e-mail. Timing: Communities should electronically submit their Commonwealth Capital applications for scoring by the due date.of the program to which they are applying. Exceptions are the LAND (formerly Self-Help) and PARC (formerly Urban Self-Help) programs for which program applications are due 7/15/08 and Commonwealth Capital applications a month later, 8/15/08. 9,~& Only one application is needed annually; the resulting score will be used for all Commonwealth Capital programs ' to which a community applies that year. If circumstances change and a community has earned additional points relevant information should be sent to commcap@rriassmail.state.ma.us. Criteria: Project proposals to any of the Commonwealth Capital grant and loan programs will be evaluated using two sets of criteria: • Prosram-Soecific Criteria: These criteria are related to the purpose of the particular program and evaluate the merits. of a proposed project against the housing, environmental, transportation, or other goals of that program. These criteria will account for 70% of the possible points for the grant and loan programs. • Commonwealth Capital Criteria: A community's Commonwealth Capital score is a measure of the consistency of a municipality's land use planning and regulatory practices with the Sustainable Development Principles. The Commonwealth Capital score will account for 30% of the possible points for the grant and loan programs. Communities are not required to submit a Commonwealth Capital application to be eligible for funding, but their proposals will be significantly less competitive without one. Results: A letter will sent to the Chief Elected Official or their designee once the review of a community's submission is complete. In addition, the score and application as approved will be posted on the Commonwealth Capital website. New for 2009: Modifications were made to this year's Commonwealth Capital application reflecting Patrick Administration priorities, "lessons learned," and feedback received from municipalities and other stakeholders. New criteria address clean energy, transportation, permitting, environmental equity, and regional planning. Changes were. also made to some of the existing criteria, so please read the guidance document carefully when completing the application. Like- the last application, many of the criteria will not require any documentation, with compliance verified through lists accessed through the on-line application. "Bonus" points may be earned for commitments implemented at any time since a community's 2008 application. As in 2008, commitment letters will not need to be signed by the various local boards as the password will serve as the signature of the Chief Elected Official. Financial and technical assistance to improve Commonwealth Capital scores: The Massachusetts Smart. Growth / Smart Energy Toolkit provides model bylaws, case studies, and other materials, municipalities can use to implement 22 different smart growth / smart energy techniques. In addition, funding is available through DHCD's Prioritv Development Fund for measures that will lead to housing production and technical assistance grants are available for implementation of expedited permitting measures pursuant to Chanter 43D. For More Information: Visit our website httD://www.mass.Lyov/commcaD Questions/Comments: Email: commcap@massmail.state.ma.us Call: (617) 626-4949 FISCAL YEAR 2009 COMMONWEALTH CAPITAL APPLICATION orr iffy: Contact Name: Title: Muni 1 0 k Date: Ad, reds: s°"` ` Email: i i h f ll i Phone: ter ow ng cr e o M:ncipal i cahf~wnlhii~e~d to ~irvide evidence of having met or made a binding commitment to t a. ' .x rvr,K .m~,~v~:~rtsr,a},:, O BcjPROIUI~QFE"LI1fABLE .OMM,UNITIESf!8c4P;t?ANt(EGIONA LYt~g~.cY" ~tFtaA t:; itt?a.a7,x1," a a,•+, PL'A'N I4 XIS,.~lrgKN1„ ..jRQ7,- m1-1 1 , 1 :1 urre6 (1 6 . Exe utfi le ©.rf'e'r ,,68 Cgiwunity Development Plan; OR 1 4 C.eiosi3g olgnD current DCS-approved Open Space and Recreation Plan; OR j M 3 k-,,-. Cyi `X 'fioustfi an OR current DCS-approved Open Space and Recreation Plan 1 or ❑ Open Space and Recreation Plan by December 31, 2009 1 ❑ Housing ❑ 418 t " ❑ Master I CoiW Aft to cola 14, 1 2 ❑ 2 , , , a. 1 b. I Funding o"re'gur;TVy actions implementing 2 specific Plan recommendations since July 1, 2006 1 ❑ 3 ❑ 1 2. Water'resouiceplan: Source Water Protectiorr,Water Conservation, ComorehensiveWastewater, orInMatedWater ResouiucManagement 1 ❑ 3 ❑ 1 or regulatory change to attain a regional or intergovernmental goat since July 1, 2006 provision of funding act or MOU tion of a com 3 E ❑ 3 -0 1 j , , p . xecu 4 I Adoption of the Community Preservation Act ❑ 4 ❑ 2 h0'RBt~R:M.IGQNGIiIiAD11z~PT[T NU M1~CD1${?6~~~~ 5. I Zoning for mixed-use in an applicable location ❑ 4 2 5a. I If mixed-use zoning is a DHCD approved 40R District or for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) ❑ 2 ❑ 1 15b. I Building permit issued for a mixed-use development since July 1, 2006. i ❑ 2 6. I Zoning for accessory dwelling units (ADU) i ❑ 3 ❑ 1 6a. I Occupancy permit issued for at least one accessory dwelling unit since July 1, 2006 ❑ 2 7. I Zoning allowing by-right multi-family dwellings (not age restricted) ❑ 3 ❑ 1 17a. I If zoning allows by-right multi-family dwellings of 4 or more units (not age restricted) ❑ 3 ❑ 1 18. 1 Zoning for clustered development / Open Space Residential Development {OSRD) ❑ 3 ❑ 1 18a. If cluster is mandated, by-right, or includes a density bonus 1 ❑ 2 ❑ 1 18b. A cluster development has been permitted since July 1 2006 ❑ 2 _ aq~ ND't r DU.a"~'.I~t~~~S.rP"4A~TT 1T~`Eu~.T, ~l'^'~' r~~~,.., ~~~~~~~.~~~`~.~~~~~'~'~~~~-{~,"~q~`•~`~~~~~~~'3,~x.-'-~r.~ 5~/~•.:.m:" 1f V.'~. R.£ ~~.aA ~ Y.~+4..h^...-4.~i r ~3~„ `:+~1' YNf;Lgi+^~9...~.T}. c 3d..~z... 9. I Zoning requiring the inclusion of affordable units (IZ) 1 ❑ 3 ❑ 1 19a. I Building permits issued for'affordable units under an inclusionary bylaw/ordinance since July 1, 2006 I ❑ 2 10. I Increased housing stock by 50-99% of state goal OR 3 100% or more of state goal 4 11. 166 % or more of new units produced using a listed smart growth technique ❑ 4 Attainment of Housing Production certification (.5% of housing units) OR 12 4 . Attainment of a Chapter 40B threshold j 13. I Production of housing units on municipal land or with municipal funding since July 1, 2006 El 3 ❑ 1 c~ S i16 NtG ~ i4SEfJY °`/aNd U NESS OtP Q ?Tl>=UMMEM- G N: AN, Si dEC b~1Ca ~ . . 14. I Redevelopment Strategy: (a) inventory, (b) remediation, revitalization, or reuse strategy, or (c) site planning ❑ 4 ❑ 2 15. Approved 43D Priority Development Site or provision of a (a) financial, or (b) regulatory redevelopment incentive 1 ❑ 4 ❑ 2 16. Adoption of permitting best practices y } j~s7i) ~i?l3 ~ 'A?3 N~l Af7 ixi,5 &'h'x i STEMS .i ix"'is;:°.': ..fY 'nY cuca.7~..u: s?7a1'4_i6l re ~ li3"F55 ":3! 4' v T A 4C~t w~ d'~ G~oSI' G~itLD NU2E ~ P ~T ❑ 3 ❑ 1 : . . • , a _~r. E . ~..,I ,.r. OR l 97 A i 4 rt c e ] 17. 115-25% of town area protected [by a Chapter 184-type restriction or I 25% or more of town area protected 5 18. 1 Land protected via a restriction or fee acquisition alone or with a land trust since July 1, 2006 ❑ 4 19. 1 Existence of an agricultural commission i ❑ 3 ❑ 1 20. ( Adoption of a Right-to-Farm bylaw/ordinance 1 ❑ 3 ❑ 1 Stewardship plan for a municipal forest 21. I ❑ 3 ❑ 1 I or natural forestry, u 22. 1 Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) or other zoning for agricultural, forestry, or resource conservation t f ❑ 3 ❑ 1 t, . . . t r-•.,,_ ;~{~x` Grxn? ~:z.. ti r~r°~ t ter u,?~ r '#u' t ip~ ,rz,yrg. r, u sr; e7 rYF ~Fyt~ 'S 1 En c F I MM 2~ M 5Upq URCES W1 ES A 7d1 i ` ~8 ) a ~ , . a US 4 Y r ~ or regulation that encourages the use of Low Impact Development (1,115) to address stormwater ordinance law tion of a b I Ado 23 ❑ 4 ❑ 2 , , y p . 24. 1 Implementation of the 2006 Massachusetts Water Conservation Standards 1 ❑ 4 ❑ 2 1 25. Implementation of energy efficiency measures ❑ 3 1 26. Production or purchase of renewable energy j ❑ 3 ❑ 1 Clean energy regulations or incentives 27 ❑ 3 ❑ 1 . 28. Regulations requiring or actions to facilitate bicycling and walking since July 1, 2006 ❑ 3 ❑ 1 129. 1 Regulations requiring or completion of a context sensitive transportation project since July 1, 2006 j ❑ 3 ❑ 1 30. Regulations requiring or implementation of innovative transportation measures since July 1 2006 ❑ 3 ❑ - -.u r 131. Actions that promote fair housing since July 1, 2006 ❑ 3 ❑ 1 1 32. Actions that promote environmental equity since July 1 2006 ❑ 3 ❑ 1 t "w"Y.?rdi•~ -.N 9 `C'"a 9Hf d~ uaY r.? --Zf i4i 5Y'1 T '~n~ f fiF cp' :1'.~ y, Ff%H~ tur{ 2.'~ r. 4 ME r IfiQ_MO„ E Se1S fAINAB E~UE E~OPM!ENT 11,1 1 U fliE 3 ,1{1N~,{ITP 1 Q 13O ~ a ?ms~ i0- 14 , VAIN 33 1Existence of or commitment to additional local measures or actions ❑ 2 ❑ 4 ❑ 6, ❑ 8 OR ❑ 10 BCSNUS 1 •POINT'FOR EVARY FI$:CAL YEAR 2008 COMMITMENT IMP,LEMENT~'D ! AL. `EXIST.ING, COMMIT,, AND BONUS POINTS'` MAXIMUM 11.40) T 6 '***N '9-D--za 9;JUL Patrick Schettini, Ph.D., Superintende Reading School Department E~'~~"e PUBLIC LIBRARY Dear Pat: July 18, 2008 Just a note to commend the fabulous team work of Facilities on several projects at the library! I can't say enough about how outstanding the work of the Facilities Department has been since Joe Huggins took the helm. There have been many dramatic and highly-visible improvements in the library under Joe's leadership, with the able and courteous assistance of Don Johnson. Joe was determined to fix the library roof that had been leaking for as long as anyone could remember, and he arranged to have the children's room ceiling and walls repaired from the damage the water had done. This turned out to be a very difficult problem and required numerous return visits by contractors and experts. No sooner would one section get fixed than another would leak and cause more problems that required remediation. It was additionally challenging to work around a 60-hour per week operation without interrupting services or programs - and the entire Facilities Department, including John Davis and Skip Mansfield, bent over backwards to accomplish the work during closed times, cleaning up as they went along for the next morning. As you and Mary know all too well, we've had several major crises here that could have proven disastrous, from air conditioning failure to elevator fire and breakdown, to a flooded basement, and a scourge of broken and vandalized windows. Joe, assisted by Don, both personally and as leaders of the Facilities team, have been there for us every step of the way, providing extra man power, good alternatives for public access and accommodation, and smart and responsible contractors when necessary. The quality and timeliness of the basement repairs stands out in my memory, but it's not the only occasion. I could site numerous examples - the stairways, meeting room, and children's ceiling have been painted; we have new carpeting in many areas, including the children's room and basement; and now we're getting windows repaired and replaced at last! What a fabulous crew! Thank you from all of us at the library, Ruth Urell, Director cc: Peter Hechenbleikner, Town Manager 64 MIDDLESEX AVENUE READING, MASSACHUSETTS 01867 TELEPHONE 781-944-0840 18 PPS 2* 45 L~C,~G s COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS -11--,' I EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NORTHEAST REGIONAL OFFICE 205B Lowell Street, Wilmington, MA 01887 • (978) 694-3200 DEVAL L. PATRICK IAN A. BOWLES Governor Secretary TIMOTHY P. MURRAY LAURIE BURT Lieutenant Governor Commissioner June 20, 2008 Ian A. Bowles, Secretary Executive Office of RE: Reading Energy & Environmental Affairs Reading Woods 100 Cambridge Street Jacob Way TOWN ®F READING Boston MA, 02114 EEA # 14252 JUL .0 3 E~ j Attn: MEPA Unit DEPARTMENT Dear Secretary Bowles: RUILD9NG The Massachusetts Department.: of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs; Division of.Energy Resources .(DOER) have reviewed the Expanded Environmental Notification.Form (EENF) submitted by Jacob Way LLC c/o National Development to demolish ;'.six buildings within an office and warehouse park formerly; occupied by Addison-Wesley L.pnginan in order to construct 202 housing units, 160. units of senior housing and assisted living facilities,_. 16 .townhouses, and 160,000 square feet of office space, and parking for 1,061 vehicles,on a 24.8 acre site in Reading (EEA# 14252). The mixed-use project is categorically included for.the preparation of an environmental impact report (EIR), and the proponent is requesting approval to submit a single environmental impact report (SEIR). The Department and EEA-DOER, provide the following comments. Stormwater Information in the EENF on the st6nnwater management system generally shows that the proposed drainage system would be in compliance with the Massachusetts stormwater management regulations (SMR). The Department requests that this information .be expanded in the EIR to confirm compliance with the SMR standards for water quality and quantity impacts and Reading's Storm Water Program under the NPDES Phase II Stormwater General Permit. Stormwater design plans should be at an easily readable scale that includes all proposed best management practices, total suspended solids, pre-treatment calculations for best management practices (BMPs) in the areas of higher potential pollutant load, and infiltration calculations. Information in the EIR should be sufficient to affirm that the sizing of the particle separators (i.e., Stormceptor) is adequate to provide the TSS removal rating used -in the calculations. It should be possible to review the calculations and stormwater , plan with supporting information on the stormwater performance standards to demonstrate that the stormwater system design provides adequate protection for wetland resources in conformance with the Stormwater regulations and NPDES permit. This information is available in alternate format. Call Donald M. Games, ADA Coordinator at 617-556-1057. TDD Service - 1-800-298-2207, http://www.mass.gov/dep • Fax (976) 694-3499 0 Printed on. Recycled Paper / Reading Woods EEA # 14252 The EIR also should provide information on measures, such as snow removal and disposal plans, program and the TSS removal efficiency that is expected. source controls and pollution prevention and information on the street sweeping Wastewater The EENF states that there is sufficient capacity in the existing collection system to accommodate the estimated 71,530 gpd of new wastewater flow from the Reading Woods project. Wastewater generated by the project will discharge into the 8-inch gravity sewer main in South Street to the Sturges pump station and into the MWRA system and ultimately to the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Facility. A sewer connection/extension permit is required from MassDEP because wastewater flow estimates for the project exceed the permit requirement of 50,000 gallons per day. MassDEP, in cooperation with MWRA and its member communities (including Boston), are implementing. a flow control program in the MWRA regional wastewater system, to remove extraneous clean water (e.g., infiltration/ inflow (I/1)) from the system. Routinely, MassDEP is requiring proponents that are adding significant new wastewater flow, (such as the Reading Woods project), to assist in the I/I reduction effort and to ensure that the additional wastewater flows are offset by the removal of I/I. .Currently, MassDEP is using 'a minimum 4:1 ratio for 1/1 removal to new wastewater flow added. This ratio may be increased if specific flow constrictions/overflows already exist in the sewershed to which the new flow is added. The proponent should therefore work with the town and consult with MassDEP on this issue. Assuming that a 4:1 ratio is utilized, the proponent will need to remove, 'or cause to be removed,286,120 gpd of UI. The EENF proposes to align I/I mitigation commitments with construction permits for individual buildings. Details and estimated scheduling for I/I mitigation implementation should be presented in the E1R. Greenhouse Gas Emissions This project requires an environmental impact report and a Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD) access permit; therefore, the project is subject to the MEPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Policy and Protocol. The EENF included a GHG analysis, using the EQUEST model to compute direct and indirect CO2 emissions from stationary sources and the USEPA's COMMUTER model Version 2 to estimate changes in CO2 emissions due to roadway mitigation and traffic demand management measures. The final project is estimated to generate 1,9996.9 tons per year of CO2 emissions from stationary sources and 24,626.6 tons per year of CO2 emissions from transportation-related sources. This reflects a reduction from the base case CO2 emissions for direct and indirect stationary sources of about 5.1 percent total, and 0.2 percent from transportation-related sources. The total CO2 reduction from the base case is estimated at 0.6 percent. A project at this early stage of development provides a multitude of opportunities for designing buildings and transportation management measures that reduce energy consumption and substitute renewable energy sources for fossil fuel sources. MassDEP/EEA-DOER believes 2 Reading Woods EEA # 14252 green developments are a smart financial investment. With a growing market demand for facilities that have reduced carbon footprints, rents are being driven higher for the US Building Council's Leadership in. Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings and Energy Star buildings than rents for less energy-efficient buildings, and occupancy rates are reported to be higher too by the CoStar Group', which released a study on rents, sales, and occupancy for energy efficient buildings in their commercial property database. In a study from the New Buildings Institute (NBI), it was reported that building performance averages are 25-30 percent more efficient for LEED certified buildings than non- LEED buildings, and gold-platinum LEED rated buildings are 45 percent better than the national average, which approaches the interim .goals of Architecture 2030, (a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing GHG emissions by changing the way developments are planned, designed, and constructed): The NBI study also shows a good correlation between modeled and actual building, performance, providing assurances to developers and regulators that these measures will be effective. Additional information on energy,efficiency/renewable rating systems is available at a number of websites including: http://www.buildinQareen.com/. httb://enerQvstar.Qov/, www.architecture2030.ora/. For new construction, core and shell, and commercial interiors relating to LEED certified buildings, }reformation is available. on the , following ; website:. httD://www.usLtbc.ora/DistilavPave.asnx?CMSPdQeID=222. In addition, 'for a Massachusetts perspective, consultation with green building experts can be obtained through the Green Building Roundtable: htte://www.%zreenroundtable.or2, located in Boston. Although it is unnecessary to provide a. complete technological and financial analysis of all GHG reduction mitigation measures, it wi11 benefit the proponent' to use functional and quantitative analyses and mock ups to assess feasible greenhouse gas reduction measures for the project :type, starting with measures that offer the greatest energy reductions, . and then considering opportunities to improve ongoing operations. These assessments should either lead to commitments to adopt the LEED and/or Energy Star elements, or the EIR should do a credible job in explaining why a particular efficiency or . green power generation component is impracticable. Since there is, for example,, no demonstration in the EENF that it would be technically infeasible or cost prohibitive.. to incorporate solar. (photovoltaic) power on-site to generate energy for some of the building's functions, -the EIR should. consider the feasibility of implementing alternative energy sources forthe project. The following websites are recommended for additional information on feasibility and life cycle cost analyses relating to PV and combined heat and power (CHP) district energy systems: the USEPA Combined Heat and Power Application Center, httb://www.el)a.~ov/chD, RETScreen® International httD://www.retsereen.net/anL,/home.ehD. and. the International District Energy Association (IDEA), www.districtenerRv.ora. Even if on-site power generation is not feasible, many projects now routinely commit to orienting and designing buildings for energy efficiency, and this project has proposed to incorporate energy efficient exterior lighting, increased insulation, energy efficient windows, and high-albedo roofing materials. Additional information and other energy efficient measures, as The full study can be viewed at the CoStar Group Inc. website: http://www.costar.com/news/Article.asnx?id=D968FIEODCF73712BO3AO99EOE99C679. CoStar Group Inc. is an information services organization serving commercial real estate in the United States and the United Kingdom. 8~3 Reading Woods EEA # 14252 explained below, also need further- consideration. Additional information on building design energy reduction measures and standards is available on many websites, including the following: htt-o://www.eere.enerav.2ov/, htti)://www.nahb.ora.www.sbicouncil.org, httn://www.aceee.ors, httn://www.ashrae.ora/, httn://www.coolroofs.ori4/ and htti)://www.oml.aov. Consistent with the GHG Policy the EENF has considered but does not appear to have modeled a mitigation alternative that would result in greater GHG reductions than the preferred alternative. Alternatives with greater energy efficiencies allow an understanding of potential opportunities for energy savings achievable by varying building design and layout strategies. Energy efficient techniques not selected should be'thoughtfully explained to demonstrate that the alternative selected has avoided, minimized, and mitigated CO2 emissions adequately. The Division of Energy Resources (DOER) reviewed the EENF and notes that the project proponent correctly used the code compliant condition as the baseline for the Build Condition, per the MEPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Policy and Protocol. However, the projected reductions in CO2 emissions seem to be minimal from the Build Condition to the Full Build with Improvements condition (106.7 tons of :C02/year, or about 5. percent reduction). Recognizing that the project is in the early stages of development with many specific building design aspects yet to be determined, it would be expected that further CO2 reductions would be projected with more detailed designs. As the project moves forward, it is recommended that the project proponent contact the New Construction division of its natural gas provider, National Grid, and its municipal electric utility provider in Reading to take advantage of any potential rebates available for the installation of highly energy efficient equipment. The EENF has provided some information regarding worthwhile mitigation measures for building design and operation at this early stage of development. In particular, the. proponent is commended for maximizing interior:. daylighting, incorporating window glazing, and incorporating motion sensors and lighting and climate control into the project, appropriately noting their energy savings benefits in. Table 4b-2. However, additional measures must be considered and supporting information must be provided to evaluate whether or not greater energy reductions can be reasonably achieved. DOER has identified several measures worthy of consideration in the subsequent filing, and adoption into the project, where feasible, as detailed below. In the event that the proponent is not able to adopt one of these measures, the subsequent filing must provide technical and cost analyses to document the rationale for not making a commitment to a mitigation recommendation. Buildina Orientation: It is unclear in Table 4b-2 of the EENF if the buildings will be oriented to minimize energy use. The EIR needs to explain clearly how the buildings will be oriented, taking into consideration expected impacts on energy usage. High-Efficienev HVAC Svstems and Boiler units - No information was provided regarding the HVAC and heating systems for the different building. The EIR needs to provide information on the HVAC system(s), including the heating systems for all of the building types. Table 4b-2 of the EENF notes the potential for additional first costs with highly efficient systems, but it should be noted that more efficient units provide definite economic benefits over the life of the system. Fdq 4 Reading Woods EEA # 14252 Energy Efficient Lighting - The EENF notes that the project will evaluate incorporating efficient lighting such as fluorescent, metal halide or high-pressure sodium light sources for the exterior spaces. The EIR should provide the results of this evaluation and justification for any proposed alternatives. The EENF does not mention any efficiency measures related to interior lighting. For living spaces such as the townhomes, apartments and senior housing, compact fluorescent lighting fixtures should be provided. For common areas such as hallways or similar lighting used 24/7, compact fluorescent sconces may be most appropriate - these fixtures also reduce the need for frequent bulb replacements. For the office spaces, enhanced "super" T8 and/or T5 fixtures, combined with current generation light/motion sensors should be installed. Lighting sensors are particular appropriate for little-used spaces. such as supply storage and utility rooms. Duct Insulation - The EENF does not mention duct insulation. The subsequent filing should note that beyond code compliant duct insulation', construction would reflect that all ducts would be sealed with mastic, tested and then insulated, since duct leakage can be a major factor in energy fosses. Third Party Building Commissioning It is unclear in Table 0-2. if third party building commissioning will be incorporated into the. project..- The MA Code: requires building commissioning, but it should be performed by a.third.party to ensure the commissioning.process is thorough and energy performance of the building is maximized. The table indicates that there could be.increased soft costs and additional scheduling/coordination required, but immediateand. long-term. benefits of third-part commissioning exceed these potential minor issues. The' Elk should clearly note that third party building commissioning would be conducted. Building Enerav Management Systems - It. is . unclear in Table 4b-2 if ongoing tracking of energy performance of the building will`; be incorporated into the project. To ensure that the energy. systems fimction as designed long term, a strategy should be developed for monitoring energy performance of all buildings wher"e the energy systems are centrally controlled, possible through a building management system. A system for monitoring energy performance would be expected to pay for itself by eliminating potential. inefficient building energy operations, such as simultaneous operation of heating and cooling systems in January. The EIR should clearly note if these strategies -would be implemented.:' Roof and Wall Insulation - The EENF notes that "super" insulation will be incorporated into the. project. The EM should note. specifically what R-value will be used for the insulation. In general, insulation is very cost effective, and contributes' significantly towards a building envelope that has the potential to yield the largest energy savings for building operations. Incomorate on-site renewable enerav sources into moiects - Table 4b-2 also notes that some onsite renewable technologies may not be cost effective, but the EIR will need to show, at least that consideration has been. given fully to these technologies. At a minimum, buildings should be oriented and roofs should be constructed to support the added weight of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system for potential installation during project construction or at a future date. The project is commended for incorporating high-albedo'roof materials into the project. It should be noted that'a rooftop PV system operates even more efficiently, due to added reflectivity with high- albedo roofs. Considering the support of subsidies through the Commonwealth Solar and RPS 5 gG r . Reading Woods EEA # 14252 programs, a life-cycle cost analysis should be done to evaluate -the installation of a PV system during project construction under two scenarios: 1) construction, ownership and operation of a PV system by the building owner; or 2) construction, ownership, and operation of a PV system by a third party that will then enter into a long-term power purchase agreement with the building owner for the electricity produced by the system. If neither of these scenarios is economically feasible at this time, the project should continue to consider the opportunity for installing PV at a future date and state their willingness to host a third-party owned PV array under a favorable power purchase agreement. .Other renewable technologies that should be considered are biomass or geothermal central heating and cooling for the apartment buildings and senior housing units. Both can provide significant reductions. in greenhouse gas emissions over traditional systems, as well as greater efficiencies- and savings in building space. Assess District Heating and Cooling for Development - The mixed-use nature of this development. could provide a .good opportunity for a centralized heating and cooling plant. A centralized heating and cooling plant can provide hot and chilled water through distribution pipes to serve the full thermal loads of the entire development.. This approach has been shown to significantly reduce the GHG emissions compared to individual boilers/chillers in each building and residential unit, and provides additional benefits in terms 'of operations and maintenance, fuel flexibility, and increased usable building space. The central thermal plant might be fueled by natural gas or biomass. The project proponents should evaluate this.energy approach for its GHG emission benefits and economic feasibility. Although the main sources of GHG associated with this proposed project include building heating and cooling, lighting, and vehicle gavel to and from the proposed development, the energy required to provide potable water and treat wastewater also will be a source of GHG. To gain an understating of the correlation between water/wastewater volumes and energy use requirements, MassDEP has considered major utilities in the state and reviewed relevant research: For example, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) estimates the average energy cost wastewater treatment at their Deer Island facility is 1.2 - 1.4 kWh/kga1. Similarly, a study of wastewater treatment plants in Wisconsin found that 1.5 kWlVkgal was required to treat wastewater in that state's wastewater treatment plants. This proposed development will generate approximately, 71,350 gallons of wastewater per day or approximately 26,042,750 million gallons per year. . Using an average energy cost of 1.3 kWlVkgal the project will require approximately 33856 kWh over the course of a year. The project proponent should consider this additional energy use when proposing measures to mitigate the additional GHG emissions that will result from treating wastewater from. this proposed project. In addition, the MWRA estimates that treating and transporting drinking water at their John Carrol Water Treatment Plant requires 0.14 to 0.23 kVAAgal. This. is slightly less than the estimated 0.3 kWh/kgal required to treat and transport drinking water at the Worcester Water Filtration facility. As noted in the EENF, the proposed project will require 78,680 gallons of potable water per day, or 28,718,200 gallons per year. Using energy costs of about 0.2 kWlAgal, approximately 5,743.6 kWh kWh will be required to supply the proposed project with potable water annually. As with wastewater, the project proponent should consider this additional energy use lS~ 6 Reading Woods EEA # 14252 when proposing measures to mitigate the additional GHG emissions that will result from providing potable water for this proposed project. Mitigation measures for water and wastewater may include improvements to the distribution systems for the public water supply to eliminate un-accounted for water losses and. infiltration and inflow (1/I) removal from sewer mains, in addition to water conservation measures. In summary, the EIR needs to show that the preferred alternative would achieve significant reductions in GHG emissions with building designs, selection of building materials, and water and sewer infrastructure upgrades and efficiencies that reduce and/or offset the fossil fuel energy demand of the project. Revised GHG emissions modeling for this project should include for reconsideration the mitigation measures identified herein, in order to. quantify the additional emissions reductions that are potentially achievable. In the event that the proponent is not able to adopt any of these measures, the.EIR should provide technical and cost analyses to document the rationale for not making a commitment to .a mitigation recommendation. Construction and Demolition Waste Reduction The project includes demolition and reconstruction, which will generate a significant amount of construction; and demolition (C&D) waste. Although the EENF has not made a commitment to recycling construction debris, MassDEP requires C&D recycling activities to be incorporated as a.sustainable measure for the project. The project proponent is advised that demolition activities must comply with both Solid Waste and Air Pollution Control regulations, pursuant ,.to M.G.L. Chapter 40, Section 54, which provides: Every city or town shall require, as a. condition of . issuing a building permit or license for the demolition,. renovation, rehabilitation or other alteration of a building or structure, that the debris resulting from such demolition, renovation, rehabilitation or alteration be disposed of in a properly licensed solid waste disposal facility, as defined by Section one hundred and fifty A of Chapter one hundred and eleven. Any such permit or license shall indicate the location of the facility at which the debris, is to be disposed. If for any reason, the debris will not be disposed as indicated, the permittee or licensee shall notify the issuing authority as to the location where the debris will be disposed. The issuing authority shall amend the permit or license to so indicate. For purposes of implementing the requirements of M.G.L. Chapter 40, Section 54, MassDEP considers an asphalt, brick, and concrete (ABC). rabble processing or recycling facility, pursuant to the provisions of section (3) of 310 CMR 16.05 Site Assignment Regulations for Solid Waste Management Facilities, to be conditionally exempt from the site assignment requirements if the ABC rubble at such facilities is separated at the point of generation from other solid waste materials. Under 310 CMR 16.05(3), ABC can be crushed on-site with just a 30-day notification to MassDEP. However, the asphalt is limited to weathered bituminous concrete (no roofing asphalt) and the brick and concrete must be uncoated or not impregnated with materials such as roofing epoxy. If the brick and concrete are not clean, e.g., coated and/or impregnated, the material is defined as construction and demolition (C&D) waste and requires. either a Beneficial Use Determination (BUD) or a Site Assignment and permit before it can be crushed. ~ 6P 7 Reading Woods EEA # 14252 Pursuant to the requirements of 310 CMR 7.02 of the Air Pollution Control Regulations, if the ABC crushing activities are projected to result in the emission of one ton or more of particulate matter to the ambient air per year and/or if the crushing equipment employs a diesel oil fired engine with an energy input capacity of three million or more British thermal units per hour for either mechanical or electrical power which will remain on-site for twelve or more months, then a plan application must be submitted to MassDEP for written approval prior to installation and operation of the crushing equipment. In addition, if it appears that significant portions of the. demolition project contain asbestos, the project proponent is advised that asbestos and asbestos-containing waste material are a special waste as defined in the Solid Waste Management regulations (310 CMR .19.061). Asbestos removal notification on permit form ANF 001 and building demolition notification on permit form AQ06 must be submitted to MassDEP at least 10 working days prior to initiating work. Except for vinyl asbestos file (VAT) and asphaltic-asbestos felt and shingles, the disposal of asbestos containing materials within the Commonwealth must be at a facility specifically approved by MassDEP (310 CMR 19.061). No asbestos containing material including . VAT, and/or asphaltic-asbestos felts or shingles may be disposed at a facility operating as a recycling facility, (310 CMR 16.05). The disposal of the asbestos containing materials outside the jurisdictional boundaries of the Commonwealth must comply with all the-. "applicable laws and regulations of the state receiving the material. The demolition activity also must conform to. current Massachusetts Air Pollution Control Regulations governing nuisance ;conditions at 310 CMR 7.01, 7.09 and 7.10. As such, the proponent should propose measures:to alleviate dust, noise, and odor nuisance conditions, which may occur during the demolition. MassDEP must be notified in writing, at least 10 days in advance of removing any asbestos. MassDEP also must, be notified in writing, at least 10 days prior to any demolition work. The removal of asbestos from the buildings must adhere to the special safeguards defined in the Air Pollution Control Regulations (310 CMR 7.15 (2)): Materials Management MassDEP commends the applicant for recognizing the importance of materials management within its EENF filing for the Reading Woods project. In order to address GHG emissions related to materials management in the EIR., MassDEP requests that the applicant quantify the GHG impacts of materials management for the project development and projected future operation. By quantifying these impacts, the applicant's GHG mitigation efforts related to materials management can be more clearly identified and targeted appropriately. MassDEP seeks quantification to help guide changes in the project, which, provide a comprehensive approach to materials management throughout the design, construction, and operational phases of the project. There are a number of resources available to help quantify GHG impacts associated with efficient materials management, including the USEPA Warm Model, available at the following website: htti)://ww.w.ena.jaov/climatechanQe/wvcd/waste/calculators/Warm horne.html,, and the Building Reuse Calculator at: httT)://www.wastematch.orQ/calculator/calculator.htm. During the design phase, MassDEP requests the applicant address waste reduction, environmentally preferable materials use, and the need to design for the storage and collection of gd~~ Reading Woods EEA # 14252 recyclables. In order to plan for waste reduction, the applicant should consider implemeriting a waste prevention purchasing policy, which may include management options for reducing shipping and packaging materials, and if necessary, managing excess materials through unused product return or donation. MassDEP also requests that the EIR provide the following information: • a list of the environmentally preferred products to be used, • the- GHG impacts of using these materials, and • an explanation for why an expanded commitment to use additional EPP materials (including on-site use of demolition materials, regionally produced materials, recycled content materials) is not applicable or cannot be confirmed. MassDEP appreciates that the applicant will be providing for the storage and collection of recyclables, but requests that more specific information be. provided on the square footage of the proposed storage area and the types of materials expected-.to be stored and recycled. The EIR should, at a minimum, demonstrate that the storage area would be sufficient to manage waste materials currently prohibited from disposal. in Massachusetts: A. list of these materials can be found on the MassDEP website: httu://.wNw'..imass:>rov/den/recycle/solid/reas02Ol.htin,. In addition, MassDEP requests that the appl cantidentifylow hazatdoius`materials. generated during facilities' operations, e.g., spent fluorescent bulbs, lubricants; waste oil, and other hazardous materials, would be managed and stored. During the construction phase,. MassDEP - recommends.. that the applicant's material management efforts focus. on material reused and recycling. MassDEP requests the applicant commit to developing a construction waste management plan . that fully complies with the Massachusetts Waste Bans and establishes a- Iinimum.reuse/recycling goal of 50 percent. The Department has demonstrated through pilot construction projects that this planning results in significant reductions in waste and cost savings for developers. Information and resources to assist in the development and implementation of a'construction management 'plan can be found at httb://www. mass. uov/den/reevcle/reduce/manaaina.'htrh4Dro'i ect. In the operations phase, the applicant. should'' develop and 'implement a * waste management plan to ensure compliance with the MassDEP Waste Bans: The Department'offers resources to assist in this area including planning tools, contracting language, and lists of service providers (httn://www.mass.aov/den/reevcle/reduce/assistan.htm#reduce). The waste management plan should establish a target-recycling goal of more than 50 percent. This level of recycling has been achieved consistently in similar projects with demonstrated operational cost savings and capital asset appreciation benefits. Construction Period Air Quality MassDEP recommends that the project proponent participate in the MassDEP Diesel Retrofit Program to mitigate the construction-period impacts of diesel emissions. to the maximum extent feasible.. Diesel emissions contain tine particulate matter 2.5 microns or less in diameter (PM2.5), which has been found to exacerbate a number of heath conditions, such as..asthma and respiratory ailments. PM2.5 also contributes to lung damage and has been identified as a likely carcinogen. 9 ~dc Reading Woods EEA # 14252 MassDEP staff is available to work with the project proponent to implement construction-period diesel emission mitigation, which could include the installation of after- engine emission controls such as diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) or diesel particulate filters (DPFs). For more information on these technologies, see: httb`//www.eoa.aov/otao/retrofit/verif- list.htm. . In addition, MassDEP reminds the project proponent that off-road equipment engines must use low sulfur diesel (LSD) fuel as of July 2007, as required by a 2004 regulation issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. On-road LSD fuel has a salfut content of approximately 500 parts per million (ppm) in contrast to the 3,000 ppm sulfur level of current off-road diesel fuel. The use of LSD fuel, in conjunction with after-engine emission controls, can reduce PM2,5 by an additional 25 percent beyond that obtainable with after-engine controls only. Project proponents may also use on-road ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel, which has a sulfur content of 15 ppm. The MassDEP and EEA-DOER appreciate the opportunity to comment on this proposed project. Please contact Jack Zajac (978.) 6,94-3240 for-further information on the wastewater issues. For further information on stationary source GHG issues, please contact Meg Lusardi at (617) 727- 4732 k40164. If you have any general questions regarding these comments, please contact Nancy Baker, MEPA Review Coordinator at.(97$) 694-3338. Sincerely, hn D. Viola Deputy Regional Director cc: Brona Simon, Massachusetts Historical Commission Meg Lusardi, Gerry Bingham, EEA-DOER Phil Weinberg, Nancy Seidman, John Felix, Christine Kirby, Greg Cooper, MassDEP- Boston . Kevin Brander, Jack Zajac MassDEP-NERD Fran Fink, Town of Reading Conservation Commission 10 G~ F .tl s Timothy P. Cahill Treasurer and Receiver General Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of the State Treasurer Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission 239 Causeway Street Boston, MA 02114 Telephone: (617) 727-3040 Fax: (617) 727-1258 Notice of Hearing Busa's Reading Liquors, Inc. d.b.a. Busa's Reading Liquors 345 Main Street Reading, MA 01867 L(C.~'s C I NV cAlti/ ZM8 JUI. -3 RR~ t1 ~ ,0n n5 . V V' pov 0 tt'.0 C- 14-7 C. LL Eddie J. Jenkins Chairman You are hereby notified that a hearing will be held by the Commission at 239 Causeway Street, Vt Floor Boston, MA on: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 11:30 A.M. APPEAL FROM THE ACTION OF THE LICENSING BOARD OF THE TOWN OF READING IN SUSPENDING THE LICENSE OF BUSA'S READING LIQUORS, INC. D.B.A. BUSA'S READING LIQUORS FOR A PERIOD OF 2 DAYS AND PLACEMENT OF A PLACARD ON THE PREMISES DURING THE SUSPENSION PERIOD. Hearings are held pursuant to M.G.L. Ch.-138, Ch. 30A and 801 Code of Massachusetts Regulations, §1.02 and §1.03. You may appear on your own behalf or with your attorney. Hearings are tape-recorded. Pursuant to M.G.L. Ch.30A, §11 (6) written transcripts will be furnished, if requested, in writing with tender of payment. You may arrange for your own stenographer. Reports, if any, concerning the violations charged may be examined and copied at the Commission's office. All motions regarding this matter are requested to be filed with the Commission at'least fourteen '(14) days prior to the day of hearing. A copy of any motion filed with the Commission shall be served on any opposing party at the time of the filing of the motion with the Commission. NOTE: It is important that licensees and those interested in this matter attend the hearing to present evidence and testimony. The Commission, in some cases, has the power to suspend, modify, revoke or cancel licenses. You are further notified that all parties and/or Weircounsel are required to submit a joint pre-hearing memorandum to the Commission within twenty (20) days of receipt of this notice. The pre-hearing memorandum must be submitted in hard copy. The pre-hearing memorandum must be signed by all of the parties and/or their counsel and contain the following: 1) agreed upon issues of fact to be submitted to the ABCC on the record of the hearing 2) contested issues of facts and the position of the parties on those issues of facts 3) agreed issues of law 4) contested issues of law and the positions of the parties on those issues 5) the name and address of each witness to be called by each party / g-z r ! 6) a summary of the facts to which each witness is anticipated to testify 7) exhibits the parties agree may be introduced at trial (marked with sequential numbers for the appellant/petitioner/licensee/taxpayer group and with sequential letters for the appellee/respondent/Local Board/licensee). 8) the name, addresses and qualifications of each expert and the matter on which the expert is expected to testify, the substance of all facts and opinions to which the expert is expected to testify, and a detailed summary of the grounds of each expert's opinion. The failure to list in the pre-hearing memorandum a witness or exhibit, other than a rebuttal witness or exhibit, the need for which cannot reasonably be anticipated prior to hearing, may lead to a Commission order precluding the introduction at hearing of the omitted testimony or exhibit. Greater specificity or supplementation of the pre-hearing memorandum may be required by the Commission. A continuance must be requested in writing to the Commission no less then three (3)-business days prior to the hearing date. The party requesting the continuance must notify all parties (if more than one) involved. All parties. must agree for the continuance to be approved. Dated at Boston, Massachusetts this 1" day o y 2008. EJJ/jf cc: Lynn Licensing Board Michael E. Rubin, Esq. File W.L2" S `'SUCH ~ o oyy~ Dear Chief Elected Official, W W W.SLOW-GROWTH.ORG P-O. BOX 2375 • ACTON, MA 01720 6 6 f~rrscir~°vlcies~r a~` Ae~;f~re~reseicf wif~rv~rfcvrvisi~~~ fie adlli of f~hrree~era vyrs fry ,c~ee~fLir vwh r~eeas, ' 9 The Norwell Board of Selectmen recently wrote the Governor, identifying 40B as a "pro-developer, anti-community character, anti-home rule weapon," and that towns have no fair chance at upholding their interests when the state housing appeals committee "is an agency run amok, drunk with its own powers and authority, acting without thought to established law, precedent or common sense." To demonstrate their exasperation, residents of Norwell launched a modern "tea party," sending tea bags to the Governor with messages supporting an overhaul of Chapter 40B. The Norwell Selectmen have it right and other communities are beginning to take notice. Marshfield Selectmen were quick to officially join the "40B Tea Party" campaign. Now is the time for you to take action! The Town of Walpole received the endorsement of 46 communities in a 40B moratorium request. The Municipal Coalition for Affordable Housing, the nonprofit organization advocating local control, has already garnered support from 53 municipalities and the grassroots citizen group, the Coalition to Repeal 40B collected 70,000 resident signatures from 316 of the Commonwealth's 351 cities and towns! As we enter yet another year characterized by higher tax burdens and reduced or strained services, we should be reminding ourselves that excessive growth must be stopped in order to help regain control of municipal and state finances. When communities allow state-led dense developments into their municipalities with almost no scrutiny or fail to demand impact studies, they are allowing these projects to strain municipal budgets and erode the environment and character of their community while adding negligible amounts of affordable housing. For example, 40B projects: 1) focus on new construction to the detriment of more successful and efficient redevelopment plans; 2) absorb the lion's share of state housing funding, obstructing more successful alternatives; 3) target affordable housing construction in the wrong locations; 4) undermine home rule; 5) obstruct all planning; 6) construct mostly market-rate units that strain local services; and 7) drive up land prices, making all housing less affordable. We all recognize that the state has developed 40B regulations that undermine municipal power. That does not mean that you have no options. The former chief legal counsel of the Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) wrote recently that the DHCD grossly overreaches its powers in controlling 40B. The DHCD is a state department without legislative rights and is a prime example of the state overstepping its power by promulgating regulations that undermine home rule and that are likely unlawful. Both the Inspector General and the Legislature have discovered egregious cases of 40B abuse and fraud. The 2007 case of the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency withdrawing their support of a 40B development in the town of Sharon due to the lack of verifiable financial data indicates that there is sufficient legal precedent for your board to resist requests for 40B variances unless financial disclosures demonstrate a real need for the exaggerated density being requested. Unless an audit has concluded that your requests conclusively make the project "uneconomic," you are encouraged to request concessions by the developer to be able to work within existing town zoning laws. We strongly urge you to exercise your rights and resist ill-conceived and unnecessary development by reducing the density of 40B proposals by rejecting unnecessary market-rate units. If you do not think these actions are worth your time and effort, consider the admonition of the State Inspector General. After lengthy investigations, the Inspector General has uncovered widespread and consistent abuse of THE SLOW GROWTH INITIATIVE IS A DIVI.SION O THE VIEW 'k.T,1GLA.[,tD C(;;ALITION F(DR SUSTAINABLE P(:)PULATJ(_,-)'T V Chapter 40B. The Inspector General is so concerned about onQoina abuse that he is urainia all Massachusetts communities that house 40B developments to thoroughly scrutinize project finances. Communities that don't uphold their rights to scrutinize projects "put themselves at financial risk," he said according to a December 11, 2007 report. In fact, it is not even necessary to examine the specific project finances. It is very clear that additional affordable units are certainly profitable and that variances for additional market-rate units above normal zoning are completely unwarranted and should be rejected. Consider these facts: • Every major growth study indicates that each additional housing unit built costs the town between $30,000 and $80,000 more than taxes and fees collected. Many towns have already been built out, yet the state will still try to force additional construction. Despite Massachusetts's stable population, the state recommends that at least 18,000 new units of housing be built in the next decade alone! These plans will continue to force construction on marginal land located in mostly suburban communities around the Commonwealth. • 75%-80% of 40B projects are market-rate housing with the bare minimum number of affordable units. This practice guarantees constant new construction with no real gains in affordability. Excess market-rate units add no value to your community; in fact they contribute to chronic destabilization of municipal finances. • Even a conservative estimate shows staggering financial losses for municipalities due to forced market-rate unit construction under 40B. You must exercise every available option to protect against these financial burdens. It makes no sense to allow additional market-rate growth that adds more pressure on town services while we're cutting teachers, firefighters, police and town services. There is no question that every local official should represent the financial interests of their communities as robustly as Norwell officials have. Now is the time to act. Join the many other diverse communities who are standing up for home rule, legitimate planning and a sustainable economy. It is critical to realize the financial and non-financial benefits of limiting unnecessary growth and enjoying the significant benefits of policies that promote economic health and stabilization. To that end, we will continue to support your community's home rule rights to maintain and preserve your municipality by upholding local zoning standards. Despite bullying by the 40B industry, important precedents exist that encourage and uphold resistance by local boards to oppose excess market-rate units that override local zoning guidelines. Failure to protect the integrity of local planning has had devastating consequences across the Commonwealth. The long-term financial stability of almost every community is now at risk. Stability will never be realized unless local officials assert themselves against outside pressure from the state. The good news is that you are not alone in your concerns. Cities and towns and diverse residents from across the Commonwealth are working to stop the abuse. In 1773, Massachusetts residents fed up with the burdens and abuses of their government dumped tea into Boston Harbor. This was a watershed moment marking the occasion when citizens became exasperated after reaching the end of their collective patience. In 1773, Boston witnessed the dumping of tea. In 2008, it is time to dump 40B. Requested Action Items: • Write a letter to the Governor in support of the actions of the Norwell Selectmen and demand that he stop the abuse by exercising his authority to replace DHCD Director Brooks. Don't forget to include the enclosed tea bag! Send a copy to the Norwell Selectmen, c/o Chairman John Mariano, 345 Main Street, P.O. Box 295, Norwell, MA 02061. • Visit our website to read the Norwell letter in its entirety: www.slow-growth.org/norwell. The page includes information relating to DHCD abuses and recent 40B regulatory changes that should be shared with the Governor. rD _a~'t L k ( CAROL KOWALSKI Town of Reading Community Services Director/ Town Planner 16 Lowell Street Phone: 781.942.6612 Reading, MA 01867-2683 Fax: 781.942-9071 ckowalski@ci.reading.ma.us MEMORANDUM TO: Town Manager, Board of Selectmen, Zoning Board of Appeals, Economic Development Committee, Chamber of Commerce FROM: Community Planning & Development Commission DATE: July 8, 2008 RE: South Main Street Design Guidelines The. Reading Community Planning & Development Commission (CPDC), at the request of the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen, met in Planning Workshops on May 6, May 27, June 9, and June 23, to develop Design Guidelines for Main Street south of the downtown area. This memorandum summarizes the CPDC's approach and seeks input from associated boards at your earliest convenience as the CPDC prepares to delve ffirther into this task. Approach The CPDC identified three commercial areas along south Main Street, requiring different design approaches as follows; South Street to Summer Avenue, as the gateway to Reading, or "superblock", should have improved functionality of the street. Development should be more pedestrian-friendly in concert with the form and function of the buildings. Planning should occur from the sidewalk edges out, with development closer to the street. Knollwood to Minot can accommodate more flexible design, but the zoning would be pushed closer to the lot lines. Minot.Street to Washington Street is "south downtown," incorporating some design aspects of Reading Square allowing for a transition to different massing and site development. Zoning Regardless of design guidelines, current Reading zoning requirements limit opportunities for improved redevelopment of South Main Street. The businesses district boundary bisects parcels, restricting the residential part of the lots to parking (30'into the residential portion). Setback reauirements. especially the 50' front yard requirement, forces parking toward the front, making it impossible to bring buildings closer to the street. Building neat the street is a component of more pedestrian-friendly, dynamic, attractive business development. Mixed use is not allowed in Business A (south Main Street). The CPDC will continue to assess possible zoning changes as it pursues design guidelines C. V Design The CPDC is considering appropriate types of design guidance for site and public way amenities, as well as building scale, massing, fenestration, parking layout and access, and signage. More detailed design guidance will follow (for example, materials). For South Street to Summer Avenue, the CPDC is considering a building layout pattern as shown on the attached sketch that would encourage shared parking in the rear of lots, with zero side- yard setbacks, and would limit continuous fagade lengths in order to maintain a north/south building orientation. Action The CPDC would like your input on the South Main Street Design Guidelines now and at future intervals as the Commission pursues this work. Please direct written comments, questions, or concerns at your earliest convenience through the Town Planner, ckowalskiaci.readina.ma.us . EDC Work Economic Development Committee members have attended recent CPDC Planning Workshops on the South Main Street Design Guidelines. CPDC appreciates the EDC's commitment to, and involvement in this process, and welcomes input based on the EDC's work. 2 U Y C ~5ION A,C,VION 0 ~jjjotDS 5AT5 t VV 5 jAOAJ ~~55 LYsis GENTE~ FOR P A SA NH S S ~NIU~.RSIT~~ r~ r UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS DARTMOUTH CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Policy Analysis is a multidisciplinary research unit that promotes economic, social, and political development by providing research and technical assistance to client organizations. The Center for Policy Analysis offers custom designed research and technical analysis in the areas of economic development, public management, program evaluation and polling research for government agencies, non-profit organizations, private businesses, and educational institutions, The Center for Policy Analysis strives to erode the walls between research and teaching by training students in the techniques of applied social science and by conducting university and community based educational programs. The Center for Policy Analysis does not pursue a predetermined research agenda, but is a flexible research organization responding on a timely basis to the problems and issues identified by client agencies. Clyde W. Barrow, Ph.D., Political Science Director EXECUTIVE BOARD David Borges, M.P.A., Public Administration Chris Eisenhart, Ph.D., English John Fobanjong, Ph.D., Political Science Assistant Director/Senior Research Associate Senior Research Associate Senior Research Associate William Hogan, Ph.D., Economics Toby Huff, Ph.D., Sociology Susan Krumholz, J.D., Ph.D., Sociology Senior Research Associate Senior Research Associate Senior Research Associate Spencer Ladd, Ph.D., M.F.A., Design Robin A. Robinson, Psy.D, Ph.D., Social Welfare Senior Research Associate Senior Research Associate Gail Russell, M.S., Ed.D., Nursing Shawna E. Sweeney, Ph.D., Political Science Senior Research Associate Senior Research Associate Jeffrey Robinson, M.P.A., Public Administration Paul Vigeant, M.A., Public Administration Luther Wallin, M.R.P., Regional Planning Adjunct Research Associate Adjunct Research Associate Senior Research Associate EXECUTIVE STAFF David Borges, M.P.A., Public Administration Matthew Hirschy, B.S., Marketing Assistant Director/Senior Research Associate Research Assistant Andrea Davis, Sociology Assistant to the Director ADJUNCT RESEARCH ASSOCIATES Paul Vigeant, M.A., Public Administration SouthCoast Development Partnership Correspondence and inquiries should be addressed to: Center for Policy Analysis, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, Massachusetts 02747-2300 (telephone: 508-990-9660; fax: 508-999-8374). Copyright © Center for Policy Analysis. All rights reserved. Author: Clyde W. Barrow, Ph.D., Director, Center for Policy Analysis Website URL: www.umassd.edu/cfpa The information and analysis in this report does not represent an official statement or view of the University of Massachusetts. Polling and Program Evaluation Research Series No. 66 4 Table of Contents Executive Summary iii 1.00 Introduction ......................................................................................................................1 2.00 Methodology and Survey Tabulation ..........................................................................1 2.10 Survey Instrument ........................................................................................................1 2.20 Sampling Procedures ...................................................................................................1 2.30 Telephone Interviewer Training and Supervision ...................................................1 2.40 Analysis of Results .......................................................................................................2 3.00 Results ................................................................................................................................3 3.10 Overall Satisfaction with Comcast Cable Television 4 3.20 Subscriber Contact with Comcast ..............................................................................4 3.30 Amount Paid for Cable Services & Willingness to Pay for Extra Channels 6 3.31 Are You Paying Too Much, Just the Right Amount or Too Little for Cable Services? 6 3.32 Willingness to Pay for Additional Cable Channels .........................................7 3.40 Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) Programming .................................8 3.41 Expanded and Improved Public, Educational and Government Programming in Reading 8 3.42 Community Programming ..................................................................................8 3.43 Town Meetings Coverage ....................................................................................9 3.44 Educational Access Programming from the Reading Public Schools 12 3.50 Comcast Video on Demand and On-Screen Interactive Program Guide 13 3.51 Familiarity with Comcast's Video on Demand ..............................................13 3.52 Should Public, Educational, and Government Access programming be Available as Video On Demand (VOD)? .........................................................14 3.53 Electronic Program Guide .................................................................................15 3.54 Public, Educational, and Government Access Programming and the Electronic Program Guide .................................................................................16 3.60 "A-la-Carte" Purchasing ............................................................................................17 I 3"" -IV3- 3.70 Availability of Cable Television Town-Wide and Emergency Messages 18 3.71 Availability of Cable Television Town-Wide .................................................18 3.72 Emergency Messages for Cable Subscribers ...:...............................................19 3.80 Customer Service Office ............................................................................................20 3.81 Customer Service Office ....................................................................................20 3.90 Personal Subscriber Information Privacy ................................................................21 3.91 Importance of Protecting Personal Subscriber Information .........................21 3.92 Willingness to Accept Personal Inconvenience to Protect Subscriber Information 22 Appendix A - Survey Instrument .......................................................................................23 Appendix B - Frequencies ....................................................................................................31 ii ) q I 3jrV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Cable television service for residents of Reading, Massachusetts is provided by Comcast, Inc. Comcast's existing cable television license to provide cable television in Reading expires in November 2008. The results of this telephone survey will help the Town to determine how satisfied Reading residents are with the cable television services provided by Comcast and the results will be considered as the Town reviews Comcast's application for a cable television license renewal. The telephone survey was conducted using a survey instrument developed by the Town of Reading and the Center for Policy Analysis. A total of 418 telephone interviews were conducted with Reading households. More than fifty-seven percent of these households (57.6%, N=241) subscribe to Comcast, while 36.8 percent subscribe to Verizon FIOS (N=154), 4.5 percent subscribe to satellite service (N=19), and 1.1 percent have no service (N=4). Results of the survey include: Overall Satisfaction with Comcast Cable Television Both current and former Comcast subscribers were asked how satisfied they are or were with the cable television services provided by Comcast. Current subscribers have higher levels of satisfaction with Comcast in comparison to former subscribers. For example, 80.0 percent of Comcast subscribers are somewhat satisfied (50.6%) or very satisfied (29.4%) with Comcast cable television. This compares to 36.1 percent of former Comcast subscribers who were somewhat satisfied (30.0%) or very satisfied (6.1%) with Comcast when they subscribed. In addition 12.4 percent of Comcast subscribers are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with Comcast cable television, compared to 13.8 percent of former subscribers; 6.9 percent of Comcast subscribers are somewhat dissatisfied with Comcast cable television, compared to 36.1 percent of former subscribers; and 0.7 percent of Comcast subscribers are very dissatisfied with Comcast cable television, compared to 14.0 percent of former subscribers. Subscriber Contact with Comcast More than half of Comcast subscribers (52.8%) have called customer service in the past year, while 47.2 percent of respondents have not called Comcast. The highest percentage of respondents called for loss of service/signal (37.5%), followed by poor reception (19.4%), billing problems (15.3%), and other issues (9.7%). The highest annual average number of times called was for loss of service/ signal (2.1 calls annually) and poor reception (2.1 calls annually), followed by billing problems (1.6 calls annually) and other issues (1.4 calls annually). d Amount Paid for Cable Service and Willingness to Pay for Additional Channels Nearly three in four respondents (74.5%) indicate that they are paying too much for their cable service, while 25.3 percent say they are paying just the right amount and one respondent feels that they are paying too little for their cable service. Respondents were also asked how much extra they would be willing to pay monthly for each additional cable channel, including music, comedy, news, sports, and shopping channels. Results show that a large majority of respondents are not amenable to paying more for these types of channels, particularly additional shopping (97.9% would not pay more), music (96.2% would not pay more), comedy (94.4%), and news channels (94.2%). While respondents are most agreeable to paying for additional sports channels, 78.4 percent indicate that they would not pay more for sports channels. Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) Programming More than fifty-seven percent of respondents (57.7%) would like to see improved PEG programming in Reading, while 16.9 percent of respondents would not like to see improved PEG programming and 25.5 percent of respondents do not know. It is likely that a large number of respondents who "do not know" do not watch PEG programming or subscribe to Verizon FIOS or satellite. Respondents were provided with a list of various types of community programming and asked which types they and their family would like to see on Reading PEG Access Television. More than half of respondents would like to see thirteen of the fifteen types of programming listed, particularly Public Safety Reports (78.8%) and Reading Youth Sports (70.8%). In addition, more than half of respondents indicate that they would like to see Reading Youth (65.0%), Reading Votes (63.0%), Reading Seniors (62.2%), Reading Special Events (62.1%), Recreation Report (60.4%), Reading Home & Gardening (57.0%), Reading Food Channel (56.9%), Local Small Business Spotlight (56.6%), Reading History (56.0%), Reading Forum (52.2%), and Reading Arts (50.7%) cablecast on Reading PEG access television. Less than a majority of respondents would like to see Children's Story Hour (48.7%) and Area-Wide Theater Programs (41.8%) broadcast on PEG access television, although these respondents represent a plurality. Respondents were also asked if they and their family would like to see various Town of Reading meetings broadcast on cable television. A. majority of respondents indicate that they would like to see five of the eight meetings listed, including Board of Selectmen (59.6%), Community Planning & Development (54.9%), School Committee (52.3%), Conservation Commission (51.4%), and Zoning Board of Appeals (51.0%) meetings broadcast on cable television. Less than a majority, but a plurality of respondents would like to see Finance Committee meetings (48.6%) and Annual and Special Town meetings (47.7%) broadcast on cable television, while nearly a third of respondents (32.2%) would like to see Reading Light Department meetings broadcast on cable television. In addition, a higher percentage of Comcast subscribers would like to see each of the various town meetings broadcast in comparison to subscribers of Verizon FIOS or satellite. iv 7 6 4 J Lastly, respondents were asked if Educational Access programming from the Reading Public Schools should be cablecast in the Town of Reading, including school sports, theater, arts, music, graduations, programming, and information. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65.2%) would like Educational Access programming from the Reading Public Schools cablecast, while 10.4 percent would not like to see this type of programming and 24.4 percent do not know. Video on Demand and Electronic Program Guide Respondents were asked if they would like the Public, Educational, and Government Access programming, including government meetings, to be available as Video on Demand so that they can watch the programming at their convenience. A majority of respondents (54.8%) indicate that they would like this type of programming to be available as Video on Demand, while 22.1 percent of respondents would not like it to be available and 23.2 percent indicate that they do not know. Respondents were also asked if they would like to have the Public, Educational and Government Access program schedule included as part of Comcast's Electronic Program Guide. More than sixty-two percent of respondents (62.8%) would like to have this service as part of Comcast's Electronic Program Guide, while 15.7 percent of respondents would not like this service and 21.5 percent of respondents indicate that they do not know. "A-la-Carte" Purchasing Respondents were asked if cable programming offered in Reading should be available "a-la- carte," in other words, subscribers would only purchase cable channels that they want. Nearly seventy percent of respondents (69.9%) indicate that they would like to buy cable channels a-la- carte, while 28.4 percent of respondents would not like the opportunity to buy channels a-la- carte and 1.7 percent of respondents do not know. The average number of channels to which respondents would subscribe is 23.6 channels. Availability of Cable Television Town-Wide Overall, there is strong support to make Comcast cable television services available to all Reading residents. For example, 82.1 percent of respondents agree that cable television services should be available to all residents, while 4.6 percent do not agree and 13.3 percent do not know. Emergency Messages for Cable Subscribers Respondents were asked if the cable operator should continue to provide emergency officials of the Town of Reading, including the Town's Emergency Management Director (the Fire Chief), with the ability to override the programming of the cable system with important emergency messages for Reading cable subscribers. A large majority of respondents (96.8%) agree that the cable operator should provide emergency officials with the ability to override cable programming, while 0.7 percent of respondents do not agree and 2.6 percent of respondents do not know. V ) f / Customer Service Office Comcast currently operates and staffs a customer service office located at 580 Main Street in Reading, where cable television subscribers can pay bills and pick-up or return equipment. Respondents were asked if the Reading customer service office should continue to operate. There is strong support to keep the customer service center open, with 79.1 percent of respondents agreeing that the customer service center should remain open, 2.4 percent indicating that it should be closed, and 18.5 percent indicating that they do not know (primarily Verizon and satellite subscribers). Personal Subscriber Information Privacy Respondents were asked to rate the importance of the protection of personal subscriber information by the cable provider on a scale of very important, somewhat important, or not important. Respondents place great importance on the protection of personal subscriber information, with 89.9 percent of respondents agreeing that protecting privacy is very important, followed by 6.6 percent of respondents who feel that protecting privacy is somewhat important, 2.3 percent who feel that it is not important, and 1.3 percent of respondents who do not know. Willingness to Accept Personal Inconvenience to Protect Subscriber Information Respondents were asked if they are willing to accept personal inconvenience, such as the need to "opt into" a particular database, to assist the cable operator in the protection of their personal subscriber information. For example, the cable operator would have to be specifically authorized by a subscriber before they are allowed to share the subscriber's name and contact information with a third party. A large majority of respondents (87.8%) are willing to accept personal inconvenience, such as the need to "opt into" a particular database, to assist the cable operator in the protection of their personal subscriber information, while 7.7 percent of respondents are not willing and 4.5 percent do not know if they are willing or not willing. Vi b J A/ Reading Cable Television Survey 1.00 INTRODUCTION Cable television service for residents of Reading, Massachusetts is provided by Comcast, Inc. Comcast's existing cable television license to provide cable television in Reading expires in November 2008. The results of this telephone survey will help the Town to determine how satisfied Reading residents are with the cable television services provided by Comcast and the results will be considered as the Town reviews Comcast's application for a cable television license renewal. 2.00 METHODOLOGY AND SURVEY TABULATION 2.10 Survey Instrument The telephone survey was conducted using a survey instrument developed by the Town of Reading and the Center for Policy Analysis. A total of 418 telephone interviews were conducted from June 13, 2008 to June 18, 2008 for a margin of error of +/-4.7 percent.' A copy of the survey instrument can be found in Appendix A. 2.20 Sampling Procedures The Center for Policy Analysis uses the Genesys Sampling System from Marketing Systems Group to generate random telephone numbers. The Genesys Sampling System is used by many major survey organizations. The system uses a list of all possible telephone numbers in the United States to randomly generate a telephone sample for a designated geographic area. The survey was conducted using a random digit dialing (RDD) sample. The RDD sample ensures an equal and known probability of selection for every residential telephone number in the sample frame. 2.30 Telephone Interviewer Training and Supervision Student research assistants and Center staff were employed as telephone interviewers. These interviewers have conducted numerous telephone polls on behalf of the Center and all have been trained intensively, including practice interviews. Senior-level staff at the Center for Policy Analysis monitored the interviewers at all times to ensure high quality data collection. The Center for Policy Analysis conducted interviews between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm on weekdays and 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. This range of hours provides the interviewers with an opportunity to contact hard to reach respondents, a procedure crucial to producing high quality survey data. Return calls were scheduled at the convenience of the respondents. The Center's senior staff continually monitored the progress of interview outcomes to prevent problem cases that could interfere with the integrity of survey procedures. 1 There is a 4.7 percent margin of error at a confidence interval of 95 percent. This means that if a question from the survey was asked 100 times, 95 of those times the percentage of people giving a particular answer to the question would be within 4.7 points of the percentage who gave the same answer in this poll. However, the number of responses is lower for some questions, thus the margin of error is higher in those cases. Center for Policy Analysis 1 q „ University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Reading Cable Television Survey The survey procedures used by the Center for Policy Analysis adhere to the highest quality academic and government research standards. 2.40 Analysis of Results Basic frequencies were tabulated for each survey question (see Appendix B). The sample was weighted to account for sampling bias. Sampling bias is defined as the tendency of a sample to exclude some members of the sampling universe and over-represent others. In this sample, females and older respondents are over-represented. Weighting the data allocates more "weight" to groups that are under-represented (e.g. younger males), while providing less weight to groups that are over-represented (e.g. older females). In other words, weighting adjusts the sample so that it looks more like the actual population of Reading as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. All data in this report have been weighted to adjust for gender and age, although differences between the weighted sample and non-weighted sample are small (plus or minus 2.5%) for nearly all questions. Center for Policy Analysis 21 O University of Massachusetts Dartmouth ~4./ Reading Cable Television Survey 3.00 RESULTS A total of 418 telephone interviews were conducted with Reading households. More than fifty-seven percent of these households (57.6%, N=241) subscribe to Comcast, while 36.8 percent subscribe to Verizon FIOS (N=154), 4.5 percent subscribe to satellite service (N=19), and 1.1 percent have no service (N=4) (see Figure 1). Figure 1 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis 31 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth / t Reading Cable Television Survey 3.10 Overall Satisfaction with Comcast Cable Television Current and former Comcast subscribers were asked how they rate their overall satisfaction with Comcast cable television. The sample includes 248 current subscribers and 128 former subscribers, most who now subscribe to Verizon FIOS.2 Current Comcast subscribers have higher levels of satisfaction in comparison to former Comcast subscribers. For example, 80.0 percent of Comcast subscribers are somewhat satisfied (50.6%) or very satisfied (29.4%) with Comcast cable television. This compares to 36.1 percent of former Comcast subscribers who were somewhat satisfied (30.0%) or very satisfied (6.1%) with Comcast when they subscribed (see Table 1). In addition 12.4 percent of Comcast subscribers are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with Comcast cable television, compared to 13.8 percent of former subscribers; 6.9 percent of Comcast subscribers are somewhat dissatisfied with Comcast cable television, compared to 36.1 percent of former subscribers; and 0.7 percent of Comcast subscribers are very dissatisfied with Comcast cable television, compared to 14.0 percent of former subscribers. Table 1 Overall Satisfaction with Comcast Cable Television Current ` Former, Subscriber Subscriber:` Very Satisfied 29.4% 61% Somewhat Satisfied 50.6% 30.0% Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied ( 12.4% 13.8% Somewhat Dissatisfied 6.9% ( 36.1% Very Dissatisfied ( 0.7% ( 14.0% Figure 2 Error! Not a valid link. Questions in Section 3.20 and Section 3.30 were asked only to Comcast subscribers. All respondents, regardless of their service provider, were asked questions in the remaining sections (3.40 through 3.90). 3.20 Subscriber Contact with Comcast Respondents were asked how many times they have called Comcast in the past twelve months to resolve various problems such as loss of signal, poor reception, and billing problems. More than half of Comcast subscribers (52.8%) have called customer service in the past year, while 47.2 percent of respondents have not called Comcast. The highest percentage of 2 Nearly eleven percent of former subscribers (10.8%) changed service in 2008, wlule 49.8 percent changed service in 2007, 34.7 percent changed service in 2006, 4.2 percent changed service in 2005, and one respondent changed service in 2001. Center for Policy Analysis 4 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Reading Cable Television Survey respondents called for loss of service/ signal (37.5%), followed by poor reception (19.4%), billing problems (15.3%), and other issues (9.7%). The highest annual average number of times called was for loss of service/signal (2.1 calls annually) and poor reception (2.1 calls annually), followed by billing problems (1.6 calls annually) and other issues (1.4 calls annually) (see Table 2 and Figure 3). Table 2 Level of Contact with Comcast Percent Who' Avg: # Times Called m Last Called in Last Issue .12 Months 12 Months Loss of Service/Signal 37.5% I 2.1 Poor Reception ( 19.4% I 2.1 Billing Problems 15.3% I 1.6 Other Issues ( 9.7% 1.4 Note: Table is sorted by percent who called in the last 12 months. Figure 3 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis 5 12 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth J J Reading Cable Television Survey 3.30 Amount Paid for Cable Services & Willingness to Pay for Extra Channels 3.31 Are You Paying Too Much, Just the Right Amount or Too Little for Cable Services? Respondents were asked if they are paying too much, just the right amount, or too little for the cable services that they currently purchase from Comcast. Nearly three in four respondents (74.5%) indicate that they are paying too much for their cable service, while 25.3 percent say they are paying just the right amount and one respondent feels that they are paying too little for their cable service (see Table 3 and Figure 4). Table 3 Paying Too Much, Just the Right Amount, or Too Little? I I Frepuericv l P . 1 Too Much ( 179 I 74.5% Just the Right Amount 61 25.3% I Too Little I 1 0.2% Figure 4 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis 6 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Reading Cable Television Survey 3.32 Willingness to Pay for Additional Cable Channels Respondents were asked how much extra they would be willing to pay monthly for each additional cable channel, including music, comedy, news, sports, and shopping channels. Results show that a large majority of respondents are not amenable to paying more for these types of channels, particularly additional shopping (97.9% would not pay more), music (96.2% would not pay more), comedy (94.4%), and news channels (94.2%). While respondents are most agreeable to paying for additional sports channels, 78.4 percent indicate that they would not pay more for sports channels (see Table 4 and Figure 5). Table 4 How Much Extra Would You Be Willing to Pay for Each Additional Channel? nothing Up to : '$.11 to $.26 to $.51 to $.76 to at all $:10 $.25 . $.50 .75: $1.00 > $1.00 Shopping ( 97.9% ( 0.3% I 0.0% 1.5% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% Music J 96.2% ( 1.2% ( 0.0% 1.9% ( 0.0% ( 0.0% i 0.7% Comedy 94.4% I 2.4% , 0.0% 1.5% 0.0% 0.3% I 1.3% News 94.2% 3.7% ( 0.2% + 1.9% 0.0% + 0.0%) 0.0% Sports I 78.4% 9.0% 2.0% 5.6% I 0.3% ( 1.5% 3.2% Figure 5 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis 7 . University of Massachusetts Dartmouth j ( 5 ✓A Reading Cable Television Survey 3.40 Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) Programming Public, educational and government (PEG) programming includes local programs such as government meetings, community events, and school events. Respondents were asked several questions about PEG programming. 3.41 Expanded and Improved Public, Educational and Government Programming in Reading Respondents were asked whether they would like to see expanded and improved public, educational and government programming in Reading. More than fifty-seven percent of respondents (57.7%) would like to see improved PEG programming, while 16.9 percent of respondents would not like to see improved PEG programming and 25.5 percent of respondents do not know. It is likely that a large number of respondents who "do not know" do not watch PEG programming or subscribe to Verizon FIGS or satellite. Table 5 Would You Like to See Expanded and Improved Public, Educational and Government Programming in Reading? Frequency ( Percent Yes ( 239 57.6% No 70 I 16.9% Don't Know I 106 ( 25.5% Figure 6 Error! Not a valid link. 3.42 Community Programming Respondents were provided with a list of various types of community programming and asked which types they and their family would like to see on Reading Public, Educational, and Government Access Television. More than half of respondents would like to see thirteen of the fifteen types of programming listed, particularly Public Safety Reports (78.8%) and Reading Youth Sports (70.8%) (see Table 6 and Figure 7). In addition, more than half of respondents indicate that they would like to see Reading Youth (65.0%), Reading Votes (63.0%), Reading Seniors (62.2%), Reading Special Events (62.1°/x), Recreation Report (60.4%), Reading Home & Gardening (57.0%), Reading Food Channel (56.9%), Local Small Business Spotlight (56.6%), Reading History (56.0%), Reading Forum (52.2°/x), and Reading Arts (50.7%) cablecast on Reading PEG access television. Less than a majority of respondents would like to see Children s Story Hour (48.7%) and Area-Wide Center for Policy Analysis x . University of Massachusetts Dartmouth XJN Reading Cable Television Survey Theater Programs (41,8%) broadcast on PEG access television, although these respondents represent a plurality. Table 6 Would You and Your Family Like to See the Following Types of Community Programs on Reading PEG Access Television? Error! Not a valid link. Figure 7 Error! Not a valid link. Other suggestions for community programming that were provided by respondents include: • Democracy Now • Educational programs • Esther Williams • Game shows • MFI network (N=2) • More "G" programs • Old movies • Religion • TMC • Travel program (N=3) • Unbiased news 3.43 Town Meetings Coverage Respondents were asked if they and their family would like to see various Town of Reading meetings broadcast on cable television. A majority of respondents indicate that they would like to see five of the eight meetings listed, including Board of Selectmen (59.6 Community Planning & Development (54.9%), School Committee (52.3%), Conservation Commission (51.4%), and Zoning Board of Appeals (51.0%) meetings broadcast on cable television. Less than a majority, but a plurality of respondents would like to see Finance Committee meetings (48.6%) and Annual and Special Town meetings (47.7%) broadcast on cable television, while nearly a third of respondents (32.2%) would like to see Reading Light Department meetings broadcast on cable television (see Table 7 and Figure 8). In addition, a higher percentage of Comcast subscribers would like to see each of the various town meetings broadcast in comparison to subscribers of Verizon FIOS or satellite. Table 7 Would You Like to See the Following Town of Reading Meetings Broadcast on Cable Television? . Yes No ( Don't Know i Center for Policy Analysis 9 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Reading Cable Television Survey Board of Selectmen Meetings I 59.6% I 34.3% I 6.0% Community Planning & Development Meetings 54.9% ( 39.4% + 5.7% School Committee Meetings I 52.3% I 41.5% 6.2% Conservation Commission Meetings I 51.4% I 40.4% 8.2% Zoning Board of Appeals Meetings 51.0% I 41.3% 7.8% Finance Committee Meetings I 48.6% , 43.4% 8.0% Annual and Special Town Meetings ( 47.7% + 42.0% 10.3% Reading Light Department Meetings 32.2% ( 52.7% 15.2% Center for Policy Analysis 10 ~ University of Massachusetts Dartmouth ' JN Reading Cable Television Survey 3.44 Educational Access Programming from the Reading Public Schools Respondents were asked if Educational Access programming from the Reading Public Schools should be cablecast in the Town of Reading, including school sports, theater, arts, music, graduations, programming, and information. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65.2%) would like Educational Access programming from the Reading Public Schools cablecast, while 10.4 percent would not like to see this type programming and 24.4 percent do not know. Table 8 Should Educational Access Programming from Reading Public Schools be Cablecast? "-Fregtiericy : Percent Yes 270 65.2% No ' 43 10.4% Don't Know 101 I 24.4% Figure 9 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis 12 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth S N J Reading Cable Television Survey 3.50 Comcast Video on Demand and On-Screen Interactive Program Guide 3.51 Familiarity with Comcast's Video on Demand Video on Demand offers programs that are available any time customers want to watch them - with the ability to fast forward, rewind and pause selections. Respondents were asked if they are familiar with Comcast's Video on Demand. More than eighty-five percent of respondents (85.5%) are familiar with Comcast's Video on Demand, while 14.5 percent are not familiar with this service (see Table 9 and Figure 10). Table 9 Familiar with Comcast's Video on Demand? Fiecfuency. I—: Percent Yes 355 85.5% No ( 60~ 14.5%) Figure 10 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis 13 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 1 v Reading Cable Television Survey 3.52 Should Public, Educational, and Government Access programming be Available as Video On Demand (VOD)? As a follow-up, respondents were asked if they would like the Public, Educational, and Government Access programming, including government meetings, to be available as Video on Demand so that they can watch the programming at their convenience. A majority of respondents (54.8%) indicate that they would like this type of programming to be available as Video on Demand, while 22.1 percent of respondents would not like it to be available and 23.2 percent indicate that they do not know (see Table 10 and Figure 11). Table 10 Would You Like the Public, Educational, and Government Access Programming to be Available as Video On Demand? Yes j No Do Not Know Frequency, f Percent 196) 54.8%I 79 22.1% 83 23.2% Figure 11 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis 14 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth f~ Reading Cable Television Survey 3.53 Electronic Program Guide Respondents were asked if they are familiar with the electronic program guide. The program guide enables customers to find a show on any channel, set favorite channels, use parental controls to block specific channels or individual programs and to record any television show with a DVR. More than eighty percent of respondents (80.2%) indicate that they are familiar with Comcast's electronic program guide, while 19.8 percent are not familiar with this service (see Table 11 and Figure 12). Table 11 Are You Familiar with Comcast's On-Screen Interactive Program Guide? 'Frequency Percent Yes 333 + 80.2% No 82 19.8% Figure 12 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis 15 - University of Massachusetts Dartmouth N Reading Cable Television Survey 3.54 Public, Educational, and Government Access Programming and the Electronic Program Guide As a follow-up question, respondents were asked if they would like to have the Public, Educational and Government Access program schedule included as part of Comcast's Electronic Program Guide. More than sixty-two percent of respondents (62.8%) would like to have this service as part of Comcast's Electronic Program Guide, while 15.7 percent of respondents would not like this service and 21.5 percent of respondents indicate that they do not know (see Table 12 and Figure 13). Table 12 Would You Like to Have Reading's PEG Access Program Schedule Included on Comcast's On-Screen Interactive Program Guide? Frequency Percent`'. ! Yes 211 62.8% No 521 15.7%~ Don't Know 721 21.5% 1 Figure 13 Error! Not a valid link. " f f Center for Policy Analysis 16 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth . 3 ) A/ Reading Cable Television Survey 3.60. "A-la-Carte" Purchasing Respondents were asked if cable programming offered in Reading should be available "a-la- carte," in other words, subscribers would only purchase cable channels that they want. Nearly seventy percent of respondents (69.9%) indicate that they would like to buy cable channels a-la-carte, while 28.4 percent of respondents would not like the opportunity to buy channels a-la-carte and 1.7 percent of respondents do not know (see Table 13 and Figure 14): Respondents were asked the number of channels to which they would subscribe if they had the opportunity to subscribe to cable channels from. Comcast a-la-carte. The average number of channels to which respondents would subscribe is 23.6 channels. Table 13 Would You Like to Buy Channels "a-la-carte" I I Frequericy. I Percent `I I Yes I 290 I 69.9% No I 118 28.4% I Don't Know I 7 1.7% I Figure 14 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 17 ~✓N~S Reading Cable Television Survey 3.70 Availability of Cable Television Town-Wide and Emergency Messages 3.71 Availability of Cable Television Town-Wide Respondents were asked if the cable operator should be required to offer cable service to every residence in Reading regardless of where their home is located and regardless of the density of the area. Overall, there is strong support to make Comcast cable television services available to all Reading residents. For example, 82.1 percent of respondents agree that cable television services should be available to all residents, while 4.6 percent do not agree and 13.3 percent do not know (see Table 14 and Figure 15). Table 14 Should the Cable Operator be Required to Offer Cable Service to Every Residence in Reading? :Frequency. Percent Yes 341 82.1'X. i No 19~ 4.6 Don't Know ( 55 13.3 Figure 15 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis Ig ^ je University of Massachusetts Dartmouth ~N Reading Cable Television Survey 3.72 Emergency Messages for Cable Subscribers Respondents were asked if the cable operator should continue to provide emergency officials of the Town of Reading, including the Town's Emergency Management Director (the Fire Chief), with the ability to override the programming of the cable system with important emergency messages for Reading cable subscribers. A large majority of respondents (96.8%) agree that the cable operator should provide emergency officials with the ability to override cable programming, while 0.7 percent of respondents do not agree and 2.6 percent of respondents do not know (see Table 15 and Figure 16). Table 15 Should the Cable Operator Provide Emergency Officials Ability to Override Programming with Important Emergency Messages? I _ Fre4ueincy I Percent Yes 1 402 96.8% No 3+ 0.7%~ Don't Know 11 + 2.6% Figure 16 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis 191 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Reading Cable Television Survey 3.80 Customer Service Office 3.81 Customer Service Office Comcast currently operates and staffs a customer service office located at 580 Main Street in Reading, where cable television subscribers can pay bills and pick-up or return equipment. Respondents were asked if the Reading customer service office should continue to operate. There is strong support to keep the customer service center open, with 79.1 percent of respondents agreeing that the customer service center should remain open, 2.4 percent indicating that it should be closed, and 18.5 percent indicating that they do not know (primarily Verizon and satellite subscribers (see Table 16 and Figure 17). Table 16 Should Customer Service Office Continue to Operate? Frequency . ',Percent- Yes 323 79.1% No 10 2.4%) Don't Know f 76 18.5% Figure 17 Error! Not a valid link Center for Policy Analysis University of Massachusetts Dartmouth zo ~ J S HV Reading Cable Television Survey 3.90 Personal Subscriber Information Privacy 3.91 Importance of Protecting Personal Subscriber Information Respondents were asked to rate the importance of the protection of personal subscriber information by the cable provider on a scale of very important, somewhat important, or not important. Respondents place great importance on the protection of personal subscriber information, with 89.9 percent of respondents agreeing that protecting privacy is very important, followed by 6.6 percent of respondents who feel that protecting privacy is somewhat important, 2.3 percent who feel that it is not important, and 1.3 percent of respondents who do not know (see Table 17 and Figure 18). Table 17 How Important is it that the Cable Operator Protects the Privacy of Personal Subscriber Information? . ' r I: Freq- ency I: -Percent, ( Very Important ( 372 ( 89.9% ( Somewhat Important ( 271 6.6% ( Not Important ( 9 ( 2.3% ( Don't Know ( 5 ( 1.3% Figure 18 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis 21 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth j r' Reading Cable Television Survey 3.92 Willingness to Accept Personal Inconvenience to Protect Subscriber Information Respondents were asked if they are willing to accept personal inconvenience, such as the need to "opt into" a particular database, to assist the cable operator in the protection of their personal subscriber information. For example, the cable operator would have to be specifically authorized by a subscriber before they are allowed to share the subscriber's name and contact information with a third party. A large majority of respondents (87.8%) are willing to accept personal inconvenience, such as the need to "opt into" a particular database, to assist the cable operator in the protection of their personal subscriber information, while 7.7 percent of respondents are not willing and 4.5 percent do not know if they are willing or not willing (see Table 18 and Figure 19). Table 18 Are You Willing to Accept Personal Inconvenience to Protect Personal Subscriber Information? : I Frequency ] ;i Percent Yes 363 87.8% No 32~ 7.7%~ Don t Know 19 ( 4.5% Figure 19 Error! Not a valid link. Center for Policy Analysis .zk University of Massachusetts Dartmouth zz ) 30. SJr Reading Cable Television Survey APPENDIX A - SURVEY INSTRUMENT Hi, my name is and I'm calling from UMass Dartmouth. How are you today? We are conducting a short survey regarding cable television service in the Town of Reading. Are you a resident of Reading? [If no, end interview]. Comcast's current license to provide cable television service in Reading expires in November 2008. The results of this survey will help the Town of Reading to determine how the community feels about the cable services that Comcast provides in Reading. The results will be considered as the Town of Reading: (i) requests services and funding to be provided by Comcast to Reading Community Television ("RCTV"), the Town, and Reading residents in a new cable television renewal license and (ii) reviews Comcast's application for a cable television license renewal. We will be grateful if you will please answer a number of short questions. Do you have a couple of minutes to complete the survey? I want to assure you that your telephone number was chosen randomly and all of your responses are completely confidential. Are you at least 18 years of age? 0 Yes 0 No [If yes, proceed. If no, ask if someone over 18 is available. If not, tell the person that you will call back at another time]. Q1. Do you subscribe to cable or video television service, such as Comcast, Verizon FIOS video, or Satellite television? I YES [SKIPTO QUESTION 21 2 NO [SKIP TO QUESTION 121 Q2. To which service do you subscribe? [Read Choices] I COMCAST [SKIP TO QUESTION 41 2 VERIZON FIGS [SKIP TO QUESTION 31 3 SATELLITE, FOR EXAMPLE, DIRECT TV, DISH NETWORK [SKIP TO QUESTION 31 Q3. Are you a former Comcast subscriber? I YES [SKIP TO QUESTION 3A] 2 NO [SKIP TO QUESTION 121 9 DWREFUSED [SKIP TO QUESTION 121 Q3a. In approximately what year did you last have Comcast cable television? Q3b. How would you rate your overall satisfaction when you subscribed to Comcast cable television? Would you say you were: [Read Choices] 1 VERY SATISFIED 2 SOMEWHAT SATISFIED 3 NEITHER SATISFIED NOR DISSATISFIED 4 SOMEWHAT DISSATISFIED 5 VERY DISSATISFIED 9 DIVREFUSED [IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED QUESTION 3A PLEASE SKIP TO QUESTION 121 Center for Policy Analysis 23 „ University of Massachusetts Dartmouth A //k3 Reading Cable Television Survey [!!Ask only Comcast subscribers questions 4-101 Q4. How would you rate your overall satisfaction with Comcast cable television? Would you say you are: 1 VERY SATISFIED 2 SOMEWHAT SATISFIED 3 NEITHER SATISFIED NOR DISSATISFIED 4 SOMEWHAT DISSATISFIED 5 VERY DISSATISFIED 6 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Q5. How many times in the past twelve (12) months have you called Comcast regarding any of the following issues with cable television services? [Please write in zero if no calls] I LOSS OF SERVICE/SIGNAL 2 POOR RECEPTION 3 BILLING PROBLEMS 4 OTHER COMPLAINTS Q6. In your opinion are you paying too much, just the right amount or too little for the cable services you currently purchase from Comcast. 1 TOO MUCH 2 JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT 3 TOO LITTLE Q7. Thinking about your existing cable service, how much extra would you be willing to pay each month for each additional music channel provided by Comcast. Would you be willing to pay [read choices] I UP TO. 10 CENTS PER CHANNEL 2 11 TO 25 CENTS PER CHANNEL 3 26 TO 50 CENTS PER CHANNEL 4 51 TO 75 CENTS PER CHANNEL 5 .76 TO $1 PER CHANNEL 6 OVER $1 PER CHANNEL 7 NOTHING AT ALL Q8. Thinking about your existing cable service, how much extra would you be willing to pay each month for each additional comedv channel provided by Comcast. Would you be willing to pay [read choices] 1 UP TO. 10 CENTS PER CHANNEL 2 11 TO 25 CENTS PER CHANNEL 3 26 TO 50 CENTS PER CHANNEL 4 51 TO 75 CENTS PER CHANNEL 5 .76 TO $1 PER CHANNEL 6 OVER $1 PER CHANNEL 7 NOTHING AT ALL Center for Policy Analysis Am= University of Massachusetts Dartmouth L 24 v~''r Reading Cable Television Survey Q9. Thinking about your existing cable service, how much extra would you be willing to pay each month for each additional news channel provided by Comcast. Would you be willing to pay [read choices] I UP TO. 10 CENTS PER CHANNEL 2 11 TO 25 CENTS PER CHANNEL 3 26 TO 50 CENTS PER CHANNEL 4 51 TO 75 CENTS PER CHANNEL 5 .76 TO $1 PER CHANNEL 6 OVER $1 PER CHANNEL 7 NOTHING AT ALL QIO. Thinking about your existing cable service, how much extra would you be willing to pay each month for each additional snorts channel provided by Comcast. Would you be willing to pay [read choices] 1 UP TO. 10 CENTS PER CHANNEL 2 11 TO 25 CENTS PER CHANNEL 3 26 TO 50 CENTS PER CHANNEL 4 51 TO 75 CENTS PER CHANNEL 5 .76 TO $1 PER CHANNEL 6 OVER $1 PER CHANNEL 7 NOTHING AT ALL Q11. Thinking about your existing cable service, how much extra would you be willing to pay each month for each additional shopping channel provided by Comcast. Would you be willing to pay [read choices] 1 UP TO. 10 CENTS PER CHANNEL 2 11 TO 25 CENTS PER CHANNEL 3 26 TO 50 CENTS PER CHANNEL 4 51 TO 75 CENTS PER CHANNEL 5 .76 TO $1 PER CHANNEL 6 OVER $1 PER CHANNEL 7 NOTHING AT ALL [Now I would like to ask you a few questions about Public, Educational and Government programming in Reading, which is also know as "PEG" programming. PEG programming includes local programs such as government meetings, community events, and school activities. Please understand that we value the opinion of all Reading residents regarding Public, Educational and Government access programming and not simply Comcast subscribers]. Q12. Would you like to see improved and expanded Public, Educational and Government programming in Reading? I YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Center for Policy Analysis 25 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Reading Cable Television Survey Q13. Now I am going to read you a list of types of community programming. Please answer Yes or No as to which type of community programming you or your family would like to see on RCTV(Reading Community Television). How about: a. Local Small Business Spotlight [A series of programs highlighting local businesses. These programs would emphasize each company's products or service, and its history and growth.] 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED f. 1 2 3 9 b. Area-Wide Theater Programs !Selected theater performances.] 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED c. Recreation Report [A program designed to inform citizens of upcoming recreational programs and events in Reading.] 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED d. Public Safetv Reports [Reports and shows by Reading public safety personnel, including the Police Department, Fire Department and the Board of Health, keeping Reading residents and businesses informed about public safety matters and concerns.] 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED e. Readins Forum [In-depth interviews and discussions with town and community representatives, including "Ask the Town Manager", the "Selectmen's Forum" and one on one interviews with and about Reading people and events.] I YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Readinn Votes [Election information for local, state, and national elections. Candidates' Night, debates, and voter service programs would be featured.] YES NO DON'T KNOW REFUSED Center for Policy Analysis University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 26 9/1X3 Reading Cable Television Survey g. Readine Special Events includine parades and memorial events [Live and taped coverage of special events in town, such as parades and memorials.] 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED h. Readine Historv [A program showing and discussing Reading history.] 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED i. Readine Arts [A program featuring local artists who could be invited to display their creations.] I YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED j. Readine Youth Snorts [Live and videotaped coverage of Reading High School, Middle School and Youth Sports, including football, basketball, hockey, soccer, baseball, etc.] 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED k. Children's Storv Hour [A program produced at the library promoting reading and children's use of the library and its resources.] I YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED 1. Readine Youth FA show produced by and for Reading's youth.] I YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED m. Readine Seniors [A regular series which addresses issues concerning senior citizens and provides information about areas of interest, including financial issues, keeping active and healthy, etc,] 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Center for Policy Analysis 27 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 1 35, " 1V Reading Cable Television Survey n. Reading's Food Channel? [Reading's own food "channel", including new and established restaurants in and around Reading. Also includes culinary talent currently best known by their own family.] I YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED o. Readinn Home & Gardeninn (Gardening tips and information; advice from Reading's successful lawn and garden businesses. Also featuring on-location tours of gardens of Reading residents.] 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED p. Anv Other Programming? Please describe: Q14. Please tell me whether or not you or your family would like to see the following Town of Reading meetings broadcast on cable television. How about: Yes . BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETINGS + I SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETINGS I I COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT l MEETINGS ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MEETINGS I 1 f FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETINGS f l CONSERVATION COMMISSION MEETINGS , l ANNUAL AND SPECIAL TOWN MEETINGS ( 1 READING LIGHT DEPARTMENT MEETINGS 1 I f Don't No Know 2 3 2 3 i 2 3 2 ( 3 2 3 2 ! 3 2 + 3 2 ( 3 l Q15. Should Educational Access programming, including school sports, theater, arts, music, graduations and other events, programming and information, from the Reading Public Schools be cablecast in the Town of Reading? I YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Center for Policy Analysis University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 28 ~ry Reading Cable Television Survey Q16. Are you familiar with Video on Demand? I YES 2 NO (SKIP TO QUESTION 181 Q17. Would you like the Public, Educational, and Government Access programming, including government meetings, to be available as Video On Demand (VOD) so that you can watch the programming at your convenience? I YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Q18. Are you familiar with the Electronic Program Guide of the cable system? 1 YES 2 NO (SKIP TO QUESTION 201 Q19. Would you like to have the Public, Educational, and Government Access program schedule included as part of the Electronic Program Guide in order to know when this programming is going to cablecast? 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Q20. Would you like to see cable programming offered to Reading subscribers on an "a-la-carte" basis? That is subscribers can choose and pay for only the specific channels that they would like to view, as opposed to being obligated to buy entire "tiers" of channels as is the case now. I YES 2 NO )o- (IF YES], If you had the opportunity to subscribe to cable channels from Comcast "a-la-carte", approximately how many cable channels would you subscribe to? [Write in] Q21 Do you think that the cable operator should be required to offer cable service to every residence in Reading regardless of where their home is located and regardless of the density of the area? I YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Center for Policy Analysis 29 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth v 3 Reading Cable Television Survey Q22. Should the cable operator continue to provide emergency officials of the Town of Reading , including the Town's Emergency Management Director (the Fire Chief), with the ability to override the programming of the cable system with important emergency messages for Reading cable subscribers? I YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Q23. Comcast currently operates and staffs a customer service office located at 580 Main Street, Reading, where cable subscribers can pick-up or return equipment and pay bills. Should the Reading customer service office continue to operate? 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Q24. How important is it that the cable operator protects the privacy of personal subscriber information? [read choices] I VERYIMPORTANT 2 SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT 3 NOTIMPORTANT 4 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Q25. Are you willing to accept personal inconvenience, such as the need to "opt into" a particular database, to assist the cable operator in the protection of your personal subscriber information? For example, the cable operator would have to be specifically authorized by you before they are allowed to share your name and contact information with a third party. 1 YES 2 NO 3 DON'T KNOW 9 REFUSED Q26. Do you mind telling me your age? Q27. Sex I MALE 2 FEMALE Q28. Now many people are in your household? Those are all the questions that I have. Thanks for your time and have a nice day.. Center for Policy Analysis 30 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth . Reading Cable Television Survey APPENDIX B - FREQUENCIES To which service do you subscribe? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid comcast 241 57.6 57.6 57.6 verizon 154 36.8 36.8 94.4 satellite 19 4.5 4.5 98.9 no service 4 1.1 1.1 100.0 Total 418 100.0 100.0 Are you a former Comcast subscriber? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 128 30.7 70.6 70.6 no 51 12.1 27.8 98.4 don't know/refused 3 .7 1.6 100.0 Total 182 43.4 100.0 Missing System 236 56.6 Total 418 100.0 How you rate your overal l satisfaction when you subscribed to Co mcast? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid very satisfied 8 1.8 6.1 6.1 somewhat satisfied 38 9.0 30.0 36.1 neither satisfied or 17 4.1 13.8 49.9 dissatisfied somewhat dissatisfied 45 10.8 36.1 86.0 very dissatisfied 18 4.2 14.0 100.0 Total 126 30.0 100.0 Missing don't know/refused 1 .1 System 292 69.8 Total 292 70.0 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis 31 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 3 ` Reading Cable Television Survey How would you rate your overall satisfiaction with Comcast? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid very satisfied 71 16.9 29.4 29.4 somewhat satisfied 122 29.1 50.6 80.0 neither satisfied nor ' 30 7.1 12.4 92.4 dissatisfied somewhat dissatisfied 17 4.0 6.9 99.3 very dissatisfied 2 .4 .7 100.0 Total 240 57.5 100.0 Missing don't know 1 .1 System 177 42.4 Total 178 42.5 Total 418 100.0 How many times in the last 12 months have you cal led Comcast regarding loss of servi celsignal? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid 1 49 11.6 52.3 52.3 2 20 4.8 21.4 73.7 3 16 3.9 17.5 91.1 4 2 .4 2.0 93.1 6 2 .4 1.7 94.8 7 3 .8 3.4 98.3 10 2 .4 1.7 100.0 Total 93 22.3 100.0 Missing System 325 77.7 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis 32 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth v Reading Cable Television Survey How many times in the last 12 months have you called Comcast regarding poor reception? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid 1 30 7.2 63.4 63.4 2 9 2.0 18.0 81.3 3 3 .7 5.9 87.2 4 1 .2 1.5 88.8 6 1 .1 1.2 89.9 7 3 .8 6.7 96.6 10 2 .4 3.4 100.0 Total 48 11.4 100.0 Missing System 370 88.6 Total 418 100.0 low many times in the last 12 months have ca lled Comcast regarding billinc problems? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid 1 27 6.6 72.8 72.8 2 6 1.4 16.1 88.9 3 1 .1 1.5 90.3 4 2 .5 5.8 96.1 5 1 .2 1.9 98.1 7 1 .2 1.9 100.0 Total 38 9.0 100.0 Missing System 380 91.0 Total 418 100.0 How many times in the last 12 months have c alled Comcast regarding other problems? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid 1 19 4.5 79.1 79.1 2 4 .9 15.6 94.7 3 1 .1 2.3 97.0 7 1 .2 3.0 100.0 Total 24 5.7 100.0 Missing System 394 94.3 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis 33~ University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Reading Cable Television Survey n your opinion are you paying too much, just the right amount or too little for your cabl( services? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid too much 179 42.8 74.5 74.5 just the right amount 61 14.5 25.3 99.8 don't know/refused 1 .1 .2 100.0 Total 240 57.5 100.0 Missing System 178 42.5 Total 418 100.0 low much extra would you be willing to pay each month for additional music channels', Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid up to 10 cents per 3 .7 1.2 1.2 channel 26 to 50 cents per 5 1.1 1.9 3.1 channel over $1 per channel 2 .4 .7 3.8 nothing at all 231 55.4 96.2 100.0 Total 240 57.5 100.0 Missing System 178 42.5 Total 418 100.0 How much extra would you be willing to pay each month for additional comedy channels? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid up to 10 cents per 6 1.4 2.4 2.4 channel 26 to 50 cents per 4 .9 1.5 3.9 channel 76 cents to $1 per 1 .2 .3 4.3 channel over $1 per channel 3 .8 1.3 5.6 nothing at all 227 54.3 94.4 100.0 Total 240 57.5 100.0 Missing System 178 42.5 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis 34 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth ) G J Reading Cable Television Survey How much extra would you be willing to pay each month for additional news channels? Valid up to 10 cents per channel 11 to 25 cents per channel 26 to 50 cents per channel nothing at all Total Missing System Total Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent 9 2.1 3.7 3.7 1 .1 .2 3.9 5 1.1 1.9 5.8 226 54.2 94.2 100.0 240 57.5 100.0 178 42.5 418 100.0 low much extra would you be willing to pay each month for additional sports channels' Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid up to 10 cents per 22 5.2 9.0 9.0 channel 11 to 25 cents per 5 1.1 2.0 10.9 channel 26 to 50 cents per 14 3.2 5.6 16.6 channel 51 to 75 cents per 1 2 .3 16.9 channel 76 cents to $1 per 4 .9 1.5 18.4 channel over $1 per channel 8 1.9 3.2 21.6 nothing at all 188 45.1 78.4 100.0 Total 240 57.5 100.0 Missing System 178 42.5 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 35 Reading Cable Television Survey How much extra would you be willing to pay each month for additional shopping channels? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid up to 10 cents 1 2 .3 .3 per channel 26 to 50 cents 4 g 1.5 1.9 per channel 51 to 75 cents 1 1 .2 2.1 per channel nothing at all 235 56.3 97.9 100.0 Total 240 57.5 100.0 Missing System 178 42.5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see improved and expanded Public, Educa tional and Government programming? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 238 57.2 57.7 57.7 no 70 16.8 16.9 74.5 don't know 106 25.3 25.5 100.0 Total 415 99.3 100.0 Missing refused 1 .2 System 2 .5 Total 3 .7 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see local small business spotlight on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 236 56.3 56.6 56.6 no 121 29.0 29.2 85.8 don't know 59 14.1 14.2 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis 36 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Reading Cable Television Survey Would you like to see area wide theater programs on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 172 41.1 41.8 41.8 no 187 44.8 45.5 87.3 don't know 52 12.5 12.7 100.0 Total 412 98.5 100.0 Missing refused 2 .4 System 5 1.1 Total 6 1.5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see recreation reports on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 250 59.8 60.4 60.4 no 122 29.2 29.4 89.8 don't know 42 10.1 10.2 100.0 Total 414 99.1 100.0 Missing refused 2 .4 System 2 .5 Total 4 .9 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see p ublic safety reports on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 326 78.0 78.8 78.8 no 56 13.4 13.5 92.3 don't know 32 7.7 7.7 100.0 Total 414 99.1 100.0 Missing refused 2 .4 System 2 .5 Total 4 .9 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 37 G- C/ S / r*-l , Reading Cable Television Survey Would y ou like to see a Reading forum on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 217 51.9 52.2 52.2 no 160 38.4 38.6 90.8 don't know 38 9.2 9.2 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see Reading votes on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 261 62.5 63.0 63.0 no 123 29.4 29.6 92.6 don't know 31 7.4 7.4 100.0 Total 415 99.3 100.0 Missing System 3 .7 Total 418 100.0 Nould you like to see Reading special events, inlcuding parades and memorial events on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 258 61.8 62.1 62.1 no 116 27.8 28.0 90.0 don't know 41 9.9 10.0 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Would y ou like to see Reading History on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 233 55.7 56.0 56.0 no 139 33.3 33.5 89.5 don't know 44 10.5 10.5 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 38 ~ ti ~a Reading Cable Television Survey Would y ou like to see Reading arts on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 210 50.3 50.7 50.7 no 159 38.0 38.3 89.0 don't know 45 10.9 11.0 100.0 Total 414 99.1 100.0 Missing System 4 .9 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see Re ading youth sports on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 294 70.4 70.8 70.8 no 82 19.6 19.7 90.5 don't know 40 9.5 9.5 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see children's story hour on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 202 48.3 48.7 48.7 no 172 41.0 41.4 90.1 don't know 41 9.8 9.9 100.0 Total 414 99.1 100.0 Missing System 4 .9 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see Reading youth on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 270 64.5 65.0 65.0 no 110 26.3 26.5 91.4 don't know 36 8.5 8.6 100.0 Total 415 99.3 100.0 Missing System 3 .7 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 39 ` J~ Reading Cable Television Survey Would you like to see Reading seniors on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 259 61.9 62.2 62.2 no 122 29.1 29.3 91.5 don't know 35 8.5 8.5 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see a Reading food channel on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 237 56.6 56.9 56.9 no 149 35.7 35.9 92.8 don't know 30 7.1 7.2 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 W ould you like to see Reading home and gardening on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 237 56.7 57.0 57.0 no 140 33.5 33.7 90.7 don't know 39 9.2 9.3 100.0 Total . 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see Board of Selectmen meetings on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 248 59.3 59.6 59.6 no 143 34.1 34.3 94.0 don't know 25 6.0 6.0 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 40 q~ S,r-/ Reading Cable Television Survey Would you like to see school committee meetings on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 217 52.0 52.3 52.3 no 173 41.3 41.5 93.8 don't know 26 6.2 6.2 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see community planning and development meetings on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 228 54.6 54.9 54.9 no 164 39.2 39.4 94.3 don't know 24 5.6 5.7 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see zoning board of appeals meetings on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 211 50.6 51.0 51.0 no 171 41.0 41.3 92.2 don't know 32 7.7 7.8 100.0 Total 415 99.3 100.0 Missing System 3 .7 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis A4 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 41 Reading Cable Television Survey Would you like to see finance committee meetings on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 202 48.3 48.6 48.6 no 181 43.2 43.4 92.0 don't know 33 7.9 8.0 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see conservation commission meetings on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 214 51.1 51.4 51.4 no 168 40.2 40.4 91.8 don't know 34 8.2 8.2 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see annual and special town meetings on RCTV? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 198 47.4 47.7 47.7 no 175 41.8 42.0 89.7 don't know 43 10.3 10.3 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Would you like to see Reading light department meetings? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 134 32.0 32.2 32.2 no 219 52.4 52.7 84.8 don't know 63 15.1 15.2 100.0 Total 416 99.5 100.0 Missing System 2 .5 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 42 8~~°. Reading Cable Television Survey Should Educational Access programming from the Reading Public Schools be cablecast? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 270 64.7 65.2 65.2 no 43 10.3 10.4 75.6 don't know 101 24.1 24.4 100.0 Total 414 99.1 100.0 Missing System 4 .9 Total 418 100.0 Are you familiar with Video on Demand? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 355 84.9 85.5 85.5 no 60 14.4 14.5 100.0 Total 415 99.3 100.0 Missing System 3 .7 Total 418 100.0 Would you like the Public, Educational and Government access programming to be available as Video on Demand? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 196 46.8 54.8 54.8 no 79 18.9 22.1 76.8 don't know 83 19.8 23.2 100.0 Total 357 85.5 100.0 Missing System 61 14.5 Total 418 100.0 Are you familiar with the Electronic Program Guide of the cable system? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 333 79.6 80.2 80.2 no 82 19.7 19.8 100.0 Total 415 99.3 100.0 Missing System 3 .7 Total 418 100.0 '-I Center for Policy Analysis ' 43~ University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Reading Cable Television Survey Would you like to have the Public, Educational and Government access program schedule included as part of the EPG? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 211 50.4 62.9 62.9 no 52 12.5 15.7 78.5 don't know 72 17.2 21.5 100.0 Total 335 80.1 100.0 Missing System 83 19.9 Total 418 100.0 Would you see cable programming offered on an "a la carte" basis? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 290 69.4 69.9 69.9 no 118 28.2 28.4 98.3 maybe/don't know 7 1.7 1.7 100.0 Total 415 99.3 100.0 Missing System 3 .7 Total 418 100.0 Do you think that the cable operator should be required to offer cable service to every residence in Reading regardless of location? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 341 81.5 82.1 82.1 no 19 4.6 4.6 86.7 don't know 55 13.3 13.3 100.0 Total 415 99.3 100.0 Missing System 3 .7 Total 418 100.0 . Center for Policy Analysis 44 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Reading Cable Television Survey Should the cable operator continue to provide the Town of Reading with the ability to override programming with important emergency messages? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 402 96.1 96.8 96.8 no 3 .7 .7 97.4 don't know 11 2.5 2.6 100.0 Total 415 99.3 100.0 Missing System 3 .7 Total 418 100.0 Should the Reading customer service office continue to operate? Cumulative Frequency Pe rcent Valid Percent Percent Valid yes 323 77.3 79.1 79.1 no 10 2.3 2.4 81.5 don't know 76 18.1 18.5 100.0 Total 409 97.7 100.0 Missing refused 4 1.1 System 5 1.2 Total 9 2.3 Total 418 100.0 How important is it that the cable operator p rotects the p rivacy of personal subscriber informa tion? Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid very important 372 89.1 89.9 89.9 somewhat important 27 6.5 6.6 96.5 not important 9 2.2 2.3 98.7 don't know 5 1.2 1.3 100.0 Total 414 99.1 100.0 Missing refused 1 .2 System 3 .7 Total 4 .9 Total 418 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis 45 1A University of Massachusetts Dartmouth / n/ Reading Cable Television Survey Are you willing to accept personal inconvenience to assist the cable operator in the protection of your personal subscriber inofrmation? Frequency Valid yes 363 no 32 don't know 19 Total 414 Missing System 4 Total 418 Cumulative Percent Valid Percent Percent 86.9 87.8 87.8 7.6 7.7 95.5 4.5 4.5 100.0 98.9 100.0 1.1 100.0 Center for Policy Analysis 46 ,AL University of Massachusetts Dartmouth f'~ t~ ,'jai r@~dlll;g:. r ► AssetAlloca0Qn; . See page 121'forPRIT:asset alibcation.chart. BoardJule(n~er ¢oarddmrrlrstratdr 16 Lowell Street Joseph `VRRa tChairperson) Colleen 0130 lm Reading, MA 01867 , Fa~e ar p ll1t `sc sPb F a i +goalyd eg iigg L s, J Phone '781 940%7 L d y7 , p n ci r t ar gpmelB Se er Gad LaP inte ThiforFoiilVd~dnesdaYof ,u un~,ntlf Fax 781.9424037 1 o ` dY6,Odhtp • Funded Ratio • Date of LastValuation • Actuary • Assumed Rate of Return • Funding Schedule • Year Fully Funded • Unfunded Liability •Total Pension Appropriation (Fiscal 2008) • Number of Members • Total Payroll/Benefit • Average Salary/Benefit • Average Age • Average Service 75.7% 07/07 Segal 7.75% 1.5% Increasing 2024 $27.2 M $3.8 M Active Retired 352 327 $18.4 M $6.3 M $52,300 $19,300 47 NA 13.6 years NA • PRIT PERAC ANNUAL REPORT 2007 195 j, j <J. G I, N, i'• s r>• c~ r~ t4 E^ . ,1 ) - r. _ vh.l r . -i i f. ;R ii:" • :t? r. ' . iI , , rc. I v I•. :r . . r: 3„ i ti1~~f x. 'r fl: :n'~t:.. fin,:'..; i:..". , - i't~.• l• i t r. .J I It :t re'~I,~'v4' %a~~'~-#.'a.~'^~•ry"~S„-r..,,: x I a r _ L 4 r i - F' 1 't K NT r_^r . . r' - 5': - v , }Ft; - , J r •r. I. i, •~t f T., 4 Emergency Leak Location - Leak Detection Surveys Leak Correlation • Pressure Testing - Disinfection Fire Flow Testing - Pipe Location July 3, 2008 Town of Reading Department of Public Works Water Division 16 Lowell St. Reading, MA 01867-2685 ATTN: Mr. James Richardson, Superintendent of Water & Sewer P. O. Box 2145 - Wakefield, MA 01880 Office: (781) 245-6705 Fax: (781) 224-0955 Dear Mr. Richardson, Starting on the date of June 6t' through June 30th, 2008, our company conducted and completed a water leak detection survey on the entire water distribution system - approximately 110 miles - for the Town of Reading, MA. A total of 6 leaks were detected throughout the water system (1 main leak, 2 service leaks and 3 hydrant leaks). These leaks are listed on the leak page following in this report. We estimate the daily water leakage from the 6 leaks detected to be approximately 35,000 gallons per day. Conducting the survey every year proves to be beneficial to the Town of Reading in reducing and maintaining the unaccounted for water leakage below the 5% level, as well as many other benefits pointed out in the following report. We look forward to working with you and your staff on the next survey if awarded the project. If you have any questions or need our services in the near future, please feel free to call at your convenience. Sincerel , Carl M. Sopper, President .2 ~f SUMMARY: Water & Waste Pipe Testing, Inc., of Wakefield, MA, conducted and completed a water leakage survey on approximately 110 miles of the water distribution system for the i- Town of Reading, MA. The entire survey was conducted during the working hours of r 7:00 am to 3:00 pm on weekdays. The more heavily traveled roads, such as Main St. (Rte. 28) and Lowell St. (Rte. 129), were surveyed on early Saturday morning, June 21, 1 2008, between 5:00 am and 10:00 am. The survey was conducted during the working daylight hours so that assistance . r from Mr. Jim Richardson and his Foreman, Bob Stark, was available when needed. All F leaks detected were reported to Jim Richardson at the end of each day of the survey. f F F F C ~3. i DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT: The leak locator we use is an electronic instrument, Model 111,90, manufactured by Metrotech, Inc., of Sunnyvale, California. This device is a self-contained instrument equipped with headphones, sensitivity and gain controls and a transducer ground pick-up. F- This device is very sensitive to sound and is capable of detecting water leakage of approximately 1/2 gallon per minute. Water escaping from the orifice of a pipe has its F own distinctive sound and can be heard by our instrument over other surrounding disturbances such as wind, automobiles and aircraft, and other underground utilities such as sewer flows, drainage flows, etc. Our company has used this particular leak detector in all our previous leakage surveys and considers this device to be excellent in this field. We are also equipped with a PAL-300 leak correlator, manufactured by Guterman and Messtechnik of Zollikon, Switzerland, a highly sophisticated leak finder that will pinpoint a leak or leaks that are difficult to locate above ground with our sonic leak detection equipment. The equipment consists of a central unit, or processor, in which important data is entered, such as the type of pipe material, size of pipe, etc. A second link, or transmitter, is also used in the process of locating the leak. Both units r have very highly sensitive sensors which are placed directly on the pipe on easily r accessible spots, such as valves, hydrants or house connections. A water leak creates a noise which transmits on.the pipes to both sides of the leak. The central unit compares F the leak noises picked up by both sensors, and measures the time delay of the leak noise reaching both sensors. The central unit will display the footage from each sensor where F the exact location of the leak is. F! ism We recently purchased a second correlator which is more advanced, using digital correlating loggers, or DCL's. DCL's can be used during the day for short time correlating, or on one overnight surveillance. Overnight loggers are preset to record any leakage during low consumption usage and are ideal to check for leakage in areas where heavy vehicle traffic exists, such as a major roadway or downtown area of a city or town. We are also equipped with a new state-of-the-art pipe locator manufactured by Metrotech, Inc., Model 810. This highly sophisticated instrument will more accurately pinpoint an underground water main or water service without interfering with other surrounding utilities such as gas, electric, telephone and cable lines. The magnetic locator we will be using is the Schonstedt GA-72CD Magnetic Locator. Its accuracy insures positive location of buried gate and service boxes. We are also equipped with the necessary survey tools such as gate keys, service keys, hydrant wrenches, sledge hammers and pry bars for opening gate boxes, gate box cleaners, etc. Our vehicles include a 2005 Toyota Tundra Pickup Extended Cab and a 2005 Ford Ranger Extended Cab, with the company name clearly marked on the vehicles. F Both vehicles have caution lights and strobes, and a survey sign in the rear of the vehicles cautioning on-coming motorists of frequent stopping and indicating that a leakage survey F is in progress. F F F F -4- l r • • • • • WORM LIST OF LEAKS DETECTED TOWN OF READING, MA Leak# Date Location Description GPM Repair Located of Leak of Leak Date 1 6/6/08 #67 Salem St. Abandoned service 7 6/26/08 2 6/6/08 924 Lawrence Rd. Hydrant leak 1 Not repaired 3 6/9/08 #556 Haverhill St. Hydrant leak 3 6/9/08 4 6/13/08 Corner of Bancroft Hydrant leak 1 Not Ave. & Middlesex repaired Ave. '5 6/21/08 #418 Lowell St. Service leak 6 6/22/08 6 6/28/08 Lakeview Ave. 6" main leak 6 Not Apartment Complex repaired F -5- ESTIMATED WATER LEAKAGE FOR THE 6 LEAKS DETECTED (An average GPM - gallons per minute - was conservatively estimated for each category of the leaks located throughout the system.) Total gallons per minute for each category - r _ 1 Main Leak - 6 GPM 2 Service leaks - 13 GPM 3 Hydrant leaks - 5 GPM F.i Total GPM for all categories of leaks detected - 24 GPM F Total estimated daily water leakage from leak detection - Approx. 35,000 gal. Total estimated water leakage per month from leak F detection - Approx. 1 million gallons REVENUE SAVED FROM F UNACCOUNTED FOR WATER LEAKAGE F (The A.W.W.A. quotes the national average cost for pumping one million gallons of water is approximately $2,300.00. This cost is based on electricity costs, chemical r treatment, maintenance, manpower, etc.) Revenue saved from unaccounted for water leakage: F Total annual unaccounted for leakage detected - Approx. 12 million gal. per year F Total annual revenue savings from leak detection - Approx. $27,600.00 per year F IT r -6- C F TT M W. ' M. i • • • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Based on the results of this leak detection survey, the unaccounted for water leakage found can be attributed to the detectable and repairable water leaks in the system. It does not include water used for firefighting, flushing programs, street cleaning, etc. The amount of water from the leaks detected during the survey can be defined as the difference between the amount of water produced and the amount of water sold, which is f registered on the customer's meters. The actual consumption records over the next 12 months following the completion of the survey will more accurately indicate the volume of water which had been leaking throughout the system prior to the leak detection survey. F The following are some additional benefits of having a water leakage survey conducted: -Reduced electricity costs T -Reduced the cost of chemical treatment -Reduced property damage from water breaks surfacing r -Reduced risk of contamination r -Decrease in water rates for customers since it is they who pay for leakage May we suggest that the following recommendations be taken into consideration: F 1 - Continue an ongoing water leakage survey every year. 2 - Repair the leaks that have not been repaired on the list included in this report r as soon as possible. We strongly believe that a continuous water leakage survey conducted every year r would continue in the present reduction of water loss in the system, thus increasing revenue in the Water Department's budget. F -7- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: F F F F F F n We would like to mention our appreciation to the Director of Public Works, Mr. Edward McIntire. We would also like to thank Mr. James Richardson, Superintendent of Water & Sewer, and Mr. Bob Stark, Foreman, and their staff, for their full cooperation in helping us make the survey successful. We hope we can be of some service to the Water Department on any future leakage surveys. -s- cl, W V O L U ME 19 N U M B E R 5 F SYS EMS tiF F_ P ~ 2008 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS I N K E -ao 1<h F u Ij m~ v air IIr}I t rt Y}®I p ripat p _ f~ 'i ~"~r_ qw i+... li~l, .~.,.v~ .r.n'6,e -tom. ~•„t~Y ...ir__.._ q .Firs- ~,E .4v;_ _ 41 V J IN THIS ISSUE: 2 ( Feature How Can We Solve OurToughest Problems Peacefully? a speech by Adarn Kahane How can we solve our toughest problems peacefully? It is not hard to try to solve them violently-to use money or authority or guns to try to make lungs the way we want them to be. And it is not ITard to be peaceful-but leave things just the way they are. The question is, how can we work together to co-create new social realities? To do so, we have to become bilingual. We have to learn to speak two languages that are not translatable one into the other: the language of power and the language of love. Power is the drive to get one's job done, to achieve one's purpose, to grow. Love is the drive to reconnect that which is whole, which is one, but that appears broken into fragments. The reason we need to be bilingual is that power and love are complementary. According to Martin Luther King jr., "Power without love is reckless and abusive. And love without power is sentimental and anernic." If we can work with both together, we can make progress toward solving our toughest problems. b 1 Systems The World Cafe Goes Local: ATown Plans for the Future by Peter Hechenbleikner, Deborah Gilburg, Stories and Kerry Dunnell In February, the town of Reading, Massachusetts, held its first World Cafe conversation. People new to Reading and life-long residents alike were present to talk about what they wanted for the future of their community. This kind of community-wide conversation offers valuable benefits to cities and towns that wish to increase civic engagement and qualitative community input, particularly during a time of stagnant budgets, escalating costs, competing special interests, contentious public discourse, and dwindling public participation.This article summarizes how the Reading World Cafe came together and the outcomes that resulted to illtuninate the practical role of inclusive conversation as a means of identifying priorities and building systemic support in community governance. 10 ( From the "Black-Belt" Mastery of Mental Models by Greg Hennessy Resource Shelf Originally published in 19134, Robert Cialdini% hi uence:The Psychology of Persuasion presents six ways that sales- aren't people and other "consent professionals" use commonly held mental models to get us to say "yes," These high-brow mental models we've painstakingly constructed over the years regarding how our organizations work. These are basic, operational mental models that we learn at an early age, are reinforced every day, and help us get through our lives by streamlining the myriad of decisions we must make despite having incomplete information. Understanding these ways of thinking can provide practice in mental model awareness (noticing that a menud model has been triggered) and mastery (evaluating and revising them, as necessary). 12 1 Pegasus Notes Maximize Your Conference Value When You Attend as aTeam Copyright @ 2008 Pegasus Communications, Inc. (www.pegasuscom.com) All rights reserved. For permission to distribute copies of this newsletter in any form, please contact us at permissions@pegasuscom.co S Y S 'it' E M S S T® R I E S THE WORLD CAFE GOES LOCAL: A TOWN PLANS FOR THE FUTURE BY P E T E R H E C H E N B L E I K N E R , D E B O R A H G! L B U R G, AND KERRY DUNNELL n the evening of February 27, 2008, the town of Reading, Massachusetts (population 23,708) held its first World Cafe conversation. The event, open to anyone who lived or worked in Reading, attracted about 220 participants, including high school students, senior citizens, business- people, representatives fi-om cultural, religious, and other non-profit institu- tions, volunteers, activists, and residents who had never been involved in local activities before. People new to Read- ing and life-long octogenarian resi- dents alike were all present to talk about what they wanted for the future of their community. To our knowledge, no other Massachusetts municipality has hosted a World Cafe or similar process. We believe, however, that this kind of community-wide conversation offers valuable benefits to cities and towns that wish to increase civic engagement and qualitative conununity input in planning for the future, particularly during a time of stagnant budgets, escalating Costs, annpeting special interests, contentious public discourse, and dwindling public participation. We offer the story of our process-how the Reading World Cafe cause TEAM 'TOP Following the lead of the Reading World Cafe organizers, pay careful attention to gaining buy-in from stakeholder groups for any new initiative. together and the outcomes that resulted-to illtrninate the practical role of inclusive conversation as a means of identifying priorities and building systemic support in coanmu- nity governance. WhV a World CaM It started in June 2007 in a kitchen, where a handful of people met to talk about the possibility of hosting a community-wide conversa- tion about the future of Reading. The group was drawn to this idea for a number of reasons. Reading has a strong history of community involvement. In addition to local governance boards, connnit- tees, and representative town meeting, Reading boasts dozens of volunteer organizations dedicated to schools, environmental activism, social services, charity, arts and culture, religious pur- suits, and neighborly networking. However, these groups generally oper- ate independent of one another, focus- ing only on their perceived sphere of influence.The folks around the kitchen table were attracted to the potential in all that divergent volunteer energy, ask- ing "How can we as a convnunity align ourselves to define the collective future of Reading?" The idea greatly interested Pat Schettini, superintendent of Reading Public Schools, who had come to this initial meeting excited to consider that question. "Given the strong community involvement we've seen in the past, hosting an open, expansive community dialogue about the future sounded doable," commented Schettini. "Yet I have seen many public discussions deteriorate and polarize in the face of controversy and strong opinions-to the point where folks were no longer listening to or learning from each other. I am interested in encouraging more inclusive and courteous discus- sions to deternnine what is important to this town." Over the past several years, the Reading cominuility had expe- rienced its share of conflict over a number of local issues, including commer- cial development propos- als, interstate highway projects, redistricting for elementary and middle schools, budget allocations, tax overrides, and the town's water supply. Passions over these issues tended to run high, and the discussions often led to debates and even shouting matches; dialogue was scarce. A recent rezoning controversy concerning a retail development had become heated. "I think the debate became so volatile because as a community we hadn't really explored what our future could be," observed Priscilla Hollenbeck, one of the original conversation organizers. "We had to take a step back and con- sider, if not this, then what do we want as a community? We needed to heal the divisiveness and focus on a common vision.."Tine people gathered around the kitchen table thought the World Cafe might be a way to do so. Previous efforts to engage com- munity members in broader thinking had met with limited success. For example, Reading had recently final- ized its 1.0-year master plan, a docu- ment that identified more than 150 i6 THE SYSTEMS THINKER- VOL. 19, NO. 5 www.pegasuscom.com ©2008 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIO r v v projects and actions for the town to undertake. Despite the best efforts of the master plan committee to draw citizens to any number of public meet- ings, this process drew little commu- nity input.As a result, the town manager and board of selectmen had only limited data on community inter- ests to consider when developing pri- orities. In addition, the school district had completed its District Improve- ment Plan, which also contained many recommendations and objectives that reflected the best efforts of a relatively small number of dedicated residents. It became clear to those who met that morning in June that hosting a World Cafe conversation could have tremendous benefit to the community, not only because of the potential for collecting qualitative data about what people cared about, but also because of the positive, collaborative experience the community could have by talking about their future together. "The hope was that we would get a sense of what the community valued most as part of the World Cafe conversation process," reflected school committee member Elaine Webb. "The data generated will be valuable in helping those of us charged with implementing these plans prioritize our next steps." As with all things new, the approach was not without risk. Whether real or perceived, the possi- bility that the event could fail and make matters even worse was an underlying concern. Luckily, one of the initial organizers was an experi- cnced facilitator who utilized similar processes in her consulting work, and she was able to bring her experience to the group of eager enthusiasts. G'IIOW lit Aill Callile 'i!"arsgether While the idea to host this event began with just a few people, over the course of the eight months it took to implement the World Cafe, the con- cept captured the interest and curiosity of many others. The first step for the organizers was to attract "Supporters" to draw participants to the Cafe. Once engaged, these individuals and organi- zations would help promote the event and ensure a diverse representation of perspectives. - © 2008 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS Armed with a date, a venue, and a list of resources needed, the planning team organized an informational meet- ing in October 2007.They invited rep- resentatives from every group and organization they could think of The team chose to use the introductory meeting to run a mini-version of the World Cafe so those in attendance could experience the conversation process for themselves. During this recruitment workshop, the participants were asked to share their perspectives on the questions: "What do I value about this community? What would make this corrununity stronger and more connected?" "I was pleasantly surprised," remarked Selectman James Bonazoli of the conversation experience. "I had anticipated there being some kind of hidden agenda or ulterior motive involved, but the conversations were authentic and energizing. I really enjoyed hearing what people had to say." Curiosity among a broader group for what might come of a Reading World Cafe had been sparked. Over the course of the next several months, the planning team worked to build the list of Supporters, meeting with marry different organizations to gain formal and informal sponsorship for the event. Early on, the team discovered it was important to list the essential questions and trajectory for the Cafe conversation on all marketing materials in order to clarify intentions and keep the process transparent. Accordingly, they developed a logo, an FAQ, press releases, and promotional flyers. With the help of early Supporters, the Reading World Cafe developed a web- site (www.readingworldcafe.org) and an online RSVP process.They enlisted volunteers to manage connnunications, set up and break down the venue, and supply refreshments and entertainment during the reception hour.They recruited a visual recorder willing to capture the event graphically, and con- tacted the local newspapers and com- munity television network (see "Questions to Consider"). "Marry people are asking, what will happen at the World Cafe? What will come of it?" noted school connui.ttee .Berms,, the Vcirld Cafe process ~,r.c, new and unusual; many w,!re unsure ind wen suspicious:;about imcapabilities.The planning committee ha&to reckon.with the following` questions to ensure a high-quality event. • What ifpeo¢leihave a difflcuft time understanding what the World Cafe is? How do you get them to participate? We found it important to distinguish the World Cafe process from the kinds of public forums that people had attended in. the past, and make the information about the process transparent and accessible.The planning team created a website, drafted an FAQ, spoke ac dozens of meetings, ran a panel disrussiom,- on community access TV, sent out press releases, made personal calls; and used the connections and networks of the event Supporte -s to disseminate information. • How does this differ from formal decision-making processes? This was perhaps the most difficult question to answer and required active support from the board of selectmen, school committee, town manager, and superintendenc.of schools.The message that this process was not in lieu of official decisions, but rather a complement to them, had to be reinforced on a regular basis. • Who needs to be involved? The planning team sought as many local organizations, community leaders, and businesses as possible to support the event. The goal was, to attract folks across a broad spectrum in, interests, values, and perspectives.The team created categories of support with different levels of commitment: to make it easier for groups to sign on. • How difficult: is: it to organize o:World Cafe conversation? The,World Cafe organization is_ a great resource for groups that would like to host a .community conversation (www.theworld cafe. com). T h ei r website offers instructions, supplies, and case studies. We found it helpful to'have the aid of a person experienced in this style of communica- tion to lead the effort: I.._., 761.398.9700 THE SYSTEMS THINKE' JUNEIJULY 2008 9AI3. member David Michaud, during an interview on Reading Community Television. "The fact is no one really knows-it is all part of the mystique and excitement of expansive, collabora- tive conversation. In the end, however, I believe it will be the experience we have together that matters most" The Reading Wovid Cafe Event The evening of February 27, 2008 began with a half hour reception in the entrance hall to the high school field house. It didn't snow until 11:00 that evening-a blessing in New England! Inside the field house itself, 45 round tables, each with five chairs, were covered with large sheets of plain paper and cups of colored markers. A projection screen was positioned so that people seated at the tables could see the questions on slides (see "The World Cafe in Action"). Participants arrived curious about what exactly they had signed up for. Over the course of two and a half hours, the crowd participated in four rounds of conversation. Participants were invited to be "courteous and curious" during their conversations, and a "recorder" for each table was asked to keep records of what was dis- cussed on the sheets ofpaper.The questions used that night allowed par- ticipants to explore what they valued most about Reading and what possi- bilities they hoped would be a part of the town's future. Between rounds, all participants except the recorders were asked to move independently to other tables. The movement encouraged divergence and .infused each table with. new perspectives at each round. At the end of the evening, the participants were asked to capture on large sticky notes (one idea per note) their ideas about Dreams, Opportuni- ties, Dilemmas, and Next Steps. Notes were collected and posted on large tenplates located in the front of the room for all to see.The notes were later transcribed and published on the Reading World Cafe website. The tem- plates and graphic recording remained on display at the Reading Public Library for the following month (see "The Future and What We Want"). Closing comments shared in the plenary revealed that people felt ener- gized, connected, and inspired. "I loved being included in this process," offered a teenaged girl. "It felt really good to have the adults in this town listen to what we kids have to say." "I felt so respected by the people here," added a young parent. "I ann proud to be a member of this community." The World Cafe process gave town officials data that was of a higher quality than what might have come from focus groups or surveys. The energy level of individuals that night was positive and uplifting. The town administrators collected an armload of forms with names, contact information, and stated interest in fol- lowing up on outcomes. When people reluctantly left the venue at the end of the evening, they were eager to know when the results would be available and when another World Cafe could be scheduled. Outcomes Members of the planning team organ- ized and sun-nnarized the results of the World Cafe conversation. Overall, the sticky notes indicated that residents and business people wanted a richer community experience. There was a strong interest in: • Increased community diversity • Multigenerational spaces • Ways and places to come together to learn and celebrate • A downtown area as a focal point for community cormection through social gathering spots, a community or cul- tural arts center, a nd more restaurants • Accessible outdoor space ranging frorn sidewalks and walking paths to more usable open spaces and parks • Public efforts to go "green" and become more environmentally friendly • Increased communication and better use of the town website, including a corruhnmity calendar These thoughts and suggestions were sprinkled throughout the four templates, taking the form of broad hopes, concrete suggestions to capital- ize on commtuity strengths, practical challenges such as funding and low public participation, and actual steps that could be taken to increase com- munication and idea implementation. "It is clear to me that people want more information about what is hap- pening in the community," acknowl- edged school committee member Lisa Gibbs. "And they definitely want the results of this conversation acknowl- edged and used by the governing bod- ies. Those of us who are local officials also need to make it clear how valu- able this kind of feedback is" The World Cafe process gave town officials data that was of a higher qual- ity than what might have come from focus groups or surveys, because it was the resLdt of an explorative conversa- tion between people interested in the community. People had time to listen to each other as well as express their ideas before converging on concrete suggestions. As a result, the suggestions spoke to a deeper need for strong community and a quality of life that night not be as evident in results from anonymous surveys or small focus groups. Much of the data collected that evening was not a surprise to local decision makers; they had heard these perspectives before. Nonetheless, the Cafe event helped to reinforce and val- idate those issues, and provided great assistance in prioritizing them. Town officials responsible for setting conhinu- nity goals and program initiatives can establish priorities confident of the support from a broad cross-section of the community.The ability to proceed with the "wind at one's back" versus anticipating public inertia or resistance can be highly motivating for the vol- unteers who hold these important positions. Town officials are not the only ones who benefit from the data; other community organizations are also privy to the collective perspectives, desires, and concerns of the partici- pants. This information can irnform direction, mission, and collaborative efforts. For example, the event spurred discussions between a local bank with ;'i THE SYSTEMS THINKERQ VOL. 19, NO. 5 www.pegasuscom.com © 2008 PEGASUS COMMU CAT ON L fir :r d `law mot. _1' 4 ' rays 't 'r""'~ ~a','°' n~ ~ F.:?r~', ~ Rw• • ~ t -1. per; The Reading high school field house was the setting for the World Cafe. _ excess property in the downtown area and an umbrella cultural group that has been seeking space for a performing arts center. In addition, participants connected with others in their community who share an interest in Reading's future, and they were able to influence the shape of that fixture. Perspectives were altered; new insights gleaned. "I have always felt I needed to advocate pas- sionately for the environment," com- mented one participant after the conversation event. "I was really struck at how easily the idea of'going green' took hold without my expending all chat energy; and I was able to listen to others in a new way." Finally, participants and the com- munity organizations learned a new way of communicating, or perhaps, discovered the lost art of communica- tion. In Reading, the World Cate has become a lexicon for inclusive, respectful dialogue that has spread throughout the town, cropping up in church gatherings, official committee meetings, and the Substance Abuse Prevention program; it has become the methodology of choice for com- munity conversation. A Valuable Stega The World Cafe process can be a valu- able step between cornrnunity involve- ment and formal decision making. When held in a productive manner that expands creative thinking, increases interaction, and affords a safe, inquisitive environment, conversations about important questions in which everyone has a stake can provide qualitative data for decision makers as well as invite a more collaborative and inclusive form of civic engagement. Taking time to dis- cover collective perspectives and desires-without the pressure of an imminent decision-permits the emer- gence of new possibilities, reduces resist- ance, and creates a shared experience that can fuel the courage needed to face an uncertain future. In the words of 10-year-old Madeline Hollenbeck, who observed the event, "I liked Reading World Cafe because it was important. It was a chance for all of Reading to get together and speak out about what was on their mind. It was helpful to the connnunity because it made people think about things that they may have never thought about before. If more people work together on something they agree needs work, it will get done quicker. And afterward everybody can admire what they've accomplished together." 11 Peter Hechenbleilcner has been town manager in Reading, Massachusetts, for more than 21 years. Previously he worked In South Brunswick. New Jersey, as community development director and in Plainsboro as their first township administrator. He can be reached at town manager@ci.reading.ma.us. Deborah Gilburg has been a resident of Reading for more than 10 years.A member of the Reading World Cafd planning team and facilitator of the event, Deborah is also a principal of Gliburg Leadership Institute, a Massachusetts-based consulting firm. She can be reached at deborah@gilburgleadership.com. Kerry Dunnell has been a resident of Reading for almost seven years. Professionally, she serves 27 health departments as local government liaison at the Cambridge Advanced Practice Center, focusing on local leadership capacity and regional collaboration practices. She can be reached at kdunnell@hotmail.com. EM, ~`bti'at~ r t,'>•:L., h It `11'1.5~.a~G'9tf. ryr~ J~IIArt~ Yl' Il~r~ry p ' i ' {~I `!i'Ci^P~ J p•w`' 3.a ITtf e I 4, l PT' I ~ _ 11 1 ~ II ' [dWP"Y tpTl l ~ ~7 tP- r ' { ~ l i l r N Rf I T'I(Yii pp . q {,l1 itIU x I iI t+el I 1 ! l I r nf~a) r tt~tit.. n h J a W tF I :S!dC 6T it Art r9t0 (~N76EI et ~plkhr:~ tr l r(~{ r 5 t t Pr11L t kir 'IKh`~ i} i y s{ tta [ A 1 t E t l I { F (r C i e y r r,K:3' tL....k h t w, r{ I f i i ..•x. yi ; Lkl~i r~ anal a fp {s i• .lN -tl ~ t- ( ii. mot, t:., 4 i _trs AIL ~a r a-gl F i Ilftl s r r tip. 00 a tr.p...fi. ` -r t ~t ? _ ~n ` ~ r 1 l i l {rl rAI t { .,r„k, r f t *.I 4 rl r''! ~,-r t / l •i;.' r•~ CNI t ~ L fI -t r i c ,~p.!}r r I 7• rat u-~ e ris ylr tilts i l ipi~ E 1 n. E t,,Ft C 13 IR r, i t v r rr}~e , r1 i ` I Ir! 0 I' IIIn . u. .t .Ht-lift _ vAI I'~l 'l F. t:^F 7 a( i.r 7 I i.. p r f r'I E..,TIU.. ~s I~ t { ,a . y,~.Y I' a W,j ••I 1 H IYi: .,~j3 A visual recorder captured the event graphically. © 2008 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS 781.398.9700 THE SYSTEMS THINKERO JUNE/JULY 2008 f b / q~A For Immediate Release FRESH VEGETABLES, EGGS, AND FLOWERS AT READING FARM STAND READING DEPOT - EVERY TUESDAY - lpm to 7pm Summer is here and fresh vegetables and other goodies will be in abundance at the Reading Depot! Every Tuesday, from lpm to 7pm, the farm stand will be set up for business. This is the second year for the farm stand at The Depot. This year, they have added eggs, flowers and baked goods to their fresh offerings. Local Reading resident, Michelle Ferullo asked Town Manager Pete Hechenbleikner a few years ago why we didn't have a farmer's market in town, and Pete said "that's a great idea, Michelle, why don't you do that." And she did! The Economic Development Committee is happy to have the activity on Haven Street as they hope that farm stand goers will continue to spread their purchasing power throughout the downtown area. Page 1 of 1 Hechenbleikner, Peter From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 1:55 PM To: Reading - Selectmen; attywhs@comcast.net; Urell, Ruth; Johnson, Cheryl;'Doug Cowell'; Connors, Bill Cc: Schena, Paula; Marino, Lillian; 'Phil Rushworth' Subject: COMCAST proposal We received the Comcast proposal today. Bill already has his copy. The Board of Selectmen will get their copies next Tuesday night. The Library and Town Clerk will get theirs through interoffice mail T-TAC will need to pick there up - I'll give it to Bill Connors Phil - you can pick one up from Paula/Lillian Pete 7/23/2008 yc 5 es /-#V % Page 1 7AW Hechenbleikner, Peter From: Ben Tafoya [BenTafoya@planetnw.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 2:05 PM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter Cc: Schena, Paula Subject: FW: Washington Park Use Survey Importance: High Hi Pete, 7.JC ~D5 Here is the email on the user survey for Washington Park that the adhoc group put together. It is live and we want people who use (or may use in the future) Washington Park to use the link to input their ideas. Thanks, Ben Tafoya From: nancy-linn swain [mailto:nswain@verizon.net] Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 3:15 PM To: Teudo, John'; 'Collins, James'; 'Dawn Cunningham'; kstroman@comcast.net; marknelson@remax.net; 'McNamara, Erica'; 'Nancy-Linn Swain'; rhiggins@haleyaldrich.com; Ben Tafoya; 'timothy michel' Subject: Washington Park Use Survey Importance: High Below is the Washington Park User Survey, we are live and ready to being gathering data. Mark can you please forward this fo the various baseball users so we can get feedback from the kids and parents who play there. Sorry to those in the neighborhood who are getting this e-mail multiple times. NancyLinn The Selectmen created a task group to develop a master plan for Washington Park. All parks in Reading are having master plans developed, the purpose of this is to identify the current use and issues in a park and to develop a master plan for the future. A master plan is used to help guide the town as updates and renovations are made to equipment or other attributes of a park. It is also helps to guide the town when people are interested in donating money or items to the town or a park. Since Washington Park is a neighborhood park and also is used for baseball, there are two groups of individuals we need input from. One group are the individuals/groups who live/work in the neighborhoods surrounding Washington Park, we need to know about your usage or non usage of the space and your ideas about how we can enhance the park. The second group is individuals associated with the baseball programs who utilize the park. Please use the link below to access the online survey. We ask that you only submit one response per individual, however if there are multiple people in your family we are interested in everyone's personal opinions and ask that each person fill out the survey. if you have children, please ask them to fill out the survey or please help them fill it out, their responses are also very important to us. We look forward to your input. Please note the survey will close on August 9th so please respond now! Thank you for your time and effort. httD://www.survevmonkev.com/s.asox?sm=HwWSom5fPze8CsdhDSsFkQ 3d 3d 7/23/2008 Washington Park Master Planning Group Page 1 of 1 L/c 3 dS Schena, Paula From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 12:43 PM To: 'Alan Foulds' Cc: Reading - Selectmen; Schena, Paula Subject: RE: No left turn at the old dummy Alan With the crash barrels in place (required by our engineer and MHD) a vehicle taking a left form Pleasant Street to Main Street would be forced to travel down main on the wrong side of the road against traffic, or up main and make an impossible 180 degree turn. This will be corrected when the regular signal is installed - hopefully by the end of this construction season. The option is there to take John Street to Union, and then a left on Main - not as convenient but do- able. Pete I/c Board of Selectmen From: Alan Foulds [mailto:alan@foulds.org] Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 3:31 PM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter Subject: No left turn at the old dummy Hi Peter, I am not sure if this is a local question or one for the state. This morning I was blocked from taking a left turn from Pleasant Street onto Main Street. What is the reasoning behind this? It does not appear to be a safety issue, as there is a light there, with no cross traffic. Cars on Main Street are stopped whether I go left or right. For the same reasons a left turn does not seem to cause any traffic problems. Whether you turn left or right at the intersection, it takes approximately the same time. It does, however, cause a potential problem for the Pleasant Street neighborhood. It makes it very tough to go south on Rte. 28 or to get to the downtown area - particularly Haven Street. It also seems to hurt the businesses. For instance, in my neighborhood it is tough to get to the Atlantic now. I suppose we could use Washington Street, but by doing so, we pass nearby two other super markets. I imagine it is already hard for the existing downtown businesses to survive with the construction and added competition. This seems to add to their difficulty. Lowell Street via Salem Street, the other option, is very busy during rush hour. Forcing traffic that way only adds to it. I realize it is only temporary, but I understand the situation could last up to a year. I honestly believe the end result is worth the hardship but this particular configuration seems unnecessary. Is there something I am not seeing? Is this a decision that can be reconsidered? Thanks, Alan Foulds go 7/10/2008 Page 1 of 1 Schena, Paula From: Hechenblelkner, Peter Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 12:44 PM To: 'Norman Fortin' Cc: Reading - Selectmen; Schena, Paula Subject: RE: General Comments to the Town Norman q C, gos With the crash barrels in place (required by our engineer and MHD) a vehicle taking a left form Pleasant Street to Main Street would be forced to travel down main on the wrong side of the road against traffic, or up main and make an impossible 180 degree turn. This will be corrected when the regular signal is installed - hopefully by the end of this construction season. The option is there to take John Street to Union, and then a left on Main - not as convenient but do- able. Pete I/c Board of Selectmen From: Norman Fortin [mailto:NFortin198@comcast.net] Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 11:50 AM To: townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us Subject: General Comments to the Town Request From: Norman Fortin Email: NFortin 198 a@comcast.net Address: 149 Pleasant Street City: Reading State: MA Zip: 01867 Phone: Organization: To whom it may concern, Making Pleasant Street a RIGHT TURN ONLY onto Main Street is Ridiculous. This will only create problems for the residents of Pleasant Street. If you want to go to visita business that is south of Pleasant Street, you must drive down John Street to Green Street or Washington Street, and turn right up Main Street. Since we are REQUIRED by the STATE to have a light at this location, then why can't the residents make a left tum.It appears to me that we are looking more and more alike to Boston. I did not purchase a home in Reading only to end up in Boston. 7/10/2008 3 D1 1 IC , Pagel of 2 c--,f Hechenbleikner, Peter From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 1:44 PM To: 'Jones, Bradley - Rep. (HOU)' Subject: RE: Request from Rep. Jones Attachments: Ipswich River Greenway Feasibility Study.pdf Brad See the attached estimate for the largest (and most expensive) part of the trail. This does not include a contingency. We would use the composite lumber option. Although it is slightly more expensive, it is much more durable. We would of course appreciate anything you can do to assist in funding. Pete From: Jones, Bradley - Rep. (HOU) [mailto:Bradley.Jones@state.ma.us] Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 1:14 PM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter Subject: RE: Request from Rep. Jones Peter any update on this request? We are doing a bond bill here so I thought I might ask for some funding. From: Hechenbleikner, Peter [mailto:phechenbleikner@ci.reading. ma.us] Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 10:27 AM To: Honetschlager, Kim; Zambouras, George; LeLacheur, Bob Cc: Jones, Bradley - Rep. (HOU); Natale, Patrick - Rep. (HOU); Smith, Michael (SEN) Subject: RE: Request from Rep. Jones Brad, Richard, Pat, Thanks so much for coming this morning. I hope it was helpful to you all as it was to us. I'm attaching a request for a Federal Earmark that I have filed with Congressman Tierney's office. The state $ reflected is the $200,000 earmark the we have already received for demolition of the Water Treatment Plant. We look forward to working with you all on matters of interest to Reading. Pete From: Honetschlager, Kim Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 10:20 AM To: Zambouras, George; LeLacheur, Bob; Hechenbleikner, Peter Subject: RE: Request from Rep. Jones 7/10/2008 gql- Page 2 of 2 Yup. I'll print 2 maps for him. Kim From: Zambouras, George Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 10:18 AM To: LeLacheur, Bob; Hechenbleikner, Peter Cc: Honetschlager, Kim Subject: RE: Request from Rep. Jones Kim I believe both of the maps requested are ones you have printed. George From: LeLacheur, Bob Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 10:14 AM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter Cc: Zambouras, George; Honetschlager, Kim Subject: Request from Rep. Jones Brad Jones would like two maps from us. One would be just like the one hanging in the conference room on the'RCTV room' wall - that shows green space & labels lots of streets. He uses our website, but needs a larger map for reference. North Reading has given him one. He said we didn't have to frame it - he would take care of that - but it is going to hang in his office in Boston. The other would be like the one in that same conference room that shows the proposed boardwalk & northern area greenway. That is not for'hanging up' as much as for reference. He was also interested to see a copy of any federal grants we are seeking for the boardwalk, to see if he can help. Thanks, Bob 7/10/2008 4..~ d Town of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 V., Fax: (781) 942-9037 Website: i wv.readinawa.goa- Finance Department Technology Division (781)942-6631 June 30, 2008 Gabrielle Stebbins Massachusetts Riverways Program Department of Fish and Game 251 Causeway St. Boston, MA 02114 Ms. Stebbins, It is with pleasure that we submit the enclosed Ipswich River Greenway Feasibility Study funded in part by a Stream Team Implementation Award from the Riverways Program. The study was conducted jointly by the Reading/North Reading Stream Team and the Reading Conservation Commission with the assistance of a wetlands consultant. Our goal was to determine the environmental impact and technical feasibility of completing a .87 mile length of the greenway, most of it boardwalk, along the Ipswich River between the Lobs Pound Mill site and the Reading Town Forest. We hoped to develop a cost estimate. with sufficient detail to estimate partial costs as well as changes in scope or materials. Finally, we hoped to put together enough information to allow the Town to apply for a grant to fund the project. With Riverways help, we have met our goals. On behalf of the Stream Team and the Town of Reading, thank you. Sincerely, ^,~c,, ~ yr Kim Honetschlager GIS Coordinator Town of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 3 IPSWICH RIVER GREENWAY FEASIBILITY STUDY Town of Reading, MA t June 30, 2008 This project is funded in part by the Riverways Program of the MA Department of Fish and Game. 1. Summary Between January and June 2008 the Reading/North Reading Stream Team, the Reading Conservation Commission, and a wetlands consultant completed a feasibility study for a greenway along the Ipswich River in Reading. The study focused on a .87 mile, unbuilt section of the 2.7 mile greenway, which closely follows the Ipswich River between Mill Street and the Town Forest. The study sought to determine both the ecological impact of the proposed trail - much of it boardwalk - and the cost of the trail. The trail was found to be technically and environmentally feasible assuming that 1) the boardwalk sections are supported by helical screws and 2) that the trail could qualify as a limited project under state wetlands regulation 310 CMR 10.53(3)(j). The study found that the trail could be built for an estimated $536,320 using pressure treated support lumber and composite decking (Appendix 1). The challenges of building this section of trail are many. Approximately half the trail is within NHESP priority habitat of rare species and also estimated habitat of rare wildlife; half is within wetlands; fully three-quarters traverses FEMA 100 year floodplain; and all but the end sections of the trail are within the Riverfront area. The rewards of completing this section of the greenway are equally many. This wild, even intimate, section of the river has relatively little intrusion from surrounding development (despite its proximity to Roston). The area is rich in wildlife and is rebounding after the cessation of pumping from Reading's water supply wells just upstream. It connects two recreation areas: Reading's well-used Town Forest and the under-utilized Lobs Pound Mill site. The latter is slated for an accessible fishing pier as well as accessible parking. The low gradient of the trail makes it ideal for use by walking impaired individuals. In addition, Reading has an active and energetic trails constituency. The Town's Trails Committee recently teamed with DPW staff, REI, and volunteers to build a .1 mile accessible section of the greenway. Table 1: IPSWICH RIVER BOARDWALK COST ESTIMATE Composite Lumber 5/4 PT 2" x 6" PT (e.g. Trex) Southern Pine Southern Pine 2,501.5 Lineal Feet of Boardwalk Materials $300,001.32 $263,701.32 $263,701.32 Installation $173,637.20 $173,637.20 $173,637.20 Subtotal Boardwalk $473,638.52 $437,338.52 $437,338.52 Trex Edging PT Edging PT Edging 2,095.0 Lineal Feet of Earthen Trail Trail Materials $25,915.03 $24,563.22 $24,563.22 Trail Labor $26,826.80 $26,826.80 $26,826.80 Bridge Materials $4,322.71 $3,451.51 $3,451.51 Bridge Installation $5,616.60 $5,616.60 $5,616.60 Subtotal Earthen Trail $62,681.14 $60,458.13 $60,458.13 Total Ipswich River Boardwalk $536,319.66 $497,796.65 $497,796.65 -1- W4 L Page 1 of 1 Sic- e a S Schena, Paula From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 9:01 AM To: Bonazoli, James; Goldy, Stephen home account; Schena, Paula; Schubert, Rick; Schubert, Rick; Anthony, Camille; Tafoya, Ben Subject: RE: Pension funds James Actually we just got the pension PERAC report and I copied the Reading page to the Board of Selectmen - it will be in your next meeting packet. After you have a chance to look at that then you can let me know if you'd like more info - we did I think 11 % in the past 3 year period in return on investment. Pete I/c Board of Selectmen From: bonazoli@comcast.net [mailto:bonazoli@comcast.net] Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 8:10 AM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter; Goldy, Stephen home account; Schena, Paula; Schubert, Rick; Schubert, Rick; Hechenbleikner, Peter; Anthony, Camille; Tafoya, Ben Subject: Pension funds Pete On one of our future agendas could we have an update on our Pension fund? I'm sure we are not one of the implied towns mentioned but might be good to get an update anyway - no rush. Thanks James Friday, July 11, 2008 Some cities lag in pension funds The Massachusetts retirement system knocked $806 million off its unfunded pension balance in 2007, thanks to investment returns that easily outpaced growth in liabilities. However, those gains are at risk this year as Wall Street experiences massive asset write-downs because of mortgage-related credit losses and falling U.S. housing prices. Stocks have taken it on the chin as a result, as the Dow Jones Industrial Averaue was down 153 percent through July 7. The situation could prove especially problematic for a number of public pension plans that, unlike the state system, remain drastically underfunded. Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said lower-than-expected investment returns could trigger a re-evaluation of what some local retirement systems will need to close pension funding gaps. 7/16/2008 A Page 1 of 1 Schena, Paula From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 4:39 PM To: 'Penta, Lawrence' Cc: Schena, Paula Subject: Tree Limb Larry ,VC SOS It was nice meeting with you the other morning. Vista is a beautiful street - and one that don't often visit. I spent quite a while with Selectman James Bonazoli at your property after you left. The Tree Warden who is our expert on such matters has also reviewed the tree and does not recommend removal of a healthy limb. Based on our site visit, Selectman Bonazoli and I agree, and I would not overrule the Tree Warden's decision in this matter. We understand that having the tree overhang your driveway does create some challenges during certain times of the year with the natural droppings from the tree onto the property (and vehicles) below. That is the nature of trees, and the Town cannot support removing healthy parts of perfectly healthy trees to prevent this. One of the attractions of your neighborhood is the extensive tree cover, and to grant your request, compounded by others that may be requested in Town, would have a significant adverse impact on the tree canopy in the Town of Reading. Thanks for contacting us about this matter. Pete I/c Board of Selectmen 7/16/2008 Page 1 of 1 Z-1r 6r-)s Schena, Paula From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 8:54 AM To: 'Robert Lautzenheiser; Reading - Selectmen Cc: Schena, Paula Subject: RE: Board/Committee/Commission Comments Bob Thanks for your comments. I'll pass them along to the Board of Selectmen. Pete I/c Board of Selectmen From: Robert Lautzenheiser [mailto:rlautzl@verizon.net] Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 9:15 AM To: townmanager@ci.reading.ma.us Subject: Board/Committee/Commission Comments Request From: Robert Lautzenheiser Email: rlautzl cr.verizon.net Address: 35 Arcadia Ave City: Reading State: MA Zip: 01867-2203 Phone: 781 944 2137 Organization: For Selechnen: 1 see no logical reason that this town should object to the proposed water towers. We were served when we needed water and now it seems absurd and wrong turn against our benefactor with a NIMBY. Actually water towers are not an eyesore but rather good landmarks and this would benefit traffic on both 128 and 93. Bob L. it . 7/16/2008 Page 1 of 2 Hechenbleikner, Peter qC ie6-5 From: Stephen Goldy [sgoldy@efast1.com] Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 12:17 PM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter Subject: RE: Franklin Street Development at the "Ship" Peter, Thank you for the response on this. I want to discuss this publicly so we can demonstrate to the residents that town staff are not a bottleneck. I will miss next week's meeting so I'll ask Ben to bring it up. Thanks again, Steve From: Hechenbleikner, Peter [mailto:phechenbleikner@ci.reading. ma.us] Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 11:31 AM To: VanMagness, Frederick (HOU) Cc: Reading - Selectmen Subject: FW: Franklin Street Development at the "Ship" Fred - here is information n an email chain from Conservation (no involvement) and ZBA/Engineering. As is often the case, the rumor are incorrect. Pete 1/c Board of Selectmen From: Zambouras, George Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:10 AM To: Fink, Fran; Hechenbleikner, Peter; Kowalski, Carol Subject: RE: Franklin Street Development at the "Ship" Peter Fran is correct. The owner was seeking a way to increase the allowed impervious to construct larger dwellings. The original filing treated the entire development as one lot, vs. each individual lot in meeting the 15% impervious rule. This resulted in fairly small dwelling footprints. In seeking a variance the ZBA asked him to verify that any revisions through CPDC were not possible before they would render a decision. The CPDC recently (about a month ago) approved a reduction in roadway length and a reduced sidewalk width 5 feet to 4 feet. This enabled the developer to transfer the reduced infrastructure imperious into added dwelling impervious area. As for when construction may start up again, we have not heard. George From: Fink, Fran Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 9:42 AM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter; Kowalski, Carol; Zambouras, George 7/17/2008 Page 2 of 2 Subject: RE: Franklin Street Development at the "Ship" Hi all, I am just back from vacation, hence the delay in responding. I do not see any e-mail replies from Carol or George, but perhaps you have responded by phone or in person. This is one delay that can't be blamed on Conservation, because the work was sited entirely outside the Buffer Zone and there is no Order of Conditions. The issue is impervious cover in the Aquifer Protection District, and the owner has been before ZBA and CPDC asking for variances. I think he might have finally filed a revised plan just before I left for vacation. Not sure what happened next. Fran From: Hechenbleikner, Peter Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 8:58 AM To: Kowalski, Carol; Zambouras, George; Fink, Fran Subject: FW: Franklin Street Development at the "Ship" What is the status of this site? Pete From: Fred & Karen Van Magness [mailto:vanmagness@verizon.net] Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2008 2:32 PM To: Reading - Selectmen Subject: Franklin Street Development at the "Ship" Dear BOS, It is now many many months since initial site work started on the former location of the "Ship" on Franklin St. The lot remains a mess with idle construction vehicles and rubble and I have heard "rumblings" (which I cannot confirm) that Conservation may be taking some tough positions on permitting, which could be delaying the entire process (and delaying property tax revenue from new housing construction). We need to be sure that "big" issues are being aggressively worked and small issues are being handled and resolved reasonably. I trust the BOS has been periodically "briefed" and will continue to be sufficiently "on board" what is going on to avoid any potential future development alternatives on this site, such as 40B, that would be adverse to the best interests of the adjacent neighborhood. As a suggestion, if you have not been updated on what is going on at this site, maybe it would be a good agenda topic to be sure that reasonable positions are being worked by both parties to resolve outstanding issues for the best interests of all concerned, including the neighborhood. Thanks in advance for your consideration. Fred Van Magness Sr. 243 Franklin St,, Reading, MA 01867 781-944-0537 7/17/2008