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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-04-14 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting April 14,2009 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 7:00 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Stephen Goldy, Vice Chairman Ben Tafoya, Secretary James Bonazoli, Selectmen Camille Anthony and Richard Schubert, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, and the following list of interested parties: Superintendent of Schools Pat Schettini, School Department Human Resources/Finance Director Mary Delai, Fire Chief Greg Burns, DPW Director Ted McIntire, Facilities Director Joe Huggins, Fred Van Magness, Fire Fighter Rob Loring,Dispatcher Vicky Avery,Jeff Zager. On motion by Schubert seconded by Tafoya, the Board of Selectmen voted to 14o into Executive Session for the purpose of labor negotiations to come back into Open Session at approximately 7.30 p.m. on a roll call vote with all five members voting in the affirmative. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments — Selectman Richard Schubert congratulated Selectman Camille Anthony on her Election. Selectman James Bonazoli offered congratulations to Selectman Camille Anthony. He also thanked staff regarding their hard work in hosting the Election, and was disappointed by the percent turnout. Selectman Bonazoli handed out copies of a "Walkable Reading"pamphlet, and noted that there will be a Spring spruce up the last week in April. He also noted that Reading Recreation has been dealing with the issue of sports and Spring session availability and assignment of fields. The Recreation Committee is meeting tonight with the sports organizations to hear their concerns. , Vice Chairman Ben Tafoya noted that CPDC is having a workshop on 40R. He would like to get a copy of that material in the Board of Selectmen's packet. Additionally, regarding the Franklin Street zoning, he asked the Town Manager to get back to the parties who have developed a draft Zoning By-Law amendment to talk to them about what the process would be. Chairman Stephen Goldy announced the Fall Street Faire on September 13, 2009. He noted that there was: information in the Transportation Bill regarding billboards, and he asked the Town Manager to get information on this. Town Manager's Report The Town Manager asked the Board of Selectmen to approve the conveyance of the trail easement on Kylie Drive to the Town of Reading under the control and management of the Conservation Commission. Board of Selectmen Meeting—April 14, 2009—Page 2 On motion by Bonazoli seconded by Anthony, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the conveyance of the trail easement on Kylie Drive to the Town of Reading under the control and management of its Conservation Commission by a vote of 5-0-0. Personnel and Appointments Badge Pinning—Fire Fighter- Fire Fighter Rob Loring was presented to the Board of Selectmen and Chief Greg Burns presided over the badge pinning. Fire Fighter Loring was welcomed to the Town. Introduce DPW Director — Designate - Public Works Director Ted McIntire presented Public Works Designate Jeff Zager to the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Zager was welcomed to the Town by the Board of Selectmen. Proclamations/Certificates of Appreciation Proclamation — Telecommunications Week - On motion by Bonazoli seconded by Anthony, the Board of Selectmen declared April 12 — 18, 2009 as Public Safety Telecommunications _Week in Reading by a vote of 5-0-0. The Proclamation was presented to Head Dispatcher Vicky Avery. Discussion/Action Items Highlights — Dispatchers — Head Dispatcher Vicky Avery presented highlights on the Dispatch operation of the Town. Review Annual Town Meeting Warrant-The Board took out of order discussion on Article 15.— Performarice Contracting. Superintendent of Schools Pat Schettini and School Human Resources and Finance Director Mary Delai as well as Facilities Director Joe Huggins were present. Ms. Delai reviewed the details of the Performance Contracting process. Following the presentation and questions and answers, a motion by Bonazoli seconded by Anthony that the Board of Selectmen recommend the subiect matter of Article 15 of the 2009 Annual Town Meeting Warrant was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. They suggested that for Town Meeting, a discussion of the risks related to entering into the Performance Contracting process should be included. The Town Manager reviewed the remainder of the Warrant for the 2009 Annual Town Meeting. On motion by Anthonyseconded by Schubert the Board of Selectmen voted to recommend the subiect matter of all Articles except Article 10 (Article 15 which they already approved), 18, 19 and 20 The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Community Access Sticker Follow Up - The Board had discussion about the Community Access Sticker and whether or not the Board would want to see the two elements — Compost and commuter parking unbundled. The cost of operation of the Compost Center is approximately $118,000, and this includes the cost of machinery. There was discussion that the Town already Board of Selectmen Meeting—April 14 2009—Page 3 owns the machinery and this should not be included. However, if one was outsourcing the Compost Center, this would need to be included. The Board talked about the difficulty of determining how many residents have the Community Access Stickers because they use it for the Compost Center, or they have it to use for commuter parking, and how many use it for both. The Board suggested collecting additional information on the application form for the Community Access Sticker as to what people are using it for and beyond that, decided not to make any changes at this time. World Cafe Review - The Town Manager reviewed the status of implementation of the World Cafe issues. By in large, the priorities expressed by participants in the World Cafe are priorities being implemented by the Town through a variety of means. Follow Up on Discussion — Sidewalk Snow -Plowing - The Board discussed follow up on sidewalk snow plowing. The issue of sidewalk construction and sidewalk snownplowing should be separated, and this should be done on separate charts. The Board is interested in having a site visit this Spring to locations where the Town may be considering changing sidewalk snow plowing routes. The potential for these decisions should also be publicized. Approval of Minutes On motion by Bonazoli seconded by Schubert, the Board voted to approve the Minutes of March 10, 2009 by a vote of 5-0-0. On motion by Bonazoli seconded by Tafoya, the Board voted to approve the Minutes of March 17, 2009 by a vote of 5-0-0. On motion by Bonazoli seconded by Tafoya, the Board voted to approve the Minutes of March 31, 2009 by a vote of 5-0-0. On motion by Anthony seconded by Tafoya, the Board of Selectmen voted to adjourn their meeting of April 14,2009 at 10:50 p.m. by a vote of 5-0-0. Respectfully submitted,, Secretary/L