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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-10-30 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting October 30,2007 i 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 James Bonazoli, Secretary Ben Tafoya, Selectmen Camille Anthony and Richard Schubert, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, Paula Schena and the following list of interested parties: Bill Brown, Lori Hodin,Attorney Howard Miller, Scott Almaeida. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments — Selectman Ben Tafoya noted that CPDC continued the public hearing on zoning to November 5, 2007. A site visit at Addison-Wesley is scheduled for November 3, 2007 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Selectman Tafoya suggested that any items in the Capital Plan that are energy savers should be highlighted and try to move them up if possible. Chairman James Bonazoli noted that he attended the Franklin Street Sidewalk Ceremony, the presentation of the $200,000 check for demolition of the Water Treatment Plant, and the Mattera Conservation Land Dedication. He also attended the First Baptist Church's celebration of their 175th Anniversary. The Birch Meadow Committee is meeting this evening. A site visit needs.to be arranged for the tennis courts. He also noted that he was saddened to hear that the Library was vandalized over the weekend. Town Manaizer's Report The Town Manager gave the following report: • Selectmen's Forum — October 23rd — 7:00 p.m. was very successful with a full range of calls. • On November 2nd in Lowell, there will be a "Municipal Cabinet Listening Tour" by the Patrick Administration. Members of the Board of Selectmen are invited to attend. • AW/P DAT Meeting on November 3rd from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. — on site if weather is permitting, otherwise at the Senior Center. • The Board of Selectmen will have a joint meeting with the School Committee on November 5th re: Youth Risk Behavior Survey results. It will be in the Selectmen's Meeting Room at Town Hall. • Veterans Services Officer Frank Driscoll is planning the Veterans' Day observance. Save the day and time—Sunda ,November 11 th at 11:00 a.m. on the Common. The observance is on the actual Veterans' Day but offices are closed on Monday as the designated holiday. • There was a news item on WBZ TV last week indicating that Reading did not meet its obligations to its Veterans. I have talked with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tom Kelly and he disagrees — Reading does in fact meet its full commitment to providing veterans _. i Board of Selectmen Meeting—October 30,2007—Page 2 services through our joint district with Wilmington. I have written to the Governor and reiterated this to him. • Town Meeting—November 13th, Special Town Meeting on December 10th • Flu Clinic dates— • November 7th—Killam School—65 and older—2:00—4:00 p.m. • November 13th—RMHS Cafeteria—5:00—7:00 p.m. • November 15th—Parker Middle School—5:00— 7:00 p.m. • Vandalism at the RPL. • I'd like to arrange for a site visit to the Birch Meadow tennis court area for the Board of Selectmen to look at a couple of needed tree removals. • Recreation Administrator John Feudo and I met last Wednesday with Memorial Park abutters to see if we can reach some kind of agreement and consensus on the uses of Memorial Park so we can proceed with the Town's petition for a clarification of uses. This was a very successful meeting and we are working on a revised draft document to share with the group, and then hopefully file an amended petition with the Probate Court. • Springvale Road paving—we got a letter from "residents of Springvale Road" re: finishing the paving job. It is completed. • Tree removal at the property abutting 16 Sanborn Lane. • The Board of Selectmen's packet contains a graph of resident/non-resident traffic. stops over the past several years. We have further discussion scheduled on November 27th on this when we have a number of traffic issues on the agenda. • The Executive Director of the Reading Housing Authority has informed me that there is an affordable unit with anattached garage at Gazebo Circle that has come on the market. Anyone interested in this unit can contact the Housing Authority Office. Assistant Town Manager Bob LeLacheur noted that Moody's has upgraded our bond rating to Aa3. The upgrade reflects the Town's improved financial position and sound financial management. The only concern that Moody's had is that most towns have 10% reserves and we only have 5%. They did make note though that we spend the extra money to buy capital. We received 13 bids for the sale of bonds, and there was a difference of$100,000 between the best and the worst bids. Personnel and Appointments Human Relations*Advisory Committee The Board interviewed Lori Hodin for one position on the Human Relations Advisory Committee. Randall Jones was not present. Anthony moved and Tafoya seconded to place the following name into nomination for one position on the Human Relations Advisory Committee with a term expiring June 30, 2010: Lori Hodin. Ms. Hodin received four votes and was appointed. Discussion/Action Items Hearin— Liquor License Transfer—Roman's Macaroni Grill-The Secretary read the hearing notice. The Town Manager, noted that this is a change in ownership that already has State approval. Board of Selectmen Meeting—October 30 2007—Page 3 Attorney Howard Miller was present representing the owner. He noted that Waterloo Restaurant - Ventures owns the Macaroni Grills out west and they are moving east. The restaurant will have the same manager, the employees will be the same, and policies and lease will be same. The owner of Waterloo was the owner of Brinker's for 20 years. The Town Manager reminded Attorney Miller that they need to get a new health license. Selectman Richard Schubert asked if the abutters were notified. The Town Manager indicated that is not required for a transfer of a license. Abutters are notified only for new licenses. The Town Manager asked if the license will be pledged, and Attorney Miller indicated that it will not. A motion by Tafoya seconded by Anthony to close the hearing on the liquor license transfer for Romano's Macaroni Grill was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. A motion by Tafoya seconded by Schubert to approve the liquor license transfer of Brinker Massachusetts Corporation d/b/a Romano's Macaroni Grill at 48 Walkers Brook Drive to Waterloo Restaurant Ventures Inc. d/b/a Romano's Macaroni Grill for use at the same location and to reappoint current Manager Bao Huynh as Manager was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Appeal re: Fence 63 Springvale Road—Homeowner Scott Almaeida was present. The Town Manager noted that the fence is installed in the public way. The Town owns 5-8 feet right of way. Mr. Almaeida noted that he purchased the home one year ago and it was landscaped to the street. It is a low split fence and there is an expense to moving it. He. is requesting that the Board allow the fence to stay unless a sidewalk is installed. Selectman Camille Anthony asked who installed the fence, and Mr. Almaeida noted that it was installed by a fence company. Selectman Richard Schubert noted that he drove by the house. The grass acts as the sidewalk, but the fence blocks the opportunity for someone to get off the road. He also noted that the fence company should have determined where the lot line is. He feels that this is a safety issue and doesn't pass any standard to allow for hydrants,utility poles or sidewalks. Chairman James Bonazoli noted that the plow will take the fence down this Winter or next because there is no avoiding it being hit by the blade. Mr. Almaeida requested that he could move it back 4 feet instead of 8. Selectman Camille Anthony indicated that the fence has to be taken off Town property. Mr. Almaeida requested that he be given an extension until the Spring. Selectman Richard Schubert requested that the Town Manager check with Town Counsel regarding liability if someone gets hurt. Board of Selectmen Meeting—October 30, 2007_Page 4 A motion by Anthony seconded by Schubert to not approve the installaiion of a split rail fence within the public right of way abutting the property at 63 Springvale Road and to require the property owner to remove the fence from the public way by May 1, 2008 continent upon the property owner sign a waiver approved by Town Counsel that releases the Town of any liability regarding the fence was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Review Remainder of 2007 Subsequent Town Meeting Warrant—The Town Manager noted that there is a revised draft Warrant Report in the handout. The Moderator suggests putting the reports inside the Articles. The Town Manager noted that Article 7 regarding Timothy Place will be tabled until Spring. The as-built plans are not done. The Town Manager noted that the Town was not successful in getting the Urban Self Help grant for the tennis courts. He also noted that the Town is taking bids on Friday for the tennis courts,. and we will see how those come out. The estimate cost is $525,000 and $90,000 has been raised privately in addition to a possible$40,000 tennis grant. Selectman Camille Anthony noted that this needs fall discussion before Town Meeting. The Town Manager noted that Article 11 is regarding sidewalks. He also noted that it would be helpful to have this conversation to see where the community is leaning. Selectman Ben Tafoya noted that the comments at the Financial Forum regarding the Community Preservation Act was the sooner the better because of the reimbursement rate,but he feels that there needs to be discussion regarding the financial future of the Town; i.e., the operating budget. Selectman Camille Anthony noted that the newer-Finance Committee Members kept talking about an override and. she was surprised. She indicated that sidewalks are wonderful but we need to put money into our roads. Selectman Richard Schubert agreed with Selectman Anthony but noted that a presentation to Town Meeting might be good. The Town Manager suggested doing a report to Town Meeting with budget projections, discuss the sidewalks and tennis courts and then table it. The Board then discussed referring this back to the committee instead of tabling.- The abling:The Board decided not to take any action until the meeting with the Finance Committee. Review Goals - The Town Manager reviewed the 15 goals. He noted that to measure customer service, we will do a focus group on building inspections rather than a survey. He also noted that the Library did a survey and did very well but this function needs to be focused on. Chairman James Bonazoli noted that he was not familiar with a focus group. Selectman Richard Schubert noted that in this case, a focus group would be good because a survey goes out to the general public who do riot generally go through the building permit process. Board of Selectmen Meeting—October 30 2007—Page 5 The Town Manager noted that we will begin adding modules to the webpage but the citizen requests and surveys will have to wait because we don't have enough technology man hours for that. To improve communications, the electronic local history is ongoing with the Library. For the need for a community standard of civil behavior, he suggests that two Selectmen work with him and Bob LeLacheur on how to train Chairmen of Boards, Committees and Commissions. Selectmen Camille Anthony and Ben Tafoya volunteered for this effort. The Town Manager noted that "best practices" is being looked at as evaluation of continuous improvement, and he recommends doing strategic planning by department. The strategic planning for the Library will be done by Summer 2008. The Police strategic planning is at the printer and will be available shortly. The DPW Management Study will be done in approximately one month. Chairman James Bonazoli noted that the Finance Committee looks for a level of service and these services will help determine that. He also noted that he would like to hear from.the departments. The Town Manager suggested scheduling a Saturday morning meeting with the Departments. The Town Manager reviewed the status of expanding commercial property tax base. He noted that the Town is focusing on a parking structure, the Peer to Peer Study, and the Technical Assistance Downtown Study is complete. Weare working with Addison-Wesley on the 40R application, and are also working with individual property owners regarding redevelopment of their sites. To reduce community dependency, the Town is now purchasing all of its water from the MWRA, are working on reducing Town Government energy consumption, adopted an anti- idling policy and received a suburban mobility grant. In the area of Community Infrastructure, the Master Plan for Memorial Park has been approved by the Board of Selectmen, and the plans for the Birch Meadow complex and the Northern Area Greenway are being worked on. The Town Planner is working with the art organizations regarding an Arts Center, and we are working on implementing the affordable housing planned production plan. The Town Manager noted that the Selectmen need to do new, goals and his evaluation. Selectman Camille Anthony noted that the studies are needed first. Chairman James Bonazoli noted that the department strategic meeting session would be helpful insetting goals. Selectman Ben Tafoya noted that he would.like to see the forms from last year to determine what we are doing that no longer has any value. Approval of Minutes A motion by Tafoya seconded by Schubert to approve the Minutes of October 9, 2007,.as amended, was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. A motion by Tafoya seconded by Schubert to approve the Minutes of October 16, 2007 was . approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Board of Selectmen Meeting—October 30, 2007—Page 6 A motion by Bonazoli seconded by Schubert to go into Executive Session for the purpose of labor negotiations not to come back into Open Session was approved on a roll can vote with all four members voting in the affirmative. Respectfully submitted, ecretary i