HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-04-24 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting
April 24,2007
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 7:02 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street,
Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Ben Tafoya, Vice Chairman James
Bonazoli, Secretary Stephen Goldy, Selectmen Camille Anthony and Richard Schubert,
Town Accountant Gail LaPointe, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town
Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, Paula Schena and the following list of interested
parties: Margaret Cowell.
Reports and Comments
Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments — Selectman Richard Schubert requested a location
on the new website where all public hearings can be posted.
Selectman Camille Anthony suggested putting the Route 128/I-93 item on the May 1st agenda
for the Board to take a position. She attended a meeting of the Trust Fund Commissioners and.
attended the Earth Day events. She noted that she has concerns regarding the compact
fluorescent bulbs that have mercury in them. She requested that DEP be contacted and ask them
to take the lead regarding the proper disposal of these bulbs.
Selectman Stephen Goldy thanked the community for their support on the death of his mother.
He noted that the RMLD payment will be higher this year. He and Camille Anthony met with a
consultant re: 40R. He also noted that there are significant benefits in the 40R process that bring
money and design review to the Town. The funds are based on the number of units but it is a
longer process. He did note that 40R requires density and that could mean about 400 units of
housing.
Selectman Stephen Goldy noted that the Board received a letter from Mary Ellen O'Neill
regarding our dog policy. He suggested a funding mechanism to deal with lost dogs. He
suggested checking with the local kennels-to see if there is any interest in a fee abatement for
kennels who are willing to let a stray dog stay overnight.
Vice Chairman James Bonazoli noted that Friends of Reading Recreation are holding a bike
safety event on May 6th. He also noted that Babe Ruth Baseball wants a shed at Morton Field.
Chairman Ben Tafoya indicated that the Board needs to write a letter to the Governor and
Secretary of State regarding the Downtown Project. He also noted that Earth Day was a great
event.
Board of Selectmen Meeting-April 24, 2007—Page 2
Public Comment - Margaret Cowell of Main Street noted that a piece of town owned land that
abuts her property has very large pine trees that are a hazard to her property. She also noted that
there is a problem with the drainage in that area created by the High School project. The trees
are standing in water and that will weaken them. The Town Manager noted that the issue of
drainage should have improved. There are filters in the catch basins that could be blocked.
Chairman Ben Tafoya asked if the drainage system is complete, and the Town Manager noted
that it is but it is not fully operational yet. Ms: Cowell asked that the Town look at all of the
trees in that area. Vice.Chairman James Bonazoli noted that it sounds more like a drainage issue
than a tree issue. Selectman Stephen Goldy noted that there are weekly meetings at the High
School, and he will talk to conservation and go out there with them and take a look.
Town Manager's Report
The Town Manager gave the following report:
• There was Water Resources Commission (WRC) public hearing in the Selectmen's
Meeting Room at Town Hall on April 23rd at 3:00 p.m. on Reading's application to
purchase all of its water from the MWRA. A second hearing is scheduled in West
Boylston on Thursday, April 26th in the donor basin.
• An Earth Day. Fair took place at the RMLD Cafeteria on April 21st from 10:00 a.m. 'til
2:00 p.m. Several Town agencies participated. The evening before, two movies were
shown—"An Inconvenient Truth" and"Who Killed the Electric Car."
® Reading's next street sign lottery drawing will be held on April 30, 2007.
® The Reading Lions Club invites you to participate in the Fourth Annual Reading Friends
and Family Day. Save the Date—Saturday, June 30, 2007.
• "Help Wanted" — the process is beginning to recruit volunteers for various Boards,
Committees and Commissions of the Town.
• Health Services Administrator Jane Fiore has announced her retirement in September.
® Please see the attached memo from the Town Engineer re: traffic counts.
® The Town is doing reconstruction on three.roads at the current time — Hillcrest Road, _
Maple Ridge Road and Cumberland Road.
The Town is currently doing line striping in the community.
® REI is celebrating its 20th year in Reading on Saturday. The Reading store was the first
REI store on the east coast and its success has resulted in a number of.additional stores in
New England.
® The Library is having an Open House this Saturday April 28th from 10:00 a.m. 'til 2:00
p.m.
0 The Board has received an invitation to the Girl Scout Gold Award presentation.
Selectman Camille Anthony noted that she will be attending.
Discussion/Action Items
Reappointment of Town Accountant—The Town Manager noted that the Charter has the Town
Accountant position as a one year term that expires in March. He recommends reappointing Gail
LaPointe.
Town Accountant Gail LaPointe was present. She discussed her work relationship with the
Reading Municipal Light Department, and the new financial platform that the Town will be
purchasing.
Board of Selectmen Meeting=.April 24, 2007—Page 3
A motion by Goldy seconded by Schubert to appoint Gail LaPointe as Town Accountant
with a term expiring March 31, 2008, or until a successor is appointed was approved.by a
vote of 5-0-0.
Review Proposed Policy on Electronic Communications —The Town Manager noted that there
has been a problem with the Selectmen receiving electronic mail and not responding, so he
created the following policy to address the situation.
All electronic mail is a public record. If it needs attention of Town staff, the Town Manager will
respond and copy it*to the Board of Selectmen and list it on the next agenda. If the e-mail
expresses opinions or comments, then the Town Manager will acknowledge receipt and list on
the next agenda. If the e-mail asks the Board of Selectmen to take action,then the Secretary will
draft a form letter acknowledging receipt, and will schedule time on an upcoming agenda. The
Board of Selectmen shall not comment electronically. Hard copies of all electronic
communication will be created and placed in a central file.
The Town Manager noted that this will be a bylaw and he will schedule this for a hearing.
Town Counsel Evaluation Process — The Town Manager noted that the Selectmen do a Town
Counsel evaluation every year.
Vice Chairman James Bonazoli noted that the Board should get feedback and the law firm needs
to be rated. He indicated that the Board received bad advice on the housing issue. He feels that
they need to be reminded that we hire the firm and not the person. The Board requested to have
Gary Brackett in to talk to the Board regarding the housing issue before the evaluation is done.
The Town Manager noted that he will schedule a time for Gary Brackett to come before the
Board regarding the housing issue. He will distribute the evaluation form to the appropriate staff
and Boards, Committees and Commissions. Chairman Ben Tafoya and Selectman Stephen
Goldy indicated that they will do the evaluation.
Review Vision Mission Values Work Program—The Town Manager noted that he brought in
an unpaid resident, Karen Cioffi, to do consultation work on-this topic. He reviewed the vision
and mission statements. He also noted that the values are the same but organized differently.
The passage about Reading will be put on the webpage.
The Town Manager reviewed the top 15 goals.
Vice Chairman James Bonazoli suggested adding the Moderator to the Chairman training. He
requested that the feasibility of using the Oakland Road property for an Arts Center be put on an
upcoming Selectmen's Agenda. Chairman Ben Tafoya asked if there was.a list of organizations
who want to be involved in this, and the Town Manager indicated that he will get a list.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—April 24, 2007—Page 4
Selectman Camille Anthony noted that South Main Street needs to be added under#8. She also
noted that depression of utilities needs to be done in that area. It was suggested that the
Economic Development Committee work with the three property owners on South Main Street
to create a plan for their property.
A motion by Schubert seconded by Bonazoli to adjourn the meeting of April 24, 2007 at.
10:00 p.m.was approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
Res ectfully,, submitted,
S etary
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