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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-03-21 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting March 21, 2006 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 Camille Anthony,_Vice Chairman Richard Schubert (arrived at 7:55 p.m.), Secretary Joseph Duffy, Selectman Ben Tafoya, Town Accountant Gail LaPointe, Public Works Director Ted McIntire, Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Peter Tassi, Assistant Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Paula Schena and the following list of interested parties: Bill Brown, Kerry Mackiri, Steve Lewis, Will Finch, Tom Laughlin, Jay Lenox, John and Gail Wood, Steven Johnson,Elaine Webb, Virginia Adams,Roberta Sullivan. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison.Reports and Comments — Selectman Ben Tafoya noted that he attended a meeting last Friday with merchants regarding the Downtown parking, and the consensus was to raise the parking to two hours. He attended a meeting with Dickinson and Stop & Shop ` regarding the location of the building on the site. The Addison-Wesley Working Group is Meeting Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. He also noted that there was a briefing at the MMA meeting warning cities and towns about increased revenue from the State. There was also concern regarding gaining in the State and its affect on the lottery. Verizon asked for an administrative ruling for a cable franchise from the State. Indiana and Texas have already granted statewide franchising. He expressed his sympathy for the children killed in the recent car accident, and Chairman Camille Anthony responded by having a moment of silence. Chairman Camille Anthony noted that the Local Election is in two weeks. She read a letter from Selectman James Bonazoli regarding the Nurse Advocacy. The Town Manager noted that Community Parish Nursing is not doing Nurse Advocacy anymore. They are working on Neighbor Helping Neighbor. Public Comment—Bill Brown noted that Town Meeting Members are needed. Tom Laughlin noted that he had concerns regarding the Addison-Wesley project. He also noted that the traffic will double, the roadway will be widened from four to seven lanes, and neighborhood cut through traffic has not been addressed. He feels that they should coordinate their study with the one that the State is doing. He noted that the Burlington development is not New England architecture, and it has lots of signs on it. Jay Lenox noted that there was an article in the Boston Globe on March 16th. He suggests that Town Meeting vote this down and start a process that is appropriate. Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 21, 2006-Page 2 Chairman Camille Anthony noted that Weiner stated that the State is okay with this but she _. spoke with Bob Frey from Mass Highway who stated that the State will not be making statements at this time. Town Manager's Report The Town Manager gave the following report: • There is an Election on April 4,2006. • Dog licensing needs to be done by April 1 st. • There has been a change in the lead Town Counsel for the Town. Joan Langsam has left the firm, and Ellen Doucette will take over as lead Counsel. Proclamations/Certificates of Appreciation Certificate of Appreciation— Reading Garden Club —A motion by Duffy seconded by Tafoya to approve the Certificate of Appreciation for the Reading Garden Club was approved by a vote of 3-0-0. Proclamation Arbor Day — A motion by Duffy seconded by Tafoya to approve the Proclamation for Arbor Day on April 28,2006 was approved by a vote of 3-0-0. Chairman Camille Anthony noted that this was Joseph Duffy's last meeting and she presented him with a Summer Avenue street sign. Discussion/Action Items Town Accountant — General Discussion — Town Accountant Gail LaPointe was present. She noted that she prepared all of the budget worksheets, and that was a good project to become familiar with the department budgets. She did a revenue projection, a tax recap sheet. She also noted that she spent a lot of time on the MSBA audits, and they got the Wood End audit done quickly so the Town would not have to borrow again. The Parker Middle School and Coolidge Middle School audits are being worked on. The High School project was a hybrid for MSBA. The Town borrowed $35 million and MSBA gave us the last $20 million so we don't have to borrow any more money on the project. Selectman Ben Tafoya asked about the status of the FY.2006 Budget. Ms. LaPointe noted that a quarterly report is done and we are generally in good shape. Response to Management Letter — The Town Manager noted that the Management Letter.was received in the Fall, and he will respond to the Audit Committee. Ms. LaPointe noted for internal controls, duties have been segregated, and all of the departments are in compliance with the Town's policy and procedure for deposits. Procurement procedures require the departments to keep all the paperwork. Chapter 90 requests need to be timely. The Engineering Division will do this three times per year, The kindergarten controls have improved. The secretaries are doing the billing, and the money goes to the central office. Checks are stamped"for deposit only" as soon as they come in. Board of Selectmen Meeting=March 21, 2006—Page3 The Fire Department has a write off program for the ambulance billing. Four notices are sent out over six months. After six months, it is turned over to a collection agency. The overlay reserve account is used by the Assessors to abate taxes. The athletic gate receipt controls need to be improved, and the School Department is developing policies and procedures for this. The Town Accountant is developing a fraud prevention policy that will include steps for employees who suspect fraud. The School Department needs to develop procedures for the school lunch programs and cash registers. Chairman Camille Anthony noted.that she feels a record of gate receipts should be required at sporting events. Ms. LaPointe indicated that you have to weigh the cost of implementing with how much is being brought in. Vice Chairman Richard Schubert asked how employees are trained, and Ms. LaPointe noted that new employees are trained one on one. Discussion—Water Supply—Public Works Director Ted McIntire, WSSWMAC Members John Wood and Gail Wood, Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Peter Tassi and Steven Johnson from the Mass. DEP were present. TheTown Town Manager noted that next Tuesday from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., the Board of Selectmen will hold an open house at the Library to get input from the public on the important issues related to water, and their preference on building a new Water Treatment Plant or purchasing all water from the MWRA. The Town Manager reviewed a chart showing the MWRA water rates for other communities. He noted that Reading's is a little bit lower but comparable to each other. Steve Johnson from the Mass. DEP Waste Site Clean Up Program noted that there is groundwater contamination in the North Reading and Wilmington areas. There is also the AGFA program with solvents but AGFA has done a lot of work on the source area so the solvents are at low amounts. He also noted that AGFA has spent millions of dollars and have reduced the contamination by 95% by cutting off the source. The condition of all sites are far better than five years ago. He noted that the Mass Highway Depot is also a source of contamination but is treatable with conventional treating methods. Mr. Johnson noted that North Reading does not have sewers, and most truck stops have had spills. He also noted that the number of water supplies that are contaminated are doing down— people are finding it makes business sense to not contaminate your property. Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 21, 2006—Page 4 Elaine Webb noted that the MWRA has water supply contamination issues too. Mr. Johnson noted that the MWRA system is so large that it's not an issue. Peter-Tassi noted that the amounts of contamination at the above-mentioned sites are barely detectable by the time it gets to the Water Treatment Plant. Mr. Johnson noted that Olan is a super fund site but is unlikely to effect Reading. Will Finch noted that even if the Town stops pumping the wells, the river will still dry up. He indicated that on August 9, 2005, the river was flowing backwards. On August 20, 2005, there was no flow and the pools dried up for 50 days. He.also noted that if we had stopped pumping, it would have dried up for only five days. Chairman Camille Anthony asked if the river goes dry in any other part of the river, and Will Finch noted that it does pretty much until you get to Ipswich. The Assistant Town Manager noted that we won't have to run 1 mgpd with the new Water Treatment Plant—we can be flexible. Elaine Webb urged the Selectmen to keep our own wells. Gail Wood noted that she is upset that the Ipswich River Watershed Association has not done anything to protect the river from contamination. Process for Consideration of Sale of Lane— Oakland Road— The Town Manager noted that the last Fall Warrant Article regarding land across from the High School was tabled because of the construction activity at the High School. He also noted that there are a lot of issues to address before being sold. Chairman Camille Anthony suggested talking with the School Committee after Town Meeting. Vice Chairman Richard Schubert noted that there needs to be neighborhood participation. Final 2006 Goals and Work Plan — The Town Manager noted that the. Mission Statement has been modified and the goals were reviewed with the Selectmen. Elaine Webb noted that education should be part of the Board's Mission Statement. The Town Manager noted that the Board of Selectmen doesn't have control over the schools — this is a document for Town Government only. Chairman Camille Anthony noted that the goals do not include the Library, recreational goals or elder services. Selectman Ben Tafoya suggested adding a fifth category.for these. Chairman Camille Anthony noted that elder affairs needs to be a work item this year with the nurse advocacy work that is being done. 'The Town Manager noted that the Selectmen need to prioritize what they want done, not necessarily to set a timeline. He suggests that the Selectmen circle the top 10 work programs. Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 21, 2006—Page 5 Selectman Ben Tafoya requested that the Town Manager give the Board a list of what has to be done. Selectman Ben Tafoya noted that Section 1 — 1.9 should read ......work with Walkers Brook Drive developer"in a manner appropriate to the community." Consideration of a Bandstand - The Town Manager noted that many years ago, there was a committee to build a bandstand on the Common or Memorial Park. The Board of Selectmen did not approve it. He also noted that now that we are ready to embark on the Downtown project, he would like to look at putting a bandstand in front of Town Hall on top of the wall. There was previously a bandstand there. The Town Manager noted that there was a letter in the packet dated 1997 from Virginia Adams who suggests putting the bandstand at Memorial Park. Virginia Adams noted that the Common is the heart of the community. Guidelines were developed in 1990. She feels that it is important to protect this area, and a bandstand will be a visual distraction. Roberta Sullivan noted that this big structure will take away from the National Register. The Town manager noted that times change and the Town does have events on the Common. He noted that Wakefield, Stoneham and North Reading all have bandstands on the Common. i Will Finch noted that on Community Day, the band was out in the sun all day.and he felt bad for them. He recommends consulting with the band to make sure what we want suits their needs. He thinks a bandstand is a good idea. Chairman Camille Anthony asked if the Historical Commission is in charge of the Common, and the Town Manager indicated that they are not, he is. There are guidelines for the Common and he will make a copy of the guidelines for the Board. Vice Chairman Richard Schubert noted. that it is the ultimate goal to make Downtown more vibrant. There are variations of bandstands. He feels that we need a strategic plan and vision for the Common. A motion by Tafoya 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 call vote with all four members voting in the affirmative. Respectfully sub itted, SPretary