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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-11-08 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting November 8,2005 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 late), Secretary Joseph Duffy, Selectmen James Bonazoli and Ben Tafoya, Elder/Human Services Administrator Dawn Folopoulos, Assessor Dave Billard, Superintendent of Schools Pat Schettini, Police Chief Jim Cormier, Health Administrator Jane Fiore, 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: John Wood, Ann Marie Bourque, Paula Kopel, Lyn Whyte,Bob Nordstrand, Tom Ryan, Ralph Colorusso, Rob Spadafora, Lisa Gibbs, Elaine Webb, Carl McFadden, Pete Dahl, Gary Nihan, Tom Gardner, Dan Howland, Steve Oston, Richard Moore, Stephen Crook. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments — Selectman Ben Tafoya noted that Congressman Tierney will have a Town Hall Meeting in Reading this Saturday at the Senior Center. He attended the CPDC/Master Plan Meeting, and there is still opportunity to give input by turning in the survey. CPDC reacted to the article in the Globe regarding Jordan's lighting. CPDC has issues regarding being able to follow up on these things, and they are confused with the power of Town staff. They suggest a joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen. The Town Manager suggested that Chairman Camille Anthony and Selectman Ben Tafoya attend a CPDC Meeting to clarify. Selectman James Bonazoli noted that the Town is still looking for a replacement on the Aquatics Advisory Committee. Chairman Camille Anthony noted that she met with the Town Manager, Jane Fiore and Holly Stump regarding dangerous dogs. Public Comment—Ethel Marolda, 92 Grove Street noted that she found a lost dog and was told by the Police to put the dog back because we don't have the facilities to keep lost dogs. She requested that the Town have some kind of procedures in place for when people find lost dogs. Selectman James Bonazoli asked what the Town's legal responsibility is regarding lost dogs. The Town Manager will follow up on this matter. Town Manager's Report The Town Manager gave the following report: o We had a problem with street line painting last week. The lines will be re-done in the Spring at the contractor's expense. Board of Selectmen Meeting—November 8, 2005 —Page 2 ♦ Town Meeting begins November 14th, and will go Mondays and Thursdays until completed. ♦ Flu Clinics are scheduled on November 14th and November 16th. ♦ The American Flag on the Common is flying again. o Veterans' Day is Friday—November 11th. ♦ Your packet contains a letter from CPDC re: Sally Hoyt's proposed changes in zoning. I discussed this with Ms. Hoyt, and she felt that she would not pursue the matter further. ♦ The"original" Sanborn Lane trench has been patched for the Winter. G There is a Public Official liability course through MIIA tomorrow night if anyone can attend it. ♦ The applicant of the Archstone Development has requested approval to remove the large maple tree on West Street because of site distance issues. You've received correspondence on this matter. 0 Curbs are being installed on Melbourne this week. ♦ The Garden Club's Memory Tree Program is on December 4th, and they have requested a member of the Board of Selectmen to participate. Discussion/Action Items Report from Nurse Advocacy Committee — Elder/Human Services Administrator Dawn Folopoulos, committee members Ann Marie Bourque, Paula Kopel and Lyn Whyte were present. Ann Marie Bourque noted that the Committee met six times. The Committee was formed by an instructional motion of Town Meeting to review the need for a Nurse Advocate. The role of the Nurse Advocate would be to help people age in place and assist individuals.with health concerns. The Committee spoke with surrounding towns. Winchester and Arlington have a part time Nurse Advocate. Ms. Bourque noted that the Committee is requesting an extension by the Board of Selectmen to explore funding. Chairman Camille Anthony asked if a needs assessment needs to be done. Ms. Bourque noted that the Committee is looking at doing a survey of residents over 65. The Town Manager noted that the Council on Aging did a survey around three years ago. Chairman Anthony noted that there are many organizations providing services, and the Town needs to know what services are out there and if the frail elderly are being taken care of. Selectman James Bonazoli noted that the Nurse Advocate would handle the medical portion. The Visiting Nurses Association and Mystic Valley don't do follow up. Ms. Bourque noted that those services are also income eligible—everyone else is missed. Chairman Camille Anthony noted that we also need to know what the liability is. A motion by Tafoya seconded by Duffy to extend the life and membership of the Nurse Advocate Task Force to May 1, 2006 was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Hearing—Tax Classification—The Secretary read the hearing notice. Board of Selectmen Meeting—November 8, 2005—Page 3 Assessor Dave Billard, Board of Assessors Members Bob Nordstrand, Tom Ryan and Ralph Colorusso were present. Tom Ryan presented Chairman Camille Anthony with a birthday cake. Dave Billard reviewed the different classes of property in the Town including residential, open space, commercial, industrial and personal property. A motion by Bonazoli seconded by Schubert to close the hearing on setting the tax rate for Fiscal Year 2006 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Bonazoli seconded by Schubert to adopt a residential factor of"I" for Fiscal Year 2006 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion bay Bonazoli seconded by Schubert to not grant an open space discount for Fiscal year 2006 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Bonazoli seconded by Schubert to not grant a residential exemption for Fiscal Year 2006 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Bonazoli seconded by Schubert to not grant a commercial exemption for Fiscal Year 2006 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Discussion with School Committee on Substance Abuse Issues — Presentation of Health Risk Behavior Survey— The School Committee joined the Board of Selectmen at 8:05 p.m. Present were School Committee Members Rob Spadafora, Lisa Gibbs, Elaine Webb, Carl McFadden, Pete Dahl, Superintendent of Schools Pat Schettini, Police Chief Jim Cormier, Health Administrator Jane Fiore, and members from the Substance Abuse Prevention Advisory Committee. Pat Schettini noted that the Northeast Center did the survey, and Mr. Ryan was present to give two reports—one on the High School and one on the middle school. Mr. Ryan noted that the research shows the answers are reliable and.truthful. The survey was confidential and anonymous. Software was used to scan for inaccuracies. There was a 63% response rate and the survey was done in the Spring so the seniors were not present. Carl McFadden noted that 24% of the students had been in a fight in the past 12 months and 8% of those were in school. Mr. Ryan indicated that the safest place for children is in school. Pat Schettini noted that the number of fights at school is less than outside of school. Mr. Ryan noted that males get into more fights. Suicide thinking is lower than the State average, but is still at 11%. Seat belt use is good but in the past 30 days, 25% of the students had rode with a person who had been drinking. Mr. Ryan noted that 27% had gambled with the lottery and 28%play cards. Mr. Ryan reviewed the Middle School survey. He noted that tobacco use was low, 26% had used alcohol of which 14% were under 13. Marijuana use is at 8%, inhalant use 9%, cocaine use Board of Selectmen MeetingL November 8, 2005—Page 4 4%. In the category of violence, 50% have been bullied. In the sex category, 4% have had sex before the age of 13, and 83%use a condom. Carl McFadden had concerns that 113 middle school children have considered suicide and 39 have attempted. He asked if the survey asked why. Mr. Ryan indicated that it did not -- that would be a whole different survey. Gary Nihan noted that there is a need to provide skills for coping, stress management and decision making. Pete Dahl noted that it is pretty clear that bullying is prominent, and that the schools have a policy on bullying. Pat Schettini noted that these are community based issues. The bullying can be addressed. He noted that there is a need to identify issues for the community to address. He also noted that the vast majority of students do not participate in bad behavior. The School Committee adjourned at 9:20 p.m. George Hines noted that he sent an e-mail to the Board of Selectmen last month regarding drug problems in Reading. He noted that the schools are safe -- there is low drug and alcohol use in schools. He requested that the Board of Selectmen move ahead to find some answers for the community. Selectman Jaynes Bonazoli thanked George Hines for speaking up. He noted that the recent tragedies were young adults out of school -- that's where the coping skills come into play. George Hines noted that the approach needs to be changed. He feels that this is an epidemic and noted that if there were five avian flu deaths, the community would be screaming. Discussion — Siting of Water Treatment Plant — Public Works Director Ted McIntire, Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Peter Tassi, Water Treatment Plant employees Tom Gardner and Dan Howland, WSSWAC Members John Wood, Steve Oston, Richard Moore and Stephen Crook were present. The Town Manager noted that in 1999, the WSSWAC recommended purchasing supplemental water from the MWRA and renovating/replacing the Water Treatment Plant. A new Water Treatment Plant was then designed. The location was problematic due to environmental reasons. The estimated cost of a new Water Treatment Plant has increased from $13 million to $23 million. Ted McIntire noted that they were looking at four sites in August, reduced that to three sites and are now down to two possible sites for a new Water Treatment Plant. The existing Water Treatment Plant site is previously disturbed, has proximity to the. infrastructure, will take one year to implement and the Town keeps local control. The cons are that we would have to purchase MWRA water for two and one half years, it is the most expensive alternative, and two staff would be kept at the site with a trailer and lab. Board of Selectmen Meeting—November 8, 2005—Page5 Ted McIntire noted that the compost area is a previously disturbed site, is the easiest to redesign, will need less site work and the Town keeps local control. The cons are that the Town will have to replace the existing operation. Ted McIntire noted that with full MWRA, there will be minor infrastructure improvements and the water source is less vulnerable. The cons are that it is prohibited by the Interbasin Transfer Act, and there is loss of local control and loss of redundancy. Ted McIntire noted that we have spent $1.7 million now and it will cost $340,000 to complete the engineering. The construction cost will be approximately $23 million. He noted that he has reviewed the time schedule and construction could begin in July 2006. Selectman Ben Tafoya asked about vulnerability, and Ted McIntire noted that we are vulnerable to gas spills and there is an issue with AGFA. The Quabin Reservoir is less vulnerable. Chairman Camille Anthony noted that we have three years to address the safe drinking water regulations, and asked what the capital costs will be. Ted McIntire noted that the facility.will last over 50 years and the treatment processes will change over time. Chairman Anthony asked if there were concerns regarding security at the Compost Center site, and Ted McIntire noted that there was not, that it would be fenced off. Vice Chairman Richard Schubert noted that we need a sense of the cost to relocate the Compost Center. Stephen Crook, Chairman of the WSSWAC, noted that the WSSWAC voted to recommend building a new Water Treatment Plant versus full MWRA mainly due to prohibited by State law and we would lose local control. They discussed building on the old compost site, and the ranking of the options are: (1) old compost site, (2) current compost site, (3)existing site. Richard Moore noted that the Town can work with the abutters. He also noted that MWRA costs will be going up. Chairman Camille Anthony asked if our registration will be reduced. Gail Wood noted that when you have registration, they are not reduced. Permits can be reduced. She also noted that we have never exceeded our registration. Richard Moore noted that the MWRA is offering a five year contract and we don't know what the process will be when five years is up. The Town is not an original user of the MWRA so we will be the first to be cut. John Wood had concerns that if we give up the local system,then we will lose it forever. Bob LeLacheur noted that full MWRA will take five years to get permission. He noted that the Town could build a new Water Treatment Plant and use no MWRA water, go with MWRA 100%, or combine the two and build a new Water Treatment Plant or supplemental MWRA. He Board of Selectmen Meeting—November 8, 2005—Page 6 also noted.that he received a memo yesterday that the MWRA will increase sharply over the next five years. i Selectman Ben Tafoya noted that the Board needs feedback from the MWRA, needs to know the political perspective in getting approval from the State, and get feedback from the Ipswich River Association. The Town Manager noted that if we stay with the Water Treatment Plant and MWRA, then we will use the. maximum every year. It will be faster to implement, the cost is easier to predict and we would be able to keep good and loyal staff. The Town Manager noted that if we go with the full MWRA, we will always have water restrictions, the impact on the Ipswich River will be eliminated, the vulnerability is less in a larger system and we won't have to address the Safe Water Drinking Act. The Town Manager also noted that 60% of the MWRA costs are debt right now. Either way, the Town needs to maintain a distribution system and leak detection system. Chairman Camille Anthony noted that the Board will meet on November 29, 2005 regarding just water. Report from Health Insurance Task Force— Selectman Ben Tafoya noted that the MMA. sent out an Action Notice regarding health care, and they were all issues that we have dealt with. The Town is in good shape with the 70/30 split. He also noted that some towns can't get their j employees to take the HMO. The legislature sets the split for the State and they went back to i 80/20. ' A motion by Schubert seconded by Duffy to adiourn the meeting of November 8, 2005 at 11:28 p.m.was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Respectfully submitted, !,r ' t 4 �j Secret�ry