HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-01-25 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting
January 25, 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 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street,
Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Richard Schubert, Vice Chairman
Camille Anthony, Secretary Gail Wood, Selectmen Joseph Duffy and George Hines,
Health Administrator Jane Fiore, Town Planner Chris Reilly, Town Manager Peter
Hechenbleikner and the following list of interested parties: Stephen and Janice Nearen-
Bell, Bill Brown, Paul Feely, Ben Tafoya, Tony D'Arezzo, Barbara Meade, Joyce Kirk,
Helen and Courtney Evans, Frank Driscoll, Bob Beauregard.
Reports and Comments
Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments — Selectman George Hines noted that it
would be nice to have the World Series' Trophy come to Reading. He wanted to
acknowledge DPW and public employees during the recent blizzard. He thought they did
an excellent job and offered congratulations. He also noted that there was an article
about the Elder/Human Services study, and that the study got comments from the
providers. If any of the group did not articulate their needs, then that is that group's
problem, not a problem with the study. He noted that residents who may think there is a
problem at the interchange should also add their concerns.
Selectman Joseph Duffy agreed with Selectman Hines' comments about the DPW and
public employees handling of the blizzard.
Selectman Gail Wood also extended her congratulations to the DPW and public
employees for their excellent job. She also suggested that residents check their fire
hydrants and clear them out.
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony noted that the Board of Selectmen is meeting. on
Saturday regarding the Jordan's lights. The Human Relations Advisory Committee is
having a METCO update on February 3rd at 7:30 at the Police Station. She met last
Saturday with residents of Avalon Road concerning issues of speed of traffic. It is not
the quantity of traffic but the speed of the traffic that is a concern. She also noted that she
attended the Addison-Wesley meeting with the neighbors. This will be before the Board
of Selectmen in the near future.
Chairman Richard Schubert noted that he and Vice Chairman Camille Anthony attended
the Interchange Task Force Meeting in Stoneham. He announced the address for the
website. The website is there for residents to make comments as well as to keep up to
date with information.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—January 25, 2005—Page 2
Proclamations/Certificates of Appreciation
Citation - On motion by Wood seconded by Anthony, the Board of Selectmen voted
to approve a Citation for the Pop Warner Football "C" Team and Cheerleaders by
a vote of 5-0-0.
Town Manager's Report
The Town Manager gave the following report:
Nomination papers are now available for Town Officers. Fifty signatures for Officers
and 10 in their precinct for Town Meeting Members are required. Nomination papers
are due back in the Town Clerk's Office by 5:00 p.m. on February 15th.
o Regarding the entry of Verizon into the fiber optic business in Reading and
potentially into the Cable TV business, please see the attached e-mail and material
from Dom LaCava of T-TAC
♦ Four members of the Reading Police Department were in Washington, D.C. this
week, assisting in security for the Presidential Inauguration. They were Chief Robert
Silva, and Officers Jack Kyle, Mike Fitzgerald and Matt Edson. Hopefully, they
brought back a pot of Federal Aid -- maybe a small part of what the Inauguration
cost?
o The Reading Clergy Association sponsored a performance by an African American
dance troupe in celebration of Martin Luther King Day. The turnout was good and the
performance was exceptional.
♦ There is an opening on the Board of Registrars for a Democrat. We have asked the
Democratic Town Committee for a recommendation.
e Jim Francis has just indicated that he will be resigning from the Finance Committee
for business reasons. When we get his formal resignation, we will post the vacancy.
There had been an issue about the appointment process of the Accounting Manager at
the RMLD but it has been resolved through the RMLB having the authority to
appoint the Accounting Manager/Business Manager.
o "Dateline" aired a TV show on the solving of the 30-year-old murder of Robin
Gilbert in Reading. This is the so-called"Meadow Brook" murder. I talked to one of
the participants in the show who said that the show was generally accurate. She was
very grateful that the murder had been solved, and was especially appreciative of the
work of Police Lt. Detective Kevin Patterson.
♦ The DPW deserves a great deal of credit for their handling of the recent blizzard.
Snow clean-up is still ongoing--the Square should take another night or two.
♦ Patrol Officer Peter O'Brien's last day on the job is next Wednesday. Peter is retiring
after a lifetime career with the Town.
Discussion/Action Items
Request for adding Cordials to Restaurant Beer and Wine Licenses — Stephen and Janice
Bell appeared before the Board to Selectmen to discuss the issue of cordials identified as
having 49-110 proof. There are 18 specific cordials or liqueurs on a list provided by the
State.
Selectman George Hines felt that if we added cordials, then we would have to review the
fees for Beer and Wine licenses as less expensive than All Alcoholic licenses.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—January 25, 2005 —Page 3
The Board asked if there could be three categories of licenses: All Alcoholic Liquor, Beer
and Wine, and Beer and Wine and Cordials. They also asked for a list of cordials from
the State. The Board will consider putting this matter before Town Meeting.
Review of the"Smart Growth" Zoning Initiatives — Town Planner Chris Reilly reviewed
his memo dated January 10, 2005. Smart Growth is a State initiative which will provide
for increasing housing density around core areas of communities where utilities of
transportation exist to serve those uses. The incentive is a one time payment to the Town
of Reading of$3,000 per unit. 20% of the units need to be affordable.
Selectman Gail Wood wants to know if this would work even without the financial
incentives. Chris Reilly indicated that a preliminary analysis shows that in Reading's
Downtown there would be 100-200 units of housing that could be developed. Using
existing dimensional controls and providing housing primarily in upper stories of
commercial uses.
Selectman George Hines noted that we need to revisit the issue of parking and the 300
foot rule.
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony was concerned that the issue of housing in Downtown
will get lost in the' shuffle of other business. It looked like the idea of a timeline. There
are some other measures that we could put in place. There was discussion that this matter
could be handled at a Special Town Meeting, perhaps with a report at the Annual Town
Meeting.
Review of John Street Neighborhood Issues — The Board reviewed the John Street
neighborhood issues. The following actions will be taken: (1) a report from staff on short-
term and long-term goals including the enforcement plan; (2) hold a neighborhood
workshop meeting; (3) get results of the traffic study in March and (4) work on the long-
tenn list. On the long-term list, I have No. 2 which is to develop a policy on public
notification that requires notice of greater than 300 feet depending on size and impact of
project — we will get a review from Town Counsel on that matter. On the short-term
proposal No. 7 which is to eliminate the unloading of car carriers on a public way, we
will work with the State Police in determining the legality of that. The suggestion was
made that we consider using some of the $100,000 from Walkers Brook Crossing to hire
a consultant to review proposals.
Bill Brown noted that 128 Ford does not have the right to display vehicles on public
property as they currently do.
Tony D'Arezzo of 130 John Street had two questions/comments: (1)that we should try to
extend the traffic study as far as possible, perhaps to Route 128/28, and (2) can we have
the.next developer of Addison-Wesley do a study of all three access points off of Route
128.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—January 25, 2005 —Page 4
Selectman Gail Wood noted that this would probably be a more extensive traffic study
than would be warranted by the development.
Smoking in Clubs—Barbara Meade from the Board of Health, Jane Fiore from the Health
Division and Bob Beauregard from the Tobacco Control District were present.
All the clubs are currently exempt from smoking regulations. If they are to be further
regulated, the Board of Health would need to do those regulations. There are five private
clubs in Reading. All serve food. All the clubs at one time had cigarette vending
machines and those are currently eliminated. The clubs that could allow smoking are the
Knights of Columbus, the American Legion,*Meadow Brook Golf Club and the VFW.
They have not had any issues.
Bob Beauregard noted that this is a philosophical/political issue. Of the 11 communities
in their Tobacco Control District, only one prohibits smoking—Middleton. There would
also be an enforcement issue. One of the issues would be whether the clubs in allowing
smoking, compete directly with other bars. That is not the case in Reading. Private clubs
are an extension of the home. The major concern in prohibiting smoking would be
whether the allowing of smoking has an impact on the employees.
Chairman Richard Schubert asked if there were any complaints from employees. At the
clubs, it was indicated that there were not.
Selectman Gail Wood felt that if we do consider this,-there should be some kind of
process with the clubs.
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony feels that it is a health issue.
Jane Fiore felt that if we are going to do any regulations, it should be a combination of
education enforcement.
Selectman George Hines suggested that we do the education, and that we consider
offering to do a health survey.
Chairman Richard Schubert agreed that we should do the educational process.
The sense of the Board of Selectmen was that we should keep the regulations that we
have in place, we should do education in clubs, and we should offer to do a survey.
Bob Beauregard commented that at the last quarter (October-December 2004), there was
no instance of youths purchasing tobacco in Reading. He congratulated the community.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—January 25, 2005—Page 5
Follow Up - Memorial Park Recommendations — The Town Manager reviewed the
Memorial Park recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Study Committee. One of the
questions raised was whether this should go through Town Meeting. The Town Manager
noted that Town Counsel felt that since Town Meeting accepted the land, Town Meeting
should be involved in the process.
Selectman George Hines disagreed, but agreed to perhaps have Town Meeting endorse
the request for a cy pres agreement. On the items to be allowed, Selectman Hines
proposed Item 2 to be reworded as follows: Practices by community based sports and
recreation groups as permitted by the Recreation Committee. The Board also suggested
that as along as we are doing any changes, we should memorialize the allowance for the
fence enclosures to the tennis court and basketball courts. The consensus was to move
forward either with a cy pres agreement or identifying areas and getting them to sign off
on the uses.
Bill Brown noted that the park was gifted to the Town through the Planning Board
because there was no Park Commission at the time.
Ben Nichols stated that there might be a couple of heirs.
Chairman Richard Schubert felt that the restrictions as proposed are overly burdensome.
Update on Train Whistles —The Town Manager gave an update on train whistle blowing.
He noted that the Town will need to show a plan in progress towards improving the
safety of the Ash Street grade crossing. In doing so, in our annual approval, we will be
able to retain the whistle ban.
There beinLy no further business, on motion by Hines seconded by Anthony, the
Board of Selectmen voted to adiourn their meeting of January 25, 2005 at 10:30
p.m. by a vote of 5-0-0.
Respectfully submitted,
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