Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-03-15 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting March 15, 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 7:45 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, DPW Director Ted McIntire, Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Peter Tassi, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Paula'Schena and the following list of interested parties: Tom Ryan, Frank and Claire Hadley, Vinnie Cameron, Andrew Herlihy, Paula O'Leary, Stephen Goldy, Kerry Mackin, Will Finch, Gina Snyder. Chairman Richard Schubert offered a moment of silence for -the passing of Police Officer Charles Lentini. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments— Selectman Gail Wood noted that she saw the Red Sox Trophy and suggested sending a letter of appreciation to the Red Sox Organization. Chairman Richard Schubert noted that the Interchange Task Force learned that the Mishawum Station is up for sale to a developer, and the Subcommittee sent a letter asking for reconsideration of selling the property. Public Comment — Tom Ryan noted that he sent correspondence regarding the sidewalk plow putting snow in his yard and wanted to note that during the last storm, the snow was put on the tree lawn. He also reminded the Board about the Spelling Bee. Town Manager's Report The Town Manager gave the following report: ♦ The Red Sox Trophy was in Reading on March 9th at the Senior Center. There was a nice crowd and a lot of smiling faces. The Lottery and Red Sox representatives were great. For the first time in Reading's history, we will probably top $1 million in snow and ice control costs for a single year. We get some FEMA reimbursement for some of the costs of the January blizzard. ♦ The Board of Selectmen had a good meeting last night with the SAPAC and the School Committee on substance abuse. ♦ Next Monday, the Board of Selectmen and School Committee will meet with the Finance Committee on Health Insurance. This is an educational forum for the three bodies. ♦ Department Heads are meeting tomorrow with our State Reps and Senator on a variety of issues. ♦ The legislative delegation is then meeting with our Insurance Advisory Committee on Health Insurance Issues. Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 15, 2005—Page 2 ♦ Town employees have suffered three losses in the last week—Fire Lt. Peter Marchetti's two year old son died—he had suffered since birth with spina bifida. Then Police Officer Charlie Lentini passed away last Thursday and most recently, Accounting Administrator Lisa O'Brien's husband passed away very suddenly at age 39. It's been a very difficult week for our employee family. ♦ The Fire Department has secured two grants: $6200 in reimbursement of our work by Police, Fire and DPW on behalf of the DNC last Summer; and $39,000 for primarily technology and training for the Department. The Fire Department is also submitting for reimbursement for the removal of the Underground Storage Tank at the High School. If all of that is not enough, the RFD is submitting our FEMA application for reimbursement for snow/ice expenses from the January blizzard. o The Wood End working group has had two meetings and is meeting again on March 18th. The discussions and cooperative attitude are excellent. ♦ I need a Board of Selectmen representative to meet with me and a representative of the Finance Committee and School Department representative on the Finance Director's position. George Hines was designated. o Joe Duffy and Gail Wood met with me and Special Counsel as well as.a representative of RCTV and T-TAC to begin the process of developing the Town's negotiation position on a CATV franchise with Verizon. We will meet again in about a month. After discussion with Town Counsel, I have asked Bill Solomon of Stoneham to submit a proposal to provide Special Counsel services on this matter. Bill Solomon is Stoneham's counsel and also has negotiated a number of CATV franchise agreements in the State. Proclamations/Certificates of Appreciation Certificate of Appreciation, Frank Hadley RMLD — Frank Hadley was present to receive the Certificate. Also present were his wife Claire, RMLD General Manager Vinnie Cameron, RMLB Member Andrew Herlihy and Paula O'Leary. A motion by Duffy seconded by Hines to approve the Certificate of Appreciation for Frank Hadley for 50 years of service in the Reading Municipal Light Department was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. (Vice Chairman Camille Anthony arrived late.) Personnel & Appointments Conservation Commission — The Board interviewed Stephen Goldy for one position on the Conservation Commission. Hines moved and Wood seconded to place the following name into nomination for one position on the Conservation Commission with a term expiring June 30, 2006: Stephen Goldy. Mr. Goldy received five votes and was appointed. Discussion/Action Items Close .Warrant — 5h Grade Town Meeting - The Town Manager noted that the community participated in the 5th Grade Town Meeting last year and the feedback was wonderful. The Town Manager noted that Article 3 would require students to wear uniforms, and Article 4 would extend the school day to 4:00 p.m. and eliminate homework. Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 15, 2005 —Page 3 The 5`" Grade Town Meeting is scheduled for April 1, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. at the RMHS j Auditorium. A motion by Hines seconded by Wood to close the Warrant consisting of four Articles for the Special Fifth Grade Town Meeting to take place at 9:00 a.m. on April 1, 2005 at the Reading Memorial High School Auditorium, 62 Oakland Road in Reading, was approved by a-vote of 5-0-0. Approval of YMCA Conservation Restrictions — The Town Manager noted that all work has been completed. The YMCA and Conservation Commission have approved it and the Commonwealth will sign last. Chairman Richard Schubert asked if the land will be available for school use and for teaching purposes, and the Town Manager indicated that it will. A motion by Wood seconded by Anthony to approve the grant of conservation restriction with the YMCA was approved by.a vote of 5-0-0. Establish Screening_Committee for Town Accountant—The Town Manager noted that he drafted a policy for the Screening Committee for the Town Accountant. The Committee will consist of two Selectmen, one member of the School Committee or staff, one Finance Committee member, and one resident from the community. The purpose will be to review the Job Description, criteria, narrow the field, and select the finalist to recommend to the Board of Selectmen. Selectman Gail Wood asked if the recommendation will go directly from the Committee to the Board of Selectmen without going through the Town Manager. The Town Manager indicated that he will staff the Committee and participate. Selectman George Hines recommended that the Committee bring three names to the Board of Selectmen, otherwise the Committee would be making the decision. Chairman Richard Schubert agreed. Anthony moved and Hines seconded to approve the policy establishing an ad hoc Town Accountant Screening Committee dated March 15, 2005. Hines moved and Wood seconded to amend the last bullet so that the Screening Committee selects a minimum of three finalists. The motion to amend was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. The main motion, as amended, was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Schedule Site Visit to 15 Timothy Place - The Town Manager noted that this was before the Board of Selectmen in November. The property owner is requesting a site visit. The Town Manager noted that he did a site visit and the issue is that the property owner's contractor built in the right of way. He asked for approval to use part of the right of way but the Board of Selectmen denied it. He will be asking for easement of portions. Vice Chairman Camille Anthony noted that the Board has made their stance clear on this matter. Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 15,2005—Page 4 Anthony moved and Wood seconded that absent any new information the Board of Selectmen reaffirm the Board's previous decision regarding encroachments of 15 Timothy Place onto the right of way. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. I Review Status of Readings Application before the Water Resources Commission for Buy-In to MWRA — The Town Manager noted that MEPA approved the environmental report when we submitted our application. Public outreach is ongoing and there will be workshop for residents on March 29th at 7:00 p.m. A total of 386 customers have filed rebates for low flow toilets, clothes washers and rain sensors. The total estimate of water saved per year is 5 million gallons. A total of 102 homes have had water audits. All municipal buildings have low flow toilets and faucets. The Town has saved 456 million gallons of water over the past five years with the leak detect program. The Town Manager noted that if the Water Resource does not approve this, then he suggests the Selectmen stop the process. DPW Director Ted McIntire and Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Peter Tassi were present. Ted McIntire noted that the process has taken five years and is frustrating. He is hopeful that the Water Resource Commission will approve. He does not know of any other community doing what we are doing. Selectman George Hines asked if there were any reasons why the WRC wouldn't approve, and Ted McIntire noted that stream flow triggers are an issue. There are limitations on the Water Treatment Plant— we can't just turn it on and turn it off. He doesn't know if we will be able to tie into the stream flow triggers. The Town Manager noted that we will be reducing our daily water amount by one half. He also noted the rates will be higher but this is the right thing to do. Selectman George Hines noted that monthly billing would help and tiered rates too. The Town Manager noted that both are potentials but there is a cost to change to a monthly billing. Ted McIntire noted that we enforce our conservation program and it works. All residents receive a stuffer in the bill and they encourage rain sensors. Vice Chairman Camille Anthony asked if we can do rebates for the rain barrels, and Ted McIntire noted that he would look into it. Kerry Mackin, from the Ipswich River Watershed Association, noted that they have repeatedly supported the interbasin transfer in concept, and will be an improvement but not enough to prevent the river from being pumped dry. She feels that the Town of Reading is not doing enough to conserve water use and would like the Town to purchase more water from the MWRA than what we are asking for. Chairman Richard Schubert noted that Reading has been proactive to conserve its water usage. Kerry Mackin noted that her main concerns outside of the water restrictions is that if the Town had triggers, then that could save a lot of water. The Town Manager noted that if the Town used a trigger in 1999, we would have used 240,000 gallons less but if we had MWRA water, we would have used millions of gallons less. Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 15, 2005—Page 5 Chairman Richard Schubert noted, that if we didn't get any water from the MWRA, we would i not be encouraging any of the other communities to conserve. Selectman Gail Wood noted that the citizens in Reading have spent millions of dollars to reduce the amount of water taken out of the Ipswich River. She also noted that all of the land abutting the river in Reading is under local control. The Town has spent $300,000 - $400,000 per year on piping replacement so that we are not wasting water. She doesn't know of any other Town that comes close to that. There was discussion between Kerry Mackin and the Board regarding whether odd/even restrictions conserves water. The Town Manager noted that if nothing else, it keeps the public focused on the need to conserve water. Ted McIntire noted that the Town of Reading has a great conservation program and the Ipswich River Watershed Association is not helping our application process to purchase MWRA water. Will Finch, a member of the Conservation Commission, recommended that the Board encourage the architects who design our new Water Treatment Plant to allow for stream flow triggers. Gina Synder, a member of the Reading/North Reading Stream Team, congratulated Reading for everything they are doing and hopes that there can be a compromise. Peter Tassi noted that the Town has done everything by State regulations, and we've done everything that we are supposed to do. The Town Manager noted that once the Water Treatment Plant is built, we will work to deal with stream flow triggers but if we decide to do that, the Water Treatment Plant employees could be out of work for weeks. He also noted that purchasing more water out of the MWRA would require reopening the MEPA Certificate because MEPA specifies the amount we can take. Selectman George Hines noted that abandoning the project would do more harm than good. If we don't do trigger in the beginning, then there will be a higher cost to design in the end. Ted McIntire noted that requesting stream flow triggers requires a stricter conservation plan. He also noted that we have asked the designer to design a plant that can be run automatically. A motion by Hines seconded by Anthony to direct the designers of the Water Treatment Plant to design in the stream flow triggers and that the Board of Selectmen go on record to adopt tougher restrictions when appropriate was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Execution of Easement Agreement on West Street—The Town Manager noted that the proposed easement is related to Archstone to expand the roadway if the need be in the future. Selectman George Hines asked if their design precludes the Town from using it, and the Town Manager indicated that it does not. Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 15, 2005 —Page 6 A motion by Wood seconded by Hines to accept and authorize the Town Manager to execute an easement to the Town of Reading from Archstone-Smith Operating Trust for potential future street layout on West Street as presented on March 15, 2005 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Approval of Minutes A motion by Anthony seconded by Hines to approve the Minutes of March 1, 2005 was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Anthony seconded by Wood to approve the Executive Session Minutes of March 1, 2005 was approved on a roll call vote with all five members voting in the affirmative. A motion by Anthony seconded by Hines to adiourn the meeting of March 15, 2005 at 10:25 p.m. was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Respectfully submitted, J J Secretary