Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-10-11 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting October 11,2005 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 at 7:15 p.m.), Secretary Joseph Duffy, Selectmen Ben Tafoya and James Bonazoli. Also present were Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Robert LeLacheur, and the following list of interested parties: Paul Feeley of the Reading Chronicle, Martha Moore, Bruce Mackenzie, Mike and Dot Hayes, John and Kirst Gerhartz, Ann and Sidney Chabane, S. Barrasso, Gloria and Harold Hulse, Andy and Janice Kavjian, Mrs. Greenwood, Dana Percy. Selectman Joseph Duffy commented that it is inappropriate to dump business (construction) waste on residential property. Selectman James Bonazoli added that there is no commercial dumping at the Compost Center. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments — Selectman Ben Tafoya reported on the progress of the ad hoc Health Insurance Task Force, and had some very positive comments on the hiring of consultant (and Reading resident) Steven Tringale of the firm Hinkley, Allen & Tringale LP. The next step is to meet with the Reading Health Insurance Advisory Committee and design an RFP. The existing coverage (via MIIA) will be requesting a 60-90 day extension in order to allow for the RFP process, if necessary. Chairman Camille Anthony noted that she was unable to attend the next 1-93/Routel28 Meeting in the Stoneham Town Hall later this week. The most recent meeting was late last Spring. She asked about the request from resident Sally Hoyt about changes to the zoning setback regulations. The Town Manager stated that CPDC would look at this after the Fall Town Meeting. She asked about the status of the Warrant Article about the sale of land near RMHS. The Town Manager stated that within 10 days, they should have definitive word on the owner of the land. Preliminary work by Assessor Dave Billard, resident Bill Brown and Town Counsel suggests that the Town may own all of the land in the Warrant. Finally, she inquired about the legality of the proposed Storm Water Enterprise Fund. Town Counsel is writing a letter summarizing the legal status and why this fund may proceed. Selectman James Bonazoli commented that the opponents of the fund only object to the funding mechanism, and not the legality-of the fund itself. He pointed out that if you assess a fee that does not contain an opt-out provision,then it must Board of Selectmen Meeting—October 11, 2005—Page 2 be a tax. The Town Manager noted that residents can opt out of the water system but cannot opt out of the sewer system, and each are funded in an identical manner. Vice Chairman Richard Schubert arrived at 7:15 p.m. Public Comment- There was no public comment. On motion by Schubert seconded by Tafoya, Ron Powell of the Finance Committee was appointed to be a liaison to the Nurse Advocacy Task Force by a vote of 5-0-0. Town Manager's Report The Town Manager gave the following report: s The American Flag on the Common carne down during the severe wind storm last week. We are trying to get a steeplejack to replace it as quickly as possible. s I have hired Tom Lemon as a lighting consultant for the Jordan's property. I met with him again this week. This matter is scheduled for the Board of Selectmen's Meeting on October 25th. ♦ YCC was mailed to all Reading households last week. We thank Advancian Real Estate for sponsoring this issue which pays for printing and mailing. ♦ I have hired the firm of Hinkley, Allen& Tringale as our Health Care consultant. He met with the Task Force last week, and will be handling our bidding process for the next renewal. He is meeting with the employee Insurance Advisory Committee next week. ♦ The "Adopt a Family" Program for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays is ,beginning—coordinated through RE/HS. ♦ Reading's application for the MWRA supplemental water buy-in is scheduled for action on October 20th at the MWRA Advisory Board. o The Fire Department's Open House is Saturday, October 15th. o We have received a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for Homeland Security. s Firefighter Ryan Buckley graduated from the Massachusetts Fire Academy last Friday. Two additional Firefighters started the Academy this week. o The RPD will be running an Auto Glass Etching Program to deter auto theft,—DPW Garage—October 22nd, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. o Halloween Parade is October 23rd. Household Hazardous Waste Collection—Wakefield High, October 29th, 8:30 am to 12 noon ♦ A "Farmers Market"began last Tuesday on a trial basis on Tuesday afternoons this Fall at Rotary Square. ® The Lion's Club would be collecting for victims of the Louisiana/Mississippi hurricane. They will be accepting items at four locations - the Town Hall, the Police and Fire Stations and the Senior Center. Chairman Camille Anthony requested that the Avalon stop sign discussion be moved from October 18th to the 25th as two Selectmen would be away next week. Board of Selectmen Meeting—October 11,2005—Page 3 Assistant Town Manager Bob LeLacheur reported on a meeting with local officials and the Lieutenant Governor. Topics discussed included a FY 2007 Municipal Relief Bill likely to be filed in January 2006, as well as general State Budget priorities. The following suggestions came from the municipal officials: Add pothole money for the Town side of local government, change the current legislation/regulations that discourage the Town and school sides of local government from acting efficiently (e.g., net school spending rules), circuit breaker funds for local health care costs, remove the $10 million SRF annual cap, restore the lottqry money, and fund extraordinary snow and ice expenditures. Discussion/Action Items Review Action Status Reports - The Board reviewed the Action Status Report. The following items were requested by the Board of Selectmen to be added to the Traffic Issues: Franklin Street sidewalks, Bancroft Avenue stop sign and parking regulations, Ash Street re-alignment, and a formal (but flexible) detour policy which would alert residents affected. The Development Projects were reviewed. The consensus of the Board was to meet with the 'Addison-Wesley' traffic consultant at a regular Selectmen's Meeting, before scheduling a formal public forum dedicated exclusively to this topic. They agreed to delete the skateboard park item as no location seems possible. They would like to add the possible parking garage behind CVS, and a study of the Town Forest. "Original" Sanborn Lane - At 8:10 p.m., 14 residents of the Sanborn Lane neighborhood joined the Selectmen's Meeting. Sid Chabane of 106 Sanborn Lane indicated that the residents of this private road did not want any special treatment but they did want respect. He mentioned several incidents of trash dumped in the area, and the general lack of a Police presence. John Gerhartz of 98 Sanborn Lane mentioned that speeding is a terrible problem in the area. He was concerned with the safety of children who walk in the neighborhood. He is not in favor of the speed bumps, and would not mind if the road became a public way, though he respected the rights and history of the current owners. Andy Kavjian of 12 Roma Lane also spoke about respecting the privacy of 'Original Sanborn Lane,' and was also concerned for the safety of the children. He noted that the new Wood End School had not added significantly to the traffic in the area, and was pleased that it had increased their property values. He urged that whatever solutions are found,they need to have a strong enforcement element. The Town Manager pointed out an October 7th estimate provided by the Town Engineer Joe Delaney. The first alternative would cost $300,000 - $350,000 and would include 24 feet of pavement, vertical granite curbing, and a sidewalk on both sides. The second alternative would cost $195,000 - $227,500 and would-include 20 feet of pavement, no curbing, and a sidewalk on one side of the road. Board of Selectmen Meeting—October 11, 2005 —Page 4 Gloria Hulse of 107 Sanborn Lane gave a brief history of the private way, and noted that the,Town used to plow it when it was just a dirt road. (The DPW is concerned that a current trench is a danger to their equipment as is a speed bump.) Ms. Hulse mentioned that the current 15 mph speed limit, in place since the mid-1990's, is not enforced. Many residents praised their neighbors and enjoyed the neighborhood, but some wondered if moving to the area had been a huge mistake because of all these `issues.' Bruce Mackenzie of 102 Sanborn Lane stated that the ideal situation is three speed bumps where now there is only one — this encourages drivers to speed up after passing over it. He noted that some drivers are very angry at the situation on the road, and that there is a lot of animosity in the neighborhood. He is concerned that it is not safe for children or for parents. He believes that the trash dumping is often on purpose; for example, it is `carefully set' under the speed limit signs. He passed around three photographs showing the narrow passage of the road, and mentioned the hazard of walking with children during the Winter months. Mr. Mackenzie had the following suggestions, though he had not reviewed them with all of his neighbors: Close the road between 106 and 107 Sanborn, close it during school hours only, make it one way only with `Do Not Enter' signs, make a pedestrian lane and a car lane, and add a well-marked crosswalk at the narrowest section of the road. The Town Manager will look into the legality of some of the suggestions. He believed some of them would violate the rights of the 17 neighbors that had legal right-of-way (as decided by a previous court case), and that the 11 road owners/residents might need to unanimously agree with these folks about many of the proposed changes. Dana Percy of 104 Sanborn Lane noted that there has been a modest increase in traffic from the new school. She urged the Board to make sure there was traffic enforcement in the neighborhood. She is not a fan of either the trench or the speed bumps, but prefers them to an unsafe neighborhood for her children to play in, and that speed was a big problem in the area. Gloria Hulse cleared up the reason for the trench. The residents contracted out to dig the trench and then install a more permanent speed bump. Legal/insurance threats then ceased the work, and the trench has remained for over a year. There seemed to be a consensus among the residents that the trench was not necessary, and several residents and nearby neighbors offered to pay to have it properly sealed. Martha Morre of 102 Sanborn Lane asked if a Crossing Guard could be added at Roma Lane. Lucky Hulse of 107 Sanborn Lane discussed the history of the road, and expressed frustration that the Town let so much development occur without the proper road infrastructure. On this item, there was general agreement in the room that the layout of the roads was far from ideal. Fire truck access was discussed, and the owner (Sid Board of Selectmen Meeting—October 11, 2005_Page 5 Chabane) of a parcel of a dirt road mentioned that the Town could have that deeded land for Fire access if it wished. Gloria Hulse and several residents discussed signage for the area — for no trucks.or commercial vehicles. Vice Chairman Richard Schubert thanked the audience and stated that the first priority should be to fix a neighborhood that is clearly malfunctioning. Every resident has a right to enjoy their home, and not feel burdened by the issues of the neighborhood. The Town Manager had several suggestions for the residents. First, they needed to form a group that could speak for the entire area so that the Town could communicate with them. He stated that the Town wished to plow and maintain the street as it does for many other private roads in Reading. He suggested that the trench needed to be filled with hot top. The speed bumps should be removed according to a calendar date to allow Winter plowing(October 15t'—April 15`x'). He would look into signage and traffic enforcement. Selectman Ben Tafoya thanked the audience, along with Selectman James Bonazoli, and felt better educated to the issues facing the neighborhood. Chairman Camille Anthony stated that the priority should be the safety of children walking in the area. The Sanborn Lane neighborhood thanked the Board of Selectmen for their time. They stated that they would be in touch with the Town Manager for further steps, and left the meeting at.10:10 p.m. Chairman Camille Anthony asked the Board to focus on the Mission Statement. She stated that the `what' was one item but also to consider `why' is it important. Trucks on Linden Street were discussed--this will be added to the Traffic Issues. Selectman Joe Duffy wondered if the Town could pursue the insurance company that was delaying resolution of a house fire claim from a few years ago that was discussed with the Fire access of the Sanborn neighborhood. On motion by Schubert seconded by Tafoya, the Board of Selectmen voted to adiourn the meeting of October 11, 2005 at 10:20 p.m.by a vote of 5-0-0. Respectfully sub tted, $ieere� ,�