HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-11-23 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting
November 23, 2004
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 Vice Chairman Camille Anthony, Secretary Gail
Wood (arrived at 5:00 p.m.), Selectmen Joseph Duffy and George Hines, Fire Chief Greg
Burns, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleilmer, Paula Schena and the following list of interested
parties: Fire Captain Paul Guarino, Sean Devlin, Attorney Brad Latham, Margaret Soli, Peter
Comondurous.
Town Manager's Report
The Town Manager gave the following report:
♦ Flu Clinic flyer is attached.
♦ The Letter of Agreement with RCTV has been signed, and their Bylaws have been amended
to change the make-up of their Board. We have received the annual payment from Comcast
for Community Access, and RCTV has received their first monthly payment. We have also
received the capital grant from Comcast in the amount of$50,000, and have received their
budget for the Fiscal Year beginning November 1 st.
0 AAA Pedestrian Safety Award—see attached.
o An appeal has been filed by Danis on the Walkers Brook Crossing Phase 2 building permit.
♦ Home Rule legislation re: Easement over Conservation Land — Longwood Road has been
drafted and will be filed in January.
♦ Please see the commendation from the Police Chief for work done by Police Officer Kevin
Brown and Dispatcher Stephen Duke.
♦ We have received a copy of the annual audit from the Reading Ice Arena Authority.
s Christmas tree disposal is on Saturday, January 8`h, if you want to take it to the Compost
Center, or the week of January 10th for curbside collection.
The State is developing a web page for the I-93/Route 128 study work. So far, the site just
has a "coming soon" notice. The site is www.9395info.com, and is linked from the Town
web site.
The Board of Selectmen is holding a public input session on traffic issues for the area
bounded by Main, Salem and the railroad tracks. It is on Saturday, December 4th at 1:30
p.m. at the Senior Center. Over 700 notices have,gone out.
♦ You have a report on the recent Household Hazardous Waste Collection — 191 users
compared to 134 last October. We will be doing these jointly with Wakefield—two per year
(one in each community).
♦ The next issue of Your Community Connection will be going out on January 1 st.
Discussion/Action Items
Report on One Year Anniversary — Advanced Life Support — Fire Chief Greg Burns, Captain
Paul Guarino and EMT Sean Devlin were present.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—November 23, 2004—Page 2
Chief Burns noted that the Fire Department has been providing the best ALS in the.area for the
past year. The response of care has significantly increased and they have control over who
provides and the quality of the equipment. The projected revenue to the community was
$380,000 but so far the revenue is $420,000. Before the program, the revenues were $250,000.
The program is a huge success.
Captain Paul Guarino handed out an ALS summary, and noted that the total responses were
1710, the number of patients transported was 1197, and the number of ALS patients was 619.
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony noted that the Audit Committee asked the Fire Department to
look at the billing. Chief Burns indicated that they have. About 1/3 of the patients are Medicare
and when Reading went to ALS,Medicare didn't recognize it right away.
Chief Burns feels that the ALS reduces hospital stays. Vice Chairman Camille Anthony noted
that it could lower the rate of health care also. She feels that we should be put in for a MIIA
Award.
EMT Sean Devlin noted that we recently went through an inspection by the State, and they were
thrilled with us, and recommend that other communities check us out.
Selectman George Hines noted that over the past 15 years that he has served as a Selectman,
there has been consistent positive feedback from the community on the Fire Department.
Atlantic Food Mart—Revised Plan— Selectman Joseph Duffy excused himself from the meeting
(Paul Duffy, the Manager of Atlantic Food Mart, is his son). Selectman Gail Wood joined the
meeting.
Attorney Brad Latham noted that the Selectmen wanted them to come back with a revised plan.
There were also concerns about underage purchases, and they will be taking extraordinary
measures to address this issue.
A motion by Hines seconded by Wood to approve the revised floor plan for Atlantic Food
Mart was approved by a vote of 3-0-0.
Selectman Gail Wood left the meeting for another meeting, and Selectman Joseph Duffy rejoined
the meeting.
Human Relations Advisory Committee—Reduction in Size of Committee from 9 to 7—Margaret
Soli, Chairman of the Human Relations Advisory Committee, was present. She indicated that
the Committee is in favor of having seven members. She also indicated that they have six
members now, so it would be easier to get one more rather than three more members.
Selectman George Hines asked about the human relations status in Reading. Ms. Soli noted that
there was a marked improvement in the Police relations in the community after they had training.
She also noted that Lyn Whyte, Executive Director of the Housing Authority, spoke with the
Committee. The METCO Director will be coming in to speak with the Committee.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—November 23, 2004—Page 3
Selectman George Hines suggested that the Committee should have a dialogue on moral values.
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony asked if the Committee worked with the schools at all. Ms.
Soli indicated only on METCO, and she would like to see the Justice Department do the same
training with the school faculty as they did with the Police Department.
The Board directed the Town Manager to schedule a hearing to reduce the number of members.
Hunt Park Play round—Peter Comondurous noted that 30 people helped install Phase 1.
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony asked what the cost was, and Mr. Comondurous noted that the
equipment was $24,000-$25,000 with supervised installation. The DPW put the wood chips
down. He also noted that the Conservation Commission has approved a 60 x 90 foot area for a
playground for the younger children. There are three options they are looking at and Option C
seems the best but it is 60 x 92 feet.
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony asked if there will be a fence around the toddler area, and Mr.
Comondurous noted right away but he would like some kind of barrier. He is asking for
approval of Option C, and then he will go the Conservation Commission for approval.
A motion by Hines seconded by Duffy to approve the plan for Hunt Park Playground
labeled Option C was approved by a vote of 3-0-0.
Proposed Policy on Park Improvements — The Town Manager noted that he drafted a policy
regarding parking improvements. The operations of the park are the responsibility of the Board
of Selectmen except the scheduling. Projects to improve parks' require Board of Selectmen
approval. Replacement in kind in place has been delegated to the Recreation Committee.
Requests other than what is listed will go the Town Manager.
Selectman George Hines requested that it be noted in Paragraph 4 that "...the Selectmen may
then refer such projects to the Recreation Committee for programming or scheduling impacts
and/or the Department of Public Works for maintenance impacts for their comment ..." for
clarification.
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony noted that the Selectmen are not involved if they are replacing
in kind but the Selectmen might want something different. Selectman George Hines suggested
adding that in kind doesn't proceed until the Board of Selectmen get a copy of it. He also
requested that the Recreation Committee monitor the Open Space and Recreation Plan and do an
annual review.
The Board directed the Town Manager to make revisions and schedule a hearing.
Proposed Policy on Grant Applications—The Town Manager noted that he added a paragraph to
the policy on Grant Applications that: "It shall be the responsibility of every Department
......unless the Board of Selectmen waives this requirement." This should eliminate any
problems with the Labor Unions in the faturie.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—November 23,2004—Page 4
Discussion — Beer and Wine Package Store Licenses — The Town Manager noted that he spoke
with the ABCC and they indicated that if we had beer and wine package store licenses, we would
be allowed five. They also confirmed the process. The Town Manager suggests putting an
Article on the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting. He would set a date in January for public
input and invite the Chamber of Commerce and other licensees.
The Board directed the Town Manager to schedule a public discussion in January.
A motion by Hines seconded by Duffy to adiourn the meeting of November 23, 2004 at 9:30
p.m. was approved by a vote of 3:0-0.
Res.1 ectfully submitted,
L911 q j
I
`Secretary