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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-10-06 Board of Selectmen Handout. DRAFT MOTIONS BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING OCTOBER 6, 2009 Tafoya, Bonazoli, Anthon- Goldy, Schubert Hechenbleikner 3) Move that the Board of Selectmen accept the report of the Volunteer Appointment Sub-Committee, and that the Board of Selectmen makes the following appointments to the following Boards, Committees, and Commissions: • Council on Aging - Gina L. Nelson - term expiring 6-30-2012 • Human Relations Advisory Committee - Associate - Margaret S. LeLacheur - term expiring 6-30-2010 • West Street Historic District Commission o Virginia Adams - term expiring 6-30-2012 o Priscilla Poehler - term expiring 6-30-2012 o Richard Schubert - term expiring 6-30-2011 • Board of Directors, Mystic Valley Elder Services Inc. - Rheta C. McKinley - term expiring 9-30-2012 4a) Move that for the FY 2010 budget, the Board of Selectmen: • Agrees (to)(not to) direct the Town Manager to proceed with the hiring of a Coordinator of Volunteers • (Concurs)(does not concur) with the Town Manager's direction to snow plow church parking lots for the 2009/2010 winter season, and place the churches on notice that beginning with the 2010/2011 snow plowing season that the Town will no longer plow church parking lots. 4b) Move that the Board of Selectmen accept the Conservation Restriction at 134 Fairchild Drive as approved by the Conservation Commission. 4d) Move that the Board of Selectmen close the hearing on amendments to the Personnel Policies. Move that the Board of Selectmen approve the amendments to the Personnel Policies as amended. D 5a) Move that the Board of Selectmen approve the minutes of July 21, 2009 as amended. 5b) Move that the Board of Selectmen approve the minutes of September 17, 2009 as amended. 5c) Move that the Board of Selectmen approve the minutes of September 29, 2009 as amended. 7a) Move that the Board of Selectmen approve the Executive Session minutes of September 17, 2009 as written. BT JB RS SG Move that the Board of Selectmen adjourn the meeting at p.m. 0 TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT Tuesday, October 06, 2009 • If any member of the Board of Selectmen wants printed copies of Town Bylaws, Charter, General Bylaws, or approved Selectmen's Policies, let me know. Otherwise they are all available on line, and I have a single printed copy at every Board of Selectmen meeting. • A letter has been sent to Representative Brad Jones re: double pole elimination. I have already heard back from Verizon on this issue. • The next Financial Forum is 10-14-09 at the senior center. • Flu clinics are on hold pending shipment of flu vaccine. • A flyer re: dogs in parks was mailed to approximately 1900 dog owners recently. Unfortunately some envelopes (estimate 50) were mistakenly mailed empty. • The Board of Selectmen has scheduled discussion on the local option Meals Tax for October 20, 8:30 PM • Town Meeting warrant is on the web site. The full Town Meeting report will be on the web site the last week in October • The most recent YCC is now on the web site. Dates and Events: • Selectmen's Forum -10-13-09 - 7:00 PM • Fire Department Open House October 17 • Mass Memories Road Show - at Library October 24, 11 am to 3 PM • Household Hazardous Waste Collection - Wakefield HS - October 31, 8:30 to 12:30 • Tree Lighting - November 29 Volunteer Appointment Sub Committee Meeting October 5, 2009 The meeting convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Arnold Berger Conference Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Selectmen Ben Tafoya and Richard Schubert, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, candidates Gina Nelson, Margaret LeLacheur, Virginia Adams and Priscilla Poehler. Rheta McKinley was interviewed by phone. Ben Tafoya explained the process to those in attendance. Gina Nelson was interviewed for the position on the Council on Aging. She has been serving as an Associate member on the Council on Aging. She has done excellent work as an Associate member and been involved in some special projects, and the Volunteer Appointment Sub Committee recommended her for a position expiring June 30, 2012. Human Relations Advisory Committee - The. Sub Committee interviewed Margaret LeLacheur. Margaret is a sophomore at RMHS and is interested in a leadership position. She has been informed that the Human Relations Advisory Committee is looking for a student as an associate member. Margaret noted that project challenge, the Laramie Project and other programs at Reading Memorial High School address the issue of Human Relations. The Volunteer Appointment Sub Committee felt that it was an exciting possibility of having a student as an associate member. The Volunteer Appointment Sub Committee recommends Margaret LeLacheur iri an associate position on the Human Relations Advisory Committee with a term expiring June 30, 2010. West Street Historic District Commission - Because Richard Schubert is a candidate for a position, he recused himself from the discussion. The Board interviewed Virginia Adams and Priscilla Poehler. Another applicant, Ilene Bornstein was not able to be present this evening and an interview will be rescheduled. Virginia Adams noted that she was involved in the creation of the West Street Historic District Commission and is willing to serve for a limited time to make sure that the Commission is able to get its feet on the ground and continue its work. Priscilla Poehler is a lifelong resident of Reading, has lived in a historic house and has done renovation of her own home. The Volunteer Appointment Sub Committee recommended Virginia Adams and Priscilla Poehler for terms on the West Street Historic District Commission for terms expiring June 30, 2012. The Committee made no recommendation on Richard Schubert since he was a member of the Sub Committee. Mystic Valley Elder Services Inc. - The Volunteer Appointment Sub Committee interviewed Rheta McKinley by phone. She has served a long term on the Mystic Valley Elder Services, In. Board and is truly dedicated to its work. She is able to get to meetings which number an average of three per month. She has time during the day to go to the meetings and feels that she is having a positive impact. The Volunteer Appointment Sub Committee recommends Rheta McKinley for a term on the Mystic Valley Elder Services, Inc. Board expiring September 30, 2012. The Committee adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Secretary 0~ 10/6 and plowing Fox run Lane Hechenbleikner, Peter From: Monette Verrier [mdverrier@comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 10:13 PM To: Hechenbleikner, Peter Cc: 'Kristin Kinsella'; 'Davidson, Richard' Subject: 10/6 and plowing Fox run Lane Page 1 of 1 Hi Peter. Below is the paragraph on our petition for plowing Fox Run Lane. Can you please let me know what time we are slated for the meeting on Tuesday night? Thank you, Monette Verrier Dear Selectmen and Town Manager, We, a group of concerned parents, are requesting that the town plow the sidewalk on Fox Run Lane. Fox Run Lane has an access path to the Wood End Elementary school and is used by many families to walk children to school and to pick them up by car. Last winter, this street was extremely unsafe. Only one of the residents on Fox Run Lane shoveled their portion of the sidewalk. The rest of the sidewalk was unshoveled and impassable. The right hand side of the street is full of parked cars. This leaves the middle of the road as the only place for parents and children to walk. There were many close calls when cars turned from Franklin Street onto Fox Run Lane and children were in the middle of the road. Compounding the problem is that private plows, hired by residents to clear their driveways, are putting snow banks onto the sidewalks. This resulted in the sidewalks being impassable long into spring. In April, the majority of the sidewalks were free of snow but the junction of sidewalk and driveway still had "mountains" of snow. These were not clear until May. Currently, the DPW small plow clears the sidewalks on Franklin Street. We request that this plow turn onto Fox Run Lane and clear this horseshoe and then continue on Franklin Street. We understand that the town is looking for ways to plow less but, in our opinion, this is necessary to keep our children safe. Thank you for your time and consideration. The Wood End Safety Committee Concerned parents at Wood End 10/5/2009 D DRAFT - Process to be used in considering changes to sidewalk snow plowing - Town of Reading MA over time, due to changes in the community and/or changes in available resources, the Town must consider adding, subtracting, or modifying the sidewalk snow-plowing routes performed by the Reading DPW. The following process shall be used in considering any such changes: The Director of the Department of Public Works shall review the sidewalk snow plowing routes as soon as possible after the conclusion of the snow plowing season - April or May of each year. ® The review will be conducted with DPW staff, the Reading Police Chief, the Town Manager, the principals of the schools, and others who may have interest in this topic.. ® Proposed changes in snow plowing routes will be established by the Director, committed in writing, and shall be transmitted to the Board of Selectmen in their role as Road Commissioners. ® When there is any proposed change in sidewalk snow plowing, the DPW Director shall then inform abutters of sidewalks of the proposed changes. This shall be done by August 1 of each year. At the same time, the Director shall inform the principals of the schools and the Police Chief of those changes. Community notices of changes will be made on available media including newspapers, cable TV, and the Town web site. The changes shall be implemented with the beginning of that show plowing season. In proposing changes to snow plowing routes, the Director of Public Works shall consider density of pedestrian activity, safety of school children, safety of commuters, interconnection of. plowed routes, maximizing the use of available resources, and other community goals. Memorandum To: Peter Hechenbleikner CC: From: Jeff Zager Bate: October 2, 2009 Re: Sidewalk Plowing Policy Upon my initial review of the town's sidewalk plowing policy/ plan, I find it to both extremely comprehensive and well thought out. The strategy of focusing on all school areas during the storm, then proceeding to. immediate area connector streets is both logical, and from a public safety standpoint, makes a lot of sense. In addition, is my understanding that last year the town did some additional snow blowing/ clearing work in neighborhood areas once the storm had ended, which was very well received. As you know, more outlying sidewalk areas would continue to be addressed the day following the storm. It would be my intention to review our overall snow plowing/ removal program, including the sidewalk component, at the end of each season with both in house staff and contractors. Once past school areas, sidewalk plowing program routes should be based on both demographics and utilization patterns. Adding or dropping a sidewalk here or there will not have a major impact on the overall program, but could tweak and fine tune it to make sure we are getting the most bang for the buck. Not being exposed to these use patters, it would be difficult to make a specific recommendation at this time regarding adding or dropping a specific section of a route. However, based on input from supervisory staff, I would suggest going ahead with the proposed plan, and monitor going forward, then following up with specific, logical, recommended changes. I realize this is not a new issue for you or the board, but thought it made sense to, at least on an overview basis, give you my thoughts on the matter. Both Mike D. and I will be at the Selectmen's meeting on the 6th for further discussion. O--~