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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-03-26 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting March 26, 1997 The meeting was convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman George Hines, Secretary Bruce MacDonald, Selectmen Dan Ensminger and Sally Hoyt, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, and the - following list of interested parties: Nancy Eaton, Stephen Crook, Kim Honschlager, Jill Flyer, Bob Brown, Jim Keigley, Bill Brown. Approval of Minutes On motion by Hoyt seconded by MacDonald, the Board voted to approve the minutes of February 18, 1997 by a vote of 4-0-0. 'Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Resorts and Comments - Sally Hoyt offered congratulations to the candidates who were elected, and thanks to those who ran. She reported that the Marzilli bill has been referred to committee and the other bill to abolish Middlesex County has been reported out of subcommittee. She feels that we can anticipate that County Government will be abolished by July 1, 1997. Middlesex County will be a model to be followed for other situations within the State. Bruce MacDonald reported that the Police Station Building Committee met on Wednesday night after the Finance Committee. They supported Article 15 to hire an architect for the Police Station. He reported that the Board of Selectmen had met with the Cable TV Advisory Committee in a public hearing on Thursday night. He has a lot of frustration because the great volunteers and good local programming that we do does not have the backing of an appropriately equipped studio. He thanked the Cable TV Committee for the hard work that they do. He was disappointed in the poor turnout on Election Day and thinks we should look at changing the date of elections for local office. Dan Ensminger reported on the Reading Business Park Task Force. There will be discussion later on the Agenda. With regard to informal polling of Town Meeting Members on the Police Station site, he feels that all three options have support and that there is no clear leading proposal. George Hines noted that he was disappointed in yesterday's election with respect to the low voter turnout. The lack of candidates for Town Meeting seats was very frustrating. He felt that the Board would appreciate any feedback on this issue from the public. He asked the Town Manager to look at where Reading's Local Election stands with respect to other communities. He noted that we have a lack of volunteer groups who take good civic government seriously -- like the League of Women Voters and the Jaycees. As an additional item, he suggested that when the Board of Selectmen interview potential appointees to Boards, Committees and Commissions, one standard question should be the question of accessibility; i.e., do they have a listed phone number. Board of Selectmen Meeting-March 26, 1997 -page 2 Public Comment - Bill Brown asked if we had a definitive answer from Town Counsel about the ownership of property on Oakland Road. He also asked if the Board of Selectmen would ask the School Committee to turn the property over to them if Town Meeting approved this Article. Town Manager's Report The Town Manager reported that the Water Consultant has been hired and testing is ongoing. He attended an open house for the new group home operated by EMARC on Hopkins Street. The Reading Housing Authority had an informational meeting last Wednesday relative to changes in operation at their group home at Bancroft Avenue. The Board of Selectmen and the Cable TV Advisory Committee had a joint public hearing on Thursday relative to the franchise renewal process. Friday's Annual Spelling Bee run by the Young Women's Club was very successful as a fund raiser, and a lot of fun. The Downtown Steering Committee's Third Step on March 15 at the Senior Center drew approximately 200 people. The Economic Consultant/Downtown Facilitator interview process is being conducted currently. The Compost Center opens April 5, and will be open Saturdays and Sundays until the end of November. it will also be open Monday and Fridays April through May and October through November. Police Officer James Collins is back at work on unrestricted duty following an injury last fall. The Town Manager has appointed Sergeant Richard Robbins to the position of Police Lieutenant and Patrol Officer David Stamatis to the position of Police Sergeant. Stamatis will continue as D.A.R.E. Officer for the rest of this year. Bids have been accepted for the HVAC work at the Library and are being evaluated. Bids for Lincoln Street sweeping have been opened and awarded -- they were 22% lower than last year. The Lincoln Street parking lot is under construction and should be completed within two to three weeks. The Summer Avenue project is out to bid. ' George Hines wondered if we could have anticipated the need to file court action on the Adult Video Store and have prepared the filing in advance. The Town Manager noted that it will be filed next week. Appointment of Town Accountant - On motion by MacDonald seconded by Ensminger, the Board voted to appoint Richard P. Foley Town Accountant for a term beginning April 1, 1997 in accordance with the Reading Home Rule Charter. The Town Manager reported on the quality of work that we get from the Town Accountant, and the motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. George Hines expressed some concern about the amount of work that the Town Accountant is doing for the School Department and whether this distracts from his other work. Board of Selectmen Meeting-March 26, 1997 - page 3 Hearing on Change in Administrative Structure The Secretary read the notice of the public hearing. The Town Manager presented a proposed administrative structure that would consolidate the Departments of Community Development and Human Services into a single Department. Cost effectiveness and better service were reasons cited for the proposed change. The Town Manager reviewed three major projects that need to go forward in the community that would benefit from this kind of structure. George Hines noted that Town Counsel and Town Accountant should have a direct line in the Organization Chart to the Board of Selectmen. He expressed some reservations about the community services department, and whether or not the department head would be able to handle all of the administrative responsibility under it. He did feel that the structure as proposed is worth trying as long as we are willing to make modifications if it does not work. Dan Ensminger wondered if the new department head could be a grants person, or if not whether the grants person when funded would be able to be in this department. The Town Manager noted that was proposed to be the Department of General Services. Bruce MacDonald asked whether other communities have a model like this, and how this would effect customer service. The Town Manager noted that communities have an organizational structure that is unique and tailor-made for them. This structure is not unique, but neither the current structure nor the proposed structure is the norm. He noted that customer service would be enhanced through this structure by consolidating support staff. Kim Honschlager spoke. She is a planner and she wondered about the level of planning services. The Town Manager noted that he has not completed the costing out of the structure. He felt that there would be some additional cost, but that the cost would not be excessive considering the added value. Nancy Eaton noted that the Open Space Committee has no staff support now, and is concerned that this proposal would not adequately address the needs of the Open Space Committee. She felt there is a lack of clerical support services now in the Department of Community Development and this would not address that. The Town Manager agreed that nothing in the administrative structure would solve all existing problems although he did think that it would enable the Town to deal with them better. Eaton noted that with regard to making interaction easier, she felt that interaction among those who needed to work together was fine now. This would not make it easier or worse. She asked about other changes in staff -- would we continue to retain two Administrative Assistants for example. The Town Manager noted that we would and that in fact in the Finance Department there are three Administrative Assistants. She felt that more emphasis needs to be placed on the physical space and the financial impact of space changes. The Town -- Manager noted that the physical space is not an organizational issue -- it is an administrative detail. She wanted to know the numbers and felt that she was disappointed that there were not more concrete numbers. Board of Selectmen Meeting-March 26, 1997 -page 4 The Board of Selectmen agreed that the numbers should be made available to Town Meeting, and the Town. Manager committed to have figures for the next Selectmen's Meeting. Eaton expressed an interest in having one person available in a clerical pool who could float from one department to another. The Town Manager noted that we have tried that in the past and it was not successful because of the focused work that each of our clerical staff has. Jim Keigley expressed concern about the financial impact in FY 1998 and beyond. He hopes the numbers will be available by the next FINCOM meeting. Bruce MacDonald noted he was supportive of the change depending on how the financial package works out. The Board discussed closing the hearing and decided to continue it. On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hoyt, the Board voted to continue the public hearing on the change in the administrative structure to its meeting on April 8. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. George Hines noted that the condo trash pick-up issue will be on the April 29 Selectmen's Meeting at the request of a representative of the Condo Association who would not be available at the Board's next meeting on April 8th. Approval of License for Cellular Communications- Bear Hill Water Tower- The Town Manager presented the proposed license. It is the same as the AT&T (Lucent Technologies) license. Jill Flyer from LCC and Bob Brown from Next Wave were present. There was no public comment. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Ensminger, the Board voted to close the public hearing on the approval of an installation of cellular antennas and appurtenant fixtures at the Bear Hill Water Tower site for Next Wave. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Ensminger, the Board voted to approve the installation of cellular antennas and appurtenant fixtures at the Bear Hill Water Tower site for Next Wave as presented, and authorized the Town Manager to sign the license agreement and to approve final working drawings for the project. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Beer and Wine Licenses - Home Rule Petition on Town Meeting Warrant - The Town Manger will have information for the next Selectmen's Meeting on this issue. Dan Ensminger noted that he would support a change in some manner. Sally Hoyt would like to know if any of the small Common Victualler licensees have expressed interest in beer and wine licenses. She would prefer to do this as a license rather than permitting "brown bagging." Bruce MacDonald noted that he would support it at some level, and noted that Arlington had defined the requirements very closely. Some guidelines on the Board's intent should be presented at Town Meeting along with the motion. Board of Selectmen Meeting-March 26, 1997 -page 5 Dan Ensminger reported on the Reading Business Park meeting. The Town received today a letter from C.D.M. outlining additional costs for work that should be done in terms of marketing the landfill site and preparing it for sale. George Hines noted that the numbers, although perhaps lower than what had previously been proposed, need to have more background including the number of hours. The Board talked about what the advantage to this work would be in terms of selling the property and expediting its sale. On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hoyt, the Board voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to purchase or sale of real estate, and approval of minutes not to come back into Open Session. Anthony was present for this vote and on a roll call vote, all five members voted in the affirmative. The motion was carried. Respectfully sub fitted, S etary