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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-06-10 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting June 10, 1997 The meeting convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman George Hines, Vice Chairman Camille Anthony, Secretary Bruce MacDonald, Selectman Sally Hoyt, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner and the following list of interested parties: Bill Brown, Tim Kelley, D. Foxon, Bob Silva, Bill Lavoie, Lauretta Raffi, James Cormier, Ed Smith, Nancy Eaton, A. Rotondo, Lisa Sinclair, Elizabeth Moore, Thomas Freeman, Karin Samatis, Harold Hulse, Don Allen, Jean Galvin, Mary Connors. The Chairman announced that Dan Ensminger would not be joining us this evening because of a family commitment. Approval of Minutes On motion by MacDonald seconded by Hoyt, the Board approved the minutes of their meeting of April 8, 1997, as amended, by a vote of 4-0-0. On motion by Hoyt seconded by Anthony, the Board approved the minutes of their meeting of May 6, 1997, as amended, by a vote of 3-0-1, with Hoyt abstaining. On motion by Anthony seconded by Hoyt, the Board approved the minutes of their meeting of May 13, 1997, as amended, by a vote of 4-0-0. - On motion by MacDonald seconded by Anthony, the Board approved the minutes of their meeting of May 20, 1997, as amended, by a vote of 4-0-0. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments - Sally Hoyt offered congratulations to Camille Anthony for the excellent job that she and her committee did on Community Day. This year, Ruth Clay won the pie baking contest. Hoyt attended the Reading Scholarship Foundation presentation at the High School representing two clubs. Close to $90,000 was given out in awards this year. She attended the two celebrations for Charlie Papandreou's retirement. She attended the retirement party for Police Officers Rick Nelson and Dennis Farrell. She attended the RMHS graduation at which there were four Hoyt relatives receiving degrees. She received a complaint about a rock festival proposed for Memorial Park (the Town Manager noted that it was to be a Disney film presentation, and has been moved to another location). She extended congratulations to the Town Manager for attending the host of community events that he attends. She attended the Rotary Square dedication. Bruce MacDonald congratulated the Reading grads. He was not able to attend this year because he had a college graduation in the family. On Community Day, he participated in the run through the Town Forest, and noted that he came in first in his age group and was the first Selectman to run in that race. In the afternoon, he attended the walk in the Town Forest, and former resident Jack Cairl also attended. He offered congratulations to Camille Anthony and the others involved in this program. Board of Selectmen Meeting-June 10, 1997 -page 2 He received a call regarding solicitations for the celebrity softball tournament, and the Town Manager explained that this was intended to be a fun event which would also raise some money for the recreation programs. Camille Anthony attended Community Day, and will put a notice in the next Reading Notes thanking all of the volunteers. The clean up was very well done and it was a real success. There is an Audit Committee Meeting on Wednesday the 1 lth and she will not be able to attend. There is an Ipswich River Watershed Association Stream Team training in Reading. The Liberty elm at Rotary Square needs attention. George Hines attended the Liberty Elm Tree Dedication at Rotary Square. He congratulated all the staff involved in the design of the parking lot on Lincoln Street for the fine quality of work. The Reading Business Park Task Force met and discussed concerns about the impact of the Rivers Protection Act on this development. He attended both of Charles Papandreou's retirement receptions. He noted that we may be seeing the last of a breed of long-term administrators in the School Department. He attended the Eagle Scout Ceremony for Erik Hagstrom. Erik is the 28th Eagle Scout from Troop 728, and is the 9th Eagle Scout from George Hines' Cub Scout Pack. He attended the Conflict of Interest Seminar. It was presented very well but as usual raised questions that we will have to deal with. He noted that he had raised an issue with the Town Manager about the audio system at the Exxon Station on South Main Street, and the Town may have to have some regulations to deal with it. He reminded the Town Manager that the Department of Public Works needs to develop an operations plan to deal with storm damage in the future. The scheduling of Boards, Committees and Commissions before the Board of Selectmen needs to be updated, and the Cable TV Committee is needed soon. - - Camille Anthony noted that we need to follow-up on the year 2000 issue for our computer systems. Town Manager's Report • The Board, Committee, Commission training session was held on June 5, 1997 and about 25% of the eligible participants attended. It will be shown on Cable TV and we will get copies of the tape for training purposes. Another training session will be held each Fall for new and for untrained volunteers. • "Ask the Town Manager" has received a national Cable TV award. • The Initial Site Assessment for the landfill has been filed with the State DEP. • The Town has again been approved for a Harvard graduate student intern. Steve Davis will start work on June 16 and 40% of the cost is being paid by Harvard. • Community Day on Sunday, June 1, was a big success with a variety of events. • The Compost Area is now open Saturday (7:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5:00 P.M.). • Street sweeping will be complete this week. • The Town has received the go-ahead from DEP to begin test pumping two additional wells -- which have been closed since 1992 as a contamination preventative. We are running them and testing them currently and will be for three months. Board of Selectmen Meeting-June 10, 1997 -page 3 • Water restrictions are still in place. Watering is on an odd/even schedule from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., and 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Enforcement is taking place. Exemptions are very rarely granted. • WT Plant Holding Tank Project - Sewer service is complete; lagoons are being cleaned; work on the tank has started. An incident at the plant resulted in a partial shut down when one of the walls in a filtration bed gave way. It has since been repaired. The discharge permit for the Water Treatment Plant into the MWRA has been received. • Bear Hill Water Storage Tank- Contract has been completed and the tank is filled. • Work is done at the Depot parking lot and at "Rotary Square". One additional bench will be installed at Rotary Square as soon as it is delivered, and additional benches will be installed by Rotary as they have the resources. The planting of two American Liberty Elm Trees has been done. • Construction on Summer Avenue has begun. • The North Main Street sidewalks are almost complete. There is a delay on the curbing at the intersections but the main part of the paving is done. • The reconstruction of the intersection of Ash and Main Street at Bolton Street has begun. This is a cooperative project of the Town, McDonald's and OSCO. • The Town has arranged to have the Massachusetts National Guard assist us in the completion of the Wood End Cemetery. We are working on an arrangement to have them haul fill and grade the back part of the site in order to stabilize the slopes and complete the heavy construction as soon as possible so that the disruption to the neighbors will be minimized. They were supposed to be working this Sunday and notices went to abutting property owners. It didn't work out but we are trying to reschedule this work. • The sidewalk between Parsons Lane and Partridge Lane on Franklin St. will be done soon. • We are looking forward to a hearing on the improvement to Walnut Street for the middle of June. Discussion/Action Items Meeting with Housing Authority re: House Availability - Don Allen, Jean Galvin, Mary Connors and Tim Kelly were in attendance. Don Allen gave a report to the Board of Selectmen on activities of the Housing Authority, discussed with the Board the availability of a house if the Town can find a lot to move it to, and recommended the reappointment of Mary Connors to the Housing Authority. The Housing Authority will be getting back to the Board of Selectmen through the Town Manager with a specific proposal with regard to a property for the house to be moved to. Town Position on Proposed Regulations Implementing the Rivers Protection Act - The Town Manager reviewed the proposed comments from the Town on the Rivers Protection Act. Nancy Eaton spoke on a number of issues. She expressed concerns that the Conservation Commission was not involved in this review, and also felt strongly that the Board of Selectmen should not take a position on something that the Conservation Commission has to regulate. On motion by Hoyt seconded by MacDonald, the Board of Selectmen approved the statement dated 6-10-97 relative to the Town's position on the regulations implementing the Rivers Protection Act. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Board of Selectmen Meeting-June 10, 1997 -page 4 Re-establishment of the Police Station Building Committee - The Town Manager presented a policy that would amend the Police Station Building Committee based on the action taken by Town Meeting establishing a site other than what had been initially proposed. The Board discussed a number of amendments and the size of the Committee. The policy will be clear,that the reporting structure is to the Board of Selectmen. James Cormier asked if current members would reapply and the Town Manager noted that was the expectation. Bill Brown noted that he would be happy to serve as a Town Meeting representative. Bob Silva noted that the Committee should be open ended with respect to the number of members - this is a two year project and some people appointed may not be able to fill out their term. On motion by Hoyt seconded by MacDonald, the Board of Selectmen directed the Town Manager to finalize the draft amendment to the Policy on the Establishment of a Police Station Building Committee, and post a hearing on the policy for the Board's next meeting on June 17, 1997. Additionally, the Town Manager is directed to post the positions for the Committee so that the Board of Selectmen may fill the Committee at the earliest possible date. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Hearing; on Establishment of Term - Custodian of Soldier's and Sailor's Graves - The Town Manager noted that this would implement a change in State law which had been proposed by the current Custodian of Soldier's and Sailor's Graves. He noted that this had not been reviewed by the Board of Selectmen prior to it being requested through the legislature. The Board had previously discussed that this should be a three year term. Sally Hoyt felt that it should be a five year term because that is what the incumbent to the position had requested. Other members of the Board felt that it should be a three year term providing for review process and consistent with terms of other appointees. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Anthony, the Board of Selectmen closed the public hearing on a policy establishing the term of the office for the Custodian of Soldier's and Sailor's Graves (Veterans' Graves Officer). The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. On motion by Anthony seconded by MacDonald, the Board of Selectmen approved the policy establishing the term of office for the Custodian of Soldier's and Sailor's Graves (Veterans' Graves Officer). The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Personnel & Appointments Housing Authority - On motion by MacDonald seconded by Anthony, the name Mary E. Connors was placed into nomination for a position on the Housing Authority for a term expiring June 30, 2002. On a roll call vote of the nominated candidate, Mary E. Connors received 4 votes and was appointed. Council on Aging - On motion by Anthony seconded by Hoyt, the names Gladys B. Cail and Dorothy L. Foxon were placed into nomination for two positions on the Council on Aging for terms expiring June 30, 2000. On a roll call vote of the nominated candidates, Gladys B. Cail and Dorothy L. Foxon received 4 votes and were appointed. Board of Selectmen Meeting-June 10, 1997-paize 5 Substance Abuse Advisory Council - On motion by Anthony seconded by Hoyt, the name Lisa A. Sinclair was placed into nomination for a position on the Substance Abuse Advisory Council for a term expiring June 30, 2000. On a roll call vote of the nominated candidate, Lisa A. Sinclair received 4 votes and was appointed. Recreation Committee - On motion by MacDonald seconded by Hoyt, the names Catherine R. Kaminer, John McGrath, and Lorraine Z. Salter were placed into nomination for three positions on the Recreation Committee for terms expiring June 30, 2000. On a roll call vote of the nominated candidates, Catherine R. Kaminer, John McGrath and Lorraine Z. Salter received 4 votes and were appointed. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Anthony, the name Dennis Lucyniak was placed into nomination for a position on the Recreation Committee for a term expiring June 30, 1998. On a roll call vote of the nominated candidate, Dennis Lucyniak received 4 votes and was appointed. Hazardous Waste Advisory Committee-There were no applicants. Board of Health - On motion by MacDonald seconded by Anthony, the name Jean Garofoli was placed into nomination for a position on the Board of Health for a term expiring June 30, 2000. On a roll call vote of the nominated candidate, Jean Garofoli received 4 votes and was appointed. Arts Council - On motion by Anthony seconded by MacDonald, the name Karen A. Samatis was placed into nomination for a position on the Arts Council for a term expiring June 30, 1999. On a roll call vote of the nominated candidate, Karen A. Samatis received 4 votes and was appointed. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Hoyt, the name Anne Marie Rotondo was placed into nomination for a position on the Arts Council for a term expiring June 30, 2000. On a roll call vote of the nominated candidate, Anne Marie Rotondo received 4 votes and was appointed. Board of Registrars - On motion by Anthony seconded by MacDonald, the name Gloria R. Hulse was placed into nomination for a position on the Board of Registrars for a term expiring June 30, 2000. On a roll call vote of the nominated candidate, Gloria R. Hulse received 4 votes and was appointed. Cable TV Advisory Committee - On motion by Anthony seconded by Hoyt, the name Richard B. Cohen was placed into nomination for a position on the Cable TV Advisory Committee for a term expiring June 30, 2000. On a roll call vote of the nominated candidate, Richard B. Cohen received 4 votes and was appointed. Constables - On motion by MacDonald seconded by Anthony, the name Thomas H. Freeman was placed into nomination for a position as a Constable for a term expiring June 30, 2000. On a roll Board of Selectmen Meeting-June 10. 1997 - page b call vote of the nominated candidate, Thomas H. Freeman received 3 votes (with Hoyt abstaining) and was appointed. On motion by Anthony seconded by MacDonald, the meeting was convened at 10:50 p.m. Resp ctfully submitted, rte, ./Secretary e