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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-06-24 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting June 24, 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, Selectmen Sally Hoyt and Dan Ensminger, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner and the following list of interested parties: Nancy Eaton, Harold Hulse, Edward Smethurst, William Lavoie, James Cormier, Bob Silva, Eric-Jason Smith, Anna Carroll Foulds, Alan Foulds, Mike DeBrigard, William Brown, Don Wood, Carol Roberts. Approval of Minutes On motion by MacDonald and seconded by Hoyt, the Board of Selectmen approved the minutes of their meeting of June 10, 1997 (as amended) by a vote of 4-0-1, with Ensminger abstaining. Personnel & Appointments Board of Selectmen Reorganization - On motion by Hoyt seconded by Hines, the following names were placed into nomination for the Chairmanship of the Board of Selectmen for a term expiring 6-30-98 or until a successor is elected: Camille Anthony. On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hines, nominations for the position of Chairman of the Board of Selectmen were closed by a vote of 5-0-0. Ms. Anthony received 4 votes and was appointed Chairman. Camille Anthony thanked the Board members for their support, and thanked George Hines for his Chairmanship during the past year when several very tough issues were addressed. George had spent a lot of time helping the Board deal with and address these issues. On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt, the following names were placed into nomination for the Vice Chairmanship of the Board of Selectmen for a term expiring 6-30-98 or until a successor is elected: Bruce MacDonald. On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hines, nominations for the position of Vice Chairman of the Board of Selectmen were closed by a vote of 5-0-0. Mr. MacDonald received 4 votes and was appointed Vice Chairman. On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hines, the following names were placed into nomination for the position of Secretary of the Board of Selectmen for a term expiring 6-30-98 or until a successor is elected: Sally Hoyt On motion by MacDonald seconded by Hines, nominations for the position of Secretary of the Board of Selectmen were closed by a vote of 5-0-0. Sally Hoyt received 4 votes and was appointed Secretary. Board of Selectmen Meeting-June 24, 1997..- page 2 On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hines, the following liaison assignments were established for a term expiring 6-30-98, or until a successor is selected, by a vote of 5-0-0: SELECTMEN'S LIAISON ASSIGNMENTS - FY 1998 Chairman Camille Anthony rice Chairman Bruce MacDonald Secretary Sally Hoyt Accounting Department Dan Ensminger Community Development Dan Ensminger • Board of Appeals • Conununnity Planning and Development Conunission and MAPC • Conservation Coinnission • Housing Partnership Conunittee • Historical Conunission • Land Bank Conuuittee • Reading Business Park Task Force Finance Department George Hines • Board of Assessors • Finance Conunittee General Services Department Camille Anthony • Cable TV Conunittee • Constable • Board of Registrars Housing Authority George Hines Human Services Department Sally Hoyt • Arts Council • Board of Health • Council on Aging • Hazardous Waste Conunittee • Mystic Valley Elder Services • Recreation Conunittee Library Department Bruce MacDonald Middlesex County Advisory Board Sally Hoyt Department of Puhlic Safev Bruce MacDonald • -Police Department and Police Station Building Conunittee • Fire Department Board of Selectmen Meeting-June 24, 1997 - page 3 Department of Public Works Sally Hoyt • Board of Cemetery Tnistees • MWRA and Water and Sewer Advisory Connnittee • Solid Waste Advisory Conunittee • Town Forest Conunittee Reading Municipal Light Department Camille Anthony School Department George Hines Trust Fund Commissioners(must be Chairman) Camille Anthony owntoivn Steering Committee Camille Anthony Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments - Dan Ensminger noted that there still seems to be water violations and the Town Manager indicated that we have been doing extensive enforcement. He noted that the Reading Business Park Task Force is meeting on Monday the 14th. The Board will be kept up to date on the milestones on this project. George Hines thanked the Town Manager for following up on a noise complaint. He noted that the FinCom Appointment Committee has appointed Carol Grimm, Richard McDonald, Paul Kurker and Larry Penta to the Finance Committee. He thanked Steve Blewitt and Tom Green for their service to the Finance Committee. Bruce MacDonald received a call from a Harrison Street neighbor concerned about parking on both sides of the street for events at Memorial Park. He asked about the adoption of the Minot/Washington Street island. He received a letter from Brad Jones relative to proposed legislation which would have taken away local control of smoking in restaurants. That legislation was not passed. He asked for follow-up from the Board of Selectmen's Forum on the School Building Committee Minutes. He suggested that the Board of Selectmen's timing and scheduling should be modified. Sally Hoyt recognized Steve Blewitt's contribution to the Finance Committee. She received a complaint that a driving school student drove through a crosswalk while a pedestrian was in the walk in Downtown. Camille Anthony asked that the tree wells at the Depot be mulched. She also asked that we look at replacing the one hour- parking sign on Lincoln Street in front of"Certainly Wood." George Hines asked about the Senior Center benches and their location and disposition. Camille Anthony noted that the benches in the Common need to be repainted. Public Comment - There was no public comment. Board of Selectmen Meeting- June 24, 1997_- page 4 Town Manager's Report • The Board of Selectmen's "Forum" was last Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. • "Ask the Town Manager" is scheduled for Thursday, June 26, at 7:00 p.m., and it will be an hour long show. • The "Reading Notes" will begin publication again the week after next as part of the "Headliners" advertising publication of the Boston Globe - Please look for it the July 4th weekend. Every household will get a copy. • The Town has begun test pumping the first of two additional wells which have been closed since 1992 as a contamination preventative. We are running and testing each well independently for a month each and then running and testing them together for a month. • 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. Last week, close to 90 first notice letters went to residents who appear to be in violation. Over this last weekend, another 130 violations were noted and written notices are going out to those residents. • Construction on Summer Avenue has begun. • 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. • We are looking forward to a hearing on the improvement to Walnut Street on June 26. Residents have gotten letters informing them of the hearing. • We have received questions about recycling computers. The SWAC has no plans for another recycling program but the Northeast Regional Vocational School will accept used computers as a teaching tool - contact them directly in Wakefield. • The Reading Fire Department is borrowing a ladder truck from Woburn while our ladder is in the shop for 10 days for routine repair and ladder testing. • I have sent to the RM-LD a list of street lights to be converted from mercury vapor to sodium vapor - there are 111 lights that have been amortized and should be done at no cost to the Town and 252 lights that the Town will pay for. Additionally, there are lights that will be turned back on with the savings in electrical costs from the conversion. • We are working towards securing a donation of land at 110 Van Norden Road for conservation purposes and this will be ready for Board action on July 15. • Thursday, we are having a dedication of a bench in front of Town Hall in memory of a former resident and client of Riverside Services: We will actually be borrowing back the bench at Rotary Square, awaiting the delivery of the two new benches for that site. • The "Island" at Minot and Washington Street is being adopted by the Band Parents Association. • Additional funding for the Retirement System, and additional lottery distributions may be forthcoming from the State this coming fiscal year. Board of Selectmen Meeting-June 24, 1997 - page 5 Personnel and Appointments Audit Committee - On motion by MacDonald seconded by Ensminger, the Board of Selectmen placed the following name into nomination for one position on the Audit Committee for a term expiring 6-30-00: Camille Anthony. On a roll call vote of the nominees, Camille Anthony received 4 votes and was appointed to the position. Zoning Board of Appeals - On motion by Ensminger seconded by MacDonald, the Board of Selectmen placed the following name into nomination for one position on the Zoning Board of Appeals for a term expiring 6-30-00: John A. Coote On a roll call vote of the nominees, John A. Coote received 5 votes and was appointed to the position. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Hoyt, the Board of Selectmen placed the following name into nomination for one position on the Zoning Board of Appeals (Associate) for a term expiring 6-30-00: Laura M. Gregory On a roll call vote of the nominees, Laura M. Gregory received 5 votes and was appointed to the position. Conservation Commission - On motion by Hoyt seconded by Ensminger, the Board of Selectmen placed the following names into nomination for three positions on the Conservation Commission for terms expiring 6-30-00: Nancy Eaton, Mark Gillis, Harold V. Hulse. On a roll call vote of the nominees, Nancy Eaton, Mark Gillis and Harold V. Hulse each received 5 votes and were appointed to the positions. Historical Commission - On motion by MacDonald seconded by Hoyt, the Board of Selectmen placed the following names into nomination for one position on the Historical Commission for a term expiring 6-30-00: Wilbar M. Hoxie and Gladys M. Jones. On a roll call vote of the nominees, Gladys M. Jones received 5 votes and was appointed to the position. On motion by Ensminger seconded by MacDonald, the Board of Selectmen placed the following names into nomination for three positions on the Historical Commission (Associates) for terms expiring 6-30-00: Wilbar M. Hoxie, Louise Sandberg and Alan Ulrich. On a roll call vote of the nominees, Wilbar M. Hoxie, Louise Sandberg and Alan Ulrich each received 5 votes and were appointed to the positions. i Board of Selectmen Meeting- June 24. 1997 - page 6 Land Bank Committee - On motion by Hines seconded by Ensminger, the Board of Selectmen placed the following name into nomination for one position on the Land Bank Committee for a term expiring 6-30-00: Edward G. Smethurst On a roll call vote of the nominees, Edward G. Smethurst received 5 votes and was appointed to the position. Council on Aging - On motion by MacDonald seconded by Hoyt, the Board of Selectmen placed the following name into nomination for one position on the Council on Aging for a term expiring 6-30-00: Elizabeth A. Moore. On a roll call vote of the nominees, Elizabeth A. Moore received 5 votes and was appointed to the position. Police Station Building Committee - On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hoyt, the Board of Selectmen placed the following name into nomination for one position as member of and Chairman of the Police Station Building Committee: Paul Dustin. On a roll call vote of the nominees, Paul Dustin received 5 votes and was appointed to the position. The Board of Selectmen interviewed candidates Eric-Jason Smith, Mike DeBrigard, James Cormier, William Lavoie, William Brown and Robert Silva for the Police Station Building Committee but deferred action until July 15th because of the potential for additional candidates, and reserving the ability to interview the other candidates who were not able to be present this evening. Discussion/Action Items Sale of BANS for Parker Middle School - On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hoyt, the Board of Selectmen awarded the sale of$7,750,000 in Bond Anticipation Notes (BAN's) for the Parker Middle School as follows: to BankBoston - $3,500,000 at a Net Interest Cost of 3.889% to Fleet Bank - $4,250,000 at a Net Interest Cost of 3.90% by a vote of 5-0-0. Hearing on Classification Assistant Fire Chief- The Secretary read the notice. Present were Fire Chief Don Wood and Personnel Administrator Carol Roberts. George Hines expressed a concern that the position was rated too high on the salary scale. He also felt that the Assistant Chiefs position and the spread between that and the Fire Chief was larger than it was for other assistants. The Town Manager noted that both the Library Director/Assistant Library Director and the DPW Director and Engineer were four grades difference. George Hines noted that the higher rated Department Head positions tended to be the more highly unionized departments. The Town Manager noted that these are also the larger departments with larger budgets and larger number of personnel. Board of Selectmen Meeting- June 24 1997 - page 7 Dan Ensminger felt that the position as proposed at a Grade 17 is appropriate. The placement in the position should be considered. Chief Wood noted that if Grade 16 was used, there would be only a $1,500 increase in salary from Captain to the Assistant Chief. People wouldn't leave the Captain's position for that small salary increase. There are benefits in safety and in schedule in the Assistant Chiefs position but it would result in a $10,000 salary reduction because there is little or no overtime available for the position. George Hines felt that the difference in the career may be an advantage to the position. If the position is paid too high in the grade, then the Town may not be able to give salary increases as appropriate. Bruce MacDonald noted that he shared some of Hines' concerns. The person who applies will be interested in management and professional growth. He is inclined to agree with Dan Ensminger if the Board can specify the step. Sally Hoyt noted that she had given considerable thought to the position and feels that it is more responsible than other Grade 16 positions. George Hines asked if the position was valued above the Community Development Director and Human Services Director. On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hines, the Board of Selectmen voted to close the public hearing on an amendment to the Pay and Classification Plan regarding the Assistant Fire Chiefs position by a vote of 5-0-0. A motion by Hines seconded by MacDonald to approve an amendment to the Pay and Classification Plan regarding the Assistant Fire Chiefs position at a Grade 16 was amended by Ensminger seconded by Hoyt to approve an amendment to the Pay and Classification Plan regarding the Assistant Fire Chiefs position at a Grade 17. The vote on the amendment was approved by a vote of 3-2-0, with Hines and MacDonald opposed. The amended main motion was approved by a vote of 3-2-0, with Hines and MacDonald opposed. Millennium Celebration - Alan Foulds and Anna Carol Foulds presented a proposal to the Board of Selectmen. The Town Manager reviewed how the 350th Committee was set up. The Board liked that model with the Board of Selectmen making the appointments. On motion by Hines seconded by MacDonald, the Board of Selectmen directed the Town Manager to develop a policy establishing a Millennium Celebration Committee for public hearing on July 15 by a vote of 5-0-0. On motion by Hines seconded by MacDonald, the Board voted to adjourn at 11:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, cretary