HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-07-21 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting
July 21, 2009
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 7:05 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Room, 16 Lowell
Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Ben Tafoya, Vice Chairman
James Bonazoli, Secretary Camille Anthony, Selectmen.Stephen Goldy and Richard
Schubert, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance
Director Bob LeLacheur, Human Resources Administrator Carol Roberts and the
following list of interested parties: Paul Feeley (Daily Times Chronicle) and Sheila
Clarke(Fall Street Faire).
Reports and Comments
Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments— Selectman Stephen Goldy mentioned that
the Fall Street Faire planning was going along very well.
Vice Chairman James Bonazoli reminded everyone about the upcoming Reading
Recreation 5K Road Race.
Selectman Richard Schubert discussed the Instructional Motion by Town Meeting
concerning the Cemetery Building needs.
Selectman Camille Anthony asked for an update on the proposed Municipal Building
Committee(MBC).
Chairman Ben Tafoya attended a recent Library Trustees Meeting to discuss the buildings
and facilities aspects of the Library including the proposed MBC. He also mentioned that
Board of Selectmen input was welcome for the 40R project.
Town Manager's/Assistant Town Manager's Report
The Town Manager gave the following report:
• Farm Stand—Open Tuesday afternoons at Depot.
• MSBA audit of RMHS project — Goal to reduce property taxes due to debt
exclusion.
• West Street Historic District needs members.
• Tennis Court—Painting has begun
• Handicap ramp on Birch Meadow Drive being installed.
• Washington/Prescott Street intersection being revised with curb and sidewalk
installation.
• Town has received another $20k for the Water Fund from the MTBE settlements
($740k to date).
• Brick crosswalks being installed Downtown.
• Ash Street repaving is complete.
• DOR Municipal Law Seminar is in September.
• September 13th—Fall Street Faire.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—July 21, 2009—Page 2
Discussion/Action Items
Approval of Special Beer License — Octoberfest - Shelia Clarke of the Fall Street Faire
Planning Committee reviewed the progress to date for the first Reading Fall Street Faire
on September 13th. She described plans for a mini-Octoberfest to be held either between
the wide alleyway adjoining the CVS lot, or possibly on the Reading Co-Operative Bank
lot. Plans include small samples from `micro-brewers.' The idea is to add an event that
would interest more than the typical family activities seen at many functions in Town.
Personnel Policies — Human Resources Administrator Carol Roberts reviewed the
Personnel Policies with the Selectmen, well in advance of a formal hearing tentatively set
for September. Proposed changes to the Policies were suggested by an employee-group
and/or by legal counsel due to changes in law. Carol Roberts reviewed every proposed
change — the only one that got discussion was the proposed change in authority of the
Town Manager to hire at Step 8 instead of Step 4. The Town Manager cited the need in
several recent hires to do so when bringing on experienced employees to cover important
positions.
Presentation on FY 2010 Health Insurance — The Assistant Town Manager/Finance
Director shared some preliminary updated financial data for health insurance. Last
Spring, the unions voted to shift into a GIC-lookalike product offered by MIIA, which in
both the short- and long-run will shift costs from employer to employee. This will
provide incentives for employees to shop around for the best combination of cost and
medical care they require. The immediate benefit is lower premiums. Because of the
initial costs of each option, the Town expected to see a shift from HMO to PPO
enrollment, and early data shows this has happened. Possible savings of over $300,000
have been reduced to under $200,000 in FY10 because of these shifts. Final figures will
not be available for FY10 until October, after new School employees have signed up for
health insurance.
Boards, Committees, Commissions Appointment Process — The Town Manager led a
discussion of possible changes to this annual event, with the goal to streamline the
process and make any full-board Selectmen involvement more meaningful. A
subcommittee of two Board members would be designated to interview all applicants,
and then to suggest which (if any) should proceed to a fall review by the Selectmen.
After discussing the probable advantages and disadvantages, the Board agreed to try this
out for one year starting next Spring 2010.
On motion by Anthony seconded by Schubert, the Board of Selectmen voted to
adjourn the July 21, 2009 meeting at 10:30 p.m. by a vote of 5-0-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary-e