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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-09-03 Board of Selectmen Minutes C, Board of Selectmen Meeting September 3, 1996 The meeting convened at 7:36 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(Selectmen Dan Ensminger joined the meeting at 7:50 p.m.), Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, H Theodore Cohen, Chief Edward Marchand, Chief Donald Wood, and the following list of interested parties: Bob Brown, John Coote, Jonathan Edwards, Philip Rushworth, Kay Clark, Jean Krough, Sally Sabo, Brian Irwin, Phil Pacino, Carol Nelson. Approval of Minutes On motion by MacDonald seconded by Hoyt, the Board voted to approve the minutes of their meeting of August 20, 1996 as amended by a vote of 4-0-0. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Hoyt, the Board voted to approve the minutes of their meeting of August 27, 1996 as amended by a vote of 3-0-1, with Anthony abstaining. Reports and Comments Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments - Camille Anthony noted that she had attended the Deer Island MWRA treatment plant tour with Gail Wood. She would encourage everyone to go on the tour. She asked that the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee be put on the MWRA's mailing list. There are taped tours of the treatment plant and she thought that those should be run on local Cable TV. Anthony thought that the Water Supply Task Force should get together for their final report. She asked why the Traffic Task Force item was moved back, and George Hines noted that was done by him in consultation with the Town Manager pending further discussion with the Parking, Traffic and Transportation Task Force. She received a call regarding skate boarding, and suggested that we do a sign enforcement tour at night. Sally Hoyt got a call from a Hopkins Street resident regarding gas being turned off because of the conversion with Summit Village. They did not get notice. She indicated that she had gotten calls from businesses in the community who are flying "open" flags and that this has been in violation of the Zoning By-Laws. She felt that before the business community is issued notice of violation, they should receive a call. She felt that the notice was intimidating. The Town Manager noted that he had requested modification to the enforcement letters because they were not very customer oriented. She also expressed concern about neon signs. Bruce MacDonald received a call from a South Street resident concerned that Exxon would be open 24 hours a day. The Town Manager noted that there had been no such application. Dan Ensminger had no report. Board of Selectmen Meeting- September 3, 1996 - page 2 George Hines noted that Camille Anthony and he had met with representatives of the Reading Housing Authority regarding the location for a house on Town-owned property. He also asked if the Board wanted to take out an ad in the 1997 Yearbook. Public Comment There were no public comments. Town Manager's Report The Town Manager noted that the RMLD sale of 25 Haven Street was on schedule. He received feedback from the Board of Selectmen that they wanted to keep single area codes. He noted that Wes Parker's is closed and is being sold - a hearing for a new liquor license will be held on September 24, 1996. There will be a follow up ori Downtown discussions on the 24th. The Intern's design guide book is available. The Town Manager asked for input from the Board of Selectmen on their annual schedule, and also on the Town Accountant's evaluation. A Joint Meeting with FINCOM is scheduled for September 24th to review Public Safety issues, and follow-up on the Downtown Steering Committee's request. Gerry Vitale has resigned from the Finance Committee, and the position has been posted. Michelle Keating has resigned as a member of the Conservation Commission. Human Services Director Ruth Clay's last day was last Friday. The Town Manager will be acting Department Head while an analysis is done of the Department and the position. Any recommendations will be discussed with the Board in mid to late October. Roadway line striping was delayed due to a change in the State specification for roadway paint. Quotes have been received for work that was done before the start of school - the crosswalk. These were completed the night before school started. The actual cost of doing a complete job on all line striping is under-funded by about $9,000 per year. Bids for the Bear Hill water tank have been awarded, and work will be started within the next couple of weeks. The cost came in about $60,000 below estimates. Bids are now available for the court resurfacing and refurbishment as part of the park improvements bond issue. The improvements to the water treatment plant for discharge elimination have been bid. The pre-bid estimates are significantly higher than the Town had been budgeting for the project, but additional sources of funds have been identified which would allow the project to proceed. Bids are available for rubbish and recycling. A summary will be developed for the Board. The Board of Health has recommended that the Town complete an expression of interest in the Community Septics Management Program "Option 2," and a copy of the relevant portions of the material are attached for the Board. If the Board has no objections, the Town Manager will sign it and send it in. Recognition of 100th Birthday On motion by MacDonald seconded by Anthony, the Board approved a Proclamation in recognition of the 100th birthday of Georgia Sletterink by a vote of 5-0-0. Board of Selectmen Meeting- September 3, 1996 -page 3 Discussion/Action Items Solid Waste Committee Discussion re: PAYT - The Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) opened discussion with the Board with regard to their "Pay As You Throw" proposal. Kay Clark was the spokesperson for the SWAC, and expressed concern the SWAC had with regard to the Selectmen's Forum on July 2nd. George Hines noted that there seems to be an impression that the Board of Selectmen has endorsed the concept. The process is to get information and feedback from the public, Town Boards, FINCOM, etc. so that the Pay As You Throw Program can be evaluated with the Solid Waste contract. The Board of Selectmen has not voted to endorse this program. Sally Hoyt noted that residents have concerns. Residents think there should be more education with regard to recycling Camille Anthony noted that people do not perceive the problem. She feels that the SWAC should take an educational approach on the whole solid waste issue. Pay As You Throw and recycling are part of the issue. Pay As You Throw is not being accepted by the community. Pay As You Throw issues should be reviewed as part of the recycling mandate, and is a way to curtail costs. Dan Ensminger felt that the SWAC should reactivate the block leader program. Participation could be better. The public understands the proposal but does not see the benefits to it. Recycling seems to have a life cycle of ups and downs in Reading. He thinks the SWAC can make strides in recycling. He thinks we should do more education, and pull back on Pay As You Throw as a viable option. He also feels additional education should be done on what we can recycle. Bruce MacDonald noted that whatever we do, we need more time to decide. He does not feel that a case has been made for Pay As You Throw. There is a fixed cost or a solid waste program that we cannot control. We have variable costs that we can control. There is some vocal opposition to Pay As You Throw. The Board of Selectmen should not act on just what we have heard. We should go forward with the revised time schedule and educate residents. He feels that this is an item that could be on the ballot. He feels that the issue is very complicated to understand. We should slow down the process, educate people, and then put it on the ballot. George Hines noted that the SWAC may not feel that it has been a short time that this item has been discussed, but it has been a short time. We need to re-educate our residents on recycling. They need to see how well we are doing with this re-education program. Kay Clark noted that the SWAC wants people to reduce their trash, as well as increase recycling. She understood that the sense of the Board of Selectmen would be to slow down the process, and do more education. Dan Ensminger felt that we should stop the discussion on Pay As You Throw now. Jean Krough from the SWAC felt that it makes sense to do the education. People may have misheard the message. Camille Anthony feels that we should set goals. Sally Sabo agreed. George Hines noted that if the Committee can spend some time articulating the goal and come back to the Board of Selectmen with that goal which should include a re-energized recycling program, then the Board would be in a position to take some action. Board of Selectmen Meeting- September 3, 1996 - page 4 Hines noted that the consensus of the Board of Selectmen was that if there were a Pay As You Throw Program, it should be cost and revenue neutral. Dan Ensminger agrees that it should be cost/revenue neutral, but other interests may want the money that would be saved. Bruce MacDonald felt that there has to be a mechanism for residents to control what they pay for waste. They should pay for what they use. Review Motions for Special Town Meeting Town Counsel, members of the CPDC and the Town Planner were present. Ted Cohen opened the discussion by noting that the Attorney General has reviewed the proposed By-Laws and has suggested a couple of changes. The Attorney General has noted that this is an evolving field. He noted that State law defines four areas of adult entertainment, and the Governor has signed a new definition regarding "establishments that display live nudity." Town Counsel and the Board of Selectmen reviewed the proposed motions and some changes that were made very recently. Camille Anthony asked if the proposed By-Law is more restrictive than the State law, and Town Counsel noted that two of the definitions were more restrictive because they are not items that are defined by State law. Sally Hoyt asked if there was a way that we could get any adult entertainment owner or operator before the Board annually for a review. Town Counsel noted that this might be able to be done as a condition on the Special Permit. Concern was expressed regarding Article 10 that it might lead to abuse by the Building Inspector. Ted Cohen noted that this does not grant any additional powers, and that Article 10 is not really needed. Ensminger noted that no case has been made for Article 10. Bruce MacDonald suggested that we get the Attorney General's reading on Article 10. Brian Irwin asked if Article 10 is voted down, whether that would harm the process. Cohen felt that it would not. John Coote noted that he thought this should have perhaps been done as an overlay district. Cohen noted that our version is the "Detroit" model which was approved by the U.S. Supreme Court. He noted that if there is a challenge, it may be on the percentage of land that is zoned for the adult entertainment use, but also noted that the special character of Reading with very little non-residential land available would be a mitigating factor. On motion by Anthony seconded by Hoyt, the Board voted to recommend the subject matter of Articles 6, 7, 8 and 9 by a vote of 5-0-0. On motion by Anthony seconded by Hoyt to recommend the subject matter of Article 10 was defeated by a vote of 2-3-0, with MacDonald, Ensminger and Hoyt opposed. Review Acceptance of Veterans Retirement Buy-Back- Update - Expanded Retirement Board - The Town Manager reviewed these issues. The Retirement Board will determine whether the veterans retirement buy-back will be included on the Warrant, and the Board will have discussion at a later date regarding the expanded Retirement Board. Board of Selectmen Meeting- September 3, 1996 -page 5 Amend Traffic Rules and Regulations re: Parking in Fire Lanes - Chief Marchand and Chief Wood were present. The Board discussed whether or not this should be done as a traffic rule or -- regulation, or as a bylaw. If it is done as a rule or regulation, then the consent of the property owner would be required. If it is done as a bylaw, then the Public Safety Departments can determine whether there would be fire lanes and the Police Department can enforce it. There was discussion that perhaps the traffic rule and regulation should be tried to see if it works and if it doesn't, then try the bylaw. Chief Marchand noted that we have tried for nine years on a "voluntary" basis and it hasn't worked. On motion by Hoyt seconded by Anthony, the Board voted to put a by-law for this purpose on the Warrant by a vote of 4-1-0. Selectmen's Policy re: Scheduling of Business - The Board discussed a proposed policy relative to scheduling of business. The Board wanted to make some modifications to the policy as drafted by the Town Manager, and get back to the Town Manager within a week. The Town Manager will then circulate another draft. Acceptance of Statute re: Selectmen's Approval of Fees - With regard to the issue of accepting a statute requiring Selectmen's approval of fees, the Board did not want to establish this practice, and this will be removed from further consideration. On motion by MacDonald seconded by Anthony, the Board voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of Approval of Minutes not to come back into Open Session. On a roll call vote, Hines, Anthony, MacDonald and Hoyt voted Yes, Ensminger voted No, and the motion was carried. Respectfully submitted, Secretary