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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-06-02 Board of Selectmen Minutes Minutes of the Board of Selectmen Meeting June 2, 1992 The meeting was convened in the Selectmens Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, MA at 7: 05 p.m. Present were Chairman - ' Eugene Nigro, Vice Chairman Dan Ensminger, Secretary Sally Hoyt, and Selectman Bill Burditt. Selectman George Hines arrived at 7:20 p.m. Town Clerk Cathy Quimby attended in place of the Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner who was ill. Also present were. the following interested citizens: William C. Brown, Maria Schellen- bach, Mark F. Caraco, Gina Alexander, Gary Demopoulos, Robert R. Lynch, Judith A. Martone, Pasqual A. Martone, Ann Hooper, V. C. Gilbert, Jonathan Edwards, Nancy Eaton, Lois K. Bond, Margaret K. Plansky, William Robertson, Isidoro Perez, Gail Wood. On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hoyt the Minutes of May 12, 1992 were approved as amended by vote of 4-0-0. Liaison Reports Dan Ensminger indicated that he had attended the Senior Citizens' banquet and two meetings of the Birch Meadow Traffic Task Force. The Birch Meadow Traffic Task Force will make a report to the Board of Selectmen within the next couple of months. Sally Hoyt acknowledged that she came down with the flu on Memorial Day and thanked Bill Burditt for giving her speech at Forest Glen Cemetery. She advised the Board that she had received a complaint from a Reading citizen about a man who had come to her door with a letter requesting entrance to check the water meter. The letter was not signed and was not on Town stationery. Mrs. Hoyt requested that the Town Manager check into this. She commented on having attended the Senior Citizens Awards night. She advised that the Early Retirement Bill for Municipal Workers and School Personnel was still in the Con- ference Committee and she felt it is very possible that this legislation will stay there until it has to come out on December 31 . Hoyt reported on the annual menopause seminar, the free hearing clinic, the annual battery and tire collection, the bonus application for the MSCP, the health care proxy workshop, the opening of the municipal pool and the tennis tournament. Bill Burditt also attended the Senior Citizens Awards night. He indicated that he met some wonderful people who work with the Seniors and wonderful Seniors themselves. He represented the Board of Selectmen and presented Community Service Awards to several Eagle Scouts. He advised that he marched in the Memorial Day Parade and also indicated that, in addition to his own presentation at Charles Lawn Cemetery, he presented Sally Hoyt's speech due to her illness. George Hines indicated that he and his wife had been on vacation. Their only activity therefore was their visit to Reading, England i at which time they presented the Mayoress with several gifts from the 350th Anniversary Committee and a plaque from Fire Chief Red- fern. He felt that Reading, England rolled out the red carpet for them. They had a very nice visit and he commented upon the fact that although Reading, England is a much larger community Selectmens Minutes - 6/2/92 - page 2 than Reading, Massachusetts with a population of some 150,000 people, they are grappling with the same type of concerns that we are over here. Eugene Nigro commented upon his participation in Memorial Day ac- tivities. He gave the address at Laurel Hill Cemetery Public Comment Bill Brown noted that he felt that the Selectmen should accept the offer on the Pearl Street School; that he had been through the school and that it is in very bad shape; that it needs a lot of work done to it including a roof; that it would cost the Town many dollars if they don't unload it at this time. Public Hearings The Public Hearing on the Board of Selectmens policy on dual water meters was continued. Tony Fletcher reviewed his June 1, 1992 memo to the Town Manager. The memo clearly states that the Department of Public Works is opposed to any inside connection to provide sprinkler service for domestic systems. The main reason being that this type of a system would not allow the Town any control. State law clearly puts the responsibility on the Town that water systems cannot be altered. He reviewed items 1 through 5 contained in his June 1 memo, noting that this memo would provide an alternative in addition to the policy presently in place for dual water meters . He reiterated over and over again his Department's opposition to separate, indoor water meters and referenced the requirements of the Clean Water Act that the Town now falls under. Mr. Fletcher reviewed the costs of the two new options before the Board; 1) the proposal outlined in the June 1, 1992 memo and 2) the proposal outlined in his memo of May 11, 1992 and offered at the beginning of the Public Hearing on May 12 , 1992 . Maria Schellenbach noted that she does not want this for a sprinkler system but rather because she has a leaky pool and she questioned the need for backflow preventers where she would only be using this water to fill her pool. Mr. Fletcher explained that it is his responsibility to protect the Town's water supply from any reverse flow of pollutants. James Keigley offered some statistics to the Selectmen indicating he had reviewed his water bills for the past three or four years and had come up with an annual cost ranging between $75 to $130 additional sewer costs from water that he used for his pool, his hot tub and for watering his lawns. He felt that those costs were relatively low in comparison to the cost of installing a new separate line and suggested that perhaps citizens should attempt to do some comparison of their own bills to determine whether it would be beneficial to install a new line. Mr. Fletcher reiterated, as he did many times during the evening, that he would encourage citizens to segregate outside watering Selectmens Minutes - 6/2/92 - page 3 for pools, sprinkler systems etc. from their sewer system be- cause, in his opinion, sewer costs will continue to increase con- siderably in the years ahead. Christina Ferla questioned the increase in her water bill which doubled and why she should have to expend monies to remove that water from the sewer system Mr. Fletcher was familiar with her location and lot and advised her that a separate water line would probably only cost her $300 under the policy that the Town now has, and has had for approximately the last 50 years. He also commented that Reading pays the highest water and sewer charge in Massachusetts. Water costs have been reduced by 33% and are the same as they were 10 years ago; sewer costs have gone up approximately 150%, costs over which Reading has no control. Robert Lynch questioned why swimming pool costs could not be based on volume readings i. e. have the owner read the meter before filling the pool and afterwards. Mr. Fletcher responded that it would be impossible to administer such a policy. Isadore Perez from the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee was recognized and acknowledged his comments were from that Com- mittee. He also advised that he works on the water systems of the City of Boston. The Water and Sewer Advisory Committee is recommending no change in the current policy for health reasons. He said that to change the policy would mean an increase in ad- ministrative costs to the Town. He noted that the double check valve protects the Town and attempted to explain the Town's responsibility under the Clean Water Act. Mr. and Mrs . Gilbert and Pasquale Martone spoke vehemently against the policy that requires the separate line. On motion by Hoyt seconded by Burditt the hearing was closed at 8: 10 p.m. All five members voted in favor. On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hoyt the Board voted to retain the present policy on dual water meters and, in addition, that homeowners be afforded the option outlined in Mr. Fletcher's memos of May 11 identified as Option A and June 1 identified as Option B at the discretion of the Director of Public Works or his designee. The vote was 5-0-0. The Secretary read the notice of the hearing on the transfer of a liquor license. Attorney James Watt, representing the applicant, and George Romano from the First Colonial Bank, present holder of the license, were present. Mr. Watts advised that all legal requirements had been met;: that as this was a transfer only pub- lication was required; publication took place on May 21 in the Reading Chronicle. He explained that First Colonial had acquired the license legally as a lien holder and was now requesting per- mission to transfer it to Athens Liquors, Inc. , Christ Shomos and Ioannis Levantakis owners. Mr. Shomos spoke to the Board indicating that their first order Selectmens Minutes - 6/2/92 - page 4 of business would be to clean up the place, noting that the en- tire inside needs to be renovated. Both partners would be manag- ing but he would be the regular manager. At this time they do not intend to have any other employees other than a stock boy. He and his partner will be the only ones selling to the public. They both plan to take a course in this regard which is offered by the Liquor Dealers Association which will help them identify people who attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages illegally. He also acknowledged that he was well aware of the problems of the previous owner with sales to minors and that the new owner's in- tent would be to "card" everyone making a purchase. Store opera- tions will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. with deliveries being made in the rear of the store. On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hoyt the hearing was closed by vote of 5.0. 0. On motion by Ensminger seconded by Hines the Board voted to transfer the license currently held by First Colonial Bank for Savings as Secured Creditor and Lien Holder to Christ Shomos, Athens Liquor, Inc. d/b/a Square Liquors, 607 Main Street, Read- ing, MA by vote of 5-0-0. Discussion/Action Items Isadore Perez and Gail Wood, members of the Water and Sewer Ad- visory Committee, spoke with regard to their concerns on issues that will be forthcoming at the meeting on June 16 with the Mas- sachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) . Mr. Perez reviewed the May 29, 1991 memo forwarded to the Board of Selectmen from Ted McIntire. He stated that the Advisory Committee's major con- cerns are with the rate structure, operational and capital costs, and the inflow infiltration program and its benefits, if any, to Reading. He discussed the possibility of Reading utilizing some of the assistance programs presently in existence within the MWRA system such as the meter assistance and flow data programs. He indicated that although Reading does not need the flow data in- formation presently, it would be beneficial to gather it now for use several years down the road if necessary. The Water and Sewer Committee strongly urged the Board of Selectmen to become pro-active in this regard. They felt that not only the Board but also the citizens in the community need to be educated as to sewer costs and the lack of control that Read- ing has over the sewer costs. Mr. Fletcher indicated that in effect MWRA is court driven. Every two weeks the MWRA has to report back to the court. In response from a question from Gene Nigro as to how Reading can effect change, Mr. Fletcher reviewed the politics of the MWRA noting that Reading has one vote whereas Boston has four. Under this type of political scenario, he questioned just what effect we could have but agreed that Reading needs to get answers to some of the questions. Gail Wood pointed out that if we don't know what the problems are, how can we solve them. We need to have definitive answers Selectmens Minutes - 6/2/92 - page 5 from MWRA as to how they are calculating the costs and just what Reading's bill is for. Mr. Perez also discussed the present billing cycle which has changed over the last few months so that Reading now will have to pay MWRA before they have received the monies in from the tax payers. Ted McIntire explained that in the past, Reading would have had two billing periods before the first bill came in from the MWRA. The Board and Water and Sewer Committee members discussed the possibilities of how Reading could make its payment, i.e. borrow- ing from surplus dollars, or strictly out of revenue collected. It appears that surplus money cannot be used for this purpose un- less the surplus money accounts were to be converted to a Revolv- ing Account. The Board of Selectmen asked Mr. Fletcher to provide them with more information prior to the MWRA meeting on June 16 with regard to a cycle of billing and possible ways to handle it. Jonathan Edwards, Tony Fletcher and Lois Bond were present to discuss Bonus Grant Funds from EOCD. They presented the Board with a memo dated May 29, 1992 which outlined their recommenda- tions for prioritizing items to be submitted in the Bonus Grant Request. Mr. Edwards advised the Board that he, Mr. Fletcher, and Mrs. Bond agreed that the application was impossible to sub- mit as the requirements were unclear. Representatives of EOCD will be in Reading on Wednesday, June 3 to meet with the group and Richard Foley. They requested that the Board assist them in prioritizing items to be submitted on the Bonus Grant applica- tion. All present agreed that the first two items, furniture for the new center and Clerk of the Works, would remain in first and second place. Discussion ensued regarding the balance of the items listed and included in an offsite plan color coded and presented to the Board for their review. It includes landscaping and parking at Parker Street, Pleasant Street improvements, Middle Street improvements, parking on Union Street, signage and a new flag pole. The Board discussed the proposed parking layout for Parker Place at Pleasant and Parker Streets between the Reading Housing Authority and the Town of Reading. Margaret Plansky, repre- senting the Reading Housing Authority, presented a memo indicat- ing areas of concern that the Housing Authority has with this proposal. She said the Authority favors sharing this parking area with the Town subject to the various conditions outlined in the memo. Mrs. Bond advised that the amount of the Grant was not clear and therefore they could not identify specifically how many of the items in the memo would be covered. In her opinion, sig- nage and the flag pole would have to be privately funded. One item not mentioned in their memo to the Selectmen was a contin- gency fund. They plan to check with EOCD to see if this can be included in the Bonus Grant application. On motion by Bill Burditt seconded by Ensminger the Board voted to accept the priority list as presented to the Town Manager from Anthony Fletcher on May 29, 1992 by vote of 5-0-0. Selectmens Meeting - 6/2/92 - page 6 On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt the Board approved the off- site plans as presented on May 22, 1992 by vote of 5-0-0. Jonathan Edwards provided the Board with an up-date on the West Side Traffic Improvement programs. He reviewed the project from its inception in 1981 to the present. He indicated that an agree- ment for professional services between McDonough and Scully, Inc. and the Town of Reading has been consummated. This project is being done under the Urban Systems project and consists of eight locations on West Street. He reviewed the scope of services in this contract, specifically each of the eight locations, indicat- ing possible corrections and changes that might be made. He said that several public meetings will be held in this regard prior to a final plan design being completed and presented back to the Board of Selectmen for their approval . Also discussed were sidewalks, elimination of islands, left-hand turn lanes only etc. William Robertson reviewed the process necessary for the Town to proceed and receive new Chapter 90 Funds. He noted that all old Chapter 90 Funds must be expended before the Town is eligible for new monies. He reviewed a memo to Mr. Fletcher from the En- gineering Division with regard to a primary roads priority con- struction list. His request was for the Board to establish which roads were to be prioritized as needing improvements . He reviewed the various funds previously approved by Town Meeting and their use on specific projects in Town - most recently the completion of Haverhill Street reconstruction. He noted that Chapter 90 Funds could be used for any of the infrastructure. Things such as police detail would have to come from the Depart- ment of Public Works budget. On motion by Burditt seconded by Hoyt the Board voted to accept the priority list recommended by the Department of Public Works Engineering Division on April 2, 1992 by vote of 5-0-0. On motion by Hines seconded by Burditt the Board voted 5-0-0 to adjourn at 10:55 p.m. Resp ctfully submitted: Secre y