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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-06-16 Board of Selectmen Minutes Minutes of the Board of Selectmen Meeting June 16, 1992 The meeting was convened at 7:00 p.m. in the Selectmens Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Eugene Nigro, Vice Chairman Dan Ensminger, Secretary Sally Hoyt, Selectman Bill Burditt and Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner. Selectman George Hines arrived at 8 : 00 p.m. Also in attendance were the following citizens: Robert Marrocco, Peter Wright, Bill Jennings, Sal Mele, Matt Driscoll, Roberta Lachapille, Garth B. Scott, Gordon Richards, Edward F. Driscoll III, Marjorie Libitz, James Dumas, Ray Higgins, . Pat Driscoll, Eva Hakanson, Michael Wright, Kevin P. Hayes, Richard Cohen, Ron Wood, Carl D. McFadden, Thomas H. Freeman Jr. , Ben Nichols, A. Navanandan, Gary Demopoulos, Bill Hughes, Barbara Hogan, Joseph M. Hogan, Elizabeth Lanigan, Nick DeMatteo, Bill Brogan, Jim Keigley, Bernie Lombara, Peter Doherty, Virginia Blodgett, Ted McIntire, Art O'Brien, Sandy Matathia, J. R. Boucher, Nancy L. Eaton, David J. Maillett, Sharon Ofenstein, Tom Ofenstein, Wil liam A. Shaw, Rita Shaw, Dana Henigar, Gordie Clark, Pat Keane. Chairman Nigro turned the meeting over to Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner for the purpose of reorganization of the Board of Selectmen. The Town Manager asked for nominations for the posi- tion of Chairman of the Board of Selectmen until June 30, 1993 or such earlier date asa new Chairman shall be elected by the Board. On motion by Hoyt seconded by Nigro Dan Ensminger was nominated for the position of Chairman for a term expiring June 30, 1993 . On motion by Nigro seconded by Burditt the nominations were closed by vote of 3-0-1 with Ensminger abstaining. Ensminger was elected to the position of Chairman by vote of 3-0-1 with Ensminger abstaining. Dan Ensminger expressed his thanks to Gene Nigro for his leadership and his grace under pressure as well as his fairness. Chairman Ensminger took over Chairmanship of the meeting. On motion by Nigro seconded by Hoyt George Hines was nominated for the position of Vice Chairman expiring June 30, 1993 . There being no further nominations, Hines was elected Vice Chairman by a vote of 4-0-0. On motion by Burditt seconded by Nigro Sally Hoyt was nominated for the position of Secretary. On motion by Nigro seconded by Burditt the nominations were closed by vote of 4-0-0. Sally Hoyt was elected Secretary for a term expiring June 30, 1993 by a vote of 3-0-1 with Hoyt abstaining. Liaison Reports Bill Burditt indicated that he had attended Senator Tisei's open house, and had attended the groundbreaking for the Senior Center. Sally Hoyt indicated that she had attended the Senior Center Ad- visory Committee; the CPDC. hearing on the Senior Center; Senator Tisei's open house; the groundbreaking for the Senior Center. She is going to forego the Legislative Report on the MWRA pending Mr. MacDonald's presentation this evening. She received a letter Selectmens Minutes - 6/16/92 - page 2 from Mr. and Mrs. Thompson on Condor Road regarding concerns about maintenance of the tree lawn. She indicated that she found that the lottery fund will be uncapped and Reading will receive an additional $100 , 000 from the lottery. The most recently proposed education aid program would give Reading $100 per pupil. The early retirement bill is in Conference Committee and the Legislature will come back after recess following adoption of the budget. She was a guest with .Robin D'Antona on a Channel 5 program which will be aired next Monday on a family town meeting dealing with the issues of child care and family and medical leave. Gene Nigro indicated that Fire Chief Redfern will retire August 31 and he will be missed. He also indicated that Tony Fletcher, Director of Public Works, is going to be retiring. Firefighter Peter Vincent is retiring and the Police Reserves Dinner is Thursday night. The groundbreaking for the Senior Center was well attended and Gene expressed special appreciation to Tony Fletcher for staying on for the completion of this project. He is working with the Library on the five-year plan. The groundbreaking for the Winchester Hospital office park on Newcrossing Road took place yesterday. It is not to be confused with the existing Reading Medical Center on Woburn Street. He attended Senator Tisei's open house; attended Rotary as a lunch- eon guest of Arnold Berger. Dan Ensminger indicated that the Birch Meadow Traffic Task Force had met two times and will have a draft report for the Board for discussion on July 14. He expressed his sorrow that Tony Flet- cher will be retiring. Discussion/Action Item Tony Fletcher introduced Douglas MacDonald and Tom Gawrys from the MWRA. Mr. MacDonald presented the current situation with the MWRA in terms of its budget. Reading's assessment in 1992 was 1.9 million dollars, and the initial 1993 assessment had been proposed at 2 . 8 million dollars. It will be reduced to 2 .398 million dollars as a result of action expected by the MWRA board next week. Mr. MacDonald answered questions from the Board of Selectmen and from the public. The following were the major questions and answers: q. How was Reading's sewer assessment determined? a. By population and population equivalent for industry. q. How was industry factored in? a. Based on industrial strength, and the character of the flow. Information is available to the communities. The basic formula has not been recomputed in a number of years. q. Has the Town exhausted all opportunities for judicial relief from the extensive requirements for the cleanup of Boston Harbor? a. The judge is enforcing Congressional requirements. The cleanup was supposed to be done by mid to late 1980s. The judge has mandated a schedule. He is trying to balance reality and Congressional pressure vs. costs. MacDonald feels we will have Selectmens Minutes - 6/18/92 - page 3 to stay with this schedule until the MWRA can prove that Boston Harbor is on schedule for clean up. In two to three years there may be an opportunity to revisit the remainder of the construc- tion schedule and perhaps to get some relief. q. How can we spread the cost over a longer period of time so that future rate payers will bear a portion of the cost? a. The bonds are 30-year bonds and therefore the cost will be spread out over time. There is a possibility of reallocating some of the costs among communities based on flow. The MWRA is developing a plan for flow meters. Specifically 160 meters are installed which currently provide the benefit of a better under- standing of the system and identifying inflow and infiltration locations. MacDonald felt that the MWRA will be using the flow meters to develop a flow based rate. They are using the current 12 months to develop a schedule of data. They will be talking with the communities about the data for each community in the coming weeks and months. MacDonald does not feel that flow alone will accurately measure each community's allocation. One also needs to consider the character of the flow and where the flow is coming from i.e. is it gravity flow or pumped. This requires a cost of service analysis in order to develop a fair system for allocation of MWRA costs. He feels that in two to three years the MWRA board will come to a decision and develop a better sys- tem of allocating costs, based partly on flow data. q. How vigorous is enforcement on industrial pollution? a. Sixty-two people inspect the discharge from 800 + sig- nificant discharges. Some have pre-treatment. The enforcement is vigorous. q. What are the benefits of the I/I program if the sewage flow is not being metered? a. Many towns do I/I and it does benefit the entire system. When a flow component goes into the rate setting structure, there will be a direct benefit. q. How can we change the voting structure so that Boston does not have "veto power" over all MWRA decisions? a. The Board of Directors of the MWRA is made up of 11 people as follows: three from Boston, three elected by the Advisory Board (currently one is from Arlington, one is from Norwood and one is from Needham) , three appointed by the Governor, one from Winthrop, and one from Quincy. A coalition has to be put together to build consensus . No single set of interest dominates, and there is distinct concern on the part of the MWRA board about rate payer impact. q. How can cost sharing vis a vis state and federal funds be improved. a. The Executive Director plays a direct role in trying to get funding from state and federal governments. Part of the so called "peace" dividend as supported by the Mass Congressional Selectmens Minutes - 6/16/92 - page 4 delegation would place more funding for clean water. On the state level, Boston is the main area of economic activity in Mas- sachusetts and all of New England. Therefore Boston's economic health, which requires a good water and sewer system, is part of the regional concerns and the state should provide some funding. The MWRA needs $500, 000,000' a year to help reduce rate shock. There is currently a request of $1, 000,000, 000 over five years before the Congress. This will help. The Federal Clean Water Bill for potable water supply will also create big dollar demands. q. Can the secondary treatment plant be postponed? a. There are two flows of concern, dry weather and wet weather. MWRA is committed to go forward to complete the dry weather secondary treatment plant. The wet weather flow will be an issue dealt with later in terms of combined sewer outfall and I/I issues. There may be a mid-course correction in the current plan. q. What percentage of the dry weather flow is currently metered? a. All of it. q. Regarding the sludge fertilizer product, can it be used directly in food products? a. Yes, the pellets are currently blended with other fer- tilizers. It is currently used in the citrus groves in Florida. It is not yet used directly on food plants such as tomatoes, but the standards indicate that it can be and probably will be. Heavy metals are being adequately removed. q. Will there be an appeals process for assessment of costs? a. That question has never been asked. There is no appeal process although the MWRA staff will explain to any community how the rates are set. There is different methodology for setting the distribution of capital costs than for setting the distribu- tion of operating costs. q. When will the payment schedule change and what will be the effects? a. The Board of Directors has determined to go to a quarterly billing cycle in FY94 . They recognize that it may impact municipal cash flows, and staff will be talking to municipal of- ficials about this. The Board thanked Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Gawrys for their presen- tations. ° Public Hearing The Secretary read the notice of public hearings on the FY 1993 Water/Sewer Rates and Scope of Ice Rink Lease. Water/Sewer Rates: Ted McIntire presented the proposed Water and Sewer rate structure. Selectmens Minutes - 6/16/92 - page 5 On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt the Board approved the Water and Sewer rates effective August 1, 1992 billing as follows : water - $1. 52 per 100 cubic feet with a minimum bill of $7. 60 per quarter; sewer - $4 . 33 with a minimum bill of $21 . 65 per quarter. The Board approved the rates by vote of 5-0-0. Scope of Ice Rink Lease: The Board has received the following written correspondence: from Arthur O'Brien dated June 11; David Maillett dated June 13 ; Tom and Sharon Ofenstein dated June 12 ; Nancy Eaton dated May 27 ; Marlene Cohen dated June 10 ; and J. Roger Currie dated June 10. The Board also noted that they have a May 7 memo from Town Counsel regarding open/closed nature of negotiations etc. The Board opened the meeting for public input. Jay Dumas sug- gested making sure that suggestions from the two previously ap- pointed committees are included in the process. Arthur O'Brien expressed concern about negotiations taking place in executive session. Dan Ensminger indicated that minutes become public after the reason for executive session expires and the final decision would be made in public. George Hines indicated that Tyler and Reynolds had given us guidance with regard to this issue. Nancy Eaton spoke on behalf of the Reading Rifle and Revolver Club feeling that negotiations at this time were premature since there are no filings from the IRS available. Also issues related to CPDC and Conservation Commission are not yet determined. She felt that there should be no demolition or construction until financial considerations are done. She was specifically con- cerned about the grant for the roadway and the guarantee that the proponent would pick up the cost if the state grant is not give. She also indicated that the allegation the Reading Rifle and Re- volver Club does not have the resources to purchase all or the balance of the site are not factual. Bill Burditt indicated that he feels that we need to start the dialogue with the non-profit now. Dan Ensminger asked if the en- tity has been formed and directed the Town Manager to find out the status and push that process along. The sizing of the parcel may need Conservation Commission and/or CPDC input. Pat Driscoll indicated that Town Meeting has established condi- tions including CPDC approval . She feels that the Board of Selectmen should adhere to Town Meeting action and there should be no conditions imposed which would render the project finan- cially unfeasible. She feels that the rink should-be given the same "business" hours - 6 a.m. to midnight. To restrict special events would be a hardship and we would need to define what a special event is. - ` Dan Ensminger indicated that he felt the abutters concerns appear to be reasonable. Gene Nigro asked for further input on traffic, parking, site plan issues, hours of operation, building design, income to the Town, liability issues, maintenance and repair, in- surance, and funding in the organizational setup. Selectmens Minutes - 6/16/92 - page 6 Tom Ofenstein indicated that the proponents said they would operate 6 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and we should adhere to that. Peter Wright indicated that the proponents outline of 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. would be rental hours i.e. the starting of those hours and that the closing would be at the last rental which would be midnight. Gordie Clark indicated that he felt the Selectmen should go along with Mr. Burbank's proposal. The Board of Directors will be lo- cal and will be able to run the project with the least possible impact. The hours should be 6 a.m. to midnight. Insurance is effected by the hours of public skating. Public skating is a major concern for insurance companies since all of the other or- ganizations will have their own insurance. Sharon Ofenstein in- dicated that she has heard people talk tonight about a business. She is concerned about a balance between the maximum return to the rink and the Town and the impact on the neighborhood. Nancy Eaton asked who would be discussing what, when and in what executive sessions. Dan Ensminger indicated that the Board of Selectmen would be coming up with a position in executive session and then would be negotiating it. Sally Hoyt indicated that each of the Selectmen have the concerns of the residents in mind. Mr. O'Brien's letter was read into the record as follows: Eugene R. Nigro, Chairman, Board of Selectmen, Town Hall, Reading, MA 01867. Dear Mr. Nigro: It is my understanding that the only reasons the Board of Selectmen may opt to hold closed door sessions are those of financial impact to the Town and matters involving personnel . Since the rink proponent, his counsel, and Selectman Hines have repeatedly stated that there will be no financial impact to the Town and since no Town employees are involved in the project, I expect that all negotiations directed toward effecting a lease between the Town and the "non-profit rink corporation" will be held in open session. I also expect that abutters will be notified in advance as to the scheduling of nego- tiating sessions, as I intend to attend any such sessions. As an abutter, I feel that it is imperative that any lease negotiated between the Town and the "non-profit corporation" contain clauses to protect abutters and thos in close proximity to the "rink property" , and to preserve the residential character of the neighborhood. At a minimum, clauses which effect the following restrictions, not neces- sarily listed in order of importance, should be expanded upon and explicitly spelled-out as lease terms imposed by the Town: - Prevent the taking of land from or imposition of easements against any residential property - Require determination of the environmental health of the "rink property" - Limit hours of operation to those in the feasibility proposal, i.e. 5-11PM weekdays, 6AM-11PM weekends Selectmens Minutes - 6/16/92 - page 7 Provide fail-safe refrigerant operation and compensa- tion insurance in the event of a health threatening emergency to the neighborhood Screen the access roadway, provide protection to abutters' property, and provide liability insurance to insulate the abutters from claims related to events on or about the access roadway - Provide noise protection (honking horns, rowdy be- havior, etc) about the general area of the "rink property" - Clean up the area at least weekly and after each event, including the access roadway and abutter property - Limit signing about the access roadway commensurate with the residential charactoer of the neighborhood. Respectfully yours, (s) Arthur E. O'Brien Arthur E. O'Brien 311 Haverhill St. Reading, MA 01867 Sandy Matathia asked what the chronology of the process is and how the Board of Selectmen can prejudge CPDC or Conservation com- mission actions. Dan Ensminger cited other real estate examples including Homart. Sally Hoyt indicated that Conservation will hold a Public Hearing and will set orders and conditions. Sandy Matathia was concerned that not all of the issues will be able to be dealt with by the CPDC and Conservation Commission. Garth Scott indicated that this project has been discussed for 15 months and 36 meetings and wanted to know where we go from here. Dan Ensminger said that once we got the proof that there was a non-profit corporation set up the negotiations will begin very quickly. Edwin Perry asked who the developer is and who gets the building permit and whether prevailing wage will be paid. Bob Marrocco, President of Reading Youth Hockey, indicated that many of the neighbors concerns will be controlled by the rink managers. Peter Wright indicated that the proponents are sensi- tive to the abutters' needs and so is the Board of Selectmen. We need to keep a good balance in this process. Sandy Matathia asked the Board of Selectmen to consider re-opener in the lease in case there are situations or conditions not con- sidered or dealt with by CPDC or Conservation. Arthur O'Brien asked if negotiations are held in executive sessions whether pe- riodic progress reports could be given. The Board agreed that they would be. Mr. Perry indicated that there is a heavy volume of traffic on Haverhill Street now at 6 a.m. and it could be a problem. It was indicated that traffic to the rink_ at 6 a.m. would be very low. _.... _... ._ _ Selectmens Minutes - 6/16/92 - page 8 Ray Higgins thanked the Board of Selectmen for their perseverance and fairness on this project. He has every faith and confidence in the Board in negotiating an appropriate lease. Bill Jennings indicated that he was concerned about traffic too but he doesn't feel that it will be a problem. He supports negotiations in ex- ecutive session. Nancy Eaton asked who would deal with the issues of keeping the roadway open (it would be the Board of Selectmen) and where the rink would access on the roadway (CPDC) . On motion by Burditt seconded by Hoyt the Board voted to close the hearing at 9:35 p.m. by vote of 5-0-0. Personnel & Appointments The Board began interviews and appointments. The Board discussed whether incumbents should be present for interviews. The Board decided that they would like to have incumbents present since many of the Selectmen had not had a chance to meet the incum- bents. The Board also felt that they should have a meeting at least annually with each Board, Committee or Commission respon- sible to the Board of Selectmen. On motion by Nigro seconded by Hoyt Robert A. D'Ambrosio was ap- pointed as Commissioner of Trust Funds for a term expiring 6/30/95 by vote of 4-0-1 with Hines abstaining. On motion by Nigro seconded by Hoyt Pearl Malphrus was appointed to a position on the Board of Registrars for a term expiring 6/30/95 by a vote of 5/0/0. On motion by Nigro seconded by Hines the following names were placed in nomination for terms on the Cable TV Advisory Committee expiring 6/30/95 - Donald Farnham, George McCormack. Each member received five votes and was appointed. On motion by Hoyt seconded by Nigro the names of Michael Wright and Richard Cohen were placed in nomination for a term on the Cable TV Committee expiring 6/30/94 . Mr. Cohen received five votes and was appointed. For the position of Constable, Sally Hoyt indicated that she would refrain from discussion or votes. The Board had discussion on the number of Constables that were needed, and Ms. Hoyt ex- plained what the limits on Constable work were. The Board inter- viewed Thomas Freeman and Salvatore Mele . Stephen Aramo and David Muscovitz were not present. Mr. Hughes, the incumbent Con- stable, asked for a decision to be postponed until June 30 when he could be present. He had been present earlier in the meeting but was ill. The Board discussed the Insurance Committee and only one incum- bent is asking for reappointment. The Board would like to inter- view him. Neither of the other applicants were present. With regard to the Board of Health, the Board interviewed Rosemarie M. DeLacey. The other three applicants, Ms. Clinton and Mr. Buckley and Mr. Higgins were not present. The Board also Selectmens Minutes - 6/16/92 - page 9 had talked with Jim Nugent, the incumbent. On motion by Hoyt seconded by Burditt the names of Mr. Nugent and Ms. DeLacy were placed in nomination. Mr. Nugent received five votes and was - reappointed to the Board of Health for a term to expire 6/30/95. With regard to the Council on Aging, on motion by Hoyt seconded by Hines the names of Irving Stackpole, Dorothy Foxon, Mary Andreola, Eva Hakanson, and Rosemarie DeLacey were placed in nomination. Mr. Stackpole received four votes , Ms . Hakanson received three votes and were appointed to terms expiring 6/30/95. There are two additional positions, and the Board asked the incumbents to be present at the next meeting to be inter- viewed. With regard to the Hazardous Waste Committee, there is one incum- bent who desires to be reappointed. On motion by Hoyt seconded by Burditt the names of Foy L. Johnson and Kevin P. Hayes were placed in nomination for terms expiring 6/30/95. Mr. Johnson received four votes and Mr. Hayes received five votes and both were appointed for terms on the Hazardous Waste Committee expir- ing 6/30/95. On motion by Nigro seconded by Hoyt the name of Arthur Reynolds was placed in nomination for the Housing Authority for a term ex- piring 6/30/97 . Mr. Reynolds received five votes and was ap- pointed to the Housing Authority. With regard to the Recreation Committee, Mr. Giordano was present and recommended the reappointment of Fred Conover and John Pacino and the appointment of Edward Hanley to regular positions on the Recreation Committee . There is another vacancy that can be filled at the next meeting. On motion by Hoyt seconded by Hines the names of Gordon Richards, Fred Conover, John Pacino, and Ed- ward Hanley and Tom Zaya were placed in nomination. Messrs Con- over, Pacino and Hanley each received five votes and were ap- pointed for terms on the Recreation Committee expiring 6/30/95. On motion by Hines seconded by Burditt the names of Gary Roberts, Carl McFadden, Tom Zaya, Gordon Richards were placed in nomina- tion for Associate member on the Recreation Committee for terms expiring 6/30/93 . Each received five votes and all were ap- pointed to terms on the Recreation Committee expiring 6/30/93 . On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt the names of Diane Slezak, Jane McKenzie and Michael Wright were placed in nomination for Arts Council for terms expiring 6/30/94 . Each received five votes and were appointed for terms on the Arts Council expiring 6/30/94. On motion by Hines seconded by Nigro to take 9c off the table. The motion was -approved by vote of 5-0-0. On motion by Nigro seconded by Hines the Board voted to waive voter registration in individual precincts in accordance with state law. The motion -0-0 was approved by vote of 5 . Selectmens Minutes - 6/16/92 - page 10 On motion by Hines seconded by Nigro the Board voted to go into Executive Session for purpose of discussion of real estate, labor negotiations, approval of minutes not to come into open session. The motion was approved with all five members voting in the af- firmative. The meeting was adjourned at 11:34 p.m. Respectfully submitted: le Secr ary