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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-07-14 Board of Selectmen Minutes Minutes of the Board of Selectmen Meeting July 14, 1992 a The meeting was convened at 7:00 p.m. in the Selectmens Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Dan Ensminger, Secretary Sally Hoyt, Selectmen Bill Bur- ditt and Eugene Nigro, and Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner. On motion by Hoyt seconded by Burditt the Board voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of labor negotiations and ap- proval of minutes to come back into Open Session at approximately 7:30 p.m. All four members present voted in the affirmative and the Board adjourned to Executive Session. The Board reconvened in Open Session at 7:37 p.m. Present were Chairman Dan Ensminger, Vice Chairman George Hines arrived at 7 : 50 p.m. , Secretary Sally Hoyt, Selectmen Bill Burditt and Eugene Nigro, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner and the following list of interested parties: Irving Stackpole, Gary Demopoulos, George M. Richards, Nancy Eaton, Arnold Berger, Deirdre Hanley, Matthew Cummings, Susan Cavicchi, Lois K. Bond, Eva B. Dugan, Mary J. Andreola, Loretta M. Spaulding, Tina Hennessy, James M. Hennessy, James Hall, David E. Sutton, Diane J. Sutton, Trish Biamonte, Pat Sudbay, Teresa Morabito Moran, Kevin Moran, Kathy Dumas, Jay Dumas, William Warren, Ron Wood, Catherine M. Powell, Daniel Ross, Ed Marchand, and Joe Veno. Liaison Reports Sally Hoyt indicated that she has been assisting the new Con- stable in learning his duties. She commented that the Deputy Sheriffs "hold the monopoly" on process serving. She gave the Board an update on the Early Retirement Incentive Program which is part of the FY93 state budget; indicated that she felt that the Congressional redistricting improves Reading ' s representation; commented that she had attended the July 1 meet- ing in Stoneham with representatives of other communities; and indicated that she had received a letter from the Recreation Com- mittee expressing concern that a new scoreboard was put up in the Hunt Park area without the approval of the Recreation Committee. Eugene Nigro attended the July 1 meeting in Stoneham and was proud of the Town Manager for the presentation that he did. He indicated that North Reading has elected not to regionalize be- cause they have a large number of building permits. Dan Ensminger indicated that the Birch Meadow Task Force has met a couple of times. He attended the MWRA tour of Deer Island and Boston Harbor. He attended Alex Svirsky's Eagle Court of Honor. Bill Burditt attended the MWRA Harbor Tour and the joint Stoneham - meeting. He commented that the softball building has had a lot of progress recently. The Town Manager indicated that that progress was due primarily to Joe Giordano' s efforts in this regard. Public Comment Loretta Spaulding read a prepared statement regarding the Senior Selectmens Minutes - 7/14/92 - page 2 Center at the Fire Station. Loretta is Vice Chairman of the Council on Aging, President of the Golden Age Club and liaison to the Patrons for Older Adults. She is concerned because there are no bathrooms on the first floor. She has heard that Seniors won't bother to attend senior activities because of this. Gene Nigro indicated that the initial plan showed a bathroom on the floor and he felt that this is extremely unwise not having a bathroom on the main floor. Irving Stackpole, who chaired the Council on Aging and also the Senior Center Advisory Committee, indicated that there had been much discussion with regard to bathrooms on the first floor and both bodies, after considerable discussion and consideration, agreed to the plans as they had been bid and are being constructed. George Richards represented the Patrons for Older Adults, and presented a check in the amount of $4000 to the Town for furnish- ing of the new Senior Center. On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, George Hines thanked the Patrons for their outstanding efforts and contribution to this project. Firefighters James M. Hennessy and James E. Sutton were intro- duced to the Board of Selectmen. They were both laid-off firefighters of Melrose and come to the Town fully trained at the Fire Academy and fully qualified as EMTs. Matt Edson was not available to be introduced to the Board. Discussion/Action Items The Board discussed the use of the Town Seal by Reading Response. Concern was expressed by Board members that the seal and the let- terhead have been replicated at least by the Chamber of Commerce. On motion by Hines seconded by Nigro the Board moved to approve the use of the Town Seal by Reading Response during the time that they are contracting with the Town for visiting nurse services and provided that the seal shall be limited to use on letterhead and/or promotional materials related only to such services as they are provided to the Town of Reading, and provided that each use be approved by the Town Manager. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-1-0 with Burditt voting against. Len Rucker from the Reading Municipal Light Department made a presentation on the Conservation Awareness project, and specifi- cally on the Adopt a Detector program. The question was asked whether or not street lighting could be handled in the same way. Mr. Rucker indicated that because of reasons of technology, wiring, and the portion of the load that street lights represent it was not practical. Pat Cummings asked what the schools add to the demand on the peak. Mr. Rucker indicated that he would check. It was suggested that all the communities in the RMLD service area should get together and perhaps as a group they could: 1) Get necessary legislation or regulations passed that would allow the Municipal Light Department to do for the schools and municipal governments what some of the private utilities do; and 2) They can band together to do energy conservation projects that together would have a greater effect than any one of the projects singly. Mr. Rucker indicated that the only communities Selectmens Minutes - 7/14/92 - page 3 that responded to the original announcement of the Energy Conser- vation Program were Reading and North Reading, and North Reading declined to participate. Gene Nigro thanked Mr. Rucker for the presentation and indicated that -he felt that we should continue to explore these issues. On motion by Nigro seconded by Hines the Board voted to endorse the concept of the Energy Conservation Program and the Adopt a Detector Program, and to move ahead with this program in all Town buildings, subject to the concurrence of the School Committee with regard to school buildings, and that the Town Manager report to the Board of Selectmen periodically with regard to this project. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0 . Dr. Munnelly supported the program and felt that it is a start, but that we do need to do other things such as legislation and changes to regulations in order to make the program of greater benefit to the Town and to the schools. Dan Ensminger introduced the Birch Meadow Task Force. He indi- cated that the proposal was to have all Phase 1 measures in place hopefully by the beginning of school, to evaluate them for 45 to 60 days, and then consider going on to Phase 2 projects. William Warren, Kevin Moran, and Stephen Smith presented a program of regulations which dealt with parking regulations in the Bancroft Road area, changes in stop signs, speed limits, and traffic direction flows. Joe Veno, Traffic Safety Officer, indi- cated to the Board and the public what steps would be needed in order to get stop signs approved as multi-way stop signs; and also talked about the process for truck exclusions and speed limits. George Hines felt that the proposals are pragmatic. Gene Nigro indicated that he was looking for more systemic changes, and was concerned about the appearance of the signs. Jim Hall, Pat Sudbay, Trish Biamonte and Al LaHood spoke on various issues. One of the things that the Task Force is looking for is an extension through December of 1992 . On motion by Nigro seconded by Burditt the Board voted to extend the Birch Meadow Task Force through December 1992 by a vote of 5-0-0. The Board put the Town Manager's evaluation off until the next meeting. On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt the Board voted to appoint the firm of Tyler and Reynolds as Town Counsel for a term begin- ning July 1, 1992 and expiring June 30, 1993 at an annual all- inclusive retainer not to exceed $95, 000 per year to be paid in equal monthly installments; with the understanding that the RMLD Bond Counsel, Labor Counsel and tax lien work continues to be ex- cluded from the scope of services. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt the Board voted to accept a donation from the Patrons for Older Adults in the amount of $4000 for the furnishing of the new Senior Citizen Center on Pleasant Street. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Selectmens Minutes - 7/14/92 - page 4 On motion by Hoyt seconded by Burditt the Board voted to approve a Class II Motor Vehicle License for Route 28 Sales to expire 12/31/92, subject to the following conditions: All requirements - spelled out in the Policy on Class I, II and III Motor Vehicle Licenses shall be:- met; no more than 18 vehicles shall be offered for sale outdoors at any one time and they shall be parked in the location spelled out in the map attached to the license; prices will be visibly posted on all vehicles offered for sale in let- ters no higher than two inches. George Hines also asked to em- phasize no parking in the area as noted on the map. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. The Board asked about the life of the tent on Haverhill Street and the Town Manager will look into whether the permit is still valid. Nancy Eaton from Reading Rifle and Revolver asked about the grant application for Public Works Economic Grants. She felt that the grant application was inaccurate in the statement of the cost of utilities and also in the statement on wetlands. She was con- cerned that the Town was misrepresenting the situation. The Town Manager indicated that he resented the characterization of the application being misrepresented. Mass DPW was consulted in the completion of the application and several staff people were in- volved. The concern about wetlands along the road was discussed with the Conservation Commission and they felt that it would not be a problem. Eugene Nigro indicated that we need to make sure that we have factual information on the application. On motion by Burditt seconded by Hoyt the Board voted to go into Executive Session to discuss negotiation of the lease of land. On voice vote, Ensminger, Hines, Burditt, and Hoyt voted in the affirmative, and Nigro voted in the negative, and the Board voted to go into Executive Session at approximately 7:30 p.m. not to come back into Open Session. Respectfully submitted, . ' J Secret y