HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-10-20 Board of Selectmen Minutes Minutes of the Board of Selectmen Meeting
October 20, 1992
The meeting was called to order at 7:32 p.m. in the Selectmens'
Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present
were Chairman Dan Ensminger, Vice Chairman George Hines,
Secretary Sally Hoyt, Selectmen Bill Burditt and Gene Nigro, Town
Manager Peter Hechenbleikner and the following list of interested
parties: Lee Selzer, Beverly Daly, James Daly, Gary Demopoulos,
Nancy Eaton, Sal Mele, Catherine Quimby, Ted Smethurst, Nancy
Smethurst, Virginia Adams, and Sharon Ofenstein.
On motion by Nigro seconded by Hoyt the Minutes of October 13 ,
1992 were approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
Liaison Reports
Bill Burditt indicated that he had attended the Pride Stride Walk
on Saturday.
Sally Hoyt reported on Health and Recreation functions. She also
indicated that she had attended the Pride Stride Walk, the Senior
Citizen Interior Design Group and had viewed the exterior of the
Senior Center.
Gene Nigro had no report.
George Hines indicated that the Conservation Commission hearing
on the Ice Rink was completed last Wednesday and that the demar-
cation of the wetlands has been completed so that the Ice Rink
can go ahead with design. He also attended the RMHS open house
and hoped that the Town and the Schools could work together to
prevent further deterioration of this building.
Dan Ensminger indicated that he is updating the projections for
school population for the School Committee and had attended the
Pride Stride Walk. He credited the Police Department for excel-
lent work on the bank robbery case over the weekend.
Chairman Dan Ensminger and Secretary Sally Hoyt presented the Na-
tional Business Womens Week proclamation. The Reading Business
and Professional Association awarded the Woman of the Year award
to Helen Nigro.
Personnel and Appointments
The Board interviewed two candidates - Beverly Daly and Sal Mele
for a position on the Council on Aging expiring 6/30/93 . Mr.
Buckley and Ms. DeLacy were not present to be interviewed. Ms.
Daly indicated that she had worked for the state and is retired.
She has considerable concerns about people with diseases and
giving more support for such people and their care givers. With
regard to the bathroom in the Senior Center, she feels she could
support the design as it exists. She would be willing and able
to accept a leadership position on the Council if it became
available.
Mr. Mele indicated that he deals with people a lot in his job in
sales with Sears. He has owned his own business in Melrose. He
is a part-time constable. He indicated that he felt there was no
Selectmens' Minutes - 10/20/92 - page 2
problem with regard to the bathroom in the Senior Center. The
current procedure will be to evaluate after one year whether
there is a need for the bathroom. He has attended a couple of
Council on Aging meetings.
On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt the Board placed in nomina-
tion the names of Beverly Daly and 'Salvatore Mele for a position
on the Council on Aging for a term to expire June 30, 1993 . Ms.
Daly received two votes and Mr. Mele received three votes and Mr.
Mele was appointed.
Public Hearing(s)
The Board opened the hearing on the Board's policy on Public Com-
ment. The members of the Board commended George Hines on
developing the policy. Gene Nigro felt that it .might be a little
bit too structured, and Bill Burditt felt that it would be good
to have such a policy on the books as it may be needed. George
Hines indicated that TV leads to possible abuse of the oppor-
tunity to speak before the Board. Nancy Eaton asked if one would
still have to make an attempt to get an issue on the agenda
before speaking in the Public Comment area.
On motion by Nigro seconded by Hoyt the Board voted to close the
hearing at 8:30 p.m. by vote of 5-0-0.
._...._....
On motion by Burditt seconded by Hines the Board moved to approve
the policy on Public Comment. Nigro moved and Hoyt seconded to
amend the motion to omit the last sentence in the first
paragraph. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 2-3-0. On
the main motion, the policy was approved by a vote of 4-1-0 with
Nigro voting in the negative.
The hearing on Sunday liquor sales was opened. The Town Manager
noted that the original notice had been incorrect and that it had
been corrected. No formal public hearing is required by the
state, but it has been the Board's policy in the past to hold a
public hearing on this issue. Bruce Berger, Arthur Bent, and
Chris Shomos all spoke. They indicated that they need these Sun-
day openings to remain competitive with neighboring communities.
There was discussion on whether or not the closing hours should
be set at 8:00 p.m. or 11: 00 p.m. There .was argument that they
should be allowed to be open until 11: 00 even if some or all of
them chose not to.
On motion by Burditt seconded by Hines the Board voted to close
the hearing at 8:45 p.m. by vote of 5-0-0.
On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt the Board voted to allow Sun-
day openings of liquor stores on November 22 , November 29, Decem-
ber 6, December 13, December 20, and December 27, 1992 from noon
until 11: 00 p.m. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
The Board directed the license holders to let the Board know
after the holidays what the optimal hours would be.
Selectmen's Minutes - 10/20/92 - page 3
Discussion/Action Items
Cathy Quimby presented a proposal to the Board of Selectmen to
consolidate voting places in Reading to a single voting place at
the Fieldhouse. She has reviewed the proposal with the Superin-
tendent of Schools and the School Committee, and with the Police
Department. The only time that there would be a concern would be
every four years at the Presidential Election. The Board asked
for some additional evaluation of what the cost savings would be
and what the traffic impact might be. This will be presented to
the Board sometime following the November 1992 election.
The Town Clerk, the Planning Director and the Town Manager
presented the proposed precinct redistricting. Some of the con-
straints and guidelines were the one man one vote requirement of
the U.S. Constitution, the fact that a block cannot be split by a
precinct line, the fact that precincts have to be as compact as
possible, and the fact that we want to make the precincts as
coterminous with Congressional boundaries as possible.
On motion by Hoyt seconded by Burditt the Board voted to adopt
the precinct delineation as presented beginning with the next
Town election. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
Sharon Ofenstein for the Historical Commission discussed the
policy on the Reading Common with the Board of Selectmen. There
appeared to be no particular problems except that the Lions Club
landscaping was inadvertently approved prior to the adoption of
the policy. This landscaping will be moved down to Elm Park by
Public Works personnel. The Board asked that the policy be re-
circulated to staff. On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt the
Board voted to reaffirm the existing policy by vote of 5-0-0.
There was discussion on Hunt Park as follow up to the meeting
that was held with the neighborhood and staff. The Board agreed
to propose parking changes, the hours of operation, and agreed
that at this point we would not pursue any further facility in
the Park. There was considerable discussion about the facility
and its historical use.
The Board of Selectmen reviewed the Town Meeting Warrant, focus-
ing on Article 4 . Burditt moved and Hoyt seconded a motion to
approve the FY93 budget modifications as presented. Hines moved
and Nigro seconded to delete the reduction of the Recreation
salary account by $4219 . The amount was approved by a vote of
3-2-0 with Hoyt and Burditt voting against. The main motion was
approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
On motion by Hines seconded by Burditt the Board voted to adjourn
at 11: 35 p.m.
t Respe tfully submitted,
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