HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-05-28 Board of Selectmen Minutes Minutes of the Board of Selectmen Meeting
May 28, 1991
The meeting was convened at 7:35 p.m. in the Selectmens Meeting
Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, MA. Present were Chairman
Eugene Nigro, Secretary Sally Hoyt, Selectmen Russ Graham.
George Hines arrived at 7:45, and Dan Ensminger arrived at 8:15.
The following list of interested parties was present: Steven R.
Sullivan, Thomas Aucella, Gary Demopoulas, Bill Carroll, Lois K.
Bond, Rheta C. McKinley, Doris Fantasia, Dan O'Leary, Joshua
Goodwin, and Mark Favaloro.
On motion by Hoyt seconded by Graham the Board approved the Arbor
Day Proclamation by a vote of 5-0-0.
Dan O'Leary, Executive Director of Mystic Valley Elder Services,
appeared to inform the Board of Selectmen about the Intergenera-
tional Walk around Lake Quannapowitt which will take place on
June 1, 1991 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The purpose is to
raise funds for Mystic Valley Elder Services to support programs
for elder residents in Reading and surrounding communities.
Liaison Reports
Under Liaison Reports, George Hines indicated that he had at-
tended the final meeting of the Legal Services Selection Com-
mittee and had spoken on Memorial Day.
Sally Hoyt had attended all the ceremonies in the cemeteries on
Memorial Day, and marched in the parade.
Russ Graham spoke at Charles Lawn on Memorial Day.
Eugene Nigro attended the Memorial Day ceremonies and attended
the last Legal Services Selection Committee meeting. Thursday
night he will be participating in a forum with the Taxpayers As-
sociation regarding the, June 3 Special Election.
Tom Aucello was interviewed for the position of Custodian of Sol-
diers and Sailors Graves for a term from July 1, 1991 through
June 30, 1992 . On motion by Hoyt seconded by Hines Mr. Aucello
was appointed to the position of Custodian of Soldiers and
Sailors Graves by vote of 4-0-0.
Steve Sullivan and Bill Carroll appeared to discuss the issue of
the construction of the Softball Shed at Birch Meadow. Sullivan
indicated that the building is roofed and doors are set to be in- -
stalled. There is a lot of activity in the field area, and the
bathroom and telephone would be very helpful for residents in
that area. They indicated that they have some committments, but
progress has been slow because of the economy. The major work
that needs to be done is the installation of the concrete floor
and light plumbing. They would like to have all of the work com-
pleted by fall, and are looking for donations from plumbers and
other technicians. The softball teams put up $3 , 000, and there
will be a direct mailing to members of the softball teams for ad-
ditional funding. The Board indicated that they might permit a
Selectmens Minutes - 5/28/91 - page 2
temporary solicitation of funds at the site but this would
require Selectmens approval at a future date. It was agreed that
the construction would be entirely completed by Labor Day.
Mark Favaloro presented the background of the Legal Services
Selection Committee. The first firm to be interviewed was Mur-
phy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane. Present were Messrs Lehane and
Murphy and Ms. Sowydra. The firm consists of 20 attorneys. They
are Town ' Counsel in seven communities and provide counsel to 40
or 50 school committees. They are also special counsel in seven
to eight communities. The lead attorney would be Michael Lehane.
The firm draws a distinction between providing professional serv-
ices and dealing with policy issues. Their track record on spe-
cial education cases is 80%. They practice preventitive law and
would conduct two seminars per year. They have significant ex-
perience in land use law. They discussed the concept of a
retainer versus a fee. They would be willing to enter into a
flat fee retainer provided that if litigation services including
special needs etc. goes over 300 hours per year then they would
like to be able to come back to re-negotiate with the Town. They
feel that this ought to be a fair relationship. In their
retainer would be the transitional time at no additional cost to
the Town.
Dan Ensminger asked about their experience in environmental law,
and some of the issues of the superfund cleanup in Ashland, and
other environmental issues in Norwood were brought up. Russ
Graham asked about reporting to the Town on the status of legal
issues. They indicated that they have an active file system so
that nothing gets filed until the issue has been disposed of.
They suggested designating the Town Manager to "ride herd" on
issues. The monthly bills will provide some reports; the firm
emphasizes service.
Mark Favaloro asked if they would attend all Town Meeting ses-
sions. Their response was that they felt that it was a good idea
to have Town Counsel available for all sessions.
The next firm to be interviewed was Kopelman and Paige. Present
were Leonard Kopelman, John Giorgio and Rick Sullivan. The firm
is a specialty firm for municipal law for towns. They are Town
Counsel for approximately 50 towns and Special Counsel to ap-
proximately 70 towns. They are not counsel to any cities. They
emphasize accuracy and speedy advice at a cost-effective rate.
The firm also can do every area of labor law but they do not do
collective bargaining because of potential conflicts. They have
been able to cut the legal budget in every community that they
have gone into. Rick Sullivan would work as a sub-contractor to
Kopelman and Paige for special education work. He represents up
to 50 communities in special education litigation. They work to
prevent litigation. He has been doing special education work for
15 years. Kopelman and Paige have been with all options prior to
litigation, but Sullivan would deal with the actual litigation on
special needs if needed.
Selectmens Minutes - 5/28/91 - page 3
Kopelman and Paige sends out approximately 50 memos per year to
their clients. This is a way of keeping them up to date practic-
ing preventative law. The firm has turned down clients because
in some cases they are too large and the firm can't handle them
without effecting other clients. They limit their growth to five
new clients per year.
Sally Hoyt asked about expertise in wetlands protection.
Elizabeth Lane is their in-house -expert on this issue.
Dan Ensminger asked about solid waste issues and the firm indi-
cated that they have expertise in all areas of environmental law
and had negotiated on the part of several communities for large-
scale solid waste contracts.
The question was raised as to what would happen if North Reading
and Reading would be involved in litigation against each other,
since Kopelman and Paige represents North Reading. Kopelman and
Paige would step aside from both towns and secure independent
counsel for each community at a rate not to exceed the Kopelman
and Paige rate.
Kopelman and Paige would not charge for transition. Their two
lead attorneys would be Len Kopelman and John Giorgio. Len
Kopelman is the lead attorney for Dedham, and John Giorgio is the
lead attorney for six other towns, two of which are very small.
The firm uses special counsel work as a filler, and if time did
not permit they would drop special counsel work. They indicated
that four of the communities they work for they have a
partial retainer for. All others are on a flat fee basis. Using
the structure that Kopelman and Paige proposes, they would es-
timate that the total cost for FY92 would be $75, 000. Special
needs work would be done by Rick Sullivan within the firm. There
may be some cases where Tom Nutile, Sullivan's associate, would
handle a case depending on the complexity of the- case.
With regard to managing and tracking cases and issues, Kopelman
and Paige has a full-time docket clerk. Dan Sawyer also has been
hired to "direct traffic" among all the legal issues within the
firm. Kopelman and Paige would be willing to charge the lower
rate of either $100 per hour or a $30, 000 retainer which would
cover everything except labor issues, special education, and
litigation. Special education would be charged at the rate of
$75 to $100 per hour, and litigation would be charged at $100 per
hour.
Tyler & Reynolds was the next firm to be interviewed and was rep-
resented by H Theodore Cohen and Ron Kaczynski. Cohen joined the
firm in 1972 and has been involved in Reading since that time.
They do all work for the Town of Reading except for labor law and
tax lien work. They have been involved in a number of cases for
Reading including the Industriplex case starting in 1978, the GE
settlement in 1990-91, and have had handled 40 or 50 special -'
education cases with a success rate of two-thirds to three-
Selectmens Minutes - 5/28/91 - page 4
quarters. Ron_ Kaczynski joined the firm in 1984, having been
general counsel to the Appellate Tax Board. He now does Appel-
late Tax Board work for the Town of Reading, and has recently
been hired to do similar work for Plymouth. The firm has been
level funded for counsel work at $95 , 000 for the past three
years. They would accept a $95,000 rate for FY92, or would be
willing to do all town work at a rate of $100 per hour. They
would expect an increase in FY93 and FY94 . In FY91, they spent
704 hours on special education, litigation, and Appellate Tax
Board work. There are usually two to three special education
cases going on per year, and each case takes four to five days of
hearings plus preparation time.
Dan Ensminger asked whether they had a "get well plan" for
timeliness to make sure issues don't get away from them. They
indicated that they would try to set priorities, and continue
meeting once per month with the Town Manager.
George Hines asked if we could save hours. Cohen indicated that
they might be able to save some hours but it would result in les-
ser service. We could re-establish some stricter procedures for
access.
Mark Favaloro asked about the practice of preventitive law to
control hours. Cohen indicated that there might be some benefit
in this but, under a retainer basis, they were able to stress all
the service that is needed.
Sally Hoyt asked what other communities they use a retainer on.
Cohen indicated that Reading is the only community that they do
regular work for. In other communities where they act as special
counsel they use an hourly rate. Their regular hourly rate is
$180 per hour.
Lucky Hulse expressed concern about access to Town Counsel.
Eugene Nigro asked whether they are seeking other municipal work
and how this would impact on Reading. Cohen indicated that they
are seeking other municipal work, but that he would always remain
as lead counsel in Reading. They would hire additional people if
needed.
The Board decided to defer action until June 11. Meanwhile, they
have asked for a copy of the RFP, a summary of the financial
sheets, and information on the number of hours spent on Appellate
Tax Board work.
On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt the Board confirmed the Town
Manager's issuance of a license for a Town Taxi vehicle by a vote
of 5-0-0.
On motion by Graham seconded by Hines the Board adjourned their
meeting at 10:50 p.m. by a vote of 5-0-0.
Respectfully submitted: 'a X ,
Secretar