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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-01-02 Board of Selectmen Minutes Minutes of the Board of Selectmen Meeting January 2, 1990 Meeting was called to order at 7:32 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meet- ing Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Russell Graham, Vice Chairman Mollie Ziegler, Secretary Daniel Ensminger, Selectman John Russell and Eugene Nigro . Also present was the following list of individuals: Atty. Mark Gallant, Ken Pratt, Francis X. Fedele, Robert R. Hemp, Jr. , Peter Murphy, John L. Drinkwater, Kurt W. Habel, and Regina Snyder. On motion by Nigro seconded by Ensminger the minutes of December 5, 1989 were approved by a vote of 3-0-2. The December 19, 1989 minutes were held for further correction. Selectmen John Russell read a statement indicating that he would not be seeking a fourth term on the Board of Selectmen. He indi- cated that he would be a candidate for Town Meeting membership. Mollie Ziegler indicated that she would not seek a third term on the Board of Selectmen. She also will run for Town Meeting. Liaison Reports John Russell indicated that there is a proposed meeting on 1/16/90 at 6:00 P.M. including representatives from all the com- munities who are part of the RMLD service area. The Selectmen will be invited, as will the legislators. The topic is the spe- cial legislation needed to implement the settlement. Mollie Ziegler indicated that the Audit Committee had met, and is in the process of bidding audit services. Also the Audit Committee will be meeting later this month. The Housing Partnership is meeting Thursday evening. Russ Graham indicated that on Thursday at 7:30 P.M. in the Lecture Hall at the High School there will be a meeting to review the need for a Prop 2-1/2 Override. It is hoped that a large number of people will come out. Gerry Fiore will be the Moderator. The main topics will be: an explanation of Prop 2-1/2, the status of the budgets, question and answer period, and an opportunity for volunteers to sign up to work on a Prop 2-1/2 Override effort. Chairman Graham indicated that this is not a discussion as to whether or not there should be a Prop 2-1/2 Override--that has already been decided by the Board of Selectmen. Licenses On motion by Ziegler, seconded by Nigro, the following Common Victualler's Licenses were renewed for a period expiring 12/31/90 with all previous conditions: Addison Wesley (Service America Corp. ) , Anthony's Sub Seafood, Carvel Ice Cream Store #1943, D's Deli & Sub, Burger King Corporation, Reading Bakery & Deli. 9� The Board discussed with Mr. Fedele the renewal of his Class II License for Sale of Motor Vehicles. Gene Nigro indicated a con- cern about on-street parking, lack of adequate on-site parking, and traffic hazards with regard to this facility. Mr. Fedele in- dicated that he maintains between 17 and 19 cars for sale at the location, with the repair garage on site. There is also a f c Board of Selectmen Minutes - 1/2/90 - Page 2 separate car rental facility and a towing operation operating from the site. He doesn't sell more than the cars that he is per- mitted to, but has a problem in that the other tenants and visitors to the site don't abide by the lease in terms of loca- tions of parking. He indicated that the landlord is cooperative. It was suggested that a fence could be put along the sidewalk area to demarcate the sidewalk area on Minot Street. On motion by Nigro, seconded by Ziegler, the Board voted to award the license for a period expiring 12/31/90 under all of the previous conditions by a vote of 5-0-0. The Town Manager will work with the property owner and tenants to enforce parking regulations, further delineate the sidewalk, and enforce the regulations. Reading Cycles (Mr. Pratt, Owner) was present. He indicated that the principal business is the sale of vehicles--motorcycles. They do take cars in trade, and had a hard time this past Fall getting rid of all of the trade-in cars. They have had no problems with accidents. There is a two-family house on the ad- jacent property, also owned by Mr. Pratt. On motion by Nigro, seconded by Ziegler, the Board voted to renew the license for a Class II Motor Vehicle for a term expiring 12/31/90, provided that there be no flags, banners, pennants, etc. on the site, and also with an understanding that the Town will be developing some reasonable guidelines for further renewal of Class II Motor Vehicle Licenses. Public Hearing The Board opened the Public Hearing on the application by Star Enterprise to renew its permit to operate the gasoline service station on a twenty-four-hour-per-day basis. They were repre- sented by Mark Gallant, Esq. , Robert Hemp, Jr. , and Peter Murphy, of Star Enterprises. Mr. Gallant indicated that renovations are taking place with regard to the tank replacement and interior renovations. Until October, they had been open twenty-four hours per day. They hope to re-open sometime this month. They have had food items for sale twenty-four hours a day, and the site will be completely operated by Star Enterprises. CPDC, Board of Health, and Conservation approvals have been granted. They have kept the bathrooms open, provided gas cans for motorists stranded on the roadway, and once renovations are complete, they will be open twenty-four hours a day. Because of some contamination, they have had to remove some soil from the site as part of the tank replacement process. Mr. Gallant indicated that he felt the past approval was for the station, including food service. The bathrooms open into the store area under the renovated plan, and it would be difficult for Star to have the bathrooms open and not be able to sell food in the evening hours. On motion by Russell, seconded by Ziegler, the hearing was closed by a vote of 5-0-0. There was a motion by Russell, seconded by Nigro, to approve twenty-four-hour operation for Star Enterprises at 87 Walkers Brook Drive for a gas station, retail food, and common victualler's license to permit service of beverages and - snacks, and meeting all of the conditions of previous approvals. Ziegler moved, and Nigro seconded the motion to amend the motion, removing the Common Victualler's License approval--i.e. , twenty- Board of Selectmen Minutes - 1/2/90 - Page 3 four hour sale of foods that come under the common victualler's license. The amendment was approved by a vote of 3-2-0. The vote on the amended main motion was 4-1-0, with Graham voting against. Therefore, Star Enterprises has approval to operate _ ,' twenty-four hours a day for all aspects of their operation, ex- cluding the service of coffee, beverages, snacks, and other food items that come under a Common Victualler's License, for a period expiring 12/31/90. D.E.P. Presentation Steve Johnson and Amy Ferguson from the D.E.P. presented to the Board an outline of the status of the Ipswich River contamination issues. Mr. Johnson reviewed the 21E requirements of the 1983 Acts of the Commonwealth. The northeast region of D.E.P. con- tains 95 cities and towns with approximately 3,000 sites that are problematic in the region. In addition, there are superfund sites. Currently their response is crisis management since there are only twenty staff to deal with all these issues. All cases are prioritized, and D.E.P. has to choose from among priorities. Water supply protection is their number one priority. There are twenty-one closed contaminated water supply sites and forty-five other sites that have problems. The Reading site is one of the ones that is closed--Well 82-20 . With regard to the Reading site, the well has been shut since December, 1988. In December, 1989, D.E.P. met with the potential responsible parties and out- lined to them the process by which they have to respond to D.E.P. `' regarding further action. They have until 1/31/90 to respond to D.E. P. , indicating whether or not they will do a joint study __ among all of the potential responsible parties, or whether they will do separate studies. They also indicated that there was one potentially responsible party who has requested to meet with the Town to discuss well head treatment of the contamination in Well 82-20. The Board expressed satisfaction that D.E.P. was finally taking action on these issues, but was concerned about long-term solutions. It is conceivable that the site could be cleaned up and then re-contaminated at a later date. D.E.P. indicated that it could happen. D.E.P. has no control over zoning, and Reading has limited control over actions in the adjacent community. D.E.P. felt that the commitment to this project is a three-to- five year commitment, and that there are no guarantees. Jack Russell indicated that as a prior employee of G.E. , he will not participate in the discussion of this issue, either in Town government or at work. The Board asked the Town Manager to review with Town Counsel what the Town of Reading can do in terms of direct action, either against North Reading or the businesses in North Reading. Mr. Johnson indicated that the Town certainly has the right to sue. Selectman Nigro asked whether the Toxics Use Reduction Bill will have a long-term effect, and the feeling was that it would. Gretchen Latowsky and the entire Hazardous Waste Committee were present. They indicated that they would be delighted to offer their services and help in developing a long-term plan for this site. Board of Selectmen Minutes 1/2/90 - Page 4 Recreation Issues John Fallon, Chairman of the Recreation Committee, appeared before the Board of Selectmen and requested the Board of Selectmen consider - approving a set of Park Use Regulations which- would then be enforceable through the Town forces, including the Police Department. Right now, there is no ability to enforce these regulations. Because of users' fees, enforcement is par- ticularly critical. on motion by Russell , seconded by Nigro, the Board agreed in principle to the request, and a hearing will be scheduled. This was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. FY91 Budget The Board reviewed in a preliminary manner the overall budget. Sessions will be scheduled on January 23rd and January 30th to deal with the budget. Questions asked were: 1. What would the structure for a trash fee be? 2. What would the effect of an override this year on next year's budget? 3. If a trash fee is not instituted, what would the addi- tional cuts mean in terms of the municipal budget? 4. With currently vacant positions, how should these posi- tions be filled--Recreation Supervisor, Conservation Administrator, Assistant Director of Public Works - Engineering. There being no need for an Executive Session, on motion by Rus- sell, seconded by Nigro, the Board voted to adjourn at 12:01 A.M. by a vote of 5-0-0. Respectfully submitted, ,07 0 Secretary