The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1994-08-02 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting August 2, 1994 The meeting was convened at 7:35 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, MA. Present were Chairman Daniel Ensminger, Vice Chairman Bill Burditt, Secretary Sally Hoyt, Selectmen George Hines and Camille Anthony, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner and the following list of interested parties: Nathan White, Ted McIntire, Gail Wood, Bill Brown. Approval of Minutes On motion by Burditt seconded by Hoyt the minutes of July 12 , 1994, were approved as amended by a vote of 4-0-1 with Hoyt abstaining. Liaison Reports Hines had no report. Burditt noted that the Haven Street Re-Use Task Force has met and will be meeting next week. Camille Anthony clarified the sewer assessment related to the discussion on second water meters - the Town of Reading is as- sessed the total sewer assessment from the MWRA based on popula- tion - the Town then charges property owners based on their water used. Sally Hoyt attended the Middlesex County Advisory Board Legisla- tive Committee meeting and there is draft legislation to transfer all corrections activities to the state and to review allocation of revenues for deeds. Dan Ensminger met with the Town Manager and Town Counsel regard- ing Bear Hill. He .expressed concern about the delay in hiring a Town Engineer. He asked for enforcement of after hour sign il- lumination and illegal liquor store signs. He noted that at the High School track, people are using roller blades and bicycles and suggested this be posted in light of the recent significant investment in this facility. Camille Anthony asked if the problem with hiring a Town Engineer was a salary problem, and expressed that we should pay ap- propriately to fill the position. Public Comment Nathan White asked about the sewer tie-in policy and it was indi- cated that was scheduled for later in the agenda. Discussion/Action Items Review of Sewer Abatement for Pools - Bill Burditt and Sally Hoyt indicated that they would not participate in the discussion or vote because each of them has a swimming pool and it could be af- fected by the Board's decision. By ;gay of background, the Town's ;- policy has been that a one time only abatement from the sewer charges related to the cost of filling a swimming pool would be granted. This has been applied as once per property Board of Selectmen Meeting - August 2, 1994 - page 2 regardless of any repair work on the pool. It was noted that the sewer charge related to filling an inground pool of standard size - 32 feet by 16 feet - would be approximately .$150. On motion by Hines seconded by Anthony the Board voted to make no change to the policy of June 15, 1981, relative to the initial filling of the swimming pool. The policy was approved by a vote of 3-0-2 with Burditt and Hoyt abstaining. On motion -by--Hines seconded by Anthony the Board voted that when a building, electric., or plumbing permit application is received to construct a new pool, and the owner of that property has not received a prior sewer abatement, then an abatement for the sewer charge will be granted. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-0-2 with Burditt and Hoyt abstaining. Review of the sewer tie-in policy enforcement -- The Town Manager noted that the Town has accepted a policy which requires property owners to tie in to the public sewer system within 10 years. This policy has not been enforced for a number of years because of a backlog of work that the Town had for tying people in. The question was asked as to how many properties are not tied in, and it was responded that of 500 homes that have not tied into the sewer system, approximately 450 have a sewer system available. The question was raised as to whether other sewer users have been paying a sewer tax for people who could tie in but are not tied in, and whether or not they can be required to tie in now. It was also questioned as to whether or not we could bill for sewers even if the property is not tied in. Nathan White indicdted that the sewer system is over taxed, and it will be a hardship for him to tie into the sanitary sewer system since he did an extensive job in constructing the septic system on his site. Bill Brown agreed that property owners should not be required to tie in now. There was a question as to how many properties that ate not tied in are in the aquifer protection district and whether we should require tie ins in those cases. The issue was raised that the sewer system is over taxed now, but the Town Manager noted that improvements have been made in the last .several years and the sewer system for current and future tie ins is adequate. George Hines noted that there is an equity issue - that all parties need to contribute to the sewer system in order to make it financially viable. He would like to see a system where we tie people in on an "assisted" basis for a limited time period and if they don't tie in, then they would either be required to tie in without assistance or not be required to tie in, but any future tie in request would not be assisted. Bill Burditt indi- cated that he has found a lot of unfairness in some of our water and sewer systems. On motion by Burditt seconded by Anthony the Board directed the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee to develop a billing procedure that will bill properties in Reading based on the way that Read- ing is being billed by the MWRA for sewer service and considering the way that Reading bills its own costs for sewer system sery Board of Selectmen Meeting - August 2, 1994 - page 3 ice. This report will be due by December 31, 1994. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Hines noted that this does not mean that the Board of Selectmen will adopt a changed policy at that time, but merely means that the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee report will be due at that date. Hoyt, seconded by Burditt, moved not to require property owners to connect into the existing system unless there is _a failure, but that new construction would be required to tie in. This mo- tion was tabled. Hines noted that he can't support not requiring people to tie into the sewer system. Anthony agreed with his comments. Additional questions raised were as follows: we need to hear from Town Counsel as to whether the Board of Selectmen, Town Meeting, or the general public would need to modify the enforce- ment of the current policies, and also staff needs to evaluate the feasibility of a program to offer residents assistance in tying into the sewer system. It was noted that the average in- stallation cost is $1, 000, but Nathan White indicated that his installation would be about $4,500 because his septic system is in the back of the house. on motion by Hines seconded by Burditt the Board tabled the main motion until they get further information from Town Counsel. The motion to table was approved by a vote of 3-2-0 with Ensminger and Hoyt opposed. On motion by Hines seconded by Anthony the Board directed the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee to examine a graduated water rate which will increase the costs for water based on the total volume of water use per household per billing period, such recom- mendation to be submitted to the Board of Selectmen by January 1, 1995. The motion was approved by a vote of 3-2-0 with Ensminger and Hoyt opposed. Town Manager's Evaluation - The Board reviewed the Town Manager's personnel evaluation. Chairman Ensminger noted that 89% of the marks were good to excellent. Areas reviewed included management skills, planning, budgeting, interpersonal skills, employee rela- tions, and external relations. Comments on the ongoing business practices and the priority one goals were reviewed. The Board would like to focus in next year's goals on a multi-year budget- ing program. Establish Town Manager's salary - On motion by Hines seconded by Burditt the Board approved the Town Manager's salary for FY95 of $76, 531, effective July 1, 1994 . The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Camille Anthony noted that we need to respond to the hearing in North Reading on a trucking operation on Concord Street scheduled for Thursday night. E Board of Selectmen Meeting - August 2, 1994 - page 4 On motion by Burditt seconded by Hines the Board voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussion of the sale of real estate, not to come back into open session. On a role call vote, all five members voted in the affirmative and the motion was carried. The Board adjourned at 10:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Secrety