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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-11-15 Board of Selectmen Minutes I ' Board of Selectmen Meeting November 15, 1994 The meeting was convened at 7:35 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Dan Ensminger, Vice Chairman Bill Burditt, Secretary Sally Hoyt, Selectmen George Hines came at 7:42 p.m. and Camille Anthony came at 8:00 p.m., Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner and the following list of interested parties: Nancy Eaton, Wendy Small, Roberta Cantor, Richard Smith, Richard Carceo, Jean Humphrey, C. Neumann, Patricia Kerrin, Ken MacKinnon, Lynn Barry, Dana Kludjian, Susan Kludjian, Anna Mirabelli, Jeannie Mustone, Wendy Fiscus, William Fiscus, Julianne Morse, E. Morse, M. Marcimkowski, Connie Sfonza, Ken Maguire, Fred VanMagness, Elia Marnik, Deirdre Hanley, Cherrie Dubois. Approval of Minutes On motion by Burditt seconded by Hoyt the minutes of October 26, 1994, were approved as amended by a vote of 3-0-0. On motion by Hoyt.seconded by Burditt the minutes of November 1, 1994, were approved as amended by a vote of 4-0-0. Liaison Reports/Selectmen's Comments Sally Hoyt noted that she had attended the Middlesex County Advisory Board Legislative Committee, had attended the Veterans Day Ceremony and noted that Brad Jones was late because he was in a North Reading Ceremony. She thanked all who took part in this event including the RMHS band. Saturday she attended the dedication of the Fenamin Ice Pond on North Main Street by the Reading Open Land Trust and the Conservation Committee. This land was donated to the Open Land Trust by Mr. Fieneman. She noted that Camille Anthony is on the Board of the Open Land Trust. George Hines noted that this is a very busy season. Members of the Board of Selectmen attended the joint meeting with FinCom, School Committee et al. He attended the Library Board of Trustees event honoring Elia Marnik for her appointment to the State Library Commissioners. He had sent a memo to the Board of Selectmen regarding Election activities, and hopes this will be placed on a future agenda. He noted that the operations inside the fieldhouse was excellent, but the operation outside was not as well done. He felt that the Veterans Day Ceremony was a very appropriate ceremony and the Chairman's comments were very well done. Town Meeting has begun and went very well. He had just come from the Cross Country Track Banquet and noted that it was a great program and Everett Blodgett is to be commended for his work with this program. He noted that the Ice Arena has a partial Certificate of Occupancy. Bill Burditt noted that he was not able to attend the Veterans Day Ceremony since it was not a —, holiday at his place of work. He attended Elia Marnik's Reception and it was wonderful to see her recognized. He attended the CPDC hearing on Bear Bill and a decision is to be made on the 28th. He attended the Reading Open Land Trust dedication. With regard to the Election, he felt Board of Selectmen Meeting-November 15, 1994-page 2 that a major problem was that people didn't heed what was being said-there was no problem with parking, but people did not enter the parking area. Dan Ensminger attended the RMHS 2000 Capital Planning Group whose purpose is to surface needs at the High School, prioritize them, and then the School Committee will make a plan to get these needs into the Capital Plan. They are touring at 9:00 on Saturday at the RMHS. He also attended Elia Marnik's reception and attended two CPDC meetings, one on the 7th regarding the articles for the warrant, and one on the 9th regarding Bear Hill and McDonalds. He attended the Veteran's Day Celebration, and the dedication of the Fieneman Ice Pond. Hines reported on the Ice Rink and noted that the construction is of the very highest quality. The donations from Mr. Burbank are in the amount of$1.5 million and additional fund raising efforts are underway. Mr. Burbank has collateralized the additional debt on a$2.4 million project until it is paid off. Camille Anthony noted that the response time for the Open Space Survey was extended until the 23rd, and the questionnaire is in the Chronicle. 170 people returned responses on voting day, and 200 have been returned to date. She attended the Bear Hill and McDonalds hearings and noted -- that the CPDC did an excellent job on the McDonalds project. She attended the dedication of the ice pond, and the Veteran's Day activities. She commended Dan Ensn nger for the great job that he did. She just attended the Audit Committee meeting. Public Comments There were no public comments. Town Manager's Report On motion by Hoyt seconded by Hines the Board approved a proclamation honoring National Hospice Month by a vote of 5-0-0. Paul Kelly was there to receive the proclamation. The Town Manager noted that Election Day was very successful if a little trying at times. There were almost 11,000 voters of approximately 14,000 registered. A staff meeting will take place regarding further improvements to the traffic situation. Camille Anthony noted that people should be aware that sleeves are available for the ballots to preserve their confidentiality. The Town Manager noted that bids were taken for the RN ILD property at 25 Haven Street. The appraisal is $450,000, and two bids of$404,000, and $50,000 were received. The bids need to be evaluated by staff and then the 25 Haven Street Task Force will meet. The VFW Post 685 is holding its annual Senior Citizens Christmas Party in mid-December and will be soliciting local merchants for prizes. The baton squad is doing a candy sale on Saturday in the Square - it is their only fund raiser of the year. Wetland remediation is underway at the Water Treatment Plant and the soil removal should be done by early December. The Town Manager commended the organizers and participants in the Veterans Day ceremonies. The draft audit is complete and is being reviewed by the Audit Committee. The Board of Selectmen will need to establish rules and regulations on Board of Selectmen Meeting-November 15, 1994 -page 3 Symonds Way for parking. Crack sealing on Franklin and Grove Street will take place this week, and we are not sure whether we will be able to do the micro chip seal before winter sets in. The compost center is now open on Fridays from 7:30 - 2:30, Saturdays 7:00 - 3:30, and Sundays from 9:00 - 5:00. Curbside leaf collection is scheduled for the.weeks of November 14 and November 28. It was suggested that we could use a better system for checking residency including possibly using a parking sticker. The flu, pneumonia and tetanus clinic is scheduled for November 17, water main flushing is done for the fall, and the Open Space Questionnaire was included in last weeks Suburban News. The DPW is doing the roadwork at the Charles Lawn Cemetery and the wall work is complete. The work on three ballfields at Birch Meadow is almost complete. We received questions about the lighting on the Commons - they will be white this year in continuation of the 350th theme and resident comment on the lights is appreciated. Discussion/Action Items Public Hearing - Selectmen's Policies - The Secretary read the hearing notice. The Board reviewed several pages of the policies, and agreed to set up a separate special meeting to review the policies. On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt the Board continued the public hearing until November 22, 1994, at 7:30 p.m. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Acceptance of Gifts - On motion by Anthony seconded by Hoyt the Board voted to accept with thanks the gifts from the 350th Inc. in the amount of$5,000 to develop entry signs to the Town, and the amount of $500 for the Historical Commission to preserve artifacts of the 350th Celebration. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Condominium Rubbish Disposal Issue - Hines noted that there was a development density trade off for the condos and part of the trade off was that public services including rubbish collection would not be provided. Camille Anthony noted that we should have a standard policy with regard to rubbish collection, street lighting, etc. but that clearly the intent of the Town on current condominiums and apartments was that we would not provide this service. Burditt noted that the policy is that we will collect rubbish at locations of three units or less. Dan Ensminger noted that the issue should be dealt with solely as Selectmen's Policy and not through zoning. Camille Anthony noted that when a proposal is made and developments are approved, the restrictions such as no rubbish collection, no public services sound good, but it becomes a problem later because the home owner is not a party to those discussions. The Town winds up with the problems. Hines noted that the trade offs for situations like rezoning of Greenhouse Acres were spelled out up front and that should be adequate. Sally Hoyt noted that we have received materials from residents, she felt that the special permit in zoning made this issue beyond the Board's authority in this instance. Dan Ensminger asked if the Board wanted to change and there was no consensus to change. Ken McKinnon, Emery Morris, Julianne Morse, Lynn Barry, Bob Smith all spoke on the issue in favor of the Town picking up rubbish at the condominiums. On motion by Hines seconded by Hoyt to agree to extend rubbish collection and disposal services to condominium developments throughout the Town of Reading effective July 1, 1995, subject to Board of Selectmen Meeting-November 15, 1994-page 4 funding by Town Meeting for the additional cost of this service was defeated by a vote of 0-5-0. Bill Burditt left at this point. Library Board of Trustees - Elia Marnik and Deirdre Hanley appeared before the Board of Selectmen to discuss Library issues. A presentation was made on major accomplishments to date, and items still to be done. Ms. Marnik and Hanley also discussed issues of collection development policy with the Board of Selectmen. Camille Anthony asked whether some type of youth corp at the Library would be a help with some of their staffing needs. Review of Special and Subsequent Town Meeting Warrants - The Board reviewed the Warrant for the Special and Subsequent Town Meetings. On motion by Anthony seconded by Hines the Board voted to reconsider the subject matter of Article 20 by a vote of 4-0-0. On motion by Anthony seconded by Hines the Board voted to support Article 20 as proposed by a vote of 4-0-0. - The Board discussed the Mineral Street Bridge issue and the Chairman will make a report to Town Meeting. Hines noted that part of the report should be to express the different roles of Town Meeting and the Board of Selectmen on issues like this. Licenses Sunday Opening of Liquor Stores- On motion by Anthony seconded by Hines the Board voted to allow the opening of Liquor Stores beginning Sunday, November 20 through Sunday, December 18 from noon to 5:00 p.m. Previously the Board had approved November 27 as the start date. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. New Driver for Town Taxi - On motion by Hines seconded by Anthony the Board voted to approve a taxi license for Joan S. Adams of 95 Audubon Road, Wakefield, Massachusetts to drive a taxi for Town Taxi of Reading for a term expiring April 30, 1995, subject to the condition that the taxi vehicle be garaged at the drivers place of residence and that the trips to Town Taxi at Lothrop Road, Reading be minimized. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. On motion by Hines seconded by Anthony the Board voted to adjourn its,meeting by a vote of 4-0-0. Respectfully submitted, y®J. `. __. ecreta