HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-03-29 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting
March 29, 2011
For ease of archiving, the order that items appear in these minutes reflects the order in which
the items appeared on the agenda for that meeting, and are not necessarily the order in which
any item was taken up by the Board..
The meeting was convened at 7:00 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street,
Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman James Bonazoli, Vice Chairman Camille
Anthony, Secretary Richard Schubert, Selectmen Stephen Goldy and Ben Tafoya, Town
Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob. LeLacheur,
Office Manager Paula Schena and the following list of interested parties: Ryan Hoffman, Paul
McCarthy, Cromwell Schubarth, Diane Weggel.
Reports and Comments
Selectmen's Liaison Reports and Comments — James Bonazoli noted that he and Camille
Anthony were at the Mattera Cabin and he showed a video clip that was taken while they were
there. The grand opening will be April 30, 2011. Richard Schubert asked about security when it
does open and it was noted that it will be staffed with,volunteers.
Richard Schubert reminded everyone of the upcoming election.
Stephen Goldy indicated he will be attending the Chamber dinner tomorrow night and offered
congratulations to all the nominees.
Public Comment—Bill Brown noted that the door on the Mattera Cabin still swings in. State law
requires it to swing out.
Tom Ryan noted that there.is no handicap parking spot at the Mattera Cabin.
Fred Van Magness indicated he will want to discuss Article 21 on the Warrant in detail. He will
request that the Selectmen remove it from the Warrant. James Bonazoli indicated that review of
the warrant has been rescheduled for April 12. Fred Van Magness also noted.that the list of
double poles is missing one in front of 237 Franklin Street.
Toni Cook, 94 Salem Street noted that she was also there to request that Article 21 be removed
from the Warrant. James Bonazoli noted that the Warrant has already closed so it cannot be
removed from the Warrant. He advised Ms. Cook to be present at the meeting on April 12 and
recommended that all questions be given to staff ahead of time.
Town Manager's Report—The Town Manager gave the following report:
Administrative matters
o Election—April 5
♦ There is a vacancy on the volunteer CPDC. a
Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 29, 2011 —page 2
♦ RCTV will have live election coverage at 7p.m. on April 5, 2011. Candidates have been
invited to watch the election coverage in the RCTV screening room, State Reps Jones,
Dwyer and Senator Clark plan to be at this "Election Night Open House".
+ RCTV's Annual Meeting - Find out all about RCTV
Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 7p.m.
7:00 p.m. Hors d'oeuvre & Equipment showcase
7:25 p.m. Studio "A" Dedication: Eugene Nigro
7:30 p.m. RCTV Annual Meeting
-Annual Report
- Membership seat election to RCTV Board
7:45 p.m. Time Will Tell -RCTV Game Show hosted by Kevin Vendt (all
questions are related to RCTV)
8:25 p.m. Dessert
+ Reading's population according to the 2010 Federal Census is now 24,747 residents.
♦ I have given the double utility pole inventory to the Board of Selectmen. In the past year
127 double poles have been eliminated thanks to the Board of Selectmen initiative on this
matter.
Community Development
Calereso's is getting ready to start their demo work getting ready for construction of their
new facility on South Main Street.
* The former Getty Gas Station located at 306 Main Street has been an expressed concern for
some time now. We have identified the contact person and initiated action to clean up the
eyesore (this has been done). This property is owned by a REIT and is among a portfolio of
800 other properties. Jean Delios has asked for information relative to their long term plans
for the site.
♦ Yet an additional underground storage tank has been discovered under the Mr. Saunders Tux
Shop building located at 287 Main Street. Wednesday the Fire Department issued a Notice
of Violation and an Order to address the issue by April 8, 2011.
♦ The CPDC has approved a site plan for E-Car at the former Artist Shoppe site on South Main,
Street.
+ A blog by MassHousing references the recent denial of the "Splendid Splinter" 40b
application— see this link http:Hbit,ly/eznlmc
♦ We are looking at joining other communities to create a regional Economic Target Area
designation which will enable the town to be eligible for a range of economic development
grants, and may make property owners eligible for certain state and/or federal tax credits.
We will schedule this for Board of Selectmen discussion on 4/26,jointly with the EDC.
♦ The Board of Selectmen asked for an explanation of the off-street parking for the Reading
Woods Development (Pulte). It is included in the Board of Selectmen packet, A news
article made it sound like the total spaces to be provided was 369 spaces for 424 housing
units. Those are just the outdoor spaces. Pulte has approval for a total of 895 parking
spaces, but 68 spaces will not be built at this time.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 29, 2011 —page 3
Public Safety
♦ The State has established requirements for a Crowd Manager in certain establishments for an
effective date of July 1. The Fire Chief is determining whether these requirements apply to
any Reading establishments.
Public Works
1. A Design Public Hearing will be held by MassDOT to discuss the proposed Walter S. Parker
Middle School - Safe Routes to School project in Reading, MA.
WHERE: Parker Middle School Auditorium
45 Temple Street
Reading, MA 01867
WHEN: Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 7:00 PM
♦ Reading Recreation is proud to announce that they are now doing on-line registration at
www.readingrec.com, Folks can access the site either through www.readingma.gov . We
will have some unique abilities such as email blasting folks by program and making updates
from any computer as it is all intemet based. Residents will be able to search by program or
put in an age or grade to see all their options. There is also an overall savings on our credit
card rate of more than 1%. The summer magazine has also been sent to all households.
♦ The weeks of April 18th and May 2nd the rubbish contractor will pick up leaves in large
paper bags at curbside on your regular collection day.
♦ The Compost Center opens April 1 and is open Friday, Saturday, and Mondays for the
months of April and May.
Proclamations/Certificates of Appreciation
Proclamation — Autism Month — Tom Foxon and his daughter were present to receive the
proclamation.
A motion by Schubert seconded by Anthony to proclaim April 2011 as "Autism Awareness
Month" in the Town of Reading was approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
Proclamation — Start Walking Day — Everett and Virginia Blodgett and Virginia Adams from
Walkable Reading were present.
A motion by Tafoya seconded by Goldy to proclaim April 6, 2011 as "Reading Start
Walking Day" in the Town of Reading was approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
Personnel and Appointments
Fall Street Faire Committee—No action taken at this time.
Historical Commission — A motion by Goldy seconded by Anthony that the Board of
Selectmen accept the report of the Volunteer Appointment Subcommittee and confirm the
following appointment to the following Boards, Committees and Commissions:
Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 29, 2011 —pie 4
• Historical Commission
o Sharlene Reynolds Santo for term expiring June 30,2012
The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
Discussion/Action Items
Presentation of Donation—Veteran's Flower Fund—Reading resident Dan McGrath was present.
He made a donation of $4,000 in memory of his brother who passed away. Veteran's Agent
Frank Driscoll noted that Mr. McGrath indicated he would like the entire donation to be
available for expenditure.
Highlights — Cemetery Record Search System — Assistant Town Manager Bob LeLacheur
reviewed the online cemetery record search. As an example lie looked up the record for Amos
Potamia who died in 1858 and is one of two known slaves buried in Reading. The Assistant
Town Manager noted that the software system was purchased for a very reasonable fee.
Virginia Adams noted that during the bicentennial, many headstones were photographed and
they might still be at the library.
Re-Appointment of Town Accountant-A motion by Goldy seconded by Tafoya to reappoint
Gail LaPointe as Town Accountant with a term expiring March 31, 2012 or until a
successor is appointed was approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
Review Audit — Town Accountant Gail LaPointe and Auditor Eric Demas from Melanson and
Heath were present. Mr. Demas noted that the audit went well and the records are reconciled
and closed.
Mr. Demas noted that over the last six fiscal years there has been a modest increase in fiends -
the Town has very stable operations. He noted that there is $6.3 million in reserves and bonding
agencies will look at that. He noted that bond rating agencies would also look at how the reserve
fiend money is being used i.e. operations or capital.
Mr. Demas noted that there is still one remaining item from the last audit regarding the receipts
in the Town Clerk's office, but has learned that the Town is taking steps to take care of the issue
by installing a cash register.
Hearing — South Street/Jacob Way Intersection Design — The Secretary read the hearing notice.
Reid Blute, the developer from Pulte Homes, and his team including Mark Mastroni, Mike
Rizzotti and Dermot Kelly were present.
The Town Manager noted that notices were sent to the abutters on South Street West of Main
Street, and Curtis Street. The two options are to "T" Jacob Way onto South Street; or to "T"
South Street onto Jacob way. There are also viable alternatives for access to the Eastern
Middlesex Board of Realtors.
Board of Selectmen Meeting-March 29, 2011 —page 5
Reid Blute noted that CPDC approved the plan for Reading Woods last night — anticipating
Selectmen's approval. They (Pulte Homes and CPDC) need to know which alternative to the
intersection to move forward with. Mark Mastroni noted that he drew up even more alternatives
after the last Selectmen's meeting and he reviewed all'of them with the Board.
Nick Safina, member of CPDC, noted that CPDC's primary concern was southbound on Main
Street. He noted that a high speed right hand turn is not needed. Afso the parking for the Board
of Realtors doesn't work in the gray 44 plan. He prefers one lane in each direction and cuing.
Chris Coleman from the Eastern Middlesex Board of Realtors indicated they don't need as many
spaces as shown. He indicated that spaces along South Street could be used and parking along
Jacob Way would also be good. He indicated that the Board of Realtors would be willing to
make a portion of their land on South Street available if needed for an additional lane on South'
Street.
There was much discussion regarding traffic counts and also the number of lanes on the other
side of South Street and the consensus of the residents was that the green plan#3 was the best.
A motion by Goldy seconded by Tafoya to close the hearing regarding the design of.the
intersection on South Street/Jacob Way was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. .
On motion by Goldy seconded by Anthony, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the
design of the intersection of South Street and Jacob Way as part of the improvements
necessitated by the redevelopment of the former Addison Wesley Pearson site by Pulte
Homes, subject to approval of the final details of the design and sequencing of the
construction by the Community Planning and Development Commission, subject to local
and state permitting requirements' including Site- Plan Review, Subdivision approval,
Scenic Roadways , MassDOT, 40R, and any others that are applicable: The design as
previously laid out by National Development which would create a "T" intersection of
South Street into Jacob Way in the approximate location and design as shown on a
conceptual plan shown during the public hearing as "Green.Alternative 3: Parallel Parking
Spaces & Shifted South Street" to be finally approved by CPDC.. The motion was
approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
The Board also indicated that they favor a scenario for the east and west bound lanes of South
Street at Main Street which will provide for maximum traffic flow with the minimum of physical
impact, including consideration of a design that would have an east and west bound lane width of
``a lane and a half' allowing for motorist use of the additional width to make right turns while
other traffic is cuing for straight and left turns. The Board understands that this decision is fully
under the jurisdiction of the MASSDOT.
Finally, it is the Town's intent to name the continuous travel way of South Street from Main
Street onto the point where the realignment reconnects with existing South Street, as South
Street.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 29, 2011 —page 6
Request for Driveway Variance — The property developer and a purchaser of one 'of the duplex
units requested a variance from the driveway requirements. Town Engineer George Zambouras
explained the nature of the variance, and the plan approved by Engineering that would not
require a variance. The purchaser has two driving aged sons and the development as initially
laid out does not have enough driveway space to accommodate the vehicles.
The.Board noted that the applicant is the same developer who requested and received a variance
for a property on Franklin Street last year. The developer indicated that in that case the Town
Engineer was right in suggesting that the building be moved farther back on the lot. Selectman
Tafoya indicated that this applicant should not anticipate any additional variances from the
driveway regulations from this Board.
A motion by Goldy seconded by Tafoya that the Board of Selectmen approve the driveway
regulation variance request for 21 — 23 Harrison Street as indicated on the plan entitled
"Site Plan For Driveway for 21 —23 Harrison Street" dated June 22, 2010 with revisions to
March 3, 2011 by Christiansen & Sergi, Inc. of Haverhill, MA, was approved by a vote of
5-0-0.
:Request from Reading . United Soccer Club and Reading Youth Lacrosse - Recreation
Administrator John Feudo, along with Peter Coumounduros from Reading United Soccer' and
Chris Flanagan from Reading Lacrosse asked for. a 1 year approval to have practices on Sunday
mornings. No amplified noise and no whistles will be used.
A motion by Tafoya seconded by Goldy that the Board of Selectmen allow use of the
temporary use of the two artificial turf fields in the Birch Meadow complex for practice
only by Reading United Soccer, and Reading Youth Lacrosse on Sunday mornings Starting
April 3, 2011, and ending June 17 2011, beginning with no activity on ,the site prior to
10:00a.m., and subject to permits beim issued by the Recreation Administrator, was
approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
Approval of Tennis Court Fees — Recreation Administrator John Feudo and Mary Ellen Stolecki
and Kate Kaminer from the Recreation Committee were present and explained the proposed
tennis court fees and operation. The purpose is to make sure that the tennis courts, during high
demand times, were appropriately regulated and that residents were accorded the best possible
access. Selectman Tafoya cautioned the Recreation Administrator that there could be two
conflicting goals with the program — revenue generation and enhancement of resident access —
they would need to determine which goal they are trying to achieve. The Board of Selectmen
wants a review of the success of the program in the fall.
A motion by Goldy seconded by Tafoya that the Board of Selectmen approve the "Seasonal
Tennis Pass" as recommended by the Recreation Committee, beginning May 31, 2011 and
ending, September 2, 2011 for the hours of 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday —Friday
(holidays excepted), for the seasonal cost of$10 per individual resident with a maximum of
$25 per resident family; and $100 per individual nonresidents, was approved by a vote of
5-0-0.
Board of Selectmen Meeting—March 29 2011 —page 7
Discussion Re: Utility Rate—Tabled until a future meeting.
Approval of Minutes_
A motion by Goldy seconded by Tafoya to approve the minutes of March 1, 2011 was
approved by a vote of 5-0-0.
A motion by Goldy seconded by Tafoya to adiourn the meeting at 11:25 p.m. was approved
by a vote of 5-0-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary
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