The July 19th Select Board Meeting opened with Public Comment with frequent resident, Bill Brown, letting the body know that the Veterans Memorial wall will be dedicated on November 11th at the High School at 11 am and invited all to join. Bill then shared with the Board that by law, the town is supposed to redefine the boundaries of the town once every five years, which was news to many members of the Select Board.
Carlo Bacci had nothing to report from a liaison perspective but spoke about a contractor who was not fulfilling their duties and CPDC not being aware. Chris Haley spoke next, speaking to RAAC shutting down any review of proposals for funding/future funding sources by end of August. Karen Herrick thanked the the RAAC committee for their work. She then spoke about the Killam School Building Committee, letting us know that Pat Tompkins was elected Chair, with Carla Nazzaro as Vice Chair and that they will be meeting again in August. Fidel Maltez will be keeping folks updated online regarding what will be put in front of Town Meeting on the Warrant this November. He also gave a shout out to the folks who volunteered to paint Mattera Cabin.
Jackie McCarthy attended the Finance Committee’s meeting which approved a free cash request from DPW of a 50k transfer to cover rising costs and outsourcing of labor. From the Board of Health: Reading received a $297k for a public health excellence grant across 5-6 towns covering several shared services, in addition to a 19k Covid grant, and the move of BOH staff to police dept headquarters. She also spoke about the community meeting regarding Oakland Road, to begin thinking about the possibilities for that property. She thanked Town staff and YMCA for facilitating her office hours and announced that Friends of Reading Recreation has a walk/run this Thursday night at 6:30 at Memorial Park and reminded folks about the beer garden on Saturday.
Mark Dockser noted RECALC is continuing to meet and wants to gain insights on what they want in this senior center. There is a focus group that will take place this Saturday via Zoom at 7pm. UMass Boston is organizing to collect data. All community members are invited to this guided discussion. There is a link on the town website to get on a mailing list to be informed on RECALC updates. A survey will go out to all residents in the town after Labor Day (hard copies, online, and phone).
Fidel then spoke about legislature updates. The Lieutenant Governor signed into law extending remote town government meetings until March 2023. In addition, the Governor signed into law mandates around early voting and expanded the option for mail-in voting. Laura Gemme will speak to these changes.
In addition, the budget was passed regarding unrestricted government aid. Reading received 100k that will go to supplement the purchase of a ladder truck, to repair a wall at Memorial Park, and to the robotics team at the high school. Fidel also informed us that he received notice that the legislation that is going to allow us to adopt Green Communities has been passed by the Senate, it is now back in the House to reconcile both versions and will be in front of the Governor for signature: Additionally, Reading was awarded 100k from the small bridge program to redesign the replacement of track road two bridge. Ryan Percival, the town engineer, was instrumental in obtaining that grant.
Fidel also shared a request for 1.5 million for the Maillet, Sommes and Morgan project- Seth Moulton will be in Reading on Aug 2 at 1pm to see the project. Budget work is starting, and Fidel is hoping to have the capital portion done by the 1st week in August and will be presented to SB and Fincom. And finally, from Fidel, work for the Town Meeting warrant is beginning, a packed agenda with 16 articles, with the big one being the $2.2 million request for a feasibility study for the Killam School.
The Select Board was asked to vote on a request at 71 Middlesex Ave- to shift a driveway away from a neighbor’s property line and protect a tree. Was approved 5-0.
The Select Board was asked to vote on a time-sensitive ARPA Funding request for Trails Committee: $11,620 was approved 5-0 and allocated to the Trails Committee to fund upgrades to existing boardwalks (including at Mattera Cabin) and to create additional boardwalks. Was approved 5-0.
The Select Board was asked to vote on a time-sensitive ARPA Funding request for Town Forest dead pine tree clearing and Invasive species removal. 100k of ARPA funds was approved 5-0.
The Select Board then moved to review the Initial Draft of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Bylaw following the Town Meeting Instructional Motion. Mark Dockser suggested moving forward with a study committee while at the same time moving forward with thinking through regulations around this fund. The board also thought the number of members on the board, potentially 5 voting members plus 2 associate members, was agreed on. Discussed next was giving the trust all 16 powers or restrict what the trust fund does and what powers they have. It was determined that further investigation through a study committee needed to be pulled together and added as an agenda item. Jackie McCarthy will be partnering with Ivria Fried to work to finalize the membership portion of this trust in tandem with a plan to add to the November Town Meeting warrant.
The Select Board is interested in connecting with different groups, boards, committees, and councils in town and having them present to the board might be a good way to do that. Up to two boards or committees will be asked to present at every SB meeting. The decision to present will land with the group.
Regarding the Select Board Policies for VASC Appointments, Chris Haley offered to work with Ivria Fried to better document that every single candidate undergoes an interview by the VASC for appointment to any Board, Committee or Council. Carlo Bacci requested clarity around the process regarding removing a committee member.
About future agenda items: follow up on Select Board retreat, revisit the trust board formation, and revisiting resourcing and regulations. Chris Haley requested data on EV charging station usage for a public hearing on parking regulations. Regarding the state legislative delegation visit on September 13th, Jackie McCarthy requested budgetary information for local government/state budget outlook. The final item discussed was requesting volunteers for primary and general elections.
The Select Board concluded their public meeting by briefly discussing the Request for Proposal for leased space for a Senior Center.The property discussed is the site of the former Walgreens. The facility is 14,150 ADA compliant square foot building with on-site parking available. Board members spoke briefly before moving into executive session without returning to normal session.
