MINUTES OF BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
MONDAY, JULY 7, 2008
___________________________________________________________________________
Chairman Mauceri called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in Room 14 at the Town Hall in the presence of members Mr. Delaney and Mr. O’Leary. Mr. Veno and Mr. Harris were absent, as was the Town Administrator.
Mr. Harris arrived at 7:25 p.m.
#3. PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. O’Leary commented that he got a phone call from a Comcast customer informing him that Comcast’s access fee charge was a lot more than Norcam’s charge. He feels the public has a right to know this as both vendors should charge the same amount. As a Comcast customer, Mr. O’Leary checked his bill, but his charge was lower, possibly due to a difference in cable service.
ACTING CLERK
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO AUTHORIZE SEAN DELANEY AS ACTING CLERK.
MOTION BY: MR. O'LEARY
SECONDED BY: MR. MAUCERI
VOTED: UNANIMOUS (3-0)
#4. LEGAL BILLS
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO APPROVE LEGAL BILLS FOR MAY 2008 IN THE AMOUNT OF $12,032.04 AS FOLLOWS:
KOPELMAN AND PAIGE, P.C. (GENERAL) $ 2,459.51
KOPELMAN AND PAIGE, P.C. (LABOR) $ 6,303.00
KOPELMAN AND PAIGE, P.C. (EPP) $ 310.50
KOPELMAN AND PAIGE, P.C. (WATER) $ 1,555.75
RICHARD G.BOULANGER, ESQ.(ARBITRATOR) 1,403.28
TOTAL $12,032.04
MOTION BY: MR. DELANEY
SECONDED BY: MR. O’LEARY
VOTED: UNANIMOUS (3-0)
#5. DONATION
A donation of $250 was given to the Fire Department from Dr. Alexander Asch for the purchase of equipment related to the Technical Rescue Operations.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO ACCEPT A DONATION OF $250.00 FROM DR. ALEXANDER ASCH ON BEHALF OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR EQUIPMENT PURCHASES RELATED TO THE TECHNICAL RESCUE OPERATIONS.
MOTION BY: MR. DELANEY
SECONDED BY: MR. O’LEARY
VOTED: UNANIMOUS (3-0)
#6. PROCLAMATION
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO PROCLAIM JULY 26, 2008 AS "ADA DAY IN NORTH READING".
MOTION BY: MR. DELANEY
SECONDED BY: MR. O’LEARY
VOTED: UNANIMOUS (3-0)
After the motion was voted, Mr. Mauceri read the proclamation.
#8. VERIZON EASEMENT
At the request of the Town Administrator, Town Counsel reviewed the draft of the easement document provided by Verizon New England Inc. The document grants Verizon New England Inc. and the Massachusetts Electric Company an easement of a 200 square foot portion of Town owned land located at 55 Swan Pond Road for the purpose of supplying electricity to Omnipoint, the current tenant of the property. After Town Counsel revised the document, the Town Administrator asked Dave Hanlon to review the document for approval from the DPW.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO GRANT TO VERIZON NEW ENGLAND, INC. AN EASEMENT FOR 55 SWAN POND ROAD, ASSESSOR'S MAP 74, LOT 69.
MOTION BY: MR. DELANEY
SECONDED BY: MR. O’LEARY
VOTED: UNANIMOUS (3-0)
#6a. SENIOR HOUSING, 71R CHESTNUT STREET
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO SIGN THE PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN OF NORTH READING AND THE NORTH READING HOUSING AUTHORITY FOR A PARCEL OF LAND LOCATED AT 71R CHESTNUT STREET, NORTH READING, MASSACHUSETTS, FOR A 5 ACRE PORTION OF A SAID PARCEL SHOWN ON TOWN OF NORTH READING ASSESSOR'S MAP 56, AS PARCEL 62, THE PRECISE LOCATION OF SAID PREMISES SHALL BE AGREED TO BY THE PARTIES.
MOTION BY: MR. DELANEY
SECONDED BY: MR. O’LEARY
VOTED: UNANIMOUS (3-0)
#7. FRIENDS OF THE COUNCIL ON AGING
Barbara Thomas, past Vice President and still a Board member of the Friends of the Council on Aging addressed the Board. She states that the purpose of this committee is to help raise funds for the Friends. They are a non-profit group, made up of volunteers. A questionnaire had been sent out to 1,400 citizens of placeNorth Reading in the hopes of bringing in new members and there was a slide show presentation summarizing the results.
Angela Mauceri, the current Vice President of Friends, made the presentation. The questionnaire they sent was not just for senior however. They asked both men and women over 60 years of age, as well as both men and woman under the age of 60, noting that the responses they received were in the above-average range. Ms. Mauceri discussed the questions that were asked and talked about some of the responses.
Programs desired. (Blood pressure, flu shots and fuel assistance were the overwhelming responses), as well as podiatry, tax preparation and home repair. Even the under 60 respondents see a need for these programs.
Access to computers. This was a big issue as well. Surprisingly, although most of the respondents over 60 did not own a computer and had very little knowledge of how to use a computer, they were interested in learning. The majority of people under the age of 60 had experience with using computers, they also agreed there should be public access to computers, as well as offering classes.
Living conditions. (Single family homes with a large amount of people over 60 living alone.
Do you volunteer. (A fair amount of people under 60 volunteered, with a high percentage of people over 60 who did not).
Concerns. The people over 60 were concerned with issues like taxes, fuel and grocery expenses. The people under 60 had more concerns than the senior citizens, but with issues like education, retirement and home mortgages.
The results of the questionnaire are available at the Senior Center, and at the reference desk at the library. Respondents had also been asked to make comments and all comments are included in the results. All new comments are welcome.
Mr. Mauceri asks the Board members if they had any comments. Mr. O’Leary offered his congratulations and asked what the Board could do to help.
Mr. Mauceri and the Board members thanked the Friends for all their hard work.
At 8:46 p.m., there was a brief recess.
At 8:52 p.m., the meeting commenced.
#1. MINUTES
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MAY 19, 2008 REGULAR MINUTES AS WRITTEN.
MOTION BY: MR. HARRIS
SECONDED BY: MR. O’LEARY
VOTED: UNANIMOUS (4-0)
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MAY 19, 2008 EXECUTIVE SESSION MINUTES AS WRITTEN.
MOTION BY: MR. HARRIS
SECONDED BY: MR. O’LEARY
VOTED: UNANIMOUS (4-0)
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE JUNE 23, 2008 SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES AS WRITTEN.
MOTION BY: MR. HARRIS
SECONDED BY: MR. O’LEARY
VOTED: UNANIMOUS (4-0)
#9. OFFSITE MEETING
Mr. Mauceri wanted to discuss the upcoming meeting to be held offsite at the Hillview Commission Office on July 21st. The Town has hired a professional facilitator to attend the meeting for a discussion of the big issues the Town faces and in which direction they should go.
He felt tonight would be a good opportunity to get the Board members’ feedback regarding prioritizing these issues prior to the meeting.
The Board members discussed ways to better educate the citizens with regards to the long-term benefits of sewerage, in light of the poor economic conditions. Other topics of discussion included:
1. The Debt Stabilization Fund.
2. State monies.
3. Revisiting the items on Mrs. Bailey’s list.
4. Creating a website to better inform the public of the list of things that needed to be done, and the projects the Town were working on.
5. Wasting money repairing things instead of fixing them.
6. The trash contract.
7. Town fees, i.e. building fees, energy fees, etc.
They all agreed that generating revenues was the priority, and other ways besides raising real estate taxes had to be implemented. They were wasting money repairing things instead of fixing them.
Mr. Harris stated that there have not been any Energy Committee meetings and he will contact John Welch who is the Chairman to schedule the next meeting. Mr. Delaney noted the energy efficiency study of the Town Hall has been completed and the schools will be done next.
Before ending the discussion, Mr. Mauceri asked if there were any other issues that needed to be brought to the attention of the facilitator. Mr. Delaney asked if all the Department Heads would be at the meeting. Mr. Mauceri noted only the Board and the facilitator would be at this meeting. Senator Jones was invited to attend as well. This is a public meeting, but the Board would not be accepting public input at this meeting.
#10. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
None. Mr. Balukonis was absent this evening.
#11. OLD AND NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Delaney commended the Fourth of July Committee on the time and effort they put in on this year’s event. It turned out spectacular. He also stated he would be attending a meeting this Wednesday to address the issues of increased vandalism, theft and traffic in the Martin’s Pond area. He then offered his condolences to the Tilton family on the loss of their father.
Mr. Harris reiterates the same sentiments to the Tilton family. He also adds thanks for the hard work put into the 4th of July event and its success.
Mr. O’Leary reiterates the same. He also wants to state, however, that next year more volunteers will be needed for the 4th of July event as they are not raising the same amount of revenues and this will help sustain the program. Special thanks to Warren Pearce.
Mr. O’Leary brought up the issue of the article in the Transcript regarding the Police Department. The Board members all agreed they were unaware that the Police Department had been soliciting monies from Town businesses without first bringing this to the attention of the Board. Some of the Board members found out about this issue when they read it on the front page of the newspaper, which they all concur was totally inappropriate. Mr. Mauceri heard about the idea from the Town Administrator, but thought they would bring this to the Board first. Mr. Balukonis thought it would be a good morale booster. The Police Department also received grant monies of which the Board new nothing of or where the monies came from. The Board must prioritize the use of any grant monies received
before they can be used. Mr. Mauceri noted he had tried to reach the Police Chief earlier in the day, but was unable to. He feels this is a recurring problem, but does not want to discourage grant monies coming in, however. An old issue was brought up with regard to repairing one of the police cars, also paid for from a grant and not disclosed to the Board. Mr. Mauceri feels the Board needs to take a position on this and a special meeting needs to be held with regard to these issues.
Mr. Mauceri also reiterates the same of the other Board members with regards to the Tilton family and the 4th of July Committee. He noted he had talked to Dave Hanlon about the Wastewater Program and what approach to use. He would also like to have a quick meeting, possibly next week if possible. They decided to hold it on Wednesday, July 16th at 6:00 p.m.
#12. EXECUTIVE SESSION
No Executive Session as Mr. Balukonis was absent this evening.
ADJOURN ( 8:55 PM)
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO ADJOURN.
MOTION BY: MR. HARRIS
SECONDED BY: MR. DELANEY
VOTED: UNANIMOUS (4-0)
_______________ ________________________________
DATE MR. MICHAEL HARRIS, CLERK
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