pressing any buttons to start or anything We're good Um I will I'll unmute Okay we're unmuted on Zoom All right turn your mic 7 o'clock Um call the meeting to order I'm going
to go over our meeting real quickly public comment and then uh we reorganize leazison on reports leazison on assignments vote to confirm town man's appointment Richard Nelson and fire chief hope to allow early voting for the
13th of May review and vote on updated town forest rules and regulations vote on 52 Samborn Street vote on renewable energy trust membership agreement which is related to green communities discuss charter review
process discuss charge for master plan committee future agendas and meeting minutes And I will pause for a second We're taking some chairs out of the room Next door
So this is not a normal night for us Um we had some conflicts for the 22nd and I wanted to reorganize and not wait beyond that So that's why we're here on a Monday night Uh first of all I'd like to thank everybody that ran Congratulations
to everybody that uh was elected And congratulations to Lara and town staff and all the volunteers who helped the election uh without any hiccups Uh I don't know the total turnout but I think we had a decent turnout for a local election
Um so and just a show of hands how many people plan to speak so I need the sheet No just two Okay No All right Um Angela Yep And just for expediency I'm gonna keep it at two minutes please Okay Um I get
30 seconds leeway because I'm not just Okay Um Angela Benda precinct five Um congratulations to Karen and Melissa on your election I have a question about pickle ball I have um picked up my town warrant but I'm wondering if you have a
number on um pickle ball I was expecting to hear by now I thought something was going to go to the select board I haven't seen anything Um I was wondering if you've been able to get the number down and it you're still thinking about
a debt exclusion Um and if you've thought about maybe putting out an RFI before that I know one major I know one major project in neighboring town um is now on hold because the numbers came in at twice um what they expected the bids
to come in So I do hope that information is disseminated um by by the town this is really directed to you um more than the board but I do hope that information about pickle ball and the numbers is disseminated by the town um as you said
it would be soon so residents have an opportunity to weigh in before town meeting The warrant report says the cost is 1.792 1.8 Um you said that you would get the cost
down What I see is that the borrowing has been come down but the cost itself has not And in the warrant it says estimates were refined down to 1.792 So I'm asking how many estimates did you get um would it not make sense
to put out an RFI or something before town meeting and when will all of town have an idea what this costs because I'm telling you people are calling me as a person who speaks up and they know that I will talk up at town meeting People
have been contacting me and telling me that this number the 1.79 even 1.5 is a crazy number considering where we are in the world and what's going on And um so I'm just hoping that you know the
number isn't given to town meeting right before it's presented to town meeting I think the town needs to weigh in on this and and by that I mean the town needs to see these numbers and people have to have the opportunity to see that so they
can contact their town meeting members and vote however they feel Thank you So so yes I know you can't respond to me but hopefully you will be able to respond to me Thank you very much Thank you
All right Anyone i saw Tony's hand up Thank you Mr Chairman Tony Dzo 130 John Street Uh Mike my request is about article 17 on the town warrant I was reviewing it this weekend and I noticed that some of the information is incorrect on the background Uh the
drainage easement that's referred to was not designed for a Coar Colberg road extension but rather it and a mirror drainage easement owned on town property are designed to uh keep flooding from
neighboring basements uh when the creek overflows It's not so much a drainage easement as really a retention area for water I would hope that the conservation commission would be able to weigh in on this article before town meeting and that a bit more research is done on it
Thank you Uh anyone else had their hand up marian Hi Good evening and um welcome congratulations to Melissa and M and Karen Have you guys figured out the Karen wine Karen too no Okay Um but
congratulations for your election Um further to uh select board status and I don't forgive me if someone was a little late to public comment if people have already got to this I know there's going to be a reorganization tonight and
I just wanted to outline why I if if you if you do consider it why I support um Chris Haley to be given the opportunity as chair I've I've known Chris for four years I got to work closely with him when he was on the ARPA advisory committee And what I've seen with Chris
is over the years um Chris is about transparency He's developed he's consistently demonstrated a very commitment deep commitment to transparency even when it's hard for others to hear You always know where
Chris stands He's also um I I don't think few can dispute he's one of the most responsive members that's ever been on the select board He puts residents first He will not just respond to you but he will go out He will film something He is very much about keeping
the community informed Another thing I saw with Chris with him being on the Arbor Advisory Committee and I've seen it continually as him on the board is he really gets to know what all of the town boards and departments are doing He has a connection with everyone He's very dedicated and he does things before
they're asked when RCTV um with without a whole lot of notice couldn't put on a candidate forum you know Chris stepped up and h and on in in his own facility with his own time in his own working with the candidates and getting
questioners He set up a forum You know I participated in the other forum I was very glad for the Reading Democratic Town Committee and Republican Town Committee to also come together to take the place of RCTV and they deserve praise But Chris did this on his own without being asked That's something the um town committees have done before
Chris has had other um other achievements on this select board that I I just want to remind the board of Um even though he was on the park committee that helped um put forth new parking regulations and and put forth kiosks he
recognized when it it was not a policy that was going to work for the town He he and Melissa they tried to evaluate the kiosk but ultimately I I think he helped really lead to stop it or pause it at least He can recognize when he's
made mistakes He's not perfect There's probably still things that just like all of us you you can't get everything right but he when it comes to the town he tries to fix things He helped um advocate for the second water meters for residents He's also um was instrumental
I think is one of the people I really I I give the whole board credit but especially Chris in helping to publicize information about the MBTA um communities the zoning the alternatives I know he worked with the town boards I think we're in a good place We're not like one of those communities that's
going to be sued Um you know chair praise to our CPDC but really Chris Carlo Melissa Garen every and Mark Docker you all were part of a board that helped direct our town towards something that we could all come together on
Um so I guess just Chris you know it's probably incidental but I don't know if you all know as as far as I understand it Chris has had perfect attendance on the select board and on every board which on which he sat which includes park which includes the opera advisory committee and the charter committee Um I
think Chris has proven himself to be very dependable accessible and solutions-based and I strongly advocate for him to be given the opportunity as chair Thank you Anyone else in the room have a comment carla
good evening I'm Caroline Aaro um 64 Lawrence Road I I'm just going to bounce off First of all I want to say congratulations to Karen and Melissa Um thank you to Chris and Tony It's not easy to put yourself out there So thank
you because this is how our government runs on volunteerism Um just to hop on uh Maryann's bandwagon a little bit just in terms of um the Kllum project when we were initially starting
with a website um and we received bids for that website for the first year at a $35,000 cost to the town Chris stepped up and um designed along with me designed that website and then passed it
off to our town staff and our school staff Um that was an initial cost that wasn't an ongoing cost So um we've thanked him in the past but just wanted to publicly recognize that here as well and wanted to thank the board for all of
your votes for Kllum and your upcoming vote today for um all the early voting for Kllum Thank you Thanks Anyone else in the room all right Jackie anyone on Zoom all
right Okay So uh we're going to reorganize I'm going to hand the gavl to Matt It's been a pleasure serving on the board Um chair As chair Yes As chair Not resigning Not resigning Sorry I know some of you want
that but no not tonight Um good one Yeah So it's been a pleasure being chair Um was a running joke in our family that was never going to be chair So I'm glad it was for a year It was very enjoyable working with Matt and Jane And um it's a different take on
what we do here So I'm Oh I'm done talking I'm going to hand the globall over to Matt and Matt is going to help us reorganize Okay Thank you very much And um on the microphone if you can speak directly into the mic you can see how it picks up
in the new sound system I'll talk a little bit more about that later but just want to let people know that Um thank you Carl for your services chair We appreciate it So at this time I will accept nominations for chair of the select board Karen I'd like to nominate
Melissa Murphy and um congratulations to both of you um for joining the board and being reelected Okay I hear Melissa Do we have a second second Second by Karen Rose Gillis J's keeping track Any other any further nominations
i would like to nominate Chris Haley Okay we have a nomination for Chris Do we have a second second Okay we have a second by Carlo Any further nominations could I have a motion to close nominations so moved Okay Any discussion
um Chris thanks Matt I hate these mics Um sorry someone's got to work on that Um no I I appreciate all the the the comments etc Um uh I'm going to just briefly
reiterate what I did uh last time uh in this position Um I know Maryanne pointed it out but I'll reiterate it again that uh my goal wasn't to have perfect attendance to everything that I've done since I started etc I mean things come
up kids etc It's just turned out that way Um and more so I'm just dedicated to all the various um you know committees that I might serve on uh like the park committee charter which uh I'm currently
chair of um and that's wrapping up Um but uh I love this town I've been here since 2007 I've been committed to each and everything that I've done since I was elected to the select board Um Bob
Holmes sat with me right before I started here Um and uh I think he'd be the first person to say he did not see the way that I would be now compared to the guy that he knew back then who you know basically wouldn't say two words to
anybody and uh that's not the person that I am So running for you know town government etc While it is a um a thankless job etc there's lots of headaches Everyone's well aware of all this scenario At least for me um it's
brought out the person in me to be more outspoken and actually have conversations and meet people in the community etc Because before this I uh enjoyed my job kept to myself and never really talked to anybody And now I'm
having you know Christmas Eve at Carlo's house So it's um very rewarding So I would just you know anybody who's on the fence I understand there's lots of bad with being on the fence but there's also lots of good that's come from this Um
and knowing everything that I know and the struggles that I've gone through that other people may or may not know uh to get to this point uh I would not trade anything uh for how it is right now Uh you know it's I could go on and on
It's just I I I really appreciate the opportunity to be up here and um we'll see what happens So thanks Okay Further discussion point of information or um so we would vote in the order of the nominations Are we going to have
discussion on each nomination or should all discussion happen now um I I just open it up to general discussion now Um and when you vote you could we could do them one by one or you could just vote with your choice Um we do usually do one
by one Okay And we'll do a roll call Any further discussion okay Okay So we're ready to vote Um so if the practice has been we take up each um each candidate individually Um I believe the first
candidate nominated was Melissa So I'll ask for a vote on Melissa's chair So this is where we would be able to have a little discussion Okay So go ahead Oh you're you're the chair Okay Thanks All right No you you needed a second I'm sorry Right Don't Well she was nominated
and seconded So Okay All right She was nominated and seconded Right Okay Okay Right So the question is is there any discussion i just like to say um yes as I said congratulations and um I've worked with Melissa on the Basque and um worked with her for the past year in the select board I'm highly confident that
she can um manage the administrative and leadership tasks required of being chair of the select board Okay Any further discussion okay So then we'll ask for a vote on the nomination of Melissa Murphy
as chair So we can start with Melissa Okay Karen Uh yes Okay Karen Yes Carlo Uh no With an aster Okay And Chris uh no
With asterk and I still love you Melissa Okay All right The next tell your house The next name and nomination was Chris Haley Um so we'll ask for a vote on Chris as chair Um start with Melissa Murphy Yes
Okay Karen Rose Gillis Karen Herrick no Carlo Bachi yes And Chris Haley yes Okay So the vote is 3 to2 Is that correct that's correct Okay So Chris Haley is the chair of the select board Congratulations Back over and you can
move on to nominations for vice chair Um if I could real quick um I didn't have anything uh prepared for this regardless of what people think but um since 2021 I've been saying the same thing uh that I will continue to say to
today and that is together we will move reading forward this board I appreciate the opportunity as well as the residents Um and thank you for you know let me show you uh you know what uh not just
what I can do what this board can do So thank you Um so I will open it up Nominations for vice chair Carla I nominate Melissa for vice chair Second
Anybody else nominations all right seeing none No one on Zoom Um I will uh close nominations for vice chair and then take a roll call vote Um starting with you Melissa Yes Thank you Yes Karen Rose Gillis Karen
Herrick Yes Carla Bach Yes And Chris Haley Yes Congratulations You're a vice chair And now the time that everybody loves that everyone came here for the secretary of people that don't want to do it So we shall see who ends up with
secretary Um so I'll take nomination I nominate Karen Rosillis Secretary second and Karen has other Karen has seconded it Any other nominations for secretary seeing none nobody on Zoom Uh
Melissa yes Karen Rose Gillis point of order Yes Let's just ask our select board member if she is willing to do it What the hell i like your spirit
Uh so Karen Rose Gillis yes I guess I have to say yes Okay Karen Herrick yes Harlo yes Me yes Congratulations Karen You are now secondary Okie dokie Um so then I will turn it over to select board leazison town
manager reports I will start with you Melissa Sure I don't really have any liazison reports at this meeting but I did want to take a minute to um say congratulations to Karen um and thank Chris and Tony for running and also thank all of the residents of the town
that came out to vote last Tuesday on that terrible day if you voted on April 8th Um and just you know thank you for supporting me and um to Tony and Chris I hope that you both continue to volunteer um and put your time into the town because we need the volunteers in this
town So congratulations Thanks Thank you Well Karen you don't have any I don't have anything but thank you for voting me in and congratulations to you and I really enjoyed running and met a lot of nice people and thank you again
Karen sure Um I concur Thank you all who ran and participated in the election Thank you to Laura and staff Um I did go down there and I had to vote in person since I forgot to reup for my mail and ballot and and everything was exemplary
as usual The congratulations Um I enjoyed all of the new techn or seeing everyone using the new technology and um and the results were out within an hour after the polls closing I believe So you know kudos on a job well done Um I just
wanted to let my colleagues know that um pursuant to the meeting that you had with the MBTA and Brad Jones I did reach out to um Rep Hagerty and Senator Lewis and let them know that I concurred um with your um request
um that the M I'm sorry MW consider um consider re-evaluating the price that Reading has had to pay to join Um so and um I've also been um attending the
um the joint and the singular senior center uh recal and killum meetings and enjoyed um the staff's preparation for that and the great questions and the great attendance that we've had and beyond that just looking forward to um
town meeting and um and we'll see how the election goes on the 13th of Okay So thank you Carlo Thanks Not not so much as Leah's on report but just as a reminder this could be our last meeting uh before the
next election So next election is May 13th Uh tonight's agenda we are going to vote on early voting a very important election on two dead exclusions So please be aware of that I know everyone in the room is um but please anyone listening or watching we have a big
election on 13th We need a strong turnout uh for these two projects And again I just want to thank Lara staff uh volunteers everybody It was a good day It was one of the coldest miserable days of standing out on the ETH Unfortunately I wish we
wouldn't for May but we didn't And um and and that's it I I like colleagues said I am I'm glad that uh Ready Recap and the Republican Democratic Town Committees put on a forum for the general public it was very beneficial I
think um as in years past um but RCTV wasn't able to do it so look forward to the future and the year ahead thanks thanks um for me there wasn't much either um I just left the council of
aging but you know I only had my update from the select board uh to them so was unable to finish over there but I think one of um other than obviously thanking Lara for once again is putting on a a great election and you know handling
things the way that the rest of the the country should pretty much handle things Um last year my big takeaway from the election there was just seeing Oakland Road and the amount of people that drive in its its insanity over there which you
know that whole aspect in this this election My big takeaway from that other than that which still exists is I saw two kids playing across the street with a rolled up piece of carpet for close to two hours in that weather And
uh no cell phones no social media nothing Just two kids playing like they're supposed to And um it made things a little bit easier seeing you know just there's hope for other people in this world beyond social media which
uh you know I told my daughter that I would buy her a car if she stays off social media till she's 18 And because she's my daughter she said yes And then I asked her why she said yes so quickly She said because you're buying me a
Tesla So that's my daughter Um so there's still hope in this world Um and I'll turn over to Matt Okay Thank you So welcome Karen to the select board officially and congratulations Melissa as well and to all the candidates who
ran I know it's not easy And again to the to the town clerk and her staff who ran a flawless election yet again We're very lucky to have those those uh staff members with us in writing So thank you to them Um so you probably noticed tonight we have the AV upgrades to the
select room So we have the stepped out sound So as I speak it's actually louder in the back and quieter here um because of a lot of the the rigging that went on top So um I think it's a a much needed improvement to the room where people were complaining they just couldn't hear
us when we were speaking It also will improve the Zoom uh capabilities in the room So I wanted to thank Kevin Ferrilla who's in the room tonight He's our technology director and our facilities department who work closely with the vendor to have this done and it's been um years in the making I know people
have been asking for it for a while So we have the improved TV screens and we're still we're still working on a few little things but I I think um by and large it's a big improvement and good for the residents And the owl is gone It was no Yeah no more owls projector with the you know so
we're we're into the uh the 21st century here Great Loud and clear so far Yes Great I'm glad people can hear me Um one big reminder we have is that on Wednesday the 16th at 7 p.m Um this is the Zoom forum for the joint kilum and
recal um forum public forum We have the live forum last week Um that went very well That was at the pack Um and so this it was actually two weeks ago now This week will be the Zoom forum So anyone that wasn't able to participate in the live form or even if you were um and you
want to see it again and have further questions there'll be questions and answers once the presentations are done Um so again that will be this Wednesday night at 7 um following our successful event on April 2nd And just a a few
other quick things We the cult the arts and culture cultural action plan team held an activation event at the library last week that was very well attended We're we're coming to the culmination of our arts and cultural action plan We're going to be putting that into action
this year Um so there's still time to put some input There's there's plenty of resources on the website if you want to put in your your input to the action plan But I think there's some really great ideas for the future of writing um public art um the the creative economy all will will flourish under this plan
So I really wanted to mention that yet again And people probably have noticed that the distribution of the rubbish and recycling totters is ongoing It started uh over the weekend um and it was delayed a little bit because of weather I think we've got about 10% of them out
right now Um and you know we we are working hard over the next few weeks to make sure everybody has their new uh rubbish and recycling totters Um there's plenty of if you if you have questions there's plenty of um information on the website Also there's a phone number We
first it was incorrect in one of our first flyers but it is now correct Um and people can call that number get more information So on with that I think I will conclude Jane do you have
anything other than the mic once again uh Matt takes all my points my good points I continue to support a lot of the projects in town and um and our staff So come to the meeting on Wednesday a joint meeting It's all all remote It'll be a good one Thank you
Thank you Okie dokie So moving on uh to leazison assignments page three in the packet given a moment um I vote that we give KG all the leazison assignments just to make it easy
I don't have a motion for that so we will not take that up straight up information Um oh sorry Was this a Usually it's a it's a feedback night followed by a finalization night Is that where we're going to continue to follow okay great Yep Yeah So um what we've
done in the past is is what Karen just outlined Essentially we just mentioned which ones we'd like to still serve on etc And then um the board can send their um not priorities but whatever ones that they would like to join on um to Matt
and then Matt can field all the answers from all the board members and then we'll see which people add up to which ones So I want to say new Karen but Karen Rose Gillis So the easy one for you is just to say I'll do everything with Mark but you don't have to You know
what I mean you could feel more confident or you know something like um I don't know whatever one RMLD maybe you have an interest in that like just because my name's next to it doesn't mean you don't let Matt know that you'd
be interested in it So does anyone have any questions i know we've done it this way in the past Karen nope No questions Ready for feedback Can we um can we eliminate rec um recal
building committee or not yet did that still meeting building committee well no Recal itself which Mark was the latest on did that sunset no recalc Yeah Which doesn't exist We can get that out there Yep That turn the
recal building committee Are they going to be meeting before the 13th or is that going to be ongoing beyond the 13th uh I I think it will be it well if it passes on the 13th then it will be ongoing Okay Right Um we the committee just had a meeting tonight before this
meeting Um there is a possibility that they'll have another meeting prior to that All right Prior to the election and town meeting Yeah So I don't really see that that's any different than Kellum I mean if Kellum doesn't pass on the 13th like is it going to go away or is it going to keep on meeting i mean these
are two active capital projects Um I would be happy to um uh take Mark's role on recalc Um and um so yeah these are these aren't going to go away These are you know we don't know how the
election's going to go but these are two high priorities for the town of Reading Melissa they I agree with Karen 100% but I think for some reason the Kllum build doesn't we don't have someone on the Kllum building committee just Kllum school and there's two here
there's recal which has sunset and then recal building committee but we don't have a building committee for kllum is that correct because maybe because of the MSBA process is that correct there is a kill building committee we have an extra it seems like there's an extra
okay just not on There shouldn't be two recal projects It should just be one at this point Right Okay Got it Understood All right Fair enough Any other questions on the leazison
assignments but like I said send your priorities over Our next meeting is not until some May 13th 17th No 30th because it's the same night as the vote Um so we got a month to get these in preferably you know at least that Monday so it
makes it into the packet so everyone can see it I I I move that we eliminate or not eliminate because I'll ask Karen because I wasn't aware of any meetings for economic development that's on there I don't know
why I didn't was asked or I don't know what what they mean about mask Yeah So yeah No that's um it's a good question There's a lot of leaison on assignments here I would include like walkable reading in there So I have various conversations with our economic
development um staff member but yeah there's no meetings around that So it's up to this board whether we want to keep positions like that Okay Yeah I I hear there's way too many leazison in here in my opinion Yeah I
think if there's Sorry if there's no meetings I'm not sure that we need to specify a liaison on our chart here It probably be easier if we could clean it up a little bit Yeah Celebration committee walkable There's there's a bunch of stuff that I I think is public works department public works public
safety I mean maybe this is a a separate and agenda item Well you would always have liaison to different departments You know that's where it is Economic development was kind of a department type right but okay we can discuss it
Yeah No I I think possibly for a future agenda thing I understand what Karen is saying because she said it uh every single time this comes up and I agree with her that uh just because I can make a couple of these meetings etc doesn't you know take away from the fact that
other people might not be in that same position at various times So I understand that our time is is valuable and we want to show that we support various groups and committees in town but I understand what Karen says every
single time that it's overwhelming Um you know so we kind of have to I don't want to say slash some etc but I think there has to be another way of doing this more effectively that still gets the point across that we're supportive
of these various committees um and obviously public works etc But at the same same time realizing that you know people have things to do So maybe we'll have an an agenda item on it etc But um I'm more into the mindset
of uh of going through things that I've seen in the past multiple times over and um dealing with them So um I'll see what I can do with Matt on this and if anyone has any ideas you can send it over to Matt etc and we'll go from there Alissa
just one other question and I don't remember how we finalized this so I apologize but I think one of us Karen or I have to step down from BAS because didn't we make it so like we could try to rotate people it's two years so you can't do more than two Okay Two years
worth We can but we don't have to Just depends I think we rewarded the um Yeah we'd have to look at that procedure So we just got to look at it Okay I think we just got to go back I know We just got to go back and look at it Um so Matt
Yeah So just highlight BAS See what we have to do for that Um but that um I wonder how the term because the term for B the BS appointment would have been until June 30th I believe So I think you're still covered under that Okay
that's fine But we'll get confirmation Yeah we'll look at that Okie dokie Um so now we will move on to 7:45 agenda I vote to confirm Tom Manager's appointment of uh Rick Nelson as fire
chief So M turn it over to you Yeah thank you If I may first Oh we have we have some family members coming in the room So all right I thought they were very decent
I thought he's standing room only for C9 We're going to need a bigger room Rick Bigger room for you Oh boy Looks like the whole department right some seats in the front guys Seats in the front Lot of seats in the front Come
on in Don't be shy Plenty of seats in the front Okay I think everybody's in Yep Great Okay Thank you Thank you board Um I sent the board a confidential memo outlining the process that we went through to select the new chief and I hope everybody was able to review that I
talked about a little bit in prior meetings having an assessment center having a selection committee That all went very well And my choice and the choice of the selection committee is uh Richard Nelson who's currently our assistant chief and is in the room here
tonight Um he's been with the department for 28 years He grew up in Reading Uh he's extremely wellqualified and he's received the highest score in the assessment center which was really a big plus for me to hear that that our person uh here had the highest score out of
anybody Um he has held the ranks of lieutenant and captain here in Reading Um and most importantly I believe personally that he has the motivation and the vision to lead the department to the future over the next several years
So with that we're happy to answer any questions Um you know Captain Captain Assistant Chief Nelson is here tonight to answer any questions but I respectfully ask that you confirm my confirmation uh my my appointment of Richard Nelson as the next fire chief in
Reading Massachusetts Thank you I guess does anyone want to speak chief Burns anybody on this before we vote or if you want to come to the pod you can come to the pod It' be great Hi I'm uh Greg Burns fire chief Uh Rick
is a fantastic leader of the department Uh I know uh with a successful vote tonight he'll really move the department forward uh into the into the future as Matt says Um Rick has a lot of leadership experience um uh with the
Essex County Technical Rescue uh program Uh that's a highly trained team He for he was under leadership for that team Uh and also he's given back to the community many many years to scouting leadership and scouting So he's he's
just a good all-around uh person and he's well respected in the department as you can see by the turnout here So I think he's a natural choice and he's just going to just continue to move us forward So so thank you and thank you Chief
Burns for for your time obviously here in Reading Um I think uh unfortunately I know a bunch of uh paramedics etc that have come you know and helped out my wife my kid uh
Savannah my youngest um over the years And um you're always there in minutes like I said the last budget time or whatever around If you can get sick anywhere it has to be reading Anywhere else like it's top-notch quality service
here Um and I really appreciate your time here Um and I know Rick like Matt just mentioned 28 years Um you know I hope that uh he ends his time here with Reading as well And the amount of people in this room uh equates to MBTA
communities and everything else I mean I've never seen this many people Um so obviously they're all here to support you Um and for me it was an easy choice Uh so thank you Does anyone else have
anything melissa I'd just like to say thank you to Chief Burns for your time here in Reading Oh there you are I'm sorry I didn't know you weren't back there And um congratulations Um thank you for your dedication to reading and uh we hope you have many many more years here with us
Kevin thank you This is a great showing tonight Thank you all for coming Um congratulations on um your highest assessment and the recommendation of the town manager Um thank you for going through that process Um we're very proud of our um fire department here in
Reading and um we look forward to um we're going to we are going to miss Chief Burns and we look forward to lots of great things from you as well So thank you Thanks Yes I was lucky enough to be on the search committee and um it was a pretty easy decision with the other
candidates were also qualified and came from different parts of the state but um it was unanimous as we all know and I I look forward to Milson's service and I thank where'd he go Burns for all your
dedication Thank you Thank you Chief Burns for all your service and I look forward to working with you meeting you Congratulations and good luck All right Could I have a motion Karen i'm just supposed to read this Yes Not
the whole page just with No Yeah just move to ratify the town manager's appointment of Richard Nelson as fire chief Second All right Any discussion all those in favor i have nothing Congratulations
cast speak Are you gonna Would you like to of course He's got to say something I don't feel like I get away without saying something Um I am absolutely humbled and honored um with the trust that has been bestowed
with me uh with this vote It's um it's not lost on me Um I just one moment have to say thank you to my family here in the back Um you know I wouldn't be here without them Um you know when when when the phone rings and I got to run out the
door um my wife has been supportive all the time She doesn't yell at me and so as dedicated as I am uh she is equally as dedicated to this job whether she likes it or not So thank you very much Um and really when I look around this room uh Matt Matt says "How many people
are going to be there?" I don't know Sorry Um when we walk when I look around this room um there's people from every department in here And I I love working with the town staff in this department It's truly something that I absolutely cherish Uh we're lucky to have that here
the staff is just so wonderful and and to the men and the women that I'm now going to have the opportunity to work with in this position Um you hear the nice things they say that's because of you It's because of what you do every day when you show up and the dedication and you make us look
good You make us look good So uh these are the real magic here sitting in the audience This is it right here So thank you for everything you do Thank you for the trust and um I'll work very hard not to let anybody down and I'm so excited
about the future Thank you very much Mr Chair I if I may um I was given a badge to give to um to Chief soon to be Chief Nelson I'd like to present that to him now We'll just It's not the official uniform
Okay Don't go too far We can do a picture There's a there's a photo happening now So this doesn't happen very often When's the last time it happened 25 years ago 30 40 Congratulations Congratulations
I know Came prepared You're welcome Should I stand on the front is that Well you're the tallest so maybe in the middle Maybe the tall guy goes in the middle Sideways Carla Sideways Okay
Who are we looking at first bob Bob All right Bob first Bob first I don't even see Bob Bob's All right then Taylor at the floor Carla in the middle I assume family member in the back There we go All right
One more One more Good Cuz I was looking at you Sorry Sorry Okay Now we're looking at you Okay I should be behind you Thank you Thankselcome I wouldn't know how to a
window like 20° Is it always this warm no not just crack the door at the same time I appcate it Perfect Sounds good I appreciate it It's not a big deal At least I'm getting them
now so that's all that matters Everybody's here and there's no ambulances All right Good to see you Thank you for doing a great job Yeah Yeah Congratulations You have two great sons there My first one was co
St Patrick's Day 2020 my first meeting Okay And then we shut down the whole state Got it I don't think I realized that Was like that week Yeah that week Had 100 people at Brazil and then we
shut down It looks like everyone's out here I think we're good I don't want anyone jumping in He brought a good It got hot All righty Uh to the agenda Back to the agenda and we cannot talk that other
than Laura Jim with the early voting for the May 13th special town election Laura take it away Yep Good evening Okay So If you remember from the
last week to recognize that meeting on April 17th they haven't taken a vote yet What I'd like to do since this is a relaxed meeting is go ahead and take a vote with the select board and then I'll still
meet with the board of chairs and hope that they recommend If not then we're going to have to approach the person early voting I do have a deal with the board of registers when it's a two to
one because it was an April election So for this election it would be May 3rd through May 8th which is Saturday through the um 8th which would be Thursday So inerson early voting times then the
purpose behind Saturday is that um open for day to register to vote So we might as well go ahead and do that early morning at the same time as well Board members any
questions seeing none uh Karen can I have a motion motion to hold in-person early voting for the May 13 2025 special election on the following dates and times Saturday May 3rd 9:00 am to 5:00
pm Monday May 5th 7:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m Tuesday May 6th 7:30 a.m to 700 p.m Wednesday May 7th 7:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m And Thursday May 8th 7:30 a.m to 5:30
p.m Second Second by Melissa Any discussion seeing none all those in favor 5 Z Thank you Laura If I may take a moment I just like to let everybody know that the ballots are
here So the vote by mail ballots will start going out next week And I'd also like to remind those that are listening for him But um the vote by mail applications have to be submitted every year We've had quite a few say that they didn't receive a ballot for the April
election and that's because they never requested one The assumption is is that once you request it it goes on forever That's not true It has to be done every time of the year Okie dokie Thanks Laura Thank you Thank you Thanks
Laura All right Moving on to uh review and vote on updated town forest rules and regulations page four in the packet Are you giving an update Matt yeah And I believe there's a member of the town
forest committee on Zoom Um is that correct Jackie yeah it looks like Jeff Okay so Jeff's there And you know you see this in your packet This is just um updating their rules and regulations based on some things that had passed
town meeting recently Um the the committee u member is happy to answer any questions It's pretty straightforward you see the the new proposed rules as opposed to what's currently there Um so I I would turn it over to him if he has anything further
to say or answer any questions Thanks for having me I think Mr Corwin and the committee is also there with you in the room Sorry I can't be there any business Um there's a brief slide deck as well if that would help provide context especially for a new member and
congratulations I didn't give back as So when you mentioned slides Jeff is that um just the starting on page where it's the town forest regulation September 2014 or is it something different
for several years Most people know um we had Florida request for a bylaw change which was ultimately that meeting in the fall some sense of that dominant retail
will influence related to so there are two different laws that were up to hopefully get some regulation in place on that goal is to ensure for everybody there of course a
lot of people camping with permits activity out there crossed people with mobility issues and of course um dogs and dog owners which I
also consider myself an as well Um so our goal now is to update the rules to be in line with the bylaw Uh the rules have not been updated since 2014 We also took the opportunity to make
some structural changes to make these rules flow a little bit more logically such as again the section about the activities that are allowed in the town board myself how to apply and then ultimately the goal
itself So that will grow up in the in the forest as well in various kiosks So the first um upgrade to the number of dogs and two and then the
second upgrade component of that was to define effective control for dogs Um we also explained the description of invasive plans and most folks are probably aware on this that um
invasive plants are a huge risk to not only the town's forest but all conservation areas invested in forestry management require sustained effort over time to that and there's also
clarification on the use of the property groups Just so we can go to the next slide please 8.3 as well um invasive plants We're actually obviously on
people in the area by removing native species but we also do want to encourage anyone in the town forest to assist with the removal of invasive springs I also credit everybody who walks through for
us just pulls out five glossy box which is really easy to identify what you're looking for when we get them out of that pretty well So we have a couple examples of what we
can educational tools as well Of course you want people doing this by hand There's there's plenty of items that do get organized Be a little bit more aggressive with it by using clarify Um again we wanted to clarify
some requirements and sex related activities but under the right context So good reason to find those organized events of 20 people or more and um defel
groups but there are sometimes appropriate from groups as well Obviously the campaign was done primarily by sporting organizations participated in that was running in the past as
well and failures of courseing process as improve best practice should be six different models of the board introduction of
species to be one of those And then lastly vehicle accessing the maximum number of three vehicles for the time committee wanted to reserve for some of the
large for various safety reasons to promote that concerns on the table for for example Thanks Jeff Board members count I saw
you first Thank you Mr Chair Um um thank you for bringing this forward Thank you for all the hard work that went into it now and and also in the prior town meeting And I'm wondering about um signage and the plan for um communicating the new rules
or any rules in our town forest I haven't been down there recently I can't wait for the sun to come out again so I can get down there again But I I'm in the camp that believes like just posting the rules is half the battle animal next step is to update the rules
We're looking to do that consistent with all the sort of red and potent What is the time frame and do you have funding for that we do have funding for
that Um we're only talking about I would say five to 10 times Um I believe we've accommodated that in our budget already and and when do you expect them to be posted we have the draft for that ready to go
as well I think it's just a matter of what ordering on our behalf in the past for example area for people out of that area it turn around
that is always been an awesome hard installation they'll sometimes install them for us but some of us like Yep And just one more This should go up in 30 days Great We're really prepped for this assuming the vote goes My
name's Tim Yeah Do you want to come up we have to force you to come up Introduce yourself Sorry Along the inevitable obviously a lot of work's been done on this Uh Bill Sullivan as our chairman is retiring and Nancy
Doctor is retiring as secretary So we're in a regrouping process But Jeff and I did a lot of the research on this and it's been about four or five months since we had words smithed initially and then we've revamped it cleaned it up So as Jeff just said we'll bulletize it and
and get it fabricated and get it installed as soon as we can Then we go into the invasive control campaign We go into the planting campaign some of which are backing off with Arbor Day So I I don't want to go in the weeds with you but All right I had one more question because you did start supplying um doggy
waste bags but at the main entrance or the entrance where that DPW thing is it's kind of buried So will will this project involve like relocating the doggy waste bags right under the newly posted sign about picking up your doggy waste no
Okay Not envisioned to do it that way The signage is really dedicated to the entrances and the dog waste locations sometimes aren't at the main entrances They're in several other locations So but they're critical and they're they're a valuable tool Um it's one of my pet
peeves as you probably know So um but we don't know I we haven't really dedicated where they're going but they'll be visible and they'll be available Okay And DPW by the way is managing that process now Okay great Well Chris is here We we collaborate Oh I have a dog Oh I
forgot my doggy waist bag Oh they're right there Cool Yeah The thing that kills me is is Here we go I I don't want to take a bunch of your time but kills me when I find the dog bags tied up and then left on the ground sometimes within about 10 ft of the barrel you know And I've had a couple of
uh conversations shall we say with people uh trying to educate uh how we're doing but we've gotten a lot better I have to say that I don't know five six years ago when I got involved in this it was uh it was a wild wild west and we had to rebuild that whole system and
Chris and his team have done a great job of picking it up doing it So all good Thank you Melissa Just a couple quick questions Has the new bylaws been accepted by the state for the dog
they have Yes we've gone through all the Okay so they have been accepted because I knew that we approved or Tom Bars could approve them but we were waiting for the bylaws to be accepted by the state Yeah And they and they were in Gloria's post amendment Okay great And then um second is and I hate to ask this
but who um who is responsible for enforcing these new rules the dog one well specifically the dog one and then maybe even like the peritting one like if a group was in the town forest and they were over 20 like who's who's responsible for enforcing
those and will that information be on the new signs well okay the enforcement We can't first of all we're an advisory committee so we're not really in the policing business However we do work with fire and police on an as needed basis when we have a really important
situation Uh there's a myriad of things that happen that we we like to just deal with and and not get too involved with But the point is the um the uh enforcement is really on the person the signage if it's clear And we we we go
out and we talk to a lot of people in the forests and and they um they see us coming and they kind of scatter usually especially if we have our we have our creds on uh you know but the uh there is no real enforcement but we're hoping that behavior will kick in based on the
signage and based on everybody self policing Okay couple points down so that everybody's aware of what the expectations are I would expect that
whenever our leaison is this will be an ongoing conversation about enforcing these issues and so forth getting appropriate funding for the appropriate enforcing agencies and things like that Okay Thank you very much for those Thanks Matt So real quick on the I know
we did the animal control contract thing a month or two ago Like is this going to be wrapped up into that and in are we going to actually have enforcement or is this you know if it's if it meets the requirement of enforcement we'll have
enforcement So if there is a dangerous dog or something like that we can send the animal control out um for cleaning up after dogs or things like that That's not something but yeah we did you did ratify that contract We have we have an agreement with them and so I guess they
worked with I guess for future common scenario hypothetically if someone went into the town force with 30 dogs Mhm I would like to know what happens in the future regarding that or what a resident would do etc if they saw that because you know people would be clearly
ignoring the signs etc or or is it just going to be like no one does anything and here we are again so I just for the future maybe you can reach out to the animal control officer Okay Unless you know how that would be handled right now Well I'm hoping nobody comes with dirty
dogs but I appreciate the example and um you know we would you know we would find out about that and I would have to make a decision whether it's something animal control can get involved in how we enforce the bylaw Um generally if it's that many dogs in the town forest it sounds like it could
rise to a public safety issue Um but if it's a few then you know maybe it's more just education Walker and due to the situation we received multiple reports about things like that and getting rules ratified as you would and then
post it is what we think is logical next step All right Yeah Because the bite scenario like I said I I remember back in the day I got bit by a colleague named Lady Latty whatever it was on Salsbury Street in Massachusetts I
remember the specific location where it happened That's how much of an impact it had on me So if we can prevent that from happening here um that's what I would like to see happen So whatever you can do Jeff Tim etc education you know Yeah
Melissa just one other quick question We have a phone number on the sign about the dog rules Does the dog officer have access to that line or is that going to town staff and then they like feed the information to the dog goes to town staff first Got it Okay And that will be
part of the signage People who want to report something have a number now to call Call Perfect Great Your code up there Yeah that's great Okay Awesome Thank you so much Thanks Any other questions before the vote
see nothing Karen can I have a motion move to approve the updated town forest rules and regulations recommended by the town forest committee as presented Second Any discussion all those in favor 5
Z 6 with Tim Tim ad hawking to the side Good to go with that Super majority Two more Thanks Jeff for wherever you are He could be in Abu Dhabi I don't know where he is He's got good audio in Abu Dhabi There you go All right Thank you Thank you Thank you
All righty Moving on to vote on 52 Sandborn Street renovations page 12 in our packet Uh Matt do we have somebody for this yeah we do I believe Rick Lynch may be on the Zoom who's uh doing the development work Um and as you can see
from your packet this was referred to us by the historic uh commission who's agreed to the renovations but we have a deed restriction that has to be dealt with by the uh the select board And so that's why we're here So is he on the Zoom Jackie
there he is Okay Um that's okay We can hear you Is there anything else you want to add about the project that the board should know about several weeks in the country couple
and again this is regarding the schoolhouse condominiums Yes And so the and in the packet there's some renderings as well So Okay Melissa So I just have one question and I see the deeds in here and I know they're
kind of wordy So is the restriction on the deed for this building just that you have to get approval by the historic commission is that the restriction i believe so Yeah And the select board would would have to weigh in on it as well All right Thank you Any other
questions board members all right Karen can I have a motion move to approve the renovations to 52 Sanborn Street as presented Any discussion is she second Any
discussion seeing none all those in favor 5 Thank you Rick Thank you very much Appreciate it Thank you Thank you Thank you Thanks for coming All right moving on to vote on renewable energy trust membership agreement page
57 in the packet Matt yes So we discussed this at the last meeting as sort of a prevote Um Andrew McNichol was here as well I think you explained it pretty well As people know this is the final step in um having Reading become a green community which is something
that's been worked on for several years And so once this agreement is approved tonight we will execute it and um then we will follow up with the state in terms of any other paperwork that they may need But that's the last step It already gone through town meeting I
could I could reiterate but most people aware of this u for the last few years Board members any questions seeing none Karen could I have a motion move to authorize the town manager to execute the renewable energy trust fund membership agreement Second seconded by
Melissa Any discussion seeing none all those in favor 5 Z Great Thank you Matt Thank you All right moving on to discuss charter review process page 64 in the
packet Was somebody going to be speaking on this Matt or I know they mentioned our options at the last one Yeah And I think we just kept it on because it was a discussion point and I know that you're the chair of that as well I didn't know if there was anything more
we'd want to say about it or if we should just keep it on until something happens So I believe the the point of this was Lara and either Jackie or someone else was going to be working on
the various charges and the timets etc So there's nothing that we have to do per se Is that still ongoing though to meet our timetable yeah I think I think it is and Laura has been updating the the charter with the changes and um and drafts have gone around and whatnot So
it's still a work in in progress but we're getting to the finish line hopefully So Laura did you have anything on that or copy is on the website currently as far as changes and is working
with an explanation of the changes at this point and we're on we're on time Okay Um if I could just give any feedback on that I vaguely recall somebody mentioning the original charter was taken off the site
so it's only the updated one with the red lines Is it possible oh okay Perfect And you don't have to do that Um board members any questions on this all good I don't think we had a motion
right Karen nothing No All right sounds good Lara keep us updated Just make sure we're on time to get this squared away that uh the way that we had liked it to be but you know
um I'll just get updates from Matt on that Thank you All right moving on to discuss chart for master plan committee page 67 in the packet That is once again for us Matt
right nobody is speaking Uh yes that would be for you Although I think Jackie was able to find the original charge and it should be in there Page 67 Uh something we've been looking for for a while So thank you Jackie for finding that So board members any questions on this
carlo I think tonight's discussion should be to start this process because it's going to be a very lengthy process is that any boards or committees that need to appoint members that that we agree on whether
it's tonight or the next meeting that process should start our appointment you know can be last but you know if we're going to go by this model and I have some questions about it but you know Reading Housing Authority conservation uh recreation historical they should be
aware that we're going to need people for this and CPDC obviously and that should get going sooner than later because they don't meet some of them don't meet that often Um that's what I would recommend
And I don't know why Eastern Middle Sex Board of Realtors is on here from last time That seems kind of odd to me Very random Not random but I get it But I don't I don't know I don't know the background on it
So I was kind of And we don't have a downtown steering committee so that's obviously a lot different Melissa um do we also need to post if we're going to have three um residents so that might be something we want to talk about too Yeah if we want to post
that for applications Yeah So I guess it says that we're going to have 17 members No no no This is what they did correct jesus Mike Um how do we feel about 17 that just sounds very bad Yeah
I guess that's the biggest thing is to I think maybe whittle that down Obviously we need representation but my notes from last time have 1 2 3 4 5 6 You got 13 or 14 Um so I had last time Council on
Aging that's not listed on here uh one of us to CBDC by by not this by by another um thing that was presented finance committee that's a question mark recreation's on here conservation's on
here historical yes um I I would want someone from permanent building committee myself personally school committee is on here as you know not an official member but a designate housing's on here and then at
least two or three residents So if you add that up it comes to 13 actually cuz I crossed off one So 13 by the notes I took last time we talked about this and two CPDC is a heavy lift but this says
all CPDC members are members I guess you know because it's going to default under their jurisdiction But I think two need to be like I want to do this and and go through the process And and I think for us where this is a two-year
process where where Karen and I only have a year before we decide what we're going to do I would like to see one of us do it that has a longer runway so there's not a change But that's just me
I'm not going to dissuade anybody from volunteering but I think it makes sense for someone who has two or three years left in their term to be our representative but that's my opinion Okay Um yeah I don't You're a CBDC um leazison Mhm Are you the only one you
want to So have you guys talked to CBDC yet just I I would recommend you do that before we decide on how many because this is a in my impression this is a heavy planning Those are professional planners Um so housing is an important component I would just add here I don't know what
other I don't know if we've looked at other what current master plan committees look like these days advisory committees but um the Eastern Middle Sex Board of Realtors has morphed into the Greater Boston Board of Realtors So it's still located in the same spot It's in Reading That could be one reason why
they were asked to participate You know they are they're here They're a taxpayer Why not they um We could say that about anybody So um realtors know about housing and master planning has a huge component of housing to your point whether it's
senior housing or veterans housing or you know any kind of housing There's there's absolutely reasons for a housing expert to be on this committee In my opinion I'm just noting that it is now the Greater Boston Realtors and we are privileged that they
are located right here It's awesome Anyone else melissa um I was just looking at surrounding towns The the amount of members seems to vary greatly between um people that have done this in the last three four years One thing that I did see that I think
that we should add is um a person from our affordable housing trust which I am on that committee or yeah committee and we are going to meet soon hopefully Um Andrew's trying to get a date but someone from that should be added to that list I think
Karen do you have any thoughts my head's spinning a little bit right now Fair enough Wouldn't that fall under Reading Housing Authority you don't think no it's actually different I know it's different but it's under that umbrella Yep it is Um well you could decide Is
that the appropriate housing representatives what kind of Yeah housing representative annotation do we want now in 2025 right that's what we got to work on right um but yeah whoever is who's the new
consolation person you yes all right we have two consolation people okay I can reach out to historic CPDC uh I think I'm recreation as well um and then housing authority and you
What do people think about the Reading Chamber of Commerce i mean it seems as if well they put it's one member recommended by the Reading Chamber of Commerce who's a resident of Reading So I mean I could see because of the business aspect of it and obviously
wanting to plan for that kind of development it kind of makes sense I would obviously want like a business owner in Reading to be part of this It makes sense Um so we could reach out to the chamber and see if they have somebody in mind Well that's something I
think needs to it needs to be uh spelled out because not every member of the writing north Chamber of Commerce is a business owner Like I wouldn't want an employee on this committee Yeah It it would be obviously the way it's written
here we would leave it up to them to make the you know their decision And if we disagree with it then we can do that It says resident already No no no I know they have to be a resident but they could be they might say "Okay you know Phil you do it you know as an employee that's working behind the counter." So
it's subject Is it these members are subject to our approval correct We can get so we can get the feedback Yes Yeah Yeah I I I like to be specific because then we then we then they know we want someone like Isish someone like Julie someone like Ready Trophy someone like
Cupcake City someone like whoever is a noish is a bad example not running resident but someone who's a running resident Liz that is wants to do this because if no one wants to do it then I I would never appoint an employee
me personally Mhm Um the other thing is yeah this is kind of a big committee so the question is you know I wasn't around when they did this or I wasn't involved in this so um are we expecting that so a lot of these um like you want to hear from these
various groups but do they really need to go to every meeting like it still remains a heavy plan it's a heavy planning lift by by professional planners but you do want input from all of these other groups so I mean we could talk about you know what the
expectations are for those other folks Do they come in at certain points in time and this is the night we're going to talk about um senior input This is the the time we want to talk about you know how what's how what do we need to have in place to support a local economy Um so so we could talk about
that and that might and and and maybe CBDC gives us some guidance on that I don't I don't have any experience with one of these I think for me seeing that the original master plan was like two 300 pages that that you
know it seems like a significant lift regardless of the people that are on it So it's going to be a commitment um from these various boards committees residents etc So I think that should be spelled out right out of the gate to let everyone
know that you know this isn't some basic uh jury duty thing where you get dismissed after one or two It's going to be a year or two Yeah it's a commitment You don't have to go to every meeting Obviously you can get filled in and I'm
really because we won't I mean it's a planning exercise and they're not planners but they have valuable input So all right Well we don't have to decide all of that tonight but that's what I'm struggling with because I don't think we'll get we're going to get a lot of no-shows and that's not good unless
we're already comfortable that we understand that it is an advisory committee So we don't we don't we're not looking for 100% perfect attendance but we want to have this pool of knowledgeable individuals that we can that the committee as a whole can pull
from and rely on I think if you break it down enough into small bites it's much easier to manage Yeah And it won't be as overwhelming to people to join Is this mask is this going to be a staffled initiative
yes Staffled Yeah Staff will be very highly Andrew is going to be like Yeah Okay And yeah I mean it would be the the planning department mostly you could lay out when do we need certain people and like let people know when you know Yeah
Yeah Um him and the planning staff We're going to have a consultant too Oh okay Okay Yeah We'll have we'll have a vendor as well but he would be the probably be the lead you know employee Yeah And I've said this before but I
really think that the $200,000 that we allocated for Joe Huggin to do a planning of town buildings needs to roll into this master plan that we allocated money for him to assess the buildings in town
Facilities master plan The facilities master plan It it to me the facilities master plan and the master plan for the town need to be intertwined inextricably intertwined Right They don't want to work working in vacuums Exactly So we need to be working
together with them when they do that Um Okay Any other thoughts no I I I think it this should be on every agenda until we actually Yeah form formalize the committee Yeah But um I do think we should have Lara
post I mean I think we probably have to come up with some wording and criteria and well maybe not criteria just residence but wording and well maybe we should take a pulse now Do we want two or three because that's going to be important Two or three
residence I say three Yeah I think three makes sense to me too Yeah I'm okay with three It's not available You'll always have two Yeah Yeah I'm okay with three I think three makes sense Mhm Um does everyone How does everyone feel about someone from PBC
because we didn't have that back then Yeah No I think that's a great idea Those individuals on that committee have a lot of knowledge So I could be part of a liaison to um Joe Hawkins's staff as well because he's frequently at their meetings if not all the time Yeah Yeah
He he staff facilitates that Does it uh How does it work with town staff on these committees like it would be great to have Joe Huggin at some of these meetings for this committee but do you just have typically he attends by like Zoom but yeah they'd be non- voting members Yeah non voting members but just
Yeah valuable input Yeah Yeah Especially with facilities he he is staffed to the permanent building committee He goes to all those meetings Got it Okay Great All right Now back then they the board elected the chair of this committee It says the board of selectments shall
select the chairman It's interesting We don't do that anymore pretty much Generally we let the we let whatever committee or board select your own chairman right i don't know how they did back then How would we pick out of 17 people if it was I don't know Well they did Yeah The olden days Good for them
Mhm I mean you could say selectman Yeah You know what they say about the old days yeah We need to fix something The old days All right Next agenda which is future agendas page 69 in the packet
Not till the 27th kids Woohoo No the 13th Potentially the 13th 13th is the election So we don't have we generally don't have any meetings on election nights So I would suggest that we either cancel it or remove it It's up to the board Um we looked at some rooms I think
it the court room is available on the 20th if you wanted to have something then Um or have have it on the 20th and not have the one on the 27th Um or we could do another Monday night football meeting Monday night football Yeah
that's right So but what does the actual agenda look like for the 13th currently what's listed here which is nothing Yeah Um you had one Yeah Not not much heavy on the 13th at all right now unless something goes up there There are a couple items that I have you know that
would be on for the future Um either either May meeting would be fine A meeting in May but that I can discuss or at least let you know about So you have water and sewer rates out in June right it's usually what we do Yeah
So um do we at what point do we need to have a meeting to talk about with Sharon to talk about whether we're going to need to start planning for an override it's whenever you want I mean I haven't discussed it specifically with Sharon We we're sort of getting ready for town
meeting right now but sometime I mean I'm thinking post election like this community can't none of us can handle this right now We need to get through that but so we're looking at May 27th or beyond right um well finance committee is clearly talking about it and worried and
concerned and I would love to I'd love to Chris get it out there maybe sooner rather than later even if it's a brief beginning discussion I think this is one of those things that's really hard but um the legislature will be finishing up
hopefully Sorry I don't want to be too optimistic I it's really dependent on what they do and what they decide They have money to send to us and that you know that can be significant There's significant money for education and transportation and transportation can be
additional road monies I mean that I mean so anyway I don't I don't know how to get that conversation started but it's not good to have it randomly coming up in public meetings and people fueling rumors Well I think we should discuss Do we want to have another meeting either the
12th or the 20th and and move a few things and have because we're going to have um maybe an an update or you know for the 27th at least we should have master plan on the agenda again
Um okay And maybe an update you know have applications get posted for three residents you know in the next couple of weeks So I don't know Yeah because we have to come up with a charge for them to know what they're even volunteering for Yeah So okay Melissa you had
something Um my thoughts were that we might want to put another meeting on in May just because I'm afraid that if we don't that 27th is going to get slammed with stuff and we're going to be here I agree Mhm I think my thought on that is uh even
though I love you all so much um I think after having town meeting all those days potentially in a row that I think it's just too much anyway and there doesn't seem to be anything on this agenda on the 13th anyway So I'm not opposed to
not having Well the 13th was blank like they left on purpose That was not because of Do you want to hold a placeholder on the 20th i I'd say get rid of the 13th Like do you want to hold a placeholder on the 20th because you'll find out that things like bubble to the top and even if it's a quick meeting
Yeah we're holding the room just in case but we can make a decision Yeah leave it for the 20th I guess Yep I'll be out of time but I can zoom in And if I may one one agenda item that the um treasurer made me aware of is
that you'll have to vote on the short-term debt related to the um high school fieldhouse improvements the the floor So that will happen She had asked about the 27th for for that agenda So all right other agendas Yeah I'd like to
invite um RCTV members of the board or Phil to start discussing their contract Um we don't have many meetings left before their contract expires Something that should be addressed Yep that's a good idea When
does their contract expire the the end of the fiscal year Got it Oh wow Okay It's a it's a grant agreement but yeah same same principle Yeah There is legislation to um help with their funding pending and it's sponsored by a
lot of people and we'll see So Matt you have funding specifically or the funding yeah To make up for the lost revenue i mean for writing specifically for all cable right senator Lewis is a sp Oh there's a there's a letter at the writing post uh
from one of their members who gave an update Does update on Shoot Street have to be an agenda item or can it be just a Matt no I can just get you an update on that Yeah that's Chris Doesn't need to be agenda item does it an update on Shoot Street When will we have um
uh information back on the Pleasant Street Center the um Oh the appraisal Yeah Do Do you have the exact date Jane jane's been working on that Turn your microphone on I got you Thank you Um hold on one quick second So will
there be a handout at town meeting to not with the number on it or something how are we going to convey that to tell we can probably do that Um the or is it possible for the Zoom forum in in two days no it won't be ready by then
Okay Um it will be in I'm just trying to give you the exact date um that we put in the contract 29th on or before April 29th So we'll have it just before town meeting The original um vendor that we went with is
not experienced in historic property So stepped away So we had to reissue the contract So um we have a new group they're experienced with with this um type of commercial evaluation So they have guaranteed it will be on or before April 29th They are doing a site visit
on Wednesday Okay Um so we're very encouraged We'll have the information just in time for town meeting Um but we can take that and um and publicize that to board and put it on our website um and communicate that at town meeting as part of the presentation Very special
town Yeah But probably a discussion we want on our agenda for the 20th or the 27th depending on the vote um on the 13th Y if you have the information by then for sure Yeah Yep Okay Has anyone uh
reached out to the ice authorities or should I myself or Karen do that if they can come on the 27th oh for their update Yeah I think they need to if you can reach out to them They forgot to send over their financials from last year So there's nothing for us to review So that
would be good to have in advance And there was no payment in this last fiscal year for them So I'm hoping there's going to be a lease payment in their next fiscal year And I understand they had to put a roof on I get it Right And rebuild their um reserves Okay
Could someone remind me what the Chute Street building is green Tomato Building Ah thank you There's your update Uh the other item I don't think I see on here is the select board retreat thing that we mentioned after the election
that we would do So maybe not on the 27th because it's filling up kind of thing but at least on maybe that June meeting Okay Um I guess last thing I question is I assume we have not heard anything from
MWR after no um the delegation No I I'll try to get an update from I forget when their next meeting is but I assumed it wouldn't be a quick turn around If I did hear something I let you know though Thank you Y um I was just wondering if we could
get an update or it could be in a town manager report on the net zero committee like are they issuing a report when will when will we hear from them okay that will be important for the master planning Yeah
Anything else i have one whatever Matt one addition too and I know you've seen some emails on this So Arcadia have continues to be a problem with parking So I know that the police department is going to send up um an amendment to the
traffic rules uh for a public hearing on that So I haven't seen it yet I I think they'll be sending it up uh soon And that would we'd have to publish that you know as usual I think it's just a week though So for the May meeting that I could discuss it with you as the chair but that might be something we want to discuss
And when does the school year end there anyway i think probably right around that I mean I don't know the last day at Austin Prep you're talking about but probably you know May or early June June 6 but it's still I remember doing this even last year It's always a problem
there So Anything else any idea when the East Gateway might um I have not heard when our next meeting is yet Okay All right I'm just wondering like in my head when after your next meeting Like maybe you
could let us know when they Oh sure when they I don't know what the timeline is in general for that committee about when they would I don't know if we have a timeline Oh we had our We had we only had two meetings so far and the last one was kind of a brainstorming kind of idea meeting Okay And um
Andrew is in charge Okay So he's got all the stuff and Okay Beverly has four depots Wakefield has two I'm starting to be like what did Reading do to only wind up with one depot and feel like that
dovetails so nicely into that area so Anything else do you think that we want to make an official liaison for that Eastern Gateway i don't know how it works with a leazison too No we it could just be you
but just on our list of um Yeah that's a good idea because it's going to be along I mean it's going to be it's not so you want to be upgraded You could be upgraded You could be the official select member of the Eastern Gateway Yeah just then we have an official leazison on our sheet right and that
would open up a space on their committee for somebody I guess Not necessarily We just upgrade your position You're not only the you're not only the member you're the Well if we we edit it to say there's a select board member now I don't I'm just throwing it I think we just we have to check on that right Matt
because we didn't create the committee It's a it's a town staff created committee So I don't know what we have standing to actually do that But then we don't need or rather we don't need to do anything Yeah Okay Great You're officially on it You're officially on it
Yeah Okay great But I think that we should maybe add to the list because you get credit for that When we're like "Oh somebody only has two assignments That's a problem." Wouldn't we want to make that an official committee i don't think we can
We would have to create it Create a charge Okay It's um if I may the it's a it's staff uh created committee it's an advisory committee to staff to help kind of start it So when it goes to maybe whatever the next step is it might move
into a request to create an official committee sort of like staff started working on um the Pleasant Street Center and the you know the study that we did with UMass Boston and then it moved to recalc
right So as things move along sometimes through the process is it more change how the body what body is it more staff than just Andrew or is it it's Olivia it's it's 10 staff yeah Kevin Kevin goes yeah so but the the group is to advise
them working with a consultant sort of getting different different feedback right now there's a survey so the survey is out we hope people more people will fill out um and complete the survey it's a fantastic survey it's a story map survey It's really It's brilliant actually It gives as much information as people if
you want to get background on the project or the information that's there So did you have something i'm going to keep talking till at least 9 so we can break my record I'd like to I'd like to get Kevin from Economic Brazil at like sometime in the summer Yeah that's true
He's been asking to come too so get an update Yep that's a good point So um Kevin McCarthy the economic developer on the agenda for an update from them I understand the library board of trustees got one tonight that we're missing Yep So Ace and Kevin thanks for your
reminder on Kevin Any other future agendas keep talking Well look at look at all these like they have nothing on them So we got a lot of work done We got we got 15 minutes So keep talking now We have approved meeting minutes page 72 of the package I haven't read them yet Do you want to read them out loud to us
some time the minutes I can do that Yeah Okay Like just read them so that we make it to nine Let me close my eyes first Yeah Honestly I didn't get a chance to look at them So you can read them out if you want No surprise No surprise there So uh let's see I was fine with the minutes
I f with them We got to amend them so we can kill some time Do we have to amend them pretty basic meeting Was Jackie doing these yep Nice Oh you didn't mention the cupcakes Should we mention the cupcakes
i think we're good I'm good with them So I guess it's on you Karen If you're good then we're I I It looks good Thank you All right Uh Karen could I get a motion for
the April 1 minute motion to approve the meeting minutes from April 1st 2025 as amended slashwritten Second Any discussion so point of order So we didn't make any amendments right okay So
you get to just say as written Okay As written As Okay got it First night You know you did a great job You did a great job Throw you right in the hot water Throw me right there Friendly amendment as written Any other
discussion all those in favor 5 Motion to adjurnn Second Super quick You didn't let Cameron do it but is what it is Uh no discussion All those in favor 5 Z Thank you everyone And 8:48
Thank you