Public input sought at meeting Monday

Published in the September 27, 2018 edition (includes updates from the print edition)

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — Just as the town receives word from the Attorney General’s office that four general bylaw (GBL) changes or amendments and one zoning bylaw (ZBL) change voted at the annual Town Meeting last June have been approved, it’s time to get ready for October Town Meeting in a little over two weeks.

Voters will be asked to consider 22 warrant articles at the October Town Meeting on Monday, Oct. 15 and the public informational hearings on each of these articles will be held next Monday, Oct. 1 during the Selectmen’s meeting in Room 14 of Town Hall starting at 8 p.m.

June Town Meeting approvals

On Sept. 21, the AG’s municipal law unit approved Article 28, the GBL to change the title of the “Board of Selectmen” to “Select Board” and the word “Selectman” to “Select Board Member” along with a Home Rule Petition voted under Article 27 to have these changes reflected throughout the Town Charter. This amendment includes the addition of a sentence in this section stating: “The Select Board shall have all the powers and duties of a Board of Selectmen for the purposes of the General Laws except as may otherwise be provided by the Town Charter.”  Similarly, Article 29 was approved to enable these names changes throughout the ZBL concurrent with the Home Rule Petition under Article 27.

Also approved were three other GBL amendments. Voters had approved amending Chapter 66 under Article 25 to add a new revolving fund account, “102-104 Lowell Road” for the permitting fees and expenses related to the development of the 450-unit 55-plus Pulte Homes developments at 104 Lowell Road and the future commercial development of 102 Lowell Road, both formerly part of the J.T. Berry state hospital land.

Approval of Article 33 allows the amendment of GBL section 172-4 “admission; quorum” to replace this section with new text that removes the “day and time restrictions for any Town Meeting session” to create consistency with the town’s Home Rule Petition for a Charter change that amended Town Meeting dates under Article 32. Voters at Town Meeting in June had approved a change to allow greater flexibility in scheduling Town Meeting sessions which were previously limited to a Monday-Thursday-Monday pattern provided those dates did not conflict with civic and religious holidays.

The last approval was a GBL amendment under Chapter 23 to add a new section that regulates animal kennels and amends related fines. Each of these changes will become truly final if no “claims of invalidity by reason of any defect in the procedure of adoption  or amendment” are made within 90 days of Oct. 4, 2018, which is the second publication date of the legal notice related to all five articles (published in today’s Transcript and scheduled for publication next week).

October warrant articles

All those who wish to address the board on any of the 22 warrant articles or who just want to learn more about the proposals being made in advance of the Oct. 15 Town Meeting are invited to attend these informational sessions, Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto said. The board encourages public participation in order to allow the members to become more informed of the public’s concerns as they issue their recommendations on each article as well.

Many are routine, such as: Article 1 (Hear and Act on Reports of Town Officers and Committees); Article 2 (Prior Year Bills); Article 3 (Transfer Funds to Capital Improvement Stabilization Fund); Article 4 (Appropriate Money to Stabilization Fund) and Article 5 (Transfer Funds to Other Post Employment Benefits [OPEB] Liability Trust Fund). 

Article 6, to Appropriate Money to Participating Funding Arrangement Fund, is relatively new and has allowed the town, in cooperation with the employee unions and representatives, to help contain and so far, lower health insurance costs for both the town and those being insured than would otherwise occur if this option was not available to the town.

Article 7, to Amend FY2019 Operating Budget, and Article 8, to Amend FY2019 Capital Expenditures are necessary to consider changes that have come about since June Town Meeting.

Article 9: Fund Repairs to Town Buildings, is an annual request typically around $50,000 to keep the town’s buildings in good repair in an effort to extend the life of the town infrastructure and to avoid more costly repairs if items are not addressed in a timely fashion. This year’s fund focuses on improvements to the Town Hall at 235 North St., which was originally built 60 years ago as the North Street School for elementary students.

Article 10, to Appropriate Funds for Survey, Engineering Design and/or Construction of a Portion of Swan Pond Road, is a continuation of a process that developed during the annual Town Meeting last June in response to a citizens’ petition seeking to have the majority of the remaining gravel road portions of this private way paved to avoid the continuous need for the town to repair this road with gravel several times per year, much of which washes away into Swan Pond, a drinking water reservoir owned by the town of Danvers, or the surrounding property and wetlands. 

The intention is to pave the way as it exists and not to widen it, and the town is currently seeking written permission from each affected property owner to allow the town onto the property to conduct a survey and make improvements. Most but not all of the homeowners favored the change. At least one homeowner, located at the end of the street, has stated access will not be granted to improve the roadway on that property, but given its location the town and the proponents believe this objection will not hinder the rest of the improvements, if they go forward. 

This section of Swan Pond Road is a narrow, substandard private way of variable width and the town has repeatedly stated there is no means to make it a public way because it cannot be brought up to the required standards of an accepted street. Therefore, it does not qualify for a typical “betterment” program where the town would be required to split costs at least 50/50 with the abutters.

Article 11, to Appropriate Funds for Water System Improvements and for Acquisition of Water System Property, relates to the approval in June of the 99-year lease agreement with Andover to eventually obtain 100% of the town’s water from Andover and retire the town’s own wells. A small parcel of land must be obtained as close to the Main Street water pipe connection at the Andover town line as possible to build a treatment plant to re-chlorinate the water.

Article 12, if approved, would “Rescind Authorization to Borrow” funds related to the formerly approved MWRA connection that is no longer being pursued since the agreement was made with Andover.

Article 13, to Appropriate Funds for Planning and Design of Wastewater Collection Systems, relates to the town’s need to evaluate its options in seeking to connect limited sections of town to the sewer treatment system in Lawrence via a pipe that traverses through Andover. 

Article 14, to Appropriate Money for Special Counsel Legal Expenses, relates to the ongoing suits for expenses related to the secondary school building project.

Article 15 would Authorize a Payment in Lieu of Taxes Agreement with a partner to the RMLD which seeks to use land on that site in town to store excess power supply.

Article 16, to Authorize Sale of Town Property and Funding for Incidental Costs – 9 Mill St., would close the loop in the MWRA process for the town. This single-family home and surrounding land was purchased by the town in order to construct a pump station that is no longer needed since the water connection will not be made to the MWRA via Reading. The home is vacant and the town is seeking to redraw the property lines in such a way so as to create a conforming single-family lot that could be sold while retaining some of the uplands for potential future use.

Article 17, to Fund Open Space and Recreation Plan Consultant, is a requirement for obtaining many grants and would be done in concert with the current revisions being made to the town’s Master Plan. It is considered essential given the potential developments the town is considering with the recent announcement that the town could receive $10M in bond funding for an intergenerational center and $500,000 for improvements to Ipswich River Park. 

Article 18, to Fund Feasibility Study for Pedestrian/Bicycle Pathway, would evaluate the feasibility of a bike trail along the abandoned railroad bed in the town center near Ipswich River Park.

Article 19, Alteration of Layout: Middle/High School Driveway, will allow the town to acquire a 128-square foot parcel of land from an abutter to this driveway, the main entrance to the schools.

Articles 20 and 21 will be considered in concert with one another as a middle ground is sought in the ongoing snowplowing issues posed by compliance with the bylaw and the burden it places on small businesses and the need for public safety while neither the town nor the businesses have much control over when the state decides to plow four lanes of state highway through its business district.

Article 20 would “Amend Code – General By-Laws, Section 158-9 Snow Removal on Streets and Sidewalks” while Article 21 is a citizens’ petition proposed by some members of the business community that seeks to “Delete or Repeal General Bylaw Chapter 158-9 – Snow Removal on Streets and Sidewalks.”

Article 22 is a Citizens’ Petition: Change the name of Bonpel Drive to Brian’s Way. Bonpel Drive is a road on a cul-de-sac with four homes.