The Select Board will be meeting tonight in the Select Board meeting room at Town Hall. This will be their first meeting in August as their previous one was canceled due to a light agenda. The board is slated to discuss proposed changes to the town personnel policy regarding military leave, a public hearing on a liquor license transfer for Baystate Liquors, a presentation from the Food Pantry requesting additional ARPA funds, a discussion on the Select Board member or designee to be appointed to the Charter Review Committee, ongoing discussion on a potential dog park and the DESJ hiring process and reporting structure.
This will also be the first meeting with a preview of the warrants slated for this Novembers Town Meeting. One of the major topics of discussion is the trash and recycling barrels for $900k that failed last April’s Town Meeting by a 93 to 62 vote, missing the 2/3rd majority required by 10 votes. In the packet, it outlines various vendors bids being close to double Reading’s existing contract of only $1,181,384 which expires in June of 2026. All six companies required automation, manual collection is not an option.
- Vendor 1 – $2,140,430
- Vendor 2 – $2,354,195
- Vendor 3 – $2,340,000
- Vendor 4* – $1,850,600
- AVERAGE = $2,171,306
Lastly, the board will have a review the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Senior Center Feasibility Study. The RFQ is 15 pages long and has various deadlines for each phase of the study. Phase I: Facilities Program Study is expected to be 2-3 months, Phase II: Feasibility Study 4-6 months and lastly Phase III: Schematic Design Phase/Site Plan Approval 4-6 months.
A potential Project may include a renovation and addition of the existing Pleasant Street Center
building or construction of a new building which may be on an alternate site. The Fee for services
related to the completion of the Basic Services will be negotiated but will not exceed $250,000.
Submissions will be assessed by the review evaluating the offeror’s overall qualifications, including
its methodologies, technical abilities, and previous experience and qualifications of individual
members of the Consultant Project Team and the proposed sub-consultants. The Selection committee
may include the following individuals, the make-up of the selection committee is at the discretion of
the Town. If approved, the RFQ may be obtained after 10:00 a.m. on Sept 20, 2023.
The complete agenda is below:
- 7:00 Overview of Meeting
- 7:05 Public Comment
- 7:15 SB Liaison & Town Manager Reports
- 7:20 Discuss Proposed Changes to Town Personnel Policy: Military Leave
- 7:30 PUBLIC HEARING – Package Store Liquor License Transfer: Baystate Liquors
- 8:00 Presentation from Reading Food Pantry Request for Additional ARPA Funds
- 8:30 Discuss Select Board Appointment to the Special Committee for Charter Review
- 8:45 Discussion on the Development of a Dog Park in Reading
- 9:00 Discuss Director of Equity and Social Justice Hiring Process and Reporting Structure
- 9:15 Discuss Warrant for November Town Meeting
- 9:30 Review Request for Qualifications for Senior Center Feasibility Study
- 9:45 Discuss Future Agendas
- 10:00 Approve Meeting Minutes
The 7PM meeting will take place in the Select Board meeting room at Town Hall. The public can attend in person or watch via several options: via a broadcast on RCTV’s YouTube channel at this link or on the RCTV Government Channel (Xfinity ch 22, Verizon ch 33). The Zoom link for this meeting is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83722139636
