The Select Board will be meeting tonight at 7pm in the Select Board meeting room at Town Hall. First on the agenda is the State Delegation visit by Senator Jason Lewis and Representatives Brad Jones and Rich Haggerty. In years past, the delegation has given updates on the status of bills, additional funding and potential earmarks for the town and tonight looks to be following that same timeline as noted in the Town Manager’s report.
The board will also be seeing a presentation on the pavement plan for the town. Included in the 2021 Paving Management Update, is the methodology used, followed by existing conditions and a budget analysis. The following bullets provide a quick summary of the status of Reading’s pavement management system from the report. As mentioned, this data is from 2021, the last time the report was updated:
- The Town currently has 92 centerline miles of Town Accepted roadway.
- The current average PCI is 78, which is one point higher than reported in 2016.
- The Backlog of Work, meaning the cost to address all roads today that would benefit from maintenance or rehabilitation, is approximately $15 Million.
- Based on pavement management software generated projections, the current $1,000,000/year budget is projected to maintain town-wide pavement conditions over the next ten years. A budget of approximately $1,300,000 would increase the average PCI by 5 points.
It was recommended that the Town continue to update the pavement management system regularly so that budgetary and project planning decisions are made on current data. That the town does not neglect maintenance on roads in good/fair condition or roads paved 5-10 years ago, so their high PCI can be extended cost-effectively. Address local base problems before overlaying roads. Perform project level testing prior to rehabilitation projects to determine if in- place and new materials will be suitable to ensure proper life of new pavement. Continue expanding the breadth of pavement treatment alternatives being employed in order to avoid or delay the need for costly resurfacing or reconstruction on roads starting to deteriorate.
Lastly, one other item that will garner lot’s of interest is the presentation by Reading Pickleball Players Association (RPPA). To meet the pressing demand for pickleball courts in Reading and mitigate the planned loss of existing and proposed courts at Birch Meadow, they are requesting the Select Board to pursue using part of the Burbank Ice Arena Authority parking lot for pickleball courts in 2024 while a future plan for the Symonds Way property is developed as outlined below:
The complete agenda is below:
- 7:00 Overview of Meeting
- 7:05 Public Comment
- 7:15 State Delegation Visit with Reading Select Board
- 8:00 SB Liaison & Town Manager Reports
- 8:15 PUBLIC HEARING – Vote on Proposed Changes to the Town Personnel Policy: Military Leave
- 8:20 Discussion on Reading Pavement Plan
- 8:45 Discussion on Reading Food Pantry Request for Additional ARPA Funds
- 9:00 Presentation by Reading Pickleball Players Association (RPPA)
- 9:15 Preview Warrant for November Town Meeting
- 9:30 Preview Capital Plan for FY2025
- 9:45 Vote to appoint Select Board Member to the Special Committee for Charter Review
- 10:00 Discuss Future Agendas
- 10:15 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/87854826547
