The Select Board will be meeting tonight at 7:30pm, rather than their usual time of 7:00PM. In addition, the meeting will be held at the Reading Public Library. The first item on the agenda is a Board Discussion and Vote to Reorganize. At their previous meeting, the board could not come to a consensus on who should chair going forward. According to Select Board policy, the board reorganizes after the local election and before Spring Town Meeting. The only board member not eligible under Select Board policy to hold the role of Chair is Mark Dockser. Mark’s terms expires in April of next year, leaving Carlo Bacci, Chris Haley and Karen Herrick eligible for that role. Of the 3 eligible board members, Carlo and Chris have never served as chair or vice-chair for their respective terms. Karen served as chair from April 2021- April 2022 and then vice-chair from April 2022-April 2023.
After the reorganization, there will be a vote to re-open Town Meeting Warrant and close warrant with new Town Meeting start date. An issue that has arisen regarding the start of Town Meeting is that the first night falls on Passover, April 22nd. The next date that the Town Charter will have this occur is 2035.
Afterwards, there is a discussion on adding a Conservation member to CPA Study Committee as well as a vote to appoint a Select Board member to said Committee. During their last Select Board meeting, the board voted 4-0 on creation of the 7-member CPA committee that included 2 spots for residents. The board had a preference that current or former Trails, Town Forest, or Conservation members seek those 2 vacancies.
The complete agenda is listed below:
- 7:30 Board Discussion and Vote to Reorganize
- 7:45 Overview of Meeting
- 7:50 Public Comment
- 8:00 Select Board Liaison and Town Manager Reports
- 8:15 Vote to re-open Town Meeting Warrant and close warrant with new Town Meeting start date
- 8:30 Vote to adopt Hazard Mitigation Plan
- 9:00 Vote to hold in-person/early voting for Special Election on May 14, 2024
- 9:15 Discuss and Vote on Modification to CPA Study Committee membership to include member of Conservation Commission
- 9:30 Vote to appoint Select Board member to CPA Study Committee
- 9:45 Vote to Appoint Town Accountant to a term July 2024-June 2025
- 10:00 Discuss Investigation into Board Conduct
- 10:30 Discuss Future Agendas
- 10:40 Approve Meeting Minutes
- 10:50 Executive Session: Purpose 3: To discuss strategy with respect to Koster v. Town of Reading (Appellate Tax Board (ATB) Docket No. F-350310) and Koster v. Town of Reading (ATB Docket No. F-350371).
The 7:30PM meeting will take place in the Reading Public Library, lower level meeting room. 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/87292249895
