The Select Board will be meeting this evening at 7:00pm in the Select Board meeting room at Town Hall and remotely on Zoom. The first item on the agenda after a Public Hearing to approve amendments to the FY25 Classification Plan is the Eagle Scout awards. Included in the packet are the following 6 new Eagle Scouts from Troop 702:
- Alexander Manfred Downer – In recognition of his achieving the Eagle Scout Award for his service project of building a raised plant garden for educational purposes, including a protective fencing, at the Mass Audubon Vegetable Garden.
- Charles Weld – In recognition of his achieving the Eagle Scout Award for his service project of planting over 150 saplings in the Reading Town Forest as a part of their revitalization project.
- Everett Jack Nelson – In recognition of his achieving the Eagle Scout Award for his service project of removing and building a new foot bridge at Bear Meadow Conservation Area.
- John Robert House – In recognition of his achieving the Eagle Scout Award for his service project of planting approximately a dozen mature trees on Scrub Hill in the Reading Town Forest as a part of their revitalization project.
- Joshua Anthony Boran – In recognition of his achieving the Eagle Scout Award for his service project of building rolling library carts for the Reading Food Pantry to facilitate their customers being able to access their library of books.
- Michael Young – In recognition of his achieving the Eagle Scout Award for his service project of installing 12 mini-libraries in the City of Lynn.
Afterwards, there will be a discussion on the Performance Review of Town Manager, Matt Kraunelis. Previously, the board voted on performance review and evaluation process for the Town Manager, to include a selection of direct reports to submit evaluations in accordance with Section V of the Town Manager’s contract. Matt Kraunelis was hired as Reading’s Town Manager back in March of 2024 with his contract through June 11, 2025. Per the contract, the Select Board has to complete a “360 assessment” review by January 8th, 2025 and notify him by January 15th if there is intent to renew. The board has slated for 10:15pm tonight though, an Executive Session to conduct strategy session in preparation for contract negotiations with nonunion personnel, Town Manager Matthew Kraunelis. Though that may or may not be a formality based on the boards overall discussions during the earlier agenda item.
The boards “Town Manager’s FY’2025 Goals” start on page 22 of the packet and continue to page 65. While the board members comments are public, the Town staff members chosen are anonymous. Starting on page 67 of the packet is the Anonymous Feedback from 7 Town Employees chosen by the Select Board and Contract. Employees names are referred to as “I-VII” in no particular order.
In terms of scoring, ratings are from 1 (Exemplary) to 5 (Unsatisfactory). All of the 7 anonymous town employees gave Matthew Kraunelis nothing lower than a 3 in all 3 areas, a majority of which were in the 1-2 range. Alternatively, all Select Board members other than Karen Herrick, dipped into 4’s (no 5’s) with a majority in the 2-3 scoring range.
The complete agenda is listed below:
- 7:00 Overview of Meeting
- 7:05 Public Comment
- 7:15 Select Board Liaison Reports and Town Manager’s Report
- 7:30 Public Hearing – Vote to approve amendments to the FY25 Classification Plan
- 7:45 Eagle Scout Awards
- 8:15 Senior Property Tax Worker Program Presentation and vote on policy amendments
- 8:45 Performance Review of Town Manager Matt Kraunelis
- 9:15 Future Agenda discussion
- 9:30 Approve prior meeting minutes
- 9:45 Executive Session: Discussion of strategy for pending lawsuit by the Town against Delphi Construction, Inc. as discussion in open session may have a detrimental effect on the town’s litigating position. (G.L. c. 30A, § 21(a)(3))
- 10:00 Executive Session: Discuss litigation strategy with respect to Davenport v. Town of Reading, as discussion in open session may have a detrimental effect on the town’s litigating position. (G.L. c. 30A, § 21(a)(3))
- 10:15 Executive Session: To conduct strategy session in preparation for contract negotiations with nonunion personnel – Town Manager Matthew Kraunelis. (G.L. c. 30A, § 21(a)(2))
The 7:00PM meeting will take place in the Select Board Room and Zoom. The public can attend virtually 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/82274921683
