A Night to Honor Reading's Finest ... and Talk A Little

The Reading Select Board met Tuesday night minus angry citizens and/or controversial issues. Hey, sometimes it happens.

Instead the board stepped aside to watch as others took over the room, namely Reading's Police and Fire Departments. Reading Fire Chief Greg Burns presided over a badge pinning ceremony for new members of the department, Chris Smith and Nick Deroche. The ceremony also included a promotion ceremony for Garrett Antanavica.

The Board then presented Police Chief Mark Segalla and Deputy Chief David Clark with a proclamation declaring May 13-19 Police Week in Reading, mirroring the national Peace Officers Memorial Week. The full compliment of fire and police along with the Honor Guard and family members made for a crowded room.

The positive vibes continued with the board presenting Director of Public Works Jeff Zager a proclamation declaring May 20-26 Reading Public Works Week.

Then it was time to chat.

Under the umbrella of "communication," the board first discussed a revision of the Select Board Policy, section 1.4. Boiled down there was a simple question. How can the board better communicate with Reading residents? Acting chair Barry Berman referenced last summer's town survey in which very few residents said they got their information from elected officials. Was a Select Board Facebook page the answer? How about better publicizing the select board meeting minutes? Or have various board members write the minutes? The minutes were called "dry" by the board but if the author, executive assistant Caitlin Saunders, was insulted by the description she didn't let on. Even the three members of the media in attendance were brought into the discussion. Nothing was decided but it's a subject that will come up again.

Later the discussion turned to the town's numerous development projects and the potential of assigning a board member to each project. Improved communication and letting board members help residents involved with these developments, while also keeping the board better informed, was the stated goal. John Halsey said he already did that and didn't like the idea. But Andy Friedmann did. Nothing was decided but it's a subject that will come up again.

After much talk, the board went into executive session to talk some more, this time about collective bargaining and real estate interests. But the media wasn't invited this time.

Photos by Bob Holmes