SB Hears From RHA About SHI

Notes, news and observations about Tuesday's Select Board meeting. And before you ask what took me so long, let me explain. There were two delays and you may not care but you've read this far so why not continue. Much of Tuesday's agenda was both mind-numbing and complicated. When it came time to write at 11 p.m., sleep seemed like a better option and since you were probably sleeping then, it made sense to join you. Call it Delay No. 1.

I wrote my story Wednesday but Delay No. 2 involved the Patch system crashing at 5 p.m. and vaporizing my story despite having saved it at least 25 times (you may have heard me scream). I know, you don't care. So here goes with the new-and-improved version 2.

1. Tuesday, May 1, was the first ever meeting of the Reading Select Board. But as chair Barry Berman said, "the name changes but the work remains the same."

2. Cadence Thomases has joined Bill Brown as one of the fixtures at recent Select Board meetings. The Arlington Street resident has been there to tell the board about what she believes are issues with the work at the Lincoln/Prescott Street development across from the train depot. Her presence has nudged developer Matt Zuker to also appear at the board meetings to explain his side. Because of Thomases' persistence, the developer has created a helpful website that includes construction updates, road closures, contact information, etc. Thomases may be an annoyance to the developer but I'm guessing her neighbors are happy she's keeping an eye on things.

3. Much of the meeting was actually a joint meeting of the board and the Reading Housing Authority, a "Reading" sounding group that is actually a state agency. At issue is the sale of 1004 Gazebo Circle and town officials' efforts to include it in Reading's subsidized housing inventory. In the town's pursuit of 10 percent affordable housing -- which gives Reading more of a say in future developments -- much attention is paid to all the large projects like Lincoln/Prescott, Postmark Square, etc. But the town realizes that you win the battle one house at a time which is why 1004 matters. Plus there are 7 like it right behind. Think of it this way sports fans. If the Red Sox throw away an April game they should have won, it's no big deal, right? But down the line, when the season ends in October and the Yankees have won the East by 1 game over Boston you'll look back at that single April game and realize it was a missed opportunity. 1004 Gazebo Circle is Reading's April baseball game.

4. A lengthy, end-of-the night discussion about volunteers centered on the desire of the Select Board to get better lines of communication with various town boards and committees, all staffed by volunteers. The discussion was made more interesting by remembering one of the issues in last month's selectmen's race between Vanessa Alvarado and John Arena. To summarize (and exaggerate), Alvarado campaigned as the friend of all volunteers, which meant of course that Arena was their enemy. She won a close race so who knows what role the volunteer issue played. But it was no surprise that when the discussion Tuesday narrowed down to either inviting or requiring volunteers up for reappointment to meet with the Volunteer Appointment Sub-Committee, Alvardao was opposed to forcing volunteers to meet with the sub-committee (joined by Andrew Friedmann). In the end, the board voted 3-2 (with Alvarado and Friedmann opposed again) to require incumbent volunteers to meet with the sub-committee when they were seeking re-appointment.

5. Have you ever watched a meeting on YouTube? If your hearing isn't good you can always read what Select Board members say in the closed captions. Or can you? In the discussion about volunteers, did you know chair Barry Berman was worried about "avoiding spies." And did you know your eating habits are a factor in filling town positions because "some vacancies have been vegan forever." But John Halsey may have scared off future volunteers when he said the board should "just start biting them." As the saying goes, don't believe everything you read.

6. VASC, RHA, SB, RAM, FSL, BOS, and DHCD were just some of the acronyms thrown out during Tuesday's meeting. If you know what they all mean I feel for you.

7. And a final note ... I'm not sure what this says about us, but the article book handed out at Monday's Wakefield Town Meeting was 42 pages. The same book at the Reading Town Meeting was 232 pages.