By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — Proof that time is fleeting: one minute you’re basking in a lounge chair on a sunny deck in the back yard and in the blink of an eye you’re sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair in the high school gym rubbing elbows with several hundred neighbors.
Is it time for October Town Meeting already? Yup! Next Monday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., registered voters will head to the NRHS gymnasium to tackle 20 warrant articles. The good news is that the pace to count vote tallies was greatly enhanced with the debut of electronic clickers at last June’s Town Meeting. With about half the number of warrant articles on the docket, several of which will be passed over, it is anticipated to be an earlier night than a typical June Town Meeting.
But a shorter meeting is no less important to maintain essential town services to residents and taxpayers. Among them will be key votes to appropriate Free Cash so that it will be available for important expenditures, either in this go-round or at future town meetings.
Sources of funding include about $9.2M in “Free Cash,” of which about $3.5M is a one-time infusion of ARPA funds. According to information provided by Town Administrator Mike Gilleberto at the Select Board’s informational meeting on the warrant articles Monday night: “Free Cash is the portion of Undesignated Fund Balance at the end of the previous fiscal year certified as available for appropriation by the state Department of Revenue Division of Local Services…it generally reflects revenue in excess of the amount forecast and amounts not spent from departmental budgets, with an adjustment to reflect certain liabilities and uncollected taxes.”
Other sources of funding town expenses include: $3.16M in Water Infrastructure Stabilization Fund; $1.27M in Hillview Retained Earnings; $609,057 in Parks & Recreation Retained Earnings; $368,747 in Water Retained Earnings; and $16,768,980 in the Sale of town-owned land, which includes Pulte (Martins Landing) as well as two parcels sold by the town last year totaling just over $55,000.
Article 2: Voters will be asked to pay three prior year’s bills totaling about $1,900 (as of Monday night).
Article 5: Capital Improvement Stabilization Fund: Voters will be asked to appropriate or transfer $3.7M from Free Cash into fund used for capital purchases and debt service (current balance is $2.44M)
Article 6: Solid Waste Stabilization Fund: Request to transfer in $11,681 from Free Cash (balance of solid waste budget from last year). Current balance is $190,149.
Article 7: Appropriate or Transfer Funds to Participating Funding Arrangement Fund. This fund is a reserve account to pay the town’s portion of future employee health insurance costs; amount of transfer will be known by end of this week based on funds left over from prior year health insurance budget for PFA. Current balance is $2.25M.
Article 8: Includes six requests to amend the FY26 Operating Budget approved at June Town Meeting
• $2,830,240 from Secondary School Building Project Debt Service Special Purpose Stabilization Fund to Line 101 Debt Service to pay down the BAN for MS/HS project
• $550,000 from Water Infrastructure Stabilization fund to “Line 105 Water Enterprise Debt” to pay down the BAN for 9 Mill St, which is expected to be sold after Oct. TM
• $50,000 from Water Enterprise Retained Earnings to Line 103 Water Enterprise Expenses to fund real estate broker services for conveyance of 9 Mill St.
• $40,000 from Solid Waste Stabilization Fund instead of raise and appropriate for Line 55 Solid Waste Management Expenses to fund that budget.
• $9,800 from Line 51 DPW Salaries to Line 63 Elder Services Expenses to fund a second day of leased space for Senior Center programming. (Amount reflects figure of an unfunded state grant the town had received in the past to support this expense.)
• $30,000 from Line 18 “Accounting Salaries” to Line 17 “Finance Salaries” to fund the position of Assistant Finance Director, which has been vacant for several years.
Article 9: Amend Code – Ch. 66, Finance – Add Veterans Services Revolving Fund and Establish Dollar Amount for Veterans Revolving Fund. The new fund would enable the Veterans Dept. and Veterans Event Committee to collect fees for activities (social events/field trips, etc.) similar to other town departments like Parks & Rec. Limit requested at $50,000.
Article 11: Amend FY2026 Capital Budget. Two capital projects requested to be funded, both with Free Cash — Street paving projects ($535,000) and new elevator for Flint Memorial Library ($500,000)
Article 12: FY26 fund for Town Building Repairs. Request would fund a temporary ramp to the front entrance of library to enable patrons who cannot climb stairs to access the main floor while the elevator is out of service. Temporary ramp would be in place about six months. Town just received a waiver from the state’s architectural access board to erect a temporary ramp. Cost will be know later this week.
Article 13: School Committee will request passing over appropriation request for “continued Planning, Design, Permitting, and/or Construction of Modular Replacements at Hood and Little Schools.” Instead, the committee will seek permission to make a presentation to voters on the status of the plans following recent site visits by the MSBA and return with requests at future Town Meeting.
Article 14: Appropriate Funds for Martin’s Pond Maintenance and Treatment. Seeking $15,000 from Free Cash to fund continued treatment to keep invasive weeds at bay
Article 15: Appropriate Funds for Substance Abuse Treatment, Mitigation and Prevention: Article would authorized funds received from class-action type opioid litigation settlements to be used for substance abuse, mitigation and prevention. Seeking appropriation of $12,500 from Free Cash.
Article 16: Appropriate Funds for Continued Facilities Planning. Seek $150,000 from Free Cash to continue planning for Intergenerational or Senior Center.
Article 17: Appropriate Funds to Evaluate and/or Procure Leased Space for Elder Services / Senior Center. Seeks $30,000 from Free Cash to authorize the town to rent space for relocated Dept. of Elder Services and/or Senior Center services.
At Monday night’s meeting, Senior Center Director Kim Manzelli discussed the challenges associated with maintaining multiple locations to accommodate programming needs for the town’s growing senior population. “It is not only difficult for staff to manager four to five locations but it is difficult for residents to access programs because they are spread around town.”
She added that it is an inefficient use of the staff’s time to not have one centralized location. Select Board member Rich Wallner asked about possibly using space at the Damon Tavern but Manzelli does not believe additional locations and staff will solve this problem. She noted that the area surrounding the current Senior Center and the Damon Tavern “is not walkable and the lack of parking is a significant concern.”
Based on today’s senior population, the town would seek leased space that has adequate parking (min. 100 spaces near the entrance); fully ADA accessible restrooms; at least four offices to accommodate Director, Outreach Coordinator, Admin Assistant and Program Coordinator, and visiting providers (with sharing/rotation if needed); staffed reception area; at least 3 community rooms (one to accommodate large exercise classes, a dining room seating for 90 with adjacent kitchen, and a room for small group events.
Article 18: Accept MGL Ch. 138, Sec.12D – Conversion of Wine and Malt Beverage Licenses to All Alcoholic Beverage Licenses. Seeks to allow the Select Board, as local licensing authority for the town, to approve requests from licensees to convert existing licenses to sell wines and malt beverages only for on-premises consumption to a license to sell all alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption, subject to all other provisions of G.L. c.138, including notice, publication, and a public hearing on such conversion
Article 19: Authorize Select Board to Acquire Interest in Land for Sidewalk at 239 North St. (Map 14, Lot 10). This property is adjacent to Town Hall at 235 North St. If approved, a public sidewalk would be built in front of the property and close a gap in the existing sidewalk heading toward Lowell Road.
Article 20: Amend Code – Zoning Bylaw – Floodplain District. Article confirms the location of floodplain overlay district and its relation to underlying zoning districts, exempts Accessory Dwelling Units from the prohibition on accessory structures in the floodplain overlay district, and corrects section numbering, in accordance with comments from the state AG’s Office, and ensures consistency with state law and requirements of FEMA.