By Kevin Vendt
Through a series of four different votes, three of which were unanimous, 16 new parking regulations for the downtown area were approved by the Select Board on Monday. These new regulations were a result of more than a year of work on the part of the Parking Advisory and Recommendation Committee (PARC) and are intended to create additional turnover in the “inner core” of downtown by incentivizing employees to park in the “outer core” of the downtown. Many areas will now have standardized regulations, and paid kiosks will soon be installed in the municipal parking lots. The Select Board established PARC to be a group of town officials, residents, and business owners charged with studying issues related to parking in the downtown and proposing possible solutions to the challenges faced with parking in the area.

The new regulations will increase the number of employee spaces from 123 to 236 by utilizing spaces in the “outer core” on Lowell Street, Woburn Street, High Street, Chute Street, Vine Street, and a few other streets by designating most spaces as all-day spaces with an employee permit, or two-hour spaces without a permit. The approved regulations retain the current on-street resident spaces north of the train tracks and add nine resident spaces on lower Sanborn Street.

Most of the discussion revolved around the installation of kiosks in the two downtown municipal parking lots, the “upper” lot behind the CVS and the “Brande Court” lot on Haven Street. These kiosks will charge persons parking in the lots if they park for more than one hour. Rates are to be determined. On Monday, Town Meeting approved the funding for the kiosks. All on-street parking is to remain free of charge. [Read More]
By Kevin Vendt
In its second session on Thursday night, Town Meeting approved the Fiscal Year 2023 budget of $130,506,410 by a vote of 148-0. This amount includes water, sewer, stormwater, and PEG access enterprise expenditures, as well as the budgets for the municipal government and the school district. Town Accountant Sharon Angstrom began the discussion by highlighting that the town currently has $16,442,632 in free cash reserves or about 14.7% of annual municipal expenditures.

Angstrom continued, reporting that the town expects $84.8 million in revenue from property taxes in FY 2023. Additionally, there will be $26.8 million in revenue from other sources such as fees, state aid, and transfers. Two million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars will be used from reserves to balance the budget. Finance Committee chair Ed Reed reported that the Finance Committee voted 6-0 on March 15 to recommend the budget to Town Meeting.

Town municipal government expenses including public safety, public works, the library, and other town services total $32.02 million. There is also $29.79 million in shared services such as debt service, employee benefits, and capital improvements. [Read More]

Article 15 – Amending the Downtown Smart Growth District
The third session of Annual Town Meeting focused entirely on Article 15, which is a series of amendments to the zoning bylaw regarding the 40R smart growth district covering forty-eight acres of downtown Reading. Town Meeting and Community Planning and Development Commission (CPDC) member Heather Clish presented a long and detailed overview of what the bylaw changes intend to update. 

The 40R district is one in which the town works with developers to allow certain waivers for building height, density, and other zoning requirements in exchange for providing more commercial space in the downtown area. The state created the 40R district to encourage growth in traditional downtown areas, especially those with easy access to public transportation. Reading’s adoption of 40R has led to several projects in the downtown, such as the Postmark building on Haven Street, RISE 475 on Main Street, and the newly approved project on Chute Street. [Read More]
Money will fund new ladder truck, Memorial Park wall repairs and RMHS robotics team 
House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) and State Representative Richard M. Haggerty (D-Woburn) have secured a total of $100,000 in state funding earmarks for the Town of Reading as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 House budget. 

Jones and Haggerty jointly co-sponsored three amendments on the town’s behalf, all of which were adopted during the House budget debate that took place from April 25-27. The House action represents preliminary approval of the funding, which also requires Senate support and Governor Charlie Baker’s signature before the money can be released to the town. [Read More]

Favorite Book: “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

Favorite Quote: Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.” Albert Einstein

Favorite Subjects: Environmental Issues (Ecology) and Journalism

Clubs/Activities/Athletics: RMHS Baseball and Politics Club

Plans After Graduation: Jacob plans to attend The University of Maine and has not yet declared a major.
Cavicchio Family Spotlight Colonial Chorus Players’ Guy and Dolls

“The family that plays together, stays together” is a catchy saying that the Cavicchio family of Reading has always taken to heart quite literally. 

For nearly 20 years, the whole family—parents Ron and Laura along with children Crista and Peter—participated in community theater with Colonial Chorus Players in Reading. From 1982 to 2000, the Cavicchio name appeared in a total of 23 CCP show programs.

Then came another 20-year period when college, careers, and other life changes seemingly put an end to the family’s playing days together. But with CCP’s upcoming production of the Broadway classic Guys and Dolls, the family has returned to their old playground. 

In Guys and Dolls, which runs May 13–15, Peter has the leading role of gambler Sky Masterson—the same role Ron played in 1994 with CCP. This go-round Ron portrays Big Jule, Crista is one of the Hot Box Girls, and Laura is on the set painting crew. [Read More]
“We had an incredible rehearsal tonight! The singers sounded stunning and the music is so so much fun! And oh, the soloists! I couldn’t be happier or more proud!” —Beth Mosier, Artistic Director, Reading Community Singers

She’s right, of course. The song list for this concert includes a medley of hits from the 70’s rock band Chicago, a fun Disney Medley, a mashup combining songs from Dear Evan Hanson and Hamilton, not to mention hits from Adele, Barry Manilow, Broadway’s Wicked, the Beatles and so much more. Our featured guest artists are the fabulous student musicians of the Select Chorus from Reading Memorial High School under the direction of the Fine Arts head David Mosher. You won’t want to miss them. [Read More]
It’s time to get creative! The theme for this year’s Art Walk, to be held September 10 – October 17, is “Renewal”. Artwork is displayed in downtown storefront windows and the Reading Library Studio.

The Downtown Reading Art Walk or DRAW01867 is made possible with the support of the Massachusetts Cultural Council and all the venues. Visit our website DRAW01867.org for full details and be sure to follow us on facebook.com/DRAW01867. [Read More]
Saturday, May 14
11:00AM – 1:30PM

Reading Police Department, 15 Union Street, Reading MA

Come visit us for a fun-filled experience, we will have:

• NEMLEC Equipment/K-9
• Comfort Dogs
• Middlesex Sheriff Equipment
• Child Fingerprint/ID Kits
• Police/SWAT/ATF Vehicles • Free Helmet Raffles• Bouncy Houses • Free Food
Military Humvee(s) Lots More!

Free and open to all the public! [Read More]
The Reading Cultural Council (RCC) Annual Survey is now open. Let your Cultural Council know how you want us to allocate your funds.

The Mass Cultural Council receives an annual appropriation from the Commonwealth, as well as support from the National Endowment for the Arts for support of the arts in Massachusetts. The Reading Cultural Council is one of 329 local councils who are responsible for disbursing that money to local programs and events. Last year we disbursed $23,500 in grants to local individuals and organizations to support art and culture in Reading.

In order to know what types of programs you would like to see supported we reach out to the residents of Reading with an annual survey. You can fill out our survey by clicking on the link below to let us know what you think. [Read More]