Town Clerk Laura A. Gemme released the 2022 local official election results, including winners of the town meeting contests. The local election had a turnout of 20.6%
Town Moderator
Alan E. Foulds* 2,408
Select Board
Mark L. Dockser* 2,333
Jacqueline Renee McCarthy* 2,137
Nancy Tawadros 1,956
Board of Library Trustees
Cherrie M. Dubois* 2,148
Patrick T. Egan* 1,893
Michael D. Wick 269
Alicia F. Williams 1,709
Municipal Light Board
Philip B. Pacino* 1,871
David Allan Talbot* 1,925
Salvatore Bramante 1,673
Pamela Elizabeth Daskalakis 1,854
School Committee
Charles R Robinson* 2,929
Thomas F Wise* 2,809
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The following letter was submitted by 2022 Select Board Candidate Nancy Tawadros
To the Community of Reading-
I am reaching out with heartfelt gratitude for the support I received from the community in response to my run for the Reading Select Board. I am humbled by the outpouring of community members who were encouraging, supportive, and recognized not only my desire to serve this town, but that my strengths would have been a positive and welcoming addition to Town Government. It’s been such an amazing experience to have received such a warm and encouraging response. And it has been such a joy to build what I believe to be long lasting relationships with so many wonderful Reading residents.
My three year term on Town Meeting will provide me with the opportunity to bring my strengths to this incredible town. And as I look ahead, I look forward to the opportunity to continue to get involved and to seek out additional ways to serve this community. I am encouraged and excited for what the future holds, and I look forward to the opportunity to meet more of you along the way.
Sincerely,
Nancy Tawadros
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By a 5-0 vote, the Community Planning and Development Commission (CPDC) approved major plan changes to the parking garage at 136 Haven Street, known as the Postmark building. Attorney Brian McGrail, speaking for the building owners, shared that the initial parking plans had to change due to issues encountered during construction, including the placement of the foundation of the old post office building as well as ledge discovered on the site. According to McGrail, while many spaces in the building have a width that is greater than required, several are smaller than initially anticipated. The approved plan will reduce the number of spaces from seventy-two to seventy in the garage to allow for few spaces to be widened. “We cannot make more space [in the garage],” McGrail commented. The reduced number of spaces still exceeds the required 1.25 spaces per unit.
Several condominium owners in the building expressed frustration over the size of the spaces they had purchased and the amount of time it has taken to resolve their issues. After discussion, CPDC chose to condition their approval of the proposed major plan changes on the developer, providing a written agreement with one building occupant whose purchased space is narrower than anticipated and cannot be adapted in the new scheme.
459 Main Street
CPDC also reopened the public hearing on a proposed development at 459 Main Street, currently the site of 128 Tire. The 21,864 square foot proposed building would house 1,471 square feet of retail space on the first floor with four one-bedroom units, seven two-bedroom units, and one three-bedroom unit on the upper three floors. The plans also include a nineteen-space parking garage on the first level. [Read More]
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Moderator Alan Foulds and Town Meeting members Jennifer Hillery and Geoffrey Coram hosted a “Town Meeting 101” forum at the Reading Public Library on Monday to, as Hillery stated, “help Town Meeting members to hit the ground running.” Topics for the forum included, “What is Town Meeting?”, “When is Town Meeting?”, and “What happens before and after Town Meeting?”
Hillery shared that Reading adopted a representative Town Meeting in 1944. The membership is made up of twenty-four elected members from each of Reading’s eight precincts. “Town Meeting is both an entity and an event,” Hillery added. Hillery continued to explain that Annual Town Meeting is in April, with the Subsequent Town Meeting occurring in November. Special Town Meetings can be called as needed.
Coram then proceeded to explain that the warrant is the agenda for Town Meeting’s business and shared how the warrant is assembled. He also explained the budget process, emphasizing that Town Meeting has the final say in the budget. “The Town Manager and the Superintendent may have ideas, but Town Meeting has authority over all appropriations,” Coram confirmed. He also explained where the Town’s Free Cash reserves originate and how they may be used. [Read More]
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New Reading Fire Fighters: Brian Sculley, Karl Granoth, Lindsey Gartner |
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Reading Firefighters Brian Sculley, Karl Granoth and Lindsey Gartner graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy on Friday, April 8. The Ceremony was attended by Reading Fire Department Leadership and the Town Manager. Firefighter Karl Granoth received the Richard N. Bangs Award for Outstanding Recruit.
This prestigious award is competitively selected by the instructors and is given to the student based upon achievements in both academic exams and practical skills. Congratulations to Firefighter Karl Granoth on this achievement! Our new Firefighters will begin the Reading Fire Department’s two-week training and orientation period on Monday, April 11.
43 Recruits Represent 25 Fire Departments
State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey and Deputy State Fire Marshal Maribel Fournier announced the graduation of 43 firefighters from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy today. Graduates completed the 50-day Career Recruit Firefighting Training Program at two campuses: Class #300 trained at the Stow campus and Class #BW18 trained at the Bridgewater campus. [Read More]
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Chief David Clark is pleased to announce that a team of assessors from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC) is scheduled to arrive in late May to begin examining various aspects of the Reading Police Department’s policies, procedures, operations, and facilities.
From May 24-26, Reading Police will undergo verification by the Assessment Team to ensure the Department meets MPAC’s standards as part of the voluntary process to gain or retain state Accreditation – a self-initiated evaluation process by which police departments strive to meet and maintain standards that have been established for the profession, by the profession.
MPAC awards accreditation to agencies that meet its 257 mandatory standards, as well as 125 optional standards. In order to achieve accreditation status, the Department must meet all applicable mandatory standards as well as a percentage of the optional standards. The Reading Police Department has been fully accredited by MPAC since 2013, and takes part in the re-accreditation process every three years. [Read More]
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Austin Prep has appointed Tyler Silva as the school’s new Head Varsity Boys Soccer Coach. Silva takes the helm of the program with a wide range of experiences, both playing and coaching at the high school and college ranks, as well as a player at the international level.
“Coach Tyler Silva not only possesses the experience and gifts that make for an outstanding coach, but he shares in the mission-aligned values we cherish at Austin Prep,” Director of Athletics Pat Driscoll said. “Coach Silva brings passion and a commitment to developing the student-athlete, and I can’t wait for him be able to get to work with our players.”
Silva’s playing experience is extensive. He was a high school standout at Dracut High School, where he was named team Most Valuable Player and captured the Merrimack Valley League Championship. Silva continued his playing career at Dean College, where he served as Captain of the Men’s Soccer program. During his time at Dean College, the team reached the USCAA National Semi-Finals. After finishing his Associate of Arts degree, Silva continued his education and playing career at Franklin Pierce University, appearing in the NCAA Final 8 and finishing the season ranked #2 nationally in NCAA Men’s Division II Soccer. Additionally, he played overseas professionally for the Sporting Clube de Guadalupe in Portugal. [Read More]
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In recognition of National Reading Month in March, The Bethlehem School and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lynnfield teamed up to collect new and gently used children’s books to donate to families served by Mission of Deeds in Reading, MA.
Over 500 books were donated. “We’re thrilled with the response of our Bethlehem families,” said Carmelina Padovani, Director of the Bethlehem School. “It’s wonderful to share these books and to encourage reading. There are so many long-lasting benefits of reading to children.” Paul Bowen, Director of Outreach and Christian Formation at St. Paul’s, said, “The response to our call for books has been so generous. We’re pleased to support Mission of Deeds in their service to local communities.”
Paula Goss, Office Manager at Mission of Deeds, said, “The work of Mission of Deeds is needed more now than ever. We give our clients dignity and a new start in their new home. These books will contribute to this new start by promoting reading and literacy for the children and families we serve. We really appreciate this donation.” [Read More]
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Reading Municipal Light Department’s (RMLD’s) Citizens’ Advisory Board (CAB) and Board of Commissioners (Board) unanimously approved the RMLD to enter into a purchase power energy agreement with Kearsarge Energy for a battery storage system in Wilmington that will be capable of discharging 5-megawatts over two hours.
The system will be used to reduce costs related to peak demand and is projected to average $200,000 in annual savings for the RMLD during the 20-year project lifetime. The system is expected to be installed in 2023. The battery project will be collocated with the existing 2.1 megawatt RMLD Community Solar array that is also owned and operated by Kearsage Energy.
This project adds to RMLD’s existing battery storage capability, our Minuteman system, also a 5-megawatt, 2 hours system located in North Reading. RMLD plans to add a total 30-megawatts/90 megawatt-hours of battery storage to RMLD’s service area over the next three years to further reduce costs and increase the resiliency of our distribution network. [Read More]
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One-Week Workshops & Screen Play WorkShop |
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Video Production: Students will gain video recording experience using RCTV’s professional camera equipment, as well as gain post-production skills such as; Celtx, Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop. All of these skills will culminate into their own masterpiece worthy of television and/or YouTube. This class can be altered to fit the needs of intermediate and advanced video students.
Photography: Students will learn (or refresh themselves with) the basics of photography including; camera settings, depth of field, shot composition, and movement. Students will navigate through many styles of photography including; street photography, portraits, and food, to name a few! This class can be altered to fit the needs of intermediate and advanced photography students.
Filmmaking: Students will learn all the key elements of creating a film, such as; scriptwriting, shot composition, lighting techniques, cinematography and so much more as you develop the skills of all the great filmmakers! This class can be altered to fit the needs of intermediate and advanced filmmaking students.
Screen Play for Actors: In this three-week* collaborative workshop you will learn the skills it takes to perform for the big screen! You will study the screenplay, develop characters, shoot on location and so much more as you learn the skills to make films. This workshop will have a minimum of two field trips that will happen away from RCTV, as well as, many off-location filming opportunities. Final Red Carpet, Movie Premiere will take place on Sunday, August 21 at RCTV Studios at 3:30 pm.
*Students have the option of signing up for 2 or 3 weeks.
Screen Play for Crew: Sign up for one, two or all three weeks! In this collaborative workshop, you will learn the skills it takes to create movies for the big screen! You will learn shot composition, lighting techniques, cinematography and so much more as you develop the skills to make films. This workshop will have a minimum of two field trips that will happen away from RCTV, as well as, many off-location filming opportunities. Final Red Carpet, Movie Premiere will take place on Sunday, August 21 at RCTV Studios at 3:30pm. [Read More]
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Baseball fields in three Northeast Metro Tech communities will soon boast brand new dugouts, once the work of juniors and seniors in Northeast’s carpentry program is done.
Last summer, Reading Little League President Mike Wondolowski reached out to Northeast’s Department Head of Carpentry, Richard McGuiness, to inquire about students’ availability to construct new dugouts for the town’s little league program.
Wondolowski reached out after seeing the strong work Northeast students did to construct two dugouts at North Reading High School, which students completed between November 2020 and March 2021, and hoped for similar results in Reading. Work on two dugouts at Hunt Field in Reading is ongoing, and students will build another two dugouts at a field elsewhere in town.
The construction on Reading’s dugouts is happening at the same time as work to build similar facilities at Northeast’s own baseball field. [Read More]
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Highlights from the Reading Police & Fire Logs
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