LtE: Building an Inclusive Community

Dear Editor and Reading Residents,

I am writing to address my comments regarding the recent vote on the Select Board’s designee to the Reading Ice Arena Authority.

First, my comments were not made as a personal criticism of the individual residents currently serving on the Authority. I respect the time and commitment of residents who volunteer to serve the Town.

My concern was and remains about whether the leadership and current decision-making surrounding the Burbank Ice Arena facility reflects the full community the facility was constructed to serve.

For those who may not be aware, the Reading Ice Arena Authority (a 501c(3) public charity) was created by and for Reading residents and the Select Board. This arrangement has been formalized since the rink opened in a long term lease agreement. The Select Board “designee” position represents the sole Board vote of the dually elected representatives of the Reading taxpayers for the Town owned arena as well as 4.5 acres of incredibly valuable Town land.

The Burbank Ice Arena serves multiple diverse constituencies. Today, the North Shore Skating Club (NSSC) and the Reading hockey organizations together and equally provide an estimated 90% of the annual revenue and the majority use of the facility. But the facility also serves recreational skaters, families, beginning skaters, adults, seniors, residents with disabilities and people who may not yet feel connected or welcomed there.

As a former competing member of the North Shore Figure Skating Club (NSSC), I have been an arena user for 30 years. While serving on the Select Board, I have been and will continue to be to a passionate advocate for a Town facility that is inclusive, welcoming and responsive to everyone it serves. If my word choice distracted from that purpose or caused people to believe I was judging individuals solely because of their race or gender - let me set the record straight.

That was not my intent, and it is not my position.

I also want to separate two issues that became blended together during the Select Board deliberations.

The first is the qualifications of the individual being considered. Every volunteer deserves to be evaluated fairly based on experience, performance and ability to serve.

The second is the broader responsibility of the Town to build a more inclusive pipeline for RIAA appointments. Raising the second concern should not be interpreted as a personal attack on the individual being evaluated for appointment.

I welcome a substantive conversation about how we broaden participation on the Reading Ice Arena Authority to better serve our diverse community of skaters without diminishing the contributions of those who are already serving.

Karen Gately Herrick
Reading Select Board
Dividence Road