Select Board recap: September 22, 2026
(9-10 minute read)
For residents looking to stay up to date on key town matters, this recap highlights major takeaways from the Select Board meeting held on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
Watch the full meeting here on RCTV’s Youtube page.
Review the full Select Board packet.
Key takeaways
A townwide snow-shoveling bylaw is headed to the Subsequent Town Meeting. The Commission on Disability is sponsoring an article that would require property owners to clear sidewalks within 12 hours (commercial) or 24 hours (residential) after a storm ends. Officials say a complaint to the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board last winter put the town at risk of fines of up to $10,000 per day.
Killam school savings will be returned. Article 12 would rescind $15M in borrowing authority after the Killam School Building Committee voted to release it, with the project now expected to cost about $24M less than anticipated.
Library certification emerged as a key override question. Town Manager Jayne Wellman said the library must be open six days and 59 hours a week and meet minimum funding to stay state certified. Without an override, deeper staff cuts would fall below that funding minimum, risking about $66,000 in state aid and residents’ borrowing privileges in other communities.
Public comment [0:03:08]
A resident used public comment to describe DARVO, which stands for deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. The speaker characterized it as a manipulation tactic used by people in power to avoid accountability, one that deflects an accusation and recasts accountability as aggression. The speaker warned that it does significant damage, leading people to stop reporting concerns and staff to self-censor, and urged officials and residents to recognize it for what it is.
Proclamation for Hispanic Heritage Month [0:23:45]
The Select Board issued a proclamation recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month, observed each year from September 15 through October 15.
Update from Office of Equity and Social Justice [0:26:14]
Director of the Office of Equity and Social Justice Albert Pless gave an overview of the office, which works with every town department to advance equity, accessibility, inclusion, and belonging. Pless joined the town in 2023, a year after the office’s foundation, and said its focus has grown from individual initiatives to building lasting capacity.
Internally, the office is developing a strategic plan and working with departments to identify equity priorities, building on the 2022-23 needs assessment. It has held 14 staff listening sessions and six lunch-and-learns. Externally, A+Pless formally holds the ADA coordinator role and is awaiting word on a grant for the Commission on Disability. Programming included Juneteenth, Women’s History Month, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, Black History Month trivia, with an MLK Celebration set for January 18, 2027. Pless reported more than 1,000 participants, 27 volunteers, and 17 community partnerships in the event in 2026. Next up are the ADA self-evaluation and transition plan and continued staff and youth engagement.
Select Board member Chris Haley asked about the office’s work in the schools and whether it should be housed at the library. Pless said student listening sessions have produced strong data, but programming is still in the early stages, and that the library works well for now. Select Board Vice Chair Karen Rose-Gillis said the office does a great deal of quiet work in the background and encouraged residents to read the packet.
Update from ACE Committee [0:47:25]
David Monihan updated the Board on the Ad Hoc Commemoration Establishment (ACE) Committee, which is working on how Reading should recognize Bill Russell and the treatment his family experienced. Taylor Gregory, publisher of The Reading Observer, chairs the ACE Committee and also spoke during this item. Monihan listed work completed since the last update to the Board in February, including the Game Changers Mixed Media Club series that drew about 40 participants to each of the three sessions. The committee recommendations under consideration include a statement acknowledging the Russell family’s treatment, a standing committee to work with the Office of Equity and Social Justice, continued Game Changers programming, an award and scholarship, and library displays.
The committee plans to vote on recommendations at its second October meeting, finish most of the report by November, and present to the Select Board in early February 2027, after it sunsets at the end of January. Gregory said the committee members met with Pless the day before to discuss how a standing committee would work alongside his office and the Partners and Allies for Inclusive Reading (PAIR) volunteer group, which Pless is redeveloping with a consultant. The group will follow up within the next few weeks, and also draw on human rights committees around the state, including Reading’s past committee and Winchester’s new commission. Pless will update the Russell family in about a month.
Haley asked whether ACE would proceed without the family’s support. Monihan said yes, though family buy-in would lend legitimacy and the dynamics are complicated. Select Board members Karen Herrick and Karen Rose-Gillis said they would be open to extending the committee’s timeline, and Herrick said she did not want ACE to feel rushed out of existence.
Update from the Climate Action Committee [1:03:35]
Chair Marc Ortins said the committee has four members, one Select Board liaison, and four openings after several long-term members left at once, making quorum difficult. He pointed to past work including the polystyrene and plastic bag bans, Killam’s sustainable design, Reading Center for Active Living (ReCAL) heat pumps, and state grants.
Next up is Reading Climate Partners, which would give businesses bronze, silver, or gold recognition for sustainable practices such as composting, recycling, and offering recyclable to-go containers. The committee is also studying a tree preservation bylaw like those in Lexington, Lynnfield, Brookline, and Arlington, where contractors must replace removed trees larger than 60 inches in diameter. Ortins called it noble but complicated. Rose-Gillis encouraged residents to volunteer for the committee, and Haley asked that the town be held to the same standard as residents, and raised concerns about electrification costs.
The board voted 4-0 to rename the group the Reading Environmental Sustainable Committee, and 4-0 to amend Select Board Policy Article 2, Section 2.3.2 to match. Ortins said the new name is less formal, broader, and more community-facing.
Update on Pleasant Street Center [1:27:10]
Katie Gabriello said a survey drew more than 400 responses, with more residents favoring keeping the building if it is fiscally responsible and a tenant maintains it at no cost to the town. A preliminary feasibility study offers real estate comparables and a market analysis. Because the value exceeds $35,000, a formal procurement process is required, starting with a Request for Information (RFI) that cannot be written to favor any one respondent. Gabriello and Town Manager Jayne Wellman said the town is not bound to the highest bidder in this instance, and that the process can give weight to non-profit and community uses.
Haley said three affordable units do not sit well while residents are being asked to approve an override, and that a projected $96,000 in gross revenue seems low. Wellman said developers would want 50 or more units. Herrick questioned the appraisal for leaving out local historic buildings, and raised reports of headaches at the building and a potential $500,000 HVAC replacement. She noted reports from the Reading Fire Department and National Grid found nothing, and Wellman said changes will wait until a use is known. ReCAL is expected to open in August 2027.
Preview of the Subsequent Town Meeting Warrant [1:49:26]
What was billed as a brief preview ran for more than an hour. Wellman said staff will return October 6 with more detail.
Capital and budget (Articles 3, 4, 5, 8, and 13)
Article 3, presented by Chief Financial Officer Sharon Angstrom, would amend the capital plan to include Driscoll Field lighting, which may now cost $600,000 instead of $500,000; added sewer station funding from certified surplus; and Mattera Cabin work. Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School would handle labor, with about $75,000 in materials and $125,000 held in total. Article 4 covers sewer shortfalls and a $10,000 debt scorecard error. Article 5, for unpaid bills, has no requests yet. Article 8 would restore the Driscoll Field lighting, which came down in a storm after water leaked into the pole foundations. Haley asked about the cost, and Wellman acknowledged the timing is not ideal but said the field is heavily used. Article 13 seeks another $50,000 for invasive species control in the Town Forest. Jeff Lamson said work has covered about half the forest and must continue to prevent regrowth.
Snow Shoveling Bylaw (Article 6)
Enforcement would run through DPW: a warning for a first offense, $100 for the second, and $200 per day for a third. Wellman said the town plows 42 to 46 miles of sidewalk, which takes about 35 hours, and cannot clear streets and sidewalks at the same time. DPW plans to add clearing at school pickups and drop-off areas as a priority, and a volunteer program is being set up through the Pleasant Street Center. Haley questioned how the town would be held accountable. Wellman said she would meet with the Bylaw Committee and Commission on Disability, and Select Board member Sal Bramante asked whether timeframes could be adjusted.
Accessory dwelling units (Article 7)
The article would align the bylaw with the 2025 state law, removing special permit requirements for ADUs in single-family districts. The Community Planning and Development Commission’s hearing was set to continue October 5.
Water (Articles 9 and 10)
Article 9 seeks $2M to replace about 8,000 water meters with smart meters over roughly four years, paid through the water and sewer enterprise funds. Article 10 would replace the Van Norden Road main, installed in 1927, with an 8-inch main.
Small commercial relief (Article 11)
The article would raise the personal property tax exemption from $2,000 to $10,000. Only about 10 communities have adopted it, and up to 47 properties in town could qualify. A Haven Street business owner said she would speak in favor at Town Meeting.
Killam savings (Article 12)
The Killam School Building Committee voted to return $15M, though Haley said the vote was not unanimous and that he favored returning $20M, which he felt would make the override decision easier. Wellman said tariffs and fuel costs justify keeping contingencies, which would total about $16M.
Override discussion [2:55:00]
Wellman said outreach continues in October, with one event per week at varying times and places. A lunch-and-learn will become a Joshua Eaton tour and presentation, paired with the Beer Garden. The town recorded an RCTV podcast, with a community policing episode to follow.
The town is not replacing a Reading Police Department position and is keeping 8.5 positions open under the hiring freeze. Recently filled roles include an animal control officer, recreation administrator, and Elder and Human Services receptionist. Angstrom shared revenue and cost trends: investment income grew from $300,000 in FY11 to over $5M in FY26, health benefits rose from $11.5M to $25.1M, and state revenues were nearly unchanged over 15 years.
Wellman also raised the library’s state certification, which requires minimum hours and funding. Certification requires being open six days a week and 59 hours a week. Without an override, the library would stay at 60 hours, but deeper cuts of one or two staff would fall below the funding minimum. Losing certification could cost about $66,000 per year in state aid, and residents would lose borrowing privileges in other communities; regaining certification can take years.
Watch the September 22, 2026 Select Board meeting on the RCTV Youtube page. Seated (left to right): town staff Jax LaVerde, Karen Herrick, Board Vice Chair Karen Rose-Gillis, Chris Haley, Sal Bramante, and Town Manager Jayne Wellman.
