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Reading Select Board
How the Reading Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 5 Select Board members elected townwide for three-year terms. Anne Landry and Mark Dockser joined the board after the April 2019 town election (Barry Berman’s and Dan Ensminger’s last meeting was March 26, 2019). On April 16, 2019 the board chose Vanessa Alvarado as Chair, John Halsey as Vice Chair and Mark Dockser (not yet sworn in; his first meeting was May 7, 2019) as Secretary, each 4-0. Covers 22 meetings, April 16 to February 11, 2020.
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
What does the Select Board do? It is the town’s executive board. It prepares the Town Meeting warrant (the list of articles voters decide), appoints members of many town boards, hires the town’s top staff, signs warrants to pay town bills, and grants licenses and permits.
Town Meeting, not the Select Board, votes the town budget and town bylaws.
Sources: Massachusetts Select Board Handbook (MMA) · Mass. Division of Local Services: the town budgetBoard years
Coming up
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Members
"At X of Y meetings" counts the members the minutes list as present at the start of each meeting in this record. Members who step out are listed on each meeting page.
Meetings
About missing minutes
Loaded: Reading Select Board minutes from January 9, 2018 through September 8, 2026: 219 meetings and 1,536 votes. The board was called the Board of Selectmen until spring 2018, when Town Meeting approved the new name; the minutes use “Select Board” from June 19, 2018, and the Town Manager reported on July 10, 2018 that the change was official. The town’s archive holds the board’s minutes back to 1980; MassVoter has loaded 2018 on. The posted minutes are signed, stamped paper copies scanned with a computer-read text layer, so quoted words may keep small reading errors; the five newest sets (June 23 through September 8, 2026) were posted as images with no text layer, and MassVoter read them with text recognition. Joint meetings with other boards (Finance Committee, School Committee, Board of Health, Library Trustees, Charter Review Committee and others) are included, but only the Select Board members’ votes are shown; votes the other board took on its own are left out. Not here: executive-session minutes; thirteen early-2018 notes saying the board attended another body’s meeting; meetings whose open-session minutes are not posted, including February 19, 2020, March 30 and September 28, 2021, March 22 and August 30, 2022, December 12, 2023, September 10 and September 24, 2024, and February 20, 2026 (all approved at later meetings), and the open session of July 31, 2018 and the packet-only dates October 5, 2023, March 26 and November 19, 2024, and July 22, 2026; and meetings after September 8, 2026 (the September 22 and October 6, 2026 minutes are not posted yet). Reading’s minutes give the mover, the seconder and usually a count (“approved with a 5-0-0 vote”, “approved by a vote of 5-0”); a count that matches the members present with no one opposed is shown as every member present voting yes, and “approved with a unanimous roll call vote” the same way. When members voted no or abstained the minutes name them (“approved by a vote of 4-1, with Karen Gately Herrick opposed”), and remote meetings in 2020–2022 and many 2025–2026 votes have a roll call by name. When the count is short because a member recused, stepped out, did not vote, arrived late or left early, as the minutes say, the other members present are shown voting yes, with a note. Where the minutes give no count or the count cannot be read, we show the result only (20 votes); where a split count names no one, or a count does not match the members present, we show the count only, with a note (24 votes). Officer elections recorded by roll call are shown by name; choices made by a show of hands are shown as a result, with a note. Two members are named Karen (Karen Gately Herrick and Karen Rose-Gillis); the minutes use full names. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.
Votes where members disagreed
Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.
Feb 4Close the warrant for the Local Election and State…Motion: Mr. Dockser moved to close the warrant for the Local Election…Passed 4–0 · see note
February 4, 2020: Close the warrant for the Local Election and State Primary to be held on March V, 2020
Mr. Dockser moved to close the warrant for the Local Election and State Primary to be held on March V, 2020. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4- 0 vote.
Yes: Alvarado, Dockser, Friedmann, HalseyAnne Landry (7:51pm) arrived late; the count (4-0) matches the 4 members present from the start, so they are shown voting yes.
From the minutes
“Mr. Dockser moved to close the warrant for the Local Election and State Primary to be held on March V, 2020. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4- 0 vote..” (Motion: Dockser, second: Friedmann)
Feb 4Close the warrant for Annual Town Meeting to be…Motion: Mr. Dockser moved to close the warrant for Annual Town Meeting…Passed 4–0 · see note
February 4, 2020: Close the warrant for Annual Town Meeting to be held on April 27th, 2020
Mr. Dockser moved to close the warrant for Annual Town Meeting to be held on April 27th, 2020. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4- 0 vote.
Yes: Alvarado, Dockser, Friedmann, HalseyAnne Landry (7:51pm) arrived late; the count (4-0) matches the 4 members present from the start, so they are shown voting yes.
From the minutes
“Mr. Dockser moved to close the warrant for Annual Town Meeting to be held on April 27th, 2020. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4- 0 vote..” (Motion: Dockser, second: Friedmann)
Feb 4Appoint Nancy Ziemlak to the Board of Registrars for…Motion: Mr. Dockser moved to appoint Nancy Ziemlak to the Board of…Passed 4–0 · see note
February 4, 2020: Appoint Nancy Ziemlak to the Board of Registrars for a term expiring June 30, 2021
Mr. Dockser moved to appoint Nancy Ziemlak to the Board of Registrars for a term expiring June 30, 2021. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with 4- 0 vote.
Yes: Alvarado, Dockser, Friedmann, HalseyAnne Landry (7:51pm) arrived late; the count (4-0) matches the 4 members present from the start, so they are shown voting yes.
From the minutes
“Mr. Dockser moved to appoint Nancy Ziemlak to the Board of Registrars for a term expiring June 30, 2021. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with 4- 0 vote..” (Motion: Dockser, second: Friedmann)
Feb 4Approve the meeting minutes of December 3rd, 2019 as…Motion: Mr. Dockser moved to approve the meeting minutes of December 3rd,…Passed 4–0 · Abstained: Halsey
February 4, 2020: Approve the meeting minutes of December 3rd, 2019 as amended
Mr. Dockser moved to approve the meeting minutes of December 3rd, 2019 as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4- 1 vote with Halsey abstaining.
Yes: Alvarado, Dockser, Friedmann, LandryAbstained: HalseyThe minutes write the count as 4-1; the member named abstained, so the second number is the abstention, not a no vote.
From the minutes
“Mr. Dockser moved to approve the meeting minutes of December 3rd, 2019 as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4- 1 vote with Halsey abstaining..” (Motion: Dockser, second: Friedmann)
Feb 4Approve the meeting minutes of December loth, 2019 as…Motion: Mr. Dockser moved to approve the meeting minutes of December loth,…Passed 4–0 · Abstained: Halsey
February 4, 2020: Approve the meeting minutes of December loth, 2019 as amended
Mr. Dockser moved to approve the meeting minutes of December loth, 2019 as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4- 1 vote with Halsey abstaining.
Yes: Alvarado, Dockser, Friedmann, LandryAbstained: HalseyThe minutes write the count as 4-1; the member named abstained, so the second number is the abstention, not a no vote.
From the minutes
“Mr. Dockser moved to approve the meeting minutes of December loth, 2019 as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4- 1 vote with Halsey abstaining..” (Motion: Dockser, second: Friedmann)
Jan 7Appoint Frances Barba- Boyle to an associate position on…Motion: Ms. Alvarado moved to appoint Frances Barba- Boyle to an associate…Passed 4–0 · Abstained: Friedmann
January 7, 2020: Appoint Frances Barba- Boyle to an associate position on the Cultural Council with a term expiring June 30, 2021
Ms. Alvarado moved to appoint Frances Barba- Boyle to an associate position on the Cultural Council with a term expiring June 30, 2021. The motion was seconded by Mr. Dockser and approved with a 4- 0- 1 vote with Friedmann abstaining.
Yes: Alvarado, Dockser, Halsey, LandryAbstained: Friedmann
From the minutes
“Ms. Alvarado moved to appoint Frances Barba- Boyle to an associate position on the Cultural Council with a term expiring June 30, 2021. The motion was seconded by Mr. Dockser and approved with a 4- 0- 1 vote with Friedmann abstaining..” (Motion: Alvarado, second: Dockser)
Jan 7Approve the meeting minutes of December 4, 2019Motion: Mr. Dockser moved that the board approve the meeting minutes of…Passed 4–0 · Abstained: Halsey
January 7, 2020: Approve the meeting minutes of December 4, 2019
Mr. Dockser moved that the board approve the meeting minutes of December 4, 2019. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4- 0- 1 vote with Halsey abstaining.
Yes: Alvarado, Dockser, Friedmann, LandryAbstained: Halsey
From the minutes
“Mr. Dockser moved that the board approve the meeting minutes of December 4, 2019. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and approved with a 4- 0- 1 vote with Halsey abstaining..” (Motion: Dockser, second: Friedmann)
Dec 3Approve Safety Amendment 2019- 12 as presentedMotion: Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board approve Safety Amendment 2019-…Failed 2–2 · No: Alvarado, Friedmann
December 3, 2019: Approve Safety Amendment 2019- 12 as presented
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board approve Safety Amendment 2019- 12 as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and failed with a 2- 2 vote with Alvarado and Friedmann opposing.
Yes: Dockser, LandryNo: Alvarado, Friedmann
From the minutes
“Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board approve Safety Amendment 2019- 12 as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and failed with a 2- 2 vote with Alvarado and Friedmann opposing..” (Motion: Dockser, second: Friedmann)
Dec 3Approve Safety Amendment 2019- 13 as presentedMotion: Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board approve Safety Amendment 2019-…Failed 2–2 · No: Alvarado, Friedmann
December 3, 2019: Approve Safety Amendment 2019- 13 as presented
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board approve Safety Amendment 2019- 13 as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and failed with a 2- 2 vote with Alvarado and Friedmann opposing.
Yes: Dockser, LandryNo: Alvarado, Friedmann
From the minutes
“Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board approve Safety Amendment 2019- 13 as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Friedmann and failed with a 2- 2 vote with Alvarado and Friedmann opposing..” (Motion: Dockser, second: Friedmann)
Oct 29Adopt a minimum residential factor of 998411 for Fiscal…Motion: Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board adopt a minimum residential…Passed 4–1 · No: Halsey
October 29, 2019: Adopt a minimum residential factor of 998411 for Fiscal Year 2020
Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board adopt a minimum residential factor of 998411 for Fiscal Year 2020. The motion was seconded by Ms. Landry and approved with a 4- 1 vote with Halsey opposing.
Yes: Alvarado, Dockser, Friedmann, LandryNo: Halsey
From the minutes
“Mr. Dockser moved that the Select Board adopt a minimum residential factor of 998411 for Fiscal Year 2020. The motion was seconded by Ms. Landry and approved with a 4- 1 vote with Halsey opposing..” (Motion: Dockser, second: Landry)
From the Reading Select Board’s official minutes, posted in the town’s Public Records Archive (Minutes > Select Board). We check every vote against the Select Board members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos: Reading Patch candidate profiles, courtesy of the candidates (Melissa Murphy, Karen Gately Herrick, Chris Haley), and The Reading Post candidacy announcements (Karen Rose-Gillis, Sal Bramante). The town’s website has no member photos.
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