Four Things You Missed at Monday's Selectmen Meeting

If you were not at the Selectmen meeting Monday night, here are some things you missed:

1. Recognition of the Bring Back the Fourth Committee. The Bring Back the Fourth Committee was recognized on Monday night for their hard work in bringing Fourth of July festivities back to North Reading. 

The board "wishes to commend you and all your volunteers,” Selectmen Chairman Sean Delaney said.

The committee was very disappointed that they had to on the Fourth of July due to the weather. According to Bring Back the Fourth Committee member Fred Chalmers, "no one is more disappointed than the members of this committee."

The committee has yet to decide on whether they will reschedule the fireworks. The only thing they can confirm is that they will not be on Labor Day weekend.

"I did attend the affair on the fourth and want to commend the committee for the work they did," Selectman Bob Mauceri said.

The committee can always use new members, Chalmers said, and they are already looking to 2013.

"We want to make it bigger and better," he said.

2. Invest in North Reading donation. The board approved a $1,213.46 gift from Invest in North Reading to the Youth Services Gift Fund to be used by the the North Reading Community Impact Team.

Invest in North Reading also gave funds to the Elderly and Disabled Tax Relief Fund.

"You're like Santa Claus this year,” Selectman Joe Foti said of Invest in North Reading Chairman Geof Simons.

3. eCode 360. There will be a new Code Book online that will allow residents to easily access town charters, general bylaws, zoning bylaws and more.

"This is a great benefit to the general public," Town Clerk Barbara Stats said.

She referred to the Code Book as a “wonderful tool to have at your fingertips.”

There will be a link on the town's website to the Code Book, which is fully searchable and has two views. The Quick View is easier to navigate than the Advanced View. If you have a mobile device, there is a third view called the Touch Screen View. 

Stats suggested taking an online webinar, which is about an hour, to familiarize yourself with the code book. The next one is on July 31, and there are several scheduled in August.

This online code book eliminates the expense of paper code books which need to be updated due to bylaw adjustments.

4. Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The selectmen reminded residents that July 26, 2012 is the 22^nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Delaney urges all residents, businesses and government officials to celebrate the contributions of Americans with disabilities.