Published in the June 14, 2018 edition
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — Pending approval of a very minor adjustment in wording and the signature of Gov. Charlie Baker, the towns of North Reading and Andover will have finalized their agreement for the permanent supply of potable water for the next 99 years.
At the conclusion of the second session of Town Meeting last Thursday night, Selectman Steve O’Leary announced that the Senate had signed on to the bill that had been previously approved by the House earlier in the week.
Town Administrator Mike Gilleberto subsequently explained to the Transcript that during the legislative process subsequent to the House passing the bill June 4 “in the form approved by both the Andover and North Reading Boards of Selectmen that day,” a minor change to the language was made.
“This was not unexpected given the many layers of review that occur as a bill becomes a law. However…if the version approved by the Governor does not exactly match the version approved by both Boards of Selectmen (on June 4), such approval triggers a seven-day window for the two boards to potentially address the difference,” Gilleberto explained.
The difference in the language was deemed to be a “minor modification” by the North Reading Board of Selectmen last Thursday night. It merely tweaked a couple of words in a portion of one sentence to state the legislation would be subject to “such terms and conditions as the boards of selectmen agree upon” to it being subject “…to any terms and conditions agreed upon by those boards.”
The complete sentence now reads as follows: “Section 1: The towns of Andover and North Reading, acting through their Boards of Selectmen, may enter into an agreement for the supply of potable water from the town of Andover to the town of North Reading subject to any terms and conditions agreed upon by those boards.”
After determining that the change was minor, the T.A. said the board “then voted to approve of an agreement drafted by Town Counsel to address the difference in the legislation, and to sign the agreement only after the Governor signs the bill into law. That agreement is still subject to review by the town of Andover, but given the timelines and anticipating the Governor’s signature, the board felt it was important to act as soon as possible.”
Just in case North Reading’s Board of Selectmen needs to sign anything else to make this happen, Gilleberto said they have posted a meeting for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 14. Andover’s Board of Selectmen will be meeting on Thursday night, he added.
“Most importantly, we are extremely grateful to Representative Brad Jones, Senator Bruce Tarr, and the Andover legislative delegation for their attention to this significant issue for both communities,” Gilleberto said.
According to a statement released by Rep. Jones’s office, past water agreements between the two towns date back to 1974 and “the existing agreement between the two towns was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2019, but was recently extended for another two years and is now due to expire on June 30, 2021.”
“North Reading has been seeking a long-term solution for identifying a permanent water source, and this bill will allow the community to move forward with a plan that will meet the needs of the town’s residents for many years to come,” stated Rep. Jones.
