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My name is Boriana Milenova and I am running for Reading Town Meeting in Precinct 2. I moved to Reading on New Year’s Day in 2005 after living in Boston and then Somerville. In my early years in Reading, between my demanding job as a software engineer and motherhood, I enjoyed the small town feel and didn’t pay too much attention to local elections and town politics. This all changed in the Fall of 2017 when a 40B development proposal, Eaton-Lakeview Apartments, came to my neighborhood. Working to improve the proposal was a long and arduous process. Somewhat unexpectedly, there were positives. Our neighborhood came together and we got to know each other better. I also realized that in a smaller town, personal involvement can make a significant difference. My engagement with town staff, Select Board members, and volunteer committees led to tangible change and, ultimately, a mutually acceptable compromise.
Fast forward to 2023 when compliance with the MBTA Communities legislation became a major topic in town. Although there are other important ongoing discussions in town – the rebuilding of the Killam School, the new Senior Center investment, the Walkers-Brook redesign – compliance with MBTA Communities is the initiative that stands out to me due to its potentially drastic impact on our town. Therefore, I believe that it is critically important to get it right. Our town planners have invested a lot of time and effort in coming up with a proposal and engaging the community. I believe that the current proposal can be improved in several areas – by focusing the rezoning on underutilized and underperforming industrial/business areas, by limiting the impact on single-family neighborhoods, and ensuring that adequate affordable housing production is part of the solution. We are very fortunate that many other communities are tackling the same problem and there is a lot to learn from the proposals of experienced planners from other towns. As a town, we can do better. I am running so that we can come together as a community, agree to a consensus proposal, and avoid Milton-like division. As a Town Meeting member I will work hard to ensure that any MBTA Communities compliance proposal is responsible and preserves the character of our town.
Please vote in the upcoming election. There are important choices to be made. If some issue like high-density housing is important to you, please make sure that you don’t simply follow a list of pre-approved candidates but actually know their position. Otherwise, your elected representatives may not value the single-family character of Reading, or may not appreciate the need for sufficient affordable housing to protect the town from the next Metropolitan-scale development in a residential neighborhood.
If elected, I plan to be accessible and ensure that residents’ concerns and priorities are heard and acted upon. I intend to work hard to address Reading’s challenges with a positive vision for the Town’s future.
I would appreciate your vote.
Boriana Milenova
Eaton Street
