North Reading Select Board Proclaims Alex Carpenter Day, Starts Site Evaluation Committee

NORTH READING — July 20, 2026 — North Reading Select Board honored its first Olympic gold medalist and launched appointments to a new Site Evaluation Committee at its July 20 meeting. The board unanimously proclaimed July 25 as Alex Carpenter Day, recognizing the North Reading native and Boston College alumna who served as assistant captain of the U.S. women's ice hockey team that won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. State Representative Adrian Jones and AJ Padley, chief of staff to Senator Bruce Tarr, presented legislative citations at the meeting. The board then voted 4-1 to appoint Member Stephen J. O'Leary as Select Board representative on the new Site Evaluation Committee, which will assess 3 Washington Street for potential acquisition as a community or senior center under a right-of-first-refusal offer from the property owner. Member Nicholas Masse, who voted against both O'Leary and Public Services Director Lillian Hartman's committee appointments, announced he intends to file a separate open meeting law complaint against O'Leary, alleging O'Leary solicited board members' opinions by phone before the meeting. Votes on two citizen-at-large committee seats, drawn from a pool of 11 applicants, were postponed to August 3 so the newly designated liaison can contact all candidates per board policy.