Members present: Mark Karlberg, Jeanne Pryor, William Elovirta
Others Present: Craig Kleman, Colleen O’Connor, Beth VanNess, David Shorey, Len Tisdale, John Amato, Julia Maynard, Mark Levernoch
7:02 Meeting opened.
Mark asked if anyone was recording the meeting. No one is recording.
Select Board’s comments and announcements. Bill advised that he looked at the North Becket project and it looks good.
Town Administrator’s report: Craig advised that the company that was awarded the bid for the Town Hall gutter repair will be starting the first week of November.
Craig advised that there are pew chairs downstairs that the Historical Commission did not want. He has had some people come in who were interested in theses chairs. He feels they could have a sealed bid sale for these sometime in the future. Bill asked him to check to see if the boy scouts were interested. He also asked him to see what other surplus equipment could be sold at a sealed bid sale. The fire department has a couple of trucks that could be sold and the highway department may have some items to sell.
Craig advised that the Green Communities contract for the highway department project has been executed and he is waiting for the payment bond and once he receives it he will issue a Notice to Proceed. There will be a pre-construction meeting once this is done.
Craig advised that the dump truck procurement is underway.
Craig advised that the North Becket Village Infrastructure Improvements is close to being 95% completed. Briefly discussed the path that runs from High Street to lower Main Street. When the project is completed within the next two weeks, there will be a photo op of the area to show the improvements.
Craig advised that he finally tracked down the “Green Communities” signs for the town and once Len Tisdale has a chance to put them up they will need to have a photo op of the signs.
Craig advised that the second Select Board meeting in November falls on November 21, 2012 which is Thanksgiving Eve. He thought the Select Board would rather meet on another Wednesday so they should think about this.
Public Input: Colleen O’Connor stated that the sidewalks in the village look good but she does not understand why they would put a wild flower planter in front of a condemned house. She feels the owner would rather have potable water than a planter in front of his house. She stated that the Board of Health minutes and agendas are not being done properly and she thinks the idea of using the Tri-Town Board of Health would be a good start. Colleen advised that the DEP is aware of the Board of Health issues that have been occurring for many years. Bill asked if the town ever got anything from the DEP about these issues. Craig advised that nothing has come across his desk but it may have gone to the Board of Health.
Bill motioned to approve the minutes of September 19, 2012, Jeanne seconded. All in favor. Jeanne motioned to hold off on the minutes of October 3, 2012 Select Board meeting and the October 3, 2012 Executive Session minutes, Bill seconded. All in favor.
The Select Board reviewed and discussed the breakdown of Chapter 90 expenditures. Bill was concerned about using Chapter 90 funds for the remainder of the cost of the dump truck and for repairing the grader because when you do this it means that much less will be going for road repairs. Briefly discussed trying to find funding from another source so that the Chapter 90 fund could be replenished. Jeanne advised that the MMA is trying to get more Chapter 90 funds for smaller towns. Len Tisdale spoke about what Chapter 90 funds will be used for this year. Bill motioned to approve the repair of the grader using Chapter 90 money with the hopes that the Select Board can talk with the Finance Committee and get the equivalent amount back to go towards the road program, Jeanne seconded. All in
favor. Briefly discussed paving Fred Snow Road.
Briefly discussed the property donations. Kopelman and Paige advised that before the Select Board authorizes them to convey the property to the town the Select Board should check on a few things. One thing would be to research the titles to all of the properties to make sure they have clear titles. Another thing they want done is to see if all taxes are current on these properties. The Select Board would like the tax collector to check to see if the taxes are current. Another thing they would like done is an inspection of these properties to see that there are no contaminants on the properties. The Select Board would like the building inspector to check these properties to see there are no contaminants on them. The Select Board will put this on hold until they get the information
from the different departments.
Craig explained that the current copier lease runs out in December. The company that the town is using for the current copier offered a 60 month lease with a monthly cost of $200.37 as opposed to the current price of $239.00 per month. This company is also offering a Hewlett Packard printer maintenance agreement which costs $72.53 per month. The company will bring in the new copier for the town to try for one week to see if it fits our needs. Jeanne motioned to approve the lease of the Xerox copier and printer maintenance agreement contingent on the one week trial period, Bill seconded. All in favor.
Bill motioned to appoint Stephen LaBelle Sr. as an Election Worker term to expire July 31, 2013, Jeanne seconded. All in favor.
The Select Board reviewed the Ambulance Department Request for Write-Off Report. The board would like to see if the police department could find a better address for one of the people on the list. They will hold off on this until they see what the police department comes up with.
The Select Board reviewed the letter of resignation from Allen Meyer as the plumbing/gas inspector effective December 31, 2012. Bill motioned to accept the resignation of Allen Meyer as the plumbing/gas inspector with regrets and send him a letter of thanks, Jeanne seconded. All in favor. Mark Levernoch, the current assistant plumbing/gas inspector expressed interest in becoming the plumbing/gas inspector. Briefly discussed the training that is involved in being the plumbing/gas inspector.
The Select Board reviewed the Special Permit application from the Planning Board to re-establish the protected status of the residential use of the property located at 673 Jacobs Ladder Road. They have no problem with this special permit.
The Select Board reviewed the monthly report of the animal control officer. Mark would like Bert to advise why the dog that he and his wife found was not included in his report. The Select Board would like to know how many dogs in Becket are not licensed yet. This information comes from the town clerk.
Jeanne motioned to send the letter to Senator Downing regarding Mr. Reel’s discussion before the Board regarding the dam issues on State property, Bill seconded. All in favor.
Any other business: Briefly discussed what floors and carpets should be cleaned by the cleaning company. Jeanne would like all of the floors cleaned and waxed downstairs and all of the bathroom floors cleaned. The room that used to be the COA’s room that is now being used by the Historical Commission needs to have the carpet cleaned. Jeanne motioned to do all floors, stairway and bathrooms floors and the COA carpet and high traffic carpets, Bill seconded. All in favor.
Colleen O’Connor feels the town should do something about the area in North Becket where the new rain garden is located. She feels there should be a fence installed so that no one can fall into the river. Briefly discussed this issue. The Select Board feels the Parks Commission should look into this.
Briefly discussed the issue with the Ambulance Department setting up the community room for the elections. Jeanne feels they should formalize this so that when there is an election everyone knows what needs to be done. Mark feels that they do not need to do this. Briefly discussed whether or not they need to have an agreement signed by the town clerk and the ambulance department. Jeanne recommends that an agreement is signed by the employees and that the Select Board approves it. Jeanne motioned to send this agreement to the town clerk and the ambulance department and ask them if they think it is a good idea to do this and if so, could they sign it, Bill seconded. Mark opposed this. The motion passed.
Craig advised that he wrote up two letters to the individual that was causing problems at town hall and the Select Board needed to decide which one to send. Jeanne motioned to send the underlined copy of the letter to the individual, Bill seconded. All in favor.
Briefly discussed the ethics training that needs to be completed by all employees, boards and committees. The State will not allow people who do not have computers to do this test manually anymore. The town clerk advised that the town would need to purchase a projector and computer to use for people who cannot do this on a computer and have someone be the trainer to perform the testing. Jeanne asked the town clerk to give her a list of people who have not completed this test but he has not given it to her yet. Nina will ask him to provide this list as soon as possible.
Nina advised that the BRTA would be coming to the Select Board Meeting on November 7, 2012 to discuss transportation programs for senior citizens and the disabled. She asked the Select Board if she should send a memo to the Council on Aging so they could attend this meeting. The Select Board feels the COA should make the seniors aware of this meeting.
Briefly discussed the resignation of the town accountant. The town should get a job description for this and advertise the position. Craig will check with other town managers to see if he could get a job description.
Nina advised that one of the properties that was donated at the Annual Town Meeting in May of 2011 was in probate because both owners were deceased and the town attorney finally got the two sons to sign the Quitclaim Deed. The Select Board will need to sign this deed for the property so it can be turned over to the town. Jeanne motioned to sign the Quit Claim Deed from Norman B and Gordon Soules and grant to the Town of Becket this property in Sherwood Forest, Bill seconded. All in favor.
Briefly discussed the dry hydrants. Bill advised that the fire chief feels the town would be responsible for the installations of the dry hydrants but the private developments would be responsible for the maintenance of the hydrants. Bill feels the town should be responsible for the maintenance because they use the hydrants all over town even if the fire is not in the private developments. The Select Board would like the fire chief to attend one of their meetings to discuss this.
The Select Board reviewed the Payroll Issues report from the treasurer. Craig advised that the Treasurer came to him because she has been working over her normal time to complete the payroll since the new company took over doing the payroll and she asked if she could get comp time for these hours and he said as long as she uses it expeditiously he was fine with it. Bill motioned to allow the Treasurer to take comp time for hours worked in excess of thirty hours based on the approval of the Town Administrator, Jeanne seconded. All in favor.
Jeanne advised that she attended the last Finance Committee meeting and gave them the Financial Reserves Policy that she drafted and they made their comments about it and she would like the Select Board to review this and they can discuss it at a later meeting.
Reviewed correspondence.
Select Board reviewed the Town Administrator evaluation process. Craig is not too keen on being evaluated. He feels that he has worked for the Town for 19 months and has gone through the painful process of appointing a full time police chief and has gone through two different Select Boards and feels that being evaluated now would not be fair. He was upset because he learned a few days before his appointment was to expire that the Select Board only appointed him for a few months and did not even tell him about it. He does not agree with the 360 staff review. He feels that if he had to discipline an employee they could come back and give him an unfavorable evaluation. Bill explained that evaluations have not been done for a number of years and they used to be done and he feels we should
start doing them again. Bill thought back in June that the evaluations would be done by now and that is why he made the appointment term until December 31, 2012. Craig advised that he will honor his commitment and serve until December 31, 2012. A question came up about where Craig is residing. He stated that it was none of anybody’s business where he is living and he was not part of the emergency management team. Bill advised that part of his job description states that he serves on the town’s emergency response team. Craig advised that if there was an emergency and he was able to get to town he would come. Mark advised that he only wants the direct reports to fill out the staff surveys. Mark motioned to provide the Town Administrator with the Town Administrator Self Evaluation Form, the Town Administrator Evaluation Form to the Select Board and the Staff Survey to department heads and have the responses due back in two
calendar weeks from when the letter goes out, Jeanne seconded. All in favor.
The Select Board will hold off on reviewing the various job descriptions until they receive everything from the highway department.
9:40 PM Bill motioned to adjourn, Jeanne seconded. All in favor.
Reviewed payroll/expense warrants.
Respectfully submitted, _______________________________
Nina Weiler, Secretary Mark L. Karlberg, Chairman
Documents discussed at meeting:
- Staff Survey re Town Administrator
- Policy for Evaluation of Town Administrator
- Town Administrator Evaluation Form
- Town Administrator Self Evaluation Form
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