MONSON BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2005
The regular meeting of the Monson Board of Selectmen convened at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room at 110 Main Street. In attendance were Kathleen C. Norbut, Richard E. Guertin and Edward S. Harrison. Also present were the Town Administrator and the media. Town Counsel was not present at this meeting.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Accept Minutes of May 31, 2005 – Open and Executive Sessions:
Mr. Harrison made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of May 31, 2005 – open and executive sessions with one small change noted in the executive session minutes in the first paragraph. Mr. Guertin seconded, as amended, and it was so VOTED.
Girl Scouts – Seeking 5 K Run/Walk Permission:
Alison Evans approached the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Evans explained she is working toward earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, which is equivalent to the Boy Scout Eagle Award. Ms. Evans explained the handouts she presented to the Board of Selectmen, which explained the 5K run she is proposing. The tentative date is July 23rd, rain or shine. Registration will be held in the parking lot of the Town Administration Building at 8:30 a.m., followed by the run at 9:00 a.m. The entry fee will be approximately $10.00 with the proceeds going to the Library. The run will use the same route as the Classic Run. Ms. Evans stated she has spoken with Chief Kozloski, Chief Harris and John Morrell as well as Ms. Norbut and Ms. Neggers. No one has expressed any objections to the run. Runners, joggers, walkers and
people of all ages and abilities are welcome to participate. Ms. Evans stated the date of July 23rd does not conflict with track meets. A water stop will be set up half way and at the end of the course. Mr. Harrison said Ms. Evans should be commended on her achievement.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to grant permission to Alison Evans to conduct the fund raising race on July 23rd beginning at 9:00 a.m. with a registration time of 8:30 a.m. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Neggers said if she is provided with all the information, she would place it on the town’s web site as well.
Summerfest Committee – Various:
Peter Matrow and Scott Walker approached the Board of Selectmen regarding the following-up of a letter previously sent to the Board of Selectmen explaining the Summerfest 2005 activities and the possibility of requesting a second beer garden. The Summerfest Committee has also spoken with Chief Harris, John Morrell and Tim Pascale, providing them with the details for the 4th of July events as well. Mr. Walker explained there is not enough manpower for a second beer garden. They will continue with just the one beer garden, which will have the same layout and security as done in previous years. Ms. Neggers said there has never been any incidents or problems with the beer garden that she is aware of. Mr. Walker stated a discussion has taken place between the Summerfest Committee and the Police liaison, Officer
Scott Lawrence, regarding the usual parking bans plus a new parking ban this year. This year the Summerfest Committee would like to limit parking so that no parking would be allowed on either side of Main Street, from the north side of the Senior Center to the south side of Main Street Cemetery, on July 1st (when the fireworks will be held) between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. This area would be a no vendor’s zone and a pedestrian zone only. The vendors will be asked to leave this zone by a police officer and signage stating this will be posted as well. Only vendors who pay a fee will be allowed to sell their merchandise in Veteran’s Field. All other vendors will have to stay beyond the pedestrian zone.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to allow the Summerfest Committee to sell malt and beverages between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on July 4, 2005, contingent upon receipt of the certificate of insurance and restricted to the area shown in the diagram. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to allow the Summerfest Committee to reserve the area between the south side of Main Street Cemetery to the north side of the Senior Center on Main Street as a no parking vendor free zone the night of the fireworks, July 1, 2005, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Harrison made motion to donate to the Summerfest Committee the sum of $1,800.00 from the Gifts to the Town Account for general expenses. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Matrow explained the Summerfest Committee have a lot more of the Monson afghans for sale. Anyone interested may contact him, or if purchased at the Summerfest Information booth during the Summerfest only, a $5.00 discount will be taken off the original price.
Appoint Full-time Police Officer:
Acting Chief Kozloski and Officer Jane Jalbert approached the Board of Selectmen. Acting Chief Kozloski explained Officer Jalbert came to him as a very experienced applicant after a recent job search for a full-time police officer. Officer Jalbert originally started her policing career in the Town of Monson as a full-time officer. Unfortunately Monson was unable to compete with the Town of Southwick for a number of years. Officer Jalbert is a Monson resident and acting Chief Kozloski feels she would be a very good asset to the department and to the community as a whole. Office Jalbert said she feels she has grown a lot professionally in the last seven years that she has been away. Officer Jalbert has been involved in several community programs, such as RAD Kids programs, RAD Women’s programs, Citizens Police
Academy, and she has been a court liaison for the past two years. Officer Jalbert also has experience as an educator.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to appoint Jane Jalbert to the position of full-time Police Officer effective immediately, contingent upon the completion of the background check, through June 30, 2007. Mr. Harrison seconded and it was so VOTED.
Discuss Process for Police Chief Appointment:
Acting Chief Kozloski approached the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Norbut said several months ago, the Board of Selectmen began diligently examining public safety in our community. The Board of Selectmen have been reviewing and examining the priorities that each of the Selectmen have deemed necessary for the Monson Police Department. Ms. Norbut explained acting Chief Kozloski was appointed acting Chief of Police following the resignation of Chief McKenzie in April. In a letter to the Board of Selectmen at that time, which was discussed and read publicly at the Selectmen’s meeting, acting Chief Kozloski had indicated he would be interested in the Police Chief position. The skills and qualities Ms. Norbut identified that she feels are priority fundamental qualities for this position are leadership skills including
temperament, maturity, consistency and solid management. Ms. Norbut stated acting Chief Kozloski has demonstrated solid working relationships with all the town departments. Acting Chief Kozloski has served the Town of Monson since 1994. His dedication to the profession of law enforcement, along with his broad range of skills, knowledge of the community and proven record of service to the town and citizens are the key component that she examined. Acting Chief Kozloski served the town as acting Chief during two interm periods. His knowledge of the budget, personnel and collaborations with the regions law enforcement personnel make him the most qualified individual for the post and she feels that enforces public safety in our community. Ms. Norbut added she has served on search committees in the past and has ruled out that a search committee was needed in this case. Ms. Norbut believes the skills that acting Chief Kozloski has demonstrated during this tenure in Monson will best serve
the community now and will continue into the future. Therefore, Ms. Norbut supports acting Chief Kozloski’s appointment as permanent Chief of Police for the Town of Monson.
Mr. Harrison said he has known acting Chief Kozloski for quite awhile. He has had an opportunity to observe acting Chief Kozloski up close and personal in that role for the eight or nine months that he was the intern acting Chief when Monson was looking for a permanent Chief last time. Mr. Harrison feels acting Chief Kozloski did an outstanding job and added it is obvious in acting Chief Kozloski’s acceptance of the intern position this time that he continues to exhibit the same qualities and instill in him the same level of confidence and ability he had the last time. Therefore, Mr. Harrison said he is in favor of appointing Stephen Kozloski to the position of Chief. Mr. Harrison agrees with a candidate of his qualities, there is no need to go outside looking for someone else.
Mr. Guertin added, he too was around when Chief Rebello left and acting Chief Kozloski was serving as acting Chief. Mr. Guertin said he and Mr. Harrison have had a chance to see acting Chief Kozloski’s performance under pressure in this role twice now and he has remained very level headed, calm and clear thinking throughout all of this. Mr. Guertin supports what Ms. Norbut and Mr. Harrison were thinking and he too lends his support to the full-time appointment of acting Chief Kozloski.
Acting Chief Kozloski said he appreciates the Board of Selectmen’s confidence in allowing him the second opportunity to face the challenges of running a rather complex department in the community. He feels under the circumstances he would be the best fit even if it were to be opened up to the outside for applicants, and feels his qualities and experience would hopefully lead the Board of Selectmen to the same decision.
Mr. Guertin added acting Chief Kozloski knows the existing staff, the officers, which is a big plus.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to appoint acting Chief Stephen Kozloski to become the full-time permanent Police Chief in the Town of Monson upon the completion of an agreed upon contract that all parties sign. With that signing, Mr. Kozloski would become Chief. Mr. Harrison seconded and it was so VOTED.
Designation of Elisabeth Pratt Day – June 16, 2005:
Ms. Norbut said Ms. Pratt will be recognized at the Council on Aging this Thursday, the 16th, for her service to the community. Ms. Norbut read the Proclamation from the Board of Selectmen into the record. Ms. Norbut thanked Ms. Pratt and wished her well. Ms. Neggers said Ms. Pratt is an icon who has made a life long commitment to giving to her community. Her services go back many, many years. Mr. Harrison added back in 1997, Ms. Pratt was voted Rotary Citizen of the Year and has had a long glorious past. Ms. Neggers said Ms. Pratt will be missed in town.
Approve End-of-Year Report Police (Agreement reached between Town Accountant and School Department – School Committee Approval is still Pending):
Ms. Neggers said this is to formalize what has been to date an informal agreement. The year-end report is a report filed with the state. It documents expenditures made by the School Department and by the town on behalf of the School Department and was started in 1993. This report was prepared by the Town Accountant and was presented to the School Committee who has not acted upon it as yet.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to approve the documentation just reviewed, which is a Town Accountant memo dated April 4th to Carol Woodbury and the Board of Selectmen, regarding the end of the year report policies. Mr. Harrison seconded and it was so VOTED.
Discuss Memorial Hall/House of Art – Selectmen’s Oversight:
Ms. Neggers explained the Selectmen have control over all of the town owned buildings and properties, more specifically the House of Art and Memorial Hall, which are utilized by the public on a per diem basis, and long-term tenants. These two buildings are of particular historic and cultural importance in the community. Ms. Neggers explained it is very difficult with the town staffing the way it is, with the custodian working only 30 hours per week (excluding the House of Art which has been maintained independently) to care for these buildings. Due to this factor it is becoming more complex to monitor, maintain and protect these buildings. Mr. Guertin and Ms. Neggers spoke recently about this and Mr. Guertin is prepared to take on a new role as he has offered to assist in overseeing these two buildings. The House of Art
and Memorial Hall are very valuable buildings and their future is tremendous to the town as an economic tool. Mr. Guertin said he and Ms. Neggers jointly drafted a memo, which might even serve as a job description. Mr. Guertin explained if you have multiple users, you could also have disagreements and/or conflicts that could arise. It might not be sufficient waiting for the Selectmen to hold their meeting, which is held only twice a month, to have these issues resolved. It might seem more reasonable to have someone who could intervene and perhaps make decisions or mediate a solution if such a problem occurred. Some of the things Mr. Guertin and Ms. Neggers came up with that a Building Facilitator (a position created under the Board of Selectmen) might do would be:
Approve and schedule all usage of both Memorial Hall and the House of Art.
The person would also establish an inventory of keys and accept responsibility of issuance of keys.
Monitor the collection of fees and any required insurance documents for fee based uses of the buildings.
Monitor the ongoing use of the buildings and inspect the buildings after events sponsored by outside agencies. Verify compliance with building use policy requirements including removal of equipment and materials, and clean up. This must be done in a timely fashion.
Oversee maintenance needs, which would include everything from trash removal to routine repairs, cleaning, material and equipment storage, and proper space utilization.
Assist in identifying long term capital repairs that might be needed.
Facilitate communication by and between tenants and the town, including monitoring complaints and mediating and resolving any problems that might arise.
Communicate with the Historical Commission on a regular basis regarding any potential concerns of building use, maintenance and any other needs.
Mr. Guertin said whoever is in this role would be able to make independent judgments, but would also have to use good judgment and perhaps bring issues to the Board of Selectmen to be resolved as a body, as opposed to making an independent judgment. The Board of Selectmen as a whole would oversee this position and would have the right to have this person report to the Board and monitor what this person was doing if necessary. Mr. Guertin has volunteered to take this position on if the Board of Selectmen agreed. Mr. Guertin also said, if the board agreed to create this position, interested parties would have to be notified of this change. He would want to meet with those parties and try to verbalize what he foresaw there, listen to any concerns they might have and try to move forward with this. Mr. Guertin would love to
see more public use of these buildings as well and would try to encourage more organizations and groups to step up, assuming they are the right types of groups, through this position. Mr. Guertin said he might also try to initiate a tenant to utilize the basement in Memorial Hall vacated by M-PACT. Ms. Neggers added she has had inquires to this nature. Mr. Guertin noted there are some repairs that need to be made in Memorial Hall, such as the plaster, which is also something he might be able to try to get done. Mr. Guertin said he would look to Ms. Neggers for guidance when a new use is requested as to whether or not this should be brought to the Board of Selectmen for discussion.
Mr. Harrison said he feels this is a good idea and agreed it is really needed.
Ms. Norbut said she appreciates Mr. Guertin taking this role on and feels he is the best person for the job for many reasons as Mr. Guertin has had previous experience with the groups and with the facilities.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to appoint Mr. Guertin as the Building Use Facilitator for Memorial Hall and the House of Art, with the list of obligations and duties as outlined in the document. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Commence Reappointment Process:
Mr. Guertin explained a while ago he brought up the formation of the Long-Range Capital Planning Committee to the Board of Selectmen. Thus far, he is the only member on that committee. Mr. Guertin explained at this point, he is gathering information. When all the information is gathered, a committee would be formed. Mr. Guertin hand delivered a package to just about every department head, which contained a six-page memo and he presented the essence of this memo. Mr. Guertin said many of the town departments feel that over the years, they have not received adequate budgets on a year in and year out basis, and this is represented in two ways. One way is that there are budgeted items that they have identified and the department never receives enough money for that particular item. Also mentioned is the fact that there
are other items or needs that are never budgeted because they don’t even bother as they know it won’t go through. Mr. Guertin is asking the department heads to review their budgets for the last five years. Determine whether they have included all the types of budgetary items they feel are required that would fall under the definitions Mr. Guertin had outlined earlier. Identify the specific items that have not been funded or not been funded adequately and then complete a template. The second part of the memo deals with capital items. Mr. Guertin has sent each department head a spreadsheet listing all of the capital items he knows they have. This could be automobils, fire trucks, sanders, plows, etc. Each of these items have vehicle identification numbers or serial numbers on them and he is asking the department heads to identify to make sure this list is correct. If the equipment is no longer there, he is requesting it be crossed out. If something is not listed, he is
requesting it be added. Some of the questions asked on the equipment list is when it was first put into use and estimate its’ life expectancy. For example, if a truck was purchased, how many years do you think that truck will last, identify when this truck is going to have to be replaced (what year), and identify how much it will cost to replace that truck. The town will have a complete inventory of all town departments capital items currently owned by the town along with all the capital items that department thinks they are going to need and what the estimated costs are in each of the future years when this is all done. Mr. Guertin is asking the department heads when completing this, to look toward the next ten to fifteen years. Once all the information has been received, the committee will be formed and Mr. Guertin will share all the information with them that has been gathered to try to come up with a financial plan on where the revenue is going to come. Ms. Neggers,
Ms. Mahar and the Assessors’ Office have identified all of the revenue sources over the last five to ten years. Mr. Guertin will try to project out what he thinks the revenue source dollar amounts will be over the next ten to fifteen years in order to compare the anticipated revenue that the town will be receiving, against the expense needs the department heads list. The department heads have until September 1st to complete their portion of this. Databases have been built and will contain all of this information.
Mr. Guertin read pages one and two of the attached re-appointments into the record and made a motion to re-appoint the names read through June 30, 2006. Mr. Harrison seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut read pages three and four of the attached re-appointments into the record and made a motion to re-appoint the names read through June 30, 2006. Mr. Harrison seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Harrison read pages five and six of the attached re-appointments into the record and made a motion to re-appoint the names read through June 30, 2006. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
In Other Business to Come Before the Board of Selectmen:
Ms. Neggers said this past Sunday, Girl Scout Troop 418 held a dedication ceremony at the Silver Street Trail, which they have been working on to earn a bronze award. They delivered to the Selectmen’s office a framed photograph of the Silver Street Trail area to be displayed in the town offices. Ms. Neggers read briefly what the girls had written up describing the trail area. Ms. Neggers extended her greatest appreciation to these young girls of Monson who are out there putting some real labor and sweat into making our community a much better place in this preserved open space, for everyone to share ;and to treasure. Mr. Guertin offered his apologies to this troop along with Leslie Duthie and all of the others. Mr. Guertin explained he received a great invitation to attend this ceremony which he and his daughter
were really looking forward to attending. Unfortunately, this ceremony was held at the same time as his daughter’s softball tournament in Wilbraham and another child with a baseball game, so he was unable to attend this ceremony.
Ms. Norbut said in other business to come before the Board of Selectmen, this past weekend she was able to attend the 200th anniversary of the Monson Academy. The Wilbraham/Monson Academy had the alumni reunion weekend and the two bicentennial celebrations. On behalf of the Town of Monson, Ms. Norbut attended a luncheon and spoke to approximately 250 people at the luncheon and mentioned to them how the Monson Mural contains the academy bell as everyone felt it was an important piece of history.
At 8:25 p.m., Mr. Guertin made a motion to adjourn from open session to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing collective bargaining and pending litigation, not to return to open session. Mr. Harrison seconded and it was so VOTED.
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Edward S. Harrison, Clerk
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