MONTEREY SELECT BOARD
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF OCTOBER 25, 2004
The regular weekly meeting of the Monterey Select Board was opened at 8:30 a.m. with members Jonathan Sylbert (Chair), Michèle Miller, and Michael Storch all present.
In attendance for the meeting: George Emmons of the Monterey News
· The Board met with Administrative Assistant Bonnie Tedder to discuss the following items:
o Town website
o Board of Assessor hiring of a company to update Town maps
o Database of Town addresses to facilitate mailing of meeting notices to Town officers, boards and committees
· The Board met with Chief Gareth Backhaus to review Police Department items, as follows:
o New police cruiser
o Community Policing Grant
· The Board met with Director of Operations Maynard Forbes to review Highway Department items, as follows:
o Road closings: The Board requested publication in the Monterey News of a list of Town roads to be closed during the winter
o Town Hall renovation: List of final items for completion
· At 9:30 a.m. the Board met with Board of Assessors members Stanley Ross and Riccardo Boehm to discuss Town maps. The Assessors are planning to hire a company to update the maps, and have already scheduled meetings with three companies in this regard. The Select Board will meet on November 1 with Fuss & O’Neill, Conway School of Landscape Design, and Cartographic Associates Inc.
In another matter, the Board determined that the Town waived its Right of First Refusal on the 2002 sale of property on Hupi Road by Gail Scherrer.
· Fire Chief Ray Tryon asked that the Board place an Article on the Warrant of the Special Town Meeting requesting an $8000 transfer from available funds to the Fire Department budget to replace the Town’s portion of three grants (received from the Commonwealth, Homeland Security, and the Division of Fisheries).
· Deborah D. Mielke met with the Board to ask that the Town purchase holiday decorations from her daughter Dinah; a portion of the proceeds will be donated for a school chorus trip to New Orleans; the Board took this item under advisement.
SELECT BOARD MINUTES - 2 - OCTOBER 25, 2004
· At 10:30 a.m. the Board met with Wilson/McLaughlin Committee members Joe Baker, Gige Connell, Shirley Olds, and Susan Sellew. Several items were discussed as follows:
o On the Committee’s recommendation, it was moved by Miller, seconded by Storch, and unanimously voted to appointment Jim Edelman to the Wilson/McLaughlin Committee for a term ending June 30, 2005
o Report on meeting with Town Counsel regarding municipal uses of the property
o Report on meeting with engineer Ted Popoff and recommendations regarding repair and maintenance of the building, including repairing the building’s shell and sills, pouring a concrete basement, and gutting the building’s interior
o Report on meeting with Virgil Stucker of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
o Possibility of moving the Monterey Kindergarten to the Wilson/McLaughlin property, which would make the present school building available for affordable housing
o Use of the property for a community center
The main question that remains unanswered is a clear vision of the specific use for the Wilson/McLaughlin property. The Board suggested that the Committee prepare a “short list” of possible uses for presentation at a public hearing.
· Joe Baker asked that the sponsor of any Special Article placed on the Warrant of a Town Meeting be present at said Town Meeting to speak on behalf of said Article; the Board agreed, responding that Articles lacking a sponsor should be passed over. In another matter, Baker complained about the very late drawdown of Lake Garfield and asked that per State guidelines, the Lake Garfield drawdown should be completed by September 15.
· Highway and Treasury Warrants were signed.
· The clerk was given instructions regarding correspondence.
· The Minutes of October 18, 2004, were approved as written.
· It was unanimously voted that the meeting be adjourned (12:05 p.m.).
Judith Kales, Clerk
Monterey Select Board
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