MONTEREY SELECT BOARD
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MAY 24, 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 Don Torrico, Acting Building Inspector, to discuss building items.
· Sylbert conferred with Town Clerk Barbara Swann by telephone regarding appointments to the Town Report Committee and appointment of Town Counsel.
· The Board met with Chief Gareth Backhaus to review Police Department items.
· The Board discussed the Town Hall telephone system with Backhaus and Administrative Assistant Bonnie Tedder. Backhaus recommended the use of Verizon voice mail for various Town officials; the Board concurred. Tedder will confer with Verizon to determine the most cost-effective solution, whether one line with several voice-mail boxes or different lines.
· Chris Blair, chair of the Conservation Commission, met with the Board on the following items:
o Update on the status of the Scenic Mountains Act
o Inspection of the Germain property with Board of Health
o Weed harvesting in the lakes, joint meeting with New Marlborough Conservation Commission
o Hot tub installation on Buckingham Lane: requires a building permit
· At 10 a.m. the Board conducted a public hearing on the petition of Massachusetts Electric Company and Verizon New England Inc. for the placement of one jointly owned pole on Cronk Road (to be numbered E/4-50), approximately 1,346 feet west of the intersection of Chestnut Hill Road. Charles Ketchen of Massachusetts Electric was present for the hearing. Director of Operations Maynard Forbes asked that the new customer have a permit to work in the right of way. There being no objections, the Board voted unanimously to sign the Order allowing for the pole placement.
· Leroy Thorpe, chair of the Parks Commission, made complaint to the Board about actions of the Town’s Procurement Officer, Bonnie Tedder, toward the contractor hired to mow the ballpark. Tedder responded that the required paperwork, an equipment list, had not been provided. Tedder stated further that it is her responsibility as Procurement Officer to retrieve the required information from a Parks Commission bidder; she further indicated that the individual she had requested the information from was the same individual who had submitted the bid package; lastly, she contested the characterization of her actions as
specified in Thorpe’s letter and denied that she had acted in an unkindly manner.
· The Board met with Director of Operations Maynard Forbes to review Highway Department items, as follows:
o Signage for horses requested by Brian Puntin (see Minutes of April 26, May 3, May 17) Forbes reported that the cost to put up the six signs requested would be approximately $700 but advised that the suggested wording is neither legal nor readable. Forbes recommended installation of three generic signs around Town; he further recommended that the horse group write some educational articles for the Monterey News; any complaints should go to the Police Department for follow-up.
o Gould Farm land transfer The Board is still waiting for the map, but will confer with Gould Farm in this regard
o Beaver problem on Art School Road
· The Board met in executive session from 10:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. with Catherine Tower, Gould Farm Executive Director.
· The Board met with Town Accountant Barbara Gauthier to discuss accounting items.
· Select Board chair Sylbert signed two Agreements, as follows:
1) Center for Ecological Technology: Annual service agreement for the removal of household hazardous waste (July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005)
2) Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association: Annual service agreement for public health services to Town residents (July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005)
· The Board met with Acting Building Inspector Don Torrico to review building items.
· It was moved by Miller, seconded by Storch, and unanimously voted to reappoint Albert J. Adams as the Town’s Veterans’ Agent for a one-year term, July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005.
· Highway and Treasury Warrants were signed.
· The clerk was given instructions regarding correspondence.
· The Minutes of May 17, 2004, were approved as written.
· It was unanimously voted that the meeting be adjourned (12:10 p.m.).
Judith Kales, Clerk
Monterey Select Board
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