Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 11/20/06
Meeting Opened at: 8:36am
Select Board Members Present: Michael Storch, Chairperson, Jonathan Sylbert, and Wayne Burkhart
Also in attendance for the meeting: Laurily Epstein for the Monterey News
The board met with the Director of Highways, Maynard Forbes and reviewed the following items:
1. M. Storch complimented the highway crew on their work so far on Fairview Rd. The rain the other day had no effect on the work done so far. To date this project has cost $22,000.00.
2. M. Forbes met with the people selling the excavator and it should be delivered next week.
3. L. Thorpe may ask the highway crew to help load the boxes of books into her truck to be moved to the Historical Society.
4. Back door of the town hall: can we make it an exit only? M. Forbes will look into fixing it.
5. The balance beam is going to be delivered to the school this morning.
The board met with Building Inspector, Donald Torrico and reviewed the following items:
1. There was a complaint about a sign on Art School Rd announcing an “Inn” and an “art school studio”. D. Torrico confirmed that a sign permit has not been applied for and it is required. It will be brought to the Board of Health’s attention to find out if a B&B permit is required. D. Torrico will send a letter about the sign.
2. A site inspection was made at the above-mentioned residence after a complaint was received about construction crews being there. After an inspection it was noted that they are performing this work without permits.
3. Building Department Software: no word from the Assessor’s, they state that they are at the mercy of Patriot software. The software will be purchase to begin streamlining the department.
4. A question was asked of the Building Inspector as to the times construction can begin and end. The town currently does not have a bylaw regarding this but the Police Department enforces a 6am – 10pm rule.
5. J. Sylbert, as a representative of the Land Trust inquired about the ZBA hearing for the residence on Carrington-Battelle Rd that is applying for a Special Permit. The Land Trust abuts this property.
6. The board mentioned to D. Torrico that the town will be streamlining the phone lines and that we would be moving the 528.9153 line into the new phone system and the 528.1443 main number. The building department fax machine line will remain separate and keep the same number. D. Torrico had no problems with this and stated he’d go along with what was best for the town.
7. D. Torrico stated that the building department has received a lot of inquires lately with potential building plans and questions regarding those plans.
The board met with Police Chief, Gareth Backhaus to review the following items:
1. Resident assistance on Art School Rd.
2. G. Backhaus participated in a search that involved 2 different houses where stolen items were identified as items taken from recent burglaries in Monterey and other surrounding Berkshire towns. Arrests were made in this case and charges have been filed.
3. Lost dog found and returned.
4. False alarm on Hupi Rd.
5. Investigating a death threat received on a child’s instant message.
6. G. Backhaus confirmed that the only key that can open the back door of the town hall is a master and he has no problem with this becoming an exit only.
7. G. Backhaus confirmed that there is not a town bylaw about noise and construction times.
The board met with Inter-Departmental Secretary, Melissa Noe to review the following items:
1. Sent out 71 Alarm Renewal Bills, 15 Disposal Works Installer Permit Renewal letters and 6 Septage Hauler Renewal letters.
2. Notified the board of a hard drive failure in my computer. It was brought to Practical Solutions on Friday 11/17 and they are trying to recover the data and they believe the hard drive is still covered under the Dell warranty and will call about getting a new one.
3. The tax collector inquired about the purchase of a large capacity shredder. The board would like an estimate of how much will need to be shredded so that we can make an educated purchase.
4. The board was asked about the town report and the dedication: The board suggested David McAllister
5. The Wilson McLaughlin House requested a roll of stamps from town funds for mailing their minutes: The board asked M. Noe to call S. Olds and let her know that the board was under the impression that they were helping with the initial mailing before they had any funds of their own.
6. M. Noe inquired about the town hall garbage pick up as the transfer station will no longer pick it up after Dec. 31. M. Storch provided the board with a flyer for a local pick up service, which M. Noe will call to get more info on. M. Storch also suggested approaching M. Forbes about his crew picking it up.
The board met with Town Accountant, Barbara Gauthier to review the following items:
1. B. Gauthier inquired as to whether the board had received the breakdown of the town’s outstanding loans from the Treasurer. The select board has not received this as of today. B. Gauthier gave the board some rough numbers and said that the Treasurer would me at the meeting tonight to give the breakdown on paper.
2. The warrants for this week and next week were signed. There is another bill from Andrus for hooking up the generator. There is also a bill in there for the new stove that had to be purchased for the Bally Gally rental.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. The board spoke with Rick Mielke about dredging Lake Buel as an option to the NOI proposal currently on the table.
2. The minutes from 11.6.06 & 11.13.06 were approved as written.
3. The board met with R. Lazzarini and S. Ross of the Board of Assessors about the new phone system. The 528.6481 number is going to be streamlined into the 528.1443 main phone number. The Assessor’s did not have a problem with streamlining their phone line into the new phone system but they did request a separate fax number/machine to be located in their office and the board told them they had no problem with them doing that if it was taken it out of the Assessor’s budget.
4. Janet Cathcart came in to discuss the NOI proposals for the draw down for Lake Garfield. The board reviewed the 2 proposals that the town received. Janet recommended involving the person chosen for the NOI with regards to dredging. J. Sylbert asked about the extra charges for plant mapping on one of the quotes and it being included on the other. Janet believes it may be a mistake on the proposal where it’s included and stated that they already have this map. The board is going to contact Ken Wagner, Water Resources Manager of ENSR and ask him to come in and meet with the board again and anyone else interested in attending to
negotiate the details of the contract. Janet feels that the dredging should be kept a separate issue from the NOI for draw down. Ken Wagner will be at the December 4th Select Board meeting at 10am.
5. Steve McMahon appeared before the board as a representative of the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Foundation, there will be an opportunity over the next 10 years of federal funding up to a million dollars in preservation with a 1:1 match and would like the Select Board to begin thinking of project ideas.
6. The board and Town Accountant reviewed the Capital Expense spreadsheets that Dan Moriarity sent to W. Burkhart. The board and accountant noted that there is a lot of outdated and incorrect information on the spreadsheet.
7. L. Thorpe came in to discuss the books being moved to the Historical Society and that they will still be the town’s property but just stored at the Historical Society. A memo will be sent confirming this. As an employee in the town clerk’s office she stated that they will still be keeping and paying for a Centrex line out of the their budget for the line that transfers to the Town Clerk’s home.
8. The Select Board inquired about the building/training center that the Fire Department is building and why the board wasn’t made aware of it. The Building Inspector was called and he stated that a permit hasn’t been applied for yet, the Fire Department only inquired about the feasibility of the project and use and will now begin their fund-raising.
9. The board asked M. Noe to start the process of purchasing turkey/ham gift cards for the appointed employees for the December holidays. B. Gauthier stated that there will need to be a note with the gift cards that they are not to be used to purchase alcohol.
The meeting adjourned at: 11:50pm
Melissa Noe
Inter-Departmental Secretary
Town of Monterey
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