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Executive Session Minutes from 7/30/07
Police Interviews
10:38am – 11:28am
Present: Jonathan Sylbert, Chair of the Select Board, Scott Jenssen Select Board member, Wayne Burkhart, Select Board member, Police Chief, Gareth Backhaus and Melissa Noe secretary to the Board (presence requested by Gareth Backhaus).
Roll call was taken by the Chair. All Select Board members were present. A motion was made by J. Sylbert to go into executive session, seconded by S. Jenssen, and approved unanimously.
Items discussed:
- 10:38am – 10:55am - Jonathan Garson was interviewed for the full time Police Office position. Chief Backhaus gave a rundown of Del’s employment history. He is from Pittsfield and living in Pittsfield. The Board explained the differences in Monterey versus working in a larger city like Pittsfield. Small town policing boils down to a lot of socializing and solving problems. The town is looking for someone that wants to make a long-term commitment and be a part of the community. Mr. Garson stated that he is very personable and prides himself on his communication skills. Working in Pittsfield is different and he would welcome the change to a community policing type of community. W. Burkhart mentioned the not for profit rehabilitation center that he works for (Gould Farm) to also
give that aspect of life in Monterey. He asked what experience Mr. Garson had with mental health issues and dealing with those types of crises. He stated that working in Pittsfield you had the convenience of a crisis center at BMC close by. He had a few hour block training at the academy for dealing with mental health issues but at this point doesn’t have a lot of hands on experience. S. Jenssen mentioned his only concern would be the potential for boredom as Monterey is (thankfully) a quiet community when it comes to police matters. Creativity and willingness to help out in other areas in down times would be a strong plus. Mr. Garson would be proactive in finding problems before they happen and understands that the call volume will not be the same as it is in Pittsfield. He would want to work on building relationships in the town in his downtime. Mr. Garson is willing to relocate within a 15-mile radius; he would just need time
to find a place closer to Monterey.
- 10:55am – am - Delmont Keyes was interviewed for the full time Police Officer position. Chief Backhaus gave a rundown of Del’s employment history. Del is also from Pittsfield. Del explained to the Board why he’s leaving Pittsfield after being there since 1998 and the personnel problem he had that is currently in litigation. The Board explained the differences in Monterey versus working in a larger city like Pittsfield. Small town policing boils down to a lot of socializing and solving problems and prevention measures. Mr. Keye’s gave his background with Community Policing as well as Tactical Policing. S. Jenssen mentioned his only concern would be the potential for boredom as Monterey is (thankfully) a quiet community when it comes to police matters. Mr. Keyes,
given the opportunity is comfortable with the change in activity; he’s looking for something with a small town feeling and the job is what you make of it. The board mentioned their concern about the MGL 15mile radius requirement.
- The third applicant, Ryan Kresiak, called to withdraw his application and notify the board that he would not be in for his 11am interview.
- Chief Backhaus did receive a resume from Chris Balestro that he provided to the board. Mr. Balestro does live in Monterey. He was unable to make it to the interviews today due to a scheduling conflict.
- The board discussed the applicants.
At 11:28pm J. Sylbert called this meeting to a close and return to an open meeting this was seconded by S. Jenssen and unanimously approved by the board.
Submitted by,
Melissa Noe
Inter-Departmental Secretary
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