Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 1/28/08
Meeting Opened at: 8:30am
Select Board Members Present: Jonathan Sylbert, Chairperson, Wayne Burkhart and Scott Jenssen
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Michael Storch, Pat Mielke, Richard Tryon, Raymond Tryon
The board met with the Director of Highways, Maynard Forbes and reviewed the following items:
1. Weekly report was reviewed.
2. M. Forbes turned in a copy of his budget to the Select Board. The Board and M. Forbes reviewed the budget together.
3. Salt Shed: M. Forbes asked where the Town stood and when it could be put out to bid. J. Sylbert mentioned that Smitty Pignatelli and Senator Downing will be here on Thursday at 4pm to meet about broadband access and he plans to discuss a few other items with them then as well, including the salt shed and state assistance.
4. M. Noe gave M. Forbes the county map provided to the Town by Geri Porter of Berkshire County Insurance.
5. A resident questioned the portion of Mt Hunger Rd past Nancy Kalodner’s and whether the road was going to be widened to accommodate all of the new building projects. M. Forbes stated that he is very concerned about the road’s current specifications and future traffic but a project of this magnitude would need to go before the Town at a Town meeting.
The board met with Building Inspector, Donald Torrico and reviewed the following items:
1. D. Torrico asked the Board to appoint an alternate (deputy) plumbing and gas inspector. D. Torrico and R. Krupski, the Plumbing and Gas Inspector both recommended Glenn Wilcox of Lee. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to appoint Glenn Wilcox as the alternate Plumbing Inspector. A letter of appointment will be mailed to Glenn today and cc’d to the Town Clerk.
2. The Board and D. Torrico discussed the current process for the Plumbing Inspector and Electrical Inspector to receive permit applications and fees. D. Torrico feels strongly that these forms and fees should be sent and managed through the Town Offices versus sending it to the Inspector’s homes. The Board agreed that this was a good idea.
3. D. Torrico asked the Board that if he was going to be responsible for issuing the permits for the new trenching regulations that are to go into effect January 2009 that there should be some sort of additional compensation for the added duties. The Town will be able to charge a fee for this permit.
4. D. Torrico also asked what the Board had decided on for a cost of living increase. The Board stated that this would have to be decided at an Executive level on an individual basis.
5. D. Torrico asked about the Town Bylaws and wanted to know if someone was going to review the Town Meeting warrant and votes. W. Burkhart stated that after speaking with the Town Clerk about this the Town Clerk is going to speak with the Planning Board as she recalls that it never went before the Town at Town Meeting. Later in the meeting the Town Clerk’s town report which included the votes made at Town Meeting were provided to the Board and D. Torrico.
6. Seven Stones: D. Torrico has received several calls about this property. The new owner’s lawyer feels that the use as a camp has been abandoned and they are going to apply for a special permit to run the camp again in the future. A question has also arisen about the road frontage noted on the March 2007 ANR map/site plan signed by the Planning Board that shows the property’s road frontage in Gt. Barrington. Since the buildings are located in Monterey questions arose as to how any building permits would need to be handled according to the Town’s Bylaws. An email has been sent to M. Leonard of the Planning Board
requesting more information.
The board met with Police Chief, Gareth Backhaus to review the following items:
1. Chief Backhaus turned in his employee reviews for R. Gero and J. Dondey.
2. Chief Backhaus handed in a copy of his FY09 budget request for the Police Dept. and reviewed with the Board the reason for any increases.
3. False alarm at the Monterey Library – building was secure.
4. Domestic call on Main Rd.
5. A vehicle parked at the Lake Buel boat launch, that was unregistered and uninsured, was towed. The owner was cited for operating an unregistered vehicle.
The board met with Town Accountant, Barbara Gauthier to review the following items:
1. Review and complete budget requests.
2. B. Gauthier informed the Board that the Select Board and Finance Committee need to meet to declare a Winter Emergency in order to give the highway department the permission to continue spending even though they have reached their budget. A memo was sent to all the Finance Committee members requesting their presence at the Board’s next meeting.
3. Warrants were signed. B. Gauthier noted that the bill received from the Planning Board with regards to the Master Plan should’ve been placed on the Town Meeting warrant.
4. B. Gauthier came in to let express concern regarding comments made to her over the weekend concerning the upcoming investigation of the Town Clerk’s office.
The Board stated that unfortunately there is a common misperception around town regarding the reason for the investigation. The Board wants to make it clear that this investigation is a tool to put this matter to rest once the investigation is finished and the report and findings have been written.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. The minutes from 1.14.08 were approved as written.
2. Mail was reviewed.
3. Pat Mielke, Town Treasurer came in to discuss the following with the Board:
a. Senior Property Tax Work Off Program (it’s a non-refundable tax abatement): Pat provided forms that were created by the Town Of New Marlborough when they instituted this program and that have been modified to fit Monterey’s needs. There will be a bulletin put in the Monterey News announcing a future date for a question and answer session about the program.
b. Town Insurance: The Board informed Pat that the Massamont Insurance Company had paid a visit to the Board asking if the Board was going to put the Town’s insurance for the upcoming FY out to a competitive bid. Pat stated that she didn’t have a problem with the Town going out to bid as long as they attempted to get at least 3 bids. It is the Board’s understanding that Massamont does not offer all of the same insurance services that we currently get through MIIA and if this were to go out to bid it would need to be for all of the services we currently get and need. The Board is going to send a letter to Massamont asking
what information he will need from the Town to make a bid and if they offer Health Insurance. The Board confirmed that if the competitors ask for current prices being paid that this information should not be provided.
c. Workman’s Comp: Pat asked if a letter had been written about M. Forbes’ accident and return to work date and J. Sylbert confirmed that it had been taken care of.
4. Richard Tryon came in to discuss the following with the Board:
a. He feels that portions of his road are in need of repair. He stated that the surface is starting to crackle and some oil and stone would take care of this. W. Burkhart stated that the Board had discussed this with the Director of Operations about that this recently and cost wise the Director of Operations was not sure that oil and stone was the best option. R. Tryon asked the Board to make a site visit to view it themselves.
b. Mr. Tryon asked for an update on the school situation. J. Sylbert stated that there had been a 5 town mediation scheduled but once New Marlborough formally announced to sue Sheffield, Sheffield pulled out of the mediation. R. Tryon stated he’d like to see it go back to elected school committee members. J. Sylbert stated that all 5 towns would need to agree to go back to elected school committee members.
5. Elizabeth Goodman, Pastor from the Monterey Church came in to thank the Select Board for all of their hard work and to ask what the Select Board felt the 5 most pressing issues were facing Monterey over the next 5-10 years. The Board discussed several issues with Ms. Goodman including but not limited to affordable housing.
6. R. Tryon, Fire Chief came in to let the Board know that he would meet with them next week to hand in the Fire Department’s budget requests.
7. Joe Baker of the Wilson McLaughlin Committee called to inquire about the status of the petition. J. Sylbert asked M. Noe to let Joe Baker know that he has the Board’s permission to contact Town Counsel directly regarding this matter.
8. The Board was advised of Town Counsel’s recommendation of a surveyor to use to survey the Town Beach and surround property. The Board asked M. Noe to schedule a meeting with them to discuss what the Board is looking to do and to show them the documents we have.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 12:12pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
| 
