Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 5/5/08
Meeting Opened at: 8:30am
Select Board Members Present: Wayne Burkhart, Chairperson, Scott Jenssen and Jonathan Sylbert
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Sue Protheroe for the Monterey News, Leroy Thorpe, Chair of the Parks Commission and Joe Baker of the Friends of Wilson McLaughlin
The board met with the Director of Highways, Maynard Forbes and reviewed the following items:
1. Curtis Rd prep work will begin next week; it will be reclaimed during the first week of June and paved the following week. Beartown Mtn Rd (from Tyringham Rd to Fairview) is the next road scheduled to be repaved.
2. J. Sylbert had questions regarding the strap grants and application process. M. Forbes confirmed that he will be applying for this grant every year for the maximum amount allowed.
3. S. Jenssen asked about the culvert areas near Steven’s Lake that were just dressed. M. Forbes stated that a new basin is going to be put in which will be connected to the one down the road. This is scheduled to be done after July 1.
4. Sandisfield Rd/Rt 23 Intersection: W. Burkhart asked when this was scheduled to be worked on; M. Forbes answered that when Rt 23 is redone it will be taken care of then.
5. M. Forbes was concerned about the State Police’s request to use the Highway Trucks to block off the intersections during a Police issue that took place on Friday, he plans to discuss this with Chief Backhaus.
6. A letter from J. Weinstock complaining about damage to his dock which he feels is due to the drawdown process was read and briefly discussed. Mr. Weinstock will be sent a letter asking him to come in and meet with the Board and M. Forbes. The Conservation Commission and Deputy Harbormaster will be cc’d on the letter.
The board met with Police Chief, Gareth Backhaus to review the following items:
1. A call was received from the new owners of Kinne’s Grove, apologizing for fill inadvertently dumped on a neighbor’s property. The neighbor initially reported this to the Police.
2. False alarms on Steven’s Lake and Bidwell Rd.
3. 2 domestic calls.
4. Mutual Aid for Gt. Barrington.
5. Loose dog near the General Store.
6. C. Backhaus informed the Board of an incident that occurred on Friday which required mutual aid assistance from GBPD and the State Police and ended with a Section 12 transfer. The Chief commended everyone involved for a professional job well done.
7. Chief Backhaus was notified that 2 complaints were filed at the courthouse per the Select Board for non-payment of false alarm fines as per the Town’s Bylaws.
8. The Board asked Chief Backhaus about the laws concerning docks and whether or not they had to be removed and Chief Backhaus (also the Harbormaster) stated that keeping a dock in the Lake all year is “at your own risk”.
The board met with Town Accountant, Barbara Gauthier to review the following items:
1. Warrants were signed.
2. April’s expense report was given to the Board.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. A motion was made to appoint Wayne Burkhart as the Chair, which was seconded and approved. Wayne thanked his fellow Select Board members and noted his goals for the upcoming year.
2. J. Sylbert stated that he was informed by the Town Clerk that some of the surrounding Town Clerks may not be aware that a separate ballot is needed in addition to the warrant article item regarding the petition to change school committee positions from appointed to elected. Dennis Sears, organizer of the petition was called and he confirmed that there is one Town (New Marlborough) that did not read the letter of instruction that stated what was needed and he’s working on resolving it and having a separate ballot available. New Marlborough was given a copy of our ballot for reference purposes.
3. S. Jenssen was asked by members of the Parks Commission to allow M. Noe to sign for packages for them without accepting responsibility for the package (should it be damaged, missing items or an incorrect item sent) and to leave the packages in the hallway of the Town Hall. The Board asked Leroy Thorpe to have a letter written from the Parks Commission at their meeting this week stating they are ok with M. Noe signing for packages and leaving them in the hallway of the Town Hall, uninspected but since he came in and stated he was ok with it in a public meeting that was acceptable.
4. The minutes from 4.28.08 were approved as written.
5. The Board noted that there are several little league games that started over 2 weeks ago and the children, parents and attendants have no public restroom to use during practices and games. The Board and M. Forbes instructed M. Noe to call Mt. Everett Sanitation and have a porta-potty delivered and the bill sent c/o the Parks Commission. Mt. Everett Sanitation was called delivered a porta-potty within hours. L. Thorpe was called during the meeting and asked to come in to discuss this matter with the Board. Leroy stated that he has no problem with it being delivered today but that the one for the beach will not be delivered until summer begins.
6. L. Thorpe and the Board discussed placing cones or a chain and painting “No Parking” along the basketball court to prevent people from parking there so that people can still use the court for its intended purpose. This becomes more of a problem when there is an event taking place at the Town Hall or the ball field. The Parks Commission will be discussing their options at their meeting on Wednesday.
7. Janet Laudenslager, Chair of the Steven’s Lake Homeowner’s Association came in to let the Board know that the association approved funding to repair their road and to pick up a RDA form to file with the Conservation Commission.
8. A letter will be written to the School Committee requesting an amendment to their meeting minutes.
9. The Board reviewed the list of positions that are up for appointment/reappointment as of July 1, 2008:
a. Agricultural Commission – 2 seats
b. Animal Control Officer
c. BRTA Advisory Board Representative
d. Broadband Committee – 4 seats
e. Building Commissioner
f. Local Inspector – Alternate
g. Civil Defense Coordinator
h. Conservation Commission – 2 seats
i. Council on Aging – 3 seats
j. Cultural Council – 7 seats
k. Director of Operations
l. Election Clerk and Election Clerk Deputy
m. Election Inspector – 4 seats and 1 Election Inspector Deputy
n. Election Warden and Election Warden Deputy
o. Employee Compensation Advisory Committee – 5 seats
p. Fire Department – 17 seats
q. Gas Inspector
r. Historical Commission – 4 seats
s. “I Love Monterey Day” Committee
t. Inspector of Wires and Inspector of Wires Alternate
u. Inter-Departmental Secretary
v. MRF Advisory Board Representative
w. Network Administrator
x. Plumbing Inspector
y. Police Department – 5 seats
z. Public Boat Ramp Committee – 5 seats
aa. Registrar of Voters – 1 seat
bb. Southern Berkshire Solid Waste Mgmt District Representative
cc. Town Counsel
dd. Town Report Committee – 1 seat
ee. Transportation Advisory Committee
ff. Veteran’s Agent
gg. Veteran’s Memorial Committee – 2 seats
hh. Wilson McLaughlin House Committee – 10 seats
ii. Wilson McLaughlin Scholarship Committee Representative
10. The Board reviewed their mail.
11. The Board discussed the Monterey Memorial Day festivities. The Board asked M. Noe to order the wreaths and Jon will pick them up. The Board is still looking for someone to move the speakers, microphone and amplifier from the Town Hall to the Veteran’s Memorial to the Monterey Church and then back to the Town Hall. J. Sylbert has spoken with K. Basler of the Monterey General Store to confirm what they will need to be handled.
12. The Board reviewed Town Counsel’s response and approve cy pres petition of the Wilson McLaughlin House. Joe Baker of the Wilson McLaughlin House Committee and a copy was given to him.
13. S. Jenssen asked if someone were going to notify the Transfer Station Attendant that the Town would no longer be collecting fees for bulky waste. Wayne and Jon both confirmed that this were not going to take effect until after July 1, 2008 and he would be notified then.
14. The Board discussed Kathy Frome’s request for the $500 in the “I Love Monterey Day” fund. The Board had additional questions to be answered prior to approving use of the funds.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 11:34pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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