Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 7/14/08
Meeting Opened at: 4:00pm
Select Board Members Present: Wayne Burkhart, Chairperson, Scott Jenssen and Jon Sylbert
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Sue Protheroe for the Monterey News, Marty Chernoff, Robert Lazzarini (Board of Assessors), Susan Sellew, Gige O’Connell, Gerry Shapiro, Cynthia Weber, Joe Baker, Shirley Olds, Lew Scheffey, Kenn Basler (Monterey General Store), Kristin Cherin of the Southern Berkshire Technology Collaborative, Tom Garrity of LB Corporation,
The board met with the Director of Highways, Maynard Forbes and reviewed the following items:
1. Concerns from the 2nd homeowner’s meeting:
a. Knocked over sign on Hupi Rd.
b. Drawdown: changes in the new OOC? Is there any flexibility in the starting and stopping times of drawdown? M. Forbes stated that he hasn’t reviewed the full documents as of yet. There were also concerns about dock damage as a result of drawdown (if your dock is left in the water year round it is an “at your own risk”. S. Jenssen will be reviewing the Order of Conditions and speaking with the Conservation Commission.
c. Transfer Station: can it be open for Memorial Day and Labor Day? M. Forbes stated that these holidays fall on Mondays (which is not a normal operating Transfer Station Day) and it’s not in the current contract schedule with the Master Garbologist.
2. River Rd closing: M. Forbes confirmed that there is a road closed sign on River Rd closer to the Hatchery that was placed there by the Town of New Marlborough.
The board met with Police Chief, Gareth Backhaus to review the following items:
1. B&E on Main Rd. The police are reminding residents that it is always in their best interests to be proactive and secure items of value in your home and to lock your points of entry when not home.
2. Loose dog on Pixley Rd.
3. Noise complaint on Pixley Rd from Camp Half Moon’s PA system.
4. False alarms on Swann Rd, North Cove and at the Town Hall (3).
5. Assisted the Fire Department with several medical calls.
6. Loose cows on Main Rd.
7. Altercation at Hebert’s Cove after a person came from across Lake Buel to allegedly investigate the burned down house, while there he allegedly attempted to steal a neighbor’s boat. Several charges are being pressed against the person that allegedly attempted to steal the boat.
8. Report of a missing 9 foot dinghy – this was turned over to the Deputy Harbormaster, Dean Amidon, no follow up has been received to date.
9. Accident on Main Rd involving a car and a horse (the horse is fine, the car suffered some damage).
10. Report of a loose bear in the Lake Buel area (the bear was not located).
11. Chief Backhaus asked if the Board would have any objections to meeting with the Police Chief only every other week instead of weekly. The Board agreed unanimously.
12. At Saturday’s meeting concerns regarding the lack of patrol on Lake Buel as well as increased boat traffic and noise were brought up. The 2nd homeowner’s stated that the gentleman that patrols from the State only comes twice a year and only observes through his binoculars. The 2nd homeowner’s also complained of a huge increase in traffic and they blame it on the lack of a public boat ramp on Lake Garfield. Chief Backhaus will look into the matter. Another resident complained about dump trucks coming out of Sylvan Rd at 11:30pm every night. Chief Backhaus confirmed that the Town does not have a
noise ordinance and that the Police follow the rule of thumb that noise after 10pm or before 6am is considered disturbing the peace.
The board met with Inter-Departmental Secretary, Melissa Noe to review the following items:
1. Weekly reports for the last 2 weeks were reviewed.
The board met with Town Accountant, Barbara Gauthier to review the following items:
1. Town Warrants were signed.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. Robert Lazzarini, Assessor, came in to answer any questions the Board might have regarding his memo about a mapping program through the company Sustainable Maps that the Assessors are looking into that would make property cards available online. R. Lazzarini brought this to the Board’s attention as this company also offers online permitting for things like Building Permits, Transfer Station Stickers, etc. This company will be coming to the Town Hall next Monday at 9:30am. D. Torrico will not be able to attend but he has asked his Secretary, M. Noe to attend in his place. S. Jenssen and W. Burkhart plan to attend as
well.
2. The Friends of the Wilson McLaughlin House Committee came in to discuss the following with the Board:
a. The future of the Wilson McLaughlin House as a municipal use as directed in Edith Wilson’s will. Joe Baker provided the Board with information gathered by the committee over the last 4 years. Joe shared that there seems to be a lot of support for having a Community Center in Monterey but there is a lack of funds to support the building of it. The Board suggested that a survey of the Town would be necessary to see what the Town would like to see happen with the property and is the “right solution” for the townspeople. The Committee felt that only interested people answer the survey.
b. The Committee suggested that in the meantime, building something non-controversial like a gazebo or town records storage room would be beneficial. Discussions ensued about the misunderstanding/misconception that the Town doesn’t currently have adequate storage for public and historical records. The Board confirmed that there is a secure archives room built during the Town Hall renovation located in the Town Hall that has been approved for this use by the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Concerns were brought up about records currently located in the Historical Society’s basement. The Board stated that there are plans (albeit
slow moving plans) to have all town records located in the storage room here at town hall. It has been slow getting all the board and commissions to go through the records currently located in the archives room and to request permission from the state to discard records that no longer need to be kept as per the State Records Disposal Schedule.
c. The Committee is going to take the next few weeks to discuss the future of the 503(c) committee and fulfilling Edith Wilson’s stipulations and wishes laid out in her will.
3. Kristin Cherin of the Southern Berkshire Technology Collaborative came in to have the Board sign the master technology collaborative agreement. This agreement had been approved unanimously by the Board at a previous Select Board meeting.
4. Tom Garrity of LB Corporation came in to discuss the recent bid awarded to Master Garbologist for the Transfer Station services. Mr. Garrity has protested the bid awarding with the Inspector General’s office. Mr. Garrity asked for clarification on why the Transfer Station was put out to bid and he bid in all seriousness and at the bid opening learned he was the low bidder on most of the line items but yet wasn’t awarded the bid. He went on to state that he has an impeccable record and handles other surrounding towns Transfer Station needs. W. Burkhart stated that since a letter was sent to the State by Mr. Garrity they
questioned whether or not the Board should be speaking with them. Mr. Garrity stated that the State told him that when it comes to waste management it is referred back to a local level. S. Jenssen confirmed that Mr. Garrity’s company does have an impeccable record but when the Board reviewed the bids they took into account that the Master Garbologist has been our provider for over 10 years and the Town hasn’t had a problem with them and because the cost difference was only roughly $145/yr, the Board felt it was worth it to keep a company that has been the town’s provider for such a long time and has provided good service during that time. Mr. Garrity stated that he isn’t going to pursue legal action and appreciated that the Board took the time to hear him out and understand where he was coming from.
5. The Board reviewed their mail.
6. The Board approved the minutes from 6.30.08 and 7.7.08 as written.
7. The Board discussed the every other week meetings with the employees and suggested that it be the 2nd and 4th Mondays so as not to conflict with the Board of Health meetings when Melissa Noe will be a bit late. It was also suggested that the Board start at 4:30 on those days vs. 4pm. No final decisions were made on this matter.
8. The Board discussed with the reporter an error made in last month’s paper that stated that the Select Board was looking for volunteers to help administer a CET grant that was received. W. Burkhart stated that what was said was that Nancy Nylan of CET was going to be meeting with the Board to discuss the options available to the Town to use the grant money for.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 6:10pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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