Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 12/8/08
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, Michael Storch (Finance, ECC and Broadband Committee Member), Janet Cathcart (Employee Compensation Committee (ECC)), Cynthia Hoogs (Planning Board Co-Chair), Bridget Krans (Planning Board Secretary), Brian Puntin (Co-Chair Planning Board), Maggie Leonard (Planning Board Member) and Alan Salamon (Planning Board member)
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. The Board reviewed a grant proposal for Lake Buel from the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. A motion was made to sign the letter of support, seconded and unanimously approved. This will be faxed and mailed tomorrow.
2. The minutes from 12/1/08 were approved as amended.
3. The Board reviewed Town Counsel’s opinion again regarding designating the entire Planning Board as special employees in order to allow Bridget Krans to serve as a Planning Board appointee and as their paid secretary at the same time. After reviewing the opinion given again (which was quoted in last week’s minutes) the Board realized that it did not apply in this particular situation and Town Counsel was called during the meeting to confirm the correct process. The designation as a special municipal employee in this instance would’ve had to have been done on the Town Meeting floor. The boilerplate warrant article that was not on last year’s warrant does not cover any and all appointments throughout the year; the appointment must be made on the Town Meeting floor after the
above-mentioned article is read.
4. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to approve the application for renewal of the all alcohol license for Riccardo Boehm dba Monterey General Store. There will be a public hearing on Monday, December 22 to review the request to transfer this license from Riccardo Boehm dba Monterey General Store to Kenneth Basler dba Monterey General Store.
5. The Board reviewed the letter addressed to the Select Board Chair from Marc White of Kutsher’s Sports Academy. Mr. White states he would like to move forward in a positive manner but wanted to clear up what he feels are some past and present misunderstandings and obstacles. The Board discussed this and agreed that our bylaws our antiquated and need to be updated to encourage growth in Monterey. The Board also understands KSA’s frustrations with regards to understanding clearly what is permitted and not permitted and different zoning designations. Mr. White questioned in his letter why the New England Keswick camp is allowed certain activities and permits and his camp is not, the Board believes it is because Keswick falls under section IV.B.1.c of our bylaws. The Board was
informed that a representative from New England Keswick will be meeting with the Board of Health on Monday, December 15th to discuss their camp activities to be sure they are properly permitted. The Board suggested contacting the BRPC to help us to amend our bylaws to allow year long camps and banquets to be held in Monterey by special permit, the Board would use some of the funds available to the Planning Board to fund this. The Board provided copies of the letter to the Building Commissioner and Board of Health as several things noted in Mr. White’s letter concerned those departments and not the Select Board. The Select Board plans to respond to Mr. White’s letter at their next meeting.
6. Michael Storch came in to discuss the following with the Board:
a. Cleaning up of the Town Beach: M. Storch stated he was told by L. Thorpe, Chair of the Parks Commission that the folding chairs on the beach do not belong to the Parks Commission and therefore they do not clean them up. M. Storch asked the Select Board why they couldn’t be stacked or stored in the shed by the Parks Committee in an effort to keep the beach looking neat. W. Burkhart will follow up with L. Thorpe.
b. Pay phone at the Town Beach: M. Storch asked about the status of removing the expensive Verizon phone being rented ($89/month) with a lesser expensive phone, called a “prison phone” which can only make local calls and 911 calls (examples have been provided to the Parks Committee but have not been acted upon). W. Burkhart offered to speak with L. Thorpe about the status of this.
c. Letter received regarding minutes from the Broadband Committee: M. Storch stated that the committee is down to just he and Monica Webb and when they meet it is with the SBRTC who keeps minutes of their meetings and they are provided to the Board. Michael stated that he was a witness to a Parks Committee member accosting a Select Board member about the memos that were sent out to all the committees reminding them that minutes need to be kept and should be provided to the Inter-Departmental Secretary to be put on the town website. This Parks Committee member (according to M. Storch) stated that the memo was a waste of money and that not all Boards needed to keep minutes.
7. The Board was asked by J. Cathcart if advisory committees appointed by the Board of Selectmen needed to keep minutes (such as the Employee Compensation Committee). The Board reviewed the Open Meeting Law guidelines and confirmed that any and all boards and committees that meet must keep minutes.
8. Janet Cathcart, member of the Employee Compensation Committee came in to discuss the following with the Board:
a. The Employee Compensation Committee has met and decided that their focus for this year’s budget will be benefits and part-time employees’ salaries. The ECC would also like to see the employee reviews expanded to include a merit based raise in addition to a COLA raise.
b. The Committee wanted it stressed again this year that it is inappropriate to discuss an employee’s job performance on the Town Meeting floor; that is a time to approve the budget not make personal attacks. Personnel issues should be addressed prior to Town Meeting at a weekly Select Board meeting.
c. The ECC still feels that the Highway Department Laborer and Foreman positions are dramatically underpaid compared to surrounding towns and surrounding like positions.
d. J. Cathcart has been speaking with P. Mielke, Treasurer with regards to the types of benefits in Monterey and other options that may be available.
e. Part-time employees; both appointed and elected part-time employees are mostly on par with surrounding towns. It was stressed that it should be researched what each job should pay based on qualifications, not what the person is willing to accept.
f. W. Burkhart stated that wages and performance will be parallel issues in improving and setting wage rates.
9. Members of the Planning Board (noted above) came in to discuss appointing a replacement for John Sellew who recently resigned. The Board informed the members of their conversation with Town Counsel as noted above in #3. Bridget Krans stated that she spoke with the Ethics Commission and they told her that she just needed to fill out a disclosure form (it was noted that the Ethics Committee might not have been aware that the blanket warrant article item not included this past year had not been approved and this was the reason their opinion differed from Town Counsel’s explanation of MGL). The Select Board noted that Town Counsel was not giving his recommendation based on an ethical point of view it was from a town meeting approval from the town point of view. B. Puntin made a motion to
appoint Bridget Krans as a Planning Board member to fill the vacancy created by John Sellew. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved by all the Planning Board and Select Board members. Bridget will file the disclosure form recommended by the Ethics Commission with the Town Clerk A.S.A.P.
10. The Board briefly discussed with the Planning Board changing the definition of “Summer Camp” in the Town Bylaws and enlisting the Planning Board to review the current bylaws to update them to the needs of our community (see #5 above). The Planning Board stated that they have extended an invitation to KSA Mass to come in and let the Planning Board know what kind of uses they are looking to use their property for to help the Planning Board head in the correct direction with amending the bylaws; the invitation to date has not been responded to.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 6:15pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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