Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 12/7/09
Meeting Opened at: 4:00pm
Select Board Members Present: Scott Jenssen, Chairperson, Jon Sylbert and Wayne Burkhart
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Sue Protheroe for the Monterey News, Alan Salamon, Peter Chait, and Seldon and Susan Whitaker
The board met with Director of Operations, Maynard Forbes to review the following items:
1. Highway crew had to go out over the weekend due to the snowstorm.
2. A hydraulic pump went on one of the 550’s; part should be in tomorrow; the part moves the plow up and down.
3. M. Forbes asked the Board’s opinion on a parking regulation during the winter months stating “no parking” on the roads from Nov. to April and private plows that are pushing driveway snow into the main roads. M. Forbes will provide samples to the Board.
4. M. Forbes asked about the salt shed and noted that we still have the authorization to borrow and feels that we’ve exhausted any possibilities of getting state money to assist in building it. M. Forbes would like to put it out to bid in March so that the project can begin in FY11. Jon noted that the school is going to be a problem this year and the money for the salt shed would need to be a debt exclusion. The Board will mention this to the Finance Committee so that discussions can begin.
5. The Board asked about the exterior town hall lights and why the ones on the side of the building weren’t coming on; M. Forbes looked into this the other day and the timer was off, it has been reset to come on from 5 – 10pm. The light in the outside doorway is on a motion sensor.
6. After M. Forbes left the Board agreed to discuss the transfer station complaint when M. Forbes next meets with the Board but thought that another letter to the Master Garbologist (which employs the attendant) might be more effective.
The board met with Inter-Departmental Secretary, Melissa Noe to review the following items:
1. Weekly report was reviewed.
2. M. Noe let the Board know at Chief Backhaus’ request that the emergency phone for the outside of town hall has been ordered and should arrive within a week.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. The minutes from 11.30.09 were approved as written.
2. Mail was reviewed.
3. Warrants were signed.
4. Jon reminded the other Board members that there is a hearing tomorrow night on the proposed charter school. Jon will be unable to attend.
5. The Board sent a memo to the Finance Committee with the schedule for FY11 budget requests to be turned in.
6. S. Jenssen told the other Board members that Dean Amidon suggested to him that the Select Board should only meet twice a month during the winter months. The Board did not agree and was thankful for his concern.
7. The Board noted that Representative Olver has not responded to the Board’s letter about River Rd and that the Governor hasn’t responded to the Rt 23 paving project. The Board asked M. Noe to resend the letters.
8. Alan Salamon of the Planning Board came in to correct a mis-statement he made when speaking to the Board at their November 23rd meeting. It is not the Planning Board’s opinion that a master plan is not necessary. The Planning Board feels that a master plan would be great but if there are financial restrictions on it then not having one doesn’t seriously impact on the future planning needs of the town. The last master plan for the town was done in 1975 and Alan understands that it wouldn’t be recognized by the state as valid due to its age.
9. Seldon and Susan Whitaker, part time residents on Beartown Mtn Rd came in to discuss the temporary transfer station sticker policy. They live in PA and due to his wife’s medical condition they are no longer able to drive to Monterey and instead fly and therefore do not have a regular car when visiting and are unable to give a license plate for a transfer sticker. For FY10 the Select Board and Transfer Station Manager changed the policy for temporary stickers due to abuse of the system. The Whitaker’s made a suggestion for restoration of temporary (yearly) stickers instead of a monthly temporary sticker as it is now. He suggested that the temporary pass have the driver’s license number on it (from their photo id); they are suggesting that the transfer station staff would
need to verify the driver’s of cars with these passes against their license. M. Forbes stated that since this was the first he had heard of it he could agree to taking situations like Mr. & Mrs. Whitaker’s and making a special circumstance but he wouldn’t want to go back to the way it had been. M. Forbes noted that Monterey has the cheapest transfer station sticker in South County and is the only transfer station to not charge for bulky waste. The Board and M. Forbes agreed to send Mr. Whitaker something that would cover their situation for the rest of the year.
10. The Board reviewed the draft copies of the auditor’s findings of the FY09 audit performed in October.
11. The Board reviewed past executive session minutes that the issues have been resolved, made corrections and approved the following dates: August 21, 2006 (2) and June 4, 2007.
12. The Board heavily discussed possible scenarios for the upcoming FY11 budget and how it might affect the town, its departments and employees.
13. S. Jenssen asked to talk briefly about the zebra mussel problem and how the Board is going to handle the situation for the upcoming season. The Board is disappointed that the State doesn’t have a plan in place for the high risk boat ramps. Scott suggested that the Board print something in the Monterey News and to write their contact at the State asking again for their assistance.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 5:22pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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