Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 10/25/10
Meeting Opened at: 7:05pm
Select Board Members Present: Jonathan Sylbert, Chairperson, Wayne Burkhart, and Scott Jenssen
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Sue Protheroe for the Monterey News, Anna and Peter Poirier (Bally Gally tenants), Verizon Representative, Albert Bessette and Linda Thorpe, Town Clerk
The board reviewed Director of Operations, Maynard Forbes’ weekly report for the week ending 10/23/10 which included but was not limited to:
1. Checking beaver ponds and culverts. Clean out Fairview and Sandisfield Rds.
2. Blowing leaves off roads.
3. Opening Lake Garfield Dam and taking out the boards in dam behind the store.
4. Regrading Chestnut Hill Rd.
5. Marking culverts, drainage, whips
6. Picking up trees and wood on several roads.
7. Reviewing septic and well applications for several properties.
8. Bally Gally:
a. Met with Bob McDonald and Scott Jenssen regarding repairs.
b. Dryer problem, service ordered from Sears
c. Arranged for carpenter to install cabinets/countertop.
9. Water fountain at town hall drained and closed for the winter.
10. Met with K. Stevens on state aid, chapter 90 and new qualification policies.
The board reviewed Police Chief, Gareth Backhaus’ weekly report for 10/19-10/25 which included:
Calls:
1. Deer in the road on Fairview Rd.
2. Assisted citizen on Blue Hill Rd.
3. MVA on Main Rd.
4. 2008 Crown Vic brought to MHQ for transmission repair on warranty.
False Alarms:
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. The minutes from 10/18/10 were approved as written.
2. Warrants were signed.
3. Mail was reviewed which included:
a. COA Grant Program application which was signed and will be mailed in to Elder Affairs tomorrow.
b. Request from the State, Division of Professional Licensure for the Plumbing and Gas Inspector(s) contact information on town letterhead, signed by the appointing authority.
c. Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce holiday tree offer. The Board agreed hold off on this decision until next week.
4. Inter-Departmental Secretary’s weekly report reviewed.
5. Scott stated that Bob McDonald, contractor, called him and reported that some work has been done around the chimney and roof at Bally Gally and it shows signs of deterioration and rot. The insulation all around the chimney has been removed. There is about a 20inch radius around the chimney that is empty now and covered in plastic to hopefully determine where the water is coming from.
6. Linda Thorpe, Town Clerk came in with election documents for the Board to sign. She reminded everyone that the polls will be open on Tuesday, November 2nd from 7am to 8pm.
7. At 7:30pm the Board opened the Verizon pole hearing for Verizon job #1AABL6 on Main Rd. Jon read the petition into record and opened the hearing for discussion.
Albert Bessette of Verizon summarized the project and stated that currently there is not a continuous run between Otis and Monterey and this would solve that issue. The Board questioned Mr. Bessette about DSL availability in Monterey and how the current lines run. Mr. Bessette agreed to look into the issue Jon presented and to se how the current cables are run to see if he can open up more DSL availability. Mr. Bessette stated that Verizon provides all the fiber for all the cell tower carriers and that this build out is happening everywhere. He confirmed that the towers will be a beneficiary of this proposed line and it’s provided to the tower companies for a fee and profit to Verizon.
Scott questioned if this petition could be denied seeing as how it would financially benefit Verizon however Monterey keeps requesting various items/help from Verizon and gets nothing. He stated that Verizon has not been cooperative with Monterey’s needs and referred to the town’s only emergency payphone that Verizon has removed twice for no reason and only reinstalled it after several calls from the town and our representatives. Scott stated that he would not vote to approve the petition or sign it. Mr. Bessette stated that Verizon is a competitive company and that they are only required to provide the minimum service to a town which would be phone service; all the other services aren’t regulated. Jon stated that Scott is right and that Verizon spends $6million/week to advertise
in the beltway to compete with Comcast and that if they didn’t advertise for 4 hours they would have the funds to light up all of Berkshire County and this fact really does upset people. Mr. Bessette confirmed that it would cost approximately $400,000 to “light up” Monterey. Mr. Bessette stated that the Western Mass. techs of Verizon are also begging the main offices to help them meet the needs of underserved customers.
A motion was made to continue the hearing and to request that Mr. Bessette and his superior attend the next meeting to continue this conversation. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. The hearing has been continued to November 22nd at 7:30pm.
8. Anna and Peter Poirier, tenants at Bally Gally came in to discuss the following with the Board:
a. The tenants felt that they were at a stage with the chimney situation that was vague as to what the outcome would be. The Board explained what they knew about the situation involving the moisture problem.
b. The tenants questioned when the work would be completed by. They stated that at the last Select Board meeting they attended the Select Board stated that the work had to be completed by the end of this month. Scott nor the rest of the Board knew what the contractor’s work schedules or availability would be but he would find out and call them tomorrow. The Board felt that signing the lease shouldn’t be an issue as the Board is making every effort and are committed to solving the problem.
10. Wayne Burkhart updated the Board on a meeting he attended last week that started off as an alternative energy meeting and ended up being about wind power.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 8:37pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary via audio recording
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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