Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 8/29/11
Meeting Opened at: 5:05pm
Select Board Members Present: Wayne Burkhart, Chairperson and Jonathan Sylbert
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Maggie Leonard for the Monterey News, Donald & Erica Stern, Peter Poirier, Michael Storch and Chief Backhaus
The board met with Police Chief, Gareth Backhaus and discussed the following:
1. Tree on wires that started a fire.
2. Lost dog; found on Blue Hill Rd and returned to owner.
3. Assisted with a medical call on Sylvan Rd.
4. False alarm on Main Rd.
5. Disabled MV on Blue Hill Rd.
6. Trees on wires on Harmon Rd, Laurel Hill, Hupi Rd and Main Rd.
7. Assisted a person on Lime Rock Lane.
8. During the storm on Sunday a boat got loose and was hitting another persons dock & boat; police assisted.
9. Missing person reported; returned some time later.
10. Evacuated ½ dozen people around Lake Buel.
11. Wayne reported a tree down on the wires on Curtis Rd; the Chief will look into it.
12. The Chief reported that Maynard was ahead of the game and was able to drawdown about a day and a half of Lake Garfield prior to the storm.
13. The reverse 911 system was discussed; Monterey does not currently have this system as it is fairly expensive. This system allows for messages to be sent out to all the Monterey phone numbers in emergencies.
14. The weed eater on Lake Buel got loose during the storm and had to be corralled.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. The Board held an emergency meeting yesterday with the Director of Operations, Fire Chief and Police Chief to declare a state of emergency for Monterey. The paperwork was signed and Chief Backhaus sent it in to MEMA.
2. Donald and Erica Stern of 71 Harmon Rd came in to discuss the following with the Board:
a. There is an ongoing problem on Harmon Rd and the storm yesterday accentuated the problem. The water isn’t draining properly, and the Stern’s have lost their driveway twice. They brought pictures to show the Board. Some of the problem occurs on land in New Marlborough.
b. Erica noted that there were several logging trucks that used the road this year for a logging operation in New Marlborough and they were wondering if this impacted the road at all.
c. The Stern’s spoke to Maynard today and the crew has been up there working on the issues but the Stern’s feel that a more permanent solution is necessary.
d. The Stern’s inquired as to how to follow up on this situation and the Board recommended contacting Maynard directly.
3. The minutes from 8.22.11 were approved as written.
4. The Board reviewed the comparison of benefits from surrounding towns (ongoing) and Jon recommended changing the health split from 90/10 to 75/25 and offering dental (which Monterey does not currently offer) and split it at 75/25 as well after doing a cost analysis on this option.
a. Health insurance: Jon calculated that currently with the 90/10 split the town pays $1410 each month and if it went to 75/25 it would be $234 less per month for the town, a savings of $2808/yr. The Board requested the M. Noe ask the surrounding towns what their premium is for a dental plan and how many employees take this benefit to determine how much this option would cost the town. It was also noted that the current employees should be asked if dental insurance is something they are interested in. Michael Storch also noted that it would be less of a burden on the employees if a smaller increment split over time was done, i.e. go to 85/25 one year then 80/20 the next and so on.
b. Jon noted that this is all informational and that there aren’t any changes or negotiations yet.
c. Michael suggested looking into the savings if the 90/10 stayed the same but we changed the plan to a higher co-pay. Jon noted that according to what other towns are paying the premiums on some plans for a higher co-pay (such as Stockbridge) is the same as what we are paying for a smaller co-pay not too mention we are locked into a 2yr agreement with MIIA to keep this plan.
d. Jon also requested that M. Noe contact MIIA to find out why we aren’t paying $1544/mo for the same plan that other towns are.
e. The Board also suggested getting information from Alford if able as they are a small town like Monterey (Otis & W. Stockbridge were asked for info but did not respond to multiple requests).
5. Peter Poirier, tenant at Bally Gally stated that his chimney is still leaking, especially after yesterday’s storm. Maynard did leave a note for the Board that he is still waiting on one more quote and then he’ll award the job and schedule it. Peter feels it’s a health hazard and it’s stressing him and his wife out that it hasn’t been fixed and has been an ongoing problem since 2007. Jon felt that since we weren’t getting quotes as hoped maybe we should put it out to bid. It was also suggested that maybe we should allow the renter’s to solicit quotes if Maynard is too busy. Wayne will speak with Maynard tomorrow and update Peter as soon as he has some information to forward.
6. Jon asked M. Noe to forward the color maps that AT&T handed out at the hearing on 8/24/11.
7. Mail was reviewed which included:
a. A letter from Mr. Chesanow to the Select Board praising the Police Chief for his help with a recent situation while renting a place in Monterey. He commended Chief Backhaus on his helpfulness, community policing and professionalism.
b. FY11 encumbrances from the Town Accountant. Jon reviewed it and had questions on some of the items. Jon recommended releasing the dog park funds since the money was approved for a specific location and at this point that location is not going to work. The Board requested M. Noe set up for Steve Pullen to meet with the Board at their next meeting (9/12).
c. An invitation from MMA to attend the annual fall 2011 Local Government Legislative Breakfast on 9/30 in Sheffield.
d. An email from the WMH Committee with the following questions for the Board to consider:
i. Fixing the current sign and hanging it at the new driveway entrance or ordering a different sign.
ii. In an effort to promote town awareness of the Community Center project the WMH Committee wants to hold a “fair” on the property on Saturday, October 8th and they want to make sure the Board approves.
iii. One fundraising idea has been to “rent” Edith’s paintings for a year and they want to know if the Board would approve of this.
e. Jon had no issues with any of the requests and made a motion to support the WMH Committee’s 3 above-mentioned suggestions. The motion was seconded and approved. M. Noe will respond to Joe’s email tomorrow.
f. A letter from MEMA encouraging towns to formally adopt the Statewide Safety Mutual Aid Law (GL c. 40 §4J) enacted in 2010. The Board deferred this to Chief Backhaus to advise them on.
g. Notification from DEP with a check in the amount of $2,989.85for Monterey’s recyclable materials delivered to the MRF for the second half of fiscal year 2011.
8. Warrants for 2 weeks were signed due to the Labor Day holiday.
9. The Board made a motion to waive the temporary structure permit fee ($70) for Lakefest. The motion was seconded and approved.
10. Inter-Departmental Secretary’s weekly report reviewed.
a. M. Noe reminded the Board that she will be taking Thursday and Friday off and using comp ZBA time earned (1.5hrs from 8/17 hearing) on Wednesday.
b. She informed the Board that the deposition scheduled for tomorrow was cancelled but could be rescheduled at a later date per the attorney handling the case.
c. Update from the AG’s office: Telecommunications Bylaws revised at 2011 annual town meeting were received from the Town Clerk’s Office by the AG on August 25th. The bylaw amendments from the 2009, 2010 and 2011 (besides the telecommunications) annual town meetings still have not been received. M. Noe asked the Board to advise her how they would like to proceed and provided copies of the warrants with the articles highlighted that have not been sent to the AG. The Board will discuss this again when a full Board is present.
d. Copies of emails from the Treasurer from December 2010 and January 2011 were provided to the Board to review again which explain the issue M. Noe is currently having with regards to the town’s liability insurance and the Treasurer’s not responding to requests for clarification. Wayne will follow up with Pat.
11. Jon suggested going to 6pm instead of back to 7pm when the Board meets again on September 12th. Wayne was ok with this and Melissa will check with Scott.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 7:00pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary via audio recording
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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