Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 9/19/11
Meeting Opened at: 6:04pm
Select Board Members Present: Wayne Burkhart, Chairperson, Scott Jenssen and Jonathan Sylbert
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Maggie Leonard for the Monterey News, Anna & Peter Poirier, Maynard Forbes and Matt Roche
The board reviewed Director of Operations, Maynard Forbes’ weekly report for the week ending 9/17/11 which included:
1. Flood damage repair: Harmon and Swann Roads
2. Pick up stone in Otis
3. Add gravel to reclaimed Main Rd
4. Grade Brett Rd
5. Bring culverts up to Harmon Rd
6. Jersey barriers placed on River Rd to protect lane
7. Paving Main Rd
8. Repair Beartown Mtn Rd
9. Several attempts made to contact FEMA & MEMA
10. Damage estimates prepared for Monday meeting with MEMA
11. Letter from the Library Trustees informing the Board that they feel immediate attention should be given to protect the safety of anyone walking in the area of the dam; they would like the town to erect a secure fence on either side of the dam. They also feel that now is an appropriate time to address repairs to the structure and suggested that the town file a claim with FEMA or MEMA for emergency funding to repair storm related damage. Maynard didn’t feel it was an emergency if the Library Trustees gave it to the Board on the 14th knowing that they meet once a week on Mondays. Maynard is aware of the issue and the Highway Department has it in their queue of things to do. M. Noe will respond via email to Lois Storch.
12. Bally Gally chimney:
a. Maynard noted that we have received 2 quotes/estimates. The one we have been expecting from Jim Bianco has not been received. M. Forbes stated that if the Board wants him to proceed with the 2 quotes and choose one, he will. Wayne noted that the 2 bids received were very high in his opinion.
b. Anna and Peter Poirier, Bally Gally tenants felt that the town was not doing their job under the tenants rights and that there wasn’t any excuse for the delay in the work being done and felt that if it wasn’t fixed, they couldn’t live here any longer. The Board agreed that we had not done a good job on this issue and apologized. Jon stated that they need to remember that the town has attempted to fix (and thought it was fixed) twice already but the problem is bigger than originally thought. Anna stated that she’s frustrated with the communication between her and Maynard; Maynard noted that when he hasn’t returned call it was because they called him at his house, not at the highway garage where the calls should be made to and some of the calls like
the one during the hurricane were because he was busy taking care of the roads which is his number one priority. Anna suggested that the town should rethink who should be the one responsible for managing the property.
c. The Board and Maynard both noted that the issue in getting the job done doesn’t boil down to just the money having been approved in July; the Town has to wait on contractors bids and work around their schedules as well as make sure that the person doing the job is reputable and will do a good job. Jon noted that the town has been waiting on a local contractor for 4 years to finish a very minor job here at the town hall and even though we’ve been told it will be completed, it hasn’t been and we can’t force them to do it. Just because we are a municipality doesn’t mean we have any more push/pull. The Board also noted that Bally Gally is not the only town building that we haven’t been able to get
fixed. Anna and Peter just kept stating that it’s the town’s legal responsibility and if it wasn’t completed by the fall they wouldn’t stay.
d. The Board discussed hiring someone locally to act as the town’s representative to deal with issues that arise that the landlord would handle in a typical rental situation. The idea of hiring an additional person for the highway crew that would handle property issues first and foremost over plowing and road work was also discussed.
e. The Board agreed to go with the 2 bids received (Jimmy Johnson and Mountain Goat) and offer the job to the low bidder providing he can do the work ASAP.
13. Maynard provided the Board with his preliminary estimate (emergency & permanent repairs) to FEMA for damage incurred during Irene. Maynard noted that the FEMA reimbursement rate is 75% leaving the town responsible for 25%. In the past the state has usually picked up at least 12.5% of the 25%. Maynard suggested writing a letter to Smitty and Ben Downing urging them to support the state covering at least part, if not all of the 25% the town is responsible for. Maynard noted that through this whole process he has not heard anything from Smitty or Ben’s offices and that he’s had a lot of difficulty contacting FEMA and MEMA.
14. Wayne stated that there are some Gould Farm trees on Curtis Rd (1/3 of the way down from the highway department) that are dying and he’s wondering if the ditch there can be dug out a bit.
15. Maynard updated the Board on the work being done on Harmon Rd. The Sterns who came in to see the Board in August about the road are happy with what the highway crew has been doing.
7pm: Bid Opening: Surplus equipment sale of 1992 GMC K3500 Cab and chassis. The Board received the following bid:
*$1,121.96 from Matt Roche
The Board voted unanimously to accept the bid from Matt Roche.
7:15pm: Bid Opening: Surplus equipment sale of 1987 AMG Cargo Truck. The Board received the following bids:
*$1,751.92 from Matt Roche
*$1,299 from Thomas Durfee
The Board voted unanimously to accept the bid from Matt Roche.
The board reviewed Police Chief, Gareth Backhaus’ weekly report for 9/12 – 9/18/11 which included:
Calls:
1. Assisted Fire Dept with traffic during a medical call at the boat ramp.
2. Suspicious activity reported on Blue Hill Rd; police investigated and did not find anything.
3. Complaint of harassment on Blue Hill Rd; police investigated and found nothing to substantiate the complaint x 2
4. Vehicle towed: driving unregistered vehicle
5. Assisted GBPD with traffic during the Josh Billings race.
6. Assault at the transfer station; attendant not pressing charges. Scott felt that there have been a lot of issues there lately and that we should consider having the town run it vs. paying a contractor. It was also suggested that the swap shack be closed until the redesign of the transfer station is completed. Scott also mentioned that this past Saturday someone left 30 bags of garbage outside the fence after it closed.
False Alarms:
Main Rd
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. The minutes from 9.12.11 were approved as written.
2. Mail was reviewed which included:
a. A letter and map from the local election districts review commission stating that Monterey will remain as a single precinct.
b. Police & Fire Accident Renewal Certificate (put in mail by Treasurer). The letter recommended broadening our coverage and increasing our limits. The Board asked M. Noe to forward this to Chief Backhaus to review and comment on.
c. Resignation letter from Officer Monyahan effective September 30th.
d. Resignation letter from Officer Martin effective October 3, 2011. Officer Martin will be moving to VA to be closer to family.
3. Warrants were signed.
4. Inter-Departmental Secretary’s weekly report reviewed.
a. Wayne did not have a chance to talk to the Treasurer about some ongoing issues between the offices but hopes to this week.
5. A motion was made to sign and send a letter to the Director of Accounts with the state. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. The Board signed the request for emergency deficit spending under MGL Chapter 44 Section 31. This letter will be faxed to Gerry Perry, Director of Accounts with the State of Massachusetts and cc’d to Steve Pullen, Town Accountant and Maynard Forbes, Director of Operations.
6. Wayne noted that he never had a chance to speak to Linda Thorpe, Town Clerk on the bylaw issues and public records request complaint.
7. A motion was made to approve the petition for Verizon job#1AABL6 (hearing was opened in October of 2010 and had been continued). The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. The Board signed the paperwork which will be turned in to the Town Clerk tomorrow.
8. The Board questioned reports left by Steve Pullen:
a. Why the $2,000 from FY11 wasn’t paid to Berkshire South that they requested and was approved at town meeting.
9. The Board reviewed the updated information they requested with regards to dental insurance and what the salaries would be if the employees were compensated the difference if the health split were to go from 90/10 to 75/25 on the benefits comparison. M. Noe also noted that she found a memo in her documents on benefits to Pat Mielke from someone at Altus Dental dated 1/2/09 when the town was previously researching adding dental and it was noted on the memo that in order for the town to offer dental at least 3 employees would have to initially sign up for it, at this time only 1 employee is definitely interested, 1 is not interested and 5 might be interested depending on the cost and if another benefit has to be lost to gain it. Everyone agreed that if the town/employee split were to change, doing it
gradually should be considered and the town would compensate the employee the difference in cost in their paycheck which in the long run would be better for the employee when they retire. Jon felt that we needed to justify that we are giving an unusually high health benefit package and just saying that we have great and loyal employees in his opinion isn’t justification enough. The Board asked M. Noe to schedule a meeting with the Finance Committee to discuss their recommendations. They wanted M. Noe to provide the employees with the comparison she created for them to review and make comments/suggestions on.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 7:50pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary via audio recording
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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