Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 7/23/12
Meeting Opened at: 9am
Select Board Members Present: Scott Jenssen (arrived at 9:10am), Chairperson, Muriel Lazzarini and Wayne Burkhart
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Maggie Leonard for the Monterey News, Josh Allentuck, Donald Torrico, Shawn Tryon, Deborah Mielke, Gareth Backhaus, Sean Stanton, William Baumann and Eugene Bounous
The board met with Police Chief, Gareth Backhaus to review the following:
1. Responded to a couple of medical calls at Gould Farm.
2. Several false alarms; Harmon Rd, Heron Pond Park, Eaton Rd (x2), Sylvan Rd, Main Rd and Hupi Rd
3. Trespass order issued on Bidwell Rd
4. Suspicious activity reported on Mt Hunger Rd – investigated and was a legitimate call being made by an insurance agent
5. Medical call on Tyringham Rd.
6. Medical call at the Lake Buel boat launch
7. Domestic call on New Marlboro Rd.
8. Complaint of loud music on Bidwell Rd but ended up being contractors on Main Rd – they were asked to refrain until after 8:30am and complied.
9. Complaint from a party on Wellman Rd whose handicap sticker was stolen.
10. Domestic call on Beartown Mtn Rd which ended with an arrest.
11. Disabled MV on Main Rd – car was towed.
12. Disturbance on Pixley Rd – charges were not filed at this time.
13. Respond to 2 reports of bears.
14. Mutual aid in New Marlborough.
15. Complaint of people swimming at the Lake Buel boat launch which is not allowed.
16. “Suspicious activity” on Blue Hill Rd. x 2
17. Tree across the road on Blue Hill Rd.
18. Sick raccoon put down on Pixley Rd.
19. Courtesy transport to town hall with regards to a motor vehicle issue.
20. The police department is working on fixing the 2nd speed/radar trailer and as soon as it is fixed it will be placed on Tyringham Rd which the Board requested.
21. A key to the Inter-Departmental Secretary’s office for the Select Board Chairperson (Scott) was requested by Muriel, currently the office is only accessible by the Police, M. Noe and the Director of Operations. Muriel was concerned the Select Board wouldn’t have access if the 3 afore-mentioned people were unavailable. The rest of the Board had not heard of this request until today and wanted to consider the pros and cons of this prior to agreeing to the request.
The board met with Fire Chief, Shawn Tryon to review the following items:
The Board asked Shawn to come in to discuss the policies with regards to responding to medical calls as they are concerned about all the overages. The Board is interested if there is a way to limit the non-medical personnel that respond to medical calls. Shawn has thought about this a lot and that the fire department has a lot of members right now overall but during the week (working hours) there has been a shortage of people able to respond. He suggested that the following may be possible solutions:
- Instituting an on-call stipend for specific time periods which specific members would remain available.
- Creating teams with “schedules” (similar to what the ambulance service does) – which Shawn stated would only really work in the evenings.
The Board will check with the Accountant to determine how much of the budget is for training and how much is for calls. Shawn stated that the average number of guys responding to calls is 1 ½ times higher than in years past due to the increase in firemen that have joined the department. It was confirmed that the rates for training and responding to calls was set by the Fire Department and Select Board together – Muriel mentioned that this information may be helpful when the Employee Compensation Committee begins looking into the part time and elected wages, etc.
The current fan boat was discussed – there may be a need for a newer one as this one is having several issues, it’s difficult to maneuver and is loud (each time it is used the Police end up receiving several noise complaint calls). The company/manufacturer is also out of business. An inflatable Zodiac outboard is being looked into.
The new rescue tools have been purchased which will go on the new rescue truck. The Fire Department is hoping to have the new vehicle prior to Thanksgiving.
Shawn asked to discuss the $5,000 that is given to the Fire Department from the Town for use of the Fire Department during the year for things like elections. Due to the rising of costs of oil, electricity, etc, Shawn would like to increase this for next year. Muriel asked if the Fire Company would be willing to be more financially transparent – Shawn stated that they would and are working on this now. They are also working on a long range plan. The Board commended the Fire Department and stated that they support the direction they are heading in.
The board met with Town Clerk, Deborah Mielke to continue discussions regarding required office hours, scope of job & benefits:
The Board has been advised by Town Counsel that since Monterey does not have any bargaining units or unions, it is not legal for them to have different town/employee splits on the health insurance benefit for different departments or part time vs full time employees. Based on this information the Board informed Debbie that the Town is required to offer her health insurance at a 90/10 split instead of the originally offered 50/50 but is going to require her office to be posted open for 20 hours regularly at town hall each week. The Board is still looking into whether or not the determination as a 20 hour a week employee makes the position eligible for other benefits such as vacation, sick time, etc. Debbie questioned whether or not the Board was allowed to require her office to be posted open for 20 hours – per Town Counsel they are allowed as they are the governing authority that determines whether or not this position indeed requires 20 hours a week regularly. Debbie inquired
how to handle situations that would arise (deadlines for elections, resident requests, etc) that may not coincide with posted open hours. It was suggested that any requests outside of normal open hours should be made aware of the posted open hours and that they were open to suggestions on how to handle the schedule during elections when more hours may be required.
Scott suggested that if election/nomination paper deadlines/requirements typically fall on Tuesdays (as was stated earlier by Debbie) then Tuesdays should be a set day here. Scott also suggested that she should know these requirements at least one month ahead of time where she could post her schedule of office hours monthly.
Debbie provided the Board with a copy of a document that was given to her that describes the duties of a Town Clerk – some of which may not be applicable in Monterey.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. Josh Allentuck came in to follow up on the process and guidelines he needs to follow with regards to accepting the bids for “Jamie’s Court”. Josh will bring the bids in for the Board to review and decide upon.
2. Donald Torrico, Building Inspector presented a recommendation for an alternate inspector to be appointed (Don Fitzgerald). A motion was made to appoint Don Fitzgerald as an additional Alternate Inspector of Buildings. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved. This is a back up to Tom Race.
3. The Board inquired if the Monterey General Store has applied for the necessary building permits yet – he has not. Don explained that in order to determine the maximum occupancy for the building, an architect or engineer is required to determine the load capacities as the building exceeds a certain size. He stated that the owner has also not yet applied for any permits for the ansul system that the Fire Inspector has required. Don also explained that all of these items necessary that would allow the store to open were explained to the owner of the store on several occasions by himself, the Health Agent and the Fire Inspector. Once the owner applies for a Certificate of Occupancy with the necessary documents from the engineer or architect, Don will review them and make a determination.
4. The Board reviewed the special one day alcohol permit from the Bidwell House Museum. The permit was granted.
5. The Board reviewed and accepted unanimously the Berkshire Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
6. A motion was made to appoint Mickey Gervas to the Employee Compensation Committee for a one year term. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
7. A motion was made to appoint Larry Klein to the Employee Compensation Committee for a one year term. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
8. At 10:25am Scott Jenssen recused himself and Muriel and Wayne reviewed the additional documents submitted by Sean Stanton’s Attorney Ira Kaplan. Wayne provided a copy to Mr. Baumann as he was not aware of the documents. Muriel stated that she was really sad that this situation has not been able to be resolved between the parties themselves. Section 3 under the Monterey Town Bylaws states that a dog has to be under an owner’s control, while this particular dog is fenced in and unable to roam free it is not under the owner’s control as the owner does not live on the property. She felt that the Right to Farm bylaw with regards to noise associated with farming is rather subjective. Muriel noted that she did take a tour of the farm with Mr. Stanton yesterday and found it
very impressive. The impact of the repetitive, cumulative barking should be taken into consideration as residents do deserve the right to a good night’s sleep. What “under the owner’s control” means with regards to our dog bylaw was discussed. Muriel felt strongly that this means that the owner needs to be on the premise to control their dog and that it is very clear that the Right to Farm bylaw does not supersede any other laws, bylaws or regulations. Muriel inquired about putting all of the chickens in the coop at night and removing the dog from dusk to dawn as a resolution. Sean stated that he travels to the farm twice a day at 14 miles roundtrip and doing this would add another round trip with additional costs for fuels and ecologically he’d be burning more fossil fuels – he would not be willing to do this and feels that the dog is under his control as it is fenced in. He also argued that this dog is an
agricultural use dog, not a pet. Muriel noted that our bylaws do not differentiate. Mr. Baumann felt that this whole situation was unfair to the residents who live on the street 365 days a year and do not have a financial interest in the farm’s operations. Both Board members noted that they are very bothered by the fact that some of their residents are unable to sleep and that there doesn’t seem to be an easy solution or accommodations to this problem. Wayne was not inclined to require that Mr. Stanton get rid of his dog or change his current procedures. Wayne felt that some of the concessions Sean was already making (not using particular fields or going up to the road line, which is a cultural and economic sacrifice on Mr. Stanton’s part)) was a good will gesture in trying to make the impact on the neighbors as minimal as possible. Wayne suggested that the management of this dog has become better over the last couple of years
and that this is the optimum for a working dog like this until he can receive proof of longer, substantiated disturbances. Muriel asked Wayne to clarify if this means he recommends taking no action. Muriel does not agree with Wayne’s view on the matter and M. Noe was asked to contact Town Counsel to determine what happens now since the Board cannot agree on a resolution. Town Counsel was unreachable so the Board will make him aware of this as soon as possible for him to advise what the next steps are. Sean stated that he knows that this is a difficult place for the Board and thanked them for all of the time and effort they have put into the process. At this point the hearing was closed.
9. The minutes from 7.16.12 were approved as written.
10. The Board signed a letter thanking Abbot Bronstein for his donation of an American Flag in honor of Arthur J. Bronstein and Sigmund H. Bronstein, WWII Veterans.
11. Eugene Bounous came in to inquire how to get a Conservation Commission member out for a site visit as required for the tree cutting to be done in association with the cell tower construction on his property. Mr. Bounous was instructed to contact Tim Lovett, the Conservation Commission Project Manager for this case.
12. Warrants were signed.
13. The Board discussed whether or not there was any known interest from anyone in town in filling the School Committee seat for Monterey in the November election.
14. Wayne gave a run down to the other Board members regarding the regional Selectmen meeting he attended last week.
15. Inter-Departmental Secretary’s weekly report reviewed.
a. M. Noe inquired of the Board how to pay for our .gov renewal which is due and can only be paid with a credit card. The Board asked M. Noe to contact the Treasurer and Accountant for their suggestions on how to pay.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 11:34am
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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