Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 8/12/13
Meeting Opened at: 9:10am
Select Board Members Present: Muriel Lazzarini, Chairperson, Wayne Burkhart and Scott Jenssen
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Susan Gallant for the Monterey News, Julio Rodriguez, Emily Johnson, Stanley Ross, Robert Lazzarini, Maryellen Brown, Carol Ingher, Josh Allentuck and Don Clawson
The board met with Town Accountant, Maryellen Brown to review the following items:
1. The Board inquired if there are now separate accounts set up for firemen pay (calls) and firemen education as the Board has noticed that they are now showing up on 2 different warrants. If they haven’t been officially separated the Board would like to see this happen so that there are 2 separate line items, one for training and one for calls and once the training funds have been spent, that is it. Maryellen noted that she is now working to get the last fiscal year’s books in order.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. Julio Rodriguez came in with the attached letter regarding the town owned portion of Sylvan Rd. Muriel stated that she made a site visit with Maynard and has been told that the Highway Department will be patching the one side with the holes and dips either this week or next week. Julio feels that this really should be blacktopped. Julio states that the town owned portion gets no town maintenance whatsoever, he stated that they plow the town owned portion and the Board reminded Julio that this was an agreement made by the Sylvan Rd committee as they didn’t like the alternative as to how the town plows would leave the a berm which would make it difficult for the contractor that the Sylvan Rd association uses. Julio stated that they do not want to be responsible for the town owned
portion of the road and they would like to have it sanded more. Wayne stated that it should be recognized that intersections take a lot more work than regular plowing. The Board will speak to Maynard more about the winter maintenance. sylvanrodriguez8.12.13.pdf
2. Emily Johnson, Town Clerk came in to request that the following be appointed as election workers for a one year term: John Bodnar, Estella Bodnar, Norma Champigny, Ruth Champigny, Barbara Tryon, Denise Andrus, Maryellen Brown, Gail Heath, Fran Huberman, Pat Mielke, Kathleen Purcell & Cynthia Weber. A motion was made to appoint the above, which was seconded and unanimously approved. Emily needs more election workers to cover any absences and will be bringing more names to be appointed once she finds more that are interested. She also noted that we are one of the lower paying towns and she is surveying other towns to determine the average hourly rate to get our town more in line with the others.
3. The Board inquired of Emily if either Linda Thorpe or Barbara Swann has responded to the request to return the OnmiForm software purchased by the town and any associated records. Emily stated that neither has acknowledged the email.
4. Emily stated that she is running into a bit of an issue with the bylaws accepted at the 5.7.11 town meeting (changing the fines for dogs and changing the elections date to the Tuesday after town meeting) which were never given to the AG. The AG is looking for items that we are unable to find in the former Clerk’s files and Linda Thorpe has not yet returned the documents regarding elections that she has at her home. Another email will be sent reminding Linda and Barbara about the request to return the software and associated files again and also letting them know that all other town records need to be returned to the town hall as we have requests for specific documents by the AG’s office which we have been told are in Linda’s possession.
5. Maynard recommended accepting Tri-Town as the low bid for the New Marlboro Rd. paving project at $68.40/ton, to furnish, haul, spread & roll approximately 2,105 tons of bituminous concrete on New Marlboro Rd according to our specifications. A motion was made to accept Maynard’s recommendation which was seconded and unanimously approved.
6. The Board spoke with Maynard about Julio’s concerns that patching the town owned section is not going to be enough. Maynard stated that the estimate to pave that would be approximately $10,000 and he doesn’t have that in his budget for this year. Maynard noted that about 2-3 years ago he was approached by the Association and they had stated they were going to pave the private section and he offered to pave the town portion at the same time. Maynard was never notified when they paved their section so this did not get done. To do it now will cost more than it would have had it been combined with the private section paving. The Board requested that it be paved next year.
7. Chestnut Hill: Maynard stated that the crew was up there in May and after that a private truck tore up the road when they got stuck. The road has been graded and he noted that there are signs posted stating “no tractor trailers” as they can’t make it up that road but no one follows it.
8. Muriel noted that Maynard informed her that he will be surveying all of our roads, including ones that do not physically exist but exist on a map and will work with the Board to determine which if any should be decommissioned or legally abandoned. He is also researching the process necessary for doing this.
9. Sergeant Johnson brought to the Board’s attention a recent rescue of a local woman in Lake Buel and would like to give an accommodation to the gentleman that rescued her. The Board thought this was a great idea to recognize any good deeds that occur in Monterey.
10. The Board asked M. Noe to follow up with Counsel on the email sent last week with additional questions regarding the town beach.
11. Pete Leprevost’s retirement: Muriel felt that something should be done to recognize the length of time and service Pete has given to the town. It was agreed that any monies used will be personal funds, not town funds.
12. The minutes from 8.5.13 were approved as written.
13. MIIA: Police and Accident Coverages: M. Noe explained the options given by Joe our new MIIA rep recommended to bring our coverages up to a more realistic coverage. A motion was made to accept Option 3 which was seconded and unanimously approved. It was agreed that Joe does not need to come to next week’s Select Board meeting to discuss this but might need to later in the year once we receive our new policy binders if there are any questions or concerns on any of our coverages.
14. Septic loan program update: $29,477 is the balance owed by Monterey according to Bethany Mielke. This has raised more questions which Muriel is awaiting a response on from Bethany.
15. The PPO health insurance plans will first be reviewed by the ECAC which will then make a recommendation to the Board about which to put on the books.
16. A complaint was received about someone not being able to get their Building Permit while the Inspector was away. M. Noe noted that D. Torrico was away but was checking his email, voicemail and the permitting software every day so there shouldn’t have been any issues. Scott noted that this kind of a situation should be prevented by applying online for a building permit.
17. Monterey School – the proposed new school is still on hold while waiting on information from others to get an estimate to bring to the voters of Monterey.
18. The Board appreciated the note from Chuck Pierce regarding his support and follow up questions from the recent 2nd Homeowner’s Meeting.
19. Carol Ingher stated that she has been waiting very patiently for the cell tower to be installed and she would like an update on when it will be live. The Select Board can only comment that permits have been issued from the Building Department for antennas for T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon as well as a permit for the pad and generator. We have been told that it’s possible it will be live by the end of the summer but only AT&T knows when it will be live. She also inquired about having access to the wireless access at the Town Hall so she doesn’t have to sit in her car at the library when it is closed. M. Noe will inquire with our IT person to set up a guest wireless access account not attached to our server for the public to use.
20. Josh Allentuck came in for guidance from the Board with regards to the Greene Park extension being proposed up behind the pavilion. The next step will require a site plan including everything we need to bid out the park and its components. We have received a bid of $6,800 from Berkshire Geo-Technologies (which is above the $5,000 procurement cap which requires getting 3 quotes when over $5,000). Wayne felt that this request should go before the town to vote on. Josh also needs plans for the Conservation Commission for the proposed work at Brewer Pond to expand the parking. The Board felt that since the Greene Park extension could be a controversial topic, the request for money for the plans and the project should be decided at a town meeting. Josh will work with M. Noe on
creating a survey to find out how the voters feel about this proposal and/or he will hold a public meeting to discuss/present this to the voters.
21. Donald Clawson stated he has been getting a lot of inquiries about damage after a flood and what is the remedial process for people with flooded houses from an Assessor’s perspective. He stated there is something under the supplemental act that would need to be approved each year at town meeting which would allow Don go in an immediately devalue the property (temporarily) which has been damaged by flooding to lower the taxes while it is unusable, currently he can only do that when the property is completely destroyed. The Board asked for a sample of what the warrant article would say and had no issues with this being placed on the warrant each year.
22. Muriel inquired about the abatements currently being given to the 2 retired firemen. It is approximately $1,375 for each of them currently receiving this abatement.
23. Mail was reviewed which included:
a. Notification of a refund of $1,193.67from Waste Mgmt Recycle America for the second half of FY13.
24. Warrants were signed.
a. The Board inquired about a t-shirt and sweatshirt invoice for the Fire Department.
b. The Board questioned why the money paid to the painters for the town hall was coming from a town hall furnace line item. M. Noe will send an email to the Accountant about this.
25. Inter-Departmental Secretary’s weekly report reviewed.
a. Melissa has expressed interest in attending the annual MMA Trade Show and Meeting in January. Muriel felt that we should wait until the workshops are announced to see if they will be applicable to a small town. M. Noe will find out when the workshops agenda will be released.
b. Day off request approved and request to attend the monthly Berkshire Managers Meeting in Sept approved.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 11:37am
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Executive Secretary
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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