Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 11/10/14
Meeting Opened at: 4pm
Select Board Members Present: Wayne Burkhart, Chairperson, Scott Jenssen and Kenn Basler
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Barbara Gauthier, Mike Mielke Sr., Bethany Mielke, Mike Mielke Jr., Ray Tryon, Norma Champigny, Ruth Champigny, Barbara Swann, Emily Johnson, Muriel Lazzarini, Robert Lazzarini, Chris Tryon, Kelly Funk, Alan Salamon, Maggie Leonard, Shawn Tryon, Linda Thorpe and Michael Johnson
The board met with Treasurer, Bethany Mielke to review the following:
1. Closing of the FY14 books: Everything has been entered online and signed off on from the Treasurer’s side. Barbara Gauthier stated that she spoke with Brendan today and he confirmed that everything has been sent to the state so that free cash could be certified and he is working on the Schedule A.
2. e-Treasury update: This feature will allow the Tax Collector to transfer monies to the Treasurer. Bethany has started the process and hopes to finish up tomorrow. She explained that the reason it took so long was that she wasn’t sold on the idea at first and was under the impression that there were other options that would be available for the Tax Collector to make transfers.
3. Barbara Gauthier asked to make a recommendation that monthly reports from both the Treasurer and Accountant need to be distributed in a more timely fashion. Bethany stated that any delays were caused by the fact that she was no longer allowed to have an assistant as of July 31st.
4. Brendan and Barbara have decided that for right now he will only need her assistance on an as needed basis.
5. Kenn informed Bethany that we’ve had 2 presentations with regards to using a payroll company and suggested that Bethany speak to the Treasurer’s that he spoke to that currently use a payroll service to see what her thoughts were on the matter. The Board feels that by switching to a payroll service it would allow Bethany more time to work on other Treasurer items. Bethany stated that she did not feel there was a time issue and that she is handling all of her duties just fine. It was agreed to continue this discussion at the next evening meeting after Bethany has had a chance to speak with other Treasurer’s that do payroll this way. In the end switching to a payroll service would require a town meeting vote.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. Shawn and Chris Tryon came in to request that the Board waive any building permit fees for projects at the fire company. A motion was made to waive the building permit fees for the fire company project. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved. The Board asked that a copy of the plans be brought to the Board but Shawn explained that it would be easier if the Board came to him. Maggie noted that because it is a municipal project it will require a review at a Planning Board meeting which the Board could attend.
2. A workshop has been set up for the highway crew and Select Board on December 9th which will be geared around the use of salt & sand in Monterey.
3. Scott made a statement that he is really tired of all the rumors and people asking the Board to act on rumors and if there are issues within the Town Hall they should be worked out amongst the offices and not dragged on through the Board meetings. Everyone needs to work together and worry about their own jobs. He applauded the work that the Treasurer, Accountant, Town Clerk and Administrative Assistant are doing.
4. Emily Johnson stated that with regards to last week’s minutes she submitted an email to the Board some time ago (which was not presented at a Select Board meeting) that stated in it that she would not be running again and yet the minutes stated that she may not be running again. The Board stated they must have missed that and will look at the minutes more closely before approving them. Muriel commented that in light of the problems that have occurred recently with the Treasurer and the Berkshire Record article, the Board really needs to scrutinize the minutes more closely and when they first get them rather than at the meeting where they are to be approved. Scott said that the Board is trying to make the minutes much more readable. Wayne added that good minutes are concise and
complete and that minute taking is a very difficult job but they will try to do better in reviewing/approving them. Bethany asked that the negative items addressed should be more descriptive across the board for all departments and not selectively as they appear.
5. Robert Lazzarini came in as a member of the Board of Appeals and explained that about 5 years ago the ZBA together with the Planning Board begin working on cleaning up our bylaws and making them more current. The ZBA has pledged to continue to reorganize and correct the current bylaws in stages. Bob provided a letter of transmittal along with a list of suggested amendments to be made (attached). The process to do this requires the Select Board to instruct the Planning Board within 14 days of receiving the request to move forward with this. A motion was made to pass the proposal along to the Planning Board. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. The Board let Maggie know that there will most likely be a special town meeting sometime in February or March if
they can be ready in time for that. The Planning Board has been in contact with Mark Bobrowski to see if he could consult again with making any additional changes to the bylaws.
6. Scott informed Muriel and Bob that after thinking about it he decided that comments he made 2 weeks ago about meeting outside of the Board’s meeting to discuss restructuring the town hall would be inappropriate and that any discussions that involve the operations of town hall should be discussed publically. He apologized for not notifying them of his decision earlier.
7. Emily Johnson came in with regards to the letter sent to her by the Board to come to next week’s meeting to discuss the issues she has. She stated that morning meetings aren’t good for her as that is when she has office hours. She confirmed for the record that she will not be running for reelection. She stated that she had emailed this to the Board separately and hadn’t planned on airing her grievances in a public meeting but seeing as the Board made it public she’s here now and will discuss it although there is nothing the Board can do to change her mind. Prior to the airing of grievances it was noted that everyone that wanted to speak needed to steer clear of any character/reputation assassinations and stick to the issues only. Emily started off by
commending Melissa and stating the Melissa knows her job and does a very good job in her role as Administrative Assistant. Emily said that there was an issue back in July regarding the meeting postings. Wayne stated that he, Melissa and Emily did meet about this some time ago and everyone was under the impression that this matter had already been discussed and diffused. Emily presented a copy of an email provided to her that M. Noe sent to the Board back in July regarding the above mentioned situation and she wanted to have the chance to rebut it. M. Noe added that in all fairness several emails have been sent privately from Emily to the Board with regards to M. Noe that she has not seen. The Board explained that a lot of these misunderstanding happen when the Board directs M. Noe to do something and in the course of trying to get those things done unexpected obstacles pop up that might make it seem as though M. Noe is trying to over-step her duties
when in fact she is trying to get a task done. Emily pointed out several parts of this email that she did not agree with. Another issue Emily had was with the minutes and agendas. Scott explained the format of the agenda and that just because something is listed under “Administrative Items” does not mean that it is a scheduled topic for that evening, it’s more of a list of things that need to be taken care of at a later date. All of the issues that Emily brought up Scott felt were inter-personal issues that Emily & Melissa should work this out together not in a public meeting. Several people in attendance felt that anything negative that happens within the town hall is projected and become mountains when they are really molehills. It was the opinion of some in the audience that the issue was not inter-personal and that the problem was Melissa. Melissa was given a chance to respond and she requested that in order for
her to respond to anything tonight she would like copies of all the emails that Emily sent to the Board with regards to M. Noe that she was not privy to so that she would have time to review and comment on them as well as investigate any claims made tonight. Barbara Gauthier commented that part of the problem is misunderstanding, everything has to go before the Board and the reason a lot of things have made it to the Select Board is because the complaints received at town hall have not been answered and M. Noe has to bring it to the Board. Bob suggested that the structure of the whole town hall needs to be looked at as it is his opinion that we are losing several people in town hall because of one position. The Board did not agree and stated that M. Noe cannot be blamed personally that some of the duties and responsibilities assigned to her will sometimes get into some ticklish places and that fact that the Board must handle things in an open meeting makes it
difficult to handle some more sensitive topics. Wayne noted that there is a survey out there which closed at the end of the month to discuss the current structure of town hall. Wayne felt that the tone of the meeting had become more of a witch hunt than a chance to work out differences. A motion was made to set in motion starting a committee that would look at the structuring of the town hall. The motion was seconded and discussion ensued. Scott stated that this committee cannot be the Clerk against Melissa and that looking at the town hall structure should come up with a solution that keeps everyone in their current position. Wayne felt that the Board really needs to discuss this further before moving forward but approved the motion. Volunteers from public to be on the committee are: Barbara Gauthier, Robert Lazzarini, Norma Champigny, Bethany Mielke, Ray Tryon, the 3 Select Board members and Muriel Lazzarini. It was suggested to
meet next Monday evening from 4 – 6pm.
8. A motion was made to accept the EDM proposal to perform an engineering study on the Monterey School and use the funds from the Berkshire Housing Refund account.
9. Mail was reviewed which included:
a. Email from Town Clerk asking that the information in the 10/27 minutes was incorrect regarding when her term expires. Her term expires May of 2015 as she was finishing out the previous Clerk’s term, the ballot was incorrect the year she ran and this has since been corrected with the state.
10. A motion was made to approve the theatrical permit request for a holiday drag extravaganza on Saturday, November 29th at the firehouse (2 shows, no alcohol or food). The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
11. Administrative Assistant’s weekly report was reviewed.
12. Chief Backhaus’ weekly report was reviewed.
13. Warrants were signed.
14. Select Board Corner: The Board will review the draft and discuss further at next week’s meeting.
15. M. Noe requested that the Board reconsider the makeup of the committee formed earlier in the meeting. She felt that the majority of the committee was biased and had strong feeling of wanting to eliminate M. Noe’s position rather than focus on making the town hall run more effectively. She requested that the Board put out a request to anyone interested in being on the committee and give it some time for people to respond which would give the Board time to come up with a clear objective of the advisory committee in reviewing the structure and jobs performed within town hall. M. Noe also felt that if the dynamics of town hall were going to be looked at then all current issues that are occurring within the town hall need to be addressed as well as some issues of late have not been made public
nor have the parties involved been called in to meet with the Board about these problems. The Board agreed.
16. Bethany returned to the meeting and discussions ensued about her concerns that emails regarding her are always cc’d to the Board members. M. Noe explained and the Board concurred that the Board is cc’d because they are the governing authority to whom M. Noe reports and they need to be aware of all things that occur in town hall, no matter how small they may seem. Bethany also expressed concerns about how the minutes seem very biased toward some departments. M. Noe explained and the Board concurred that M. Noe writes the minutes but the end content of those minutes is decided by the Board and there have been several occasions that other departments issues were originally in the minutes but had either been amended down significantly or deleted all together.
17. The Board approved a change to the Town Accountant’s office hours from Mondays and Friday 9am to 1pm to Mondays 9am to 1pm and Wednesdays 6 – 10pm.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 6:44pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
Town Clerk
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