Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 1/27/14
Meeting Opened at: 9am
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 and Steven Weisz
The board met with Director of Operations, Maynard Forbes’ to review the following:
1. Weekly reports were reviewed.
2. Salt and sand usage was discussed.
3. There have been some equipment problems. The 550’s transmission has had some issues and has had to be towed to the dealership twice in the last few weeks.
4. A loaner grader has been delivered and the guys are learning how to use it until our grader comes in (there was a mistake made by the dealer when it was ordered and it did not come with 4WD). The highway department isn’t interested in purchasing this one as it has a lot more advanced options on it that the town doesn’t need.
5. The highway crew will begin working on the site work and prep for Jaime’s Court as soon as the weather allows. Scott asked if the current parking lot would be repaired at the same time the prep work is done for Jamie’s Court as it is in pretty bad shape. Maynard said it would need to be dug up and repaved; he can get a price if the Board is interested but he estimates it would be around $60,000.
6. WMH parking area: Maynard stated that a few years ago $25,000 was allotted for a driveway and parking area but the Select Board at the time instructed Maynard to only do the driveway. Maynard believes that the money that was left over to do the parking area was put back into the general funds by the previous Accountant so this money would need to be allocated/voted on again; he estimates it would be around $8,000.
7. Maynard wanted to clarify something that was incorrectly represented in last week’s minutes. Last week the Board had stated that the Fire Department had gone over their approved budget when they purchased the air packs and that wasn’t true; Maynard provided the documentation that was submitted to the Accountant which showed that the additional monies spent were supposed to have been charged to Fire Department Expenses. He also wanted the Select Board to be aware that there are several mistakes being made in the Treasurer and Accountant’s office; charging expenditures and payrolls to the wrong accounts such as payroll for highway members being charged to other accounts and items purchased for one account being charged to another. M. Noe noted that this also happened with the
part time officers being charged to the Town Clerk. The Select Board thanked Maynard for making them aware.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. The minutes from 1.13.14 were approved as written.
2. Peter Murkett came in regarding property he has on Harmon Rd that is in Chapter 61A which he has a prospective buyer for but the Town has the right of first refusal. Peter provided a sketch of the property for the Board to review. The Board chose to pass on their right to purchase the property.
3. The Board reviewed the final results of the Monterey Community School Survey which in summary was not in favor of spending $10,000 for an engineering study/construction planning with regards to construction of a new school (68.94% to 31.06%) and also not in favor of the Town of Monterey paying for a new school (70.45% to 29.55%). The full survey results are attached which 140 people responded to, a copy also be available on the Select Board page of the Town’s website. The Board read and discussed some of the comments submitted. Some highlights of their discussion:
a. Some respondents questioned why the survey didn’t give the option of fixing up the current building; the Board noted that they didn’t give this option in the survey as the cost to bring the current building up to code would be almost as expensive as starting from scratch.
b. Some respondents suggested seceding from the district but the Board pointed out that if that were to happen then residents would pay considerably more to choice their kids into a specific school and would no longer have a voice or representation on a School Committee.
c. Several respondents commented that the school should be integrated into the WMH building and a previous Select Board agreed but their attempts to make this happen were not been well received by the WMH Committee and their vision of the property at that time.
d. The Board felt that this survey conclusivley stated that the Town was not in favor of paying for a new school but it seemed that some might be in favor of renovating the current building.
e. Declining enrollment was also discussed.
4. The Board discussed an issue that M. Noe brought to their attention regarding incorrect amounts being deducted from the employee’s checks for their weekly contribution for optional life insurance policies. Currently everyone is being charged the same contribution amount and this is incorrect as everyone’s policy premium is different as it is based on their age. Some should be charged much less than they are currently being charged and 2 employees should be charged more. According to our handbook this is supposed to be a 75/25 split with the Town. The Board asked M. Noe to send a memo to all of the employees that have opted to have the life insurance with what their currently policy costs and what their weekly contribution should be and to check their paychecks to confirm that
the correct amount is not being charged and to let the employees know that the correct amount will begin being charged in 2 weeks, once coordinated with the Treasurer.
5. Muriel expressed her frustration with the tardy responses from the Treasurer and Accountant. She noted that a most recent email sent to both took Brendan 8 days to respond to and Bethany 11 days.
6. Muriel also noted that the Town Accountant has told her he is confident that the FY13 books should be closed by February 1st and everyone should have final reports for last year after that.
7. The Board reviewed the quote from LePrevost Plumbing & Heating to install an air exchange system in the basement to help with the mold and condensation issues as well as the over-heating issue in the server room. The quote also included the final phase of the cooling system for the meeting room. M. Noe informed the Board that the former Town Accountant, Barbara Gauthier informed her that there is $13,000 in an account which could be used for this type of project. The $13,000 came from a grant that has since ended from Berkshire Housing and is to be used for building repairs and maintenance. The Board had more questions on this account and the estimate. M. Noe will get the information they are looking for for next week’s meeting.
8. Barbara Palmer of the Bidwell House contacted Muriel about a grant they are applying for. They need a letter of support from the Board and she will provide the points that should be addressed in the letter to be signed next week.
9. Multi-board meeting tomorrow night: Muriel is hoping that there will be a spokesperson from each of the 4 projects in town; the Wilson McLaughlin House, the library renovation, the Bidwell House and the Monterey School to discuss and answer any questions. M. Noe was asked to make 20 copies of the Monterey Community School Survey for the meeting.
10. Muriel noted that she will not be running again for the Select Board. She suggested that there should be a packet made for any incoming Select Board members to help bring them up to speed on ongoing town issues which could include things such as a copy of the WMH lease and MOU, the agreement with the Fire Department, etc.
11. Mail was reviewed which included:
a. Email from Joe Baker that confirmed he had been incorrect and the FWMH Committee are supposed to be paying the water bill according to the lease and had in fact paid it in 2007 and they will make the current payment that is due.
b. Email from our insurance company regarding any liabilities with a potential construction of a dog park. The Board would like more clarification on something in the email that stated that dog bites are not covered. M. Noe will follow up with our insurance.
c. Notice about the BRPC’s Community Preservation Act 5th Thursday dinner presentation.
d. Thank you note from Nancy Kalodner regarding the quick and thoughtful response that Chief Backhaus, Sgt. Johnson and Lyman Thomson provided recently during some inclement weather.
12. Warrants were signed.
13. Steve Weisz came in regarding his interest in joining the Historical Commission. The Board suggested sending an email to the current committee members stating that Steve Weisz is interested in helping on this commission and do they have any comments before the Board makes the appointment. The Board also stated that this email should request that they let the Board know who the current Chairperson is. Steve noted that he is also looking into joining the Historical Society. Steve also had questions about a Master Plan that he was told may have been created by the Town around 2005. Wayne stated that the Town never officially created a Master Plan but did work on a Community Development Plan from 2003 which was similar and created for a grant the Town was applying for but not as
detailed. A copy was shown to Steve and he will review it later this morning.
14. The Board reviewed a working copy of the proposed FY15 budget. This will be discussed in more detail next week. The Board would like to make amendments to it before they meet with the Finance Committee in February. The Board asked M. Noe to contact the Southern Berkshire Elderly Transportation Company regarding their request for $2,375 to find out how many Monterey residents they are servicing and how frequently.
15. Executive Secretary’s weekly reports for the last 2 weeks were reviewed.
a. Muriel asked M. Noe to check on each of the Board’s and Committee’s pages on the Town’s website to make sure that the people listed are up to date.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 11:11am
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Executive Secretary
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
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