Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 12/15/14
Meeting Opened at: 8:30am
Select Board Members Present: Wayne Burkhart, Chairperson, Scott Jenssen and Kenn Basler
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: David Irland for the Monterey News, Chief Backhaus, Martin Mraz, Jenna Johnson, Shawn Tryon, Winston Wilson, Tony Corsi, Stanley Ross, Karen Allen, Ray Tryon and Jim Carer
The board met with Chief of Police, Gareth Backhaus to review the following:
1. Kenn asked the Chief to come in to speak about the letter/concern submitted at last weeks meeting by the part time officers and to talk about the town’s time off policy.
a. Rotation of details: The Chief is adamant to keep it the way it is as he feels it is fair system. The Chief also feels that the full time officers should be given first choice of details because there is a large difference between a full time officer who dedicates their life to this career while part timers are usually doing this as a supplemental income. Kenn suggested that if the part timers were to be offered more details they might be more motivated/committed to stay in Monterey; the Chief disagreed. The Chief stated that it is very important that the full time officer is in town should another emergency occur that the Chief needs additional help for.
b. Election details: The Chief stated that he has no problem with the Constable manning the elections but he will only allow this when we have a Constable that is able to stay for the entire day as is required. Kenn inquired why a part time officer isn’t just scheduled for this shift and the Chief stated it’s because none of the officers want to work it for regular pay. It was noted that the other first time officer is a salaried position and he should be scheduled for this shift costing the town no further monies. Kenn also noted that he has spoken to some surrounding towns who are also looking at putting a regular shift officer on for the elections cersus a detailed rate officer.
c. The Board stated that the Sergeant’s schedule needs to be regular, posted and clear and shouldn’t be changed to accommodate details.
d. Use of the cruiser at details: The Chief has decided that it is in the town’s best interest to have the Sergeant have access to the other cruiser at details during the day that are in Monterey. If something should happen that would require 2 officers with access to the emergency vehicles he would be nearby and able to respond.
e. Part time officers working the midnight to 8am shift: The Chief stated that this was a non-issue as it only happened once while the Chief was on vacation and the Sergeant had another previous engagement. There was no money exchanged.
f. Holiday shifts: These are done by rotation.
g. The Chief also stated and supplied a list of the officers that have left the employment of Monterey refuting that we have a high turnover. Most of the officers that have left have gone to other stations for full time positions.
h. Additional comments from Rudy Gero and the part-time officers regarding raises (attached). The Chief stated that the current hourly rates for part timers were on scale with other departments with respect to their knowledge base but now that the department has more seasoned officers the Chief does plan to recommend to the ECAC, Select Board and Finance Committee that the part timers receive a raise for FY16.
i. Wayne stated that there is somewhat of a perception problem and that we aren’t always responding in the proper way. Wayne appreciates that the Chief is managing the department and just wants to be sure that the management of police details is similar to other departments, is fair and can be substantiated. It was noted that there have been complaints about the Sergeants leadership skills and the Chief was asked if there was any way to improve his interpersonal interactions. The Chief is aware of the issue and is working with Mike on it. He is also looking to sign Mike up for a supervisor’s course that may prove helpful.
2. Time off: The Chief recently had minor surgery and will find out at the end of this week when he can return for light duty. The Board also noted that they were not officially made aware of the Chief taking the time off which the Chief stated was his fault.
The board met with Director of Operations, Shawn Tryon to review the following:
1. Shawn is still waiting on numbers for the proposed transfer station redesign.
2. The voicemail at the highway station no longer has Maynard’s voice on it and Shawn is still looking into whether or not he can access the messages remotely. Shawn will be adding a message where to call if this is an emergency.
3. Proposed police/fire boat: The Board stated that given the amount of requests they are dealing with for FY16 it isn’t likely that this will be a purchase this year and wanted to know what Shawn thought. Shawn stated that if the Board isn’t on board with purchasing another boat then he suggests that the one we currently have should be sold. The Board agreed. The boat will be removed from the capital expense spreadsheet.
4. Snow plow policy/use of contractors: Shawn stated that some sort of policy is needed as well as additional help; whether it is someone hired to come in and drive our vehicles or an independent contractor using their own trucks. Shawn stated that ideally he needs both a contractor with a one ton pickup with a plow and sander as well as someone that can come in and help driving one of the town’s trucks when necessary. The Board stated that it is Shawn’s call when to use this help and they understand that some of the help that has been used in the past may be related to Shawn. Shawn will develop a list to be shared with the Board of additional seasonal help he will use.
5. Town hall roof: Shawn stated that the roof over the meeting room is crumbling off and that this part of the roof was not updated when the town hall addition was built. Even though the new part isn’t in need of a roof it is Shawn’s recommendation that the whole roof be done at once and he’s recommending a steel roof at approximately $60,000. It is his opinion that this should be done as soon as possible as there have already been ice dam and water issues. The Board suggested that the project be done over 2 years to minimize the impact on the budget. Shawn adamantly disagreed. When asked about shingles instead of a steel roof Shawn stated that shingles would be approximately 50% of the cost but would have half the life span of the steel.
6. The Board reminded Shawn of the time off policy and explained that the requests do not necessarily need to be presented at a Select Board meeting they can be emailed to the Administrative Assistant to give to the Board.
7. Shawn is still trying to get help from Representative Pignatelli’s office with regards to the RT 23 culvert snafu.
At 10am the Board reopened the joint pole hearings continued from 8/11, 9/8 and 10/27/14 for proposals on Cronk Rd and Sandisfield Rd; these proposals are 2 options available to bring power to 198 Sandisfield Rd. The Board asked for the costs associated with these proposals. Tony stated that they hadn’t changed the Sandisfield Rd is approximately $60,000 and the other one is approximately half. National Grid is unwilling to negotiate and allow the resident to obtain power from WEMCO. Jim Carer the engineering supervisor for National Grid was also present. The Board stated that they are unhappy with the proposals presented and the fact that one homeowner is being made responsible for the costs associated with all the necessary poles even though there properties in between that could be
developed. The Board wanted more explanation on why the homeowner was being held responsible to pay for the expansion of National Grid’s infrastructure which only benefits National Grid. Karen Allen was present to express her dissatisfaction with the Cronk Rd proposal. Jim Carer of National Grid stated that the WMECO option is off the table all together and he isn’t sure that it would save the customer any money. The Board stated that they felt the hearing needed to be continued until someone capable of answering the Board’s questions and working on some sort of movement to meet the Board and resident halfway either monetarily (with respect to the cost of the poles) or with extending the 5 year plan for reimbursement of these costs to 20. The Board stated that if National Grid cannot come back with any sort of compromise that the next meeting will only be continued again from the Board’s perspective. The meeting has been
postponed to a date to be determined. The Board is prepared to meet with the DPU regarding this. Jenna Johnson suggested that if the Cronk Rd’s line is so bad then why doesn’t National Grid share the cost of the Sandisfield Rd proposal to tie in the current lines on Cronk Rd while at the same time upgrading those lines so that they no longer lose power for 72 hours at a clip.
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. Mail was reviewed which included:
a. Site review plan from the Planning Board for Hume Camp.
b. Request from Alice Berke to amend the 11.17.14 minutes with regards to the section on beavers. The Board took this under advisement but no changes were made.
c. Proposal from Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions (attached). A meeting will be set up providing the grant available will cover the cost for the on-site assessment.
d. Barry Karson submitted his resignation letter from the Planning Board effective immediately.
e. Meeting notice from SBRSD for a municipal representative to be chosen in accordance with MGL Chapter 150E Section 1 and the Dept of Education regulations codified at 603 CMR 41.00.
2. Administrative Assistant’s weekly report was reviewed.
3. Police Chief’s weekly report was reviewed.
4. Warrants were signed.
5. A reminder memo will be sent to all the appointed employees regarding taking time off and that all time off requests should be submitted to the Select Board (as per the employee handbook) for approval at least 14 weeks prior to the days being taken off and at the same time the Board should also be made aware of how the employee’s job duties will be handled and by whom while away.
6. Winston Wilson, Tree Warden stated that he hasn’t had a chance to go out and look at the trees with John Fields yet but it is scheduled for this Thursday. Winston did take a drive around by himself and doesn’t feel that the situation is as dire as he originally thought.
7. Stanley Ross, Assessor came in to have the Board sign some forms needed to set the tax rate. A motion was made to accept the single rate tax. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
8. Stanley and Kenn reported on the WiredWest bond meeting that they attended. Stanley stated that first and foremost you have to believe that the technology is on the way. The presentation was informative regarding the 1 – 1.5 million dollar bond WiredWest is requesting which if accepted the town will be responsible for for 20 years (the first 3 years would be interest only payments of approx. $45k then year 4 the full payments would be due in the amount of $117k before any revenues from the surplus dollars). Each town will be responsible for their own bond, it isn’t a joint bond. It was noted that this whole operation is built on a trust and a co-operation between WiredWest and the towns. Kenn questioned whether or not the Board could commit the Town to this much debt for
a potential of only 40% of the town signing up for the services to be created. WiredWest will be sending out a letter in early January looking for commitments to the service which will include a $50 fee for a good faith gesture that the resident will sign up for the service when available. The Board stated that this will help them decide whether or not to go forward with the request for a bond by how many people send in the good faith fee.
9. Select Board Corner for January: The Board approved the draft as is. M. Noe will submit it to the Monterey News.
10. The Board discussed the town hall services survey that was completed and given to the Board last week. It was the consensus of the Board that the majority of the respondents would like to see the Town Clerk’s office open on Saturdays again. Since this Clerk has stated she will not be running again the Board will confirm with Town Counsel that they are in fact the Board that determines the number of hours the position requires and whether or not they can go as far as setting office hours to be open. It was also noted that the Board will need to determine the number of hours required to perform this position (whether it requires 20 or more a week or less than 20 per week) as this determines whether the position is eligible for health insurance benefits.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 12:02pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
Town Clerk
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