Monterey Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 7/27/15
Meeting Opened at: 4:15pm
Select Board Members Present: Scott Jenssen, Chairperson, Kenn Basler and Steve Weisz
Also in attendance for parts of the meeting: Don Clawson, Maryellen Brown, Bethany Mielke and Betsy Andrus
Miscellaneous Select Board Items Reviewed:
1. The Board met with Betsy Andrus, Director of the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce regarding the following:
a. Invite the town as the Chamber’s guest to Summerfest to promote anything Monterey. This year it will be held at Butternut over 3 days (Aug 28 – 30). Kenn suggested that Monterey again be a part of this event as it was so successful last year. A notice will be sent out to anyone in Monterey that wants to put literature in the Town’s booth should bring them to town hall. They will also be notified that vendor booths are available to rent if any local businesses want to sell their wares or services.
b. Butternut is looking to create a “Taste of the Berkshires” next year which will be a weekend long event spread out through the Berkshires.
c. The Chamber feels that towns are underutilizing their memberships and are happy to offer their assistance in any way possible.
2. The Board met with Don Clawson regarding the following:
a. Don stated that the town needs someone to purchase the computers put in the budget for replacing/upgrading 1/3 of the town computers and offered to do this until an IT person is appointed. A motion was made to appoint Don as the computer purchasing agent until further notice. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
b. Don has heard back from the state with regards to a credit card system to use in town. The state doesn’t have any issues as long as it’s a 3rd party we are using. The contract for govpaynet was reviewed and signed and will be run by counsel before it’s sent in.
3. The Board met with Maryellen Brown regarding the following:
a. The school district and programs offered. She stated that it used to be that the only kindergarten program that was offered was in Monterey (not in any other town) until one year when there were too many students and it expanded to New Marlborough. She feels that the district did not keep the program viable in Monterey.
b. Maryellen reported that the Council on Aging has been made aware of a possible elder abuse incident in Monterey. Maryellen has been in contact with Elder Services and is looking for any other options that may be available. She proposed that it might be helpful to keep a Social Worker on retainer to handle these situations when and if they arise to assist in getting the right help and services for anyone in need. The Board agreed that this would be useful and felt that it certainly could be paid for out of the Council on Aging’s budget which should be increased next year.
c. It was suggested that a resource magnet for the town should be sent out to all residents with contact numbers for the seniors and services that are available.
4. Bethany Mielke was asked by Steve Weisz to come in and provide a progress report on transferring payroll to Harper’s payroll service. Service was supposed to be transferred and begin with the August 5th payroll however Bethany has been unable to supply Harper’s with all the information they requested in time so this has been pushed off to a later date. She stated that there may also be an issue with the current system for paying monthly people which would require some extra work from Harper’s or we could change the pay period to the 1st Thursday of each month instead of the 3rd. M. Noe suggested that to avoid any issues all the monthly payees be switched to weekly, the Board felt this was the easiest solution; Bethany will make sure that there
are no issues with this with the payroll company.
5. Bethany was asked to make sure that all transfers approved at town meeting be done as soon as possible.
6. Bethany was informed that we will be adding another credit card system and the Board let her know that she will need to be readily available for the setup process.
7. Mail was reviewed which included:
a. Contract for the auditing services with Adelson and Company. This was signed and will be sent back.
b. The Board signed the statement on anti-semitism from the American Jewish Committee.
c. An email praising the job well done by Scott this past Saturday at town hall.
8. The Board approved the special event permit for the Bidwell House’s event on August 15th.
9. Steve reported that he has spoken to one member of the Friends of Lake Garfield and informed him that the Board is looking for them to create a comprehensive plan for addressing issues at the lake and that the Board would like to meet with this in September sometime.
10. Steve asked if the Board had any issues with a can and bottle collection that the Friends of Lake Garfield has placed at the transfer station to raise funds for the lake. The Board didn’t have any issues with this as long as it was removed in a timely fashion when it gets full.
11. Kenn shared that he has a meeting tomorrow in Springfield with DEP with regards to the new transfer station plan and closure of the old station and getting approval to go forward with bids.
12. Scott reported that the 2 Select Board meetings that were posted for the school meeting (Thurs. 7/22) and the steak roast (Sat 7/25) did not require any deliberations and therefore no minutes were taken.
13. Steve has heard from Florida Tower Partners; they have requested more information from the original cell tower proposal which has been sent to them.
14. Steve has met the new officer that was appointed at last week’s meeting and stated that he presented himself very professionally. Scott reported that he spoke with the Chief about having this officer come in to a Board meeting so they could meet with him and the Chief reported that Monday afternoons are difficult due to the officer’s other job.
15. Scott offered to work town hall from 9 – 10:30am again this Saturday.
16. Steve stated that he has heard complaints about the very heavy “bumps” where the culverts are being laid and the gravel is compressing and was wondering if there was anything that could be done about them.
17. Steve reported that there are some residents near Hume that are upset with the new sign Hume is placing that has been approved by the Planning Board as it is a sign that is equal to or smaller than the sign that used to be there for New England Keswick. Scott stated that he didn’t believe there is any grandfathering for signs and that they should only be allowed to do what our bylaws allow and is approved by the Building Inspector.
18. The Board reviewed the 2 roofing bids we received for the town hall. Scott stated that the bids did cover all the work that needs to be done but recused himself from choosing a contractor as he works with both of them in his day job. Steve and Kenn agreed to award the job to Bartini roofing. M. Noe will work with Shawn to get the project going.
19. Police Chief’s weekly report was reviewed.
20. The bowling teambuilding event scheduled for Wednesday has been modified to just dinner as several key employees have chosen not to attend.
21. Kenn reported that Maria Rundle has contacted him and felt that the Monterey statement that the Board and school committee agreed to last Thursday should be released to the Monterey News. Steve disagreed because without the history and backstory the statement might become more inflammatory and felt that a history and explanation of how the Board came to this decision. The Board agreed and Steve will work on something.
22. Kenn reported that Chief Backhaus has arranged a policy/procedure with the Gt. Barrington Police Department on how to effectively and quickly notify Monterey when/if a student goes missing from Eagleton School.
23. The speed signs have been placed on Chestnut Hill Rd.
24. The 2nd speed trailer has been fixed.
25. Berkshire Geo-Technologies has just finished the paperwork necessary to put the bridge out to bid on New Marlboro Rd.
26. A new issue that has arisen on River Rd/Main Rd was discussed.
27. Kenn reported that he has spoken to Chris Blair about working as an agent for the town with regards to Conservation work; Chris is interested and Kenn will get back to the Board once he has more information.
28. Administrative Assistant’s weekly report was reviewed.
29. Warrants were signed.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 6:37pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
Town Clerk
Documents received at this meeting:
1. Anti-semitismstatement
2. Satcoverageemail
These are attached to the hard copy of the minutes located at town hall.
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