Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 8/8/16
Meeting Opened at: 9am
Select Board Members Present: Kenn Basler, Chairperson, Steve Weisz and Carol Edelman
Also in attendance: Jeremia Pollard, Town Counsel, Pat Salomon, Hy Rosen, Jennifer Brown, Emily Johnson, Julio Rodriguez, Shawn Tryon, Ray Tryon
The Board met with Town Counsel, Jeremia Pollard to discuss the following:
1. Paperwork given to the Board by the Treasurer from bond counsel: Jeremia confirmed that the signing of the town meeting warrant is the same thing as an affirmative vote of the warrant and the language within (including any ballot questions). If bond counsel needs something specific then the minutes should be amended accordingly.
2. February special town meeting, article to create a separate tax district for Lake Garfield: There are 3-4 different drafts of the Act floating around (2 of which are different, yet have the same draft date on them) and no one is clear which one the voters acted on, as the Clerk has stated she was never provided a copy of the act. Jeremia stated that if a copy was not received by the Clerk to certify, prior to the town meeting, it will need to be voted on again at the next town meeting. Jeremia also suggested that next time, instead of stating that the act is on file with the Clerk, the entire act should be put on the warrant (even though this will cost more). Discussion ensued about the cause of the confusion and the fact that several drafts were provided by The Friends of Lake Garfield,
some received within the same day. There was also talk about the votes needed to approve the district, once the legislature had ruled. A motion was made to put the article (wording to be provided by the FLG’s counsel) on the September special town meeting article. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. Pat Salomon requested that it be noted that this will be a “redo” due to a clerical error. It was explained to Pat that indeed it was, however it could be amended on the floor and will need to be revoted by those registered voters who attend the Special Town Meeting on the 22nd of September.
The Board met with Town Clerk & Treasurer, Jennifer Brown to discuss the following:
1. Jen came in requesting a statement confirming that a vote did take place at the 4/4/16 meeting; Jeremia repeated (as Jen was not present for the earlier conversation) that the original minutes were amended by the Board, and that that was sufficient, especially since the Board signed the town meeting warrant which has the questions contained on it. He stated that if bond counsel has any issues they can contact him. Jen should have the necessary information by tomorrow.
Miscellaneous Items Reviewed:
1. Hy Rosen asked for an update on the formation of the Lake Garfield Working Group. The Board stated that the article letting people know how to sign up to be on this committee just appeared in the Monterey News this month and the deadline to apply is August 12th.
2. Hy also reported that sometime this month, a lake scientist (Emily Stockman) will be touring the lake for an update on its weed/milfoil status. Steve agreed to accompany them, if requested
3. Warrants were signed.
a. It was noted that the Master Garbologist bill since last year has gone down $4,000 and this is a direct result of changes that have been implemented over the last year and the excellent work of the Transfer Station managers, Dave & Ben.
4. Administrative Assistant’s weekly report was reviewed.
5. Kenn reported that there was an issue over the weekend with a private memorial held at the beach. The party did not apply for a special event permit to serve alcohol which would not have been granted as there is a “no alcohol” policy on the beach property. As a result, the police shut down the alcohol use and it was removed from the property. It was discovered during this meeting, that alcohol was still being served from a private property next door. The Board will discuss the whole permitting process and procedures to be followed at a later date.
6. Vacancies in town hall: The Treasurer and Town Clerk’s last day is Thursday, August 11th and the Accountant’s last day is tentatively the 12th.
a. Update on the Accountant’s: Paul’s last day is unknown at this point. He originally was going to leave on the 12th, however this may change. Since the Board was told verbally last week that his last day was going to be the 12th the position, the position was advertised. The Board discussed whether or not Paul should stay on, and if he is that his work schedule should be looked at and changed going forward. It was agreed that, to date, he has done an excellent job and that a working relationship with all the departments is finally coming together and it would be a plus if he would stay. It was noted however that if he is going to stay on that he will need to amend his hours to be in town hall during the day at least one day per week
for employees to meet with (so instead of coming in at 3:30 to come in at 2). Steve will speak to Paul about this.
b. Sue Funk is willing to come back as the Treasurer. A motion was made to appoint Sue Funk as Treasurer effective August 12, 2016 until the next town election in May 2017. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
c. The former Town Clerk of Lee has stated that she may be able to come in and assist in training a new Town Clerk. Discussion ensued about the several elections coming up and the new early voting regulations which may also require asking for more money in the elections budget at the September special. Kenn has also spoken with Debbie Mielke, previous town clerk for Monterey who is also interested in coming back. Steve and Carol will set up a meeting with Debbie on Wednesday.
d. Discussion ensued about whether or not the vacant positions had to be posted – they do not since the law states that with the resignations received it becomes the Board’s responsibility to fulfill them.
7. Police Cruiser (sedan) – The cruiser has broken down again. Steve recommended that this cruiser needs to be retired and that no more money should be put into it. The rest of the Board agreed and it was suggested that these concerns be brought to the Chief. Steve researched the minutes from the Board and discovered that the Board and the Chief agreed to keep the cruiser so that it may be used as a “speed deterrent” around town and as a backup when the other cruisers were being used. This seems not to be the case, as it has been used a lot more frequently for shifts than intended. Steve stated that, in his opinion, it is no longer reliable for patrolling, but will reach out to the Chief for his thoughts. Steve will sit down with the Chief this week and ask for a copy
of the repair report for the cruiser (This report was requested during a previous Board meeting).
8. Crosswalk at the school: Shawn has asked if the Board wants the crosswalk at the school repainted since it is not currently in use. Not repainting it will save $1,000. A motion was made to instruct the highway department to make sure the crosswalk is repainted, as the school is not “closed” and may be used for other purposes. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
9. Kenn is working on the missing FY15 town report to give to M. Noe a.s.a.p. so the annual town report can be sent to the printer. Emily noted that the new Town Clerk coming in may receive an email scolding them for not filing the town report by the required deadline as she had received this when she was in office; Kenn noted that he will write the missing report (that was supposed to have been done by Wayne Burkhart) right away.
10. Town Administrator Resume Review Committee: Kenn stated that he had conversations with the MMA and other town Select Board’s of which the end result of those conversations are he is recommending to remove town employees Don Clawson, Melissa Noe (because they would be hiring their “boss”) and Kenn Basler from the committee (Kenn has not yet been officially appointed). Steve did not see an issue with these particular employees being part of the process because of their knowledge of the general failings that have occurred up to now, and several of the other committee members have also been “town employees”. He also reminded the Board that this is only a resume review committee and they are not choosing the applicant to hire (the Selectboard will make that determination). Carol was concerned that with removing Melissa there will be no females on the committee. After much discussion it was decided to vote on removing Don and Melissa and not appoint Kenn. A motion was made to
remove Don Clawson and Melissa Noe from the Resume Review Committee and not appoint Kenn Basler. The motion was seconded and passed 2 – 1 with Steve voting no. Rob Hoogs will be sending in a letter of interest to join the committee.
11. The Board reviewed the special event permit request from the Bidwell House to sell all alcohol at their 8/13/16 event. A motion was made to approve the permit which was seconded and approved unanimously.
12. Gazebo located behind the firehouse pavilion – this is currently owned by the Town. A motion was made to transfer ownership of the gazebo to the Fire Company. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. Shawn Tryon was present and accepted it on behalf of the Fire Company.
13. Steve reported that he had a conversation with one of the Selectmen in Tyringham with regards to Broadband. He noted that Charter Communications (aka Time Warner) has reached out to Tyringham and may be interested in Monterey. The Broadband committee will be reaching out to Charter Communications based on this conversation.
14. Steve reported that the Broadband Committee has received requirements from bond counsel on what will be necessary if we decided to go ahead with a bond; they are almost identical to what was just required for the fire truck. It was suggested that Steve call and ask that since they have most of the required information for the fire truck will it be necessary to put it all together again and he will also speak with the Clerk to see if she can make a duplicate set of copies.
15. Carol inquired if there are any state agencies that should be notified about the ban that we passed at the annual with regards to using herbicides in MA. It was thought to be a good idea to send it to the Department of Agriculture and DEP.
16. Mail was reviewed which included:
a. Letter from Nadine Hawver advising the Board that she will be unable to serve in the role of temporary Town Clerk for personal reasons.
The Board met with Director of Operations and Fire Chief, Shawn Tryon to discuss the following:
1. Shawn inquired about when the check for the fire truck would be available and expressed the frustration that the Fire Company has with how this whole process has been handled by the financial office. The Board explained that Counsel has spoken with the Treasurer and the plan is to have the Board sign the bond paperwork on Wednesday and a check should be available on Thursday.
2. Steve reported that he had a conversation with one of the Selectmen in Tyringham and learned that they are also planning work on Tyringham Road and would be happy to coordinate their project with ours – Steve referred them to Shawn.
3. Grant writers – Shawn has met with Terry and there is concern about how and when she will get paid since there isn’t currently a line item to pay her from. If she can work right now on grants that allow for her to be paid through the grant then she can work on those but we cannot pay her to work on ones that do not. Terry will be asked to provide a written proposal to the Board with what it will cost to do the work that she and Shawn are talking about. Terry is meeting with Shawn tomorrow and Carol will also attend.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 12pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
Town Clerk
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