Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 10/5/16
Meeting Opened at: 9am
Select Board Members Present: Kenn Basler, Chairperson, Steve Weisz and Carol Edelman
Also in attendance: Chief Backhaus, Steve and Sandy from National Grid, Peter Vallianos, Adam Chait, Larry Klein, Cliff Weiss, Ray Tryon, Don Clawson, Michael Cicchetti of Frontier, Kevin Smith of Frontier, Nathaniel Rundle
At 9am the Board held a joint pole hearing for new home on Art School Rd. The Board was approved contingent upon the Director of Operations approval. Shawn replied later in the meeting that he had no issues and therefore the Board approved the pole request.
At 9:15am the Board met with the Police Chief to discuss the following:
- Increase in speeding: The Chief will speak to all the officers about being more visible and making an effort to slow traffic down.
- The Board requested a letter from the Police Department to Verizon with regards to the lack of cell service and their responsibility to serve everyone for safety purposes.
- Cruiser #1273 status: The Chief stated that Mike Johnson has been doing some body work on it so that it may be used as a 3rd vehicle. It will be kept at Mike’s house to use to respond if needed when the part timers are on duty and need assistance. It will not be used for regular patrols. The Chief stated that there aren’t currently any safety or mechanical issues with it and the plan is to run it as a backup vehicle until it dies (no further money will be put into it for repairs or maintenance).
- Southern Berkshire Emergency Shelter Plan: The Chief asked that the addendum be signed which would allow for us to use the designated shelter at Simon’s Rock.
- Berkshire County Mutual Aid Agreement: The plan requires an updated signature which the Board did.
- The Board asked for a list of what the fee to Gt. Barrington covers. It covers use of the lock up, back up dispatch, etc. Kenn inquired why the towns of Egremont and New Marlborough only pay $100/night for the use of the lock up versus the $3,000+ we are paying. The Chief stated that our fee includes a lot more than just the use of the facilities.
At 10:30am Frontier made a presentation to the Board with regards to bringing fiber to 100% of town properties. The Frontier representatives stated that all households will have a connection to the internet (at a minimum of 30 – 36x the speeds currently available) and would have access to Television, & Phone as well. The network would be owned by Frontier and paid for, thru a mixture of State Funds and a monthly connection fee (details would have to be worked out between the town & Frontier) Frontier stated that they could wire Monterey in one year. Monterey’s next step will be to put out a RFP.
Miscellaneous Items Reviewed:
1. Peter Vallianos came in with regards to a property that was taken by the town across from Hebert’s Cove. The original owners are requesting to purchase it back, the Board didn’t have any issues with that. A letter will be sent to the Treasurer to set a price under whatever procedures are necessary on the Lupiani property at 10 Lake Ave to sell it back.
2. The Board reviewed the warrant for tomorrow night’s meeting and discussed who would be the point person for each article.
3. The Board agreed that since Monica Webb has not been active as our WiredWest representative Larry Klein will be appointed to the positions she held.
4. Larry stated that MBI is in need of our audit report which will be available in December. Larry said that a copy of the cash audit is all that is needed right now.
5. Steve stated that the new owner of 24 Lakeside Terrace is amenable to the fire department using their home for practice; they will be directed to the Fire Chief to get the necessary documents as the Fire Company is separate from the town.
6. At the Fire Chief’s request Scott Amstead was unanimously appointed to the Fire Department.
7. Dominic Stucker was appointed as the Conservation Commission representative to the Lake Garfield Working Group.
8. The Board reviewed the application for a theatrical event to be held at the pavilion on October 8th. The application was unanimously approved with the condition from the Building Inspector that the emergency lighting that still needs to be installed requires an inspection by the Building Inspector at least 48 hours prior to the event.
9. Bally Gally lease: the lease is coming up for renewal, the Board discussed the current rent and whether to keep it the same or raise it. It was suggested that, since the rent has not been increased in several years the Board should consider increasing it. The Board unanimously agreed to an increase of $50/month.
10. The Board asked M. Noe to look into the Affordable Housing regulations.
11. The Board addressed the rumor that is floating around regarding the swap shack at the new transfer station; this is just a rumor, the Board has full intentions of having a swap shack at the new transfer station and is currently looking at the options available (stick built or prefab). A note will be included in the weekly update from town hall dispelling the rumor.
12. Community Compact: Kenn printed off copies of the grants provided last year for IT services for the other members to review and discuss at the next meeting.
13. Town Administrator Resume Review Committee update: Kenn reported that the committee has interviewed 2 current Town Administrators to get suggestions.
14. Cell tower update: Steve has spoken with the representative who will be pulling the permit once he can confirm a few things with the Building Inspector.
15. Warrants were signed.
16. Minutes from 9/30/16 were approved with amendments.
17. Administrative Assistant’s weekly report was reviewed.
18. Police Chief’s weekly report was reviewed.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 12:15pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
Town Clerk
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