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Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 11/30/16
Meeting Opened at: 9am
Select Board Members Present: Kenn Basler, Chairperson, Steve Weisz and Carol Edelman
Also in attendance: Shawn Tryon,
Miscellaneous Items Reviewed:
- Shawn reported that Valley is all set to go for the hauling at the new transfer station they are just waiting for a signed contract.
- Shawn proposed purchasing turkeys from his budget for the highway crew for Christmas; the Board supported his decision.
- The Board discussed the turkey gift cards that they have purchased in the past for the town hall appointed employees, highway crew and police department. The fire department was upset at not being included and the Board agreed to reevaluate this decision. After discussion it was decided to lower the amount to $25 from $50 and to purchase them for all paid employees of the town (including elected officials that are paid – the final tally will be figured this week and voted on officially next week.
- Willie is working on scheduling the free IT audit; the Board will request an update next week.
- The Board discussed the consultants that have presented to the Lake Garfield Working Group and who has been responsible to date for paying for their time (it is believed that the Friends of Lake Garfield have paid for their services). The next working group will be Monday, December 12th.
- Transfer station holiday hours: It was unanimously agreed to close on Sunday, December 25th and Sunday, January 1st but open on Monday, December 26th and Monday, January 2nd.
- Lake Garfield drawdown: the drawdown will stop tomorrow and it will not be a full drawdown (it will be about 4ft total).
- The Town Clerk provided documents with regards to the recount which will be reviewed with the Town Administrator next week.
- The Board has requested that the Town Administrator meet with the Town Clerk to discuss hours with regards to the budget that remains and where the priorities should be for work to be done for the rest of this fiscal year. He will provide an update next week.
- The Board continued the discussion on the office reorganization and the creation of a new office. It has come to the Board’s attention that there may not be any “extra” funds available in the current budget to accomplish that this fiscal year. Kenn has reached out to contractors to get an estimate on how much it would cost to put up a wall and the necessary electrical work and should have that by next week. Carol suggested asking the grant writers if there are any grants available that could help with the costs.
- Steve reported that the Town Administrator plans to meet with both the grant writers for an update on their work.
- The Board discussed the accident this past Monday at town hall; the Building Inspector fell on some ice breaking his hand, glasses and tearing his clothes. There have been 2 other accidents this month as well one at the library and one at the firehouse. With regards to the town hall accident the Board discussed whose responsibility it should be to clear the entrances to town hall. In years past it has fallen to the highway department but during a storm they are plowing and unavailable. Shawn has been asked to give this some thought and make a proposal to the Board. In the meantime chains will be placed not allowing access in the spot where the Building Inspector fell. This raises a larger long term issue about maintenance of town buildings, the future community center and other misc items that need
to be handled that are currently falling on the highway department or outside contractors.
- Steve reported that the Clerk is working on getting someone from the State to come in to assist with the records in the storage room and disposing of those that can be disposed of.
- Shawn requested that Dustin Collins be appointed as a firefighter. A motion was made to appoint Dustin Collins as a firefighter through June 30, 2016. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
- Cell tower: The cell tower contractor is working on pulling the necessary permit with the building department. Two letters have also been composed which will be sent to Verizon from the Police Chief to assist in getting them to expedite providing cell service in town. These will be mailed out today; Carol suggested that our local representatives should be cc’d on the correspondence.
- Copy machine: There is disappointment with the copy machine purchased, the Board reviewed options for trading this in on a model that better suits our needs, one of which was a reconditioned model with just under 100,000 copies on it and a 1 year warranty for an even trade or a brand new model with more features than the reconditioned model and a 3 year warranty for a difference of $3560.70. After much discussion it was decided that the new machine was a better decision in the long run considering that this machine is a major and necessary machine in the town hall.
- A letter was drafted and signed to be sent to the new school committee representative for Monterey.
- The Board discussed the ongoing meetings with surrounding towns and MBI with regards to broadband.
- The new swap shack is scheduled to be delivered today. Discussion ensued about where it should be placed, where the attendants would like it to be placed and where the plans show it being placed.
- Warrants were signed.
- Minutes from 11/14 & 11/16/16 were approved.
- Administrative Assistant’s weekly report was reviewed.
- Police Chief’s weekly report was reviewed.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 11am
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
Town Clerk
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