Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 2/8/17
Meeting Opened at: 9am
Select Board Members Present: Kenn Basler (arrived at 10:33am), Chairperson, Steve Weisz and Carol Edelman
Also in attendance: Willie Morales, Shawn Tryon, Ray Tryon, Joe Baker, Laurie Shaw, Mary Makuc, Michael Banner, Carolyn Thomas-Davis, Evelyn Vallianos, Maggie Leonard, Bob Lazzarini, Cliff Weiss
Town Administrator Items Reviewed:
- Willie confirmed that the opening of the bids on the 6th was not a meeting of the Broadband Committee; it was just the Town Administrator/Chief Procurement Officer receiving responses to the town’s broadband RFP which was witnessed by the town Clerk.
- A draft of a letter to be sent to the Old Beartown Rd residents was reviewed which addresses their request for the town to maintain this state owned, private road which is not serviced by DOT.
- Willie made the Board aware of the status of the bank accounts, and transfers necessary to meet reimbursement guidelines of the town’s Chapter 90 projects.
- Development of personnel update: Willie stated that in some cases this has been challenging but he is working with the party involved in addition to updating our policies. Willie also noted he had some concerns with the direct involvement of Selectmen in operational matters, Willie continues to encourage the Selectmen to direct operational concerns through the town administrator.
- TIPS submission went in on Friday.
- Monterey received 2 vendor submissions to our RFP one from Matrix and another from FiberConnect. In compliance with M.G.L. Ch. 30B § 6 (D), “until the completion of the evaluations, or until the time for acceptance specified in the request for proposals, whichever occurs earlier, the contents of the proposals shall remain confidential and shall not be disclosed to competing offerors.” The town administrator recommended that the Broadband Committee should post a meeting and go into executive session in order to commence the RFP evaluation.
- Finance Committee’s question regarding insurance benefits (cost, employee eligibility, etc). Willie asked that this be tabled until he has time to review as he just received the letter. He did state for the record that he doesn’t recommend going outside of MIIA which has provided insurance to municipalities for many years. Willie also did not foresee any changes being made to any positions.
- Willie suggested that the Board needs to have a future conversation on whether current counsel is adequate.
Director of Operations Items Reviewed:
- Carol commended the highway crew on the maintenance of the winter roads.
Police Chief Items Reviewed:
- FY18 budget request: The Board had a question as it relates to raises for part-time officers. It was noted last week that the Chief was recommending raises for the part-time officers however the Board if giving COLA increase would most likely give them across the Board, including the part-timers. The Chief stated that the part-timers were given a $2/hour increase last year to bring them in line with other departments and did not have an issue with a COLA being given to them if they are being given across the board. The Chief felt that the process for submitting budgets this year and not a lot of guidance was offered to aid him in his request. 2% will be added for the part-timers.
Miscellaneous Items Reviewed:
- Warrants were signed.
- At the recommendation of the Conservation Commission the Board appointed Rebecca Wolin to the Committee for a 3 year term.
- Mail was reviewed which included:
a. Letter from Julio Rodriguez – he will not be accepting reappointment to the Veteran’s Memorial Committee (made on 7/5/16).
b. The ZBA has submitted a letter to the Select Board requesting to use monies from the legal expenses line item to seek outside counsel on Hume’s request. Bob explained that outside counsel is needed as this question is heavily nuanced and requires a specific expertise. The Board prefers that town counsel be consulted first.
- Steve reported that he is working with Hume and the neighbors to set up an informal discussion regarding the traffic with the Police Chief.
- The Board has had an informal productive conversation with Adam Hinds regarding his interest in helping Monterey put together a successful broadband network.
- The Board discussed the Finance Committee’s comments with regards to the special town meeting warrant. The Finance Committee is in favor of the town supporting articles 1 – 3.
- The Board met with members of the Friends of Wilson McLaughlin House to discuss the following:
a. Their proposed community center policies and procedures and user fees based on research of other community centers. The Board will review these and make any necessary suggestions.
b. Joe was upset that MD Amstead had still not received the check for the work done and invoice submitted in December. The town administrator is working on resolving the issue and expediting the backlog of vendor warrants not processed due to issue with procurement procedures that were identified by the town’s former fiscal officers. The Town Accountant was called in and confirmed that the check was submitted to the town’s formal procedures and mailed last week.
c. The Community Center is looking to purchase items for the community center with the remaining funds approved at last May’s town meeting which allow them to open and operate. The town administrator is unable to approve any of these expenses yet until the Accountant and Treasurer have had a chance to update all of the accounts (should be ready by the 15th) and until an accurate cost of the items is submitted. The FWMH will pay for operational costs for 1 year from the date of their c.o. and then will co-op with the town for the next year and the following year it will be turned over to the town solely.
d. The town administrator is seeking estimated figures that would inform budget articles associated with operating the Community Center. These figures could then be placed on an annual warrant; the FWMH did not have exact numbers yet.
- Maggie Leonard, Chair of the Planning Board came in to discuss the site plan reviews submitted by Hume with the Board, Police Chief and Director of Operations/Fire Chief. Hume’s master plan will eventually be for 300 – 500 people. The Board suggested that a planner experienced with these types of projects should be hired to represent the town.
- Minutes from 2/1/17 were approved.
- Carol has an extra AED that had been given to the head of the baseball program and would like to donate it to the community center. The Board was in support of this.
- Carol inquired about the meeting posting regarding the SBRSD budget meeting and whether or not a presentation is going to be made to the Board prior to anything being accepted.
- Steve is unavailable next Wed and asked if we could reschedule until Fri morning. Everyone concurred.
- Kenn suggested a joint meeting with the Finance Committee, Select Board and library to discuss their proposal and grant being applied for.
- 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: 12pm
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
Town Clerk
| 
