Select Board
Minutes of the meeting of 2/26/18
Meeting Opened at: 8:30am
Select Board Members Present: Steve Weisz (left at 10:10am), Chairperson, Carol Edelman and Kenneth Basler
Also in attendance: Shawn Tryon
Miscellaneous Items Reviewed:
- The Board discussed the agenda for tonight’s all boards meeting.
- It came to the Board’s attention that there are inconsistent posted winter hours for Sundays at the transfer station. This will be corrected. They close at 4pm.
- The Board reviewed the FY19 proposed budget:
a. There were concerns about unresolved questions at the conclusion of the last meeting with the members of the Finance Committee.
b. Use of stabilization: Kenn disagrees with the Finance Committee approach and feels that we should use stabilization funds to pay for the loader, and that loans should only be for items over $500k. We could then use free cash to replenish the stabilization fund. After discussing this further the Board agreed to look further into using free cash to fund stabilization and use stabilization to pay for the loader and fire hoses.
c. The Board discussed how the budget would be presented at town meeting with regard to line items that the Board and Finance Committee did not agree on. It was agreed to eliminate the 2 extra columns (Select Board recommends and Finance Committee recommends) and have a summary enclosed with the warrant, similar to last year, explaining the Board’s recommendations and how it affects the budget.
d. Unemployment Insurance: The Board discussed our legal option to self-fund or continue to withhold from employee’s checks. Justin of Baystate Municipal Accounting is getting more information on this.
- The Board confirmed that in 2020 they will make the request to extend the Order of Conditions for drawdown of Lake Garfield.
- Shawn Tryon came in with regard to Hume/Cronk and Chestnut Hill roads and the mud issues: The road was temporarily closed to commercial traffic and stone was brought in to temporarily alleviate the issue. The Board understood after our last sit down with Hume that they agreed to pay for the gravel to fix the problems caused by commercial/construction traffic. If the problem persists we may need to shut the road down until conditions allow for the heavier traffic.
- School: Carol gave an update on the meeting held last week by the school committee to discuss proposing the closing of the Egremont and Monterey programs. The article in the Eagle last week was also discussed. Steve noted that he told the reporter that he was speaking for himself and not the Board, that he was not in attendance at the meeting and the reporter should be speaking with Carol.
- Town Counsel has informed us that the courts have scheduled the hearing on our motion to dismiss the Johnson lawsuit for April 19th.
- The Board discussed the need to hold future discussions regarding the empty general store, and how the town might help in making the property a more attractive purchase.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 10:40am
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
Select Board Members
Minutes Book
Town Clerk
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