Select Board Meeting Minutes 10/16/19

Minutes of the meeting of 10/16/19

Meeting Opened at: 9:05am

Select Board Members Present: Kenneth Basler, Chairperson, Donald Coburn and Steven Weisz

Also in attendance: David Eisenthal, Peter Chait, George Cain, Kay Purcell, Terry Walker, Kathleen Triem

Miscellaneous Items Reviewed:

1. The Board and Finance Committee Chair, George Cain, met with David Eisenthal of Unibank to discuss the upcoming loan note for the library.  The Board discussed the financing plan, logistics and future financing options.  Kenn made a motion to have Melissa Noe accept the bids on the 22^nd.  The motion was seconded by Don Coburn and unanimously approved.
2. The Board met with Town Clerk, Terry Walker to discuss the following:
   1. Public Records: Going forward public records requests made in person will only be allowed during regular office hours and must be supervised; citizens are not allowed to have access to the filing cabinets.  M. Noe will follow up on getting locks on the unsecured cabinets the Planning Board has.
   2. Making up hours:  The Board expressed that if a day is missed and is being covered then making up the hours shouldn’t be necessary.  Terry explained that this would be to make sure that she is still paid for 15 hours/week and added that there is always work to be done/caught up on.
   3. Terry reported that she is working on the 20/20 census and is following the state guidelines.
   4. Terry reported that her car was damaged in the parking lot last week but the person did not report the accident, she has filed a police report.
3. Accountant: M. Noe reported back the responses from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on the proposed contract.  Minor edits will be made by the board for Pioneer Valley to approve.  The Board discussed a possible proposal to come from the current Accountant for services.  It was decided to continue negotiations with Pioneer Valley at this time.  A meeting will be scheduled for the 30^th to finalize details.
4. Treasurer:  The Board reviewed the draft contract and has some edits.  M. Noe will reach out to Sara Hunter with our requested changes.
5. Insurance claims policy/procedure: The Board reviewed the draft proposed policy.  The policy was approved as written and will be distributed to all department heads and carbon copied to our insurer.
6. Kathleen Triem came in to discuss concerns she has with the disorganization of several department’s record keeping and the difficulty she is having in locating documents she needs for her upcoming legal suit with the town.
7. The Board signed the FY20 Massachusetts Cultural Council grant standard contract.
8. The Board signed the FY17 audit representation letter which will be returned to Scanlon and Associates.  They also signed the FY17 & FY18 engagement letters.
9. The Board signed the FY19 Community Development Block Grant documents.
10. Kenn reported that he received an update from the Director of Operations yesterday on Blue Hill and Tyringham Rds.  Blue Hill construction is moving along without interruption and should be completed next week.  The Tyringham road culvert is going to have emergency measures put into place to make it through the winter and the full repair will be done in the spring.
11. Warrants were signed.
12. Minutes from 10/8/19 were approved.
13. Mail was reviewed.

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 11:08am

Submitted by:

Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant

Approved by:

Monterey Select Board

cc: Website (www.montereyma.gov)

Select Board Members

Minutes Book

Town Clerk

Any documents referred to in the minutes are available by request at town hall.