Select Board Meeting Minutes 10/24/23
Minutes of the Select Board meeting 10/24/23
Meeting Date: Tuesday October 24, 2023
Meeting Opened at 6:01 pm
Select Board members present: Justin Makuc, chair; Frank Abbott
Select Board members present remotely: Susan Cooper
Also Present: Melissa Noe, Chris Andrews, Mickey Jervas, Dennis Lynch, Laurie Shaw
Also present remotely: Don Coburn, Ellen Coburn
Call to Order 6:01 pm
- Sign loan documents
Justin reported that the total amount being borrowed was $891,869.55 at an interest rate of 4.780 percent. Melissa broke down the different loans.
Justin made a motion to approve the loan documents. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Frank-yes, Justin-yes.
Frank and Justin signed the documents and Susan will sign the document tomorrow. Chris Andrews applied the Town Clerk seal to the documents.
- Dennis Lynch grant proposal
Dennis reported that he and Laurie Shaw were there to support a grant application for cultural council facilities grant from the state for up to $200,000, to be used toward improvements of the community center and property.This grant is a 1:1 match.Dennis said that the ARPA funds could also be used towards the match and that approximately three years ago Town Meeting appropriated approximately $29,000 towards lighting for the community center.Dennis said that both of these amounts could be utilized towards the project and they would be seeking a match for these funds through this grant.Dennis said that they were seeking funding for lighting, parking, the pavilion, and the expansion of the building to include an additional bathroom.He said that they were seeking to bundle this package, and the goal is to complete the grant application by December 17th, 2023.Justin suggested a joint meeting between the Community Center and the Select Board prior to finalizing the scope of the grant and agreeing to a match from the Town.Justin said that there is still $29,000 for lighting since National Grid funded the lighting project, but there will need to be a Town Meeting vote if these funds are to be used for anything other than lighting.Laurie said that lighting is still needed both at the Community Center and when the pavilion is built.
Justin said that they will have some additional information once the playground is complete and the Town will know how much is remaining in the ARPA funds at that point.Frank discussed how they were dependent on the drawings completed by Mark.Melissa said that one concern from Jim was that he was not in favor of removing the Bilco doors to the basement.Melissa said that the door was required to be able to access the furnace and the basement.Justin said that he would like some figures prior to moving forward.Dennis asked if a meeting next week would be reasonable.Justin said that it would be helpful to discuss numbers and check with Jim and discuss the funding.Justin suggested meeting next week and said that Dennis could do a little research in the meantime.
Susan clarified the four parts: the pavilion, the parking, the bathroom, and the lighting. Susan suggested that plans would be helpful along with the numbers.
Laurie said that they do have the long-term plan.Laurie reported that according to the local plumbing inspector a bathroom will be needed, and she said that the community center discussed a five-year plan for this.She said that in the meantime portable toilets can be used.Susan said that she thinks Dennis should move forward with writing the proposal and have the meeting next week.She said that as the figures come available then they can pare it down. Justin suggested continuing to research the information and conduct some preliminary work on the grant until the joint meeting next Tuesday October 31st.
- Approve Manual for all Elected and Appointed Multi-Member Bodies
Justin reported that they received some answers from Donna regarding the manual. Justin reported that Donna said that both the Select Board and the Board with the vacancy should vote on the appointment. Susan said that the comments seemed straightforward.
Frank made a motion to approve the Manual for all Elected and Appointed Multi-Member Bodies as amended. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Frank-yes, Justin-yes.
- Town Administrator evaluation form and next steps
Susan said that she reviewed the document, made a few modifications and sent the current draft to the Select Board members. Justin said that they set a deadline of November 1st to December 15th for the employee evaluations.
Justin motioned to approve the evaluation form with the condition that the date and process on the cover page be amended to fit the process set at a later date. Justin said that the Town Administrator should be evaluated during the same time frame as other employees.
Justin asked Susan if Gt. Barrington sent the evaluations to the chair or designee to compile the separate responses. Justin offered the option of individual responses deposited into the file. He said that this will depend on if the HR Director position is filled. Justin said that there was a request from Melissa regarding whether the board will be soliciting applications for the Town Administrator position. Justin said they could discuss this tonight and make a decision or have it be conditional based on the performance evaluation. The Select Board discussed a few different acceptable processes for review of the Town Administrator.
Melissa said that Sophia was willing to assist with the reviews. Justin said he was not in favor of having Sophia complete the composite evaluation mostly because of what she did last year. There are unanswered questions. Melissa said that it would be a violation of the Open Meeting Law for Sophia to share comments from other Select Board members with Justin.
Don Coburn commented that Justin sounded a little bit like lawyer and what’s going on here was Justin was legalistic talking because he has been trying to get rid of Melissa for three years ever since he came into office. Don said that Justin is creating a terrible atmosphere in the town hall. Don said that Justin does not have and never had a cause for termination. Don said that Justin’s own letter that wasn’t adopted didn’t have cause. Don said that Justin was posting to get rid of her and this town should not treat an employee like this.
Justin said he disagreed with Don’s assessment of the situation. He said that in the last two years and five months he has tried to move the Town in a direction of professionalism, accountability, and transparency. He claimed that he has tried to create a civil environment that is good for employees and citizen alike. He acknowledged that he has made missteps in that time and not everything he has done has led to those goals. Justin stated that he strived for those goals and continues to strive for them, and that is the reason why he ran for a seat on the board – he wanted civility. Unfortunately, there were a number of actors that were involved in the Town government that did not value civility. Justin said he thinks that we have seen many positive results in the past few years: thankfully we have a number of great board members, employees, and residents pulling in a positive direction, he can’t take credit for any of it. Justin said he wants to continue to work toward good governance and does not agree with Don’s characterization of his service on the Board. Justin said he thinks that unfortunately deep distrust in government can be created when leaders aren’t civil and transparent, and they don’t follow the rules. He acknowledged that maybe he follows the rules more than others and some people don’t care for it. Justin stated that he will continue to try to reach those ideals that motivated him to run for a seat on the Select Board in the first place.
Susan said that if they each submit an independent review, then in the end there has to be an opportunity to grapple with the Board’s opinion of performance. Susan said that the Board will have to have a discussion as to whether to keep the current Town Administrator and would need that information to make an informed decision. Melissa asked the Board to vote on whether they will be advertising the Town Administrator position. Melissa said that if there was a question about performance, then there has been no documentation about poor performance to support this decision. Frank said that there were differences in the current job description, and Melissa said that she did not believe that the description differed much. Justin said that the Town has never advertised a full time Town Administrator position, and it may be the due diligence of the Town to advertise the position and interview qualified candidates.
Melissa countered that this was not the way the Board has treated any other positions in town and provided an example of the Library director position as they transitioned from part-time to full-time. Melissa read into record a letter to the Board (attached). Mickey said that the Library director is under the trustees of the Library and no one else.
Ellen Coburn discussed the importance of how the current Town Administrator has been with the Town for 18 years and has handled many challenges over the years. Ellen stressed the importance of treating employees with respect.
Justin said that the primary options in this situation seem to be that all Board members submit an evaluation and then a member of the Board creates a composite evaluation or an HR director creates a composite evaluation. Susan provided the options of either using Sophia to help with the reviews or to hire someone to fill the HR role. Justin said that there could be individual meetings between Board members and the Town Administrator if needed. Melissa said that Sophia is familiar with the process due to completing them last year. Melissa said that she would like to evaluate the Select Board Members during the evaluation process this year.
Justin said that in any case Board members will each submit an individual evaluation. Frank reiterated that choice was down to Sophia or a new hire. Susan said that it would be best to have an HR director complete the composite.
Melissa said that the composite and the individual documents would need to be shared in a public meeting since it was individual opinion, vs having an HR director work on this so the documents would then not have to be shared in a public meeting.
Justin discussed his vision for the Town Administrator position. He hopes that the Select Board can step back from day-to-day financial and HR issues, and trust that they will be handled without the Board’s involvement. He wants the Board to focus on broader goals and priorities. He said that he does see it as a different job description and different role. Susan said that she believes the Select Board is in part responsible but believes that there needs to be more trust so the Town Administrator can act independently.
Melissa read a letter she prepared for the 8/29/23 meeting to the Select Board regarding keeping the other contracted positions the same as the Town Administrator meeting. Susan provided an update regarding some phone calls she made to other Towns regarding their Town Administrator positions. Susan said they need to have a clear perspective on what the Town Administrators function is.
Melissa will follow up on requests for HR consultants to submit proposals.
Justin said that in any case, the first step of the process is for Select Board members to complete individual evaluation forms. The Board set a timeline for individual evaluations be completed by Wednesday November 8th, 2023. Justin said it would be to be determined as to how the Board proceeds from there.
- Review and approve updated annual evaluation forms for department heads and employees
The Select Board agreed to add that employees of the town should always be respectful towards member of the public. Department heads will be instructed of the timeline for annual reviews being set November 1-December 15.
Justin motioned to approve the annual evaluation form for department heads and employees. Frank seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Frank-yes, Justin-yes.
- Human Resource Director draft job description, review any proposals received and next steps
Justin said that they are not actively advertising for an employee.Frank said they should go with a consultant to start, and Susan and Justin concurred.Susan said that the job description was initially answering to the Select Board but said that this became confusing due to conflicting directives from Board members.Susan said that in other towns the HR Director typically answers to one person, and this should be considered.
- Treasurer contract renewal
Justin added the scope of services directly into the contract and substituted a list with references to Mass General Law. Melissa discussed the changes that Sara had made. Justin discussed concerns with the “average 7.5 hours per week” outlined in the compensation section.
Justin moved to approve the treasurer contract with the one change made by Sara. Frank seconded. Call a vote: Justin-yes, Frank-yes, Susan-yes.
- Town Administrator Items
Melissa provided the response from Town Counsel regarding the Board of Assessors liability insurance.Justin read the letter from Town Counsel during the meeting.
- Unanticipated business
The Lake Garfield Working Group is looking for the Board to remove the drawdown from the order of conditions and proceed forward with the remaining items listed on the order of conditions.
Justin read the letter, and it outlined that the Working Group intended to amend the conditional letter for the requirements regarding the draw down. Justin moved to approve the letter. Frank Seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Justin-yes, Frank-yes.
Frank said they met with Mari and completed a conference call with QVS regarding IT needs. Frank said that Roger came up with some questions regarding the first proposal and they will have to meet with him again. Melissa said that the proposal she gave them did not include the server. Frank said that they will need adjustments and will have to have another meeting to obtain proposals. Justin said that he would like to see the numbers so they can move forward, and then they can advise us on what to do with the help of Roger and others. Melissa said that she believes that they need to decide what the town needs. Frank described options for providing the server or having the server off site.
Justin said that they were still working on the school building. Melissa said that she had some preliminary numbers and was still working on the project.
- Comments & questions from the public
Mickey requested that the title of the Acceptable Use policy be clarified to identify what the acceptable use is meant for.Melissa reported that Sophia suggested that the IT policies be added to the handbook.
- Approve minutes of 8/28/23, 10/10/23, 10/17/23
Justin made a motion to approve the minutes from 8/28/23 as amended. Frank seconded.
Justin said that he would like to have a future discussion with the Select Board about the School District as follow up from last night’s town meeting.
Justin motioned to adjourn the Select Board Meeting. Frank seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Frank-yes, Justin- yes. Meeting adjourned at 8:37pm.
Documents used at the meeting:
- Loan documents
- Community Center grant proposal
- Approved Manual for all Elected and Appointed Multi-Member Bodies
- Town Administrator evaluation form
- Annual Evaluation forms
- Signed Treasurer contract
- Signed letter regarding the lake drawdown to the Conservation Commission
- Melissa Noe statement