Select Board Meeting Minutes 11/4/19
Minutes of the meeting of 11/4/19
Meeting Opened at: 10am
Select Board Members Present: Kenneth Basler, Chairperson, Donald Coburn and Steven Weisz
Also in attendance: Tom Scanlon, Dennis Lynch, Justin Cole, Derek Geser, Don Clawson
The Board met with grant writer Dennis Lynch to discuss the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Action Grant for the old stone dam and culvert he is writing. The grant application is due on the 14th and will be a multiple year application going into FY22. The first phase will be a desktop project (engineering & public outreach/education and administration only) over the next 6 months at a cost of $130k of which the town would be reimbursed 75%. Dennis is proposing that Berkshire Regional Planning Commission be hired to do the grant outreach and grant administration at a cost of approximately $20k. Phases 2 (permitting and final design) & 3 (construction) would be in the upcoming years and the total project cost would be over $2 million. Don expressed his concerns with the project as proposed and our future capital projects. The Board noted that there are also other grant options for the culvert if the Board decides to go with holding tanks rather than replacing the dam which are all future conversations. The Board agreed to place an article on the special town meeting warrant in December.
The Board met with Justin Cole and Derek Geser of Baystate Municipal Accounting Group and Tom Scanlon of Scanlon and Associates to discuss the following:
- FY18 audit – Scanlon the auditor is still waiting on the fixed assets report, Don C will send a listing of all the land with parcel size so Justin can finish that up. Scanlon is also waiting on the bank confirmations (will be overnighted today) and 10 year Chapter 90 spreadsheet. Justin will have them resigned and sent to Scanlon and M. Noe will resend the Chapter 90 spreadsheet. Once Scanlon receives these items he can finish the FY18 audit report, management letter and financial statements within 2 weeks.
- FY19 audit – Scanlon hopes to have final reports to us by late January/early February and reported that he doesn’t foresee any concerns.
- Free cash – Justin reported that our estimated free cash is $438,896, this will be submitted tonight or tomorrow.
- Schedule A – This is ½ complete and will be finished by the end of November at the latest.
- Treasurer transition – Justin clarified that payroll will be moved to the new treasurer beginning next week’s and what the accountant will need in order to run warrants. He informed the Board that the local citizen’s bank depository account will be closed and all monies transferred to Unibank on Monday), Steph will also remove her name from all accounts next week and put together a list of usernames and passwords for online access. Justin will provide the town with a zip drive of all the electronic files by end of next week.
- Accountant transition – Justin was informed that we will be terminating services with Baystate Municpal Accounting in December earlier than the 29th, the Board will be confirming with the new accountant how much of an overlap would be appropriate to close out November and will get back to Justin with a firm date in the next few days. Just agreed that the vendor warrants will be sent in a pdf to the new treasurer by 8am on Mondays.
Miscellaneous Items Reviewed:
- Don left at 11:20am
- A motion was made to appoint Sara Hunter as Treasurer through June 30, 2019. The additional funds necessary will require special town meeting approval. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
- The Board approved the town clerk’s request for Tuesday the 11th off and to make up the hours on that Wed.
- Mail was reviewed.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 11:30am
Submitted by:
Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant
Approved by:
Monterey Select Board
cc: Website (www.montereyma.gov)
Select Board Members
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Any documents referred to in the minutes are available by request at town hall.