Select Board Meeting Minutes 12/19/23

Minutes of the meeting of 12/19/23

Meeting Opened at: 6pm

Select Board Members Present: Justin Makuc, Chair, Susan Cooper and Frank Abbott

Also present: Melissa Noe (Town Administrator), Dennis Lynch, Peter Murkett, Officer Jen Brown

Also present remotely: Don Coburn, Mary Aicardi, Roger MacDonald

Items discussed:

1. Call to order 6:00pm
2. Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Grant Program: Expression of Interest for Main Road culvert: Dennis reported that Expression of Interests were due and he submitted one last Friday for the 3^rd phase. Applications for phase 3 will be released probably in late February or March, to be submitted by June. Melissa reported that Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has been meeting regularly with the Director of Operations, herself and the Engineer and said that if Dennis plans to write the phase 3 grant application it would be good if he could start attending the monthly meetings to get up to speed, and Dennis agreed this was an excellent idea.
3. Town Administrator (TA) position: The Board met with Mary Aicardi, Human Resource Consultant:
   1. Mary sent the Board an overview which included three possible recruitment routes, including challenges and advantages of each choice:
      1. The Board undertaking the entire process itself
      2. A selection committee vetting applications and doing preliminary interviews
      3. An outside recruiter/HR firm, possibly Collins Center, vetting applications and doing preliminary interviews and background checks.
   2. She suggested that each Board member should give a list of their top priorities for a candidate and it should reflect the challenges facing the community and the Town Administrator, as well as your skills priorities for the TA and possible job flexibility. The Board will wait for Mary to share a questionnaire, which she will then compile and summarize. The Board unanimously agreed that they want to use the Collins Center as a recruiter to screen the resumes and recommend candidates to the Select Board for final interviews. Mary explained that they would use the profile to do the advertising and review the resumes, perform a preliminary interview and then present the candidates to the Board. Mary suggested waiting until the profile and qualifications are determined to discuss salary ranges.
   3. The Board discussed that there is currently a set amount for this position’s salary and option for raising the salary if desired.
   4. Don Coburn asked for a range of the cost that UMass Collins Center will charge to perform this process.  Mary stated that typically it is around $10k for Collins Center to do a Town Administrator recruitment, but since the town has contracted Collins Center for general human resources consulting, there will not be a screening committee, and she anticipates that there will not be a large pool of applicants, it should be significantly less. Don asked where the money is coming from to pay the Collins Center. Justin pointed out that the Town Meeting allocated about $19,000 at Town Meeting to pay the HR director, and since the HR Director quit, the Board is using these funds to pay Collins Center as an HR Consultant. Justin point out the rates that the Town agreed to with the Collins Center: Human Resources Practice Leader $160/hour; Senior Associate $125/hour; Management Analyst $60/hour.
   5. Special town meeting: Susan feels that the town was affected badly by the way the Town Administrator was previously hired and it divided the town, and she wants to avoid that happening again. Susan strongly suggests that the Board has to tolerate the possible difficulty of that Town Meeting to do the right thing. She also noted that at least ten Southern Berkshire towns have at least two people involved in Town Hall operations. She suggested the Board seriously consider a second position in Town Hall to allow the TA to focus on more managerial issues.  She noted that this has the added benefits of providing a second source of institutional memory, a presence in town hall should one of the front office employees be indisposed, and greater flexibility for the TA.
   6. Don also suggested that if this is going to go forward it should be at an annual town meeting not a special.
4. Sign contract with Collins Center for Human Resources consultant services: Susan’s only concern was that the version received tonight excludes the investigations of complaints which had been an agreed upon amendment. Mary said that the current wording reflects that any assistance would be in conjunction with Town Counsel.  A motion was made to accept and sign the professional service agreement. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
5. Payroll policy: The Board reviewed the most current edited draft.  A motion was made to approve the document as amended.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
6. Review allocations of American Rescue Plan Act funds: Playground project has been completed and the $446.40 leftover can be allocated to one of the other projects. Justin reminded the Board that we have until next December (2024) to finalize the commitment of funds. The Board agreed that a check in with the Historical Society is warranted as none of the monies allocated have been requested to date. Peter Murkett was present and asked about the status of the ARPA funds allocated to the Renewable Energy Working Group; Peter said that those funds were allocated for the work with the Fire Company property and there has been no movement from anyone on the Fire Company which the Board agreed may be the answer. A motion was made to set the playground allocation to $90,009.91.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
7. Town Administrator Items:
   1. Door decorating contest finalists: The winners were Police, Highway and Building.  Congrats everyone!!!  Thank you to everyone who participated it was a tough decision picking the top three doors.
   2. Select Board budget items: Melissa inquired about a few line items to assist in finishing up those sheets.
8. A motion was made to approve the minutes as amended of 11/28/23.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
9. Discuss periodic review of Executive Session minutes for public release
10. Discuss meeting schedule; request to meet with Planning Board: The Board agreed to meet with the Planning Board at their meeting on the 11^th of January. The Board will meet on January 4^th instead of the 2^nd. The Board discussed whether or not they would continue meeting on the first Tuesday at 9am after January. The Board agreed by general consensus to 6pm for all Tuesdays moving forward.
11. Unanticipated business:
    1. Peter Murkett asked about the plan for any town meeting before May so that the Planning Board can organize the public hearings for the solar bylaw with the Planning Board. Justin stated that the bylaw review would be the driving force behind a special town meeting. The Bylaw review committee has sent documents to Justin who has not had the time to review it. Melissa noted that there are several monetary items that will require a special in late January or February. Realistically the special would be in February. The Board emphasized that the Planning Board should hold the necessary hearings as soon as possible.
12. Comments & questions from the public
13. Adjournment

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 7:47pm

Submitted by:

Melissa Noe, Town Administrator

Approved by:

Monterey Select Board

cc: Website (www.montereyma.gov)

Select Board Members

Minutes Book

Town Clerk

Any documents used in the meeting are listed below and are available by request at town hall.

1. Signed UMass Collins Center Professional Services Agreement
2. Payroll Policy
3. American Rescue Plan Act spreadsheet