Select Board Meeting Minutes 1/23/24

Minutes of the meeting of 1/23/24

Meeting Opened at: 6pm

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

Also present remotely: Jeff Zimmerman, Melissa Noe (Town Administrator)

Items discussed:

1. Call to order 6:00pm
2. FY25 draft budget:
   1. Select Board secretary: Melissa explained it appears to be an increase greater than 4% because there are more hours allocated than there were for FY24.
   2. Town Administrator position: Frank asked if the Board should consider making the figure higher after talking to Mary Aicardi. Justin felt that the Board still had time to make any amendments prior to signing the warrant in April. Susan expressed that she felt that the number was not high enough.
   3. Reserve fund: Justin explained that he is still uncomfortable with the negative figure shown on the warrant in the revisions/transfer column. Susan explained that the Accountant feels that the current way shows transparency of where the funds came from and where they went to. If we eliminate the figures it’s less transparent and/or if we eliminate one of the numbers it will affect the overall totals and percentages. It was also suggested to remove the increase/decrease box on the warrant. Justin suggested removing any contingency monies such as the health insurance line item and just add the amount to the reserve fund allocation instead. Susan felt that it was more transparent to keep the monies in the line item for which they would be potentially used.
   4. Susan expressed that she regrets the decision made at a previous town meeting to eliminate the two separate stabilization accounts we had (for highway and one for fire department) as those monies were expressly designated for specific purposes and now understanding of the purpose of those funds could become lost with turnover on boards.
   5. IT expenses: Frank updated the Board on the meeting Roger, Melissa and he had with one of the vendors.  We were able to eliminate some initial costs by deferring some equipment purchases to better determine need and then we could apply for a grant for features that can wait. Frank explained that we are now recommending using the current server and looking at replacing it next year instead of having all of our data hosted off site.
   6. Susan reported that she and Melissa met with the Fire Chief on Monday to talk about the challenges we are facing with the budget as submitted, and discussed some possible alternatives to their proposal to phase it in over a few years rather than asking for it all in year one. Shawn was going to speak with his crew and get back to us. Frank explained that from their meetings on the lease it has become apparent that fixing the garage bay flooring and the apron is more critical than initially thought. We are waiting for final estimates from the fire company. Frank is working on a draft contract with town counsel to disperse the funds to pay for the projects that would not be subject to prevailing wages.
   7. Transfer station: Susan offered a suggestion to lower the transfer station costs, although acknowledging that it may not be well received, which would be to no longer accept bulky waste/construction debris.  Justin and Frank both suggested that if we are “losing” money then it might be time to raise the fees to dispose of those items.
   8. Susan reported that she spoke with Mickey Jervas regarding why the library wages seem to have increased more than the 4% COLA rise. Mickey confirmed that the hourly wage is increased by 4%, but there were additional hours calculated in for holidays and required trainings.
   9. Susan expressed that she is not finding “a lot of fat to cut” as most of the budgets have been conservative. Justin suggested that if any further cuts could be made to the IT expenses that would be one place, and to lower the costs to Human Resource Consulting. Further discussion needs to be had with the fire company to reduce their request. It was noted that we are still waiting on final numbers for the school and health insurance.
   10. Melissa will reach out to the departments to explain the current budget situation and that we are facing and almost 10% increase from last year and will request that all departments take another look at their initial requests and let us know where they can trim without affecting the current level of services.
   11. Special articles: Justin suggested using either stabilization or free cash to buy both of the highway trucks, rather than debt.
3. Draft Special Town Meeting Warrant:
   1. The warrant will need to be finalized by February 6^th to send to town counsel for review and signed on February 13^th.
   2. Justin felt keeping it shorter would be better and that maybe the recall bylaw should wait until the annual.
   3. Lengthy discussion was had about whether the Board could wait to address all the proposed articles until the May Annual Town Meeting and skip holding a Special Town Meeting in March. Justin proposed just using the reserve fund and internal transfers (available in May and June) instead. Susan had concerns with this proposal as did the Town Administrator.
4. Tree questions for Town Counsel: The Tree Warden forwarded a question to Justin about a tree on private property in the river bed that looks like it will fall onto a town road. The homeowner has been made aware of the issue. Counsel will be consulted to find out what are options are and what other towns have done in similar situations that has worked. Justin would also like to clarify whether wood left on the side of the road from town tree projects is available for residents to take.
5. Monterey Schoolhouse: Construct of Gt. Barrington has reported that they are not interested in the building as it does not provide enough units and there are parking issues they are concerned cannot be rectified. It was suggested to put an article on the annual town meeting warrant seeking permission to sell the property at auction. Counsel will be consulted to inform the Select Board of the process for selling the Schoolhouse.
6. Review of executive session minutes for potential public release: Justin said that we are doing very well and the only remaining ones that have not been approved for release are three from the fall of 2021, one from June 2022, August of 2022 and May of 2023. Justin will share the list of remaining minutes as well as the minutes themselves with the other members of the Board, for future consideration.
7. Town Administrator Items:
   1. Melissa received two proposals to write grants for the fire department. One for a $1,000 fee to write an AFG grant for an exhaust extraction system for the garage bay and one for $275 for new portable radios through the same grant. Both were unanimously approved.
   2. Melissa requested permission to contact counsel to confirm whether the Planning Board is required to put a legal notice in the newspaper for site plan reviews. Justin will add this to his list of items to email counsel about.
8. Unanticipated business:
   1. Tom Sawyer has reached out to Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and has learned there is a technical assistance grant we are eligible for.  The Board unanimously supported applying for this.
   2. Frank said he spoke with Melissa the other day and asked the Board whether they agreed that the Town Administrator should be included in the fire company lease discussions. Both Susan and Justin agreed that the Town Administrator should be a part of those discussions.
9. Comments & questions from the public: none
10. Adjournment

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 7:55pm

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. Draft special town meeting warrant
2. Draft budget