Select Board Meeting Minutes 2/2/22

Minutes of the meeting of 2/2/22

Meeting Opened at: 12:03pm

Select Board Members Present: Steve Weisz, Chair, Justin Makuc

Select Board Members absent: John Weingold

Also present: Hillel Maximon, Don Coburn, Chris Andrews

Also present remotely: Corrine Hood Green, Michelle Walsh, Susan Cooper, Shawn Tryon, Emily Johnson

Steve Weisz made a motion to go into Executive Session as per MGL Chapter 30A, Section 21.1.  The motion was seconded and approved 2-0.  The Board confirmed it will return to open session once finished.  Roll Call:  Steve, yes and Justin, yes.  The Board entered executive session at 12:05pm.

The Board returned to open session at 12:26pm

Old Business

1. Continue discussion to consider formation of a Transfer Station Committee: Justin provided an update on the meeting held yesterday with the Town Administrator, Director of Operations and 2 residents. It was suggested that a 3 person committee that would fast track the immediate staffing issues for the upcoming budget was the priority. After the immediate issue is resolved it will likely evolve into a 5 person committee that would look at long-term options including pay per bag, bulky waste, fees, etc. A draft memo to be sent was reviewed. Steve suggested a committee of no less than 5 to avoid issues if one person doesn’t show (as is currently happening with the Select Board and Finance Committee). After some discussion it was agreed to keep the committee at three for now. A motion was made to form the committee and send the announcement with the mission of the committee being “to work with the Director of Operations and Town Administrator to review and assess the current staffing model and implications of various staffing models to address the upcoming retirement of current staff.” The motion was seconded and approved 2-0.

New Business

1. Justin made a motion to request that the Finance Committee transfer $6k from the reserve fund to complete the investigation (for a total of $16k).  The Board confirmed that they are asking for the $6k so that the investigation can be completed in full with a report and recommendations (the Board has not been privy to any findings to date). The public had concerns about the fact that some interviews were done by 2 investigators at $600/hr rather than one at $350/hr and this is likely the reason that the budget has been depleted so quickly. Steve reiterated their concerns and stated that he would not be in favor of any additional monies beyond the $6k. The motion was seconded and approved 2-0.
2. Town Administrator Items:
   1. Request to contact counsel for:
      1. A motion was made to allow Melissa to contact counsel for a written opinion with regard to the Jeremy Rawitz email dated 1/24/22; “Conservation Commission expenditure”. The expenditure in question is a transfer of money that the ConCom voted for in its 12/8/21 and 12/17/21 meetings. The vote was for the allocation of $38,262.68 from the ConCom reserve account to be awarded to the Monterey Land Preservation Trust for the purpose of upgrading existing trails and creating new trails on the Mt Hunger property. Justin would like to know whether the expenditure is subject to the anti-aid amendment and procurement law. The motion was seconded and approved 2-0.
      2. A motion was made to allow Melissa to contact counsel to get more information on the human resource monies allocated at town meeting, and whether it might legally be spent on hiring a consultant to review the employee manual since the name of the line is “Shared HR Manager.” The motion was seconded and approved 2-0.
   2. Melissa updated the Board on the progress to date on the Massworks grant. The Director of Operations has decided he would like to resubmit last year’s project and we have a meeting scheduled with officials from the state to find out why it was not approved last year and what they might recommend to make our application more appealing for approval.
   3. Melissa reported that our insurer MIIA and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) has cancelled the scheduled All Boards Meeting/Training “Management of Challenging People, De-Escalation Techniques, and Anger Management” due to an anonymous complaint they received with documents about the ongoing investigation. Melissa stated that some employees that have commented that they are disappointed as they were looking forward to it.  Steve wanted the record to reflect that anybody who sends an anonymous papers to anyone is a coward. Steve stated that ‘if you are committed to your thoughts and ideas, then put your name to it.’ Susan Cooper was concerned that one loud angry voice trumps everything else and thinks it warrants a letter to the EAP letting them know that there service is of no value if they back out when one person voices anonymously. It was agreed to wait until the Investigation was over and try again.
   4. TIP/Curtis Rd Bridge update: The state has informed us that as part of their Design Justification Workbook for this project they will not be proposing sidewalks or bicycle facilities on either approaches since there are no existing facilities and the road has low traffic volume and speed which indicates it can be a shared roadway with no impacts to safety. The Board understood the justification made by the state but found it disappointing.
3. Complaints about Conservation Commission and failure to hold meetings: Steve noted that it is not healthy to dwell on the past and acknowledged that four out of the five members have submitted resignations; Jeremy Rawitz, Nancy Tomasovich, Michael Zisser and Leslie Lichter.  He thanked them for resigning when they realized they could no longer perform their responsibilities. With the help of the Town Administrator, who reached out to former members Chris Blair, Dave Dempsey and Tim Lovett, they have all agreed to temporarily be appointed to help rebuild and reorganize.  A motion was made to appoint Chris Blair, Tim Lovett and Dave Dempsey for three months to the Conservation Commission.  The motion was seconded and approved 2-0.  Chris Andrews concurred with Steve’s assessment that if you aren’t going to do your job then step down and get out of the way so someone else can do it.  Chris said he is interested in replacing John Weingold when he gets recalled or resigns.  Justin was uncomfortable not reading the resignation letters because they expressed displeasure with the Select Board.  Steve informed Justin that there has and always will be, negative letters directed to the selectboard and said if Justin wants to set that precedent of reading them all, then he could be spending most of the meetings reading negative correspondence. Justin read Michael Zisser’s letter of resignation.  Steve had no objection.
4. A motion was made to approve the edited minutes of 1/19/22.  The motion was seconded and approved 2-0.  A motion was made to approve the edited minutes of 1/26/22.  The motion was seconded and approved 2-0.
5. Review mail and any correspondence to be sent/signed:
   1. Lindsay email about Town Clerk’s availability.  Steve’s request of all town employee’s is that you be available to serve the public during your posted office hours. A motion was made to have Justin speak with the Clerk about the topic.  The motion was seconded and approved 2-0.
6. Comments & questions from the public: none
7. Steve inquired if Justin would consider having a least one meeting a month during the day.  Justin would like to keep with the 6pm meetings in general as he thinks it allows more people to attend but would consider being flexible and having one day meeting.  Steve asked if he would be open to the first Wednesday of each month being at noon instead of 6pm.  A motion was made to hold the first meeting of the month at noon and the rest at 6pm.  The motion was seconded and approved 2-0.
8. The Board confirmed their attendance at the joint meeting next Tuesday with the Finance Committee.

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 1:49pm

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. Transfer station committee ad
2. Reserve fund transfer request
3. Email from EAP cancelling training
4. Conservation Commission resignations: Jeremy Rawitz, Nancy Tomasovich, Michael Zisser and Leslie Lichter
5. Lindsay email