Select Board Meeting Minutes 2/6/24

Minutes of the meeting of 2/6/24

Meeting Opened at: 6:03pm

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

Also present: Melissa Noe (Town Administrator), Chris Andrews (Town Clerk)

Also present remotely: Don Coburn

Items discussed:

1. Call to order 6:00pm
2. Meet with Town Clerk to discuss early voting dates and times: Early voting hours, registration deadlines and sample ballots have all been put on the Clerk’s page on the town website. Chris has been spending a large amount of time on the early voting response cards. Chris fine-tuned the ballot box today. Chris plans to have an in-person meeting with election workers to get ready for the March primary. A motion was made to accept the early voting hours specified by the Clerk for the March primary election.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved. Justin inquired if Chris had a sense of whether or not Monterey needed to do mail in ballots for the town election in May.  Chris is still looking into it and whether it will be a necessity. A motion was made to direct the Chief of Police to assign one officer for the duration of the election and vote counting in cooperation with the Clerk.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
3. FY25 budget:
   1. The Finance Committee has requested a joint meeting next Tuesday at 6:30pm. The Board agreed.
   2. Fire Department: We are still waiting for final numbers after further negotiations. 
   3. Both Susan and Justin submitted documents summarizing their points on the budget and transferring monies at town meetings from sources other than free cash.
   4. A brief discussion was had about whether the town should consider approving the budget totals by department instead of by each individual line item.
4. Special Town Meeting Warrant: The Board reviewed each of the articles.  A motion was made to sign and issue the March 2, 2024 Special Town Meeting Warrant.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
5. Monterey Schoolhouse: Justin reported that we do not have any updates yet as Counsel is still working on this.
6. Review executive session minutes for public release: With Town Counsel’s guidance, Justin will be taking the first pass at redacting what needs to be redacted and then have Counsel sign off on it prior to them being released.
7. Employee Handbook:
   1. The major edit that needs to be made is to change Human Resources Director to Human Resource Consultant. After those edits are made Counsel should also sign off on it.  Susan will make those edits and any sections that may require additional action/comment by the Board regarding Human Resource processes. Justin acknowledged that he has not spent a lot of time on this and asked if Susan would feel comfortable taking the lead on this and consulting with the Collins Center, Counsel and the Town Administrator to fast track it for approval.  Susan agreed and the Board delegated her to take on this task.
8. Town Administrator Items:
   1. We were successful in receiving a grant for a handicap accessible picnic table for Bidwell Park ($2068) from MIIA.
   2. We were successful in receiving a grant for a gear dryer for the fire department ($10,500) from the Firefighter Safety Grant.
   3. The Director of Operations will be meeting with the construction crew on Thursday to talk about Beartown Mountain Rd. The crew is planning to start construction on February 13^th and a notice will be sent out to the public.
   4. Melissa reminded the Board to get any edits they may have on the draft town report to her by Friday.
   5. Melissa requested permission to seek further information and apply for the upcoming Massworks grant to help defray the cost of the RT23 culvert project. The Board agreed.
   6. The Board agreed to sign a letter to Representative Pignatelli and Senator Mark with a list of 2024 Legislative priorities as suggested by the Small Town Administrator’s group.
9. Approve minutes of 1/11/24, 1/18/24, 1/23/24, 1/30/24
   1. A motion was made to approve the 1/11/24 minutes as amended.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
   2. A motion was made to approve the 1/18/24 minutes as amended.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
   3. A motion was made to approve the 1/23/24 minutes as amended.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
   4. The minutes of 1/30/24 will be tabled to the next meeting.
10. Unanticipated business:
    1. Susan reached out to Mary Aicardi to ask where the Town Administrator posting was advertised and if any applicationshavbeen received but has not yet received a response.
    2. Susan has drafted a letter for consideration to send to the Southern Berkshire Ambulance Squad. She reported that she did speak with Kevin Wall and is waiting to hear back from their treasurer. Susan is concerned that the reports we are getting detailing their response to calls in Monterey may not be accurate based on information she has received from the Fire Chief.
11. Comments & questions from the public: none

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 7:24pm

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. Susan’s comments on funding Special Town Meeting articles
2. Justin’s comments on funding Special Town Meeting articles
3. Signed special town meeting warrant