Select Board Meeting Minutes 3/23/22 - 6pm

Minutes of the meeting of 3/23/22

Meeting Opened at: 6pm

Select Board Members Present: Steve Weisz, Chair, Justin Makuc and John Weingold

Also present: Don Coburn, Dennis Lynch, Jeremy Rawitz, Mickey Jervas

Also present remotely: Gary Shaw, Paula Hartstein, Peter Chait, Mike & Emily Johnson

1. Town Administrator Items:
   1. Update on Human Resource proposals for handbook update: Justin prefers the Collins Center proposal, but acknowledged that their proposal costs more ($8,000) than we have allocated ($6,500).  Justin feels that money shouldn’t be an issue on something as important as this.  Steve recommended reaching out to the Collins Center to let them know our budget and see if they would lower their quote.  John suggested having our town counsel write the handbook.  A motion was made to have the Town Administrator reach out to the Collins Center to advise them of the budget we have and see if there is anything they can do to adjust their quote.  The motion was seconded and approved 2 – 1 with John voting no because he doesn’t feel this is an appropriate use of the monies.
   2. A copy of counsel’s opinion on cell phone and personal email use policies was distributed.  A motion was made to table the item to next week to allow everyone time to read it.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
   3. A motion was made to approve the FY23 Emergency Communications contract with the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office.  The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
   4. The Board discussed the draft MassWorks letter of support.  A motion was made to sign the letter of support.  The motion was seconded.  Discussion ensued about whether the road through the forest should be considered a connector road to Lee and Great Barrington.  It was ultimately agreed to word the letter to reflect that it is a connector to Lee and Great Barrington via a seasonal road. The motion was approved 2 – 1, with John voting no because Terry Walker told him the Massworks grant doesn’t approve dirt roads, they only approve paved road projects.
2. Transfer station committee update/recommendation:  Steve applauded the committee for their work to date.  The Committee has recommended adjusting the hours on Sunday to remain 10am – 4:30pm all year round, cutting 4:30pm-6:00pm from the summer hours.  A motion was made to place the proposed change to the operating hours on the next agenda to allow for public comment.  The motion was seconded.  Discussion ensued.  The motion passed unanimously.  The letter also reminds the Board that Gould Farm has received a new directive from the state that will prevent them from accepting the compost from the transfer station.  The committee is looking into other alternatives.
3. Municipal Vulnerability Plan (MVP) 2^nd phase grant request from Dennis Lynch: Dennis is proposing to write this grant application for phase 2 (out of 3) of the RT23 culvert project for the Konkapot River crossing in the center of Town. Phase 2 of the project includes the preparation of 100%, final design drawings and specifications, state and federal permitting and a robust public outreach and education program that incorporates hands-on public engagement with nature based design solutions and demonstrations.  Mickey Jervas expressed strong concerns about any talk of removing the historic dam behind the library. Dennis noted that finishing Phase 2 does not commit the town to Phase 3.  Phase 2 will be completed at no cost to the town as the Community Compact funds we applied for can be used as our match. A motion was made to approve the grant writing proposal submitted by Dennis Lynch for up to 75 hours.  The motion was seconded and approved unanimously, with John adding the condition that it will be at no cost to the residents beyond the cost of writing the grant.
4. A motion was made to appoint Catherine Hurst to the Monterey Community Center Committee through June 30, 2022.  The motion was seconded.  Justin disclosed that his mother is the Community Center Coordinator, however he does not reasonably foresee this appointment affecting his personal or family financial status, and feels that he can participate without an ethical conflict.  The motion was unanimously approved.
5. Annual town meeting:
   1. Location: All agreed that due to Covid the meeting should remain at the pavilion for this year.
   2. Justin wants to make sure we secure two volunteers ahead of time to carry the microphones.  Steve suggested reaching out to Steve Moore to include something in the April issue; Justin agreed.
   3. Parking: Justin would like to make sure that any issues are proactively addressed to prevent people from parking beyond the pavilion onto Fox Hill Rd.  Melissa Noe will speak with the Chief of Police.
6. A motion was made to approve the amended minutes of 3/16/22.  The motion was seconded and approved 2 – 0 as John was not present for that meeting.
7. Review mail & correspondence to be sent:
   1. Steve Weisz’s resignation from the Lake Garfield Working Group.  Steve opined that it would be a good idea for a selectperson to sit on the Committee.  Justin is not opposed to sitting on it.  John thought it was a conflict sitting on both boards if the committee is making monetary recommendations and then voting as selectman.
8. Continue budget review and all things associated with the budget including but not limited to use of ARPA funds
   1. Steve noted the vote taken by the Finance Committee last night to recommend 3.8% COLA (cost of living adjustment).  A motion was made to agree with the Finance Committee to provide a 3.8% COLA to everyone except the previously agreed upon highway staff (excluding the Director of Operations), treasurer and accountant, the vacant planning board clerk, any newly proposed positions and the town clerk staff as an increase was proposed in her request, fire compensation, alternate building inspector, tree warden and new transfer station staff.  The motion was seconded and approved 2 – 0 with John abstaining (no explanation provided).
   2. ARPA: Justin doesn’t believe we lost revenue due to COVID and is not in favor of using the loss of revenue exemption in order to spend the funds on general government services that have no relation whatsoever to COVID.  Steve stressed once again that Monterey has seen twice the population since COVID began and therefore all government services were used more than we budgeted for. Justin feels strongly that it would be wrong for the Board to send out a survey, receive the results, and then disregard the results when actually spending the funds. Justin noted that none of these items appeared on the survey results. It was agreed that since the town did not receive any proposals in response to the Request for Proposals for the Community Center Lighting project it would be premature to add an additional $7,000 to the FY23 budget as we don’t know how much, if any at all, may be necessary. John stated he would be comfortable with using the funds for the fire department hose. A motion was made to use ARPA funds to purchase the fire department hose.  The motion was not seconded and thus failed. Justin thought that it would be appropriate to put these items on the Town Meeting Warrant as non-binding recommendations for the Select Board to see if the Town supports spending ARPA funds on these items.
   3. Don Coburn proposed reintroducing Article 23 of last year’s warrant on this year’s warrant.  Justin is ok with the article being reintroduced but said if we are going to do that why we don’t reintroduce the powers of the Finance Committee.  John concurred and said the Board could also reintroduce the 3 to 5 member Select Board. 
9. Comments & questions from the public:
   1. Dennis Lynch asked that the explanation on the Community Center Lighting project be summarized once more.
10. Discuss entering executive session to continue review and consider approval of the following sets of Executive Session minutes: 10/4, 3/2, and 3/16/22, discuss possible amendments to 2/2/22 and 11/17/21 minutes. A motion was made to enter Executive Session to review and approve the minutes of 10/4, 3/2, and 3/16/22, as well as to discuss possible amendments to 2/2/22 and 11/17/21 minutes.  Justin clarified for the record that an executive session did not end up being held on 3/16/22.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.  Roll call was taken, John present, Steve, present and Justin, present.  The Board agreed that it will not return to open session. They entered executive session at 7:54pm.

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 7:54pm

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. HR handbook proposals
2. Opinion from counsel on recommended cell phone and personal email use policies
3. Update from Transfer Station Committee
4. Grant request from Dennis Lynch
5. Steve Weisz Lake Garfield Working Group Resignation letter