Select Board Meeting Minutes 3/29/23
Joint meeting of the Select Board and Finance Committee
Minutes of the meeting 3/29/23
Meeting Date: Wednesday March 29, 2023
Meeting Time: 5:00pm
Select Board members present: Susan Cooper, Justin Makuc
Select Board absent: Scott Jenssen
Finance Committee members present: Frank Abbott, Michele Miller, Ilene Marcus
Other individuals present: Melissa Noe, Laurie McArthur (SB Secretary), Mary Makuc, Jim Hunt, Laurie Shaw, Mickey Jervas, Shawn Tryon
Other individuals present remotely: Kenn Basler, Don Coburn, Sarah, Chris
Meeting Opened at: 5:00pm
- Continue review of FY24 proposed budget
a. Highway truck
The Select Board and Finance Committee discussed the 1-ton truck with Jim Hunt, Director of Operations. Justin confirmed that the truck was a 1-ton and reported that Jim emailed the Select Board with further details. Frank said that he did not agree with the purchase because the current vehicle has low mileage, is only five years old, has been checked over by the dealership and we have additional options for plowing. In addition, this year we have taken on the financial costs associated with raises for DPW employees. Frank suggested if we are able to delay capital cost, then we should do so. Jim discussed current maintenance costs along with concerns regarding increased maintenance costs for the 2016 F-550 truck. Jim reported that there is one vehicle on order to replace the 2014 F-550 truck. Susan asked if the repairs made this year to the 2016 truck would extend the life of the vehicle. Jim reported that the repairs are only to keep the vehicle running at this time. Jim said that they would auction the current truck off, and therefore the Town would make some money from the current vehicle. Jim reported that he would expect the replacement for the 2014 vehicle, the F-550 similar truck, to be delivered late fall or early winter of this year. Jim said that the 1-ton truck is used to monitor road conditions, project management, plowing, and to go purchase parts.
b. Accept tractor bid
Jim reported that the Ford tractor bid closed yesterday at $16,200, and requested that the Select Board vote on whether to accept the tractor bid. Susan moved to accept the high bid for the tractor. Justin seconded. Call a vote; Justin-yes, Susan-yes.
c. Tax Rate-
Michele discussed the tax rate and the discussion from last night’s meeting. Michele said that in totaling the budget the Finance Committee is looking at a 7.21 tax rate, and reported that if they were able to reduce the budget by approximately $235,000, then they would be able to keep the tax rate a little lower to be consistent with the rate from the previous year.
d. DPW
Frank asked about supplies for the DPW. Frank provided figures for the budget for the previous year. Frank asked if the $46,000 supply line request might be able to be cut to help with costs. Jim reported that he was originally working under the previous supervisor’s budget and said that they used trends from 2022 to set the budget for 2023. Melissa reported that they have currently spent fifty-two percent of the budget. Jim explained that the maintenance on the heavy equipment is what the funds are currently being spent on, and that we typically have significant expenditures after plowing season. Jim discussed how the DPW arrived at the costs and pricing for the current budget.
e. Fire vehicle and other Fire Department items, Fire Chief present
Earlier in the meeting Melissa reported that Shawn updated his estimates, with the special article equipment purchase currently $197,000. Susan clarified that this was for multiple items in the budget. Shawn reviewed the process for creating the budget, presenting original ideas for vehicles to access difficult homes. Shawn reported that the current plan involves purchasing an SUV outfitted as a medical vehicle, along with consolidating two trucks into one. Shawn explained how they were planning to modify the truck and combine parts in order to create a vehicle that can more easily reach difficult locations.
Ilene inquired about the reasoning to have to find a special vehicle in order to access homes on private ways. Susan shared that she drafted a letter to the Monterey News, which the Select Board signed off on, that outlined potential concerns with non-maintained roadways and increased response times due to inaccessibility.
Shawn reported that the cost on the Hydraulic cutting tools is $52,000 and discussed the process for selling off the old equipment. Shawn said that the Fire Department needs pagers due to previous pagers falling apart, and reported that the cost is approximately $550 each and they will need 12. Finally, he reported that the monitor nozzle on the tip of the ladder on truck 172 has been having electrical issues, and said that $10,000 will buy a new nozzle that will solve the problems. Justin said that he noticed an increase in the equipment and maintenance budget, and asked if there was room to decrease that line. Shawn discussed current issues with the tanker truck, and reported that if they can guarantee that they are able to replace some items in the coming years, then the maintenance budget for this year could be decreased. Justin clarified that it was five special articles for a total of $196,000.
f. Debt service financing options
Justin explained the discussion the Select Board had with David Eisenthal from Unibank regarding remaining with one-year notes or transitioning to five-year financing. Justin said the Select Board was considering making the same principal payments as last year, as well as the interest, and taking another one-year note. Justin reported that the amount proposed is $56,815 for the tandem axel truck with $50,000 being principal, and $135,000 for the library with $100,000 being principal. Justin said the Select Board was considering encumbering funds allocated for principal paydown in the previous fiscal year that erroneously did not get applied. Sarah reported that the $20,373.79 would be encumbered. She reported that they did not use the full $200,000 so they will also be paying down $29,626.21, which will be paid in November and is not part of the FY24 budget.
Sarah then discussed the new truck, and explained that the $160,000 loan will be taken in June when it arrives. She said that if there is room in the budget to pay some of this down in FY24 then they can do so, but if the budget is too tight, we can pay just the interest and not the principal for three years. Sarah offered options for a six month note through November when the new truck could be added to the other loans, called a multi-purpose loan. Justin said he was in favor of the six-month loan for the new truck.
Justin said he was in favor of including $4,000 on the budget to pay the interest for the new vehicle. Susan seconded the decision.
Sarah recommended putting more down towards the loans. Justin suggested putting $40,000 towards the principal and $4,000 towards the interest for the new truck. Justin moved to pay $135,000 for the library loan, $56,815 for the tandem axle loan, and $44,000 for the new truck loan. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Justin-yes.
Ilene and Michelle discussed whether the Community Center should ask participants to pay for yoga classes which have been free to participants for many years. Frank noted that these classes are a benefit to the community, as are many other services offered by the Town. The Select Board and Finance Committee decided not to remove yoga from the budget.
Melissa asked about the 1-ton highway truck. Justin said that he would like to hold off on the $78,000 purchase, and that perhaps we can locate some monies to add to stabilization for purchase of the truck next fiscal year.
g. Town Hall repairs
With regard to the budget, Melissa asked for clarification on the status of the 1-ton truck, Town Hall feasibility study, and Town Hall. Justin suggested that $59,600 would get the roof repaired, power washing, painting, boiler, and HVAC work completed. Susan said that in her conversation with Jim, he felt that the boiler could wait a few years. Justin said if the boiler could wait, then he would suggest lowering the number to $49,600 for Town Hall maintenance and repairs. Justin said he was not in favor of the Feasibility Study. He felt the current space could still adequate. He suggested addressing the repairs in order to keep the building maintained. Michele asked if there was a way to have a study done on how to handle records storage. Susan agreed that records storage is a serious and ongoing concern. She reported that Melissa had proposed approaching some other towns to see if a shared storage solution might be feasible. Susan noted that Scott and she agree with Justin that nearly $50,000 just for advice on the building seems rather steep. That said, Susan feels that it might be wise to get some estimates on fixing the water problems in the basement to prevent further damage to the building.
Michele said she agreed with using the $49,600 for maintenance and not completing a feasibility study but having a conversation at some point to deal with the record issue. Melissa confirmed that the feasibility study will be removed, the truck will be removed from the budget and the funds will be moved to another account, and to decrease the Town Hall maintenance figure. The Select Board and the Finance Committee discussed the free cash account and options to determine whether it should be placed in stabilization. Melissa said that they could utilize the free cash to pay for some of the Fire Department articles, and then borrow the remaining amount to help purchase the vehicles.
Melissa reported that the Con Comm chair was not in favor of providing funding for the baseball field. However, they were in favor of using those monies for the Brewer Pond trail. Justin reported that the Playground project was moving forward, but the Pavilion currently stalled. The Select Board and the Finance Committee discussed concerns and options for the Parks budget, and Susan provided an update regarding questions and requests she had made to the Parks department regarding the playground during a prior meeting.
Justin proposed using the $89,000 figure for the new Fire Department Medical SUV, but would like Shawn to get some written estimates for the brush truck conversion work.
The Finance Committee and the Select Board will tentatively meet on Tuesday at 1pm. And the Finance Committee will schedule an informational meeting for the public. The Finance Committee will meet on April 18th for an informational public meeting.
Michele moved to adjourn the Finance Committee meeting. Frank seconded. Call a vote: Michele-yes, Ilene-yes, Frank-yes.
- Planning Board request to amend Zoning Bylaws
Justin read the letter from the Planning Board. Susan said that she supported the request. Justin moved to add the Planning Board request to amend Zoning Bylaws to the Warrant. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Justin-yes.
- Draft Town Meeting warrant, send to Town Counsel for review.
- Municipal department bylaw.
Justin noted that under the municipal department bylaw, the Select Board appoints and removes the inspectors. The Director could be one of the inspectors, and they have a choice with the appointment of the Director of a three year or five year term. Justin recommended utilizing a three year appointment. Susan agreed.
- The Select Board reviewed each of the individual articles for the Town Meeting Warrant, and reported that the Feasibility Study will be removed, the Town Hall repairs will be decreased, and the truck will be removed from the Warrant at this time.
The ballfield will remain in the budget. Justin reported that he did run the noise bylaw by the Police Chief and said that the general feeling was that the Police Department would be able to enforce the bylaw.
Susan said that she was in favor of the amendments they made this evening to the Draft Town Meeting Warrant. Justin said that he was in favor of Melissa sending the Draft Warrant to Town Counsel and will continue to review the Warrant.
3. Town Administrator items
a. Extend tree contract for final year
This current tree contract is with John Field. Justin moved to extend the tree contract with John Field for another year. Susan-seconded. Call a vote: Justin-yes, Susan-yes.
b. Authorization Letter and Statement of Commitment for Small Communities Grant Program
The Select Board signed the Authorization Letter and Statement of Commitment for Small Communities Grant Program. Melissa obtained a quote from BRPC for $15,000. Justin confirmed that this would be if they obtained the grant, then the Town of Monterey would need to come up with $3,000 towards the grant. Justin moved to set aside the $3,000 for the grant as a special article in the FY24 budget, and Susan seconded.
4. Appoint Gareth Backhaus as Traffic Control Officer
Justin asked if this was an indefinite appointment. Justin moved to appoint Gareth Backhaus as Traffic Control officer through June 30th, 2024. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Justin-yes, Susan-yes.
5. Transfer Station Committee sticker fee recommendation
Susan reported that the Transfer Station recommended setting the sticker price at $90, which is up from $75. Susan discussed concerns with landfill closures. Justin inquired about second or additional stickers. Melissa reported that currently residents receive 2 stickers for the initial price, and it is $15 for any additional stickers. Susan reported that the Transfer Station Committee has discussed transitioning to a Pay as You Throw system in which users pay to dispose of individual bags of garbage Towns that adopted this system have reduced their Municipal Solid Waste by as much as 40%. Justin moved to set the Transfer sticker fee for FY24 for $90 for two vehicles per household and for $15 for each additional sticker in the same household. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Justin-yes, Susan-yes.
6. Unanticipated business
There was no unanticipated business
7. Review mail and correspondence:
a. Kenn Basler resignation from Transfer Station Committee
Susan reported that Kenn resigned from the Transfer Station, and suggested that perhaps they might be able to find someone with interests in solid waste.
8. Comments & questions from the public
There were no comments or questions from the public.
9. Approve minutes of 3/15/23, 3/22/23, and reapprove 2/21/23 joint meeting
The Select Board reviewed the minutes from 2/21/23. Justin made a motion to approve the minutes from 2/21/23 as amended. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Justin-yes.
The Select Board reviewed the minutes from 3/15/23. Justin made a motion to approve the minutes from 3/15/23 as amended. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Justin-yes.
The Select Board will meet with the Finance Committee next Tuesday at 1pm.
Justin made a motion to adjourn the Select Board meeting. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Justin-yes. Meeting adjourned at 7:58pm.
Documents used at the Meeting
- Draft of Town Meeting Warrant.
- Authorization Letter and Statement of Commitment for Small Communities Grant Program
- Letter from the Planning Board
- Kenn Basler resignation from the Transfer Station Committee