Select Board Meeting Minutes 3/30/22

Minutes of the meeting of 3/30/22

Meeting Opened at: 6pm

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

Also present: Don Coburn, Hillel Maximon, Chris Blair, Jeremy Rawitz, Mickey Jervas

Also present remotely: Susan Cooper, Nancy Tomasovich, Frank Abbott, Peter Chait, Laura Mensi, Janet Maximon, Jeff and Lauren, Dennis Lynch, Steve Moore, Rebecca Wolin, Shawn Tryon

Old Business

1. Town Administrator Items:
   1. Update on Human Resource proposals for handbook update: Melissa reported that the Collins Center has not responded on whether they will lower their quote to meet our budget. Justin suggested reaching out to Attorney Michael Harrington (based out of Hartford, CT) for an official proposal. Justin noted that Attorney Harrington is highly qualified, very experienced in the field, and has stated that he can do the work at our price point. John inquired as to why we weren’t using current counsel, Attorney Maser to update the handbook as this is his specialty.  Steve thought it was also appropriate to ask for a proposal from KP Law and will reach out to him.
   2. Review opinion from counsel on cell phone and personal email use policies: Justin thinks these types of policies would be a part of the employee handbook when it is redone.  The Board agreed.

New Business

1. Town Administrator Items:
   1. A motion was made to sign the Public Health Collaborative Inter-Municipal Agreement already signed and recommended by the Board of Health. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
   2. Transfer Station Operator Appointment: A motion was made to appoint Jim Rourke to get the most on the job training benefit.  Justin seconded. Justin felt that if the name could be posted on the agenda and we could wait until next week he would prefer that since the name was not made available to the public, or even the Board, before this meeting.  Discussion ensued about why it was not posted, because the name was not known two days in advance of the meeting. Justin acknowledged that it is his understanding that it is legal to make appointments under these circumstances, but thought that if possible, it should be properly posted for the next meeting. Waiting a week to make the appointment would prevent Jim from an extra week of on the job training. The motion to appoint Jim Rourke as a Transfer Station Operator was approved 2 – 1 with John voting no.
2. Steve Weisz read aloud the Open Meeting Law complaint filed by Don Coburn.  A motion was made to designate John Weingold to respond to this complaint.  The motion was seconded.  The motion was approved 2 – 0 with John abstaining.
3. Request from Renewable Energy Working Group to contact counsel.  A motion was made to allow Peter Murkett to ask the submitted questions of counsel and any follow up questions.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
4. Chris Blair, Chair of the Conservation Commission was present to recommend Kim Wetherell’s appointment as the Commission Agent.  Chris provided some background on what it takes to be a Commissioner (8+ classes) and the amount of time one spends as a volunteer.  Chris noted that the Wetlands Protection Act is a technical world and requires a lot of technical reading, site visits and wetlands knowledge.  Chris stated that the commission reviewed 3 resumes submitted and met with Kim based on her past work with Monterey. The Commission made assessments of their meeting with Kim and understand there was some operational differences between Kim and the previous Commission. Jeremy Rawitz and Nancy Tomasovich opposed Kim’s hiring. Due to disruptive behavior by Ms. Tomasovich the Chair instructed M. Noe to mute Ms. Tomasovich. The current commission feels their approach is a bit more understanding and would like to give it a try with Kim.  John wanted to know if the position was advertised; it was in late winter by the prior members of the Conservation Commission (that is how we received resumes).  Discussion ensued.  Steve asked Chris if all 3 Con Com members were in agreement on hiring Kim. Chris said ‘yes’.  A motion was made by Steve to hire Kim Wetherell as the Conservation Commission agent.  Jeremy Rawitz asked the Board to table this and for Chris Blair to come talk to him to “get the real history”.  Chris said that they are now the appointed Commission in office and are aware of any past issues however this commission tries to be nice and get along with people and to give the services to the town residents as best they can; they aren’t interested in dredging up past history.  The motion was not seconded.  Justin feels that based on the laws read during the meeting by Don Coburn and Chris Blair this type of appointment does not fall under the Board’s jurisdiction. Don Coburn and Jeremy Rawitz then got into a spat about whether the appointment of an agent would be as a consultant or an employee, with Jeremy insisting it needed to be a consultant. The Chair instructed everyone to be civil.
5. Discussion about the proposal from the Transfer station committee to decrease the hours on Sundays to 10am – 4:30pm year round was had.  Mickey Jervas suggested that the extended hours be just during June, July & August to accommodate the 2^nd homeowners.  Justin suggested extended summer hours from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  Justin shared concerns that if we do not approve the decrease in hours, but do approve the 15 minutes before and after the shift, this would push the position to over 20 hours and would we then be required to offer health insurance. He later acknowledged his math was off and this would not be an issue as the total hours, even with the extended summer hours and the 15 minutes for opening and closing, is only 19.5.  Rebecca Wolin suggested opening later on Sundays (1-6pm).  A motion was made to amend the Sunday hours:  10am – 6pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day and 10 – 4:30pm for the rest of the year. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
6. Steve Weisz believes, irregardless (and noted that he is aware this isn’t a word) of any investigations this Board should seek out and use professional mediation for any employees that are in conflict as an active way to avoid any complications moving forward.  He suggested it not be anyone from Monterey and should be a professional mediation service.  Justin asked if this is something that would need to be added to the budget.  Steve suggested that funds from the Select Board expenses could be used for this year.  Hillel Maximon stated that, with all due respect, mediation is not the answer with the current conflict, he feels that professional coaching would be more appropriate.  Steve revised his statement and stated he is looking for a professional entity to help resolve any conflict between employees.  Hillel also suggested that the Board may be putting the cart before the horse, not having a human resource manual or leadership, but agreed that there are issues that need to be taken care of.  Steve requested permission to do a little research on available options.  Justin suggested raising the $5k currently requested for FY23 for HR services to $10k.  John thought we hired KP Law because one of our assigned attorneys specializes in HR.  Justin stated we are not always seeking legal advice.  Steve remembers that KP expressed they didn’t want to get involved in HR matters.
7. Final budget review and review of warrant:  A recap of Tuesday’s Finance Committee meeting was provided. Justin wants at least one more joint meeting to clear up some items he is still not clear on.
   1. Justin inquired if the Board would be open to adding monies to the Office Assistant budget to add the duties of Select Board secretary for preparing agendas and minutes, and correspondence for the Board.  John wants a separate secretary from the Office Assistant position.  Justin suggested making the Office Assistant position 15 hours. There was discussion about if an employee of the Town who works part time already gets the job, how will we offer them health insurance?  Melissa Noe suggested that Counsel be consulted with first to make sure that not hiring someone qualified for that reason isn’t breaking any laws.  Justin stated this is the case for all of our employees and positions under 20 hours weekly, they could be combined for more than 20 hours, and he did not see this as being any different. It was suggested that it be brought up at the joint meeting with the Finance Committee.
   2. Justin stated that leadership training was a recommendation from the investigator. He researched it and found a sample program that costs $1,500 per person for 8 weeks and wanted to discuss whether this is worth adding to the FY23 budget.  Don Coburn suggested reading books and it would have the same result.  John suggested watching YouTube videos.  Janet Maximon offered to sit and discuss available options with Justin if he wanted, as this is her area of expertise.  Any requests for funds will be brought up at the joint meeting with the Finance Committee.
8. A motion was made to approve the amended minutes of 3/18/22.  The motion was seconded and approved 2 – 0 with John abstaining as he was not present.  A motion was made to table the minutes of 3/23/22 as John did not have a chance to submit changes.  The motion was seconded and approved.
9. Justin made a motion to add an American Rescue Plan Act funds page on our website which would detail monies available, track any expenditures of the funds, and welcoming proposals to spend the funds with applications being reviewed on a rolling basis.  Mickey Jervas suggested that the Board needs to be careful and compared it to receiving a huge inheritance and spending it on everyday expenses, Steve concurred and added that someone in the family will always end up unhappy. The motion was seconded and approved 2 – 1 with Steve voting no.  John wanted to point out that the written proposal will also include a presentation to the Select Board at a public meeting. John heard that in Springfield they had all the non-profits apply for use of ARPA funds and then voted and distributed, he suggested Monterey doing the same.
10. John stated that the bylaw committee cannot add anything to the warrant, only the Select Board can according to the Attorney General’s (AG) comments so he would like the current bylaw to be corrected.  Don stated that the AG approved it, but just brought to our attention that it requires SB involvement.  Counsel will be asked to provide the proper revision to meet the AG’s suggestions with the general idea that it first needs to come to the SB as the bylaw committee is only advisory.
11. John tabled the remaining items he had added for tonight.
12. John made a motion that a letter should be sent to the investigator requesting all correspondence and documents sent to the investigator by any private citizens.  Steve stated that town counsel has specifically stated that all correspondence and discovery documents is currently privileged and not available to the public.  Steve stated that per town counsel the investigation is still ongoing, John disagrees. 
13. Review mail & correspondence to be sent:
    1. Retirement notifications from Beth & Dave Gilmore.  Steve publicly acknowledged their service and wished them well.  Hillel seconded this.  Justin also thanked them.
14. Comments & questions from the public:
    1. Don Coburn stated that with regard to the investigation complaints filed against the Board members and whether they are entitled to an executive session rather than public meeting, the manual expressly states that the Board is not covered by the manual and the portions of the report that apply to the Board should be released publicly.  Steve stated that counsel as provided general guidance on the release of the report and he wants to follow their guidelines.  Justin does not know the confidentiality laws, but stated anything with regard to him he did not have any issue with it being released.  John accused Don of getting copies of secret memorandums and Don rebutted saying that he was only referring to what counsel said at the meeting he attended, he isn’t aware of any memorandums.
15. A motion was made to enter Executive Session for the purpose of approving Executive Session minutes of 10/4/21, 3/23/22 - 12pm, 3/23/22 - 6pm.  The motion was seconded and it was noted the Board would not return to an open meeting.  The motion was approved unanimously. Roll call; John, yes, Steve, yes and Justin yes.

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. Public Health Collaborative IMA
2. Michael Harrington/Justin Makuc email exchange
3. Opinion from counsel on cell phone and personal email use policies
4. Open Meeting Law complaint filed by Don Coburn
5. Request from Renewable Energy Working Group