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Select Board Meeting Minutes 4/15/2020

Meeting date: 
Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Minutes of the remote meeting of 4/15/20

Meeting Opened at: 9am

Select Board Members Present: Kenneth Basler, Chair, Donald Coburn, Steven Weisz

Also in attendance remotely: Steve Moore, Rebecca Wolin, George Cain, Roy Carwile, David Eisenthal

The following items were discussed:

  1. The Board discussed extending the due date for the 4th quarter property taxes beyond the May 1 due date and/or waiving any fees/penalties for motor vehicle bills due on or later than March 10 and paid before June 30th.  The accountant does not recommend extending the due date but supports waiving the penalty and fees. The tax collector is not concerned about this round but rather the next bills that will be due. Steve is in favor of extending the due date as the financial impact to the town is minimal.  A motion was made to delay the 4th quarter property tax due date from May 1st to June 1st as is allowed under section 10 of Chapter 53 of the Acts of 2020.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.  Discussion ensued about waiving penalties and fees paid before June 30th.  A motion was made to waive penalties and fees for motor vehicle bills due on or later than March 10 and paid before June 30th as is allowed under section 11 of Chapter 53 of the Acts of 2020.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
  2. Sheffield senior center van offer:  The Board approved sending out a memo letting the seniors in Monterey know that the Sheffield van is available for doctor appointments and essential shopping trips.  A $4 donation per trip is suggested.  Kay Purcell in conversations with Kenn suggested using monies that the Council on Aging has available to them.  All were in favor of sending out the memo and subsidizing any costs with monies the Council on Aging has available.
  3. Steve provided a summary of his conversation with Alice Boyd about the additional monies that may be available through the Community Development Block Grant for specific categories during this COVID-19 pandemic.  The 4 current categories are rental assistance, mortgage assistance, small business assistance and social service assistance. Alice is still gathering more information and will be in touch once Monterey can officially apply for these funds with the specifics and guidance.  The Board feels that the 2 important areas would be seniors and social assistance and rental assistance.
  4. Emergency declaration:  The Board discussed the draft they were sent to review.  A motion was made to declare that as of April 15, 2020, a state of emergency exists in the Town of Monterey.  This declaration of emergency shall remain in effect until further notice is given, pursuant to our judgment that the conditions leading to this declaration no longer exist.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
  5. At 9:30am the Board met with David Eisenthal of Unibank to discuss our borrowing options for the library renovation.  Here is what David provided:
    1. Options for borrowing: The Town can either renew the maturing note on a temporary basis – one year or less – or permanently finance with general obligation bonds or permanent notes.
    2. Timeline to make a decision: The first decision is whether the Town wants to incur additional debt service to be paid in fiscal 2021. The Town currently will need to pay approximately $28,674 in interest on the maturing bond anticipation notes on November 5, 2020. If the Town wants to consider permanent financing in October/November where there might be additional interest or principal payable before June 30, 2021, the Town would need to make provisions for these payments as part of its fiscal 2021 budget process – either in the spring or at a special town meeting in the fall. The Town could also decide that a permanent financing this fall would have a first payment in fiscal 2022. If the Town tentatively decides this spring to proceed with a permanent financing, the Town could change direction as late as the end of September, though to avoid the prep work associated with a bond financing, that decision would ideally be made by August 1.
    3. What determines when the first payment is made: There are two dates to keep in mind. The first is February 5, 2021. This is the second anniversary of the original issuance of the Library note. If the Town renews the note beyond that date, it will need to make a principal pay down at the first maturity after that second anniversary. The minimum pay down amount would be 1/28th of the original amount of $1,986,595, or approximately $70,949. The second date is June 30 of the fiscal year following permanent financing. Under Massachusetts law, a first principal payment on a bond or permanent note financing must occur on or before June 30 of the fiscal year following the fiscal year of financing. If the Town issues bonds or permanent notes on November 1, 2020, it would have until June 30, 2022 to make a first principal payment. Another consideration is the length of time to the first interest payment on a bond or permanent note issue. The usual approach is to set the first interest payment for six months after the date of financing. However, the first interest payment can happen as much as one year after issuance. If the Town issues bonds or permanent notes on November 1, 2020, the Town could set the first interest payment for as late as November 1, 2021. Generally, the longer the time to the first interest payment, the less marketable the financing is. A second disadvantage is that the Town might pay more than twelve months of interest in the first year of payment. In this case, interest that would been payable in fiscal 2021 will instead be payable in fiscal 2022.
    4. If the Town renews notes, will it only owe interest? The Town will need to make a principal payment at the next maturity after February 5, 2021. For example, if the Town renews notes in November 2020 for a year, it will need to make the $70,949 principal pay down referenced above at the November 2021 maturity.
    5. If the Town goes with a longer term bond/note, when would a principal/interest payment be due? The Town has some options. The Town could set first payments of principal and interest in fiscal 2021. The Town could decide to have first interest in fiscal 2021, but first principal in fiscal 2022. The Town could also decide to have the first payments of both in fiscal 2022. For example, with a November 2020 permanent financing, the Town could set the first interest and principal payments for August 2021. As I describe above, the major disadvantage of this last option is that the Town would be paying fifteen months of interest in fiscal 2022.
    6. The Board discussed rolling the one year note over and seeking guidance in July or August on future borrowing.  The Board seemed to be in favor of making an interest only payment plus fees in November but the Board will hold on making this decision right now.
  6. Letter to DLS requesting permission to spend on any necessary COVID-19 items as per MGL Chapter 44 section 31:  A motion was made to sign and send the letter to the Department of Local Services.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
  7. Don asked the Board to approve adding a special article to the annual warrant asking the town to amend town by-law Article 11, Section 3, Finance Committee, by adding after the word "Meeting" the following: ", except that the Select Board shall prepare the budget and present it to the town meeting, which shall decide all issues contained therein, or take any other action relative thereto."  Kenn and Steve would like to have a few more time to consider this and to follow up with counsel on this.
  8. Southern Berkshire Elderly Transportation memorandum of understanding.  A motion was made to approve the transportation agreement and memorandum of understanding.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
  9. National Grid request to perform tree work in the town right of way and beyond:  All agreed that if approved that Board can only Approved for ROW work but work on private lands must have homeowner approval.  Kenn will follow up with the Director of Operations, Tree Warden and National Grid with the additional questions raised today and will revisit this at the next meeting.
  10. MIIA FY21 insurance renewal proposal.  Our FY21 proposal includes an increase of 7.5% with a 3% prepay discount offered.  M. Noe did seek an alternate quote for our fire and police injured on duty policies and MIIA beat the quote.  A motion was made to approve the FY21 insurance proposal. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
  11. A motion was made to approve both sets of minutes from 4/7/2020.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
  12. The Board discussed the lengthy online discussion that took place over the last few days with regard to high speed internet in Monterey.  The unofficial group leading the charge feels that there needs to be some sort of action from the Governor’s office to get this moving in a positive and forward direction however the group has not been meeting due to the social distancing and COVID-19 severity.  Letters will be drafted and calls will be made by the unofficial committee as well as members of the Board to our legislature and MBI.
  13. Steve Weisz reported that he has been speaking almost daily with a representative of AT&T; they have assured Steve that they are trying to push things through as fast as they can to have the tower live prior to the current go live date of April 30th.
  14. Kenn reported that the other tower has had several issues over the winter which was due to mouse damage.  The Police Chief has been in contact with the powers that be to get everything corrected and hopefully avoid any more problems going forward.
  15. Verizon has received permission from the Zoning Board of Appeals to install their antennas on the Chestnut Hill Tower once a building permit has been acquired.
  16. Town Administrator job description: Kenn is still working on his draft which he will send out to everyone for review for the next meeting.

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 10:55am

 

Submitted by:

Melissa Noe, Administrative Assistant

Approved by:

Monterey Select Board

 

cc: Website (www.montereyma.gov)

Select Board Members

Minutes Book

Town Clerk

 

Any documents referred to in the minutes are available by request at town hall.