Select Board Meeting Minutes 5/18/22

Minutes of the meeting of 5/18/22

Meeting Opened at: 6pm

Select Board Members Present: Justin Makuc and Susan Cooper

Also present: Mickey Jervas, Gary Shaw, Don Coburn, Gerry Clarin, Jeremy Rawitz, Chris Andrews, Nancy Tomasovich

Also present remotely: Adam Chait, Shawn Tryon, Paula Hartstein, Mary Makuc

Call to Order

Old Business

1. Draft revised Select Board Rules of Order: Justin explained that this document he drafted is based on the rules of order proposed in the Selectman’s handbook. Susan’s suggested edits were reviewed. A motion was made to accept the draft as amended and post it on the website on the Select Board page.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
2. Draft Select Board Code of Conduct: The Board discussed the amendments each were suggesting. This will be tabled to the next meeting to allow both members to review further and make additional edits. Justin likened this document to an “honor code”.
3. Draft 10 point plan based on recommendations made by the Greene Report: Susan has a large amount of edits so Justin suggested tabling this to next week when all comments and edits could be incorporated into one document. Susan suggested that removing records access from the Town Administrator has several significant functional problems.  TA’s typically have clearance to see all Town related documents, including employee records and other confidential and legal documents, and need that access to perform their job functions.  As the TA would be handling these anyway, it makes little sense to ask another party to perform these duties, moreover it would mean granting an additional party access to restricted documents. Susan agreed that the Board should have access to all documents and if there is an issue with access it needs to be addressed directly; the buck stops with the Board. Gary Shaw commented that if it was a public document then all the public should have access. Justin replied that there are some documents that may be exempt from being a public document, but the Board would have access to. Justin stated that the initial draft document was quoted directly from the G&H report but acknowledged that this does not mean that the Board is required to adopt them all. Justin concurred that logistically Susan made valid points that he will consider over the next week. Justin hopes that the Board will adopt a plan that it is willing to follow through on with concrete actions.
4. Greene & Hafer bill: Justin reported that he has not yet reached out to counsel to inquire about their understanding of our obligation to pay as he wants to work on disputing one bill at a time (see item 5 below).
5. KP Law bill: Justin reported that he emailed Attorney Riley about the large bill. Attorney Riley suggested that it could be a billing error and requested that the Board send him the items they feel Monterey was incorrectly charged for.  Justin and Susan compared their lists and agreed that Justin will send the list back to KP Law for review.

New Business

1. Town Counsel Interviews
   1. 6:30pm: The Board interviewed Donna Brewer of Miyares & Harrington for town counsel services. Donna provided a bio of the firm as well as herself. They are town counsel for 11 towns as well as Tri Town Health and the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC). Donna noted that she would be Monterey’s main contact should her firm be chosen. Justin asked about the frequency of her communications with Stockbridge as their counsel. Donna stated that she tends to speak with the Stockbridge Town Administrator four times a week. Susan noted that with former counsel, conflicting advice was often delivered from different members of the firm and asked how this problem might be avoided. Donna noted that she would be the main contact unless it was procurement which she would refer to Jenny. Justin inquired about billing and that Miyares did not offer a retainer proposal. Justin said that Monterey has had higher than usual legal expenses in the last year and appreciates the idea of only paying when there are questions but he is concerned that a lot of issues tend to pop up and he would be concerned that the town would not have appropriated enough money. Donna explained that a monthly, hourly bill will help the town to understand how much they are using counsel services and suggested that an hourly arrangement will prompt the Board to be more selective about how much they contact counsel and what needs counsel opinion. Donna stated that lawyers can only recommend, they cannot tell you what to do. Donna was asked for references; Mike Canales of Stockbridge, Jim Wilusz of Tri-Town Health and Tom Matuzko of BRPC. Donna stated that she does not charge travel time for town meetings.  The public was then allowed to ask questions.
   2. At the joint meeting with the Finance Committee on Monday, Justin was given permission to reach out to KP Law to see if they are interested in remaining with Monterey since the Board membership has changed considerably; to date they have not responded.
   3. 7pm: Leonard Kopelman interview: Attorney Kopelman provided his bio and explained why he left the former Kopelman & Page which he founded.  He stated he will not charge for talking with the Select Board and Town Administrator. Justin asked about Attorney Kopelman’s vast experience with the many towns he has worked with over the years. Attorney Kopelman noted that he is not a labor lawyer and would recommend other counsel for that. Justin noted that his proposed rate is very competitive and asked more about that. Attorney Kopelman stated that a retainer arrangement does not work because boards and employees tend to just push everything off to counsel because they are not being charged by the hour for it. Susan asked how he would recommend the structure of communication; he stated that he will accept a call from any Board member and Town Administrator, anyone else should have permission from the Board or Town Administrator. Attorney Kopelman stated he does not have any issues with providing responses in writing that would be cc’d to the Board and Town Administrator. Attorney Kopelman said he would be happy to provide references.
2. Town Administrator Items:
   1. The Director of Operations and Town Administrator are recommending hiring Austin Mosca to the Highway 4 position at $19/hr with a 3 month probationary period to start on July 5^th.  A motion was made to appoint Austin Mosca to the Highway 4 position at $19/hr with a 3 month probationary period to start on July 5^th. The motion was seconded.  Nancy Tomasovich wanted to know if the Board interviewed him, Justin replied they did not as the Director of Operations and Town Administrator had completed the hiring process. The motion was approved unanimously.
   2. At the recommendation of the Director of Operations and Town Administrator a motion was made to move Tyler Collins to Highway 3. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
   3. Bulky waste pricing recommendations: The Transfer Station Committee is recommending simplifying the bulky waste fees to start July 1, 2022. Susan (a member of the committee) explained the reasoning behind the recommendation.  A motion was made to accept the recommendation and begin the new fee schedule as of July 1^st. The motion was seconded. The discussion was paused to interview Attorney Kopelman as it was 7pm. The Board returned to the motion made and continued discussion. The motion to accept the recommended bulky waste fees beginning July 1^st was unanimously approved.
   4. Vacation carry overs: Justin read the memo from the full time employees requesting to carry over time off from FY22 into FY23. Justin referred to the relevant section of the handbook that allows for this with Board approval. A motion was made to approve the requests as read. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
   5. A motion was made to accept and approve the Police & Fire Accident Insurance renewal. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
3. Regular hours for employees and proper notification of vacation time: Susan explained that she added this item to the agenda as she thinks that it is time for the Clerk to have and keep regular hours as the investigation is over. Susan noted that she had requested that the Clerk give her a suggested schedule prior to this meeting but Terry did not respond. Justin concurred that the agreement was that Terry did not have to keep regular posted hours until the investigation was complete.  Terry came in to join the meeting.  Nancy Tomasovich argued that Terry’s name should have been on the agenda if the Board was going to discuss her office hours in particular. Nancy was told that the discussion about hours and vacation time applied to all full time employees who were notified but chose not to come but that Susan specifically requested that Terry be present. Justin reminded Terry of the agreement to return to normal posted hours once the investigation was complete. Terry told the Board that she was not going to discuss this tonight. Susan advised Terry that this will be on the agenda next week and asked that Terry provide her proposed schedule before that meeting.  Terry said she would not speak about this tonight. Justin reminded all that we need to have a solution that works for everyone. Susan formally requested Terry provide the Board with her suggestions to make the workplace comfortable for her including coming before the Board. Justin acknowledged that it has been a very difficult year for everyone and that it can be difficult to confront challenges we have been facing. This Board is left with a lot of the problems former Select Boards did not resolve, but we need to move forward in a positive and better way. Justin said that we all should give each other the benefit of the doubt and assume the best of each other moving forward. Susan explained that she did not want to be difficult but if Terry could not commit to working on this issue with the Board either next Wed or the following one, then the Board would designate the hours. Terry asked what has happened since the investigation to make her feel safe; Susan offered that the Board is working on Human Resources, with the hope that new personnel will be working by July.  In addition, the Board is interviewing mediators and hopes to find a suitable mediator by early June. It was agreed to add this to the June 1^st agenda.
4. The Board read and acknowledged John Weingold’s resignation from the Select Board which was sent in an email to the Town Clerk last Wednesday. Justin noted that the Board does not need to accept the resignation only acknowledge it, it becomes effective once it is received by the Town Clerk. Don Coburn suggested asking counsel to check MGL Chapter 41 Section 10 and whether or not the Clerk has certified it; Justin noted that she did officially receive it.
5. Justin reached out to counsel about the Board vacancy to confirm what the next steps should be. Counsel advised that the Board may call a special election or not (MGL Chapter 41 §10). If the Board decides to call an election it needs to be at least 64 days from the vote. Justin said as a member that over the last year frequently served with only two members he understands the disadvantages of a two member Board. He is hesitant to set a date today because he wants to make sure the proper procedures are followed and there are no conflicts with the date chosen.  The Clerk confirmed that the date chosen cannot be piggybacked onto any primaries or other state elections.  Justin will follow up with the Clerk for her blackout dates and what she will need and the caucus chairs for timelines.

Correspondence, minutes, public comment

1. Review mail & correspondence to be sent: none
2. Approve minutes of 5/9 and 5/11/22
   1. Justin summarized an opinion from the Open Meeting Law division which stated that public bodies are afforded the option to designate the chair or another designee to approve minutes, it is not necessary to review them at a public meeting and require a majority vote for approval.
   2. As Justin is the only remaining member on the board present at the 5/9/22 meeting, a motion was made to allow Justin to approve this set of minutes. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. Justin approved the 5/9/22 minutes as amended.
   3. A motion was made to approve the amended minutes of 5/11/22.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
3. Comments & questions from the public:
   1. Gerry Clarin inquired about the bill from Greene & Hafer and the implication that John Weingold was a large part of the bill being so high, Gerry wanted to know if we would be responsible for that.  Susan explained that Mr. Weingold would doubtless justify it as part of the investigation. The Board will firm up any policies for contacting counsel after this hard lesson learned.
   2. Susan noted that she has started researching mediation options which seem high quality. She suggested the Board also start looking at leadership training options, Justin has and summarized his findings but still thinks it is a good idea to look into.

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 8:20pm

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. Draft revised Select Board Rules of Order
2. Draft Select Board Code of Conduct
3. Draft 10 point plan
4. Bulky waste pricing recommendations
5. John Weingold’s resignation from the Select Board