Select Board Meeting Minutes 7/11/23
Minutes of the Select Board meeting 7/11/23
Meeting Date: Wednesday July 11, 2023
Meeting Opened at 6:00 pm
Select Board members present: Justin Makuc, Chair; Susan Cooper, Frank Abbott
Also Present: Melissa Noe (Town Administrator), Lin Saberski
Call to Order 6:00 pm
- Meet with Council on Aging Chair, Lin Saberski, for update on volunteer driver grant
Lin provided an update on the volunteer driver program through the Council on Aging. She reported that she determined the volunteer driver program would not be cost-effective and administratively efficient, so instead she submitted and was awarded a grant for additional public transportation in Monterey. Lin reviewed the possible costs for volunteer drivers, reporting that it would cost approximately $1000 for mileage and approximately $600 for taxis. She said that additional employee hours would be required to be able to set up the rides. Lin discussed a company known as Tri town which is offering on demand rides with extended hours to seniors through the towns of Stockbridge, Gt. Barrington, and Egremont. She reported that they charge three dollars for round trip rides. She applied for a $2500 grant to assist with this program for transportation, and informed the Select Board that the Council on Aging was awarded the grant.
Lin inquired if the Council on Aging should have an individual research grants for transportation for individuals with disabilities should this service be required in the future. Lin also inquired about setting up a friends group to possibly receive additional support for transportation and for their Parkinson’s group and requested guidance from the Select Board. Susan suggested that Lin speak with the Library Board. Susan said that she knew someone who may have information about researching a grant regarding transportation for individuals with disabilities and would follow up with Lin.
- Draft contract with Southern Berkshire Ambulance
Justin and Susan discussed insurance requirements and the need for those documents.Justin said that they have not previously had significant concerns regarding the quality of the service provided or the quality of the equipment that has been used in the past.Justin presented the idea of simplifying the termination clause for the Town in the document to the Select Board but leaving the 45-day termination requirement should Southern Berkshire Ambulance terminate the contract.Susan discussed concerns regarding vague components outlined in the contract.
Justin suggested removing the section that discussed specifications for provisions for annual services document, to which Susan agreed.Frank discussed the pros and cons of keeping the schedule of insurance requirements, and Justin recommended asking Donna.Susan asked if they would like to go with two additional one-year terms, and Justin said that he thought they should stick to this requirement due to the monetary component.Justin clarified that there was no way to know what Southern Berkshire Ambulance would be asking for financially during the next fiscal year for ambulance services.Justin discussed previous information where Southern Berkshire had completed a financial assessment based on the population of each Town.Susan suggested trying to get a seat on the Board and offered to sit on that board, and the Select Board agreed that this may be beneficial.Justin suggested leaving this as a one-year contract.Melissa said that she would prefer monthly payments for the contract, and the Select Board agreed to leave this as is.The Select Board discussed formatting changes that were found throughout the document and recommended modifications.The Select Board will send the amended document off to Donna, and Susan recommended asking Donna to assist with articulating a request for a seat on the Board within the document.The Select Board discussed the option of quarterly reports with response times.Justin will forward the document to Donna and asked if the Select Board would be comfortable with him presenting this to Southern Berkshire after additions are made from Donna.Susan and Frank agreed they would be comfortable presenting the document.
- Approve Beacon solar energy consulting contract and amendments to existing contract
Susan said that she was comfortable with the META grant, but said that there were concerns with whether the Fire Company was interested in having solar panels placed on the roof. Frank discussed research he had completed on solar panel failure and fires and said he could share this information with Shawn. Justin said that they need to speak with Peter M. and Beth about the ARPA funds and would like to place a pause on this contract until they know if the Fire Company is interested. The Select Board agreed that the META grant contract seemed well put together.
Justin moved that the Select Board approve the META grant contract with Beacon.
Susan inquired about who should reach out to Beacon regarding the ARPA fund contract. Justin said that since there was a contract in existence with Beacon regarding the original ARPA fund request of $15,000, he would recommend informing Beth that the Select Board was placing a hold on the contract until they determine what the Fire Company is planning to do. Susan recommended adding a cover letter that outlined the Select Board’s decision that they are waiting to hear back regarding the ARPA funds and the Fire Company but would like to proceed with the META grant at this time.
Justin called a vote on the motion to approve the META grant contract with Beacon. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Justin-yes, Frank-yes. Unanimous approval.
- Review IT proposals
Justin said that there were three IT proposals.Susan discussed the costs associated with the first option (John Shannon), reporting that the server was $7500, $2500 for installation, in addition to $3,000 for software, and $7000 for office.Justin suggested working with him on what options they would like and when they would like those options.
Susan discussed feedback provided by the Tax Collector and the Assessor’s office regarding the server and security.Justin suggested using the old server for the time being while transitioning to the new server.
Melissa clarified that it would be $2390 a month if they go with Whalley, and Justin said that Shannon would be $2800 per year.Melissa recommended meeting with the two preferable companies next week to interview both companies and gather some additional information.
- Draft capital planning policy
Justin sent out his comments regarding the draft capital planning policy document Frank had sent over based on information gathered from last year. Justin suggested Frank continue to work on the document and look at the Select Board version from last year to help trim down the document. Justin and Susan discussed minor wording modifications pertaining to the Capital Plan Policy. Justin inquired about creating a combined form so there are not too many documents. Frank will continue to review and make changes to the document.
- Town Administrator items:
- 1Berkshire Letter of Support
The Select Board reviewed and signed the 1 Berkshire Letter of Support.
- Open space recreation plan committee creation
Melissa reported that the Berkshire Regional Planning Group is recommending that the committee is made up of 6-10 people made up of one person from each of the following boards: Parks, Con Com, Select Board, Planning Board, Town Administrator, Director of Operations, Lake Garfield Working Group, Monterey Preservation Land Trust, and Renewable Energy Working Group.Melissa said that there would be at least six meetings.The group would work with BRPC on the Open Space Plan.Berkshire Regional Planning Group would provide guidance for overall goals, assist in the identification of key issues, provide input for data and findings, and guidance and recommendations for the plan.Melissa said that a minimum of six meetings will be during the year, and they may be held virtually.The chair will be decided in the first meeting.Melissa will reach out and see who may be interested in participating.Justin said that it may be beneficial to have two members from Parks since they work closely with a lot of open space projects.
Melissa read off recommended committee members from the state website.Justin asked Melissa to reach out to the different groups and said that Susan will represent the Select Board.Susan suggested approaching a former Con Com member since there are only a few members currently serving on the Con Com.Justin asked to clarify to see if individuals were interested in participating on the committee.
- Fire Company lease renewal
Justin recused himself from the discussion. Frank said that he has not had a conversation yet but reported he had sent the document to Donna. Susan said that she thought a 20- or 30-year lease was very long. Melissa said that if the lease was for more than 20 years, then the Select Board would have to go to town meeting. Frank presented the idea of raising the rent and allowing the Fire Company to decide what they do with the money, which Melissa said Shawn had suggested as well. Susan said that the money they were giving the Fire Company is meant for Capital Projects and said that she would consider five years to be the minimum for a lease as a reasonable Capital Project timeline but said that 30 years would be too long. Frank explained how the plan could be extended out to 30 years with renovations outlining a 30-year use. Frank discussed the predictability with raising the rent and having the Fire Company outline how they would utilize those funds. Frank expressed concerns that the Select Board might be in violation should they release the $30,000 in funding to the Fire Company that was voted on at the 2023 Town Meeting prior to extending the lease. Susan inquired about setting a contract where the first year had different requirements than subsequent years. Melissa read the current contract requirements that would allow for the release of funds, and asked if the funds could be released based on the current lease. Susan proposed scheduling a meeting between herself, Frank, and Melissa to further discuss the issue and answer any questions. Melissa said that she would like to find out if it is ok to release the funds or if the Fire Company would need to go through procurement. Melissa will schedule a meeting between herself, Susan, and Frank on Friday 7/14/23 at 8am to discuss questions they would like to send to the lawyer regarding the Fire Company and the lease.
- Unanticipated business
Melissa wanted to acknowledge the hard work put in by Shawn Tryon, Don Torrico, Jim Wilusz, and Nick Fredsall in getting Camp Kimama permitted.
Melissa provided an update about the year-end letters that went out to the departments regarding when transfers had to be completed, she reported that there was one department that still needed to transfer $900.Melissa said that the law states they have until July 15th to complete the transfer, but the Town policy set for this year had an end date of July 5, 2023, since the final FY 23-year warrant was July 10th.Melissa is going to have a meeting with the accountant and treasurer tomorrow and will see what they think about it.Melissa said that the Select Board would have the final say but did ask that in the event this department were allowed to make a transfer how would this affect other departments who were considering transfers but did not make the cutoff.Melissa explained the process for transferring from the Reserve Funds and said that the Select Board would have to sign some transfer requests when they meet on Friday.Justin asked Melissa to inform the Accountant and Treasurer that the Select Board was going to make some Internal Transfers and some Reserve fund requests to avoid having to bring overages to future Town Meeting.Justin will reach out to Linda about cemetery mowing bills.Justin asked Melissa to reach out to the departments and let them know that she will need to know by close of business tomorrow if anyone needs to transfer funds.
- Comments & questions from the public
There were no comments or questions from the public.
- Approve minutes of 6/27/23 and 7/5/23
The Select Board reviewed the minutes from 6/27/23. Justin made a motion to approve the amended minutes from 6/27/23. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Frank-yes, Justin-yes.
The Select Board reviewed the minutes from 7/5/23. Justin made a motion to approve the amended minutes from 7/5/23. Susan seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Frank-yes, Justin-yes.
Frank made a motion to adjourn the Select Board meeting. The motion was seconded. Call a vote: Susan-yes, Frank-yes, Justin-yes. Meeting adjourned at 7:37pm.
Documents used at the meeting
- Southern Berkshire Ambulance Draft Contract
- Signed META Grant Contract
- Signed 1 Berkshire Letter of Support
- IT Proposals