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Select Board Meeting Minutes 7/25/23

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Meeting date: 
Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Minutes of the Select Board meeting 7/25/23

Meeting Date: Wednesday July 25, 2023

Meeting Opened at 6:00 pm

Select Board members present: Justin Makuc, chair; Susan Cooper, Frank Abbott

Also Present: Melissa Noe (Town Administrator), Laurie McArthur (Select Board Secretary), Dennis Lynch, Mickey Jervas, Michael Germain, Jim Hunt, Mari Enoch

Also Present Remotely: Scott Steibel

Call to Order 6:00pm

  1. Meet with Dennis Lynch of the Lake Garfield Working Group:
    1. Discuss proposed Notice Of Intent for Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting and annual Lake Garfield drawdown
    2. Extend diver assisted suction harvesting contract with New England Aquatics for 1 year

Dennis said he was here on behalf of the Lake Garfield Working Group.  The group asks the Select Board to consider and sign a wetland protection form to extend the activities of the Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting and the annual Lake drawdown.  Dennis explained the purpose of the forms.  Dennis reported that Hillary Kenyon, the hired lake scientist, prepared the form.  Dennis reported that both the DASH and the drawdown will be prepared as one document, which will save the Town time and money.  Dennis said that they would like to also extend the diver assisted suction harvesting contract with New England Aquatics for 1 year. Dennis said that the document also discussed other potential issues that could be acted upon in the future by the Town should they wish to do so. 

Justin moved to approve the forms as recommended by the Lake Garfield Working Group. 

Michael Germain said that the six-foot draw down would be essential for this project.  Dennis said that the document recommends to not exceed six- feet and would depend on the current conditions.  Dennis said that property owners around Lake Garfield will be informed. 

Call a vote: Justin-yes, Susan-yes, Frank-yes. 

Justin said that if it was related to the DASH program, then there would be funding available to help pay for the project.  Dennis said the only other fee would be for National Heritage for endangered species, and they charge $300.  Dennis said that the divers do not go into the area with the endangered plants. 

Justin moved to extend diver assisted suction harvesting contract with New England Aquatics for 1 year.  Susan seconded.  Call a vote: Justin-yes, Susan-yes, Frank-yes. 

  1. Discuss IT service proposals

Frank provided an update regarding the IT service providers and the requirements the Town would need when seeking a bid from the IT providers interviewed by the Select Board.Frank said once the information is gathered, then they can request a new bid from the vendors.Justin asked if the Town should agree on some basic information.Frank said that there seems to be concensus that we should transition to the cloud and that we would need a new router.Susan said that she would like more information about who would offer leasing vs purchasing options for the router.Melissa recommended remaining with the current IT vendor at the moment, and said we are part of a regional discussion about IT solutions that may include a shared IT person.The MIIA risk management grant is offering an option for some security options and she wanted to check in with Tom regarding if this would be an option for additional security.

Melissa said that the current IT service provider is on an hourly basis, whereas the new companies have monthly and annual rates.Frank and Melissa will continue to work on this project.Justin said that he would be less interested in working with a shared provider.He said he believed the Town may have more leverage when contracting out a provider vs working with an employee.

  1. Special Event Application: Bidwell House Museum

Susan made a motion to approve the Special event application for the Bidwell House Museum.  Justin seconded.  Call a vote:  Susan-yes, Justin-yes, Frank-yes. 

  1. Draft contract with Southern Berkshire Ambulance

Justin discussed some minor changes to the contract.The contract has been sent to Southern Berkshire Ambulance for their review and revisions. The Board will review the contract again once the revisions are received.

  1. 6:30pm: Peter Murkett of the Renewable Energy Working Group to provide update on solar possibilities at the closed landfill

Justin said that the Select Board did sign the ARPA agreement, and that the Fire Company was willing to entertain a proposal.  Peter said that they had a meeting with Tom at DEP regarding monitoring the closed landfill.  Peter said that two members of the REWG and Mark from Gould farm walked around the landfill, discussed closed landfills, and reported that DEP is open to solar arrays on closed landfills.  Peter said that per Tom, the DEP will need test kits to delineate the borders of the closed landfill and to find out how much fill is on top of the closed landfill.  Peter said that in conversations with Beth, the developer will assume this responsibility, and when working over a landfill, solar will be installed on cement blocks.  Peter also said that to comply with procurement protocols, the Town will need to designate the land as available for lease and explained the required language.  Peter said that this will require a Town Meeting vote.  Peter said that possible changes to the Solar Zoning Bylaw would also have to come before a Town Meeting.  Peter reported that large scale solar requires a 75ft setback and utility solar requires a 150ft setback, and suggested adding the parcel to the use by right which would relieve it from the setback requirements.  Peter discussed communications with Gould Farm, and reported that the gravel pit is being considered for a solar array project.  Peter discussed how if this were to be considered then the complete solar array would be owned by two different parties which could increase complications.  Peter discussed options for amending the bylaw to help with the setback requirements.  Justin clarified what would need to go to Town Meeting which would include leasing the property and changing the zoning bylaws to avoid the setbacks. 

Susan said that the Select Board discussed the possibility of holding a Town Meeting in November to discuss non budgetary items. 

Peter said that he was available for discussions with the Fire Company.  Peter said that he had a discussion with Allen Telio regarding the solar project, who offered to check with some resources to determine if the landfill would be a viable site.  Peter said that it would need to be reviewed by Town Counsel prior to going onto the Warrant. 

  1. Draft capital planning policy

Frank said that the Finance Committee will be meeting tomorrow, and there were no updates. 

  1. Discuss payroll issue from end of FY23, beginning of FY24

Susan raised the concern that this issue might require an executive session.Justin assured her that no personnel accusations were being made and thus it was not required, but that we need to ensure that all employees are properly compensated and that the pay system is working properly.Justin said that generally there were a few issues.The first issue occurred during the split payroll which overlapped FY23 and FY24, where the principal assessor was underpaid.His paycheck was reduced for the first week due to the end of FY23, and the second week because of a software limitation that used an hourly number to generate the pay calculation although he should be paid a fixed salary.

Susan said that this should be discussed by the Town Administrator and HR.Melissa said that she was not included in the discussion and reviewed her notes from the correspondence.Justin said that the Board should be aware of payroll issues so they can correct the issue.Susan clarified that the Select Board should request a satisfactory response from the Treasurer regarding what happened with the payroll error. Susan listed several options that could be utilized, and suggested being clear on who the individual would communicate with regarding payroll issues.Justin said that he believes a plan needs to be developed to ensure that individuals are being paid properly.Melissa and the Treasurer will continue to work on this issue and will report back.

  1. Review new part time sick policy and part time officers that are now full time. Justin read an email regarding two officers who started in part-time positions and transitioned to full-time positions.   The Board was asked to determine what sick time benefits both employees were entitled to based on the Town’s policy.
  2. Fire Company lease renewal

Frank exchanged emails with Donna regarding the Fire Company lease renewal.Frank and Melissa reviewed the PDF for the Fire Companies article of organization and Frank will wait for Chris to return.Melissa asked if this will need to go through bidding, and asked if they will be violating the Anti-aid benefit.Susan discussed the concept of the Anti-aid benefit and said that the monies were being utilized to benefit the Town by repairing buildings whose sole purpose is to house Fire vehicles used for and by the Town.

Frank asked how the procurement will need to be handled.Melissa also inquired about what the accountant offered regarding how to word the lease and release the money.Melissa shared the information with the Select Board via email.

  1. Town Administrator items:

Melissa reported that on August 29th, Courteny would like to meet with the Select Board at the Library to show the revised plans. 

Melissa reported that next week’s anti-discrimination training will conflict with the Select Board meeting next week, and asked if the Board wanted to switch meeting times. The Select Board agreed that there will be no meeting next week.

The Select Board discussed how part-time employees would be compensated for the training.  Susan mentioned the possibility of being reimbursed for mileage for part-time employees for attending a mandatory training.  The Select Board agreed that Sophia should be consulted to explore options to accommodate more employees for the training.  Susan asked if the Select Board agreed that employees would be paid for the training and mileage reimbursement.  Susan and Frank voted yes, Justin recused himself. 

  1. Unanticipated business

Justin inquired about the CDBG housing rehab loan payment.He reported that the house for which this loan was used has an address that appears to be in Sandisfield, and he said the address on the check was also listed as Sandisfield.He discussed concerns for having received a housing rehab loan check for a house listed in Sandisfield.Melissa will look into this and ensure that Monterey is entitled to the money.

Melissa said that a large part of the payroll issue was communication and her being left out of the communication.Melissa suggested that either everyone contributes to the agenda or one individual with more free time works with Melissa on creating the agendas.Justin said that he felt the payroll issue should be presented to the Board and the issue needed to be dealt with, which was why he added it to the agenda.Melissa said that a one-on-one meeting may be more beneficial and suggested meeting with Justin.The Select Board and Town Administrator discussed concerns with the communications received regarding the payroll issue.Melissa clarified that the time clock is for tracking purposes.Justin stressed that this was an important issue and it was important for the Board to be aware and find a resolution.Melissa reported that Sophia is scheduling a meeting for Friday to discuss how the process should have occurred and she will follow up with an investigation.Susan recommended that the Select Board members do have individual meetings with the Town Administrator.Melissa said that a regular meeting on Thursdays would be helpful to prepare for the Select Board meetings.Justin agreed to meet with the Town Administrator regarding the agenda.

  1. Comments & questions from the public

There were no comments or questions from the public.

  1. Approve minutes of 7/14/23 and 7/18/23

The Select Board reviewed the minutes from 7/14/23.  Susan made a motion to approve the minutes from 7/14/23.  Frank seconded.  Call a vote:  Susan-yes, Frank-yes, Justin abstained. 

The minutes from 7/18/23 will be reviewed during the next meeting on August 8th at 6pm.

Justin made a motion to adjourn the Select Board meeting.  Frank seconded.  Call a vote: Susan-yes, Justin-yes, Frank-yes.  Meeting adjourned at 7:54pm. 

Documents used at the meeting

  1. Southern Berkshire Draft Contract
  2. Diver assisted suction harvesting and drawdown forms
  3. Special Event Application: Bidwell House Museum
Video / Audio