Select Board Meeting Minutes 8/19/2020

Minutes of the meeting of 8/19/20

Meeting Opened at: 9am

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

Select Board Members Present Remotely: John Weingold

Also present remotely: Peter Chait, Dan Moriarity, Michael Johnson, Mary McGurn, Adam Chait, Dennis Lynch, Chris Blair, Steve Snyder

Items discussed:

1. Roll call was taken.  Present Steven Weisz, John Weingold and Donald Coburn. 
2. Michael Johnson informed the Board that he would be recording the meeting.
3. As no one was present for the 9am agenda item the item was passed over.
4. Communications between Selectmen between meetings; Don explained that he asked that this agenda item be added as he was concerned that other board members are not getting the emails communications sent.  John stated he has not been getting emails that people said they have sent.  After some further questions John admitted that he was not checking the town email set up for him and did not see the email which had the logon credentials (originally sent to him on 7/29 and resent today).
5. Timely review of warrants and correspondence: Don reported that there is a stack of warrants and correspondence that John Weingold has still yet to come in, sign and review.  Don referred to and read MGL Chapter 41 Section 42 which is the statutory requirement for Board members to sign warrants.  John still refuses to come into town hall during business hours. Steve explained that to effectively perform the responsibilities of the Board it is critical to come in and work with all of the staff during business hours.
6. Dan Moriarity had questions about the wifi and fiber systems in town.  He inquired as to where the town stands to accommodate citizens that are not receiving wifi and not having the ability to communicate on the level he feels the town should’ve had by now.  Don provided a summary of the history and process to date.
7. Don inquired about a comment that John made about a potential warrant item from weeks ago that led him to not sign it.  John explained that he had an issue with the payment made to Bottomline Builders for the modifications to town offices but he kept it to himself rather than sharing the information.  Steve and Don both emphasized the importance of coming in and reviewing/signing the warrants in a timely fashion and relaying any concerns to M. Noe so that a hold can be placed on the checks if she is unable to provide a satisfactory answer at that time.
8. Kayak removal, notice, policy, permits and racks; The Board met with Steve Snyder of the Parks Commission to discuss this.  Steve reported that he has been addressing the kayak issues.  John reiterated that he added this to the agenda as he was approached by a homeowner attempting to get a permit but were told they are all sold out.  She was concerned that some families were issued multiple permits per household.  Currently there are 48 berths for kayaks and there are about a ½ dozen people that have issues (otherwise most folks are happy).  New racks have been ordered and will be installed next spring.  Steve reported that the Parks Commission has closed the porta potty to the public to resolve one of the many issues that arose around the beach.  The Parks Commission agrees to keep the Select Board informed on the larger items that require their attention.
9. Historical Commission appointments:  The names of the individuals to be appointed were not provided in time to be placed on the agenda (in case there were any objections from the general public).  Don reported that he has spoken with Barbara Swann who was looking for a local historic district committee, completely different from the historical commission.  Don is leaving a copy of documents for John at town hall outlining how a town goes about establishing a local historic district.  This will be carried to the next meeting.  This would be a 3-7 member committee empaneled to perform the duties under MGL Chapter 40C.
10. Consideration of recall bylaw; Don has one amendment to the previous draft section 5, “no recall petition shall be filed against an officer within their first 3 months”.  Don would like to move forward with this and bring it to the town for a vote.  Steve feels that the petition should be signed by more than the 25 people (which gets the petition from the clerk) within 21 days 10% of the registered voters must have signed the petition (approximately 67) to get it on the ballot.  A majority vote is required at the election to vote to recall the official.  Don made a motion was to add the approval of the bylaw to the next town meeting held.  Steve voted yes, John no and Don voted yes to add it to the next town meeting warrant.
11. A motion was made to approve the request for bids drafted by the Lake Garfield Working Group.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
12. A motion was made to approve the minutes of 8/5 with the noted changes.  The motion was seconded and passed 2 – 0.  John voted no as he has not read them.  A motion was made to approve the minutes of 8/11 with the noted changes.  The motion was seconded and passed 2 – 0.  John voted no as he has not read them.
13. M. Noe inquired whether or not the Board would be holding a special town meeting and when and where it might be held.  M. Noe was asked to follow up with the Clerk and Moderator regarding their availability in October.
14. Broadband contract (draft): an additional 2 copies of the proposed drafts were sent by Don to Steve and John.  The proposed letter to Fiber Connect was revisited.  Adam commented that it was ridiculous that the town was getting hung up on who gets free service and what agreements Fiber Connect has with private entities such as the Fire Company and this is holding up the projects and Monterey and Egremont (MBI is requiring that Monterey and Egremont are coming in as one agreement).  The Board will meet at 3pm instead of 4 on the 2^nd of September to finish this discussion.

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 11:01am

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 used in the meeting are listed below and are available by request at town hall.

1. none