Select Board Meeting Minutes 8/19/21
Minutes of the meeting of 8/19/21
Meeting Opened at: 6:03pm
Select Board Members Present: Steve Weisz, Chair, Justin Makuc, John Weingold
Also present: Jeremia Pollard, Leonard Kopelman
Also present remotely: Don Coburn, Nancy Tomasovich, Lauren Goldberg
Legal Services proposal interviews
6pm: Jeremia Pollard interview
Jeremia provided a brief overview of the services he’s been providing to the town for 17 years and has been a trial lawyer for 21 years. He’s stated he is very familiar with the way Monterey operates. He explained that the fees for last year and this year’s litigation were higher than they’ve ever been due to 2 active cases (the first 2 in quite some time for Monterey).
Justin inquired as to Jeremia’s advised method of contacting counsel now that there is a Town Administrator and from the Board’s end how has that has been working to date? Jeremia stated that typically counsel deals with the Town Administrator or Town Manager (with authorization from the Board). Select Boards are not a full time job, they have outside jobs, and a conduit is often needed and that is where a Town Administrator comes in. Jeremia recommended that towns have an access to counsel policy as well.
John inquired as to any continuing education Jeremia has completed for municipal law in the last 3 years; Jeremia responded he doesn’t as he is actively participating in municipal law by trying cases.
Jeremia confirmed his offer submitted is for $180/hr rate for an hourly contract and $17k/year for a retainer arrangement.
John asked Jeremia if he recently had a meeting with Steve Weisz, the Police Chief and the Town Administrator regarding a current HR issue. Jeremia stated no he had not. John asked if he was sure as he had documentation saying otherwise. Jeremia affirmed there was no such meeting and Steve concurred. Melissa Noe came in to also confirm that no such meeting took place and if John was referring to the documents she provided him prior to the meeting there was no such document stating what he was claiming.
Prior to Mr. Kopelman coming in the Board reviewed the Bidwell House special event application. Justin recused himself as he was offered to be paid to work at the event. A motion was made to approve the special event permit. The motion was seconded and approved 2 – 0.
6:30pm: Leonard Kopelman interview
Leonard explained that he was the original founder of Kopelman & Page and left about 7 years ago to enjoy the municipal practice and not be a managing partner that took too much of his time. He provided a summary of his time with his former law firm and with the current firm he is working with.
Mr. Kopelman said he was surprised at the amount of money we have appropriated for counsel and feels that he would charge us much less and confirmed he does not charge by the 10th of the hour as most other firms do.
He was asked for his recommendation on how to handle the current active cases if the town were to go with new counsel. He said it would depend on how far along the cases were in the process and if the town felt comfortable with the previous attorney completing the case and the best chance for success.
Monterey recently adopted a Town Administrator form of government, Justin asked how Leonard would advise communication be trafficked – Leonard answered it is best to have one contact which is usually the Town Administrator. Leonard recommended that towns have an access to counsel policy as well.
Leonard was asked for his policy on issuing legal opinions: He stated they can be verbal or written depending on the urgency of the matter at hand.
Steve told Leonard that recently Mr. Weingold filed a suit against himself, the town, a former selectperson and his wife, the Town Administrator and a retired Town Administrator which was ultimately dismissed. Steve asked what Leonard’s experience was with selectmen suing other selectmen; Leonard was not in favor of lawsuits and would do what he could to have the parties speak with each other. It’s always been his job as an attorney to prevent lawsuits.
Leonard proposes an hourly rate of $200 and said that if it is under a ¼ of an hour he doesn’t charge as it isn’t worth it. Leonard said he will not work on a retainer form of payment. When asked if he had other lawyers to back him up when on vacation or working a case, Leonard stated there are 12-14 other lawyers at Brooks & DeRensis.
John asked if Leonard has ever seen an employee write their own contract, Leonard stated that yes he has because they may have a friend that is experienced in contracts or they use one recommended by other entities (such as the MA Police Chiefs). He would not recommend counsel writing a new one from scratch, often the template is borrowed from another town and modified. He would defer to the Board on what they decide is best for the town.
7pm: KP Law interview
Lauren Goldberg, Managing Attorney and President of KP Law interviewed remotely. She provided a history of the firm which she says has had a new model since 2013. She explained that for the most part they handle districts, counties, other public agencies and cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth.
Lauren said that KP Law specializes in all facets of municipal law and emphasized the fact that they are always adding to their educational and resource library for their clients.
KP Law likes to assign a small team to each town and their proposal for Monterey includes 3 members but others may get involved when necessary. Steve explained that we generally reach out to counsel on a weekly and sometimes, daily basis: Lauren confirmed that we would have one main contact but any of the 3 may be contacted.
They offer a couple of free trainings every year for each town they represent including OML, conflict of interest and public records.
Their proposal is $210/hr through June 30, 2022 and then it increases by $10 for each of the next 2 years. Paralegal work is done at half of the attorney rate. Lauren said they would only want to charge a retainer that would make sense and would want to discuss first what the town would want covered in this style of agreement. Lauren will send a list of items that she would see included in a retainer and her proposed fee.
She confirmed they would work with former counsel to transition if they are appointed. Lauren also said that it is best to have one main contact which is usually the Town Administrator. She also recommended that towns have an access to counsel policy as well.
When told that Monterey has an active HR situation which may devolve into lawsuits, Lauren stated that they have the largest and best labor & employment department and they also provide investigations when necessary. Steve informed Lauren that a sitting selectperson has voted against paying a legal bill and also filed a lawsuit against the town which has since been dismissed.
Steve stated that KP Law originally backed out inquired as to why they are now interested again: Lauren explained that she had heard that there were concerns about the budget and rates proposed and didn’t want to start off feeling like the rate itself was already prejudged without understanding the value behind it. She was then advised that this was a misunderstanding and decided she should at least provide an opportunity to explain her rates; Steve asked who reached out to her to tell her this; Justin did as he felt there was a miscommunication that he wanted to clear up.
Lauren explained that KP Law are not in the place to tell a board what policies to make, their job is to advise. She confirmed that a conflict check will be made to confirm that there isn’t one with one of our selectmen being an attorney.
John asked how KP Law would deal and communicate with clients whose “intellect is below average and they are a blowhard”? Lauren said it depends on the individual situation and ultimately they reach a grudging respect. KP Law is going to tell you how the law applies which isn’t always well received.
8pm: Administrative
- Review candidates and discuss town counsel appointment: Steve suggested waiting for the retainer proposal KP Law will be sending to review prior to making any decisions and make an appointment on the 1st of September. John thinks the money is a red herring, stating that the town pays $30k to hand pick weeds from the lake. Steve requested copies of all the communications sent by Justin and John to KP Law. Justin said he feels that KP Law’s services offered would be a real asset to Monterey and is not worried about what may be included in a retainer proposal. Justin made a motion to appoint KP law as town counsel. John seconded the motion. Discussion ensued. Steve stated for the record that it is his belief that KP Law will charge fees that will far exceed what current counsel has charged Monterey. He also pointed out that the former partner of KP Law expressed that towns using KP Law have expressed disappointment with being unable to easily access the attorney’s at KP Law. Steve said that Monterey is exponentially rising in lawsuits and these guys are going to be much more expensive and he is concerned about that and wanted it know that the ones to blame will be Justin and John. Justin said tax money is always a consideration but it’s not his only consideration, he is also concerned about the quality of services and he will take responsibility for this at town meeting if the legal budget increase. The motion passed 2-1 with Steve voting no. The Board agreed that the current cases and who should handle them will be discussed at the next meeting.
- Melissa Noe made an official public records request of John W to provide a copy of the document he referred to during the Jeremia Pollard interview.
A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 8:10pm
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.
- Legal proposals