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Select Board Meeting Minutes 9/1/21

Meeting date: 
Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Minutes of the meeting of 9/1/21

Meeting Opened at: 6pm

Select Board Members Present: Steve Weisz, Chair, Justin Makuc, John Weingold

Also present remotely: Don Coburn, Karin Jackson, Nancy Tomasovich, Jeremy Rawitz, Susan Cooper and Frank Upton

Also present: Jon Sylbert, Shawn Tryon

Items discussed:

  1. Town Administrator items
    1. AFG Grant/Special town meeting/Year end reporting: Melissa reported that the town received its 1st AFG (Assistance to Firefighter’s Grant) for the SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) in the amount of $30,933.33.  Unfortunately we were not awarded the full amount needed and a special town meeting will be necessary for the remaining $80-90k needed (Melissa is waiting on a final quote for a more accurate figure).  Melissa also reported that the Accountant made her aware that the forms completed by the Town Clerk on last year’s year end reports contained an error; the $341,470 approved at the FY21 town meeting to reduce the tax levy was placed in the wrong spot on the report and thus means it did not lower the tax levy and instead we will be getting an additional $341,470 in this year’s free cash once certified.  Jon Sylbert stated this information was incorrect and suggested we check with DOR (Department of Revenue).  Steve inquired as to how the error was discovered; Melissa will get that information for the next meeting. Melissa stated that to avoid this type of error going forward the Accountant, Assessor, Town Clerk and Town Administrator will meet regularly prior to the tax rate recap being submitted.  October 16 and 23 were chosen as potential dates for a special town meeting if the moderator and clerk are available.
    2. Public records request made & received:
      1. Melissa informed the Board that today was 10 days since the public records request made of John W at the 8/19 meeting and she still had not received the document he was referring to that he states proved that a meeting was held between former town counsel, Steve Weisz, Melissa and the Police Chief.  After much back and forth John admitted he was incorrect in accusing us of that meeting but stated accurately that the meeting was between Steve, the Chief, Melissa and Shawn Tryon which no one denied and added that any board member, employee etc. may meet with anyone they choose.  Steve stated he regularly meets with all the department heads.
      2. Melissa asked for guidance on a request received from Justin for copies of the individual Council on Aging outreach worker sheets which may require some redaction.  She wanted to know if this request was coming from the Board or an individual and if from an individual, should Justin be charged for the time it will take?  Discussion ensued about whether requests from members serving on town boards/departments should be charged for records if they are acting as individuals and not in their official capacity by direction from their board/commission/department.  A motion was made by John that any records request by a public entity in Monterey not be charged for the records request, because it's part of his job to any other entity in Monterey.  The motion was seconded.  Further discussion ensued, concerns were expressed about the frivolous time consuming requests that may start rolling in more frequently. Jon Sylbert noted that the RAO always has the option to narrow requests appropriately so that they are not unreasonable. It was discussed that the Records Access Officer still has the option to charge.  The motion passed 2 – 1 with Steve voting no.
    3. New counsel administrative items
      1. Accounting contract: Melissa informed the Board that new town counsel had some additions to the proposed contract and the Accountant is working on a new draft for the next meeting.
      2. West Rd restitution follow up: Melissa inquired if the Board still wanted to find out how much this might cost now that we have new counsel.  After a bit of discussion it was agreed that they would still like an estimate.
      3. Counsel for the Johnson lawsuit has asked permission to call new counsel and provide him with a brief introduction to the case (there was concern about costs that may be incurred to the town).  The Board unanimously agreed this is an appropriate call to be made.
    4. HR Director update: Melissa updated the Board that a total of 12 resumes were received, all the Town Administrators/Managers agreed that 5 should be interviewed.  Of the 5, 2 did not return calls to schedule, 1 withdrew their resume, 1 was interviewed and 1 scheduled for an interview was a no show.  The group has decided to raise the salary a bit and readvertise.  John W does not understand why we are moving forward with this when we have an HR specialist on staff with new counsel.  It was pointed out to John that a shared HR professional works at $41/hour and counsel works at $210/hour.
    5. Technology to enhance remote viewing in front room: Melissa reported that as requested at a previous meeting she followed up with the 2 towns John W suggested (Sheffield & Egremont) on the functionality of the Owl.  Melissa stated that Sheffield does not use the Owl as John stated and also does not hold any meetings remotely, they are all in person.  She reached out again to Egremont and learned from another party that they like the Owl once they learned more and used it more.  Items needed for here would be a large smart screen tv, a cheap laptop and the Owl, estimated around $3-4k.  It was discussed where this could be paid from as it was not budget for and the computer supplies line item was lowered at the request of a former finance committee member for this year.  Melissa will look into whether COVID monies can still be used for this otherwise it will likely require a reserve fund transfer.  The Board voted unanimously to move forward with getting this all set up.
    6. Community Compact Best practices grant program:  Melissa informed the Board that the town is eligible to apply for 2 best practices for the Community Compact Best Practices program.  The Board agreed unanimously to move forward with one to assist in updating our master plan and the other for climate vulnerability to continue to help us to secure future MVP (Municipal Vulnerability Grants).
    7. Draft new recommended policies, non-discrimination, professionalism and harassment were distributed for review and edits and then future discussion and possible adoption.
  2. Fire department lease renewal: Justin recused himself from this conversation and left the room.  John W was satisfied with the document and will sign it once the audit required by the Select Board and Finance Committee has been added.  Steve stated that the Select Board never agreed that this was a requirement.  Melissa stated that she will check with Shawn but believes he is agreeable to the audit he just wants to know where the funds to pay for it are coming from since this was not appropriated for this year.  Shawn will be asked to come to a future meeting to discuss this further.
  3. Ethics Complaint Determination:  Steve Weisz reported for the record that he received a determination from the State Ethics Commission with regard to the a complaint Steve claims was filed by John Weingold (John denies filing this) that any concerns regarding Steve’s participation as a member of the Select Board and the Lake Garfield Working Group in matters involving Lake Garfield do not require any further investigation or any further action on their part.
  4. School Committee Vacancy: The Board discussed the resignation of Hannah Bracken as she is moving out of Monterey.  Laura Rodriguez has expressed interest.  It was discussed that since the vacancy wasn’t posted and there may be other parties interested we should post it on the website and make any actions to fill the vacancy on the 15th.  All board members agreed that posting the vacancy for a time frame of 2 weeks was sufficient.  When the Board is ready to make the appointment it was confirmed that the term would be until the next biennial election.
  5. Continue discussion regarding use of professional investigator for HR issue: The Board discussed their options to investigate using an outside, non-Monterey individual, using new counsel or investigating themselves.  Concerns were raised about making sure the issue was handled correctly legally due to the type of claims made, having someone that is not from or affiliated with Monterey and where the funds would come from to pay for this.  Justin suggested putting together an ad hoc committee to interview outside investigators and suggest one to the Select Board.  A motion was made to send a letter to new counsel requesting guidance on the following possibilities: 1. Having KP Law provide an HR specialist at an upcoming meeting or 2. Hire a professional, outside disinterested HR investigator and if appropriate, making recommendation on who to use.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.  Their recommendations will be reviewed with counsel when he attends the meeting on the 15th.
  6. A motion was made to approve the minutes of 8/18 minutes with one minor typo being corrected.  The motion was seconded and passed 2-0 (John W was not in attendance for this meeting).
  7. Posting meetings to youtube:  A motion was made to begin using youtube to upload our video recordings to, to then post on the town website once the Board has all had a chance to review the terms and conditions.  The motion was seconded.  Steve expressed concerns about posting videos to such a large platform when the public in attendance may not be comfortable with this.  The motion passed 2 – 1 with Steve voting no.  The terms and conditions will be reviewed for approval at the next meeting.
  8. Procedure for Approving Vacation Requests: Justin shared concerns about the current procedure for vacation requests and approval.  Currently employees submit a request which is available for review and approval in the Select Board mailbox as is done with the warrants.  Justin feels that these should be addressed in public meetings.  Steve expressed that the current method works providing the Board comes in regularly to review the mail and thought that by doing it this way it protects some privacy for the employee.  The Board agreed to wait to make any changes until the shared HR Director is in place.
  9. Records Access Officer Position and costs:  John made a motion to appoint Terry Walker as the Records Access Officer.  The motion was seconded.  Steve pointed out that Terry resigned from this position last year and why would we reappoint her to it, especially without at the very least a letter of interest from her.  Justin was unaware that Terry had previously resigned from the position.  The motion failed.
  10. Next meeting date/time and agenda items:  Justin and John both took issue with the Chair not including items they requested be placed on the agenda. Justin understood that a few of the items he requested may need to be addressed in executive session (new counsel will be asked for an opinion on this). Steve explained that some of the items requested have already been discussed and voted on and in an effort to try and keep the meetings manageable and not keep rehashing the same things over and over he did not put them on.  One item that Justin was particularly upset about not having been included was a request from the Conservation Commission Chair to be able to contact the Accountant.  It was explained to Justin that the Conservation Commission has already been provided with the answer and anything further in order to act on the issue requires speaking with new counsel and having a bylaw approved at the next town meeting.  Jeremy was still not satisfied with this response and denied getting any such information.  The Board granted the Chair permission to contact the accountant for further clarification.  John then made a motion that any Select Board member has the absolute right to add an item to the Select board (SB) agenda and the request to add an item shall be honored by both the TA & chair of the SB and placed on the SB agenda.  Justin made a motion to move to weekly meetings starting on September 8th.  The motion was seconded.  Steve suggested that due to September being such a busy month that this begin on October 6th and that at least one of the meetings take place in the morning so that employees could more easily attend.  John W questioned why would we do that, they can come in at night?  The motion passed 2 – 1 with Steve voting no.
  11. Continue review of Select Board Roles, Polices & Procedures draft: This item was again tabled.
  12. Review mail and any correspondence to be sent/signed: None
  13. Comments & questions from the public: None

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 8:45pm

 

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. non-discrimination, professionalism and harassment draft policies
  2. fire company lease
Video / Audio