Select Board Meeting Minutes 9/5/23

Minutes of the meeting of 9/5/23

Meeting Opened at: 9am

Select Board Members Present: Justin Makuc, Chair, Susan Cooper and Frank Abbott

Also present: Bob Cutick, Jeremy Rawitz, John Weingold, Lin Saberski, Ellen Coburn, Mickey Jervas, Jim Hunt, Shawn Tryon, Ilene Marcus, Don and Carol Welsch

Also present remotely: Stuart Litwin, Don Coburn, Maggie Barkin

Items discussed:

1. Call to order 9:00am

Town Administrator (TA) position: Frank spoke in favor of following a process of reviewing the Town Administrator job description and contract, and beginning the process soon. Frank’s statement Don, welcome back and we’re glad to see you are up and about. I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard you were at the gym the next morning.

I read your statement and it’s apparent you put a lot of thought into your written comments. Many people have sent emails to the Select Board members expressing their opinions. For the most part they’ve been very civil.  The town appreciates the debate as we work towards determining the best solution for the Town Administrator position.

My objective was and is to start the process and not define the outcome today until we have completed the process. Another objective is to have complete transparency in the process. At the August 15 SB meeting the board voted 3 to 0 to notify the TA we would not be renewing that contract based on town counsel’s advice. Please read the August 15 minutes on the website for the facts to date.

I’m speaking for myself now and not the board.

To me, there needs to be more clarity on how we see the TA position through the job description, the employment manual and organizational chart. It is not unusual to pause when an employment contract expires, especially one as important as the TA and have another one written. As Justin said three weeks ago, this is the first time we have had a TA and we should review the job description. Susan made similar comments.

I’m not interested in digging up the past and I will make every attempt to keep us from going there. I know there have been a lot of reports dating back to 2015 and to be honest I haven’t read them, but I can if we need to go there. I can look at the recommendations – but ultimately the goal is not to live in the past but to better prepare the town for the future.

The Town Administrator position is the most important position for the town. It’s the face of the Select Board and almost everything goes through the TA.  Many town TA job descriptions describe the TA’s is both the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. So, it’s important we get this right.

Don, in your document you talk about the department heads’ contracts. DPW/Police/Library. Before speaking about those contracts. I want to acknowledge Jim, Brian, and Mark and as well as Shawn who all do a fantastic job and I’m thankful they and those who work for them are part of our town. But comparing the way we do the TA contracts and department head is very different because the positions are so different.

In closing I hope everyone looks at this as an opportunity. The good news is we have several months to figure out the steps in this process. End of statement

1.  The Board also acknowledged that they received several letters regarding the matter. Mickey Jervas asserted that some people jumped to conclusions about the outcome of the process, when the Board had spoken to the process rather than the outcome. Ellen Coburn refuted that anyone jumped to any conclusions, and explained that a proposal was made last week by Frank to advertise the Town Administrator position, and that was why letters were written. Justin explained that because the meeting last week ended abruptly, due to a health emergency the Board’s discussion was cut short and that at this point the Board is focused on setting a process, not determining an outcome. Justin agreed that the Board should start evaluating the Town Administrator role and determining how to fill the needs of the Town after the current contract expires in February. He suggested that the first place to start would be to review the job description. Susan felt it would be important that the TA receive another review prior to making any final decisions. Frank suggested a separate meeting to discuss any possible edits to the job description, finalize it and then talk about where they go next. Susan also suggested that as part of the job description review the Board make sure that all the hats the position wears are applicable.  Ilene Marcus thanked the Board for opening this and making sure they do what is best for the town, and asked that the Finance Committee be afforded the opportunity to comment on the TA job description, especially in regard to the TA's financial responsibilities Justin noted that responsibilities related to the Finance Committee and budget are already listed in the job duties but can be reviewed. The job description will be added to one of the next meeting agendas and holding two meetings next week was suggested. 
2. Shawn Tryon stressed that this should be a fair process, and raised the question of whether all contracts will be addressed in the same manner, and all contracted employees required to reapply for their job at the end of their contract.  Justin explained that the Board oversees two employees with contracts (the Police Chief and the Town Administrator) and he thinks the Board will deal with each contract thoroughly as it comes up. Justin noted that the current Police Chief went through a rigorous application and interview process to become the Police Chief and then negotiated a two and a half year contract with the Board. Justin said that the Town Administrator role is unique because the position works so closely with the Select Board on a day-to-day basis and has ultimate responsibility for the operations of the Town. Susan said that this was the first time the town has had a full time Town Administrator and part of the review is to determine if we believe that having a Town Administrator is working well for the town.  In addition, she thinks it is timely to review the job description to make sure it accurately reflects the job. The Board was asked if they would be advertising the position as the suggestion made by Frank to do this has really lowered the morale of the current employees and could have unintended consequences.  Justin stated that making a decision on advertising the position would be premature at this time; the Board should begin the process and focus on the process to do what is in the Town’s best interest. He thinks that the first step of the process should be reviewing the job description in conjunction with the Human Resource Director.  The Board will individually meet with the current TA and the HR Director on Friday, and next Monday at a public meeting to begin the job description review.
3. Town Administrator Items:
   1. Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Agency Cybersecurity Grant: Frank, Roger MacDonald and Melissa will be meeting to discuss what type of equipment we should apply for. The Board agreed that Frank can act on the Board’s behalf in determining how to proceed.
   2. Accept truck bid: The final bid was for $40,500. Justin suggested that the  capital plan might benefit from including estimate money that the Town will receive for selling replaced vehicles and equipment, although this would be difficult given that the sale price would not be known months and even years in advance. Jim said that this bid reaffirms the purpose of following the schedule, as keeping the vehicles longer than planned in the fleet will really lower their value.  A motion was made to accept the highest bidder on Municibid.  The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
4. Jim was thanked for the highway crew’s work on the playground and the ballfield. The painting at the Community Center is going well and the contractor will be doing some work at the Town Hall next. Jim updated the Board on the milling and paving going on at River Rd and Gould Rd. Jim and the Board discussed putting millings on Lover’s Lane to fortify it during the detour while the Curtis Road bridge is replaced. It was agreed to keep the option of returning this portion of the road to gravel after the detour in order to maintain the rural character of the road.
5. Discuss possible Special Town Meeting items:
   1. Lease capped landfill to solar third party: Draft warrant articles were distributed.
   2. Compensation for Conservation Commissioners: Susan could not find anything anywhere on whether any towns paid their commissioners.  Melissa will reach out to her colleagues and the MACC to see if she can get any information.  Justin suggested paying the Commissioners $600 - $1,200/year each.
   3. It was discussed whether the school merger warrant article should be a separate special town meeting from items “a” and “b” above. The Board discussed whether it would be appropriate to add additional warrant articles to the school merger Town Meeting. No decision was made on the matter at this time.
6. Fire Company lease renewal: No change. A letter was forwarded to the Chief and we are just waiting on the Chief to advise us of his availability for a sit down with Frank and Melissa.
7. Reminder of follow-up documents or documents in process:
   1. Computer policy with Donna,
   2. Payroll policy, Justin is waiting to hear Berkshire County Retirements presentation,
   3. Employee Manual and Boards and Commissions Manual, Frank and Justin will get their edits to Melissa on the two manuals. Justin asked if policies should be included in the manual or if they should be stand alone.  Susan suggested adding them as addenda.
8. Unanticipated business: Two possible additions for the special town meeting were reported by Melissa.
9. Comments & questions from the public:
   1. Ilene thanked the Board for considering a strategy for the school plan.
   2. Ilene stated that the Board handled the meeting this morning very well.
10. The minutes of, 8/22/23 and 8/29/23 were amended and approved unanimously.
11. Adjournment

A motion was made and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at: 10:44am

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. Draft warrant articles re: solar landfill lease
2. Emails re: Conservation Commission