EAST LONGMEADOW – The East Longmeadow Town Council met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Dec. 10 to announce the finalists for the town manager position and to discuss several licensing matters, a review of the town’s quarterly budget report for the Fiscal Year 2020 Enterprise and Revolving Funds among other topics.

The Tuesday meeting opened as usual with the town manager’s report, during which interim Town Manager Mary McNally announced she was putting the finishing touches on the town’s annual report. She said, “We’re just about ready to publish the town’s annual report, it took a little longer than expected after there was a delay with Marge Laroca’s retirement. But I’ve proofread it, made corrections and it should be ready to publish soon.”

After McNally’s report, the council motioned to move out of order to old business to receive the names of the finalists for East Longmeadow’s open town manager position. Council President Kathleen Hill expressed excitement toward the announcement, but was also noted she was thankful for the screening committee’s work. “We thank you very much for the efforts you’ve devoted to this task. It feels like the Oscar night, we’re waiting for the envelope with the names,” she said.

Andy Frasier, the chair of the screening committee, came forward with Bernie Lynch of Community Paradigm, the consulting company assisting with the town manager search to discuss the process and announce the candidates. Frasier explained they held two meetings, including the interview day, which consisted of eight, 75-minute interviews over the course of a 10- hour day.

Lynch then announced the names of the final four candidates: Tom Guerino, Mary McNally, Jennifer Wolowicz and Ron San Angelo. The council then announced that they would be hosting the final set of interviews for the open town manager position on Dec. 18.

With the finalists for the open town manager position announced, the meeting moved into its first public hearing of the night regarding a proposed zone change at Rear Pease Road from Resident AA to Industrial/Industrial Garden Park. However, the petitioner requested the hearing be moved to Jan. 28, which the council approved.

The council then jumped right into the second public hearing of the night to discuss a proposed bylaw, which would establish a Charter Review Committee for its first reading. Council member R. Patrick Henry read off the proposed bylaw and the specifications required for its members.

Hill added that the council wanted the public’s help for this topic. “We are seeking applicants and stressing that we’re looking for registered voters to help with this,” she said. The council will address the bylaw again at its Jan. 14 meeting for a second reading.

With the public hearings out of the way, the council quickly ran through a list of license renewals for 2020, which they unanimously approved.

The council then approved two one-day liquor licenses for the Masonic Temple, one on Dec. 24 for a Christmas Party and the second on Jan. 11 for a birthday party.

Finance Director Sara Menard then stepped forward to discuss the town’s quarterly budget report for the Enterprise and Revolving funds, after she was requested to do so at the council’s Nov. 26 meeting. As a part of the report she discussed accounts for the town’s solid waste revolving fund, the Council on Aging revolving fund and the health revolving budget. She then moved into the report in regard to the Enterprise funds including the sewer and waste fund and the storm water fund, among other funds. Menard explained that in every case, the funds were doing better than expected.

Throughout the presentation both councilors Henry and Thomas O’Connor had a litany of questions for Menard to clarify different line items and other parts of the report, particularly when it came to larger expenses. “I think when you have a large amount of money, it’s necessary to break it out and tell us what it is, especially when it’s that big,” O’Connor said.

Henry added, “I agree with Tom, something like this, 60 grand, a million, those are things that should be much easier to understand.”

With the budget report out of the way the council moved out of order to discuss the special audit of the town clerk as of the last day of employment, and Menard stayed in front of the council to discuss the bylaw. When the audit was originally brought up at an earlier meeting, the council questioned if it would have to be conducted in addition to the annual audit. Menard explained that that was indeed the case. “When the charter changed and the collector, treasurer, clerk position divide we had to do a similar thing, so we had to do an audit from July 1 to May back in 2016. So now we would have to do an audit from July 1 to Sept. 30, Mr. Florence’s last day,” she explained.

Menard added that the audit could be internal or external and the council could specify what to look into. As of now she said the audit would cost around $2,000, but that could change depending on the audit’s actual scope. The council approved the audit unanimously.

To close the meeting the council did a final review of the amendments to the town council’s rules by proofreading and editing the specifics of certain rules, all of which the council initially reviewed at the Nov. 26 meeting. The council unanimously approved the edits and changes to its rules.