The Kingston Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, Dec. 17. The Selectmen donned festive holiday sweaters. Kingston Police Chief Brian Holmes attended the meeting to speak on the appointment of special police officers and matrons. “We’ll be increasing the number and at the next scheduled meeting, I’ll be requesting that the Board authorize me to call for a list of permanent intermittent civil service part timers; there’s a functional difference between that and special police officers and I’ll be happy to explain that prior to and on the evening that I request that,” Holmes explained.
Selectman Kimberley Emberg read the list of appointments including Michelle E. Beck and Taylor A. O’Neill as Matrons and Darren J. Martin, Marks J. Brenner Jr., and Sean Percy as Special Police Officers. All terms begin January 1, 2025 and end December 31, 2025.
Due to a recent vacancy in the Veteran’s Agent position, Town Administrator Keith Hickey recommended the appointment of Sara Lansing following the recruitment process. The anticipated start date is February 3. Emberg noted that the Wage and Personnel Board, which currently only consists of two members, was split on the paygrade. Emberg said, “I get that we [the Selectmen] are the hiring authority and at the end of the day we can hire people at whatever step we think is appropriate… I can’t support a step 7 given the information we have before us this evening and what was discussed at the Board [Wage and Personnel] meeting last night.” The Selectmen decided to schedule a joint meeting with the Wage and Personnel Board to discuss further prior to approval of the appointment/hiring.
Emberg reviewed the Boards and Committees with openings including two on Capital Planning, one on Wage and Personnel, and a few openings on the Finance Committee. “There are more, but I wanted to call a couple by name,” Emberg said.
Hickey said the flashing school zone lights will be installed on December 26 and 27. “Weather permitting the school zone will be operational and all the necessary lighting up and running by the end of the calendar year so that’s good news,” he said.
Hickey praised the Council on Aging for their Christmas lunch where they served over 100 meals. “Everyone who attended seemed really, really pleased and had a great time. Holly Nighelli, the acting Director, and her staff did a tremendous job as did Santa Clause… everyone had a great time, ate well, laughed – it was nice to see,” Hickey said. Emberg also thanked those involved with the Santa ride through town and for all the donations for Toys for Tots.
The Selectmen reviewed a draft of a timeline for the annual town meeting. Selectmen Chair Eric Crone reminded those in attendance that the Selectmen elected at their December 3 meeting to move the date of town meeting earlier to April 26. Crone said that the Town Clerk has recommended that the election be held on May 17. They voted to approve the schedule as proposed.
The Selectmen also accepted a $1,000 donation to the Kingston Public Library for books, $10,000 to the Kingston Animal Shelter, $100 grocery gift cards to the Veteran’s Department, and $1,100 donation to the Veterans Department.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Monday, Dec. 2. Chair John Traynor introduced Police Chief Matthew Ahl for a departmental update.
“We’re currently going through some issues with hiring and staffing,” Ahl said. He noted that several officers have been out for a month or more due to medical issues. He called the staffing shortage “taxing” and said they have been holding interviews over the recent weeks including a few whom he referred to as “promising.” “We’re trying to kind of work through what’s best and what is best-suited for our department,” Ahl explained. Ahl said that while payroll-wise they were doing fine, the officers have been becoming “burnt out” trying to compensate for the shortages.
Ahl also told Selectmen that the School Resource Officer is expecting a child soon. He said that Officer Tim Johnson had expressed interest in taking over the position. “He does a lot of community events and does shift work for us currently. He’s actually throwing his name in the hat and would love to be integrated down at the school; he’s been helping out at the school to kind of augment,” Ahl said. He further said that Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto had high praise for all officers that have been working at the school.
Ahl said that Sergeant John Simon, who has been out on active military duty, will be back working in the building as of late January. Ahl said that they were eagerly anticipating his return and noted that he was a recent recipient of a Bronze Star. Traynor noted that Representative Kathy LaNatra would also like to be involved in any type of recognition ceremony for Simon.
Ahl also provided an update on their fleet of vehicles referring to two of the cruisers as “bleeding out.” He said that they’ve taken out the internals of one of the cruisers to reappropriate into a new one. “I’ve been in talks with Hanson… they’re going to give us a deal on one of theirs that they just took offline; it’s a very nice cruiser, it’s a 2021, it’s got low low mileage on it,” Ahl explained.
Ahl said that Sgt, Nate Valente was heading up donations for coats and toiletries for people in need. “If anybody in the community is listening and has somebody that could benefit from that, please reach out to Sergeant Nate Valente,” Ahl told those listening. Traynor asked him to reach out to the Council on Aging as well to assess needs.
Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy addressed the unanticipated shortfall in the Dennett Elementary School budget. “As part of remedying that situation, the local School Committee has asked this Board to consider taking a vote to apply $50,000 from the Special Education Reserve Fund to help cover some of these unanticipated costs as most of them originated from special education needs,” Dennehy explained. Traynor said that himself and Selectman Mark Russo went to an extremely well-attended Finance Committee meeting to discuss the shortfall. Russo said, “The numbers at first glance are pretty scary… really my concern on a bigger level is what the heck is going to happen next year; things are going to be even worse,” Russo said. He did say that he was in favor of using the $50,000 this year. The Selectmen, including Selectman Dana Smith, voted unanimously to use the money from the reserve fund this year.
Dennehy told the Selectmen that there was a request from the Conservation Commission to vote on a conservation restriction for a section of property on 31 Parsonage Rd. “It’s not being held by a land trust; it will be held by the Conservation Commission and it’s enforceable for 99 years but as part of that formality or process, it requires a vote of the Board of Selectmen,” Dennehy said. Russo called it a good project and noted that it had been looked at extensively. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the restriction.
Traynor said that his rave was for the Dennett Elementary School Thanksgiving luncheon. He called it the “best event of the year.” Traynor thanked all the volunteers that come together to make it happen.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Town Administrator Cody Haddad spoke on the two articles that will be on the warrant during the Special Town Meeting on Monday, Dec. 16, the first of which is the MBTA multi-family overlay district. Haddad said that the map will be available at the Town Clerk’s office; it will also be available in the warrant. “We’ve heard the feedback from the community that they like as much information as possible in the warrant,” Haddad said.
Selectmen Chair John Bruno spoke on the first article saying, “I do not agree with the MBTA housing law. In my view, the MBTA housing law is an example of what is wrong with Massachusetts State government.” He continued, “this law is a heavy-handed, uninspired, ill considered, one-size-fits-all supposed solution to what has become a cause célèbre among state politicians.” He noted that he and the other Halifax Selectmen oppose the law and even reached out to Halifax’s representatives at the State House.
“I’ve come to understand recently though that there does not appear to be any interest in overturning the MBTA housing law and that, in fact, it is part of a progressive agenda to further causes that I simply do not believe are good for Massachusetts and certainly not good for Halifax,” Bruno said. “It appears to me that if Halifax makes the proposed zoning change this will be nothing more than a win for ever-increasing government mandates and bullying by those currently in power,” he added. He called out the Attorney General specifically for targeting communities that don’t come into compliance. Towns not in compliance are at risk of a loss of state grants. He said that he originally thought that the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee had done a wonderful job coming up with a solution that would be a compromise that would not put the town in jeopardy.
Selig said that he has been up nights debating what the right course of action is on this law. “It’s a no for me right now; I just hope that the folks can understand in this community that there could, and very well will be some consequences and we have to be okay with what those are,” Selig said. He thanked the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee for their work to come up with a plan. Selectman Thomas Pratt said, “I think this is just another example of a 40,000 ft. view that not every town fits into their box and is not created the same; I remain a no vote.”
Haddad told the Selectmen during his update that the Planning Board held their hearing regarding the MBTA zoning bylaw the previous week where they voted unanimously not to recommend the zoning bylaw.
The second article is a petition article from Steve Goodman and 115 other residents to ban the use of personal watercraft on East and West Monponsett Ponds without a resident personal watercraft permit displayed prominently on said vehicle. They are asking for a fine of “not less than $300” for any violations. “A lot of this is really not enforceable,” Haddad said. Selig clarified that according to the petition article, the watercraft would have to be launched from one of two boat ramps in town. He said that he would feel badly if a law abiding resident would suddenly be unable to launch their vehicle from their own property.
The Selectmen held a hearing, in Bruno’s words, “to determine whether a member of the Conservation Commission, Kimberley King, should be removed as a member of the Conservation Commission for the repeated failure to attend meetings of the Conservation Commission.” King was not in attendance. Bruno explained that repeated attempts to reach her went unacknowledged by King. King missed seven of the last ten meetings. “I know her heart is in the right place, but just based on attendance I think it’s in the best interest to remove Ms. King,” Selig said. The Selectmen voted to remove King.
The Selectmen approved an application to use the Town Green for Holidays in Halifax on December 14. There will be ice sculptures, food trucks at the Elementary School, music, and more.
Haddad spoke to the Selectmen about the appointment of an interim Town Accountant. The position has been posted since February of this year and the original intent was to get someone on board prior to Sandy Nolan leaving this past June. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to identify any viable candidates for the town,” Haddad said. Lindsay Martinelli, who is Halifax’s Assistant Town Accountant, has been doing the work to run the department. Haddad said she has been doing a wonderful job and noted that the intention would be to name her as an interim for one year and at the one-year mark, promote her to the permanent position. “It’s nice to promote from within,” Selig noted. The Selectmen agreed to the appointment and voted to approve the one-year contract with Martinelli.
The Plymouth County Commissioner Jared Valanzola presented the town with an oversized check for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Valanzola commended the town for their work on being in compliance in order to be eligible for the funds. He also said that the town had done a good job coming up with uses for the one-time funds. A representative from Senator Michael Brady’s office was also present. Valanzola explained, “Just for the edification of those at home, this program is sunsetting December 31 of this year so the County of Plymouth as well as your own funds that you receive directly from the Federal government need to be committed by Dec. 31 of this year then we have until December 31 of 2026 to get those funds out the door.” He said that to date over $70 million of the $100,000 awarded to Plymouth County has been delivered. “We’re not going to send a dime back to Washington D.C. either,” he said.

The Plympton Finance Committee met on Monday, Nov. 18. The meeting was attended by the Plympton School Committee as well as selectmen and members of the Silver Lake administration.
School Committee Chair Jason Fraser said that the school is projected to be about $250,000 behind where they wanted to finish the year. “We have some painful considerations of how we can handle this in-house,” he said. Fraser told the Committee that they have implemented a spending freeze which should save about $73,000 between now and June though he noted it will have implications for what they will be able to provide for the students at the Dennett. He said that they may also be able to use $50,000 they have in a special ed reserve fund.
“The largest area… is the area of special ed. Under state law, we are obligated to provide students with a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, so we try and balance what the students’ needs are with the realities of what we can afford to give them so they can make effective progress in the classroom,” Fraser said. He told the Finance Committee that they are required by state law to have an ELL teacher. He said they were hoping to be able to contract those services, but they haven’t been able to find a vendor. Fraser said that filling that gap will be an additional cost to the budget that they presented at town meeting last May.
Finance Committee Chair Marilyn Browne asked why the shortfall wouldn’t continue to grow since it had grown exponentially in just a few months. Silver Lake Superintendent Jill Proulx said, “It very well could. Our budget is so lean and we are legally obligated to give students what they need as determined by special education law… the needs of the children either here or moving in can change and once we know that, it dictates the expenses that may be necessary. If something were to go wrong in the building that’s unforeseen that could, again, dictate something that we would have to do in order to continue education in the building.”
Browne inquired if there were any additional funds that could be expected this year that may help with the shortfall. Fraser said, “there’s potentially an option to approach extraordinary relief but we would have to hit certain thresholds, and I don’t know if we’re there.” The threshold is over 125 percent and while it is unlikely, it was said that it wasn’t impossible. School Committee member Jon Wilhelmsen said that special education costs in Plympton schools are being doubled from what was budgeted for this year. Wilhelmsen said that next year, however, the schools should expect to see their special education reimbursement increased due to the increased enrollment. It was said that the State was responsible for these unfunded mandates.
Regarding a possible reduction in paraprofessionals, members of the School Committee pointed out that an out-of-district placement student whose needs cannot be met within Plympton schools, would end up costing far greater than the cost of those paraprofessionals. Fraser called the implications of cutting paraprofessionals the most concerning of all potential cuts to the school’s budget.
Elizabeth Goodman, who has been a teacher at Dennett for 18 years, addressed the Committees regarding the staff’s concern over how the budget cuts could negatively impact the students. “As you heard, we already started this year down a full time math interventionist and a full time para… and recently another paraprofessional position was not rehired… so we’re really concerned that part of the cuts would be the general ed paraprofessionals… that would mean that we would be left with two full-time paraprofessionals to service not only the 32 students with IEPs (Individual Education Plans) over seven grades but the other 217 students who are part of that community… they don’t just cover IEPs… they run reading and math groups. They are a constant in the kids’ lives at recess and at lunch, they greet them every day… they are the glue that holds our whole building together,” Goodman said.
Goodman also spoke about the impact that cutting the custodial staff would have as well. She further said that based on district-wide assessments, 38 percent of the general education students are either partially or not meeting grade level expectations. She said that not meeting their needs is likely going to mean having to meet their special education requirements in the future.
Wilhelmsen said, “I think where we’re at, and we’re not going to make any decisions tonight, but I think the notional thing and I’d ask the administration to take some time and go back and think on it, if that makes sense, in order for us not to do any reductions and in order for us to put the school on the footing to help prevent any out of district placements by putting staff in the classroom, we are short $120,000 for this year.” Fraser asked the Finance Committee if they would favor of using the $50,000 in the special ed reserve fund and was told by Browne that they would need to think on it. Browne said she was still concerned that the deficit will continue to grow.
Selectman Mark Russo asked what kind of motion could be made at special town meeting in May. Wilhelmsen said that it would be a motion asking for a vote to transfer funds potentially in the amount of $120,000 to pay for the school’s budget. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said that if you knew there were going to be excess funds in another department’s budget, you could transfer funds there. Russo expressed concern that if we were to make up the deficit this year, the implications for next year could be even greater. Wilhelmsen said that this is the first year adjusting to all of the changes that were made to the structure of Silver Lake as a district per the state.
Browne asked what the options are for dealing with the shortfall. Fraser said that if they used the full stabilization fund, it would bring the deficit down to about $75,000. Asked about implications to the schools, Fraser said, “That would still require the possible reductions of our three paraprofessionals and would leave us no wiggle room for other unanticipated financial encumbrances.”
Dennehy said, “If your team knows the decision or recommendations of the Finance Committee and those of us at the town level in terms of financial team and everything, with their intentions and recommendations regarding that special ed and the $50,000, if we do that… in the next couple of weeks is that a suitable timeframe in terms of planning purposes?” Fraser said he believed that would be hugely beneficial to the School Committee and might allay some of the concerns of the staff.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, November 12. Chair Eric Crone said that due to recent resignations the positions of Building Commissioner and the Assistant to the Fire Chief were vacant. Following the recruitment process, Town Administrator Keith Hickey recommended the hiring of David Kulikowski as Building Commissioner. Kulikowski, who holds a B.S. and M.S. in Construction Management from the Wentworth Institute of Technology, previously served as Building Inspector in Rockland and Norton. “He is nearly through the process of becoming a Building Commissioner,” Hickey said. Kulikowski is scheduled to begin in early December. The Fire Chief recommended the hiring of Colleen Chase. The Selectmen voted to appoint both.
Hickey told the Selectmen that following the resignation of the Director of Elder Affairs, he gauged interest in creating a new director position that would oversee both the Department of Elder Affairs as well as the Recreation Department. He said that while some larger neighboring communities do have a joint position, most the size of Kingston do not. “I really feel like the Council on Aging Director position should remain as a department head position working independently from the recreation department and keeping the organizational chart… as it exists today,” Hickey said. Selectman Kimberley Emberg said that she felt that it shouldn’t be a one-off conversation so much as something that needs to be reevaluated on a deeper level. She did agree that right now was not the time to explore it though.
During his Town Administrator’s update, Hickey said that the town had met with a vendor about offering online permitting to residents. Online options would be available for transfer station decals, business permits, alcohol licenses, health permits, beach permits, etc. “I think it’s something Kingston is significantly lacking in comparison to other communities – trying to allow people to do their town business online versus having to actually come into a building,” Hickey said.
The first stage of the Blackwater Memorial Forest is underway with the wetland restoration. Trees will be cut among trails to make it a more functional conservation area in the future. He said that the second stage is currently out to bid with numbers expected back by early December.
Hickey thanked the Town Clerk and all the election staff for doing a great job on election day.
Hickey said that the turnout for the veteran’s celebration was “tremendous.” He thanked all those that contributed to making it a success. “This year, Mark Beaton, who owns the Charlie Horse and Plymouth Bay Catering, donated the 140 meals for the Veteran’s Day luncheon,” Hickey told the Selectmen.
Selectman Tyler Bouchard, who said he was a hunter, spoke regarding conservation land and deer hunting and mating season. “If you’ve noticed there’s been a lot more accidents on the street because during that time period they are trying to mate and they run a lot at night… I think it’s just a good thing to remember especially at night and those early mornings and dusk… Also, it’s bow hunting season right now; I’ve also seen some people on Facebook talking about seeing people out in the woods and stuff like that – you know, it’s one of those things we’ve been doing for a couple of thousands of years… and then gun season for deer hunting will start the Monday after Thanksgiving,” Bouchard said. He also said that if you hear gunshots now, it could be due to duck hunting.
The Selectmen held their annual hearing for the classification of property for tax purposes. Principal Assessor Maureen Clarke spoke to those in attendance. She said that currently no parcels are classified as open space in Kingston. She further noted that in Massachusetts, only one community, the town of Bedford, have an open space discount. Clarke also explained the residential exemption saying that unless you have a lot of non-owner-occupied properties, it doesn’t make sense to adopt. The small commercial exemption provides a tax reduction to small commercial property owners at the expense of the larger commercial and industrial properties.
Clarke also shared a graph that showed how the average assessed home value in Kingston has risen from $331,894 in 2016 to $633,409 heading into 2025. The tax rate is increasing this year from $12.71 to $12.97. She also shared that the total property value for the town of Kingston is $3,413,919,852. Residential makes up nearly 87 percent of that property, commercial approximately 7 percent, personal property 5 percent, and industrial is less than 1 percent. Clarke shared that there were 17 new homes in Kingston in the past year. “There’s been no commercial growth, other than a few additions put on the buildings,” she said.
Clarke said that the maximum allowable levy for FY25 is $45,176,552. “The town has decided not to tax to the levy and we are taxing to a levy of $44,266,527,” Clarke said.
She shared what would be an average tax increase based on the average home value in Kingston. The valuation difference would be $41,969 and the average tax bill difference between FY24 and FY25 would be $698.
The Board of Assessors recommended a single tax rate by adopting a minimum residential factor of 1. They recommended not adopting an open space discount, residential exemption, or small business exemption. The Selectmen voted to adopt their recommendation.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, Nov. 4. Library Director Michael Slawson presented to the Board. “For this year, we just finished submitting our yearly reports… we’re compliant with everything for that so we should be eligible as usual for our state aid funding. It’s usually around $5-$6 thousand a year that we get from the state; that’s really important money that we get because that money can be used for anything.”
Regarding circulation numbers, he said that total checkouts went up by nearly 900. He also said that they received a Green Communities Grant for a new heat pump. Additionally, the library received a $20,000 grant from the American Library Association for accessibility. Slawson said that they held a roundtable discussion with patrons to ask for ideas to make the library more accessible. A heated mat will now be on the front entrance ramp to make it less slippery. They’ve also applied for CPC funding for the back patio of the library which Slawson said, “needs to be more usable.” A technology grant from the Association for Rural and Small Libraries allowed for the library to buy all new public computers and a 3-D printer as well as virtual reality.
Slawson also told Selectmen that they are looking to update the adult non-fiction collection. The plan is to weed out anything that hasn’t been checked out in the last three years and update it with new books. Slawson said that they would be moving the non-fiction section to where the fiction section is now.
Selectman Mark Russo asked about the library of things which includes all kinds of “things” from board games, Rokus, puzzles, night vision cameras, etc. Russo suggested something like leaf blowers for this time of year. Slawson said, “one of the ideas for the library of things is getting things that people may use once or twice a year but don’t want to go out and pay $500 for and then use it once, so things like leaf blowers or a lot of libraries will have the roof snow rakes… or a carpet cleaner… why buy it when you can come and check it out at the library.”
The Board held a tax classification hearing. The Assistant Assessor said that she was recommending a factor of one which would have residential, industrial, and commercial properties assessed at the same rate. She gave the percentage of levy by class saying, “residential 75 percent, open space we have zero, commercial 12, industrial 2.9, and personal property 9.3.” She said that for this fiscal year, the average assessed value for a single family house is $532,902, which is up 3.5 percent. The previous year, the average assessed house went up just over 7 percent. She also said that the excess levy capacity for the current year is $283,017. The tax rate is up $0.17 from the previous year. The Selectmen voted to approve everything as presented.
Russo provided an update on the Community Preservation Act funds, saying they had three new applications. He said that while the Committee hadn’t met yet to review, he did want to let his fellow Selectmen know that they were considering three new projects. “Our process is to have a first meeting with the applicants, questions about the projects, potentially suggestions that might help or improve or at least clarify the project and then early next year another meeting to look at any revisions in the applications. At that time, we send the applications out to all the Boards, Commissions, and Committees in town – seek all their input. Once we have their input, we have a public hearing and we decide then which projects will be referred to Town Meeting for a final vote,” Russo explained. He said that the meeting to look at the three projects would be December 3 at 5:30 p.m. at the Townhouse.
The first project is from the library to redo the patio in the back of the building as well as landscaping at a cost of just over $50k. The Recreation Commission has also put in a project to replace a fence as well as do a number of upgrades to the large field. The cost for the project will be approximately $64k. The third project is from the Open Space Committee asking for further preacquisition open space funds in the amount of $40k. “It gives them money to be kind of agile when an opportunity arises,” he said. He noted that it was that type of money that has allowed them to create places like Cato’s Ridge and Turkey Swamp. Russo said, “For citizens concerned about taxes, the money involved in all of these projects is money that has already been collected and included in the 20-30 percent state match that we wouldn’t have otherwise.”
During the Town Administrator’s update, Liz Dennehy said they are planning on having a very preliminary discussion with the Town Properties Committee Chair about their vision for timing and affordability for the Fire Station project. She also said that on November 18 there will be a Finance Committee meeting that will be attended by some people from the school. “I think that they’re having some budget issues at Dennett in this current fiscal year as a result of Silver Lake and special education funding,” Dennehy said.
Dennehy also said that the Recreation Commission is finishing off their original CPC project. She said that they are completing some last minute surficial work at Holt Field like some lips in the concrete. She said they are also working to smooth the surface for the site of the future walking path. “It’s all pre-approved and it’s pretty much all being done with volunteers… it’s really remarkable,” Dennehy said. “If somebody had told me two years ago, we would have lights on the field, we’d have graded the field for the smaller field, and we’re having new fencing… it takes people with the energy to go out and make that happen,” Selectman John Traynor said.
The Selectmen finished their meeting with their raves. Russo said that his rave was for the Community Preservation Act and the Committee. “The Community Preservation Act gives us the chance to work on these kinds of projects that might not be done otherwise and I think part of the genius was the name – community preservation is exactly what these projects are doing. It is open space preservation, historic preservation, those kinds of things that make a community and preserve a community.”
Traynor said that his rave was for the election drawing to a close. He also gave a “shout out” to the Council on Aging and the Director of Elder Affairs for putting on a Veterans Breakfast/Buffet each month. “I think it’s really important and they’re doing a great job and if there are any veterans out there that aren’t aware of it, they should drop in,” he said.