The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, April 11. Selectman Chair John Bruno said he wanted to provide an update on the MBTA Action Plan. “Just to refresh our memories, the State, about two years ago, passed a law regarding what they call MBTA communities, which lucky for us we are one, where they are trying to force us to change our zoning to add a significant amount of multi-family housing. I don’t have any problem with multi-family housing, and I do think we need to add some to Halifax. What I do have a problem with is overreach of the State government on this project,” Bruno said. He further said that he had drafted a letter stating his opinion which he would like to see sent to State representatives and surrounding towns. He then proceeded to read the letter which can be found in the recording of the Selectmen’s meeting on Area 58. “Glad to sign it and send it along,” Selectman Jonathan Selig said. “I think the only way we can really address this, other than crossing our arms and refusing to do it, which is going to cause problems, is to bring our representatives in – that’s what their job is. Their job is not to show up on Facebook every other day saying I went to a Needle Scout ceremony, I just got appointed to this community or that community – their job is to look out for us and I think we need to put the heat on a little bit… it’s time that they did their work,” Bruno said.
Bruno said that Police Chief Joao Chaves, Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward, and Fred Corrigan with the Traffic Safety Committee were all in attendance to discuss changing the speed limits on Route 106. “You can’t just go changing speed limits, especially on 106 or any numbered road. We might take care of it, but it is still a State road, so you have to have studies done,” Hayward said. He further said that the change would be to make the speed limit 25 mph throughout all of Halifax unless otherwise posted. Corrigan argued using excerpts from State law that you do not need a survey done to change the speed limit.
Chaves said that it was brought up at Town Meeting a few years ago and voted down. “The issue with asking the State to do a study is they could actually tell us, your street is too low,” Chaves said. He further said that 85 percent of the vehicles that travel that road do so at an average speed of 41 mph when the posted speed limit is 35. Corrigan noted that Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) does these studies without additional cost to the town. Selig said, “I know there have been residents that have been concerned where 106 is getting built up with businesses so I wouldn’t be opposed to slowing things down in that business area but we just have to be sure we aren’t opening up a can of worms with setting a town-wide speed limit so I would be for the OCPC recommendation.” Corrigan asked if anyone asked why the Traffic Safety Committee was formed and Bruno said, “I absolutely do” and referenced a pedestrian that was struck. The Selectmen agreed to contact OCPC.
Appointment to Zoning By-Law Review Committee
The Selectmen had an appointment with Jeremy Gillespie to discuss his appointment to the Zoning By-Law Review Committee. “I just see a lot of things in there that could be simplified and then things that need to be addressed,” Gillespie said. “I know… you’re a very passionate guy especially about environmental things in the town… you’d be open to, I guess, other takes on different issues and other ideas and working together to come to some sort of consensus?” Selig asked. Gillespie said “absolutely.” Resident Alan Dias spoke up saying, “I did send a letter to the Board suggesting that they not appoint Mr. Gillespie based on his Facebook posts, his anonymous complaints to DEP, Conservation Commission and I don’t know that that type of action would be helpful to the town.” A Conservation Commission member disputed the claims saying that Gillespie never files anonymous complaints. Bruno said that he doesn’t have a problem with someone being passionate and unafraid to tell the town when they are wrong. The Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint Gillespie.
50k for Park Commission and Youth and Recreation
Bruno said that there was an issue of $50,000 that needs to be allocated between the Park Commission and the Youth and Recreation Commission. At a previous Selectmen’s meeting, the Board had gone over Youth and Rec Director Dick Steele’s proposals for using a share of the funds. Steele said that they were looking to take care of some of the more costly items in their small budgets. He noted that they were looking for approximately $16,000. The Selectmen agreed to submit the Youth and Rec request for the $16,000 of earmarked funds while allowing the Park Commission to take another week to finalize their requests for the remaining $34,000.
Open Seat on Board of Registrars
Haddad told the Selectmen that there was an opening for the Republican seat on the Board of Registrars. He said that the Board of Registrars would submit three recommendations or nominations and then the Selectmen would select one for a three-year term. The Selectmen had a brief discussion regarding whether to choose Gordon C. Andrews or Summer Schmaling. “I know they’re both passionate Republicans and I think both would, for that capacity, be fine – splitting hairs,” Selectman Selig said. Bruno moved that they appoint Schmaling and they all agreed unanimously. “And that’s just because I had to pick one,” Bruno explained.
Morse Brothers Update
Haddad said, “they did notify us that they would be moving a second pile of dirt with two trucks – they would be avoiding the school bus schedule. We obviously have had various discussions with counsel and engineers, we brought in our Water Commissioners, Water Superintendent to make sure that there was no negative impact on the water. We’ve been assured by everyone involved that there is not and at this point, they are not digging anything further.”
Review of Town Meeting Articles
Haddad said that Town Meeting would be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 8. “It’s only an annual town meeting, we do not have a special town meeting,” he explained. He said that the election would be on Saturday, May 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Haddad reviewed the articles with the Selectmen. “Many of the articles are housekeeping, annual articles,” Haddad said. There were no significant changes to salaries of town employees. He did note that they are recommending a part-time Conservation Agent. “The Wetlands Protection Act and our bylaws are very diverse and they require a professional who really understands this. If we get a call for enforcement, we are really limited in who can go out and make that assessment,” Haddad said. He noted that it was a recommendation of the Conservation Commission. The town also wishes to add a Deputy Chief to the Police Department.
Regarding the schools’ budgets, Haddad said that overall, they are at a 2.9 percent increase, and the Elementary School is at a 5 percent increase. “We’ve had discussions with our schools to voice our concerns that we cannot continue to sustain large increases like this,” Haddad said. There was an article for $38,000 to support the School Resource Officer.
“We have a total operating budget of $28,113,913 for this year,” Haddad said. “One million more than last year,” Bruno said. Haddad noted that despite the large increase, the budget is mostly level-funded.
Some of the larger expenses from the Capital Plan article included a wield excavator for the Highway Department for $150,080, ADA Compliance projects for $500,000, town hall portico repairs for $50,000, library window replacements for $45,000, A fire command vehicle for the Fire Department for $80,000, and two police cruisers for $110,000.
Article 22 allows the Board of Selectmen to lease a landfill for the purposes of solar for up to 30 years. Article 23 is a petition article to increase the size of the Board of Selectmen from 3 to 5 members. Article 24 is an article to change the Town Clerk, Highway Surveyor, and Treasurer/Collector from elected to appointed. Bruno noted that he was not in favor of either Articles 23 or 24. “I don’t see how it gets any more efficient by increasing the size,” Bruno said of increasing the members on the Board of Selectmen.
Teachers voted 3% increase
The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, March 27. Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto provided an update. He said that current enrollment stands at 241 students. Veneto said that the School Psychologist Mrs. Jenkins had a baby boy in March. He also said that on March 16 the Dennett students performed at the All-Band District Concert. “This is something that did not even exist seven, eight months ago… they did a great job.” Veneto also said that they recently held their school talent show. He thanked Mrs. Hemple, Mrs. Hickey, Mrs. Sheehan, Mrs. Prario, and Mrs. Murphy for their work on the talent show. Veneto noted that there were a lot of school events upcoming with spring on the horizon. Those include Field Day, Future Laker Day, Ride Your Bike to School Day, and potentially a blood drive in June.
Veneto said, “The Fire Department came down to do lessons with all our students from kindergarten to Grade 6. They did a great job, and the kids really got a lot out of it: I witnessed some kids playing jeopardy games; I saw fifth and sixth grade kids actually putting on helmets and jackets and putting out a live fire.” He thanked Captain John Sjostedt.
Regarding contract negotiations, the Committee voted to approve the contract with the teachers for a three percent increase over the next three years. They also voted to approve the aides’ contract at a three percent increase over the next two years.
Committee member Jason Fraser spoke on behalf of two updated policies. “These are the policies that we spoke about a meeting or two ago… one on surveys being given to our students here at the Dennett and some of the polices and protocols we would like to see in place to ensure that parents have all due notice, both the fact that they are coming, the content of the questions, access to the questions, and contact people for opting-out and also the guidance office reaching out,” Fraser said. “The security policy has to do with who has access to our security cameras and under what situations,” he explained regarding the second policy. The Committee voted unanimously to accept the policies.
Fraser also touched on SEL (social and emotional learning). “The SEL working group is actually a mixture of School Committee, parents, administrators, and teachers working together to try and bring programming that is consistent within the school building to have consistent expectations within the building, consistent language from classroom-to-classroom K-6,” Fraser explained. “I appreciate being part of the group… I appreciate the teachers who volunteered to help with the early work, but this is really something that we’re going to have to wrap our arms around and really join as a community to make sure we are supporting our kids here,” Fraser said.
The Legislative report was given by Fraser who said that remote participation will be extended until March of 2025. “Extra dollars to make sure that the free school meals for all we hope to go through June 30,” Fraser explained. He continued, “Other than that, the House Ways and Means Committee has had some testimony delivered to them for some of the other items that we would like to see included in this year’s budget, but nothing has been reported out.” May 4 will be MASC (Massachusetts Association of School Committees) Day on the Hill. He said that people will be invited to hold meetings with their State representatives and State Senators.
Superintendent Jill Proulx told the Committee that Silver Lake Youth Cheer wished to have registration flyers sent home with students advertising the program. Proulx made it clear that despite their name, they are not affiliated with the school. Similarly, Silver Lake Hoops, which is a private program not affiliated with the schools either, also wished to have their flyers distributed in the schools. Proulx noted that the program has been running in the district for at least as long as she has been there. The Committee voted to approve.
Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen told the Committee that the school would have a warrant article at the upcoming town meeting for $30,000 to complete work on the three classroom floors that were requested. There will also be an article at the special town meeting to move $60,000 from out-of-district vocational and then another still undetermined amount to be transferred from regular day as there was some surplus there. They will also need another transfer from some other town source. “Just to clarify all of the transfers are for this year to supplement our special education line due to some changes in tuition and education that were not anticipated in last year’s budget,” Wilhelmsen explained.
Regarding the additional surfacing that needs to be laid on the playground. Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that they can use the Mass Higher Education Consortium to lay the surfacing. This would allow for it to be done as quickly as possible, ideally as soon as school wraps for the year.
Regarding solar panels, Wilhelmsen told the Committee that they likely noticed some paneling already on the building. “They’re moving fast with that; they’re moving forward in April,” he said. He noted that the town would be paying to have five or six different boxes that will be added to the building. They won’t all be able to be placed at ground level so siding will be removed from a section to put in a proper backer board. This would allow for siding to be replaced in the future without disrupting the board.
Wilhelmsen told the Committee that they had some equipment in the Dennett kitchen to be declared surplus. Nutrition Director Megan Ahrenholz asked that the Committee vote to approve declaring both the steamer and steam kettle as surplus as she has a grant to purchase updated equipment. “It’s important to note that… some of the equipment we are getting rid of has been here for 50 years so it’s definitely time for an upgrade and I’m sure it will have a significant impact on our electricity bill,” Wilhelmsen said.
Proulx said that the next meeting would be the school choice hearing which is held annually. The meeting will be on Monday, April 24.
Halifax votes down school choice
The Halifax School Committee met on Monday, April 3. They began the meeting with their annual school choice hearing. Committee Chair Summer Schmaling said, “school choice allows residents and students from other towns to choose Halifax Elementary as a school that they can send their child to even if they don’t live in our district.” No one from the public asked to speak during the hearing and there was no conversation amongst the Committee on the topic. Superintendent Jill Proulx said that the Committee would need to cite a reason for declining school choice. Schmaling said that she felt it would be a financial hardship to the town to accept school choice as well as the negative impact it could potentially have on class sizes. The Committee voted unanimously against school choice.
For correspondence, Schmaling said that Committee member Jim Keegan had submitted his letter of resignation with a year left on his term. “His position is open on the ballot in the spring,” Schmaling explained.
Updates were given for the standing committees including PTO. It was said that they are running an HES apparel fundraiser. Discussion was also had at the last PTO meeting surrounding the increased costs associated with busing for field trips. There was some talk of fundraising per grade rather than per pupil since some grades have significantly more students than others.
Principal Kayne Beaudry said that Grade 5 had MCAS for ELA the first week of April and Grades 4 and 6 the second week of April. Grade 3 will have their ELA MCAS the week after April vacation. Beaudry also said that they had a 70 percent response rate to the School Council survey. Schmaling asked what the survey included. “Every couple of years, we put together a survey that we send out to families and it’s about the climate in the building, the effectiveness of our staff, the relationships that we’re building here in the school; and it’s all designed around our strategy for district improvement at the building level,” Beaudry explained. Beaudry said that the book fair during conferences raised almost $15,000. He said that the PTO “generously bought a book for every student in kindergarten through fourth grade.”
Beaudry told the Committee that each year they send out a student placement feedback form for parents. He said that placement teams are starting up now before the end of the school year. “We don’t take teacher requests, but we look for some feedback in terms of how their child learns best or if there’s any particular friendships or any details that a placement team will know,” he explained.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said he had an update on the elementary school team leadership meeting on March 16. He said that Beaudry and Assistant Principal Brian DeSantes shared their data on student growth with the other elementary school principals in the district. “They played a leadership role in our session by sharing their data… and the way in which they track student growth and achievement over the course of the year… they did a great job with the visual display… we thought that was great to share with all of our elementary principals because data analysis is a key part of student growth,” Lynch said. Lynch said that the assessment tools used include both DIBELS and Star Math and Star Reading. Beaudry said that the most useful data is typically from the spring scores to the fall ones as there is usually a dip over the summer.
Kingston school committee votes budget
The Kingston Elementary School Committee met on Monday, March 20. Town Treasurer Carl Pike asked to speak at the beginning of the meeting regarding the budget. He called himself a strong supporter of schools and school budgets over the last decade before saying that it was difficult for him to speak up regarding the preliminary budget and what it would do to the Town’s overall finances. He noted the $2.1 million increase this year saying that even with $600,000 removed due to increases in state aid, they were still at an increase of approximately $1.5 million. “What that does to the residents of the town of Kingston – we have about 4,500 residential parcels so that would equate to about $350 of a tax increase for every residential house in the town of Kingston for the next fiscal year.”
Pike also spoke about what the school’s increase would mean for the rest of the town. Pike said that the other town departments were challenged to stay around a 2 percent increase. “We have always strived to leave about a million dollars on the table; what that means is if I could tax the residents $40 million across the town, we try to only tax them $39 million so there’s a million on the table.” He said that with the school’s increase that wouldn’t be possible. He noted that this leaves the town in a dangerous position. He noted that the million dollars carrying over each year prevents a Prop 2.5 override. He encouraged the School Committee to reconsider their budget saying that he would have trouble supporting it as-is and said he suspects that the Finance Committee and Selectmen likely would also have difficulty supporting it.
Selectman Sheila Vaughn, who noted she is also the parent of an incoming kindergartener, thanked Pike but said it is very difficult to run a school and level-fund it. “We have schools… we need to be taking care of them… we’ve done more with the legislature to try to secure more funding,” Vaughn said. She said that cuts always come out of the regular day operating budget because it is difficult to cut from special education and out of district vocational. “We have parents and we have people who will support this,” she said.
Superintendent Jill Proulx shared version three of the budget with the Committee. She noted that Circuit Breaker was still estimated at 70 percent. “No cuts were made to this since the last time we met… regular day in this includes the addition of three classroom teachers, one kindergarten para, a 0.5 para, $60,000 in equipment, 0.4 music, and 0.4 art bringing it to a 9.53 percent increase. “Special education in this budget, we have added the paraprofessionals for the program, we have added the behaviorist… they show up in the form of tuition increases… so now special education is at 23.2 increase,” Proulx told the Committee. She said that there was some discussion about using free cash and carrying over some of Circuit Breaker into FY24. “We are very much open to that idea,” Proulx said. Committee member Tim Lewis said he was “absolutely passionate” about the three new classroom teachers and the special education educator.
There was some discussion about whether the behaviorist was necessary. Some Committee members argued that the time taken away from students while teachers dealt with these issues was immeasurable. Other Committee members felt that the data was not there to warrant the position. Kingston Intermediate School (KIS) Principal Mike Bambery said that the need was imminent due to the strain on other staff. Coleman spoke in favor of the behaviorist but questioned the need for a third classroom teacher. She did note, however, that she didn’t want to be put in the position they are in now where kindergarten parents are outraged about the large class sizes which are approaching 30.
Proulx said that in speaking with the Technology Director and the Curriculum Coordinator “we felt that we could absorb $19,000 for curriculum and $30,000 for technology because we felt we could move some of that into ESSSER.” The Committee also discussed reducing positions, such as music from 0.4 to 0.2., to save money. Proulx pointed out that it would be difficult to find someone to take over a 0.2 position. Coleman said that she was comfortable bringing the budget as-is to the Town Meeting floor. Lewis said that one hundred percent of the people at the public budget hearing supported the budget. Coleman said that she spoke to a mother of a kindergartener and a third grader who moved across the country sight unseen in part because of the Kingston’s schools. “I don’t want to lose that,” she said.
There was considerable conversation around the budgetary impacts of students who transfer into the district mid school year. Lewis asked, “Am I correct in saying that there is a law on the books that if a student moves into the district after a certain date than the previous district owns that bill; so when we talk about an extraordinary year because of move-ins, aren’t those move-ins being paid for by the previous district?” Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable said “Correct, there is an April 1 move-in law, so if there is someone who moves into our district after April 1 that we did not have a chance to budget for, then that district owns and assumes the tuition for the rest of the school year but there are other taxes.” If students moved-in earlier than April 1, the district still has to pay for them regardless of those students not being included in the approved budget.
The excess cost that was spoken of was $700,000. Grable said that the bulk of that came from students who turned 3, move-ins, and some out-of-district placements that were not foreseen. Grable explained that if students that move-in are private then the April 1 law applies. She continued, “if they are collaborative, then we look to see if we have some in-district program that can meet their needs, so we are not bound to the move-in law if we have a comparable program.” Grable said, “we received students that weren’t on an IEP that were challenging to place; I’m really toeing the line here.” Committee Chair Jeanne Coleman said, “I think the majority of the public might be able to connect some pieces with the timeline that we’re looking at… and now we’re fiscally responsible… and the State dropped the ball on providing appropriate funding.” While it was not explicitly stated, the implication was that the conversation centered around the 64 migrant children who were housed in a hotel in Kingston in October. Director of Business Services clarified that that situation only made up a small portion of the additional expenses.
After considerable conversation and debate, the Committee voted to approve a regular day operating budget of $10,410,747, a special education budget of $6,354,065, and an out of district vocational education budget of $228,000. Coleman noted that the increase was actually 8.6 percent.
The Committee listened to some changes to two policies that were previously discussed at the Halifax and Plympton School Committees. The first dealt with access to security footage from the schools. The changes allowed for more emergency services to access the footage in the event of an emergency. Previously, only Police were allowed but the changes allowed for both Dispatch and Fire and Rescue to also view them. The second policy was regarding the opt-out option for parents for student surveys. Parents have the option to opt-out of the social and emotional surveys being administered by the schools. The Committee voted to approve both policies.
During the Teacher’s Corner for the month of March it was said that the reading focus was Dr. Suess. It was noted that author, Beth Ferry, came to work with students and would be returning to work on creating their own books. The second grade participated in a March Madness book tournament where books went head-to-head until one was voted as the favorite. The first grade participated in a STEM project creating Leprechaun traps. After School programs led by KES teachers and being put on by Kingston Youth and Rec have been very successful.
KES Principal Kerri Whipple provided an update saying the focus of the past month has been curiosity. Whipple called Ferry’s visit a success and noted that they had positive feedback on the visit from many families especially those with students with special needs. Whipple said that the first-grade celebrated beach day where they studied marine animals. Whipple said that the program “germs alive” was incredible. “There’s a lot of events coming up; it’s our busy time of year,” she told the Committee.
Bambery also provided an update on recent goings on at KIS. He said that the infrastructure trials for MCAS have gone well. He said that the student/staff basketball game went wonderfully, selling the entire place out. “The kids just had a fantastic time; I had kids coming up to me harassing me because I didn’t call any fouls,” he said laughing. Bambery also said that the fifth grade would be going on a field trip and the sixth grade would be having a cyber-bullying presentation.
Halifax hears senior housing plan
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, March 28. Representatives of Thorndike Development, including President Lloyd Geisinger, appeared before the Selectmen to discuss the development of the property at 265 Monponsett St. Geisinger said they also purchased 266 across the street. He said that they were considering a senior housing alternative that would be a much smaller project in scale than the one originally presented. Geisinger said it would require town meeting action. He said that each building would be three stories and have 36 apartments.
Geisinger said that one problem was that projects of this scale require an on-site sewerage treatment facility and they run $2.5 million to build. “They push these types of developments into that 200-unit range because to do any less… winds up making the projects uneconomic,” he explained. He said if they were to go the senior housing route, they could make it work financially to reduce the 200-unit affordable housing option that would not be age-restricted to a 72-unit senior, over 55+, housing facility. The units would be “for sale” condominiums that would go for $400,000 and up. Geisinger said that Thorndike Development would consider donating some of the land and assisting financially in the development of a new Council on Aging building in close proximity to the residential building. He said that they would even potentially consider gifting the town the land as well as paying for the construction.
Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “I’m enthusiastic about it; I’ll say that right up front.” He continued, “I know that land is going to get developed eventually; it’s just sitting there too long without being developed so to make it fit in the character is really my biggest concern. I don’t know, with two buildings in that one big area is much better than those 200 units you had in there before.” He noted that Lydon Lane was over 100 units. “I would love to move forward with it,” Bruno concluded. Selectman Jonathan Selig said, “I don’t think we should shut it down; I think it’s definitely worth kicking the tires on.” Selectman Naja Nassralla agreed saying he liked the idea of the Council on Aging being placed nearby.
The Board of Selectmen voted to approve a contract with American Thunder Fireworks in the amount of $12,500 that will be covered by donations. It was announced during the meeting that MacDonald Industries had recently donated $10,000 to the Halifax Fireworks Committee.
The Board of Selectmen voted to sign off on and approve a Municipal Employee Disclosure for Margaret Selter. Selter will be working two separate jobs now as an administrative assistant for the Board of Health as well as Conservation.
Town Administrator Cody Haddad told the Selectmen that the twenty-first annual Harbor to the Bay bike ride will take place on September 23. They plan to make a pit stop in Halifax at the Halifax boat ramp. The Police Department had previously signed off and the Selectmen voted to approve it.
Haddad told the Selectmen that after going through the procurement and receiving bids for the Pine Street bridge work, they “actually came in lower than expected.” He continued, “This has been a project that has been in the works for quite some time.” The Selectmen voted to approve the contract in the amount of $984,500 with Kenefick Corporation. It had previously been approved by Haddad and Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward.
Bruno talked about holding the Selectmen’s meetings at various locations throughout town. “It gives us the opportunity to have people on tv see some of the town buildings and departments; we’ll emphasize that department when we go there… places that will work… the Library, the Fire House, the Recycling Center, the Town Barn, maybe the School… it gives the town the opportunity to see some of these things,” Bruno said. He said that it would give recognition to some people that might not ordinarily get it for the jobs they do well.
Haddad said that at a previous Selectmen’s meeting, the Parks Department had requested utilization of some earmarked funds. The Board had asked for some more defined uses. They also asked that Parks reach out to Youth and Recreation Commission Director Dick Steele to see if he had interest in the funds. Haddad said that Steele has presented several projects that he would like to have completed with half of the funding which is $25,000. Haddad said he is looking to do a turf area, install batting cages, some fencing behind the elementary school, and some field work. Haddad said he has not heard back from Parks regarding their intended uses though he noted their preference was to use the bulk of the money since they don’t receive the same funding as Youth and Rec.
Bob Kniffen and Robert Hodge appeared before the Selectmen on behalf of the Friends of the Library to get permission to place two small, little free libraries on town property at HOPS under the gazebo and another on the Route 36 beach area. He said the books would be donations from the Friends of the Library book sale. The Selectmen voted to approve the request.
Haddad addressed the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds that were received by both the Town and the County. He said that while much of that money was earmarked for water, sewer, HVAC, etc. he noted that some of it was for lost funds. He said that the money would need to be spent by 2024. He asked the Selectmen for approval on these projects saying that it would leave about $100,000 in ARPA funding available. The first project was HR services as the Town doesn’t have a dedicated Human Resources department. He said that another project, that he was still waiting for a final number for, was the school HVAC. Another project was $50,000 for replacing town furniture that was badly worn. There was also $50,000 for upgrading the Great Hall to make it better for meetings. There was another request for adding a separate sleeping arrangement to the Fire House. There were a number of other requests including an IT consultant for $30,000. The Selectmen agreed that all of the projects felt necessary.
Members of the Planning Board were in attendance to discuss support staff. Haddad said that both the Planning Board and Zoning Board were in need of a 15-hour per week support staff member. Haddad presented the idea of combining the positions to create a full-time Planning and Zoning Administrative Assistant. Haddad said that the Planning Board did not recommend moving forward with his plan, so he asked them to come to meet with selectmen to discuss. Bruno acknowledged that the job has changed significantly since the days of it consisting of mostly secretarial work like minute taking. He said that this is particularly true for regulatory Boards like Planning and Zoning. After much discussion, the Selectmen voted to combine the position.
The Selectmen voted to approve the closing of the annual and special town meeting warrant.
Halifax FinCom budget votes
The Halifax Finance Committee met on Monday, March 13. Town Accountant Sandy Nolan and Town Administrator Cody Haddad met with the Committee to go over their recommendations for the town budget. During the meeting, Haddad told the Committee that Nolan would be retiring at the end of the year. Finance Committee Chair Todd Dargie called it a “significant loss to the town.”
The Committee voted unanimously to recommend all level-funded budget items. They also made a blanket vote to recommend all budget lines that were decreasing.
ADA Compliance projects were listed with a placeholder of $500,000. Dargie explained that the Building Department was working to finalize a list of actual projects and costs that the Committee would need prior to voting to recommend or not.
Regarding the schools, Haddad said, “quite a significant increase here in the elementary school; Sandy and I did express our concern to them that we can’t sustain a six percent increase.” He noted that the Silver Lake assessment was only an increase of $1,000. The debt for the fire suppression system at the elementary school is increasing by $10,000. “We’ve really just started on that debt… we still have about 18 years on the fire suppression,” Nolan said.
Haddad explained to the Committee that the schools would have a capital item for HVAC upgrades at Silver Lake Regional High School and that Halifax’s share would be $202,458. Haddad said, “we have a stabilization fund that was made back in 2016 – basically, Silver Lake had excess funding and they had to return it to the towns – a little over $300,000. Last year we appropriated $110 [thousand] for the tennis courts…. It’s certainly something we can handle, and it makes sense to pull it from the stabilization fund – that’s what it was created for.” Dargie said that the only downside would be that it would “wipe out that account.”
Haddad addressed the changes to the legal budget saying that last year, they voted to recommend a figure of $124,500. Haddad said that they have come in over that number for the last couple of years. To account for that, Haddad increased the budget for legal expenses to $139,500. The Committee voted to recommend the new number.
There was an increase in electricity rates for Town Hall which was recommended by the Committee. “We feel good about getting another good rate,” Haddad said of the small increase. There were some other smaller increases addressed including the audit, website and music expense, and barn maintenance. The Committee also approved a $7,699 increase to the water supply, a $4,000 increase to the water insurance, and a $15,700 increase to water retirement. A gas and oil increase was also approved.
There is a $29,764 increase in the IT expense budget. “A big part of it is that multi-factor authentication; it’s required by your insurance company… so that’s about $15-$20,000 of the increase just in having to implement that software,” Haddad said.
There was a $2,500 increase to recruitment and employment costs that Haddad said would be used for advertising open positions as well as providing adequate training for the staff. The Committee voted to recommend the increase. There was a new cost of just over $40,000 to add a Conservation Agent. “You’re seeing more and more projects come forward that are involving conservation; Halifax is one of the only communities in the area that doesn’t have professional staff for conservation,” Haddad said.
The position was estimated based on 32 hours per week. The Committee asked for more information before voting to recommend.
Haddad also addressed an increase to regulatory clerical. He said that they are looking to make the positions more of an administrative assistant rather than a secretary. “The skill level required for these is far beyond what we consider a secretary… they’re working with engineers, attorneys, the applicants regularly,” Haddad explained. He said that they are also looking to combine the planning and zoning positions to create one full-time position. Haddad noted that these positions have been vacant for several months and said it is very difficult to recruit someone for a 15-hour per week position.
Haddad also explained about the contracted-out animal control expenses. The budgeted amount of $29,952 was the maximum as it was a not to exceed contract. Police Chief Joao Chaves called it a great deal. The Committee voted to approve the increase.
Haddad addressed trash collection/disposal increases. “There’s going to be some significant changes coming overall, the trash pickup as well, the existing vendor has stated that them and others are going more toward the totes – it’s easier for them; they’re not getting out and getting a bag so we’re going to be doing a procurement to get a best price and we’ll likely be switching to totes so there will be a cost associated with that,” Haddad said. The Finance Committee said that they would schedule Recycling to come to a meeting to discuss.
Haddad also told the Committee that Health Agent Bob Valery was recommending $5,000 for beaver remediation. The Committee voted to recommend the increase. Haddad asked the Committee to hold off on voting to recommend the Council on Aging (COA) increase as he said he wanted to sit down with COA Director Darlene Regan to go over it first. The Committee voted to recommend mild increases to both veterans’ affairs and library.
The Park Department is looking to increase their expenses and wages. Committee member Frank Johnston said that the $4,100 was to pay someone minimum wage to act as a parking attendant for Memorial through Labor Day weekends. Chief Chaves said, “I think if we had an attendant there that would deter non-residents from trying to park there.” The Committee approved the increases to the Park Department. They also approved an increase to Plymouth County retirement.
The Committee voted to recommend the group insurance town share with an increase of $73,819. Haddad told them that other insurance including liability, property, and auto would be increasing by seven percent. “I think you heard me mention earlier about our risk management; we need to do a better job of mitigating risk; we haven’t been the best at it recently and as a result our policy is increasing quite a bit,” Haddad said.
Finally, before adjourning, Haddad acknowledged that it has been “standard practice” to try and leave $300,000 of the levy available. He said, “Speaking with Sandy, this was done in an effort – it was anticipated that our retirement costs were going to increase significantly and we’ve reached that time; our retirement costs are increasing significantly and I think you can see in the budget here, there really aren’t significant changes. Most departments did a nice job of level funding and I think any of the changes that are being requested – at least any of the ones that I’m recommending… they’re vital to operations. When you get down to it, this budget doesn’t include any across the board increases… in conjunction with the large increase in retirement, we’re getting to the point where it’s really not going to be feasible for the town to leave that $300,000 in the levy.” He continued, “I think it’s done what it was meant to do and it’s covered us… our staff is underpaid and we really need to do right by our staff and our budget here doesn’t include that.” Haddad said he has five different unions that he is currently bargaining with while noting that he doesn’t anticipate having those negotiations complete by Town Meeting. “We would create a stabilization fund or an article or something along those lines that we would raise and appropriate from the upcoming levy,” Haddad told the Committee.
Power plant decommissioning
The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, March 14 and heard an update on the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant decomissioning.
Vice Chair of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (NDCAP) Pine DuBois attended the meeting virtually to provide an update on the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant. DuBois said, “Pilgrim is in active decommissioning… that means that the reactor is not and never will run again. All of the fuel has been taken out of the reactor and is stored on the top of the hill… the reactor itself is being segmented so they cut the parts apart and they put those parts in the spent fuel pool… spent fuel, in my mind, is a misnomer since probably eighty-five percent of radioactive capacity is still in those canisters on the hill making them a very hazardous material and generally speaking we can’t count how many years it will be that way … right now the decommissioning plan is to remove that fuel by 2063… there is no place for it to go; for me the biggest issue we face is what to do with that and I am committed to figuring that out.”
The current plan for the site decommissioning is to complete the work by 2027. According to DuBois that is contingent upon Holtec Pilgrim moving through a modification of the current NPDES permit. “NPDES stands for non-point discharge elimination system permit that EPA and DEP jointly administer for the release of any polluted, contaminated or otherwise not pure water into the water of the United States and in this case Cape Cod Bay,” DuBois explained. DuBois said that there was “a lot of concern abut the Bay.” In late March a trust fund report from Holtec will show how much money is left in the decommissioning trust fund in addition to a schedule update. “I plan to have a site visit this week… our State delegation is going out there on Friday [March 17]… There’s a lot of eyes on the site… I would like to put everyone’s attention to the huge amount of fuel that is stored on the hill so that’s 45 years of waste fuel from the reactor – highly radioactive in dry cast storage – a fairly new technology – has 24-hour security; don’t go near there… we need to figure out where it is going to go ultimately,” DuBois said. DuBois shared some interesting tidbits such as Finland buries this kind of material in caves far under the sea surrounded by clay and copper. “France reprocesses all their fuel and has for 45 years so I would like to find out more about that,” DuBois said. DuBois said that Holtec has provided what is called an environmental site assessment. DuBois explained, “that includes what contaminants were there from when Boston Edison ran the plant, when Entergy ran the plant… not anything Holtec did, not anything that’s been part of decommissioning… there have been decontaminants found.” According to DuBois a public meeting will be held on March 27 at Plymouth Town Hall with zoom information available as well.
Upcoming Town Events
Selectmen Chair Kimberly Emberg provided some updates on upcoming events in town. Books in Bloom is sponsored by the Kingston Public Library and will run from April 5 through April 8 at the Library during regular business hours. Emberg said that those interested in submitting something for the event could complete the registration on the town’s website by April 1. Emberg also announced that the annual town election is scheduled for Saturday, April 22. The last day to register to vote for the election will be April 1.
The annual rabies clinic will be held on April 1 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Kingston Animal Shelter and the cost will be $10 per pet. Emberg also had a note from the Agricultural Commission that anyone interested in raising chickens in their backyard or currently raising chickens can attend a two-night seminar on April 18 and April 25 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Kingston Council on Aging. While the event is free, you must register.
Selectman Sheila Vaughn also took a moment to implore parents to get their children registered for kindergarten as an accurate head count is vital.
“Spring is almost here which means it is time to start counting the herring,” Emberg said. She further said that anyone interested in doing so could visit Jonesriver.org/ecology/fishcount.
Vote on the Warrant
Town Administrator Keith Hickey said that they tried to include all articles that they were aware of in the warrant even if they would have to remove some later. The Selectmen voted to close the warrant.
Razor Clam Licenses
The Board also dealt with the issuing of razor clam licenses. Emberg said that typically the licenses are granted to those that held licenses in the previous year and are still interested in maintaining them. She said that the Shellfish Constable recommended that they grant the licenses to the 11 individuals requesting them. The recommendation is that the fee remain $300. The Selectmen confirmed that there was a waitlist for the licenses. Tyler Bouchard said that while he wasn’t entirely sure, he believed that the State is the one that recommends capping the licenses to 11. Vaughn pointed out that the 11 licenses appear to be spread across just three families. Bouchard said that most of those families are involved in commercial fishing. Vaughn then asked for and received confirmation that these licenses are just for commercial purposes and recreational fishermen do not need them.
Appointments and Town Administrator’s Updates
The Selectmen made several appointments including some to the Board of Registrars, the measure of wood and bark, an alternate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, and several members to Kingston’s Three-Hundredth.
Hickey said that the Board had previously asked for an update on where the Town stands with ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) revenues. Hickey said they had just over $855,000 available for use. “We also expect to receive through the County an additional $1.185 million dollars in ARPA funds,” he told the Board. He said that Kingston’s share of the project to add HVAC units to Silver Lake Regional High School is $376,000. Hickey said that he would like to see ARPA funds used rather than raising and appropriating the money at Town Meeting. He also suggested to the Water Superintendent that they use ARPA funds for one of their purposes in the amount of just over $530,000.
Hickey told the Selectmen that the water damage to the Town House had been repaired. He said that the fiber project that is going to connect the Town House to all of the town and school buildings is ongoing. “The running of the fiber, I believe, is nearly complete,” Hickey said. He also told the Selectmen that the Health Agent and the Payroll Coordinator had resigned. Finally, he told the Selectmen that the Old Colony Planning Council had installed some traffic counters to be used in assessing things like the request to put a three way stop at the intersection of Maple St. and Landing Rd.
Flower & Soul donates $10,000 for fireworks
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, March 14.
Selectman Jonathan Selig reported that the Fireworks Committee has found a vendor that has availability closer to the Fourth of July. He noted that some in town were disappointed that the fireworks have been held in June. The company, American Thunder, is a company that has provided fireworks for the town in the past.
Town Administrator Cody Haddad told Selectmen that he had a letter from Flower & Soul that they are committing to donating $10,000 to fireworks each year for the next five years. “They hope to grow the program and grow the festivities for the Fourth of July events,” Haddad said. Selig said, “I was on the Board in the summer when Brian the owner came in; I was very impressed; he’s very much committed to Halifax and this event…. He envisions it kind of back to what it was when there were events during the day and not just the fireworks at night… I thank him for his generosity.”
Haddad told the Selectmen that they had received two allegations of open meeting law violation. The first was for the joint meeting with the Finance Committee. The complaint was that the Chair didn’t state that the meeting was being recorded. Haddad noted that it was an oversight on the behalf of the Selectmen and that they plan to correct that moving forward. The second complaint was regarding the Feb. 28 meeting. The first allegation was that the meeting minutes from July 12 and November 12 were not accepted in a timely manner. Haddad said he wrote a letter apologizing for the delay and citing the difficulties with the change of hands in the Board of Selectmen. The second allegation said that the Board of Selectmen uses acronyms for things that are not clear to the general public. Haddad said that he doesn’t believe it to be a violation of the open meeting law but said they would make more of a conscious effort to avoid doing so in the future.
Selectmen had an appointment with Angel Guallpa Castro regarding a live entertainment permit for 122 Monponsett St. A translator for Castro said the event was a baptism and that the permit was requested through 1 a.m. Selectmen expressed some concern that the event time was quite late for amplified music. They also expressed some concern over the size of the event which was requested for 90 people. Selig said that if the 90 people could safely fit inside and the band shuts down at 9 p.m., it should be okay. He also verified that they would have enough parking for 90 people. A resident in attendance who said his parents live nearby expressed concern about other events in the past where loud music was played well into the night. The Selectmen again stressed that the music would need to end around 9 p.m..
Police Chief Joao Chaves said, “My only concern is, I need to make sure he knows that he can’t sell alcohol, he can’t have party guards, and he can’t be charging a fee. This is what happened during Carnival. Some neighbors were complaining and allegedly people were offered bribes not to call the police… you can’t have that as a private night club; it’s a residence.” Chaves also said that there shouldn’t be any advertising on social media. The Selectmen voted to move forward with the permit provided all of the guidelines were met.
Regarding the MBTA Action Plan, Haddad said that the technical assistance grant is open, and he will be submitting an application in the next week or two. He said they hope to get the Old Colony Planning Council on board to assist the Town in reviewing the feasibility and the overall process.
Regarding Morse Brothers, Haddad said they did conduct a site visit. Since then, an Executive Session took place on the matter. He said that the Town will keep people informed as soon as the information becomes public. Some in attendance pushed back insisting that they wished to be privy to the details. Selectmen Chair John Bruno stood firm that right now was not the time for it to be discussed in open session. “We are talking to them and we hope to have it resolved as quickly as we can,” Bruno said.
Haddad provided an update on the trainings for various Boards and Committees. He said that many sessions will be offered on open meeting law; employees are requested to attend just one. “There’s a lot to it [open meeting law] and this would provide everybody with the tools to effectively follow that law,” Haddad said.
Town Administrator Cody Haddad told the Selectmen that there is a vacancy on the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee that needs to be filled by a Planning Board member. He said that none of the current Planning Board members not already serving are interested in the position. He did note that a previous member of the Board had expressed interest and said that there are two at-large positions that also needed to be filled. Anyone interested should fill out a talent bank form.
Halifax votes band instruction
The Halifax Elementary School Committee met on Monday, March 6. Superintendent Jill Proulx went over the budget with the Committee. Earlier in the meeting Director of Business Services Christine Healy told the Committee that the shared cost budget represented an overall increase to Halifax of $58,778. Proulx told the Committee that the version of the budget before them did not include the 0.4 instrumental music position or the part-time math interventionist. The overall increase in the version presented was 1.97 percent. If the music position were added, the increase would be 2.2 percent and if both were added, it would represent a 2.5 percent increase to the total budget. Committee Chair Summer Schmaling said that she would like to see the instrumental position added to the budget. “I don’t think it’s a tall ask to put in $21,000 for our kids to have band, frankly. I think it is a great opportunity for us to share that position with the other towns in the district,” Schmaling said. She also said that she was reticent to use ESSER grant funding to fund any portion of the math interventionist position as those funds may not be available again next year and would instead like to see it added to the budget as a full-time position. Schmaling went on to say that her impression of “the tone of the town” is that 2 to 2.5 percent is a reasonable increase.
A motion was made to approve the 2023-2024 Halifax Elementary School operating budget of $6,359,846, the out- of-district special education tuition budget of $1,962,047, the out-of-district special education transportation budget of $797,759, and the out-of-district vocational education budget of $156,500. The budgets passed and included the full-time positions as discussed.
Schmaling told the Committee there was a request from Silver Lake Youth Cheer to have a flyer go out in the backpacks of students. Committee member Lauren Laws asked for clarification on the origins of the organization as they are not a school sport. Proulx clarified that this was a private rather than a school organization. Proulx explained, “Town organizations that are non-profit – we tend to send those out. This is not a clear-cut town non-profit organization because it is not just Halifax… it was approved last year by this Committee,” Proulx explained. She further said that it is brought before the School Committee for approval due to the policy on advertising. The Committee did vote unanimously to approve.
The Committee voted on the same two policies that were previously voted on by the Regional School Committee and Plympton Elementary School Committee. The first policy was about parental options for opting out of student surveys and the second policy was regarding who has access to security footage from school grounds. Regarding the former, Schmaling said that she vehemently opposed the policy as presented because she would rather the option be opt-in, rather than opt-out of student surveys. Schmaling said, “I just don’t like that they’re not in-house… because they are coming from MGH, Harvard, MPH, I’m good. I don’t think that other entities should have their tentacles in our kids’ brains.” Laws said that she would assume the administrators wouldn’t administer a survey if they didn’t approve of the questions. Another Committee member said that she would like to see there be at least three emails sent out providing opportunities to opt-out. Only Laws voted in favor of the policy and the policy failed to pass.
The security camera policy allows for security footage to be released to first responders in the event of an emergency as well as allowing for parents to come into the school to watch footage provided that student faces are blurred. The policy failed to pass as well. Schmaling told the Committee that she would share any feedback they might have with Jason Fraser, who chairs the Policy Sub-Committee.
Halifax Elementary School Principal Kayne Beaudry provided an update. He said that the Halifax Police Department has been doing safety presentations with each of the grade-levels to discuss different safety drills including lockdowns and fire drills. “Just sharing the overall message that the school is a safe place and what do we do when we come into those kind of emergency situations,” Beaudry explained.
He also told the Committee that they just celebrated Read Across America week with many special events including dress-up days centered around Dr. Suess. He said that the School Council was planning a survey to get feedback from parents during parent-teacher conferences. Those conferences will be held on March 23 which is also an early release day. A book fair will also be held that week.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said that in February the elementary school principals in the Union along with Curriculum Coordinator Melissa Farrell attended an OpenSciEd curriculum training. “We learned about the new science units – the two science units that are being adopted in line with OpenSciEd; it’s about helping students learn about phenomena-based approach,” Lynch explained. He said the sixth-grade teachers also went to a training on it. He said that the hope is to eventually expand the program beyond sixth grade.
Building inspector terminated
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Feb. 28. They began the meeting by going into Executive Session to discuss the possible discipline or termination of the Building Inspector James Perry. Selectman Naja Nessralla recused himself from the hearing and deliberation. Upon returning from Executive Session, Selectmen Chair John Bruno said that they voted to terminate Perry, effective immediately. According to the town’s website, Steven Solari has been named as the interim Building Inspector/Commissioner.
The Selectmen also held a hearing to determine if they will be opting-out of mail-in voting for local elections. Town Clerk Sue Lawless gave a brief description of the purpose of the hearing. Lawless said, “typically, these elections are low-interest and given the increase of unfunded mandates from the State, it would be a cost-savings for the town to opt-out. While I understand that the idea of vote-by-mail has become popular by many, I do not feel that the Town has made the changes necessary to support it. My office is currently a part-time office and the vote-by-mail process is very labor-intensive.” She went on to say that many residents did not return their mail-in ballots. Lawless also clarified that absentee voting will still be available. A new hearing would be held annually to determine whether to opt-out of mail-in voting.
The Selectmen opened the hearing to public comment. Resident Frederick Corrigan inquired what the cost was that made it prohibitive. Lawless said that while she didn’t have a dollar amount, the real issue was a staffing one. Corrigan responded saying, “I can’t see where we can take 437 people in this small town and say just because you’re old and you don’t have a car or you have a disability, you can’t vote.” “As stated previously, anybody with a disability or a reason why they cannot go to the polls, has an option to absentee ballot,” Lawless answered. Selectman Jonathan Selig said, “I can see both sides of the issue; I’m not into limiting voting access, if there’s a way, we can get creative to get people there – I have a minivan, I can drive folks there.” The Selectmen voted to opt-out of mail-in voting. Bruno noted that come May, if there’s an issue, they will make a different decision for next year.
Bruno said, “Just in case this crowd is here for the Morse Brothers part of the agenda, those four things are kind of standing things on our agenda until we get them resolved so we were supposed to have an inspection of the property today but because of the storm, we weren’t able to do that. We intend to get it done this week and we will report back to the Board this week… if anyone’s here for that, that’s all we’re going to talk about tonight is that part of the update.”
Town Administrator Cody Haddad asked the Board if they would like to reevaluate how reappointments are handled. Selig said that he would like to see the Boards and Committees become part of the appointment process since they have more expertise on the specific subject matter than the Selectmen. Bruno said that he is usually in favor of reappointments and noted that in his career as a Selectmen, he can only recall maybe one time where he didn’t vote in favor of reappointment. Bruno said that if a Board has an opinion on a reappointment, he would certainly be in favor of hearing their input.
Haddad addressed getting specialized training for Boards and Committees including 40B training for the Zoning Board of Appeals. He said that they have reached out to necessary parties to setup the trainings. He said he is also working with the Attorney General’s office to set up some open meeting law trainings including some that are specific to Halifax.
Haddad also addressed a grant application for Halifax Mobile Home Estates to have trees removed at a cost of $750,000. “I have been working with the State to draft an application… but ultimately my recommendation would be… to vote to allow the Town Administrator to submit it… if we are awarded it, then you would vote to approve it.” The Selectmen need to oversee the project. The Selectmen agreed to pursue the grant on behalf of the Mobile Home Estates.
The Selectmen also dealt with a live entertainment request for Halifax Pride. Authorization has already been granted for use of the Town Green on June 17. The entertainment would include Silver Lake Regional High School students, a family-friendly drag performance, and a DJ. The request was already approved by the Fire and Police Chiefs as well as the Board of Health. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the entertainment request. The Selectmen also fielded a request for use of the Town Green on Saturday, April 22 by the Boy Scouts for a bottle/food drive fundraising event. The Selectmen also approved this request.
Haddad told the Selectmen that they had a team formed in town to work on the Council on Aging project which had some funding approved during Town Meeting. He said they would need to come into compliance with Massachusetts procurement law which requires that a building project projected at over $1.5 million must bring in a project manager to oversee the whole process. The Selectmen approved Haddad moving forward as necessary.
Haddad addressed the MBTA Action Plan that had been the subject of much debate during recent Selectmen’s meetings. The Selectmen had ultimately voted to approve moving forward with the Action Plan. Haddad said, “On Feb. 17, I received a letter from the State under Secretary of the Department of Public Housing and Community Development… notifying us that they have accepted our Action Plan and that we are in interim compliance through December 31 of 2024.” He further said that he had a meeting with Old Colony Planning Council for technical assistance moving forward.
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