Plympton-Halifax-Kingston Express

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Perry in, Piccirilli out

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The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in the early afternoon of July 23. The Selectmen quickly went into executive session to deliberate on multiple contracts before returning to open session. Those contracts included sergeant, patrol officers, firefighters, Highway Mix Unit, Police Chief, Fire Chief, and all unions at the Silver Lake Regional School District and Halifax Elementary School. Upon returning, Selectman Chair Gordon Andrews said of the next item on the agenda, “I’m going to recuse myself because of the ongoing lawsuits and my petitioning activity.”

The item in question was the appointment of the Building Inspector. Selectman Troy Garron said, “First of all, I work for the town. The town has put me in this position several times, I don’t know why, but they have. It’s important to me that things are always above board and fair. I still feel very strongly that Rob Piccirilli is the choice for Building Inspector but unfortunately, that’s not happening.” Selectman Ashley DiSesa then said that she recommended James Perry. Following a sigh, Garron said, “I’ll second it.” It was then voted on unanimously.

Perry, who was appointed as Building Inspector, said during his interview, “I’ve been in the building business my whole entire career, residential and commercial.” Perry attended and earned a degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology. He ran the family business for many years before going into business on his own where he specialized in residential development and new construction. “I always had it in my mind, at some point down the line, to transition into some type of inspector’s job and this became available and I think I’m at a point in my career where between all of my experience and knowledge, I think it’s a good fit,” Perry had told the Board during his interview in June.

A member of the audience did ask why Mr. Piccirilli was not reappointed to which Garron replied, “I’m not at liberty to say.” It was also questioned why DiSesa would have a vote on whether Piccirilli was capable of doing the job as she wasn’t serving on the Board during his stay as Building Inspector. With regard to public comments made that the residents were being left in the dark, Garron said, “I agree with you on that. Unfortunately with legal matters that are going on, I can’t comment on it.” The resident then turned to DiSesa and said, “Can I ask you, what do you base your decision on?” DiSesa responded, “We’ve been advised by our legal counsel to probably not take public comment and to not speak anymore on this at the moment… so I apologize.” Robert Piccirilli currently has an ongoing lawsuit against the town of Halifax.

Piccirilli was not the only longstanding town employee or volunteer to not be reappointed by the new formation of the Board of Selectmen. Town Counsel Lawrence P. Mayo was also recently replaced by the law firm ofBrooks & DeRensis. Additionally, Robert Gaynor who has served on the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for 32 years, most recently as Chair, is unlikely to continue on the ZBA. In all instances, Garron voted in favor of reappointment stressing his disappointment that the individuals would not be reappointed.

Plympton accepted into GATRA

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The Plympton Board of Selectmen met remotely on the evening of Monday, July 26. Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte was there to discuss the progress with indicating the new safety zones throughout town. Firlotte said he had stencils that will eventually spell out “safety zone” and added that there would be reflective media included in the paint that would allow for extra visibility. In addition to the stenciling, there will be signs that will also have a reflective component. The indicators will alert drivers to the 20 mph zones. Firlotte said he was hopeful to get the paint down in the next couple of weeks. Selectman Mark Russo said, “really look forward to seeing if this works.”

The Board also discussed the cable contract with Area 58. Russo said that it was brought to his attention that the last few meetings were not available on Area 58. He said he brought it to their attention and the problem was rectified. Selectman John Traynor said that Comcast has an agreement with the town that they will make internet available to any of the town sites. He said he would like to see the Old Townhouse have it available. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said that part of the Green Communities Grant included the installation of WiFi thermostats for the Old Townhouse. They are being installed with the intention of being programmed at a later date when WiFi becomes available at that location.

There was also a discussion of the Carver Urban Renewal Project. Selectman Chair Christine joy said she reached out to the Chair of the Redevelopment Authority but had not heard back yet. Dennehy said she had reached out to the Carver Town Administrator but had also not heard back. Dennehy was looking for some clarification regarding the changes to zoning including height requirements.

Resident Melissa Jackson was on the call and said, “We are concerned about light and noise remediation. There were a lot of “jokes” about how it is going to affect Plympton residents from people on the walk through.” Jackson also said that there was talk of raising the height of the buildings to 65 ft with floodlights. “They also want to put 200 tractor trailer bays facing Heathers Path and Toby’s Lane instead of putting them on the route 44 side,” Jackson said. “This affects a large number of residents with the placement of this project.” Joy pointed out.

Dennehy provided a Town Administrator’s update saying, “We were made aware today that there is an active Covid case in town and are watching to see if there are any others that sprout up because of that.” Dennehy pointed out that since it is protected health information there is no way to no if the person was vaccinated or not.

Dennehy also provided an update on some of the ongoing grant projects. She said the Hazard Mitigation Plan was nearing completion and would soon be sent to FEMA and NEMA for review. Dennehy said she was expecting feedback explaining, “From what I understand, they are very active in their review process.” Additionally, she said the Green Communities Grant was moving along nicely.

Dennehy told the Board that the town was formally accepted into the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA). She explained that they would be meeting with them later in the week to find out “what does it mean for our transportation needs.” Colleen Thompson, who serves on the Town Properties Committee, has put together a comprehensive list of questions to find out how GATRA will best serve the community.

Dennehy said she was looking forward to working with the town’s new Treasurer/Collector and Town Accountant. She said she met with them earlier that day. “It was a really good meeting; I’m very excited about our two new financial people.”

Upon request some correspondence was read into the record from the attorneys representing the landowners whose properties abut the town owned land on Brook St. They stated that they were adamantly opposed to what they referred to as a “proposed shelter or similar facility” being constructed on the land that abuts their own. There appeared to be confusion regarding what the town’s intention was for the land. It had earlier been suggested that the land might be appropriate for a Habitat for Humanity home of some sort. The attorneys stated in the letter that the owners would be happy to buy the land at fair market value. Regarding selling the land, Traynor said, “We should go out and get it appraised as a building lot if we decided we wanted to sell it.”

Per tradition, the Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves for the last few weeks. Russo said his rave was for the public participation and attendance at that night’s meeting calling it “a pleasure to have guests joining us tonight.” He addressed them saying, “glad you guys are with us, thank you.” Traynor said his rave was for the vaccination goals for the state of Massachusetts. He pointed out that our state is among the top nationally for vaccination rates. Traynor also mentioned what a pleasure it was to attend the genealogy meeting with most people going maskless. Joy had two raves. One for finally being setup with GATRA. She said, “What a great opportunity this is for us.” Her second rave was for the work being done by the Highway Department and Firlotte in particular.

Piccirilli is hired – for now

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The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on the evening of Tuesday, July 13. The Selectmen voted on multiple Licensing Authority Appointments including David Acevich, Edward Broderick, Patrick Donnelly, Robert Gaynor, Jay Guidaboni, Jennifer Keegan, Thomas Reed, and Herbert Wiltshire. Selectman Gordon Andrews abstained from voting on Gaynor. All were unanimously approved.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig then asked the Board if they wanted to deal with the appointment of the Building Inspector. Robert Piccirilli, who served as Building Inspector for the last several years, was not reappointed and currently has a suit against the town. Longtime Selectman Troy Garron has previously stated that he believed Piccirilli performed well in the position and should have been reappointed. Andrews recused himself from the discussion and potential vote. Garron and newest Selectman Ashley DiSesa were previously unable to come to an agreement on the appointment of a Building Inspector. They did, however, vote to appoint Piccirilli as the temporary Building Inspector for a few weeks in the interim. Garron, again, reiterated his belief that Piccirilli should be reappointed to a full-time position.

The last meeting of the Traffic Safety Committee was also discussed. DiSesa, who was in attendance, said that Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward will be putting up speed limit signs on portions of Walnut St. She said they were also working on a speed trap. There was also some discussion around who would be responsible for the blinking sign by the school. Hayward argued that since the sign is associated with the school, they should be responsible for the maintenance of the sign. Seelig said that it should likely be its own line item in the Highway budget.

The Selectmen had an appointment with Paul Nixon, owner of Independent Fermentations Brewing for a temporary liquor license for three events being held at Fieldstone Farm. Nixon said that there are annual horse shows held each year at Fieldstone Farm. Representatives from Fieldstone Farm had contacted Nixon to see if his brewery would be interested in serving the events. Nixon named the event dates as August 21, 22, 27, and 28 as well as September 11 and 12. The Board voted to approve.

Seelig gave a vaccination update saying that Halifax was doing average compared to other surrounding towns. He said the town could be doing better with younger demographics. Seelig pointed out that cases were going back up in Massachusetts saying he would urge people to get the vaccine to protect themselves and friends and families. Andrews recommended that the town utilizes the reverse 911 feature to notify residents of the dates for the vaccination clinic that will be held in Kingston for residents of Duxbury, Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton.

The Selectmen had a 7 p. m. appointment with Susan Hill for the Board of Library Trustees. Hill said that she has been a resident of Halifax for 26 years. Hill, who said she grew up in Boston, said, “I know from personal experience… from growing up in an underprivileged community, how important libraries are.” Hill referenced her stint on Jeopardy last year and said that when brushing up she noticed herself turning to the library rather than Google. Garron asked her if she had attended town meeting and she said she had been to some of them. Kristine Boyles was next to interview for the Board of Library Trustees. Boyles said she just moved into town last November from neighboring Plympton where she said she served on the Board of Library Trustees for 18 years. Boyles also said she was an educator in the area for nearly 30 years and is now currently employed by the Plymouth Public Library. Garron said she sounded busy and asked if she had time for the position. Boyles said her mother always said, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” The vote is a joint one between the Library Trustees and the Selectmen and will be taken at a later time.

Kim Cavicchi interviewed next for the Conservation Commission saying she has served as an associate member for the last few months. “It’s such a great group of people,” she said of the Commission. Seelig explained that associate members are involved in discussions, etc. but cannot vote. The other members of the Commission wrote a letter recommending Cavicchi for the open position. Cavicchi was appointed to the position.

Jean Gallant was next to interview for the Council on Aging (COA). Gallant is the current Director of the Holmes Public Library since 2016. “I think we all know the answers to the average questions,” Andrews joked. Andrews did ask Gallant if she had the time. Gallant said that she had thought of it a lot adding, “the way I feel about having the time is I would make the time for something like this.” She said that in most communities the COA and the library work together closely. Gallant was voted unanimously onto the COA by the Selectmen.

Daniel Borsari was next to appear before the Selectmen for a regular member opening on the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). He has been an associate member on the ZBA for the last five years. He said he was able to vote when one of the regular members was not able to attend a meeting. Borsari took the opportunity to say he was wondering why Robert Gaynor was not reappointed to the ZBA saying he was “the best Halifax had to offer…. I think the best decision for the town would be to reappoint Bert Gaynor.” He said of Gaynor that he has “impeccable character.” He continued, “If it’s not going to be Bert, I think the most logical thing for the town and the most logical thing for me… would be to now fill that possibly vacant full member position.” He noted that his own personal feeling was that variances should be handed out sparingly.

Kasey Sims also had an appointment with the Selectmen to discuss issues with the Halifax water system. She said she has lived in town for 27 years. She read the letter she sent to the water department in which she requested an abatement of half of her bill as she felt that the water department didn’t hold up their end in providing reliably good water to her home. She said that tainted water and even completely brown water has often become the norm. She said that after several requests, she did not receive a response to her request for an abatement. She shared pictures of her water with the Selectmen. Andrews said they should invite the water commissioner to come to the next meeting for a discussion. Garron recommended also having the Board of Health present. Sims said she has concerns to be discussed such as whether or not the water is safe for her family including her young son.

The Board also met with David and Laura Gibbons of 70 Oak Street. They said that applying for a wood stove permit has cost them approximately $4,300. Gibbons said a mistake was made during the process that resulted in the high costs. Andrews said that if a complaint needed to be made against a specific individual, they should also be there to speak to the issue. “I’d rather talk about the what than the who,” Gibbons said. Andrews said he would be recusing himself. Seelig explained to the Gibbons’ that there were several suits going on against the current Building Inspector and certain members of the Board of Selectmen. DiSesa recommended pushing the discussion to the meeting on July 27.

The Selectmen discussed setting a date for a meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, Capital Planning Committee, and Silver Lake Regional School Committee to discuss Silver Lake’s capital plan. The meeting will likely take place in the fall. Andrews explained he felt that better communication was necessary.

A discussion was had on the Host Community Agreement with Green Earth Cannabis. Andrews recused himself as he said his father owns property within close proximity to the property in question. Director of Operations Robert Maker came before the Board saying, “I’ve been in this town for 27 years. I raised my family here; my mom lives in town, my brother, my nieces and nephews, my kids.” He also said he has coached and volunteered in a number of different capacities in the town over the years. He said he wanted to discuss any issues that the business has had with the town. He said they negotiated a Host Community Agreement with the town for a long time. “We are preparing to mitigate whatever impact the facility may have on the neighbors,” Maker said. He said they just want the ability to come before the town and address any concerns. “We’re looking to hire people to work for us that come from this town,” Maker explained. Garron asked Seelig when the issue could be added to the agenda. They agreed to add it to the August 3 meeting. DiSesa said that the Planning Board and any other pertinent Boards could be made aware in case they want to attend.

Hatch again named Regional Committee chair

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The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met in-person on Thursday, July 8. Superintendent Jill Proulx began the meeting with the reorganization of the Committee. Paula Hatch was once again nominated to serve as Chair and the vote was unanimous. “Thank you for your continued trust, I will try to do my best for you as always,” Hatch told the Committee. Eric Crone was nominated to serve as Vice Chair and was also voted in unanimously. Leslie-Ann McGee was nominated and voted in as Secretary; she was also named to the Pilgrim Area Collaborative. Summer Schmaling was named Assistant Treasurer. John Tuffy was reappointed as Treasurer. Jason Fraser was named as Legislative Agent. Before moving on, Hatch welcomed Gordon Laws to the Committee as he is the newest member.

The Committee then turned their attention to the Subcommittees beginning with Negotiations. Hatch said, “For those that don’t know,, this Subcommittee acts on behalf of the full Committee negotiating any contracts that come up.”  Crone and McGee agreed to stay on the Negotiations Subcommittee and Hatch and Laws agreed to join. Summer Schmaling was named as the alternate.  Crone and Emily Davis volunteered for Policy. Davis was also named to School Start Times. Hatch said the last time the topic of school start times was really looked into was back in 2016. Chris Eklund stayed on the Safety/Facilities/Fees/Revenue Sub-Committee.

Director of Business Services Christine Healy spoke to the end of year financials. “We are returning to E&D [Excess and Deficiency] $411,450.17.” She did note that there were some things that were not yet confirmed, the main thing being the CARES Act funding. “In total that was $636,000 that we had access to; the difficult thing is we have not received all the reimbursements,” Healy said speaking of the money that was allotted to the school district from the three towns. She said they had received reimbursements thus far of $207,000 calling it “not a very fast process.” Schmaling asked, “Are we at risk for not being reimbursed for some of the purchases that we made?” Healy replied, “Everything that was submitted fit into the guidelines of what they were looking for.” Healy said that she planned to hold back $25,000 to $30,000 from E&D as a reserve to accommodate the slow reimbursements. “I just want to thank you Christine for dealing with all of these issues this past year,” Crone said addressing Healy.

A Representative from the Kingston Police Department, Laura Casey-Pupek was in attendance. Proulx said she was there to discuss the National Night Out that is meant to foster a relationship between the community and the Police Department. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, August 3. Pupek, who said she has been a part of the event for 14 years, said she is currently looking for any student volunteers.

Proulx provided the district update. “Masking indoors and maintaining other safety guidelines is not required but encouraged,” Proulx said. She added, “Unvaccinated individuals are encouraged to continue to mask especially when you can’t socially distance.” She said for the fall schools will be required to be in-person, five days a week. She said that all DESE requirements including socially distancing will be lifted but added that there was a caveat that states, “DESE will continue to collaborate with the Department of Health to issue any additional health and safety recommendations over the summer, for example masks for elementary students. DESE will provide updates to districts as it receives them.”

Davis asked if there would still be a protocol for contact tracing. Proulx said, “the Local Board of Health and the Department of Health may put in certain expectations… similar to the ways when someone has strep throat; the nurse might put out a notification that there was a child in the classroom that had strep throat and if you experience any of these symptoms, please contact your physician.”

Proulx also said that she has been made aware of the possibility of a vaccination clinic for residents 12 and up in Kingston, Halifax, Plympton, and Duxbury. She said the event would be staffed by volunteers from the Kingston Board of Health and nurses. “We will send out information to community members if they’re interested,” Proulx said. The event will take place at Kingston Intermediate School. She said they were hoping for two dates in July and two dates in August.

McGee asked Proulx if there had been any kind of polling done on the families that had elected to be full remote this past year to see if they plan on returning or homeschooling or some other alternative. Proulx said that anyone wishing to homeschool would send in an application. She also pointed out that the school district would not be responsible for providing any sort of virtual option. “As you know, it’s very expensive to provide that option,” she said. She also said that she anticipated students returning in the fall.

Davis asked that the emotional well-being of the teachers and other staff also be remembered as they enter into a new school year pointing out that some may still be uncomfortable returning to school particularly without safety requirements. Proulx said that they absolutely plan to acknowledge that and celebrate the staff during this year’s opening day. “One of the things we will talk about is the hero’s journey,” she said.

There was also a report given by the standing committees. Silver Lake Education Association (SLEA) President Jon Lay pointed out that the aides will be part of the SLEA during negotiations for the first time this year. “We’re all very excited to be going back to school, hopefully as normal as possible,” Lay said. Lay said that he was nervous regarding the Delta variant of the Covid virus. He also said that he would like to see the district continue to spread the message that unvaccinated individuals are still encouraged to mask. He also said that he wanted to make sure that kids that are still wearing masks are not being bullied for it.

McGee gave an update on PAC. She said that the one bit of fun news is that they voted to establish a student council. She said the idea was initiated by two students and two teachers.

Eklund provided an update on Safety/Facilities/Fees/Revenue Sub-Committee. He said they plan to do a campus tour with CTE. “The plan, additionally, is to setup a sort of three town summit I’ll call it, in September with Selectmen, Fin Com, Capital Plans, whoever else wants to join the fun in one big three town meeting,” Eklund explained.

Plympton School ends fiscal year

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The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, July 12. Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto gave a buildings and grounds update describing the playground project as “ongoing.” He said they had a meeting the previous week during which colors were finalized. Veneto also said that they were told that everything would be shipped out to the school in about five weeks. “So that’s very real and very happening,” Veneto said.

He also provided an update on the siding project on the western facing wall of the building (the cafeteria wall) also referring to it as “ongoing.” Veneto said that the school has also had some paving, sealing, and line-striping done. “I did drive by there and see the driveway all one color for a change,” Chair of the School Committee Jon Wilhelmsen joked. Additionally, 15 trees have been removed from the property to assist with the solar project. Wilhelmsen elaborated that taking down the trees not only helps with the solar project but also with protecting the building. “Every one that came down was within striking distance of the building,” he explained. Regarding the solar project, Wilhelmsen also said that an engineer looked at the roof and reported no issues from their perspective. He said they are hopeful that the project can be completed before the start of the school year. Some weatherization has also been done to the building to make it more efficient.

Jason Fraser provided the legislative update. “Quite typically, we didn’t end the fiscal year with a state budget but this morning Governor Baker should have arrived at his office with a budget from both sides of the legislature for $48.1 billion,” Fraser said. Fraser said extra revenue was set aside for future obligations. He told the Committee that $250,000,000 was set aside for unfunded pension liabilities. He also said that a $350,000,000 trust fund was created to support the Student Opportunity Act.

Fraser told the Committee that the Superintendent’s Association started their in-person Executive Institute and MASC (The Massachusetts Association of School Committees) will also be having a summer institute. The two topics covered at the MASC Institute include wrap around services which are those that extend beyond the typical school day and how to maximize federal funds without creating a fiscal cliff. “It’s going to help us lay the groundwork for the November joint conference that we hold down in Hyannis between the Superintendents and the School Committees,” Fraser explained. He said the event would be a hybrid one so that anyone without the ability to make it to Hyannis, or for those still uncomfortable with in-person gatherings, could still attend.

Principal Veneto also provided the school update beginning by saying he was interviewing for three positions right now including an aide, a math interventionist, and a building-based substitute. He said that there were “amazing” people who had applied for the various openings. Fraser asked Veneto if they were looking for a fully certified teacher for the building-based substitute position and Veneto confirmed that they were. “Not only have things been busy on the physical plant, but we’ve been doing a lot of virtual interviews as well,” Veneto said speaking to all of the physical projects currently underway on Dennett grounds.

Director of Business Services Christine Healy provided an end-of-year update. “We’ve had some highs and some lows and all of those have been reflected in the budget,” Healy told the Committee. She said there were savings in the substitute line since they struggled to find a building-based sub during the year. Other savings were found in tuition and workshop lines. There were also savings in the regular-day and homeless transportation lines of the budget totaling approximately $9,000. She also said that surprisingly there were $5,000 in utilities savings. Healy told the Committee that one deficit was in the maintenance of building area. “We are fortunate enough to have funds transferred from the town into that line at special town meeting. Some of the funds came from special education and some from out of district vocational,” she said. Things that were able to be done included fully funding the SPED Stabilization Fund, the balance of the work on the fire suppression system, finish the tree removal project, and make the driveway repairs. Additionally, there is a surplus of $46,693 for special education. There is another surplus in out of district vocational of $33,843; Healy said that was after a transfer of just over $41,000 at special town meeting. Healy said $113,416.13 would be returned to the town. She said that a number of fees associated with the playground would be paid for out of the surpluses including wood chips and swing mats. The Committee voted unanimously to accept the closeout as presented by Healy.

Superintendent Proulx also provided a district update. Proulx said that the Kingston Board of Health has asked the nurse leader to advertise a vaccination clinic that’s going to be held at Kingston Intermediate School for residents of Duxbury, Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton ages 12 and over. She said information regarding specific dates will be forthcoming. Regarding MCAS results, she said accountability standings would remain from the 2019 school year.

“For the fall, schools will be required to be in-person, full-time, five days a week; all DESE health and safety requirements will be lifted – this includes physical distancing. The Department of Education will collaborate with the Department of Health to issue any additional health and safety recommendations over the summer and we will provide any updates to you as soon as we receive them,” Proulx explained. Proulx also told the Committee that there were a number of summer learning activities available including an accelerated summer learning academy for students entering Grades 3-6. The Academy will include ELA, math, and social/emotional learning. There is also a Silver Lake Middle School Enhancement program for students in Grades 7 and 8. “It’s a great way to look at accelerating the learning as opposed to remediation which we know oftentimes just further exacerbates the problem or widens the gap for students who may be having difficulties,” Proulx said.

Proulx also said that the Silver Lake Regional School Committee was interested in exploring a change to school start times but wanted to know the thoughts of the elementary school committees before proceeding too far. “I think we’ve seen more communities make these changes since we last did this,” Wilhelmsen said regarding some exploration they had done into the matter in years prior. “It was about five years ago… and we had a tremendous response from the community when we surveyed them on their preferences and ironically it was about fifty-fifty about keeping the times the way they were and changing the times,” Fraser elaborated. He continued, “But all of the research out there, all of the brain-based research does show that later start times for our adolescents and high school-based population is beneficial in reducing accidents on the way to school, improving SAT and test scores, GPAs, and just also with their mental health.” He also said that the State is looking into setting up a formal commission to investigate the matter and then send dictates down to districts. “I think if we examine it for ourselves, we’ll have a little bit more control over how this ends up looking for our district,” Fraser told the Committee. Wilhelmsen said that if there were any Plympton Elementary School Committee members interested in volunteering on the regional study into the matter, they should let himself and Proulx know.

Proulx also provided an Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) update as Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch was not in attendance. Proulx said that Plympton was awarded $85,841 from the ESSER II fund. Proulx said that allowable activities for the ESSER II grant include but are not limited to evidence-based approaches to address unfinished teaching and learning, high quality instructional materials using the CURATE tool on the Department of Education site, early literacy programming, K-12 math skill building, planning and implementing summer learning programming, and after school programming. She said social and emotional programming was another major area and a minimum of $10,000 must be committed to mental health services. The total ESSER II allocation for the Silver Lake District is $543,721. Fraser pointed out that that money is aside from ESSER III which he described as “substantially larger.” Fraser said he would like to see these one-time funds used to examine and implement a cohesive approach to social and emotional learning.

Wilhelmsen ended the meeting by announcing some important dates including the first day of school which is scheduled for September 1. He called it as late as it can possibly be.” Other notable dates include the next School Committee meeting which is scheduled for September 20. He did note that some interim meetings may be necessary during the summer as certain things need to be addressed in a timely manner.

School committee hears from parent

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The Halifax School Committee met in-person at the Halifax Town Hall on Thursday, July 1. They began the meeting with a reorganization of the Committee. Summer Schmaling was nominated to serve as Chair and the vote was unanimous. Schmaling then went on to nominate Gordon Andrews as Vice Chair. New Committee member Lauren Laws asked for a brief description of each of the roles before nominating herself to serve as Vice Chair. She cited Andrews’ many responsibilities including his role as one of the town’s Selectmen as a reason. Both Andrews and Laws received seconds to their nominations so the Committee then voted. Andrews narrowly bested Laws for the role of Vice Chair. Laws was instead nominated and voted in as secretary. Jim Keegan was named to the Pilgrim Area Collaborative.

Schmaling opened the floor for public participation. A member of the audience expressed frustration that she would not be allowed to speak later in the meeting during a discussion on a particular topic. “I’m here because I’m extremely upset with the climate and I don’t want to add to the negative climate within town and I have a few requests of the Board that I would like you to take with an open mind and would like the community to take with an open mind,” the resident said. She went on to say that Superintendent Jill Proulx was aware of the situation.

She continued, “I have requested all of the public documents and emails regarding the practice.” After being asked for clarification, she said she was referring to the dispute surrounding the peace flag being hung in classrooms. She said, “I thought the Pride event was wonderful; I look forward to it next year, but with the Peace flag, I have two children in the school, they were currently in second and fourth grade this year. I don’t believe the administration handled it very well and I requested, as I can, everything publicly available… there was over 1,000 emails.” She said that the price tag for obtaining all of this documentation is over $1,000.

“What did come to my attention, and I think that the public deserves to know, is that although individuals may not personally wish to have litigation or sue when they contacted the Attorney General’s office; the Attorney General can bring litigation and lawsuits forward to the town. I believe that is something that the general populace of the town of Halifax deserves to know…. As a parent I can tell you that my own son attempted suicide on April 7 of this year and it was in regards to what was going on at the school; it wasn’t another student, it happened to be the way the administration handled something incorrectly over the years and a staff member at the school.” She identified herself as a Girl Scout leader and said that half of her troop self-harms or has suicidal ideation. “This is a problem that we need to address,” she said. she also went on to urge understanding, inclusion, and appropriate accommodation of those that identify as LGBTQ+.

“I know that there are multiple staff at the school, teachers, paraprofessionals, administration that in the past have taken the youth mental health first aid course. I would like to request from the Board that the paraprofessionals be required to take it and if… you guys need to have negotiations with union staff and other things to have step raises as they do at Town Hall and other things for those that have different certifications and such, that those discussions happen.” She cited an unfortunate incident between her own son and a paraprofessional at the school as her motivation for wanting to see them all trained properly. She mentioned the mental health challenges that are sure to be seen once school resumes in late summer saying, “We have wonderful staff at the school… but I don’t think the district is ready; honestly I don’t think any district is ready.” She also requested that those on recess duty have their simple CPR training.

Before concluding her remarks, she added, “I’m also really bothered, as a parent in 2021, that students that have invisible disabilities are not addressed more… I never should have had to hire an attorney to get my kid what he needed.” She also criticized the behavior, particularly on social media, of some of those currently sitting on the Diversity and Inclusivity Subcommittee.

Director of Business Services Christine Healy provided the Committee with a financial closeout. Healy acknowledged that there were some “unusual events” but said, “thank goodness we made it successfully through the year.” She listed some of the savings including regular transportation and homeless transportation. Special education transportation, however, was a deficit of nearly $28,000. Healy said that she requested a line-item transfer to move funds from the regular day budget. “We do have money left in the special education portion of that to offset these costs,” she explained. She acknowledged that they struggled with their Circuit Breaker funds and said that they will be going into next school year with $100,000 less in these funds than usual. Healy told the Committee that the regular day budget will be ending with a surplus of $84,000 before the $28,000 line-item transfer. Healy also said there was a surplus of over $36,000 in out of district vocational.

Before adjourning, the Committee turned their attention to the Subcommittees. Schmaling provided an update on Youth and Rec saying that they did a STEM program through June at the Elementary School. She also said that the gym floors will be re-sanded, re-lined, and refinished this summer and referred to it as a total makeover. “We are very fortunate that we have such a strong Youth and Rec department here in Halifax because they really do provide a lot for our kids in terms of sports which is great,” she said. Schmaling also said that the department will be looking to replace the existing tennis and basketball courts behind the schools at some point as well.

Plympton rescinds state of emergency

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The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday evening, July 12. Chair Christine Joy said that a vote would need to be taken to appoint Suzanne Jafferian to a three-year term on the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). Chair of the ZBA Ken Thompson was on the call and said that fellow ZBA member Colleen Thompson plans to hold an open house to introduce future prospective members to the Board on July 20. The vote to appoint Jafferian through June of 2024 was unanimous.

Rescinding of State of Emergency

The next order to business was to ratify the rescinding of the town declared state of emergency which came at the suggestion of Fire Chief Steve Silva who also serves as Director of Emergency Services. The vote to ratify the rescinding was unanimous.

Corrections to Reappointments

The Board then had to rescind their votes to reappoint a number of individuals from their previous meeting with the exception of the appointments for Dave Alberti and Ethan Stiles to the ZBA. On June 21, the Selectmen approved the reappointments of several individuals to several Boards and Committees through 2022 when they should have been through 2024. The Selectmen corrected their errors. Before continuing, Selectman Mark Russo spoke to the appointment process saying, “It’s been kind of a challenge for years and continues to be kind of a struggle… so it’s something that I think we need to keep working on and absolutely aiming at a new protocol next year.” Joy agreed saying, “It definitely needs an overhaul – long overdue.”

Amendment to ADA Ramp Project

The Town Properties Committee brought forth the need for an amendment to the ADA ramp project consultant agreement. The amendment was to change the compensation for the engineer from $12,500 to $16,000. “Is the project still going to come in at $50,000 total?” Joy asked. Selectman John Traynor said it would not. “This is the ramp that would run from the old police station entrance to the main entrance now,” Traynor explained. He continued, “We received a grant of $95,000 from the State… originally the assignment of the money was for a lift or an elevator but after talking to the State more we suggested that we would be better off with a ramp; we all agreed on the Town Properties Committee.”

Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen joined the call and spoke to the amendment. Wilhelmsen said, “We hoped we could get it under $50,000 but that’s not possible given the amount of materials and work and cost and everything like that,” he explained. Joy asked if the project would still come in under the grant amount of $95,000. Wilhelmsen said that while he anticipated that, it couldn’t be guaranteed at this time. Wilhelmsen also explained that they have as an alternate project, getting rid of the two steps at the entryway. “The ones everyone falls over,” he said. “Should the first bid come in and we get the alternate, we might be able to do it all; my guess is that given the way that costs are and we are going out to bid in the next couple of weeks, we might only be able to – with the money we got from the State, the earmark – we’ll probably only be able to get the main ramp in but if the alternates come in at a reasonable amount… we might be able to look at other sources of funding to be able to do it as part of the project too,” Wilhelmsen told the Board. He said the alternate project is estimated at roughly $12,000 to $18,000. The Selectmen voted to approve the amendment.

Carver Urban Renewal Project

Town Administrator Liz Dennehy told the Selectmen that she had received an update from the Carver Town Administrator regarding the Carver Urban Renewal Project. He told Dennehy that there may be a public meeting in August with the Carver Redevelopment Authority. She said they are looking to hire a direct consultant for the project that people could contact. Carver is considering having a special town meeting in October to consider a zoning amendment that would increase the height allowance for the buildings. “I think it’s something that we should stay on top of particularly if we have Plympton residents located near the project especially if the building height somehow gets allowed to be up to 65 ft,” Dennehy told the Selectmen. She said the Board might want to consider going on record formally at some point regarding their thoughts on the project. Traynor said that when they talked to them, they had agreed to take out the zoning piece that abutted Plympton. He said the acreage from the Plympton line was significant.

Board of Selectmen Liaisons

The Selectmen also reviewed the Board’s liaisons assignments. The Historic Society was reassigned from Russo to Traynor per Traynor’s request. “I don’t want to get in the way of enthusiasm so it’s all yours,” Russo said with a smile. Traynor also asked to be made the liaison to the Recreation Commission. “I think the Town Properties Committee is going to be very involved with the Recreation Committee as we lay out the campus plan,” Traynor said. The Town Clerk was also transferred from Russo to Joy. Wage and Personnel was transferred from Russo to Traynor.

Town Administrator’s Update

Dennehy said the town had received another $32,000 in CARES Act reimbursements from the County. “So far so good; we’ve largely been made whole,” Dennehy said of the reimbursements. Regarding the Green Communities, Dennehy said that they have begun the weatherization project at the Dennett Elementary School. Dennehy also said that they will be doing Wi-Fi thermostats at the historical building (the Old Townhouse). In another update, she said the bylaws regarding kennel inspections have been requested to be reviewed. They will have to look into how partnering with Carver for animal control will affect such things. Dennehy told the Selectmen that Police Chief Matt Clancy has been working on the new phone system. She said that they are not quite up and running as there have been some technical difficulties. “Hopefully, in relatively short order, we will all be functioning on the new phone system and then we can terminate the old one,” Dennehy explained.

Habitat for Humanity

There was also an extension of previous conversations regarding Habitat for Humanity building affordable housing in the town. Dennehy said that she and Traynor met with the representatives from Habitat the previous week. Sites being considered include the old portion of Brook St. as well as another on Main St. Habitat plans to send their engineer out to look at the lots. Dennehy said they would have to go through an RFP process because of the value of the land. She further said that in working with Habitat and the State, Plympton would be able to select the population for the housing. The town would most be interested in working with either age 55 plus or 62 plus. There are specific requirements for each including how many people living in the home must be that age. Dennehy said she wasn’t sure if they could do a combination such as 4 units with two being designated for 55 plus and two for 62 plus. She also noted that they could request a local preference though she wasn’t sure if they could stack preferences. “Regardless of how it shakes out, I think we have an ability here to do a very nice project… there was talk of possibly four units on the site,” Dennehy explained. Joy brought up the possibility of someone in town wanting to donate an unused lot in order to get a tax write off for the donation. “To me the opportunity here is huge,” Wilhelmsen said.

Rants and Raves

As is customary, the Selectmen concluded their meeting with their rants and raves. Russo went first saying that he was glad that the end of year budgeting and administrative issues were through. “Glad to have new people and talented people getting involved,” Russo said speaking to Jafferian who had joined the call to say hello. Traynor went next saying, “If you live on the north end of Crescent St. we have a lot of excitement this week. If you’ve been following Plympton helping Plympton, we have an owl that has decided to make it’s residence between the three houses on the street down this end.” He went on to say that the owl was lethargic and that he was brought to the Cape Wildlife Center. It was found there that the owl had a broken wing and couldn’t fly. “It’s going to be a three-week recovery,” he explained.

Joy said her rave was for someone she doesn’t even know. She said she recently had a dead battery in Plymouth and a kind man helped her jump her car. “Thank you to the kindness of strangers that are there to help each other out,” Joy said.

Animal Adventures at Plympton Town House

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On Saturday, July 3 the Plympton Public Library hosted a free event called Animal Adventures at the Plympton Town Hall. The event, which was held indoors, was well attended during the rainy holiday weekend. Eager children got to view and pet animals such as a boa constrictor, a naked mole-rat, an alligator, a chinchilla, and a gheko lizard.

Animal Adventures describes themselves as a Family Zoo and Rescue Center. Their animals do not come from the wild but are rescued from abusive, orphaned, or unwanted situations. Animal Adventures bring their events to libraries, schools, and such, and are even available for birthday celebrations.

New Town Counsel gets first assignment

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New Town Counsel Brooks & DeRensis got its first assignment from the town of Halifax at the same meeting at which they were appointed.  The new firm will look into what action, if any, will be needed regarding the number of complaints that have been issued by and against several residents.

A number of people had filed complaints against Amy L. Troup including Margaret Selter, Theresa Renaud, Gerry Fitzgerald, and Holly Merry. Troup had also filed one against Theresa Renaud. Finally, a complaint was filed by David Mascio against Margaret Selter. Renaud currently serves as the Administrative Assistant for the Building Department as well as Secretary to the Conservation Commission. Selter serves as Administrative Assistant for the Board of Health. Fitzgerald is a member of the Conservation Commission and Troup is a member of the Planning Board. Mascio does not currently serve for the town though he has recently submitted several talent bank forms and interviewed for some vacant positions. Town Administrator Charlie Seelig recommended to the Board that they forward the complaints to Brooks & DeRensis for advice. The Board agreed.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, June 29. Early in the meeting they turned their attention to the appointment of Town Counsel. They had interviewed several firms during their previous meeting including Lawrence P. Mayo PC who had served as Halifax’s Town Counsel for the last several years. Longtime Selectman Troy Garron made a motion to reappoint Mayo saying, “He’s aware of our situation and he’s done a good job for all the years I’ve been here.” Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews asked if there was a second but there was not so he then asked if there was a motion for another firm. Ashley DiSesa made a motion to approve Brooks & DeRensis. It was seconded and the vote passed two to one.

The Selectmen met with Town Historian Susan Basile to discuss her reappointment. Basile also serves as Chair of the Historical Commission. Andrews asked Basile if she could explain a bit about what the Town Historian does. Basile, who has served in the role for thirty years, replied that she tries to protect the history of the town including pictures, newspaper clippings, and other related items. She said she also researches the town’s history. “I think you’ve done an excellent job,” Garron said. “I think the perspective that I had was to come and tell everybody what it is that you do so the town and community is more aware of what all the Boards and volunteers are doing for our town,” Andrews explained. Vice Chair of the Historical Commission John Shea also came before the Board. The Selectmen voted unanimously to reappoint Basile.

The Board also held interviews for the Zoning Board of Appeals. First to interview was Marline Amedee who has interviewed for a number of vacancies across multiple Boards and Committees as well as running during the town election for certain open positions. Asked by Andrews why she wanted to serve on the ZBA Amedee said, “It’s been my agenda all along to serve the community that I’m in and I’m trying wherever I can because I do believe that I have the capacity to serve in any of the Boards that are available here.” Amedee said that she does not have any background in zoning but believes she would bring other assets that would be beneficial.

Next to interview was Robert Gaynor. Gaynor, who has served as a Halifax Police Officer for 28 years, said he has sat on the ZBA for 32 years. “I’ve worked with a fantastic group of people who each have their own unique contributions that they bring to the Board and I think that we certainly work very well together,” he told the Selectmen. He acknowledged that things can get “complicated” and “involved.” Gaynor said that he has taken a number of courses on zoning laws, etc. “I enjoy it. I wouldn’t stay on the Board if I didn’t and I would like to continue with giving my time and efforts to the town; I think it’s made a difference,” he explained.

Next to interview was David Mascio. Mascio, who has been a resident of the town for six years, said he has closely followed town news the last several years and has attended several ZBA meetings. “I feel I could play a decent role and learn some stuff along the way; I know quite a bit about the bylaws,” Mascio told the Selectmen.

Elizabeth McEwan took the hot seat next. McEwan, who has been a resident for 7 years, said, “So this year I decided that I wanted to get more involved in the community.” McEwan said that in addition to attending town meeting and participating in the election she has also been reading meeting minutes of various Boards. “What was enticing to me is that the Zoning Board of Appeals already has written bylaws, so from my background, I’m all about documentation; I like understanding rules so it was just an easier fit for me,” she explained. McEwan said that while she didn’t think there would be a conflict of interest, she wanted to state for the record that the company that employs her underwrites bid bonds and contract bonds. “I just want to make sure that it wouldn’t be perceived that I was trying to steer anyone wanting to work in the town to my company,” she explained. She further emphasized that she isn’t even licensed to sell insurance.

Thomas Pratt was next. He said that he has been a resident for 8 years and is the father to two young children. He said he spent 13 years in banking but has recently transitioned to insurance. Pratt said he owns a property and casualty firm in Hanson. “We do have some overlap with customers, both builders and buyers in Halifax,” he explained. He said that his father instilled in him a sense of wanting to volunteer in the town in which you are raising your family. “I have no preconceived notions or ideas in sitting here other than to serve,” he told the Selectmen. Like several of the other candidates, he said he doesn’t have any direct experience with zoning but said, “that doesn’t scare me away from the opportunity to learn.”

The final interview for the ZBA was with Tina Kenyon. Kenyon, who has lived in Halifax for 14 years, said she is currently a real estate agent but was in construction for 25 years prior and has two degrees in architectural engineering. “I’m very familiar with codes and enforcement and everything else that goes along with building,” she told the Selectmen. She said she wanted to run for the ZBA as she saw a lot of things trying to change in the town, some that she felt could be changed for the better.

Following the conclusion of the interviews, Garron made a motion to reappoint Gaynor to the ZBA. “He’s done well in the position over the years and even though there may be some agitated individuals, that comes along with the job,” Garron said. DiSesa said that she felt that despite Gaynor’s experience she would like to see another individual appointed as Gaynor already serves in other positions in town. Andrews recused himself from the vote. “We’re at a standstill,” Garron said. Seelig said that if Garron wouldn’t second a different motion from DiSesa, that would, in fact, be the case and they would have to deal with it at a future meeting while having a vacancy on the ZBA in the meanwhile. “I motion to move it to another meeting,” DiSesa said. The Board agreed to move it to the July 13 meeting.

A candidate was also interviewed for the Youth & Recreation Commission. Sarah Nobles, who joined by phone, said she has lived in town for 16 years and is the Vice President of HOPS. She said she was also behind an adult volleyball program that unfortunately was cancelled due to COVID. She spoke about hoping to improve existing facilities. The Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint her.

Amedee appeared before the Board for a second time that night, this time to interview for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Garron asked Amedee how she was acquainted with the law. “I am, as I mentioned before, a social worker… I work mostly with kids with disabilities,” she replied. She said she has been working in the field for the past 20 plus years. Garron moved to appoint Amedee to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The vote was unanimous.

In between their myriad of interviews, the Board also voted unanimously to approve the contract with Police Chief Joao Chaves. The Board, with Andrews recusing, voted to make Robert Piccirilli the temporary Building Inspector for several weeks. Garron agreed but noted that he believes Piccirilli should be made the permanent Building Inspector and continue to serve in the role as he was previously. Piccirilli currently has a case in federal court against the town regarding his lack of reappointment.

Should working meetings be recorded?

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The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually via Zoom on Monday, June 21. The first order of business according to Chair Christine Joy was to appoint Jason Fraser to the Silver Lake Regional School Committee to fulfill the remainder of Mike Antoine’s term through May of 2022. The Board voted unanimously to do so with Joy saying, “Thank you Jason, it is awfully good of you to serve.” Fraser previously served as Chair of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee and currently also serves as Vice Chair of the Plympton School Committee.

There was some discussion on a topic that had been brought up at a previous meeting regarding the recording and posting of what is known as “working meetings.” Selectman John Traynor felt that all meetings of the Board should be recorded and wanted a change made to the policy. Both Joy and Selectman Mark Russo disagreed, however, maintaining their belief that some meetings should still be deemed “working” and not recorded. Joy stressed that these meetings were rare. The Board agreed to adopt Russo’s amended definition of a working meeting with the sole nay vote coming from Traynor.

The Board then discussed the tax title land that had been identified and reviewed by the Open Space Committee, the Conservation Commission, and the Town Properties Committee. The Selectmen needed to make recommendations regarding the individual properties. Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen said they were not in favor of selling any of the properties. Former Selectman Rick Springer asked why they were not in favor of selling any of the properties. Wilhelmsen said, “One, these are not particularly high value properties as far as increasing the tax rolls… two, there are benefits to the town that go beyond the tax rolls in small properties even where we have open space… and I think the third piece is I’m not sure we’re particularly in favor of selling properties whereby we’re necessarily increasing the number of houses that we’re adding in the town because the resulting tax benefits to the tax rolls is generally outweighed by the costs of that to the town.” Springer said he disagreed with the last statement. He had further issue with one of the properties that Joy suggested they discuss separately.

There were multiple properties that Open Space and Conservation recommended keeping in order to protect. The Board voted on those six properties as a group. They voted unanimously not to sell those particular properties.

The Board then looked at the properties that Open Space and Conservation did not have comments on, voting collectively on those. Traynor moved that they keep the properties as town owned land. Again, the Selectmen voted unanimously.

The parcel Springer wanted to be sold at auction was lot 18-4-12 on Churchill Road. This lot was discussed separately. Springer explained his argument saying, “The abutting lot to the town owned piece on Churchill Rd. was given a building permit in the seventies, the owners of that lot have been paying taxes to the town of Plympton for almost fifty years, they cannot use that lot; don’t you think you have some moral obligation to make it right for them?”

Joy confirmed that the abutters never built a home on the lot. Springer said the son owns the lot but lives in New Jersey and has no interest in anything except getting some of his money back on the land. Joy asked if the person had ever gone before the ZBA to get a variance. “ZBA might be an option but I was told it wouldn’t hold water if we put a house on it,” Springer said. Joy said that the lot in question is pretty wet and you really can’t build on the property in question. Springer said the owner of the abutting lot in New Jersey would like to sell the lot to his company (Springer’s) and they would sell it to someone to put up a house.  Russo said, “Rick, I hear you and I think you’ve done a really good job presenting the best argument you can.” He went on to say, however, that he was still against selling the lot. The Selectmen voted unanimously not to sell the lot in question.

Bill McNulty of the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) was there to discuss ways in which the town might be able to restrict heavy truck traffic on non-state roads. McNulty said they did traffic counts on several roads in the town including Main St., Ring Rd, Prospect St., and Pleasant. McNulty said that east of Rt. 58 there were more options for restricting heavy commercial truck traffic. “The town does have the option… on roadways that are under their local jurisdiction… to request a heavy commercial vehicle exclusion from MassDOT assuming that it meets certain criteria,” McNulty explained.  He said that in looking at the roadway network in Plympton as well as the data they collected, the town could request heavy vehicle exclusion on Main St. between Rt. 58 and Rt. 106. He said the difficulty would be that Ring Rd. connects into that and since it runs into Kingston, they would have to sign off as well. McNulty said, however, that he believes it would benefit Kingston to do that. He said that in addition to the data already collected, the State would look for mapping as well. If a trucking company does have business on that roadway, they can still use that roadway.

Town Administrator Liz Dennehy asked what their option would be if Kingston did not want to participate. McNulty said they could probably still proceed with the other roadways. Dennehy also asked about enforcement. McNulty said that the local Police Department could enforce such exclusions. Russo confirmed that west of Rt. 58 the problem was a lack of alternate routes. The Board voted unanimously to allow OCPC to do whatever necessary to take steps toward a heavy vehicle exclusion wherever possible.

After some discussion the Board voted unanimously to adopt the State’s remote participation provision 940 Mass. Reg. 29.10. It states that remote participation of some Board and Committee members may be allowed subject to certain procedures and restrictions. The hope is that the greater flexibility would allow for more widespread participation in government.

The Board also discussed a three-year agreement with the Plympton Police Union. She said the main point in the agreement is the cost of living saying that they agreed to an increase of 2.5 percent, 3 percent, and 2.5 percent over the three years. “That seems to be very reasonable and kind of in line with increases given to other municipal employees,” Dennehy explained. She said they also came to an agreement on an incentive tool for retention that would allow people after five years of continuous service to cash out up to two weeks of sick time. She also noted that they would be adding the Juneteenth holiday. Dennehy said there was also something in the agreement per the Chief regarding personal grooming. Before voting, Joy said, “I should probably say that we are coming off of several years of them taking a zero percent increase because they wanted to work with the town and knew what our situation was so they have been more than willing to work with us to make our budget work for the town.” The vote to accept the three-year agreement was unanimous.

Dennehy provided a Town Administrator’s update. She told the Board that the town had signed an agreement with Carver for Animal Control Officer services for the next three years. Dennehy said it will save the town $4,500 annually. Dennehy said they also signed a contract for dispatch with the Regional Old Colony Communications Center (ROCC) for this coming fiscal year. The amount is for $150,000 as voted at town meeting. Dennehy said that the rate could reduce in future years as more towns come on board. Dennehy told the Board that the town had received more than $145,000 in CARES Act reimbursements.

The Board also appointed a number of people to various Boards and Committees. They included Dave Alberti to the Zoning Board of Appeals alternate through 2022, Vicki Alberti to the Open Space Committee through 2024, Joan Burke to the Council on Aging through 2021, Nancy Butler to the Community Preservation Committee through 2022, Rick Burnett to the Conservation Commission and Community Preservation Committee both through 2022, Jason Shepard to the Community Preservation Committee through 2024, Stuart Chase to the Historic District Commission through 2022, Robert Doucette to the Jason Park Study and Development Committee through 2022, Jeffrey Haas to the Recreation Commission through 2022, Linda Leddy to the Conservation Commission through 2022, Gavin Murphy to the Open Space Committee through 2022, Charles Nickerson to the Historic District Commission through 2022, Erik and Katrina Player to the Recreation Commission through 2022, Jane Schultz to the Historical Commission and Community Preservation Committee both through 2022, Ethan Stiles to the Zoning Board of Appeals through 2022, and Alan Wheelock to the Wage and Personnel Board and Open Space Committee through 2022 and 2023 respectively. The Board voted unanimously on all.

The Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves for the week.

Traynor said that his rave was for the Council on Aging ice cream social that was happening that week as more and more things are returning to normal. “I’m looking forward to it, it should be a great time,” Traynor said. Russo said his rave was “for this meeting tonight; I think we got a lot done.”

Joy said that her rave was for selling stickers at the dump. “So glad that the Highway Superintendent is going to be offering that service,” she said.