Plympton-Halifax-Kingston Express

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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.

Halifax chooses new town counsel

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After interviewing four candidates for Halifax Town Counsel Friday morning, the board voted at their Tuesday night’s meeting to hire the Boston firm of Brooks & DeRensis. Selectmen Gordon Andrews and Ashley DiSesa  voted for Brooks & DeRensis,. Garron wanted to retain Attorney Larry Mayo and voted “no” on appointing Brooks & DeRensis.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Friday morning June 25 during which time they held interviews with four different candidates for Town Counsel.

The first interview was with Paul R. DeRensis. DeRensis began by saying, “I have a history of service to the town going back twenty years; I think I met Troy way, way back… I’ve been serving the town ever since in various capacities… I like the people that I work with, I’ve liked the town, I’ve liked the feel of the town.” He went on to describe his firm as “practical,” “loyal,” and “caring.” He said he has served as a town counsel continuously since 1986. He said that what makes him unique is that he has also been a Select Board member for 9 terms and 27 years. Prior to that he served on the Planning Board and Finance Committee in his own town. DeRensis said that he is also a former president of the Massachusetts Select Board Association. Additionally, he has ten years’ experience on the MMA Board of Directors. “I’ve been an advisor on local affairs to two governors – Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker,” he told the Selectmen. He said that he brings a combination of town counsel experience and an understanding of what it is like to be sitting on the same side of the table as the Selectmen. He confirmed that his firm has a number of lawyers. An associate at his firm also spoke. Leonard Kopelman, who grew the firm KP Law, said that he had previously served as town counsel for Hanson, Pembroke, Carver, Kingston, Rockland, Plymouth, and Lakeville.

Selectman Chair Gordon Andrews asked how many clients they have in the area at this moment. DeRensis said they are very choosy about their clients. He listed several towns including Cohasset that he is currently serving as town counsel for. Selectman Troy Garron asked, “Why should we choose you?” The simple answer given was “because we care” and “I know how to get it done.” Town Administrator Charlie Seelig asked about their preferences for going about giving legal counsel asking if other town Boards and Committees should go through what he called a legal gatekeeper first. DeRensis said that they prefer to use a request for legal services (RLS) and have it signed off on by either a member of the Board of Selectmen or the Town Administrator.

Next to interview was the firm Mead, Talerman & Costa. Partners Lisa Mead, Jason Talerman, and Katherine Feodoroff were all present. Mead, who is a former Mayor of Newburyport, said their firm was formed in 2004 as a municipal law firm that focused mostly on land use law. Mead said that when she was the Mayor, she would often have the City Solicitor come in to work with department heads so there was some cohesion within the legal department and they were “part of the team.” She said that when they created the firm, they aimed to do so in the same way. Mead said that in 2007 they got their first town counsel job with the town of Ashland. “We now represent 23 municipalities as town counsel,” Mead said. She said the goal of their firm is to provide preventative services to a municipality rather than merely acting in a reactionary manner.

Talerman also spoke saying that he is Town Moderator in his town. “Like Lisa, I felt that we should be, again, fostering that team approach,” he explained. He said that they hope to foster an approach where the town would go to counsel before a problem arises to avoid the most expensive option which is litigation. He explained their financial approach saying they provide “this uniform series of contracts and other documents so to help on the contracts or the day-to-day administrative stuff; the rest of it was we developed a series of flat fees… there is tons of shades of gray… but what they are is you have kind of a measurement of what the expected legal budget would be.” “It accomplishes two things, one it provides uniformity and predictability… you pay us a set amount every month,” he continued. He said that financially it all levels out as some months it benefits the firm and other months the town.

Feodoroff also spoke saying that when she was brought on board, she was the Senior Assistant Solicitor in Brockton. “The idea was to broaden the practice to make it a comprehensive, all inclusive firm because in the city of Brockton… I was the lead counsel for all our labor employment matters so I took on that role here,” she explained. She said she also handles marijuana cases.

“I don’t understand, you’re doing so well, why do you want Halifax, why do you want to be counsel here?” Garron asked. “This is going to sound a little geeky, but we really like this stuff,” Talerman said. Mead said they don’t want to sit on their laurels and noted they want to take on more communities. Newest member of the Board of Selectmen Ashley DiSesa asked how accessible the firm would be to the town. Mead said, “One of the things I think that is a hallmark of our firm is our responsiveness.” She went on to say that the town would be assigned a lead attorney as well as a backup. DiSesa also asked how they would like to receive requests for their services from the town. Talerman called it an internal issue saying that there were shades of gray regarding that issue for each of the towns they currently represent. “We are most betrothed to the Select Board,” he did note.

Next to interview was Jason M. Rawlins of Rawlins|Asack LLC. Rawlins acknowledged the prestige of the previous firms to interview before him but said, “I’m a very different situation. I am what I would consider to be truly a local, town attorney.” He continued, “This building is on 499 Plymouth St., I actually grew up at 1115 Plymouth St.” He said he is an active member of the Halifax community and has been volunteering with the senior center for over ten years. He said his wife and father-in-law both work with him. Rawlins said he is currently the town attorney for Bridgewater. He stressed the importance of personal relationships in his work as well as being part of the community. He called his resume extensive saying it would speak for itself. He stressed his differences with the big firms saying how accessible he is and that it would always be him to answer the phone.

Seelig asked what his strategy would be for defending town officials when he knows that those officials have taken actions that he would not have recommended or even actions that are illegal. Rawlins said that his job is to defend the action. “I zealously defend whoever my client is,” he told the Board and Seelig. “My job is to not judge the situation,” he continued.

The final interviewee was Lawrence P. Mayo, the current Town Counsel for Halifax. Mayo has been the Town Counsel for the past 11 years. “I would like to continue the relationship with Halifax; general, municipal, and state government law is my forte I would say; it’s one of the principal components of my practice,” he explained. Mayo previously worked as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the city of Boston for 4 or 5 years. Once he started his own firm, he said he took on a number of municipal clients including but not limited to the city of Lawrence and the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission. “In representing all of these different governmental clients I’ve been responsible, if you will, for advising and representing these different entities.” He said he has handled both complex as well as mundane issues across a variety of governmental areas. “What you have to do as good legal counsel is provide good, accurate, and fair advice, not advice that the particular individual may find most appealing to him or her,” Mayo said. Mayo said that Halifax is the only town that he currently represents. Asked how accessible he is, he said, “I like to think I’m very accessible.”

Andrews asked Mayo how he thought communication could be improved with Town Counsel. “If and when a particular Board member contacts me, it’s made clear whether they are contacting me for purposes of representing the Board… or are they contacting me for purposes of discussing something they need personal guidance on in the realm of their official capacity, of course,” Mayo said. He said it’s important to him to know if a member is contacting him more on an individual basis or as a representative of a Board. Asked about the separation of legal counsel in town, Mayo said “with respect to, in particular, real estate counsel and town counsel… it could be more advantageous to have it wrapped up within one particular entity.”  Asked how he has benefitted the town, Mayo said he believes he is good with prioritizing what needs to be done as well as having an open line of communication.

The Board decided to hold off on voting until the following Tuesday’s meeting. DiSesa said that would allow them to check references.

Board of Health tackles porta potties, e. coli

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The Halifax Board of Health met in-person on Wednesday, June 16. Newly sworn-in member Candice Greene was sitting in on her first meeting since being appointed to the open position through 2022 by both the Board of Health and Board of Selectmen. Greene holds a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP). Greene requested that they change the time of the Board of Health meetings from 6 pm on Wednesdays to 6:30. The Board agreed.

Chair Steven MacFaun began the meeting by reconfiguring the Board. MacFaun said he would like to keep himself as Chair, Pamela Engstrom as Vice-Chair, and Greene as Clerk. Engstrom made the motion, Greene seconded, and the vote was unanimous. The Board also voted unanimously to reappoint Bob Valery as the Health Agent. “It’s my privilege,” Valery said.

MacFaun turned to Valery saying, “Alright Bob, let’s talk about porta potties.” The question surrounded whether or not Cled’s Tree Service at 0 Monponsett needs to have a porta potty. The Board needed to determine if anyone was working at either property. Valery said, “So, at Cled’s, up until Monday, I haven’t observed anyone working at their property.” He continued, “At 0 Monponsett, I haven’t observed anybody on their property since the… site visits that I did there.” The Board felt that it didn’t make sense to require either property to have a porta potty since there didn’t appear to be workers at either site. Engstrom asked if there was any kind of requirement that accompanied any of the permits belonging to the property that would require a porta potty on site. Valery said that the previous Board of Health had sent a letter to Cled’s letting them know that if there were on-site workers, a porta potty would be required.

There was some discussion regarding whether a porta potty is sufficient from a hygienic perspective. MacFaun said, “I mean it’s always been the way it was; I mean construction sites have porta potties they have self-sanitizer dispensers, they have soap dispensers… I remember past discussions; I’m not going to make them bring in a beauty trailer.” A resident spoke up and said that Cled’s does have employees working there most days. Valery said that the same resident had called in a noise complaint on Monday that Valery had addressed. Valery did request that they first vote on the porta potty concern prior to addressing any other complaints. “I almost think we err on the side of caution and make them have it,” MacFaun said. The Board unanimously voted to require porta potties at both sites.

They then turned their attention back to the noise complaint. Chris Winiewicz of Circuit St. spoke saying, “This has been ongoing since pre-Covid… I’ve never had a problem with Cled’s as long as they have been down at the Industrial Park… until he got what is generally referred to as a tub grinder… you can hear this machine up until about a mile away; inside the house you can hear it reverberating in your ears.” He continued, “I’ve also done research and it looks like that machine is not allowed in any district under our bylaws.” “The best way to a solution to anything we do in this town is through collaboration; we have resources… that collectively should be able to come to a resolve on this situation before we have to involve the DEP,” Valery said. Valery said that the Board of Health is typically the first to address any noise complaints. Valery said they would try to reach out to them first internally. Winiewicz clarified, “I’m not against his business… this is all friendly neighbor here.”

The Board then turned their attention to the beaches. Valery said that the Halifax Beach off of Lingan St. had an initial E. coli reading that is just above the recommended levels. Valery guessed that recent downpours had pushed any debris including dog droppings into the water off Lingan St. raising the levels. He clarified that the levels were only slightly elevated and said that if anyone had been swimming in it prior, they should be fine assuming they don’t have open wounds and weren’t drinking from it. As of June 22, the beach remains closed.

Valery provided a COVID update. “Right now, things are going very well,” Valery said. He pointed out the widespread availability of vaccines at various locations. He recommended that those that cannot or choose not to be vaccinated maintain social distancing and wear a mask.

They also addressed a number of permits including ones for dog shows and seasonal mobile food trucks. MacFaun only questioned the request for a permit by Twin Lakes Package as he said he believed they needed an occupancy permit before they could receive a permit to sell things. Valery said that despite the lack of the occupancy permit, the Board could still approve the other permits for the business. The Board voted unanimously to approve all requested permits. Valery said that the food trucks and other establishments bring in revenue for the town and said it would be wise to encourage residents to attend.

Halifax ZBA holds last virtual meeting

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The Halifax Zoning Board of Appeals met on Monday, June 14 via Zoom. Chair Robert Gaynor said that it would likely be the last virtual meeting before resuming in-person meetings. Town Administrator Charlie Seelig said that whether or not virtual participation will still be possible for the public will depend on the technology piece.

The first appointment of the evening was with David and Laura Gibbons of Oak St. The Gibbons were requesting to appeal the Building Inspector’s denial for a wood burning stove. They were asking for an extension until the July 12 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.  The Board voted unanimously to accept the Gibbons’ request for postponement.

After accepting several meeting minutes, the Board turned their attention to their next appointment which was a public hearing for an application by Reginald Matthews of Cedar St. for a special permit for an existing in-law apartment. Matthews said nothing had changed since the previous special permit saying, “Nothing has changed to my knowledge so it’s steady as she goes.” Gaynor verified that no walls had been taken down or any such similar changes as well as verifying that it was an immediate family member still occupying the in-law apartment. Gaynor asked if the only permit on file was the one from 1998. Matthews said they purchased the home in 1998. After some digging, Gaynor verified that the special permit was acquired in April of 2010.

Board member Peter Parcellin asked if utilities were shared. “What is shared is the water because it’s a well and the septic,” Matthews explained. Parcellin asked about the electric and was told that they were separate and had always been that way since construction. Board member Robert Durgin asked Matthews if it was an income producing apartment. “They pay me, yes,” Matthews replied. Gaynor then once again verified that it was an immediate family member and was reassured that it was. Asked who was in the in-law apartment now, Matthews said it was a daughter.

Durgin said that the last name associated with both the purchase in 1998 and the special permit in 2010 was McGee not Matthews. “All right, there’s a little bit of a story to that,” Matthews began. “For 60 years I was known as McGee because my mother had doctored my birth certificate and then when I went to the Registry for the real ID, they had a problem with my birth certificate and it’s found out that my mother doctored it but my name is Reginald Daniel Matthews,” he concluded. “Wow, that’s a new one,” Durgin said laughing.

Matthews did inquire with the Board about what the advantage would be of requesting a permit to make it a duplex. He was told that he would be able to rent the apartment to anyone were that change made. Gaynor said the changes required to the permitting process would, however, be substantial. Matthews said that for now, he just wanted to keep things as they currently are and apply for the existing in-law apartment.

Parcellin said that what was on the books from 2010 was unusual in so far as it was for an in-law apartment to become an income producing apartment. Board member Dan Bosari said, “So my question now is it’s not an in-law apartment, it’s an income producing apartment?” Matthews said that it was an in-law apartment saying, “It is, it’s family.” Bosari said it was changed from a single-family home with an in-law apartment to a single-family home with an income producing unit. “The petition says for an existing in-law apartment, well really technically, you don’t have an existing in-law apartment if I’m reading all of this right,” Bosari told Matthews. Gaynor asked the other Board members how they felt about the situation saying of the 2010 permit, “It specifically stated that it was for a five-year period as an in-law apartment to a single-family house with an income producing apartment… and that was in 2010 and it was for a period of five years.” “I think if anything they have no approvals for anything right now because that would have run out, so I think we can approve this on the merits of this application,” Parcellin said. Gaynor asked if there were any abutters that wanted to speak to the application but there were not.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the petition as presented to renew the special permit for the existing in-law apartment.

Gaynor addressed some talent bank forms that had been received saying they had an application for David Mascio and Tom Millias for the alternate position on the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mascio had recently applied for the opening on the Board of Health but the Board of Health and Board of Selectmen elected a different candidate. Millias was a longstanding member of the Board of Selectmen before being bested by Ashley DiSesa in the most recent town election.

Plympton awards bid for playground

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The Plympton School Committee met virtually on Monday, June 14 mainly to tie up some loose ends from the previous meeting on June 1 and to discuss the awarding of the playground bid.

Director of Business Services Christine Healy took the lead on the playground discussion. Healy said that they would be reaching out to Higher Education Consortium to purchase the materials for the new playground. After going out to bid for the installation, four vendors submitted bids. Healy explained that the base bid is for the original plan and design. What they are referring to as “Alternate Number 1” is a plan that would replace any wood chips in the original design with additional rubberized surface. Not including installation, Healy said that the cost of the additional rubberized surface is $99,000.

After receiving all necessary paperwork from the vendors as well as vetting their references, Healy said that the lowest bid for the base bid came from Rock Solid Construction. She recommended to the Committee that they award the bid to them which they voted to do unanimously. They also voted to allow Healy to reach out to the local consortium regarding equipment.

Regarding cost, Healy said, “We’re right at that number; we don’t have extra.” She did note that the cost of the design company should be able to be absorbed in this current year’s budget. “This is pretty tight,” Chair of the Committee Jon Wilhelmsen agreed. As a result of certain students graduating, he noted, “Clearly we won’t have the level of school choice funds next year.” Healy said, however, that whatever school choice funds there are can be available as soon as they come in and noted that they come in all 12 months.

Wilhelmsen asked, “Do we have to hold back on a piece of equipment or do we feel comfortable that we can get this done?” Vice Chair Jason Fraser reminded Wilhelmsen that there would be another $25,000 coming in that was benchmarked for rubberized surface.

Regarding just how tight the budget would be, Healy remarked, “I think we have $2,000 left over.”

In addition to the playground discussion, the Committee discussed a number of topics that were covered in their June 1 meeting. Wilhelmsen said, “We have successfully negotiated a one-year contract with the aides for the Dennett which we were happy to do.” The Committee voted unanimously to approve the contract.

They also voted unanimously to approve the policies as outlined by Fraser during their previous meeting.

There was also continued discussion regarding after school activities. Committee member Amy Hempel has been working directly with Dennett Principal Peter Veneto to organize some after school activities as early as this fall. Hempel’s proposal was shared with the other Committee members.

Hempel said that one of the biggest hurdles was figuring out how to break things out for the different age groups. She acknowledged that it would be a learning experience. Wilhelmsen said he agreed and said that was to be expected when endeavoring to do something new, particularly something he called “ambitious.”

Committee member Dan Cadogan asked if there was anything they could do in terms of additional fundraising outside of what was already being done.

Hempel said that help was always welcome though she said she wasn’t certain of the rules regarding the School Committee engaging in that type of help. Fraser said that it would depend on what hat one was wearing at the time but noted that there was nothing precluding anyone on the Committee from helping out individually.

Wilhelmsen agreed noting that it would be important to keep the distinction between helping as a parent or community member versus as part of the School Committee.

Hempel said that she wants to keep the equipment, etc. used for the programs separate from that used by Plympton Athletic Youth Sports (PAYS). She explained that the equipment used by PAYS is sometimes loaned out to Coastal Snap. “Donations are probably something we are going to have to look for,” Hempel said.

Before adjourning, Wilhelmsen thanked Hempel and PAYS for the resounding success of their annual bike ride to school day.

Veneto nodded vigorously in agreement. Wilhelmsen said he had heard good things regarding the ride from both the Police Chief as well as one of the Selectmen.

Halifax BOS holds more interviews

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The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on July 8 during a meeting that had both a packed house and a packed agenda.

Finance Committee Interviews

The first appointment for one of the three open spots on the Finance Committee was with Michael Bennett. Andrews began by asking Bennett if he was aware of the time commitment that he stated was from January to May. Bennett, who said he has lived in town for 13 years, said he has worked 40 years in the IT industry. “The last twenty, maybe even a little more, as a manager responsible for developing budgets, managing budgets, and dealing with changes to those budgets,” Bennett explained.

Martha Hall was next to interview for the Committee. “I’ve been working in educational publishing for the last almost 30 years. My last two jobs are probably most relevant; I worked at a company in Plymouth that was a vendor for the educational publishing industry and there I created a whole division in licensing and permissions that didn’t exist before… I ran my own P & L, budgets, RFP, all that kind of good stuff,” Hall said. She said she was then hired away by the vendor’s biggest client, Cengage Learning, where she works today and runs three different divisions. Andrews asked if she would be interested in any other Boards and Committees and Hall said she would be, particularly the Historical Commission.

Michael O’Brien was the third candidate to interview. O’Brien said he currently works in education and has been working in schools for the last ten years. “I was a teacher first and now I’m on the administrative side,” O’Brien explained. He continued, “I’ve done everything from fundraising and development to international programs and student affairs; my wife and I recently moved to the town a couple of months ago… I’m excited to serve the town in some capacity.”

The final applicant for the Finance Committee was Jon Schmaling who said he has lived in town for nearly 12 years, and is a director at a for-profit school in Plymouth. “I pretty much have run every aspect of that business for the last twelve years,” he told the Board. He said he has experience with marketing, budgets, tuition increases, payroll, etc. “I’ve also been heavily involved with debt collection,” he added.

In addition to the three open spots on the Finance Committee, Cheryll Zarrella Burke is also up for reappointment. The Selectmen agreed to put off the voting and final appointments until a later date when the Finance Committee would also be fully present.

Alison Vance Resignation

At this point in the meeting, the Halifax Elementary School Committee meeting was initiated, and Selectman Gordon Andrews recused himself as a member of the Board of Selectmen to assume his other role on the Halifax Elementary School Committee. Schmaling said that she wanted to read Alison Vance’s resignation letter from the Elementary School Committee to clear things up for the public. First, Summer Schmaling thanked Vance for her years of service. Regarding Vance’s letter and the School Committee’s reaction to that letter, Schmaling said, “We were very upset about it, to be frank.” Vance’s letter stated that she had the utmost respect for her fellow Committee members but noted, “I did not sign up for the false accusations, threats of legal action, inaccurate statements made on social media, and general nastiness from certain members of the community these last few months.” It continued, “To say that I am disappointed in their behavior is an understatement. Mostly the inaccurate and misguided social media posts made by Robert Slager and the relentless, self-serving, self-righteous, one-sided, misinformed, arrogant, aggressive, threatening, divisive, and overall disturbing emails and Facebook posts presented by Evan Smith to the School Committee have led me to feel unsafe and unfairly criticized in a volunteer role.”

Halifax Elementary School Committee Interviews

The first interview was with candidate Marline Amedee. Amedee, who has a child in the school system, has interviewed for the role in the past. She said she wants to serve her community and “learn about my fellow constituents and citizens and help them to bring a great education to the students and children in Halifax.” Amedee said she feels that her experience as a social worker and her Masters in counseling and psychology would benefit the Committee. One of the newest members of the School Committee, Jim Keegan, asked Amedee how she felt about partisan politics and personal agendas. “I just want to be part of my community. I don’t have any agenda… we need to remain neutral,” she replied. “I’m not here to represent X or Y; I’m here to represent the children of Halifax,” she continued. Schmaling asked her if she had ever been part of an elected Board before. Amedee said she had been appointed to one by the Mayor in Brockton.

The second candidate to interview for the School Committee was Jennifer Carroll who said she has been a resident of Halifax for nearly 20 years and currently has four children in the school system. “I have been a very active volunteer in this town… I have run fundraisers for the PTO, I have volunteered at just about every bookfair, Breakfast with Santa, fun runs, field trips,” Carroll said. “It got to the point where I probably should have been on payroll,” she said laughing. Carroll also said that she has over 15 years of experience with accounting and finances. Keegan also asked Carroll about her opinion on partisan politics and how it relates to the School Committee in Halifax. “I don’t believe that the School Committee has anything to do with anything political… I don’t think that it holds any place on a school committee,” she replied.

The final candidate was Michael O’Brien, who had also interviewed for the Finance Committee. O’Brien, who has no children, said he has only lived in Halifax since February. He said he has been working in education for the last decade and currently works at Boston College High School. Asked about negotiating with Teacher’s Associations, he noted that it can be “difficult to move the needle.” He added, “At the end of the day transparency is the name of the game with negotiations.” Keegan asked O’Brien the same question he asked the other candidates regarding partisan politics. “I don’t have any preconceived agenda or anything like that… I don’t believe that politics really have any role in school committees or the town,” he responded. O’Brien also noted that he is not on social media.

Summer Schmaling made a motion that was seconded to nominate Jennifer Carroll to the School Committee. School Committee member Lauren Laws spoke up and said that she felt that it was important to honor the town’s input and noted that Marline Amedee actually received the next highest number of votes during the recent town election following the two candidates that were voted onto the Committee. Keegan, who noted that he was asked by multiple people to run for the School Committee, said he had to take into consideration the people who put him in the seat and vote according to his own opinion on who might be the best candidate while noting that all were “excellent.” “I feel like we can’t ignore the democratic process of voting,” Laws countered. There was considerable debate between the School Committee and the Selectmen regarding Laws’ argument. Selectman Troy Garron spoke up in favor of Laws’ opinion. Laws said that it was her understanding that when Alex Meade was elected to the Board, it had been considered that he got the third most votes during the previous election.

The Committee and the Board of Selectmen then took a vote to appoint Carroll. The only no votes came from Laws and Garron. With the majority voting in favor of Carroll, she was appointed to the position. The Halifax Elementary School Committee then adjourned for the evening, leaving the Board of Selectmen to resume the rest of their meeting.

Board of Health Interviews

The Board of Health opened their meeting as part of the Board of Selectmen meeting to hold interviews with the candidates for the opening on the Board of Health. Administrative Assistant to the Board of Health Peggy Selter asked to speak before the interviews were conducted telling the Board of Selectmen, “Mr. Mascio submitted a talent bank form for the Board of Health for the open seat and while I don’t know Mr. Mascio personally, as an employee for the town, I have concerns. He has openly and publicly implied that the town employees are Nazis and Communists…. Why are you entertaining Mr. Mascio for any open seat?” Andrews responded that they were interviewing everyone who submitted a talent bank form.

The first interview was with Candice Greene. Greene, who has lived in Halifax for nine years and has two children at Halifax Elementary, said she has over 15 years of healthcare experience. She began as an EMT and worked as a registered nurse at Tufts Medical Center as well as at Boston Children’s Hospital. Greene has a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP). Asked by Garron how she deals with adversity she responded, “It’s about finding that common ground that works for everyone.”

David Mascio was the second to interview. Mascio said he has lived in Halifax for a little over 5 years and said he is a father of three children. He said he is a heavy equipment mechanic who has been in construction for well over twenty years. He addressed what was said about him by Selter saying a better term than “hostile” to describe him would be “enthusiastic.” He said he looks forward to guiding the residents of Halifax.

Kimberly King-Cavicchi was next to interview. She called the Board of Health “one of the most important Boards that you have to have a quorum for in a municipality.” She said she has knowledge in emergency management, sanitary housing codes, and has some knowledge of septic systems including how to read a plan. Cavicchi said she has lived in Halifax since 2001 with the exception of a four-year break. She is also an associate member with Conservation.

Marline Amedee and Tom Millias both decided not to interview despite submitting talent bank forms. Millias wrote to Seelig giving his support for Alan Dias who was the next to interview. Dias asked that Selectmen Gordon Andrews and Ashley DiSesa recuse themselves from the vote. “Based on prior rulings and Mrs. DiSesa’s activities over the internet and the fact that Mr. Andrews has followed me around, taken pictures of particular jobs, I believe both of them are biased and I don’t believe that I can get a very proper hearing with their votes,” Dias said. Andrews said, “If you want both of us to recuse ourselves, there will be no interview with you.” Andrews cited quorum concerns with the Board of Selectmen as his reasoning and the interview proceeded. Dias said he has been a Board of Health member for six years and involved in town for over 40 years on several Committees. “I think I can handle myself well and I think I’ve been very fair and reasonable to the people in town,” Dias said. He has had a lifelong business in the septic business.

Garron nominated Candice Greene and DiSesa seconded. She was voted in unanimously.

Appointment with Department of Fish and Game

Joan Pierce who was representing the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game met with the Board of Selectmen. Pierce said she was there to ask the Selectmen to please sell them what she referred to as “Parcel A.” She addressed the Selectmen saying, “So we can get you $150,000 this fiscal year.” She also referred to a deal that has been in the works between the town and the Department of Fish and Game for over a year. She said that the sale of what is called the “sliver” is ongoing and noted that the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) still had to do some work on it. Pierce also said that Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig had been involved in recent conversations regarding the sale. “It is guaranteed that the town will get the sliver, but it won’t happen this fiscal year,” Pierce explained. Garron made a motion to move forward with the deal on Parcel A. After confirmation from Pierce that the other deal would definitely happen, the other Selectmen agreed with the motion.

COVID Updates

Seelig shared that the Fire Chief wants to order another batch of rapid COVID tests. Seelig said the tests are $35 each with a minimum order of 20. The batch being used by the Fire Department had expired June 1. Only two tests were used in May. The Board of Health Agent had recommended waiting until the fall as another surge could potentially occur then. Seelig asked the Board if they were okay with that timing and Chair of the Selectmen Gordon Andrews said, “If that’s the guidance, yea, I would.”

Regarding the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), Seelig said that Halifax should expect to see about $2.3 million assuming that the Plymouth County funds are allocated on a per capita basis. Garron asked if the County Commissioner had accepted the funds yet and Seelig said they were waiting to see if the County or the State would be allocating the funds. Seelig said he would be checking on whether the Halifax State of Emergency would continue once the Commonwealth’s declared State of Emergency runs out.

Seelig told the Board, “Good news in terms of reimbursements, the Plymouth County CARES Act folks have sent $657,796.52 in a variety of checks… that’s not new money in the sense of a reimbursement; we already spent the money.” Andrews asked how much was still outstanding for reimbursements and Seelig said he believed it to be a couple hundred thousand dollars.

Re-Precincting

Seelig addressed the possibility of re-precincting. He said that he and Town Clerk Susan Lawless had met with representatives from the State as Halifax’s population was nearing the 8,000 mark. “Under State law no precinct can have more than 4,000 people… the recommendation from the State is to divide the town into three precincts instead of two,” Seelig explained.  Seelig shared a map with the Selectmen showing where the three precincts would be though he noted no decision would be made that night. Seelig recommended to the Board that they send a letter to Representative Kathy LaNatra and Senator Michael Brady requesting that the State not be the ones to draw the precinct lines. “Especially as we are capable of doing it ourselves,” Seelig said. The Board of Selectmen agreed unanimously.

BOS rejects Green Earth Cannabis HCA

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The Halifax Board of Selectmen, who have been meeting with greater frequency than usual, met in-person on June 11. They dealt with some regular town business including approval of line-item transfers and ambulance abatements. They also signed off on a road opening for White Island Road to install a new gas service requiring one detail. There was another road opening request for 160 Holmes St. to install a new gas service as well.

Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews recused himself from the discussion of the Host Community Agreement (HCA) with Green Earth Cannabis. “There’s nothing, as far as I know, in State law that says that simply because someone proposes a Host Community Agreement the town is obligated to say so. I think, you know, it’s the Board’s judgment call not just on zoning issues or site plan review which are being done by the Planning Board but whether it’s worth it to the community to have this establishment in here… it’s one of the reasons we ask for the public comments on it,” Town Administrator Charlie Seelig explained.

He told Selectmen Ashley DiSesa and Troy Garron their options including agreeing to the HCA, saying no to it, asking for additional provisions within it, or asking for additional public comment. Garron said he has very strong feelings about it and said he has heard from more residents against the idea than for it. Seelig said that a valid reason to say no would be that there was significant opposition to the establishment particularly due to its close proximity to residents resulting in traffic worries, etc. Garron made a motion that they not agree to the proposed HCA and DiSesa agreed. Seelig said he would communicate the decision to the applicant.

The Selectmen also reviewed the Police Department rules and regulations. Seelig asked the Board if they wished to move the discussion to a further date and have Police Chief Joao Chaves attend. Andrews pointed out that they hadn’t been updated in a really long time and Seelig laughed saying, “Yea, in about 45 years.”  Selectmen DiSesa and Garron both said they had reviewed the new rules and saw no issue. The Selectmen then unanimously approved.

Seelig also discussed several documents pertaining to the Franklin St. Solar Field. “There are two documents, one is the final document related to the actual payment of taxes pilot agreement and that is going to go to the Registry of Deeds… the other is for financing purposes for the developer,” Seelig explained. The Board unanimously agreed to approve the documents. The Solar Field itself was approved at a previous year’s town meeting.

The Selectmen also re-evaluated their own duties and liaisons. Garron agreed to stay on as the liaison to the Animal Control Officer. He also agreed to be assigned to Cemetery, MBTA, Memorial Day, Monponsett, Advisory, and Old Colony Planning Council delegate. DiSesa was assigned to the Capital Planning Committee as well as the Highway Department. Seelig remained on for Chief Procurement Officer and the insurance plan. Andrews agreed to be the liaison to the Finance Committee and Fire Department as well as the Halifax Emergency Management. He also took on Government study. DiSesa agreed to Traffic Safety.

The Selectmen also discussed the surplus equipment procedure. Seelig said, “We have tried to be transparent in the past when we’re selling property, to get the information out; this helps formalize what locations, what venues we’ll be putting out notices and such when we’re putting property out for sale whether it be vehicles or something else.” He said that for vehicles they would still do the auctions and advertise on the town website. Seelig told the Selectmen that this way any resident who may be interested can find out about it and no one can say they weren’t aware of the proceedings. The Selectmen voted unanimously for the policy.

Seelig also addressed reports received regarding OUI (Operating Under the Influence). He said that for the last several months there were none reporting that someone pulled over said they had had their last drink in Halifax. “Most of the time we get a clean sheet,” Seelig said.

Seelig also said he was looking into reports of erratic power outages in town.

DiSesa halts Piccirilli’s reappointment

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The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, June 1. Participants could also join virtually via Zoom though newest Selectman Ashley DiSesa made a motion that the chat function be disabled on Zoom. Before seconding the motion, veteran Selectman Troy Garron requested an explanation. DiSesa said, “Because I feel like if someone wants to talk at our meeting, they should raise their hand and say who they are just like they would if they were here.” The motion passed unanimously.

Chair of the Selectmen Gordon Andrews said the first order of business would be a discussion of the possible candidates for the Council on Aging as well as a possible vote on the new Director for the Council on Aging. Chair Jo Schofield addressed the Selectmen saying, “We had selected four applicants from the 16… we interviewed with you the three that we liked the best and we have left it to you to decide which of those you wanted to bring to the Council on Aging.”

She continued, “They desperately need someone over there now; there is absolutely no one in charge.” Garron recommended to his fellow Board members that they choose Darlene Regan. Andrews seconded the motion. “The reason I chose her, for one, she’s familiar with Halifax and the Council on Aging building,” Garron explained. He continued, “She’s approachable and I think as an outreach worker she has her finger on the ball of elderly service.” Regan was voted in unanimously. Regan won the position over fellow finalists Debra Surpenant and Lisa Leake.

Andrews recused himself for the next portion of the meeting. Vice-chair Garron said, “Up for reappointment, who I feel has done an excellent job in his position of Building Inspector, Mr. Piccirilli.” Garron then moved that the Board reappoint Robert Piccirilli as Building Inspector for the next three years. Following a lengthy silence, Garron asked, “Is there a second?” DiSesa responded, “No, I don’t second.” Town Administrator Charlie Seelig then told the Board that if they decided not to reappoint him, the projected schedule for advertising and recruitment would need to have a deadline date of June 18 for applications for the position. Seelig said he hoped to advertise in the Plympton-Halifax Express. He asked the Board what date they would like to hold interviews for candidates for the position. DiSesa and Garron chose June 23 at 6:30 pm. They are already holding interviews for a number of other positions on the evening of June 22.

Plympton BOS appointments

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The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on June 7 with Christine Joy serving officially as Chair for the first time this year after being sworn in earlier in the week. The Selectmen began by voting on several appointments. First up was the appointment of Paul D’Angelo, Jr. to the Planning Board until the next town election in May of 2022. Like D’Angelo, Dave Batchelder was also unanimously appointed to the Board of Assessors until May of 2022. The Selectmen also appointed Nathaniel L. Stone as a full-time Police Officer through June 30, 2022. Russo also made the motion to appoint the town Treasurer/Collector Christine Kelly as Custodian of tax possession property to an open-ended term.

The Selectmen agreed to retain Joy’s position as the FY22 Advisory Board representative to Plymouth County.

The Selectmen then began their votes on the paid town employees that are appointed by the Board of Selectmen. All of the appointments were made through June 30, 2022.  Appointments included Brian Vasa as Conservation Agent, Kathy Cannizzo as the Administrative Assistant to the Building Department, Allison Merry as the Administrative Assistant to the Board of Assessors, Ken Thompson as the Zoning Enforcement Officer, Tom Millias as the Building Inspector, William Kelly Jr. as the Assistant Building Inspector, Scott Peterson as the Alternate Wiring Inspector, Scott Varley as the Wiring Inspector, Douglas Hawthorne Jr. as the Gas & Plumbing Inspector, Briggette Martins as the Administrative Assistant to the Board of Selectmen, Colleen Thompson as Director of Elder Services, James Mustacaros as a Senior Aide to the Council on Aging, and Tara Shaw as Assistant Treasurer/Collector.

Several of the appointments pertained to the Highway Department including Rob Firlotte as the Highway Superintendent, Benjamin Sarro as the Highway Working Foreman, Colleen Morin as the Highway Department Administrative Assistant and several other Highway Laborers. Steve Sarro was named as Custodian and Transfer Station attendant as well as several other Transfer Station workers. Leanne Cashman was named as the Administrative Assistant to the Police Department. Additionally, all Police Officers hired within the last year were also appointed. Madeline Pompei was named as the Clerk to the Library and Planning Board. The Selectmen took a single vote to unanimously appoint all positions as listed by Joy.

Selectman John Traynor requested to have a discussion on the general rule of the Board stating, “Whenever possible, and as a courtesy to the public, open session BOS meetings will be recorded and posted. The Minutes of the meeting shall remain the official record of the proceedings.” Traynor said that all general open meetings are recorded and posted by Area 58 on YouTube but said he would like to discuss what he referred to as working meetings. “I think we owe it to our citizens, to our residents, to post all meetings, open meetings… while it’s not legally required, the spirit of the law is that all meetings be open… openness, transparency… I think it also allows for citizens, especially the seniors or anybody that has disability, because it’s not easy for them to come into our meetings once we’re back in physical session… and then the other issue becomes who decides it’s a working meeting,” Traynor explained. He said that ultimately, he wants to post recordings of all open meetings. Joy said, “My only concern is we have done this so few times… we have had three so I don’t think its something that we abuse. Sometimes I think it is in the best interest of employees and the town to have working meetings, particularly if we have an individual who requires coaching or if there’s situations that come up where I certainly don’t want to embarrass people but it wouldn’t meet the threshold for executive session.” She did agree that maybe they did need to better define what is a working meeting. Russo said he was in agreement with Joy. Russo said he believes the stated definition of a working meeting is sufficient; it reads as, “a posted session open to the public called to informally discuss in-depth a topic or topics for possible future action.” “I’m not going to flog this horse, we have been through this before, but I think it’s wrong,” Traynor said. They agreed not to vote on it that night.

Town Administrator Liz Dennehy took the lead on the discussion of town-owned land that had been identified for potential affordable, age-qualified housing opportunities. She said that herself, Jon Wilhelmsen, John Traynor, and the Fire Chief went out and looked at five different town owned parcels with the mindset to identify at least one to present to Habitat for Humanity for age-qualified housing. “In looking at those five parcels, the one that rose to the top is the one located off of Brook St… it’s just a hair over two acres in size; I checked today with the Assessor’s Office and the Building Department and there are no foreseeable issues with building a house on that land,” Dennehy explained. “I think it’s a win-win,” Traynor said regarding the lot. Wilhelmsen said he was hopeful that they could work with Habitat, who usually builds two-level homes, to encourage a design that would be more elderly friendly. Wilhelmsen also called it a “beautiful lot.” “I think as far as design and construction we would want some sort of seat at the table,” Dennehy agreed. Joy said that preference would be given to locals and noted that the structure would need to fit into the character of the town. Russo clarified for those present at the meeting that what they would be voting on that night would only be the identification of the lot as a potential site for a Habitat for Humanity project.

Dennehy provided the Board with a Town Administrator update. Regarding in-person meetings versus the continuation of remote meetings, Dennehy said, “Everyone is still waiting to hear about the pending legislation; the Governor did file legislation that would, among many other things, it would extend the relaxation of the open meeting law provisions and would allow for full remote meetings through September 1 but we’re still waiting to find out if that gets approved or not.” Dennehy also said that she was still actively working on some Green Community projects and trying to secure final funding for a lot of different grants that will be closing out the end of the fiscal year this month. Dennehy also said that they were waiting on reimbursements for a number of CARES Act submissions made by the town.

Traynor told the other Selectmen that an eighth grade Silver Lake teacher had assigned a project to their students, part of which was to reach out to local officials for help. He explained that he agreed to participate and received 34 emails. Each student is assigned an issue such as single use plastic bags and they are tasked with asking a local official for help in drafting legislation. Traynor said he was willing to help but noted that there were eight different projects. He asked his fellow Selectmen if they could divide them into three groups with each Selectman taking several of the projects. “It sounds like a really worthy project but if we’re going to use our time and energy on a project like that… I just want to be a little cautious on that,” Russo said. Traynor suggested having the teacher join their next meeting via Zoom. Joy also recommended having Kathy LaNatra attend.

The Selectmen then moved on to rants and raves. Traynor said that his rave was for Briggette Martins, the Boy Scouts, and three people who helped him mulch the library. Joy said that hers was for the same.

“My question coming out of this is do we want to create a budget, a decorating budget for the library and for Memorial Day… kind of this spruce up for Memorial Day,” Joy asked. “I think it’s a great idea Christine; I think it’s needed,”

Traynor agreed. Russo said his rave was for the bit of a lull between meetings saying, “I appreciate the time to recharge a little and rest a little.”

Wilhelmsen elected Chair of Plympton School Committee

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The Plympton School Committee met remotely on Tuesday, June 1. Superintendent Jill Proulx called the meeting to order and initiated the reorganization of the Committee. Jason Fraser nominated Jon Wilhelmsen to once again serve as Chair. The vote was unanimous.

Wilhelmsen then took over control of the meeting. Committee member Dan Cadogan nominated Fraser to once again serve as Vice Chair and Amy Hempel seconded the motion. It was also voted unanimously. Fraser nominated Hempel to serve as Secretary, a position previously filled by Mike Antoine. As was the case with the other positions, the vote was unanimous.

Special Town Meeting Updates

Under new business, Wilhelmsen said the school had requested a number of transfers to deal with the driveways at the Dennett, a new mower for the fields, and other requests. Wilhelmsen said all passed during the Special Town Meeting.  Another request was to take $20,000 to divide among the employees at the Dennett Elementary as an additional $500 payment. It passed by only two votes during the Special Town Meeting but after that meeting had closed and regular Town Meeting had resumed, it was discovered the Finance Committee’s votes had not been counted. All Finance Committee members voted against the transfer as they felt such a transfer should be granted to other town departments and not limited to just the schools. While the vote was recorded as passed at the Special Town Meeting, Wilhelmsen said he felt that the school should not use the money and return it to the town as the vote would not have passed had it been done accurately. The Committee agreed.

Use of Dennett Fields and Grounds

Regarding correspondence, Hempel sent in a request on behalf of Plympton Athletic Youth Sports (PAYS) to hold a movie night on the Dennett fields following a soccer game on June 12. “It seems like a great event and a great way to sort of kick off the summer,” Wilhelmsen said.  The Committee agreed it was a good idea.

There were also discussions regarding the care of the Dennett grounds. Wilhelmsen said it had been several years since it was last discussed and he wanted to find out the pleasure of the current Committee. While the schools have authority over the grounds, they delegate care of them to the Highway Department and PAYS. Hempel said the budget is quite small with the bulk of it going to sprinklers leaving only $500 for additional maintenance. She explained, however, that PAYS is fine handling the additional expenses as long as they can hold movie nights and other fundraisers to compensate.

The misuse of the fields, particularly regarding dog excrement, was also discussed. Wilhelmsen said that a previous suggestion was to keep bags nearby for dog waste. Wilhelmsen said, “the next step will be to say the fields are off limits.” He said he hated the idea of doing that as it would negatively impact all of those who do pick up after their dogs while enjoying use of the fields.  There are several signs already indicating proper use and procedure regarding picking up after dogs. Hempel said they were aware of who the offenders were.

Pandemic Related Changes

Wilhelmsen brought up the issue of whether or not there could be remote participation once the School Committee meetings are back in-person. He said other committees have tried to do so and found it to be “clunky.” He said their next meeting will be July 12 and then not again until September. He asked the other Committee members if they wished to do that meeting in-person or remotely again. Cadogan asked that the July meeting be held virtually. Wilhelmsen said that provided that the Governor allows for it, the Committee will plan to hold that meeting virtually. He also said that if a streamlined approach could be figured out, he would like to still offer virtual participation for future in-person School Committee meetings. Proulx suggested reaching out to Area 58 for assistance.

COVID-19 updates from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) were also discussed. Fraser called the Plympton Board of Health “a great partner” in helping to keep the schools updated on the changing guidance. For schools, the only change issued was that masks would no longer be required for outdoor activities. There has already been indication that schools will be expected to be open five days a week next year without social distancing in place. Fraser did note that masks at the elementary level are still possible. Summer school guidance does say they expect kids to do exactly what is being done currently for distancing and masking.

Playground and Solar Project Update

Director of Business Services Christine Healy said they have gone out to bid for the playground both for materials and installation. A pre-bid walkthrough of the site was held with several potential vendors. She said four bids came in with a variety of rates and references are now being sought. Healy said the next step will be awarding the bids. Cadogan asked what the timeframe was for completion of the playground and Healy said they were hoping for mid-August.

Wilhelmsen said the agreement on the solar project at the school was voted through at Town Meeting. He said the goal would be to have a structural inspection done by the end of June with construction beginning in July, and the project finished prior to the start of school.

Reports of Standing Committees and Administration

Union 31 held a meeting on May 27 at which point the evaluation of the Superintendent was approved. Wilhelmsen said they also looked to make sure the administrative staff was granted proper time off. Wilhelmsen said that there would be a week over the summer where the administrative office would be closed down in order to provide a much-needed break.

Cadogan provided an update on PAC saying there were six new enrollments. “PAC itself is doing well financially,” he told the Committee.

Fraser provided the update for the Policy Subcommittee. “Policy is a cumbersome thing; it typically takes three months for us to change policies,” he explained. He noted the difficulty in keeping up with the changing guidance coming in from the State. Of note, the face covering policy has been changed to indicate that the Superintendent and School Nurse have the authority to make changes based on new guidance from the State. Several other policies that had been changed to give the Superintendent the ability to make changes have now been reset to their original intent prior to the COVID emergency. Other policy amendments include ensuring student privacy when learning in a remote setting.

Hempel provided the CASA update saying the last staff luncheon will be held in a couple of weeks. She also said that they have secured a local cultural council grant for an enrichment program. Some openings on CASA will also be advertised. “They did an amazing job, especially with the baskets,” Wilhelmsen said referencing the livestream of the fundraising event.

Dennett Elementary Principal Peter Veneto also provided an update. “I couldn’t be prouder of the staff, the students, the families,” he said referencing making it to the end of the unusual year. He said the senior parade will be taking place allowing seniors to return to their elementary school for a final farewell. The sixth graders will be participating in step up day where they tour the middle school. He said kindergarten numbers are holding tight right around 40. “That’s not a small number,” Wilhelmsen noted.

Healy provided a financial update saying the FY21 budget continued to sustain the Dennett even with the unusual year that was had. She said despite a number of deficits they should be easily absorbed in other areas.

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said that there were Dennett staff members working toward diversity, equity, and inclusion and ways to incorporate those ideals into the curriculum and the community. Lynch also spoke about the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. He referred to the ESSER funds, which are in part meant to offset the loss of learning time due to the pandemic, as a once in a lifetime opportunity. The funds are allocated but their uses must be approved.

Fraser suggested using some of the ESSER funds to better compensate staff members to run after school clubs for the coming year. He said it would be interesting to see if some staff members might offer AM as well as PM sessions for various clubs. Hempel said that pre-COVID they had run through some ideas regarding clubs including gardening, Lego, robotics etc. but said that payments for staff was always an issue. Cadogan asked if they were limited to teachers and staff or if they could hire someone outside the school system. Hempel said that the idea was a possibility. “We’re still kind of in the information gathering phase,” Veneto said about the venture. Healy said the ideal mechanism for staff payment would be to have a revolving fund established through Town Meeting. Wilhelmsen spoke about the importance of the clubs for the social and emotional well being of students especially given the stress of the pandemic over the past year plus.

Superintendent Proulx provided a district update. She said that districts will no longer be able to offer remote learning as a standard learning model in the fall. The meal flexibilities are available through June of 2022 regardless of the State’s state of emergency. Proulx also noted that youths aged 12 and up are now eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine. She said a Summer Learning Academy will be offered to offset learning losses as a result of the pandemic. It will be held at the Kingston Intermediate School and will be intended for elementary aged students. Another program will be offered for select students at the middle school level.

Fraser addressed Proulx saying, “It was a pleasure taking part in the evaluation of the Superintendent and acknowledging your hard work this past year.” Proulx said she couldn’t take credit for the successes of the past year calling it a community effort.