The Halifax Board of Selectmen held their June 27 meeting from the Holmes Public Library. This is the first in a series of meetings the Selectmen intend to hold in various municipal buildings to highlight both the various buildings and departments.
Library Director Jean Gallant said she has been the Director for the last seven years and has worked in the building since 1999. “It’s safe to say that this library is my home away from home,” Gallant told the Selectmen and others. Gallant said that the Library Trustees consist of six members that advocate on behalf of the library, approve the budget, and decide upon policies for the library. She also said that they are part of the SAILS network which consists of over 60 different libraries. “I’d like to say that this library is the rainbow fish in a bigger ocean because we have a relatively small budget compared to some of the libraries that are in the SAILS network and my Friends group is instrumental in providing programs for adults and children… we service more than just the residents of Halifax,” Gallant said referring to a group of volunteers at Holmes. Gallant said there is also a Committee, made up of residents, that work together on the long range plan for the library. She read the mission that the Committee wrote. She noted that the complete plan can be found on the website.
Gallant said that $15,000 to $20,000 was spent on ensuring access to electronic materials. She referenced Libby which is an electronic database owned by the SAILS network. “With your library card, you have access to e-books and e-audiobooks and music, children’s, adult stuff and we also just purchased Hoopla

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, June 13. “We’ve heard increased concerns of the water quality in town,” Town Administrator Cody Haddad said. He noted that he did invite the Water Superintendent to attend but he was unable to come. He did, however, send an update saying that the discolored water the last few weeks was due to Well #4 which was turned off as a result.
Haddad said it would be $20-30 million to do a filtered plant. “At this point, it is not something that is necessary, the water is still meeting standards,” he added saying it was just discolored iron in the water.
Selectmen Chair John Bruno said they do have a filtration plant on two of the wells but acknowledged that it is in the midst of a large-scale rehabilitation project. The contract was approved at this past town meeting at a cost of $300 million to upgrade the filter plant at Wells 1 and 2. Haddad said that just design and engineering would be $700,000 for the filtration on the other wells.
Town Green Requests
Council on Aging Director Darlene Regan explained a request for a use of town green. She said that they have had a guitarist come many times through the Mass Cultural Council and said they would like to have him again on July 28. The Selectmen also fielded a request to use the Town Green from Troop 39 on July 22 for a bottle drive fundraiser. They approved both requests.
Energy Update
Haddad told the Selectmen that at a previous meeting they had given him permission to sign an energy contract for energy aggregation. “We went out to bid several times… working with our consultant… unfortunately, the rates just aren’t what they used to be,” Haddad said. He said that the rate they finally agreed upon was for $0.15 per kWh (kilowatt-hour) compared to the previous rate of just over $0.10 per kWh.
Noise Complaint
The Selectmen also dealt with a noise complaint on Monponsett St. Haddad said that the Selectmen had had the invidivual in question in to a meeting and noted that they have a garage that they have been holding parties in and reportedly charging people to attend. Police Chief Joao Chaves spoke to it saying that the permit the resident received was good through 9 p.m. but they had to shut the party in March down closer to 10 p.m. He said that since then the Police have had to go out to the residence numerous times. Chaves said that there was also a large field in the back that is used for volleyball. He said that he found on the resident’s Facebook page an advertisement for a large scale volleyball tournament with thousands of dollars in cash prizes, a bouncy house, and live entertainment. Chaves said the event did get shut down by the Police. “It seems like the homeowner is kind of utilizing the language barrier thing for his benefit; I think he’s well aware of it, he’s not supposed to be doing this stuff,” Chaves said. He recommended that the resident come back before the Board and explain himself. “If that doesn’t work, at that point, we’ll start bringing criminal charges to him,” Chaves said.
Police Update
Chaves said that he has a vacancy for Sergeant. Chaves said that they would have an assessment center scheduled for June 29 with Halifax resident and Interim Duxbury Police Chief Michael Carbone, Halifax resident and Holbrook Police Chief William Smith, Carver Police Chief Mark Duphily, and Haddad. Chaves said that thus far he has had two officers send a letter of intent. He said that the officers interested are giving an essay to write at home and then are given another one the day of the assessment center. The Chief also addressed the need to fill a Deputy Chief position which will be filled by Sergeant Theodore Benner. “I think he’s well qualified for it… well respected by the residents… I think it’s a great choice,” he said. Bruno said that he agreed and thinks the world of him.
A letter of commendation was read for three officers who answered a call for a woman in cardiac arrest. The officers were Sergeant Patrick Sterling, Officer Michael Schleiff, and Officer Ryan Simpson. “These officers showed a great professionalism and proper use of their training, experience, and equipment, to bring a successful conclusion to what might have been a tragic result to this family,” Bruno read.
ARPA Requests
Haddad addressed what money was left from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding that went to the town. He said that the Municipal Maintenance Department doesn’t have a dedicated shop. He asked the Selectmen that they allocate $25,000 of ARPA funding toward such a shop. Haddad said that after appropriating the money for this use, they would have about $40,000 left for general use and about $200,000 for Covid-related expenses. The Selectmen approved the funding. A second request was for $600,000 for water treatment plant upgrades. It had already been allocated prior to the Selectmen approving the request at Tuesday’s meeting.
Trash Update
Haddad told the Selectmen that the town went out to bid for trash collection. He said that Pay-As-You Throw programs, like the one in Halifax, are difficult to get companies to bid on since it presents greater adversity to the trash collectors. He said that as a result, totes are now being utilized. He said that a transition program will be rolled out soon and residents will have the option to opt-in to it. Haddad said that the estimate for trash and recycling for the year would be around $370 to $400.
Student Council Thank You
Bruno shared a letter from the Student Council of Halifax Elementary School. “We all appreciate that you make decisions that benefit our town; when you make decisions you are changing people’s lives for the better,” Bruno read. Selectman Jonathan Selig explained that the letter, in part, came from a group of first graders who toured Town Hall.
Halifax PRIDE
Update
Lori Costa-Cline of Halifax PRIDE appeared before the Board to ask if a Selectman would be able to attend the PRIDE event on Saturday, June 17 to welcome the crowd. Costa-Cline acknowledged some of the hateful comments that have appeared on Social Media. The Selectmen said that none of them would be able to attend the event due to scheduling conflicts. Costa-Cline acknowledged how wonderful Chief Chaves has been in assisting with the event. Chaves spoke addressing community concerns over drag performances saying, “Again, we hear the same noise that we heard last year, and it turned out to be, I thought, a good family event. There were children running around… I’ve been able to look at some of the comments on Facebook when they start to bring in… the argument, trying to say that some entertainers because of how they dress are going to be automatically pedophiles – it’s a stretch. It doesn’t matter what they’re wearing; no one is allowed to touch any children,” he said. “It’s a good event for the town,” Chaves continued.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, May 23. Silver Lake Regional School Committee member Jason Fraser spoke to the Board regarding the intersection at Lake St. and Station St. Fraser said, “How many times have you felt like you were taking your life into your own hands crossing the intersection of Lake and Station on Rt. 27 right near Silver Lake High School and Middle School campus; I can tell you it sends butterflies through my own heart as an experienced driver.” He further said that a road safety audit was done on the intersection in May of 2021. “This audit kind of slipped right by the School Committee,” he explained saying that it was done during a stage in the Pandemic when the primary focus was getting students back to school five days a week. Fraser is currently heading up the Sub Committee responsible for looking into safety and facilities. Fraser told the Selectmen that Kingston, not the School Committee, has jurisdiction over the intersection and he asked them for their support in installing a traffic signal there.

Superintendent and Tree Warden Paul Basler said, “As everybody knows, municipal government comes down to funding; being the only one in the room that was involved in Rt. 27, we did this 15 years ago… DOT would not pay for funding for that light. If the town agrees, I would like to be the point person for the town for this project working with this gentleman, because if he has ways to get us funding that doesn’t include our taxes, I’m all for it.” Fraser said that he has already been looking into grant funding and has reached out to several legislators regarding the intersection. “The State grant that we’re looking at is the Shared Streets and Spaces grant,” Fraser said. The Selectmen voted to work with the Silver Lake Regional School Committee to work on improvements for the intersection.

National Public Works Recognition

Chair Kimberley Emberg said that in recognition of National Public Works Week, “we would like to recognize our employees in our Streets, Trees, and Parks, Water, and Wastewater Departments.” Selectman Tyler Bouchard also read a proclamation. He said, “For National Public Works Week 2023, to recognize the service provided in our community – are an integral part of our citizens’ everyday lives… and programs such as water, sewers, drains, streets, and highways, traffic control, public buildings, solid waste disposal, recycling, parks and forestry, and snow removal whereas the health and safety and comfort of the community greatly depend on the effectiveness of these facilities as well as their planning, design and construction are vitally dependent upon the efforts and skills of public works officials. And whereas the efficiency of the qualified and dedicated personnel who staff public work department is materially influenced by the people’s attitudes and understanding of the work they perform and therefore, be it resolved, the Kingston Board of Selectmen do hereby proclaim the week of May 21 through the 27 2023 as National Public Works Week… in the town of Kingston, Massachusetts.” Basler thanked the Selectmen and also announced that new transfers station stickers would begin being sold on June 1.

Library Update

Kingston Public Library Director Donald Colon appeared before the Board to provide an update on the status of the library. Colon said, “As of April 30, the library had met and exceeded our statistical transaction circulation; meaning that for the full fiscal 22, the library circulated over 91,000 physical items and as of April 30 we circulated 96,000 items so we were at 4.48 percent over last year for the entire year and I will also say that Kingston is only one of two libraries that were in the positive year to date and we were the best performing library in OCLN.” He continued, “What I can say about it is the library staff, the professional staff offering programs… the investment that we are making in the community with the services we are trying to offer really has been the focal point of all those increases and definitely it is something that we could not accomplish without the support of the foundation and the Friends of the Kingston Public Library.”

Appointments and Contract Amendments

The Board also took up the consideration of an amendment to the Assistant Town Administrator’s Contract. Town Administrator Keith Hickey told the Board that they finalized years 2 and 3 of the Assistant Town Administrator’s contract. Hickey said that the Assistant Town Administrator would be receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in June and because of that and some other things, he would like to see her salary increased. Selectman Sheila Vaughn told the Assistant Town Administrator that she should be very proud of her accomplishment. The Selectmen voted unanimously to amend her contract.

The Selectmen also voted to appoint Carl Ingemi as the new Wastewater Assistant Chief Operator. Emberg said they received a letter of interest to fill a vacancy on the Recycling Committee. The Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint Vanessa Verkade.

Town Administrator’s Update

Hickey provided a Town Administrator’s update which he began by saying that the Senate had approved an FY 24 budget. Hickey also said that moving to a Microsoft Outlet government platform was now complete. “It will provide the ability to make responses to public records much less cumbersome than they have been in the past,” Hickey explained. He also told the Selectmen that nearly all schools and town buildings have been connected to the town fiber thanks to a grant. He said the expectation would be for the project to be complete by October. According to Hickey, the Grey’s Beach playground update project has hit a speedbump because of delayed parts. He said they expect the delay will be short. He also said that the town’s two charging stations at the Library and in front of the Animal Shelter are now operational. “I would urge anyone that has an electric vehicle that needs to be recharged to stop by,” Hickey said.

Hickey said that he spoke with PAC TV about doing a sort of live call-in television show where people could call in either on the phone or via Zoom to ask questions. “I’m not sure when that will start, but it will be something we’ll do maybe monthly in the evenings,” Hickey explained.

The Halifax Elementary School Committee met on Monday, May 8. Chair Summer Schmaling pointed out that the Committee would be different when meeting next after the election. The Committee is not scheduled to meet again until their closeout meeting in July.
Superintendent Jill Proulx began her update by saying, “First, I’d like to thank our Chairperson Summer Schmaling for her years of dedication to Halifax Elementary Schools and Silver Lake Regional School District will certainly recognize you at our upcoming Silver Lake meeting as well. Summer has served our District and our School and has volunteered her time for the betterment of students throughout our community and we have enjoyed working with her and we are certainly going to miss her leadership and her dedication.” Schmaling said, “Well thank you for all of you, you’ve been a wonderful team to work for and with; it makes this role a lot easier and more enjoyable when you enjoy the people that you are working with.”
Schmaling opened the meeting to public participation. Silver Lake Regional School District’s Director of Human Resources Dave Turcotte spoke regarding increasing the step rate and corresponding wages for substitute custodians and substitute food services employees. The Committee voted unanimously to make the change.
Principal Kayne Beaudry told the Committee that they are looking to add a second DLC classroom (Developmental Learning Center). The current classroom serves the fourth grade who will be next year’s fifth grade. The proposed classroom will serve grades K-2 which has a current cohort of five. Schmaling said that she assumed that they would need teachers for the classroom. Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable explained, “To explain, in terms of the financing, Halifax is currently paying a tuition rate for those students to attend KES… and transportation.” Schmaling asked if the extra classroom was contingent upon them being able to fill the positions to staff the classroom. “The reality is, we’re in the same situation no matter which town the program resides in, so in other words, if our Halifax students remain in KES, we will need to hire another teacher at KES because the numbers are at a point right now, we’re it’s not sustainable. So, we’re either opening a third classroom at KES or opening an elementary classroom here, so either way we need to be hiring a teacher.” Grable clarified that it was one teacher and two paraprofessionals. She added that they would also like to add a 0.5 speech language therapist.
Committee member Lauren Laws asked, “Is there ever a crossover like can the specialists there help with the other students in the building if needed or if there is space?” Grable said, “Here, yes, absolutely, because it will be a Halifax program working with all Halifax students so absolutely this therapist and staff could work anywhere they were assigned which is not the case in Kingston because it is a Silver Lake program.” Schmaling asked if for this year it would be a cost savings to Halifax or if it would be a “wash-out.” Grable responded that for this year it would be a wash-out. Schmaling asked about the possibility of one of the classrooms absorbing the other in the future should the numbers change. Grable said they are required to follow a rule that does not allow for students with greater than a 48-month age difference to be together. The Committee did vote to approve the additional classroom.
Curriculum Coordinator Melissa Farrell attended the meeting to provide an update on the science curriculum. “The State is in a bit of flux with science in terms of how they are viewing it and they’re looking to update the MCAS and so it is time to move on from what we adopted… in the 2015/2016 time… because that curriculum is out of date, but we also don’t want to make any rash decisions.” She said that the interactive science lessons are being updated to a new version called Elevate Science. She also said that they planned to adopt Mystery Science of which she said it would “try and create more of a consistent guaranteed science experience for all of our students K-5.” Farrell also called it user friendly and said it would allow some flexibility for the teachers.
Farrell said that they are starting a transition in sixth grade that would move them more toward a phenomenon-based science curriculum that she said would better align with what is done at the Middle School. “We need any and every opportunity we can give our kids for accessing nonfiction texts and so using a digital resource is an easy way to do that. So, Newsela is a great resource. It’s dynamic, it updates, it adds more resource on a daily basis.” She said that it is easily searchable and that it identifies students’ reading levels and updates accordingly. She further said that it was a nice addition to Mystery Science which is more hands-on.

The annual Halifax Town Meeting was held on May 8. The petition articles, which can be brought forth by any resident attaining a total of 10 signatures, resulted in some of the heftiest discussion and debate of the night.
Article 23 was a petition article brought forth by Mary Gravinese to increase membership in the Board of Selectmen from three to five. Gravinese said, “I did this article on my own; I have spent a lot of time in the last year or so attending meetings, attending Selectmen’s meetings, watching them on video and I just don’t know that our Selectmen actually represent all of the residents of Halifax… I feel like there is a portion of us that may not be represented, so maybe if there were one or two more Selectmen there might be an overall look at the whole town and what we all want.” The Finance Committee did not recommend the article.
Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “The Board of Selectmen do not recommend; the idea that the generally elected officials don’t represent certain sections of the town, I just can’t agree with.” He noted that the majority of the voting public voted for each of the three members of the Board of Selectmen as well as all other elected positions in town. Bruno said that Halifax has had three Selectmen since 1734. “It seems to have worked fairly well… the Selectmen don’t make all the decisions… it’s really the Town Meeting that makes the decisions,” Bruno said.
A resident asked the Finance Committee why they weren’t voting to recommend. They said that they didn’t feel there was an added benefit and also stated that there may be a financial cost associated with having more Selectmen. Resident and member of the Halifax Elementary School Committee Summer Schmaling spoke saying that the additional cost to the town was only $3,000. She further noted that most surrounding towns of similar size had a five-member board. Candace Kniffen spoke saying, “we have a history in this town that is not admirable where we have elections that are uncontested and more of the times when our Selectmen elections have taken place, they’ve been uncontested. It seems to me that if you feel unrepresented, you put up a candidate that will represent your interests and here we are this year with yet another uncontested Selectmen’s race. We have trouble getting volunteers.” Another resident said, “I don’t feel comfortable in this room, with this small group of people, voting to change the government in our town – I think that’s really risky.” Resident Amy L. Troup spoke saying that a reason to consider five Selectmen would be what happened over the summer when two Selectmen resigned leaving just one until a special election. Another resident said that what happened last year was a once in a lifetime event and the Town’s government should not be changed based on it. The article did not pass.
Article 24 was another petition article by Mary Gravinese to petition the Legislature to change the Town Clerk, the Treasurer/Collector and the Highway Surveyor to appointed rather than elected. The motion had to be amended per Town Counsel to make it legally viable. Current Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward said, “I’m against this article; I have six people – I have five employees that live in the town, and they care about the town. If we start having the Select people or whoever appoint these positions, they have total control. I answer to the taxpayers. They don’t like what I’m doing, they can vote no.” Gravinese responded, “This isn’t about people not caring about the town. The town has to start running like a business and in order to do that we need people that have education, experience, qualifications to do the jobs – they are no longer entry level,” she said. She further said that her child could become the Highway Surveyor because he is 18 and lives in the town. “We can’t have someone that just is popular that wants to put a sign up if anyone left,” Gravinese said. The article was defeated.
Article 25 was a petition article brought forth by Barbara Gaynor that would adopt Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 41, Section 97A, commonly known as the “strong chief” section, concerning Police Chiefs. Police Chief Joao Chaves spoke to the article. The article would give the Chief of Police greater jurisdiction over the Police Department. A resident spoke saying, “The Select Board appointed him as Chief to run the department; the Select Board’s job is to run the overall town, not have their hands in any individual department on daily operations; what this does is it lets Chief have complete control of his Department and set the policy as he sees necessary… so this is a great change as far as the management of the Police Department.” The Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee did not have a recommendation on this article. The article passed.
Article 1 was to hear and act on the reports of Town Officers and Committees and it passed. Bruno acknowledged the tumultuous year it was for the Board of Selectmen and credited Selectman Jonathan Selig and Town Accountant Sandra Nolan for stepping up during that time. Selig remained as the sole Selectman for a time while Nolan stepped in to be acting Town Administrator.
Article 2 amended the Wage and Personnel by-law to change the steps and corresponding salaries for certain positions in town that are under-compensated. It was recommended by both the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee. It passed unanimously. Article 3 determines the salaries for several elected positions. It also passed unanimously.
Article 4 was the operating budget. A resident asked for an explanation as to why the new Town Administrator is getting an $11,000 increase as well as why the Town Accountant would be receiving a $17,000 increase. Bruno said the increase for the Town Accountant actually had to do with money being set aside to assist in hiring a new Accountant as the current one will be retiring soon. Moderator Bert Gaynor went through each of the sections of the operating budget individually, grouping line items together. Everything passed including for the $14 million school budget.
Article 7 sought to appropriate $3 million for upgrades to the water treatment plant. Bruno said, “to meet this appropriation, the Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen, is authorized to borrow said amount… the amount authorized to be borrowed shall be reduced to the extent of any grants, gifts, or other funds received by the town to be used to pay the cost of this project.” It was recommended by the Finance Committee. The Water Superintendent said that the equipment in question is 40 years old and noted that they already have close to $1 million set aside toward this project. The article passed.
Regarding road maintenance in the Capital Plan, a resident asked for clarification as to the usage for the $300,000. Hayward said that this summer he would be able to use some of it for paving and “fixing up of the roads.” The Moderator asked the resident if that answered her question and she said, “Not fully, no.” She continued, “If you’ve driven around Ocean Ave, Lingen St., the numbered streets, they’re patching them, and I know you guys are doing your best and it’s not against that. It’s putting band-aids on broken legs. It’s ruining our cars, it’s ruining the police vehicles that we are paying to replace and maintain and I just want to make sure that our tax money is going toward things that really need to be done and not just roads that people that don’t live on the town drive on… do we have a plan for when we are going to do that?” Hayward said that just one mile on Plymouth St. cost $400,000. “And that was on a halfway decent road,” he said. “Out of all the 53 miles of road, we’re going to need millions of dollars; I could ask for a bond and nobody wants our taxes to go up… to fix the roads is money we don’t have,” Hayward explained.
There was also some discussion about new vehicles for the Fire Department. A resident said, “The town currently has three command vehicles, the Chief wants to upgrade one and get a new one for himself to the tune of $80,000 and we have a brand-new brush truck … I think the $80,000 is money we don’t need to spend on a new vehicle for the amount of times we have brush fires in the Town…” The Fire Chief said that the current vehicle he is driving was purchased with Covid funds from the State. He also said that some of these vehicles are used across other communities as well. “We do need a proper command vehicle and we do not have one setup at this time,” he said. The Fire Department costs were approved.
Regarding the Police Department costs, a resident asked Chief Chaves how often vehicles are replaced and was told every three years. Schmaling asked what would be done with the vehicles that are being replaced. Chaves said that they would be trading them in to offset the cost of the new vehicles. Residents requested that the article be amended to state that the cruisers would be traded in or auctioned before voting. The amendment did not pass though the overall Police costs were voted through.
Silver Lake Regional School Committee member Gordon Laws read that the SLRS Committee voted to amend Article 14 on the floor of Town Meeting due to increases in labor and equipment costs. Laws moved that the Town vote to amend the amount in Article 14 to $100,100 for the replacement of one rooftop unit. The units supply heat and air conditioning to the high school cafeteria and auditorium. The article previously read that the Town would vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds the sum of $202,458.79 for the replacement of two roof top units at Silver Lake Regional High School. Laws explained, “the air conditioning units are 15-year units and we are at 19 years with those units which is why we were hoping to replace both of them. If they happen to go, it will constitute kind of an emergency for all three towns… the estimate for the two together came in far more than what we had hoped for which is why we are asking for the one.” He further explained that they chose the one over the cafeteria since if that one were to go, it would create unsafe working conditions for the staff in the kitchen. It passed unanimously.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, April 25. Chair Kimberley Emberg thanked everyone who came out and voted in the recent town election. “It is my pleasure to welcome the newest member of the Board of Selectmen, Eric Crone and congratulate Don Alcombright who was just re-elected to a three-year term,” Emberg said.
Given the recent election, the Board decided to deliberate on reorganization. They unanimously voted to renominate Emberg as Chair again. Alcombright was unanimously voted in as Vice Chair, and Sheila Vaughn was unanimously voted in as Clerk. “I just love note taking,” Vaughn joked.
“Thank you to everyone who participated in our third Annual Keep Kingston Clean event… I saw lots of cleanup efforts on William Gould Way, Captain Jones, Maple Street, Brightside Ave, all across the nook so thank you everyone that participated and thank you to our Highway Department,” Emberg said.
Emberg said that they had a recommendation from the Highway Superintendent regarding transfer station fees. He noted that it has been five years since sticker fees have been raised. He said that they are trying to get a new vendor as of July 1. With a new vendor will come a reduction in the fee for mattresses but items such as air conditioners and freezers that were previously free, will now come with a fee. “We are not making any additional dollars above what the vendor is charging us to dispose of it,” he explained.
A public hearing was held for Eversource per their request to allow for the installation of lines across a number of public roadways as part of the Carver/Kingston Reliability Project. A public hearing was previously held on February 14 which was continued onto February 28. The Board opened it up to any members of the public that wished to speak. A resident asked why they were meeting on it again. “It was debated, the Board voted, they didn’t get the answer they liked so they got to do it again… I guess I’m just looking for clarification on why we’re doing this whole thing again,” he said. Emberg said that she planned to ask Eversource the same question. Another resident read something from the Plymouth County of Deeds regarding the preservation of conservation lands. Emberg said that the Conservation Commission did vote on this project in 2021.
A resident said, “We haven’t been given any information at all, no numbers, no figures, no nothing – they could be pulling off a scam. It’s just an idea. But someone needs to look into this – someone other than people in this room who have no interest in this at all, probably the State and the federal government need to look at what they’re doing. This is a scam and it’s being overlooked here; I wish someone would take the time to do something.”
Town Treasurer Carl Pike spoke saying, “I’d just like to speak on behalf of the majority of people in Kingston who want to have electricity in this town; we want to have strong lines that will support the town during tough, difficult periods for electric generation. I’m also insulted by someone talking about a scam. Massachusetts has a Department of Public Utilities that all of your public utilities report to… it’s a heavily regulated industry and I believe that only in Kingston would we have people arguing against a power line.”
Emberg then opened it up to anyone from Eversource. Ryan Earle who is with Community Relations for Eversource spoke next. Regarding why they were back, Earle said they did file a petition with the State. “Our main goal is to work with municipalities at all cost… we’ve worked to try to alleviate some of those concerns… and to petition again for the nine street crossings that we came here for in the previous meetings as well as tonight.”
Selectman Tyler Bouchard noted discrepancies between conversations he had with Eversource and emails that he would receive back that in his words, “felt like they were written by an attorney.” He said, “As a public service utility company, I just feel like there is a piece missing. You know, with the poles and certain things and communication and not being totally forthright with those hearings that were two or three years ago. Unfortunately, we can’t go back and fix, but I hope, and I don’t have a lot of faith in this, what I would like to see is for the next hearing that comes up that the neighborhood be in good standing.” Emberg pointed out that the only thing they have jurisdiction over was the road crossings. Bouchard said, however, that he has changed his vote to allow them to cross the street based on having worked through many of the safety concerns that he had initially. “In that capacity, I feel reluctantly comfortable,” Bouchard concluded. The Board voted to approve the construction or erection of poles across Kingston’s public ways as stated in the public notice.
Emberg said that the Board had some appointments to make since there were resignations at the Library, a retirement in the Police Department, and a resignation in the Treasurer’s office for the Payroll Coordinator. Holly Iannucci was appointed to Head of Youth Services with the Kingston Public Library as of May 1. Tyler Potrykus was named as a permanent, full-time Civil Service Police Officer. Katelyn Drapeau was named as the new Payroll Coordinator. “Welcome, it’s very exciting,” Emberg said.
Following the retirement of Kingston’s Wastewater Superintendent, the Sewer Commissioners voted to appoint the current Sewer Foreman, David Walsh, as the next Superintendent. The Commissioners asked that the Selectmen approve the starting salary for Walsh at a Grade 4, Step 8 rate of $94,967. The Board voted unanimously to approve.
Assistant to the Town Administrator Patricia Tucker provided an update as Town Administrator Keith Hickey was absent. Regarding the open Health Agent position, Tucker said the Board of Health did interview two candidates. “One was very overwhelming – they all loved her, so they gave the Chair the authority to negotiate… they came up with an amount and agreed upon it so we’re hoping to get her signed on and to start the end of May,” Tucker told the Selectmen.
Before adjourning for the evening, Vaughn thanked the “500 people who came out and voted.” Emberg corrected her that it was over 600. Vaughn said that she would like to see the election moved to a different weekend and the assumption was that she meant so there would be greater participation.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, April 25. A representative from Thorndike Development had an appointment with the Selectmen to provide an update on a proposed 55+ development. Founder and President Lloyd Geisinger reminded the Selectmen that approximately a month ago they came before them, “talking about an alternate plan for 255 and 266 Monponsett St. in which we were discussing the possibility of doing an over 55 community as well as working with the town to build a senior center on a portion of the property; since then we’ve put a plan together and we’ve met with Cody and Darlene [COA Director Darlene Regan].”
Geisinger turned things over to his partner David Eastridge who went over the plans with those in attendance. He said that the residential buildings would include two buildings on 265 and one building at 266. He further said that 265 Monponsett would be divided into two lots, one of which would be deeded to the town for a senior center. All the buildings would be three stories tall. One building has 30 units and the other two units will have 36 units. Eastridge explained that Town Meeting would need to vote in favor of over 55 becoming an approved use in a commercial district. The other approval needed would be for 265 to be zoned commercial.
A member of the audience asked if Thorndike Development would be paying for the senior center. Eastridge, who called the presentation that day “preliminary” said, “we are contributing toward the construction of that senior center substantially based on current discussions.”
Eastridge told those in the audience that they asked a fiscal impact expert to do an analysis of this project’s impact on Halifax. “The impacts to the town budget… are quite positive and the bottom line here, is he expects that this would have a net positive, after costs, of about $450,000 a year in real estate taxes,” Eastridge explained.
Another member asked if any of the dwellings would be deemed affordable housing and were told that they would not be. “Affordable units with senior housing is very challenging in Massachusetts… it’s very, very hard to find qualified individuals to purchase over- 55 affordable units,” Eastridge said. He further said that affordability is usually not age- restricted.
Requests for
Town Events
Isabella Rose of Generations met with the Selectmen regarding use of the Town Green for Fur Festival on June 4 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. She said that the fundraiser would be in support of the Council on Aging (COA). The charge will be $5 per dog. The Sheriff’s unit will be doing a K9 demo, there will be a costume parade, a blessing of the dogs by a pastor, and there will be dog ice cream available. The Selectmen approved the use of the Town Green.
A live entertainment permit request for Connecting Rods Cruise nights at Walmart on Friday evenings from May 5 to October 6 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. also came before the Board. Both the Police Departments and the Board of Health had previously approved it. The Selectmen voted unanimously to also approve the request. The Selectmen also voted to approve the VFW Field of Flags on the Town Green from May 13 to June 3. They also approved a live entertainment request for a Farmer’s Market for multiple dates from May to October from 10 am to 3 pm. Police and Fire had previously approved the request. “We like to see these things in town… such positive things, I wish we could just talk about those,” Chair John Bruno said of the many events throughout town seeking approval.
MBTA Action
Plan Update
Regarding the MBTA Action Plan, Bruno reminded everyone that a letter was sent several weeks earlier to Halifax’s various elected officials stating their disapproval of the need for the plan.  “I do not like being told that we are somehow discriminatory because we won’t put 750 units in the Town of Halifax – that’s ridiculous,” Bruno said. Since that time, Halifax has not heard from anyone regarding the letter. The Selectmen voted to resend the letter this time as an email attachment.
Morse Brothers Complaints
“We are being inundated with emails and so on about Morse Brothers,” Bruno said. He noted that they have taken every single complaint seriously and have investigated them. “So far nothing has come of it,” he said before getting into specifics including a site inspection. “I have spoken with the Water Department, the Water Superintendent, and have asked them specifically does the thing that they’re doing there have anything to do with the wells over at Lingan St… and the answer is no,” Bruno said of a specific concern. He also said that there is no effect to the Lakes either. “It just doesn’t affect the water,” Bruno reiterated. Regarding brown water, Bruno said that they are working with DEP on a water filtration system to deal with too much magnesium in the water. “It’s got nothing to do with the Pond or anything going on with Morse Brothers,” Bruno explained.
Regarding traffic, Bruno said that Morse Brothers have been “quite cooperative” notifying the Selectmen and the Police about when truck traffic would be picking up. “The only complaint that we’ve gotten from the Police Department… the truck was going too slow,” Bruno said. He concluded saying that the public is welcome to continue to send complaints to the Board but noted that there “is just nothing there.” Selectman Jonathan Selig thanked Bruno for all his work investigating the complaints saying, “you’ve checked all the boxes.”
Town Meeting Recommendations
The Selectmen went over their recommendations for Town Meeting.  There was some discussion regarding a petition article to increase the membership on the Board of Selectmen from three to five members. The resident that brought forth the article spoke saying that she was unaware of what the Selectmen believed or ran on and she felt that there was a large portion of Halifax residents who did not have their beliefs or views represented. “My own personal opinion… I think that after Town Meeting… we don’t have a charter, I know we talked about it years ago and it might be time to revisit the government structure here, whatever that might be,” Bruno said. He called Halifax’s town government “archaic.” The Selectmen agreed that they would not support the article.
Bruno also expressed concern over another article that wished to change positions like the Town Clerk and Highway Surveyor from elected to appointed. A member of the audience pointed out that despite the rigors of the job, the only requirement to be Town Clerk is that the person be a resident and at least 18 years old. Bruno pointed out that the requested changes would likely require legislation to enact. Town Accountant Sandra Nolan said, “I think that these are professional positions; they’re not positions that can easily be filled by someone that just walks off the street… I also think that we could put in a policy where you have a search committee and with the search committee, you use two or three people from the public that are not already in the town government, members at large… citizens at large.” Bruno said he agreed but added, “assuming this passed, it would be probably a year or two before it went into effect… but we would need to address our form of government.” Selig said he saw both sides of the argument and agreed with the idea of a search committee. Ultimately, the Selectmen decided to recommend the article.
Bruno revisited the Selectmen’s desire to hold meetings in various municipal buildings across the town including the Library, Council on Aging, etc. The intent was to showcase the different buildings on local access television and YouTube. Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that in his meetings with various department heads, they were excited for the opportunity. He said that a schedule would be worked out.