The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Feb. 28. They began the meeting by going into Executive Session to discuss the possible discipline or termination of the Building Inspector James Perry. Selectman Naja Nessralla recused himself from the hearing and deliberation. Upon returning from Executive Session, Selectmen Chair John Bruno said that they voted to terminate Perry, effective immediately. According to the town’s website, Steven Solari has been named as the interim Building Inspector/Commissioner.
The Selectmen also held a hearing to determine if they will be opting-out of mail-in voting for local elections. Town Clerk Sue Lawless gave a brief description of the purpose of the hearing. Lawless said, “typically, these elections are low-interest and given the increase of unfunded mandates from the State, it would be a cost-savings for the town to opt-out. While I understand that the idea of vote-by-mail has become popular by many, I do not feel that the Town has made the changes necessary to support it. My office is currently a part-time office and the vote-by-mail process is very labor-intensive.” She went on to say that many residents did not return their mail-in ballots. Lawless also clarified that absentee voting will still be available. A new hearing would be held annually to determine whether to opt-out of mail-in voting.
The Selectmen opened the hearing to public comment. Resident Frederick Corrigan inquired what the cost was that made it prohibitive. Lawless said that while she didn’t have a dollar amount, the real issue was a staffing one. Corrigan responded saying, “I can’t see where we can take 437 people in this small town and say just because you’re old and you don’t have a car or you have a disability, you can’t vote.” “As stated previously, anybody with a disability or a reason why they cannot go to the polls, has an option to absentee ballot,” Lawless answered. Selectman Jonathan Selig said, “I can see both sides of the issue; I’m not into limiting voting access, if there’s a way, we can get creative to get people there – I have a minivan, I can drive folks there.” The Selectmen voted to opt-out of mail-in voting. Bruno noted that come May, if there’s an issue, they will make a different decision for next year.
Bruno said, “Just in case this crowd is here for the Morse Brothers part of the agenda, those four things are kind of standing things on our agenda until we get them resolved so we were supposed to have an inspection of the property today but because of the storm, we weren’t able to do that. We intend to get it done this week and we will report back to the Board this week… if anyone’s here for that, that’s all we’re going to talk about tonight is that part of the update.”
Town Administrator Cody Haddad asked the Board if they would like to reevaluate how reappointments are handled. Selig said that he would like to see the Boards and Committees become part of the appointment process since they have more expertise on the specific subject matter than the Selectmen. Bruno said that he is usually in favor of reappointments and noted that in his career as a Selectmen, he can only recall maybe one time where he didn’t vote in favor of reappointment. Bruno said that if a Board has an opinion on a reappointment, he would certainly be in favor of hearing their input.
Haddad addressed getting specialized training for Boards and Committees including 40B training for the Zoning Board of Appeals. He said that they have reached out to necessary parties to setup the trainings. He said he is also working with the Attorney General’s office to set up some open meeting law trainings including some that are specific to Halifax.
Haddad also addressed a grant application for Halifax Mobile Home Estates to have trees removed at a cost of $750,000. “I have been working with the State to draft an application… but ultimately my recommendation would be… to vote to allow the Town Administrator to submit it… if we are awarded it, then you would vote to approve it.” The Selectmen need to oversee the project. The Selectmen agreed to pursue the grant on behalf of the Mobile Home Estates.
The Selectmen also dealt with a live entertainment request for Halifax Pride. Authorization has already been granted for use of the Town Green on June 17. The entertainment would include Silver Lake Regional High School students, a family-friendly drag performance, and a DJ. The request was already approved by the Fire and Police Chiefs as well as the Board of Health. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the entertainment request. The Selectmen also fielded a request for use of the Town Green on Saturday, April 22 by the Boy Scouts for a bottle/food drive fundraising event. The Selectmen also approved this request.
Haddad told the Selectmen that they had a team formed in town to work on the Council on Aging project which had some funding approved during Town Meeting. He said they would need to come into compliance with Massachusetts procurement law which requires that a building project projected at over $1.5 million must bring in a project manager to oversee the whole process. The Selectmen approved Haddad moving forward as necessary.
Haddad addressed the MBTA Action Plan that had been the subject of much debate during recent Selectmen’s meetings. The Selectmen had ultimately voted to approve moving forward with the Action Plan. Haddad said, “On Feb. 17, I received a letter from the State under Secretary of the Department of Public Housing and Community Development… notifying us that they have accepted our Action Plan and that we are in interim compliance through December 31 of 2024.” He further said that he had a meeting with Old Colony Planning Council for technical assistance moving forward.