Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said that they would be discussing the transfer sticker policy and examination of pay per bag options. Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte and Highway Department Administrative Assistant Colleen Morin were both on the call as was Todd Koep, a Municipal Assistance Coordinator with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).

“I was actually seriously impressed with it,” Koep said of Plympton’s transfer station that he also called “user-friendly.” “It’s set up really well in the event that you want to use a pay as you throw program,” he continued. He said that pay as you throw is part of a larger waste reduction plan across the state. He said that implementing a pay as you throw program reduces disposal costs for towns by 40 percent nearly immediately. “Another benefit of pay as you throw is it evens the playing field for everybody,” Koep explained. He pointed out that under the current system, a person that throws away one bag of trash per week versus someone that throws away a truckload per day, pay the same. He said these programs have been highly successful across the State.

Koep said that Plympton sold 836 stickers this past year. Koep said that a technical assistance grant would be the first step in setting up a pay as you throw program. This would allow Koep to do the research necessary to implement the program. He said the timeline would be between 12-18 months. He said the total cost of the rollout would be $7,500. He said DEP would cover much of that cost. Koep said that entering into the technical assistance grant does not mean committing to the program. Selectman Mark Russo asked if there were any towns that entered into the program and then backed out due to public upset. Koep said that he did not know of any such towns and none in the 31 municipalities he represents. Selectman John Traynor said that he would want to ensure that the residents’ feedback would be taken into account before implementing any such program. Koep said he was happy to hold Zoom chats or events at the library to allow for residents to attend and ask questions.

Traynor said that anecdotally he has heard that the program increases trash that ends up in the woods. Koep said that studies show that the kind of items involved in illegal dumping are generally not the kind of things placed into bags. He said that there are several different ways that municipalities can curb illegal dumping including the use of Facebook and increased police patrol in areas of high illegal dumping.

Board of Health member Art Morin said that under the new contract with Waste Management the cost of disposal went up considerably. He also said that at least once a week, a truckload of waste is brought to the transfer station and the other residents are paying for it.

The Board also discussed potentially using some of the town’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help fund an HVAC system at the Silver Lake Regional schools. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said the estimated cost for Plympton as of right now is $187,000 or 12.1 percent of the cost. “I think it is kind of a no brainer,” said Dennehy regarding using the funds. She pointed out that there would be considerable county funding available for other purposes. Chair of the Plympton School Committee Jon Wilhelmsen said, “We have an opportunity to fund what is a really large capital project with federal funds.” Dennehy pointed out that the uses for the ARPA funds are fairly limited in scope. The Selectmen voted in favor of the project subject to final numbers.

Dennehy told the Board that she and the Fire Chief had met with Howard Wright from Wright Technology Group. Dennehy said the group came highly recommended. For $3,500 the company will do a complete IT assessment for the town’s entire network. They would then put together a plan for moving forward including cost estimates and how to build that into the budget. Joy said they worked with Wright when COVID started and said, “he’s a very straight shooter; he’s not pie in the sky; he’ll make recommendations based on the town’s needs… I think it would be in our best interest to get him on board.” The Board voted to enter into an agreement with the group. Dennehy said a big part of the plan would be getting rid of the physical servers in the building.

Dennehy told the Board that there was a moisture issue at the Old Townhouse and said that longer term there will need to be a plan put in place for that building. Dennehy said they were going to get some prices to have someone assess the building and identify potential issues. Wilhelmsen said that the winter and the resulting drier air will give the town a little bit of time to address any problems.

Traynor said that his rave was for the many good things going on around town including the Veterans Luncheon that the Council on Aging puts on. He said they have a young police officer who is a veteran who attends. Russo said his rave was for local government especially given the “downright paralysis” at the federal level. Joy said her rave was along the same lines. “It really brings the message home how important the local elections are… we really are so lucky here in town to have so many good people so thank you to everyone who is serving.”

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig told the Selectmen that he had submitted his resignation effective November 20. “I will be working during the next few weeks cleaning out and organizing the office so that whoever is coming in has a less burdensome walk than they would after 26 years,” he said. The Board discussed a process for hiring a new town administrator. Selectman Gordon Andrews said a committee could be formed to do the interview process. He said they could reach out to a firm to find an interim town administrator. Selectman Troy Garron recommended that Selectmen Assistant Pam McSherry, Town Clerk Susan Lawless, Town Accountant Sandra Nolan, and a citizen at large be included on such a committee.

Seelig said that Green Earth Cannabis had asked that the Board suspend any action concerning the town’s Host Community Agreement (HCA) due to the outreach forum needing to occur within 6 months of their application to the state. “They would like to make sure they don’t have any legal problems with the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC),” Seelig explained. He further said that the plan moving forward would be to hold another community outreach forum at a future date.

Regarding legislative re-districting, Seelig said that Representative Kathy LaNatra responded to the town’s wish not to be split between two districts saying that she felt that the townspeople would have more support at the State House if the town were split between two representatives. “The legislature went with a plan that did split,” Seelig said.

A meeting was held under Facilities Manager Matt Durkee’s direction to review the possibility of putting in air conditioner units in all the classrooms at the Halifax Elementary School. Andrews, who also serves on the Halifax Elementary School Committee, explained that there would be a meeting to address the question of whether ARPA funds could be used for that purpose.

The Selectmen had an appointment with the Chair of the Halifax Elementary School Committee Summer Schmaling. Schmaling addressed the Committee saying, “I come to you… requesting that you consider a stipend for the employees in the school department; it has come to our understanding that there was a stipend granted to some of the town employees who worked through COVID using ARPA funds, I believe.” Andrews said that he felt differently saying, “The school basically shut down – the town didn’t. The town continued to work.” Selectman Ashley DiSesa said that she felt that using ARPA funds for the air conditioning at the school was a way of contributing funds to the school. Andrews pointed out the many ways in which the town’s CARES Act funds were used to aid the school including laptops for the teachers. “I think the town stepped up for the school system,” he explained. Schmaling said she understood the Board’s perspective and thanked them for allocating so much of the CARES Act funding toward the school.

Seelig said there was a public records request by Thomas Millias for records from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), the Planning Board, the Building Inspector, and the Board of Selectmen. Former longtime Selectmen Millias was in attendance during the meeting. There was also a public records request from Amy L. Troupe that included 800 pages of material.

Seelig told the Board that the Mass Office of Public Safety notified him that the town is required to have an Inspector of Buildings and not just a Building Inspector. “Jim Perry is currently the Building Inspector but does not have the necessary certifications to be an Inspector of Buildings,” Seelig explained. The current alternate Building Inspector does have those credentials Seelig further explained. Seelig said the Board could appoint him that night or refer the matter to town counsel for further guidance. Andrews recused himself from the matter. Regarding Perry, Millias, who was in the audience asked, “Didn’t we advertise for an Inspector of Buildings/Buildings Commissioner and aren’t we paying somebody $70,000 a year for that position and now you’re saying that that person cannot perform the duties; is that what I’m hearing; I just want to be clear? We’re paying somebody $70,000 a year that can’t do that job, correct? Am I wrong?” DiSesa said Perry only needed one more certification. Earlier this year the Board of Selectmen elected not to reinstate Robert Piccirilli as Building Inspector and opened the position to applicants. Garron was adamant about wanting to rehire Piccirilli but failed to convince DiSesa. The conversation got heated during Tuesday’s meeting and DiSesa said, “We’re going to stop the conversation, thank you.” Millias said sarcastically, “Change is good, thank you. Change is good; we just don’t listen to anybody anymore, that’s the change. Nicely done.”

A community outreach forum was held with Elevated Roots who are proposing a retail marijuana store at 319 Monponsett Street. A representative talked about being a good corporate citizen that is responsive to community feedback. “We think one of our biggest benefits to the town is our ability to open a business quickly which really just means quicker tax and revenue generation,” he explained. He also explained that one of the two owners is a Kingston resident. The representative also spoke about security plans to assuage any concerns pertaining to that. The company currently has a retail store in Kingston. There were no questions from members of the audience.

There was another community outreach forum also held for CannaBud who is proposing a marijuana retail store at Lot 10 on Monponsett St. Owner Phillip Tringali has lived in Halifax since 1984. The company said that not only are they locally owned but they would look to hire locally as well for their anticipated 25 job openings. Tringali said he has owned a multitude of businesses since 1988. “Phil has a longtime track record of owning and operating successful businesses,” his lawyer explained. His lawyer also said that in addition to being a senior citizen, Tringali is also a Vietnam veteran. She shared with the Selectmen that the largest growing demographic of cannabis usage is the over 55 population.

The proposed location is 7.5 acres within a 400-acre land lot. According to CannaBud the location is compliant with all applicable zoning bylaws in an industrial zone, however, a special permit would be required from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The location is on the outskirts of the town. CannaBud plans to build a state-of-the-art establishment specifically for this purpose as opposed to reconfiguring an existing establishment. DiSesa said that currently the lot is considered undevelopable. Tringali seemed to imply that only applied to a portion of the lot in question. Like Elevated Roots before them, they also spoke at length about a number of security measures saying that they would not only meet but exceed the CCC’s requirements.

Tringali spoke about financial projections. He said, “We’re willing to commit, which we, quite frankly don’t have to, five percent of profits of the store back to the town in a town fund; now I don’t know anyone that has done this… but I feel it’s very important as part of our contribution back to the town.” Regarding numbers he said he anticipates roughly 300 tickets a day at $120 a ticket. “In the second full year of operation of this store, we’ll be doing $22 to $26 million dollars in revenue,” he explained. Tringali said that it would translate to $1,500,000 to $2,000,000 back to the town. There were no questions for CannaBud from anyone present during Tuesday’s meeting.

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met in-person on Thursday, Oc.er 21. Chair Paula Hatch brought up vaccination rates for the various schools in the district saying that November 1 is the deadline for reaching an 80 percent vaccination threshold in order to unmask in school. Superintendent Jill Proulx said that the vaccination rate as of October 18 for students and staff combined at the middle school stands at just over 59 percent. The high school was slightly higher at 64 percent. Proulx said that student nurses are most comfortable with proof of vaccination via a vaccination card as opposed to a letter of attestation from individuals as required by the State system. Currently nurses obtain vaccination status from The Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS).

Committee member Summer Schmaling, who is also on the Halifax Elementary School Committee, said, “I just don’t know that everyone is aware that there is a case before the Supreme Court in Massachusetts challenging the authority of DESE to institute a sweeping, universal mask mandate… so that may also change the outcome of what happens moving forward.” Committee member Eric Crone said that given the pending Supreme Court case as well as the fact that the district is well below the vaccination threshold, he would recommend holding off on making any decisions regarding proof of vaccination. Committee member Gordon Laws said he would like to see the vaccination rates published to the parents to “see if that influences behavior at all.” Proulx said that a chart could be added to the Pandemic Resource Center that would be updated bi-weekly to indicate vaccination rates.

President of the Silver Lake Education Association (SLEA) John Lay began his report saying, “It really feels like things are back to normal except for the masks,” Lay said. He said that over 80 percent of their membership are in favor of the mask mandate ending but noted that most of those want the vaccination rate to be 80 percent before that happening. He said that he was in favor of publishing the vaccination rates in the hopes of encouraging parents to consider vaccinating students. Lay also said that other districts are taking a more active role in encouraging students to get vaccinated. He acknowledged that the decision to get vaccinated is a personal choice but said that the school does promote other personal choices such as healthy eating.

Committee member Leslie-Ann McGee said she believes that the School Committee should be advocating

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on Monday, Oct. 18. They began their meeting with an update from Alan Wheelock, Chair of the Wage and Personnel Board. “We’re embarking on a fairly ambitious project in that we are preparing for town meeting a full revision of the wage and personnel bylaw… parts of it have been updated from time to time over the years,” Wheelock explained. “Many parts of it are quite dated,” he continued. He said they did research on surrounding towns and said that Kingston has a comprehensive bylaw that they will be borrowing from pending Kingston’s approval.

Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy told the Selectmen that Scott Benton was in place as the interim Police Chief. She said that he and the rest of the Police Department will be hosting an open house for the public on Saturday, Oct. 30 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  “It seems like he’s off to a great start,” Dennehy said of Benton.

The Selectmen voted to approve the employment agreement with Sergeant Daniel Hoffman from Aug. 26, 2021 through Aug. 26, 2024. They also voted to approve the employment agreement with Sergeant Matthew Ahl from Aug. 26, 2021 through June 30, 2022.

The Selectmen also voted to authorize Dennehy to serve as the authorized representative to the Plymouth County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) portal. It was unanimous. They took a similar vote to approve authorization for the Town Accountant as well.

Several appointments were also unanimously approved. They included Nathaniel Sides to the Plympton Cultural Council through 2024, Jessica Kinsman and Jackie Rafferty to the Open Space Committee through 2024 and 2023 respectively, Alan Wheelock to the Community Preservation Committee through 2024, Special Police Officers James Boulter and Mark Gabriel through 2022, Nathan Cristofori as Animal Control Officer through 2022 and Kathy Seeley and Elise Senior as Animal Control Officers via Carver through 2022.

Dennehy said for the Townhouse roof project, both she and Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen had been in touch with the architect. She said they would need to have some sampling of the current roof material completed in order to identify any issues such as the presence of asbestos. The bid for the sampling was awarded to Universal Environmental Consultants for $3,050. For the ADA ramp project at the Townhouse, Dennehy said a meeting would be held later that week in order to kick off the construction. She also said the Highway Department has done the preliminary road markings to identify safety zones. “So far the feedback has been favorable,” she explained saying that there have been requests for more of the markings at further intervals.

Regarding the new playground at Dennett Elementary School, Wilhelmsen said, “they’re pushing full board ahead.” He said that they may be able to begin installing the rubberized coating later this month or in early November. If it can’t be done by then, woodchips will have to be utilized until the spring or the summer when the weather will allow for the curing process. “I think it’s going to be a really, really nice installation and I think the location of it is actually better,” Wilhelmsen told the Selectmen.

As customary, the Selectmen ended the night with their rants and raves. Selectman Mark Russo said that his rave was for the multitude of appointments voted upon that night. “We’ve recruited some really, really great people,” Russo said. Chair Christine Joy said her rave was for the Plympton Police Department open house. “This is a great time for some good will with our Police Department; I’m so appreciative of them opening their doors and inviting people in,” she said.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met remotely on Tuesday, Oct. 5, in the Great Room of the Halifax Town Hall to hear from the Green Earth Cannabis, Inc. and address concerns by neighboring property owners and other townspeople.

Selectman Chair Gordon Andrews recused himself from the hearing regarding the Host Community Agreement (HCA) with Green Earth Cannabis, Inc. as his father owns a business in close proximity to the proposed site. The Chief Executive Officer of Green Earth is John Kudryk, the Chief Financial Officer is Matthew Collins, The Director of Operations is Robert Maker, and the Director of Security is Jay Skowronek. Maker has lived in Halifax for more than 25 years. While not a principal, Laurence Gogarty will be heavily involved, particularly with the site plan.

The proposed location for the adult use marijuana retail establishment is 657 Monponsett St. The lease for the left side of the commercially zoned building was signed in November of 2020. The right side of the building is Twin Lakes Liquor Store. According to Green Earth the location meets all local and state requirements.

A preliminary store layout was shared on screen during the meeting. It still needs Planning Board approval as well as approval from several other agencies including the Halifax Police Department and the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC).

The four steps required to open include an approved HCA, a community outreach session, a license from the CCC, and a full site plan review by the Planning Board complete with public hearings as well as a special permit. The only issue on the table during Tuesday’s meeting was the HCA. Lawyer for Green Earth Toby Dilworth laid out the terms of the 5-year HCA including a preference for hiring local residents, a 3 percent local excise tax on each retail sale, the highest allowable community impact fee of 3 percent, an adequate security system, and a community dispute resolution process. The terms are the same as those in Halifax’s HCA with Flower and Soul. “We say that what is reasonable and fair for Flower and Soul is reasonable and fair for us,” Dilworth said.

Projected revenues were also shared with the Selectmen and others on the call. Dilworth called the numbers conservative saying that by year one they anticipate $4,900,000 in total sales with that number increasing to $7,841,103 by year five. Halifax would see roughly $290,000 of the first year’s sales. “I submit that there is no other business that could generate as much revenue for the town at that location as Green Earth could and I think it would be a much better neighbor than other options,” Dilworth said. Dilworth acknowledged concerns such as loitering, litter, and traffic but said that they would all be properly addressed.

During the question-and-answer portion of the hearing, Selectman Ashley DiSesa asked what would be done to make residential neighbors more comfortable. DiSesa said that while the HCA is the same as the one used by Flower and Soul, the location proposed by Green Earth is very different with a lot of residents nearby. “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback on this particular property from the residents of this town,” DiSesa said. Dilworth said that there would be both fencing and buffering which would need to be resolved by the Planning Board. Selectman Troy Garron expressed some concern over security. Dilworth assured him that they would be consulting with the Halifax Police Department regarding security requirements.

Nearly 30 residents joined the call to offer input during the hearing. A resident who said she lives directly behind the building questioned whether there was really three acres of parking available as stated by Dilworth during his presentation. Gogarty clarified that there were in excess of 98 parking spaces available. He went on to say that it would require maximizing the paved area but noted that they may not necessarily create that many spaces.

Another resident spoke up to say that it would bring in revenue to the town and if the company follows the rules and procedures, “why wouldn’t we when every other town seems to be doing this?” He questioned why residents would want to bring their money to another town. Someone else countered that they have concerns about people drinking and smoking in the parking lot and then driving. Gogarty again stressed that they would be meeting or exceeding any local or state safety requirements.

Throughout the hearing, Dilworth continually replied that it would be the job of the Planning Board to sort through the issues that were being brought forth by the residents in attendance. “In your presentation, you said you wanted to be a good neighbor; don’t you think you would have come with some of these answers or been able to give us a better answer than that’s someone else’s job,” an abbutter said. She continued, “I just don’t hear that you guys are trying to be good neighbors because you are completely dismissing everything that people are saying… I think the other companies that did get the approval in Halifax definitely did stuff to appease the neighbors to get their stuff approved.” “There’s always opposition from the abutters, but we’re going to do everything we can to alleviate that,” Dilworth said.

Before closing, two other residents offered their support for the new business. The residents opposed to the business seemed to echo the sentiment that it was not the type of business they were opposed to but rather the location of that business.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig expressed concern that the CCC was moving away from allowing towns to use the three percent community impact fee for whatever they want and more toward the money needing to be allotted to issues directly caused by the marijuana business in question. “I’m just concerned that… the laws themselves may change in the future,” Seelig explained. “You’ve negotiated as much protection as you possibly can,” Dilworth said.

Garron said he was not as comfortable as he wanted to be with the presentation that night but said he believed they should move forward with the HCA. DiSesa agreed acknowledging that it was not their job to deal with things like the security of the business or whether the setbacks are appropriate. “I do hope that they will do the community outreach as soon as possible… I do believe if you are going to be a successful business in this town you should really hear what the residents in this town are saying and be a little bit more accommodating,” DiSesa said. “I just want to make a statement that we have to trust the fact that the Police Department, the Fire Department, the Planning Board, the Building Inspector – they are going to do their job to their best before any kind of permit is given,” Garron said. It was agreed that the decision on the HCA would be made at a later meeting.

In other business, Seelig told the Board that the South Shore Children’s Museum was seeking permission for live entertainment during a not so scary walk that they plan to hold at Walmart in late October. The Selectmen voted to approve the request.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 28. The first appointment of the night was with Todd Dargie who was to be appointed to the Finance Committee. He had previously interviewed for the Committee and has been serving on the Capital Planning Committee. “I do have extensive experience in budgeting and the financial services sector and banking and things of that nature,” Dargie explained. They voted unanimously to approve his appointment through June of 2023.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig discussed the official town of Halifax Facebook page. He said that logistically they would need to figure out who would be responsible for posting on the page. It was explained that you can have as many contributors as wanted but the particular policy limits it to two members of each department. It was discussed whether the messenger feature would be disabled. Selectman Chair Gordon Andrews said he would recommend leaving messenger off for the time being. The Selectmen voted to unanimously approve the policy on the Facebook page as presented by Information Technology manager Cesar Calouro. Calouro and Seelig will be the page administrators.

Calouro was also on hand for a discussion of the social media policy for employees and committee members. Of the policy, Calouro said, “It is to establish a set of guidelines and expectations to protect the town of liability.”  He said that it should serve as a reminder that everything is still public record regardless of the town hosting the platform. The main gist of the conversation was to distinguish town employees or volunteers’ personal comments versus those made in a professional capacity. Andrews argued that unless they are commenting on a town hosted platform, it should be assumed that any views expressed are their personal ones and not the official stance of the town. The Selectmen asked Calouro to reword the policy before they would approve.

Calouro also discussed changing out the bulletin board at Town Hall with a tv screen that would cycle through the items that are currently posted there on paper. A suggestion to have a touch screen display that could be paused was explored. Calouro said he didn’t plan to buy a touch screen as he didn’t think the money to do so would be available.

The Selectmen met with Peter Gallistino and Robert Palma of Elevated Roots in regards to a proposed marijuana dispensary. Gallistino said they were following up on previous communications with the town and the Selectmen. He said they were able to secure the property at 319 Monponsett St. They explained that the parcel is in what they called an “appropriate” location which they said does not abut residential properties. They also said that the construction process would be quick as it was limited to an interior remodel. They plan to hire around 35 people for the Halifax location with preference given to local residents.

Elevated Roots is currently located in Kingston where they operate an adult use retail facility and are in the process of constructing a cultivation facility there as well. They said that their partnership with the community is what sets them apart. They said that despite it not being part of the Host Community Agreement (HCA) with Kingston, they donated five percent of their sales on Memorial Day to Kingston Veteran’s Committee.

Selectman Troy Garron said his biggest concerns would be traffic and security. Palma said the inside door cannot open until the outside door closes. He said it allows them to control who accesses the property. He further explained that the team’s access to various parts of the building depends on their role within the company. When asked if they had given consideration to an armed intruder, they explained that they operate similarly to a bank with panic buttons equipped throughout, etc.

The next appointment was with Daniel Parsons of 715 Old Plymouth Street. Andrews explained that the Board had received complaints about a number of unregistered cars on the property. Parsons explained various reasons for having unregistered vehicles and also said that he has moved the junk on his property to the back so that it could no longer be seen from the road. He said he makes extra money through scrapping. Seelig told Parsons to verify that inspections were up-to-date for the vehicles to which Parsons said that up-to-date inspections did not matter for the state of Massachusetts. Seelig said that it was part of the town’s by-laws. Andrews asked if he was willing to have a site visit by the Board. Parsons said, “I don’t like people on my property. You guys have already tried to break into my property once before. Your building inspector and health inspector tried to break into my house saying I was squatting after living here for a year and a half.” He continued, “I do not like people from your town on my property. You have already shown me that you don’t care… my wife was cowering in the corner with my two-month-old baby.” They agreed to a site visit on the following Saturday.

Town Accountant Sandra Nolan was present to ask for clarifications regarding the bonuses that had been approved for town employees using the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funding. Decisions were reached on how to pro-rate the raises for part-time employees as well as whether to issue bonuses to recent hires. Seelig also told the Selectmen that $110,000 in additional ARPA funding was now available to the town. Seelig also told the Selectmen that the town would be receiving $200,000 in grant money through a Green Communities award.

Regarding use of the additional ARPA funds, Andrews, who also serves on the Halifax Elementary School Committee, told the Board that currently the Fire Department is handling the testing required to implement the test and stay program that allows asymptomatic students to stay in school if they are close contacts. There was a question regarding how the Fire Department would be reimbursed for the costs associated with that task. Andrews also asked that the system that allows communication between the various rooms for Town Meeting at the school be purchased and the wires be left in place permanently. Andrews said that given the number of times they have paid for the equipment to be placed and the company to run it, they would have been able to purchase the equipment multiple times over.

There was mention of a few resignations in town as well. Drew McGlincy resigned from the Finance Committee and Special Police Officer Thomas Reed resigned from the Police Department.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on Monday, Sept. 27,  continuing their discussion from previous meetings on heavy truck traffic exclusions on certain roads in town. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said she had heard back from the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) who said the best option would be to do a heavy commercial vehicle exclusion on portions of Main, Center, and Maple streets. Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte had previously questioned whether including Main St. in that exclusion would preclude the town from future grant funding opportunities. Dennehy said OCPC is currently looking into whether or not the funding would be affected. The town had previously been interested in including other streets but needed approval from Kingston to pursue those. Kingston decided they were not interested in participating at this time. The Selectmen voted to approve moving forward with the exclusions with the caveat that Firlotte’s concerns be explored further.

Selectmen also held a public hearing to consider the application of Eversource for a new pole at Mayflower Rd. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy opened the hearing to anyone who would like to speak either in favor or against the pole. Karen Johnson spoke on behalf of Eversource. Johnson said the pole was needed to run electric service to a solar array farm. Joy asked if the pole was standard size and Johnson confirmed that it was and that it would be placed within an existing pole line. There was no one present to speak against the installation of the pole. Selectmen voted unanimously to authorize Eversource to install the pole.

Firlotte provided the Selectmen with an update regarding ongoing Highway Department projects. Prospect Road paving was completed. He said that work on the wooden Winnetuxet River Bridge has been suspended indefinitely and he is unsure when work will be able to be resumed. He said that he was in the process of trying to find someone capable of making stencils large enough to go on the road to mark where the new safety zones are located. If needed, Firlotte said he would make his own though he said they would be smaller than originally desired.

Selectmen also awarded the bid for the work on the ADA ramp at the Townhouse. Dennehy said the lowest bidder was St. John Corporation out of Wellesley whose bid was $110,000. “Then we also asked the bidders to price out one alternative which would have to do with our current entrance of the Townhouse and they priced that out at $17,900.” Dennehy said she was recommending that Selectmen award the bid to St. John Corporation pending a favorable recommendation from the Town Properties Committee. Dennehy also recommended not proceeding with the alternative although she said it might be possible to pursue it for town meeting.  The Selectmen voted unanimously to award the contract.

Dennehy provided Selectmen with a Town Administrator’s update including grant funding. She said they got their Green Communities grant application in by the deadline with the help of OCPC. She said they are moving forward with another Green Communities application. Dennehy said that the quick deadline of October 8 means many communities take a year off in between applications but said she is hopeful they will be able to submit materials in time. Dennehy said she has an upcoming meeting at Dennett Elementary School with the school nutritional director, the lead custodian, and the lead cook to see about using some of that potential funding to possibly replace outdated appliances. “The school staff is very excited about this,” she explained. In addition, Dennehy said they are also looking into the library heating system.

Chair of the Plympton School Committee as well as Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen provided an update on the school saying that work on the new playground was underway. He said that after many delays, all the equipment has been delivered. He said that installation of the rubberized surface would have to wait until spring as it needs a constant temperature of 52 degrees to cure properly. Wood chips are to be used in the interim.

Selectman Mark Russo began the rants and raves portion of the meeting saying his rave was for the town of Brewster. During their town meeting Saturday, they approved the purchase of 66 acres along Long Pond in addition to another approximately 60 acres along the ocean. “This is invaluable land almost never available on the Cape… I salute the townspeople of Brewster for making an investment into the long-term future of their town,” Russo explained.

Selectman John Traynor went next saying it was nice to see Dennehy send out a list of long-term items. “It shows the progress we’re making in terms of addressing a number of things,” he explained. He said his semi-rant was with the Post Office as they are sending more and more services to Carver. Traynor said he hoped it was not indicative of a plan to close the Plympton branch. Joy said her first rave was for Rob Firlotte. “He’s getting a lot of really good work done and he’s so engaged and responsive to concerns,” she said. Her second rave was for all of the great work being done by the Council on Aging.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on September 17 to discuss possible uses of the town’s allotment of $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Town Accountant Sandra Nolan was also present for the discussion. Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews said, “one use of the ARPA funds is bonuses for employees; I was going to suggest that we do a $1,500 bonus this year and next year.” Andrews said that for the unions, including fire, police, and highway, part-time employees’ bonuses would be pro-rated based on the number of hours worked.

Andrews said he wanted to discuss “everyone else” noting “but I don’t know that I have a solution for that today.” Selectman Troy Garron said, “I think we need to reward the staff for what they have done through the pandemic – the loyalty they have shown to the town.” The Selectmen decided that all town employees, including full-time elected employees, would receive $1,500 if full-time and a pro-rated bonus if part-time.

Andrews asked how to handle the school employees saying that the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were available for their use. Selectman Ashley DiSesa said they would need to research whether the School Committee plans to allot funds for bonuses for school employees before proceeding with using ARPA funds for that purpose. She noted she did not want to hold up bonuses for other town employees in the meanwhile. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the bonuses for all but the school employees.

The Selectmen then turned their attention to what is referred to as “the affected communities.” “Because of Covid restrictions, you have restrictions at the elementary school for masking and you have issues with humidity and heat there… I have a motion to designate $35,000 for engineering consulting for the complete scope of work to upgrade, renovate the Halifax Elementary School HVAC system and building management system.” Garron clarified that work had already been done on some of those systems but Andrews said the issue needing fixing is related to heat and humidity. “I can say after all of us sitting in the gym and not being able to breathe and everybody going outside to try and breathe with the masks on, I think we need to do something,” Andrews explained. The Board voted unanimously to approve the cost for the consulting/engineering fee.

Andrews said he was going to make a request to the Director of Facilities and Maintenance for an estimate for either engineering work or the cost of the project for reviewing/fixing the HVAC system at the fire station. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve this motion.

The Selectmen next discussed building a senior center with ARPA funding. “Because of Covid-19, the seniors in our community have definitely been affected – they’ve been isolated and I will be pushing to use some of the ARPA funds to provide a place… I don’t know whether we could cover the whole cost of the senior center within the ARPA funds but I think we can use a portion of those funds; they are an affected community,” Andrews said. Garron said, “I personally believe that the seniors have been discarded over getting things for the younger kids… you’ve got to remember the senior citizens are the ones that made this history of the town – made it what it is today.” The Selectmen agreed to look into the cost of a new senior center.

DiSesa suggested potentially allocating some of the funds to deal with infrastructure and, in particular, water. The quality of the water in town was a topic of discussion during recent Selectmen meetings with residents complaining of brown water amongst other things. Andrews said he was in agreement. Andrews noted that the funds weren’t eligible to be used for road construction.