The Halifax Finance Committee met Monday, March 28, in preparation for a balanced budget to present to the Halifax Annual Town Meeting, which will be held May 9 at the Halifax Elementary School.

First on the agenda was the Park Commission budget. Speaking to the article  was Michael Schleiff.   Responding to a letter from the Board of Health, the Parks Commission is asking to put in a handicap accessible “porta potty” that would be rented in increments of 28 days.  While the request had been for three portable toilets, the Park Commission  is requesting one for the Lingan Street beach area at a cost of $1100.  This will protect the beach, pond, and surrounding area from urination and defecation and help lessen the problems and answer the Board of Health concerns. This would bring the budget up to $1562.  FinCom agreed and voted to approve that amount.

In an effort to bring in some money to help cover expenses, the parks department is considering offering out of town beach stickers for a fee.  There are officers at the recreation locations monitoring the areas, and there is signage stating that parking is for Halifax residents only, but they can’t keep out of town vehicles from parking at the boat ramp.

“We’re going to get some help this year from the highway department with clearing the parking lot across the street from the Holmes Street beach,”  Schleiff said.    

Next project the Park Commission is looking at is some “beach nourishment” to alleviate the deep gullies at the beach formed by stormwater runoff.  They have bids from local sand and gravel merchants and Schleiff explained they have to match the sand in size and texture to the current sand, and it has to be washed sand, with no sediment.  The price for this is $14 a ton.

Schleiff said they would also like to continue the Holmes St. boat refurbishment.  “We’re working on the drawings so we can get accurate prices.   We know it’s going to be way over the $5,000 we have.”  He told the committee that three tri-axels of sand will be about $1100.“  If we take out one truck it will be $800 or so,” Schleiff said,  “It would be nice to have it in this budget so the work can be done this year.”  Town Accountant Sandy Nolan pointed out that the boat ramp is a capital expenditure and the warrant for the spring town meeting closed last week.   She encouraged Schleiff to get her the information and she will see what she can do, but most likely they will have to draw up an article for a special town meeting in the fall.

Pam Aducci, Town Treasurer/Collector, told FinCom she wants the assistant treasurer position raised from its current 32 hours to 40 hours.  “ I’ve given my notice and will be leaving at the end of April.  Whoever comes in will need training and that will need more hours.”  Nolan said she knows how the asstant treasurer has been pushed – especially with the fraudulent unemployment claims that came in during the pandemic – and also just keeping up with all the day to day business in the treasurer’s office. “We’re going to need that person for 40 hours a week no matter what.”   The increase was approved.  Adducci said that she realizes the town needs to find new revenue sources and suggested Halifax raise its demand fees.   Halifax charges $5 while surrounding towns charge $15.  “Not a ton of money, but it needs to be approved by Town Meeting.”

FinCom went on to a general discussion of the budget.

Still faced with the Halifax Elementary School budget, the major issue is the special education transportation price increase.  FinCom has made inquiries into utilizing one of the vans from the Council on Aging.  They have three vans with three drivers.  FinCom has asked the school committee to explore that.  COA was quite amenable to sharing.

There has been no news on the Town Administrator’s salary line.   If it is voted at $125,000 and the selected candidate requires more, then they might have to go to a special town meeting to fund that position.

• IT Expense budget at  $110,191 was approved.  Nolan said she thought it was a fair amount.

• Police and Fire budgets  are complete.

• Building Inspector – Selectmen are aware that assistant building inspectors are being paid out of the building inspector’s  expense budget as vendors.  The building inspector asked that his assistant budget  be transferred to the expense budget so he can use it to pay contractors. His assistant works as a contractor at this time.  Voted unanimously.

• Animal Control Officer budget – $982.  The budget is formulaic.  Unanimous approval.

• School budget is waiting until next meeting.  Halifax’s assessment went up, Kingston’s went up and Plympton’s  assessment went down.  Cheryl  asked if the special ed transportation cost is fixed and was told that there are no companies  willing to bid on the project.    

• Reycling center wages  were voted to cover the three people working there, the driver, center operator, and part time helper totaling $75,274.  Sue Johnson communicated to FinCom that the hazardous waste collection line can be lowered from $14,560 to $5,950.  They will do alternate years as there was a very low demand for the service. They are also looking at a regional option.   Unanimously voted.

As for the trash collection, that department says they should be able to lower this amount but recommends putting this price into the town warrant and when prices come in, they can bring the cost down at Town Meeting.  “Is this a straight pass through to the residents?” Chairman Connolly asked of Nolan.  “We would have to increase the price of the bags.   This is paid for by the bags and we would have to increase the price.   That’s why we’re working hard not to have it that price because we do not want to have to increase the bags like that,” Nolan said.

• Council on Aging expense went up by  $650 due to increases in electricity and dues.  “I think they’re going to need it,” Nolan said.  Voted unanimously.   

• Parks expense – change from $450 to $1562.  Voted unanimously.

• Fireworks committee is asking for $3300 to cover the cost of police and fire details.  Unanimous approval..

• Debt service –  all three items went down from last year.   This is the last year for the landfill capping item.  The principal is $90,000 and the interest for this year is $1,857.  The other items are the elementary school roof and repairs and the fire suppression debt.  “These will be with us for a while,” Nolan said.

• Plymouth County Retirement wants to be fully funded by 2030.  This will keep increasing.  We have no choice.

• Halifax group insurance.  Expecting a significant drop due to people going from family plans onto Medex plans which saves significant sums – the difference of about $1400 per month down to about $400 per month.   I would like you to vote $1,054,560, for total health group insurance.   Voted unanimously.

• OPED trust – committee is  asking for $1,000 again this year to bring the total to $39,000.    

• Assistant Treasurer/Collector salary increase by $11,000 who is now  at 32 hours.  It is an additional 8 hours “and it is quite necessary,” Sandy Nolan said.  From $141,854.  Increase by $11,000 to make the department line  $152,854.  Voted  unanimously.

• Article 6  Reserve Fund.  $75,000 to raise and appropriate from the general fund, and also $50,000 from water  retained earnings.   “The same as last year,” Nolan told the group.  Total $125,000 for the reserve fund.  What was the total of all the reserve fund transfers for all of last year?   “There was a $100,000 transfer from the reserve fund to the legal expense line last year but I’m not sure if that’s going to come up again.”  Said Assistant treasurer Lind Cole.   Nolan said “There’s a chance that it may come up again this year.  Basically I think we’re doing OK with the amount.”  Connolly asked, “Where does the unused money go at the end of the year?”  Nolan answered that it goes back to the general fund as free cash.

• Plymouth County Extension Service – $150.  This is the same every year.  They help us with 4-H and other things.   Unanimous approval.

• Road maintenance.   Last year increased it was increased from $150,000 to $300,000.   “Steve (Hayward) would like to keep the $300,000.  And we can afford to.”   Approved unanimously.

• Assessors recertification article for $18,600. “ It’s the annual fixed cost and we have to do it,” Connolly said.  Unanimous.

• Police vehicles – one police cruiser and one chief’s vehicle for $110,000 as part of the annual rotation.  Approved unanimously.

• Police Bulletproof vests for $5,000.  “We do sometimes get refunds from the state, but that just replenishes the account.”  Approved.

• Replacement of 20 station cell cameras  at $7,379 was approved.

• Halifax Elementary School elevator.  The current elevator is so old that they can’t get parts.  They want to upgrade the control panel for $66,941. “This is a one-time expense and it should last quite a long time once we put it in.  This is something that we would naturally fund through free cash,” Nolan told the board.  Approved.

• Highway medium duty dump truck for plowing and sanding for $200,000.  Can be more useful than the larger trucks.   Approved.

• Highway 500 gallon double walled waste oil tank.  $50,000.  The one we have now is single walled and not in compliance with state standards.  “This allows us to burn used oil for heating oil.  She said the last heating oil bill they got was $5 per gallon so the ability to burn the waste oil is a huge savings.

Nolan asked the commission to go back to fixed costs. “ The gas line we have at $90,000 … I think we need to increase it by $20,000 to $110,000.  For heating oil I think we need to increase it by $10,000 to $60,000.”  If the money isn’t used it goes back into the general fund.  Approved.

• Water recycling unit at the wash bay for the highway dept.  We’re pumping the water out of the pipe tank which is not in compliance, Nolan said..   The cost will also add a roof over the wash bay.  $75,000 total.  Approved.

• South Shore Coastal Counties Legal Service and South Shore Resource and Advocacy for $3500.  Same as last year.

• Town clerk needs a new time stamp for $850.  The one they have is so old it can’t get parts for it.  Approved

• Library computer – $1000 for a new computer at the library as part of a rotation replacement program.  Approved.

• The request for three copy machines has been reduced to two.  The water dept.  doesn’t want to replace theirs at this time.  This will cover highway and library.  Nolan suggested purchase instead of lease.  $4,000.  Approved.

• Fire – new ambulance.  $340,000. They are locking in a price, and not going to take delivery for two years.   Have to commit the funds to the article.  The money won’t all go at once.  “ We pay a deposit to begin it, might have a payment halfway through, and then the balance when it’s delivered,” Nolan said.

• Security cameras for town buildings.  Sixteen cameras on new buildings including the Town Hall, COA, Highway Dept. and  Holmes Library for $36,800.  These buildings don’t currently have security cameras,  Caesar Coloruso, head of IT, explained.  Approved.

• Middle School Resource officer – “Again this is a raise and appropriate because it is an operating  item.”  Really belongs in the school budget, it will be listed as a sub line under the school budget.   This is Halifax’s share of the resource officer.  Halifax pays 2/3 and Plympton pays 1/3. Kingston pays 100% of the resource officer at the High School.  Approved.

•  Council on Aging.  There is a need for a new building for the Council on Aging. “We are looking at the Halifax Museum library to see if we can be rehab it with a small addition to the building.  It would allow more space and all on one floor.   The architect came in with a price – a very rough estimate of $1.2 million,”  Nolan said.   “We are looking for $1.5 million to cover everything.   This will come from the school roof bond.   Interest rates were very low and the school roof came in at less leaving an extra $1.5 million left over in that account.  She would like to transfer the funds from school roof project to the Council on Aging project.   The one catch is there would need to be an article on the warrant to do this because it was debt excluded.  An article on town meeting to make the transfer as well as a question on the ballot to approve the COA project through debt exclusion is needed.  This money is already debt excluded.  If we do this, there is no increase to the levy at all.   The state asks that we use the funds on another project of equal length… We cannot use it to pay down the bond,” Nolan said.   Approved.   

• Silver Lake Tennis courts repair $110,000 Funds were returned from Silver Lake.  There were  $312,000 in refunds from Silver Lake and they’re asking that we take $110,000 from that to repair the tennis courts.  Being from the stabilization fund it needs a 2/3 vote.   Approved.

• Police Body Worn Camera Program.  They’ve been trying to get grants but haven’t gotten them. Not yet a requirement, but the chief would like to get them and have his officers get used to them. Chief Joao Chaves told the commission that it is prudent to get it now.  Body cameras are probably going to be mandated and Police Chief Joao Chaves said it is a prudent program.  The cameras themselves are $46,380 for the five year program and at three years they change out all the cameras.  Approved.

Library /water department network refresh.  $12,500   We do have the money to do it.    Approved.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on Monday, March 15. The Selectmen met with Michael Mahoney the Director of the Regional Old Colony Communications Center (ROCCC) to discuss a $50,000 increase for services for fiscal year 2023. Selectman Mark Russo said they did have a bit of sticker shock as they were originally told that they would be at $175,000 and not $200,000 with the potential for that to reduce should other towns join. “The three-year step plan that we laid out went $100, $150, $200… I’m honestly not sure where the shock is,” Mahoney said. Fire Chief Steve Silva said he agreed with Russo saying that both Hanson and Hanover have joined the ROCCC without a reduction seen to Plympton’s share of the cost.

“Plympton wasn’t paying an equitable share all along,” Mahoney said explaining that 911 was paying their share previously. Mahoney further said that all of the smaller towns that are a part of the ROCC are paying $200,000 including Halifax and Rochester. Silva questioned this given Plympton’s population of just under 3,000 as opposed to Halifax who is more than twice as large. Mahoney claimed that the call volume for Plympton has been larger than Halifax’s over the last six months. Silva said that the metric used to indicate call volume was resulting in “an inequitable situation.” “You pay for the impact on the dispatcher,” Mahoney said.

According to Mahoney, 911 calls represent the vast minority of calls to the ROCCC. He said that business related calls represent more of the calls fielded. John Traynor asked Mahoney for assistance in figuring out what is driving Plympton’s call volume to match or exceed that of the much larger towns. Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen said that further investigation needs to be done into what is driving Plympton’s high call volume to see if there may be an alternative way to handle some of those calls. Mahoney said that he was happy to pull some numbers and review them further with the town.

Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy asked what will happen if the town can’t afford the $50,000 increase for fy 2023 given the short notice and how far along they are in the budget process. She asked if they would need to approach the State and Mahoney said, “we’ve done anything and everything to secure support in grant funding as much as we possibly can for all of the member towns.” Mahoney said he would stand with the town before the 911 Commissioner to lobby for more money if needed.

Traynor led a discussion with Executive Director of Area 58 Richard Goulart about moving forward with a hybrid style meeting where participants could join virtually via ZOOM while others were physically present in a meeting room. Goulart said that both Carver and Halifax are currently doing a hybrid style meeting. To do so and to allow Area 58 to record the meeting, they would have to be the ones to host the meeting. Dennehy felt that having Area 58 host the meeting could pose a problem if the town needed to organize a meeting quickly. “I think it could work very well for regular meetings,” she added. Dennehy also said that if they moved to hybrid meetings and there was a technology glitch, the meeting would be invalidated. Russo inquired about the sound quality. “Generally speaking, we haven’t had a real problem with that,” Goulart said.

The Selectmen had two public hearings on the agenda. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said that in 2018, the town adopted a policy of right of first refusal for full transparency whenever land became available in the town. This allows residents that have concerns to voice them as well as allowing interested committees or boards in town that have interest in the property to speak on it. The first property was located on Ring Rd. in Plympton. Kirsten Eliassen who works with the developer Ring Rd. Solar was there to speak on it. “The solar array will be installed over the existing cranberry bogs and the cranberry bogs will continue to be harvested for the life of the project,” Eliassen explained. There are 14.6 acres on the first parcel and there are 5-6 acres to be converted. No one spoke out in favor of or against the project. The Selectmen voted not to exercise the town’s right of first refusal on the first property.

The second parcel is 41 acres, and they are proposing to convert between 8 and 9 acres. Again, no one spoke out in favor or against the project and no boards or committees in town were interested in the property. The Selectmen again voted not to exercise the town’s right of first refusal.

Mike Slawson of the Plympton Public Library spoke in favor of Jessica Lau being appointed to the Board of Library Trustees until May 21, 2022. “I think she’ll be an excellent addition to the Board,” Slawson told the Selectmen. They voted to appoint her. Arthur Kinsman was also appointed to the Bylaw Review Committee until dissolved. Brian Kling was also reappointed as the town’s animal inspector.

Dennehy said she had a few items in correspondence. A request was made by a resident who runs a meditation group called Plymouth Zen to use a room at the Old Townhouse. Russo called Plymouth Zen a “very nice bunch.” He did say, however, that he wanted to be careful not to set a precedent and to view any approval more so as a trial. The Selectmen decided to vote on the issue at the following meeting.

The Selectmen ended the meeting with their raves. Traynor said, “My rave is for Kathy LaNatra.” He said the library was hosting a speaker series each month and noted that LaNatra has done a good job any time she has been asked to speak. “We have a good rep,” he said.

“My rave is for the courage of the Ukrainian people who are defending their country, their homes, and their lives,” Joy said.

Russo said he wanted to underscore both of the previous raves in addition to his own. “My rave is for the time of year that its budget creation time, preparing for town meeting – kind of a busy time but we kind of layout the foundation for the whole year… kind of a pleasure to be in that mode,” he said.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, March 8. Town Administrator Ed Thorne provided an update on the community survey reports that looked at the number of selectmen per town as well as open town meeting versus representative town meeting. The first survey investigated 30 communities on the South Shore and the other looked at communities across the State with populations of 5,000 to 10,000. Of the 30 on the South Shore, 23 had Boards of Selectmen and seven had Select Boards. The vast majority had five members while eight had three members. Of the 86 communities looked at across the State 50 had five and 36 had three. This survey was conducted as the Selectmen consider an article at town meeting to go from a three-person Board to a five members.

The other report discussed was what Thorne called the “Stump Brook Dam Report.” Thorne said that Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews visited the site with the Board of Health agent and had a lengthy conversation with MA Wildlife. “Did you see any beavers?” Selectman Ashley DiSesa asked. “We found muskrat and they were trapping for beaver,” Andrews responded. He said the Board of Health needs to issue an Emergency Order for the trapping of the beavers. He said the Conservation Commission may need to do so as well for the removal of the dams. Thorne said the level of the pond is up, but nothing can be done as the beaver dam is in the way. Andrews said that currently the State is handling it but if it falls outside of their jurisdiction, the town will need to pickup the cost of trapping the beavers. Andrews said that they believe that there are at least 4 lodges in Burrage. Andrews said that ultimately the town would likely need to increase funding for trapping. He specified that the traps are no kill traps. A 55 lb beaver has already been removed.

The Selectmen had an appointment with Don Barrows, the President of the Monponsett Watershed Association. “The most important thing that we see this season is weed eradication,” Barrows explained. “We’ve got to do something this year, we can’t wait,” he continued. He noted that there was funding for the ponds available and Thorne said that it should cover the cost. Thorne said that the amount should cover the aloe treatment as well as the weed eradication for both the East and West ponds. Thorne said the work should be done in May. Barrows said that he had not yet heard if the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would be conducting testing of the ponds.

The Selectmen also met with Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward to discuss the condition of the roads including potholes. Hayward said that he just had an additional mile of work come in at an estimated cost of nearly $400,000.

Andrews told the other Selectmen that there would be an increase of $24,572 for the out of County tuition rate for Norfolk Aggie. He said that the town has two students currently enrolled.

The Selectmen also discussed the intermunicipal dispatch agreement with the ROCC. Fire Chief Jason Viveiros said there would be a $50,000 increase this year. He noted that in the five years they have been with the same service, the price has remained steady. “We’ve had a great service there; it’s been a considerable savings from when we were doing dispatch in house,” Viveiros explained. He also explained that there are a lot of things that the ROCC does that people are not aware of such as replacing a computer system for $50,000. The Selectmen voted to approve the agreement.

Andrews read from a status report for municipal and school buildings. He said that the wiring for the Town Hall front door is complete. The backflow preventer was weeping at the Elementary School and needed to be drained during the vacation break. The cost to prevent future draining is $5,300. The windows are installed at Pope’s Tavern. There are leaks under the windows at the library and due to the size of the project, its cost will need to go into the capital plan.

Andrews also said that they had received a letter from the Silver Lake Regional School Committee asking to use some of the town’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support upgrades to the schools’ HVAC systems. The Selectmen agreed to review it further at a later meeting.

Information Technology Director Cesar Calouro was there to discuss potentially using ARPA funds for network security. Calouro said the amount needed was listed as both an ARPA request as well as being included in the capital plan. The amount listed in the capital plan was just for Police, Fire, and Water. He said the life expectancy of the equipment should be ten years. “I think you’re better off just going with the capital request for Police and Fire,” Andrews said. Calouro said that if the amount was included in the capital plan his budget would be going up. DiSesa said she wanted to delay voting until she could investigate it further.

Andrews said there is a petition article for zoning at the Special Town Meeting to change the location requirements for marijuana establishments. “It’s been certified; there are 100 signatures,” Andrews said explaining that it was enough to consider it at the Special Town Meeting. Andrews said that the Planning Board should hold a public hearing on the matter.

The Selectmen voted to issue the RFP for a lease-to- own option for the solar farm per discussions from previous meetings.

The Selectmen had a request from the V.F.W. to establish a field of flags on the Town Green from May 14 to June 4. “The field consists of 500 flags,” Andrews said. The Selectmen approved the request.

An update on a relocation of the Council on Aging was discussed. DiSesa said that of the two options provided for relocation, one was not suitable and the other involved a lot of legal paperwork. Andrews asked DiSesa if she would be in favor of approving $15,000 in ARPA funds to move forward with a set of plans to present at Town Meeting. DiSesa said she would but would like to see an article at town meeting that covers both the cost of design as well as the entire project. The Selectmen approved the $15,000 during Tuesday’s meeting.

Andrews read that the Town Clerk had certified the resignation of longtime Selectman Troy Garron effective March 28, 2022. “I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those people who supported me over the years, and I hopefully haven’t disappointed anybody,” Garron said before explaining that he is taking time for family. He called it a very difficult decision before being met with resounding applause from those present. “You’ve done a lot for this community,” Andrews said noting that Garron was first his soccer coach before serving on the Selectmen Board with him.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on Monday, Feb. 28. They had an appointment with hydrogeologist Peter Newton of Bristol Engineering Advisors to review the Rocky Harvest Farm water use. Selectman Mark Russo said, “A little over a decade ago, some decisions were made in town that allowed the Rocky Harvest Company to harvest water in town…they are perceived by many as a misguided decision.” He said that hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent fighting the decision for a decade and the courts were “not sympathetic.” Russo said that at last year’s Annual Town Meeting they asked for a modest appropriation to spend on having a hydrogeologist explore Rocky Harvest’s reporting and to provide information on the impact of the harvesting of the water.

Newton said that due to COVID he was unable to go into the State’s offices and review the “boxes and boxes of documents” pertaining to the matter. He said that his review was based on those documents that he was able to obtain. He did obtain the application that Harvest Farm filed for access as a public water supply.  “They are authorized to withdraw up to 100,000 gallons a day,” Newton explained. He said that they don’t meet the criteria for the Water Management Act to apply. He said that those that fall under the Act’s purview are held to the guidelines and limitations placed on them by that Act. “They fall below the threshold for the State’s permit,” he explained. He said they have an approved rate of 50 gallons per minute or 72,000 gallons per day. Based on their reported withdrawal they are not subject to any State compliance. “Their water use has been creeping up over the past five years,” Newton said citing specific amounts withdrawn since 2016.

“I guess the short answer is there is nothing that I could see in the documents that I reviewed that says that what they’re doing is not consistent with what the State would require; the caveat there is… approval forward relies on them to submit their own documentation to the State and frankly the State doesn’t have the capability to audit,” he explained.

Newton also said that his job is far more complex than it used to be when the primary focus was strictly on ensuring clean drinking water. He explained that part of his job now is identifying the effects the water withdrawal has on streamflow, wetlands, species, etc. “It’s a much more complicated analysis now to address those questions,” he said. “It doesn’t seem to me likely that if they’re pumping at the rates they are reporting that there is likely to be significant impacts to homeowners or private wells nearby,” Newton told the Selectmen. Selectman John Traynor asked how often the water is tested that is taken out by Rocky Harvest. Newton said he was unsure but said they were required to test. He said it was regulated by the FDA not the EPA because it is bottled.

Russo said that the thing the town should be doing each year is checking on the annual reporting and max per day volume. Russo asked Newton if they should be doing anything else. “That’s really the only thing you have available to you,” Newton replied. “To be honest with you, DEP is understaffed and overworked,” he continued. Russo asked about the accuracy of Rocky Harvest’s reporting. Newton said the town could ask for the meter calibration records. “It’s good to know that we have something that we can do,” Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said.

Selectmen were scheduled to meet with Area 58 but there was no representative on the call, so they agreed to table the conversation for a later date.  Selectmen and Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said that they would like to discuss a hybrid style meeting moving forward so that some members could be present in person while people could still attend virtually.

Selectmen discussed having the Council on Aging exercise class move back into the Old Town House. Dennehy said they were ready to have them return to the building. She briefly touched on getting Wi-Fi in that building but said first they would have to get a phone line installed. She said the cost would be roughly $110 per month. “My feeling is we ought to do it,” Traynor said.

The Selectmen also reviewed the right of first refusal option pertaining to a parcel on Ring Rd. Russo said that no one in town responded saying they were interested in purchasing the property. Russo said that he strongly recommended having a public hearing on the matter before deciding how to proceed. The hearing will take place during the next Selectmen’s meeting.

The Selectmen and Dennehy discussed town meeting preparations. Dennehy said they reached out to the company that had previously provided IT services for Town Meeting. She said the town will once again secure their services. Town Meeting will likely be spread across multiple rooms at the Dennett Elementary School.

Selectmen and Dennehy also discussed the process for Board of Selectmen appointments to various boards and committees in town. Dennehy said there were a few openings in town. “As far as the reappointment process for town employees; there seems to be a disconnect in town as far as who needed to be reappointed and who didn’t,” Dennehy explained. She explained that anyone that is customarily reappointed on an annual basis does not need to go down to the Town Clerk’s office every single year to be sworn in. She said they are also trying to get ahead of any members who may not want to be reappointed before the end of the fiscal year.

Dennehy gave a Town Administrator’s update saying that there were 27 applicants for the Police Chief position. She said the preliminary screening committee would be meeting with her to go over the interview structure. “It appears on the surface that we have a lot of qualified applicants including two internal candidates,” Dennehy told the Selectmen. She also told the Selectmen that the Board of Health lifted remaining COVID restrictions.

Dennehy told the Selectmen that they had correspondence from Silver Lake Regional Schools asking for support for upgrades to their HVAC systems. She said that the town had already previously agreed to their share of the project which is estimated at $190,000. The ARPA funds, which are limited in use, will be used to fund their share of the project. Joy said that it was one of the approved uses. Dennehy also shared that she had correspondence stating that Kimberly Russo was resigning from the Bylaw Review Committee.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The Selectmen discussed an article put forth by Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews as a private citizen to change the Board of Selectmen to a five-member board. “It seems like there is a number of occasions where two of us want to go to a meeting and we didn’t post it as a meeting and we can’t both attend; it just seems like with a larger board there would be overlap of information and knowledge as to what happens at other meetings and the ability to communicate and more than one person’s take on what happens at a meeting,” Andrews said. Selectman Ashley DiSesa pointed out the benefit of more members should someone need to recuse themselves from a discussion or event. Town Administrator Ed Thorne said he could prepare a survey of neighboring towns comparing their populations to the number of selectmen on their boards. Selectman Troy Garron simply said of the three-person board, “it has worked well the last 30 years.”

Amy L. Troup told Selectmen that the Beautification Committee was requesting to use the Great Hall for a vendor fair. Troup described the fair as “anything that’s going to promote saving the earth; making it beautiful.” She told the Selectmen that they were aiming for April 2. Andrews made a motion to accept the proposed date of April 2 pending approval from the Board of Health for the food trucks that will be present. The Selectmen voted to approve the motion.

Gerard Joy presented an article on behalf of the Solar Farm Committee. He noted that Alan Winkler was the Chair of the Committee. He said, “the biggest asset that the town has is the landfill and I think that’s where the most money that the town can get with little effort.”

Joy said there were two options. One being similar to Pembroke with at least one megawatt (MW) or more depending on what can fit on the site. The company that would do the estimate, PowerOptions, is a non-profit. He said it would be a fixed rate that would be locked in for 20 years for the power. Joy said he would recommend a lease to own option. “There’s no responsibility for the first eight years; they’ll come in, they’ll do it, they’ll own it, they’ll operate it,” Joy told the Selectmen. He said the life of a solar farm should be 30 years.

Regarding the cost of the plant, Joy said, “the U.S. average open field… the cost goes anywhere from $0.83 to $1.39.” He said he took the higher number of $1.39, which he explained was per watt, and multiplied it by two. “I’m looking at the cost of $2,780,000 to install the solar farm and that could go up or down,” Joy said. He said that the battery storage system would be another $1,000,000. Joy said the town would receive roughly $86,000 for the first eight years.

The option to buy the field exists after eight years. “Typical payback… is $470,000 per year in revenue… that’s what the town should generate if you own,” Joy explained. “So, at the end of 16 years, we now own the system; but we’re still getting roughly about $72,000 per year in revenue,” he told the Selectmen. He continued, “At the end of thirty years we’ll make $6,000,142.00” “There’s a reason why everyone is throwing these solar fields everywhere; it’s a money-making machine,” Joy said. He added that the cost of maintenance was low. Joy said there was a waiting list but noted that landfills have priority so it may be possible to bypass some people on the waiting list. The Selectmen said they would review the materials and think it over.

The Selectmen also had an appointment with the Halifax Fireworks Committee. The representative said they wanted the Selectmen’s feedback on them planning the fireworks for June 25. They said that they already had approval from the Fire Chief and the Board of Health. “You guys have done such a great job in the past; why should we doubt the future,” Garron said. Asked about Covid, Garron said, “As far as Covid is concerned, it will be up to individuals.” He noted that people could wear masks if they desired. There will, however, be no jumpy houses, etc. as there was two years ago.

Andrews said that a fundraising idea would be to raffle off an ideal parking space for the winner. “I just think it would be cool, especially to get to pick your own spot on the field and have it coned off… this is the winner of the raffle and this is what supports these fireworks and make it into a big deal,” Andrews explained of his proposal. Currently there is $8,000 in the account. She said they have enough money for a small display but noted that they would rather put on something more impressive so as to not disappoint. DiSesa said that they were happy to help with fundraising or any other needs that arise. “All your time and effort is appreciated and I’ve been to every one of the fireworks,” Garron said.

Thorne gave a brief update saying that the Ethics training they held for various boards and committees was a great success. The town is planning to hold another one regarding open meeting laws. Thorne also said that the town is moving forward with the pond treatments that are needed.

The Selectmen had an appointment with Steven MacFaun of the Board of Health to discuss the Massachusetts Health Board Trust Fund Agreement (MAHB). MacFaun said they were granted $5,000 to assist with contact tracing, etc. He said that they hired a nurse initially but needed to terminate her. As a result, the Health Agent took on those responsibilities. MacFaun explained that the Board wished to give some of those funds to the Health Agent as well as the Fire Admin. He explained that “both were doing jobs outside of their jobs that were specifically supposed to be being done by someone else.” The Selectmen were in support of the bonuses.

Building Inspector James Perry appeared before the Selectmen to go over a proposed revision to inspection fees. Perry said that no changes had been made since 2011. Perry said that Halifax was on the low side in comparison to neighboring communities. “If it puts us in competition with other towns what they’re doing then the compensation is proper,” Garron said. The Selectmen voted to approve the new fee schedule effective March 1.

Cesar Calouro met with the Selectmen to request use of ARPA funds to purchase an interactive display for meetings.  He said he would like to also get a secondary, non-interactive display to be used for overlap. The Selectmen decided to delay the vote of $6,400 for the interactive display and corresponding tTV until March 8 in order to allow Thorne to verify that the ARPA funds could be used for that purchase.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Friday, Feb. 11. State Senator Michael D. Brady and  State Representative Kathy LaNatra joined the Selectmen, Silver Lake administrators, and members of the Halifax Elementary School Committee for a discussion of the Silver Lake budget and its effect on Halifax’s town budget. Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews explained that for fiscal year 2022, the cost for special needs out of district transportation skyrocketed to $300,000 due to transportation companies going out of business or being bought out. As a result, the town is going to be in a deficit for this fiscal year of $300,000. Andrews said that the town does have free cash that they can use to make up some of that deficit. He said that they will have the ability to pay that amount of money for this fiscal year at Town Meeting.

“What we are asking for is if there is some extraordinary or some way of funding increased costs because of COVID to fund out of district special needs transportation and special needs tuition itself,” Andrew told the local lawmakers. He explained that they were looking at an increase of $500,000 for the next fiscal year for just special needs tuition and transportation. He asked if there was some sort of legislation possible to assist in paying those expenses. “The amount of money the town spends on education is more than what the formula equates, and I really think the formula doesn’t take any consideration into what is actually being spent for special needs,” Andrews explained.

Regarding Chapter 70 funding, Andrews said, “Another aspect of legislation that would be helpful to the town, would be that the Chapter 70 formula would break out the Chapter 70 aid per town; it used to do that… up until the 2006/2007 timeframe… and right now it’s just a lump sum that is given to Silver Lake and it comes off the top whereas the town of Halifax should be receiving 44 percent aid, Kingston should be getting around 33 percent, and Plympton is supposed to be getting 25 percent so our proportionality drops as theirs rises up.” Asked about enrollment in Silver Lake by percentage per town, Silver Lake Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that Kingston represents roughly 57 percent, Halifax 30 percent, and Plympton 12 percent.

Andrews said, “If we have to cut $300,000, we’re going to decimate the Elementary School because Police, Fire, Highway, they’re all at minimum staffing.” He pointed out that Police and Fire personnel could leave to go to a neighboring community and make significantly more. Halifax Elementary School Committee Chair Summer Schmaling explained that what typically will happen is that Kingston and Plympton will usually vote to approve the Silver Lake budget while Halifax does not. This leaves Halifax forced to support the Silver Lake budget at the expense of other town departments.

Andrews said that Halifax was projected to spend $14,900,000 on the schools. “When you look at the foundation budget combined across it’s saying that we should be at $14,195,000,” he explained. “We do have a large portion of students within the special needs category that is not being addressed by the Chapter 70 formula,” Andrews continued.

Superintendent Jill Proulx spoke up saying, “I would agree that transportation is an issue not only in special education but even just from a regional school district’s point of view, transportation in general, the lack of competition, the lack of vendors, it creates a problem, a lack of opportunities for us and it really limits other areas that we would like to be focused on.” Proulx said that a non-regional school district that finds themselves in financial trouble, can pass on the charge to students to ride the bus, but a regional school district cannot.

Administrator of Special Education for Silver Lake Marie Grable said they are currently in a situation where they spend $650 per day to transport a special needs student to a school that they need to attend. Andrews and Schmaling thanked Grable for working so diligently the last few years to keep as many students in Silver Lake’s schools as possible as it is a significant cost savings.

LaNatra said she would collaborate with her colleagues to see if they have any solutions and also to see where they stand with their transportation costs. Brady said that the County is applying for more money and pointed out that some of these expenses could be COVID related. “We will try to reach out to any resource,” Brady said. “We will bring this back and see what we can come up with for you,” LaNatra assured them. “I truly want to thank both of you and your staff for coming in and listening to us and trying to help us,” Andrews told Brady and LaNatra.

Police Chief Joao Chaves spoke on a proposed bylaw change for the animal control officer (ACO). Chaves explained that the updates were intended to bring the town up to the State fine schedule. One recommendation was to add vaccination against rabies per the State’s guidelines. “On the fee schedule, penalties for violation of this article – $50 for the first offense, second violation $100, third violation $300, fourth or subsequent $500, and any violation that results in personal injury or property damage in excess of $50 should be a fine of $100,” Chaves explained. Regarding licensing fees Chaves said, “We are recommending… that no license fees should be charged for a dog owned by a person aged 70 or older… late fees and citations may still be charged.”

A fee of $10 may be charged if your dog is not licensed after September 1 and after September 15, $20 per dog. After November 1, a citation of $50 may be issued. “That brings us in line with the State?” Selectman Troy Garron asked. Chaves confirmed that it did. The Selectmen voted to approve the requested changes.

Andrews said there was a proposal for $1,850,000 to sell property to the town for municipal buildings. Andrews said it was put out the Buildings Facilities and Needs Committee. “I think the purchase of the property could make sense long-term for the town; I am not sure of where to get the funds to purchase other than a debt exclusion,” Andrews said. “The purchase of the property would make sense to gain land for future development of municipal services for the town,” Andrews continued. “I would say we have to say no at this time because we are already in the red,” Garron said. Garron also said he didn’t believe a debt exclusion would pass at Town Meeting. Andrews also said that there was a possibility of using a previous bond for the Elementary School to fund a similar purchase or for the Council on Aging. Chaves said he was in support of the purchase of the land as it would be needed to move forward with a “municipal complex.” The Selectmen voted not to accept the offer at this time.

Andrews shared a status report from the Municipal and School Building Committee. Regarding the Elementary School, Andrews said that LED lights had been installed. He also said that the oil tank is shifting in the dirt cellar of Pope’s Tavern and as a result a concrete pad will be poured. He said that window replacement there started in January. The bottom of the middle building of the Recycling Center is rotting, and it will need to be repaired and replaced as needed.

Town Administrator Ed Thorne provided an update. He told the Selectmen that an Ethics Training and Seminar would be held over two days the following week for members of various boards and commissions.

Garron and Selectman Ashley DiSesa discussed the potential candidates for an opening for an associate member on the Zoning Board of Appeals. Andrews recused himself. Garron nominated Marline Amedee, who had previously run for multiple openings on various boards and committees. DiSesa seconded the motion.

The Selectmen ended the meeting with a discussion of a change to the start time of Town Meeting. The proposed change was from 7:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Andrews said the earlier time could pose a problem as the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee tend to meet beforehand to discuss articles. DiSesa said she felt the earlier time might be more beneficial for certain residents, including older ones. Garron said he was fine with the earlier time.

The Selectmen voted to move the annual town meeting in May to 6:30 p.m. and the special to 7 pm. The Selectmen voted to open the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting. They also voted to close it on March 22.  All the petition articles are due by March 1.

There was a joint meeting of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee and Union 31 on Thursday, Feb. 10. There was a public budget hearing as well as a robust discussion of all things budget related.

Shared Costs Discussion

The meeting began with a review of shared cost contracts. Superintendent Jill Proulx said there were more shared cost contracts this year than usual. Most shared cost positions would be receiving a three percent increase for up to three years. The exceptions would be for the Assistant Superintendent and an administrative assistant who are both making below the average salaries for their position and experience levels. For those positions, there was a proposed salary adjustment.

There was also a proposal for a new shared cost position of Director of Human Resources at an expense of $100,000 to $110,000. The complexities of the regionalization necessitated such a position. Halifax Selectman and member of the Halifax Elementary School Gordon Andrews said, “While I believe that Director of Human Resources would be an important position, I don’t think it should be funded in this upcoming fiscal year.” Silver Lake Regional School Committee Chair Paula Hatch called the administrative team “very slim” and urged everyone to consider the position.

Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that the current shared cost budget is $1,816,164. The shared cost budget that was voted during the meeting was $2,005,164. Andrews asked for the current year’s shared cost budget and was told it was $1,783,176.  Included in the shared cost budget was Proulx’s contract. Both the shared cost budget and Proulx’s contract were voted through. Union 31’s Halifax members voted against the shared cost budget despite it passing.

Public Budget Hearing

Following the votes, Union 31 adjourned and the Silver Lake Regional School Committee’s public budget hearing began. Andrews spoke on behalf of Halifax outlining the vast increases for the town just for special needs tuition, transportation, and the Elementary School budget. Andrews said that Halifax’s minimum contribution will be increasing noting, “the budget of Silver Lake is really unaffordable for the town – the way that it continues to grow.” Andrews said that Halifax should be receiving the most in Chapter 70 funding but said that each town receives an equal amount. Andrews acknowledged that the problem in the disbursement of Chapter 70 is a problem with the legislature not the school.

Kingston School Committee member Jeanne Coleman said, “Try to cut as little as you can… do what you can to bring it to town meeting and hopefully get the support there.” She expressed concern over the students losing much of what makes school fun and enjoyable. Fellow Kingston Committee member Sheila Marie Vaughn argued for the same.

Kingston Treasurer Carl Pike said he was speaking as a resident. “I really think the important thing is we all continue to work together. I get concerned when I hear town officials talking about cuts; there are times when we have to ask for a second look at a budget… I believe strongly that we need to support school budgets,” Pike said. He continued, “Do I think that we can afford as communities to have 5 or 6 percent assessment increases? Absolutely not… I believe that we have some of the finest administrators and teachers in the State and I trust in them to work with the budgets that are reasonable considering other Departments like Police and Fire and Roads and Streets.” The public budget hearing was closed.

Superintendent’s Budget Presentation

Proulx began her budget update by saying that at the last School Committee meeting, it was asked that they cut $400,000 from the most recent iteration of the budget and then build back in $300,000. She said that the preliminary budget is an increase of 3.74 percent. Special education transportation is a 21.36 percent increase and payroll and benefits account for 82 percent of the budget. Health insurance is estimated at 5 percent and included several retirements. She said that several recurring costs for technology and hardware were moved from the Capital Plan and into the budget.

During Tier Two of the budget, Proulx said they began to look at outside of the budget requests and asked principals to consider what could be cut. “Our number one priority across our district leadership team and our principals is the addition of curriculum coordinators. It would come with an increase of $12,000. She said another request was for a 12-month assistant principal at the high school. The Middle School is looking for a split position for a special education teacher and reading teacher. Multiple cuts would have to be made to equipment, supplies and other items to make these positions possible.

The $100,000 in cuts were made up by $20,000 from maintenance of the field, $10,000 from maintenance of buildings, $4,200 from high school teaching supplies, $3,000 from high school textbooks as well as several other smaller cuts.

Proulx noted that there was also mention of adding a K-12 arts coordinator at a cost of $100,000. She noted that it was a shared cost position and not a Silver Lake one but said that she was looking for direction from the Committee. Another issue brought forth was the lack of instrumental education in two out of the three elementary schools. Ways to fund that need were discussed at previous meetings.

Proulx said that private, parochial, and charter school tuitions have all decreased from the previous year. This is beneficial for the public schools. Regarding charter school tuition, Committee member Eric Crone said that since 2016 that dollar amount has increased three-fold from $350,000 to $1,000,000.

Assessments

Healy spoke on the assessments for FY23. “It’s in our regional agreement, it’s the way that we have to assign our costs,” she said of the assessments. Healy also noted that the minimum contribution is assigned by the State based on their own calculations. Both Halifax and Kingston will be paying more than the previous year while Plympton will be paying less. Healy said that state aid is at $7.6 million that  is an increase over recent years. “The total increase for our assessments with capital and based on the operating budget… is $360,000 or a 1.86 percent increase… operating and capital,” Healy explained.

Legislative Update

Andrews did some quick math during the meeting and said that the overall increase from last year’s to this year’s budget stood at $1,183,066. Committee member Jason Fraser noted that they would be receiving $400,000 more this year from the State thereby reducing that number. Fraser continued with his legislative update saying, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Circuit Breaker fully funded,” referring to the State’s program to provide reimbursement for special education. He said that additional funding could come in from Chapter 70. “I acknowledge the burdens on the towns but I want to also make sure that we are clear that the number we’re seeing from the Chapter 70 funds from regional transportation, even potentially from charter school reimbursement, we may see only rise to support us even more,” Fraser explained.

Fraser also told the Committee that he has asked Representative Kathy LaNatra if she could propose an amendment to increase the minimum aid per pupil amount in Chapter 70 from $30 to $100. Fraser also said that he has pushed for an extension of the current policy of free meals at schools for all students. He said they were asking Congress to make it a federal policy. “We know that kids that eat behave better academically and have less behavioral issues,” Fraser explained.

Halifax’s Position on the Budget

Hatch argued that due to no fault of its own, Halifax is not capable of supporting the budget as presented. She noted it was not a philosophical difference but a practical one. “It’s circumstance; there is nothing that can be done about it,” she explained.

Pike asked to speak again saying, “The bottom-line expense that you’re talking about here now, is right around 4 percent. What you do when you have a 4 percent bottom-line is you have two choices – you can go to the communities and go for a proposition 2 ½ override. You can do that so often, you can’t, in my opinion, you can’t convince any community to be doing a proposition 2 ½ override every single year because you need 4 percent increases to run your budget… the other thing you do is maybe you can somehow make it balance but that means that I have to tell my Police Department and my Fire Department and my Parks Department, hey you guys only get a 1 percent increase this year.”

Fraser said that as the second most senior member of the Committee, they have never asked for a proposition 2 ½ override. He noted that he had never been a part, on either of the Committees he serves on, of a budget that was over a 3 percent increase. Fraser said, “However, I am not going to ignore the needs of the students and ignore the needs of the school, especially as we emerge from the past two years.”

Schmaling verified that just the budgets of the schools as they stand currently, without taking into account the operating budget of the town, would force Halifax into an override. She explained to the Committee that such an override would be extremely unlikely to pass. She asked if the town would be forced to support the schools’ budgets, at the expense of other town departments, due to the regional agreement. Andrews explained that the regional agreement forced them to support Silver Lake but not the elementary school. Given that the elementary school is a large portion of the town’s budget, and the other departments are at minimum funding, severe cuts would likely have to be made to the school to support the regional agreement with Silver Lake. “This is extremely painful and uncomfortable that our situation is causing this struggle that we’re having,” Hatch said of Halifax’s position.

Halifax resident and Silver Lake Regional School Committee member Gordon Laws asked, “Is there nothing at all that we can do to monetize and raise revenue that is not tax related and is somehow positive?” “We have overtime put efforts in, we looked at solar panels… only to find out it wasn’t feasible,” Hatch explained. She named other items that had been investigated as well. Fraser said that he was currently working with local lawmakers on a revolving fund for assessments, “where if towns have a low assessment… that there would be incentives for municipalities to put those dollars into a revolving fund where the State would potentially give a percentage match – like a ten percent to encourage that investment.” The Committee agreed to look at and vote the budget at their next meeting in March.

Book Controversy

Hatch said that they were contacted by a parent of a student in the Middle School asking that they review the book, So Far from the Bamboo Grove, that is part of the curriculum. Hatch said that they were advised to follow the school policy and create a review committee to review the request and present it to the larger Committee for a decision. Fraser said that he felt it appropriate that anyone that serves on the review committee commit to reading the book. In addition to a handful of School Committee members, Proulx recommended that the Assistant Superintendent, ELA Coordinator, at least one principal, a guidance director, a counselor, a few parents and students, and several teachers also serve on the review committee.

Principals’ Reports

Silver Lake Regional High School Principal Michaela Gill turned things over to Student Council Representative Mia Mitchell. Mitchell referenced Governor Charlie Baker’s recent announcement that the mask mandate in K-12 schools in the State will end on February 28. Mitchell said she thought the change would have a positive impact on students. Mitchell also provided the Committee with some school updates including a blood drive that is being planned by both Student Council and National Honor Society.

Gill told the Committee that there would be six new course offerings this year including digital photography 2, web development, game design, engineering design and development, medical Spanish, and AP U.S. Government and Politics. Gill said they would be removing some electives and making some other changes to better align with State standards. The Committee voted to accept all changes to the program of studies as presented by Gill.

Gill said that the annual curriculum night would be held following the February break. “We will provide an overview of our curriculum that sort of kicks off what we call course selection season; our eighth graders will be able to start thinking about what courses they want to enroll in at the high school,” Gill explained.

Gill provided a few more school updates including a recent PTO run calendar raffle fundraiser event. Prizes included gift certificates to local spas and restaurants. The grand prize was acting as principal for the day. It was won by freshman Will Hinkley. “We had a lot of fun… he declared it a homework free day and then he passed out 200 ice cream coupons at lunch” Gill said. “I might be out of a job soon,” Gill joked. The fundraiser raised over $4,000.

Gill also named a few staff members that were recently recognized for their efforts including ELA teacher Tracy MacDonald, nurse’s Aid Joanne Dart, English teacher Kelly Griffin, and main office para Jessica Gilbert.

Gill also told the Committee that preschool enrollment is open for residents of Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton.

Middle School Principal James Dupille also provided an update for the Committee. He said that 18 students have received recognition for achievement excellence or citizenship. The teachers vote on the recipient and Dupille awards the students with pins and certificates and calls the parents to alert them of the achievement. Dupille also said that they brought back the History Bee after a hiatus due to COVID. He said that nine students have qualified to move onto the regional round. The Committee applauded the achievement.

Assistant Superintendent’s Update

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch touched upon grant funding. “We do have access to ESSER II funding as well as ESSER III funding… and we’re continuing to move forward in identifying our needs and providing support for students as we can,” Lynch explained. Schmaling thanked the team for making applying for these grants a priority and said, “For public knowledge I just want to note the dollar amount for Silver Lake alone; the grant funding that we obtained for fiscal year 2022 is $1,665,322.31 so it’s certainly nothing to sneeze at.” She did, however, point out that a large portion of the budget is funded by these grants and grants don’t last forever. She cautioned about the sustainability of the budget.

Updated COVID Protocols

Proulx began her update with some COVID changes. She said that isolation was changed to 5 days rather than 10. She also mentioned the new testing program that allows students and staff to opt into a free, at-home test each week. She also mentioned that the State has rescinded the mask mandate for Grades K-12 after February 28. Masks will still be required on buses as it is a federal regulation.

The Halifax Finance Committee met virtually on Jan. 31. Chair Thomas Connolly led things off with a roll call. Vice Chair Cheryll Zarella- Burke was in attendance as were Todd Dargie, Michael Bennett, and Jonathan Schmaling. Town Accountant Sandra Nolan, Town Clerk Susan Lawless, and Holmes Public Library Director Jean Gallant were also present.

Regarding the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, Connolly said, “There’s no new action, other than keep educating ourselves about what’s there.” Nolan noted that she did add $150,000 to revenues for motor vehicle excise. “We’ve always been very conservative, and we did very well last year on motor vehicle excise which was surprising; this year the State is estimating about a 7 percent increase,” Nolan explained.

Nolan also said that they did not yet have the assessment from Silver Lake. She said that there is currently a placeholder for level funding. The Committee noted that the estimate was that Silver Lake’s portion of the assessment would be going up $340,000. “That’s where the rubber is going to hit the road,” Connolly said. Nolan said that to stay in the black, the number would have to be closer to $164,000. “So that obviously goes well over that,” Nolan said.

Linda Cole said that health insurance would be less than what was estimated in the budget. “It will fluctuate a ton between now and then… it will come down, probably significantly,” she explained. She said that the same is true every year. The placeholder is currently set at 7 percent, but the actual number will likely be closer to 3 or 4.

Burke said that she had heard from the Police Chief that the Police Department plans to have a vote at town meeting to purchase two new cruisers. She also said that the Police Chief said that the town has eight auxiliary officers who need to pay their own way through the Police Academy. “So needless to say, they’re not going to do that, so we’re probably going to lose them.” Connolly asked if it was standard practice for towns to have auxiliary officers pay for the academy themselves and was told it was. As a result, the town may end up paying more in overtime for officers. Lawless brought up the high cost of paying officers overtime to fill the shifts normally filled by the auxiliary officers, were they to leave. Connolly responded saying, “Is there a way, you know, local businesses could pay that tuition, or we recruit new auxiliaries who are willing to foot the bill themselves if that is consistent with what other towns ask of their auxiliaries; maybe we can just find a creative way to cover those costs or find someone who is committed enough that they’ll cover them themselves.” Zarella-Burke recommended having the Police Chief attend their next meeting to discuss.

Regarding some of the other departments under Zarella-Burke’s purview she said that while they understand the need for level funded budgets, some costs are out of their control. She gave the rising cost of ambulance supplies as an example.

It was suggested that the Committee approach the department heads to ask for a few ideas for ways to increase their revenues. It was recommended that fee schedules be looked at among other things. “It’s definitely worth looking at,” Nolan agreed. Gallant asked if the library should consider going back to instituting fines for late items. Nolan said that the amount generated would be very small. Gallant said that the Board of Trustees was split on whether to charge late fees though she noted she was against them.

Connolly said that they had a request from the Board of Selectmen. The Selectmen plan to hire an assistant and asked that the position be moved to a Grade 2, Step 3 due to her experience. The Finance Committee voted to approve the request.

Connolly explained that Committee member Michael O’Brien has previous commitments that overlap with much of the work being done by the Finance Committee on Monday evenings. “What I wanted to propose to Michael, if it’s acceptable to the Committee, is that he remain on the Committee, he remain the contact for the departments that he is looking after, and it’s not every Monday that he needs to be away… if he’s amenable to it, because he did express that he would like to stay on the Committee, he’ll miss votes, he’ll miss certain evenings but we still have a quorum without him and then on the evenings that he can join us, he’ll update us on whatever is happening with the budgets that he’s working on,” Connolly explained. While no vote was needed, the Committee did agree to move forward with Connolly’s plan contingent upon O’Brien’s agreement.

Weather forecasters last week were correct in predicting major record-breaking snow for eastern Massachusetts lasting most of 24 hours from late Friday to late Saturday night.

The snow spotter in Halifax measured 23 inches when it was all over at about 9:30 Saturday night.  Plympton came in at 20 inches at 9 p.m. according to the Boston Globe.  There were comparatively few power outages and Halifax Police Chief Joao Chaves said there were no automobile accidents, only cars off the road stuck in the snow with no injuries.   Halifax Highway Superintendent Steve Hayward said, “I’d like to thank the crew of 20 that I had for this storm.  They   did an excellent job. We had two contractor trucks go down halfway through the storm, I appreciate the flexibility in everyone when routes had  to be changed.”

In Plympton, three town vehicles, accompanied by 13 private snow plows, kept the streets in goood shape. Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte praised his crew and said they will be ready should this weekend’s storm materialize.

Capt. John Sjostedt of the Plympton Fire Department told the Express, “Thankfully the wind that was predicted did not impact our area. We had two minor incidents: 1. tree on wires and 2. Carbon monoxide in the home due to a generator that had the exhaust facing the house.”

After a warming trend Wednesday and Thursday, weathermen are tracking another storm for this weekend with rain turning to ice with possible mixing with snow.

Just another chapter in New England weather.

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met in-person at Silver Lake Regional High School on Thursday, Jan. 13.

Policy Approvals

High School Principal Michaela Gill went over a revision to the course change policy that pertains to students who request to drop a course or change a level. Gill said the handbook currently states that students cannot request to make such a change from the start of school until the end of the first term. Gill said that historically there have been special considerations made for students. Five years ago, a course change request form was created. Gill said there have been very few times when a request was not granted and noted that decisions were always made in coordination with the parents and the student. Gill asked for approval from the School Committee on the edited level and course change policy. The Committee voted to approve the change.

The Silver Lake Food Service Director Megan Ahrenholz appeared before the Committee to address an offer versus serve (OVS) policy. An OVS allows students to decline a certain number of food components in a reimbursable meal to eliminate some waste and food cost.  One of those components must be a half cup of a fruit or vegetable. “It’s something that we’ve always done in practice, we just wanted to have it in writing,” Ahrenholz explained. Committee member Summer Schmaling asked why if a child brings their lunch and just wishes to purchase a milk, they are charged for that milk whereas if they bought the whole meal, it would be free. Schmaling said there was concern that students would take the free lunch and throw away everything but the milk. Ahrenholz said the USDA does not allow a student to receive just the milk for free. “What we found is that most students don’t do that,” she said of students disposing of the entire lunch. The Committee voted to approve the policy before them.

Debate on Canceling Midterm Exams

Student Council representative Connor Doyle addressed the Committee. Doyle said that in December they were able to hold the traditional student versus staff basketball game. He said that they were able to raise over $850 worth of nonperishable food items to be donated to the Plymouth Area Coalition for the Homeless. “As for this month, the major talking point with Student Council and around the student body is, of course, the mid-year exams coming up,” Doyle told the Committee. He said that the Student Council Executive Board had sent out a survey asking if the exams should go on as previously scheduled due to the state of the pandemic. He said the resounding answer was no. The proposal to cancel the exams was put before the School Committee. Gill said that the previous Thursday, 20 percent of students were absent most of which were due to COVID. “We are proposing that midterm exams not be counted as 20 percent of the semester grade and that instead of traditional mid-year assessments we use that time to prioritize instruction and provide academic support for students who are in need,” Gill told the Committee.

“I’m really struggling with this,” Schmaling said while acknowledging that she was sympathetic and saying that her own daughter came home in tears over the upcoming exams. “The real world doesn’t stop because all of this madness is going on,” Schmaling said. She continued, “My fear is that we are not adequately preparing our juniors and our seniors for college, when they go to college and they say tough cookies, the midterm exam is on this day, you better be prepared for it… are we setting up our kids for failure by essentially babying them right now.” Committee member Leslie-Ann McGee said, “I’m in complete agreement with Summer.” McGee confirmed with Gill that the last two years there were no final exams. She said that she was hopeful that would not happen again this year. “I can see this as a special circumstance so I’m sort of inclined to approve it,” McGee said while thanking Doyle for sharing their findings with the Committee. “I worry about the resiliency,” Committee member Emily Davis said while saying that she was still likely in favor of the proposal. She also told Gill that didn’t believe that, even in normal times, an exam should account for 20 percent of a total grade. “We’re not going to beat a horse when it’s down; that’s not going to build resiliency,” Gill said. Schmaling asked if the exam could count for a lesser percentage. Gill said that they would leave it to the teacher’s discretion to still hold the assessment albeit one that would not count for such a large percentage of a student’s grade. Despite the debate, the Committee did vote to approve the proposal.

Principals’ Reports

Gill said that Term 3 began on January 24 and report cards were issued digitally on January 28 through parent square. “I often say that it is easy to watch the news or scroll social media and lose sense of the good around us… which is why I’m thankful to be part of a school community that regularly restores my faith in humanity,” Gill told the Committee. She said that in addition to the nonperishable food items that were donated as a result of the student/staff basketball game, the Red Cross Club packed over 10 large trash bags full of new or gently used coats, etc. to be donated to local shelters. She said that the National Honor Society hosted a holiday luncheon for staff as well. Students in the Project Lead the Way Program have been going to the elementary schools to share engineering skills and a general love of learning.

Gill said the original venue for the senior prom on May 20 was in Boston where vaccinations would be required. She said that they were able to find a different venue, the Wychmere Beach Club in Harwich, on May 26 that would not require vaccination. She said that the red carpet will take place as usual assuming there are no changes from DESE before then. There will be no junior prom moving forward. Schmaling said she had heard that some parents may organize one and Gill said that it would be a non-school sponsored event. Gill said in December they awarded the Silver Stars Drama Club with recognition for upholding the school’s core values including inclusivity.

Middle School Principal Jim Dupille began his update saying that parent teacher conferences will be held on February 2 and 3 with the first day being reserved for virtual meetings. He said that the night the school will be singing at the Providence Bruins game had to be rescheduled to February 11 due to a recent snowstorm. The school talent show will be on February 15. The Geography and History Bee will be back after a brief hiatus. Dupille requested permission from the Committee to bring back the trips to New York City and the Kennedy Space Center next year. The Committee approved both trips. Schamling said she did not want to approve a trip to New York where some students would be excluded due to vaccination status but Dupille assured her he would not purse the trip if those restrictions were still in place.

Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Jill Proulx provided a district update. She introduced the new Attorney Russell Dupere who is the son of retiring Fred Dupere. She said that families were recently sent updated COVID guidance with the most significant piece being the shortened isolation period – from ten days to five. She also said that the mask requirement would be extended until February 28 when it will be revisited by DESE.

Budget Presentation

Proulx provided the Committee with a preliminary budget. She said that both Principal Gill and Principal Dupille were asked to create a level service budget which would include only what was necessary to maintain current staffing and programs. She said the total increase in this version of the budget was 3.74 percent. Proulx, who went over some highlights, said that there was more than a 21 percent increase in special education transportation. “We are suffering from a lack of vendors right now due to the pandemic,” Proulx said of the increase. Proulx told the Committee that payroll and benefits represent 82 percent of the total budget. She said that two known retirements represent a savings of approximately $130,000 potentially. There is an increase in the technology/hardware line that was moved from the capital plan to the operating budget.

Proulx turned the presentation over to the principals to speak to significant increases and decreases. Gill said that there were decreases in athletic transportation. The most notable increase is related to textbook and staffing. She said there was an ask of $23,000 for equipment that is “dying or dead” including a treadmill and a piano. She asked that the Assistant Principal position be brought back from a 10 month to a 12-month position. She asked the same of the outdoor custodian position. These changes would represent $13,000 and $8,000 increases respectively.

Dupille also spoke to notable increases including bringing in guest speakers and replacing equipment such as copiers. He said that the textbook line would be $40,000 less than the previous year. There is another $6,000 in savings for software. Dupille said he would like to expand the school’s athletic offerings to match what is available in surrounding school districts. He said that close to 90 percent of parents and students surveyed said they would like to see more athletic offerings. He said he is asking for a number of small increases that make a big impact including having class advisors and a school newspaper. Dupille said the school is also looking for a special education reading specialist and a change from a part-time to a full-time adjustment counselor.

Proulx spoke about some additional needs. She said that two of the district’s elementary schools were two of the only schools in the surrounding area not to offer instrumental instruction by Grade 5. Proulx said that a possible consideration in the budget would be the addition of a fine and performing arts instructional leader at the K-12 or 7-12 level. She also said that a curriculum coordinator for Grades 7-12 or an assistant special education coordinator for elementary and secondary might also be needed. She said that a content area specialist for English as a secondary language might also be considered. Committee member Chris Eklund recommended hiring from within to allow for costs savings.  McGee recommended choosing one or two positions for this year. “Because I think financially it’s going to be a big hit,” she explained. Committee member Eric Crone said that it may be necessary to cut from other areas to make room in the budget for these additions. He also pointed out that there could be additional federal money coming. Proulx asked that the Committee also consider an additional shared costs computer technician and a human resource director for the district.

Committee Chair Paula Hatch said, “we run a really big district with a really lean administrative team.” She emphasized the importance of doing the most possible for the students while still supporting the administration and considering the needs requested by them. Schmaling spoke to the dire situation faced by Halifax saying that departments were asked to level fund not level service.

Silver Lake Education Association President Jon Lay spoke to the Committee. “I would like to advocate for a couple of things… one is the middle school special ed position; I really think it is key.” He also advocated strongly for the music program emphasizing the importance of having band at the elementary levels. Currently, Halifax and Plympton do not have instrumental instruction at the elementary level.

Eklund provided an update on SAFER saying that they have had several successful tri-town meetings. He said they are trying to find a way for the towns to support their efforts for upgrades to the HVAC system using ARPA funds. Eklund said that the cost for air conditioning at the high school and middle school would be $1.55 milion dollars. Eklund said that on such a large project, the towns would be able to overspend their ARPA fund allotment while waiting for the next round of funding. Eklund made a motion that they allow the Silver Lake School District to expend the $29,150 for plan design if it is available through the funds allocated from the State House through Kathy LaNatra’s prior bill. The Committee voted to approve the motion.

Eklund said they talked about the district stabilization funds saying they would likely open them via an article at the various town meetings. He told the Committee they weren’t making much progress on the need for upgrades to the tennis courts. Much debate was had over the state of the courts and McGee said she certainly understood the need for equity amongst the different sports’ facilities saying that some were excellent while others, such as the courts, were on their last legs.

Eklund also said that they completed a $30,000 preliminary feasibility study for a new admin building.

The public budget hearing and joint meeting of all the school committees is on Feb. 10.