During the Monday, January 27 Plympton Board of Selectmen meeting, town administrator Elizabeth Dennehy said that herself and Selectman John Traynor met with State Representative Kathleen LaNatra, Senator Michael Brady, a representative from the town of Halifax, and Francis Gay, the administrator of The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA). Dennehy said the takeaway from the meeting was that applying for membership in GATRA would only require a vote of the Board of Selectmen. GATRA would then vote in February to act on the request. Traynor said that membership would not cost the town any additional money.

College student and Plympton resident Emily Hayes attended Monday’s meeting to speak to her need for available public transportation. Hayes said that she had a brain tumor removed many years ago that resulted in a loss of her peripheral vision leaving her unable to drive. Hayes said, “I don’t really have freedom and I’ve seen the bus go by our street coming from Kingston and it always kind of stings a little because there is my freedom going right by.” Hayes’ parents also attended the meeting and her mother Susan Hayes described her many failed efforts to secure transportation for her daughter. Hayes said she reached out to MA Rehab but was told they don’t offer transportation services. GATRA told her they don’t provide services to Plympton and the MA Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired told them Emily didn’t qualify as she wasn’t visually impaired enough. In the end, the elder Hayes had to leave her part time job of 16 years to assist her daughter with commuting to and from college. Joy thanked them for telling their story saying, “It’s nice to personalize this… It’s very brave of you to come in and share your story.”  The Selectmen voted for the town of Plympton to become a member of GATRA.

Transfer station sticker dispute

A dispute over a sticker on a vehicle for the town’s transfer station took up more than thirty minutes of Monday’s meeting and included a trip to the parking lot to ensure the correct and visible placement of a sticker. The residents insisted that they always had a sticker on their vehicle while the employees of the transfer station said it was either placed in the wrong location or not present on the vehicle at all. The residents insisted they were being singled out and even described their treatment as harassment, something those working at the transfer station vehemently disputed. An earlier incident at the transfer station between those present at Monday’s meeting resulted in the police being called on the resident due to fear for the workers’ safety.

Selectman Mark Russo said, “Public service is difficult and you end up dealing with situations that can get kind of hot and I totally respect the work of our people at the transfer station and I know they have a tough job and I know that sometimes they catch some abuse for doing what their job is.”

Russo went on to acknowledge the confusion surrounding where the sticker was and was not present saying that as long as it is now properly affixed to the car and there are no further incidents, it would be best to move forward.  Selectman Chair Christine Joy said, “Let’s put this behind us and hope that we don’t have to talk about this again.” Russo added, “I would hope that the interactions at the transfer station can be done with dignity and respect.”

Right of First Refusal

There were two public hearings both concerning Chapter 61A right of first refusal. Right of first refusal gives a potentially interested party, in this case the town of Plympton, the ability to purchase a property prior to the seller negotiating other offers. Notice of the hearings were posted in the Plympton-Halifax Express. The first hearing regarded several acres of property on Lake St. and the second was for 17 acres on Main St. The hearings were first opened to those wishing to speak in favor of the town exercising it’s right of refusal and then to those against. There was no one present that wished to speak out for either of the properties in question.

Before heading into deliberations, Russo did let those present know that the selectmen requested recommendations from various town boards and committees including the Open Space Committee, Planning Board, Historical Society, Conservation Committee, Agricultural Commission, and the Community Preservation Committee. The Board did not hear back from any of those groups. The Board unanimously voted not to exercise their right of first refusal in both instances.

Housing Choice Grant for $93,000

Dennehy explained the next step in the Housing Choice Grant contract process to the selectmen. The grant is for $93,000 for a consultant to work with the Town Campus Committee to establish a master plan for the town center and hopefully establish some housing opportunities. Dennehy also told the selectmen that the Town Campus Committee wished to change their name to the Town Properties Committee. The selectmen voted to make the change official.

Traynor told the other selectmen that he would like to see the Board increase their social media presence. Traynor cited the success of the fire department’s social media sites.

More Communication

Traynor also said that he would like to see a meeting between various elected officials to deal with issues that arise outside of the purview of the Board of Selectmen.

Currently Dennehy runs an operations meeting where the major department heads gather to look at the state of the town and ensure communication across the departments.

Joy suggested the possibility of a quarterly roundtable discussion that would include both department heads and elected officials. Traynor agreed saying that he would like to see these meetings have a theme such as customer service. “I think sometimes we miss that the only reason we are here is as a customer service to the residents,” Traynor explained. Russo agreed saying it might also be beneficial to have a de-escalation training to help officials deal with challenging situations that may arise.

Cultural Council members needed

Dennehy addressed the need for members to join the Cultural Council. Dennehy pointed out that without an active Cultural Council, the town won’t receive money from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), a state agency. The grants are used to support a number of artistic and cultural projects throughout the town. Joy described the Council as “feel good” and suggested possibly reaching out to people currently serving on some other boards and committees. Dennehy said that she felt that people may be more likely to come forward to join if they realized that the town was in jeopardy of losing the funding.

Jeanne Kling of the Halifax Beautification Committee wants to remind residents that the ban on single use plastic bags in the Town of Halifax will begin Sunday, March 1, so retailers and shoppers alike should be prepared.

The article was passed at  the Halifax Town Meeting in May 2019.

The reusable bag bylaw, designed to reduce the use and distribution of single use plastic shopping bags, will take effect on March 1, 2020.

This bylaw was voted at the Annual Town Meeting in May, 2019 and has been approved by the Attorney General. It applies to all businesses operating in the town of Halifax.

No plastic bags will be permissible for distribution at checkouts (points of sale). There is no thickness, or percentage of plastic content acceptable.

The Beautification Committee, on clean up days and at other events, has distributed free reusable bags while supplies lasted. Start gathering your reusable bags now!

For more information about the bylaw, or with questions, please contact the Halifax Beautification Committee at beautification@halifax-ma.org.

A joint meeting of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee and Union 31 was held on January 9 in order to interview and potentially hire a new assistant superintendent.

Newly promoted from assistant superintendent to superintendent, Jill Proulx told those gathered that she had previously worked with candidate Ryan Lynch for five years during her tenure as assistant superintendent in Scituate.  Lynch was the English Department chairman for the Scituate Public Schools from 2008-2015 before serving as principal of the Lester J. Gates Middle School in Scituate from 2015-2019.

Lynch, who grew up on the South Shore, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Notre Dame and completed his master’s degree at Brown University.

Lynch comes to the table with nearly two decades’ worth of experience as a classroom teacher in addition to his administrative roles.

Proulx described Lynch as having a “devotion to meeting the needs of all learners” as well as a “growth mindset.” “I think we would be very lucky to have Ryan on our team,” Proulx said.

“I am the product of a public high school. I believe in the power of schools and the value of public service. My mother is a retired high school principal and that really inspired me to see the kind of work that school districts can do to change lives,” Lynch told the committee and Union 31.

Regional School Committee Chair Jason Fraser said, “The build to this point in your career is rather unique as you were so long in the classroom and in the trenches, which is something that many of us have said many, many times that we really look for in someone coming forth in an administrative position.”

Many of those present took the opportunity to ask Lynch a variety of questions on topics such as “initiative fatigue” and charter schools. Those present were impressed with Lynch’s responses.

Jeanne Coleman, a member of both the Kingston School Committee and Union 31, was a part of the search committees that unanimously forwarded Lynch on as the sole candidate. Coleman said, “He’s very authentic and very positive. Every one of the questions that we asked him, which were pretty heavy, he answered very thoroughly and also with a lot of optimism for our district and also with a lot of knowledge about our district already.”

Regional School Committee member Paula Hatch said that she considered Proulx and Lynch’s time working together in Scituate to be a positive. Hatch said, “Sometimes it’s hard when somebody comes in to get a rhythm going… I would think there would be an immediate gel moving into the team and that’s a big hurdle that you’ve already jumped over and that’s a wonderful thing for the district that you’re already that much further ahead in the process.”

Lynch was unanimously voted through by both the Union and the Regional School Committee as the next assistant superintendent.

Regional Budget Discussed

Once the joint meeting adjourned, the regional school committee began their budget discussion. Superintendent Joy Blackwood said that herself, Proulx, and Director of Business Services Christine Healy have been meeting frequently to build the budget for fiscal year 2020-2021.

Blackwood said that version one of the budget came in much too high and that middle school principal Jim Dupille and high school principal Michaela Gill joined Blackwood, Proulx, and Healy in trying to reduce that number. They were successful in cutting $331,239 from version one without cutting staff. Blackwood said, “I’m sort of willing to cut most anything except staff; that’s always my last resort.”

The original version of the budget was coming in at 3.84 percent while version two came in at 3.34 percent. Much of what was cut was equipment including bleachers, technology items, and books. “We cut pretty much to the bone,” Blackwood explained. Blackwood said that finding cuts is quite difficult as 98 percent of the budget is fixed costs.

Decreasing enrollment

Blackwood said that enrollment has been decreasing over the last ten years but did note that the number of students being homeschooled has also decreased. Twelve students at the grade 7-12 level are currently attending school in surrounding districts due to school choice.

“I had not realized the numbers that we are losing to school choice,” Blackwood said. Of Silver Lake considering school choice, Blackwood commented, “Considering our financial situation and the fact that we have space, it may be worth considering going forward. I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do but I think I would be remiss in not mentioning it as a potential source.” Currently there are 293 students enrolled in the career and technical education program (CTE), which accounts for 26 percent of the entire high school.

There are five retirements including some aide positions that will not be replaced, providing clean savings for the budget. Blackwood said that the addition of an allied health teacher as well as a nurse leader were not included in the current version of the budget. In order to seek Chapter 74 certification for the allied health program at the high school, a second teacher will need to be added. Half of the program, which is currently the most popular of all the CTE offerings, can be paid for through a grant but the other half, roughly $30,000, will need to be added into the budget. The position will be paid for by the additional Chapter 74 income but that won’t take Effect until the year after next. The nurse leader position would be a shared cost position were it to come to fruition. Several members of the committee said that despite the need for further cuts they would still be supportive of adding these two positions.

There are a few areas that may potentially provide further cost savings when the final numbers are received. A five percent increase is currently built in for health insurance, but that number may likely be as low as three percent, providing roughly a $56,000 savings. The district is going out to bid for the bus contract and the number currently entered into the budget is quite fiscally conservative. Blackwood said that they are hopeful to have those numbers finalized by the February committee meeting.

Perhaps the biggest hit to the budget is the contribution to the Plymouth County Retirement. The contribution this year is up $111,238. Blackwood and Healy said that they are at a loss as to why the large increase.

Principals Dupille and Gill both addressed the methods that have been taken for curbing the vaping epidemic in the schools as well as the approach to disciplining those found using vaping devices. A vape detection system was purchased and installed over the summer but has been malfunctioning since. Administrators reached out to the company and have since deactivated the system.  A new devices will be reactivated in the next few weeks.

Gill said that a task committee was formed to study discipline data related to vaping. What was found was that the traditional approach consisting of multi-day suspensions, etc. was largely ineffective in deterring use.  The school has started to develop a deviation program, based on the one used in the Belmont school district, that would provide education, support, and counseling for students to help with their addiction. Some students have done the Upper Academy in North River which is a 5-day program, in lieu of a suspension, that focuses on counseling and therapy and learning about what’s causing their addiction. The end goal is to start a four-week long program in-house at Silver Lake that would provide similar services. Gill said that another goal is providing a safe space where students can self-report and receive help.

The administration also recently partnered with the allied health program and the SADD (students against destructive decisions) program to unite students and staff together to combat the epidemic. The allied health students hope to reach out to students across all age levels in the district in order to help with education and prevention.

The SADD students are working on school PSAs to spread awareness about vaping and the dangers associated with it. Silver Lake Regional School Committee student representative Jake Twomey is enrolled in the allied health program and is also a part of the coalition of staff and students intent on working on a solution to the ever growing problem of vaping.

Twomey said that the students intend to do a presentation aimed at high school students, another one aimed at middle school students, and still another for the youngest cohort at the elementary level. Twomey explained that the hope is that the words would carry more weight coming from students. He also said that the goal is to focus not just on fixing the problem, but also on preventing it. A student support group is another idea that has been floated.

Dupille said that students undergo SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) screenings. Additionally, the school offers anti-vaping programs throughout the year including this past week’s Vaping Me Crazy led by presenter Michael DeLeon. Dupille stressed that such presentations are open to anyone and are not limited to middle school parents.

Vice chair of the Regional School Committee Eric Crone said that he has been alarmed at the number of parents and grandparents who believe that vaping is not addicting and mild compared to what people of an older generation were doing in school. The consensus among the committee was that oftentimes parents as well as students need to be better educated regarding the risks associated with vaping.

Superintendent Joy Blackwood Prepares for Retirement

Staff threw a retirement party for Blackwood to thank her for her many years of service at Silver Lake. During Thursday’s meeting, Gill said, “On behalf of Jim and I and all of our staff and our students Joy, we just wanted to express our heartfelt thank you for your dedication and service to this district. We’re going to miss you, wish you all the best in your retirement, and we just want to publicly acknowledge all that you have done for our students and thank you for that.”

Fraser said, “The biggest impact you’ve had on my life is the impact you’ve had on my children’s lives.”

State Representative Kathleen LaNatra, who serves the 12th Plymouth District, held constituent hours on Monday, December 23 at the Holmes Public Library in Halifax. LaNatra holds constituent hours monthly for each of the towns she represents. The Express had the opportunity to sit down with both Representative LaNatra and her legislative aid Chris Jean to get a sense of what was accomplished in the last year as well as what’s on the docket for 2020.

Jean said that LaNatra was pleased with her committee assignments in her first year in office.  LaNatra serves on a number of committees but was especially pleased to be appointed to the Joint Committee on Economic Development as well as the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs. LaNatra has spent a great deal of time volunteering at the Council on Aging as well as Meals on Wheels and considers elder affairs to be priority for her. “We have a really big shortage right now of CNA’s and nurses… they’re not paid very well and it is a really tough job,” LaNatra explained.  She continued, “We’re very concerned about our senior population now – are there going to be people to take care of them? We have nursing homes closing. These are major concerns. There are many bills on these subjects so hopefully we’ll be taking some of them up.”

LaNatra has sponsored a number of bills currently in committee. The David Hanson Act focuses on boater safety and would implement a required boating education program prior to operating a boat. Hanson, who inspired the bill, was a 20-year-old call firefighter in Kingston who tragically died during a boating accident in Plymouth Bay in 2010.  Another bill sponsored by LaNatra aims to increase the penalties for hit and runs involving recreational vehicles.

The bill is to be known as the James Ward Act. Ward was only 14 when he was killed following an off-road vehicle accident while riding his dirt bike in 2012.

The operator of the other bike involved in the collision said he was leaving to get help but never returned.

LaNatra said, “A lot of our bills have really sad stories to them so we become emotionally connected to the families too. They’re very important to us and we think about them daily; we’re always trying to advocate for them.” Regarding these bills, LaNatra said that she is hopeful that they will be voted out of committee.

Another important bill that was filed with State Rep. Josh Cutler would establish a MassMade Program. The intention of the program would be to identify, connect, and support businesses making products in Massachusetts as a means of boosting the local economy.

LaNatra cited being named Legislator of the Year by the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association (MaMHCA) as one of the highlights of her first year in office. LaNatra delivered the keynote speech at their conference in November.

LaNatra said they are looking forward to 2020 and expect it to be a great year in the district. LaNatra hopes to continue the focus on healthcare that just resulted in the passing of a combined bill that will extend healthcare to children in foster care until the age of 26.

There are also plans to start a cable show in the new year. “We’re very excited; it’s going to be a mobile show, it’s not going to be just a sit down. We’re going to be throughout the district, meeting with people,” LaNatra explained. The show will travel to the COAs and hear the concerns of the older population as well as meeting with the selectmen from the district’s towns. The show will also provide an opportunity to spotlight events that people may not otherwise realize are available in their community.

There are plans to do an episode on the Jones River in Kingston as well as to cover the 400th celebration in Plymouth.

The show, which is scheduled to begin filming in February, will be available to view through PACTV as well as Area 58.

Regarding his position as Legislative Aid, Jean said, “I love it so far. It’s nice to be able to be in a position to help people in my community.” Jean, who grew up in Plymouth, graduated from George Washington University in May with degrees in both political science and history. Jean described the constituent hours as an opportunity to hear concerns from residents as well as answer any questions that they may have.

Jean said that they hope to do whatever possible to advocate for constituents, whether it be at the state or town level. LaNatra offered a reminder that they are available and willing to meet anytime.

HALIFAX — A man is lucky to be alive after his plane crashed in the water behind Lake Street in Halifax Saturday afternoon around noon.

A portion of the Piper Archer 28-181, single propeller could be seen partially submerged near 78 Lake St., Halifax where first responders spent hours securing the oil spill from the plane with containment booms and awaited removal of the craft.

John Keegan of Hanson was helping his brother- in- law Aaron Sellers with a repair on the roof of his home when he saw the small plane skim the roof of the neighbors’ roof next door.

“His wings hit the ice then he popped back up and then crashed over there,” said Keegan pointing to the icy water.

Keegan, along with another man who heard the call from nearby  Cranland Airport in Hanson, were able to flip a canoe over that was at the bottom of the Sellers’ property, paddled through the ice to reach the pilot, and helped him to shore. The man was reportedly soaked but talking and said he was not hurt according to Keegan.  He was standing on the plane’s roof when the pair reached him.

In a press release Halifax firefighters reported they began the process of launching their marine craft in an attempt to reach the plane and encountered thin layers of ice and cold weather which prohibited the rescue boat from initially reaching the airplane.  A mutual aid airboat from Middleborough was called to assist in reaching the aircraft.  Companies then began the process of securing the surroundings with inflatable booms to stop any fuel leaks.

Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Environmental Protection, National Transportation Safety Board, Sheriff’s department, and State police were called to assist in the aircraft recovery, according to the press release.

The pilot later returned to the scene.  He was seen walking with a police officer in dry clothing and shook hands with Sellers as he passed by his home where Keegan had assisted him earlier. The man declined to comment to this reporter.

Other hazardous materials units were called in from Kingston and Duxbury.  Andy’s Towing and other tow companies were called to standby the incident.  The Plymouth County Dive Team was also activated with members from Hanover, Hingham, Abington, and Plympton.  Hanson Fire provided coverage at Halifax fire station

The name of the pilot has not been released by authorities and the cause of the crash is currently under investigation, according to the Halifax Fire Dept.

A passenger vehicle collided with a log-carrying truck, ending up underneath the truck, closing down Route 58 in Plympton, near the Winnetuxet Road intersection Wednesday at 11 am.

The single passenger, a woman, did not appear to suffer serious injuries, but was transported to the South Shore Hospital trauma center in South Weymouth as a precaution, according to Capt. John Sjosted.  Plympton firefighters were needed to extricate the woman from her vehicle.

Photo on page 2

The Tuesday November 26 Halifax Board of Selectmen meeting began with the Board hearing a complaint by a town employee against one of the selectmen. Chair Troy Garron suggested moving to executive session but Gordon Andrews asked to remain in open session. Former Planning Board secretary Terri Renaud said that Andrews had accused her both in email and in public meetings of destroying documents.

The documents in question are the April 10 site plan for Amanda’s Estates. Andrews said he made a public records request in February or March and was told the documents were available. According to Andrews, however, when he went to the Planning Board he was told the only available plans were the approved ones from September. Andrews said that he explained that the minutes showed that the records should exist and claims that Renaud told him that older plans are destroyed once newer ones are approved. Andrews said that he told Renaud that plans that were displayed during a public meeting cannot be destroyed and must be kept as part of the public record. Renaud said she had no recollection of saying that she got rid of previous plans when newer ones become available.

Renaud brought her direct supervisor, Building Inspector Robert Piccirilli, as well as her colleague, current Regulatory Board secretary Arlanna Snow to testify on her behalf. Snow said that she did not want to make a statement but would answer any questions directed to her. Piccirilli said that he recalled seeing emails in which Andrews asked Renaud to sign something acknowledging that the records were lost. Piccirilli further said that at some point the accusation escalated from the files being missing to the files being destroyed.

Andrews was able to secure a copy of the plans from the town clerk’s office. Andrews said that when he reviewed the signed plans from the Planning Board from September 14, there were post-it notes on the plans. Andrews expressed concern that the missing Planning Board plans from April would have had similar notations on them.

Selectmen Chair Troy Garron asked Andrews what motivated him to ask for the plans. Andrews then recused himself and sat with the public before stating, “I asked for a copy of the plans because of the lawsuit I have against the town which prove that the original plans that came in, which Charlie’s memo discusses, shows everything on one lot.”

Selectman Tom Millias asked Andrews if his accusations were malicious to which Andrews replied, “Was it malicious? I don’t think so, I think it was declaring the facts. She told me that she gets rid of plans when new ones come in. I told her you can’t get rid of plans, it’s a violation of public records.”

Millias asked Renaud if there were various people going through the folder containing the document in question due to the litigation involved. Renaud acknowledged that there was and pointed out that the door to the office is open during the day. Millias said, “so literally anyone could have misplaced them, misfiled them, taken them.”

Garron asked Renaud what her expectation was to which she answered, “I wanted to state my case. Something was said against me and I just wanted it to be brought forward and prove my innocence that I did not do this.” Garron said, “It’s a difficult situation. We have two town employees who represent the town and to my knowledge who have done good work … my feeling right now is to take no action on it because there is no right or wrong in this particular situation at least from my standpoint.” Millias agreed saying, “I don’t think we can come to any conclusion here. I don’t see an action being taken other than airing it out.”

Renaud said she was satisfied with the opportunity she was given to speak her mind. Andrews asked that the process for viewing public documents be reviewed suggesting possibly signing out documents.

Seelig said that Fuller Street resident Melissa Sheridan had requested that stop signs be placed in the intersection near Fuller, Cedar, and Wood streets. Sheridan said that she had seen several accidents at the intersection during her time living there. The Police Chief and Highway Surveyor were also in agreement that stop signs were needed. The Board approved the installation of two stop signs in this area.

The Police Chief and IT Specialist notified Seelig about the Video Surveillance Registration Program. It is a completely voluntary program that enables residents to register any cameras they have with the police department. If an incident were to occur in the vicinity of a registered camera, the police could use the footage as part of their investigation. Seelig stressed that registration is optional and even if registered, residents are not required to surrender footage.

Drew McGlincy appeared before the Board for an appointment to the Finance Committee. McGlincy, who had the recommendation of the Finance Committee, said that he has internship experience both on Wall Street as well as internship and job experience at IBM. His degrees are in finance and information systems engineering. The Board voted to appoint him. The next step will be for McGlincy to be sworn in as the newest member of the committee.

Seelig gave an update on the budget process saying he met with the Finance Committee and most of the department heads the previous week. According to Seelig, the town should be able to do a level service budget with most of the departments. “We’re not going to encourage them to submit for increases and such… but keep the number of people you have, the number of hours, the service level,” Seelig said. The Board and the Finance Committee said that departments should submit alternate budgets beyond the level service if they felt there were needs that were not being met, etc. Seelig said, “There’s no guarantee obviously that we’re going to have the money for that but at least that may continue the conversation about what the town’s needs are.”

Seelig also shared that Silver Lake had indicated that the salary budget might be going up $700,000 which represents roughly $200,000 for Halifax. “I don’t like telling a department, in essence, and saying we can’t afford you… but not saying so gets us into a position in March where we’re having this argument then.” Seelig said that he attended the Silver Lake Regional School Committee meeting in October to ask them to submit a revenue driven budget.

Andrews also shared with the other Selectmen and Seelig that a large group of parents turned out for the previous night’s Halifax School Committee meeting to request that an additional teacher be added to support the large class size for Grade 3. The Kindergarten class has only 65 students, but Grade 3 has 100. As a result, the class size for Grade 3 is 25 students. Parents asked that either another teacher be added, or one transferred from elsewhere. Andrews said that he recommended to the parents in attendance that they attend town meeting as the mechanism to fund an additional teacher would likely be an article at town meeting. Andrews also pointed out that negotiations are scheduled this year for much of the school staff including cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals, and teachers.

Highway surveyor Steve Hayward spoke to the Board and Seelig regarding a fee list for cremation.  The costs are not for cremation itself, but for a spot to store the ashes similar to a burial plot. Hayward said that he had reviewed the fees charged by other local communities while preparing his list. Hayward said that the single pillars would cost the town $180 but the purchase price would be $500. The Board, who act as cemetery commissioners, approved the concept and fee list.

Eagle Scout projects

Three Boy Scouts from Troop 39 met with the Board to review their plans for their Eagle Scout projects. Connor Burgess plans to build a 20 ft. by 20 ft. pavilion for the HOPS playground.

Scott McKee’s project will be the revitalization of the Harry Brown Nature Trail. McKee told the Board that the trail was originally constructed by one of Troop 39’s first Eagle Scouts. “I’m hoping to bring it back to some of its former glory by re-clearing the trail and adding benches and a bird watching area at the end for people to go out and enjoy nature,” McKee explained. He went on to say that he plans to build a walkway over some of the wet marsh lands.

Joseph Boardman intends to refurbish the Ruth Perkins reading garden outside of the Holmes Public Library. In addition to pressure washing and staining the pergola, Boardman plans to mulch and edge the garden area and sand and finish the benches. Boardman also plans to remove the cracked concrete and add a purple martin birdhouse.

Garron thanked the scouts for beautifying the community. Building Inspector Robert Piccirilli added, “I would just like to say I’ve had the pleasure of watching some of these guys. I’m looking forward to working with you guys. Anything you need, please come see me.”

The Halifax Finance Committee met Monday, Nov. 18, for  a preliminary budget meeting with selectmen and other department heads. Those in attendance included the Chair of the Board of Selectmen Troy Garron, Selectman Gordon Andrews, current assistant superintendent Jill Proulx (newly voted as the next Silver Lake Regional School District Superintendent), SLRD Director of Business Services Christine Healy, and Fire Chief Jason Viveiros.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig led the budget discussion, handing out what he calls the “one sheet” that provided some preliminary budget predictions. Seelig explained, “What I try to do every year is come up with what I call the one sheet that ended up this year being two sheets. It’s basically a very 30,000 feet up type of look at the upcoming year. I’m not getting, for the most part, into individual line items.” Seelig went on to explain that he always leans conservative in his estimates when beginning the budget process as it is easier to add money in later in the budget cycle than it is to take money out.

Halifax is run under a revenue budget rather than an expense budget that means when preparing the operating budget, the town is limited in the amount of money that can be spent. Proposition 2 ½ allows for only a 2 ½ percent increase annually. Revenue from new growth including new commercial buildings, all subdivisions, etc. are also added to the levy limit. Seelig said that the town had $135,000 in new growth last year and he conservatively estimates $100,000 of new growth this year. Debt exclusions as voted during town elections are also included. Active debt exclusions in Halifax include money from when the middle school and high school were built as well as the new roof and siding projects at the elementary school. Seelig said that as of right now the estimate for what can be raised by property tax bills stands at $17,800,000.

While property taxes make up the largest portion of town revenue there are other areas that also contribute. Local receipts including items such as ambulance bills or building permits and state aid coming mainly from Chapter 70 funding for the schools. Seelig said that there was no deficit in the local receipts and anticipated being able to raise the estimate for that particular revenue. One of the challenges for Halifax, as with Silver Lake as a whole, is that they are set to receive only the minimum amount per pupil under Chapter 70.  This means that any increases needed from the schools needs to come from Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton.

Seelig explained that even before going to town meeting, it is necessary to set aside money for a series of assessments in this case totaling $203,000. Amongst these are abatements for property tax exemptions including those for veterans, the elderly, and the disabled. According to Seelig, there is a little over $25,000,000 available to the town to spend at town meeting. Assuming there will be no further changes, the operating budget for the current year is set to spend $24,400,000.

Seelig further explained some of the large line items as well as some of the changes that would benefit the budget. The larger line items include an increase in health insurance premiums for town employees as well as the town’s payment into Plymouth County retirement. To the benefit of the budget, the principal interest on the roof and siding project at the elementary school will be down from last year and the debt service for the landfill will also be down.

Seelig explained, “There are a lot of unknowns. We don’t know what the school budgets look like right now. We could put numbers in there… but for the purposes of when I did this work, I didn’t make any assumptions about that.” Andrews, who serves as selectman as well as on both the regional school committee and elementary school committee, spoke about some of the school’s likely requests including a new allied health teacher and a potential nurse manager position. Gordon said, “From my perspective, what I’ve seen when I’ve sat in your chairs, we’ve seen Silver Lake continue to grow. It was about 600 two years ago, to about 660 this current year. My guess is you’re going to see it, just the lion’s increase of $700,000, so if we’re a third of that you’re looking at over $200,000 just for Silver Lake just to keep level.”  He continued, “My guess for the elementary school would be anywhere from 135 to 150. Those are just guesses at this point in time.”

Seelig ended his presentation saying, “We’re in good shape in the sense of no crisis, we’re not in the shape to simply say we can fund anything we want.” Tarsi mentioned to those present the $300,000 buffer that exists because the town is not taxing to its full capacity. Tarsi said that the buffer has been maintained for as long as she has been serving on the committee. The Finance Committee has not yet discussed whether or not to continue that practice this year, but Tarsi did say, “We’ve really protected that money to ensure that we’re easing the burden as much as we can on property owners in the town.”

Next steps in the budget process will include a letter with a synopsis of Seelig’s presentation going out the first week in December. By January, budgets will be submitted for the Finance Committee’s review. From January through March, the Finance Committee will be inviting department heads to attend their meetings to speak on their budgets. Each department will also be assigned a liaison on the Finance Committee to work with directly,. Tarsi said, “We are very committed to an open line of communication. We’re going to ask the same questions of everybody, there’s no special treatment, we will be completely willing to listen and be very candid with you about whatever the prospects are.” By early April, the town will have a final budget.

The Finance Committee also interviewed Drew McGlincy for one of the open FinCom spots.  Chair Melinda Tarsi, who is currently serving in her fourth cycle on the committee, asked McGlincy why he was interested in serving. “Just trying to get involved. It seems like a good idea to do things outside of work, get involved in the community,” McGlincy said. McGlincy also provided that he studied both finance and information systems engineering in school. In addition to Tarsi, Frederick McGovern, Bill McAvoy, and newest member Cheryll Zarella Burke were also present. Each of the members introduced themselves to McGlincy and Tarsi provided him with an overview of the duties and responsibilities of the committee. McGlincy asked the committee for their advice and both Tarsi and McAvoy recommended a number of training resources including the Financial Policy Handbook and training sessions run by both the Association of Town Finance Committees and the Division of Local Services through the Department of Revenue Services.

Tarsi explained, “The big thing is there is no educational or occupational requirements to be on the finance committee, you just have to be willing to listen and to be candid with folks; that’s the ultimate kind of set of qualifications. We have really respectful conversations. We don’t always agree with each other, and that wouldn’t be healthy if we did, but we’ve never come to shouting. It’s never been mean or rude.” She continued, “We don’t always agree but we are all here for the same reason; we all want to make the community better for our neighbors.”

Tarsi entertained a motion to recommend the appointment of Drew McGlincy to the Finance Committee for the longest term available. Both Tarsi and Zarella Burke voted in favor while McAvoy was opposed and McGovern abstained. The next step for McGlincy will be to appear before the Board of Selectmen for an appointment meeting.