Union #31 and Silver Lake Regional School Committee met on Thursday, Nov. 14 to discuss the interviews of the two finalists for superintendent and vote on the final selection

The final interviews were held the previous two nights. Jim Hardy of Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) who was hired to assist with the search was on hand to offer consultation regarding procedure for the voting, etc.

Currently the assistant superintendent in Easton, Christine Pruitt was one of the finalists selected by the search committee. Pruitt, who began her career as a classroom teacher, served as the principal of Jefferson Elementary School in Rockland from 2010 to 2015.  She spent the next two years as the assistant superintendent for Silver Lake, leaving in June of 2017 to begin her tenure in Easton. Pruitt has a Master of Education from Boston College.

Current Silver Lake assistant superintendent Jill Proulx was the other finalist. Proulx was previously the assistant superintendent for Scituate for five years before beginning her career at Silver Lake a little over two years ago. Proulx, who has a doctorate in education, has also served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal over the years.

The discussion centered around what the committee and union saw as strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. There were several in the room who expressed concern that Pruitt left Silver Lake previously only two years into a three-year contract and was now willing to leave Easton after a short stint there.

Vice Chair of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee Eric Crone, who has been serving on school committees since 2006, described this sentiment saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Regional School Committee member Christopher Ecklund echoed the same concern saying he was worried about Pruitt’s “staying power.” Others disagreed including Kingston School Committee member and Union member Sheila Marie Vaughn. Vaughn said, “Chrissy wants this to be her home. She wants to bring her kids here, I think Chrissy wants to move here, I think she loves this district.  I think she wants to be in this district for the long-term.”

Despite preferring Pruitt, Vaughn did acknowledge, however, that she thought that Proulx’s interview was fabulous saying she thought she came across as “smart and articulate.”

Some expressed concern that Pruitt had left Silver Lake as it was too complex a district for her given that it is a three-town region. Union member and Plympton School Committee member Jon Wilhelmsen said, “I went into the site visit with a lot of reservations and a lot of concerns about why she left the district and went there.” He explained that his concerns were dispelled, however, saying, “She just felt that she needed to take a step back to take a step forward.”

Those in support of Pruitt spoke highly of her interpersonal skills calling her both outgoing and social. There was considerable debate regarding how much weight should be given to Pruitt’s sociable personality.

Jeanne Coleman, a member of both the Kingston School Committee and Union 31, said that she is unimpressed by personal relationships and stressed the importance of focusing on the qualifications of the two candidates.

Speaking about Pruitt, regional committee member Laura Tilton said, “Being a friendly person does not necessarily mean that someone is not capable, not strong. Those things are not mutually exclusive. I believe that someone that forms strong relationships, that’s critical in a leader.” Wilhelmsen spoke to Pruitt’s other qualifications based on conversations with a myriad of people including students, teachers, and selectmen saying, “I don’t think its fair to classify Chrissy as a one trick pony.”

There was confusion among those present regarding which candidate seemed to have more administration support. Coleman explained her belief that the support of the Silver Lake administration was behind Proulx, saying, “I thought that Jill’s resume, her application, and her letters of recommendations (three of which were solidly from within the district), all of her references were from within the district – I thought that those spoke solidly for her as a candidate that she had the support of the administration behind her.”

Coleman also expressed that she believed that someone disclosed to either Pruitt or the administrative team that there was a concern that Pruitt did not have that support and as a result, several letters of recommendation were written and submitted the night before the final deliberation. Coleman, who called the letters in support of Pruitt “compelling” went on to say that she had spoken with both Kingston elementary school principals who were fully supportive of Proulx. “They believe she has been a mentor to both of them; they’re both new administrators over there. I spoke at length to one of our teachers in the Kingston district and she also believes that Jill is by far the standout candidate.”

Coleman did stress that despite preferring Proulx, none of the administrators or staff had anything negative to say about Pruitt.

In response to Coleman’s accusation that letters in support of Pruitt had been solicited at the last minute, Silver Lake Regional School Committee Chair Jason Fraser said, “To be fair we entered into deliberations in open session last night and its well within expectations that something like this would occur.”

There were others in the room that fully believed that the administration and staff preferred Pruitt. Halifax School Committee member and Union member Alison Vance said, “As a school committee member and as a parent in Halifax I think both of them are amazing and great candidates and as a school committee member and a parent, I would probably be happy with either of them.” Vance, who has been a teacher for 17 years in another district, went on to say, “I think if I’m coming at it from a teacher’s perspective and a staff member’s perspective, I feel like for me I would prefer to work under Chrissy more than Jill.” She continued, “I spoke to a lot of Halifax teachers… and every single one of them that I spoke to said I would really love for Chrissy to be the superintendent.” Like Coleman, Vance stressed that those she spoke with had nothing bad to say about Proulx.

There were questions as to how much weight should be given to the letters of recommendation provided. There was also some disagreement as to how much input the district staff should have in the selection process. Silver Lake Regional School Committee member Laura Tilton said, “ I have been struck by the fact, in this process and in districts I’ve worked in, how little input staff and administration get in the selection of the superintendent because they are the folks that work with that person every day and they are the people that know the district the best. To me, the letters we got yesterday held a lot of weight with me.” Regional School Committee member Paula Hatch offered a different perspective saying, “I come from the corporate world, I spent thirty years at a very large corporation, never once did I get to pick my boss. You don’t get to pick your boss.” Wilhelmsen said, “We can keep throwing letters of recommendations and they’re all good, because we have two great candidates.” Most in the room seemed in agreement that letters for both candidates were compelling as both were worthy and qualified. Of the Silver Lake administration and staff, Coleman said her impression is that they were willing to work with either candidate.

Perhaps in a moment of foreshadowing a question was asked to Fraser at the outset of the meeting as to what would happen if the Union and the Region were split in their decision. Fraser responded, “If we’re in that situation, it’s a failure to nominate. We are a family and we have to come to the same endpoint and hire the same superintendent.” After several votes and re-votes which ended with the Union voting for Pruitt and the Region for Proulx, it was beginning to look more and more likely that the vote would end in a deadlock. Several alternative options were discussed at this point including hiring an interim superintendent as well as having current superintendent Joy Blackwood stay on through the end of the school year, something she had offered to do should the need arise. Both these options would call for a renewed search to be started. Hardy of MASC did warn that should they elect to go that route, they would be entering into a search cycle with far more competition from other large districts looking to hire a superintendent than what was experienced during the first search. Another concern that was voiced was whether Proulx would stay on as assistant superintendent should the vote either end in a deadlock or in favor of the other candidate. Many in the room believed it would send the district into chaos to be looking at the possibility of having to hire the two top positions in the district basically at the same time.

In the end, a motion was passed for reconsideration of the way the Union voted. Several of those on the Union side that initially voted in favor of Pruitt changed their vote in favor of Proulx. The decision, however, was not unanimous with a few holdouts though there were enough pro Proulx votes to award her the Union nomination. “I also think it’s important that we all remember that just because we have different views on this, we’re all trying to do the right thing for the district,” Wilhelmsen reminded the group. With both the Union and Region now voting for Proulx, she was successfully nominated as the new superintendent.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday, Nov. 4, began with a decision to include a warrant article at special town meeting that would authorize the selectmen to create safety zones in some of the town’s more dangerous intersections including Ring Road and Main Street.  Selectmen hope to reduce the speed limits for safety sake. Selectman Mark Russo said any decisions made would be done with a great deal of input from residents who live near the designated areas.

Robert Firlotte, who was in attendance, was appointed the interim highway superintendent as well as to the emergency management team. Both terms are from October 21, 2019 to June 30, 2020. Firlotte also agreed with selectmen regarding the safety zone article to be voted on at special town meeting.

Selectman John Traynor inquired about the town’s policy regarding alcohol on town owned property. Selectmen assistant Briggette Martins said that the insurance said it is absolutely not allowed without a permit. Bringing your own alcohol to events on town owned property is also prohibited. Other nearby towns such as Halifax have banned alcohol from town property. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said, “Years ago, we had an incident at the town house and there were some pretty severe repercussions for people that had been drinking at the town house.” Russo asked about the alternative to banning alcohol and was told that it would be $2500 per event for the person serving the alcohol to receive a permit with insurance. Joy said, “I think it’s cut and dry; we cannot put the town in a position where we’re compromised by allowing people to drink in town buildings. It just does not make any sense.” After some discussion, the other selectmen agreed and a motion was passed to adopt a policy to ban alcohol on all town owned property. Dennehy said she would send a memo. Russo said, “Be really clear that we are doing this to protect the town and that it is cost prohibitive to do otherwise.”

Traynor also brought before the Board, an issue with a lack of service in Plympton and Halifax by The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA). Traynor presented a map of the state shaded to indicate Transit Authority coverage. Traynor said, “Basically these transit authorities they cover almost the whole state.” He continued, “That little white spot… is Halifax and Plympton. We’re the only ones that don’t have coverage for regional transit authority.” Traynor also shared some statistics showing the number of people per square mile for many of the surrounding south shore towns.

Plympton and Halifax had previously been told they don’t have enough people per square mile to qualify for service. When combined, however, Plympton and Halifax have more people per square mile than Carver that does have service.

Traynor said he reached out to Halifax Selectman Tom Millias who lent his full support. Traynor also enlisted the help of Senator Michael Brady and Representative Kathleen LaNatra. The next step would be finding out the cost of bringing service to the two towns.

Town administrator Elizabeth Dennehy gave an update on various items including the old jail cell that went out to bid. The cell, which was classified as town owned surplus property, was awarded to the highest bidder, Ken Thompson, for $203.

Dennehy said that a large meeting will be held on November 19 to discuss the fiber optic plan and make sure that all parties are on the same page.  Representatives from regional dispatch, Industrial Communications, and Open Cape and their subcontractor will be present.  The regional dispatch center is installing their own exclusive fiber connection that will run from them to the Plympton Police Department; it will be done by a combination of Comcast and Industrial Communications. Dennehy said it is important to ensure that the two systems can function together with special attention being paid to the fiber that Plympton is putting into the police station. Dennehy also said that going forward, it may be necessary to bring a company on board to maintain the physical fiber network and handle the network administration work. Steve Pellowe, the technology director for the Silver Lake Regional School District has also been asked to attend the meeting.

Dispatch costs

quadruple

Dennehy also alerted the Board that the dispatch cost for next year is set to rise significantly. Costs are estimated at $200,000 for next year, four times that of the previous two fiscal years. The previous numbers were a discounted rate and also incorporated grant money. Dennehy said that she had already shared those numbers with the Chair of the Finance Committee. Joy asked if the amount was negotiable and Dennehy said she didn’t believe there was much flexibility. The formula is based on call volume and population. Dennehy did say that if they can get more people to join, Plympton’s costs will go down. Dennehy believed that they are currently in negotiations with Hanson. Dennehy and the Board agreed to look into the possibility of acquiring a grant to help offset the costs.

Important upcoming dates include the first meeting of the newly formed town campus committee on November 19 at 6 p.m. at the Town House. The Selectmen would like to have Area 58 televise the meeting. Also of note, the Plympton Council on Aging Christmas party will be held on December 11 at noon at the Upland Club. RSVPs have been requested by November 28. Those wishing to participate in the gift grab are asked to bring a $10 gift.

As they always do, the Board ended the meeting with their rants and/or raves of the past few weeks. Traynor praised those that put on the Veteran’s Appreciation Day this past weekend. Traynor said that the Boy Scouts attended as did some from the VFW in Halifax. Traynor also praised the “fabulous voice” of Jodi Mulcahy who sang at the event.

Both Joy and Russo shared their appreciation for the efforts of all those present at the Planning Board solar hearings last week. They said that while it is always a challenge to balance the rights of individuals vs the public good, they both felt that the Plympton committees and boards handle that responsibility well.

The Plympton Planning Board held three hearings on Monday, October 28 for the development of three separate solar arrays. Planning Board members present were Chair Ann Sobolewski, Paul J. D’Angelo,  John Schmid, and newest member Jay Cohen.

Selectmen John Traynor and Mark Russo were also in attendance.

The first was a continuation of the hearing for the Harju solar panel project located on a 113-acre lot belonging to Gary Harju at 0 and 37 Lake St. The land is currently used for cranberry bogs and is zoned agricultural.

The proposed project is a ground mounted array split between the northern and southern portion of the lot near the Kingston/Plympton town line. A single purpose LLC was created to lease the land.

Plympton’s consulting engineer John Chessia, who reviews the projects and submits a response letter, was on hand.  Project Manager Sarah Stearns of Beals + Thomas was there to present on behalf of Harju Solar Array and respond to questions from the public as well as items noted in Chessia’s letter. Other members of the team present included professional engineer Eric Las, project attorney Greg Sampson, and Pat Jackson from the solar development company SunRaise Investments.

Of note during the discussions was the section of the bylaws that require trees and plantings used for screening to be 8ft high. Stearns explained that they were looking to plant native species that would thrive in their location with minimal maintenance and that initially they would be 5-7 ft tall. An abutter to the property present at the meeting asked Stearns for reassurance that the plantings would eventually reach 8 ft. Sobolewski recommended aiming for 6-7 ft tall plantings that would eventually reach or surpass the 8 ft marker. Stearns explained that the reason for not initially going with 8ft plants was that the size of the root balls would cause greater disturbance to the surroundings. “And I do commend you for providing the variety of plants and for taking our comments on that into consideration and for looking for things that are attractive and beneficial and would provide evergreen screening. That’s something that I think the neighbors are looking for and we’re certainly appreciative that that level of thought went into it,” Sobolewski said.

Also discussed was the way in which the areas that needed it would be cleared. Stearns said that they would bring in a tree specialist to determine the best technique for clearing whether that be the small track vehicles, drop and drag by hand with a chain-saw, or via a crane. Stearns also alluded to the myriad trails on the property saying that they may be able to utilize those to get to the area without a lot of disturbance.

Gary Harju spoke to his neighbors saying, “Many years ago there was going to be a thirty-house subdivision and we bought that piece of property so we wouldn’t have thirty houses on that cranberry bog at the time. It would have been all developed already had we not bought it and it cost us a good deal of money to get it. But all this time everybody in the world has enjoyed it and whatnot; like you said there’s trails all through it from everybody using it.”

As the principal engineer on the project, Las disagreed with some of the requirements and requests made by Chessia in his response letter saying that they also do peer reviews and that the requests made did not appear to him to be consistent with design standards. Las questioned Chessia as to his current responsibilities and probed him to find out how many solar projects he had designed. Upon Mr. Chessia’s response that he had designed only one ground mounted solar project and that yes, he mostly does reviews, Las said, “Thank you for that context.” As pointed out by the Planning Board, however, all solar projects that come before the Board are held to the same requirements and level of scrutiny. The continuation of the hearing is scheduled for November 25 at 7 p.m.

The second public hearing was for a proposed solar array at 0 Main St. and the public turnout, mostly from abutters, was considerable. Evan Watson, the project engineer with Prime Engineering Inc. was present as well as attorney Greg Sampson. The landowner, Larry Harju, planned to utilize bogs he constructed in the past that aren’t performing well anymore for the large-scale ground mounted solar facility between Mayflower Rd. and Main St. Like the earlier hearing, the proposed project is not dual use as cranberry operation will be abandoned where the solar panels are to be placed.

As with the earlier project, adequate screening was a major concern for the abutters in attendance, most of them residents of Mayflower Rd. Sobolewski added that plantings used for screening must be sufficient not just in the spring and summer but in the winter as well. Abutters also asked that the fence included in the plan be something attractive. Another resident shared her concerns that her property would become flooded as a result of the project. Watson assured those in attendance that his proposal meets the 10 stormwater standards for MA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Another resident questioned why the particular portion of the lot was chosen and was given two explanations 1.) the bogs selected grow a variety of cranberries no longer in demand and 2.) The Wetlands Protection Act make a large portion of the land off-limits for this kind of development.

Schmid shared his feelings that it was a shame to deforest for solar power. Larry Harju explained his predicament to his neighbors saying, “We are looking at this because we need another income not because we are fat cats rolling in it.”

It was agreed by all parties that a site walk would be necessary. Neighbors and others can walk the proposed site and discuss the plans for things such as screening. The site walk for this site is scheduled for 10 a.m. on November 16. A continuation of the hearing was scheduled for November 25 at 7:30 p.m.

Vice President at Atlantic Design Engineers, Inc. Richard Tabaczynski presented at the third and final hearing about a proposed dual use solar facility/cranberry bogs at 0 Prospect St. on behalf of landowner Richard Johnson. The site is near the Middleboro/Carver town line. Tabaczynski informed the Board that he had filed with the Conservation Commission and a hearing was scheduled in November. The land in question is zoned agricultural/residential and totals 41 acres.

Because the proposed plan is for a dual use facility, no fence can be erected as it would impede the cranberry production. Again, abutters in attendance were concerned with not being able to see the solar facility from their homes, particularly from the second floor or higher. The abutters’ homes in this case are located on a 90 ft hill, making it difficult, if not impossible, for those in attendance to imagine a scenario in which screening could be provided that would block their view of the facility. A site visit was scheduled for November 9 at 10 a.m.

Many in attendance, including those who had lived at their current residence for 25 years, claimed that Johnson hasn’t harvested cranberries in quite some time. Given that the proposed plan is for a dual use facility, abutters wanted to know if it would be possible to shut down the operation if it was proven that they were not working cranberry bogs.

Tabaczynski said that there was a plan to re-instate the bog use at the same time as the solar panel installation. It came out during the course of discussion that a solar panel facility cannot be placed on wetlands unless it is considered dual use with the cranberry bogs.

Those in attendance were concerned that Johnson was attempting to use a loophole to work around the restrictions placed on wetlands.

A continuation for the hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Plympton selectmen have scheduled a special town meeting for Dec.16 at 7 p.m. at the Dennett Elementary School, in order to allow the townspeople to vote on changes to the town’s by-laws regarding solar installations, among other things.

Plympton selectmen discussed a possible avenue to lowering the speed limit at certain intersections in town during their Monday, October 7 meeting.

Vice-Chair Mark Russo said that it was his understanding that under Massachusetts general law, it was possible for a town to establish safety zones with speed limits of 20-mph. Russo said that according to town counsel, a vote would have to be held at town meeting to authorize the selectmen to establish such safety zones.

Several intersections were discussed as problematic with special mention being given to West St. and Cross St. and Main St. and Ring Rd. The latter of which will need a more permanent fix that could come in the form of a potential MassWorks grant which would include engineering as well as construction.

The pros according to Russo are that it is both a relatively easy and inexpensive way to improve safety. Russo said that the one real con would be that 20 mph is quite slow. Chair Christine Joy said she would like to find out if the 20-mph designation is non-negotiable. A resident in attendance added, “Bear in mind, when the speed limit is 20, nobody does 20, they do 30.” In addition to the question about the speed limit, other questions included whether or not a safety zone can be established on a state road, and what is an allowable size for the safety zone designation. Russo agreed to get answers to these questions before proceeding with having an article crafted to vote upon at special town meeting.

Town administrator Liz Dennehy gave the Selectmen an update on various topics including shared services for the Council on Aging. Dennehy said she is waiting to hear back from her colleagues in Halifax and Carver regarding getting the shared calendar ready for the three town’s Councils on Aging. The Highway Superintendent position is currently open with resumes being accepted until October 18. Last call for sealed bids on the old jail cell was this past Thursday, October 10. Dennehy also informed the Selectmen that the town accountant sent budget updates to the various town department heads to show them where they stand. This measure is part of an attempt to further professionalize the town’s financial operations.

The Board voted to appoint Tom Millias as the zoning enforcement officer beginning November 1 and running through June 30, 2020. “Thank you, Tom,” Joy said. Russo added, “With enthusiasm, that’s great.” Dennehy also mentioned that the Zoning Board of Appeals has two open seats for alternate members. “The only thing I would say there is that they do have to have a certain expertise, it can’t just be someone walking in,” Selectmen John Traynor said.

Traynor praised the many volunteers that came out to help with the myriad of events held this past weekend, including the Dennett Harvest Fair, the Plympton Historical Society Vintage Fair, Fall Fest at the Colchester Farm, reception and coffee time at the library, and the Cow Plop at the Family Fun Day at Next Step Farm. “There was more going on in this town than I’ve seen in my over fifty years here,” Traynor said. He continued, “Very good for the town, terrific. We need more of that.” Russo concurred saying, “I’ll just second everything you just said, a vibrant town on weekends is just what we hoped for.” Russo also seconded Traynor’s praise for the vintage fair saying, “It was classy. It’s a lot of work to put those on and I think PHS did just a great job, very impressive.”

The Plympton School Committee met Monday Sept. 23 for the first time since the school year began.

Vice Chair Jason Fraser gave an update on the new playground, explaining that plans with the original vendor lined up to complete the project have fallen through.

The committee took a vote to allow Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto and Fraser to allocate some funds, not to exceed $10,000, to hire a consultant only after exhausting the option to cold call some of the vendors on the state bid list.

“We’re very grateful to have the opportunity and we realize that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the school and we want to be sure we are using the funds in a prudent manner,” Fraser said.

Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen gave an update on the water testing saying the most recent round of testing showed no problems with lead, manganese, or any other concerning substances. Wilhelmsen reiterated that from the best they can tell, the unfavorable results that had previously been found were a result of the sample being pulled concurrently with the backwashing cycle that occurs once every seven days. The plan moving forward is to avoid testing on a backwash day.

Wilhelmsen said that he attended a preliminary screening committee meeting that met to review candidates for Superintendent. Current Superintendent Joy Blackwood will be retiring later this year and the hope is to have some overlap between Blackwood and the incoming Superintendent.

The goal of the preliminary screening committee is to review and screen candidates for the broader committee to look at during the first week of October. Wilhelmsen said, “The process is moving along and is on schedule.” A meeting will be held on October 10 at 6 p.m. at Silver Lake Regional High School’s library to announce the semi-finalists. All four school committees in the district have been invited to attend the meeting.

Veneto gave an update on upcoming dates of importance at Dennett. Fall pictures are scheduled for September 30. There will be no school on October 14, Columbus Day. October 24 will be an early release day with a 12:45 dismissal for parent-teacher conferences.

The following day, October 25, will be the Grade 6 field trip to 5 Wits and that night will be the CASA sponsored Halloween dance from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Fraser said to Veneto, “This is the first time we’ve been with you since the beginning of school and I would just like to ask you to thank your staff for all the time that they put in over the summer going to PD, setting up their classrooms, and making this school a welcoming environment for the students on day one. I know a lot of work goes into it behind the scenes so thank you very much and please pass that to your entire staff.”

State House budget will impact district’s local schools

Fraser shared with the committee that the State House failed to arrive at a budget by June 30. Fraser said that the conference committee has released their agreement on Chapter 70 funding and that it has not been voted on yet as it is currently up for discussion and going back to both the House and the Senate.

According to Fraser, rural schools appear to be getting some attention with funding from the state. Fraser said, “It seems like education may have earned a win here in the last innings of 2019 but it is still too early to give any news about exactly how it may impact us so stay tuned to the State House.”

The committee voted to allow Fraser to represent the Dennett School and the Plympton School Committee at the MASC’s (Massachusetts Association of School Committees) November Delegate Assembly where resolutions will be voted.

Polystyrene ban considered by 2022-2023 school year

Resolution one calls for banning polystyrene foam from schools by the 2022-2023 school year, something Fraser said is thanks in part to the efforts of the Plympton School Committee.

“It really stems from some of the conversations we’ve had as a school committee over the last five years and trying to move away from using polystyrene foam here at the Dennett and moving to compostable trays,” Fraser said. Additionally, there are attempts being made at the State House to ban Styrofoam from the state in totality due to the negative environmental impact.   

Title I and II funding decreased by state

Assistant Superintendent Jill Proulx said that cuts were made to Title I and Title II funding. Title I decreased by over $100,000 and Title II funding decreased by over $16,000 since last year. Title II funding is a primary source of professional development funds. Professional development ensures that the practices employed by the district are the most up-to-date and research based. Fraser pointed out how these cuts demonstrate the ways in which what happens in Washington D.C. affects our local schools. Regarding the cuts to Title I funding Blackwood said, “It will definitely impact our ability for summer school next year. That is our main concern at this point is what we’ll be able to do and offer.”

District-wide elementary students sing a capella

Blackwood shared a touching anecdote from Opening Day. The Elementary school students from both Halifax and Kingston were scheduled to sing together despite not having much, if any, practice as a combined group.

They were to perform first and when the music started, the timing was off and Blackwood likened it to Alvin and the Chipmunks. After much struggling on the part of the music teachers, Blackwood suggested that the students sing a cappella. The young students did just that in front of the hundreds of faculty members, etc. present. “They were flawless,” Blackwood said.

“I can’t tell you how well they modeled being resilient and having a growth mindset.” Blackwood also praised the students from the middle school who performed scenes from The Wizard of Oz.

Monday was Dennett Elementary School secretary Gail Thibeault’s last meeting. Thibeault spent eight years at Dennett and twelve at Halifax. Blackwood said, “Gail has always been incredibly dependable and will roll up her sleeves and do anything at all that she’s asked. I know that at a personal level, I will truly miss her.”  Blackwood continued, “Thank you Gail for all that you’ve done, you’ve been a joy to work with.”

Chairman of the Planning Board Gordon R. Andrews attended Tuesday’s Halifax selectmen’s meeting to ask questions of the selectmen and air his grievances with the procedures for hiring the department’s secretary.

According to Chairman Andrews, the planning board asked to be involved in the hiring process for the new department secretary but were not given that opportunity and never even saw the job description.

“I came in here before the secretary was hired and I was told we’ll have a meeting with you; well it’s now September and the secretary has already been hired. I think that we’ve been like walked over. We tried to participate in it, we tried to find out what was going on and we got blown off and it’s frustrating,” Andrews said. He went on to point out that the finance committee, another elected board, actually selects their own secretary.  In response to Andrews’ inquiry as to who the secretary reports to, town administrator Charlie Seelig answered that as has been done for the last fifteen years, the secretary answers to the building inspector, in this case Rob Piccirilli.

Chairman Andrews listed a myriad of issues faced by the Planning Board in the recent past. After the last secretary resigned but agreed to stay on in the interim, Andrews claimed that there were three separate meetings where the secretary was unable to attend at the last minute. Additionally, at one of the meetings, the board was locked out of the room.

Selectman Tom Millias said that the planning board should absolutely have their own key to the meeting room. Andrews said, “We’re an elected board, if a secretary doesn’t do what we have to have done, we’re at stake, not Rob.”

Piccirilli, who was also in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting said, “As far as direction, it’s up to the board to give direction, not me.”

Seelig interjected that while directions to the secretary should come directly from the board, the board’s grievances should go directly to Piccirilli. Another area of dispute was who should handle the performance review of the secretary. Currently, Piccirilli handles that task and does so without reaching out to the planning board for comment. Piccirilli said that if there were complaints, it would be up to the board to bring them to his attention. Selectman Gordon C. Andrews felt that the planning board should be writing the review for their secretary or at the very least, Piccirilli should be reaching out to them for their thoughts.

After a great deal of discussion, the Selectmen and Chairman Andrews agreed that it would behoove all involved to have a meeting with Piccirilli, a representative from each of boards, and one of the selectmen to go over the various job descriptions and put some procedures in place to avoid future issues of the same nature. “I think that will satisfy everyone moving forward,” Millias said. “I believe it will,” Chairman Andrews agreed.

Fire Chief Jason Viveiros, Police Chief Joao Chaves, and highway surveyor Steve Hayward met with the selectmen to discuss ideas regarding ways in which the needs of the fire department, police department, and highway department, among others, may be met.

In August, concerned residents attended the selectmen’s meeting to share their concerns over the Council on Aging (COA) space including residents being unable to attend certain programs because they are located on the second floor. During that time it was suggested by Director of Building Maintenance Scott Materna that a possible solution might be to move the COA to the current police station and build a new combined police and fire station. Viveiros said that the current fire station is short on space as well as having potential liability concerns while Chaves said that although the police station has ample space, the floor plan is not really conducive to their needs. The highway department could also benefit from more space.

Senior Services Regionalization explored

As was discussed in August, a potential fix for the COA issues might be to regionalize with some neighboring towns. Town Administrator Charlie Seelig met with some of the neighboring towns’ administrators to discuss the possibility. Collectively, they decided that a good first step would be to publicize their offerings to one another’s residents to gauge the level of interest.

Long-term goals requested from each town department

The selectmen asked each department head to come up with list of their long-term project needs. “We’re starting from scratch. All the ideas are on the table and all ideas from anybody are on the table,” Seelig said. He continued, “My hope is that we don’t say to somebody, ‘sorry we don’t want you saying something; we don’t think it’s your lane and you shouldn’t be participating in this.’

“At this point, a good idea is a good idea wherever it is coming from.”

Selectmen Chair Troy Garron asked, however, that any idea that is presented be put in writing and be thoroughly researched first.

Garron also said that with so many departments all having varying needs, it will be necessary to prioritize the order in which needs will be met. Millias pointed out that the upcoming town meeting will be too early to present anything but said that all possibilities should be explored between now and next year. Seelig said he is also going to ask the school and the library to provide a report on their space needs as well.

Permission to replace old batting cages granted

The final appointment of the evening was Halifax youth baseball president Pete Barone. Barone was there to ask for the Board’s permission to replace the old, portable batting cage at Vaughn field with an updated, permanent one.

The existing structure had been blown across the parking lot during previous storms and at this point, poses a safety concern.

The new cage will be paid for entirely through fundraising efforts.

The hope is to make the change this fall so that it will be ready for use in April.

Millias said, “This looks nothing but good, so I don’t have any issues.” Garron agreed acknowledging that it is a positive for the kids in the town.

Barone also asked for permission to build a small, fenced in playground next to the grass near the skate park. Barone said that it would be a 30 ft. by 25 ft. area meant to serve smaller children who may have a sibling playing in a game on one of the fields. Barone said that there is a clear view of both fields from the area.

The Board approved both requests.