PLYMPTON – Rep. Thomas J. Calter spoke to Plympton Selectmen Monday night, explaining the state’s budget process, and took that opportunity to dispel rumors that special legislation was filed to prevent the question of whether to allow the purchase of some five acres of Silver Lake Regional High School land to the Town of Kingston to come up for a town meeting vote.

The articles were on the annual town meeting warrant in both Halifax and Plympton, and voters in both towns were told at Town Meeting that these articles were to be passed over.

Silver Lake Regional High School Committee voted to create legislation so that the land could be sold.  Without that legislation, the land could not be sold, “because the school district is not a town.  Not one of the 351 cities and towns.”  In the existing statute, which was passed and enacted dozens of years ago, Calter continued, there was no vehicle included to allow the district to sell the land.

Legislation was drafted in collaboration with the Kingston town attorney and the Silver Lake District attorney, Calter told the group, and it is his job to present the legislation as requested by the District, to the House counsel to perfect it and put it into form.  The bill was then filed.

Discussion ensued as to whether or not the towns needed to vote on this and why the article was passed over at Plympton’s and Halifax’s annual town meetings.   “The town of Kingston must vote on it,” Calter said, “because they are the ones spending the funding.“  In every other case when special legislation is enacted to sell district property, there is no precedent for the member towns to vote individually.  “I have no opinion as to whether or not they should be included; that’s not my job,” Calter continued.  “That’s the Regional School district’s job.  I am only the conduit for filing the legislation,” he said.  The legislation is separate from whether or not the towns vote on the proposal.

Susan Ossoff, chairman of the Plympton Finance Committee, asked about how long it will take for the legislation to be voted upon.   “I’m not pushing the vote right now because if the Kingston town meeting says no again, there is no reason to put this through.”

In response to a question by Selectperson Christine Joy, Calter explained that if the bill passes, it is not requiring the transaction, it just permits the transaction.

Each town gets its portion of the sale, in answer to Dale Pleau’s question, based on student population, except for Kingston, who will donate its share back to the district to be put toward capital funds and spent at the discretion of the Regional Scool Committee.

A member of the audience asked if the purchase price of the land, which many thought to be too low, was still at $250,000 for the 5 acre parcel with considerable frontage on Route 27, in a commercial zone. Maureen Springer, Plympton’s member on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, answered that an independent appraiser was employed who presented a multi-page appraisal to the committee supporting the price.  It is five acres out of a 20-acre piece, she said, with quite a bit of wetlands on it.  Springer said that Kingston was considering using that wet area for parking.  Springer furthered that the purchase and sale agreement had been drawn up and agreed to by both parties, but has not been signed.

“Personally, I think that the Town of Kingston should have come to each of the towns and presented their proposal,” Springer told the board.

Selectmen Chairman Colleen Thompson said, if the legislation passes as it stands, then the people of Halifax and Plympton would have no voice, other than the towns’ representatives on the Silver Lake School Committee.

Springer answered, “That is correct.  I was voted to represent the Town of Plympton in the Silver Lake Regional School District, and it was my judgment call to vote for the sale of this parcel of land.”  Springer went on to say that she and the school committee did their due diligence for a year and a half and that only now these questions have come up.

Christine Joy left the meeting to attend the Carver Redevelopment Committee meeting and will report back to the board.

  Where’s the water       going?

A question came from the floor – who is monitoring the water business on Brook Street?  A citizen who did not identify himself told the board that the river by Dick Reynolds’ house is dry.  He said he has never seen it dry.  His neighbor’s house water pressure is low.  Wells are going dry in town.  Tank truck after tank truck take water out of town.  “Who monitors that? … How much are they allowed to take?”

Town administrator Dale Pleau answered that they are largely self-reporting and that the town is still in litigation with the company.  “Do we know what they are agreed to take out?”

They are allowed a certain amount under the agreement that is currently in litigation.  Pleau said it would be a good idea to run it by Town Counsel.  Selectmen voted to allow Coleen Thompson to contact Town Counsel on the water matter and to ask town counsel if there is any language in the agreement that deals with extreme conditions.

Do selectmen need to meet every week?

It has been brought to the chairman’s attention that other boards of selectmen in nearby towns only meet every other week.  Traynor said “It seems like we have still a lot on our plates, ” The board will discuss it further, but will not meet Sept. 19,  at which time John Traynor will attend the Massachusetts Municipal  Association meeting which this time is in Plymouth.  He said he has never been to one of their meetings and would like to see if it is worthwhile to attend.

   Camera shy

Assistant Assessor Deb Stuart asked Selectmen Chairman Thompson if selectmen would like to meet with the Board of Assessors to discuss a split tax classification, giving a higher tax rate to business property, and a lower rate to residential tax payers.

“It is my understanding that the Assessors want to hold the meeting in their office because they do not want to appear in film,” Traynor told the board, but he wants to be sure that an important item such as classification hearing be held in an open meeting which is filmed.

Thompson said that in the past the assessors have come to the board of selectmen and the two boards have discussed the matter.

“Tax classification is a formal hearing,” Pleau said.

It is my understanding it is a two-step process, Traynor said, the first  to discuss it at their next meeting,  and then a second meeting where they would come back to the BOS with their recommendation.

The second portion, when they meet with Plympton, has been filmed. “Other towns film every meeting,” Traynor said.

Thompson said she would agree with that.

Pleau added that there was a proposal for that type of a bylaw in recent years but it was shot down before it ever made it to the warrant.

Pleau recommended that it be done in a bylaw change.  “You can tape a meeting with a laptop at the end of a table,” he said.

Thompson will attend that meeting with the Assessors.

No takers for Town           Counsel

Pleau reported to selectmen that there had been no response from the ad in the Central Register where Plympton had advertised an RFP, or Request for Proposals, seeking new options for town counsel.  Pleau was surprised by the lack of response and said he will publish it again in the Central Register.  “It could be political,” he said.    Thompson said to publish it again.

  In other business

• New push brace on Forest Street and new pole on Spring Street will deal with low-hanging utility wires at those two locations.   Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the two projects.  There was no one there to comment so that part of the public hearing was omitted.

• The town of Rockland is pulling out of the Mayflower Municipal Healthcare group to go with a new group that is forming.  Plympton currently has its health insurance through Mayflower and is concerned that the loss of Rockland will destabilize the group and thus will investigate its options.  Preliminary reports say that Mayflower is increasing its rates by 17%.

• Fire Chief Warren Borsari notified selectmen that his department has been denied two federal grants under the Assistance to Firefighters Federal Grants Program, and would need funding to replace equipment, such as air packs and other items that are at or approaching the 10 year product use expectancy.

• Plympton selectmen will set up a schedule for several  “Meet the Selectmen” sessions to give residents a chance to meet with a selectman and discuss issues of concern.  Selectmen’s Chairman Colleen Thompson said she could take an hour Thursday mornings and Selectman John Traynor said he could do about any morning.   The board will consult with Joy to see when she might be able to give some time before they make a final schedule.

• T.L. Edwards Company has given an older model street sweeper to the town, Pleau told the board.  It needs some work, but not a lot, and Highway Superintendent James Mulcahy appreciated the gift.  It will allow him to do Plympton streets by the highway department, where it had been previously hired out

• The next meeting of the Plympton Board of Selectmen will be Sept. 26 at 6 p.m.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen has tentatively approved the placement of LED Stop signs at the intersection of Pine Street and Plymouth Street in Halifax.

These new signs would replace the standard Stop signs that are located on Pine Street on each side of the intersection.

The LED Stop signs would provide motorists on Pine Street with a more visible warning of the intersection and the need to come to a full stop before proceeding.

The LED Stop signs would be lit 24 hours a day with a steady light and would not be flashing signs nor be turned “on” only when a vehicle arrived at the intersection.

The Board is accepting public comment about this proposal for the Board’s meeting on Tuesday, September 27. Interested parties can contact the Selectmen’s office by calling 781-294-1316 or by by sending an e-mail to cseelig@town.halifax.us to reach the Town Administrator.

HALIFAX– Jennifer Choate, owner of Tarawood Kennels which is the subject of an excessive barking complaint, will be given a chance to implement a noise mitigation plan, selectmen say after weeks of collecting evidence.

At a meeting on Tuesday, August 30, selectmen unanimously voted to follow the board’s special investigator, Selectman Kim Roy’s ultimate finding of fact. She found that there was excessive barking at times at the kennel, corroborated by neighbor testimony and audio evidence.

The mitigation plan involves using sound proofing material both indoors and outdoors, adjusting the number of hours dogs can be outside, working with a trainer to discourage barking, and requiring a staff member to be outside with the dogs anytime they are outside, among other provisions. The plan is expected to reduce the noise by 7-12 decibels, according to a sound engineer hired by Choate.

Another provision is that no boarding or “puppy reunions” happen at the facility. Choate must follow the written permit as is, which allows her 50 adult dogs on the property and 26 litters per year. Puppies must be moved off the property within 6 months.

As the plan is being implemented, special investigator Roy stated, “I will be there from time to time to make sure it’s quiet…This is something we need to supervise pretty closely,” she said.

No mention was made of a possible error the ZBA made in 2012 in failing to notify neighbors when the number of adult dogs allowed on the property doubled from 25 to 50.

Selectmen Chairman Troy Garron stated that he wanted to focus on moving forward to, “hopefully make a decision that pleases the majority.”

“From my point of view, I don’t want to talk about what happened six years ago,” he said.

One point of contention was the number of hours the dogs could be outside, with neighbors originally pushing for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Choate campaigning for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Selectman Roy wanted further input from the public, but only the attorney for Scott Clawson spoke, saying that it didn’t really matter as long as there wasn’t barking.

Garron agreed at one point, finally turning to Roy and under his breath saying, “Kim, I don’t think it really matters.”

The hearing was continued to September 27 to give Choate time to make the necessary changes, after the board unanimously voted to accept Choate’s plan.

The board warned that everyone would be back in the same place if drastic changes weren’t seen.

“I think we have to give them [the kennel] a chance,” said Selectman Tom Millias, as the meeting ended.

“It’s never fast enough but I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

As of August 15, Halifax and surrounding towns are listed as a “low risk” community for EEE and WnV.

The Halifax Board of Health has been notified about a mosquito with EEE (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) in Middleborough (July 12) and one in Kingston (August 15). It was found in a Culex mosquito, the Culex restuans. Natural and artificial containers are the preferred larval habitat of this mosquito. It feeds almost primarily on birds but has been known to bite humans on occasion. This species is typically collected from May to October but can be found year round as it readily overwinters in man-made structures.

Cx restuans has been implicated as a vector of WNV. Take this bird biter as a warning. People have control over stagnant water in containers: buckets, tarps, tires, etc. Rinse them out, turn them over.

Rinse bird baths at least twice a week.

Residents should continue to take precautions including removing all containers with standing water such as accumulating junk in the yard, not maintaining swimming pools and allowing them to sit with green stagnant water, along with toys, tarps and tires.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health wrote:

Although there has been less evidence of EEE activity this year than in some recent years, the late heat and humidity this summer are perfect conditions for mosquito activity.

The peak time for transmission of EEE will continue through at least some of September.

The types of mosquitoes most likely to carry EEE are considered to be active dusk to dawn but the timing of that activity can be impacted by temperature, humidity, cloud cover and day length. In addition, active participation in outdoor sports increases our availability to mosquitoes. Physical exertion and sweating may also change individual attractiveness to mosquitoes and may decrease the time that repellents are effective.

DPH is writing to ask you to help us get the word out to residents, schools and athletic groups, that it is important to take steps to avoid mosquito bites. Know the drill – mosquito repellents, clothing and limiting outdoor activity during peak mosquito activity hours.

Also, keep in mind that our residents travel between cities and towns regularly and some of those may travel from areas not familiar with EEE.  They may not be mindful of the importance of preventing mosquito bites.  Please remind them.

To call for ground spraying of your property, call Plymouth County Mosquito Control at 781 585 5450.

Individuals can call the Project, between 8:00am and 3:00pm on Monday through Friday, to request that their property be sprayed. The Project’s phone number is (781) 585-5450, fax (781) 582-1276 or mail us at P.O. Box 72, Kingston, MA 02364. To find out where the spray routes are going to be, call (617) 582-6219 (during spray season). Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project

For more information on EEE and WNv, please see DPH’s site at: http://www.mass.gov.

PLYMPTON– The Plympton Board of Health held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, August 16. Several status updates were heard and new business was signed off on. Most notably, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the board and Richmond Poole so that he can close on the property owned by the USDA at 59 Parsonage Road.

• An MOU was signed between the board and Richmond Poole– conditional on some minor paperwork on Poole’s part– outlining the conditions under which the board will lift the letter on the title to the property. The property was re-inspected, and the only issues other than the trailers on the property involve securing a bulkhead. Mr. Poole’s attorney was present.

Board will monitor

Upland Road rats

• A rat infestation on Upland Road continues to seem to have abated itself. The board wanted to monitor the situation until the end of August, and will inspect the property once more before closing the matter.

• A resident on Elm street with multiple septic tanks on his property wants to reuse one of them. The board will write him a letter stating that he needs to have what is currently there inspected so he knows which one is in the best shape.

Rubbish on Grove St

And Mayflower Rd.

• A resident on Grove Street is working with the Council on Aging and the Board of Health to remove a dumpster’s worth of rubbish from her property. Since the resident hasn’t purchased a transfer station permit, even offers to volunteer to haul the trash– as board member Ken Thompson had offered– cannot be taken up. The board wants the resident to find a permanent solution to the trash problem. “She’s got to take care of it,” said Art Morin, board chair. “That’s the end of the story.”

• A property on Mayflower Street that was foreclosed by their bank and left with rubbish out front is being ordered by the board to clean up the mess. Since the lender is in Texas, the response hasn’t been adequate, but health board staff has found a phone number for the lender and will contact them again.

• Three Building Department permits were signed off on prior to the meeting: one for a Main Street renovation, one for a Main Street handicap ramp, and one for a Prospect Road rebuilding of a collapsed post and beam barn.

PLYMPTON– On Monday, August 8, the Plympton Board of Selectmen handled a brief agenda. The main item was a presentation from Colonial Power Group on community choice aggregation.

Brian Murphy, of Colonial Power, an electricity aggregation consultant, presented a detailed plan on how an electricity aggregation program might work in Plympton. The town voted at last town meeting to adopt the statute into the by-laws allowing for such a program, but it must be administered by a consultant. Colonial Power was suggested by the Old Colony Planning Counsel.

Community choice aggregation is a buying group organized usually by one municipality (but occasionally a group of municipalities) in order to reduce the cost of electricity for customers in that buying group. It originated in the late 1990’s with the Massachusetts Utility Deregulation Act of 1997.

All customers in Plympton would be part of the program, unless they opt-out. Colonial Power, if chosen as the consultant, would notify customers of the change and their chance to opt-out. NSTAR would still deliver the electricity, bill the customer and maintain lines. About 1/3 Massachusetts communities have aggregation in place.

Advocates say the benefits are choice, stability and savings to customers.

“We’ve never had a CCA program where prices have gone up for customers,” said Murphy.

The next step is for the Selectmen to adopt an aggregation plan, followed by several steps at the state level handled by the consultant.

Murphy mentioned some concerns that residents might have with CCA. One is that tax-dollars would be used. No tax dollars are used, he said. Also, rate-payers can opt-out, but as well, with Colonial they can opt-in and opt-out at any time, which is beyond what state law requires.

He said that if the selectmen choose Colonial, there will be ample question and answer sessions to explain what is exactly going on with rate-payers power.

There was a lot to be loud and proud about last week at the Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education (DARE) Summer Program held at host school Whitman-Hanson July 25-28 as more than 600 campers cheered for their teams and took over the grounds for fun and education in the sun.

With the temperature reaching 90 degrees nearly all week, campers had both in and outdoor activities where special guest performers and educators spoke to them about DARE and avoiding situations or substances that could potentially cause them harm.

Lead Camp Organizer Peter Veneto spoke to families, campers and staff at the closing ceremony on Friday as campers from 20 of the 27 communities within Plymouth County gathered to share a week of non-stop fun. The camp celebrated its 22nd year in Plymouth County and is sponsored by Plymouth County D.A Timothy J. Cruz., The Plymouth County Police Chiefs and Drug education and resource officers.

“Your behavior was fantastic,” Veneto said. “As campers you have earned your T-shirts — wear them proudly as leaders in the community. Let your friends know who you are: Leaders of a drug-free community. Be proud of yourselves.”

Host town DARE Officer Billy Frazier of Hanson asked for a moment of silence honoring law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty across the United States over the past few months, as well as three former DARE Officers who have passed away since the camp was established.

Awards honoring the former DARE Officers were presented to Peer Leader Liz Short of Hanson’s Team 5 in memory of Officer Robert Quigley of the Marshfield Police Department, student service awards were presented to Emma Wojag of Hanson in memory of Helen Gray and Brayden Ferguson of Whitman was presented with a student service award in memory of Officer Gerald Mont of Whitman police.

District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz pledged his efforts to continue the camp and reminded campers that it took many officers, and donations of food,  time, money and most of the things they were able to participate in were due to the generosity of so many local companies.

Cruz intends to see the camp grow and eventually have all 27 communities in Plymouth County have resource officers and participate in the camp.

On Tuesday, July 26 Cruz and Sherriff McDonald presented two Hanson natives — Chief Warrant 3 pilot Scott Landis and Anthony Celia — with recognition awards for their decade of service in the Army flying Black Hawk helicopters. The pair talked with campers after landing on the soccer field, giving a tour of equipment and allowing the kids to explore the aircraft.

Kudos

DARE Camp organizers thanked Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr. and the Hanson Fire Department for its help in making the Thursday, July 28, foam and water day a success as well as the following: Plymouth County Police Chiefs: Christopher Delmonte of Bridgewater; John Crowley of Brockton; Marc Duphily of Carver; Matthew Clancy of Duxbury; Scott Allen of East Bridgewater; Walter Sweeney of Hanover; Michael Miksch of Hanson; Glenn Olsson of Hingham; Robert Sawtelle of Hull; Frank Alivihiera of Lakeville; Philip Tavarers of Marshfield; Theodore Ross of Norwell; Richard Wall of Pembroke; Michael Botieri of Plymouth; Patrick Dillon of  Plympton; John Llewellyn of Rockland; Michael Stewart of Scituate; Kevin Walsh of Wareham; Victor Flaherty of West Bridgewater and Scott Benton of Whitman. Thanks were also extended to Chief Christopher Cummings of the Massasoit Community College Police and Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald Jr.

PLYMPTON– The Plympton Board of Health met on Tuesday, July 19, and discussed a variety of topics, most notably:

• Progress has been made on the closing of 59 Parsonage Road between the USDA and Richmond Poole. An attorney for Mr. Poole was present, and all agreed that the board would first inspect the property to find out if any remaining orders need to be complied with, and then move forward with removing trailers that were left on the property. Now that the process has been agreed upon, it is just a matter of carrying it out.

• Assessors still cannot get access to two homes on Maple Street to determine the number of rooms, which is directly related to the septic system.

• Although rats have been seen in the area, the rat infestation on Upland Road seems to be under control and continues to be monitored.

• The sale of the home on Grove Street where a dumpster company dumped the refuse in the driveway because the dumpster fee went unpaid has fallen through. The dumpster company is unknown, and the garbage has been bagged and is in the backyard of the home now. Ken Thompson of the Board of Health volunteered, on a one-time basis, to help haul away some of the trash, but wanted to make sure that a plan for getting rid of trash was in place for the future.

• A home on Mayflower Road that went into foreclosure also has a rubbish problem; this time trash was just left in the driveway. The lender will be contacted and asked to comply with code.

Motorists may have noticed lately that they’ve been driving through flurries of moths on the region’s roadways — the latest stage of what entomologists are calling the worst gypsy moth infestation since the early 1980s.

Those moths are now laying masses of beige eggs before they die off, leading experts to fear a worse infestation next year.

Hanson and Kingston are among the state’s communities seeing spotty damage from the moths that, in their caterpillar stage, can irritate more than one’s nerves. Tiny hairs on the caterpillars can cause skin irritations for some with allergies.

There may not be much one can do to combat them at this point, however.

“It seems like the consensus is that, because we’ve had two very dry springs in a row, the fungus Entomophiaga Maimaiga … needs a lot of moisture to get going and it has to happen early enough in the season — a nice, wet April and May,” said Tawny Simisky an extension entomologist specializing in woody plant entomology with the UMass, Amherst Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment. The fungus is a natural enemy of the gypsy moth caterpillar that winters over in the soil and is most effective when it can get into the caterpillar population at an immature stage.

“Although we did see some of the fungus this year and we’ve had more reports recently about the fungus, it didn’t get kicked up into the population soon enough — or early enough — back in April and May,” Simisky said. “We didn’t have enough rain to have the fungus do enough damage to the gypsy moth caterpillars.”

Now the male moths are flying about seeking females with which to mate, as the females do not fly.

“They [caterpillars] were able to eat quite a bit,” Simisky said, noting her office has received a lot of reports about defoliation. “Unfortunately, we do not map it, but I do have some lists of towns [where damage has been reported].”

spotty damage

Besides Hanson and Kingston, there have been reports of spotty damage in, but not limited to, Sturbridge, Monson, Uxbridge, Brimfield, Charlton, Northborough, Westborough, Plymouth, Carver, Wareham, Sharon, Winchendon, Framingham, West Bridgewater, Braintree, Rowley, Georgetown, Ipswich, Newbury, Boxford, Topsfield, Gloucester, and Wrentham have reported continued and elevated caterpillar activity paired with defoliation this spring.

“Defoliation (mostly oaks) was observed by motorists driving in certain areas on Route 3 (Plymouth area), I-495 (Acton, Littleton, and Worcester areas), and the Mass. Turnpike (I-90) near Charlton. However, there have been multiple reports of gypsy moth caterpillars having fed on pines and spruce this season,” according to the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment’s periodic Landscape Message. A lot of calls were also received concerning the sound of caterpillar waste — known as frass — falling from the trees.

“It’s psychologically difficult for people to deal with, it seems,” Simisky said.

what to do?

What is a homeowner to do?

Some extension services across the country have suggested soap and water as an acceptable method for removing egg masses within reach. But Simisky said that is not a very effective method, instead recommending horticultural oil applied by a licensed company.

Simisky said each cluster laid by gypsy moths contains 500 or more eggs.

“Where folks are seeing a lot of egg masses being laid right now, that’s a likely sign that next season they’ll have a lot of gypsy moths again, unless we have a wet spring,” she said. “I’ve been advising folks to make their management plans now.”

The horticultural oils suffocate the egg masses, while soap and water requires one to scrape the egg masses into a container of the solution.

“That is really, I think, futile, labor-intensive work,” Simisky said. “You have to be able to reach every single egg mass and getting good coverage with those horticultural oils can be difficult, too.”

That’s where a Massachusetts-licensed pesticide applicator is important in targeting host trees that are covered in egg masses early next spring.

According to UMass entomologist Dr. Joseph Elkinton, Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.), a low-toxicity pesticide option that only acts on moths and butterflies may be sprayed on susceptible host plants (such as oak) when gypsy moth caterpillars are still small and feeding. The compound is created from a naturally occurring bacterium that is relatively safe for other beneficial insects, but can harm pollinating butterflies.

“It is derived from a bacterium specific to that group of insects and is considered to be safe for people and pets,” Elkinton stated in a recent article. “There is nothing that can be done now to manage the adult moths.”

Wrapping trees in foil — as was the common “remedy” for saving trees from caterpillars in the 1980s infestation — is also considered ineffective today, Simisky said.