Town Clerk Tara Shaw told Selectmen Monday afternoon, July 8, that she will be taking balloting in Plympton into the 21st century, retiring the old oaken ballot box, the hand-counted paper ballots and the old hands that counted them, to get a new electronic counting machine, by one of two vendors approved by the state, to take its place.
Selectman chairman John Traynor asked if there was any way possible to continue with the antique “Perfection” brand mechanical ballot box. Shaw took a deep breath, sighed, and said, “No.” She then told of the changes in election law and its complexities, including early voting, “paper balloting has become a lot trickier to manage,” she said.
There are two state approved manufacturers of these electronic tabulators and the vendor that Shaw favors has more than 600 of these machines in the state. Shaw said that pre-election preparations are very time-consuming and the tabulator manufacturer will prepare the tabulators before they are even delivered, pre-programmed with information specific to Plympton, so they are ready to go. Shaw said that she has confidence in this vendor.
She spoke of the cost-saving aspect of moving away from paper ballots, including police details and ballot counters. The accuracy of the tabulator count has been verified in many towns that use this machine and “there has never been a change in doing a recount.” As for security, “There’s a lot more security with the ballots themselves … We have to store them for 22 months and we were just using cardboard boxes and labeling them. We do put seals on them but these are election-approved seals that go on the ballot boxes.” Shaw said that she has been able to purchase from the company new secure ballot boxes using funds from the end of the fiscal year budget that have the proper seals – like zip ties. “In terms of efficiency and cost savings it’s so much different.”
Shaw said she would like to bring the ballot box itself to the school at the beginning of the school year and have children be exposed to the election process and let them actually use the ballot box.
The Perfection brand ballot box was manufactured in 1926, and is serviced regularly by a horologist, or watch repairman, to keep it running. There’s just so much more efficiency with the tabulator, Shaw said she is looking to purchase two machines, one that would be set up for early election votes, and the other for election day votes. Once early voting is complete, that tabulator would become a back-up for election day.
Traynor asked, “What kind of money are we talking about?” Shaw said she has $12,879 in grant funds and would need $785.25 to cover two complete machines. Shaw said she expects to receive an additional $1400 more from the state that covered mandatory election hours in March. “So it’s completely covered.” Traynor asked about a maintenance contract, and Shaw answered that once the 2-year warranty on each machine has passed, there is an annual maintenance fee of $350.
Selectman Mark Russo asked for a cost comparison and Shaw said that it’s hard to quantify, but last election in March the town paid $1900 to the counters. “We wouldn’t have counters anymore.” If there’s a write-in on a ballot, the machine kicks that ballot into a separate compartment and all they have to do is count just the write-in. “The rest of the ballot is counted by the LHS DVA 110 image cast vote tabulator.”
Russo continued that he doesn’t want to be a stick in the mud, and supposed that “we’re going to have to go ahead with this, assuming my colleagues want to, I sort of hate that we’re gong to lose the ooo and people that see that old machine for the first time invariably are like, “Wow!” Shaw said that she would keep it out there so people can see it. “You can do whatever you want with it. What do you want to do with it?” Russo continued, “You know it’s one small piece but another piece of Plympton’s kind of oldness and traditionalness and uniqueness that I hate to lose.” Shaw answered that she’d still try to keep it as traditional as possible, and would still ring the bell for first-time voters.
The Perfection ballot machine is 98 years old and Shaw spoke about having a “retirement party” for the machine.
Traynor said he would like to bring back the Projects and Priorities list, originally called the “Parking Lot”. As things came forward, they would be put on the list.
The Affordable Housing Plan, developed by Rihanna Duggan of the Old Colony Planning Council, will be addressed at the 10-Minute Briefing at the Library on Saturday, July 20. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy told selectmen, “They are looking to come to one of Plympton’s August meetings to present the final draft of the plan and it’s significant mainly because aside from setting out goals for creating affordable housing opportunities, it also keeps us eligible for certain types of state grant funds.
Traynor said he had just gotten an opportunity to glance at the proposal, but it’s very professional looking. He also said he had seen some of the flyers they are going to have for the meeting July 20 at the Library, and they look good.
Traynor said he has been looking into town-owned land possibilities for affordable housing. So far, there hasn’t been anything that would work but would like to go forward with something if we can find a piece of land that the town owns that makes sense. Russo joined in saying that the ideal would be a “large chunk of land that could be multi-use affordable housing, farming, open space preservation, a public well, and we’re keeping our eye out for that. Sooner or later something like that will show up, there is grant money available for that kind of stuff. There’s CPA money; so we keep looking and kind of keeping our powder dry because someday that opportunity is going to arise. There’s actually one thing in the fire now and we’ll see how that goes over the next few months.”
Next on the agenda was to explore the process for registering accessory dwelling units. Traynor continued saying that the topic came up at the affordable housing meeting – the past meeting with Rihanna of OCPC where it wasn’t clear whether or not accessory dwelling units would qualify as low income housing. “Do they count towards the 10% that we’re supposed to get to? I think this is something we need the assessors to take a look at.” Dennehy said that she would look into it. On the surface, she said, that she didn’t think they would make it as defined by what the sate calls SHI or Subsidized Housing Inventory. “Kind of an interesting question. Maybe we can pass it on to the assessors.”
Russo stated that he wants the town to do a better job of making folks aware of the benefits of the Accessory Dwelling Units that can be used for children, parents, in-laws, or other people in need of housing. Russo continued that we have about $150,000 dedicated to housing. He furthered that he knows there are people out there – architects of small houses of ADU-type units, and builders who have stock plans to do this. He also questioned whether we could leverage CPA money for other grants and/or making connections with these guys so town folk could have some support in using the ADU by-law to the best benefit.
Traynor agreed, and said he favors using the library to reach people.
He also brought up the number of committees – 120-130 positions on committees. He is looking for a way to included photos of the members on the town website, a picture of each member. Traynor has put that on his agenda.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, June 25, holding a joint meeting with the Parks Commission to discuss operations at the town beach and boat ramp.
Parks Commission member Michael Schleiff gave a presentation on plans received from Grady Engineering for potential upgrades, repairs, and new amenities to be added. Schleiff also addressed the fee for illegal parking at the beach and boat ramp. He called the $15 fine “antiquated” and recommended raising the fee to $50. Police Chief Joao Chaves was also present to answer questions regarding enforcement of the parking fines. Schleiff also said that they haven’t yet been able to fill the parking attendant position. The Commission voted in favor of raising the fine. In addition to the rules around parking, there are also no wake zones in force for up to 300 ft.
The Commission also discussed some problems they’ve faced at the beach including the portable restroom being knocked over. Potential solutions include either removing it or chaining it to the fence. They also showed an image of all the trash that had been picked up at the beach. They said that it appeared that some people have been using the barrels there for their household trash.
Chaves and the Police Department gave a presentation regarding the beach and boat ramp. They acknowledged the frustrations of the residents and said they understand their position. As a result of the issues, several of the town bylaws will be revisited and revised. The Police said that they have enlisted the help of the environmental police.
The Rte. 58 State Boat Ramp is run by the State and the Department of Fish and Game. The Police said that any car found there not to have a boat trailer or being used to launch a kayak or similar boat can be cited. The intended purpose of those parking spots is for taking boats in and out of the water. A resident asked why they can’t do that with the 4th Ave. Beach. He said that his property directly abuts that area and there ends up being a lot of jet skis on or near his property. He was told that the change would require a bylaw revision.
Regarding the Holmes St. beach, the Police said that the sign needs to be amended as it isn’t clear who can and cannot park there. For Lingan St., the Police said that the beach is the busiest it has been in nearly two decades. Individuals wishing to buy a one-day pass, can get one from the Selectmen’s office. The Police noted that many people were just accepting the $15 fine and that increasing it to $50 should help to derail that behavior. The Police also made it clear that they have no authority to tow cars off private property. They said that the property owners would need to contact a private towing company. They also said that, unlike in other communities, there is no enforcement in the town’s bylaws for public consumption of alcohol.
A resident asked what it would take to make a Halifax resident-only beach. Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “If anything, that would probably be a bylaw change so we would have to get that through Town Meeting, but we can look into it.” Haddad said, “Again, it goes back to an enforcement issue.”
Many residents took to the microphone to express concerns or offer proposed solutions. One resident said that enforcement of regular hours at the beach and ramp would be useful. Another requested that Morse Brothers close the gates to their property to prohibit access there. One resident expressed concern that the jet skis parked along the street could prohibit emergency vehicles from accessing the area were there an emergency. A new resident to the town said that all of the various signage at the beaches and boat ramps is very confusing and had left her unclear of what the rules are.
The owner of 550 Tavern spoke saying they just completed some extensive renovations to the wedding facility. She said that the jet skiers were “clearly exceeding” the speed limit “by probably double.” She said that during a wedding rehearsal the previous week, there were 13 jet skiers close to the shore and the resulting noise left the bride in tears. Of the need for a parking attendant, she also said that she had “loads of staff that would love to monitor a parking lot for $17 an hour.” The business owner said that there was one occasion last year where the jet skiers were yelling “don’t do it, don’t do it” at her clients that were getting married.
Resident Dave Mascio offered to spearhead the volunteer effort to get people to take turns monitoring illegal parking.
The Selectmen also dealt with some old business including holding their meetings at various locations in town. Bruno said, “What we did last year, we did what we called road shows… tried to have Selectmen’s meetings in different locations in the town, for two reasons – one to get us out of the building and the second to kind of provide a little more exposure to groups.” He continued, “It worked well, the only problem is we don’t have the facilities necessarily to do that in regular Selectmen’s meetings so I’m making a proposal that the Board of Selectmen sponsor… individual meetings of the various departments and committees in other parts of the town – the recycling center comes to mind, maybe the Highway Barn… and it would be a ten- minute meeting at this particular place… and we’d have some exposure on Area 58.”
Bruno also told the Selectmen that they had an inquiry from Plympton asking about regionalizing an IT department. Haddad said that he felt that Halifax needed to strengthen their own IT department before proceeding with any kind of joint department. He did note that he has a meeting with Plympton in July to discuss regionalization of various departments, etc. The County is also exploring possible regionalization of areas such as pond management.
The Selectmen reviewed a policy on the lighting of Town Hall. “This is just to make sure that we have a consistent policy since we’ve gotten requests recently; this is something that has come up new… the policy that’s proposed would be – may be lit up in honor of heritage and history months declared by the federal government; all town applicable laws have to be followed; requests have to come to the Town Administrator,” Bruno said. The Selectmen voted in favor of the policy.
Bruno explained a new policy that requires that town volunteers undergo certain trainings. He noted that it would be especially useful for those boards and commissions that require some technical expertise.
The Selectmen also discussed establishing a seven-member government study committee. “The whole purpose of it is to have a group, a committee, dedicated to evaluating our current form of government and making recommendations for changes, if any,” Bruno explained.
The Selectmen approved three separate one-day liquor license requests for Tipsy Mermaid, LLC for July 14, August 11, and September 9 for the Farm at Raven Brook. The Police, Fire, and Board of Health had all previously signed off on it.
The Selectmen acknowledged Town Accountant Sandra Nolan with a plaque for all of her years of dedication to the town. Nolan is retired as of the end of June. “She’s done a wonderful job for us and it’s a well deserved retirement,” Bruno said.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, June 18. Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien appeared before the Board to present an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) check for Silver Lake High School HVAC improvements to the cafeteria. Selectmen Chair Eric Crone said that the current rooftop unit has outlived its life expectancy at 20 years old.
O’Brien noted that Kingston was his hometown and said he was neighbors with Crone during his time in town. Referring to Plymouth County, O’Brien said, “our community under CARES Act received twice as much as communities outside of Plymouth County because we took all the funds and funneled them back to our communities.” He also said that Kingston is now the eighth community out of the 27 to use all of the ARPA money allocated to them. He reviewed some of the highlights of ways in which the CARES and ARPA funds had been used in Kingston.
The Board also authorized a letter of support to the EEA for the Housing Production/Housing Needs Assessment Plan update per the recommendation of the Town Planner. The grant request is for just over $44k. The updated plan allows for the town to apply for various housing grants.
Former Police Chief Maurice Splaine was seeking two grant application authorizations for the Police Department. One is for the Department of Mental Health clinician position and another for federal funding for an officer position. Regarding the clinician position, Town Administrator Keith Hickey said, “respectfully, understand that if we are fortunate enough to be awarded this grant, we would have to be going into a fall town meeting looking for some additional funding in some manner to address the 25 percent salary cost share and the benefits as well so that’s the responsibility that the community would have to be absorbing.” The Chief also said that the mental health clinician would be a shared resource with any other neighboring communities that were interested. He also confirmed that were the town to have to absorb the cost in the future it would be in the ballpark of $60k to $100k per year.
Selectman Kimberley Emberg said, “Given the budget constraints we’re about to face this year – that’s my only hesitation is adding anything this year. I think this is a great program. I support it, in theory. This year, it’s really hard for me to add anything knowing that we’re going to be pushing up against the levy limit and looking at potentially an override that we discussed at Town Meeting.”
The Chief said that were he to go through the process and then turn it down were it accepted, it might jeopardize future opportunities. Emberg asked if they would be better off waiting a year. Ultimately, however, the Board did vote to support the Chief applying for both grants.
Crone said that the Board needed to address whether to establish a public safety committee or working group for the Pembroke St. Police and Fire Station expansion per the Fire and Police Chiefs. The recommendation is that the committee include both chiefs as well as the Town Administrator, the Building Inspector, one Selectman, and one Finance Committee member. Hickey explained that they were seeking to form the committee now, so they could pull together a proposal as quickly as possible. The previous committee’s Chair Sandra MacFarlane spoke saying that they were disappointed to learn that they were being disbanded and felt that they were “pushed aside” at Town Meeting. The Selectmen voted to create the new committee with the addition of a Capital Planning Committee member and a former member of the previous committee.
The Selectmen also appointed a Tax Title Custodian. Emberg said the former Treasurer resigned from the role leaving a pile of tax title properties.
Hickey said that one problem in the past was the position has complete control over which properties get sent to auction. After speaking with Counsel, Hickey said that a neighboring community brought forth a bylaw that outlines a check and balance for the process.
Hickey also advocated for not having a volunteer named to the position due to its importance and complexity. Current Tax Collector Ken Moalli spoke saying that he hoped to achieve a AAA credit rating and it wouldn’t be possible without dealing with the tax title custodial work. “I have no agenda here other than to reduce the receivable that we have,” he said.
The other applicant, Jim Franklin, spoke saying that he felt that him coming in as a “third party independent” candidate would be helpful. He said that establishing a “repeatable process” was necessary so that it wouldn’t need to be thought about in the future. Emberg asked if he saw serving on the Conservation Commission as being a conflict. Franklin was adamant that it was not.
While deliberating on the two applicants, Crone pointed out that the position served at the pleasure of the Board and at any time, they could reappoint someone or appoint someone new. They voted 4-1 to appoint Franklin as the new Tax Title Custodian.
The Board discussed creating a working group to investigate the possibility of a privately run transfer station. The proposed group would consist of a Streets, Trees, and Parks Superintendent, a Building Official, a Planning Director, Town Administrator, one Selectman, and one Planning Board member. The Selectmen voted to create the working group.
Crone provided an update as the liaison for the Silver Lake safety issue at the intersection of Rt. 27 and Lake and Station Streets. “There have been more accidents. There have been several and the owners of Nino’s have a great cam… a professional Ring cam, so they’ve provided some video to our public safety,” Crone said. He also described a fairly bad accident that included injuries. “We’re going to be applying for some grant money… there’s been some look into a traffic light… the preference seems to be for a round-a-bout, not a rotary, but a round-a-bout,” he continued.
The Board also unanimously voted to approve an agricultural fair on September 29 on the lawn of the Town House.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, June 3. They began the meeting with a license renewal for the town of Plympton’s cable. Selectman Mark Russo said that federal and state law mandate that they hold a public hearing to ascertain the community’s need for continued cable services.
Russo explained the role of Area 58 before proceeding with public comment. “Public access TV in Plympton is funded by a small percentage of revenue from the local cable company. The funds are used to establish a cable studio which we call Area 58 Community Access Media; it’s a nonprofit organization and the way these things are set up it is separate from town government and therefore has more freedom from perceived or real oversight,” Russo explained.
Marilyn Browne, chairman of the Finance Committee spoke saying, “I know how critically important it is for people to be informed and not isolated and I think that this program offers that opportunity for people who may be ill or weather related incidents and they can’t get out and I just think it’s very critical that we keep it up and keep people informed.” Kimberly Russo spoke next saying it was needed for history. Russo said, “We’ll have it forever… we use it to settle a lot of arguments in town… so I think we need it.” Colleen Thompson, Director of Elder Affairs and member of the Town Properties Committee said, “I do believe this is very important to the town.” She noted that they recently held a well-attended forum in town on the importance of new buildings, but said that those that couldn’t attend were able to watch it back.
Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy also spoke saying that she felt that it was ultimately about transparency and noted that she hoped for a beneficial contract between the town and the company. Russo said that he came up with a list of reasons why cable access was necessary. The first on his list was that despite the number of volunteers, etc. in town, they are a small community with limited expertise in broadcasting and publishing. Russo said that they also offer a training program. He also noted transparency and the elderly population as being two additional reasons to continue with Area 58. “Area 58 is a shared service, it combines the cable access activities of Plympton, Carver, and Halifax… it is a beautiful example and maybe one of the best examples of shared services and how dynamic that model can be because in my heart of hearts, I ultimately believe these small towns that are so strapped financially – one of the main ways out of it, is finding additional ways to share services,” Russo said.
Executive Director of Area 58 Rich Goulart also spoke. “We’re just starting really in what we can do for the town, I would really love to see more and more people really come in and do the public access side of things and really start producing their own programs on any of their own interests, we’ll do everything we can along the way,” he said. He also said that they would continue to do what they could for the government including the schools. Goulart said that they do what they can to get things posted to YouTube as well as their own channel.
The Senior Manager of Government Relations for Comcast, Michael Galla, also spoke saying they are happy to work with the town to get whatever they need with relation to Internet and fiber. “I just want to let everyone know we have our internet essentials plan; we have two plans available, one for $9.95 per month and one that’s a little higher that offers two different speed tiers; it does allow for people to get access that are lower income,” he explained regarding seniors and others that may be in need. Selectman John Traynor asked about the qualifications and was told that they are income based and take into consideration things like whether or not they are on social security. “It’s not very cumbersome,” he said.
The Selectmen closed the public hearing before moving onto a departmental update from the Town Accountant Lisa Hart. “I’ve begun setting up FY25… I did set the Special Town Meeting articles have all been done… the money that was approved from the schools from general stabilization and the line transfers.” She also said that she can’t officially close the books until roughly September or even October.
The Selectmen discussed with the Accountant the DOS database system employed by the town for presentation of financial information. Russo said, “If we could present it in a more vibrant way, I think that would be very helpful.” Traynor agreed saying that if they could have a technology person to turn to, it would greatly help with such things. Russo said, “we just need to fund that position and that might just be one of the ones for a shared service.” Traynor proposed using Silver Lake’s technology department potentially.
The Board also discussed pricing for mosquito and tick control on the fields in town including Holt Field. Dennehy went over the pricing structures for some of the different companies. The cost for spraying Harry Jason Park was significantly greater due to the larger acreage. Traynor said he would like to talk to recreation first. “So they’re building that walking path but we have to get it so it’s a walking path that’s usable by seniors and disabled people, but I don’t know what the cost of that is,” Traynor said. Dennehy said that there were no plans to pave that walking path until they get further into the town campus-wide projects. Dennehy noted that Plymouth County Mosquito Control can come and do the spraying from the back of the truck. She said that the substance that is sprayed is different than that from private companies and often doesn’t reach the back of the property. She also told the Selectmen that aerial spraying is outside of their purview. Russo said that his preference was to begin with hiring someone to spray Holt. Regarding the walking path, he said that he is more than glad to do fundraising to ensure that an accessible pathway at Harry Jason Park is created. The Selectmen voted to have Oh Deer conduct spraying twice a month through early September.
Dennehy provided a Town Administrator’s update. She said the town was working with the Old Colony Planning Council on a road safety audit on the intersection of Rt. 58 and Center St. “They’ve done some preliminary traffic counts and things of that nature,” she explained. “It’s a dangerous intersection,” Traynor added. She also said that the Green Communities Grant application she applied for to finish out the work on the library heating system is still pending. The application is for just over $240,000. Dennehy also said that $36,720 for another HVAC rooftop unit at Dennett Elementary School was earmarked through Senator Susan Moran. Another $5k would be going toward a lease agreement on a new police cruiser.
The Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves for the past few weeks. Russo said that “transparency and civility in town government” is a sub-context that got him started in local government and that he enjoys seeing it furthered. Traynor agreed about transparency and said that he feels that communication is vital.
He also raved for the Memorial Day Committee. “So far, all of the feedback I have heard is very positive so looking forward to next year,” Traynor said. Selectman Dana Smith agreed and said his rave was also for the Memorial Day event. “It’s just a great event,” he said.

Kristy Zamagni-Twomey
Express correspondent
The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, June 3. Superintendent Jill Proulx opened the meeting as it began its reorganization by asking for nominations for a Chair. Jason Fraser was unanimously elected Chair while Jon Wilhelmsen had unanimous support for Vice-chair. “We have an important year ahead of us and a lot of work to do,” Fraser said. Kate Johnson was voted Secretary.
Fraser thanked those who came out to Town Meeting and voted to support the Dennett budget for FY25. “That budget will continue to include reimbursement in the form of Circuit Breaker for this upcoming fiscal year, however, we have now split the cost of educating students with extraordinary disabilities who need out-of-district services between Silver Lake and the Dennett’s budget. This is going to cause us to have to look at the budget, as a whole, much like we did this year for the total cost of education in Plympton. We saw around a 6.7 percent increase in the total cost of education from last year’s numbers to this year’s numbers. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention, I can thank the town for supplying us with $187,000 at Special Town Meeting for the override that we had in our special ed line and Peter [Veneto] and his staff for putting the budget freeze in place,” Fraser told the Committee. He continued saying, “Anticipating already, just based on some of the cuts we had to make to the budget this year and some of the natural growth due to contractual obligations, we could be potentially looking at a 6-8 percent increase of our budget from Go as a level-services budget.” He called the financial situation “precarious.”
Director of Business Services Sarah Hickey addressed some faulty equipment at the new playground. She said the hemisphere is currently shutdown due to missing nuts and bolts. She said that some routine maintenance would be done per the recommendations of the manufacturer.
During an update for Capital Improvement, Fraser said that Senator Susan Moran had earmarked funds for an HVAC system at the Dennett. Wilhelmsen said that they had an earmark of a little over $36,000 which they hoped would be enough to replace a rooftop unit. He noted that while they replaced one with CARES Act funds, many of the others are nearing end of life.
Fraser said that Represenative Kathy LaNatra was able to secure an earmark of $50,000 for Silver Lake Regional performing arts. The Middle School planned to use the funds for ADA compliant risers while the High School planned to use them for repairs to the stage. During his Legislative Agent’s report he also said that the Senate increased the per pupil miminum increment to a historic $110 per pupil. Rural aid has also been increased. He said that the best budget news of all is that Circuit Breaker reimbursement will be increased to 75 percent for FY25.
Principal Peter Veneto began his report with an update on enrollment saying that they currently have 255 students enrolled. Veneto said that they had Future Lakers Day, that day where the sixth grade students from the three towns come together to have a field day and meet future classmates. Step up day for the sixth graders was later that week. The Dennett had “Ride your Bike to School Day” as well. The last day of school is Monday, June 17.
Fraser told the Committee that one area that was cut during budget discussions was overtime for the custodial staff. “We no longer felt as a Committee that we could bear the burden of paying the overtime cost for custodians to come into the building for organizations that we believed should be able to foot the bill themselves,” he said. Veneto came up with a facility utilization fee schedule. Wilhelmsen asked if this would extend to Town Meeting using the building and was told that they should be exempt. The wording was changed to exempt Plympton Town Government or school-sponsored organizations. The Committee voted to accept the new fee schedule.
Veneto also went over how test scores compared from last year to this year. He said that the March 2024 scores were better than the scores from May of 2023 for almost every grade in the Reading STAR assessments. There was a slight drop for both fifth and sixth grade. For the Math STAR testing, the scores for March 2024 are equal to or better than May of 2023. Veneto said, “The scores are down a little bit from September 2023 to March 2023. He noted that they didn’t have a math interventionist during that time and they still won’t moving forward. Veneto said that in spite of that they are still trending toward their end-of-year goal.
Fraser said that he has been hearing that classroom management has become more time consuming compared to six or seven years ago and asked if that was affecting the time allotted to teaching. Veneto confirmed that this was the case and noted that class sizes are beginning to approach numbers more typical of an average elementary school. Fraser said that he would like the Committee to figure out what they can do in assisting with that.
Veneto shared a chart which showed median growth from September to March. Proulx said that 50 SGP (student growth percentile) is average. “You want to see something above 50,” Proulx said. The percentiles for Grades 2 through 6 in Reading were all over 50 percent with numbers ranging from 54 percent to the highest in Grade 4 at 68 percent. For math, however, Grades 3-5 were all below 50 percent with Grade 3 at 41 percent, Grade 4 at 34 percent, and Grade 5 at 38 percent. Among other takeaways, Veneto said that they will be working to restore the math interventionist. “This was the work of a lot of people and we spent quite a lot of time making sure that we had accurate data so that we’re making better informed decisions for our kids; trying to figure out early on, what do they need and how can we provide it,” Veneto said.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch provided an update saying that he appreciated Principal Veneto and all the principals across the district, presenting testing data in a uniform manner. He said that he hopes to see similar uniform approaches in ways to meet expectations using consistent, research-based interventions. Proulx followed with a Superintendent’s update saying that Silver Lake held their graduation the Friday before. “So I just wanted to extend my congratulations to our graduates from Halifax, Plympton, and Kingston. It was a beautiful evening – one of our favorite events,” Proulx said. Proulx also said that during a State-wide meeting of superintendents, it was announced that chronic absenteeism is down nearly 5 percent. She said that updated standards for Health and P.E. have been provided and will be followed next school year.
Wilhelmsen told the Committee that Plympton Library Director Mike Slawson was able to get a grant for $20,000 for accessibility improvements. Wilhelmsen said that Slawson was taking ideas from the general public regarding suggestions for accessibility improvements, including things as small as adding devices to the Library of Things offerered there. Wilhelmsen pointed out that there may be an opportunity there for helping older people as well as children in the community.
The Plympton School Committee will meet for their end-of-year closeout in July.

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met on Thursday, May 16 for their final meeting before their closeout in July.
A Halifax resident spoke during the public participation portion of the meeting. “There are three specific areas I would like to talk to you about – ongoing failure to provide a safe learning environment for my son… the effect it has had on our child and our family… and recent retaliatory responses by your administration on my child,” he said. The resident said that his family felt they were dealing with bullying, but said that Silver Lake Regional Middle School Principal Becky Couet said, “there’s only been one formal case of bullying during her tenure.” He said that information was misrepresented including where a teacher was in relation to their son during an assault. He said that his son was “incredibly reluctant” to engage with the school regarding the bullying. The resident said, “he knew it wouldn’t help, he would be labeled a snitch – an outcast, and the teachers and administrations would turn against him. Sadly he was right.” The resident and father said that the chain of events eventually led to his child engaging in self-harm. He said that his son was harassed “physically, emotionally, and mentally.”
“The school entertained our correspondence, however no plan to help (his son) rejoin the student community or take steps to look at his well-being going forward were taken,” he explained. He continued, “In short, we had a document called a safety plan written for very specific antagonists and specific actions, but that was the extent. It was also unclear and often proven that classroom teachers weren’t aware of what was happening.” He said that his son has since been implicated in two different incidents which the school claimed had him in the wrong. The first incident involved what was deemed “inappropriate touching” and involved a brief touch on the back of another student. He said that the investigations into these incidents were in stark contrast to the ones held in regard to the bullying against his son. He said that to his family’s knowledge their son had had no prior disciplinary incidents with the school. “He’s gone through a terrible year and we have advocated fiercely on his behalf. It’s odd that now for the first time ever he’s been implicated in uncharacteristic disciplinary investigations. One can see a high degree of correlation here and even draw causation,” he explained. He said he has spoken with many other families whose students have suffered similar situations. He pointed out that the average teacher salary at Silver Lake is far greater than the average salary of a Kingston, Halifax, or Plympton resident and said those teachers should be held more accountable.
Committee Chair Paula Hatch thanked him for coming in and having such thoughtful remarks. “Bullying and such is nothing this Committee condones,” she said. She asked if the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) had been contacted and was told that they had. Superintendent Jill Proulx said that she couldn’t share the details of that investigation with the Committee during open session. Hatch promised the parent that she would respond back to him after digesting the information.
Sarah Hickey gave an update on the bids received for the CTE overhead door project. It was explained that it isn’t simply a garage door but rather “a pretty extensive project” involving the rebuilding of the steel frame around the door as well. Hickey said she asked the Emergency Response Team for the High School regarding the current doors, “If the doors were open and the building were to go into a lockdown, is this going to need ten minutes to shut the door – is that a concern and the answer back was yes.” The two doors needing replacement are in metal fab and automotive. The Committee voted to change the budgeted amount for the two doors from roughly $181,000 to $201,000. Committee member Gordon Laws asked if it was over the capabilities of the CTE students to build the doors and was told that it definitely was outside of their scope.
CTE Director Elliot Glass spoke to the Committee regarding a carpentry project. “We have a great project that we’re recommending that we’ve been working with the customer on; I previewed this quickly with our CTE Sub-Committee last time we sat together in April; I did share the plans and the application with Paula [Hatch]… this project is within walking distance of the High School,” Glass explained. He said that it is a two-car garage with a mudroom built off the side of a single family home. “All of the pieces that we looked at to evaluate from course curriculum to the scope of work, safety considerations, travel and location, customer readiness were all very high… so it’s a great project,” Glass said.
The principals both gave updates. Couet presented the school improvement plan which the Committee voted to approve. She also presented a learning update thanking the curriculum coordinator in particular. She said that they utilize STAR testing for an assessment specifically in English/Language Arts. It is computer adaptive which means that students get moved to higher levels as they answer questions correctly. She said that the meeting grade level expectations went up from fall to spring. She did note that the exceeding expectations category was going up for math, but not ELA. She said that the school was working on cross- curriculum assessments and assignments between ELA and social studies.
High School Principal Michaela Gill said that they spent the first half of the school year as a faculty analyzing student MCAS scores and “really breaking down where do they perform well and what are areas that we need to help our students improve.” Gill said that common assessments were administered in ELA across all four grades targeting multiple standards. She said that while they were falling short in meeting or exceeding expectations in several standards in the fall, they have since made improvements in achieving those goals. She said that they would continue to work toward improving things further through professional development, student interventions, and other means. She also shared math updates including growth in students meeting or exceeding expectations in algebra.
Student representative Connor Doyle, who will be attending Assumption College in the fall, recapped student activity for one final time. He said that students enjoyed spring spirit week following April vacation which included soccer mom and barbeque dad day. He said that the AP government mock election took place between the breakfast sandwich and the French toast stick with the latter coming out on top. He also acknowledged many upcoming events including graduation and prom. He said that the class of 2028 would be coming to the High School for step up day. He thanked the Committee for allowing him to serve as their student representative.
Hatch told everyone in attendance, “We have a budget for next year, all three towns – hard fought, was not an easy process. I want to thank the taxpayers for supporting the budget… I want to thank this Committee for everything you did this year to get us to this point, it was a brutal year… I want to thank the SLEA for putting your heads together… having said all that, I want to thank everyone at this table… and everyone who had a hand in this administratively.”
There was a lengthy conversation about hiring additional staff to ensure that Silver Lake doesn’t miss deadlines, etc. per the required corrective action plan that came about due to an audit from DESE. Someone asked what would happen if they were to miss a deadline in the future and Hickey said they could withdraw federal grants from Silver Lake. Committee member Jason Fraser said, “I would like to see them try.” He said they would support Hickey were they to miss a deadline, etc.
Superintendent Jill Proulx provided an update saying that negotiations for several key positions within the District were underway. She said the only one that could be announced that evening was the new Assistant Director of Student Services Elizabeth MacKay. “Elizabeth is an experienced school psychologist and special education administrator,” Proulx said. She also said that they are in the process of hiring a new Athletic Director.
Fraser provided the Legislative Agent’s report. According to Fraser the House budget came through for Silver Lake “quite a bit.” He credited Representative Kathy LaNatra for the record high $104 per pupil minimum increment in the House budget which had previously been set at $30 by the Governor. Fraser said that this would help the town of Halifax, in particular.
Fraser also thanked Senator Bruce Tarr saying he was named the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) Legislator of the Year. Fraser said that Tarr put in quite a few amendments to be debated including one to fully fund regional transportation. Another is to increase the per pupil increment to $125 per student. Yet another amendment is to get the inflation index from 1.35 up to 4.5 percent with provisions for catch-up years coming in the future. Fraser said that Circuit Breaker is fully funded at 75 percent for tuition and transportation. “MASC was the organization calling for that and the Senate listened and it’s in the budget already,” he told the Committee. One of the Committee members commented on how lucky Silver Lake Regional School Committee is to have Fraser who works to get money not just for Silver Lake but for the entire State. This comment was met with applause.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, May 21.
“Thank you to everyone that voted in the town’s annual election; we very much appreciate everyone that took the time to cast their votes in the very damp weather,” Selectmen Chair Kimberley Emberg said. She also thanked Sheila Vaughn for her years of dedication to the town including nine years on the School Committee and four as a Selectman. Emberg welcomed new Selectman Melissa Bateman.
Selectman Tyler Bouchard thanked Harbormaster Tom Taylor for all of his dedication to getting the boat ramp and parking lot ready. “For the amount of time that Tom Taylor, the Harbormaster, put into volunteering because when I say volunteer, he doesn’t get paid for the time this was happening so from the fall until now, he was off the books and he was down there every day,” Bouchard said. He also sang the praises of the volunteers who helped bring the project to life as well and in the process, saved the town a lot of money. Bouchard’s comments were met with a round of applause.
Emberg told the Board that they would need to do a reorganization of the Board following the election. “It’s been an honor to serve as everyone’s Chair here for the last three years; I would like to nominate someone else to be the Chair for this year,” she said. She nominated Selectman Eric Crone to fill the role. The Board voted unanimously to appoint Crone as the new Chair. Bouchard was voted in as Vice Chair. Emberg was voted in as the Clerk.
The Selectmen approved the shellfish aquaculture license renewals for John Wheble and Thomas Taylor following a brief public hearing. The renewals are good for 10 years.
The Selectmen also voted to increase the FY24 recreation revolving fund limit from $500,000 to $575,000 per the Recreation Director request. “Any recreation programs that need to be canceled to not allow the revolving fund to exceed $500,000 will have to be canceled for the remainder of the year,” Town Administrator Keith Hickey explained. He further said that the funds are spent on things like programs and field maintenance. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the increase contingent on Finance Committee approval.
A developer wishing to construct a recycling plant appeared before the Selectmen for a presentation. “It is worth noting that this project, if approved, would provide Kingston with a significant commercial taxpayer and would provide a reduction in the town’s solid waste cost,” Crone said. He did note that approval of the project would fall under the Planning Board’s purview. Managing Partner Jack Walsh shared an informational video on Kingston Environmental Partners, LLC. The video said that the proposal envisioned the construction of a new facility that would tie into the existing railway system. It also said that they would become one of the largest taxpayers in Kingston. Unlike existing transfer stations, the proposed one would have minimal community impact as the roads used would be ones not typically traveled by residents. “The project will also be subject to a lengthy environmental review by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which encourages community input,” the video stated. Emberg cautioned about saying that the roads used are rarely utilized by residents as there are many existing businesses along those roadways in addition to the few residences.
Hickey explained a bit about the intended project and then said, “we’re having some challenges disposing of our trash in a cost-effective manner.” He also touched on the Host Community Agreement which he said could be “designed to meet the needs of Kingston specifically.” Hickey called Walsh a “straight-shooter” and said he felt confident that the community’s questions would be addressed. Those in attendance were told that they could email any questions to kingstonepllc@gmail.com.
Crone asked how many trucks per day could be expected during peak operating hours. Walsh said, “At peak optimal, there would probably be around 6-8 trucks an hour based on a 12-hour operating day, we’re looking to start around 6 a.m. and end around 6 p.m. at night.” He said that they plan to be closed during holidays and Sundays as well.
Chair of the Recycling Committee Jean M. Landis-Naumann spoke saying, “I’m hoping that you will consider including us in the conversations… certainly at this point I will take it back to the Committee for them to come up with their own position on this project, but I certainly would appreciate us being included in the conversations as this is our meat and potatoes really… and I would urge you to keep in mind that we do have a private hauler regulation… so most of the private companies have gone to a dual truck so half the truck is recycling and half is trash.”
The Board approved six one-day liquor licenses for the upcoming music nights at Gray’s Beach. The nights include June 11, June 25, July 9, July 23, August 6, and August 20 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
The Board also discussed the Town Administrator’s evaluation. Hickey asked for some goals for the upcoming year and Crone recommended finances and budgets to the extent that they can be controlled. “I think it was challenging this year for a lot of different reasons to try to present a budget, a complete budget to the Board, to the Finance Committee, and to the community in a timely manner with the school coming in less than a month before town meeting, so can we work collaboratively with the school committees – I think the Board and the school committees need to be lock step with how we can improve these issues next year,” Hickey said. The Board also discussed whether to give the Town Administrator up to a $3,000 bonus based on his performance evaluation. The Selectmen voted in favor of the bonus with three in favor, one against (Emberg), and one abstention from Bateman.
Emberg spoke during the portion of the meeting toward the end dedicated to Selectmen’s comments. She said that she heard a complaint from a resident regarding the Ragnar Relay Race. According to the complaint, the race organizers were blaring music and announcements from a loudspeaker at 4 am. She said that next year they should make contingencies regarding noise. Bouchard spoke up thanking outgoing Selectman Sheila Vaughn for her years of service.
Bouchard also gave an update on the MBTA Zoning Taskforce. “To stay in compliance with the State’s mandates, the plans have to be filed with the State… so there will be a joint meeting between the MBTA Zoning Taskforce and the Planning Board on June 10 so that will be the final kind of checking off the boxes to send that plan off to the State… in order to get to fall town meeting,” he explained. He urged anyone interested to attend that meeting.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, May 7. There was significant debate and discourse regarding ongoing and requested work from Eversource.
Community Relations Manager Ronit Goldstein appeared before the Board on behalf of Eversource. “For the last few months there have been a lot of questions from the town about the double poles on Main St., about the future padmount transformer, i.e. green box that will be at the library, and then most recently I know there is a public hearing relative to a pole on Maple St…. there’s two major projects in the town, the liability project will support 5-10,000 customers; it’s an upgrade to the circuit on Main St.” She explained that the work would allow them to achieve higher voltage and reduce power outages. She said that while those poles have been an “eyesore” she appreciates everyone’s patience as they completed the work. Town Adminstrator Keith Hickey said, “the pad at the library currently still has an orange traffic cone… two… on the pad that ultimately your infrastructure will sit on as well as… some sort of plastic cover… if you guys can just clean that up if nothing else… I know you don’t want to plant vegetation before you actually put the transformer in.”
Susan Sherman of Main Street spoke regarding the poles by Eversource. “I want to encourage the Selectmen to think long and hard on giving permission to extend this, it’s been two years, two years on Main St. and wherever else they’ve been… they’re putting in poles where there have never been poles before; in our new sidewalk and our sidewalks we know are not wide enough to begin with,” Sherman said. She also said that several neighbors have been reporting low-hanging wires that are making it difficult for ambulances to get to elderly residents. She also called it an “eyesore” and complained about all of the cones everywhere. “I just think we should slow down and try to get a look at this… when does it start; when will it end?,” Sherman said.
A representative for Eversource was there for a public hearing regarding the addition of a new pole on Maple Street Selectmen Chair Kimberley Emberg noted that the neighborhood was against the installation of the new pole. Emberg asked about timeframe and was told “normally it would be a couple of weeks turnaround.” Emberg said that one of her hesitations is that they were asked by the people who would supposedly benefit from the installation to say no to the new pole. Emberg said that she was inclined to say ‘no’ so that Eversource could speak directly to the neighbors’ concerns. Sherman spoke again saying that she doesn’t understand how there were representatives from Eversource and Verizon but neither can say when they will complete work. “I do think we need to have this planned and I don’t want to say let’s not deal with Landing Road and getting power to them, but there’s got to be a better way of doing this,” she said.
Pine DuBois, with the Jones River Watershed said, “the question I had asked at the hearing… was what is that pole; what does it mean? and I still don’t have an answer to that. I also wanted to bring up that this is a town park – it’s called Jones River Park, so adding another pole… right there where people go into the park as well as have stormwater on the side is something that the planner/designer should look into. I think what’s really lacking here is a comprehensive understanding of how energy flows.” She added, “people walk in this town, they bicycle in this town, we really need safe streets… I feel like we need a more comprehensive plan from you in order to get on your team.”
Carl Pike spoke up saying he felt that he was one of the only people in town that really supports businesses. He noted that residents typically boast about fewer and shorter power outages than other neighboring communities. “I believe strongly that Eversource is doing some of the right things,” he told the crowd and the Selectmen. “I would also encourage you to put that support into all businesses,” he added. Bouchard said, “One of the ways that we can support all businesses in Kingston is getting our streets a lot prettier so people want to drive down them.” Selectman Don Alcombright added, “Tall Timbers was a fiasco. It was a disaster; Eversource, you guys completely blew that.” Emberg stopped him calling it outside the scope of what they were discussing.
Selectman Eric Crone said, “I’ve been here since 2000, we’ve had a lot more storms, bigger storms knocking out power, I would say in the last five or six years to the point where I would say that four of my closest five neighbors have generators… but my mother is in Pembroke and when she’s out, she’s out and it isn’t awful and Hanson is bad… NSTAR vs. Eversource… ours are not as bad. To the extent that they’re being proactive in terms of putting up power lines that can then help reduce the outages at least for some people, is something we need to promote but I also think we need to protect our neighbors and the people who have asked for certain things going forward.”
Emberg moved to accept the work proposed by Eversource Energy on Maple Street contingent upon the removal of the double poles on Main Street prior to May 25 and contingent upon final written approval by Kingston Streets, Trees, and Parks Superintendent on the final location of that pole. The Selectmen agreed to the motion with the contingencies in place.
DuBois spoke again, this time on a different matter, “I’ve been counting fish, routinely, since 2005… this year, up at Silver Lake are the most fish I have ever seen anywhere in the region all in one place. It’s because of your dam removal embracement, thank you. But it brings a problem and I wanted to make you aware of it. The problem is that when these fish are four or five years old… the fish getting into the lake will lay 100,000 eggs… they want to get out come the end of July, August, September, October… so I need and I pray for your assistance in reaching out to the city of Brockton and DMF… that you work with us,” DuBois said.
She also addressed an old boat that is sitting with standing water and old leaves in town. She said that “we are the reasons we have so many mosquitos.” She asked people to get rid of standing water including bird baths, etc. Finally, DuBois implored people to wear repellent to protect themselves from both ticks and mosquitoes.
Emberg said they received a request from the U.S. Coastguard Auxilliary that towns on the South Shore support National Safe Boating Week by recognizing it with a proclamation. Selectman Tyler Bouchard read the proclamation that urged all boaters to always wear life jackets as well as take a boating safety course. The Selectmen voted unanimously to adopt May 18 through May 24 as National Safe Boating Week.
They also voted to recognize National Public Works Week and National Police Week. They invited the employees from those departments to stand up and be recognized and then gave them a round of applause.
Town Administrator Keith Hickey said that the new boat ramp “is in place and looks fantastic.” They said that the pouring of the concrete in the parking lot was the last step needing to be completed.
Hickey also said that the Planning Department and Conservation Department have applied for a 1.8 million resiliency grant “to position the town to potentially offer right of first refusal on the Correira Bog property on Wapping Rd.” Hickey further explained, “it’s one of the last pieces of property that we don’t have access to and oversight on to make sure that there’s no contamination that flows along the Jones River.”

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, May 6. Chair Christine Joy said that they had representatives from Plymouth County present to discuss the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) program and present the town with a check. Plymouth County Commissioner Jared Valanzola spoke to the Board regarding the funds in the amount of $89,403. Valanzola told the Selectmen that the ARPA and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) programs would not have been successful without the town’s support.
Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien also spoke. O’Brien thanked the Federal Government, Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren as well as Representative Kathy LaNatra. “These monies were for two separate projects… the first… is for the HVAC project at Silver Lake… this is a perfect use of those resources – provide clean air for our students… your second one you had some well monitoring that needed to be done… where are those resources going to come from? You’ve got other obligations, you’ve got public safety, you’ve got schools, how are we going to take care of these projects? Submit to ARPA and you did, and we approved,” O’Brien said. He also said that there is still “some money” left and noted that they were working with Plympton on some other applications. He noted that not a single cent would be returned to the federal government.
Police Chief Matthew Ahl and Lieutenant Daniel Hoffman attended the meeting to provide an update on the traffic safety campaign as well as a general update on the department. Hoffman said that April was Distracted Driving Awareness Month. He said that of just over 300 traffic stops, 108 of them were for using cell phones while driving. Hoffman told the Selectmen, “I could sit on the intersection out here and almost every other car seems to be on the phone.” The department is encouraging education on hands-free driving. Hoffman also noted that not having a seatbelt on is not a primary offense and usually they only ticket for that is when pulling someone over for another reason. The vast majority of tickets issued by the department for traffic stops are for out-of -town residents. Hoffman also said that a radar sign would be going up on Center St. Hoffman told the Selectmen that they have a plan to outfit all students that need one with a new appropriately fitted bike helmet for the annual bike to school event on June 7.
Chief Ahl said “we’re still growing; we have a lot of interest within the department and new opportunities for my new troops over there so getting them acclimated into these different specialized units.” He noted that for a while they were combatting attrition. “When I first came here, there seemed to be a revolving door and us getting involved in a lot of different things that we do now is why we’ve had a lot of different people come in my door and why we’ve had a lot of people stay. I give the Board a lot of credit too as far as contract-wise. These officers are happy here,” Ahl said. The Selectmen praised Ahl’s efforts with Joy saying she was very happy to see the level of community engagement calling it a “win all-around.”
The Selectmen voted to appoint Matthew Hickey as a Special Police Officer from May 6, 2024 through June 30, 2025. The decision was unanimous. They also came back from executive session to announce the outcome of some votes taken including the promotions of Nathan Valente and Kevin Brower from Patrol Officers to Sergeants. Lauren Grady was also named as the Executive Information Coordinator.
There were a few requests for use of town property including the Garden Club using the town green on May 18. They also authorized Yvonne Green to use the Old Townhouse on June 9 for a meditation retreat from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Joy said that they had a letter from Governor Healey that they will be reappointing Jason Fraser as a member of the Advisory Commission of local government. “It’s nice to have representation at such a high level,” Joy said.
The Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves. “I have a rave for the people that turned out for the meeting on Saturday for the Fire Station feasibility project,” Selectman John Traynor said. He noted that Jon Wilhelmsen has been shepherding the project. Selectman Mark Russo said his rave was for the expression “Team Plympton” and the entire effort to try to professionalize town government and town services. “It’s one of our clearest successes,” he said. Joy said her rave was for “the great work being done by the Police Department. It’s just wonderful to see the teamwork.” She had an additional rave for ARPA noting that Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy does a great job with grants and working with town departments to get needs met through them.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, April 23.
Conservation Commission Appointment
They met with Alan Dias to consider his appointment to the Conservation Committee. They had a letter from the Commission saying that the Commission voted 2-1 with one abstention to recommend Dias. Dias, who has been a Halifax resident for 46 years said, “I have watched the Conservation Commission meetings for the last year or so and the Commission is a very important function of the town, and it is kind of missing what I think it really needs – some experience. You’ve got new members, you’ve got members leaving, you’ve got new members starting and I think that with my experience, I’ve been a contractor for 35 years, I’ve represented clients on this side of the table for Conservation Commission meetings.” He continued, “I’m familiar with the Wetlands Protection Act, I’m familiar with the stormwater management, the sanitation code and I think I can assist the Board with trying to get itself reorganized so that it functions as a good Board and it’s not just handling complaints.” He said his goal was to be on the Board for about a year.
Selectmen Chair John Bruno read from a letter urging that Dias not be appointed to the Commission due to alleged violations at his 0 Pine St. North property. The letter said, “He’s also currently personally engaged with the Water Department on a proposed construction development within priority habitat and which there’s no current approved site plan. Additionally, Mr. Dias owns many acres of wetlands in and around East Monponsett. Though I have no doubt that Mr. Dias is a very intelligent and hardworking man, it is my personal opinion that he has too many conflicts of interest to appropriately and fairly serve on the Halifax Conservation Commission.” Dias responded alluding to the letter being written by resident Jeremy Gillespie, who was in attendance. He said, “Mr. Gillespie’s violations; they’ve been well vetted; they’ve been vetted by DEP [Department of Environmental Protection]. Quite frankly, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Dias said that if he had a financial interest in a matter he would recuse himself. Commission member Edward Lane spoke out in favor of Dias’ appointment. Gillespie spoke up claiming that Lane had lied about an important site visit.
Selectman Jonathan Selig spoke on Dias saying, “This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make since being a Selectman. Alan, I want to thank you for your service to the town. You’ve done decades worth of service. I know his integrity is being questioned; I don’t have questions with his integrity. I don’t have questions that he’s a hard-working good citizen of Halifax. But I do think, for better or worse, it’s gotten to be a little bit political… and I know we as a town are trying to move past that a little bit, so again, very, very hard decision for me, but I don’t think that I can go for your approval just based on recent political things and it pains me, because I think you’re a very, very knowledgeable guy.” Dias responded, “My political views won’t make a difference from looking at regulations… we have regulations, we read those, we interpret them, we make our decision.”
Selectman Naja Nessralla spoke out in favor of appointing Dias. Amy Troup spoke out against Dias accusing him of telling her boss that she was a racist while they were serving on the Planning Board together. She referred to serving with him as a “nightmare.” Bruno said that similar issues were brought up when appointing Dias to the Bylaw Review Committee but said that he did a great job despite those concerns. “Personally, I know Alan. I’ve known him for as long as I’ve been in town, and I knew his parents. His father was the first Grand Knight at our church… so I’ve known them pretty well. I know all of his work. I know he’s had issues all up and down and so haven’t we all, so I’m not really concerned about that,” Bruno said. Bruno made a motion to appoint Dias which was met with ire from both Troup and Gillespie. Dias was appointed to the Commission with a 2-1 vote with both Bruno and Nessralla voting in favor and Selig voting against.
Building Department Fee Changes
“The Finance Committee had asked that all departments annually review their fee schedules just to make sure that we’re in line with our comparable communities; we’re obviously not looking to charge more but we want to continuously review those to make sure that they are in line with where they need to be,” Town Administrator Cody Haddad said. New Building Commissioner Ed Bayly reviewed ten surrounding communities and made recommendations for fee changes to be brought before the Board of Selectmen for their review and approval. Bayly said that upon review Halifax was at the lower end of average. His proposed changes moved them closer to the upper end of average. The Selectmen approved the new fee schedule effective July 1.
Pole and Road Cut Approvals
The Selectmen had a scheduled pole hearing that evening for the purpose of hearing the joint petition submitted by Massachusetts Electric Company and Verizon New England Inc. to replace some existing poles on Holmes St. A representative from National Grid appeared before the Board explaining that the change would reduce the number of people who lose power should something happen causing a power outage. The Selectmen agreed to the work.
The Selectmen also had a request from Eversource to open a 4’x6’ road cut at 98 Holmes St. for an abandoned gas service line. “The stipulation is it has to be approved by the Conservation Commission,” Bruno said. The Building Inspector, Police, and Highway have already approved. The Selectmen voted to also approve it pending the Conservation Commission’s approval. They dealt with two more road cuts to install new gas service at 203 Oak St. The Selectmen voted to approve those as well contingent on the other necessary department approvals.
Other Business
Haddad told the Selectmen that they are undergoing upgrades to their water treatment facilities. He said that the engineering firm that is serving as the project manager has submitted a change of scope that will result in an increased cost of $31,600. Haddad noted that they do have the funding in place. The Selectmen voted to approve the changes. The total cost of the project will be just under $3 million.
The Selectmen also reviewed a contract with Ocean State Pyrotechnics for the fireworks display scheduled for June 29 with a rain date of June 30. “This is all with donated funds,” Haddad said. The Selectmen agreed to the contract.
The Selectmen also dealt with expanding the newly formed Alewife Restoration Committee from three to four members. Standing member Jeremy Gillespie was there to speak to the need to expand the Committee. The Selectmen agreed to change the makeup of the Committee to up to five members. They also voted to approve the appointment of Allen Palmer to the Alewife Restoration Committee.
Haddad provided an update saying that they officially launched their community forum HaliFACTS. “It’s been a good service; we’ve received one or two comments so far and we’ve been pretty quick to respond to them. We really want to emphasize people to utilize that rather than social media so they can get the accurate information,” he explained. Haddad also said that he and Selig filmed a Town Meeting warrant preview which is posted online at Area 58. In the video, they go through each article explaining a bit more about them.