WEST HARTFORD, CT (07/08/2022)– The University of Hartford is pleased to announce Alexus Stanley of Plympton has been named to the Dean’s List for Spring 2022.

Spread across seven dynamic schools and colleges, the University of Hartford has been guiding the purpose and passion of students for over six decades. On our 350-acre campus alongside Connecticut’s capital city, approximately 4,000 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students representing 49 states and 44 countries come together for a common purpose: to collaborate across different disciplines, diversify perspectives, and broaden worldviews.

University of Hartfrd is a four-year private university focused on advancing the public good through meaningful connections within our communities. Our unique approach to comprehensive education gives us the critical perspectives that lead to impact change, regionally and beyond. With degree programs spanning the arts, humanities, business, engineering and technology, education, and health professions, we focus on doing the work that matters. Visit hartford.edu to learn more.

There will be a Special Election on Saturday, July 30, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Halifax Elementary School to elect a new Collector/Treasurer for an unexpired term.

On the ballot are Karen M. Fava and the current assistant Treasurer/Collector Linda Anne McCarty.

Today is the last day to register to vote in this election, Friday, July 8.  Any updates or additional information pertaining to Town Elections can be found online at www.halifax-ma.org/Elections.

If you have any questions, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office at (781) 293-7970 or by e-mailing [email protected].

The Plympton School Committee met on Tuesday, May 31. They began with a reorganization. Jon Wilhelmsen was once again elected as  Chair while Jason Fraser was named Vice Chair and Nikki Mahoney Secretary. In her first meeting on the Committee Kait Johnson was named to Union 31 as was Dan Cadogan. Fraser remained the Legislative Agent. Mahoney and Wilhelmsen remained on Negotiations. Cadogan remained on the Pilgrim Area Collaborative. Fraser and Wilhelmsen were named to Policy and Mahoney to CASA.

Projects Supported at Town Meeting

Wilhelmsen said that the town of Plympton voted to reallocate funds to support several school related projects at Town Meeting. Projects include upgrading the intercom system, moving toward an electronic locking system for doors, renovating four classroom floors, and making paving upgrades. One of the paving projects involves the creation of a pad next to the little garage that sits between the soccer fields and the schools. The pad will provide a space for the dumpsters. A ramp up to the garage will also be added. “It is still possible we will return some funds to the town when everything is said and done in July,” Wilhelmsen said.

Playground Project

Director of Business Services Christine Healy provided an update on the additional rubberized surfacing that is to be added to the new playground. She said the biggest question is what to do with the wood fiber that is currently being used for surfacing. She said she had reached out to the Selectmen and Town Administrator to identify a need for the wood fiber in town. Once an accurate surface area is ascertained, Healy said they will look to get the best pricing possible for the remaining rubberized surfacing.

Solar Panel Project

Wilhelmsen told the Committee that the town made the necessary approvals at Town Meeting to proceed with putting solar panels on the back wing of the school. Wilhelmsen said that they need to confer with the Building Inspector about whether the snow guards can be removed from the roof. Their removal will allow for larger panels which will allow for the greater production of electricity and, hopefully, a lower cost of electricity for the school.

Legislative Update

“We are in the sixth inning of the seventh inning game called the budget season,” Fraser said. “We really benefited greatly from the State budget locally this year,” he continued. As a result, Plympton was able to present a school budget to the town that had a net zero cost increase over last year’s budget.

Fraser said there were two measures that were not included in the State budget that he would like to see returned. The first was the free meals program for students which Fraser said he was hoping would get added back in during Conference Committee. The second was legislation introduced by Senate President Karen Spilka known as Mental Health ABC Act 2.0. Fraser noted the importance of the initiative, saying that children in crisis are facing long wait times when seeking mental health services. Fraser told the Committee that he sent a letter to the State House advocating for them to take up both positions.

Fraser also approached his fellow Committee members about a resolution that he wanted to bring to the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC). Fraser’s goal is to increase the maximum balance allowed by the Special Education Reserve Fund from two percent of net school spending, as set by current law, to five percent.  Wilhelmsen likened it to a savings account specific to this expense. The Committee voted unanimously to support Fraser’s resolution as written.

Principal’s Update

Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto gave an update on the end of the school year proceedings. “Despite the stomach flu and covid’s best efforts, all of our students finished up MCAS,” Veneto said. He told the Committee that June 2 marks the day seniors return to Dennett to walk the halls. Veneto said it was especially bittersweet for him as this year’s seniors were in kindergarten when he started. June 3 will be Future Lakers Day. Veneto said that June 10 will be an especially busy day as it will be ride your bike to school day, field day for Grades K-5, Step Up Day at the Middle School for Grade 6, and the talent show in the evening. June 22 will be the moving on ceremony for Grade 6. He also said that they are aiming to have a D.A.R.E. graduation for the first time in three years. Veneto said that paraprofessionals Kathy Dries and Karen Agnew will be retiring at the end of the school year. He said they will be greatly missed.

Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent’s Update

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch told the Committee that on June 14 a second student survey will be administered to assess various aspects of social and emotional learning. Parents can opt out of having their child take the survey by emailing Veneto by June 10. “We know these are challenging times and we just want to make sure we are correctly identifying the needs of the students and give them a voice,” Lynch said. He said the second survey will also be used to track the school’s progress in meeting students’ needs.

Superintendent Jill Proulx asked the Committee to approve next year’s school calendar. August 31 is slated to be the first day of school with the last day tentatively scheduled for June 14. There are five potential cancellation days and if all were to be used, the last day would be June 22. Winter break will begin on December 24 and school will reopen on January 3. April break is scheduled for April 17 through April 21.

Proulx said that Plympton supported a number of initiatives for the Regional Schools during their Town Meeting including their share of the school resource officer position, the establishment of a Silver Lake Stabilization Fund, and the refurbishment of the tennis courts. Proulx specifically thanked Fraser and Wilhelmsen for their ability to speak with eloquence on all the school articles.

Proulx said that the COVID testing program will continue through the end of the school year. She said that self-tests will be provided for symptomatic testing for summer programs. By the fall of 2022, the State anticipates that it will no longer offer testing services or programs for schools and districts. Proulx also said that there is an effort in place to try and raise the threshold for chronic absenteeism from 10 percent to 20 percent for the current school year given the unique challenges facing the student body.

Proulx asked the Committee if they would support a 0.2 FTE position for instrumental instruction. She said that it would be funded using grant money. The downside would be that the school would need to figure out how to fund the $14,000 in future years. “Instrumental music is critical for students for a multitude of reasons… I’m absolutely in favor,” Fraser said. The Committee voted to unanimously approve the request. “I think you are going to love the results, I’m hoping,” Proulx told the Committee.

The new iteration of the Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, May 24. Ashley DiSesa, who is now the longest serving selectmen, was nominated and voted in as Chair. DiSesa nominated Alex Meade as Vice-chair saying, “just because he has sat on a board before.” This left Jonathan Selig to serve as Clerk. Meade defeated previous Chair of the Board of Selectmen Gordon Andrews for a three-year term during the latest town election. Selig won a one-year term that was left vacant after the resignation of longtime Selectman Troy Garron.

Selectmen Liaisons

The Board also worked out who would be the liaison to various town departments and committees. Selig jokingly referred to it as a “fantasy draft.” Selig was elected to be the liaison to the schools as well as the Fire Department. Meade became the liaison to the Highway Department, Cemetery, Capital Planning, and the Finance Committee. DiSesa is the liaison to the Chief Procurement Officer, the Police Department, and Holidays in Holidays. Other assignments were made as well. Later in the meeting, DiSesa was appointed as the Representative for Halifax to the Old Colony Elder Services.

Liquor License Transfer

There was a continuation of the hearing to transfer an alcohol beverage license from Lily Café II to Dragon Lake Village Inc. The owner of Lily Café called it a “bittersweet moment” but said “it is time to move on.” “Thank you for being so great to our town,” DiSesa said. Selig asked, “are the scorpion bowls going to be as good?” The Selectmen approved the transfer of the liquor license.

Talent Bank Forms

DiSesa said they had talent bank forms for Colby Silva, Elizabeth Colling, and Matthew Smith for the Beautification Committee. DiSesa recommended holding interviews with the applicants and the other Selectmen agreed. Amy L. Troup interjected from the audience that Colby Silva had already been appointed and noted her work in cleaning up litter from the town.

Waste Management Contract

The Selectmen met with Todd Koep from DEP and Town Accountant Sandy Nolan regarding the solid waste contract. Nolan said that when the town went to Waste Management to seek a two-year extension of their contract, the price came back quite high. She said that as a result, they went out to bid and the sole bidder had an even higher price. “We are running into an issue because the town of Halifax uses the bags. Most of the trash companies do not want to pick up the trash anymore; they want to use the toters because the truck has the mechanical lift,” Nolan explained. She said that Waste Management has agreed to extend the contract for a year and work with the town on moving toward toters.

“You guys [Halifax] have the lowest pounds per household,” Koep said of the 31 towns he represents. Koep said he would hate to see the trash increase noting that he was in favor of holding off on the transition for a year. “I would like to keep flexibility as far as sizing goes; I know you say other towns can pick up the 35s and I’ve seen trucks pick up the 35s before. Whatever plan we would like to do… we have to make sure that the single person in Halifax Estates with a 35 is not paying the same price as myself, with a family of five, with a larger one; I would ask that we consider a plan that is a sliding scale,” Selig said. Koep called that method a “difficult option” for several reasons. Town Administrator Ed Thorne recommended that the town go with the one-year deal and then form a committee to review all the options. The Selectmen voted to approve the one-year contract.

Paper Streets

Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward met with the Board to discuss the rules and regulations for the cremation garden in Halifax. Hayward discussed when and how he would attach flags to veterans’ sites. The Board approved the rules and regulations as laid out by Hayward. They also approved an increase in headstone foundations.

Hayward also showed the Selectmen pictures of Fayette St. from 2^nd Ave. “As you can see from the picture, Fayette just stops and 2^nd Ave goes from along the trees… they are called paper streets for a reason because only from the map you can see it,” Hayward explained. Hayward said that people in town were starting to complain, and Selig said, “they would like a street.” Hayward said the area in question would never be wide enough to pave or become an accepted road. He said that most towns don’t do anything with paper streets but noted that Halifax does take care of some of them. “How do you want to handle it?” Hayward asked the Selectmen. He showed them a house on the area and said that every winter they get calls from them asking them to plow.

Hayward said that the town has a lot of paper streets and that he was seeking a uniform answer to provide residents on these streets. “It’s usually a court case, that’s how they handle it,” Hayward said. “I think we need some legal guidance on this,” DiSesa said. They agreed to talk to town counsel and move further discussion on the issue to their next meeting. They also briefly discussed the paving of the ends of driveways that are damaged by town plows. Hayward said that in neighboring Plympton, residents must get a permit before paving their driveway. They agreed to move that to the following meeting as well after seeking advice from town counsel.

Pride Day Update

Lori Costa-Cline met with the Board to provide a Pride Day update. She said that they were able to secure a disc jockey “after a lot of effort.” As a result, she was seeking a live entertainment permit. She also said that they have 25 vendors and said they are anticipating a crowd. They will likely need a police detail at the event as well. She said that some vendors have requested electricity and asked if they could use the Town Hall’s electricity. The Selectmen approved the live entertainment permit and use of electricity presuming all necessary paperwork was filled out. “I would welcome all to come, it’s going to be a really fun, family-friendly event,” Costa-Cline said.

Town Green Request

There was a request by the Council on Aging (COA) for use of the town green on July 15. COA Director Darlene Regan told the Board that they were using a Mass Cultural Council grant to pay for a guitarist. She said they may also have an ice cream truck or some other type of food vendor. The Selectmen voted to approve the use of the town green.

Correspondence from Regional School Committee

Selig read correspondence from the Regional School Committee Chair Paula Hatch that said, “The Silver Lake Regional School Committee has been contacted by Jim Hickey, Selectman from Hanson and Chairman of their De-regionalization Feasibility Study Committee, the town of Hanson is considering terminating their existing regionalization agreement with the town of Whitman and is exploring alternatives for their schools. Jim has requested a meeting with the appropriate parties to have a high-level discussion about the possibility of Hanson joining our regional school district.” The letter said the issue is in it’s “infancy.” DiSesa said that they would reach out to Hatch and let her know that they would be willing to entertain a meeting on the matter.

ARPA Funds

Nolan told the Selectmen that Plymouth County Treasurer Tom O’Brien said that the second half of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds are being held up, but it should be temporary, and the funds should be received in June. DiSesa asked that the issue be moved to the next meeting.

Search for New Town Administrator

DiSesa told the other Selectmen that there are three if not four potential candidates who will be interviewed on June 1. “Hopefully we will have a new TA soon,” DiSesa said. “No offense Ed, we love you; I know you don’t want to stay forever,” she said to Thorne.

Comcast Discussion

DiSesa said that Plympton is getting Fios. She said that Halifax isn’t happy with Comcast, and she wanted to find out how other towns are getting Fios. IT Director Cesar Calouro was in attendance for the discussion. Thorne said that he would set up a meeting with Calouro and the attorney handling negotiations for the town. “If he has a pros and cons and reasons why we shouldn’t I would like to hear it…I think it is important that we are looking at all options because I know that the community as a whole wasn’t really happy with Comcast and they were being told it was the only option,” DiSesa said.

Town Administrator’s Update

Thorne said that a letter from the Governor said that the town would be receiving $250,000 to support local economic recovery. He said he had a call in to Representative Josh Cutler’s office to find out more about it. He said there were other earmarks that he said, “were normal for the legislature.” One is $20,000 for the replacement of water fountains with water bottle refill stations in town buildings.

Thorne also told the Selectmen about a Department of Transportation (DOT) letter regarding a winter recovery assistance program. “This is part of, I believe, the COVID program… the town is going to get… $174,524,” Thorne explained. He said it was based on the town’s 52 miles.

Only 13.8 percent of Plympton’s 2,368 registered voters made it to the Town House in Saturday’s sticky heat – over 90 degrees with 98 percent humidity – to cast their vote.  A dismal showing…

There were only two contests: political newcomer Jared A. Anderson, garnered 187 votes to incumbent Art Morin’s 110 for the three-year Board of Health position. There were also 29 blanks.  Paul D’Angelo, Jr.  retained his position for a three-year term on the Planning Board after being challenged by newcomer Jackson Long.  D’Angelo won with 198 votes to Long’s 78 votes.  There were five blanks.

Question 1 on the ballot saw signs throughout town asking voters to Defend Democracy and Vote No! to making the Town Clerk’s position an appointed, rather than elected position.   The majority of those voting agreed, with 219 voting NO and 101 voting YES.  Seven were blank.

Here’s how the rest of the ballot was voted:

Selectman for three years – John A. Traynor, Jr., 245, Blanks, 76, and various write-ins from Donald Trump to Mickey Mouse, 6.

Assessor for three years – Dean Jafferian won the position with six write-in votes.  There were also 219 blanks and two other write-ins.

The two Finance Committee five-year terms were won by Steven R. Lewis, candidate for re-election, and Michael Lemieux, who garnered nine write-in votes.  Blanks were 258 and others were 11.

Two three-year terms for Library Trustee got 644 votes blank and 10 others write-ins.

The Library Trustee term for two years saw Mark Eubanks win with five write-in votes.  There were 321 blanks and three other write-ins.

Barry DeCristofano will remain Town Moderator for the next three years winning re-election with 260 votes.  There were 67 blanks.

John Schmidt won his bid for re-election with 244 votes.  There were also 83 blanks.

Caitlin Johnson and Suzanne Jafferian are the new Dennett School Committee members with Johnson getting 27 write-in votes and Jafferian getting 16.   There were also 270 blanks and 5 other write-ins.

Jason W. Fraser won 249 votes in his bid for re-election to the Silver Lake Regional School Committee.  There were 74 blanks and four others.

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met in-person on Thursday, May 12. Paraprofessional Tanya Little asked to address the Committee during the public participation portion of the meeting. “As you know the Silver Lake Education Association [SLEA] and the District are about to begin meeting with a State union leader to try and resolve our contract that ends in June… paraprofessionals work side-by-side with teachers to support special education students both in general and in special education classrooms but we are not limited to this role; we go far beyond – offering social, emotional, and academic assistance to all students… our main focus is to help all students… we are team players,” Little told the Committee. She said paraprofessionals at Silver Lake start at just over $16 an hour while fast food restaurants and retail outlets typically start employees around $17 an hour. Little said that a living wage in the Silver Lake community is estimated at $37,000 a year and noted that paraprofessionals at Silver Lake earn roughly $20,000 a year to start. According to Little, paraprofessionals are the only support staff not to receive pay during the three school vacation weeks each year; custodians, cafeteria workers, etc. all get paid for those vacations. Those in attendance gave Little rousing applause upon completion of her remarks.

Principals’ Updates

Silver Lake Regional Middle School Principal Jim Dupille said that the school recently held a geography bee. “I want to congratulate all that participated in the bee; they should be very proud of their efforts and the hard work that they put in,” he said.  He also said that the spring concert and the evening of excellence would both be held in coming weeks. The Farewell Dance for eighth graders will be on June 21 and Field Day will be on June 22.

Dupille also gave the high school update as Principal Michaela Gill was not present. Dupille asked the Committee for approval of a CTE project constructing a private homeowner’s garage. Committee member Leslie-Ann McGee asked if need was considered in the selection process for such projects. Committee member Chris Eklund said that need was not one of the selection criteria. He said that projects were selected for the educational opportunity they present to the students. He also said that they are careful to select projects that might not require perfection as much of the project would be completed by the students. McGee said that she still felt strongly that need should be a qualifier and asked that they table the vote until more information could be ascertained on the selection process. Committee member Jason Fraser interjected that he was very interested in serving on the CTE subcommittee in the future and said that he would entertain the subject of need then. McGee said that she would be voting no, as she did not believe that private homeowner’s projects should not be selected without an evaluation of need. Private homeowners pay for materials but not labor on such projects. Eklund felt that the selection criteria were within the State’s control rather than the Committee’s. The Committee voted in favor of approval on the project.

Dupille said that the high school had a blood drive on May 4 during which they collected 31 units of blood. That qualified the school for a $250 scholarship for a graduating senior and active participant in the blood drive program. The unified track team celebrated their last home meet on May 5 against Carver. “The school and community support has been amazing; many student clubs and activities show up to support our students with banners and pride to help form the best cheer department on the South Shore,” Dupille read. Fraser described the track program saying, “it’s an opportunity for students with special needs along with peer mentors to compete and feel pride in what they do.”  Senior prom will be on May 26 in Harwich Port. Graduation will be June 3 at 6 p.m. with a rain date of June 4. Dupille ended his updates with a word of support for the paraprofessionals.

Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent’s Updates

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said they would be running their second round of the Student Social and Emotional Learning Survey. It will be administered during the school year on June 14. “All parents will receive an email and a copy of every question on May 31 that reminds them of the survey… parents will have the opportunity to opt out if they don’t want their student to participate in the survey,” Lynch said.

Superintendent Jill Proulx also provided an update. Proulx said that COVID testing will continue through the remainder of the school year. Proulx thanked nurse leader Carol Beck for organizing a NARCAN training on May 25 at the middle school. Proulx said that Halifax supported the schools’ budget as well as the tennis court project during their town meeting. She also provided an update on the following year’s calendar and said that August 31 will be the first day of school.

Debate on Religious Holidays on School Calendar

Regarding the calendar, McGee asked that April 7 be labeled a vacation day or move it to April 14 as it is currently a religious holiday, and no other religious holidays are given. Someone argued Christmas is taken off but was corrected and told that it was just considered part of the December break. Committee member Eric Crone said that if a community is predominately one religion and a holiday affiliated with that religion is not given as a day off, there may not be enough students present in school to count as a valid school day. An amendment was made by McGee to change the label of April 7 as a vacation day. The problem arose, however, that Halifax had already voted the school calendar at their committee meeting. Proulx said that many of the school contracts acknowledge and grant April 7 as a paid day off. Schmaling said that changing the labeling of the day could create a rift in the community as people may be offended with removing the label. Committee member Emily Davis said that as a non-Christian person, she was offended that the day is given as Good Friday.

Crone said, “I just want to point out, I’ve been on the elementary school committee for 15-16 years and this one for 6 years, in all those years I’ve never had a single email from anybody about labeling the calendar. The discussions are right here… and this is the only time it is ever discussed; it’s not discussed on social media, in restaurants – it’s not discussed.” Eklund said it was a matter of consistency and no other religious holidays are labeled as such.

“I think it is also an inclusivity thing, we talk in our district goals about inclusivity so to me, relabeling it does not exclude any group – we’re not labeling it with any single group’s religious holiday so while I respect that people find Good Friday to be a deeply important holiday for them and their community, I hope that they would respect that still having the day off but the labeling of it would provide a greater inclusivity to more members of our community that may not share that same religious affiliation,” Davis said. A vote was taken with McGee’s amendment and the results were 6 in favor, 6 against, and 1 person abstaining. They then retook the vote to accept the calendar without the amendment and the results were 7 in favor and 6 against. It passed and the Good Friday label remained.

School Start Times

McGee told the Committee that the school start time working group met on May 22 for their inaugural meeting. She said that the Assistant Superintendent, herself, and Davis spearheaded the meeting. The working group includes members from all three communities, all six schools, and all four school committees. “We had a great discussion, we had whiteboards up around the room on different topics like logistics and family impact and transportation and all these things and people put up all different things and we talked about them all and it was really constructive. We will be putting a meeting summary out,” McGee said. She said that eventually a Google drive will be established with all the materials and will be shared with the community on the school website. Crone pointed out the need to include the athletic director as the timing of sports would be important. “We don’t have an intended outcome other than to present material back to the community on what we learned,” McGee said. Davis reiterated that they are not looking to make the change but rather to assess the impact were the change to be made particularly if required by State mandate.

SLEA Update

SLEA President Jon Lay spoke during the reports of standing committees. He said that they are having difficulty filling the paraprofessional positions including two open positions at the high school. Those positions were offered to candidates but turned down due to the low salary. “I do think it has impacts on the District’s ability to attract and retain high quality paraprofessionals.”

Lay also spoke about the Anti-Defamation League’s presentation at the Middle School. “I think what is sometimes getting lost in some of the conversations about this kind of thing is that I think we all want all of our students to have a safe place to be educated; I think that we all value everyone in the community – students and staff, treating everybody with respect and dignity and I just want to say that I appreciate the District’s efforts to advance that and I hope that despite some of the controversy the District will still commit themselves to those values,” Lay said to applause. Previously, Schmaling had been outspoken in her disapproval of the Anti-Defamation League’s involvement in such programs.

Coastal Snap Request

Committee member Jason Fraser asked to speak on the Coastal Snap program which had to shut down temporarily due to COVID. “It’s for young children to have adaptive sports and adaptive day camps with opportunities with peer mentors,” he said of the program for children with special needs. Fraser said that in the past the School Committee had allowed flyers to go out to the high school to solicit students to act as peer mentors for the program and gain community service hours. The Committee approved the flyers.

Legislative Update

Fraser also provided the legislative update. “The budget is in the fifth inning of a seven-inning game,” he said of the State budget. He said that regional transportation was funded by $4 million less than the previous fiscal year in the House Ways and Means budget. He said that State Representative Kathy LaNatra, who serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, went to the Chair of the Committee to file an amendment to fully fund regional transportation. “There is a contingent of reps in the House right now who want to rewrite the formula for transportation funding, and they want to include non-regional districts who drive extraordinary miles,” he said. He went on to say that while he does not think those districts, such as Plymouth, should be begrudged that funding, he doesn’t believe it should come on the backs of districts such as Silver Lake. Fraser went on to say that compared to the Governor’s original estimate, Silver Lake is seeing about $75,000 more in funding from the State. “We also got $115 million from the state of Massachusetts for free meals for all students for next year… I still believe this is a federal responsibility, but the feds are so messed up right now, they are letting the ball drop,” Fraser said. He added that there is an amendment called “kids not red tape” that is trying to extend the federal program for one more year.

Silver Lake Assessment Stabilization Fund Discussion

Fraser said that the regional schools’ budget represented an overall increase of 3.74 percent. Kingston’s assessment was a 2.4 percent increase, Plympton’s was a negative 7.1 percent increase, and Halifax’s assessment was a 5 percent increase.  He explained that in a region such as Silver Lake, there are ebbs and flows in what those assessments look like for each town from year to year. He said that he hopes to have legislation filed that would help towns establish an assessment stabilization fund for years when they are facing a high assessment. “You guys authorized me to put forth a resolution to MASC [Massachusetts Association of School Committees] for their conference in November. I had flushed out the language for that and I even created NGL language so if I got a rep and a senator to support it, they could file that exact language and it models the municipal modernization language from 2016 under Chapter 40 for revolving accounts,” Fraser explained. He said that in years where there are excess funds potentially for a town with say a negative assessment, they would be able to put those funds in an account to be accessed in a year where they might have a higher-than-normal assessment. “It would be controlled by the town; it would be established by, in our circumstance, by a two-thirds vote at town meeting and it could then be distributed at subsequent town meetings by town vote,” he said.

SAFER Update

Eklund provided an update for SAFER. He said that a lack of turf is becoming an issue as are lack of locker rooms and bathrooms at the far fields. He said that 28 members of the town from various sports groups attended the meeting to let them know what improvements need to be made to the sports’ facilities. He said that the tennis courts were the first piece to really get moving. “If there’s any crypto billionaires living in Indian Pond who want to build the facilities, it is kind of what we need… it sounds like I’m joking, but I’m kind of serious. It’s going to be very tough to get all three towns to agree to pay for something that we need and the scope of what we need is going to be $5 to $10 million,” Crone added. Eklund pointed out that new facilities often need to be ADA compliant which adds to the cost.

Farewell to Two Committee Members

Hatch took time to acknowledge the members of the Committee who were sitting in their final meetings. “I have sat on committees for nearly twenty years and I have met and been exposed to and worked with wonderful members of the community. Honestly, wonderful people – I cannot believe in July I am not going to see you two. You have given so much of your intellect, your time, and quite frankly, your heart to Silver Lake and there are no words to thank you enough for doing that,” Hatch said. “I will desperately miss your counsel and your friendship at the table, but I will continue to call on it from afar,” Fraser said to Crone. To Eklund, Fraser said, “the work you did for the three towns this year – many people have tried to do what you did this year. The level of communication and respect that I heard you deliver to the towns and them deliver back to you on Silver Lake’s behalf was amazing and astounding.” Proulx also thanked Crone and Eklund for their “support,” “kindness,” and “expertise.” Many others also offered their profound thanks during the meeting. Crone and Eklund took time to express their gratefulness to the Committee as well as the administration and staff.