The Town Properties Committee met on Wednesday, August 18. It was a joint meeting with the Plympton Selectmen. Members of the Plympton Finance Committee were also in attendance.

“The Town Properties Committee has spent the last year plus working on sort of a vision overall for the campus,” Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen told those assembled. One of the main objectives for that campus plan is figuring out the placement of the new fire station. Wilhelmsen shared what he referred to as a “high level, notional drawing of the grand plan if we are able to put that in place.” The new, proposed fire station would be behind the new police station on Palmer Rd. The drawing also showed a proposed fix for the parking area for the library and Townhouse. He said the main entrance would convert from two to one driveway. Wilhelmsen said the existing fire station would remain and over time be converted into a community center that would include the Council on Aging (COA). Regarding the ball fields, Wilhelmsen said they are looking into doing some work to Harry Jason Park that involves working with both PAYS and the Recreation Committee on a long-term plan.

The new fire station was described as being a 3-bay, drive through, modern facility that would provide an appropriate space to house, maintain, and provide for a number of things. Those things include the safety and security of fire personnel and visitors, apparatus, supplies and gear, administrative and personnel space, and community interaction. Included in that community interaction would be a space to be used as a public medical room where vaccines and other medical services could be rendered. The hope would be to also have a public conference space that could be utilized for many things including a public cooling/warming area.

Also addressed within the meeting was the why behind the building of a new fire station. The current building is non-compliant with current OSHA regulations and poses physical and occupational safety concerns due to significant space and facility constraints. Fire Chief Stephen Silva pointed out that while previously they were not, the State is now mandated to be OSHA compliant. He said that regulations specific to carcinogens off gassing from gear have changed greatly since the building was first built. Supply management challenges also exist as supplies are spread across four different buildings, containers, and trailers across three different locations in town. “You’ve entrusted me with millions of dollars of equipment that we cannot properly house and that is just not right,” Silva said.

The timeline was also discussed with architect selection, programmatic and schematic design, infrastructure assessment, and cost estimates outlined to occur between October 2020 and April 2021. Final design, bidding, construction, and occupancy is tentatively scheduled between July 2021 and December 2022.

Regarding cost, Wilhelmsen said the goal would be to utilize existing funds and said they were not intending to do an override. The hope would be to use modular construction and/or leverage existing design plans. The town would also hope to take advantage of lower interest rates and intends to limit the impact of future increases in building costs. Plympton may also be able to potentially take advantage of Federal infrastructure funds with the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The total project cost is estimated at $6 million.

Selectman and Town Properties Committee member John Traynor said that the Committee has had two financial team meetings the most recent being that morning with the Town Administrator, the Town Accountant, the Town Treasurer, and the Assessor. Traynor said that as of June the amount in the Capital Stabilization Fund was $1,078,800. A Mass Municipal Depository Trust (MMDT) was established in 1996 and has never been used. The MMDT currently stands at $207,600. There is $803,500 in the Regular Stabilization Fund. The use of the funds must be approved by a two-thirds majority at town meeting.

“If we were to take a 30-year bond for $6 million at current interest rates it would give us a bond repayment each year of $324,000,” Traynor said regarding the new fire station costs. The current police station debt is set to run through 2040. “We’re in pretty good shape financially. The question is can we do a fire station that we can do and still have money left over because we know there will be things like new roofs and other issues we’re going to have to address as we go through the years,” he explained. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy asked, “So you’re saying that based on the $6 million number that we would be able to afford this just on the additional monies we’re getting for Capital Stabilization; we wouldn’t have to dive into it; it would basically just be self-sustaining from what we’re taking in?” Traynor confirmed that understanding was correct.

Joy asked about whether the Assessor had been brought into the conversation regarding the incoming funds into Capital Stabilization. “If they were to go down significantly, we could get ourselves into a pickle,” Joy pointed out. Traynor said they had, noting, “In fact, Sysco is currently assisting at $52 million… and they upped it to… over $60 million.” He did note that some of that would be abated but said that there should be an uptick, if anything. “One of the things that is troubling to the Finance Committee from time to time is there’s no guarantee that Sysco will be there in twenty years,” Chair of the Finance Committee Nathaniel Sides said. “But somebody’s going to be there Nate,” Traynor said. Sides insisted that you can’t know that and pointed to plenty of empty buildings up and down the East Coast. Silva countered saying, “We are the fastest section of the State of Massachusetts that is growing – the South Shore and the South Coast area and Massachusetts is one of the fastest growing economies nationwide despite everything that is going on.” Traynor furthered that all they were looking for at the moment was the go ahead to move forward with a feasibility study. The money for the study would have to be approved at special town meeting.

Joy said that she would rather see something like this handled as part of the annual town meeting rather than as part of a special. Wilhelmsen said the push to put it as part of the special had to do with concerns over price increases. Town Properties Committee member Ross MacPherson said, “What I’m seeing in construction right now is, forgetting the COVID related things, we are seeing a ton of money come into the infrastructure space and that is just going to tap the existing resources and like we had with the police station, what we really need to find is the contractor that needs this project more than would like to have this contract… if we wait too long, we may not have a bid that we can take.” He further said that while material prices are starting to level off, labor prices are increasing. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy added that if they at least had a design in the works sooner rather than later they may be able to at least partially fund a new septic system with ARPA funds. “There is kind of a larger scale benefit to having some of this feasibility and design work done and out of the way,” she explained.

“This is kind of ten years in the making, I have sat in on the various permutations… I think we’ve kind of been spinning our wheels. We know that sooner or later we’re going to have to do something with the fire station. I’m in favor of moving ahead with this,” Selectman Mark Russo said. He continued, “We are gaining nothing by just sitting and waiting.” He called it “amazing” that it could potentially be possible to build a new police station and a new fire station in such a short amount of time without increasing the tax rate. “I think we have to make clear that this is not committing to a new station; it is committing to spending some money to see if this will work,” Russo said.

MacPherson took a moment to address why the option of rehabbing the current station was not being explored. He said there are always unknowns when rehabbing and said that the town would have to commit to those. He also noted that the Fire Department would have to be moved elsewhere for the duration of the construction.

Joy made a motion that the Selectmen support the efforts of the Town Properties Committee in committing to a feasibility study on a new fire station. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the motion.

Following the discussion on the Fire Station, the Committee then turned their attention to the Harry Jason Park. MacPherson said he met with Plympton Athletic Youth Sports (PAYS) who expressed to him some general needs and wants. “They thought that having everything centralized at Harry Jason was a great end goal,” he said. MacPherson told the Committee that currently U-10 and U-12 share a soccer field at the Dennett that has to be striped differently depending on which age level is utilizing it. He also said that the youngest players are using the outfield of the baseball/softball field for their games. When asked what they would like to have in a perfect world, PAYS said they would like to have a major/minor league field, a larger sized little league field, a U-14 size soccer field that would also serve U-12, and a second soccer field for the U-8 and U-10. MacPherson said he believed there could be some repurposing done as well as some tweaks to the fields at the Dennett. Wilhelmsen pointed out that any new fields would require bringing in electricity and water. Colleen Thompson asked about the possibility of incorporating some adult facilities such as tennis courts at the park. “I think that there can be, in the grand plan of Harry Jason, some better walking trails or things that can be utilized,” MacPherson said. He said that since PAYS is youth related, the Recreation Committee would have to work with them on adult uses.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on August 11 with the exception of Selectman Ashley DiSesa who joined remotely. On the agenda was a number of complaints that had been filed.

The first order of business was dealing with the July 20, 2021 open meeting law complaint from John Day. According to Chair Gordon Andrews the complaint read that a meeting was held on that date and the only agenda item listed was the appointment of the building inspector and a possible appointment of a temporary building inspector. The complaint further read that the Board went immediately into executive session coming back into open session at 7:30 when they entertained a motion to adjourn until that Friday at 9 a.m.

“The lack of any substantive discussion coupled with individual Board member’s collective expectation that they would be meeting at 9 a.m. on July 23 to discuss the building inspector’s position indicated the Board members had discussed the building inspector matter in executive session despite its placement on the open meeting agenda. This violation appears to be intentional given the conflicts of interest by virtue of Mr. Andrews’ pending lawsuits that he has filed against the town and town officials including Robert Piccirilli,” the complaint from Day read. Also included in the complaint dated August 5 was that the Town Administrator Charlie Seelig was on vacation that day and did not attend and the Administrative Assistant was told not to attend as Andrews would handle the minutes.

Andrews said that he would recommend that the Board have the complaint handled by town counsel Brooks and DeRensis. DiSesa made the motion, Selectman Troy Garron seconded it, and the Board voted unanimously to do so.

A second complaint from Day was filed regarding the July 23 meeting. The complaint, which Andrews read, stated that once again Seelig and the Administrative Assistant were not present and the Board went into executive session at 11 a.m., returning to open session at noon. It noted that Andrews recused himself from the building inspector discussion leaving Garron as Vice Chair to take control of the meeting. The complaint described Garron as “visibly nervous and remained so throughout the rest of the meeting.” It noted Garron’s insistence that Piccirilli remained the best choice for building inspector.

Again, Day’s complaint said that there was strong suspicion that the Board had discussed the matter in executive session and had decided on hiring James Perry as the building inspector due to the rapidity in which the events unfolded in open session. The complaint asked that any discussion regarding the position that was had during executive session be disclosed to the public. It also asked that an explanation be given as to why the Administrative Assistant was not the one taking the minutes. Garron made a motion that again, they refer the complaint to Brooks and DeRensis. It was voted through unanimously by the Board.

The next item on the agenda was another open meeting law complaint regarding the July 23 meeting, this one by Barbara Gaynor. The complaint referenced the June 23 meeting during which the Board of Selectmen interviewed five applicants including Piccirilli, who at the time was the current building inspector. The complaint claimed that at no time did the Board explain how they came to their decision to hire Perry into the position and asked that they disclose that information to the public.

The final complaint dealt with during the August 11 meeting was in regard to the June 29 meeting during which the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint Brooks and DeRensis as Town Counsel. The complaint said that Brooks and DeRensis were asked to investigate the complaint but noted that they have a financial interest in the matter. Andrews read a motion stating, “As the appointing official which is the Board of Selectmen as required by Massachusetts’ General Laws Chapter 268a, Section 19 I have reviewed the particular matter and the financial interests identified above by the municipal employee; I have determined that the financial interest is not substantial as to be deemed unlikely to affect the integrity of the services by which the municipality may expect from the employee.” The Board then voted unanimously to have Brooks and DeRensis continue on with the investigation into the open meeting law complaint.

The final complaint to be handled during the August 11 meeting was one regarding the June 29 meeting during which the Board interviewed a total of four applicants including the most recent town counsel. The complaint read, “Considering that the Board of Selectmen chose to advertise, interview, and appoint a new person into this position, should there not have been some discussion from the members of the Board of Selectmen as to how and why they came to their decision.” The complaint asked that the Selectmen explain their decision and the reason behind it. Again, they voted to send the complaint to Brooks and DeRensis to be investigated.

At the conclusion of the discussion on the complaints Seelig said, “Mr. Chairman, may I say something?” Andrews responded, “No, we are going to move on.” Seelig then responded, “I’ll send a letter directly to the Board and to your Counsel.” Prior to adjourning, it did appear that someone in the audience attempted to speak. Andrews responded, “We don’t have any public comment right now.”

The Halifax Congregational Church is sponsoring a community flea market, open to all, Saturday, September 11, on the Town Green from 9:00 – 3:00. The cost for a space is $25, and tables will be provided on a first come first served basis.

In the event of rain, the market will be inside the church and recommended covid protocols at that time will be observed.  Our famous, delicious chowder will also be offered, for take-out, beginning at noon.

Gather your “stuff”, go in with a friend, maybe you have craft items to sell, or just bring your “get rid of” things from all the sifting and sorting you’ve done over the past year!

To reserve a space, or with questions, contact Susan Mahan, Coordinator, at 781-293-0422 or [email protected].  Checks should be made payable to Halifax Congregational Church, and mailed to the church, attn. Treasurer, at 503 Plymouth Street, Halifax, MA. 02338. The deadline for reservations and payment is Sept. 1.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met remotely on the evening of Monday, July 26. Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte was there to discuss the progress with indicating the new safety zones throughout town. Firlotte said he had stencils that will eventually spell out “safety zone” and added that there would be reflective media included in the paint that would allow for extra visibility. In addition to the stenciling, there will be signs that will also have a reflective component. The indicators will alert drivers to the 20 mph zones. Firlotte said he was hopeful to get the paint down in the next couple of weeks. Selectman Mark Russo said, “really look forward to seeing if this works.”

The Board also discussed the cable contract with Area 58. Russo said that it was brought to his attention that the last few meetings were not available on Area 58. He said he brought it to their attention and the problem was rectified. Selectman John Traynor said that Comcast has an agreement with the town that they will make internet available to any of the town sites. He said he would like to see the Old Townhouse have it available. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said that part of the Green Communities Grant included the installation of WiFi thermostats for the Old Townhouse. They are being installed with the intention of being programmed at a later date when WiFi becomes available at that location.

There was also a discussion of the Carver Urban Renewal Project. Selectman Chair Christine joy said she reached out to the Chair of the Redevelopment Authority but had not heard back yet. Dennehy said she had reached out to the Carver Town Administrator but had also not heard back. Dennehy was looking for some clarification regarding the changes to zoning including height requirements.

Resident Melissa Jackson was on the call and said, “We are concerned about light and noise remediation. There were a lot of “jokes” about how it is going to affect Plympton residents from people on the walk through.” Jackson also said that there was talk of raising the height of the buildings to 65 ft with floodlights. “They also want to put 200 tractor trailer bays facing Heathers Path and Toby’s Lane instead of putting them on the route 44 side,” Jackson said. “This affects a large number of residents with the placement of this project.” Joy pointed out.

Dennehy provided a Town Administrator’s update saying, “We were made aware today that there is an active Covid case in town and are watching to see if there are any others that sprout up because of that.” Dennehy pointed out that since it is protected health information there is no way to no if the person was vaccinated or not.

Dennehy also provided an update on some of the ongoing grant projects. She said the Hazard Mitigation Plan was nearing completion and would soon be sent to FEMA and NEMA for review. Dennehy said she was expecting feedback explaining, “From what I understand, they are very active in their review process.” Additionally, she said the Green Communities Grant was moving along nicely.

Dennehy told the Board that the town was formally accepted into the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA). She explained that they would be meeting with them later in the week to find out “what does it mean for our transportation needs.” Colleen Thompson, who serves on the Town Properties Committee, has put together a comprehensive list of questions to find out how GATRA will best serve the community.

Dennehy said she was looking forward to working with the town’s new Treasurer/Collector and Town Accountant. She said she met with them earlier that day. “It was a really good meeting; I’m very excited about our two new financial people.”

Upon request some correspondence was read into the record from the attorneys representing the landowners whose properties abut the town owned land on Brook St. They stated that they were adamantly opposed to what they referred to as a “proposed shelter or similar facility” being constructed on the land that abuts their own. There appeared to be confusion regarding what the town’s intention was for the land. It had earlier been suggested that the land might be appropriate for a Habitat for Humanity home of some sort. The attorneys stated in the letter that the owners would be happy to buy the land at fair market value. Regarding selling the land, Traynor said, “We should go out and get it appraised as a building lot if we decided we wanted to sell it.”

Per tradition, the Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves for the last few weeks. Russo said his rave was for the public participation and attendance at that night’s meeting calling it “a pleasure to have guests joining us tonight.” He addressed them saying, “glad you guys are with us, thank you.” Traynor said his rave was for the vaccination goals for the state of Massachusetts. He pointed out that our state is among the top nationally for vaccination rates. Traynor also mentioned what a pleasure it was to attend the genealogy meeting with most people going maskless. Joy had two raves. One for finally being setup with GATRA. She said, “What a great opportunity this is for us.” Her second rave was for the work being done by the Highway Department and Firlotte in particular.

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met in-person on Thursday, July 8. Superintendent Jill Proulx began the meeting with the reorganization of the Committee. Paula Hatch was once again nominated to serve as Chair and the vote was unanimous. “Thank you for your continued trust, I will try to do my best for you as always,” Hatch told the Committee. Eric Crone was nominated to serve as Vice Chair and was also voted in unanimously. Leslie-Ann McGee was nominated and voted in as Secretary; she was also named to the Pilgrim Area Collaborative. Summer Schmaling was named Assistant Treasurer. John Tuffy was reappointed as Treasurer. Jason Fraser was named as Legislative Agent. Before moving on, Hatch welcomed Gordon Laws to the Committee as he is the newest member.

The Committee then turned their attention to the Subcommittees beginning with Negotiations. Hatch said, “For those that don’t know,, this Subcommittee acts on behalf of the full Committee negotiating any contracts that come up.”  Crone and McGee agreed to stay on the Negotiations Subcommittee and Hatch and Laws agreed to join. Summer Schmaling was named as the alternate.  Crone and Emily Davis volunteered for Policy. Davis was also named to School Start Times. Hatch said the last time the topic of school start times was really looked into was back in 2016. Chris Eklund stayed on the Safety/Facilities/Fees/Revenue Sub-Committee.

Director of Business Services Christine Healy spoke to the end of year financials. “We are returning to E&D [Excess and Deficiency] $411,450.17.” She did note that there were some things that were not yet confirmed, the main thing being the CARES Act funding. “In total that was $636,000 that we had access to; the difficult thing is we have not received all the reimbursements,” Healy said speaking of the money that was allotted to the school district from the three towns. She said they had received reimbursements thus far of $207,000 calling it “not a very fast process.” Schmaling asked, “Are we at risk for not being reimbursed for some of the purchases that we made?” Healy replied, “Everything that was submitted fit into the guidelines of what they were looking for.” Healy said that she planned to hold back $25,000 to $30,000 from E&D as a reserve to accommodate the slow reimbursements. “I just want to thank you Christine for dealing with all of these issues this past year,” Crone said addressing Healy.

A Representative from the Kingston Police Department, Laura Casey-Pupek was in attendance. Proulx said she was there to discuss the National Night Out that is meant to foster a relationship between the community and the Police Department. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, August 3. Pupek, who said she has been a part of the event for 14 years, said she is currently looking for any student volunteers.

Proulx provided the district update. “Masking indoors and maintaining other safety guidelines is not required but encouraged,” Proulx said. She added, “Unvaccinated individuals are encouraged to continue to mask especially when you can’t socially distance.” She said for the fall schools will be required to be in-person, five days a week. She said that all DESE requirements including socially distancing will be lifted but added that there was a caveat that states, “DESE will continue to collaborate with the Department of Health to issue any additional health and safety recommendations over the summer, for example masks for elementary students. DESE will provide updates to districts as it receives them.”

Davis asked if there would still be a protocol for contact tracing. Proulx said, “the Local Board of Health and the Department of Health may put in certain expectations… similar to the ways when someone has strep throat; the nurse might put out a notification that there was a child in the classroom that had strep throat and if you experience any of these symptoms, please contact your physician.”

Proulx also said that she has been made aware of the possibility of a vaccination clinic for residents 12 and up in Kingston, Halifax, Plympton, and Duxbury. She said the event would be staffed by volunteers from the Kingston Board of Health and nurses. “We will send out information to community members if they’re interested,” Proulx said. The event will take place at Kingston Intermediate School. She said they were hoping for two dates in July and two dates in August.

McGee asked Proulx if there had been any kind of polling done on the families that had elected to be full remote this past year to see if they plan on returning or homeschooling or some other alternative. Proulx said that anyone wishing to homeschool would send in an application. She also pointed out that the school district would not be responsible for providing any sort of virtual option. “As you know, it’s very expensive to provide that option,” she said. She also said that she anticipated students returning in the fall.

Davis asked that the emotional well-being of the teachers and other staff also be remembered as they enter into a new school year pointing out that some may still be uncomfortable returning to school particularly without safety requirements. Proulx said that they absolutely plan to acknowledge that and celebrate the staff during this year’s opening day. “One of the things we will talk about is the hero’s journey,” she said.

There was also a report given by the standing committees. Silver Lake Education Association (SLEA) President Jon Lay pointed out that the aides will be part of the SLEA during negotiations for the first time this year. “We’re all very excited to be going back to school, hopefully as normal as possible,” Lay said. Lay said that he was nervous regarding the Delta variant of the Covid virus. He also said that he would like to see the district continue to spread the message that unvaccinated individuals are still encouraged to mask. He also said that he wanted to make sure that kids that are still wearing masks are not being bullied for it.

McGee gave an update on PAC. She said that the one bit of fun news is that they voted to establish a student council. She said the idea was initiated by two students and two teachers.

Eklund provided an update on Safety/Facilities/Fees/Revenue Sub-Committee. He said they plan to do a campus tour with CTE. “The plan, additionally, is to setup a sort of three town summit I’ll call it, in September with Selectmen, Fin Com, Capital Plans, whoever else wants to join the fun in one big three town meeting,” Eklund explained.

The Silver Lake High football team had some standards on the roster this past spring, and a couple of those athletes recently got recognition for their achievements.

Each year, newspapers around the state create their own all-scholastic teams, and this past school year was no different. The Patriot Ledger revealed their football all-scholastic team last week, primarily composed of high school football players from the South Shore.

The list included a pair of Lakers athletes: Kyle Cipullo and Ben Lofstrom.

Cipullo made the cut for his skills on both sides of the football. He played both offensive and defensive line for the Lakers. Cipullo, who is 6-foot-1, had a strong career as a three-year starter who amassed six sacks and blocked three kicks. On defense this past school year, he had a pair of sacks and four tackles for a loss.

Football isn’t his only sport; he was a two-time Patriot League all-star for his wrestling.  His athletic future appears to be in football and is set to play for Anna Maria College (an NCAA Division 3 school in Paxton, Massachusetts) this upcoming fall.

Lofstrom, made the list for his play as quarterback in his Lakers career. He holds the school’s all-time record for both passing yards (4,621) and touchdown passes (42).

This past season, he had five touchdown passes in seven games for the Lakers along with 531 passing yards in what was a rebuilding year for the team.

This marks his second straight season making the all-scholastic list. He too is a two-sport athlete. Lofstrom was a Patriot League all-star in both football and basketball. He will attend Fairfield University in Connecticut.

The Silver Lake High boys’ lacrosse team enjoyed plenty of success yet again this season — and they received some recognition for it.

The team’s head coach, Derek Weckbacher, was named as the Patriot League Coach of the Year for boys’ lacrosse. It marks the third time that he has received the award.

Weckbacher has built the team from the ground up. He took over the program at a time when the team really struggled. In 2016, the team lost each of the first 17 games of the season. Their lone win of the season came over a struggling Milton Wildcats program. However, in the three years since then, he has compiled a record of 46-26 — meaning that despite that slow start he has a winning record in his career as a Lakers head coach. That record is 47-43 overall.

Since then, the Lakers have enjoyed plenty of success, becoming a perennial playoff contender. The team has had four seasons since then because there was no 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. In each of those four seasons (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) the Lakers have made the playoffs. And this year, the program reached another milestone. The Lakers got their first ever playoff win.

The Lakers went 9-6 overall and beat the Barnstable Red Raiders 11-6 in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Hingham in the MIAA Division 1 south quarterfinal round.

Since the Lakers had a strong season, they had five Patriot League All-Stars: Andrew Tilton, Jake Generazo, Kyle Neal, Tommy Condon, and Christopher Broderick.

The team’s season came to a close on June 22.

The Silver Lake High girls’ softball team enjoyed success in two of their three playoff games last week before their season came to a close.

The team picked up a 17-5 win over the Hopkinton Hillers on Monday, June 21 to advance to the Division 1 South quarterfinal round of the MIAA postseason tournament. There, they also performed well in a bout against Mansfield on Wednesday, June 23. The Lakers won that one 8-5. However, in the Div. 1 South semifinal one day later, they ran into some trouble. The Lakers went up against a tough Bridgewater-Raynham opponent in the semifinal. They lost 14-1 on Thursday, June 24, bringing their season to a close.

After a blowout win over Hopkinton, the Lakers played a competitive game against Mansfield. The Lakers started the game from behind as Mansfield put up two runs in the top of the first inning. However, the Lakers had a myriad of contributors at the plate and scored in four of the six innings in which they had at-bats. Samantha Waters and Brianna Ghilardi each had a team-high three hits in the win for the Lakers. Meanwhile, Waters, Hannah Kelleher, and Quinn Slyker each drove in a pair of runs for the team. On the mound, Ghilardi went six innings, allowed nine runners to reach base and struck out nine batters as she picked up the win.

And in the loss to Bridgewater-Raynham, their opponent had plenty of offensive success early. B-R scored nine runs in the top of the first inning and three more in the inning after that. The Lakers got 10 hits in the game and Jayme Carr had a team-high three of those hits.

With the loss, the Lakers finished the season at 12-4.

The Halifax Board of Health met in-person on Wednesday, June 16. Newly sworn-in member Candice Greene was sitting in on her first meeting since being appointed to the open position through 2022 by both the Board of Health and Board of Selectmen. Greene holds a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP). Greene requested that they change the time of the Board of Health meetings from 6 pm on Wednesdays to 6:30. The Board agreed.

Chair Steven MacFaun began the meeting by reconfiguring the Board. MacFaun said he would like to keep himself as Chair, Pamela Engstrom as Vice-Chair, and Greene as Clerk. Engstrom made the motion, Greene seconded, and the vote was unanimous. The Board also voted unanimously to reappoint Bob Valery as the Health Agent. “It’s my privilege,” Valery said.

MacFaun turned to Valery saying, “Alright Bob, let’s talk about porta potties.” The question surrounded whether or not Cled’s Tree Service at 0 Monponsett needs to have a porta potty. The Board needed to determine if anyone was working at either property. Valery said, “So, at Cled’s, up until Monday, I haven’t observed anyone working at their property.” He continued, “At 0 Monponsett, I haven’t observed anybody on their property since the… site visits that I did there.” The Board felt that it didn’t make sense to require either property to have a porta potty since there didn’t appear to be workers at either site. Engstrom asked if there was any kind of requirement that accompanied any of the permits belonging to the property that would require a porta potty on site. Valery said that the previous Board of Health had sent a letter to Cled’s letting them know that if there were on-site workers, a porta potty would be required.

There was some discussion regarding whether a porta potty is sufficient from a hygienic perspective. MacFaun said, “I mean it’s always been the way it was; I mean construction sites have porta potties they have self-sanitizer dispensers, they have soap dispensers… I remember past discussions; I’m not going to make them bring in a beauty trailer.” A resident spoke up and said that Cled’s does have employees working there most days. Valery said that the same resident had called in a noise complaint on Monday that Valery had addressed. Valery did request that they first vote on the porta potty concern prior to addressing any other complaints. “I almost think we err on the side of caution and make them have it,” MacFaun said. The Board unanimously voted to require porta potties at both sites.

They then turned their attention back to the noise complaint. Chris Winiewicz of Circuit St. spoke saying, “This has been ongoing since pre-Covid… I’ve never had a problem with Cled’s as long as they have been down at the Industrial Park… until he got what is generally referred to as a tub grinder… you can hear this machine up until about a mile away; inside the house you can hear it reverberating in your ears.” He continued, “I’ve also done research and it looks like that machine is not allowed in any district under our bylaws.” “The best way to a solution to anything we do in this town is through collaboration; we have resources… that collectively should be able to come to a resolve on this situation before we have to involve the DEP,” Valery said. Valery said that the Board of Health is typically the first to address any noise complaints. Valery said they would try to reach out to them first internally. Winiewicz clarified, “I’m not against his business… this is all friendly neighbor here.”

The Board then turned their attention to the beaches. Valery said that the Halifax Beach off of Lingan St. had an initial E. coli reading that is just above the recommended levels. Valery guessed that recent downpours had pushed any debris including dog droppings into the water off Lingan St. raising the levels. He clarified that the levels were only slightly elevated and said that if anyone had been swimming in it prior, they should be fine assuming they don’t have open wounds and weren’t drinking from it. As of June 22, the beach remains closed.

Valery provided a COVID update. “Right now, things are going very well,” Valery said. He pointed out the widespread availability of vaccines at various locations. He recommended that those that cannot or choose not to be vaccinated maintain social distancing and wear a mask.

They also addressed a number of permits including ones for dog shows and seasonal mobile food trucks. MacFaun only questioned the request for a permit by Twin Lakes Package as he said he believed they needed an occupancy permit before they could receive a permit to sell things. Valery said that despite the lack of the occupancy permit, the Board could still approve the other permits for the business. The Board voted unanimously to approve all requested permits. Valery said that the food trucks and other establishments bring in revenue for the town and said it would be wise to encourage residents to attend.