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.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on July 8 during a meeting that had both a packed house and a packed agenda.

Finance Committee Interviews

The first appointment for one of the three open spots on the Finance Committee was with Michael Bennett. Andrews began by asking Bennett if he was aware of the time commitment that he stated was from January to May. Bennett, who said he has lived in town for 13 years, said he has worked 40 years in the IT industry. “The last twenty, maybe even a little more, as a manager responsible for developing budgets, managing budgets, and dealing with changes to those budgets,” Bennett explained.

Martha Hall was next to interview for the Committee. “I’ve been working in educational publishing for the last almost 30 years. My last two jobs are probably most relevant; I worked at a company in Plymouth that was a vendor for the educational publishing industry and there I created a whole division in licensing and permissions that didn’t exist before… I ran my own P & L, budgets, RFP, all that kind of good stuff,” Hall said. She said she was then hired away by the vendor’s biggest client, Cengage Learning, where she works today and runs three different divisions. Andrews asked if she would be interested in any other Boards and Committees and Hall said she would be, particularly the Historical Commission.

Michael O’Brien was the third candidate to interview. O’Brien said he currently works in education and has been working in schools for the last ten years. “I was a teacher first and now I’m on the administrative side,” O’Brien explained. He continued, “I’ve done everything from fundraising and development to international programs and student affairs; my wife and I recently moved to the town a couple of months ago… I’m excited to serve the town in some capacity.”

The final applicant for the Finance Committee was Jon Schmaling who said he has lived in town for nearly 12 years, and is a director at a for-profit school in Plymouth. “I pretty much have run every aspect of that business for the last twelve years,” he told the Board. He said he has experience with marketing, budgets, tuition increases, payroll, etc. “I’ve also been heavily involved with debt collection,” he added.

In addition to the three open spots on the Finance Committee, Cheryll Zarrella Burke is also up for reappointment. The Selectmen agreed to put off the voting and final appointments until a later date when the Finance Committee would also be fully present.

Alison Vance Resignation

At this point in the meeting, the Halifax Elementary School Committee meeting was initiated, and Selectman Gordon Andrews recused himself as a member of the Board of Selectmen to assume his other role on the Halifax Elementary School Committee. Schmaling said that she wanted to read Alison Vance’s resignation letter from the Elementary School Committee to clear things up for the public. First, Summer Schmaling thanked Vance for her years of service. Regarding Vance’s letter and the School Committee’s reaction to that letter, Schmaling said, “We were very upset about it, to be frank.” Vance’s letter stated that she had the utmost respect for her fellow Committee members but noted, “I did not sign up for the false accusations, threats of legal action, inaccurate statements made on social media, and general nastiness from certain members of the community these last few months.” It continued, “To say that I am disappointed in their behavior is an understatement. Mostly the inaccurate and misguided social media posts made by Robert Slager and the relentless, self-serving, self-righteous, one-sided, misinformed, arrogant, aggressive, threatening, divisive, and overall disturbing emails and Facebook posts presented by Evan Smith to the School Committee have led me to feel unsafe and unfairly criticized in a volunteer role.”

Halifax Elementary School Committee Interviews

The first interview was with candidate Marline Amedee. Amedee, who has a child in the school system, has interviewed for the role in the past. She said she wants to serve her community and “learn about my fellow constituents and citizens and help them to bring a great education to the students and children in Halifax.” Amedee said she feels that her experience as a social worker and her Masters in counseling and psychology would benefit the Committee. One of the newest members of the School Committee, Jim Keegan, asked Amedee how she felt about partisan politics and personal agendas. “I just want to be part of my community. I don’t have any agenda… we need to remain neutral,” she replied. “I’m not here to represent X or Y; I’m here to represent the children of Halifax,” she continued. Schmaling asked her if she had ever been part of an elected Board before. Amedee said she had been appointed to one by the Mayor in Brockton.

The second candidate to interview for the School Committee was Jennifer Carroll who said she has been a resident of Halifax for nearly 20 years and currently has four children in the school system. “I have been a very active volunteer in this town… I have run fundraisers for the PTO, I have volunteered at just about every bookfair, Breakfast with Santa, fun runs, field trips,” Carroll said. “It got to the point where I probably should have been on payroll,” she said laughing. Carroll also said that she has over 15 years of experience with accounting and finances. Keegan also asked Carroll about her opinion on partisan politics and how it relates to the School Committee in Halifax. “I don’t believe that the School Committee has anything to do with anything political… I don’t think that it holds any place on a school committee,” she replied.

The final candidate was Michael O’Brien, who had also interviewed for the Finance Committee. O’Brien, who has no children, said he has only lived in Halifax since February. He said he has been working in education for the last decade and currently works at Boston College High School. Asked about negotiating with Teacher’s Associations, he noted that it can be “difficult to move the needle.” He added, “At the end of the day transparency is the name of the game with negotiations.” Keegan asked O’Brien the same question he asked the other candidates regarding partisan politics. “I don’t have any preconceived agenda or anything like that… I don’t believe that politics really have any role in school committees or the town,” he responded. O’Brien also noted that he is not on social media.

Summer Schmaling made a motion that was seconded to nominate Jennifer Carroll to the School Committee. School Committee member Lauren Laws spoke up and said that she felt that it was important to honor the town’s input and noted that Marline Amedee actually received the next highest number of votes during the recent town election following the two candidates that were voted onto the Committee. Keegan, who noted that he was asked by multiple people to run for the School Committee, said he had to take into consideration the people who put him in the seat and vote according to his own opinion on who might be the best candidate while noting that all were “excellent.” “I feel like we can’t ignore the democratic process of voting,” Laws countered. There was considerable debate between the School Committee and the Selectmen regarding Laws’ argument. Selectman Troy Garron spoke up in favor of Laws’ opinion. Laws said that it was her understanding that when Alex Meade was elected to the Board, it had been considered that he got the third most votes during the previous election.

The Committee and the Board of Selectmen then took a vote to appoint Carroll. The only no votes came from Laws and Garron. With the majority voting in favor of Carroll, she was appointed to the position. The Halifax Elementary School Committee then adjourned for the evening, leaving the Board of Selectmen to resume the rest of their meeting.

Board of Health Interviews

The Board of Health opened their meeting as part of the Board of Selectmen meeting to hold interviews with the candidates for the opening on the Board of Health. Administrative Assistant to the Board of Health Peggy Selter asked to speak before the interviews were conducted telling the Board of Selectmen, “Mr. Mascio submitted a talent bank form for the Board of Health for the open seat and while I don’t know Mr. Mascio personally, as an employee for the town, I have concerns. He has openly and publicly implied that the town employees are Nazis and Communists…. Why are you entertaining Mr. Mascio for any open seat?” Andrews responded that they were interviewing everyone who submitted a talent bank form.

The first interview was with Candice Greene. Greene, who has lived in Halifax for nine years and has two children at Halifax Elementary, said she has over 15 years of healthcare experience. She began as an EMT and worked as a registered nurse at Tufts Medical Center as well as at Boston Children’s Hospital. Greene has a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP). Asked by Garron how she deals with adversity she responded, “It’s about finding that common ground that works for everyone.”

David Mascio was the second to interview. Mascio said he has lived in Halifax for a little over 5 years and said he is a father of three children. He said he is a heavy equipment mechanic who has been in construction for well over twenty years. He addressed what was said about him by Selter saying a better term than “hostile” to describe him would be “enthusiastic.” He said he looks forward to guiding the residents of Halifax.

Kimberly King-Cavicchi was next to interview. She called the Board of Health “one of the most important Boards that you have to have a quorum for in a municipality.” She said she has knowledge in emergency management, sanitary housing codes, and has some knowledge of septic systems including how to read a plan. Cavicchi said she has lived in Halifax since 2001 with the exception of a four-year break. She is also an associate member with Conservation.

Marline Amedee and Tom Millias both decided not to interview despite submitting talent bank forms. Millias wrote to Seelig giving his support for Alan Dias who was the next to interview. Dias asked that Selectmen Gordon Andrews and Ashley DiSesa recuse themselves from the vote. “Based on prior rulings and Mrs. DiSesa’s activities over the internet and the fact that Mr. Andrews has followed me around, taken pictures of particular jobs, I believe both of them are biased and I don’t believe that I can get a very proper hearing with their votes,” Dias said. Andrews said, “If you want both of us to recuse ourselves, there will be no interview with you.” Andrews cited quorum concerns with the Board of Selectmen as his reasoning and the interview proceeded. Dias said he has been a Board of Health member for six years and involved in town for over 40 years on several Committees. “I think I can handle myself well and I think I’ve been very fair and reasonable to the people in town,” Dias said. He has had a lifelong business in the septic business.

Garron nominated Candice Greene and DiSesa seconded. She was voted in unanimously.

Appointment with Department of Fish and Game

Joan Pierce who was representing the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game met with the Board of Selectmen. Pierce said she was there to ask the Selectmen to please sell them what she referred to as “Parcel A.” She addressed the Selectmen saying, “So we can get you $150,000 this fiscal year.” She also referred to a deal that has been in the works between the town and the Department of Fish and Game for over a year. She said that the sale of what is called the “sliver” is ongoing and noted that the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) still had to do some work on it. Pierce also said that Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig had been involved in recent conversations regarding the sale. “It is guaranteed that the town will get the sliver, but it won’t happen this fiscal year,” Pierce explained. Garron made a motion to move forward with the deal on Parcel A. After confirmation from Pierce that the other deal would definitely happen, the other Selectmen agreed with the motion.

COVID Updates

Seelig shared that the Fire Chief wants to order another batch of rapid COVID tests. Seelig said the tests are $35 each with a minimum order of 20. The batch being used by the Fire Department had expired June 1. Only two tests were used in May. The Board of Health Agent had recommended waiting until the fall as another surge could potentially occur then. Seelig asked the Board if they were okay with that timing and Chair of the Selectmen Gordon Andrews said, “If that’s the guidance, yea, I would.”

Regarding the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), Seelig said that Halifax should expect to see about $2.3 million assuming that the Plymouth County funds are allocated on a per capita basis. Garron asked if the County Commissioner had accepted the funds yet and Seelig said they were waiting to see if the County or the State would be allocating the funds. Seelig said he would be checking on whether the Halifax State of Emergency would continue once the Commonwealth’s declared State of Emergency runs out.

Seelig told the Board, “Good news in terms of reimbursements, the Plymouth County CARES Act folks have sent $657,796.52 in a variety of checks… that’s not new money in the sense of a reimbursement; we already spent the money.” Andrews asked how much was still outstanding for reimbursements and Seelig said he believed it to be a couple hundred thousand dollars.

Re-Precincting

Seelig addressed the possibility of re-precincting. He said that he and Town Clerk Susan Lawless had met with representatives from the State as Halifax’s population was nearing the 8,000 mark. “Under State law no precinct can have more than 4,000 people… the recommendation from the State is to divide the town into three precincts instead of two,” Seelig explained.  Seelig shared a map with the Selectmen showing where the three precincts would be though he noted no decision would be made that night. Seelig recommended to the Board that they send a letter to Representative Kathy LaNatra and Senator Michael Brady requesting that the State not be the ones to draw the precinct lines. “Especially as we are capable of doing it ourselves,” Seelig said. The Board of Selectmen agreed unanimously.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, June 1. Participants could also join virtually via Zoom though newest Selectman Ashley DiSesa made a motion that the chat function be disabled on Zoom. Before seconding the motion, veteran Selectman Troy Garron requested an explanation. DiSesa said, “Because I feel like if someone wants to talk at our meeting, they should raise their hand and say who they are just like they would if they were here.” The motion passed unanimously.

Chair of the Selectmen Gordon Andrews said the first order of business would be a discussion of the possible candidates for the Council on Aging as well as a possible vote on the new Director for the Council on Aging. Chair Jo Schofield addressed the Selectmen saying, “We had selected four applicants from the 16… we interviewed with you the three that we liked the best and we have left it to you to decide which of those you wanted to bring to the Council on Aging.”

She continued, “They desperately need someone over there now; there is absolutely no one in charge.” Garron recommended to his fellow Board members that they choose Darlene Regan. Andrews seconded the motion. “The reason I chose her, for one, she’s familiar with Halifax and the Council on Aging building,” Garron explained. He continued, “She’s approachable and I think as an outreach worker she has her finger on the ball of elderly service.” Regan was voted in unanimously. Regan won the position over fellow finalists Debra Surpenant and Lisa Leake.

Andrews recused himself for the next portion of the meeting. Vice-chair Garron said, “Up for reappointment, who I feel has done an excellent job in his position of Building Inspector, Mr. Piccirilli.” Garron then moved that the Board reappoint Robert Piccirilli as Building Inspector for the next three years. Following a lengthy silence, Garron asked, “Is there a second?” DiSesa responded, “No, I don’t second.” Town Administrator Charlie Seelig then told the Board that if they decided not to reappoint him, the projected schedule for advertising and recruitment would need to have a deadline date of June 18 for applications for the position. Seelig said he hoped to advertise in the Plympton-Halifax Express. He asked the Board what date they would like to hold interviews for candidates for the position. DiSesa and Garron chose June 23 at 6:30 pm. They are already holding interviews for a number of other positions on the evening of June 22.

The Plympton School Committee met remotely on Tuesday, June 1. Superintendent Jill Proulx called the meeting to order and initiated the reorganization of the Committee. Jason Fraser nominated Jon Wilhelmsen to once again serve as Chair. The vote was unanimous.

Wilhelmsen then took over control of the meeting. Committee member Dan Cadogan nominated Fraser to once again serve as Vice Chair and Amy Hempel seconded the motion. It was also voted unanimously. Fraser nominated Hempel to serve as Secretary, a position previously filled by Mike Antoine. As was the case with the other positions, the vote was unanimous.

Special Town Meeting Updates

Under new business, Wilhelmsen said the school had requested a number of transfers to deal with the driveways at the Dennett, a new mower for the fields, and other requests. Wilhelmsen said all passed during the Special Town Meeting.  Another request was to take $20,000 to divide among the employees at the Dennett Elementary as an additional $500 payment. It passed by only two votes during the Special Town Meeting but after that meeting had closed and regular Town Meeting had resumed, it was discovered the Finance Committee’s votes had not been counted. All Finance Committee members voted against the transfer as they felt such a transfer should be granted to other town departments and not limited to just the schools. While the vote was recorded as passed at the Special Town Meeting, Wilhelmsen said he felt that the school should not use the money and return it to the town as the vote would not have passed had it been done accurately. The Committee agreed.

Use of Dennett Fields and Grounds

Regarding correspondence, Hempel sent in a request on behalf of Plympton Athletic Youth Sports (PAYS) to hold a movie night on the Dennett fields following a soccer game on June 12. “It seems like a great event and a great way to sort of kick off the summer,” Wilhelmsen said.  The Committee agreed it was a good idea.

There were also discussions regarding the care of the Dennett grounds. Wilhelmsen said it had been several years since it was last discussed and he wanted to find out the pleasure of the current Committee. While the schools have authority over the grounds, they delegate care of them to the Highway Department and PAYS. Hempel said the budget is quite small with the bulk of it going to sprinklers leaving only $500 for additional maintenance. She explained, however, that PAYS is fine handling the additional expenses as long as they can hold movie nights and other fundraisers to compensate.

The misuse of the fields, particularly regarding dog excrement, was also discussed. Wilhelmsen said that a previous suggestion was to keep bags nearby for dog waste. Wilhelmsen said, “the next step will be to say the fields are off limits.” He said he hated the idea of doing that as it would negatively impact all of those who do pick up after their dogs while enjoying use of the fields.  There are several signs already indicating proper use and procedure regarding picking up after dogs. Hempel said they were aware of who the offenders were.

Pandemic Related Changes

Wilhelmsen brought up the issue of whether or not there could be remote participation once the School Committee meetings are back in-person. He said other committees have tried to do so and found it to be “clunky.” He said their next meeting will be July 12 and then not again until September. He asked the other Committee members if they wished to do that meeting in-person or remotely again. Cadogan asked that the July meeting be held virtually. Wilhelmsen said that provided that the Governor allows for it, the Committee will plan to hold that meeting virtually. He also said that if a streamlined approach could be figured out, he would like to still offer virtual participation for future in-person School Committee meetings. Proulx suggested reaching out to Area 58 for assistance.

COVID-19 updates from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) were also discussed. Fraser called the Plympton Board of Health “a great partner” in helping to keep the schools updated on the changing guidance. For schools, the only change issued was that masks would no longer be required for outdoor activities. There has already been indication that schools will be expected to be open five days a week next year without social distancing in place. Fraser did note that masks at the elementary level are still possible. Summer school guidance does say they expect kids to do exactly what is being done currently for distancing and masking.

Playground and Solar Project Update

Director of Business Services Christine Healy said they have gone out to bid for the playground both for materials and installation. A pre-bid walkthrough of the site was held with several potential vendors. She said four bids came in with a variety of rates and references are now being sought. Healy said the next step will be awarding the bids. Cadogan asked what the timeframe was for completion of the playground and Healy said they were hoping for mid-August.

Wilhelmsen said the agreement on the solar project at the school was voted through at Town Meeting. He said the goal would be to have a structural inspection done by the end of June with construction beginning in July, and the project finished prior to the start of school.

Reports of Standing Committees and Administration

Union 31 held a meeting on May 27 at which point the evaluation of the Superintendent was approved. Wilhelmsen said they also looked to make sure the administrative staff was granted proper time off. Wilhelmsen said that there would be a week over the summer where the administrative office would be closed down in order to provide a much-needed break.

Cadogan provided an update on PAC saying there were six new enrollments. “PAC itself is doing well financially,” he told the Committee.

Fraser provided the update for the Policy Subcommittee. “Policy is a cumbersome thing; it typically takes three months for us to change policies,” he explained. He noted the difficulty in keeping up with the changing guidance coming in from the State. Of note, the face covering policy has been changed to indicate that the Superintendent and School Nurse have the authority to make changes based on new guidance from the State. Several other policies that had been changed to give the Superintendent the ability to make changes have now been reset to their original intent prior to the COVID emergency. Other policy amendments include ensuring student privacy when learning in a remote setting.

Hempel provided the CASA update saying the last staff luncheon will be held in a couple of weeks. She also said that they have secured a local cultural council grant for an enrichment program. Some openings on CASA will also be advertised. “They did an amazing job, especially with the baskets,” Wilhelmsen said referencing the livestream of the fundraising event.

Dennett Elementary Principal Peter Veneto also provided an update. “I couldn’t be prouder of the staff, the students, the families,” he said referencing making it to the end of the unusual year. He said the senior parade will be taking place allowing seniors to return to their elementary school for a final farewell. The sixth graders will be participating in step up day where they tour the middle school. He said kindergarten numbers are holding tight right around 40. “That’s not a small number,” Wilhelmsen noted.

Healy provided a financial update saying the FY21 budget continued to sustain the Dennett even with the unusual year that was had. She said despite a number of deficits they should be easily absorbed in other areas.

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said that there were Dennett staff members working toward diversity, equity, and inclusion and ways to incorporate those ideals into the curriculum and the community. Lynch also spoke about the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. He referred to the ESSER funds, which are in part meant to offset the loss of learning time due to the pandemic, as a once in a lifetime opportunity. The funds are allocated but their uses must be approved.

Fraser suggested using some of the ESSER funds to better compensate staff members to run after school clubs for the coming year. He said it would be interesting to see if some staff members might offer AM as well as PM sessions for various clubs. Hempel said that pre-COVID they had run through some ideas regarding clubs including gardening, Lego, robotics etc. but said that payments for staff was always an issue. Cadogan asked if they were limited to teachers and staff or if they could hire someone outside the school system. Hempel said that the idea was a possibility. “We’re still kind of in the information gathering phase,” Veneto said about the venture. Healy said the ideal mechanism for staff payment would be to have a revolving fund established through Town Meeting. Wilhelmsen spoke about the importance of the clubs for the social and emotional well being of students especially given the stress of the pandemic over the past year plus.

Superintendent Proulx provided a district update. She said that districts will no longer be able to offer remote learning as a standard learning model in the fall. The meal flexibilities are available through June of 2022 regardless of the State’s state of emergency. Proulx also noted that youths aged 12 and up are now eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine. She said a Summer Learning Academy will be offered to offset learning losses as a result of the pandemic. It will be held at the Kingston Intermediate School and will be intended for elementary aged students. Another program will be offered for select students at the middle school level.

Fraser addressed Proulx saying, “It was a pleasure taking part in the evaluation of the Superintendent and acknowledging your hard work this past year.” Proulx said she couldn’t take credit for the successes of the past year calling it a community effort.

The Monday, May 17 Plympton Board of Selectmen meeting began with a reorganization of the Board. Current Clerk John Traynor led the reorganization nominating himself to serve as Chair for the coming year. Upon not hearing a motion for a second, Traynor said, “So, knowing that this was coming, I at least would like to point out a few things. I’ve been involved in town government for 33 years, 12 on the Finance Committee, eight on the Library Trustee, eight as Moderator, and five years as Selectman. For the last five years we have rotated the Chair every year except one when Mr. Russo declined it. My community involvement, as I’m sure like yours, is I go back as far as being a Cub Scout Treasurer. I’m founder of the Library Genealogy Club and a longtime member of the Upland Club where I served as President, Vice President, Treasurer and Director at various times. So, I guess my question to Mr. Russo and Mrs. Joy is what exactly has prevented you from seconding my nomination?”

Referencing an email sent requesting her support of the motion, Selectman Christine Joy said that her concern was open meeting law. “I think you are incredibly qualified, and I have no doubt that you always have the best interest of the town at heart. Perception is so important, and I think that we always need to err on the side of caution.” Selectman Mark Russo said, “We each have strengths and some weaknesses; we each have different styles. I think, actually, to some extent, that has been the strength of the three of us together in four years; our styles have been kind of complimentary. We have our set projects, our pet projects and we’ve done very well over the past four years… really it’s just a matter of style… the best person to Chair would be Christine.” Traynor then made a motion that Joy be made Chair for the coming year. It was then voted through unanimously. Traynor was voted Vice-Chair and Russo was named Clerk.

The Selectmen then turned their attention to the next steps and timeline of the disposition of town owned land. Traynor asked that it be put on the agenda for the following meeting so that the Town Properties Committee could lend their thoughts. Colleen Morin and Christine Kelly from the Treasurer’s Office were on the line as was Atty. David Coppola. Coppola provided an explanation of how towns typically dispose of land that they have acquired through tax foreclosure. “Once you have these properties the town can use these properties for their own town purposes or if they don’t have a need for them, they can subsequently sell them and the most common way to do that and probably the simplest way to do that is through public auction.” Coppola explained that the Board of Selectmen would appoint someone to oversee the sale of the property with that person generally being the treasurer/collector though he noted it can really be any qualified individual. That custodian would then work with other town departments to determine which properties will be auctioned. The next step would be to actually hold the auction. Coppola said another option would be a request for sealed bids; the property would have to be declared surplus through a town meeting vote.

Joy asked Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen when he thought the Committee would be able to survey the list of properties and make recommendations. Wilhelmsen said that they had looked at some lists saying, “from a general perspective, I think the Town Properties Committee is certainly in favor to sell properties that people have an ability to use but not such that they are able to take those and combine them to create buildable lots; we don’t think that is a wise use of the land and… better almost to leave the land as open.” Wilhelmsen said they would look at whatever list the Board of Selectmen would like them to at their next Town Properties meeting.

Next on the agenda was a discussion of Area 58’s live meeting coverage. Traynor said that one of the things that had been discussed was the possibility of streaming the Board of Selectmen meetings live while also capturing it with Zoom. He said the one attempt to do so, did not work out though Area 58 felt it was still possible with some tweaks. Traynor reached out to Silver Lake Regional Technology Director Steve Pellowe who said it would be a relatively easy process taking roughly two hours to complete if the right consultant was brought onboard.

Russo expressed some concern about using Area 58’s Zoom number as opposed to their own saying he was hesitant to give up that control. Traynor said that one of the benefits as he sees it, is that seniors who may not have the technology know-how to figure out Zoom, could turn on their televisions and live stream the meetings that way.

Following the discussion on Area 58, Joy turned to the Host Community Agreement (HCA) with Sweet Grass Farms on 77 Spring St. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said that Russo and herself had been in contact with town counsel to see what an HCA draft would look like. Dennehy said they would need to determine if they are asking for the three percent impact fee right at the outset. She also said that they would need to determine how to handle the community benefit fund; some towns ask for it as one lump sum of say $50,000 while other towns take a more incremental approach receiving something like $10,000 a year. The third item that would need to be ironed out would be the charitable contributions. The project proponent would have the say over which local entities they would disperse the funds to. “Sweet Grass Enterprise has been really great to work with so far and they seem like a really nice earnest bunch,” Russo said. He said he saw the three percent surcharge to be reasonable. For the other funds, Russo said he would be in favor of a much more modest ask. Traynor said he was in favor of the higher amount for the community benefit fund.

After much discussion, Dennehy said that for this round of negotiations they would ask for the three percent impact fee. Joy proposed finding out what Sweet Grass had in mind for the other categories. Dennehy said that they could ask them if they would prefer the community benefit fund to be in the form of a one-time lump sum payment or whether that would be too much to ask of a small, start-up company. Wilhelmsen suggested taking the payments and putting it away to be used for something greater than just offsetting budget items. He likened it to the Dennett using school choice funds in part to pay for the new playground.

Dennehy provided an update on various topics including COVID 19. “Our Covid numbers are as low as we’ve seen them,” she told the Board. She said the town has reconnected with GATRA so being accepted as a member community is still on the horizon. She said that work on the Soule Homestead project is still underway as well. Dennehy also said that the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) did great work for the Highway Department regarding traffic counts for speed zones. They will be attending the June 7 Board of Selectmen meeting to discuss their findings.

As customary, the Board ended their meeting with their rants and raves for the last few weeks. Russo said, “I was incredibly impressed for a little tiny town in slightly challenging times how smooth the town meeting operation was; I want to rave about the town administrator, the town moderator, the school people, the town clerk, the AV people and Area 58. That was really cool; that was really well put together.” He also said he was impressed with how serious residents were who attended the meeting.

Traynor said he wanted to rave about Barry DeCristofano’s handling of town meeting saying he “runs it as good as anybody has ever run it.”

Joy said her first rave was for Brian Kling and his handling of an incident involving her own dog. Her second rave was for the various local Fire Departments’ handling of a house fire on her street the night before.

Saturday, May 15, was Election Day in Plympton.   Out of 2,392 registered voters, there were 417 ballots cast, or 17.43%.

Town Clerk Patricia Detterman posted the following unofficial results.

The selectmen’s race saw incumbent Christine M. Joy win her bid for re-election to a three – year term with 341 votes to David Detterman’s nine votes.  There were 65 votes left blank and Other got two votes.

The 3-year term for Assessor saw 404 Blank and 13 Other.

The 1-year term for Assessor saw 416 Blank and one Other.

Harry Weikel won re-election to a three-year term on the Board of Health with 336 votes.  81 left their choice blank.

Nathanial Sides won another three-year term on the Finance Committee with 35 votes in a write-in campaign.  378 were left blank and Other got two votes.

Miranda Anne Pink got 333 votes to fill one three-year term as Library Trustee.  The other three-year term only got two votes and there were 499 blank votes for the two positions.

The one-year term for Library Trustee won just three votes for Other and 414 Blank.

James Cohen won the seat on the Planning Board for five years with 33 votes.  Sean Mahoney got 20 votes, Others got 10 votes and 354 were left Blank.

Paul d’Angelo, longtime member of the Planning Board, won a seat for four years with 31 votes to Jeff Johnson’s 22 votes.  Others were 6.  358 votes were left blank.

A spirited contest for School Committee saw Jason W. Fraser re-elected to one of the seats with 288 votes and newcomer Nicole M. Mahoney will join the board on the other seat after gaining 169 votes.  Other candidates, Suzanne Jefferian got 106 votes and Robert R. Montgomery took 131.  Blanks were 139, and Other got one vote.

Lukasz Kowalski won a three-year term to the Silver Lake Regional School Committee with 321 votes and Other got one vote.  95 left it blank.

Town Clerk Patricia Detterman was re-elected to a three-year term with 343 votes, Other got five votes, and Blanks were 69.

William N. Hayes, Jr. won another three-year term as tree warden with  345 votes.   Blanks were  72.