HALIFAX– The Town of Halifax held a Special Town Meeting Monday, July 25, in the Halifax Elementary School Gym. There were six articles on the warrant, all of which passed unanimously.

Article 1 funded an increase in staffing for the fire department in the amount of $210,000. This money was found through an increase in ambulance fees approved at the last Town Meeting.

Articles 2 and 3 had to do with dispatching. Article 2 funded a new agreement with the dispatcher’s union, while Article 3 combined various line items for the communications center into one line item.

Article 4 involved the first step in the Elementary School renovation and repair process, and appropriated $140,000 towards the process.

Articles 5 and 6, the former asking for money for additional work on Monponsett Pond and the latter to renovate the HOPS playground were passed over at the recommendation of the Board of Selectmen.

HALIFAX– At the continuation of a dog hearing on Tuesday, July 19, Jennifer Choate, proprietor of Tarawood Kennels, was ordered by selectmen to hire a sound engineer in order to keep her kennel license.

Neighbors, at a hearing that began last week but which Choate could not attend, complained of near constant barking that could be heard at all hours.

Choate says the dogs are indoors from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., in an insulated barn– although the roof is not insulated.

The public did not testify as much as public officials debated Choate.

Selectman Kim Roy, who has been doing her own research on the barking by showing up at random times throughout the day and night, along with a dozen or so neighbors, say that there is a barking problem.  Neighbors say that they have put up with it for years.

Roy and Choate disagreed on whether there actually was a problem, with Choate stating that Roy was causing the dogs to “alert” with her very presence at odd hours, such as 4:51 a.m. as in one of her recordings. In that recording, one could argue that morning birds were louder than the barking, although barking could be heard.

“I wanted to disprove the barking, I really did,” said Roy. Choate “disagreed” with a lot that the board and her neighbors had to say.

Selectman Chairman Troy Garron relied heavily on the expertise of the Animal Control Officer Noreen Callahan, but Callahan stated that her concern was primarily for the animals’ safety, which was not the issue at hand.

While the other board members seemed as if they wanted to “prescribe” some solution swiftly, Selectman Tom Millias said he wanted to get away from prescribing a solution for a person’s business, because if it fails, “we will all be back in the same position again.”

The board came to a somewhat odd solution, which was to order Choate to hire a professional sound engineer to come up with  or help Choate to come up with a plan to mitigate barking noise.

She will report back to selectmen in one week on her progress.

PLYMPTON -The Amy Breault benefit event at the Upland Sportsman Club, Upland Road, Plympton, will be held Sunday, July 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Amy, a resident of Plympton, was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis, which progressed to secondary-progressive MS.  She has been invited to Russia to take part in an experimental treatment to use her own body’s stem cells to treat her MS.  Because this highly effective treatment is not available in the United States, Amy will go to Russia to receive her stem cell treatment.

Amy, with her companion Brendan Bibaud, invites the community to join them at the Upland Sportsman Club in Plympton on Sunday, July 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There will be a DJ, raffles, and much more for a family afternoon for all ages.  There is no charge to come and meet Amy under the Upland Club Pavilion and lend support to her mission.

Optional tickets for the chicken bake dinner are $20 per person and can be purchased at the Upland Club or by calling Kim at (781) 585-5741.  All proceeds will go to Amy for her stem cell treatment in Russia.

For those who wish to help but cannot attend, donations may be made directly at http://www.youcaring.com/amy-breault-360701.

PLYMPTON– The Plympton Board of Selectmen held a lengthy meeting on Monday, June 27 and along with continuing a gravel permit hearing– see accompanying article– they discussed matters as various as choosing a locking system for Town House, Selectman John Traynor’s “talent bank”, and overall compliance with zoning and permitting rules.

Locks for Town House

The Selectmen discussed last week how too many people had keys to Town House and some possible solutions for replacing the locks.

One idea was an electronic card reader, that either reads a magnetic stripe or uses radio-frequency chip, such as in a bank or hotel as a “key-card” system. Town Administrator Dale Pleau researched these types of systems, and noted that they would cost “thousands of dollars” for even the simplest of systems. Although they do have advantages, such as central computerized logging of all access, the Board agreed with Pleau that the expense was too great.

The Selectmen chose the option of “re-keying” the door– or simply changing the locks– and being much more careful with which Board and Committee members receive keys after the locks are changed.

Selectman Christine Joy wants the keys to be non-duplicable, even if that is an additional cost.

Talent Bank

Although he wants to get away from the wording, “talent bank”, the concept, such as the one that exists in Halifax is something that Selectman John Traynor has brought with him to the Board.

He would like townspeople who are interested in volunteering with the Town in some way, but do not have a specific idea of how they would like to volunteer to fill out a form that would be retained on file and the town could contact that individual as necessary.

He also wishes to identify those in Town with specific skills that might be needed, and target them by asking them to volunteer.

Traynor has been working diligently to see how programs work in surrounding communities, but he does want to do more thorough research and not rush things in Plympton.

He is planning on pushing back implementing the concept until the end of the summer as he continues to refine the plans.

Compliance

The Board says that it has come to their attention that many Townspeople are simply skipping dealing with Town House altogether, and striking it out on their own when starting a construction project or the like.

This is illegal, and can be dangerous.

The Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Colleen Thompson warned residents that they do in fact need to pull the appropriate permits and that violators will be dealt with appropriately.

The Board is considering taking out a newspaper advertisement to drive this point home. They also wish to inform residents that once they have a permit in hand, they need to follow the rules and stipulations on that permit.

PLYMPTON– According to documents obtained from the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds and Plympton officials, the sale of the vacant property at 59 Parsonage Road from the USDA to Richmond Poole is being held up due to an almost two years-old order placed  by the Board of Health on the title to the property.

In September, 2014, Health Agent Cathy Drinan ordered the USDA Farm Service Agency, a federal lending agency which through default proceedings became the owner of the property, to take certain corrective actions to improve the safety of the property following a barn fire that occurred around that time.

After that fire, the house and surrounding land, including trailers with indications of illegal septic hook-ups were so unsafe that even fire personnel were ordered not to enter, according to documents.

The letter in part stated: “The house and trailers are all uninhabitable. The house doors are open, its chimneys are crumbling, the floors are collapsing, the roof and ceiling are collapsing in the kitchen, the ceilings in other rooms are collapsing, and mold is on all the surfaces…The trailers are in the same condition, if not worse. Animals are using the trailers, evidenced by large amounts [of] animal scat. There are also narrow animal paths through the high vegetation to all the trailers and some burrows in the ground…The trailers have evidence of illegal septic systems, determined by the pipes going into the ground from under the trailers…The open unsafe house and trailers pose serious safety threats and are examples of an attractive nuisance to children. This applies to the burned barn also, that has a lower level that is now barely visible between and under the burned beans. There is a deep hole under those beams.”

Drinan laid out corrective actions that needed to be taken immediately, but were never taken, according to Art Morin, chairman of the Board of Health. The USDA, he says, does not have a good history of working with local officials.

The USDA, which successfully auctioned off the house to Plympton resident Richmond Poole, still cannot close on the property because the Board’s letter constitutes a “cloud” on the title according to a letter from Poole’s attorney to the BOH even though Morin states that the USDA incorrectly advertised the property as having a clear title.

Poole is claiming that he cannot continue work on the property, although his attorney says he has completed six of the eight corrective actions the Board ordered, without a “memorandum of understanding” among himself and the other parties, in which the USDA allows him to continue to work on the property by putting money in escrow, and when completed, the BOH will lift the letter on the title and Poole’s lender can disburse money to him to close on the property.

Notably, from the road, trailers are still visible on the property. Poole claims he has not been authorized by the USDA to remove the trailers from the property until he closes, nor does he have the funding to take the trailers off before he closes.

According to Drinan, and documents obtained from Plympton Health officials, the Board is currently working with Poole and his attorney for draft language of such a memorandum of understanding for consideration. He is also seeking a re-inspection of the property by Drinan, at his own expense, to ensure that everything that needs to be taken care of from the Board of Health’s point-of-view has in fact been taken care of.

Last week, June 1, Halifax Selectmen held an energetic hearing on remote dispatching for the Police and Fire Departments from the dispatch center in Duxbury, which handles Police and Fire emergency calls for both Duxbury and Plympton, and wishes to expand.

According to Selectman Kim Roy, contracting out dispatching to Duxbury would represent significant savings, in the realm of $175,000, if the talks proceed for the 5-year contract. She also noted that the state is encouraging towns to regionalize with grants and that the end “product” would be the same or even better.

Plympton had a very smooth transition to regional dispatch, according to Selectman Tom Millias, who works as the Building Inspector in Plympton. “It has been outstandingly run well,” he said according to the Police and Fire Chiefs in that town.

Some residents were concerned about the police station “going dark” because the dispatcher is at times the only person at the station in the evening when officers are patrolling, although there are very few walk-in emergencies a year, according to Police Chief Edward Broderick, and even then a dispatcher “following the rules” cannot let someone into the station past the lobby until an officer arrives.

There are plans to build a “safe-room” at the station, where someone could lock themselves inside, communicate with a remote dispatcher, and take shelter in an emergency until an officer arrives, said Chief Broderick, in the rare event someone needs refuge.

Broderick noted that might be safer than the current situation, where the lobby door is unlocked.

Another concern expressed is that dispatchers at a regional center might not be familiar with roads or landmarks in Halifax. Yet, already two Halifax dispatchers have been hired by Duxbury and if Halifax joins, there is a possibility that they might hire others. Roy also noted that when Halifax hires a new dispatcher, they have to learn the streets, too.

“If there’s a place for obscure streets, it’s Plympton,” said Millias to much laughter, referencing the smooth transition Plympton had to dispatching from Duxbury’s center. “I have trouble finding streets in Plympton.”

Both Roy and Selectmen Chairman Troy Garron stated that the board was obligated to look at this proposal because taxpayers are demanding efficiencies, and selectmen serve at the will of the townspeople.

The high-tech facility located on Tremont Street, in South Duxbury, is able to not only take 911 calls and dispatch the appropriate personnel and assets, but monitor their status in real-time. Video feeds from the schools and other town surveillance cameras allow them to give very specific details about an emergency to first-responders. Cameras from Plympton will be coming online shortly, and Halifax is demanding them upfront in their negotiations, according to Duxbury officials.

Selectmen have made it clear many times that they have not made up their minds yet on the issue, and that this is not a “done-deal”. They say they are working with the departments, not “looking down on them” and imposing a change.

“There is no good reason to do this if it is not something that the Police Department and the Fire Department are comfortable with,” said Roy. “There is no way we would give you a service that would harm you or your family.”

HALIFAX– No, despite what may be going around on social media, the Halifax Police Station will not be moving to Duxbury. Neither will the fire station. But, just as Plympton has done, and many other communities around the state, including all of Barnstable County, Halifax officials led by Selectman Kim Roy have furthered discussions with Duxbury officials and state 911 officials to contract-out dispatching of Halifax emergency personnel to Duxbury, which was the focus of the discussion at the BOS meeting on Tuesday, May 24.

Duxbury already contracts this function for the Town of Plympton, and the addition of Halifax would officially upgrade Duxbury to a regional emergency communications center (RECC), making them eligible for further grant money, an incentive for them to assist Halifax.

The state would also assist Halifax during the transition period to Duxbury dispatching and with upgrades to technology needed for the project to work, Roy estimated the savings, with an initial 5-year contract, would be in the realm of $175,000 per year.

The decision makes sense on a variety of levels, says Roy. There are incentives from the state –  the savings are significant – but not only that, both the police and fire departments are supportive. “If you had said you’re crazy, we wouldn’t even be talking about this,” said Roy to the chiefs.

Furthermore, Halifax simply cannot afford to attract new dispatchers, and has had high turnover rates in the past. Roy says one dispatcher has already tendered his resignation and will leave for Duxbury anyway, and that Duxbury may be able to hire the remaining Halifax dispatchers, if the deal moves forward, as they will need a larger staff at their RECC.

Both chiefs stated that the “end-user” experience would not change. Police Chief Broderick furthered that most people would never know the difference. Plympton authorities have previously stated that they are pleased with their arrangement and that for the most part, the transition was smooth.

Officials were quick to point out this is not a done deal. At least one public hearing will be held, currently scheduled for June 1 at 7 p.m., Town Hall, and that further due-diligence is needed to hammer out a fair agreement for the town and work out the finer details.

In other public safety news, in what has become an almost routine announcement by the selectmen, the Halifax Fire Department led by Chief Jason Vivieros has received yet another large grant, this time to replace 27 aging portable radios with new digital-capable radios that meet current communications standards. The grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is a 95%/5% split, meaning the town will have to match a small portion of the $62,100 project.

• The Halifax Board of Selectmen will next meet on Tuesday, June 14 at 6 p.m.

• The Halifax Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, June 14 at 7:45 p.m. on an application from Morse Brothers, Inc. to remove 41,600 cubic yard of fill from their property. This material is on an elevated portion of their property and they seek to remove the material in order to increase cranberry yields on other portions of the property, according to town officials.  The 41,600 cubic yards of fill are equal to 1,665 truckloads of material. Morse Brothers, Inc. proposes transporting the material along Lingan Street to Route 58. The complete application is available for viewing in the Selectmen’s office.  Those with questions should contact Town Administrator Charlie Seelig, at 781-294-1316.