HALIFAX — A Special Town Meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Halifax Elementary School, 464 Plymouth Street. All registered voters from the town are encouraged to attend. Residents must have registered to vote at least ten days prior to the meeting in order to participate.

There are six articles on the warrant. All are proposed by the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee will make their recommendations at the meeting.

Article one asks the voters to appropriate an additional $1,056,056.26 for the fire suppression system project at the Halifax Elementary School, which is in addition to the $977,000 voters already approved at the May 2017 Annual Town Meeting.

The town went out to bid in May 2018, for the project but no bids were received. The town went out to bid a second time, according to Town Administrator Charlie Seelig, and the low bid came in at $1,731,687.

The total budget for the project is now $2,033,056.26, therefore an additional $1,056,056.26 is needed to fund the project.

Article two of the STM asks the voters to transfer $7,300 from Article 32 of the Annual Town Meeting of May 14, 2018 (Repair and Replace Police Station HVAC units) to Article 30 of the ATM of May 14, 2018 (Repair and Replace Highway Barn Garage Doors) to be added to the $21,700 previously appropriated for a total of $29,000.

Article three asks if the voters will transfer $7,500 from the undesignated fund balance to upgrade the town’s website. Seelig says this is necessary because the current version of the website will no longer be supported.

Article four is for Monponsett Ponds. It asks voters to transfer $10,000 from the undesignated fund balance for studies of the Monponsett Ponds and projects to improve the water quality of Monponsett Pond, with the appropriation to be added to the Monponsett Pond account.

Articles five and six are in regard to Payment in Lieu of Taxes (or PILOT) agreements for solar energy developments.

The first, article five, asks voters to approve an agreement negotiated by the Board of Assessors on behalf of the Selectmen with the solar energy generation company Green Apple Farms, IV, LLC, for its proposed facility on Franklin Street.

The second, article six, asks voters to authorize the Selectmen and, on their behalf, the Board of Assessors to negotiate a PILOT agreement with the solar energy generation company Halifax Solar, LLC, for its proposed facility on River Street.

Selectmen Chairman Kim Roy, in a Jan. 22, 2019 file photo, appeared hurt by recent comments on social media at the Halifax Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019. (Photo by Abram Neal/Express News)

HALIFAX —While schools and afterschool activities were canceled due to inclement weather, the Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, Feb. 12, during a snowstorm to discuss their lengthy agenda.

Roy, Seelig on Social Media

Selectman Chairman Kim Roy spoke early in the meeting, sharing her thoughts on recent social media posts that have attacked Halifax Town Hall employees as well as board and committee members, that, she pointed out, are made up of volunteers.

Doing her best impression of President Richard Nixon, she joked, “I am not a crook!” All joking aside, Roy appeared hurt by the recent vitriol on Halifax community Facebook groups regarding attacks on the integrity of Halifax officials and workers.

Facebook posts for the last several weeks have blamed the board for discussions on ways to reduce litter caused from nips, which are small, inexpensive bottles of liquor generally under 50 milliliters that police say are often associated with drinking and driving.

The concepts discussed have included the idea of banning them in conjunction with other towns (the City of Chelsea recently passed a ban) or putting deposits on them to encourage recycling. Roy pointed out that this began with the town’s Beautification Committee, and the board was simply following up on their suggestions by discussing the issue.

The board received correspondence from a trade group representing alcohol retailers and local retailers concerned about these proposed measures, any of which would need to go to Town Meeting for the voter’s approval, according to Town Administrator Charlie Seelig.

But one Facebook user posted to the Halifax MA Community Page, “Here we go[,] the dictatorship of Halifax want[s] to ban nips! No public input[,] just Charlie[–] we can grow pot here in Halifax but we can’t have nips!”

The online responses have been emotional on both sides of the issue, with users offering up posts that are demonstratively not truthful.

“Think before you type,” said Roy.

Roy mentioned that the Beautification Committee also proposed a now-controversial Town Meeting article would ban single-use plastic bags by Halifax retailers, not the Selectmen. It has caused quite a stir on social media as well.

Seelig took to Facebook to defend town employees, board and committee members at several points over the last few weeks, including a lengthy post, reprinted in part, from Jan. 30, in response to a Facebook user who said, “Been telling you people for years [there is corruption] on the Hill!!! The Town Hall is so corrupt!”

Seelig said, “A belief such as this causes any action taken by the Town and, in particular, by the officials and employees at Town Hall, to be viewed through a lens of who was paid off for this to happen and that any action taken cannot be seen as being taken in the best interests of the Town and the people who live here.”

He continued, “I agree that there are ‘bad actors’ in municipal government. That’s also true in the regional, state and federal governments, private businesses and nonprofit organizations. But using a broad brush to paint everyone in a certain group on the basis of the actions of a few is unfair. It’s ‘sentence first, verdict afterwards.’ It’s accusations without evidence … It’s a common meme. Everyone who works for the government or, in this case, those who work at the Halifax Town Hall, are part of some great conspiracy; all of us are “on the take.” It simplifies the frustrations of many and it becomes the explanation for any action that the Town takes. And it leaves those who do work at Town Hall trying to prove a negative: that we are not corrupt.”

Roy, at the meeting passionately said, “Oh Mama Mia! We’re talking about ways to keep people from littering … and I found it interesting that more people were upset about us having this discussion of trying to figure out solutions rather than people drinking and driving and littering at the same time.”

HES fire suppression system

Article one of the Feb. 25 Special Town Meeting warrant, according to Seelig, asks voters to appropriate $1,056,056.26 for the fire suppression system project at the Halifax Elementary School, which is in addition to the $977,000 voters already approved at the May 2017 Annual Town Meeting.

The town went out to bid in May 2018, for the project but no bids were received. The town went out to bid a second time, he said, and the low bid came in at $1,731,687.

The total budget for the project is now $2,033,056.26, therefore an additional $1,056,056.26 is needed to fund the project. The current system is in disrepair and needs to be replaced, he said, and it will not be getting cheaper if the town waits to replace it.

The board was frustrated but resigned to the additional spending necessary for the safety of the schoolchildren and the integrity of the building.

Further information is available at http://halifax.ma.us/Pages/HalifaxMA_WebDocs/firesuppression

School bus scofflaws investigated by Chief

A concerned parent filed a complaint with the board regarding cars passing stopped school buses with red lights flashing, which, as drivers should realize, is illegal, said Seelig.

According to Roy, Chief of Police Joao Chaves, a “hands-on” chief, decided to investigate on his own, unbeknownst to area bus drivers.

Chaves followed a Halifax school bus in his unmarked cruiser recently, and the attentive bus driver noticed that their bus was being followed by a suspicious vehicle – Chaves.

The driver radioed their dispatcher, who contacted police.

When Chaves realized what was going on and that he had concerned the driver, Roy said he turned on his blue lights and pulled the bus over, to let the driver know that the suspicious vehicle was actually a police cruiser, and that he was in fact the Halifax police chief.

The driver was understandably nervous about the situation, said Roy, but the board commended both Chaves and the driver for their conscientious work.

Fortunately, no cars passed the bus in question while it was stopped loading and unloading children. The board did discuss how camera technology might be used to capture license plate numbers of such dangerous driving behavior and scofflaws all over Halifax should know that they are being watched, even by the town’s top law enforcement officer.

Summer Schmaling, chair of the Halifax School Committee at their meeting Feb. 4, 2019. (Photo by Abram Neal)

HALIFAX — At the Halifax School Committee meeting Feb. 4, 2019, school committee members discussed a letter penned by Steve Ruisi, president of the Halifax Teachers Association (HTA), with five recommendations for the budget at the School Committee’s annual budget hearing for fiscal year 2020.

Two people from the public at large attended the hearing:  one elementary school teacher and one community member were present.

Ruisi, in his letter, thanked the chairman of the committee, Summer Schmaling, for the first opportunity “in some time” to have input on the budget.

The teachers say that they are mainly concerned about class size, especially in grades one and two where enrollment is high, they say, at 23-25 students, which they believe is significantly higher than the ideal “benchmark” of 20 students per class.

The committee framed this as an issue where an extra teacher would need to be hired, and an extra classroom space found, something the committee said is cost prohibitive.

And Principal Kayne Beaudry and Assistant Principal Brian Desantes indicated that they were less concerned about class size than the association. Beaudry noted that when he was a classroom teacher class size numbers were higher, although he acknowledged the many challenges of teaching to larger classes.

Silver Lake Regional School District Superintendent Joy Blackwood said that Halifax’s class sizes were comparable to surrounding communities, including district member Kingston Elementary School, although they are much higher than at the Dennett Elementary School in Plympton, where class sizes are unusually small due to the comparatively small size of the town.

The HTA would also like HES to hire four recess and cafeteria aides who they say would take the burden off teachers and classroom aides, in order to provide better management of the recess playground and the cafeteria. They say this would reduce student behavior issues in both venues.

School officials say that it would be hard to find people to work from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Schmaling suggested stay-at-home moms may be able to volunteer or work those shifts.

The association would also like to see a new special education position added. They say that would allow a special education teacher for each grade, 2-6. Under their proposal, Kindergarten and 1st grade would share one special education teacher, as is currently the case.

The HTA also noted that there is currently no math specialist at the school, and the teacher in the audience suggested this would be especially useful as students who struggle with math in lower grades often struggle throughout elementary school, she said. There is a literacy specialist, according to the association, just no math specialist.

But officials and committee members are reticent to create positions where someone once provided those services as part of their job description, noting that someone did have math “overlap” as part of their job at one time.

“None of our elementary schools have a remedial math specialist,” said Blackwood, although four part-time federally-funded educators, known as Title-I tutors, are available to students, two of whom address math deficiencies, she pointed out.

Finally, the association recommended the purchase of additional iPads and Chromebooks, which are heavily used in educating today’s students, say teachers. Some grades only have six per classroom which are shared among students, and they say that adding two more per room would help facilitate small group work.

Blackwood noted that some of the technology is being replaced as part of scheduled upgrades, and that she believes the school is “set” and that this is “not a priority right now,” although she appreciates the input from the association.

She said that in grades three through six, there is a Chromebook for each student.

“Certainly, all of these recommendations together are a lot to add to the budget, but any consideration would be an improvement to the educational experience at HES,” Ruisi, of the HTA, wrote.

The budget wrangling, far from over, continues.

Professional grant writer Terry Walker discusses a potential position with the town before the Plympton Board of Selectmen on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019. (Photo by Abram Neal)

PLYMPTON — The Board of selectmen met Monday, Jan. 28, and furthered discussions with a grant writer, did not exercise their right of first refusal on a portion of an Upland Road Chapter 61A property, discussed the awarding of the fire station exhaust removal system project and met with Karen Foye, moderator of the Plympton Helping Plympton Facebook group, who donated photography from the group after an online contest to decorate the Town House.

Grant writer coming to town?

Terry Walker, of Tolland, in the western region of the state, was before the board to further formal discussions of bringing her to Plympton as a grant writer. She would work remotely, if hired, as she says it is more than a two-hour drive for her to come to Plympton.

Walker is a prolific grant writer, according to a memo she wrote to the board, with many certifications and qualifications, including a certification from Berkshire Community College with a 100 percent final grade and a housing certification from the Berkshire Planning Commission.

She attended grant writing seminars sponsored by officials from Washington, D.C., and completed the Commonwealth Capital Application, part of a town’s Master Plan. (The points received qualifies the town for more grant funding, she writes.)

Walker has received 30 awards on behalf of several towns concentrated in western Massachusetts, ranging from $2,500 to $1,000,000. In total, the 30 awards she presented to the board add up to $5,347,258.

The board is excited about the possibility of the opportunity to work with Walker and bring more grants to Plympton.

Town will not buy lot
lot out of Chapter 61A

An approximately 1.561-acre parcel of land of a Chapter 61A property located on Upland Road, (a portion of Map 12, Block 3, Lot 1), owned by the Margaret Keirstead Revocable Trust, has been passed over by the town. The town had a “right of first refusal” on the property because of its Chapter 61A agricultural use tax status. Because it is being sold, and taken out of agricultural use, the town had a right to acquire it before the sale to a private buyer went forward.

Although the Kiersteads had been seeking to move the sale along more quickly than the town’s process allowed, the board, at a very brief public hearing, voted against attempting to acquire the parcel.

Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy will provide a letter with the determination to assist in the closing.

Contract for fire station exhaust system awarded

The contract for 18-PFD-2, an engine exhaust removal system for the fire station, which is necessary for the station to be occupied as Massachusetts becomes an “OSHA-compliant” state where cities and towns must meet federal safety requirements they have previously been exempt from– has been awarded to the second-lowest bidder, Air Vacuum Corporation of New Hampshire, for $24,662, just under the $25,000 that Dennehy expected the contract to cost.

The Plympton Fire Station, with six firefighting and emergency vehicles parked inside, does not have room for a system where hoses can connect directly to the exhaust pipes of vehicles. The lowest bidder could not supply a “hose free” system that would work in the tight confines of the station, therefore the second-lowest bidder was awarded the contract.

Fire Chief Stephen Silva said that this is the first step in firefighters being able to fully occupy the building and to removing the trailer outside the station where first responders spend the night.

Board thanks Karen Foye

Karen Foye, in concert with Christine Kelly, the town’s assistant treasurer/collector, arranged for a photography contest on the Facebook group that Foye runs, Plympton Helping Plympton, and had some of the winning photos enlarged and printed to be displayed at the Town House.

The photos, which have been hung around the building, depict scenes from all over town, from sunsets to flowers.

“We’ve been trying to get some things done cheaply or for free around here,” said Selectman Chairman John Traynor, who said he was pleased with the photographs.

Selectman Christine Joy asked if the photographers would be interested in having their names on the photographs, and Foye said she’d look into it.

In other BOS news:

• Patrick Ganley, with the support of his family, proposed his Eagle Scout project to the board. He is planning to spend one or two weekends this Spring fixing up the flag pole in front of Town House. The selectmen enthusiastically gave their support to the project.

• Fire Chief Stephen Silva attended the meeting to thank the Upland Club on behalf of the town and presented Mark King of the Upland Sportsman Club a plaque for the Club’s donation of an unused house that area local and federal public safety workers used to practice life-saving techniques, including live-fire burns and drills.

• The board delegated further authority to Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy to sign documents on their behalf in their absence, should an emergency need arise.

• The board adopted its official version of their 2019 goals for the coming year; they discussed them at a previous working meeting reported on by the Express.

Nine-year Halifax Selectman and longtime town volunteer Kim Roy will complete her term as selectman and move to Hull in June. (Photo by Abram Neal)

HALIFAX — “When my term expires in May … so will my service to the town,” said Kim Roy, the nine-year Halifax Selectman and town volunteer. She told the Express on Tuesday, shortly after she made the stunning announcement to town department heads.

Roy, a Quincy native who came to Halifax in 1993, will move to Hull with her husband, Marc, in June. She said she is as surprised as many in town at the news, where she has become a fixture on numerous boards and committees.

“It’s only been two weeks since I made the decision,” she said, stifling back tears. “It’s happening so fast. I don’t even know the reason I’m doing it.”

Roy brought up her four sons in town. “It’s a wonderful town to raise a family. You know everyone in Halifax.”

Selectman Tom Millias joked that Marc lets her do whatever she wants whenever she wants.

Roy studied at UMass Boston but did not complete her degree. “It’s one of my biggest regrets. I think it’s the one thing that’s held me back from running for higher office.”

But she said she loved working and began as a teller at the former Boston Five Cents Savings Bank. She quickly moved her way up the corporate ladder, eventually becoming a vice president, overseeing collections operations for the bank with a staff of about 45 working for her.

Not wanting to be a typical collections agent, Roy worked to help people in financial trouble, she said, even developing budgets for them. “I once received flowers from someone in pre-foreclosure.”

She later went on to sell real estate, but, “I was a terrible real estate agent,” she said.

She and Marc next bought a home in the heart of Halifax, within walking distance of Town Hall and across from the elementary school. Her volunteer life began after she had her first son. She said that in a way it was a distraction from a busy home life.

Her service to both the town and committees and associations for the state is nothing short of prolific.

Before serving on the Board of Selectmen in Halifax, Roy served on the Finance Committee for eight years, and many search committees for staff, including superintendents and principals for Silver Lake and the Halifax Elementary School. She was also a member of a study committee that would have regionalized Silver Lake from K-12, which, in her own words, was, “an epic fail.”

She was a member of the Government Study Committee, the Fire Study Committee and is a current member of the Capital Planning Committee and Wage and Personnel Board. She has served as the selectmen’s emergency management liaison, planning for storms and working at the shelter during emergencies.

“I could write a book just on that,” Roy said. “Even though I was across the street from my house, I wasn’t with my family.”

“Kim does so much for our town. She’s on so many boards and committees, but what stands out to me is that we have a hard time finding volunteers for the shelter. Kim stays overnight, sometimes the only one there, serving meals, changing diapers and doing whatever it takes to get the job done,” said Fire Chief Jason Viveiros.

At the state level, Roy was on the board of directors for the Massachusetts Municipal Association for eight years, appointed by Governor Patrick to the Local Government Advisory Commission for six years, president of the Massachusetts Association of Town Finance Committees, president of the Massachusetts Selectmen’s Association and is currently on the board of directors of the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, for the last five years.

As part of her statewide volunteering, she once had the opportunity to drive Governor Michael Dukakis home, a highlight to her, because “subway Mike” needed a ride.

Roy is a world traveler, having been everywhere from Iceland to Morocco, and shares her travels on social media.

She has never lived by the beach, she said, but is looking forward to it and has a healthy respect for the ocean. “Jaws changed my life. You won’t find me in the water deeper than my knees,” she said, half-seriously.

Roy has been no stranger to the ups and downs of life and exudes a “seize-the-day” attitude toward all of her undertakings. “People don’t understand how fleeting life is,” she said.

Whether talking about her struggles, or the latest news around Halifax, Roy said she finds the humor in everything in life, and her outlook and laugh are infectious to those who know her.

“It’s constantly in play when she’s in the room. She’s going to missed. I’m going to miss her,” said Millias.

“I’m in tears,” said Selectman Troy Garron. “I’ll remember Kim most for dog hearings. She felt strongly about protecting the public. She was, and is, steadfast, and did her homework, never asking a question that she had the answer to. She’s good people, like family.”

Roy has a reputation of being cautious with the taxpayer’s dime, but she says she is an independent (unenrolled), who is neither a Democrat or a Republican and has brought an independent perspective to the job of selectman.

Roy said it frustrates her when people assume things.

“I want people to understand where I’m coming from,” she said.

Roy said she won’t get involved in politics in Hull, despite already getting encouragement in that direction from others in public life on the South Shore.

“I don’t think I could ever remake the magic [of Halifax],” she said, barely able to get the words out through tears.

“It’s been awesome … I got back more than I ever gave.”

A lawyer for Robert Tinkham, Jr. in Brockton Superior Court Monday, Jan. 14, 2019 argues for several civil charges against the Plympton Health Agent to be dismissed. (Photo by Abram Neal)

BROCKTON — Robert Tinkham, Jr., the current Plympton Health Agent, was in Brockton Superior Court Monday, Jan. 14, with his Plymouth and Brockton-based attorney, John Fink, of Sims & Sims, LLP, fighting to have five of nine counts of a civil lawsuit brought against him for an alleged 20-year fraud dismissed.  He also filed a request to dismiss a motion to compel turning over financial documents related to the lawsuit, citing the high cost of making copies.

Superior Court Judge Robert Cosgrove, who stood at the elevated dais throughout most of the proceedings and frequently asked questions of the four attorneys present, heard the motions and took them under advisement.

Fink’s arguments suggested that the complaint, which had been amended, was not properly filed and failed to state a claim. He also argued that SEMASS, a waste-to-energy recycling company that contracted with the district should have been named as a party in the lawsuit. Lawyers for the district, represented by public sector law firm KP Law, disagreed.

The attorneys also disagreed about the manner in which district financial records could be made available to Fink. Fink said he wanted the records delivered to his office as the cost, which he said was in the thousands of dollars for copying the five large “responsive” documents he seeks would be prohibitive to Tinkham.

Waste district attorneys argued that handing over the documents in this manner would be unprecedented, as they are public documents and need to be maintained in a “chain of custody.”

The waste district’s attorneys said they offered to make the documents available to Fink for his review at a public office so that he would not have to have them copied at great expense, something they say they offered as early as Sept. 14, 2018.

Cosgrove even hypothetically suggested ordering a copier to be “shipped down” to the public office for Fink’s use, as Fink argued that one wasn’t available for him to use. This did not satisfy Fink.

Tinkham, of Carver, is accused of misappropriating $838,458.22 from the Carver, Marion and Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District along with two alleged co-conspirators, Ray Pickles, the former Executive Director of the district, and his wife Diane Bondi-Pickles, a licensed real-estate agent. Of that amount, the district accuses Tinkham individually of converting over $260,000 for personal use.

Tinkham, previously worked as the Carver Health Agent, and, in that capacity, served as Carver’s representative to, and, at times, chairman of the committee overseeing the waste district, according to court records.

“Defendant Robert Tinkham, former chairman of the District’s governing committee and duly appointed representative of the Town of Carver, participated in this scheme by conspiring with the other defendants to install co-defendant Ray E. Pickles as the District’s executive director and then by presenting Pickles with numerous fake-claims over many years for payment under the guise of providing landfill inspection and other services. Notwithstanding these claims, Defendant Tinkham did not provide any services to the District and instead he abused his position of trust and confidence to defraud the District, a public entity, of more than $260,000,” court records said.

While the matter is currently a civil action in which the waste district is attempting to recover money allegedly defrauded from the taxpayers of Carver, Marion and Wareham, the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General, an agency which investigates suspected fraud, waste and abuse in the use of public funds and public property is investigating, according to records previously obtained by the Express.

The OIG is a non-prosecutorial agency that refers investigations to prosecutorial agencies at the state and federal level.

An attorney for Bondi-Pickles, who was not present, also argued a motion against her to dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety at the same hearing. Cosgrove took that motion under advisement, as well.

Russell Keirstead was before the Plympton Board of Selectmen attempting to sell property that the town has a right-of-first-refusal to. (Photo by Abram Neal)

PLYMPTON — Selectman Chairman John Traynor said he thinks that the town is operating too many vehicles and Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy disagreed. The at times tense discussion came up at the Monday, Jan. 7, Plympton Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

Two vehicles too many?

Two vehicles operated by the town, a 2011 Ford Taurus and a 2012 SUV, shared between the Town Administrator, Assessors and even at times the Police and Fire Departments are getting older and have significant number of miles on them, said Dennehy.

“I don’t see the need for the Taurus … two cars to repair, register, insure, it doesn’t make sense to me,” said Traynor.

At the times when there are competing needs for a vehicle, Traynor suggested employees put in for mileage on personal vehicles, a solution that Dennehy didn’t find tenable.

“I’m not going to nickel-and-dime the town [for miles],” she said, noting that putting in for mileage is an involved process involving filling out vendor forms, and expensive to the town.”

Traynor insisted that he sees the vehicles remain parked in front of the Town House, while Dennehy argued that they are in heavy use.

Dennehy explained that she did not believe that selling a vehicle, possibly the older Ford Taurus, would create much savings for the town, either through insurance because of the way rates are set for the town, or because the procurement process would take up so much time and the older vehicles would have such little value.

“So if we deleted that from our insurance policy the insurance policy wouldn’t go down one iota?” asked Traynor. The answer from Dennehy was no.

“So that’s where you and I have a difference of opinion,” said Dennehy. She added that all things considered, the town might get a few hundred dollars for working vehicles that are being used by the town.

“I don’t think that two vehicles are too many for a town the size of Plympton,” said Dennehy.

Russel Keirstead Right of First Refusal

The board, despite their best efforts to move the process along for Russell Keirstead, of Crescent Street, could not accommodate a Friday closing date on a parcel of his Chapter 61A property that he is attempting to sell as a 1.5-acre buildable lot. The town has the right of first refusal on the property because in order to be sold it must come out of the tax-saving state program.

Keirstead said he thought this would be a “three-minute” process before the board, but because of a strict protocol set up by the board for “chapter property,” a public hearing has to be advertised and scheduled so that the public has an opportunity to comment on the land sale. The hearing was set for the next Selectmen’s meeting, Jan. 28.

Keirstead was visibly disappointed that his deadlines would not be met, although he said he was eager to take whatever steps were necessary to properly sell the lot.

Budget Discussions

The board began to discuss their requests for the upcoming FY’20 budget, and Dennehy noted that the Finance Committee was asking boards and departments to estimate their budgetary needs very accurately, and not allow excess for unexpected items.  She said that the FinCom would rather deal with unexpected extras that come up on a case by case basis via the transfer request process.

Selectmen are asking for a legal budget of over $10,000 more than last year, citing ongoing litigation the town is engaged in, including at least one case in federal court where a Marshfield cellphone infrastructure company is suing the Zoning Board of Appeals for refusing them variances to build a cellphone tower on a parcel that is not zoned for the purpose.

In Other News

• Scott Varley was appointed Wiring Inspector to replace the late Robert Karling.

• The board will next meet Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, at 6 p.m. in the Large Meeting Room of Town House.

Supreme Judicial Court Justice Kimberly Budd (Courtesy photo)

Halifax attorney Thomas J. Yelverton was suspended from the practice of law for three months Nov. 5, 2018, by the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County after a lengthy investigation by the Office of Bar Counsel (OBC), according to a summary of the order of the court available from the Board of Bar Overseers (BBO) of the Supreme Judicial Court and the order of the court itself.

The suspension stems from when Yelverton was retained in November 2016 to handle the estate of a client’s mother. The client provided Yelverton with a copy of a will and other information needed to handle the estate. In November or December 2016, the client wrote a check to Yelverton for $1,000 as a retainer. On Feb. 27, 2017, the client met with Yelverton, signed forms at his request, and gave the attorney an original will and a replacement check for $1,000, the report stated.

Yelverton never provided his client with a written contract for representing the client and for the fees and expenses the client would be responsible for, according to the BBO.

In early March 2017, Yelverton stopped communicating with the client despite receiving repeated requests for information, according to court documents. On April 18, 2017, the client requested an update and the return of all files if the attorney was unable to move forward with handling the estate.

Yelverton never responded and did not complete the work for which he was hired in any substantive way. When he was notified that the OBC was investigating in November 2017, Yelverton returned the original will to the client, stated the report.

Yelverton failed to respond to bar counsel’s requests for information in the matter.

On Jan. 29, 2018, Yelverton was served with a subpoena issued by the BBO requiring him to appear, testify and produce records at the OBC concerning the matter. He never appeared, according to the board.

Yelverton was administratively suspended from the practice of law Feb. 26, 2018, for his failure to cooperate with the investigation. He also failed to comply with the provisions of the administrative suspension.

The BBO asserted that Yelverton broke the rules of professional conduct for attorneys through his actions.

On May 29, 2018, an attorney for the OBC began disciplinary proceedings by filing a petition for discipline with BBO. Yelverton did not participate in the disciplinary proceedings and was defaulted.

Then, on Oct. 11, 2018, the BBO voted to recommend that Yelverton be suspended from the practice of law for three months, the report stated.

Finally, Judge Kimberly Budd, Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, agreed, ordering the three-month suspension.

According to her order, he is required to file notice of his suspension with each court he has a matter before, inform all clients he has been suspended, refund any unearned fees and resign appointments with which he has a fiduciary role (such as a guardian or executor).

The OBC, an independent administrative body, investigates reports of attorney misconduct. When the OBC concludes that an attorney has engaged in unethical conduct under the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, the office will bring charges before the BBO, another independent administrative body, for adjudication. When misconduct is found, the board either imposes discipline or, as in this case, recommends to the Supreme Judicial Court that it impose discipline.

Yelverton had no prior misconduct, stated the report. His suspension ends in February, and his return to the practice of law is conditional, according to the court order.

Matthew Will stands before the court in Wareham at a previous hearing. (Photo by Abram Neal)

PLYMOUTH — A pretrial conference for roofer Matthew Will, 37, of Halifax, owner of Five Star Discount Roofing, scheduled Friday, Dec. 21 for two of five known open larceny-related cases in Plymouth County, has been delayed.

Will last appeared in Wareham District Court Dec. 7 on three other cases. A new alleged victim has come forward first to the Express and later to local authorities with a similar story to those of other alleged victims.

Will’s Plymouth-based attorney, Jack Atwood, delayed the two hearings because he was busy with another case in Quincy, according to court records. The proceedings were canceled at the last minute, on Thursday, Dec. 20, although Will’s cases still appeared on the court’s daily logs as late as Friday morning.

Will is currently facing a total of one count of larceny over $1,200 by false pretense, two counts of larceny over $1,200, 19 counts of larceny over $250 by false pretense, one count of larceny under $250 by false pretense and one count of forgery of a document.

There were 23 area households in three communities claiming they have been victimized to date, who have lost a combined $153,197.34 in monies allegedly given for work not done, with individual losses ranging from $695 to $15,569. Most of these victims are over age 55, and many are elderly, according to police reports. The alleged victim who lost the most money is 78 years old.

These totals do not include the newest alleged victim, who is from Wareham.

Will had done work for him in 2017, before moving to Wareham, he said, with no issue. He appeared to have a good reputation at the time, the semi-retired man stated in an email and a later phone interview with the Express.

Previous work

Based on his previous positive experience with Will, when his daughter and son-in-law had major roof and chimney issues at their East Bridgewater home, he said he chose to help them out financially and reached out to the roofer, calling it a big mistake not to recheck his licenses.

Checking Will’s licenses, though, may not have shown anything as his CSSL-Roofing and HIC licenses are currently active, although he does have several pending arbitrations before the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, according to state records.

The Wareham alleged victim said he paid $14,000 for a roof that never vented properly, and waste shingles and trash are still on-site, weeks after work began on the home. He also said he paid $6,047 for chimney work that was never started, and siding was stripped on one section of the house, which is still bare. He estimates that there is $7,000 of outstanding work to be done.

The Wareham man reached out to local authorities, he said in a Wednesday, Dec. 19, email, who alerted Will to another complaint against him.

This prompted a phone conversation between the man and Will, who promised to come Dec. 27 to finish everything except the chimney.

“I don’t hold much hope but if by chance I can get any work completed I would like to try first before I move ahead [to press charges],” he wrote.

Will’s next court appearance, should no new charges be filed, will be on Monday, February 11, 2019, at 9 a.m. in Plymouth District Court for pre-trial hearings. The three Wareham District Court cases have been continued to March 4, 2019, at 9 a.m. also for pre-trial hearings.

Will could not be reached by email or phone for comment as of press time.