The City of Brockton Water Commissioners, finally listening to Halifax and Silver Lake’s towns, have issued an outside water ban within the city and also to the towns to which Brockton sells Silver Lake water.

The town of Whitman, a Brockton water customer, received notice that beginning immediately, the town will have to implement outside watering by hand held hose only on an odd/even basis.  No sprinklers will be permitted.  The City of Brockton has initiated the same ban.

Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig said this is probably the worst drought he can recall and looking at records, the levels at Monponsett ponds are as low as they have ever been in the 20 years of data he has access to.

“Levels at Silver Lake are dropping daily,” he said.

The Town of Halifax, which shares Silver Lake with three other towns: Kingston, Plympton, and Pembroke, has had a total outside watering ban since spring because of the severe drought the area is experiencing.

Last year, while Halifax had a total outside watering ban, thirsty Brockton residents had no such ban, with the sluice gate at Stump Brook closed, keeping West Pond stagnant, and draining it to augment Silver Lake’s output.

This year, however, Brockton has not diverted any water from West Monponsett Pond not only because of the severe drought but also because the high cyanobacteria levels are as much as 15 times the threshold for healthy contact.

Rep. Thomas J. Calter, D-Kingston, has brought the Brockton water situation to the attention of Governor Charlie Baker and the legislature and may seek new legislation to encourage Brockton to find appropriate sources for its ever-growing water needs.

HALIFAX – Halifax selectmen met Tuesday evening in the Great Hall at the Halifax Town Hall as they welcomed  six new firefighters/paramedics to the Halifax Fire Dept.  Fire Chief Jason Vivieros was all smiles as the Great Hall filled with more than 50 friends and family to witness the event.

Town Clerk Barbara Gaynor administered the oaths to each of the half dozen, and each new badge was pinned by an important person in that firefighter’s life: father, son, daughter, friend.  Sworn in were Dillon Riley, John Eaton, Keri Kelleher, Alyssa Smith, Marc McGarry, and Bridget Ricciarelli.

Special Awards

Following the swearing-in ceremony, Chief Vivieros had two special awards to present.  Chief told the audience of receiving the call that no emergency responder wants to hear, “unresponsive child at the bottom of a swimming pool” last month.  “These guys never moved so fast…” to get to the scene.  It was the keen observance of two children who noticed something wrong and got help.  A 911 call was placed and when Halifax ambulance and EMTs got there, the child had been pulled from the pool, CPR begun, and the little girl was responding.  Halifax took over and rushed her to South Shore Hospital where she recovered fully.

Chief Vivieros presented special commendations to the two children who averted this potential tragedy: Jonathan Greeley and Olivia Shea, and noted that it was Olivia’s little sister who was saved.

The audience applauded these two young heroes.

Selectmen heard recommendations from the Solar Field committee who encouraged the board to seek proposals from “as many as 50…” solar companies to see what is out there and make some comparisons.

Alan Winkler, with the Solar Field Committee, advised selectmen to thoroughly investigate owning their own solar array, instead of “leasing” the equipment and getting 25 cents off your electricity rate for the next 20 years.  If the town owns its own equipment, it will reap all the benefits and tax credits, in addition to the power at an inexpensive rate.  He further advised putting out an “RFP” or Request for Proposals as soon as possible to get the information in so the town can be ready to act by the first of the year.

Selectmen agreed that they did not want to rush into a solar project until they have all the facts, and asked the Solar Field Committee to assist them in understanding all the information.

Asked what background he had to make these recommendations, Winkler told the board he had worked as an accountant/auditor for many years for the firm of Arthur Anderson and then worked for an energy company with diverse energy projects.  He has recently been working as a consultant helping people get the best deal possible in the energy field.

Halifax Town Administer Charlie Seelig told the board, “We have a group of residents who want to remove the blighted properties in tax title.”  They suggest to pass some sort of by-law regarding the upkeep of properties, and also to see how owners can be helped to keep their properties up.  The group will be meeting with selectmen on Aug. 27. The Tax Collector will also be at that meeting.

The perennial dog hearing for Tarawood Kennels has been continued to Tuesday, Aug. 30, at 7:45 p.m.  Seelig agreed with selectmen that two hearings for the same Kennel have been scheduled and because the testimony and evidence is much the same for both hearings, they will run concurrently.

Seelig said that the original hearing for barking dogs will be heard as well as the 25 petitioners hearing which claims that no notification was given for any of the Appeals Board hearings which approved the special licenses for Tarawood Kennels.  Seelig cited case law of Kramer vs. Somerville which called into question the validity of a permit when proper notification was not given.  He also advised the board that legal remedy may be sought against the town because of the lack of notification to abutters by the Zoning Board of Appeals.  Seelig furthered that the abutters might take the kennel to court as the numbers of dogs allowed has increased several times without due notice.  Next Tuesday, Aug. 30, the matters will be heard in the Great Hall of the Town Hall at 7:45 p.m.

In other business selectmen

• appointed Cesar Calouro to the Halifax Fireworks Committee.

• heard from Rick Springer and Mike McGonnigle from Coneco Engineers and Scientists in Bridgewater who would like to submit a net metering proposal for a solar project on Franklin Street.

• reminded people of the upcoming State Primary Election on Thursday, Sept. 8.  Election will be held at the all-purpose room of the Halifax Elementary School from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• heard from Douglas Hall, owner of a 3-year-old pointer/hound mix dog who ran into the street and bit a neighbor’s husky dog.  The animal control officer testified that she felt Hall was taking the situation seriously, and is in the process of training this dog that he has owned for only 3 months.  The owner of the husky was not in attendance.  No further action was recommended.

• re-appointed Selectman Troy Garron to the MBTA committee.

• issued a permit for live entertainment to Salon Serenity for Saturday, Sept. 17, from 1-4 p.m.

• received a request from Larry Henrich for a solar assisted flashing stop sign to call attention to the stop sign at the intersection of Pine and Plymouth streets.  Henrich would help defray the cost.

• voted to maintain the $50 fee for recycling for another year.  The thought is to build up a surplus in the account so that new trash receptacles which would work with the new trash collection truck could be purchased.

Selectmen adjourned to the downstairs selectmen’s meeting room at 9:15 p.m. to go into executive session, for a grievance hearing to appeal a 3-day suspension for Al Hingst, and to discuss a dispatcher contract.

SILVER LAKE – State Representative Thomas Calter (D-Kingston) today (August 17) said that residents of Brockton face the very real prospect of running out of water within the next several weeks if the drought continues and Brockton officials do not develop a backup plan.

Calter, who recently wrote a column that appeared in the Kingston Reporter and Plympton-Halifax Express, said that the Brockton Water Department needs to come clean about the drastic situation that the city faces and develop a plan to protect the city in the event that Silver Lake is unable to meet Brockton’s water demands.

Calter noted that Silver Lake, which is the water source for the City of Brockton, is in imminent danger of falling below the level where it can provide water to Brockton.

“The water level in the lake has dropped to historic lows.”He further noted that West Monponsett Pond, which is a backup source of water to Silver Lake, cannot be used to make up the deficit because the level of cyanobacteria is 10 times the health standard.

“There is a real concern because of the drought, which has brought the water to a dangerous low. The levels today are comparable to 1986 when Brockton declared a water crisis.”

Recently, representatives of the Jones River Watershed Association were invited to discuss the crisis at a Brockton City Council meeting. However, that presentation was thwarted by the City’s Legal Counsel who demanded that the public presentation be cancelled.

“People may think that Brockton’s desalinization plant can meet their water needs. However, it can only provide 30% of Brockton’s daily needs,” Calter said. He added, “There is an option for Brockton to hook up to the MWRA (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority) in Stoughton, but that action would require several months of construction.” He said, “We don’t believe that Brockton has researched that or any other option.”

“We are concerned that the city will run out of water without warning and without a backup plan.” Calter said. He has briefed the Governor, the Secretary of Environmental Affairs and the Brockton Legislative delegation of the current water shortage and of the serious health concerns related to the poor quality of water in Monponsett Pond.

HALIFAX– 25 people signed a petition triggering a Section 137C hearing at Tuesday’s Selectmen’s meeting for Jennifer Choate, proprietor of Tarawood Kennel, yet only a half-dozen or so who signed came to the fact-finding portion of the hearing. Of those present, many who spoke were not even neighbors or abutters to the kennel, which is accused of allowing dogs to excessively bark and dogs to apparently wander.

Choate had dozens of supporters with her, a lawyer, and an MIT-trained acoustical engineer. The atmosphere was “court-like” with the hearing being held in the Great Hall of Town Hall, but the “information” gathering was incongruous. While clearly there were passionate opinions on both sides, there was little in the way of factual information collected.

One woman said that she was a dog trainer for 21 years, and that is why she signed the petition. She was opposed to the “bark-collars” used for training at Tarawood, that provide an electric jolt, similar to the ones used in “invisible fences”, to train dogs not to bark. This woman said she didn’t believe they are humane as they can cause the dogs to “yelp”. They are legal.

Ms. Choate’s lawyer objected and said that the hearing was supposed to be about barking and wandering. Selectmen Chairman Troy Garron wanted to hear from everyone, though, and others were allowed to speak, off-topic or not.

Lisa Thorpe signed the petition because she had purchased an aggressive dog from Choate in 2010 and had to return it, “fearing I had a lawsuit on my hands.”

Linda Ford knows some of the neighbors, and said she didn’t feel it right to have 100 dog kennels (although Choate’s separate request for an increase in her license from 50 to 100 dogs is not on the table at the moment). She expressed her “shock” that a kennel would be allowed “near neighbors”.

Two people who expressed vague concern for the dogs’ welfare, had signed the petition but were apparently not familiar with Tarawood Kennel.

Two neighbors, Scott Clawson and his son, both stated that they felt the conditions for the dogs were poor because they were put outside for part of the day in the winter. “Seeing dogs out in the snow makes me want to go and hug my dog,” said Sean Clawson. “All of our customers are animal lovers, and they all question what is going on [at Tarawood Kennel],” he continued, referring again to the bark collars.

Only one neighbor could recall any recent incident of dogs getting loose, which he described as a pack of dogs, not just one or two. Others recalled dogs getting through a fence several years ago.

Yet for all the concern of the dogs’ “well-being”, when actual neighbors were asked by Selectman Kim Roy, who had a lengthy questionnaire, what they wanted to see at the end of the hearing process, was an end to hearing the dogs barking.

The board also heard from the former sound abatement officer at Logan Airport and MIT-trained acoustical engineer Nancy Timmerman about solutions to reduce the barking noise.

She suggested reinforcing or building a new six-foot tall fence with sound reducing material on it for the outdoor areas where dogs are kept during the day.

“The dogs will bark,” Timmerman said. She went on to describe how she is trying to make things better for the two closest neighbors.

“Thanks for being honest about that,” said Roy.

Choate’s attorney showed a video of what he saw when on the property, which did not show excessive barking.

Both Choate and her supporters were allowed to respond to the accusations, and Roy had lengthy questions for them as well.

The hearing was continued.

In other news:

• Maureen Rogers, who served on the Wage and Personnel Board for a number of years along with being on the Town’s 250th anniversary committee and several “Halifax in Lights” committees, passed away Friday, August 5.

• Robert Baker, current Library Trustee and former School Committee and Planning Board member, passed away on Monday, August 8.

• The board will next meet on Tuesday, August 23, at 7:30 p.m.

continues

PLYMOUTH COUNTY– On Wednesday, August 3, the Central Plymouth Water Commissioners met at Plympton Town House. They were widely expected to approve a letter appealing directly to Brockton residents regarding the Brockton water supply that was to run as an advertisement in the Brockton Enterprise, but the three present commissioners who wrote and edited the letter ended up disagreeing on the language of the letter and tabled it to their next meeting. The commission also discussed how they had discovered they were not a county entity in the county’s eyes and discussed reorganizing, but in the end voted to remain in the same positions.

Letter to residents

A direct appeal to the residents of Brockton has been in the works for weeks, and although commissioner Patrick Quinn agrees that the final purpose of the letter is to educate residents on their shared water resources; he didn’t think the letter gave enough “bang for its buck.” He also expressed that it was too long and disagreed with several factual points. All present commissioners described ways that the letter could be improved, with graphics or punchier one-liners at the prompting of audience member and Jones River Watershed Association member Pine DuBois. Commissioner Paul Collis appeared disappointed, but Chairman Jack O’Leary recognized that there was a lack of unanimity in how to move forward with the letter, and the commission unanimously voted to table the matter to the next meeting.

County entity?

In an attempt to access money appropriated to the commission, the County treasurer determined that the commission was not a county entity, and furthermore could not use the county seal. The commission is now confused as to whether they are a state entity or a county entity, and want to set up their own bank account to use the money that they are appropriated, rather than submit reimbursement forms after putting up their own personal money for expenses, as they’ve been told to do.

Whether or not they use a state seal or a county seal, or their own logo, is not the main issue though; it matters only in the sense of whether their money comes directly from a state agency, or is passed through an agency on to the county, where it is then disbursed. The commission has just received another $50,000 earmark, and wants it directly under their control.

Commissioners expressed frustration at the bureaucracy and red-tape, and Collis articulated that this issue would probably have stymied efforts to move the newspaper advertisement along faster, even had the commissioners agreed on the language that night.

Reorganization

The commission receives its authority from a 1964 special act of the legislature and is required to yearly reorganize– or consider reorganizing. The commission did consider reorganizing, but all present voted to stay in their current positions for the upcoming fiscal year. Jack O’Leary will remain chair, Paul Collis, clerk, Patrick Quinn, member, and Brian Creedon, member. Creedon was not present at the meeting.

The commission did go “off agenda” and talk about the various issues in the district towns in general terms at times, but it was apparent that the commission was experiencing growing pains as it is newly revived and that the greatest hindrance to their work may be bureaucratic hurdles at this point in time.

PLYMPTON– Selectmen met in Plympton on Monday, July 25, and discussed a variety of topics, including a report from Finance Committee Chairman Susan Ossoff on the proposed sale of land to the Town of Kingston for the purpose of a police station, a post card created by the Community Preservation Committee before Town Meeting discouraging residents from voting to put a question on a future ballot to eliminate the CPC and whether it broke the law, and the fact that the town cannot find proper records documenting an earth removal operation by Jeff Randall, of Ring Road, and what to do about it.

SLRSD special legislation

According to Susan Ossoff, of the FinCom, the Silver Lake Regional School District pulled a fast one on Plympton and Halifax.

Officials from the Town of Kingston have wanted for some time to place a police station on a parcel of land owned by the Silver Lake District. During last town meeting season, all three towns composing the SLRSD were going to vote on whether to sell a parcel of land to Kingston. Articles were on the warrants in all three towns.

At the last minute, possibly sensing a lack of support, says Ossoff, Plympton (and Halifax) were asked to pass over the article, with the explanation from the SLRSD’s attorney that although the district can purchase land independently, it cannot sell it. Plympton and Halifax passed over the warrant articles.

Kingston did not, and narrowly voted against their own project.

Representative Tom Calter (D– Kingston) was asked to craft special legislation to allow the district to sell the property. Ossoff says this could have gone one of two ways, the first allowing a unilateral sale on the part of the district, and the second requiring the component towns to weigh-in on the matter.

For reasons unclear at this time, Calter chose the unilateral sale of the land.

“My problem with this is lack of process,” said Ossoff. “It’s a jointly held asset.”

The FinCom will write a letter expressing their displeasure. Halifax officials are expressing their displeasure as well.

Can CPC post card

be paid for by

CPC funds?

Can you use public funds in support of educating the public to promote a warrant article at town meeting? Yes, says CPC Chairman Mark Russo– although there is a cutoff. What about in a general or town election? No is the clear answer, he says.

But when a post card was mailed out by the CPC to ask residents not to vote at town meeting to put a question on a general election ballot to eliminate the CPC (and promote what the CPC does for the town), well, things become murkier.

“This is my fault,” said Russo. “I’m very sorry this even has come before the board…[w]e did do our due diligence.”

The CPC may have crossed a line when they mailed out an educational post card shortly before Town Meeting promoting the CPC. At the time, there was a citizen’s petition on the town meeting warrant that asked residents if they would vote to eliminate the CPC on a future general election ballot.

Four different state agencies could not determine if this was appropriate or not, including the Department of Revenue and the State Ethics Commission.

For the future, Town Counsel will be consulted for an opinion since there is no clear line in the sand at this time, even though the situation is not unique.

Randall Paperwork

The town cannot find appropriate records for the earth removal operations for Jeff Randall, of Ring Road, and they’re placing the burden on him to find them. They are also pressuring him to continue to “separate” his composting operations from his earth removal operation.

Randall isn’t taking this lying down, though. In polite terms, he stated that the town’s lack of record keeping should not be his problem.

“What you guys do is on you,” he said. “That’s not on me.”

He agreed to look into the matter, in a cooperative manner, though.

The board wants to know when he will finish excavating the earth, which he says he cannot estimate due to fluctuating market costs. He is in the process of building two bogs, but says they will not be operational until he knows he can sell the cranberries he produces.

“This never came up until I proposed a medical marijuana facility [on my farm],” Randall mentioned wryly.

No one present responded to the comment.

PLYMPTON/CARVER– At a dramatic meeting of the Carver Urban Redevelopment Authority on Monday, July 18, Carver Town Planner Marlene McCollem informed the authority that it would take just a simple vote to redraw the lines of the area targeted for “redevelopment” in Carver around parcels that straddle the border, in order to get them off a list of properties slated to be taken by eminent domain.

They did just that in a shocking reversal, seemingly unaware of the ongoing discussions residents from Plympton had been having since January 2015, when they were told that they were abutters to an “urban renewal” project. Residents say they have been attending meetings for months to oppose the project, but the Plympton opposition seemed shocking to one member of the board.

Route 44 Development, the self-described “bullish” developer stated they never wanted anything to do with the Plympton parcels that showed up on a list of properties slated for possible seizure by eminent domain.

“65% of your property is in Carver, and you bought the property knowing that?” a board member asked Richard Jackson of Heather’s Path, Plympton, only to be chastised by the Carver Town Planner who noted that it, “is very common along our borders…” to have parcels in Carver and another town.

The Plympton residents have been bolstered by the support of Plympton Selectmen, and present were Christine Joy and John Traynor, who both spoke in support of Plympton residents who will be affected by the proposed large, mixed use development behind Montello Street in the north-west corner of Carver. Montello Street runs through both towns. Traynor spoke of protecting Plympton residents and Joy challenged planners to stop relying so heavily on Montello Street for their concept.

Although several residents of both towns expressed relief about the vote, many continued to express displeasure with the project in general.

One resident, from Carver, is fighting cancer right now as the developer is trying to reach a deal to buy their home. Two other residents from Carver have apparently reached settlements.

A Plympton couple from Montello Street say their mortgage is “underwater” because of the uncertainty with the project, which townspeople have said has always seemed somewhat half-baked to begin with, showing hotels on rivers that don’t exist, and so on.

Residents of Heather’s Path, all with Plympton addresses, don’t believe that any of them could sell their homes right now due to the situation and many have voiced their opposition based on the fear that their home values will plummet should the project move forward.

HALIFAX– The Halifax Board of Selectmen met and debated a number of items on Tuesday, July 12, although half of a dog hearing, the eighth meeting with Scott Clawson regarding his horse show consent agreement, and the second part of a multi-part earth-removal hearing for the Morse Brothers Cranberry company dominated the discussion.

Dog hearing

Scott Clawson and several neighbors brought forward a dog noise complaint against Jennifer Harmon-Choate, who operates a kennel neighboring Clawson’s property.

Harmon-Choate was not available for the hearing, despite being notified, according to Town Administrator Charlie Seelig.

Despite Ms. Harmon-Choate’s absence, the Board opted to collect evidence, and then continue the hearing until she could be present.

Several neighbors spoke of excessive barking at the kennel, including Clawson, at all hours of the day or night. Clawson’s son even had made an audio recording that he played from for the board.

A neighbor spoke of her children being afraid to play outside due to the noise of barking dogs.

Selectman Kim Roy had done some sleuthing of her own as well, recording audio at various hours of the day, including a recording at 4:51 a.m. where dogs could be heard loudly barking, allegedly from the kennel and recorded at different parts of Clawson’s property.

The hearing was continued.

Fieldstone Farms

The Board and Scott Clawson are very close to agreeing on a new version of the consent agreement Clawson operates under for his horse shows at Fieldstone Farms.  This was the eighth meeting on the subject.

Although the language between the attorney for Clawson and the attorney for the town is close, they have not yet executed a contract, and Clawson sought temporary reprieve for the rest of the summer, adding two show dates, and raising the number of overnight RV’s on his property to 15 for those dates.

The board granted his requests.

Clawson was originally called before the board for advertising more shows this summer than allowed in his agreement with the town, but turned this into an opportunity to negotiate a new contract.

The Board did negotiate further with Clawson and his attorney, and they will be back to, hopefully, execute a new agreement on July 26.

Earth-Removal hearing

The Morse Brothers Cranberry Company, represented by GAF engineering and Bill Madden, was before the Selectmen again to address concerns regarding an earth-removal permit sought by the company for their cranberry operation.

The cranberry growers claim that in order to produce a greater yield, that it is necessary to remove a particular hill and they would like to remove 41,600 cubic yards of earth from the hill in the center of the bogs.

Lingan Street would be the main route for trucks removing the earth, and neighbors and abutters are concerned about such a large amount of truck traffic. They also said they are worried about the vibrations this would cause to their homes, water mains and gas lines buried underground.

Lingan Street is very narrow, said Selectman Chairman Troy Garron, who lives in the area.

Most of all, neighbors were worried about children in the area of large vehicles. Several insisted that truck traffic only be allowed during school hours, when children are not outside playing.

Neighbors seem to be amenable to the project, several noting that Morse Brothers Cranberry Company has been good neighbors to them in the past.

The scale of the project is confusing, though, as various numbers of round-trips have been proposed, ranging from 1,600 to more than 2,000, depending on the size of the truck, and as well a loose time-frame as there is no current destination for the soil.

“It feels like the numbers are being played with,” said Rich Holmes of 13th Avenue.

The hearing was continued.

Special Town Meeting

The Selectmen have called a Special Town Meeting for Monday, July 25, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Halifax Elementary School, 464 Plymouth Street. A copy of the warrant can be read on page 11 of this newspaper or downloaded online. Warrants will also be mailed to all residents the week of July 18.

There will be a voter registration session on Friday, July 15 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Town Hall.