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.

PLYMPTON- Monday, June 19, Plympton Selectmen further discussed Carver “urban redevelopment” plans. They also held a hearing regarding Jeff Randall’s gravel permit, and other businesses.

Traynor takes the lead liaising with Carver politicians

With a development on the Carver/Plympton line moving forward, and Plympton residents to be affected, some even with eminent domain seizure of parts of their properties, newly-elected Selectman John Traynor has taken the lead in liaising with Carver officials.

Traynor told the board that his meeting with Carver Selectman Alan Dunham, Carver Town Administrator Michael Milanoski, and Carver Redevelopment Authority member William Sinclair was productive, albeit chilly in tone at first.

Although no concrete measures were agreed on, according to Traynor the officials were receptive to Plympton’s concerns– to some extent.

Many of the suggestions that Plympton residents have come up with to avoid traffic and eminent domain concerns were shut down entirely– for example using an on/off ramp from Route 44 for traffic– as that would necessarily encroach into Middleboro.

The Board’s strategy at this point is to work cooperatively with Carver officials to minimize the impact of the development on Plympton abutters and neighbors in order to protect their interests. It still isn’t clear what more the Board can do to assist residents at this time.

Gravel Permit hearing, or something else?

Jeff Randall, who has variously proposed building a medical marijuana grow facility and a Chapter 40(B) development on his Ring Road farm, also operates several other businesses from his property, including several cranberry bogs, a gravel removal business and a composting operation whereby horses he boards produce manure that is then mixed with dirt to produce compost.

According to officials, there has been a recent uptick in complaints regarding truck traffic to and from this property. Randall’s gravel permit restricts the amount of truck traffic to a specific time period – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For that permit, which he says he accidently let lapse for several months but that the town offered him a renewal, a particular map was attached. Due to a possible clerical error, it may or may not have been the most recent property plan.

Once this matter was settled, the hearing pivoted to his composting business.

Randall says he does not need to be licensed for his composting business, so his trucks can run at all hours. As a courtesy to his neighbors, he said he was willing to restrict his trucks to operating from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Randall, supposedly there to explain himself to the Board for operating outside the hours of his permit, was explaining the rules to the Selectmen, not the other way around, and Selectman Christine Joy stated she wasn’t sure the Board had the authority to limit Randall’s composting business.

A resident in the audience mumbled, “What are we even talking about?”

Then Joy pivoted again, and stated that the Board was trying to determine whether the farm was actually a farm or a “contractor’s yard.” When asked what a contractor’s yard was, the answer was more in what it was not– an industrial property that isn’t allowed in a residential zone.

It is not apparent why the gravel permit issue, which was listed on the agenda, morphed into a composting issue and finally into whether Jeff Randall is actually engaged in agricultural ventures vs. industrial ones on his property, and what rules, if any, he is expected to follow.

The Board of Health next meets Tuesday, July 5, at 5 p.m.

PLYMPTON– On Monday, June 13, Selectmen held an at times emotional meeting where many residents expressed further concerns regarding Carver’s “Urban Redevelopment” plans.

“Urban Redevelopment” appears to move ahead

At a meeting held in Carver the week before, without public comment, according to a video record of the meeting, the Carver Redevelopment Authority voted to move another step forward with its “urban redevelopment” plans, sparking renewed outrage from the public.

The project, affecting North Carver and Plympton abutters along the Plympton/Carver line in the area of Montello Street and Heather’s Path, near Route 44, would see a mixed-use development and even has plans for a hotel in the industrially zoned area.

To date, the plans appear to be preliminary at best, where the hotel is shown on a river that doesn’t exist, or there is no hotel at all on various iterations of the plans. Several residents from Carver or who are landowners in Carver but have Plympton addresses have had their properties threatened to be taken by eminent domain for the commercial development.

This had Plympton residents back before the Board Monday, begging them to do something. Despite the apparent unanimity of the Selectmen against the project, the Board has little authority to do anything but attempt to negotiate with Carver to mitigate the impact of the development on Plympton residents, which they vow to do.

“They said they are going to ‘move’ my well. Where to? My front yard is septic,” said Melissa Singletary, whose property may be one of the most affected if the project were to move forward. “They are going to take my whole back yard…I’m going to have to walk away from that house.”

The Board has said that they are going to meet with Carver selectmen to discuss the project, and as well look into asking Carver to mitigate the project so that it doesn’t become a cost to Plympton tax-payers– through traffic calming measures, or signage, or whatever they can come up with.

When asked if traffic mitigation would really solve the problem, Selectman Christine Joy said she didn’t know, but that they are going to try to work something out with Carver to help the affected Plympton residents.

(Lack of) Town House Security

Officials have given out too many keys to Town House, and the time to change the locks is here, say Selectmen.

The practice of giving out keys to whole committees or casually copying keys is now a relic of the past as security concerns over Town House are prompting the re-issuing of keys. No specific incident was mentioned, just a generally “loose” policy on who has keys.

In the future, only those who work in the building or chair a committee will be given keys that will be expected to be turned in at the end of a chair’s tenure on a committee or an employee’s work with the town.

The idea of a more modern card reader, such as one found at hotels, or an RFID card reader that one might find in a workplace, was floated. Dale Pleau, Town Coordinator, will look into the expense of such a system.

The advantage of such a system would be that keys could easily be deactivated without an employee or chairperson having to physically turn in the key, and that access can be logged on a computer.

The Board of Selectmen will next meet on Monday, June 20, at 6 p.m., Town House.

PLYMPTON– On Monday, June 6, the Plympton Board of Selectmen met and discussed just a few issues. Town Counsel Ilana Quirk was present to answer questions that the board had about a proposed “redevelopment” plan on the Plympton/Carver line that has concerned some Plympton residents who may abut the proposed industrial park. The board also approved a modified Memorial Day ceremony to be held on June 14, Flag Day.

Carver

“Redevelopment”

concerns heard

The board asked Town Counsel Ilana Quirk to come and speak with them about ideas she has for residents who are concerned about a proposed industrial park in Carver that if built, may negatively affect some Plympton residents and their property.

Although Carver’s plans are in the preliminary stages, they have mentioned taking land by eminent domain, and several Plympton residents near the proposed development have Plympton addresses but portions of their property lie in Carver.

Although eminent domain seems to be the topic that has upset Plympton residents the most, residents of Montello Street and Heather’s Path are also concerned about increased traffic that any development might cause in their area, and this was the focus of Town Counsel’s advice.

Quirk offered a variety of ideas. She focused on “traffic calming” measures that Plympton could unilaterally impose on streets under their jurisdiction, and possibly ask for Carver’s cooperation. This might be a speed bump, or simply in the way an intersection is designed, maybe a narrowing of the road, in order to send a message to drivers to slow down.

Physical barriers are illegal, according to Quirk– at least in the sense of blocking off traffic from one community to the other.

Signage could be used, she said in response to a question posed by Selectman John Traynor. Signs like “No Trucks” might be used to discourage traffic through Plympton, although Quirk noted that it then becomes an issue of enforcement.

Quirk also suggested that the state Department of Transportation, who has jurisdiction over Route 58, could be asked to consider putting in a light at the intersection of Montello Street and Route 58, although this is in Carver.

The board agreed that it was time to bring Highway Surveyor Jim Mulcahy before them to ask his advice on exactly who has jurisdiction over the roads in the area and any other ideas he may have.

Modified

Memorial Day

Due to safety concerns, Memorial Day ceremonies in Plympton were cancelled. That hasn’t stopped the Memorial Day committee from quickly coming up with a new plan to honor veterans and service members.

Selectmen approved that plan to hold a ceremony on Tuesday, June 14, Flag Day, at 6:30 p.m. on the Town Green. Although there will be no parade, a variety of activities have been scheduled, according to the committee.

There will be a reading of the names of Plympton’s fallen soldiers and veterans, pinning of Vietnam Veterans, essay readings of “What Memorial Day Means to Me” by Dennet School students, as well as recitations of “Flanders Fields” and “The Gettysburg Address”.

Participants are

still welcome

To participate, contact the Selectmen’s Assistant, Briggette Martins at Town House by phone at 781-585-2700 or by email at selectman.assistant@town.plympton.ma.us