The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The Selectmen had an appointment with Mike Martin and Health Agent Bob Valery to discuss Hemlock landfill repair options. Martin, who has been working on monitoring the landfill since 2008, is a Project Environmental Scientist and Senior Program Manager with TRC Companies, Inc. He said that in 2021 he began noticing additional erosion which has continued to worsen since then.
As far as what has been done in 2024 with the landfill, Martin said that in February there was drone imaging completed and in March they developed landfill repair and expanded solar concept. In June of 2024 the wetland delineation was completed and in July they completed a site walk with MassDEP. Finally, in September they met with the Town Administrator and Board of Health in Halifax regarding next steps.
Martin also walked through a brief history of the landfill saying that from the 1930’s to 1971 it operated as a burn dump. From 1971 to 1977 it operated as a municipal solid waste landfill. He said that doing repair work every few years will, in the long run, cost as much or more than doing one major repair to deal with the problems in their entirety. He said that this kind of “patchwork” is not addressing the overall erosion problem.
Martin presented the first repair option with an associated cost of approximately $40k. This would include removing sediment from the drainage swale and culvert, removing a portion of the swale that has collapsed, and regrading erosion areas. Martin noted that this option does not address the underlying issues that are causing the erosion. He said that the erosion is occurring somewhere in the range of 4-10 years.
Option 2 includes rebuilding the entire side slope at a much higher cost. The benefit would be that it would be a long-term solution. “How is it we can charge the construction company to bring soil in for a government project?” Chair John Bruno asked. Martin explained, “MassDep back in 2013 and 2015, they issued some soil policies… they have a lot of excess construction soil out there that contractors have to get rid of… so when they go to get rid of it, they pay a fee so they have these facilities that take that clean soil and charge a nominal fee depending on the level of contamination.” He said that all of the construction costs would be covered by the soil. Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that based on MA General Law they may have to appropriate the funds before being reimbursed.
Selectman Jonathan Selig asked what type of soil would be being brought in and was told it was typical of what you would naturally find in a residential environment. “We’re not looking at any type of contaminated soil or anything like that?” Selig asked and was assured that was not the case. Martin was also asked about the pesticide used to kill invasive species and was told that it would be injected directly into the ground rather than being sprayed.
Bruno asked if they even had enough money to fund option one and Haddad said they would need to make a capital request and bring it to town meeting. Bruno said that they would need to do some research regarding the project as well as financing for either option. Bruno said he would also like to take a tour of the area to better understand.
The Selectmen also met with John Guiod regarding an appointment to the Conservation Commission. Guiod was a firefighter for 23 years and currently works part-time as a paramedic. Asked about what sparked his interest in the Commission, he said, “It starts with living on the lake and, of course, having 250 acres of water in my backyard, it raises some interest in that.” He also said that he is at Burrage several times a week. Guiod also said that he recently joined the Monponsett Watershed Association. “I would encourage independent thinking which I think is important for any Board or Committee or Commission; some voices are louder than others and I would just encourage you to stay the path and keep your own voice,” Selectman Thomas Pratt said. Pratt also asked if Guiod had any close personal relationships with existing members of the Commission and was told he did not.
The Selectmen and Haddad also discussed Haddad’s performance review as they approached the anniversary of his hiring. While Haddad received high marks across the board, the area where there was room for greatest improvement was transparency. Haddad said he attempted to provide outreach to the community through things like Cody’s Corner online. Pratt said that his marks were more geared toward what he sees as a lack of trust between the public and the Selectmen and Town Administrator in general. “I don’t think it’s reflective of effort and I don’t put him [Haddad] alone on it either; I put us on it as well. And I don’t think it’s a transparency thing, I think it’s a disconnect,” Pratt said.
Later in the meeting when discussing the procurement of energy resources Haddad said, “we are not part of an aggregation, so a lot of communities team up with other communities and then they go out as a conglomerate and buy electricity for the residents at kind of a bulk rate and Halifax was not part of that… I worked with Colonial Power and we locked in a rate… I’m happy to share that this past quarter we saved the community, as a whole, $71,000 and over the past five quarters we’ve saved Halifax residents just over $500,000.” Bruno referred back to the transparency issue saying, “I would like to see this kind of information better broadcast… maybe the social media thing needs to have a little bit about this.” Haddad said that he was working to condense and consolidate the social media piece.
The Selectmen also took up an amended Host Community Agreement with Elevated Roots. The State has mandated that the three percent impact fee be removed though Haddad noted that they still get the three percent local tax. The Selectmen voted to approve the updated agreement.
They also took up an employment contract with Kathy Evans for a Public Health Nurse. Haddad said that it was through the Public Health Excellence Grant. “It’s six communities that are part of this; we get a substantial amount of money from the State that fully funds it and basically it allows for each of the six communities to provide public health services above and beyond the bare minimum,” Haddad said.
Evans would serve as a nurse for all six communities at no cost to those municipalities. Selig asked if her being a member of the Conservation Commission would be a conflict of interest. Haddad said she would need to submit a form to be hired as a special municipal employee which would be approved by the Selectmen. Pratt asked about what her hiring process was like and Haddad said that several applicants were brought before Valery and the rest of the hiring committee. Pratt asked how many applicants there were and Haddad said he didn’t have that information. They said that they would vote to approve the contract at a subsequent meeting.
The Selectmen did approve a number of other contracts including one with Paul S. Kapinos & Associates, Inc. as well as the Lakeville Animal Shelter.