The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, April 11. Selectman Chair John Bruno said he wanted to provide an update on the MBTA Action Plan. “Just to refresh our memories, the State, about two years ago, passed a law regarding what they call MBTA communities, which lucky for us we are one, where they are trying to force us to change our zoning to add a significant amount of multi-family housing. I don’t have any problem with multi-family housing, and I do think we need to add some to Halifax. What I do have a problem with is overreach of the State government on this project,” Bruno said. He further said that he had drafted a letter stating his opinion which he would like to see sent to State representatives and surrounding towns. He then proceeded to read the letter which can be found in the recording of the Selectmen’s meeting on Area 58. “Glad to sign it and send it along,” Selectman Jonathan Selig said. “I think the only way we can really address this, other than crossing our arms and refusing to do it, which is going to cause problems, is to bring our representatives in – that’s what their job is. Their job is not to show up on Facebook every other day saying I went to a Needle Scout ceremony, I just got appointed to this community or that community – their job is to look out for us and I think we need to put the heat on a little bit… it’s time that they did their work,” Bruno said.
Bruno said that Police Chief Joao Chaves, Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward, and Fred Corrigan with the Traffic Safety Committee were all in attendance to discuss changing the speed limits on Route 106. “You can’t just go changing speed limits, especially on 106 or any numbered road. We might take care of it, but it is still a State road, so you have to have studies done,” Hayward said. He further said that the change would be to make the speed limit 25 mph throughout all of Halifax unless otherwise posted. Corrigan argued using excerpts from State law that you do not need a survey done to change the speed limit.
Chaves said that it was brought up at Town Meeting a few years ago and voted down. “The issue with asking the State to do a study is they could actually tell us, your street is too low,” Chaves said. He further said that 85 percent of the vehicles that travel that road do so at an average speed of 41 mph when the posted speed limit is 35. Corrigan noted that Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) does these studies without additional cost to the town. Selig said, “I know there have been residents that have been concerned where 106 is getting built up with businesses so I wouldn’t be opposed to slowing things down in that business area but we just have to be sure we aren’t opening up a can of worms with setting a town-wide speed limit so I would be for the OCPC recommendation.” Corrigan asked if anyone asked why the Traffic Safety Committee was formed and Bruno said, “I absolutely do” and referenced a pedestrian that was struck. The Selectmen agreed to contact OCPC.
Appointment to Zoning By-Law Review Committee
The Selectmen had an appointment with Jeremy Gillespie to discuss his appointment to the Zoning By-Law Review Committee. “I just see a lot of things in there that could be simplified and then things that need to be addressed,” Gillespie said. “I know… you’re a very passionate guy especially about environmental things in the town… you’d be open to, I guess, other takes on different issues and other ideas and working together to come to some sort of consensus?” Selig asked. Gillespie said “absolutely.” Resident Alan Dias spoke up saying, “I did send a letter to the Board suggesting that they not appoint Mr. Gillespie based on his Facebook posts, his anonymous complaints to DEP, Conservation Commission and I don’t know that that type of action would be helpful to the town.” A Conservation Commission member disputed the claims saying that Gillespie never files anonymous complaints. Bruno said that he doesn’t have a problem with someone being passionate and unafraid to tell the town when they are wrong. The Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint Gillespie.
50k for Park Commission and Youth and Recreation
Bruno said that there was an issue of $50,000 that needs to be allocated between the Park Commission and the Youth and Recreation Commission. At a previous Selectmen’s meeting, the Board had gone over Youth and Rec Director Dick Steele’s proposals for using a share of the funds. Steele said that they were looking to take care of some of the more costly items in their small budgets. He noted that they were looking for approximately $16,000. The Selectmen agreed to submit the Youth and Rec request for the $16,000 of earmarked funds while allowing the Park Commission to take another week to finalize their requests for the remaining $34,000.
Open Seat on Board of Registrars
Haddad told the Selectmen that there was an opening for the Republican seat on the Board of Registrars. He said that the Board of Registrars would submit three recommendations or nominations and then the Selectmen would select one for a three-year term. The Selectmen had a brief discussion regarding whether to choose Gordon C. Andrews or Summer Schmaling. “I know they’re both passionate Republicans and I think both would, for that capacity, be fine – splitting hairs,” Selectman Selig said. Bruno moved that they appoint Schmaling and they all agreed unanimously. “And that’s just because I had to pick one,” Bruno explained.
Morse Brothers Update
Haddad said, “they did notify us that they would be moving a second pile of dirt with two trucks – they would be avoiding the school bus schedule. We obviously have had various discussions with counsel and engineers, we brought in our Water Commissioners, Water Superintendent to make sure that there was no negative impact on the water. We’ve been assured by everyone involved that there is not and at this point, they are not digging anything further.”
Review of Town Meeting Articles
Haddad said that Town Meeting would be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 8. “It’s only an annual town meeting, we do not have a special town meeting,” he explained. He said that the election would be on Saturday, May 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Haddad reviewed the articles with the Selectmen. “Many of the articles are housekeeping, annual articles,” Haddad said. There were no significant changes to salaries of town employees. He did note that they are recommending a part-time Conservation Agent. “The Wetlands Protection Act and our bylaws are very diverse and they require a professional who really understands this. If we get a call for enforcement, we are really limited in who can go out and make that assessment,” Haddad said. He noted that it was a recommendation of the Conservation Commission. The town also wishes to add a Deputy Chief to the Police Department.
Regarding the schools’ budgets, Haddad said that overall, they are at a 2.9 percent increase, and the Elementary School is at a 5 percent increase. “We’ve had discussions with our schools to voice our concerns that we cannot continue to sustain large increases like this,” Haddad said. There was an article for $38,000 to support the School Resource Officer.
“We have a total operating budget of $28,113,913 for this year,” Haddad said. “One million more than last year,” Bruno said. Haddad noted that despite the large increase, the budget is mostly level-funded.
Some of the larger expenses from the Capital Plan article included a wield excavator for the Highway Department for $150,080, ADA Compliance projects for $500,000, town hall portico repairs for $50,000, library window replacements for $45,000, A fire command vehicle for the Fire Department for $80,000, and two police cruisers for $110,000.
Article 22 allows the Board of Selectmen to lease a landfill for the purposes of solar for up to 30 years. Article 23 is a petition article to increase the size of the Board of Selectmen from 3 to 5 members. Article 24 is an article to change the Town Clerk, Highway Surveyor, and Treasurer/Collector from elected to appointed. Bruno noted that he was not in favor of either Articles 23 or 24. “I don’t see how it gets any more efficient by increasing the size,” Bruno said of increasing the members on the Board of Selectmen.

Kingston’s Annual Town Election will be Saturday, April 22, at the Kingston Elementary School, 150 Main St,, off Route 3A. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
There are still positions open with no candidates. They are: Housing Authority, 1 seat available for a 5-year term and Library Trustee – two seats available for 3-year terms Check the Town Clerk’s website to see if you qualify for an absentee ballot. See www.kingstonma.gov for additional information under Election News. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Kingston Town Clerk’s office at 781-585-0502.

The Kingston Elementary School Committee met on Monday, March 20. Town Treasurer Carl Pike asked to speak at the beginning of the meeting regarding the budget. He called himself a strong supporter of schools and school budgets over the last decade before saying that it was difficult for him to speak up regarding the preliminary budget and what it would do to the Town’s overall finances. He noted the $2.1 million increase this year saying that even with $600,000 removed due to increases in state aid, they were still at an increase of approximately $1.5 million. “What that does to the residents of the town of Kingston – we have about 4,500 residential parcels so that would equate to about $350 of a tax increase for every residential house in the town of Kingston for the next fiscal year.”
Pike also spoke about what the school’s increase would mean for the rest of the town. Pike said that the other town departments were challenged to stay around a 2 percent increase. “We have always strived to leave about a million dollars on the table; what that means is if I could tax the residents $40 million across the town, we try to only tax them $39 million so there’s a million on the table.” He said that with the school’s increase that wouldn’t be possible. He noted that this leaves the town in a dangerous position. He noted that the million dollars carrying over each year prevents a Prop 2.5 override. He encouraged the School Committee to reconsider their budget saying that he would have trouble supporting it as-is and said he suspects that the Finance Committee and Selectmen likely would also have difficulty supporting it.
Selectman Sheila Vaughn, who noted she is also the parent of an incoming kindergartener, thanked Pike but said it is very difficult to run a school and level-fund it. “We have schools… we need to be taking care of them… we’ve done more with the legislature to try to secure more funding,” Vaughn said. She said that cuts always come out of the regular day operating budget because it is difficult to cut from special education and out of district vocational. “We have parents and we have people who will support this,” she said.
Superintendent Jill Proulx shared version three of the budget with the Committee. She noted that Circuit Breaker was still estimated at 70 percent. “No cuts were made to this since the last time we met… regular day in this includes the addition of three classroom teachers, one kindergarten para, a 0.5 para, $60,000 in equipment, 0.4 music, and 0.4 art bringing it to a 9.53 percent increase. “Special education in this budget, we have added the paraprofessionals for the program, we have added the behaviorist… they show up in the form of tuition increases… so now special education is at 23.2 increase,” Proulx told the Committee. She said that there was some discussion about using free cash and carrying over some of Circuit Breaker into FY24. “We are very much open to that idea,” Proulx said. Committee member Tim Lewis said he was “absolutely passionate” about the three new classroom teachers and the special education educator.
There was some discussion about whether the behaviorist was necessary. Some Committee members argued that the time taken away from students while teachers dealt with these issues was immeasurable. Other Committee members felt that the data was not there to warrant the position. Kingston Intermediate School (KIS) Principal Mike Bambery said that the need was imminent due to the strain on other staff. Coleman spoke in favor of the behaviorist but questioned the need for a third classroom teacher. She did note, however, that she didn’t want to be put in the position they are in now where kindergarten parents are outraged about the large class sizes which are approaching 30.
Proulx said that in speaking with the Technology Director and the Curriculum Coordinator “we felt that we could absorb $19,000 for curriculum and $30,000 for technology because we felt we could move some of that into ESSSER.” The Committee also discussed reducing positions, such as music from 0.4 to 0.2., to save money. Proulx pointed out that it would be difficult to find someone to take over a 0.2 position. Coleman said that she was comfortable bringing the budget as-is to the Town Meeting floor. Lewis said that one hundred percent of the people at the public budget hearing supported the budget. Coleman said that she spoke to a mother of a kindergartener and a third grader who moved across the country sight unseen in part because of the Kingston’s schools. “I don’t want to lose that,” she said.
There was considerable conversation around the budgetary impacts of students who transfer into the district mid school year. Lewis asked, “Am I correct in saying that there is a law on the books that if a student moves into the district after a certain date than the previous district owns that bill; so when we talk about an extraordinary year because of move-ins, aren’t those move-ins being paid for by the previous district?” Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable said “Correct, there is an April 1 move-in law, so if there is someone who moves into our district after April 1 that we did not have a chance to budget for, then that district owns and assumes the tuition for the rest of the school year but there are other taxes.” If students moved-in earlier than April 1, the district still has to pay for them regardless of those students not being included in the approved budget.
The excess cost that was spoken of was $700,000. Grable said that the bulk of that came from students who turned 3, move-ins, and some out-of-district placements that were not foreseen. Grable explained that if students that move-in are private then the April 1 law applies. She continued, “if they are collaborative, then we look to see if we have some in-district program that can meet their needs, so we are not bound to the move-in law if we have a comparable program.” Grable said, “we received students that weren’t on an IEP that were challenging to place; I’m really toeing the line here.” Committee Chair Jeanne Coleman said, “I think the majority of the public might be able to connect some pieces with the timeline that we’re looking at… and now we’re fiscally responsible… and the State dropped the ball on providing appropriate funding.” While it was not explicitly stated, the implication was that the conversation centered around the 64 migrant children who were housed in a hotel in Kingston in October. Director of Business Services clarified that that situation only made up a small portion of the additional expenses.
After considerable conversation and debate, the Committee voted to approve a regular day operating budget of $10,410,747, a special education budget of $6,354,065, and an out of district vocational education budget of $228,000. Coleman noted that the increase was actually 8.6 percent.
The Committee listened to some changes to two policies that were previously discussed at the Halifax and Plympton School Committees. The first dealt with access to security footage from the schools. The changes allowed for more emergency services to access the footage in the event of an emergency. Previously, only Police were allowed but the changes allowed for both Dispatch and Fire and Rescue to also view them. The second policy was regarding the opt-out option for parents for student surveys. Parents have the option to opt-out of the social and emotional surveys being administered by the schools. The Committee voted to approve both policies.
During the Teacher’s Corner for the month of March it was said that the reading focus was Dr. Suess. It was noted that author, Beth Ferry, came to work with students and would be returning to work on creating their own books. The second grade participated in a March Madness book tournament where books went head-to-head until one was voted as the favorite. The first grade participated in a STEM project creating Leprechaun traps. After School programs led by KES teachers and being put on by Kingston Youth and Rec have been very successful.
KES Principal Kerri Whipple provided an update saying the focus of the past month has been curiosity. Whipple called Ferry’s visit a success and noted that they had positive feedback on the visit from many families especially those with students with special needs. Whipple said that the first-grade celebrated beach day where they studied marine animals. Whipple said that the program “germs alive” was incredible. “There’s a lot of events coming up; it’s our busy time of year,” she told the Committee.
Bambery also provided an update on recent goings on at KIS. He said that the infrastructure trials for MCAS have gone well. He said that the student/staff basketball game went wonderfully, selling the entire place out. “The kids just had a fantastic time; I had kids coming up to me harassing me because I didn’t call any fouls,” he said laughing. Bambery also said that the fifth grade would be going on a field trip and the sixth grade would be having a cyber-bullying presentation.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, March 14.
Selectman Jonathan Selig reported that the Fireworks Committee has found a vendor that has availability closer to the Fourth of July. He noted that some in town were disappointed that the fireworks have been held in June. The company, American Thunder, is a company that has provided fireworks for the town in the past.
Town Administrator Cody Haddad told Selectmen that he had a letter from Flower & Soul that they are committing to donating $10,000 to fireworks each year for the next five years. “They hope to grow the program and grow the festivities for the Fourth of July events,” Haddad said. Selig said, “I was on the Board in the summer when Brian the owner came in; I was very impressed; he’s very much committed to Halifax and this event…. He envisions it kind of back to what it was when there were events during the day and not just the fireworks at night… I thank him for his generosity.”
Haddad told the Selectmen that they had received two allegations of open meeting law violation. The first was for the joint meeting with the Finance Committee. The complaint was that the Chair didn’t state that the meeting was being recorded. Haddad noted that it was an oversight on the behalf of the Selectmen and that they plan to correct that moving forward. The second complaint was regarding the Feb. 28 meeting. The first allegation was that the meeting minutes from July 12 and November 12 were not accepted in a timely manner. Haddad said he wrote a letter apologizing for the delay and citing the difficulties with the change of hands in the Board of Selectmen. The second allegation said that the Board of Selectmen uses acronyms for things that are not clear to the general public. Haddad said that he doesn’t believe it to be a violation of the open meeting law but said they would make more of a conscious effort to avoid doing so in the future.
Selectmen had an appointment with Angel Guallpa Castro regarding a live entertainment permit for 122 Monponsett St. A translator for Castro said the event was a baptism and that the permit was requested through 1 a.m. Selectmen expressed some concern that the event time was quite late for amplified music. They also expressed some concern over the size of the event which was requested for 90 people. Selig said that if the 90 people could safely fit inside and the band shuts down at 9 p.m., it should be okay. He also verified that they would have enough parking for 90 people. A resident in attendance who said his parents live nearby expressed concern about other events in the past where loud music was played well into the night. The Selectmen again stressed that the music would need to end around 9 p.m..
Police Chief Joao Chaves said, “My only concern is, I need to make sure he knows that he can’t sell alcohol, he can’t have party guards, and he can’t be charging a fee. This is what happened during Carnival. Some neighbors were complaining and allegedly people were offered bribes not to call the police… you can’t have that as a private night club; it’s a residence.” Chaves also said that there shouldn’t be any advertising on social media. The Selectmen voted to move forward with the permit provided all of the guidelines were met.
Regarding the MBTA Action Plan, Haddad said that the technical assistance grant is open, and he will be submitting an application in the next week or two. He said they hope to get the Old Colony Planning Council on board to assist the Town in reviewing the feasibility and the overall process.
Regarding Morse Brothers, Haddad said they did conduct a site visit. Since then, an Executive Session took place on the matter. He said that the Town will keep people informed as soon as the information becomes public. Some in attendance pushed back insisting that they wished to be privy to the details. Selectmen Chair John Bruno stood firm that right now was not the time for it to be discussed in open session. “We are talking to them and we hope to have it resolved as quickly as we can,” Bruno said.
Haddad provided an update on the trainings for various Boards and Committees. He said that many sessions will be offered on open meeting law; employees are requested to attend just one. “There’s a lot to it [open meeting law] and this would provide everybody with the tools to effectively follow that law,” Haddad said.
Town Administrator Cody Haddad told the Selectmen that there is a vacancy on the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee that needs to be filled by a Planning Board member. He said that none of the current Planning Board members not already serving are interested in the position. He did note that a previous member of the Board had expressed interest and said that there are two at-large positions that also needed to be filled. Anyone interested should fill out a talent bank form.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met Monday evening, March 13, to discuss and vote on several issues, including whether or not to continue meeting remotely or to resume in-person meetings as have some other town boards, including the Plympton School Committee.
The law that made remote meetings acceptable under the Open Meeting Law, was passed in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown in order that municipalities could still conduct their business while being in quarantine. That allowance expires on March 31, at which time full in-person meetings will need to resume. The state legislature has a bill before it to extend the remote meetings deadline for two years, allowing the towns the option of meeting remotely until March 31, 2025.
The question before the board was whether or not selectmen would seek to continue their remote meetings or return to in-person meetings. Selectman John Traynor spoke in favor of continuing the remote meetings because of their convenience and also spoke to the merits of in-person meetings, the best, in his estimation would be a hybrid of both, with the ease and convenience of the ZOOM meeting, and the option of people coming in for an in-person experience. Chairman Christine Joy said, “We’re not there yet,” to which Traynor replied that it was tested and it worked flawlessly.
Joy further stated that with ZOOM meetings, there has been greater public participation and that often, in person meetings were not attended by any members of the pubic.
Selectman Mark Russo said that he didn’t think the legislation to allow the continuation of remote meetings had passed the legislature and suggested the board wait to vote on the matter until the legislature voted. He did say that remote meetings were able to run more efficiently. Joy said she was in favor of returning to in-person meetings until the legislature votes, making the March 27 meeting the first in-person selectmen’s meeting. That meeting is also a continuation of the SLT hearing for its Spring Street location.
On Joy’s motion, the board voted unanimously to return to in-person meetings as of March 27.
Plympton resident Pat Burke, after the vote, because he had difficulty getting into the ZOOM meeting, said he wished the town would continue both in person and remote meetings, saying it might encourage people to participate in town government.
In other matters, Town Clerk Tricia Detterman brought to selectmen the question of allowing Vote by Mail for local elections. Other towns in the commonwealth have decided to eliminate that option, citing its cost and the unnecessary burden of another vote by mail. State and federal elections would not be affected. Detterman said that she was personally in favor of keeping the vote by mail option. “Hopefully we get more people participating in the electoral process.”
Selectman Traynor told the board that the Town of Sharon, where Deborah Sampson went to live with her husband Benjamin Gannett and where they are buried, was promoting a “forever” stamp in honor of the commonwealth’s official heroine. The Sharon Historical Society Feb. 9, 2023, voted unanimously to support the issuing of a Deborah Sampson Forever Stamp. The Town of Plympton Board of Selectmen voted to join in support of the effort. People who wish to support the new stamp may write a letter of support to Stamp Development, Attn: Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300, Washington, DC 20260-3501. The deadline for mailing your letter of support is the first week in April.
Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy told the board that Plympton would discontinue its regionalization of the Animal Control Officer services, effective immediately, with a vote of the board. She said that Carver had not been able to provide the service for a number of reasons and that both towns found it would be easier just to sever the relationship for now.
Selectmen voted to allow the bicycle race “Harbor to the Bay” permission to ride through the town on Sept. 23, from 7:30 to 10 a.m. on Spring St., Brook St., and Mayflower Rd. This will be their final bike ride.
As for the Raves that usually close the meetings, Russo told the board about serving on the Community Preservation Committee with David Chandler, who passed away last week. Russo remembered that he would come 20 minutes early to prepare for his meeting and Chandler also took to coming in 20 minutes early and the two would talk about everything from the state of the economy, national banking, politics, down to chain saw maintenance. After years of these pre-meeting visits Russo said he found that the conversations with Dave were the perfect preparation for the upcoming CPC meeting. Chandler, the board agreed, was a lovely gentleman and will be dearly missed by the town.
Traynor agreed with Russo and wanted to give a shoutout to the police who were able to put together a presence at Chandler’s funeral, with an officer at the door for the wake and two officers to accompany the funeral, all at short notice.
On another note, Traynor said he was happy to see there were 60 people at the Pay-T trash seminar held March 4 at the Town House, because there wasn’t enough space at the library to accommodate the crowd. The presentation by Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte will be repeated Saturday, March 18, for those who didn’t attend March 4, also at the Town House. There will be refreshments and coffee at the library for those who have already seen the presentation.
Traynor also told the board the Recreation Commission is full and active and working with Liz Dennehy with some funds that have been earmarked for their use. Traynor recalled the days when Plympton didn’t have enough players to field a softball team so the town sent their players to Halifax. This spring, he told the board, there will be four Plympton softball teams!
The meeting adjourned. The next meeting will be the continued hearing for SLT on the Spring St. project. It will be in-person, in the Deborah Sampson room of the Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Road.

KINGSTON …Mayflower Church  will host a free Chowder Fest dinner at the Briggs Building, behind the church, at 207 Main Street, Kingston, beginning at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 18.
The event is open to the public from 4 to 6 p.m. All are invited to attend, and no RSVP is needed. There is no cost. Pastor Anton Brown said that the Chowder event is one of the church’s popular community programs. “We are all about outreach, and meeting more members of the community. Our event is a great chance to have people come by, say hello, and enjoy a free chowder dinner.” The church has hosted the event for nearly ten years.
Additionally, attendees will have the chance, if they choose, to participate in some good-natured competition and vote for the “best chowder.” Dozens of chowders will be available, prepared by different members of the church.

Mayflower Church hosts Sunday Morning Worship live as well as online, at 10 a.m. each Sunday. The service is also broadcast Sundays at 7 p.m. on WPLM 99.1 FM. Mayflower Church is located at 207 Main Street, Kingston, MA 02364. Reverend Anton Brown serves as Pastor. For additional information, please call 781-585-3167 or email info@mayflowerkingston.org.

The Halifax Finance Committee met on Monday, Feb. 13. Chair Todd Dargie said that at a previous meeting, they had conducted three interviews for the open position of Finance Committee secretary. The three candidates were Gina DiMuzio, Katelyn Esposito, and Holly Merry. Dargie said that Merry had since expressed concerns that she would not have the availability and capacity to serve in the position. “All three candidates I thought were fantastic… were all qualified to do the position,” Dargie said. He went on to say that his primary concern was that the candidate had municipal experience.
Committee member Frank Johnston said that he liked that Esposito had experience as the office administrator at the Abington Housing Authority. “That brings some value to municipal government that we are looking for… she also had good availability… I think both candidates were well-suited,” he explained. Committee member Michael Bennett said he agreed with Johnston. Committee member Jim Walters said that he also echoed the same sentiments. The Committee voted unanimously to offer the open position to Esposito. Town Accountant Sandra Nolan said that she would forward an offer letter to Dargie.
Building Inspector Jim Perry attended the meeting to provide the Committee with a budget update for his department. He explained, “Pretty much everything is level- funded with respect to the total budget with built in pay raises and so forth; the only additional funds that we are looking for were… $1,800 for training of new secretaries in the Zoning, Conservation, and Planning Departments under the Regulatory Board.” He also noted that currently those positions are vacant and that they are in the process of conducting interviews. “We have found that there is a need to get a lot of training done within those departments,” he said.
Perry said there was some discussion with Nolan about putting that $1,800 under training in the Selectmen’s budget for municipal trainings. New Town Administrator Cody Haddad said, “That should go into that account for training; one of my requests this year will be to increase that… there’s a lot of trainings out there; I’m a very big proponent of professional development so I would like to see that increased.” He continued, “Jim’s request would certainly be approved – it’s warranted; it makes sense to kind of keep it centralized under training.” Dargie asked Haddad if they had started to assess where additional trainings are necessary. Haddad responded, “We’re assessing that; I would like to bring in management training for our department heads and then there are specialized trainings for individual departments… but it’s really a dialogue I’ve begun having with department heads –they know best, they know what they need best so we’re going to take their feedback and bring in the appropriate training as needed.”
Johnston asked Perry to also address the budget line for Interim Inspector. Perry told the Committee, “that is a cost that we incur because I am just a local inspector at this point – an interim local inspector. I have just recently passed my final test to be certified as a local inspector which would then bump me up to interim building inspector/inspector of buildings… so because I did not have that certification we need to hire, beside an inspector of buildings which the previous Select Board appointed, an individual to assist me with certification of occupancies and yearly inspections that are required so that $2,250 goes to pay his time to do those additional inspections with me; we paid him basically a per diem or per inspection fee of $50.” Perry said that the fee should stay in there until the hearing with the Board of Building Commissioners to accept his examinations and appoint him as a conditional inspector of buildings.
Library Director Jean Gallant also provided a budget update for her department. “My budget is really kind of mandated by the State,” she explained to the Committee. “I figure out my wages, I figure out my salary, and then I figure out my expenses and then I put that into a formula, and it comes out with what the town has to appropriate for me in order to get my State aid,” she continued. Gallant said that her State aid has been going up each year, noting that she got $16,000 last year as an incentive grant. She said that she uses that grant to pay for several different expenses including small things like a broken printer or blinds. The library budget for this year stands at $344,790. “Jean’s very good with if there is a wage increase, we refigure her wages and when possible, we then lower her expenses by the same amount that her wages have increased,” Nolan told the Committee. Gallant said that she was requesting $244 to be added into this year’s budget. It was decided to put that expense onto the agenda for their next meeting. They did say that the easiest method would likely be a reserve fund transfer.
Dargie said that an email had been sent out to department heads with a link to an online form to share revenue suggestions. Haddad said he believed that the form was to include existing fee structures and proposed changes. Dargie said that it was found last year that some fees were below neighboring towns and could potentially be raised to increase revenue. Haddad said it should become policy to review fees annually even if changes were not made each year.
The Police and Fire Departments’ budgets will be reviewed during their next Finance meeting.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, Feb. 13. The warrants for the Annual and Special Town Meetings were approved during the meeting. “Three months to Town Meeting!” Selectman Mark Russo said. Selectmen also voted to accept the election calendar for the 2023 town elections. Town Clerk Patricia Detterman told the Selectmen that if they wanted to opt out of early mail by voting for local elections, they would need to hold a hearing. Detterman said that for the local elections, many of the mailed-out ballots were not returned. “My initial reaction is, I’m not interested in opting out,” Selectman John Traynor said citing concerns about seniors and disabled people being able to vote. Traynor asked if they could put it on their next meeting’s agenda and gather additional information in the meanwhile. Detterman also told Selectmen that a new Registrar would need to be appointed as their terms begin at a different time than other elected officials. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said that they would add it to their next meeting’s agenda.
Selectmen were ready to vote on the Dennett Elementary School solar power purchase and sales agreement and lease documents for the rooftop project that’s been ongoing since 2020. “It’s the culmination of a lot of work between myself, Jon Wilhelmsen on behalf of the Dennett School Committee, and respective Counsel for us and for Selectmen, and also a lot of work put into this by Wendy Jones in the Assessor’s office,” Dennehy said. “Really nice teaching tool as well as the cost savings along the way,” Russo said of the project. The project was voted on and approved by the town during Town Meeting. The Selectmen voted to take control of a portion of the roof at the school to make the project possible and voted to approve all necessary documents.
They also took up the Turkey Swamp purchase and sales. Regarding voting on the documents at that night’s meeting, Russo said, “We came really close but we ran into a couple of snags along the way… apparently this is going to have to go to the Planning Board of both Plympton and Halifax so it’s going to take a little bit more time; we have long known how slow and convoluted these processes could be and they’re living up to it.” Russo also said that Counsel had recommended that the Board authorize Russo to accept the documents assuming any necessary edits are minimal. The other Selectmen voted unanimously to accept that proposal.
The Selectmen also nominated Russo to serve as point person for the RFP process for Power Supply. Russo said that they actually have a year left on a three-year contract which he said, “turned out pretty well; we’ve certainly saved citizens along the way.” Russo said that rates are going down so it would be best for one of the Selectmen to move forward with an RFP should the rates become ideal.
Traynor brought up to the other Selectmen that many other Boards and Committees hold their meetings on Monday evenings making it difficult for them to attend other meetings. He also said that many Monday holidays force the Selectmen’s meetings out further than he would like. He proposed moving the Selectmen’s meetings to Tuesdays. Russo said that given how long they have been meeting on Mondays “it would be a real challenge for me to switch.” Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said the same. Traynor said in light of their feelings, it might be best to “table it for a while.”
Dennehy provided a few updates saying, “We have been working through some issues at some of our town buildings. The heating system that replacement took place at the Old Townhouse and the Council on Aging… have been informed that the building is back open and ready for use… the library we had a little issue over the weekend, so we had our heating vendor out there today… so hopefully that’s settled for the short-term.” She said that longer term, they’ve asked the vendor to finish off the library’s heating system. She noted that they would hopefully be using funding from the next round of the Green Communities grant. Dennehy said that they would also be looking at the overhead heating units in the garage of the Highway Department. “We had a lot of success with that same type of project at the Fire Department.”
Traynor led off the Selectmen’s raves saying, “I had a resident reach out for help moving a large object in order to make room for a hospital bed.” He said that he reached out to the Fire Department who were able to move the object within a matter of hours. “Kudos to the Fire Department, as always they stepped up and did a nice job, especially on short notice,” he continued. Russo said that over the last few weeks, they have had several emergencies come up during weekends. He said his rave was for Dennehy, Bri Martins, and all town employees who mobilize and get things done even during off-hours. Joy said her rave was for the clear nights making star gazing possible.