Are the lawsuits of Gordon C. Andrews v. the Town of Halifax finally over?  They may well be.

The Massachusetts Land Court ruled in favor of Andrews on all counts in a decision that came down last week on Aug. 23.

Since 2014, Andrews, an Elm St. resident and abutter to the Amanda’s Estates property, has questioned the legality of the building permits issued for its development, claiming that Halifax By-Laws were not being followed.

Andrews alleged in numerous pleas to the Building Inspector and the Zoning Board of Appeals that Amanda’s Estates should not be granted the building permits it was seeking, to develop the 12-acre property.

The 17-page decision from the Land Court details the various steps that Andrews took in response to actions by the town and concluded that the Zoning Board of Appeals failed to apply the by-laws equally when it comes to special permits and variances, ruling in Andrews’s favor.

Andrews claimed that had the former building inspector and the Zoning Board of Appeals listened to the town’s land use attorney, Richard Hucksam, in July and August of 2017, none of these lawsuits would have taken place.

“Moving forward,” Andrews said, “I hope the Planning Board and Zoning Board will implement the town’s land use attorney’s advice while making decisions on this project and others before them, attend conflicts of interest, open meeting law, and land use trainings (seminars) offered by the state and other associations the town belongs to.”

The project presently has three buildings and one certificate of occupancy associated with it.  These, according to the decision of the Land Court on Aug. 24, 2022, are annulled.

Andrews urges people to look up the online, recorded board and committee meetings for a first hand view of the workings of the town’s governing bodies.   

“I heard a lot about my lawsuits being a reason not to vote for me during the last election in May.  I thought to the contrary, that my lawsuits showed the people what I stand for,” Andrews said.  “I have knowledge, willpower, to take on a heavy burden, relentlessly pursue a cause and hold people accountable.  I spoke out numerous times about how the town’s defense was a waste of money for the taxpayer.  My family and I paid a heavy toll for standing up and doing the right thing,” Andrews concluded.

Cub Scout Pack 4480 is recruiting children from kindergarten through fifth grade to join their Pack which serves both Kingston and Plympton. They will be participating in a National Joining Day that will be in conjunction with Troop 4480. Pack leader Ross MacPherson explained the day saying, “We plan to have stations staffed by Boy Scouts of America Scouts to show kids how to tie knots, build a campfire, administer first-aid, and a few other yet to be determined skills responsibly learned in Scouting.”

MacPherson explained that this year, the pack will be covering the cost of dues for all families, an expense that usually totals $90 annually. This leaves just the National fee of $75 and the Council fee of $36 which are used to pay for the administration of the scouting program, insurance, and all associated fees. The dues, which will be covered in full, are what are used to run the pack at a local level including costs associated with adventures, events, and awards. “We don’t turn any scouts away based on an inability to pay; any family with a need should reach out to myself or anyone in the Pack leadership,” MacPherson said.

MacPherson, whose children are in first grade (lion cub) and third grade (bear cub), said he participated in scouting from second grade through high school. “I believe that Scouting teaches both hard and soft skills that are no less necessary today than they were 50 years ago,” he explained. He continued,  “I got involved because I wanted to ensure that a local Scouting program was continuing, not only for my boys but for anyone who wanted to join.  My goals are to grow the pack and see that it is well positioned for continued success when my boys move on to the BSA Scouts in the 6th grade.”

“Our pack has a diverse leadership group made up of former Eagle Scouts, parents without a scouting background, and female leaders,” MacPherson explained. He also emphasized that scouting is now open to both boys and girls saying that Pack 4480 “welcomes both equally.”

The Pack meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at the Knights of Columbus hall in Kingston. Once there, the scouts split into their age specific dens to work on activities and advancements. “This model was pioneered in our Pack by Brian and Shawn Donnelly and has been well received compared to the older model of individual den meetings at different times and/or locations. It has been particularly well received by parents who have multiple children in the Pack who now have just one meeting for all their children,” MacPherson explained.

Pack 4480 spent an overnight last year on Battleship Massachusetts. “The kids got to explore the ship and experience its history in a unique and meaningful way,” MacPherson explained. Events planned for the coming year include a bike rodeo, multiple campouts, hiking, a pinewood derby, and potentially even an overnight at the Museum of Science.

MacPherson briefly touched upon the more than 92,000 sexual abuse claims that eventually led to the organization filing for bankruptcy. Earlier this summer, most aspects of a compensation plan that would end the Boy Scouts’ Chapter 11 case and settle sexual abuse claims was accepted by a bankruptcy court.   “Scouting has come a long way and moved through a very dark chapter,” MacPherson said. He continued, “Fortunately, I didn’t personally experience or see any abuses in my scouting organizations; it was nonetheless a serious breach of trust that we continue to repair.  There are multiple safeguards now in place to prevent these things from happening again – specialized training, CORI checks, and two-deep leadership are just a couple of the current requirements.”

Anyone with questions can check out the website pack4480.org or email [email protected].

The Halifax Board of Selectmen interviewed the two candidates for Fire Chief at their meeting Tuesday night, Aug. 9, and voted to offer the position to Michael Witham, a candidate known to the Halifax Fire Department.

While selectmen agreed that Brad Cronin  had an exceptional resume, his admitted lack of grant-writing experience was a drawback.

Witham has accepted the position and pending contract negotiations will be on the job soon.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met remotely on Monday, July 25.”

Selectmen Chair Christine Joy told the Board that legislation recently passed that extended the remote meeting provision through March 31, 2023. Selectman John Traynor said, “I would like to see us in person as long as we can broadcast it and have Zoom.” Selectman Mark Russo said, “I think ultimately a hybrid model is going to be great; I don’t think we are ready. I don’t think we have the technology. I don’t think we have the staffing yet to do it – very strongly in favor of continuing with Zoom for the time being. I think it offers the most opportunity for participation.” He further said that he felt it best to continue with the current model for the convenience of residents, volunteers, and town officials. Joy said that while she is also in favor of the hybrid model eventually, she also doesn’t feel that the town has the technology to run it correctly. “We need some more time to figure out how to make this work for Plympton,” she said.

Traynor stressed that he believed the town did have the technology to make a hybrid model work now. “I’m disappointed,” Traynor said of Joy and Russo’s reluctance to move forward. Joy proposed revisiting the idea on the first of the year. Traynor, instead, proposed that they revisit it when Area 58 confirms that they have the technology in place to properly run a hybrid style meeting. Russo said, “I think there are other issues including staffing issues. Lots of towns are doing this and they have a staff member who is just taking care of the audio/visual, the presentation – it’s what we don’t have.” Traynor countered, “We do have, that’s part of Area 58. You keep saying that, but they are the staff.” “John, that is absolutely incorrect,” Russo said. He continued, “There isn’t enough manpower/womanpower here right now to do those things and do them well.” Traynor got in the final word saying, “I hear you and I think you are overstating the case and I don’t agree with you.” Joy said that the Board would not be taking a vote, but they would be revisiting it in the near future.

The Selectmen also discussed their priorities for FY2023. Joy said that the Selectmen agreed that one of those priorities would be age qualified affordable housing. Russo said that one of his goals would be, “attaining some kind of land so Plymptonians can stay in town.” Russo also highlighted the importance of bettering their technology including making sure the town website is a source of information. He also said he was interested in “a continuing evolution of the budget process.” Traynor agreed about the importance of technology. He also said that the Firehouse and overall town center infrastructure is one of his priorities for the coming year. “When we talk about the Firehouse, we find that, in fact, what we’re talking about is the town campus infrastructure or town center infrastructure,” Traynor explained. “The parking at the Townhouse is atrocious as we know; we do want to put in the ball fields,” he continued.

The Board also discussed having department heads once again begin attending their Selectmen meetings to provide updates. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy shared with the Selectmen a document she developed that would be shared with the department head prior to their appointment. The hope is to provide more structure to these meetings than what was previously had during such meetings the last year. This would allow the Selectmen to have specific questions and concerns ready ahead of the meeting. Traynor suggested that they begin with the library. “I am just totally blown away by the energy that he is putting into this; a lot going on over there,” Traynor said of the Library Director.

The Selectmen took up the granting of the solar easement on the Dennett Elementary School roof. Dennehy explained, “what we’re looking for this evening is a motion… to grant the solar easement for the solar project to Dennett Elementary School and this would run concurrently with the lease and power agreement, and it would also terminate when both of those are concluded.” She further explained that the agreement included the assurance that the town won’t do anything on the town-owned land around the school that could cast a shadow on the solar panels. It will likely be a 20-year agreement. Selectmen voted unanimously to grant the solar easement.

Dennehy provided the Selectmen with a Town Administrator’s Update. “The Route 58 bridge that was in need of some repairs… bids are coming in tomorrow for that work,” Dennehy said. She said that it is a State, not a town project. She also told the Selectmen that work is beginning on the Townhouse roof project. “The gutters were being taken care of today at the Old Townhouse,” she added.

The Selectmen ended their night with their raves for the past few weeks. “My rave would be for the Plympton School Committee and how they frugally managed the budget throughout all of the challenges that they experienced this year, and they are returning over $100,000 to the town,” Joy said. “My rave tonight is for the Board of Selectmen. We had some somewhat challenging issues tonight,” Russo said. “Saluting ourselves and particularly saluting John and Christine tonight,” he added. Traynor said, “My rave would be for the Townhouse team and when I say that I mean the Townhouse center, the campus if you will… it’s really enjoyable the way you can see them working together… looking back to six years ago, you can see we made a lot of progress.”

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Wednesday, July 6 to conduct an interview with an applicant for the open position of Town Administrator.

Marty Golightly was introduced by Bernie Lynch of Community Paradigm Associates who was hired to conduct the search and vet candidates. Lynch said, “It is intended to be an interactive dialogue as opposed to an interrogation.”

In response to the open ended, “tell us about yourself” Golightly said, “I spent 20 years in the military… mostly healthcare but when you are in healthcare in the military you also do a lot of leadership.” He continued, “Everything that the Navy can offer you, I think I got to participate in; it was awesome, I loved every minute of it, but I had two young kids and I didn’t want to miss anymore dance recitals.” He said that he moved back to the area in 2017, went back to school, and then became the health agent in Abington. Golightly called his time in Abington an “eye opening experience” and said that he gained insight into municipal government.

Golightly was very straightforward when asked why he left his last position. “I didn’t want to be the Director of Public Health in Abington anymore; Covid shined a light on a lot of weird areas of our society. It made some things uncomfortable. It made some things better in a very weird and unusual way. It just wasn’t the time to live and work in the same community,” he explained.  At the time of Golightly’s resignation from his position in Abington, abingtonnews.org reported that he was receiving “personal attacks and threats” presumably by those unhappy with the Health Department’s response to the pandemic.

Lynch asked why he wanted to be a town administrator. Golightly responded, “public servant my whole life – military, EMT, making the world a little better a little bit every day or at least that’s my goal. I’m one of those people that wants to leave something better behind for my kids and for all those that are going to come behind us.”

“Collaborator and Chief will always trump Commander and Chief, in my humble opinion,” Golightly said of his management style. He also said that mentoring is very important to him. Golightly said that you need to “make sure that you are making the best decision with the most good in mind for the most people.”

Asked about conflict resolution, Golightly said that he always likes to lead with education first though he acknowledged that there will always be those that will not be reached in that manner. He said that the dialogue that exists between those making decisions and those not in favor of those decisions is “part and parcel of being a Navy Chief.” He continued, “we are conflict resolution people – I’ve done it boots and board room.” He continued, “Sometimes you argue, but you argue behind closed doors, and you come out, hopefully, on the same side or if not with a better understanding of why that person made that decision,” Golightly said.

DiSesa asked Golightly about his ability to remain impartial when conflicts arise between town employees. He called maintaining impartiality or neutrality “probably one of the most difficult things I have had to do as a leader especially when you hear these stories of bullying.” He continued, “there is a process that we have to follow to make sure that there are no repercussions for either side; we do it by the book for a reason.” He stressed the importance of not letting emotion guide his actions in such situations.

Selectman Alex Meade said, “one of the worst things, I think, to hear is we do it this way because we have always done it this way. I would hope that you’re the type of person that coming into this position would be open minded to revamping current policies and procedures if you think there is a better way to do it.” Golightly said, “that mindset, I’ve always found, is content toward the negative.” He said that he is always striving for a better or best practice.

Lynch asked Golightly what kind of experience he has with municipal finances and budgets. Golightly, who called himself a “numbers nerd,” said he had experience with the RFP for the trash contract, the budget for Waste Management, and the budget for the Inspectional Services Department which included Health, Zoning, Building, and Nursing. Golightly is also on the Capital Planning Committee in Abington.

Golightly told the Selectmen that he has grant writing experience and attended the grant writing management institute at UMASS Boston. “The biggest one was 1.1, 1.2 million over a couple of years for the Public Health Excellence grant,” he explained of the many grants he has written.

Selectmen Chair Ashley DiSesa asked Golightly what he would do if he came up against an area in which he does not have knowledge. “Find my subject matter expert… I got a lot of friends I can ask if I don’t know the answer to a question… I have a lot of people in my phone that I can humbly ask,” he explained. Golightly said that he has worked with many local Fire and Police Chiefs including Chief Viveiros, Halifax’s former Fire Chief. “I have become friends with a lot of the Fire Departments… the people that I like to deal with the most, the coolest people, the most professional and I would say the best ones, irrespective of this position, have been from here,” Golightly said. DiSesa agreed saying that they had “phenomenal” Police and Fire in town.

He said that he would like to hold “coffee with your TA” if hired as Town Administrator in Halifax. “Being available, being a decent human being after that; the rest of it will kind of take care of itself,” Golightly said. He said that relationship building would be a huge component for his first 60 days.

Golightly said that a concern of his would be how to maintain the small town feel in Halifax in a modern world. “It is a problem for the ages,” he said. He said that bringing in businesses that have a large amount of taxable revenue but that have a small footprint would be key.

Following Golightly’s interview, the Board discussed their remaining options. Lynch told them that all three previous applicants were still in the pool. Selectman Jonathan Selig said that all the people he’s spoken to from Abington were sad to see him go. Meade said of Golightly, “it didn’t seem like he was using this as a stepping stone to something else.” DiSesa echoed Selig’s sentiment saying that she spoke to many people who know Golightly and no one had a bad thing to say about him. The Selectmen voted to name Golightly as the next Town Administrator.

BOSTON – Tuesday, June 29, State Rep. Kathy LaNatra joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives to pass legislation limiting the use of step therapy protocols, in which insurance companies refuse to pay for the prescription drugs prescribed by a patient’s health care provider until the patient first tries cheaper, and oftentimes ineffective, alternatives. The legislation establishes exceptions a patient can use to avoid their insurer’s step therapy protocol and requires both MassHealth and commercial insurers to provide a clear and transparent process for patients and their care team to request an exception.

“Health care decisions and decisions regarding which medications to take should be made between a patient and their doctor, not insurance companies looking for a healthier bottom line,” said State Rep. Kathy LaNatra (D – Kingston). “I was proud to support this crucial piece of legislation to ensure that people with a myriad of diseases and conditions don’t have to delay care with ineffective treatments that worsen their condition, simply to cut costs for insurance companies. That is not the way to cut health care costs in the Commonwealth. Thank you to Speaker Mariano and Chairman Lawn for their leadership on this bill.”

The legislation outlines four different circumstances that trigger the patient exception process, including:

The required treatment will harm the patient,

The required treatment is expected to be ineffective,

The patient previously tried the required treatment, or similar treatment, and it was ineffective or harmed the patient,

The patient is stable on a current treatment, and switching treatments will harm the patient.

Additional highlights of the legislation include:

• A requirement that MassHealth and commercial insurers adopt a “continuity of coverage” policy to ensure patients do not experience any delay in accessing a treatment when requesting a step therapy exemption.

• A requirement that MassHealth and commercial insurers approve or deny a step therapy exemption request within three business days, or within one business day if a delay would cause harm to the patient.

• A requirement that commercial carriers annually report data related to step therapy exemption requests and related coverage determinations to the Division of Insurance.

• The creation of a commission on step therapy protocols tasked with studying, assessing, and bi-annually reporting on the implementation of step therapy process reforms made in this legislation.

“An Act Relative to Step Therapy and Patient Safety” (H.4929)passed the House of Representatives 153-0. The legislation now heads to the Senate for their consideration.