The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, Jan. 26. While the Selectmen and Town Administrator Charlie Seelig were in-person, other attendees were virtual including Adam Cushman the senior patrol leader of Halifax Boy Scout Troop 39. Cushman led the Pledge of Allegiance during Tuesday’s meeting.

COVID Update

Seelig said that while the 14-day total for COVID cases was down a bit, the town continues to be in what he called “triple red.” Seelig mentioned that the state lifted some of the restrictions. While he noted that residents aged 75 plus could begin registering for appointments to receive the vaccine, he said that Halifax doesn’t have the necessary deep freeze capabilities for the Pfizer vaccine which he said was the vaccine being distributed in this round. He said the town zone clinic will need to wait until it is able to receive the Moderna vaccine. Council on Aging Director Susan Lawless is working with eligible residents to navigate the process and locate vaccination sites elsewhere in southeastern Massachusetts.

Correspondence

Seelig told the Board that they had received a letter from the South Shore Children’s Museum, who held a drive-in movie event at the Walmart in town in October. The letter thanked them for their assistance in putting on the event. They expressed sadness over having to close down and cancel many fundraising events in the past year and said they were looking forward to working with the town further in 2021. “We will be back as we reconfigure and make a plan for our future,” the letter read.

Monponsett Ponds Update

Seelig also gave an update on Monponsett Pond saying he had been in contact with Solitude Lake Management about various projects concerning the pond. Seelig said $135,000 has been set aside to be put toward that work but noted that it won’t cover everything the town may want to do. Possible work includes performing basic study work, revising the natural heritage habitat management plan, issuing notices of intent for weed control, performing a weed survey for invasive weeds for West Monponsett Pond, monitoring water quality and algae in May through October, and running a muscle monitoring program as part of the algae work. Seelig said that all of the aforementioned work was relatively low budget and estimated costs at $20,000 to $25,000.

Big ticket items include $100,000 for the application of aluminum sulfide in West Monponsett Pond and $70,000 for the application in East Monponsett Pond. Invasive weed control for East Monponsett Pond especially would cost $90,000.

Of the more expensive projects, Seelig said it was recommended to him to move forward with the invasive weed control prior to town meeting in May as that was the project that would most benefit from an earlier start. “Doing that and doing most of the other study work would spend about $116,000 and we would still need $170,000 of which $59,000 we’d have available to us,” Seelig said. Seelig recommended moving forward with the weed eradication program and study work prior to town meeting and then seeking the additional funds for the other work at town meeting on May 10.

Fuel Storage Hearing

The Board had a hearing with Anthony Curtin. “We’re just following up with our first conversation making sure that the steps are clearly delineated, I think what you’re looking for… is some indication from the Board… that if you were able to obtain your special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals and had a favorable decision of the Planning Board if the Board of Selectmen would be inclined to support granting of the permit for the fuel storage facility,” Selectmen Chair Tom Millias said. Seelig added that approval would have to be given by the Fire Chief and the Fire Marshall. Two letters of support had been sent in by abutters for Curtin’s proposal. Millias said that as long as there wasn’t strong opposition on behalf of the abutters and Curtin meets all necessary requirements, the Board would be fine with moving forward.

Vacant Positions

Seelig said there were multiple openings on the Finance Committee. Melinda Tarsi recently gave her resignation which will be effective February 15. There is also a spot available for a citizen on the Capital Planning Committee. Silver Lake Regional School Committee Chair Paula Hatch attended Tuesday’s meeting virtually to discuss the opening on the committee left by the resignation of Edward Desharnais. “He had served well over a decade and was a valued participant,” Hatch said of Desharnais.

Hatch spoke to the difficult year it has been for the school committees saying that the regional committee has very new members from Kingston and Plympton due to other earlier resignations. “I’m looking forward to Halifax determining another person that can come join us and take a place on Silver Lake,” Hatch told the Selectmen. Millias said the town would reach out and see if they could find willing volunteers for the position.

Seelig recommended reaching out to the residents who had earlier applied to fill the vacancy on the Halifax Elementary School Committee. Selectman Gordon Andrews asked that the talent bank be open for two weeks prior to interviews being held.

Complete Streets Presentation

The final appointment of the night was a Complete Streets presentation by Courtney Beckwith of Green Seal Environmental. Beckwith said she had been working with Seelig and Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward on the Complete Streets Program which is a grant through Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT). “Specifically, they’re meant to prioritize streets that are made for bikers, walkers, and not necessarily just focused on cars so a lot of these projects consist of adding sidewalks, extending sidewalk networks, adding bike paths, and road diets and speed bumps to reduce speeds,” Beckwith explained. Halifax is currently at Tier Two of the program which consists of developing a prioritization plan for the town consisting of a list of projects that the town is interested in pursuing.

Mass DOT has approved a grant for $38,000 to help the town conduct the necessary studies including gap analysis studies for existing sidewalk networks. Also included in the research is an analysis of historical data involving crashes at various streets and intersections. Beckwith cited community input as being another part of the data collected during Tier Two. “We are asking residents of the town, the Planning Board, and the Board of Selectmen their ideas for projects to focus on,” Beckwith said. She spoke about a google maps type website they have developed called wikimapping.com which provides a map of the town of Halifax. Residents can login and answer questions regarding where they see problems and where they would like to see improvements. People can also build upon comments left by other residents. The website will be open for the entire month of February.

Beckwith said the state would offer a maximum of $400,000 in construction costs which could be dedicated to a single project or spread across several different ones. Engineering work would need to be done prior to the allocation of the construction money. “I’ve seen in the past that towns that spend the money on the engineering and have the plans ready to go are more likely to get the funding but I do need to say that that is not guaranteed,” Beckwith said. “I know that Mass DOT specifically does not like giving grant money for the design and engineering portion; they like paying for the planning and construction,” she further explained.

Andrews asked that if they had their submissions in for Tier Two by the April 1 deadline if the town could receive up to $400,000 for this fiscal year’s program. Beckwith confirmed.

A plan would need to be in place as well as a construction schedule by June 30, 2021 in order for the funds to be allocated to a particular project.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Thursday, Jan. 21, for one of the weekly meetings they have been holding since the onset of the pandemic. Board of Health agent Bob Valery told the selectmen that every Thursday he receives a two-week run rate of tests from the Department of Public Health (DPH). The most recent numbers indicate that 848 tests were performed with a total of 69 of those coming back positive. “So that would put us at a two-week run rate of 8.13,” Valery explained. “We are running a lower rate, a slightly lower rate than every town that surrounds us,” he continued.

Valery also said that effective Jan. 25 the stay-at-home advisory for the hours of 10 p.m. through 5 a.m. was rescinded. The limited capacity of 25 percent and gathering limits remain in place until Monday, Feb. 8.

Valery said he was working in conjunction with Fire Chief Jason Viveiros on the logistics of having an in-town vaccination site. He said that should they move forward, vaccinations will likely be by appointment. They are working through their eight-page checklist for hosting a vaccination site. Viveiros said that Our Lady of the Lake Church had offered their hall as a possible site for a vaccination clinic. “It will be a decent space for us, we will have a good flow path for people,” Viveiros said. He said he spoke with Police Chief Joao Chaves about having a police presence for traffic control purposes.

Viveiros said that in speaking with Town Administrator Charlie Seelig, it appears that there would be roughly 500 people in the 75 plus age group. Also, in Phase 2 will be those with co-morbidities, 65 plus, and schoolteachers. Valery pointed out the priority rankings within each of the phases. Viveiros said they were hopeful they would have enough to vaccinate at least those that are 75 plus as well as the teachers. Selectman Gordon Andrews, who also serves as Chair of the Halifax School Committee and as a member of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, asked about the possibility of coordinating the vaccinations of teachers with Kingston, Plympton, and Silver Lake.

Selectmen Chair Tom Millias asked about acquiring the vaccine doses to be administered. Viveiros said that to date they were only given the doses that were administered to the first responders, noting that all first responders in town had been vaccinated. “As far as availability… we really don’t know what’s going to be available to us. The only thing we’ve been guaranteed is we’ll get the second doses for everyone that’s already been vaccinated,” Viveiros said.

Millias asked Andrews about a cluster of cases that had occurred within the school district. “We had a cluster of sports teams,” Andrews explained. “There were eight positive cases, I believe, and they shut down contact sports meaning ice hockey and basketball for two weeks,” he continued.

Seelig said that he and Valery had reviewed the COVID protocols for town employees with the aim of simplifying the process for those that have been sick or have been exposed with the goal to err on the side of caution. Seelig said that there weren’t any plans to roll out any further large-scale testing programs in town as the focus has now shifted to vaccine administration. He said the plan would be to work with the Council on Aging (COA) on sign ups for the vaccine as well as possibly transportation. “These folks are our most vulnerable individuals, the elderly especially, we want to make sure that they have an opportunity to participate,” Seelig said.

Millias asked if the antigen test was the most commonly run. Chief Chaves said it was. “Now if you were to get a negative result, that’s not necessarily 100 percent accurate,” Millias asked. Chief Viveiros said, “They’re roughly 85 percent accurate. If we test someone and we get a positive result, then it’s just considered positive. If someone’s symptomatic and they have a negative test they still need to get the PCR test,” Viveiros said.

At this point in the meeting, the Selectmen and Seelig turned their attention to non-COVID related issues in town. Seelig provided an update on an ongoing transaction between the town and the state.

Back in July of 2019 DFG land agent from the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Joan Pierce came to speak to the Board about the possibility of acquiring an area of Peterson’s Swamp from the town. At the time both Millias and selectman Troy Garron expressed frustration with always coming up with the short end of the stick when dealing with Fisheries and Wildlife. Selectman Gordon Andrews suggested that in addition to the sale of the parcel, Fisheries and Wildlife transfer a sliver of land behind Aldana Road that they own to Halifax. That land would be necessary to possess in order to be able to pave the road eventually. All parties agreed to the transaction.

Seelig said during Thursday’s meeting that the state legislature had passed the necessary legislation to transfer the land from the Commonwealth to the town. Seelig asked the Board to take an official vote to approve the sale of the parcels of land to the Commonwealth. Once done, it will go to Pierce and the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM). “Troy and I have been through this thing for about twenty years so I would love to get this off our plate,” Millias said.

Chief Chaves said that several weeks ago the Board approved Michael Boncariewski as an intermittent police officer. He said he was hoping the Board would now approve a conditional offer of employment so that he might replace an outgoing officer who left the department for Weymouth. Chaves said a full background check had been performed on Boncariewski and noted that nothing had changed since their previous approval. The Board voted to approve and Boncariewski will begin the Academy in Plymouth on March 1.

Seelig asked the Board if they were interested in creating an article to eliminate the exclusion zone for marijuana establishments as he was fielding multiple inquiries about the issue.

Millias said he would be more comfortable to have the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee or Planning Board handle it. Seelig also pointed out that applicants unhappy with the zone could get the necessary voter signatures to create a petition article themselves. Andrews agreed with the petition article idea saying, “I would request that if they want to make a petition article, to do the petition article and they can be the champion of the article and say what the value is to the town.”

Seelig also mentioned that there was a vacancy for a Halifax member on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee. The appointment will be a combined vote of the selectmen and the members of the regional school committee.

Chair of the Plympton Board of Health Art Morin reported to selectmen at their first meeting of the new year to speak to the COVID situation in town. Morin said that the numbers that the Board of Health have been supplying to Dennehy come directly from MAVEN, the secure web-based surveillance and case management system for infectious diseases in Massachusetts. Morin told the selectmen Plympton saw its highest monthly total of 11 positive cases in December. He went on to say that as of that day there were 8 total cases for Plympton in MAVEN in January with another two not yet listed in the system reported. “That brings us to 10 and it’s only the eleventh of January,” Morin said. Morin also told the selectmen that he has “gone old school” using a hardcopy calendar to track cases per day as it is “foolproof.”

Morin also made a point of stating that he believes that most of the spikes in cases are coming from people gathering over the holidays rather than from establishments like grocery stores and even restaurants. Regarding spread of the virus, Morin said, “…that’s the fastest way to do it, groups in small spaces.”

Wilhelmsen, who serves as Chair of the Plympton School Committee, provided an update on COVID in the school district. The number of total cases throughout Silver Lake Regional District was 28 leading into the week of Christmas. According to Wilhelmsen, as of Monday’s meeting that number had climbed to 109.  While Dennett has been fortunate to have only a small number of cases, Wilhelmsen said, “but if the numbers keep climbing everywhere else, they’re going to climb there too.”

Chair of the Dennett C.A.S.A. (Community and School Association) Sarah Prario joined the Plympton selectmen during their Monday, Jan. 11 virtual meeting. The selectmen have recently started a new tradition of inviting a representative from a different town organization to each meeting to provide an update. Prario spoke about the challenges posed by the pandemic saying, “We haven’t been able to do pretty much anything that was on our usual schedule, but we are adapting as necessary.” Prario said that that they have been able to continue with their luncheons for staff which they have been attempting to hold every month. Prario said that some local businesses have been providing the funding as C.A.S.A. doesn’t feel it is an appropriate time to fundraise from families.

Currently, the C.A.S.A. meetings are being held virtually over ZOOM and attended by only five or so people. Prario said that once in-person meetings resume, she would like to maintain the ZOOM option for those who may be unable to attend in-person. Prario also told the selectmen that C.A.S.A. has recently been granted 501c3 status designating them as a nonprofit organization which enables them to receive contributions including grants. Prario said that the organization was eager to do fundraising for other areas within the community. “You guys do great work and you do really tangible work,” Selectmen Chair Mark Russo said. “We’re grateful to have such a great community,” Prario replied.

Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy provided an update on the town’s newest project – “What Makes Plympton Unique.” She said they kicked off the project that day on the town Facebook page highlighting the Plympton Kindness Tree. Several years ago, resident Stephani Teran and her son thought up the idea to have a tree on their property during the holiday season where community members could stop by and place kind sentiments about people or things in the town within a glass ornament and hang it from the tree. Writing utensils, paper, and ornaments are supplied as well as sanitizer this year. At the end of the holiday season, Teran would give a nice accounting of the things that were written. Dennehy will continue to highlight the things that make Plympton unique on the town Facebook page.

The selectmen then turned their attention to various priorities in town with Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen leading off the discussion. Wilhelmsen said that the Committee has been working with their consultant Beta Group to begin conceptualizing how best to use the space. They are working together to validate what can and cannot realistically be done. “Septic and water are always the things that limit us in town,” Wilhelmsen told the selectmen. The Committee is also working toward prioritizing what needs to be fixed right now versus what needs help in a year. Wilhelmsen said that by 2022 he expects tangible results from the work being done now.

Wilhelmsen delved into specific potential projects. He said that the Committee has removed the consideration for a municipal garage due to space constraints. The Committee plans to go to town meeting to ask for funds to replace the flagpole on the town green. The cistern on the town green is no longer holding water and is also on the Committee’s radar. Wilhelmsen also said that a roof assessment will eventually be done for both the Townhouse and the library. An inexpensive fix has been established for lighting concerns at the library though Wilhelmsen noted that a lighting consultant may want to be brought in at some point for a better solution.

Several items pertaining to the Highway Department were also discussed. Dennehy said she and Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte had met earlier that day with the selected contractor for the highway barn roof and insulation project. Materials are being ordered for the work soon.

Russo said that the signs indicating the safety zones that were established by the selectmen per town meeting’s approval have been placed. Road painting indicating such will have to wait until the spring.

Finally, there was a brief discussion regarding procedures for removing brush and chips from trees that have been taken down. Firlotte feels that it doesn’t fall under the purview of the department.

Technology upgrades in town were also discussed. Dennehy said the fiber optic upgrade is in progress and that local government offices should expect to be updated in the next week. Dennehy said the only setback was a minor one locating the wiring in the library.

Selectman John Traynor said he had an agreement with the Fire Chief that street number signs would be installed on municipal buildings in town. He said that given the magnitude of the work currently on the Chief’s agenda, he assumes it will be done once COVID is over.

Russo spoke to another possible priority saying he would like to seek funds at town meeting to have a hydrologist come in to analyze Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reporting as well as compliance from Rocky Harvest LLC. Russo said, “it wouldn’t be a lot of money and there is a really good guy around who has done some work for us in the past.”

Dennehy gave an update on emergency management in town saying the hazard mitigation planning grant is still in process. The project meeting is set for the end of February. The end goal will be a stand-alone plan rather than a plan that was embedded in a larger regional one. This project was funded through grant money. Dennehy also gave a brief financial update saying that the budget process is well underway and that the Finance committee has been looking at the capital plan.

An update on elder affairs was also provided. Until recently, a volunteer was coming in two days per week to manage the pantry as paid for by Citizens for Citizens. The organization, however, made the decision that it was too risky to have volunteers going into the building due to the state of the pandemic. As a result, the Director of Elder Affairs will be managing the pantry on Thursdays from 10 am to noon.

Dennehy said that they are looking for a volunteer for Mondays. She said the hours are flexible but noted that the original hours were from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Dennehy also said that with the Townhouse closed, volunteers would not be near others. Prario offered to help secure a volunteer and assured the selectmen that she would find someone for this coming Monday.

It was also noted during Monday’s meeting that there would be a mailing going out to residents shortly to detail various volunteer opportunities in the community.

As always, the selectmen ended their meeting with their rants and raves. Selectwoman Christine Joy was quick to say that hers was a rant rather than a rave.

She began by saying how troubled she was by the deep divide in our country. She also said that while she doesn’t condone violence, she does understand the pain of many Americans whether it be based in racial injustice, the pandemic, or frustration at the government.

Joy said, “For me, Wednesday and the summer protests have really served as a wake-up call and the need for us to stop talking at one another and start talking to one another. Instead of pushing further apart, we should be working to find common ground; this will only be accomplished through freedom of speech, the sharing of ideas, and spirited debate through open dialogue – talking and listening with tolerance and compassion. We are all Americans and as such are capable of working together to make our union stronger than before.

We need to stop the rhetoric and name calling, stop the vilifying of those that don’t agree with us – start seeing each other as individuals, as fellow Americans not defined by our political ideals. It is the diversity of our people and ideals that give us strength. Through true collaboration we can rise above this and work together to rebuild our United States of America.”

“Amen, amen,” Russo said before adjourning the meeting.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen and the Silver Lake Regional School Committee held a joint meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6 in order to appoint a new member to the Regional School Committee following a resignation of one of the Kingston members. The appointment would be good through the next election in April. While the selectmen were in-person, the School Committee as well as the applicants attended the meeting via Zoom.

Selectwoman Kimberley Emberg  began by saying they would hear from each of the five candidates before moving forward with a vote. Members of the Regional School Committee in attendance included Eric Crone, Christopher Eklund, Leslie-Ann McGee, and Paula Hatch. The five applicants were Anne Caliento, Missy Bateman, Emily Davis, Carl Pike, and Sheila Vaughn. Vaughn, who is a current member of the Kingston selectmen abstained from voting.

Bateman, who has been an educator for over 20 years, spoke first saying she was a lifelong resident of Kingston and a graduate of Silver Lake. She has two children in the district and currently serves on a recreation board as well as a local hockey board. Bateman said that she felt that her standing as both an educator and a parent would allow her to bring a sense of empathy and understanding to the Committee. She also said she was up to the challenge of serving despite the difficult times.

Caliento, whose parents were both teachers, said she has been a Kingston resident for 20 years and currently has a daughter in the 10^th grade in the district. She told those assembled that she had contemplated running for School Committee for years but always determined herself to be too busy. “If anything the last year gave me the realization that I do have the time…it’s important to make the time for things that are important,” Caliento explained. She also said that she volunteered frequently in the schools when her daughter was younger and was hoping to become involved again.

Davis told the Committee that she moved to Kingston a few years ago from Pembroke. Both she and her husband have worked in education for many years. While no longer working as a teacher, Davis has stayed in the education field working on curriculum design online.

While originally from the South Shore, Davis said she has traveled all over both the country and the world working in various schools. She currently has a son in preschool and a daughter in first grade in Kingston schools.

“I love the school district here, it’s why I moved to Kingston,” Davis explained. She continued, “I think Silver Lake really has an opportunity to be at the forefront in education in Massachusetts.” Davis cited the regional nature of the district as well as the vocational education offered as the reasons she believes Silver Lake can be a leader in what she sees as a turning point in education.

Carl Pike began his statement saying, “I’m sure that you probably all have had a chance to look at the letter I sent in with my background and my beliefs and why I feel I would qualify for this position.” Pike said he has been active in the town working closely with the school administration and school committees on the budget. “I really believe that education is the number one responsibility of local communities… at the same time there are limited resources,” Pike explained. He went on to stress the importance of compromise when creating a budget saying, “school committee members need to be objective” and “what I strive for is to see that everybody gets something out of the deal.”

Vaughn, who currently serves on both the Kingston Board of Selectmen and the Kingston School Committee, was the final applicant. Vaughn, who has been a Kingston resident for over two decades, has three children including a fifth and eighth grader in the district. She said she would view the appointment as lasting only until the election in April.

“Once there is an election, I would be happy to see one of these wonderful people elected to the position,” she explained. She said that she felt that given the difficulties posed by both budget season and the pandemic, it would be best to have a seasoned person fill the role in the interim.

Vice Chair of the Regional School Committee Eric Crone addressed all the candidates prior to the vote saying, “I just want to say thank you to all five of these candidates; it’s overwhelming that we have this many people willing to step up and help out.” He went on to praise the backgrounds of the candidates and said that any of them would be a great addition to the current Committee.

Committee member Leslie-Anne McGee also spoke saying, “it’s been an exceptionally challenging time for us… it’s extremely complicated and I don’t think it’s going to be less complicated for any time now.”

She echoed Crone’s sentiment saying how impressed she was that so many people were willing to come forward to serve during such a challenging time.

An anonymous vote was held resulting in Davis receiving the highest number of votes. Both the selectmen and the School Committee made separate motions to appoint Davis to the Committee. The votes were both unanimous with the exception of Vaughn’s abstention.

BURLINGTON, VT  – Elizabeth Hokanson and Katherine Morrissey, both of Kingston, have been named to the fall Dean’s List at the University of Vermont.

To be named to the dean’s list, students must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or better and rank in the top 20 percent of their class in their respective college or school.

Since 1791, the University of Vermont has worked to move humankind forward. Committed to both research and teaching, UVM professors — world-class researchers, scholars, and artists — bring their discoveries into the classroom and their students into the field.

Located in Burlington, Vermont, one of the nation’s most vibrant small cities and top college towns, UVM is a Public Ivy and top 100 national research university educating 10,700 undergraduate students, 1,627 graduate students, 776 certificate and non-degree students, and 478 M.D. students in the Larner College of Medicine.

State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston) announced today that the police departments in the towns of Kingston, Plympton and Duxbury will receive federal law enforcement funding for highway safety, crime prevention and education initiatives.

 More than 160 law enforcement agencies will receive $7.8 million in federal grant funding made possible through the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Announcement of the grants, which will provide access to equipment and strengthen training, crime prevention and enforcement initiatives across the Commonwealth, was made in a statement by Governor Charlie Baker, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito and Public Safety and Security Secretary Thomas Turco.

The following funds were awarded to departments within the 12th Plymouth District:

Kingston – $20,000 from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and  $40,000 from JAG for training and upgraded tasers

Duxbury – $34,687.85 from JAG for LIDAR radar technology, Cameras and Handheld Narcotics Analyzer

Plympton – $11,776 from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and- $19,783 from JAG for a message board, bulletproof vests and accessories

”I was thrilled to see Kingston, Plympton and Duxbury’s police departments within the 12th Plymouth District receive federal law enforcement funding,” said Representative LaNatra.

The JAG program is the leading source of criminal justice funding awarded by the Department of Justice to state and local jurisdictions. Local police departments, sheriffs, and the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) received a combined $4.6 million in funding for several needs, including protective equipment and communications infrastructure.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provided $3.2 million to fund traffic enforcement campaigns, safety equipment, and non-enforcement activities by local police. All the initiatives contribute to reducing vehicle crashes and the resulting injuries and loss of life.

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met virtually on Thursday, Dec. 3. The financial impact of COVID 19 on the district’s budget were discussed as were the continuing need for funding COVID related positions at both the middle and high schools through the end of the school year. CARES Act funding was used to pay for the addition of three building level substitute positions at the high school as well as two long term building substitutes and one long term custodian at the middle school. That funding runs out at the end of December so Silver Lake Regional High School Principal Michaela Gill and Silver Lake Regional Middle School Principal Jim Dupille were seeking approval from the Committee to maintain those positions.

In addition to the three building-based substitutes, Gill said she was also looking to increase the 10-month custodian position at the high school to a 12-month position to assist with sanitizing and other COVID related duties. The building-based substitutes would come at a cost of $12,600 each and the increase in time for the custodial position would be an additional expense of $8,000.

Dupille said he was looking for $47,460 to cover the cost of continuing the two long term building based substitutes and the one long term custodian position. He also said that due to fluctuation between cohorts, the school has had to support some of the students on IEPs in additional classes. As a result, the building-based substitutes have had to take on the role of paraprofessionals in those classrooms. Dupille said he would like to see a paraprofessional hired to free up the substitutes who are needed elsewhere. This request would come with a cost of approximately $11,000.

Committee member Eric Crone said that similar issues were tackled at the Kingston Elementary School meeting and noted that they were looking at savings in other areas of the budget in order to repurpose for the continuation of positions previously funded through the CARES Act. Crone said that it would be difficult to go back to the three towns to get a supplemental budget and Director of Business Services Christine Healy agreed. Committee member Christopher Eklund said that he believed the E and D fund to be their only option.

School Committee member and Halifax Selectmen Gordon Andrews said that since the towns had declared a state of emergency, they can deficit spend and therefore, the schools can ask at the special town meetings in March to amend their budget. Andrews also recommended that Silver Lake Regional vote to declare a state of emergency as the district is considered its own municipality. Assuming approval by an attorney, doing so will be an item on the next meeting’s agenda.

The Committee voted to support the positions totaling approximately $104,344 but decided not to change the budget until March. Healy noted that the school district is different than a town in that the budget is voted as a singular number so the focus doesn’t have to be on individual line items. She said that wish list items may have to be sacrificed in favor of more necessary expenditures like these positions.

Healy told the Committee that back in June, she was told that the region would receive an allotment of $146,000 from a COVID-19 relief funding house bill done under Representative Kathy LaNatra. She said that after receiving approval she was in touch with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to find out about obtaining the funding. The money was designated through representatives and went through the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (EOAF). EOAF apparently believed it was being administered through DESE.

Healy said obtaining the funding was complicated by the fact that Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton were receiving their funding through Plymouth County and not the state. Andrews, however, said that it was his understanding that Plymouth County did not receive all the funds for the County and that some were held back by the state. He said he believed the allotment should be coming from EOAF.

Healy went on to tell the Committee that in late November she received a letter saying that Silver Lake would only be receiving an Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) in the amount of $58,000 instead of the house bill allotment of nearly three times as much. Healy said she spoke with Representative LaNatra who is trying to find alternative funding to compensate.

Many of the Committee members expressed their outrage that the schools were not being granted their share of the funds. Crone pointed out that the bill was used in political advertising leading up to the election and said, “It’s completely ridiculous that this is happening right now… I’m just beyond disappointed and annoyed.” Hatch agreed saying, “I’m being polite by saying I’m floored.”

A motion was made to send a letter from the Committee to Plymouth County Treasurer Tom O’Brien as well as another “strongly worded” letter to the Governor and the EOAF secretary. Healy said she believes the issue will get resolved and the schools will see the money that is owed to them.

Special Education Presentation

Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable gave a presentation on the state of special education in the district just as she had done earlier at the most recent Halifax Elementary School Committee meeting. “Special education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability,” Grable explained. She also described the purpose of special education saying it is “to provide equal access to education for children with disabilities ages 3 through 21.” Programs for Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton include the Developmental Learning Center (DLC) and Pathways, The Structured Learning Center (SLC) or Therapeutic Learning Center (TLC), and the Language Based Learning Center (LBC)

Grable said that the number of students receiving special education services at Silver Lake Regional (grades 7-12) stands at 243 or 15.1 percent for FY21. This number is only slightly increased over what it was in the previous four years and the percentage is below the state average.

Grable explained that out of district placements (ODP) occur when the needs of a student are greater than what can be provided by a school. There are 48 students across Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton currently in ODP. Grable said there were 74 when she first started and said the reduction was a direct result of “the programs that we’ve developed, the enhancements of the services that we’ve been providing over the years, the support of the community members and school committees to really promote and encourage our in-district programming.”

For FY21, ODP tuition for Halifax is $1,857,409 while ODP transportation costs are $473,800, ODP tuition in Plympton is $553,106 and ODP transportation $97,650, and in Kingston ODP tuition is $2,779,011 with ODP transportation coming in at $568,173.

Grable went over the funding sources for the special education services including the state’s Circuit Breaker program which provides reimbursement for a percentage spent over $48,000 per placement. The percentage allocated is dependent on the resources available and the state’s ability to share the wealth with local communities. Anticipated reimbursement for FY20 for Halifax is $598,008, for Kingston $568,173, and for Plympton $67,934.

Other grants include Fund Code 240 in the amount of $974,700 for Silver Lake Regional across Grades 7-12 and Fund Code 262 for preschool aged children in the amount of $7,097. Two grants to return this year for the first time since 2017 include Fund Code 274 in the amount of $14,105 for Silver Lake Regional and $38,209 across all three towns and Fund Code 298 for $2,553 for Silver Lake Regional and $6,352 across all towns.

Grable also said that the special education department is working to establish what forms of recovery and compensation might be needed given the fact that some students may not have had access to necessary services to make progress with their IEP during the closure last spring.

Goals include the possible expansion of the Silver Lake Integrated Preschool since the school is currently at capacity. There is also a plan to open an additional DLC classroom at KIS.

Committee member Leslie-Ann McGee said to Grable, “You walking in our door 5 or 6 years ago was a godsend; you’ve done amazing work.” McGee also advocated for the value of early intervention. She asked Grable to make the basic rights training held by SEPAC available outside of the SEPAC meeting saying she wanted to be sure that parents fully understand what their needs are and what the school offers. Grable said she would make it available as a PowerPoint on the district website.

Superintendent Jill Proulx asked the Committee to take a vote on whether to allow students in substantially separate programs to be able to attend school in-person on Wednesdays. Currently those students are often not able to access services remotely on Wednesdays because of their unique needs. The vote would need to include the Silver Lake staff on both the Kingston and Silver Lake campuses. Crone said, “we were told that quite often those kids are marked absent on Wednesdays.” He also noted that the more that can be done in-person with these students with special needs, the more money can be saved down the road. The Committee voted to allow it.

Superintendent’s Update

In addition to the vote to allow certain students access to in-person learning on Wednesdays, Proulx also asked the Committee to vote on whether to eliminate traditional snow days in favor of an additional remote day. Proulx said that the Committee should consider student and staff access to power in the event of a snowstorm. Most of the Committee was in favor of keeping the traditional snow days and voted against the remote learning day. McGee said it was “good to have it in our toolbox if we need to.” She recommended revisiting the vote in February to see how the winter was going.

Proulx also asked the Committee to consider Governor Baker’s November request that communities designated as gray, green, or yellow return students to full, in-person learning where feasible. Proulx explained that the first of the three biggest obstacles to a full, in-person return would be limited bus availability as well as significant cost to expand bus usage. The second is the 6 ft social distancing requirement for lunch as it would be very difficult to maintain that distance and still schedule lunch for all students. The third is the social distancing requirement in general. While 3 ft is an option, 6 ft is still recommended by the CDC and the state. “More students means less social distancing,” Proulx said. She explained that a change in these requirements would likely need to take place prior to Silver Lake considering a return to full, in-person learning. Proulx said that she did, nonetheless, also ask Gill, Dupille, and Healy to access the feasibility.

Jon Lay spoke on behalf of the Silver Lake Education Association (SLEA) thanking the Committee members for their support and asking them not to relax any of the protocols currently in place. He said that Silver Lake had been fortunate to avoid any large outbreaks of the virus thus far and said that while a vaccine is on the horizon, things are likely to get worse before they get better.

Principal’s Report

Gill told the Committee that she has been having discussions with junior and senior class officers regarding the fate of the junior and senior proms. Both were cancelled last spring. With heavy hearts, a decision was made to cancel the junior prom this year.

Gill called the likelihood of holding a senior prom “slim” but said that they are still investigating possible venues. She said that senior officers are also looking into possible alternatives such as an outdoor red-carpet event. Gill also noted the difficulty of fundraising for both events, even in a normal year and said that a decision may be made in the future to combine the two events.

Gill also said that based on a suggestion by McGee, the senior class president reached out to South Shore Landscaping in Rockland about donating a large boulder to the school. The intent is to allow the senior class an opportunity to paint and decorate it. The hope is for it to become a senior tradition with each class getting to repaint the rock when their turn comes.

Gill said that only 3 percent of families requested a learning model change for the second term. She said that an equal number of families opted to switch from hybrid to remote and remote to hybrid which allowed for very little changes to be made to the schedule or staffing.

Gill also asked the Committee for their opinion on an in-person visit in the spring by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges which was supposed to happen this fall. A self-study is first given with the school grading themselves on various national standards. A team of 6 then come in and determine whether they agree or disagree with the school’s assessment of themselves. The visit would occur from March 7 to March 10. She said the team makes suggestions that help drive things like the school improvement plan and the budget. She said the last visit drove funding for the second assistant principal and the head nurse. While schools don’t have to participate, it is highly encouraged. The Committee agreed to reassess their comfort level with the in-person visit at their January meeting.

Student Recognition

Superintendent Jill Proulx told the Committee that on behalf of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) she would be presenting two certificates of academic excellence to two graduating seniors. “This award is given to two seniors who have distinguished themselves in the pursuit of excellence during their high school careers,” Proulx said.

Both Sarah D’entremont and Brendan Haas are in the top 5 percent of the graduating class of 2021. D’entremont is a student athlete and a part of the Allied Health program. She won the Patriot League Sportsmanship Award. Haas is a member of the National Honor Society and a member of the math team. In addition to his other accolades, Haas performs charity work for veterans.

Committee Chair Paula Hatch said, “You’re both very accomplished and it sounds like you’ve laid the groundwork for your future so incredibly well and I wish you wonderful things in the months and in the years to come.”

Fire Chief Jason Viveiros, Police Chief Joao Chaves, and Board of Health Agent Bob Valery were all present at the November 23 special meeting of the Halifax Board of Selectmen. These meetings have been held weekly since the onset of the pandemic.

Valery began by saying that for the previous week there had been one confirmed case on Thursday, two suspected cases and one confirmed case on Friday, and one confirmed case on Saturday. At the time of the meeting, there were no hospitalizations from cases in town. Selectman Tom Millias asked how many total cases there were in town. Valery said that there were 18 active cases and estimated eighty something total cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Valery also told the Board that the first responders are notified of cases every Monday.

“Stores were pretty painless over the weekend; they were busy but seem to be handled pretty well,” Valery said of local shops. Millias agreed saying that the stores he drove by had counters out front calling it “encouraging” and adding “they’re at least trying to keep track of how many people were in the store.” Millias said that this would be a difficult time of year with the holiday season.

Valery recommended that people try to avoid shopping during peak hours like 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. when possible. Both Millias and Valery recommended using curbside pickup where available.

Chief Viveiros gave an update on the testing program in town. The program will begin by administering antigen tests to town employees on December 1 and 8. Tests for this population have already been paid for through the town. Employees with symptoms or known exposure are asked to receive a PCR test through a drive up at the fire station.

A community testing event will be held on December 5 and 6 at the Halifax Elementary School. Those wishing to be tested should provide their health insurance information. According to Viveiros, if they don’t have health insurance, they can provide their social security number and the test can be billed through the federal government as money has been set aside for that purpose.

Chief Chaves told the selectmen that according to the state, a first responder who has had contact with a known case of the virus, can still be expected to report to work as long as they remain asymptomatic. Chief Viveiros said that in spite of the guideline, his department would still be erring on the side of caution. He said that as long as there wasn’t a shortage of personnel, any member of the department with a known exposure would be asked to stay home.

Millias provided an update on the Pope’s Tavern roof project. The Building Committee said they have had discussions with the contractor and that the plan is to start work on the roofing membrane and the ice and water shield. They are, however, reluctant to put shingles on the roof during the cold weather. Millias said as with the spray foam insulation, the shingles need warmer temperatures to adhere properly.

Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward was in attendance to speak to the toy drive that will take place on December 5. The event will be two-fold with a drop off option as well as a pickup one. Santa will be driving through the town from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and several cars with Girl Scouts will be trailing to pickup donations from people’s homes. The drop off portion will be a drive up at the town barn with volunteers taking the items directly from people’s trunks. More information is available on the town website.

Hayward also told the selectmen that he was now in possession of the necessary equipment, acquired through CARES Act funding, to spray disinfectant at certain street crossings as well as park benches. He asked if the selectmen would like him to begin spraying the HOPS playground. “If we have the capacity to do it, I can’t see saying no thank you,” Millias said. Hayward said that the playground at the school is being sprayed between recesses. While the HOPS Playground can’t be done as frequently, Hayward said it could likely be done once a day.