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10.70 % of Halifax voters cast their ballots

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Halifax Town Clerk Barbara Gaynor has released the unofficial results from Saturday’s election, June 20, showing 628 of Halifax’s 5,874 registered voters, cast their ballot, a mere 10.70 per cent,

The ballot showed only two contests, with Highway Surveyor incumbent R. Steven Hayward getting 503 voted to Michael J. Schlieff ‘s 106.

The other contest saw Alan J Dias and Ashley DiSesa both seeking the single one-year term on the Planning Board.  Dias got 312 votes to DiSesa’s 254.

For the Board of Assessors, 3-year term, John J.R. Shiavone, candidate for re-election, got 471 votes.  There were 3 write-ins and 154 blanks.

Steven MacFaun won a three year term on the Board of Health with 460 votes.  There were also 3 write-ins and 165 blanks.

The Housing Authority, 3-year term, no candidate drew papers, but there were 46 write-ins while 582 left it blank.

Housing Authority, 4-year term, saw Patricia McCarthy, candidate for re-election, win 436 votes.  There were 4 write-ins and 188 blanks.

Richard Clark, candidate for re-election won another 5-year term on the Housing Authority with 455 votes.  There were 6 write-ins and 167 blanks.

Diane Ruxton won another 3-year term on the Board of Library Trustees with 474 votes.  There were 7 write-ins.

Park Commissioner, 1-year term, saw no candidate on the ballot but 40 write-ins.  588 voters left that position blank.

Park Commissioner, 3-year term, also had no candidate on the ballot, but got 31 write-ins and 597 blanks.

The Planning Board, 5-year term, race saw write-in candidate Rick Merry best Ashley DiSesa with 98 votes to her 50.  There were 21 other write-in votes for the position, with 459 blanks.

Two incumbents for the Halifax Elementary School Committee 3-year term, Robert Johnson and Alison J. Vance, easily won their positions again with 402 and 418 votes respectively.  There were 5 write-ins and 431 blanks for the two positions.

Edward Desharnais, Jr., a candidate for re-election, won a 3-year term on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, with 428 votes.  There were 6 write-ins and 194 blanks.

Troy E. Garron, a candidate for re-election, won a 3-year term on the Board of Selectmen with 497 votes.  There were 37 write-ins, and 94 blanks.

Richard Clark won re-election to the 3-year position on the  Board of Water Commissioners with 460 votes.  There were 2 write-ins and 157 blanks.

The single ballot question asking “Shall the town vote to accept the provisions of section thirteen of chapter two hundred and fifty-eight of the General Laws which provides that the town shall indemnify and save harmless municipal officers, elected or appointed, from personal financial loss and expense including reasonable legal fees and costs, if any in an amount not to exceed one million dollars, arising out of any claim, demand, suit or judgment by reason of any act or omission except an intentional violation of civil rights of any person under any law, if the official at the time of such act or omission was acting with the scope of this official’s duties and employment?”

Voting yes, 327 agreed, while 168 voted no.  Evidently not caring one way or another, 133 voters left the question blank.

Russo elected BOS chairman

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The June 22 Plympton Board of Selectmen meeting began as a joint meeting with the Plympton School Committee. Daniel Cadogan was elected to the school committee during Saturday’s town election but was yet to be sworn in as of Monday’s meeting so was not part of the voting. Jon Wilhelmsen, who received several write-in votes during the election, had already been sworn in and accepted another term on the committee. The Board of Selectmen and School Committee took a vote to appoint Jason Fraser to replace resigning member Jill Palenstijn for the year-long remainder of her term. The school committee then adjourned.

The Board of Selectmen began their business with a reorganization. Current Chair Christine Joy made a motion to make Mark Russo the new Chair and John Traynor seconded. John Traynor was named the clerk and Christine Joy the new Vice Chair. Russo jokingly said that his ground rules as Chair included no spitting and no swearing.

Following the reorganization there was a very brief hearing to consider the application of Eversource located out of 273 Summer Street in Plymouth. There is a petition for the installation of one pole on Spring St. to raise the cable due to low hanging wires. No one attending the remote meeting wished to speak either in favor or against considering the application. Traynor made a motion to accept the application which was unanimously agreed upon and the hearing was closed.

Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy requested that the town sign a three-year continuation of their auditing contract with Lynch Marini & Associates. “They have been doing an excellent job for us for quite some time,” Dennehy explained. The Board voted in favor of the continuation.

The Board then moved toward making the necessary fy21 appointments. Russo read through the lengthy list of people whose appointments were expiring at the end of the month asking that a hold be requested for any appointments needing further discussion.

The only appointment in question was that of Animal Control Officer and Animal Inspector. Joy said that she had  believed Brian Kling would be resigning but was relieved to hear that he no longer intended to resign. Russo made a motion to appoint all those on the list to another term in their present position. It was unanimously approved.

Dennehy provided the Board with updates regarding COVID-19 saying, “Town meeting was a success. I think we can all be very pleased with the way that things went…I do believe people felt at least somewhat secure with being there.”

Dennehy said that as of the Monday meeting there were two active cases in the town and all earlier cases were considered clear.

Dennehy also said that the town is working on a plan for the fall and winter and have been taking the necessary steps to ensure that the Fire and Police Departments are adequately supplied with all necessary equipment.

Dennehy told the Board that Fire Chief Stephen Silva has taken the lead with getting reimbursement through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. She also said that they have been coordinating with Wilhelmsen and Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto to make sure that they are reimbursed for any unforeseen COVID-related expenses.

Regarding future expenses, Wilhelmsen said that they are looking at both necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as additional chromebooks as the expectation is that next year will also involve some level of remote learning. The town is also looking to be reimbursed for residual town meeting expenses that were COVID-related such as the hiring of an AV company to help facilitate a socially distant meeting.

The Board of Health also received a secondary grant. Chair of the Board of Health Art Morin has already received reimbursement for the costs to spray the town buildings the first time. Dennehy said that when dealing with separate grants, etc., careful attention must be paid to not duplicate entries for reimbursement.

Dennehy said, “Otherwise, its been pretty much business as usual at the townhouse.” She said that a memo was sent out to town employees to remind them to keep their guards up as the threat posed from COVID-19 is still present.

Traynor brought up that a number of town issues have been placed on the back burner due to the pandemic and said that he would like to see those things receive attention once again. Russo and Joy concurred. It was agreed that the Board would focus much of their July 6 meeting on discussing and prioritizing these projects.

Dennehy gave an administrative update saying that she was pulling together an RFP to get a consultant on board for the hazard mitigation plan grant.

She also said that the purchase and sales agreement for one of the three lots auctioned off on Prospect Rd had already been signed and mailed to town counsel. She said she expected the closing to take place soon. The purchase and sales for the other two lots are in the final stages.

As is customary at their meetings, the selectmen ended their night with their rants or raves for the past few weeks. Joy said her rave was for all the residents that attended town meeting. “I know it was kind of a scary experience … but they came out and they took care of business,” Joy said.

Russo had two raves, the first of which was for Joy having finished her term as chair of the Board.

“I’m very appreciative of having the opportunity to sit next to Christine and learn from her,” Russo said. Traynor agreed. Russo’s second rave was for the town employees in agreeing to forgo a merit increase this year in order to guarantee that no jobs were lost and to keep the tax rate as modest as possible.

Traynor qualified his rave by saying that it was really more of a story. He said that about fifty years ago a binder was removed from the town records by someone that wanted it for their own library. That person recently passed, and their children shared it with someone else from Plympton. “I’m happy to report that the 1899 book of Plympton town boundaries is now back in the town vault,” Traynor concluded.

Plympton’s Annual Town Meeting held with “Social Distancing”

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Plympton held both its annual and special town meeting on Wednesday, June 17 inside the Dennett Elementary School. The annual addressed fiscal year 2021 while the special was to address funding changes for this current fiscal year’s spending. Town Moderator Barry DeCristofano donned a purple and gold mask as he explained the protocols that needed to be followed due to COVID-19. Residents attending the meeting were divided between both the gym and the auditorium in order to ensure proper social distancing.

Article 1 was the annual report of town officers that was moved by Board of Selectmen Chair Christine Joy. Joy also moved Article 2, authorizing the town treasurer to enter into compensating balance agreements in accordance with Massachusetts Law. There was no discussion for either article and both passed unanimously.

Article 3 was a vote to amend the wage and personnel classification plan effective July 1, 2020 and to pay in wages the sums as read by DeCristofano. The Fire Department/Paramedic, clerical and election workers, elder affairs, library, professional, town hall support, town labor, and veterans’ affair all passed without discussion. Resident Ted Taranto went to the microphone to suggest that the special police officer and matron police officer be paid the same amount. Wage and Personnel Chair Alan Wheelock said he deferred to Police Chief Matt Clancy. Clancy said that there were different rates as they were completely different jobs with separate training requirements. “There needs to be at least a modest grade separation,” Clancy explained. Following the discussion, all lines were passed.

Article 4, the town budget, did generate considerable discussion with respect to both the town clerk’s salary as well as the regional schools’ budget. Chair of the Finance Committee Nathaniel Sides requested a few changes to the funding sources for the insurance and pension line but did not request any changes to the overall amount of $1,243,613. Total general government came in at $75,768, total assessors $82,292, Total tax and treasurer, $186,249, total Selectmen $323,053, total public works $591,678, total protection of personal property $26,617, total building department $95,116, total fire and EMS Services $695,678, total Board of Health $35,393, total police $1,069,879, total veterans $59,756, total emergency dispatch $103,000, and total library $155,239. Those areas all passed without discussion.

Town Clerk Patricia Detterman asked for a hold on both lines 180 (the town clerk salary) and 197 (town clerk support staff). Detterman explained that the fy20 salary for the town clerk was decreased by 11 percent by the Finance Committee bringing the total from $47,163 to $42,000. Detterman countered each of the Finance Committee’s arguments for reducing the salary including that it was not an election year, job duties were calculated at 25 hours per week, and she was a new employee. She said that there were actually 4 elections held during that year, her predecessor reported that it took 30 hours or more to satisfy the duties of the job, and that aside from volunteering for the town in multiple capacities over the years, she also served as the assistant town clerk for 8 years. Detterman also pointed out a number of challenges faced this past year including the sudden resignation of her first assistant, COVID-19 related difficulties, and an inability to take vacation in the past 18 months. She asked for a motion to restore the clerk’s salary to a fair wage. Specifically, Detterman was looking for $47,163 with a 1.6 percent cost of living increase, bringing the total requested salary to $49,925.

Detterman also cited a survey she conducted of town clerk salaries in Plymouth County. She said that the next lowest paid clerk in the county, who happens to limit their hours to 25 per week and is in a border town, made $55,000. Sides countered this argument saying that Plympton was among the smallest towns in the South Shore and therefore, comparing salaries was not comparing apples to apples. He said that the Finance Committee had conducted their own survey using towns in Massachusetts of similar size. He went on to say that based on that survey, Detterman’s current salary would place her into the top third. Detterman said that such a comparison was unfair as the clerk must live in the town to which they are elected and the cost of living on the South Shore is vastly different than the cost of living in say, the Berkshires.

Retired town clerk Nancy Butler came to Detterman’s defense saying that there was no way the job could be done in 30 hours per week. “I wish you would all consider the recommendation by the town clerk,” Butler said.

In the end, there was a slight majority in the two rooms and Detterman’s motion passed. She also made a motion to increase the town clerk support staff line from $22,186 to $25,804 saying, “The service that the support staff does for the town is incredible. We are the front porch for the town.” Like the motion before, it passed though by a very slight majority. The new total for the town clerk’s budget is $103,829.

Chair of the Plympton School Committee Jon Wilhelmsen asked for a hold on all three lines of the Plympton school’s budget. Wilhelmsen explained that when the budget was created the school committee had not yet had a chance to look for additional savings. Wilhelmsen proposed reducing the elementary school costs from $2,494,050 to $2,441,399 and the vocational costs from $105,000 to $90,000. Wilhelmsen proposed an increase for the special education line from $1,115,495 to $1,186,396. He explained that the proposed increase was necessary to keep certain students in the building and prevent them from going out of district, which would incur significant additional costs to the town. The total amended budget amounted to $3,717,795, which Wilhelmsen said, “…is pretty close to the recommended budget.” The town voted to support this new number.

Chair of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee Jason Fraser asked for a hold on the regional school line requesting that Plympton’s assessment be raised from $2,463,609 to $2,513,608.42. Fraser said this represented a 0.4 percent increase over the previous year’s number. Fraser also explained that cuts to state aid are still unknown. He went onto explain that provided one other town in the district votes to approve the number, if Chapter 70 funding comes in below what is expected, the school committee has the ability to amend the number without requesting a special town meeting as long as the assessment remains the same or lower. Thirty percent of the Silver Lake Regional School budget comes from Chapter 70 funds.

Sides said that while the Finance Committee had originally agreed to Fraser’s amended number, they had since decided to ask for an overall decrease in the town’s assessment. He said that the estimated amount was somewhere around a $50,000 reduction. Fraser said he had no record of being reached out to by the Finance Committee to discuss amending the budget. Ann Sobolewski took to the microphone in support of Fraser saying that if the town votes the number recommended by the Finance Committee, there would no longer be an ability to amend the budget should Chapter 70 funding come in higher than anticipated. Another resident inquired as to the cost to hold a special town meeting. Selectmen Chair Joy said it would cost roughly $9,000. The town voted to approve Fraser’s requested amended number of $2,513,608.42.

Before recessing the annual town meeting to begin the special, DeCristofano lamented, “I know people can leave when they want but I really feel bad when people leave after their pet projects have been voted on. It’s not fair to the rest of us.”

The special town meeting had 7 articles. Article 1 was a vote to transfer $29,882.13 from available funds to pay for the final change order for the Plympton Police Station project. Selectman Mark Russo reduced the amount requested to transfer from available funds to pay unpaid bills from the prior fiscal year in Article 2 from $6,897 to $2,153.09. Article 3 was a vote to transfer $10,000 from the overlay surplus fund to the OPED retirement fund. Article 4 was a vote to transfer up to $50,000 from the overlay surplus fund into the town building and maintenance emergency fund. Article 5 included several line item transfers in the fy20 budget. Article 6 was a vote to transfer from the sale of town owned property $8,100 raised from the sale of the Fire Department’s modular home to cover the costs for Fire Department repairs. Article 7 was for $7,000 to replace the Fire Department ladders that were rendered out of service due to safety issues. All transfers passed.

DeCristofano then returned to the annual resuming with Article 5 to transfer $33,000 from free cash to conduct fiscal audits for fy21. Article 6 allowed the town to borrow in anticipation of reimbursement $169,092 as the state’s share of the cost of work under Chapter 90.

DeCristofano then read Articles 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17, and 19 which all proposed funding various things from the capital stabilization fund. Article 7 was for $200,000 for road construction and resurfacing. Article 8 was for $17,700.30 to make the annual lease payment on the Highway Department truck. Article 9 was for $30,000 to purchase a flail mower. Article 14 was for $6,950 to make the first payment to lease/purchase 10 digital portable radios for the Police Department. Article 15 authorized the Board of Selectmen to enter into an agreement to lease/purchase fiber optic equipment and allowed for $22,000 to make the first payment. Article 17 was for $48,90.05 to pay the lease payments for the Fire Department vehicles. Article 19 was for $16,724.23 to pay the lease payment for the Fire Department command vehicle. All motions passed.

Article 10 included multiple requests from the Community Preservation Committee for fy21. Articles 11, 12, and 13 were all requests for the Assessors office. Article 16 was a request for $340,000 to purchase an ambulance. Article 18 was for $10,000 to purchase new personal protective equipment for the Fire Department, Article 20 was a request for $12,000 from free cash to provide the required 5 percent match for a FEMA grant to replace a brush truck. Article 21 was for $8,000 to purchase or repair self-contained breathing apparatus. Article 22 was for $14,000 to fund Plympton’s share of a part-time school resource officer at the middle school. Article 23 was for $100,000 for the replacement of the roof and insulation at the Highway Department building.

Article 24 authorizes the Board of Selectmen to enter into a mutually beneficial agreement with the town of Middleborough for access to the parcel of land at 0 Soule St. to provide (among other things) parking and access to 2 Brooks Preserve Conservation land. Russo described it as a “win-win-win” for those involved. Russo made a motion to refer Article 25, which would amend zoning by-laws regarding floodplains, back to the Planning Board rather than voting on it. Articles 24, 26, 27, and 28 all had to do with the recodification of bylaws. Articles 24, 26, 27, and 28 all passed as did Russo’s motion regarding Article 25.

Articles 29, 30, 31, and 32 were all in regard to payments on the following solar projects: 29 Brook St Solar, Upland Road Solar, Plympton Lake St. Solar, and Main St. solar – all passed.

Russo asked to pass over both Articles 33 and 34 and his motions were approved. Article 35 was a vote to adjourn the town meeting until the town election.

Jumps continued

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Only 4.5% of Plympton voters cast ballots

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Only 4.5 per cent of Plympton’s 2289 registered voters came out on the hot summer solstice; 104 ballots were cast.  Plympton voters for the most part stayed home when faced with a ballot with only two printed candidates on the form.  Selectman Mark E Russo, a candidate for re-election, turned in his nomination papers to ensure his place on the ballot.  He won with 85 votes, 16 blank, and 3 who wrote in others.

Daniel M. Cadogan was able to turn in his nomination papers to take his place on the Plympton ballot.  He won a position on the Plympton School Committee with 72 votes.  Jon Wilhelmsen won his return to the second position on the Plympton School Committee with 14 write-in votes.  There were 112 votes left blank and 10 other write-ins.

Ethan Stiles got 5 write-in votes for his place on the Board of Assssors for another three years.  There were 90 blanks.

Bradford Cronin won a 3-year term on the Board of Health with 12 write-in votes.  There were 84 blanks and 7 others.

Two positions on the Finance Committee were  won by Kathryn Shepard at 19 votes, and Marilyn Browne with 15 votes.  There were 171 blanks and 2 others.

James Lundgren and Louise Cosato won their 3 –year terms on the Board of Library Trustees with 17 and 12 votes respectively.   There were 177 votes left blank.

Jim will be a busy guy as he was also the top vote-getter in the 2-year position on the Board of Library trustees, having been written in by 5 fans.  There were 95 blanks and 4 others.

Paul D’Angelo won a 5-year term on the Plympton Planning Board.  The veteran member of the board got 8 write-ins.  94 voters left it blank and 2 votes were for others.

The one-year term on the Planning Board was won by James Cohen with 7 write-in votes cast. There were 4 others.  Blanks got 93.

For the Silver Lake Regional School Committee 3-year term Jason Fraser won the position with 10 votes written-in for him.  1 vote was for another and there were 93 blanks.

Voting took place at the Plympton Town House, 5 Palmer Rd.

Plympton and Halifax head to polls

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Town elections for both Plympton and Halifax will be held this Saturday, June 20. The Plympton town election will take place at the town house from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Halifax will hold their election at the Halifax Elementary School gym from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. These elections mark the first time the state has allowed early mail-in voting for local elections.

Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig told the Express that to his knowledge, there wasn’t anyone that tried to pull papers to run for an elected position that was unable to do so due to the shutdown. Seelig did say, however, that there were some town officials who elected not to run again. Several candidates are running uncontested for re-election. This includes John Shiavone for a three-year term on the Board of Assessors, Patricia McCarthy for a four-year term on the Housing Authority, Diane Ruxton for a three-year term on the Board of Library Trustees, Edward Desharnais Jr. for a three-year term on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, and Troy Garron for a three year term on the Board of Selectmen. Richard Clark is also running for re-election uncontested for a five-year term on the Housing Authority as well as a three-year term on the Board of Water Commissioners. Both Robert Johnson and Alison Vance are running for re-election uncontested for the two spots available on the Halifax Elementary School Committee.

There is one seat available for a one-year term on the Planning Board with two candidates running against one-another. Candidates Alan Dias and Ashley DiSesa both appeared before the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen in January to fill a vacant position on the Board. At the time, DiSesa won the seat through a vote of the selectmen and Planning Board members though support was not unanimous. DiSesa must once again best Dias in votes, this time from the town, in order to remain on the Planning Board. The other contested race is between incumbent Steven Hayward and Michael Schleiff for Highway Surveyor.  Late Tuesday afternoon the Express was told that John Taglini is a write-in candidate for the: Halifax Elementary School Committee and the Silver Lake Regional School Committee.

Unlike the situation in Halifax, Plympton Town Clerk Patricia Detterman said that many people in Plympton did have difficulty pulling nomination papers due to the shutdown. The only candidates to successfully make their deadlines to have their signatures certified to be on the ballot were Mark Russo who is running for re-election for a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen and Daniel Cadogan who is seeking a three-year term on the Plympton School Committee. There are several positions with terms expiring despite not appearing on the ballot. Included among those are Jason Fraser and Jon Wilhelmsen who have both expressed interest in continuing to serve on the Plympton School Committee and in Fraser’s case the Silver Lake Regional School Committee as well.

Detterman said, “Saturday’s election will look a bit different this year. Masks and six feet social distancing rules are encouraged. We will have one-way traffic through the polls to avoid some of the socializing done in our front hall when voters are coming and going.” Other safety protocols will also be in place including handing out pens with each ballot rather than sharing pencils. The pens will be sanitized after each use. Both sanitizer as well as masks will be provided for anyone who doesn’t bring their own. Each occupied voting booth will have an empty one in between them in order to increase social distancing. A single booth will be designated for those unable to wear a mask due to health reasons and it will be sanitized in between each use.

“The election workers who are scheduled for Saturday have expressed they feel safe and want to participate in this event,” Detterman said. She also said that last year’s election yielded a 6 percent voter turnout with 128 ballots cast. Detterman said she is expecting the same for Saturday’s election.

Silver Lake RSD budget reconsidered once again

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The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met for the third week in a row on June 11 to once again reconsider their decision regarding the fy21 budget. Committee member Christopher Eklund, who was on the prevailing side of the previous week’s vote, asked for a reconsideration of that June 4 vote.

The budget process began way back in September and went from a budget version 1 to a budget version 4. In January the committee considered a budget with a 3.31 percent increase over the fy20 budget of $25,992,354. On March 12, the committee voted on a fourth iteration of the budget in the amount of $26,698,578 for an increase of 2.71 percent over the fy20 budget. According to committee Chair Jason Fraser, the March 12 budget was lauded by Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton. Everything changed, however, following that meeting and the state essentially shut down due to the pandemic.

The state has until July 1 to offer a revised budget that will reflect the short- and long-term fiscal effects of the pandemic. The extent of the cuts to local aid are unknown complicating the towns’ and schools’ budget processes.

In May, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requested that districts provide them with a budget despite not knowing what kind of cuts will occur to Chapter 70. As a result, the regional school committee met on May 28 to vote a revised fy21 budget. Prior to that meeting, Superintendent Jill Proulx had presented nearly a million dollars in potential cuts to the version of the budget previously voted on by the committee. At the May 28 meeting the committee voted to approve the March 12 number as a sort of act of rebellion against DESE. Their plan at the time was to ask the towns to vote no to the budget at their respective town meetings. The no vote would then force a one-twelfth budget which would default back to fy20 levels. The committee hoped that this would buy them additional time to create a budget that would reflect actual numbers from the state.

The regional school committee met again on June 4 and voted to rescind their vote from the previous week. With the exception of committee members Gordon Andrews and Leslie-Ann McGee the committee voted through the fy20 budget number of $25,992,354 which represented a $706,000 reduction from the March 12 budget. At the time, Fraser cited the desire to work with the three towns in providing them with the requested combined reduction to their assessments of $525,000 as the impetus for reconsidering the May 28 vote. Fraser said that he wanted to provide the communities with a number that they could approve at town meeting. Many on the committee felt that it wouldn’t be fair to ask the communities to hold a special town meeting just to vote through the final budget number when the time arose. In addition to the reduction to the assessments, the budget also included a reduction of 2.5 percent in state aid. This estimate was a point of contention on the dissenting side of the vote as it is likely far lower than the actual reduction will be once the state numbers are known.

Fraser told the committee on June 11 that following the June 4 meeting he began to receive new information including from Silver Lake counsel. In light of the new information as well as Eklund’s request for reconsideration, the committee decided to meet again on June 11 for another vote.

The committee first took a vote to rescind their vote on the budget from June 4. The motion passed unanimously as did the following vote to once again approve the March 12 number of $26,698,578 for fy21. Andrews addressed his fellow committee members saying, “Thank you to everybody on the committee for reconsidering the vote; I think it’s the right decision.” McGee, who was always against the June 4 vote said she was appreciative of the number of people attending the meetings recently. She also emphasized that she didn’t think it was right to ask residents to go to town meeting and vote for a budget, the contents of which were still unknown.

The June 11 vote means that if two out of the three towns approve the budget at town meeting, the region has a budget, albeit one that is likely still subject to amendments based on actual numbers from the state. If the assessments to the towns remain the same or get lower, no special town meeting would be required, and the budget would be set by default after 45 days. If two out of the three communities vote down the budget at town meeting, the school will be in a one-twelfth budget situation. “This reconsideration and the rescinding of our budget was not an affront to any individual or town; we are doing what we think is in the best interest of the district and the students that we serve,” Fraser explained.

The committee stressed that they are nowhere out of the woods yet in terms of the budgets for either the region or the towns. They emphasized that difficult decisions are likely still ahead. They did, however, ask that the towns vote yes to the budget number approved by them at the June 11 meeting.

As of the time of publication, Plympton’s town meeting occurred on Wednesday, June 17. Both Kingston and Halifax have elected to postpone their town meetings to Saturday, July 11. Kingston’s decision to postpone was made after the school committee’s June 11 meeting.

Protest against racial injustice on Town Green

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A peaceful protest/vigil was held on the Plympton town green on Sunday, June 14 to protest racial injustice. Organizer Amy Laura Cahn described it as “a vigil for George Floyd, Ahmaud Aubrey, Breonna Taylor, Tony Mcdade, and all Black Americans slain by racial violence and injustice, including police brutality and the pandemic.”

A large crowd gathered to listen to speakers, set intentions, and hold signs proclaiming “Black Lives Matter” amongst other things. Those gathered also participated in an 8 minute and 46 second moment of silence signifying the length of time Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Participants had the opportunity to write their intentions for combatting racism on sticky notes which were compiled and read aloud by Cahn before the close of the vigil. Those intentions included sentiments such as meeting regularly as a town to battle racism and committing to raising their kids to be anti-racist.

Plympton resident Kimberly Russo addressed the assembled urging them to read, listen, think, and act. An excerpt of her comments is found below:

“When we pray for racial equality, when we know that in our personal lives, we don’t hold malice or ill will toward any people of color in our day-to-day lives, it’s not enough. When we march and join in with people of color to voice our support for racial equality, it’s not enough. It’s not enough for us to call our policemen and women heroes because of their vocation or the uniforms that they wear instead of the deeds that they do. But, when we do these things and we take these ideas to the voting booth and we care enough to make sure that the people that we put in policymaking positions, no matter their political party, carry out our intent and concern about racism, we’re starting on the right track. Our current national economic policies, our voting policies, and the lack of inclusion of people of color in policy making and planning are the root of systemic racism in this country. Don’t be a party to that. Don’t give your good intentions for a fair and just country away to people who, after receiving your vote, play a part in keeping this nation divided.”

When it was her turn at the microphone, Cahn acknowledged that it was pride month and said that queer Black leaders have been at the forefront of every movement in the United States. In order to recognize that she read an excerpt from poet Saeed Jones’ new poem, Who’s Grief? Our Grief. She quoted Jones, who is both Black and gay, saying, “This upheaval, the protests, the unrest, the uprisings, all of it, it is generations in the making. Black children who were learning multiplication tables when Rodney King was beaten in Los Angeles… are old enough to have children of their own now.”

Cahn also took time to recognize the impact of systemic racism that extends beyond police brutality. “In Massachusetts communities of color bear the brunt of exposures to chemical pollution and transportation emissions,” Cahn said. She also pointed out that 8 out of the 10 communities in Massachusetts with the highest rates of COVID-19 are communities of color. “This is not an accident. This is a history (generations) of taking resources from Black communities, from communities of color, and putting it into wealthier and whiter communities.” She also went on to quote Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley who said during a recent interview, “I would very much like to pass onto my 11-year-old daughter, something other than generational trauma.”

Class of 2013 Silver Lake alumna Makayla Dillingham took an opportunity to speak after all scheduled speakers were through. Dillingham urged those gathered to attend a peaceful protest march on Saturday, June 20. The event will begin and end at the Kingston Town Hall and will run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. “I see that there are roughly 100 people here today and I want to see you guys plus another hundred, plus another hundred,” Dillingham said.  Dillingham said that she extended the invite to neighboring communities outside of the Silver Lake district including Duxbury and Plymouth. “I want to see us all there. I want our towns and I want the South Shore to know that this is a community that’s going to stand together during a trying time,” she explained.

LaNatra announces voting options bill

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KINGSTON – State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston), together with her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, passed legislation this week that would allow a number of voting options, including early voting by mail, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Act Relative To Voting Options In Response To COVID-19 seeks to facilitate a number of options for voters confronting health risks due to the Coronavirus. Under the provisions of the bill, voters can elect to vote by mail, submit an absentee ballot, vote early in-person or vote on Election Day with public health safeguards in place.

The bill to expand voting options in response to COVID-19 includes the following provisions:

(1)    Early voting by mail application

• Requires the Secretary of State to mail all registered voters an application to vote early by mail in advance of the primary and general elections (by July 15 for the primary and September 14 for the general);

• Asks voters to apply by seven days prior to the primary and general elections;

• Allows for electronic signature and submission of applications

(2)    Early voting by mail

• The city or town clerk will mail an early voting by mail ballot and an envelope with return postage pre-paid to voters who apply;

• Allows voters to return their early voting by mail ballot in the mail, secure drop box, or in person;

(3)    Absentee voting

• Provides for absentee voting by any person taking precaution related to COVID-19;

• Allows electronic signature and submission of absentee voting applications;

(4)    In person voting public health safeguards

• Requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, to promulgate emergency regulations requiring public health safeguards for in-person voting, including social distancing of voters and election officers; face coverings and personal protective equipment; frequent use of sanitizers; and sanitary use of marking pens;

(5)    Early voting in person

• Provides for 7 days of in person early voting in the primary—from Saturday, August 22 to Friday, August 28—including one weekend – and 14 days of in person early voting in the general—from Saturday, October 17 to Friday, October 30—including two weekends;

(6)    Election day

·         Permits voters to still cast a ballot at the polls on election day;

(7)    Local elections

• Provides for early voting by mail for any city or town elections held at the same time as the primary or general or on or before December 31, 2020.

The bill next moves to the Senate.

Representative LaNatra, who serves on the Joint Election Laws Committee, said, “I am very pleased with this bill. It is a comprehensive piece of legislation that addresses the challenges of voting during a pandemic, and provides a number of options to remedy these challenges.  The legislature began this process by reviewing and discussing eight separate bills on the topic and worked together to put forward one very strong piece of legislation. I thank my colleagues in the House for this great work, and I am hopeful that the Senate will quickly pass this and that the Governor will sign it into law.”

Representative LaNatra’s district includes all residents of Halifax, Kingston and Plympton, as well as residents of Precincts 1, 11 and 13 in Plymouth; Precinct 1 in Middleboro; and Precinct 1 in Duxbury.  To reach her, email [email protected] or her legislative aide, Chris Jean, [email protected]. The phone number for the office is 617-722-2430. For updates and announcements, please visit Representative LaNatra’s Facebook page, https://bit.ly/2Ura8VR or her website, https://www.kathylanatra.com.

Regional FY21 budget still in flux

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Selectmen from Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton attended the June 4 meeting of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee to discuss the FY21 regional school budget. On May 28, the regional school committee voted to pass the original budget number from March with the caveat that they would be asking the three towns to vote no to their budget at their respective town meetings. If the towns voted down the March budget it would cause the region’s budget to revert to fy20 levels by default (a reduction of about $706,000 from the March 12 budget). The intent was to allow the school district additional time to make an informed decision regarding the budget and possible cuts based on actual numbers from the state. As of the present time, no one knows the extent of cuts to state aid as the commonwealth has provided no indication as to when or what the budget will look like.

As a result of the economic hardship brought on by the pandemic, the towns of Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton were asking for a combined $525,000 reduction in the assessment to the three towns. Kingston specifically requested a $300,000 reduction to their assessment.

The school committee felt their hand was forced in voting a budget on May 28 as the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) had requested that they provide them with a budget that they could then use in determining a 1/12 budget scale for Silver Lake.

“This kind of came out of the blue… we didn’t really have time to react to it,” Fraser explained. He continued, “Some of the school committee members were taken aback by DESE asking us to give them budget numbers when they won’t give us an inkling of what our Chapter 70 funding is going to look like.”

The region receives about $7.3 million in Chapter 70 funds. As Fraser pointed out, even a 1 percent decrease in those funds translates into $73,000 in cuts. “When we agreed to reduce the assessments to the towns by $525,000 we weren’t really doing anything to protect ourselves from a decrease in Chapter 70 funding,” Fraser said. “Out of frustration and out of an act of rebellion against the state, we chose to pass over voting new numbers last week and just sent to DESE the original budget from March 12.

We didn’t feel that it was in our best interest to try and satisfy their ridiculous request for a number from us when they wouldn’t give us thirty percent of our budget to work with,” Fraser explained.

Since the May 28 meeting Fraser said that he has had discussions with town officials regarding the committee’s decision to ask the towns’ to vote down the school’s budget. The two major flaws in the committee’s plan from that meeting were 1.) the towns would potentially be forced to have a special town meeting just for the school and 2.) the ability to access E & D funds in the amount of $125,000 toward next year’s budget would be jeopardized. If a budget isn’t decided upon by June 30, the school would be forced to make additional cuts in that amount. Another issue is that if the school was unable to have a resolution by December, which would involve two out of the three towns voting through a budget, the region would lose local control over their budget. “What I propose for us to do here tonight is to try and satisfy as many of these difficult situations as possible,” Fraser told those assembled.

Fraser went on to say he asked Director of Business Services Christine Healy to look into reducing the assessments to the towns by $525,000 while holding back $181,000 for the region’s protection in potential reductions to Chapter 70 funding. Fraser stressed that the amount held back would only provide a 2.5 percent cushion which is much lower than other communities and school systems in the state.

Essentially Fraser was recommending cutting the budget from the fy21 total to the fy20 level or a reduction of $706,000. He explained that this would allow the towns to vote yes in support of a budget that would hold up for twelve months.

Crone said that he has tried to gain a sense of what other communities are anticipating for reductions in state aid based on conversations with other school committees. He said that some are anticipating reductions as high as 20 percent while the budget being proposed by Fraser only includes a buffer for a 2 percent reduction.

Committee member and Halifax selectman Gordon Andrews said that the 2.5 percent cut was not realistic and recommended that if the school committee votes for a budget, they do so with a realistic number.

He said that using a 2 percent reduction in state aid would cause the committee to have to go back to square one and re-vote a new, more reduced budget. Andrews pointed out that the town of Halifax is looking at a total of an 8 percent reduction in state aid and the town of Kingston a 15 percent reduction.

“If you look at the math of what the tax revenues are coming in at, the numbers seem a lot closer to the 15 percent than the 8 percent overall,” Andrews said. “We are going to be talking about a million dollars if it’s at 15 percent,” he continued.

While Fraser said that he understood Andrews’ trepidation with using an estimate of a 2.5 percent decrease in Chapter 70 funds, he also felt strongly that the region work with the three towns and provide a budget for them to vote on that gives the towns what they asked for.

School committee member Leslie-Ann McGee inquired if there was a way to protect the E & D funds without voting a new budget. The E & D funds have typically been used to fund capital infrastructure issues. Healy said that they would be able to continue funding capital infrastructure projects but not at the same level that they have been able to do over the last five years. Andrews asked if it would be possible to expend that money right now on items on the capital plan. Healy said, “Theoretically we could, the tough thing is some of those items have a leeway because there is planning to be done.”

The Committee took a vote requiring a two-thirds majority to accept the regular day operating budget of the regional schools of $25,992,354. With the exception of Andrews and McGee the committee voted through the number which represents a $706,000 reduction from the March 12 budget.

Both Andrews and McGee were emphatic in their disagreement with the decision being made by the committee.

“I’m observing that we just voted a number that none of us have any confidence in,” McGee stated. Andrews referenced the cuts that would have to be made to come up with the $706,000 saying, “Again, I just think this is a total mistake. We are asking them [the towns] to vote a budget that they don’t know what is inside.” Both Andrews and McGee said they would encourage their towns to vote against the number.

Fraser said that the committee would reassemble on June 16 “hopefully to make some better educated guesses as to where we’re going to find the $706,000 line by line, item by item.”

The committee did agree to have Fraser draft a letter to the three towns to ask permission to go back to the table if there is an increase in funds from the federal government.

Despite the vote taken during the June 4 meeting, Fraser corresponded with the Express on June 8 saying, “I have been asked for a reconsideration of the budget vote from 6/4 so the news from Silver Lake is continuing to evolve.”

CARES Act Funding

Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien attended Thursday’s meeting to explain about the allocation of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds. Of the $2.7 billion received by Massachusetts, $90 million was awarded to the communities of Plymouth County. According to O’Brien, there were four governmental entities with a population of more than 500,000 that were eligible to receive a portion of those funds.

Of those four, only the city of Boston and Plymouth County completed the application process for their portion of the funds rather than granting the state control. The state takes a percentage of the funds for administrative costs for those entities for which they are managing the distribution of the funds.

O’Brien told those assembled that the federal government has extensive guidelines for how the funds can be spent and further said that the guidelines have already been changed three times. O’Brien said a designated website PlymouthCountyCares.com has been established to house all the guidelines and other pertinent information.

“What this is going to take… is a significant amount of coordination between town officials, school officials, public safety officials, finance committee officials, to make sure that the town realizes what resources are available and then applies in the best manner possible to the best source possible for finding reimbursement,” O’Brien explained.

He also emphasized that “these funds are not available for revenue replacement.” The CARES funds are strictly to be used for unexpected, unbudgeted expenses that were incurred as a result of the pandemic.

The first phase is intended to be a reimbursement for expenditures through June 30. The second phase will be for expenditures from July 1 and onward. “Phase 1 is secure and underway, and we will be releasing that money as quickly as it is expected.”

According to O’Brien only 6 of the 27 eligible communities have thus far applied for the funding available during Phase 1. Fraser said that the hope is that the four school districts (K-6 for each of the three towns and the regional for 7-12) can put together one unified package rather than receiving packages for the disparate schools.

Technology Director Steve Pellowe is currently working with Proulx on a list of technology expenses that have incurred as a direct result of COVID-19.

The ‘new normal’ look of town meeting in Plympton

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Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy gave an update on town business affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during the June 8 Plympton Board of Selectmen meeting. Dennehy said there had been no complaints about the new system following two weeks of the town resuming public access to many municipal buildings including the town house. Dennehy also noted that numerous town halls across the South Shore and the Commonwealth are still closed and credited the town with taking a proactive approach that allowed for things to get up and running relatively quickly.

A group of town employees met at the Dennett Elementary School to go over the protocols and physical arrangements that would be made in order to hold town meeting on June 17. Town Moderator Barry DeCristofano put together a bulletin for residents outlining what to expect at town meeting. Town Clerk Patricia Detterman is working on a similar bulletin for the town election on June 20. DeCristofano has also taken the initiative in hiring an AV company to provide audio and visuals of the town meeting.

Selectman Mark Russo admitted to obsessing a bit lately about the degree of safety during town meeting but said that he saw a photo of the room setup for the meeting and found it reassuring. A question was asked during Monday’s meeting if the doors to outside would be propped open for ventilation. Dennehy said that due to the risk of Eastern Equine Encephalitis, they likely would leave them closed. She noted that the air conditioning would likely be used during the meeting. “We can play that by ear and see what kind of a day it is when we get to that point,” Dennehy explained. Plympton School Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen noted not just the large size of the rooms but the high ceilings, saying that the additional height would help with airflow.

Dennehy expressed her gratitude for the Plympton Fire Department saying they have gone above and beyond in their efforts to assist with the setup for both town meeting and the town election.

Library Director Debbie Batson began rolling out curbside pickup for library materials on Tuesday, June 9. Details regarding the procedures can be found on the Plympton Public Library Facebook page.

The full library staff is also back working their usual shifts. Batson has also been working on plans for the next phase which will allow the public back into the building.

Selectman John Traynor said that there had been an increase in complaints regarding heavy truck traffic in town. Traynor said that the traffic on Spring St. stemmed from an ongoing project in Carver on Route 44. Building Inspector and Zoning Enforcement Officer Tom Millias spoke to those in charge of the project and was told that it was nearing completion which should alleviate the problem. Further complaints were placed regarding truck traffic around Crescent St. and Ring Rd. The traffic there is allegedly connected to an operation run by Jeff Randall. Millias assured Traynor he would speak to Randall who he described as being very receptive to such conversations in the past.

Traynor told the other selectmen that while some of the complaints were shared with him directly, several of them were found on the Plympton Helping Plympton Facebook page. Briggette Martins said she had also fielded a number of calls to the selectmen’s office regarding the traffic concerns. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said that if people have issues it is best that they bring those issues directly to the selectmen or town administrator rather than airing them on Facebook.“Well we have a difference of opinion concerning social media,” Traynor, who has been pushing for more postings, etc. on town social media pages, said.

Dennehy said that she had a request for the use of the town green on Sunday, June 14 from 1-2 p.m.  for a peaceful vigil to honor George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and other victims of racial violence. Organizer Amy Cahn was in attendance during Monday’s remote meeting and said that she is estimating twenty-five people will be in attendance. She also said that she had already been in touch with police regarding parking and other logistics.

Those wishing to attend may either park along the green or at the library or townhouse. Joy said that she would only ask that attendees clean-up after the event. Russo, who thanked Cahn for her efforts, said that he would encourage social distancing during the event. “It should be a very peaceful, nice demonstration,” Traynor added. As is customary, the selectmen ended their meeting with their rants and raves for the week. “My rave is for the executive branch of government on the state level and especially on the local level,” Russo began. He continued, “With all the stress and sadness and tremendous difficulty we’re facing as a nation, a state, even a town, it is the governors and boards of selectmen, and mayors that are threading the needle and balancing tremendously competing and fiery issues… and finding a good balance.

“It’s really beautiful to listen to people in the executive branch wrestling with issues and coming to good decisions.” Joy said her first rave was for Dennehy, Wilhelmsen, DeCristofano, Dennett Principal Peter Veneto, Chair of the Board of Health Art Morin and all others helping to make the town meeting as safe as possible. Her second rave was for the Plympton Fire Department who assisted in opening the townhouse as well as preparing for town meeting and the town election.