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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.

Halifax Town Meeting postponed until July

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Town Meeting Update

Town moderator Dennis Carman and town counsel Larry Mayo attended the Tuesday, June 9 remote meeting of the Halifax Board of Selectmen in order to recess town meeting until July 11. Under Chapter 53 of the Acts of 2020, towns can recess their town meetings for up to 30 days if there is a declaration of a public health emergency. Town moderators wield the power to do just that after consultation with the Board of Selectmen and Board of Health. Halifax health agent Cathy Drinan sent correspondence to Attorney Mayo stating that it would be ill advised to hold the meeting particularly with 150 people or more in an enclosed environment.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig recommended that the meeting be moved to 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 11 in order to have another month to work out logistics, hygiene protocols, and other social distancing requirements. Seelig said that he selected morning rather than evening in order to avoid mosquitos. Seelig also said that an additional benefit of waiting a month would be seeing how other communities are handling their meetings and borrowing best practices from them. According to Seelig the meeting would most likely be held at the Halifax Elementary School though whether it would be held indoors or outdoors remains to be seen.

Carman agreed with the delay saying, “people’s safety and well-being is of paramount concern to us.” He also said that he feels the delay will maximize residents’ ability to participate in town government and the budget process as an earlier date may lead to people not coming due to safety concerns.

COVID Policies and Reopening

The Board approved a new Halifax COVID leave policy during their last meeting that required all town employees to be paid only for the hours worked. The new policy took effect on Sunday, June 7. Next on the agenda was establishing a policy for returning to the workplace. The state currently recommends that employees continue to work remotely wherever feasible.

Selectmen Troy Garron and Tom Millias agreed that in order to preserve equity among employees, all town employees in all departments should be asked to return to their workplaces with exceptions made only for those with medical conditions preventing them from doing so safely. Selectman Gordon Andrews was unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting due to personal reasons. Seelig agreed saying that while many essential functions can be performed remotely, many of the town positions do include some element of interacting with either other town employees or the public. According to Millias, Maintenance Director Scott Materna will have all protective barriers in place at the town hall by this Friday, June 12. The Board voted June 22 as the date that all town employees should be returning to their places of work. Employees unable to return to work due to health concerns will need to provide a certified doctor’s note. There currently is no date set for opening the town hall to the public.

All employees must perform a self-certification daily which includes signing off that they are not currently experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 nor have they knowingly been in close contact with an infected person. Regarding the state guidance that residents traveling out of state self-quarantine for 14 days, Garron said, “I think we ought to treat it as a recommendation and not a policy.” The selectmen and Seelig agreed that employees would need to use their best judgement should the situation arise.

Signage will be used to indicate to employees and eventually members of the public what safety protocols must be practiced when inside municipal buildings including the town hall. Employees will be expected to wear face coverings in common areas and whenever social distancing cannot be adhered to inside individual offices. Seelig also said that he would recommend that windows be left open whenever feasible and said that he would speak to Materna about installing screens.

Once opened to the public, visitors to town hall will not be by appointment as some other communities have done. Instead, visitors will be asked to leave if experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19. Seelig said that in the event that someone cannot come into the building, employees would be available to help them via email or phone.

Seelig and the Board also addressed how best to handle residents that refuse to comply with safety protocols such as wearing a mask. “We should let people know what our expectations are,” Millias said. He continued, “Our obligation is to keep everyone safe, including the public.” Garron said that he would never want to see any employee or anyone for that matter abused because they ask another individual to wear a mask or practice social distancing. The Board agreed that if patrons become abusive while refusing to follow safety protocols, the police will have to be called.

The Holmes Public Library will begin opening to the public in early July. There is no set date for the Council on Aging to resume programming and activities. Seelig noted that much of the clientele for those services are part of the vulnerable population. The Board plans to talk to Council on Aging Director Susan Lawless about how to best phase in programming.

The HOPS playground is currently open since it fell under phase 2 of the state’s plan for reopening. Seelig said that there is temporary signage indicating that the town will not accept any liability for injury or sickness resulting from the use of the playground. Seelig also said that the town does not have the capacity to monitor the number of people using it at any one time. Similarly, he said they will not be able to sanitize it regularly. Garron said, “I just hope that we do have reasonable adults on the playground and that they try to limit the contact between their kids and other kids as much as possible.”

The state is now allowing outdoor dining at restaurants and other similar establishments. Seelig said the process for amending liquor licenses to reflect that change has been simplified.  He did note that to date, no establishment had approached the Board to make such a change.

FY21 Town Budget

Seelig said that himself and town accountant Sandra Nolan did work out a one-twelfth budget for submission to the state based on a number of recommendations from the Finance Committee. Both Garron and Millias voted to approve the one-twelfth budget as outlined by Seelig.

Beach Stickers for Non-Residents

The Board voted during Tuesday’s meeting to allow access to Halifax beaches to non-resident taxpayers using a placard system and a $25 fee. The issue was first brought to the Board’s attention over the winter by a resident who lives on Waltham St. in Hanson but pays taxes on a portion of her land that is in Halifax.

Finance Committee member Bill McAvoy’s term ends on June 15 so the Board of Selectmen and Melinda Tarsi of the Finance Committee voted to approve having McAvoy extend his term through the FY21 budget process. McAvoy intends on resigning once the budget process is complete due to work commitments. This will leave the committee looking for three new members.

Staff cuts likely for Halifax Elementary

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Town Administrator Charlie Seelig and Chair of the Finance Committee Melinda Tarsi attended the Halifax School Committee meeting on Monday, June 8. Halifax Elementary School Principal Kayne Beaudry and Assistant Principal Brian DeSantes prepared a budget proposal for the fy21 school year which included a number of tier one and tier two cuts necessitated by the economic uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Superintendent Jill Proulx shared the budget presentation during Monday’s remote meeting. Proulx said that the Halifax Finance committee had approved funding the school at the FY20 level for the regular day. The FY20 budget amounts to a reduction of $211,863 from the FY21 budget that had been voted by the school committee prior to the pandemic. The town of Halifax requested the reduction due to concerns over a lack of state aid and local revenues as well as delays in real estate tax collection.

Proulx said at the center of the core values used to arrive at the cuts is the need to continue to support the students both academically and developmentally. Tier one cuts include changing the nurse leader position from a part time one to a stipend position. Also included in tier one, were cuts to a number of different supplies including library, technology, curriculum, custodial, and special education. Proulx said that some of those cuts could potentially be offset by supplies that were not used during the spring term. Additionally, it may be possible to request funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for technology supplies.

Tier two cuts involve staff and include eliminating the part time math interventionist position at $22,000. The position is a new one in the budget as it was previously funded through Title 1 funds that are no longer available. Also on the table as part of tier two cuts is the loss of two paraprofessional positions. Such a loss might mean not having designated paraprofessionals in the kindergarten classrooms. Other cuts include a reduction in the behaviorist from a 1.0 full time position to a 0.8 position. This cut would likely mean the behaviorist working four rather than five days of the week. Another possible cut is the loss of a bus though the feasibility of such a cut may change based on the guidance that is still to be released from the state regarding social distancing for school buses.

School Committee Chair Summer Schmaling asked if the town provided any guidance as to when the school should be voting their budget. Seelig said that the Halifax town meeting is likely to be postponed until July 11. Seelig said that the recess of the town meeting is due to the uncertainty regarding the state’s finances as well as safety concerns over holding a large gathering.

Proulx explained to the committee that faculty must be notified by June 15 of a reduction in force or non-renewal. Initially the committee was considering voting to authorize Proulx to give notification of cuts should they become necessary, though it was agreed the legality of such an approach would need to be verified. Halifax selectman and school committee member Gordon Andrews addressed the committee, however, saying that the town has only estimated an 8 percent reduction in state aid while the reality may be closer to 15 percent. He pointed out that he believed that the cuts shared by Proulx would likely only be the first of several rounds. “I think we are looking at tier 3 that we haven’t even talked about yet,” Andrews explained. Director of Business Services Christine Healy concurred with Andrews saying that while she tries to remain “optimistic and hopeful” the state is no longer saying that they intend to maintain Chapter 70 funding. Tarsi also echoed Andrews’ statement saying, “I don’t think fy20 budget is the worst-case scenario.”

Considering the information shared by Andrews, Healy, and Tarsi, the committee voted unanimously to vote the fy20 school budget for fy21. The vote was to approve the 2020-2021 regular day budget of $5,659,147 and the out of district vocational budget of $156,500.

Schmaling asked if the reason some local towns are not in the same precarious position is because they are not as reliant on state aid as Halifax. Healy explained that towns such as Duxbury and Hingham are having to make less cuts since less of their budgets come from state aid. Seelig said that while Halifax relies more heavily on state aid than some communities (15 percent of the town budget), there are cities and larger communities that rely far, far greater on state aid. Andrews added that Halifax is a much higher recipient of aid than either Kingston or Plympton with 38 percent of the Halifax school budget coming from the state.

Beaudry gave an update on the sixth-grade graduation plan. He said that many different stakeholders had worked to prepare for what is being dubbed the “sixth-grade farewell wave.”  The event will take place on June 18 at 6 p.m. Students and families will remain in their cars and staff will practice social distancing. Students will be receiving what Beaudry referred to as a “Silver Lake survival kit” or “swag bag.” Beaudry also said that locker cleanout would occur throughout the last week of school with each homeroom being assigned a pickup time during a 45-minute block at one of two locations at the school.

Proulx told the committee districts are still awaiting guidance from the state regarding reentry in the fall. Proulx anticipates the guidance being more prescriptive but noted, “he’s always very careful to note that it could all change because of the realities of the virus itself.” Proulx said that closer to the start of school, the district will send surveys to students and parents to gauge where everyone stands regarding transportation, home-schooling, safety protocols, and other pertinent areas.

Don’t vote NO say school committee now

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The meeting mentioned in the above article between the Silver Lake Regional School Committee and the finance committees and selectmen from Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton took place on Thursday, June 4. During that meeting the regional school committee rescinded their decision to vote through the March 12 budget and ask the towns to vote down the school budget at their respective town meetings. 

Chair Jason Fraser said that after discussion with town leadership he thought it best to provide a budget that the towns could vote yes to at town meeting. Fraser made a motion to reduce the budget by $706,000 which included a $525,000 reduction to the collective towns’ assessments. Committee members Gordon Andrews and Leslie-Ann McGee were the sole no votes on Fraser’s motion which passed with a two-thirds majority.

The full article on the June 4 meeting will appear in the June 12 edition of the Plympton-Halifax Express.

Dennett budget cuts are deeper due to virus

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Like much of the state, Plympton is facing sharp cuts to their previously agreed upon school budget due to the economic strain brought on by the pandemic.

Director of Business Services Christine Healy prepared a version 5 of the budget in collaboration with school committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen and the Plympton selectmen. The revised budget, which was presented during the Monday, June 1 Plympton School Committee meeting, represented a 1.64 percent increase over the fy20 budget. The town of Plympton capped all salary increases at a cost of living increase of 1.6 percent and requested the same of the school budget. The budget previously voted on by the committee represented a 3.74 percent increase.

Wilhelmsen summarized the goals of the revised budget as threefold – preserve the positions of all teachers currently on staff, minimize disruption to the Dennett, and “make sure we are doing right by the students.” Much of the previous 3.74 percent increase came from a request for a new special education teacher which had the support of both the committee and the town. Fraser explained that the addition of the special education teacher is likely a cost savings as the lack of a position would likely necessitate students seeking an education that meets their needs outside of the Dennett. According to Fraser, it would cost a minimum of $60,000 to send a student to the collaborative or upwards of $100,000 if that student were to go the private route. The revised budget maintained this new position as well as that of a retiring kindergarten and music teacher.

Retirements did provide some level of savings when revising the budget. There were a few other individual line items that were cut but the bulk of the savings came from utilities and vocational. Fraser shared his concern with just how tight the budget had become. Wilhelmsen agreed but acknowledged that it was what the town had asked them to deliver. Wilhelmsen also stressed that decreases in state aid, the extent of which are still unknown, will significantly impact both what the school is able to do as well as the town. In order to preserve the current staff, Fraser recommended a hiring freeze for the two positions becoming available through attrition until more data is received from the state.

The committee decided to keep the budget at 1.64 rather than try to cut the remaining $1,300 from the budget. They unanimously voted through the regular day elementary operating budget of $2,441,399, the special education budget of $1,186,396, and the out of district vocational budget of $90,000.

School Committee Openings and Town Election

School committee member Jill Palenstijn, who had previously taken a leave of absence, submitted a letter of resignation thus opening a spot on the Plympton School Committee. Since there is only a year left on Palenstijn’s term and the ballot has closed for this year’s town election, it will be an appointed position. The school committee and the Board of Selectmen will need to hold a joint meeting to appoint a new member.

Of the town election, Wilhelmsen said that almost nobody is on the ballot not for a lack of trying but rather for a lack of ability to get and submit papers. This situation will necessitate write-in campaigns and those wishing to serve will need to communicate that to residents.  Wilhelmsen expressed desire to continue to serve as Chair of the school committee. Fraser said, “I would absolutely nominate you for that position and would thank you for another year of your time.”

CARES Act

Plymouth County, who is distributing the federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), has requested that all four school districts in Halifax, Plympton, and Kingston submit their requests in one list. There will be a joint meeting next Tuesday night with the school committees to put together a list of requisition items for the four districts. The Plymouth County treasurer has been invited.

Technology Director Steve Pellowe and Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable have both been consulted regarding possible requests for adaptive technology. The hope would be that such technology would be able to better assist students with special needs should the need for remote learning resume next year.  Wilhelmsen said that since none of these items are included in the school budget, the funding through CARES is going to prove incredibly important.

Remote Learning Update

Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto gave a brief update on remote learning. He lauded Pellowe, who has assisted Veneto in the distribution of chromebooks and other necessary equipment. Veneto was also quick to praise students, their families, and his staff. “The teaching staff has been hitting homeruns left and right,” Veneto said.

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch gave an update on the credit/no credit form of report cards that are to be issued. He praised Curriculum Coordinator Melissa Farrell for her support of the elementary school teachers.

Superintendent Jill Proulx thanked Veneto and his staff for participating in the senior parade. “I know it did my heart good,” Proulx said.

Towns asked to Vote ‘NO’ on budget

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The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met remotely on Thursday, May 28, to vote on a revised FY21 budget. The budget process, which began back in late 2019, has been complicated by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Back in mid-May, Superintendent Jill Proulx presented nearly a million dollars in potential cuts to the version of the budget previously voted on by the committee in March. The March 12 version of the budget came in at $26,698,578 for an increase of 2.71 percent over the previous year’s budget but a decrease from January’s proposed 3.31 percent increase. Chair of the Silver Lake School Committee Jason Fraser said, “This number was lauded by all three of our communities… and then we didn’t go back to school the next day and our world changed.”

Jon Lay spoke on behalf of the Silver Lake Education Association (SLEA) and stressed two points, the first of which being that every dollar in the budget is not equal. He said that some expenditures, such as teachers, have more of a direct impact on students than others. Currently there are 12.9 full time teaching positions on the line. He also took exception to what he called a reluctance on the part of the school committee to, in their words, micromanage the superintendent. Lay said that the SLEA wouldn’t consider it micromanaging but rather the committee doing their due diligence. After Lay spoke the committee took a half-hour recess in order to enter into executive session to discuss negotiations for SLEA.

Upon returning to open session the committee took up the budget discussion once again. Due to the hardships posed by the pandemic, Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton all asked the school committee to revisit their budget. Kingston, which requested a $300,000 reduction to their assessment, was the only one of the three communities to provide a specific number. State aid made up 30 percent of the school budget last year totaling $7.3 million. The remaining portion of the school budget is made up of the three communities’ assessments. Experts are estimating that the budget crisis brought on by the pandemic could result in anywhere from a $4 to $8 billion deficit for that state’s fy21 budget. The state budget likely won’t be released prior to June 30 prompting Fraser to stress that despite the educated guesses floating around, no one knows the actual numbers yet.

The school committee expressed their frustration at revising their budget without any indication as to what potential cuts to Chapter 70 funding will look like. “I feel like we’re blindfolded throwing darts at a wall here,” Vice Chair Eric Crone said. Many other school districts are simply voting their prior year budgets to submit to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). “We’re putting so many people’s lives on hold because of the position that DESE put us in,” Fraser bemoaned.

With the prospect of potentially needing to go to a one-twelfth budget looming, the school committee was feeling the pressure to deliver on a budget Thursday night. A one-twelfth budget would allow them to allocate enough funds for a single month’s expenditure based on the previous year’s budget. This will be true, as well, for those towns that do not go through with their town meetings prior to June 30 as they will be unable to vote the budget as a town. Both Kingston and Plympton are planning to move forward with their town meetings on June 13 and June 17 respectively. Halifax will most likely postpone their meeting until later in the summer thus necessitating a one-twelfth budget for their town.

Fraser moved to simply vote through the FY20 budget number of $25,992,345 for this year as many other districts had done. Gordon Andrews, a Halifax selectman and a member of the regional and Halifax school committees proposed an out of the box, albeit temporary, solution to the school’s budget crisis. Andrews suggested that the committee vote on the March 12 budget number and ask the towns to vote the number down at their town meetings. While this would necessitate a second town meeting to vote the amended number, it would also buy the school committee an additional thirty days from the dates of those meetings to derive a budget based on the state’s amended numbers. Given the outside of the box nature of the proposition, many members of the committee were initially unsure how they felt about it. Fraser withdrew his motion and allowed for a five-minute recess so that committee members could take a moment to think over Andrew’s suggestion.

A number of concerns were discussed once back in session. Among them, Crone said that he was worried about not giving the towns what they asked for the assessment. Crone and others also expressed concern over assuring the towns’ compliance in voting against the school’s budget. It was agreed that it would need to be explicitly communicated to the selectmen and finance committees the logic behind the decision to ask the towns to vote down the school budget. Another concern was the cost of having to hold a second town meeting. While there is an expense of usually $5,000 to $10,000 per town associated with holding such a meeting, most of the committee agreed that it was menial in comparison to what is at stake.

The motion voted on Thursday was to submit to DESE a one-twelfth budget based on the March 12 budget that was previously voted on by the school committee. Despite only needing two-thirds of the committee’s approval, the motion passed with unanimous support. A follow-up meeting will be held with the school committee as well as the finance committees and selectmen from the three towns.

Proulx gave an update on COVID-19 related issues. School nurses have been asked to send their requests for personal protective equipment (PPE) to their respective building principals despite not yet having the recommended equipment list. Items to be purchased include thermometers, hand sanitizer, masks, and for schools over 1,000, cameras that register temperatures. Proulx also said that she believes there will be guidance available by the end of June regarding reentry. It would still be subject to change, however, before the start of school.

Plympton lots won by highest bidders

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Co-Chair of the Open Space Committee Linda Leddy attended the Monday, June 1 Plympton Board of Selectmen meeting to provide an update on the sale of the three lots on Prospect St. An auction was held for the three lots, which are roughly 1.5 acres each, with all bids on the lots due by May 20. The lots back up to 160 acres of permanently protected conservation land. There was no purchase price but rather a suggested minimum bid of $125,000 apiece for Lots 1 and 2 and $120,000 for Lot 3.

Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy said that she had gone through the bid packages with town counsel. She told the selectmen that they could move forward with awarding the bid for Lot 3 which came in above the minimum at $127,500. The highest bidders for Lot 3 were Scott and Susan Curley.

The sole bidder for Lots 1 and 2 was SJC Consulting Group who bid $115,000 for each lot. Complicating the awarding of Lots 1 and 2 was the contingency provided by the bidders that they be awarded all three lots. The selectmen were able to vote to award the lots with the caveat that the bidders amend both offers to remove the contingency.

The intent is for the proceeds from the sale of the three lots to be allocated toward the repayment of the bond that was taken out at town meeting in 2018 to secure the purchase of Two Brooks Preserve. The sale of the lots has been a long process with every effort being made to advertise extensively. Leddy said that despite initial interest from many parties she felt that many people were scared off due to the current state of the economy. Selectman Mark Russo said, “Much thanks to Linda Leddy and the Open Space Committee… it has been a long haul, but we are making progress.”

Assuming the awarded bids result in the sale of all 3 lots, even with some new fundraising pledges, the Two Brooks Preserve Fund will still fall short by $25,000. This could be covered by seeking those funds from the town’s Capital Stabilization Fund.

While requests for $25,000 or more from that fund require a vote at the annual town meeting, requests of less than $25,000 can be granted through approval by the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, and Capital Stabilization Committee. The request would be kept under $25,000.

Dennehy gave an update on the reopening of the townhouse for the public. She said that the first day went smoothly and thanked the Plympton Fire Department for all of their assistance with signage, a hand sanitizer station, and other tasks. “The few people that did come in were very gracious and everything went well.” Briggette Martins said that as an employee of the building she felt safe returning to work there. Martins referred to the updates made to the building as “really impressive” and “so well organized.”

Dennehy told the selectmen that a group of people including Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto and Technology Director for Silver Lake Steve Pellowe did a walkthrough at Dennett in order to prepare for town meeting. Dennehy said that they would like to also have a representative from Area 58 do a walkthrough as well. A bulletin outlining what to expect at both town meeting and town election will likely be available to residents next week.

Chair Christine Joy ended the meeting with a rave for the Plympton Police Department and it’s Chief Matthew Clancy. Joy alluded to the recent tragedy in Minneapolis and the resulting protests and said she is reassured to know that Clancy and the department have been properly trained on use of force. Joy said that the policies implemented in Plympton “place emphasis on the sanctity of human life” and said that “deescalating is their primary objective.”

Halifax prepares to re-open

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Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig held a meeting on Tuesday, June 2 with the Board of Selectmen, department heads, and other town employees to discuss reopening.

Per a vote at the previous selectmen meeting, the Halifax COVID leave policy will end starting with the pay period beginning Sunday, June 7. As of that date, town employees will only be paid for hours worked. An exception will be made for departments that don’t have enough hours to fulfill an employees’ usual workload. In those cases, employees can compensate for additional hours with either personal, sick, or vacation time. Seelig opened the floor for questions on the ending of the policy but none were asked.

Seelig said that he had been reviewing the processes other communities were putting into place in order to have their employees return to work safely. Chief among them is the policy that those who are not well remain home. Each day employees would need to self-certify that they don’t currently have any symptoms of COVID-19. They would also have to certify that they have not been in close contact with someone who has COVID nor have they been told by a medical professional that they have a probable case of COVID even in the absence of a test. Library Director Jean Gallant inquired if the self-certification would run on the honor system or if actual documentation would be expected to be submitted to the Board of Selectmen. Seelig said that documentation would likely not need to be provided to the selectmen. Formal decisions regarding the policies for reopening will need to be made by the Board during their meeting on June 9.

Currently the state has guidance in place that requests that Massachusetts residents that travel out of state for non-work-related reasons, self-quarantine for 14 days upon return to the state. Seelig said that the Board will need to decide whether to include this stipulation as part of the self-certification. As pointed out during the meeting, while it is considered best practice and recommended, there is no legal requirement to self-quarantine following out-of-state travel. Fire Chief Jason Viveiros said that the policy didn’t seem to make much sense since Massachusetts has higher rates of COVID-19 than most other states. Seelig agreed, pointing out that New York is likely the only border state with a higher rate than Massachusetts.

Seelig also addressed the need for supplies as well as physical changes to the town buildings. He said that decisions will have to be made regarding what procedures should be implemented for employees that share rooms as well as for those that cannot always maintain six feet of distance between themselves and other employees. Seelig pointed out that based on research, even if maintaining proper social distancing, sharing the same enclosed space for extended time periods can increase the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission. Things to consider include whether masks will be required, if barriers will need to be inserted between desks, and if furniture or rooms will need to be rearranged. If masks are required, the Board of Selectmen will have to decide how to handle situations where an employee has a medical condition that prevents that from wearing one.

Seelig said that hygiene practices will have to be reviewed and reinforced as well. Hand sanitizer will likely need to be supplied to areas where common surfaces such as copier machines are found. Signage will likely need to be provided to remind people of best practices including sneezing into your elbow and not having others clean up after you. It had been previously suggested that hand dryers be installed rather than paper towel dispensers but there is some concern over having air circulated in such a way in a small, enclosed room. Seelig said the town may need to look at installing touchless paper towel dispensers instead. A cleaning log will also need to be kept indicating when rooms were cleaned.

Other ideas that were floated during Tuesday’s meeting included the need for a method for contact tracing. Seelig also suggested the possibility of having employees work split shifts in order to reduce shared spaces. Other considerations such as what equipment may be needed for different departments were also discussed.

Seelig said that the Board will also need to decide to what extent remote working will continue. The state currently recommends that those that can efficiently work from home continue to do just that. Also to be decided will be what kind of documentation will be required by departments in order to work remotely. Seelig said that employees will likely have to punch-in, punch-out, and provide a synopsis of time spent. Gallant said that she felt strongly that people should be allowed to continue to work from home wherever feasible.

Finally, Seelig addressed the steps that would be needed to open town buildings to the public. He said that one option would be to reopen by appointment only initially to avoid large clusters coming into buildings such as town hall at once. Another option would be to open but for limited hours. This option could either be done from the get-go or following a period of appointment only availability. Seelig said that limited hours worked well for the soft opening of the recycling center.

He emphasized that were the town to go this route with other town buildings, the hours would have to advertised extensively to avoid confusion or anger on behalf of residents. He told the department heads that he would like their input before the June 9 meeting as to whether they would prefer a slower start or going full throttle from the beginning.

Seelig also said that a plan would need to be in place before reopening to address any residents or other building guests that refuse to comply with policies including wearing a face covering and social distancing.

Seelig told department heads that the decision to reopen the buildings could end up being a temporary one should there be another large spread or outbreak of the virus. He said that the town may want to consider spending money to bolster services should buildings close again.

Seelig asked those present to send any questions or suggestions to him in the next few days as he hopes to have the Board finalize as much of the reopening policy as possible at their June 9 meeting.

How to hold town meeting during a pandemic?

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The Tuesday, May 26 Plympton Board of Selectmen’s meeting began with a discussion regarding the logistics for holding town meeting on June 17. Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy said that she had met earlier that day with members of the emergency management team, Plympton School Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen, Dennett Elementary principal Peter Veneto, and town clerk Patricia Detterman.

The group is planning a walkthrough well in advance of the meeting to figure out a seating arrangement that still allows for 6 feet of social distancing. Members of the same household who attend, can sit together. There are also plans to utilize two rooms in the Dennett, if necessary, to ensure proper distancing. Both would be equipped with the necessary technology to ensure communication between the rooms. Town Moderator Barry DeCristofano said that he would be able to nominate an alternate moderator for the second room.

Wilhelmsen said that he would speak to Veneto about possibly getting the technology department at the high school involved as it may be necessary to add to the existing equipment. There was some discussion between those at Monday’s meeting about possibly dividing those normally seated in the front at town meeting (selectmen, Finance Committee) equally between the two rooms.

There will most likely be a singular check-in point at this year’s town meeting located at the vestibule area. The check-in table will have a portable plexi-glass wall. From there, people will be directed to one of the two rooms. Dennehy said that unless guidance from the governor’s office changes before then, everyone attending the town meeting will be required to wear a face covering. The only exception will be those who have an underlying medical condition that prohibits them from doing so safely. Dennehy also said that there will be plenty of staff present from both the police and fire departments. Hand sanitizer will be available as will wipes to disinfect the microphones between use. If residents refuse to follow safety protocols while at town meeting, DeCristofano would have to declare them out of order and then the police would intervene.

Dennehy said that a bulletin outlining what to expect at town meeting will be sent to residents. Selectman Mark Russo was in favor of the idea as he said he had been hearing from many people that they would not be attending town meeting, some out of concern for their safety and health.

When asked if temperatures will be taken at check-in, Dennehy said that they decided to hold off on doing so as they didn’t want to create a bottleneck at the check-in area. She also mentioned the possibility of asymptomatic carriers. She did say it may be something that they will revisit prior to the meeting.

Dennehy said that the town has been working diligently on plans to get the townhouse up and running for the public by Monday, June 1. Regarding the new protocols, Dennehy said, “This is a very fluid situation and new territory for all of us, so everyone’s cooperation is appreciated as we navigate through this uncertain time.” The following is a list of the guidelines Dennehy will be issuing to the public ahead of reopening.

We will be following all protocols and Orders issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Should Commonwealth-instituted protocols be lessened, we will update our Town protocols accordingly.

The Town House will be open to the general public, beginning on Monday, June 1 for our normal business hours, Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Please note that elected offices, such as the Town Clerk, for example, may have extended or varied hours as required by law.  The Building and Inspectional Services Department will also be available by appointment on Monday evenings.

Everyone is asked to wear a face covering the entire time you’re in the building unless you have an underlying medical condition.

Plympton Fire Department personnel will be conducting mandatory temperature checks.  No personal information will be recorded and the temperature scan is contactless.  If someone has a temperature above 100.3 degrees they will be asked to leave the building.  Employees will also be subject to this screening daily.

One person at a time visiting any offices within the Town House.  A waiting area that facilitates social distancing will be established in the Main Meeting Room.

If you need to speak to a specific Town employee, it’s best to call or Email them directly.

If you prefer to conduct business remotely, we can accommodate that to the extent practical.  Please contact the respective Town Department and they will make every effort to assist you.

The full set out of guidelines will be available on the town website (town.plympton.ma.us).

Protocols for the town election are also in the works.

The meeting ended on a high note with Chair Christine Joy giving her “rave” for the week. Joy credited Briggette Martins and the Memorial Day Committee for stepping up despite initial difficulties securing the necessary supplies. Of their Memorial Day efforts, Joy said, “She and the Committee did an amazing job getting the green spruced up and getting flags and medallions on the veterans’ graves.”

Summer Schmaling on ballot for State Rep

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Halifax – Summer Schmaling, a Halifax Republican, is officially on the ballot for State Representative in the 12th Plymouth District after submitting more than 300 certified signatures to the Secretary of State in Boston. The 12th Plymouth District includes the towns of Duxbury, Kingston, Halifax, Middleborough, Plymouth, and Plympton.

“I’ve received a great deal of support and encouragement from voters to run for State Representative. Voters are telling me taxes are too high and our State Representative needs to be more transparent about their voting record in the legislature,” Schmaling stated.

Summer Schmaling is a resident of Halifax where she, her husband, and three children are active in the community.  Summer’s public service began in 2013 while serving on the Halifax Finance Committee, and as Chairman of the Halifax Elementary School Committee and Republican Town Committee.

Summer is a trained scientist with experience studying influenza and various viruses at the Tufts University School of Medicine.  Summer’s experience conducting scientific research has strengthened her ability to problem-solve in a unique way, a skill-set which is desperately needed in the state legislature to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, family-owned businesses throughout Massachusetts are struggling to keep their businesses alive and taxpayers – the elderly, families, and individuals – are facing difficult times paying for food, utilities, mortgages, and insurance expenses. However, high taxes, fees, and over-regulation implemented by the state legislature will not help our citizens or businesses recover from the pandemics economic impact.

Schmaling continued, “The Covid-19 pandemic changed everything; senior citizens and elderly veterans were put at risk and too many died.  Economically, businesses closed and jobs were lost; however, the policy and planning we implement in the state legislature will be our legacy to protect our citizens’ health, jobs and businesses.”

The 12th Plymouth District Primary will be held on Tuesday, September 3, 2020. The General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.  To learn more about Summer Schmaling and her campaign for State Representative, please visit www.summerforrep.com.