Kozahya Nessralla of 139 Hemlock Ln. met with the Halifax Board of Selectmen and Fire Chief Jason Viveiros on Tuesday, August 22, 2017 to finalize details for this fall’s annual corn maze which takes place from September 15 to October 30.

In addition to the usual maze hours on weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., there will be a flashlight maze on Friday and Saturday nights. Other activities include games,  abounce house for kids, food, and a party tent available to rent.

Nessralla said the corn maze itself is 15 acres, making it the largest corn maze in Massachusetts. The property also includes a 5-acre parking lot for the event.

Fire Chief Jason Viveiros asked that Nessralla and the Board follow up on all fire prevention regulations. One thing Viveiros said needs to change is that the parking lot needs to be moved back. Right now, the lot is 65 feet back from the corn maze. Viveiros said it needs to be at least 75 feet back.

Nessralla highlighted some of the other things he plans to do for safety including a map of the maze with information on who to contact in case you get lost. Nessralla said, “We have people who’ll find you.”

Nessralla already received the required large event permit from the Board of Health, so the Board of Selectmen and the Fire Chief affirmed satisfaction with the overall safety of the event.

Viveiros said the last thing left to do is a pre-meeting to address safety. This will take place some point next week.

Tax Classification              Hearing

Newly appointed Principal Assessor Holly Merry presented property classifications from fiscal year 2018’s tax classification hearing. According to the Board of Assessors’ report, The Town of Halifax has $884,129,790 in total taxable value.

Residential property alone makes up over 90 percent of the total taxable value. $797,010,513 comes from the residential classification. Commercial property made up $55,278,217, industrial was $16,067,100, and personal property made up $15,773,960.

According to Merry, “The Board of Assessors recommends the same tax rate for residential, commercial, and industrial.” The proposed tax rates for single family dwellings and commercial/industrial/ personal property are dropping across board. Both will be taxed at $17.65 per thousand valuation.

Selectmen Chairman Thomas Millias said he doesn’t want to do anything that would drive out the few commercial businesses the town already has (by increasing the commercial tax rate to lower the residential tax rate.)

The assessors’ report also listed the average assessed value for homes in Halifax as listed here:

• Single family: $313,956

• Condos: $171, 507

• Commercial/Industrial/Personal property: $342, 236

The average values of single-family dwellings actually increased from last year’s appraisal of $297,695. Commerical/industrial/personal property’s value also increased from $334,479 to $342, 236.

According to the report, the top five taxpayers in Halifax are:

1. Walmart Assessed Value: $9,020,200

2. Henrich, Lawrence M Trustee (Mobile Home Park): $8,625,000

3. WJG Realty Trust (Stop & Shop): $7,772,100

4. Halifax Country Club: $3,260,760

5. Cumberland Farms INC.: $3,143,980.

Other News

Town Adminstrator Charles Seelig brought up that there’s still $8,000 remaining in the Salter Gift Account. Seelig mentioned potentially bringing this up to the Recreation Department in order to repair the track at the athletic fields.

Engineer Brian Grady of GF Engineering, LLC. came to discuss and present plans for earth removal at White Dog Cranberry Ltd. A proposed reservoir is under consideration, which would involve the removal of large amount of sand.

In order for the project to be completed the Board of Selectmen would have to waive the amount allowed to be removed and transported. Millias said he needs more information before making a decision. The Board of Selectmen voted to address this at the next meeting.

The next Board of Selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12, 2017. Open session starts at 7:30 p.m.

Board of Assessors Clerk Ethan Stiles met with Plympton Selectmen on Monday, August 14, 2017 to discuss which Town Counsel will represent Plympton in Sysco’s tax abatement appeal.

Stiles explained the direness of the situation to the Board. He said that Sysco believes the town is greatly overvaluing their property and have filed for abatements in both 2015 and 2016. According to Stiles, Sysco wants the valuation brought down from $65 million to $45 million. The Town of Plympton denied both abetment requests and Sysco is appealing.

Discussion first started at last week’s Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, Aug. 7. Principal Assessor Deborah Stuart told Selectmen that the Board of Assessors strongly recommends Ellen M. Hutchinson, an attorney who operates a private practice out of Beverly.

At last week’s meeting, Selectmen admitted they were caught off guard by the Hutchinson selection because they said they were under the impression that the town’s current co-counsels, Richard Bowen and Kopelman and Paige Law were the only ones being considered. Stiles came in to further discuss the Assessors’ thought process.

Stiles said, “When we looked at Attorney Hutchinson’s resume, we felt that her practice was more strongly suited and focused to the appeals process of the Appelate Tax Board (ATB).” He added that Bowen’s resume was strong, but the Board of Assessors believed Hutchinson was the stronger candidate.

The Assessors were also impressed, said Stiles because Hutchinson attached and summarized 12 specific cases related to these types of tax abatement appeal cases.

Selectmen still had some concern because they were unaware of what was going on in the process. “We’re in this together,” said Selectman John Traynor, “If the town loses this, we’re going to lose $360,000 give or take every year, and that’s a big concern to me.

Traynor added that he did look at Hutchinson’s resume though. He said that she seems to be well qualified.

Selectmen said they will request Atty. Hutchinson come before the Board of Selectmen at a future meeting. Selectman Chair Christine Joy said, “We’ll try to get this set up as quickly as possible, hopefully next week.”

Hazardous Waste Day Update

Plympton’s Hazardous Waste Day took place on Saturday, August 12, at the Transfer Station. Board of Health Chairman Art Morin reported that the event was a huge success. He also complimented Highway Surveyor Jim Mulcahy for coming up with the idea.

Morin said, the event was run by Clear Harbor who wore hazmat suits and required residents to stay in their cars. This caused a line all the way down to Ring Road, but Morin said the line moved “incredibly efficiently.”

Morin said, “It never stopped from 9 a.m. all the way up until a few minutes before 12.”

Morin also reported with delight to the Board of Selectmen that the event ran under budget. There was a small surplus left over from the $5,000 approved for the event at Town Meeting.

Other News

Selectmen John Traynor said he heard back from the last of four consulting firms who applied to do the fire/emergency services study approved at Annual Town Meeting. The Board was waiting for a written study proposal from this last firm.

All four firms will be interviewed over the next two weeks. Two firms will be interviewed at the Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, August, 21. The final two firms’ interviews will take place Monday, August 28.

The interviews for the fire department’s clerical position are over and Traynor said he believes Chief Warren Borsari and the rest of the screening board have a candidate they’d like to select. Traynor wants to confirm this one more time though, so there was no name announced at this time.

The next Plympton Selectmen’s meeting is Monday, August 21. Open session begins at 6 p.m.

The tension between Wolf Rock Farm and the Town of Plympton reached new levels at Monday, August 7, 2017 Selectmen’s Meeting as the farm at 157 Center St. continues having horse shows despite a lack of a business license or proper food and event permits.

On Sunday, August 6, 2017, Wolf Rock Farm held a horse show without a large event permit or vendor food permits. These permits are issued by the Board of Health.

According to Board of Health chairman Art Morin, Wolf Rock Farm didn’t want a health inspector there. Morin said he attended and didn’t see any cooking, but told them if he saw any, he’d shut down the vendor since proper permits were not issued.

Last week, Town Clerk Tara Shaw spoke with Town Counsel about the situation and learned that the Farm doesn’t necessarily need a business license with the town in order to operate. Shaw said that Wolf Rock Farm is registered as an LLC (corporation).

Shaw said LLC’s only need to have a business certificate with the state. It’s merely contact information and not grounds for the town to disallow the conducting of business.

Inaccuracies were discovered by Shaw though, which makes the certificate not fully valid. Shaw said the address on the certificate is incorrect and listed the business at 163 Center St. The business, however, operates at 157 Center St.

Shaw also said the managers on record are inaccurate. In fact, they no longer work at Wolf Rock Farm. In order for this to be valid, Shaw said this information needs to be updated with the state. She’s only been able to make contact with Project Manager Rebecca Nunez via email at this time.

Morin was not happy with this and urged for a bylaw change. He said, “I’m speaking as a tax payer in this town. It’s deplorable that someone cannot pay taxes, but generate income in the town. We need a new bylaw.”

Selectmen are choosing to explore all options and see what kinds of licenses are needed for certain events as well as explore bylaw changes for the future. Selectmen Clerk Mark Russo said there’s a lot that needs to be evaluated, more about what requires an event permit and what constitutes just using private property.

  Fire Department

  Update

The search for a consultant to do the Fire EMS study approved at Town Meeting is moving quickly. According to Selectman John Traynor, the search is narrowed down to four candidates.

Three have submitted detailed proposals and they are waiting for the fourth. Selectmen want to conduct two interviews per night at Selectmen’s meetings.

Traynor also gave an update on the search for clerical help for the Fire Department. He said Town Accountant Barbara Gomez narrowed down the position to two candidates.

  New assessors’

  administrative            assistant

Allison Merry has been hired as the Board of Assessor’s new administrative assistant.

In a letter of correspondence to the Board of Selectmen, the Assesors said they look forward to working with Allison.