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Business Certificates needed in Plympton

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Plympton Town Clerk Tara J. Shaw would like to remind people who have a business office in Plympton, that they MUST file a business certificate with the office of the Town Clerk.  The certificate is good for four years, and then must be renewed.  Any time the information on the business certificate changes, or the business is discontinued, an amendment must be filed.  The following definition and requirements of business certificates is as follows from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts web site:

BUSINESS

CERTIFICATES

(110 MGL §§ 5 & 6 and 227 MGL § 5A)

The primary purpose of filing a business certificate is to protect consumers or creditors by identifying the names and addresses of the owners of the business. The filing of a business certificate does not protect a business name as does a corporate filing or a trademark registration. A business certificate filing is commonly called a “d/b/a” (doing business as).

The filing of a business certificate may be used in connection with a court case to show when a business name was first used in a community and to enjoin another business from using an identical or similar name. If you need information on legal protection of a business name you should contact the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office, Corporations Division or your own lawyer.

Any person conducting a business, individually or as a partnership, in the Commonwealth under any title or name other than his real name, must file a business certificate with the clerk of the city or town in which the business has an office. The term person includes a corporation.

The certificate must include the full name and residence of each person conducting the business; the place, including street and number, where the business is conducted; and the title under which the business is conducted. The certificate must be signed under oath by each person conducting the business, certifying that the statements contained in the certificate are true. The certificate may be signed in the presence of any of the following: the town clerk, the assistant town clerk, a person designated by the town clerk, or a person authorized to take oaths, such as a notary public. Each person wishing to file a business must produce evidence of his identity.

Please stop by Town Clerk’s Office for Business Certificates. Fee for filing a business certificate is $20 (expires in 4 years)

Amendments and Discontinuances to Business Certificates

If a business is discontinued, or if the information related to the business or the individuals conducting the business changes after the original filing, a statement of discontinuance or of the new information must be filed with the clerk of each city or town in which the original business. The fee for filing the amendment or discontinuance is $5.00

Fine

Violations of 110 MGL §§ 5 & 6 and 227 MGL § 5A shall be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars for each month during which such violation continues.

Plympton Selectmen hear about plan to lower electricity costs

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PLYMPTON– On Monday, August 8, the Plympton Board of Selectmen handled a brief agenda. The main item was a presentation from Colonial Power Group on community choice aggregation.

Brian Murphy, of Colonial Power, an electricity aggregation consultant, presented a detailed plan on how an electricity aggregation program might work in Plympton. The town voted at last town meeting to adopt the statute into the by-laws allowing for such a program, but it must be administered by a consultant. Colonial Power was suggested by the Old Colony Planning Counsel.

Community choice aggregation is a buying group organized usually by one municipality (but occasionally a group of municipalities) in order to reduce the cost of electricity for customers in that buying group. It originated in the late 1990’s with the Massachusetts Utility Deregulation Act of 1997.

All customers in Plympton would be part of the program, unless they opt-out. Colonial Power, if chosen as the consultant, would notify customers of the change and their chance to opt-out. NSTAR would still deliver the electricity, bill the customer and maintain lines. About 1/3 Massachusetts communities have aggregation in place.

Advocates say the benefits are choice, stability and savings to customers.

“We’ve never had a CCA program where prices have gone up for customers,” said Murphy.

The next step is for the Selectmen to adopt an aggregation plan, followed by several steps at the state level handled by the consultant.

Murphy mentioned some concerns that residents might have with CCA. One is that tax-dollars would be used. No tax dollars are used, he said. Also, rate-payers can opt-out, but as well, with Colonial they can opt-in and opt-out at any time, which is beyond what state law requires.

He said that if the selectmen choose Colonial, there will be ample question and answer sessions to explain what is exactly going on with rate-payers power.

CPC cleared on postcard brouhaha

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PLYMPTON – A postcard produced by the Plympton Community Preservation Committee demonstrating what the CPC does, in preparation for a Town Meeting warrant article that sought at a future point to ask voters to eliminate the CPC on a ballot, has been cleared by Town Counsel.

Former selectman John Henry questioned the legality of spending town funds on the post card – about $1,000 according to the CPC – from CPC administration funds.

Although town funds cannot be used to influence an election, educational materials are exempt from this campaign finance law when a Town Meeting warrant article is involved.

The postcard was sent to each mailing address in town educating the population about the projects that have been done in Plympton with Community Preservation funds since the Town voted to be included in the CPA.  It also answered questions about low income and senior exemptions.

The Selectmen expressed concern that this might have been a grey area since the Town Meeting article sought to put a question on a ballot at some future date to put an end to Community Preservation Act in Plympton, so they brought the question to Town Counsel for clarification.

Town Counsel Ilana Quirk referred the matter to another Kopelman and Paige attorney, Lauren Goldberg, who cleared the CPC of any wrongdoing, citing several precedents showing that, in her opinion, no issues were raised under the Campaign Finance Law, and the CPC had done nothing wrong or illegal.

Dog bark hearing continued again: Neighbors want peace, produce petition with 25 signatures

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HALIFAX– 25 people signed a petition triggering a Section 137C hearing at Tuesday’s Selectmen’s meeting for Jennifer Choate, proprietor of Tarawood Kennel, yet only a half-dozen or so who signed came to the fact-finding portion of the hearing. Of those present, many who spoke were not even neighbors or abutters to the kennel, which is accused of allowing dogs to excessively bark and dogs to apparently wander.

Choate had dozens of supporters with her, a lawyer, and an MIT-trained acoustical engineer. The atmosphere was “court-like” with the hearing being held in the Great Hall of Town Hall, but the “information” gathering was incongruous. While clearly there were passionate opinions on both sides, there was little in the way of factual information collected.

One woman said that she was a dog trainer for 21 years, and that is why she signed the petition. She was opposed to the “bark-collars” used for training at Tarawood, that provide an electric jolt, similar to the ones used in “invisible fences”, to train dogs not to bark. This woman said she didn’t believe they are humane as they can cause the dogs to “yelp”. They are legal.

Ms. Choate’s lawyer objected and said that the hearing was supposed to be about barking and wandering. Selectmen Chairman Troy Garron wanted to hear from everyone, though, and others were allowed to speak, off-topic or not.

Lisa Thorpe signed the petition because she had purchased an aggressive dog from Choate in 2010 and had to return it, “fearing I had a lawsuit on my hands.”

Linda Ford knows some of the neighbors, and said she didn’t feel it right to have 100 dog kennels (although Choate’s separate request for an increase in her license from 50 to 100 dogs is not on the table at the moment). She expressed her “shock” that a kennel would be allowed “near neighbors”.

Two people who expressed vague concern for the dogs’ welfare, had signed the petition but were apparently not familiar with Tarawood Kennel.

Two neighbors, Scott Clawson and his son, both stated that they felt the conditions for the dogs were poor because they were put outside for part of the day in the winter. “Seeing dogs out in the snow makes me want to go and hug my dog,” said Sean Clawson. “All of our customers are animal lovers, and they all question what is going on [at Tarawood Kennel],” he continued, referring again to the bark collars.

Only one neighbor could recall any recent incident of dogs getting loose, which he described as a pack of dogs, not just one or two. Others recalled dogs getting through a fence several years ago.

Yet for all the concern of the dogs’ “well-being”, when actual neighbors were asked by Selectman Kim Roy, who had a lengthy questionnaire, what they wanted to see at the end of the hearing process, was an end to hearing the dogs barking.

The board also heard from the former sound abatement officer at Logan Airport and MIT-trained acoustical engineer Nancy Timmerman about solutions to reduce the barking noise.

She suggested reinforcing or building a new six-foot tall fence with sound reducing material on it for the outdoor areas where dogs are kept during the day.

“The dogs will bark,” Timmerman said. She went on to describe how she is trying to make things better for the two closest neighbors.

“Thanks for being honest about that,” said Roy.

Choate’s attorney showed a video of what he saw when on the property, which did not show excessive barking.

Both Choate and her supporters were allowed to respond to the accusations, and Roy had lengthy questions for them as well.

The hearing was continued.

In other news:

• Maureen Rogers, who served on the Wage and Personnel Board for a number of years along with being on the Town’s 250th anniversary committee and several “Halifax in Lights” committees, passed away Friday, August 5.

• Robert Baker, current Library Trustee and former School Committee and Planning Board member, passed away on Monday, August 8.

• The board will next meet on Tuesday, August 23, at 7:30 p.m.

continues

ConCom considers erosion issue

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PLYMPTON– On Tuesday, August 2, the Conservation Committee met and took on several issues. Conservation Commission is responsible for administering the Wetlands Protection Act. Any use or activity proposed within 100 feet of a wetland resource area or within 200 feet of a river must first be authorized by the Commission.

• A family on Ring Road, who are within 200 feet of a river are experiencing erosion issues on their property. The commission has been working with them to find solutions to the problems. The couple partially blames rain run-off from the street for their concern, but admit that cutting back on their irrigation from four times a day to one has helped, significantly, and they were lauded for their efforts. One issue still remaining is a patch of cedar chips in their back yard that needs to be stabilized, likely by planting something “rooted”. Although the commission will not order them to plant anything, they do need to come up with a solution that brings the land into compliance, whatever that solution may be.

• An updated Notice of Intent (NOI) to do work– in this case new construction¬ on Main Street– was filed with the commission. The updated site-plan included marked wetlands areas. The commission, especially Linda Leddy and Amy Cronin, were concerned about the new plan as the positioning of the structure may not meet zoning requirements, and will hold the resident’s checks until he speaks with the Zoning Enforcement Officer before they take any money from him for re-filing his plan in case he has to do it over again.

• A hearing that was continued for a Main Street resident was briefly re-opened and continued again. The resident had done tree-work in the 100-foot zone, and possibly within the 25-foot zone, of wetlands without filing a site-plan and a NOI. He had been notified in April, 2015, that he needed to file the NOI, the commission stated from a review of their minutes. The resident wanted to simply plant trees to mitigate what he had removed. “Oh, there will be trees there…” said commission chairman Richard Burnet, but the commission didn’t feel they could even begin to work with the resident until they were able to determine the zones. He will have to hire a botanist to “flag” the 25-foot and 100-foot areas to re-delineate them, which hasn’t occurred since the 1970’s, said the resident, and then the board can work with him to bring him into compliance.

• A NOI to build a driveway was filed for M7-B1-L40C, a lot on Main Street. The NOI will be considered on August 16, at 7:30 p.m.

• The commission will meet next on Aug. 16, at 7 p.m.

Water filtration plans at Dennett School sent to DEP after 27 months after funding

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PLYMPTON– On Tuesday, August 2, the Board of Health met and took on an agenda full of mostly old business, and heard status updates.

• There is forward movement in the sale of 59 Parsonage Road from the USDA to Richmond Poole. Town Counsel has reviewed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that Poole and his attorney seek from the board drawing up the terms under which the BOH will lift conditions it has placed on the deed to the property. Town Counsel made only minor changes to the draft MOU from Poole’s attorney.

• Of the two Maple Street properties that the board has been trying to ascertain the number of bedrooms, the Assessors have not been able to enter one of the dwellings because it is not time for an assessment. The other is a four-bedroom home, and therefore it is in compliance with state septic codes as its septic system is designed for four bedrooms.

• There is no news on the Upland Road rat infestation. Board Chairman Art Morin agreed with the room that no news was good news on the infestation.

• A Center Street resident who is in dire need of a new septic system was able to obtain a loan to complete the work. The only other option for the resident was to sell the home.

• There are two outstanding complaints for rubbish that has piled up outdoors. One involves a Grove Street property, where a one-time intervention might help. “My dump-truck stands ready,” said member Ken Thompson, although the board is working with the Council on Aging to make sure this isn’t an ongoing problem. The other is a Mayflower Road foreclosure, where notice has now been sent to the bank that owns the property, ordering them to clean up the property. That lender is in Texas, meaning if they don’t have a local code compliance unit, the order may be fruitless.

• A couple from Forest Street came before the board because they realized that they unwittingly don’t have a proper septic system for the number of bedrooms in their home. The system is rated for three bedrooms and is quite old, while there are five bedrooms and five residents in the house. They are in the process of refinancing to pay for a new system. The board asked to be kept up to date.

• Nearly 27 months after it was funded at a Town Meeting, a design for the water filtration system at the Dennett Elementary School has been sent to the Department of Environmental Protection for final approval. The school uses bottled water for drinking due to a series of failed water safety tests and procedural failures by SLRSD officials over a period of about a decade.

D.A.R.E. program mixes fun, sobering safety messages

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There was a lot to be loud and proud about last week at the Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education (DARE) Summer Program held at host school Whitman-Hanson July 25-28 as more than 600 campers cheered for their teams and took over the grounds for fun and education in the sun.

With the temperature reaching 90 degrees nearly all week, campers had both in and outdoor activities where special guest performers and educators spoke to them about DARE and avoiding situations or substances that could potentially cause them harm.

Lead Camp Organizer Peter Veneto spoke to families, campers and staff at the closing ceremony on Friday as campers from 20 of the 27 communities within Plymouth County gathered to share a week of non-stop fun. The camp celebrated its 22nd year in Plymouth County and is sponsored by Plymouth County D.A Timothy J. Cruz., The Plymouth County Police Chiefs and Drug education and resource officers.

“Your behavior was fantastic,” Veneto said. “As campers you have earned your T-shirts — wear them proudly as leaders in the community. Let your friends know who you are: Leaders of a drug-free community. Be proud of yourselves.”

Host town DARE Officer Billy Frazier of Hanson asked for a moment of silence honoring law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty across the United States over the past few months, as well as three former DARE Officers who have passed away since the camp was established.

Awards honoring the former DARE Officers were presented to Peer Leader Liz Short of Hanson’s Team 5 in memory of Officer Robert Quigley of the Marshfield Police Department, student service awards were presented to Emma Wojag of Hanson in memory of Helen Gray and Brayden Ferguson of Whitman was presented with a student service award in memory of Officer Gerald Mont of Whitman police.

District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz pledged his efforts to continue the camp and reminded campers that it took many officers, and donations of food,  time, money and most of the things they were able to participate in were due to the generosity of so many local companies.

Cruz intends to see the camp grow and eventually have all 27 communities in Plymouth County have resource officers and participate in the camp.

On Tuesday, July 26 Cruz and Sherriff McDonald presented two Hanson natives — Chief Warrant 3 pilot Scott Landis and Anthony Celia — with recognition awards for their decade of service in the Army flying Black Hawk helicopters. The pair talked with campers after landing on the soccer field, giving a tour of equipment and allowing the kids to explore the aircraft.

Kudos

DARE Camp organizers thanked Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr. and the Hanson Fire Department for its help in making the Thursday, July 28, foam and water day a success as well as the following: Plymouth County Police Chiefs: Christopher Delmonte of Bridgewater; John Crowley of Brockton; Marc Duphily of Carver; Matthew Clancy of Duxbury; Scott Allen of East Bridgewater; Walter Sweeney of Hanover; Michael Miksch of Hanson; Glenn Olsson of Hingham; Robert Sawtelle of Hull; Frank Alivihiera of Lakeville; Philip Tavarers of Marshfield; Theodore Ross of Norwell; Richard Wall of Pembroke; Michael Botieri of Plymouth; Patrick Dillon of  Plympton; John Llewellyn of Rockland; Michael Stewart of Scituate; Kevin Walsh of Wareham; Victor Flaherty of West Bridgewater and Scott Benton of Whitman. Thanks were also extended to Chief Christopher Cummings of the Massasoit Community College Police and Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald Jr.

CPCWC just getting their feet wet

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PLYMOUTH COUNTY– On Wednesday, August 3, the Central Plymouth Water Commissioners met at Plympton Town House. They were widely expected to approve a letter appealing directly to Brockton residents regarding the Brockton water supply that was to run as an advertisement in the Brockton Enterprise, but the three present commissioners who wrote and edited the letter ended up disagreeing on the language of the letter and tabled it to their next meeting. The commission also discussed how they had discovered they were not a county entity in the county’s eyes and discussed reorganizing, but in the end voted to remain in the same positions.

Letter to residents

A direct appeal to the residents of Brockton has been in the works for weeks, and although commissioner Patrick Quinn agrees that the final purpose of the letter is to educate residents on their shared water resources; he didn’t think the letter gave enough “bang for its buck.” He also expressed that it was too long and disagreed with several factual points. All present commissioners described ways that the letter could be improved, with graphics or punchier one-liners at the prompting of audience member and Jones River Watershed Association member Pine DuBois. Commissioner Paul Collis appeared disappointed, but Chairman Jack O’Leary recognized that there was a lack of unanimity in how to move forward with the letter, and the commission unanimously voted to table the matter to the next meeting.

County entity?

In an attempt to access money appropriated to the commission, the County treasurer determined that the commission was not a county entity, and furthermore could not use the county seal. The commission is now confused as to whether they are a state entity or a county entity, and want to set up their own bank account to use the money that they are appropriated, rather than submit reimbursement forms after putting up their own personal money for expenses, as they’ve been told to do.

Whether or not they use a state seal or a county seal, or their own logo, is not the main issue though; it matters only in the sense of whether their money comes directly from a state agency, or is passed through an agency on to the county, where it is then disbursed. The commission has just received another $50,000 earmark, and wants it directly under their control.

Commissioners expressed frustration at the bureaucracy and red-tape, and Collis articulated that this issue would probably have stymied efforts to move the newspaper advertisement along faster, even had the commissioners agreed on the language that night.

Reorganization

The commission receives its authority from a 1964 special act of the legislature and is required to yearly reorganize– or consider reorganizing. The commission did consider reorganizing, but all present voted to stay in their current positions for the upcoming fiscal year. Jack O’Leary will remain chair, Paul Collis, clerk, Patrick Quinn, member, and Brian Creedon, member. Creedon was not present at the meeting.

The commission did go “off agenda” and talk about the various issues in the district towns in general terms at times, but it was apparent that the commission was experiencing growing pains as it is newly revived and that the greatest hindrance to their work may be bureaucratic hurdles at this point in time.

All Halifax STM articles pass unanimously

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HALIFAX– The Town of Halifax held a Special Town Meeting Monday, July 25, in the Halifax Elementary School Gym. There were six articles on the warrant, all of which passed unanimously.

Article 1 funded an increase in staffing for the fire department in the amount of $210,000. This money was found through an increase in ambulance fees approved at the last Town Meeting.

Articles 2 and 3 had to do with dispatching. Article 2 funded a new agreement with the dispatcher’s union, while Article 3 combined various line items for the communications center into one line item.

Article 4 involved the first step in the Elementary School renovation and repair process, and appropriated $140,000 towards the process.

Articles 5 and 6, the former asking for money for additional work on Monponsett Pond and the latter to renovate the HOPS playground were passed over at the recommendation of the Board of Selectmen.

Fieldstone Farms consent agreement finally signed: More trouble on horizon for Tarawood Kennel

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HALIFAX– Despite Halifax Selectmen finishing the bulk of their seemingly brief agenda in about 10 minutes on Tuesday, July 26, the agenda actually contained many scheduled appointments which kept the board busy for hours. Among the appointments were the ninth meeting with Fieldstone Farms proprietor Scott Clawson, a hearing on no-parking signs on Brandeis Circle for the purpose of discouraging access to Silver Lake and a continuation of a dog hearing for Tarawood Kennel.

Fieldstone Farms consent agreement signed

Finally, after nine lengthy meetings with Scott Clawson, a contentious update to the legal consent agreement under which he operates horse shows was signed by Clawson and the board.

There was a sense of relief in the room as the lengthy process, which had been adversarial at times, is coming to an end. The agreement still needs legal review.

The update to the 20-year-old legal agreement came after Clawson set off red-flags among town officials by advertising more shows than were allowed in the agreement for this summer, but Clawson turned the chastising he received from the board for that transgression into a discussion about changing the contract.

Lawyers for the town and for Clawson worked out the details of the changes that Clawson wanted to see, up until past 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Clawson will see an increase in the number of shows, an increase in the number of RVs on site to house show security and other personnel as well as an increased number of horses counted by entries, not heads.

He had to compromise on several issues, including the number of RVs, whether they could have generators or not– they cannot– and concerns that various public safety officials had, especially regarding the on-site medical staff.

He will also be able to ask for an extra date if he gives the Board sufficient notice.

The agreement was renegotiated line-by-line in painstaking detail over the course of the process.

Brandeis Circle

The board rejected a proposal to put up “No Parking” signs on Brandeis Circle in order to prevent access to Silver Lake via a property that is no longer in use and has a trail to the water’s edge.

Reportedly, many recreational users of Silver Lake leave their vehicles in front of the property, and Jeffrey Bolger, a neighbor, suggested “No Parking” signs to discourage this illegal trespassing.

Yet, despite a recent drowning, neighbors expressed their disapproval for the signs, saying that they would prevent get-togethers where extra parking is required.

Police Chief Edward Broderick stated that his department stood ready to assist neighbors if they called in what they believed to be parking violations, or trespassing on the parcel or their property, at any time.

Although the board will continue to monitor the situation, they were not prepared to have signs installed.

Silver Lake is a public water supply and is not open for recreational use, although due to a lack of enforcement and unclear jurisdictions, people often use it for recreational purposes.

Tarawood Kennel

Tarawood Kennel, at 7 Plymouth Street, is owned by Jennifer Choate. The board called her back before them for the third part of a dog hearing to address on-going barking issues.

Last week the board ordered her to take remedial action immediately to reduce barking that neighbors say they can hear at all times of day and night and to hire a sound engineer to look into fixing the problem in a more permanent way.

Although the board, Choate, her attorney and some of her supporters were speaking back and forth, no one in the room from the public was recognized to speak by Chairman Troy Garron. Neighbors turned out in droves, to the point where extra chairs had to be found by Town Administrator Charlie Seelig.

Choate has spoken to a sound engineer, and began moving around some dogs within the facility in an attempt to reduce barking, she said.

They all agreed to continue the hearing until August 23rd at 8 p.m. until some more work can be done.

Further complicating matters, though, was a citizen’s petition that Selectmen are obligated to take up, giving them authority over the entire kennel operation, not just the barking issue. Since 25 residents signed, they must hold a hearing. That hearing is scheduled for Aug. 9 at 8 p.m.

This may obviate the Aug. 23 hearing, but Seelig recommended that the two processes run parallel to each other.

Choate is currently seeking an increase in the number of dogs she can have on premise from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Selectmen will now have authority superseding that of the ZBA in all aspects of the kennel.