Parsonage Rd site to be secured: A Board of Health Update on 59 Parsonage Road

The property at 59 Parsonage Road is currently owned by the USDA, and has been an ongoing town safety concern. Funds have now been located to secure the property. Photo by Abram Neal

The Plympton Board of Health met on Tuesday, Nov. 17.  While the bulk of the business discussed involved septic systems, the board, along with Health Agent Cathy Drinan and their administrative staff also discussed the security of the Federally owned property at 59 Parsonage Road, a property with too much trash on site and the inspection of a trailer to make sure it did not have an illegal septic system.

59 Parsonage Road

The infamous property at 59 Parsonage Road is discussed frequently at various committee meetings in town. The property is currently owned by the United States Department of Agriculture, because the previous owner defaulted on a USDA loan. The property contains a burned-down barn, an historic house in disrepair, and several illegal trailers that were to be used for agricultural workers.

The Community Preservation Committee and the Conservation Commission have sought to acquire it for the town for use as open space, but the odd history of the property and the state of disrepair of the structures remaining on it has flummoxed the process.

The last time the USDA tried to auction the 35-acre property in April, there were no bidders.

The Board of Health has become increasingly concerned about the property from a health and safety point of view. Board Chairman Art Morin stated that he had been notified that some money had been secured by the USDA to further secure the property, but he does not know the amount and specific purpose of the funds.

“I don’t think some plywood and nails cost very much,” he said, with his typical dry sense of humor.

Morin joked that he’d board up the house himself, but then quite seriously noted that he would be calling up the head of the Massachusetts division of the USDA to order the federal government to board up the house.

The USDA doesn’t have a good history of working with the town on this property, and they are the responsible party for maintaining it, according to Drinan.

Morin and Drinan have had to frequently visit the site to post warnings, as there has been evidence of trespassing and the entire property is unsafe, including mold in the buildings and a hard-to-see pit beneath the ruins of the barn.

Too much trash

A property owner on Mayflower Road was previously asked by the board to remove bags of refuse from his yard.

Trash that remains standing for too long can attract various nuisance animals, including those that carry disease. Health Agent Drinan became concerned due to this risk and ordered the trash removed.

The property owner took care of the matter promptly.

“He did everything we asked of him,” said Art Morin when discussing a follow-up inspection. “He was also a very nice gentleman and we had a very pleasant conversation.”

The board closed the file.

Trailer Inspection

A concerned citizen alerted the board to the possibility of an illegal septic system hook-up to a trailer on Palmer Road.

Both Drinan and Morin visited the property to inspect the trailer.

Upon their arrival, they discovered that the trailer had been lived in for some extended period of time in the past, but was not currently occupied.

The owner stated that he would likely scrap it soon.

Most importantly, there was no evidence of any illegal septic system for the trailer.

The board closed the file, and both Drinan and Morin noted that they enjoyed meeting the property owner, who was extremely cooperative.

Margaret “Peggy” Fitzgerald remembered by Halifax Selectmen, Town Gazebo considered

Halifax selectmen, who had not met in three weeks, met Monday to deal with a busy agenda, beginning their meeting with a moment of silence out of respect for Margaret “Peggy” Fitzgerald, who passed away last week at the age of 84.  She had resided in Halifax for 75 years.

  Fitzgerald, a former Selectmen Chairman, School Committee Chairman, Town Accountant, and member of the Finance Committee (who only resigned from her position several weeks ago), among other boards and committees, served the town and region for more than 50 years.

   All of the members of the board had a memory to share about Fitzgerald, and Selectmen Chairman Roy was moved to tears when reading from her obituary, calling her a neighbor and mentor.

   “This is a tragic loss,” stated a visibly shaken Roy.

Gazebo on the green

   Paul Ledwell and his family have offered to donate a gazebo to the town in memory of their daughter, Caitlin, who passed away in 2012 due to injuries sustained in a car accident.

   The Ledwell family and the fund set up in her memory will pay for the gazebo, and its maintenance going forward, according to Ledwell.

   “I don’t want this to look like something that was purchased at Home Depot and dropped in,” he said. He showed the board a picture of the gazebo in Pembroke center, which is 20 by 40 feet, which he characterized as large, but not that large.

   The board was concerned by the size, but set up a meeting with Ledwell to stake out several options on the lawn, to get a better sense of what size is the best fit for the town and to set up a definitive location. John Campbell, chair of the Building Committee, and John Shea, chair of the Historic District Commission were available as well to give input.

   Campbell had some concerns about maintenance, but Ledwell insisted his family or the memorial fund would pay for yearly upkeep. Shea wanted to be sure the structure would blend in. Shea and Campbell will also attend the meeting with Ledwell and the board when they stake out the proposed structure.

Chairman Roy thanked Ledwell for his generosity to Halifax.

Class II license stipulations

  Holders of Class II auto dealers’ licenses have been in the news recently due to accusations of having too many vehicles on their properties. Now the board is looking into revising some of the stipulations on the licenses.

  One difficult to enforce, but new idea from Town Administrator Charlie Seelig is to put a one-year limit on the length of time a vehicle can physically be on the premises of a dealership.

  This would encourage dealers to sell vehicles rather than allowing them to sit and be used for parts, for example, according to Seelig.

The board passed this stipulation, and it will be up to Seelig to enforce.

Regionalization

  At the recent FinCom summit between Kingston, Plympton, and Halifax further regionalization was a topic of discussion. The Halifax selectmen discussed this idea in further detail.

There was excitement about the idea of sharing an information technology, or I.T. professional at the summit and the board shared this enthusiasm.

Selectman Tom Millias suggested a Conservation Officer might also be a position that could be shared, likely with Plympton.

   “We’ve been down this road before, we just have to do it,” selectman Troy Garron said.

   Charlie Seelig will try to set up a meeting of the tri-town selectmen to move forward with these proposals.

    In other news:

• Algae counts remain high in the Monponsett Ponds (above 70,000/ppm.) The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is setting up a joint meeting in the near future between the Town of Halifax and the City of Brockton to discuss Brockton’s past diversion of water from the lake, which Halifax officials assert is environmentally detrimental. The City of Brockton is not currently diverting due to the high algae counts.

• The board is researching the title to a property at 5 Short Street that is believed to be town-owned. The property has a house on it, and is valued at approximately $130,000. The board will continue to discuss possibly selling the property.

• The board discussed changing the Treasurer-Collector position from one that is elected to one that is appointed. This must be voted at Town Meeting, and has been defeated before. Although all of the board members expressed a preference towards appointments for positions that require technical expertise, all thought it was too soon to ask voters about this again, for now.

• Edward Gavin, Jr. expressed interest in either the Finance Committee or Capital Planning Committee. There is a vacancy on FinCom and the board is interested in interviewing him for that position.

• The board will next meet on November 24th at 7 p.m. Fire Chief Jason Vivieros is expected to be present to present final findings of the Fire Study Committee. The FinCom will join the meeting at 8:15 to discuss the FY’17 budget with the board.

This aerial photograph of East and West Monponsett ponds was taken by Halifax Police Chief Ted Broderick. It dramatically shows the harm drawing down water from the ponds has done. According to the law passed in 1964 to allow Brockton to take the Monponsett water as an “emergency measure”, Brockton must pay to maintain the ponds if they draw water from the ponds.

The City of Brockton has turned over some documents regarding its water diversion from the Monponsett ponds, according to Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig, but as of press time he is not certain what exactly was released. This is in response to a formal public records request for, among other information, the water budget for the city.

Halifax has made multiple requests to secure these documents.

But the requests were ignored long before the formal public records request was sent, with notable regret, according to Seelig.

According to Halifax Health Agent Cathy Drinan, Brockton Water Superintendent Brian Creedon is misinterpreting– and possibly disregarding– legislation regarding Brockton’s use of water from the Monponsett Ponds, ignoring the part of the 1964 law passing on a financial obligation to the City of Brockton to maintain the Monponsett Ponds. 

This has angered Halifax officials as well as state officials such as Representative Thomas Calter who has threatened to take the matter to the Attorney Genera’sl office, according to Driden. The legislation clearly states that Brockton has a financial responsibility to maintain the Monponsett Ponds if they are diverting water from them.

Seelig, if he did indeed receive the necessary documents, will be going through the budget attempting to reach out to Brockton to find the money from their water department in order to fund this mandate to maintain the Monponsett Ponds so that cash-strapped Halifax does not have to.

Brockton has the right under 1964 legislation, crafted during a severe drought, says Drinan, to divert water from the East Pond into Silver Lake, which is then treated for Brockton drinking water and is sold to adjacent communities.

According to both Seelig and Drinan this diversion, given that water levels are high enough, can happen anytime between October 1st to May 31st.

The diversion reverses water flow by gravity across natural watersheds, and brings water from the stagnant and algae-ridden West Pond into the East Pond, which has suffered as well from both algae and invasive weeds, though to a lesser extent according to Seelig. The East Pond has been able to stay open all year, this year.

Drinan stated that the treatment administration has helped, referring to the chemical water treatments that the taxpayers of Halifax pay for to help keep the ponds cleaner.

Selectman Chairman Kim Roy has been very vocal about the Monponsett Pond “situation” for some time, and despite her anger, wants to work with Brockton officials to find a long-term solution to end the pollution caused by this practice, as do other Halifax Selectmen and Halifax officials.

“It is about our small, beautiful community not being able to enjoy the ponds. This has become personal; it is hard for it not to,” said Roy. “Besides being a beautiful natural resource for our residents to enjoy, the practice of disturbing the natural flow of water is destroying the ponds and the wildlife.”

Halifax Selectmen Kim Roy talks to the Express about water, sustainability, and about doing the right thing. Photo by Abram Neal.

Interview with Kim Roy, Chairman of the Halifax Board of Selectmen.

Why is this issue so important to you? Is it just that the town has lost control of one of its natural resources or is it more personal?

This issue is very important for so many reasons. Besides being a beautiful natural resource for our residents to enjoy, the practice of disturbing the natural flow of water is destroying our ponds and wildlife. It is about our small beautiful community not being able to enjoy the ponds. It has become personal, it is hard for it not to.

Why should all Halifax residents be concerned, even if they don’t live on the ponds?

Even for residents that do not live on the ponds, they still can enjoy them. Or may I say, when the ponds are open, people can enjoy them. In recent years, residents have not been able to fish, boat or swim for most of the summer. East Pond, this year, has remained open. I believe that the treatment administered helped. All of the taxpayers have collectively spent a lot of money on trying to maintain the ponds. All residents should be concerned about not only the tax dollars that have been spent, but also the impact that the water management of the pond has caused on the lack of use of the ponds as well as the impact on the environment.

Describe your feelings about Brockton selling its treated water supply?

To say that I was upset when I first heard that Brockton had been selling its treated water is an understatement. The taxpayers of Halifax, partly because of Brockton’s practice of disturbing the natural flow of the ponds, have spent their hard earned tax dollars to treat these ponds. To have Brockton sell the water to another community adds insult to injury. When I met with the Brockton Water Commissioners and questioned the fact that they made money selling our water, the response I got was, “we don’t make that much money.” If Brockton is making even a dollar selling water that we (Halifax) spend our money trying to maintain, it is wrong.

Would you be willing to cooperate with Brockton to find a solution to this problem rather than blame them, or have you been always willing to cooperate while the City of Brockton has been stubborn?

I think that trying to attend Water Commissioner meetings, reaching out to the City Council, the mayor’s office and supporting SWIMI grants have shown that we are willing to work with Brockton to find a solution. We have attempted to work with them, tried to engage them in participating in grants. Our latest attempts to get a response to our many letters have gone unanswered. It is disheartening that they are not willing to even answer a letter. It’s not the residents of Brockton whom I am upset with. Most probably don’t even know their source of water. They probably don’t know how green it is with algae before it is treated extensively in order to be able to be drunk by them. They have a right to know that their public officials are not only fully aware, but are ignoring a small community that has limited financial [resources]. I am not sure if the residents of Brockton saw that very disturbing photo of the source of their drinking water, and knew that our residents cannot go near the pond for fear of becoming ill, would be happy with their elected officials. I am still willing to work with Brockton, I won’t give up. I won’t give up trying to resolve this matter. I was elected to do the right thing for our community. Brockton should know that we are not going away. We are willing to work with them, but will not be bullied by them.

Should the Central Plymouth County Water Commissioners and the Plymouth County Water Advisory Board have any teeth to enforce its own decisions, in your opinion? Who would enforce an unpopular decision (i.e. a ruling against Brockton)? Would this be something worth years of possible litigation and who would pay?

I absolutely, without any doubt think that the Central Plymouth County Water Commissioners should have the final say in regulating water practices. It is in the 1964 legislation. If Brockton wants to use the 1964 legislation to use the water, then I will stand by the legislation that states that Brockton has a financial responsibility to maintain our ponds and listen to the rulings of the Central Plymouth County Water Commissioners. I am not sure that there is a clause about Brockton selling water, but then again, that is not what the spirit of the use of the ponds was ever about.