Allen Ingram
Express correspondent
The Kingston School Committee held an emergency meeting Monday night, July 15, to reorganize and discuss filling a vacancy after the unexpected resignation of member Tim Lewis last Friday, July 12.
“It was very unexpected. I’m not sure why; I haven’t spoken to him,” said newly-elected Chairperson Megan Cannon about Lewis’s sudden departure.
With only four members remaining, the committee grappled with how to fill the vacancy. Superintendent Dr. Jill Proulx explained they should follow town procedures, which involve the Board of Selectmen.
“It’s always ideal to fill the position as quickly as possible because you want to have a full slate of representatives for the School Committee,” Proulx said. “I think the more difficult part of this will be finding a time when the Board of Selectmen and members of the School Committee can meet in the summer.”
Committee member Jeanne Coleman stressed the need for a clear, fair application process, citing issues with past appointments.
“I just hope the posting is clearer than the last time, that if there’s a deadline that it’s honored, so that it’s fair for everyone that is interested,” Coleman said.
The committee elected new leadership, with Megan Cannon as Chairperson, Tricia Arieta as Vice-Chair, and Michael Shekane as Secretary. They also reassigned subcommittee roles, strategically leaving some positions open for the future appointee.
“Should we continue going through the rest of these subcommittees, or should we wait for the fifth member?” Shekane asked. “Because right now they don’t have anything at this point. They might be eager to go do something.”
Ultimately, the committee filled most positions but left openings on the Pilgrim Area Collaborative, Safety Subcommittee, and Technology Subcommittee.
The timing of Lewis’s resignation added complexity, as a vote on a new Assistant Superintendent’s contract was scheduled for later that evening. The committee ensured Kingston would have proper representation for that vote.
As the emergency session wrapped up, Cannon thanked her colleagues for their flexibility:
“Thank you very much, everybody, for your time. Tricia, thank you. I know you’re away, so I really appreciate you being available this evening.”

Town Clerk Tara Shaw told Selectmen Monday afternoon, July 8, that she will be taking balloting in Plympton into the 21st century, retiring the old oaken ballot box, the hand-counted paper ballots and the old hands that counted them, to get a new electronic counting machine, by one of two vendors approved by the state, to take its place.
Selectman chairman John Traynor asked if there was any way possible to continue with the antique “Perfection” brand mechanical ballot box. Shaw took a deep breath, sighed, and said, “No.” She then told of the changes in election law and its complexities, including early voting, “paper balloting has become a lot trickier to manage,” she said.
There are two state approved manufacturers of these electronic tabulators and the vendor that Shaw favors has more than 600 of these machines in the state. Shaw said that pre-election preparations are very time-consuming and the tabulator manufacturer will prepare the tabulators before they are even delivered, pre-programmed with information specific to Plympton, so they are ready to go. Shaw said that she has confidence in this vendor.
She spoke of the cost-saving aspect of moving away from paper ballots, including police details and ballot counters. The accuracy of the tabulator count has been verified in many towns that use this machine and “there has never been a change in doing a recount.” As for security, “There’s a lot more security with the ballots themselves … We have to store them for 22 months and we were just using cardboard boxes and labeling them. We do put seals on them but these are election-approved seals that go on the ballot boxes.” Shaw said that she has been able to purchase from the company new secure ballot boxes using funds from the end of the fiscal year budget that have the proper seals – like zip ties. “In terms of efficiency and cost savings it’s so much different.”
Shaw said she would like to bring the ballot box itself to the school at the beginning of the school year and have children be exposed to the election process and let them actually use the ballot box.
The Perfection brand ballot box was manufactured in 1926, and is serviced regularly by a horologist, or watch repairman, to keep it running. There’s just so much more efficiency with the tabulator, Shaw said she is looking to purchase two machines, one that would be set up for early election votes, and the other for election day votes. Once early voting is complete, that tabulator would become a back-up for election day.
Traynor asked, “What kind of money are we talking about?” Shaw said she has $12,879 in grant funds and would need $785.25 to cover two complete machines. Shaw said she expects to receive an additional $1400 more from the state that covered mandatory election hours in March. “So it’s completely covered.” Traynor asked about a maintenance contract, and Shaw answered that once the 2-year warranty on each machine has passed, there is an annual maintenance fee of $350.
Selectman Mark Russo asked for a cost comparison and Shaw said that it’s hard to quantify, but last election in March the town paid $1900 to the counters. “We wouldn’t have counters anymore.” If there’s a write-in on a ballot, the machine kicks that ballot into a separate compartment and all they have to do is count just the write-in. “The rest of the ballot is counted by the LHS DVA 110 image cast vote tabulator.”
Russo continued that he doesn’t want to be a stick in the mud, and supposed that “we’re going to have to go ahead with this, assuming my colleagues want to, I sort of hate that we’re gong to lose the ooo and people that see that old machine for the first time invariably are like, “Wow!” Shaw said that she would keep it out there so people can see it. “You can do whatever you want with it. What do you want to do with it?” Russo continued, “You know it’s one small piece but another piece of Plympton’s kind of oldness and traditionalness and uniqueness that I hate to lose.” Shaw answered that she’d still try to keep it as traditional as possible, and would still ring the bell for first-time voters.
The Perfection ballot machine is 98 years old and Shaw spoke about having a “retirement party” for the machine.
Traynor said he would like to bring back the Projects and Priorities list, originally called the “Parking Lot”. As things came forward, they would be put on the list.
The Affordable Housing Plan, developed by Rihanna Duggan of the Old Colony Planning Council, will be addressed at the 10-Minute Briefing at the Library on Saturday, July 20. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy told selectmen, “They are looking to come to one of Plympton’s August meetings to present the final draft of the plan and it’s significant mainly because aside from setting out goals for creating affordable housing opportunities, it also keeps us eligible for certain types of state grant funds.
Traynor said he had just gotten an opportunity to glance at the proposal, but it’s very professional looking. He also said he had seen some of the flyers they are going to have for the meeting July 20 at the Library, and they look good.
Traynor said he has been looking into town-owned land possibilities for affordable housing. So far, there hasn’t been anything that would work but would like to go forward with something if we can find a piece of land that the town owns that makes sense. Russo joined in saying that the ideal would be a “large chunk of land that could be multi-use affordable housing, farming, open space preservation, a public well, and we’re keeping our eye out for that. Sooner or later something like that will show up, there is grant money available for that kind of stuff. There’s CPA money; so we keep looking and kind of keeping our powder dry because someday that opportunity is going to arise. There’s actually one thing in the fire now and we’ll see how that goes over the next few months.”
Next on the agenda was to explore the process for registering accessory dwelling units. Traynor continued saying that the topic came up at the affordable housing meeting – the past meeting with Rihanna of OCPC where it wasn’t clear whether or not accessory dwelling units would qualify as low income housing. “Do they count towards the 10% that we’re supposed to get to? I think this is something we need the assessors to take a look at.” Dennehy said that she would look into it. On the surface, she said, that she didn’t think they would make it as defined by what the sate calls SHI or Subsidized Housing Inventory. “Kind of an interesting question. Maybe we can pass it on to the assessors.”
Russo stated that he wants the town to do a better job of making folks aware of the benefits of the Accessory Dwelling Units that can be used for children, parents, in-laws, or other people in need of housing. Russo continued that we have about $150,000 dedicated to housing. He furthered that he knows there are people out there – architects of small houses of ADU-type units, and builders who have stock plans to do this. He also questioned whether we could leverage CPA money for other grants and/or making connections with these guys so town folk could have some support in using the ADU by-law to the best benefit.
Traynor agreed, and said he favors using the library to reach people.
He also brought up the number of committees – 120-130 positions on committees. He is looking for a way to included photos of the members on the town website, a picture of each member. Traynor has put that on his agenda.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, June 25, holding a joint meeting with the Parks Commission to discuss operations at the town beach and boat ramp.
Parks Commission member Michael Schleiff gave a presentation on plans received from Grady Engineering for potential upgrades, repairs, and new amenities to be added. Schleiff also addressed the fee for illegal parking at the beach and boat ramp. He called the $15 fine “antiquated” and recommended raising the fee to $50. Police Chief Joao Chaves was also present to answer questions regarding enforcement of the parking fines. Schleiff also said that they haven’t yet been able to fill the parking attendant position. The Commission voted in favor of raising the fine. In addition to the rules around parking, there are also no wake zones in force for up to 300 ft.
The Commission also discussed some problems they’ve faced at the beach including the portable restroom being knocked over. Potential solutions include either removing it or chaining it to the fence. They also showed an image of all the trash that had been picked up at the beach. They said that it appeared that some people have been using the barrels there for their household trash.
Chaves and the Police Department gave a presentation regarding the beach and boat ramp. They acknowledged the frustrations of the residents and said they understand their position. As a result of the issues, several of the town bylaws will be revisited and revised. The Police said that they have enlisted the help of the environmental police.
The Rte. 58 State Boat Ramp is run by the State and the Department of Fish and Game. The Police said that any car found there not to have a boat trailer or being used to launch a kayak or similar boat can be cited. The intended purpose of those parking spots is for taking boats in and out of the water. A resident asked why they can’t do that with the 4th Ave. Beach. He said that his property directly abuts that area and there ends up being a lot of jet skis on or near his property. He was told that the change would require a bylaw revision.
Regarding the Holmes St. beach, the Police said that the sign needs to be amended as it isn’t clear who can and cannot park there. For Lingan St., the Police said that the beach is the busiest it has been in nearly two decades. Individuals wishing to buy a one-day pass, can get one from the Selectmen’s office. The Police noted that many people were just accepting the $15 fine and that increasing it to $50 should help to derail that behavior. The Police also made it clear that they have no authority to tow cars off private property. They said that the property owners would need to contact a private towing company. They also said that, unlike in other communities, there is no enforcement in the town’s bylaws for public consumption of alcohol.
A resident asked what it would take to make a Halifax resident-only beach. Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “If anything, that would probably be a bylaw change so we would have to get that through Town Meeting, but we can look into it.” Haddad said, “Again, it goes back to an enforcement issue.”
Many residents took to the microphone to express concerns or offer proposed solutions. One resident said that enforcement of regular hours at the beach and ramp would be useful. Another requested that Morse Brothers close the gates to their property to prohibit access there. One resident expressed concern that the jet skis parked along the street could prohibit emergency vehicles from accessing the area were there an emergency. A new resident to the town said that all of the various signage at the beaches and boat ramps is very confusing and had left her unclear of what the rules are.
The owner of 550 Tavern spoke saying they just completed some extensive renovations to the wedding facility. She said that the jet skiers were “clearly exceeding” the speed limit “by probably double.” She said that during a wedding rehearsal the previous week, there were 13 jet skiers close to the shore and the resulting noise left the bride in tears. Of the need for a parking attendant, she also said that she had “loads of staff that would love to monitor a parking lot for $17 an hour.” The business owner said that there was one occasion last year where the jet skiers were yelling “don’t do it, don’t do it” at her clients that were getting married.
Resident Dave Mascio offered to spearhead the volunteer effort to get people to take turns monitoring illegal parking.
The Selectmen also dealt with some old business including holding their meetings at various locations in town. Bruno said, “What we did last year, we did what we called road shows… tried to have Selectmen’s meetings in different locations in the town, for two reasons – one to get us out of the building and the second to kind of provide a little more exposure to groups.” He continued, “It worked well, the only problem is we don’t have the facilities necessarily to do that in regular Selectmen’s meetings so I’m making a proposal that the Board of Selectmen sponsor… individual meetings of the various departments and committees in other parts of the town – the recycling center comes to mind, maybe the Highway Barn… and it would be a ten- minute meeting at this particular place… and we’d have some exposure on Area 58.”
Bruno also told the Selectmen that they had an inquiry from Plympton asking about regionalizing an IT department. Haddad said that he felt that Halifax needed to strengthen their own IT department before proceeding with any kind of joint department. He did note that he has a meeting with Plympton in July to discuss regionalization of various departments, etc. The County is also exploring possible regionalization of areas such as pond management.
The Selectmen reviewed a policy on the lighting of Town Hall. “This is just to make sure that we have a consistent policy since we’ve gotten requests recently; this is something that has come up new… the policy that’s proposed would be – may be lit up in honor of heritage and history months declared by the federal government; all town applicable laws have to be followed; requests have to come to the Town Administrator,” Bruno said. The Selectmen voted in favor of the policy.
Bruno explained a new policy that requires that town volunteers undergo certain trainings. He noted that it would be especially useful for those boards and commissions that require some technical expertise.
The Selectmen also discussed establishing a seven-member government study committee. “The whole purpose of it is to have a group, a committee, dedicated to evaluating our current form of government and making recommendations for changes, if any,” Bruno explained.
The Selectmen approved three separate one-day liquor license requests for Tipsy Mermaid, LLC for July 14, August 11, and September 9 for the Farm at Raven Brook. The Police, Fire, and Board of Health had all previously signed off on it.
The Selectmen acknowledged Town Accountant Sandra Nolan with a plaque for all of her years of dedication to the town. Nolan is retired as of the end of June. “She’s done a wonderful job for us and it’s a well deserved retirement,” Bruno said.