The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The Selectmen had an appointment with Mike Martin and Health Agent Bob Valery to discuss Hemlock landfill repair options. Martin, who has been working on monitoring the landfill since 2008, is a Project Environmental Scientist and Senior Program Manager with TRC Companies, Inc. He said that in 2021 he began noticing additional erosion which has continued to worsen since then.
As far as what has been done in 2024 with the landfill, Martin said that in February there was drone imaging completed and in March they developed landfill repair and expanded solar concept. In June of 2024 the wetland delineation was completed and in July they completed a site walk with MassDEP. Finally, in September they met with the Town Administrator and Board of Health in Halifax regarding next steps.
Martin also walked through a brief history of the landfill saying that from the 1930’s to 1971 it operated as a burn dump. From 1971 to 1977 it operated as a municipal solid waste landfill. He said that doing repair work every few years will, in the long run, cost as much or more than doing one major repair to deal with the problems in their entirety. He said that this kind of “patchwork” is not addressing the overall erosion problem.
Martin presented the first repair option with an associated cost of approximately $40k. This would include removing sediment from the drainage swale and culvert, removing a portion of the swale that has collapsed, and regrading erosion areas. Martin noted that this option does not address the underlying issues that are causing the erosion. He said that the erosion is occurring somewhere in the range of 4-10 years.
Option 2 includes rebuilding the entire side slope at a much higher cost. The benefit would be that it would be a long-term solution. “How is it we can charge the construction company to bring soil in for a government project?” Chair John Bruno asked. Martin explained, “MassDep back in 2013 and 2015, they issued some soil policies… they have a lot of excess construction soil out there that contractors have to get rid of… so when they go to get rid of it, they pay a fee so they have these facilities that take that clean soil and charge a nominal fee depending on the level of contamination.” He said that all of the construction costs would be covered by the soil. Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that based on MA General Law they may have to appropriate the funds before being reimbursed.
Selectman Jonathan Selig asked what type of soil would be being brought in and was told it was typical of what you would naturally find in a residential environment. “We’re not looking at any type of contaminated soil or anything like that?” Selig asked and was assured that was not the case. Martin was also asked about the pesticide used to kill invasive species and was told that it would be injected directly into the ground rather than being sprayed.
Bruno asked if they even had enough money to fund option one and Haddad said they would need to make a capital request and bring it to town meeting. Bruno said that they would need to do some research regarding the project as well as financing for either option. Bruno said he would also like to take a tour of the area to better understand.
The Selectmen also met with John Guiod regarding an appointment to the Conservation Commission. Guiod was a firefighter for 23 years and currently works part-time as a paramedic. Asked about what sparked his interest in the Commission, he said, “It starts with living on the lake and, of course, having 250 acres of water in my backyard, it raises some interest in that.” He also said that he is at Burrage several times a week. Guiod also said that he recently joined the Monponsett Watershed Association. “I would encourage independent thinking which I think is important for any Board or Committee or Commission; some voices are louder than others and I would just encourage you to stay the path and keep your own voice,” Selectman Thomas Pratt said. Pratt also asked if Guiod had any close personal relationships with existing members of the Commission and was told he did not.
The Selectmen and Haddad also discussed Haddad’s performance review as they approached the anniversary of his hiring. While Haddad received high marks across the board, the area where there was room for greatest improvement was transparency. Haddad said he attempted to provide outreach to the community through things like Cody’s Corner online. Pratt said that his marks were more geared toward what he sees as a lack of trust between the public and the Selectmen and Town Administrator in general. “I don’t think it’s reflective of effort and I don’t put him [Haddad] alone on it either; I put us on it as well. And I don’t think it’s a transparency thing, I think it’s a disconnect,” Pratt said.
Later in the meeting when discussing the procurement of energy resources Haddad said, “we are not part of an aggregation, so a lot of communities team up with other communities and then they go out as a conglomerate and buy electricity for the residents at kind of a bulk rate and Halifax was not part of that… I worked with Colonial Power and we locked in a rate… I’m happy to share that this past quarter we saved the community, as a whole, $71,000 and over the past five quarters we’ve saved Halifax residents just over $500,000.” Bruno referred back to the transparency issue saying, “I would like to see this kind of information better broadcast… maybe the social media thing needs to have a little bit about this.” Haddad said that he was working to condense and consolidate the social media piece.
The Selectmen also took up an amended Host Community Agreement with Elevated Roots. The State has mandated that the three percent impact fee be removed though Haddad noted that they still get the three percent local tax. The Selectmen voted to approve the updated agreement.
They also took up an employment contract with Kathy Evans for a Public Health Nurse. Haddad said that it was through the Public Health Excellence Grant. “It’s six communities that are part of this; we get a substantial amount of money from the State that fully funds it and basically it allows for each of the six communities to provide public health services above and beyond the bare minimum,” Haddad said.
Evans would serve as a nurse for all six communities at no cost to those municipalities. Selig asked if her being a member of the Conservation Commission would be a conflict of interest. Haddad said she would need to submit a form to be hired as a special municipal employee which would be approved by the Selectmen. Pratt asked about what her hiring process was like and Haddad said that several applicants were brought before Valery and the rest of the hiring committee. Pratt asked how many applicants there were and Haddad said he didn’t have that information. They said that they would vote to approve the contract at a subsequent meeting.
The Selectmen did approve a number of other contracts including one with Paul S. Kapinos & Associates, Inc. as well as the Lakeville Animal Shelter.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, Jan. 6. The Selectmen voted in favor of an Issuance of Boston Post Cane to Inez Murphy. The awarding of a Boston Post Cane to the oldest resident in a town in New England dates back to 1909. Selectman Mark Russo explained, “It wasn’t until 1930 that the tradition was extended to include women, so far enough back that things were pretty different.” Murphy was born on March 1, 1928 and will be 97 on her next birthday. Selectmen Chair John Traynor said, “Inez sits on the Council on Aging. She’s always fun to be around. She’s just one of those people that’s very upbeat and she’s older than I am.” The Selectmen decided to invite her to a meeting around Memorial Day. “We want to know her secrets,” Russo said.
Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte attended the meeting to give a departmental update for the Highway Department. Firlotte said that all the necessary equipment was up-to-date for snow removal. “With our snow contractors, the contracts/insurance binders have been signed, received, and copies have been sent to the Treasurer’s office as well as contracts for sand, salt, and the liquid ice melt,” Firlotte said.
Regarding Chapter 90 funds, State funds to assist in improvement of local public ways, Firlotte said they received just over $111k for fiscal year ’25. Firlotte said that their RDP (Recyling Dividends Program) earned $4,200 which they will use for cameras at the Transfer Station. “We’ve had some issues with waste management leaving the gate open, backing into the gate, and costing us repairs so it will be nice to have everything under surveillance,” he explained. He noted that they’ve had to pay up to $1,800 for gate repairs in the past.
Traynor said he would like to see a buzzer system implemented especially for seniors who may need assistance at the Transfer Station. Firlotte said that sticker sales for the Transfer Station have begun and will go through the end of March.
Firlotte told the Selectmen that he had his second meeting with Mass DOT regarding the numbered roads program for Route 106. He said they began discussing scope of work and will have another meeting shortly. Traynor asked when work would begin and was told the spring with it hopefully being completed by July. The hope is to address drainage issues. Firlotte said that they plan to address an area that causes puddling where there was a fatal accident about a decade ago.
Russo asked about the Pay as You Throw program which he noted was started two years ago and met with quite a bit of resistance and concern from the townspeople. Firlotte said, “It’s been going very well… it saves a good amount of money; I think $60 grand last year.” He continued saying, “It was change and a lot of people don’t like change but since then our tonnages have decreased on solid waste and it has decreased our operating cost which is huge.” Russo said, “That’s kind of a case study in how to present it and how to wrestle or deal with resistance and that’s a success story.” Before Firlotte left, Selectman Dana Smith said his only recommendation would be to have the Transfer Station hours and other pertinent information posted on social media.
Town Administrator Liz Dennehy provided a town update. She said that there was a recent heating issue at the library but said that it has since been resolved. She said that they got a lot of “great support” from their vendor Energy Source. She also gave a special shout out to Ross MacPherson of the Town Properties Committee for his help in the matter.
Dennehy also said that department budgets are beginning to roll in to her. She said that she planned to meet with the schools as well as the Halifax and Kingston Town Administrators. Traynor said it was going to be a tough year between “the supplies in the school, the firehouse coming.” He continued saying, “It’s going to be an interesting town meeting.”
The Selectmen voted to open the warrants for acceptance of articles for the special and annual town meetings. The warrants will close the end of March.
Per tradition, the Selectmen ended the meeting with their raves. Russo said, “though the holidays are wonderful, I’m kind of glad they’re over. It’s good to get back into a regular cycle of getting to work and I think that combined with the warrants opening, it’s that time of year when we earn our keep so looking forward to getting the work done.” Traynor said that his rave was for the Santa Clause that the Fire Department does every year. “Kudos for George Colby and his wife Sandy for doing that; it’s always a hit,” he added.