Halifax selectman Jonathan Selig, the town’s only remaining member of the board, called his first regularly scheduled selectmen’s meeting after the resignation of two members of his board last week,  in the Great Hall, Halifax Town Hall, to conduct the business of the town.

After the shocking resignation of his two other board members, as well as Town Administrator Marty Golightly, Selig put out a notice taking charge and requesting calm from the townspeople.  “I want the people of Halifax to know this–we will be following the proper procedures going forward and we will get through this.”

Thursday’s emergency meeting, Aug. 25, at 2:30 p.m. was convened and the sole purpose on the agenda was to accept the resignation of Town Administrator, after only five weeks on the job.   

Chair Ashley DiSesa began the meeting saying, “We got an email this morning from Mr. Golightly saying that his intention is to move on as planned; he did reconsider but feels the town is not the right fit for him.” DiSesa said to Golightly, “I thank you. I think you’re an amazing human being and I’m sorry that our town is very toxic and the way that you’ve been treated by residents and some town employees, so I apologize too on behalf of us because the whole town is not like that, so I’m sorry.”

Golightly previously served as the Director of Public Health in Abington during much of the pandemic. Regarding his resignation from that position, he said, “it just wasn’t the time to live and work in the same community.” It had been reported that Golightly had received “personal attacks and threats” during his time in the position.

DiSesa then read a statement regarding her own position within the town. She began, “When I was elected, I was told this would be a thankless job. What I didn’t realize was that thankless would be the least of my worries. I’ve weathered the storm of misogyny, sexual harassment, underestimation, and doubts about my abilities to perform the expected duties. Nonetheless, I believed that my becoming a selectwoman would allow me to make a difference in a town I consider myself fortunate enough to call home with my 7-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son.”

She continued, “Over the past 16 months, I have dedicated countless hours to this town, taking away from my children and have withstood multiple personal attacks without retribution.” DiSesa noted that she was not perfect but said that she “maintained an optimistic belief” that doing the right thing would be worthwhile all while losing people she considered friends. She continued with her statement saying, “I’ve seen our small town be torn apart by personal vendettas – a group of officials and some town employees who live by the mentality “rules for thee and not for me.” I wanted to believe Halifax was better than this. That we could work together for a common cause, compromise, and be able to disagree without being so disagreeable.” DiSesa noted that it was an “honor” to work with Halifax’s Police and Fire Departments saying that they were the heart of the town. She then said that her resignation would be effective that day at 3 p.m.

Selectman Alex Meade began his own statement by saying, “Idiotic, disgraceful, shameful, and embarrassing are just a handful of the adjectives that have been used to describe me and my conduct after taking my Select Board position.” Meade, who began as Selectman in May, had unseated Gordon Andrews for a three-year term on the Board during the most recent town election. He continued, “Since the election, I have been threatened, I have been verbally attacked, and I have had lies and rumors about my private life thrust into the public spotlight for reasons unknown. Despite all of that… I have continued to do what I believe is in the best interest of the town.”

Meade said that after a recent meeting, the Selectmen were encouraged to use a separate exit because of the commotion surrounding the outcome of the meeting. “Quite frankly, I have enough self-respect to take the high road and not engage when misplaced negative rhetoric and a mob mentality emerges, but I know, too, that I deserve better treatment by other members of my community,” he said. Meade said that despite working with good members of the community on other boards and committees, he would be resigning immediately following the meeting in the interest of the health and safety of his family, especially his children.

The Selectmen then voted unanimously to accept the resignations of Marty Golightly, Ashley DiSesa, and Alex Meade. Jonathan Selig, who has been serving since May and was elected to the one-year term that was previously filled by Troy Garron, is now the only remaining Selectman in town.

To fill the vacancies on the board, Town Clerk Susan Lawless worked out the election calendar that would best suit the town.  It was decided in the interest of cost efficiency, the election would be held alongside the town’s state election Tuesday, Nov. 8.  Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Nomination papers are available now at the Office of the Town Clerk until Sept. 20. They must be returned with signatures by Oct. 4.  Those wishing to vote in the special election must register by Saturday, Oct. 29.  Nov. 1 is the deadline to post the warrant.

After adjourning the meeting, the audience of about 50 residents stood in applause for Selectman Jonathan Selig for stepping up.

Deb Anderson

contributed to this article.

The Halifax Finance Committee met on August 15 and all members were present.

Halifax Police Chief Joao Chaves attended the meeting to state his case for the hiring of more officers. He had previously attended a Board of Selectmen meeting and got the green light from them to begin the search for two full- time applicants but wanted to also have the backing of the Finance Committee. “We’re in the process of doing background checks on these two individuals but obviously, like anything else, they are also contemplating other offers because everyone is looking for people,” Chaves told the Committee.

Chaves said that from July 1, 2022, to August 14, 2022, there were a total of 18 unfilled shifts. The Department recently lost three special police officers. Chaves said that were a third-party agency come to do an evaluation of the Department using State metrics, they would estimate that the Department should have 18-19 full-time officers. Chaves said he wasn’t looking to reach that number but wanted to increase from 11 officers to 13. He told the Committee that the Department has been at 11 officers since 1980. He said that Plympton, which is significantly smaller than Halifax, has 16 officers. He named some comparable towns all of whom had significantly more officers than Halifax.

Chaves said that demand from residents for a school resource officer is also contributing to the desire to grow the staff. Right now, we have a liaison officer who works a regular shift and then when she can, she stops by the school. She can’t be starting programs at the school like you would like to because she is a midnight shift officer because of contractual obligations,” Chaves explained. He said the plan would be for her to transfer to days to free up some time. He said that another factor in requesting to hire more officers is the increased demand for police presence given the growing cannabis industry in the area.

Chaves, who talked numbers with Town Accountant Sandra Nolan, said, “Budgetary-wise, financially-wise, I think we can sustain it.” He said that in fiscal year 2019, the Department returned $16,000 back to the town, in 2020 $56,000 was returned, in 2021 $39,000, and in 2022 $70,000 was returned to the town budget. He further said that they have $90,000 allocated to fund the new positions. He said that looking forward to the next fiscal year, a Sergeant in the Department would be retiring, and the incoming Sergeant would make less money which would add a cost savings that could be allocated to the salaries of the two new officers.

Regarding additional cost savings, Chaves said that every year the Department asks for two new cruisers. He said that the Department’s fleet is in the best shape it has been in in a long time and as a result, they could skip a year. He said that the community impact fee from the new cannabis stores could also contribute to offsetting the cost of the officers. The Finance Committee voted to approve the Chief’s request.

The Committee also discussed the empty Finance Secretary position. They were told there have been no candidates and not a single response. It was suggested that the Committee explore the possibility of bringing on an intern to take on the secretary duties. They agreed to do some research and reach out to local colleges and universities.

The Committee also discussed renewing their membership to the Association of Town Finance Committees. The Committee members agreed that they enjoyed being a part of the Association and found it helpful.

The Chair said that the only communication received was from the Superintendents of schools looking for alternatives to the bussing issue. He said that even with a $400 a day reduction due to a change in vendors, they were still going to be significantly over budget.

The Committee also discussed the need to appoint citizens-at-large to the Personnel Advisory Board. They also said that they would be inviting Frank Johnston to the next meeting to hopefully interview him for the open spot on the Finance Committee. They were all in agreement that he was qualified.

Halifax selectmen heard from a throng of more than a hundred residents voicing their concerns regarding what they call gravel mining on the cranberry bogs off Lingan Street.

Morse Bros. Cranberry Co. had been on the agenda with their earth removal application.  Before the meeting, however, the company withdrew their application.

Select chair Ashley DiSesa read an email from Halifax Police Chief Joao A. Chaves, copied to the Town Administrator Marty Golightly and the members of the Board of Selectmen stating they were pulling their earth removal permit and would not be present at the hearing Aug. 9.

Chaves, through his email to the board, said that there would still be some trucks moving material from their site to their other bogs in Middleboro and Hanson as part of their bog maintenance and dam rebuilding at those sites, actions that are permitted under Chapter 137 “Right to Farm” laws, requiring no permits as they are just doing agricultural and farming work.

The email went on to explain that Morse Bros. had notified the police department in the event that residents called to complain about the trucks.  “They are just doing normal farming tasks,” the email continued.  Chaves told the Morse Bros. representative that he would notify the Board of Selectmen and the members of his police department of the change.

Residents present at the selectmen’s meeting wanted to be heard but select chair DiSesa  told them that since there was no issue on the table for discussion.

“We have heard all of your concerns,” DiSesa told the group.   She said that when they sent the Zoning Enforcement Officer  to investigate a claim at the site he found Morse Bros. was operating within the law.

Selectmen went on to interview the final two candidates

In other business, selectmen

• allowed the moving of a utility pole.

• appointed James Hill to the Halifax Fireworks Committee.  His wife Susan is already a member.

•  appointed Lind McCarthy as Parking Clerk