The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met in-person on Thursday, Oc.er 21. Chair Paula Hatch brought up vaccination rates for the various schools in the district saying that November 1 is the deadline for reaching an 80 percent vaccination threshold in order to unmask in school. Superintendent Jill Proulx said that the vaccination rate as of October 18 for students and staff combined at the middle school stands at just over 59 percent. The high school was slightly higher at 64 percent. Proulx said that student nurses are most comfortable with proof of vaccination via a vaccination card as opposed to a letter of attestation from individuals as required by the State system. Currently nurses obtain vaccination status from The Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS).

Committee member Summer Schmaling, who is also on the Halifax Elementary School Committee, said, “I just don’t know that everyone is aware that there is a case before the Supreme Court in Massachusetts challenging the authority of DESE to institute a sweeping, universal mask mandate… so that may also change the outcome of what happens moving forward.” Committee member Eric Crone said that given the pending Supreme Court case as well as the fact that the district is well below the vaccination threshold, he would recommend holding off on making any decisions regarding proof of vaccination. Committee member Gordon Laws said he would like to see the vaccination rates published to the parents to “see if that influences behavior at all.” Proulx said that a chart could be added to the Pandemic Resource Center that would be updated bi-weekly to indicate vaccination rates.

President of the Silver Lake Education Association (SLEA) John Lay began his report saying, “It really feels like things are back to normal except for the masks,” Lay said. He said that over 80 percent of their membership are in favor of the mask mandate ending but noted that most of those want the vaccination rate to be 80 percent before that happening. He said that he was in favor of publishing the vaccination rates in the hopes of encouraging parents to consider vaccinating students. Lay also said that other districts are taking a more active role in encouraging students to get vaccinated. He acknowledged that the decision to get vaccinated is a personal choice but said that the school does promote other personal choices such as healthy eating.

Committee member Leslie-Ann McGee said she believes that the School Committee should be advocating

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on Monday, Oct. 18. They began their meeting with an update from Alan Wheelock, Chair of the Wage and Personnel Board. “We’re embarking on a fairly ambitious project in that we are preparing for town meeting a full revision of the wage and personnel bylaw… parts of it have been updated from time to time over the years,” Wheelock explained. “Many parts of it are quite dated,” he continued. He said they did research on surrounding towns and said that Kingston has a comprehensive bylaw that they will be borrowing from pending Kingston’s approval.

Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy told the Selectmen that Scott Benton was in place as the interim Police Chief. She said that he and the rest of the Police Department will be hosting an open house for the public on Saturday, Oct. 30 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  “It seems like he’s off to a great start,” Dennehy said of Benton.

The Selectmen voted to approve the employment agreement with Sergeant Daniel Hoffman from Aug. 26, 2021 through Aug. 26, 2024. They also voted to approve the employment agreement with Sergeant Matthew Ahl from Aug. 26, 2021 through June 30, 2022.

The Selectmen also voted to authorize Dennehy to serve as the authorized representative to the Plymouth County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) portal. It was unanimous. They took a similar vote to approve authorization for the Town Accountant as well.

Several appointments were also unanimously approved. They included Nathaniel Sides to the Plympton Cultural Council through 2024, Jessica Kinsman and Jackie Rafferty to the Open Space Committee through 2024 and 2023 respectively, Alan Wheelock to the Community Preservation Committee through 2024, Special Police Officers James Boulter and Mark Gabriel through 2022, Nathan Cristofori as Animal Control Officer through 2022 and Kathy Seeley and Elise Senior as Animal Control Officers via Carver through 2022.

Dennehy said for the Townhouse roof project, both she and Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen had been in touch with the architect. She said they would need to have some sampling of the current roof material completed in order to identify any issues such as the presence of asbestos. The bid for the sampling was awarded to Universal Environmental Consultants for $3,050. For the ADA ramp project at the Townhouse, Dennehy said a meeting would be held later that week in order to kick off the construction. She also said the Highway Department has done the preliminary road markings to identify safety zones. “So far the feedback has been favorable,” she explained saying that there have been requests for more of the markings at further intervals.

Regarding the new playground at Dennett Elementary School, Wilhelmsen said, “they’re pushing full board ahead.” He said that they may be able to begin installing the rubberized coating later this month or in early November. If it can’t be done by then, woodchips will have to be utilized until the spring or the summer when the weather will allow for the curing process. “I think it’s going to be a really, really nice installation and I think the location of it is actually better,” Wilhelmsen told the Selectmen.

As customary, the Selectmen ended the night with their rants and raves. Selectman Mark Russo said that his rave was for the multitude of appointments voted upon that night. “We’ve recruited some really, really great people,” Russo said. Chair Christine Joy said her rave was for the Plympton Police Department open house. “This is a great time for some good will with our Police Department; I’m so appreciative of them opening their doors and inviting people in,” she said.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met remotely on Tuesday, Oct. 5, in the Great Room of the Halifax Town Hall to hear from the Green Earth Cannabis, Inc. and address concerns by neighboring property owners and other townspeople.

Selectman Chair Gordon Andrews recused himself from the hearing regarding the Host Community Agreement (HCA) with Green Earth Cannabis, Inc. as his father owns a business in close proximity to the proposed site. The Chief Executive Officer of Green Earth is John Kudryk, the Chief Financial Officer is Matthew Collins, The Director of Operations is Robert Maker, and the Director of Security is Jay Skowronek. Maker has lived in Halifax for more than 25 years. While not a principal, Laurence Gogarty will be heavily involved, particularly with the site plan.

The proposed location for the adult use marijuana retail establishment is 657 Monponsett St. The lease for the left side of the commercially zoned building was signed in November of 2020. The right side of the building is Twin Lakes Liquor Store. According to Green Earth the location meets all local and state requirements.

A preliminary store layout was shared on screen during the meeting. It still needs Planning Board approval as well as approval from several other agencies including the Halifax Police Department and the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC).

The four steps required to open include an approved HCA, a community outreach session, a license from the CCC, and a full site plan review by the Planning Board complete with public hearings as well as a special permit. The only issue on the table during Tuesday’s meeting was the HCA. Lawyer for Green Earth Toby Dilworth laid out the terms of the 5-year HCA including a preference for hiring local residents, a 3 percent local excise tax on each retail sale, the highest allowable community impact fee of 3 percent, an adequate security system, and a community dispute resolution process. The terms are the same as those in Halifax’s HCA with Flower and Soul. “We say that what is reasonable and fair for Flower and Soul is reasonable and fair for us,” Dilworth said.

Projected revenues were also shared with the Selectmen and others on the call. Dilworth called the numbers conservative saying that by year one they anticipate $4,900,000 in total sales with that number increasing to $7,841,103 by year five. Halifax would see roughly $290,000 of the first year’s sales. “I submit that there is no other business that could generate as much revenue for the town at that location as Green Earth could and I think it would be a much better neighbor than other options,” Dilworth said. Dilworth acknowledged concerns such as loitering, litter, and traffic but said that they would all be properly addressed.

During the question-and-answer portion of the hearing, Selectman Ashley DiSesa asked what would be done to make residential neighbors more comfortable. DiSesa said that while the HCA is the same as the one used by Flower and Soul, the location proposed by Green Earth is very different with a lot of residents nearby. “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback on this particular property from the residents of this town,” DiSesa said. Dilworth said that there would be both fencing and buffering which would need to be resolved by the Planning Board. Selectman Troy Garron expressed some concern over security. Dilworth assured him that they would be consulting with the Halifax Police Department regarding security requirements.

Nearly 30 residents joined the call to offer input during the hearing. A resident who said she lives directly behind the building questioned whether there was really three acres of parking available as stated by Dilworth during his presentation. Gogarty clarified that there were in excess of 98 parking spaces available. He went on to say that it would require maximizing the paved area but noted that they may not necessarily create that many spaces.

Another resident spoke up to say that it would bring in revenue to the town and if the company follows the rules and procedures, “why wouldn’t we when every other town seems to be doing this?” He questioned why residents would want to bring their money to another town. Someone else countered that they have concerns about people drinking and smoking in the parking lot and then driving. Gogarty again stressed that they would be meeting or exceeding any local or state safety requirements.

Throughout the hearing, Dilworth continually replied that it would be the job of the Planning Board to sort through the issues that were being brought forth by the residents in attendance. “In your presentation, you said you wanted to be a good neighbor; don’t you think you would have come with some of these answers or been able to give us a better answer than that’s someone else’s job,” an abbutter said. She continued, “I just don’t hear that you guys are trying to be good neighbors because you are completely dismissing everything that people are saying… I think the other companies that did get the approval in Halifax definitely did stuff to appease the neighbors to get their stuff approved.” “There’s always opposition from the abutters, but we’re going to do everything we can to alleviate that,” Dilworth said.

Before closing, two other residents offered their support for the new business. The residents opposed to the business seemed to echo the sentiment that it was not the type of business they were opposed to but rather the location of that business.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig expressed concern that the CCC was moving away from allowing towns to use the three percent community impact fee for whatever they want and more toward the money needing to be allotted to issues directly caused by the marijuana business in question. “I’m just concerned that… the laws themselves may change in the future,” Seelig explained. “You’ve negotiated as much protection as you possibly can,” Dilworth said.

Garron said he was not as comfortable as he wanted to be with the presentation that night but said he believed they should move forward with the HCA. DiSesa agreed acknowledging that it was not their job to deal with things like the security of the business or whether the setbacks are appropriate. “I do hope that they will do the community outreach as soon as possible… I do believe if you are going to be a successful business in this town you should really hear what the residents in this town are saying and be a little bit more accommodating,” DiSesa said. “I just want to make a statement that we have to trust the fact that the Police Department, the Fire Department, the Planning Board, the Building Inspector – they are going to do their job to their best before any kind of permit is given,” Garron said. It was agreed that the decision on the HCA would be made at a later meeting.

In other business, Seelig told the Board that the South Shore Children’s Museum was seeking permission for live entertainment during a not so scary walk that they plan to hold at Walmart in late October. The Selectmen voted to approve the request.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 28. The first appointment of the night was with Todd Dargie who was to be appointed to the Finance Committee. He had previously interviewed for the Committee and has been serving on the Capital Planning Committee. “I do have extensive experience in budgeting and the financial services sector and banking and things of that nature,” Dargie explained. They voted unanimously to approve his appointment through June of 2023.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig discussed the official town of Halifax Facebook page. He said that logistically they would need to figure out who would be responsible for posting on the page. It was explained that you can have as many contributors as wanted but the particular policy limits it to two members of each department. It was discussed whether the messenger feature would be disabled. Selectman Chair Gordon Andrews said he would recommend leaving messenger off for the time being. The Selectmen voted to unanimously approve the policy on the Facebook page as presented by Information Technology manager Cesar Calouro. Calouro and Seelig will be the page administrators.

Calouro was also on hand for a discussion of the social media policy for employees and committee members. Of the policy, Calouro said, “It is to establish a set of guidelines and expectations to protect the town of liability.”  He said that it should serve as a reminder that everything is still public record regardless of the town hosting the platform. The main gist of the conversation was to distinguish town employees or volunteers’ personal comments versus those made in a professional capacity. Andrews argued that unless they are commenting on a town hosted platform, it should be assumed that any views expressed are their personal ones and not the official stance of the town. The Selectmen asked Calouro to reword the policy before they would approve.

Calouro also discussed changing out the bulletin board at Town Hall with a tv screen that would cycle through the items that are currently posted there on paper. A suggestion to have a touch screen display that could be paused was explored. Calouro said he didn’t plan to buy a touch screen as he didn’t think the money to do so would be available.

The Selectmen met with Peter Gallistino and Robert Palma of Elevated Roots in regards to a proposed marijuana dispensary. Gallistino said they were following up on previous communications with the town and the Selectmen. He said they were able to secure the property at 319 Monponsett St. They explained that the parcel is in what they called an “appropriate” location which they said does not abut residential properties. They also said that the construction process would be quick as it was limited to an interior remodel. They plan to hire around 35 people for the Halifax location with preference given to local residents.

Elevated Roots is currently located in Kingston where they operate an adult use retail facility and are in the process of constructing a cultivation facility there as well. They said that their partnership with the community is what sets them apart. They said that despite it not being part of the Host Community Agreement (HCA) with Kingston, they donated five percent of their sales on Memorial Day to Kingston Veteran’s Committee.

Selectman Troy Garron said his biggest concerns would be traffic and security. Palma said the inside door cannot open until the outside door closes. He said it allows them to control who accesses the property. He further explained that the team’s access to various parts of the building depends on their role within the company. When asked if they had given consideration to an armed intruder, they explained that they operate similarly to a bank with panic buttons equipped throughout, etc.

The next appointment was with Daniel Parsons of 715 Old Plymouth Street. Andrews explained that the Board had received complaints about a number of unregistered cars on the property. Parsons explained various reasons for having unregistered vehicles and also said that he has moved the junk on his property to the back so that it could no longer be seen from the road. He said he makes extra money through scrapping. Seelig told Parsons to verify that inspections were up-to-date for the vehicles to which Parsons said that up-to-date inspections did not matter for the state of Massachusetts. Seelig said that it was part of the town’s by-laws. Andrews asked if he was willing to have a site visit by the Board. Parsons said, “I don’t like people on my property. You guys have already tried to break into my property once before. Your building inspector and health inspector tried to break into my house saying I was squatting after living here for a year and a half.” He continued, “I do not like people from your town on my property. You have already shown me that you don’t care… my wife was cowering in the corner with my two-month-old baby.” They agreed to a site visit on the following Saturday.

Town Accountant Sandra Nolan was present to ask for clarifications regarding the bonuses that had been approved for town employees using the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funding. Decisions were reached on how to pro-rate the raises for part-time employees as well as whether to issue bonuses to recent hires. Seelig also told the Selectmen that $110,000 in additional ARPA funding was now available to the town. Seelig also told the Selectmen that the town would be receiving $200,000 in grant money through a Green Communities award.

Regarding use of the additional ARPA funds, Andrews, who also serves on the Halifax Elementary School Committee, told the Board that currently the Fire Department is handling the testing required to implement the test and stay program that allows asymptomatic students to stay in school if they are close contacts. There was a question regarding how the Fire Department would be reimbursed for the costs associated with that task. Andrews also asked that the system that allows communication between the various rooms for Town Meeting at the school be purchased and the wires be left in place permanently. Andrews said that given the number of times they have paid for the equipment to be placed and the company to run it, they would have been able to purchase the equipment multiple times over.

There was mention of a few resignations in town as well. Drew McGlincy resigned from the Finance Committee and Special Police Officer Thomas Reed resigned from the Police Department.