Food, fun and fellowship was the theme of the Holy Apostle Parish Autumn Fest held at Our Lady of the Lake in Halifax on Saturday, Sept. 25.
The church officially merged with St. Joseph the Worker in Hanson in February to create Holy Apostles Parish with both churches retaining their names. The Autumn Fest was an opportunity for the parish to join together and celebrate the merger.
For more photos please see pages 6 and 7.
Put a win on the board for the Silver Lake High football team.
The Lakers took down the Norwood Mustangs 20-7 at home last Friday night for their first win of the season. The win put them at 1-2 on the season.
Norwood struck first in the game, but the Lakers played tough defense as things progressed and were able to prevent it from happening again. Norwood scored a touchdown in the first quarter and made the extra point to take a 7-0 lead, but the Lakers would go on to score a touchdown in each of the next three quarters; this gave them the points they needed to win the game.
In the second quarter, they got a one-yard touchdown run from John Dickerson. Seth Wakefield’s extra point kick was good, tying the game at seven apiece. In the third quarter, the team got a touchdown in the air. Ryan Carroll caught a 10-yard pass from quarterback Jacob Barnett. Wakefield’s extra point kick was good, putting them up 14-7.
And in the fourth quarter, Barnett took it in himself. He had a 15-yard touchdown run that put the Lakers up 20-7. The Lakers went for two instead of kicking an extra point, but their attempt came up short. Carroll also performed well defensively with three sacks.
Additionally, Austin Smith had 90 yards on the ground for the Lakers.
The win marked the final non-league game of the regular season for the Lakers. Now, they will kick off their Patriot League schedule. Their next game will take place this Thursday, Sept. 30 on the road against the Plymouth North Eagles (7:00 p.m. start time).
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, September 14.
Charles Rogers of Monponsett St. requested to appear before the Board. He said he lives on the water and told the Selectmen, “The weed growth this year has come back to what it was pre the treatment, maybe 10 or 15 years ago.” He shared several photos with the Board to demonstrate the extent of the overgrowth. “That has become not only just unsightly but a dangerous hazard,” he continued. He shared an anecdote of his fins getting tangled in weeds when trying to swim. He said that when the issue last came up, they were told they had only two years before it would be impossible to cross the lake in a canoe. Town Administrator Charlie Seelig said they had money in the budget to do another treatment and said they hope to go out to bid in early February and do the treatment at the correct time in the early spring.
The Selectmen had an appointment with the Board of Assessors for the fiscal 2022 classification hearing where the Selectmen need to vote on how to adopt the tax rate policy. A decision would have to be made regarding the percentage of tax burden among the property types including residential, open space, commercial, industrial, and personal property. Ninety percent of properties fall into the residential category in Halifax. The Board of Assessors voted unanimously to recommend to not split the tax rate due to it putting a burden on the commercial properties. The average single family tax bill for fiscal 2022 went up 5.23 percent. The average condominium tax bill went up 6.28 percent. Halifax Solar, Halifax Mobile Home Estates, Walmart, Stop and Shop, and Haseotes and Sons were the top taxpayers in Halifax. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the tax rate policy as outlined by the Assessors.
The Board also had an appointment with Allan Palmer who submitted a talent bank form for the Zoning By-Law Review Committee that is still absent one at-large member. Palmer who described himself as “almost retired” said he has lived in town since 1986. He said he is eager to get involved in helping the town and has interest in this area. He was appointed unanimously to the Committee by the Selectmen.
Seelig told the Board that the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) was seeking to fill the alternate member position. He further told them that he had a letter from the ZBA recommending that the former Chair of that Committee, Bert Gaynor, be appointed to fill the vacancy as one of the alternate members. Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews recused himself from the discussion. “Attorney DeRensis does recommend filling the seat by the normal procedures,” Seelig told the Selectmen. Selectman Ashley DiSesa said that after speaking with town counsel she preferred that they open the interview process once again and speak to the other residents who had previously applied to the ZBA. Selectman Troy Garron instead moved that they appoint Robert Gaynor to the alternate position on the ZBA. DiSesa disagreed and Seelig moved on to the next topic.
The Board had an appointment with resident Diane Bradford to discuss the obstruction on the shoulder on the south side of Hayward St. Andrews read a letter from multiple residents in the area requesting immediate removal of the stakes on the road. The letter read, “The stakes located in front of the cranberry bog at the address of 136 Hayward St… are a safety concern for us residents… the stakes are making it nearly impossible to move over to avoid potholes.” It also pointed out a number of other concerns regarding the stakes. They requested proof that the owners demonstrate that the stakes are on the property owner’s property rather than on town owned property. Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward confirmed that the stakes are in the right of way but said that there is nothing in the town’s bylaws stating that the town owns that right of way. The residents complained that the owner has a temper and that police needed to be called on one occasion during which they were told that the town would need to handle the issue. Hayward said that after a conversation with the Police Chief, it was decided that if the stakes are three feet back from the road, they would be allowed to stay. Garron recommended checking with town counsel before making any decisions. There was also some discussion about having a land survey performed. The Selectmen told the residents they would be notified of next steps, if any.
The Selectmen met with the Planning Board. Chair of the Planning Board Gordon R. Andrews said, “We’re voted by the people; we’re one of the only boards in town that we do not have jurisdiction over our own secretary. I just don’t think it’s the right way to do it. I know that in the past it was done in a way to just get a secretary in, but I think even the Finance Committee, who is not elected, they hire their own secretary, they train their own secretary; the secretary falls under them.” He went onto say it felt like their secretary was being dictated to by the Building Inspector or the Building Inspector’s secretary. “I’m not complaining about our secretary; it’s just the system that our secretary gets hired under,” Andrews clarified. Planning Board member Amy L. Troup asked, “where is it in writing that the Building Inspector would be in charge of the Planning Board and the Conservation secretary?” Seelig responded, “We met with various boards and committees about 15-20 years ago and this agreement was reached. It’s an artificial construct; there’s no legal standing for it – it’s simply a way of operating.”
The Building Inspector spoke saying that he was of the opinion that the Planning Board and Conservation should have their own secretary, but noted, “I would leave Zoning under my purview.” Seelig asked Building Inspector James Perry if he had spoken to anyone on the ZBA regarding the matter and he responded that he had not. A member of the ZBA spoke and said from their perspective, it made sense for the ZBA secretary to be left under the jurisdiction of the Building Inspector who also acts as the Zoning Enforcement Officer. He noted that the Zoning secretary has always worked with the Board without issue. DiSesa recommended doing more research before finalizing a plan that would work best for the Planning Board, Conservation, and the ZBA.
She recommended putting the topic on the agenda for the October 8 Board of Selectmen meeting.
Northfield, MA – After months of hearings and deliberations that led to special permits being issued for 10.5 Megawatts and 26,000 solar panels by the Northfield Planning Board, an appeal was filed in Franklin Superior Court in Greenfield asking the Court for preliminary and permanent injunctive relief prohibiting the landowners and developers from taking any action to begin construction of the project.
The plan would span across 124 acres of farmland located in land zoned as Residential Agricultural, all lying outside of the Town’s solar overlay district. The developer is BlueWave Project Development, LLC, with offices in Boston. The landowners and developers proposed the project as “dual-use”, a category of solar project in Massachusetts that maintains its use as agricultural land under the solar panels and is able to get higher ratepayer subsidies. The Massachusetts legislature had to vote to release the properties from a ten-year agricultural covenant so that the solar panels, otherwise not allowed, could be built on the farmland.
“If I had known that the farm fields across from my house would be covered with acres and acres of solar panels, I never would have bought this property,” said Chris Kalinowski, one of the plaintiffs in the complaint. “Now I have to think about my property values and constant noise. And I am really worried about what happens if the lithium batteries leak or catch fire. This whole area is where my well water comes from.” Also listed as concerns are light pollution and glare, noise, dust, and vibration during and post-construction, and the loss of scenic value of his property. “We have a solar overlay district. It’s land that’s not much use for anything. We all voted and said to put solar panels there. I never agreed to have them at my house.”
A key issue for the plaintiffs is whether the concept of ‘dual-use’ is even a viable concept. “This project is being marketed as building a solar array but keeping the land in agriculture. That looks to me like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole,” said Michael Kellett of RESTORE: The North Woods, the other plaintiff. “You can see in the documents that the Clean Energy Center at UMass Amherst had many questions about this idea. There are studies that show things don’t grow nearly as well in the shade of solar panels as in wide-open fields. This developer came up with the idea of part-time sheep grazing on the property as a way to claim that the land will remain in farming. In fact, there is even mention of using these same sheep to graze at other nearby properties to help other solar projects qualify as ‘dual-use.’ This rent-a-sheep idea is creative, I suppose, but can we really call these industrial-scale solar arrays farms?” Kellett’s organization decided to join the complaint to help protect a healthy environment for members of his organization who live in Northfield.
Attorney Margaret Sheehan of Plymouth, who filed the complaint also questions the dual-use policy, not just in Northfield, but on cranberry bogs in Southeastern Massachusetts. “Unscrupulous developers are exploiting taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies for green energy. Dual-use solar is an unproven experiment. Developers are mounting solar panels in cranberry bog wetlands on telephone poles treated with copper chromated arsenic. Is this how the cranberry industry is going to grow food for 30 years? On bogs covered with telephone poles leaching arsenic? Over 1,000 telephone poles are being installed on a bog on Route 58 in Carver by a Canadian multinational corporation with our state green energy dollars. AD Makepeace is installing a mile of solar over an agricultural canal that was once a stream. Some systems are installed but there are no crops growing under them such as the REDP project on Gate Street in Carver. How well can crops grow shaded by solar panels sited to use the sun on a plot of land? Common sense says not very well. This is a waste of our money and farmland. We are in a climate crisis and it’s code red. We shouldn’t be wasting the public’s money on ridiculous schemes like this. The state’s Department of Energy Resources needs to pull the plug on this subsidy program,” says Sheehan.
Climate scientist and former IPCC report author on climate mitigation, and Emeritus Professor of International Environmental Policy at Tufts University, Dr. Bill Moomaw, supports solar energy, but only in the right places. “We need solar panels to replace burning fossil fuels and wood to make electricity. Solar panels belong on rooftops and wastelands. If we are concerned about regional resiliency, are committed in Massachusetts to buying local food, and know we need forested land to sequester carbon to mitigate climate change, how much sense does it make to weaken our farming land base. Wouldn’t that mean we either import more food or cut forests for farming?” Dr. Moomaw also cited a Mass Audubon report that calculated that we can get 80% of our electricity by putting solar on rooftops, parking lots, and brownfields.
Mr. Kalinowski added, “I am all for solar energy, just put it in the right places. Why is this even happening in my town? Because someone convinced someone to give money for it. That’s really the story here.”
Sheehan is collecting signatures on a petition asking Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to put a temporary hold on subsidies for clear-cutting forests or using farms for large-scale solar. It can be found on the Save the Pine Barrens website.
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on September 17 to discuss possible uses of the town’s allotment of $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Town Accountant Sandra Nolan was also present for the discussion. Selectmen Chair Gordon Andrews said, “one use of the ARPA funds is bonuses for employees; I was going to suggest that we do a $1,500 bonus this year and next year.” Andrews said that for the unions, including fire, police, and highway, part-time employees’ bonuses would be pro-rated based on the number of hours worked.
Andrews said he wanted to discuss “everyone else” noting “but I don’t know that I have a solution for that today.” Selectman Troy Garron said, “I think we need to reward the staff for what they have done through the pandemic – the loyalty they have shown to the town.” The Selectmen decided that all town employees, including full-time elected employees, would receive $1,500 if full-time and a pro-rated bonus if part-time.
Andrews asked how to handle the school employees saying that the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were available for their use. Selectman Ashley DiSesa said they would need to research whether the School Committee plans to allot funds for bonuses for school employees before proceeding with using ARPA funds for that purpose. She noted she did not want to hold up bonuses for other town employees in the meanwhile. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the bonuses for all but the school employees.
The Selectmen then turned their attention to what is referred to as “the affected communities.” “Because of Covid restrictions, you have restrictions at the elementary school for masking and you have issues with humidity and heat there… I have a motion to designate $35,000 for engineering consulting for the complete scope of work to upgrade, renovate the Halifax Elementary School HVAC system and building management system.” Garron clarified that work had already been done on some of those systems but Andrews said the issue needing fixing is related to heat and humidity. “I can say after all of us sitting in the gym and not being able to breathe and everybody going outside to try and breathe with the masks on, I think we need to do something,” Andrews explained. The Board voted unanimously to approve the cost for the consulting/engineering fee.
Andrews said he was going to make a request to the Director of Facilities and Maintenance for an estimate for either engineering work or the cost of the project for reviewing/fixing the HVAC system at the fire station. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve this motion.
The Selectmen next discussed building a senior center with ARPA funding. “Because of Covid-19, the seniors in our community have definitely been affected – they’ve been isolated and I will be pushing to use some of the ARPA funds to provide a place… I don’t know whether we could cover the whole cost of the senior center within the ARPA funds but I think we can use a portion of those funds; they are an affected community,” Andrews said. Garron said, “I personally believe that the seniors have been discarded over getting things for the younger kids… you’ve got to remember the senior citizens are the ones that made this history of the town – made it what it is today.” The Selectmen agreed to look into the cost of a new senior center.
DiSesa suggested potentially allocating some of the funds to deal with infrastructure and, in particular, water. The quality of the water in town was a topic of discussion during recent Selectmen meetings with residents complaining of brown water amongst other things. Andrews said he was in agreement. Andrews noted that the funds weren’t eligible to be used for road construction.
On Monday, Sept. 20, Plympton Fire and Police departments responded to a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Palmer Road (Route 58) and Center streets. First responders found a red Toyota RAV4 on its roof with its operator, Deborah Lynch from Rockland, trapped inside. Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to extricate her. The Plympton ambulance transported Lynch to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police determined, according to their incident report, that the other vehicle, a white Subaru Forester driven by Meghan Dyer of Somerville, travelling west on Center Street, failed to stop at the four way intersection, colliding into the red RAV4, causing it to roll over, strike an Eversource utility pole, and land on its roof. Dyer was issued a written warning for failure to yield/stop.
Both vehicles sustained serious damage and had to be towed from the scene.
Last week’s main headline stating that the mask mandate equals persecution could have been misconstrued as meaning the reporter and/or the newspaper promoted that point of view. The headline intended to refer to those in the audience who made that claim. The Express apologizes for any misunderstanding.
Failing to meet its quorum of 100 voters, last week’s Special Town Meeting had to be rescheduled to Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. in the Elementary School when it is hoped that the business of the town can be completed.
As with previous meetings, both the Gym and the All-Purpose Room will be used and due the continuing pandemic, COVID protocols will be in place – https://www.halifax-ma.org/moderator/files/what-expect-town-meeting-september-2021.
Warrants have been mailed out or a copy can be downloaded – https://www.halifax-ma.org//town-administrator/files/special-town-meeting-warrant-september-8-2021
If you have any questions, please contact the Selectmen’s Office at 781-291-1316.
To begin with, please do not attend the meeting if you have signs of a fever or a measured temperature above 100.3 degrees, or greater, and/or any symptoms of COVID-19 including fever, chills, shaking chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell, persistent cough or trouble breathing within the past 24 hours or if you have had “close contact” with an individual diagnosed with COVID-19 during the last fourteen days.
Close contact” means: living in the same household as a person who has tested positive for COVID-19; caring for a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, being with six (6) feet of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 for about 15 minutes, or coming in direct contact with secretions (e.g., sharing utensils, being coughed on) from a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, while that person was symptomatic.
• OR
• You have been asked to self-isolate or quarantine by your doctor or a local public health official or have been told by a medical provider that you probably have COVID-19 even in the absence of a test.
The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met in person on Thursday, September 9. Silver Lake Regional High School Principal Michaela Gill introduced senior Riley Doyle. Doyle is the Student Council Executive Board President, and one of the seniors on the Student Advisory to the School Committee. The other senior is Callie MacInnis. Other members of the Student Advisory Board include junior Mia Mitchell and sophomores Connor Doyle and Nikhil Harish. The seniors will attend the School Committee meetings. “We’re delighted to have their voice and their experience at the table with us,” Gill said.
Gill presented her Principal’s Report to the Committee telling them that this year’s theme for the staff and students is “Lakers to the Core”. She said that the phrase will appear throughout the building as well as on social media with that hashtag. Gill said she hopes to “remind folks what it really means to be a true Laker.”
There are several new staff members at the school. Lori Cullen joins the math department as a computer science teacher, Laura Mackey is a new biology teacher, Beth Fradet is a new art teacher who will also act as the yearbook advisor, Laura Olsen is a new French teacher, Colin Foley is a new social studies teacher and freshman soccer coach, Craig Murray is a new physics teacher, Silver Lake alumna Jessica Guilford is a member of the office staff, Silver Lake alum Jamie Jones is a new preschool paraprofessional, Kelly Griffin joins the English Department, Dan Richards will serve as a long-term substitute, and Suzanne Simmons will serve as a paraprofessional.
Gill said that Amy Woods will serve as the new PTO President. She also said that Spirit and Homecoming are coming up. Additionally, Gill said there were several dress-up days on the calendar and noted that they were returning to their pep rallies. “We’re thrilled to be back to as much normal as possible,” Gill said. Gill also said that parent teacher conferences will be offered as a choice of either in-person or remote. Gill also provided an update on the dual enrollment program saying that over the summer they did have a student take several courses through that program.
Silver Lake Regional Middle School Principal Jim Dupille also provided a Principal’s Report saying, “There’s definitely some normalcy to the starting of the year which was really good to see; the students in the classroom – the excitement and energy,” he told the Committee.
Dupille said that the Summer Enhancement Camp that was run in July was highly successful. This year’s camp included a social and emotional component. He said that attendance rates were high with more than 20 incoming seventh and eight graders attending. He also noted that they had successful professional development programs over the summer. The open house held in August included more than 400 people. A motivational speaker came to meet with students at the school that day. Dupille said that his message to students was to connect to their passions.
The Back-to-School night will be held on Thursday, September 23. Parents and guardians will begin the night in the auditorium speaking with Dupille. The Welcome Back Cookout and Karaoke night will be on Friday, September 24. Dupille said the Haunted Halls will also be coming back with tours in October. He noted that there are a myriad of clubs and activities that will be making a return this year.
During Director of Business Services Christine Healy’s financial update, Committee member Summer Schmaling asked what would happen to the Silver Lake budget if Halifax doesn’t get a quorum at their next town meeting. “At Halifax’s town meeting, the Finance Committee supported a number that was less than what was going to support our budget; they supported a 2 percent increase and their assessment went up more than that… so at town meeting they voted a number that does not support the full commitment that they would need to make for their assessment for the year,” Healy explained. Healy said that if the town does not have a quorum on Sept. 21, the town plans to address it within the annual town meeting. Other Committee members clarified that the town would have to “fall into line” so to speak as the other two towns force them into that position with their votes.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch also provided an update saying that on August 31 there was a professional development event focused on social and emotional learning for the district’s paraprofessionals. He thanked the Middle School PTO and High School Yearbook Committee for providing breakfast treats for the opening day.
Lynch also provided grant updates saying they were approved for their ESSER II submission. He said the allotment for Silver Lake is $250,589. “The focus for that grant is unfinished teaching and learning – social and emotional supports and operations,” Lynch said. He said they are working with teachers and administrators on where to best allocate the funds based on the needs of students. Lynch also said that they are looking to line up ESSER III which is due in October.
Superintendent Jill Proulx provided an update to the Committee. On September 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., a vaccination clinic will be held at the Kingston Intermediate School in collaboration with the Kingston Board of Health for residents from Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton who wish to be vaccinated. Proulx provided data from the Nutritional Director regarding summer meals saying that from June 23 to August 18, meal bundles including five breakfasts and five lunches, were distributed on Wednesdays. In total, they served 25,998 meals.
Proulx also provided a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) update. She noted that as of August 25 they have mandated masks indoors for all K-12 public schools. “The State is using vaccines as the primary mitigation measure,” Proulx said. She said they were being encouraged to host vaccination clinics. There are plans through November to hold several more vaccination clinics at the Kingston Intermediate School. Proulx said that unlike last year there are no social distancing requirements. She said that they have signed up to be a part of the test and stay program that would allow asymptomatic close contacts to remain in school while being tested daily for a determined amount of time from exposure. She said they had just received their first set of tests that day and said that there was some delay in securing a program testing coordinator. Parents will receive the opportunity to opt into that program.
Proulx said that close contacts are those within 6 ft of a COVID positive individual for 15 minutes or more indoors during a 24-hour period. She noted that certain exemptions apply including those who are asymptomatic and fully vaccinated. Other exemptions include if both individuals were masked and three feet apart as well as those that were masked on buses with open windows. Finally, those that were diagnosed with COVID in the last 90 days but are currently asymptomatic are also exempt. Proulx said that masking would likely be in place until a school reaches a certain vaccination percentage – likely 80 percent.
Proulx shared with the Committee the vaccination percentages for each community in the district. She said the first number would be the vaccination rate for 12–15-year-olds and the second number would be for 16–19-year-olds. As of late August, Halifax stood at 57 and 59 percent, Kingston at 63 and 84, and Plympton 65 percent and 71 percent. Committee member Leslie-Ann McGee said she would like to see the Committee receive aggregate numbers of the percentage of Silver Lake Regional students and staff that are vaccinated between now and October. Proulx said she would need to speak with the nurse leader about how accessible that information would be to the district.
Committee Chair Jason Fraser spoke saying while DESE and DPH are working on a way to facilitate an easy way to identify school vaccination rates, their current priorities lay elsewhere including the test and stay program. Fraser said that there have already been 30 school districts in Massachusetts that have had to quarantine entire classrooms or school buildings. Fraser said that while the 80 percent vaccination rate is the metric being focused on at the moment as it is quantifiable, if the incidences of COVID in Massachusetts were to reduce greatly, that metric would likely change. He further said that currently there are nine states and the District of Columbia that have mandated vaccines for all school staff at the state level and said that he expects Massachusetts to be next. Fraser said that some school committees have mandated vaccines for school staff and even for some school activities.
“As you may have noticed, Commissioner Riley came very late to the game in the masking of our students; it’s because he’s very concerned about many of the same issues that a lot of parents and a lot of you have expressed at this table,” Fraser said.
The School Committee also considered whether or not to rescind their current masking policy. One of the ramifications of doing that would mean that students under 5 would no longer be required to wear a mask but would be strongly recommended. McGee said that she would be voting against rescinding the policy because it takes away local control to make decisions as it would then mean strictly following DESE and DPH guidance. Committee member Emily Davis said that she didn’t feel comfortable going past the mandates by DESE and DPH and said she would be fully in favor of rescinding the policy. The Committee ended up voting in favor of rescinding the policy by a divided vote.
Proulx provided some non-COVID related updates including that they would be hosting a capital planning meeting on September 30. She said that many community stakeholders would be invited to attend.
Fraser provided the legislative report. He said that in December of 2020, the legislature released a report from the special committee for improving efficiency relative to student transportation. Fraser said that he had previously told the Committee that regional transportation funding was in jeopardy. He verified with Healy that Silver Lake Regional receives about $590,000 in state reimbursement for transportation aid. He said that towns like Plymouth that have an extraordinary number of miles that need to be traveled each day are wondering why regionalized districts get reimbursement funding and they don’t. He said that the report that was passed onto the legislature suggested that they look at the needs of the region including low-income students and also the distance traveled each day. He said that compared to other regions, their communities come out looking “rich” despite not feeling it. He said that another item in the report that might have budgetary implications for Silver Lake was their “greening the fleet” proposal that would see them move toward all electric or hybrid buses. Fraser promised to let the School Committee know if he saw movement on any of these measures.
Fraser also said that at the Federal level, there was a House bill being considered under reconciliation that includes several hundred million dollars for universal pre-k, community college, school safety upgrades, etc. Fraser said that these were all areas that have seen erosion in recent years. “This would put us back to whole and beyond whole, hopefully.”
The Plympton Board of Selectmen met remotely on Monday, September 13. The Board of Selectmen voted during the meeting to approve a Host Community Agreement (HCA) with marijuana distributor Sweetgrass Farms, LLC. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said she and Selectmen Vice Chair Mark Russo had taken the lead on the negotiation with Sweetgrass owner and area native Nick Rizzo. The cultivation site would be at 77 Spring St. Russo said, “the industrial park is the exact right place for this project.” Russo also said, “I feel really good about this end product… I think this is a document that is fair to both sides.” He also called Rizzo a “fair but energetic negotiator” and said, “I think we’re dealing with really respectful, talented people who want to do the right thing.” Built into the contract is a $5,000 annual contribution to a local charity or non-profit to be selected by the town. Rizzo said that he considers that to be a minimum noting that he hopes to be able to contribute even more. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the agreement.
Police Chief Matt Clancy attended the meeting to share with the Selectmen his review and analysis of the Department’s use of force over the last year. The review is a requirement for a certification and accreditation program Clancy has entered into. “It’s just another piece of the transparency that we’re building,” Clancy explained. He said he expects to see it become a requirement in Massachusetts eventually.
Clancy told the Board the Department has reviewed their use of force policy three times in the last two years, noting that the amendments were minimal as their policy was already progressive. He said that Massachusetts has come out with what they consider to be a model policy and that the Plympton Department’s policy was nearly identical. The report is generic and includes incidences but does not include names. Clancy told the Selectmen there were no complaints of excessive force and no injuries. Drawing a taser and engaging in a pursuit both qualify as use of force. “I’m very happy with how things were handled… I think the officers showed a tremendous amount of restraint in a number of situations,” Clancy said. The Selectmen thanked him for his hard work on this initiative. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said, “You think this stuff doesn’t happen in Plympton, it does… it’s nice to know that it was handled so well by our officers.”
Clancy will be leaving the Plympton Police Department to serve as Chief of the Bureau of Capitol Police in Maine. The Selectmen voted to appoint Scott Benton to serve as interim Police Chief as of October 4.
Joy provided an update on the Carver Urban Renewal Plan as she attended the meeting that was held on the project on Sept. 7. She said her main takeaway was that Carver still has quite a lot of work left to go in the process. She said the developer performed a balloon test that revealed the extent of the scope of the project. Joy said that they estimate that 75 households in Plympton will be affected by the project. Carver has promised to keep Plympton abreast of all meetings.
Selectman John Traynor requested a discussion on the uses of the Old Townhouse. He was particularly concerned with it being utilized by the Council on Aging (COA) for fitness classes. He said he would like to see the building outfitted with a better Wi-Fi lock. Director of Elder Affairs Colleen Thompson called the current lock “kind of a farce.”
Joy suggested that there may potentially be better places to hold such classes noting that the town has a pending lawsuit against them from someone that fell. Russo said that they should discuss appropriate uses for the building further during another meeting. Thompson argued that building needs to be used if insurance is being paid on them. She countered Joy’s argument saying that it felt like a town group was being asked to seek a private location to engage in town sponsored events. Resident Shannon Maxwell said, “You’d have a group of very, very happy women if we could go back to working out in a building this winter and not in our bedrooms.” The Selectmen voted to approve a three-month trial use of the building for the COA fitness club from October 1 through December 31.
Dennehy provided the Town Administrator’s update. She said that she met with the Kingston Town Administrator, the Plympton and Kingston Police Chiefs, the Plympton Highway Superintendent, Police Officer John Sjostedt, and the Kingston DPW Director to discuss possible heavy truck traffic exclusions on Ring Rd. Plympton would need Kingston’s approval to move forward with the process. Dennehy said Kingston said they are not interested at this time as they had concerns that it could result in such traffic being redirected down other roads in their town, particularly Elm St. She said they are, however, open to future conversations. Regarding the Main St. component, Dennehy said that the Highway Superintendent wants to verify with MassDOT that implementing the exclusion would not preclude them from grant opportunities including roadwork.
Dennehy said she had a successful meeting with Habitat for Humanity. She said they have an environmental professional on their team who will look through some of the town’s data on possible lots in an attempt to narrow it down to a piece of land in order to proceed with a project. The town would need to verify before moving forward on a project that there were no other non-profits who might be interested in the land.
Dennehy said she has been in communication with The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) in order to iron out what the level of service they would provide would look like. She noted that the town would need to be sure they could afford it. Finally, Dennehy told the Selectmen that the town was still hovering around a three percent positivity rate for COVID.
During their traditional rants and raves, John Traynor said that the COA is having an issue getting enough drivers for their Meals on Wheels program. He called his rave a sad one saying, ““Chief Silva and his crew did a wonderful job on the 9/11 ceremony.” Both Russo and Joy said their raves were for all of the work being accomplished in town and the progress being made. Russo said, “with patience, progress comes.”