The Plympton Board of Selectmen met for the first time since the town election that saw former Selectmen Chair Christine Joy voted out in favor of newcomer Dana Smith. Following an election the Selectmen typically reorganize nominating the new Chair, Vice Chair, and Clerk. The Board voted unanimously to appoint John Traynor as Chair, Mark Russo as Vice Chair, and Smith as Clerk.
Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte spoke saying that a resident was found to be bringing dogs into the towns’ cemeteries. He said that the resident became frustrated when confronted. Firlotte recalled the owner saying “that rule is your opinion and it doesn’t matter to me and I will continue to walk my dogs here.” He also noted that the owner’s dog jumped up and scratched the door of his vehicle. Firlotte said that the “No Dogs” rule has been in place for the entire 19-year duration of his tenure working in Plympton. Traynor said that he looked into the rules regarding dogs in cemeteries in neighboring communities and noted that most do not allow dogs either. Traynor said that in the long-term they may need to look into having a pathway put in place at the cemetery specifically for dog walking. He noted an overall problem in town with a lack of spaces for dog walking and said that owners not picking up after their dogs is part of the problem.
Russo noted that there is a sign in the cemetery stating general policy and he said that number one on that list is that the responsibility for enforcing those rules lies with the Board of Selectmen and the Burial Agent. Russo said that rule number seven says that dogs and horses are prohibited from the cemetery. He proposed potentially changing the rule to allow dogs on the walkways in the cemetery rather than on the grass near the graves. Smith said, “I love dogs; I’ve got two of them… I would kind of second the idea of trying to develop a park that’s a little bit safer and dedicated to that; obviously in the interim you have to come up with some solutions toward this, but it does shift some burden on the Highway Department if they’re going through to clean and do their normal maintenance of that area as well.” He said that he would like to see the town explore the possibility of a dog park.
Russo stressed that a leash law as well as regulations around cleaning up after the dogs would need to be strictly enforced. Traynor said that he was uncomfortable with Russo’s suggestion. “We owe the town a solution to the issue of dogs walking, but I don’t think the cemetery is the right solution though except if we could have a walkway around it,” Traynor said. Firlotte did interject to say there wasn’t much room around it that didn’t include graves.
The resident Firlotte spoke about was in attendance. She handed out typed out notes on her proposed suggestion which she distributed. She said that while she appreciated the Board’s proposed solutions, she is 79 years old and likely wouldn’t see them come to fruition. “I choose my times carefully,” she said of when she goes into the cemetery to walk her dog. “The few people I’ve met have been fine. I’ve had a picnic with people. I just met some college students who are doing a paper on the cemetery. I’ve met a man who is actually archiving the artwork and sending it to Harvard. So there’s just a lot of stuff going on there. My feelings are I’m always up for a compromise,” she said. The resident also apologized for the scratch on Firlotte’s car. Traynor asked her her opinion on Harry Jason Park. The resident said that she does go there but noted that she has had issues with ticks there.
Town Administrator Liz Dennehy recommended pursuing pricing from a company such as Oh Deer for spraying for ticks and mosquitos. Even if only for the safety of the children using the fields at various parks.
Russo said that the authority over Harry Jason Park is the Recreation Department while the Selectmen and the Burial Agent have authority over the cemeteries. Still other areas in town including Churchill Park, Cato’s Ridge, and Two Brooks are under the authority of the Conservation Commission. Traynor questioned that and asked Dennehy to look into who has purview over what and confirm.
“Let’s find a solution that makes sense for the town,” Traynor said. Russo said, “On the other hand, the problem of dogs and the degree of freedom is endless and goes on everywhere; in the ten years I’ve been a Selectmen, it’s the subject I fear the most.” Smith suggested potentially having the containers that dispense dog waste bags. Firlotte did note that those containers tend to fill with water and become “nasty” bringing ticks and diseases.
Dennehy noted that several neighboring communities do have dog parks including Scituate. She said that she didn’t believe they were particularly expensive to construct. “I did sign up for a municipal account with the PETCO grant program so I want to see if we’re eligible maybe for some sort of donation. I’m trying to think outside the box and I did see that they have a feature where you could sign up as some sort of governmental agency so I can pursue that avenue a little more as well,” she said. Traynor recommended that they also see about reaching out to Kathy LaNatra as well.
Dennehy provided an update. She said they are waiting to hear back on the Green Communities Grant that was submitted. Dennehy told the Selectmen that they had to pull out the Highway Department work from the grant but noted that they were going full steam ahead with the necessary work to the heating system at the library. The work needed for the Highway Department would have to be rolled into a future grant cycle Dennehy explained.
The Selectmen turned their attention to their rants and raves of the last few weeks. Traynor said that his rant was that only 27.6 percent of residents turned out to the town election. “Which is pretty high compared to our history, but it frustrates me that the other 74 percent or whatever that percent is can’t take the 10 or 15 minutes it takes to come out here and vote,” he said. “I do think we need to work on getting more people here,” Traynor said. Russo said he agreed. “Also we tend to have boards and commissions and committees that are endlessly looking for more talent,” Russo said.
“I’m going to turn it from a rant to a rave on the fact that that many people did participate, and to go off on one of the things Mr. Russo said, I think you’re absolutely correct on it that people have to understand what those positions are and I think that one of the things that may be underutilized… most people now rely on social media… I think to a certain extent we’re expecting people to sort of search for things versus having information presented to them,” Smith said. He advocated for a social media campaign that would explain what each particular board does and what the open position entails.
Russo said his rave was for two Selectmen that he served with, the first being Joe Fratus. “Joe had plenty of flaws. Many, many flaws actually. As well, he and I could disagree about just about absolutely everything… I’m going to come to the rave; and the other rave is for Christine Joy who I served with for the last six years. I learned a lot from both of these people. Joe… when he was dying… we became sort of odd fellow friends along the way which I remember very fondly. But what I learned from both of them is that there are some fundamental things about how to be a good Selectman. But I also learned that it’s not very complicated… 1. Is to show up. 2. Is to do the work… by far, the most important thing I learned from them is regardless of ideology, the best interest of the town is always our first interest, so I’m really grateful to have spent time with those two people,” Russo said.
The Selectmen also discussed moving their meeting time. Smith recommended moving the meeting to an earlier time in the afternoon. Traynor said he would be willing to try and pilot an earlier time, but Russo said that he was hesitant due to transparency concerns. “When I first ran for Selectman, maybe 11 years ago, in large part it was a lack of civility on this Board and a lack of transparency. It wasn’t so long ago that on this Board, decisions were literally made in cigar-filled back rooms and selectmen making decisions that way. One of the many things I pride myself on and pride the Board of Selectmen on in how we have been the last decade, is how transparent we are and I’m pretty sensitive to complaints of citizenry that we aren’t available,” Russo explained. Selectmen agreed to move their meeting time to 2 p.m. on Mondays for the summer. Russo agreed as long as it was understood it was only a trial for the summer and would be reconsidered in September.