The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on the evening of Monday, Jan. 23.
Chair Christine Joy said that the first item up for discussion and a vote was the purchase and sales agreement of Turkey Swamp. “We’re just waiting on some finishing touches from the attorneys and to get you the final draft for vote; we hope to have this all set for our next meeting on February 13,” Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said. Selectman Mark Russo added, “I will say, I’ve been in touch with the seller, and she does assure us that she’s excited about moving forward.”
Dennehy told the Selectmen that she filed again this year for technical assistance on the Housing Production Plan update. She said that she was also expecting to hear back regarding who the point person is for technical assistance on the MBTA zoning changes that would need to be implemented. “They’ve toned down the guidelines substantially, so I think it’s going to be something that with some competent technical assistance, we’ll be able to be in compliance with,” Dennehy said.
Dennehy also said that Old Colony Planning Council is working on the final report to close out the Green Communities projects the town has completed. She also said that the town’s energy vendor will be visiting all the town buildings. “I think it would be helpful if they do a new inventory and see what other projects may come up; they’re still operating from the old audit that they did when I first started working with the town so I think it’s time for an update,” Dennehy told the Selectmen. Dennehy said she was also looking into whether the new Police Station could be eligible to be looked at as part of the energy audit process.
Dennehy said that the budget process was well under-way and that she had most of the budgets in from the various town departments. She noted that she expected that the budget discussions with the Finance Committee would be commencing soon.
Joy said that she had correspondence from the COA Director Colleen Thompson regarding a hands-on training for the seniors in town regarding the new Pay-As-You-Throw recycling program. She said that Thompson recommended doing them in April. Joy said that the town would continue with the plans to run trainings in March but noted that they would plan on coordinating with Thompson to do a training that would be promoted through the Council on Aging.
Joy asked her fellow Selectmen if they had any raves to wrap up the meeting. Selectman John Traynor said, “The library again – I know I’ve raved before.” He continued, referencing Library Director Mike Slawson, “The breadth of what he’s offering now is just phenomenal; I mean it goes from tools to the Roku… the way he’s got the kids programs going, the speaker forums he’s driving… it really has become, I think, the hub of the community.” Russo referred to the contract negotiations in Executive Session saying, “My rave is for some nice progress, particularly tonight on kind of a logical, rational, fair approach to proposed contract terms in the next fiscal year; I think we’re making really good progress and working in an orderly fashion.” Joy said, “My rave would be for the nice email that we got from John Sjostedt about a medical incident involving our Police and Fire and how well they worked to, I think, save a resident’s life.” She continued, “It’s just great to see and hear how they are working together.”