The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, May 23. Selectman Naja Nessralla was not able to attend. The Board did a quick recap of Town Meeting and Selectmen Chair John Bruno said the only real complaint he heard was regarding the acoustics in the meeting room. “To the extent possible, I think we should always use the other room, because you can hear better,” he explained.
Noise Complaint
Bruno said they had a noise complaint regarding Fieldstone Farms. The complaint came from a neighbor on Plymouth St. Health Agent Bob Valery sent correspondence to the Selectmen letting them know that he has had numerous site visits and he cannot substantiate a noise complaint. “We’ve investigated this for four years and nothing has ever come of it,” Bruno said. “Mr. Valery does a great job and he’s gone out there several times and he’s very detailed in his reports so unfortunately, there’s not much we can do,” Town Administrator Cody Haddad said.
Vacation Carryover Requests
The Selectmen took up requests for many members of the Police Department to carry over significant vacation time. Bruno asked why so many of them were not taking their vacation time. Haddad said, “His explanation was they were without a couple of officers for much of the last calendar year.; They were down a couple of officers, so their officers were required to work overtime and not use their vacation. There was one officer who is going on a trip next fiscal year who is looking to carry over the time – you know, cases like that, that’s very reasonable, if you have a planned event that you’re looking to use, but you know, just continually carrying over isn’t necessarily a good practice,” Haddad said. Bruno made a motion that the Selectmen indicate that it will be the policy of the Board to look closely at any vacation carryovers in the future. “That they are expected, and the default is that the vacation be used in the year that it is accrued,” Bruno said. The Board and Haddad agreed.
Live Entertainment Permit Requests
Raun Jerome came before the Board to request a live entertainment permit for July 8 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Jerome said it was for a cookout for friends and family. It had previously been approved by the other necessary town Departments. The Board approved.They also approved a live entertainment request for Generations for a DJ at an animal festival on June 4 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Requests of Various Committees
Haddad told the Selectmen that the Veteran’s Service Officer Steve Littlefield had requested that the Board create the Veteran Services Committee. Littlefield requested that it consist of the Veteran’s Service Officer (VSO), the two Assistant VSOs, the Cemetery Director, and two members at-large. Haddad read, “The Committee will assist in serving the Veterans in Halifax on a year-long basis with a special emphasis on Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day celebrations while also providing services to our Veteran community.” The Selectmen approved the request and voted to create the Committee.
Jeremy Gillespie of the Halifax Beautification Committee appeared before the Board to request permission to plant trees in various locations throughout town. Haddad said that the approval would be contingent upon Steve Hayward’s approval since he serves as the Tree Warden. The trees were awarded as part of an Earth Day essay contest sponsored by the Beautification Committee. There was a winner for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade.
The Board also discussed the status of the Bylaw Review Committee. Bruno said that it was his belief that the current iteration of the Committee has never met. Bruno recommended to Haddad that they organize a meeting to get started.
Building Commissioner Search
“As you know we are recruiting for our Building Commissioner – I wanted to bring before you, the process for determining who the next Building Commissioner should be. Historically, the Board has interviewed several individuals for the position. My recommendation would be to not do that… by requiring an interview of the full Board you deter qualified applicants to apply because they may not want their existing employer to know… my recommendation would be to form an internal team to sift through, conduct preliminary interviews, and then make a recommendation to the Board of a finalist,” Haddad explained. Haddad recommended only presenting one finalist before the Board. Bruno said that he would feel comfortable leaving it up to the Committee to have the discretion to determine the number of candidates to present.
MBTA Action Plan Update
Regarding the MBTA Action Plan, Bruno said they received a letter back from State Representative Josh Cutler. Previously, Bruno had sent a letter expressing his concern over the requirements of the MBTA Action Plan that the other Selectmen had co-signed. “We didn’t hear much from the other representatives,” Bruno said. He continued, “Our problem is that our townsmen, people, I haven’t heard anybody say that they are in favor of this; I would like to go back to them and thank Mr. Cutler for his thorough response but ask them to say, ‘look will you come in here and talk to us and explain about this program and why it’s a good idea’… there are rooms full of angry people and I’m not going to justify it.” Haddad said he reached out to a group of about 50 Town Administrators and said that he has received an “overwhelming response” from about 25 other local Town Administrators who plan to meet to discuss next steps. The MBTA Community Action Plan requires that towns served by the MBTA zone for a district of reasonable size to be used for multi-family housing. Failure to comply will result in the loss of certain grant funding.
Town Administrator Updates
Haddad told the Selectmen that the Park Commissioners finally submitted their proposed uses for the Economic Development Bill funding. The first use is for landscape cleanup to the area to the left of Fourth Ave down to the water’s edge and the driveway and gateway near Sixth Ave. The cleanup is estimated at $9,500. They are also looking for a conceptual design as part of the beach re-nourishment process. The Board approved the two projects.
Regarding training for Department heads, Haddad said they received special training so that they could control their own Web page within the town Website. “We hope that it will help the functionality of our Website, allow residents to be more engaged, have more up-to-date information,” Haddad said. The Selectmen and Haddad also discussed the plan to hold Selectmen’s meetings at various locations around town to highlight buildings and Departments.
Haddad thanked Tommy Schindler for providing free lunch to all town employees recently. He said he is starting a new business called Teddy’s Hot Dogs. Haddad said he had the “bacon and mac dog” and noted it was “very good.”
Haddad also said that he recently started an employee of the month program. The first recipient was Peggy Selter of the Board of Health and Conservation Commission. “She’s been going above and beyond in the absence of some Building Department staff, some Zoning Board of Appeals staff, Planning Board staff; she’s taken on the Conservation Commission. Peggy is great in every aspect,” Haddad said.
Haddad also told the Selectmen that they received word from MASS DEP that Halifax was awarded a Host grant that provides funding assistance for the town. The town makes money and all they need to do is provide an office space in the recycling center. They also get access to a State DEP employee who will be housed in the building.
The Annual Fourth of July Fireworks event will be held on July 1 this year. The Selectmen voted to approve the event.