The Halifax Select Board voted unanimously, 3-0, at a special Thursday morning meeting on July 30 to approve, authorize, and execute a mutual transition and separation agreement with Town Administrator Steven Solbo, ending the tenure of the town’s top appointed official.
Chair Thomas Pratt opened the six-minute meeting by confirming that each board member had reviewed the proposed agreement as printed. No member had questions, and Solbo, who was present, had nothing to add. Pratt then made the motion himself.
“At this time, the agreement has been drawn up by legal and is subject to signatures and verification of a few things,” Pratt said. “Beyond that, as the chair, I will make a motion that our board sign the agreement as presented and enter into the proposed mutual separation and transition agreement as written.” The motion was seconded and passed 3-0 with all three members — Pratt, Vice Chair William Smith, and Clerk Jonathan Selig — present.
What followed was several minutes of tribute. “This is a tough gig. This is a very tough gig,” Selig said. “I commend him for always bringing it as far as his attitude, his effort, digging in and doing the best job he could for Halifax.” Smith thanked Solbo for “all the time and effort you put in.”
Pratt tied his own remarks to the Special Town Meeting held the night before, on July 29. “The one thing that I would add, in the lead-up, in the last several weeks and months, particularly these last seven to 10 days, despite some of this noise being on in the background, I think Steven showed up for the town, as was evidenced by last night,” Pratt said. “A much smoother, notably, town meeting. More organization through the door, and I thought that that was a good reflection on the dedication.”
The board’s reluctance to characterize the agreement was the meeting’s only point of friction. Resident Alan Dias of Snow St. asked the board to paraphrase what would happen next. “There’s some interest in this, and I think residents should know what’s going on,” Dias said.
Pratt agreed in principle but said the board’s hands were tied. Because the signed agreement is a public document, he said, a records request filed that day would have to be answered within 10 days, and the board expected to release the full agreement inside that window — “the hope would be by this time next week.” Dias pressed on the practical questions: whether the town would begin searching for a new administrator immediately, and whether Solbo would remain for days, weeks, or longer.
“Those are good questions, Alan,” Pratt replied. “We’re going to defer to legal. Legal counsel has advised us to sit on that for a bit. There are some things in the contract that would prohibit us from laying that out clearly at the moment, but I would imagine that you would know our plan sooner rather than later.” Dias then stated for the record that he was formally requesting the public information. The board adjourned at 8:37 a.m.
Two days Earlier: New School Committee Member Appointed
The Thursday vote came 48 hours after a two-and-a-half-hour joint session on Tuesday, July 28, in which the Select Board, the Halifax Elementary School Committee, and the Finance Committee met together in the Great Hall. The dominant subject there was money the school district is sending back to the town, prior to the Town Meeting held on July 29.
The joint bodies also filled a vacancy on the Halifax Elementary School Committee. Three of four applicants appeared: Krystal Kingsley, a health care executive with a finance and strategic planning background who grew up in Halifax; James Hopkins of Pond St., a retired naval officer and father of four; and Samantha Cox of Twin Lakes Dr., who worked for years in early childhood education and served on the override committee. Derek Wigman withdrew.
Members of all three boards took turns questioning the candidates on strengths, handling social media pressure, meeting commitments, and working as part of a team after losing a vote. Pratt recused himself from the vote, citing a personal friendship with one of the candidates. Selectman Jonathan Selig was absent, what may be his first missed meeting in his tenure, according to Pratt.
Because the appointment required a majority of all seven sitting members of the Select Board and School Committee — not merely those present — four votes were needed. School Committee member Tara Tonello first moved to appoint Hopkins, calling all three candidates “truly incredible”; the motion received no second. Goyette then moved to appoint Kingsley, saying the committee needed financial expertise. “When we start to do the budget, I feel like somebody with a strong financial background would be really helpful in that committee,” Goyette said. The motion carried with the required four votes, Pratt abstaining. Krystal Kingsley will be sworn in at the town clerk’s office.