The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Tuesday, June 13. “We’ve heard increased concerns of the water quality in town,” Town Administrator Cody Haddad said. He noted that he did invite the Water Superintendent to attend but he was unable to come. He did, however, send an update saying that the discolored water the last few weeks was due to Well #4 which was turned off as a result.
Haddad said it would be $20-30 million to do a filtered plant. “At this point, it is not something that is necessary, the water is still meeting standards,” he added saying it was just discolored iron in the water.
Selectmen Chair John Bruno said they do have a filtration plant on two of the wells but acknowledged that it is in the midst of a large-scale rehabilitation project. The contract was approved at this past town meeting at a cost of $300 million to upgrade the filter plant at Wells 1 and 2. Haddad said that just design and engineering would be $700,000 for the filtration on the other wells.
Town Green Requests
Council on Aging Director Darlene Regan explained a request for a use of town green. She said that they have had a guitarist come many times through the Mass Cultural Council and said they would like to have him again on July 28. The Selectmen also fielded a request to use the Town Green from Troop 39 on July 22 for a bottle drive fundraiser. They approved both requests.
Energy Update
Haddad told the Selectmen that at a previous meeting they had given him permission to sign an energy contract for energy aggregation. “We went out to bid several times… working with our consultant… unfortunately, the rates just aren’t what they used to be,” Haddad said. He said that the rate they finally agreed upon was for $0.15 per kWh (kilowatt-hour) compared to the previous rate of just over $0.10 per kWh.
Noise Complaint
The Selectmen also dealt with a noise complaint on Monponsett St. Haddad said that the Selectmen had had the invidivual in question in to a meeting and noted that they have a garage that they have been holding parties in and reportedly charging people to attend. Police Chief Joao Chaves spoke to it saying that the permit the resident received was good through 9 p.m. but they had to shut the party in March down closer to 10 p.m. He said that since then the Police have had to go out to the residence numerous times. Chaves said that there was also a large field in the back that is used for volleyball. He said that he found on the resident’s Facebook page an advertisement for a large scale volleyball tournament with thousands of dollars in cash prizes, a bouncy house, and live entertainment. Chaves said the event did get shut down by the Police. “It seems like the homeowner is kind of utilizing the language barrier thing for his benefit; I think he’s well aware of it, he’s not supposed to be doing this stuff,” Chaves said. He recommended that the resident come back before the Board and explain himself. “If that doesn’t work, at that point, we’ll start bringing criminal charges to him,” Chaves said.
Police Update
Chaves said that he has a vacancy for Sergeant. Chaves said that they would have an assessment center scheduled for June 29 with Halifax resident and Interim Duxbury Police Chief Michael Carbone, Halifax resident and Holbrook Police Chief William Smith, Carver Police Chief Mark Duphily, and Haddad. Chaves said that thus far he has had two officers send a letter of intent. He said that the officers interested are giving an essay to write at home and then are given another one the day of the assessment center. The Chief also addressed the need to fill a Deputy Chief position which will be filled by Sergeant Theodore Benner. “I think he’s well qualified for it… well respected by the residents… I think it’s a great choice,” he said. Bruno said that he agreed and thinks the world of him.
A letter of commendation was read for three officers who answered a call for a woman in cardiac arrest. The officers were Sergeant Patrick Sterling, Officer Michael Schleiff, and Officer Ryan Simpson. “These officers showed a great professionalism and proper use of their training, experience, and equipment, to bring a successful conclusion to what might have been a tragic result to this family,” Bruno read.
ARPA Requests
Haddad addressed what money was left from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding that went to the town. He said that the Municipal Maintenance Department doesn’t have a dedicated shop. He asked the Selectmen that they allocate $25,000 of ARPA funding toward such a shop. Haddad said that after appropriating the money for this use, they would have about $40,000 left for general use and about $200,000 for Covid-related expenses. The Selectmen approved the funding. A second request was for $600,000 for water treatment plant upgrades. It had already been allocated prior to the Selectmen approving the request at Tuesday’s meeting.
Trash Update
Haddad told the Selectmen that the town went out to bid for trash collection. He said that Pay-As-You Throw programs, like the one in Halifax, are difficult to get companies to bid on since it presents greater adversity to the trash collectors. He said that as a result, totes are now being utilized. He said that a transition program will be rolled out soon and residents will have the option to opt-in to it. Haddad said that the estimate for trash and recycling for the year would be around $370 to $400.
Student Council Thank You
Bruno shared a letter from the Student Council of Halifax Elementary School. “We all appreciate that you make decisions that benefit our town; when you make decisions you are changing people’s lives for the better,” Bruno read. Selectman Jonathan Selig explained that the letter, in part, came from a group of first graders who toured Town Hall.
Halifax PRIDE
Update
Lori Costa-Cline of Halifax PRIDE appeared before the Board to ask if a Selectman would be able to attend the PRIDE event on Saturday, June 17 to welcome the crowd. Costa-Cline acknowledged some of the hateful comments that have appeared on Social Media. The Selectmen said that none of them would be able to attend the event due to scheduling conflicts. Costa-Cline acknowledged how wonderful Chief Chaves has been in assisting with the event. Chaves spoke addressing community concerns over drag performances saying, “Again, we hear the same noise that we heard last year, and it turned out to be, I thought, a good family event. There were children running around… I’ve been able to look at some of the comments on Facebook when they start to bring in… the argument, trying to say that some entertainers because of how they dress are going to be automatically pedophiles – it’s a stretch. It doesn’t matter what they’re wearing; no one is allowed to touch any children,” he said. “It’s a good event for the town,” Chaves continued.