The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, Feb. 24. Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy provided an update on the FY26 budget. “We’re still working on some of the numbers. We’re running various scenarios to try and see if we can avoid the possibility of an override and, in terms of timeline and everything overall, I think it would make sense for this Board to consider at your next meeting… whether you want to move forward with putting a ballot question on for a debt exclusion for the Fire Station,” she said. Chair John Traynor said, “Unless something changes, we should go ahead even if we decide later to pass over it. The Town Properties Committee has been working on this for over a year and it may not pass at Town Meeting or if it passes, it might not get through the ballot. But at least we should give the people a chance to hear what we’ve been doing.”
Selectman Mark Russo clarified that Proposition 2 ½ would be unlikely though a decision on the debt exclusion would be on the docket. A debt exclusion would allow the town to raise enough funds outside of the levy limit for a specific capital project, in this case the Fire Station.
“If we’re going to avoid an override, I do think we’re going to have to tap into general stabilization a little bit; not nearly as much as that completely outrageous scenario that we were originally looking at,” Dennehy said. She continued, “I feel like the cost of everything, it’s catching up with us.” In order to tap into stabilization, a two-thirds vote at Town Meeting is required as is a yes vote from the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee.
The Selectmen also took up the issue of their social media policy. Traynor said that the current policy states that the Selectmen and the Town will not discuss business over social media. Residents have to write to them or appear before them to bring forth business. Traynor said that he recognizes, however, that those in their twenties, thirties, and forties are more likely to do business over social media. “I see how easily it could become quite complicated… I think it needs work before,” Russo said. Traynor said he agreed and recommended reaching out to Town Counsel. Dennehy said that it might be a good idea to start smaller such as sharing frequently asked questions of each Department on social media. She also suggested putting quarterly updates by each Department Head on social media. Selectman Dana Smith recommended “clear guidelines that are posted on a regular basis that protects what the actual integrity of that website is in that respect because then people know what’s expected of them but also their behaviors similar to our meeting here.”
Dennehy and the Selectmen discussed the Old Townhouse. Dennehy said that the chairlift was fixed again. She did note that if it wasn’t returned to the default position it would drain the battery which proves costly. They named three people to run the smart thermometer. Dennehy also told the Selectmen that the wifi was no longer a problem. She also touched base on the room that required approximately $10k in mold remediation. “Currently there’s no insulation or wall covering,” she said. Dennehy said that the recommendation from Town Properties Committee for covering a heating vent, was to cover it with plywood. She said that they did receive a few quotes ranging from nearly $6k to $10k to fully finish the room.
Traynor explained, “So the Town Properties’ position… is we don’t know what we would do with the room if we had it, so why not just cover the heating unit and then when we do know how we want to use it, that would be the time to finish it off.” Russo said that if the money was available, he would rather see the room completed. The Selectmen voted to have Dennehy explore whether the lower quote was still valid and if it was, move forward with completing the room. Traynor voted nay but was outvoted.
Dennehy said that they also needed to tackle the lighting issue outside. “We did have somebody attend the last meeting that expressed some concerns. As an update to that, there is a streetlight located down the street that we were alerted to at our last meeting that seemed like it was shining at an odd angle.” Dennehy said that a ticket has been put in with Eversource to fix it as it was found to be broken. She continued, “As far as the post at the Old Townhouse, the streetlight is on one side – there were no proposed changes to that at this time.” Dennehy said that a request has been put in with Eversource to remove a square floodlight that illuminates a lot more than just the front of the building. The Town Properties Committee will be working on getting pricing for more appropriate lighting for the building that won’t be obtrusive to the neighbors.
Dennehy reviewed the warrant articles with the Selectmen. She said that she inquired about the cost to change the Board of Selectmen name to Select Board and was told it would be roughly $1k. She also said that the Highway Department is looking for $250k this year instead of the customary $200k for roadway work. Traynor said, “I’m aware they got $111,000 Chapter 90 money supplemental and it seems to me that should be enough but we’ll discuss it as we get closer.”
Traynor gave a special shout out to the Two Grannies on the Road. “They came to Plympton – if you don’t know them, they are two ladies, grandmothers, who are going around to visit every town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts… there’s 351 towns, they’ve done 94, well now it’s 95 with Plympton,” Traynor said. He said that they videotaped places like the Equine Center. Traynor said he would like to see those videos go up on the town website for residents to see.