Halifax Selectmen met Tuesday April 25 continuing with Heron Road’s public street acceptance hearing which was continued from April 11.
At the last hearing, Selectmen Chairman Troy Garron told the board, “The only issue I have right now is that your neighbors or residents of the neighborhood weren’t notified because you were out of town.”
Rick Springer, from Century 21 Classic Gold in Carver sent out certified notices to the abutters, and said, “I received responses from 10 of the 19 abutters.“
A few of the abutters and residents of Heron Road were present for the hearing. One Heron Road resident said she’s new to the area and didn’t know Heron Road hasn’t been accepted as a public road yet. The Board welcomed her to Halifax and had abutters and residents explain some of their concerns.
One abutter, Joe Kennedy, voiced concern about trees that were left up near the easement that allows for proper drainage for Heron Road. Several trees were taken down along with a hill for the road’s drainage.
Joe says that trees were not removed near his property and are leaning towards his home. There is a lake nearby and wind from the lake already knocked down two trees near Kennedy’s house this past winter. Kennedy says that one of the trees came down and crushed his neighbor’s Jeep. He’s concerned the trees could fall on his home.
It turns out that the trees were not part of the easement. Rick Springer showed selectmen the trees are on the property of one of his neighbors and highlighted the area on a map he showed the group. With the trees being private property, selectmen were unsure if they could legally do anything about this issue. Garron suggested Kennedy try to work something out with his neighbor.
Peter Annis, who attended the April 21 hearing, addressed the issues he has with sidewalk in front of his home not being depressed to the same level as his driveway, making a bump coming out of his driveway. Selectmen vice-chairman Thomas Millias vistited Peter’s property and told his board, “It’s not impassable, but I agree it would be better if depressed.” Annis asked selectmen to deny the approval until the sidewalk in front of his driveway is done.
Selectmen decided to hold off accepting Heron Road as a public street for the time being. They will meet with the Planning Board and make their final decision on Thursday, May 4, 2017.
Town Meeting News
Selectmen took some time to discuss planning for the Annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 8. The discussion was mostly procedural. Rather than discussing each article individually, the Board went over who is presenting and who is moving specific articles at Town Meeting.
The only article discussed in detail was Article 48 which establishes where recreational marijuana facilities could potentially go. Town Administrator Charles Seelig reiterated that Massachusetts law requires any recreational marijuana facility must be at least 500 feet away from any education/children center. Selectmen Clerk Kim Roy will speak on this article at Town Meeting.
Other News
• Selectmen voted to allow the Softball Team to put up signs at the softball fields near Vaughn Playground to stay off the fields. Newly seeded grass has been planted and the team is having trouble keeping people off the fields.
• A 50% down payment was approved for the Beatification Committee’s Margaret Fitzgerald Community Garden project. The Beautification Committee plans to have the garden ready for Memorial Day Weekend.
• Halifax will need to fill a position on the Wage and Personnel Board. Kathie Ballernini sent her resignation to the Board of Selectmen.
• Selectmen will nominate Town Clerk Barbara Gaynor for Town Clerk of the Year. This award is given out by the Town Clerk’s Association.
• No DUIs/OUIs were reported for any of Halifax’s bars for the first three months of 2017
The next Board of Selectmen Meeting is currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 7:30 PM. However, the Board is considering adding a meeting on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 to have one more before Town Meeting on Monday, May 8, 2017.