Justin Evans
Express correspondent
The Plympton Board of Selectmen presented Police Sergeant John Simon during the June 9 meeting with a certificate recognizing his receipt of the Bronze Star Medal, honoring his exceptional service during a recent military deployment.
“On behalf of the citizens of the town of Plympton, we present this certificate to Sergeant John Simon of the Plympton Police Department, in recognition of his dedicated service to our country as a recipient of the United States Army Bronze Star,” said Chair Dana Smith during the presentation.
The Bronze Star was awarded for Simon’s “exceptionally meritorious service in support of combined joint task force operation inherent resolve.” The citation noted that “Captain Simon’s outstanding performance during operations in support of the coalition contributed to the overwhelming success of the command’s mission.”
State Representative Kathy LaNatra also attended the ceremony to present Simon with a proclamation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
“I’m honored to be here with you today. It’s my honor, my privilege to bring you a citation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” LaNatra said.
Simon, who has served with the U.S. Army since 2009 and is currently a heavy weapons commander for the Massachusetts National Guard, expressed gratitude while emphasizing the importance of his team.
“This Bronze Star would be nothing without the soldiers that I run with, my leadership that came with me, and most importantly, everyone came home with us,” Simon said. “No one was injured. It was a very successful deployment.”
He also acknowledged the challenges his family faced during his absence.
“My wife was a true champion as well because she was home taking care of the household. My parents, my mother-in-law, were also taking care of the house,” Simon said. “When it comes to deployments, it’s not only tough on the soldiers, but it’s tough on the families as well.”
Simon thanked Plympton Police Chief Matthew Ahl for supporting his military service, noting the chief has been “100% supportive of everything I do when it comes to training, missions I’ve got to do, deployments.”
Following the ceremony, the Town Properties Committee presented findings from a safety inspection at the fire station, highlighting three violations that must be addressed within 30 to 90 days.
“Those three items are violations that we will be citing for,” said Ross MacPherson from the Committee. “The safety inspector noted during his inspection that they usually talk about pinch points in terms of machinery. But given that some of the bumpers of the vehicles overlap each other to try to get in, that there may be issues there.”
The violations include water leaking near an electrical panel, problems with the heating system, and floor drains in the apparatus bay that connect directly to the septic system.
“The electrical panel was put in when the water was there first. So, the electrical panel got put in and probably shouldn’t have been right in that spot,” explained John Wilhelmsen, Chair of the Town Properties Committee.
The heating system presents another challenge, with ducts located under the slab where water tends to collect.
“Water that comes off the field goes downhill. Comes to the back of the building, can come in, and of course it’s going to go to the lowest point, and that is the heating ducts,” Wilhelmsen said.
Perhaps most concerning is the floor drain issue, which Wilhelmsen described as “probably the more costly of the three items.”
“Each of the floor drains connects to the drain that’s in the bathroom that connects to the septic, which is a slight issue if we were to have a diesel spill or an oil spill in the apparatus bay because it’s draining down back behind the panel bar and into each of them,” he explained.
The timing of these violations comes just after voters rejected a $14 million proposal for a new fire station. While the measure passed at town meeting, it failed at the ballot box.
Town Administrator Liz Dennehy asked whether the inspector would have given more leeway if the fire station had been approved.
“Yes. In fact, he thought the building was approved for a new station,” Wilhelmsen responded. “And we said, well, no. We did approve it at town meeting. We did not approve it at the ballot, so there isn’t a new station going in.”
The Board of Selectmen and Town Properties Committee discussed several options moving forward, including attempting another ballot measure with better public education, scaling back the project, or starting over with a completely new design.
Vice Chair Mark Russo expressed concern about spending money on temporary fixes.
“I think the big selling point is just this, that we’ve decided I have a feeling we’re looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars to put on a band-aid when we have the best option before us,” Russo said. “We’ve spent 10 years, more than 10 years, I think it’s 12 years to get to here and to go back six years is silly.”
Committee members emphasized that renovating the existing building would likely cost more than building new.
“To do a renovation over there even if we just bolt something on, we’ve got to bring the whole building up to code,” MacPherson explained. “Any contractor is going to look at that and go, ‘well the most expensive thing in construction is the unknown.’”
The discussion also touched on improving communication with residents about the fire station needs. Dana Smith suggested using more modern communication methods.
“I think if those, say, for instance, your meeting was actually, as this is being produced on YouTube, effectively, through Area 58, if your meetings were on that, somebody could, you know, see that at 3 o’clock in the morning if they wanted to,” Smith said.
Smith emphasized the importance of making information more accessible to residents.
“I feel it’s our duty to do so in the most ways possible,” he said. “Does it have to be social media? No. Does it have to be an actual physical website? No. But could the actual meetings that you guys have be on YouTube, you know, and be more accessible to people so they understand?”
The board did not make a final decision on next steps but acknowledged the need to address the violations quickly while developing a longer-term plan.
“We need to look at it, and I think more information to people will help out as far as what people have to understand,” Smith said. “This is not going away. This is something that needs to be addressed.”