The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, March 25. Kingston Police Chief Brian Holmes had an appointment with the Board. “He’s requesting that we reconsider the March 12 vote to sponsor a prop 2 ½ warrant article to provide an additional $575,000 for a sergeant, patrolmen, and related benefits to the Police Department,” Selectman Eric Crone explained.
Holmes said, “One of the most prevalent issues in the recent presidential election was national security… I did a live interview with WATD yesterday… and then we shared that interview on Facebook with the concerns we have with staffing. Once again, we’re asking for the town to allow for the annual Town Meeting to make the call about whether or not this town has the appetite for an override.” He continued, “Failing the success of an override for the Police Department, we could literally end up waiting years for any kind of significant growth. This is a workplace safety issue; this is an officer safety issue… and this bears the potential for liability on the part of the town on so many levels.” He alluded to pending grants and said that he has worked on finding alternative sources of funding for the Department.
Holmes said that Silver Lake Regional has agreed to fund an additional school resource officer. He noted that Duxbury’s override just failed and said that going for these overrides were becoming a way to deal with increasing financial crises in surrounding communities. “I believe that the town residents should have the right to weigh in. The options before you, in my opinion, are 1. Take no action. 2. Reconsider the vote of two weeks ago and let the Town Meeting decide by way of a warrant article or 3. Hold a public hearing in a week. Hold that hearing to determine whether or not there is support for it,” Holmes said. He told the Selectmen he has heard a lot of support for the Department’s request. The Selectmen clarified that the Department would like to see the addition of a Deputy Chief, a Sergeant, and three more Patrolmen.
Selectman Kimberley Emberg said that in the last 33 years, Kingston has asked for an override six times and four of them have failed. “My concern is if we ask for an override this year, we will not be able to ask for one next year – that we would be setting up a potential override for next year to fail… we’re up at the levy limit, we have no excess levy capacity; to the point where if something happens, all we have is half a million dollars in free cash – that’s not much of a saving’s account,” Emberg said. She said that while she supported the Police Department and their needs, the numbers this year don’t warrant the requests. She added, “If we go to Town Meeting now and ask for a Police override, we’re putting Police over everything else because it will shut everything else down for next year and that’s my fear.” The Selectmen decided to hold off on taking a vote until they have the full Board present.
Fire Chief Mark Douglass appeared before the Board for a supplemental budget request in the amount of $125,000 to assist with a $159,551 deficit within the personnel lines. “This past year we’ve had a number of extended injuries that have gone long-term… due to the increased call volume, we’ve ended up calling people back a lot more than we were,” Douglass said. He noted a significant increase in call volume over last year. The Selectmen voted to include a warrant article at Town Meeting seeking supplemental appropriation for the Fire Department in the amount of $125,000.
Selectmen also voted to support a resolution in support of the No Cuts to Public Schools Act which would protect funding that allows public schools to serve students of various needs appropriately. The resolution recognized the ways in which special education tuition and transportation as well as other educational needs are outpacing available funding in most surrounding communities.
Two members of the Agricultural Commission spoke during open forum. They said that they would be sponsoring a vegetable growing/gardening event at the Senior Center in April. They also said that Karen Johnson would be resigning from the Commission and they thanked her for all of her hard work over the years including her work with 4-H and rescuing horses.
The Selectmen also accepted a resignation from the Council on Aging Advisory Board for Mary Hayes. They also appointed Lucy Coletta as an associate member to the Council on Aging Advisory Board. Finally, Joseph Cunningham III was appointed to the Kingston 300th Committee for the duration of the project.
Town Administrator Keith Hickey provided some updates. He said that the town received a call a few weeks back from a company called Business View Magazine. Kingston was selected by them to be part of a television series called The Best of Massachusetts: A Talent for Innovation. Hickey said a small magazine would also be published as well. “I think it’s a great opportunity for Kingston to be highlighted,” he said. He did note that it would be at no cost to the town.
Hickey also said that the town met with MassDot to discuss the final paving of the Main Street water line. They will be closing two exit ramps off of Rt. 3 during the work which is tentatively scheduled for April vacation. Hickey noted that there will be traffic impact.
The Selectmen held a public hearing for a street acceptance for Russell’s Pond Road. “Best case scenario, we’re probably looking at a fall Town Meeting to potentially approve the road depending on whether everything gets done that needs to get done,” Hickey said. Town Planner Valerie Messard, who has been working with the residents of the street, also spoke. “The benefit for the residents, obviously, is that we would be plowing that road and maintaining it during the winter and also paving it every couple of years using Chapter 90 funds,” Crone added.