Selectmen Monday night named Griffin Webb of Hanson to fill the position of Plympton Animal Control Officer effective immediately.
Webb interviewed for the position May 21, bringing a young man’s enthusiasm for the job, and exuding a love for animals and wanting to serve them. He also brought Alyssa Ryan, the Marshfield ACO, who, Webb explained, he has been shadowing for the past month to get a good idea of what the job entails.
He graduated from the Norfolk Agricultural High School where he studied animal science, looking to eventually become a veterinarian. The prospect of eight more years of school brought Webb to consider other options to serve the animals he loves. Webb has six horses of his own, and a number of dogs and other animals at his home in Hanson. He told selectmen that Massachusetts law requires all ACOs to be certified by attending an ACO Academy which is 16 weeks of Fridays schooling to learn to deal with all situations an ACO will run in to with animals and their owners, as well as the laws that govern them and the reports which the Commonwealth requires to be filed. This ACO Academy is run in April and Webb said he would attend next April 2019.
Ryan spoke highly of Webb’s ability to perform the job and said she will be available to help him as he continues with Plympton.
After voting unanimously to appoint Webb to the position, selectmen welcomed Webb, glad that he will help the town develop the animal control department. Webb was also named to the position of Animal Inspector for Plympton.
Selectman Chairman John Traynor told the board he has chatted with Chief Lance Benjamino regarding a plan to get rid of the trailers, and regarding the Fire Technical Committee and the Oversight Committee, hoping to combine the two committees and bring the number of members down to a more workable size.
Benjamino is away until June 18 and selectmen will hear from him tentatively on June 27, Traynor said, and he hopes that there will be something concrete when Plympton speaks to Halifax.
Traynor also told his board he will be speaking with the town treasurer to see the budget for medical supplies for the ambulances. He does have estimates for on-call but they are not “granulated” enough. Vice-chair Christine Joy commented that until we have the numbers, we can’t budget the expense.
Electricity aggregation
Selectmen clerk Mark Russo told the board they have renewed the contract with electric aggregation for 30 months. Summer rates are pretty comparable now, Russo said, but we expect winter rates are going to be much higher. With a 30 month contract, we will be somewhat protected from those higher winter rates.
Dispatch Center Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy brought a renewal contract to Selectmen for the Regional Dispatch Center in Duxbury that handles all of Plympton’s emergency 911 calls. The new contract is for $50,000 for FY19. She also presented a letter from Police Chief Patrick Dillon who recommended the contract.
Dennehy told the board that the town doesn’t need to have Kopelman & Paige review the contract, as it is the same contract given to the Town of Duxbury, who also uses Kopelman & Paige as its Town Counsel, and has already been reviewed by them. She did say that she would consult Atty. Gregg J. Corbo, who is Plympton’s attorney from the firm, to make him aware. She also recommended looking into having the contract auto-renew provided nothing has changed in regard to the service.
Hwy. Superintendent
Next week selectmen will begin interviewing for the position of Highway Superintendent, as Jim Mulcahy will be retiring June 30, 2018. The four original applicants for the job have been reduced to two, and selectmen will reinterview them June 25.
Storm tree removal
Selectman Joy asked the board when tree removal of the storm damaged limbs at the town’s roadsides will begin, noting that Special Town Meeting approved $25,000 to pay for this service.
Joy also told the board the Tree Warden Bill Hayes is happy to work with the Old Colony Planning Council on developing a master plan for tree planting in the center of town. Joy also said she is happy to remain the town’s representative on the OCPC.
Atwood property
Selectman Russo reported that the assessors will have an update on the acreage of the Atwood property off Prospect St. for the next meeting on June 11.
Selectmen will meet June 11, 18, and 25, before going on to their alternate week summer schedule.