The Halifax Board of Selectmen met in-person on Monday, May 16 ahead of the continuation of town meeting. It was the first meeting for newly appointed Selectmen Alexander Meade who unseated Gordon Andrews for a three-year term, and Jonathan Seelig who was elected to the one-year term that was previously filled by Troy Garron. Ashley DiSesa was the only remaining Selectman from the previous iteration of the Board. The Selectmen were meeting with Town Counsel, the Town Moderator, and the interim Town Administrator to review who would be presenting the various articles left to be discussed and voted on later that evening.
Seelig said he was hoping for a change in the way in which the articles are presented. In the past, the Selectmen would typically present on a given article, but Seelig said he would like to see the appropriate department head speak to them instead. “In the past, our Selectmen would say the narrative. We were hoping maybe, if it’s okay, to do what we used to do in years past to have the actual department head speak the narrative so that way if there is any sort of issue or they want to get to any underlying details that the very knowledgeable person who put the article together will be able to answer,” Seelig explained.
Town Counsel Paul R. DeRensis, who has served as a Selectmen himself for more than three decades including a Selectmen Chair for seven, told both Meade and Seelig that he has an orientation for new Selectmen that he would like to review with each of them individually. DeRensis said he reviews things such as open meeting laws to ensure that there won’t be any violations. He said that he would also cover any disclosures that they may need to make to the Town Clerk regarding their businesses, etc. “It needs to be private because I am looking for information that you may not want anybody else to know – attorney/client privilege. So, if you are planning on suing the town, this is the time to tell me… you know, so I can do a disclosure form for you before you sue the town,” DeRensis explained. Regarding his own time as a Selectmen, he said, “It’s not just a legal presentation, it’s also a practical presentation… I’ve been sued and all this kind of stuff; I can help you learn how to do this.”
There was also a discussion regarding whether the issues brought forth should be based on the wishes of the current Select Board or the previous one. DiSesa, as the vice chair, was told by Counsel that she would be acting as the Chair in the absence of a Chair. The specific article that came into question was Article 42 that sought to make the Board of Selectmen a five-person rather than a three-person Board. Seelig said he didn’t agree with the article but noted, “I would like to give the people the chance to weigh in on it though.” Meade agreed saying he disagreed with the article but wanted to see the town vote on it. They eventually decided to pass over the article that evening and see how the new three-person Board functions before deciding whether to put the article on the warrant for the special town meeting in the fall.
Town Administrator Ed Thorne said that the solid waste contract for the town of Halifax would be expiring at the end of June. “Companies are getting out of getting their people out of the truck, picking up bags, picking up trash, and they are all going to the mechanized system,” Thorne explained. He said that the town would likely need to accept whatever increase comes with a one-year deal with Waste Management to give the town time to figure out a long-term plan. He said the long-term plan would likely be a three-to-five-year deal with a curbside, mechanized company. Thorne said that recycling brings in about $145,000 to the town each year. An additional $300,000 is generated annually by the bags that people buy. No decision was made during the meeting.