The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on Monday, Oct. 18. They began their meeting with an update from Alan Wheelock, Chair of the Wage and Personnel Board. “We’re embarking on a fairly ambitious project in that we are preparing for town meeting a full revision of the wage and personnel bylaw… parts of it have been updated from time to time over the years,” Wheelock explained. “Many parts of it are quite dated,” he continued. He said they did research on surrounding towns and said that Kingston has a comprehensive bylaw that they will be borrowing from pending Kingston’s approval.
Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy told the Selectmen that Scott Benton was in place as the interim Police Chief. She said that he and the rest of the Police Department will be hosting an open house for the public on Saturday, Oct. 30 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. “It seems like he’s off to a great start,” Dennehy said of Benton.
The Selectmen voted to approve the employment agreement with Sergeant Daniel Hoffman from Aug. 26, 2021 through Aug. 26, 2024. They also voted to approve the employment agreement with Sergeant Matthew Ahl from Aug. 26, 2021 through June 30, 2022.
The Selectmen also voted to authorize Dennehy to serve as the authorized representative to the Plymouth County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) portal. It was unanimous. They took a similar vote to approve authorization for the Town Accountant as well.
Several appointments were also unanimously approved. They included Nathaniel Sides to the Plympton Cultural Council through 2024, Jessica Kinsman and Jackie Rafferty to the Open Space Committee through 2024 and 2023 respectively, Alan Wheelock to the Community Preservation Committee through 2024, Special Police Officers James Boulter and Mark Gabriel through 2022, Nathan Cristofori as Animal Control Officer through 2022 and Kathy Seeley and Elise Senior as Animal Control Officers via Carver through 2022.
Dennehy said for the Townhouse roof project, both she and Chair of the Town Properties Committee Jon Wilhelmsen had been in touch with the architect. She said they would need to have some sampling of the current roof material completed in order to identify any issues such as the presence of asbestos. The bid for the sampling was awarded to Universal Environmental Consultants for $3,050. For the ADA ramp project at the Townhouse, Dennehy said a meeting would be held later that week in order to kick off the construction. She also said the Highway Department has done the preliminary road markings to identify safety zones. “So far the feedback has been favorable,” she explained saying that there have been requests for more of the markings at further intervals.
Regarding the new playground at Dennett Elementary School, Wilhelmsen said, “they’re pushing full board ahead.” He said that they may be able to begin installing the rubberized coating later this month or in early November. If it can’t be done by then, woodchips will have to be utilized until the spring or the summer when the weather will allow for the curing process. “I think it’s going to be a really, really nice installation and I think the location of it is actually better,” Wilhelmsen told the Selectmen.
As customary, the Selectmen ended the night with their rants and raves. Selectman Mark Russo said that his rave was for the multitude of appointments voted upon that night. “We’ve recruited some really, really great people,” Russo said. Chair Christine Joy said her rave was for the Plympton Police Department open house. “This is a great time for some good will with our Police Department; I’m so appreciative of them opening their doors and inviting people in,” she said.