PLYMPTON– The Plympton Board of Selectmen held a lengthy meeting on Monday, June 27 and along with continuing a gravel permit hearing– see accompanying article– they discussed matters as various as choosing a locking system for Town House, Selectman John Traynor’s “talent bank”, and overall compliance with zoning and permitting rules.
Locks for Town House
The Selectmen discussed last week how too many people had keys to Town House and some possible solutions for replacing the locks.
One idea was an electronic card reader, that either reads a magnetic stripe or uses radio-frequency chip, such as in a bank or hotel as a “key-card” system. Town Administrator Dale Pleau researched these types of systems, and noted that they would cost “thousands of dollars” for even the simplest of systems. Although they do have advantages, such as central computerized logging of all access, the Board agreed with Pleau that the expense was too great.
The Selectmen chose the option of “re-keying” the door– or simply changing the locks– and being much more careful with which Board and Committee members receive keys after the locks are changed.
Selectman Christine Joy wants the keys to be non-duplicable, even if that is an additional cost.
Talent Bank
Although he wants to get away from the wording, “talent bank”, the concept, such as the one that exists in Halifax is something that Selectman John Traynor has brought with him to the Board.
He would like townspeople who are interested in volunteering with the Town in some way, but do not have a specific idea of how they would like to volunteer to fill out a form that would be retained on file and the town could contact that individual as necessary.
He also wishes to identify those in Town with specific skills that might be needed, and target them by asking them to volunteer.
Traynor has been working diligently to see how programs work in surrounding communities, but he does want to do more thorough research and not rush things in Plympton.
He is planning on pushing back implementing the concept until the end of the summer as he continues to refine the plans.
Compliance
The Board says that it has come to their attention that many Townspeople are simply skipping dealing with Town House altogether, and striking it out on their own when starting a construction project or the like.
This is illegal, and can be dangerous.
The Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Colleen Thompson warned residents that they do in fact need to pull the appropriate permits and that violators will be dealt with appropriately.
The Board is considering taking out a newspaper advertisement to drive this point home. They also wish to inform residents that once they have a permit in hand, they need to follow the rules and stipulations on that permit.