The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, May 6. Chair Christine Joy said that they had representatives from Plymouth County present to discuss the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) program and present the town with a check. Plymouth County Commissioner Jared Valanzola spoke to the Board regarding the funds in the amount of $89,403. Valanzola told the Selectmen that the ARPA and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) programs would not have been successful without the town’s support.
Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien also spoke. O’Brien thanked the Federal Government, Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren as well as Representative Kathy LaNatra. “These monies were for two separate projects… the first… is for the HVAC project at Silver Lake… this is a perfect use of those resources – provide clean air for our students… your second one you had some well monitoring that needed to be done… where are those resources going to come from? You’ve got other obligations, you’ve got public safety, you’ve got schools, how are we going to take care of these projects? Submit to ARPA and you did, and we approved,” O’Brien said. He also said that there is still “some money” left and noted that they were working with Plympton on some other applications. He noted that not a single cent would be returned to the federal government.
Police Chief Matthew Ahl and Lieutenant Daniel Hoffman attended the meeting to provide an update on the traffic safety campaign as well as a general update on the department. Hoffman said that April was Distracted Driving Awareness Month. He said that of just over 300 traffic stops, 108 of them were for using cell phones while driving. Hoffman told the Selectmen, “I could sit on the intersection out here and almost every other car seems to be on the phone.” The department is encouraging education on hands-free driving. Hoffman also noted that not having a seatbelt on is not a primary offense and usually they only ticket for that is when pulling someone over for another reason. The vast majority of tickets issued by the department for traffic stops are for out-of -town residents. Hoffman also said that a radar sign would be going up on Center St. Hoffman told the Selectmen that they have a plan to outfit all students that need one with a new appropriately fitted bike helmet for the annual bike to school event on June 7.
Chief Ahl said “we’re still growing; we have a lot of interest within the department and new opportunities for my new troops over there so getting them acclimated into these different specialized units.” He noted that for a while they were combatting attrition. “When I first came here, there seemed to be a revolving door and us getting involved in a lot of different things that we do now is why we’ve had a lot of different people come in my door and why we’ve had a lot of people stay. I give the Board a lot of credit too as far as contract-wise. These officers are happy here,” Ahl said. The Selectmen praised Ahl’s efforts with Joy saying she was very happy to see the level of community engagement calling it a “win all-around.”
The Selectmen voted to appoint Matthew Hickey as a Special Police Officer from May 6, 2024 through June 30, 2025. The decision was unanimous. They also came back from executive session to announce the outcome of some votes taken including the promotions of Nathan Valente and Kevin Brower from Patrol Officers to Sergeants. Lauren Grady was also named as the Executive Information Coordinator.
There were a few requests for use of town property including the Garden Club using the town green on May 18. They also authorized Yvonne Green to use the Old Townhouse on June 9 for a meditation retreat from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Joy said that they had a letter from Governor Healey that they will be reappointing Jason Fraser as a member of the Advisory Commission of local government. “It’s nice to have representation at such a high level,” Joy said.
The Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves. “I have a rave for the people that turned out for the meeting on Saturday for the Fire Station feasibility project,” Selectman John Traynor said. He noted that Jon Wilhelmsen has been shepherding the project. Selectman Mark Russo said his rave was for the expression “Team Plympton” and the entire effort to try to professionalize town government and town services. “It’s one of our clearest successes,” he said. Joy said her rave was for “the great work being done by the Police Department. It’s just wonderful to see the teamwork.” She had an additional rave for ARPA noting that Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy does a great job with grants and working with town departments to get needs met through them.