The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on the evening of Tuesday, August 23. Chair Christine Joy introduced Bill McNulty with the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) to discuss ways to deal with heavy truck traffic in town, particularly on Main St. and Ring Rd. McNulty said originally they were discussing establishing safety zones but have begun looking at heavy commercial vehicle exclusions in order to help mitigate cut-through traffic. He showed a map with two options, one that would look at Main St. alone and another that would involve Ring Rd. and require the cooperation of the town of Kingston. The OCPC performed traffic counts on these roads back in March. He said that while the numbers were relatively low on Ring Rd., they did include a high percentage of trucks. He noted that “speeds were a little high” as well. Main St. was seeing about 2500 vehicles per day with a high percentage of those being heavy truck traffic. The percentage seen was somewhere between 14 and 16 percent. The heavy truck exclusion as shown on the map would include Main St., Ring Rd., Crescent St., and Upland Rd. McNulty suggested considering adding Center St. and Maple St.
McNulty said the first step would be for the Board of Selectmen to vote on the traffic exclusion and then to send a letter to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Selectman Mark Russo said he was in favor of the Main St. exclusion as well as Ring Rd. but recommended getting started on approval of the Main St. one while waiting for approval by Kingston for Ring Rd.
Selectman John Traynor asked, “Once we exclude them, what happens if they continue to use it?” “Most trucking firms would avoid it because they know that getting caught… can carry heavy fines,” McNulty explained. He further said that the GPS systems used by the trucking firms would have the updated information regarding the truck exclusions. McNulty also said that approvals from MassDOT are usually fairly quick and completed within a month. The Selectmen voted to seek the heavy traffic restriction zones as outlined by OCPC. They also voted to move forward with getting Kingston’s approval.
Plympton Treasurer/Collector Christine Kelly met with the Selectmen to discuss updated financial policies and procedures. “Basically, I’m just looking to put our procedures in writing per the auditor,” Kelly explained. She said the changes would only effect turnovers to the treasurer and grants. The Selectmen voted to approve the changes.
The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve a few agreements including the Agreement of Services with Habeeb and Associates for the Townhouse roof project. They also discussed the agreement for grant funded services for the MVP Winnetuxet River Corridor Open Space Project with Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD). Russo said, “Essentially what this does is give us Bill Napolitano, the trails and watershed manager for another year; Bill is amazing… is unbelievably patient and kind in holding our hand and this is great that we get him for another year.” The Board voted unanimously to approve the agreement.
The Board also discussed issuing a proclamation to designate September Suicide Awareness Month. Joy said they had received correspondence from Plymouth County asking the town to make the adoption. Joy said she sent an amended document to the other Selectmen. “Basically, it just kind of got rid of some of the language that made me think it might be kind of an unfunded mandate…. I thought it was good stuff but it was asking the town to take some action that I didn’t know we are in a position to do at this time,” Joy explained. The Board voted unanimously to adopt the document as amended by Joy.
Town Administrator Liz Dennehy provided an update. She said they are in the process of closing out the latest round of Green Communities grant funding. She said they are hopeful they can purse the boiler project at Dennett Elementary with the next round of grant funding. Dennehy also told the Selectmen that the Hazard Mitigation Grant is also close to being closed out.
The Selectmen provided their rants and raves for the past two weeks. Traynor said his was a “resident rave.” He said he felt there should be a rave for all the signs around town for the graduating seniors. Another rave he had was for two small, book houses or tiny libraries being paid for and soon to be placed throughout the town with the potential for more. Russo said his rave was for the progress on the truck exclusion. His other rave was for the progress made with the appointment process. Joy said her rave was for the great job being done by the financial team.
The Board also took a vote to rescind all prior appointments to the Emergency Management team. The Selectmen voted to reaffirm naming the Town Center Campus Committee, formerly known as the Public Safety Building Committee, to the Town Properties Committee. Additionally, they approved a number of appointments as listed below.
Area 58
Mark Russo, June 30, 2022
Veteran’s Agent
Roxanne Whitbeck, June 30, 2022
Emergency
Management Director
Stephen Silva, indefinite
Historical Commission
Jon Wilhelmsen, June 30, 2022; Jane Schulze, June 30, 2022.
Board of Registrars
Gabe Lundgren, March 31, 2024; Jeffrey Montello, March 31, 2023;and Mary Neckes, March 31, 2022
Bylaw Review Committee – all ‘Until Dissolved’
Dave Alberti, Jean Cohen, Amy Cronin, Linda Leddy, Kim Russo, Ann Sobolewski, Ken Thompson, and Alan Wheelock.
Community Preservation Committee (CPC)
Deborah Anderson, June 30, 2022, Richard Burnet, June 30, 2024; Irving Butler, June 30, 2022; Nancy Butler, June 30, 2024; and Judy Dudley, June 30, 2023; Mark Russo, June 30, 2023; Jane Schulze, June 30, 2024; and Justin Shepard, June 30, 2022.
Conservation
Commission
Richard Burnet, June 30, 2023; Amy Cronin, June 30, 2022, Linda Leddy, June 30, 2024; and Michael Matern, June 30, 2024.
Council on Aging (COA) Nancy Butler, June 30, 2023; Michele Llanes, June 30, 2022; Dot Martel, June 30, 2022; Mary Lou White, June 30, 2023; and David Zeoli, June 30, 2024
Cultural Council
Heather Sanda, June 30, 2023; Elizabeth Westly, June 30, 2023; Jennifer Zanolli, June 30, 2023.
Harry Jason Jr. Park
Study Committee
Robert Doucette, June 30, 2024; and Jacqueline Freitas, June 30, 2024.
Historic District
Commission
Stuart Chase, June 30, 2024; Charles Nickerson, June 30, 2024; and Jonathan Shaw, June 30, 2022;
Open Space Committee
Vicki Alberti, June 30, 2024; Linda Leddy, June 30, 2023; Gavin Murphy, June 30, 2022; Jane Schulze, June 30, 2022; and Alan Wheelock, June 30, 2023.
Recreation Commission
Jeffrey Haas, June 30, 2024; Amy Hempel, June 30, 2022; Kevin Kaupp, June 30, 2022; Katrina Player, June 30, 2024; and Erik Player, June 30, 2024.
Town Properties
Committee
All serving until dissolved
Nancy Butler, Ross MacPherson, Colleen Thompson, John Traynor Jr., and Jon Wilhelmsen, until dissolved
Wage and Personnel
Dave Bugbee, June 30, 2023; Elyse Lyons, June 30, 2022; and Alan Wheelock, June 30, 2024.
Zoning Board
of Appeals (ZBA)
Dave Alberti, June 30, 2022 (alternate); Carolyn DeCristofano, June 30, 2022 (alternate); Suzanne Jafferian, June 30, 2024; Ethan Stiles, June 30, 2022; and Colleen Thompson, June 30, 2022.
There is a single vacancy on the Bylaw Review Committee, the Community Preservation Committee, the Conservation Commission, the Harry Jason Jr. Park Study Committee, and the Coordinator of Races.
There are two vacancies each on the Cultural Council, the Historic Commission, and the Open Space Committee. All spaces on the Agricultural Commission are vacant.