Plympton Police Chief Matthew Ahl addressed Plympton selectmen at their in-person meeting Feb. 12 regarding a new regional clinician role.
“We’ve been working for about a year or so trying to get the clinician program off the ground, and I give a lot of credit to the Carver Police Department – they’re the holder of this grant and we’re the beneficiary,” Ahl said. He also told the Selectmen that the grant encompasses Plympton, Carver, Halifax, and Hanson. “So essentially the program is we have a clinician that’s allocated to all four of these departments that rotates through… she’s really there to help mitigate all the things that we see in the streets now… it’s a big push… so with that being said, her ability to go out there and diffuse the situation, speak with parties that are involved whether it be a domestic incident, temporary psychosis, if she has to issue a Section 12… so she’s kind of there on the threshold on the forefront to take that onus off of us as a Police Department and be the health proxy to kind of guide us in our decision and make sure that we’re doing the right thing,” Ahl explained. He told the Selectmen that while they are only about two months into the program, it has been “impactful.” The current contract is for three years, though Ahl said he envisions it being a long-term program. Selectman John Traynor asked if she was also involved with the Fire Department. Ahl said that while she was not, she has been willing to jump in and help in situations involving other departments.
Traynor said, “I think sometimes we think of us as such a small community that we don’t have some of the services that the larger towns offer but that’s not true. These regional associations like you have here, we have the opportunity to reach out and really bring top people in to help out.” Ahl agreed referring to the comfort dog program as another example of community collaboration.
“Sounds really good to me; I like the fact that it’s both proactive but it’s also there situational in the event that you needed somebody,” Joy said. She also asked if something came up in Plympton while the clinician was working in a neighboring town, would it be possible to get her to respond to the incident. Ahl said, “we have an agreement… if there’s something that’s pressing with our community and say that she’s over in Hanson for the day, then we’re going to collaborate and figure out a means to get her from Hanson.”
The Selectmen reviewed a proposed MassDOT Letter to property owners regarding the Winnetuxet Bridge Project. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy told the Selectmen that the letter was drafted by Attorney Jonathan Eichman. Dennehy said, “It’s a required part of the process because we are getting federal aid for the replacement of the bridge. It’s not going to make any notable changes to the property… basically there are two existing utility poles, and the state just needs to – it’s essentially a permanent easement, but because it’s permanent, they just need to take the land by law so that they can access the two poles. The property in question is 1 Pope’s Farm. The Selectmen voted to approve sending the letter.
For Town Administrator’s updates, Dennehy said that they have been busy with the budget process. She also noted that they had quite a few items in correspondence. She said that the Town Clerk was looking for a vote to acknowledge receipt of local election and presidential primary election information as well as the officer positions that will be open on the ballot on May 18. Also included in the vote was acknowledgement and approval of police details for the presidential primary on March 5, the local election on May 18, the state primary election on September 3, and the state presidential election on November 5. The Selectmen voted to approve.
The Selectmen also voted to approve the sale of the Class III and Scrap licenses from Alby’s Salvage to Angels Auto Inc. Alby’s is retaining their Class II license.
Selectman Mark Russo led off the raves talking about the implementation of a community clinician. “I have a feeling this is going to be a cool thing in terms of support at the time of a problem and thwarting more substantial problems later on to the degree that it’s sort of preventative medicine which of course is the best medicine,” Russo said. Joy said her rave was for an article in the Express recognizing three Dennett Elementary boys who put their fire dept. training to use in a fire emergency at home. Plympton’s Fire Dept. honored them as Young Heroes. “What a great story and a fantastic outcome,” Joy said. Selectman John Traynor said he supported Russo’s rave for the new clinician program.