The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, July 24. The Selectmen took up a vote to issue a notice of non-exercise for 399 Main Street, Figueroa. “This was a parcel, that I believe is going solar,” Chair Christine Joy said. “We did look at that property – I spent some time with the Open Space Co-Chair and the Conservation Agent and we once had this vision of multi-use property – solar, agriculture, affordable housing and in looking more closely at it, it was clear that there is a lot of wetlands and there just wasn’t going to be room to do it.” “ I don’t think it’s a missed opportunity,” Selectman Mark Russo said.
The Selectmen voted to approve a sign at Harry Jason Park. Selectman John Traynor explained that it was being driven by the Recreation Committee. He further said that the Dennett Elementary School soccer field was in bad shape and the program wished to use the field at Harry Jason Park as the grass was in better shape. While the Selectmen approved the request, the Recreation Commission will be responsible for paying for and installing the sign. Traynor said that the sign will be installed prior to the start of the program in September.
The Selectmen voted to approve a pilot agreement for 61 Upland Road. It was previously approved at the May Town Meeting. Joy said it was vetted by all the necessary parties including Town Counsel and the Board of Assessors.
They also voted to approve a proposed agreement to allow the transfer of ownership of land owned by Crescent Moon Cranberry LLC on Upland Road to SolaREIT. Joy asked them to confirm that they were aware of all of the restrictions including conservation and was told that they did. The conservation restrictions include a permanent habitat for Eastern Box turtles and a conservation restriction the town has on the balance of the bog property. Russo touched on the endangered species restriction and noted that he is on the Board of Wildlands Trust. He also said that the Wildlands Trust Board would like to see the town hold both restrictions, rather than the Wildlands Trust being the holders of the endangered species restriction. The Selectmen agreed that they were open to holding both and that it might help to keep things “cleaner.”
The Board also discussed and approved a proposed easement between Jeff and Michelle Smith and SolaREIT to ensure that the abutting homeowners maintain the needed access to their property.
The Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves for the last few weeks. Traynor said that his rave was for the Fire Chief Search Committee. “What an excellent job they did… I think that process of having a Committee of two Fire Chiefs, a Moderator, the Town Administrator, and the Police Chief resulted in a very good decision,” he said. He also gave a shout out to Project Arts that puts on live music on Wednesday evenings at the Plymouth Waterfront. “So, I think my rave is the way things naturally, organically slow-down during the summer; I think people are on vacation and it gives us all a chance to catch our breath a little, get a bit of perspective, so that we kind of gain some momentum with direction as we head into the fall,” Russo said. Joy said her rave was for the possibility of the town taking ownership over the restriction for the Box turtles. “It’s a beautiful forest area that would be protected,” Joy said.