The Halifax Board of Selectmen met at the Town Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 13. Selectmen Chair John Bruno said they received a letter from the Commonwealth saying that they were pleased to give an update on an economic development bill recently approved by the Legislature. The legislation would provide critical assistance for home heating, MBTA improvements, workforce development, and other economic needs. It also includes several local amendments from local legislators including Josh Cutler and Kathy LaNatra. Halifax is to receive $100,000 for upgrades and improvements to the Halifax Senior Center, $78,000 for Halifax public safety improvements, and $50,000 for Halifax recreation improvements. These funds are in addition to the regular State budget that includes $30,000 for the Holmes Public Library, $50,000 for the Halifax Council on Aging, and $125,000 for Monponsett Pond treatments.
The Selectmen dealt with an open meeting law complaint filed by a resident regarding the Nov. 22 meeting. Bruno said that the recommendation of the interim Town Administrator is to forward it to Town Counsel. The alleged violation has to do with details being left out of the meeting agenda.
Bruno said that they had a request from Veteran’s Agent Steve Littlefield to terminate the Memorial Day Committee and reinstitute it as the Halifax Veteran’s Services Council. “While the Memorial Day Committee has been great for Memorial Day itself, it leaves out many other opportunities for a group of citizens to help our veteran community throughout the year. I’ve had many people ask, “what can I do to help?” and I would like to put their desire to serve to good use,” Bruno read from a letter written by Littlefield. “It sounds like he really just wants to expand the responsibilities of the Committee and name it differently; I don’t think he’s trying to do away with the people who are serving on it,” Acting Town Administrator Sandy Nolan explained. Bruno said that they would address it at a later meeting.
The Selectmen met with representatives from J&J Motorsports. Owner Jake Sullivan was unable to attend due to being in the Police Academy, so his father Jay Sullivan was there in his stead. Nicholas Murphy also attended the meeting saying he was running the day-to-day operations while Sullivan is in the Academy. Bruno read a letter from the residents of Indian Path Rd. in which they said they attended the initial licensing hearing for J&J Motorsports which is located at 413 Plymouth St. “The license was granted for a maximum of 12 vehicles for sale outside at a time; there are always considerably more than 12 vehicles on the premises making it, one, difficult to see at times when merging onto busy 106 and, two, is constantly unsightly and unkept,” the letter read. It continued, “They seemed like nice kids at the time, and we wanted to support the business and town of Halifax; we would have spoken up in the meeting had we known this would be the case.” Murphy told the Selectmen that they currently only have 12 vehicles on the property. He explained that they just obtained a second lot where they were able to move the excess vehicles. Bruno asked Murphy and the elder Sullivan if they were able to rearrange the vehicles for a better sight line for residents.
Police Chief Joao Chaves met with the Selectmen about several issues including the assignment of the School Resource Officer. Chaves said that Officer Michelle McIntyre would be doing a dual role of the School Resource Officer and a Court Prosecutor. He further said that Officer Michael Schlieff injured his ankle during an arrest following a mental health call. The Selectmen approved the one-day injured on duty request for Schlieff.
The Selectmen also dealt with issues pertaining to both Pasture Lane and Sherwood Drive. Bruno explained, “At least on Pasture Lane it’s a development that doesn’t have the roads finished, usually that means there is only a base coat. The drainage isn’t correctly done… And all that kind of stuff and the people that live there and bought houses there are expecting the developer to fix that and they’re mad about that.” He said that the Planning Board used to just put a hold on one lot as a means of security to make sure that the developer did that. That specific lot has been sold to a developer. “I don’t think it really has anything to do with us,” Bruno said of the Selectmen’s purview over the matter. The issue on Sherwood Drive pertained to a drainage issue that Bruno described as the developer’s inability to follow-through. Bruno said that the best course of action might be to arrange a meeting with the Planning Board and “just hash this out.” He recommended getting advice from a land use lawyer. “The quicker I feel like we can get these two issues solved, the better,” Selectman Jonathan Selig said adding that snow was imminent.
The Selectmen met with Edward Gannon of Precision Wildlife regarding a proposal for ACO services. Chief Chaves said that the animal control officer (ACO) left back in August and that the response for new applications was “very minimal.” Chaves said that when the former ACO left she mentioned that East Bridgewater was looking into having a company take over the responsibilities. They did end up with that option and Chaves said that after speaking with East Bridgewater he was told that it was going well. Chaves said that after receiving the bid for Halifax, however, it was higher than what was given for East Bridgewater despite Halifax being a smaller community. “Mr. Gannon’s company provides vehicles, liability insurance – they just require any of our equipment that we still have available,” Chaves explained. “What’s great about his company is they also do bats and my guys are allergic to bats,” Chaves joked. Gannon spoke to the Board saying he has been providing services to East Bridgewater since March and noted that he comes from a wildlife background. Regarding the higher bid, Gannon said that East Bridgewater’s numbers would be getting higher soon as well. The Selectmen voted to have Town Counsel review the agreement with Precision Wildlife to provide ACO services.
Bruno told the Selectmen that he had a letter from the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce. Bruno read, “I’m writing in hopes you can assist me with a letter of support, the Chamber in partnership with the Cape Cod Chamber is applying for a regional economic development organization grant as we have done each year for the last several years. Together, we will be working on a myriad of development initiatives and funding as needed to help us accomplish goals.” The letter continued, “Our regional economic development coordinators have requested that we obtain letters from the municipalities in which we serve.” The Selectmen agreed to table it until they could get a bit more information on the matter.
The Selectmen met with the Chair of the Finance Committee, Thomas Connolly. They set a date for the annual wage and personnel public hearing that needs to occur before the end of January. They voted to schedule the hearing for Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. The incoming Town Administrator will be on the job in time for the hearing. The Selectmen also unanimously approved the contract to make Cody Haddad the new Town Administrator.