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West Nile found in Whitman sample

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The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) announced today that West Nile virus (WNV) has been detected in mosquitoes collected from Whitman, Massachusetts.  One sample of mosquitoes collected in Whitman on July 23 tested positive for WNV.

WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes that carry this virus are common throughout the state, and are found in urban as well as more rural areas. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe infection.

By taking a few, common-sense precautions, people can help to protect themselves and their loved ones:

Avoid Mosquito Bites

• Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours – The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning. If you are outdoors at any time and notice mosquitoes around you, take steps to avoid being bitten by moving indoors, covering up and/or wearing repellant.

• Clothing Can Help reduce mosquito bites. Although it may be difficult to do when it’s hot, wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.

• Apply Insect Repellent when you go outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] according to the instructions on the product label. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30% or less on older children. Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under three years of age.  Permethrin products are intended for use on items such as clothing, shoes, bed nets and camping gear and should not be applied to skin.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home

• Drain Standing Water – Many mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or getting rid of items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools, and change water in birdbaths frequently.

• Install or Repair Screens – Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all of your windows and doors.

Information about WNV and reports of current and historical WNV virus activity in Massachusetts can be found on the MDPH website at: www.mass.gov/dph/mosquito.

Whitman panel starts budget work

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WHITMAN — The town’s Override Evaluation Committee met for the first time on July 22 to evaluate the town’s financial needs and assess recommendations it would seek to make regarding an operational override in the fall.

Serving on the committee are: residents John Galvin and Christopher George as citizens at-large; Finance Committee members David Codero and Scott Lambiase; Fire Chief Timothy Grenno; Public Works Superintendent Bruce Martin; Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak; School Committee member Dawn Byers; Selectmen Justin Evans and Randy LaMattina, Town Administrator Frank Lynam and Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green.

The meeting, held in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room in Town Hall, is being rebroadcast on Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV. The next meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 12.

The committee organized officers July 22, electing LaMattina, who had expressed interest in the post as chairman. LaMattina was not able to attend the meeting. Lambiase was elected vice chairman and Lynam as clerk.

“Obviously, I think I know what our community needs are overall, but I think the focus of the committee, most important here … is how we’re going to get from here to Town Meeting and get the information out,” Lambiase said.

While a Town Meeting is currently planned for October, Lynam said he would prefer to push it back to November if it means the town’s financial need would be more clearly understood in the process. The committee’s meetings are public and the issue will also be discussed frequently by Selectmen.

Lynam said the short-term task is to take the information already available and information on five-year expenditure estimates that he has requested on capital needs.

“Because no one has responded, I’ve compromised and asked for three-years’ estimates,” he said.

A proposed draft of a capital planning document Collins Center at UMass, Boston had composed — following an earlier version Lynam had sent back to address errors — were to be discussed with the center by Lynam and Selectmen Carl Kowalski and Dan Salvucci this week.

If the draft is acceptable, a public meeting will be scheduled to review it, Lynam said.

The replacement of a primary sewer main between Whitman and the wastewater treatment plant, which has come to town officials’ attention since the capital plan update was requested, will be significant in the upcoming budget. That work is estimated at more than $8 million within the “cheapest alternative” plan, he said.

“We are looking at whether there are impact funds, or anything else, that can help us with it but year-to-year you’re just going to get things that are going to skew the numbers,” Lynam said. “We need a long-term budget [of] at least three years … because the longer you go in an expenditure budget, the less accurate it’s going to be.”

Current budgets and projected expenditures for the following year, based on needs, are calculated for separate town government and capital needs budgets from each department.

“I’m actually confident that, if we just get these things together in a formal way and we look at them as part of a total picture, we should be able to put together a plan that works and can be given to the public in a way that makes sense,” Lynam said.

Grenno said his department has just completed its five-year plan “based on where we are today,” a cumbersome and time-consuming process.

He asked if the override is intended to make departments whole.

“The budget has to reflect what you believe is necessary to operate your department appropriately,” Lynam said. “Some of us can really accurately predict what our budget numbers are going to be because there’s very little room for variance. Others can’t.”

George said the committee should be looking at what the town is missing compared with towns around Whitman, adding that he is aware of where the schools fall short as a parent, but is not as well informed about other departments.

“What does that mean for you?” he asked. “That’s hard for me to see from a Fire perspective or a DPW perspective, or even a police perspective, so I think that will be helpful as you give us that five-year projection.”

Lambiase said the committee must also discuss what cuts would need to be made if an override question fails. He argued an Economic Development Committee, if not hiring at least a part-time town planner, make sense.

“The challenges are immense,” Lynam said. “Small towns can grow on small businesses and do well. As it sits today, we have a fairly productive downtown business center and we have a stretch of business on Route 27 and on Route 18, but trying to grow that business, we have to come up with things that attract people and when you are in our position TIFs are not an option.”

Tax Increment Financing, which provides tax-breaks to attract businesses, would not help Whitman’s need for revenue.

“People think they are over-burdened with taxes here and it couldn’t be further from the truth,” Lynam said.

They also discussed the format of a question — single question or menu approach — scope of work and timeline.

“I’m absolutely opposed to a menu,” Szymaniak said. “If we’re going to be sustainable as a community … it has to be all together.”

A tier of financial options, with every department having a piece of the override was preferred if a menu option were to be offered.

They also discussed going to a regular special town meeting in the fall, as Hanson does, for capital needs.

W-H looks ahead to FY 2021

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School Committee members on Monday, July 22 began assessing the challenges involved in preparing for Whitman’s planned operational override in the fall, as well as possible approaches to long-term budget planning.

Member Dawn Byers and Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak, fresh from a meeting of Whitman’s nine-member Budget-Override Evaluation Committee earlier in the afternoon, also briefed the School Committee on the organizational and override question structural work done in that session.

The budget panel meets next on Aug. 12 to begin specific discussions on school and municipal budgets.

“I’d say the best I can do is a level-service budget with our increases,” Szymaniak said. “The challenge, and I brought it to the committee, is that I don’t want us to be level-serviced if we’re looking at moving forward and, members of the committee, we’re part of that.”

Szymaniak added that, if the aim is to plan budgets for five years ahead, he wants to make sure the district keeps moving educational services forward.

The School Committee next meets at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 28 and will, among other issues discuss the budget implications of where the district wants to be in the next five years. School Committee member Christopher Howard requested that Hanson officials be kept aware of budget discussions with Whitman officials.

Committee member Fred Small asked if the dollar amount lost to level-service budgets from last year to this year could be provided.

“I don’t want to see us go backward from where we were last year,” he said. “I’d also like to see you work on the plan for how we’re going to advance. To just stay still and tread water …”

Szymaniak said he is looking at a close to $2.5 million increase in the budget for fiscal 2021 — $1.349 million if neither full-day kindergarten, nor busing costs for a school start time change, are included.

“We’re having more students than ever go out [of district] through school choice and they’re going out earlier,” he said. “I’m not losing kids in seventh and eighth-grade. I’m losing them in kindergarten.”

Those school choice losses are no longer just to charter schools, Szymaniak added. Parents are sending them to neighboring districts, such as Rockland, that are adding to school budgets, or to online educational programs.

“We’re still bringing in revenue, which is great for us, but the movement is different and, I’m afraid if we don’t continue to move forward …” he said.

“School choice has turned it into a public school that has to be competitive with other public school towns,” School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said. “Public education is going to have to be competitive.”

School Committee member Dan Cullity argued that all-day kindergarten is vital to stem the eventual loss of revenue as more parents send their children to other districts.

“Number two, the state’s going to make [full-day kindergarten] a mandate,” Cullity said. “If they make a mandate, then we’ll really be behind the eight ball, so we should get ahead of it. … before we’re the last ones in the state.”

Szymaniak also said that voters often argue that sports should be cut to lower budgets.

“If I were to threaten to cut sports … if your children were going to be freshmen and there was a threat on the table … and you were nervous about that, you might enroll that child [at another school] and the revenue I would lose would be worth the $280,000 to $300,000 that’s in the budget for athletics,” he said. “Most of our athletic budget is from revolving and gates.”

Changes in technology education also have implications for budgets, where the previous one-to-one device policy is giving way to Chromebook carts as teachers find the use of laptop computers in the classroom.

“They’re not as used as everybody thought they were going to be,” Szymaniak said.

Capital challenges also lie ahead in the district’s antiquated phone system, $330,000 worth of inaccurate Whitman water bills since the high school opened, and the cost of moving district-owned fiber optic wires to new utility poles at a MassDOT project along Bedford Street in Whitman. Bids are now being sought for that work. Gas and electric costs are expected to be up about $83,000 and trash pickup is forecast up by about $7,500.

While the increase in state per-pupil funding was limited to $30, regional transportation funding has been increased to a level of — 82.5 percent reimbursement, a total $75.9 million — in the state budget approved for signing by Gov. Charlie Baker.

“I’m looking at custodial services [SJ Services] up $29,000 for fiscal 2021,” Szymaniak said. “First Student [busing] will be up $41,600. If we want to change our start times, it will be an up-front cost of $440,000 reimbursed the following year.”

If full-day kindergarten in implemented, it is expected to cost $710,000 and the district is looking at an additional $100,000 in curriculum costs wit the addition of an English program and $1.1 million in contracted salary increases, but Szymaniak is level-servicing special education.

“I think special education is going to level off,” Szymaniak said. “My gut tells me that. But that’s a tough number to go back.”

Szymaniak said the fiscal 2020 budget was complicated by the resignation of Indian Head Principal Jill Coutreau, but he hopes the appointment of an interim will save some money. He said he is looking to appoint a retired person so the full salary would not have to be paid.

He was also, through hiring at lower salaries to fill two resignations in other district positions — including the director of technology — to bring back a teacher at Conley School to reduce class size in grade five.

“Sometimes when you eliminate a job, the person applies … for another job posted in the district,” Hayes pointed out. “That position is still eliminated.”

Hiring in-house in those situations saves on unemployment costs, Hayes noted.

Szymaniak pointed out that the assistant facilities director position, who ran school building use, was also eliminated, with a technology department employee taking over a piece of that on a part-time basis. He is also researching a possible change in the fee structure for building use for profit-making leasees to present to the committee in the fall.

“We’re moving into a collaborative operation [with facilities, technology and transportation staff]. … We’re having meetings to talk about job responsibilities,” echoed Assistant Superintendent George Ferro. “We’re having meetings to talk about their own individual goals and the goals of their individual departments — and that has never taken place.”

Szymaniak is also considering an audit of the tech department to determine how the district can operate more sustainably in the coming years.

Hanson OKs host pact for cannabis grow biz

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HANSON — Impressed LLC cleared the first regulatory hurdle toward opening a cannabis cultivation facility at 15 Commercial Way when the Board of Selectmen approved a revised host agreement with the company on Tuesday, July 23.

There were no questions asked by the board or residents attending the meeting before the 5-0 vote was taken.

Selectmen Chairman Laura Fitzgerald-Kemmett summarized the changes sought by the board after a draft of the agreement was discussed July 16.

Those changes — which Impressed LLC agreed to incorporate into the host agreement — include odor mitigation and water conservation practices, board approval before any transfer or sale of the business ownership and payment of a 3-percent impact fee to the town for five years. The company may not apply for a nonprofit or agricultural tax exemption and has agreed to pay for the services of an independent third party, hired by the town, to peer reviewing plans for the facility.

“I cannot conceive that there is anything in Massachusetts that is as heavily regulated as cannabis,” said Selectman Wes Blauss.

“We tried to put in the kitchen sink there,” said Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff.

Fitzgerald-Kemmett noted that Impressed LLC has been “very responsive” to terms the town has asked for in the agreement.

“This is just the first of many chapters,” she said.

The company must now comply with all applicable local regulations as well as obtain a license from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission and comply with the CCC’s regulations.

Fitzgerald-Kemmett also noted that residents had originally voted by a 51 to 49-percent margin to support the state ballot question legalizing marijuana use in the state.

“Since that date, there have been several town meetings and ballot votes regarding marijuana-related businesses in Hanson, where the voters have had the opportunity to let the Board of Selectmen know their wishes with respect to marijuana-related businesses,” Fitzgerald-Kemmett said, reading from a prepared statement. “This board takes its role as the licensing authority seriously. It is our job tonight to determine whether the draft host agreement is acceptable to us and whether it is in the best interests of the town to agree to enter into this agreement with Impressed LLC.”

Town by-laws currently ban the sale of retail marijuana, but allow other cannabis-related businesses to locate in the zone that includes the Hanson Industrial Park on Commercial Way.

Impressed LLC has held several public outreach meetings, as required by the CCC, as their attorneys negotiated a host agreement with town counsel.

Vehicle chargers

Selectmen also voted to set a fee of $1.50 per hour for the two electric vehicle chargers installed at the upper rear parking lot at Town Hall. Each charger has two plugs.

The fee covers a portion of a $250 per plug networking fee, that electric vehicle owners can ping off to locate the chargers when their vehicle needs a charge.

Selectman Jim Hickey did not like subsidizing the networking fee, but Selectman Matt Dyer argued that, without the network’s advertising of the charging stations, it would be difficult to make them successful.

The board decided to try the project for a year and review it.

Cooling town

In other business, Fitzgerald-Kemmett read a statement lauding town employees and volunteers for helping residents cope with last weekend’s heat wave. She said such work behind the scenes is typical of the way they work together to get things done.

“It’s important to occasionally take some time to express our gratitude for all that they do, and this weekend was a perfect example of people working tirelessly for the benefit of the town,” she stated.

The Hanson Public Library extended its hours on Saturday and opened from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Cranberry Cove extended its hours each day by two hours.

She said the Cove crowd on Saturday reminded her of Nantasket Beach.

“Quite a few people ended up taking advantage of these extended hours, but these types of things don’t happen magically,” she said. “On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, I hope you’ll join me in thanking the director, board and employees at both the library and the cove and … [Interim Town Administrator] Merry [Marini] as well as Hanson Fire, Police and Highway for helping to get the word out.”

SSVT closes books on another year

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HANOVER — South Shore Regional Technical School will be using a $78,000 Executive Office of Public Safety and Security grant to purchase the hardware to replace nine doors at the school with new doors including security access fobs. The School Committee encumbered an additional $594,000 from surplus revenue for safety and security expenses at the school, much of it for the security doors.

“The expectation is that we would be able to set staff [key] fobs for certain windows of time,” Superintendent-Director Thomas J. Hickey said, offering the example of outer gym doors to allow access for weekend practices or games, during the Wednesday, July 17 meeting. “We can tailor it based on the employee and the window of time — and it’s all tracked, of course.”

“That’s essential,” said member Robert Mahoney of Rockland. “You need to know who’s in the building.”

The committee also heard Paul Varley of Whitman speak during the meeting’s public forum on several concerns including; how the school handles bullying complaints, why the school mandates uniforms for shops and sports when a full range of sizes is not available, safety of vehicles in the school parking lot when cameras can’t provide full coverage to detect vandalism and how inclusive the school’s athletic teams are. He also alleges that he has seen fight videos involving students at the school.

“Kids are forced to wear uncomfortable, unsafe and demeaning uniforms or get yelled at for not wearing the proper uniform,” Varley said on behalf of his younger brother, who is a student at the school and stood next to him as he spoke.

Varley said when he was showing a friend the photo of the ill-fitting uniform his brother had to wear to play, the friend said the school mascot — a Viking character nearly identical to that of East Bridgewater High — seemed to be racially insensitive, especially in view of the presence of the school letters SS, for South Shore, on the jerseys.

Committee Chairman Chris Amico said they would note the concerns. He said Varley, who was reading his questions from his phone, could forward them and any photos of uniforms he was concerned about, as well.

No action can be taken by the committee on items brought to members’ attention during public forum, which is intended to bring up items not on the agenda.

“The school district and administration take feedback and concerns very seriously,” Hickey said in a prepared statement Friday, July 19. “Additional information will be gathered, further communication will take place and appropriate actions will be taken in the best interest of our students.”

In other business, the school committee honored Director of Buildings and Grounds Robert Morehead for his work in overseeing the maintenance of the aging school building.

“South Shore is a growing school that wants the best educational environment for its students and staff,” Amico said. “Bob and his staff are a huge reason why we are able to achieve the goal every day.”

Morehead said he felt lucky to have the position for the past 15 years as the school’s administration and school committee have been more supportive of his staff than some of his peers have experienced.

School Committee members, once again, gave Hickey an exemplary rating on his annual evaluation.

Hanson begins its TA search

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen have begun the process of hiring a new town administrator, voting on Tuesday, July 9 to post the position and the process by which they will select that person.

Interim Town Administrator Meredith Marini has advised Selectmen she is not interested in being appointed to the job full time.

Board members have expressed an interest in reviewing the job description, and Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked the board how they would like to approach the selection process. Marini said the Town Administrator Act will be the main guide for the type of candidate the town might seek.

“Once it’s posted, how do we want to go about whittling down to the candidates that we want to interview?” she said. Options included a selection committee, hiring an outside consulting firm — which has been done in the past, or including a group of citizens involved in the process.

Selectmen agreed to the consultant option, but Selectman Jim Hickey expressed a desire to be part of the process.

“I will go with it,” Selectman Wes Blauss said of a consultant. “I have become so totally cynical … this is a revolving door. We have had zero continuity. I can count six town administrators, plus an interim in 12 years — it’s just been so fast. We keep nobody.”

Blauss declined to discuss the kind of candidate he is looking for at this point, but did say the town keeps going around on the same track, hiring the “same basic person” who is gone after two years.

The last search was the first one in which the town used a consulting service, Marini said.

“One of the things that we’ve got to do is raise the salary,” said Selectman Kenny Mitchell.

“I’m not blaming the search committees,” Marini said. “It’s what you get for candidates, it’s a shallow pool that you’re working from.”

“You think it’s because of the salary?” FitzGerald-Kemmett asked.

“I think it is,” Marini replied. “And we’ve created our own problem now. [Applicants are] like, ‘Hanson? How many people have they had in the last so many years? What’s going on in Hanson?’”

Marini has looked to consulting firms listed in the Beacon Hill Beacon newsletter as well as reaching out to her counterparts in other communities to ask what firms they may have used.

FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested labor counsel Clifford & Kenny could be asked to conduct a comparative study of salaries in area communities. Marini said she had asked them to do just that, and that the firm will be supplying that information.

East Bridgewater, for example posted a position recently at a salary of $140,000. Hanson currently pays $122,000.

“That was a little concerning, particularly since it’s a very similar town in terms of size and demographics,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

During the last town administrator search, an independent consulting firm was hired to work with a search committee in conducting preliminary vetting of applicants, providing three finalists for Selectmen to interview.

Marini said the process is totally up to the board.

“I like the idea of a [consulting] company,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “What I would like is some department head feedback and involvement. I don’t know what that looks like, but I just know that I think it’s critical for our department heads … to be able to reflect that they have asked the questions and gotten a comfort level.”

She suggested that one option is to have a Selectmen’s meeting include an opportunity for department heads to ask questions of some candidates.

Marini explained that the board would set parameters of experience and other concerns for the consultant to use as a guide in reducing the applicant pool.

“My personal opinion is you need somebody who’s done the job before,” Marini said. “You can’t get somebody who is fresh out … unless they are exceptional. They need to know what the processes are.”

She reminded the board of her own plans for retirement.

“You’re going to have a new person in the executive assistant’s position and finding your way around is going to be difficult if you are just starting out,” Marini said. “By increasing salary, you may get some people who have been in other communities and, just through the dynamics of the political environment have decided to go someplace else, but I think the salary has a lot to do with it.”

In other business, Selectmen voted to change a design aspect of a portion of the Maquan Street/Route 14 rehabilitation project after MassDOT expressed concerns over a boardwalk plan the board had approved to streamline the construction time and lower cost. The board had previously opted for the other option presented to them — a retaining wall along a 250-foot portion of the road as it passes Maquan Pond.

“They are classifying [the boardwalk] as a bridge,” according to Town Planner Deborah Pettey in a letter to Selectmen. “That would mean it would have to be registered as a state bridge. It would also mean that we would have to hire a bridge engineer. Most likely [it would] add approximately $100,000 to the cost of the project and approximately nine months to the timeline.”

James Fitzgerald of engineering firm Environmental Partners explained the classification and options available to the board.

“There was a slight difference in improvements in terms of environmental impacts as far as going over the wetland [via a boardwalk] as opposed to putting in a retaining wall,” said Fitzgerald, who also mentioned that the board had preferred the aesthetics of a boardwalk, which was aimed at providing foot and bicycle access.

Maintenance would have been more costly for a boardwalk. As a bridge, the state would assign the boardwalk a bridge number and it would be under state inspection guidelines and authority for repairs, but may or may not allocate funds for any needed repairs.

“In our opinion, it makes much more sense at this point to go back to the retaining wall concept,” Fitzgerald said.

“Can we circle back to the absurdity of the bridge thing?” FitzGerald-Kemmett asked. “There are bridges failing all over Massachusetts and somehow this little 250-foot thing [is a bridge]. … I don’t think anybody felt extremely passionate one way or the other, but I think, aesthetically, we kind of favored the boardwalk.”

The retaining wall would require further discussion about where a wetlands replication area would be done to mitigate impact on the pond by the construction project.

Closing books on FY 2019

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WHITMAN — In a joint deliberation with the Finance Committee on Tuesday, June 9, which also met that evening, Selectmen approved line item transfers required before closing the books on fiscal 2019.

Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci said the Finance Committee had to vote on the transfers before Selectmen could vote.

“These should have been voted last week, but the Finance Committee didn’t have a quorum and today is the last day to make any of these moves for fiscal 2019,” Selectman Brian Bezanson said of a scheduled July 2 Finance meeting.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, who is traveling, and Selectmen Justin Evans were absent from the July 9 meeting.

Some transfers had been previously approved by Selectmen and had to be voted by the Finance Committee.

A transfer of $45,816.28 from Line 123 to Line 124 to fund vacation time accumulated by Police Chief Scott Benton was approved after some vigorous discussion.

“I don’t think its any secret that the chief of police is planning on retiring within the next year, possibly within the calendar year,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said. “While we are developing policies to prevent this type of accrual in future years, we’re obligated to pay unused vacation on termination of employment.”

Finance Chairman Richard Anderson said his committee’s collective concern was for the policy, which while still in development, is “long overdue.”

Salvucci wanted to know if there were any employees who could be grandfathered under any policy change.

Lynam recommended setting aside what is anticipated to be unexpended funds in the police salary line to lessen the financial impact when the chief does retire. The funds would be encumbered in an appropriation number created for that purpose, according to Lynam.

Finance Committee Vice Chairman David Codero said department heads had told his committee over the last budget season that they would be able to absorb any increases to their line items in order to save money for the town.

“This line item transfer is going to represent about $80,000 of money that was transferred from one police account to another,” he said. “The concern that I have is that, in a fiscal year that we were asking department heads to really tighten the belts, we’re getting $80,000 of transfers for unexpected expenditures. I don’t think it was prudent for that particular department head to have $80,000 to be sitting in an account when it could be used for other town services.”

Lynam argued the $80,000 represents 2.2 percent of the entire police budget. Unlike Town Hall or other departments, where schedules and costs are fixed, “in public safety, we have a number of items that are unpredictable.”

Line-of-duty injuries, for example, cannot be foreseen and not all shifts are always filled, he argued.

“If we were not doing these transfers, at the end of the year, we would be turning back $80,000 to the General Fund,” he said. “That money could easily have been spent by filling shifts we didn’t fill and for doing things that we probably should be doing that we don’t do because we’re trying to be fiscally prudent.”

He added that the only reason the transfer is being sought now is that the opportunity now exists to do it without needing to go to a special Town Meeting vote — which may still need to happen depending on how things play out.

“We’re paying for something that, essentially, the town agreed to,” Lynam said.

Benton asked what the $80,000 figure represented. Finance officials said it was cumulative transfers, including $12,000 in unanticipated costs for computer repairs.

“I come to the Finance Committee every year and I tell you that we don’t fill about 500 to 700 shifts and I tell you I can’t anticipate snow, emergencies and things like that,” he said. A mild winter helped this year.

“I didn’t know we were going to have a joint Selectmen/Finance Committee meeting that wasn’t posted, I didn’t know my name was going to come up, I didn’t know we were going to get into this, but I have no problems with getting into it,” Benton said.

Benton said he told Lynam that he thought transferring the funds was preferable to crippling the Police Department budget for the next year.

An additional $355.28 (over the $750 already approved by Selectmen) for a shortfall in payment for hours worked by the Selectmen’s administrative assistant was also approved. That salary covers hours that are uncertain from year to year, according to Lynam, who said the $355.28 — an additional shortage found when year-end payroll was completed — is being transferred from a line used to fund all salary increases when contracts were settled last year. Both boards approved the transfer.

A transfer from Line 172 (Norfolk County Agricultural High School) of $12,000 for legal costs was approved by both boards. A transfer from Line 256 to Line 257 of $2,230.42 for the FICA payment based on total salaries paid, a figure that is not clear as a year-end total until the June payroll is complete was approved by both boards. A transfer from Line 48 of $140.30 to Line 50 to close a minor shortfall in salary for the treasurer-clerical employee in the collectors’ office was approved by both boards.

Selectmen also voted to increase ambulance rates for the first time since 2016, at the urging of Fire Chief Timothy Grenno.

“It’s a sign of the times,” he said. “Insurance rates are going up. Also, some legislation has been filed — which sits in conference committee right now — which will limit the level to which you are able to bill insurance companies for the use of emergency services.”

That bill would include a rollback date governing when rate increases would be allowed, after which it would be limited to a benchmark of 2 or 3 percent, Grenno said.

“These rate increases are in line with what our billing company has recommended,” he said. “It is the same Medicare billable rates which most of our neighboring towns are using.”

Salvucci said he has noticed that Whitman has, in the past, been much lower than neighboring towns.

The Board of Selectmen appointed a nine-member Budget-Override Evaluation Committee.

Serving on the committe will be: residents John Galvin and Christopher George as citizens at-large; Finance Committee members Codero and Scott Lambiase; Grenno; Public Works Superintendent Bruce Martin; Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak; School Committee member Dawn Byers; Selectmen Evans and Randy LaMattina and Lynam.

“The town cannot show that we are approving it — even though we are approving [of] it — the taxpayers have to make that decision,” Salvucci said of the committee’s title.

Police Chief Scott Benton said he and Grenno had decided to have one public safety representative on the committee.

Grenno asked why there was no representation of the town accountant or assessor’s office on the committee, but Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green said the accountant would be actively involved, reviewing figures.

Hanson health board closes Dunkin’ and Speedway

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Town and store officials work inside the Dunkin’ Donuts/Speedway stores at routes 58 and 27 in Hanson Wednesday after an inspection found evidence of rodent infestation. Both stores are currently prohibited from selling food products, but Speedway may sell gasoline. / Photo by: Steph Spyopoulos  

HANSON — Health officials have shut down the Speedway convenience store — and the Dunkin’ inside — until both stores can prove to the Board of Health that pests are under control and the store has been sanitized.

Health Board Vice Chairman Gil Amado said a rodent-control company was on premises Thursday.

“We felt that it needed immediate attention and they were shut down due to an imminent health hazard,” he said.

He said the board had received a report that there was open food in the cooler and that it was “being nibbled on by mice and that mice were defecating in the trays. We walked in the cooler at that’s what we saw,” Amado said.

He could not verify media reports that employees were instructed to sell contaminated food to the public.

The shut-down order was based on the verified reports of “exposed food, mouse droppings everywhere and, apparently they were told to serve the food,” he said. “I don’t have physical evidence of that [the alleged serving order].”

Amado said Thursday it is not the first time that Dunkin’ store has been shut down over health concerns, but the independent inspector contracted by the town had found no major violations at the location during an inspection a few months ago.

Because the mice move around the whole building, both businesses were ordered to cease selling food, he noted.

“We have an independent food inspector who does all thee food inspections,” Amado said, as the town is currently without it’s own health agent. “We’re required to inspect twice a year and she was on her bi-yearly inspection [when] she noticed a few things kind of way off.”

Amado said the inspector reported in a document submitted to the Board of Health that she had seen evidence of rodent infestation and that “further steps were necessary to take.”

The board discussed the report at a recent meeting and Amado accompanied the inspector to the store Wednesday, July 10 and “after reviewing what she had written in her report and what I saw I immediately proceeded to tell everyone to stop selling food [and] to not let any food items leave the store, that the business is shut down and Speedway is shut down — they can only sell gas,” he said. “No food items are to leave that building.”

Amado said that includes pre-packaged items such as bags of chips or other snack foods.

Dunkin’ told Channel 25 that the employee’s original complaint is being looked into, but that Speedway had not commented on the shut-down.

Hanson queries cannabis growers

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen, Tuesday, July 9 discussed concerns and questions over water and electricity use, odor and wastewater management as well as security of the building, and  product and plant waste disposal at the proposed Cannabis grow facility planned for Commercial Street in Hanson.

“Tonight’s discussion is the first that the Board of Selectmen has had with Impressed LLC,” said Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “The purpose of our discussion tonight is to hear from the applicant about their overall business plan, as well as to discuss some of the areas of concern.”

Impressed LLC owners Ralph and Alli Greenberg of Pembroke and Weymouth dentist Dr. Shahram Mogghadam, the company’s lawyer Christopher Ray, who works for national cannabis-related law firm, Hoban Law Group, and HVAC design engineer Paul Dean fielded Selectmen’s questions before those of residents were taken. [See related story, page 5.]

“Odor mitigation is the big concern for people,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “[Residents] don’t want the skunk smell.”

Dean said the HVAC system will use a heap-15 filter, carbon filter and ionized air to eliminate odors as a way to control smell while sterilizing ductwork. A back-up generator, run on diesel and timed to start within 90 seconds of a power failure is also planned to control odor as well as keep plants alive.

The town’s current general and zoning bylaws ban retail marijuana sales in Hanson, but zoning bylaws permit other marijuana businesses such as cultivation and testing facilities to locate in the zoned area that includes the industrial park. Impressed LLC must meet all local and state Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) regulations, including the execution of a host community agreement (HCA), FitzGerald-Kemmett reminded those in attendance.

A final draft version of the HCA will be discussed in a public meeting at 6 p.m., Tuesday, July 16 to hear residents’ feedback before the agreement comes up for approval and signing at the Tuesday, July 23 Selectmen’s meeting.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the board has not yet seen the host agreement, but she said it has never been discussed as part of the town’s tax incentive finance (TIF) program and is not in the designated TIF zone.

“My background is used lab and scientific equipment,” Ralph Greenberg said. “I’m pretty involved with biotechnology and the understanding of how facilities should work with cleanliness and odor management.”

While he said he hopes to apply for a cannabis product manufacturing license at a later date, Ralph Greenberg stressed the current HCA only concerns a growing operation.

He said he will be the company’s operations manager and sales manager when product becomes ready for sale to in-state retail businesses. Local water supply company Indian Head Water has been contracted to supply water to the company. A tanker will be located at Impressed LLC and changed out every seven to 10 days, Ralph Greenberg said. No town water will be used for cultivation, only for bathroom services at the building, he stressed.

Ray, who now serves as general counsel to Impressed LLC during HCA negotiations and CCC application, said he would likely continue to serve the company in that capacity to help them keep compliant. Alli Greenberg will be the company’s cultivation director, responsible for all day-to-day management as well as licensing and regulation compliance as well as overseeing sales goals and hiring.

Hanson residents applying to work at the company would receive first priority, she said.

“Our commitment is to ensure the state-of-the-art facility is properly installed, that we’ll remove any odor that may otherwise escape our facility,” she said. “Furthermore, it is of the utmost importance [to us] to properly run a discreet location.”

Dean, the owner-operator of ICG — a design engineering firm and HVAC contractor — said he has worked on 16 cultivation sites in the state. Most of the board’s questions were directed to Dean.

Dean said hydrogen peroxide will be the only chemical used for cleaning, with the waste solution stored in a separate holding tank which will be tracked by a logbook when it is removed by a licensed contractor.

Disposal of plant waste will also be tracked and stored until it can be removed from the site for chemical treatment — rendering it unusable — before incineration off-site, owners have said.

Everything that enters or leaves the building, including plants that have died, will be tracked and reported to the CCC, Dean said. No pesticides will be used, per CCC regulations.

“It’s tested, so if we’re using it, they’ll find it — even heavy metals,” Dan said. Any batches where pesticides, or other chemicals are found to have been used, will be tracked and destroyed.

The building will use a nitogen-CO2 fire suppression system in the grow rooms along with an alarm connection to the fire department. There will be 64 internal cameras, many with high-resolution lenses to enable reading faces and badge photos, to enable proper access to secure areas, with only bathrooms not under camera surveillance.

“That’s your only safe spot in the building,” Dean said of bathroom privacy. Breaks and loitering outside the building are not permitted. State regulations also prohibit employees from using cannabis on, or within 10 miles of the property.

Selectman Matt Dyer asked about the company’s maintenance plan.

“What I don’t want to see is, the facility gets up and running if we approve it, and five years later we have a problem with the HVAC system because you didn’t do preventive maintenance.”

While Dean said his firm is not seeking that contract, he recommends a service plan to replace filters and clean coils every month.

Ralph Greenberg said he would be acting as the facilities manager to deal with that kind of service need.

Town attorney Kate Feodoroff said the town can use the HCA as a tool through which those conditions are enforced under threat of revocation, through Selectmen, the Planning Board or Board of Health.

Residents were advised to ask only questions about the business plan, odor and waste removal, security and other issues raised by the board.

“I want to make it clear tonight that we will not be discussing the legality, morality or safety of marijuana useage,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Those are issues beyond the scope of the Hanson Board of Selectmen and would be more appropriately directed to your legislator or the Cannabis Control Commission.”

The first two questions — about why there is an “impression we have to sign this host agreement” and who pays for legal advice to fight if the town “wants to fight something” — skirted that admonition, and FitzGerald-Kemmett cut off that discussion, after allowing it for a time.

Feodoroff had advised that court rulings thus far have centered on municipal efforts to control the number of facilities. Hanson’s votes at town meetings, she said have led to bylaws allowing grow facilities in town.

“The Board of Selectmen is essentially negotiating with a seemingly responsible party to execute what the town meetings told them to do,” she said. “That’s the best answer I can give you.”

Hanson taxpayers ultimately pay town counsel fees for legal services required of town counsel.

Other questions centered on fire safety and the handling of cleaning chemicals, as well as the benefits of signing a host agreement.

Dean said chemical storage would be in a secure area segregated from other materials on-site.

Feodoroff said the HCA places “a lot of risk” on the marijuana establishments, ensures compliance and generates revenue from the 3-percent of gross sales community impact payment. Paid for five years, the impact fees could be used for any purpose, Feodoroff said, from training police in detecting whether people are driving under the influence of marijuana, to school drug awareness programs, or street improvements.

“You do need backup [information on the impact], and the backup is to all be documented in the public record, but the way you use the money is unrestricted,” Feodoroff said.

Hanson salutes Mewis

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HANSON — From lawn signs offering congratulations to cheers of family, friends and public officials, Hanson has spent the week celebrating the achievement of favorite daughter Samantha Mewis and her U.S. Women’s National Soccer teammates at the World Cup tournament in Lyon, France.

“I’ve had so much fun the last two weeks name-dropping Sam and [her sister] Kristie,” said Selectman Wes Blauss, a retired Hanson Middle School teacher. “It’s given me so much street cred having known them.”

Samantha and her older sister Kristie were the first sisters to represent the United States on the National Team.

Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett also spoke about Mewis and her team at the Tuesday, July 9 Board of Selectmen meeting.

“On Sunday, the town of Hanson, along with the rest of the world, watched in awe as our own Samantha Mewis [and] the Women’s National Soccer team made history with the first back-to-back World Cup titles,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, noting the off-the-field benefits the win could inspire.

“While our win on Sunday was, in and of itself amazing, the impact that Sam has made goes well beyond the field,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “She and her teammates have literally inspired girls all over the world. Their teamwork, joy of the game and sheer athleticism were unparalleled and evident to everybody watching, but just as important, is the fact that she and her team have used this platform to continue to advocate for gender pay equity, thus assuring that the effects of their win will be felt for generations to come.”

The daughter of Bob and Melissa Mewis, Samantha and Kristie grew up in Hanson. Samantha was a star player at W-H where she was a captain on the girls’ soccer team which notched two undefeated seasons and four league championships in her four years on the team.

Mewis will also be among the first class of inductees to the W-H Hall of Fame, Athletic Director Bob Rodgers announced via Twitter on Sunday, July 7 — after the U.S. team won its fourth World Cup, and second consecutive championship.

“On Wednesday we will have info on the entire class of inductees as well as info on how you can attend the dinner the first weekend in October. @sammymewy is so deserving of this honor,” Rodgers Tweeted. “When the rest of the class is announced Panther nation will be quite proud.”

The road to the World Cup — and Hall of Fame — has not always been easy.

“Sam’s story is one of persistence and determination,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “She didn’t make the roster for the 2016 Olympics, but was named as an alternate for the squad and then sustained a serious knee injury that sidelined her for the first half of 2018.”

She recovered and made the USWNT roster for the World Cup, but there were no expectations that she would start until the day before the opener, when a teammate’s injury opened a spot for her.

Mewis then had significant playing time, leading to her scoring two goals and three assists, including an assist in Sunday’s game. Opposing teams scored only three goals between them during the six-game World Cup tournament.

“It’s no surprise [that], if you drive around Hanson, you will see all kinds of signs congratulating Sam and the rest of the team on their win,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “The whole town is literally bursting with pride at the success of our hometown girl and we can’t wait to see what you’ll do next.”