Whitman-Hanson Express

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Hanson confronts littered properties

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen, on Tuesday, June 4, voted to table a decision on a General By-law violation regarding property conditions at 248 East Washington St. because the wrong address was listed on the meeting agenda.

The agenda listed the address of the property as 246 East Washington. Selectmen will vote on the issue when they next meet on Tuesday, June 18.

Building Inspector Robert Curran wrote in a letter to Gilbert Grabowski, the owner of 248 East Washington, that: “Your property is littered with debris, junk, old boats and trailers that, in my opinion, is detrimental to public safety, health and good.”

The letter was addressed to 246 East Washington, however, prompting Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett whether the owner was properly informed of the public hearing.

Curran was seeking a 10-day notice for Grabowski to remove the junk, scrap metal and other waste. He also noted the property had been brought before Superior Court in 2014 after enforcement had been initiated in 2012.

“I then tried to work with the property owner to get them to clean it up,” Curran said. “Nothing was done sufficiently … and Selectmen declared it in my opinion, is detrimental to public safety, health and good in 2014. We then went to court and the owner of the property cleaned up the property sufficiently for me to say he was OK.”

The property is in need of cleanup again, Curran said.

“This one’s been difficult,” Curran said. “I think this is more of a hoarding issue more than anything and I think we should treat it more like that, so I need your support to take it further.”

Selectman Matt Dyer suggested that the board make sure the address be properly posted on the agenda before a vote is taken. FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed.

Selectmen did vote to declare property at 81 Ocean Ave., as in violation of the General By-law.

Curran provided the board with photographs showing “debris, junk, appliances and auto parts that, in my opinion, is detrimental to public safety, health and good,” he said in a letter to property owner Kevin Smith dated May 7. “There are also two motor vehicles up on jack stands undergoing repairs, one of which is in your front yard.”

Curran told Selectmen during a public hearing on the matter that the property has been before Selectmen, beginning in 2009 with a hearing at which that Board of Selectmen determined the property was detrimental to public safety.

Cleanup had progressed, but was not completed and a follow-up letter was sent.

“We never did go to court because the property was cleaned up, but it’s [now] worse than it’s ever been,” Curran said.

He said he is asking the Board to request Town Counsel to seek and order from the court to clean it up, followed by a permanent injunction to keep the property clean.

Selectmen enforce General By-laws.

In other business, Selectmen voted to suspend the Class II Auto License of Upscale Auto, at 169A Franklin St., with the provision that, if work flagged by Curran be completed by the board’s next meeting on June 18, the vote could be reconsidered. That work includes repair of a fence on the property and ensuring that all cars on site are in saleable condition, including inflated tires.

FinCom votes on June 17 articles

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WHITMAN — Voters will resume the Whitman Town Meeting at 7:30 p.m., Monday, June 17 after a debt exclusion question on the May 18 Town Election ballot freed up funds for some capital articles. Town Meeting will be held in the Town Hall auditorium.

The debt exclusion removed remaining payments on the new police station and renovations to Town Hall and the fire station from the tax levy. Finance Committee members met Tuesday, June 11 to prioritize Articles 29 through 49 not acted on before Town Meeting adjourned on May 6.

Some articles, including school projects given lower priority on the School District’s capital matrix and some town vehicle requests, were either amended, passed over or not recommended by the Finance Committee.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said that, as of the time the May 6 Town Meeting session ended, there was $7,491 left in the levy and $439,115 remaining in free cash and $179,227 in capital stabilization.

Selectmen have voted to increase the capital stabilization account by $150,000.

“In order to accomplish that, in our Town Meeting on June 17, our first vote will be to take that money that had been paid from free cash and transfer that to capital stabilization,” Lynam said. “We can’t put it back in free cash.”

The second vote would be to raise and appropriate the money needed to complete the payment for the debt. A portion had already been voted on May 6 and by-law forbids reconsideration at the June 17 session, according to Lynam.

There is $943,242 available for votes on articles on Monday. There are $973,948 in pending requests.

“The committee has to decide how much of the money that’s available, assuming the special Town Meeting is voted as presented, of those balances that we want to remain,” said Finance Committee Chairman Richard Anderson.

“There will be an amendment prepared for each article,” Lynam said. “Every article is going to have to be amended on the floor.”

One of the amendments to control costs is the Finance Committee’s recommendation to support the purchase of two police cruisers instead of the three — at a cost of $65,870.65 — requested by Police Chief Scott Benton.

“All things being relative, if the money was there and we didn’t have a need for it, then I would support that,” Lynam said. He also recommended the purchase of only two of the three plow vehicles requested by the DPW, with which the Finance Committee concurred.

“[They’re] putting body paste on these vehicles so they pass inspection,” Anderson said of the DPW trucks that need replacement. “They’re in that bad a shape. … We have said no to the DPW more than we have to anyone else.”

Anderson reminded the Finance Committee that Benton could further amend to go back to the three vehicles if he felt that strongly about it.

An article to appropriate $100,000 for street paving was unanimously recommended.

When regional school district articles were discussed, former Selectman Scott Lambiase, now a Finance Committee member, asked if there was any sense in recommending articles Hanson voters have passed over.

Lynam said he did not think so, except that some may be revisited at Hanson’s October Town Meeting.

The Finance Committee recommended for passage include: $14,000 for a motorized physical education curtain at Whitman Middle School; $25,000 to replace exterior doors at Whitman’s schools; $45,000 to install thumb-piece latches to all interior classroom and office doors in Whitman schools; $17,946 for Whitman’s share of resurfacing the WHRHS gym floor; $41,874 for Whitman’s share of a handicap ramp to the existing press box at the high school; $20,937 for Whitman’s share of thumb latches at doors in the high school and $14,955 for Whitman’s share of repairs to the fire lane at the high school. A $134,595 share of the cost to spray/resurface the high school’s outdoor track was also recommended.

The recommended articles were at the top of the school’s priorities list.

School articles the Finance Committee recommended be passed over are: articles 42 through 44 — encompassing $59,820 to replace rooftop units at the high school; $44,865 for Whitman’s share of installing solar-powered site lighting and $44,865 to replace two facilities vehicles.

The Finance Committee voted against recommending $125,622 for Whitman’s share of the cost to repair/replace sections of the main roadway into WHRHS. It was the district’s lowest priority of the capital matrix items on the Whitman warrant.

“They’re better than what we’re driving on,” Lynam said.

Finance Committee member Chuck Colby agreed, but expressed concern that Hanson had already approved the expense.

The Finance Committee has also recommended a reduction of interest rate accrues on property taxes deferred by eligible taxpayers for temporary financial hardship (MGL c. 59 §5 clause 18A) from 8 percent to 2 percent.

A hometown thank you

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HANSON — During an often-tearful ceremony Tuesday, June 4, the Board of Selectmen joined with the town’s state and federal legislators to bestow overdue honor to a Vietnam veteran.

“Just the idea that our service members weren’t respected during the Vietnam War is so foreign to me,” said Christopher Matthews, a legislative aide to U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass. “I think it’s likely known now, with a sense of shame, that 50 years ago when our veterans returned from Vietnam, they did not receive the respect and honor that they receive today. … It’s an honor today to say on behalf of Rep. Keating, ‘Welcome home, Cpl. Mattson. Thank you for your service and congratulations on this award.’”

Matthews’ father, who served in Korea during Vietnam experienced hostility to his uniform at the time when returning home.

Marine Corps veteran Everett Mattson of Hanson wiped tears from his eyes as state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, spoke to “recognize and congratulate him for his tremendous patience awaiting receipt of his Combat Action Ribbon for service in Vietnam.”

As corporal in the 2nd Marine Div., Mattson served in action in Vietnam in 1966, seeing heavy combat during his service, but did not receive the citation, for which service under enemy fire is required. It was not until he launched a letter-writing campaign in 2004 for an eligibility review that he finally received the ribbon in 2018 — taped onto a letter, which “neither thanked Mr. Mattson for his service nor apologized for the time it took to send him his Combat Action Ribbon,” Cutler said. “Today, we’re here to rectify that, as a community, as a commonwealth, as a nation, to come in a small way to thank you very publicly.”

Selectmen opened their meeting with the ceremony correcting that oversight, with Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asking Mattson to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Selectman Wes Blauss presented an official citation to Mattson from the town of Hanson, his voice breaking as he read: “The town of Hanson wishes to recognize you and express the community’s deepest appreciation for your service to your family, neighbors and countrymen.”

Cutler, state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, and Keating — through his aide Matthews — presented official citations in honor of Mattson. Keating, who was preparing for departure to France for 75th anniversary observations of the D-Day invasion on Thursday, June 6 was unable to attend.

“Our nation should be judged on how we treat our veterans who put their lives on the line to protect us, which means no veteran should have to wait for housing, health care [or] benefits they deserve,” Matthews said. “Certainly, no veteran should have to wait 50 years for an award that they certainly deserve.”

Brady thanked Mattson’s fellow veterans for attending the ceremony in support of him. Matthews and Hanson Veterans Agent Timothy White pledged to assist him with any services he might require in the future.

“It’s a heck of a long time, but I’m happy [the ribbon] finally came through for you, sir, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of the town of Hanson, I thank you for your service,” White said.

Whitman preps for special TM

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WHITMAN — The board of Selectmen on Tuesday, May 28 received an update on municipal finances ahead of the Monday, June 17 special Town Meeting.

The town has $971,546 in available free cash after the debt exclusion was approved in the May 18 Town Election, and $154,674 available in the capital stabilization fund.

The town voted to use free cash to pay the debt associated with a bond, but with the approval of the debt exclusion, $532,000 can be transferred from that appropriation because it can’t be replaced into free cash, Lynam explained.

Selectman Randy LaMattina suggested the board vote to recommend placing $150,000 from free cash back into either the stabilization account, which now holds $2.6 million, or into capital stabilization, which now holds $154,600. Lynam advocated placing another $200,000 into capital stabilization. The board voted to place the $150,000 into capital stabilization to build the fund back up, leaving about $824,000 available for appropriation.

“At that point we will be able to make a determination on what articles to act on and to amend the source be capital stabilization because they are all capital articles,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said. “Certainly, if we spent all the money we had, we could approve all those articles, but I don’t think that would be a prudent thing to do.”

Lynam said he has spoken to WHRSD and Hanson officials to determine what has been voted by Hanson for school capital projects. He will relay that information to Whitman’s Finance Committee.

He said Whitman would be responsible for $17,946 for the W-H gym floor refinishing; $41,874 for a handicapped ramp at the football field (Hanson approved its share of that work in Oct. 2018); $20,973 for thumb-latches in all interior classrooms at the high school; $14,955 for repairs to the existing fire lane; $59,820 for repair of rooftop units over the performing arts center which have failed and a more expensive temporary system is being used for the remainder of the school year. Hanson had passed over the roof-top units at its Town Meeting. There is also a need to replace lighting, before Green Communities reimbursement, at the Conley and Duval.

An appropriation of $125,622 to repave the high school roadway and $134,595 for resurfacing the track at the high school are being sought as Whitman’s share. There are also articles pertaining to town equipment purchases pending.

“My guess is they’re going to have to be prioritized and it’s unlikely that all these articles will be voted,” Lynam said.

Capital plan

The Collins Center at UMass, Boston, which has been working with the town on both a capital plan and budget model, is working to correct “a number of errors” Lynam flagged before returning the draft document for corrections.

Forest Street resident Shawn Kain has asked to see the draft document, asking whether it is considered a public document.

“I’m not comfortable sending it out, because it’s inaccurate,” Lynam said. “My experience with handing things out while they’re under development is that they typically come back to bite you.”

He told Kain he would discuss it with the board, but preferred to hold it until it was “mostly accurate,” perhaps not before the next draft is received in a week or so.

A capital report has not been received as yet.

Kain asked if the Collins Center report was pubic information. Lynam replied that such reports are not generally considered public until official received by the Board of Selectmen. The Board has not yet received the report.

“It’s not public information yet,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

Kain said he would follow up with his concern with the Collins Center, as he argued it should be public.

“This whole process is going to be interactive,” Lynam said. “When they prepare to meet with us on a capital plan, there will be a public meeting, there will be a document presented — presumably, at least to the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee — to begin the analysis and say, does this work, where does it work, how does it work?”

He said the report draft contained misidentified departments and organizational charts.

“I don’t want to release a report like that, because it’s defective,” Lynam said.

“Those are valid discussion points, but to have it open, I think will be helpful,” Kain said.

LaMattina, who described himself as a “transparency guy,” pointed to the numerous draft Article 2s was an example of confusion caused by releasing draft documents.

“If it’s actually wrong, that’s what I don’t want put out there,” LaMattina said. He did, however request that some type of timetable be established to ensure accountability.

John Galvin, a High Street resident, asked about when Selectman Brian Bezanson might present an economic development plan, which was one of his campaign issues, to the board.

Bezanson said he has begun working with Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green on the “first leg” of the proposal.

“It’s going to take a while to get all the moving pieces together,” he said. “I have to speak with the assessors and the treasurer and collector … to get their opinion on how things are going to go and then speak to state officials on exactly what’s legal and what’s not legal and how we can go forward with this.”

He said he hopes it can go forward as quickly as possible because, “the town needs that kind of money policy.”

In other business, Bezanson said a bronze plaque that had been stolen from the Civil War monument, and was not discovered until the Memorial Day observances. The plaque has been recovered by DPW workers and they will work to replace it, he said.

Budget, online troubleshooting mulled

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HANSON — Selectmen discussed ways to organize discussions between them, Town Administrator Michael McCue, Whitman officials and the School Committee to better coordinate budget planning.

“As a board, we’re concerned and we don’t want to keep repeating that pattern,” Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said of “not necessarily productive” talks during the fiscal 2020 budget process.

“I think that we are going to need to have a conversation with the schools very, very soon in terms of that coordination but in terms of what they foresee their future to be and what their funding needs are,” McCue said. “The numbers we gave them this year is not sustainable going forward.”

The town is also mulling a Citizen Online Reporting System, similar to one already in place in Whitman, for residents to report problems such as potholes in need of repair.

“You could just go online and put that little report in there and it gets divvied out to the right person,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett.

McCue has reached out to Whitman officials, through the town’s IT director, to ask about how the system works there and will report back how the system works, cost and level of input sought under the program.

“The Whitman application seems to be pretty broad in terms of what you can send in,” McCue said. “I’m not necessarily saying the town of Hanson doesn’t want that, but I don’t want to just make that assumption.”

McCue said he doesn’t think there is much of a price difference based on the kind of input a program is open to, but he added a better understanding of cost and parameters is needed before Selectmen should be asked to make a decision.

“If you get too deep into, maybe, a complaint process — you don’t necessarily want that sort of stuff coming in anonymously,” McCue said.

Selectman Matt Dyer, who said he has a “little bit of experience with point-click-fix” applications through his job as a state employee in Brockton, working closely with that city’s DPW and other city officials, he said residents are required to log in to make reports.

“It’s not only to keep out comments and complaints, but it also allows municipal workers to get in touch with them and say, ‘I don’t see the problem here, can you give me more guidance,’” Dyer said. “It works really well and, I know  … not everyone but a good majority of them are very happy with the service.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said that kind of feedback is helpful for the board to hear.

“It’s in keeping with one of the goals this board has set, which is better outreach, better access to our citizens … having more of that open dialog and open line and I thought, ‘what have we got to lose by looking at it,’” she said.

Lite Control property accepted

In other business, Selectmen also voted to accept the Lite Control property, and authorized FitzGerald-Kemmett to execute relevant documents in her capacity as chairman. A cell tower on the property would not translate into additional revenue for the town because it is under a 30-year lease under a one-check deal with Lite Control that did not include residual payments.

“We shall look at that property for potential revenue opportunities,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “The irony of this [signing] is not lost on me, the one person [on the board] who dissented against it,” she laughed. “I will do the job that I have been elected to do.”

Selectmen Jim Hickey said that consideration had been behind his request to delay the board reorganization.

Marijuana meeting

Selectmen discussed the lack of notice some residents felt was given to an informational meeting held by a recreational marijuana cultivation facility at Town Hall recently, which some felt was inadequate.

Board members noted the state only requires that proponents announce the session in a legal ad in the local paper, which the applicants did. McCue is also urging that another meeting be held at the Council on Aging as a way to get the message out better, as well as organizing a cable television program on it.

“We are helping to facilitate this process, but it is not our process,” McCue said. “These meetings are incumbent on the proponent, they’re no meetings that are being promoted by the Board of Selectmen or the town of Hanson.”

Justin Evans wins big in Whitman

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Whitman voters signaled they are ready for youthful change tempered with experience, as they elected 29-year-old Justin Evans, and re-elected incumbent Brian Bezanson, to the Board of Selectmen Saturday, May 18.

The debt exclusion question passed 746 to 522. More than 1,400 Whitman voters — 13.65-percent of the town’s 10,420 eligible voters — cast ballots in the Town Election.

In Hanson, where there were no contested races on the ballot, and some offices had no listed candidates, turnout was extremely light, with only 228 registered voters casting ballots Saturday.

Evans, a member of Whitman’s Finance Committee who had been campaigning hard both door-to-door and on social media since January, was the runaway top vote-getter in the race for Selectman, receiving more than 200 votes in all four precincts — for a total of 1,024 votes.

“I think it’s a direct result of that,” Evans said of his campaigning, saying he got the feeling people were craving change.

He garnered 266 votes in Precinct 1; 248 in Precinct 2; 253 in Precinct 3 and 255 in Precinct 4. Bezanson received 604 votes — 158 in Precinct 1; 157 in Precinct 2; 155 in Precinct 3 and 132 in Precinct 4.

“It’s a crazy-good feeling,” Evans told reporters after the votes were announced by Town Clerk Dawn Varley. “I had never run for anything before, not student council — nothing. To have the confidence of voters really means a lot.”

Finance Committee member Chris DiOrio finished in third place, receiving 453 votes — 110 in Precinct 1; 114 in Precinct 2; 117 in Precinct 3 and 109 in Precinct 4. Incumbent Selectman Scott Lambiase received 434 votes — 133 in Precinct 1; 101 in Precinct 2; 96 in Precinct 3 and 104 in Precinct 4.

“Justin ran a tremendous race and I think the numbers bear it out,” DiOrio said of the four-way race for two seats on the Select Board. “I think [the vote margin] speaks volumes about his campaign and what he did. … I think the change in composition will do the board well.”

Evans pointed to a wish by voters to see new faces serving on the Board of Selectmen for his ballot-topping win. He expressed gratitude to the voters for passing the debt exclusion as well, as it helps free up funds for police, DPW and school department vehicles as well as badly-needed road repairs.

Evans wants to see some new approaches to zoning, especially with an eye toward development around the MBTA station.

“I’m happy for the debt exclusion,” said Finance Committee member Chris DiOrio, who fell short in his race for Selectman, arguing that a Proposition 2 ½ override probably should have been sought first. “I hope that we’ll be able to use it correctly.”

Bezanson, who had expressed cautious optimism about his chances earlier in the afternoon, said he was not completely surprised at the outcome.

“Mr. Evans ran an incredible race,” Bezanson said. “He did the leg-work, because he was out there. … I’m thrilled to be back on the board.”

The next step for the town is to complete Town Meeting, adjourned until June 17 after the face of the debt exclusion on Saturday’s ballot was clear.

“This vote with the debt exclusion helps that, and then we have to start preparations for a possible fall Town Meeting,” Bezanson said. “I’m very happy that it passed. I’m not one for raising taxes, but this was the right time for the right reasons.”

Earlier in the day, DiOrio indicated he would look on a third-place finish with a degree of satisfaction, but he also said elections should be about issues and expressed bitter disappointment that that was not always the case in this election.

“I would have gladly engaged any candidate on the issues here, but frankly, it wasn’t allowed to happen,” he said, noting that the range of votes cast for himself, Bezanson and Lambiase was indicative of uncertainty on the part of voters.

“I think the [decision] on the second spot was hard for people to make,” DiOrio said. “I think there might have been a little bit of a turn over the last two weeks. People may have been going back and forth about what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go.”

A relative newcomer in town, DiOrio said his finish could be viewed positively and he has not yet decided whether he will seek elective office again.

“I’m not from this town, but I am for this town, and that’s why I stood up and ran,” he said. “Perhaps it gives me a foundation for the future.”

“I think they were looking for some change, but, yet, they wanted stability, so I was thinking Evans — where he’s got some new ideas — and Brian — where he’s got some stability — I think that’s how it went,” said Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci, who backed Bezanson in the race.

The remaining races on the Whitman ballot were uncontested. For School committee in Whitman, — with two seats being filled — incumbent Dan Cullity received 875 votes and newcomer Dawn Byers garnered 1,036 votes. Incumbent Carol O’Brien received 1,115 votes as assessor. The two DPW Commissioner seats went to incumbent Kevin Cleary, with 986 votes and Bruce Varley with 965 votes. Incumbents Roberta Ellis-Drews, with 1,019 votes, and Lauren Kelley was elected with 1,111 votes, were re-elected to the Board of Library Trustees.

Katherine A. Kelleher was re-elected to the Housing Authority wit 1,043 votes. A one-year seat on the Planning Board went to Adam Somerville, who received 1,091 votes and a two-year seat went to Elaine Bergeron with 1,098 votes. Eric Joubert was re-elected to the Board of Health with 1,086 votes.

Hanson officials receiving votes to return to office were: Moderator Sean Kealy — 204; Selectman Kenneth Mitchell — 197; Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan — 215; Cemetery Commissioner Kelly Woerdman — 180; Planning Board member Don Ellis — 175; Housing Authority member Teresa Santalucia — 200;  Tree Warden Davis Hanlon — 192; Public Library Trustee (vote two) Dianna McDevitt — 192 — and Pamela Fager — 153; W-H School Committee members (vote two) Christopher Howard — 189 — and Michael Jones — 190; Water Commissioners (vote two) Donald Howard — 191 — and Gilbert Amado — 186. Scattered write-in votes were cast for a four-year seat on the Housing Authority, the Board of Health and assessor — races for which no candidate took out papers.

Hanson housing plan OK’d

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HANSON — Selectmen and the Planning Board voted, in a joint meeting on Tuesday, May 21, to approve a Housing Production Plan aimed at increasing the availability of affordable housing in town.

The Board of Selectmen also approved a grant application to fund an electric vehicle charging station at Town Hall.

Town Planner Deborah Pettey and consultant Judi Barrett with Barrett Planning Group LLC of Plymouth and Thomas Thibeault, executive director of the Hanson Housing Authority met with Selectmen to review what the Housing Production Plan would mean for the town.

“We all have some responsibility in talking to the public about what housing need means,” said Barrett. “There are seniors in this community who are really poor, who are barely holding on to the homes that they have. You have single parents in this community who grew up here, who are barely holding on to what they have. … It’s your community, it’s a nice town, so help your neighbors.”

Selectman Matt Dyer had asked how low income housing is actually defined in light of the stigma attached to the phrase, as well as what the town should look into for investing new funds resulting from the program. Pettey said an affordable housing trust is an option as well as investment in infrastructure.

The median income for Hanson is about $98,000 — with affordable housing income guidelines at 80 percent of median, that puts Hanson at about $65,000 per year for a family of four in this region.

Barrett explained that the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development adopted a regulation several years ago urging towns to create such a plan, with the incentive that such plans could earn towns a break from requirements that they approve Chapter 40B comprehensive permits.

“If you have a plan and you’re producing new, affordable housing, you become eligible for the ability to take a break,” Barrett said. “It could be very helpful to you, especially if you’re going to start seeing more comprehensive apartment activity in your community, it might be nice to have a plan that communicates to land owners and developers that this is what the town would like to see and to get credit for production that might keep something you don’t want away.”

The plan includes a housing needs assessment, including demographic and economic growth information; Chapter 40B information, a state law that establishes a regional fair-share standard designating 10-percent of a town’s housing stock as low or moderate income; and implementation strategies.

“The Housing Production Plan says if you’re working toward that 10 percent and you’re doing it in a fairly systematic way — in your case, are you creating at least 18 new units a year of low to moderate income housing — then you get some credit for that, which might mean you get a break from having to deal with a lot of comprehensive permit activity,” Barrett said. The plan is intended to ask the community, which is predominantly single-family homes, what type of housing it would be willing to consider in order to create low income housing and where it should be located.

Hanson’s affordable housing stock runs at about 4 percent, which is not unusual for a small town, according to Barrett.

Now that the two local boards have approved the Housing Production Plan, the state will consider approval. The plan also includes a provision that, should 40B development increase school costs above taxes generated by that development, the town would be eligible for additional aid to the schools, according to Barrett. While not every town receives it, that brings in $350,000 per year for the town of Lakeville and $100,000 in Lunenburg.

Housing Authority member Teresa Santalucia said several groups in town also back the Housing Production Plan, including the CPC and Housing Authority.

Charging station

Pettey also reported to Selectmen that a grant from National Grid, which is almost automatically approved, would provide the town $25,000 for the installation of two charging stations for electric vehicles. The stations would be located on the upper parking lot at Town Hall.

“It’s a rebate,” Pettey said. “The town would get reimbursed for it.”

There will be four plugs, two on each station. The town can charge $1 per hour to people seeking to charge hybrid or electric cars there. A fund would be set up, into which  to funnel the charging revenue, for the payment of network fees.

Dyer said Green Hanson members are “ecstatic” about the plan.

“If we can lead the way and have that, it would be great. It sends a good message,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett, who added that she is considering purchasing an electric car.

Town Administrator Michael McCue said the Green Communities program is also moving toward electric vehicles for town-owned purchases they support.

Selectmen also approved a bylaw last year requiring the town to replace most of its vehicles with electric vehicles going forward.

Planning Board member Joe Campbell said cellphone apps can be set up to ping the location of the charging station for motorists seeking one.

“It’ll become pretty popular, if it’s PR’d the right way over these apps that they have out there,” he said.

WFD’s Feeney set to retire

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WHITMAN — When Deputy Fire Chief Joe Feeney retires from Whitman Fire on July 7, his final shift will mark the end of a 32-year career with the department.

Appointed to the department by former Chief Timothy Travers in June 1987, rising through the ranks to be appointed as deputy chief in 1999, Feeney got his start in firefighting while he was a member of the merchant marine.

“Joe is a great asset to our department and to our operations,” Fire Chief Timothy Grenno told the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, May 14. “His retirement is going to leave a large void, which will not only be felt by me, but all the members of our department. Joe has been an outstanding firefighter and deputy fire chief.”

A retirement party is planned for June 22 at the Whitman VFW pavilion, with tickets available at the fire station.

Feeney is a person who tries to avoid that kind of fuss, but he’s going to get one, anyway.

“[After] 32 years in, I think enough’s enough,” he said while sitting in the dispatch room on a recent 24-hour shift, but he always liked the job. “Most days are like the best day on the job. I always like the people I’ve worked with — every guy here is great and it feels like you’re playing for a winning team.”

He said relaxation is not a specific retirement plan.

“This is relaxed right now,” he said of downtime between calls. “I have a couple of things I’m working on.”

If Feeney is reticent about his résumé, his superior officers have been just as effusive.

“It’s going to be hard shoes to fill,” Grenno said of Feeney’s departure. “He’s done some tremendous things and his knowledge, his sense of humor, his wit is going to be sorely missed by all of us.”

Lt. Al Cunningham, who tops the civil service list will succeed Feeney as deputy chief, according to Grenno. Cunningham and Feeney are working together on Tuesday inspection rounds.

“Joe’s had some of the more significant fires that we’ve had in town,” Grenno said. “[He] has seen his share of grief and terror and he has seen his share of happiness around here with births in the field.”

He was the shift officer for the Commercial Street fire last winter, as well as a fire that had broken out a month before the new high school opened as well as “some of the more tragic events in town” including fatal car crashes.

For Grenno, knowing when Feeney is on shift means he can relax when he is off duty.

Feeney did not come from a family of firefighters, and describes his career path as something akin to a beneficial accident.

“In that profession, everyone had to learn firefighting,” Feeney said of his stint as a merchant marine, and he received that training while a cadet at the Mass. Maritime Academy. “I never thought that much about it, although I had been in a couple of ship-board fires and we just did our job like we were trained — it didn’t seem like a big deal.”

He was working in the field for three years after graduating and was looking for a steadier paycheck because the merchant marines offered sporadic employment. Someone suggested he take the fire exam and he thought that sounded like a good idea.

“My ultimate goal, believe it or not, was to get on the Boston [FD] fire boat, which might be one of the most boring jobs in the world, if you ask the guys who work up there,” he recalled. “But it looks cool.”

After taking the fire exam, he was called by Whitman, where he lived at the time. A native of Brockton, Feeney’s parents had moved to Whitman when he was in college.

“Tim Grenno’s father called me in and I signed for him,” Feeney said. The elder Grenno was retiring and he wanted the incoming Chief Travers to meet with Feeney. Travers sent Feeney to the Mass. Fire Academy after hiring him on and, by the time he had a spot at the academy, Feeney had been working for the department for almost a year.

“He was the first firefighter that I hired,” Travers recalled. “Joe was very well educated and [he] came in on the job with a bachelor’s degree and, in those days not too many firefighters had advanced degrees. I was impressed by that.”

Feeney and Robert Holver were the first two Whitman firefighters to go through the Mass. Fire Academy, where local academies had been used before that time.

He topped the lieutenant’s test after about 10 years, went to grad school for a master’s degree in fire science from the University of New Haven — the first Whitman firefighter to hold an advanced degree, Travers said — and attended the National Fire Academy where he was certified as an executive fire officer as well as obtaining local chief officer certification from the state academy. He holds about a dozen other certifications in fire prevention and inspections.

He then topped the deputy chief’s exam, a rank he has held in Whitman for 20 years.

“He’s a no-nonsense type of guy,” Travers said. “He didn’t get wrapped up in the politics in the fire department. Joe stayed on his own, did his own thing, did his job, and did it well.”

Travers said that after his retirement, Feeney probably could have had the fire chief’s job if he wanted it.

“I’m quite sure he didn’t want it,” he said.

Over his career in firefighting, Feeney has seen big changes in emergency medical services (EMS), which comprise two-thirds of emergency calls into the department these days. Different construction types now in use also present challenges as builders use lighter, cheaper materials, he said.

“They seem to behave poorly during a fire,” Feeney said, noting some of the materials also present health concerns for firefighters. “Some of the glues, some of the materials, the furnishings, are giving off bad chemicals that end up on us or in us — even with good equipment on.”

He echoed Grenno’s concern about cancer prevention.

“There’s a lot of cancer awareness in our job, more on restricting where in the station you can go with turnout gear that’s been exposed to smoke and fire,” Feeney said. “We keep it all basically in the apparatus floor or in the wash area.”

Responses to drug overdoses and mental illness issues are also more numerous today.

“I think, when I first started, we went to one heroin overdose a year and now we go to one a week — maybe more,” Feeney said.

“We meet people at their worst, sometimes it’s the worst day of their life,” Feeney said. “So you have to be kind of thick-skinned and don’t take it with you. … When you take the job, you know that’s going to happen and as long as you’re mentally prepared …”

Evans, Bezanson win in Whitman

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Whitman voters signaled they are ready for youthful change tempered with experience, as they elected 29-year-old newcomer Justin Evans, and re-elected incumbent Brian Bezanson, to the Board of Selectmen Saturday, May 18.

The debt exclusion question passed 746 to 522. More than 1,400 Whitman voters — 13.65-percent of the town’s 10,420 eligible voters — cast ballots in the Town Election.

Evans was the runaway top vote-getter, receiving more than 200 votes in all four precincts — for a total of 1,024 votes. He garnered 266 votes in Precinct 1; 248 in Precinct 2; 253 in Precinct 3 and 255 in Precinct 4. Bezanson received 604 votes — 158 in Precinct 1; 157 in Precinct 2; 155 in Precinct 3 and 132 in Precinct 4.

Finance Committee member Chris DiOrio finished in third place, receiving 453 votes — 110 in Precinct 1; 114 in Precinct 2; 117 in Precinct 3 and 109 in Precinct 4.

Incumbent Selectman Scott Lambiase received 434 votes — 133 in Precinct 1; 101 in Precinct 2; 96 in Precinct 3 and 104 in Precinct 4.

The remaining races on the ballot were uncontested.

For School committee in Whitman, — with two seats being filled — incumbent Dan Cullity received 875 votes and newcomer Dawn Byers garnered 1,036 votes. Incumbent Carol O’Brien received 1,115 votes as assessor. The two DPW Commissioner seats went to incumbent Kevin Cleary, with 986 votes and Bruce Varley with 965 votes. Incumbents Roberta Ellis-Drews, with 1,019 votes, and Lauren Kelley was elected with 1,111 votes, were re-elected to the Board of Library Trustees.

Katherine A. Kelleher was re-elected to the Housing Authority wit 1,043 votes. A one-year seat on the Planning Board went to Adam Somerville, who received 1,091 votes and a two-year seat went to Elaine Bergeron with 1,098 votes. Eric Joubert was re-elected to the Board of Health with 1,086 votes.

In Hanson, where there were no contested races on the ballot, and some offices had no listed candidates, turnout was extremely light, with only 137 voters casting ballots by 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

For complete coverage, see the Thursday, May 23 Whitman-Hanson Express.

 

Modernizing the public library

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HANSON — Library Director Karen Stolfer and consultant Ruth Kowal, who has more than 40 years’ experience in both small and large public libraries, presented an informational program on the library’s future at the beginning of the Monday, May 6 Town Meeting. Kowal has also served as the director of administration and finance at the Boston Public Library and was director of the Plymouth Public Library for seven years.

Speaking on behalf of the Library Trustees, Kowal spoke of the library’s future planning effort over the past year. The strategic plan is available for review on the library’s website and paper copies are available.

A public presentation on the library building program will take place at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 16 in the Hanson Public Library.

“I grew up when libraries had books, maybe some LPs — I guess they’re called vinyl recordings now — everyone was expected to be very quiet, if you spoke at all,” Kowal said. “You took what you wanted to use home, unless it was a reference book that you were going to use and … it had to be used in the library. Things are very different in libraries now.” Kowal noted that libraries, and how they are now used, reflect the “big changes in our culture and society,” and what the public expects.

“You are fortunate to have a Board of Trustees for the Hanson Public Library, and a library director, who are looking forward and are really looking out for the interests of the citizens of this town and want to ensure that you have excellent library service here,” she said.

Kowal outlined the public survey, focus groups, staff interviews, public “flip chart” sessions and conversations with key stakeholders that have taken place since the trustees contracted with her in January 2018. The state hasbeen assisting with financing that phase of the project. The public was asked how current services could be improved, what additions or changes the public would like to see and how patrons envision the li- brary in five to 10 years.

People still want to be able to borrow books, DVDs and CDs, either by traditional means or digitally, Kowal said. But the number one item on the survey was a request for more programs and classes for all ages. Friendly and knowledgeable staff able to assist with research, technology use or to just recommend a “good read,” was also mentioned, as well as access to computers, printers, internet access and other technology. Delivery of library materials to homebound residents was also a high priority, as well as expanded partnerships with community organizations and schools were also mentioned as well as expanded hours in a comfortable and welcoming building.

A strategic plan and building program is being developed based on areas in which the public saw a need for improvement. The second phase of the project has focused on the building program.

During the flexible hours they seek, the public wants to be able to be comfortable in spaces and furnishings that can be moved around. Expanded program areas including large and smaller meeting rooms were requested as well as a “contemporary and adaptable power and infrastructure system,” that is more outlets for devices patrons may bring in. ADA compliance and accessibility in an environmen- tally efficient building with strong WiFi capacity along with public access to meeting rooms when the library is closed were also requested.

“The Hanson Public Library is a very attractive building, architecturally, it’s in a great location, but it’s too small to do what people want it to do,” Kowal said. Options for the future include an extensive renovation and expansion to double the space from 8,195 square feet to just under 16,000 or to build a new library in a new location — with the Maquan School and former Plymouth County Hospital sites mentioned. The Senior Center, facing similar space concerns, is also in the midst of a planning process.

Kowal said next steps for the library project would include work with town and state officials on a possible timeline, hiring and architectural firm funded by the Mass.

Board of Library Commissioners and determining a desirable site for a future building as well as a funding plan.

When a grant was applied for to construct the current building, it was denied, so no state grant money was used to construct this building because libraries are required to look out at least 20 years for construction projects.

“The Review Committee felt that the needs assessment was very well done,” read a comment from the committee that reviewed Hanson’s construction grant application at that time. “However, it felt that that library ought to plan and design a new building for the population that is being projected. This library is not planned for 20 years.”

“The Children’s area is not large enough,” said another.

Town Administrator Michael McCue, speaking about a special Town Meeting article funding potential demolition of the Maquan School “when it may make sense.”

A previous consideration for razing only a portion of the building, leaving the gym and cafeterias intact for community use fell victim to consideration of liability and ADA access compliance, said Selectmen Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, who chairs the Maquan Reuse Committee.

McCue assured voters, while questioning the future of the building during discussion of yet another special Town Meeting article — on repair- ing the senior center floor – that there are no plans to tear the library/senior center building down.