Whitman-Hanson Express

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Primer on town service: Hanson board’s refresher course

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HANSON — With only one member of the Board of Selectmen having held office for more than two years — and two members elected this May — the board convened in a special meeting Tuesday, July 17 for workshop with Town Counsel Katherine M. Feodoroff.

A member of the firm Mead, Talerman & Costa LLC, Feodoroff presented a PowerPoint outline of the board’s roles and responsibilities, unique roles of the board and town administrator and how they intersect, how to act effectively as selectmen, the role of the chairman and the current regulations under the Open Meeting Law. She then fielded selectmen’s questions for nearly half an hour during the meeting.

“I’ve been on the board for three and a half years,” Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell said. “When I first got on the board, other than the three months of meetings that I had attended, I didn’t know all the responsibilities or roles of a selectman so for the first three months I felt a little bit lost.”

After Mitchell discussed it with Feodoroff, she suggested, with the election of two new selectmen, that she conduct a workshop.

“I thought that was a cool idea,” he said.

“I love it, and I also think those of us who have been doing it for a while could use refreshers,” said Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “I don’t think it would be a bad thing for us to do this annually.”

The rules

Feodoroff outlined how selectmen is the policy-maker for the town and also serves in a “quasi-judicial capacity” and appointing authority and how it is intended to act as a body.

“Essentially, the roles and responsibilities for boards of selectmen and town administrators are defined by charter, by by-laws, by special acts — Hanson has a particular act for the town administrator to create that role — and it differs for every town,” Feodoroff said. “You have to look at your own by-laws to figure out where these roles are defined.”

Selectmen and the town administrator make up the town’s executive branch with Town Meeting working in the legislative role. The board creates policy, which is implemented by the town administrator.

“You steer the ship, you create the warrants,” she said unless a warrant article is sought by resident petition.

The board oversees litigation involving the town, approve litigation settlements with the town administrator’s assistance, approve collective bargaining agreements, negotiate employment contracts and expend gifts and grants received by the town. Selectmen also approve the budget, licensure — now including marijuana establishments — and governs business practices of the town, hear grievances not resolved with the town administrator and has appointment authority for department heads.

“This is probably the biggest area where boards and staff collide,” Feodoroff said. “Although you have appointment power, you have decided that [Town Administrator Michael McCue] manages operations, so you’re not supervising these folks, you’re not directing these folks, your simply appointing them for their obligations and then assuming they’re doing a good job based on [McCue’s] reports.”

Selectman Jim Hickey later asked what selectmen are allowed to do when they see a town employee not doing their job properly.

“I’m also a citizen and I pay their salaries,” he said. “Where do I go from there?”

Feodoroff said selectmen should go through the town administrator if they feel it is serious enough to require town action.

“If it’s something like, ‘Hey, buddy, you’ve been in your car for 45 minutes and I know your break is only half an hour. Quit it,’” she said. “I’m not saying that you’re foreclosed from being responsive. … Any time you see a town employee that did something great, always say, ‘Great job.’”

The town administrator deals with public complaints, employee evaluations and grievances as well as serving as the chief procurement officer for the town.

“Your authority is limited to the board’s actions,” Feodoroff said. “You can’t unilaterally make any decisions, make any directions without board approval.”

Public complaints should be directed to the town administrator.

“It’s difficult when someone approaches you with a problem not to say, ‘I’m taking care of this today and I’m going to speak to so-and-so directly and ensure it’s done,’” she said. “If it’s something of sufficient severity that requires an action by selectmen, it needs to be done in an agenda for the board to act collectively.”

“Under the Open Meeting Law, the chair doesn’t need to allow public participation,” Feodoroff said. “They are required to be able to to sit here and listen and to hear what’s motivating you on any decision you are making.”

Online pitfalls

Selectman Matt Dyer had also brought to the board’s attention at a recent meeting that comments posted by selectmen on social media forums can constitute a violation of the Open Meeting Law.

“This is such a huge gray area and there’s no really great answer,” Feodoroff said. “But there is a risk when you are on social media … that that could be seen as serial deliberation, especially in closed forums. … This is sort of uncharted territory.”

General statements on political issues could be permitted, such as “I love the schools” or “I’m against marijuana,” but selectmen should be wary of indicating how they might vote on specific matter or in responding to other comments online.

“It would have to relate to town business, though, right?” Mitchell said. “So If Laura posts something that says, ‘I’m having a bake sale on Saturday,’ and Wes hops on and says, ‘Oh yeah, her brownies are great,’ and Jim says, ‘Grab some chocolate cake while you’re there,’ that’s OK.”

Feodoroff agreed that was permitted.

Hickey quipped that mentioning baked goods right after marijuana was a bit funny.

Board members must also avoid to hitting the “Reply All” tab on emails from other board members as that could also qualify as deliberation, Feodoroff cautioned.

Hickey asked if, to prepare for a meeting he calls Mitchell who had already spoken to FitzGerald-Kemmett, is it a violation “if Kenny tells me what Laura said to him?”

“You can’t do that, because … the Open Meeting Law contemplates that the folks at home, or sitting in this room, understand how you got from the point of ‘I don’t know how I’m voting on this’ to, ‘I’m voting yes’ or ‘I’m voting no,’” Feodoroff said. “They want to understand what led you to that position. So, if Laura’s discussion with Kenny had an influence on you, it’s their right to know that that exchange occurred.”

“I think that’s a real pitfall for the unwary right there,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

If Mitchell simply mentioned a source of information FitzGerald-Kemmett had told him about and Hickey looked it up independently to help form his decision, it would not be a violation so long as he didn’t discuss his potential vote with other members of the board.

“Don’t we want Laura to present that in an open meeting where we all hear it?” asked Selectman Wes Blauss.

“Why am I the root of all evil in this discussion?” FitzGerald-Kemmett asked.

Feodoroff said Blauss’ point would be the best avenue because, while a board member can distribute information, they have to be careful not to include any opinion in that information.

Selectmen also, in preparing for evaluating the town administrator, may talk with department heads or employees to obtain feedback, but should be wary of someone else’s accounts in the event an employee may be upset concerning an evaluation from the town administrator for reasons a selectmen may not know about. Selectmen also have to be wary against discussing town business if a quorum of members — at least three of five — are present at social occasions.

Hanson board looks to TIF program

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HANSON — Selectmen on Tuesday, July 10 voted to support several steps toward supporting economic development in town, particularly in the Main Street (Route 27) corridor.

Among those steps is the process of adopting a Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) program. Guidelines adopted by the board will be used as a roadmap for a TIF Committee — which the board approved — for work in the Main Street area. The TIF program would have to be approved by voters at the October Town Meeting.

The board also voted to declare it as an Economic Opportunity Area (EOA). Selectmen also received information about an Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP) letter of intent application for a project at 1101 Main St., authorizing Chairman Kenny Mitchell and Town Administrator Michael McCue to sign it.

McCue also recommended that the TIF Committee include representatives from the Board of Assessors, Planning Board, Finance Committee, the Board of Selectmen and himself. Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett volunteered to sit on the committee, which McCue said would only meet when letters of intent are received. Selectmen voted to appoint FitzGerald-Kemmett to the TIF Committee.

“Like most things I do, it’s an amalgamation of what other towns have done, to include some experience that I’ve had in the past,” McCue said of the TIF guidelines. He added state guidelines have made it easier than was experienced by past communities in which he has worked.

While she voiced support for the TIF program, FitzGerald-Kemmett expressed concern about applicant criteria.

“One of the things I want to make sure of is that it’s somebody that we’ve done due diligence [on], that they’ve got good financials,” she said. “If they are in Hanson that they’ve paid their taxes, that they don’t have building code violations already — in other words, I don’t want to be rewarding people who, basically, haven’t been good business partners, or partners at all with the town.”

McCue said the TIF Committee will be charged with establishing qualification criteria as is also required by the state.

“I’m extremely excited about this,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “This is the first step of what we need to do in order to get things cracking there.”

“I like this stuff, too,” McCue said.

He also provided the board with a map of the EOA area — the former Ocean Spray property — and assessor’s cards on properties within it. That doesn’t mean other parcels could not be added later “as we get more comfortable with the process,” McCue said.

“This is just a start,” he said. “It’s one of the most identifiable potential locations for economic development and it greases the tracks in terms of going before the state to get their approval for any TIFs that we may, on a local level, approve.”

He said it also opens the door for other grants and automatically rolls in benefits, including a credit from the state, to whoever works to develop abandoned or underused properties there.

In other business, Selectmen voted to adopt a fuel-efficient vehicle policy for town departments.

The issue was tabled June 19 after the police and fire department heads expressed concern about their ability to afford continued use of vehicles they now have or purchases of new vehicles in the future. After conversations with the chiefs, McCue said the vehicles they are concerned about were exempted from the policy.

“The real impact will come — and it will — if and when we reach the point where we want to hand a vehicle down [to another department from police or fire], which has been a tradition in town,” McCue said. “However, the benefits far outweigh the detriments in terms of expenses.”

He said Bridgewater has already received $800,000 in various environmental incentive grants over the past five or six years. Cohasset had received $300,000; Easton $750,000; Hanover more than $1 million and Kingston just short of $1 million.

McCue estimated that within the five or six years before he sees Hanson needing to transfer or buy new equipment, the Green Communities grants will “far, far outweigh the expense of picking up a new vehicle.” The fuel efficient vehicle policy and completion of a no-cost National Grid energy efficiency assessment are required to qualify for the Green Communities program, potentially by the end of the fiscal 2019 year.

Selectmen also voted to switch the sponsorship reference of the board as primary applicant of a Plymouth County Hospital/CPC Phase 2 application, which lists the final Plymouth County Hospital Reuse Committee as a secondary applicant. Selectmen will now be secondary applicant with the PCH Reuse Committee as the primary.

FitzGerald-Kemmett, who is the former CPC chairman, said it was the PCH Reuse Committee’s place to come to Selectmen looking for support for their own application to the CPC.

Tough choices ahead: Whitman assessing the bottom line for fiscal 2020

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WHITMAN — Selectmen’s discussions centering on budget priorities and travel expense policies at their Tuesday, July 10 meeting raised a question for consideration over whether a town ambulance service is cost-effective.

“I’m not suggesting that we change … but I think what we’re going to need as we go through this year is an assessment,” said Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, who raised the question since Fire Chief Timothy Grenno was present for an executive session and could respond to the posit.

“One of the things I would ask [Grenno] when he comes in to discuss his budget is what it costs to run the ambulance service as opposed to out-sourcing,” he said. “If we were to choose another ambulance service, what would be the financial consequences of that?”

Kowalski noted that Grenno has reported in the past that the bulk of emergency calls to the Fire Department over the last several years have been for medical emergencies. Grenno agreed that EMS calls had been about 80 percent of all calls for a time, but said fire calls have now increased to where the split is closer to between 64 to 68 percent EMS calls.

“I can tell you that fire vs. EMS responses in this town have almost matched themselves,” Grenno said. “Fire responses have been climbing over the years.”

Funding the new police station within the levy limit is another issue Kowalski said would be revisited during budget review.

Grenno argued that the town is dealing with the effects of a $2 million loss in Local Aid since the recession in 2008.

“We live with that,” he said, noting he has met department needs at the detriment of the expense line. “If I have a vehicle break down, that could wipe out my expense line.”

“I didn’t mean to set you up,” Kowalski said. “It’s just the kind of thing that we need to think about.”

Selectman Scott Lambiase, who was unable to attend the meeting because of work demands, forwarded his thoughts on a possible next step in the board’s budget review process, suggesting another joint meeting with the Finance Committee one more time to ensure the two boards are on the same page as far as a schedule for future work is concerned. Kowalski slated that for the first meeting in August.

“We don’t want to be duplicating what the Finance Committee does,” he said. “They bring the department heads in, although in the past, what has happened when they bring department heads in each year, the department heads tell them what they’d like to do and it’s eventually whittled down.”

Kowalski reiterated the Selectmen’s plan to have department heads come before them to provide “some kind of idea what they would do if they were level-funded next year” or if they had to make cuts.

Selectman Brian Bezanson asked about whether the town could or should go to a zero-based budget.

“We may have to look at ways to do business differently and there might have to be some very uncomfortable decisions,” Bezanson said. “Knowing what the community thinks is important, maybe we can tailor our services as such.”

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said that contracted salaries — the largest portion of the municipal budget — require that a zero base be whatever contracts require for that year.

“We’re not building on last year’s budget,” he said. “As far as expenses go, other than public safety, the expense lines have not grown significantly or, in many cases, have not grown at all over the last several years.”

Departments already look to how much they calculate needing to spend each year to operate effectively and, in reviewing those budgets, the Finance Committee typically looks at the previous year’s budget compared to requests for the coming year.

Lambiase also argued that the proposed travel and expense policy is “well-thought out and fairly comprehensive,” but continued to question whether such a detailed policy is needed. The issue has again been tabled for further discussion.

“I prefer the simpler approach,” he stated. “The department heads are responsible adults. If we give them the guidelines and they go outside the guidelines, the accountant would simply kick back the reimbursement request. I don’t see the need for prior approval from the board or town administrator for travel.”

Under the proposed policy, out-of-state travel would require prior approval.

Selectman Randy LaMattina agreed with Lambiase’s argument, as did Kowalski, who said some guidance is probably needed.

Lynam said many towns have designations for how much can be spent in particular areas, requiring a measure of practicality in spending those funds.

“We have never identified what is an appropriate amount of money,” he said. “I think there has to be an upper limit. Is it $5,000? Is it $10,000? How much should we expect would be a reasonable amount of money to handle these things?”

Kowalski said if prior approval was going to be required, then some guidance should be provided concerning what might be approved. Lynam agreed, stating most conference travel involves professional development, networking and sharing and developing better ways to do their jobs.

“It’s not a junket,” he said. “Many of them are out of state.”

Grenno said that many of the international fire chiefs’ conferences are usually in Texas or Chicago — and quipped that he tries to avoid Texas in hot weather.

“The speakers they have at those conferences are five-star, gold speakers,” Grenno said. “Our conference in Worcester is good, we get a lot of knowledge, but we have to maintain so many credits and points to maintain our credentials of our chief officers.”

The state association meets in Worcester and he tries to send his line officers to the three-day sessions, which cost under $1,000 each.

“There are times, when money is tight, when there are moratoria on out-of-state travel,” Kowalski said, stressing that he does see value in that kind of conference.

“If we’re talking about an override [that’s] talking out of both sides of our mouths,” Bezanson said of such travel being approved. “I’m uncomfortable with that.”

Kowalski agreed the policy needed tightening up a bit.

In other business, Selectmen voted to officially designate Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green as Chief Procurement Officer by a vote against changing the town’s current arrangement placing that duty with the assistant town administrator. Lambiase continued to advocate for changing the CPO to the town administrator.

“The chief procurement officer title goes to the position of the person holding the job, not to the person,” Kowalski said. “This board in 2013 voted unanimously to give it to the assistant town administrator.”

Greg Enos held that post at the time. Green not only continues to perform that job, she holds the required credentials, which Lynam has not completed. Lynam had taken the first three courses, but was unable to attend the fourth due to a death in his family and two subsequent sessions were over-subscribed. A CPO is required to approve requests for qualifications. Lynam lacks the credential to approve RFQs.

The board tabled a vote on the amended WHRSD Regional Agreement until a full board is present.

A visit with W-H Principal Dr. Christopher Jones

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When school begins on Wednesday, Aug. 29, there will be some new faces in the principals’ offices of W-H schools.

With the retirement of former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner at the end of June, the selection of then-WHRHS Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak to succeed her, the hiring of then-Whitman Middle School Principal George Ferro to fill the vacant Assistant Superintendent position and the departure of two elementary school principals for new jobs, that means three new principals, and new assistant principals at WMS and Hanson’s Indian Head School.

Former Assistant Principal Michael Grable was appointed principal of the school in June. At South Shore Vocational Technical High, former Assistant Principal Mark Aubrey has been promoted to principal following the June retirement of Margaret Dutch.

The Whitman-Hanson Express is beginning a series of interviews this week with new school administrators, starting off with WHRHS Principal Dr. Christopher Jones.

He was born in Oregon and “grew older” in Meriden, Conn., where he graduated high school.

He first attended the University of New Haven on a football scholarship, before transferring to Bridgewater State College. He later earned his master’s degree from Salem State and his doctorate from Northeastern in history and education.

Jones took a different route to teaching. A former coppersmith and self-described history buff, Jones’ passion for U.S. history often found him camping at the Gettysburg National Military Park and guiding family members on a day-by-day retracing of the three-day battle. One of those talks, about the first day of battle — in which Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana soldiers of the Iron Brigade, known as the Black Hats for their unique headgear, helped halt a Union retreat — found a family member staring past him to a tour group that had stopped to listen as Jones spoke.

“You know, you should really teach because of your passion for it,” his relative said. After he thought about it, his career path changed.

He has taught at an alternative high school in Bridgewater, and a charter school in New Bedford, where he opened it’s high school division, then worked with the special education department and assistant principal at Groton-Dunstable Regional High School, before most recently serving as principal at Seekonk High School. Jones, 47, and his wife Mary — who teaches seventh-grade English at West Bridgewater — have two sons; Thomas, 11, who is a wrestler and Scott, 9, a soccer player.

Jones is an “out-of-office” principal who schedules time to get out into the school classrooms for short stop-ins to see what students are doing. While he does give teachers feedback after such visits, he said he is not always there just to evaluate a teacher.

When the Express sat down with him in his new office at WHRHS, Jones was awaiting a new gray-blue paint job in his office to change up the “rather aggressive” yellow on the walls before putting his personal stamp on the décor.                                                                   

Q: What drew you to a career in education?

A: “I chose a career in education because I wanted to make education a better experience for everybody involved — that’s teachers, students, parents — I went to high school and I remember thinking to myself that there’s got to be a better way. I didn’t feel challenged in high school. I didn’t feel incredibly engaged. … That forms a lot of my core beliefs about what education should be. … You can try to motivate students, you can try to motivate staff, but when it comes down to it, it’s got to be intrinsic — they’ve got to find something inside themselves that motivates themselves to buy in and be engaged.

“You can do engaging activities, but what happens when the activity is over? You have to create a culture and environment where people want to be. Educational jargon now is “student-centered” … yes, the end result is to have students benefit the most they possibly can, but your research shows that the biggest impact on student engagement, student motivation and student success is your classroom teacher.

“I’m more teacher-focused. I want to create a good culture and a good environment and climate for students and teachers, but I want my teachers to want to come to school. … I do that by creating a lighter atmosphere at school, having that relationship where … they [feel] they can come talk with me about issues they have, if they are struggling with something and they need to improve or they need support in another area, I go about supporting them in any area they need. We talk about life. While I expect teachers to come in and teach the best they can and to the best of their abilities, I understand that sometimes life gets in the way. … Much like I ask teachers to build relationships with students. Research shows students learn best when they have a relationship with the person that’s teaching them. Really, that’s true for all of us. … That’s why coaches are so successful. By the nature of what they’re doing they build a relationship with students.”

For the full interview, please refer to the printed or digital copy of this weeks WH issue July 19,2018

Beating the heat

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The area sweltered through the recent 10-day heat wave with little adverse public health effects, according to officials in Whitman and Hanson.

In Hanson, Fire Chief Jerome Thompson reported only four heat-related incidents — a call for an outside worker who was evaluated but not transported to the hospital earlier in the week and three people at the Thursday, July 5 fire at JJ’s Pub, including two firefighters who were transported to the hospital for treatment.

In Whitman, data from the Fire Department was not available at press time.

Directors at both communities’ senior centers said they did not hear of any medical problems among their clients.

“All is well with our folks,” said Barbara Garvey, director of the Whitman Council on Aging on Thursday, July 5. “It’s been very uneventful. I have not been requested to be a cooling center so I think everybody was prepared for this.”

“We often make phone calls to those people who may not get out of the house just to check in with them and remind them that an air conditioner or a fan would be good to use on days like this,” said Mary Collins, director of the Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center. “We have our Friendly Phone Caller who checks in with her group of people — just in communication to let people know that we’re here.”

The center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and, while the need has not arisen yet, hours can be extended to provide a cooling center in the event of a heat emergency.

indoor events

Collins also tries to schedule summer programs to entice elders to visit in hot weather. On July 5, the Hanson Senior Center celebrated the “Fourth … on the Fifth” with root beer floats and will host a summer barbecue at noon Tuesday, July 24 featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and a cold drink for $5. A morning karaoke program with Rick Ferreira, beginning at 10:30, precedes the cookout.

“We try to plan events that are cooler in nature than we normally would have just to give people a break,” Collins said. “Our Supportive Day Program, we have to keep them in on days like this. We don’t expose them at all to the heat and humidity.”

Whitman’s Council on Aging is also planning events geared to beat the summer heat. An ice cream social will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday, July 17 with a variety of toppings, including whipped cream for make-your-own sundaes. Tickets are limited and cost $2.

The monthly movie, “Wonder,” at 12:30 p.m., Thursday, July 26 — limit 12 attendees — is also a good way to beat the heat.

Now that last week’s heat wave is over, AccuWeather is forecasting a return to seasonal average temperatures for the rest of July — about 82 degrees — but since weather is changeable one never knows.

People suffer heat-related illness when their bodies are unable to compensate and properly cool themselves, according to the Mass. Department of Public Health. The body normally cools itself by sweating. Certain psychiatric medications impair this critical physiological function. Furthermore, under some conditions, sweating just isn’t enough for any of us. In such cases, a person’s body temperature rises rapidly. Very high body temperatures may damage the brain or other vital organs.

factors

Several factors affect the body’s ability to cool itself during extremely hot weather. When the humidity is high, sweat will not evaporate as quickly, preventing the body from releasing heat quickly. Other conditions related to risk include age, obesity, fever, dehydration, heart disease, mental illness, poor circulation, sunburn, and prescription drug and alcohol use.

To protect people when temperatures are extremely high, remember to keep cool and use common sense.

Staying cool

The DPH recommends that people:

• Drink plenty of fluids, don’t just wait until you’re thirsty while avoiding alcohol or heavily sugared drinks;

• Replace salt and minerals;

• Wear appropriate clothing and sunscreen;

• Schedule outdoors activities carefully;

• Pace yourself and

• Stay cool indoors.

People who are overweight, elderly or physically ill should be monitored as they are at greater risk for heat-related illnesses, according to the DPH.

know the signs

People should also learn the warning signs of:

• Heat stroke — An extremely high body temperature (above 103°F, orally); red, hot, and dry skin (no sweating); rapid, strong pulse; throbbing headache; dizziness; nausea; confusion and unconsciousness. Cool the victim rapidly using whatever methods you can. Do not give the victim fluids to drink. Get medical assistance as soon as possible.

Sometimes a victim’s muscles will begin to twitch uncontrollably as a result of heat stroke. If this happens, keep the victim from injuring himself, but do not place any object in the mouth and do not give fluids. If there is vomiting, make sure the airway remains open by turning the victim on his or her side.

• Heat exhaustion — Heavy sweating; paleness; muscle cramps; tiredness; weakness; dizziness; headache; nausea or vomiting and fainting. Cooling measures that may be effective include cool, nonalcoholic beverages; rest; cool shower, bath, or sponge bath; an air-conditioned environment and having them wear lightweight clothing.

• Heat cramps — Muscle pains or spasms-usually in the abdomen, arms, or legs-that may occur in association with strenuous activity. If you have heart problems or are on a low-sodium diet, get medical attention for heat cramps.

Politics disrupts July 4th in park: Candidates’ actions termed ‘disgusting’

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WHITMAN — How can the town balance its traditional July 4 Family Field Day with the free speech tenets on which the nation was founded and are celebrated on that day?

The Recreation Commission will be working with Selectmen in an effort to draft regulations outlining what type of political campaign activities are to be permitted at family events it sponsors in Whitman Park. Any such guidelines will be reviewed by town counsel.

On July 4, the issue boiled over at the annual event as area candidates — who had been asked to keep their presence limited to wearing shirts and/or badges and handing out leaflets — “got out of control,” according to Recreation Director Oliver Amado.

“I was contacted by several political parties, including my own party, regarding the Family Fourth event,” Amado told Selectmen Tuesday, July 10. “Basically, they originally wanted to put big signs up and everything and I told them that this was a family fun day, it’s never been used as a political event.”

Amado asked that they operate on the “Geoff Diehl approach” of setting up a table with their families and offering watermelon slices or other such refreshments without overtly campaigning.

“Most of the time you couldn’t tell that he was a candidate,” Amado said.

“He was just being there,” said Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, who later noted he had initially agreed with the request that candidates limit their role, but then changed his mind. “It’s a freedom of speech issue, it’s a freedom of assembly issue and I couldn’t see any other way around it,” he said.

“[Diehl] was just being there,” Amado said. “And that’s what I wanted and that’s what I asked. I never banned anyone from coming down.” He was trying to avoid a rally atmosphere with big signs and banners.

“That’s what happened and it got out of control quickly,” Amado said, adding that interference from the campaigns forced cancellation of two contests because of the time delay.

The incident led to a debate on social media about what kind of electioneering is proper at such “family events,” officials said.

candidate’s request

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said he had received a call on Monday, July 2 from former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, whose daughter is a candidate for the seat he once held, complaining that she was not being permitted to canvass at the July 4 Field Day.

Lynam called Town Counsel Michelle McNulty for guidance and to Amado for more information. He had to leave a message with McNulty, who returned Lynam’s call on Tuesday, July 3.

“I did have some concerns about our ability to limit those types of events,” Lynam said about his call to McNulty. “She agreed with my belief that speech is protected, that the park is a public place and people can attend these public events … wear campaign buttons, they can wear shirts, they can hand out leaflets.”

He underscored the Recreation Department’s concern that the event “is and always has been a family event” and past requests against conducting political activities has been respected.

“The directive was advised by me to not prevent any political candidates from attending, wearing their shirts, handing out leaflets or otherwise engaging people during the event,” Lynam said, explaining that decision was based on First Amendment considerations.

McNulty issued an opinion on the situation, which states political speech is protected in public places where there is no perceived cause to restrain it.

“When I was contacted, the issue was very narrow,” said McNulty, who attended the July 10 meeting. “The issue was, ‘Can we prohibit the candidates from being present at the town park during this event? Can we tell them they can’t wear campaign shirts or buttons or have leaflets?’ My answer to that was a narrow response that it is a public forum, that you cannot prohibit free speech in a public forum — you can have reasonable time, place and manner restrictions that are applicable to everybody regardless of affiliation.”

rally vs. forum

She said the issue was never presented as an intent to hold a rally, have balloons, tables or microphones.

“There is a difference between a political rally and just being present in an open forum … wearing a shirt that says anything on it,” she said. “I was frankly taken quite aback when I heard what had occurred, as well. … We all learn from incidents like this.”

The main issue that made the difference for McNulty was that it happened in a public park.

“It seems that something got lost in translation somewhere along the line,” she said.

Amado had explained that the candidates had been set up in a shaded area off to one side away from the contests and picnic tables and they were asked to place banners to face the street or take the signs down. By the time the bike and carriage decoration contest was over, “the signs came out — the big banner, bigger than a station wagon came out — and next thing you know, we had four or five of this particular group’s entourage rushing our area, handing out balloons to the kids and preventing us from kicking off on time,” he said. “Once they pulled out their signs, all the candidates pulled out their signs.”

Some residents at the event tried to prevent the candidates from interfering with it, according to Amado. Candidates were also asking Recreation Department staff, as well as Donnie Westhaver’s family who were DJ-ing the event, for use of their microphones to address the crowd. The candidates were refused.

Selectman Randy LaMattina said his concern was that the Recreation Commission had a plan in place to deal with the situation that “absolutely protected the First Amendment,” but preserving the integrity of a family event was paramount.

“This seems to be an ongoing thing … that decisions are being made without this board,” LaMattina said. “And this board is the elected chief executive officers of the town.”

Kowalski said he found it ironic that on Independence Day, “by which freedom of assembly, as well as freedom of speech is to be celebrated [that] people were asked to curtail their speech and to curtail the way they assemble.”

Selectman Dan Salvucci had been in the office signing warrants July 2 when Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green fielded Amado’s first call and was relaying Amado’s questions to him.

“I told her that, personally, it’s a family fun day — it’s a children’s day — I said we’ve always had people handing out watermelon or things like that because it’s a family fun day, but no big political signs,” Salvucci said.

‘disgusting’ behavior

Selectman Brian Bezanson was blunt in his criticism of the behavior of all candidates, noting that both the Republican and Democratic town committees have long had an unwritten agreement “not to pull this kind of stuff.”

“Just because it’s legal, doesn’t make it right,” he said. “As the chairman of the Republican Town Committee, I’m very disappointed, because I know what this event is and I know how hard the Recreation Commission works to put it together. … To have a family fun day literally ruined because of partisanship and political asperations, I find it disgusting.”

In other business, Lynam said Bridgewater State University professor Dr. Melinda Tarsi has provided more information concerning the planned community assessment survey. The next step will be a meeting of stakeholders to begin formulating questions to be included in that survey.

A list of those stakeholders will be prepared by the board’s next meeting on July 24.

“Sounds like she is expecting a large group of stakeholders,” Kowalski said. “She said we could use Bridgewater State if we didn’t have enough space here.”

“I’d like to think we’d get that kind of response,” Lynam said.

3-alarm blaze is probed

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Fire crews battled a lingering heat wave as well as the intense flames from a three-alarm fire at the vacant JJ’s Pub at 16 Liberty St., Thursday afternoon. / Photo by: Stephanie Spyropoulos

Express staff report

HANSON – A three-alarm fire on Thursday, July 5 has been deemed suspicious by state and local public safety officials.

Firefighters from several area communities assisted Hanson Fire Department in battling a three-alarm fire in a vacant building. No injuries were reported, but two firefighters were transported to the hospital for treatment of heat-related illness.

The cause of the fire has not been determined and the incident is still under investigation by Hanson Police and Fire and the State Fire Marshall’s office.

Anyone who has information about the fire is asked to call Hanson Police at 781-293-4625 or the state Arson Hotline at 1-800-682-9229.

Hanson fire personnel responded to calls reporting the fire at 16 Liberty St. – the former JJ’s Pub – at about 3 p.m. Flames were visible on their arrival and crews immediately began to fight the fire as second and third alarms were struck calling companies from numerous area towns to assist.

Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., reported that the fire was extinguished by 6 p.m., but that fire crews were still dousing hot spots. Route 58, at the intersection of Liberty and East Washington streets remained closed to traffic while the scene remained active and residents were asked to avoid the area.

National Grid shut off power to the area to permit firefighters to safely work. Nearly 200 customers were affected by the shut-off.

Thompson and Police Chief Michael Miksch thanked the residents for their patience.

The cause and origin of the blaze are not known and it is under investigation by the State Fire Marshall’s office.

Hanson Fire also Tweeted their thanks to the departments that assisted today at the fire.

“We also would like to thank our other Town departments that assisted and members of the public who dropped off water and Gatorade,” the Twitter post stated.

Photo by: Stephanie Spyropoulos

Photo by: Stephanie Spyropoulos

 

IMG_27391 click on link to view video

IMG_29851 click on link to view video

 

 

 

Towns seek economic sparks

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Hanson works toward reviving Main Street corridor

HANSON — The Main Street (Route 27) corridor near the Commuter Rail station continues to be a priority for the Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator Michael McCue, who described the area as “one of the gateways to the town of Hanson.”

“I am in continuing discussions with an entity down on Main Street that is interested in doing some redevelopment,” McCue said. He said he was also meeting during the week of June 25 with state agencies to potentially present a tax incentive financing (TIF) plan before the October Town Meeting.

“It is fairly complicated and there are a lot of moving parts,” McCue told Selectmen at the board’s Tuesday, June 19 meeting about the TIF issue. “I know the town has started an Economic Development Commission, I know in the past the town had an Economic Target Area (ETA) Committee, unfortunately at the next meeting [Tuesday, July 10], I’m going to request that the town create another committee.”

That panel will be a TIF Committee charged with meeting with the “potential project owner” to negotiate a TIF agreement to draw up a Town Meeting article including a length of time for the special tax financing along with percentages involved.

“It’s a negotiation and it needs people involved in the negotiation that have a bit of wherewithal on how all of that works,” McCue said. That committee should include either the assessor or representative, someone from the Planning Board, a Selectman and McCue. He noted that the Finance Committee could be asked for representation, but had declined similar invitations in the past.

“I think this could be an exception, because this is a real-life ‘it’s happening’,” said Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “It’s going to impact the town, so I would rather err on the side of inviting them.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett noted that every member of the board, while on the campaign trail and since, has heard that residents want to see something happen there in terms of economic development.

A TIF can be in force from five to 20 years, according to McCue, who had reached out through the building inspector to the current owner of the old Ocean Spray building to perform some maintenance on sidewalks. That work has been going on for the past several days.

On Friday, June 29 workers were using construction equipment to pull saplings and undergrowth that had sprung up due to reduced use of commercial buildings next door and across an open lot to 999 Main St.

He has also reached out to owners of other nearby buildings to perform outdoor maintenance.

“It all goes back to that old broken windows theory that if you let one piece of property kind of go down the tubes, you have a kind of creep so the whole area looks that way,” he said. “I think the reverse is also true — that you have one or two of these locations clean themselves up and the other locations feel almost pressure to clean up. It really should be cleaned up.”

McCue said he wants to see something done, but cautioned against pushing too hard too fast and “scaring people off.”

“I think its going to reap the benefits fairly soon,” he said.

The Board of Selectmen will return to the issue of the proposed hiring of Eugene Gingras as the town’s new IT director when they meet Tuesday, July 10. A vote scheduled to adopt a fuel-efficient vehicle policy was also tabled due to questions raised by some of the town’s department heads.

In other business, June 19, Selectmen voted to close and post “No Trespassing” signs at town-owned land bordering Factory Pond where a rocket projectile from a WWII-era M-1, 2.36-inch, Rocket Launcher (called a Bazooka because of it’s resemblance to a trombone-like wind instrument copyrighted by radio comedian Bob Burns in the 1920s) had recently been found in the waters. The military had tested weaponry there in the past.

Even absent the launcher, the Bazooka rocket rounds are dangerously unstable. Police Chief Michael Miksch said the State Police Bomb Squad and a company working with the town of Hanover are being charged with removing such rounds, this one being discovered by a person using a metal detector to find that type of materials.

McCue noted that Hanover had already voted on June 18 to post “No Trespassing” signs along the shore on that side of the pond where all of the property is town-owned.

In Hanson, however, only two sections of land are town-owned and the “vast majority” of parcels concerned are privately-owned.

McCue consulted Town Counsel Katherine Feodoroff about what the town could do to control access to the pond from private land. She advised reaching out to discuss the issue with homeowners.

“The town can be treated, just like any individual, as a trespasser if you went on private property without permission, so you have to be careful,” Feodoroff said.

Chapter 103 of the Acts of 1955 gives the town of Hanson control of all ponds or lakes within the town, she said, adding more research into the extent of that control.

“The best approach is always to reach out to the residents and make them your partner,” Feodoroff said.

 

Whitman continues budget, purchasing discussions

WHITMAN — When the Board of Selectmen convene to begin the business of a new fiscal year on Tuesday, July 10, there will be some familiar action items before them — as well as a change in how board members report progress from their committee assignments.

Along with tabled or continued discussion on the possible call for a sergeant’s list for the Police Department and on proposed changes to the town’s travel and expense policy for municipal employees, Selectman Scott Lambiase continued to question the request to appoint Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green as chief procurement officer.

He again stressed on Tuesday, June 26 that his concerns were not meant as comment on Green’s performance in a role she already fills without the title, but center on who should carry the title and the need to finish policy changes now being made.

The prior assistant town administrator was also chief procurement officer, according to Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski and Town Administrator Frank Lynam, but Lambiase said he did not recall such a vote.

“He can delegate his authority,” Lambiase said of Lynam. “The recommendation from the [state] Inspector General is, if there’s nothing in your Charter, then it’s up to the Selectmen to decide. My concern with it is the person who ends up as the chief procurement officer is where the buck should stop — and it should be us or our representative.”

Lynam could delegate the authority to Green, whom Lambiase said is “exceptionally capable of dealing with it … but I think the top person on our food chain has to be the town administrator for a lot of reasons.”

Chief procurement officer is a title that goes with the position, meaning the town administrator, he argued — it doesn’t go with the person.

Selectman Brian Bezanson said he, too, recalled voting to appoint former Assistant Town Administrator Greg Enos as chief procurement officer in 2013.

“If that were the case, then there would be no point in this exercise,” Lambiase said, asking that past minutes be checked.

“We need to find out what did that vote in 2013 mean,” Kowalski said.

Lynam agreed to look into the matter further with the Inspector General’s office.

The sergeant’s list was tabled again to await the outcome of a personnel issue. There is a vacancy due to retirement and a possible second vacancy based on an issue now under discussion within the rules of executive session.

The travel and expense policy changes were given a first read and will come back before the board July 10 so department heads can review the proposal and offer feedback.

Rethinking agendas

Selectman Daniel Salvucci offered the suggestion that the traditional “around the board” session — in which Selectmen offer thoughts about items that may not be listed on the agenda — be ended in favor of a listed item pertaining to committee reports.

Kowalski replied he had been leaning that way, but a mention by Bezanson that residents should think about veterans with PTSD, or even the welfare of pets, before setting off illegal fireworks on July 4, led him to give it a second thought. Bezanson favors retaining the around the board tradition.

“You actually gave me a reason why it works sometimes, but it always seemed to me to be kind of awkward” Kowalski said. “This is a public meeting and people have the right to have a reasonable expectation of what’s going to be talked about at a public meeting.”

Personnel policies, performance evaluations, community assessment and budget will also become regular agenda items, Kowalski said. A Town Administrator’s report could also be an agenda item.

“I don’t see the Town Meetings being the High Mass of the year in which everything has to be done by that time,” he said. “I think there’s a manner of business that we need to adopt as selectmen that’s going to be consistent and when the Town Meeting comes, the Town Meeting comes.”

Preparing for Town Meetings should be one of the board’s considerations, but not it’s only goal, Kowalski said, suggesting the Finance Committee might take the same approach.

Finance Committee member Shawn Kain had asked about the timeline for and probable makeup of a proposed budget subcommittee during the meeting’s public forum, which in part inspired the discussion of changes to the board’s future agendas.

“Unfortunately, July and August are upon us,” Lambiase said. “I personally, would like to see that decision of who’s going to be on that committee made — when they are going to meet and what the charge is — by the end of July and certainly [to] have a good plan.”

Kain had indicated he wanted to see discussions about staff vs. salary reductions as part of that charge because of the W-H school district’s position as 15th from the bottom in terms of acceptable class size.

“If we went through another round of significant layoffs, that would hit the teacher/student ratio pretty hard,” he said. “I guess what I’m getting at is that the people who are on the committee are employees of the town, there’s somewhat of a conflict there.”

He urged Selectmen to include a citizen at-large seat on the budget subcommittee.

“That would have been my preference anyway,” said Kowalski, suggesting it, too, be added to the July 10 agenda.

Fish vendor

In other business, Selectmen approved a transient vendor license — subject to final inspection and approval of the Board of Health, Building Commissioner and Fire Department as well as proof of liability insurance — for Andrew Poce to sell fish on premises at 1113 Bedford St.

Poce, doing business as Nantucket Wild, said he bought the trailer from the previous vendor who operated out of the parking lot of the former Shoetown Tavern. A commercial fisherman who lives in East Bridgewater, he said it will be his full-time venture initially operating sales from Wednesday through Saturday. He said his “ideal scenario” would be combining it with a Chatham smokehouse business he opened in 2010, ultimately looking for a brick and mortar location in Whitman.

SSVT salutes Dutch’s service

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HANOVER — The South Shore Vo-Tech School Committee gave retiring Principal Margaret Dutch a warm send-off during its Wednesday, June 20 meeting.

Mark Aubrey takes over as principal with the new fiscal year, which started on July 1.

School Committee Chairman Robert Molla of Norwell presented Dutch with a plaque saluting her “professionalism, attention to detail and commitment to putting students’ education at the center of all your decisions. You’ve been a reliable and caring leader and have earned the respect and admiration of parents, staff and students.”

Dutch, in turn, said she was thankful for the opportunity.

“I’m grateful for the trust that you placed in me and I’ve enjoyed every minute,” she said.

Graphic Communications/Visual Design student Elizabeth Trull, a sophomore from Rockland, was recognized as the Student of the Month for June.

Assistant Princiapl Aubrey, still in his role as assistant superintendent during the June 20 meeting, reported that Trull was selected based on faculty comments that she is a “creative, positive, hard-working and kind” student who is also an “advocate for her peers.”

Trull is a three-sport athlete — volleyball, basketball and softball — a student ambassador, member of SkillsUSA and Business Professionals of America.

Social studies teacher Tammy Glass was honored as June Staff Member of the Month, as nominated by SSVT students. She has been a teacher at the school since 2015 and students lauded her expertise in the subject as well as her willingness to experiment with new projects and assessments to push students to excel. She is also a class adviser and prom volunteer, overseeing the construction of a chandelier designed and built by the shops this year.

Whitman skaters bound for Nationals

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WHITMAN — Fifteen members of the All-Star Roller Skating Club will be competing in the U. S. National Championship in Lincoln, Neb., July 21 through Aug. 5 after winning 34 gold, eight silver and two bronze medals in regional competition. All age groups and skills divisions will be competing. The club representing the Carousel Family Fun Center range in age from 7 to adults in their 70s.

Senior Club members competing in Nationals placed as follows in the regionals:

• Leo Brehm — two golds in Bronze Div. 3 Men’s Figures and Solo Dance;

• Lisa Brenn Scarborough — two gold in Gold Div. 1 Team Dance and Bronze Div. 1 Women’s Figures as well as one bronze in Silver Div. 1 Women’s Figures;

• Christine Cizmar — one gold in Gold Div. 1 Women’s Solo Dance and a silver in Silver Div. 1 Team Dance;

• Ella Connell — three golds in Elementary A Solo Dance, Elementary International Solo Dance and Elementary International Solo Free Dance;

• Diane DeSilva —  silver in Bronze Div. 3 Women’s Figures;

• Perry Jones — silver in Silver Div. 1 Team Dance;

• Sharyn Lyons-Morin — silver in Gold Div. 2 Women’s Solo Dance. She also placed fourth in the Silver Div. 2 Women’s Solo Dance;

• Allie Mello — two golds in Senior Small Show Group and Open B Creative Solo Free Dance as well as a silver in Freshman/Sophomore B Solo Dance;

• Bethany Mello — six golds in Freshman/Sophomore B Team Dance, Senior Small Show Group, Freshman A Solo Dance, Youth International Solo Dance, International Solo Free Dance and International Solo Dance/Free Dance;

• Christopher Miller — six gold in Primary Boys’ Figures, Primary Boys’ Loops, Primary Boys’ Figures & Loops Combined, Juvenile Team Dance, Primary A Boys’ Freestyle and Elementary A Creative Solo Free Dance as well as a silver in Primary A Solo Dance and a bronze in Elementary International Solo Dance;

• Laura Miller — six golds in Primary Girls’ Figures, Primary Girlss’ Loops, Primary Girls’ Figures & Loops Combined, Juvenile Team Dance, Primary A Girls’ Freestyle and Primary A Solo Dance as well as two silvers in Elementary A Creative Solo Free Dance and Elementary International Solo Dance;

• Stephen Mills — one gold in Gold Div. 1 Team Dance;

• Elsy Urzua — one gold in Elementary A Creative Solo Free Dance;

• Isaiah Urzua — two golds in Freshman/Sophomore B Men’s Figures and Freshman/Sophomore C Solo Dance and;

• Joshua Urzua, two golds in Freshman/Sophomore B Team Dance and Freshman/Sophomore B Solo Dance.

Coaches for the team are DeeDee Viola, John Viola, Jodee Viola, Christine Cizmar, Ken Kucick and Nancy Doyle.