Whitman-Hanson Express

You are here: Home / Archives for Tracy F. Seelye, Express Editor

Grenno leads fire chiefs’ association

By

BRIDGEWATER — Before a hall filled with family, friends, Whitman officials and dozens of fellow fire chiefs, Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno was sworn in as president of the Fire Chiefs’ Association of Massachusetts (FCAM) during ceremonies at Bridgewater State on Tuesday, May 15.

After taking his oath, administered by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Grenno noted the date coincided with Peace Officer Memorial Day, first designated by President Kennedy in 1962, and thanked police, particularly the Whitman Police Department, for their service.

Grenno pledged to work closely with the firefighters’ union as well as state officials to ensure firefighters’ safety and well being.

“At the end of the day, we are all the fire service,” he said. “We may disagree at times on the fundamentals of some things, but in the end our mission creed is the same: To see that everybody goes home at the end of their shifts.”

He also pledged to work to restore funding for training, mental health services for stress-related issues such as PTSD, fire safety programs to educate the public and for legislation to provide protection from and treatment for work-related cancers.

Grenno offered a special tip of his hat to his mother Marylyn, who he was not sure would be able to make it due to recent health issues. A new rehabilitation facility, however, has recently helped improved her health and she was able to attend.

“She’s always been the strongest person I know,” he said, adding thanks and “saving the best for last,” to his wife Maureen.

“I love you and thank you for your continued support, even if it appears I love my phone more than you sometimes, I really don’t.”

Family and community was the unofficial theme of the event.

“This is a time to celebrate, to highlight, to spotlight public service — and in particular, the fire service,” Polito said. “I hope that you know when come to these gatherings, that no one goes this way alone, that you have a strong and reliable partner in state government.”

She noted that the men and women who devote their lives to public service are not always forefront in the public’s mind so long as streets are plowed, the lights come on and the cable TV connection works.

“I value public service, as you do, and without you we would not be the great state that we are on many levels,” she said. “We have that because of you, and I cannot state that strongly emphatically enough — how grateful we are for your choice of careers — hometown careers in municipal service that have made your communities better and our commonwealth better.”

Grenno was accompanied in the procession opening the ceremony by retired Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Travers, a past president of the FCAM. Whitman Fire Department Chaplain the Rev. Alan Butler offered the invocation.

Before leading the prayer, Butler recalled the little red fire chief cars kids used to dream of getting for a toy — and how times have changed.

“Today, if Timmy is called to a scene in Whitman he shows up in a black Chevy Tahoe,” he said. “The windows couldn’t be any darker. All the lights are camouflaged and you don’t know whether it’s the fire chief or Secret Service agents — and Timmy pops out.”

He spoke of the level of stress among today’s first responder as “beyond telling.” Equipment is taken good care of, but the personnel need support as well, asking for grace upon those gathered, especially among the fire service for work that is hard — if not impossible to talk about.

Guest speakers at the ceremony included Bridgewater State President Frederick Clark, State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey, Travers and Polito before Grenno’s swearing-in and address.

Travers recalled that Grenno’s father was a charter member of IAFF Local 1769, his sister Missy and her husband Richard also served as firefighters.

The need to prevent job-related cancers and increase aid to cities and towns for public safety was also stressed by Travers in his remarks.

Ostroskey said the FCAM is extremely valuable to its members and agreed that cancer prevention, as well as active shooter and hostile event response are key issues today.

Family ties also figured prominently in Clark’s address.

“You’re really part of the family,” Clark said of Grenno, whose wife Maureen has worked for the university for 18 years. “We know your jobs get more and more complicated based on the challenge that comes before you. … Right now we’re challenged by the opioid crisis, which affects us all. But you all manage through those challenges beautifully, you adapt wonderfully and professionally as well.”

He then joked he was presenting Grenno the virtual key to the campus but noted all the doors are locked for the summer.

Towns head to polls May 19

By

HANSON — When voters go to the polls in Whitman and Hanson on Saturday, May 19, they will see only one contested race in each town — three candidates vying for two school committee seats in Whitman — incumbent Fred Small, Heidi Hosmer and Christopher Scriven — and four candidates running for two selectmen seats in Hanson.

Polls in both towns are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with all Whitman precincts voting at Town Hall and all Hanson precincts voting in Hanson Middle School.

Hanson voters had the chance on Sunday, May 6 to hear the candidates’ position on the issues and to ask questions during an annual forum jointly sponsored by the town’s Democratic and Republican town committees. Town Moderator Sean Kealy, himself a candidate for re-election, moderated the event.

“This is an opportunity to get to know who’s on the ballot and where they stand,” Kealy said.

Going through the ballot in reverse order, Kealy noted that some candidates were unable to, or opted not to, attend the session.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes took the opportunity to talk about his candidacy and ask for voter support at the forum, as did constable August P. Silva.

“I’m about education — I think that education is everything,” said Hayes, a Whitman native who has lived in Hanson for 30 years. “I know it costs a lot, and we get a lot of complaints about taxes, but education is a proven fact and without it, you have issues.”

He has served on the school committee for 15 years and has been chairman for 11. Both of his children are W-H graduates who bought homes in Hanson.

“When I accept a duty or responsibility, I do my utmost to fulfill all that is required of me and then some,” said Silva, a 49-year veteran constable, an Army veteran and retired teacher who has also served on more than a half-dozen other elected and appointed offices in town. “My experience and knowledge are what helps to make doing the job right and in a timely manner.”

The other uncontested candidate for re-election is Steven W. Lyons.

But the bulk of the afternoon was focused on the four selectmen candidates: incumbent Donald H. Howard, Wesley Blauss, Matthew J. Dyer and Joseph R. Weeks III.

Howard noted his residence in the home he built in town in 1960 and his 10 years’ service on the Board of Selectmen in his opening statement as well as his concern over the need for expansion of the town’s commercial tax base. Dyer, who grew up in Hanson, is a political newcomer who noted his wish to give back to the community as well as the need to diversify the tax revenue to attract new business in town. Weeks, too, is a Hanson native — who briefly lived in nearby Rockland — strives to give back to the community and stressed the need for business development and long-term sustainable planning, especially in the Main Street corridor. Weeks is now ending his service as a member of the Planning Board. Blauss, retired after a 40-year teaching career and 30-year member of the Recreation Commission, stressed education and environmental concerns in his opening statement, saying he believes strongly in the affect of global climate change on the lives of today’s children and is a proponent of the pay-as-you-throw trash program. He is also a member of the Hanson Historical Society.

The candidates were asked the following questions, starting with what can be done to attract new business to town:

Howard said Conservation regulations regarding wetland areas along Main Street and a drainage problem from Phillips Street create a particular challenge to development there.

“I’d love to see something done down there,” he said. He said the people’s voice should rule what is ultimately done to develop the former Plymouth County Hospital site.

“Right now we are a drive-through community and we need to [develop] some sort of destination,” Dyer said. He advocated development of a project like a boardwalk trail along the wetlands to entice visitors to come to town and develop a multi-use project at the old Ocean Spray building as well as bringing high-speed internet and sewage service to town to help business development.

“We would be the only community on the Old Colony line to have a walkable downtown — Plymouth doesn’t have it, Kingston doesn’t have it and neither does any of the other communities.”

For the PCH site, an indoor soccer facility could be a way to meet the growing demand for such a field in the area, Dyer said.

Weeks advocates continuation of the complete streets project to make Hanson a more walkable town and, along with tax provisions, can bring more business to town as part of a long-term plan. He agrees with Howard, however, that drainage issues have to be dealt with first.

“I feel like I can’t add much to that, although I would like to give a shout-out to Dunkin’ Donuts,” Blauss said, agreeing with the ideas other candidates were floating. “They have done a great landscaping job — it’s attractive, you can get off the train and the area right around there is a draw.”

For parts of that stretch of Main Street that is not a draw, he said he is not certain how much town-owned land there is in the area with which the town can work.

GREEN COMMUNITY
STATUS

Dyer, who is a member of Green Hanson, said he has worked on green technology and sustainability, noting that Green Community status is “that next step” for Hanson.

Weeks has also been a member of Green Hanson before getting involved in other town committees, said the Planning Board has already taken up the Green Community process.

“It opens us up to all kinds of grants,” he said. “We have a fantastic town planner who is looking at the overall maintenance of the town within both a short-term and long-term plan and she’s in agreement that this is something we hadn’t had the resources to pursue.”

Bluass, noting that so many other communities are working toward plastic grocery bag bans, said he doesn’t know why Hanson hasn’t followed suit.

“I think that there are plenty of avenues that we can start talking about [that in],” he said.

RECALL REVISION
ARTICLE

“I think the recall law, in general, is incredibly important because it’s a great opportunity for democracy and a town can correct itself when it feels it needs to,” Weeks said during the forum that took place the day before Town Meeting. “I do want to take away my personal opinion vs. being a person in a selectman’s seat.”

He said it was worth allowing the public to discuss and vote on it.

Blauss said the stipulations for admission to sufficient facts for conviction or outright conviction of a crime as required by the revision, could take too much time.

“There’s no way to remove that person from the position [before a vote could be held],” he said. “It seems to me the people should have the opportunity to decide in a recall election.”

Howard agreed that the public has a right to debate and vote on an issue at Town Meeting, which is why he voted to place it on the warrant.

Dyer said he opposed the article.

“I believe it will take away the rights of our voters,” he said. “It should be up to the voters to take that [person petitioned for recall] out of office.”

RECREATIONAL
MARIJUANA

“Although I do not smoke pot myself, I think absolutely the town should vote,” Blauss said of why a referendum question is not being put forth. “There are several of us who don’t even understand why it isn’t on this month’s ballot.”

Howard said he was surprised that Hanson voters voted in favor of the 2016 state ballot question.

“I was really disappointed,” he said, arguing that it makes the Police Department’s job harder. “It proved to me that there’s more people smoking pot than voted no.”

Dyer also said it should be on a town ballot.

“I don’t believe a small group should be changing the culture of our town,” he said. “It’s a community decision.”

Weeks said, while there is a referendum option, the moratorium article that the Planning Board drafted last year to provide time to explore that option was voted down at Town Meeting last year.

“We deferred it to Town Meeting because we felt it wasn’t the job of a Planning Board member to say that they are for or against anything.”

He said he would support a referendum question.

RECREATION PRIVATE VENDOR

Howard said that, to be honest, he didn’t really have much involvement with the issue and didn’t have an answer for why a private vendor arrangement was approved.

“This is a really close issue to me,” said Dyer, who has recreation and park ranger experience. “I truly believe in public recreation. I should not be privatized because that’s what sets America apart from every other country — we decided to preserve our land but also [to] make sure we had that balance between conservation and recreation.”

Weeks agreed, arguing privatizing Camp Kiwanee is not in the best interests of the town.

“Would it be good to have it be sustainable? That’s a great idea, businesswise, but we want to make sure we don’t lose the essence of what Camp Kiwanee is, because it is the heart of Hanson.”

Blauss, said he was involved in the purchase of Kiwanee by the town in 1979 as a community recreational center. The weddings and rentals have been used to subsidize its operation.

“As long as we keep Camp Kiwanee on that footing, I think we’ll do well,” he said. “That’s my hope for the future.”

Library Trustee Linda A. Wall, one of two trustees running unopposed for re-election, sent an email to be read at the forum asking for voter support for her continuing collaborative efforts to bring quality programs to the library.

Kealy closed out the afternoon by asking for voters to support his re-election effort.

“No one was foolish enough, other than me, to take out papers,” he joked. “But I would appreciate your vote. I hope I’ve earned it over the past year.”

Sparks fly over recall bylaw in Hanson

By

HANSON — Proposed bylaw changes governing recall elections sparked more heated debate during Hanson’s annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 7 — while bulk soil removal and storage as well as marijuana business placement also spurred discussion.

“It’s amazing we have 124 people who don’t give a damn about the Celtics,” Moderator Sean Kealy said in announcing that a quorum had been achieved to permit the session to begin. There were 177 total voters signed in for the meeting.

After more than two hours of civil discourse on financial and bylaw articles, debate boiled over when the recall amendment came up for discussion. The amendment was passed, 80-50.

While Kealy managed to keep his humor for most of the meeting, the recall debate tested his patience as a resident repeatedly ignored his admonition to confine debate to the current issue and not dwell on past recalls.

The recall revision article changes the time window for recall votes and provide seven specific reasons for recall elections:

• Conviction of a felony or misdemeanors [domestic violence, DUI, illegal manufacturing, distribution or dispersing of controlled substances, assault or criminal harassment — while presently in office;

• Admission to facts, while presently in office, sufficient to be convicted of a felony or the above misdemeanors;

• Was found in violation of the conflict of interest law while presently in office as determined by the state Ethics Commission or the Attorney General;

• Attended less than 50 percent of the posted public meetings of the board of office of which the official was an elected member or to which he or she has been elected or appointed as part of his or her elected position during the previous 12 months;

• Lack of fitness and sobriety while performing official functions, involuntary commitment to a mental health facility, being placed under guardianship or conservatorship by a probate court;

• Corruption, conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude, conviction of bribery or extortion; or

• Violation of law, regulation, bylaw or other abdication of the applicable requirements for the elected position.

Former Selectman Bruce Young, who wrote the current bylaw, reiterated his objection to changes, citing the fact that it is similar to the bylaw used in many other towns. He added that it would be difficult to recall an official elected without voter knowledge of a conviction in another state. He “totally agreed” with Kealy’s admonition not to rehash prior recall debate.

“We tried to use some elements of the existing bylaw for recall,” said Selectmen Chairman James McGahan. “This change proposed is to make this bylaw more fair, responsible and reasonable.”

But resident Mark Vess, wielding a sheaf of recall petitions from a 2014 recall election, raised the temperature of the debate. Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett made repeated point-of-order objections as Kealy worked to rein in Vess’ comments.

“Do not restrict my speech,” Vess said raising his voice. “Hold it right here.” He charged Kealy could not dictate what goes on at Town Meeting, to which Kealy responded was, indeed, his function as moderator.

“I know you’ve got the Enterpriseon speed-dial, but I can decide what is within the scope of this argument,” Kealy said.

Vess then challenged Kealy to have him ejected from the meeting by police, which Kealy said he preferred not to do. Vess then continued to refer to the 2014 recall.

“There are no names mentioned in what I’m presenting here tonight,” Vess said.

“It’s a small town,” Kealy responded.

Vess continued to read from the 2014 recall petition.

“There’s no need to reread what was put forward as the recall several years ago,” Kealy said. “Is this a wise change to the bylaws or not?”

Vess said it is not a wise change because recalls are intended to remove officials voters do not feel are doing their job.

Holmes Street resident Adam Valachovic noted only half the towns in Massachusetts have recall bylaws.

“The fact that we have one is actually somewhat amazing,” he said in support of the article. “If we’re going to have a bylaw, let’s have it as transparent as possible.”

Another resident said it appears to insulate officials a bit, asking what prompted the drafting of the article.

McGahan reiterated his position that misuse of a bylaw to control a selectman is wrong, but it included valid reasons to remove an official not doing their job.

“In most towns and communities, people are removed from office by recall for malfeasance, misfeasance or non-feasance,” said West Washington Street resident Joe O’Sullivan in support of the article. “The toxic political environment in this community causes good people not to run for those seats up there [on the town officials’ dais].”

MARIJUANA BYLAW

Voters grudgingly voted to approve a zoning bylaw governing marijuana sales in town, with an eye toward future amendments and/or a referendum and also approved a 3-percent sales tax on marijuana products.

Marijuana establishment bylaws were required after state voters opted to legalize recreational use in 2016, but former Selectman David Soper wanted to know how Hanson failed to be among 189 communities restricting it or the 25 communities that otherwise regulate it.

A Planning Board-supported effort to pass a moratorium on marijuana establishments was defeated at Hanson Town Meeting, and Hanson was among the state communities voting yes to recreational marijuana in 2016, selectmen pointed out.

“The best we can do to mitigate any potential impact … would be to follow the lead of the Planning Board, which is to zone where these folks can set up,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett. “At least we can control that piece.”

Planning Board member Joseph Weeks said because the moratorium was defeated, Hanson no longer has the luxury of time.

“If we don’t zone it and/or if we zone it and make it too restrictive … there is a possibility in which litigation can come against the town and then we find ourselves really opening up anywhere within the confines of the law and it may go somewhere we just don’t want it to go,” Weeks said. “There is nothing to say you can’t do a referendum after the fact.”

Young asked what the true consequences of voting down the bylaw.

“I’ve been informed by town counsel that the licenses will begin issuing June 1,” Kealy said. “We won’t have another town meeting before then.”

BULK STORAGE BYLAW

The bulk soil storage bylaw revisions were opposed by former Selectman Bill Scott, as a change that would affect “every homeowner in town that decides to put an addition on their home.”

Even the installation of a 40-foot swimming pool would produce 350 yards of material that would have to be moved and stored, Scott said. He also argued it would impact the Highway Department and “anyone trying to run a business” in town while Cranberry growers, of which he is one in Wareham, would be hit hard because of the amount of sand needed in their growing operations.

“This is a knee-jerk reaction to something that has to be decided on its merits, not by putting this garbage in the warrant,” Scott said.

Another cranberry grower, who lives in East Bridgewater but pays taxes in Hanson, said there are already a lot of difficult regulations governing the business.

He doubted the town had standing to supercede state and federal regulations, but pledged to try to work around them if that was the town’s wish.

“I’m not so sure we have the right to tell them how to run their business,” Vess agreed.

Rosewood Drive resident Danielle Sheehan, said she and her neighbors began the bylaw revision effort because of problems with wind-blown sand in a nearby bog. She has lived on the street for 20 years with no problem until recently, saying they had been working with the town for almost a year trying to deal with it.

“We’re not asking them to not do bogs,” she said. “We understand the importance of it. My husband and I are in landscaping and trucking and dealing with sand as well all day long, but there’s a 4,000-yard pile of and out there that, when the wind blows it’s blowing in our faces, our kids can’t play outside. Our outdoor hockey rinks in the wintertime can’t go up because the sand is melting the ice — we have it in our window sills, we have it in our doors, we have it in our cars.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the board supports the cranberry business and that the bylaw only requires an annual permit.

Bog owners said that, with dropping water tables and uncertainty over which bogs would be threatened, the permit creates a hardship and that agriculture should be exempted.

McGahan said he has seen the size of the pile in question and noted the severe windstorms this year have exacerbated the problem.

“We didn’t want to do this, but we had to put some kind of control in place so that if it comes down to it, the Board of Selectmen can take action,” he said.

The bylaw change was narrowly defeated 73-67.

“I knew we were going to have a discussion about plants going in, but I didn’t expect it to be about cranberries,” Kealy said at one point during the evening.

BUDGET ISSUES

Only two budget lines were questioned, one by Planning Board member Don Ellis seeking an additional $5,000 for the town planner’s salary, but that is not permitted via amendment from the floor.

The other, regarding Park and Fields expenses was raised by Soper, who questioned the $25,000 budgeted for an expense that he had understood has been covered by user fees in the past.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell said the funds were intended to maintain seven fields used by various sports leagues. He said sports groups do not support that effort financially. Fertilizer alone costs $9,000 each year, Mitchell said.

Sports groups have provided funding for upkeep of fences, one league representative said, but McGahan, who is active in youth sports, said most user fees go toward uniforms and equipment.

Both Hanson and Whitman town meetings were carried live and recorded for rebroadcast by Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV.

Override averted – this year

By

WHITMAN — The use of capital stabilization funds enabled the town to avoid an override ballot question — this year, Town Administrator Frank Lynam announced to the nearly 200 voters present at the start of the Monday, May 7 annual Town Meeting.

Capital stabilization was used to pay capital debt for the police station and Town Hall renovations as well as on a bond taken out in 2000 for limited repairs to Town Hall.

“The simple fact is that we can no longer raise enough money to fund the services that the residents of Whitman have become accustomed to receiving,” Lynam said of the $36,814,122 budget resulting from collaboration with all town departments, the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee. “We are presenting this budget with the realization that the town will need to increase its levy in future years in order to continue funding town services at our present level, and to meet the current and future capital needs of the Town.”

Lynam estimated there is only about $180,000 left in capital stabilization.

The fiscal 2019 budget is up $1,898,402 from last year.

Lynam warned residents that increases in fixed costs such as technology, public safety, education, solid waste, veterans’ services, health life and liability insurance, County retirement and other post-employment benefits are outstripping the town’s ability to fund the budget within the confines of Proposition 2 ½. Work on the fiscal 2020 budget will have to begin next month, beginning with a comprehensive review of our revenue, expenditures and capital assets toward developing that budget.

“The alternative to this would be to significantly reduce services and the quality of education we offer our youth and permit our capital assets to deteriorate over time,” he said.

Finance Committee Chairman Richard Anderson presented the “road map” for town spending in the coming year.

“This is in response to the extremely difficult budget we face this year,” Anderson said. “While we do not agree with each other, we all recognize the benefit of strategic planning and fiscal restraint.”

He offered the analogy that the Selectmen drive the fiscal car while the Finance Committee plans the route, but voters at town meeting decide whether to make the trip at all. Anderson also argued that the town’s position is due as much to unfunded or under-funded state and federal mandates as from spending and limited revenue.

“We have a long road — a long haul,” Lynam said after the Town Meeting, which he said went very well. “I can tell you right now there’s no way we can fund next year’s budget. We can’t continue down the road we’re going down an that’s why I wanted to make that clear tonight.”

There was an initial question, once the meeting got under way, from resident Elaine Williams on how the electronic voting devices would be used. Selectman Daniel Salvucci agreed with Williams’ suggestion that the devices be used in all questions.

“We’re paying the money to use these devices,” Salvucci said. “It seems to be working. Does Town Meeting want to use it for every single vote — and I agree, I think we should — I think that was the main reason we brought these forward.”

Moderator Michael Seele had recommended voice votes unless a voice vote supported using the handsets. Town Counsel Michelle McNulty’s interpretation of state statute agreed with Seele’s recommendation, which was the approach used, specifically on questioned items on Article 2 — which was decided by the devices when a voice vote proved inconclusive.

“The towns that use them on every question had lengthier town meetings,” said Seele, who chaired the committee that studied using the devices. “It’s up to the meeting.”

A special warrant article for $280,000 to purchase streetlights from National Grid was amended to authorize the borrowing of the funds and issue bonds or notes of the town for them. Lynam also indicated the town has applied for two grants, which if received, will pay for the borrowing in two years while the town saves on energy costs by switching to LED lights.

A line item within budget Article 2 later centered on $143,000 sought for street lighting. Lynam explained it was for electricity costs, which is expected to be reduced by the LED lighting in coming years.

BUDGET QUERIES

There were 25 line items questioned within budget Article 2, all of which were ultimately approved. Some of the questioned lines dealt with $1,000 certification stipend earned by some town employees as the town is obligated to meet as a result of approving state laws permitting the stipends several years ago.

A 4-percent increase for Lynam — the third year of an attempt to bring his salary closer to the minimum compensation for a town administrator — and a 2-percent increase for Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green after Green received a 1.5-percent increase last year — were also approved.

The question was prompted by the fact that the salary for the position was increased prior to hiring Green to a level that will still be the lowest among 15 people in equivalent positions through the region.

A question about Fire Department expenses triggered a question about why a brush fire off Indian Trail last year was left to burn overnight while fire personnel were sent home.

“Do you want me to comment on the expense or why we don’t go in the woods at night?” Fire Chief Timothy Grenno asked, then answered both, noting the expense line funds firefighter salaries, contractual obligations and benefits.

Fires in extremely dry weather burn deep underground along root systems and can take as long as two weeks to extinguish, Grenno added.

“If the ground is burned out and you have a firefighter walking across that ground drawing a hoseline and they fall into a pit, that fire can immediately flare up,” he said. “There’s too many obstacles in the woods, there’s too many obstructions, there’s dangers so when we confine a fire … so it doesn’t spread overnight in the darkness and then you go back first thing in the morning and you start up again.”

A Board of Health request for an additional $22,979 — bringing the inspector’s line from $43,148 to $66,127 — was also questioned. Lynam explained it was due to the board’s assumption of responsibilities for animal control services, placing the inspector at the department head level. Both the fire and health board expenses were approved.

A $6,000 expenditure to Whitman WILL was also questioned, with Lynam explaining it was a division of the $12,000 traditionally budgeted for the Whitman Counseling Center, which also was budgeted $6,000 this year.

“It’s no secret to anybody in this room that we’ve had an explosive growth in opioid addiction,” he said, noting the Whitman-Hanson WILL coalition is providing “serious effort to provide assistance and education to people in handling and combatting addiction to drugs.”

Two residents, who suggested the money go into the general fund, questioned a Police Department revolving fund financed through fines assessed by the department. The revolving fund is intended for training and education of officers.

“That fund offsets what this town spends in the police budget,” Police Chief Scott Benton said, comparing it to the Fire Department’s ambulance receipts account. “As the police chief, I want the money to go to the Police Department. I can appreciate where you’re coming from, but I object to [funneling the money into the general fund].”

Lynam agreed that the funds are used to finance the unique needs of the Police Department.

O’Brien sworn in as Hanson deputy fire chief: Selectmen delay regional agreement vote

By

HANSON — Fire Department Deputy Chief Robert O’Brien Jr., was officially sworn in at the Tuesday, May 1 meeting of the Board of Selectmen — a session in which the board postponed a vote on the revised W-H regional school agreement.

Selectmen opted to wait for town counsel to weigh in on the pact, and plan to vote on it prior to the Monday, May 7 Town Meeting. Whitman Selectmen already approved it as has the School Committee on the legal thumbs-up from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and school district legal counsel.

It was O’Brien’s swearing-in ceremony, however that most of the overflow crowd at the meeting came to see.

Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., noted that former Chief Peter Huska, who gave both he and O’Brien their start on the department, was in attendance.

The deputy chief position has been vacant for several years, Thompson said, adding that call volume has increased in recent years.

O’Brien has been working as deputy chief since March 5.

“As we get to 2,000 a year, we also have had the percentage of multiple calls [at one time] increase,” he said of the need to again appoint a deputy chief. “As this went on we’ve also seen our code enforcement and administrative duties of our department increase. These factors were making it more difficult for our shift commanders to balance the administrative duties and the daily operations of the department.”

Thompson thanked Town Administrator Michael McCue, Selectmen, the town accountant, Finance Committee and residents at Town Meeting for supporting the position. He said the process of selecting O’Brien also provides the opportunity to promote a firefighter to the lieutenant and the hiring of another firefighter.

O’Brien and Lt. Charles Barends applied for the deputy chief position. The selection process included a January assessment center, which evaluated leadership, administrative and management skills. O’Brien was the top-scoring candidate.

A lifelong Hanson resident, he lives in town with his wife Deb, son Christopher — both of whom took part in pinning on his new badge — and three children the O’Briens are in the process of adopting — Armando, Nathan and Chloe. A 1991 graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School, O’Brien went to EMT and paramedic school, working at Fallon Ambulance for many years before becoming a call firefighter in Hanson in 1997, becoming full time in 2000.

O’Brien attained the rank of lieutenant in 2012. He has also been SAFE and training coordinator, a member of the Plymouth County Rescue Training Association and is the deputy director for the technical rescue team. He had been a lifeguard at Cranberry Cove while in high school and served on the Recreation Commission for many years. O’Brien is currently a member of the School Committee, Parks and Fields Commission, CPC and is the town’s harbormaster.

“I don’t know how he’s going to be able to do any Fire Department work,” Thompson joked before Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan administered O’Brien’s oath of office.

After the swearing-in ceremony, O’Brien’s School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes updated the Selectmen on the revised regional agreement.

REGIONAL AGREEMENT

Hayes outlined the process the Regional Agreement Amendment Committee’s work over the past year in revising a 1956 contract that had not been changed since 1992.

“The goal was to update the document to reflect legislative changes, financial agreements and current facilities,” Hayes said, thanking the committee members from both communities who worked on the revision.

Hanson Middle School was not listed in the original agreement, but schools long-since closed, such as the Park Avenue School in Whitman, were.

Hayes said a conversation he had with Mass. Association of Regional Schools (MARS) Executive Director Stephen Hemmond Tuesday assured the towns that either community would be able to petition the DESE to amend the agreement, pending the DESE’s approval.

“By law, the town is required to teach students,” Hayes said. “You would have to come up with a plan on what to do [in the event a town wanted to leave the district], and it would have to be approved. … It’s the vote of the people at all times.”

Other stipulations for leaving a district would require a town to assume financial responsibility for other post-employment benefits (OPEB) of school employees — about $15 million to $20 million in Hanson’s case, according to Hayes.

“There’s a lot of advantage to being in a regional school district, and it saves money,” he said.

Hayes also addressed Whitman’s concerns over the 60-40 split in financial responsibility, based on most of the students in the district’s enrollment being Whitman residents. He said he looked into the private school enrollment from Whitman and Hanson — 150 total students — and found 60 percent were from Whitman and 40 percent were from Hanson.

“I never figured it would be that exact split,” he said. “It was an interesting thing to see.”

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested the delay, not to “second-guess what people have done,” but to provide more time to review the agreement.

“It was very enlightening,” Selectman Jim Hickey said of his appointment to the regional agreement committee.

TOWN MEETING

In other business, during discussion of Town Meeting preview, Finance Committee Chairman Michael Dugan indicated two capital proposals — for a Town Hall generator and Highway Department utility truck were not recommended because the FinCom deemed that clear-cut arguments for them were not made.

Selectmen Chairman James McGahan also spoke of two amendments to the proposed revision of the recall bylaw he plans to present at Town Meeting.

One amendment from the floor would shorten the period in which a recall can be scheduled from 170 days after petitions are certified by the Town Clerk — to 45 days. The other would also shorten the time required for a special election in the event an elected official does not resign within five business days of the date of notice, with a minimum of 45 days.

Whitman OKs region revision: Agreement change to go before May 7 Town Meeting

By

WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen voted 3-2 on Tuesday, April 24 to accept and recommend to Town Meeting the revised regional agreement for the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District.

Selectmen Randy LaMattina and Scott Lambiase voted against the revision because of concerns over the requirement that dissolving the region be a unanimous one on the part of both towns.

“A lot of language has been cleaned up with regard to assessment and capital costs,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said of the revision. “In 1992 when we regionalized, we were a 9-12 region and added the K-8.”

That agreement provided that either town could opt to withdraw from the region for kindergarten through eight-grade schools, Lynam noted.

“We’re basically being asked to OK an amended agreement that takes away Whitman’s ability to withdraw from the region without Hanson’s permission,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

“And vice-versa. Yes,” Lynam said.

“Thanks for the vice-versa,” Kowalski said. “I don’t care whether or not Hanson gets permission from us.”

Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci, who served on the regional agreement revision committee, said there is good reason for the provision.

“You’re regionalizing both towns, not just half … and the fact that if you wanted to de-regionalize, the cost would be unbelievable,” Salvucci said.

School Committee member Fred Small, attending the meeting for the budget discussion also said the language was written with flexibility to allow an additional town to join the region, should that ever be a consideration. That flexibility was a reason for South Shore Vo-Tech’s recent revision of its regional agreement, approved by Whitman voters at a special Town Meeting in December.

Kowalski said he shared some of LaMattina’s concerns.

Small said the DESE and the school district’s counsel had both approved the revised agreement and the School Committee unanimously voted for it.

“As Whitman is forecast to pick up more and more of that [per-pupil] swing as the Hanson population declines” it presented additional financial worry for LaMattina on behalf of Whitman.

Salvucci said LaMattina’s concerns were the reason he called for an additional discussion of the revision by the School Committee.

“If the population imbalance keeps going the way it’s going, you could see a time when 30 percent of the students in the school system are from Hanson and 70 percent of the students are from Whitman, and Whitman will have to pay 70 percent of the cost,” Kowalski said.

“But we’ll get 70 percent of the School Committee members,” Salvucci said. Small added that it would give Whitman control of the School Committee and its direction.

Hanson might seek an exit if the Whitman edge reached the 80-20 split, Small said.

“It’s not going to be any easy way to divorce the two towns,” Kowalski said.

Small said that was exactly the term used by the Mass. Association of Regional Schools’ consultants.

“That’s what happens — you get divorced,” Small said. “You both have to sign off on the divorce.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson said he does not foresee such a regional divorce occurring.

“I look at it this way — this is a partnership. If we become in a situation where it’s 70/30 or 80/20, we’re in control and we have a silent partner,” he said. “Why would we want to be paying 100 percent?”

Teachers learning the sound of gunfire

By

In an active shooter incident the sound of gunfire is often mistaken for something else — fireworks generally.

Police chiefs in Whitman and Hanson have advised school officials that, statistically, teachers won’t react in an emergency for 45 seconds to a minute because they can’t identify the sound of gunfire for what it is right away.

“They think it might be a car, or something else,” Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak said.

Those seconds could be critical for saving lives.

With that in mind, Szymaniak began a training program in April, along with school resource officers from both towns’ police departments, to educate teachers and staff on how to know what they are hearing in an active shooter emergency.

“We have a safety team which incorporates three building principals, central office, the chiefs of both Whitman and Hanson police and fire and their deputies,” Szymaniak said. “[Police chiefs] Mike Miksch and Scott Benton said about two and a half months ago ‘one of the things we’d like to demonstrate is what the sound of a gun … and the smell of a gun is like.’”

There was some initial push-back from some concerned about the potential for triggering PTSD reactions in veterans and trauma survivors among the staff, but Szymaniak said those concerns were addressed and alternate training will be made available where needed.

“I have a few in my building that I’m working with myself,” Szymaniak said. “They don’t have to be in a group. We’re looking at other types of simulations. We don’t have one yet, but we’ll make sure the teachers have an avenue to have that training, so to speak, without having to sit in a classroom by themselves when we do the training.”

The idea is to help teachers react more quickly in the event that an active-shooter incident occurs.

“We’re not inflexible,” Szymaniak said. “But we have to talk about it. It’s 2018 and sometimes we have to talk about bad things that happen in schools and prepare.”

The exercises began at Whitman Middle and Duval Schools as well as Hanson’s Indian Head and Maquan schools before April vacation and continued on Tuesday, April 24 at Conley School and Thursday, May 3 at Hanson Middle School.

The high school training is diffused among other school buildings, Szymaniak said, because the training has to be done when school buildings are closed and there are too many after-hours events held at the high school.

“I’ve gotten great feedback from Indian Head and Maquan, good feedback from Duval,” he said. “Whitman Middle gave us the first feedback that you couldn’t really hear well.”

He said high school teachers who had expressed concern have spoken to him directly.

The safety team discussed and agreed with the suggestion and met with the Whitman Hanson Education Association teachers’ union representatives and asked for their advice on how the teachers should be advised of the exercises.

“Their expectation was their teachers went through the training,” he said. “Because one of the questions I had and [Whitman Middle School Principal] George Ferro had was what if a teacher has had a situation where they don’t want to be involved because of a PTSD or because of an emotional issue?”

Kevin Kavka and Beth Stafford of WHEA were asked to reach out to building principals in such cases so some other accommodation could be made.

Lessons have been learned along the way in the course of conducting the training. In Whitman, teachers congregated in the cafeteria and Whitman Police officer Kevin Harrington demonstrated the firing of an AR-15 rifle in the hall and different parts of the lobby.

“It didn’t work as well as we had hoped it would because there was a lot of echo,” Szymaniak said. “So, lessons learned already, in Hanson — [School resource officer] Billy Frazier and local FD and PD were there — we met with the teachers in the library and then we just dispersed them to their classrooms.”

When Frazier and another officer walked through the hallways, shooting in different areas, the teachers found it more instructive.

“But they did say in some cases, ‘When you shot it off on the side of the building, and we were on this side, it sounded like somebody just dropped a bunch of books,” he said. “We’re just trying to get people sensory aware.”

The sulfur smell of gunpowder after a weapon is fired is also instructive, according to Szymaniak.

“Right away, you knew something was going on,” he said. “That’s the part of the training that we wanted people to engage in, not the fact that this could happen, but I’m trying to give you every tool we can to have you feel safe in your classrooms and be aware of situations.”

Szymaniak sent letters out to parents and staff ahead of the training to explain the reasons for it and how it would be undertaken, urging those with questions to contact him or building principals.

“I’ve had zero negative feedback,” he said. “Parents want it, too. They want to know what’s going on.”

School and public safety officials also plan in incorporating the exercise in next year’s Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evaluate (ALICE).

“When we used to do ALICE training, Billy [Frazier] would be out in the hall yelling different things and it’s not as real,” Szymaniak said. “This will be a bit more.”

Students will not be involved in the training but the issue will be discussed with them.

 

Ferro new assistant superintendent

By

Whitman Middle School Principal George Ferro has been appointed an assistant superintendent of schools by an 8-0 vote of the School Committee on Wednesday, April 11. Members Alexandra Taylor and Steven Bois were absent.

Ferro has been a building-based administrator for 18 years, 14 of them as a principal.

He had been an assistant principal in Westport for four years and before that, was a teacher in New Bedford. He has been Mass. Principal of the Year and president of the Mass. School Administrator’s Association (MSAA) and is still on it’s Executive Committee.

“I’d like to thank the committee, I’d like to thank all of you here, I’d like to thank the communities of Whitman and Hanson, and I’d like to tell you that I’m honored, very excited — a little nervous, because I don’t know if I’m going to be a budget cut,” Ferro said. “I moved to this district for a reason. … The choices I’ve made for my family are for a reason, and that reason was to be the best principal that I knew how to be.”

He noted that the opportunity has come up a lot in the last nine years. But past hiring rounds were not the right time.

“Now I say OK this might be my time,” he said. “So what is it that I can bring you? I’m going to bring you me. I’m going to bring you honesty.”

Conley School Principal Karen Downey announced the recommendation from the search committee.

“I want to thank you, on behalf of our committee, for trusting us with that job,” she said. “It was a big job and we were glad to do it. We had an incredible group of people who came together to find the best person for this job.”

Downey was joined on the committee by Duval Principal Julie McKillop, Technology Director Chad Peters, and his fellow Central Office representative Lisa Forbes, Math Curriculum Director Brian Selig and five teachers including union representatives Beth Stafford and Kevin Kavka. Downey also sat down with Jeff Szymaniak, leaving the W-H principal job to become superintendent of schools, on what qualities he is looking for and the role he envisions for the new assistant superintendent.

“All the candidates we interviewed were good candidates,” she said. “But, by far and unanimously, there was one candidate who stood out above everybody else. We are really pleased, not only with the commitment, the enthusiasm and the knowledge base that George Ferro brings to our district, but we really loved his vision.”

She noted that the public has seen Ferro at School Committee meetings as a parent, taxpayer and WMS principal, but “what we saw in that room in the interview was George Ferro, assistant superintendent, and we were impressed.”

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said that, when the search committee completed its work and Downey informed her of the unanimous decision, she and Szymaniak then spoke with Ferro.

“I think we are both very comfortable in recommending George Ferro as the next assistant superintendent,” she said.

He said he plans to support the vision of the new superintendent and work to move the district forward including an organizational flow chart and funnels of duties that have to take place so everyone knows what is expected.

Ferro said that he moved his family to Whitman three years after then- Superintendent of Schools Dr. John F. McEwan made him a principal because, “I believed in what this district was — or could be,” he said. He also wanted Whitman Middle School to be a great middle school.

As his family grew he made a commitment that his children would not attend W-H Regional High School so they could forge their own identities.

“I chose to put my family first,” he said. “When my son was a kid in my school and my daughter, I had to sit them down and tell them, ‘You will never get an award. You will never be an All-Star. You will never have somebody say you got that because of who your father is.’”

When his son was an eighth-grader, the teen had the choice to go where people would know him for himself and not as Mr. Ferro’s son — and he chose to go elsewhere for that chance.

“That also allowed me to be the person I am and still dedicate what I think is right, and what I think I know about it education to W-H.

While MSAA president, he unified the association to include administrators of all schools pre-K through 12, including charter schools if they wished to join. A year later, there are more than 2,700 members.

Ferro said he also wants to bring consistency and greater respect for teachers to the district.

The field of candidates for the position of WHRHS principal has been narrowed to three with final interviews and site visits to be scheduled.

The next search committee will be for principal of the Whitman Middle School.

SSVT phasing out collision repair program

By

HANOVER — Changes are coming to the autobody program at South Shore Regional Vocational Technical High School — just as the industry and student interest in the field have changed over recent years.

The school’s Collision Repair Technology program is being phased out and combined with the Automotive program after the 2019-20 school year. Members of the SSVT School Committee voted to make the change at the Wednesday, April 18 meeting.

It does not mean that future students will lack opportunities to study collision repair at the school if that is the focus of their automotive interest, according to Superintendent/Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey.

“It’s my recommendation that we need to look differently at our Collision Repair Technology program,” Hickey said. “Given the fact that we’ve had some low enrollment, I’m looking for a different direction that would allow us to preserve some collision repair instruction as part of our Automotive program.”

School Committee Chairman Robert Molla Jr., of Norwell said he has discussed the issue with Hickey and program instructors.

“The only thing that will adjust our thinking is if the incoming class this coming year is overwhelmed with students for autobody,” Molla said.

Hickey has instructed the guidance department to discuss with students expressing an interest in collision on applications — and their parents — about how the program change will work. During exploratory weeks, a portion of the automotive shop time will focus on collision repair.

 “While there is a market for these jobs, it is not a market that seems to be sustainable with our high school audience,” he said noting one instructor is planning to retire at the end of the next school year and the other can be absorbed into automotive. Both departments have already begun to work on an integrated curriculum.

“When I went to vocational school, I had automotive and body shop was part of that,” Molla said. “With the new automobiles using aluminum, we’d have to put in an aluminum-type workshop in there. Aluminum doesn’t have the memory that metal does — metal, if you crash it, you can bring metal back but [with] aluminum, if it’s crashed it’s crashed.”

“It actually makes a lot of sense,” said Committee member Robert Heywood of Hanover.

The shop footprint and equipment will be preserved to provide space to help alleviate a chronic problem with a lack of adequate room in the Automotive program, according to Hickey.

“If we have [future] students that have an interest in collision repair, there’s a place for them to get a portion of that,” Hickey said.

The change also creates an opportunity to expand night school programs for young adults seeking collision repair credentials.

“If the local labor market requires this set of skills for entry-level … we should not be pigeon-holed saying that an automotive student should never, ever, ever be interested [in collision repair],” Hickey said. “If all of our local employers are talking about the difficulty of getting trained hires, why can’t we be a regional training center out of our adult-ed program?”

A closure plan, providing a rationale, must be presented to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), which Hickey has done. DESE has approved the plan.

“It’s [now] a matter for this committee to ultimately take up,” he said. The committee unanimously supported the proposal.

SERVICE PROJECT

In other business, the committee heard a glowing report regarding the school’s first-ever out-of-state community service learning project. Trip coordinator and Science Department Chairman Matthew Fallano and English Department Chairman John Scopeletti, who served as a chaperone, spoke about the trip.

“They have just — just — returned,” Hickey said. “When I say just I mean they woke up this morning on in New Jersey. … I want to thank them personally for joining two other staff members and a group of students in what was our inaugural service learning trip.”

Fallano said the students impressed worksite leaders with their knowledge and OSHA construction certifications. He noted that SSVT students were able to problem solve and fix electrical issues and Allied Health students who joined the trip became “the greatest spacklers on the planet.”

“It was worth all the time and effort put into it,” he said. “It was extremely rewarding for them, it was extremely rewarding for us. … There was not one person that was not complementary of our students for their professionalism.”

Fallano added that homeowners also appreciated the students’ work. He thanked the South Shore area union and parents who donated to the cost of the trip and area residents who attended a fund-raising meat raffle.

Rockland Computer Information Technology senior Evan Dogu was honored as the Student of the Month. Dogu, who plans to enter the Air Force after graduation, is employed at a Pembroke data storage firm and is an honor student who has played center/linebacker for the football team, of which he was a captain, as well as lacrosse and is president of the school chapter of Business Professionals of America. He scored highest in the state on the BPA exam for computer technology and theory as well as notching a high score on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) of tests. He will represent SSVT at the BPA national competition in Texas later this year.

 9.5 percent assessment increase OK’d

By

The School Committee voted to reduce the fiscal 2019 assessment increase to the towns to 9.5 percent over the current budget during a special meeting on Monday, April 23.

The committee also gave its final approval of revisions to the regional agreement. Both issues will go before voters at town meetings on Monday, May 7.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes took part in the meeting remotely by conference call, necessitating voice votes, and member Kevin Lynam was absent. Vice Chairman Fred Small presided over the meeting.

Hanson Town Administrator Michael McCue, who could not attend due to ongoing meetings with his town’s Finance Committee, sent an email to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner Monday advising her that Hanson could go to 9.5 percent, but no higher.

“The town of Hanson will do its best to meet an overall assessment [increase] of 9.5 percent,” McCue wrote and Small read into the record. “Anything in excess of this amount cannot be supported by our FY ’19 budget. Additional reductions in the assessment are obviously helpful.”

At 9.5 percent, the increase to the budget, is $1,924,598. For Whitman that would mean $1,151,295 and Hanson’s share is $773,304 based on enrollment.

He said long-term strategic planning would be necessary before work begins on the fiscal 2020 budget, however.

“This is probably one of the more difficult things that we face,” said School Committee member Robert Trotta, noting the committee had initially debated seeking a 13.65-percent increase to include no-cost all-day kindergarten in the budget. “Obviously that would have been too rich for both towns, and I feel as though, as a School Committee member, going down to 9.5 is probably the right thing to do.”

An 11-percent increase would have added a special ed science instructor at each middle school as well as an elementary-level social worker parent liaison.

The 9.5-percent increase provides level services. A 5-percent increase would have meant the loss of 19 positions, according to Gilbert-Whitner.

“We have a very solid strategic plan and our plan tells us we need no-cost full-day kindergarten, it tells us that our foreign language program is not very strong,” she said, noting that new English, science and math programs are also needed. “It’s all going to cost money.”

Trotta said the School Committee sets assessments with what is best for the school system in mind, but it runs into town budget constraints.

“There’s been a lot of talk about starting this budget process earlier in the year,” he said. “It seems as the budget process as it stands doesn’t really seem to gel when it comes to this idea.”

School Committee member Steven Bois agreed, adding that budgets reflect what students need more than what the district needs — as well as providing other essential town services.

“I want a four-minute ambulance response, I want the best in our police personnel,” he said. “We hope that we can find a way to do this.”

School Committee member Michael Jones also wants taxpayers to realize the schools are struggling, too.

“There’s no new trucks, there’s no new employees, in this budget,” he said. “We’re losing this year. … This is not a step forward at 9.5 percent. In my opinion, it’s a step backward.”

“From my point of view, we’re providing the same services that we provided this year — nothing additional — and we’re eliminating a position from one of the schools that was there due to a bubble in enrollment,” Small said.

“It’s really got to be everyone coming together — all the departments — It’s good fire, it’s good police, it’s good schools. It’s not one at the expense of the others,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “We also have to push at the state level.”

Unfunded and underfunded mandates from state and federal legislation were again criticized.

“I don’t think the people that are making those decisions contact the people who would be impacted by [them],” Trotta said.

“I sit here again disappointed,” said School Committee member Christopher Howard. “I’m disappointed as a whole in where we’re at both within this budget process and where we are collectively with the towns. … It comes down to what should those communities look like?”

Hayes said both towns have been among the most supportive of the schools in the state.

“While 9.5 percent isn’t ideal, it’s probably as much as the towns can afford, whether we’re talking about police or fire or any of those people,” he said. “They’re very supportive of the schools and  the things that we do, so I would support the 9.5 percent 100-percent.”

In other business, Mass. Association of Regional Schools (MARS) consultant Malcolm Reid and Steve Donovan and MARS Assistant Executive Director Stephen Hemman attended the meeting.

Hemman outlined the next steps for the regional agreement at Gilbert-Whitman’s request.

Five or six original copies of the document will be sent to each town meeting with appropriate signatures of School Committee members and certified votes from each Town Meeting — if passed by the required majority vote — will be attached for submission to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the commissioner’s signature.

Town Meeting will not be permitted to change anything.

“This is the document,” Hemman said. “If one town wants to change something, then it can’t happen.”

Small also noted the agreement has been reviewed and accepted by the School Department’s legal counsel.

Hayes, who also chaired the revision subcommittee, thanked those who served on that subcommittee and otherwise assisted with the process.

“We had people from the town, we had selectmen, we had a lot of people who participated in this committee and did a tremendous amount of work,” Hayes said.

Gilbert-Whitner also thanked the MARS consultants.

“They’ve been with us all the way through the process,” she said. “We began this a year ago … going over an agreement that had been typed on an Apple IIe computer. We’ve come a long way with this — there were schools in it that are no longer in existence. I think this is a great document for the future.”