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School Committee certifies ‘18 budget

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The School Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday, March 15 to certify a $48.9 million budget for fiscal 2018. The budget is 4 percent higher than fiscal 2017, and assessments for the towns have been certified at a 11.5 percent increase.

It started out with a $2.8 million gap before the insurance increases, which would have brought the gap to $2.9 million.

The School Committee had closed the budget gap to $1.9 million on Feb. 15, with a vote to transfer $750,000 from its excess and deficiency account. A decision to share utilities costs with the self-funded Food Services Department outside the operating budget also brought in $50,000 and interest-bearing accounts also yielded $13,000 before the insurance rate hike voted by the Mayflower Municipal Health Group steering committee on March 7 added just over $245,000 to the deficit, according to District Business Services Director Christine Suckow.

The gap now stands at $2.1 million with increases largely in contractual obligations, state retirement assessments, insurance rates, transportation costs and other contracts.

The  reduction of state per-pupil reimbursement to $20 in the governor’s budget also cut $135,000, according to School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said the level-service budget also includes the elimination of the position of Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning.

Whitman Finance Committee Chairman Michael Minchello said at that meeting that it appeared any assessment increase over 4 percent would be tight. Hanson has said they can support a 6.5-percent increase.

“Right now, I don’t know where that would come from,” he said.

“Respectfully, then, get creative,” said School Committee member Alexandra Taylor of Whitman. “We need it. This is not, we would like it. … This is just for level-service.”

She argued that, “For years, every other department in town has been getting funded for what they need” while the school district has not.

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam, meanwhile, addressed Taylor’s comments as well as the “elephant in the room.”

According to Lynam, Whitman has only added one half-time employee in 10 years. Also, unlike the school department, towns can’t increase revenue by assessing someone else. Town revenue comes only from taxes and fees or state funding.

“The biggest single problem the towns are facing right now is the school budget is not sustainable,” Lynam said. “When you’re talking about a 4-percent increase in your budget, it’s all coming from the towns.”

He said the increase being requested would mean eliminating departments — including some library and senior services — if it were taken out of town budgets, and drastically cutting police and fire budgets. Lynam said he is not certain what number Whitman can support toward the schools, but that the town will do whatever it can.

“I think it’s time that people consider very seriously what kind of community they want to be, and how much they’re willing to support that,” he said. “The support is only going to come from the community.”

A handful of parents read from prepared statements in support of the budget and urged residents to join their Whitman-Hanson Supporters of Schools Facebook page and to follow through by voting for school funding.

“At seventh from the bottom of over 320 school districts in the state, this administration can’t do any more to make up for the fact that we simply do not spend enough locally on our schools,” said Hanson resident Lisa Ryan of Birchbark Drive.

“I want to be taxed, I want to help the town … not just the schools, but the whole community,” said a Whitman resident who moved to town for the quality schools.

“Up until last year … I believed all children in the same school received the same education,” said Dawn Byers of Russell Road in Whitman, whose daughter is one of only 30 percent of Whitman Middle School to qualify for Spanish class because budget constraints limit enrollment to those with high enough grades and test scores. “This year, 287 seventh- and eight-grade students at Whitman Middle School do not have the same foreign language opportunity that my daughter has. … This is a clear example of the consequences of low funding.”

A level-service budget will not chage that, said Byers, who said all middle school students should have the opportunity to study a foreign language.

“We own this,” she said. “Collectively as a community, taxpayers bear the responsibility for not adequately funding our  schools with local tax dollars.”

School Committee member Dan Cullity also noted the state expects the two towns to make more progress toward meeting the target share of budget contributions over the minimum they now fund.

In other business, a quartet of second-grade students from Marie Sheehan’s class at Duval Elementary School in Whitman joined Sheehan and Science Curriculum Coordinator Mark Stephansky to outline what they are learning in the Know Atom science curriculum and how $45,000 for consumable classroom materials included in the operating budget are used. Know Atom, with curriculum and professional development start-up costs funded by grants of more than $300,000 from the Gelfand Foundation was started at the second-grade level in district schools. It now extends through grade five.

“This year we’ve tried to bring our students to the School Committee so that you can have a first-hand look at what our students do,” Gilbert-Whitner said in introducing the presentation. “As we make decisions about our schools, it’s always important that we remain student-centered.”

The children, giving their first names — Adam, Neve, Gabrielle and Brendan — read their reports as Stephansky held up examples of their classroom projects on habitat as well as flower and owl pellet dissection.

“You’re supporting us — you are voting to support all of the programs that these kids need — we thought you’d like to see it first-hand,” Duval Principal Julie McKillop said.

“This is a student-centered curriculum,” Sheehan said.

“They are learning engineering and science practices which are part of our new standards in Massachusetts and they are loving it along the way,” Stephansky said.

Whitman budget plan debated: ‘Brainstorming’ memo sparks exchange over school support

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WHITMAN — The Finance Committee is still working on hard numbers for Town Meeting Warrant Article 2, which funds the town’s budget, but members are working to meet as much of the School Department’s 11.5-percent assessment increase as possible within the levy limit.

Prior to the Tuesday, March 21 meeting, Finance Committee member Shawn M. Kain had presented Town Administrator Frank Lynam with a “brainstorming” list of potential cuts he wanted to discuss, which prompted a heated exchange between members.

Chairman Michael Minchello and Lynam calculated during the session that the town might be able to meet a 7.5-percent increase — 9 percent for Whitman including the student population shift — “as a starting point.”

That represents the town’s retaining non-mandated busing, a $365,000 expense to the town. They further calculated that, minus funds that would be needed to add crossing guards, about $320,000 could be added in support of schools if non-mandated busing for children within a mile and a half of schools was discontinued — bringing the assessment increase to between 10 and 10.5 percent.

Finance Committee member Charles Colby said the assessment calculations were a step in the right direction.

Discontinuing non-mandated busing is a decision Town Meeting voters must make, they noted.

“I’m trying to get to a fair number,” Lynam said, referring to Kain’s brainstorming memo. “You’re suggesting that we make significant cuts to town budgets in order to increase funding to the schools.”

Lynam argued that WHRSD is not cutting a dollar from its budget, but rather is adding $1.4 million to the town’s budget.

“You want to make it a percentage game and I want to make it a dollars game,” Lynam said.

Kain disagreed, arguing that while schools have increased slightly, other departments have increased budgets over the years, and suggested in his talking points memo that town departments be cut by 25 percent — $353,000.

“I didn’t know where the money would end up, so I wanted some contingency just to prepare for the meeting,” Kain said. “I do think if you cut a flat rate from the expense line, if everybody had to cut 10 percent from their expense line, that’s a departmental cut.”

Among his suggestions was reducing utilities costs and gave the example of cutting air-conditioning or heating use at the library.

“It sounds like you want to cut legitimate services,” said IT Director Josh MacNeil, later adding, “What you’re telling me is you’re looking to screw the town to fund the schools.”

“I would like to have discussion about, if the schools are sacrificing, but how are other departments sacrificing?” Kain said, noting he got his figures from the annual Town Report.

After listening to much of the discussion about Kain’s memo, Minchello, a former School Committee member, weighed in on the Finance Committee’s mission.

“What I have a problem with is that this committee is supposed to bring in a balanced budget and a fair budget and every comment you have made tonight is so one-sided for the schools,” Minchello said. “I have a problem with that. When we’re up in front of the town, we’re supposed to be making recommendations — it’s our credibility as a committee that’s at stake here.”

Kain’s recent comments at a School Committee meeting, which he made as a private citizen in support of sharing sacrifices town wide, were also criticized.

“If you don’t want to be on [the Finance Committee], walk out and go be an activist, because maybe you’re better suited for that,” said member Randy LaMattina, calling Kain’s comments a sign of “utter disrespect.” “This is government, where we need to look out for every person, not just one small group, and that’s what you’re doing and it’s obvious.”

Lynam had earlier asked how the schools are sacrificing with an increased budget. School expenses are included in the Town Report data.

Minchello and LaMattina argued at a 10.5-percent increase, the schools would be left with a $150,000 deficit that could be made up by moving curriculum materials out of the operating budget into an article.

“They don’t want to do that,” said Minchello, who later noted the current Finance Committee is now more supportive of the schools than it has been in years.

“We will support the schools to the extent that is fair and equitable across the town,” he said.

Among the sacrifices Kain listed in his memo for discussion was elimination of the assistant town administrator, pointing to a jump in administrator salaries from $86,000 to more than $200,000.

Lynam said those funds have also covered $51,000 paid a former employee. The memo also listed elimination of the assessor clerical position ($35,000), treasurer clerical position ($29,000), Council on Aging clerical position ($32,000 — two people), $30,0000 from library techs, and reduction of Lynam’s salary increase which is under contract.

“There are a few people who were successful in revaluing the job they do and being compensated for it, and frankly I’m one of them,” Lynam said. “I sacrificed over the last 10 years — and I can document where I have not sought increases when other departments got increases, and I did not seek increases in line with the market.”

His increase, at $7,000, still makes him the lowest-paid among his peers, and Selectmen had expected, and indicated to him they would have supported, more. Lynam also pointed out Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green was also hired to help the office operate and prepare for his planned retirement.

He also said town employees, unlike those in the School Department are not allowed buyouts of accrued sick leave when they retire.

“That was a brainstorm contingency, based on where the budget came back,” Kain said. “I needed some sort of perspective.”

A former School Department IT employee, MacNeil said in the past five years the school’s technology department alone has increased the salary line by $100,000.

“These people deserve to be paid according to the industry standard, I get it,” he said. “But is that OK?”

Members of the committee also noted the lack of detail in the school budget with LaMattina pointing to the Police Department budget, which detailed costs down to $8.90 to Supreme Pizza for a prisoner’s meal.

“That’s how detailed we’re getting with every other department budget,” he said. “[The schools] give us general numbers and will not break it down.”

Minchello said the Police Department is under-funded and unable to fill shifts, the Fire Department is under-staffed because schools are not funded properly. A $4 million town-wide Proposition 2 ½ override — $1,200 more per $300,000 household per year — would be required “just to provide decent service.”

“I’m here because this town is in trouble, and that’s what Shawn started off with saying,” said resident Leila Donovan of Old Mansion Lane. “No one wants to get into us-vs-them.”

Lynam stressed Town Meeting is the appropriating body and makes those decisions and that the town has not supported town-wide overrides in the past.

Solar farm reboot: Clerical error moves firm to restart process

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WHITMAN — A special permit and site plan approval application for a solar farm consisting of 3,940 panels and associated equipment has been granted leave to withdraw without prejudice by the Zoning Board of Appeals Monday, March 13.

The vote, necessitated by a clerical error on the part of one landowner and the petitioner, BrightEnergies of Los Angeles, will permit the company to re-apply when the error — which identified the wrong parcel address — is corrected.

The address had been identified as 81 Bedford St., instead of 0 Bedford St., which is the correct address, according to company managing partner Jon LoCascio. The error resulted in an incorrect or incomplete list of abutters notified about the 7 p.m. hearing.

ZBA Chairman John Goldrosen did allow members of the board and interested residents attending to ask general questions about the solar farm proposal.

LoCascio said the proposal would be brought back regarding 0 Bedford St., and that the address mistake had been brought to the company’s attention about 30 days ago.

Goldrosen noted that, once a hearing is advertised in the newspaper, a hearing must be held.

Member Wayne Andrews said the site plan as submitted as “no good” as it is not to scale and does not show any topographical contours or accurate abutters.

“Everything is missing from this site plan,” he said, advising that the company review Whitman’s zoning regulations.

Building Inspector Robert Curran said his impression was that the company planned to revise the site plan. He also reminded ZBA members that Whitman has become a Green Community and that he had forwarded a copy of the regulation revisions reflecting that status.

“There’s provisions for solar or alternative energy in our bylaw,” Curran said.

Goldrosen also read into the hearing record letters from the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Fire Chief Timothy Grenno, listing concerns about the plan as submitted.

The Conservation Commission expressed concern over any wetlands impact on the site and planners noted questions about determination of the location of the Brockton water line and whether there would be an easement conflict before being able to approve the plan. Grenno requested engineered road access on three sides of the property; a solid surface, such as crushed stone, for ground cover; weed and overgrowth containment; gated access with a lock the fire department can open and training for public safety departments.

“It may turn out you can’t put everything there that you want,” Goldrosen said about the wetlands issue.

Board member Steven Cacciatore also asked about safety including whether the electricity can be turned off in an emergency and the potential for the solar panels to be hot enough to spark brush fires.

“We’re just asking because we don’t know,” he said. “This has not come up to us before. … We want to know if there’s going to be a problem.”

LoCascio said he is more often asked how it’s going to work in the snow, assuring the board that the farm would have a rapid shutdown system to control fire risk when panels reach a certain temperature.

Andrews sought information on how the project would benefit the town.

“The great thing about this project is all the energy is going to the town, so we would be discounting and saving the town money reducing the town’s overall cost for electricity,” LoCascio said. He said the output of about 1.9 megawatts would lock in energy costs for municipal buildings for 20 years.

Curran added that the town would have to enter into an energy-purchase agreement with BrightEnergies. The difficulty in gauging the effect of those savings stems from a recent change to LED lighting.

“We can’t take historical electric bills and use those in any way for this,” Curran said. “But by the time this all goes through, the town will know what its average monthly bill is.”

BrightEnergies would own the solar equipment, but lease the property.

Board members were also interested in learning of other area solar farms and any problems encountered with the facilities.

Abutter Jackie Alger, owner of Wag This Way dog daycare also had some questions for the board’s consideration — water runoff, wetlands, possible requirement of a retention pond, access during construction, how inspections would be handled, dust control plans during construction, work hours and temporary electrical power during construction, noise, tree removal, traffic and security fence plans.

Closing the school budget gap

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11.5 percent hike in assessments

The School Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday, March 8 to seek an 11.5-percent increase in the assessments to Whitman and Hanson to fund a $2.1 million shortfall in the proposed fiscal 2018 budget. The committee was slated to meet at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March15 to certify the level-service budget.

Whitman’s assessment would be increased by $1,278,693 and Hanson’s would go up by $868,567. School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes reminded members that, once an assessment is set, it could not be set at a higher rate March 15.

A 3-percent increase would have totaled  $1.4 million for Whitman and about $640,000 for Hanson, with every subsequent 1 percent increase adding $186,718.

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam pointed out Thursday, March 9, that the shift in student population actually puts Whitman’s share at $1,441,007. The cost of the shift is $162,314 automatically added to Whitman’s assessment and subtracted from Hanson.

“I understand why the School Committee voted the assessment they voted, and I have no idea how we’re going to come up with the money,” he said.

Hanson Town Administrator Michael McCue also said his town’s budget could not afford an 11.5-percent assessment increase.

“We cannot fund that amount even if we did nothing at all on the municipal side,” McCue said. “I still wouldn’t have enough money in anticipated revenue growth.” McCue said Monday that Hanson had proposed a 6-percent increase in the town’s assessment as reasonable.

The total operating budget increase is close to 4 percent. The complete school district budget can be viewed online at whrsd.org.

Insurance costs

According to District Business Services Director Christine Suckow, decisions to raise insurance rates made by the Mayflower Municipal Health Group steering committee on March 7, has again widened the budget gap by just over $245,000, offset slightly by an extra $18,000 from interest-bearing accounts  — to $2,154,779. It started out as a $2.8 million gap before the insurance increases, which would have brought the gap to $2.9 million.

The School Committee had closed the budget gap to $1.9 million on Feb. 15, with a vote to transfer $750,000 from its excess and deficiency account.

School Committee member Fred Small asked Suckow last week about the likelihood of any more financial surprises on the horizon, but she did not see any others looming.

“We don’t know that,” Hayes said.

If the governor’s budget proposal to return per-pupils state aid increases to $20 — back down from the $55 increase the district’s legislators had succeeded in obtaining last year — it would add another $137,000 to the deficit, Hayes said.

“I can’t see us going backwards,” Small said in making the motion for the 11.5-percent increase. “I don’t know what it’s going to take … I can’t see us — in good conscience, at least for myself — not voting for at least a level-service [budget].”

Lower ranking

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner noted that the latest numbers from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) show the W-H School District has slipped from 11th from the bottom in per-pupil spending to seventh from the bottom. The average per-pupil spending in the state is more than $15,000 a level that would translate to a $60 million budget for W-H. [See chart]

Frank Lynam suggested Thursday that a large school district such as W-H could be expected to spend less per pupil, as an economy of scale.

“We can’t go back,” said School Committee member Dan Cullity. “We fought too hard for what we got last year. We can’t go backwards and start losing everything again.”

“But we did go backwards last year,” said School Committee member Kevin Lynam. “I think you have to judge this on results in how close you get in moving the number forward. … If you assess where there’s no chance, absent a tax increase, you’re going to run the risk that you don’t get it at all.”

He suggested the committee consider where the money comes from, advocating that non-mandated busing be reconsidered on the Whitman side in order to save about $400,000 in order to consider an override next year. Busing changes are a decision towns must make.

“It eventually gets to the point where it doesn’t make any sense to spend money on buses that are taking kids to schools that don’t teach anything,” he argued.

School Committee member Robert Trotta, meanwhile, said the committee should refuse to retreat on any vote for an 11.5-percent increase.

“It seems like we always come up with a number, and then we listen to the town side — and I understand their dilemma — and we acquiesce,” Trotta said. “I don’t think we can acquiesce this time.”

“It’s high time the towns fund the schools for what we need,” agreed Committee member Alexandra Taylor, noting the state will not be increasing Chapter 70 funds.

Small, however, said he was cognizant of the fact that the towns have a limit to their levy capability under Proposition 2 1/2 and limits to their tax base and commercial growth.

“It’s up to our communities at the same time to decide to come out and support this budget,” Small said. “To be honest with you, I’m ashamed that I’m talking about 11.5 percent. … there’s so much that we don’t have that it’s sickening and it’s wrong.”

Hayes said if the 11.5-percent increase doesn’t come this year, the gap will be bigger next year.

“Let the people of the towns decide what type of school district they want to have,” Hayes said. “I don’t see any other choice.” He said even closing Maquan next year, if that decision is made, will only help close the gap in that year’s budget.

Town challenges

Town administrators argue that town budgets have nowhere left to cut in order to direct more funds to schools without being forced to eliminate services.

“I have no way to cut $1 million,” Frank Lynam said, noting that the only area the town has left in which cuts can be made is in salaries. Many Whitman departments have not increased their expense line in 10 years, he said.

“I can’t cut [Administrative Assistant] Laurie [O’Brien] by 6 percent,” he said. “I can cut her salary by 6 percent, and I will do that the day the teachers agree to take a 6-percent cut in salary.”

McCue also said town department budgets are close to the bone.

“My understanding is several years ago they cut the Highway Department significantly and they’re still at those levels,” he said, noting police and fire budgets are also close to minimum acceptable levels.

“I’m in the middle of negotiations with our unions,” McCue also said. “The other unions look at what is happening on the school side and I need to be fair to our people, and I will be fair to my people. The money is what the money is.”

But some residents advocated March 8 that other departments should feel some of the financial pain they see going on at the schools.

“We’re all here to stand behind you and educate people in town and spread the word,” said Leila Donovan of Whitman at the School committee meeting. “Nobody wants to get into an us-vs-them situation, but for other departments in town, they are getting a higher percentage than the state average.”

Frank Lynam argues the situation calls for a concerted effort.

“We all have to find a way to make it make sense, because there isn’t enough revenue to fund these increases and there is no plan that we can set that will raise our revenue to that point,” he said.

Others at the March 8 School Committee meeting outlined what the current situation means on the classroom level.

Feeling pinch

Whitman Middle School Principal George Ferro said even an 11.5-percent assessment increase would maintain a cap of between 50 and 60 students able to study Spanish, the one foreign language the district now offers. Most South Shore middle schools also offer French, Latin and Chinese, he said. Related arts classes at WMS would remain at 34 to 36 students per class.

“What you’re talking about is just to get where we are today and today is difficult,” he said.

Hanson resident Jim Hickey, a candidate for the Board of Selectmen, said the W-H schools have enabled his children to go on to become, among them: a civil engineer, a sound designer and a research scientist.

“Hanson is worried about Hanson 200, which is in 2020,” he said. “I’m not the smartest person in the room — I could be the dumbest — but to me, education is the most important. I think, as a committee, whether the town accepts it or not you have to vote for 11.5 percent.”

Chris George of Whitman said it is a shame that either town would look to celebrate anything that deals with town pride while failing to adequately fund the schools.

“We should be ashamed of where we are,” he said. A Rockland native who used to look up to W-H schools, he said he now feels he made a mistake in moving to Whitman.

“We need to keep academic teachers in the classroom at any cost,” he said, suggesting sports and other programs should be cut first.

Looking closer at Maquan options

In view of recent forecasts for continued declining enrollment, the district’s options regarding Maquan School’s future were discussed during the Wednesday, March 8 School Committee meeting, but delayed a vote on the proposal until the meeting scheduled for 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 15.

It has been estimated that such a move could save between $800,000 and $1 million by closing the Hanson elementary school, which could not be done before fall 2018.

“First of all, we have concerns about the budget gap, so doing something right away could be very helpful with the budget gap,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner. “As we began to look at what it would really take to shut a building down … it appeared that if you were going to do cost savings, you would need to do it over a period of time, or your up-front to do it quickly could almost offset the savings.”

Any decision to close the school would affect the town and district’s decision on whether to continue seeking a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for further repairs or replacement of Maquan.

“These are decisions that are going to have to be made, if not this week, then sometime before statement of interest time,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said a slower pace could also help Hanson town officials develop a plan for the Maquan building.

“If we give the town enough notice, they may be able to get a desirable tenant,” he said. “They may be able to come up with a great use for the building and it may be some savings because this boarding up or closing down or draining boilers might not even have to happen if the town gets a little bit involved.”

Members of the School Committee met with Hanson Selectmen on Feb. 28 to discuss the budget picture, and the Maquan issue was part of that discussion.

“I would look at the town of Hanson as our partner,” agreed School Committee member Fred Small.

Gilbert-Whitner’s biggest concern is the lack of space to do it right now. The forecast decrease in enrollment at Indian Head will also not be fully felt until the 130 fifth-grade students move to grade six at the end of this school year. Only 96 students make that transition the following year.

The enrollment decrease will then be seen from kindergarten to grades three or four, with projections for continued low enrollment beyond that and is consistent with other towns in the area as well as state and nationwide due to a dip in the birthrate.

Direct impact

“It would be very disruptive to Maquan to rush this,” said Committee member Christopher Howard, who has children at Maquan and knows teachers there. “It’s a lot of changes in a very short period of time.”

Savings would be realized in projected repair needs should Maquan be closed, however. There is currently $5 million in repairs on the capital matrix for Maquan School, according to Gilbert-Whitner. The $5 million would come off the matrix, and repairs would be “much more incidental,” in the period during which the school would be taken offline if the decision is made to close it, she said. There would also be cost savings if duplication of staffing is not needed, Gilbert-Whitner said, noting that is another area where more time would be helpful.

“You really need time to let people know these sort of things could be happening, and also could they be assigned somewhere else in the district and just what that may be,” she said. The regulations governing ages of students placed in the same building, as well as van transportation routing, are also a concern to be considered regarding special education students.

Pluses and minuses

With one less school, there could be savings in custodial contract and utilities costs as well, according to District Business Services Director Christine Suckow, who also cautioned there would be some costs involved in the process should the school be closed.

Classrooms to be used for kindergarten pupils would require the installation of bathrooms at Indian Head School if the children are moved there — a job that cannot be done in-house, according to Facilities Director Ernest Sandland. He said the work could also take some time.

A more in-depth study is required before pre-school classes can be moved, as well.

“Our thinking about this — and it’s still very preliminary — is that there would probably be savings that would happen along the way as you begin to start to take the building offline,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

Whitman’s recent experience with return of the Park Avenue School is not equivalent as that building was used mainly for storage at the time and Maquan is an active school.

Sandland said plumbing for boilers and sinks at Park Avenue had to be fully drained and the exterior had to be securely boarded up.

“It wasn’t overnight that it happened,” he said.

Hanson reviews building projects

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HANSON — Progress reports on building razing and raising projects, were discussed at the Board of Selectmen’s Feb. 28 meeting.

Town Administrator Michael McCue reported that removal of asbestos and other hazardous materials at the former Plymouth County Hospital building is about 80-percent complete, and Selectman Bill Scott reported on progress of the Highway Building Committee.

The PCH building tear-down is expected to take place beginning this Friday, March 10, after the Building Department issues a full demolition permit. Preliminary work was expected to begin March 1.

In the meantime, a surveillance camera has been placed at the site to monitor against further trespassing incidents for safety and liability reasons. McCue, police and demolition contractor have access to the camera feed.

The cameras were bought with funds already approved under the bond issue for the project.

Scott reported that he had received confirmation on the scheduling of cleanup at the Lite Control property ahead of construction of a new highway facility there.

“The only thing they have left to do is the actual planting to recreate some of the conservation area,” he said. “They’ve had to wait to do that for spring.” The work is expected to be done sometime in April.

“That puts off any effort on our part to move forward any potential for an article to fund a highway facility down there, because they cannot turn the property over to us until such time as all of their permits have been honored and followed up,” Scott said.

Scott said the Highway Building Committee was disappointed to see the cost reach the $4.5-million range, but stressed the cost would also include the tear-down and cleanup of the old facility.

The cleanup at the Lite Control property, on the other hand, is complete, but that regulatory agencies such as DEP and the Corps of Engineers must give final approval before the site is turned over to the town.

“Obviously, we will not be able to move forward at this town meeting,” he said.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell, also a member of the Highway Building Committee, said the first price quote received on the project was “a lot more that $4.5 million.”

“It was closer to $7 million,” he said. “We worked hard, and by eliminating things … we got it down.”

Mitchell and Scott said an open house sometime in the spring is being considered to provide residents a chance to see conditions in the current facility. Scott noted that today’s bigger trucks won’t fit inside the current garage, but have to be stored in a repair shop bay.

Facilities for staff use are also less than desirable.

“Go in there — go use the men’s room,” Mitchell said. “You’ll be quite surprised. … I wouldn’t let my dog use the facilities over there.”

Selectman Bruce Young said the current buildings were WW II surplus, transported from Maine at no cost to the town.

Resident Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if the Priority Repair Committee set up for school roof projects in 2014 could be expanded to assess the needs of other town buildings.

“I know why the focus was originally those two schools … but we own a lot of other buildings and, as we have seen, these have tended to go into disrepair and then they cost a lot of money,” she said. “I like the way the Priority Repair Committee is focused on repairs and nothing else.”

Young pointed out that members of the Priority Repair Committee are in the related trades and added that a town facilities manager would be an asset, perhaps as a shared position with another town through an inter-municiple agreement.

Selectmen Chairman James McGahan said FitzGerald-Kemmett raised a good point, recalling that former Town Administrator Ron San Angelo had composed a facilities report recommending a checklist on repair needs. Scott also indicated that former Selectman Jim Egan had recommended a facilities management company or team consult on such projects.

“It never really got any traction, but this feeds into exactly what you’re saying,” Scott said of FitzGerald-Kemmett’s suggestion. “We’ve got to take care of these buildings, otherwise we’ll be  faced with similar situations like we are with our schools.”

Egan said he had advocated was a part-time, town-funded facilities management position to track the maintenance needs of all town buildings to keep ahead of problems.

“It didn’t materialize simply because we didn’t have the money,” he said. “It was discussed at the board level, but we did not present it to Town Meeting, again, because we were in the kind of fiscal straits that were not conducive to expanding our personnel.”

Selectmen also began kicking around the implications of any School Department closing of Maquan School, arguing that in such a case a tear-down or an outright sale of the building might be among the best options for the town, financially.

Cable access TV contract discussed

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HANSON — While town officials consider it too early for a vote on the pact, the Board of Selectmen discussed the status of the town’s contract talks with Whitman-Hanson Community Access Television at its Feb. 28 meeting.

Progress reports on building razing and raising projects [see related story, page 3] were also discussed.

“The general consensus that I want to pass along to the public is that we are working on this,” said Selectmen Chairman James McGahan about individual conversations he has had with other selectmen about the cable access contract. He stressed that none of the one-on-one conversations constituted Open Meeting Law violations.

“We have a contract that we are being asked to sign — and this is for another 10 years — and one of the sticking points on it is that we need to follow up on the financial reports that are owed to the town through the Board of Selectmen,” McGahan said.

WHCA TV Executive Director Eric Dresser said Monday, March 6 that he understands the selectmen’s concerns are reasonable, as there are several items in the contract still being worked out.

“I think there’s some things above and beyond the things that they mentioned that they’d like to see, in terms of the reporting, that we’ve got to get on the same page with — as you would in any negotiation,” Dresser said. “We are aware of the areas of the [financial] report that need to be updated and those projects are already in progress.”

He said one was submitted at the end of last week. Cable Access Board Chairman Arlene Dias has since supplied the rest, she said Wednesday. She had not attended the Feb. 28 meeting because she said she was told the issue had been removed from the agenda.

McGahan said Feb. 28 that, while some financial reports had been received, “We didn’t get everything that we need.” He has created a matrix of reports owed to them and a ballpark timetable of when they should be received by selectmen in both towns. He also wants to see audit reports — required every three years — and regular 501(c)3 status updates on the service’ nonprofit status and to require that meeting minutes be posted on the WHCA website, as well as annual reports.

Resident Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, who has experience with 501(c)3 organizations such as the Hanson Food Pantry, said a copy of the WHCA tax returns could supply much of that information.

“We need more transparency with this group in terms of accountability,” McGahan said of the WHCA Board of Directors. “Otherwise we’re just rubber-stamping this contract.”

Town Administrator Michael McCue said a consensus of the board was all that was needed until its members are ready to ratify the contract.

McGahan said he, McCue and the cable board should meet again to discuss the issue. He also said he would like to invite the board chairman and/or WHCA executive director to selectmen’s meetings on a quarterly basis for updates on programs and services.

Selectman Bruce Young noted that a percentage of everyone’s cable bill supports the local cable access studio Cable rates, especially for seniors, was also a concern raised by Richard Edgehille, a resident and past volunteer videographer for WHCA.

“Seniors can’t get anything,” agreed Selectman Don Howard.

Edgehille suggested transparency could help hold Comcast accountable.

“If everybody in town understands that you’re doing your homework on it, as far as knowing how much it costs for that studio to run, there’s no waste,” he said.

McGahan agreed that it is in the cable board’s interest, as well, to show the money is being spent where it should be spent.

Edgehille also said the second contract should not be a mirror of the first one, because that initial contract was a start-up document.

“It should be tweaked,” he said, noting that much of the original contract language concerned the hiring and job function of the late WHCA Executive Director Steven Roy, who died last spring. “We wouldn’t be talking about this if Steve Roy didn’t leave us. He kept the ship going.”

Dresser said that, while he is a different person than Roy, he plans to brag about the “good stuff we’re doing here” and he wants town officials and the community to know about them.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction to remedy some of those things we’re concerned about,” McGahan said of the contract talks.

New EMS vehicle at work: Ambulance now online at Whitman Fire

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WHITMAN — The Fire Department’s newest acquisition is a state-of-the-art ambulance that not only improves patient care and data transmission to hospitals, but can also help prevent back injuries for responding firefighter/EMTs.

It also saves money toward eventual replacement, as the “box” containing patient care equipment can be removed and placed on a new chassis, cutting the cost of any new LifeLine vehicle by almost half. It is the third LifeLine ambulance, which are built by Specialty Vehicles.

Chief Timothy Grenno said Monday the ambulance, already in service, replaces a 2000 Wheelcoach vehicle, which will now be auctioned off  — most likely as scrap after a lot of hard miles.

“It was no longer a viable piece of equipment for an ambulance,” he said of the decommissioned vehicle.

The new $265,000 ambulance was paid for from the ambulance reserve account revenue, including $80,000 from an appropriation approved at the 2016 Town Meeting for the deposit on the order.

“That’s the same account we purchase all of our equipment out of, so nothing comes out of tax dollars,” Grenno said. “Although the up-front cost is expensive, the attraction to these ambulances is that Specialty Vehicles has a tremendous remount process.”

The expensive part of any ambulance is the boxy body containing patient care equipment. In 10 years, when the new ambulance is ready to be refurbished, not only will the box be transferred to a new chassis, but the box will also be refurbished and updated.

The first such ambulance bought by the Whitman Fire Department is a 2009 vehicle, up for refurbishment in two to three years.

That process is expected to cost between $150,000 and $180,000.

“You have to put the money out first to get the quality ambulance and, after that, you have the option to ‘refurb,’ as long as the box stays in good shape and it’s not beat up,” Grenno said. “That’s all about demand on the vehicle. As our calls increase, the demand on the ambulance is increased.”

Call volume to the department for medical emergencies has steadily increased since 1965. The new ambulance also addresses the increasing technology demands of patient care, Grenno said.

The state requires a patient care report for all patients carried in ambulances, which must be transmitted to hospitals wirelessly. “It’s everything that we do — it’s an electronic report of how the patient presents, what we do for treatment, medications we give them and everything else,” he said. “It’s made our response more efficient.”

The new vehicle comes with Wi-Fi to make that possible. Air cards used with the older ambulance were unreliable and subject to malfunction or failure.

A bridge program between the computer-aided dispatch system and the AmbuPro patient care reporting system the department uses provides an automatically feeds all the needed information about a call to first responders and saves time — which saves lives.

Gurneys have also changed over the years, from those requiring manual raising and lowering and lifting into the ambulance to a fully automated gurney that eliminates a lot of that lifting and helps prevent back injuries.

Grenno said the loading system on the new ambulance helps prevent that kind of injury, with push-button controls that adjusts gurney height and loading onto the vehicle.

“Everybody that started in EMS prior to battery-operated and non-lifting stretchers has back injuries,” he said. “If you have somebody that has a back injury then the minimum amount of time that they are going to be out if it’s a significant back injury is six months. Generally, it’s close to a year.”

Beyond insurance costs connected to such injuries, it can cost thousands of dollars in overtime to cover that shift.

“We don’t want our guys to get hurt,” Grenno said. “We try to buy equipment that makes their job safer.”

A liquid ride suspension system also provides a smoother, more stable ride than air ride systems that were susceptible to wear and tended to waiver back and forth “like a cruise ship.”

Park access funding sought: State board requirements would require special Town Meeting vote

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WHITMAN — Voters at Town Meeting May 1 will likely be asked to fund additional work at Whitman Park to meet the state’s handicapped accessibility regulations and avoid steep fines against the town.

The Board of Selectmen discussed the request Town Administrator Frank Lynam will likely seek within the special Town Meeting’s warrant before it convened a hearing concerning a dog complaint at the Tuesday, March 7 meeting. Selectman Daniel Salvucci was absent.

Lynam said he and a few other town officials met last week with the Architectural Access Board (AAB) in Boston regarding park accessibility, which has different standards than the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“There were some misunderstandings and we have received direction from them and are providing feedback,” Lynam said of the AAB. “Within 30 days, we will provide mapping and and a schedule and will begin the work following appropriations at Town Meeting.”

He noted that the town has an order from the AAB that, if the work is not complete by Aug. 1 or town officials have not provided them with a request for an extension, the town will be subject to fines of $1,000 per day.

“I assured them they had our attention and that we will be taking all appropriate steps,” Lynam said. He plans to seek funding from free cash at the special Town Meeting so work can begin as soon as possible.

One of the AAB’s rules of accessibility is that all playground equipment must be accessible to wheelchairs.  Lynam said the work should cost about $50,000, but if the playground requires a path entirely surrounding it, the cost could go as high as $90,000.

“We’re going to seek direction from the AAB,” he said.

Park pathways were also discussed at the AAB meeting. An AAB member has been to the park to assess the work done on the walkways and has found the pathmix used to be acceptable, Lynam reported. He said the material would, however, require more maintenance by the DPW. One-third of the park pathways still must be resurfaced in that ongoing project.

Dog hearing

After a 40-minute hearing, presided over by Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green — who is an attorney — Selectmen voted 3-0 to accept her recommendation that a Rhodesian Ridgeback/boxer mix dog owned by Erin Curran be registered and licensed in town, but need not be declared a dangerous dog. Animal Control Officer Lisa McKay was not present at the hearing.

“I feel that both parties are at fault here, at some point, for different reasons,” said Selectman Brian Bezanson, who also owns multiple dogs. “We all need to remember that we have to keep our dogs under our control at all times. … I would like this to be a lesson to the rest of the community.”

Curran, of Boston, said her boyfriend Peter Cerino of 5 Oakdale Farm Road has been keeping the dog, named Maddie, since Curran suffered a knee injury last fall. Maddie is a 65-pound, 9-year-old dog. Cerino’s yard is not fenced in, but he said Maddie is always kept on a lead when out in his yard.

Scott and Lisa Godbout of 6 Oakdale Farm Road had filed a complaint under MGL Ch. 140 Sec. 157 and Whitman’s Dog Control Regulation XXVII Sec. XI stemming from two incidents in July and November 2016 between Maddie and the Godbout’s Schnauzer/poodle mix Tucker. The Godbout’s 8-year-old dog weighs 16 pounds.

Both parties agreed that Tucker was off-leash in Cerino’s yard during a July incident and that Maddie was off-leash during a November incident, in which the dogs tangled while Godbout was walking Tucker on a leash. Whitman’s regulation requires dogs be under an owner’s control at all times.

Where the two sides disagreed centered on the amount of supervision over the dogs in each incident.

Curran alleged no one was with Tucker when he entered Cerino’s yard in July and got in between Maddie — tied to the deck — and a neighbor’s dog as they were playing. Lisa Godbout insisted she was present when her dog and two others entered Cerino’s yard to play with Maddie, and that Maddie had attacked Tucker without provocation. The Godbouts did not raise an issue with that incident because their dog was off-leash at the time, and Curran had agreed with that decision.

“We really wanted to address this as neighbors and not litigate and I think we have resolved that, mostly,” Scott Godbout said, noting he had hoped to avoid reporting either incident. “This situation has never been a personal matter. We think it is our responsibility, as neighbors, to do our part in maintaining the safety of the neighborhood.”

Scott Godbout said he was walking Tucker on the leash when Maddie came out from between cars and pounced on his dog on Nov. 22. He was bitten trying to separate the dogs, and treated at South Shore Hospital where he received antibiotics, but no stitches.

Curran said Maddie had been frightened by a smoke alarm when food was scorched in the oven and had squeezed out of the house through a sliding glass door, opened slightly to air out the kitchen. Her dog ran toward the Godbout’s house, where Scott had testified Maddie had come out of nowhere before the dogs tangled.

Curran said her dog’s wounds from that incident appeared to be defensive and that Tucker had initiated the fight.

“As a dog owner, I take my responsibilities very seriously,” Curran said. “I’ve invested in Maddie’s training.” That training included Canine Top Performance Canine Camp in Reading.

Curran and Cerino have paid vet bills for Tucker, bought a muzzle for Maddie and a gate for their deck at the ACO’s request and that McKay had opined that her dog is not dangerous. Curran’s presentation included a packet of documentation including 12 affadvits from trainers, public safety officials and other neighbors who maintain Maddie, a therapy dog, is not a dangerous dog. She said prior to July, and since November, Maddie has had no other incidents with other dogs or people.

She also testified the Godouts “knowingly and voluntarily” signed an agreement to waive legal claims against Curran and Cerino following their payment of about $3,000 to pay the Godbout’s expenses.

Saving treasures: Author recounts wartime effort to protect U.S founding documents

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HANSON — For historian Stephen Puleo, the story format is key in relating the events of our past.

“You try to put sources together to build your narrative,” he said after a Hanson resident remarked his books read like novels. “I take that as a compliment. I think that’s how history should be written and taught. The second part of that word, history, is ‘story.’ It’s people we are writing about, and they have fears and they have families.”

His narrative style — honed in his previous five books on the history of Boston, its Italian community and Great Molasses Flood, the caning of Sen. Charles Sumner on the floor of the U.S. Senate in the lead-up to the Civil War and U.S. Navy heroism during the 1940s Battle of the Atlantic — has lately brought to life the work to safeguard America’s founding documents during World War II.

“I want you to learn history despite yourself, because you’re so engrossed in the story,” he said during Sunday, Feb. 19, talk at Hanson Public Library on that new book, “American Treasures: The Secret Effort to Save the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Gettysburg Address,” [2016, St. Martin’s Press, hardcover, 400 pages, $28.99].

The talk, sponsored by the Hanson Library Foundation, was originally planned for Feb. 12, but had been postponed due to a snowstorm. A question and answer period and book signing followed Puleo’s talk.

“These documents were not a foregone conclusion,” he said of the “American Treasures.” “They were not predestined, they were not preordained. They were hard to come by.”

The American Revolution was only favored outright by a third of colonists, the Constitution was the product of careful negotiation and compromise, and Lincoln almost passed up the invitation to speak at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg on Nov. 19, 1863.

“They’re certainly artifacts,” he said. “They’re also symbols, very important symbols. … The lights are low [in the National Archives rotunda today]. The guards are there. You can hear footfalls walking around. Even kids recognize the symbolic shrine of this place.”

“American Treasures’” 2016 publication coincided with the 240th anniversary year of the Declaration of Independence and this year marks the 230th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution, which, as Puleo puts it, is with us every single day.

“When you think about it, the history of these documents is really the history of the United States of America,” he said. “Ours is the first constitutional republic that can trace its founding back to a single document — the Declaration of Independence.”

Puleo’s narrative intertwines the narratives of the largest relocation of historic documents in U.S. history with the origins of the book’s three featured documents.

“To do that right, I needed to go back into time and look at a couple things — one was the creation of these documents and the ideas embodied in them, and two, a couple of the efforts that were made throughout our history to preserve and save these documents,” Puleo said of the reason for safeguarding the documents during WWII.

From December 1941 to about April 1942, federal officials moved 5,000 boxes of precious documents out of Washington, D.C., to secret locations out of concern over possible German bombing or sabotage. The Magna Carta, which had been on display at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City, was also stored with the three American Treasures at the Fort Knox, Ky., federal gold depository for the duration of the war at the request of the British government.

The remaining works were identified as irreplaceable and essential to American democracy, triaged into six categories, cataloged, packed up and stored at the Virginia Military Institute; the University of Virginia at Charlottesville; Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., and Dennison University in Granville, Ohio.

“It would be devastating if they were lost,” he said of the founding documents. “We were doing this to preserve our national morale. They started to think about this in the fall of 1940, about a year before Pearl Harbor.”

England had already lost millions of documents to firestorms caused by incendiary bombs dropped by the Germans during the Battle of Britain. German troops also destroyed millions of books and artifacts across Europe.

“We were watching this,” Puleo said.

Germany’s wolf packs of submarines were also patrolling with impunity off the east coast of the United States in the early years of the war.

By 1943, however, things were going well enough to bring the Declaration out of hiding long enough for the dedication of the Jefferson Memorial. But when it was over, back it went.

The current political climate prompted a question after the talk of Puleo’s opinion, as a historian, whether he views the situation with any trepidation regarding the future of the Constitution.

“I’m very much the optimist on this,” he said. “One of the things about studying history is it does give you a little perspective — a way to be at arm’s length sometimes. If you look through American history … it’s often like this and that’s sometimes the way that democracy goes. The things that have held us together, in my view, are those documents. That’s where I take my optimism.”

He said there have been several periods in American history that have been far worse.

A Boston-area resident, Puleo has also been a teacher as well as a newspaper reporter, public speaker and communications professional. He has also taught at Suffolk University. A portion of his book proceeds benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Talking priority school projects

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WHITMAN — Capital school projects and the status of plans for a new DPW building [see related story] were the focus of the first meeting of the town’s Buildings, Facilities and Capital Expenditures Committee since last spring.

WHRSD Business Services Director Christine Suckow, School Committee member Fred Small and Facilities Director Ernest Sandland attended the Feb. 16 meeting to review capital projects priorities for the fiscal 2018 budget cycle. Small is also chairman of the School Committee’s facilities subcommittee.

“The function of this committee is two-fold — to oversee and manage capital projects and to make recommendations about spending,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam, who again chairs the Buildings panel. “The decision to spend that money is made by Town Meeting.”

The Buildings Committee makes recommendations on capital expenditures and the Finance Committee makes recommendations on whether they believe expenditures are appropriate and good for the town. The panel will be meeting again when it receives capital plans for other departments and will also meet with the Finance Committee.

“We will look at what we are willing to commit for funding this year,” Lynam said. “The only way whatever plan we come up with will work is if we have a united plan — we’re all on the same page.”

He does not see the town dipping into stabilization for capital projects this year.

“I’m more concerned with the budget itself,” he said. The per-school breakdown of the school budget for Whitman schools is: $1,631,000 for Whitman Middle School; $654,000 for Conley and $456,000, according to Suckow.

Whitman generates most of its revenue from local taxes, with the reserve for appropriation ambulance account coming in second, according to Lynam.

“When we look at purchases and our ability to fund them, we’re constrained by what we’re able to generate in revenue,” he said.

Lynam again explained that a recent windfall in personal property taxes from National Grid, having made significant improvements to the company’s property in Whitman. As that money is expected to go away within eight years, Lynam has advocated spending the tax receipts on nonrecurring capital expenses.

“If I build a budget on money that isn’t going to be there next year, were [in trouble],” he said. “We’re behind the eight-ball.”

School department capital requests, most of which have been on the list from previous years, include:

• An engineering study for the Duval School roof;

• Fire alarm and smoke detector replacement at all three of the town’s schools, $50,000 each;

• Repairing and relining the middle school gym, $25,000;

• Installation of a gym curtain at WMS, $14,000;

• A Green Communities program at all three schools, $335,000;

• Replacement of WMS rooftop units, $50,000;

• Installing and cleaning ceiling fans at all three schools, $25,000;

• Replacement of exterior doors with a card-reading system for added security, $16,000;

• Loop driveway at the rear of WMS, $16,000;

• Crack, seal and reline playgrounds, $13,000;

• Replacement of Conley and WMS kitchen equipment, $53,000;

• Uninvent replacement in five rooms at WMS, $35,000; and

• Sidewalk replacement at Duval, $20,000.

Other repairs have been prioritized for later years.

Lynam said one of the difficulties in funding repairs to facilities involves the fact that assessments for the regional schools are apportioned based on population. Whitman currently has 59.5 percent of the region’s school population.

“That number has been moving for at least the last eight years,” he said. “We are creating more of the expense and we are paying for more expense of operating the region.”

Savings from energy-saving updates would help, he said.

Sandland said that, with such programs, energy costs would be reduced and budgets will be more manageable.

“When you look at these repairs, you’ve got to keep in mind these buildings are not a lot different from what we do at home,” Lynam said. “What we’re looking at now are the things that need to be done.”

The door lock project, on the other hand, is part of the district’s program to improve school security as well as making any needed repairs, Small said.

Playground and sidewalk repairs are aimed at addressing trip hazards, which cause spikes in insurance premiums. Repairs needed to the roofs at Conley and Duval are to newer sections.

“We’ve complained to the state that [at Duval] here we are, we spend $80,000 on repairs to a roof that you guys funded,” Sandland said, noting a similar problem was encountered at Hanson Middle School. “They didn’t care.”

Salvucci asked that if the total of repairs prioritized for this year — estimated at about $500,000 — could be done, how much time could that buy the town before more work is needed.

Light units and rooftop units have to go out to bid before those details are known, Sandland said.

Whitman’s share ($451,389) of $758,000 repairs to the high school prioritized for the year include (cost estimates below are totals):

• Turf field at the high school, estimated at between $425,000 and $500,000;

• Roadway repairs, $210,000;

•  Industrial ceiling fans for heat distribution, $12,000;

• Traffic lighting for safety, $20,000;

• Exterior envelope repairs to composite wall system $25,000;

• Hot water heater replacement, $35,000 as well as

• Replacement of rooftop units, $100,000;

• Window glass replacement, $15,000;

• Energy upgrade, $111,000 for LED lighting in classrooms, $65,000 for LED lighting in computer labs, cafeteria, music suite and gym; and

• Second floor carpet replacement, $45,000.

In other business, the Buildings, Facilities and Capital Expenditures Committee reorganized, renaming Lynam as chairman. Lynam had stepped aside last year after his workload increased after his former assistant Greg Enos had resigned to take a position in Ashland, and a new Finance Committee required his assistance. Wayne Carroll, a DPW Commissioner who had been asked to chair the committee recently announced his decision to step down.

With the hiring of new Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green, that situation has changed, Lynam said.

“You now have an assistant, that takes a lot of the pressure off your back, and you have the time,” Salvucci said in nominating Lynam for the chairmanship.

Committee member Patrick Fatyol was voted as vice chairman and Salvucci was elected clerk.