WHITMAN — Faced with notification that the Mass. Interlocal Insurance Association (MIAA) is no longer interested in insuring unoccupied buildings — and a tight budget scenario for the next two years — Selectmen voted Tuesday, April 25 to “roll the dice” against authorizing a private insurance policy on the vacant Park Avenue School.

Such a policy could cost between $14,000 and $16,000 per year that is not in the budget, according to Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

The brick, wood-frame school building is vacant and boarded up on a parcel of land deeded to a trust to the town by the Clark family in 1947 “for school purposes only.”

“The difficulty for us is those last four words, said Lynam, who plans to petition the Attorney General’s office for permission to change the use of the building. He said the town’s argument would be that no one could have foreseen that the town would someday no longer need the school when the property was placed in trust to the town. The school was built in 1951.

“We would not be insured for replacement value in any event,” Lynam said. “The only insurance we would have, as we sit today, is coverage for maintenance if there was minor damage to the frame or removal if it was damaged to the point where it had to be torn down.”

Razing the building would cost between $100,000 and $150,000 he estimated, but Lynam stressed nothing could be done until the town receives a release from the Attorney General’s office. A sticking point in past plans to seek such a ruling had been hampered in the past by a transfer of a small portion of the property, to square off a neighboring property line in 1977, that could be considered a violation of the trust, Lynam said. Town Meeting had approved that transfer.

“I’m at a point where this building is simply an albatross to us right now,” he said. “We’re not spending money to maintain it, but I’m concerned about having a vacant building sitting there year after year.”

Lynam noted that, should funds be available, there are municipal needs that could be met by renovating the building, but that nothing can be done until the Attorney General’s office determines whether the town is bound by the trust. If it is, he will seek a court order to return the gift to the Clark family’s heirs. Renovation could cost the town $4 to $5 million.

“We are moving forward,” Lynam said.

Selectman Brian Bezanson agreed with Lynam’s recommendation against seeking private insurance.

“I would suggest, in light of our budgetary concerns, that maybe we should just roll the dice for the time being and hope we can push the Attorney General’s office,” he said.

Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci, running the meeting in the absence of Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, said it made little sense to insure the building without complete control of ownership.

“Something happens to the building, we’re on the hook to put a big fence around it until we can appropriate the money to clean it up,” Selectman Scott Lambiase agreed, noting that a private insurance policy would only provide general liability protection.

Lynam said the decision not to insure could also spur quick resolution on the building’s future.

In other business, Selectmen voted to approve the application of RPM Motorsports LLC under the ownership of Richard P. McCabe, for a Class II Auto Dealer’s License at 40R Warren Ave.

General Manager Paul Kearns explained the business, which restores high-end cars such as Corvettes for sales by appointment only. The cars would be stored indoors and only six would be on site at any one time, Kearns said.

Selectmen also approved the application of Keith A. Gutierrez DBA Ace Transporter, which had been delayed when Lynam’s office had difficulty reaching him by mail at his 146 South Ave. #19 address. Gutierrez said he had inquired with the Post Office less than a week ago about the whereabouts of a certified letter sent in March and returned to Town Hall on Monday, April 24.

“They said they had nothing for me there,” Gutierrez said. “I suppose whoever I spoke with didn’t know it got sent back already. I was waiting for some notification in the mail.” He did receive a more recent letter.

He receives customer calls on his cell phone, and a few via Google, Yelp or Facebook for his one-vehicle business.

There will be no Proposition 2½ override sought to fund the school budget this year, but town and school officials alike warn that voters will likely face one next May for the fiscal 2019 budget.

In fact, a committee will begin the work of making that case during a Monday, June 12 meeting.

School Committee members unanimously voted on Wednesday, April 12 for the 8.5-percent assessment increase both towns indicated can be funded for fiscal 2018 to provide level services to school children.

In dollars, the assessment would be $1,107,435 for Whitman and $479,670 in Hanson — including the shift in student population. The committee had voted an 11.5-percent assessment increase last month.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said the district was able to put forth a level-service budget with an 8.5-percent increase  only after some cost cutting including:

• Spreading payments for McGraw-Hill curriculum materials over two years to save $100,000 this year;

• Waiving the July 1 advisory date for teachers wishing to take early retirement this year — with retirements so far saving about $200,000;

• Moving some costs to revolving funds, including athletic coaches’ salaries for a $30,000 savings;

• Elimination of the position of assistant superintendent for teaching and learning and one teaching position, which was due to declining enrollment; and

• The likelihood of an increase in regional transportation reimbursement from the state. The independent food services department was also asked to contribute a greater amount toward its energy use in providing school meals.

Full-day kindergarten, estimated to cost about $400,000 was never included in the fiscal 2018 level-service budget. The appointment April 12 of Kyle Riley to replace departing Special Education Administrator Dr. John Quealy also has no effect on the budget.

“As superintendent, I’m very concerned about the success of an override, particularly after the fairly resounding defeat last year,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “We were able to make some reductions that would not require losing staff down to a 9-percent [assessment] increase. It would be a minimal loss of positions at 8.5 percent.”

The overall budget is up by about 4 percent due mainly to additional funds voted at the end of the last school year to address class size as well as library staff at the elementary and middle schools and increased insurance costs.

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the problem for his town came down to simple math, beginning with last year’s levy limit of  $23,125,376 plus 2 ½ percent ($578134) and $275,000 in new growth and personal property taxes. This year, $853,134 was added to available cash. The town began the budget process with $1.3 million in capital articles, many of which were requested by the schools. The requests by WHRSD this year increased by $1,441,007.

Lynam said the Finance Committee voted April 11 an assessment increase that brought Whitman’s share of the school budget to $12,064,000 — an 8.5-percent increase.

“We have virtually eliminated the capital articles from within the town because the money just isn’t there,” Lynam said, noting there are significant equipment needs such as a 19-year-old DPW truck and an unreliable sidewalk plow. “When I say to you we are at our limit — we are. We’re not only at it, we’re beyond it.”

Whitman voters are also being asked to support an override to fund three additional firefighters.

“We would have to do a heck of a lot of education and information” to make an override for the schools successful next year, Lynam said.

Lynam had asked the Whitman Board of Selectmen to meet at 10 a.m., Friday, April 14 in case an override vote was necessary to avoid the need to call for a June special election for a school override in Whitman. That meeting was cancelled after the School Committee voted to back an 8.5-percent assessment increase.

An override this year would, “waste a shot at presenting an override that is comprehensive,” Lynam said.

“I want to put together a comprehensive analysis that says ‘here’s why we need it, here’s how we’ll do it and here’s what it’s going to take,’” he said.

Hanson Selectmen Chairman James McGahan agreed there is a need to “let people know what is at stake here.”

“If we pass the budget we’re asking you to pass today, we’ll squeak through this year,” Lynam said. “Next year, if we don’t do something to increase our revenue, we many not even be in a position to offer a level-funded budget. Our growth is not going to change much.”

Whitman School Committee member Robert Trotta said he has heard that call before, but little had come of it in the past. Lynam agreed that has happened, but said the situation has now reached critical mass. Hanson School Committee member Robert O’Brien agreed, but said Lynam’s suggestion of a committee of school, town officials, finance committee members and selectmen makes sense.

“We had a lot of [state] help from 1992 to around 2007,” he said. “Now it’s reality — it’s not going up anymore.”

He said his seven grandchildren mean he has a vested interest in seeing to it that their generation have the educational opportunities other children have had.

Hanson Finance Committee Chairman Michael Dugan said information on the budget situation’s impact of graduation rates would help make the argument that more funds were needed. But school officials said that information may not be known for years.

“The problem is the wheels of the bus are falling off,” said School Committee member Fred Small. “They’re falling off for the kids that are in third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade — you’re not going to see the impact on graduation rates [until] six, seven, eight years from now.”

He said the schools don’t need what has been asked for — they need much more to do the job properly.

“We’re talking about replacing textbooks that have countries in them that don’t exist any more, that have planets in them that aren’t planets anymore,” Small said. “Basics. That’s what we’re talking about with this budget.”

Gilbert-Whitner said the district has depended on grants that are in danger of elimination under the Trump administration.

WHITMAN — With about $56,000 now separating what the town can commit to the school district, and what W-H is seeking within the fiscal 2018 budget, Selectmen have voted to issue the special and annual Town Meeting warrants.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said $12,064,195 has been voted for schools  by the Finance Committee — a budget increase of $1,444,007. He said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner told him that, without $12,119,787 — which represents a 9-percent assessment increase — “they’re going to need to seek funding through an override.”

“I’ve been working on these right up until this afternoon,” Lynam said of the warrants on which the Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday, April 11. “This whole budget has been a moving, living item.” There will be 10 articles on the special Town Meeting warrant, which is prepared for publication, and about 65 on the annual warrant.

The Fire Department will be seeking a $310,000 override for increased staffing on this year’s Town Meeting warrant and Town Election. Selectmen also voted Tuesday to place the Fire Department override request on the annual Town Election ballot.

Fire Chief Timothy Grenno expressed confidence after the meeting that residents would see the need for that request.

“I think the taxpayers support the Fire Department and, with the presentation that we’re going to put on to show them the needs and the staffing levels that we currently run at, the demand for service that we’re currently confronted with, I think that they’ll understand it’s not a wish list, that it’s a need assessment for us,” Grenno said.

The Selectmen would have had to vote April 11 to call for a school override on the annual Town Election ballot, and are required to have a specific amount before taking such a vote.

Should the schools decide at a later date — inlcuding the School Committee’s scheduled meeting on Wednesday, April 12 — to seek an override, a special election would be required. Such a move would cost the town $6,000 to hold that election.

“I talked to the chairman of the FinCom [Michael Minchello] and he said that they’re done with Article 2 and, depending on the items that are in the annual Town warrant, that they’re able to give a pretty good-sized percentage for the operating budget for Whitman-Hanson,” Selectman Dan Salvucci said.

Salvucci said that the possible removal of a capital project at Town Meeting, could help avoid a special election to fund the shortfall.

“I recognize that the School Department is making an effort to find a way to make this work,” Lynam said. “The superintendent feels that, if we can come up with that additional $56,000 she will be able to recongifure things in such a way that this year they will not have to lay anyone off.”

“They’re not crying wolf, there’s some real issues,” Lynam said. “But, at the same time, we have issues in some of the other departments, as well.”

Police and Fire chiefs have already withdrawn some requests, he noted. Lynam said he discussed the budget with Gilbert-Whitner Tuesday morning.

“We talked about what we had pegged for an apropriation,” he said of his talk with Gilbert-Whitner.

Lynam said he has asked the schools to work with town officials to come up with a minimally acceptable figure to avoid putting the town in override position for the schools because he thinks next year’s budget will be tougher.

“There’s going to have to be a lot of analysis and education directed toward next year’s budget,” he said. “I think going for an override of $400,000 this year is not going to solve the problem.”

Salvucci said he feels if the schools do not accept the Finance Committee’s recommedation, and Town Meeting supports a school override on the election, the town will be looking at the need for budget cuts.

The Finance Committee was meeting with school officials Tuesday night to discuss some of the articles Lynam is not recommending due to a lack of funding.

Selectmen voted to issue the special Town Meeting warrant and to authorize the annual Town Meeting warrant “with the understanding that some articles will be removed prior to publication,” according to Lynam.

In other business, Selectmen granted a request from the Recreation Commission for an expenditure of $4,500 from the World War II Memorial Field Fund to replace the fence around the basketball and street hockey court behind the police station. The fund, in existence since the field was designated, has been used very conservatively as it holds a small amount of cash — about $18,000 — and when no other funding is available, Lynam explained.

Selectmen also accepted of the gift of a 1910-15 Henry Miller mahogany baby grand piano with ivory keys from Fred Gilmetti on behalf of the Eileen Regan family.

“The piano is showing it’s age although it is quite beautiful,”said Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green. “I would like to look into foundations and maybe seek a grant to help us restore the piano.”

Green also outlined plans to seek a grant from the Mass DEP Recovery Program to finance recycling programs in order to reduce town waste.

Selectmen scheduled hearing date for O’Toole’s Pub for Tuesday, May 9. The hearing will be the only item on that agenda.

HANSON — Selectmen have delayed voting to approve and sign a new contract agreement with the Whitman-Hanson Community Access Corp., pending the answers to remaining questions from the board and some residents. An incomplete state financial review of WHCA also concerns town officials.

During their Tuesday, April 4 meeting, the board also revisited warrant articles they had placed, but had not yet voted to recommend to voters at the May 1 Town Meeting.

Selectman Bruce Young asked where Whitman stands with its WHCA contract.

“They’re waiting to see what Hanson does, because in the past the contracts were the same,” said WHCA Board Director Arlene Dias of Hanson.

“We haven’t signed it up until now, so I think what this would mean, if we waited until that time, is that we would continue to conduct business as we do,” said Selectman Chairman James McGahan. “I don’t think anything’s in jeopardy by not signing it tonight.”

Town Administrator Michael McCue said he believed most of Selectmen’s questions about the contract had been satisfied in the revised version after a matrix for reporting requirements was inserted. Among the items on the matrix are a copy of the 501(C) 3 nonprofit designation to be filed with the towns each February, financial and annual reports each May, inventory equipment lists and insurance policies in February, and meeting minutes.

Selectmen would also like an in-person quarterly report on WHCA projects.

Dias said the nonprofit status is designed to protect the towns from liability. There are supposed to be four representatives on the board from each town, but there are currently three from Hanson and one from Whitman with another Whitman resident joining at the next meeting.

“One of the items we’ve talked about, too, is possibly getting more programs recorded for more meetings,” McGahan said. “What we’re having is a problem getting volunteers.”

He and former volunteer videographer Richard Edgehille noted board chairmen could be trained to set up stationary video cameras to record their meetings.

“Each chairman from the appointed positions would basically run the camera on a tripod and record the meeting,” McGahan said.

“I’ve done this for probably 15 years,” Edgehille said. “It’s not rocket science.”

Edgehille said the analog console used to record Selectmen’s meetings is a “dinosaur” that WHCA’s contract requires them to update and maintain it.

“This is the most important meeting in town,” he said.

Dias agreed, but noted that Comcast has put a few equipment updates on hold — and WHCA is one of them.

“They had other projects that got bumped, so we got bumped,” she said. “At this point, it doesn’t make sense to put money into equipment that we’re then going to have to change in two years. We will maintain the equipment that’s here.”

Young said WHCA should protest that violation of the agreement by Comcast.

“There isn’t anything you can do,” Dias replied.

McCue said the town would be  responsible for complaints directly to Comcast.

WHCA Executive Director Eric Dresser, who also serves on a state wide professional trade organization, said that group is fighting for high-definition broadcast technology.

“Everybody at home is probably watching what they watch on high-definition, and we are still at a state level — in fact, at a national level — stuck in standard definition,” he said. “Even when we get that digital workflow, traveling over fiber optics, we’re inside of that [standard definition] restriction.”

“Hanson always gets pushed aside, no matter what it is,” Selectman Don Howard said.

Edgehille also asked about the ongoing audit, which Dias said was more of a state review, noting one financial report has already been completed and provided to the town. Young said the contract stipulates that an audit is to be done every three years.

“If you’re going to take a vote on the new contract tonight, just be aware that the [review] … is not cleared up yet,” Edgehille said. “I just want it on the record.”

He also wanted a clarification on the identity of the reporting authority for the board of directors.

“Because they are a 501(C) 3, my understanding is that they are their own entity,” McGahan said. “They are still obligated to report to the people of Hanson and Whitman to maintain our service. There is no repercussions, there’s no outside election of that entity.”

Dresser said WHCA’s nonprofit reporting status is equivalent to churches or civic groups such as Kiwanis, which also have their own boards.

“If they, the corporation, don’t meet the obligations set in this contract, we can dissolve the contract,” McGahan said.

McCue said another recourse for expressing dissatisfaction if there were a contract violation by WHCA would be to withhold the quarterly cable access funds received from Comcast. The money is paid directly to the town, which then pays WHCA — at the moment those funds are paid direct to cable access for convenience, but the town can change that at any time.

Edgehille said he wanted to sit down with the WHCA board to ask his questions, and was assured the meetings are open to the public. The board’s next meeting is Thursday, April 20.

Warrant articles

During discussion of revisited Town Meeting articles, Selectmen voted to approve revisions to wage and personnel articles on the special Town Meeting warrant.

On the annual warrant, they voted 3-1-1, with selectmen Bill Scott abstaining and Young against, to withdraw an article transferring a parcel of the Plymouth County Hospital site to the Conservation Commission’s care and custody.

Conservation Chairman Phil Clemons advocated the transfer of a narrow strip of land, known as parcel 3, as it is largely wetlands with a steep topography. Selectmen expressed concern that it would tie the town’s hands to make such a transfer this early in the planning for future use of the PCH property. The article was said to be more timely at the October special Town Meeting.

The board also voted 5-0 to support an article capping the revolving forestry fund at $15,000 because there is little possibility or obtaining more from available timber. They also voted to place and recommend a zoning by-law regarding standards for solar power installations that might be proposed in town — which combines two previous articles — and to recommend articles regarding town revolving accounts and a marijuana moratorium.

A citizen’s petition brought by Edgehille and 21 others to borrow $500,000 from the state Department of Environmental Protection under the Clean Water Act for the Septic Loan program was also recommended 5-0. The Board of Health has traditionally put forth the article, but has not funded it this year. Edgehille suggested maybe the board did not understand the program.

“I do not plan to run for office again — this is not a platform,” Edgehille said. “I’m here for the people.”

The town borrows from the DEP at 2-percent interest and charges another 2 percent from borrowers to fund the local revolving account. The program has to go back to Town Meeting every time it depletes.

“Not everybody can go to the bank,” Edgehille said. “There’s some single-parent families whose only option is this loan. Think about retired people … how would they pay for a septic loan?”

He stressed that the borrower is the only town resident impacted by the loan as a betterment added to their taxes.

“If their system fails, by Board of Health laws and regulations, they’re out the door,” he said.

The interest rate brings about $40,000 back into the account for a single loan and there are seven people now on a waiting list.

McCue said the money is coming in, but not at a significant rate to replenish the account to past levels.