WHITMAN — Businessman David Federico has another 30 days to work with Building Commissioner Robert Curran on finalizing a new 45-vehicle plan for his Diesel Trucks lot at 575 Bedford St. Renewal of Federico’s Class II Auto Dealers’ License hinges on completion of such a plan.

The board approved the extension by a 3-1 vote, with Selectman Daniel Salvucci voting against it.

Selectmen had given Federico six months to develop the plan after a proposed 60-vehicle lot was not accepted in March. After some delays, Federico’s lawyer E. Pamela Salpoglou of Stoughton said she had received the new site plan just prior to the Tuesday, Oct. 25 meeting. Quincy Civil Engineer Patrick Rosengrave designed the site plan.

Salpoglou said she had made some edits to Rosengrave’s plan and provided both site plans for the board’s reference. She suggested that, if the plan met the town’s requirements, another hearing on the matter could be avoided.

“Mr. Rosengrave has confirmed that we can easily fit 59 spots on the property, and as you are aware, my client came in looking for 60,” Salpoglou said. “I don’t know why he did not take into account the discussion we had at the last hearing, but he clearly, I think, has made a pretty good plan.”

She also indicated that Federico wishes to amend five parking spaces in one area of the lot toward the rear of the property near a stonewall.

“That would create a little bit more space for customers to turn around,” she said. Moving other spaces and consolidating still others would reduce the number of spaces to the 45 Selectmen required, Salpoglou said.

Curran said he visited the site again on Tuesday, Oct. 25 and there were 45 vehicles there and that an effort had been made to clean up the area. He took photos to provide to Selectmen.

There were 50 vehicles on the site Sept. 27, and those were not in approved spaces, Curran said noting that, “the site remained an eye-sore” at that time. A subsequent visit on Oct. 6 revealed that, “nothing has been done since the number of cars has been reduced to 45 and that most of the vehicles had been there “for several months.”

“There’s not a big exchange of the vehicles that are coming and going,” Curran said. “I don’t have anything else to report other than today it looked a lot better than it has.”

Curran said he had not seen the new site plan and could not comment on it, but if the board approved it, he would recommend the lot be kept to the site plan.

“Our building inspector’s going to have to spend some time with it, too,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski told Federico and Salpoglou.

Selectmen, following a discussion on the matter, agreed with Curran’s proposal to allow 30 days to move the vehicles to spaces outlined on the site plan so he could review it on the ground and come back to the board.

Salvucci was still not happy with the state of the lot or the state of vehicles now on it.

“Out of all [45] vehicles, how many are for sale?” Salvucci asked, to which Federico replied all of them are and that all of them will pass state inspection before they are sold.

“What I’m looking at here are vehicles that I don’t think are saleable, because I don’t think they’ll pass state inspection,” Salvucci said. “I don’t even know if they’ll all start.”

Federico said they will be serviced before sale.

“We buy used vehicles that need service, we service the vehicles and then sell them,” Federico said, noting he is storing the vehicles that won’t fit on a 45-vehicle lot at another facility. “A customer comes in, I drive them to the storage place, they get turned off, they say no and I lose a sale.”

Salvucci conceded that improvements have been made at this site but that he still has concerns about the product offered. Salpoglou assured the board that her client would not permit the sale of a vehicle that could not pass a state inspection and has been making an effort to make the lot more appealing.

Kowalski cut that discussion short, saying he didn’t want to repeat past discussions.

“The last eight licenses I had from the town of Whitman didn’t have any limit of the number of vehicles,” Federico said.  “There were no stipulations.”

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said that was correct, noting that when a license is approved with an inventory limit, that number is noted on the license.

“For whatever reason, this particular license did not have a number on it and, when it was renewed the same language was used,” Lynam said.

In other business, Selectmen authorized Lynam to negotiate with companies with the aim of reaching a net metering agreement to give the town “a significant discount on the purchase of energy.” The vote also allows Lynam to enter into a 20-year agreement, once acceptable terms are reached.

Lynam said 20-year contracts are standard for the industry.

Report prompts policy revisions

HANSON —  The Board of Selectmen, Tuesday, Oct. 18, voted to accept all but one of Labor Counsel Leo J. Peloquin’s four recommendations for resolving issues with the management of Camp Kiwanee.

The board voted 4-0-1, with Selectman Don Howard abstaining, to go ahead with the hiring of a recreation director as funded by the Oct. 3 special Town Meeting, to require Selectmen and the town administrator to set rental rates and to require the commission to seek approval of discounted rates from the town administrator and a vote of Selectmen. The policies and procedures will be updated to reflect the votes.

They stopped short of requiring those who received past discounts to make up the difference.

“I’ve looked at the evidence,” said Selectmen Chairman James McGahan. “I think what we’re seeing here is evidence to support the claims that protocol is not being followed. I also see evidence here of poor record-keeping. It’s very clear.”

In a 31-page report to Selectmen, Peloquin of Collins, Loughran & Peloquin in Norwell concluded the Recreation Commission and senior caretaker “have often ignored the Board [of Selectmen]’s authority” and showed evidence of possible ethics violations in awarding rental contracts at Camp Kiwanee over the past six years.

“It’s a records-driven report,” Peloquin said during the meeting, repeating his assertion in the report that the conclusion might have changed had more witnesses cooperated.

Commissioners and Senior Caretaker James Flanagan refuted the report’s claims and will have until Nov. 30 to file corrections with Peloquin’s office.

“If someone has a [canceled] check for payment that we just missed for a payment, that’s one thing,” Peloquin said. “But when someone has some other correction that begs some question, and they haven’t answered the question before, you have to understand we’ve got to reserve the right to ask the question.”

He said corroborated challenges received by Nov. 30 could be reflected in an addendum to the report.

“After an initial reading of this report and noting the ‘evidence,’ we feel it is inflammatory, inaccurate, misleading, exaggerated, biased and offensive,” Sheila Morse read from a prepared statement by commission members in seeking 30 days to respond.

McGahan conceded some of the challenges — including an instance in which two contracts exist for the same event [see related story] — are worth looking into. He also advocates more security at the camp to protect the town.

“I feel pretty good about it,” Flanagan said after the meeting about the board’s action. “I’m a little disappointed that my name was mentioned so may times all over the newspapers. It kind of tarnished my name and the 10 years I did [work] up there. … I’m disappointed I’m not working there. I love the place.”

Flanagan resigned July 18 after problems scheduling an interview with investigators to work within the constraints of his full-time job as a second investigation stemming from an early July wedding arose.

“I find this report offensive and slanderous,” Flanagan had read from a statement during the meeting. “This report embellishes my job titles …. four different job titles that do not even exist in town bylaws. My job title was the same for nine years — part-time assistant caretaker.”

The report

Peloquin’s report dated Oct. 7  — supported by 276 pages of rental agreements, spreadsheets and contracts —  recommended that the town “needs a professional administrator to oversee Camp Kiwanee, including the management of Recreation Commission employees,” and that the town administrator should review all vendor contracts he has not signed to “determine whether to sign them, end them or renegotiate them.”

It also urged town officials to pursue fees owed from those who made personal use of Camp Kiwanee, at free or reduced rates, while serving on the commission or while working at the camp.

Peloquin indicated more cooperation with the investigation might have changed the outcome, and put the cost to the town for that lack of cooperation at more than $27,000.

“A lack of cooperation by key members of the Recreation Commission and all commission-appointed employees obstructed and delayed the completion of the investigation, not only increasing its cost, but also depriving the investigator of critical information.” Peloquin stated, adding, “Information withheld from the investigation may have resulted in different findings and conclusions.”

Peloquin charged that Recreation Commission members, employees, relatives or others connected to the Commission rented Camp Kiwanee for reduced rates — or paid nothing at all — on at least 50 occasions between 2010-16. The report charged that a program that allowed volunteers to transfer hours worked into “Kiwanee Cash,” which, “besides violating its own ‘no bartering’ policy … had clear ethics law implications.”

The report also singled out actions by former Commission Chairman David Blauss, commissioners Susan Lonergan and Flanagan as presenting ethical issues. Hickey’s actions centered on a refusal to cooperate with the investigation, while Blauss, Lonergan and Flanagan were singled out for improper use of the Camp.

Favoritism alleged

Blauss reportedy allowed his cousin, Tom Tobin, to stay for free at Camp Kiwanee cottage, which is supposed to rent for $100 per night, and arranged for his sister, Debbie Blauss, to contract with the commission to hold yoga classes in the lodge even after she stopped paying the 20 percent commission other vendors pay to conduct classes at the venues. Debbie Blauss was also permitted to post a sign at the base of Camp Kiwanee Road.

“How many times this happened cannot be determined, but Blauss himself admitted that he was doing it and believed it was acceptable because Tobin was serving as caretaker for Camp Kiwannee,” Peloquin reported about the cottage use.

Flanagan and Lonergan allegedly used the lodge on “several” occasions since 2010 without paying rent or paying a reduced rate, and the report charges Flanagan with improperly approving discounts for other users. Administrative Assistant Nicole Campbell and former Commissioner Maria McClellan — who cooperated in the investigation — also used or allowed relatives to use Needles Lodge free of charge.

Campbell, who had a contentious relationship with the commission before the investigation, dating back to the 2015 Hanson Day event when a group complained she had cut short its performance. An executive session during a commission  meeting led to her filing an Open Meeting Law (OML) violation complaint because she had not received advance notice and asked that the commission be disbanded, the report said. That complaint was upheld to the extent that the commission was ordered not to do it again and to watch an educational video on the OML. A second OML complaint she filed on whether she could use her personal tape recorder during meetings was resolved before it went to a decision.

The Commissioners also complained about Campbell’s job performance.

“Although neither side behaved appropriately, there was no illegal retaliation against Nicole Campbell, directly or indirectly, but he commissioners or commission employees because she fully cooperated with the investigation from the outset,” Peloquin also stated. Interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera had warned potential witnesses against retaliation on March 24, 2016.

Recreation commissioners Raymond, Francis O’Kane and Janet Agius also fully cooperated with the investigation, as did former department administrative assistants Annemarie Bouzan and Stacey Reed, according to the report.

Under a law accepted by Hanson Town Meeting in 2001, Selectmen set Camp Kiwanee rental rates. Use of the lodge may be donated, specifically, to Scout troops for weekly meeting between September and May, town budgeted departments for meetings with Recreation Commission approval and for town departments to hold one free event from Tuesday through Thursday in a calendar year.

Bartering to cover rental fees is not permitted.

Peloquin said there are no longer records from the Kiwanee Cash program, administered by McClellan, and outlined how Town Administrator René Read ordered that practice to cease when he first learned of it in 2012. Town Administrator Ron San Angelo had also taken action to halt free use of the Camp cottage.

Selectman Bruce Young also pointed out that former Town Administrator Michael Finglas had “given his blessing” to the Kiwanee Cash program when it was first established.

A ‘costly lesson’ being learned

By Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor
[email protected]

HANSON — Unsigned rental contracts at Camp Kiwanee, which were at the center of concerns covered in Labor Counsel Leo J. Peloquin’s report to Selectmen regarding the Recreation Commission, can’t happen again, the board has warned.

“I can’t stress enough that our contracts have to be signed,” Selectmen Chairman James McGahan said after former commissioner Wes Blauss and his wife Joanne outlined repeated inconsistencies with approved contracts his mother Edna Howland obtained for the family’s annual Christmas party at Needles Lodge. “They have to be stamped with payment — all that. We have to be consistent with how this is done.”

All but two of the Howland contracts were not stamped and none were signed as the form required. Town Administrator Michael McCue said he has already begun to make those changes and has also revised the contract form to adhere to new policies and protocols — and to adhere to state ethics requirements.

“I’m already up there two to three times a week to review contracts,” McCue said. “I am signing them. We have revamped the whole contract.”

The Howland contracts provided a microcosm of the overall problem of a lack of adherence to protocol, Selectmen said of the decision to waive pursuit of funds lost to past questionable discounts.

“This has been a costly lesson for us, but I think it’s something that we needed to do in order to figure out what we need to fix,” McGahan said of the board’s decision.

“With everything that’s gone on, we don’t need to go after money,” Selectman Bill Scott said. “It’s a shame that we got to the point where we had to spend so much money to get to where we are. Hopefully, we can move forward as a result of this.”

The Blauss’ presentation featured enlarged copies of six of Howland’s contracts to rent the lodge over the years.

“This is data-driven from your report,” Joanne Blauss said.

“My mother’s name is mentioned more than a dozen times in this report,” Wes Blauss said, noting he represented her because of her poor health. “Edna Howland has no idea that she is named in this report — that she is in any way involved in this. … No one will say anything to Edna about this.”

Howland owed the town more than $1,000 because of discounts improperly approved for her, according to the report.

“Edna would never question. … Whatever she was told is what she paid,” he said.

There is a space for renters to sign the contracts, but neither Howland or anyone else did so, and all quoted a charge of $250 or $350 with no balance due, until a duplicate of the sixth contract was discovered for the party planned in 2015.

They contain four different dates on each form, and the contract they said is a duplicate includes hand-written amount of $110 owed after Howland’s sister, Maria McClellan had been told nothing was owed when she tried to pay the balance owed on a charge of $360. The original quoted a price of $250.

“I brought the original contract back to Mr. [interim Town Administrator Richard] LaCamera,” David Blauss said. “And you wonder why I did not cooperate with Mr. LaCamera? I brought that original one that said $250, that it was paid in full and, obviously, he never even shared it with town counsel.”

McGahan stressed that Peloquin’s point was that the Recreation Commission never approved the discounted price of $250.

Contracts for 2012 and 2013 were duplicates of each other, down to the date at the top of the contract, with a hand-written change of the date of the 2012 party — which originally read Dec. 15, 2011 and was altered to “Dec. 15, 2012.” The parties are always on a Saturday.

“As we sit here today, Edna Howland paid $250, she owes $110, but she doesn’t really, because someone told her $250 was OK,” Peloquin said, noting the commission voted to bill her.

“The bill was never sent out, and I want to make a point that Recreation Commission does not send out bills,” commissioner Susan Lonergan said.

McClellan said the family had taken the duplicate contract issue directly to LaCamera because they were aware of a conflict of interest, and that the Commission never knew about it.

“Probably 40 percent of the contracts [the report] refers to are not signed,” she said. “Therefore, they’re not contracts, they’re pieces of paper. They should be thrown out and not discussed.”

While he did not agree that the contracts should, or could, be discarded, McGahan agreed that, “This has got to be the worst case of record-keeping I have ever seen.”

The Blauss’ asserted that administrative assistants, and Annemarie Bouzan in particular, were not likely to be coerced by former Commission Chairman David Blauss or Senior Caretaker James Flanagan to approve improper contracts. They are seeking legal advice on the legality of the duplicate contracts.

“I have never in my life, told the administrative assistants what to charge anyone,” David Blauss said.

Wes Blauss said David Blauss, Flanagan, McCellan and Lonergan were “in a very vulnerable position” in the report because they stepped in to keep Camp Kiwanee operating with no support from Town Hall or the union when administrative assistants were out on extended sick or family leave time.

Resident Audrey Flanagan provided her own spreadsheets to Selectmen and Peloquin based on the rate sheets administrative assistants had been using in drawing up contracts.

“The spreadsheets Mr. Peloquin created were based on rates from 2010,” she said. “They changed over the years.”

Selectman Bruce Young maintained the board has always approved rates the Recreation Commission recommends, but takes issue with Peloquin’s assertion that if the commission wants to discount a rate, that selectmen had to approve it over the past six years, as that protocol had not been in place. He also questioned how it was possible that Flanagan could assume such power over camp responsibilities to the extend it is alleged he did.

“You can’t do it retroactively,” Young said of the rate protocols. “It isn’t fair to anybody.”

Others were concerned about apparent conflict of interest.

“When I read this report, a couple weeks ago or whatever, it was disappointing to me … as elected officials and appointed officials, we’re all municipal employees whether we get paid or not,” Selectman Kenny Mitchell said. “We still have to adhere to the laws of the state, especially [regarding] conflict of interest.”

“We really respect the volunteering and the work that’s been done in there, but technically we volunteer also,” Scott agreed. “If we break the rules or do something that people don’t like, they’re all over us like a wet suit. You don’t have the right to break the rules.”

Whitman mulls streamlined bill paying option

WHITMAN — Who should sign on the dotted line?

The Board of Selectmen is seeking more information from Town Counsel Michelle McNulty before designating a member to sign off on payroll warrants.

Chiefly, Selectmen want to know if an alternate can fill that role, or must it be a permanent assignment?

Right now, no fewer than three selectmen must sign each warrant before the town treasurer is authorized to release the funds.

The Municipal Modernization bill, MGL Ch 218 §57, allows a board to designate one selectman to sign the warrants on behalf of the board until it can meet for a vote, Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

“I’m suggesting the board consider this because sometimes it’s difficult to get warrants signed quickly enough to not hold checks for an additional week,” he said. “It would not necessarily change how the board views and approves warrants because the cover page of each warrant would be available to all members at the next meeting.”

Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski asked if obtaining the three signatures had ever been an issue. Lynam said it has proved to be so on occasion.

“What the state is recognizing is that, in the normal course of events, many times the selectmen don’t have an opportunity to review some of these things until they meet, and this provides an alternative,” Lynam said. “I’m not suggesting that you necessarily vote it tonight, but you be aware of the option.”

Lynam expressed doubt that a floater would be permitted because the chapter’s language is so particular in reference to “one selectman,” but that McNulty is reviewing it.

Selectman Dan Salvucci had suggested the review because he thought selection of an alternate, could work around vacations.

Lynam said there was always the option of going to the current requirement of three signatures in such a case.

In other business, the board granted the request of Robert Hayes’ Easy Auto Rentals Inc., DBA Auto Towne Truck Sales for a Class II Auto Dealer’s License at 808 Bedford St.

“He’s done a fantastic job at that location,” said Selectman Brian Bezanson. “The building has been transformed into a top-notch place.”

Hayes, who chairs the School Committee, returned the compliment to the Whitman DPW for work repairing frost-heave damage to sidewalks at Whitman schools and WHRHS. His remarks echoed those of Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner in a letter to the Board, which Kowalski read aloud.

Hayes said the School Committee had received some hefty bids on the project and that the DPW did the work at a savings to the town of a “substantial amount of money.”

“I think we came out with a better product than we might have done if we had bid it out,” he said.

“They did an amazing job fixing up those walkways,” Lynam agreed.

Hayes also stressed the importance of the strategic plan/budget discussion to which selectmen and finance committees from both towns were invited at the Wednesday, Oct. 12 School Committee meeting.

“The school district is trying to put forward and earlier budget meeting so … more people will come,” he said. “By getting everybody together earlier, it might be easier to understand the total budget and the impact on the towns.”

Selectmen also voted to maintain the $250 per year solid waste fee for fiscal 2017.

Hanson joins Community Compact

HANSON — Selectmen, state Rep. Josh Cutler, Town Hall employees and public safety leaders joined Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito Tuesday, Oct. 11 to celebrate Hanson’s becoming the 236th Commonwealth community to join the Commonwealth Community Compact Best Practices Program.

That means Hanson agrees to implement at least one best government practice outlined under an executive order signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in January 2015 — and brings with it more access to state grant funds.

Hanson town officials hope grants can help with the reuse of the former Plymouth County Hospital site as well as the Main Street Economic Target Area. The program also provides the expertise needed to help communities plan for uses that best suit the community and carries $500 million in MassWorks program for infrastructure improvements and leverages private dollars for investment, as well.

“This [compact] is yours,” Polito said. “No other community in the commonwealth has this kind of structure that you’re looking to reuse, and that’s the beauty of this kind of partnership.”

“We have reached out to the state to ask if we could become a member of the Commonwealth Community Compact,” Town Administrator Michael McCue said in opening the afternoon ceremony Tuesday, Oct. 11. “What the state is so graciously willing to do is lend its expertise — any sort of guidance, any sort of help they can — in a number of different areas.”

Selectmen Chairman James McGahan was working and unable to attend the event.

“The vision that the governor and I had I coming into office, and now in office, is to strengthen Massachusetts through every city and town across our state,” Polito said. “What we knew coming in, as former selectmen … is that the work that you do at the local level — you are on the front lines, literally — where people express their concerns, their frustrations, their hopes for their community. You need all the resources and tools to be able to do your job.”

The Commonwealth Community Compact was intended as a signal from the start that they appreciate local government, Polito said.

“In order for us to be successful, you need to be successful,” she said, listing the release of Chapter 90 funds to improve roads, increase Local Aid and use the Municipal Modernization bill to help local governments do the job.

Best Practices is also intended to strengthen ties between Beacon Hill and town halls, according to Polito.

“You choose to be part of this Community Compact,” she said. “It also needs to be funded. We know, as local officials, that we can’t have any more unfunded mandates. They just don’t work.”

Communities also decide what their priorities will be.

“I think all the towns and cities of Massachusetts appreciate the outreach the administration has done,” McCue said, noting the background both she and Baker bring to the table as former selectmen.

Polito nodded to Cutler in thanking legislators for supporting the program by funding the budget.

“The Baker-Polito Administration has been a terrific partner for municipalities,” Cutler said, noting the Municipal Modernization, or “weed-whacking,” bill the administration supported as well. “This particular [program] for Hanson is so important for economic development.”

He noted that the Plymouth County Hospital site and Route 27 corridor are keys to economic development in Hanson.

“As a Hanson state Rep., I’m delighted to see the town taking this proactive step,” Cutler said after the ceremony. “It’s great to have a lieutenant governor right here in Hanson talking about an issue that’s so important to so many residents, which is the Plymouth County Hospital redevelopment and Main Street.”

HANSON — Voters at special Town Meeting Monday, Oct. 3 voted to hire a Recreation Director — at least through June 30, 2017 — and to spend an estimated $1.8 million to tear down the former Plymouth County Hospital, but neither issue was the focus of much debate.

That distinction went largely to the ratification of a collective bargaining agreement between the Water Department, Board of Water Commissioners and members of the AFSCME Local 1700 Water Union.

The Board of Selectmen, which had previously voted to place a hold on the article, voted 4-0 against recommending its passage in a session before Town Meeting. Selectman Don Howard, who is also a Water Commissioner, abstained. The Finance Committee had voted to recommend it.

Selectmen’s concerns centered on the amount of the pay raise in the new contract, which the Town Meeting passed a counted vote of 54-31. The contract grants a 4-percent raise for the first year — 2 percent in salary and 2 percent in cost of living — and 3 percent cost of living increase in the second and third years.

“It was a strategic decision,” said Selectmen Chairman James McGahan, noting other unions negotiated 2-percent raises. “It was a fairness issue, also, for myself and most of the board.”

“It’s not in line with the other union [contracts] we just negotiated back in May,” said Selectman Kenny Mitchell. “In my opinion, the increases should be similar.”

“This article is a bargaining agreement between the Hanson Water Department and its union,” said Commissioner Gil Amado, who said the agreement does not bring the union members above any other town. “The Hanson Water Department negotiated in good faith with its union. … It’s not like were trying to give money away.”

Former Finance Committee member Pepper Santalucia said the issue comes town to Hanson’s organizational structure.

“There’s boards and commissions for everything, and, frankly, if the Board of Selectmen want to be more involved in how the Water Department and commission negotiates with its union, it should look at consolidating functions — perhaps a department of public works,” he said. “They negotiated with their union and we’re just here to formalize that.”

In consideration of another article seeking $50,000 to update the Water Department Master Plan, High Street resident Mark Vess asked if officials would commit to include designation of a second well site in that plan.

“I support the Water Department 100 percent,” Vess said, citing water problems going on across the country. “Right now, I’m concerned that you don’t have enough tools to do the job, with this drought that’s been with us for over a year. … We’ve run at 100-percent capacity of our well field this summer.”

He said the answer is not so much a new water tower as a new water supply.

“We need to make sure that Brockton Water never flows through our pipes again,” Vess said.

“I’m going to make sure on that,” Howard said.

PCH tear-down

The PCH demolition is overdue and likely to cost more the longer the facility is allowed to further deteriorate, voters were told. The annex building was partially razed into its foundation and encapsulated in plastic last week as an emergency measure after it collapsed.

“Each day, each month, each week, each year we let this go on it just costs more,” said abutter David Soper of 176 High St., a former selectman who had also served on the last PCH Reuse Committee. “Times have changed. There are developers out there who aren’t willing to take chances like they used to. It is time that we take this building down and move on and let Hanson close this chapter.”

The $1.8 million cost of the project, which will go out to bid, would include removal of the foundation and hazardous material — including asbestos, and PCBs contained in caulking — are also factored into the cost.

Selectman Bruce Young noted the sale of some tax title properties as well as the Streeter house on the PCH property would go toward reducing the cost to the town.

Young also explained that, in regard to the recreation director, a salary of $50,000 per year was approved at the May 2016 Town Meeting. The $35,000 sought in the article Monday reflected a six-month salary of $25,000 plus benefits. The ultimate salary would depend on the hours and pay grade negotiated between the town and the person hired.

Honoring Mann

Before getting underway the 118 voters convened in Town Meeting observed a moment of silence in honor of former Town Moderator Charles Mann.

“This is our first Town Meeting in a very long time without [him],” Moderator Sean Kealy said. “He started his public service back in 1963 when he got elected to the school board.”

Mann was Hanson’s state representative and moderator for many years.

“He was a great friend to me, one of the very first people I got to know when I moved to town,” Kealy said.

Kealy also offered public thanks to, and led a round of applause for, the public safety and school officials who ensured school children’s safe transportation home during a search for suspects in the Sept. 29 home invasion incident.