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Recreation changes ahead

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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
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com

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.”

Celebrating our local authors: Whitman Library plans series of writer appearances

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WHITMAN — Residents got a sneak peek on Thursday, Oct. 6 of Whitman Public Library’s November celebration of National Writing Month, which will feature a half-dozen author visits.

The Friends of the Whitman Public Library funds the series.

Braintree resident and novelist Jim Lynch discussed his work Oct. 6, and read excerpts of his 2014 book “The Longshoremen: Life on the Waterfront.” Come November, the series shifts to 6 p.m., on Mondays.

“We are giving a platform to local authors to display and promote their work,” said Library Director Andrea Rounds. “Local author series are really popular around here. … Everyone is excited about a different talk.”

Among the authors slated to appear [see box, page 9] are: Terri Arthur who wrote, “Fatal Decision: Edith Cavell, World War I Nurse,” on Nov. 14; Faye George, author of, “Voices of King Philip’s War,” on Nov. 21 and — wrapping things up on Dec. 12 is Whitman photographer, writer and artist Russ DuPont.

DuPont suggested the program.

“I’m a writer and I thought it would be interesting for Whitman [Library] to do something like this,” DuPont said before Lynch’s talk. “She did the gathering. … I just finished some stuff and had been giving some readings in Boston and it dawned on me that I hadn’t seen anything here like that in a while.”

“He’s in the library all the time,” Rounds said of DuPont’s support for library programs.

Rounds saw Terri Arthur at a book talk while she was on vacation on the Cape this summer and jumped at the chance to book her for the series.

“That book talk is right around Veterans’ Day, so it’s pretty timely,” Rounds said. “The writer is a nurse herself.”  The King Philip’s War talk takes place three days before Thanksgiving.

“This was in our community, we are right in the area where this happened,” she said. “So we are thrilled that we can have Faye George come and speak about that book.”

Lynch, too, wrote about a subject to which he has a personal experience — he and his father, who emigrated from Ireland in 1918, were both longshoremen. His first book, “The Hook and the Badge,” [2008] is a mystery that also takes place on the Boston waterfront.

“The Longshoremen” intertwines the stories of three families and how they survived working the waterfront and its archaic hiring system called the shape-up.

Lynch spoke about the storyline of the book, how he got into longshoring and the history and function of the old hiring system. He then answered audience questions before signing copies of his book that were purchased.

“I knew [his father] worked on ships, but I didn’t know exactly what he did,” Lynch said of his teen years. “The furthest thing from my mind, growing up, was to be a longshoreman.”

But, after graduating from Mission Church High School in 1950, that’s where he went to work after a brief stint as a messenger boy earning 75 cents an hour.

Longshoremen could earn as much as $2 an hour straight time and, as the son of a longshoreman, he could inherit his father’s union card. His father had died in 1944.

There was a downside to that pay scale, however.

“You never knew when you were going to work, you never knew how much money you were going to be making,” he said, and has reflected in his characters’ struggles in the book.

In the shape-up, the longshoremen would stand in front of the stevedores who would call those they knew first — by name — for work. Those left, if needed, would be pointed to and union cards had to indicate dues were up-to-date for them to begin working.

Much of the work once done by longshoremen on cargo vessels is now done by automation on giant container ships. The shape-up is also now a thing of the past on the waterfront, Lynch said.

Born and raised in Charlestown, Lynch had worked as a longshoreman for 20 years before he became a teacher, including at Silver Lake Regional, Halifax and Pembroke schools, for special needs students and a basketball coach. The latter is something, at 83, he still enjoys doing at the Woodward School in Quincy and plays volleyball “a couple of times a week” and swims a lot.

“In the old days, people stayed in shape by working hard — they didn’t have to go to a gym,” he said.

They say the best advice for writers is to write what you know, and Lynch said that is exactly why he writes about the waterfront.

“The three things I know about are basketball, longshoring and teaching,” he said before his program. “I had some free time on my hands [after his 1996 retirement from teaching] and that’s when I started writing.”

His love of reading mysteries and thrillers informed the style of his first book. His characters are mainly composites of real people he knew and/or worked with, including main character Jimmy McGowan, who he based on himself — and he outlines each character’s physical appearance and personality before beginning a book.

“If you sit down and try to make it up as you go along, I didn’t find it worked,” Lynch said.

Lynch’s best advice to would-be writers?

“The best advice is to write and study writers,” he said. “I got into a writing group a couple of times and it didn’t work out, but if you can get into a good writing group, that helps a lot.”

Blighted house is auctioned

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WHITMAN — A blighted house at 35 East Ave., vacant for about a decade, now has a new owner and will soon be renovated — and returned to the tax rolls.

The boarded up house, across the street from the rodent-infested house torn down at 36 East Ave., on Nov. 12, 2015, was purchased by James Bowen of Middleborough during a street-side auction on Friday, Oct. 7.

The houses date to about the 1870s.

Minimum bid for the auctioned house was $85,000. Bowen bought it for $103,000 after a short bidding war with another interested party after the price had climbed to $100,000.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam reported to Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 11 that the cost of sale — for the auctioneer and advertising — was $4,500. The town nets more than $99,000 and, even after the $86,897 in total carrying costs for the property while it stood vacant, the town “comes out on this property as whole as we would have” if it had never been vacant.

Bowen operates rental properties, mostly in Brockton and Lakeville, Middleborough and Avon. This is the first of some 40 projects he’s done that will be in Whitman. He used to work for Shadley Brothers on Day Street, however, so he knows something about the town.

He plans to put on a new roof to weatherproof it within the next few weeks.

“I like old houses,” he said of his plans to renovate instead of tearing it down. “I just did one over from the 1880s so I know the old houses and it seemed like a good investment.”

Auctioneer Samantha Saperstein of the Paul Saperstein Co. of Holbrook began the bidding at 11 a.m., asking if all qualified bidders had registered and if there were any questions. As a town sale, and not a foreclosure, she was not required to read a legal notice before opening the bidding.

One person asked if any taxes were due on the property.

“We’re not seeking taxes, we just want to sell it,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam. “You start getting taxed the day you own the property.”

He and Building Inspector Bob Curran represented the town at the auction.

“This is a big step,” Curran said, noting the rest of East Avenue is a beautiful neighborhood. “This was the worst part of it.”

“Whatever you bid here today is what you close at closing,” Saperstein said. “A few of you have asked about two-family housing … If you go to just rehab it, as it is, you can do what you want with it — if you have the proper permits. If you tear it down, I believe you’ll have to go in front of the zoning board [ZBA] and get the proper permits to do a two-family home.”

The property had not been a legal multi-family home in the past.

“[Paul] Saperstein is a preeminent auction house,” Lynam said.

A neighborhood resident, who has lived on the street for 71 years said it was good to see something done with the problem properties.

“It was sad to see that one go,” she said gesturing to the vacant lot where the 36 East Ave. house stood. “This one — I don’t know how old it is, but it was certainly here when I moved on the street.”

Greasing government wheels

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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.”

Schools reassure parents on student safety

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Reports of “scary clown” sightings at some Massachusetts school districts has prompted Whitman-Hanson Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner and Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Support Services Patrick Dillon to assure the school community that safety is a priority.

“There has been a national trend of clown sightings designed to create disruption in the community and within school districts,” the district’s statement reads. “WHRSD has not experienced such a disruption, however, neighboring communities have. We continue to monitor such events and will work with Whitman and Hanson police departments to prosecute individuals for their actions leading to any disruption of school assembly.”

Gilbert-Whitner and Dillon assure students, parents and the community that all events that threaten the safety and security of students, staff, and W-H campuses become top priorities and are addressed immediately.
“The Whitman Hanson School District as well as the Whitman and Hanson Police Departments appreciate the community’s continued support in keeping students and staff safe,” they said.

 

 

Water union contract Ok’d

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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.

Register to vote by Oct. 19

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With the presidential election a little more than a month away, voters are reminded of some important dates.

The deadline for registering to vote in the Tuesday, Nov. 8 election is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Early voting begins on Monday, Oct. 24, concluding on Friday, Nov. 4.

“Registered voters do not need an excuse or reason to vote early,” said Hanson Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan. “The first step is making sure you are registered.”

Sloan is ready for early voting, having set up four voting booths — two handicapped accessible — behind the counter in her office. In Whitman, the early voting booths are now on display in the corridor outside the Town Clerk’s office, but will be moved into the auditorium by Oct. 24.

Absentee voting will also be conducted as usual for the Nov. 8 Election Day.

“Anyone who is 18 on or before Nov. 8 can vote, but must register by Oct. 19,” Whitman Town Clerk Dawn Varley said. “A lot of the young kids think they can’t vote because the deadline is Oct. 19.”

Whitman early voting hours [Oct. 24 to Nov. 4] are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and special hours on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The application deadline for early voting by mail is noon on Friday, Nov. 4. The Whitman Town Clerk’s office will be closed to all non-election business on Nov. 8.

In Hanson, early voting is available during business hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Friday, 8 a.m. to noon.  Registered voters also have the option to request an early voting ballot through the mail. Simply fill out an application and mail it to Town Clerk, 542 Liberty Street Hanson, MA 02341.

Former Gov. Deval Patrick signed the election reform law on May 22, 2014 to allow early voting in state biennial elections, starting 11 business days before an election and ending two business days before Election Day.

The election reform law also permits early registration for 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, although they would not be permitted to cast ballots until age 18. For more information on registering to vote or to obtain an early voting by mail application, visit the Secretary of State’s website at sec.state.ma.us.

The law also requires the state to audit 3 percent of precincts during presidential election years to make sure voting machines are working correctly. It establishes a task force to pin down the cost and administrative requirements of the early voting provision and examine other voting issues such as same-day voter registration.

A Republican-backed provision for voter ID cards was rejected by lawmakers.

Making plans

Expecting a 75-percent turnout for the presidential election, Varley has asked for, and received, Whitman Selectmen’s support for safety procedures she plans to institute at Town Hall on that date. The measures have been used before in high-turnout elections and center on restricting parking and charitable solicitations.

Town Hall employees and election workers will be required to park at the police station on Election Day to free up Town Hall parking for voters. Employees and election workers will be shuttled to Town Hall. Parking along South Avenue from Day Street to the center of town will be limited to a half-hour on a temporary basis.

The 150-foot “no electioneering” rule around Town Hall will be enforced, including fundraising efforts by Dollars for Scholars and other groups.

Voters have also been receiving the “Massachusetts Information for Voters” booklet on the 2016 Ballot Questions from the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin.

Voters’ guide

The 29-page, newsprint booklet provides the text and summaries of the four questions, an explanation of what yes and no votes will do, a statement of fiscal consequences, and arguments from representatives on both sides of each issue.

A clip-out voter checklist is printed on the back cover for voters to use to note how they intend to vote as a pocket reference to take with them to the polls.

Question 1 refers to expanded slot-machine gaming; Question 2 asks whether charter schools should be expanded in the state; Question 3 refers to the conditions in which farm animals are raised and Question 4 involves whether marijuana should be legalized, regulated and taxed.

The booklet is mailed to residential addresses of registered voters, group quarters and convenient public locations throughout the state. To obtain a copy, call Galvin’s Elections Division at 617-727-2828 or 1-800-VOTE (8683) or the Citizen Information Service at 617-727-7030.

SSVT aims to require more co-op work

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HANOVER — South Shore Vocational Technical High School wants to get more students out to work — whether through co-operative employment, after-school jobs or unpaid internships.

“It almost seems like it’s unnecessary to say that,” Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey told the SSVT Regional School Committee Wednesday, Sept. 21 about his opening-day talks with faculty, staff and junior and senior students. “But, what I was specifically referring to in terms of staff was … the importance of talking up to students the ability to spend some part of their experience here outside this building.”

One of Hickey’s evaluation goals for the year is to increase such work projects by 10 percent. He also asked School Committee members to formulate a plan for some form of graduation requirement eventually mandating “some sliver of their time” in an external work environment.

“If they don’t have a car, we can help them,” he said of school day co-op positions. “If they need help with job placement, we can help them, and we’re sending the same message to students.”

Other goals Hickey outlined for the year are: professional learning communities to support teachers with weekly meetings on educational issues; action plans to reach state accountability goals for student achievement; that 100 percent of eligible students pass a third-party industry, OSHA or shop-specific test; and proper administration of the educator evaluation framework.

Whitman School Committee member Daniel Salvucci suggested an informational cable TV program on the work students can do — and have done  — in work environments and in-school municipal projects. The shows could be made available for broadcast in all member towns.

“A key thing for making this work is to have employer partners,” Hickey agreed. “We’re open to any relationship at all they want to have. They may not have a job for a student, but they may come in to give a presentation.”

Municipal projects

Assistant Principal Mark Aubrey said students have also been working on projects involving the rewiring of the Stetson House next to Hanover Town Hall, repairing an ice machine for the Scituate Knights of Columbus, printing projects for Rockland town officials and Veterans’ Council, and will be refurbishing a bike rack for the Scituate Library and metal display platforms for the Whitman Public Library.

At the end of the 2015-16 school year, the metal fabrication shop  designed and built a smoker for two Hanover police officers, who went on to win first prize at a regional contest between police and fire personnel.

“It has our name on it [so] we got a lot of good publicity out of it,” Aubrey said, noting contest participants were impressed with the smoker’s design and workmanship.

Hickey added that Hanson Veteran’s Agent Bob Arsenault has also asked that the school’s auto body shop help with the sand-blasting and re-painting of markers for the town’s memorial squares.

“I recently sent a letter to all of our town administrators, acting as a refresher, reminding them that we value municipal work and collaboration on projects,” he said. “The real-world curriculum serves our towns — everybody wins.”

Community goals

Students are already moving ahead with their own goal to become more involved with the community, even as School Committee Chairman Robert Molla reminded Student Advisory Council representative Jacob Cormier of Hanover that the committee wanted to see a detailed list of projects.

Nine members of the Student Advisory Council have already volunteered at the Special Olympics in Randolph, they are working on the annual Haunted Hallway project planned for Oct. 29 in the school cafeteria (476 Webster St., Hanover), a powder-puff football game and a possible future service trip to help repair homes destroyed in natural disasters in Louisiana.

The Haunted Hallway project will feature activities geared toward elementary school-aged children and is always popular.

Molla also asked the council to take on a “face lift” for the 50-year-old Viking mascot or T-shirts to promote the school.

New tobacco regs in works

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WHITMAN — As part of the Board of Health’s new Sale of Tobacco Products regulations, now in the process of being finalized, Walgreens is being advised they will no longer be permitted to sell tobacco products in Whitman.

The company was advised by letter on Sept. 20 of the regulations’ paragraph N, which prohibits the sale of tobacco products in healthcare institutions.

Some town officials, including a selectman as well as Town Administrator Frank Lynam, have expressed concern over the impact the paragraph might have on the business climate. Section 9 of paragraph N would also limit the number of tobacco product sales permits.

“I would guess that ties in with the number of licenses,” Lynam said. “By eliminating Walgreens as a distributor of tobacco products, they’ve cut down one of the licenses.”

Lynam said that license would likely not be issued to another store.

Health Board Chairman Eric Joubert said that is not the intent, and stressed the board has held hearings at which local store owners have testified about possible impact to their business.

“The letter essentially says if you’re in the health care industry you shouldn’t be selling cigarettes,” Lynam said. “That’s an interesting concept — that it’s up to us to tell people how to run their business. My only concern is we’re here trying to tell business we want them to come to town, we need their ability to create jobs and generate tax revenue and then we turn around and say, ‘but we don’t want you doing things that we might consider offensive’ and how is that being positive to a business environment?”

Joubert disagreed.

“This is not in anyway and attempt to reduce the number of licenses that are out there at the current time,” Joubert said of the regulations set to go into effect Oct. 31, 2016.

According to approved and signed minutes from Aug. 9 and 30, the board has agreed to remove a section restricting the sale and governing the pricing of single cigars was stricken from the regulations.

“The board received concerns from the retailers in the town of Whitman,” Joubert said. “The board allowed the retailers to express their concerns and reevaluated the areas that they felt were unfair or created  an undue burden on their business. … After our meeting with the retailers I think everybody felt comfortable with the outcome and we will all continue to work together to do what’s in the best interest of the town of Whitman and tobacco use reduction.”

According to draft minutes from the board’s Sept. 13 meeting, the board is seeking answers to “more questions for [Mass. Association of Boards of Health] MAHB lawyer Cheryl Sbarra” regarding the entire section pertaining to Section 9 (sale of tobacco products in healthcare institutions) before finalizing it or setting a number to permitted licenses.

“We are trying to do our research to find out what’s going to best fit the town and retailers,” Joubert said. “We promise that no one will lose their license that is currently licensed in the town of Whitman.  Through attrition the removal of licensure will occur in the event that we decide to proceed with this process.”

Joubert said Monday, via email while away on vacation, that he was not aware of any response from Walgreens, but he said the chain has understood that Walgreens has surrendered their license in other towns nationwide where such regulations have been enacted without issue.

“As far as voluntary surrender of licensure, Duvals was the forerunner years ago (2010 or better), making the decision upon their own to eliminate the sale of a harmful product in a health care sales environment, and have felt no ill effects from their decision,” Joubert said, noting that CVS joined them surrendering their license a year or so back voluntarily. “So, as you can see, the trend has been to eliminate tobacco products in a health care sales environment voluntarily, and the board will continue to seek surrender of licensure as needed.”

Whitman’s regulations also define the products and retailers concerned; sets a minimum age of 21 for purchase; governs sales permits and prohibits sale of blunt wraps or out-of-package sales; prohibits vending machines, non-residential roll-your-own machines or self-service displays; prohibits distribution or redemption of coupons and the sale of tobacco products by educational institutions. Fines are based on a scale, with $100 for first  violations, with higher fines and license suspensions for subsequent violations. Four violations — repeated or egregious violations — shall result in a license hearing to determine if a permit will be revoked.

There are 57 municipalities of varying size in Massachusetts now restricting flavored “other tobacco products” and almost as many with minimum pricing for cigars, according to the Mass. Municipal Association.

Rec inquiry complete: Report not ready to be released, Selectmen say

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen expect to receive Labor Counsel Leo Peloquin’s report on the Camp Kiwanee investigation in the next few days, but may seek legal advice on the proper way to release it during an open session “sometime in October.”

Selectmen Chairman James McGahan made the announcement during the board’s Tuesday, Sept. 27 meeting. While Town Counsel Jay Talerman was present to participate in the special Town Meeting preview, he was not asked about the issue as the Kiwanee probe falls under the category of labor law, according to selectmen.

“As we get the report, we need to figure out what we have in it to be sure there’s nothing sensitive,” McGahan said. “If employees [are mentioned] we may have to redact some information. That will have to be determined by legal counsel.”

He said Selectmen will have to review the report to decide how to release its information.

Town Administrator Michael McCue was absent due to an illness in his family.

Former Recreation Commission Chairman James Hickey asked if those who might be mentioned in the report would be so advised before it was made public.

“I think that they would probably have to get it at the same time that the public gets it,” McGahan said. “But that’s something that we’ll have to figure out with the attorney. Frankly, I’ve never been put in this position before and I’m not clear on what we’re supposed to do for the next step.”

How to release

He indicated the board might have to meet in executive session before the release to determine how it will be done.

Selectman Bruce Young said the report could refer to “multiple individuals” if similar inquiries done in the past was a guide.

In a letter to the editor [see page 12], past Kiwanee Management Committee member Joanne Blauss said the investigation has left her without much hope in the matter.

“We thought it was going to be wrapped up in September and give the public a chance to look at it and talk about it before the Town Meeting,” Blauss said Monday.

“All we were really promised was that the investigation would be done by September,” said Wes Blauss. He said the major concern is regaining recreation programs for Hanson that can take place by-and-large at Camp Kiwanee.

“Weddings were meant to subsidize events at Kiwanee,” he said. “But now there will be no recreation [events] at Kiwanee next year. It’s booked solid.”

Concerns expressed

They said McCue had told them before Tuesday’s meeting that the investigation results would not be revealed at Tuesday’s Selectmen’s meeting.

She and others who have served on the commission had expected a “great reveal” on the findings of the nine-month investigation.

Among the events leading to those hopes being “squashed” were: a selectman’s dismissal of citizen rallies as “those fools in front of Town Hall,” the delay in delivering the promised “even-handed, unbiased report” on the commission and its management of Camp Kiwanee, and the closed-door “interrogation” of a 17-year-old seasonal worker at the camp.

The latter incident resulted in a complaint filed against Town Administrator Michael McCue by resident John Mahoney, who had been asked by the teen employee’s family to accompany him during the interview with Peloquin and McCue. Mahoney was denied access to that meeting.

Case closed

In a letter replying to Mahoney, Magahan wrote that the board had determined that McCue and Peloquin had acted appropriately.

“Consequently, the Board deems this matter closed,” McGahan’s letter dated Sept. 7 read.

Mahoney had charged that two part-time seasonal caretakers at Camp Kiwanee appeared for the Aug. 19 meeting in response to an email request from the Recreation Commission’s administrative assistant, instructing them to “make yourselves available” to meet with McCue at the Needles Lodge office.

“I asked to join them and was refused because, the lawyer told me, ‘it’s confidential, part of the investigation,’” Mahoney wrote in his complaint. While Peloquin represented town officials, Mahoney stated the caretakers “were not afforded the opportunity to have representation, either legal or otherwise.”

The other employee, after his interview told Mahoney the questions centered on a particular wedding about which a complaint had been lodged with the administrative assistant.

“The complaint is that the Town Administrator was not forthcoming about the nature of the meeting, nor that a legal representative would be attending, thus not allowing either employee to arrange for representation,” Mahoney wrote. “It is also a complaint that one of the employees … is an underage minor and should never have been subject to legal questioning without an adult present.”

The investigation is supposed to center on Recreation Commission practices and bookkeeping issues arising after an audit of operations. Wes Blauss said the questions instead have all involved drinking at Camp Kiwanee.

Both the Blausses had a recent meeting with McCue about “getting recreation back to the forefront and he wanted them to continue with plans for the play they had on the calendar, but dates required for rehearsal were largely booked for weddings.

Funding director

The wedding bookings also came up Sept. 27 during the Town Meeting preview when Dave Blauss asked how the town could rely on future bookings to raise enough money to pay a recreation director’s salary after the six-month period to be funded by warrant article 20. He said projections for fiscal 2018 are down, despite being booked solid through July 2017.

“We always know that because people book weddings a year to two years in advance,” Dave Blauss said in response to Young’s question of how that projection could be made. “The board should know what the income is coming in before we fill a position that we may not be able to fund.”

McGahan advised referring the question to McCue, who is now overseeing Kiwanee operations.

Finance Committee Chairman Michael Wojdag cautioned that the $273,000 made at Kiwanee in fiscal 2016, was offset by expenses that came in at $284,000 for that period with the loss offset by taxation.

“One of the purposes of the recreation director is to stimulate more rentals at the camp,” Young argued. “Right now, it’s not being run by a professional. It’s being run by part-timers and an administrative assistant.”

“The place needs to be run like a business,” agreed Selectman Kenny Mitchell. “You put the proper management in there, [and] you could absolutely generate more money for that place. … Me being a business guy, I think you take the risk.”