HANSON – The Select Board on Tuesday, Jan. 31 reviewed the recent strategic planning session held at Camp Kiwanee with consultant Ann Donner of Ann Donner Consulting in West Newton.
A citizen’s survey had been conducted earlier last year to “lay the foundation” for the November session, according to Select Board chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. Donner has also interviewed the Select Board members, department heads and other stakeholders in town to gauge opinions on plan priorities.
“This is not a document, or even an effort that’s set in stone,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “This is a placeholder and then it’s an organic document, going forward. We’re constantly going to be updating this to reflect where we’re at, but we need to start somewhere.”
Donner was brought in to determine where that somewhere would be.
She focused on the key strategic areas developed as part of the November session and a possible framework through which those goals could be achieved through the draft document.
The five areas identified were: public facilities; public programming and recreation; economic development; citizen engagement and town administration.
“These strategic priorities are very reasonable,” Donner said. “This grew from … the citizens’ survey and out of the discussions with the Select Board, with the Department Heads and reflect a synthesis of what can we do in response to the priorities we heard that people value.”
There are high-level initiatives identified for each goal, for example, a five-year matrix for facilities to understand the state of facilities so the Select Board can convene a summit to identify and prioritize public facilities while improving internal and public communications about the projects and the outcomes envisioned.
“For every goal or priority there are stakeholders,” she said. “It’s like asking ourselves who needs to be involved … to make these things happen?”
Resources needed to achieve initiatives in each goal area are also listed.
The Economic Development goal aims to initiate and promote economic development as a way of mitigating tax increases while providing first-class services to Hanson residents.
Increasing traffic through MBTA use was one of the preferred outcomes.
Hanson has also wanted to involve more people in town government by filling volunteer positions and boosting Town Meeting attendance by developing and publicizing a table of board and commission openings, a mentorship program for new members and other suggestions among others.
“The thinking outside the box was really evident in this conversation,” Donner said.
An HR department and retaining town employees are key goals of improving town administration.
A reporting schedule for the rest of the year are designed to keep residents informed and to gauge what is working and what is not working.
“I’m looking at all the great work that has been done and I’m saying we’ve got to get on with it here,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. She said it was the first time in her six-year tenure that she saw a cross-section of town officials and departments gathering to discuss the town’s direction.
“We have made some progress,” she said of the hiring of Capital Strategic Solutions to improve communication with residents through the town website.
“We talk every meeting about tactical things we need to get done – and we get stuff done – but we’ve got to take it to the next level.”
Select Board member Ann Rein said a primary focus should be the table of board and committee vacancies.
Vice Chair Joe Weeks said that, once the town reaches 100-percent filled vacancies for boards and committees, they could look to making them more competitive and diverse in membership.
“Everyone here is on several different committees,” he said. “How do we diversify that and keep [membership] at 100 percent.”
Board member Ed Heal said it should be a line item on board agendas to keep the goals before the Selectmen.
FitzGerald-Kemmett asked Town Administrator Lisa Green to prioritize what she wanted to see as a next step.
Hanson looks at early budget numbers
HANSON – Interim Town Accountant Eric Kinsherf and Town Administrator Lisa Green presented “real preliminary budget numbers” to the Select Board on Tuesday, Jan. 24, while the board said “no thank you to sharing accountant services with Whitman,
“I think we have a good start for this time of the year,” Kinsherf said about the amount of information now available to the acountant’s office.
Green said all departments had submitted their budgets on time but “we don’t have numbers outside of Town Hall to work on,” as Gov. Maura Healey plans to unveil her state budget March 1 and the W-H School District is still dealing with preliminary numbers because of that, too
“We have put together, based on some revenues, a very preliminary initial budget kickoff,” Green said, handing off the presentation to Kinsherf, who termed it “a good footprint to work with,” but noted some information such as real estate taxes is easy to forecast.
Hanson can anticipate $883,000 – 3.4 percent of the levy – in new real estate taxes next year, he said. Of that, the new growth forecast is level with last year at $250,000.
Local receipts were also fairly level, according to Kinsherf.
Based on initial receipts from the new meals tax, he is estimating a $48,000 gain, for the town coffers.
State aid figures will not be available until March.
“The long and short of it, for new revenues, compared to last year, we’re looking at $945,000,” he said.
Budget requests have not been vetted yet, he said, but the biggest preliminary numbers are from the school budget, where a $1 million increase is being estimated.
Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett again asked if any information about local impact revenue from cannabis business Impressed LLC had yet been determined.
“It seems to be taking quite a long time,” she said. “It’s been more than a minute.”
Green said they would be seeing real estate and personal property taxes, but sales tax information would not be available until the business harvests its third crop, having grown two test crops so far.
“It seems we have not been having a robust and ongoing conversation with them,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett, in asking that the company be contacted for more information. “We’ve taken quite a leap of faith in entering into a community host agreement with them and we’ve seen – other than the real estate taxes and the real property, we have not seen the money that we were hoping to see.”
Select Board member Ann Rein advised Green to see if there have been any top-level changes at the company, and she said that she had heard a rumor that they were missing a certification, which was holding everything up.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said the community host agreement requires Impressed LLC to inform the town of such personnel changes, if any had been made, and no mention of test crops had been made, either.
Green said she would contact the company.
FitzGerald-Kemmett also said a lot of new growth given the green light by either the ZBA or zoning inspector had been delayed by materials shortages during the supply chain crisis, and related cost increases, have lately shown signs of activity only to halt.
The board also discussed Whitman interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam’s suggestion that the two towns share an accountant.
“Financially, it looks like it’s a good idea,” Green said. “But after speaking to Eric about it, and looking at how sharing somebody has either benefited us or not … in the past, it may not be the best road to go down, but I’m going to leave that to the board to discuss.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett said she agreed with that reasoning, as well as the prospect of sharing an accountant with a town with which Hanson is in a regional schools agreement – “which, at times, has had some contention and difficult moments” – might not be the best fit.
“I appreciate them reaching out and, for certain services, I certainly would entertain shared services, town accountant is just way too close to home for me,” she said.
Despite the standards of practice and ethics in the accountant profession, FitzGerald-Kemmett said she felt the optics are “not great.”
The board was unanimous in agreement.
“I think we’ve decided we’re looking for someone full-time here,” Weeks said. “It’s a good Plan B if we ever needed it.”
“[We] would like to thank our brethren in Whitman for thinking of us and for reaching out and … no thank you,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, noting that former accountant Todd Hassett had urged the town to hire a full-time, in-house accountant. She also note that, no matter how well-intentioned such a partnership is, it is difficult to get an even 50/50 split of services.
Vets’ agent, senior center make impact
HANSON – With the federal PACT Act going into effect this month, veterans service officers are already seeing an increase in the need for their services, and it’s making Hanson reconsider sharing a part-time VSO with another community.
The PACT Act is a new federal law that expands VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances, adding to the list of health conditions that are presumed to have been are caused by exposure to these substances.
Town Administrator Lisa Green also recommended making Hanson’s VSO a full-time position, paying $55,000 to $60,000, with benefits, for 32 hours per week of work. The Select Board voted unanimously to support the move.
Green reported to the Select Board on Tuesday, Jan. 31, on the pros and cons of shared services officer in the wake of current VSO Timothy White announcing his departure to take a full-time position in another community.The board had voted to accept with regret White’s resignation when Green announced it last week. He has been a part-time agent in Hanson and is taking a full-time position as veterans’ agent in a neighboring town.
“We’re losing a part-time, wonderful, talented, dedicated veterans’ officer to a full-time position,” Green said Jan. 24. White has agreed to stay on while the town vets the process and would be willing to train a new agent.
Hanover had expressed interest in shared veterans services with Hanson, with Hanover funding the position benefits.
Green said, in talking with Hanover officials, there were more cons to the arrangement than she anticipated – difficulty in transportation for Hanson veterans if the agent were located in Hanover and conflicts in ceremony and parade schedules, among them – suggesting that the town consider making the position in Hanson a full-time one.
PACT Act
Key among the considerations for that move has been the added services for veterans included in the new PACT Act provisions, which is not only opening new benefits for Vietnam-era veterans, but Gulf War and Post-9/11 veterans, as well as the geography of where veterans served when they were exposed.
“The word is spreading,” White said. “More than half my work is PACT Act or visitation.”
He said a veteran who may have passed away of cancer or another connected illness years ago, the surviving spouse is now eligible for assistance through the legislation, so long as they have not remarried.
“That’s the workload that people don’t know, and the word needs to spread more and more [of] the importance of outreach, if you decide to go in a full-time mode,” White said. “There’s [also] tons of surviving spouses out there that are out there that may, quite possibly be eligible for VA compensation.”
Memorial Day parade schedules are also difficult without angering “multiple American Legions, VFWs, DAVs” when more than one event takes place at the same time.
“All of the people who show up, care deeply,” he said.
White has put in more that the two-days a week he is scheduled to serve Hanson in his shared role with Rockland.
“As veterans’ agent, everything I do brings back money to the town,” he added, through VA claims that aid veteran’s bank accounts, to benefits that come back to the town through state aid programs.
The part-time salary for the position is $31,998, according to Green, citing the FY 2023 budget. In fiscal ’24, it is $32,637. A full-time salary range from $56,100 to $73,358 in surrounding South Shore communities.
“Talking with Eric today, my thought was if we offered a 32-hour a week position at $55,000 per year, that might be enough to entice someone to join us as a veterans’ service officer,” Green said of accountant Eric Kinsherf. “We can actually use some ARPA money to supplement the budget for the next two years.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett also said housing the Hanson VSO in another town was a “no-go” for her, as well, but she cautioned about one-time ARPA funds to pay for recurring expenses like salaries. Interim Town Accountant Eric Kinsherf said $25,000 to fund the post was something that could be funded in the budget, especially if the VSO is effective in bringing funds to the town.
“The way I look at it, would be a bridge to build it in the budget,” he said. By the third year cannabis tax funds can be used to help the cost and a good VSO can also the town will ensure state and federal revenues will be obtained as well. Meals taxes could also be a funding source.
“This is important,” Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said, noting the difference the PACT Act has made in her own family. Her father died of cancer caused by Agent Orange exposure.
“I will tell you, the fact that he applied for [VA] benefits has made a tremendous difference in my mother’s life,” she said.
White said the $55,000 Hanson is offering is competitive. He said a lot depends on the candidate, saying for example, as a Coast Guard veteran he does not take benefits from the town.
White said some veterans he is assisting now has held off seeking benefits for years.
“These type of human services, supports and resources that we have – I like the way, in talking about this, you put revenue as dead last,” Select Board Vice Chair Joe Weeks said. “It’s about quality of life, it’s about people. It’s about people that have contributed to society in some way, either through the elder affairs office or … the services that you do. We already know it’s a full-time job, just in people coming to you.”
Weeks said a bigger impact would be to go find people that do not know about services for which they may be eligible.
White said Council on Aging Director Mary Collins, provides equally vital services. She has saved 104 in-person and 17 over-the-phone applicants $45,077.66 in supplemental Medicare insurance costs during open enrollment this fall. During the rest of the year, she has counseled an additional 171 residents as they contemplate retirement.
“We very strongly encourage our seniors to seek out a SHINE counselor each year … even if we think things are going well,” she said. “We want to try and get the most bang for their buck.”
She has also seen 22 new fuel assistance applicants this year.
Senior Center
In her update to the board, Collins said the new Outreach Coordinator Linda Mulrey is “the perfect fit” for the position helping with fuel assistance applications, and she will be taking SHINE counseling training, along with two volunteers, to help with health insurance applications next year.
Families may be eligible for fuel assistance without realizing it, she said, with an application deadline at the end of April. Applications may be completed online or in-person. Last year the deadline was extended, and Collins said federal officials quite often add funds to the program.
“It’s been a really tough year for people,” she said regarding fuel assistance. “They are really struggling.”
To obtain fuel assistance, salary requirements are up to – $42,411 for a single applicant; $55,461 for a family of two; $68,511 for a family of three; $81,561 for a family of four and $94,610 for a family of five.
She also urged elders to stop by to peruse food donations, which are often given by stores like Shaw’s as well as charitable groups.
South Shore Elder Mental Health Consortium through a grant, will offer mental health counseling and classes for seniors by Bridgewater State University second-year masters-level social work students at the center in the fall.
“This is something that, sadly, very few senior centers can afford to provide, but is very, very necessary,” she said.
She also thanked local groups such as South Shore Tech, Hanson Community Christmas, the Hanson AKTION Club, the Senior Center Friends Group and the volunteers and staff at the Senior Center for all they have done to support the town’s elders.
“You are amazing and we always feel grateful to have you in this role,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
“Mary talks about other people,” Select Board Member Jim Hickey said. “She would never say the stuff that she does. She’s just an amazing woman.”
Hanson board grounds wandering dog
HANSON – Jet will have to come in for a landing.
The Select Board on Tuesday, Jan. 24 conducted a nuisance or dangerous dog hearing on a following complaint by Charles Williams of 115 Leon Court against a dog named Jet owned by David Leighton of 73 Leon Court. Jet has allegedly been out of its yard on two occasions – Jan. 9 and 11.
Town Administrator Lisa Green said she had received two videos purporting to be of the same dog being out of its yard.
Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald Kemmett said Leighton’s other dog Scout, had been the subject of a previous dog hearing, stressing this complaint was on a different animal named Jet.
“We have not had a discussion or met about this particular dog,” she said. Leighton was asked to work with the animal control officer on ways to control Jet, including walking the animal on a leash while the other dog is on a tether, and he will shore up his fence.
“I mean this in the nicest way possible,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We don’t want to see you again. We want harmony to reign on Leon Court and you can do your part.”
Leighton said he has been having a problem getting his mail, or he would have acknowledged receiving a first notice about the situation.
Green emphasized that the town has received no information about the dog in this case being threatening or dangerous.
One video shows Williams following the dog to record the situation when it barked at him, but Green said that, under state law, a dog cannot be considered a nuisance just because it is barking or growling, reacting to another animal or a person in a manner “grossly out of proportion” to the circumstances. A dog’s breed cannot be used as a reason to declare it a danger or nuisance.
The board is empowered to determine whether the dog is a danger or a nuisance. There has been no evidence or complaint that the dog is dangerous.
Watching the videos, Select Board members said they did not perceive the dog behaving in an aggressive manner.
Animal Control Officer Joseph Kenney said the dog has not been aggressive or threatening to him, nor has he received reports of it behaving in such a manner to anyone else.
“I get both sides,” he said, noting how he could see someone nervous around dogs being fearful.
Kenney said there had been construction going on at the Leighton property on Jan. 9, which could explain the dog getting out.
“I’m going to blame my kids on this one,” Leighton said adding that when he puts Scout outside on a tether, as he had been directed to do at a previous hearing, bringing Jet with him and taking them both in the house at once. He said he will discuss the seriousness of the situation with his kids, who are in their 20s.
“The kids don’t do that,” he said, so the dog wanders around to the front door, and that may be why Jet ended up in the William’s yard.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said William may be concerned about the safety and fears of his children.
“I’m going to bring him out,” Leighton said about controlling his dog. “I told the kids, ‘Don’t even bother bringing the dogs out, I’ll take care of it.’ This is the last thing in the world I need or want.”
He suggested the complaint was personal.
“I think it’s vindictive and it’s petty,” he said.
“To me, it seems like a powder keg ready to go off,” FitzGerald said, asking Kenney for his recommendation.
He recommended requiring Leighton use a lead to walk the dogs and a six-foot tall fence to keep the dogs in the yard as well as tethering.
Leighton said he doesn’t have the room to put both dogs on a tether, but will continue walking Jet on a lead while Scout is tethered.
“It’ll never happen,” Leighton said, noting he only has one tree. He later apologized for stating it that way when some Select Board members said the phrase could be taken as dismissive.
Select Board Vice Chair Joe Weeks asked how the board could ensure that the dogs are not the subject of complaints, requiring them to call Leighton or his adult children before the board again.
Kenney said the only way anything could come of the case outside regular leash laws would be to deem the animal dangerous or a nuicance, at which time different standards kick in.
“We could be gerbils on this wheel forever,” FitzGerald Kemmett. Member Ann Rein said she didn’t mind holding more hearing if they became necessary so long as the dogs and people involved are safe.
“But, us as gerbils, each time it happens, we’re not spending so much time on it, because we know,” Select Board member Jim Hickey said. “It’s your dog, you’re responsible for it. …Don’t blame your kids.”
Weeks said he was concerned with containing the issue before the board, recognizing the stress on both sides of the situation.
Whitman eyes use for Carlton property
WHITMAN – Plans are being considered for the sale of the Whitman portion of land for development into a youth sports training center.
Select MA company representatives Matt Monroe and Steve McAuliffe presented their proposal regarding the Camp Alice Carlton land on Route 58, of which the town has been the holder and owner since the late 1980s.
Interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam said seven acres of the land are in Whitman and about 25 more are in Rockland.
“It’s essentially open space right now,” he said.
Select MA is a sports company that teaches soccer and manages ballfields, and are interested in having access to some of the Alice Carlton land, either through long-term lease or purchase, according to Lynam, who invited them to present their proposal to the Select Board on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
The plan already encompasses most of the Rockland property. The Hingham-based company is a club sports organization with 1,000 members.
Currently they have to go to Weymouth and Rentfield for the outdoor————- space they need.
“We’re kind of at an inflection point with our program,” Monroe said. “We identified this land that would suit our needs and … we had talked about plans [with Lynam] to initially put in full-sized fields.”
He said the company would like to use the facility for training its own members as well as donating time of field use to the towns for recreation departments.
“I think you guys downplay a little bit just how established your company is,” Select Board Chair Randy LaMattina said. “We are well aware.”
LaMattina said his family has several friends who have daughters who have gone through the soccer program.
“I think this is a fantastic opportunity for the town and, hopefully, for you guys, if there’s a partnership,” he said. “I see great advantage for the town in that partnership.
Hours of operation are currently through 8 p.m., and there are a limited number of abutters in the area, Lynam said.
The next phase is to evaluate the land and open a discussion on the plans and the company’s intent, which the board vote to support.
In other business, the board approved with regret, the rescinding of the common victualler’s license held by Waikiki House restaurant after the eatery’s owners announced their retirement and closing of the business.
Select Board vice chair Dan Salvucci noted the restaurant had been in business for about 40 years, and thanked them for doing business in Whitman, and wished them a happy retirement.
“I can remember us having twins and the young lady that worked there and owned it, she and her husband had twins,” he said. “I remember their two boys riding around the parking lot on their bicycles.”
2/3 School Committee vote discussed
WHITMAN – A suggestion made during the Monday, Jan. 9 WHRSD Regional Agreement Committee that all School Committee votes require a two-thirds vote to carry, was greeted with concern by Whitman Selectmen at their Tuesday, Jan. 24 meeting.
Right now, only budget certification needs a two-thirds vote to pass.
Whitman representative to the Regional Agreement Committee, Select Board member Justin Evans reported on the two meetings held on Jan. 9 and 23. The vote issue was discussed on Jan. 9.
Evans said the voting threshold was the only issue on that agenda that delved into deep discussion.
Hanson Select Board member and Regional Agreement Committee representative Jim Hickey said that is why he felt that a two-thirds vote on any kind of vote taken by the School Committee would make would be the easiest way to solve the problem.
“On anything that the School Committee would actually vote for, you’d need seven out of 10,” he said on Jan. 9. “If the School Committee is doing their job, there’s never a tie vote.”
Evans told his board that the expectation was that Hanson would seek reconfiguration of how many members come from each town, as that approach has been discussed to this point.
“I wanted to get the opinion of this board because I think that will be the biggest area of disagreement when we go back for next Monday’s meeting,” Evans said. “How do we feel about every vote the School Committee takes being at least a two-thirds vote.”
Interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam said that, just like a budget vote. The proposed change would require two-thirds of all members, and not just of those School Committee members present to approve anything.
“It would really be inappropriate to change the number of members from each town,” Lynam said, noting that representation is based on population. “The alternative was a suggestion that there’s some – I would call unfounded concern – that Whitman having six members and Hanson having four members, puts them in a difficult position when issues are controversial, and the interests of a particular town are at hand.”
Lynam said he could only remember one vote, in all his years of dealing with the region, that broke down along town lines, 6-4 and that was the assessment method of dividing costs to the schools.
“The question is, is there enough concern, either on the Whitman side or the Hanson side, that we need to put in some type of circuit-breaker that prevents us from voting along town lines on issues that effect the School Department,” Lynam said.
Evans said he thinks the School Committee members will push back on the proposals as well, because it couldn’t function without seven members.
“I think they’ll push back on that pretty hard,” he said. “They may entertain two-thirds of present members, which would create all kinds of strange scenarios for voting.”
Evans said he is uncertain if he could personally support the proposal but stressed he is the representative to the committee from the Select Board and wanted to get their opinion.
“I don’t even know if they’d reach out to counsel to see if it’s allowable, according to state law,” Evans said.
Select Board Chair Randy LaMattina said he understood Evans’ concern and the nature of compromise, but that the most important vote the School Committee takes every year is the budget and views the issue as “an internal problem.”
“I don’t know if I would argue it,” he said.
“This is a decision that doesn’t effect our hand so much as the School Committee themselves,” Evans said. “I think their opinion matters more than ours, but I wanted to see how we felt.”
Select Board members Dr. Carl Kowalski said he didn’t see any reason to go to a two-thirds vote.
“It doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “Leaving it the way it is, does.”
“For as long as I’ve been involved, Hanson’s had the chair,” Evans said.
“Yes, they have,” Kowalski said.
Evans noted that Regional Agreement Committee members do see the reorganization votes are a time when the two-thirds vote would definitely come into play.
The current agreement stipulates that “in accordance with one man, one vote committee members will be elected by voters in member communities, with each community’s representation apportioned according to population” and adjusted every five years, beginning in 1995.
School Committee Chair Christopher Howard said his interpretation was that the passage pertained to the interim committee and that the proposed agreement kept that unless and until “a shift in the effective populations in the member towns … creates an impermissible disparity, based on the one person, one vote principal, the committee will address the disparity by either adjusting the committee members or weighing the votes.”
A state law governing how regional committees can form their membership through one of five ways:
Electing committee members by voters in each town with the number of members apportioned by population;
Electing members through district elections on biennial state election ballots;
Electing members with residency requirements in district elections on biennial state election ballots;
Weighing the votes of committee members according to the population they represent; or
Appointing committee members by locally elected officials such as school board members.
Howard said issues that had been difficult to surmount in past years because “we couldn’t get a two-thirds vote.”
School Committee Vice Chair Christopher Scriven noted that, while it may not always be right, people tend to vote for their town.
“To me, that’s wrong,” Hickey said. “I think the School Committee, as members has to hold themselves to a higher standard.”
Evans also reported to the Whitman Select Board on Jan. 24 that the Regionalization Committee discussed busing calculations again as well as what capital needs of the schools come under the heading of an “emergency” cost.
Evans said in years when the School Committee has a large balance in excess and deficiency, they could pay for emergency repairs of most kids, but in leaner budget years, even some of the smaller costs will have to be sent to the towns.
“I personally think an emergency cost is an emergency,” LaMattina said. “It is going to impact you going to school the next day, or impact a particular school or classroom.”
“That’s where most of the conversation was,” Evans said.
Select Board Vice Chair Dan Salvucci stressed that he did not want to see repairs delayed until they were big enough to pass along to the town.
“As far as I’m concerned, that is mismanagement of town buildings,” he said.
Evans also said requiring a periodic review of the Regional Agreement was relatively non-controversial.
Kits help police build bridges
WHITMAN — Plympton Police Officer Laicey Ieronimo and The Action Team have assembled sensory kits for local Police Departments, donating some to the Whitman Police Department last week. The kits will be places in all Whitman patrol cruisers for use when needed.
The kits contain various tangible tools (fidgets, pop-its, etc) as well as a card with breathing exercises. For some people, communication isn’t always going to be eye contact, words and speaking.
“We realize that a police officer’s presence can cause higher tension or anxiety just in itself,” Whitman Chief Timothy Hanlon said. “These tools could be a way to promote and allow for communication, but could also de-escalate a situation and show we are here to help. It is our job to connect with everyone in the community, even if sometimes it’s in a different way!”
Thank you to The Action Team, The Plympton Police Department, and to Officer Ieronimo for not only having this great idea but for sharing it with 13 local departments!
Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch said his department has been notified they will be receiving the sensory kits soon.
Miksch said the Action Team has done other projects like this one.
“They’ve put together go-bag its for domestic violence victims so, if they need to go someplace, we have little bags with tooth brushes, diapers and other items they might need,” Miksch said. “They usually take care of us, Halifax, Pembroke and others.”
Miksch’s department has been involved with ways to improve communication for people who communicate differently, such as those with autism.
Whitman Police Deputy Chief Joseph Bombardier said Ieronimo is a recent graduate of the police academy who has been involved with the Action Team since high school.
“They reached out to us and asked us if we would be interested in participating,” Bombardier said. “She’s pretty remarkable. She’s running the Boston Marathon this year to raise money for charity, she’s got a lot going on for her.”
Bombardier agreed with Miksch about the need for different avenues of communication.
“It’s kind of an untapped area,” he said. “A lot of us aren’t really trained or equipped to handle it and I’m glad that people are stepping up and giving us the tools we need to at least, on a basic level, communicate with these people and make them feel comfortable. It’s a good thing for all of us.”
Ieronimo started the Action Team as a community service oganization in 2017, runing nearly 30 events for various charities, including care packages for Boston Childen’s Hospital (theactionteamorganization.com).
“I lead every event and get a lot of support from my hometown of Carver and local police departments,” she said. The sensory kits idea came from a coworker/supervisor when she worked in an elementary school while earning her degree in Occupational Therapy.
“As a police officer, we see people on calls in every capacity and every situation,” she said. “It’s our job to connect and communicate with everyone, even if it’s in a different way for some.”
SST holds budget hearing
HANOVER – The South Shore Tech School Committee held its public hearing on the fiscal 2024 budget, Wednesday, Jab. 18. No members of the public attended to speak at the hearing.“This is a proposed budget, with a 2.25-percent increase,” said Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey. “As you know, with a new governor coming in, we don’t have the ability to project with greater accuracy, town assessment numbers at this time.” Hickey said he would encourage the member towns to consider enrollment trends at the school, but the district truly does not know, based on inflation factor, whether the state will honor the 9.1-percent inflation factor from the third quarter of 2022, or whether they will cap it at 4.5 percent as state law permits. “If you cap funding based on a lower inflation number, there are more costs that are to the local level,” he said. “For now, this is the next step in our process and an opportunity for the public to talk about the budget.” Hickey said the conversation will continue until Feb. 15 when he will ask the committee to certify the budget, which again may have no firm numbers from the state. “It’s very likely that we will have a certified budget, [but] we will get Chapter 70 numbers by March 3, then we will re-evaluate, we will take stock of what numbers we have,” he said. After which the committee members from each town will receive that information. District Treasurer James Coughlin will run the numbers within a day of receiving them on March 1, Hickey said. The School Committee has the right to readdress a certified budget, especially if the numbers are lower that where they are now. “We’re going to be able to project revenues,” he said. Whitman Committee member Dan Salvucci asked what the latest date would be to certify the budget. Hickey said the spending plan must be certified 45 days before the earlies town meeting among member communities – which would be Scituate on April 3. That is why Feb. 15 was chosen as a convenience would be ideal because it is the date of the next scheduled meeting and would meet the district’s budgeting obligation. But March 3 would be too late. “If numbers from the state come in lower than what we are looking at, how will we meet the budget, take it out of the [excess and deficiency] account?” Salvucci asked. Hickey said his recommendation would be to take it out of the capital line included for the bus fleet. “That’s where we would start,” he said. “We would look at where the revenue gap is, and we’ll look at our ESSER 3 funds to help close that gap. But if the assessments to the towns was still significant, then that’s [the bus funds] the first place I would go.” It would likely only force the school district to wait a year to replace its bus fleet, Hickey estimated, and there is some additional transportation funding to use as backfill. “I know the process,” Salvucci said. “I want that understood, that we, as a school board, do not take one-time money to offset the budget.” “One-time money to fund operating expenses is generally not a good practice,” Hickey agreed. Hickey also reported to the committee that the district has forwarded the selection of the firm Left Field to the Massachusetts School Building Authority as owner’s project manager for the expansion/renovation project. The paperwork was being completed to the MSBA review panel can address it at its Feb. 6 meeting. Once MSBA approves a selection, the district could start working with it the next day so the OPM and building committee can begin the process of selecting a design team. The regional agreement review has been approved by the Department of Education’s legal department, said Hickey who said the legal team had no additional concerns. He will soon be seeking a vote from the Committee on proposed changes to the regional agreement. “Although there are several changes – some of which are nice, but not necessary – and we definitely deployed grammar police throughout the whole document, there isn’t a bad comma anywhere to be found,” Hickey said. “The reason we’re doing this is the potential addition of Marshfield.” In other business, Vocational director Keith Boyle was saluted as the school’s staff member of the month. Assistant Principal Sandra Baldner for his skill set, his relationship with students in the program and his deep relationship with the teachers across the building. Boyle began his career in the horticulture program at Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School and joined SST as vocational coordinator in 2018. “He’s credited with managing South Shore Tech with the best cooperative education program we’ve ever seen,” Baldner said. “He’s changed that culture and students are now expected to go out on coop, they don’t just choose to do it – it’s part of the culture of our school.” Boyle is also a successful grant writer. According to Boyle, 96 seniors are participating in the coop program this year – or about 60 percent of the senior class, who have collectively earned more than $374,000 so far on more than 22,000 hours of job training. Juniors become eligible to start coop assignments as of Feb. 6. He also provided the committee with a breakdown of the more than $4 million in grants which he obtained for the school. The most substantial of those was a $2.5 million Skills Capital Lab Modernization Grant. “That grant is specifically earmarked to expand and update equipment in our Culinary Arts department and our carpentry program,” Boyle said. He met with both departments over the summer to create an extensive list of potential equipment and lab renovation ideas. “Once we were awarded the grant, we hit the ground running,” he said. He said meetings have already been held with an architect to plan a new modernized kitchen with a “strong footprint.” The grant’s requirements call for improvements that increase enrollment. Architectural plans for culinary allow for assets like the walk-in freezer to be moved, providing more room in food preparation areas, and allowing more students to participate in the program. [ The percentage of the budget increase was misreported in the Jan. 5 Whitman-Hanson Express. The Express apologizes for the error.]
Hanson talks housing, grants
HANSON – The Select Board heard updates on the MBTA communities program, the licensure of its building inspector and received an update of work being done to overhaul the town website during its Tuesday, Jan. 10 meeting.
Town Planner Antonio DeFrias outlined the states’ alterations to its final guidelines for its MBTA communities program to create multi-unit housing under MGL 40A.
The final guidelines had been issued last August by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and had already revised in October.
Changes include community categories, significant adjustments for small towns with no transit stations, changes to the reasonable size criteria, district location requirements and a multi-family unit capacity tool, DeFrias said. The October revisions included modifications to the definition of an affordable unit, allowing communities to set income limits for affordable units of below 80 percent AMI, allowing communities to require that more than 10 percent of units (but not more than 20 percent) in a project be affordable and create an exception to the 20 percent gap on affordable units.
He said no further amendments are anticipated. The town has applied for a $25,000 technical assistance grant to allow it to engage a consultant, such as the Old Colony Planning Council to help create regulations. The state recently released a press announcement that all communities that had filed for the grant would receive it.
“Massachusetts has one of the highest housing costs in the nation,” DeFrias said, adding that it is ranked as the fourth highest. It is also fourth highest for rental costs on two-bedroom apartments.
“There is this need to create additional housing,” he said. “Hanson is considered a commuter rail town. We have 3,960 housing units as of the 2020 census.”
The town would have to create a zone for a minimum of 750 affordable housing units with a required land area of 50 acres. There is about 500 acres of land within a half-mile radius of a transit station, and the state has determined that Hanson has 218 available acres in which to create a multi-family housing zone.
“They’ve created a tool kit,” DeFrias said, noting he has not yet been able to access it. “But that will help me look at and put a finer point on looking at the town, the 218 acres and the area around the transit station and start plugging in information to get us in compliance with the final regs that need to be in place by the end of 2024.”
Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if there was a downside should the town decide it did not want to comply with the program.
“You lose the ability to apply for grants, such as MassWorks grants,” DeFrias said. But he said the DHCD commissioner made it clear what else might happen.
“Don’t think that’s the only grant you won’t be able to get if you don’t do the housing,” DeFrias said. “If you don’t do it, don’t. Hopefully, you’ll have enough money for any issues you have in your municipality.”
But he also made clear what the state was not saying.
“It’s creating the zoning,” he said. “It’s not saying you have to go out and build the units. It’s just creating an area for these units to be built.”
He filed an action plan, due at the end of this month, with the state back in October and it was approved in November. Hanson is in interim compliance until its due date for district compliance, which is Dec. 31, 2024.
“We have to keep the ball rolling,” he said.
On other business, Town Administrator Lisa Green reported to the Select Board that the town recently received a determination from the state licensing agency that Building Inspector Kerry Glass, who was in the process of receiving certification as building commissioner, but the timeline for courses and exams had not “come together.”
He therefore exceeded the 18-month window the state requires for obtaining certification. Green said the town has appealed that determination, but the state rejected that appeal.
“In that same letter they required our building inspector to resign as building commissioner,” Green said.
Glass would still be able to inspect any construction work being done in town, Green advised the board at FitzGerald-Kemmett’s request. He is still able to interpret Hanson zoning laws and provide guidance to any construction going on in town.
“Building commissioner is just one area, which is occupancy permits, Green said. “Mr. Glass can still be our local building inspector, he will go out and inspect any construction, look over anybody who submits a permit for any kind of a building or construction project … he just cannot sign the occupancy permit.”
The board was asked to accept Glass’ resignation as building commissioner and appoint him as a local inspector, appointing Joseph Stack as the building commissioner for an interim period, until Glass satisfies the state’s requirements for a building commissioner. FitzGerald-Kemmett said Glass has indicated he should complete the requirements by May.
The board voted to accept Glass’ resignation and appoint him as local inspector as well as to appoint Stack as interim building commissioner.
“I’m disappointed that the state did not allow you to continue in your position until … May,” Select Board member Jim Hickey said. “Because I really don’t want to accept your resignation, but I will, to keep you local, but I’m not happy about it.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett and Select Board member Ed Heal agreed with Hickey’s comments.
Web site
Capital Strategic Solutions representatives Blythe Robinson, Nicole Figueiredo and Jennifer Thompson virtually attended the Tuesday, Jan. 10 Select Board meeting to outline a proposed and updated social media policy as well as ways to strengthen internal communications for the town.
Robinson said the town made a sound decision in contracting with 2Revise for the town website.
“These days, people do so much electronically, they want to be able to do things with you electronically,” Robinson said. “Your new website can become more of that.”
She said the first step would be deciding on the appearance of the homepage, followed by building a site map.
“You want to make [using the site] as quick and seamless as possible,” she said. Centralizing social media in one location and highlighting every municipal email address and phone number can allow people searching the site by cell phone able to just click on a number and call a town office.
“When people can do those things more easily, they’re more likely to follow through,” she said. Application forms for committee posts are an example of that.
Content must be in compliance with state laws, including ADA and the aesthetic appearance of the site should be updated.
The firm likes to use a layered approach to social media strategies to allow the town to reach the largest possible audience with their social media.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said much of the recommendations are definitely needed. She and Green also said IT Director Steve Moberg is on board with the proposal.
The start-up costs, which are not to exceed $50,000, do not reflect the ongoing – and much lower – costs of maintaining the site.
“This is a very project-specific contract” Thompson said.
“I get a good feeling about working with you because delivered on coming back with specific things I think all of us are excited to see,” Select Board member Joe Weeks said.
The board voted to enter into the contract for the web site services, contingent on Capital Solutions providing additional information on a firmer project plan for immediate portions of the project – overhauling the town website and permitting posting to social media automatically when website is updated.
Towns get early look at school budget
The school district outlined its preliminary figures for a“reasonable budget” of $60,984,583 during a preliminary budget presentation to officials from both towns on Thursday, Jan. 12. That figure represents a 3 percent increase.
“My goal for tonight is to give both boards, both FinComs, the select boards in Hanson and Whitman an overview of what the regional school district budget looks like,” Superintendent of School Jeffrey Szymaniak said. “This is a preliminary overview that I shared with [the] School Committee Dec. 21, right before the winter break.”
Szymaniak made a presentation before Business Manager John Stanbrook spoke about the financial picture
“This is a level-service budget as presented,” Szymaniak said. “We are not adding any additional staff. We are, in this budget hopefully [reusing] retirement funds to be able to fund staffing positions that are currently in ESSER 2 and ESSER 3.”
ESSER 2 federal Coronavirus grants are expiring and ESSER 3 expire in September 2024.
Budget information, which had not been adjusted since the Dec. 21 meeting, are available on the school district website whrsd.org.
“Again, this is prelim, so we had to make some estimates going forward,” he said. “I also ask both [Select] boards to offer some grace in going forward. As you know, we’ve had some technical issues, dating back to July, and we are knee-deep – neck-deep – in W2s right now, to make sure our employee get their tax documents prior to Jan. 31.”
After Stanbrook completes that, the information will be made available at the Wednesday, Feb. 1 budget meeting. Szymaniak said the school district and committee are also in the process of developing a new five-year strategic plan for the district, which they hope will be approved by the School Committee this June.
Stanbrook said Hanson’s operating assessment is currently calculated at a 7.88 percent increase and Whitman’s at 8.52 percent higher.
District goals for the current budget were tuition-free, all-day kindergarten, one-to-one devices for students, a robust K-eight related arts program and an improved culture and climate in district schools. Szymaniak thanked both communities for supporting all-day kindergarten and making it possible for each student to have a [Chromebook] device on which to learn.
“We were not successful, necessarily, in putting forth a robust K-eight related arts program,” he said. “We’re still in motion on that, with a goal this year to potentially put it into the FY ’24 budget.”
School start times, if changed, and the related arts programs, will have a financial effect on the fiscal 2024 budget, innovation pathways toward early college courses will have no impact on the budget, he said.
The budget currently does not have the funds included to bring back foreign language to the middle school to the extent students would like to see [see related story, opposite].
Improving the culture and climate so that every student has an equitable experience in school, preK-to-age 22, has no financial implications, he said.
Szymaniak said class sizes are “better than they ever have been and students are achieving more than they have in the past,” and credited community support for budgets has meant lower class sizes, giving teachers more one-on-one opportunities to help students since 2010.
Retaining special education students in the district is another goal, as well as support for English language learners.
Enrollment is expected to maintain its current levels – at about 3,440 students – for the foreseeable future.
Salaries and expenses are being calculated to increase about 3 percent – but not across he board, but more to ensure salaries are not underfunded. Hold harmless requirements will increase the required town contributions by 5 percent and the town split for non-mandated busing is estimated at 60.61 for Whitman and 39.39 percent for Hanson.
A major questionmark remains the state’s special education tuition expectations.
Szymaniak said in December, he is looking at what represents or a 4.19-percent increase over the current budget. The district has tried to keep the increase to 3 percent every year in the interest of fairness to the towns, and, if a state-mandated 14 percent increase in special education tuition could be eliminated, the WHRSD budget increase is back to 3 percent, he said.
Whitman Selectman Shawn Kain disagreed on the way the budget is being rolled out.
“We should have a revenue forecast,” he said. “We should come together and come to consensus about what we’re going to do about revenue … and then we should build our budget.”
He said a consensus is missing in the process, which creates tension in the community and between other departments and asked if the school department was looking for an override.
“I don’t know,” said Szymaniak, who stressed the budget is preliminary without state budget information, as well as from the towns. “What I would like to get is the budget forecast from both communities, because that hasn’t been presented to me in two years.”
He said he was targeting a 3 percent increase this year.
Whitman Select Board Chair Randy LaMattina said he respectfully disagreed that the schools had not received town financial forecasts, having provided a fiscal policy three years ago that gave up to a 5 –percent increase to the schools and 2.5 percent to other departments.
“We’ve not moved off that,” he said, noting that Whitman School Committee members have consistently reminded the district about it.
“It’s seems the understanding falls on you, Mr. Szymaniak, because you haven’t gotten it right yet,” he said. “The amount of money you just asked for in this budget is more than the town takes in.”
LaMattina said the purpose for financial forecasting is to enable the town to live with from year to year.
He also asked how many positions were paid for with onetime funds, information Szymaniak said he would have by the Wednesday, Feb. 1 public hearing on the budget.
Whitman Finance Committee member Kathleen Ottina said other town departments have also come in with higher numbers than the town could afford, because this is the preliminary stage of budgeting.
“I think the tone that’s beginning to escalate in this room needs to be ratcheded down,” she said. “We have to start somewhere. … We’re all good people who work very hard to do the right thing for everybody.
Hanson Selectman Jim Hickey the budget picture is similar to the age-old chicken-or-the-egg question.
“You’re waiting to get information from the towns in October 2022 to present something to the district, to the board, to the School Committee in January, but you’re not getting those numbers in October,” he said. “Maybe it’s the towns’ fault … maybe it’s the selectmen’s fault, the town administrator’s fault that we don’t have the numbers projected for you in October to use for us in January.”
He said the process has to start somewhere.
“At some point, we have to start,” he said. “It has to change.”
Whitman Selectman Justin Evans said a lot of progress has been made.
“We’re moving in the right direction, and I do think that, for Whitman, out budget forecast is going to get better every year that Shawn is on the board,” he said. “He’s been pushing us since he was a citizen, attending meetings of he board.”
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