Whitman-Hanson Express

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Hanson receives grant for Fireworks site cleanup

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BOSTON – The Baker-Polito Administration today announced that $80,000 in grants have been awarded to three municipalities and one community group as part of the Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) Program, administered by Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). 

TAG provides funding to enhance citizen participation in assessment and cleanup activities at waste disposal sites in their communities. 

 The town of Hanson will receive up to $20,000 and will use its award to obtain technical expertise to review and summarize recent reports for the local community. The National Fireworks disposal site in Hanover and Hanson where fireworks and pyrotechnics were once made. Contaminants of concern include metals, volatile organic compounds, and semi-volatile organic compounds in in surface water, soil, and sediment. In addition, Munitions and Explosives of Concern and Material Potentially Presenting an Explosive Hazard were identified in two areas in the southern portion of the disposal site.

Spirits of Christmases past

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By Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Special to the Express

In Hanson, where I grew up in the 1950s there was a Rexall drug store on Main Street that was in the center of our small town. 

My best friend, Rose, and I were ten when our mothers started letting us ride our bikes to the drug store on Saturday mornings. With our meager allowances we sometimes got comic books or looked at the rack where all the joke gifts were but our favorite place in the store was the soda fountain, where we sat on the chrome stools with the red leather tops to get an ice cream cone or a sundae. 

The proprietor, a middle-aged man by the name of Ben Koplosky always seemed to walk through the store when kids were there, watching us like an old hawk. I never thought of him as a friendly person. One Saturday after Thanksgiving we saw him setting up a display of clocks make out of wood that looked like miniature grandfather clocks with pendulums that swung back and forth as the hands ticked away. They were hand painted in pretty colors and priced at seven dollars and ninety-nine cents. 

When Rose and I went over to look at them when the display was finished, we were enchanted by them. I found one that I favored and wanted to get it for my mother for Christmas. She worked so hard taking care of us four kids and my baby sister was not yet 2. The price was a bit steep for me but I decided I was going to start saving so I could get it for her.

Every Saturday after that when we went to the drug store I checked to see if the clock I wanted was still there and always picked it up to look at it. I said a prayer every night that it would still be there the next week. 

When the day came that I finally had enough money to buy the clock, I was so excited I rode my bike down by myself a little earlier than usual to pick it up. I rushed into the store to look for my clock. To my dismay there were very few left. I looked and looked and a sinking feeling came over me. I walked all around the display in case my clock had fallen onto the floor or was up behind the display. I stood for a very long time and just looked at that display hoping it would just appear.

Ben the owner came out as I turned to leave. He wasn’t too tall and looked at me over his glasses. I was a bit nervous and wondered if I did something wrong. Out from behind his back he pulled out my clock asking, “Is this what you’re looking for?” I couldn’t believe it, I said, “Yes.” I had never remembered him smiling but he was and said that he put it in a safe place for when I came to pick it up. I was mystified as to how he knew anything but being a kid, I didn’t ask questions. I gave him the money and he gave me a bag to put the clock in.

“Ride slowly and keep it safe now,” he said. I promised him I would and he wished me a Merry Christmas. I said it back to him as I almost ran out of the store with the most inexplicable feeling of joy.

When I Heard Penny Sing

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t was a Sunday night before Christmas in 1962. I was 15 and my sister Penny was 12. We had two younger siblings, David, 9, and Barbara, 6.

We belonged to the Hanson Baptist Church and that night our family was going to a candlelight service that Penny was part of. It was not uncommon for Penny and I to be arguing or fighting over something, most anything would do and me being the older sister Penny just loved getting on my nerves. I didn’t want to go to the service and couldn’t see why they all couldn’t go without me but my mother insisted and I knew if I protested my father would get involved and that would make matters worse so I complied. 

As we were getting ready Penny and I had an argument because she took a pleated wool skirt I planned to wear and didn’t even ask. I was so angry as she always stretched the waistband in my clothes and ruined them for me. I went into her room where she was getting dressed and told her I wanted my skirt back and made a grab for it. She was bigger and taller than I and packed a mighty punch, which she shared often. I pushed her and she fell between the bed and the wall. She kicked me and I knew if I had screamed that would bring dad running and it would be bad for us both. I whispered in a nasty tempered whisper for her to let go of my skirt. She grit her teeth and in a mean whisper told me she had nothing to wear and I had all the good clothes. I did a slow boil and wanted to pull her blonde ponytail but didn’t. I whispered again for her to give me my skirt. She snarled back, put it under her and sat on it. I went to find my mom. 

I tried to be calm and not whine when I told mom what was going on. She said she would take care of it and told me to go to my room. She came in a few minutes later with the skirt and told me to get dressed. Penny had to go out and feed her horse, Lady, before she got ready. She opened the door to my room as she passed by and snarled that I was a no good rotten tattletale. I told her she deserved what she got. To my surprise she didn’t slam the door. 

When we finally were on our way to the church, mom put my little brother and sister between Penny and I in the back seat, for which I was relieved. I noticed Penny wasn’t giving me dirty looks or hissing at me, she just looked out the window and was very quiet during the ride.

Once we were inside the Sanctuary other people came in greeting one another warmly. There was a happy, festive yet peaceful atmosphere with a very special feeling filling the church. White candles were aglow all over the room as we all sat in the cushioned pews. 

As the service started and the choir sang, out walked Penny. She was wearing a white choir robe and her silky blonde hair shone as it fell around her face. Her cheeks were pink and her light green eyes filled with happiness. There was a pause and a hush as the Minister nodded to her. 

She began to sing “Silent Night” in the most beautiful angelic voice I couldn’t believe was coming out of her. It seemed like there was a halo around her head and I reasoned it was the candles behind her that was making it look that way until I realized there were no candles directly behind her. A light seemed to radiate all around her as she sang out to the Congregation.

Much to my surprise tears filled my eyes and my heart swelled with pride. 

In that moment I began to wonder if she behaved the way she did sometimes because she wanted my attention, my approval. Maybe if she had it things might be different between us. The truth, if I was different, things might change for the better.  

When the service was over I ran out to the back of the church where Penny was hanging her choir robe back up in the big closet. I told her I was proud of her and that her singing was beautiful. She said, “really?” I said.

“Yes.”

I smiled at her and said, “you’re not so bad for a sister.’ She pushed me gently in the shoulder saying, ‘You’re not so bad either.”

(Linda Ibbitson Hurd is a Halifax resident who grew up in Hanson and from time to time writes about her childhood memories. She shares these remembrances of Christmases past with our readers. Look for Part 2 next week.)

Should towns share accountants?

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WHITMAN – Could Whitman and Hanson share accounting services?

Interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam asked that question during the Tuesday, Dec. 20 Select Board meeting. The board expressed their willingness to give Lynam authority to explore the issue.

“I would like to look at the possibility of engaging either an accountant or an accounting service – probably, preferably an accountant that could divide his or her time between the towns of Whitman and Hanson and the formula should be relatively easily based on transactional workload,” Lynam said, suggesting a formula could be formulated that is acceptable to both. He stressed that he is not saying the town would hire someone right away.

“All I’m asking for is to see if the board is amenable to my pursuing this a little further in finding out what the level of interest might be in Hanson and whether or not it’s in our mutual interest to do something like this,” Lynam said. “If there isn’t, nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Both towns are currently without an accountant after their accountants – who in both cases, were working one day per week – resigned in Hanson’s case,

[see related story page 1] and accepted a position as treasurer/collector in Whitman.

Whitman is currently contracting with Eric Kinscherf, who had also offered his services to Hanson, but that town is issuing a request for proposals for the work.

Lynam said that, while the arrangement with Kinscherf is working out well, it raised the question of what the town really needs in terms of accounting services.

Whitman is a town of 14,000 people with a budget of $43 million. Hanson has about 9,000 people with a budget of between $31 million and $32 million.

“The logical thought that occurs to me is, ‘Can we team together and take a regional approach to accounting,” Lynam said. “Franklin County Council of Government does that very well.

Hanson’s former accountant Todd Hassett also provided services for several towns, with Hanson being a one-day-a-week service, he noted. Whitman also has had accounting services for one day a week and it has been working.

With today’s technology, he said it is easier to maintain operations and records electronically, which takes a lot of the concern out of it.

Vice Chair Dan Salvucci asked if a larger group of towns would be worth looking into for a regional approach, but was in favor of exploring the idea.

The larger the group, the more demands are going to be placed on a person,” Lynam said about a larger regional effort.

Select Board member Shawn Kain said he felt having someone like former accountant Ken Lytle on staff is a valuable resource for the town and the Select Board, and a new town administrator might want to take a different path.

“I wouldn’t mind doing something like this for short term to get us through a period of time, but I feel like it’s a big decision to make as far as the financial team is concerned,” he said.

Select Board member Justin Evans said it is an interesting thing to explore and went a step further, asking if – since the two towns are already in a region with regard to the schools – there might be precedent for adding accounting services to that mix.

“Boy, what could go wrong with that?” Select Board member Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

“I think that our work load for the two towns vs the region are significant enough that I wouldn’t want to put one service handling all three,” Lynam said.

Meanwhile, Lynam is working to “develop a potential candidate” for the Town Administrator search in the wake of the withdrawals of one of the three finalists before the scheduled interviews at the last meeting.

However, he said he as not in the position to publicly “out” that person because they were not prepared for that at this point.

“But we may have an opportunity in the very near future to address that need,” he said.

Regional agreement

In other business, Evans sought the board’s consensus regarding issues they see are important during the regional agreement as the committee plans to meet next on Jan. 9.

“This is the third go at amending a regional agreement in the last five years or so,” Evans said. “Assuming that all the work we’ve done with MARS (Mass. Association of Regional Schools) and DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) and we use that as kind of a template for where we want to take the new regional agreement – and including the statutory method that we incorporated in 2020 – if we just take that as a framework, I’m looking at any other direction that the board would like to go.”

First on Evans’ list is middle school field leases, but that is further down the agenda and can wait. He also wants to focus on the way busing is handled in the district, especially since there initially wasn’t the financial incentive to discover deficiencies like they did last year.

“If we wrote into the regional agreement [that] non-mandated students wil be bused to school … that puts the effort back on the district to find savings,” he said.

Kowalski agreed that non-mandated busing must be formalized and the whole relationship clarified, including reimbursement questions, in the regional agreement.

Adding up CPA services

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HANSON — With the resignation of Town Accountant Todd Hassett, the Select Board on Tuesday, Dec. 13 voted to contract with an interim town accountant and meet after the New Year to develop a long-term strategy for hiring a new town accountant.

“[Hassett] has been with us for 10 years,” Town Administrator Lisa Green said. “He’s dedicated a lot of his time and expertise to doing well by the town. He is very well respected by all the department heads and all the employees and he really does a fantasic job and I want to reiterate that his service will be greatly missed.”

In the interim, however, Green said the town needs to have coverage and has received a proposal for interim accountant services from CPA Eric Kinscherf. But, based on Select Board concerns over cost and hours, Green prepared a request for proposals that went out this week.

Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said one of the concerns Hassett has spoken of was that while any person seeking the interim post may be competent and well-versed, the town should make sure that the town does not want junior members of an accounting firm working on Hanson’s accounts.

“Our point person who’s going to be the one meeting with our department heads, our person who’s going to be your point of contact and working with our auditors and working with the town treasurer and the assessor and all that stuff, should be him or another senior member who we should have an opportunity to meet,” she said.

The interim accountant would be on-site four hours a week, and would be available by phone or email for any questions that arise.

Select Board member Joe Weeks noted the town would be paying the interim accountant $1,500 per week, the equivalent of $72,000 per year. Plympton pays $64,000 for 25 hours a week, so he asked how many hours a week would Hanson’s interim be working.

“They will work as many hours as they need to make sure the town is being represented and serviced,” Green said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said it is a similar arrangement to the one the town had with Hassett and the dollar amount is also very similar to Hassett’s.

“We’re losing Todd at the end of the month” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We have to have an accountant to be working with people. I don’t think anyone’s suggesting this would turn into long-term, and if it were to turn into long term, we would have a more comprehensive conversation.”

Hassett has said the town needs a town employee in the accountant position.

In other business, the Select Board approved a request from Stalwart Productions to film portions of a film, “Invitation to Bonfire,” at Camp Kiwanee and to use the former Maquan School parking lot for production parking. The tentative date for that filim is currently in mid-January.

The board’s votes were more of a formality, since a contract has been negotiated, but they gave it unanimous support.

 Green said the film company had approached the town for permission to film and introduced assistant location manager Jamie Merz to speak about the request. Camp Kiwanee Facility Manager Roger Means and Deputy Fire Chief Robert O’Brien also attended the Tuesday, Dec. 13 Select Board meeting, as they have attended meetings with the film’s director and production crew to review how the facility will be used and safety requirements.

Green also asked the health agent and Conservation Commission to attend, as fake snow is planned for use during scenes being filmed at the camp.

“I think we want to definitely – and I’m sure guys would  do this – is follow the Boy Scouts’ ‘leave no trace’ motto,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

“I, myself, am an Eagle Scout, so I think I could do that,” Merz said, noting the producers have not yet determined if fake snow would be used.

“You should have led with that,” FitzGerald-Kemmett joked.

“Invitation to a Bonfire,” is part of an AMC show based off a book by the same title.

“We’re looking to film over at Camp Kiwannee for two days,” Merz said. “We’re in our last couple episodes of our series and a majority of our action takes place inside and outside of Frontier Cabin.”

The scene involves two actresses walking toward the cabin, a few conversations inside where one is poisoned.

“And then we are going to simulate burning down the cabin, Merz said. “I assure you, we will not actually be burning down the cabin.”

The majority of the fire work involved in that scene will be done in Brockton, where the production company will construct a replica cabin and burn that down, according to Merz.

There are some “practical effects” that Stalwart Productions wants to do on-site, and they are talking to the Hanson Fire Department about how to do that safely.

There are four key elements to that: installation of fake fireplace in the cabin constructed of a steel box fueled by propane tubes; a curtain from that fireplace going onto a dummy for the fire to trail along; Steel plating on the cabin floor would be used to protect the building from the blazing curtain.

“I’m having a little mini-stroke, but I’m sure you guys are on it,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett as he described the effect process.

Merz assured the board at least three firefighters, a pumper truck and a number of the production company’s special effects personnel would be on hand.

“Pretty much 90 percent of the fire we’re using is propane-based,” with a crew member staffing it, he said. “If anything were to go wrong, they’d just shut it off.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said to Green that she hoped the town has looked into liability insurance and that the town is named in the policy.

Merz said the town is fully covered by a $1 million policy.

Whether or not the film crew needs to use fake snow, he said a white tarp under a snow “snow blanket,” and a cellulose product, such as paper is placed over those. They may also use a spray starch onto the top of those layers to resemble a frosty landscape of snow.

“That just gets rolled up and taken away,” he said. The cellulose is hosed down, noting that the material safety data sheets have been provided to the town.

Conservation Commission Chair Phil Clemons only concern was the particulate size of the cellulose, particularly if it is small enough to become airborne and, thereby dangerous around open flame.

Merz said he would look into it, but said it was more as a background effect.

“Back in the ‘wild West’ days, yeah, people would leave a mess,” Merz said. 

Recreation Chair Frank Milisi said the production company has been very responsive to the town’s concerns and have put down a $5,000 deposit to ensure the site is cleaned up before they leave.

Green said she received an email from Police Chief Mike Miksh about the filming at Kiwanee in which he said he has no issues with the project and looks forward to working with the crew.

Visions of sugarplums …

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GINGERBREAD DREAMS: The Hanson Public Library hosted a pretty sweet Gingerbread House Decorating Workshop on Thursday, Dec. 15! Mandy Roberge, of Wicked Good Henna, provided gingerbread houses and various types of frosting, fondant, and a generous candy buffet to help participants make their own unique creations.                                           Courtesy photos, Hanson Public Library

Whitman green lights three pot stores

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WHITMAN – The Select Board on Tuesday, Dec. 13 to offer host community agreements (HCAs) to three of four applicants —Flower & Soul, Berkeley Botanicals and Stories — affording them the opportunity to move forward with the process of opening a retail recreational cannabis business in town.
All five board members selected Flowers & Soul and Berkely Botanicals and four selected Stories. Mitchell Cannabis Co. was not selected based primarily on the order in which applications came in.
“You can make a decision on the whole,” Town Counsel Peter Sumners said. “The decision should be based on the benefit to the town, weighing the pros and cons of each business.
The criteria were: geographic diversity of businesses coming in, anticipated impacts on the town or surrounding neighborhood where a business would locate; experience of applicants, anticipated tax revenue to the town; apparent ability of an applicant to actually open their business and succeed and the applicants’ social equity status.
No one reason should be the determining factor, and it is not “an exhaustive list,” but examples of pros and cons for the towns that the board should consider, according to Sumners. As a tie-breaker, if there was one, the board should consider the order in which applications were presented, he said.
Before the board’s decision, Sumners also presented amendments to the town’s host community agreement (HCA). While the board had not taken a formal vote on the HCA at previous meetings, it had agreed to move forward by consensus, according to Sumners, who said comments from applicants on how the agreement works in practice led to the changes.
“We’ve taken [the comments] into consideration and made a few minor changes to the form HCA that I’m recommending you use as your final version,” he said.
Those changes are: requiring the HCA to be signed by all the members of the board instead of only the chair with authorization of the board; corrections to some typographical errors; changed an unrealistic requirement that no air be allowed to enter or leave a premises, rather requiring that installation of equipment to filter air entering or exiting a facility to mitigate any odor issues; and clarifying the payment of impact fees to other municipalities.
“The new law requires impact fees to be directly related to impacts in your individual town,” Sumners said. “If another town gets more money from an impact fee than you, that’s not grounds for reopening [negotiations], that’s the terms and conditions of the agreement. You still have to identify the impacts in your own town.”
Sumners said he did not think any of the changes would be objected to by any of the applicants seeking an agreement and did not require a vote on the changes unless the board decided to enter into an agreement with any of the applicants by the end of the meeting.
The board concurred that the agreements would be in the form reflecting those corrections.
“At our last meeting, we heard four presentations from four very qualified applicants,” Chair Randy LaMattina said. “The town Zoning Bylaw only permits up to three recreational retailers. The mission of the board this evening is to determine which of the interested applicants … with whom it wishes to execute a host community agreement.”
Voters at the May 2022, accepted an amendment to the town Zoning Bylaw to allow siting of marijuana businesses within Whitman, with the condition that applicants must execute an HCA with the town. The decision to reach an agreement is at the discretion of the Select Board.
Sumners said the board must have a rational basis for its decision under the standards for accepting any retail marijuana businesses.
“This is a discretionary decision for the board,” he said. “You should have a reason for doing that.” The selection of any applicant over any other should also be based in a reason, he said, noting there is no specific criteria the board has to consider, but there are things the board should not consider, including any personal reasons based on personal relationships or discrimination on any basis toward any protected class.
Each board member went over the applicants they felt met the criteria before a consensus was reached and LaMattina asked for a motion to adopt a new HDA and to execute it with up to three applicants. Ranking of the applicants was permissible, Sumners said.
Shawn Kain pointed to his support of only two of the applicants; Flowers & Soul – because of its location 356 South Ave., in Whitman (operating as SoulFlower), in an area of Whitman identified as one the board wanted to see developed, its layers of a new and professional business and the fact that owner Brian Wall is from Whitman, has a strong financial background and currently owns another retail store in Halifax – Berkely Botanicals – because of the strong industry experience of the owner/mangement team, the location 305 Bedford St., is a good complement to the Regal Shoe building and the research put into their presentation.
“For a lot of reasons Shawn said, I thing Flower & Soul … differentiated their business,” said Justin Evans, of the proposal for three distinct businesses in an area the town wants to develop. He also favored Berkely Botanicals, which “had a great team, great location [and] a lot of experience,” with a good business plan and Stories.
“I really believe in their mission,” he said and cited their great management at security teams. “It also helps that those were, sequentially, the first three teams to apply.”
Vice Chair Dan Salvucci also preferred the Flowers Soul presentation as well as Berkely Botanicals and Stories.
“They’re on three ends of the town, and I think that that would cover the needs of the town in all areas,” Salvucci said.
Dr. Carl Kowalski concurred with the choices of Kain, Evans and Salvucci.
“I live in the neighborhood where Flowers & Soul is going in, and I’m really happy about that,” he said. “I was particularly impressed by the philosophy that Stories described.”
Kowalski noted that his wife had worked in the substance abuse field for nearly 50 years, and the emphasis on their knowledge of the opioid epidemic discussed by Stories affected him.
“I like their philosophy,” he said, adding that Berkely Botanicals also knows what they’re doing. “So does Mitchell Cannabis Co. All four of the applicants are qualified to have a position here.”
Kowalski leaned on the order in which the businesses applied to make his final decision for Flowers & Soul, Stories and Berkely Botanicals.
“When I thought about it, it was all about impact for me community and financial,” LaMattina said he said in support of Flowers & Soul. “Growing up in the east end, I worried about what happens to that building down there, and I think the development and the investment in that piece of property is absolutely outstanding.”
He also echoed Kowalski’s concerns about the opioid issue in preferring the medical aspect of Stories’ business plan at 769 Bedford St..
“I do want to thank everyone who applied and has an interest in this town,” he said before announcing his third choice. “My decision, again goes back to impact, community and financial. I would rather keep this in a commercial area, not so much between homes. For that, I would go with Berkely Botanicals.”

Whitman TA pick delayed

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WHITMAN – It’s going to take a bit longer to find a new town administrator.
The Select Board had planned to interview its three finalists on Tuesday, Dec. 13, but with the withdrawal of one candidate the process has been delayed, Chair Randy LaMattina announced.
“Our candidate list kind of dwindled by one today,” he said. “Obviously, I set the agenda, and felt the board had made a commitment to bring three candidates to the board for final interviews. Not having three [now], I’ve decided to put it off – probably to send it back to the search committee to find another qualified candidate and then return it back to the board at a later date.”
If thar list of finalists gave you a case of déjà vu, there was a reason for that. Two of them were familiar faces to the area – former Hanson Town Administrator Ron San Angelo and former Whitman Assistant Town Administrator Greg Enos were among the three finalists slated to be interviewed by the full Select Board on Tuesday. David J. Marciello, a municipal and land use attorney who had served as town manager in Millbury and Lunenburg as well as a town administrator in Rehoboth.
However, Enos withdrew his name Tuesday.
San Angelo has also served as town manager for Southbridge and his hometown of Naugatuck, Conn. Enos has been Avon town administrator and a human resources director in Ashland.
And there was other sadly surprising news for LaMattina to relate before the meeting got underway.
“The board found out recently that a very active member of our community, Marie Lailer, had tragically passed away suddenly while on vacation with her husband Ken,” LaMattina said, in dedicating the meeting’s moment of silence to Mrs. Lailer. [See obituary, page 5].
“Marie was super active in this town,” he said. “She moved to Whitman in 1977 [and] devoted her life to public safety as a nurse for close to 32 years.”
Marie Lailer was chair of the Whitman Historical Commission and president of the Dyer Memorial Library Trust. She was also active in Whitman’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
Fire Chief Timothy Clancy also lauded Mrs. Lailer.
“Marie and Ken have been long-time members, and key components of the success of the Whitman CERT team,” Clancy said. “They came as a team, they were always willing to come on a moment’s notice. They were key to the success of the team, whether it was on the scene of an emergency or a vital operation of our town emergency center.”
In addition to nursing, she also worked in emergency medical services … and impacted many people.
“One of which, as an 18-year-old EMT student at South Shore Hospital 31 years ago, she left a lasting impression on me,” Clancy said. “I’d like to thank her for her service and dedication to the town of Whitman and may we keep the Lailer family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

Whitman Middle grade levels discussed

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The School Committee was updated, on Wednesday, Dec. 7 about discussions within the Whitman Middle School Building Committee to reconfigure the school from a grade six to eight to a grade five through eight school.
“We’re in the meat of those discussions right now,” Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said about talks concerning whose decision that will be, how a decision would be made and other details. “However, I think it’s imperative that the school committee has an idea of why the leadership team wants to move to a five through eight [school].”
Parents have already been communicated with on the issue, but it seems apparent that the School Committee chair will have to sign off on any change in grade configuration. While it is not yet known whether the School Committee would also have to approve it, Szymaniak said a joint meeting between the School Committee and Building Committee is being planned.
“For this project to be successful in our community, the School Building Committee and the School Committee should be parallel,” he said. “We should have the same thoughts and understand the same limitations per se that might be impeding that process.”
Not only would a grade configuration adjustment mean a school culture and education change, but there would be a cost-factor involved increasing the price tag of the project, Szymaniak said.
Another potential cost-factor is the discussion surrounding whether to include an auditorium in the building. The district supports it because it gives students the same experience as students at Hanson Middle School, which has an auditorium. On the other hand, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) does not reimburse for an auditorium.
“That’s strict cost to the town,” he said. “We will present information about why we think it’s important for our students to have that opportunity and our architects and OPM, through discussion with the building committee are also discussing why an auditorium might benefit the community as a whole.”
Szymaniak said that what is known is that the renovation/expansion plan is “very expensive” and would take longer than a new building.
The new school is also being planned as a three-story building, which permits different grade configurations.
Szymaniak is surveying parents of the preschool, Conley, Duval and the middle school to solicit their comments about the new school and a potential grade reconfiguration and auditorium.
Assistant Superintendent George Ferro, who has worked in middle schools for his entire career, before he became assistant superintendent, briefed the committee on the effects of various grade configurations.
“[Grades] five to eight is the spot where you can capture and do the most good for an adolescent,” Ferro said of the students who are ages 10 to 14 in those grades. “With the rise of social media and things of that nature, it’s really grade five [that’s] more aligned with a middle school setting.”
Ages 10 to 14 in the same building give students the chance to come to grips with themselves and social interactions so they can advance to high school with not only increased academic knowledge, but also in what it is likely to be a knowledgeable respectful young adult able to work together, think critically and take on new experiences that high school brings.
“We’re cautious,” Szymaniak said about a building with fifth to eighth-graders in it. “But we can design a program, like we’ve designed in Hanson, to keep them pretty separate, except for common areas or in passing times.”
As costs for a new school are calculated, Szymaniak said it is important to determine what is best for educating students.
“We have to give the building committee a lot of credit,” Committee member Fred Small said, noting that panel has spent a lot of time looking at the pros and cons of the issue. “Initially, I was a complete ‘Nah, we can’t afford it.’ As I spoke to more and more people, forgetting about the cost factor and just [looking at] what the benefits are, and determining, ‘Well, yeah.’”
While he is beginning to see the need, Small expressed concern that the school building will become so large, it fails.
Vice Chair Christopher Scriven asked what had initially led Small to feel a new school was something the district couldn’t afford.
“I think we owe it to other members of the committee, we owe it to constituents, to have an open mind and to approach this from a learning perspective,’ he said.
Dawn Byers asked what would happen if the building committee voted against bringing forth a project to the full committee. The fact that Hanson Middle School is already a grade five to eight school means there are already middle school students with different experiences in the district.
“It would be my hope we are listening to parents in the community,” she said.
Chair Christopher Howard said the full committee should request direction from the MSBA on how a plan is endorsed, adding he would not sign off on it unless there is a vote by the full School Committee.
He said the School Committee should attend any meeting in which the building committee votes, so the full committee would have information on how that vote is arrived at.
“I don’t see how someone like myself who hasn’t been involved in the process would just go into that and vote,” he said.
Member Beth Stafford said the building committee can take a vote and then the full committee signs off based on what the building committee has said.
“You haven’t been involved in all the work of the building committee and the sticking point is that most members of the building committee do not want Hanson members voting on it, because … it’s not Hanson’s pockets,” she said. “It’s Whitman.”
Where it goes from there is what Szymaniak is trying to find out, Stafford said.
Hanson member Hillary Kniffen expressed concern over the possibility that programs could be taken away from Hanson students, especially if the Whitman school project fails as ripple effects that would be felt.
“When we get into that, it becomes us vs them, and it becomes very problematic,” she said.

WINTER WONDERLAND

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Whitman Fire Department seemed to have predicted the weather as they sponsored one of the trees receiving the most votes from visitors at the DFS Holiday Tree Lighting Dec. 9-11 in Whitman Park, left. Ryleigh Small is unsure about Santa, while her brother Brady happily poses for the camera during the vendor fair inside Town Hall, above. Mary Gallinger and daughters Elsa and Nora look through photos used to decorate ‘Are You Here?’a tree featuring photos of retired teacher Lauren Kelley’s past students, below. See more photos, page 6. Photos by Carol Livingstone

Budget warning sounds in Whitman

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WHITMAN – The Select Board on Tuesday, Nov. 29, heard a sobering viewpoint about work being done on the fiscal 2024 budget by the working group of interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam, Treasurer/Collector Ken Lytle and Select Board member Shawn Kain.

“It’s not going to be the easiest conversation, but it’s certainly necessary,” Kain said. “I feel like there’s kind of three options. … We could hold firm to our financial policy and make up that gap through efficiencies and budget cuts. A second option is we could potentially use some one-time funds to bridge that gap, which is against our financial policy … or we could potentially look at an override.”

Lynam noted that the town has been “dancing around this thing for five years.”

“Talking about overrides in November, when no money has been finalized [and] the school budget hasn’t been set, is far too preliminary,” said Select Board Chair Randy LaMattina.

The budget working group was started a few months ago to determine the town’s fiscal outlook before entering budget season.

“A financial forecast is part of the strategic plan and we want to start to formalize that process,” Kain said, noting the school district has been doing similar work. “It’s been helpful for us to work together.”

Looking at the current tax levy, plus 2.5 percent, is a little over $700,000, Kain reported, with new growth totaling just about $380,000.

“We’re talking about new revenue of about a little over $1 million,” he said.

Other revenue sources such as meals and excise taxes, ambulance receipts and the lottery funds available from the state are governed by a policy of being conservative in making projections – with which Kain agrees.

“We’re looking to be relatively conservative, especially given the economic times, about how much we can realistically depend on or expect from those things in FY ‘24,” he said. 

Running a simulation of Article 2, including basic assumptions of costs and revenue, Kain said, the schools’ preliminary projections are a little over 6 percent – which in itself is a little over $1 million.

The budget group also ran a simulation at 5 percent, which the Madden Group consultants said should keep services level-funded without an override, and that comes out to about $850,000.

Lynam said that, in a regional school system, town officials don’t have that control, specifically hot-button issues like the starting times, which could have a significant financial impact should they be changed.

“All things being equal, 5 percent would be a balanced budget, but there’s one particular line that’s killing us – Plymouth County retirement,” Kain said. “We thought it would be 8 percent, and were hoping for 4 percent.”

What it will likely be, according to numbers received in the last couple of weeks, is 17 percent  – or  $457,000.

“That’s not good news,” he said.

Not calculated at this point is marijuana revenue, which could begin coming in near the end of FY ’24.

“This is the time to really start thinking about what do we want our future to look like,” Lynam said.

LaMattina bristled at talk of overrides so early in the budget process.

 “When you start talking about overrides to people and you get that panic based off running speculation,” he said. “I stood in a School Committee meeting and told the superintendent last year what he was doing was wreckless.”

He reminded the board that the schools put one-time funds into recurring cost programs, which the Select Board has pledged not to do under the Madden group’s recommendations.

“I will not see a single member of this town get laid off because of poor decision-making,” LaMattina said. “If they’re going to do an override, then it should absolutely be on them to do.”

Lynam and Salvucci agrees with LaMattina, but Kain respectfully disagreed, noting that the schools have made a lot of their preliminary budget work public this year, and the town has been mirroring that. Before hearing what department heads need, which Kain said would likely include some big asks, there are things that can be calculated now and come up with a forecast under the strategic plan. That forecast can spur earlier budget conversations in the late fall that were previously taking place just before Town Meeting in the spring.

“I’m not saying we should have an override,” Kain said. “I’m saying is what we’re seeing right now … is our FY ’24 budget [with] our initial projections, is not balanced … and it’s fairly significant.”

LaMattina stressed that the town was poised to take in slightly over $1 million while the schools have already projected a $1.4 million – not including the retirement increase.

“And they’re talking about adding,” he said. “They’re not wondering, ‘how are we going to pay for this?’ It was wreckless last year and I knew it was going to happen.”

Resident John Galvin, who attended the School Budget subcommittee meeting earlier on Nov. 29, said another preliminary forecast, not much different than projections the district was making back in June.

“The good thing discussed that the superintendent plans for sometime in December is to … have a preliminary look at the budget,” Galvin said. “It’s basically going to be expenditures.” The schools revenue forecast is going to be difficult because incoming governors receive extra time to work up a state budget.

Schools were told that day that Gov. Healey’s budget would be released March 1 including Chapter 70 funds. Fiscal 2022 property evaluations instead of fiscal 2020 and fiscal ‘20 income values will be used to calculate the town’s hold harmless formula. He said the new formula could mean a “significant increase” in the required contribution from the town.

“I think the schools are trying to make an effort, to come forward, so hopefully we do have an idea sooner rather than later,” he said, repeating that the later governor’s budget release, Chapter 70 funds won’t be available.

“I’m looking at department heads in the back of the room right now, and the School Department thinks it’s OK to take every single dollar,” La Mattina said. “We have residents asking for sidewalks … we have residents asking for a littany of things.”

Sidewalks

Lynam told the board earlier that he and the board had received two emails from a resident of an over-55 community on Auburn Street concerning

“Apparently the folks have attempted to involve our various elected representatives at the state and federal level to participate in a discussion with a small group of people from that development who are seeking to have sidewalks installed on Auburn Street,” he said. “My original understanding was, they wanted it from the over-55 community to the Brockton line. As we all know, the town is working on a number of plans to develop sidewalks and better roads.”

Lynam said there are several areas in town that have lacked sidewalks for a long time, including Pleasant Street/Route 58 where there has also been a new residential development with absolutely no sidewalks.

The projected cost for sidewalks requested along Auburn Street is about $1.3 million, according to DPW Highway Supervisor Bruce Martin’s calculations. Federal funds are being looked at, Lynam reported.

“But we are not aware of any federal funds that are going to help us get there,” he said. “Nonetheless, they have requested an opportunity to meet with the board publicly to address their concerns for the sidewalks and to invite other elected representatives.”

He suggested looking at scheduling a session sometime in early January.

LaMattina, who said he also reached out to Martin about the concern, said he saw no issue with such a meeting.

“I was somewhat puzzled by a statement in that email that the state was going to fund those sidewalks,” he said. “In no uncertain terms, Bruce – [who] has checked with state officials – they will not pay for those sidewalks. … I would hate to see a mix-up and people starting to think the state was going to pay for this, and they’re not.”

Select Board Vice Chair Dan Salvucci added that, while Auburn Street residents might not like to hear it, funds are already committed to projects out to 2026 and there are more important projects concerning road safety that need to be taken care of first.

“I agree, but nonetheless, we will listen,” LaMattina said.