Whitman-Hanson Express

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Peer reviews of studies outlined

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HANSON — The Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday, Aug. 31 continued it’s public hearing on the Cushing Trails LLC application for a 44-unit comprehensive Chapter 40B permit off Spring Street.

With a year-end deadline to complete this phase of the process, the board voted to continue the hearing to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 9.

The hearing, broadcast as a self-service production submitted to Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV for playback on the Hanson government access channel and WHCA’s YouTube channel, was held in the Selectmen’s meeting room at Town Hall.

“There’s numerous topics that we discussed last hearing, traffic, sidewalks, landscaping, septic systems, culverts, parking, environmental concerns and water,” Cushing Trails attorney Michael O’Shaughnessy said. “I believe we’ve presented to the board information on all these points and I think we’ll be able to satisfactorily address all these comments tonight.”

Joe Pignola, attending through a grant to the town of Hanson from the Mass. Housing Partnership, said his role was as an adviser to the board. “My role is to assist … and help you stay within the lines,” Pignola said. He has been an engineer for 30 years who has served on a ZBA as well as a project engineer for nonprofits as well as privately-owned projects. He has worked on 40B projects for 20 years.

“There’s a presumption that the need for affordable housing outweighs local concerns,” Pignola said. “You start with that presumption.”

Local concerns, he indicated are local bylaws, but Pignola said the ZBA must process the data and listen to concerns and understand what’s going on in the community, watching for issues that overcome the need for local concerns to prevail.

He explained that the applicants must demonstrate there are requirements for project eligibility, site control — they have a purchase and sale agreement — and they must commit to control profits and be monitored in doing so.

Pignola said input from the Board of Health would be advised because of the proximity to groundwater, and that there have been concerns voiced about the nearby landfill, as well.

Overall, at the second meeting stage, Pignola said the process for Cushing Trails is ahead of schedule because they had a peer review done right away.

“It all starts with engaging your other boards and your staff to help you in this complex process,” he said. With a window of 180 days from opening the hearing process to competition, he said the ZBA is looking at the end of the year as a deadline, with an extra 40 days after the hearing closes in which to render a decision. Both processes can be extended on request.

A denial or conditioned approval the applicant does not like, gives them recourse to appeal to housing appeals court, which would decide if a conditioned approval was uneconomic.

Town Counsel Jay Talerman added that while peer reviews identify technical issues that require changes, after that it’s not all technical.

“The next part of it … you get to review what is good for the neighborhood,” Talerman said. “Is density causing an issue that reflects or causes issues that are negative for the neighborhood? … things that cost the developers money.”

Developers then can negotiate with the town to address those issues.

“I’m not saying that discussion will happen here, but when we’re done with all the technical stuff, that is the discussion,” Talerman said. “Nothing in this project jumps out as being so egregious as to warrant a denial, but as an attorney … I’m not here to tell you [that] you shouldn’t say no, I’m here to tell you what the risks and benefits of saying no are. It’s your town.”

While Pignola said the aim is to identify issues that would impact or stop the project, he said nothing he has seen so far that is in that mind-set. Every 40B is more dense than local zoning typically permit, he said, making it necessary to answer whether that density is too much for local infrastructure, including Title V septic regulations.

“The bottom line is, I’m here to help you,” he said. “The applicant wants a good project, the neighbors want a good project, and that should be everybody’s goal.”

A project engineer, landscape architect and an environmental consultant also appeared with O’Shaughnessy to speak about the project. They had worked with the applicant on a 350-page report addressing the concerns of people who live in the area, O’Shaughnessy said.

Civil Engineer Joseph Webby said a guardrail has been added to the plan and a vinyl fence has been relocated and the entire site has been wrapped with a 18-inch silt sock to protect groundwater in the area. No parking signs have also been added to ease traffic flow in the area and assist fire apparatus in accessing the development, if necessary. Post-development calculations have also been revised on utilities and storm water engineering, Webby said.

“We’ve had some incomplete details on a drainage basin,” that’s been completed,” Webby said. More frequent mowing of drainage basins has also been added to the maintenance plan.

Perkins asked what material the guardrail would be made of, which Webby answered that a wood guardrail would be made of pressure-treated material.

“I was just envisioning a metal guardrail [like on] the side of I-93,” Perkins said. He also indicated he would expect the entrance of the property be closed off with the 18-inch silt sock at the end of each work day, which Webby confirmed.

Sidewalks would be separated from the roadway by concrete curbing and a four-foot grass strip, O’Shaughnessy said. Visitor parking has also been added to the front of the site and the houses were pushed back on the site plan as much as possible to add an additional parking space at each unit as well as a garage.

“We tried to pull them away from the property line as well,” O’Shaughnessy said.

Evergreen and deciduous trees have been added to the landscape plan to separate the development from the street and other properties and a walking trail has been added around the property. The condominium association would have responsibility for maintaining the landscape of the common areas.

Bill Kenny of River Hawk Environmental reported on citizen concerns about wells located on the Rockland side of the property, including what he described as an important hydro-geological factor — that water at the site flows toward north, away from the site.

Kenny said the DEP tracks, according to state landscaping regulations, the site number it assigns to each project area after a comprehensive assessment to determine where waste and other issues are located in relation to the nearby landfill, followed by the owner’s long-term maintenance and monitoring plan, this case by B Street Landfill run be CDM Smith of Cambridge.

He said groundwater monitoring reports that water quality and flow standard concerns are “not really relevant” because of the northward flow of water [26:00 to 31:00].

“It is my opinion that this development won’t impact anything associated with the landfill,” Kenny said. He added that a swale should carry water away from the property.

One area resident said the report on drainage addressed his biggest concerns about the project — drainage and sidewalks.

“With the latest that they’ve submitted, they’ve shown there won’t be any increase in the rate for volume runoff off site … not at the existing conditions now,” he said of drainage, which had been his biggest concern.

A traffic expert who conducted a peer review of the initial traffic study for the project said, the conservative side the study of the site was satisfactory or above average. He did endorse that some pruning should be done at the site entrance.

“I don’t think you’re wrong moving forward without doing anything down there,” he said.

O’Shaughnessy echoed his contention that, with 61 percent of traffic headed north and about 39 percent headed to the south at the Route 58/Spring Street intersection, during the morning the development would add 13 vehicles and 16 in the evening. The review concluded, according to O’Shaughnessy that it would “not result in a material increase in motorist delays or vehicle queuing.”

Whitman vaccine protocols reviewed

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WHITMAN — Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman updated Selectmen on the effects of the Delta variant in the town, on Tuesday, Sept. 7, opening a discussion on whether mandatory vaccinations should be required of town employees.

Over the last 14 days an uptick in cases brought the positivity rate from 3.42 percent to above 4.79 percent — the first time since May the positivity rate has been over 4 percent, he reported. But the rate of vaccinations has also risen about 1 percent.

“We have certainly been seeing the impact, probably, of the Delta variant,” Heineman said. “On the positive side of things … we have had a little bit of an uptick from Aug. 24 to 31in the percent of those living in Whitman age 12 and above who are eligible to be vaccinated, who have decided to be vaccine.”

The increase is about 1 percent overall, but is higher in the age 12 to 15 age group.

The town has been following the advice of the state and local  boards of health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) throughout the pandemic, Heineman said. The Whitman Board of Health has not met since Selectmen met last, but Heineman said the towns health inspector is keeping a close eye the situation, as well.

“It seems clear to me that both for public and private employers … its beginning to come to some sort of point where there’s an increasing number of employers who are requiring vaccination for their employees,” he said. “The Commonwealth has decided to implement that [mandate] for it’s employees, certainly the U.S. military and some municipalities. … I think that’s something for the board to consider,” he said.

Exceptions have been made in some locations for those with religious objections or medical issues that would be compromised by the vaccine.

While the Board of Health doesn’t require it, Heineman said it should be kept in mind.

“I think the maximum number of folks who are able to be vaccinated … seems to me that’s the way out of this pandemic,” he said.

“My feeling is we’ve been following the advice of the Board of Health and it seems to be working for the town,” said Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski.

Selectman Brian Bezanson asked if there was a way to sense how many town employees have been vaccinated. Heineman said that, so far, it seems to be the subject of medical privacy.

“Anecdotally, a majority of employees are vaccinated,” Heineman said. “To give you an exact number, the only way would to be ask each and every employee if they are vaccinated.”

Bezanson said he was only concerned that, if a majority are vaccinated already, the town might be going down a road they don’t necessarily want to go down.

Fire Chief Timothy Clancy said the department has 47 houses under quarantine for COVID right now, with 55 positive cases.

“We don’t know if there’s anybody out there that hasn’t been tested,” Clancy said, citing the increased availability of tests and vaccines. “I have neighbors that won’t show up on that data sheet even though they have been vaccinated, because they’ve been vaccinated in Florida.”

Selectman Justin Evans, who is required to be vaccinated as a state employee, said a mandate should not be taken off the table as a possibility.

“I don’t consider it a burden, although I know some coworkers who are considering whether this is the end of their time with the state,” he said. “I don’t want to force anyone’s hand there, particularly in the town, but I’d like to pursue any opportunity to try to push this vaccination rate higher.”

Heineman reported that the FDA is expected to approve the Moderna vaccine soon. That is the vaccine the Department gave to residents to begin with.

Clancy said he is somewhat concerned with the specifics of the booster. Originally, it was to be just another shot, but now there is discussion about it being a percentage of the original Moderna dose. He is researching it further.

“We are moving forward,” he said. “We have a site selected and training. …As soon as we get the FDA’s OK, we will move forward.”

Selectmen also received an update from consultant Ann Donner on the town’s strategic plan as she reviewed the process via a PowerPoint presentation.

“It’s an activity that really sets high-level priorities, and an alignment of all departments throughout an organization throughout the town,” she said of the plan. “It’s about long-term planning. What it isn’t, is telling people how to do their jobs.”

The plan development is being done in three phases, the first fact-gathering phase now wrapping up, is the most time-consuming, phase two will be an October strategic planning retreat — open to the public — and the final phase, in November and December will be drafting a plan to review with stakeholders in an exercise session.

The process also identifies other things happening around the town that affects how business is done, such as COVID-19.

Phase 1 also focuses on the key areas on which the town will concentrate and the way every department fulfills its role.

“How do we know when we’re advancing the ball up the field — how we’re identifying progress in the short, medium and long-term,” she said. “Everything fits somewhere within the plan.”

The School Committee has also recently developed a strategic plan for the district.

Donner and Heineman have invited Whitman members of the School Committee to the retreat.

The retreat is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 9 or 23.

Selectman Randy LaMattina asked if the retreat could be conducted by Zoom, if a public health problem arises as a backup plan.

“My fear is something happens and this process comes to a stall again,” he said.

All In for a great school year

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By Jeff Szymaniak
W-H Superintendent of Schools

The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District officially opened its doors for the 2021-22 school year on Wednesday, Sept. 1. Many things have happened over the summer months both in staffing and in our school buildings to prepare for Opening Day.

The District continues to use the theme “Semper Ad Maiora” which means “always toward the greater.” We are committed to providing opportunities for growth for the students and staff and moving the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District forward and out of the middle.  Our mantra for this year is “All In.” Our staff is All In for students, for learning, for inclusion, for staff, for school, for community and for each other.   

We have three new administrators in the district. Dr. Joel Jocelyn is the new principal at the Indian Head School. Joel comes to us from Newton where he was Principal at the Franklin Elementary School. Paul Duprey is the new Principal at the Whitman Middle School. Paul comes to us from Franklin where he was Principal at the Remington Middle School.  John Stanbrook is the new Director of Business and Finance. Prior to Whitman-Hanson John was the town administrator in Hanson. This spring, the district budget included adding staff, or interventionists, for remedial services and to assist students whose learning was impacted by the COVID pandemic. Thankfully, the federal government provided grant opportunities to offset the cost of adding staff.  In total, the district hired 35 new staff members to replace retirements, resignations, transfers, and long-term substitute positions.      

There was tremendous activity in most of the school buildings during the summer. The new driveway was installed near the pre-school entrance at the high school. The operations crew was busy emptying out the multiple storage containers that held classroom furniture and materials that were moved to create the six-foot social distancing needed to open last September. These items were returned to the appropriate school building for teachers to place back in their classrooms. Deep cleaning, painting and other building maintenance was done throughout the summer in preparation for Opening Day. The Whitman Middle School Building Committee met during the summer as the district proceeds in the Feasibility Study stage of a potential middle school building project. Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is funding 57.74 percent of the feasibility study. If all goes well, the district will have a project manager hired by Jan. 1, 2022 who will contribute to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in determining the best solution for a new or renovated middle school building.   

All instructional staff reported to school on Monday, Aug. 30 for opening day activities. New teachers were introduced, staff were recognized for attaining professional status (tenure), and we celebrated teachers for their years of service. The Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) as well as the District Accommodation Plan (DCAP) were discussed. To wrap up the formal part of the day, Eugene Hamilton, a unique speaker, delivered powerful message of motivation, the importance of teaching and kindness. A cook-out lunch, complete with an ice cream truck, was sponsored by Equitable Advisors, S.J. Services and Collegiate Press.

One of my goals this year is communication with parents and community members. The district has a Facebook page for members to follow. I also have a Twitter account @WH_Super where I will post district information.  We also have a new email address WHinfo@whrsd.org established for families to email their thoughts.  Please note that the email is public document and public record so please do not include personal or student information.  All school building principals and administrative support staff are available for questions or concerns as well as my office at 781-618-7412.

Let’s work together to make this a great year.

DESE reinstates school mask mandate

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The masks are back.

The School Committee, themselves wearing masks again at their Wednesday, Aug. 25 meeting, discussed Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak’s being notified at 3:45 p.m. that day that Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeff Riley has mandated masks in schools through at least Oct. 1.

School Committee Chairman Christopher Howard said the panel’s vote last week to follow DESE guidance on masks recommendations meant no further action was required.

“This board, this superintendent, didn’t mandate this policy,” Szymaniak said. “The Board of Education has authorized [it] and the Board of Education supersedes all of us right now. … It’s a mask mandate by the commissioner of education and we’re expected to follow that.”

He asked parents, whether they agree with it or not, to help schools keep in compliance with the commissioner’s policy. Szymaniak stressed that the district had a good year last school year, despite dealing with a mask policy.

No social distancing guidelines were issued, but Szymaniak said teachers have been asked to space students out to three-feet apart when they can. Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said the six-foot distance guidelines is still referred to when contact tracing is needed.

“I’m not happy that it came out after 3:30 p.m. today and was effective immediately,” Szymaniak said. “It put us into a scramble with our orientation …school committee. We did it, but it put people into a spin.”

He said that, if he had been out of the office for any reason at that time, “We’d be behind the 8-ball.”

Whitman Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman had informed Selectmen on Tuesday, Aug. 24 that the state Board of Education had approved the mandate and an order could be expected. Riley had told Superintendents that day that he was going to ask the board and ask to have the authority to exercise the right to mask students for public safety through Oct.1, pending the achievement of an 80-percent vaccination rate among students and staff in a given school.

Parents wishing to inform the district about their child’s vaccination status should do so by contacting their school’s nurse. While there is no provision for remote learning this year, if a student gets COVID, they will be instructed as any student absent with an illness.

As of Aug. 18, Hanson had a 39-percent rate among students ages 12 to 15, and 63 percent among ages 16 to 19. Whitman had a 50-percent vaccination rate of ages 12 to 15, and 63 among ages 116 to 19.

The state average for ages 12 to 15 is 63 percent, and is 67 percent for ages 16 to 19.

In response to a question from member Christopher Scriven, Szymaniak said his interpretation of the order is that the mask madate would remain in effect for all unvaccinated students indefinately even after a school reaches 80 percent vaccinated.

Szymaniak added that news reports he has read indicate a vaccine for ages 5 to 12 is expected in November.

“But the way I read this, our K-grade six kids are going to be masked indefinitely until the vaccination is available,” he said.

He pledged to find ways to help increase the vaccination rate.

“If needed, I will work with both fire departments and physicians they connect with to offer vaccine clinics so that we can hit that threshhold, if needed,” Szymaniak said.

The School Committee had voted 6 to 4 on Aug. 17 to follow DESE regulations, which only recommended masks at that time. The Mass. Association of School Superintendents (MASS) contacted Szymaniak on Friday, Aug. 20 to be on the lookout for a call from the commissioner that day, who provided information about the Aug. 24 Board of Education meeting.

“This is flowing quickly,” Szymaniak said.

In accordance with the state’s time on learning requirements, all students age 5, and staff in all grades, above were to immediately begin wearing masks through at least Oct. 1. Masks are required indoors in school except when outdoors, with the commissioner reviewing the situation in the near future. All visitors to school buildings are expected to wear masks in school buildings.

Masks are recommended, but not required for students under age 5. Students with medical or behavioral issues are exempt from the requirement, or may be permitted to use a face shield instead.

Mask breaks are permitted during the school day and masks are not required when eating or drinking. Masks are also not required for students playing certain instruments during band classes.

Masks are required for all students and coaches playing sports indoors.

Families are expected to provide masks, but schools should be able to provide disposable masks. Parents were issued a statement from Szymaniak with complete mask requirements.

“We have mask signs going up and we will continue to educate the public,” he said.

Committee member Mike Jones asked if the district could legally require vaccines.

“Legally, we probably can, but we haven’t said that,” Szymaniak said. I think as an employer, we can. There’s precedent and there’s law around that. We have not done that yet.”

He said the district cannot legally ask a student to get the COVID vaccination, although certain vaccinations are required to attend school.

Citizen petitions receive review

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen is seeking legal counsel to review two of the three citizen’s petitions for the Oct. 4 special Town Meeting brought forth by Brook Street resident Frank Melisi, after they discussed the articles with him Tuesday, Aug. 24.

The petitions would require that: elected town officials reside in town  — similar to one Selectmen are seeking for appointed officials — another to support local business and a third to permit retail marijuana sales in town in order to increase the town’s commercial tax base. Melisi said he has been gathering signatures for his petitions outside Shaw’s supermarket nearly every day for a month, garnering more than 320 signatures from the hours he gathered them alone.

They then voted to engage legal counsel to work on the marijuana warrants to make them legally sufficient to present on the May 2022 warrant and ballot, if so indicated by legal research. Melisi indicated that he would be willing to pass over his residency article at Town Meeting in favor of the board’s article.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said the Select Board’s petition was aimed at “any board or committee.”

“We didn’t differentiate between elected and appointed,” she said.

Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer also reminded residents that there are certain times when expertise is required and, if a board or committee member has recently moved out of town amid a project requiring that expertise, the town may want the leeway to retain them until the project is completed.

“It would never be intended for it to be a permanent situation,” agreed FitzGerald-Kemmett, noting she does not feel particularly strongly about it one way or the other. Dyer also pointed to the requirement in Meilsi’s petition that those residents be registered voters, recalling his service while in high school as a 17-year-old member of the Energy Committee.

“I wouldn’t want to shut out the younger generation that does want to get involved,” he said of his question on how residency is determined. He suggested a concerned person who is 15 or 16 might want to serve.

“It doesn’t mean you have to vote, you just have to register to vote,” said Melisi, pointing to state law that allows 17-year-olds to register to vote.

FitzGerald-Kemmett saw some validity in Melisi’s argument.

“I would want to think that somebody who wants to serve on a town board or committee is already engaged enough that they would have registered to vote, to the extent they’re eligible,” she said.

Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff said people who move within the state have something akin to a grace period in which they can still vote in their former community before they have to reregister in a new town. She said Hanson could consider making that form of residency immediate when a person moves in or out of town.

“I like to keep it simple, to just have it that a person has to live in the town of Hanson to serve on a board or committee,” Selectman Joe Weeks said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she liked Melisi’s approach which would leave that determination with the Town Clerk.

“That’s fine, that’s part of the job,” said Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan, noting that she would favor a waiver for non-residents to serve on search committees, such as with the Police Department, where the chief or another officer would be non-residents.

“I didn’t intend this to be amendment-proof,” Melisi said, holding up the petition papers. “This is the first citizen’s petition I’ve ever done. This one’s the second. This one’s the third.”

Dyer and Sloan pointed out that any amendments to the petitions would be made on the Town Meeting floor.

Selectman Jim Hickey argued that youth involvement was all well and good, but “I do not want that person voting on any committee,” he said. “I just think they don’t have the life experience to vote on some committee at 15 or 16.”

Hickey also said he could see retaining those board or committee members who move while they are in the middle of a project, otherwise they would have enough to do with where they are going than with what’s going on in Hanson.

Dyer suggested a time limit for those situations, suggesting 90 days as an example.

“We’ve got [Baseball] Hall of Famers and Olympians in this town,” Weeks said. “I’m sure we can find a way to have a great amount of talent for these committees without having to make exceptions for something.”

Resident Christine Cohen suggested committee members sign a disclosure if they move and, if they fail to do so and are found out, it should be grounds for immediate removal from a board or commission.

“This citizen’s petition is what it is, you won’t be amending this,” Feodoroff said. “What you would be amending would be your article for your own competing articles.”

Melisi said he would rather Selectmen take their petition up and, whether or not it is amended, have Town Meeting vote on it. He said he would be willing to have his passed over.

Regarding the marijuana petition, Melisi said he was not happy with the voting options open to Hanson residents regarding the school budget at the May Town Meeting — a $1.8 million override.

“I looked for some ways we could bring some revenue back into the town without me starting a business in town, which I am not in a position to do,” he said. “The obvious thing for me, since we already have a good working relationship with Impressed LLC, is to put back on the ballot for 2022 retail marijuana.”

He stressed that he has not spoken with the owner of Impressed LLC, but the petitions he sponsored are aimed to help the town improve its revenue outlook.

“It’s an obvious moneymaker,” Melisi said of the law’s provision that towns may impose a 3-percent tax on retail marijuana sales. While he put a lot of work into the petitions, he admitted he is not a lawyer and Town Counsel has the expertise to go by.

“I’m not trying to put drugs on the street,” he said. “From what I understand, these facilities are a lot more secure and a lot more [stringent] in verification of ID that liquor stores. I’m just looking for a way to bring revenue to the town.”

He said he would be willing to have it passed over if the Select Board draws up it’s own article.

“I can tell you one reason right now why this thing is going to go down in flames,” Feodoroff said, pointing to Melisi’s petition concerning marijuana sales applicability in all zones of Hanson, including residential. The town has limited such business to the industrial park on Commercial Way off Route 27. “There are some problematic areas in here,” she said.

The time frame for the petition process for a zoning issue is also too tight, according to Feodoroff.

“If the board would get this going for the 2022 election, then I would definitely pass over this article,” Melisi said. “I want as many people as humanly possible to be informed and have a debate on this. I don’t want it to be rushed through in a month and a half.”

Melisi also said he was looking for assistance from the board in fine-tuning the petition. Dyer said he was willing to work with him, if he moved to pass it over, for presentation at the next town meeting, if necessary.

Hickey, who voted with the board to place it on the warrant, said it would be the only positive vote he would ever cast on the petition.

“I am not going to hinder you from doing this, but I am 100-percent not going to support it,” Hickey said. “I’ve said, right from the start, when this first came up that I’m against retail marijuana in the town of Hanson.”

“I’m not telling anyone to vote for this, I’m asking to have a debate about this,” Melisi said. “When I opened my tax bill from last quarter, I almost threw up. … I have interest in the money of it.”

Another citizen petition certified by Sloan which would give Selectmen the power to remove all members of the Zoning Board of Appeals at the first board meeting following the Town Meeting.

Feodoroff said the petition does acknowledge that it is a nonbinding resolution and is only advisory.

“I think there’s a question as to whether or not it’s legal because there’s another bylaw in place that doesn’t allow removal except for cause,” she said.

“I am embarrassed that it took a group of citizens coming to us with a citizen’s petition to remove ZBA members, when we’ve gotten a number of complaints and we have been hamstrung and stopped as a board from discussing it,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, stressing she was not expressing an opinion on the matter.

Hanson complaint process eyed

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HANSON — The process for handling citizen complaints, adopted in 1993 and revised in 2008 and 2016, was discussed by Selectmen at their Tuesday, Aug. 24 meeting.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett had asked for the item to be placed on the agenda to ensure that there was “full transparency among the entire board about complaints that we may be getting and that there aren’t situations where, although well-intended, it would be the town administrator and the chair who were deciding how to respond.”

Interim Town Administrator Lisa Green said the process includes a timeline for responding to citizen complaints, which are first submitted to the committee or department they concern in writing. The committee or department then has two weeks to respond and, if the complainant is not satisfied, they can go to the town administrator for a review and response. If that is not found satisfactory to the person raising the issue, it can be brought before the Board of Selectmen.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said there may be instances where responses need to be quicker and, if a response could be made faster than the 14-day window, it would be done.

She wanted to address, specifically complaints about appointed boards and committees. As an example, she asked how a complaint about how someone was addressed at a meeting might be handled.

“I’ll be frank with you, there were times in the last year and a half when our board got complaints and we didn’t even respond to citizens filing the complaint,” she said. “We were aware of the complaints and we just didn’t respond, and that’s completely unacceptable to me.”

She also asked if information about the process was available on the website.

Green said she would look into the website question and where the best place for it would be.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also wanted to make clear the town’s complaint process was not the same as the state’s open meeting law complaint process.

“I’m not saying, ‘Oh, please, file all these complaints,’” she said. “But I do want to make sure if people have got concerns that we are being responsible about having the procedure and form so that people have the feeling that we’re being responsive to their concerns.”

Green said that when she receives a complaint she researches all the information she can about the complaint, including state laws and regulations, and includes information directing people to the appropriate authorities.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also asked how Selectmen would know if any complaints were filed against a person seeking reappointment to a board or committee.

“The policy doesn’t speak to that,” said Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff, suggesting that Selectmen could create a policy on dealing confidentially with complaints and responses.

While she expressed confidence in Green’s ability to handle complaints, FitzGerald-Kemmett said she would like to see a way for the board to proceed with “eyes wide open” on information they would need to keep in mind when reappointments come up.

Green also said she would make sure Selectmen received emails on the situation, which prompted Selectman Joe Weeks to ask why he has had trouble receiving emails so far since his election this spring.

Dyer said the notification process would be a good idea.

“So we’re in agreement right now that we’re following this complaint policy, but we’re choosing to amend it to make it clearer?” Weeks said. “Because, there are complaints and I don’t feel I’m involved at all.”

“We’re not saying we’re following that, and my concern predates Ms. Green,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett, who said she was stating her concerns carefully out of legal considerations.

Dyer reprhrased Week’s concern as one of being informed of business before the board as a whole.

“I like the idea of the collective body being the decision-maker and the jury and the decision-maker through the town administrator,” Weeks said. “I don’t feel connected to it, personally.”

He said that whatever language would be required to make the

board collectively the town’s CEO, that is the standard he is seeking. Green said she is willing to look into why Weeks is not receiving emails.

Whitman swears in fire Lt.

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WHITMAN — Fire Lt. Bryan Smith was sworn in during the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 24 as the board discussed mask guidelines and procedure for the town administrator’s evaluation.

Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman also indicated a mask mandate for schools may be coming soon from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Fire Chief Timothy Clancy said Smith began his career as one of Whitman Fire’s first high school interns. The program has produced a lot of firefighters for the department over the years.

A 2001 W-H graduate, Smith earned his EMT and paramedic certifications, joining the Kingston Fire Department in 2004. He joined Whitman Fire-Rescue in 2008 as a full-time firefighter/paramedic. He earned an associates degree from Columbia Southern University and recently completed Fire Officer I training.

His wife Jessica and children Annabelle and Colin shared the badge pinning honors with Smith’s father Gary Smith, a retired Hanson firefighter. Smith’s brother is a Holbrook firefighter.

“It’s either in their blood, or there’s something in the water in Hanson,” Clancy said.

After the promotion ceremony, Selectmen began hearing program updates on the Whitman Cultural Council and Dollars for Scholars, but took a brief sidetrack into mask policies, which was revisited later in the meeting.

Dawn Byers and William Haran, of the Whitman Cultural Council had attended the meeting to report on the Council’s new members and recent Community Input Survey as well as upcoming events.

“I’d like you to think about and how we set up our meetings going forward,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said to the board and Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman about the mask Byers was wearing, in view of the fact that a sign on the Town Hall door recommends CDC mask and social distancing guidelines.

Kowalski said he felt terrible that he was not wearing a mask.

“I’d like us to be distanced more than we are today, and set up the room to show we’re thinking about the right thing to do,” he said.

Byers thanked the board for appointing five new members to the Cultural Council over the past two months, bringing it to a full panel of seven. She then introduced Haran, whose report included an overview of the outdoor concert series that begins Thursday, Sept. 9 with a performance by Uncommon Soul from 5:30 to 7 p.m. [See announcement, page 5]. An open house at the Library Community Room will be held from 7 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 16.

Later in the meeting, Heineman briefed the board on COVID numbers and procedures — reporting that the COVID positivity rate has been rising in Whitman, the state and region, largely due to the Delta and Lambda variants, to which people are more susceptible when they are unvaccinated.

“What we do know is the vast majority of the folks hospitalized or very sick are unvaccinated,” he said.

A plan is being formulated between Fire Chief Clancy and the Board of Health for a booster shot program, after meeting last week. A return to first and second-dose clinics were also discussed but the “feeling was that wouldn’t be a good use of resources at the moment because anyone who wants to be vaccinated now has access through other means,” Heineman said, noting that most pharmacies offer them.

“Schools are primary interest for most folks,” Heineman said and reporting the DESE gave permission to Commissioner Riley to mandate masks. “That seems pretty clear [that] while he hasn’t officially done that yet … in the coming days that mandate will be in place for schools.”

The town’s buildings have been following the recommendations of public health officials, including the CDC, he noted. The Whitman Board of Health has issued a “strong recommendation” for masks for indoor locations, but not a mandate at this point.

“It’s not enough to recommend,” Kowalski adding that only four people in a crowded room for Lt. Smith’s promotion ceremony — two adults and two children — were wearing masks. “It just strikes me a so logical that there are two ways to combat this virus — one of them is to mask up … the other is to get vaccinated.”

Where vaccine mandates are concerned, Heineman said that, while the state’s executive branch and many employers are mandating vaccines, the Whitman Board of Health is still recommending, but not requiring vaccinations.

Selectman Brian Bezanson, who had COVID in January despite following mask guidelines, urged people to get vaccinated as he has since, and said he would recommend, but not mandate, masks.

Selectman Randy LaMattina agreed that it is a personal decision to have a health option.

“My family has been vaccinated … we did that because we trust the science,” he said. “Now people have skepticism. I think this, unfortunately is because a vaccine got politicized and we’re paying the price for that right now.”

He said zero deaths have occurred in breakthrough cases of people who have been vaccinates.

“I think people have to get vaccinated,” he said, suggesting that mandating a mask could give skeptics a reason to doubt the vaccine.

“If there’s something that’s more effective right now, it’s the vaccine,” Selectman Justin Evans said.

Town administrator goals

Heineman has submitted a list of goals and objectives to the board as requested at a previous meeting, and Kowalski said they have been working with counsel to refine the evaluation form.

“Not all the goals can be accomplished in a year,” Kowalski said, asking which Heineman thought could be handled in the first year or are most important to him.

Of the 14 goals and objectives he listed, Heineman pointed to improved communication with representatives of the W-H Regional School District concerning strategic planning and the budget process; identifying and pursuing a clear path forward for the Park Avenue School property; bringing a final DPW building plan to Town Meeting and possible regionalization of animal control services.

“Right off the bat, I think getting an assistant town administrator in here before the year is over, or as soon as possible would be one that we should want to handle for this year,” Kowalski said.

“I absolutely agree with Lincoln’s recommendation of trying to develop a better relationship with the school district,” Selectman Randy LaMattina said. He also agreed with the Park Avenue School item.

“There’s nothing on this list that I could say we could take off, it’s developing a timeline after that,” he said. “I think he made it hard for us, because  this list of goals alone is almost a strategic plan.”

Kowalski suggested ranking the items he wanted to complete in the coming year for the Sept. 28 meeting.

DFS event

Michelle LaMattina of Dollars For Scholars provided an overview of the second annual Decorating for Scholars event.

“We want to make it a little bigger this year,” she said, indicating that more trees would be available for sponsoring, as well as event sponsorships that provide funds for lights, trees and signs. They are also looking into arranging food trucks and craft vendors as well as local performers and a visitor from the North Pole this year and are changing the time frame to one weekend. The event is planned for from 4 to 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 10; from 2 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 11 and from 4 to 8, Sunday, Dec. 12.

The Board voted to congratulate her and the DFS leadership for the success of last year’s inaugural event during a tough time. Michelle LaMattina said last year’s event was one of the group’s largest fundraisers over the past few years.

Randy LaMattina said a lot of people in town made last year’s event come together.

“It was great, and to pull it off in a year that people really needed something, I think it was a boost for the town,” he said.

Whitman Middle School

Heineman and Randy LaMattina serve on the building committee, which had issued a call for a request for services for Owner Project Manager. When the request response came back a subcommittee was to decide on a finalist to recommend to the full committee for MSBA approval. That has since been canceled and is being reissued, according to Heineman.

The committee met Tuesday afternoon and made the requested changes with an expected project price range of $50 million to $85 million. Applications would be due back by Oct.

“The process was put off for a few months, but it is moving forward,” he said.

“I think this whole process is going to be a little bit of a wrestling match, a little bit of a tug of war,” Randy LaMattina said. “There’s clearly a need for a new building. … We’re moving forward in a positive direction.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

District weighs COVID mask guidelines

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The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District voted 6-4 to amend to the mask policy to reflect the recommendation — rather than mandate — of mask wearing by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) at its Wednesday, Aug. 18. The Committee strongly recommends wearing masks. [See story, this page]. They were scheduled to continue discussion on COVID protocols at district schools on Wednesday, Aug. 25.

“Tomorrow, the governor can make a mask mandate,” Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymniak said, noting that state protocols could change and that Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont had mandated masks in his state’s schools Tuesday, Aug. 17.

Szymaniak said new teachers were to report Monday, Aug. 23 and he needed to have some direction. The issue was to be revisited this Wednesday, Aug. 25.

Those expressing disagreement with the vote pointed to concern over variants, discrepancies in where masks are required and social interactions with those who do not wear masks.

“I’m extremely concerned that a recommendation is viewed as an option,” said member Dawn Byers. “This is a public school and I support a universal mask mandate in W-H schools K-12.”

She noted that medical offices, public transportation and Whitman’s Duval’s Pharmacy require masks. Szymaniak recommended to continue following the COVID-19 protocols from DESE and the Mass. Department of Public Health (DPH).

Szymaniak said the district received close to 500 responses to his communication about state COVID recommendations for the fall, ranging “all over the place.”

That made up the committee’s public comment segment on the issue.

“I appreciate everyone who chose to respond,” Szymaniak said. “I want to make sure that folks in the community know that those responses will be … on our website.”

He said he is not permitted to ask vaccination status, but if parents inform the school nurse, it can help with contact tracing.

Chairman Christopher Howard stressed for the public than no one on the School Committee are doctors or epidemiologists.

“We try to be as informed as we can, we rely on the guidance of those that provide it,” Howard said.

“I have a second-grader who hasn’t had a regular school year,” member Hillary Kniffen said with some emotion. “I want nothing more for her, but I also know in our strategic plan, it says that we need to keep kids safe.”

She said that families who want to have their children masked deserve some safeguards in place. There should also be a benchmark as to when masks can be removed.

“Based on these comments, I also have a concern, myself, of the culture of school buildings,” Kniffen said. “I am pleading with families. Regardless of your persepective, you [should] teach your children to be kind, because you don’t know what other families are going through.”

Member Fred Small noted that a face-covering policy still in effect “references guidance that’s no longer there.” He also noted that summer camp program had no mask policy and, while some children wore masks, they were treated respectfully.

“We’ve got this,” said member Steve Bois, who works at the JFK Library where only six people are allowed entry at once. “We can do this.”

He supported the DESE and DPH guidelines.

Member Michelle Bourgelas noted that the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC recommend universal masking K-12 regardless of vaccination status. The Mass. Medical and Mass Academy of Pediatricians are asking Gov. Charlie Baker to mandate masks K-12 as well.

“There are other authorities besides DESE,” she said.

“One of the pillars of our district is a safe school environment for our faculty and staff, students and whoever our visitors are, said Szymaniak. “As of March 13, 2020, it has been challenging at best to maintain a safe environment — that pleases all, to make decisions that please all, and open school.”

He noted that people have had differing opinions since school doors closed on March 13, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The district has followed the recommendations of the DESE and DPH from the outset. When the school year ended on June 16, “I thought we were going to open like 2019 all over again,” he said. “We had high hopes that we wouldn’t have a conversation about masks and social distancing and all I knew was we were going to have a lot of hand sanitizer, because we got cases and cases and cases of that.”

With that in mind, he asked lead nurse Lisa Tobin to request a statement from both towns’ boards of health and the school physician, based on his intent to ask the School Committee to maintain and follow the DESE and DPH guidelines.

“Seeing what’s going on with the rest of the country’s school systems, I don’t think we should act individually,” Hanson Health Agent Gil Amado stated. “Mass. Counties are now in the CDC high-risk category. I believe the governor, along with DESE/DPH, will come out with other guidance in the near future,”

School physician David Belcher said he felt the proposal was “as good as it’s going to get at this moment.”

“People need to be aware that this is a fluid situation and if COVID numbers climb quickly after the start of school, universal masking may be necessary,” he said, although he added he hoped it would not be the case. “The Delta variant appears to behave a little differently and affect children more.”

Whitman Health Agent Daniel Kelly reached out to board members individually about the DESE recommendation, and will not be able to discuss it as a board until Aug. 24. But the board is in support of DESE’s recommendation — with some changes.

“The number one consideration is the safety of students and staff,” Kelly wrote. “The board recommends the use of masks in all schools to keep everyone as safe as possible.”

The district received a memorandum requiring full-time in-person education of all school districts and programs for the 2021-22 school year from DESE and the DPH on June 30 of this year.

“I am not allowed to offer a remote program for next year,” Szymaniak said.

The memorandum quoted CDC guidelines that vaccinations and continued masking was recommended for all K-12 schools and — because in-person instruction is so important — schools without universal vaccinations should implement physical distancing to the extent possible. DESE and the DPH noted Massachusetts has among the highest vaccination rates in the nation and the efficacy of the vaccine.

Vaccination rates for 12- to 15-year-olds in Hanson are: One dose — 249; fully vaccinated — 198; 16- to 19-year-olds One dose —  402; fully vaccinated — 358. That represents 39 percent for 12- to 15-year-olds  and a 63 percent for 16- to 19-year-olds.

For Whitman 12- to 15-year-olds: One dose — 430; fully vaccinated — 337; 16- to 19-year-olds One dose —  537 (the number of fully vaccinated was apparently omitted). That represents 50 percent for 12- to 15-year-olds and a 63 percent for 16- to 19-year-olds.

“We’re under the state average for both,” Szymaniak said.

Tobin said she is applying to the DESE to test in all district health clinics.

Test and Stay affects quarantining. A rapid test is given to staff and students identified as close contacts to a COVID case. Tests are administered for five straight days as long as they remain asymptomatic and test negative they do not need to quarantine. Symptomatic testing allows a student to stay in school if they test negative.

“This fall DESE and DPH strongly recommends that all students in kindergarten through grade six wear masks when indoors, except students who cannot do so due to medical conditions or behavioral needs,” the memo stated. “Masks are not necessary outdoors and may be removed while eating indoors.”

The agencies also recommend that unvaccinated staff in all grades, unvaccinated students in grades seven and above and unvaccinated visitors wear masks indoors. They recommended that vaccinated students be allowed to remain unmasked.

Those at high risk for disease from COVID, or with a household member who is at high risk, is encouraged to mask regardless of vaccination status.

“Any child or family who prefers to mask at school should be supported with this choice,” the memo continued. A federal order requires all students and staff to wear masks on school buses. Masks must also be worn in school health offices.

District and schools are also encouraged to maintain and establish a “robust testing” program for COVID-19, including both diagnostic testing and screening and pool testing provided at no cost to districts — especially important during cold and flu season.

DESE and DPH indicated they will be releasing updated contact tracing and quarantine protocols.

School panel presents learning goals

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The School Committee presented its strategic plan working group presentations at the Wednesday, Aug. 18 meeting.

Public comment was sought in advance of the meeting and was not scheduled for the meeting itself, out of fairness to the large number of people who submitted comment in advance.

“We’ve received as much public comment as I’ve ever seen, being part of a School Committee, in advance of this meeting,” Chairman Christopher Howard said.

A number of meetings were held throughout the summer, working with the district’s leadership team and administration, to review the district’s strategic plan to identify what their priorities, as a group, should be.

“I can tell you they were here bright and early on the day after a holiday,” Howard said of the group with which he worked. “I can tell you they were here several other times, and I know other groups were here several other times. … This is a volunteer effort.”

Howard described the presentations as “point in time” shares of information, as the work is far from being completed.

Each of the three groups — one-to-one laptop initiative,  K-8 related arts curriculum and early childhood education — were given about 15 minutes in which to make their presentation, with time allotted for a brief question and answer time after each one. He also encouraged the public to send written thoughts, comments and questions about the presentations.

Howard explained that a lot of what the other two working groups were looking at depend on the district’s technology capabilities.

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro’s team — which included Steve Bois, Mike Jones and Beth Stafford — kicked things off with their presentation on a one-to-one laptop initiative. The group had two formal meetings and several subsequent meetings with the group, district IT or administrative teams, as information was gathered.

“We might be a little bit different than the other two groups, because we are actually going to enact this initiative for the start of this school year,” Ferro said. “Where we left off last year with COVID and so many Chromebooks out [with families], we had to find out if this was doable.”

They had to inventory the devices and make sure they could provide equipment to students and teachers.

Stafford said that, while COVID was a terrible thing, the pandemic showed what was needed for today’s education, who had it and who didn’t and how it could be provided for students who lacked access to technology.

Those students were loaned Chromebooks and internet access during last school year.

“What it has led to is that we’re able this year to provide for grades three to 12, a one-on-one Chromebook for each child to go home and to be responsible for to bring to school for the coming year,” she said. Kindergarten to grade two classess will have access to half sets of devices in the classroom.

Ferro said students in grades three to 12 will receive a loan agreement form and will, when parents return the signed form, receive a charger and a Chromebook, including care instruction for students and how to use it in instruction for teachers.

Bois said a grant will also allow the retirement or repurposing of some devices.

Ferro said the at-home learning funding is from a non-competitive federal grant must be awarded, and is administered by the FCC.

“If you have aging devices, or you have students with no connectivity, or you have students with not enough devices in the home … they can be provided with a Chromebook for at-home use,” Ferro said. The district’s aging software made them eligible for the devices they sought. Almost half the district’s more than 3,500 devices age out next year, with the goal to replace 1/6 of the stock each year.

They are working within the district and through federal funds to start a cycle of funding the estimated $270,000 per year that renewal goal with require.

“This is the new curriculum textbook in a very closed way,” Ferro said.

Heather Kniffen presented a review of the K-8 related arts curriculum group’s work. She, Christopher Sciriven, Superintendent Jeff Szymaniak and Michelle Bourgelas served on the group.

“We’re talking about long-term implementation, Kniffen said. “This is not something that we, like the tech group, would be able to work on this year. This is definitely a multi-year project.”

The goal is to engage students and make them look forward to going to school — something that now declines in middle school years — through choices of subject and equity between middle schools in each town.

“The sooner that children are exposed to different cultures and different languages, the more empathetic they become and better human beings, because they understand people,” Kniffen said of the curriculum’s benefits. She added that music and art have behavioral benefits.

A Life Skills class option, described as a Home Economics 2.0 class, is also being discussed, Szymaniak said.

“You might be learning Home Ec. Stuff, you might be learning CPR, you might learn how to change a tire, what a checkbook is — all the types of things that parents talk about ‘I wish my kid knew,’ give them an opportunity to experience some of that in middle school, so as they matriculate to the high school, they have some idea of some of those life skills” he said.

Technical skills, including robotics, are also included.

Challenges to incorporating the program include hiring qualified teachers, intricacies of a middle school schedule, available instructional time and not viewing it as a Band-Aid approach.

Some immediate action steps being taken include determining student interest.

“I’m psyched about this endeavor,” Scriven said. “Particularly in getting kids to want to come to school.”

Szymaniak acknowledged that the scheduling issue is a hurdle, but added the district has time to do that work.

“The key piece here is foreign language should be an academic course,” he said.

Dawn Byers reviewed the work she, Fred Small and David Forth did regarding early childhood education.

Their recommendations are to implement access to high-quality, no-tuition full-day kindergarten in the 2022-23 school year and — in the long-term, to form an Early Childhood Education Committee to focus on and support the short-term goal as well as expansion of universal early childhood education to 3- and 4-year-olds. Questions for administration were regarding: building/classroom space; staffing; transportation; engagement with town leadership, community and families; and financial costs.

She introduced the presentation with a trailer for the film “No Small Matter” about the challenges low-income parents, especially, are having providing their children with the best start on education with children’s earliest years.

Forth reviewed the districts current offerings of half and full-day tuition-based preschool and kindergarten. Preschool tuition costs between about $1,3000 and $6,500 with enrollment limited to 80 students. Kindergarten tuition is $3,200 for the full-day program with 238 pupils. There is no charge for half-day kindergarten.

The state average for full-day kindergarten is 98 percent, with 62 percent of Whitman kindergarten pupils attending full-day classes.

Six of seven surrounding communities offer no-tuition full-day kindergarten. Hanover charges $3,750.

Small lauded Byers’ leadership of the group before discussing its goals.

“Ms Byers did a yeoman’s share of the work here,” he said.

The goal is to share the benefits of, and create a pathway for, high-quality early childhood education for Whitman and Hanson’s 3- to-to-5-year-old pupils with a long-term vision of universal high-quality, no-tuition preschool and pre-kindergarten.

Byers said there are educational, equity and economic benefits of high-quality early childhood education. That includes a greater contribution to society as adults.

Asked about the cost, Szymaniak said his charge to the group was to come up with the reasons to support such a program.

“I didn’t want the folks to get bogged down with the dollars and cents,” he said. “This is a ‘Why?’ Why to we need to do this? You’ve given me the why, I can give you the ‘How?’”

“And the how much?” Howard said.

Howard also welcomed Whitman’s recently-appointed member Beth Stafford. The former Whitman Middle School teacher was appointed by the town’s Selectmen to fill a vacancy when Dan Cullity resigned for family matters.

“If we’re starting our children young, and we’re putting everyone on the same playing field, we’re investing in prevention, not in remediation,” Small said. “When that student’s in third grade, we don’t have to have those reading specialists.”

Teachers won’t have to be spending time in first grade trying to catch the 38 percent of half-day kindergarteners with those who attended full-day K.

“That’s a cost-savings, and that’s a direct benefit,” he said.

Tuning in to support small businesses

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HANSON — Real estate brokerage is one of those businesses where networking drives business. So how does a realtor keep an agency thriving during a pandemic lockdown?

For Peter Kenney, the president, broker and a realtor at the Real Estate Door in Hanson, the answer to a thriving future lay partly in the past.

He had done most of his daily face-to-face networking at the gym or other venues where he would run into friends and acquaintances from the community. All that stopped when COVID forced gyms across the Commonwealth to close for several weeks.

“It’s really the people you meet face-to-face you develop trust with,” Kenney said. “We were cut off from all of that. My background was radio and I said we might as well put up a radio station.”

Kenney returned — as a sideline — to that past life in radio [the BostonPete.com radio network with 22 syndicated shows on the Microsoft platform for 14 years] and brought it into the 21st century by putting his idea online and LPMix.Live Radio was born in May 2020.

Licensed as a radoi station, they have to pay for a service that tracks the songs played to ensure that royalties to artists.

Where he used to feature nostalgia from the “19-teens to the’ ’90s,” if there’s a genre at work here, it’s eclectic classic as Kenney describes it, encompassing rock, America, folk and today’s alternative music.

Pulling into his 502 Liberty St. driveway in Hanson on Tuesday, Aug. 17, this reporter heard Don McLean’s “American Pie” from speakers piping the LPMix.Live stream at, low volume, to the outside. Later in the morning, listeners could hear Foreigner’s ’80s hit “I Want to Know What Love Is,” Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle with You” from 1972 and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats; “I Need Never Get Old” in rapid succession.

“I knew it was pretty easy to pop up a station for us, but community-based, local station, so people won’t forget Real Estate Door — our brokerage,” he said in an interview at his office.

Local artists such as Blacktop Strut, Marnie Hall, Howie Newman Music, Mark Bellwood Music, Dave Mansfield (“Chicken Scratches & Second Chances”), Patrick & Kate, and Bright & Dark Band have been featured on the streaming radio service. Kenney has even been contacted by groups as far afield as the UK looking to be featured on LPMix.Live.

The streaming radio service also gives the musicians a chance to introduce their own songs and promote themselves.

He asked realtor Sue Shiels if she would serve as the in-house weather forecaster.

“At least I don’t have to compete on the TV stage with the local weather,” Sheils said with a laugh. “We’re at that status, we’re getting blamed for the weather now.”

But that also proved to her that people are listening.

Kenney said it also keeps Sheils’ name in the mind of potential clients and, as an advertising platform, it is one of the most economical available to him.

“We do public service announcements,” Kenney said. “She reminds everyone about the water ban and things like that. Coyotes and Boo Boo (the black bear) in the area.”

Kenney gives back to the community — and its businesses — by offering “shout outs to local business.” Local small business owners, or clients and patrons of one, can offer a shout out to the business by calling 781-499-6225 Ext. 123 and the business could be selected for recognition on the live stream.

“They call in on the line and we can use their voice or they can send us a script,” he said. “Helping each other.”

Giving back

The Real Estate Door also has a small free library outside its door for people to share books and help keep the business in mind.

Kenney noted that even as the real estate market is great for sellers, some people, particularly older sellers, are wary of having strangers in their houses due to COVID-19.

The Zoom culture’s ability to bring people together via social media has been felt to a degree with the streaming station.

“We get the emails because we get the requests,” he said. “We set up a voice extension for requests for dedications and things like that.”

Contests have really taken off.

“It made it more interactive for us,” Kenney said. “We make it fun.”

Prizes for contests such as “Guess the Celebrity Voice” include $20 gas gift cards from Ferry’s Automotive, $50 gift certificates and a T-shirt from RC Plumbing of Hanson and a $50 dining card and basket of “cool swag from John Alexopoulos of Radius Financial Group.

One of the tougher voices for people to guess recently was Australian actor Russell Crowe [“A Beautiful Mind”].

“No one could guess that one, but sometimes you can recognize the lines, if you’re a movie watcher,” he said. “There’s at least three winners a month.”

Alexopoulos also records a “Mortgage Minute” and financial planner Josh Singer does investment segments.

“We just want to expand our listenership and keep ties with our community,” Kenney said. “We would love more involvement from local businesses — all working together, keeping the doors open.”