WHITMAN — With 101 voters present on Monday, Nov. 14 — just one over the required quorum minimum of 100 — voters backed Select Board requests to change the Treasurer/Collector position to an appointed one and increased the salary being offered a new Town Administrator.

The Treasurer/Collector question will appear on the May 20, 2023 Town election ballot to be ratified, now that Town Meeting has approved it.

Interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam argued in his report, initially placed on the warrant as Article 12 from the board, that both moves were in recognition of recent changes that mean people serving in those positions these days require more advanced certifications. The report was taken out of order and made the first item of business for the evening.

“As an elected position, the sole requirement for the [Treasurer/Collector] role is to receive more than one more of 50 percent of the votes,” Lynam said. “There is no requirement that the candidate have any experience in managing and handling cash or in collecting municipal bills.”

He and former Treasurer/Collector Mary Beth Carter listed some of he requirements of the job today, as the financial market is more sophisticates and a town’s financial security leans mainly on the person in that post.

Carter was appointed by Selectmen Oct. 15, 2005 “following turmoil and resignation in the Collector’s Department.” She was subsequently appointed Treasurer on Dec. 2, 2008 after a retirement, Lynam outlined.

Questions about the appointment route, from Finance Committee member Rosemary Connolly, Town Clerk Dawn Varley and a resident centered on their concerns over taking away the voice of voters in that hiring decision.

Carter echoed Lynam’s remarks that the article is vital to the financial well-being of the town.

“I experienced first-hand the sense of duty and accountability of this position and the integral role this position plays in the town’s finances,” she said.

The positions require one to test for certifications and demand daily that the office-holder maintain cash book and record of all receipts, disbursement, cash balances as well as playing a major role in issuance of payments on all town debts, Carter enumerated. She recited a long list of job obligations including payroll, personnel  insurance, trust funds, enterprise funds and investments. On the collectors side, the responsiblilities include for collecting all money the municipality takes in, payments of refunds, accuracy of information and initiates tax-takings. Basically they handle every single penny that comes into the town and goes out of it.

“If the position is not changed to an appointed position, the town runs the risk of possibly having a person who is unqualified or is inexperienced as a treasurer/collector,” she said. “This position is too important to … have a person who may be popular, however is not qualified for this job.” 

In response to a question about who is responsible for paying for the educational credentials needed, Lynam said the town has always encouraged employees to further their education, but the initiative to learn the job requirements rests solely with the individual. But an elected officer cannot be directed or managed by anyone other than a town election, he said.

“It is very much in the town’s interest to thoroughly scrutinize the qualifications and skills of someone who will have access to and authority to invest, at various times, up to $45 million of taxpayer and ratepayer money on behalf of the town,” Lynam said.

There is little option to address an elected treasurer/collector is not performing, he cautioned, beyond a recall or superior court process.

Appointed persons go through a very public application process before they are hired. The majority of treasurer/collectors in both the area and the state are appointed, Lynam said.

Town administrators, meanwhile, present a salary problem, as Lynam’s research has shown average salaries have increased “well over 25 percent” since he retired in 2020 after 19 years on the job.

Extending the salary range by $10,000 – to a top level of $160,000 – has resulted in better responses to advertisements for the job.

He provided voters with a list of 30 municipalities on the South Shore in which administrator/manager salaries ranged from $142,500 in Acushnet to $215,000 in Scituate. Closer to Whitman, Bridgewater pays $178,607; East Bridgewater $150,000; West Bridewater $156,005; Hanover $158,200; Hanson $145,800 and Abington $150,000.

Whitman’s offering of between $143,000 to $150,000 “produced limited results” Lynam said and market conditions require more compensation than the town was offering. Increasing the range to $160,000 on the top end has already resulted in better responses, he said.

“But unless we are willing to offer competitive compensation, our ability to recruit is extremely limited,” he said.

The $10,000 for potentially increasing the town administrator salary was passed, along with eight other salary line adjustments in Article 13, which had to be amended from a total of $21,065 to 23,065 because of a typographical error. In fact, discussing whether that represented increasing a warrant article raised more attention than the $10,000 request.

Town counsel pointed out that it was, indeed, not an increase because adding up the figures for each line – none of which had changed – added up to the $23,065 figure and not the lower number originally printed in the warrant. In that way, voters were informed of the amount of the article, which was passed.

WHITMAN — How to make use of the former Police Station at the rear of Town Hall has been an open question for some time. During the Tuesday, Oct. 25 Select Board Meeting, Whitman Historical Commission member Marie Lailer made the organization’s pitch to use at least part of the facility, among possible locations for a Whitman Museum.

“We have a lot of town support for this,” she said. “The pieces of history that have found their way into our office, the DPW office, the Fire Station, the Police Station, just to mention a few, deserve a place to be preserved and protected.”

Concerns discussed involved the presence of asbestos, load-bearing walls, the need for secure storage areas for current town documents and ADA-compliant access to the site.

Lailer cited a Select Board discussion in January 2022, during which the commission asked the board to commit to moving the commission’s office and establishing a museum at the former station.

“The space is ideal, given it’s location in a current town building with handicapped access, but much work would need to be done before a move of our valuable historical collection could be completed,” she said. “All of this will take funding to make the interior suitable for this type of endeavor.”

South Shore Tech has already offered it’s assistance, but Lailer added, it would take great commitment of both time and money to make the proposal a reality.

The Commission is “at the gateway — for the first time — to request funding through the town’s newly approved participation in the Community Preservation Act and have applied to the CPC for additional funding “above the 10 percent automatically provided through the program to historical ventures,” according to Lailer. All donated historical documents, maps and memorabilia will be displayed in a way that residents can access for information and “enjoy the detailed history that is currently crammed into our office.”

In order to request the CPC funds, a sign-off is needed from the Select Board. That also involves allocating a space for the museum.

“We have talked to many residents regarding our hope, and feel this location is perfect for many reasons,” Lailer said, mentioning parking and accessibility at a town building with historic importance — and a part of it that has sat, empty, for many years.

“I would love other suggestions, but where are they?” she said.

That long-vacant status may continue for a while.

“We have discovered some challenges down there,” Select Board Chair Randy LaMattina said. “Such as asbestos, that needs to be removed. We also have some disability compliance issues that would have to be rectified because of the stone steps up and the steps down … from room to room.”

“It’s not a level facility,” interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam said. He also expressed concern about building security since the lower-level emergency exit goes out that way and, he said, the cells should be considered as vault areas.

Lailer said the cells were not included in the space the commission is considering, and agreed that a walk-through with Lynam might help the board envision the proposal better.

“I thought that would be a perfect place, too, until I started walking through it again,” Vice Chair Dan Salvucci said. “But that was way back when. … now we have more things to look into.”

Accessibility codes now take into consideration the width of doors and the height of steps. He also said the asbestos removal would have to be completed before SST students would be allowed to do any work there.

Salvucci also expressed concern over the fact that all the walls in the police station area are load-bearing, which could effect the cost of any renovation work.

Lailer suggested that the museum could work with existing walls, each room could be dedicated to a different aspect of town life and services.

Select Board member Justin Evans noted that the Historical Commission had been asked to return estimated costs for renovating and retrofitting the building to the board. He also said the board needed to hear recommendations as to what to do with unneeded existing equipment, “odds and ends the town is using and where the funding would come from.

Lailer said the commission is only interested in using the old police station, and stated that CPA money can be held in saving for a future project. She also asked for former Building Inspector Bob Curran to provide a walk-through to discuss cost factors during which he pointed out electrical work and other things that needed to be done.

She said the recent building inspector informed them that a walk-through wasn’t in his job description.

“I don’t know where to go from there,” Lailer said.

Evans said a $90,000 request for state funds through state Rep. Allyson Sullivan did not make the cut in budget discussions. Lailer said she is looking for additional grants.

Lynam also suggested the possible use of the former Park Avenue School and has consulted town counsel opinion.

“The process of taking over that particular property requires us filing a complaint in Superior Court, getting the attorney general to join us in setting aside a restriction that should never have been in the deed,” he said. Several ideas have been considered for its use in the past, but the deed specified the land be used for “school purposes” only.

They are also in talks to invite John Campbell to bring his extensive historical museum to the facility in the future. If he does make that decision, the commission would like to name the facility in his honor — the John Campbell Historical Museum — in recognition of the collection he displays in the former Regal Shoe Building on South Avenue.

WHITMAN – The lack of qualified candidates within a reasonable geographic area has motivated town officials to seek a higher salary ceiling when the special Town Meeting convenes next month.

The Select Board voted at its Tuesday, Oct. 25 meeting to add an article setting the salary range for the post to $160,000 on the Monday, Nov. 14 special Town Meeting warrant. Select Board member Shawn Kain abstained.

“What we’re doing is setting a ceiling,” Chair Randy LaMattina said. “We’re not actually negotiating or actually setting a salary … but I’ve yet to see someone come in and think they’re just qualified for the base level. But hearing that we’re not pulling candidates is kind of disheartening because it is something we have to move on.” 

Interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam said he has issued a draft of the special Town Meeting warrant, with the current articles under consideration, but said he wanted to place an article about the administrator’s salary.

“There is an article that addresses shortfalls in budgets for fiscal year 2023,” he said, but earlier that day the Town Administrator Search Committee met and found responses led them to the conclusion that the salary now being offered is hampering its work.

“If we’re going to attract a qualified administrator, we’re going to have to consider increasing the amount of money that we have budgeted,” Lynam reported.

The town is currently quoting a salary of “$150,000 and change.” The search committee is recommending that the Select Board consider increasing the salary ceiling figure to $160,000. That would require an additional $10,000 transfer at the Nov. 14 Town Meeting. 

“I don’t make this recommendation lightly,” he said. “It’s certainly a far cry from what we’ve seen in the past, but the reality is the market has gone crazy.”

There have been a “huge number” of retirements and people who have left public administration and Whitman is struggling to attract qualified candidates, in part because the town is competing with communities willing to pay more.

“It is what it is,” Vice Chair Dan Salvucci said.

“The special Town Meeting is the appropriate time to ask for more money for this position,” agreed  Select Board member Justin Evans. “I think the timing is right, it is what it is.”

Kain said he had definite reservations about it.

“I feel like it’s not an easy recommendation to seek,” he said, noting he respects the search committee’s recommendation. “We have to think carefully about this, because for obvious reasons, we’re going to see multiple effects throughout the budget.”

He said, while hiring the right person for that role, he felt he would like more time to process it.

“We can increase it to a higher level,” Salvucci said. “We can bargain, but at least the money is there in case any person we decide to go with chooses to go the full $160,000.”

LaMattina asked how many applicants the committee has seen.

The town received 14 applications.

“We very easily went through and disqualified nine of them today,” Lynam said. “It was a clear decision that there was no merit to considering those persons to recommend for the position due to lack of experience, ability, education – you name it.

“It’s been disappointing,” he continued. “And it isn’t for lack of reaching out.”

Lynam said that, in addition to advertising in municipal management publications, he has personally reached out to both Bridgewater State and Suffolk University alumni associations because they are turning out the most people with MPA degrees right now. But only one applicant has resulted so far.

Search Committee member John Galvin said the flexibility in negotiations that Salvucci mentioned was one reason for seeking the increase. Parting a bit from Lynam, he said there are really only two applicants so far that are worth considering.

“There are a couple from Arizona and Kansas and it’s like, ‘really?’” Galvin said. Although, while not comparable posititons, the school district recently hired someone from Alabama as its new facilities director.

They also did research into what town administrators are getting paid and the average is around $200,000.

Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak also met with the board briefly to discuss how the School Committee will be conducting joint budget meetings with the towns.

Such a joint meeting was held last year, at which time the select boards said they wanted to get more information and have more dialog prior to the budget season, Szymaniak said.

He has already presented his budget roll-out plan for fiscal 2024 to the School Committee.

“I’m going to present a tentative budget, without hard numbers  – which I won’t get until February – to the School Committee on Dec. 21,” he said. He said he would like to present either in a joint forum to the committee and both boards, or to each board with its Finance Committee in attendance, during the week of Jan. 9, 2023.

He also plans to meet with Hanson’s Select Board on Tuesday, Nov. 15 to hear what they want to say, and was seeking feedback from Whitman Select Board members this week.

“What I really don’t want to do is six individual meetings,” he said. “I’d like to do it collaboratively.”

The annual public forum focusing on the formal presentation of the school budget will be on Feb.1.

“Then we’ll get into the nitty gritty of questions that people have, but I wanted to give you an overview of what I’m thinking … and I wanted to hear from you what you were thinking and if that works with you in your timeline,” Szymaniak said. 

Kain said he thinks that Szymaniak and the budget subcommittee are doing excellent work, and should continue to help the process.

“I think it’s giving us a baseline of how we move forward,” Szymaniak said.

Salvucci asked whether one presentation to a joint meeting of both select boards and town finance committees would be more productive, and would ensure both towns received the same information in the same way.

“That’s my preference,” Szymaniak said, noting he would try to arrange it during the same week in January as the individual meetings were being considered. “I want feedback.”

Charged up?

In other business, the board also discussed the potential for electric and/or hybrid municipal vehicles after declaring five municipal vehicles – a 2004 Crown Victoria, a 2003 F250 pickup truck, a 2004 F250 utility body, a 2006 F250 pickup truck and a 1999 International 4900 – as surplus.

National Grid is fostering a MassFLEET Advisory Services Program, according to Evans, who has recused himself from being the contact person because funding is coming from National Grid, one of the companies he works to regulate as a state Department of Public Utilities employee.

Evans said Abington Town Manager Scott Lambiase, a former member of the Whitman Select Board, contacted hime about the program, as Abington is considering participation and Lambiase thought it might be a good fit for Whitman, as well.

A third-party company, working with National Grid funding, is offering to do fleet advisory services for public entities such as towns, school districts and community colleges, among others. 

“They will look at our current vehicle list, do an analysis – including our vehicle replacement timeline – of the cost and benefits of switching to battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and present it back to the town at no cost,” Evans said.

The town’s only financial commitment would be about 10 hours of staff time.

“If I’m reading this correctly, it also addresses infrastructure needs to set up for electric vehicles and further things down the line,” LaMattina said, noting that 2035 is when Massachusetts will be going full EV. “You’re starting to see [the change] – the first electric fire truck just rolled out in California and you are starting to see more and more larger trucks and things go this way.” 

LaMattina said he thinks it sets up the town for issues officials have to begin considering, especially with the new DPW building and a new middle school being planned – what infrastructure will need to be in place when the new policies start coming online.

“It’s definitely something to think about,” he said.

Bus transportation has been an issue since this summer, with school buses now at capacity students, drivers and parents feeling stressed, Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak reported during the Wednesday, Oct. 12 meeting of the School Committee.

Szymaniak announced at the meeting that monitors are being added to the district’s “high-impact” buses. He also said he has already had a couple of people volunteer.

“In COVID times we advertised for monitors [but] got no hits,” he said. “This would really be to oversee and assist the bus drivers in maintaining some control over the buses.”

The aim was to have them on board early this week.

The state requires 75 percent capacity on buses to qualify for regional transportation reimbursement, which further complicates the matter. Not every bus needs to be at 75 percent capacity.

A Hanson mother had given an extensive and detailed report during the public comment period about the emotional toll on her children of noisy, crowded buses that are stressing out drivers as well as students.

“Our buses are at capacity in Whitman and we’re a little lighter in Hanson, due to the fact that you have a wider space [in Hanson],” Szymaniak said, noting that initially meant, since Hanson buses had fewer students on them, Transportation Director Karen Villanueva crunched the numbers and Hanson ended up losing four of its 12 buses, he said.

Whitman’s area is about 5 square miles, while Hanson’s is about 15.6 square miles.

“It seems to be an issue at the elementary level with noise,” Szymaniak said. “I think putting more kids on a bus – and we seat them at capacity, which used to be two in a seat. It’s [now] three in a seat by law, by what we can do.”

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said the goal is to use existing school district staff as monitors.

“It’s people the students recognize – whether it’s paraprofessionals, people who work in the lunch system, whether it’s a teacher or two – our goal is to encourage our staff and to work with out staff so that they can keep those positive relationships, hopefully, going or establish positive relationships so we can get kids home safe and go from there,” Ferro said.

Szymaniak said the district will continue to look at numbers in an effort to make more adjustments. 

“Hanson has been affected much more greatly than the town of Whitman,” he said. “These were the numbers we had when we presented our budget … and I absolutely will provide information to the finance committees.”

Whitman Finance Committee member Rosemary Connolly had made a specific request for that information during the meeting’s public forum.

“You did say that Hanson is more impacted, but they are both at capacity, so basically Whitman has consistently been impacted and Hanson is just beginning to feel the same impact … I think is a better way to describe it,” Connolly replied. “We probably should have had the fix of somebody on the bus before.”

Szymaniak thanked Connolly and fellow Whitman Finance Committee member Kathleen Ottina for bringing the bus capacity issue to the district’s attention.

School Committee member Dawn Byers said spreadsheet information available last year showed capacity problems.

“There are elementary schools in the district last year and the year before and the year before … with the same complaints – loud buses, bus drivers pulling over,” she said, indicating her children has similar complaints 10 years ago. “It’s consistently been that way for Whitman schools. … Something has to be fixed.”

She said the average ridership for Indian Head Schools 12 buses had been an average of 38 students and she asked about any savings. Conley School, with a similar number of students has eight buses serving the school.

Szymaniak said there was a $55,000 savings overall by moving tiers of bus routes, which is where distance traveled enters the equation.

“If that’s the past, now that we know what we need to do going forward, I’m hopeful that your solution of monitors on the buses will provide kids a safe and comfortable ride,” Committee member Fred Small said, addressing Szymaniak, who said he would like to put monitors on every bus.

“Right now, we’re going to hit the high-impact buses we’re having issues with,” Szymaniak said.

Chair Christopher Howard noted that there appears to be a “host of problems:” size of towns, bus routes were changed, post-pandemic concerns – “a whole bunch of moving parts to this issue.”

“You have to have an opportunity to manage and figure it out, but at the same time, I’m not sure I’m excited or comfortable about waiting until a November meeting to address the issue, ” he said to Szymaniak, asking what he saw as the next step and how he wanted to proceed. “This seems to be an issue that’s been here since the beginning of school.”
Szymaniak said the monitors are a solution he can control. 

“I can’t control the reimbursables, I can’t control the routes right now,” he said.

He said he has heard from elementary-level educators that it’s taking time for children to learn to resocialize following the pandemic and more kids on a bus raises the noise and anxiety level.

Szymaniak said he would need the time until the November meeting to work the problem and Howard encouraged people with questions to email them to the superintendent.

Hanson School Committee member Hillary Kniffen suggested another short-term aid would be to communicate with families how they should be helping adjust their children’s behavior on the bus.

Ferro also gave the annual MCAS report. While scores had been higher pre-pandemic, he said trends are now heading upward again, based on a three-year overview of scores.

“The state has basically said COVID is over,” he said. “They said you now have accountability status once again beginning this year for those schools that will get it. … This is the baseline year.”

There were no exams in 2020 because of COVID and, in the last two years there was a dip in reading scores, but math is already improving. The district is also conducting a curriculum analysis to identify strengths and areas where improvement is needed.

“We are still behind [standards] but we are making gains,” Ferro said.

Select boards in both Whitman and Hanson came to independent agreement on the number of members they wished to see — and whom to appoint — to the next Regional Agreement Subcommittee during their respective meetings on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

The School Committee was scheduled to discuss the matter again Wednesday, Oct. 12, and perhaps finalize the panel. The School Committee’s preference was for six voting members — two of their members (School Committee Chair Christopher Howard and Vice Chair Christopher Scriven), two selectmen and the two town administrators. 

The original non-voting contingent was two citizens at-large, two finance committee members, the superintendent and assistant superintendent of schools.

“We wanted to keep it nimble,” Howard said, noting that dialog and consensus are also the aims.

“We’re trying to move this forward, and I think a  smaller committee does that,” Whitman Select Board Chair Randy LaMattina said.

The towns preferred four voting members, with the administrators serving in a non-voting capacity.

“That makes sense to me,” said Whitman Selectman Dr. Carl Kowalski of the four-person panel representing the two towns and their regional schools. “That’s sort of equal representation and it’s a smaller group.”

Hanson Selectmen did not want to include town administrators as voting members, largely because they are town employees.

The Whitman board said they could accept the administrators serving as non-voting members, as they are analogous to the position of superintendent of school. The towns also agreed to send one member to the subcommittee, although Hanson expressed a preference for two. 

Hanson voted to appoint Jim Hickey to the subcommittee, and Whitman voted to name Justin Evans to it. Hanson Select Board member Joe Weeks had also indicated a willingness to serve, but said his schedule limits his availability to Mondays.

“I find it a little odd to have the town administrators as a voting member since they are employees,” Hanson Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I definitely could see them being an advisory member — they definitely have to be part of the conversation.”

She preferred the smaller, more streamlined, four voting members approach.

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam agreed.

“From my perspecitive, the town administrator represents the interests of the Board of Selectmen,” he said. “With a member of the Board of Selectmen there, I think it becomes less important for the TA to have a vote because the decisions that are made are going to be made after they’re presented to the individual boards.”

As long as it does not affect the ability of the group to move and for administrators to be heard over their concerns, it wouldn’t matter to him if it was a voting or non-voting role.

Whitman Selectmen Vice Chair Dan Salvucci argued that one member from each select board should be enough, because they would be able to report back to their boards.

Select Board members from both towns said residents would be encouraged to attend meetings and let their opinions be known.

School Committee Chair Christopher Howard attended both board’s meetings Tuesday night to get a sense of their preferences after his committee formed the regional agreement panel last month. 

“I wanted to get a little more feedback before we go fully forward and talk about timing,” Howard told the Hanson board.

Hickey said he thought the Hanson board had expressed their preference for two Selectmen on the committee. Select Board member Ann Rein expressed concern that Green was a Pembroke resident — saying that all parties should be residents of either town. She withdrew her concern when it was pointed out that Green is a Whitman resident.

Green said that as a Hanson town employee living in Whitman, she would most likely recuse herself from any votes because of that conflict.

“We took feedback from both boards and we tried to get … a fairly small contingent of voting members,” Howard said, noting any decisions must be approved by DESE, then back to the select boards and both town meetings. “I’d rather kind of all be on the same page before we start.”

Howard said he would favor removing the citizen at-large non-voting member.

“I would encourage anyone that’s a resident of Hanson or Whitman that wants to participate, to come to the meeting,” he said. “There’s no difference to me between a posted, public meeting where anyone can participate or having a non-voting citizen at-large member.”

He also wants to get the work started and was concerned the selection of citizen at-large members could slow things down.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also asked if a mediator was considered in case disagreements surfaced and to help avoid tie votes some board members were concerned about.

“I think it’s hard because of some of the lines that have been drawn and past actions for people to be able to get to that place on our own,” she said.

“I think it’s going to be more difficult than people think, and there are some issues that really are contentious,” Whitman Select Board member Shawn Kain said, arguing for two select board members from each town. Having two members could help determine a middle ground where agreements might be reached, he said.

Evans noted that monetary issues were a main sticking point that the last regional agreement panel worked out, and this committee could move on to other issues. 

HANSON – The Select Board, on Tuesday, Sept. 27 approved closure of the public comment period and submission of the town’s energy aggregation plan to the state Department of Public Utilities for final approval.

That process is expected to take at least a year, with an eye toward an official launch by next winter, according to consultant Patrick Roche of Good Energy.

“Only after we’re approved by DPU would we be allowed to go out to bid for electricity,” he said. “Once we have done that, then we would do a big education and outreach period before the program starts, so people will know they can choose not to participate [if that is what] they want.”

Roche stressed that the aggregation does not become the town’s electric company. The only portion of a customer’s electricity bill the plan can change is the electricity generation costs.

The aggregate would buy electricity on behalf of Hanson residents as a group, with those who prefer other plans given the right to opt out.

“A lot of towns have been doing this and, in the process of doing it, we mitigate the risk,” said Energy Committee Vice Chair James Armstrong, noting that utility companies buy energy every four to six months in that way, depending on the tariff they are under. “They buy it at the same time every year. We have a little more flexibility in how we do ours — that’s why we have a consultant.”

The vote followed a public hearing with the board, which closed out a public comment period on the plan, with Roche, who attended remotely. The firm helps the town know when to buy energy, what to look at and whether they should shorten or lengthen purchase contracts — currently done by the year — if it makes sense in the market to do so.

“We can play the market, whereas the utilities cannot,” Armstrong said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about trying to save money for the citizens of Hanson, and it’s also about giving options to the citizens of Hanson to buy more green power.”

He explained this was the second hearing conducted on the proposed energy aggregate plan for Hanson.

“We actually submitted [it] to the DPU,” Armstrong said. “They made some modifications and sent it back. We had to modify our plan, that’s why we needed to have another hearing.”

The current public comment period on the DPU’s revisions had been open since Aug. 10. The proposal was approved at Town Meeting last year, Armstrong reminded the board, so it is not something new.

Only two comments had been received, both asking if the program was live yet and how they could sign on.

“Ironically, National Grid has actually announced a 40-percent increase in our electric bills, starting next month,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is mitigate that risk, and that was always our intention.”

Roche said that increase is already “baked in,” but the aggregation could help protect the town from similar price spikes in the future.

With no public comment at Tuesday’s meeting, Select Board members made their comments and/or asked questions.

“I’m very new to all this,” Select Board member Ann Rein said, asking if an incident similar to last winter’s electrical grid failure in Texas could happen here.

“I suppose it’s possible that could happen here,” Roche said. “[But] your program would not change, whether or not that could happen.”

He explained the Texas crisis was rooted in the failure to adequately assess how much transmission on the grid was possible on the part of the state’s regional grid operator as well as regulatory shortcomings.

Armstrong added that, despite growth in use over the last 10 years, because of energy efficiency programs, the amount of electricity used has not changed. There are no more coal-fueled energy plants left in New England, he said, noting those that are left, are fueled by natural gas. The state is also encouraging battery storage to more easily handle demand spikes.

The state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard requires utilities to purchase a certain percentage of green energy. Hanson is now at about 25 percent and is seeing that ratio go up by 2 percent every year, according to Armstrong.

“We’re trying to buy 5-percent more than we’re required to,” he said. “That’s it — just a little bit more to be a little bit greener as we do things, and at the same time, save ourselves some green, too.”

Select Board member Ed Heal, while he likes the program, expressed skepticism at the effectiveness of renewable energy sources and was concerned that people had to request to opt out.

“I don’t like forcing people into something where they need to opt out,” he said. “I would rather it be you opt into this program.”

Armstrong said that residents who already have such a third-party source will not automatically be added to the aggregation. But urged vigilance. He said he has a third-party energy source at home already, but wasn’t following it and there was a price spike. 

“I’m an energy engineer … but I wasn’t watching myself,” he said. “What this does, is allow someone else to watch out for you on that issue.”

Heal’s objections stem from a lack of choice, he said, and expressed concern that the program would not prevent electricity costs to go through the roof.

“Eventually, we’re not going to have a choice, it’s going to be whatever these people say we’re going to have,” he said. “It’s going to be green, and that’s it — for better or worse.”

Roche said the aggregation will also govern its purchase of renewable energy in a way to be more cost-effective than National Grid.

Among other business, the Select Board conducted its final review of warrant articles ahead of the Monday, Oct. 3 special Town Meeting.

The Finance Committee, which met at the same time as the Select Board on Tuesday, Sept. 13, had already expressed concern to that their final recommendations would not be ready until the Tuesday, Sept. 27 meeting.

By Tuesday’s meeting the Finance Committee had recommended all articles except those with salary implications out of sustainability concerns.

The Capital Improvement Committee Chair Frank Milisi, Vice Chair Kurt Travis II and members Ken Sweezey and Pat Wheeler met with the Select Board, of which two members also serve on the Capital Committee – Ed Heal and Joe Weeks on Sept. 13.

Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said at that meeting that she has spoken with both Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., and Library Director Karen Stolfer, both of whom indicated their capital request articles presented for the October special Town Meeting Warrant “were not dire” and they were not concerned if the articles were deferred to the May 2023 annual Town Meeting. 

The articles dealt with a Fire Station feasibility study and an HVAC study for the library.

“There were also some concerns about adding positions,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, noting that the part-time position for the Select Board office was, indeed necessary. 

“I guess the biggest question is how much money are they willing to let us spend on capital expenses?” Milisi asked, noting that longer waits for some projects would translate to higher costs.

HANSON – Ralph and Alli Greenberg, co-owners of Impressed LLC returned to the Select Board, Tuesday, Sept. 13 to provide an update on their plan to expand their cannabis business at 15 Commercial Way to include a delivery component as well as the grow facility already approved by the town.

Joining Ralph Greenberg in meeting virtually with the board were their equity partner Shanel Lindsay and consultant Ezra Parzybok. 

Select Board members had asked last month that the Greenbergs provide: projected financials for the grow facility; projected financials for the delivery service; and the framework of the delivery service, its rules of engagement and any other information that would be important for the board to know.

The proposal is on the Oct. 3 special Town Meeting.

Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said Impressed and its partner firm La Flora LLC have provided a great deal of in-depth documentation on paper to town officials.

“I’m hoping that you guys are thinking about having somebody at Town Meeting in case there are questions that come up,” she said after the presentation. “As much as we tried to own everything you just said, we’re not going to do it as much justice as you folks would.”

“The one thing I wanted to get out of this tonight and going into Town Meeting, is we really need those [financial] numbers,” said Select Board member Ann Rein said. “I’m telling you right now that townspeople are going to want to see that there’s a real benefit to this. You’ve got a tough fight on your hands if you don’t have some concrete numbers to give to them.”

She also said residents would have to understand the difference between the cultivation business already approved, and the delivery license they now seek.

FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed, noting that it cannot be stressed enough that it is not going to be a brick-and-mortar store.

“What was an eye-opener to me is medical deliveries have been happening all along and we didn’t even know it because it’s very discreet,” she said.

Select Board member Jim Hickey asked questions about town revenue vs the company’s net income growth projections. The figures are based on retail figures, FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested.

Hickey also said questions would also include what drivers would be paid, hours of operation and some other details, which  FitzGerald-Kemmett said appear to be included in the documentation supplied to the board.

Changing government regulations and a possible federal legalization could also have an effect, Parzybok said. Lindsay said they also envision higher set-up expenses in the first year.

Select Board member Joe Weeks said that, while some at Town Meeting will oppose a cannabis business no matter what, and some will urge approval of marijuana in all it’s forms, the vast majority will have to be convinced.

“The town wants to make sure from seed-to-sale that it is not going to fall into the wrong hands,” he said, noting that they want to see that the regulatory documents are Impressed’s policies and procedures to keep the town’s kids safe.

“One of the things I have experience in is not only running a very organically grown, sustainable business, but also a very compliant business and that is what we intend to bring as a partner to Impressed and to the town, a business that is sustainable, that in one that helps the town that helps Impress realize their dream of sustainabilty and also brings needed revenue to the town,” Lindsay said.

Ralph Greenberg said he thought the board should first know a little bit more about the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) and how they work. The commission conducts a post-final license inspection, which gives businesses the ability to sell product. Some of the product already grown has been inspected and is ready for sale.

The test results provide the business; pricing structure that users and wholesalers will pay.

“I don’t think it’s really prudent to give you a projection [for that reason],” he said. “It will really be a novelty number and it would be fraudulent for me to say anything to you and give you a number as a projection. The market has changed dramatically in the last couple of months.”

Greenberg said that adding a delivery component to the wholesale business could provide them with the profitability from which it would profit.

“I think the big question is, How do we create this delivery component to the Impressed Group and make this the opportunity that we’re all looking for?” Greenburg said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the board understands what he is saying but that they are being asked to support adding the delivery component, which they are feeling “quite favorably about,” but stressed that an important consideration for voters is how much money it would bring to the town.

“If we’re not getting any kind of projection on the financials, that’s a very difficult position that we’re being put in, as the elected representatives for our constituents, where we literally don’t have any information to give them,” she said. “We’re being asked to take a leap of faith that we’re going to make some money, but we can’t really tell you how much money.” 

FitzGerald-Kemmett said Select Board members will be expecting at least a low-ball figure that can be presented to Town Meeting within the next couple of years because opponents will attend Town Meeting with made-up numbers in an effort to argue that the town won’t receive enough revenue from the project to make it worthwhile.

 “We have nothing to say whether those numbers are correct or not,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Those numbers would have to come from you.”

Lindsay, a lawyer as well as equity partner with Impressed LLC, has also been involved in the cannabis business for about 10 years, including a patent for a device that allows medical patients and seniors to make cannabis products for their medical needs. She was also asked to help write the law legalizing cannabis for adults over 21. She has been a member of the CCC advisory board during its initial work and was reappointed for a second term during its crafting of the second set of regulations, including those governing delivery. She is also one of the few female owners of a cannabis business, Lindsay said.

“I am also very excited to help and join [a] partnership with one of the very few female growers in the industry, and also a family business,” Lindsay said, noting that hers is a family business, as well.

Parzybok is a licensing and security expert in the field, Lindsay said.

Delivery businesses are only open to people who meet a number of standards regarding their past, the communities they come from and equity in hiring and participation in the industry.

Lindsay’s business, La Flora LLC, is a partner with Impressed LLC.

“It makes a ton of sense for both of us to work hand-in-hand to make sure that all of the product being grown by Impressed makes it out into the marketplace in Massachusetts,” she said. “It’s important to understand that this is a very, very, heavily regulated product that has many layers of tracking and many different layers of technology to make sure that the product does not end up in the wrong hands.”

Parzybok, who is also a cannabis education consultant, outlined the procedures and protocols to ensure product safety in Hanson.

“I’ve made it my mission to see these businesses open in the most compliant way,” he said, while making sure communities understand what that means.

Delivery operator’s licenses are separate from courier licenses, which cover those who deliver product to homes from a retail outlet.

“Delivery operator is a warehouse model, and is a perfect scenario for a partnership with Impressed,” he said. “Medical marijuana is a different legal category, which has the exact same product level.”

The main difference is medical marijuana has a much stronger and has been permitted for home delivery from the start in Massachusetts, for both customer privacy and convenience.

He said 32 percent of adults 21 and older in states where cannabis is fully legal have consumed it in the last six months. Alcohol consumption is at 70 percent, but he said cannabis is closing that gap as a replacement for alcohol.

State regulations govern vehicles — which are unmarked generic-looking passenger vehicles — product storage, facility vaults, driver training, GPS tracking software, manifests, ID checks and state-seed-to-sale tracking. Delivery vehicles must pull into an enclosed facility for loading directly from a vault, to which only specific employees have access.

“I’ve made it my mission to help these businesses get opened in the most compliant way, and also to educate the community — to make sure they understand what that means,” Parzybok said. Medical marijuana, for example, is much stronger than recreational cannabis.

As for hard numbers on local impact revenue the town can expect, he said the market is quite volatile, he said, but estimated net income for the town based on  Impressed’s first year is put at $408,297. For the second year it is estimated at $990,848 – $1,091,126 for year three, $1,124,100 in year four and $1,198,195 in year five.

The figures were based on an output of 1,000 of quality product for the first year and the goal of 3,000 pounds of yearly output with a current annual wholesale price of $1,500 to $2,000 per pound. But more producer businesses are coming on board, which is a reason Impressed is seeking a delivery license as well.

“With these figures, we really tried to be conservative,” Lindsay said.

Security cameras and hardwired GPS systems are features of the delivery vehicles, and regulations require licensed agents, who are trained in security practices, to staff the vehicles.

All areas of the business property, inside and out, are also covered by security cameras. Body cameras are also worn by delivery agents, who advise clients, at their doors, that their transactions are being recorded. Little to no cash is used in transactions.

“It’s important to understand that this is a very, very regulated product that has many, many different layers of tracking, many, many, many different layers of technology to make sure the product does not end up in the wrong hands,” Lindsay said.

WHITMAN — The Select Board on Tuesday, Sept. 13 appointed the six members to a search committee for a new town administrator and discussed the process of appointing an interim treasurer-collector, effective Nov. 1.

“I take pleasure in announcing that Beth Stafford, a former selectman and a School Committee member, has reached out and volunteered to serve on that group,” Interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam said. “I think it’s a great opportunity to bring new and old experiences together to focus on hopefully moving quickly to identify candidates.”

“That’s a constant theme, isn’t it,” Select Board member Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

Chair Randy LaMattina said Stafford is “definitely more than qualified to serve in that capacity

“We’ve always tried to have a diverse selection of [people] on our hiring groups, and I think that keeps in line with that,” he said.

Members of the group will be Stafford, Lynam, Kowalski, Fire Chief Timothy Clancy, Finance Committee Chair Rick Anderson and resident John Galvin.

Lynam said the board had explored engaging other persons to assist as treasurer/collector on a temporary basis, but that did not work out for various reasons. MaryBeth Carter had worked as Whitman’s treasurer/collector since 2006.

“What I failed to notice in the process was we have a home-grown candidate, who has worked for us for close to five years in the capacity of town accountant and he is prepared to take on that new responsibility,” Lynam said of Town Accountant Kenneth Lytle. “As you know, the position is an elected one. We can appoint a treasurer/collector until the next election.”

He reminded the board they have spoken about his recommendation to bring the proposal to change the treasurer/collector position to an appointed one and argued for doing so at a November Town Meeting.

“I’m asking that the board consider appointing Ken as of Nov. 1 to the position of acting treasurer/collector, to be paid at the base rate of the former treasurer/collector,” Lynam said. He noted that Carter has offered to provide some assistance during the transition and he has spoken with the auditors to clarify the process — Lytle will stay in his current role until the end of October to close out work on the fiscal year.

“It is a specific legal requirement that a town accountant not be a treasurer/collector of the community as well, because those are checks and balances,” Lynam said.

“I think we knew when we hired Ken, he’s world-class,” LaMattina said, saying it was a logical choice. “His work performance is fantastic.”

Lynam said the treasurer/collector is one of the most responsible positions the town has, entrusted with the handling and investing of more than $43 million in taxpayer money.

“It requires a skill set that not just anybody can do,” he said. “Ken has a background as an accountant … and has demonstrated his knowledge.”

In other business, the board reviewed its marijuana business host agreement and related social equity policies and procedures with town counsel attorney Peter Sumners and voted to approve the social equity policy, while postponing a vote in the host agreement itself. 

The May Town Meeting approved a bylaw allowing cannabis business zoning in the town.

“That bylaw is still currently at the attorney general’s office Municipal Law Unit awaiting approval,” Sumners said. “They sought an extension from town counsel’s office [and] Michelle McNulty granted the extension through Oct. 5, so we should know [by then] whether that’s approved or not.”

Sumners said he has spoken with the attorney general’s office and reported “no major issues” to be worried about, and forecast that it should largely be approved.

“There’s just a couple of unique provisions that they’re taking a look at, but that won’t have an effect on the rest of the bylaw if they have any issues,” he said. 

In the meantime, the state has also passed new legislation that “pretty drastically” changes some provisions of the cannabis statutes — especially concerning community impact fees.

“That required a substantial revision to a form of host community agreement that we were working with,” Sumners said. A team from the town counsel’s office has reached out to some interested applicants over the summer, identifying locations and trying to move forward with licensing, but they have to enter into a host community agreement first. 

“While the town can’t enter into one of those until you have your zoning bylaw in place, we have been able to speak with them and keep things moving forward to get things ready in anticipation of that bylaw being approved,” he said. 

The legislation change also requires a town to adopt social equity policies and procedures to address impact on people “disparately impacted by marijuana prohibition in the past,” before a host community agreement can be entered into. The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) is charged with issuing model policies and procedures, but has not done so yet.

He provided a policy to the board that he expects would meet any minimum standards the CCC might issue.

“We anticipate that whatever we come up with, in terms of a host community agreement, is going to be used for every marijuana business,” Sumners said, noting his office has received a lot of positive feedback from potential businesses.

Board Vice Chair Dan Salvucci noted that business would be responsible for financial impact of any need for increased public safety activity or wear and tear on town infrastructure. He asked if it could be increased if a cost, such as the number of police officers, increased.

“If the impact on the town is more than 3 percent of a business’ gross sales, it is still capped at 3 percent,” Sumners said. “The big change over the summer, is we now have to send them documentation of what the impacts on the town are first … and they can last eight years.”

Select Board member Justin Evans said he and Select Board member Shawn Kain have been working with Sumners on the issue and noted that Kain had a suggestion to include the cost of substance use and abuse prevention and education programs in the impact fee.

“It’s something that I think is a responsibility on us as a community to do,” Kain said.

Kain also suggested the formation of a small budget working group to plan for the fiscal 2024 town budget.

“It’s just something to keep in the forefront of where we want to get to when budget season starts, so that we can use it then,” he said. “I think it’s a really important tool that will really help us with some big decisions.”