WHITMAN – The Select Board on Tuesday, Nov. 29 heard presentations from four cannabis retailers, each seeking one of the three licenses available to establish a recreational retail business in town.

Four applicants – Flower & Soul, Berkeley Botanicals, Stories and Mitchell Cannabis Co. – presented their business proposals to the board, which anticipates voting on the licenses at its Dec. 13 meeting. The applicants’ full presentations can be viewed on the Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV YouTube channel.

There were some familiar faces involved in ownership or leadership positions of two companies. Former Whitman Police Chief Scott Benton is the security advisor for Stories LLC, and former Hanson Selectman Kenny Mitchell is CFO of Mitchell Cannabis Co.

The applicants all proposed adult-use retail establishments involving tier-one cultivation and manufacturing components as well as transportation licenses for business-to-business transport.

Selectman Justin Evans asked if any of the four would try for one of the medical or grow facility licenses if they did not receive a retail permit, but all of them indicated that their business models were planned around the retail aspect, with more than one indicating the buildings they have invested in are either not ideally located or designed for a grow facility.

“We’re picking the locations based on the current uses,” Wall said.

“We’re pretty committed to cultivation and product manufacturing,” Berkeley attorney Shawn Reilly said. Owner Matt Raderbach noted the town’s bylaw does not permit cultivation in different areas off Route 18, including their location where the site plan has already been approved and built out.

“Under the state’s new community agreement law, the days of 3-percent community impact fee being the default are over,” said Flower & Soul attorney Blake Mensing, who is a local regulator has worked on 100 cannabis licenses in the state. “Everything single product grown and manufactured that gets retailed through the store here would be subject to the 3-percent local option tax.”

Whitman has just over 15,000 residents, of which about 10,000 are over age 21 — and could legally buy from the businesses, possibly bringing in  $7.5 to $10 million in revenue between the three licenses, according to Wall. That amount is relatively low because of Brockton’s 13 licenses, Abington’s four and two each for Marshfield and Natick.

“It’s like an Apple store,” said Valerio Romano, a co-author of the ballot initiative that legalized cannabis in Massachusetts, and who represents Stories LLC, planned for 769 Bedford St. Dr. Davis Patel, an internist at Brown University, and Stories CFO and Benton also attended the meeting.

Patel’s research into medical uses of cannabis indicated shifting pain management to cannabis, rather than opioids, would help limit addiction problems.

“I was very impressed,” Benton said of his conversation with the Stories ownership. “As you know, we do have things going on — especially even here in our town — with regard to opioids and things like that, and just to get their perspective … I found interesting.”

He vetted the company and its officers.

“They are as good as they sound,” Benton said. “Believe me I looked.”

Flower & Soul founder/CEO Brian Wall, a Whitman native, said the business would operate at 356 South Ave., in Whitman as SoulFlower, separate from his Halifax business model, in half of a building that was a former show manufacture building. 

Reilly, who represented the first cannabis business in Abington, and Raderbach, owner of Berkeley Botanicals, has operated a cannabis retailer in Bridgewater since 2014. Berkeley, which owns other business locations in southern New England, Philadelphia and Arizona in several business capacities, and has worked with DPH before it became the CCC.

In Whitman, the business would operate as Renew Cannabis Co. at 305 Bedford St. (Route 18), owned by Sweezey properties. His father runs medical marijuana businesses in several towns, including Bridgewater.

“This isn’t a day job for me,” Raderbach said. “This is my life.”

Security, from controlled entry to a separate exit, physical security inside and outside the building and appointment-only operations at least to start, have been a priority.

“What’s important tonight is to get to know the folks and the team members and who’s going to be part of it,” said Peter D’Agostino, representing Mitchell Cannabis Co. “A lot of this stuff is very heavily regulated.”

Kenneth Mitchell Sr., CFO of the family company has also been general manager of Newcomb’s Tree Service.

A minority-owned business, Mitchell is also applying to the state as a social equity applicant for their proposed business at 519 Auburn St., the location of the former Toll House motel, with plans to keep the relatively historic building while restoring the exterior.

SoulFlower, Renew Cannabis and Stories use a wellness approach to cannabis treating customers based on their individual needs, and all four companies already do, or have pledged to, work with local police and drug abuse prevention organizations and support local community groups.

The board asked questions of each company following their presentations.

“We don’t look to be a business, we look to be a partner,” Wall said, noting his contributions to the Halifax community and pledged to prioritize local contractors. “We’re here to work with the chief, not to be an obstacle to him.”

The stores would all be looking at a nine- to 11-month timeline from town license approval to opening.

WHITMAN – The Select Board on Tuesday, Nov. 15 voted, in agreement with the Board of Assessor’s recommendation, to maintain a single tax rate for all property classifications for fiscal 2023. 

Neither the residential nor small commercial exemptions were approved, as has been the board’s usual course of action.

The excess levy capacity is estimated to be $286,521.94.

“That was calculated last week [before the Nov. 14 special Town Meeting],” said Assessor Kathleen Keefe. “That number is going to change.”

Interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the number should go down a little bit because of corrections the town is making, including funds from the DPW as indirect charges and they are not supposed to be assessed that way. After the Town Meeting votes are entered and the Department of Revenue (DOR) approves corrections on estimated revenue, a final number will be available.

“We have more than one variable going on,” Keefe agreed.

“The revenue estimates are going to change slightly, too,” Lynam said. “This process is intended to give you an idea of what happens if you tax everyone the same or you tax people differently.”

The actual tax rate is set after the board decides how to assess and the assessor compiles all that information.

“There’s not going to be a huge difference,” he said. “I learned a long time ago, don’t tell people what the tax rate is and then change it.”

“This is not the tax rate,” Keefe said.

Keefe presented her annual report concerning the town’s options regarding how the town’s fiscal 2023 tax rate would be set for the property classifications – residential, commercial, industrial and personal property, referred to by the shorthand CIP.

The DOR reviews and approves the adjusted values approved by the assessor’s office.

The assessed residential value is based on a comparable sales market analysis, which looks at the prices for which properties sell each year to determine a property’s worth. Commercial value is based on income and expenses incurred by businesses as well as sale prices for properties analysis. Assessments are set on values as of Jan. 1 each year.

A more in-depth analysis – which Whitman underwent in fiscal 2022 – is done every five years.

The DOR approved the following valuations for Whitman in fiscal 2023:  $2,007,037,255 for residential value or 89.69 percent of the town’s total valuation; the other three classes combined total 10 percent of the total valuation or $130,891,654 – $110,906,557 for commercial; $26,240,515 for industrial and $93,554,562 for personal property.

“That’s [the residential to CIP ratio] an important ratio that the board looks at when they’re trying to determine whether or not to split the tax rate or go with a single tax rate,” Keefe said.

She said there has been some industrial growth this year – in the form of 11 warehouse condos on Bedford Street, on land that had already been classified as industrial, so they were calculated that way.

Keeping in mind that the numbers she presented regarding the fiscal ’23 tax levy will be changing following the Nov. 14 special Town Meeting, Keefe used figures approved at the May Town Meeting to demonstrate what tax rate shifts would look like.

The town voted in May to raise $48,404,502.82. Subtracting $18,046,704.76 in estimated receipts puts the town’s tax levy at $30,357,798.06. 

“To come up with a tax rate, it’s simply that $30 million divided by the valuation that was approved [by the DOR],” Keefe said. “That gives us a tax rate.”

Towns are allowed to use a shift in tax rates between 1 and 1.5 percent. With a 1 percent shift, all taxpayers pay the same rate. A 1.5 percent shift reduces residential rates while increasing rates for the other classes.

Whitman does not tax open space.

If the board approved small commercial exemptions it would affect only sole owners or partnerships with no more than 10 employees and a total property value of $1 million or less. The business must be certified by the Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development. If a business owner does not own the property the company occupies the tax benefit goes directly to the property owner instead.

“It’s really difficult to track and businesses we’re talking about are just run out of someone’s home,” Keefe said. “It’s really muddy water, so the board [so far] has voted not to recommend that option.”

A residential exemption shifts the tax burden from lower-priced homes to higher-priced homes. The Board of Assessors recommended against that shift as well.

Resident John Galvin asked about several new “split-use” buildings with retail businesses on the ground floor and apartments on upper floors.

Keefe said they are classified as mixed use, with each use tallied in the proper classification.

“It’s a single valuation,” she said. But the valuations for the commercial space would go into that classification and the remainder into residential. “The bill is going to be the bill no matter which class of property.” With two public construction projects moving forward during tight budget times, Galvin said they would present a “significant impact to the taxpayers.”

“I’m not sure that there’s anything we can do here that’s going to affect, necessarily, the impact of these project, but we have to do something,” he said. “We’re kind of stuck at what we can do here. … I would make a suggestion that a residential exception, not necessarily this year, but in the future, is something that we need to strongly consider.”

With two large debt exclusion votes coming, Galvin argued the town has to think about the people who can least afford it. He suggested something like a budget override committee – not necessarily called that – to evaluate what the town can do somehow increase revenue that evaluates who is going to get hit the hardest and what can be done to help taxpayers who can’t afford increases.

Lynam said any shift in commercial taxes would be significant and there would be nothing to keep those businesses in town.

“I have yet to come up with an example where it would make more sense for us to shift the tax burden because the businesses we have in this community are very small,” he said. “All the big businesses are gone.”

Lynam did agree that this year’s new growth was disappointing and he doesn’t expect it to get much better next year.

“We’re going to have to get more creative,” he said.

That challenge, Galvin said was his only reason for commenting.

Budget Committee member and Selectman Shawn Kain said he hears the message and noted that discussion about creative revenue options is being discussed.

Select Board member Justin Evans said Galvin makes a good point on the question of the residential exemption.

“It’s probably something I’ll think about for the next year,” Evans said. “If this board complies with the MBTA communities, really revitalizes east Whitman and sees an increase in more mixed-use development, more rental properties, that’s probably something we’ll want to look at as a way to save the families that need it the most.”

With Town Accountant Kenneth Lytle moving into the treasurer/collector position, the board voted to appoint CPA Eric Kinsherf as a consulting accountant until the town hires a permenent person.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam made the recommendation, saying he met two weeks previous to the board meeting with CPA Eric Kinsherf, who is a Whitman native. His practice specializes in advising, providing accounting services for municipalities, forensic accounting and other financial services.

Kinsherf has offered to serve as a consulting accountant for 90 days or until the town hires it’s own accountant. His hourly rate is $115 per hour and the responsibilities would “probably require the better part of a day per week” to accomplish what the town needs done now, Lynam said, recommending he be hired under a consulting agreement. The existing town accountant salary line will cover that cost.

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.