WHITMAN — Does the town need a new assistant town administrator or would a human resources, procurement and grants director better meet the town’s administrative needs?

The Board of Selectmen discussed the issue on Tuesday, March 1. Their selection to become assistant town administrator, Rogeria Medeiros-Kowalczykowski of Stoughton, and the town were unable to reach a contract agreement last month. The board will continue the conversation at its March 15 meeting and will work to develop a common list of expectations in the meantime.

Selectman Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said the board received two job descriptions — one for a human resources, procurement and grants director and one for the assistant town administrator position — as the board had requested.

Selectman Dan Salvucci noted there were no schedules included, such as a five-day work week or a requirement to attend all the different meetings. Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman said he would ordinarily include that information in the job posting, but it could be added to the job description.

“This is basically a choice that we can make, whether to look for an assistant town administrator or someone who is specifically labled as a human resources, procurement and grants director,” Kowalski said.

Salvucci said his question would be which position is more valuable to the town.

“The fact that we have an assistant town administrator, first of all, when Lincoln goes on vacation, or is sick or something like that, who steps into your shoes at that time?” Salvucci said. He also had questions about responsibilities of making certain decisions and getting things done on a day-to-day basis.

If an assistant town administrator was opted for, he asked if that person would take on a human resources role, or would that stay with Heineman?

Heineman said he called some colleagues in other towns to “shake the trees a bit more” and get some more comparison points.

“If the board’s intention is that the town would post a position at maybe a slightly lesser range for a salary … that if it is not titled assistant town administrator, but instead, an HR director — I would suggest focused on HR director and grants —  if the board’s intention is we pay a little less, we might attract some other folks,” he said. “We won’t know for sure until we get it out there.”

He said there are communities in the midrange, are whatever reasons, are offering salaries a bit less than the midrange for town administrator positions.

“I think it’s true, with all these factors in play, that we … would likely be offering less than a very similar position in similar community,” he said.

Salvucci touched on some of the areas on which the town had some flexibility, Heineman suggested — the possibility of working from home on Fridays and attendance at night meetings, for example.

Selectman Brian Bezanson said he did some research on the positions through some of the online employment sites, and got the sense that the nationwide average for a straight HR position was about $70,000.

“I do think we could pay less than a town administrator,” he said. “But, based on the climate you described in the localities you talked about, I’m no sure how much less we’d be paying and would we be putting ourselves in a little bit of a pickle not having a town administrator.”

He said that was one reason he made the suggestion about an HR director/grant writer.

“It’s a give and take as to do you want to save money or do you want to have the proper people in place?” he said. “I think we have to decide what the real goal is here.”

Kowalski said at this point, he is not certain on the issue.

Selectman Justin Evans said he is concerned that making the switch may make it harder to return to the current model down the road, and favored keeping the assistant town administrator position.

“There’s a certain amount of work that needs to be done, and two people [himself and executive assistant Laurie O’Brien] aren’t enough to do that,” Heineman said. Grants are a concern because there hasn’t been enough people to tackle the mountain of paperwork involved.

He did see it as a professional position, rather than a leadership position.

“I personally don’t want to get bogged down by the title,” Selectman Randy LaMattina said. “I think it’s the qualifications that we need to, as a board, decide that we’re looking to fill.”

Besides the human resources and grant writing, he said going to meetings is important.

Heineman said dealing with HR issues such as COVID requirements, family medical leave and other matters is a lot and is growing all the time, making it difficult for him to take care of that since Whitman has been without an assistant town administrator.

Kowalski agreed that asking them to work in the office on Fridays and attend meetings should not be an untoward requirement.

“The problem I’m trying for us to avoid is repeating what we just went through,” Bezanson said. 

Talking budgets

A joint meeting with Hanson Selectmen, and Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak has been set for 6 p.m., Tuesday, March 8 to review the school district’s fiscal 2023 budget and long-range school district sustainability, Heineman said.

“It’s not like a command performance,” Kowalski asked about an invitation extended to Szymaniak, schools Business manager John Stanbrook and School Committee Chairman Christopher Howard.

“We’re inviting them,” Heineman said. “I just heard before this meeting, that the School Committee might have posted that [meeting], it’s up t the School Committee. If the choose to post it, if they intend to have a quorum there, but our intent is a joint meeting between the two boards of selectmen.”

A meeting must be posted if at least a quorum of a board’s members plan to attend any given meeting or decide to gather to discuss committee or board business.

Kowalski said he had been texting with Howard that day, noting that Howard expressed  a concern that the two boards intentions were different.

“He had heard that the Hanson board wanted a budget presentation, and I said that wasn’t really part of our intention,” Kowalski said. “Our intention was to, hopefully, come together with the Hanson board and come up with some common views about the budget that would help the School Committee in their deliberations.”

Heineman agreed that was Whitman’s intention.

LaMattina said he spoke with Hanson Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett and said that, while there may be individual intentions regarding questions, he does not believe that they were looking for a full [budget] presentation.

“I think the superintendent should be there to speak on a budget that he presented,” LaMattina said. “We should be able to ask questions about it.”

Salvucci suggested any selectman with questions could also watch a recording on WHCA-TV’s YouTube channel of the School Committee meeting in which the budget was presented.

“I’m thinking maybe the schools are looking for direction as to where both boards are standing as far as funding goes,” Salvucci said.

“I think that’s our intent,” Kowalski agreed.

“There’s been so much conversation over partnerships and, ‘We’re all in it together,’ I’m kind of taken aback that some people seem to think it’s unreasonable that two entities that fund this are not entitled to ask questions,” LaMattina said.

Sewer update

The town’s sewer force main project has received a bid that came in about $2 million under the amount appropriated, Heineman reported.

“Another piece of hoped-for, and we’re cautiously optimistic about [news] regarding the cost of the project, is that part of the force main is going underneath an old dump in Brockton,” he said. The land is between Whitman and Massasoit.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had previously said it would require directional drilling rather than trenching, which would be more expensive. The town’s consultant is inquiring about the possibility of being permitted to do some test borings in the dump area to see if digging a trench for that stretch of the pipeline would be environmentally permissible. The DEP is considering the request.

Estimated cost savings would be between $500,000 and $1 million in total project costs, if a trench is permitted.

In other business, Heineman reported that, on the COVID-19 front, the Board of Health had voted on Tuesday, Feb.15 to recommended removal of the mask mandate in town buildings. The state DPH has removed the mask recommendation effective except for those at increased risk due to health reasons, age or someone in the household with health risks or is in an at-risk age group. The mask requirement for schools ended Monday, Feb. 28.

The DPH continues to recommend masks for unvaccinated persons and in settings such as health care and public transportation. The CDC is recommending masks for people in “zones of high transimission.”

“We are now, according to their guidelines, in a low-transmission zone,” Heineman said, noting the people who are sick or coming off a five-day quarantine continue to mask. 

The CDC is no longer requiring masks on school buses, Heineman reported.

HANSON — The town is close to $1 million in the red going into the fiscal 2023 budget season, according to Town Accountant Todd Hassett.

“We’re not in the position to present you with a balanced budget, like we typically attempt to do,” he said. “We’ve got a bit of work to do over the next few weeks.”

He and Finance Committee Chairman Kevin Sullivan and made their initial budget presentation to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Feb. 22. “Where we’re at right now, based on the requests, is that we have about a $966,000 shortfall,” he said, adding that he and Sullivan would be working closely together in an effort to close the budget gap in the town’s best interest. “We’ve got a number of decisions that we’ve got to really grapple with over the next few weeks.” He indicated the town would require “some partnership and cooperation” from the regional school district, or “we’re not in a position to fund the budget as initially requested.”

The $300,000 snow budget is already in a deficit position, as well, with more snow forecast on Friday, Feb. 26, Hassett said.

“We’re starting behind where we normally are,” Sullivan agreed, noting that he had little to add to Hassett’s report. “Even though the town came together last year with some heroic efforts, we still have a deficit to overcome — a fairly significant deficit — and I think we need to look at the individual departments.”

He said that, as personnel is a huge cost, he questions whether this is the right time to add new personnel and pointed to the subsidies provided to both the Transfer Station and Recreation Commission as the usual questions to be considered because the retained earnings “just aren’t there anymore.”

The school assessment is less of a gap than the town has had to cover in previous years, but is still a concern. [See related story, page 1].

Hassett indicated Hanson would not be able to afford much more than a 3.5 percent increase in the school assessment.

“We are a little behind schedule, as you know, in terms of pushing forward the FY ’23 operating budget,” Hassett said, noting that they have developed a sense of the town’s recurring and nonrecurring funding sources available to support that spending plan.

The town’s primary source of revenue is property taxes, Hassett noted, followed by local receipts and, to a lesser extent, state aid, with the governor’s budget showing about a $41,000 increase in revenue — about 2.5 percent higher than current state aid.

Hassett said he anticipates a 5 percent increase in local receipts, related to motor vehicle excise taxes, permits, licenses and other departmental fees.

Property taxes in total are projected to go up about 3.4 percent — a combination of the statutory 2 ½ percent available, which represents about $613,000 — and estimated new growth estimated at about $250,000 — or about 1 percent. Hassett noted that figure is lower than in recent years as there has been a slow-down in construction related to the pandemic and subsequent supply chain issues. There has also been a reduction in permit revenue.

Recurring revenue is projected to increase about 3.5 percent, Hassett said.

There are also debt exclusions still on the books from the police station and the regional high school.

“The state aid is more of a factor for the regional school district that it is in the town,” he said.

“We have a healthy free cash [fund], the two enterprise funds have retained earnings — or their free cash — both of which are on the low side compared to prior years,” he said of funds available for one-time expenses.

Free cash is just over $1.7 million right now, but Hassett said he could foresee that being reduced to around $100,000 by the time Town Meeting is concluded.

Departmental requests include a second of a three-year collective bargaining agreement for all town unions except the water union, which is on a different cycle; 2-percent non-union cost of living adjustments; a few reclassified positions at the Library; the IT director being increased to a full-time position; and a change to full-time status for the building inspector and a request for another police officer. The Highway Department also filled a position and a part-time outreach position for the Council on Aging has been added.

A $5,000 audit bill for required oversight of federal grant programs, including the CARES Act and ARPA is also included in the budget. Every other year an actuarial review of OPEB is required, costing about $7,000 this year. A $20,000 increase has been requested for legal services.

There are also more expenses around elections for the year as 2022 is a midterm election year.

Projected subsidies for the Recreation and Transfer Station accounts were also included in Hassett’s presentation — about $300,000 from the general fund breaking out as $135,000 for Recreation and $165,000 for thee Transfer Station. The latter, a recurring cost, came from free cash this year. There was no subsidy in FY ’22 for Recreation. 

They propose to use $35,000 of about $36,000 in Transfer Station retained earnings to support the operating budget.

Hassett said the town’s five-year plan — which must be voted in May — will also depend on some input from Recreation, the Board of Selectmen and more than $13 million in system improvements from the Water Department.

In other business, Selectmen voted to refer a citizen’s petition to the Town Meeting Warrant to the Planning Board to ensure the proper language is included. 

The petition had been brought before the October special Town Meeting, but the petitioner agreed to table it so the language could be refined for the annual Town Meeting on May 2. Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff will be attending the Monday, Feb. 28 Planning Board meeting remotely to discuss the article, indicating it may be split into two articles.

“The good news for Hanson is that we’ve had a couple of runs at this so we have some templates to go off of,” Feodoroff said. “With all the iterations that went back and forth through various town meetings, etc., there needs to be a cleanup of that particular bylaw, regardless of whether the town wants retail marijuana or not.”

The first article would incorporate that overhaul and the second would involve a potential retail facility and where locations might be permitted.

Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer asked if the article was limited to retail or if it included all the new business opportunities, including cafés.

Feodoroff said no one need worry about cafés, as the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) still has not “gotten its arms around cafés. A pilot program is still underway and Hanson would not even be eligible because the 12 communities selected for it has led to a need to tweak the regulations. 

“I just want to make sure we don’t unwittingly cut our legs off for what has already been permitted,” Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “A grow facility, delivery, those are already kind of there and have gotten support.”

Feodoroff said that was a good point.

“That’s where I thought it was good to do two separate articles because retail is the one that’s going to generate discussion at Town Meeting,” she said, stressing the first article is purely to clean up legal language. If it were to fail, the old bylaw would remain in force.

“It’s just a messy old bylaw,” she said.

Selectman Joe Weeks wanted to be certain there is enough time to do all that work before Town Meeting.

“One of the things I don’t want to do is try and give too much of an expedient timeline on this and then have that be the reason for debate on Town Meeting floor vs the merits of the actual article,” he said.

Feodoroff said there is enough time, especially if the Planning Board submits a report.

“Because we have such a long history here in Hanson of various iterations of marijuana, it’s not going to be so big of a haul,” she said.

Frank Milisi, who brought the citizen’s petition to the October special Town Meeting, thanked Feodoroff and the board for working on it.

“I don’t think there’s any more of a clear indication for what Todd and Kevin just said, that we need some revenue in this town, how ever we get it,” he said. “Three percent [tax] on any [marijuana] business that’s in here could fund a new police car or fund things like that.”

• 

Democrats will convene at 9 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 27 virtually and at the Patio at McGuiggan’s to elect seven delegates and four alternates to represent Whitman at the 2022 State Democratic Convention. This caucus will take place in line with public health guidance and attendees may participate remotely. To pre-register for remote participation, please contact Michael Hayes at 781-447-2550. 

Registered and pre-registered Democrats in Whitman 16 years old by Feb. 4, 2022 may vote and be elected as delegates or alternates during the caucus. Youth (age 16 to 35), people with disabilities, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community not elected as delegates or alternates are encouraged to apply to be add-on delegates at the caucus or by visiting massdems.org/caucus. 

The 2022 Convention will be a hybrid convention, with in-person proceedings taking place alongside virtual participation options on June 3 and 4 at the DCU Center in Worcester. Delegates will convene to endorse candidates for statewide office ahead of the September Democratic Primary. The MassDems are closely monitoring changes in public health guidance and will update plans accordingly.

Those interested in becoming involved with the Whitman Democratic Town Committee should contact our chair Mike Hayes at 781-447-2550 or visit the Whitman MA Democratic Town Committee Facebook page, or find us at whitmandems.com and @DemsofWhitman on Twitter and Instagram.

The W-H Regional School District on Wednesday, Feb. 2 unveiled a $58,939,591 fiscal 2023 budget — a 3.7 percent increase that “adjusts to the needs of the post-COVID student.” 

The assessment for Hanson will be $13,372,100.76 — or 39.4 percent — and Whitman would be assessed $16,936,529.76 — or 60.6 percent of the total assessments.

“This is just a global view of what we feel we need, coming out of the gate, for the FY ’22-’23 school year — hopefully getting back to somewhat normal,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said in introducing the presentation. “The past two years have been very difficult on us as a society, our community, our school system and, especially, our students. Masks, hybrid learning, remote learning missing school days due to COVID, being ill and quarantined, have affected our students, academically, socially and in ways that we have not yet determined.”

It was the first time the School Committee members were receiving the budget documents, according to Chairman Christopher Howard, and all members were given the opportunity to ask questions after Szymaniak’s presentation. School Committee member David Forth attended the meeting remotely.

“This is the start of the budget process,” Howard said. “The presentation is tonight, we will have time at the next meeting to go through it, as well.”

W-H Business Manager John Stanbrook, in reviewing the calculations involved in determining assessments said there are 26 financial documents posted on the district’s website (whrsd.org/school_committee_budget/budget). He said the districts excess and deficiency account — generally used to finance unexpected expenses — began the budget process with a balance of $1,868,318. Proposed uses of the funds are: year two and three of the Whitman water bill settlement ($123,885); half of the full-day kindergarten start-up cost of ($370,404.64); and for Chromebook purchases ($400,000) for a total of $894,288.64 in expenses, with an ending balance of $974,000. Szymaniak said all the district’s Circuit Breaker funding has also been used in calculating the budget. He said it was up to the committee to decide how much of E&D funds they wished to use to help balance the budget.

The meeting may be streamed on the WHCA-TV YouTube channel and is rebroadcast on its educational television channel. 

 In addition to fulfilling the needs post-COVID students, Szymaniak said the budget works toward the strategic plan initiatives that support School Committee goals while providing academic and social services to all 3,442 students in the district.

“Although the budget presented tonight doesn’t get the district to where I think I’d like us to be, it’s definitely a movement in the right direction for all of our kids,” he said.

School Committee priorities voted on last summer are tuition-free all-day kindergarten, one-to-one student personal electronic devices and a robust related arts curriculum.

Anticipated increases in the budget include contractual increases for staff, custodians and transportation; special ed services; insurance costs; moving staff salaries from expiring grants to the budget; building utilities; $740,000+ tuition for full-day K; and two special ed teachers (paid with federal funds). Unanticipated increases include an increase in charter school tuitions. He also reviewed setbacks and achievements of the past three years.

The student-to-teacher ratio is now 14.6:1 thanks to recent faculty additions, with the only larger ratios in the area at Bridgewater-Raynham and Abington. The state average is 13.4:1.

“We’re better than we were and I thank the communities for supporting our budget in the past,” Szymaniak said. 

Enrollment is dropping, however the district is starting to stabilize in the elementary grades. Student enrollments and departures during the school year make projections difficult, he said.

As student numbers decline Szymaniak said teachers now on staff may be used to fill retirement vacancies throughout the district.

There are 670 special education students now enrolled in the district with individual education plans (IEPs) — 456 are in full-inclusion within general classrooms. 95 in partial-enrollment programs, 78 substantially separate from general classrooms and 42 in separate school placements.

Full-day kindergarten implementation will require an additional three teachers and three paraprofessionals at $740,804.27 in FY ’23.

“I think it’s been on the docket for quite a while,” Szymaniak said.

School choice students at the high school, meanwhile should bring about $309,154 to the district. 

Szymaniak said that, since full-day kindergarten has been a topic of conversation for some time, he proposed three option to fund a fully tuition free program.

“I took the one right in the middle,” he said.

Option 1 would use no excess and deficiency funds and would increase assessments to $17,160,993.87 for Whitman and $13,518,039.80 for Hanson. Last year’s assessments were $16,104,903.22 for Whitman and $12,646,117.72 for Hanson.

Option 2 would use excess and deficiency for 50 percent of the startup cost — or $370,404.64 — and would put Whitman’s assessment at $16,936,529.27 and Hanson’s at $13,372,100.76.

Option 3 would use excess and deficiency to fully fund the $740,804.27 startup cost with Whitman’s assessment being $16,712,064.67 and Hanson’s at $13,226,161.73.

School choice

Tuition for students going to other districts will cost an estimated $222,684 and charter school tuition will cost $1,043,981 — up $229,827 from the current year.

“That was unexpected,” he said. “We do get some back, but it doesn’t cover that [gap].” 

Special education is one of a handful of uses for which the district may use federal ESSERIII (Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Act) funds. ESSER II ($1,001,704 which must be spent by Sept. 30, 2023) and III ($2,314,697 which must be spent by Sept. 30, 2024) are multi-year grants. There are strict stipulations on how the ESSER funds can be used.

There are about 1,400 Chrombooks that are expected to reach end of life in June, meaning they are no longer useable for testing, assessments or the current curriculum. The district already has the replacements for those, but another 1,500 go out in 2026 and the district must begin planning to replace them, according to Assistant Superintendent George Ferro.

“We’re trying to get on a fiscal cycle of where we can earmark that money — keep that money, but now know that yearly we’re putting that through,” he said.

While the budget can be worked on up until the Monday, May 2 town meetings, it must be certified and sent to the towns by March 19, so Szymaniak has scheduled Wednesday, March 16 as the vote to meet that deadline.

HANSON — With a major winter storm being forecast for the weekend, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Jan. 25 discussed potential conflicts involved in some town employees doing double duty as plow operators. One such issue surrounded a Water Department employee who has filed a routine disclosure of potential conflict of interest with the town. The Board approved his disclosure statement, permitting him to plow.

“I understand that it’s permitted and that a [legal] opinion has been received, but I think it’s poor precedent,” Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I guess I’m concerned that it’s quite likely that in the middle of a storm — and this has definitely happened — there could be a water main break and where do those allegiances lie?”

She said she considers the Water Department to be a first responder and questioned how employees could be permitted to plow when an emergency could occur.

“As a public employee, your best interest falls with your employer, number one,” said Selectman Chairman Matt Dyer. “His first priority would be his job and I think as long as we clarify that is what is expected of you, I think that’s a good way to go about it.”

He said Water Department employees had been permitted to do snow plowing in the past.

“As long as it’s clear what the priorities are and [Green] as a procurement officer is comfortable that nothing inappropriate happened in the determination of who was being awarded a snow plowing contact …,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I want to make sure there is no lapse in procurement in this and there’s not going to be any ambiguities whatsoever as far as what the priorities are here.”

Green said snow plowing contracts are not subject to procurement regulations because towns advertise for plow drivers every year instead of a bidding process.

FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if the town hires everyone who applies.

“I think this year, we are,” Dyer said.

“I have no problem if we hire everybody who applies,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “To the extent that if there’s ever a determination over who should and should not be hired, then I’m going to have a problem about it.”

She argued that, from an ethical standpoint, she didn’t see how an average person looking in from the outside could be comfortable with the process.

Green said the Highway Department normally takes the lead in that process and she does not monitor it, but said she would have a discussion with Highway Superintendent Jameson Shave about the issue. She noted that new Town Hall maintenance person Charlie Baker is also going to be plowing for the Highway Department.

“He called ethics … and filed a disclosure,” Green said.

Selectmen Joe Weeks said with the forecast for this weekend, plow drivers would likely be working all night long.

“I just want to make sure … if someone is plowing all night, and they’re going to be exhausted …there is ample coverage [for other emergencies], that people do have people there ready to go, backup for backup,” he said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the Water Department should also be apprised of the situation.

Green said she has made it clear to Baker that Town Hall snow and ice removal is his first priority, followed by the Library/Senior Center before his plowing work.

Town Meeting

Selectmen voted to open the annual Town Meeting warrant and discussed options for locations in case COVID variants were still a problem by the Monday, May 2.

As of Tuesday, Green reported there are 406 active cases of COVID in town. While that is higher than the last Selectment’s meeting, she said numbers statewide appear to be dropping and starting to stabilize.

FitzGerald-Kemmett stressed that the 400 represent calls to the Board of Health, which requires a PCR test and a medical provider has to report that finding. It does not mean there are only 400 cases in town.

Selectmen opted to retain the mandate for masks in town buildings until the board’s next meeting in two weeks.

“I would like to err on the side of caution,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett. “Although I am desperately hoping that we’ll be pleasantly surprised to not have COVID running rampant, but I think it would be foolish for us to assume that at this point.”

She said she would be much more comfortable seeking space at the high school as Town Administrator Lisa Green suggested.

Dyer said he really enjoyed having Town Meeting outside, noting that it was close to graduation and they could use the stage if it was up. The WHRHS calendar has graduation on Friday, June 3.

“If [the graduation stage is not up], I’m OK with inside the auditorium,” he said.

Green said she would be discussing the options in more detail with Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan, Town Moderator Sean Kealy and school district officials.

“I just wanted an idea of what direction the board was moving into so we can look at those options,” Green said, noting cost issues would also be reviewed.

“I don’t want there to be a prohibition on people being engaged because they feel unsafe attending Town Meeting, that’s the bottom line for me,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Technology update

IT Director Steve Moberg reported he has signed the town up for a state Security Awareness Grant which sends out “training” exercises throughout the year, including phishing tests to try to educate staff about safe practices.

“[They] try to trick our users into clicking on them, and if they do click on them, they’ll get an email back saying they clicked on something that they shouldn’t have clicked on and they’ll be assigned additional training,” Moberg said.

Dyer asked if everyone was aware of the tests. Moberg said they hadn’t been made aware of it, he would be making them aware of the program through an email to all staff by the end of the week. He is also looking into ATT’s FirstNet program, a platform operated by the government since 9/11 as a cell service dedicated to first responders with a 99.9 percent up time. If it fails, ATT could be fined by the government, unlike commercial programs. And it could save the town $4 to $5 per line — or $200 per month for the town’s 70 lines. It runs off the same cell towers but the FCC has authorized more power through the system.

Police Chief Michael Miksch doesn’t really want to move from Verizon, Moberg said, so Town Hall will be shifted to FirstNet and perhaps the chief might change his mind later. Moberg said that in the wake of the October Nor’Easter that knocked out cell towers all over the area, FirstNet should help the town.

He also said all the town’s servers should be upgraded or shut down by the end of the week.

WHITMAN — Town officials are working to set up the Town Hall to ensure proper social distancing is in place to safely conduct the Monday, Jan. 31 special Town Meeting, according to Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman.

“We’re thinking about having the check-in table in the foyer and having folks come in primarily through the front door,” he said, noting the lower-level handicapped entrance would still be accessible to those who need it. Six-foot spacing will be marked out on the floor.

The setup would also allow more seats in the auditorium at six-foot intervals.

“Since the Town Meeting warrant has been posted, it is the town moderator’s decision, in consultation with the Board of Selectmen and public safety officials, if he was considering postponing,” Heineman said. 

The town marked it’s 11th consecutive week of increases in the positivity rate for COVID-19 — now up to 28.6 percent, reported Heineman, who receives weekly reports from Fire Chief Timothy Clancy. The vaccination rate has also climbed among those eligible to be vaccinated. It’s been climbing at a rate of about 1 percent per week to about 65 percent fully vaccinated.

“I think that we’ve been knowing and believing that the omicron variant would peak and then quickly drop,” he said. “It’s very preliminary, but I was just looking at the numbers today, and the state positivity rate as of [Jan. 17] was 17.44 percent, down from 21.5 percent. So … it would appear as though we may be past the surge there, at least statewide. That’s a little glimmer of hope there.”

The town is also planning a second round of distribution of the COVID test kits it purchased from 1 to 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 21 at Whitman Middle School. Any Whitman resident is eligible to receive a kit, which includes two tests. 

There is a half-day school session that day.

“We have looked into it,” Fire Chief Timothy Clancy said. “The school is booked on weekends from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until March 17. We had looked at pulling it off this Monday — Martin Luther King Day — when school was [closed]. Obviously, the weather didn’t cooperate.”

Another is being planned for Wednesday, Feb. 9.

Residents are limited to one self-test kit per vehicle. Kits will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis while supplies last. Residents will be required to show proof of residency at the beginning of the line when picking up the self-test kits.

The Biden Administration also began making orders of four test kits per household available free by mail at covidtests.gov on Tuesday, Jan. 18.

The town’s final planned Moderna booster clinic is slated for 2:30 to 7:30 p.m., today at the Knights of Columbus [see box below]. 

School audit update

Heineman also updated the board on the bid process for selecting a school audit firm. He has met with Hanson Town Administrator Lisa Green, and selectmen liasions to the School Committee Randy LaMattina of Whitman and Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett of Hanson, to discuss Hanson Selectmen’s decision to proceed with the audit and reissue the invitations to bid and look at the previous invitation to bid.

The only changes were that CARES Act and American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds are for funding COVID-19 efforts and not under consideration for funding audit costs. They also discussed Circuit Breaker funds.

The invitation to bid has been put together and disseminated to potential bidders with a deadline of Jan. 28, 2022.

“In light of the Circuit Breaker issue, it makes it more pertinent now than ever to just make sure that both towns are receiving and benefiting from the funds we’re getting and [that] they’re going in the right place,” LaMattina said.

WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen, voted on Tuesday, Jan. 11 to reject a Board of Health consensus that all municipal employees be vaccinated in the wake of the omicron variant of COVID-19 and the rise of positive cases in the town. 

It was one of four recommendations from the Board of Health, which met earlier in the day.  Selectmen had asked for guidance from the health board at the Jan. 4 Selectmen’s meeting.

Selectmen also voted against the health board’s recommendation to continue the closure of buildings — except by appointment — until Jan. 25, and said buildings would be opened on Thursday, Jan. 13 and therefore not require remote meeting participation. But approved a recommendation to mandate masks in public buildings.

“[The health board] require masks in all town-owned buildings, including individual work spaces … and, by implication they said the building should remain closed,” said Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, acknowledging that health officials had not voted on the appointment-only provision.

The vaccine mandate recommendation — that employees would have a six-month leave time to comply, with only medical or religious objection — met with considerable objection by some Selectmen.

“I am against this,” Selectman Brian Bezanson said. “This particular information is before the Supreme Court even as we speak and I think it is a bit premature for us to make a decision without hearing [the high court’s] decision.”

Selectman Justin Evans, as an employee of the state who is required to be vaccinated, said he had no objections to mandating it as he knows of no one who has left their job because of it.

“It was a minor inconvenience to prove we were vaccinated at the time,” he said, asking if the board would consider a strong recommendation with the requirement of weekly tests for those who object.

Selectman Randy LaMattina, who is fully vaccinated and has received a booster, also objected to the vaccine mandate, both as a policy decision that rests with Selectmen and argued that not only is the science changing on COVID, the town could be financially crippled by a lawsuit.

 “I do think people should be vaccinated, it’s a personal protection,” LaMattina said. “Why is this town, at this time, going to get into that, when we know there’s severe legal fights already out there with this, that are in the courts, with people with far deeper pockets than we have from the federal level on down.”

He agreed with incentivizing vaccination, but not a mandate.

“If you haven’t done it by now, you’re not going to do it,” Bezanson said.

LaMattina asked what the benefit of a mandate would be, to which Selectman Justin Evans said the vaccines are literally life-saving.

“I agree with it,” LaMattina said. “I agree that the vaccine is providing protection, absolutely, but if you don’t want that … I don’t see a situation to win for us.”

Town buildings

Regarding the reopening of Town Hall, Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman said no other town he has contacted on the South Shore has indicated they are open by appointment only.

“What matters to me are the employees, and I have not had one employee say they are happy with the building being closed,” Bezanson said. He also noted that residents are noting that stores and restaurants are open.

Grocery stores, however, never closed — while, at the height of the pandemic, they limited numbers of people inside at a time — because they were deemed an essential service.

“I think this board made a fantastic decision Christmas week – a slow week,” LaMattina said. “That being said … the risk is worth the reward.”

He said there has been enough time to see how omicron was going to go and it is time to open again.

A health board’s recommendation that attendance be permitted at the senior center by pods of 10 people at a time, if public buildings continued to be closed except for appointments was passed by Selectmen, but rendered moot by the building opening vote.

Selectmen did vote in agreement with the health board’s unanimous recommendation to require masks be worn at all times in public buildings at least until the next Board of Health meeting on Jan. 25.

Bezanson, however, said he was not “100 percent on board” with keeping buildings closed, since other area towns, and especially the regional school district, are open.

“I don’t see our consistency in our methodology in how we’re looking at this,” he said. “While the district is not part of our purview, it is still part of the town and, for me, we should be consistent. If it was such a risk, those children wouldn’t be there and they’d be on virtual learning.”

Masks required

While he said town employees are equally valued, Bezanson argued Selectmen need to be consistent. 

“I think the mask mandate is perfectly fine because, when you go around, when you are out in your Stop & Shops and Walmarts and the liquor stores, you’re wearing a mask,” he said. “It’s certainly your choice, but we have to decide about being in the building as an employee.”

Evans moved to separate the mask recommendation and building opening into separate votes.

Selectman Daniel Salvucci asked if an employee is in an office by themselves and why.

“Remember that [Selectman] Randy’s [LaMattina] original motion a couple of weeks ago was to protect the infrastructure, protect the workers” Kowalski said. “We don’t want to have DPW guy out sick, we don’t want to have it in the police department. We don’t want to have it in the fire department. What this does, is it gives us another two weeks of insurance.”

LaMattina said he was more concerned with someone deciding their own level of comfort, and their own medical decision on what’s safe for someone else. If someone is in an office alone and are sneezing or coughing, people who walk in are walking into those droplets.

“It’s continuity of a decision-making process,” LaMattina. “If you are going to induce a mask madate, you are doing it all the time.”

Health Board member Danielle Clancy had told Selectmen on Dec. 21 that there have been “incidents” with town employees in recent days, that made her reconsider the desirability for a vaccine mandate.

But LaMattina strenuously disagreed with vaccine or remote meeting requirements.

Selectmen also, in voting to open Town Hall, effectively negated the Health Board’s decision to require remote meeting sessions, which is already permitted by the state until April 1.

“With a couple of these, you’re seeing a drastic overreach by the Board of Health,” LaMattina said. “They’re getting into policy decisions, and not health decisions.” 

meetings

Determining how meetings can convene and noted that the determination on opening buildings would steer the decision on meetings.

“I think what they are doing, though is what we discussed last week,” Kowalski said.

Heineman said he informed the health board what Selectmen had advised last week, even as the Board of Selectmen had not voted on with attention to following the Open Meeting Law. He said he spoke with the health board to ensure, whatever they chose to recommend about meeting protocols, that they were in compliance with the Open Meeting Law.

Senior Center Director Mary Holland spoke about the importance of opening that building to help combat the isolation many seniors are experiencing who live alone and far from family.

“The choice for the seniors to be able to come is their choice,” said Senior Center Director Mary Holland. “The social isolation of leaving these seniors shut out of the building is a greater detriment than opening the doors and allowing them that option.”

Kowalski said, while he favored allowing small groups of seniors back into the center, he argued that the staff holds a responsibility to protect the health of the elder population.

More than 95 percent of people over 65 are vaccinated, Heineman said. Holland said they also have a scanning system to track attendance at the senior center, which has been in place before COVID, so they can track any positive cases that occur.

“I respect what you are saying, but I have trouble opening that door to people who may hurt themselves if they enter that door,” Kowalski said.

“They make their choices of where they want to go … No one is forcing them to come to that building, they can chose to come,” she said.

“The most vulnerable people in the pandemic are the people who are older and have other conditions,” Kowalski said. “And what we are saying is, ‘Let’s open it up to the most vulnerable people because, heck, they are lonely,’” Kowalski said.

Holland countered that elders are adults who can choose what they want to do.

WHITMAN — Vaccine and mask mandates are being considered by town officials as the closure of Town Hall and other town buildings has been continued until at least Jan. 11 — with all people working in or visiting buildings required to wear masks at all times.

“It’s a tremendously fluid situation and we’re seeing a lot of change,” Selectman Randy LaMattina said. “A lot of us took some heat for closing last week, but it turned out to be a really good decision.” 

He advocated maintaining the building closures until Jan. 11 and to institute a full-time mask mandate in the buildings. Health Board member Danielle Clancy agreed with LaMattina’s motion, and while noting she is not speaking for the board, suggested it could go beyond Jan. 11.

Selectman Justin Evans said the push for vaccines, demand for test kits and a requirement for masks initially tempted him to believe town buildings could be reopened Jan. 10, but agreed the health board should have more time to consider it. He did note the library and senior center provide important social-emotional connections for elders and other residents.

“I don’t want this [building closure] to go on much longer than it has to,” he said.

Public meetings are also strongly urged to meet remotely or in a hybrid in-person/remote fashion for the foreseeable future. The ZBA, a board that “very much wants to meet in person,” according to Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman, is the only board to meet before the Board of Health can meet to decide the issues at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 11. Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said he would encourage the ZBA to delay the meeting until after the Board of Health’s meeting.

Selectmen held a brief session with the Board of Health on Tuesday, Jan. 4 regarding COVID response guidelines [see below] as well as discussing possible vaccine and mask mandates for town employees.

“I think that one of the most important things about this is that the definition of fully vaccinated has changed,” said Clancy. “Those who have not had a booster and were vaccinated more than six months ago — or two months ago with J&J — are not considered fully vaccinated at this time, and we urge everyone to become vaccinated. Get a booster as soon as possible.”

Kowalski asked if the health board has considered mandating vaccines for town employees. Clancy said it is one of the issues being discussed Jan. 11.

“Like everyone else, we are chasing our tails with Omicron, — it’s coming around faster than anybody thought,” Clancy said, noting there have been “incidents” with town employees in recent days, that are making her — and possibly other health board members — reconsider the vaccine mandate.

“We have discussed it, and we will probably be discussing it again,” she said. “It’s one of the reasons I’ve asked for another meeting this month.”

Kowalski suggested Selectmen might be more supportive of it at this time.

She also urged continued vaccine boosters and mask upgrades as people have been known to get COVID more than once.

Selectman Brian Bezanson, who suggested the mild case most people get could “move us toward herd immunity,” and encouraged people to get an antibody test, which Clancy said is not widely available. Kowalski countered that for some, such as vulnerable infants, it is not a mild illness to be taken lightly.

Immunity is reducing more quickly between vaccines, Clancy also cautioned. 

“But, if you get the booster, it’s bringing you back up,” she added. “There’s a question now as to whether they’re going to reduce the time between your shots and your booster. They’re discussing that with Pfizer.” 

The booster may be moved up to within five months of the initial series.

“People are getting Omicron, unfortunately, but they are staying out of the hospital, and that’s the goal right now,” Clancy said. “And we’re asking town employees, if you’re sick, please don’t come to work. Period. It’s not up to you to decide if it’s COVID or not COVID until you are tested.”

Kowalski also advocated revising mask guidelines. The health board had voted at its last meeting to require masks when away from their desks in common areas of Town Hall. They had left it up to staff working in small “bubbles,” and who know each others’ vaccination status and are comfortable with each other to decide whether they felt that they didn’t need to sit for eight hours with a mask on.

“Unfortunately, we’ve been proved wrong recently, so we’re going to revisit this,” Clancy said. “People are coming to work sick and assuming it’s not COVID and it’s turning out to be COVID.”

Kowalski agreed with the need for that discussion.

“Some of us are getting uncomfortable with that definition of ‘as long as you’re comfortable’ you can go without [a mask],” Kowalski said.

“Comfort levels and friendships are not what medical decisions are made over and I think if we replayed that same situation this past week, we would have had some problems,” LaMattina said. “Yes, it’s uncomfortable to wear a mask all day long, but our kids are doing it every single day, Monday to Friday.” 

Clancy said health officials are trying to get past pandemic and into the endemic stage, which means COVID can be dealt with on a day-to-day basis.

Selectmen also voted to accept revised COVID quarantine guidelines, which Heineman suggested they do, given that the Board of Health, which has not yet to voted on them, plans to do so during the Jan. 11 meeting.

“They haven’t changed in any significant way, except to respond to, within the last week, or slightly more than a week the changes recommended by the CDC and the state Department of Public Health … about PCR tests being required, rather than rapid tests,” Heineman said. Guidelines are available on the town’s website whitman-ma.gov.