WHITMAN — Selectmen approved a two-step process of a special Town Meeting in January and a clear plan of steps taken to set up a building committee, in order to prepare for a fall Town Meeting on a final plan for a new DPW building.

“What we buy from it is more planning, more details and some of the money in the final override kind of thing,” said Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski. 

The Board of Selectmen discussed the issue during a joint meeting with the Board of Public Works Commissioners on Tuesday, Dec. 7.

The new DPW Building Committee will have 10 members – two of the commissioners, the two superintendents, a Selectman, the town administrator and four residents at-large, some of whom may be DPW employees.

Heineman will be preparing a draft warrant article for Selectmen’s review for presentation at the Dec. 21 meeting, including funding sources for the 10 percent of the projected total cost of about $11 million – to be used to come up with a shovel-ready plan, or 10 percent, of the overall projected construction costs.
“There’s been an effort to figure out what to do with our dilapidated DPW barn on Essex Street for several years,” Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman said, noting that the Board of Public Works Commissioners has worked with Environmental Partners Group for about seven months to come up with a tentative plan and design schematics for what that new building might look like. Funds for that work had been appropriated at Town Meeting this spring. 

Consultant Ziad Kary from Environmental Partners Group made a presentation on what the drawings entail such as cost estimates, building design and layout to  reach the consensus achieved with Selectmen this week on the next steps for the project.

“This is something that’s very important to the DPW,” said Commissioner Kevin Cleary in introducing Kary, and his follow-up on decisions made so far by his board and where they would like to see the project go.

“The town had already hired a geotechincal investigation person who did some [test] borings,” Kary said. “The site was really not suitable for a typical foundation, so he came up with granite aggregate.” The material was chosen because of the site’s past use as a landfill and there was potentially materials in the soil that would rule out more typical foundation work.

“But we didn’t really do any subsurface exploration ourselves,” he said of the recommendation for stone columns.

The original design rejected by Town Meeting in 2016 included provisions such as separate locker rooms for female and male employees, drive-through garages for maintenance facilities and other amenities. Some utilities would have to be relocated beneath an existing building.

“This existing building would have to be demo’d,” Kary said of the present building, noting that the current plan involved a prefabricated metal building. “Really nothing would be salvaged out of it.”

A conceptual cost estimate of the pre-engineered steel building on a shallow foundation with steel columns, based on previous projects and current costs, is for $10.9 million, including a 25 percent contingency and estimates on the impact of COVID and resulting supply chain problems.

An independent cost estimate was sought to have “a second set of eyes” on the plan and costs, with that firm coming up with a price tag of $9,750,000

“The only difference is they did not include engineering and [owner project manager] costs,” Kary said. The second estimate was also based on a 15 percent contingency and escalation forecasts for midpoint and future bid date added about $750,000.

Schematic designs and the selection of an owners project manager are among the steps remaining before bids can be sought.

“Everyone knows the history,” Cleary said of the original process that began in 2008. “We got very good support at [the 2012] Town Meeting, but not at Town Election. … Unfortunately some things kept getting in front of it, whether it was some water line work, the sewer force main … unfortunately, the building kept getting pushed and we just can’t push it anymore.”

The building has continued to deteriorate and facilities such as bathrooms, break room and locker facilities are lacking.

“We have millions of dollars’ worth of equipment,” Cleary said. “The townspeople have invested a lot in the last few town meetings with truck upgrades.”

The DPW Board has voted they want to move forward with the full project at the next Town Meeting.

“We have a good concept and we have a good estimate,” he said. “We just need to move this forward. Any delays are only going to cost more.”

Kowalski said the town needs to move forward in a way that’s going to have the town’s support. 

“We’ve got to get this out there sooner rather than later,” Cleary said.

OSHA guidelines will soon pose a problem for the town if nothing is done, said  Selectman Dan Salvucci who was on the previous building committee.

“Time does not save us money, it costs us money,” Salvucci said.  “It’s that simple. … We’ve needed this building for many years, but people seem to think the DPW is just a large garage where you keep trucks,” he said. “They are as important as any department in this town.”

He said residents need to realize a new building is needed for the well-being of employees as well as the maintenance of new and expensive equipment.

Hieneman supported appropriating $1.1 million to come up with a shovel-ready plan, or 10 percent, of the overall projected construction costs – possibly at a special Town Meeting by February – then attempting a debt exclusion when “crystal clear” architectural plans are ready. He also suggested a building committee and research into a new location – the latter has already been done.

Kowalski asked how far back would that put the opening of any new building. Heineman estimated six months.

He argued if it adds six or even eight months, the flip side of it not passing in a ballot initiative is a much longer setback.

“We’d like to move forward with the full plan at Town Meeting in May,” Cleary said. “We could have a design ready for bid by fall and construction by the beginning of 2023.”

“There’s a lot to be said about keeping the current site,” Salvucci said of work done during the previous building effort to find alternate sites around town.

“Committees spend a lot of time talking and not a lot of time doing and I don’t want to push this down the road much,” Kowalski said. 

“I don’t want to see you guys in that building much longer.”

Selectman Randy LaMattina questioned why the new plan did not include and estimated cost of site work?

Demolition and foundation is included, but site improvements are limited to the buildings.

“Based off this alone, there’s a lot of variables,” he said. “I would say you are missing a ton of information …I don’t think anyone on this board is questioning the need for this building. I like Lincoln’s plan. We get a taste for where the public is on this.”

He said a building committee has to be set up and an OPM hired.

“It’s not to add a $1.2 million to the project, it’s to basically pay $1.2 million now and do some of the detail work that Randy sees,” Kowalski said. “It’s actually reducing the cost to the voters.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson said, conceptually he loves the plan.

“Nobody deserves it more than employees of that department,” he said. But he agreed with LaMattina’s concerns.

WHITMAN – In a ceremony delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Nov. 23 hosted the swearing-in of two firefighters who recently joined the Whitman Fire Department.

Firefighters Joshua Gray and Brian Feeney were sworn in together by Town Clerk Dawn Varley in the Town Hall auditorium during a brief ceremony before the Selectmen’s regular business meeting.

“This has been long overdue due to the pandemic and I’m glad we can gather tonight to swear them in,” said Fire Chief Timothy Clancy.

Feeney, a longtime Whitman resident was accompanied by his fiancée Jill and their two sons, Lincoln and Scott. A 2004 graduate of WHRHS, he holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology before attending EMT school and paramedic school. He scored the highest during the 2020 selection process and joined the department in April 2020. His uncle Joseph Feeney was a longtime deputy chief on the Whitman Fire Department.

Gray, who was pastor of the First Congregational Church in Whitman, where he still lives, and department chaplain before becoming a firefighter, was joined by his wife Ann and children Caroline, Jackson and Ryan. Their son Ethan died at a young age.

“While he was our chaplain, be became a call firefighter and fell in love with the fire service,” Clancy said, noting Gray then went on to EMT and paramedic schools before starting his professional career with the Halifax Fire Department. He worked with the Scituate Fire Department before joining the Whitman department when the opportunity arose.

Once reconvened in the Selectmen’s meeting room, the board held the annual joint tax classification hearing with the Board of Assessors during which Selectmen voted to follow the assessor’s recommendation for a uniform tax rate of $14.57 per $1,000 valuation – or or $5,569 on an average single family home valued at $384,354.

They also concurred with assessor’s recommendations against a split rate for residential, commercial, industrial and personal property taxes.

“To split the rate or not to split the rate, that’s the question,” Assessor Kathleen Keefe said to open the hearing. “The focus of tonight’s meeting is to opt for either a uniform rate or a split tax rate.”

Assessors annually brief Selectmen on the town’s financial status and the effects of the uniform or split rate.

The single tax rate was set at $14.57 per $1,000 on uniform tax rate. That rate is down from the current $15.50 per $1,000 valuation because assessments went up spread over more housing stock in town.

Whitman is the fourth-lowest area community in terms of tax bills per single family home, Keefe noted.

“This year, for the first year, there was a vote at Town Meeting in an outside article to tax fully to the levy … so we do not leave on the table any excess levy capacity under the restrictions of Proposition 2 1/2,” Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman said.

The state Department of Revenue annually reviews and approves the adjusted values proposed by the Assessor’s Office. The residential value is based on the sales market and commercial value is based on income and expenses as well as the comparable sales and cost analysis. Whitman’s values were approved Nov. 9. Fiscal 2022 completed a five-year revaluation, which is a more in-depth analysis of property values.

The town’s total property valuation for all classes is $2,030,707,351 of which almost 90 percent – $1,816,440,717 – of the town’s property is residential. Another 5 percent – or $101,920,205 – is commercial, 1.2 percent – or $25,329,423 – is industrial and 4.2 percent – or $87,017,006 – is personal property.

The fiscal 2022 budget required that $45,494,988 be raised as voted by Town Meeting. Receipts were estimated at $15,908,895 leaving $29,586,093 to be raised by the tax levy, divided by the different classifications.

Small commercial business exemptions are limited to firms with fewer than 10 employees with a total property value of $1 million or less and any exemption goes to the property owner, not the business, unless the property owner wishes to share that benefit. In business developments with more than one tenant, all the tenant businesses must meet the qualification criteria.

Residential exemptions are intended to benefit communities with a high number of non-owner-occupied properties.

Neither exemption was recommended by the Assessors or approved by Selectmen.

John Galvin, a member of the Finance Committee, who spoke as a private citizen voicing his own opinion, suggested after Keefe’s presentation that, at some point, Whitman should consider a split commercial tax rate.

“If you’re not going to consider it this year, I think the board needs to start considering the thought process of splitting the tax rate,” Galvin said, noting that they also will be “putting a tremendous demand” on taxpayers in the next couple years in view of infrastructure needs such as the sewer force main project, a DPW building and potentially a new Whitman Middle School.

 “Sewer rates have gone up and they will go up again,” he said. “Any amount that we can give back to the taxpayers, I think, is important and I honestly think splitting the rate is not going to impact the businesses that much. … I think we have to get creative because we’re going to be asking taxpayers for a lot.”

town employee vaxx mandate?

Selectmen also left a Board of Health request to mandate COVID vaccinations for new employees on the table, pending guidance fro OSHA.

The health board recommended in October that all new employees except those with “firmly held religious objections,” or medical exemptions signed by a doctor, be vaccinated.

“I don’t see the benefit of doing this for just new employees, given that we hire, what, five or six people a year,” Selectman Justin Evans said. “If we were going to consider a vaccine mandate it would probably be for all employees and I think, at least at this time, where there is potential OSHA guidance pending that I’d like to see, and other towns already fighting this out in court, I don’t think I want to see us use our legal expenses to pursue this right now.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson agreed.

He said all employees should be encouraged to be vaccinated, but it was ultimately up to them.

“We have a way to go, folks,” Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said, noting that despite Whitman’s 60 percent vaccination rate, that means four out of every 10 people one encounters in public places are not vaccinated. “I understand the Board of Health’s intentions here, I believe, and let’s try to deal with this pandemic that we haven’t dealt with yet – and to have a 60-percent vaccination rate is not having dealt with it.”

By Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com

Enrollment is down historically from where it used to be, but leveling off, Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak reported to the School Committee on Wednesday, Nov. 17.

“That’s a national trend [seen] in the commonwealth, except we seem to be leveling off,” he said. “Will probably never get to that 200-plus kids [at Whitman Middle] we used to have in eighth grade. It’s not going to happen.”

Hanson middle school enrollment has also taken a dip, with grades forecast to number below 150 in the future.

Kindergarten enrollment trends are consistent with national trends, with the number of eighth-graders leaving for vocational high school programs also showing consistency.

“We can have some good information moving forward when we start looking at a five-year plan for budgets, based on enrollments,” he said.

Home-schooling has also made an impact, with 76 students learning at home this year, up from the pre-pandemic 33 students. There were 95 students home-schooling during last year’s lockdown.

“We did take a hit,” Szymaniak said. “I do think some students have enjoyed home schooling, or the curricula that their parents have purchased for them. I’m hoping to bring them back at some point, but I don’t know.”

There are students coming back to the district from home-schooling, already, he said. 

In the meantime, there is “tremendous growth” in English language learning students, which leads to an increase in costs for student support services, such as translation online services. There are 106 English language learning students and 126 families that do not speak English.

Whitman-Hanson WILL reviewed the annual student drug surveys with the committee, outlining the challenge that alternative cigarettes – particularly vapes pose for the district.

“These are our challenge right now,” Szymaniak said.

Szymaniak said the district is talking about developing an anti-vaping curriculum for the district in cooperation with W-H WILL and school resource officers in both towns, as well as alternative consequences/learning for students caught vaping at school.

Gabrielle Peruccio of the Brockton Area Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative and High Point Treatment Center’s prevention services team, briefed the committee on the annual state and federally grant-funded survey’s findings. About 1,100 students in grades six through 12 completed the survey last school year.

Few middle schoolers said they used alcohol, cigarettes e-cigarettes or marijuana or prescription drugs at least once over the past 30 days with seventh and eight-graders having a higher percentage of vaping use among the few students who said they tried any of the substances listed. In the high school, alcohol was the most reported substance used by juniors (14 percent) and seniors (27 percent). Reported use of vaping and marijuana also increased as the grade levels increased, Peruccio said.

“That’s a common trend we’ve been seeing,” she said. “That middle school level, when talking about prevention, and curriculum around these substances is key.”

Students were also asked about their perception of risk — how harmful do they view each of the substances mentioned in the survey. Middle school students showed a view of moderate to great risk, but the perception of risk for marijuana decreases as students reach higher grades, especially since the legalization of marijuana.

Students’ views of their parents’ risk perception of the substances showed most in the middle school grades saying their parents thought it was wrong or very wrong, fluctuating a little at the high school level.

However, at least 90 percent of students in all grades said their parents would feel any substance use was wrong or very wrong.

Peer disapproval, was a bit less stringent at all grade levels, especially at the high school.

“A while back our focus was on prescription drugs and opioids, because that’s what our students were really struggling with,” Peruccio said. “Now we’re seeing marijuana, THC, vaping and alcohol being those top substances that we’re facing.”

The School Committee voted to continuing to allow W-H WILL to share the data with the community and survey students again this year.

“When we talk about school and our students, while our elementary kids are not surveyed … those students might go home to a home that has parents who are addicted,” School Committee member Dawn Byers said. “We need to support students in our school who may struggle with this with other family members. … It’s a community-wide issue.”

She lauded Szymaniak for thinking about a curriculum.

WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen is planning a joint meeting with the Department of Public Works Commissioners and superintendents on Tuesday, Dec. 7 to discuss the town’s need for a new DPW building.

Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman told Selectmen on Nov. 9 that he had received the feasibility study for a new structure from Environmental Partners, which was funded by a Town Meeting-approved appropriation, examining the need and likely cost of a new DPW building.

“Certainly the board knows the condition that that building is in,” he said of the study. “It identifies an amount of $11 million in order to have a new DPW building.” 

Heineman also met with DPW Commission Chairman Kevin Cleary and the department’s two superintendents the week of Nov. 1-5 to discuss what the plan is going forward and how the town can envision the needs for the facility with the feasibility study in mind.

“I think it would make sense to have a joint meeting of the DPW commissioners and the Board of Selectmen to talk about the desirability of what’s before … the town if this is the project the town wants to pursue at this time and, if so, what the timing of that would be.”

Heineman’s preliminary recommendation is to pursue it in two pieces — seeking 10 percent of the cost at the May 2022 Town Meeting to fund clear architectural drawings and, at a future date, attempting to obtain the remainder of funds needed to actually build it.

“That would almost certainly require an operational override at that time,” he said. “The other key thing to think about, in addition to is this the building that the town wants and what the timing might be in achieving it, I think another thing to consider is whether at Town Meeting, or as an appointment from this board… is whether or not to have a building committee for the [project].”

As discussion of the issue progressed, Selectman Brian Bezanson broached the idea that perhaps the town could seek funds through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, passed by the House of Representatives on Friday, Nov. 5 — and signed Monday, Nov.15 — to help reduce the financial burden of the project on the town.

“It’s a hazard down there,” he said, noting that earlier in the meeting they had been praising the DPW crews for the work they did during and after the recent nor’easter. “In the next breath we’re trying to figure out how to make their life safer, so we need to work on this and convince the citizens that this is an important part of going forward.”

He noted that, while he had not looked into it deeply as yet, it could be somewhere the town could look to “get something to help” because there was a lot of gray area there.

He suggested that the town’s representatives in Washington be asked to look into.

According to the White House’s updated state fact sheet for Massachusetts, the act includes $4.2 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs and $1.1 billion for bridge replacement and repairs under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act over five years for Massachusetts. Another $2.5 billion over that span is devoted to public transportation, $63 million for EV charging stations, $100 million for broadband coverage across the state, $5.8 million for wildfire prevention and $15.7 million for protection against cyber attacks. Another $1.1 billion is aimed at improving water infrastructure to remove lead pipes from water supply lines in Masschusetts, and $244 million for airport infrastructure.

Bezanson reminded the board that, if the Occupational Safety and Health Administration became involved with the building, the town would be in “deep trouble.”

 “The longer we wait, the more expensive it’s going to get,” Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci said, noting it had been estimated at a similar price tag for “top line” buildings, or a less extensive one. “Eventually, we’re going to need a new building, and the people have to understand that.”

Selectman Randy LaMattina said he was among those voting against the previous DPW building request because he felt at the time that the need hadn’t been adequately proven to residents.

“It wasn’t sold properly to the town,” he said. “I certainly wasn’t convinced, sitting in the crowd that night… we were kind of presented with ‘vote for it now, or you know what? The price is going up.’”

He said, sitting in a different role right now, it is one the town absolutely can correct now what was then seen as a mistake. Already serving on the Whitman Middle School Building Committee, LaMattina said a DPW Building Committee was a good idea, but he did not want to be on it. 

“I would hate to think we’re trying to rush this for a May Town Meeting,” he said, arguing that Heineman’s two-phase approach would be a better approach.

WHITMAN — The town’s public safety crews received glowing praise for their work in response to the nor’easter that plunged the town into darkness Nov. 3. At the same time, Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman said there were lessons learned — on both the positive and negative sides of the leger — to help improve response to the next weather emergency.

“Obviously that was a really big event and affected everyone in town and certainly the town departments quite a lot,” Heineman said. “I certainly wanted to commend [and express] deep appreciation for the police department … fire department … and the DPW. Both the water and sewer departments and the highway, grounds and parks. They really did an amazing job.”

The cleanup and work done to ensure water and sewer services continued to function despite no power was lauded, as well as the quick cleanup of down trees and branches and leaf-covered streets.

Positives that Heineman said he would like to continue during any future power outages included Clancy’s efforts to keep the pressure on National Grid to hasten its response.

“We certainly fared a lot better than some of our surrounding communities … with a very similar level of damage, we certainly got our power back a lot more quickly than a lot of our neighbors,” he said. “A lot of it is in no small part due to his persistence with that.”

The decision to expand the use and hours of warming and charging stations at Town Hall and the Senior Center was also popular with residents, especially in view of the failure of cell service.

“That was really well-received, from what I heard, and that’s certainly something I’d like to continue in the future, particularly when it’s cold,” Heimeman said.

He also said he plans to speak with DPW Superintendent Bruce Martin about having a brush pile so residents have a place to get rid of felled branches.

Proof of residency would be required to deposit brush there.

Lack of responsiveness from National Grid and cell phone communications failure were pointed to as glaring negatives Heineman wants to see rectified following a storm recap meeting Thursday, Nov. 4.

“Some things are outside of our control,” Heineman said. “National Grid was not very responsive in terms of getting downed wires out of the road quickly so that [they could be] cleared in timely manner.”

Ultimately that could be a statewide issue, he said.

“I don’t think we’re going to solve it locally, but I wanted to make folks aware that was a very real challenge,” Heineman said.

Cell phone communications badly affected.

“That is a pretty new phenomenon,” he said pointing to a lack of back up generation for power at cell towers. “It was a real challenge for the town and for public safety folks.”

“I think it’s clear that because of the difficulty we had communicating without phones, if we didn’t have Josh McNeill it would have been more of a  disaster,” Selectman Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said. He suggested that future budget planning should think seriously of getting some backup for him. He also lauded the Town Hall custodian Todd DeCouto, particularly in the setting up and assisting people at the charging station.

“The team came together,” Kowalski said.

“It’s the people who work behind the scenes that you don’t see that don’t get the recognition [they deserve],” Selectman Dan Salvucci. Heineman added kudos to the CERT team for their disaster respons

Heineman said it might be time think about targeted capital items to make town more resilient, including digital radios in case of future cell communications failures as well as more wood chippers and generator upgrades at sewer treatment plants.

Selectman Justin Evans asked how the streetlights fared in the first real test since the town took over maintenance responsibilities.

“We did not have any major loss. We may have lost one or two,” Heineman said.

The School Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 13 voted to support this year’s round of policy resolutions from the Mass. Association of School Committees.

The panel approved six of nine resolutions without discussion, but policies about zero tolerance, school committees in receivership and prohibiting use of Native American sports mascots drew discussion. A vote by the MASC delegate assembly is slated for Nov. 6, when it considers resolutions submitted in conformance to its by-laws.

“The School Committee voted 9-1 in favor of supporting Resolution 9. The resolution called for: ‘regulations prohibiting public schools from using an athletic team name, logo, or mascot which names, refers to, represents, or is associated with Native Americans, including aspects of Native American cultures and specific Native American tribes,’” Chairman Christopher Howard stated after the meeting. “The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District does not have any athletic team name, logo, or mascots associated with what is described within this resolution.”

Members submit resolutions to be considered at the Assembly, which often result in the filing of legislation by the MASC or the establishment of official positions on legislative or other issues, according to the MASC website.

Committee member Fred Small spoke up for the tradition behind sports names at some schools.

“I don’t think there’s any malice in any mascot name,” he said. “Granted, we’re Panthers, so it doesn’t effect us.”

Whitman member Beth Stafford noted that Hanson’s elementary school is called Indian Head and that the resolution specifically mentions images.

“We can’t change the name of a school in a town, I don’t think, as a School Committee,” Jones said.

Howard reminded the committee that the resolution focuses on mascots, not the name of schools.

Committee member Hillary Kniffen noted that two years ago Hanover changed it’s mascot from the Indians to the Hawks, after having Native Americans speak about how the Indian mascot was offensive to them because of their heritage.

“I’m not native American, so I can’t speak to the offensiveness of something, because that’s not me,” she said. “That’s what we have to keep in mind when we’re looking at this. We don’t know what’s offensive if we’re not that ethnicity, race, gender – any of those things.”

Committee member Christopher Scriven said among other members of his family his mother is a full-blooded Blackfoot Indian, so the subject is a sensitive one for him.

“If you go back in history, look at what we did to these people …” he said. “But, even now, you go into these communities and you see the devastation … It’s important for us to remember that.”

He asked if a name or logo change “really impacts us to the degree that it matters?” He said he doesn’t think so.

“I have a very hard time with people getting uppity about this because it comes from a position of privilege,” he said. “That’s just a matter of fact. You’re not on a reservation. Your culture wasn’t devastated, so that’s something to think about.”

Committee member Steve Bois, who volunteers at schools, said the Indian Head School students embraced a name change for its mascot to the Eagles several years ago.

“The kids embraced that like there’s no tomorrow,” he said. “We moved on.”

Committee member David Forth suggested that youth sports in both towns should be called the Panthers, as the high school teams are.

The committee voted to support the resolution.

Committee member Dawn Byers said that the zero tolerance advocated that the legislature enact or amend legislation to encourage the use of restorative, therapeutic and educational approaches to incidents as soon as possible over the use of “zero tolerance” policies in order to help keep students in the school system. Whitman resident Shawn Kain had spoken in the meeting’s public forum about such an approach to vape use at the high school.

“Sometimes those are necessary in certain circumstances … but there are other areas where we have zero tolerance in the district community and perhaps there are other alternatives to better support students so their first offense might not be a suspension so they are out of school and it might snowball from there,” she said.

Bois pointed to exceptions in the resolution language where violent, criminal or drug-related situations are involved and vaping could be considered drug use.

Thar policy was supported by the committee.

Byers also noted that online feedback sought to differentiate between receivership and state control of schools. The regional school committee advocacy group supports the measure because school committees lose all their powers when the state takes over under receivership. While W-H may never go into receivership, which happens when a district underperforms educationally, it should support other districts.

Small, however, argued if a School Committee performed so poorly that a district goes into receivership, that committee deserves to lose their jobs.

The committee voted to support the policy.

School council

Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said school councils have been so far this year, set up at the elementary level, where there are formalized PTOs, which make it easier to do than at the middle and high school level.

PTOs vote as to who will serve on school councils, required by state law to help principals develop school improvement plans and/or discussion on the budget. Students, teachers, parents and  at-large community representatives are included on the councils.

“It has to be equitable,” he said. “If you have two students, you’re supposed to have two parents.” He said the elementary PTOs have selected parent representatives.

“The middles [schools] are struggling mightily,” he said, noting the principals in both towns have sent out “multiple communications to parents” with no response.

The high school does not have a PTO, so Principal Dr. Christopher Jones is holding a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 27 to proceed with deciding how and who to elect to that School Council. The meetings to appoint council members are public meetings.

Howard asked that Jones outline the selection process for the high school, in view of a resident’s expression of concern on the matter in the meeting’s public forum.

“The fact that community members don’t necessarily want to participate is another challenge for us,” Szymaniak said.

He also said the law, on the books since before the Education Reform Act, needs to be updated regarding how members can be selected.

“The fact that community members don’t always want to participate is another challenge for us,” he said.

Szymaniak also asked committee members for ideas in getting the word out that he is seeking residents who wish to join a school council. Representatives are needed for all school levels.

The School Committee tabled a proposal for a Student Advisory Council at the high school. Szymaniak said he meets with all student councils in the district on a regular basis.

A state law provides that schools should have a Student Adisory Council, with five members elected by students.

“Kids deserve to be heard, especially now,” said committee member Michelle Bourgelas. “It’s not easy for them. It’s not.”

Howard said he knows students need to be heard and is a proponent of student engagement, but is concerned with putting the committee in a pretzel over process.

“I want to do what’s required, but I want to do things thoughtfully,” he said. He also wants to hear more than just from high school students, suggesting the committee give it more thought and return to the issue at its next meeting.

Forth pointed to Boston where the student rep is involved in meetings to the point of being an unofficial 11th member, and is seeking home rule legislation to give that student voting rights on the committee.

“That’s how much they believe it’s such a central role,” he said. “If there isn’t someone here to be the eyes of the students, how will the students know what is going on?”

Byers noted there is a W-H student on the Southeast Advisory Council, but Superintendent Jeff Szymaniak said that is a different committee.

Howard said the number of councils and committees is what makes the situation confusing. Scriven suggested the Policy Subcommittee be charged with forming such a council and really sell it to students to spark involvement.

COVID report

 Only one school district in Massachusetts has achieved the 80-percent vaccination rate required for rescinding mask requirements — but don’t plan on removing masks yet — with four more districts pending. W-H schools reported no cases of COVID at the high school as of Oct. 6, none at Hanson Middle School; three at Whitman middle and one staff member, two students and one staff member at Conley, one student at Duval, none at Indian Head and none at the preK program. No positive cases stemmed from contacts at school.

The high school has more vaccinated students than they had thought, according to Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak, mainly because reporting has been poor. When the district hits 80 percent, he said he would petition to be granted permission to lift the mask requirement.

MCAS report

For the 20th year in a row, W-H MCAS scores are in line with state averages, according to Assistant Superintendent George Ferro

“I’m not quite sure what MCAS measured last year during COVID,” he said. School districts had many different learning programs because of the pandemic, but W-H still had upwards of 90 percent of students taking the tests. He said a lot of districts had trouble even finding their students, let alone getting them to take the tests.

No district did well in writing essays W-H did well in constructed responses from prompts and short answer objectives. Ferro pointed to remote learning and the effort to keep students engaged, which does not translate into writing essays.

W-H did not do well in a lot of the grade seven and 10 math standards, which are generally taught at the end of sixth grade — during the pandemic lockdown and remote learning. The data does provide information on how to approach remediation of skills, according to Ferro.

WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen are holding a day-long strategic planning workshop on Saturday, Oct. 23 and are seeking selected members of the public to participate in or observe sessions.

Five members of the public will be selected from those expressing interest to Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman to participate in the morning session articulating the town’s mission and the general public is welcome and encouraged to attend and observe that and an afternoon discussion session.

“I just want to make sure the right people are in the room there, who the board wants,” Heineman said. Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said there has to be enough publicity about the workshop so that interested citizens know about it. “This is a public meeting, so anyone can attend. I think the key is who is participating actively in the small groups and who isn’t.”

Heineman said there have already been some members of the public who have expressed interest in participating.

“There are some members of the public you would expect to show an interest, who didn’t know about it,” Kowalski said. “We do need to make sure that we reach out enough so that enough interested people are here at the meeting. … Otherwise it’s not a vision that’s shared with the town — it’s something that a small group of people come up with.”

Consultant Ann Donner updated the board on the process at it’s Tuesday, Oct. 12 meeting.

“One part is focused on Phase 2 strategy development and assessment,” Donner said. “Following that is Phase 3, which is really developing and articulating mission, vision, values and priorities and providing a framework for the two over the next five years.”

The morning mission session will focus on “defining and prioritizing a range of overarching strategic priorities” and to think about what the outcomes would be — “coming up with the language that people feel captures what the town of Whitman stands for,” she said.

Donner will facilitate that activity.

“It’s a great solace to know that we’re not just sitting there with a blank piece of paper,” Kowalski said.

The afternoon session will discuss how “everything that we all do contributes to all those strategic priorities” even though it may not be obvious.

She offered mission statements and strategic outlines of communities around the nation, including Fort Collins, Colo.

Selectman Justin Evans asked who else the board should be inviting to the meeting, besides Selectmen, Whitman School Committee, department heads and members of the public to ensure a productive session Oct. 23.

“Or are we getting too big,” he asked.

“The number of participants shouldn’t matter,” Donner said. “Whoever you would like to participate, there’s a way to participate through the way it’s organized.”

Kowalski asked how she envisioned the physical makeup of the Town Hall auditorium for the most effective session — whether, for example, there would be people seated at “a set of tables with X-number of people at it and sharing the results of our conversation at those tables?”

Donner said that was a good setup and that, often, there are guiding questions, depending on the number of people, providing opportunites for breakout sessions.

Selectman Randy LaMattina asked how the regional school district could be completely included.

“To just come up with Whitman’s strategic plan for the school district is only including half the team,” he said, asking how Donner would advise integrating the Hanson School Committee members or that town’s officials, perhaps taking part in their own breakout meeting.

“I see a complete conflict that, we go ahead and establish something that works for Whitman, but it really isn’t a strategic plan for education in the regional school district,” he said.

Donner conceded that is an excellent point, saying critical information to examine prior to Oct. 23 is the district’s own recently completed strategic plan to ensure they are in alignment so there are not two competing documents.

Evans said that it is important that what comes out of the Oct. 23 session should be coming from Whitman residents and town employees for the credibility of the strategic plan, but it is also worth at least inviting at least School Committee Chairman Chris Howard, who is a Hanson resident to at least be in the audience for questions. He also suggested Hanson’s Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer would be a good person to invite as an observer.

 “It does make sense if the town’s financial plan is in line with their plan, where we’ve struggled with that and still — unfortunately, even with this — will not be addressed,” LaMattina said. “We run on parallel roads, but financially we’re not in the same place.”

Donner suggested a priority could be concerning the schools and the town’s role in the schools with meeting focused on that.

Selectman Dan Salvucci noted that most town departments also have five-year plans, if not written then in mind, a financial strategic plan would also have to be formulated to achieve those goals.

Salvucci also pointed to the previous survey of residents about strategic goals as a way that the public has been given a voice.

Donner also said there would be a public comment period for people unable to attend to make their voices heard.

“I’m slightly disappointed because I thought we were a little beyond this, that we were actually going to implement a plan, that we were beyond the fact-finding,” LaMattina said, noting there has already been a public survey. “When are we actually going to get the team together and develop a plan?”

He also wondered if the five or six public participants would really be providing a snapshot of what the town wants, or what they want.

“If the success of this plan is dependent on buy-in and a shared vision, then the most important people are the other department heads,” LaMattina said. “I think it will make for a more productive meeting, personally.”

Pubic forum

In other business, Selectmen discussed the public forum process, which had recently been suspended.

“We have to make sure that we still observe the Open Meeting Law,” Kowalski said. “People should know what we’re going to be discussing and acting upon each week when they get an agenda.”

But, he agreed, there ought to be a way to raise concerns with the board that are not on an agenda, so long as they understand that no action nor meaningful discussion will be taken up at that time, but that may be placed on a future agenda.

Evans noted that the School Committee had made a similar decision earlier this year.

Selectmen also extended an invitation to DPW Highway and Parks Supervisor Bruce Martin to attend an upcoming meeting to discuss why the DPW Commissioners had recommended placement of cameras in Whitman Park.

Selectmen voted not to put park cameras on the Capital Improvement plan at this time. 

HANSON – Voters at Hanson’s special Town Meeting Monday, Oct. 4, took several steps to make local government more transparent, including postponing one citizens’ petition article on residency requirements for holding office to the May Town Meeting.

An article seeking special legislation outlining the process for removal for cause of appointed board, committee or commission officials, amended to remove contradictory language about the petition signature process, was approved.

Selectman Joseph Weeks said that article’s purpose was to trigger a hearing by the appointing board.

“This article is designed to give a voice to people that, if they truly feel an appointed official that they do not have direct control over, is doing something that’s against what the wishes of Hanson are, this triggers that hearing,” he said.

An article proposed by the Board of Selectmen, requiring that all Hanson office-holders have their primary residence in Hanson was also approved, without comment.

A non-binding citizen’s petition, seeking the immediate removal of the entire membership of the Zoning Board of Appeals, by the Board of Selectmen as the ZBA’s appointing authority, was also approved. Kevin Cohen of Spring Street, and 167 co-signers, asked that the ZBA be removed at the first possible meeting after Town Meeting.

“The Hanson ZBA has recently reorganized three times,” Cohen said. “A lot of people in town were not aware of this. … There’s also been many complaints to the state ethics commission with regard to several members of the board, involving alleged self-dealing. The state Ethics Commission is looking into the personal relationships on this board. … It does warrant an investigation.”

Another article approved Monday night, revised a bylaw to require all board and committee members report to the Board of Selectmen, any potential conflicts of interest.

When the Town Meeting — held in the McEwan Performing Arts Center at WHRHS — was posted, masks for the session were optional, but since the high school is mandated to require them until Nov. 1, Moderator Sean Kealy urged residents to observe that rule, even though he was not willing to remove anyone for failure to do so.

“It is a state law, however, and the school is very concerned about it,” Kealy said. Not everyone complied.

Former School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes was honored for his service on that committee.

Before the night’s business got under way, there was $2,210,786 in free cash; $1,365,131 in the stabilization fund; $187,182 in the school stabilization fund; $1,540,002 in water surplus; $20,949 in the Recreation retained earnings; and $25,058 in the solid waste retained earnings account.

Funds for a temporary recording secretary for the Selectmen’s office and a proposed .75-percent meals tax were among the few articles rejected or passed over.

 A requested $9,179 for a recording secretary in the Selectmen’s office was rejected by a 63-41 vote. The meals tax request was passed over by a vote of 56-52.

Recording secretary 

The Finance Committee did not recommend the recording secretary expense, which was intended to help catch up with a meeting minutes backlog and assist with Economic Development Committee minutes, according to Town Administrator Lisa Green. The part-time, temporary employee would have had no benefits and the requested funds were expected to cover pay for the position through July 1, 2022.

“Since we are mid-budget cycle, adding staff or hours just, for us, we prefer to see that at the beginning of the budget cycle,” said Finance Committee member Patrick Powers.

Resident Bruce Young urged voters to follow the Finance Committee’s recommendation and moved that each of the lines up for adjustment in Article 2 be voted separately. When that was approved, the motion to reject the recording secretary line was approved.

“The executive assistant to the Board of Selectmen has always handled the preparation and the transcribing of the minutes,” he said. “The minutes are as difficult as you want to make them.”

Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer countered that the office is only staffed with two people and the work hasn’t been accomplished within a 40-hour work week in years.

“In the past, we’ve had a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful  employee — [Meredith] Merry Marini — who would stay and work 60 hours a week,” Dyer said. “She would come in during the weekends, she would do the minutes from home — she took a lot of work, and she did it on her own time.”

He said the town benefitted from Marini’s work over the years, but that over time, state mandates have increased. The office is understaffed.

“We had a global pandemic come through, and that really took a lot of our bandwidth and we got a little bit behind in our minutes and this is just to help us get caught up,” Dyer said.

Meals tax

The narrow vote margin to pass over an article instituting a .75-percent meals tax meant that the town continues as one of only three in the region to fail to adopt a meals tax. Opponents argued that, on the heels of the COVID pandemic, it is not the time to impose a new tax.

“My only concern is that, at this particular time, after the pandemic, I’m not sure imposing a meals tax on our restaurants in town — where we don’t have an awful lot of them and they’re struggling — I just don’t think it should be brought up at this particular time,” said resident Kathleen Marini, moving to pass over the article.

Dyer explained the sales tax is on diners, not restaurants and that the small difference the tax would make, in an effort to fund municipal and school costs, would not affect business. He said a $100 tab and Venus III, for example, would only bring a 75-cent meals tax.

Pond management

Discussion of two pond management articles, for treatment and preventive measures and establishing a budget line item, was also the focus of much of the evening’s discussion.

Woodbine Avenue resident Joe Campbell asked if the $25,000 from free cash sought for Article 12 included litigation costs against surrounding towns that are violating waterways.

Conservation Commission Chairman Phil Clemons said Article 11 doesn’t provide funding, but rather a mechanism for possible future funding. 

“They don’t dictate what we do and don’t spend the money on, it’s just that, at the moment, the town doesn’t have a mechanism for spending any money to fund anything regarding any pond,” Clemons said. “This is simply a way to begin paying that attention. … This will enable us to start doing something.”

For one Lakeside Avenue resident said that it appeared to her that Pembroke officials play a role in clearing up the algae.

“I’ve lived there over 40 years and the ponds are getting worse,” she said, noting she has joined a Pembroke watershed group, but now finds Hanson is not treating its side of the pond. “I don’t know how that works out, because I’ve got all this green algae growing everywhere.”

Powers again pointed to the Finance Committee’s preference that the proposal wait for a full budget year to seek funding. Kealy added that while Article 11 puts the budget line in place, Article 12 puts some money into it until the May Town Meeting, but that the fiscal 2023 budget cycle really begins to get going in November. 

Resident Frank Milisi expressed concern over bladderwort, which contain small, hollow sacs that digest tiny animals such as insect larvae and water fleas, would be a plant at the Cranberry Cove beach that Recreation officials want to get rid of by the time swimming starts. May would be too late for that.

“I appreciate that Finance has to do their job and go through and make recommendations at the May Town Meeting, but we really need to start getting a handle on at least the Cranberry Cove bladderwort issue,” he said, describing the situation as dangerous to have children learning how to swim there until the plants are eradicated.

Former Finance Committee member Pepper Santalucia, while he greatly respects the work that they do, said that the October Town Meeting is to meet needs and address issues that have come up since the May Town Meeting and may need to be addressed before the spring.

“It strikes me that it’s a good policy to be cautious about what expenditures you might recommend or approve at the October Town Meeting, but to make a blanket assertion that, because it’s coming up as a need in October, it’s not worthy of consideration … I’m asking for some clarification,” he said.

Powers said the Finance Committee did not recommend Article 11 at this time because it adds and establishes a budget line, which is procedurally done in May.

Both articles were approved, with Milisi’s request to add an additional $10,000 for what Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said would fund not only a study, but plans to do something to address the ponds.

Union contracts

Union ratified contracts for public employees were also funded, including the police union — which received public funds in support of their education through the Quinn Bill and base raises (2 percent for the first year and 2 ¼ for the last two) added over the course of three years, a tenure step increase, and an increase for a sergeant to differentiate his rank from the top patrolman, Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff said.

All unions received Juneteenth as a contractual holiday. Juneteenth for nonunion personnel was approved in a later article recognizing it as a local holiday, as well as on the state and federal designations.

The fire department’s union personnel agreement contained the same base raises as the police contract, a 10-year step, an increased for the paramedic certification stipend and EMT basic stipend.

The administrative professionals’ union settled for a flat 2-percent raise over three years, some library positions — children’s, youth and reference librarians —were added to the union, assistants in the collector, treasurer and clerk’s offices will receive a $1,000 stipend for certifications they have attained and a $350 stipend to maintain a certification for the conservation clerk and eye glasses reimbursements up to $500 every three years.

The Highway Department contract carried no further appropriation for the fiscal year.