WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Dec. 7 opted to accept most of a revised financial policy, which includes a procurement card that could be used by certain town employees to fund purchases. The procurement cards policy was tabled until language can be revised.

“I’m still not sure about having a procurement card —  on the value having it,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said to open the discussion. “I think the current system — of someone pays for the stuff and then gets reimbursed — makes sense, and I think it keeps us away from some … messy business.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson said, while he understood and agrees in some respects, with Kowalski, he questioned why town employees should have to expend their own money and then wait for Selectmen to reimburse them.

“I have a little trouble with that, too,” Bezanson said. “Why should you put your money down?”

He also asked whether the town should have one card for the board and town administrator and assistant to use, requiring all other town officials and employees to go through the Selectmen’s office for authorization.

Kowalski said his understanding of the proposal was that there would be a number of cards distributed, but Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman said the policy proposal would only be for one card to be administered through the Selectmen and town administrator’s office.

“Then there’s less chance of any shenanigans,” Bezanson said.

Selectman Justin Evans recalled that the last time the board discussed the proposal, Heineman had just been reimbursed — via the board’s authorization — for a purchase of snacks and beverages he bought for a day-long strategic planning session in October.

“It’s the kind of process that we could streamline,” Evans said.

Selectman Dan Salvucci said people have, in the past, traveled on town business, expenses had been abused.

“When it came time for reimbursement, we had to have a talk about spending frivolously,” he said. “I think, with a credit card, if we put a max on it per purchase …”

Heineman said that, especially where travel on town business is concerned, he would never authorize an expense that was not the cheapest economy on meals and probably not at all on air travel.

He noted that Parks and Highway Superintendent Bruce Martin had recently told him that nearly every month he is faced with expenses for essential equipment or materials he has to purchase where a credit card is the only form of payment accepted.

Heineman recommended a card limit, rather than a purchase limit.

Kowalski said the wording of the proposal led him to believe that “a number of procurement cards were going to be given out to people to use when they need to buy stuff for the town.”

He saw the possibility of people going over the limit.

Heineman said the language could be changed to reflect that only one card would be used.

COVID uptick

In other business, Heineman said the town is “experiencing a pretty significant uptick in the positivity rate” for COVID19, during his regular update on the pandemic.

The positivity rate has been climbing for six straight weeks, and particularly over the previous two weeks.

“It’s risen dramatically as compared with the previous four,” Heineman said. “The Delta variant is the primary variant that’s being transmitted now.”

The town’s vaccination rate, meanwhile, has been slowly ticking up, with Whitman’s vaccinated population now at 61 percent.

Booster clinics have been conducted for residents of the Whitman Housing Authority as well as the home-bound in the community. Another booster clinic, open to the public was held Dec. 9.

While first and second shots are also readily available at local pharmacies, the town has plans in place for those clinics, if they are needed.

“This spike was not unexpected,” Fire Chief Timothy Clancy said.

Assistant TA

After receiving 93 applications for the post of assistant town administrator, Heineman said the subcommittee has set up eight semifinal interviews, with an eye toward three to four sending finalists to the full board for interviews on Dec. 21.

“We were going to try to avoid that night,” Kowalski said. “But someone might get a merry Christmas that night.”

Following reference and background checks the aim is to have a new assistant town administrator in place in January.

School
communication

Salvucci said a Monday night television news report on Dec. 6 was the first he heard of the alleged threat situation at WHRHS that day.

“I’m out and about doing Christmas shopping and, if somebody asks me about it, I have no idea,” he said. “I think that either the School Department or somebody should have put an email out to at least this board … so we know basically what happened. We don’t need the specifics, because it’s still under investigation.” 

He said Selectmen should at least know enough to reassure residents.

Selectman Randy LaMattina, who is the police liaison, said the police did reach out to him.

“Obviously, it was an issue with minors and is kind of a sensitive area,” he said. “But he did inform me there was an incident and there would be extra police presence by both towns at the high school.”

He said it was a developing situation at the time.

Kowalski agreed with Salvucci that communication has to be better.

He learned of the incident from another person who does not live in Whitman and, when he texted Police Chief Timothy Hanlon, he was told that the chief had called LaMattina and Heineman.

“I said ‘That’s great, but if I bumped into somebody at Stop & Shop, and they said, ‘Hey, what’s going on in Whitman-Hanson?’ I’d have said, ‘Duh, I don’t know,’ Kowalski said. “Communication’s got to be better.”

Kowalski said he had a good conversation with the chief, but it’s good to know some things.

“It’s not about the event, it has to do with communication to this board,” he said.

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen tabled a decision, on whether to proceed with the town’s contract with Team TMS on the pending audit of WHRSD finances, until their Tuesday, Dec. 14 meeting.

The delay would help the town figure out if it needs to go back to Town Meeting for additional funding and to get a better idea of Whitman’s position on what company does the work.

“I want to make it clear that we cannot have either firm that audits the towns as the firm we bring in to audit WHRSD,” Town Administrator Lisa Green said.
Agreeing that Green was making a good suggestion, Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said she would rather wait to see where the Whitman Board of Selectmen come in on the question. Green said she has had a long conversation about the audit with Whitman Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman, who has told her that he would rather go out to bid again.

“Why are we waiting for them to decide what they want to do?” said Selectman Jim Hickey. “Why don’t we vote the way we want to vote, and if they vote the other way, then we can talk about it.”

Former town administrators from both towns had agreed on the company selected for the audit based on the previous bid, before COVID stalled the process.

“It was laid a little bit to rest,” she said. “Now that it’s come back to life, I want to give you all the options of what we can do.”

Both towns agreed to go out to bid for an auditor a year ago, according to Green. A bid was advertised and one bid was received at that time.

Selectmen discussed the issue at their Tuesday, Dec. 7 meeting.

“There was a company that stated they declined to bid,” Green said. “And here we are, unfortunately, we are almost a year and a half or two years later.”

Green said the audit was put on hold when Hanson decided to begin a de-regionalization study.

“It has resurfaced and the company that put in a proposal — Team TMS — was also the company that was undergoing the de-regionalization study,” she said. “They have been gathering voluminous documents from W-H. They may already have many of the documents required to conduct the audit.”

That company will also honor the price for conducting the audit that they proposed in March 2020, according to Green. She cautioned that, if the town rebid for an auditor right now, they may not receive any more bids and the cost could be higher. The bid process could also take another three or four months and would have to burden the schools to produce the documents.

“Who knows how long the schools may take to comply with the requests for the documents,” Green said. “I just want to present all the options.”

Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer said his opinion was that Hanson budgeted $14,000 of the $28,000 for the project, divided by the two towns.

“In the light of everything in the last week or so, I say we should just move forward sooner rather than later, and let’s stick with the number that is known, rather than putting it out to  bid, but that’s just me,” he said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said that Hanson can’t unilaterally decide on TMS, if they are doing the audit in concert with Whitman.

“I don’t know if we can take a vote tonight in regard to using TMS,” she said, even if Hanson can appreciate that the firm has already begin gathering data.

“I have had a concern recently about, shall we say, some lapse in good judgment that they used in handling the de-regionalization study, enough so that I would not feel comfortable that they would be my pick,” she said. FitzGerald-Kemmett also wanted to know if TMS had any conflict such as projects for the school district.

She said the work done by “our dear, esteemed “former Town Administrator John Stanbrook on Circuit Breaker funds was “extremely alarming” as have some other issues that have cropped up recently.

“Plus, we’ve got all this ESSER money … COVID money, there’s certainly enough that would compel us to say, ‘This would be a good time to do a good, thorough kicking of the tires and an audit of the distict,’” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

An ongoing internal school district accounting review has determined that there are “a couple of accounts with excess funds” that should have been returned to the towns.

District Business Manager John Stanbrook reviewed the district’s use of Circuit Breaker funds in depth during his financial and budget report to the School Committee on Wednesday, Nov. 17.

Stanbrook said Circuit Breaker has been used as a revenue source in the general fund. This year there is $600,000 as a transfer from Circuit Breaker as a revenue source. He said he counted the uniform Massachusetts accounting system process through which the Department of Revenue said the district should be showing a Circuit Breaker.

“It shouldn’t be shown as a revenue source in the general fund and an expenditure in the general fund,” Stanbrook said. “It should be shown just as a reduction to the expenditures in the general fund.”

Stanbrook said as of the fiscal 2023 budget, the committee would see a line item reflecting some type of transfer from Circuit Breaker showing zero — which means expenditures would be reduced by the amount, instead of showing it as revenue.

Committee member Fred Small asked if the process could accurately be described as the district spending up to threshold and then spending Circuit Breaker money.

“Is that not what has been happening?” he asked.

Small outlined a hypothetical to illustrate his question on a $98,000 expenditure. He asked if the first $48,000 is the responsibility of the district, with the other $50,000 being a reimbursement formula known as a 75-25 split — for every dollar the district spends, it received 75 cents in Circuit Breaker funds.

“What I’m talking about here is only to show what we do when we get the actual money from the state,” Stanbrook said. “I think we’re talking about two different things. … After doing the reimbursement rate allocation [the question is] what do you do with that money?”

Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said the district has historically been using Circuit Breaker to offset the budget.

“That’s not the appropriate way to do it because you’re just taking money and putting it as a revenue source,” he said. “Circuit Breaker money should be allocated to a direct special education expense.”

The funds are to be used for expenses such as funding a mid-year out-of-district placement, for example.

Small asked if the district’s past approach has any impact on anything else in the budget over the years and whether money was carried over that shouldn’t have been.

Stanbrook said he didn’t know about past impact, but said it should have a net zero effect. Carry-over is only permitted for one year, he added.

Up to fiscal 2019, there was only a small amount carried over and there is a “small amount of reimbursement in there right now.”

Small also asked if funds were spent out of the general fund that qualified as Circuit Breaker money and, if so, did it end up in excess and deficiency.

“That’s what would happen if we didn’t spend it,” Stanbrook said. “Have we spent every dollar of Circuit Breaker? No we have not.”

Committee Chairman Christopher Howard said previous meeting recordings could be checked to verify it, but said he recalled that unused Circuit Breaker funds were applied to the budget, but it was not used as an all-purpose fund.

Last year’s Circuit Breaker reimbursement was about $1.3 million, according to Stanbrook.

“That’s a pretty healthy number,” Howard said, noting that some districts have a Special Education Stabilization Fund to help offset costs.

“If we’re holding general funds and we’re holding Circuit Breaker monies that could be spent instead of general funds — if we had spent the Circuit Breaker money, we would have had additional funds from the general fund — we could have had, perhaps, programs, etc.,” Small said.

“I don’t know if we’ve managed Circuit Breaker well over the years,” Szymaniak agreed, but he is uncertain the past numbers are readily available and that Stanbrook is looking at ways to do it better.

Committee member Dawn Byers said she was concerned about whether the way Circuit Breaker has been handled has inflated the budget.

Whitman resident John Galvin, speaking for himself and not as a Finance Committee member, commended Stanbrook and the budget subcommittee for diving right into their work.

He said “net zero” describes the effect of reimbursement when they are properly handled.

“The problem is that’s not the way we’ve been doing it over the last who knows how many years,” Galvin said. Over the last five years the district has received $5,958,138 in Circuit Breaker reimbursement. It budgeted $3,235,000, not using $2,723,138.

“That money came out of the towns,” he said, noting that the percent of reimbursed funds has slid from 97 percent of money received to 34.88 percent — $600,000 of $1,720,374 — in fiscal 2022.

“We have $1.4 million sitting in that account today,” Galvin said. “What are we going to do with it?” He said another $1.2 million is expected in the next nine months.

Whitman Selectman Randy LaMattina said he was speaking as a representative of the town and that research he and Galvin have done on the issue also led him to ask why the Circuit Breaker funds the district received were not used to pay the expenses for which the district’s special needs kids qualified.

“It is not a net zero game,” he said. “Those expenses should have come out before the town’s assessment. … Why wasn’t this money used … for the kids, for the services?”

LaMattina said fiscal year 2020, the year use of the funds fell to 38 percent, and the resulting layoffs of 15 teachers within the budget cuts made, was blamed on selectmen from the two towns.

“In fact, there was probably $700,000 left of available funds that year that could have been used to offset those layoffs,” he said, asking for an explanation of how it happened and whether it was due to a misunderstanding of how Circuit Breaker works or something else.

“It’s almost two separate issues here,” LaMattina said Tuesday, Nov. 30. “We have a major accounting issue that has impacts Whitman and Hanson, and we also have an issue why in last three budget cycles has so little Circuit Breaker money been used?”

Whitman resident Shawn Kain pointed out that the cost of special education plans can be quantified and therefore should not be a surprise during budget talks.

Whitman Selectmen also discussed the issue at their Tuesday, Nov. 23 meeting during an update on the independent school audit requested by both towns. Galvin told Selectmen that both towns had approved the funding and Hanson had begun to accept bids when the process was put on hold due to the pandemic.

“Whitman and Hanson should definitely put it out to bid again, in my strong opinion,” Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman said, noting the bid information Hanson received is now two years old.

“It seems like it’s coming close to a time when it [might] yield some pretty interesting information, if I understand the School Committee meeting I witnessed last week,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

He said Howard had called him and indicated that he understands what Galvin and LaMattina were talking about when they addressed the committee.

“He understands better now about the way special education money was funded and [that] he just needs a little more time to sort it out — have the committee work on it,” Kowalski said. “And I told him I could support that.”

Galvin reiterated his support for the budget subcommittee’s work as well as Stanbook’s, acknowledging that Stanbrook has just begun his accounting review and that the audit would help him in that work.

HANSON — Hanson Selectman unanimously voted on Tuesday, Nov. 9 to hire Hull Town Counsel Jim Lampke to conduct an investigation of alleged ethics conflicts on the part of Zoning Board of Appeals members.

Town Counsel Katherine Feodoroff reported her research into such an appointment to the board, and available investigating attorneys at the meeting.

She said she reached out to six or seven people.

“Unfortunately, the timing is such that a lot of people turned me down as procured (or already contracted elsewhere),” she said. “We were able to get two proposals.”

Jim Lampke, who is also president of the Mass. Municipal Lawyers Assoc. (MMLA) and former member of the state Ethics Commission Jeanne Kempthorne were contacted for proposals. 

Lampke does “quite a bit of special counsel work” regarding ethics issues where other town counsels have conflicts, Feodoroff said. She knows Lampke through municipal law circles, but has no prior working relationship with him. His proposal, for all work including review of documents and interviews with witnesses, involves a $200/hour fee.

The second proposal was received the day of the Selectmen’s Nov. 9 meeting, referred by one of the contacts that were unable to make a proposal.

Kempthorne, who is also a former assistant attorney general was seeking a fee of $250/hour, with travel time from her home on the North Shore included in her bill. 

“Have checked references for these people to make sure that they are capable of doing the tasks we are asking them to undertake?” Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked.

Feodoroff said she knows Lampke to be a very competent lawyer, having worked with him in the past and Kempthorne was recommended by a judge, who was referred to Feodoroff through a colleague in her law office, but she said she did not have the chance to check their references herself.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell asked if either had provided any indication of how long an investigation might take or the total cost.

“I told them I needed this to be a fairly quick turnaround, so I’d like a month, maximum,” Feodoroff said. Neither had provided a cap figure.

Mitchell and FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if the board could set a cap or establish a time period for them to report back to determine if more time was needed. Mitchell said he would defer to Feodoroff to suggest a fair price cap.

She said $7,500 was reasonable.

“In my mind, I’d start getting a little anxious when we got to $10,000,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Selectmen Jim Hickey noted that $7,500 at the hourly rates quoted was about 37 hours of work.

“That’s really a lot of hours to work on this,” he said. “I’d think it would come in under the $7,500.”

Feodoroff said every building and electrical permit pulled by the two members of the ZBA who performed the work in question is part of the scope of the investigation. But she is uncertain about proving residency problems.

“I know there are people who have documentation and complaints have been filed, so those things would be provided [to the investigator] automatically anyway,” she said.

“I’ve got so many questions and I’m struggling with have we defined the scope of this investigation?” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Are we all clear on what we’re looking for, so that we’re clear with the person we’re hiring what we’re looking for.”

She said she doesn’t want there to be any misunderstanding that costs the town money and fails to provide the information the board needs.

Feodoroff said she couldn’t predict who might be interviewed, but did say if she were the investigator, she would want to interview the complainant, but that was up to that person to dictate.

Hickey asked if Town Administrator Lisa Green would be expected to sit in on interviews, noting that she wouldn’t have that kind of time to spare.

Feodoroff, again putting herself in the investigator’s place, said she wouldn’t want that, because the questions asked might not be answered with complete candor.

“It would also put Lisa in a very weird political position and would distract from the time that she’s got,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Mitchell asked if a report of findings, which would be expected should wrongdoing be discovered, would appear before the board to make a report if no evidence of wrongdoing were found.

Selectman Joe Weeks flagged inaccuracies in the letter sent out to potential investigators — naming only three ZBA members instead of the entire board and mentioning a focus on conflict of interest surrounding the 40B application for Spring Street.

“I want to make sure we’re not inadvertently going down a path that we’re not supposed to,” he said, expressing a concern about future lawsuits or being set up for the investigation to fail.

“We don’t even want to hear about the 40B,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. She expressed specific information on situations where members should recuse themselves from dealing with applications where conflicts of interest might arise. Weeks said he would also like to see an examination of the ZBA members’ votes while on the board.

“I’d really like to see some probing,” she said. “The net is going to have to be cast beyond just Hanson. I don’t know how far.”

Familial relationships between board members and applicants as well  financial ties that could create a Section 19 conflict are key issues Feodoroff said, cautioning that, if engineers are included, the investigation could end up like a search for needles in a haystack.

She said if there were familial relationships, it needs to be determined if proper disclosure forms were filed.

“I’m not mentioning specific names at all,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “This is an equal-opportunity employer. … I don’t know any of these people. I’m looking forward to the results of this investigation and putting this to bed.”

Feodoroff said the applications before the board being investigated are the triggers for potential ethics violations, and said she could clarify that any applications be reviewed.

“It’s about faith in the [ZBA],” Weeks said. “We have to give them a list of whatever we want them to investigate.”

Resident Tom Constantine asked if the board had considered next steps if an interviewee declines to answer questions on advice of legal counsel during the investigation.

HANSON – The Lite Control property, long eyed by the town as a location for a new Highway Department building, has drawn interest from potential buyers or renters.

The property was donated to the town in 2019 for that purpose, but the two remaining buildings have been vacant since. Any disposition of the property would have to go before the May Town Meeting.

Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer urged Green to ensure the buildings are secured, while moving ahead on parallel tracks — with the Highway Building Committee doing its work while Town Administrator Lisa Green and town counsel investigate the options for disposition of the property. The board concurred with that approach.

“There’s not enough information available now to make an informed decision,” Selectman Joe Weeks said.

The property has become a hangout for people who have been breaking into the buildings — and making bonfires inside the buildings — Green said, adding that Impressed LLC is interested in the property, but that the town would have to follow the procurement process prior to any sale or lease agreement.

“[The vacant buildings are] extremely dangerous since they are surrounded by very dry vegetation,” she said. “We’ve had some interest in the buildings and the property. People who either would like to purchase it or lease it.”

She said the windows are also being used for “target practice,” leaving the floor covered with broken glass.

Green said in either case a procurement process for municipal property disposition would have to be followed. Town counsel is already reviewing the restrictions on use of the property help with that complicated process.

“I just wanted to get the board’s feelings and thoughts on this,” she said. “We know, by the donation deed, there’s a lot of restrictions that follow this.”

For example, the property cannot be used for any residential, medical, day care or outdoor recreation or noncommercial gardening purposes. Wells may not be drilled, but town water is available to the site.

Green said the parties expressing interest are “looking at the buildings as they are” for a particular purpose.

“It would be interesting to get this back on the tax rolls,” she said. “It could bring jobs to the town instead of sitting there being an abandoned property that is a fire risk right now.”

Dyer reminded the board the property was being looked at for a future Highway garage site and asked if she had discussed the matter with Highway Director Jamison Shave in view of the town’s need for a new Highway facility.

“He was actually out there with us [when] we walked around the property. He knows a party is interested,” she said. “I don’t know if a new Highway Department is ever going to see the light in that particular location.”

Green said there is a lot of work to be done there and she is not certain the town has an appetite to fund that kind of project right now.

“The problem that I see is we did a feasibility study for that property that we’re only 70 percent done — $365,000,” Selectman Kenny Mitchell said. “Before we make any decisions, we need to determine whether Highway is going to go up there or not. You may be right, maybe it won’t be, but I think before we exercise this option — for our employees, we need to find out if it’s feasible to put a Highway Department there and, if it’s not, maybe then go to Town Meeting.”

Mitchell, who chairs the Highway Building Committee, said it hasn’t met in over a year because an override was coming last year and the cost was starting to increase. A couple of Highway employees who had served on the committee have retired, as well.

“I’m not even sure we have a quorum, but the Highway Building Committee needs to meet first and discuss this and kind of see where we’re at before we start making plans for that property.”

He also asked if the deed limited the property’s use to municipal purposes.

Green said it did mention municipal purposes, but argued it could go before Town Meeting to see if that restriction could be removed.

Mitchell said he understands the desirability of making the property a revenue-generator, but stressed the continuing need for a Highway garage.

“Our employees need to go somewhere,” he said.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed.

“I do think we need to see that process through to figure out what is the price tag we’re looking at?” she said. “In my mind, there’s no denying that the space that our Highway folks are in is not acceptable.”

She said the current building is “literally falling apart at the seams.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said that process would not only provide an indication of what a new Highway facility could cost the town –— between $5 and $7 million when last calculated, not including the takedown and cleanup of the old building —  it would provide an indication of how to leverage the town’s existing assets and get some revenue.

“I’m wondering, do we actually end up getting those Highway guys in a building by somehow making a deal on that Lite Control property and getting money,” she said. “That’s a revenue stream that we don’t have right now.”

“I think Lisa’s absolutely on the right track as far as thinking outside the box, but I do think we’ve got to look at the Highway [Department],” Mitchell said.

Selectman Jim Hickey pointed out that the RFP process that Green was proposing would take “months and months” to complete. In the meantime, he suggested, if she starts it now, it will be complete by May Town Meeting. That would give residents something to compare — the potential revenue compared to projected costs and what has already been spent investigating the feasibility of using the site for a Highway barn.

“All the effort that’s gone into this [Highway building] RFP wasn’t specific to this … building,” Dyer said. He also suggested that the most environmentally responsible thing to do — as well as the cheapest and easiest thing to do – about the current building is to knock it down and build new.

“You can take the building on this piece of paper and move it anywhere,” Mitchell agreed. “I think there’s a few things we need to look at before we move forward.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said there could also be a use for the property that hasn’t been considered that might make the property attractive. Green reported on Nov. 2 that the building commissioner is gathering quotes for boarding up the doors.

In other business, As Darkness Falls paranormal investigations was granted permission by the board to conduct an investigation of the old Plymouth Hospital property provided they not go near the food pantry building, particularly Tuesday nights when the food pantry’s clients pick up their parcels.

 Green said she forwarded the request to Police Chief Michael Miksch who said he did not have a particular issue with the request so long as there is no damage done to the property.

“I am a little bit concerned,” FitzGerald-Kemmet said. “We’ve got the food pantry up there and I want to ensure that people’s privacy is preserved.”

For that reason she requested that the applicant not be permitted to have cameras there, while she also voiced concern for the security of the pantry building.

“I think that’s reasonable to tell them to stay away from the pantry building,” Dyer. “But if they wanted to go to the old paint shack, or down to the incinerator, or wherever, I think that’s fine.”

Green also reminded the board the group would only be there at night.

HANSON – The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 19 voted to investigate the members and alternates of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff advised the board about legal considerations surrounding citizen’s petition, Article 34 approved at the Oct. 4 special Town Meeting, which requested Selectmen to consider the removal of all members of the ZBA, at the Select Board’s next regular meeting.

All ZBA members will be investigated by, at Feodoroff’s suggestion, an investigator with no ties to the town of Hanson. She is seeking proposals, to be presented to the board Tuesday, Nov. 2, with a cap on the potential cost.

“I’m not telling you what to do here,” she said, explaining that her job is to tell Selectmen what she would do if she were prosecuting any type of legal action.

Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer sought clarification on Feodoroff’s core recommendation – that they conduct an investigation to gather relevant details and then go forward with a hearing if it is warranted. She concurred that that was her recommendation. 

“Tonight, what we have to talk about is how to respond to that affirmative vote,” Feodoroff said. “Employees, and under [town by-laws], these are employees, are entitled to due process, so under your own bylaws you have to find just cause to remove any of your appointees.”

She said they are, in addition, entitled to notice and a hearing. That notice would take the form of a letter advising them of the reason for removal and justifications for it, so they may adequately prepare a defense if the so choose.

Dyer called for an outside investigator to look into the facts of the issue prior to a hearing.

“Over the past six weeks to two months, this is all I’ve been hearing,” Selectman Jim Hickey concurred. He said he had started looking into it and was ready to ask the Select Board to move ahead with a hearing on one of the ZBA members.

“I believe I have enough information, I have enough evidence that a member of the board is misrepresenting himself,” Hickey said. He didn’t rule out any other members, but said he felt he had enough evidence to convince him that one member needs to be removed.

“We don’t need to go after the entire board,” Hickey had said. “If the other two members decide they want to resign … then so be it.”

Selectman Joseph Weeks said he has somehow become the “figurehead” of the issue, but that while he is not there, there had been a reason why he always wants to vet the people who apply to sit on boards and to talk to specific people.

“I want to see what the investigation is,” he said about the ZBA. “Quite frankly, all of them need to be investigated because it took all of this to get to this point, when it didn’t have to.”

He said the ZBA has lost the confidence of the town.

Feodoroff also advised Selectmen about the implications of an investigation on a 40B project now before the ZBA as part of the permitting process.

“The other thing, that’s a little tricky about this article is that there is a current application pending before the [ZBA], which is relatively controversial,” she said of the 40B project proposed for Spring Street. “While I won’t speak to any particular project, as a general matter when you’re looking at these issues, what you look at is litigative risk.”

Feodoroff said that when there is a permit pending before any permitting authority, the risk of being sued hinges on whether or not there is evidence of a civil rights violation.

“In the land use context, that’s a very high bar to establish … absent racial animus or gender bias or some other kind of compelling circumstance,” she said. But, she noted, the town of Hopkinton was recently hit with a $1.5 million jury judgment for working to thwart development of a parcel of land.

“What that case stands for is, where there is more of a conspiracy-type theory, where multiple boards and public officials are working collaboratively against a particular type of development … that risk exists whenever there is an application pending before any body,” she said. “There’s also an obligation on the part of an appointing authority to make sure that they have the right people in the jobs and they are doing their jobs correctly and within the confines of law.”

That is why there is a hearing process to remove people from their jobs.  Feodoroff said she prefers to conduct a complete investigation when there are complaints. Employment lawyers examine the facts of a case and supporting evidence.

She said the board may opt to investigate the board but that they should not interfere with a pending application and the rights owed to a landowner.

“There’s litigative risk in every decision that you, as a body, make,” Feodoroff said.

She also said 40B guidelines require a ZBA to process an application within 180 days and must render a written decision 40 days after that.

“Absent them taking those steps, you have what’s called constructive approval, and to me … that’s the worst result, because … this is almost a protected use,” she said. “There is a statutory presumption that this use should be installed in any town across the state because you need affordable housing.”

Conditions are a town’s best way to respond to a 40B proposal, Feodoroff advised.

“If the ZBA is removed, beware that the public hearing process would have to start from scratch,” she said, explaining that prior testimony at public hearings could not be used, otherwise the town could have a project with no conditions approved by the state.

Weeks asked what would happen if the ZBA members resigned on their own. Feodoroff said it would put the town in the same situation. 

He then asked what would happen if two voting members resigned.

“You can’t rotate people,” Feodoroff said of the potential for moving alternate members into voting status. “You’d be in a pickle regardless.”

“The issue is we’re being held hostage by the conflation of two issues,” Weeks said – the process of removal for cause and the main question being asked.

“The issue I’ve had from Day One with this entire process, is we’ve found a way to mismanage this entire thing to make it seem like it’s about a project, when it’s about people,” Weeks said. “No one cares about the 40B project, we’re talking about the people.”

He said he appreciates the backdrop of the 40B project, it’s important for people to recognize the possible implications, but conflating the issues does not help solve the problem.

“We’re all municipal employees, so we have to look through that lens,” Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I really don’t think we have any choice but to investigate. We had not one person stand up at Town Meeting and say, ‘I object, this is ridiculous,’ … not one person stood up.”

She also noted that resident Kevin Cohen was able to gather enough signatures to get the article onto the warrant.

She said she also “highly doubts” that Hopkinton had a citizens’ petition at town meeting to remove a ZBA. 

“A quick Google search reveals quite a bit that we were not necessarily aware of when we appointed these people,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “One of the things that I’m extremely concerned [about] is the lack of full and transparent disclosure by people who are applying for positions.”

She joined Weeks in calling for a more complete vetting process.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell disagreed with “going after the whole board,” preferring Hickey’s proposal to investigate one member. He also said he sees evidence that the 40B issue is involved because that Precinct 1 is the only one he has heard from.

Weeks disagreed, saying he has heard from residents from all over town and his call for an investigation does not necessarily mean removal.

Hickey asked if the ZBA would be the subject of a hearing together or separetely. Feodoroff said every ZBA member is entitled to an individual hearing.

Athletic Director Bob Rodgers updated the School Committee on a waiver proposal, MIAA team rankings and other athletics issues on Wednesday, Oct. 13.

The MIAA has a waiver process through which eighth-graders may be allowed to participate at the lowest level of sports that offer waivers when it is needed to sustain a program.

“It’s something that you try not to do,” Rodgers said, noting that in more than 20 years at W-H it has never been done. “However, it is becoming very common right now. Because of the pandemic, participation numbers have decreased, so it’s a way to try to get more interest in the programs and to sustain some of the programs.”

The School Committee approved the waivers on a year-to-year basis.

While, it doesn’t guarantee they will be used, Rodgers said W-H has applied for and received waivers for the co-op girls’ ice hockey team with Silver Lake and for the softball team. Both middle school principals support the waivers, if they are needed.

“I won’t know if we need it until we actually see the numbers,” he said. The school will only do it if it doesn’t displace a high school student.

This year there are not enough girls to field a JV softball team and he hopes the waiver will create some interest and establish a feeder system to help sustain the program.

“It will be kind of like a game-time decision,” Rodgers said based on attendance and outcomes of preseason meetings. It’s a one-year decision he said he hoped would not have to be repeated.

He also announced to the committee that he plans to apply for an eighth-grade waiver for wrestling.

“Because of the pandemic, our numbers were so low last year — and the wrestling season was done in the spring,” Rodgers said, noting he is uncertain if the low numbers were due to the time of year the sport was offered.

School Committee member Mike Jones asked who makes the decision to determine whether it is safe for an eighth-grader to play certain sports. Rodgers said it would be a coaches’ decision and it could not be used to find an individual player for a team. Tryouts would have to be held and player decisions made after that.

While he was abstaining from the issue and would only help with the discussion, Chairman Christopher Howard said a parent had approached him about the issue.

“What we’re doing here is to support the high school students that otherwise would not be able to participate in the activity,” Howard said he told the parent. “This isn’t an opportunity for the eighth-graders to play up. That’s a by-product.”

The waivers have also raised a complication for the WHAM co-op swim team with Middleboro, which received a waiver to enable them to have their own swim team as of last year. W-H students already on the team were allowed to finish, but W-H is now without a team or a pool.

Rodgers has been working with Cardinal Spellman to form a co-op swim team, which could be a good fit because they swim at Massasoit. But the schools being in different districts has made for some rough going.

He also said parents have begun asking why coached have not been making substitutions off the bench when the teams are winning by lopsided margins.

“The state is going through the most radical change that we’ve ever had in terms of how the MIAA is operating,” Rodgers said, reporting that W-H has voted against the changes. “I think it’s bad for kids, I think it’s bad for educational athletics.”

Sectional play is no longer done, now championships are statewide, with no regional play ahead of tournaments. If the field hockey team was in the tournament, its first game would be against Nashoba Regional or Longmeadow.

“That’s not even the big problem,” he said. “The big problem is the power rankings.” The top 32 teams in the state by power rankings make it into the tournaments.

“About half the teams make it,” Rodgers said.

Teams are no longer seeded by winning percentage, but by point differential in all wins combined with opposing teams.

“It does affect how coaches will coach games,” he said.

Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak also said he was adamantly opposed to the change in rankings and offered to draft a letter to the MIAA if the committee wanted to go that route, and encouraged the committee to do so. The committee’s consensus was to seek such a letter be sent.

“The MIAA is all of us, it’s all of you,” Rodgers said. “I sit on several committees. This decision was not made by any executive at the MIAA or any personnel … their only job is to implement what’s been voted on — the state-wide playoffs were voted by the membership, which is the principals.”

Rodgers and WHRHS Principal Dr. Christopher Jones voted against the statewide playoffs. The power rankings were voted by the tournament management committee of athletic directors and principals, not anyone at the MIAA, according to Rodgers.

“I am super-confident that this will not last,” he said.

The School Committee also voted to authorize travel to out-of-state/overnight field trips to competitions or extra tournaments, which are funded by fundraising conducted by the teams. No school budget funds are expended on them.

School Committee member Heather Kniffen expressed concern over health of the students in view of travel to Florida and Texas.

Rodgers said the students would be required to take COVID tests when they return. School policy regarding masks will be followed on out-of-state field trips.

If the school has a team lucky to be in tournament play in a marquee venue like Boston Garden, may mean the entire team and traveling fans would have to be vaccinated or the team would have to play in a different location, Rodgers and Szymaniak said.

If there was a COVID surge in any destination, Rodgers said the trip could be canceled.