WHITMAN — Selectmen will again discuss a proposed medical marijuana growing location in Whitman at its next meeting at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 13. Residents are welcome to attend and voice their opinion on the issue.

The proposed location is at 233 Bedford St., behind Sweezey Fence.

“It will be a fully enclosed building — probably a steel building very similar to a commercial garage,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said on Thursday, Dec 1. “It will have security as required by the state”

Ben Smith of Fresh Meadow Farm, who gave a brief review of the process during the Selectmen’s Nov. 15 meeting, will return Dec. 13, asking Selectmen to approve a letter of support or non-opposition regarding the project.

Lynam and Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green are researching the issues pertaining to the town’s obligations and rights should a grow facility be permitted, with the aim of preparing a recommendation for the board.

Lynam stressed that the town is not interested in a dispensary facility.

Medical marijuana dispensaries must be in plain view and people entering must be viewable to passersby to ensure any security issues are obvious, but it is not sufficient to sway Lynam’s opinion of how far the town would be willing to go.

He added that the one call he has received on the issue so far was “emphatically against dispensaries and OK with a grow facility.”

The letter of support or non-opposition is the next step the company, Mission Partners — to be known as Fresh Meadow Farm — must complete toward obtaining a Department of Public Health license. Because they are already in the licensing process, company officials said they qualify for the pool of applicants for a recreational marijuana license, but are now solely focused on the medical-use growing facility they hope to locate in Whitman.

“I would not be surprised to see these folks coming back to expand to the recreational piece once the dust settles on that vote,” Lynam said. “Right now the only regulations out are on medical marijuana, so it’s going to be difficult to determine how to regulate or approve a facility that’s for recreational marijuana.”

He said the grow facility is designed to be unobtrusive — there will be no signs and the hydroponic growing operation will be entirely done inside the building. Air scrubbers would  prevent any odors from reaching neighbors.

Lynam also discussed the future of Whitman’s regional animal control contract with Abington, now that Hanson has opted to withdraw from the erstwhile three-town program.

“The intent to creating a district approach for animal control is to take advantage of the geographical area that encompassed Abington, Whitman and Hanson,” Lynam said. “We recognized at the time we did that, that adding Hanson to the mix was going to significantly increase the area of coverage and we had some concerns about it.”

He said the Whitman-Abington program will continue to be reviewed, adding he tends to measure the success of programs in which Whitman participates by the number of complaints received.

“We have not had any issues either in Whitman or, of late, in Abington,” Lynam said. “I would say so far it appears to be working. I’m going to evaluate that, as we normally would any program, as we move forward in the fiscal year and determine if we have the right staffing and the right coverage.”

Whitman’s part-time animal control officer resigned to attend the academy to become an environmental police officer, leaving  the current animal control officer on call 24/7 to cover both towns, paid on a stipend basis. Calls are prioritized as to level of need.

Hanson Town Administrator Michael McCue had met several weeks ago with Lynam and Abington Town Manager Richard Lafond, at which time the three concluded that either they go in different directions or obtain more funding to hire additional staff. McCue determined Hanson would be better off going solo and the other towns agreed. Hanson Selectmen voted Nov. 29 to appoint Ron Clark as interim animal control officer for Hanson. A permanent position would be posted in the spring.

“Apparently there were issues in Hanson that they feel they were not adequately being provided for and they have requested to be released from the contract early,” Lynam said. “I have no intention of holding anyone captive.”

He said he wishes Hanson well and will bill them only for the period the contract was in force.

HANSON — The town has reached amicable agreements to part ways with regional contracts for IT and animal control services, but Selectmen are divided on when and how to reappoint a new Recreation Commission.

The latter issue cropped up as Town Administrator Michael McCue reported to the board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Nov. 29 that the town has received eight applications for the Recreation Director job posting, which closes Friday, Dec. 2.

“We have some fairly strong candidates for that position,” McCue said, asking the board for guidance on how best to proceed. “I don’t think we will have a full [Recreation Commission] reconstituted within the next couple of weeks or so … unless the board directs me otherwise, I would like to move forward in bringing these people in for interviewing them.”

McCue said he would like to have a director in place by Jan. 1, 2017.

Selectman Bruce Young then advocated for meeting as soon as possible to reconstitute the Recreation Commission as the board has received seven applications from people interested in serving on the commission.

“The ideal situation would be if we could meet briefly next week to appoint the Recreation Commission, then they could organize and assign a person to sit with [McCue] and go through the process,” Young said. He noted that McCue and that Recreation representative would then conduct the interviews and recommend a couple of candidates to submit to the fully reconstituted Recreation Commission to appoint, as outlined in the Town Administrator Act.

The board voted 5-0 to appoint Selectman Bill Scott to sit in on interviews with McCue in order to prevent a hiring delay that could cause some applicants to withdraw.

Selectmen Kenny Mitchell and Chairman James McGahan advocated that the investigation process completed before sppointing a new commission so the town can move forward.

“The problem I have with it is we’re probably going to expect some input [from the town’s attorney] because we also have a deadline on Nov. 30,” McGahan said of a previous decision to give Recreation Commission members named in Labor Counsel Leo Peloquin’s report time to rebut its findings.

“I don’t want to make any decisions on any Recreation Commission members until after this Camp Kiwanee [investigation] is completely done and over so we can move forward,” Mitchell said. “I want to start fresh — a nice, clean slate.”

Young asked how Mitchell and McGahan thought the investigation could affect a new Recreation Commission.

“You’re talking about appointing a new Recreation Commission,” Young said. “You might end up with two members from the last board, but those members probably weren’t even involved in that whole scenario. … I don’t see that any of the prior people who resigned put applications in.”

“A statement was made when they resigned,” McGahan said. “I’m not going to hurry up and get somebody in just so they can get that position, which is probably just going to sit there and allow Mike to just do the interview.”

Young argued that five or six new people have applied and should have a chance to go through the selection process in order to get the Recreation Commission back to work, noting the Town Administrator act does not give that post appointing authority. McGahan countered that Selectmen had voted to place McCue as the Camp Kiwanee administrator until a new director is hired.

“I don’t have any problem with him being the interim head of the Recreation Department, and I don’t have a problem with him even being a personnel manager and doing the interviews,” Young said. “I do have a problem with circumventing the Town Administrator Act.”

McGahan said he does not believe that is being done.

Contract changes

The contracts Selectmen voted to withdraw from involve an IT services contract with Whitman-Hanson Regional School District and the regional animal control agreement with Whitman and Abington.

McCue said that, in both cases, Hanson’s withdrawal was being done under amicable circumstances. The IT contract, which Selectmen had approved and authorized McCue to sign an amended contract with the school district through the end of the fiscal year. The town will only pay the $37,500 for a nine-month contract with an option for coverage over a full year.

“It’s unfortunate,” McCue said. “I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault. … This gives an awful lot of lead time to figure out what makes sense both in the short term and long term for the town of Hanson.”

McCue said a meeting with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner and members of the district’s IT staff over the current agreement revealed the schools’ in-house demand on that staff has greatly increased, making it difficult to continue serving Hanson’s IT needs as well.

Whitman had gone its own way on IT services four or five years ago, hiring it’s own IT director Josh MacNeil.

“If they’re in a position that they feel they can’t really support us to the degree that I think we were hoping for, it makes sense — and both sides were in agreement on this — that the town of Hanson [should] move in its own direction on this,” McCue said. “They were very generous to let us out of the contract.”

He said either a consultant or a full-time IT person could be budgeted for and he has begun meeting with consultants to gauge the cost involved.

In supporting McCue’s advice that the town should also back away from the regional animal control agreement, Selectmen also voted to appoint Ron Clark as interim animal control officer for Hanson. A permanent position would be posted in the spring.

“I’m certainly a proponent of regional agreements when they make sense,” McCue said. “Unfortunately, this is another instance we’ve run into where the workload has basically surpassed the ability of the staff of the agreement.”

McCue had met several weeks ago with Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam and Abington Town Manager Richard Lafond, at which time the three concluded that either they go in different directions or obtain more funding to hire additional staff. McCue determined Hanson would be better off going solo and the other towns agreed to that.

Stephanie Spyropoulos
Express staff

WHITMAN — Residents of all ages have rolled up their sleeves to contribute food, money and time ensuring that neighbors who are alone or in financial need are able to celebrate a joyous and bountiful Thanksgiving dinner.

“Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday for us here in the United States of America,” said Holy Ghost Church Pastor the Rev. James Mahoney before an annual Thanksgiving dinner for seniors at the Spellman Council Knights of Columbus Saturday, Nov. 19. “It’s not only become a national holiday, but I would ask everyone to make it sort of a religious holiday, as well … perhaps you could share with your tablemates what you are grateful to God for … having gratitude in your heart is a beautiful thing.”

The Rev. Thomas Stanton, the parochial vicar of Holy Ghost Church then offered the blessing. After the amen’s, a woman’s voice was heard ­saying, “Go, Pats!”

During the 42nd annual K of C event — five days before the 106th renewal of the Thanksgiving football game vs. the Abington Green Wave on W-H’s home turf — members of the Panthers football team joined forces with Whitman Police officers to serve turkey dinners to more than 320 area senior citizens in about 9 ½ minutes.

Whitman Council on Aging Director Barbara Garvey thanked the Knights for the event.

“Today, each of us will be enjoying this lovely Thanksgiving dinner with about 320 new and old friends,” Garvey said in her remarks. “The Whitman Knights of Columbus Council has always been a very kind and generous friend to this community and, in particular to our seniors.”

Pantry and paws

Conley Elementary School students had gathered to sing, recite poems, and express what they were thankful for during the annual Thanksgiving basket assembly on Thursday, Nov. 17. Superintendent of Schoools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner was one of the guests who attended the Conley gathering.

Bob Hogan of the St. Vincent DePaul Society accepted the school’s food pantry donation and thanked the staff and students for the great holiday show they saw.

“There is nothing we can do without you,” Hogan said. “All we do is give the food out but it is donated by all the so many wonderful people and businesses in Whitman.”

Recently, on a visit to a food pantry in Columbus, Ohio, Hogan said he shared stories of how giving the school system is in Whitman.

“I haven’t found a pantry yet that benefits from schools like the Whitman pantry. When I tell them what you do (at the Conley School ) … you are awesome. Many people will have a Thanksgiving dinner this year and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Students also give to support animals in the town’s shelter through the school’s Pennies for Paws program proving that every penny really does count, gathering enough coins to donate more than $500 to Whitman Animal Control. There were also matched donations from a AEW Capital Management donated $1500 as a matched donation and private donation from a Conley family.

“You reached deep into those pockets and found more pennies,” said Principal Karen Downey in praising her students, saying they were not going to believe how many pennies they raised for the Whitman Animal Shelter.

Tradition revived

At Duval Elementary School, fifth-graders revived the holiday basket tradition after a hiatus of about eight years with an assembly Nov. 17.

The entire student body as well as faculty and staff gathered in the Duval cafetorium — as the fifth-graders participating in the program sat on the stage behind the 15 laundry baskets brimming with side dishes, stuffing mix, table cloths and napkins for a Thanksgiving dinner for families in need.

“All of you have helped out some of our community in the town of Whitman and we wanted to take minute so that we could have all of you be part of the process of handing over all of these food items that are going to help somebody on Thanksgiving,” Principal Julie McKillop said to the students. “Doesn’t it feel good to help other people?”

Cheryl Happeny of the Duval PTO said teacher Erin Smith had suggested the school revive the tradition as a way to help the community. Letters were sent out to students’ families seeking donations of “Thanksgiving-types of foods” and supplies for the baskets.

Whitman Food Pantry volunteers Dorothy Conlon and James Davidson addressed the children, thanking them for their thoughtful gesture for neighbors in need.

“I used to work in the kitchen [at Duval] and I was the cook and manager for about 22 years,” Conlon said. “Shortly after I retired, I started volunteering at the Whitman Food Pantry. This event makes me very, very happy to see all these wonderful baskets full of goodies for people that are not as fortunate as we are.”

She told the students that their baskets would be augmented with a turkey and some vegetables for distribution, which began Nov. 17.

“It does my heart really good to see all of you and what you’ve done here today,” said Davidson, who has been a food pantry volunteer since 1984. “We will be helping approximately 150 families in town with Thanksgiving dinner.”

Last year, the Whitman Food Pantry aided more than 1,300 families and more than 3,200 individuals during the course of the year.

“What you’re doing here is terrific and we hope that you will remember this day for the rest of your life, so that wherever you go in this world you will think back on this day and how you helped someone in need,” he said.

McKillop said the students’ suggestions for other ways the school can help the community would be welcome in her office mailbox.

“Write me a letter and we’ll see what we can do,” she said. “When you go home this weekend I want you to think about what else could we do as a community to make somebody else out there smile a little bit bigger because of our actions.”    

Whitman and Hanson honored veterans with a parade and recognition breakfasts spanning a weekend of gratitude for service to country.

The Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center kicked things off on Thursday, Nov. 10 with a breakfast ceremony that also saluted the 241st anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps at Philadelphia’s Tun Tavern on Nov. 10, 1775.

Hanson Town Administrator Michael McCue and Selectmen James McGahan, Don Howard, Bill Scott and Bruce Young assisted Veterans’ Agent Bob Arsenault in distributing certificates of appreciation to the community’s veterans and widows.

“In the town of Hanson, we support our veterans,” Arsenault said. “One of the ways we do it is with our annual Veterans Day Breakfast.”

Arsenault also continued a tradition he began last year — thanking the women on the homefront who supported their boyfriends or husbands serving in war zones overseas.

Karen Sharon, president of the Friends of the Hanson Senior Center presented Director Mary Collins with a tablet computer to aid veterans in recording their oral histories. An application allows World War II veterans to record their answers to questions about their wartime service. The recordings will then be downloaded to the national WWII Museum in New Orleans and played for visitors to hear.

“WWII was one of the most devastating conflicts in the history of mankind,” Sharon said. “It spread across multiple continents and cost millions of lives. … To assure that people know what happened and how men and women who served dealt with it at the time, an app has been developed that will allow the WWII veterans to tell their own story in their own words for all of posterity to hear.”

Collins thanked the Friends group for the donation and for organizing the day’s event, which also featured a WWI-related gift to the town from Young.

“We will start with our WWII veterans and then hopefully continue into Korea and let’s hope we stop somewhere,” Collins said of the oral history project.

Young’s gift was a framed panoramic photo taken at Camp Devens in 1918 of Plymouth County from the Massachusetts 4th Division — soldiers just returned from the battlefields of Europe, which he presented to Arsenault for the town. The 4th Division was part of the 26th Infantry Yankee Division, the first U.S. soldiers sent to Europe in WWI.

The photo had belonged to former Hanson Veteran’s Agent Bob Baresel as part of his grandfather’s memorabilia, which Baresel had passed along to Young, who was a member of the Historical Society. Young, in turn, gave all but the photo to the Historical Society.

Arsenault also read Gov. Charlie Baker’s Veterans Day Proclamation and McGahan presented U.S. and POW/MIA flags to Collins for the Senior Center and the Swingin’ Singers performed a selection of patriotic music.

Tri-Town parade

On Friday, Nov. 11, the Tri-Town Veterans Day Parade took a new route through Whitman. The parade stepped off from the former Regal Shoe factory site under a brilliant sunny sky, making its way along South Avenue to the Legion post on Legion Parkway.

Sponsored this year by American Legion Post 22, the parade was dedicated to the veterans of Operation Desert Storm from Aug. 2, 1990 to Feb. 28, 1991. This year marked the 25th anniversary of that war’s end.

Bands from Boston and Brockton were joined by high school bands from Whitman-Hanson, Rockland and Abington, area town government and public safety officials, state leaders, veterans, Scout groups, the First Mass. Vol. Cavalry, fire engines and vintage vehicles.

The parade Grand Marshall was Past Post Commander and Adjutant Paul Tracey of Whitman American Legion Post 22, along with co-marshalls, Charles Kimball of Rockland, a Navy veteran of Korea, and James Valler, a Navy veteran of WWII.

Hanson’s Calvary Baptist Church concluded the weekend’s events by hosting a Thank You Breakfast for veterans and first responders from area communities. To-go meals were delivered to on-duty police officers and firefighters as well as veterans in poor health. Tables in the church fellowship hall were decorated in red, white and blue, featuring hand-made thank-you cards from the students in the Good News Bible Club at Whitman’s Conley School.

By Mike Melanson

Express Staff

Shortly before 3 a.m. Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump addressed supporters and the nation, pledging to work for all Americans, congratulating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her “courageous and hard-fought campaign” and her years of public service to the country.

“We owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country,” Trump said. “Now is the time for America to bind the wounds of division — we have to get together. … It is time for us to come together as one united people.”

Clinton had called Trump to concede and “congratulated us — it’s about us” on the win. She sent her supporters home an hour earlie, as several key states were still too close to call, only to see those states quickly shift toward Trump for a 279 to 228 electoral margin.

Trump’s words echoed those expressed by local residents during the day Tuesday.

Brittany White of Whitman said concerns for human rights brought her to the polls at Whitman Town Hall Tuesday, as well as the presidential election and Questions 3 and 4, dealing with conditions for farm animals and legalization of marijuana, respectively.

“Treat everybody like they’re Americans, not just certain groups,” she said.

“I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans,” Trump said, reaching out to those who opposed him in an effort to “work together and unify our great country.”

Clinton’s concession speech Wednesday morning also spoke to the need for unity in the wake of the election.

“I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans,” she told supporters and staff. “This is painful and it will be for a long time … but our campaign was never about one person or even one election. It was about the country we love.”

Mandy DeAngelis of Whitman said she has heard and seen many opinions and arguments during the campaign season, but she said the ballot box, and not social media, is the place to cast the ballot.

“Social media, it makes it so much more dramatic. Everybody’s so hyped up,” DeAngelis said after voting Tuesday.

“People need to make sure they’re registered to vote,” she said. “Talking about it when you’re not registered to vote is silly.”

Keith White said he does not agree with everything that had been said leading into Election Day, but he is  more interested in the future of the Supreme Court, whose justices, appointed by the president, serve for life.

“I want to make sure the democratic process is being participated in,” White said after voting. “You have to look at the bigger picture. What’s bigger? Your ego? Or the rights of the people?”

In Hanson, Joe Pelligra and Gerard Lozeau held signs supporting both Trump and state Rep. Josh Cutler outside the Maquan School polling place.

“I’m a conservative in Hanson supporting Josh, a liberal. Not that it’s going to happen, but I hope Trump wins,” Pelligra said. “Josh does a good job. He crosses the line. He’s a moderate.”

Gerard Lozeau of Hanson said Pelligra, Cutler and he are in the Kiwanis Club and Cutler works hard and is involved in the all three of the district’s towns.

“[Cutler] has a high energy level,” he said.

Pelligra said the presidential race has been divisive. In contrast, the race between Cutler and opponent Vincent Cogliano has been courteous and professional.

“It’s a national issue. We’re the cross-overs,” he said, of people who voted for Trump and Cutler.

Whitman

Daniel Salvucci, a Whitman selectman and South Shore Vocational Technical School Committee member, stood among a group of Trump supporters holding signs outside Whitman Town Hall Tuesday midday.

“I speak for the silent majority of Trump supporters,” Salvucci said. “The man says what everyone else is thinking: ‘Let’s make America great again.’”

Salvucci said the biggest issue for voters is bringing jobs back to the United States, jobs that left for foreign countries where there are cheaper wages. Trump’s plan would tax U.S. businesses less, which would allow them to pay American workers more, Salvucci said.

“More people working, less crime. That simple,” he said.

Sandra Palaza of Whitman said she supported Trump because she believes the Democrat party is corrupt and the nation has been led by a lying president.

“We need a miracle. With all us here supporting [Trump], we can get that miracle,” she said, adding she is concerned about the way refugees are being brought into the United States, and wants the country to be strong and safe. She said it would not be good if Clinton were elected president.

“If she gets in, there will never be a Republican Party again,” she said.

Lance Skill of Whitman, who held a large Joseph McDonald for Sheriff sign, said he did not really pay attention to the national election, and instead focused on helping McDonald’s campaign.

“Nationally, there seems to be a lot of anxiety, unpleasantness going on. I stayed away from the conversation. It brings out the worst in people,” he said. “I like Joe. We think he’s done a good job.”

Dan Cullity of Whitman, who said he supported McDonald and Trump, said governments at the local and state levels have a better control of money than does the federal government. Cullity, a Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee member, said the federal government burdens states and communities with unfunded mandates.

“They don’t want to listen. Then they turn around and say, ‘Do this,’” he said. “After all, they know better.”

Brendan Aiguier of Whitman, a retired Plymouth County corrections officer who has run a landscaping company for the past 25 years, held a sign supporting candidate for sheriff, Scott Vecchi.

“I like what he does,” Aiguier said, of Vecchi. “I just like what he stands for, promoting from within.”

He criticized McDonald’s administration and said that academics and not political donations should determine who moves up the ranks. Aiguier said he felt good after posting on social media that he supports Vecchi.

“People work hard,” he said. “They want to see their money spent well, not on frivolous things. People do not want to be afraid to say their opinions without being penalized.”

Judy Morse of Abington, Sheila McKenna of Whitman, and Catherine Connolly of East Bridgewater held signs that read, “Vote Life” that showed a picture of a baby in the mother’s womb.

Morse is a sidewalk counselor who hands out literature and tries to counsel women and girls away from the Planned Parenthood in Allston. She said the importance of the vote for life is an issue. Morse said it is wrong to punish women for getting an abortion.

She said she reaches out to women who have had abortions to let them know there is help, through organizations such as Project Rachel.

Morse said there is help for single mothers through Friends of the Unborn in Quincy, who offer shelter, help getting into an apartment, health care and computer skills.  She said Trump would appoint pro-life justices to the Supreme Court and de-fund Planned Parenthood.

“We have to stand up for these babies. They have no voices. They suffer,” she said. “We won’t give up.”

Hanson

Cathy DiPasqua-Egan of Hanson held signs supporting Clinton for president and support for a “No” vote on  the charter school expansion question.

“She’ll be a very good president. ‘No’ on 2 will save our public education,” she said. “She’s the best-qualified candidate ever. She has earned her chance to show what she can do.”

DiPasqua-Egan said she is willing to work with whatever comes along after all the votes are counted.

“I would like to see people working together,” she said. “Everyone is sick of the negativity. I wish everyone would take the high road. It’s easier said than done.”

Bill Scott, a Hanson Selectman, held signs supporting Cogliano and Trump.

“Saving the country,” he said. “We’ll be a Third-World country if it goes the other way.”

Scott, who retired after 30 years in law enforcement, said he is concerned with the legalization of recreational marijuana.

“It’s a gateway drug,” he said.

Scott said lawmakers need to expand implied consent laws that would require those suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana to take tests similar to blood tests or Breathalyzer tests to determine marijuana intoxication levels.

“If Question 4 passes, it will definitely be an issue,” he said.

Larry Mills of Hanson, who is retired from Homeland Security and a former Secret Service agent, held Cogliano and Trump signs.

Mills said there is nothing good about Hillary Clinton. He said most people favor immigration, but it needs to be done right. If everyone is let in, the situation will get out of control.

He said social issues, such as abortion and American values, are among the main concerns of voters, as well as concerns over terrorism, turning the economy around and restoring the nation’s industrial base.

State Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, a state co-chairman for the Trump campaign had predicted a win during the afternoon, insisting polls forecasting a win for Clinton were in error.

“I’m extremely pleased with the election of Donald Trump,” he said. “Being the first Massachusetts elected official to endorse him, I  recognized that he will take on the establishment in D.C. to make government work for us, not against us.”

He also expressed gratitude for his own re-election.

“It is truly an honor to be elected to a fourth term in, what I believe, is the best district in Massachusetts,” Diehl said. “With the support of the people, we have accomplished so much together, such as repealing automatic gas tax hikes, prohibiting tax dollars for the Olympics and improving education funding.  I will continue to work to make a positive difference for our families each and every day.”

WHITMAN — Whitman Selectmen on Tuesday, Nov. 1 voted, 4-0, to appoint Lisa Green of Whitman as assistant town administrator.

Green, an attorney who served as a Whitman Selectman from May 2011 until this past July 29, works as a disability examiner and adjudicator for the Center for Disability, Office of the Regional Commissioner at the Social Security Administration in Boston.

Green was one of two finalists for the position interviewed by selectmen Tuesday night.

Asked by Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski to list two adjectives to describe her candidacy, Green said “enthusiastic and motivated.”

After the meeting, Green said she knows she has a tough job ahead of her, learns quickly and she will do the best job she can for the citizens of the town.

“I want to thank the selectmen for entrusting me with the position. I will work hard to not let them down,” she said.

Kowalski and selectmen Scott Lambiase, Daniel Salvucci and Brian Bezanson voted to appoint Green.

They made the appointment Tuesday after interviewing Green and the other finalist, Michael Mullen of Rockland, who is a Rockland selectman and works as director of government affairs and communications for the Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools (MAAPS) in Wakefield.

Board members Tuesday praised both finalists as strong candidates who could eventually step in for longtime Town Administrator Frank Lynam when he eventually retires in three or more years, and in the end voted to appoint Green to the assistant town administrator position.

“I have no doubt Lisa is the best candidate for the position at this time,” Kowalski said. “We know her. She’s a hard worker.”

Sixty-six people applied for the position. Two-thirds of them have master’s degrees and nine are attorneys. A subcommittee that included Lynam, Lambiase and Kowalski interviewed and screened them.

Selectmen Tuesday asked the finalists if they would feel comfortable if called upon to fill the town administrator’s shoes in the future should he retire, how they would balance their personal views of Proposition 2-1/2 with the will of the voters should there be conflict, and to discuss moments in their careers when they were at their personal or professional best.

During her interview, Green said the town administrator’s shoes are big shoes to fill. She said she lives five minutes away from Town Hall and would be able to work a full day during the day, have time to go home for supper and return to attend meetings of the finance committee and other town boards.

“I think I would be able to step into those shoes and hit the ground running,” she said. “I’m in awe of the many hats Frank wears. I’m well aware of all the hats that need to change and all of the directions he heads in.

“I’ve been a presence in Town Hall for five years,” she said. “I’m invested in the town. I live in the town.”

Green said she had to scale back her role as a Whitman selectman after she got a promotion at work and could no longer get the time off to attend Massachusetts Municipal Association conferences and training sessions.

Green has worked for the Social Security Administration for the past eight years, and said employment as assistant town administrator in Whitman would give her the time to make a full-time commitment to the town.

In her current role, Green serves as an authoritative specialist and program expert in the development and adjudication of Social Security Title II and Title XVI disability cases.

She communicates with claimants, attorneys and medical sources; reviews and summarizes medical records; evaluates case evidence, consults with medical and psychiatric doctors; performs multi-step sequential analysis according to Social Security disability rules and regulations; adjudicates and authorizes applications for disability benefits; and writes decisions and personal denial notices.

Green was also a case management specialist and team leader for the Office of General Counsel at the Social Security Administration in Boston.

In that role, Green provided comprehensive legal support to attorneys, supervisory attorneys, regional chief counsel and deputy regional chief counsel with Social Security disability and federal labor and employment litigation cases. She was also team leader of the paralegal staff and support department.

Green is certified as a notary public, has training in the fundamentals of appellate advocacy, privacy and disclosure of official records and information, Freedom of Information Act litigation, effective advocacy in disability litigation, business writing and plain-language writing, according to her resume.

As mother of a 17-year old Whitman-Hanson junior, Green said she can be passionate about Proposition 2-1/2 and school funding.

However, as an attorney, Green said she has been trained to separate personal and professional considerations. As assistant town administrator, Green said she could separate her personal feelings from the needs of the town on Proposition 2-1/2.

“You can’t let your personal feelings get involved in your professional decisions,” she said. “It’s got to be a balancing act. We know how Whitman and Hanson voters feel. We know how the schools feel. It’s got to be a balancing act and a tennis match.”

During his interview Tuesday, Mullen said he has strong passion for the “nuts and bolts” of local government, where, “the rubber meets the road.”

“It’s not a nine-to-five job and it never will be,” he said. “I know that going in with eyes wide open.”

Rockland experience

Mullen leads the annual budget and legislative efforts of the 86-member MAAPS association, to support the work of Chapter 766 special education schools, and coordinates and mobilizes participation in the association’s  grassroots network, which has nearly doubled in membership during the past two years.

Mullen was a chief of staff for the office of former Brockton mayor Linda Balzotti. He facilitated negotiations with

labor organizations, staff and department heads. He also directed day-to-day municipal operations and emergency response efforts in Brockton, the state’s seventh largest city, according to his resume.

Mullen coordinated project management efforts on the city’s $100-million downtown economic development initiative.

Mullen cited his efforts leading planning work on Brockton’s new $4.3-million City Hall Plaza renovation project. The city was awarded a grant for the project, and Mullen was asked to take the lead on it after he was hired. There is a firefighters’ memorial at the plaza that needed attention, and Mullen said he brought city firefighters into the planning process. He also worked with disability and accessibility advocates to address accessibility in the renovation project.

Mullen said he is able to bring people together to build respect and communicate.

“I’m proud of all that work and I hope to continue that work in Whitman,” he said.

Mullen, who served on the Rockland School Committee from 2007 to 2013, also cited his efforts as co-founder of the Rockland CARES Drug Abuse Coalition. He said two adjectives he would use to describe his candidacy are “passionate and caring.”

Mullen said Proposition 2-1/2 pre-dates him in terms of age.

“I view it to be a non-negotiable,” he said. “It’s the law of the land, unless there’s an override or debt-exclusion to go beyond the two-and-one-half levy limit. It’s a reality that every town has to live within, work within.”

Mullen said he is not sure he would be ready to take over for Lynam in three years should the incumbent town administrator should decide to retire at that time.

“I would really be interested. I would want to master the job as an assistant town administrator first,” he said.

‘tough decision’

After Tuesday’s interviews, Bezanson said Mullen offered quite a bit of municipal experience, which would be good for Whitman, but Green knows the players on the town committees and the intangibles of how Whitman operates.

“It’s a very tough decision to have to choose one. We’d like to have both of them, but we can’t,” he said.

Salvucci said both finalists are outstanding, but one of them, Green, made a statement about wanting to serve the people of Whitman that impressed him.

“That hit a home run,” he said.

Lambiase said both finalists are very strong candidates, but Green offers a lot of institutional knowledge and spent a lot of her time when she was a selectman acting as that board’s liaison to other town boards and committees.

Kowalski praised Mullen for his work with Rockland CARES and said the coalition has done good work in garnering the attention of parents, and that Whitman is still working toward that level of parent engagement.

Kowalski said Mullen should not be discouraged, and Lambiase predicted that people would be seeing a lot of Mullen in government in the future.

WHITMAN — Businessman David Federico has another 30 days to work with Building Commissioner Robert Curran on finalizing a new 45-vehicle plan for his Diesel Trucks lot at 575 Bedford St. Renewal of Federico’s Class II Auto Dealers’ License hinges on completion of such a plan.

The board approved the extension by a 3-1 vote, with Selectman Daniel Salvucci voting against it.

Selectmen had given Federico six months to develop the plan after a proposed 60-vehicle lot was not accepted in March. After some delays, Federico’s lawyer E. Pamela Salpoglou of Stoughton said she had received the new site plan just prior to the Tuesday, Oct. 25 meeting. Quincy Civil Engineer Patrick Rosengrave designed the site plan.

Salpoglou said she had made some edits to Rosengrave’s plan and provided both site plans for the board’s reference. She suggested that, if the plan met the town’s requirements, another hearing on the matter could be avoided.

“Mr. Rosengrave has confirmed that we can easily fit 59 spots on the property, and as you are aware, my client came in looking for 60,” Salpoglou said. “I don’t know why he did not take into account the discussion we had at the last hearing, but he clearly, I think, has made a pretty good plan.”

She also indicated that Federico wishes to amend five parking spaces in one area of the lot toward the rear of the property near a stonewall.

“That would create a little bit more space for customers to turn around,” she said. Moving other spaces and consolidating still others would reduce the number of spaces to the 45 Selectmen required, Salpoglou said.

Curran said he visited the site again on Tuesday, Oct. 25 and there were 45 vehicles there and that an effort had been made to clean up the area. He took photos to provide to Selectmen.

There were 50 vehicles on the site Sept. 27, and those were not in approved spaces, Curran said noting that, “the site remained an eye-sore” at that time. A subsequent visit on Oct. 6 revealed that, “nothing has been done since the number of cars has been reduced to 45 and that most of the vehicles had been there “for several months.”

“There’s not a big exchange of the vehicles that are coming and going,” Curran said. “I don’t have anything else to report other than today it looked a lot better than it has.”

Curran said he had not seen the new site plan and could not comment on it, but if the board approved it, he would recommend the lot be kept to the site plan.

“Our building inspector’s going to have to spend some time with it, too,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski told Federico and Salpoglou.

Selectmen, following a discussion on the matter, agreed with Curran’s proposal to allow 30 days to move the vehicles to spaces outlined on the site plan so he could review it on the ground and come back to the board.

Salvucci was still not happy with the state of the lot or the state of vehicles now on it.

“Out of all [45] vehicles, how many are for sale?” Salvucci asked, to which Federico replied all of them are and that all of them will pass state inspection before they are sold.

“What I’m looking at here are vehicles that I don’t think are saleable, because I don’t think they’ll pass state inspection,” Salvucci said. “I don’t even know if they’ll all start.”

Federico said they will be serviced before sale.

“We buy used vehicles that need service, we service the vehicles and then sell them,” Federico said, noting he is storing the vehicles that won’t fit on a 45-vehicle lot at another facility. “A customer comes in, I drive them to the storage place, they get turned off, they say no and I lose a sale.”

Salvucci conceded that improvements have been made at this site but that he still has concerns about the product offered. Salpoglou assured the board that her client would not permit the sale of a vehicle that could not pass a state inspection and has been making an effort to make the lot more appealing.

Kowalski cut that discussion short, saying he didn’t want to repeat past discussions.

“The last eight licenses I had from the town of Whitman didn’t have any limit of the number of vehicles,” Federico said.  “There were no stipulations.”

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said that was correct, noting that when a license is approved with an inventory limit, that number is noted on the license.

“For whatever reason, this particular license did not have a number on it and, when it was renewed the same language was used,” Lynam said.

In other business, Selectmen authorized Lynam to negotiate with companies with the aim of reaching a net metering agreement to give the town “a significant discount on the purchase of energy.” The vote also allows Lynam to enter into a 20-year agreement, once acceptable terms are reached.

Lynam said 20-year contracts are standard for the industry.

Report prompts policy revisions

HANSON —  The Board of Selectmen, Tuesday, Oct. 18, voted to accept all but one of Labor Counsel Leo J. Peloquin’s four recommendations for resolving issues with the management of Camp Kiwanee.

The board voted 4-0-1, with Selectman Don Howard abstaining, to go ahead with the hiring of a recreation director as funded by the Oct. 3 special Town Meeting, to require Selectmen and the town administrator to set rental rates and to require the commission to seek approval of discounted rates from the town administrator and a vote of Selectmen. The policies and procedures will be updated to reflect the votes.

They stopped short of requiring those who received past discounts to make up the difference.

“I’ve looked at the evidence,” said Selectmen Chairman James McGahan. “I think what we’re seeing here is evidence to support the claims that protocol is not being followed. I also see evidence here of poor record-keeping. It’s very clear.”

In a 31-page report to Selectmen, Peloquin of Collins, Loughran & Peloquin in Norwell concluded the Recreation Commission and senior caretaker “have often ignored the Board [of Selectmen]’s authority” and showed evidence of possible ethics violations in awarding rental contracts at Camp Kiwanee over the past six years.

“It’s a records-driven report,” Peloquin said during the meeting, repeating his assertion in the report that the conclusion might have changed had more witnesses cooperated.

Commissioners and Senior Caretaker James Flanagan refuted the report’s claims and will have until Nov. 30 to file corrections with Peloquin’s office.

“If someone has a [canceled] check for payment that we just missed for a payment, that’s one thing,” Peloquin said. “But when someone has some other correction that begs some question, and they haven’t answered the question before, you have to understand we’ve got to reserve the right to ask the question.”

He said corroborated challenges received by Nov. 30 could be reflected in an addendum to the report.

“After an initial reading of this report and noting the ‘evidence,’ we feel it is inflammatory, inaccurate, misleading, exaggerated, biased and offensive,” Sheila Morse read from a prepared statement by commission members in seeking 30 days to respond.

McGahan conceded some of the challenges — including an instance in which two contracts exist for the same event [see related story] — are worth looking into. He also advocates more security at the camp to protect the town.

“I feel pretty good about it,” Flanagan said after the meeting about the board’s action. “I’m a little disappointed that my name was mentioned so may times all over the newspapers. It kind of tarnished my name and the 10 years I did [work] up there. … I’m disappointed I’m not working there. I love the place.”

Flanagan resigned July 18 after problems scheduling an interview with investigators to work within the constraints of his full-time job as a second investigation stemming from an early July wedding arose.

“I find this report offensive and slanderous,” Flanagan had read from a statement during the meeting. “This report embellishes my job titles …. four different job titles that do not even exist in town bylaws. My job title was the same for nine years — part-time assistant caretaker.”

The report

Peloquin’s report dated Oct. 7  — supported by 276 pages of rental agreements, spreadsheets and contracts —  recommended that the town “needs a professional administrator to oversee Camp Kiwanee, including the management of Recreation Commission employees,” and that the town administrator should review all vendor contracts he has not signed to “determine whether to sign them, end them or renegotiate them.”

It also urged town officials to pursue fees owed from those who made personal use of Camp Kiwanee, at free or reduced rates, while serving on the commission or while working at the camp.

Peloquin indicated more cooperation with the investigation might have changed the outcome, and put the cost to the town for that lack of cooperation at more than $27,000.

“A lack of cooperation by key members of the Recreation Commission and all commission-appointed employees obstructed and delayed the completion of the investigation, not only increasing its cost, but also depriving the investigator of critical information.” Peloquin stated, adding, “Information withheld from the investigation may have resulted in different findings and conclusions.”

Peloquin charged that Recreation Commission members, employees, relatives or others connected to the Commission rented Camp Kiwanee for reduced rates — or paid nothing at all — on at least 50 occasions between 2010-16. The report charged that a program that allowed volunteers to transfer hours worked into “Kiwanee Cash,” which, “besides violating its own ‘no bartering’ policy … had clear ethics law implications.”

The report also singled out actions by former Commission Chairman David Blauss, commissioners Susan Lonergan and Flanagan as presenting ethical issues. Hickey’s actions centered on a refusal to cooperate with the investigation, while Blauss, Lonergan and Flanagan were singled out for improper use of the Camp.

Favoritism alleged

Blauss reportedy allowed his cousin, Tom Tobin, to stay for free at Camp Kiwanee cottage, which is supposed to rent for $100 per night, and arranged for his sister, Debbie Blauss, to contract with the commission to hold yoga classes in the lodge even after she stopped paying the 20 percent commission other vendors pay to conduct classes at the venues. Debbie Blauss was also permitted to post a sign at the base of Camp Kiwanee Road.

“How many times this happened cannot be determined, but Blauss himself admitted that he was doing it and believed it was acceptable because Tobin was serving as caretaker for Camp Kiwannee,” Peloquin reported about the cottage use.

Flanagan and Lonergan allegedly used the lodge on “several” occasions since 2010 without paying rent or paying a reduced rate, and the report charges Flanagan with improperly approving discounts for other users. Administrative Assistant Nicole Campbell and former Commissioner Maria McClellan — who cooperated in the investigation — also used or allowed relatives to use Needles Lodge free of charge.

Campbell, who had a contentious relationship with the commission before the investigation, dating back to the 2015 Hanson Day event when a group complained she had cut short its performance. An executive session during a commission  meeting led to her filing an Open Meeting Law (OML) violation complaint because she had not received advance notice and asked that the commission be disbanded, the report said. That complaint was upheld to the extent that the commission was ordered not to do it again and to watch an educational video on the OML. A second OML complaint she filed on whether she could use her personal tape recorder during meetings was resolved before it went to a decision.

The Commissioners also complained about Campbell’s job performance.

“Although neither side behaved appropriately, there was no illegal retaliation against Nicole Campbell, directly or indirectly, but he commissioners or commission employees because she fully cooperated with the investigation from the outset,” Peloquin also stated. Interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera had warned potential witnesses against retaliation on March 24, 2016.

Recreation commissioners Raymond, Francis O’Kane and Janet Agius also fully cooperated with the investigation, as did former department administrative assistants Annemarie Bouzan and Stacey Reed, according to the report.

Under a law accepted by Hanson Town Meeting in 2001, Selectmen set Camp Kiwanee rental rates. Use of the lodge may be donated, specifically, to Scout troops for weekly meeting between September and May, town budgeted departments for meetings with Recreation Commission approval and for town departments to hold one free event from Tuesday through Thursday in a calendar year.

Bartering to cover rental fees is not permitted.

Peloquin said there are no longer records from the Kiwanee Cash program, administered by McClellan, and outlined how Town Administrator René Read ordered that practice to cease when he first learned of it in 2012. Town Administrator Ron San Angelo had also taken action to halt free use of the Camp cottage.

Selectman Bruce Young also pointed out that former Town Administrator Michael Finglas had “given his blessing” to the Kiwanee Cash program when it was first established.

A ‘costly lesson’ being learned

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

HANSON — Unsigned rental contracts at Camp Kiwanee, which were at the center of concerns covered in Labor Counsel Leo J. Peloquin’s report to Selectmen regarding the Recreation Commission, can’t happen again, the board has warned.

“I can’t stress enough that our contracts have to be signed,” Selectmen Chairman James McGahan said after former commissioner Wes Blauss and his wife Joanne outlined repeated inconsistencies with approved contracts his mother Edna Howland obtained for the family’s annual Christmas party at Needles Lodge. “They have to be stamped with payment — all that. We have to be consistent with how this is done.”

All but two of the Howland contracts were not stamped and none were signed as the form required. Town Administrator Michael McCue said he has already begun to make those changes and has also revised the contract form to adhere to new policies and protocols — and to adhere to state ethics requirements.

“I’m already up there two to three times a week to review contracts,” McCue said. “I am signing them. We have revamped the whole contract.”

The Howland contracts provided a microcosm of the overall problem of a lack of adherence to protocol, Selectmen said of the decision to waive pursuit of funds lost to past questionable discounts.

“This has been a costly lesson for us, but I think it’s something that we needed to do in order to figure out what we need to fix,” McGahan said of the board’s decision.

“With everything that’s gone on, we don’t need to go after money,” Selectman Bill Scott said. “It’s a shame that we got to the point where we had to spend so much money to get to where we are. Hopefully, we can move forward as a result of this.”

The Blauss’ presentation featured enlarged copies of six of Howland’s contracts to rent the lodge over the years.

“This is data-driven from your report,” Joanne Blauss said.

“My mother’s name is mentioned more than a dozen times in this report,” Wes Blauss said, noting he represented her because of her poor health. “Edna Howland has no idea that she is named in this report — that she is in any way involved in this. … No one will say anything to Edna about this.”

Howland owed the town more than $1,000 because of discounts improperly approved for her, according to the report.

“Edna would never question. … Whatever she was told is what she paid,” he said.

There is a space for renters to sign the contracts, but neither Howland or anyone else did so, and all quoted a charge of $250 or $350 with no balance due, until a duplicate of the sixth contract was discovered for the party planned in 2015.

They contain four different dates on each form, and the contract they said is a duplicate includes hand-written amount of $110 owed after Howland’s sister, Maria McClellan had been told nothing was owed when she tried to pay the balance owed on a charge of $360. The original quoted a price of $250.

“I brought the original contract back to Mr. [interim Town Administrator Richard] LaCamera,” David Blauss said. “And you wonder why I did not cooperate with Mr. LaCamera? I brought that original one that said $250, that it was paid in full and, obviously, he never even shared it with town counsel.”

McGahan stressed that Peloquin’s point was that the Recreation Commission never approved the discounted price of $250.

Contracts for 2012 and 2013 were duplicates of each other, down to the date at the top of the contract, with a hand-written change of the date of the 2012 party — which originally read Dec. 15, 2011 and was altered to “Dec. 15, 2012.” The parties are always on a Saturday.

“As we sit here today, Edna Howland paid $250, she owes $110, but she doesn’t really, because someone told her $250 was OK,” Peloquin said, noting the commission voted to bill her.

“The bill was never sent out, and I want to make a point that Recreation Commission does not send out bills,” commissioner Susan Lonergan said.

McClellan said the family had taken the duplicate contract issue directly to LaCamera because they were aware of a conflict of interest, and that the Commission never knew about it.

“Probably 40 percent of the contracts [the report] refers to are not signed,” she said. “Therefore, they’re not contracts, they’re pieces of paper. They should be thrown out and not discussed.”

While he did not agree that the contracts should, or could, be discarded, McGahan agreed that, “This has got to be the worst case of record-keeping I have ever seen.”

The Blauss’ asserted that administrative assistants, and Annemarie Bouzan in particular, were not likely to be coerced by former Commission Chairman David Blauss or Senior Caretaker James Flanagan to approve improper contracts. They are seeking legal advice on the legality of the duplicate contracts.

“I have never in my life, told the administrative assistants what to charge anyone,” David Blauss said.

Wes Blauss said David Blauss, Flanagan, McCellan and Lonergan were “in a very vulnerable position” in the report because they stepped in to keep Camp Kiwanee operating with no support from Town Hall or the union when administrative assistants were out on extended sick or family leave time.

Resident Audrey Flanagan provided her own spreadsheets to Selectmen and Peloquin based on the rate sheets administrative assistants had been using in drawing up contracts.

“The spreadsheets Mr. Peloquin created were based on rates from 2010,” she said. “They changed over the years.”

Selectman Bruce Young maintained the board has always approved rates the Recreation Commission recommends, but takes issue with Peloquin’s assertion that if the commission wants to discount a rate, that selectmen had to approve it over the past six years, as that protocol had not been in place. He also questioned how it was possible that Flanagan could assume such power over camp responsibilities to the extend it is alleged he did.

“You can’t do it retroactively,” Young said of the rate protocols. “It isn’t fair to anybody.”

Others were concerned about apparent conflict of interest.

“When I read this report, a couple weeks ago or whatever, it was disappointing to me … as elected officials and appointed officials, we’re all municipal employees whether we get paid or not,” Selectman Kenny Mitchell said. “We still have to adhere to the laws of the state, especially [regarding] conflict of interest.”

“We really respect the volunteering and the work that’s been done in there, but technically we volunteer also,” Scott agreed. “If we break the rules or do something that people don’t like, they’re all over us like a wet suit. You don’t have the right to break the rules.”

Whitman mulls streamlined bill paying option

WHITMAN — Who should sign on the dotted line?

The Board of Selectmen is seeking more information from Town Counsel Michelle McNulty before designating a member to sign off on payroll warrants.

Chiefly, Selectmen want to know if an alternate can fill that role, or must it be a permanent assignment?

Right now, no fewer than three selectmen must sign each warrant before the town treasurer is authorized to release the funds.

The Municipal Modernization bill, MGL Ch 218 §57, allows a board to designate one selectman to sign the warrants on behalf of the board until it can meet for a vote, Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

“I’m suggesting the board consider this because sometimes it’s difficult to get warrants signed quickly enough to not hold checks for an additional week,” he said. “It would not necessarily change how the board views and approves warrants because the cover page of each warrant would be available to all members at the next meeting.”

Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski asked if obtaining the three signatures had ever been an issue. Lynam said it has proved to be so on occasion.

“What the state is recognizing is that, in the normal course of events, many times the selectmen don’t have an opportunity to review some of these things until they meet, and this provides an alternative,” Lynam said. “I’m not suggesting that you necessarily vote it tonight, but you be aware of the option.”

Lynam expressed doubt that a floater would be permitted because the chapter’s language is so particular in reference to “one selectman,” but that McNulty is reviewing it.

Selectman Dan Salvucci had suggested the review because he thought selection of an alternate, could work around vacations.

Lynam said there was always the option of going to the current requirement of three signatures in such a case.

In other business, the board granted the request of Robert Hayes’ Easy Auto Rentals Inc., DBA Auto Towne Truck Sales for a Class II Auto Dealer’s License at 808 Bedford St.

“He’s done a fantastic job at that location,” said Selectman Brian Bezanson. “The building has been transformed into a top-notch place.”

Hayes, who chairs the School Committee, returned the compliment to the Whitman DPW for work repairing frost-heave damage to sidewalks at Whitman schools and WHRHS. His remarks echoed those of Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner in a letter to the Board, which Kowalski read aloud.

Hayes said the School Committee had received some hefty bids on the project and that the DPW did the work at a savings to the town of a “substantial amount of money.”

“I think we came out with a better product than we might have done if we had bid it out,” he said.

“They did an amazing job fixing up those walkways,” Lynam agreed.

Hayes also stressed the importance of the strategic plan/budget discussion to which selectmen and finance committees from both towns were invited at the Wednesday, Oct. 12 School Committee meeting.

“The school district is trying to put forward and earlier budget meeting so … more people will come,” he said. “By getting everybody together earlier, it might be easier to understand the total budget and the impact on the towns.”

Selectmen also voted to maintain the $250 per year solid waste fee for fiscal 2017.

Hanson joins Community Compact

HANSON — Selectmen, state Rep. Josh Cutler, Town Hall employees and public safety leaders joined Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito Tuesday, Oct. 11 to celebrate Hanson’s becoming the 236th Commonwealth community to join the Commonwealth Community Compact Best Practices Program.

That means Hanson agrees to implement at least one best government practice outlined under an executive order signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in January 2015 — and brings with it more access to state grant funds.

Hanson town officials hope grants can help with the reuse of the former Plymouth County Hospital site as well as the Main Street Economic Target Area. The program also provides the expertise needed to help communities plan for uses that best suit the community and carries $500 million in MassWorks program for infrastructure improvements and leverages private dollars for investment, as well.

“This [compact] is yours,” Polito said. “No other community in the commonwealth has this kind of structure that you’re looking to reuse, and that’s the beauty of this kind of partnership.”

“We have reached out to the state to ask if we could become a member of the Commonwealth Community Compact,” Town Administrator Michael McCue said in opening the afternoon ceremony Tuesday, Oct. 11. “What the state is so graciously willing to do is lend its expertise — any sort of guidance, any sort of help they can — in a number of different areas.”

Selectmen Chairman James McGahan was working and unable to attend the event.

“The vision that the governor and I had I coming into office, and now in office, is to strengthen Massachusetts through every city and town across our state,” Polito said. “What we knew coming in, as former selectmen … is that the work that you do at the local level — you are on the front lines, literally — where people express their concerns, their frustrations, their hopes for their community. You need all the resources and tools to be able to do your job.”

The Commonwealth Community Compact was intended as a signal from the start that they appreciate local government, Polito said.

“In order for us to be successful, you need to be successful,” she said, listing the release of Chapter 90 funds to improve roads, increase Local Aid and use the Municipal Modernization bill to help local governments do the job.

Best Practices is also intended to strengthen ties between Beacon Hill and town halls, according to Polito.

“You choose to be part of this Community Compact,” she said. “It also needs to be funded. We know, as local officials, that we can’t have any more unfunded mandates. They just don’t work.”

Communities also decide what their priorities will be.

“I think all the towns and cities of Massachusetts appreciate the outreach the administration has done,” McCue said, noting the background both she and Baker bring to the table as former selectmen.

Polito nodded to Cutler in thanking legislators for supporting the program by funding the budget.

“The Baker-Polito Administration has been a terrific partner for municipalities,” Cutler said, noting the Municipal Modernization, or “weed-whacking,” bill the administration supported as well. “This particular [program] for Hanson is so important for economic development.”

He noted that the Plymouth County Hospital site and Route 27 corridor are keys to economic development in Hanson.

“As a Hanson state Rep., I’m delighted to see the town taking this proactive step,” Cutler said after the ceremony. “It’s great to have a lieutenant governor right here in Hanson talking about an issue that’s so important to so many residents, which is the Plymouth County Hospital redevelopment and Main Street.”

HANSON — Voters at special Town Meeting Monday, Oct. 3 voted to hire a Recreation Director — at least through June 30, 2017 — and to spend an estimated $1.8 million to tear down the former Plymouth County Hospital, but neither issue was the focus of much debate.

That distinction went largely to the ratification of a collective bargaining agreement between the Water Department, Board of Water Commissioners and members of the AFSCME Local 1700 Water Union.

The Board of Selectmen, which had previously voted to place a hold on the article, voted 4-0 against recommending its passage in a session before Town Meeting. Selectman Don Howard, who is also a Water Commissioner, abstained. The Finance Committee had voted to recommend it.

Selectmen’s concerns centered on the amount of the pay raise in the new contract, which the Town Meeting passed a counted vote of 54-31. The contract grants a 4-percent raise for the first year — 2 percent in salary and 2 percent in cost of living — and 3 percent cost of living increase in the second and third years.

“It was a strategic decision,” said Selectmen Chairman James McGahan, noting other unions negotiated 2-percent raises. “It was a fairness issue, also, for myself and most of the board.”

“It’s not in line with the other union [contracts] we just negotiated back in May,” said Selectman Kenny Mitchell. “In my opinion, the increases should be similar.”

“This article is a bargaining agreement between the Hanson Water Department and its union,” said Commissioner Gil Amado, who said the agreement does not bring the union members above any other town. “The Hanson Water Department negotiated in good faith with its union. … It’s not like were trying to give money away.”

Former Finance Committee member Pepper Santalucia said the issue comes town to Hanson’s organizational structure.

“There’s boards and commissions for everything, and, frankly, if the Board of Selectmen want to be more involved in how the Water Department and commission negotiates with its union, it should look at consolidating functions — perhaps a department of public works,” he said. “They negotiated with their union and we’re just here to formalize that.”

In consideration of another article seeking $50,000 to update the Water Department Master Plan, High Street resident Mark Vess asked if officials would commit to include designation of a second well site in that plan.

“I support the Water Department 100 percent,” Vess said, citing water problems going on across the country. “Right now, I’m concerned that you don’t have enough tools to do the job, with this drought that’s been with us for over a year. … We’ve run at 100-percent capacity of our well field this summer.”

He said the answer is not so much a new water tower as a new water supply.

“We need to make sure that Brockton Water never flows through our pipes again,” Vess said.

“I’m going to make sure on that,” Howard said.

PCH tear-down

The PCH demolition is overdue and likely to cost more the longer the facility is allowed to further deteriorate, voters were told. The annex building was partially razed into its foundation and encapsulated in plastic last week as an emergency measure after it collapsed.

“Each day, each month, each week, each year we let this go on it just costs more,” said abutter David Soper of 176 High St., a former selectman who had also served on the last PCH Reuse Committee. “Times have changed. There are developers out there who aren’t willing to take chances like they used to. It is time that we take this building down and move on and let Hanson close this chapter.”

The $1.8 million cost of the project, which will go out to bid, would include removal of the foundation and hazardous material — including asbestos, and PCBs contained in caulking — are also factored into the cost.

Selectman Bruce Young noted the sale of some tax title properties as well as the Streeter house on the PCH property would go toward reducing the cost to the town.

Young also explained that, in regard to the recreation director, a salary of $50,000 per year was approved at the May 2016 Town Meeting. The $35,000 sought in the article Monday reflected a six-month salary of $25,000 plus benefits. The ultimate salary would depend on the hours and pay grade negotiated between the town and the person hired.

Honoring Mann

Before getting underway the 118 voters convened in Town Meeting observed a moment of silence in honor of former Town Moderator Charles Mann.

“This is our first Town Meeting in a very long time without [him],” Moderator Sean Kealy said. “He started his public service back in 1963 when he got elected to the school board.”

Mann was Hanson’s state representative and moderator for many years.

“He was a great friend to me, one of the very first people I got to know when I moved to town,” Kealy said.

Kealy also offered public thanks to, and led a round of applause for, the public safety and school officials who ensured school children’s safe transportation home during a search for suspects in the Sept. 29 home invasion incident.