HANSON – The Select Board heard updates on the MBTA communities program, the licensure of its building inspector and received an update of work being done to overhaul the town website during its Tuesday, Jan. 10 meeting.
Town Planner Antonio DeFrias outlined the states’ alterations to its final guidelines for its MBTA communities program to create multi-unit housing under MGL 40A.
The final guidelines had been issued last August by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and had already revised in October.
Changes include community categories, significant adjustments for small towns with no transit stations, changes to the reasonable size criteria, district location requirements and a multi-family unit capacity tool, DeFrias said. The October revisions included modifications to the definition of an affordable unit, allowing communities to set income limits for affordable units of below 80 percent AMI, allowing communities to require that more than 10 percent of units (but not more than 20 percent) in a project be affordable and create an exception to the 20 percent gap on affordable units.
He said no further amendments are anticipated. The town has applied for a $25,000 technical assistance grant to allow it to engage a consultant, such as the Old Colony Planning Council to help create regulations. The state recently released a press announcement that all communities that had filed for the grant would receive it.
“Massachusetts has one of the highest housing costs in the nation,” DeFrias said, adding that it is ranked as the fourth highest. It is also fourth highest for rental costs on two-bedroom apartments.
“There is this need to create additional housing,” he said. “Hanson is considered a commuter rail town. We have 3,960 housing units as of the 2020 census.”
The town would have to create a zone for a minimum of 750 affordable housing units with a required land area of 50 acres. There is about 500 acres of land within a half-mile radius of a transit station, and the state has determined that Hanson has 218 available acres in which to create a multi-family housing zone.
“They’ve created a tool kit,” DeFrias said, noting he has not yet been able to access it. “But that will help me look at and put a finer point on looking at the town, the 218 acres and the area around the transit station and start plugging in information to get us in compliance with the final regs that need to be in place by the end of 2024.”
Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if there was a downside should the town decide it did not want to comply with the program.
“You lose the ability to apply for grants, such as MassWorks grants,” DeFrias said. But he said the DHCD commissioner made it clear what else might happen.
“Don’t think that’s the only grant you won’t be able to get if you don’t do the housing,” DeFrias said. “If you don’t do it, don’t. Hopefully, you’ll have enough money for any issues you have in your municipality.”
But he also made clear what the state was not saying.
“It’s creating the zoning,” he said. “It’s not saying you have to go out and build the units. It’s just creating an area for these units to be built.”
He filed an action plan, due at the end of this month, with the state back in October and it was approved in November. Hanson is in interim compliance until its due date for district compliance, which is Dec. 31, 2024.
“We have to keep the ball rolling,” he said.
On other business, Town Administrator Lisa Green reported to the Select Board that the town recently received a determination from the state licensing agency that Building Inspector Kerry Glass, who was in the process of receiving certification as building commissioner, but the timeline for courses and exams had not “come together.”
He therefore exceeded the 18-month window the state requires for obtaining certification. Green said the town has appealed that determination, but the state rejected that appeal.
“In that same letter they required our building inspector to resign as building commissioner,” Green said.
Glass would still be able to inspect any construction work being done in town, Green advised the board at FitzGerald-Kemmett’s request. He is still able to interpret Hanson zoning laws and provide guidance to any construction going on in town.
“Building commissioner is just one area, which is occupancy permits, Green said. “Mr. Glass can still be our local building inspector, he will go out and inspect any construction, look over anybody who submits a permit for any kind of a building or construction project … he just cannot sign the occupancy permit.”
The board was asked to accept Glass’ resignation as building commissioner and appoint him as a local inspector, appointing Joseph Stack as the building commissioner for an interim period, until Glass satisfies the state’s requirements for a building commissioner. FitzGerald-Kemmett said Glass has indicated he should complete the requirements by May.
The board voted to accept Glass’ resignation and appoint him as local inspector as well as to appoint Stack as interim building commissioner.
“I’m disappointed that the state did not allow you to continue in your position until … May,” Select Board member Jim Hickey said. “Because I really don’t want to accept your resignation, but I will, to keep you local, but I’m not happy about it.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett and Select Board member Ed Heal agreed with Hickey’s comments.
Web site
Capital Strategic Solutions representatives Blythe Robinson, Nicole Figueiredo and Jennifer Thompson virtually attended the Tuesday, Jan. 10 Select Board meeting to outline a proposed and updated social media policy as well as ways to strengthen internal communications for the town.
Robinson said the town made a sound decision in contracting with 2Revise for the town website.
“These days, people do so much electronically, they want to be able to do things with you electronically,” Robinson said. “Your new website can become more of that.”
She said the first step would be deciding on the appearance of the homepage, followed by building a site map.
“You want to make [using the site] as quick and seamless as possible,” she said. Centralizing social media in one location and highlighting every municipal email address and phone number can allow people searching the site by cell phone able to just click on a number and call a town office.
“When people can do those things more easily, they’re more likely to follow through,” she said. Application forms for committee posts are an example of that.
Content must be in compliance with state laws, including ADA and the aesthetic appearance of the site should be updated.
The firm likes to use a layered approach to social media strategies to allow the town to reach the largest possible audience with their social media.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said much of the recommendations are definitely needed. She and Green also said IT Director Steve Moberg is on board with the proposal.
The start-up costs, which are not to exceed $50,000, do not reflect the ongoing – and much lower – costs of maintaining the site.
“This is a very project-specific contract” Thompson said.
“I get a good feeling about working with you because delivered on coming back with specific things I think all of us are excited to see,” Select Board member Joe Weeks said.
The board voted to enter into the contract for the web site services, contingent on Capital Solutions providing additional information on a firmer project plan for immediate portions of the project – overhauling the town website and permitting posting to social media automatically when website is updated.

What to do a about the problem of motorists breezing by stopped school buses?
School Committee member Fred Small is advocating a get-tough policy in which cameras would record the license plate of every driver who passes a bus picking up or dropping off students and reporting them to the police. He broached the subject at the School Committee’s Wednesday, Jan. 11 meeting. Small attended remotely via phone.
“If it’s ‘legal’’ for us to do this, I would love for us to be able to – it’s such a safety hazard and, for me, has no place on our streets, so to speak,” he said.
Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak asked, for clarification, if that entailed placing a camera on the red stop signs that unfold when a bus stops, which records the information and for the district to report to the RMV or police.
“Yes, and we would report every instance,” Small said.
Chair Christopher Howard said several other school districts are also discussing the issue, wondering how big an issue it is, suggesting that Szymaniak could talk to First Student and get the bus company’s view. He was also concerned the other districts were dealing more with city streets or multi-lane streets.
“I don’t know how much it happens here,” Howard said.
“Usually, we would hear about that, and I don’t hear a lot about it,” Szymaniak said.
Small asked if the committee could at least make a start by seeking a consensus among the police chiefs and school resource officers over the legality of such a move.
Member Steve Bois asked what Mass. General Law outlines on the subject.
“That would be the first thing, to allow us,” he said. “Obvioulsy, I don’t want to see anyone blasting past a school bus.”
Vice Chair Christopher Scriven said, while the district wants to do all it can to ensure the safety of students, he said he could not remember the last time he saw someone blow by a stopped bus.
Member Glen DiGravio said he has seen it happen
“All you need to do is look on social media,” Szymaniak said. “Every now and then somebody gets blasted for it. Our drivers would try to flag that license plate if they did, but we don’t have that device.”
Scriven suggested a survey of First Student bus drivers might be a good first step in gauging the extent of the problem.
“If you’re asking bus drivers what their biggest concern is, it’s going to be the motorists who have their head down on their cell phones as they’re driving by them,” Howard said.
Szymaniak said, while cameras are not a bad idea, he doesn’t know if he can contractually push First Student to do that right now, but said it was an issue worth bringing to the committee for discussion.
Member Dawn Byers said she recalled the issue might center around a statewide effort.
“I’m certainly in favor of getting more information about it, but I don’t think it’s something us independently would do,” she said.
Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said there are 24 states where the cameras are legal, but only 12 have taken any action to implement it so far.
“It’s called bus arm stop cameras,” Ferro said, adding he had just Googled it. He and Szymaniak said the district maps bus routes to try and avoid having students cross roadways to get on the bus. He added that the high school parking lot during morning parent drop-off is a bigger problem from a safety standpoint.
“It does get active in the morning,” he said.
Howard agreed more research can be done while the district asks First Student.
“I’m certainly all for the safety of our students,” Howard said. “To me, there’s other things to consider, too.” He mentioned yellow caution light violations and speeding in school zones as well as people texting while driving as examples. He suggested it could be part of a larger brain-storming session on student safety.
DiGravio said a pilot program of Small’s suggestion was conducted in Medford in 2011.
In other business, members of the Student Advisory Council spoke in favor of the budget line item to return foreign language to the middle school curriculum.
“Foreign language has been an invaluable piece of my education here at Whitman-Hanson and being able to continue foreign language into senior year and being able to take a college-level course before I’m even in college has been incredible,” said Riley Getchell, adding it would bring a higher academic standard to the district’s middle schools. “The grades below [us] haven’t been able to experience this and they’re most likely going to see the effects of this in their college applications and not being able to have that advanced level of foreign language.”
SAC member Emma McKeon has a younger brother in the Duval School who’s been asking her to teach him Portuguese because he has a friend who speaks the language. He wants to be able to speak with his friend.
“The elementary schoolers, which is surprising because they are at such a young age there, are really striving to learn these new languages, which I think is amazing,” she said. “It activates all of the different strategies in your brain and helps a lot.”
Khloe Drake agreed that languages help with cognitive abilities.
“Learning these languages at a younger age helps [students] be more fluent,” she said.
Noah Roberts, who said he surveyed other students over the summer on his Instagram account, touched on what he termed a language-adjancent issue.
“As our schools, and our towns in general, have become more diverse with [residents of] different backgrounds and cultures, I think there’s an increasing need to have some type of education on these different cultures to make these people feel more represented,” he said. “What I’ve had is just one basic monolith of a specific parts of American history and not much outreach besides that.”
He said it could also provide outlets for students of other cultural backgrounds to express how they feel.
Vice Chair Christopher Scriven commended Roberts for his work in bringing students’ concerns about inclusion to the committee’s attention.
School Committee members David Forth and Dawn Byers thanked the students for speaking their minds reminding the committee that the high school students were speaking from the vantage point of having had no middle school foreign language instruction because of budget cuts that were made in spring 2019.
Ferro said that Spanish and French were cut from middle school curriculum in 2003 and then, in 2009, it was reinstituted on a limited basis with both schools sharing a single teacher, later hiring another teacher so each school had one.
But, it was still a matter of selecting which students could take a language, Ferro said, because there were more students wanting to take it than there was room for in the classes.
“A lot of it became political, I’m just going to say, and a lot of it became an issue,” he said.

WHITMAN – Former Treasurer/Collector Mary Beth Carter is being offered the position of Town Administrator, it was announced at the Select Board’s Tuesday, Jan. 10 meeting.
The offer is conditional based on the outcome of contract negotiations.
“I have some slightly good news,” Chair Randy LaMattina said in making the announcement that interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam was making that recommendation. “Well, not slightly, I have tremendously good news.
He said Lynam had reached out to a “former employee – a great former employee,” who recently left, noting that the person “absolutely checks all the boxes we could possibly ask for” in a town administrator.
Carter, he said before mentioning her by name, is a proven employee.
“You know where her heart lies – with the town of Whitman,” LaMattina said. He added that she is very interested in the position.
Lynam called her the “best possible candidate out there right now.”
“I think her close to 20-year employment record here, her track record, her knowledge of the budget, her knowledge of our town, her commitment to our town, makes her [someone who] if she was still working for us I could just see this being a transfer from one department to another,” LaMattina said. “It makes sense,” he added, seeking a motion to offer her the position, which the board approved unanimously.
Both LaMattina and Lynam spoke of the struggle to find solid candidates in the town’s ongoing search for a full-time administrator.
Lynam said he reached out to Carter out of frustration with the results of the search.
“It wasn’t for lack of candidates, it was for a lack of qualified candidates,” he said. “Even when we had three to present, we lost one before we even came to the door, and at that point, we held off to try and assess whether this was the right way to go. I really made a leap in even calling her.”
Not only had Carter just left her position in Whitman, she had just accepted a job with the town of Norwell.
“It wasn’t an easy decision for Mary Beth to make, because the same qualities that make her a good manager and a good leader are the ones that challenge her to say, ‘Wait a minute, I just took another job.’”
He said that, if Carter accepts to offer, Whitman will be better off for it. Lynam noted he has worked with Carter ever since she began working for the town in 2005.
“She’s an incredible employee,” Lynam said. “She’s committed, she’s smart, she can do anything.”
He recalled having asked her several times over the years to take on tasks that would not routinely be the responsibility of a treasurer/collector, and without question, he could count on all the boxes being checked.
Vice Chair Dan Salvucci lauded Carter’s work ethic, noting she worked Fridays even though Town Hall is closed that day each week.
“If she needed to be, she was here on Saturdays,” he said.
LaMattina said the focus should be on obtaining a town administrator when Salvucci began outlining considerations for an assistant, should Carter agree to serve.
“I couldn’t be happier,” said Select Board member Shawn Kain. “I couldn’t think of a better candidate [and] I’m really excited that she was willing to come back and work for the town, I think it’s exactly what we need.”
Members Dr. Carl Kowalski and Justin Evans also enthusiastically joined in the endorsement of appointing Carter.
In other business, resident Ken Lailer spoke during the meeting’s public forum to thank for Select Board and Fire Chief Timothy Clancy’s their tributes last month to his wife Marie, who passed away while on vacation — and to ask Select Board, historical boards in town and people of Whitman to try to establish a Whitman historical museum, which he would like to be named in his wife’s honor.
Mrs. Lailer was a dedicated CERT volunteer for many years, beginning as an EMT before she even became a nurse. But another of her passions, he said, was Whitman and its history.
“Her passion was with the old buildings, the research and surveys to place things on national registry, to refurbishing the old cemetery stones in Mt. Zion Cemetery and even … [being instrumental in the restoration of the Toll House sign at Wendy’s,” he said. “I’m here, willing to assist and fulfill her vision, but I will need guidance,” he said.
He added that Marie had written grants for some of the projects on which she worked.

The W-H School Committee, on Wednesday, Dec. 21 discussed the points they want to address during meetings of the Regional Agreement Committee, as the towns’ select boards are also being asked to do.
“We kind of wanted to do it in executive session so both towns weren’t watching what your concerns might be, but we can’t do that,” said Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak. “What we’ like to talk [about] here, or get some thoughts, are what you would like us to focus on as a committee or what your concerns are in the Regional Agreement, so we can have those discussions.”
Fred Small suggested one item that would likely come up is the definition of a capital cost and what is considered an emergency repair vs an extraordinary repair.
“I think that needs to be defined very clearly, especially with the mold incident last year at Whitman Middle School,” he said.
Dawn Byers suggested a discussion of how to handle capital costs in general should be conducted, as some districts place the costs in their operating budgets.
“I think that’s step one,” she said. Transportation is another issue that she said should be discussed.
“I was waiting for that,” School Committee Chair Christopher Howard. “I knew someone has to bring it up.”
Beth Stafford said that the agreement needs to be reviewed more carefully, in order to determine specifically what it needs.
“Just in general, that, to me, has been a problem from Day One with the agreement,” she said.
Hillary Kniffen said language, which determines the makeup of the School Committee’s representation from the towns, should also be discussed.
“If we’re going to put population in, there should be a clause that says you can’t give one town a majority (equal to the 2/3 margin needed for some votes),” she said. “We don’t vote like that anyway, but that’s just going to open a can of worms that we don’t need to deal with.”
The Whitman Select Board had also advocated clarifying non-mandated busing language, including that involving reimbursement of costs, during their Tuesday, Dec. 20 meeting. They also want to include the the statutory funding method in the agreement.
The District also voted to increase the pay scale for Food Services employees.
The lowest position on the pay scale — substitutes — now at $14.25 per hour, will be increased to $15 per hour, in keeping with the state’s minimum wage. The change went into effect Jan. 1.
All other salaries in the department will also be increased by 75 cents per hour to “give it to everyone who’s working in Food Service,” he said of the raise.
The School Committee approved the increase at its Wednesday, Dec. 21 meeting.
“It’s difficult to retain people,” Business Manager John Stanbrook said. “We’ve got some very talented people and we’d like to give that as a raise.”
The increase would be $17,685 for the current fiscal year and $10,316.2 for the rest of the calendar year.
Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak reminded the School Committee that the Food Services budget is self-funded.
“There’s a significant amount of money in retained earnings in that fund,” Stanbrook agreed.
The district’s strategic planning consultant has indicated a willingness to offer a workshop to School Committee members sometime this month, according to Szymaniak.
Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said a group of administrators have already met with the consultant and are forming the rest of a larger team — including parents and students — and the consultant will also be meeting with stakeholders at the individual schools.
He will then discuss what the groups consider their top two or three initiatives, based on the information the meetings come up with, Ferro said.
“Then it’s [a question of] where do we want to move forward?” Ferro said. “It could easily be something where there’s an active participation, or it’s just hear your thoughts on what you think the next five years might mean or need of input for the district.”
Whitman Middle School Building Committee [Chair] Fred Small reported that he met with interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam, Select Board member Randy LaMattina, Whitman town counsel, Owner’s Project Manager John Bates of Colliers and MSBA Director Jack McCarthy and his staff, during which an agreement was reached for the town to maintain its longstanding lease agreement with the school district for use of athletic fields at Whitman Middle School.
“Santa Claus came early,” he said. “It was a brief, very nice meeting. [McCarthy] understands what the town’s concerns are, he ended up saying, ‘I don’t have a problem with that.’”
But Small said unfettered access during construction has been requested and something in writing outlining steps should a repair be needed in the future, MSBA would be able to have the unfettered access they require.
Small also said the MSBA Board of Directors have increased the allowable reimbursement per square foot for projects from $360 per square foot to $393 and site work reimbursement were increased as well. The per-square foot limitations are in addition to the overall reimbursement rates for communities.
“Towns and cities that are in project right now, with signed contracts with MSBA, are getting nothing,” Szymaniak said. “These are for future costs due to inflation.” The increases are tailored for towns like Whitman that have not signed a contract yet.
“We’re right in the right spot at the right time, because some cities and towns are down $10 [million] to $15 million in costs and have to go back to their towns to get those costs.”
— Tracy F. Seelye

HANSON – The Select Board met virtually with representatives of Capital Strategic Solutions of Marlborough on Tuesday, Dec. 13 to describe their services in relation to help with ARPA funds and communication strategies as the board discussed issues that had arisen during a recent strategic planning workshop.

They will return for a further discussion on the issues at the Tuesday, Jan. 10 meeting to further discuss the consulting firm’s communication plan. Police Chief Michael Miksch had suggested the presentation concerning the communication aspect at the town’s recent strategic planning session.

“I love seeing the community transform when people actively become a part of their government,” said CSS CEO Nicole Figeroa is a communications specialist who ha also worked with many area communities. “Local government is a big part of everyone’s quality of life.”

Figeroa’s comment echoed an earlier comment by Select Board member Ann Rein, who expressed a preference for baby steps in the communications plan, rather than a big, over-arching thing because the residents have said enough about how bad the website is and how important it is to them to change it. 

“I think that the [town’s] website and the outreach to the citizens is more important than ARPA,” Select Board member Ann Rein said. “I really, really, really want that website fixed.”

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed into law by President Biden in March 2021, creating the Coronavirus Local Recovery Fund aimed at helping local government pay for their efforts to contain COVID-19. Hanson is eligible to receive $3,196,672 in ARPA funds both directly and through Plymouth County.

Cities and towns have until Dec. 31, 2024 to obligate the ARPA funds and until Dec. 31, 2026 to spend them. Most counties are asking that funds be obligated sooner to ensure all funds are used.

ARPA funds can be used to respond directly to the public health crisis COVID-19; assistance to households, small business and nonprofits and aid to affected industries such as tourism and travel; premium pay for essential municipal employees and offset a drop in revenue to fund government services;  and to make needed investments in water, sewer and broadband internet services.

Hanson is eligible for $1,142,353 in the lost revenue category.

Figeroa stressed that the company is Massachusetts-based  certified woman-owned business comprised of municipal experts specializing in public administration and municipal finance, human resources and policy development, emergency management services and public safety, public works and infrastructure operations, public relations and community engagement, project management and oversight, grant writing and administration, and onsite support services. 

Town Administrator met ARPA consultant Jennifer Thompson at a Mass. Municipal Association meeting. Thompson is “very versed in ARPA and has helped many towns navigate through the complexity of ARPA,” from paperwork involved to reporting requirements and project regulations.

“She is highly recommended from other towns that have used her services,” Green said. “I think this company is going to do a great job for us.”

Thompson said the firm assists 22 municipalities with their ARPA fund administration.

“You should be cautious with this money because it is one-time money, it’s not recurring, so you want to be cautious about funding operating expenses because the money is going to go away after 2026,” Thompson said of the funds aimed at recouping lost revenue.

For that reason, she noted, ARPA funds cannot be used to fund any pension fund; pay debt on capital projects, fund settlement of judgment agreements; replenish reserve or stabilization funds or match other federal grants. But ARPA funds may be used to match state grants.

ARPA funds can be used to build infrastructure, schools or municipal facilities; modernize computer/software assets to bolster cybersecurity; health services; environmental remediation; school or educational services; public safety services or other government expenses.

Thompson said CSS could work with Hanson officials to help them spend ARPA funds not already spent.

Communications services offered help community outreach, Figeroa said, including website support services and proper use of social media.

“It’s an all-hands-on-deck approach we use to get everyone’s attention,” she said. “We operate as an extension of the town [and] we act accordingly.”

She said they would initially work with the IT director to determine what infrastructure improvements the town might need for its communications, including the need to get town departments on the same page before building outward.

“It’s hard for me to make a decision on a company like that without having Steve [Moberg, the town’s IT director] in front of us to be able to ask him questions and expressing his concerns,” Select Board member Ed Heal said.

“In a nutshell, your services help us identify various projects that we could work on, and you’re trying to help us stretch the ARPA fund dollars as far as they could go,” Select Board member Joe Weeks said.

Thompson said that was an accurate summation and added they could help the town with it’s reporting on those expenditures to Plymouth County and the federal government.

Select Board Chair asked if CSS could help empower the town’s Capital Improvement Committee.

“It’s something we’ve been very comfortable with,” Thompson said, applauding Hanson’s foresight in that effort. ARPA funds can be used to pay for CSS’ services, which Thompson described as being provided on an on-call basis in response to a question of cost for their services from Select Board member Jim Hickey.

“Some cities and towns put a ‘not to exceed’ on there,” she said. “We could certainly do that.”

Thompson estimated Hanson would likely spend about $15,000 for that service over the next three years, based on its size and the scope of it’s need for assistance. She said the town could do not-to-exceed on a year-to-year of three-year scope of the program basis.

Figeroa said the communication service may be able to be paid for on that basis, as well.

“We don’t want to create this false sense that we’re going to have this money forever and it’s going to solve all of our many, many budget woes. It won’t,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “But we do have an opportunity to move the ball forward just a bit in some areas.”

WHITMAN – It’s going to take a bit longer to find a new town administrator.
The Select Board had planned to interview its three finalists on Tuesday, Dec. 13, but with the withdrawal of one candidate the process has been delayed, Chair Randy LaMattina announced.
“Our candidate list kind of dwindled by one today,” he said. “Obviously, I set the agenda, and felt the board had made a commitment to bring three candidates to the board for final interviews. Not having three [now], I’ve decided to put it off – probably to send it back to the search committee to find another qualified candidate and then return it back to the board at a later date.”
If thar list of finalists gave you a case of déjà vu, there was a reason for that. Two of them were familiar faces to the area – former Hanson Town Administrator Ron San Angelo and former Whitman Assistant Town Administrator Greg Enos were among the three finalists slated to be interviewed by the full Select Board on Tuesday. David J. Marciello, a municipal and land use attorney who had served as town manager in Millbury and Lunenburg as well as a town administrator in Rehoboth.
However, Enos withdrew his name Tuesday.
San Angelo has also served as town manager for Southbridge and his hometown of Naugatuck, Conn. Enos has been Avon town administrator and a human resources director in Ashland.
And there was other sadly surprising news for LaMattina to relate before the meeting got underway.
“The board found out recently that a very active member of our community, Marie Lailer, had tragically passed away suddenly while on vacation with her husband Ken,” LaMattina said, in dedicating the meeting’s moment of silence to Mrs. Lailer. [See obituary, page 5].
“Marie was super active in this town,” he said. “She moved to Whitman in 1977 [and] devoted her life to public safety as a nurse for close to 32 years.”
Marie Lailer was chair of the Whitman Historical Commission and president of the Dyer Memorial Library Trust. She was also active in Whitman’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
Fire Chief Timothy Clancy also lauded Mrs. Lailer.
“Marie and Ken have been long-time members, and key components of the success of the Whitman CERT team,” Clancy said. “They came as a team, they were always willing to come on a moment’s notice. They were key to the success of the team, whether it was on the scene of an emergency or a vital operation of our town emergency center.”
In addition to nursing, she also worked in emergency medical services … and impacted many people.
“One of which, as an 18-year-old EMT student at South Shore Hospital 31 years ago, she left a lasting impression on me,” Clancy said. “I’d like to thank her for her service and dedication to the town of Whitman and may we keep the Lailer family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

HANSON – Razing the former Maquan School has hit a snag, Green reported to the board Select Board, on Tuesday, Nov. 15. A request for proposals fo bids on the demolition was canceled Monday, Nov. 28 because no information about possible asbestos in the building had been received.

She and Building Inspector Terry Glass, Facilities Manager Charles Baker conducted a site walk with contractors as part of the request for proposals (RFP) to bid process on Monday, Nov. 14. 

“There were quite a few construction companies that came to the site walk,” she said. “There were a number of questions that were brought up, and it looks like we’re either going to have to delay the bid deadline or possibly cancel the bid because of the questions that came up.”

Water at the site raises another question — and one that could change the scope of work.

“It was asked if water was going to be made available for this project — we did reach out to the Water Department and they said, ‘sure, if they wanted to use a little garden hose and hook it up, that’s fine,’” Green said of the dust-control measure. But if a larger hose is required, the Water Department said they wouldn’t do that.

“The contractor would have to bring in their own water,” she said, quoting the Water Department.

Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if they gave a reason and Green said Water Department officials said a bigger hose could result in dirty water being allowed to re-enter the water system.

The scope of work would also require the town to rewrite the scope or work segments involving water and asbestos before reissuing the RFP.

Green said the town needs to reach out to the school district about a 2012 asbestos study done at Maquan because it did not include windows and roofing. Apparently, there is a need for a windows and roofing survey regarding potential asbestos in those areas.

Hanson has sent questions to the new W-H facilities director as to: whether a survey, including windows and roofs, was done and what abatements were done.

FitzGerald-Kemmett, who sits on the Maquan Reuse Committee, recalled having a comprehensive report provided that committee by former W-H Facilities Director Ernest Sandland, who retired last year. No report has been received from the school district, Green said Monday, Nov. 28, so the RFP has been canceled.

“It was part of when they were thinking about whether they were going to build a new school or not,” she said. “Part of what they had to do was to study how deplorable Maquan was to build a case for building a new school.”

While that school construction project failed, the study information is still available in that study. She provided her only copy to Green in order to copy it.

“I think that that may answer some of your questions,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

“If that turns out to have the answers that we need, it can be very helpful,” Green said.

The other issue is once the building is gone what would be left there and they type of fill to be brought in.

School budget

The board also agreed to a schedule for discussions on the WHRSD fiscal 2024 budget with Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak.

Szymaniak visited the board during “the most wonderful time of the year, to talk about budget,” he quipped. He noted past pledges toward greater transparency on the budget process and, as in a previous visit to the Whitman Select Board, briefed the board on the process he is planning to follow.

Szymaniak plans to present an overview of the district budget on Dec. 21. Hard numbers will not be available this year, and Governor-elect Maura Healey, will have some extra time to put her first state budget together, as all newly-elected governors do – meaning the district won’t receive them until March.

But he said he would be able to provide numbers to show approximately where the school budget is at.

“I pledged to the Whitman [Select Board] that the week of Jan. 9, I’d like to meet collaboratively with my School Committee, the boards of selectmen, and both finance committees that week,” he said.

The School Committee is slated to meet Wednesday, Jan. 11 of that week and the Hanson Select Board is scheduled to meet Tuesday, Jan. 10. Szymaniak suggested Thursday, Jan. 12 if the board so chose. A public hearing on the school budget is being planned for Feb. 1, 2023.

HANSON — Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Kevin Perkins was removed, but Alternate Sean Buckley was not removed, as the Select Board, held a public hearing on Thursday, Nov. 10 to determine their status on the ZBA.

Select Board member Jim Hickey voted to allow Perkins to remain on the ZBA.

The two ZBA members were investigated for charges of unprofessional conduct, failure to disclose and failure to cooperate with the investigatory process. Both Perkins and Buckley requested the hearing be held in a public meeting instead of the executive session offered.

Perkins’ attorney William Simms, before a motion could be made, accused both Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett and member Joe Weeks of having complaints filed against them by Perkins and asking why they didn’t recuse themselves from a vote.

FitzGerald said she knew what the complaint against her was — that she did not like Perkins and kept voting against appointing him.
“I don’t need to like somebody, I don’t need to appoint somebody,” she said. “I don’t know him. … I just felt based on things I had been told over the course of several years that I did not feel comfortable endorsing Mr. Perkins to the Board. … That’s my job.”

He claimed Weeks was a member of a Facebook group “Investigate the Board of Appeals,” which Weeks said he had once been a year ago, but had deleted his Facebook account in April.

“I am absolutely unbiased, because I don’t know what you are talking about,” Weeks said.

At an August 2021 the board received a citizen’s petition signed by 150 voters seeking an investigation of the ZBA citing potential conflict of interest between and among its members, Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. Selectmen were compelled to include in the October special Town Meeting warrant that year, which voters approved unanimously. 

The Select Board voted Oct. 19, 2021 the Select Board votes to hire an investigator, hiring James Lampke that November. She noted that the town received the results of the ZBA investigation as they were meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. The Select Board received it the following day and the ZBA were given copies and public the opportunity to view it the following week on the town’s website hanson.ma.gov.

Simms requested that specific allegations and any supporting evidence read in the open session.

FitzGerald-Kemmett read from the letter sent to Perkins listed:

 •Unprofessional conduct displayed on Sept. 27, 2022 at which time he was heard by meeting attendees and the Select Board of using profanity during that meeting; on June 21, 2022 after William Cushing an Joshua Pratti were appointed to temporary terms, Perkins “behaved in a disrespectful manner and used contentious language when leaving;”

• Failure to disclose: Lampke’s report concluded that Perkins failed to file a potential conflict of interest form regarding his business relationship with Ed Johnson with the Town Clerk;

• Failure to cooperate with the investigation process by refusing to meet with Lampke.

Specifically, Perkins had done electrical work for the Elizabeth Brown Trust at 143 Woodbine Ave., in November 2020, which was the initial applicant for the 40B development on Spring Street. The project changed back and forth between Cushing Trails and the Trust, FitzGerald-Kemmett said referring to permits on file at Town Hall.

Simms maintained that Perkins disclosed “what he thought was appropriate” about a business relationship he had in the past. He felt he could sit impartially and hear a proposal. FitzGerald-Kemmett stressed he, to the contrary, said he had no relationship. 

Simms countered that the relationship has ceased.

“Professionalism is a critical component of members of the Zoning Board of Appeals, and as a public official, the breaches in question deviated substantially, publically and overtly from the expectations of a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals,” the letter concluded.

Simms said he requested an un-redacted video recording of two of the Select Board meetings, but instead got and edited version, which was available online to anyone in the public.

“We do not tape those meetings,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “That is Whitman-Hanson Cable. They are a separate entity and we’ve got no control over that.”

He said they had filed public complaint requests with WHCA for the un-redacted version and have not yet received it.

“So we are not fully prepared to address everything tonight,” Simms said. “We’ll do our best, but we think there was a lot of information presented in public by this board that was not available for me to review and the public to comment on.”

Minutes of the meetings, which Simms received only 24 hours before the hearing, were unapproved drafts, rather than official minutes.

“We’re dealing with information that is incomplete and unavailable to me to adequately respond,” he said, further arguing the allegations were not specific. “We’re talking about cause here. You want to dismiss a member from the [ZBA], you need cause, and I want to hear exactly what that cause is with specificity.” 

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the board had clips from the videos and asked Town Administrator Lisa Green to play them. He clearly said “this is bullshit,” witnessed by the board, members of the audience in the room and watching the live meeting, but FCC regulations prohibit WHCA-TV from rebroadcasting the profanity.

Simms said it sounded “muffled” to him, which is why he wanted the un-redacted version.

The video of the June 21 meeting showed him storming out of the room.

“What was that about?” Simms said.

“We are the appointing authority of the ZBA and his conduct has been consistently disrespectful,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Those were just a couple of examples.”

Simms argued he was sitting at the meetings as a citizen, not a ZBA member and asked if Perkins was heard using profanity at a sporting event, would that be unprofessional conduct?

“We haven’t had anybody else speak to us that way,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Nobody.”

The failure to disclose allegation, concerns a business owner who “comes before the board on a fairly frequent basis,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Simms replied that Perkins informed him about multiple disclosures he has filed over the years.

“We have one disclosure on file,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, admitting in response to a question from Simms that Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan was unable to fine one such form during an Ethics Commission investigation of Perkins. She later discovered she had misfiled it and apologized for it several times, including publicly and in writing.

“It’s pretty clear to evidence that there’s something going on that is inappropriate, and I don’t know exactly what it is, but it reappeared, we’ve got apologies from public officials and town employees,” Simms said, suggesting the investigation should “focus a little bit more on what’s going on in Town Hall.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett reminded him of the parameters of the hearing.

“We would like to see the additional disclosures that Mr. Perkins has filed, because we have not been provided anything other than the one that the town clerk misfiled,” she said.

“I’ve filed multiple disclosures over the time I’ve been on the ZBA,” Perkins read from a statement. “In these years I have served there have been at least four town administrators, at least three administrative assistants and various turnovers of selectmen and members.”

He said he has received conflicting information about filing disclosures and to whom. He pointed out that Town Hall security had “previously been an issue.”

When asked if he could provide copies of the disclosures, Perkins said he would “look to see if I can locate copies,” but he added that he has “moved twice since then.”

Town Counsel Jane Friedman suggested that, since Perkins is on the ZBA perhaps minutes of their meetings could shed light on those copies.

Former ZBA member William Cushing said his practice, when he served as chair, was to recuse himself from discussions in which he had an interest, and that positions he and other who recused themselves would not likely appear on the minutes for that reason.

Simms said Lampke called to ask if Perkins wanted to participate in an interview for the investigation.

“He said no, that’s all,” he said. “He said no.”

Select Board member Joe Weeks insisted the board know when that phone call took place.

“I want to know,” he said. “In the report it says there was no cooperation and I want to know how long that non-cooperation was happening … we’ve had many derailed Selectmen’s meetings in which ground rules were  made, and we were not going to talk about certain things, and it kept happening. … I’m dying tp know … when the decision was made to not cooperate and then get on a soapbox every single meeting and say this investigation is going nowhere.”

Simms said his associate John Fink took the phone call and he didn’t have the information.

“I don’t think Mr. Perkins declining to be interviewed had any impact,” Simms said, but agreed to supply that information to the board.

Weeks was angered about continued accusations that delays in the investigation were the fault of the Select Board when it was being held up by other parties.

Cushing said the first time Lampke contacted him was on Mother’s Day and again on Father’s Day in 2022 and he spoke to him at that time. Another ZBA member said he was contacted in December 2021.

“I don’t like the idea that this is being put out in public as if there was something awry,” Weeks said. “I want answers.”

During the hearing, Perkins said he felt Lampke should get is information from “public documents and facts,” not to interject his opinion.

“I’ve always acted in the best interests of the town of Hanson,” he said. “I did what was right, I did what was ethical, I did what the town of Hanson needed, and that was to reduce their legal liability from pending applications.”

Select Board members Ed Heal and Ann Rein, who are both new to the board were adamant that the unprofessional conduct by ZBA members has been unacceptable.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said additional ethics education would be required of board members going forward.