HANOVER – School Nurse Collette LeClair and the Parents’ Association were celebrated for their contributions to the school community at the South Shore Tech School Committee meeting Wednesday, March 16.

“As of [the previous week], we’ve has 276 positive cases of COVID in the building for this school year,” said Principal Mark Aubrey of LeClair’s work. “You can imagine the number of negative [tests] that she and her team have had to deal with in the last seven moths.”

COVID testing and tracking is just part of LeClair’s job demands, he said.

“She’s the first level of medical attention for pretty much everybody in this building,” he said. “She triages situations. She deals with burns and cuts and other shop-related accidents. Most important, she is a good ear for our students.

Aubrey said the nurse’s office is a place where students can feel comfortable talking about any problems they are having.

“I came because I wanted to publicly say thank you to everybody for the past two years,” she said. “Man, it’s been a lot. … The care and consideration you’ve put into all the COVID policies that you’ve had to deal with in the last two years – it’s appreciated.”

To parents, she said it felt like “we went through war together,” with changing state guidance and she said she wanted to give every parent a hug for everything they put up with since March 2020, as well as what Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey and the administrators went through to educate students in that period.

“If that’s what we can do in a pandemic, then the sky’s the limit,” LeClair said.

Aubrey lauded the Parents’ Association was provided an opportunity to outline what they do to support the school and programs as well as how they have adapted their fundraising efforts during the pandemic.

Erin Venuti, the Association’s current president – who has two children attending SST – said she had asked for an opportunity to report to the committee.

“I’d also like to thank [all the] parents, who support everything that we do, from fundraising to attending some of our events,” Venuti said, noting that after last year’s graduation, the group was left with just two members and faced rebuilding during a pandemic. She also thanked parent Mary Jo Stanzi, who has been a volunteer with the group for eight years while her children attended the school.

“One of the reasons I decided to volunteer was I felt the school gave so much,” Venuti said. “When I found out there were no fees for sports, I wanted to give back automatically and it just snowballed from there. … We are your ears, and kind of mouths, on the fields and on the car drives, at the bus stops [where] other parents are coming to us and we’re getting to know the students.”

They report back needs and opinions to the school committee as well as a funding program used to fund either professional licensing fees of students or  as scholarships for college-bound graduates. The Parents’ Association is also planning to bring a speakers’ program back to the school after COVID and they host staff appreciation events.

“As much Viking pride and SST pride as we can put out there is what we’re trying to do and that’s what we hear from our parents and students,” Venuti said.

Aubrey said the School Council is also working on boosting the school in the community and to young families whose children may want to attend SST as well as class meetings, mentoring programs and curriculum and assessment discussions.

The committee voted to accept the terms and conditions for the initial compliance certification of the MSBA’s invitation to eligibility for the school to enter the lengthy process for the core program to modernize and expand the school.

SST has been applying to the program annually since 2015 and is one of 17 schools invited into the process this year. Plans for funding a feasibility study and appointing a building committee will be discussed in April.

HANSON — When a commuter rail line runs thorough it, a community now needs to plan for multi-family housing within a half-mile of a commuter rail station, T-station, ferry terminal or bus station, according to a new state zoning law.

Commuter rail communities are required to contain a minimum of 15 percent of total housing stock — 750 units in Hanson — that qualify under the statute as multi-family. As of 2020, Hanson has 594 of these units.

“But the commonwealth has set the floor at 750 units,” Town Planner Tony DeFrias. “But what I want to let the board know is that the multi-family district unit capacity is not a mandate … to construct a specified number of housing units, nor is it a housing production target.”

He explained that a community is only required to have a multi-family zoning district of a reasonable size.

“The law does not require the production of new multi-family units within that district,” DeFrias cautioned. “There is no requirement nor expectation that a multi-family district will be built to its full unit capacity.”

While the Selectmen expressed concern around some specifics like tax support for schools, septic demands and character of community, there was some appreciation of the environmental mission at work.

“It sounds to me like they’re trying to address energy issues with the housing crisis, but you also don’t want to lose the flavor of what it is to live in Hanson,” said Selectman Joe Weeks. “I’m very eager to see what you guys come up with — I think it’s going to be an exciting by-law to kind of build and see what you can do.”

Selectemen voted to acknowledge that DeFrias made the presentation, as the state requires a copy of the minutes to verify that it was done.

It’s part of MBTA draft guidelines for communities with public transit facilities, in accordance with the omnibus economic development [Chapter 358 of the Acts of 2020], signed by Gov. Baker in January 2021. Among its provisions is a new section — Chapter 40A of the Zoning Act (MGL) that apply to MBTA communities.

“Hanson is a Commuter Rail town,” DeFrias said. “Because it is a Commuter Rail town, the commonwealth has issued guidelines that require towns with transit to create a multi-family zone by right.”

The commonwealth requires that the guidelines be presented to the Select Board at a public hearing, and town/city planners must prove that has been done, along with the filing of a form with the state before May 2. The deadline for interim compliance is Dec. 31 and for the action plan, the deadline is July 1, 2023. New zoning regulations must be adopted by Dec. 31, 2024. Towns have until March 31, 2024 to apply for termination of compliance.

“This is just the first step,” DeFrias said of the hearing before the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, March 15. “Next will be crafting a by-law that will put all those mechanisms in place.”

All this means Hanson, like other MBTA communities “shall have” a zoning ordinance or by-law providing for at least one district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right, providing that the multi-family housing has no age restriction and is suitable for families with children. The commonwealth would require a gross density of 15 units per acre, subject to the Wetlands Protection Act and Title V of the State Environmental Code.

Chapter 40B requires at least eight units per acre and 40R, which is mixed use, requires at least 12 units per acre, DeFrias noted.

“The minimum size they want for this area is 50 acres,” he said. “Taking a half-mile radius from the train station, that would encompass a land mass of about 500 acres. They’re looking at about one-tenth of that to be dedicated to the multi-family zone.”

The districts should lead to development of multi-family housing projects that are “consistent with a community’s long-term planning goals.”

There are 267 pieced of property within the half-mile radius of the Hanson MBTA station, according to DeFrias. Not all are developable. While there are some large properties in the area, they are under private ownership.

“As of right” means that construction and occupancy of multi-family housing is allowed in that district without the need for any discretionary permits or approval. But it does allow for a site plan and approval process, permitting regulation of issues such as motor vehicle assess and circulation on a site, architectural design of a building and screening of adjacent properties DeFrias said. But site plan review can’t be used to deny a project allowed as of right or to impose conditions that render it unfeasible or impractical as of right.

“The town will have some control … similar to a site plan similar to a commercial site,” he said. “The town will have to decide which board will control that site plan review process.”

A heavily regulated overlay plan will be allowed for consideration.

“What will probably decide the size and number of bedrooms in Hanson, is this is a non-sewer town,” he said. “The Wetlands Act can be a restriction.”

To determine compliance the state would consider factors such as general district information, location of districts, reasonable size metrics, district gross density, whether housing is suitable for families and attestation, according to DeFrias.

Determinations of compliance carry 10-year terms with applications for renewal due six months before.

“It’s not forever,” DeFrias said.

Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer asked if there was any way the town could designate affordable housing units toward the program to “kill two birds with one stone?”

“My understanding, through attending the webinars is a ‘definite maybe,’ with an underlying ‘yes,’” DeFrias said. He said he has also been examining the prospects of such a blending through 40R, which is similar to this program in some of its requirements.

Selectmen Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked about the advantages of using 40R in that manner in light of the requirement that multi-family units include families with children for a community already struggling to raise revenue to deal with costs such as school budgets.

DeFrias said 40R allows for communities to get some cash from the state for creating affordable housing in certain instances.

“If the taxes that are incurred can not pay for the child, then there is what’s known as 40S — which a town can tap into to get the difference in taxes,” he said. “Because the taxes usually tend to work out, not many towns apply for that. … The two sort of go hand-in-hand.”

There is also the issue of the environmental limitations that restrict the number of septic systems allowed in the area.

Dyer also advocated for the use of trees in any developments resulting from the law in order to maintain the character of the town. DeFrias said that could be addressed through the architectural design controls included in the law.

“The state is not telling the town, ‘You have to construct this many units,’” DeFrias said. “It’s, ‘You have to create a zone to allow for the construction of that many units.’ They seem to understand it’s not a one-size-fits-all.”

WHITMAN — Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman updated the Board of Selectmen on the fiscal 2023 operating budget, during the Tuesday, March 2 meeting, noting that the Finance Committee is currently reviewing items department by department.

The topic will remain a regular item on the Selectmen’s agendas until Town Meeting in case there is a need for discussion about it.

Selectman Justin Evans, noting that iy came up at a recent Finance Committee meeting, pointed out that under the current budget proposal, there is no one-time money being used in the operating budget.

“I know that’s been a misconception out there in certain circles and that is correct,” Heineman said. “There will be no use of one-time monies used toward the operating budget under this scenario.”

During the meeting Selectmen also voted to accept the resignation of June O’Leary from the position of Member of the Recreation Commission, effective Feb. 16., and approved her appointment as a non-voting Associate Member for a three-year term, through June 30, 2022, in order to fill an existing vacancy.

Selectman Brian Bezanson thanked O’Leary for all she has done for the community.

“Between Recreation, the Historical, Friends of the Park, and, I’m sure, many other boards and committees, she’s been [volunteering] for a long time,” he said. “I want to personally thank her, I know her work ethic and what Whitman means to her. I wish the best to her family, and hope she can find time to occasionally come to the meetings.”

“Well said and well-deserved,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said to punctuate Bezanson’s remarks.

Selectman Dan Salvucci noted, after the board voted to appoint Ryan Tully to the Recreation Commission to fill the remainder of a vacant three-year seat. Tully’s appointment is through June 30.

Salvucci also asked if there was any plan to change the bylaws to permit, if a Recreation Commission seat goes unfilled for an extended period, an associate member “can step in and become a voting member.”

Heineman said he was working on a draft warrant article for town meeting calling for such a change.

“That may resolve some of the issues that they have,” Salvucci said, noting that he and Heineman recently  discussed the Recreation Commission’s recent difficulty filling its vacancies, making a few phone calls to find some volunteers.

“I thank all who volunteered, and I’m hoping now, in a couple of weeks, we’ll be having a meeting … so they can start the business of getting things started in the parks program and the pool program,” Salvucci said, indicating his intention to attend remotely. “Hopefully this ends the problem and, right now, the Recreation Commission will come in and get the job done and do the great job that they’ve always done for the kids in the park.”

HANSON – The Board of Selectmen has approved a revised policy and procedures document – minus a few points of concern on which they sought clarification or amendments.

Recreation Commission Chairman Frank Milisi reported on its revised policies and procedures for the Board of Selectmen’s approval at its Tuesday, Feb. 22 meeting.

The 20-page document, according to Milisi, corrects previous amendments not yet approved by Selectmen and adoption of a clause in the vendor contract, as well as fixing typographical errors. 

“There was some Recreation director positions that were in here and we added to some teams we had at the commission level, and things like that,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve had Board of Selectmen voted-on policies and procedures from four-to-five-years, so we’re just trying to shore things up with the rate increase that we did.”

Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer said he had a question and a comment about the changes.

“I know that we have a relatively new commission up there,” he said.

“Very new,” Milisi agreed.

“One thing I’ve been asking for [over] the last four years … was that we really need a business plan to really understand what’s going on up there operationally, because … the camp’s going to need another subsidy and one thing I would like to see, maybe before Town Meeting, would be a financial plan – a projection of what you guys are going to see over the next couple of years, just so we can get an understanding, because we keep hearing ‘it’s another subsidy, another subsidy.’”

Milisi said a meeting was scheduled for Monday, Feb. 28, and he was willing to out that on the agenda, but that he and Audrey Flanagan had previously present such a document with a rate increase that showed projected revenue for fiscal 2022 and 2023 with different rate increases that didn’t get voted on. That proposal could be shored up.

“We keep hearing it’s going to get better,” Dyer said. While he stressed that no one is going to be critical because of the global effects of COVID, it has been something he has been asking for and it always fell short.

“Yeah, we had the pandemic, but we still need to make a level business up there, that’s what it is, is essentially a business,” Milisi said, noting that they have other ways of generating revenue, including applications for American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds and similar programs.

“Obviously those rate increases will do us a lot of good,” he said.

The Camp lodge is already booked for 2022 and the commission is now booking for 2023 when the new fees should take effect, according to Milisi.

He pledged to get a business plan before Selectmen before Town Meeting.

“I don’t take going to Town Meeting and asking for money lightly,” he said. “But we had a discussion the other day about ‘do we have enough money to have the caretaker paint the wall?’”

“That’s getting real,” said Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett.

Milisi said it’s a double-edged sword – if they can’t pay caretakers for upkeep, then the camp will deteriorate faster and will then be unappealing for prospective leasees.

Dyer also mentioned that town counsel had advised against 80-20 fee splits anymore, and suggested another look be taken. Milisi agreed the split is also hard to audit.

Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff said she has asked them to shore up the contracts and is less concerned than she has been in the past about liability, but that Selectmen dictate policy.

“We shouldn’t be subsidizing people’s business, but we shouldn’t be making a huge profit off recreation – we make our profit off of weddings and things like that,” Milisi said.

He also said he believes the 80-20 split is equitable, but that the commission could try to rewrite the contracts to make them equitable, since Selectman Joe Weeks had indicated he would favor putting the issue off to another meeting to decide it and prepare for a discussion with the board.

“Twenty percent of one person’s revenue is not necessarily the same as 20 percent of somebody else’s, but there’s some programs that don’t make that much money, and 20 percent to them is still a good amount of money,” he said.

Dyer also mentioned the pre-COVID intention of the Commission to raise the rates at Cranberry Cove. While he voted for it, he said he was against the principal of raising the rates and an agreement – never really implemented – was placing two day passes with the Hanson Public Library to be checked out by families, as museum passes are already made available. He said he still wants to see that implemented.

Milisi said that could certainly be added to the policy.

“I applaud this, I think it’s very thorough,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. She did note “some ethics things,” including public meeting concerns, and advocated including a clause indicating that town bylaws and state ethics laws prevail over the policies.

Milisi indicated that policies where it is concern, that legal concern would be footnoted.

HANOVER — Brevity was the name of the game at the South Shore School Committee, meeting in the Brass Lantern Restaurant at the school on Wednesday, Feb. 16 as the FY 2023 budget was certified and a new mask policy was adopted.

“We’ve got a lot of little nuggets we’re going to talk about tonight, no big boulders,” Principal Mark Aubrey said, reporting that the school has started to return to a “little bit of normalcy.”

The Committee voted to certify a fiscal 2023 budget of $14,944,722. The assessment for Whitman would be $1,636,552  and Hanson’s would be $1,182,596.

The complete budget document is available on the school’s website www.southshore.tech.

Committee members also approved a revised face covering policy, suspending the normal two-month approval policy.

“As you know, the state has lifted the mask mandate, effective Feb. 28,” said Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey. “We have a policy on the books … which we voted on — it feels like a thousand years ago — back in August 2020. This revised policy would make mask-wearing optional as of Feb. 20, 2022 with the exception of the nurse’s office, school vehicles and individuals returning to school after a positive COVID diagnosis for days six to 10 of their recovery period.”

The policy also provides that, if the federal government removes the requirement for masks on school transport vehicles, the SST policy would automatically revert to an automatic one.

There are 111 students now out in work environments in the co-op program, Aubrey said, including 17 juniors who have only been able to go out within the last week.

“The highest number we’ve ever had as of this date is 89,” he said. “This, I think, is due in part to the team, but also I think we really cut into that cultural change in this building, where the students know they are expected to go out, they know they’re making money, and that’s just what we do here.”

The mission of instilling first-hand preparation for the job market is becoming almost second-nature.

“When you are a junior and a senior, you go out on the job site, you learn about your trade from other people who are doing the work in the trenches,” Aubrey said.

The Credit For Life event is also returning, on Wednesday, April 13 with a twist.

“The students are going to be learning how to talk and relate to other people, maybe while you’re holding a cup of coffee or a croissant, or something like that,” Aubrey said.

All students are eating in the school’s lunchroom at the same time, but desks are available along the sides of the cafeteria for students who still prefer to separate under COVID precautions.

Athletics are also returning to a somewhat normal atmosphere, and there are achievements there that Aubrey reported, including two wrestlers headed for the state tournament in Fitchburg and the girls’ basketball team [14-4] are headed to the tournament. The ice hockey team is also headed to the state tournament for the first time in a decade, he said.

Eighteen of 20 students taking repeat MCAS tests in January passed, with one student needing to pass English and another needing to pass math. There were 17 SST students who did not pass parts of the MCAS exam last year, and did retake exam.

A program has been set up during the school day to provide extra help for students who need it.

Hickey said school representatives have already met virtually with the Abington Finance Committee on Feb. 2 and Scituate’s Select Board on Feb. 15 to review the fiscal 2023 budget.

They will be meeting with Scituate’s Advisory Committee on Feb. 24, Norwell’s Advisory Committee March 15 and Whitman’s Finance Committee on March 22 (in person).

WHITMAN — Selectmen on Tuesday, Jan. 18 voted to approve a final portion of a financial policy for the town.

Four such policies have been under consideration either as new or amended with one not yet voted on — the question of how the proposed procurement card policy will control use of the card.

Only one credit card will be used for the town and kept in the Selectmen’s office.

“The policy you have in front of you makes that clarification, that it would be one,” Heineman said.

Selectman Dan Salvucci asked how food tabs would be covered, such as sandwiches brought in during long meetings as opposed to billing restaurant meals to the card.

Heineman said the town’s personnel policy includes the federal government’s GSA guidelines for standard federal meals and hotel rooms, where necessary, rates for the area.

“Our personnel policies are linked currently to the GSA’s guidelines,” he said.

Forest Street resident Shawn Kain asked how the financial policy — as well as the strategic plan and capital projects — going to be presented to the public.

“Will there be a budget document that’s given to people as they come in for the special Town Meeting that will kind of display this stuff and how … decisions are made?” he asked.

Heineman said the debt policy adopted by the board last month, he definitely thinks there is some nexus to the special Town Meeting, but not directly because there is no borrowing. The consideration for the DPW building under consideration are the recommended debt levels.

The debt policy requires that levels of borrowing not exceed a certain percent of the town’s levy limit.

“Because there is no debt, there is no requested debt at the special Town Meeting,” he said. “But, certainly, it would be great to have the board’s toughts — your thoughts — on a way to, perhaps in a sentence or two, say how this is projected to, in the future, be in compliance with the new debt policy.”

Kain said even a simple statement such as that would demonstrate the town’s fiscal due diligence.

“Just to connect those dots is very helpful to people,” he said. “Certainly very helpful for me.”

A written copy of the town’s strategic plan was expected later that week, Heineman said.