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Creating communities around transit

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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.”

No serious injuries in Hanson house fire

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HANSON–The Hanson Fire Department extinguished a house fire Wednesday evening, according to Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson.

The Regional Old Colony Communications Center received a report of a house fire at 66 High Street around 7:45 p.m. The first responding firefighters arrived to find heavy fire in an enclosed area under a rear porch of a home, which sits off the road. Firefighters gained entry to the home and knocked down the fire.

All of the occupants were out of the home when firefighters arrived. Paramedics evaluated one of the occupants at the scene for a minor injury, but the occupant was not transported to a hospital. No other injuries were reported.

The enclosed area under the porch suffered heavy fire damage. The home is uninhabitable due to heavy smoke damage.

The American Red Cross is assisting two adults and three children who lived in the home.

A working fire assignment brought firefighters from Whitman, Pembroke and Halifax to the scene to assist. Hanover firefighters provided station coverage. Hanson Police provided traffic control.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Hanson Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal’s office. The fire doesn’t appear to be suspicious at this time.

Whitman budget moves ahead

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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.”

Rec policies under review

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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.

SST certifies $14.9 M budget

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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).

Matt Dyer resigns from BOS

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HANSON —  Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer announced, during a brief meeting of the Board on Tuesday, Feb. 8, that he would be stepping down from the office effective May 21.

The board approved his motions to accept his resignation and that Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan place his position on the May 21 ballot for a two-year term on the Board of Selectmen.

“This comes with a heavy heart, as my job starts a new chapter,” Dyer said. “It’s going to be impacting my reporting location, my commute and my work schedule, so I would not be able to give the town of Hanson 100 percent or 120 percent, as it deserves.”

He said the decision was a tough one for him to make.

“I still have a lot to give to the town,” Dyer said. “There’s nothing more to it. There is no scandal. There is no health scare. There is nothing exciting, other than my project starts a new chapter and I’m going to be reporting elsewhere. All the rumors out there, I’m sorry to bum you out, but that’s all it is.”

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said her vote to accept Dyer’s resignation came with “deep, deep regret and tremendous gratitude.” 

Selectman Kenny Mitchell has said he is not running for re-election this year, so that places two positions on the town ballot this year. One for Mitchell’s seat for a three-year term and one for a two-year term to fill the vacancy caused by Dyer’s resignation.

“If you do run, you have to specify which position that you want to go for, it’s not a one form-fills-all deal,” Dyer said to the audience about the election process.

He thanked all his supporters, noting he was 27 when he was elected and that he has enjoyed four great years of volunteering for the position.

“It’s been quite an opportunity, quite a learning curve, and I want to thank everyone who has taught me along the way — from town employees, to former selectmen, to volunteers in the town — we really have a great community and we just have to stick together to make sure it thrives,” he said.

In other business, Dyer announced a COVID test distribution event for Hanson residents will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Maquan School parking lot.

Selectman Jim Hickey said he and Town Administrator Lisa Green met with members of the Board of Health, three members of the Fire Department and two members of the Police Department to plan the event.

“Once the line [of cars] gets moving, you shouldn’t be there more than two minutes,” he said. “It’s pretty much going to be a nonstop thing.” 

Every car will be handed one, two-test box. Proper ID or transfer station stickers will be accepted as proof of residency. Both Maquan and School streets will be limited to one-way traffic during the event to ease traffic flow. Residents of Meeting House Lane and those residents who are home bound will be able to have test kits delivered to their homes. Contact the Senior Center 781-293- 2683 to sign up for that.

Financial policy wins final vote

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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.

Whitman names new TA assistant

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WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen voted to offer the position of assistant town administrator to Stoughton Assistant to the Town Manager Rogeria Medeiros-Kowalczykowski.

She has also served as the executive secretary to the town manager,  affirmative action officer, administrative assistant to the town manager, Finance Committee and Board of Health as well as senior clerk/town clerk, with 33 years of experience in town government service.

The board had initially selected Medeiros-Kowalczykowski, on a 3-2 vote, with Selectmen Dr. Carl Kowalski voting for Millbury acting Finance Director James F. Kelley and Dan Salvucci voting for Captain Ranger for the Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation Jake Dodge. The board changed the vote to a unanimous one in the interest of unity. The selection becomes official when  contract terms agreed to.

The search attracted some 90 applicants, of which the search subcommittee of Kowalski, Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman and Selectman Justin Evans interviewed eight semi-finalists to narrow the field to the three interviewd by the entire board: Medeiros-Kowalczykowski, Dodge and Kelley.

Kelley has also served as interim town manager and human resources director in Millbury, he filled the same roles in Stoughton from 2012 to 2017, where he was also acting town clerk for six months in 2013 and he was a human resources administrator in Sterling.

Dodge has also served as a Lt. Ranger supervising DCR rangers at the State House as well as acting chief ranger and has been a reserve police officer in the Whitman Police Department.

“I’d say we have three really strong candidates, and they all have their own strengths and, perhaps, weaknesses or errors of opportunity,” Heineman said. “I think, in many ways, [Medeiros-Kowalczykowski’s] skill set and past match – quite precisely, in many ways – the job description that we identified.”

He said his decision was largely made when checking her references.

“Three of her five identified references were people that she had worked directly for and we didn’t necessarily experience that with the other two candidates,” he said. “That said to me a lot about her ability and her past in serving – and coming back to that idea of service that, I think, in many ways is this role.”

“I agree with Lincoln on this,” Selectman Brian Bezanson said. “This job description Lincoln put out could have been her resume. … [Her] references were wonderful. I have this gut feeling … that she’s the one. I think she could hit the ground running, she’s smart, competent … I think she’d be a great addition to the town of Whitman.”

He said when he dismisses his gut feeling is when he gets into trouble.

Kowalski said all three would make excellent assistant town administrators, but cast his vote for Kelley.

“We have a very lean administration,” he said, noting that Kelley had ticked off what Whitman lacks – such as town planners and HR directors – which the administrator and assistant must take on. Both Kelley and Medeiros-Kowalczykowski have the length of experience and skills to do the work.

“I was impressed by [Kelley] tonight,” he said, pointing to the refences the received about him. “On the other hand [Medeiros-Kowalczykowski] worked for 30 years in Stoughton doing all of those tasks. … It’s a tough choice for all of us.

Selectman Randy LaMattina said the board had an “absolutely great” pool of candidates, especially the finalists. He said he used the posted job description as his own personal check list and said there were two candidates who hit all the qualifications: Medeiros-Kowalczykowski and Kelley.

“Coming into the night, on paper, I had one candidate and was kind of blown out of the water, personally in the interview,” LaMattina said. “I see areas where we could fill some void with Mr. Kelley.”

Kelley’s planning experience was very impressive and the way he presented himself earned some consideration, according to LaMattina.

Evans, who had already interviewed all the candidates before, said he was expecting the process to go one way, but said Kelley could come in and “possibly mentor Lincoln” on some things. He said that could be a valuable thing to add and asked about his reference checks.

“I think the general feeling was very positive toward him,” he said. “I do think all three candidates could do the job. Mr. Dodge, coming in, would have a little bit of training to do, but that’s not something we haven’t done in the past.”

But he cast his vote for Medeiros-Kowalczykowski, who really does check all the boxes, he said.

“Considering we’re filling a current vacancy in the town administrator’s office, I’m going to put a lot of weight behind Lincoln’s recommendation and say [Medeiros-Kowalczykowski],” Evans said.

He also said the town recently hired a new accountant and, during that search a lot of weight was put on the former town administrator and assistant town administator’s decision-making process. When the search committee seemed torn, they left it to the town administrator, who would end up working with the person hired.

“I put a lot of faith in that and we have two candidates who clearly have qualifications, and we need someone who can fill the role in the absence of [town administrator] Lincoln, who should be able to use his time.”

He flagged the learning curve Dodge would represent.

“She’s done just about everything that we ask,” Evans said. “It seems she could hit the ground running if hired, so we have a good challenge in front of us for this.”

 Heineman said, but added that he did not hear back from two of Kelley’s references, despite leaving two messages. One reference – someone Kelley mentored, which Heineman found meaningful. The other was the chairman of an elected board who Kelley had worked with in finding a new library director. But said his answer to Evans’ question would be partly incomplete.

Salvucci’s pick was Dodge, despite Kelley’s greater experience and Medeiros-Kowalczykowski’s stellar employment history and low-key demeanor, he saw a person looking to advance, despite less longevity in her career.

“The only thing is, I’m looking for a long-term employee,” he said. “When he’s saying he’s going to be four years and then he’s done, I’m saying we’re going to be back in this situation four years from now.”

While Dodge was the least experienced of the three, Salvucci voted for him because he’s a young go-getter who gets along with people and looks like a good problem-solver.

“I think he’s a learner,” Salvucci said.

During the discussion following the interviews, Heineman said he disagreed with Kelley’s comment about the “three to four year average” of  town administrators when he was questioned about his longevity plans should he be selected.

“The most important mentors that I’ve had in this field, and continue to have in this field, have much longer longevity,” he said. “I hope and plan to follow their lead and hope to be here, managing and leading, for many years.”

Hanson locks in natural gas price

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HANSON – The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Jan. 4 discussed it’s purchasing of natural gas through a consolidation program with supplier Sprague Energy, the contract which is now up for renewal. Company representative Robert Savage attended the meeting remotely to provide information on the positives and negatives of continuing the program, said Town Administrator Lisa Green.

Savage has been working with such programs for about 13 years and Sprague has been providing Hanson’s natural gas for about 29 years, he said. The company has been in existence since the late 1800s.

“We take care of everybody from Gillette all the way down to little mom and pop shops,” Savage said. “At this point, you’re probably very aware about the things going on in the global economy. One of the things that we do specifically is keep an eye on natural gas an electricity.”

After hearing Savage’s presentation, Selectman Jim Hickey made a motion to accept a 22-month contract at .698 cents per therm, unless updated pricing information Savage sent Green on Wednesday, Jan. 5, the town can get a 27-month contract at .705 or less per therm.

Green and the company agreed on Friday, Jan. 7 to  27-month contract for .7080 cents per therm — a price that had originally been offered in connection with a 15-month contract. As Savage had indicated during the Jan. 4 meeting, as a commodity natural gast prices fluctuate all day, every day.

The board then voted to empower Green to accept a 27-month contract not to exceed .76 per therm or less – based on a firm price from another company.

Selectman Joe Weeks noted Bay Path is offering a price of .76, and asked if that should be the drop-dead price for a deal with Sprague Energy.

Savage said the natural gas market is “extremely, extremely volatile here in New England,” because pipelines have not been expanded since the late 1970s, when they were put in place and the demand for natural gas has increased.

“It creates what we call capacity problems so we literally can’t get enough natural gas into New England to be able to provide enough for everybody,” he said. Add in winter demand, and it causes “major spikes” in prices across the board, and could soon affect electricity costs, because the majority of electricity is produced by natural gas.

“All of that being said, the natural gas prices here in New England are usually volatile, but this year, they are exacerbated by global issues,” Savage said. Chiefly, those issues are the COVID-19 pandemic which has “wreaked havoc all they way around.”

Hanson’s current contract is paying for natural gas at a rate of 59.9 cents per therm, and expires at the end of January. Prices through EverSource are currently 76 cents per therm.

“The current rate we are able to offer you is 69 cents [per therm],” he said. “That varies on a daily basis because it’s a commodity, so it literally changes all day long every day.”

Savage said there is no indication the market will be changing in a positive direction and strongly recommended the town lock in another 12-month contract to at least get Hanson through this winter.

“Our thoughts [on the long-term outlook] is try to get through the next two winters,” he said, noting the company can offer either a 10-month (.673) or a 22-month (.698) contract at the same price per therm as of Monday, Jan. 3. But the numbers have now changed, he said.

He said contract pricing for a contract’s fixed price combines the “cheap months” of summer when there is less demand for natural gas, with the “expensive months of winter when it is leaned on heavily for heat.

Selectmen Chairman Matt Dyer asked if it would be smarter for the town to enter into a six-month contract to get the town into the “cheaper months” of the summer in order to negotiate a better price at that time.

“The problem is, there’s no ‘cheap gas’ to offset the cost of the expensive gas, and that’s why we we try to include those summer months … to give you a little more control,” Savage said. He advised the town lock in as many colder months, at a better price now, as they can.

“I wanted to go the opposite way,” Selectman Jim Hickey said. “A 10-month won’t get us through [next] winter. … the one with the two-year contract doesn’t get us through two winters, it only brings us to October [2023]. I’m looking to get both winters covered.”

Hickey advocated for a 26- or even a 28-month contract. Even if the price went up to 70.5 cents per therm, he argued, it would get Hanson through two entire winters, putting them at the end of March 2024 before they would be looking at another contract renewal. The present contract has been a 24-month pact.

“I know December, January and February would cost more at the end of it, but it would still make sense, in the long run, to get through those three months and then bring it back at the end of March 2024,” Hickey said.

Savage said that, or even a 26-month contract would make sense, in view of the recent price volitivity. 

In July 2020, natural gas was trading at $1.50 per decatherm (or 15 cents per therm multiplied by 10), as of about two months ago, it was at $6.20 per decatherm. Right now it’s about $5 per decatherm.

“It’s extreme volatility and there’s nothing on the horizon that’s going to stop that,” Savage said. 

Utility companies are already preparing for rolling winter blackouts throughout New England, he cautioned, because there may not be enough natural gas available to produce electricity if there is a prolonged cold spell.

Dyer asked about the potential for aggregation for a bulk purchase.

Savavage said his company treats all clients the same, regardless of size.

“We’re going to give you the same deal, whether you’ve got one, two, three or four towns on board with this,” he said. “I’m not going to change it for you, I’m not sticking it to you because you are one location. We treat all of our customers exactly the same.”

Aggregate pricing does not help responsible energy consumers when giving them the same price as wasteful customers, he argued.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said she liked the suggestion of a 26-month contract. Hickey asked how soon pricing on a 26-month contract could be forwarded to the town administrator.

Savage said he would only need to get someone at corporate to let him into the system and it would take only five minutes to get them and would have them by Wednesday morning, Jan. 5.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell asked, in view of the fact that the board’s next meeting is Jan. 25, when would they need to move on a price. Savage said the company’s hedging deadline is three business days from the end of the month, so the town should be OK about locking in a price. But he urged caution because weather forecasters are signaling they are keeping an eye on western Canada, where “the most prolonged period of single-digit farenheit temperatures going back to at least the winter of 2013-14.”

“This cold snap took hold of western Canada on Dec. 25 … temperatures fell to 6 degrees F and averages -1 through Dec. 31,” he read from the weather saff’s email. “What’s in the west will typically follow the jet stream and come  down across. So, behind the scenes, they think we’re going to come across some extremely cold weather within the next few weeks.”

It would be cutting it close, so he suggested making a decision sooner.

Selectmen could set up another virtual meeting next week to make that decision.

COVID test kits in demand

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WHITMAN — Four hundred residents managed to obtain free COVID-19 at-home test kits at a town-sponsored distribution Friday, Dec. 31 at Whitman Middle School.

Fire Chief Timothy Clancy noted that the Board of Selectmen had discussed to possibility of operating a drive-through testing site at its Dec. 21 meeting, but when the logistics of supply and demand were considered, it was “pretty obvious that we were going to be unable to pull that together in a timely manner.”

Each vehicle was given a test kit containing two tests.

A very limited number of kits were also distributed to the Housing Authority and Meals on Wheels volunteers to distribute among the elderly and homebound.

“I think we should be proud, honestly, of the fact that we’re one of very few municipalities, to my knowledge, that were able to locate some at-home rapid tests for people who had not received them for free from the state government,” Town Administrator Lincoln Heineman said Monday, Jan. 3. “We … as a team located some tests, got them here quickly and that distribution happened pretty successfully on Friday.”

Heineman said the 400 given out were “not as many as we’d like,” but that as many as the town could get delivered on short notice.

“We have some more on the way,” he said. “We’ve been desperately trying to get some indication from the manufacturer about when they will be received.”

County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien has also sent word to Whitman officials that the County Commissioners approves about 100,000 home test kits late last week to be sent to county communities. Whitman could receive as many as 10,000 kits.

The state had recently made kits available to cities and towns with a higher population of people living below the federal poverty line instead of where the pandemic spike was worst, such as Bristol and Plymouth counties. Test kits at pharmacies have been selling for about $25 each. 

“This has been a whole effort from the town of Whitman,” Selectman Justin Evans said. “Selectmen voted to authorize this last week and gave sort of control of the operation to the fire chief [and] to the health department and let them (Selectmen”) authorize the spending but let them figure out how to make it happen.”

Discussions taking place between town officials in the interim led to the decision to buy home testing kits to distribute as the best way to address the immediate need.

The distribution plan was modified from a plan retired Fire Chief Timothy Grenno had mapped out for a potential drive-through vaccination site more than a year ago, but which was never needed.

“It took a little bit of an effort to acquire what we did,” Clancy said. “To get those kits that day was a solid eight-plus hours on the internet. We found them.”

Cars were allowed onto Corthell Avenue only and directed through a series of stops to show proof of residency, obtain a control number for their vehicle windshield and a flier on tests result and booster clinic information before being directed around to the rear of the school. The fliers also asked recipients to inform the Board of Health if they receive a positive test result.

“We have checks and double-checks,” Clancy said. “We’re trying to do as many people in town as is possible without inconveniencing anyone. People don’t want to be sitting in line for three or four hours only to be told, ‘Hey, we don’t have any more.’”

Residents were funneled into one of three lanes where the control number was retrieved and they were handed test kits. The vehicles exited out onto Hogg Memorial Drive.

Police Chief Timothy Hanlon said there was no estimate as to how many people would show up to the distribution event as he helped check people in.

“There’s no way to predict that,” Hanlon said.

“It’s working so far,” Clancy said an hour into the two-hour event. “We sat down to figure out where we had an access for in and out. We’ve learned from some of the other communities around us that have had some difficulties handing these out. You need to have traffic flow. You need to have it designed so the traffic just keeps moving.”

Nothing about COVID is free from controversy of some kind, however, and the number of kits available in relation to demand in Whitman raised an issue on social media.

“When Whitman was not selected to receive tests from the state, we sourced our own with American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds and distributed them with the help of Fire, Police, WEMA, CERT, [the] Board of Health and the DPW,” Evans posted on Instagram later that day.

A reply to Evans’ Instagram post expressed frustration with the number of residents who showed up to line up their vehicles long before the 9 a.m. start time.

“I was all the way back in the line when they said there were no more [test kits],” one man wrote. “Thank God I found some at Walgreen’s in Fall River.”

He complained that, as a taxpayer, he felt it should mean he would be able to obtain a kit at the residents-only distribution Whitman held.

“We have more on order and plan more distribution events,” Evans replied. “But this was all we could get [with] rush shipping before the end of school vacation.”

Some residents have had success in obtaining the kits at CVS, where customers are directed to inquire at the front counter.

“We’re still on a steady increase in our percentage numbers,” Clancy said. He has consulted with health officials and has found that positivity numbers did not take into account the number of home tests being performed already.

The vaccination rate, meanwhile has increased only by about 1 percent, more or less, according to Clancy. It’s hard to track because people also receive vaccinations when they travel.

With so many showing up for test kit distribution, is there a drive-through test site in the future?

“As of right now, we have no plans for a drive-through testing site,” Clancy said. “We’re doing this instead of, because the logistics of the drive-through test site … It became apparent it was going to be very more complex.”

He said there is a plan in place for it, but the logistics of it were difficult.

“[With] this, we have a good idea — there’s a good plan from the team to get this to run through,” he said.