HANSON — Selectmen voted on Tuesday, Oct 1 to stand by the current alternative school funding method for calculating the upcoming fiscal 2021 budget, and to send a letter to W-H Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak requesting information outlining how Hanson’s share of the regional school budget is calculated.

The vote came following an outline of the events surrounding the issue and leading up to a vote by Whitman Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 24 to support only the statutory funding method preferred by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

“I guess I look at things a little bit differently than maybe others do,” said Hanson Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “There’s been a lot of rhetoric that I don’t intend to engage in — I don’t think it’s productive, in fact I think it’s counterproductive — it’s very difficult to get together with people and negotiate when you’ve got people hurling insults.”

She outlined a background of the funding issue, going back to 1991 when the present regional agreement was approved, basing funding on student population. Usually a 60-percent share for Whitman and 40 percent for Hanson.

“Historically, and without incident, that methodology has been used to assess the towns,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Two years ago, the region opted to revise the regional agreement to update it reflecting schools that have closed or been built since 1991.

“Unbeknownst to anyone in Hanson, language was added to the revised regional agreement that changed the assessment method to be a statutory method,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Under that assessment method, Whitman would pay less than it is currently paying, and Hanson would pay more as a result of the criteria used to measure wealth in a community.”

She noted that Whitman has still not executed the revised agreement and, while Hanson has done so, Selectmen have placed an article on the Oct. 7 Town Meeting warrant to rescind that previous Town Meeting vote as not being to Hanson’s advantage.

Whitman finances

The Whitman Budget Override Evaluation Committee, established to review that town’s financial crisis, “discovered what they thought was an inequity in the way the towns were being assessed and insisted the towns use the statutory method,” FitzGerald-Kemmett stated. During a visit to Hanson Selectmen recently Szymaniak estimated that shift would transfer about $1 million in assessment from Whitman to Hanson.

She also mentioned the 24-member regional agreement committee proposed by the School Committee on Sept. 18.

“We agreed to be part of discussions as a show of good faith,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, even while they did not commit to renegotiating the agreement. “Now we find ourselves in a position where the Whitman Board of Selectmen have effectively let us know they’re not interested in opening up a dialog. Their actions have made it clear that, despite what the school’s attorneys have said, and despite what our counsel has said, that they’re going to bulldoze through and insist upon the statutory method being used for assessments. Well, here in Hanson, we make decisions based on facts, on data and on the law.”

However, Whitman Selectman Randy LaMattina, on Tuesday night, and School Committee member Fred Small, on Wednesday, said school counsel has amended their position on the funding formula question since the Wednesday, Sept. 18 School Committee meeting.

“I can understand people disagreeing, and them having a different point of view over in Hanson than maybe we have in Whitman — and that’s cool,” Small said. “She conveniently made the point, ‘our attorney, along with the school’s attorney feels that the only method is the agreement method.’ That’s not true.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett took issue with Small’s charge.

“Although some members of the School Committee and the District may have received information regarding the assessment methodology from DESE and from the school’s attorney subsequent to the Sept. 18 WHRSD School Committee Meeting, nobody from the Hanson Board of Selectmen or their office was made privy to that information until Oct. 3 when the School Committee Chair shared it with me.” FitzGerald-Kemmett stated Friday. “If the information had been made available to us, it would have been part of our discussion and would have helped inform our decisions. For Mr. Small to suggest otherwise is preposterous and dangerously close to slander. Further, it does nothing to help move this discussion forward in a civil and cooperative way. “

Change of opinion

LaMattina had emailed Small a couple of questions to submit to DESE Regional Governance Director Christine Lynch after the Sept. 18 meeting, asking if both methods of assessment must be publicly discussed at a School Committee meeting prior to setting a budget and if the 1991 agreement, listing the alternative method handcuffs a regional school committee.

“In her email back to me, Christine’s very specific where she also states that she’s contacted our attorney,” Small said. “The man misspoke.”

Lynch also clarified methodology in which the school’s attorney was not well-versed.

“It does not limit the School Committee to only present the method defined in the agreement, the School Committee may choose to use either method,” Small said Lynch’s explanation stated. “They know that, but Laura Kemmett refused to even state that last night.”

He said the information from Lynch will come out at the next School Committee meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 9.

Small also pointed out that, should a budget go to a super town meeting, the statutory method is the only method that can be used. To describe it otherwise is a “big disservice to the residents of Hanson, to all the parents of the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District.”

The Education Reform Act of 1993 abolished anything a district has spelled out in another agreement, Small said. An agreement/alternative method did not even exist until 1996.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also said she had spoken with Whitman Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski several weeks ago, at which time “we agreed that the path forward would probably be for us to lay all the numbers on the line and have a civil dialog. Apparently, others did not get that memo.” Kowalski was not present at the Sept. 24 Whitman Selectmen’s meeting.

“It was before we had a lot of information and other viewpoints,” Kowalski said of the cinversation with FitzGerald-Kemmett. “That’s probably not inaccurate. I don’t foresee Whitman looking backwards and trying to reclaim money that we didn’t receive but we should have, but what we should do is look forward.”

Kowalski said he was the one who asked for the assessment funding item be placed on the Sept. 24 Selectmen agenda and had urged Town Administrator Frank Lynam to bring the issue to some kind of a vote with the intent that Selectmen should be asking the School Committee to use the statutory agreement.

“Immediately after the meeting, I texted all the members and told them, ‘good job,’” Kowalski said Wednesday morning. “They looked at everything rationally and were very clear.”

Whitman resident Shawn Kain, who had urged Whitman Selectmen not to back Hanson officials into a corner at the Sept. 24 meeting, attended Hanson’s meeting, as well.

“There are good people out there who want to have that conversation,” said Selectman Matt Dyer, gesturing toward Kain­­­­­­­­­­. “Having a conversation doesn’t hurt.”

Hanson letter

The letter Selectmen approved is designed to obtain information aimed at allowing the town to fully explore its options, which include de-regionalization of K-8 schools, renegotiating the regional agreement, litigating, etc., FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

“The Hanson Board of Selectmen stands by the current alternative school funding method for calculating the upcoming 2021 fiscal year budget,” the letter drafted by interim Town Administrator Meredith Marini concluded. “The Board further believes this information will provide a better understanding of the cost per community.”

The letter seeks the following information from Szymaniak:

• A breakdown of costs for each district school, including utilities, insurance and maintenance;

• The number of all employees in each school, their salaries and benefits costs;

• The number of students in each school, including special ed students and the town where they live;

• Transportation costs; and

• A detailed explanation of the savings from the closing of the Maquan School, indicating if, and where the staff was relocated.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the town is aware that enrollment in Hanson schools is declining rapidly and that there are two schools in Hanson to Whitman’s three, and that “a disproportionate amount of special education costs — perhaps as much as 86 percent — are attributable to Whitman.”

“Given all that, I am hard-pressed to see how any objective person could reasonably believe that Hanson needs to pay more,” she said. “Nevertheless, we will take a look at the data, and we will take a look at the law and the facts.”

She also took exception to attempts to portray Hanson as a wealthier town trying to take advantage of Chapter 70 funding meant for Whitman.

“Here in Hanson, we also have folks living at, or below, the poverty level,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, noting her experience as a food pantry volunteer and board member. “In addition, here in Hanson, we have a lot of multi-generational households, which statistically looks like a high per-household income unless you drill down to see that there are four, five or six adults living in a house.”

Hanson is not a wealthy community, she said.

“We are a community living within our means and with our financial house in order,” FitzGerald-Kemmett she said.

“If they’re complaining about the way that Hanson’s valued, it’s not that anybody’s taking away money,” Small said. “The state’s not giving them money. Their beef is with the DOR (Department of Revenue) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, not with Whitman.”

Story updated on Friday, Oct. 4.

The School Committee has voted to form a 24-person committee to renegotiate the school assessment method within the regional agreement. The panel can’t convene, however until after Hanson’s Oct. 7 special Town Meeting, which will address a new vote on the regional agreement.

The School Committee’s vote came at the conclusion of a public hearing on the issue at the Wednesday, Sept. 18 School Committee meeting. Two selectmen, two finance committee members, two citizens and three School Committee members from each town, along with town administrators as well as representatives from the Mass. Association of Regional Schools (MARS) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as non-voting members will make up the new committee.

Citizens interested in serving should contact the Superintendent’s office at 781-618-7000.

“Let’s sit down, sit around a table and work it out,” said member Fred Small, who suggested the formation of the committee. “Let’s work together and find a fair way to move forward.”

Small said his hope is that school administration would, in a “very short period of time” put together a budget showing the increase projections for the next five years, as well as educational priorities.

“Regardless of this situation, we still need to move forward,” Small said. “We’ve got to regain what we lost last year and then step forward from there.”

Former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner and School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes, had noted before Gilbert-Whitner’s retirement, that the regional agreement was antiquated, Hayes said.

“It had schools that were not in the district any longer, such as [Whitman’s] Park Avenue School, which had been closed,” he said. “It did not reference the Hanson Middle School. We thought maybe it was time to make the regional agreement into the 2019 [version]. … It was not intentionally started to change any agreements or change any formulas — it was an update.”

A committee worked on the current agreement, which was approved by the School Committee in June 2018, Hanson voters in 2018 and passed over at Whitman Town Meeting this past May.

“Over the past two months, this has been [occupying] the central administration admin team about what the regional agreement is from 1991, what the amendments in 2018 did and something [Assistant Superintendent George Ferro] and I became aware of — that there are two methods of assessing communities via a regional agreement,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak explained. “There was no malice and there were no illegalities, as far as the assessment method made from the start through [fiscal] 2020.”

He said the agreement is legal and binding.

Based on the statutory assessment method state education officials implied should be used, Szymaniak said, Hanson’s fiscal 2020 assessment would have been $10,718,657 — or $1,047,682 more than the $9,670,975 it was assessed under the alternative method currently used. Whitman would have been assessed $13,350,469 under the statutory formula compared to the $14,398,151 as had been assessed.

“We don’t have an amended agreement, according to our attorney, according to DESE,” Szymaniak said.

Hanson Selectmen have voted to place an article rescinding its approval of the regional agreement on the Oct. 7 Town Meeting warrant as officials seek a solution to the issue.

“There’s a lot of emotion in the communities right now, and I’m asking for a reason, I’m asking — for our kids — because what I’m afraid of is not having a budget for our students in July of 2020 and being level-funding,” he said. “You’re going to see people wanting drastic cuts and de-regionalizing and so-forth. … I’m hoping we can have a calm, educationally based conversation moving us forward.”

Up until the fiscal 2020 budget under which the district is currently operating, the district has been using the alternative — or agreement — method. DESE is already in the process of changing that wording from “alternative” to “agreement.”

“We’re looking into who knew, who should have known, or who should have advised, members of the regional school district amendment committee or the School Committee, past and present, of these methods of assessment,” Szymaniak said. He added that past and present School Committee members have told him they were never able to make a decision about a choice between a statutory or alternative assessment method because they were not aware of the options.

He said he does not believe Selectmen or Finance Committee members in either town were made aware of the methods.

“I hold [the Mass. Association of Regional Schools] MARS a little accountable,” Szymaniak said, noting that in minutes he has read from the Regional Agreement Committee, MARS was never distinct in describing the two methods.

“It is implied in the new Regional Agreement, the one passed by Hanson in November 2018, and passed by the School Committee in June 2018 and passed over in May 2019 in Whitman, that the district is going to use the statutory method,” he said.

The statutory method takes into account a town’s minimum per pupil expenditure designated by DESE — the minimum local contribution — which fluctuates based on inflation, wage adjustment, income, property values and municipal revenue growth. Anything in a budget over the minimum local contribution goes to the regional agreement, based on pupil population, for any other operating expense.

There is no requirement for unanimous agreement by both communities to use the statutory method.

The agreement/alternative method uses strict per-pupil representation to assess the communities, the method currently used by the district. Both communities have to pass the assessment methodology prior to the budget distribution or at town meeting in order to use this method. If one town does not vote the budget forward and the other does, it does not constitute unanimous agreement for the method to be used.

The budget then goes back to the School Committee, which can opt to hold a district-wide meeting — also known as a super-town meeting — to vote on the statutory method as the only option open to the district by DESE regulations, according to Szymaniak.

If there is no budget in place by July 1, Szymaniak must inform the commissioner of education, who will place the district on a 1/12 budget based on level-funding to the previous year.

WHITMAN —  Selectmen Randy LaMattina defended to work being done by the Budget Override Evaluation Committee as a preliminary investigation and not, as social media has portrayed it, and effort by “Whitman attempting to pick the pockets of the town of Hanson.”

LaMattina also sought to dispel any aspersions that there has been any nefarious behavior or elicit actions as completely false. The assessment method was to be further discussed with members of the School Committee and state education officials in a public hearing during the School Committee on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

“There’s been considerable talk about an assessment issue with the school district,” LaMattina said, noting the committee’s role in the issue is simple. “Myself, along with a couple other members, through various venues over a period of time, believe there may have been an issue with how the assessment was being handled. We thought that warranted a very solid look.”

The committee used that opportunity to “present some facts and make sure the issue was looked into properly,” he said.

“I don’t want anyone at this present time — it’s very premature — to assume anything you’re reading on social media,” LaMattina said. “We don’t know what, when or if this ultimately pans out. I would say preliminary opinions are in the favor of what the original belief was, but, again, [it’s] still very premature.”

As for a statement on social media that this is “Whitman attempting to pick the pockets of the town of Hanson,” LaMattina said the accusation is “entirely off base.”

“This was a red flag that members of our committee — which, I would hope, any person or taxpayer out there watching would expect out of their appointed and elected representatives — would look into properly, and that’s what we’re doing at this point,” he said.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski was absent from the meeting.

LaMattina said the Budget Override Evaluation Committee was scheduled to meet Monday, Sept. 16 to hear a preliminary report from consultant John Madden concerning the state of the town’s finances.

In other business, the board voted to maintain the trash fee at $285 while retaining the senior discount.

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen voted 5-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 10 to close all town fields, including school athletic fields, from dusk to dawn until after the first hard frost due to the elevated threat of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile virus (WNV) in the region.

While the vote, in response to concerns expressed by the public — including a handful of parents at the meeting — was initially intended to include WHRHS athletic fields, the was later reminded that those fields are in Whitman and the school is in Hanson.

“We’re just talking about this very small window, so just lock it down for a couple weeks,” said Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, expressing her personal concern. “It’s not going to kill us not to have practice, but it could kill us to have practice.”

Test samples of mosquitos in Whitman have tested positive for EEE over the summer and the risk level is high for EEE while low for WNV, according to the Mass. Department of Public Health. Hanson is listed as at moderate risk for EEE and low for WNV.

After consulting with the Whitman Board of Health, the Hanson Board of Health, Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno and Hanson Deputy Fire Chief Rob O’Brien, on Thursday, Sept. 5, Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak recommended that there be no change to current outdoor evening activities in either town, including school activities and sports for the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District. [See related story].

“What I’m seeing across the state is, typically, they raise the risk to critical after someone is diagnosed, or an animal is diagnosed or someone is dying,” asked parent Michelle Bourgelas of Holmes Street. “Is that what Hanson is waiting for?”

She urged that fields be closed right away to protect student-athletes, noting that other high-risk communities have done so.

“What are we waiting for?” Bourgelas said. “Whitman is high [risk] and youth sports are playing at Whitman High School at 8 o’clock at night when Whitman is high.”

The parents said they have already talked to school officials and were told the school district follows advice of the boards of health.

The Selectmen’s vote came after an update FitzGerald-Kemmett requested as a courtesy from Health Board Chairman Arlene Dias.

“Things haven’t changed for Hanson,” Dias said. “Hanson was still listed as moderate risk, so the recommendations that had been made a month and a half ago — dusk-to-dawn be careful being outside, wear repellent, long-sleeved clothing, long pants — that hasn’t changed for us because we haven’t had any more positive mosquitos in Hanson.”

She said people should continue to exercise those cautions until after the first hard frost. Some communities are being sprayed again, but Dias said Hanson is not on that list.

FitzGerald-Kemmett asked when the town should take additional action.

“We should have started taking them a month ago, in terms of making sure when you’re out at night that you’re wearing repellent, that you’re wearing long-sleeved clothing, make sure there is no standing water — the same things that we had recommended when they first got that positive test,” Dias said. “If the DPH considered us critical, then we would implement people not being on the fields for the schools and town places.”

Dias said the schools do not have to wait for such an order from the Board of Health.

“They can, on their own, decide they don’t want the kids on the fields,” she said. “I think, if was critical in Hanson, they would want to protect the kids, they would want to close the fields.”

She said the Board of Health had already voted a couple of months ago to close the fields if Hanson was placed on the critical risk list.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she would be expressing that concern to the school disctrict if her children were still in school.

“I don’t know how responsive they would be to that, but I certainly would be expressing it,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Dias said the state has not changed the guidelines to require closing fields at the moderate-to-high risk levels and asked if youth sports participants were being required to use repellent when playing after dusk.

“Think about it, bug spray and sweat — how does that work?” said parent Danielle O’Brien of William Way. “You sweat, your bug spray is gone. I can spray my son up and down but, when he’s out there, he’s in full gear head-to-toe and it’s gone.”

O’Brien said parents have few options.

“Right now, my son’s not playing Saturday night because I’m not taking that risk,” she said.

Lakeside Road resident Meghan Moore told Selectmen about how her brother was left with brain damage after being infected with EEE more than 40 years ago when he was 6 years old.

“We didn’t have all of these warning signs and people telling us, ‘Enough. Get in the house.’ We’re being told that,” she said. “Why are we putting our kids outside and putting them at risk for something. … Someone has to start listening to parents.”

Moore’s mother Marie Clifford of Gorwin Drive also spoke of her son’s situation.

“For 40 years he’s had a seizure problem, he’s brain-damaged and it’s been hell for a long time,” she said. “Today, hospitals can keep them alive … but the side-effects are terrible.”

Moore also asked how often the state tests mosquito samples. Dias said that is done weekly.

“I’m not sure how to be responsive,” FitzGerald-Kemmett initially said, asking if the Board of Health could meet on an emergency basis ahead of its posted meeting next week.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell also asked if the parents had spoken to the football coaches or youth sports boards. Parents said those officials, too, refer them to the Board of Health and that W-H Athletic Director Bob Rodgers has been “making a mockery of us” on Twitter by equating the use of bug spray to buckling a seat belt.

Dias said she would reach out to Rodgers about the issue.

“Everyone thinks it’s the off chance, it’s not going to happen to me,” O’Brien said.

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve changed my habits,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I used to walk my dog after dark, but I’m just not going to risk it.”

Another parent, and youth sport board member, Warren McCallum of Thayer Drive said one of the concerns among the groups centers on being the stand-alone on a board to advocate against playing after dusk.

“I know that’s part of the struggle the football board is going through,” he said. “They’re looking for a scapegoat in some way, someone they can say to the parents, ‘Oh, we can’t [play] because the Board of Health says it’s time to cancel.’ … Sometimes the town needs that easy way out.”

“Sometimes you’ve got to do the right thing,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

McCallum agreed.

“Would a two-word answer be common sense?” said Selectmen Jim Hickey, who was a youth coach in Hanson for 20 years. “It goes right down to them. There’s no need to play a Saturday night game. … Somebody’s going to come out of this looking like the bad guy, whether it’s a parent, the Board of Health, Board of Selectmen or the schools and it just comes down to common sense.”

The School Committee plans to open it’s Wednesday, Sept. 18 meeting with a public hearing on the funding formula on which assessments to the towns of Whitman and Hanson are set.

Lawyers for the committee, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and school and town officials will be asked to attend.

“This needs to be done immediately, because it affects how we move forward budgetarily,” said School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes. “It has serious budget impact for everything that we do and this needs to get settled first. This is step one.”

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam agreed this issue is too critical to get bogged down on.

“This stuff is fairly complicated and, unless we’ve got our eye squarely on the ball at all times, things will be either misinterpreted or not understood,” he said. “Let’s just say what’s done is done. We need to move forward. …The quicker we work on this, the quicker we work on the real work at hand, which is establishing a budget.”

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak provided information on the funding formula as he presented an update to the School Committee Wednesday, Aug. 28 on Whitman’s Override Evaluation Committee, which last met Monday, Aug. 26. [see related story, page one].

Regional agreement

The School Committee approved a proposed new review of the Regional Agreement in June 2018, which was approved by Hanson voters that November. Whitman voters, however, passed over the article at Town Meeting in May.

“Questions had started to arise surrounding the Regional Agreement, whether a town could move out easier than not, but there was an overarching question mark about how the funding was broken up in the two towns,” Szymaniak said.

Szymaniak said the new language was confusing to him, particularly regarding the alternative method of assessment that has been used in the district since 1991 and the structural method requested by DESE. There has also been some question about whether DESE’s request was, indeed, a requirement.

A couple of School Committee members presented Szymaniak with a document regarding that recommendation dated 2007 “encouraging regional school districts to use the statutory method of assessment.”

There are two ways to fund a regional school district, according to Szymaniak. The statutory method is based on the minimum local school contribution and the alternative method, which does not — it is instead currently based on enrollment figures with Whitman bearing the cost of 60 percent of the school budget and Hanson 40 percent. Under the statutory method, he told Hanson Selectmen on Aug. 27 that Hanson might be paying more under the alternative method.

“That will change the amount of funding given by both communities,” Szymaniak said. He said he informed Hanson Selectmen that the change could be coming down the pike, but that School Department attorney Andrew Waugh has interpreted the situation as one where, if an alternative agreement is not adopted, the statutory agreement is used.

“The statutory agreement could swing the pendulum by close to $1 million from Whitman to Hanson,” Szymaniak said. He noted that Hanson Selectmen had questions and plan to seek counsel from their town attorney as well.

“It was more than a recommendation from DESE that we should do this,” he said. “Our counsel is involved with this. We’re still up in the air as far as a firm decision, but their guidance is them saying that we probably … should be using the statutory method for the fiscal 2021 budget.”

Szymaniak said that the alternative method — in which the funding for the prior year stays consistent and the assessment goes up based on pupil population — has been used by W-H.

“I’m an amateur at this,” Szymaniak said. “I’m walking through this for the first time, there’s a lot of new information and I’m not the numbers guy, yet.”

School Committee member Chris Scriven said he was looking for some direction on where the ambiguity lies, because his research on the DESE website indicates the statutory method is a requirement, not merely a recommendation.

“It looked like it was pretty clear,” Scriven said.

Szymaniak said he did not want to present inaccurate information, but wanted to present an idea of what is happening regarding the Regional Agreement.

He read the memo aloud at the meeting, a portion of which requires an annual unanimous affirmative vote by the appointing authority as required to change it to the alternative method.

“We’ve been using the alternative assessments, but I don’t remember us ever, prior to me, taking a vote on this piece of it,” Szymaniak said. “We’re trying to define what we need to do, as a committee, as a district, to move forward, and that’s the legal piece of it.”

A letter Szymaniak received from Waugh indicated that such a vote would be required to use the alternative method.

Hanson Selectmen have placed a place-holder article on the October Town Meeting to discuss revoking the town’s approval of the revised Regional Agreement.

Hayes said the Regional Agreement was revised simply to update it, especially where it referred to schools that no longer exist.

School Committee Christopher Howard said the issue carries the risk of moving officials’ eye off the ball.

“Let’s move on this quickly,” he said, noting that it could bog down efforts to move on improving the budget issue forward.

School Committee member Robert O’Brien Jr., asked how it could have gone unnoticed for 12 years, saying the state should have flagged any improper use of the alternative method by the district, despite the district’s annual filing of end of the year reports on how budget votes are taken.

Szymaniak said, while that is an issue of concern, it shouldn’t be allowed to derail progress on solving bigger budget issues.

“I want as clear a document as we can possibly have, moving forward in my tenure … so we’re not in a shade of gray,” he said.

Szymaniak, meanwhile, lauded the work and mission of Whitman’s Override Evaluation Committee.

“It’s a pretty awesome group of folks that are committed to, I think, what’s in the best interests of Whitman, specifically to see if there’s a need for an override in Whitman and what would that be?” Szymaniak said. “I think we have a couple of things hanging out there … but the group is asking some really good questions to see where Whitman would be in the next five to 10 years financially.”

Reviews planned

He also noted that both the Override Evaluation Committee and the School Committee — using Mass. Association of Regional Schools (MARS) — have approved the conduct of reviews of their respective budgets and financial processes.

School Committee member Dawn Byers, who serves on the Override Evaluation Committee, said former Duxbury Finance Director John Madden’s review of Whitman’s financial picture is aimed to determine whether the town “really does need an override [for] a sustainable budget going forward.”

“The great thing about this committee is everyone has an equal voice at the table,” Szymaniak said. He noted the funding formula could have a “tremendous impact on the override and where the evaluation piece is and the financial needs of Whitman.”

Override panel Chairman Randy LaMattina, a member of Whitman’s Board of Selectmen said Madden will provide a progress report at the Monday, Sept. 16 meeting.

“The committee came up with this idea to add another level of transparency — another level of eyes doing an overview, an independent set of eyes — to go along with what Jeff has put forward with MARS,” LaMattina said. “It’s gathering information stage we’re at now.”

LaMattina said he does not think there is yet an answer to the question of whether an override will be necessary. He did say a previous estimate of October as a time frame for any Town Meeting to deal with an override issue was premature. Officials have lately been discussing the possibility of January or February for that.

A capital study conducted by the UMass Boston Collins Center will be presented at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 8 in the Whitman Town Hall Auditorium during a joint session of the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee.

“All pieces will work together,” LaMattina said, including involvement by the School Committee and Hanson officials. “I don’t have any results for you right now, but we have made progress.”

Hayes thanked the Override Evaluation Committee for their work findig solutions, cautioning that it is a “monumental task” that won’t be accomplished overnight.

HANSON — Maintaining progress at a group of former old Ocean Spray buildings along Main Street, where workers have been installing new windows and siding recently, is key to the future of South Hanson, town officials say.

“We all get a lot of pressure about that,” said Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “Every time we see people at an event … they say, ‘What the hell’s going on with that whole area?’”

A past security problem at 1011 Main St., has led the Fire Department and Building Inspector Robert Curran to approve an occupancy permit to help secure the building, Curran told Selectmen at the board’s Tuesday, Aug. 20 meeting.

He said the building has a fire alarm and sprinkler system, but has had issues while renovation work has been done, including a roof collapse from snow pack

“I have been approached by prior Selectmen to try and help this guy the best I can, to encourage him not to close the building down,” Curran said of the building’s owner. “If the building becomes abandoned, then my feeling is, we’re going to be in trouble.”

He said that, in abandoned buildings, sprinkler systems freeze and fail, leaving the structure to become a potential fire hazard.

Curran noted the owner has Zoning Board of Appeals approval for 21 residential units, with 13 planned in the first phase of development.

“The problem is, it’s going to take a lot of money,” Curran said. “I think he’s spent more money on that project than he ever thought he would.”

He added that industrial buildings could always be shut down.

“There’s all kinds of problems all the time,” he said. “What you’ve got to do is hope that everybody’s safe and that you’ve identified most of the structural issues.”

The building’s owner spent more than $100,000 in design so far just to get the residential aspect started, but Curran said he does not think the man was aware of all the new seismic requirements and other requirements.

“This is going to take a, hopefully, positive attitude from the town,” Curran said.

Curran said his vision for the property is a project called The Village at South Hanson with businesses on the first floor and residences two or three floors.

“Then the whole area will start to develop,” he said.

The board of Selectmen planned to meet with the building owner on Wednesday, Aug. 21 to discuss his plans and what the board can do to help, short of a financial investment.

“We need to try to move this ball forward,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “It’s a blight and everyone in town acknowledges it — and it’s private property. You can’t really dictate what people can do with their private property.”

“It’s been an ongoing issue since the 1980s,” Curran said. “This building hasn’t looked good in a lot of years. As long as there’s forward movement, I think that’s progress and I do believe that could be downtown Hanson — I really think that is a possibility.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the property’s location near the Commuter Rail station makes it logical for such a project.

“I think the attitude of the town has got to be to reach out and help him,” Curran said, noting that some buildings to the rear of the property have been sold and plans are in the works by new owners.

Curran provided a department report to the board, noting the busy time of year for inspections.

There have been 172 residential building permits issued since January and nine commercial building permits, Curran said. The department has also issued 132 electrical permits, 77 for plumbing projects and 93 gas permits.

Curran also reported that he had just completed the back-to-school building inspections.

He has also asked the attorney general’s office for help with eight properties in town through the abandoned housing initiative, one of them being the former liquor store on Main Street as well as buildings on Bayberry Road and West Washington Street, among others.

“They are amazing,” he said of the attorney general’s office. “They’ve helped us tremendously.”

In other business, Selectmen reviewed their goals and warrant articles for the October special Town Meeting.

Troop 68 Boy Scout Zev Andruk also outlined his Eagle project to rehabilitate the three-quarter mile section of the Bay Circuit Trail that winds through the Hanson Town Forest.

The trail passes through two wetlands zones in the town forest and he has received permission from the Conservation Commission for two small foot bridges he plans to put in.

“It needs a lot for it to be an active hiking trail, but with what we have in store for it, we believe we can get it done in just under a month,” Andruk said. “This project is basically reclaiming an entire portion of the town so that it has an entire lap around the town forest, making easy access for town employees or the Fire Department.”

He and Conservation Agent Philip Clemons have already walked the trail and marked trees, mostly fallen, that need to be removed. Clemons has also donated all the four-inch Bay Circuit Trail markers and two larger signs for the parking area. A small ATV will need to be used to haul equipment and chainsaws — which, like the ATVs will be used by adults.

The Board of Selectmen’s permission was needed to use motorized equipment in a conservation area. The board voted to grant that permission.

WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen honored police chief Scott Benton Tuesday, Aug. 20 ahead of his retirement on Sept. 16.

Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski read a proclamation signed by the Board of Selectmen in recognition of the many achievements and honors that had been bestowed upon Benton in his nearly 33-year career including becoming the town’s first DARE officer and receiving the Medal of Valor in 1992.

Benton began his career in 1986 as an auxiliary police officer before becoming a full-time officer in 1990. From there, he was promoted to sergeant in 1994, detective sergeant in 1997, deputy chief in 2008 and finally chief of police in 2013.

“The Board of Selectmen on behalf of a grateful community does hereby commend Scott D. Benton for services rendered to the town and now therefore the Board of Selectmen of the town of Whitman does proudly proclaim Monday, Sept. 16 Scott D. Benton day in the town of Whitman,”  Kowalski read from the proclamation.

Selectman Randy LaMattina, who chairs the Budget Override Committee, gave a brief update saying that the committee had not met again since the last Selectmen meeting. They are scheduled to meet again on Monday, Aug. 26 at 5 p.m. LaMattina said he had locked down a consultant who would be coming to the meeting to make a brief presentation and answer questions from committee members. The only other update from LaMattina was that he had received an email from one of the committee members inquiring about the Old Colony Planning Council. From their website, “The Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) is a governmental entity that was established under state statute in 1967 as a comprehensive regional agency to “prepare plans for the physical, social and economic development of the District”. The Council was formed in response to a growing need of local communities to be able to address the multitude of problems that cross over local boundaries such as air and water pollution, transportation deficiencies and economic distress.”

LaMattina said it is certainly something Town Administrator Frank Lynam can look into as it may provide yet another building block toward a solution. Additionally, Lynam is attempting to set up a meeting between the Selectmen, the Budget Override Evaluation Committee and the Capital Improvements Committee to hear a report from the Collins Group on the work that they’ve been doing. The tentative date for that meeting is September 10.

The Board approved a change in date for the Whitman Area Toy Drive’s tollbooth fundraiser to from Aug. 31 to from  9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday,  Sept. 7. The rain date for the event will be Sept. 14. The Board also approved the Whitman Youth Soccer opening day parade for 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 7.

Kowalski also discussed a number of existing vacancies on the various Boards and Committees in town.

The Board also voted unanimously to rescind two appointments to the Cultural Council. One was due to a resignation and the other due to a member never having been sworn in and never attending any meetings. Oliver Amado was appointed to a three-year term through June 30, 2021 on the Cultural Council. Kowalski described the Cultural Council as being wide open and said if any residents are interested in joining, they should contact the Selectmen’s office.

Other vacancies include a regular member and an alternate delegate vacancy on the Triple A Advisory Committee. The Building Facilities and Capital Spending Committee have two vacancies. The Conservation Committee has two vacancies, both with terms ending in 2022. Additionally, two alternate member vacancies with terms ending in 2020 and 2021 also exist on the Conservation Committee. The Economic Development Committee and the Fair Housing Committee both have one vacancy each with both terms ending in 2020. The Historical Commission has two associate member vacancies with terms expiring in 2022.

The Board voted to approve a request from Bruce Perry on behalf of the St. Vincent de Paul Society doing business with the Whitman Food Pantry at Holy Ghost Parish for a one-day liquor license on Saturday Sept. 21. The Board also unanimously voted to waive the fee for the aforementioned permit.

The Board also addressed Environmental Pickup Corp.’s application for a junk collector’s license. The company is purchasing Conway Scrap Metal Inc. from Michael Conway. The current license held by Conway Scrap Metal Inc. will be rescinded upon the issuance of the license to the new owner. The Board asked the new owner what street they planned to use for their business. The new owner said he planned to use 36 Vincent St. as the previous owner had done. The Board asked that the new owner work with residents on neighboring Paul St. as damage had been inflicted on the road from the trucks pertaining to the business and the DPW is unable to fix it as it is not an approved street.  The new owner said, “I did speak to the neighbors and introduce myself. I did tell them I’m going to help fix the street as best I can.”

HANSON — Camp Kiwanee will become the latest South Shore location for filming of the upcoming Netflix movie, “The Sleepover,” as final approval was granted by the Recreation Commission Tuesday, Aug. 13.

The Board of Selectmen must also approve use of the former Maquan School parking lot for film company vehicles, which is slated for the Tuesday, Aug. 20 agenda.

Crews will be working on scenes at Needles Lodge, the shoreline of Maquan Pond, several cabins and other locations at the camp, according to Assistant Location Manager Liliana Kondracki, who briefed the commission on the project.

Netflix will be paying $25,000 — plus costs associated with camp staff, police details and other expenses, according to Kondracki. Caretakers will be asked to monitor the camp and one or two Hanson Police officers will be contracted for the filming dates.

Scenes have already been filmed at Hanover High School and in Scituate and Boston. Filming at Kiwanee is slated for Aug. 21 to 30 with wrap work on Sept. 3 and 4. Filming will not interfere with a wedding already approved for Needles Lodge Thursday, Aug. 22.

The amount offered for the rental was based on the film’s budget and what work would need to be done to dress the location, Kondracki said.

Selectman Matt Dyer, the board’s liaison to the Recreation Commission, asked how Kondracki found Camp Kiwanne and whether she had any advice on how the commission might better market the facility.

“I found it after a lot of research,” Kondracki said describing the process of narrowing down a Google search for “log cabin” after a couple of weeks’ work.

“I’ve been in Boston for about year,” the Florida transplant said of her research here, after working for 20 years in the Miami area. “If you ask me about Florida, I knew everything, here, I’m starting from scratch. … [Camp Kiwanee] wasn’t easy to find.”

She said she didn’t know what to suggest, except to say the “amazing facility” should be marketed better. As for screen credits for use of the location, she said that is up to the production company.

“If they are feeling particularly generous, they might put [thanks to the] ‘Town of Hanover,’ ‘Town of Hanson,’ or something like that,” she said. “They not always do.”

Kondracki described the adventure/comedy plot as a coming-of-age story mixed with an “Oceans 11”-type crime tale.

It focuses on two boys planning a sleepover while their goody-two-shoes sister plans to sneak out of the house for the first time at night. Their mom, meanwhile, is kidnapped because of a secret in her past and the kids have to come to the rescue.

Kondracki noted, with a resigned laugh, that plot details were supposed to be confidential, but that an Aug. 7 story in The Boston Globe, already outlined a lot of that information.

“We’ve been working on finalizing things with [Town Administrator Meredith Marini] and the [police and fire] chiefs about it,” said Recreation Director William Boyle.

Kondracki provided the commission a filming outline.

“It’s a family action/comedy,” Kondracki said. “They’re trying to compete with Disney, so it’s that type of project.”

Kiwanee was chosen to film scenes surrounding a portion of the plot where the parents are taken to a remote cabin, as well as the sleepover scenes with the kids. The Frontier Cabin is a focal point of the filming, according to Kondracki.

“They obviously need to do a number of changes to it in order to make it work for the scene,” she said. “Anything that we do would be returned to the original condition, unless it’s something you guys want to keep.”

Among the changes would be replacing the windows at the front for those with a more rustic look, adding wood-panel façades to interior walls to give them a more rounded log look to the room, moving a woodstove out of a fireplace, and adding a vintage refrigerator. A certified HVAC contractor will be installing a propane-fed flame to the fireplace and the film crew has cleared the work with Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr.

Boyle has also approved the clearing of a few low-hanging branches in one spot for better camera angles and a hose will be used to add water to a dry creek bed for a plot point. The pavilion will be used for catering, with food prep being done in a food truck that has already been licensed by the Board of Health.

A temporary floating dock, which the crew is covering with a wooden dock mock-up is being added for scenes at the boathouse.

Gator vehicles will be used to transport equipment, parking of large trucks will be done at the former Maquan School and Kondracki is working to negotiate with Shaw’s for use of part of their lot for crew parking. They expect about 120 cars.

“We’re taking over,” she quipped.

Filming will be done on most of the days from noon to 10:30 p.m. or 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. On the last day, filming is expected to continue all night with the adult cast members — with filming of scenes involving youth actors complete by 10:30 p.m. to midnight.

“In all likelihood, we’ll be seeing the sun come up on Saturday morning,” Kondracki said with a laugh.

WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen began the transition process for changes at the top in the police and fire departments while they reviewed progress toward addressing the ongoing budget crisis Tuesday, Aug. 6.

Fire Chief Timothy Grenno indicated he plans to retire by Aug. 1, 2022 and requested Selectmen call for a fire chief exam by spring or early summer of next year. Grenno has been chief for 12 years, appointed in 2007.

“My wife and I are in negotiations right now, and I can tell you that you should hold the assessment center or the written tests now,” he said.

A spring test should provide a two-year promotions list for the town. Civil service no longer provides the exam as most towns across the state are opting for assessment centers, which create any written tests. A date cannot be set until an assessment center prepares an exam and/or assessment process.

The board approved the request and also voted to promote Deputy Police Chief Timothy Hanlon as chief as of Tuesday, Sept. 17 and to promote Sgt. Joseph Bombardier as deputy chief on that date.

Police Chief Scott Benton has informed the board that he plans to retire on Monday, Sept. 16.

“Hopefully, between now and then, we’ll have an opportunity to have the chief here to thank him for his years of service,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said.

Both Hanlon and Bombardier were the top candidates on their respective promotion lists.

Budget update

Lynam also updated Selectmen on the town budget and Selectman Randy LaMattina updated the board on the Monday, Aug. 4 Override Evaluation Committee session.

Lynam said the town is close to receiving a final draft from the Collins Center on capital planning and that he has received some, but not all, departmental budgets including the requested five-year projections for planning purposes.

There was some disagreement between Lynam and override panel citizen at-large member John Galvin about the meaning of a state Department of Revenue.

Lynam said the DOR indicated that revenue raised, if not used right away, the opportunity to use it for that year is gone forever. However, that money then ends up in the levy limit. Galvin argued that his understanding was that, while the excess levy does need to be appropriated, it does not end up in the levy limit the following year.

“It’s a one-time use,” he said. “If our levy is above the levy limit, any excess levy cannot be used the following year. That’s the discussion Frank and I had at length this morning and I still think we’re not on the same page yet.”

Lynam said he agreed that if the money is not used when it is available, the opportunity to use it is gone, but that the DOR said the levy limit would reflect that money.

“We just got a taste of how daunting this is going to be,” LaMattina said, noting that the Override Evaluation Committee has made a lot of progress after its second meeting. They established a mission statement concerning what the committee is going to do — evaluating the town’s finances and determine whether an override is needed.

He reported that the School Committee will be asking the Mass. Association of Regional Schools for an audit and Selectmen also authorized an independent audit, at a cost not to exceed $10,000, to determine where Whitman is now and what it’s five year financial outlook would be.

“This is something that, I think, really helps us in terms of credible support for presentation,” said Lynam, adding that the Collins Center work does not include a budget review and forecast. “This is a third-party, independent assessment.”

Galvin said if the two independent audits reach similar conclusions, it would provide valuable information about where the town is going financially.

“The key word is independent,” he said.

Heat response

Grenno also opened the meeting with an impassioned defense of his department’s — and the town’s — response to the four-day heat wave from July 18-21 in response to criticism on social media and a resident’s tirade against a member of the department in a local grocery store.

“I feel the need to publically set the record straight to reassure our residents as it pertains to our response to emergency preparedness,” Grenno said. “I’m troubled that I need to come before you this evening to defend our great community, you the board and public safety after a rogue resident took to social media making false claims and statements relating to the recent heat wave.”

The fire chief outlined that the response was in keeping with emergency preparedness plans already in place. Those plans call for a cooling center when: power is lost in town; if a heat wave lasts more than 48 hours; and if the Fire Department begins to see issues with residents. On Sunday, a cooling center was opened because the heat wave had hit the 48-hour mark and, after a vehicle had crashed into a utility pole on School Street and National Grid advised the town that power loss was possible.

“Because of those two issues, we opened the center in accordance with our plan,” he said. “We are on the street. We know what’s going on in our community.”

All information was also relayed via social media, reverse 911 and town websites and, Grenno said, no one uses a cooling or warming center or shelter as long as they have electrical power or during the first 48 hours of a weather emergency.

A cooling center was opened at the Whitman Senior Center on Sunday and the only person who showed up, did so out of an effort to see if they could be of help, according to Grenno. All Housing Authority facilities had power, including in common rooms with air conditioning with generator back-up.

“This resident verbally attacked and bullied one of my members at a local grocery store that day, berating him in public as to why a cooling center was not opened and that my lack of action [reflected] poorly on them as firemen,” Grenno added. “It was so bad that another citizen stepped in.”

He said bullying is unacceptable in any venue, but confronting a firefighter in public to the point where others take notice and comment “is not only ignorant, but repugnant,” Grenno said.

“The type of attitude or politics this person displayed has no place in our community,” he said.

WHITMAN — The town’s Override Evaluation Committee met for the first time on July 22 to evaluate the town’s financial needs and assess recommendations it would seek to make regarding an operational override in the fall.

Serving on the committee are: residents John Galvin and Christopher George as citizens at-large; Finance Committee members David Codero and Scott Lambiase; Fire Chief Timothy Grenno; Public Works Superintendent Bruce Martin; Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak; School Committee member Dawn Byers; Selectmen Justin Evans and Randy LaMattina, Town Administrator Frank Lynam and Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green.

The meeting, held in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room in Town Hall, is being rebroadcast on Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV. The next meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 12.

The committee organized officers July 22, electing LaMattina, who had expressed interest in the post as chairman. LaMattina was not able to attend the meeting. Lambiase was elected vice chairman and Lynam as clerk.

“Obviously, I think I know what our community needs are overall, but I think the focus of the committee, most important here … is how we’re going to get from here to Town Meeting and get the information out,” Lambiase said.

While a Town Meeting is currently planned for October, Lynam said he would prefer to push it back to November if it means the town’s financial need would be more clearly understood in the process. The committee’s meetings are public and the issue will also be discussed frequently by Selectmen.

Lynam said the short-term task is to take the information already available and information on five-year expenditure estimates that he has requested on capital needs.

“Because no one has responded, I’ve compromised and asked for three-years’ estimates,” he said.

A proposed draft of a capital planning document Collins Center at UMass, Boston had composed — following an earlier version Lynam had sent back to address errors — were to be discussed with the center by Lynam and Selectmen Carl Kowalski and Dan Salvucci this week.

If the draft is acceptable, a public meeting will be scheduled to review it, Lynam said.

The replacement of a primary sewer main between Whitman and the wastewater treatment plant, which has come to town officials’ attention since the capital plan update was requested, will be significant in the upcoming budget. That work is estimated at more than $8 million within the “cheapest alternative” plan, he said.

“We are looking at whether there are impact funds, or anything else, that can help us with it but year-to-year you’re just going to get things that are going to skew the numbers,” Lynam said. “We need a long-term budget [of] at least three years … because the longer you go in an expenditure budget, the less accurate it’s going to be.”

Current budgets and projected expenditures for the following year, based on needs, are calculated for separate town government and capital needs budgets from each department.

“I’m actually confident that, if we just get these things together in a formal way and we look at them as part of a total picture, we should be able to put together a plan that works and can be given to the public in a way that makes sense,” Lynam said.

Grenno said his department has just completed its five-year plan “based on where we are today,” a cumbersome and time-consuming process.

He asked if the override is intended to make departments whole.

“The budget has to reflect what you believe is necessary to operate your department appropriately,” Lynam said. “Some of us can really accurately predict what our budget numbers are going to be because there’s very little room for variance. Others can’t.”

George said the committee should be looking at what the town is missing compared with towns around Whitman, adding that he is aware of where the schools fall short as a parent, but is not as well informed about other departments.

“What does that mean for you?” he asked. “That’s hard for me to see from a Fire perspective or a DPW perspective, or even a police perspective, so I think that will be helpful as you give us that five-year projection.”

Lambiase said the committee must also discuss what cuts would need to be made if an override question fails. He argued an Economic Development Committee, if not hiring at least a part-time town planner, make sense.

“The challenges are immense,” Lynam said. “Small towns can grow on small businesses and do well. As it sits today, we have a fairly productive downtown business center and we have a stretch of business on Route 27 and on Route 18, but trying to grow that business, we have to come up with things that attract people and when you are in our position TIFs are not an option.”

Tax Increment Financing, which provides tax-breaks to attract businesses, would not help Whitman’s need for revenue.

“People think they are over-burdened with taxes here and it couldn’t be further from the truth,” Lynam said.

They also discussed the format of a question — single question or menu approach — scope of work and timeline.

“I’m absolutely opposed to a menu,” Szymaniak said. “If we’re going to be sustainable as a community … it has to be all together.”

A tier of financial options, with every department having a piece of the override was preferred if a menu option were to be offered.

They also discussed going to a regular special town meeting in the fall, as Hanson does, for capital needs.