HANOVER – The Building Committee is advocating new construction, instead of renovating and adding on to South Shore Tech, the panel decided at its meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15. The Committee voted to remove the so-called add/reno option from consideration.
The new construction option the Committee favors is known as Option 2.0 –the district’s share would be $174 million if designed for 805 students or $176 million for 900 students – with the enrollment capacity to be further discussed at the Thursday, Feb, 22 meeting.
Broken down by towns for preliminary comparison only, Whitman taxpayers by Fiscal 2029 would see a cost of $559.53 on the average home each year for an 805-student school and $564.23 on a 900-student school. The monthy impact could be either $46.63 or $47.02. In Hanson, the fiscal 2029 taxpayer impact could be $399.90 or $404.90 per $1,000 depending on the building size – or between $33.33 and $33.74. The MSBA official reimbursement won’t be available until this August.
The estimates are based on a level principal payment (which is more costly up front) using 3.75 percent interest and do not include the share of the debt that Marshfield, which begins contributing in 2026, will take on over the life of the note. 
The school committee is developing a regional agreement amendment for Fall town meeting consideration that would make debt share adjustable over a four-year rolling average to reflect changes in student enrollment over time.
Option 2.0 would look no different than the current school building, but would be built behind it so instruction would not be interrupted.
Owner Project Manager Jen Carlson of Left Field attended remotely to update the committee on costs of the various design options.
“We were going to take a little closer look at the risk of the add/reno option and try to put a cost on two of the major factors that we think are a concern,” Carlson said of underslab plumbing and for modular classrooms as that work is done.
The work would bump the estimated cost to $272.5 million for the total project budget, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) reimbursement now estimated at $106.5 million and the district’s estimated share at $172 million for a school with 805 students.
The add/reno was rejected for two reasons – the high cost of modular construction at $20 million, which the MSBA does not reimburse and a 52-month construction window and the disruption it could cost to student instruction.  “[The Add/Reno] was seen by the building committee as very challenging to have an active construction zone, near an occupied school on a small site.” Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey said this week.  “Also, the considerable amount of costs that are not reimbursable brought the costs very close to the new construction estimates.”
The MSBA does not reimburse for modular classrooms, so the total new budget cost of $81 million – for an estimated project budget of $110 million – would be the district’s responsibility.
Whitman Committee member Dan Salvucci said he did not favor an addition/renovation plan.
“I’ve seen that done in my town in the past and, for the amount of money we spend, you don’t get 50 years out of it,” he said. “When you do an add/reno and you have to [join] the old section with the new and you get them together, for some reason there’s always issues with water leaks and damage and mold.”
Hanson member Robert Mello voiced similar concerns.
“There’s a lot of unknown things that aren’t or may not be repaired,” he said. “I initially think of things like the plumbing system, whether it’s in the ground or in the walls that currently exist, that we don’t really have good access to and are 60 years old.”
Mello said that, for a little bit more money, they would have the “security of knowing we’re not going to have any major issues for some time.”
Cohasset member George Cooney added that the lack of MSBA funding and disruption caused by an add/reno to the school routine is concerning.
“If you could build a separate structure and everybody does business as usual [during construction], I think that’s a win,” he said. “Yes, money is always tight, but when you look at expenses and potential hidden ones, the add/reno could actually turn up being more money than going new.”
Principal Sandra Baldner said a new school would better enable the school to maintain a moslty regular function. She said it could rob an entire generation of SST students of the educational experience they deserve.
Chair Robert Mahoney also noted that, at a timeline of five years, the add/reno would take more time than new construction.
“It’s a bad idea,” said Norwell member Dustin Reardon of the add/reno plan. “We can’t do a disservice to these students who are fighting so hard to come here.”
“I haven’t heard one positive reason to go add/reno,” said Hanover member Robert Heywood.
Salvucci and Reardon both voiced concerns about enrollment capacity of a new school.
Citing the need to discuss it as a School Committee and to keep in mind that Marshfield is joining the district – and Pembroke is signaling and interest to do the same – Salvucci said he did not want to have to turn away Whitman students who might want to attend SST.
“I’m really split between 805 and 900,” he said. “I wouldn’t go any lower than that.”
Reardon agreed that enrollment is the biggest issue.
“That’s where we’re going to be deciding what makes financial sense,” he said.
The project has been carrying over $1 million in advance, but an a$3.5 million has been added to the carry-over for the renovation plan because of the need for plumbing under the slab.
“This is not just a cosmetic fix,” Carlson had said of the plumbing situation. “It’s a very invasive plumbing activity, it requires lot of planning to avoid undermining the footing of the existing building. … There’s a lot of risk involved with this work.”
When another closer look at logistics and things that needed to happen on-site and within the building for an add/reno would mean doubling the amount of modular classrooms needed to be brought onto the site.
“We had been carrying just under $10 million for that, so we added another $10 million,” she said. “Typically, to get into this level of detail, the construction manager, once we bring them on board, would be able to get into this level of detail, which is why this cost was not identified in the earlier estimates.”
Code concerns
Code updates for an add/reno project would also affect costs and could eat into the useable space already existing for teaching and learning.
The scope of this updates include: adding sprinklers to the original building; a full ADA accessibility upgrade; a major HVAC upgrade and replacement of all non-compliant plumbing and replacement of all electrical infrastructure. Not included are new finished beyond patching where electrical and plumbing work had to be done, nor for new furniture, technology or equipment. Site upgrades would likewise not be included.
“Because of the reuse of the existing building in this option, we really don’t think you could go much beyond 5-percent enrollment growth for the add/reno option,” Carlson said.
The add/reno budget estimate was calculated on the assumption that the district would be done on the same timeline as the add/reno.
The existing building is appraised at $26.4 million. Work over $8.7 million, or 30 percent of the appraised value – within a three-year timeframe would trigger the need to fully address ADA accessibility.
“There are other thresholds that do apply, depending on what work is being done, that may trigger the need for the full scope of the code upgrade to be done in one shot if this option becomes a reality,” Carlson said.
“There actually may be less space available,” Carl Franchesci of architectural firm DRA said in light of the fact that no future enrollment growth could be accommodates under an add/reno option. “Educational space could actually be reduced slightly.”
Hickey asked for a breakdown on the increased number of modular classrooms, seeking information on whether they are for classrooms or specialized space because certain shops might be included in the renovation.
“I think it really had to do with looking at the phasing,” Franchesci said. “The way that option wraps around the gym creates a construction zone, that at first we did not include the [five or six] science labs as part of the first phase.”
He said the phasing could have them consumed by the adjacent construction zone.

HANSON – A renewed effort at a Right-to-Farm Bylaw and the proper uses of remaining ARPA funds were the focus of Select Board discussion Tuesday, Feb. 6 as the board considers the articles they are advancing for the annual Town Meeting warrant.
The board voted to allocate the remaining $1,092,514 in ARPA funds for repairs to a culvert and the purchase of a new ambulance. Another reallocation of $150,000 in unused ARPA funds from the treasury was approved for the warrant to front an applicaton for another library grant as well as another $50,000 for pond maintenance article, both of which will go to Town Meeting in May.
A vote on a Right-to-Farm Bylaw – the town’s second attempt to adopt one, will come once the language is ironed out.
“Right-to-Farm is one of the articles,” Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We’ve never discussed it in-depth, but I think everybody is pretty familiar with what it is.”
She noted that a resident approached the Select Board with a citizen’s petition.
“We [told them] you don’t really need a citizen’s petition,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We’re more than glad to entertain, as a board, bringing it back to the town. It didn’t pass the first time, but I think really it got kind of torpedoed unnecessarily, and maybe there wasn’t good information about what that Right-to-Farm Bylaw would mean.”
She said the board hoped to glean some “good information and clarity” around what it really means, but that sometimes one or two people at Town Meeting who are very persuasive – and that’s what happened at that particular Town Meeting.
“They started using examples of some bad situations on farms, or around town, that had happened and sort of extrapolated that this would happen more often if we had the Right-to-Farm – which was actually not accurate,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
Town Administrator Lisa Green said her office is researching Right to Farm language in other communities for a proposed Select Board warrant article.
“It turns out that towns that have adopted Right-to-Farm have been able to add in some language that provides their own restrictions,” Green said. “We’re jus gathering some articles from other towns to see what information’s been put in each and then we’ll … put something together to present to the board as we get closer to looking at articles.”
Resident Michael Flemming said the problem proponents had the last time was that the Right-to-Farm language was really written for larger dairy farms, and there are not a lot of those in Hanson. Relating it to smaller properties opened the door to other issues.
“If you’re looking into language that’s going to be added, I don’t know what can be added to include smaller home farms,” he said. The previous bylaw would have required five acres, of which the house could take up an acre.
“Ultimately, it would only affect three places in town,” Flemming said, noting that making it clear it is trying to help out people who want to have a backyard farm, might remove some of the stigma of what transpired the last time the issue came up.
“It’s why they moved here in the first place,” he said. “This town is a farming community.”
Select Board member Ann Rein, who had been active in the effort to pass a Right-to-Farm Bylaw and in the work to establish an Agricultural Commission at the time, said it is really a matter of educating people.
She had been called to deal with compaints about roosters, and when she explained to the homeowners with too many of them about the problem, they were cooperative when they realized it – and then took care of the situation.
“There are people who get mad about the roosters, and then there are people who love hearing the roosters,” she said. “It’s funny.”
She advocated for a return of the Agricultural Commission to facilitate proper animal husbandry.
“I don’t know you can do much with a bylaw that’s going to fix that,” Rein said, adding that real estate values had been another concern. “People have actually found that a Right-to-Farm bylaws in a town actually bring real estate values up.”
Determining which articles could be funded with Plymouth County ARPA money, which must be spent by Dec. 31, 2016, was also discussed.
A culvert repair on Pratt Place, an ambulance, pond management and a library project are all seeking part of the $1.9 million remaining.
Green noted that the $1.542 million in Plymouth County-administered ARPA funds are very restrictive as to how it can be used. The Pratt Place culvert and ambulance are two projects that are eligible for that money, Green said.
In 2021, the town had received a quote of $1.25 million for the culvert repair or replacement. A $450,000 pricetag [leaving $1,092,514 for the culvert project] is the way lot of towns are using their last remaining ARPA funds to purchase ambulances.
Green “highly suggested” the funds be used for the culvert.
A memo on how the town wants to use the ARPA funds would be due to Plymouth County by March 1 and a timeline by April 1 Green said.
“Right now Highway is using some metal plates to make that road passable,” she said. “That culvert is in dire condition and, since I’ve been here, people have been saying that it is in dire condition and could collapse.”
When FitzGerald-Kemmett noted that approving both projects could put the town over what is available, Green said there is a possibility that the county could be approached for more funds, but they would have to obtain Town Meeting backing before asking Plymouth County for additional funds.
“We are also chasing some grant funds that could potentially help us with Pratt Place,” she said, but she cautioned that, when the town has applied for grants in the past it has been turned down every single time. “The culvert’s either too long, too short, not wide enough – there’s always been something that disqualifies that culvert frombeing eligible for grants.”
While there are only four houses on Pratt Place, Green noted that, should the road collapse, there would be no way for those residens to access Winter Street.
“I understand that it’s a safety issue, but what I’m struggling with is we’re never again going to have this type of money to move the needle on other things,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “The grant funding is not a sure thing.”
“I think we’ve done a lot of marvelous stuff with ARPA money,” Rein said, noting that waiting for other funds while risking a road collapse was risky. “I think this is a worthy thing to spend it on.”
Vice Chair Joe Weeks said he is confident Green has done the due dilligence on the Pratt Place culvert and the restrictions on the remaining ARPA funds.
The library’s article for $200,000 in ARPA funds for an HVAC system was approved at October Town Meeting, but maintenance work has since been done on it to gain three more years of operation, freeing up the $200,000 for other projects, Green said. The library is applying for a grant due in May, meanwhile, that would require the town to front the funding.
“If we don’t get the grant, we won’t spend the money,” Library Director Karen Stolfer said, noting the grant notification would not be issued until October 2025. The $150,000 needs to be authorized, but need not be sitting in a separate account for the application to go forward. That would leave $50,000 from the October Town Meeting to apply to the pond management project.
“If you want to know if you’ve got support for a new library, I think you nee to do it as a free cash item,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. She feared people would not pay attention to it again if it comes out of ARPA funds.

HANSON – Camp Kiwanee is working to restore and return a camp store, to sell snacks and drinks, and possibly town and/or Kiwanee merchandise beginning next summer.
Camp Kiwanee Commission Chair Frank Milisi and Town Aministrator Lisa Green will also work on determining the legal ramifications of selling merchandise at the store as the board voted to support the project with that caveat at its Tuesday, Jan. 23 meeting. The board approved a motion to approve the store once the questions cleared up.
The location is an elongated strcuture between the lodge and the camp fire house, Milisi said.
“We have [the] budget to fix it up as a store,” Milisi said. “We have the idea of selling pre-packaged snacks there during the summertime and also stuff for camping – wood, mosquito repellant – [and] we have the idea of selling some Camp Kiwanee merchandise up there – sweatshirts, hats, some of the bumper stickers that the hikers throw on their stuff.”
The commission is also discussing the option of having the store open when weddings are booked at the camp.
He said that, while it would not be full-fledged this year, it would be used for small things during when Cranberry Cove opens up, including the sale of passes.
“It’ll bring some revenue into the camp,” he said. “We’re working with the Board of Health already to get their blessing on going ahead and doing that.”
They have also spoken with the building inspector and contacted a contractor to do any structural improvements needed, including any necessary electrical upgrades for putting in refrigerators.
“We’re excited for it and kind of want the Select Board’s blessing to move ahead with that,” he said. He also said he was not sure if a business license was necessary.
Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett raised the need to look into regulations that may pertain to the sale of town and/or camp merchandise.
“You’re going to need to talk about the town selling merchandise,” she suggested. “We don’t want to run afoul. … You may need a friends group.”
Milisi said he knows other towns with shacks at beach areas that do sell things, but he did not know the specifics of their arrangements.
“I’m sure we can get there,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “You’re just going to have to be thoughtful and make sure we don’t have any pitfalls.”
Lakeville shelter
The board voted to approve and sign the annual partnership agreement with the Lakeville Animal Shelter to house dogs taken in by the Hanson animal control officer. This year, includes an assessment fee of $250 to help fund improvements to the shelter as required following inspections by the Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources.
“Basically, this is an agreement to get us through the next year,” said Town Administrator Lisa Green noting the assessment would be paid out of the animal control budget line. “This will hold us over until we’re able to, hopefully, open up our own shelter.”
Green said the town had not been assessed a fee in prior years. Dog owners pay a $25 per day boarding fee when they retrieve their dogs from the Lakeville shelter. A $20 drop-off fee had not been billed to the town, Green said, in response to a question from Weeks about language in the agreement. She said it is unclear whether the animal control officer has been paying that out-of-pocket.
“He has not come to us for reimbursement,” she said.
“He also said he hasn’t been dropping a lot of dogs off there,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “He said he’s essentially been our shelter.”
Weeks said he asked because the Lakeville Shelter’s fee structure opens up opportunities for Hanson to explore, such as a $50 late fee, immunization fees and “a lot more than just $250.”
“It doesn’t spell out necessarily who pays what, but … there are opportunities here where we can kind of adopt some of this stuff and apply it to ours, if we don’t already have some of this.”
Board member Ed Heal also suggested that more information be obtained about the fees and who is expected to pay them.
“It would be good to have some numbers,” he said. “How many dogs are we sending to Lakeville in the past five years and how long are they there for and who’s paying the fees. Do we have anything [on that]?”
Weeks said even if Hanson Animal Control Officer Joe Kenney is paying the fees out of his own pocket, “I still don’t feel right about that.”
“Whether he’s paying it, or he’s keeping the animal, neither of these options are long-term sustainable,” FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed.
Weeks said that, going forward, there should be some kind of an escape clause to prevent the town being billed for being absolved of financial responsibility of Lakeville does not send a bill in a timely manner.

HANOVER – With budget season heating up on both the municipal and school committee sides of the ledger, South Shore Tech is scheduling meetings with an eye on the calendar.
The SST budget must be certified 45 days before the first town scheduled to hold Town Meeting, which takes place April 1. But a simultaneous process involving the new school project, may be on the same track.
The next public forum on the building proposal is slated for 7 p.m., Jan. 25 at Abington Town Hall. The School Committee/Building Committee also meets on that date at 5 p.m.
Regarding the fiscal 2025, budget, Superintendent/Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey said the district is at the point where they are waiting for Gov. Maura Healey’s budget numbers to be released, which is anticipated to be just before the Jan. 25 meeting. The public hearing on the budget is also scheduled for that meeting agenda.
Hickey said he would consult with the committee chair to determine if a budget certification vote.
“It might be in our best interests to certify – to go on record – essentially, setting a [budget] ceiling,” Hickey said. “A budget certification does not mean anything more than [that] we’re not going to increase it from this point foreward. It can always go lower.”
If the budget is not certified at the Jan. 25 meeting, a remote meeting can be convened in early February to do that, he said.
The Committee also, on Wednesday, Jan. 17, voted to approve a revised educational plan, which had already been approved by the committee.
Vice Chair Thomas A. Petruzelli of Abington chaired the meeting in the absence of Chair Robert Heywood of Hanover.
According to Hickey, the revision is part of the MSBA’s normal process after the authority provides feedback on educational plan.
“They asked a series of questions that we provided clarification to … and we must embed those answers in [the original educational plan] document,” he said. “These edits don’t substantially change anything. They just clarify [points], which will make this process easier when our project eventually comes before the [Massachusetts School Building Authority].”
Hickey did not ask the committee to vote on a five-year bus lease that had been listed as an agenda item. Instead, it will be back before the committee for a vote on Thursday, Jan. 25.
The district initially leased propane-fueled buses in 2017. Hickey is planning to replace that fleet in fiscal 2025 or ‘26 with a newer fleet of buses.
“We have an opportunity to do this with a statewide contract with propane buses,” he said. “We would be trading in our existing propane buses, with equity, so that we can then replace them.”
The upcoming vote would encompass a longer-term lease-purchase contract, which triggers the need for a vote. At the end of the lease the district would own the buses. A dollar amount for the buses will also be included in the vote.
Ordering the buses in January increases the chances of getting the new buses in time for the new school year. Hickey said he was thinking of purchasing 13 buses and trading in 12 to increase the size of the fleet by one.
“That should give us enough capacity for at least the next two, possibly into the third fiscal year,” he said. “I think we’re projecting that, if we couldn’t afford it, we could get away with [using the current buses] for another year,” he said.
Whitman member Dan Salvucci noted that, should the new school, be approved, the district would be seeing an increase in demand for the bus as more students are expected to attend SST.
“I think it’s a waste of money to lease them.” he said.
In other business. Principal Sandra Baldner introduced Student of the Month Stella Glykis of Hanover, a culinary arts senior doing her co-op assignment at Scarlet Oak Tavern in Hingam, where she is works the line, but is fully trained to take on any station in the restaurant.
“I know from personal experience that South Shore Tech staff members seek out her culinary expertise when they go and dine there,” Baldner said. “She’s surrounded by industry professionals who share her drive and creative nature.”
“Her job has not only taught her how to cook, but how to be an asset at the restaurant,” Baldner quoted Glykis’ teacher Charles Doucet as saying.
Glykis is described by the restaurant’s executive chef as a “great team player” who performs at an advanced level and will do great at culinary school.
“She has an open mind and is willing to try new things,” the chef said. “We have seen tremendous growth in Stella and we are glad to have her here.”
Glykis is “laser-focused on her career” and plans to attend the Culinary
Institute of America.
“I would also like to showcase Stella as an outstanding student who represents us well,” Baldner said, adding that the previous week, she was among students asked questions by the South Shore Leadership Group with the South Shore Chamber of Commerce during a luncheon program.
Baldner also shone the Staff Spotlight on the Metal Fabrication/Welding program.

HANSON – The town is finding many hands make more efficient – if not lighter – work when it comes to enforcing codes and running recreational outlets.
The Select Board voted on Tuesday, Jan. 9 to create an Inspectional Services Task Force for code enforcement. It is not a committee, but several town officials working together in furtherance of their day-to-day jobs, Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
Fire Chief Robert O’Brien, Deputy Chief Charles Barends, Building Inspector Cary Glass, Health Agent Gil Amado and Green have been meeting regularly on Monday mornings to discuss code violations in town.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said it should not be limited to those officials as Conservation Agent Frank Schellenger or other officials might be included from time to time as their boards or commissions have jurisdiction.
“[It’s] mainly focusing on commercial/industrial code violations,” Green said. “We’ve found these discussions to be very helpful, beneficial – it’s the departments working together addressing complaints that are received and following up and making sure all our businesses are following all the codes – it’s been very helpful to go out to these businesses as the inspectional task force.”
She said they talk about solutions together and with business owners to ensure compliance.
“We would like the board to officially vote to accept this new Inspectional Services Task Force so that we could come up with a mission, some goals, provide the board with some reports of our progress …it allows us all to work together,” Green said.
Amado agreed the task force works well.
“We do have a lot of code violations in the town,” he said. “I think this will work out very well … maybe stop some of these things before they start.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett said the board has expressed a number of times in executive session how impressed they have been on the amount of progress Green has been able to make on some long-standing issues in town.
“It’s been very clear that, when you guys work together and you’re sharing that information, it’s so much more powerful in terms of enforcement and in terms of getting the message … resources and in terms of each of the enforcement disciplines feeling support and not feeling as though they’re on their own trying to … fight the windmills on their own,” she said. “It’s the best of Town Hall working together and I would love to see more of that happening on other things.”
The board also approved the drafting of a warrant article and budget to create the Hanson Recreation Commission.
Vice Chair Joe Weeks had presented an outline to the board to establish some form of recreation committee and what it might be and how the committee would work, how facilities would be maintained and around overlap with other committees and commissions.
“This is just the beginning, it’s just to start the process,” he said. “I don’t know if we specifically want to name things like High Street Park oversight in this, although it might be a good idea, I just want to give a layout at first.”
He suggested a five-person committee that reviews policy, programs, procedures and recommends fee structures to the Select Board, when applicable, with committee input welcomed. He also drafted mission and vision statements to be discussed by the board.
Weeks asked if a committee should be given specific oversight over certain jurisdictions like High Street.
“I guess this is the starting point to figure out what we want to do,” he said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed that the High Street Committee was formed to form the blueprint of the park location [at the former Plymouth County Hospital grounds] but, in doing so, she added, a lot of programming questions have cropped up.
“I don’t have a problem with giving them programming responsibilities at High Street,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Where it gets weird is [whether] they would be responsible for programming at Camp Kiwanee or working with the Camp Kiwanee Commission.”
Camp Kiwanee Chair Frank Milisi said it would be a cooperative working arrangement.
“That’s one of the joys of a town department, we will work together with you for literally no cost,” he said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett pointed out that it would take a Town Meeting warrant article to create a new Recreation Committee.
“I think this is exactly what I’ve always heard people saying that we need,” she said. “We’ve just never to put pen to paper for it.”
Board member Ann Rein said she was a bit confused about the difference between a commission and a committee. The rest of the board agreed that they did not know the difference, either.
High Street Committee member Alex Stewart said he Googled the terms.
“A committee operates as an internal regulation while a commission is more external,” he said.
“So it’s really a [recreation] commission,” FitzGerald-Kemmett adding the change on paperwork could be easily made.
Milisi said a budget line item for any commission would also be needed in drafting a warrant article.
“You will need money in that account to run those programs,” he said. “That’s the one thing that we weren’t [prepared for] at Camp Kiwanee. You need money for everything. Recreation doesn’t come free.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested some coordination with the Cultural Council, which is funded through the state, the Library and Senior Center.
The Board approved Treasurer-Collector Lisa Clark’s employment contract agreement, which compromises on the use of vacation time. The position comes with a total of 25 days’ vacation time, Green said.
“What we thought was a good compromise on this would be to break the vacation accrual into two separate times,” she said. “Basically, on July 1, 2024, she would receive 12.5 days and then on Jan.1, 2025, she would receive 12.5 days. This way, she’s not being front-loaded the full amount … and there is a clause in the contract that she would be allowed to carry over up to 10 days.”
The Board approved a further modification suggested by Weeks that an additional five days could be carried over, if necessary.
The Select Board had been concerned that someone might use the month of vacation time and then leave the position.
The three-year contract runs through to Dec. 31, 2026.

HANSON – State Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, is leaving his seat in the General Court to take a position with the Healey Administration as undersecretary for apprenticeship, work-based learning and policy in the Executive Office of Labor and Workplace Development.
The move clears the way for a race to fill the open seat this year, and area candidates are already expressing interest in, or intention to, run.
“It’s been the honor of my career to serve the residents of the 6th Plymouth District in the Mass. Legislature for the past 11 years,” Cutler wrote in a statement posted on his Facebook page and circulated to supporters last week. “This is a job that I have truly loved! So it is with mixed emotions, but a grateful heart that I write to share that I will be stepping down as a state representative.”
The 6th Plymouth District includes Duxbury, Pembroke and portions of Hanson and Halifax.
Cutler described the new position as a “great opportunity to advance the workforce issues I’ve championed in the Legislture as House chairman of the Labor Committee these past two terms.
“Rep. Culter has been a tremendous partner in advancing workforce development, and we are excited that he will continue his leadership in our administration as we work to grow important programs like registered apprenticeship,” said Gov. Maura Healey in a statement on the appointment. “I’m confident that Rep. Cutler will continue to support Massachusetts residents and businesses in this role and add great value to the team.”
As part of his responsibilities, Cutler will oversee the Division of Apprentice Standards including the expansion of Registered Apprenticeship, the growth of work-based learning career pathways in partnership with the Executive Office of Education, and the Department of Economic Research and other policy efforts for the secretariat such as future of work, caregiving in the workplace, and more.
“Josh Cutler has been and will continue to be an advocate of workforce development initiatives. He has been very supportive of South Shore Tech’s efforts to modernize our school through MSBA,” said the school’s Superintendent/Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey. “Furthermore, Josh understands that South Shore Tech is a key player in workforce training after hours and I know he will continue to be a strong partner on the Career Technical Initiative and other programs that strengthen our local economy.”
Hanson Town Administrator Lisa Green expressed both disappointment about hearing about Cutler’s decision, as well as hope for a good relationship with a new representative.
“I am excited to join the Healey-Driscoll Administration and look forward to working with Secretary Jones as we implement policies and programs to help support our workers and enable our businesses to thrive,” said Cutler who is the Chairman of the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee. “I am grateful to the Sixth Plymouth District for giving me the honor to represent them in the House for the past decade and look forward to supporting them and communities across the state in this new role.”
“Of course, he’s going on to an important position and it’s a loss in a legislative partner for the town of Hanson,” Green said. “But we look forward to who his successor will be and establishing a great new relationship with that legislative partner when they come on board. We wish Josh Cutler all the best of luck.”
According to Hanson Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, both Ken Sweezey – the Republican who ran against Cutler in the last election – and Becky Colletta, Cutler’s friend and law partner, have individually informed her they are running for the seat.
“From the moment that Josh declared his candidacy [in his first campaign for the State House] I have supported him, and I’ve never regretted it,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I’ve been nothing but grateful for his partnership and his support of our community all these years. He’s gotten us all kinds of grants, he understands Hanson, he advocates for us and I just hope the next person that we get does half as much as Josh – he’s been amazing. I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about him.”
Sweezey has already submitted a candidate’s announcement to the Whitman-Hanson Express [See stoy above].
“Becky Colletta is running, and I texted Ken Sweezy yesterday and he confirmed to me that he is running,” she said Monday.
“I want to thank Rep. Cutler for his years of service – but I truly believe the residents of this district are looking for a new vision and fresh leadership that more accurately reflects the values of our neighbors on the South Shore,” Sweezey stated in his announcement. “I promised a common-sense conservative approach during the campaign in 2022 and I reaffirm that commitment now. I will be a representative for everyone – which includes many of us who feel they have not been represented on Beacon Hill for far too long.”
“I’m excited about the opportunity to serve the people of Duxbury, Pembroke, Hanson, Halifax, and Marshfield,” Sweezey continued. “Let’s get started!”
Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan, however, said she had been unaware that Cutler would not be running again and that no nomination papers had yet been pulled for the race.
Cutler’s friend and supporter Joe Pelligra said that, as he understands it, the office change will be a slow transition.
“I think it will be over the next five months,” he said. “He’s just not going to run again, which leaves the door open to a lot of competitors.”
Pelligra said Cutler felt that being offered the position in the Healey administration was something he couldn’t pass up.
“He’s been in the Ways and Means for labor and workforce development in his job duties as state Rep., so this ties right into what he’s doing.”
Cutler was under the weather last weekend and unable to return calls for comment, referring press inquiries to his statement.
“I leave with warm feelings for my colleagues on both sides of the aisle,” Cutler said. “I know that our delegation will continue to work together in a bipartisan way. It’s never been about party affiliation for me, but always about working together to help people and solve problems. … Thank you for your trust, friendship and the honor of allowing me to serve!”
President of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable J.D. Chesloff and the President of the Massachusetts Building Trades Union Frank Callahan have both supported Cutler’s appointment, as has President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Chrissy Lynch.
“During his time in the legislature, Chair Cutler has been a great leader, partner, and advocate for our workforce and has championed efforts to grow and expand opportunities for residents across the state,” Lynch said. “While we will miss his leadership and presence on the Labor and Workforce Development Committee, I know he will work just as ferociously for our workers in his new role within the Healey-Driscoll Administration.”
Cutler is a six-term state representative and House Chair of the Labor and Workforce Development Committee. He is a member of the Mass. STEM Advisory Council and recently served as co-chair of the Future of Work Commission and the WorkAbility Subcommittee on disability employment. He also co-chairs the Coastal Caucus.
In the House, Cutler has been a champion for workforce development, vocational education, and career center funding. He is lead sponsor of the wage transparency act, disability hiring tax credit, and apprenticeship standards and re-entry works legislation.
Cutler was a recipient of the Thomas M. Menino Public Service Award for his work on disability employment policy. He has also been recognized as Legislator of the Year by the Mass. Developmental Disabilities Council, the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, the Mass. Mental Health Counselors Association, and the Plymouth-Bristol Central Labor Council.
Cutler holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and a juris doctor degree from Suffolk Law School. He is also an attorney and the author of two books on local history.

HANSON – The Select Board’s final two meetings of 2023 featured discussions of rates at Camp Kiwanee, which the board approved, as well as policies and procedures – including a tougher policy on dogs.
Camp Kiwanee Commission Chair Frank Milisi said rates were being increased to $8,500 for wedding receptions/vow renewals with additional hours costing $250 per hour. Weddings and vow renewals on-site are $750 for the ceremony, including rehearsal on the back deck of the lodge.
He said he did not have historic fees with him for comparison.
Campground facilities for weddings with the bridal and groom’s cottage is $1,500 at the entire south end of the facility. Daily rental is $150 each for those cottages.
Parties, company events, nonprofit and charitable fundraisers fees are $700 for five hours with additional hours costing $100 per hour with an extra $150 fee if they plan to use the ovens and stoves in the kitchen. Vendor and craft fairs will cost $1,500 for seven hours with additional hours at $150 each and kitchen fees at $150 per hour.
Company workshops will cost $1,500 for seven hours with an extra $150 for each additional hour and a $150 fee for kitchen use, if needed.
A kitchen-only fee would be $200 for five hours, with long-term use open to negotiation with the commission.
Hanson residents receive a 25-percent discount, and a 10-percent military discount is available for use of the Needles Lodge.
“I don’t want to second-guess a committee that we’ve got empowered to do this,” Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
“There’s a little bit of a controversy about our dog policy,” Milisi said, explaining that it has actually been policy to not have dogs at the camp from June 1 to Sept. 1.
“Correct,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “You even have a sign that says that.”
Milisi said the policy has previously excluded service dogs, but also excluded comfort dogs.
“We removed the comfort dogs out of there,” he said. “I don’t know what a comfort dog is. If it’s a service dog, it’s a service dog, it’s ADA federally protected at the camp. A comfort dog – my dog gives me comfort, I don’t want to take it to the camp.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett said the Hanson Police Department’s dog, Ziva, is a comfort dog.
“Ziva will have no problem getting into the camp,” Milisi said. “We have issues with people coming up there, having their dogs all over the grounds, leaving their mess everywhere. They don’t pick it up and things like that, so it’s going to be strictly enforced this year.”
Milisi also said the signs note that “pets” are not allowed during the summer season so people don’t try to get around the no-dogs policy be bringing other animals.
They are also looking into providing dog bags for people to use in cleaning up after their pet when they are allowed on the grounds outside of the summer season.
The board approved the policies and procedures contingent on town counsel having no issue with them.
Town Administrator Lisa Green said she had not seen the policies, but said she would review them and forward them to town counsel for their review, as well.
The Camp’s Facilities Manager will be retiring at the beginning of the year, but will stay on for a couple more months to allow his replacement Chris Hoffman, who was approved by the Select Board for 19.5 hours per week, effective immediately, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, to familiarize himself with camp protocols and procedures.
The Hanson PTO has also been granted a discounted rate of $25 per hour to hold its fundraising Polar Plunge, totaling $150. The same per-hour fee was also granted for the Plymouth County Beekeepers holiday party, totaling $100 with member Ann Rein recusing herself from that vote.
“We’re happy to be the new home of the Beekeepers,” Milisi said.
“The town is abuzz about it,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
Hanson Youth Football also had a rate of $25 per hour approved for their events.
Milisi made plain he had abstained from the HYF vote on the commission.

HANSON – The town’s plan for a level-service municipal budget, with 2-percent increases for some expense lines in fiscal 2025 is a “huge first step,” consultant John Madden told the Select Board on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
He said he would not rule out an override as a means to solve the ongoing deficit problem, but added that is something to be decided in the future.
“You saw the increases … on the expense side,” he siad. “They’re unsustainable – I don’t think that’s a bone of contention.”
Hanson’s average annual budget increase is 6.23 percent. A halt to using free cash to bolster the operating budget and the town must use disciplined and realistic budget requests and approvals, which are already being used, must continue, as well.
Madden, contracted to do a financial analysis of the town and its spending habits, a few months ago, returned to brief the board about his findings. Vice Chair Joe Weeks was absent from the meeting.
Madden conducted a similar analysis for Whitman, producing a report they’ve been following in their financial planning.
“The town of Hanson is going to have its own Madden report when he presents his final report with recommendations and suggestions on how we can do things better financially,” said Town Administrator Lisa Green.
Madden said he was presenting an interim report.
“We’ve reviewed a lot of information,” he said. “We’ll bury you in a lot of financial information right now.”
Based on his findings so far and town officials’ input on them, an final report is planned for release in early January. While his review was geared to fiscal years 2025-29, the first year he would recommend putting any recommendations into action would be fiscal 2026.
Town Accountant Eric Kinsherf suggested working up a budget to determine what would need to be cut without an override to help decide if there should be one and how much would be needed.
Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said one point that keeps cropping up in discussions about the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District is that Whitman “has a number they are sticking with.”
“We don’t have that tool in our toolbox right now,” she said.
Madden said that would be one of the recommendations.
“We need to look at this as what can you sustain?” he said. “The difference between Whitman and here is we weren’t looking at an override situation there – we are now.”
But, while an override is not off the table, Madden said if the towns are to pull in the reins of each department, they also need to the schools to understand the town departments have needs, too.
He said Green has already taken steps to close the revenue gap. The next step is to determine if the town’s other financing sources are being used as they should and if there is room for growth there.
“Ultimately, this is your report,” Madded said. “One of the main reasons I’m here tonight is to not only present you with this information, but to give the board and others an opportunity to assist in its development.”
Madden’s process involved reviewing financial trends over the past five years, reviewing “various documents” including documents and official statements to the state Department of Revenue, meetings with Green and other officials, projections of budgets five years forward, and consideration of a future Proposition 2 ½ override.
In addition to taxation, state aid and local tax recipts, Madded noted that Hanson has a series of renewable other financing sources, including fund that helps take care of a Title 5 septic upgrades and a fire apparatus fund that is fed by ambulance reciepts.
“These are ongoing renewable revenues,” Madded said. “When you look at something like that in a community, it’s usually one-time revenue.”
The FY 2024 levy limit of $26,891,943 is reached by adding the 2023 levy limit of $25,405,077 to the 2.5 percent increase of $635,127 and the $316,309 in new growth and $535,430 between two debt exclusions.
Local aid for 2024 is $1,761,054 – a four-year average of 4 percent.
“It’s minimal growtth,” Madden said. “The Water Enterprise Fund – at $3,078,478 – is not considered in any of this because it’s an enterprise self-balancing fund.”
Of the town’s $563,889 in local receipts, $82,399 is in meals taxes, approved in 2013, and $227,237 is investment income.
The motor vehicle excise is 58 percent of local receipts, which is actually down over fiscal 2022.
The town used $357,000 in free cash in fiscal 2024 to balance the budget.
“It’s an indication – a clear indication – of ongoing expenses outdistancing renewable revenue,” he said. “That’s not a value judgment of how the revenues coming in or the importance of the expeses that are being appropriated. It’s just the fact that there is a gap.”
The Division of Local Services’ best practices recommendation to use free cash – as a non-renewable revenue sourse – be restricted to paying only one-time expenses.
“In addition to that, bond rating agences are going to look at something like this,” Madden cautioned. “It won’t be the end of the world, but, obviously, ideally they’re looking to invest in communities with their revenues matching their expenditures. The use of free cash doesn’t help.”
Hanson’s fiscal 2024 operating budget was $32,241,150 – an increase of 4.5 percent over fiscal 2023. Vocational education was up 7.03 percent, W-H regional education budget was up 4.8 percent and the town’s increase was 2.5 percent.
The town’s expense for the regional 911 call center, paid for by state 911 funds for the first three years, will increase from $200,000 in fiscal 2024 to $400,000 in fiscal 2026, with budgets after that subject to the same inflationary effects as any other department. Plymouth County Retirement pension assessments also increase every year.
While the purposes behind the increases were reasonable, he said that Hanson had, perhaps fallen behind in its ability to compete with other communities in keeping qualified, talented people.
“Once you get them here, you’ve got to give them an environment that works,” he said. “You’re not alone in trying to make this work.”

The School District finished fiscal 2023 with a balanced budget and was able to put funds back into the excess and deficiency account during a year when they were also negotiating teacher contracts, Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said during a budget review at the School Committee’s Wednesday, Dec. 6 meeting.
“We balanced our budget through the [date] breach and we’re able to move forward with kids and FY ’24, which we’re working through with the state,” he said.
During his budget update, Business Manager John Stanbrook reported that interest income received by the district during the first quarter of fiscal 2024 has been much higher than anticipated.
“Things that are interesting, at least worth discussion is interest income – I budgeted $11,330,” he said. “Already, through September, we’ve got $37,000 – that’s about $12,000 a month times 12 [or] $144,000 if that continues.”
Committee member Dawn Byers noted that interest income had been forecasted for about $11,000 last year, but Stanbrook reported that the district had earned $235,000 overall.
“That’s fantastic, getting more than $200,000 more in interest,” she said. “Could we have budgeted more for interest income? … Likewise, when I look at the FY ’23 closeout, what worries me most is our state reimbursement on transportation.”
That account is showing a $366,000 deficit for fiscal 2023 and she is concerned that fiscal 2024 will show a similar deficit when the books are closed.
Szymaniak agreed.
“I would say that, when the business director makes a recommendation on transportation reimbursement, the committee sticks with that recommendation and doesn’t go over, because that’s what happened in the past,” he said.
While Szymaniak has had a conversation with state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and feels the transportation reimbursement should be in a better place at the closeout this year. Cutler said transportation had been level-funded over the last three years, but have increased it in the FY ’24 Governor’s budget for next year.
Szymaniak also said the interest income was unexpected last year.
“When we were budgeting in February, we didn’t have any idea,” he said, noting all the budget documents being reviewed by the committee were done by hand as part of the district’s data recovery following a recent system breach.
“That’s why when we got delayed, [Stanbrook] had to create 211,000 accounts for Munis,” he said. “They’re not a company that’s working with us. We were working with them [but] they’re not necessarily working for us. … I know things have been delayed in the past, but all this information was done by hand. Two years ago, he could push a button and we could get a report.”
Szymaniak said the district is also cutting paper checks.
“We’re almost out of the breach,” he said. “But the breach significantly impacted all of our data and how we present things.”
He asked for a conservative idea on the interest income that the district could realistically expect for the coming budget year, now that the problem has been identified.
“It would impact our budget in a positive way,” he said.
The Committee unanimously voted in support of policy revisions for their meeting norms, which will be printed up and placed in front of each member during meetings as well as at the sign-in table for those wishing to speak during public forum.
Member Glen DiGravio voiced objection to a policy against using cell phones during meetings, noting he uses his smartphone for everything, pushing the laptop issued to the committee aside for emphasis.
“I like this [he closed the laptop and picked up his phone] but this is how I do things,” he said. “This is my Google Drive. This is my everything. I don’t need this [laptop], I bring it because everyone else does.”
He said he also uses his phone to research information brought up in presentations.
“I just Wikipedia’d the Hamilton duel [as Hanson Middle Schoolers performed a re-enactment],” he said. “That’s my phone and [while] I’m not allowed to do that anymore, I’m still going to do it.”
Chair Beth Stafford said the policy change was because the Committee receives complaints that members are using phones to communicate with the public during meetings.
“That’s why a lot of the information now is printed,” she added.
Member Hillary Kniffen agreed, noting that was the reason Boston School Committee members’ phones were confiscated a few years ago because people thought they were texting each other during a meeting.
“It’s more to protect us,” she said of the policy change. “If someone sees you … you might be looking something up, but they don’t know and they might want to see your phone and it could be problematic.”
Vice Chair Christopher Scriven says he has a lot of the same functions on his laptop, allowing him to text on that device.
“I think the idea is we’re supposed to try to pay attention as much as we possibly can, and if you can balance that and work off your phone, I don’t see it a problem,” he said.
DiGravio said he would do his “absolute best” to transition to the laptop during meetings.
In other business, new Whitman Student Resource Officer Mark Poirier introduced himself to the committee. He succeeds Kevin Harrington, who has been promoted to the rank of sergeant on the Whitman Police Department.
“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s a whole different role for me.”
Poirier went to Whitman Schools along with Committee Vice Chair Christopher Scriven.