HANSON — The Board of Selectmen, Tuesday, July 9 discussed concerns and questions over water and electricity use, odor and wastewater management as well as security of the building, and  product and plant waste disposal at the proposed Cannabis grow facility planned for Commercial Street in Hanson.

“Tonight’s discussion is the first that the Board of Selectmen has had with Impressed LLC,” said Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “The purpose of our discussion tonight is to hear from the applicant about their overall business plan, as well as to discuss some of the areas of concern.”

Impressed LLC owners Ralph and Alli Greenberg of Pembroke and Weymouth dentist Dr. Shahram Mogghadam, the company’s lawyer Christopher Ray, who works for national cannabis-related law firm, Hoban Law Group, and HVAC design engineer Paul Dean fielded Selectmen’s questions before those of residents were taken. [See related story, page 5.]

“Odor mitigation is the big concern for people,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “[Residents] don’t want the skunk smell.”

Dean said the HVAC system will use a heap-15 filter, carbon filter and ionized air to eliminate odors as a way to control smell while sterilizing ductwork. A back-up generator, run on diesel and timed to start within 90 seconds of a power failure is also planned to control odor as well as keep plants alive.

The town’s current general and zoning bylaws ban retail marijuana sales in Hanson, but zoning bylaws permit other marijuana businesses such as cultivation and testing facilities to locate in the zoned area that includes the industrial park. Impressed LLC must meet all local and state Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) regulations, including the execution of a host community agreement (HCA), FitzGerald-Kemmett reminded those in attendance.

A final draft version of the HCA will be discussed in a public meeting at 6 p.m., Tuesday, July 16 to hear residents’ feedback before the agreement comes up for approval and signing at the Tuesday, July 23 Selectmen’s meeting.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the board has not yet seen the host agreement, but she said it has never been discussed as part of the town’s tax incentive finance (TIF) program and is not in the designated TIF zone.

“My background is used lab and scientific equipment,” Ralph Greenberg said. “I’m pretty involved with biotechnology and the understanding of how facilities should work with cleanliness and odor management.”

While he said he hopes to apply for a cannabis product manufacturing license at a later date, Ralph Greenberg stressed the current HCA only concerns a growing operation.

He said he will be the company’s operations manager and sales manager when product becomes ready for sale to in-state retail businesses. Local water supply company Indian Head Water has been contracted to supply water to the company. A tanker will be located at Impressed LLC and changed out every seven to 10 days, Ralph Greenberg said. No town water will be used for cultivation, only for bathroom services at the building, he stressed.

Ray, who now serves as general counsel to Impressed LLC during HCA negotiations and CCC application, said he would likely continue to serve the company in that capacity to help them keep compliant. Alli Greenberg will be the company’s cultivation director, responsible for all day-to-day management as well as licensing and regulation compliance as well as overseeing sales goals and hiring.

Hanson residents applying to work at the company would receive first priority, she said.

“Our commitment is to ensure the state-of-the-art facility is properly installed, that we’ll remove any odor that may otherwise escape our facility,” she said. “Furthermore, it is of the utmost importance [to us] to properly run a discreet location.”

Dean, the owner-operator of ICG — a design engineering firm and HVAC contractor — said he has worked on 16 cultivation sites in the state. Most of the board’s questions were directed to Dean.

Dean said hydrogen peroxide will be the only chemical used for cleaning, with the waste solution stored in a separate holding tank which will be tracked by a logbook when it is removed by a licensed contractor.

Disposal of plant waste will also be tracked and stored until it can be removed from the site for chemical treatment — rendering it unusable — before incineration off-site, owners have said.

Everything that enters or leaves the building, including plants that have died, will be tracked and reported to the CCC, Dean said. No pesticides will be used, per CCC regulations.

“It’s tested, so if we’re using it, they’ll find it — even heavy metals,” Dan said. Any batches where pesticides, or other chemicals are found to have been used, will be tracked and destroyed.

The building will use a nitogen-CO2 fire suppression system in the grow rooms along with an alarm connection to the fire department. There will be 64 internal cameras, many with high-resolution lenses to enable reading faces and badge photos, to enable proper access to secure areas, with only bathrooms not under camera surveillance.

“That’s your only safe spot in the building,” Dean said of bathroom privacy. Breaks and loitering outside the building are not permitted. State regulations also prohibit employees from using cannabis on, or within 10 miles of the property.

Selectman Matt Dyer asked about the company’s maintenance plan.

“What I don’t want to see is, the facility gets up and running if we approve it, and five years later we have a problem with the HVAC system because you didn’t do preventive maintenance.”

While Dean said his firm is not seeking that contract, he recommends a service plan to replace filters and clean coils every month.

Ralph Greenberg said he would be acting as the facilities manager to deal with that kind of service need.

Town attorney Kate Feodoroff said the town can use the HCA as a tool through which those conditions are enforced under threat of revocation, through Selectmen, the Planning Board or Board of Health.

Residents were advised to ask only questions about the business plan, odor and waste removal, security and other issues raised by the board.

“I want to make it clear tonight that we will not be discussing the legality, morality or safety of marijuana useage,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Those are issues beyond the scope of the Hanson Board of Selectmen and would be more appropriately directed to your legislator or the Cannabis Control Commission.”

The first two questions — about why there is an “impression we have to sign this host agreement” and who pays for legal advice to fight if the town “wants to fight something” — skirted that admonition, and FitzGerald-Kemmett cut off that discussion, after allowing it for a time.

Feodoroff had advised that court rulings thus far have centered on municipal efforts to control the number of facilities. Hanson’s votes at town meetings, she said have led to bylaws allowing grow facilities in town.

“The Board of Selectmen is essentially negotiating with a seemingly responsible party to execute what the town meetings told them to do,” she said. “That’s the best answer I can give you.”

Hanson taxpayers ultimately pay town counsel fees for legal services required of town counsel.

Other questions centered on fire safety and the handling of cleaning chemicals, as well as the benefits of signing a host agreement.

Dean said chemical storage would be in a secure area segregated from other materials on-site.

Feodoroff said the HCA places “a lot of risk” on the marijuana establishments, ensures compliance and generates revenue from the 3-percent of gross sales community impact payment. Paid for five years, the impact fees could be used for any purpose, Feodoroff said, from training police in detecting whether people are driving under the influence of marijuana, to school drug awareness programs, or street improvements.

“You do need backup [information on the impact], and the backup is to all be documented in the public record, but the way you use the money is unrestricted,” Feodoroff said.

HANSON — Selectmen welcomed new Recreation Director William Boyle, who started work June 3, and the new business plan for Camp Kiwanee on Tuesday, June 18.

“I know the topic of Camp Kiwanee to be an emotional one,” said Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “Before we get into this discussion, I want to let you know that we will not be discussing the enterprise account in any depth tonight.”

She said the Finance Committee has proposed eliminating the account and discussions between that board, Selectmen and the Recreation Commission to address the future of the fund will happen soon.

“It would be premature and unproductive to discuss them tonight,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “This board is supportive of the work the Recreation Commission is doing and we recognize that there have been some obstacles along the way that have hindered them from making the kind of progress they would have liked to have made.”

She said it is time to come together for the greater good and put past issues behind them, to that end she asked Boyle to meet with Selectmen to focus on the future of Camp Kiwanee.

A Pembroke native, Boyle said he has volunteered on Pembroke Recreation, Community Preservation, and was elected to the housing authority and has some background in the public sector, although this is his first time working in the public sector. His father has been a longtime selectmen in that community.

Boyle also ran his own financial services business for six years and has worked as branch manager for an Irish whiskey company.

“I’m looking forward to the future — to everything that the camp has to offer,” he said. “In order for everything to work successfully, you need to work together.”

He said he looks forward to be “just another team member.”

Boyle also spoke on behalf of the commission about Camp Kiwanee goals.

He said the five-year capital plan would be revamped and have discussed that goal with the Collins Center at UMass, Boston. That project, estimated to cost $10,000 would not be looked to for a start date until next spring.

Coupling capital priorities with grant opportunities is another goal, as is increasing recreational programming.

The Dept. of Housing and Development (HUD) is changing the way the Hanson Housing Authority is supported, from a public housing funding program to one using tenant-based vouchers.

Hanson Housing CEO Thomas G. Thibeault briefed the board of Selectmen on how the change would be made and what it means for residents.

Consultation with local government and community is part of the process, Thibeault said.

“The [former] LZ Thomas School, back in 1995 became a public housing complex consisting of six units — two two-bedrooms, two three bedrooms and two four-bedrooms — it’s federally funded through HUD,” he said. The federal housing program works on an income-based scale to determine the amount of subsidies offered.

“I believe you taught there at one time,” Thibeault teased. Selectman Wes Blauss, a retired middle school teacher, about the school-turned-apartments building.

Most federal HUD authorities over see 50 to 100 apartments, with more being better to be able to take care of the capital needs.

“So we’ve been struggling to take care of LZ Thomas and now, in recognition of that, they’ve given us the opportunity to change the funding stream,” Thibeault said. “What it would basically do is double the amount of income that the Hanson Housing Authority would get.”

The funding would increase funding by about $54,000 per year to support the complex, but nothing changes for the town’s operations. Hanson Housing authority would be the owner with a deed restriction on affordability and residents would remain.

“[HUD] asks that you authorize the town administrator to approve supporting the change,” he said. “It’s not guaranteed. It is a real estate transaction, so the transaction would take off the declaration of trust that HUD has on the property now and would give complete ownership to the Hanson Housing Authority.”

The board voted to support authorizing interim Town Administrator Meredith Marini to approve the change.

FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if Hanson residents do, and would they continue to receive housing preference for the Thomas facility.

“They are and they will be,” Thibeault said. “This was going to be part of the state public housing program back in 1995, and something went wrong.”

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s office stepped in and they made it a federal public housing property, he explained.

“I’m sure it solved a short-term problem, but it created a long-term problem because of the scale,” Thibeault said. “But I believe this would get us a long way to solving the problem.”

The board also voted to award bids for the Wednesday, June 12 tax possession auction. Nine parcels, most were abutting the property of residents who bought them for $500, but a parcel on Monponsett Street sold for $63,000; another on Rollercoaster Road went for $61,000; a Baker Street parcel was sold for $3,500; and another on Monponsett Street brought in $1,000.

Two parcels, on Monponsett Street and Whitman Street were not sold.

Marini said closings on sold properties are expected to be complete by the end of July.

HANSON — In a meeting featuring several legal issues — and lawyers — Hanson Selectmen on Tuesday, June 18 announced a mutual agreement between the board and Town Administrator Michael McCue to dissolve his employment contract.

Selectmen also reviewed and approved licensure rules and regulations for marijuana cultivation firms as well as the board’s role in the process of permitting such facilities — and announced findings of an ethics complaint by former labor counsel Leo Peloquin against two selectmen during the process that led to the board hiring a new law firm.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell read from a prepared statement concerning McCue after an hour-long executive session opened the meeting, which began an hour early for that purpose. In that session, Selectmen also conducted contract negotiations with interim Town Administrator Meredith Marini as well as one regarding the Hanson Police Relief Association.

“The Town Administrator had a four-year employment agreement that was set to run until 2022,” said labor counsel Jamie Kenny of Clifford & Kenny in Pembroke. “Tonight, the board has approved a separation agreement, which allows those contractual obligations to fall away and the agreement now between us is a separation agreement, which will end [the] employment relationship on July 1.”

She explained that these types of agreements have a seven-day revocation agreement before it becomes completely binding and effective. It is not a public document until that time.

“My understanding is, at that time, the board will release that as a public document along with a town statement,” Kenny said.

Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett made a statement on behalf of the board.

“This board is committed to complete transparency in all matters to the extent permitted by law, that being said, in compliance with state law, it is the policy of the town  not to comment on confidential personnel matters and/or ongoing investigations into personnel matters,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Because of these constrictions, we have not commented on any action with respect to the town administrator. Mr. McCue had an employment agreement with the town. There were three years left on the existing agreement. At this point, we have a tentative mutual agreement to separate Mr. McCue from employment, effective July 1, 2019.”

She said that once the seven-day revocation window expires, the board will release the agreement as a public document.

“The board looks forward to moving quickly to finding a new town administrator and to beginning the next chapter for the town,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

The board then voted to enter into an interim town administrator contract with Marini. Both votes were unanimous.

Marijuana facilities

Town Counsel Katherine Feodoroff then discussed with Selectmen the issues surrounding the board’s role in licensure of marijuana cultivation, manufacturing and testing facilities.

Questions about that role have surfaced during community meetings held by owners of a cannabis grow facility planned for the Hanson Industrial Park on Commercial Way in compliance with the process of in negotiating the host community agreement (HCA) required by the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.

“I’ve asked out counsel to attend tonight’s meeting to clarify the Selectmen’s role and responsibilities with respect to the licensing of a proposed marijuana cultivation facility in Hanson,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “This discussion is the first discussion we have had as a board regarding the proposed cultivation facility since learning about their attempt to locate here.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett cautioned those attending the Selectmen’s meeting that, after the board’s questions were addressed that, while the audience would have the opportunity to ask questions, “We will only entertain questions that relate to the topics we have proposed in our meeting agenda.”

“While I realize that people may feel strongly for and against the legalization of marijuana and recreational use of marijuana, that falls outside the scope of our discussion tonight,” she said. “It is something that has been decided at a state level. … We will have future discussions, which we will open up to the public and that will be more detailed about things you may be interested in that we are not discussing tonight.”

Feodoroff outlined the licensing structure of the town’s general by-law, which has similar licensing authority as by-laws regulating alcohol licenses, which are renewable annually.

She also presented a draft application for the process, which Selectmen voted 5-0 to adopt.

The board also has the authority to negotiate HCAs with any marijuana establishment trying to site in Hanson.

“Because there is a [town] prohibition of retailers, this just applies to your cultivators, the manufacturers — the folks that convert the marijuana flower to products — and the testing facilities,” Feodoroff said.

The regulations also define types of facilities included in and allowed by the license procedure. Police inspection, prompted by resident complaints, would be permitted.

When a facility is licensed, the regulations must be kept on-site with employees required to read, understand and abide by the posted regulations as well as attesting they have done so. Admission to the facilities would be strictly limited for members of the public and the town can establish hours of operation, including closure for inventory or other reasons — which the Selectmen must be advised about for security concerns. Without an HCA, a marijuana facility is not permitted to open.

Changes to the premises — as well as any change of ownership or license transfer — would have to be approved by the Board of Selectmen.

“Violations of local or state law, violations of other [governing] bodies’ regulations — like the Board of Health — violations of the Host Community Agreement, fraud, all these kinds of things could bring an entity that’s operating in town back before the Board of Selectmen to have a discussion,” Feodoroff said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett asked about the steps and timeline involved.

Feodoroff said an application of intent must be filed with the CCC. A provisional license can be issued following a community outreach meeting and a signed certified document stating a HCA has been reached with the town.

“They haven’t gotten there, yet,” Feodoroff said of the current applicants Ralph Greenberg and his daughter Alli of Randolph, whose company is called Impressed LLC.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also asked if language requiring most efficient use of water or restricting use of agricultural chemicals can be included in the HCA. Feodoroff said some towns include those regulations in the special permit-granting process, but she said concerns about water use could be points of negotiations in an HCA. Odor control concerns can also be raised.

“For cultivators, odor control and smell are the big issues that special permit authorities tackle,” Feodoroff said. “That requires a whole host of documents which will have engineering relative to what their HVAC system’s going to look like.”

Selectman Matt Dyer asked what responsibilities the town had for the proper posting of the community outreach meetings.

Feodoroff said that is not the Selectmen’s responsibility at all.

“You can facilitate the process, because you obviously know this is an important issue to your constituents … but it’s not your obligation,” she said. “They [the applicants] won’t get through the CCC unless they properly host in accordance with the CCC regulations.”

“We’ve gotten potentially different feedback on that, so it’s good to know,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “It’s not an approval process.”

She said the meetings were intended to offer residents an opportunity to make their concerns known. The Greenbergs will be hosting two more outreach meetings, at the Hanson Library on Thursday, June 27 and in the Selectmen’s meeting room at Town Hall Tuesday, July 2.

Two have been already held, but posting issues with the first have led the applicants to decide not to submit it to the CCC, according to Feodoroff.

A resident asked if, since retail facilities can be limited to 20 percent of the number of alcohol-sales establishments in a town, are there similar restrictions for cultivators, manufacturers or testing facilities.

WHITMAN — Not long ago, if you had asked Donnie Westhaver of Whitman what he would be doing in two years, driving a motorcycle would probably not be what you would have expected to hear.

Westhaver has been confined to a wheelchair after suffering devastating complications from spinal fusion surgery just two years ago. He now lives as a quadriplegic only recently gaining hand and arm strength with braces and grueling, twice weekly physical therapy.

Living in a wheelchair and the life altering circumstances does not define him, however. He has made his life mission and purpose about serving and helping others.

He admits that he struggles with having to rely on helpers to transport him to appointments although he has a handicap assessable van he is unable to operate it independently, yet. One day he hopes to have the arm strength to operate independently.  For now he gratefully relies on friends and family to take him out, he said.

Recently he began researching the Marine Mobility Conquest Trike, a handicapped assessable customizable trike that allows a wheel chair to fit compatibly and stably on a platform inside a motorized compartment. It was a limited product no longer being manufactured and Westhaver thought the chances were slim that he would cross paths with the bike.

But, as fate would have it, he received a call from his cousin in Texas who had seen the exact trike on EBAY. They tracked it down made a bid and the rest is history.

He has received encouragement from his family to gain some independence and a sense of freedom again.

The last few years have been emotional after losing his wife Susan from lung cancer. They were married for over 40 years. Having so many changes in a short period of time has not been easy, he said.

He sold his trailer and boat to free up funds for the trike.

“My family agreed that it was best to sell them now in order to be able to use something that would give me mobility to get around,” said Westhaver.

His attitude is infectious and giving back to the community re-energizes him. He has co-organized the Whitman Area Toy Drive for over a decade providing hundreds of families in need with toys, gift cards and food during the holiday. He also served as president of the VFW men’s auxiliary and is a past commander of the Whitman Sons of the American Legion. He helps and stays involved with other groups as well. He is the retired superintendent of the Whitman DPW, and a founder of Whitman Wheels for disabled Veterans and Citizens which provides medical mobility equipment to those that cannot afford the items due to lack of insurance or monetary reasons.

When the trike arrived it was comparable to Christmas morning.

The most incredible part of the mobility trike when it arrived was the 3-D artwork from front to back, he said.

“Seeing the photos online really did not do it justice,” said Westhaver.

As he poured over the artwork he wondered more about the drawings and what they meant. He reached out to the artist John Steven St. Clair of Florida the former owner of Metal Mafia Custom Painting in Orlando. He spoke several times with Westhaver explaining why the photos depicted on the moving mural meant so much to his customer and friend Mike. (Since the Express could not reach out to his family they are identifying him only by his first name.)

St. Clair relayed the stories of each piece of art to Westhaver. One of the most impressionable sections of the trike is a row of four faces all  Mike’s fallen military comrades — tributes to Pfc. Jay S. Cajimat,  Sgt. Andrew R. Looney,  Cpl. Durrell Bennett and Sgt. William Wayne Crow whose deaths were all related to their services oversees following  9-11 said St. Clair as he was told.

Westhaver has poured over the surface, which are emblazoned with emotional depictions undoubtedly a mix of memories and nightmares as Mike suffered from severe PTSD and took his own life several years ago.

On the day he spoke with the Express, Westhaver’s registration plate arrived via Gail Varraso of O’Rourke’s Insurance in Whitman. She was as happy as Westhaver who beamed from ear to ear as he held the numbered tag that would allow him a taste of the open road riding Mike’s trike. The freedom allotted to Westhaver has somehow been restored even in the smallest of amounts as he prepares to drive again.

HANSON — Library Director Karen Stolfer and consultant Ruth Kowal, who has more than 40 years’ experience in both small and large public libraries, presented an informational program on the library’s future at the beginning of the Monday, May 6 Town Meeting. Kowal has also served as the director of administration and finance at the Boston Public Library and was director of the Plymouth Public Library for seven years.

Speaking on behalf of the Library Trustees, Kowal spoke of the library’s future planning effort over the past year. The strategic plan is available for review on the library’s website and paper copies are available.

A public presentation on the library building program will take place at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 16 in the Hanson Public Library.

“I grew up when libraries had books, maybe some LPs — I guess they’re called vinyl recordings now — everyone was expected to be very quiet, if you spoke at all,” Kowal said. “You took what you wanted to use home, unless it was a reference book that you were going to use and … it had to be used in the library. Things are very different in libraries now.” Kowal noted that libraries, and how they are now used, reflect the “big changes in our culture and society,” and what the public expects.

“You are fortunate to have a Board of Trustees for the Hanson Public Library, and a library director, who are looking forward and are really looking out for the interests of the citizens of this town and want to ensure that you have excellent library service here,” she said.

Kowal outlined the public survey, focus groups, staff interviews, public “flip chart” sessions and conversations with key stakeholders that have taken place since the trustees contracted with her in January 2018. The state hasbeen assisting with financing that phase of the project. The public was asked how current services could be improved, what additions or changes the public would like to see and how patrons envision the li- brary in five to 10 years.

People still want to be able to borrow books, DVDs and CDs, either by traditional means or digitally, Kowal said. But the number one item on the survey was a request for more programs and classes for all ages. Friendly and knowledgeable staff able to assist with research, technology use or to just recommend a “good read,” was also mentioned, as well as access to computers, printers, internet access and other technology. Delivery of library materials to homebound residents was also a high priority, as well as expanded partnerships with community organizations and schools were also mentioned as well as expanded hours in a comfortable and welcoming building.

A strategic plan and building program is being developed based on areas in which the public saw a need for improvement. The second phase of the project has focused on the building program.

During the flexible hours they seek, the public wants to be able to be comfortable in spaces and furnishings that can be moved around. Expanded program areas including large and smaller meeting rooms were requested as well as a “contemporary and adaptable power and infrastructure system,” that is more outlets for devices patrons may bring in. ADA compliance and accessibility in an environmen- tally efficient building with strong WiFi capacity along with public access to meeting rooms when the library is closed were also requested.

“The Hanson Public Library is a very attractive building, architecturally, it’s in a great location, but it’s too small to do what people want it to do,” Kowal said. Options for the future include an extensive renovation and expansion to double the space from 8,195 square feet to just under 16,000 or to build a new library in a new location — with the Maquan School and former Plymouth County Hospital sites mentioned. The Senior Center, facing similar space concerns, is also in the midst of a planning process.

Kowal said next steps for the library project would include work with town and state officials on a possible timeline, hiring and architectural firm funded by the Mass.

Board of Library Commissioners and determining a desirable site for a future building as well as a funding plan.

When a grant was applied for to construct the current building, it was denied, so no state grant money was used to construct this building because libraries are required to look out at least 20 years for construction projects.

“The Review Committee felt that the needs assessment was very well done,” read a comment from the committee that reviewed Hanson’s construction grant application at that time. “However, it felt that that library ought to plan and design a new building for the population that is being projected. This library is not planned for 20 years.”

“The Children’s area is not large enough,” said another.

Town Administrator Michael McCue, speaking about a special Town Meeting article funding potential demolition of the Maquan School “when it may make sense.”

A previous consideration for razing only a portion of the building, leaving the gym and cafeterias intact for community use fell victim to consideration of liability and ADA access compliance, said Selectmen Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, who chairs the Maquan Reuse Committee.

McCue assured voters, while questioning the future of the building during discussion of yet another special Town Meeting article — on repair- ing the senior center floor – that there are no plans to tear the library/senior center building down.

HANOVER — Auditor Bruce Norling reported to the South Shore Regional School Committee on Wednesday, April 17 that South Shore Tech had a “good year” in fiscal 2019.

The district received a report with no adverse findings, and he reported that the school has “very adequate financial controls.”

“You’re pretty much on budget,” he said. “The overall bottom line is on budget. Your revenues were a little higher than you expected, but your expenses were a bit higher than you budgeted. It all came out pretty close.”

Norling said the school did a good job managing to stay within its budget.

“I also think, at year end, reserving money … for future projects,” he said. “I think that’s another way of how you manage to also keep the state happy that you’re not retaining too much dollars [in excess and deficiency].”

Norling said the only “black cloud” was the other post-employment benefits (OPEB) and pension obligations, which are also a concern for many government agencies.

“It’s a very large liability that doesn’t affect your budget so much now, but maybe in 20 years it will [have an effect] if you can’t fund that,” Norling said.

School Committee member Robert Molla of Norwell asked if revolving accounts from shops that deal with the public, such as culinary — through the Brass Lantern Restaurant — and the cosmetology shops, are being used effectively and not “hoarded.”

Norling said he found no problems with the revolving funds or enterprise accounts.

“I don’t see any abuses there,” he said. “I didn’t see any hoarding or excessive amounts of keeping profits.”

District Treasurer James Coughlin said the state requires those accounts to be audited every three years, which was done last year. He also said the district is not using excess and deficiency to balance budgetary costs.