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Wampanoag history kicks off Hanson 200th

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By Drew Sullivan
Express intern

HANSON — Dozens came together on Thursday, July 25 for a barbecue dinner commemorating the opening of a new Wampanoag exhibit at the Nathaniel Thomas Mill.

Camp Kiwanee in Hanson played host to the event, with close to 75 people attending. The dinner featured raffles and a silent auction to benefit Hanson’s 200th Anniversary Committee, in addition to a speech by native Wampanoag member and activist Paula Peters.

Residents and supporters dined on cheeseburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, and barbecued chicken, courtesy of local catering company Fork In The Road of Bryantville, while music played throughout the lodge.

During the dinner, Peters sat down for an interview and talked at length about her tribe, its history, and its significance to Massachusetts itself.

“I see a lot of signs around here like Indian Head, roads named Indian road or that sort of thing,” said Peters. “I think that’s obviously from that rich [native] history.”

However, in 1616, a “virgin soil epidemic” as Peters refers to it as, commonly known as The Great Dying, swept through the area for three years. This ultimately decimated up to 90 percent of the indigenous population along the coastal and nearby inland regions.

Peters also spoke of the erasure and sanitization of her people’s history, along with many others in indigenous communities throughout the region and country.

“Our history has been largely marginalized and I think what people do know is out of balance from what actually occurred,” she said.

The ignorance and lack of knowledge surrounding native histories is less so in Massachusetts, according to Peters.

“I think it’s a little less here because we’re down the street from America’s hometown,” she said. “But I’ve traveled across the country and around the world since becoming involved, and there is this overall ignorance to it once you step outside the region.”

Legacy

The lasting impact of the Wampanoag people is still very much felt today, on both a local and national level.

“The spirituality of indigenous people, even our governing structure, was something that eventually became mirrored by the founding fathers of this country,” Peters said indicating it flies in the face of the notion that native Americans were savage or barbaric peoples.

This theme of governance will be on display at Hanson’s new Wampanoag exhibit, called “Our” Story.

The name “Our Story” is due to the fact that the Wampanoag people had complete creative and editorial control over the exhibit. This is especially important given the somewhat checkered history that the Wampanoag tribe has had with local government, which Peters explained.

“Back in 1970, during Plymouth’s 350th anniversary, a Wampanoag man named Frank James was invited to speak at the ceremony,” she noted. “However, they looked over his speech and said ‘Oh, no, we don’t want you to say any of this stuff.’ This was because they talked about the Great Dying, kidnapping of native people and the injustices that were suffered. Rather than edit his remarks, he took his speech to Cole’s Hill in Plymouth. That day is now celebrated throughout the country as the National Day of Mourning.”

As dessert was being served, consisting of cake, pie, chocolate, and various fruits, Paula Peters took the stage.

She is a well-known leader in the Wampanoag community and former journalist for the Cape Cod Times. Her father Russell “Fast Turtle” Peters fought for the tribe’s federal recognition up until his death in 2003. The tribe’s federal recognition was gained in 2007.

During her speech, Peters asked the crowd about the history of famous Native American Squanto, and how much they knew about him. The room fell silent.

That, combined, with the number of questions she answered from the audience at the end spoke volumes about the educational importance of the event.

“The Wampanoag have been in this region for 13,000 years, so we feel a very strong affinity to this land. I felt a very strong affinity coming into Hanson today, it’s a beautiful place that I hadn’t ever seen before and is kind of preserved,” said Peters, adding jokingly “it’s a good thing nobody knows you’re here” as the audience responded with laughter.

As Peters was concluding her speech, she touched on some of the modern problems faced by native peoples including her own. Cultural appropriation is an issue, said Peters, referencing the NFL team the Washington Redskins. “Redskin” is widely considered a racial slur by many indigenous people, which made Peters ask, would a name like “Washington Jews” also be acceptable?

Some of her larger and more tangible concerns included securing and reclaiming all of her tribe’s land, recovering the native language, and the continued fight for greater federal recognition. “I’ve got all these things I’ve got to do. And I still have to circle back and worry about some ignorant people in the nation’s capital who think it’s okay to use a racial slur as a team name.”

The grand opening of the “Our” Story exhibit will be on Friday, August 2nd at the Nathaniel Thomas Mill, and the Hanson Historical Society will get a first look inside.

The exhibit, which is free of charge to all, will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Walking the walk on conservation

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By Drew Sullivan
Express intern

HANSON — Green Hanson, a local environmental group, took local residents on a nature hike Sunday, July 14, alongside Burrage Pond in Hanson.

Joanne Re, a longtime member of the group, led the roughly 3 mile hike beginning on Elm Street.

“I’m very interested in conservation of open land,” she said. Re mentioned her favorite part of the organization was their efforts concerning the quality of air and water in the area.

Roughly 15 people joined the hike, including two local families. Hanson mother Melissa Valachovic brought her husband and kids, along with their dog.

“I like finding new areas, being outside, and exposing our young boys to the nature,” she said.

As the hike continued, Re talked about the history of Burrage along with her personal connections to the area. “I remember the a-ha moment when I discovered this in my yard, that this belongs to everyone!” she exclaimed.

Most of the hikers agreed that one of the most pressing environmental problems today revolves around plastics and how they’re used and re-used.

“This is nuts,” said Jim McDougall, gesturing to his water bottle as he walked alongside his wife and granddaughter. “There’s too much [plastic]. It’s ending up in the oceans. If you kill the oceans it’s all done. It’s also effecting wildlife too much.”

As the hike came to a close, Re spoke in greater detail about the importance of this area, mentioning not only its history as the home of the nationally recognized brand Ocean Spray,  but also the home to a pair of Sandhill Cranes, an endangered bird species.

Those looking for more information on the group, ways to help their local environment, and future hikes can join the Green Hanson Facebook group for updates.

W-H looks ahead to FY 2021

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School Committee members on Monday, July 22 began assessing the challenges involved in preparing for Whitman’s planned operational override in the fall, as well as possible approaches to long-term budget planning.

Member Dawn Byers and Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak, fresh from a meeting of Whitman’s nine-member Budget-Override Evaluation Committee earlier in the afternoon, also briefed the School Committee on the organizational and override question structural work done in that session.

The budget panel meets next on Aug. 12 to begin specific discussions on school and municipal budgets.

“I’d say the best I can do is a level-service budget with our increases,” Szymaniak said. “The challenge, and I brought it to the committee, is that I don’t want us to be level-serviced if we’re looking at moving forward and, members of the committee, we’re part of that.”

Szymaniak added that, if the aim is to plan budgets for five years ahead, he wants to make sure the district keeps moving educational services forward.

The School Committee next meets at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 28 and will, among other issues discuss the budget implications of where the district wants to be in the next five years. School Committee member Christopher Howard requested that Hanson officials be kept aware of budget discussions with Whitman officials.

Committee member Fred Small asked if the dollar amount lost to level-service budgets from last year to this year could be provided.

“I don’t want to see us go backward from where we were last year,” he said. “I’d also like to see you work on the plan for how we’re going to advance. To just stay still and tread water …”

Szymaniak said he is looking at a close to $2.5 million increase in the budget for fiscal 2021 — $1.349 million if neither full-day kindergarten, nor busing costs for a school start time change, are included.

“We’re having more students than ever go out [of district] through school choice and they’re going out earlier,” he said. “I’m not losing kids in seventh and eighth-grade. I’m losing them in kindergarten.”

Those school choice losses are no longer just to charter schools, Szymaniak added. Parents are sending them to neighboring districts, such as Rockland, that are adding to school budgets, or to online educational programs.

“We’re still bringing in revenue, which is great for us, but the movement is different and, I’m afraid if we don’t continue to move forward …” he said.

“School choice has turned it into a public school that has to be competitive with other public school towns,” School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said. “Public education is going to have to be competitive.”

School Committee member Dan Cullity argued that all-day kindergarten is vital to stem the eventual loss of revenue as more parents send their children to other districts.

“Number two, the state’s going to make [full-day kindergarten] a mandate,” Cullity said. “If they make a mandate, then we’ll really be behind the eight ball, so we should get ahead of it. … before we’re the last ones in the state.”

Szymaniak also said that voters often argue that sports should be cut to lower budgets.

“If I were to threaten to cut sports … if your children were going to be freshmen and there was a threat on the table … and you were nervous about that, you might enroll that child [at another school] and the revenue I would lose would be worth the $280,000 to $300,000 that’s in the budget for athletics,” he said. “Most of our athletic budget is from revolving and gates.”

Changes in technology education also have implications for budgets, where the previous one-to-one device policy is giving way to Chromebook carts as teachers find the use of laptop computers in the classroom.

“They’re not as used as everybody thought they were going to be,” Szymaniak said.

Capital challenges also lie ahead in the district’s antiquated phone system, $330,000 worth of inaccurate Whitman water bills since the high school opened, and the cost of moving district-owned fiber optic wires to new utility poles at a MassDOT project along Bedford Street in Whitman. Bids are now being sought for that work. Gas and electric costs are expected to be up about $83,000 and trash pickup is forecast up by about $7,500.

While the increase in state per-pupil funding was limited to $30, regional transportation funding has been increased to a level of — 82.5 percent reimbursement, a total $75.9 million — in the state budget approved for signing by Gov. Charlie Baker.

“I’m looking at custodial services [SJ Services] up $29,000 for fiscal 2021,” Szymaniak said. “First Student [busing] will be up $41,600. If we want to change our start times, it will be an up-front cost of $440,000 reimbursed the following year.”

If full-day kindergarten in implemented, it is expected to cost $710,000 and the district is looking at an additional $100,000 in curriculum costs wit the addition of an English program and $1.1 million in contracted salary increases, but Szymaniak is level-servicing special education.

“I think special education is going to level off,” Szymaniak said. “My gut tells me that. But that’s a tough number to go back.”

Szymaniak said the fiscal 2020 budget was complicated by the resignation of Indian Head Principal Jill Coutreau, but he hopes the appointment of an interim will save some money. He said he is looking to appoint a retired person so the full salary would not have to be paid.

He was also, through hiring at lower salaries to fill two resignations in other district positions — including the director of technology — to bring back a teacher at Conley School to reduce class size in grade five.

“Sometimes when you eliminate a job, the person applies … for another job posted in the district,” Hayes pointed out. “That position is still eliminated.”

Hiring in-house in those situations saves on unemployment costs, Hayes noted.

Szymaniak pointed out that the assistant facilities director position, who ran school building use, was also eliminated, with a technology department employee taking over a piece of that on a part-time basis. He is also researching a possible change in the fee structure for building use for profit-making leasees to present to the committee in the fall.

“We’re moving into a collaborative operation [with facilities, technology and transportation staff]. … We’re having meetings to talk about job responsibilities,” echoed Assistant Superintendent George Ferro. “We’re having meetings to talk about their own individual goals and the goals of their individual departments — and that has never taken place.”

Szymaniak is also considering an audit of the tech department to determine how the district can operate more sustainably in the coming years.

Hanson OKs host pact for cannabis grow biz

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HANSON — Impressed LLC cleared the first regulatory hurdle toward opening a cannabis cultivation facility at 15 Commercial Way when the Board of Selectmen approved a revised host agreement with the company on Tuesday, July 23.

There were no questions asked by the board or residents attending the meeting before the 5-0 vote was taken.

Selectmen Chairman Laura Fitzgerald-Kemmett summarized the changes sought by the board after a draft of the agreement was discussed July 16.

Those changes — which Impressed LLC agreed to incorporate into the host agreement — include odor mitigation and water conservation practices, board approval before any transfer or sale of the business ownership and payment of a 3-percent impact fee to the town for five years. The company may not apply for a nonprofit or agricultural tax exemption and has agreed to pay for the services of an independent third party, hired by the town, to peer reviewing plans for the facility.

“I cannot conceive that there is anything in Massachusetts that is as heavily regulated as cannabis,” said Selectman Wes Blauss.

“We tried to put in the kitchen sink there,” said Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff.

Fitzgerald-Kemmett noted that Impressed LLC has been “very responsive” to terms the town has asked for in the agreement.

“This is just the first of many chapters,” she said.

The company must now comply with all applicable local regulations as well as obtain a license from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission and comply with the CCC’s regulations.

Fitzgerald-Kemmett also noted that residents had originally voted by a 51 to 49-percent margin to support the state ballot question legalizing marijuana use in the state.

“Since that date, there have been several town meetings and ballot votes regarding marijuana-related businesses in Hanson, where the voters have had the opportunity to let the Board of Selectmen know their wishes with respect to marijuana-related businesses,” Fitzgerald-Kemmett said, reading from a prepared statement. “This board takes its role as the licensing authority seriously. It is our job tonight to determine whether the draft host agreement is acceptable to us and whether it is in the best interests of the town to agree to enter into this agreement with Impressed LLC.”

Town by-laws currently ban the sale of retail marijuana, but allow other cannabis-related businesses to locate in the zone that includes the Hanson Industrial Park on Commercial Way.

Impressed LLC has held several public outreach meetings, as required by the CCC, as their attorneys negotiated a host agreement with town counsel.

Vehicle chargers

Selectmen also voted to set a fee of $1.50 per hour for the two electric vehicle chargers installed at the upper rear parking lot at Town Hall. Each charger has two plugs.

The fee covers a portion of a $250 per plug networking fee, that electric vehicle owners can ping off to locate the chargers when their vehicle needs a charge.

Selectman Jim Hickey did not like subsidizing the networking fee, but Selectman Matt Dyer argued that, without the network’s advertising of the charging stations, it would be difficult to make them successful.

The board decided to try the project for a year and review it.

Cooling town

In other business, Fitzgerald-Kemmett read a statement lauding town employees and volunteers for helping residents cope with last weekend’s heat wave. She said such work behind the scenes is typical of the way they work together to get things done.

“It’s important to occasionally take some time to express our gratitude for all that they do, and this weekend was a perfect example of people working tirelessly for the benefit of the town,” she stated.

The Hanson Public Library extended its hours on Saturday and opened from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Cranberry Cove extended its hours each day by two hours.

She said the Cove crowd on Saturday reminded her of Nantasket Beach.

“Quite a few people ended up taking advantage of these extended hours, but these types of things don’t happen magically,” she said. “On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, I hope you’ll join me in thanking the director, board and employees at both the library and the cove and … [Interim Town Administrator] Merry [Marini] as well as Hanson Fire, Police and Highway for helping to get the word out.”

SSVT closes books on another year

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HANOVER — South Shore Regional Technical School will be using a $78,000 Executive Office of Public Safety and Security grant to purchase the hardware to replace nine doors at the school with new doors including security access fobs. The School Committee encumbered an additional $594,000 from surplus revenue for safety and security expenses at the school, much of it for the security doors.

“The expectation is that we would be able to set staff [key] fobs for certain windows of time,” Superintendent-Director Thomas J. Hickey said, offering the example of outer gym doors to allow access for weekend practices or games, during the Wednesday, July 17 meeting. “We can tailor it based on the employee and the window of time — and it’s all tracked, of course.”

“That’s essential,” said member Robert Mahoney of Rockland. “You need to know who’s in the building.”

The committee also heard Paul Varley of Whitman speak during the meeting’s public forum on several concerns including; how the school handles bullying complaints, why the school mandates uniforms for shops and sports when a full range of sizes is not available, safety of vehicles in the school parking lot when cameras can’t provide full coverage to detect vandalism and how inclusive the school’s athletic teams are. He also alleges that he has seen fight videos involving students at the school.

“Kids are forced to wear uncomfortable, unsafe and demeaning uniforms or get yelled at for not wearing the proper uniform,” Varley said on behalf of his younger brother, who is a student at the school and stood next to him as he spoke.

Varley said when he was showing a friend the photo of the ill-fitting uniform his brother had to wear to play, the friend said the school mascot — a Viking character nearly identical to that of East Bridgewater High — seemed to be racially insensitive, especially in view of the presence of the school letters SS, for South Shore, on the jerseys.

Committee Chairman Chris Amico said they would note the concerns. He said Varley, who was reading his questions from his phone, could forward them and any photos of uniforms he was concerned about, as well.

No action can be taken by the committee on items brought to members’ attention during public forum, which is intended to bring up items not on the agenda.

“The school district and administration take feedback and concerns very seriously,” Hickey said in a prepared statement Friday, July 19. “Additional information will be gathered, further communication will take place and appropriate actions will be taken in the best interest of our students.”

In other business, the school committee honored Director of Buildings and Grounds Robert Morehead for his work in overseeing the maintenance of the aging school building.

“South Shore is a growing school that wants the best educational environment for its students and staff,” Amico said. “Bob and his staff are a huge reason why we are able to achieve the goal every day.”

Morehead said he felt lucky to have the position for the past 15 years as the school’s administration and school committee have been more supportive of his staff than some of his peers have experienced.

School Committee members, once again, gave Hickey an exemplary rating on his annual evaluation.

Dunkin’/Speedway reopens

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HANSON — The Dunkin’ Donuts and Speedway convenience stores at 318 Main St., reopened this week — a few days after the Hanson Board of Health closed the building following the discovery of rodent droppings on food prepared and left uncovered in a cooler last week.

The Dunkin’ location occupies and rents space inside of the Speedway.

After the findings, Dunkin’ was closed on Wednesday, July 10 and Speedway was allowed only to sell gas during the closure and decontamination of the entire structure.

In an update following the reopening this week, Health Board Vice Chairman Gil Amado said that Speedway was primarily responsible as Landlord but Dunkin’ as the tenant was also responsible for the cleanup. There were approximately 20 people working on cleaning the location for two days inside the Speedway convenience store and the Dunkin’.

“The health and safety of customers is our top priority,” the Dunkin’ Brands stated in a Tuesday July 16 press release. “We have stringent food safety and quality standards that we require all franchisees to comply with, and we take great pride in the food and beverages served to our guests every day. The franchisee who independently owns and operates the restaurant, which is located within a mixed use building, addressed the issues noted during the recent inspection. We also immediately sent one of our certified operations managers to meet with the franchisee and inspect the restaurant with regard to our safety and quality standards.

Hanson BOH inspection documents, which were obtained by The Express along with notes filed verbally through an independent inspector, documented the cleanup plan moving forward and her initial consultation with Dunkin’ manager Casey Sorrentino who stated all of the food products that were affected had been removed immediately. Neither Amado nor BOH notes supported or could confirm initial reports that the food had been served despite its contamination.  The BOH inspection stated there were no violations found related to any food borne illness.

The locations have since been in compliance and were declared reopened with recommendation of proper daily clean up and shift required cleaning along with nightly and monthly cleanings. The shared coolers and storage at the back of the building were shared responsibility according to the BOH documents.

Photos that accompanied documents through the BOH were released and clearly showed encrusted floors, and build up of dirt; both near and inside walk-in coolers and refrigeration of the shared use structure.

Mouse traps were placed in the interior of refrigerated cases along with plastic-wrapped bottled drinks as seen in the photos. In cleanup and inspection notations Independent Inspector Kathleen Piemonte stated a problem had been reported two weeks ago for a rodent issue by the manager at Speedway. They reportedly had a pest control company respond as soon as they were alerted by Dunkin’ management.

Back on June 29 through July 5 there were photos and documentation filed to the BOH regarding the rodent issue.

Last week Amado said a rodent-control company was on premises following the cleanup declarations.

“We felt that it needed immediate attention and they were shut down due to an imminent health hazard,” he said at the time.

He said originally the board had received a report that there was open food in the cooler and that it was “being nibbled on by mice and that mice were defecating in the trays. We walked in the cooler and that’s what we saw,” Amado said.

The same Dunkin’ store had been shut down over health concerns in the past, but the independent inspector, contracted by the town, had found no major violations at the location during an inspection a few months ago.

Because the mice move around the whole building, both businesses were ordered to cease selling food, he noted.

“After passing subsequent inspections by both the Health Department and a certified operations manager from Dunkin’ Brands, the store has since reopened and is once again serving our loyal guests,” Dunkin’ Brands stated.

The Express had reached out to franchisee Carol Porter who had no comment and referred to the Dunkin’ brand for media comments.

Robotics Camp an exercise in creativity

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By Drew Sullivan
Express intern

HANOVER — If automation is the future, South Shore Regional Vocational Technical High School is working to prepare students to meet that challenge — even during the summer.

The school hosted its Engineering and Robotics Camp last week, as middle school students learned how to make and compete with their own robotic creations.

Teacher Jerry Shaw ran the camp for its second consecutive year, this time alongside Greg Stevens, both of whom teach at the SST. “When I started teaching, I saw robots as a good vehicle to teach various means of engineering in an exciting way.” said Shaw.

Both Shaw and Stevens agreed that engineering and robotics camps like these help teach students invaluable skills in problem solving, key skills for future careers.

“A lot of learning happens when things fail,” said Stevens. “Learning how to take failure, learn from it and improve. That’s engineering. I think teaching them how to fail and learn is important.”

On Wednesday, July 10 the finals of a friendly competition between student teams and their robots concluded. Participants used their robotic designs to earn points by picking up objects scattered around the playing field and placing them in a box. This competition tested the campers dexterity and creativity.

Afterwards, students logged onto laptops as they began to learn how to further program their robots.

“Who here knows anything about coding?” asked Shaw, as a few students sheepishly raised their hands. They worked with a simple software called Easy C, that would give their creations more range of movement. Shaw talked them through the process, as he occasionally walked around to answer questions and offer assistance.

Controlled chaos ensued as the campers switched on their robots, some spinning wildly while others remained stationary. Shaw continued his lesson, talking about different types of computer languages and how they can be used. Many of the students, like Rockland eighth-grader Owen Maher, were simply excited a camp like this existed. “Since elementary school I’ve wanted to be an engineer. This is an awesome program. I wish there were more available.”

The idea for this camp was the brainchild of Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey, who originally approached Shaw about the position, due to his prior experience creating related curriculum and engineering camps for other schools.

“I’ve been doing this since I started teaching. Writing curriculum and teaching junior high kids in the summer,” said Shaw. “Junior high curriculum doesn’t leave room for a lot of exploration.”

Greg Stevens, who teaches physics at the school, spoke briefly on the differences between instructing middle schoolers and high schoolers.

“They’re on different levels. Some sixth graders are at one level, some at others. There’s a wide range of development, so it’s more challenging.”

SST Assistant Principal Sandra Baldner touched on the importance of these camps for prospective students. She noted that her favorite part was “the opportunity for the students to see the instructional tools that they’ll have access to as students here, and the potential for career pathway development.”

The students themselves enjoyed the challenges involved and their ability to modify the robots at will.

“You can do whatever you want with it,” said Marshfield middle schooler Benny Barber. “No two are the same. I like the customization.”

While working, student Joe Catto of Weymouth agreed. “It’s fun to do the coding part of it. To build it up and figure out how it works, different technologies and stuff.”

A concerted effort is also being undertaken to include and attract more girls to the STEM fields.

“This has been a huge push, especially with engineering education at the school level,” Shaw noted. “The younger you get them interested, the easier it is to kind of pull them in later on. Ideally though, there would be more female engineering teachers, science teachers, and mentors coming to work in the classrooms.”

Lastly, Shaw highlighted Boston’s special importance in the field of robotics while addressing the future of robotics in the classroom.

“The Boston area in particular is one of the strongest areas in robotics in recent years, especially with Boston Dynamics and iRobot and other companies.” said Shaw. “In the classroom, I see robotics taking on multifaceted realms. Trying to get teachers and students involved with robotics, to understand what’s going on with them and have exposure, as well as getting robotics to more underfunded areas.”

Hanson begins its TA search

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen have begun the process of hiring a new town administrator, voting on Tuesday, July 9 to post the position and the process by which they will select that person.

Interim Town Administrator Meredith Marini has advised Selectmen she is not interested in being appointed to the job full time.

Board members have expressed an interest in reviewing the job description, and Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked the board how they would like to approach the selection process. Marini said the Town Administrator Act will be the main guide for the type of candidate the town might seek.

“Once it’s posted, how do we want to go about whittling down to the candidates that we want to interview?” she said. Options included a selection committee, hiring an outside consulting firm — which has been done in the past, or including a group of citizens involved in the process.

Selectmen agreed to the consultant option, but Selectman Jim Hickey expressed a desire to be part of the process.

“I will go with it,” Selectman Wes Blauss said of a consultant. “I have become so totally cynical … this is a revolving door. We have had zero continuity. I can count six town administrators, plus an interim in 12 years — it’s just been so fast. We keep nobody.”

Blauss declined to discuss the kind of candidate he is looking for at this point, but did say the town keeps going around on the same track, hiring the “same basic person” who is gone after two years.

The last search was the first one in which the town used a consulting service, Marini said.

“One of the things that we’ve got to do is raise the salary,” said Selectman Kenny Mitchell.

“I’m not blaming the search committees,” Marini said. “It’s what you get for candidates, it’s a shallow pool that you’re working from.”

“You think it’s because of the salary?” FitzGerald-Kemmett asked.

“I think it is,” Marini replied. “And we’ve created our own problem now. [Applicants are] like, ‘Hanson? How many people have they had in the last so many years? What’s going on in Hanson?’”

Marini has looked to consulting firms listed in the Beacon Hill Beacon newsletter as well as reaching out to her counterparts in other communities to ask what firms they may have used.

FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested labor counsel Clifford & Kenny could be asked to conduct a comparative study of salaries in area communities. Marini said she had asked them to do just that, and that the firm will be supplying that information.

East Bridgewater, for example posted a position recently at a salary of $140,000. Hanson currently pays $122,000.

“That was a little concerning, particularly since it’s a very similar town in terms of size and demographics,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

During the last town administrator search, an independent consulting firm was hired to work with a search committee in conducting preliminary vetting of applicants, providing three finalists for Selectmen to interview.

Marini said the process is totally up to the board.

“I like the idea of a [consulting] company,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “What I would like is some department head feedback and involvement. I don’t know what that looks like, but I just know that I think it’s critical for our department heads … to be able to reflect that they have asked the questions and gotten a comfort level.”

She suggested that one option is to have a Selectmen’s meeting include an opportunity for department heads to ask questions of some candidates.

Marini explained that the board would set parameters of experience and other concerns for the consultant to use as a guide in reducing the applicant pool.

“My personal opinion is you need somebody who’s done the job before,” Marini said. “You can’t get somebody who is fresh out … unless they are exceptional. They need to know what the processes are.”

She reminded the board of her own plans for retirement.

“You’re going to have a new person in the executive assistant’s position and finding your way around is going to be difficult if you are just starting out,” Marini said. “By increasing salary, you may get some people who have been in other communities and, just through the dynamics of the political environment have decided to go someplace else, but I think the salary has a lot to do with it.”

In other business, Selectmen voted to change a design aspect of a portion of the Maquan Street/Route 14 rehabilitation project after MassDOT expressed concerns over a boardwalk plan the board had approved to streamline the construction time and lower cost. The board had previously opted for the other option presented to them — a retaining wall along a 250-foot portion of the road as it passes Maquan Pond.

“They are classifying [the boardwalk] as a bridge,” according to Town Planner Deborah Pettey in a letter to Selectmen. “That would mean it would have to be registered as a state bridge. It would also mean that we would have to hire a bridge engineer. Most likely [it would] add approximately $100,000 to the cost of the project and approximately nine months to the timeline.”

James Fitzgerald of engineering firm Environmental Partners explained the classification and options available to the board.

“There was a slight difference in improvements in terms of environmental impacts as far as going over the wetland [via a boardwalk] as opposed to putting in a retaining wall,” said Fitzgerald, who also mentioned that the board had preferred the aesthetics of a boardwalk, which was aimed at providing foot and bicycle access.

Maintenance would have been more costly for a boardwalk. As a bridge, the state would assign the boardwalk a bridge number and it would be under state inspection guidelines and authority for repairs, but may or may not allocate funds for any needed repairs.

“In our opinion, it makes much more sense at this point to go back to the retaining wall concept,” Fitzgerald said.

“Can we circle back to the absurdity of the bridge thing?” FitzGerald-Kemmett asked. “There are bridges failing all over Massachusetts and somehow this little 250-foot thing [is a bridge]. … I don’t think anybody felt extremely passionate one way or the other, but I think, aesthetically, we kind of favored the boardwalk.”

The retaining wall would require further discussion about where a wetlands replication area would be done to mitigate impact on the pond by the construction project.

Closing books on FY 2019

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WHITMAN — In a joint deliberation with the Finance Committee on Tuesday, June 9, which also met that evening, Selectmen approved line item transfers required before closing the books on fiscal 2019.

Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci said the Finance Committee had to vote on the transfers before Selectmen could vote.

“These should have been voted last week, but the Finance Committee didn’t have a quorum and today is the last day to make any of these moves for fiscal 2019,” Selectman Brian Bezanson said of a scheduled July 2 Finance meeting.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, who is traveling, and Selectmen Justin Evans were absent from the July 9 meeting.

Some transfers had been previously approved by Selectmen and had to be voted by the Finance Committee.

A transfer of $45,816.28 from Line 123 to Line 124 to fund vacation time accumulated by Police Chief Scott Benton was approved after some vigorous discussion.

“I don’t think its any secret that the chief of police is planning on retiring within the next year, possibly within the calendar year,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said. “While we are developing policies to prevent this type of accrual in future years, we’re obligated to pay unused vacation on termination of employment.”

Finance Chairman Richard Anderson said his committee’s collective concern was for the policy, which while still in development, is “long overdue.”

Salvucci wanted to know if there were any employees who could be grandfathered under any policy change.

Lynam recommended setting aside what is anticipated to be unexpended funds in the police salary line to lessen the financial impact when the chief does retire. The funds would be encumbered in an appropriation number created for that purpose, according to Lynam.

Finance Committee Vice Chairman David Codero said department heads had told his committee over the last budget season that they would be able to absorb any increases to their line items in order to save money for the town.

“This line item transfer is going to represent about $80,000 of money that was transferred from one police account to another,” he said. “The concern that I have is that, in a fiscal year that we were asking department heads to really tighten the belts, we’re getting $80,000 of transfers for unexpected expenditures. I don’t think it was prudent for that particular department head to have $80,000 to be sitting in an account when it could be used for other town services.”

Lynam argued the $80,000 represents 2.2 percent of the entire police budget. Unlike Town Hall or other departments, where schedules and costs are fixed, “in public safety, we have a number of items that are unpredictable.”

Line-of-duty injuries, for example, cannot be foreseen and not all shifts are always filled, he argued.

“If we were not doing these transfers, at the end of the year, we would be turning back $80,000 to the General Fund,” he said. “That money could easily have been spent by filling shifts we didn’t fill and for doing things that we probably should be doing that we don’t do because we’re trying to be fiscally prudent.”

He added that the only reason the transfer is being sought now is that the opportunity now exists to do it without needing to go to a special Town Meeting vote — which may still need to happen depending on how things play out.

“We’re paying for something that, essentially, the town agreed to,” Lynam said.

Benton asked what the $80,000 figure represented. Finance officials said it was cumulative transfers, including $12,000 in unanticipated costs for computer repairs.

“I come to the Finance Committee every year and I tell you that we don’t fill about 500 to 700 shifts and I tell you I can’t anticipate snow, emergencies and things like that,” he said. A mild winter helped this year.

“I didn’t know we were going to have a joint Selectmen/Finance Committee meeting that wasn’t posted, I didn’t know my name was going to come up, I didn’t know we were going to get into this, but I have no problems with getting into it,” Benton said.

Benton said he told Lynam that he thought transferring the funds was preferable to crippling the Police Department budget for the next year.

An additional $355.28 (over the $750 already approved by Selectmen) for a shortfall in payment for hours worked by the Selectmen’s administrative assistant was also approved. That salary covers hours that are uncertain from year to year, according to Lynam, who said the $355.28 — an additional shortage found when year-end payroll was completed — is being transferred from a line used to fund all salary increases when contracts were settled last year. Both boards approved the transfer.

A transfer from Line 172 (Norfolk County Agricultural High School) of $12,000 for legal costs was approved by both boards. A transfer from Line 256 to Line 257 of $2,230.42 for the FICA payment based on total salaries paid, a figure that is not clear as a year-end total until the June payroll is complete was approved by both boards. A transfer from Line 48 of $140.30 to Line 50 to close a minor shortfall in salary for the treasurer-clerical employee in the collectors’ office was approved by both boards.

Selectmen also voted to increase ambulance rates for the first time since 2016, at the urging of Fire Chief Timothy Grenno.

“It’s a sign of the times,” he said. “Insurance rates are going up. Also, some legislation has been filed — which sits in conference committee right now — which will limit the level to which you are able to bill insurance companies for the use of emergency services.”

That bill would include a rollback date governing when rate increases would be allowed, after which it would be limited to a benchmark of 2 or 3 percent, Grenno said.

“These rate increases are in line with what our billing company has recommended,” he said. “It is the same Medicare billable rates which most of our neighboring towns are using.”

Salvucci said he has noticed that Whitman has, in the past, been much lower than neighboring towns.

The Board of Selectmen appointed a nine-member Budget-Override Evaluation Committee.

Serving on the committe will be: residents John Galvin and Christopher George as citizens at-large; Finance Committee members Codero and Scott Lambiase; Grenno; Public Works Superintendent Bruce Martin; Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak; School Committee member Dawn Byers; Selectmen Evans and Randy LaMattina and Lynam.

“The town cannot show that we are approving it — even though we are approving [of] it — the taxpayers have to make that decision,” Salvucci said of the committee’s title.

Police Chief Scott Benton said he and Grenno had decided to have one public safety representative on the committee.

Grenno asked why there was no representation of the town accountant or assessor’s office on the committee, but Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green said the accountant would be actively involved, reviewing figures.

Whitman Fire promotes 2

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WHITMAN — Newly sworn in Whitman Fire Deputy Chief  Al Cunningham and promoted Lt. Nick Grasso were sworn in during the Whitman Board of Selectman’s meeting in a ceremony held at Town Hall Whitman on Tuesday July 9.

Among family, friends and colleagues Chief Timothy Grenno applauded the careers and advancement of both firefighters and acknowledged the work of retiring Deputy Chief Joseph Feeney in his 32-year career in Whitman.

Lt. Nick Grasso was pinned by his wife Jennifer. He was also presented his new helmet shield as commander of shift four from Grenno.

Cunningham was pinned by his wife Kate Cunningham and joined by his adult daughters Emma and Laura.

Grasso is the first firefighter in his family. He pursued a career and has been with the department nearly two decades.

He expressed excitement and the new responsibilities in a department he has grown with starting as a call firefighter in his college years.

I am looking forward to it. I am very appreciative of the town giving me the opportunity,” said Grasso.

Cunningham echoed that excitement for his own new position and the support of colleagues and family. He will be more involved in fire prevention and enforcement as part of his positional change along with working day shifts versus his decades of overnight shifts.

“I am really proud of the department I work for- going on twenty plus years now. I work with such a great bunch of guys that are so good at what they do both on the fire ground and EMS. We know that we can’t save everybody or every building but if there is a chance – that it can be done these guys will do it. I am proud to be second in command,” said Cunningham.