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Hanson salutes Young’s service

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HANSON — The annual Town Meeting kicked off a smooth outing Monday, May 1 by honoring longtime Selectman Bruce Young, who is retiring from public office this year. State Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, attended,  discussing the impact that Selectman Young has had on the Hanson community.

“The gentleman we are here to recognize has served the town of Hanson in many ways, dating back to 1977 as a Finance Committee member, a Historical Commission member, as a Board of Water commissioner and most recently on the Hanson Board of Selectmen,” Cutler read from a ciation he presented on behalf of the Massachuetts General Court. “Be it hereby known to all, that the House of Representatives offers its sincerest congratulations to Bruce Young in recognition of your many years of service to the Town of Hanson.”

“Josh and I are a prime example of people on opposite political spectrums that get along,” Young said of Cutler. “Everyone is working towards a common effort to move in the right direction for Hanson.”

Young also called the Town Meeting “the purest form of democracy” and encouraged everyone to spread the interest in Town Meetings to those around them for this generation and future generations.

Selectmen Chairman James McGahan praised Young for taking him under his wing, adding that Young has been a big influence on him politically.

The Town Meeting officially began by voting on the articles in the Special Town Meeting, during which, in Article 9, the entire Maquan School engineering condition assessment was scrapped. With this section of the article abandoned, the total cost of free cash went from the initial projection of $78,667 down to $53,667.

Between the Special and Regular Town Meetings there was a brief time-lapse video presentation of the Plymouth County Hospital demolition. It was said that the vacant area will be covered in a field of grass in roughly six weeks.

Marijuana
moratorium

Hanson voters rejected a temporary moratorium on the sale and distribution of marijuana in Hanson during the annual Town Meeting. There was disagreement between the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee, with the Selectmen voting 5-0 to recommend and the Finance Committee voting 5-0 not to recommend.

There was an amendment to this Article, moving the date this moratorium would end from June 30, 2019 to January 1, 2019.

“Our primary focus as a committee is to look at the financial impact and what’s in the best interest, in terms of financial interest, to the town,” Finance Committee Chairman Michael Dugan said in discussing the vote not to recommend. “We looked at this as if a retail location opened in Halifax, or any of the surrounding towns, this would, in effect, have a future impact limiting free trade in Hanson.”

Essentially the Finance Committee didn’t not want to risk future financial gains via taxes from a potential marijuana facility. This moratorium would prevent Hanson from gaining a financial benefit if neighboring towns choose to open a facility before 2019.

One resident asked how much money the town could potentially gain from a marijuana outlet. The Finance Committee said that the town has the right to add an additional 2 percent tax on top of the state tax for marijuana sales.

This close voice vote was challenged by a resident, the lone article among 52 that required a vote count. In addition to a vote count, it also required a 2/3 majority. 62 voted yes while 56 voted no, defeating the moratorium.

Capital matrix

As was the case during the Town Meeting Preview, Article 14 was the primary source of drama for the night. The primary concern, as brought up by the speaker from the Capital Improvement Committee, was the cost.

He said, “It is not up to our committee to second guess the department heads, it is not up to the board of selectmen to decide what the people of Hanson can afford will afford and will pay. We simply put the facts as they’re given to us by the department heads as a point of information to the citizens.”

During the annual Town Meeting, Young was highly critical of the Capital Improvement Committee’s repair matrix in Article 14:

“The purpose of having a capital improvement committee is outlined in the general by-law,” he pointed out, “It’s true the department heads bring their requests to the capital improvement committee each year, but it’s up to the Capital Improvement Committee, as outlined in the bylaw, to coordinate the development of the capital improvement budget within the operating budget in the current fiscal year.”

He explained that capital improvement funds can afford between $800,000 and $1 million, therefore the town shouldn’t have $11 million or $12 million in the capital improvement matrix.

“The committee is charged with prioritizing department head requests into the matrix for the first year and then to the corresponding five years as they see fit,” Young said. “That way you don’t have the department heads dictating and dividing up where the priorities should come, you have an independent board called the Capital Improvement Committee, made up of seven members at large, who possess neutrality on the subject dividing up and prioritizing capital improvement funds.

“If you don’t follow these rules and you just list everything under fiscal year 18 then there’s no sense in having a Capital Improvement Committee, because they’re the ones in charge of prioritizing it and sending it to the board of selectmen for approval,” Young continued. “Thus, if I see a capital improvement matrix that doesn’t follow the capital improvement by-law and I go along with it then I turn my back on what should be done under the general by-law. If we have a by-law, like any other law, it’s supposed to be followed. Why should I go along with a committee that isn’t following the capital improvement by-law?”

Voters nonetheless voted to approve Article 14 even with the Capital Improvement Committee brazenly ignoring the by-law and Young didn’t hide his disappointment over the vote.

Articles 31 and 32, seeking donations to nonprofit organizations were deemed illegal by town legal counsel, because the town is not allowed to give money to an outside organization. The organizations are Health Imperatives’ Violence Intervention and Prevention programs and the South Shore Women’s Resource Center for deomestic violence intervention and prevention. During the Town Meeting Preview, the Selectmen emphasized that they support these organizations but could not recommend them as they must follow the law in this instance.

Whitman voters adjust budget

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WHITMAN — The town’s financial future became a bit tighter Monday, May 1, after voters at annual Town Meeting agreed with requests from the floor for department head raises of 2.5 percent that, in most cases, were not included in the Article 2 budget for fiscal 2018.

“The whole point of setting financial controls is to set the tempo for future bargaining and future expenditures,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said after the session. “Unfortunately, the message wasn’t perhaps, as clear as it needed to be.”

Lynam also suggested it could be a matter of too little a difference in dollars during a budget year in which one contract is out of synch by 2.5 percent.

“They collectively added up to about $5,000 or $6,000 on a $35 million budget,” Lynam said. “If the Town Meeting was willing to support the votes, I’m certainly not going to be opposed to it. It’s a decision that gets made here.”

He said that perhaps more work needs to be done during bargaining to make sure people understand a lot depends on the town’s ability to make the payments.

“We went almost right up to the levy limit tonight, so it’s going to limit what we can do next year, unless we change significantly how we do business,” Lynam said.

The 2.5-percent department head raises were requested by Michelle Hayes, who is a 13-year employee of the collector’s office.

“This is the first time I can remember that our department heads … are on your warrant [for a] 2-percent pay increase, while the Town Hall employees negotiated with the union for a 2.5-percent pay increase,” she said. “I would like to put them on par with us.”

All five of her amendments — for the town accountant, assessor, treasurer-collector, clerk and building commissioner  — were approved by the voters.

Lynam said the department head salary issue had been intended to “set a standard for the next several years in the direction of salaries and costs,” and that it was very difficult to set one contract against another. He said he would support the Town Meeting’s decision.

Voters did question a $22,752 salary increase (for $86,000 total) for Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green. The increase was supported by a vote of 96-62.

Michelle Winnett, 308 Raynor Ave., asked why the 35-percent increase was being requested. Lynam outlined that when former Assistant Town Administrator Greg Enos was hired in 2013, his limited experience dictated the starting salary of $63,248 now being paid to Green, who is an attorney and has government experience with the Social Security Administration. Enos had left to take a job with another town for $30,000 more.

Lynam then surveyed salaries in other similar communities, finding Whitman “significantly off” the pay scale.

“My concern, and the concern of the Board of Selectmen, was to recruit and hire somebody capable of doing the job I’m doing and, perhaps being prepared to [take over] when I’m no longer standing here,” he said. The decision was made to offer a salary commensurate with those responsibilities.

Winnett also asked what salary would be offered to an assistant town administrator without Green’s credentials should she move up on Lynam’s retirement. Another resident asked why a more competitive salary wasn’t advertised when Green was hired.

“We didn’t want to go through another cycle of hiring someone for less, training them and sending them off somewhere else,” Lynam said.

He also said he could not forecast the future but added, “It is impossible to do this job without the staff to support it.” He said the hours and responsibility of the job demands a competitive salary.

“There isn’t another town that operates as efficiently as we do, in terms of cost for administration,” he said.

The Board of Library Trustees sought a 4-percent salary increase (to $67,095) for the Whitman Library director, which Town Meeting approved.

Since the Town Meeting approved the other raises, Lynam then asked for reconsideration of salaries for DPW operations superintendent, recreation director, Council on Aging director and technology director, at 2.5 percent increases, which were approved.

Electronic voting

Former Town Moderator Mike Hayes opened the meeting with a report on the Electronic Voting Committee’s work, and articles to authorize it on the annual Town Meeting and to fund costs associated with it on the special Town Meeting warrants. In a squeaker of a counted vote, the funding was approved, 83-81, with the article accepting the  committee’s report  later passing by large margin in a voice vote.

“If you have questions, just bring them forward and we’ll discuss this,” Hayes urged during discussion over transfer of $3,400 for the funding article. “It’s a big change for the town.”

Garrett Moniz of 88 Woodlawn Circle asked how the votes are stored. Hayes explained that vote totals only, and not information on how individuals cast votes are stored on the Internet cloud, but he admitted there is a risk of hacking.

Town Clerk Dawn Varley also said that devices, assigned a number at voter check-in, would be for ensuring the devices are returned, rather than tracking votes.

“I don’t even know what’s on that device,” she said. “I wouldn’t know what your votes were.”

Denise M. Taylor of Captain Allen Way wanted to know the name of the company — Turning Technology, which the town will be using — and more information on the cost. Hayes said Turning Technology and Option Technology were the two firms providing quotes to the town. The small devices work like a hand-held calculator, Lynam said, explaining that voters would have a time limit to cast votes with their last vote being counted. Voters therefore have the opportunity to change their minds. Final vote totals would be displayed on a projection screen.

Michelle LaMattina of 6 River Birch Circle asked if some kind of security deposit or fine for lost or damaged devices would be charged as the town would be leasing the devices. Hayes said there would be a replacement cost, but not a security deposit

Another voter asked why Whitman’s small Town Meetings require the devices. Hayes said most area towns already using the devices are or a similar size.

Water meters

During the special Town Meeting, Article 4 — which called for a Transfer of $1.87 million to purchase and install replacement water meters — was passed over due to an equal cost to the town involved in intersection work planned to widen intersections, at  routes 18 and 27 and at routes 14 and 27. Old water gates in those areas would be replaced at that time, which is where the additional $1.8 million cost would be involved.

Lynam indicated that, while the new meters are vital for auditing water costs, the town found out about a week ago that MassDOT intersection work will be done next year.

“We would like to step back from this article, have a conversation with public works, selectmen and the Finance Committee to determine what would be in our best interest,” Lynam said. “It may make sense to fund one of the projects by borrowing and paying for it over eight or 10 years … and pay the other costs directly. But that’s not a decision to be making on short notice.”

Whitman OKs more firefighters: Override question to appear on May 20 Town Election ballot

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WHITMAN — Voters at Monday’s annual Town Meeting supported Fire Chief Timothy Grenno’s Article 23 proposal to raise and appropriate $310,000 outside the levy limit to fund the salary cost of hiring three new firefighter/paramedics for Whitman Fire-Rescue.

The article, on which the Finance Committee was divided, also transferred $20,000 from the reserve from appropriation ambulance account to equip the new personnel. Voters at the May 20 annual Town Election will have the final say. Two years ago, Grenno had asked for eight additional firefighters, but the department did not receive the grant funding sought to pay a portion of that effort.

While Grenno expressed optimism on the chances it would pass, he said he is prepared to work hard to convince voters of the need.

“The Town Meeting voters have always supported the public safety departments in Whitman, hands-down,” Grenno said after the meeting adjourned. “The ballot box is a different question. It’s a tough budget time, on family budgets as well. … But I’m going to get out there and educate the people.”

He plans on using every communication avenue open to him, from social media and cable access TV to meetings with different groups in town to “get the facts out there.”

“I think, when I present the facts and show the taxpayers what goes on within the four walls of Whitman Fire-Rescue, and how it’s almost impossible to cover the emergency call volume that we have, I think that they’ll be sympathetic to us and understand that this is a real need and that we’re not crying wolf.”

Police Chief Scott Benton pledged to add his support.

“From a public safety standpoint I obviously support it,” Benton said. “I thought he did a great job. It was a great presentation — he definitely made his case.”

Benton added he not only respects Grenno as a fire chief, and considers him a friend, he said Grenno does an outstanding job in advocating for his men and the people of Whitman.

“I absolutely support what he is doing,” Benton said. “I hope the townspeople will fund it.”

Grenno provided the same PowerPoint presentation to Town Meeting voters that he gave before the Board of Selectmen a few weeks ago. The Whitman Fire Department became a full-time service in 1965 with five members per shift. In 1973, with an ambulance service added to the department, staffing levels remained at five per shift, where they remain today. The goal is to add one firefighter per shift, Grenno said.

“We need six people per shift,” he said.

In 1965 call volume for both fire and medical emergencies was 496 runs during the year. Last year, call volume was up to 2,664 runs. Medical emergencies make up 64 percent of all responses.

When calls come in, priority EMS calls — chest pain, shortness of breath, seizures and overdoses, for example — all five firefighters on a shift respond. For non-priority first calls — such as orthopedic cases — three firefighters respond, leaving two and possibly a shift commander to respond to subsequent calls, Grenno explained.

Based on a one-room fire, a three-person engine response has a 38-percent effectiveness rating. That increases to 65 percent for a four-person company and 100 percent for five responding firefighters or more.

Last year, the fire station was empty 18 percent of the time due to call volume, with subsequent calls dependent on mutual aid, which helps but takes from 20 minutes to an hour to get to a call.

Grenno received backing at Town Meeting from Finance Committee Vice Chairman Randy LaMattina, residents Tom Evans, Richard MacKinnon and Neil Gorman as well as state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, spoke in favor of the article. Finance Committee Chairman Michael Minchello, meanwhile, said he was not against the need for more staffing, but sought an alternative view on how to tighten the budget, arguing the presentation does not reduce overtime costs.

“You can arrive at a fire scene in the newest fire truck, the shiniest fire truck, but it’s when you get off  … the manpower at that scene is what matters,” said LaMattina.

“Every citizen is going to benefit by this,” Evans said. “It’s a matter of life and death.”

MacKinnon, president of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, also endorsed the override.

“We’re grossly understaffed in Whitman,” the Washington Street resident and Whitman firefighter said. “I urge the town members here to at least put it to an override.”

Court Street resident Gorman, told of a brother in “a different town” who died from smoke inhalation in a four-alarm fire a year ago.

“This is people’s lives,” he said, noting that he later discovered that an engine could not respond to the fire at his brother’s house because of staffing issues in that town’s fire department.

“I agree this needs to go to the town for a vote,” Diehl said, noting federal and state changes to the amount of revenue an ambulance department can generate as well as how certain medical cases are transported.

Tale of a storied cookie: Retired teacher pens saga of Toll House treat

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The Toll House cookie is now the subject of a children’s book currently in preorder status and due for publication in June.

“We’re getting excited because [publication] is getting close,” Whitman native and author Kathy Teahan said Monday. “It’s just such a huge part of the history of Whitman and Ruth Wakefield is such an amazing woman for fulfilling her dreams.”

Based on the true story of how Wakefield created the now-famous cookie at the Toll House Restaurant, “The Cookie Loved ’Round the World” relates “how … a cookie took hold of the people of Whitman, the state of Massachusetts, and the rest of the country,” according to the presale page of East Bridgewater-based SDP Publishing Solutions (sdppublishingsolutions.com/bookstore).

A portion of the sales will be donated to groups dedicated to fighting world hunger, but Teahan has not yet decided which ones.

“We are blessed to have so much food, for the most part, in this country, but there are still a lot of people struggling both here and all over the world,” she said, adding her book touches on the issue in places. “I’m hoping to educate kids and have some of the money from the profits go toward helping that issue.”

Teahan said she wrote the book to inspire young people to follow their dreams.

“The story about Ruth Wakefield and her cookie expresses how hard work and perseverance can make good things happen,” she said.

Teahan said the way the cookie, included in packages from home to overseas troops during WW II, was inspiring in the way it became an international hit.

A retired teacher and state legislator, Teahan worked as a salad girl at the Toll House Restaurant after the Wakefields sold the restaurant — one of her summer jobs to pay for college. Two of her aunts had also worked there and Teahan uses one of them as the book’s narrator.

She has always been interested in writing, having her eighth-grade classes write picture books for third-graders during her teaching days at the Gordon Mitchell Middle School in East Bridgewater. Teahan also taught English at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School.

Teahan began work on the book by “jotting down things that I knew” and doing online research. John Campbell and the Whitman Historical Society and former Toll House waitresses were also key resources.

Drawing conclusions

The book is illustrated by former Express graphic designer Larisa Hart of Duxbury. It is Hart’s first outing as a book illustrator but says it won’t be her last.

Brimming with ideas for her own book eventually, Hart says she’d take on more projects like this one “in a heartbeat” and related how the opportunity came about.

“Kathy came into the office one day,” Hart recalled. “I’m not sure how she met [Express Newspapers owner-publisher] Deb [Anderson], but she knew Deb and she was saying she needed an illustrator for the book.”

The plan was that Teahan’s son, Bob, would illustrate. When his work schedule interfered, she needed a new illustrator and mentioned it to Anderson while the two were discussing plans for their 50th high school reunion. Teahan and Anderson graduated W-H together in 1965.

“I mentioned that my son wasn’t going to finish the illustrating process because he didn’t have time,” Tehan said.

Anderson knew that Hart was also an artist and suggested her to Teahan, a suggestion Hart says changed her life. After Hart sent some samples of her work to be reviewed by Teahan and the book editor, she started a new artistic adventure in which she had to translate the story to full-color drawings.

“I really loved her work,” Teahan said of sample sketches Hart provided for her to review. “She’s such a good person and her pictures are wonderful.”

Hart said the author and editors provided direction, which she let “steep” to help her  figure out how to incorporate the directives into a picture.

“Each illustration goes through almost seven phases starting from a thumbnail sketch and different sketches to line art and to colored art,” she said of the 16 illustrations she did. “It was pretty intensive.”

While illustrating the book, she was also starting a very technically exacting new job.

“It was a lot of work, but it was well worth it,” Hart said. “I got better and was more confident as I went along on each of the pictures, so it’s been amazing.”

It has also translated into a new skill for its illustrator.

The Wacom tablet on which she is working, allows Hart to paint in images with a pressure-sensitive stylus for a watercolor effect.

“I’m able to make a realistic-looking watercolor painting using layers and layers of color in the illustration,” she said. “I’ve [also] worked with editors before, but not as critiquing my art — they’re lovely to work with and Kathy has been so gracious, so supportive.”

Teahan is self-publishing through SDP Publishing Solutions because she had doubts about the potential popularity of the book, but added the initial feedback she’s been getting is encouraging.

“I feel like it was meant to be,” Teahan said. “Our history for such a long time didn’t include the women who made such a huge impact and did so many outstanding things.”

Teahan, who now lives in Harwichport, is also planning a memoir of her term as a state legislator and other children’s books as future projects.

Dedicated to Nancy, with love

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HANSON — A day filled with all the things she loved — family, friends, children and animals — celebrated the dedication of the Nancy M. Cappellini Children’s Room at the Hanson Public Library on Friday, April 21.

Topping off the festivities, her grandson, Jack, grabbed the corner of a blue cloth covering the room’s new sign to unveil it before a flock of the family’s racing pigeons was released outside the front door.

Despite a steady, chilly drizzle that moved a Hanson Grain-provided petting zoo inside, the library was jam-packed with residents, library trustees and town officials in honor of the former library director who died in December after a battle with cancer.

“It’s unbelievable,” Steven Cappellini said of the event celebrating his late wife. “It’s really nice — a big honor for Nancy.”

As he spoke, the library/senior center’s community room was abuzz with children and their parents, petting rabbits and goats and peering into an incubator of poultry chicks. He said the large crowd was an amazing tribute to Nancy.

The library staff also presented him with a journal in which patrons have penned their thoughts and memories of her over the past few months.

“She would have loved this — kids everywhere, animals, family,” Cara Cappellini said of her mother. “We miss her terribly, but we’ve been so carried by the love and support of the people in the community.”

“It just shows the impact that Nancy had,” Library Director Karen Stolfer said. “It’s great to have all these people here. We were hoping the weather would hold out, but things happen and you have to make it work.”

Kids first

Activities for children included bookmark coloring, balloon animals, face painting and a make-and-take window “greenhouse” in a plastic sandwich bag for vegetable seeds provided by the Hanson Eco-Explorers 4-H Club.

Selectman Bill Scott, who worked with Nancy Cappellini on the town’s Agricultural Commission, noted the day was a perfect celebration of the important things in her life.

“This is a real tribute,” Scott said. “We’re going to miss her dearly — she was a peach. I loved talking to her and working with her on the agricultural issues. She had a heart of gold.”

Scott also noted Cappellini’s sunny personality will be missed.

“You never saw her without a smile,” he said. “She always had a pleasant approach to things. … I’d rather have her here, but this [turnout] is great.”

Stolfer officially welcomed the crowd for the noon unveiling, followed by remarks by Children’s Librarian Kate Godwin, Trustees Chairman Jennifer Hickey and Trustee Linda Wall.

“She had a great impact, not only on the library staff and patrons, but on the whole community,” Stolfer said of her predecessor who had started as the children’s librarian.

Godwin noted Cappellini’s unique impact as a “ray of light for so many” in the community.

“I learned so much from her in the years that I knew her,” Godwin said. “She was the most giving soul. She was the true definition of kindness embodied.”

Hickey’s emotional remarks centered on Cappellini’s legacy and how pleased she would be to see Stolfer, whom she had hired, succeed her as director.

“I know I speak on behalf of all the trustees when I say we whole-heartedly agreed” with Stolfer’s suggestion about naming the children’s room for Cappellini.

“We know that Nancy Cappellini has left her mark on the Hanson Public Library and on generations of patrons and their children,” Hickey said. “The children’s room is a place where magic and adventure are only a page away and Nancy understood this — she instilled a love of library in countless children. Her love and devotion and commitment can be found in every book and on every shelf in this room.”

Her voice wavering, Hickey said the room represents a “perpetual thank-you to Nancy and her family” and will continue to serve as Cappellini saw it — “a home away from home for so many people.”

Wall also extended the trustees’ thanks and noted she counted Cappellini, who started her library career at the Indian Head School, as a friend for more than 25 years.

“Children and family were always very important to Nancy,” Wall said, describing Cappellini as a devoted and effective leader who always showed kindness to others. “We know that Nancy’s award-winning smile is shining on us today.”

Refreshments were served following the ceremonies.

Hanson reviews TM, trash contract

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HANSON — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, April 25 previewed next week’s Town Meeting articles.

The rehearsal for the Monday, May 1 Town Meeting was mostly intended as an opportunity for various town officials to discuss articles that will be put before the meeting. Some of the officials came to specifically discuss articles they were representing.

Most of the articles were passed over quickly, without much discussion, but others were more controversial. At various times Selectmen and even town officials spoke out against articles.

Selectman Bruce Young, for example, maintained that town bylaws are not being followed on Article 14 — the Capital Improvement matrix, which totals $12 million — a figure the town is unable to fund. Young maintained the Capital Improvement Committee is not doing its job, because it is charged with producing a matrix the town can afford.

“I’m not going to let you twist my arm in public,” Selectmen Chairman James McGahan said in an effort to restore order to the meeting.

There was also much discussion revolving around the WasteZero contract, recently extended for three years. The extension was signed by Town Administrator Michael McCue.

Selectmen expressed concern over the relevance of a waste disposal transfer station when most people in town are now using various hauling companies for their waste.

Young was concerned about the lack of publicity surrounding the extension, citing that it was highly publicized three years ago at the initial signing with WasteZero. He said that it was previously a “ceremonial signing of the contract.” He offered to show the video to the representative from the transfer station. Selectman Kenny Mitchell agreed with Young, stating that he was there during the last signing and was surprised that it was not done in a similar manner this time.

McGahan said he felt this portion of the discussion was a distraction.

“Regardless of the history, let’s stick to what’s on the agenda,” he said. “I don’t want to go into a violation of the Open Meeting Law.”

McCue wanted to verify his intent in signing the contract extension. He stated, “there’s a misconception that this was a de facto extension” on his part and wanted to make it clear that, if the town eventually wants to move toward curbside trash collection in the future, it would need to start the process at a more adequate time.

“In the interim we need to keep in place what we have now or we’ll have nothing in place,” he said.

Young also wanted to know the number of Hanson residents who have a valid pass for the transfer station and compare that to the number of homes in Hanson to gauge the relevance of the program.  He said that on his street various waste disposal companies are used and wonders how many people truly take advantage of the pay as you go transfer station system. This information was not immediately available.

Selectman Donald Howard defended the transfer station, stating, “Pay as you go has worked throughout this country.”

“We have tried many ways to fund the transfer stations,” Howard said. “Yes, we run at a deficit but eventually we’ll get better at it.”

The representatives from the transfer station were pleased with Howard’s sentiment, and were adamant in their plan to make the transfer station “self-sufficient.”

Mitchell said, “I don’t believe it will ever be self-sufficient.”

The board approved to hire and appoint three women to positions in the Town of Hanson.

Rhondalee Larson will be the new clerk to the Treasurer. The Selectmen spoke very highly of Larson and her 20 years of experience.

“We were quite fortunate that Rhondalee chose to apply to the position,” McCue said.

The town also appointed Mary Drake to be an Animal Control Officer. She has experience providing home pet care and has written a book on a six-week dog training program. McCue praised her enthusiasm and said she has been active as interim animal control officer in the past two weeks.

Lee Gamache, a resident of Hanson for 54 years and an employee of the town for 20 years, applied to be a member of the 200th anniversary commission and was accepted by the Board.

To start the meeting the Board entered executive session for roughly 40 minutes. This was to strategize “in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel or contract negotiations with non-union personnel.” These strategies apply to various employees for the town.

‘Rolling dice’ on insuring a building

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WHITMAN — Faced with notification that the Mass. Interlocal Insurance Association (MIAA) is no longer interested in insuring unoccupied buildings — and a tight budget scenario for the next two years — Selectmen voted Tuesday, April 25 to “roll the dice” against authorizing a private insurance policy on the vacant Park Avenue School.

Such a policy could cost between $14,000 and $16,000 per year that is not in the budget, according to Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

The brick, wood-frame school building is vacant and boarded up on a parcel of land deeded to a trust to the town by the Clark family in 1947 “for school purposes only.”

“The difficulty for us is those last four words, said Lynam, who plans to petition the Attorney General’s office for permission to change the use of the building. He said the town’s argument would be that no one could have foreseen that the town would someday no longer need the school when the property was placed in trust to the town. The school was built in 1951.

“We would not be insured for replacement value in any event,” Lynam said. “The only insurance we would have, as we sit today, is coverage for maintenance if there was minor damage to the frame or removal if it was damaged to the point where it had to be torn down.”

Razing the building would cost between $100,000 and $150,000 he estimated, but Lynam stressed nothing could be done until the town receives a release from the Attorney General’s office. A sticking point in past plans to seek such a ruling had been hampered in the past by a transfer of a small portion of the property, to square off a neighboring property line in 1977, that could be considered a violation of the trust, Lynam said. Town Meeting had approved that transfer.

“I’m at a point where this building is simply an albatross to us right now,” he said. “We’re not spending money to maintain it, but I’m concerned about having a vacant building sitting there year after year.”

Lynam noted that, should funds be available, there are municipal needs that could be met by renovating the building, but that nothing can be done until the Attorney General’s office determines whether the town is bound by the trust. If it is, he will seek a court order to return the gift to the Clark family’s heirs. Renovation could cost the town $4 to $5 million.

“We are moving forward,” Lynam said.

Selectman Brian Bezanson agreed with Lynam’s recommendation against seeking private insurance.

“I would suggest, in light of our budgetary concerns, that maybe we should just roll the dice for the time being and hope we can push the Attorney General’s office,” he said.

Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci, running the meeting in the absence of Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski, said it made little sense to insure the building without complete control of ownership.

“Something happens to the building, we’re on the hook to put a big fence around it until we can appropriate the money to clean it up,” Selectman Scott Lambiase agreed, noting that a private insurance policy would only provide general liability protection.

Lynam said the decision not to insure could also spur quick resolution on the building’s future.

In other business, Selectmen voted to approve the application of RPM Motorsports LLC under the ownership of Richard P. McCabe, for a Class II Auto Dealer’s License at 40R Warren Ave.

General Manager Paul Kearns explained the business, which restores high-end cars such as Corvettes for sales by appointment only. The cars would be stored indoors and only six would be on site at any one time, Kearns said.

Selectmen also approved the application of Keith A. Gutierrez DBA Ace Transporter, which had been delayed when Lynam’s office had difficulty reaching him by mail at his 146 South Ave. #19 address. Gutierrez said he had inquired with the Post Office less than a week ago about the whereabouts of a certified letter sent in March and returned to Town Hall on Monday, April 24.

“They said they had nothing for me there,” Gutierrez said. “I suppose whoever I spoke with didn’t know it got sent back already. I was waiting for some notification in the mail.” He did receive a more recent letter.

He receives customer calls on his cell phone, and a few via Google, Yelp or Facebook for his one-vehicle business.

W-H to host Chinese exchange students

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WHRHS will host 46 Chinese students for two weeks May 14 to 26 and are seeking suggestions for extra-curricular activities the students might enjoy.

School Committee member Steven Bois, who works at the JFK Presidential Library, offered to host a visit to that venue as his guests.

“If you end up doing a cookout, I’ll flip burgers,” member Fred Small said.

The students’ visit to W-H, for which the school is working with Alpha Exchange, is being undertaken in the hope that W-H students will visit a school in China next year, said Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak.

The ultimate goal is bringing a bit of Chinese culture to the school with the hope it will lead to adding another language to the curriculum, according to Szymaniak.

“I know the committee has talked about foreign language quite a bit, and monetarily we don’t do that well,” he said. “Our goal, when I got here, was to add Chinese as a language — we haven’t been able to do that.”

The exchange visit’s original plan was that the Chinese students would stay with host families in the Whitman and Hanson communities, but Szymaniak said it appeared to be a long commitment for some families.

Arrangements right now are being made for the students to stay in Braintree hotels for the two weeks, where easy access to the MBTA and the movies offer options for things to do outside of school hours.

“What we’re going to do is try to involve them in our [school] culture as best we can,” Szymaniak said. “They’re going to be here during the school day, they’re going to follow the students’ schedule for part of the day.”

Alpha Exchange also offers a stipend to teachers willing to teach a class of specific interest to the Chinese students. Szymaniak has already uploaded the WHRHS schedule to the group’s website so the visiting students may make course selections based on the school’s enrollment and available space in a given class.

“If you have any fun events that weekend [May 20-21], we’re looking for something,” Szymaniak said, noting he has already arranged for them to attend school sports events and a performance of the school’s rock band and show choir. “I think they think Whitman and Hanson are as big as the cities in China.”

Special education director

In other business, the School Committee on Wednesday, April 12 voted to appoint Kyle Riley as administrator of special education to replace the departing Administrator Dr. John Quealy.

Not a new position, the appointment has no effect on the budget.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner, who sat in on the second round of interviews, recommended Riley, currently the Haverhill special education director. A search committee headed by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Patrick Dillon, which included educators and parents, conducted the first round of interviews.

Riley has also worked in the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District.

“I try to put kids first all the time, every single day,” he said, noting he is also certified as a business manager.

Quealy also provided an overview of the special education program for the committee, the overall mission of which is to identify students who are not making effective academic or social-emotional progress and to create plans to help support those students.

Inclusion is a major goal of the program, covering children and youths ages 3 to 22, he said. On a daily basis, the district manages about 600 individual education plans — about 15 percent of students. The state average is 17 percent.

IEPs cover speech and occupational therapy, hearing and vision aid, transportation, counseling and behavior support, among other programs.

Gilbert-Whitner also noted the financial impact of special education on school budgets, as state Circuit Breaker and federal support — which is supposed to cover 40-percent of costs, but only covers 16 percent — have fallen short.

Whitman board finalizing budget

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WHITMAN — The Finance Committee is expected to complete work on Article 2 of the annual Town Meeting — the fiscal 2018 budget — during its Tuesday, April 25 meeting.

The committee met Thursday, April 13 to vote on several articles on which it had not yet made a recommendation, or to revote some articles on which new information was available.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam also briefed the committee on plans for a Monday, June 12 meeting involving the TAs of Whitman and Hanson as well as “motivated representatives” from each finance committee and select board to begin the work of outlining the need for an override next year. The School Committee would act as a resource for that committee.

“Unless we can develop a plan that comes from the towns, that has that full support and endorsement, we’re never going to get to the people,” Lynam said. “We’ll start preparing the argument for why we need more money. If that doesn’t work, next year they won’t be even be looking at level-funding — we’ll be looking at cutting both town and schools, because the money just isn’t there.”

Lynam said a funding plan has to be developed for all town and school needs.

Articles recommended April 13 included:

• $70,926.90 from Reserve Appropriation Ambulance Account for third of seven lease purchase payments on a pumping engine;

• $60,000 from Reserve Appropriation Ambulance Account to refurbish a 1990 pumping engine;

• $40,050.28 from Reserve Appropriation Ambulance Account for the first of five lease purchase payments for the new ambulance approved by Town Meeting last year;

• $22,204 from Reserve Appropriation Ambulance Account for a 10-percent match of a regional grant for self-contained breathing apparatus;

• $548,168.72 from available Chapter 90 funds to resurface and/or install surface treatments or line painting to town streets;

• $42,105.55 for the first of four lease purchase payments for a new sidewalk plow;

• $3,500 to purchase firewalls no longer supported for Town Hall computers;

• $11,0000 for a multifunction copier/printer to replace a nine-year-old machine at Town Hall;

• $28,000 for card access controllers and associated equipment for the DPW administration building, Senior Center and west and rear exterior doors at Town Hall;

• $15,000 to replace aging computer equipment at the DPW administration building, Senior Center and Town Hall;

• $10,000 to secure and maintain properties in tax title/foreclosure;

• An article to expand excise tax abatements for deployed active duty military personnel.

Revolving account expenditures; school, police and fire department building debts; Title 5 loan debts; an OPEB liabilities assessment; police cruiser, motorcycle, radios and Taser purchases and/or payments have also been previously recommended.

The committee is divided over the $310,000 fire department override to hire three new firefighter/paramedics, plus a $20,000 transfer from the Reserve Appropriation Ambulance Account to equip the new hires.

Chairman Michael Minchello said he was not convinced the hires would reduce overtime, but Lynam said the article could not direct the fire chief in how to assign staff.

“Why not wrap this into a town-wide override next year?” Minchello said.

Vice Chairman Randy LaMattina said the increasing call volume, with no staffing increase since 1972, dictates that the personnel are needed.

“He makes a solid case of needing that extra man [per shift] for functionality,” LaMattina said. “This is a tough one. … My vote is to let the voters decide.”

Not recommended April 13 were articles for:

• Raise and appropriate $119,675 to purchase and equip a 2017 International 35,000-pound plow truck;

• Raise and appropriate $48,500 to purchase and equip a 2017 Chevrolet K 3500 4X4 truck with plow;

Three citizen’s petitions seeking acceptance of Paul Street as a public roadway, a town donation of $1,500 to Health Imperatives’ violence intervention and prevention programs and a by-law change to the membership of the Finance Committee were also not recommended in past votes.

Lynam said DPW Highway Superintendent Bruce Martin is aware the truck articles would not be recommended.

“He would like it, but he really wants the [sidewalk] snow plow,” Lynam said, noting that any unused Chapter 70 funds at the end of the year would be earmarked for a new plow truck next year.

Minchello said that the sidewalk plow was necessary for the safety of children walking to school in winter.

“It spent one night [broken down] on one of the side streets and they had to tow it,” he said. “Without the sidewalk plows, this is why they delay school a second day after a snowstorm.”

No school override this year: Towns plan June 12 meeting to begin work on fiscal 2019 effort

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There will be no Proposition 2½ override sought to fund the school budget this year, but town and school officials alike warn that voters will likely face one next May for the fiscal 2019 budget.

In fact, a committee will begin the work of making that case during a Monday, June 12 meeting.

School Committee members unanimously voted on Wednesday, April 12 for the 8.5-percent assessment increase both towns indicated can be funded for fiscal 2018 to provide level services to school children.

In dollars, the assessment would be $1,107,435 for Whitman and $479,670 in Hanson — including the shift in student population. The committee had voted an 11.5-percent assessment increase last month.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said the district was able to put forth a level-service budget with an 8.5-percent increase  only after some cost cutting including:

• Spreading payments for McGraw-Hill curriculum materials over two years to save $100,000 this year;

• Waiving the July 1 advisory date for teachers wishing to take early retirement this year — with retirements so far saving about $200,000;

• Moving some costs to revolving funds, including athletic coaches’ salaries for a $30,000 savings;

• Elimination of the position of assistant superintendent for teaching and learning and one teaching position, which was due to declining enrollment; and

• The likelihood of an increase in regional transportation reimbursement from the state. The independent food services department was also asked to contribute a greater amount toward its energy use in providing school meals.

Full-day kindergarten, estimated to cost about $400,000 was never included in the fiscal 2018 level-service budget. The appointment April 12 of Kyle Riley to replace departing Special Education Administrator Dr. John Quealy also has no effect on the budget.

“As superintendent, I’m very concerned about the success of an override, particularly after the fairly resounding defeat last year,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “We were able to make some reductions that would not require losing staff down to a 9-percent [assessment] increase. It would be a minimal loss of positions at 8.5 percent.”

The overall budget is up by about 4 percent due mainly to additional funds voted at the end of the last school year to address class size as well as library staff at the elementary and middle schools and increased insurance costs.

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the problem for his town came down to simple math, beginning with last year’s levy limit of  $23,125,376 plus 2 ½ percent ($578134) and $275,000 in new growth and personal property taxes. This year, $853,134 was added to available cash. The town began the budget process with $1.3 million in capital articles, many of which were requested by the schools. The requests by WHRSD this year increased by $1,441,007.

Lynam said the Finance Committee voted April 11 an assessment increase that brought Whitman’s share of the school budget to $12,064,000 — an 8.5-percent increase.

“We have virtually eliminated the capital articles from within the town because the money just isn’t there,” Lynam said, noting there are significant equipment needs such as a 19-year-old DPW truck and an unreliable sidewalk plow. “When I say to you we are at our limit — we are. We’re not only at it, we’re beyond it.”

Whitman voters are also being asked to support an override to fund three additional firefighters.

“We would have to do a heck of a lot of education and information” to make an override for the schools successful next year, Lynam said.

Lynam had asked the Whitman Board of Selectmen to meet at 10 a.m., Friday, April 14 in case an override vote was necessary to avoid the need to call for a June special election for a school override in Whitman. That meeting was cancelled after the School Committee voted to back an 8.5-percent assessment increase.

An override this year would, “waste a shot at presenting an override that is comprehensive,” Lynam said.

“I want to put together a comprehensive analysis that says ‘here’s why we need it, here’s how we’ll do it and here’s what it’s going to take,’” he said.

Hanson Selectmen Chairman James McGahan agreed there is a need to “let people know what is at stake here.”

“If we pass the budget we’re asking you to pass today, we’ll squeak through this year,” Lynam said. “Next year, if we don’t do something to increase our revenue, we many not even be in a position to offer a level-funded budget. Our growth is not going to change much.”

Whitman School Committee member Robert Trotta said he has heard that call before, but little had come of it in the past. Lynam agreed that has happened, but said the situation has now reached critical mass. Hanson School Committee member Robert O’Brien agreed, but said Lynam’s suggestion of a committee of school, town officials, finance committee members and selectmen makes sense.

“We had a lot of [state] help from 1992 to around 2007,” he said. “Now it’s reality — it’s not going up anymore.”

He said his seven grandchildren mean he has a vested interest in seeing to it that their generation have the educational opportunities other children have had.

Hanson Finance Committee Chairman Michael Dugan said information on the budget situation’s impact of graduation rates would help make the argument that more funds were needed. But school officials said that information may not be known for years.

“The problem is the wheels of the bus are falling off,” said School Committee member Fred Small. “They’re falling off for the kids that are in third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade — you’re not going to see the impact on graduation rates [until] six, seven, eight years from now.”

He said the schools don’t need what has been asked for — they need much more to do the job properly.

“We’re talking about replacing textbooks that have countries in them that don’t exist any more, that have planets in them that aren’t planets anymore,” Small said. “Basics. That’s what we’re talking about with this budget.”

Gilbert-Whitner said the district has depended on grants that are in danger of elimination under the Trump administration.