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Security cameras eyed for Whitman Park

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Security cameras eyed for Whitman Park

WHITMAN — Police Chief Scott Benton is considering a Town Meeting warrant article calling for the placement of security cameras in Whitman Park. He has been discussing the issue with Town Administrator Frank Lynam, IT Director Josh MacNeil and DPW Parks and Highways Superintendent Bruce Martin.

Lynam urged Benton to bring the idea to the Board of Selectmen so, from a policy standpoint, “We can clear the air and not just surprise people by throwing cameras up there.”

Security cameras eyed for Whitman ParkThe discussion was intended to inform the town and spur public discussion on the proposal.

“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Lynam said. “Ten years ago, this was Big Brother watching everything. I think today people realize that [cameras] serve a public and public safety purpose.”

He said cities, such as New York and London, are heavily covered by security cameras, and the trend is coming to smaller communities now. Lynam added that he’d like to see them used downtown, as well.

“There’s always a big debate on do cameras reduce crime? No,” Benton told selectmen on Tuesday, Dec. 1. “The long and the short of that is no, but they go a long, long way to solve it.”

He noted that the Boston Marathon bombing, and many other cases including motor vehicle accidents, would not have been solved without video evidence gleaned from security cameras. FBI Academy information Benton cited points to security cameras as “holding more evidence than any other source — more than DNA, crime scene analysis or eyewitness testimony.”

“The need is there,” Benton said, citing past vandalism damage to the park area and town pool. He also stressed that recordings would only be reviewed when there is cause to do so.

“When something happens, people want answers,” he said. “You want to be able to provide those answers.”

Others make move

Many surrounding communities are also making the move to post security cameras. The initial cost is expected to be lower than the cost of maintaining equipment and archiving recordings.

“The ability to identify people who do bad things goes a long way toward deterring other people from doing bad things,” Lynam said. “The concern I have always had is one of infrastructure cost.”

Estimates are being sought on the cost of fiber optic and other wireless systems for a pilot program consisting of a couple cameras as a test, perhaps ahead of a Town Meeting vote.

Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci, who conducted the meeting in the absence of Chairman Carl Kowalski, asked if permission from the Historical Commission would be needed to place cameras in the historic park.

“We have talked about putting cameras in the park in the past,” Salvucci said.

Lynam said the small cameras would in no way alter the park’s appearance.

“In the times that we live in, I think it’s critical,” Benton said. “I think it’s my responsibility to make the board aware — make the people aware. I think we let the people vote, let the people have their say.”

But he stressed the importance of protecting the park as a place of recreation for young families.

“You don’t want to be the guy who’s looking at a family saying, ‘Geez, I don’t have any answers to that,’” Benton said.

“I think it’s a brilliant idea, and I don’t think you’ll have to do a lot of convincing,” said Selectman Lisa Green, citing recent “questional behavior” in the park as well as questionable items left behind.

Selectman Brian Bezanson also voiced support.

“Who knows what’s going to come around the corner and for us to say ‘we should have’ is not good enough,” Bezanson said.

Living Nativity

In other business, the board approved a request by the Rev. Joshua Gray to permit closing off a portion of Broad Street between Washington and Central streets from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 20 so the First Congregational Church may conduct a living Nativity program. Refreshments and a carol sing will follow in the church Fellowship Hall.

“It’s just a great community event, [we’re] trying to get people out to remember what this season is about for those of us who are Christians,” Gray said. “Just a fun community event.”

Selectmen review employee policies

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Hanson Selectmen review employee policies

The Board of Selectmen are reviewing updated town policies regarding employee benefits and conduct.

Policies pertaining to domestic violence leave, the Family Medical Leave Act, information technology use, HIPPA practices, social media and municipal vehicle use are being studied. Some are out of date and others, such as the social media policy — which has been urged by Selectman James McGahan — and the vehicle use policy are new.

Selectmen review employee policiesMcGahan said he would be looking at LaCamera’s social media policy draft in comparison with what other towns are doing.

“In looking at some of the town policies that we have, and some that we’re lacking that we should have, what I’ve tried to do is take the ones that really need to be addressed as soon as possible,” said interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera at the Tuesday, Dec. 8 meeting. He will be meeting with town department heads next week to obtain their input.

“I’d like the board to look at these policies and see if [you] have any suggestions for changes or recommendations to improve these policies,” LaCamera said. “Sometime in the first part of January, we’ll take all of this input and revise the policies and hopefully, the board will vote on these policies so they can be implemented.”

LaCamera noted employees are supposed to receive copies of the policies every year, sign an acknowledgement that they received them and have read them.

Town Counsel will also review them, especially new policies or those affecting union contracts.

“It’s better to get them wrapped up now,” said Selectmen Kenny Mitchell.

Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young also commented on the complaint policy, which calls for complaints to be filed with the board or commission in charge of the person the complaint involves.

“The town administrator should explain the procedures in dealing with a complaint as mandated under the Open Meeting Law,” Young said, particularly if an executive session is in order. “I think that can eliminate potential Open Meeting Law complaints. I just happened to think of that in [light] of recent events.”

One Open Meeting Law complaint— stemming from an incident at Hanson Day last June — has been accepted for review by the Attorney General’s office. He noted three or four OML complaints had been filed regarding town government, but only the one had been accepted for review.

“I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to discourage or encourage anyone to file an Open Meeting Law complaint,” Young said. “But keep in mind it’s serious business, because every elected board or commission is responsible for complying with the Open Meeting Law.”

He noted there is a misunderstanding of what constitutes a violation.

If a quorum of members on any board attend a public meeting, it does not automatically constitute a violation of the Open Meeting Law. They may do so provided they communicate only by open participation.

“They may not deliberate at such meetings,” he said.

One-on-one conversations outside posted meetings are permitted so long as they don’t become “chain letter” conversations with other board members.

McGahan added it is important in filing Open Meeting Law complaints to know exactly what the breach was to avoid frivolous complaints.

“It could basically tarnish your reputation,” Young said. “That complaint is out there … and it may or may not be true. It becomes a public record and stays a public record.”

Tree warden

In other business, the board voted 4-0-1 to appoint David Hanlon of 5 Arthur St., as tree warden, filling a vacancy until the annual Town Election in May. Mitchell, who works for Newcomb Tree Service, abstained. Michael Means of 342 South St. had also applied.

Selectmen agreed both were clearly qualified for the position and encouraged both to run for the office in May.

Both Hanlon and Means work with the Highway Department. Hanlon is an 18-year veteran, citing familiarization with MGL sections 41 and 87, which govern tree warden responsibilities. Means is also a call firefighter/EMT as well as a senior heavy equipment operator at the Highway Department.

“The priority of tree warden, number one is public safety,” Hanlon said, who noted dealing with utility companies is also important.

Means agreed that public safety is paramount. Both have limited experience with grant writing, but Hanlon has retail budgeting experience and has worked with Highway Surveyor Bob Brown on budgeting. Means said he has little municipal budgeting experience.

Both expressed a willingness to obtain arborist training.

McGahan, who said he also reviewed both men’s Facebook posts, said Hanlon’s grasp of state statues made the difference for him.

“This is two good men applying for the position,” McGahan said. “I checked both your Facebook postings and I saw nothing negative toward this board or to any of its members.  I like some of the stuff you guys have put out there — it’s positive — and that means something to me.”

“It’s nice to see you guys step up,” said Selectman Bill Scott.

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Lobsterman finds off-season notoriety with Christmas tree

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The Lobstah Tree: Lobsterman finds off-season notoriety with Christmas tree

WHITMAN — A Christmas tree is not an uncommon sight this time of year, but one constructed out of lobster traps just might make you stop for a second look.

Lobsterman Tim Walsh of Whitman points out he is not an artist, but he has created a bit of roadside folk art.

“I just wanted to bring the ocean a bit further inland,” he said.

Lobsterman finds off-season notoriety with Christmas tree

AHOY, THERE: Tim Walsh takes time out from building his tree for a photo. Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos.

Where grass and farm land are familiar, he is set to light up his lobster tree in the backyard of his Perry Avenue home simply to evoke joy in all who travel down the busy Route 58/Plymouth Street as they go through Whitman and Hanson.

After the positive responses he received last year and the countless folks who stopped along the roadside to snap photos of his lobster tree, Walsh set out to go bigger with 300 stacked traps painted in greens and reds.

It took him about a full day and a half to stack the traps. The tree will be lit with hundreds of colorful holiday strands and the dedication to his late friend will top the unique structure.

The tallest buoy belonged to fisherman John Fleck of Hull who lost his battle with cancer.

“He was my friend, mentor and fellow fisherman,” Walsh said.

Several of the dangling buoys also belong to friends making the tree a unique vessel of heartfelt joy.

His family is also an inspiration.

Walsh’s wife Lori, who hails from Weymouth, is expecting their first child in the spring. She is a holiday lover, Walsh said.

She is also the inspiration in the naming of his lobster boat the Miss Lori, which is moored in Allerton Harbor in Hull where Walsh grew up.

A graduate of the Class of 2004 in Hull, he spent his days either in the water or on it.  His father passed on the trade of fisherman and love of the ocean, he said.

“I love it,” he said.  “I couldn’t do it if I didn’t.”

Walsh logs an average of 10 hours a day on his boat — it’s both his career and passion for living as a lobsterman.

He takes time off during the winter and heads back out in the spring.  He is looking forward to the holidays and some much needed rest with his family.

Hanson Selectman clarify school budgeting process

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Hanson Selectman clarify school budgeting process as they take issue with budget critics

HANSON — As the town begins work on the fiscal 2017 budget, some officials have taken exception to statements made at a Nov. 18 School Committee meeting on how that budget is formulated.

Interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera reported Tuesday, Dec. 1 that town departments are already submitting budget proposals as the process begins.

Hanson Selectman clarify school budgeting process

Hanson Town Hall

“What I’m going to do before we even get to the point where we distribute the budgets to the selectmen and the Finance Committee is to sit down with each department head and review each budget to make sure what’s being submitted is what we want to be submitted,” LaCamera said. “There will be some discussion with [selectmen] about some of their budgets.”

He estimated the budgets will be ready for presentation to selectmen and the Finance Committee by the end of January.

Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young noted that it was said at the School Committee meeting that “a couple of people made statements that the School Committee comes before the selectmen and they better make sure they get there soon to make sure the selectmen will give them enough money.”

That statement is inaccurate, according to Young.

“The selectmen really don’t have anything to do with meting out how much money the schools get,” he said.

The budget and assessment are certified by the School Committee, and the assessment then comes before the Finance Committee for a recommendation, Young said.

“I believe the selectmen and town administrator also make a recommendation on that as well, but it’s the Town Meeting that actually votes the assessment up or down,” he said. “The selectmen really have little or no power to cut the budget of the School Committee.”

He also commented on the assertion by teachers’ union representative Beth Stafford that the last successful override was followed in the next year by increased requests from other departments as the increased levy limit went into general funds.

“The only way that can really happen is if the School Committee chose to lower the assessments to the two towns,” Young said. “I realize an override is only earmarked for one year, but unless the purpose of that override somehow goes away … there isn’t leverage in the other departments to fill that gap.”

LaCamera also stressed that both towns must agree on a school budget to adopt it. He reported that he had met during the day on Tuesday with Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam regarding the regional school budget, among other issues.

“The concern in both towns is [that] we have only a limited amount of funds available to spend so, if you’re asking for a million dollars or something, the towns can afford that kind of money,” LaCamera said. “What concerns me is we don’t seem to be part of the process.”

Hanson’s Finance Committee has appointed a liaison to the School Committee, but LaCamera said he and a representative from the Board of Selectmen should also attend budget meetings.

“I think the communication between the School Committee and the towns needs to be worked on,” he said.

Selectmen also discussed town and school department capital improvement plans.

LaCamera and Capital Improvement Committee Chairman John Norton have agreed to “wipe the plan clean” and start over, taking off project proposals on the list that have not been addressed — and may not need to be — after five years. LaCamera has also informed department heads that he will be reviewing submittals, and seeking selectmen’s input, before they are advanced to the Capital Improvement Committee.

He suggested a similar review be conducted regarding the schools’ capital improvement matrix.

“In fiscal 2016 there’s $5 [million] to $6 million that has potentially not been addressed and … somebody needs to tell the board why these things are on the list,” LaCamera said. “If it’s a priority that needs to be addressed, that’s OK, but to say that we’re going to fund $5 million in one year is impossible.”

Many project numbers are estimated pending an engineering review.

In other business, the board amended and approved language for a new posting for the Town Administrator’s job and revisions to the contract under which the new administrator will be hired.

Young also reported periods of rain during the past week have pushed the completion date for the Indian Head roof project to Dec. 6.

South Shore Vo-Tech to keep MCAS

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South Shore Vo-Tech to keep MCAS…for 2016 anyway

HANOVER — As it now stands, South Shore Vo-Tech will again administer the MCAS test as planned in the spring while the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education irons out details of an MCAS/PARCC hybrid exam as the new state standard.

Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey updated School Committee members on the issue during the Wednesday, Nov. 18 School Committee meeting.

“My gut is why would we change midstream,” he said.

More than half of state school districts administered the PARCC test in spring 2015, while SSVT conducted a pilot PARCC test but administered MCAS.

South Shore Vo-Tech to keep MCAS“In 2016, the test will be MCAS with a sprinkling of PARCC-like questions,” Hickey said. “In 2017, the expectation is that the hybrid test would be real for everybody, but everyone would be held harmless.”

By 2019 all testing is expected to be online.

“Let’s just take one year at a time,” said Hickey, adding he needed to obtain more information on the district’s options for 2016. “As it stands here, the curriculum is what it is. Our math and English departments are perfectly comfortable with the curriculum that they’ve been teaching and they continue to get our kids ready. I have absolute confidence that they will continue to do so.”

He stressed, however, that SSVT must prepare for any future changes.

Whitman representative Dan Salvucci, meanwhile, said delegates to the recent Massachusetts Association of School Committees conference voiced general opposition to standardized testing.

“They feel you need to look at [students’] entire educational experience … and not just if he passes a final exam or MCAS,” Salvucci said. “I had to agree with them, but you also need to be able to test students.”

Scituate representative John Manning said alternatives to standardized tests could be an area where vocational schools have an advantage.

“We have people out in the trades telling us what our students need to know,” he said.

In other business, Kyle Thompson of Hanson, a senior culinary student and football team quarterback, was named Student of the Month for November.

“Every month we introduce different facets of leadership and success,” said Guidance Director Michael Janicki. “Kyle’s nomination came about a s a result of his leadership on the football field.”

Thompson leaves everything out on field and is a role model for his teammates, football coaches reported in their nomination. He is planning to attend college — most likely at Bridgewater State University — where he plans to pursue a degree in teaching or business.

November’s Staff Member of the Month is science teacher Jeremy Shaw. He was not able to attend the Nov. 18 School Committee meeting, but will be recognized next month along with the December honoree.

According to Principal Margaret Dutch, Shaw has been teaching at SSVT since September 2013 has degrees in electrical and computer engineering from WPI and Tufts University.

He has “excited an engineering curiosity” in SSVT students while developing a comprehensive engineering program at the school, according to Dutch. He is also a physics teacher, a senior class advisor and helps out with the cross-country team.

“Mr. Shaw is a good person,” read one student’s nomination. “He is always there to help and is an amazing teacher.”

Molla said he asked that the presentation be made despite Shaw’s scheduling conflict as a demonstration of the committee’s commitment to honoring a staff member in the month they are chosen.

“The committee takes this quite seriously,” Chairman Robert Molla said.

“He was thrilled to have it and thrilled to know that it came from the students,” Dutch said.

School Committee members and school staff alike expressed great satisfaction with the Nov. 14 open house.

“Over the last couple of years we’ve done a couple tweaks of where things are and how we present the school and departments — and we nailed it,” Janicki said. He added that feedback regarding students who attended and their families was universally positive as well.

The school also received good news regarding work students have performed as Habitat for Humanity volunteers, doing electrical work on two house projects on Center Street in Hanover. Habitat is now seeking additional help from SSVT students and teachers for a project in Duxbury.

“Although Duxbury is not in the district, I feel this is an excellent opportunity,” said Hickey. “It comes recommended from the staff.”

Senior students would be working on it only for a couple of shop week cycles into December, returning in the spring to do some finish work, according to Hickey.

Beekeepers host candle workshop in Hanson

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Beekeepers host candle workshop in Hanson with John ‘the Bee Man’ Phillips of the Plymouth County Beekeepers Association 

HANSON — A beeswax candle-making seminar hosted at the Plymouth County Beekeepers Association and Hanson Food Pantry building on High Street Nov. 21 was both motivating and educational for more than a dozen people.

Candles are a popular gift item and, with the holidays in full swing, and what better than gifting something homemade? Many of those in attendance were mainly part of the Beekeepers Association, according to John “the Bee Man” Phillips of Hanson, whose goal is to educate others about apiculture.

Beekeepers host candle workshop in Hanson

A handmade sign welcomed visitors at a beeswax candle-making seminar hosted at the Plymouth County Beekeepers Association and Hanson Food Pantry. Click here to see more photos from the event. Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos.

“Candle making is interesting and can be fun. Overall it was well attended,” Phillips said.   

In past years, turnout for the workshop was good — but with several local activities occurring simultaneously Phillips thought there were slightly fewer people this year. He is considering doing another candle making seminar in the months to come if there is an interest in the community.

Phillips also offers a woodworking seminar in which Beekeepers Association members can receive assistance in setting up their wooden hives. Beekeepers Association membership does cost a small yearly fee to join.

Phillips has been a bee keeper since 1971 and a club member since 1978. The club itself had been established in the late 1960s. He offers teaching on bee topics and assists in maintaining the building.

He has two hives at his home and said his honey production last year was averaged at about 40 pounds.

Most people in the club got a similar amount of honey the median around 40 pounds, which is good considering  the South Shore is close to the ocean, and spring  weather is wet and raw. There are many factors which affect the production of honey, he said.

Further inland Massachusetts bee keepers easily double the production of honey with the increased warmer, drier atmosphere.

During the candle workshop, Phillips and other club members melted approximately ten pounds of wax, which was demonstrated as one of the four to five steps in candle making.

At home his wax is melted via a sun-solar wax melter and then it is purified before making candles. The wax is boiled down and poured into rubber molds mainly to keep the shape and they easily split apart to release the candles.

To quicken the process several molds were placed in the freezer to cool the wax but he said he doesn’t often do that. Everyone left with a candle following the seminar.

The website for the Plymouth County Beekeepers Association contains information and invitations about upcoming Beekeeping School, which will be held this winter for approximately eight weeks at the Pembroke Community center. For more information, visit plymouthcountybeekeepers.org.

Whitman razes blighted house

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Whitman razes blighted house

WHITMAN — A blighted house at 36 East Ave. was torn down Thursday, Nov. 12, to ease the process of auctioning off a vacant house across the street and resolve complaints from neighboring residents of vermin they said were traced to the condemned house.

Whitman razes blighted house

GOING: A worker operates the heavy equipment to tear down a dilapitated house at 36 East Ave., in Whitman last week. Courtesy photo, Frank Lynam.

Selectmen voted on Tuesday, Nov. 10 to authorize Town Administrator Frank Lynam to hire an auctioneer for 35 East Ave.

“This has been something that’s been pending for several months,” Lynam said of the auction. “We have had permission to sell the property for a while, but given the fact that the property across the street is even worse than that and we had voted to take that property down, I wanted to wait until we actually did that before seeking to auction this.”

The presence of 36 East Ave. would have greatly reduced what could be brought in by an auction of 35 East Ave., according to Lynam.

The town received a judicial order to demolish the property.

“Once it’s down and graded I’d like to move forward with the sale of the other property,” Lynam told selectmen.

East Avenue neighbors attended a Board of Health meeting on Sept. 2, 2014 regarding a continuing problem with rats in the East Avenue neighborhood — and the possibility that the two vacant houses on the street were housing the vermin. While there was doubt in some quarters if rats were, indeed, living inside 35 and 36 East Ave., evidence that raccoons nested in one of the houses had been found.

Town officials, meanwhile, saw legal and financial limits to what could be done about the problem posed by the decaying houses.

The town had, by that time, already foreclosed on 35 East Ave., and had to wait until November 2014 [the end of a one-ear waiting period] before anything could be done with it, including trying to sell the property to a developer who would raze the house and build there, according to Lynam.

“We will not move forward without a judicial order, because it puts the town in a liability position,” Lynam said at the 2014 Board of Health meeting. “The biggest question then becomes funding because we have to have funds have to pay someone to take the house down.”

A Town Meeting vote in May of this year provided the funds.

— Tracy F. Seelye

Hanson installs new drop box

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Hanson installs new drop box as an easy payment option

HANSON — Convenience now comes in the form of a locked, secure steel drop box in front of Town Hall into which residents may leave bill payments or official correspondence on off hours or in the case of persons with mobility problems.

“Convenience is really the perfect word,” said Treasurer Jean Sullivan. “It’s perfect because of the [traffic] light, too.”

Hanson installs new drop boxInterim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera announced at the Tuesday, Nov. 10 Board of Selectmen’s meeting that the drop box was officially in place, but that parking spaces along the horse-shoe driveway may need to be adjusted to improve access and traffic flow.

“For safety’s sake we need to have room to pull in and room to pull out,” Sullivan said.

The weather-proof drop box will be checked on a daily basis, or more often when needed with all correspondence delivered to the appropriate departments.

Residents are asked not to make cash payments via the drop box.

“People are getting away from [paying in cash] anyway,” Sullivan said.  “We take payments here, we do online payments, we do a lock box, a lot of people mail them in — this is going to be another way.”

Between all the payments accepted by the Treasurer/Collector’s Office conducts 35,000 transactions per year, including real estate, motor vehicle and personal property taxes as well as water bills.

Highway Department employees installed the device manufactured by American Security Cabinets, and the steel-encased cement safety poles that protect the drop box from bumps by vehicles.

Voters at the October special Town Meeting approved a $3,000 transfer from free cash to install the drop box to aid residents, particularly handicapped or elderly persons, in delivering payments or other correspondence from their vehicles. Selectmen recommended it, but the Finance Committee had not done so.

Former Finance Committee member Barbara Arena noted at Town Meeting that there were alternatives, such as online payments and mail, that work just as well and that $3,000 could be better spent on other areas.

“I know a number of towns have this particular item in place, and its not only a convenience but … the easier you make the process to pay bills, the quicker your going to put that money into action for the town,” Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young said at Town Meeting.

Assessor Lee Gamache also recommended passage of the drop box article.

“I see [elderly people] come in and just struggle trying to come into the Town Hall,” Gamache said. “Young mothers with children, too. You see them lugging everything from the car to come in and pay a bill when they could just drop it in a box.”

Hanson’s new secure drop box, into which residents may deposit payments or correspondence for all town departments, is located next to the flagpole in front of Town Hall and is accessible without the need to get out of a vehicle.

Photo by Tracy Seelye

Hanson repair plans reviewed

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Hanson repair plans reviewed as Selectmen consider amending the regional agreement for the W-H regional school district

HANSON — Selectmen say it may be time to amend the regional agreement for the W-H regional school district in an effort to codify the board’s authority to approve emergency school building repairs costing more than $5,000.

Selectmen Chairman Bruce Young also suggested that it might be time to adjust that figure for inflation over the 18 years since the over $5,000 repairs clause was added to the regional agreement in 1997.

Hanson repair plans reviewedAn emergency repair to a heating coil at Maquan School’s cafeteria  — costing $5,276 — has cropped up this week.

Facilities Director Ernest Sandland said replacement could cost as much as $16,000, according to Selectman James McGahan.

Young expressed concern that selectmen are asked to authorize emergency repairs, such as the heating coil, in the hope that Town Meeting will vote to reimburse the school district, with no guarantee that will happen even for needed repairs.

“The regional school agreement really has to be amended,” he said. “There’s no place in the regional agreement that provides for selectmen to give the go-ahead. … But we’ve been doing that for years.”

He also said he favored a change to the $5,000 in repairs clause to make towns responsible only for the costs over the $5,000 mark — in the case of the heating coil, $276.

“If this was $4,900, the school committee would be bearing the entire amount of money,” Young said. “But because this is $5,276, it’s over $5,000 [and] we’ve got to pay for the whole thing, which to me doesn’t make a heck of a lot of sense.”

He said an adjustment for inflation is also needed and suggested the school district should be conducting continual reviews of the regional agreement.

“Either bring the [threshold] up to $10,000, or even more, or we pay for anything over $5,000 and they pay for up to $5,000,” he said.

Selectman Bill Scott agreed that the towns should only be responsible for repairs over $5,000.

The discussion followed a budget process update by interim Town Administrator Richard LaCamera Tuesday, Nov. 17 on the fiscal 2016 municipal budget and concerns about projects included in the school department’s capital improvement matrix.

“One of the things that we need to look at is what does that all mean and do we need all that,” LaCamera said of the   school departments’ capital plan. “The second or third issue has to do with the capital plan the Board of Selectmen is working on.”

The highway barn and Plymouth County Hospital site projects are among those selectmen want to see go forward, he noted.

“Those items should be included in the plan whether we do anything or not,” he said.

McGahan noted the town’s capital improvement matrix does not always reconcile with the school committee’s list.

“We have to somehow get them in sync,” LaCamera said. “We can’t have two lists out there at the same time with multiple projects.”

LaCamera said he is starting the budget process based on level-service spending plan, noting that union contracts are now up for negotiation so no cost-of-living increases are included until negotiations are completed.

Tax rate set

Selectmen also voted unanimously to set a uniform tax rate of $16.55 for fiscal year 2016. Residential and small commercial exemptions were not recommended, both in keeping with past actions as not applicable to town properties.

Assessor Lee Gamache presented the Board of Assessors’ recommendations during a public hearing at the selectmen’s meeting.

“That’s not a certified rate yet, but that’s the calculations,” Gamache said of the figures presented to selectmen illustrating the impact of a uniform rate as well as shifts of 1, 5, 10 and 25 percent should split rates be chosen. “Historically, Hanson has not ever adopted the split tax rate.”

The Board of Assessors did not recommend a split rate, arguing it could end up discouraging business development in town.

The average single-family home assessment is now at $292,100 with a tax of $4,834.21 and the average commercial assessment is $481,800 with an annual tax of $7,973.79 under a uniform rate.

The assessors also reported that the fiscal 2016 estimated tax levy is $18,880,954 with an excess capacity of $37,472.

“You folks are there as the unsung heroes of how the town actually works,” said Scott. “I personally believe that our people that work for us are our most important resource.”

Whitman reviews portable speed radar

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The Board of Selectmen in Whitman reviews portable speed radar as Whitman Police try new ways to slow drivers down

WHITMAN — Motorists might not always see signs of it right now, but Whitman Police have found a new method for monitoring traffic speed in residential areas.

The new speed display unit augments the trailer unit often seen around town.

Whitman reviews portable speed radar

Whitman reviews portable speed radar.

“Now we have the ability to mount this radar unit onto a pole, a tree — anywhere — and get it into neighborhoods where they’ve been having some issues,” Police Chief Scott Benton told the Board of Selectmen during his monthly report Tuesday, Oct. 20. “There’s a bunch of different things we can do with it to record speeds. We can put it up and record the speed, even though it’s not showing you the speed, so we get a good indication of how fast people are going.”

Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski asked, partly in jest, if that approach is fair. Benton assured the board that it is.

“I kind of like it,” Benton said. “It gives us a better indication of exactly what the speed is in that area and then we can turn it on and let people know.”

He said it has already been used in several areas and is working out well Benton  encouraged residents who would like it brought to their neighborhood to visit the department’s web page and email Safety Officer Christopher Lee to request it.

Benton also noted the year’s call volume for the year to-date is 2,117 over the same period last year. He noted crimes related to the opioid crisis continue to be a factor in that increase.

“I don’t want to blame it for everything, but certainly it has an impact,” he said. “It has an impact on calls for service. It has an impact on calls for crime, as well.”

A recent arrest of a shoplifting suspect charged with stealing more than $2,000 from a Stoughton Stop & Shop as well as more than $600 from the Whitman Stop & Shop and another of the chain’s stores in Abington was “substance abuse-motivated,” according to Benton.

There have been 43 overdoses in Whitman so far this year, six fatal. Narcan was administered 36 times in those incidents.

He also reminded residents that, with the holiday season approaching, they should take precautions to avoid theft of delivered packages.

“I would urge you to have someone come by and get your packages,” he said. “It’s easy pickings, that’s all I can tell you. I could say put a camera in, but we’re going to be chasing somebody.”

During the meeting Selectmen also accepted a Disclosure by a Non-Elected Employee of Financial Interest and Determination by Appointing Authority for Police Lt. Christine May-Stafford. The form was described as a routine notification as she may occasionally work the same shift as he husband Sgt. Andrew Stafford.

“The appearance of a conflict may arise, however she doesn’t assign overtime or duties above and beyond the routine shifts,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam. “It’s simply to satisfy the law as it pertains to an appearance of conflict.”