Override for trash

March 16, 2008

One department's trash could become Town Hall's treasure if residents next month support a proposed $650,000 override. If approved at Town Meeting April 7 and by Abington voters April 26, town officials could take the cash from Abington's trash-removal budget to help level-fund the fiscal 2009 budget. According to Selectman Thomas Corbett, the override would increase tax bills by about $115 annually per household, based on a home value of $350,000. "Residents have the right to accept what is being proposed or make any adjustments they deem necessary," he said. "Residents can log onto the town's website [abingtonmass.com] and view clips from meetings concerning the override." - Robert Carroll

STRATEGIC VISION SQUARED - A new committee will work on a vision for South Braintree and Braintree squares, addressing lights and parking, and finding the right mix of merchants and pedestrians, among other strategies. Appointed to the Town Squares Committee by Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan were: Mike Ford, former chairman of the Planning Board; Angelo Geso, former Conservation Board member; Suzanne Andrade, local business owner; Ron O'Brien, longtime member of the Knights of Columbus in South Braintree Square; Tom Kettell, post commander of the Braintree VFW in Braintree Square; and John Moran, a business owner. The Town Council has 30 days to review the appointments. - Matt Carroll

TOWN HALL MAKEOVER URGED - Town Meeting will be asked to spend $300,000 to renovate the exterior of Town Hall. The Community Preservation Committee voted unanimously this month to support using money raised through the Community Preservation Act tax surcharge for the project. The work would include replacing 41 windows and restoring everything on the exterior except the clapboards. Built in 1857, Town Hall was added on to in 1879 and then had some major work done in 1928, according to David Farrag, chairman of the Town Hall Restoration Committee. "And that was the last time anything was done, besides some minor repairs." The building has been used as a theater where Humphrey Bogart once performed, a ballroom, school, and jail. It also is suspected of housing a few ghosts, a claim a group from Connecticut investigated last month and found credible. "What we want to do for the future is to make it not only historically relevant but functional for the next 80 years," Farrag said. He said the committee is working on a report outlining options, with costs for renovating the entire building and making it fully handicapped accessible, ranging from $3 million to $5 million. - Johanna Seltz

TAX HIKES ON THE BALLOT - In two sessions last week, annual Town Meeting approved three tax-increase questions that will go before voters at the March 22 election. One would raise property taxes by $1 million to pay for design services for the renovation or reconstruction of the town's police and fire stations. A $911,400 tax increase would cover capital spending on new equipment for the schools and other departments, but Town Meeting limited the amount that can be spent to $616,774. The third measure is a $163,000 tax increase to fund design plans for the renovation of the town-owned swimming pool. - Robert Knox

NOT SO FAST - Town Clerk Bob Shea is no fan of legislation that would allow Massachusetts residents to register to vote on the day of an election. Residents currently must register at least 20 days before an election. The bill "would slow down the election process," he said. "On the final day to register, our office is open 8 to 8, and we're nonstop." Shea said a bigger problem would be residents voting in more than one town. "Right now, we can verify if a resident is registered to vote in another town," he said. With same-day registration, he said, "If they've moved to Hanover, but are still registered to vote in another town, we couldn't check [in time] if they've already voted there. I think people would abuse it." Members of the Legislature's Election Laws Committee favor the bill, saying it would help residents who may be too busy to remember a preelection deadline. - Robert Carroll

SEEING THE LIGHTS - In the year since traffic lights came to the intersection of High and Main streets, the number of accidents there has dropped dramatically. "It was one of our worst intersections, and now it's become one of our safest," said Lieutenant Michael Peraino. "I think the townspeople should be very happy that their investment paid off." Peraino said there were 13 accidents at the intersection in 2004, nine in 2005, and 12 in 2006. The lights were installed in January 2007, and there was one accident at the intersection last year, Peraino said. "And that was a one-car crash that happened during a snowstorm when the car drove off the road into a tree." He said the most dangerous spot in town for motorists now is the Route 3A rotary at the harbor, which is under state jurisdiction. "We just heard that [state Senator Robert] Hedlund put money into the state budget to look into improving that. It's not final, but that's a start." - Johanna Seltz

NEW CABLE COMMISSIONER - Selectmen named Debra Harris to a two-year term on the Holbrook Community Access Media Commission, according to Town Administrator Michael Yunits. She is vice president of administration and finance and chief financial officer at Riverside Community Care in Dedham. A former employee at the May Institute, Harris has an MBA from the University of Massachusetts in Boston and has a bachelor's degree from Curry College. - Franci Richardson Ellement

DUNE PLANTING TIME - The town's Beach Management Committee is looking for volunteers to plant 14,000 plugs of grass on the dunes between Malta and S streets. Last year, about 100 people planted 11,000 plugs, as part of the committee's ongoing effort to protect the homes and businesses along Hull's shoreline, according to committee member Paul Epstein. "This is our third year doing it," he said. "Private citizens have been doing it on their own for years." Epstein said the grass prevents erosion and maintains the dunes. "It's what's called a sacrificial dune because it sacrifices itself during storms," he said. "It's supposed to let the storms damage it, instead of what's behind it." The planting is March 29 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with a rain date of March 30. The plants and sign-in tables with be at the corner of A Street and Beach Avenue. - Johanna Seltz

WIND POWER FORUM - The town's Green Energy Committee is hosting a public forum on community land-based wind power entitled "Wind Energy 101: An Introduction to the Costs and Benefits of Modern Wind Power" March 25 at 7 p.m. at the Kingston Intermediate School. Designed to answer the most frequently asked questions about wind energy and dispel some common myths, the forum will include presentations by two wind energy specialists at the University of Massachusetts' Renewable Energy Research Laboratory. The forum will introduce residents to the costs and benefits of utility-scale wind turbines and cover topics such as economics, birds, sound and visual impact, and other environmental effects. The event is free and funded by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. - Robert Knox

PREPARING TO DIG - The dredging of Green Harbor could begin as early as this fall, according to Harbormaster Mike DiMeo. Two months have passed since US Representative William D. Delahunt announced that Congress approved $1.9 million for the US Army Corps of Engineers project, which involves removing 22,000 cubic yards of material to improve access to the inner harbor. Town officials plan to meet with the corps in the coming weeks to discuss the status of the project, DiMeo said. -Emily Sweeney

TO BE HONORED - Gerry Morrissey of Milton, who recently ended a 10-year term as commissioner of the state Department of Mental Retardation, was to be honored by Vinfen, a nonprofit serving individuals with disabilities, with its inaugural Transforming Lives Award, according to the agency. The award was to be given yesterday at a ceremony at the Museum of Fine Arts as part of the organization's 30th anniversary celebration. Morrissey currently serves as senior director of program services for the Mentor Network of Boston. - Matt Carroll

CLASSROOMS CROWDED - The School Committee recently adopted a task force's recommendation for dealing with excessive class sizes at elementary schools. According to School Superintendent Donald Beaudette, about 25 percent of the classes at the two kindergarten-to-fifth-grade schools are above the district's size guidelines. The task force considered options of creating upper and lower elementary schools, as well as redistricting. The task force settled on a third option: keeping the current arrangement, but continuing to pursue low-cost ways to alleviate the class-size problem, including possibly having classes with students from more than one grade, allowing school transfers, and reassigning teachers. Beaudette said the committee agreed to keep the task force report on file and to revisit it should the need arise. - John Laidler

FUNDS FOR DPW STAFFER - The Department of Public Works will ask the April 22 annual Town Meeting for funding to restore a skilled laborer/driver position in the Highway Division. According to Gene Fulmine Jr., public works director, two skilled laborer/driver positions were cut from the division in 2003. The 2007 annual Town Meeting approved funding to reinstate one of the positions. Fulmine said the $38,524 needed to restore the other job is included in his fiscal 2009 budget request, but he also submitted a separate Town Meeting article in case it is not included in the final budget approved. Town Administrator Edwin Thorne said it has not yet been determined if the money will be in the proposed budget and his recommendations do not include funding for any new positions considering the town's financial constraints. - John Laidler

FILM BUFFS TAKE NOTE - Starting Friday, Plimoth Plantation will expand its Plimoth Cinema weekend film series and show independent and foreign movies daily. "When Plimoth Cinema began last fall, we knew there was a demand for a venue showing independent and foreign films on the South Shore," said cinema committee member Kathleen Curtin. In addition to the usual Saturday night showings and Sunday matinee, Plimoth Plantation will now host screenings Monday through Friday at 4 p.m. in the Linn Theater, a 225-seat surround-sound theater. The first film to be shown daily will be the 2007 French-language film "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," which starts Friday and runs until March 27. Tickets are $8.50 for adults and $6.50 for seniors and Plimoth Plantation members. For more information, visit plimoth.org. - Emily Sweeney

LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT CULTURES - The Thomas Crane Library needs volunteers for its "English Talk Time for ESOL Adults." The experience gives volunteers a chance to work with people from other cultures, help limited English speakers connect with their community, and learn techniques to help adults speak English more fluently, according to the library. The program is on Saturday mornings from April 19 through June 28. For more information, call 617-376-3295 or e-mail quenglishtalk@ocln.org. -Matt Carroll

NEW POLLING SITES SOUGHT - Randolph students will not have classes on the day of the annual town election April 1. The School Committee voted to close schools on election day following an accident on the day of the presidential primary that seriously injured an 8-year-old student at Lyons Elementary School. School officials plan to work with town election officials to find alternative polling places to the Lyons and Donovan elementary schools and Randolph High School so schools would not have to close during elections. With schools closed April 1, the last day of classes, barring any closings for weather or other reasons for the remainder of this school year, is June 20. -David Connolly

CANDIDATES HAVE THEIR SAY - The four candidates for two seats on the Board of Selectmen will meet in a candidate forum Tuesday, one of their few public meetings until the April 12 election. Selectmen chairman Mary A. Parsons and Louis Valanzola, the vice chairman, are seeking reelection and are being challenged by Michael Johnson, a former member of the Finance Committee, and Deborah O'Brien, a member of the Planning Board. The top two vote-getters will win the two seats on the five-member board. The forum is at 5:30 p.m. at Harmon Golf, 168 Concord St., and is being sponsored by the Rockland Chamber of Commerce. -Milton Valencia

TO THE SEA - The town's sailing program is expanding. Last year, the Recreation Department reached an agreement with the Scituate Historical Society to relocate the program from the harbormaster's garage to the Massachusetts Humane Society Boathouse at the new marine park on Edward Foster Road. The recently renovated building is maintained by the society. The Friends of Scituate Recreation raised money to purchase a fleet of seven racing boats to complement the town's seven sailboats. The boats are in storage at the marine park. To help pay for other costs involved with the expansion, a fund-raising night will be held March 28 at the River Club, in Scituate. Visit town.scituate.ma.us. -John Laidler

TRAFFIC ON TV - Mayor Susan Kay is taking on traffic in her next televised public affairs broadcast, which will air next month on local cable WETC, Channel 11. "The town is almost at gridlock," Kay said. "We have incredible traffic issues that we need to address - Weymouth Landing, Route 3A, everywhere." She said she plans to invite representatives from the community and the state Highway Department to participate in the program. "We will certainly know the issues and will develop a plan from there," she said. Kay's first program, on a state affordable-housing law that affects Weymouth, is running on cable this month. She plans to discuss the town's finances and budget in May. - Johanna Seltz

WIND POWERED - The town has awarded the first permit under its wind-turbine bylaw to resident Jack Ferreira of North Main Street. Ferreira built four small turbines for use in his home before the town created its wind-turbine bylaw a little over a year ago. The Planning Board approved permits for the wind turbines as built but restricted their use to Ferreira's home. - Robert Knox

SUMMER INTERNS FOR LAND TRUST - The Mattapoisett Land Trust has openings for three summer interns who will help the trust to document property conditions, sample water, and record history of parcels the trust owns. Call 774-377-3305. For information on the land trust, visit mattlandtrust.org. - Paul E. Kandarian

CHURCH GAINS HISTORIC STATUS - The East Rochester Church and Cemetery on County Road have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as recommended by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. - Paul E. Kandarian

MISSION TO NEW ORLEANS - The First Congregational Church of Sharon is looking for donations as members prepare to trek to New Orleans and help rebuild homes and schools lost in Hurricane Katrina more than two years ago. The congregation has launched a "Buy a Brick, Build a House" campaign to gather resources for their weeklong excursion to help the victims of Katrina. Donations can be made to the First Congregational Church of Sharon, PO Box 423, Sharon 02067. - Franci Richardson Ellement