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The curriculum and instruction update said the act requires districts to adopt a high-quality curriculum by fall 2027, with three options: a curriculum from a state-approved list, a free curriculum the state is still developing, or a waiver for a curriculum the state has not rated. The free curriculum will not be fully available by fall, and some programs on earlier approved lists will not be on the new one, the update said. Plymouth’s current materials have not been rated.

Superintendent Chris Campbell said 55% of districts would be out of compliance under the list as it now stands, and cautioned against any drastic change until the financial and programmatic impact is known. The district is above the state average in ELA at all grade levels, he said.

Committee members disagreed. Paul Samargedlis said that if the district is meeting or exceeding current guidelines, it should consider staying the course and seek a waiver if appropriate. Another rejected that.

I would be remiss to encourage our district to apply for any sort of waiver for anything related to reading.
— Ashley Shaw, School Committee 1:41:04

Shaw said the science shows particular curriculums are better than others and named the Lucy Calkins curriculum as one that does not work for many readers. The update replied that the district uses revised, updated materials and that the state’s list is incomplete. Megan Parker said foundational K-3 reading skills are based on science and the district must treat them with the utmost seriousness. Campbell said Plymouth does not have a reading crisis but the state and nation do. The update said the district is piloting UFLI Foundations as part of a research study and already screens students more often than the state requires.

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The superintendent’s Budget Constraints and Mandates presentation sorted district spending into fixed, semi-fixed and discretionary categories.

By major category, Superintendent Chris Campbell said salaries and personnel represent more than $104 million, special education out-of-district placements and services more than $36 million, employee health care and benefits $32.4 million, and transportation and utilities $10.8 million. Special education placements, debt service and building utilities are highly fixed, the superintendent said, while contractual step increases, multiyear busing and vendor contracts, and scheduled maintenance are semi-fixed. Electives, technology refresh cycles, athletics and extracurricular activities make up the small discretionary share.

On mandates, Campbell said circuit breaker expenditures exceeded $10.4 million and out-of-district tuitions topped $7.6 million, offset by $844,000 from the federal IDEA special education grant, which has gone down. The district also funds about $2.6 million in early education, just over $1 million in English learner services, $1.1 million in vocational out-of-district tuition and transportation, and $315,000 in McKinney-Vento foster care costs.

Assistant Superintendent for Finance and School Operations Adam Blaisdell said a renegotiated contract held the September fuel escalation charge to just over $10,000, compared with well over $50,000 under the old contract. Electricity is budgeted at $1.2 million, held down by a solar lease the superintendent said locked in 8 cents per kilowatt-hour. Dr. Blaisdell said Eversource delivery alone would cost more than 24 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with about 10 cents the district pays, and that the heating fuel line will increase substantially in the fiscal 2028 request.

But as we’re entering FY28 budget planning, we’re most likely going to be making some difficult decisions.
— Dr. Chris Campbell, Superintendent 1:27:27

For the series’ final presentation in mid-November, the superintendent said the recommendation will be to present two budgets: a needs-based budget and one built to the funding guideline, showing the impact of each. The superintendent also said non-salary lines rose 0.84% this year and that the committee has kept a soft class-size cap of 22 in the primary grades and 25 above.

It’s really, in reality, and I’ll stand by this, it’s a cost problem. Everything has gone up in a manner that the margins that outside organizations are making is ridiculous. There's no way to stay efficient and then make sure you're not in the same position next year.
— Paul Samargedlis, School Committee 1:40:15

Samargedlis, citing an email from the Select Board chair on five-year projections, asked the administration to put dollar figures next to discretionary areas such as athletics and the arts to show what cuts would actually save. Vice Chair Katherine Jackson asked that future slides show savings from bringing special education services in-house, transportation efficiency work and changes in federal funding.

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Article 24, a citizen petition filed by Brian Harrington and others, amends Section 203-1.D of the zoning bylaw. As printed in the warrant, it requires a special permit for more than one principal building on a lot in the LI, AP, MC, HC, MOD and CVED districts, makes those complexes subject to Section 203-2’s natural features provisions and applies exterior yard, setback, buffer and frontage requirements to the complex lot as a whole. Members closed debate 121–24–0 before the main vote. Like other bylaw changes, the amendment must be submitted to the state attorney general’s office, which has 90 days to review it.

How the motion reached the floor

Supplement I to the Advisory & Finance Committee’s report listed Article 24 as No Motion – No Action and included the Planning Board’s Sept. 23 vote of 0–4 against it. Town Moderator F. Steven Triffletti said he had ruled the petitioners’ preferred version, which named the Planning Board as the special permit granting authority, outside the scope of the signed petition, and that they returned to the warrant text earlier in the week. He said the committee approved the main motion that morning; it reported a 10–0 recommendation.

Michelle Christensen, Precinct 9 vice chair and chair of the Earth Removal Bylaw Committee, said a developer on a Hedges Pond Road lot in Cedarville was able to violate excavation and vegetation setbacks along the lot lines.

Richard Serkey, Precinct 2, a member of the same committee, said the petitioners were forced back to the warrant text after the moderator ruled their motion out of order and that the result was not a compromise.

Planning Board Chair Steven Bolotin said the board unanimously opposed the article, that the Hedges Pond Road property had been treated as a special permit and that the change adds red tape.

And I can tell you as the chair of the planning board, there are no unified complex applications presently before us, and we will not entertain any until after spring town meeting.
— Steven Bolotin, Planning Board Chair 4:04:27

Charlie Bletzer, Precinct 5, said residential taxpayers carry most of the budget and feared the change would hurt businesses looking to come to Plymouth. Donald Williams, Precinct 8, said iron in the sand helps keep phosphorus out of the aquifer and ponds. Steve Lydon, Precinct 17, said the building inspector found no violations at the site.

Two petitions never reached a vote

The moderator ruled out of order Article 25, a petition by Albert DiNardo, Precinct 17, that would have required a separate Town Meeting vote before surplus airport revenue could be spent. He cited two sections of Chapter 44 of the General Laws, Department of Revenue guidelines and a pending Superior Court case the Plymouth Airport Commission filed against the town, saying an amended preliminary injunction issued in May bars the town from interfering with airport accounting services.

DiNardo, on a point of order, said the charter requires that an appeal of a ruling be allowed and decided by a two-thirds vote. The moderator answered that his ruling was substantive, not procedural, and so not appealable.

The ruling is substantive. I’m saying to you, it is illegal to go forward on this article because of the court order.
— Steven Triffletti, Town Moderator 5:30:45

Bill Abbott, who said he had chaired two charter commissions, told the moderator the Attorney General, not the moderator, should judge legality, and later said he was appealing. Joel Coffin, Precinct 10, said members should get the two-thirds vote. No appeal vote was taken.

Article 26, to replace the town’s five steering committees with seven independent ones, met the same end. The moderator said its appointment process conflicts with the charter. A member then requested a two-thirds appeal vote, which was not held.

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Article 8, as described in an Aug. 13 Department of Public Works memo in the board’s packet, would pay for title research, appraisals, legal fees, land surveying and drafting needed to determine who owns the right of way on Andrew’s Way, Barbara’s Way, Donna Drive, Kathleen Drive, Penny Lane and Shallow Pond Lane, and how the town could acquire permanent easements. The memo says the intent is a later warrant article to accept the roads as public ways. Tuesday’s vote addressed only how to pay for that first step.

The choice carries a procedural edge. Finance staff told the board the warrant language allows four routes — raising and appropriating, borrowing, free cash or the general stabilization fund — and that two of them require a two-thirds Town Meeting vote. Chair Deborah Iaquinto summarized that raising and appropriating and free cash need a simple majority, while borrowing and a stabilization transfer need two-thirds. Staff put the town’s excess levy capacity at about $807,000 under the fiscal 2027 budget.

Kevin Canty opened by saying the town should not take on the work at all given its finances, and that if it does, borrowing is the only reasonable option because it spreads the cost over time. Canty said free cash had fallen from $23 million heading into last spring’s Town Meeting to the $18 million to $19 million range now, and argued that a two-thirds threshold fits a decision to take on a new liability.

Bill Keohan backed free cash, saying borrowing ends up costing more and that the neighborhood had waited too long. David Golden said borrowing hits the tax rate and that available free cash should be used.

Iaquinto said she agreed with Select Board member Kevin Canty that borrowing was the way forward, and that one message at Town Meeting would be to weigh every article with a price tag against its long-term value to the whole community.

But when it comes to the funding, I do agree that borrowing rather than depleting our free cash or tapping into our general stabilization fund is really the best option for us.
— Deb Iaquinto, Select Board Chair 1:46:19

The free-cash motion carried 3-2, with Select Board members David Golden and Bill Keohan and Vice Chair Richard Quintal in favor and Canty and Iaquinto opposed.

During public comment, Michael Hertz, who said he lives in Shallow Pond Estates and spoke for the Accept Our Roads Committee, asked for free cash, calling the request one-time money for a one-time study. He also asked that town counsel confirm the sixth road’s legal name before Saturday, saying the warrant and draft motion use a different suffix than the DPW memo, which lists Shallow Pond Lane. The board did not address the naming request on the record.

It is not the acceptance vote. It is the step that makes a future acceptance article possible.
— Michael Hertz 9:37

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The objection came moments after the Planning Board called its own meeting to order. Francis Mand noted the project was not posted for discussion and did not ask either board to debate its merits, but said it touched the joint agenda.

I do want to put on record my concern that a development of this magnitude with major implications for land use, traffic, water, sewer, public safety, open space, and the future development of West Plymouth apparently reached the point of negotiations and Select Board endorsement without ever being presented to the planning board or to the public through the normal planning processes.
— Francis Mand, Planning Board member 1:34:30

Mand asked that the Darby Farms proposal, including the process followed so far, go on the Planning Board’s next available agenda with documents provided well in advance. He also asked the Select Board and town administration for the town’s communications with the developer, the proposed mitigation commitments and the basis for the endorsement. Planning Board chair Steve Bolotin answered that the matter is already on that board’s agenda for next week, with a presentation on the process to date and a discussion of the Planning Board’s role going forward.

The criticism echoed public comment earlier in the evening, when residents raised traffic on Carver Road and Route 44, missing sidewalks, school capacity and the health of Clear Pond, and several said they learned of the project only after the vote. Departing from the usual practice of not responding to comment, Select Board chair Deb Iaquinto said the board had voted the previous week to send a letter of support for the development as a friendly 40B, that the final permitting decision rests with the Zoning Board of Appeals and that the permitting process will include a public hearing.

Later, Select Board member Kevin Canty said the board had followed the same procedure used for past friendly 40Bs: a high-level review by the Select Board, then the Planning Board, then the ZBA, with public hearings along the way. He said the Select Board’s ability to influence the outcome is limited.

The joint session’s first posted item was the Select Board’s Economic Development Strategy, a July 22 framework built from the board’s summer workshops and the comprehensive plan. It lists eight priority initiatives for fiscal 2027 and 2028, among them comprehensive zoning updates, a business development concierge in Town Hall, a business recruitment and marketing strategy, an updated Harbor Plan, and redevelopment strategies for sites including Plymouth Industrial Park, Camelot Industrial Park, Cordage Park and the 1600-Acre Area/Holtec site.

Town staff told both boards that only about 8.5% of Plymouth’s land is potentially developable and only about half a percent includes commercially or industrially zoned land, and that several recent friendly 40Bs have taken place on commercially zoned land. Another speaker put what remains undeveloped of the roughly 2,500 acres zoned for commercial and industrial use at about 350 acres.

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Article 17 would borrow $400,000 through the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust for loans to repair or replace failing septic systems and pay for sewer tie-ins. A town video shown to the committee said the program has helped 422 homeowners across 17 previous rounds since 1999. Homeowners can borrow up to $35,000 per property at 5% over five to 15 years, recorded as liens.

The balance figures came in answer to a member who asked whether last year’s money had been exhausted. Michael Silveira, Deputy Director of Planning and Development, said each of the last two rounds was $400,000 and that, at the current pace, staff fear the account will run dry before spring and certainly by next fall. A surge of applications brought the department back only a year after its last request, Silveira said. Asked whether staff would return in the spring for another $400,000, he said they do not believe that will be necessary.

The town borrows at 2% and bills homeowners at 5%, so it earns money on the program, Silveira said. Loans are open only to homeowners, not commercial entities. Don Williams from Precinct 8, citing the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan’s work on a 20-year sewering plan, asked whether the borrowing could grow as sewers replace septic systems. Silveira said the department could look at increasing the request if the trend continues.

Data centers drew the longest questioning. Article 16 would impose a one-year moratorium on data centers from Oct. 17, 2026, through Oct. 16, 2027, while the Planning Board drafts regulations for the fall 2027 Special Town Meeting. Silveira said no data center projects are currently proposed in Plymouth. The only moratoriums the department knows of are in Lowell, Westfield and Shutesbury, while Mansfield has adopted size limits; Silveira said the department knows of no other South Shore community studying the issue.

Williams argued that zoning should not be the town’s only tool and raised concern about where cooling water would go. A member asked staff to report back in a quarter or so on what they are considering, and Silveira agreed to return to discuss progress. He also said the Planning Board added language so the data center definition would not necessarily apply to a hospital or other primary use that needs servers.

Article 15 would eliminate the 0.25 maximum floor area ratio for light industry and renewable or alternative energy manufacturing in the Light Industrial district, aligning those uses with the district’s 0.75 limit. It would also exempt screened rooftop mechanical equipment from height calculations and ease setback and special permit rules in the height overlay district. Silveira said the changes would chiefly affect Plymouth Industrial Park and Camelot Drive Industrial Park.

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The vote makes the town a partner on the developer’s state application, the approach the board endorsed this summer to get ahead of hostile comprehensive permits. The memorandum of agreement sets out a $2.5 million mitigation package negotiated with town staff. The project still goes through Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals review.

Updating the board on the town’s affordable housing strategy, Lauren Lind, Assistant Town Manager for Economic Development and Planning, said Plymouth stands at 8.42% on the state inventory and needs 406 more units to reach 10%. Counting 168 units already in the pipeline, the gap is 238. Adding the Carver Road units brings the eligible total to 2,723, or 10.5%. The target moves after the 2030 census: Lind projected Plymouth would slip to 7.59% if its inventory stayed flat, and said the Carver Road project cuts the projected 2030 shortfall from just over 500 units to about 350.

The proposal, listed on the agenda under Rick Vayo of 120 Carver LLC, calls for one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in three buildings on a 32-acre former farm, with 25% of the units affordable and all of them counting toward the inventory. The presentation promised 67% open space, no gravel removal and an entrance that leads into the Market Basket complex. The mitigation includes $600,000 to match a federal SAFER grant for fire staffing, $200,000 for recreation space in West Plymouth, $500,000 for the Cranberry Crescent sewer pump station and $1.2 million for West Plymouth water system improvements. An affordable one-bedroom would rent in the $2,200 range, according to the developer.

We would be irresponsible if we turned the other way and did not act on this immediately, because I do feel a sense of urgency around solving this problem.
— Chair Deborah Iaquinto 5:03:36

Debate centered on traffic. Member Kevin Canty grew up near the site said the planned intersection work would handle access and that the SAFER money would raise firefighter staffing across town. Dick Quintal was not convinced, estimated as many as a thousand more cars a day through an intersection that works now, asked about school enrollment and water use, and said conservation would be the member’s choice for the land. Lind told the board the Planning Board has not weighed in on the specific proposal, though its chair spoke in favor of the strategy on June 30.

Earlier, the board declined to recommend two citizen petitions headed to the Oct. 17 Town Meeting.

Article 24 would require a special permit for unified complexes, a response to excavation at 71 Hedges Pond Road that petitioners called a desecration. Iaquinto said the petitioners had drafted a motion to amend the article, the town moderator ruled it out of order as beyond the article’s scope, and town counsel advised the board not to hear it. Staff said the Planning Board voted unanimously against the article as submitted, and offered to help write a version for spring Town Meeting. A motion to recommend approval failed 1-4, with Bill Keohan supporting. Iaquinto said every member supported the article’s intent but the board could not go against the advice of its legal counsel.

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The warning opened a five-part Budget Education Series, listed on the agenda as the superintendent’s presentation.

From FY20 to FY27, the district’s total operating budget grew from $100.2 million to $133 million, while Chapter 70 aid rose from $26.37 million to $31.32 million. The presentation put the budget’s growth at 32.8% and state aid’s at 18.8%. State aid covered 15.1% of the new costs, it said, leaving local property taxes to carry 84.9%.

And as we head into FY28, level service costs will likely exceed that baseline revenue growth. And we can anticipate that for sure. So balancing our future budgets is really gonna require a conscious community decision regarding local municipal tax investment, service reductions, or other decisions.
— Superintendent Chris Campbell, Budget Education Series presentation, Part 1 57:27

The presentation said contractual raises, state-mandated services, health care and utilities grow 4½% to 6% a year just to maintain level services, while Proposition 2½ caps the levy and the Chapter 70 formula caps aid. The district plans on level state aid, stabilizing at 23% to 24% of the budget, unless the state changes its funding formula.

Circuit breaker reimbursement has not closed the gap. Eligible high-cost special education expenses rose from $6.84 million in FY20 to $10.43 million in FY26, while reimbursement rose from $2.85 million to $4.7 million. The district still paid $6.38 million of those costs in FY26.

Grants and revolving accounts cannot fill the hole, the presentation said: Title I and IDEA money is restricted, and paying permanent staff from temporary grants or one-time reserves sets up a steeper cliff.

Much of the session covered past savings. Solar saved the district $1.51 million in 2026 alone. Sending 12 students to an out-of-district collaborative would cost a net $730,854 after circuit breaker reimbursement; educating them in the new STRIVE program at Nathaniel Morton costs $373,615. The district’s in-district specialized programs now serve 280 students.

In FY27, salaries rose 4.14%, adding just over $4 million, while supplies and materials fell 1.77% and all non-salary lines rose 0.84%. The district has not had to raise class sizes, cut electives or eliminate staff, according to the presentation. It cited school consolidations and grade reconfigurations as steps other communities have taken, not proposals for Plymouth.

Committee members welcomed the series. Vice Chair Katherine Jackson asked that later sessions explain why school spending matters to residents with no children in the district, including those on fixed incomes. Christina Bryant asked for a revenue slide separating stable funding from money the district must fight for each year. A third said Proposition 2½ never moved with rising costs and that towns need revenue sources not built on a volatile override debate.

The second session, on Oct. 19, will cover budget constraints, mandates and non-negotiables. Administrators were scheduled to meet with town leadership on FY28 budget and capital planning the following afternoon.

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Iaquinto framed her statement on how the five-member board conducts itself as a standard rather than a request.

We continue to make headlines, as everyone knows, that don’t reflect the actual work we are doing for the people of Plymouth.
— Chair Deborah Iaquinto 9:45

She set out how she intends to enforce it. Members will address their comments and questions through the chair instead of to one another. One person speaks at a time, with no interruptions. Each member gets one opportunity to speak on an issue before anyone gets a second round. Questions must relate to the agenda item or the chair will redirect, and repetitive discussion will be curtailed. Personal attacks and accusations about colleagues’ motives will draw an intervention, and the chair may recess the meeting at any time to restore order. 9:45

The same standards apply with the doors shut, Iaquinto said.

The board approved three outdoor amplified music permits as listed: a Sept. 30 ribbon-cutting outside Memorial Hall, 83 Court Street, recognizing the Plymouth Philharmonic as the new orchestra in residence, and 5K walk/runs at 12 Resnik Road on Oct. 4 and 62 Water Street on Oct. 18. Four members voted. The chair said member David Golden was joining by Zoom as the roll closed.

The chair amended the one-day wine and malt licenses for the Plymouth Seafood Festival before the vote: the festival has been rescheduled from Sept. 26 to Oct. 10 because of the approaching storm, so the licenses were issued for the new date. One request was struck from the vote because the applicant had moved its location.

Administrative notes one through five passed in a single vote with no discussion. The posted agenda has the town accepting products and services funded by three Massachusetts Clean Energy Center grants: $350,000 to Flood Dynamics of Cambridge to demonstrate an AI-powered flood risk platform, $250,000 to Coastal Measures of Greenland, New Hampshire, for an AI-powered sensor network covering Plymouth and Marshfield, and $200,000 to Upstream Carbon of Jamaica Plain for a land-use analysis platform. They also authorize the sale of two town properties, 4 Guild Road and 45 Colchester Drive, with Treasurer Patricia Meachen as custodian of each.

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Kathleen Pelletier, who lives near the airport told the board she has waited months for an answer to one question: who oversees the underground storage tank there, and who certifies that its hazardous waste is removed properly.

She read from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report dated July 3, 2025 that identifies the ground under the airport as part of a sole-source aquifer, which the EPA defines as one supplying at least 50 percent of the drinking water consumed above it. The report places an underground storage tank in a hangar with a bermed area for wastewater. A state environmental impact report filed December 16, 2024 allows aircraft washing only in designated areas graded to drain into a tank pumped as needed. When she asked the Airport Commission where that area was, she said, one response was that nobody washes their planes.

“It feels very disrespectful and not transparent. To this day, I have not received an answer.” Kathleen Pelletier, resident [26:55]

A new commissioner, Tom Bodie, has since requested an on-site visit to confirm the tank is working, she said, and no date is set. Pelletier gave the board a complaint log from the acting airport manager showing 63 complaints over three months, 26 of them early or late operations, and asked whether the commission could fine aircraft that take off early.

Member Kevin Canty said the board would look into both, then explained why it may take a while.

“Our ability for the time being to directly impact what is happening at the airport is limited by a court order that we’re subject to, which I disagree with, but we do have to take literally while it is in place.” Kevin Canty, Select Board [30:30]

The board’s ability to interact with the airport is “being artificially curtailed”, Canty said, and the order is not expected to last in perpetuity. Chair Deb Iaquinto called it an injunction and said the board would engage more freely once it lifts.

Who pays for that fight drew the night’s sharpest question. Steve Lantange from Precinct 18 asked who approves and appropriates the money for the airport’s private legal counsel. Canty said the airport is paying out of its own revenue pool, and that whether it may do so is itself one of the matters at issue. The cost runs through the airport enterprise fund, falling on fuel buyers and on tenants who rent space there, not on general taxpayers unless they are also airport users.

Resident Lisa Lantange asked whether the town ever produced a documented process for the airport to submit warrant articles, saying they have gone forward without agendas, minutes or a recorded commission vote. Canty said staff-generated articles, at the airport or any department, require no commission vote, and reach the warrant as select board-sponsored articles subject to the board’s own hearings, Advisory and Finance Committee review, the caucuses and town meeting. Iaquinto said the board had heard nothing out of order in how the airport develops its articles.

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The students who drove the cost did not come out of Plymouth’s own programs. Superintendent Chris Campbell told the committee they moved in — some from out of state, some late in the spring, some previously served through Medicaid-funded programs — and that a district becomes financially responsible for a student in a collaborative placement immediately on arrival, with none of the April 1 cutoff that applies to private placements.

“This is not a special education issue. This is an issue of funding,” Campbell said, noting the district has spent millions building in-district programs to keep students in their neighborhood schools.

Federal grants falling short compounded it. Together, Campbell said, the added costs and the lost federal money ran over a million dollars.

The response was internal and immediate: a pause on recruitment for non-instructional positions, reduced discretionary spending, limits on non-essential supply purchases, less travel and a pause on non-essential professional development. That brought the remaining fiscal 2027 gap to just over half a million dollars against a budget Campbell put at roughly $130 million.

He said he is not worried about closing this year. He is worried about next year, because the costs carry forward.

Rather than bring the committee a single comprehensive budget package in December as usual, the district will run a five-meeting public education series from Sept. 28 through mid-November, working through the budget in pieces before any numbers are proposed: how the district is funded, which costs are fixed or mandated, why personnel and benefits drive the total, a deep dive on special education and transportation, and finally what will guide the decisions. The December presentation still happens — but after it, not instead of it.

“Our objective is really to not dump a final number on the committee in December,” Campbell said.

He also offered a figure for what the district has already squeezed: the non-personnel budget rose less than 1 percent this year, because the district protected people and programs.

School Business Administrator Adam Blaisdell reviewed the internal controls audit commissioned after an anonymous tip led to charges against the cafeteria director. Investigators found a roughly 10-year pattern; equipment was recovered, and the restitution figure reflects only what could be proven.

The auditors focused on payroll as the highest risk. Cafeteria payroll, onboarding, wage garnishments and accounts payable have all moved to central offices; absences and extra-hours requests now run through the district system with no mid-stream edits; equipment has been tagged and logged; a new inventory platform is in place for perishables; each school now orders and is invoiced separately; and salary and food accounts have been broken out by building. Camera coverage at point-of-sale terminals was considered and deferred. Committee members asked that the new food service director present directly at a future meeting

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The evening’s sharpest exchange was not over the largest number. It was over $300,000.

Article 8 would fund title research, appraisals, legal fees and surveys needed to move six Shallow Pond Estates roads — Andrew’s Way, Barbara’s Way, Donna Drive, Kathleen Drive, Penny Lane and Shallow Pond Lane — toward acceptance as public ways. The board had previously structured it as a borrowing. Golden moved to amend it to allow the town to raise and appropriate, transfer from available funds, accept gifts, or borrow.

Canty was the lone vote against, both on the amendment and on the article itself.

“There has not been a case made for why this is something that residents of West Plymouth, Buttermilk Bay, Cedarville, North Plymouth, why all of them should be having to pay additional funding to take what is a private neighborhood’s roads on as a public liability.” — Kevin Canty

He tied the vote directly to the town’s finances, noting Plymouth sits below its own free cash policy thresholds, faces contract negotiations with employees and unresolved costs at Memorial Hall, and may be two to three years from an operational override. Accepting depreciated private roads, he argued, adds both a one-time cost and a permanent maintenance obligation. “This is not in the interest of the 65,000 residents of Plymouth,” he said. “It may be in the interest of the 400 or so residents of this neighborhood.”

Quintal and Iaquinto both grounded their support in the 40B development at the rear of the neighborhood. Iaquinto called herself “reluctantly in support,” saying the development’s presence is “not the town’s fault” but is the reason the situation is unlike other unaccepted roads. Keohan argued the neighborhood has paid taxes throughout and that the town has a documented history of prioritizing those roads.

The capital article drew no such division. The finance director presented nine projects totaling $8.4 million — roughly $6.9 million from the general fund and $1.5 million from the water enterprise fund — recommended for funding through $435,370.40 in free cash, $7.9 million in borrowing, $137,500 from the environmental affairs fund and $8,414.60 from a prior article. Because two awarded grants reimburse the town after it spends, net borrowing falls to about $4.6 million. She confirmed to Golden that both grants are already awarded, not pending, and that water enterprise borrowing is repaid by water users rather than the tax rate.

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A comprehensive inventory of Community Preservation Act (CPA) projects delivered by Town Counsel Attorney Kate McKay and Community Preservation Committee (CPC) Coordinator Kristin Ford outlined a systemic administrative breakdown dating back more than two decades.

According to Massachusetts General Law Chapter 44B, Section 12, real property interests acquired or rehabilitated using Community Preservation funds must be bound by a permanent restriction running with the land. However, the town’s review cataloged 44 missing restrictions across multiple sectors:

• Recreation: 25 unrecorded restrictions, including the Rail Trail ($400,000), Hedges Pond ($4.125 million across two votes), Stephens Field ($3.56 million across four authorizations), Nelson Park Playground ($476,529), and Jenney Pond dredging ($2.2 million).

• Historic Preservation: 18 total missing restrictions, with five currently in progress. Outstanding properties include the 1820 Courthouse ($6.575 million across two articles), the Spire Center ($3.6 million), and Burial Hill ($750,000). The five active drafts include four distinct votes for the First Parish Meetinghouse totaling over $2.97 million and Pilgrim Hall Museum’s 2023 grant of $3.2 million.

• Open Space: Six restrictions remain unrecorded but are progressing through legal review, including the Simes House ($200,000), Camp Norse off Carver Road ($900,000), Siever ($117,000), and Full Sail ($875,000). Restrictions for Rocky Point ($175,000) and the Pinnacle project ($1.21 million) were scheduled for recording immediately following the meeting.

• Affordable Housing: One property, Oak Street ($1.238 million across two Town Meeting votes), remains unrecorded. The lapse has disqualified the site’s three housing units from being counted on the Commonwealth’s Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) due to procedural omissions, including the absence of a proper lottery when the units were initially occupied.

The presentation sparked a contentious debate over newly implemented CPC safeguards, which dictate that no grant disbursements will be released going forward without prior proof of a recorded deed restriction.

Representatives of prominent local nonprofits strongly pushed back. Donna Curtin, executive director of the Pilgrim Society and Pilgrim Hall Museum, warned the Select Board that the inventory was misleading and created redundant hurdles. Curtin argued that institutions like Pilgrim Hall already placed historic preservation restrictions on their properties decades ago and that requiring newly drafted state-level restrictions for emergency capital repairs—such as leaking roofs—creates burdensome, multi-year delays.

Select Board member Kevin Canty firmly rejected that reasoning, emphasizing that town staff and legal counsel are strictly bound by the language voted by Town Meeting. Canty pointed out that material modifications to a building, such as enclosing a leaking skylight at Pilgrim Hall, alter the architectural fabric and legally necessitate updated covenants.

“Without the restrictions, the money that was appropriated could be lost because there’s no protections. And that’s some of the issues we’ve been dealing with some of the organizations as of late, that we don’t have restrictions in place to protect the dollars that were appropriated and to protect the work that was completed with those dollars.” — Derek Brindisi, Town Manager

Town Manager Derek Brindisi noted that only 10 of 33 historic restrictions (less than 33%) have ever been recorded in the history of Plymouth’s CPC. Finance Director Lynne Barrett added that municipal bond counsel legally requires recorded property interests before Plymouth can execute municipal borrowing authorized by Town Meeting, elevating the issue from administrative bookkeeping to fiscal compliance.

Select Board member Bill Keohan called for patience and administrative collaboration, pointing out that state-level reviews at the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs often take years due to single-person review desks. Keohan advocated for releasing a withheld $300,000 final payment to Pilgrim Hall as documents finalize, but Canty and Chair Deborah Iaquinto held firm that taxpayer protections cannot be negotiated away after the fact.

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Deputy Director of Planning and Development Michael Silveira presented the proposed zoning amendment, designated as Article 16, which would institute a temporary halt from October 17, 2026, through October 16, 2027. The measure targets dedicated server farms and large-scale facilities while allowing ancillary data storage operations connected to primary uses, such as hospitals or research laboratories.

During the presentation, Silveira noted that municipalities across Massachusetts—including Lowell, Westfield, and Shutesbury—have enacted similar pauses to assess municipal exposure. Over the 12-month moratorium period, Plymouth’s Planning Board and Planning and Development Department intend to coordinate with Eversource and the municipal water department to analyze grid capacity, water demands, noise levels, and localized infrastructure impact before proposing permanent zoning regulations.

“I’m generally not in favor of prohibiting any type of business development in town, but I’ve done some research on these data centers, and in some cases, typically the ones that Mr. Canty was referring to, these giant AI farms, cause water quality issues for the community. They sometimes increase the cost of electricity for the neighboring communities. So I do think it’s a good use of our time to put a pause and figure out what a data center in Plymouth could look like...” — Select Board Member David Golden

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Taking their meeting into the village of Manomet, the Plymouth Select Board faced a wave of public testimony centered on safety, environmental degradation, and neighborhood quality of life. The primary flashpoint was Champion Builders’ Chapter 40B development off Beach Street and Elm Street. Multiple abutters testified that the developer has failed to honor conditions negotiated in a July 31 agreement brokered by Director of Inspectional Services Jason Silva.

Residents reported that dozens of heavy commercial trucks traverse narrow residential roads without sidewalks each day, damaging overhead utility wires, shearing vehicle mirrors, and raising severe safety hazards for children preparing for the upcoming school year. Abutters also reported massive uncovered sand excavations blowing persistent dust across the coastal pine barrens ecosystem.

“Not one day have they complied. The trucks have slowed down... but nothing is covered. The dirt piles are 60, 70 feet tall... to the point that Champion wants to spit in our face today—at the top of the largest pile, they inserted an American flag instead of a tarp.” — Christine Sordillo, Elm Street [00:30:02]

Town Manager Derek Brindisi explained that Chapter 40B comprehensive permits are state-governed statutory processes overseen locally by the Zoning Board of Appeals rather than the Select Board or Planning Board. However, Brindisi noted that site mitigation terms—including dirt pile tarps, water trucks, and street sweeping—fall under local code enforcement. Brindisi began drafting administrative correspondence to Inspectional Services during the meeting and directed residents to log direct violations with town inspectors at 508-322-3431 or through SeeClickFix.

Select Board member Kevin Canty addressed broader housing dynamics, noting that Plymouth is actively pursuing the state-mandated 10% Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) threshold to shield the community from future uncoordinated 40B projects and transition municipal resources toward targeted, working-class workforce housing.

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The adoption of the policy was spurred by contentious behavior at municipal meetings over the past year, including an outburst at the May 2026 Town Meeting and recent confrontations within the Select Board itself. Developed by Select Board Chair Deborah Iaquinto, Select Board Member Bill Keohan, Town Counsel, and a working group of local committee chairs, the policy adapts model language from the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA). Proponents framed it as an essential baseline to give municipal boards guidance, establish consistent complaint handling procedures, and provide mechanisms such as formal public censures.

Town Moderator Steven Triffletti spoke in favor of the measure, noting that while parliamentary manuals like Town Meeting Time govern session procedures, an overarching town policy sets a community standard. Precinct 7 Town Meeting Member Beth Gragg, who chairs the Committee of Precinct Chairs, urged the board during public comment to lead by example, lamenting recent “open hostility and personal disrespect” displayed during open meetings.

However, the policy faced sharp pushback from board members Kevin Canty and David Golden, who voted against the measure. Canty raised procedural alarms, arguing that the policy’s censure mechanism creates opportunities for a “tyranny of the majority” to bully dissenting members. He also warned that allowing complaints without strong safeguards against anonymous filings could weaponize the process.

“The issue of censure as outlined in this policy is essentially an opportunity for tyranny of the majority... If you had a board of five where you had one or two members who were consistently in the minority, they could be targeted by the majority on that board and publicly censured and essentially bullied through the use of this policy.” — Kevin Canty

Tensions escalated when Vice Chair Richard Quintal interrupted Canty to request calling the vote, prompting Canty to cite the interruption as a live example of the board’s underlying decorum issues. Golden argued that the policy suffered from “mission drift” by restating state ethics laws, lacked clear definitions for prohibited conduct, and risked chilling protected speech under the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court precedent Barron v. Kolenda. Despite these objections, the board passed the motion 3-2, with Iaquinto, Keohan, and Quintal voting in favor.

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During the Town Manager’s report at last week’s Select Board meeting, Town Manager Derek Brindisi alerted the board and residents to heightened digital security protocols being implemented across Plymouth’s public utilities. The initiative involves direct collaboration between Plymouth’s IT Director, DPW leadership, and Woodard & Curran—the firm managing the town’s SCADA monitoring framework—to prevent potential cyber intrusions into municipal water supply and wastewater treatment operations. Brindisi noted that the town is also evaluating continuity-of-government protocols to ensure uninterrupted service in the event of an emergency.

“This is the day and age that we live, that we have to really think about protecting our water supplies through an IT infrastructure standpoint.” — Derek Brindisi, Town Manager

In addition to utility security, Brindisi briefed the board on a proposed pilot ferry service connecting Plymouth and Boston. Utilizing a $1 million state earmark, municipal officials are exploring potential routes and funding partnerships with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). While enthusiasm remains high for expanding regional water transportation, officials noted that operational costs are estimated at over $10,000 per trip, making state cooperation and subsidy essential.

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Facilities Director Matt Durkee presented the proposed performance-based contract under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 25A, Section 11I. The action marks the culmination of a months-long public bidding and evaluation process that began in early April. Under the agreement, Ameresco will provide specialized engineering, design, and procurement services to execute high-level energy and building envelope projects—such as HVAC system replacements and roofing—far faster than the district could manage internally.

The contract spans up to 20 years, though Plymouth retains the right to dissolve the agreement at any time with minimal financial risk. Individual infrastructure projects will carry their own distinct sub-contracts. The first effort slated under the partnership is a complete replacement of rooftop units and mechanical controls at South Elementary School. Durkee explained that Ameresco was selected over competing firms due to competitive fee structures, transparent pricing, and close geographic proximity, with a regional office located nearby in Norwell. Furthermore, the company will aggressively pursue utility incentives and grants through providers like Eversource to reinvest directly into Plymouth’s school buildings.

“What it is, is a high-level team of engineers, design and procurement team that can take on any of our large-scale energy-based projects... and they have the team of engineers, design and procurement team to make this project happen faster than we can internally.” — Matt Durkee, Facilities Director (00:49:15)

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In a solemn and tense proceeding, Town Attorney Stacey Verde detailed a harrowing multi-year timeline of aggression involving the dog. According to town records, the animal’s violent history began in May 2025 when it attacked another dog. Over the following year, the dog repeatedly bit pedestrians, attacked a police officer, and engaged in a March 2026 biting incident. The situation escalated dramatically on April 2, 2026, when police responded to the owner’s address and Ms. Quintal allegedly used the dog to interfere with officers, resulting in pending criminal charges for assault with a dangerous weapon.

Following a formal dangerous dog hearing on April 29, 2026, Hearing Officer Christopher Badot issued a ruling on June 3rd giving Quintal 30 days to license, vaccinate, securely contain, and muzzle the animal when it left the property. Quintal failed to appeal or meet any of the safety mandates. On July 15, the uncontained dog bit a neighbor on his own property and attempted to attack him again the following day. When Quintal refused to surrender the animal for quarantine, town officials obtained a court warrant on July 20. Plymouth Police, Plymouth Animal Control, and New Bedford Animal Control executed the warrant on July 22 to seize the dog. Verde noted that the dog remains intensely aggressive while impounded, lunging and growling at shelter staff. It has also attacked at least two Plymouth Police Officers.

Board members expressed deep discomfort with the decision but emphasized that public safety left them no alternative under state law. Town Counsel explained that once an animal is legally deemed dangerous and conditions are breached, Massachusetts statute prohibits rehoming or releasing the dog outside town borders.

The board voted 2-1 to confirm the findings, with Vice Chair David Golden and Chair Deborah Iaquinto joining Board Member Bill Keohan, who expressed frustration with the procedural setup. Select Board members Kevin Canty and Richard Quintal recused themselves from the hearing. Immediately following the vote, a heated exchange broke out on the dais when Keohan confronted Golden, leading Chair Iaquinto to call for decorum.

Mr. Keohan I said that you’re a coward.

No, that’s not what you said. Say what you said...

Mr. Keohan, I said that you’re a coward. Madam Chair, I yield the floor back to you...

People need to know the language that you are using on this board. — Exchange between Board Member Bill Keohan and Vice Chair David Golden

Chair Iaquinto immediately intervened to restore order, calling for a respectful discussion before moving on to the remaining town business.

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Guided by Assistant Town Manager Lauren Lind, the workshop served as the second installment in a series designed to translate findings from a town-wide SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and the recently approved comprehensive plan into actionable municipal policies.

A central focus of the discussion was the ongoing pressure on Plymouth’s commercial and industrial land footprint. Lind and board members noted that while the town faces pressing housing needs, allowing residential development to encroach on light industrial zones undermines the non-residential tax base and risks future land-use conflicts. Lind explained that municipal staff are working with the Planning Board to update zoning definitions for commercial corridors, specifically aiming to refine mixed-use standards so that commercial vitality is preserved on the ground floor.

To address long-standing public perceptions regarding local regulatory hurdles, staff recommended establishing a designated “business concierge” within Town Hall. This cross-functional position would serve as a single point of contact to guide small business owners and developers through multi-departmental permitting workflows.

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