The Raynham Channel

Raynham Select Board 10/28/2025

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(Episode Description is AI generated and may be errors in accuracy)

A packed agenda turns into meaningful action as we move from routine approvals to the real work of community care. Our health director lays out the 2026 permit cycle across food service, lodging, pools, tobacco, camps, and more, reinforcing the standards that safeguard daily life. We dig into the asphalt odor issue with specifics: a custom equipment fix, rerouted trucks, additional inspections, and a scheduled DEP odor survey. Residents get clear instructions for logging complaints so data drives accountability, not speculation.

We then focus on youth well-being with opioid settlement dollars. A Heron Talks presentation brings a powerful recovery story to the middle school, while a two-year social-emotional learning program builds everyday skills for students and teachers. It is a practical blend of inspiration and prevention. On the infrastructure front, we vote the layout for new subdivision roads as a step toward public acceptance, with the developer and town engineers aligned on completing punch-list items before the planning board hearing. That’s how roads become public: verify, correct, then adopt.

The Special Town Meeting warrant features 20 articles, including major capital like $4.4 million for the public safety building, $457,413 for school capital, acceptance of public ways, and funding Raynham’s share of an independent operational and financial review of the regional school district. We preview a pre–town meeting with the moderator, finance committee, and capital committee to answer questions early and clearly. Alongside the numbers, we acknowledge the human impact of expected SNAP benefit cuts in Massachusetts on November 1 and spotlight the Raynham Food Basket for anyone who needs help or wants to donate.

We close by celebrating the everyday wins that bind a town together: a standout trunk-or-treat, fresh community programming at the library, and the senior center’s 25th anniversary. Listen for the details, share it with a neighbor, and join us at the pre–town meeting to shape the path forward. If this kind of grounded, local problem-solving matters to you, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what you want covered next.

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SPEAKER_01:

I would like to call the meeting to order of the Rainham Select Board here on Tuesday, October 28th, 2025, at College Order at 7 o'clock PM here in the Donald McKinnon Municipal Meeting Room at Vitrins Memorial Town Hall at 558 South Main Street in Rainham. The meeting is open to the public, and we thank you for joining us. It is also being broadcast live on the Rainham Channel, Comcast Channel 98, and Verizon Channel 34. It is also being recorded by Raycam for replay on the Rainham Channel. Again, thank you for joining us. Please join us now for the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you. The next agenda item is the acceptance of the minutes. We have the regular session of October 21st, 2025, and the executive session of October 21st, 2025, with the executive session minutes withheld from public release. Do I have a motion to accept the minutes as printed?

SPEAKER_07:

So moved.

SPEAKER_01:

Motion is made and seconded. Any discussion? Hearing then all in favor. Aye. Any opposed? It is so voted. Next we have department head reports, and we have Paula Rossi Clapp, our health director, with her monthly report. Welcome, Paula. Hello, you're getting a packed crowd here.

SPEAKER_00:

See that? It needs to become for you, Paula. Absolutely. You're just glad that I write everything down so that you don't have to worry. So let's see, my monthly report, um, Board of Health updates. A reminder to all businesses that our office has just mailed out the new 2026 permit applications. Current 2025 permits will expire on December 31st. In total, Kim has sent out letters for 353 permit applications. The list of permits due to expire are food, which includes service and retail, milk and cream, hotel, mobile homes, septic installer and pumper, swimming pools, tobacco, trash hauler, ice skating and indoor air, recreational camp, body works, and bees. Once we receive the completed applications and payment, an inspection will be done before a permit is issued. To date this year, we have received four septic disposal applications. One was a component repair, and three for new construction on Loungebury Drive, Sandy Hill Road, Finch Road, and Pine Street. And we've also processed 15 abandonment permits. We've been monitoring odor complaints from the town's asphalt company. The Board of Health is working directly with the company management and the and DEP to resolve the smell issues as soon as possible. The asphalt company has ordered a custom part to be installed in their hopper to remove most of the gases that are emitted during shipments of asphalt. The company will be directing loaded trucks out of their site to take roads involving less houses and neighborhoods. And the company management is also doing a sweep of their equipment to make sure nothing is malfunctioning. This type of inspection is usually done in the beginning of the spring, but they're conducting it once again just to make sure. I'm scheduled to meet with the DEP as an inspector next week, weather permitting, and perform what they call a survey of odors. Due to schedules and weather conditions this week, it could not happen. Residents should use the following email to notify the company and document complaints of exact dates and times of odor issues. It's uh J.Temple, T-E-M-P-L-E, at Amriseam R I Z E dot com. And you can also notify the Board of Health office in an email, but mine's a lot longer and it's a lot easier to just go onto the webpage and get my email off of that. You can uh also call the Asphalt Company at 508-822-7120 to log any odor complaints you may have. We have working with the town administrator to compile a letter to residents to be posted on the town website to document asphalt odor complaints. This will be very similar to the process that was taken when Earth Source was an issue. Opioid funding update. The opioid working group voted to support a Heron Talks presentation at the Rainham Middle School happening on Thursday, October 30th. Chris is a former MBA Celtic player who overcame his alcohol and drug addiction. In addition, we voted to support a mental health support program for two years for the middle school called the Committee for Children STEP Program. More information can be had by attending one of our monthly meetings here at the town hall or call the Port of Health and ask for me, and I'd be happy to explain all about opioids. As far as animal control is concerned, the latest thing is loose dogs have been on the rise. Please be sure to check that your dog has an updated rabies vaccine and town license and check the batteries on your invisible, oh, I did not spell that right, the invisible fence and collars. A reminder that hunting season is upon us and dogs and cats get very spooked very easily when they hear gunshots. So be aware of that. And if you have any animal control concern, please contact the police department dispatch at 508-824-2716, and dispatch will call, contact the animal control officer to further assist you. And that's all I've got.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you very much. Um, Mr. Pacheco, questions, comments?

SPEAKER_06:

No, no questions, thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

Mr. Collins?

SPEAKER_06:

No questions, thank you very much, Paula. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01:

You're gonna be there Thursday?

SPEAKER_06:

I'm gonna try, but I can't promise you.

SPEAKER_01:

I will try to get it if you're no questions, thank you for your report and for everything that you and your staff does. Thanks awesome. Thanks, Paul. Okay, continuing with our agenda. We have no appointment scheduled this evening. We have no public hearing. Completion of older continuing business. Do you have anything, Mr. Bachin?

SPEAKER_05:

No, ma'am.

SPEAKER_01:

Mr. Collins, Mr. Barnes, any old or continuing business?

SPEAKER_05:

Uh no.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, then we move to new business, and we have discussion and vote uh the layout to lay out the following ways as public streets, Goldfish, Goldfinch Drive, Sparrow Way, Blue J Lane, Bayberry Road Extension, and Mowberry Road. Mr. Barnes?

SPEAKER_05:

Uh yes, uh, in order for the town to accept uh uh roads as public ways, uh the uh board has to vote to accept the layout. Uh these roads that were mentioned cover two subdivisions, um the uh Raymond Preserve and the Raymond Preserve East. Um there will be a hearing on um these uh the the uh roadway acceptance uh next Thursday for the planning board. Uh the board, however, can uh make a recommendation before that given it's 45 days since it's been officially submitted to the uh planning board. Uh but we are awaiting to hear their recommendation. Should they say no, the idea is we would not move forward on um this, but we needed to put articles on the town meeting warrant to be able to move forward, and we have done that. And uh uh Lee Cassinetti, who is the uh lawyer for um long-built homes, is here to uh say that can you say a few things?

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you, Mr. Barnes. I believe it's the Rainham Preserve and Rainham Preserve is the right.

SPEAKER_03:

Rain preserve, which was formerly Basset Nola State.

SPEAKER_04:

What did I say? Raymond. Oh well I said what? I don't think you said Raymond. Oh, I'm I no Ray Ham.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. And Rainham and Rayham Street. I believe it's off Locust, off Locust Street.

SPEAKER_03:

One's off Locust Street, the other is an extension of uh Bayberry Road off Pleasant Street.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03:

They were they were originally uh all one uh large parcel, um and actually part of uh going back to uh uh I forget his first name, but Sargent um had done Basset Nol Estates was I think a hundred lot subdivision that transversed the uh wetlands. Um but then but that that went back to the 80s and then um coming forward when the wetlands bylaws were being more strictly enforced, um it was realized that he he couldn't build the roads through the wetlands to interconnect the two, so we ended up doing them as two separate uh uh subdivisions, but what was originally on one one single parcel.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, very very good. What can you tell us?

SPEAKER_03:

So we've um we've completed the construction of the roads, we've um provided the uh as built plans where they were submitted um with our request for uh the road layout. Um the we've gone back and forth with the water department and the sewer department and uh making multiple changes to the plans to uh meet their requirements. Um the DPW had the town's consulting engineer, uh GPI, Sid Kashi from GPI, go out um recently, and we just got their report back on uh Friday. Um so we're addressing all those items, um, and we do expect that those will be they will be completed by next Thursday when we go before the planning board.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, all right, thank you. Um, Mr. Pacico, questions or excuse me, no, no questions.

SPEAKER_07:

I mean we've done this before. Uh when we come up against deadlines, I have no problem moving forward with it. It still allows the planning board to do what they're gonna do, and worst case scenario, we can dismiss that for the meeting.

SPEAKER_06:

So I think you just answered my question. Excuse me for being new to this, but so we're we're basically just approve a placeholder and supporting the event the layout.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, in the right, you're voting the layout, not the actual approval of the roads as as public ways, correct? Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_07:

Okay, we're gonna motion to approve.

SPEAKER_01:

We have a motion.

SPEAKER_03:

I will second the motion.

SPEAKER_01:

Any discussion? Hearing not all in favor. Aye. Any opposed? Do you so voted? Thank you for coming in.

SPEAKER_03:

Thank you. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01:

You're welcome. All right, next we have discussion and vote of the special time meeting warrant. Special time meeting coming up on Monday, November 17th, 2025. We have the warrant here before us, ready to be posted. And I'm going to ask Mr. Barnes.

SPEAKER_05:

Well, I like to Mr.

SPEAKER_01:

Barnes, we have the special town meeting warrant. What would you like to tell us?

SPEAKER_05:

Uh well, there are 20 articles. Um I'm assuming we're gonna have a pre-town meeting, next meeting.

SPEAKER_01:

Um we'll invite if he's available our town moderated. Yes.

SPEAKER_05:

Um, I'm not sure if you really want me to go over the articles now, but basically, there are um a lot of capital-related articles. Uh there are several articles related to uh collective bargaining agreements, uh, there are uh some other uh articles, um one um uh allows us to establish an elderly and disabled aid tax fund. Um two are involved with the acceptance of the public ways we just discussed. Uh there's an article that um uh eliminates the word board of selectmen in the zoning article. There are two articles, uh one supported by the board, and another one through citizens petition involving the associate member of the planning board. Um so those there are a variety of articles we'll go over in more detail uh next week. Uh in terms of monetary, the biggest one is an amount going toward um uh the public safety building of 4.4 million. Uh there's also uh an amount of 457,413 going toward school capital, and um uh that's about it.

SPEAKER_01:

And there's also the article to fund Rainham's share share of the third-party independent financial review.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes, there is an article to fund um uh Rain Rainham's share of the independent operation and financial review, uh the cost of which will be shared with uh uh Bridgewater.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Okay, um Mr. Pachico, questions or comments?

SPEAKER_07:

I would motion to approve as presented. Uh Mr.

SPEAKER_01:

Collins, any questions or comments?

SPEAKER_06:

No questions, and I'll take the motion.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, under discussion before we take a vote. I know the chair of our Bridgewater Rainham School Committee is here. Um, Rachel King, did you want to comment at all, Rachel? You're certainly always welcome.

unknown:

Uh huh.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you. Um I don't have anything tonight, but I will attend the pre-town meeting if that's helpful to discuss any of the capital items. Um, and obviously I'll be at town meeting as well to answer any questions on the floor if necessary on those two articles. Okay. Do you have any questions for me? I do not.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Thank you, Rachel. We also have a member of our planning board, Mr. Brian Oldfield. Did you want to comment at all? You're going to be having hearings on some of these articles. Yes, we will be. Okay, excellent. Thank you. Okay, so any with no further discussion, I will call for the vote. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? It is so voted. Thank you. And continuing then with our agenda, we go to the town administrators' report. Mr. Barnes.

SPEAKER_05:

Uh just uh uh I think we've already spoken about at the pre-town meeting. I will be inviting um the uh moderator, the fincom, the uh capital all to attend. And anyone else who wishes to hear more about the town meeting um is encouraged to either attend or listen online.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, thank you, Mr. Barnes. That brings us up to Select Board's report, Mr. Pacifico.

SPEAKER_07:

Thank you, manager. Just one quick item. I'm sure folks following the news have seen it, but it's becoming apparent that as of November 1st, SNAP benefits are gonna um cease to exist in Massachusetts. And uh, you know, I want to talk about this for a minute because I think there's two salient points. Thirty-two percent of those who utilize SNAP are kids, and twenty-six percent of those are seniors. And so these are our neighbors, these are our family members. Uh and I spoke to the Rainham Food Basket, they are doing everything they can to be as prepared as they can to assist our neighbors uh during a time of need, but the food basket would certainly benefit from donations, both uh food and monetary donations. Um and the other point I just want to add is if you're in need of assistance, that's what programs like this are there for, and so there's never any shame in asking for help. And I want to make sure folks are aware that there is a Rainham food basket. They do phenomenal work, and uh as of November 1st or before that, it's available should folks need that.

SPEAKER_06:

I have nothing new but to um comment on keep those comments. There I did read a nice article, but there aren't many of them anymore in the newspaper, but of uh kinfolk next door at Ton is doing a similar thing and uh I think it's Monday nights. They have dinners for six dollars for anybody in need, and if they can't afford it, they recommend just come and ask and it'll be served at dinner, and we can make you can make donations to the kinfolk themselves directly to help people with meal.

SPEAKER_01:

So definitely thank you, Mr. Collins. I just have a couple things. First of all, kudos to the park and recreation department, especially Director Tim McCrae and his team for a most successful and enjoyable trunk a treat event held last Thursday at the Borden Colony Soccer Field. And thank you to the 30 organizations, town departments, or individuals who decorated their trunk, some very elaborately for the occasion. About 400 trick or treaters dressed in costume and accompanied by their parents turned out to participate in the event, and everyone seemed to have a really good time at another great event for the town of Rainham. Also, just want to give a shout out to Stan Sammy Sturdevant, who actually is on the Park and Recreation Um Department staff and also Rainham Cable Channel. She did an excellent video on Rainham Community Day. And if you didn't have a chance to go, you really need to see that video because it really captured uh the wonderful event that we had on back last in September. Also, um the scope of work for the third-party independent financial review was finalized over the last week. That's for the school district, and it is now in the hands of the school district to move forward. As we mentioned earlier, that we'll need to have approval at the town meeting and off in Rainham and by the council in Bridgewater. Also, the month of November is quickly approaching, so check out events and activities on the websites for our Rainham Council on Aging at the Senior Center, Rainham Park and Recreation Department, and the Rainham Public Library, where activities will include a beginning crochet class for adults, then a sunflower wreathcraft, a teen checkers tournament for teenagers, and a Wampanoag poetry class for children and families, just to name a few. Our Council on Aging has announced plans to hold a 25-year anniversary of the Rainham Senior Center on Wednesday, November 5th at 12 30 p.m. That is open to the public. They will have a light lunch for people to share memories and stories about the senior center, which is now 25 years old. And that is all that I have this evening. Um we have no correspondence, press time. I don't believe we have anyone here from the press. Emergency business, Mr. Pachiko?

SPEAKER_05:

None, ma'am chair. Mr.

SPEAKER_01:

Collins? Mr. Barnes, any emergency business?

SPEAKER_05:

None.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Citizen and community input. Does anyone wish to address us this evening? Hearing none, performance of administrative duties, just to report that I and the finance director have reviewed and signed off on the town of Rainham invoice and payroll warrants dated October 28, 2025. And with that, I'm looking for a motion for it to adjourn, but first of all, to go into executive session in accordance with Mass General Laws, Chapter 38, Section 21A2 and 3, to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel, or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with non-union personnel, and to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body, and the chair so declares relative to non-union positions. And will return to open session for the sole purpose of adjourning with no additional business to be conducted. Do I have a motion? So moved. And a second. And a roll call vote, Mr. Vichy. Aye. Mr. Collins. Chair votes aye. We are going into executive session at 7 20 p.m. A quick one this evening. Thank you for joining us.