March 12, 2025

“Selectman Pacheco motioned, Selectman Mello seconded and it was VOTED to appoint Chris Ready to the Dighton Economic Development Committee as the Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce. 6:05 p.m. Police Chief George Nichols - Dighton Firing Range Update Chief Nichols was present to address the questions from the last meeting regarding the firing range. Chief Nichols went through and answered the list of questions presented for discussion at the previous Board of Selectmen's meeting. Jo Anne Racine, 624 Middle Street, said she appreciated the Board of Selectmen being proactive. She asked why the range was put in a residential area. Chief Nichols said it is well over the 1,000 feet that is required by law. Mrs. Racine asked when was it decided to let the State Police have access. Chief Nichois said never, they do not use it. He said it is us, Taunton and the MTPC, who need training. What type of a contract does the police academy have? It is a contract. Can the contract be rescinded? 1 Chief Nichols indicated that it could be rescinded. Chief Nichols said he would look into when the academy began using the range. He explained that there is a lot of shooting that is done by residents. Matt Arguin, 621Middle Street, asked about the 15-shot test. He asked what that was performed with. Chief Nichols said it was performed with a hand gun. Mr. Arguin also asked about the 49 days that the range was in use in the last year. He asked if that was everyone. He said the Somerset agreement was tabled during the last meeting and he felt disrespected in the fact that not everyone was allowed to talk Mr. Arguin also said when it was decided to allow the shooting, the abutters were not notified. He said he would like to see the abutters notified if it is ever to be discussed again and considered by the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Arguin also said he would like to see the town rescind the offer to the Taunton and the MTPC. He thought if Taunton wasn't there, it would be more tolerable. Chief Nichols said it is a reciprocal arrangement. And Dighton goes there to train indoors as well. Joanne Windle, 244 Forest Street, asked if the range was inspected by the state. Chief Nichols said no, it was not subject to inspection and it is built over and above standards for a firing range. Mrs. Windle said there should be a certified instructor on site. Chief Nichols said there is at all times. It is a very regulated process. Selectman Pacheco asked about vehicles driving to the range. Chief Nichols said sometimes there is overflow in the parking lot above. _ Chief Nichols said we have specific ammunition. He said the range is inspected two or three times a year and cleaned after each use. Mrs. Windle asked what the berm is composed of. Chief Nichols said sand. Chief Nichols said he investigated the claim of the bullet striking the house. He said it was not a bullet, but it was a stone. Mrs. Windle said a high-powered bullet can travel one mile. Chief Nichols said we are shooting into a berm and not into the air. Chief Nichols said he will post a video of training for understanding of the process. Phil Jones, 719 Middle Street, said shooting is happening at night. He said he should not have to hear it while he's eating supper. Jim Coellho, 830 Tremont Street, asked about the lock being changed and if the porta potty has a key. 2 Chief Nichols said the key was changed. Mr. Coelho said when Taunton comes in, it creates a traffic problem. Chief Nichols said he would send an email, to address head lights in the neighbor's window. Roert Woods, 158 Chace Street, said he wanted the residents to know that he had a meeting with representatives and a tour of the facility. He said he thought it was a nice range and we will never have to worry about safety. Mr. Woods said in 2018, when we took on Taunton, he thought that it was a mistake. Mr. Woods said some days it sounds like Vietnam. He said the Chief has assured me that he will have better control of it. Mr. Woods said he would follow up on the intention of Taunton to build a facility. Chief Nichols wanted the residents to know that Taunton has been super-helpful with incidents that have occurred in Town. Chief Nichols said we are taking advantage of free training in Taunton. Selectman Mello said she wanted to be sure that everyone is feeling a little bit better upon leaving the meeting. She said Saturday and Sunday are off limits, the locks have been changed and the porta potty would be changed out during the week. Chairman Caron said if anyone has an issue, please feel free to reach out to the Selectmen or to the Police Station to let us know. Announcements Announcements were read by Selectman Mello. Public Input Nancy Goulart, 631 Gray Terrace, wanted to thank everyone for helping to get the calendars out for the ; Stormwater Committee Stacy Ferry, Animal Control! Officer, 1078 Williams Street, announced that there would be a rabies clinic on April 12, 2025 from 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. at the Aggie School. Town Administrator's Report Town Administrator Ralph Vitacco said the PACT (Permitting and Compliance Team) was developed in 2021. He said it is in place to streamline the permitting process and provide guidance to applicants before applicants go the individual boards for approvals. Chairman Caron said someone has asked that the meetings be posted. Kerrie Easterday, said the PACT meetings are not subject to Open Meeting Laws and no votes are taken. She said it is simply to provide a one-stop shop for applicants to get guidance as to what their next steps are. Ms. Easterday said the applicants come to us in the preliminary phase in order to find out what steps need to be taken and where they have to go first. Chairman Caron said on paper it sounds great and is a nice service to offer. 3 Ms. Easterday said it was Initiated because the applicant was taking a good amount of time to run around to each department. She said when everyone is not in the same room, the process becomes cumbersome. In these meetings, we can all see the vision and then, as a group, give some advice. Nancy Goulart said the letter sent to the board was requesting some representation at the meetings. . Chairman Caron asked if the meeting was open to the public. Ms. Easterday said the public can come in, but sometimes it adds another level of input which is not consistent with the goals of the meeting. Nancy Goulart explained the importance of Stormwater being involved. Selectman Pacheco said there was nothing preventing Mrs. Goulart from attending as a representative of the Stormwater Committee. Selectman Pacheco asked if the meeting could be placed on the town calendar. Mrs. Goulart said she also had additional input regarding stormwater. Lisa Caledonia, Conservation Agent said communication between the departments is critical. She thought that the Permit Link software should be used by other departments as well. She felt it would be very helpful in the permitting process. Ms. Caledonia said the Permit Link system does not require a phone call to find out where a permit is in the process. She also felt that the Board of Health should be represented in the permitting process. Ms. Caledonia said she knows that the Conservation Commission has work to do. Such as providing step by step instructions for applications. Selectman Mello said there is also a Public Health Excellence Grant which may be of assistance in paying for this. Mr. Daniel Higgins of the Dighton Economic Development Committee said he thought PACT meetings were great. He said the complexity of it is a lot and he thought anything that can.be done to ease the process was good. Robert Woods 158 Chace Street, wanted to know who determines who goes to PACT. He felt that some of these people should be going before the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Vitacco said any department head can recommend that someone go to PACT. For the most part Ms. Easterday is the gate keeper. He said PACT does not preclude anyone from going to the next step. We just tell them what the next step is. Mr. Vitacco said it gives the applicant the opportunity to understand where to go or what the next step is. Mrs. Easterday said organically she has become the gatekeeper of PACT. Nancy Goulart, gave another example of reasons for PACT and participation by Stormwater. Lisa Caledonia, said having a representative from the Health Department is great, but administrative input is not what is needed. 4 . Zoom Meetings Mr. Vitacco said we did take a look at the Zoom policy and tonight we are limiting camera use for all participants. Selectmen's Report Selectman Pacheco had no report. Selectman Mello said the Commission on Disability decided that they would zero out their budget and not request money this year. She said the committee also talked about other programming. Chairman Caron said the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee met last night. He said they will be meeting tomorrow night and next Tuesday. Chairman Caron said it went well and they were off to a great start New Business: Request to Expand Parking Lot at the Council on Aging Mr. Vitacco said a request to expand the parking lot at the Council on Aging was received by petition. He said concern was expressed for people with ambulatory conditions. Mr. Vitacco said that an expansion of that size requires an engineering study. He said the Council on Aging has $19,000.00, which needs to be expended by the end of the month. Mr. Vitacco said Granite City has expressed interest in doing the engineering for the project and we would be ready in case funds did become available. Mr. Vitacco said we wanted to let the Selectmen know that action is being taken. Selectman Mello asked if Granite City produced the engineering, would it be good years down the road. Tom Ferry said to make something happen by end of month would be tricky. He thought it was a viable project, but if the answer is no, we would need to hear it sooner than later. There was discussion about the project. Nancy Goulart was not opposed to the parking lot, but we are supposed to report this activity on the MS4 report..” (Motion: Mark Pacheco, second: Mello)

Read it in the official minutes, page 1 (PDF)