I would like to entertain a motion to open the Halifax Mass uh board of health meeting on Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 at 6:31 p.m. >> So moved. >> All in favor? I >> I um this board of health meeting in
accordance with the provisions of MGL chapter 30A section 20B is being recorded by area 58 community access channel and can be viewed on YouTube. As the board chair, I reasonably anticipate the following matters will be discussed
and/or voted on at this meeting. Agenda items may be taken out of order for time management considerations. So to start the meeting, um, we'll introduce ourselves up here. So,
>> uh, Candace Green, vice chair. >> Yep. Yep. Pam Angstrom, chair. >> Robert Buer, interm health agent. >> Um, and also, so in the interest of time, we are going to start with the discussion items, um, which is
Maryland's landing. Um, as chair, I had requested that our health agent, Bob Uker, um, provide some names of potential engineers to review the Maryland's Landing proposed remediation plans. The board is going to discuss um,
and then we will vote on an engineer. After the vote, I'm going to open the floor for comments only on the project. Each person who would like to speak will be allotted 2 minutes. This is so you can get your comments on the record. Um,
if you choose to speak, you will need to provide your name and your address. Um, the comments will be recorded in the meeting minutes. It's not going to be and I don't think there's anyone from Maryland's landing here anyway. So, it's not it's not going to be a discussion, a back and forth. We've already gone
through that in November. Um, this is just to, you know, get your comments on the record. So, if you so choose. So with that, um Bob, if you want to present the engineers that you had,
>> um Yep. So the you had requested that I get to a list of three engineers and um the three that I came up with were reputable firms that are in the area. Um Tai and Bond being one of them. Um my thoughts were that we already deal
with them here at the Halifax landfill and they uh they they do our sampling events and also oversee um site management over there. And then the other two firms were uh Sitec Engineering and Environmental
Consultants and um the TRC companies. Um all three are reputable engineers. I just figured I'd give you three to >> discuss and consider. >> To be clear what we're talking about, this would be an independent engineer to review the plans that have been presented to us. Yes.
>> And potentially offer us alternatives to the proposed plan. Correct. >> Um my understanding, yes, it's a third party unbiased engineer. >> Kind of like what we do with the septic systems. We have another >> Soarty. Yep. An independent review. >> Yep.
Um, I think if there's a company we're already established with that does their own land, they'll be inclined to just use them if they want. >> I think so, too. Just because they know Halifax already, >> I think that probably makes sense. >> All right. So, you said the T bond type.
>> Uh, yes. Yeah, they're the ones that uh already do work here on the landfill in Halifax. >> Okay. Okay. >> So, sorry. So, how would that look? So they would review the plans and present at the next meeting there. >> I I I wouldn't project what will be done
at the next meeting. It's going to depend on how long it takes them to be able to review them, but >> Okay. >> Yep. So I think let's Yeah, we'll have them review and we can um share whatever their findings are. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Okay. Um, so I would like to entertain a
motion to um choose Tai and Bond to be the review engineer for this project. >> Y uh so moved. >> All in favor? >> I I >> Okay. Um so that said, anyone who would like to get comments on the record
regarding this particular project, um please, you know, raise your hand. I can have you um >> just set up that we just use one of these. >> Yeah. You just put it over and they can stand over there. We have to make sure that they can hear. >> No, no, we're good. We're good. >> Okay. >> There's like audience.
>> Just like spin it around. >> Perfect. >> Okay. >> Um, yep. Is there anyone here who would like please state your name and your address? >> Um, Deb Winnowitz, 60 Sycamore. just um
I think this is a good thing to hire an independent review on this but just a few things to keep in mind that are ongoing right now. Just recently there was a large project in Low where they were removing soil to bring them to
Halifax. And that whole entire process needed constant air monitoring. And it says the company who did it says to protect residents in the area. Protect them from what?
And yet it arrives in Halifax, that same dirt that eated all that spilling all over the roads and blowing all over town. There's no protection for residents here. Why not?
And something for you to keep in mind when you do come to vote. Our original town legislators or officials who signed off on this in 2017 18, they signed off on that believing what they were told
and that was that it would never even be the height that it is now that it would been done probably four years ago and a solar array at the top. And where are we? They signed that in good faith.
same thing is going to happen to you. And I think you all work too hard to have that be part of our legacy. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else would like to make comments? >> Name it. >> John Bedell, 165 Walnut Street and
Highland Woods. I'm actually in a butter. >> Yes. >> Okay. I actually built my house 33 years ago there. Only reason I built it cuz the dump was capped and it was closed. Okay. I have a few issues with this. I understand they have to repair it. I get
it cuz I've seen it personally. It failed probably 5 years after they did it. All right. However, the way they're going about it, they're using contaminated soil. Okay. I really have questions on what they're
bringing in our out of town. Okay. And who's doing the soil testing? Their person they hired. Okay. And who's reviewing it? Their person they hired. Okay. And where are they keeping those
records for public review? Those are three questions I have for them which still we know two of them already. Third one. Um, literally I'm glad we're getting an independent review because I'm sure it's
probably going to come back in our resident's favor. There's just there has to be a little more oversight on this project. There's clearly not enough. I from what I understand from history of this, they
inherited this mess from someone else. That's not our problem. I'm sorry. All right. They're still profiting off of this property, okay? What they're doing, they're still generating profit. Okay? They're not trying to just take care of
it and fix it. Doesn't matter what it costs. They're still generating a profit. All right? If we're going to fix it, let's fix it. Cost doesn't matter to us, matters to them. Let's fix it, right? That's all I really care about
isn't a butter. Thank you. Thanks for your time. >> And um Bob, that would be one of my main questions for an independent review would be yes, it needs to be fixed. Their engineer, I believe, went on record in November saying this proposal
was the only way to do that. And that is my biggest question for the outside engineer is that is there alternatives to fixing this that do not involve adding all of this extra soil. So, while yes, I want them to review the current plan and see if it's reasonable and appropriate, I think the big question is
um is there a way to fix this on a smaller scale um because obviously there's risk to not >> do we have to use contaminated soil? I mean, let's make them bring in good stuff instead of crap stuff. All right? I mean, I'm sorry it's going to cost them money,
>> but it's they have problem. It's not, you know, they made this problem. We didn't make it. We just wanted >> We're just going to get records uh comments on the record. So, if there's anyone else who would like to make a comment, please, you know, state, stand,
state your name and address. >> Uh Jason Hower, 20 Arrowhead Path. Uh I live off the Highland. I'm on the other side of the neighborhood and uh I have the same concerns as this gentleman about what uh is in the soil. I got four little kids under 11. So, uh, you know,
don't want them having problems when they get older. Thanks. >> Thanks for your comments. >> Uh, Michael, 106 Circuit Street. Um, again, like like John, um, I had I bought built and bought my house because
I thought that thing was captain closed 30 years ago. And, um, it was great. Raised my kids there. And then all of a sudden, now this is going on. And at at our location at 106 C Street,
we're right on a hill above the bog. So when the TV news says it's it's gusting 40 m an hour, it's gusting like, you know, 70 mph easy. Um, and that's just working straight across that bar towards our house.
>> Um, and along with that, I'm concerned about about the endgame. You know, what's it going to look like? Because I mean are they putting up you know solar panels or wind wind towers because that you know that all affects property
values and and and everything else. Not to mention that you know is it done right and um you you you said why bring in contaminated soil? I think that is their whole game is to bring in contaminated soil because that's where
they're getting. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Is there anyone else who would like to speak? >> Tyler Fetti, also 106 Circuit Street, I have a question. Um, I like I I don't
understand how uh this project needed some sort of approval to get to 144 feet, but now that they're expanding to 170 change feet, like why that would not need some sort of approval like other
than just a recommendation. Um, that to me doesn't seem logistically doesn't seem to make sense. Um that's >> yeah I mean we're not it's not Q&A but um it's a remediation plan and that's
why the D has approved it because there are issues with the the landfill. So it's not the landfill is not reopening it's you know they're meant to repair it but um that's it's just as a remediation
plan from the D. So, >> are there any other >> Hi, Tom Pratt, Tener Path, Highland Woods. Uh, in disclosure, I also serve in the Halifax board selecting. Um, I think a lot of what's been talked about tonight is in the right direction. Um, I
have a lot of the same concerns. I know a lot of um what the current board and your current board, this agreement predates all that. So, we are where we are and I think it's an appropriate thing to to relook at things as time goes on and as the game changed, as the plan changed and certainly something has
changed here. Um, it's a moving target and I just want to make sure we're all aware of the fact that Maryland's Landing um McDonald's industry has been has been a good supporter of the town in terms of donations. I do have questions about tipping fees um that were previously documented, but I don't want
any of that to diminish the fact that there are some serious environmental concerns here and I'd recommend that your board, all boards, the town, um not look the other way in those donations, but really diminish those in terms of the bigger picture. There are bigger things in play here than tipping fees
and donations to the Halifax fire networks. Um and I don't want any of that to get clouded in what we're dealing with. four kids under the age of 11, two kids under the age of seven, developments, preschools, uh, roads, contamination, the tipping fees, should
they exist or not, and any donation made there within should not cloud your board's judgment or the town's judgment in the overall picture of what this provides. Their changing game plan shouldn't be overstated with in regards
to the town's overall impact. Um, so I would encourage all of us to put the town first and diminish any of that return um, and weigh it out for the long term. This is not a short this is a short-term problem with long-term ramifications. And I'd encourage all of us to take the
long-term view as maybe should have happened previously. We can't go back. We cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube. We can act now in the best interest of future decades and generations of of the town. And that's why a lot of us, a lot of you sit there, I sit here, and I would encourage us to
take the long-term view and and not be misguided. So, I'd encourage you to take the environmental tests uh seriously, independent tests seriously, and act on a long-term view. >> Thanks, Tom. >> Show someone from Maryland's planning to
ask questions, but >> that's not me. Yeah, we're it's comments. So if you know if there if there are any questions they can you can send questions to us. We can route them and post them on the you know um website. But any other comments?
I'm Frederick Corgan, 7 Rosewood Drive. And as I'm listening to all of this discussion, I come back to one basic principle. The people in this town voted to close
that landfill. The people have spoken and it appears that our vote doesn't count because now somebody in for whatever reason and I don't care if it's money, whatever it may be,
the town has spoken. Now what do we need to do? You want to go back in history, create a townwide militia that stands and says, "You aren't coming into this landfill." Do we need something that
drastic? I don't think so. Not in today's age. Maybe back in my younger days, but not today. So, let's look at this as to what do we the people say?
We said the land bill is closed and we don't need anybody from any state or federal end of our government coming into our town and saying, "We're going to bring you out some trash from down here and you're going to take it.
We'll load it up and take it right back to the state house steps." We may not do that. I would do that, but most people wouldn't. But at any rate, that's just an example. Let's use calm heads. Let's say, "Wait a
minute. The people have spoke. Our votes count. The landfill is closed." >> Thanks for your comments. >> Is there anyone else? >> Yeah. >> Can I just say something quick to what Fred said?
Um uh we'll we're we're giving everyone two minutes. So trying to have everyone individual have two minutes. >> Hi uh Van Donley 2011 Cranberry Drive. I like the idea just comment here of Tai Bond. I know them well in the industry know where they are. Good engineering
firm. Um but the question becomes down to and if we uh if the EPA says to cap this thing then no more no more dirty dirt should be coming in. They should be using new dirt to cover the landfill and close it, right? Then we'll deal with whatever we got to deal with, right? But somebody needs to monitor what they're
doing with the cap. Is Tai and Bond going to be hired to monitor them to cap it the way that we uh want it capped or are they just able to continue doing what they're doing? I don't think that's the way it should go. And I got a feeling the engineers are going to tell you the same thing is that we should be closing this thing with the clean dirt,
resealing it. we got what we got and we're going to end up having to figure out down the road what we got to do clean that or whatever. But for now, um I think uh we need to make sure that that engineer is hired to oversee what McDonald and what they're doing. So make sure the hauling in the right dirt that the EPA approves to put in, which can't
believe they approved to bring in the dirty dirt. But if that's the case, then that should be stopped on our end. Say no, we don't agree with that and we should be bringing in the clean dirt, resealing it, and hiring that company to monitor what comes into the site. That's it. Thanks for your comments.
Is there anyone else? Thank you all for attending. Appreciate your comments, feedback. Um, >> yeah. Bye, Tom. >> Just just can I say something just real? Sure. >> To what Fred said. Um, you know,
hindsight's a wonderful thing. And in 93 when that dump was closed, the vote was something like 392 to 25. >> And it was ugly. We had a big group in town who were fighting to keep it open because they
wanted the money. And um, it was a terrible thing to go through. It was my wellwater that was poisoned. Um, and it was frightening. And it was scary because we were being threatened.
When that vote happened, people honestly, they didn't know anything about remedial dirt. And that that was it. Finally, it's done. It's capped. There's grass growing on it, and people can live comfortably,
safely, and healthy. Nobody knew about dirt. If we did, we would have included the whole anything and everything that it could never be. Um, and and like I said before, please just be careful because this is the third
time now and each Halifax official that signed off believed what they were told and none of it was true. We sat here at your last meeting and we heard directly
from someone in that organization that we were getting truck fees and we were getting tonnage fees. And that wasn't a maybe. That wasn't in the works. It was we were our finance committee, our accountant
all looked into it. None of that's true. consistently telling you what's not true and it needs to end. I agree with everyone who said we need to cap it, end it in this time for good for good.
Thank you for your comments. Okay, if there are no further comments, we are going to close this part of the meeting. Um, and we're going to continue on with the regular the rest of our meeting for anyone who would like to stay. Kind of boring, but you're welcome to be here. But thank you once again for
coming and and voicing your comments. We appreciate it. All right. >> There you go. >> All right. All right. Um, let's move to disposal works permits. Um, so ratify agents approvals.
We've got uh 159 Walnut Street, 318 Plymouth Street, 553 M Ponet Street. >> All good. No issues there. Yeah, they they've gone through their they've run the gamut in my office and they're good to go. >> Excellent. Okay. Um I'd like to
entertain a motion to um approve the disposal work permits um A through C as listed. >> So move. >> All in favor? >> I uh affirm any bills paid. So, uh, I'd
like to entertain a motion, um, for the public health excellence grant account 25-516-5430-189- FY26-13. Uh, Michael Sorz 1 through3 is listed. >> So, moved. >> All in favor? I
>> I uh public health excellence grant 25-516-5430-189- FY26-14 Cindia Metro stipened one and two as listed. >> All in favor? I.
The following to be approved, sign or voted on meeting minutes. Oh, we're going to carry that one over and >> half hour meeting November. >> Right. Right. She is all took away. I'm almost done. All right. Thank you, Peggy. >> And then, um, so I read she had sent me
the January 21st meeting minutes earlier today. Um, and I already sent her an email. She does need to amend it because she said Bob Valerie instead of Bob Buer and also said Chair Green instead of Chair Angstrom. So,
>> okay. So, we will circle back to that. >> So, with those two, I mean, I don't know if we want to just approve it with those amendments. >> Sure. >> Okay. Um, so I make a mo uh entertain a motion to approve the meeting minutes of January 21st, 2026 with the noted amendments. So moved. >> All in favor?
>> I make a motion to approve account expense account 01-512- FY26-05 WB Mason as listed. So move. All in favor? I >> um entertain a motion to approve
revolving account 25-513- FY26-08 uh Robert Casper one and two as listed. >> So move. >> All in favor? I >> like to motion to approve the nursing services
account 01-522- FY26-07 uh one is listed. So moved. >> All in favor? I >> uh I'd like to entertain a motion to approve the public health excellent
grant account 25-516-5430-189- FY26-15. Jaylen Moore one and two is listed. >> So move. >> All in favor? I I'd like to entertain a motion to approve public health excellent grant 25-516-5430-189-fy
26-16 Michael Sorz um one as listed so moved >> all in favor I >> um I would like to entertain a motion to approve public health excellence grant
account 25-516-5430-189- FY I 26-17. Uh items 1 2 3 and four as listed. So move. >> All in favor? I entertain a mo. I'd like to entertain a motion to approve the permits with
condition. All required documents and fees are submitted to the board of health office. Well discharge permits will not be released until water testing samples from certified well testing companies are submitted to the board of health and approved by the agent. Um so entertain the motion to approve those
permits 1 through 12 as listed. >> So move. >> All in favor? >> I um I would like to entertain a motion to close the Halifax Board of Health
meeting of February 18th, 2026 at 6:58 p.m. >> So moved. All >> in favor? Hi. >> Hi.