EASY FIX: Remember that story we told you about last month? The one where four families were getting free municipal storage for their floats. Here in Tombstone that’s not really a problem, all you have to do is tell the Selectmen that they’re all fine folks, are cooperative with Harbormaster Frank Catani and will hold the Town harmless if any legal issues arise. Then, our public officials, in this case the Selectmen, charge them some paltry sum and allow the practice to go on forever. So, the next time you see the Boyd/Leightons, or the Barclays, or the McEvoy family on Marsh Road, or perhaps the Murphy’s of Jones River Drive…give them a big wave, because they just won the Kingston Maritime Lottery. Any of you other folks in the vicinity, the ones who had to remove their floats, or those of you who yearn for the convenience of leaving your boat dry-docked at the Town Landing (especially if it won’t fit in your yard), just get in touch with Frank who can work out the details with you. If you find him to be uncooperative, call the Kingston Board of Selectmen, they’re an even easier touch. So remember, for boat storage and float storage at less then market prices, contact the Selectmen at 781-585-0500.

COVER STORY: A bit of news was passed on to our Ringside snoops telling us that the cover for the Annual Town Report was going to be a collage of events that occurred over the past year. Our source said that the collage was being lovingly worked on in the Selectmen’s office when our illustrious leader Mark Beaton pulled the rug out and decided that it should instead depict one of the dubious Smart Growth award certificates. Such self aggrandizement is starting to become embarrassing. Not only that, but Beaton is starting to run amuck…see next Ringside.

STRESS RELEASE: Selectman Chairman Mark Beaton fancies himself quite a writer. Those who read his agonizingly long story about perambulating the boundaries of our abutting towns that appeared in a Town Report a year or two back will attest to the chore it was to attempt to read it. But that’s old news. More recently, Beaton prepared a press release announcing the extension of Kevin Donovan’s contract complete with $17,000 pay raise. That’s the kind of stuff that happens in Executive Session but Beaton jumped the gun and quoted fellow Selectman Joe Kelleher with specific words allegedly expressed in the Executive Session. “Anything that was said in that Session was to be privileged” Kelleher told Ringside. “Mark Beaton had no authority to quote anyone who spoke at that session.” Indeed, Mark in his rush to literary fame, included a statement that Donovan was needed to stay, especially considering “The $730 million build-out of Kingston’s Place.” The project is a 730 unit $330 million project.

POOR CHOICE: A couple of weeks ago a group of shell fisherman appeared before the Selectmen to promote support for State Grant money to develop shellfish grounds here along our shoreline. As would have been the case, the Selectmen asked Harbormaster Frank Catani to attend the meeting in order to get his input. People that know Frank will tell you he loathes being behind a microphone with cable cameras whirring. Instead, he sent former Harbormaster Reggie Macamoux to represent him. Bad, bad move! Macamoux was somewhat confrontational and the guys who came in looking for support didn’t seem to appreciate his presence. Some people told us that Macamoux hung out at the Landing last Summer, still acting like he was still of some authority. “He refers to himself as the retired Harbormaster” said one individual. The problem here is that Macamoux was forced to either resign or be fired. The action, stemming from a charge that he made inappropriate remarks to a 19 year old female lifeguard. He was ordered by Chief Rebello to stay away from the young woman but appeared at Gray’s Beach a few days later. At this point he was given an ultimatum to resign or be subject to a hearing under the Town’s Sexual Harassment Policy. He penned a hurried resignation but applied for a shellfish license a short time later. If granted, it would once again put him back on the beach. If Macamoux and the Selectmen wanted the story to remain dead, he should never have agreed to speak nor should he been allowed to under the specific circumstances.

CHICKEN LADLE: Rumblings out there is that there will be some changes between Stop & Shop and Boston Chicken. Our guess is that, if anything happens, it’s because it can be done cheaper. It will remain an item of interest for the Ringside Team because we are partial to the cream of broccoli soup and the corn/shrimp chowder. If the soup is the first signal of a contract change, we’ll see if S & S can do it better.

SCHOOL’S OUT: After a dozen years on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, Kingston’s Gerry Buckley is retiring. We wish her well and hope her successor will be as enthusiastic about the educational process as she.

MO’ MAURO: People have lost count and so has he as to how many times he has run for elected office in Kingston. Whatever the number, and it is of epic proportions, Mauro Mazzilli is back, having pulled papers for a two year seat on the Board of Selectmen. Our guess is that the number is about 14. That would include runs for Selectmen, Sewer Commission and Board of Health. The likeable fellow seems to enjoy the campaigning and certainly manages to add comic relief to a process that often already has enough.

CLOSED SPACE: If there is one thing that rocks our socks it’s a board, commission or committee that fails to keep minutes of its meetings. This is especially true when it is one of those committees that appears quite benign but can have huge impacts on the Town’s future. The Committee being referred to is the Open Space Committee, chaired by environmental activist Pine DuBois. The last set of minutes to appear on line was in October of 2006. There have been no minutes filed during the entirety of 2007 nor has anything appeared this year. What remains of interest during that 2007 run of no minutes, is the fact that they have published agendas for each meeting. It is clear that the committee knows what it wants to talk about, but would rather not share its outcomes with the public. Adding insult to injury is the fact that two sets of minutes submitted never had a quorum yet conducted business in spite of it.
On June 19,2006, Secretary and member Laura McCarthy writes:
“The committee” met without a quorum.” What followed was the business deliberations of the several members who did attend… but no quorum. There was no starting time indicated nor was there a time of adjournment.
On September 18, 2006 the Board met again. This time McCarthy writes:
“The meeting began at 7:50 without a quorum.” Forty minutes later at 8:30 one of the members departed the meeting resulting in even fewer members attending a quorumless gathering, yet the gab fest went on for another 45 minutes as McCarthy writes, “The meeting adjourned at 9:15.
Pine Dubois is the Chairman of The Open Space Committee and we know she certainly knows better. She can recite, from memory, chapter and verse from various obscure regulations and will hold a developer’s feet to the fire demanding that they live or die by the ‘letter of the law’, but like so many other zealots, the rules play secondary to the mission and ‘Green’ fades to gray. So… what happens now that we bring this to attention of everyone? Welcome to Tombstone.

OPEN SEAT: There are still two openings on two boards in town. There is still one opening on the Recreation Commission, and another seat remains uncontested on the Library Trustees. Norm Harbinson left the RecCom to run for a Selectman’s seat and Linda plain out resigned. KYSO aficionado Andy Davis has turned in his name but one more remains. Vanessa Verkade is seeking a return to the Library Trustees but Brian McWilliams has yet to declare. We hear he is kept quite busy at the Pinehills and may just be short on time. In any case, these represent good opportunities for new faces.

SEWER THING: Nothing has happened with regards to any agreements between Lloyd Geisinger and the Sewer Commission. The issue of the sewer expansion vs. the construction of an on-site system for 10-21-Beaton’s Place is still up in the air. Our guess is that the longer Geisinger can string out this issue the better advantage for him. We won’t be seeing much happen with the Mega-40R complex and what does get said will be tossed over to political turncoat R. Lindsay Wilson. Then, one day, Geisinger will want something and all the moving parts of municipal government will feel the need to make a quick decision in order to respond to whatever crises he’s suddenly facing. Maybe some department will have smelled enough.

EYE SPY: Call us more quickly the next time a Zip Car is spotted in Kingston. That’s our message to our several callers who told us they spotted one up around Wharf Lane in the Nook. A Zip Car is supposedly something you rent on a short time basis when buying a car is not part of your need. We’ve been told that they will zip people around the 40-R community…kinda like your own drivable taxi service.

CLASS ACT: What a nice gesture by the Vineyard Christian Fellowship this past Sunday when the Rev. Don Andresen and his parishioners stationed themselves at the transfer station assisting people in dumping their heavy items into the dumpster. They referred to the act as a way of “showing God’s love in a practical way.” Cheers!

SENIOR MOMENT: It was somewhat embarrassing last week when the Planning Board called a public hearing to amend the language of the Smart Growth zoning district. The Board had no idea who was submitting the article and why. Keep in mind, nobody spoke up and laid claim to the article. If it was via the Planning Board, Town Planner Tom Bott said nothing, if it was submitted by the Selectmen, the chairman was there and also said nothing. If it was for Geisinger’s benefit, his newest lackey R. Lindsay Wilson (late of the Design Review Committee) was also in the room, he said nothing. So how in hell does an article gets on the warrant and nobody knows anything about it when it comes to hold the public hearing? It’s not like this was not a petitioned article…it had to come from someone! There was a big turnout at the Planners meeting for all the various zoning change hearings. Maybe the moving party is a politico who wanted it carried over to a time fewer people will be in attendance. When it finally reveals itself we’ll see who the weasel is. Remember, there were representatives from the Planning Board, the selectmen, the defunct Design Review Committee and Thorndike there who knew nothing about it.

IT’S BAAAACK! Town meeting will have a second chance to knock down zoning changes for the old Town Hall. You may recall that the Selectmen pulled a dirty by awarding them the bid for the old building and then agreed to submit an article at the “07 April Annual Town Meeting to rezone it for more expansive uses. The audience picked up on the fact that the zoning changes should have been made first then put the building out to bid where we could have gotten a lot more for it.

KNOCKED DOWN: We joined Newt and Ann Hesston a few weeks ago on the occasion of the end of the Persy’s Building on Main Street. Ann cried as she remembered former employees who had passed away and of the many years that she and family had put in at the old building that had been built with “perseverance,” thus the restaurant’s name. Well, it’s gone now but make way for the good news, a brand new Persy’s will be built at the old site and a new Country Store will be opening sooner. This Ringside reporter will no longer have to venture to Plymouth for our standard three poached on homemade corned beef hash, home fries, baked beans, corn bread and coffee. As a matter of fact we named the pork in sweet sauce menu item, “Sweet & Swine…and we’re certain that the Dapper Dan was named after us.

NOT TRUE: The rumor is that Arnie Briggs is going to serve as campaign manager for current County Commissioner Tim McMullan in a bid to unseat County Treasurer Tom O’Brien. Briggs had to chuckle when we asked him if it were true. “I read the same thing from posters on the Kingston Observer Public Forums. I’m already serving as campaign manager for Tom Calter and that is enough for an old time like me.” Well, that should settle that one. All that remains is to see if Tim is really considering such a race. This is not his year to run for County Commissioner so he wouldn’t loose his CC seat if unsuccessful. O’Brien is not going to sit around and wait. Our information has him getting support signatures from Town Treasurers throughout the towns of Plymouth County.

ADIEU SUE: While we didn’t always agree with some of Sue Farrell’s decisions on the Planning Board, nobody could question her honesty, and her dedication. We have had the pleasure of her friendship for many, many years and the privilege of our association with her and hubby Jim. Sue is a retired elementary school teacher in Halifax and served on the Planning Board for over 15 years. She served from 1987-1997, came back for a year in 2002 when appointed to complete Fred Corrow’s term. She then successfully ran for the five-year seat, serving again from 2003-2008. She’s still a pretty spry lady and young in spirit and heart. Don’t be surprised to possibly see her again.