Plympton Select Board Reorganizes, Confronts Years-Long Water Supply Compliance Failure

PLYMPTON — May 18, 2026 — Plympton's Select Board reorganized Monday and confronted a three-year-old water supply compliance failure tied to unpermitted well drilling. Nathaniel Sides was unanimously reelected chair and newly elected Daniel Cadigan was appointed clerk at the May 18 meeting, which Town Administrator John Fennessy opened with reorganization proceedings. The board voted unanimously to authorize KP Law to begin a designer selection process under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 7C for a public water supply project serving four town buildings — the townhouse, library, fire station, and police station — all currently relying on a 1930s basement well. A May 12 letter from Board of Health Chairman Brad Cronin, read into the record, reported that wells sited and drilled under a prior Select Board arrangement were never permitted through the Board of Health as required by state law, and that required well driller reports were never filed — more than three years after the DEP first mandated action. Sides acknowledged the lapse, saying "regardless of who oversees the project, we need to go through the proper channels." The board also authorized KP Law to respond to a second open meeting law complaint filed by resident Pierre Boyer on May 4, and approved appointments of Scott Sawchuck and Cass Gilmore to the Agricultural Commission through June 30, 2026.