Coakley says the Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against Charles Caliri, the owner of “Only Way 2 Go Travel” of Plymouth and Fantasia Travel group of Methuen, alleging that he was using unfair and deceptive tactics selling memberships.  Attorney General Martha Coakley says Caliri, of Woodstock Vermont, has been found in contempt of court, and ordered to pay $310,000 in civil penalties after he tried dissipating assets violating a March, 2011 preliminary injunction,  as well as the initial temporary restraining order filed with the lawsuit.

Coakley says he had withdrawn cash from bank accounts which had been frozen, and reaching, what she calls, a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ to sell a 34 foot yacht.

Coakley’s office says he has also been ordered to turn over $430, 000 to be held until a judgment is reached on the lawsuit which Coakley’s office says that money could be used to pay back any restitution needed.

In 2010,  a Vermont man, who owned a former Plymouth travel business, was named in a lawsuit alleging he used unfair and deceptive tactics when he allegedly sold south shore residents essentially worthless vacation club memberships bilking them out of thousands of dollars.

“None of the consumers who complained to the Attorney General’s Office ever received the prizes of gifts initially promised to them for attending sales pitches,” said Coakley’s office in a statement. “Instead, they left the Plymouth and Methuen sales presentation venues having spent as much as $8500 for vacation club memberships that were essentially worthless when compared with travel arrangements they could make themselves using one of the major internet travel search engines, or by calling airlines, hotels and resorts directly.”

There were some contentious moments between the applicant’s attorney and the town’s new attorney John Whitten, who was hired to advise the board on the project. The two argued whether or not the applicant is required to produce another project eligibility letter from Mass. Housing.

Z.B.A. member John Tuzik lashed out against the applicant’s attorney and accused him of making a mockery of the proceedings.

“Let me tell you guys, as the new guy on the bench here, you’re not doing yourselves any favors by rolling your eyes, shaking your heads and having lousy grins on your faces. That’s just my personal opinion, but I’m entitled to it and you’re going to hear it. This gentleman is sitting here, (town attorney), telling me one thing in black and white, and you’re telling me another. Let’s figure out what it is! And if you two don’t agree, then let’s get a disinterested third party who does. Because otherwise this is … you’re making a mockery of this thing”!

Hanover School Superintendent Christine Nash told the board that she’s also concerned about the project’s impact on the school system.

“My concern, in the economy and the state that we’re in, is that with any large scale project that there’s going to be an impact on student population. That impact is going to be felt, certainly in class size, staffing, programs and services”, Nash said.

The hearing is continued until June 11.

Selectman Joe Salvucci was up for chairman this time around.

However, Selectmen John Barry was voted for Chairman instead, after Salvucci declined the post and nominated him.

 Salvucci said he couldn’t accept the chairmanship because he wanted to avoid any conflicts, since he’s a Hanover call firefighter and has family members that work for town departments.  

“I have a brother that serves on the police force and a brother who serves on the fire department. Both are full-time employees of the town. I think it would be inappropriate to take over the Chair with my conflicts. I’d rather stay, so the town feels we’re being represented accordingly. So with that, I would like to nominate John Barry as Chairman for the 2012-2013 year”, Salvucci said.

However, while Salvucci declined the chairmanship, he did accept a nomination for Vice Chairman and said, “The Chairman would be the main person to be consulted with by the department heads. As the Vice-Chair, I would assist you if needed and would not be the primary person of responsibility”.

Selectmen also welcomed newly elected Selectmen Gary Young and Harold Dunn to the board.

After more than a month of negotiations, between the Utility Workers Union of America Local 369 and Entergy, UWUA plans to bring Entergy’s offer to a vote next week. The previous contract expired at midnight on May 15th. UWUA Local 369 makes up nearly 90 percent of the plant’s total workforce, and at stake were several key health care, safety and staffing issues.

Entergy’s decision to lockout employees comes as the company enters the final stages of a six-year review process to renew the license at Pilgrim Nuclear – which is set to expire on June 8, 2012. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recommended that commissioners issue a license renewal, which would allow the plant to operate through 2032.

Town Manager Melissa Arrighi will look closely at the additional request made by state officials to the NRC in preparation for writing a letter to them on behalf of the Board: “The letter will clearly tell the NRC that the voters of Plymouth have spoken and they have specifically requested that the Board reach out to the NRC and let them know that they want these safety measures in place.”

The Town Manager will make the letter public, but it will not be brought back to the Board, and no formal vote will be taken.

If the override passes, the average Norwell homeowner’s tax bill will permanently increase by $500, but the school’s budget deficit will be filled and a  Human Resource Director will be hired.

But Selectman Ellen Allen stated they’re trying to find extra revenue sources by selling town assets, “We are looking at trying to unload buildings that we really don’t use and see if we can get funding out of them. So for example, we’re selling that small antique fire station up on Washington Street next to the medical center and we can then reemploy that into other building needs.”

Allen further stated that if the override does not pass, the education of Norwell students will be at stake as class options will diminish.

Selectman Gregg McBride explained the override request has been a buildup of declining state aid, increasing health insurance costs, and growing schools, not poor leadership, “It’s not a failure of the town, it’s not a failure of us to live within our means in fact we have been living within our means for a number of years. We’ve not maintained, we’ve not kept up with the needs of the increasing school population. It’s, it’s really time.”

Annual Town Meeting can’t reconvene until May 21st, after the town election.  Norwell residents still have a handful of money articles to vote on, depending if the override passes, including Article 8 which is a funding request by Selectmen to conduct a facilities assessment on town buildings.

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(Norwell Selectmen, left to right: Gregg McBride, John Mariano, Ellen Allen)

Katherine Perry reports:

The warrant for the Annual Town Meeting has 39 articles.

The Special Town Meeting warrant has 12 articles.

A number of warrant articles are Community Preservation funding requests.

There are also articles requesting money for a new fire engine and a new ambulance.

Town Meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Dennett Elementary School.

WATD’s Ed Perry was live on the scene shortly after the fire was knocked down. He says homeowners told him the fire started on the back porch near a propane tank for a gas grill

The call of fire came in just before 5:00 p.m.

No injuries were reported.