Halifax Gears Up for Annual Holiday Celebration, Advances Plans for New Senior Center

Town officials highlight upcoming festive event and progress on Council on Aging facility

HALIFAX, MA - November 6 - The popular "Holidays in Halifax" event is set to return on December 14, promising residents one of the town's most anticipated days of the year. Meanwhile, Halifax is making strides in its plans for a new Council on Aging facility, with construction potentially starting next fall.

During a brief Board of Selectmen meeting, officials discussed the upcoming holiday celebration, which is scheduled to run from approximately 5 to 8 p.m. on the second Saturday in December.

"Holidays in Halifax, always the second Saturday in December. This year it's super late, December 14th. So, mark your calendars, December 14th, holidays in Halifax, one of the best days of the year in town," said member Jonathan Selig.

In other town business, Halifax is moving forward with plans for a new Council on Aging (COA) facility. Town Administrator Cody Haddad reported significant progress on the project, including a recent site meeting with the project manager at the proposed location.

"We're going to really start moving quickly on that now, now that we have that project manager on board," Haddad said. "Our design and architecture request for proposals will likely go out at the end of this month. We'll look to get a designer on board, and then we'll start the design process."

The town aims to begin construction on the new COA facility around September 2025. This timeline suggests that Halifax is prioritizing the development of improved services and facilities for its senior population.

The meeting also touched on the ongoing development at 266 Holmes Street, which is progressing rapidly. The project, which includes 30 housing units, has secured all necessary permits.

"In our conversations, their goal is to have that construction complete in about nine months, those 30 units," Haddad noted.

This development is expected to impact town revenues, but not immediately. The town assesses property values as of January 1 each year for the following fiscal year's taxes.

"We likely won't see a huge increase in revenue from that until fiscal 27," the administrator explained, referring to the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026.

The board also discussed an upcoming public hearing with the planning board regarding the MBTA zoning proposal. This hearing, scheduled for the following night, is a required step before the proposal can be presented at the town meeting on December 16.

"State law requires that the planning board hold a public hearing, and then the state recommends that the planning board takes the recommendation, although they may choose not to recommend for or against it," Haddad clarified.

In other business, the board approved the use of the firehouse for a fundraiser on December 8. The event, organized by the Firefighters Union, will feature a pancake breakfast with Santa.

"We're looking at like an 8 o'clock start time and then end somewhere around 1130, and then clean up and all that. We'll take care of all that," said P.J. Hogan, president of the Firefighters Union.

The board also took a moment to recognize the efforts of the town clerk, Sue Lawless, assistant town clerk, Jen Carr, and all election staff for their work during the recent election.

"It's a lot of work, and they did it flawlessly. I mean, we really had not a single issue," Haddad praised.