Tom Magauran’s final meeting as a member of the Marion Planning Board Monday night was emblematic of his long tenure there, as a touchy subject from the past resurfaced, a looming policy battle approached, and a good deal of town business was done in between. Chair Jay Ryder commended Magauran, whom he called his mentor, [...] Read more »
The Marion Board of Selectmen have scheduled a hearing for what Town Administrator Paul Dawson called the “potential removal” of Sherman Briggs Jr. from the Conservation Commission after he admitted to a violation of Massachusetts General Law c. 268A, the conflict of interest law. According to the Massachusetts Ethics Commission, Briggs has paid a $7,500 [...] Read more »
Mattapoisett’s Town Warrant was signed by the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night and given to Town Clerk Barbara Sullivan, making it ready for Town Meeting. The warrant is now available in hardcopy at the clerk’s office and is posted on the town’s website. Also available to voters is a TV program that will air [...] Read more »
Among several issues discussed at Monday’s Board of Selectmen Meeting was a potential upgrade for the town’s ambulance service from Basic Life Support to Advanced Life Support, as well as the introduction of several new articles, all of which will be voted on at the Special Town Meeting on May 20. Rochester Fire Chief Scott [...] Read more »
Despite an agenda that looked like it could sustain 15 minutes of meeting, the members of the Planning Board spent about an hour discussing the confluence of their responsibilities with bylaws and other boards and commissions. Of particular note was SRPEDD. This stands for Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District. The agency was developed [...] Read more »
The Rochester Memorial School Committee met Thursday evening, and among many issues discussed was the unanimous decision to not go forward with the School Choice program, and also to study a potential switch from a half-day kindergarten to a full-day program. The School Choice program as discussed by the Committee would have allowed for up [...] Read more »
With Mattapoisett voters and town officials set to take up the important and weighty work of Town Meeting starting May 13, two warrant drafts are set for review. The Annual Town Meeting warrant contains 31 articles this year. One special warrant comes on the heels of two well-known storms: Sandy and the blizzard of 2013. [...] Read more »
During a brisk Monday night meeting, the Rochester Board of Selectmen approved the Annual Town Meeting Warrant and special warrant presented by Town Administrator Richard LaCamera. The Town Meeting will take place on May 20 at 7pm at Rochester Memorial School. The town’s Fiscal Year 2014 operating budget shows a 3.7 percent increase from 2013’s [...] Read more »
Saying that he is working toward a very conservative budget and smoothing out the number of articles in the Warrant, Mattapoisett Town Administrator Michael Gagne, shared his working budget strategic plan with Gary Johnson, Pat Donahoe, Betty Pennington, and Colby Rotler of the Finance Committee. One of the most significant items Gagne discussed with the [...] Read more »
Mattapoisett’s Open Space Committee, whose board includes representatives from the Conservation Commission, Highway Department, Planning Board, Water & Sewer, Conservation Agent, and Recreation Department, held its first meeting Thursday, April 25. After a brief introduction outlining for the assembled the various vested interests each of the committee members brought to the hearing, public comments were [...] Read more »
