Concerned about the town’s lack of future vision and coordinated planning, the Marion Planning Board at its June 18 meeting agreed that it may be time to develop a Master Plan.
This decision followed a lengthy conversation on the Planning Board’s role in helping craft a vision for Marion’s future.
“If we don’t watch out, future capital costs will far exceed Marion’s ability to plan, manage and pay for … items,” board member Ted North said in a presentation that evening. He stressed that the “band-aid” approach is not working and the Planning Board could serve as a focal point to integrating input from boards, committees, and taxpayers for a comprehensive plan.
The board discussed how the Planning Board could help town officials make better decisions by fully understanding the town’s long-term needs and how to meet them.
“Right now there isn’t much planning. It is going to be an expensive process if we don’t get involved,” North said.
Board member Steve Gonsalves likewise expressed frustration between the lack of communication between boards and committees.
“Why don’t the chairs of boards sit down in a room and talk about the things going on in town? We are all public servants, there is no room for bruised egos.. What are we doing here? We are complicating the simple. It is a classic example of good intentions: everyone has good intentions but we are all on different pages. It’s frustrating!” he said.
Board member Patricia McArdle said that working on a Master Plan may be the way to galvanize discussion across town boards and residents to develop common goals.
“At least we can get the ball rolling instead of talking about it ad-nauseum all the time,” Patricia McArdle said of pursuing a Master Plan. The board agreed that it would invite members from various town committees to discuss their needs at future meetings.
“The intention is getting a common perspective throughout town by propping up common goals,” said board member Tom Magauran. He stressed that such a plan would require clear and concise goals with definable metrics. The board agreed to tap into the knowledge of SRPPED, a regional planning agency, by inviting one of their representatives to discuss best practices and analytics next month.
North stressed that community involvement is essential to comprehensive planning.
“When there is no ‘buy in’ in the plan, it’s plain dog food,” he said.
Chairman Jay Ryder suggested siphoning off a portion of future Planning Board meetings for its Master Plan effort. But he cautioned that it should not overshadow its day-to-day responsibilities.
“There is a lot of stuff on the horizon right now. I don’t think the town planning aspect is what should get lost in with all the other stuff.. although it is a priority,” Ryder said.
On the agenda also that evening was whether Marion should consider hiring a Town Planner. However, the suggestion did not merit much attention from the board.
In other matters, the board approved the following appointments: Ted North as SRPPED representative, Jay Ryder to the Marion Town House Committee, and Tom Magauran to the Community Preservation Committee.
By Laura Fedak Pedulli
