Marion TA to Take Medical Leave

Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson announced on February 2 that he would be taking a leave of absence and asked the Board of Selectmen to officially approve his request.

Dawson said that after speaking to each of the selectmen individually in private, he was requesting a medical leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

“I expect to be gone for eight to ten weeks to deal with a medical issue that you all know about,” Dawson said motioning to the selectmen.

Dawson did not specifically identify the medical condition publically.

Town administrators of the neighboring towns of Mattapoisett, Acushnet, Dartmouth, and Carver have offered their support to Dawson and to the town while Dawson is away, offering any assistance the town may need for the duration of Dawson’s absence.

In the interim, under the suggestion of Dawson, Marion’s Finance Director Judith Mooney will act on Dawson’s behalf during his medical leave.

“Although it seems like a long time, this … is a relatively small compact period of time,” said Dawson. He told selectmen he highly recommended Mooney for the task and offered residents some reassurance. “Judy’s got a lot of experience and I think she can handle this as well.”

Board of Selectmen Chairman Stephen Cushing wished Dawson luck.

Dawson will take his leave starting February 11.

In other matters, a mysterious smell at the Town House has stirred up air quality concerns after several employees complained of a strong odor resulting in occasional headaches.

“They come and go,” said Dawson of the odors. At first, he said, employees wondered if perhaps a deceased animal could be the source of the smell, but he doubted it since the smell is often transient and only experienced at different times.

However, the town ordered air quality samples to be taken and tested, which are out for analysis and should be reported next week.

Dawson was pleased to announce the town has been awarded $15,000 from a grant program the town applied for to purchase one electric car and install one charging station.

The town was also awarded the $200,000 from the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program to perform feasibility studies to determine if houses in the Indian Cove area of Marion and Aucoot Cove area of Mattapoisett could be connected to municipal sewer. Dawson said the town would now contemplate how it will move forward with the funds.

Also during the meeting, residents Joseph Zora and Jay Hiller took their time in explaining a property dispute the two parties have with the Town of Marion over access to their property from Parlowtown Road, which is no longer open.

The two dove deep into the minutia of the matter, occasionally leading a selectman or two to wonder what it was the two gentlemen wanted exactly and why they were there.

Zora said the main issue was access to his land via Parlowtown Road, which appears to be owned by the Town, although Zora said the property has a dubious past he uncovered through extensive historical research and real estate records dating all the way back to the 1700s.

“One thing that is crystal clear,” said Dawson, “is the issue of access.” Dawson said the town at one point entered into an easement with the Sippican Lands Trust, saying, “For right or wrong, good or bad, it was done. But beyond that,” continued Dawson, “there’s just been a number of issues.”

It appears there may be several claims to the Parlowtown Road access property, which might only be solved through expensive title reports.

Zora and Hiller left two large binders and a milk crate of documentation for selectmen to consider. Zora said he hopes the town can help resolve the matter in a friendly manner; however, he implied he would take the matter to court if needed in order to resolve it.

“I feel we’ve been denied our basic rights,” said Zora.

In other business, selectmen denied the request to place a No Parking sign at Marconi Village at the request of Eileen Marum, with Selectman Jonathan Henry dissenting, saying that he did see that parking was problematic at the site.

After a robust debate, Selectman Jody Dickerson and Cushing said they were siding with the police and fire chiefs on the matter, rendering it resolved.

The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for February 16 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Jean Perry

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