Chris Bryant’s application for a half-acre oyster farm located near Silvershell Beach and Stewart’s Island will move forward for state approval after the Marion Board of Selectmen gave the proposed aquaculture farm the nod on April 5.
Selectmen only voted to allow the application to advance in the state permitting process; they will still need to give final approval once the project is fully vetted by the state.
There was some discussion amongst the board members as well as with Town Clerk Ray Pickles who lives near the site.
Pickles brought with him a letter of concern from another neighbor who is worried about the oyster farm’s possible negative impact on water quality near the beach, although he made it clear that neither he nor the neighbor was opposed to the project; they simply had some questions.
Pickles did take issue with Bryant’s failure to properly notify him of the public hearing for the oyster farm. Pickles said he heard from the Board of Selectmen’s office that very day of the hearing. Bryant admitted that he had made a mistake, and Pickles would be properly notified when it came to subsequent Conservation Commission hearings regarding the matter, as well as any future hearings.
As for the water quality, Bryant told Pickles, “The health of that cove has grown tremendously in the past five years.” He continued, “We’ve shown, at least to ourselves … that the quality of the water does go up around the oyster beds.”
“If it was determined that what they were going to be doing out there was somehow degrading the water quality of the water, he would probably be shut down rather quickly,” Selectmen Chairman Stephen Cushing told Pickles. “We don’t want to do anything to degrade the beach. I don’t think Chris does, either.”
Selectman and Recreation Department Director Jody Dickerson said water quality at Silvershell Beach is tested daily between June 15 and September 1. Pickles said that should ease the concerns of his neighbors, since they were unaware of the daily testing and thought testing was done on a sporadic basis.
“He’s picked out one of the better locations for a grant,” said Shellfish Officer Adam Murphy, adding “We’ve been monitoring this site every day.”
The board approved the propagation plan as presented in a unanimous vote.
In other matters, selectmen were visually perplexed by a request from the developer of the Marion Village Estates to install individual water meters at each of the rental units at the 40B housing development. Currently, the town bills the developer under one main meter.
The consensus amongst the board was that the town was not going to pay to install meters at individual apartments so the developer could monitor each tenant’s water use.
“This really has nothing to do with us,” said Cushing. He said he didn’t care if the developer paid to have individual meters installed at every unit, but those meters had to come after the one meter from which the town bills the developer.
The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for April 19 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.
By Jean Perry