Cemetery Regulations Loosened

            A smaller crowd of concerned residents left the April 17 meeting of the Marion Select Board feeling better about the town’s cemetery regulations after member Randy Parker recommended during the continued public hearing that the fourth and fifth items be dropped from the Cemetery Commission’s revised proposal and Chairman Toby Burr agreed.             The […] Read more »

Seawall Needs a Makeover

            James Jr. and Laura Ryan Shachoy filed a Notice of Intent heard by the Marion Conservation Commission on April 10 to remove and replace the stone armor located landward of their seawall at 1 Water Street.             In a 7:10 pm public hearing, Dave Davignon of Schneider, Davignon & Leone, Inc., represented the Shachoys’ […] Read more »

Fieldstone Abutters Will Be Heard

            A continued public hearing Tuesday night with the Marion Planning Board on Major Site Plan Review for the application of Fieldstone Farms Market to expand its 806 Mill Street footprint upset abutters in attendance when the hearing was continued because the board is waiting on its peer review.             Planning Board Chairman Tucker Burr […] Read more »

Town Officials Navigate ZBA Process

               Rochester’s Zoning Board of Appeals on April 11 approved projects proposed and therefore expertly defended by two Town Hall officials.                The board endorsed the variance of the required, 40-foot, side setback for a one-story, one-bedroom addition at 17 Gerrish Road proposed by Finance Committee Chairman Kris Stoltenberg and a Special Permit for the […] Read more »

Concrete Splash Pad Approved

            Coming before the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission on April 16 was David Davignon of Schneider, Davignon & Leone, Inc., representing 18 Water Street Realty trust. The trust had filed a Request for Determination of Applicability for proposed repair to eroded areas of a seaside lawn and the addition of a 6 inch by 3 foot […] Read more »

FY25 Budget Leveraged by Bus Deal

            After a budget public hearing held on March 21, the Mattapoisett School Committee voted its recommendation of the FY25 school budget as presented for voters’ consumption at the May 13 Annual Town Meeting.             Old Rochester Superintendent of School Mike Nelson told the committee that a major driver of the budget process this year […] Read more »

Town Loosens Tax Work-Off Program

            Rochester Select Board Tuesday approved amendments to the Senior Tax Work-Off Abatement Policy that will decrease the age and increase the income level that qualifies a senior to participate in the program.             Council on Aging Executive Director Eric Poulin told the Select Board that the town’s regulations state that the starting point to […] Read more »

Project Not Limited to Bio-Hydraulic Fluids

Rochester’s Planning Board Tuesday approved the Special Permit and Groundwater Protection District permit for Blue Wave Solar and BWC Snows Pond LLC’s plan to build a solar-energy array at 0 Cushman Road.             The 12.55-acre operation on a 31-acre parcel will be built in a Residential/Agricultural District and a Mattapoisett River Valley Watershed and Groundwater […] Read more »

Food Fees Tailored for Details

The Marion Board of Health has updated its food-inspection fee schedule, and Marion Health Director/Nurse Lori Desmarais told the board at its April 4 meeting that Marion’s fees remain lower than area towns in some aspects. The goal, according to Desmarais and Marion Health Agent Shallyn Rodriguez, was to sharpen up the fee structure to […] Read more »

Sippican Prepares for New Leadership

            The Old Rochester Regional School District needs to find a replacement for Sippican Elementary School Principal Marla Brown, who has cited health challenges with her decision to step away, and a new vice principal, as Peter Crisafulli plans to relocate after the school year for family reasons.             In speaking to the Marion School […] Read more »