The solution was elusive but not impossible for the first action item on the agenda of the Marion Select Board during Tuesday night’s meeting at the Police Station.
Homeowner Corey Ferreira had requested a waiver from a bylaw that would have allowed him to install a drinking-water well on his property at 373 Wareham Road (Route 6).
Ferreira’s representative, David Davignon of Schneider, Davignon & Leone, Inc., laid out an $18,000 plan that would include four actions including the water, the well, a tie-in to town sewer, and a retaining wall.
Davignon told the board that the town’s water line runs along the opposite side of Route 6 from Ferreira’s address, and a state-approved dig could take up to six months to complete. The well, according to Ferreira, was always part of his building permit.
What concerned Select Board member Randy Parker was precedence.
“Everybody who builds a house is going to apply for a well,” said Parker.
Citing that a well would be half the price of the $38,000 it will cost to get a water line across Route 6, Davignon cited details about Ferreira’s lot and asserted that his quandary is rare enough not to be concerned with copycats.
“Unfortunately, Dave, for the first time in my life I disagree with you,” said Parker, who insists trouble lies ahead with such an approval. “I’ve never approved (a well) for domestic water – and especially (for a home) on (town) sewer – at least in nine years.”
Town Administrator Geoff Gorman confirmed that there remain no more buildable lots at Ferreira’s location, but Parker stuck to his argument that an approval for a domestic well at the address would prove to set a bad precedent for the town.
Davignon countered with a request that the town consider relief on the $10,000 sewer hookup. Parker requested a number. “If I’m greedy, I would ask for the exact difference,” said Davignon, advocating for the applicant. Board Chairman John Hoagland asked if Ferreira would consider $5,000 in relief.
The compromise was thereby reached: Route 6 will not be dug up, Marion will not approve a domestic well, and will not fear having opened the floodgates for future domestic-well applications. But Ferreira will pay half the regular fee for his sewer hookup. It will cost him $17,000 for a temporary tie-in to the neighboring water line at 369 Wareham Road.
After a 6:00 pm Public Hearing, it was voted via three motions that the town approves the transfer of the all-alcohol, off-premises license and inventory of ICJ Corp dba Top of The Hill Liquors, 311 Marion Street (Route 6), to Sri Vinayak Corporation, the principals of which are Sonalben Patel (50%), Jaiminkumar Patel (40%) and Vishal Patel (10%).
The third motion conditioned that ownership would revert back to ICJ Corp should the Patel ownership fail to meet its end of the bargain. ICJ is financing the Patels’ purchase pending an agreed schedule of payments of principal and interest.
Jaiminkumar Patel will act as manager. He has been working for another Marion-based business since 2021 with no violations. Hours of operation at Top of the Hill Liquors will stay the same.
The application now goes to the state agency ABCC for its approval.
Before delving into action items, Hoagland announced that former Marion Harbormaster Adam Murphy has filed a suit against the town, claiming he was fired at a January 28 meeting with the Select Board chairman, the police chief and the town administrator. Hoagland noted that the town disputes Murphy’s narrative, stating that the Marion participants are in agreement that Murphy submitted his resignation at that meeting and it was accepted. Hoagland said he would keep the town informed as the case develops.
Davignon’s work was also evident in a 26-spot, parking proposal for the area between Wells Road and Route 6 now owned by “JJ” Pope and Michelle Pope. The plan was well received by the Select Board, which has considered the area “an eye sore” for years. Gorman will seek guidance to determine what it will take to bring the plan forward.
Seeking compliance for a delinquent water bill over three years for a Rochester resident (284 New Bedford Road), the board agreed to waive the required 10% down payment on the principal and the interest provided the resident remain current on the five-year payment schedule. A lien will be applied should the property be sold. Hoagland said there are more such cases to come.
The Select Board is still trying to get the bottom of a discrepancy between $2,100,000 and $2,600,000 in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between member towns and the Old Rochester Regional School District regarding Gateway Health Group funding. The Mattapoisett Select Board approved the MOU, and Hoagland wants to know how that affects Marion’s options. Citing no quarterly reports from the ORR School Committee since January, Hoagland also wants monthly reports and for ORR to move up from a December 31 deadline to September 30 with year-end information. The other Select Board members considered Hoagland’s requests reasonable, and Gorman said he will forward the changes to ORR Administration.
Normally the purview of the Board of Health, the Select Board discussed the Third Read of the town’s Blighted and Vacant Property Policy. Both Burr and Parker dislike the document, but Hoagland said he can think of at least four properties in town that need intervention.
“Pitcher Street, when are we going to wake up? They owe us thousands of dollars, and it just sits there rotting,” he said. “I think we owe those residents on Pitcher Street some action.”
Parker argued that, before arming the town with policy, it would be better to “find out what’s going on behind the scenes and see what we can do with those. … there were times when town found money to help someone. You have to find out what’s going on … I think we’re still that town.”
Hoagland’s was the dissenting vote against Burr’s and Parker’s that tabled the matter.
A discussion regarding the Department of Public Works buildings on Route 6 yielded interest in putting together a group (committee), and the focus shifted to the town’s two water towers, their maintenance and apparatus and certification. With neither in use, Parker suggested learning what it will cost to decommission them. Hoagland said it will cost $250,000 to take down the water tower at the former DPW headquarters. The ground there also will need testing. Gorman will provide information that will enable action by the board.
The town’s new contract with Waste Management adds a third curbside recycling date. Affected residents will be notified.
Inclusionary Bylaw Fees will remain at $75,000 per unit. Toll Brothers’ project at 78 Wareham Road is already in for $75,000 per unit, but uplands of the former Lockheed Martin business park could be affected.
Heather Corrigan’s request for a Special One Day Alcohol Beverage License for a July 31 fundraiser for the Marion Art Center from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm was approved. The event anticipated approximately 300 attendees.
Other votes approved the removal of the July 7 and August 4 Select Board meetings, noting the board can schedule a special meeting to address any business, the scheduling of two meetings in August for the Select Board Goal Retreat, the appointment of Police Officer Nathan Oliveira (effective June 16) to a one-year probationary period, the appointment of Jennifer Petersen as a full member of the town’s Affordable Housing Trust, the dissolution of the DPW Building Committee – with gratitude, the reappointments of many members of Marion boards, committees and staff, and a Water/Sewer Commitment of $1,401.54 (final readings June 4).
In his Town Administrator Report, Gorman noted that the Town House is on track to move back into its permanent home on the July 27 weekend (July 28 is nomination papers day for the primary). Gorman said eight speed humps are expected this week, six of which will be placed on Front Street with two others for at-large consideration. The Shared Use Path is on track for an August 16 bid, as paperwork has been submitted to the owners of affected rights of way. A July 21 meeting with KP Law will update the board on the taking of land – there were no donations as of Tuesday’s meeting.
The permit process has been completed to start construction on solar atop the new DPW building; the town is waiting on an update regarding materials. The town is on track to hold a fireworks display. The Independence Day Parade is taking applications online, and any questions can be directed to Executive Assistant to the Select Board Donna Hemphill. The Town Party, scheduled for July 25 (rain date July 26) received a donation on Tuesday. Employee Appreciation Day will be held on June 25, shutting down routine customer service at 12:00 for a picnic at Cushing Community Center.
Hemphill was congratulated for her graduation from the Municipal Government certificate program at Suffolk University. Gorman scheduled a Wednesday morning coffee and conversation session at the Town Hall Annex on Barnabas Roadconf room, purpose is to sit down for. Town Clerk Katrina Desroches, it was announced, has decided to return to work in public safety and is leaving at the end of the week, and Associate Assessor Linda Dessert is retiring effective July 17. Both jobs have been posted. Finally, Senator Kelly Dooner will hold her office hours Thursday in Marion at the Barnabas Room.
The next meeting of the Marion Select Board is scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, at 6:00 pm at the Police Station Conference Room.
Marion Select Board
By Mick Colageo