Winters Leads Candidates for Assessors Seat

            The Marion Board of Assessors joined the Select Board at the latter’s public meeting on Tuesday night to conduct joint interviews of three candidates for the opening on the Board of Assessors created by the loss of longtime member Catherine Gibbs.             Gibbs passed away on September 28 at age 92.             Peter Winters, […] Read more »

Lack of Plan Nearly Foils Article 8

On November 14, registered voters in Mattapoisett met for a Special Fall Town Meeting featuring a warrant of which nine articles proposed expenditures from certified free cash. Some weeks prior to Town Meeting, Mattapoisett received certification from state auditors that the free-cash figure was $2,200,000.             On Monday night, voters were poised to make decisions […] Read more »

Deeded Path to Water Requires Expert Input

            The Marion Conservation Commission had a busy two weeks, adjudicating several cases during its October 26 and November 2 public meetings.             Because there is an inherent lack of definition of delineation on where work will actually occur, the commission voted on October 26 to issue Scott S. Rassoulian a Positive Box 3 Determination […] Read more »

Septic Paperwork ‘Not Incidental’

            Back attending in person on November 3 after “zooming” into the Marion Board of Health following a hospital stay, Dr. Ed Hoffer focused his comments in two public hearings for septic-system variances on what happens after the systems become operational.             The board, including Chairman Dr. John Howard and the recent addition of foundational […] Read more »

Rochester Looking at Big Picture

            The Town of Rochester held an Interdepartmental public meeting on November 2, allowing the department heads to put their heads together in a rare setting to discuss several key topics and issues facing the town.             As the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) looks to expand into Rochester with the South Coast Rail, the […] Read more »

JSC Disrupted during Public Comment

            At the recommendation of ORR Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson, the agenda to the November 7 public meeting of the Old Rochester Regional Joint School Committee/Superintendency Union #55 was rearranged to put Open Meeting Law complaints at the top.             Two complaints filed relative to the Joint School Committee, one was against Anne Fernandes, […] Read more »

Master Plan Draft Released

            On November 2, Mattapoisett’s 2022 update of the town’s Master Plan was released by the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD), which has been working with a volunteer group of residents on the project since August 2020. Due to the restrictions imposed on public gatherings during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, […] Read more »

Nips Will Wait for Spring Town Meeting

            A proposal for a new bylaw to would ban the sale of nip bottles in Marion was originally based on a fall Town Meeting, but Marion decided against holding a special Town Meeting so the matter will now go to Spring Town Meeting during the board’s public meeting on Monday night at the Police […] Read more »

Stakes Raised to Retain COA Director

            The Rochester Finance Committee Monday night transferred $7,600 from the town’s reserve account in a bid to stop Council on Aging Executive Director Eric Poulin from resigning to take on a higher-paying job in Wellesley.             Mike Cambra, vice-president of the COA Board of Directors, said Poulin has received an offer to work as […] Read more »

Bailey to Handle Complaint

As had occurred in the October 19 public meeting of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee, the October 27 public meeting of the Rochester School Committee addressed a state Open Meeting Law complaint filed by Rochester resident Rhonda Baptiste.             The case stems from Facebook comments made by ORR School Committee member Joe Pires regarding […] Read more »