Garage Granted over ‘Tiny’ Limit

            Jeffrey and Amanda Costa will be able to build their garage and covered breezeway at 47 Cross Road after the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals determined during its March 17 public hearing that a variance allowing greater than the by-right square footage is warranted.             In deliberating the merits of the request, ZBA member […] Read more »

Driveway, Parking Get Green Lights

            Both applicant Christopher Kuppens and the Kittansett Club came away from public hearings with the March 9 Marion Conservation Commission able to proceed with their plans.             The commission voted to issue an Order of Conditions to Kuppens for his Notice of Intent to construct a driveway, install utilities and perform site grading within […] Read more »

FY23 School Budget Approved

            On March 9, the Marion School Committee held the public hearing for the FY23 Marion school budget.             Handed the controls after opening remarks by Old Rochester Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber outlined the budget in a PowerPoint presentation.             The foundational approach has been […] Read more »

Solar Bylaw Back to Drawing Board

            In early 2020, the Mattapoisett Planning Board began working on a solar bylaw that would put in place regulations on various sized solar arrays. From studying solar bylaws in other communities to attending conferences on the topic to working with legal teams, former Planning Board administrator Mary Crain and Planning Board member Janice Robins […] Read more »

Sewer Infrastructure an Abiding Challenge

            The Marion Finance Committee held its final department interview for the FY23 budget season on March 9, taking on the Department of Public Works.             The DPW covers a lot of ground between water, sewer and highway, but Director Nathaniel Munafo’s more complex challenges come on the sewer side, where projects large and small […] Read more »

Safety Guides Plumb Corner Progress

            In appearing before the Rochester Planning Board during the latter’s March 8 public meeting, Brian Wallace of JC Engineering, Inc. formally requested a judgment of “substantial completion” for Units 1, 2, 21, 22, 43 and 44 of the Plumb Corner Village housing development.             “Forty-four is a model home so it’s really five units […] Read more »

Marina Expansion Unveiled

            The former Leisure Shores Marina has undergone massive cleanup and improvements since being purchased by Buzzards Bay Management LLC, Ned and David Kaiser, sentiments expressed by Mattapoisett Conservation Commission Chairman Mike King on March 14.             Representing the marina’s Notice of Intent filing was David Davignon of Schneider, Davignon and Leone, Inc. The proposed […] Read more »

Complex FY 23 School Budgets Reviewed

            Coming before a joint meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board and Finance Committee on March 10 were Old Rochester Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson and Howard Barber, ORR’s assistant superintendent of Finance and Operations, to review the FY23 school budgets.             For the layperson, the complexities, the numerous moving parts of the process […] Read more »

Barber’s Budget Breakdown Welcomed by Committee

            The Old Rochester Regional School Committee applauded the work of Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber for making the FY23 school budget the most digestible one that the members had ever been asked to consume.             In a PowerPoint presentation that lasted less than an hour, Barber went through several slides breaking […] Read more »

Committee Ranks Roadways No. 1

After many months of study, interviews, research and more interviews, the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee, an advisory board to the Select Board, voted on a list of 12 capital requests (needs of over $10,000) at its March 14 meeting.             Prior to the vote, the committee members met once again with Old Rochester Regional School […] Read more »