School Budget Still A ‘Mystery’

            The Marion Finance Committee met jointly with the Select Board on February 2 to hear Finance Director Judy Mooney and Town Administrator Jay McGrail make a preliminary presentation of the FY23 budget.             McGrail thanked Mooney for her hard work and said that without her he could not have produced the budget proposal. “I […] Read more »

One Last Request Will Be Heard

            The hour and 15 minutes it took the Marion Community Preservation Committee to officially understand and acknowledge receipt of 10 pitches for FY23 Community Preservation Act funding will be dwarfed by the time it takes to fully scrutinize each application.             “Pack a lunch, maybe a breakfast,” said CPC Chairman Jeff Doubrava only half-jokingly. […] Read more »

Cilantro Faces Challenging Rebuild

            The owner of the Cilantro restaurant faces a complex task should he choose to go through the vetting process for relocation at 325 Front Street.             Bill Knight represented potential applicant Varut Phimolmas in a presubmission conference with the Marion Planning Board to explore the possibility of modifying a very old house at that […] Read more »

Master, Capital Planning Put Heads Together

What do you get when a think tank invites a dollars-and-cents committee chairman to meet and discuss the future of a town? A marriage of necessity.             On February 2, the Mattapoisett Master Plan Committee met with Chuck McCullough to hear about the work performed by a committee whose primary focus is plotting when and […] Read more »

FY23 Budget Season in Full Swing

            It is without a doubt the budget-planning season. Engaging in the process of drafting a multimillion dollar municipal budget is no small task and requires both insight and foresight. Jumping into the deep end of the fiscal pool on February 3, Mattapoisett’s Finance Committee met with Library Director Jennifer Jones and Council on Aging […] Read more »

Omicron Wanes; Board Shuffles Roles

In his final meeting as chairman, Dr. Ed Hoffer told the Marion Board of Health that only a month ago Massachusetts was seeing 22,000 Covid cases per day. By the beginning of February, that number had dwindled to approximately 5,000.             Hoffer intends to remain on the board as clerk during his announced run for […] Read more »

Revised Heron Cove Plan Finally on Table

            The Marion Zoning Board of Appeals got its first look at the revised plan for Heron Cove Estates during the board’s January 27 public meeting.             Increased from 96 to 120 units, this iteration of Ken Steen’s proposed 40B, Local Initiative Program (LIP,) affordable housing project on Route 6 at the Weweantic River is […] Read more »

Planning Board Drafts New Fee Schedule

It has been 33 years since the Mattapoisett Planning Board reviewed its fee structure for various matters of permitting and approval for construction projects. On February 7, the board was armed with a draft of updated fees as it took on the task of refining the language contained in the fee schedule and heard from […] Read more »

Making a Pitch for Better Poles

Rochester Select Board Chairman Brad Morse took the opportunity of Verizon New England’s appearance at a 6:05 pm appointment to reiterate an important message.             “Before we approve the motion, I want to mention problems with poles around town,” said Morse, describing “lots of double poles, to the tune of about 20, and some hanging […] Read more »

Plumb Corner Drainage Will Stick to Plan

The February 1 meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission agenda was already light on public hearings when the two that were scheduled were not heard.             A Request for Determination of Applicability filed by William Clapp for property located at 0 Clapp Road for work outside resources areas was withdrawn by the applicant to be […] Read more »