The Rochester Conservation Commission met on March 16 to address a public hearing on the Cushman Road solar project. Having last discussed the matter on January 27, commission members were eager to hear updates to the project and potentially close out the ongoing discussion.             The applicant’s representative, Eric Las of Beals + Thomas […] Read more »

            Old Rochester Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson told the March 15 joint meeting of the Marion Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen that the Fiscal Year 2022 budget for Sippican School will see a 2.43-percent increase, and the FY22 budget for the ORR School District will see a 2.47-percent increase.             These percentages […] Read more »

            Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission Vice Chairman Alan Harris reported on a meeting with a Natural Resources Conservation Service representative and learned that the parking situation at Grassi Bog “was not so cool” in the eyes of federal officials.             “It’s getting a little bit muddy with deep muddy ruts,” Harris told the March […] Read more »

            On March 3, Mattapoisett’s Master Plan Committee met to continue exploring concepts and ideas on what living in Mattapoisett might be like for all of its residents in the coming years. Building on the previously explored chapters, which included Land Use, Housing, Economic Development, and Climate Resiliency, on this night, the committee opened discussions […] Read more »

            During the March 9 meeting of the Marion Council on Aging Board of Directors, a community pavilion was discussed. Chairman Harry Norweb opened the discussion by first sharing the importance of coordinating proposed improvements to the former VFW Hall grounds with the town’s plans to replace old sewer pipes located near a proposed pavilion. […] Read more »

            The Mattapoisett Conservation Commission on March 8 dispensed with a number of continued public hearings from prior meetings and immediately continued several others at the applicants’ request.             Alan Loomis of McKenzie Engineering Group, Inc. returned for a Notice of Intent on behalf of his client, Armand Cortellesso/Brandt Point Road Builders, LLC, to construct […] Read more »

            After substantial discussions over recent weeks, Marion’s Community Preservation Committee voted on March 5 to finalize its Fiscal Year 2022 recommendations of applications received for town and state-matching funds under the state’s Community Preservation Act.             Nine applications will be recommended for CPA funding at Spring Town Meeting. Ten applications had originally been presented […] Read more »

            In the Marion Finance Committee’s only order of business in its March 3 meeting, its members voted to approve a transfer from the reserve fund in order to solve a personnel dispute involving a union member who left Marion employment during Fiscal Year 2021.             Per terms of an agreement to remain confidential, the […] Read more »

            The Marion Affordable Housing Trust is taking steps to assess its progress since 2015 on procuring opportunities for affordable housing in town. On March 9, the trust met with Eric Arbeene from the Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District (SRPEDD) to review the 2015 Marion Housing Plan and learned that, despite having accomplished […] Read more »

            The Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission apparently has settled on a plan of attack in its ongoing effort to calculate the cost and determine the optimum timing for the borrowing it will take to make the long-awaited upgrade to its water treatment facility.             The nearly obsolete Targa II water-treating system presently used […] Read more »