Sept. 10 Looms as Day of Zoom for ZBA

            During its August 13 remote access meeting, the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals voted to reduce the letter of credit to $20,398.46 in accordance upon request by builder Ken Steen, whose Sippican Village work was confirmed as being nearly complete at Fieldstone Way.             Steen had put up the line of credit compared in the meeting […] Read more »

Despite Opposition, Eldredge Bogs Will Get Solar

            The Rochester Planning Board moved quickly in their meeting held on August 25 after the majority of public hearing applicants submitted requests to continue their proposal reviews until the next scheduled meeting.             The continuances included the hearings on the Cranberry Highway development, which still require work with the board’s review engineer before any progress can […] Read more »

2021 Goals and Objectives Discussed

            On the heels of the 2020 spring Town Meeting, Mattapoisett’s Board of Selectmen now turn their attention to other pressing matters: setting goals and objectives for Town Administrator Mike Lorenco and making their work more transparent to the public they serve.             Each selectman, as well as Lorenco, came prepared to the August 25 meeting with […] Read more »

Family Apartments Require ‘Trust and Honesty’

            During the August 20 meeting of the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals, the members held a hearing for the Special Permit application filed by John Houlihan of 6 Hi Ona Hill Road. Remotely sitting on the board this night were Colby Rottler, Norman Lyonnais, Tony Tranfaglia, and Jordan Rodrigues. Also in attendance was Chairman Susan […] Read more »

Gibbs’ Sign Stuck in Limbo

            Town Counsel Jon Witten will consult with the Marion Planning Board to parse out the implications of a zoning bylaw that has Dan Gibbs Jr. at odds with an abutter to his father’s property over the proposed placement of a sign advertising the former’s roofing company.             Daniel Gibbs Sr., the resident at 459 Mill Street, […] Read more »

Waiver Holding Up Cranberry Highway Project

            In a remote access meeting held August 18, the Rochester Conservation Commission moved to address an outstanding Notice of Intent that was filed by Steen Realty surrounding its proposed development at 22 Cranberry Highway.             Phil Cordeiro, representing Steen Realty, came before the commission with the hope of receiving a positive Order of Conditions that would […] Read more »

Marion Gears Up for Return to Schools

            August 19 was originally scheduled to be the last day on the job for Marion Public Health Nurse Kathy Downey, but her retirement is on hold until the second weekend of September so she can assist her newly-appointed replacement, Lori Desmarais, who will start on September 8.             In reporting to the Board of Health on […] Read more »

Central Office Builds Team, Cuts 10 Days to Prepare Teachers

            All the while concocting three distinct scenarios for a 2020-21 return to school, Old Rochester Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson has also been leading a small hiring committee to find the right person to function in the role he had held six years as Doug White’s assistant.             On the same day that the ORR […] Read more »

Hartley Breaks Silence in Land Negotiations

            Rochester Selectmen Woody Hartley and Brad Morse were in fundamental disagreement during Monday’s public meeting whether negotiations with the First Congregational Church of Rochester over two acres of land between the church building and Town Hall should be kept under the wraps of executive session or be brought out into the open.             “This isn’t the […] Read more »

No Clowning Around under Town Meeting Big Top

            The weather could not have been finer, the arrangements were perfection, and the decisive manner in which Mattapoisett’s first outdoor Town Meeting conducted the business at hand was brisk.    August 17 will go down in the town’s history for not only being the first time Town Meeting was held outdoors, but also for the need to […] Read more »