On May 14, the Rochester Planning Board and the community learned more about the proposed solar array planned for property located on Marion Road, owned by Craig Canning and known as Rochester Farms, LLC. An abutter sued Canning to stop his original project, and that failed effort to turn the property into a farmer’s market […] Read more »
The financial impact analysis of the proposed ‘40R’ affordable housing residential development in Rochester shows a net positive annual income for the town, news that developer Ken Steen happily shared during a public forum held May 8 to discuss the study’s findings. According to consultant Judy Barrett, the conservative estimate for the steady annual revenue […] Read more »
The Old Rochester Regional High School athletic field, track, and auditorium project article was adopted by Marion Town Meeting voters on May 14, the second night of the Annual Town Meeting, allowing the project’s future to be determined by voters on May 17 during the Annual Election. ORR School Committee member Heather Burke of Marion […] Read more »
On May 7, the Rochester Conservation Commission heard Jose Araujo’s preliminary plans for his property, the former Boy Scout camp off Mary’s Pond Road. The Notice of Intent hearing included an update on the restoration plan an enforcement order required of Araujo. Rick Charon of Charon Engineering described the project, saying that the majority of […] Read more »
Marion voters have spoken and, in the noticeable absence of Town Clerk Ray Pickles, voted during the Annual Town Meeting on May 13 to reduce the fiscal year 2020 town clerk salary line from $19,493 to $0. The Finance Committee discussed the possibility of such a motion on April 17 and considered the best way […] Read more »
Five people were arrested and one juvenile hospitalized on Tuesday, May 7, after an encounter at Ned’s Point in Mattapoisett escalated to windshield smashing and then the beating of a 17-year-old male from New Bedford with a baseball bat, resulting in several misdemeanor charges and one felony charge. According to Mattapoisett Police Chief Mary Lyons […] Read more »
On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, Selectman John Waterman approached the Marion Finance Committee on May 8 with a draft document that the board hopes will set concrete expectations of what the selectmen should expect of the Finance Committee, and invited the FinCom to reciprocate with a similar document to set out its own […] Read more »
A large turn-out had been anticipated for the May 13 Mattapoisett Annual Town Meeting, so the gymnasium next to the auditorium at ORR High School was prepared for the overflow crowd. More than 400 voters turned out to determine the fate of predominantly three major articles in the warrant: a new fire station, a zoning […] Read more »
The Marion Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) really doesn’t want to televise its meetings, and on May 2, despite the Board of Selectmen’s insistence on it, continued searching for viable excuses to support keeping meetings as they are – as they historically have been, the chairman pointed out – untelevised. “The selectmen are still pushing […] Read more »
Gathering in the small office of Town Administrator Mike Gagne on May 2, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen met for a final review of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant before signing it. The warrant contains 26 articles that include the annual budget and appropriations for the five stabilization funds, but there are also a couple […] Read more »