April 4 may have held weather surprises with falling snow and growling plows outside town hall, but inside everything was by the numbers. Town Administrator Michael Gagne was meeting with the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen to discuss and review the working fiscal year 2017 budget. The budget’s bottom line stands at just slightly north of […] Read more »
Since becoming the Mattapoisett Harbormaster, Jill Simmons has striven to improve the finances of the Waterfront Enterprise Fund and all that that entails. During the March 31 meeting of the Mattapoisett Marine Advisory Board, she continued on that theme. “In my opinion, it’s a major problem sending bills out on the first of February. They’ve […] Read more »
Chris Bryant’s application for a half-acre oyster farm located near Silvershell Beach and Stewart’s Island will move forward for state approval after the Marion Board of Selectmen gave the proposed aquaculture farm the nod on April 5. Selectmen only voted to allow the application to advance in the state permitting process; they will still need […] Read more »
Dale Jones has pulled out of the Marion Board of Selectman race and is now throwing his support behind candidate Stephen Gonsalves. Jones handed in his intent to withdraw from the election to the town clerk’s office on Monday night, April 4, one week before the Monday, April 11 deadline to drop out of the […] Read more »
A creature of habit, Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals member Kirby Gilmore arrived at the Rochester Town Hall to attend the March 24 business meeting for the ZBA at the usual time of 7:00 pm. However, the business meeting had been pushed back to 7:30 pm. Tom Flynn had also arrived at the usual time, […] Read more »
Engineer David Davignon found himself in a defensive posture as the hearing for his clients, Fred Schernecker and Anthony Campbell, 1 Goodspeed Island, was re-opened during the March 28 meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission. Chairman Bob Rogers was unable to attend the previous March 14 hearing when Peter Newton was appointed acting chairman by […] Read more »
It was late into the evening when the Marion Conservation Commission began discussions on a letter they recently received from Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission Chairman John Rockwell. Rockwell’s March 10 letter sent to abutters of the town-owned Grassi Bog property with a copy to the Conservation Commission seemed to rekindle long-simmering disagreements between MOSAC […] Read more »
The Marion Zoning Board of Appeals ran into a few roadblocks during their March 24 meeting. First up were Jorge and Tiffany Figueiredo of 12 Cross Neck Road. The couple sought a Special Permit to allow an accessory apartment, a one-bedroom suite above a proposed two-car garage. “We have a note here from the Marion […] Read more »
The Old Rochester Regional school budget remained the subject of fiscal rhetoric on March 28 during a meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen, joined by the Finance Committee to discuss the town’s assessment and reluctant support for the school budget. Rochester faces a 6.3% uptick – $203,000 more than FY16 – in its share […] Read more »
This election, it’s three men and one seat up for grabs on the Marion Board of Selectmen. With the stepping-down of long-time Selectman Jonathan Henry, three others view this as their chance to make a real difference for their town. The three candidates – Norman Hills, Stephen Gonsalves, and Dale Jones – each have significant […] Read more »