Public Split on Dog Park, Pickleball

In spite of a wintery weather mix of freezing rain, snow, sleet and the darkness of 6:00 pm in January, some 40-plus people attended the public meeting held by Mattapoisett’s Holy Ghost Grounds Reuse Committee. The committee chair had used local print media and social media to get the word out that their attendance would […] Read more »

Subcommittee to Focus on Harbor Plan

The January 25 meeting of the Mattapoisett Marine Advisory Board was the first meeting held since October 2023. The members reviewed ongoing and/or upcoming projects such as dredging between Long Wharf and Holmes Wharf currently reaching completion and the status of designs for renovation work planned for Long Wharf.             Recently, moon-tide flooding events in […] Read more »

Landfill Solar Rethinking Business Model

            The proposed, solar-array project atop Marion’s capped landfill at Benson Brook, originally estimated to cost $880,000 to connect to Eversource, is now estimated to cost over $1,000,000. Other towns are reportedly in the same boat.             The Marion Energy Management Committee heard from Maria Marasco, executive director of the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative, […] Read more »

2024-25 Calendar Approved

            The Old Rochester Regional Joint School Committee/Superintendents Union #55 met on Monday night and approved the calendar for the 2024-25 school year, but not without substantial discussion regarding the Christmas break.             Because New Year’s Day 2025 falls on a Wednesday, the calendar is set up to bring back students for two days of […] Read more »

Final Building Commissioner Candidate Interviewed

            On Monday, the Mattapoisett Select Board met with the third and final candidate vying for the position of building commissioner. Coming before the board was Randall Bassett, building commissioner for the Town of Fairhaven residing in Brewster.             Bassett’s resume lists a BS in Business Management from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, certification as […] Read more »

Controversial Rebuild Approved

            Planting Island 25 West Avenue, LLC, was voted a Special Permit to raze an existing house at 25 West Avenue and replace it with a new dwelling on the site in Residence C zoning during the January 25 meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals.             ZBA Chairperson Cynthia Callow explained to the […] Read more »

Runoff Concerns Low-Lying Neighbor

            The Marion Conservation Commission strives to achieve clarity with abutters and applicants alike where it concerns the purview of the commission, but that power was put to the test at its January 24 public meeting.             The matter at hand was what happens when a new construction satisfies the requirements of performance near resource […] Read more »

Historic District Sees Legal Hurdles

The Local Historic District Study Committee appointed last year by the Marion Select Board had been leaning toward recommending a “historic district light,” but that has become a complicated path according to Will Tifft, who in Tuesday’s meeting of the Marion Historical Commission said a developer in Brookline sued that town for its customized “architecture […] Read more »

Neighbors Cite Neighboring Town Rulings

Worried neighbors of BWC Snows Pond LLC’s plan to build a solar-energy array on Cushman Road returned to the Town Hall hearing room Tuesday as Rochester’s Planning Board met once again regarding the project’s Special Permit and Site Plan Review application.             The petitioner’s representative, Andrew Hamel, said he is in the midst of following […] Read more »

Fieldstone Case Continued

            The owner of Fieldstone market will need to revise his plan for an expansion of his store and the parking around it.             Johnson Family Investments LLC, 806 Mill Street, applied for a variance from the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance from Section 230-5.2a of the Marion Zoning Bylaw allowing for […] Read more »