Committee Seeks Public Input for Safety Upgrades

Mattapoisett Town Administrator Michael Gagne explained to the Board of Selectmen on January 22 the Bike/Ped Committee’s approach to the Tier 2 Complete Streets process. The committee has scheduled two dates for public input workshops to help prioritize the projects proposed for the Complete Streets grant funding.

Mattapoisett recently was accepted as a Tier 1 Complete Streets community, which makes it eligible for a $40,000 grant for the development of the design and budgets for the projects identified by the Town for the program. Once the projects have been ranked and budgets have been developed, they get submitted to the state and become eligible for up to $400,000 in grant funding.

Gagne stated that the Bike/Ped Committee, which has expertise in pedestrian and bike safety … , “sought public input … from folks all over town [to] share concerns and thoughts about safety. Citizen input from the ground up helps to develop a healthy plan.”

The workshop is tentatively scheduled for February 12 at Center School, with a snow date of February 13. Gagne noted that there is expected to be $25 million available for Tier 3 improvements.

Also during the meeting, at the request of the Mattapoisett Police Department, the board voted unanimously to replace the “No Parking This Side” signs on the east side of Main Street from Church Street north to Route 6. Parked cars on the east side of the road have become a safety issue, according to Safety Officer Sergeant Justin King.

The town is in the throes of negotiating a successor contract with Verizon. Verizon proposes to enter into a 7-year contract with the town, which is of shorter duration than the current contract with Verizon or Comcast. Gagne believes Verizon’s proposal for a shorter contract is due to the fast-paced changes in the industry and technology. In consultation with attorney Bill Hewig of Kopelman and Paige, Gagne determined that it would be in the best interest of the town to negotiate with Verizon to receive HD transmission to all residents for public access programming. ORCTV currently transmits in HD; therefore, Verizon would merely be required to receive the HD signal and deliver it to its subscribers. This would be with the hope that Comcast would follow suit. Selectman Paul Silva pushed back on this idea, with concurrence from the other selectmen, citing the desire to have both cable companies on the same contract duration. Silva asked Gagne to revisit the issue with Hewig.

In other business, Gagne reported that the governor is asking all municipalities to assume level funding for budgetary purposes for this year. To the governor’s credit, Gagne said, the administration is looking at the Chapter 90 funds – for highways and roadways – which has been level funded for five years.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for February 12 at 6:30 pm at the Mattapoisett Town Hall.

Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen

By Sarah French Storer

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