With so many vacancies on various boards and commissions in Mattapoisett, it was surprising to see four residents come forward vying for a single slot made available with the departure of Tom Copps from the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission.
Chairman Bob Rogers invited the candidates to briefly share their backgrounds and reasons for tossing their hats in the ring saying, “Most time it isn’t fun being up here.”
Richard Francis said he has lived in town for 35 years and works for a local excavating company. He said he wanted to get into town politics and thought that the Conservation Commission was a good place to start.
Dianne Tsitsos told the commission that her background was in international business development and, more recently, she was consulting for local businesses. She said she was not familiar with the Wetlands Protection Act, but felt up to the challenge.
Mike Dubuc, a cranberry farmer, also is seeking a seat on the commission. He is a fairly new member of the community and is presently on the Agricultural Commission. He said he was somewhat familiar with wetlands regulations and was willing to help the commission.
Joan Belknap told the commission she is a science teacher and school principal, is currently working on projects for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and was part of the team that wrote the harbormaster plan for the City of New Bedford. She said she is familiar with the Wetlands Protection Act and other waterways regulations.
Rogers told the candidates the commission would review the resumes they had submitted and make a selection at their next regular meeting. He said the next step was sending the Board of Selectmen their chosen candidate for review and appointment. The group was thanked for their willingness to assist the town.
Earlier in the evening, David Davignon of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates, representing Jay and Julie Duker, came before the commission for a continuance of a hearing for the construction of a private recreational pier into Aucoot Cove.
Davignon had come before the board on several other occasions regarding the Duker application, each time being asked for additional information. On this night, Davignon was accompanied by Stan Humphries of LEC Environmental Consultants.
Humphries said the barrier beach that the proposed pier will traverse was acceptable or “to the performance standards” necessary to achieve a Chapter 91 license. On the issue of the beach being more or less viable as a reliable location for the pier, Humphries said, “I think it will take a significant storm to create a breach…. If that comes in the future, this owner has come forward with many ideas for improving the area … including beach nourishment at the low tide mark….”
Rogers voiced concerns that the pier would one day be disconnected from the shoreline due to the movement of the barrier beach and questioned the wisdom of placing a pier in this location.
Abutters Brad and Jane Hathaway were present to voice their concerns. This is not the first time the Hathaways have attempted to draw attention to the movement of the barrier beach over the decades and the rising waters.
“The high tide washes over that area now,” Jane Hathaway said, “…and the water is getting higher and higher with global warming.”
Brad Hathaway asked the chairman, “Does the Conservation Commission have any interest in eel grass?” He said the letter LEC had submitted to the commission claimed there wasn’t any eelgrass present where the pier will be constructed, but Hathaway countered that his pictures told a different story.
Rogers said a letter from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries wasn’t strongly worded enough.
“They tell us to do everything in our power to protect eelgrass, but will they stand up if this gets appealed to the DEP?” said Rogers. “I don’t feel they’ll stand up,” he told Hathaway.
Hathaway said, “But if you allow this, then the abutters have to spend the money to appeal. If you deny it, they, the applicant, has to spend the money.”
This roused commission member Peter Newton to reply, “Whatever action we take, we take based on our conscience.”
Of the pier itself, which Davignon described as one that would be used only for small craft, Jane Hathaway asked, “You keep saying small craft, but who polices that? …What if the Dukers sell and someone wants to come in with a big boat in the future?” Newton and Rogers said that the Chapter 91 license would be pulled if that came to pass.
The hearing was continued until August 10, at which time Davignon was asked to revise the engineered drawings to reflect that all beach areas in the construction zone were barrier beaches and to show the wedge anchoring system that will be employed.
Rogers said a determination on the project would take place at the next meeting.
In other business, a Notice of Intent was withdrawn by Daniel and Lisa Craig of 4 Seabreeze Lane. The commission will issue an Enforcement Order and ask the Craigs, along with all the residents with deeded easement rights through the Craigs’ property, to attend the next meeting. The commission has been attempting to work with the Craigs in an effort to have encroached lands remediated. Rogers also said that he would ask the Buzzards Bay Coalition to attend the meeting.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for August 10 at 6:30 pm in the Mattapoisett Town Hall conference room.
By Marilou Newell
