After a continued public hearing (from November 21) on the Board of Assessors Tax Classification for the Town of Marion, the Marion Select Board voted on Tuesday afternoon to approve a factor of 1, meaning a single tax rate for the town.
Board of Assessors Chairperson Pat DeCosta said that 93.7% of the town’s property is residential. The resultant tax rate will be $9.26, down 18 cents from last year.
The Select Board meeting was an hour earlier than usual and held at the Cushing Community Center on Route 6, as town employees gathered at Council on Aging headquarters for their annual holiday party.
Under Action Items on Tuesday’s agenda, the board voted: to approve unpaid Water/Sewer lien commitments of $225,306.89 (November 30); the renewal of all 2024 licensing (effective December 31); to report an estimated seasonal population increase of 900 to the state Alcohol Beverage Control Commission, effective July 10, 2024; to revise the town’s Flag Policy with slight changes (only municipal and school-organization flags shall be flown on municipal flagpoles; and finally, a Water/Sewer commitment of $902.06 (final readings November 29.)
Town Administrator Geoff Gorman noted that historically, Marion has not and will not fly the flags of commercial or third-party organizations on town flagpoles (the Bulldog flag is okay.)
In his report to the Select Board, Gorman reported a shuffling of the deck where it concerns project managers for the Maritime Center and Department of Public Works construction projects.
Building Commissioner Bob Grillo will serve as OPM for the new harbormaster operations building at Island Wharf, and Facilities Manager Shaun Cormier will act in the same capacity for the new DPW construction at Benson Brook.
Gorman told the board he met with the three-person team from South Coast Improvement and discussed the layout of the construction setup, including public access and parking. He said the store will be open during construction, including handicapped access. Gorman also received signed contracts from SCI and is waiting on a “wet contract.” Construction is expected to take no more than 350 days but is estimated at nine months. Gorman said he sent the documents to the state’s Seaport Economic Council and is waiting on that entity.
The town has been going through DPW plans aiming to determine what can and cannot be done in house with a plan to finalize bid documents by Monday, April 1, after which the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting will be closed.
The next meeting of the Marion Select Board is scheduled for Tuesday, December 19, at 6:00 pm at the Police Station.
Marion Select Board
By Mick Colageo