Town Planner Gil Hilario told the Marion Planning Board at its March 2 meeting that the report on the Route 6 Corridor Study Draft from the Southeastern Regional Planning Economic and Development District (SRPEDD) has been updated on the town website, MarionMA.gov. Comments are due by March 17 and can be mailed to SRPEDD Project Manager Jed Cornock at 88 Broadway, Taunton, MA 02780.
The report recognizes the need for more crosswalks, LED lights and making sidewalks (American Disabilities Act) compliant. The Spring Street intersection had a poor score, and Hilario said that a lot of results are screaming that Marion has some of the worst Route 6 conditions.
Selectman John Waterman, who attended the meeting, said, “The challenge for us… we’re afraid this plan is going to go on the shelf and nothing’s going to get done unless we push… Getting it from study to reality is another thing.”
Board member Eileen Marum noted that sidewalks were reconstructed in Fairhaven but left the utility poles in the middle, making them unusable for the disabled.
Board member Christopher Collings said the condominium projects proposed at the Wareham town line will add 25 percent more traffic “in one fell swoop.” Waterman countered that the development does not compare to traffic that the marijuana dispensary will pose (i.e. 2,000 cars per day).
What was clear from both comments was the challenges Marion is facing on Route 6 and with infrastructure.
“We don’t have enough sewer to support these projects,” said Collings. “If we’re not at max capacity, with this (condominium) project we will be.”
Of the 575 gallons processed each day at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, half of it is infiltration of water, according to Waterman. “We’re never going to get rid of 250,000 gallons of water a day, but if we can do half of that…,” he said would make a significant difference.
Earlier in the meeting, Hilario’s Green Communities Projects Update outlined ideas to meet the next grant-round deadline of March 27.
After a walkthrough at Sippican School, the Harbormaster building and other town facilities, Hilario said his search for new-project ideas and strategizing on what to apply for this year in order to make Marion competitive for aid yielded options in the area of conversion from oil to gas. Furnace conversion, replacement, and insulation at some facilities around town were discussed.
“I did look at Town House a little bit,” he said regarding its windows.
Marum asked Hilario if he had considered a heat pump to get away from fossil fuel. Hilario said a heat pump works better in small spaces. “We are looking at it. We’re looking at the options with the most payback,” he said.
Marum also brought up electronic controllers, and Hilario said geothermal could work in a new building.
Andrew Daniel, the vice-chairman acting as chairman in Will Saltonstall’s absence, stressed the importance of what he called “the envelope” and “air-gapping.”
The specialty windows at Town House rule out a grant, according to the board.
“So you may not get a grant for new windows, but they’re still worth doing,” said board member Joe Rocha.
Board member Norman A. Hills said the town removed and reinstalled the windows in the Music Hall and it made a difference.
Hilario recapped his presentation by noting that the ventilation system at Sippican School that went on and off received CO2 sensors resulting in a savings of $12,000 a year. The total savings on such projects is $22,000 for the year.
“I thought that report was very comprehensive because in the end, they ask you, ‘What did you earn?'” said Marum.
The Planning Board also discussed two cases currently before the Zoning Board of Appeals, one at Heron Cove Estates, Plan 7 Lot 28, and the other at 36 Main Street, where Albert and Julia Menino wish to give adjacent St. Gabriel’s Parish the property it already uses as a parking lot.
“They’re having problems selling their house with the parking lot in the back. What they want to do is make it clean, give it to the church,” said Marum.
The current easement, said Waterman, allows the church to use the lot in perpetuity, which it paid to do. “It’s not a buildable lot. There’s nothing to protect the buyer of the house from liability. This cleans it up,” he said of a transfer of ownership to the parish.
At Heron Cove Estates, Collings discussed the importance of a bicycle lane or a combined bicycle-and-pedestrian path, noting that the separated driveway appears to include 12 feet of elevation. “People have to understand what’s coming,” he said.
In other business, $150 in funding was approved to cover the costs of attendance by Marum and Hills at the Citizens Planner Training Collaborative Conference on Saturday, March 21, at Holy Cross College in Worcester. Marum plans to attend seminars on inclusive zoning and zoning pratfalls and pitfalls. She hopes that she glean fresh ideas on how to attract young families and small businesses to Marion.
Marion Planning Board
By Mick Colageo