Brendan Annett, vice president of Watershed Protection at the Buzzards Bay Coalition (BBC), approached the Rochester Board of Selectmen on June 17 asking it to support an application for a LAND Grant from the commonwealth to permanently place 109 acres of land on Walnut Plain Lane under a conservation restriction.

            Decas currently owns the land, which Annett said contains the headwaters of the Mattapoisett and Sippican Rivers, as well as large swaths of wetlands and forest. It is also the largest area of undeveloped contiguous forest in southeastern Massachusetts.

            According to Annett, Decas agreed to sell the land to the BBC, an agreement Annett said was made over a year ago and contingent upon successful financing.

            “One of the ways that we work to do these types of things is actually … work with towns,” Annett said. “Towns can access state grants for land conservation.”

            Annett proposed assisting the Conservation Commission in applying for a grant from the commonwealth’s land program to acquire the conservation restriction on the land. Applications are due July 11, he said.

            The BBC would acquire fee simple ownership of the land and would manage the acreage while Rochester holds the conservation restriction.

            The property would be accessible to the public.

            There is a caveat, however, said Annett.

            According to Annett, two months ago a solar developer approached Decas with an interest in buying Decas land to install a 30-acre solar farm on parcels north of the property of interest. Annett said the solar developer would need to use the property the Coalition wants to buy for access to its solar farm in order to avoid costly wetlands crossings, which led to a tentative Plan-B of sorts. If the solar farm is ultimately permitted, the solar developer offered to purchase all of the property and allow for the 109 acres to be preserved for conservation land in perpetuity.

            Annett said the two purchase options are currently running parallel, but if the solar farm is approved the grant would not be necessary; however, Annett still urged the town to pursue the grant now.

            The acquisition of the conservation restriction would ultimately be subject to Town Meeting approval, but in order to start the process Annett asked the board to vote that evening to support the moving forward of the grant application, which it did.

            “This is likely not the last you’ll hear about this, but we needed to talk about this now in order to be eligible for the grant,” Annett said.

            In similar news, the selectmen accepted a $45,000 municipal mini grant for the Gifford’s Mill Pond Land Preservation Project. Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon asked the board to accept the mini grant for the purchase of 29 acres on Quaker Lane calling it land with “great conservation value.”

            Also during the meeting, Rochester Water Commissioner Fred Underhill expressed his concern over developer Ken Steen’s request to the Wareham Water Commissioners to permit 45,000 gallons a day of Wareham water for use at the proposed Rochester Crossroads 40B affordable housing development, an amount of water Underhill considers excessive.

            Underhill said although Steen has not made the official request for that amount of water, a letter Steen sent in March estimated a usage of just over 45,000 gallons a day for the 400-bedroom housing development and several commercial establishments.

            The water agreement between Wareham and Rochester allows for a withdrawal of 50,000 galloons per day, with Rochester using roughly 5,000 gallons per day.

            However, according to Underhill, the actual anticipated usage for Steen’s development would be just around 23,000 gallons per day.

            “That’s a big difference,” Underhill told selectmen. “But they don’t explain the difference and they don’t explain what they’re going to ask for.” He said he would oppose the request for 45,000 gallons per day, which Underhill said equates to Steen wanting “every drop of water we have available, as far as I’m concerned.”

            Underhill wondered what would happen to the 208 apartments if Wareham were to terminate its water agreement with Rochester under a provision that would allow Wareham to do so at the end of any given fiscal year.

            “They decide not to give us any anymore, I think we’ve got a real problem at that stage,” said Underhill. “They can terminate the agreement at the end of any fiscal year as long as they give us six months advance notice, so I think that’s a problem.”

            The inter-municipal water agreement term ends in 2037.

            “I know presently Wareham feels they’ve got water to spare, but things change,” Underhill said, particularly Department of Environmental Protection rules and regulations on water withdrawals, he said. “Lord knows what may happen down the pike.”

            Underhill said the Mattapoisett River Valley Water Supply District (Fairhaven, Marion, and Mattapoisett) has received a DEP order to cut back water withdrawals by an average of 12 percent over the last three years. If Wareham was ever ordered to reduce its own water withdrawal, Underhill thinks the town would be inclined to cut back on Rochester’s allowance before reducing its own. Furthermore, he said, he personally knows of one Wareham water commissioner “not thrilled” with increasing Rochester’s water usage, and Underhill does not anticipate Middleboro increasing water usage in its water agreement with the town.

            Selectman Brad Morse said he knows the Wareham water commissioners personally and would reach out to them soon, along with Steen, “So they can firm up their numbers,” he said, adding, “Thirty-four thousand was the state required number generated by scientists in Amherst for what usage should be for the [Rochester Crossroads 40B].”

            According to Morse, Steen’s prior developments only saw an actual usage of half that number. “So I don’t think it’s quite as much of a concern as you think, but I will start the process,” he said, and he thanked Underhill for bringing his concerns to the board.

            In other matters, the board signed the fire truck borrowing authorization note (BAN) for $498,000, signed the warrant for the July 10 special election, and signed an employee citation for Shirley Delima for 28 years of service in the Assessors’ Office.

            The town has been awarded the $15,000 recycling grant from the state.

            The special election ballots are in, and absentee voting is open now.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for July 1 at 6:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry

            The Marion Board of Selectmen know that the citizens of Marion love their beautiful community and take the concept of aesthetics seriously, which is why on June 18 the board accepted Town Administrator Jay McGrail’s suggestion of creating a poll for residents to select their favorite color scheme for its new curbside trash and recycling carts.

            The selectmen authorized McGrail to sign the new curbside solid waste collection contract (pending minor adjustments in language) with Waste Management, which will begin curbside collection on August 1 using the current rear-loading collection method. This will allow a few weeks for the company and the town to conduct public outreach on how the new system will work and to deliver the 40-gallon trash and 60- gallon recycling receptacles to residents and begin automated collection September 3– but first, the town has got to choose a color scheme that will maintain Marion’s curb appeal, even on trash days.

            The Board of Selectmen and Waste Management will hold an informational public forum for residents this summer, and in the meantime McGrail will create an online color poll, post it to the website, and provide a link to the poll on Facebook “to let people pick what they like,” McGrail said.

            “I’ve received more questions about what color the barrels are going to be … than anything else,” said Selectman John Waterman.

            McGrail said he would select a few color schemes, and the one that receives the most votes will be the final choice.

            “Ultimately we’ll see which way the wind’s blowing and make a decision on the color,” said McGrail. “If that’s our biggest concern, then we’re in a good place.”

            McGrail praised the consultant it used to advise the town on the solid waste company bidding process, saying it was worth every dollar the town spent.

            “This was a pretty massive undertaking on the town’s part,” commented McGrail. “That’s a big change for the community of Marion.”

            In other business, Ken Steen, the developer of the 40B on Front Street, Marion Estates, has formally expressed his intent to develop a second 40B off Wareham Road near the Wareham town line.

            According to McGrail, Steen said he would be taking a different approach than he did for the first 40B. Rather than the application process moving through the state level, McGrail explained, the project would move through the process at the local level with assistance from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP), and the project would go before the Zoning Board of Appeals – a process considered the “friendly 40B process.”

            “This,” McGrail stated, “allows the Board of Selectmen to play the role of that state agency in this process.”

            The board will hold a special meeting on July 18 and invite Steen to make a presentation on the proposed 40B.

            “The board will be able to, through me, try to negotiate what they think our conditions are for the best interests and the community’s concern’s … and what the board feels like it’s looking for to protect the community,” said McGrail. “[It] will allow the board to protect the interests of the community rather than the state.”

            Also during the meeting, Jody Dickerson, Marion Recreation Department director, asked the selectmen to officially increase the pay rates for this department’s seasonal employees to remain competitive amidst the gradual increase of the state’s minimum wage.

            Municipalities are exempt from the increased minimum wage rule that will raise the minimum wage by $1 per year until 2025 when the minimum wage reaches $15 an hour. This has affected the department that now finds itself struggling to retain past employees and attract new employees because of the discrepancy in pay. Dickerson commented that one of his lifeguards is a certified EMT and highly qualified for the position, but he is concerned about the pay incentive.

            The pay raises are already reflected in the Recreation Department’s fiscal year 2020 budget Town Meeting approved last month, but Dickerson needed the selectmen’s approval for the pay increases.

            “It [will be] difficult for us to retain employees if we continue to stay at the current minimum wage,” said Dickerson, who also suggested the board consider a proposal to implement step raises for seasonal employees to entice them to return year after year.

            McGrail supported Dickerson’s request, saying, “It’s really important to kind of move toward what Jody is talking about – if we’re able to compensate them fairly for what they do.”

            The following pay increases were approved for fiscal year 2020 only: lifeguards receiving $11-$11.50 per hour last year will be increased to $14 per hour, gate attendants who made $11-$11.50 last year will now earn $12, and seasonal maintenance workers who earned $11-$12 last year will make $12.75 this year.

            In other business, new Collector/Treasurer Katherine Milligan met with the board to discuss the Town’s cash management policy, or the lack thereof.

            According to Milligan, there are far too many different offices and locations in town where cash and check payments are collected, but it is her opinion that all payments should be made through the Collector/Treasurer’s Office, a policy in many other towns.

            “The treasurer … must take custody of all money and must account for all monies,” Milligan quoted from the collector/treasurer’s manual. “[A cash management policy] would allow me to tighten up on getting the money into my office at a more reasonable time and to kind of oversee anyone who has the opportunity to take cash in. … I don’t think any of the departments really had any restrictions on what they could do with their checks and their cash.”

            The board decided to allow Milligan to move forward in consolidating payment locations by first forming a list of departments that could phase out payment collection and update the board over the next three months.

            McGrail said he would like the Town to move towards an electronic payment-only system online eventually.

            In other matters, the board voted to join the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative (CVEC) and authorized McGrail to appoint a member to act as the representative of Marion. McGrail is working with the Marion Energy Management Committee to fill that appointment.

            The board appointed Margie Baldwin as a full member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for the remaining three years of retired member Betsy Dunn’s appointment. Baldwin also serves on the Finance Committee and Cemetery Commission. William Tift was appointed as an alternate member.

            The board appointed Edward Hoffer to the Marion Cultural Council as a full member, and appointed five new members to the Council on Aging: Barbara Brown, Paul Naiman, Madeline Cook, Eric Pierce, and Nancy Moore.

            As the board has considered changing its reappointment process for regulatory boards and committees, it will arrange to hold July interviews for the following current members seeking reappointment: Cynthia Callow and Shaun Walsh for Conservation Commission, James Feeny and Vincent Malkoski for Marine Resources Commission, and Marc Leblanc and Michelle Smith for ZBA.

            The new bar and restaurant Mary Celeste, Front Street, received an alcohol license pending the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the Building Department. This was only the first step in the approval process, as it must also pass at the state level and then be returned to the Board of Selectmen for signature and release. The board also voted to allow for the application of a common Victualler license to serve food.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for July 16 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Police Station, 550 Mill Street.

Marion Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry