Mike Huguenin of the Mattapoisett Land Trust (MLT) on April 8 gave the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission an informal presentation on the 128-acre site the MLT is in the process of purchasing from members of the Hiller family.

            Known as the Pine Island Watershed Land Project, the property has three important aspects worthy of conservatorship, Huguenin said.

            First and foremost is the highly recognized wildlife habitat, which Huguenin described as part of a “key corridor” for all wildlife in the region. Second, he recognized the recreational opportunities that the now private thickly vegetated property could potentially offer. The third, Huguenin said, is the historical aspect of the land.

            According to Huguenin, the summer home of Oliver Wendell Holmes was located along part of the acreage in question.

            Huguenin said that the purchase price of $1.5 million could be part of a three-way partnership, and that a warrant article was being prepared to ask for voter support at the Annual Town Meeting. That partnership, he explained, would find the MLT raising $500,000 from private donations, another $500,000 from Mattapoisett’s Community Preservation Committee via a bond and levy program, and the Buzzards Bay Coalition would coordinate with the MLT with grant applications.

            Huguenin also said that he hoped the ConCom would be willing to hold the conservation restriction on the property in partnership with the BBC.

             “We absolutely support projects of this sort,” Conservation Commission Chairman Michael King stated. “We are happy to support you.”

The commission approved a motion to send a letter to the MLT formally giving the commission’s support.

            Also during the meeting, recent activities was discussed. Spring is in the air! Trees and flowers are budding, bird songs fill the air, and the rousing sound of a backhoe illegally removing soil from jurisdictional wetlands easily caught the attention of residents who promptly reported the activity to the Conservation Agent Elizabeth Leidhold.

            “You know it’s spring,” Leidhold said after giving her report to the commission – a report filled with various unpermitted activities.

            The first complaint on the list involved Brandt Point Village. Leidhold said she found the mandated turtle fencing in severe decline, and layers of trash mixed with soils are carpeting areas of the beleaguered subdivision.

            Leidhold said that the Planning Board had been unable to get the developer, Marc Marcus of Omega Financial, to respond to the board’s numerous requests for answers, so Leidhold was unsure how successful she would be in contacting him regarding conservation issues.

            King instructed Leidhold to send Marcus a letter listing the problems and requesting a plan to remediate them.

            Next on the list were problems with the erosion controls along the Water & Sewer Department’s directional drilling project in the Point Connet and Pease’s Point beach communities being performed by drilling subcontractor John Cardillo. Erosion control was one of several conditions placed on the construction work by the Conservation Commission.

            King said the office would send a letter indicating the issue must be corrected and returned to compliance with the permit.

            In a matter reported as the digging out of a pond off North Street in the Captain Lane’s area, Leidhold said a son of the primary property owner in the area, Vera Gibbons, reported that a backhoe was being used to excavate material in a vernal pool and stream.

            Although Leidhold knew the name of the person doing the work, she stated, “I don’t want to say who it is.”

            King again believed the activity worthy of formal notification listing all jurisdictional areas being impacted, type of unpermitted activity, and a request for the parties involved to make an appearance and discuss the matter with the commissioners.

            In another matter where names were not spoken aloud, Leidhold said neighbors in the Shore Drive and Center Street beach community complained of trails being constructed in marshlands. King asked her to engage town counsel for what action the commission could take to stop and prevent further damage to the wetlands.

            (*The Wanderer was unable to reach Leidhold before press time to document the names she withheld of those responsible for the alleged violations. Those names will be published in the April 18 edition of The Wanderer, pending Leidhold’s cooperation.)

            In other business, a Request for Determination of Applicability submitted by Matthew Souza and Gregory Vergotz, 9 Avenue A, for minor exterior improvements to an existing residence received a Negative determination

            James Babbitt, 40 Marion Road, received a Negative determination for his RDA for the installation of a shed on a concrete pad.

            A Notice of Intent filing by Paula Coffey, 64 Shore Road, to demolish a structure and construct a new home was approved.

            A request for an extension to an existing order of conditions was granted to L.C. Grant, Marina Drive.

            Continued until April 22 was a Notice of Intent filing for a subdivision project known as Eldridge Estates of Prospect Road, by Scott Snow. The commission was satisfied with updates to the plan of record, including sewer and septic plans, but the applicant wished for the commission to make its decision after Snow’s next meeting with the Planning Board.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for April 22 at 6:30 pm in the Mattapoisett Town Hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Conservation Commission

By Marilou Newell

            During the April 9 meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen, the conversations centered on a variety of grants for a variety of projects and propositions for everything from land acquisitions to buying antique fire trucks.

            Coming before the board was Mike Huguenin of the Mattapoisett Land Trust (MLT). He enthusiastically discussed a large parcel of land that covered Prospect Road to the water’s edge at Pine Island Pond. Marshlands and other tender buffer zones in the 120-plus acres have been for sale by the Hiller family. Huguenin called it a “wildlife corridor” with a $1.5 million price tag.

            Before sharing the MLT’s plans for securing funding, Huguenin explained that, beyond the massive wildlife habitat the acreage has been identified as, it also has been recognized by the state as vulnerable wetlands within the municipality, a major watershed area.

            Huguenin said the MLT would partner with the Buzzards Bay Coalition to seek and apply for various grants such as the state Land Acquisition for Natural Diversity grant, Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant, and a federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant. It is the hope of the MLT, he said, that these grants, along with private donations and a grant from Mattapoisett’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC), could cover the purchase price. He added that the CPC money would not be necessary if a larger sum is secured through the grant process; however, it would not be spent if other funding sources could not be secured.

            Of the CPC grant application, Huguenin said the MLT asked for $250,000, which the organization would cover via bonding and tax levy. Later in the evening, CPC Chairman John DeCosta confirmed that the committee had voted to forward the grant request to Town Meeting.

            Huguenin also asked the selectmen to provide the MLT with a letter of support and approval so they could proceed with grant applications, which the board agreed to do.

            DeCosta, flanked by committee members Margaret DeMello and Jodi Bauer, presented the list of CPC grants that were identified for inclusion in the May 13 Town Meeting Warrant. They are, along with the MLT request, $19,000 for repairs to antique fencing at the Cushing Cemetery; $15,000 to the Mattapoisett Bike Path for engineering studies for Phase 2; $20,000 for the renovation of the press box with ADA compliant features for the ORR Athletics Booster Club; and, $7,500 for the purchase of a 1921 fire engine that originally belonged to Mattapoisett and sought by the Fire Fighters Association.

            A grant request that had been withdrawn by Town Administrator Michael Gagne was described by Selectman Paul Silva as critical. The application was for construction needs at Long Wharf. Gagne assured Silva that the project was not being abandoned, that he was waiting for firmer cost estimates, and that it would be on the radar soon.

            “To me that’s Mattapoisett,” Silva said speaking of the wharf area. “Without that…” The incomplete thought was left hanging in the air.

            Also coming before the selectmen was Brendan Annett, vice president of the Buzzards Bay Coalition (BBC), to discuss goals and plans for returning “The Bogs” on Acushnet Road to a natural wetland state. He said that plans had been sidelined for some time, but that now an agreement between the former owners, Decas Cranberry Corporation and the U.S.D.A., were moving forward.

            Annett assured the selectmen that he was working closely with Highway Superintendent Barry Denham who had previously expressed his concerns regarding the need to avert possible flooding of abutting private properties and/or municipal roadways.

            Annett said the BBC had engaged GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. to study soils, groundwater, projected water movement, and other related matters. Once this is completed, he said, a meeting would be held with the U.S.D.A. to discuss the technical report. At that time, options and alternatives for wetland restorations would be the goal. He said a public meeting would be held inviting community members to learn about the project and for the BBC team to gather feedback. The first public meeting is scheduled for April 25 at 6:00 pm at Center School.

            The Cat and Dog Rabies Clinic is available to all pet owners on April 14 from 10:00 am to noon at the Mattapoisett Fire Station. The fee is $15 and licensing will be available to Mattapoisett residents. The event is sponsored by the Mattapoisett Fire Department, Mattapoisett Natural Resources Department, and Capeway Veterinary Hospital.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for April 23 at 6:30 pm in the Town Hall Conference Room.

Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen

By Marilou Newell