The Marion Board of Health is not yet ready to take any action on its proposal to ban flavored tobacco products and menthol cigarettes outside adult-only retail stores, with Chairman John Howard saying that the board was still in the “gathering information stage.”

Still, representatives on both side of the issue continue to attend Board of Health meetings as long as the matter appears on the agenda for discussion.

On December 12, Dennis Lane of the Coalition for Responsible Retailing attended yet one more consecutive Marion BOH meeting to defend his stance that menthol cigarettes should not be included in a flavored tobacco/nicotine product ban, repeating such points as discrimination against minorities who smoke menthol cigarettes at a higher rate than the white population, and also the disparity between alcohol laws and tobacco laws.

Retailers, Lane says, are the gatekeepers between the young population and nicotine-containing products, and the board should continue to trust the regulations now in place that have proven effective in Marion.

Just for clarification, Board of Health member Jason Reynolds asked Lane if his only objection to the flavored nicotine product ban proposal was with menthol cigarettes. “Yes,” said Lane, saying menthol cigarettes account for nearly 35% of cigarette sales, which several Marion business owners have attested to during prior Board of Health meetings.

Cheryl Sbarra, director of the Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program and Chronic Disease Prevention Program for the Massachusetts Association Health Boards, said she wanted to make it clear that some groups who have contacted the board recently are associated, and in some cases funded by, the tobacco industry.

Sbarra specifically mentioned the Massachusetts Association of Minority of Law Enforcement Officers who had sent letters to the Marion Board of Health and had attended a meeting in the past. Sbarra referred to MAMLEO as a branch of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives which, according to Sbarra and the research she recently did, has accepted funding from the tobacco industry in the past.

Sbarra went on to say that the common argument against a ban on menthol cigarettes by some Black public health advocates is that a ban would trigger a black market in menthol cigarettes and put the Black population at risk, since Black smokers comprise the largest population of menthol cigarette smokers.

The black market argument, Sbarra said, “It comes up every time menthol is being considered, but nobody has been given us any data on the black market…when you’re looking at a restriction on flavor, including menthol.”

The Black community is not the only vulnerable population where menthol cigarettes are concerned, Sbarra said. In Marion, the young population and LGBTQ community is also targeted.

“Menthol is more dangerous than regular cigarettes,” Sbarra said. “It makes tobacco easier to suck in with the menthol, and it also makes it harder to quit.”

Reynolds asked Sbarra if there were any nearby towns that have enacted a ban on flavored tobacco and flavored nicotine-containing products (excluding menthol), and Sbarra said the Towns of Wareham, Carver, and Fairhaven have enacted such regulations.

The board will continue to discuss the matter, but as Howard stated, no further action is planned at this time.

The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health is scheduled for January 9 at 4:30 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Board of Health

By Jean Perry

With the end of the year fast approaching, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen on December 12 handled a variety of agenda items – some of which should help the town now and in the coming years.

Town Administrator Michael Gagne told the selectmen that their fellow member Jordan Collyer, who was not in attendance on this night, had been attending meetings held by the Massachusetts Community Compact Program.

Gagne explained that the program, an initiative of the Governor Baker/Polito Administration, enhances the ability of the governor’s office to work more closely and directly with cities and towns. Issues such as grant writing, best practices, and developing working strategies such as master planning are some of the areas the Community Compact Program focuses on with representatives from communities.

Joining the compact would enable the Town to receive grants reserved specifically for compact communities, like sister towns Rochester and Marion.

Gagne discussed the need for updating zoning bylaws, one aspect of master planning, saying it had been 17 years since the Town updated the document.

Gagne said in order to move forward with the compact and take advantage of the resources available therein, the selectmen needed to approve it. He told the selectmen, “I think this is the shot in the arm for ideas. We need to be on top of zoning and planning.”

Planning Board Administrator Mary Crain has been reviewing zoning bylaws and uncovering deficiencies, and a motion was made and carried by Selectmen Tyler Macallister and Paul Silva.

Also related to the future of the town, Gagne reported on his field trip to the Mashpee Dog Park. He shared how well crafted the park was, including areas for young dogs to be segregated from older animals, water stations, benches, and pea gravel surfaces. Another notable feature of the Mashpee facility was a training area.

According to Gagne, he would be working with Bob Field of Field Engineering to overlay the Mashpee park onto the available space owned by the Town adjacent to the police station.

Silva asked how much land he thought the park might need, and Gagne estimated it to be about two acres while pointing out that the Town owns 40 acres in that area. Gagne will return with the next steps towards planning after conferring with Field and Highway Superintendent Barry Denham regarding drainage and retention ponds.

Continuing on the theme of enriching, enhancing, and improving the Mattapoisett lifestyle, Gagne said that he and Bonne DeSousa had been looking into bike share programs. He said such programs allow people to rent bikes from stand-alone bike share locations for as little as $1 an hour.

DeSousa said the vendor supplies the bikes and the frame that holds them in place, and is fully responsible without any liability on the part of the Town. She added that the Southcoast Bike Alliance was looking to put a program together in the local area.

The main objective, Gagne said, would be to “get bikes down at Shipyard Park for boaters.” He said visitors arriving by boat could use the bikes to travel around the community, frequenting shops and restaurants.

“It’s a new idea that needs to be thought through,” DeSousa explained as she noted that bikes could only be rented by people 18 years of age or older, and the issue of providing helmets needed to be considered.

On the theme of saving the residents money off their electric bills, there was good news to be shared.

Gagne said the Energy Aggregation Program was up for renewal in January and that the new proposal will allow participants to save three cents per kilowatt-hour over Eversource’s rate.

“Over the past two years of the program, the twenty-three communities who have participated have saved eight million dollars,” Gagne said, adding that the full program details would be posted on the Town’s website.

Earlier in the evening, the selectmen recognized the nearly two decades of dedicated volunteerism by Josephine Pannell. Macallister said she has been a member of the Mattapoisett Historical Commission for 19 years. Pannell was presented with a plaque in honor of her service to the community and to commemorate her 90^th birthday.

A new restaurant will open at Ropewalk in January. That was the news as Mike Sudofsky came before the selectmen seeking an alcohol beverage and common victualler’s license.

Sudofsky said that hours of operation would be 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, and that the new venue would serve breakfast and lunch. He added that during the summer months, dinner may be served Thursday through Saturday until 9:00 pm. Sudofsky’s request was approved.

The selectmen also approved a long list of licenses for various businesses throughout the community, but Silva paused first before moving on to another topic.

One of the businesses granted an all-alcohol and common victualler’s license was the Lebanese Kitchen.

“I wanted to give them just thirty more days,” Silva said, but he had been advised that he could not do so legally. Silva said the restaurant had been granted permits over a year ago, but had failed to open as scheduled.

“They are holding a license,” Silva said. He asked that the proprietors be asked to attend the first selectmen’s meeting in January to explain to the board “what’s going on,” he demanded.

For another business in town, Silva had praise. He said he was very satisfied with the efforts made by the owners of the Hillside Motel in maintaining a business model in line with instructions they received last year. Gagne concurred and said he was working closely with the establishment and that the police department was also satisfied.

Gagne also expressed his deep appreciation to all the people and the businesses that had come together and worked so hard to make the Holiday in the Park event a success.

Town Hall will close on December 22 at 11:30 am and re-open on December 26.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for January 2 at 6:30 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen

By Marilou Newell

The open field beside Plumb Corner on Rounseville Road may soon be the location of a 24-unit age 55+ housing development.

J.C. Engineering filed a Form B Application for Approval of a Preliminary Subdivision Plan on December 12 and received approval from the Rochester Planning Board.

A Form B simply allows the subdivision of land according to the zoning requirements, yet no plan has been submitted or approved by the board.

J.C. Engineering representative John Churchill offered the board a preliminary rendering of the overall rough layout, “Off the cuff so you guys can chew on it a little,” he told the board.

“We’re trying to preserve as much open space as we can, minimize pavement, leave open an area up front,” said Churchill, perhaps for a clubhouse very similar in style to the one at The Pines at Hathaway Pond.

“It seemed like the board liked that design,” said Churchill.

The development, said Churchill, will likely feature duplexes with two-bedrooms, to total 88 bedrooms in all.

Churchill described the design of the duplexes as “very nice looking structures.”

A section of open space will be reserved for a playground for the neighboring daycare, to which Planning Board Chairman Arnie Johnson calmly commented, “Cool.”

The first time Churchill met with the board last month, the tone was more contentious, especially after Churchill questioned the board’s ability to interpret and properly apply its own bylaw governing that property.

This meeting was markedly more civil.

Upon approval, Churchill thanked the board.

“And we’re going to move on with an over fifty-five [development],” Churchill said.

In other matters, the informal meeting with Outback Engineering for Madeleine and Theodore Monteiro, Trustees of the Monteiro Family Trust, for a Special Permit for a back lot got somewhat complicated after the Outback representative explained that the lot is split between Middleboro and Rochester, with the house being built in Rochester while the frontage and driveway is accessed via South Street in Middleboro.

The applicant is seeking one buildable lot on the 41-acre parcel, but as Johnson perceived it, the applicant should simply try to obtain a building permit from the Town of Rochester before any further engineering work is done.

“Because it’s already a lot that lies in Rochester and has access in Middleboro, so as far as I’m concerned there’s nothing for us to do here,” Johnson said.

The applicant has already filed for the Special Permit, and the hearing is scheduled for January. As the applicant gathers further information on where to go next, Johnson said the hearing could either be continued or the applicant could withdraw the application if it was no longer appropriate.

“They’ve got nothing to lose,” said Johnson.

The public hearing for the large-scale solar farm at 453 Rounseville Road for applicant Borrego Solar Systems was continued until the next meeting at the applicant’s request so the board’s peer review engineer’s comments pertaining to drainage could be addressed.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for January 9 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Planning Board.

Rochester Planning Board

By Jean Perry