“Effective April 1, all property owners who have a municipal sewer stub associated with their property will be paying a privilege fee,” said Henri Renauld, Mattapoisett’s Water and Sewer superintendent.

            The fee has been necessitated for a variety of reasons, not the least of which are the payments made to Fairhaven for the capacity they handle – or is calculated to handle, based on the number of stubs in Mattapoisett.

            Town Administrator Mike Gagne said, “There are a fair number of homes that have a sewer stub but have not tied in.”

            Mattapoisett is assessed on all stubs, regardless of whether or not those stubs are tied into the system; thus, up until now, the ratepayers alone have been paying the entire capacity assessment.

            “It’s an issue of fairness and equity,” Gagne stated.

            “The Finance Committee pushed for this to happen,” Finance Committee Chairman Pat Donoghue said, adding that increased sewer costs can, in part, be attributed to newer, stricter regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency as the agency continues to lower acceptable nitrogen emissions into water supplies and coastal zones.

            “We had to look at what we are going to do,” Renauld said of budgetary considerations moving forward. “The bigger the user base, the lower the rate,” he explained.

            But, with new EPA regulations ramping up, ratepayers can only hope the percentage of increase will be modest, versus no increase at all.

            “There is a nitrogen study going on right now on the Acushnet River,” Renauld said. That study is measuring nitrogen emissions of all towns along the river, and it includes discharges for stormwater runoff as well. “Our share of any upgrades (to the sewer plant in Fairhaven) could be as much as $3 million. It’s fair that every person in town with a sewer stub pay their share,” he concluded.

            The privilege fee has been announced to all property owners who have a sewer stub, whether it is on undeveloped or developed lots, and has or has not tied in.

            Seasonal and year-round property owners will be billed $157 twice a year, equal to about $26 per month.

            In other sewer-related matters, Gagne said the sewer crossing at Eel Pond is another large project that will have to be addressed in the coming years.

            According to Renauld, that pipe is encased in concrete.

            Gagne will be looking at the possibility of submitting grant requests to FEMA to offset what would be an enormous undertaking for the town – the relocation of the pipe to Route 6.

            In other matters, Gagne said of the increasing costs of health insurance, “This is the biggest issue.”

            He said, in speaking with other administrators in the southeast, it is the single most chilling aspect of preparing a budget.

            “Until something is down nationally, …” he said, his thought lingering unanswered in the air. He noted the incredible disparity that exists in medical procedures from one health care provider to another, medications, and stop loss insurance plans.

            Donoghue said of Gagne and his upcoming retirement, “He has straightened out so much. He had put this town on a AAA (bond rating) status, he has sought grants, he has professionalized a lot of the town departments…” She said that providing educational opportunities for Town employees has gone a long way in improving services.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for March 13 at 5:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Finance Committee

By Marilou Newell

The Rochester Planning Board on March 12 finalized its draft of a new bylaw to regulate recreational adult-use cannabis establishments and voted to send it off to the Board of Selectmen, who will then send the bylaw back to the Planning Board to hold a public hearing ahead of the Annual Town Meeting.

            Board member Ben Bailey had a concern during the last meeting as he advocated in favor of allowing licensed growers to cultivate cannabis outdoors rather than strictly indoors. Town Counsel Blair Bailey was able to clarify the matter for Bailey, saying that licensed cannabis cultivators actually prefer growing indoors for several reasons.

            For instance, Town Counsel Bailey said, although the Town of Rochester could allow growing outdoors, state regulations require very strict security measures – adequate lighting, and cameras angled around the entire perimeter of the 100,000 square-foot canopy allowed by law, which must be fully encased by, if not walls, then fencing.

            “And a 2-acre fence lit at night … wouldn’t look too good from the road,” Attorney Bailey said.

            Furthermore, cannabis on average requires a 120-day cultivation period, which means only one growing season in these parts of New England. Growing indoors ensures multiple crops each year.

            Hemp, on the other hand, can be grown outdoors under agricultural use, unlike cannabis. Hemp is a variety of cannabis sativa that produces the cannabinoid Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in small amounts (0.3 percent THC) and is used to manufacture paper, clothing, rope, and other industrial products. The cannabis used for recreational consumption – cannabis sativa and cannabis indica – produce the higher levels of THC.

            This bylaw regulating licensed adult-use marijuana establishments applies only to the latter.

            The board also approved forwarding the Smart Growth Zoning Overlay District bylaw article to the Board of Selectmen, who will then send the matter back to the Planning Board in order to hold a public hearing before the bylaw is placed on the Annual Town Meeting warrant.

            The Smart Growth Overlay District will accommodate the 40R housing development proposed for Rochester Crossroads at Routes 58 and 28.

            In other matters, the board delayed a vote on the Site Plan Review approval for 15 Cranberry Highway, LLC for its plan to renovate the existing building to accommodate a new daycare facility.

            The board would prefer to add in specific language prohibiting the removal of soil from the site as another developer in town has done through a loophole it found in the bylaw. The language will specify that no refuse or rubble piles may be removed without Planning Board approval, and that no soil can be removed without approval from the Soil Board.

            The town planner will return with an updated draft decision for the next meeting.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for March 26 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Planning Board

By Jean Perry

In its continuing pursuit to save money wherever it can in order to provide Tri-Town students with quality education, the Old Rochester Regional School Committee on February 27 voted to explore solar energy as a way to save on utility costs and direct as much funding as it can towards academics.

            The new school business administrator, Paul Kitchen, said he has been searching for ways to generate revenue for the school district and during meetings with Facilities Director Gene Jones, the two have investigated the possibility of allowing a solar energy company to install a solar canopy above two sections of the parking lot that would provide significantly less expensive electricity for both ORR schools.

            One would be located on the junior high side, and another on the high school side.

            “The interesting portion of it is the canopy on the field side would generate a savings of approximately $34,000,” said Kitchen, and that is annually. “Our cost per kilowatt would be $0.0998 for the next 20 years,” he told the committee, which would be a locked-in rate.

            The district currently pays $0.12-$0.14 cents per kilowatt.

            The solar company would lease the solar arrays for a 20-year contract and would cover the engineering, installation, and maintenance costs of the panels.

            Kitchen said an example of the solar canopy can be seen at the Bristol Community College (BCC) campus in Fall River, which School Committee member Joe Pires said looks “high-tech” and “wonderful.”

            At first, committee member Heather Burke was not convinced of the aesthetics of such a solar canopy, saying, “I think, whenever we undertake any kind of project at the school, we should always be looking at improving the look of the campus.” Burke later said, “Money savings is great, but aesthetics can really instill creativity and hope and pull people together as a community, so I wouldn’t want to just do it just to save money, I would also want to improve the look of the school.”

            Pires said in response that the BCC solar canopy “actually compliments the school,” adding, “It’s also premium parking,” especially on a windy or rainy day.

            “It’s visibly beautiful,” concurred Assistant Superintendent Dr. Elise Frangos.

            “I think it’s a viable option,” said Kitchen.

            According to ORR High School Principal Mike Devoll, the parking lot has been resurfaced within the last five years, alleviating some of the committee’s concerns over the current state of the parking lot and how it could be managed beneath a solar canopy.

            “I think there’s more work to be done,” said Superintendent Dr. Doug White, “but I think, if there’s support to go forward and keep this project moving forward … we would need the support of the committee.”

            The committee voted unanimously to allow Kitchen and Jones to further explore the solar canopy option for ORR.

            The committee briefly reviewed a draft of the school budget, which will be vetted during a fiscal year 2020 public hearing on Thursday, March 7, at 5:00 pm in the ORR Junior High School media room, ahead of the joint meeting of the school committees at 6:30 pm.

            The next meeting of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26, at 6:30 pm in the Old Rochester Regional Junior High School media room.

Old Rochester Regional School Committee

By Jean Perry