During the August 26 meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board, the issue of ethics with respect to a short-term appointment became a flash point. The agenda listed “Action Items discussion and possible vote on Board of Health Interim Member to the Board of Health.” The appointment would fill a vacancy expected on the board before the end of Alexandra Nicoloci’s term ends.

            It has been the practice of the town to fill short-term postings with residents willing to provide short-term assistance. But there was resistance to the board’s selection of Douglas Schneider who was a candidate for the Board of Health ultimately defeated in the last election.

            Select Board member Tyler Macallister advocated for Schneider’s appointment saying he was qualified and had shown obvious interest in the position. But current BOH member Michelle Bernier lobbied for a replacement with a public health background, Kathy Eklund. Eklund had submitted a multipage curriculum verte that outlined her many years working in the public health sector.

            There ensued a period of discussion that included questions about the number of times Schneider, a civil engineer will need to recuse himself due to business relationships a common occurrence with the current board given that the BOH chairman, Carmelo Nicolosi is also a civil engineer. Resident Donald Fleming, commenting from the floor, pointedly asked Nicolosi how frequently he recused himself from voting on matters brought before the BOH. He wasn’t sure possibly four times a year.

            Bernier stated that it was sometimes difficult to vote on projects brought before the BOH because of Nicolosi’s affiliation with Charon and Associates. Naming another local engineer might not be prudent she believed. Bernier said that although the BOH deals with a number of septic related hearings, public health is also a large part of their area of responsibility.

            Nicoloci said he had spoken to the state ethics board but when pressed by Fleming said it wasn’t a written opinion. Fleming said, “… this whole thing seems to be evolving about ethics.” The need for board members to recuse themselves from some matters due to their personal or business relationships requires the members to “self-report” town administrator Mike Lorenco said.

            Resident Nikki Demakis said that even the appearance of a conflict was problematic. “…they have an obligation under their appointing authority.” She said, “It does not make sense not to appoint her (Eklund).

            The Select board ultimately decided to take the matter up with legal counsel.

            Another hot button item discussed was a citizen’s petition to hold a Special Town Meeting specifically to hear voters in the matter of another citizen’s petition that passed at the Fall Town Meeting. The petition, authored by Nikki Demakis sought to determine the public’s appetite for increasing the Select Board from 3 to 5 members. It passed the Spring Town Meeting. Now the voters will be asked whether or not they wish to overturn that vote and leave the Select Board as a 3-member board. The Select Board will check schedules to determine viable dates to hold this one-article Town Meeting and will post that date one week before holding the meeting.

            In other matters, the town received a check from ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) in the amount of $57,500.

            They tabled a request from the Marine Advisory Board for a reduction of voting members from seven to five citing the difficulty in achieving a quorum especially during the summer months. The board will ask the Chairman Carlos DeSousa to weigh-in before taking any action.

            Also on the agenda was the official appointment of members to the Open Space and Recreation Steering Committee. The mission of the OSRC Steering Committee as noted in their charge is to advise the Select Board on matters related to open space and recreation. They will facilitate the development of the OSRC plan document which reflects and supports the committee’s priorities and goals. It will establish goals that will examine issues for the future of open space and recreation. It will also establish a timeline for achieving goals.

            The committee consists of nine members representing the Conservation Commission, the Bike Path committee, the Mattapoisett Land Trust, one member of the recreation staff, and four members from the general public. The committee’s volunteers are Nathan Ketchel representing the Planning Board, Barry Lima representing the Conservation Commission, Richard Grahn representing the Bike Path committee, Marissa Hughes from the Mattapoisett Recreation Department, Kristen McCormack from the Mattapoisett Land Trust, and from the community at large Robin Lepore, Frank White, and Janice Robbins.

            The committee is charged with working with town staff officials, the public and the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development in the establishment of goals and objectives, action items and review of all materials including the review of public feedback from surveys and public meetings. The synthesizing of all materials into coherent actionable strategies will be a key element of the OSRC’s work.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board is scheduled for Tuesday, September 9 at 6:00 pm in Town Hall or on Zoom.

Mattapoisett Select Board

By Marilou Newell

            The Marion Affordable Housing Trust met on Tuesday, August 12 to discuss active cases involving housing projects around town, more specifically, at the former Lockheed Martin site immediately south of the Cushing Community Center and the neighboring developments off the ocean side of Route 6 at the Wareham town line.

            Reorganization of the board was also on the agenda, but the trust decided to wait until member Toby Ast is present before voting on the current positioning of the body.

            On updates of housing projects, member Norm Hills explained Matthew Zuker has sold his property on 78 Wareham Road to the multi-billion-dollar national Toll Brothers, Inc, whom he said is “talking about getting started.”

            The most-recent iteration of Zuker’s former proposal was a 48-unit, market-rate, village-style development (36 detached residences and 12 townhouses) nestled in between the Weweantic River and Heron Cove Estates (developer Ken Steen’s planned, 120-unit, affordable-housing rental development).

            Though Heron Cove Estates was green-lighted by the state and the town via negotiations with the Select Board as a Local Initiative Program (670CMR) and vetted by the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals, the project remains at a standstill.

            In his update to the Affordable Housing Trust, Hills said Steen was “still in the legal ramifications – nothing. Nothing’s changed there.” He later stated the Toll Brothers may be interested in that site as well.

            Regarding Paul Downing’s project at the former Lockheed Martin site, Hills stated he has not received any updates or heard anything. He did mention Town House employees are currently busy moving to the Town House Annex, which could explain the information gap.

            The trust discussed high home costs and whether it would be possible to get in contact with organizations like Habitat for Humanity or veterans’ groups for the construction of affordable housing, though this was left to future discussion.

            Near the beginning of the meeting, after the approval of minutes from previous meetings, Hills questioned the balance of the budget, pointing out a budget item of $3,340.23. He questioned whether the money was “CPC” (allocated by the Community Preservation Committee), to which the other members of the trust stated it was not, adding there is nothing attached to the money restricting its use by the trust. It was stated the money is not CPC and is part of the trust’s budget, though its exact origin was not pinpointed. Some members suggested the funds likely came from work on Little Neck Village.

            The body went over social-media usage and outreach, and what the best platform would be. They said the Town of Marion needs consistency and more online visibility, which they said they will further discuss at their next meeting. The trust also said they will look for updates on current projects to discuss at their next meeting.

            The next meeting of the Marion Affordable Housing Trust is currently scheduled for Tuesday, September 9 at 6:00 pm at the Marion Police Station.

Marion Affordable Housing Trust

By Sam Bishop