The Marion Water & Sewer Regulations Review Committee met on Thursday, December 4 to discuss the now-deferred Citizens’ Petition Town Meeting article regarding secondary water meters.

            The committee was created by the Select Board in July for the purpose of reviewing, assessing, and recommending updates to the town’s regulations regarding sewer and water services. For their 11th meeting, having generally met three times per month since their first meeting in September, they dedicated most of their time to a discussion on the Fall Town Meeting’s Citizens’ Petition submitted by Andrew Daniel for the creation of secondary water meters to split usage tracking between sewer and water. Vote on the article was postponed, per vote, to the 2026 Annual Town Meeting in May.

            Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman began by stating the purpose of the committee’s meeting was “to review the impact of the November 20, 2025, Special Town Meeting Citizens’ Petition article calling for secondary water meter inclusion into water regulations. These impacts should include, but are not limited to, the effective changes on sewer and water enterprise accounts over the next five years.” From that, they also sought to discuss ways to effectively implement the proposed policy into existing regulations to have recommendations for the Select Board by January 6, 2026.

            One of their first discussion topics was billing for the secondary meter and the frequency of such. Select Board member John Hoagland said yearly billing “would be an administrative nightmare” with Gorman recommending quarterly billing, or every 90 days. They also talked on the town’s billing software, saying it is “really, really difficult” and will potentially offer its own difficulties in this process.

            Being the first post-Town Meeting discussions regarding the secondary meter petition, there was a lot of ground to cover. Of course, this is all ground-laying work in preparation for the town’s next Town Meeting in the spring and another vote on the petition.

            The next meeting of the Marion Water & Sewer Regulations Review Committee is scheduled for Thursday, December 11 at 3:00 pm in the Town Hall Annex, 14 Barnabas Road.

Marion Water & Sewer Regulations Review Committee

By Sam Bishop

            Residents in the beach neighborhood located off Dyar Road came before the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission on December 8 with a Notice of Intent filing for the maintenance of a beach pathway.

            The filing reads, “The applicant (8 Dyar Road Nominee Trust) propose maintaining the footpath section of Byrne Avenue and Shell Beach Road.” The maintenance activities were defined as light pruning and clearing of vegetation and the clearing of other debris and other obstructions as necessary to maintain community neighborhood beach and boating access, while maintaining the health and stability of the coastal pathway on Shell Beach Road.

            What ensued was a difference of opinion between the applicant and at least one other resident of the area who took umbrage to the filing. The trust’s applicants are Lizanne and Malcom Campbell and Margaret and David Wizansky. Campbell spoke for herself and other residents in the area who collectively sought the Notice of Intent conditioning.

            After Campbell’s comprehensive detailing of the proposed work in jurisdictional areas, Stephen Vaitses of 5 Dyar Road approached the conference table to share his concerns. He said that previously Campbell had performed cleanup of the pathway and placed signs stating that boats and other watercraft could no longer use the beach area or leave items along the pathway.

            For roughly an hour, the commission heard varying descriptions of work that had taken place. The commission was aware of a superseding Order of Conditions, but the actual document memorializing that was not available.

            Commission Chairman Mike King at several points during the narratives offered by Vaitses and Campbell noted that the neighbors should get together to hash out differences and that the commission was not law enforcement.

            In the end, the filing did receive conditioning with a special condition being that other people in the neighborhood utilizing the pathway have the same rights as Campbell for maintenance (no plantings).

            Also coming before the commission was Andy Stackpole of Field Engineering with a Notice of Intent filed by Leslie and Maxwell Richmond, 4 Parker Street for the demolition of an existing garage and construction of a new one. The filing received conditioning.

            After several attempts to receive conditioning of his Notice of Intent filing, Colin Labrie, 7 Hollywoods Road succeeded. He explained that the most recent plan now calls for a 7,000 square-foot reduction of disturbed area, no work in the buffer zone, and the planting of green giant arborvitaes.

            A Certificate of Compliance was issued to Robert Bourdon for work completed at 6 Meadowbrook Lane.

            The commission had received a complaint for disturbance of a stream located at 3 Melissa Anne Lane. They ordered a letter be sent to the property owner to come before the commission to discuss the matter.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for Monday, December 22.

Mattapoisett Conservation Commission

By Marilou Newell

            On December 4 the Massachusetts Department of Transportation held a public hearing to share with the town the 25% design of the Transportation Improvement Project (TIP) scheduled by the town in concert with the state.

            To say the project, informally dubbed the “village streets project,” has been a long time in the making is a serious understatement. It has been on the town’s improvement project list for 10 years. During that time, slow but steady movement towards creating a plan has intended to address the DOT’s technical requirements while being mindful of residents’ concerns. The fate of the mature tree canopy and the need to obtain construction easements has, at times, found the Select Board fielding articulated public outcry over the cutting down of trees, along with the need to improve sidewalks.

            Also taken into consideration during this design phase was the need to address ADA noncompliance, which has long been an issue with the condition of sidewalks and street crossings.

            The agenda noted, “The proposed project consists of reconstruction of Main Street, Water Street, Beacon Street and Marion Road, the construction will include new concrete sidewalks (of varying widths) on at least one side of the roadway for the entire length.”

            Other improvements noted were replacement of the existing drainage system and the water distribution system. The town will be responsible for the acquisition of rights to private land (easements). Last but not least will be the “full depth” pavement reconstruction.

            Regarding tree removal, the public heard that an arborist, hired by the town, has been engaged to examine all trees slated for removal. Thirty-two trees are planned for removal either due to disease or poor growing conditions. Of the 32 in this category, 24 are not viable and potentially may fall, endangering the public.

            The DOT team was asked about the possible placement of utilities underground, which would in essence make tree removal far less of a necessity. Town Administrator Mike Lorenco said that the town has met with the utilities and that not only is there no room for such a plan, residents would have to bear the associated cost (a betterment fee) estimated above $7,000,000.

            The DOT team was asked about construction phasing. Now that the 25% design has been accepted by the town and the state, it can move to the next stage (75%). In this phase, cost estimates will be firmed up and timelines will become clearer.

            From the audience, resident and Bike Path Committee member Bonne DeSousa questioned why the plans did not include traffic-calming features that had been previously discussed. Lorenco said that the public-safety officer reviewed possible traffic calming options but that ultimately it was determined that such devices were not necessary and might even create more problems rather than solve them. He said that more intense policing of known speeding hot spots would likely slow traffic down.

            The total cost estimate for the 1.4-mile-long roadway project stands at $18,500,000. The DOT believes the easements will be secured by 2027.

            To learn more, visit Mattapoisett.net and click on the Community tab for complete details.

Department of Transportation Public Hearing

By Marilou Newell