The issue of LED street lighting continued to dominate the discussion at the March 27 meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee. Committee member Rob Fisher provided new details regarding the energy savings and program procedures for the procurement of the energy-saving lights.

The committee intends to convert all the streetlights in Marion to LED lights through a grant from the Massachusetts Rapid LED Streetlight Conversion Program. The grant would provide a 30 percent reimbursement to the town for the purchase of the LED lights.

A program representative told Fisher that the grant funding is available through 2018, but most likely will be used up by the end of this year.

“If Marion doesn’t get in on the grant, we could still get in on the buying power of the program,” Fisher told the committee, since there will be so many municipalities purchasing lights, which will give the purchasers leverage for a lower price.

In order for the town to qualify for the grant, it must first purchase the streetlights from Eversource. Many of the lights to be replaced are greater than 10 years old and have therefore significantly depreciated in value so that Marion is hoping to purchase them all for $1, which other towns have already successfully done.

Committee member Bill Saltonstall sought clarification from Fisher as to the cost savings to the town, to which Fisher replied that, in addition to the energy savings, there would no longer be rental or maintenance costs paid to Eversource.

Fisher noted that, by merely purchasing the lights, there would be an immediate cost savings of 20 percent on the electric bill, simply due to the lack of maintenance, service, and rental from Eversource. However, if Marion owned the lights, it would need to maintain them. Fisher listed a number of ways this could be accomplished.

“Marion could hire a service company, which Wareham does. Or if the town has a bucket truck and an electrician, we could do it ourselves or we could hire another town to do it, like Middleborough,” Fisher said.

The committee seemed intrigued by the idea of piggybacking on another town’s service contract, but questioned whether that town was satisfied with their contractor. Although Marion may own a bucket truck, it was unclear if the town had the expertise to perform the maintenance.

Saltonstall asked if the lights were appropriately spaced, to which Fisher replied, “The lights seem to be doing well with existing spacing.”

The pole lights recently installed on Ryder Lane and South Street apparently have their own meters, and the committee wondered about other pole lights to be replaced in addition to the cobra-style lights.

Committee Chairman David Pierce summarized the committee’s next steps: “Stage 1, we get the lights for as little as possible; Stage 2, figure out whether it makes sense to replace [the lights] all at once or piece meal; and Stage 3, I recommend Rob start discussing the idea with the town officials.”

Committee member Norman Hills felt that Town Administrator Paul Dawson would be the appropriate point of contact for Eversource. Hills suggested, “[We] get him to talk with Eversource to get a ballpark figure for the purchase of lights. It’s the maintenance costs that will need to go to Town Meeting.”

Fisher clarified that if Dawson was to speak with Eversource, the committee must first provide him with the number of lights to be replaced, and that Dawson would need to be careful in his conversation to not start the 60-day clock within which Eversource would quote a price. If Eversource quotes a price greater than the $1 price the committee is hoping for, and the town was unhappy with the price, the issue would go to an arbitrator, which could take a long time to resolve.

The committee asked Fisher to provide Dawson with an itemized before- and after-cost savings of replacing the streetlights prior to his conversation with Eversource.

Saltonstall concluded the discussion by observing that his great hope is to see the nighttime stars again in Marion, remarking, “Dark sky lighting is important, and the LED lighting addresses this issue. I love the idea and I’d love to get it done.”

In other business, Saltonstall provided a brief update on the Future Generation Wind project, noting that December was the first month with all four wind turbines on-line.

“I was very interested to see what the number was,” said Saltonstall. “At approximately $6,700 per month savings, which is what December was, we’d be saving the town the $80,000 annually that we predicted.”

Committee member Eileen Marum reminded the committee of the sustainability talk by Jamie Jacquart to be held Thursday, April 13, at 7:00 pm in the Music Hall. Pierce suggested the committee invite other town committees and departments. Marum remarked pointedly, “They should all be interested!”

The next meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee is scheduled for Monday, April 24, at 7:00 pm in the Marion Music Hall.

By Sarah French Storer

This time, residents near the corner of Rounseville and Mendell Roads are learning all about the Tao of the solar farm.

On March 28, the Rochester Planning Board heard plans for the town’s potential sixth large-scale solar panel installation – this one located on an open field and partially wooded property at 453 Rounseville Road.

Just as other Rochester residents have done over the past couple of years, the residents who live near this site gathered at the Rochester Town Hall to hear about the scale of the project, whether or not they will see the panels from their houses (No! the board promises), will their property values plummet (the board says no), and if there are any health risks to solar panels (of which there are none) – questions that concern all newbies facing a new neighbor of this nature.

Borrego Solar Systems, Inc., the solar developer leasing the land to develop the solar installation, said a 3.3-megawatt solar farm is planned for the site that is currently two parcels of 67 and 14 acres. One parcel contains a house, which will be carved out into a separate two-acre lot, while the rest of the acreage is merged.

Seven acres of woodlands will be clear-cut. Thirteen acres of solar panels (8,800 panels) will be installed on the property.

Since a prior meeting with a technical review team, a 7-foot high white vinyl fence is planned for the visible perimeter of the site, with berms of 3 to 5 feet in height planned for sections where elevated terrain could be visible.

The project being planned for Rounseville Road, a designated scenic highway, cannot be seen from any public perspective along the road.

Along the wooded sections of the perimeter, a 7-foot black-coated chain-link fence is planned for security.

This project will be the first to file under the Town’s updated, more stringent solar bylaw, and Chairman Arnold Johnson reassured abutters that the board has learned from past solar projects and has refined its preferences and process for protecting the town and the neighborhood.

“We always learn as we go forward, and we try to change our bylaws to reflect what’s actually going on,” Johnson said.

One aspect of the planning process that the board is adamant about completing is comprehensive sightline analyses from neighboring properties. The one sightline transection taken from the front lawn of the houses along the perimeter is not enough.

“We’re not going down that road again,” said Johnson, demanding that the developer return to take sightlines from the front steps of each home to verify that the project would not be visible above the fence screening.

“Our goal really is to not see this,” said Borrego Solar Systems representative Steve Long.

But phrases such as “our goal is” and “we intend to” do not fly with this board, said member John DeMaggio.

“We will, they will…” said DeMaggio, is more like it. “That’s the only thing we want to hear here.”

Other focuses of the board apart from screening, said Johnson, include decommissioning and maintenance.

Abutters made requests such as changing the color of the fence from white to more of a “nature color,” which Long said could be an option; however, white was chosen by the technical review team because of an existing white fence near the site that some thought would blend in better with the new fence. Long also said an existing stone wall around the property could also remain untouched outside the fence.

Neighbors wondered if there was any way to stop every field in Town from becoming a solar farm, but, said Johnson, unfortunately there is not. Solar installations are covered by state legislation that encourages solar development in the state, and as board member Ben Bailey pointed out to them, “Our hands are tied by the state. If you want to do something about this, make yourself heard at the state level.”

“Unfortunately,” said Johnson, as far as the Planning Board is concerned, “it’s not a popularity contest whether we personally agree with anything … we’re governed by state statute.”

Resident Lance Davenport was left wondering about what benefits there are to the town with a project (“eyesore”) like this one.

“It’s a beautiful field,” said Davenport to Long. “There’s deer there … you’re tearing it up, you truly are, and it’s a shame and I get it, it’s business … but this is our town and this is a beautiful town and if in every open field we have something like this, then what do we get out of this?”

The answer is, said Johnson, “Unfortunately, not much.” The town cannot even collect an excise tax on the value of the equipment, Johnson added.

The Conservation Commission will hold a public hearing on the solar project on April 4 to discuss wetlands on the site, as well as a perennial stream. Long said the project will stay outside the 100-foot wetlands buffer and 200 feet away from the stream.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for April 11 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry