After three years of dedicated effort, the Marion Planning Board on September 18 presented the completed Master Plan to a small crowd of Marion residents at the board’s Monday night meeting. The board is hoping the Master Plan will be adopted at the Fall Special Town Meeting on October 23.

Planning Board member Jennifer Francis introduced the presentation, reminding the audience of the long history of the development of the plan. She suggested to the group: “Keep in mind, this Master Plan is not a road map, but a vision. It doesn’t say how to get there; it describes what we want Marion to be in the next ten years.”

The plan is a result of five public workshops, hundreds of public comments, and input from various advisory groups. Francis pointed out that board member Norm Hills and former board member Rico Ferrari spearheaded the effort, and board member Steve Kokkins served on the committee. Hills reminded the attendees that approval of the plan is only the beginning, saying, “Implementation will require participation from the [Marion community].”

Grant King, a Principal Comprehensive Planner at SRPEDD who worked closely with the Planning Board on the Master Plan, presented a brief summary of the final product.

King informed the group that this presentation was “setting the table” for the Open House to be held Saturday, October 14, at Sippican School. SRPEDD staff members will be on hand that day to discuss each element of the plan in detail and answer any questions the public may have.

King described the organization of the plan, underscoring the effort the Planning Board made to ensure the plan was user friendly. As Kokkins had noted earlier, Grant described the plan as “a living, breathing document.”

“The Master Plan is concise, data rich and thorough, but approachable and engaging,” King said.

Each of the nine elements, or chapters, included in the plan begins with a quote derived from the comments provided by residents about their thoughts of and aspirations for Marion. This quote illustrates the theme of the element, which is then more fully described with goals and strategies for achieving the stated goals.

Grant pointed out that the Planning Board added the Climate Resiliency element to the Master Plan, which is not one of the elements currently required by Massachusetts State Law.

The Town has already begun implementing some strategies outlined by the plan, such as the Stewards of Community Open Space, a committee approved by the Board of Selectmen to bring all the organizations with an interest in open space together on one committee so that they may more effectively communicate.

In addition, Marion is part of the Community Compact Cabinet, which develops mutual standards and best practices with the state.

The Transportation and Circulation Task Force has been working under the tutelage of Francis and has completed the Complete Streets Policy, which enables the Town to apply for grant funding for transportation-related projects.

In closing, Grant reminded the group that there will be a survey distributed to the residents in October to assess the public transportation needs of the town residents.

In other business, the board dispensed with two Approval Not Required applications. Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering represented Sylvia Companies for a property located at 265 Wareham Street. The applicant wanted to create two lots from one, in which both lots were conforming to zoning in both area and frontage.

Hills asked what the intention for the two lots were, saying, “You’re probably not going to be able to build there because they are in a velocity zone and not likely to get sewer hook-up.” Grady acknowledged Hills’ comments, but could not elaborate on the future use of the lots.

The second ANR was for 30 Sippican Lane, on behalf of Lars and Ruth Olson, represented by Doug Schneider of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates. The application was the creation of two parcels, both to be conveyed to the abutter to the south. One lot was created to correct a 60-year-old error in which bounds had been inaccurately located and land had inadvertently been occupied due to this error. Both ANR applications were approved unanimously.

The public hearing for the Site Plan Review of the application for Tri-Town Motors located at 149 Wareham Street was presented by the applicant Dwight Crosby. The proposed business will be located in the old Comcast building, which Crosby said would be greatly improved in appearance with his high-end used car dealership. Crosby noted that they would leave the existing lighting on the building, and they intended to move the birch trees currently in front of the building to the side to shade the lighting from the neighbor.

Francis underscored the effort of the Planning Board to take the opportunity of a new business application to improve the appearance of Route 6.

“The change of use to a used car dealership is not a better-looking business,” she said. Francis was concerned about the lack of green space on the site, especially along the roadway, with the removal of the birch trees to the side of the building.

A lengthy discussion ensued regarding both the lighting and the plantings, with board members agreeing that the existing lighting may be acceptable but the planting along the road needed improvement.

Marion resident Susan Connor spoke enthusiastically in favor of the project, saying she knew the applicant both professionally and personally.

“We would be lucky to have people of this caliber in Marion,” said Connor.

After considerable discussion, the board agreed to approve the site plan with the condition that the applicant provide an updated plan showing the low evergreen plantings along Route 6 between the road and the five cars on display in the lot, and the lighting on the building would remain as it is currently. The board also approved the Special Permit for the change of use for the property.

The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for October 2 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Planning Board

By Sarah French Storer

The Marion Conservation Commission on September 13 approved and issued special conditions for 120 Front Street, LLC’s Notice of Intent to raze and reconstruct a one-family house at 120 Front Street, with the addition of a pool and some grading.

Commission Chairman Cynthia Callow commented that she found the engineer honest, and, “I like what the client does, so hopefully together we can put something together to make everybody happy.”

A portion of the property is within the flood zone, and there are some bordering vegetative wetlands, placing constraints of the workable area. In order to stay as far outside the buffer zone as possible, the size of the pool was reduced and a pool house featured on the previous plan was taken out and relocated as an attachment to the house.

The height of the house was also reduced by 5 feet, from 23 feet 6 inches to 18 feet 6 inches.

Commission member Jeffrey Doubrava stressed the importance of containing roof water runoff, and the engineer presented mitigation that would direct any flowage through a swale towards the back of the property.

Some trees located near the property line of Saint Gabriel’s Church were also discussed, and the commission wrote in its Order of Conditions that the owner of 120 Front Street, LLC, Christian Loranger, would have to advise the commission before removal. Another condition was the 48-hour notice of a pre-construction meeting to review silt filtration installations.

In other matters, the commission granted a Negative Determination for Don R. Lipsitt of 4 Island Court to demolish part of a deck and rebuild it slightly smaller.

Robert and Ellen Kaplan of 42 West Avenue received a Negative Determination to construct an addition and deck adjacent to the addition.

CLE Engineering on behalf of The Town of Marion was approved for a three-year extension on an Order of Resource Delineation for 369 and 371 Wareham Road.

The Kittansett Club was approved and issued an Order of Conditions for a Notice of Intent application to treat and remove phragmites at various areas of 11 Point Road.

Dwight Crosby of 149 Wareham Road received a Negative Determination for a RDA submitted for the removal of two birch trees and two shrubs to be relocated. New flowerbeds will replace existing mulch beds.

The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for September 27 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Conservation Commission

By Jean Perry

Two current members of the Marion Police Department are hoping they have what it takes to fill, as Board of Selectmen Chairman Jody Dickerson put it, the “big shoes” that current Police Chief Lincoln Miller will leave behind when he retires effective December 31 at the end of this year.

The selectmen opted to seek police chief candidates from within the department before posting the position outside, offering the chance to apply to Marion Police candidates holding the rank of sergeant or lieutenant. Out of four possible applicants, two stepped forward: Lieutenant John Garcia and Sergeant Richard Nighelli.

“The replacement for Chief Miller is going to be some big shoes to fill,” said Dickerson. “Today we will be starting a new chapter in the history of this department.”

Interviewing Garcia first, the selectmen asked him questions about community outreach, leadership, and of course, managing a municipal budget.

Lieutenant Garcia, a police officer of 33 years with 31 of them in Marion, was promoted to sergeant in 2000, then lieutenant in 2004. He is also the unit commander of the Search and Rescue Team, of which he has been a member for 12 years.

Garcia said he is most proud of his contributions towards Marion PD’s state accreditation, becoming only one of five accredited police departments in Plymouth County.

“It was a tremendous amount of work, something that is quite an accomplishment,” said Garcia.

When questioned about how he envisions his first six months as chief, Garcia first pointed to the importance of redistributing responsibilities amongst the department, especially with an imminent retirement of one senior sergeant.

“In addition,” Garcia said, “I would like to see the department more involved in community programs.” He added that he is a firm believer in community outreach, citing examples such as firearm safety classes and “bicycle rodeos.”

“I know you’ve always been involved in the community since the beginning,” said Dickerson before the board asked Garcia about what he would do to enhance community policing.

Garcia said he was currently seeking grants to fund bike helmets for the public, and he envisions an after-school program for kids interested in law enforcement and learning about fingerprinting as well as other interesting activities.

“Something fun so they can get to know us as people,” said Garcia.

As for leadership, the trait Garcia finds most important in a community like Marion is compassion.

“You have to also look after the needs of the people,” Garcia said. “They need to know that somebody’s watching their back.”

And moving the department forward into the future and motivating officers, said Garcia when asked, can be achieved by rewarding good work when deserved, and again, the redistribution of tasks.

“[The officers] need to know that they’re doing a good job,” Garcia said. “Those that are doing well need to know and be given some of the choice assignments.”

Garcia said he attends Council on Aging meetings whenever he can to better serve the population by establishing a connection to understand its needs. Serving the elderly population, Garcia said, was “near and dear to my heart.” As part of Search and Rescue, he said he is trained to respond to ‘wanderers’ and is highly specialized in assisting people with Alzheimer’s.

An effective police chief must also succeed in commanding respect, as selectmen pointed out – something Garcia said has to be earned.

“I think that one of the main things is just being fair,” said Garcia, “being fair across the board. If they have a need, to try and address their concern.” For example, Garcia said, “If equipment goes unrepaired, it starts to wear on the morale of the department having them come in with broken equipment.”

And as every department head knows, it is a challenge to obtain and manage monetary resources. In order to efficiently maximize limited annual resources, Garcia said he had been “fairly successful” in the past acquiring grants, specifically when the Town wanted to buy Tasers.

“To put it politely, I think I have a reputation of being ‘fiscally responsible,’” Garcia said.

Selectman Steve Gonsalves, concerned about the younger residents and especially the ‘tween’ agers, wondered how Garcia would reach out to the younger people and engage them effectively.

“We haven’t been overly comfortable with social media,” Garcia admitted. “We need to get somebody in here who’s more comfortable with that media. Kids, the tweens … are very adept at social media, so we need to find ways to reach out to them and … I think humor is one of those areas.”

When it came to reflecting on his career and the ‘mistakes’ along the way he would have done differently, Garcia couldn’t really think of any.

“I’m here,” said Garcia. “I think I’m pretty satisfied.”

The selectmen asked if Garcia thought there was a need at Sippican School for a more full-time school resource officer, to which he said no.

“I personally don’t think that it’s warranted to have somebody at the elementary school full time,” said Garcia, although having a presence to establish relationships, such as lunch dates with police would be welcomed, he added. “What we don’t want … [is] the only time they see a police officer in the school [to be] when there a problem.”

“I think we learned a lot from you,” said Dickerson to Garcia. Garcia replied, “Thank you for the opportunity to interview for the position. Thirty one years in the department I’ve seen a lot of changes. When I started we had manual typewriters…. I’ve been here for a lot of those changes. It’s pretty much adapt or die, and I’m still here.”

Sergeant Richard Nighelli has been a police officer for 15 years, with 11 of them as sergeant. His first two years were spent in Nantucket until Chief Miller hired Nighelli in Marion. He is the operations commander of the South Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Swat Team, second in command, and has trained with elite forces from all over the country. Nighelli said he is proud of this, and he was also on the ground in Watertown after the Boston Marathon bombing.

During his first six moths as chief, Nighelli said he would focus primarily on getting a feel for his position and orienting himself to his new responsibilities.

“I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t be successful in that position,” said Nighelli. “See what’s going good, what’s going bad, and to see that the department is running as efficiently as possible.”

Nighelli would also like to engage kids more, possibly by establishing a cadet program or junior explorer program, maybe even a community police academy.

Trust is what Nighelli deems an important trait of an effective leader. “Being able to communicate. If you can’t communicate you can’t be an effective leader. You have to get your message across to the troops.”

“You have to advocate for the department,” said Nighelli. “You’ve got to be a good leader, you have to be able to think quickly, have clear thoughts…. You have to be a good decision maker.”

In order to move the department forward, Nighelli says officers need to feel “empowered.”

“And whether that be to ask them what’s working, what’s not, create open dialog….”

Selectmen asked Nighelli how he would command the respect of his subordinates.

“I believe I’ve already commanded their respect,” he said. “I’m going to treat them with respect. I feel that when you treat them with respect, they’ll give you respect.”

Nighelli admitted he doesn’t have extensive experience managing town finances, but he could handle it. “I will say that I’m willing to learn. I don’t know everything about finances, but I’m willing to learn. I’ll reach out to the right people, not only in town but outside of town – how they have implemented programs and paid for them,” he said, adding, “I’m not there yet but I’ll get there.”

As for reaching out to the younger residents, Nighelli said social media is important in that regard. “Twitter, Facebook … We get information out there, but also I think it’s really important that when something [happens] … a press release should be done right away. I think that’s to eliminate any type of rumor that’s out there.”

“Social media,” he said, though, “it’s a tough subject because you have an elderly population who are not involved in social media and the millenials who are.”

Nighelli said he has made some mistakes over the course of his career he wishes he could have done differently, but did not name anything specific. “I feel like ‘mistakes’ is negative, [but] I think they are learning experiences.”

“Bingo!” Selectman Gonsalves said.

“I’ve had several learning experiences in my career. I can’t pinpoint an exact example, but I do know that there have been some examples … and I look back and say I could’ve done that better.”

He continued, “There’s no bigger critic than myself and me. I always look at myself in the mirror and ask how I can do things better, and I try to continue to grow and to learn.”

Nighelli said he would enhance the sentiment of public service within the force by reinforcing commendation of deserving officers.

“If officers go above and beyond … I’d like to implement a commendation program that is a little more subjective,” saying it would boost morale within the force. “The amount of greatness that I see on a day-to-day basis…”

Nighelli says he does see a need for increased police presence at Sippican School.

“I’m looking forward to working with the principal … telling her what we can offer, asking them what their needs are,” he said. “We spend so much money on schools and our children, why are we not going to have someone go in there and not talk about the effects of … drugs … issues going on at home…. They might tell that police officer.”

“It has to be a commitment from the school, too,” Nighelli said. “There needs to be open lines of communication.” He also said he would establish a police officer lunch program with the kids. “There’s incentive for [officers] to go down there…. They’re going to be encouraged to … be visible down there.”

In closing, Nighelli said, “It’s humbling to be sitting here in front of you. When I came to the town fifteen years ago, I never thought I’d be sitting in this position. I feel that the board has helped the department in a way, that you’re sending a message to the younger officers here that they can one day be the police chief. I think that’s a powerful message you’re sending.”

“Police officers have a lot of bad things that they see on a daily basis,” said Nighelli. “My support network at home is unmatched. My wife … without her support I would not be sitting here.”

Both candidates received a “homework” essay assignment due the following Monday afternoon.

The Board of Selectmen will make a decision on its next step towards hiring a new police chief by mid-October, Dickerson stated.

Marion Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry