Respective Joint School Committee chairpersons Sharon Hartley (union) and Michelle Smith (ORR) issued an End of Cycle report on Superintendent Mike Nelson’s Summative Evaluation that was unanimously accepted by vote on both sides of the Joint School Committee during its June 20 public meeting.

            The committees followed that with a vote approving the superintendent’s new contract that had been discussed during executive session.

            Results included a 95% (met or exceeded) grade on Teaching and Learning and Sense of Belonging, a 100% grade on the five-year Vision 2028 plan and the strategic development plan. Nelson also drew credit from the committees for his fiscal responsibility in negotiating school budgets in all three towns and for the individual districts, all the while prioritizing the students.

            Nelson was exemplary in exceeding the requirements in all areas. Nonetheless, they picked out three anonymous comments to read to the Joint School Committee about areas where it is believed that some teachers are not yet meeting expectations and how work continues to need to be done in the schools.

            Nelson thanked the JSC for its candor for celebrating his successes but assured the members that he benefits from critical feedback and considers it essential to improving as a superintendent.

            During recent interviews with candidates for open ORR jobs this year, Mike Nelson referenced a question he had received from a candidate asking what he thinks make ORR schools special.

            “Without hesitation, I said, ‘when there is a difficult moment, a challenging conversation, a time of celebration, whatever the occasion, we have a strong school community that cares deeply about all six schools and the success of our school system. In general, I think that’s what separates us from a lot of other school districts,’” said Nelson.

            Nelson was happy to report on new hires for principals in two elementary schools and the identification of a lead candidate for an assistant principal position in the district.

            He thanked Kris Lincoln for her service as interim director of Student Services. Without a satisfactory result from advertising, the decision was made to repost the job as assistant superintendent of Student Services.

            (The JSC since held a brief Zoom meeting on July 10 to appoint Dr. Jaime Curley as the ORR District’s new assistant superintendent of Student Services. The meeting included an executive session for the purposes of preparation for contract negotiations. The position had formerly been defined as director of Student Services.)

            After a June 20 executive session to prepare for negotiations, the committees reconvened to address June 20 public-agenda items, beginning with the 2024-25 School Committee meeting calendar. The district proposed regular meetings on September 26, January 23, 2025 and June 12, 2025. The committees approved.

            In her Chairperson’s Report, Union side Chair Sharon Hartley said the four graduations she attended “were so moving and so well done and so beautiful, I felt I needed to recognize that.” Hartley credited school leaders for doing a wonderful job at the beginning and end of the school year. Hartley also spoke to the process of the superintendent’s evaluation and credit Nelson for his feedback.

            In her Chairperson’s Report, ORR side Chair Michelle Smith thanked the teachers and administration for their hard work throughout the 2023-24 school year.

            Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Dr. Shari Fedorowicz joined the meeting table to seek approval of the district’s Professional Development Plan for the 2024-25 school year.

            Fedorowicz summarized accomplishments during the 2023-24 school year including the curriculum-review cycle and strategic walks on school campuses. Parents and guardians are sought out for feedback, as well as administrators.

            The Professional Development Plan, explained Fedorowicz, aligns with the district’s overarching Vision 2028 plan. Fedorowicz reported that parents/guardians prioritized teaching strategies in their responses to a feedback survey.

            In the coming school year, ORR will conduct three district-wide Professional Development days on August 27, September 25 and November 5. While all six such sessions will address Teaching and Learning and Support Systems, the first and third sessions will prioritize the Curriculum Review Cycle and Climate and Culture. The initial session will also address the new Individual Education Plan (IEP) process.

            Three, subsequent Professional Development dates, January 29, March 5 and May 28, will be half-day, building (individual school)-based sessions.

            ORR-side member Margaret McSweeny acknowledged Federowicz’s work and her passion for the job. Federowicz stressed that it requires a team effort and extended her thanks to the teachers working with her on the project.

            Both sides voted unanimously to accept the Professional Development calendar for 2024-25.

            The JSC reviewed and approved the following new policies: EFE Civil Rights Complaint Policy for Child Nutrition Programs (aligns with DESE and USDA requirements); EHAA District Security Relating to Technology (protects information stored and accessed on district technology); EHB Data and Records Retention (addresses gap in recommended policy regarding retention of records, including electronic communication by public officials); GBEE Personnel Use of Technology (staff use of technology); JICJ Student Use of Technology in School (student use of technology); KDC Community Use of Digital Resources (public wifi is a common, public resource of school reviewed by the ORRSD Technology Department team); and KDCB District Website and Social Media (outlines best practice for website and social media, as reviewed by the ORRSD Technology Department team.

            Approving several revisions, the JSC made one exemption, sending back ADDA-R DCJIS Model CORI Policy for further review by the Policy Subcommittee.

            The following revisions were approved: Admission Policy for Vocational Technical Education Programs (Chapter 74); ADDA Background Checks (updated to reflect current practice); IJND Access to Digital Resources (updated to match MASC recommendations and changes to the IJN-coded policies); IJNDB Use of Technology in Instruction (updated to match MASC recommendations and changes to the IJN-coded policies, refocusing the policy on instruction); IJNDD Policy on Social Media (updated to match MASC recommendations and changes to the IJN-coded policies); IJ-R Reconsideration of Instructional Resources (Fernandes requested revising the policy to include the Procedures for Complaint, providing next steps); JJE Student Fund-Raising Activities (removed from Policy Manual); ADDA-E-1 Information Concerning the Process in Correcting a Criminal Record (deleted as no longer in MASC Policy Manual); and ADDA -E-2 CORI Requirements (deleted as no longer in MASC Policy Manual).

            The next meeting of the ORR Joint School Committee is scheduled for Thursday, September 26, at 6:30 pm at the ORR Junior High School media room and accessible live via Zoom.

ORR School Committee/Superintendent’s Union #55

By Mick Colageo

            The name has changed from The Cottages to Mirabelle Bay, but not much else on the 30 acres off Route 6 where developer Matt Zuker (aka 78 Wareham Road, LLC) will be constructing a townhouse-style village, according to his presentation during Monday’s continued public hearing before the Marion Planning Board.

            “The plan hasn’t changed,” said Zuker, who indicates traction to build 48 units of market-rate housing between the Weweantic River and the approved but not yet built Heron Cove Estates (a 120-unit, affordable-housing rental project).

            After 11 months of delays and, most recently, formulation of responses to Major Site Plan Review, Zuker was before the board to revive what he and the members anticipate will be multiple sessions in the continued-public-hearing process before a Special Permit can lead to shovels in the ground at 78 Wareham Road.

            Zuker laid out a PowerPoint presentation showing 36 detached dwellings and 12 townhouses, reminding the board that the deed restriction limits the project to 48 residential units. Though the layout has been revised, he indicated that the minor modifications made to T2’s architectural plan are mainly inside the units. Tweaks have been made to the floor plan to accommodate the over-55 target audience.

            Of obvious interest not directly related to on-site work is the relationship of Zuker’s project to Ken Steen’s Heron Cove Estates where it concerns agreements that each developer independently reached with town officials to invest in badly needed, infrastructural upgrades to water and sewer along the stretch of Route 6 between Point Road and the Wareham line.

            Board member Eileen Marum asked if the pumping station on Zuker’s site plan will also serve Heron Cove.

            “As of right now, no,” said Zuker. “We’re prepared to go it alone at this point.”

            Zuker maintained that he has a good relationship with Steen, and the two have held discussions about their adjacent projects.

            While the presentation largely focused on the project itself, lingering issues relating to stormwater and wastewater were of concern.

            “If the state permit allows only so much flow to the (wastewater treatment) plant – my understanding was you are pretty close – I’d just like to make sure that this issue is resolved, because if we don’t, this is a serious problem,” said board member W. Dale Jones.

            Select Board member Randy Parker recalled that former Select Board member John Waterman handled the issue prior to the formal application. Parker said the town believed that, “if we took some (Infiltration/Inflow) out, we could make this thing work … it was a great plan.”

            The pumping station planned for the bottom of the hill will presumably have the capacity to potentially handle River Road. “That was important,” said Parker.

            “The total flow is the one that concerns me,” said Jones.

            “We didn’t go out on a limb and not know that number, but it’s been a long time. The Water/Sewer commissioners were confident at the time that this was going to work,” countered Parker.

            Together with Parker, fellow Marion Select Board members Norm Hills and Toby Burr make up the town’s Water/Sewer commissioners.

            Zuker pointed out that when Town Meeting voted for the zoning change (to Residence E) to allow for his project, there was an accompanying Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) regarding water/sewer flow. He reminded the board that Weston & Sampson’s analysis dictated an I/I contribution that would result in payment of $1,240,000 to the town.

            “That’s as thorough as you can get from probably the best company in the state,” said Zuker.

            Together with property taxes, his million-plus investment in I/I and new sewer and watermains on Wareham Road, Zuker estimates that his project will generate close to $5,000,000 for the town.

            Since the Zoning Board of Appeals vetted Heron Cove, the Planning Board remains concerned about the neighboring project discharging stormwater onto Mirabelle Bay and the effects of a 100-year storm.

            Zuker said that Ken Motta (Marion’s peer-review engineer) provided a solution to connect not the entire stormwater systems but to the overflow from Heron Cove.

            “I have a good relationship with Ken Steen and I’m sure we’ll figure that out, it’s just not a situation that we created,” said Zuker. “My goal is to build the whole infrastructure, then we can build the project.” The process, he conceded, will be difficult to predict.

            Referencing the board’s last discussion, Town Planner Doug Guey-Lee asked Zuker if the bridge project expected to take place over the next three to five years will impact his project and if there has been interaction with Massachusetts Department of Transportation regarding any new curb cuts. Zuker said that even though the curb cuts will be in the same exact locations, any curb cuts require MassDOT approval.

            Marum reminded the board that several abutters (not present on Monday) had attended the recent continued public hearing that was canceled only hours before its scheduled time, sending those abutters home in frustration. Zuker assured Marum he would circle back to those abutters and hear out their concerns regarding Route 6 traffic for drivers exiting Hill and Oak streets.

            Zuker’s revised layout addressed 24 items in the first peer-review report, including a landscape plan that will see the replanting of approximately 500 trees and 800 shrubs, “plus 30 specimen trees on the property that we’re working on transplanting. … it’s worth saving those.”

            The number two peer-review report indicated no stormwater concerns, only focusing on soils, the last box Zuker said needs checking.

            The units will have two-car garages, the 22-foot roadway through the project will have sidewalks, and there will be walking paths to the clubhouse. Two homes will share one driveway entry. A 20-foot firetruck walkway will run around the whole property. Presently on the site are an old tennis court, a house and four or five buildings in what Zuker described as bad condition.

            At the bottom of the slope that descends from 52 feet down to 5 feet is an old gravel path along the Weweantic that peer review noted is overgrown but has recommended bringing it back.

            Zuker told the board there will be soil testing by the end of the week, and he wishes to close out as many issues as possible in building his way toward approval to begin construction.

            With that, the board voted to continue the public hearing to Monday, August 5, at 7:05 pm.

            A presentation and discussion revisited the state Small Municipality Storm Sewer Systems in MA (MS4) Permit and MS4 Stormwater Bylaw presented to the board in the spring by Marion Department of Public Works engineer Meghan Davis.

            Resolved not to burden taxpayers, some members insisted at the time that the town merely follow the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency, only to learn on Monday night that MS4 is tailored to individual towns. The town itself can formulate its own bylaw (response) to the requirements.

            To educate the board and take questions, Scott Turner of Environmental Partners visited Monday. He was recently hired by the Marion Department of Public Works to design a model bylaw and regulation that would, with Planning Board and Town Meeting approval, set up Marion to achieve compliance with state regulations.

            Guey-Lee told the board he is looking to add the bylaw at the next Town Meeting, “hopefully in the fall.”

            In 2003, Marion was awarded a permit similar to the effective July 1, 2018, but it was not enforced. The new permit includes the possibility of audits from the EPA.

            Turner said that Marion’s subdivision regulations are comprehensive, “better than any town I’ve seen in the state.” But he said they still do not meet the requirements of the MS4 permit. For instance, Marion encourages low-impact development; MS4 requires it.

            A lengthy discussion ensued that among many things addressed stormwater discharge and fecal coliform found where animals are allowed to defecate.

            Turner left the board with options on how to achieve compliance, noting that some Massachusetts municipalities are in complete compliance while others “do absolutely nothing.”

            Member Alanna Nelson recommended the board revisit the matter while it is “fresh in our minds,” and the board planned to put MS4 on its August 5 agenda.

            After Repurpose Properties, LLC’s Approval Not Required (lot division) was given the thumbs up, Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering cheerfully waited through Zuker’s 7:05 pm public hearing before a 7:10 pm hearing that would approval Repurpose’s construction project on the rear lot at Tucker Lane. The board accepted confirmation that the stream on the property is, in fact, intermittent, meaning there is no riverfront area.

            The board approved Sperry Fabric Architecture, c/o Matt Sperry, 19 Marconi Lane, for construction of a storage facility.

            Sippican Holdings, LLC, received a continuance of its public hearing for its plans at the former Lockheed Martin property to August 19 at 7:05 pm.

            The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, August 5, at 7:00 pm at the Police Station.

Marion Planning Board

By Mick Colageo

            The July 11 meeting of the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals featured the news that its administrative assistant, Andreia Lacerda, is also the new executive assistant to the town administrator and the Select Board.

            Lacerda started at her new job on July 5, replacing long-time Select Board administrative assistant Amanda Baptiste who resigned on June 21. Lacerda told the Zoning panel members that the Select Board is letting her work both her new position and assisting the ZBA “for now” despite the heavier workload. “We’ll see how it goes,” she said.

            The ZBA’s next significant personnel news came when it recommended elevating associate member Jeffrey Costa to full member for a five-year term. Board member Richard Cutler agreed, seeing it as an appropriate move as Costa has been its longest-serving associate member. ZBA Chairman David Arancio noted this is a recommendation that must be approved by the Select Board.

            Costa will be replacing retired ZBA member Thomas Flynn, whom the board awarded a certificate of thanks for his 13 years of service to the board on July 11. The board also welcomed new associate member Dennis McCarthy.

            In other action, the board continued its Use Variance hearing for a project at 48 Pierce Street until its next (August 8) meeting after alerting applicant Nicholas Carnazza that he may have sought the wrong type of permit.

            The request is to allow an accessory dwelling, an in-law apartment, above the attached garage of the home at that address. Carnazza explained he is looking to take care of his father after the passing of his mother by having him live in the apartment.

            Cutler said the application should be for a Special Permit instead because a Use Variance needs a lot more proof to gain board approval. “The burden on you is to meet three requirements,” Arancio said, “three hardships.”

            Specifically, the conditions to be met are: a unique circumstance, shape or character of the site; that a substantial hardship would be borne by the applicant with a denial and that the plan would not be detrimental to the public good.

            Carnazza, clearly frustrated, said he is new to doing something like this and his application picked Use Variance on the advice of the building commissioner. Cutler suggested Carnazza withdraw his application “without prejudice” and reapply under the correction section of town’s zoning bylaw.

            Carnazza followed member Donald Spirlet’s advice to request the continuance to give him time to rethink his plans.

            The Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals’ next regular meeting will be held on Thursday, August 8, at 7:15 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals

By Michael J. DeCicco