Dale Jones has pulled out of the Marion Board of Selectman race and is now throwing his support behind candidate Stephen Gonsalves.

Jones handed in his intent to withdraw from the election to the town clerk’s office on Monday night, April 4, one week before the Monday, April 11 deadline to drop out of the election. Two candidates remain in the race – Norm Hills and Gonsalves who both currently serve together on the Planning Board and Conservation Commission.

“I really want to be selectman, but I didn’t feel this was the year to do it,” said Jones on April 5 during a phone interview. “[Gonsalves and I] had a discussion, and he actually believes the same things that I do.”

Jones said he would rather withdraw from the three-way race and put his support behind the candidate who most shares his views on the town and which direction it should go. He said that would be Gonsalves.

“I look forward to doing whatever else I can do in the town,” said Jones, specifying that he’d like an active role in the renovation of the VFW Hall should it eventually be turned over to the town. He wants to see it turned into a senior center for the Town of Marion, saying, “I’d like to see it done properly.”

Jones has also submitted his intent to step down from active service with the Marion EMS, but he will maintain his EMT status and continue to work with the Fire Department without participating in active coverage.

Jones has served as an EMT in Marion for 40 years.

By Jean Perry

A creature of habit, Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals member Kirby Gilmore arrived at the Rochester Town Hall to attend the March 24 business meeting for the ZBA at the usual time of 7:00 pm. However, the business meeting had been pushed back to 7:30 pm. Tom Flynn had also arrived at the usual time, but apparently had known of the time change. With time on his hands, Gilmore waxed on the importance of local newspapers reporting local news. (No argument there, for sure.)

Time slipped along quickly and as 7:30 pm approached, acting Chairman David Arancio arrived and realized a call would have to be made to scare-up another member of the board in order to make a quorum. Arriving shortly after the call, David Sullivan was seated.

There was little in the way of business to attend to on this evening. The hearing for Meadowatt LLC, 188-190 Marion Road, for a special permit to construct residential solar panels was continued until April 14. Two of the six people in the audience then departed.

Coming before the board was Laurie and David Jewett, 15 Briarwood Lane. It had been brought to their attention by Building Inspector James Buckles that a shed they had constructed was encroaching 3 feet into a 15-foot setback.

Jewett had contacted G.A.F. Engineering, the same firm that had helped design a septic system for them a couple of years previously. Jewett had reached out to the firm to ask if the survey they had completed for that work would be sufficient for the placement of a shed. Having received their assurance that those measurements were exact, Jewett installed the shed.

Unfortunately, there was a problem.

Buckles, upon reviewing the as-built plans, noticed the setback problem and brought it to Jewett’s attention.

Jewett contacted G.A.F. and asked if they would return to the property to confirm their measurements in the hope that an error had not been made. G.A.F. agreed to do so for a fee. Jewett now asked the zoning board for relief.

No abutters objected to the placement of the shed, and Gilmore noted further saying, “Mr. Chairman, I think the homeowner is between a rock and a hard place … the engineer didn’t do their due diligence for the homeowner…. The neighbors haven’t appeared this evening … I think there is enough of a hardship to grant this.”

The board unanimously approved a variance under Section VIII.B.1 of the zoning bylaws.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Appeals is scheduled for April 14 at 7:00 pm in the Rochester Town Hall meeting room.

By Marilou Newell

Engineer David Davignon found himself in a defensive posture as the hearing for his clients, Fred Schernecker and Anthony Campbell, 1 Goodspeed Island, was re-opened during the March 28 meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission.

Chairman Bob Rogers was unable to attend the previous March 14 hearing when Peter Newton was appointed acting chairman by the commission that night. Due to the absence of Rogers, as well as Environmental Agent Liz Leidhold and secretary Teresa Austin that night, Newton cautioned applicants that some hearings would most likely have to be continued.

The Schernecker/Campbell Notice of Intent was one that fell into that category.

Now Davignon was present with the additional information and new plan the commission requested; however, for Rogers it was simply not sufficient.

Rogers assured the applicants and Davignon that he had watched the video of the March 14 hearing, had informed himself on the Planning Board meeting regarding the roadway project, and now felt compelled to ask for additional information.

Rogers told Davignon that the roadway would skirt a coastal bank and, as such, more information was needed before the commission could make an informed determination on the NOI.

Rogers said, “We are not allowed to alter a coastal bank…. When I look at the plans for the NOI, it is silent about the trees … if you remove trees you’ll impact the bank.”

He also insisted that stormwater management plans had to be submitted for certification to ensure that delicate wetlands would not be negatively altered. Rogers further took exception to the width of the roadway that the Planning Board approved at 16 feet versus 20 feet.

“I look at this plan and there are so many questions,” Rogers said to Davignon.

Davignon responded, “I’d like to leave the Planning Board at the door. This is the conservation commission.”

Rogers asserted that the roadway possibly threatened the coastal bank, that stormwater runoff might migrate into Eel Pond fouling shellfish beds, and insisted that the project must not conflict with the Wetlands Protection Act. Rogers also wanted Davignon to supply more technical information.

Davignon asked to poll the sitting commission members to determine which members had changed their minds since the March 14 hearing. He was clearly flummoxed by Rogers’ list of demands and his tone.

Commission member Mike King said, “I don’t agree with Mr. Rogers (for stormwater management) but had not considered Eel Pond discharge.”

The other members, excepting Rogers, didn’t think runoff would be a problem on the island due to the pitch of the roadway, planned recharges depressions, and good drainage of the island soils.

Newton accepted the 2010 wetlands delineation as presented. Rogers said that was only a partial delineation and didn’t cover the area now being proposed for the private roadway. He expressed concerns about heavy equipment movement near sensitive coastal areas.

“In other cities and towns, you wouldn’t have gotten to square one, or without peer review,” Rogers told Davignon. Rogers balanced those comments by assuring him, “…I’m willing to work with you.”

As for the rest of the commission, Mike Dubuc said he had issues with the coastal bank but that the planned guardrail had addressed those, while Trevor Francis was in favor of seeking additional information.

Regarding delineating the limits of work, King said that wasn’t necessary while Rogers, Dubuc, and Francis said it was.

“We need enough time to make sure everyone is happy with it,” Rogers said.

After a brief recess to discuss the issues raised by Rogers, Davignon returned to the hearing and asked for a continuation until April 11.

Earlier in the evening, the Mattapoisett Land Trust received a negative determination for their Request for Determination of Applicability at Munro Preserve for the installation of electrical conduits.

David Overmyer, 6 Pinewood Way, received a negative determination for the construction of a 12-foot by 16-foot addition.

After Rogers recused himself and Newton was once again appointed acting chairman, Lucas Grant received a negative determination for his NOI for the construction of a new home on Dupont Drive. Several abutters questioned whether or not the lot was buildable. Newton advised them that that was not within the ConCom’s purview.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for April 11 at 6:30 pm in the town hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell

It was late into the evening when the Marion Conservation Commission began discussions on a letter they recently received from Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission Chairman John Rockwell.

Rockwell’s March 10 letter sent to abutters of the town-owned Grassi Bog property with a copy to the Conservation Commission seemed to rekindle long-simmering disagreements between MOSAC and the ConCom regarding issues at the site.

Rockwell’s letter states in part, “We met with the NRCS to nail down the funding timetable, so that we could put the project out to bid. We were informed that they would not fund the exit pipe they had designed for us, and that is now part of the Conservation Commission approved permit.”

            MOSAC met with the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) on March 10, Rockwell explained in the letter, and were informed that, “NRCS will draw up a new plan that maintains the exit pipe as originally permitted … but, adds an emergency spillway for further protection.”

Rockwell indicated that the revised engineering should be completed in one month after which MOSAC will seek final approval from the Conservation Commission to proceed with repairs. Securing that approval will then allow the group to send the project out for construction bidding.

But none of this sat well with Conservation Commission Chairman Norm Hills or abutter Scott Erdman, who has ongoing concerns about flooding in his yard, which he contends comes from Grassi Bog.

“I’ve been living with this for three or four years,” said Erdman. He believes that when the first bog restoration project was done using round rocks instead of trap rock, problems began. The rocks that were used, he said, because they were “better looking,” allowed a March 2014 storm to breach the retaining feature and flood the area.

Hills said that after receiving Rockwell’s letter, he spoke directly with the NRCS.

“These guys have changed their minds … it is not an option for them to change their minds,” said Hills about the NRCS. “It’s been a round-robin of trying to get this thing resolved…. The whole thing has been a debacle from day one.”

In a follow-up interview with Rockwell, when asked about the issues MOSAC has faced regarding the proposed repairs that are needed, he said, “There was a long review period between the Conservation Commission and the Town’s engineer.” He continued, “We got permission in December 2015.”

Rockwell said he then learned that the NRCS would not pay for replacing a new exit pipe. Rockwell further explained that the March 2014 incident was a result of a private bog owner upland from Grassi Bog releasing 33 acres of water into an 8-acre pond. That flow, he said, destroyed the water management system at Grassi Bog.

Regarding Erdman’s contention that Grassi Bog’s water problems are creating floods on his property, Rockwell said elevation work was performed on Erdman’s property, so, in order to produce that flooding, the bog’s dike would have to have been over-topped by 3 feet.

“We are not convinced the dike has been over-topped and causing his problems,” Rockwell concluded.

            Rockwell said a new NRCS conservationist, Amaya Halter, has been hired and is assisting the town’s agencies through the problems and process.

“Amaya has been very helpful,” said Rockwell, adding that he is confident that, with consensus between all parties concerned, a plan can be achieved moving forward.

In other matters, at the start of the evening, the commission heard a Notice of Intent application from David Wilding, 760 Mill Street, for the construction of a single-family home in a buffer zone. The application was approved and granted an Order of Conditions.

Water Street Realty Trust, 29 Water Street, received a Negative determination on its application for construction of a residential elevator, as did 444 Front Street Trust for an after-the-fact removal of trees from a buffer zone.

Jonathan and Liz Howland, 16 Howland Road, received a Negative determination for their application to construction a single-family home.

The Request for Determination of Applicability for Nicholas Mitcheson, 18 Wilson Road, was continued until April 13.

David Davignon of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates met with the commission to discuss how to proceed with a lapsed Order of Conditions for work taking place at 44 Holly Road, part of the Indian Cove Trust.

The order was issued in March 2009. He was advised to submit a new RDA and to update the flood zones. Hill said they would need time to consider how to proceed once the new filing is received.

The commission also met with David Pierce, chairman of the Water Resource Protection Committee, to discuss the development of new water protection bylaws for the town. The commission thanked Pierce for the document, which they will vet and return with comments.

The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for April 13 at 7:00 pm in the Marion Town House conference room.

By Marilou Newell