Johnson Site Plan Approval Extended

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It was smooth sailing for the Marion Planning Board at their regular meeting on Monday, July 6. Before adjourning, the board extended a site plan approval for Johnson Family Investments, as well as concluded the pre-submission conference for the Gas Station Allied Ventures property located at 439 Wareham Street.

Arnold Johnson appeared before the board in order to reiterate his request for a one-year extension of the approval for his property, 806 Mill Street, the former site of the Frigate Steak House. Johnson’s site plan review was approved by the board in 2013 but expires on July 25, 2015.

“A number of us were not here when this was originally approved,” Chairman Robert Lane said. “We have the right to extend the site plan review for one year or to not extend the site plan review.”

Lane cautioned that if the board granted an extension, the resulting extension would not address the applicant’s right to use the property as specified in the original site plan.

When Johnson took to the microphone, he explained the steps he had already taken to bring the property to its current state. Multiple family illnesses in the past year had stalled Johnson’s plans, but now Johnson is ready to move forward upon receiving a final cost estimate for part of the proposed year-round produce store.

“Being a small, family-run operation of what we were trying to do, that put 2014 into the backburner,” Johnson said.

“Coming into 2015, I’ve done research and have a contractor lined up. I have everything the Building Department requires … I could go in tomorrow and file a building permit; I’m just waiting on this one last price,” he concluded.

After brief deliberation, the board unanimously voted to extend the site plan approval, with the understanding that Johnson will return to the board with a new application if a high final cost estimate forces him to revisit his business plans.

Johnson clarified that in such an event, he would scale the building back from a year-round produce store to a seasonal farm stand, although he would keep the building’s footprint and look the same in order to keep the floor plan spacious for customers.

“This would be a desirable development for the town, and I think if there’s anything we could do to help that, we should,” board member Jennifer Francis said of the project.

Lane began the continuation of the pre-submission conference for Gas Station Allied Ventures by explaining the next steps of the application process. Upon conclusion of the pre-submission conference, which would inform the applicant about the necessary paperwork in order to file a formal application with the board, the board would review the submitted materials, hold a public hearing, and make its final decision. The sole purpose of the pre-submission conference, Lane said, was to identify the necessary materials that the applicants must compile for the board to review.

Francis, who had earlier been appointed as the coordinator for the project, listed the following necessary materials: a major site plan review, an environmental assessment (although Francis noted that many items under the environmental assessment fall under the Commonwealth’s purview given that the project is a gas station), a stormwater management assessment, a public hearing, a list of abutters to the property in question, and a mailing to those abutters informing them of the project and the public hearing. The board also requires an application fee. Finally, Francis noted that the board is not going to waive the site plan details.

After reviewing this information, the board voted to conclude the pre-submission conference and adjourned for the evening.

The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board will be on Monday, July 20 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Anne Smith

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Alewives Anonymous, Inc.

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To the Editor:

We have compiled the results of the 2015 alewives (herring) migration as recorded by an electronic fish counter on the Mattapoisett River at Snipatuit Pond in Rochester.

This year’s count of herring in the Mattapoisett River was 42,332. That is approximately 13,000 fish less than the 2014 total of 55,429 which was a 156% increase over 2013. This year’s decrease of 13,000 fish is about 25% less than last year. Due to the very cold weather in March, the counter wasn’t installed until April 6. Evidence of herring being present at Mattapoisett (gulls, cormorants, seals) weren’t seen until the second week in April; therefore, we don’t feel we missed counting many with the three week late install of the counter. Counting conditions were ideal this spring; the counter appears to have performed without errors.

We were not successful in getting an electronic counter to operate correctly on the Sippican River at Leonard’s Pond. The ladder at Leonard’s Pond appeared to function ideally for fish passage even through the latter part of the season with lower water. Comments from recreational boaters indicated that they had seen herring spawning in the upper regions of the pond on a number of occasions. This would tell us that the ladder at Hathaway’s Pond and Leonard’s Pond provided successful access to the spawning area.

The moratorium against the taking or possession of herring from the Mattapoisett River and the Sippican River, as well as many other rivers in Massachusetts, remains in effect. Over the years that the moratorium has been in effect, the herring population in the Mattapoisett River has increased from about 6,000 to just over 55,400 last year. The counting effort will provide the necessary information to manage a future harvest in the Mattapoisett River; however, continued improvements in the counts are needed to support a sustainable fishery plan and to justify an opening.

Once the herring population reaches a point where a sustainable harvest plan can be formulated, filed with Division of Marine Fisheries, and approved, harvesting could be resumed.

Arthur F. Benner

President, Alewives Anonymous, Inc.

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.

Marion Fireworks Committee

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The 2015 Marion Fireworks Committee would like to thank all of the supporters that made the Saturday, July 4, 2015 fireworks display such a success!

It was a fantastic night, and we would love to have a repeat of it in 2016!

We are still accepting donations. Any donations received will be used toward the 2016 fireworks. Donations are tax deductible.

Please consider sending your donation to help us get a head start on next year’s show.

Please send your donations to Marion Fireworks Committee, 13 Atlantis Drive, Marion, Massachusetts 02738. Any questions, feel free to contact us at 774-217-8355 or fireworks@marionrecreation.com.

Thank you for your support!

Marion Mile

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The annual and weekly Marion Mile, sponsored by the friends of Marion Recreation and Wareham Pediatrics, started back up on Tuesday, June 30 for this summer’s season.

The first of six nights had a great turnout as over 100 runners competed in the race designated as “just for kids.”

Children between ages 7-14 are welcome to compete in the mile race for a one-time fee of $15, and those age six and under may join the half-mile race.

On every Tuesday until August 4, all are welcome to the Tabor Academy fields on Spring Street by the chapel to register and run. In order to register, families should arrive between 6:00 and 6:15 pm for the 6:30 pm starting time.

Those who run three or more races during the summer are eligible for an award on the last night. The top three male and female runners from each age group (7-8, 9-10, 11-12, and 13-14) will receive trophies.

Additionally, all finishers receive ribbons upon completion of each week’s race and a T-shirt each summer.

Each week, Race Director Chris Adams posts results to the Marion Mile Facebook page. Volunteers assist Adams in putting on the event, including Jim Soden, Tabor alumni, and current students. Last week, Julia O’Rourke, Sarah Adams and Binjo Emmanuel helped Adams put the race together. Parent volunteers are welcomed as well.

On the first night of the summer, Meg Hughes won the mile race in a photo finish with Davis McCain who ran times of 5:35 and 5:36 respectively. Hughes also achieved her 5th age group record in this time, beating the five-year-old record held by Gwen McCain of Marion.

Finishing out the top five racers were Harrison Hughes (6:04), Stephen Old (6:05), and Miles Reed (6:07). The top seven runners ran miles under seven minutes.

Seventy-six runners raced in the older kids’ race, while 46 competed in the half-mile.

Grady Oliveira and Lyla Dorschied came in right together in times of 4:30 and 4:31, immediately followed by Jack Goodwin. Rounding out the top six runners who ran times under five minutes were Gisele Duchaine (4:41), Dylan Ladd (4:55), and Natalie Meleo (4:57).

Registration is open to newcomers each week. Checks must be made payable to Village Run and more information can be found at www.marionrecreation.com/marion-mile.html or on the aforementioned Facebook page. Registration forms are available online and on race nights.

By Julia O’Rourke

Marion MIle

SHS Presents: Historical What If’s

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What determines history? Is it the natural result of leaders’ decisions and longer demographic, social and economic trends? World events could have turned out very differently than they did. What would have happened if the UK had signed an armistice with Hitler in the spring of 1940? What if the United States had decided not to intervene in the World Wars? What if the Ming Dynasty had not decided to turn inward in the 1420s? What if the Greeks had been conquered by the Persians in 480 BC? In the words of the immortal Hugh Trevor Roper, “History is not merely what happened; it is what happened in the context of what might have happened.”

On Thursday, July 16 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall, Dr. Kirtland Mead will outline the key ‘what if’s’ of Western history (many more likely at the time than what actually happened), and speculate about how our world would be different if they had occurred. He will also identify that short list of leaders who stood at key inflection points of history and really did determine important outcomes. Dr. Mead is an international management consultant, researcher and executive educator, who has lectured before for the Sippican Historical Society and Elizabeth Taber Library on a variety of international historical topics.

The presentation, which is sponsored by the Sippican Historical Society, is offered free of charge, though donations are gratefully accepted. No reservations are necessary. The Marion Music Hall is located at 164 Front Street. Ample parking is available across the street at Island Wharf. For more information, please call the SHS at 508-748-1116.

MassDOT Requests More Acushnet Road Data

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Highway Surveyor Barry Denham met with the Mattapoisett Planning Board during its July 6 meeting to request approval of plans for the rebuilding of the Acushnet Road culvert. The project has been inching its way through time-consuming processes required by several state agencies. With the acceptance of the town’s plans that have been executed by Ken Motta of Field Engineering, the Planning Board was the last of local boards from which Denham needed approval.

Denham said, “The goal is to keep the site much as it is now…” in terms of the appearance of this scenic way and historic location.

Denham also told the board that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation has requested additional stream flow data, but didn’t indicate that this request would hinder the forward movement of the plans through the levels of state review where it currently sits.

Also meeting with the board for an informal discussion was David McIntire regarding 32 house lots inside the Bay Club subdivision. He said, “I didn’t want to move forward, spend money if there were stumbling blocks,” as he explained changes he wishes to make to the plans.

Presently, the neighborhood in question is planned as a street containing 32 single-family house lots. Now, with the recent changes to zoning bylaws, he proposed changing those plans to 16 zero lot line condominium duplex structures. McIntire put to rest concerns that the proposed condominiums would be timeshares or rental units. He said the homeowner’s association covenants that regulate ownership inside the Bay Club do not allow rental units.

The board members saw nothing objectionable about the proposed changes to the type of housing units McIntire wishes to build.

The Mattapoisett Congregational Church, represented by Engineer Doug Schneider, presented a Form A request to section land held by them for a deeded parking space. The area is currently part of a deed for 20 Barstow Street, a property the church owns, but has historically been used by the church for parking. The change would allow the parking area to become permanently part of the church property versus part of the residential lot. The board approved the request.

The board also voted to allow the last lot held in Phase I of the Brandt Island subdivision to be released for sale. It moved that proceeds be held in escrow so that the funds could be used to make improvements and complete the construction of the Phase I roadway.

The condition of the roadway and possible irregularities in the handling of drainage systems in this subdivision have long been bones of contention between town boards and various developers over the years. Town counsel will advise the board on how the funds will be held.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for July 20 at 7:00 pm in the Mattapoisett Town Hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell

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Friends of the Mattapoisett Library Annual Meeting

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All are invited to the Friends of the Mattapoisett Library’s annual meeting to be held on July 21 at 6:30 pm at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library, 7 Barstow Street.

After a brief business meeting, special guest Cheryl Hatch, independent journalist, photographer and professor, will present “Let This Ebola End” about her recent trip to Liberia, where she documented the humanitarian efforts by Liberians and members of the U.S. military during the Ebola outbreak, for which she received a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Her articles have been published in VICE News, Foreign Policy, San Francisco Chronicle and the LA Review of Books. Hatch has worked also worked in Somalia, Iraq, Eritrea, and Afghanistan, reporting on war and its effects on soldiers, their families, and those in the crossfire. Her photographs have been exhibited at the Smithsonian, the Sony Gallery in Cairo, Egypt and at the Leica Gallery in Solms, Germany. Her work has also been published in newspapers and magazines, including Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, and Paris Match.

Come for an enlightening talk and to hear about the benefits of Friends’ membership and what the Friends have been up to this past year.

Marion Turtle Garden Already a Success

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While we were busy with the daily routines of our lives on June 11, something was happening on a nearby beach in Marion that has happened for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. On this morning, the first female endangered diamondback terrapin returned to the site of her own birth, now the newly restored turtle habitat on the beach of the Cove, to dig three “test nests” before leaving behind her precious eggs.

The yearly return of the diamondback terrapin is a time to celebrate for Don Lewis, AKA “The Turtle Guy” and his wife, Sue Wieber Nourse. And this year, there is even more reason to celebrate. The restoration of a small patch of sand that residents of Jenney Lane and the surrounding area have come together to create is now the cradle to a number of nests of terrapin eggs. These precious eggs will be protected until they hatch to ensure the ongoing survival of the terrapin in Marion.

“When we began our work in Sippican Harbor and Hammetts Cove, diamondback terrapins were on the brink of extirpation,” wrote Lewis in an email update of the project. The turtle population consisted only of aging adults with no juveniles or “recruits.” Terrapins are not migratory, which means, said Lewis, that once the estuary loses its population, “it is largely gone forever.” The main reason for the decline in the terrapin population in Massachusetts has been the loss of habitat as humans develop the coastline.

Lewis and “Team Turtle” were hoping to alter the fate of the terrapins before “forever” came to Hammetts Cove. They were hoping the new “turtle garden” would turn things around for the terrapins. Now, there is reason to hope.

On June 13, two terrapins came to the new turtle garden to explore the terrain and dig test nests before crawling back to the sea to wait for the right moment to return. Lewis and Nourse have taken turns “babysitting” the turtles as the terrapins test the new turtle garden. On June 17, the couple reported that they had their very first natural nest deposited in “Turtle Beach,” as the residents now affectionately call it.

When terrapins choose other nesting areas just outside the turtle garden, Lewis and Nourse transplant them into the sanctuary of the turtle garden, which will leave an impression on the newly hatched terrapins so they in the future will lay their eggs in the same safe location.

On June 30, Lewis and Nourse were even more excited to find a young turtle “lady” they had previously documented in April at Sippican Harbor’s main mating aggregation for terrapins, at Head of Harbor north of Burr Brothers.

“We had never before documented a turtle from Head of Harbor nesting at the Cove, which indicates that the Cove serves a larger population of Marion’s diamondback terrapin population than we had known,” said Lewis. “Of course, that makes the turtle garden even more important as critical nesting habitat for threatened diamondback terrapins in Buzzards Bay!”

As of July 7, Turtle Beach now hosts seven diamondback terrapin nests, five of which were laid naturally without prompting or “imprinting” by humans.

“The ladies are seeing the turtle garden from the creek,” said Lewis on July 6 during a phone interview. “It was put in the exact right location, which means it will be self-perpetuating. Which means that when I’m long dead and nobody remembers why the sand pit was put there, they’ll continue to go on.…”

The nesting sites are secured with a “predator excluder,” a small cage-like structure to keep the eggs and the hatchlings safe until Lewis and Nourse and Team Turtle can transport the baby terrapins safely to the sea.

The nesting period should end in about a week or so, and the eggs will incubate in the sand beneath the warm sun until about late August until early October.

Lewis and Nourse have been jointly following the diamondback terrapins in Buzzards Bay since the 1990s, some of which they have tracked for as long at 35 years.

Lewis says, if you see a diamondback terrapin or Eastern box turtle, do not hesitate to call them at 508-274-5108.

By Jean Perry

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Town Seeks Counsel on Proposed Solar Farm

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The Rochester Board of Selectmen during a July 6 meeting commiserated with a dozen residents over their fears of a 10-acre solar farm slated for the town center’s historic district.

“As a member of the Board of Selectmen, you have an opinion,” said Selectmen Chairman Richard Nunes. “My opinion is it’s a bad location…. Why that site? Where could you have put it in a more worse location?”

Nunes told residents the board is seeking assistance from town counsel, and they may consider a special town counsel to assist the Rochester Historical District Commission, Planning Board, and other concerned boards if needed throughout the permitting process for the project.

“That’s already in the works,” Town Administrator Michael McCue stated. “I don’t want to say ‘a slippery slope,’ but there’s things we need to do as a town … to make sure everything is done within the confines of the law.”

Former chairman of the Historical District Commission, Debra Ladd, voiced her support for the development of solar energy facilities in Rochester and in general, but not in the heart of the town’s historic district.

“It’s a very precious district. It’s been there for many hundreds of years and we’ve taken great pains [to protect it]. There are a lot of other places that probably could be chosen that are better,” said Ladd, adding that the purpose of establishing a historic district is to protect the characteristic, history, and nature of the district. “Certainly these panels would not do that. They would do nothing to enhance the historic district at all.”

The solar farm would require the clear-cutting of 10 acres of wooded land at the site of the old Gibbs dairy farm between New Bedford Road and Dexter Lane, abutting several residences and the historic cemetery.

Current Historical District Commission member Laurie Vincent was concerned that developer NextSun Energy’s plans have changed several times since the company first approached the commission back in January. According to Vincent, the developer’s plans once showed a 60-foot wooded buffer zone surrounding the solar arrays, but now the plan reflects only a 20-foot buffer. She also opposed the latest plan to cut down trees within that buffer zone that exceed 20 feet in height to prevent shadowing on the arrays.

“There is no solar array anywhere in the State of Massachusetts in a historic district,” said Vincent. She said she hopes this will serve as a precedent for the town to prevent such a solar farm from being built within their historic district.

Abutter to the proposed project, Matthew Monteiro, whom the selectmen had earlier approved for appointment to the Historical District Commission, said he had a few major concerns, including, “It’s very close to the wetlands…. It’s going to change the drainage and affect the wetlands.” Monteiro also brought up declining property values.

“We’re not saying you can’t put a solar farm in Rochester,” said Ladd. “We’re just saying, be a little bit more careful of where you choose to put it.”

Selectman Brad Morse, seeing that most of the concerns were outside the purview of the Board of Selectmen, suggested to residents that they allow the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission to oversee the process and address residents’ concerns.

Town Meeting members had recently passed a zoning bylaw amendment allowing for mixed-use within the limited commercial district zone in the center of town, with the intent of permitting development of shops and offices or apartments, mentioned Nunes.

“Like a village effect, where people can live and purchase things from stores,” said Nunes. “And I don’t really see how a solar farm in an area where you’re trying to develop a village district is going to encourage something that you just passed. And yet, right next door you have a solar farm.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” replied Selectman Naida Parker. Parker upheld the town’s support for solar, but stressed that location is key. She said the town should look toward the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the local Historical District Commission as the “biggest gun or stick” in the fight to protect the historical town center from the development of a solar farm.

Parker said that although in the past she has not always agreed with the commission, “This is one of those times when I firmly support the Historical District [Commission’s] preservation of the center.”

Nunes continued with his opposition to the location of the proposed solar farm.

“You’re basically taking ten acres of property that is connected to the downtown area,” said Nunes, “in a place where you just zoned for mixed-use … and you’re making it absolutely non-usable to the public.” Even if they put up a berm for screening, said Nunes, “Is that the answer? Simply hiding it?”

McCue told residents he would keep in contact with them as the process unfolds and alert them of upcoming board and commission meetings pertaining to the solar farm.

Also during the meeting, the board approved a contract with Comcast, but after a brief discussion continued from the last selectmen’s’ meeting, they board decided not to pursue the installation of a live feed hub at the police station.

Nunes had long advocated for making a deal with Comcast to pay for half of the $16,000 it would cost to install the hub, but Morse and Parker agreed that the service was not worth the cost to the taxpayers and the cable consumers.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for July 20 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

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St. Philip’s Episcopal Church

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Visiting clergy will conduct services at “the Church by the Town Beach” in Mattapoisett – St. Philip’s Episcopal – from July 5 to September 6. Services using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer are at 8:00 am and 10:00 am.

On July 12, The Rev. Alexander S. Daley, Retired Rector, St. Paul’s Church, North Andover, MA will officiate. All are welcome to attend.