Upcoming Events at the Elizabeth Taber Library

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Join The Elizabeth Taber Library and author and garden expert Kerry Mendez, Saturday May 11 at 11 am, upstairs at the Marion Natural History Museum, for “Remarkable Natives for Beautiful Gardens,” an introduction to dazzling native specimens that attract accolades as well as pollinators. The presentation includes mail-order sources for natives in addition to your local garden center. Spaces are limited, please call or sign up at the library.

            Find some great gifts for Mother’s Day and support the library with a visit to the Friends of the Elizabeth Taber Library outdoor book sale on the library lawn May 10 and 11.

            For more information on the Elizabeth Taber Library, visit us at www.ElizabethTaberLibrary.org or call us at 508-748-1252.

Spring Birding Walk with Land Trust and Bird Club

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It’s that time of year. Join the Mattapoisett Land Trust and the Nasketucket Bird Club for a fun and educational birding walk. This birding walk will be led by Justin Barrett of the Nasketucket Bird Club. It will be a lovely, relaxed morning in nature and an opportunity to learn about local wildlife. Justin will lead us through the MLT’s Brandt Island Cove trails.

            The walk will take place on Sunday May 5 from 8:30-10:00 am, starting from the MLT kiosk at Anchorage Way. Bring your binoculars and dress appropriately for the outdoors, including sturdy footwear and long pants. This is a free event open to all, no matter your birding ability. Hope to see you there. Email manager@mattlandtrust.org with any questions.

Mattapoisett Congregational Church’s New Pastor

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On April 28, the Mattapoisett Congregational Church welcomed their new settled pastor, Rev. Michael Frady.

            Ordained as a minister in the United Church of Christ in 2012 and a graduate of Andover Newton Theological School, Reverend Frady will be the church’s 29th settled pastor.

            He was particularly drawn to MCC because he senses the congregation to be a caring community of authentic, active Disciples of Christ.

            Please join the congregation on Sunday mornings at 10:00 am to welcome Pastor Michael into the special community of Mattapoisett. Sunday School and childcare provided during service and fellowship following the service.

Donna L. Hubbard

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Donna L. Hubbard, 77, of Marion died Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at St. Luke’s Hospital after a long illness.

            She was raised in Mattapoisett and lived in town for most of her life.

            Donna spent much of her time lovingly caring for her son, Paul, until his passing in 2009. She enjoyed having a good time with family and friends, shopping, and having her glass of sangria when she went out.

            She is survived by loving family members and friends and was predeceased by her only child, Paul M. Hubbard.

            Her Funeral Service will be held Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 10 AM in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Mattapoisett. Burial will follow in St. Anthony’s Cemetery. Visiting hours are omitted. For directions and guestbook, visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

New Library Director Named

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Distances vanish with today’s computer programs that allow meetings to take place with participants thousands of miles apart. And so it was on April 24 when the Mattapoisett Select Board met (remotely) with Colleen Tierney, finalist for the vacant position of Mattapoisett Free Public Library.

            After the interview, the board recessed to Executive Session where they voted to offer the position to Tierney. On April 29, Town Administrator Mike Lorenco confirmed an offer was made and accepted.

            During the interview process, Tierney discussed her decades-long career primarily in Texas where she currently resides and presently holds the position of director of Library Services in the city of Kyle.

            In that role, Tierney noted leadership skills demonstrated with the implemented teams within the library system, professional development of staff members, partnership with the Friends of Kyle Library, research of a book mobile for better service to the community and books sales. She stated that she is responsible for 13 staff members.

            Tierney’s stated leadership strengths include courageous communication, empathetic listening, growth mindset, and equity-and-inclusion dialogue.

            Regarding fiscal matters, the candidate pointed to working with city council to remove fines, budget development to create new positions, instituting a team culture, collaboration with the Library Advisory Board to revise collections and develop policy that could withstand rising book challenges and collaboration with the city’s Diversity and Inclusion Commission to develop programs and resources that meet the needs of a growing and diverse community.

            Of Mattapoisett’s library, Tierney said the biggest opportunity she believes is “space.” With a finite amount of room within the structure and volume of materials available to check out, she believes there is opportunity to review those materials. She also commented that given the town’s population, there are opportunities to bring generations closer to learn from one another.

            The board members gave the candidate a bit of caution, saying she has “big shoes to fill” given that the last two directors were excellent stewards of an asset the town cherishes – its library.

            Tierney was asked why she wanted to move north, what was her reason. She responded that having gone to school in Rhode Island and New York (BA from Providence College in Social Science and a masters from Syracuse University in Library and Information Studies), she had always planned to move north. She said her children are grown and the time is right for her to make a career and location move.

            When asked how much time she would need to make the move to Mattapoisett, Tierney responded, “I’m ready now.”

Mattapoisett Select Board

By Marilou Newell

FinCom Wants More Detail in ORR Article

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The Rochester Finance Committee has doubled down on the Select Board’s rejection of the Old Rochester School District’s $12,000,000 debt-exclusion request that will appear on the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting to be held on Monday, May 13, at Rochester Memorial School.

            In the previous hour before the Finance Committee’s public meeting on Monday night at Town Hall, the Select Board had just signed the warrant at the Senior Center nearby and handed it over to Town Moderator David Arancio, who also serves on the town’s Finance Committee.

            So when Arancio joined fellow Finance Committee members Peter Armanetti, Jim Austin and Chairman Kris Stoltenberg at Town Hall for their 7:00 pm meeting, the four poured over the 14 articles of the 21-article draft warrant relevant to the committee.

            None of the members were comfortable recommending Article 14, which states: “To see if the Town will vote to approve the $12,000,000 debt authorized by the Old Rochester Regional School District to pay costs of making various capital improvements and repairs to the District’s Junior/Senior High School, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto, and further, to see if the Town will vote to make any such approval contingent upon passage of a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion pursuant to (General Law Chapter) 59, (Section) 21C, or to take any other action relative thereto.”

            Finance Director (and newly appointed Interim Town Administrator) Suzanne Szyndlar described ORR’s proposal as “seed money before the circuit breaker comes in the following year.”

            Stoltenberg said that when ORR Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber presented on ORR’s capital needs two weeks ago, the request was news to him, so he started asking questions.

            “The answers were on the vague side,” said Stoltenberg, realizing that the Select Board members shared similar reactions. “This is a huge number under any circumstance. This is an important initiative that they want. ‘Hey, we’re looking for $12,000,000 and we’re going to put this on an override.’ That’s a big deal. There are no hard numbers in there.”

            Stoltenberg said taking the critical stance makes him feel badly.

            “We want to support the schools, but … if we have fiduciary responsibility to voters, then I don’t see how we can recommend this,” he said. “I’m a big supporter of the schools, and I realize if something does break down. … Plan B is, when it breaks, come to us and we’ll deal with it.”

            Arancio shared the concern that the town could be seen by its insurance carrier as negligent should its recommendation to voters be identified in the report of a future facilities failure.

            “We have a very good relationship with the School Committee. … When I started you could cut the tension with a knife because the three towns didn’t work together. If this is something they really need, … I don’t think this is going away,” said Arancio. “I believe the rollout could have been better.”

            ORR’s presentations on the request have divided the needs of the high school and junior high buildings into three major projects: upgrading 99 HVAC units, replacing 60 exterior doors and a new public-address system that would link the two schools’ communications. Other projects include bathrooms and new LED lighting at the high school athletic fields.

            Armanetti compared the request to the process the town navigated to complete upgrades to Rochester Memorial School, saying the ORR presentation “was not as robust and transparent as I would like it to be. … This is an increase of $400,000 a year coming on. … It’s not even close to the same. When we did RMS, every single cent was transparent.”

            A citizen attending the meeting whose identification was not requested by the committee said Article 14 has been written in a manner that would create a fund where there is no obligation on the part of the ORR School District to spend the money on any particular item.

            “And that would be without any further review by Rochester’s Finance Committee, (Select Board) or voters. To create that kind of a slush fund would be irresponsible,” he said. “We the citizens look to the Finance Committee more than any other (government body) … It’s a blank check. I would urge you to do what our Select Board did unanimously, which is vote to not recommend this. To pay it back would be approximately another $7,000,000 of interest so it would be $19,000,000. This group spends a lot of time thinking about how to spend 20 grand. … It’s a wish list is all it is, and it’s subject to change.”

            Szyndlar indicated that the ORR School Committee is the responsible party in carrying through the request to its intentions and that “all articles are (written) very similarly to this.”

            “I don’t think they would necessarily spend it willy-nilly,” said Stoltenberg, who outlined three scenarios for the Finance Committee’s consumption: to recommend supporting the request, to recommend against it or to offer no recommendation.

            Armanetti motioned to not recommend in its current form. Austin had entertained more neutral thoughts such as those articulated by Stoltenberg but saw no path toward a recommendation and agreed with Armanetti’s motion to not recommend the article.

            “I believe that we push things away all the time. My recommendation is to not recommend, (it’s) poorly written. Not that it doesn’t need to be done,” said Arancio. “Take the school out of it. We would never take out $12,000,000 for a road improvement.”

            The committee voted unanimously not to recommend the article.

            Articles 2-15 all received Finance Committee approval, including a $26,022,613 FY25 Operating Budget. The FY24 appropriated Operating Budget is $25,075,010.

            Stoltenberg, who is not seeking re-election to the committee, accepted his nomination to the search committee that will henceforth seek to replace Town Administrator Glenn Cannon, who will take on the same job in Carver on May 14.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Finance Committee is scheduled for the Annual Town Meeting to be held on Monday, May 13, at Rochester Memorial School.

Rochester Finance Committee

By Mick Colageo

Marion Garden Group

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The Marion Garden Group is hosting its biannual plant sale on Saturday, May 11, at Marion’s Bicentennial Park. The sale runs from 9 am to noon. Cash, checks and credit cards are accepted.

            Members have been digging, splitting and repotting a wide selection of beautiful perennial plants, herbs and shrubs that have thrived in their local gardens. “I love this event because it helps us share our amazing gardens, both personal and public, with the residents of our special town and the towns around us. It truly is a community beautification event.” added Joanne Petrie, cochair of the plant sale.

            The plant sale has been a popular event for the past ten years. Each time selling out quickly. Suzy Taylor, MGG President had this to add, “About 10 years ago I purchased a 100-year-old daylily from the MGG sale that was donated by a local gardener. I still have that plant and it has continued to thrive and produce many more plants – how cool is that.” More recently,

“My first experience with Marion Garden Group was at the plant sale in 2020. I was fortunate to purchase one of Chrissy Maier’s heirloom cherry tomato plants. That one plant provided me with hundreds of delicious tomatoes, said Errin Chapin, co-chair.

            This year the sale will have two guest appearances. Marion native Kitty DeGroot who will be on hand to discuss all things beekeeping. The Marion Institute will be on site to discuss their initiatives and give out their famous plant seed pods.

            The Marion Garden Group’s mission is to help in the beautification of the town of Marion. Towards that end, the Group designs, plants and maintains the window boxes and planters throughout the village. They have also established and continue to care for many garden beds throughout the town.

            All proceeds from the sale will go to the mission contributing to the beautification of the town of Marion.

Rochester Board of Health

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H5N1 or “Bird Flu” is a naturally occurring virus among wild aquatic birds, also known as wild waterfowl, throughout the world and can infect domestic poultry like chickens, ducks, and turkeys. Infected birds may or may not become sick but can infect other fowl. The virus is shed through saliva, nasal secretions and feces. It is often present in natural water sources frequented by wild waterfowl. Domestic poultry may become infected with H5N1 when natural water sources are frequented and when in contact with wild waterfowl.

            Recently, there was a H5N1 case involving livestock and one person. The person’s only symptom was conjunctivitis and that person worked closely with the infected livestock. According to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, the threat to people is low.

            Protective actions include avoiding contact with suspected sick wild waterfowl and domestic poultry and observe them only from a distance, keep backyard domestic poultry away from wild waterfowl and natural water sources frequented by wild waterfowl and implement biosecurity plans. If you find a dead bird (wild waterfowl or domestic poultry), avoid contact. To report dead wild waterfowl or domestic poultry, call 617-626-1795 or online at mass.gov/reportbirds. Other types of birds, like songbirds and backyard birds, are rarely affected and should only be reported if there are 10 or more dead birds.

            Symptoms in wild waterfowl and domestic poultry include sudden death without clinical signs, incoordination, diarrhea, lack of energy or appetite, decreased egg production, purple discoloration of wattles, comb and legs, nasal discharge, coughing and sneezing.

            It is safe to eat properly handled and cooked poultry in the United States. There are recommendations regarding other products from other animals that may be infected with H5N1 available online at CDC.gov. H5N1 can be found in products such as raw milk. Pasteurized milk is safe to consume.

            More information can be found online at cdc.gov/flu/avianflu, mass.gov/info-details/avian-influenza, mass.gov/orgs/Massachusetts-department-of-agricultural-resources.

Marion Town Meeting and Election

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The Annual Town Meeting will be held on Monday May 13 followed by the Town Election on Friday May 17. If you wish to vote at the town meeting OR the election, you must register to vote by Friday May 3. The Town Clerk’s office will be open until 5:00 on that day, or you have until 11:59 pm to register to vote online (www.sec.state.ma.us).

            If you received a postcard from the Secretary of the Commonwealth titled “I Want to Vote” and checked the “All Elections” box, you will be receiving a ballot from the Town as we are required by law to provide it unless you specifically requested not to receive one. The ballots were mailed on Thursday April 24.

            We are offering in-person Early Voting during regular business hours at the Town Clerk’s office beginning Monday May 6 through Wednesday May 15. Voting at the Community Center on May 17 will be held from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm. There is a sample ballot on the Town Website: www.marionma.gov

            If you have any questions, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 508-748-3502 or email Lmagauran@marionma.gov.

Officials Support Warrant

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On April 25, a joint meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board and Finance Committee was held. Taking each of the 23 articles now officially to be presented at the Annual Town Meeting on May 13 at 6:30 pm in the Old Rochester Regional High School auditorium, the two boards reviewed each article, determining whether or not to support them.

            There were no surprises. After a winter spent in deep financial investigation and consideration of revenue versus expenses, the collective members were prepared.

            Article 1, Elected Officers’ Compensation, includes proposed, modest increases for those elected to office. Town Moderator $296 represents a proposed $6 increase, Select Board chairman, at $6,065, is up from $5,945, while Select Board members are proposed $5,465 up from $5,358, and assessors $5,465 up from $5,358.

            The town clerk’s proposed increase is from $75,000 to $77,500, and the highway surveyor from $87,500 to $89,500.

            Board of Health members currently receive $692, and the proposed increase is $706. Mattapoisett School Committee members, at $692 in FY24, rise to a proposed $706, and Water/Sewer commissioners from $692 to $706.

            The Tree warden currently receives $10,500 and is proposed an increase up to $10,710. And, last but not least, the herring inspector, currently at $988, will rise to $1,010 – all, if approved by Town Meeting, were supported by the Finance Committee and the Select Board.

            Article 2 General Operating Budget was supported by the committee and board, with the operating budget at $33,900,405, up by $1,494,731 a 4.6% increase.

            Town Administrator Mike Lorenco explained the contributing factors to expense increases.

            He cited retirement contribution $163,028, health insurance $101,171, lease obligations $86,440, trash and recycling curbside pick-up $126,660, trash and recycling disposal $216,643. Other expenses include a new hire for the Highway Department (full-time mechanic/laborer) at $40,000, a Council on Aging, full-time outreach coordinator at $20,167, library director increase of $9,000 and $12,000 for state limit library supplies. And lastly, $30,060 for computer technology.

            Calling it a balanced budget, Lorenco said that anticipated revenue is $33,953,511.

            Article 3, Appropriation for OPEB Liabilities, is proposed in the amount of $229,100 to meet the town’s obligation.

            Article 4, Departmental Revolving Fund Authorization, will set spending limits as follows: $5,000 Public Health Nursing Services; Heritage Days $10,000, Local Cultural Council $15,000, Wood Waste Recycling $10,000, Community Farmers’ Market $7,500, Library Fines $10,000, Private Road Maintenance $25,000, Fire Alarm Bylaw Penalties $10,000 and Public Access Channels $200,000.

            Article 5, Establish a Roadway Design and Construction Revolving Account, Article 7, Cyclical Annual Property Revaluation/Town Mapping $50,000 and Article 8, Cyclical Annual OPEB Actuarial  Report $4,500, were all supported, as were Article 9 Personnel Schedules and Article 10 the Capital Planning Report.

            Article 11 contains the proposed Capital Expenses, all supported by the board and committee: Ambulance Replacement $360,000, Ambulance Power Stretcher $40,000, Fire Helmet Replacement $11,000, Fire Hose Replacement $18,000, Ford pick-up Replacement $75,000, Annual Road Replacement $300,000 and Paging Servers (each) $32,900 for Center and Old Hammondtown schools.

            Continuing on Capital Expenses: Police UTV $25,000 (to be shared with Waterfront), Replacement Pump on Forestry 1 $8,000, Repair and Paint Town Hall $50,000, Back Building Exhaust Fan (Highway Department) $10,000, Water Heater Replacement (Old Hammondtown School) $18,000, Elevator Equipment Upgrades $25,000, Water Heater Replacement (Center School) $18,000, Replace and Repair Fire Doors (Center School) $26,000, Repair Window Seals (Center School) $20,000 and Replace VCT Flooring (Old Hammondtown School) $25,000.

            The Waterfront Enterprise Fund seeks $25,000 for police and Marine UTA (shared with Police Department), $25,000 for Docks and Floats and $10,000 for Pump Out Engine equipment.

            There was no motion taken for Article 12, Old Rochester Regional Debt Authorization for Capital Improvements $12,000,000, by the Select Board, but the Finance Committee voted to support the article.

            Article 13, Water/Sewer Building (new) Industrial Drive $4,700,000, was supported by both the Finance Committee and the Select Board. Lorenco stated that the lion’s share of monies needed for a new Water/Sewer headquarters building will come from grants and real estate sales.

            Article 14, Allocation of Revenues Community Preservation Act, followed by Article 15, CPA Funding Mattapoisett Historical Commission $30,000, were both supported. The grant money will be used to continue the work of data collection and retention per the state regulations for historic resources.

            Water and Sewer Reserve accounts (Articles 16 and 17) are both seeking $10,000 from retained earnings for unforeseen expenses.

            Article 18, Oakland Street Sewer Supplemental Funding, asked Town Meeting to appropriate $120,000 to repair the failing sewer main that services a large area.

            Article 19 requests a title change from Highway Surveyor to Highway Superintendent, and Article 20 is an amendment change to the Finance Committee bylaws that would allow appointed members to reside in any location in town regardless of former north, east and west requirements.

            Article 21, Amendment to By-laws for House Numbering, and Article 22, Public Works Improvement, were both supported by the Select Board.

            Article 23 is a citizen’s petition for the establishment of a Road Reconstruction Committee, borne of concerns expressed by members of the Mattapoisett Tree Committee that plans for roadway reconstruction as drafted by engineering firm VHB to meet requirements of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (a primary source of funding for the project) dictate cutting down more than 25 mature trees in the village area. Tree Committee Chairman Sandy Hering and others put forward the article to have a bigger decision-making voice in the proposed layout.

            The Monday, May 13, Annual Town Meeting Warrant is available at Mattapoisett Town Hall or on the town’s website, mattapoisett.net.

Mattapoisett Select Board and Finance Committee

By Marilou Newell