The kids have just gone back to school after Winter Break, but they have another holiday coming up! Plan ahead and send your kids to Marion Recreation’s Vacation Day Fun on Monday, January 19 from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm! Only $40 per child. This event is for boys and girls in First through Sixth Grades. There will be art & crafts, games and more fun! For more information, contact Marion Recreation at 774-217-8355 or info@marionrecreation.com and visit www.marionrecreation.com.
What a difference a few days made on January 5 for the Mattapoisett Planning Board.
At the December 29 special public hearing, the Planning Board had a rather frustrating exchange with Mattapoisett Highway Surveyor Barry Denham regarding Brandt Point Village.
At that meeting Denham said, “I wasted my time again!” He had been driving home the point that road construction had begun on Phase II of the subdivision in clear violation of the permit and the board’s conditions.
The board had received a letter from the subdivision’s attorney, John Williams (also a partner in the project), which stated no road construction had begun on Phase II and that a culvert was being installed for a turtle crossing.
Planning Board member John Mathieu asked on December 29, “Let’s say it is road construction, what is the issue?”
“The issue is we need inspections at every stage!” insisted Denham.
After Denham left that meeting, the board members decided that they would require the developer of Phase I to pave all side roads currently at the site, requested as-built plans for the culvert, and decided to engage the Town’s engineering firm to develop a checklist for the developer that clearly states when inspections are to be done throughout the road construction process.
At the January 5 meeting, though, the board took a decidedly stronger approach with the developer.
Acting Chairman Ron Merlo had called the developer’s engineer Al Loomis of McKenzie Engineering and requested specifications for the culvert that had already been installed and termed a “turtle crossing.” Attorney Williams had sent a letter to the Planning Board in advance of the December 29 meeting stating that no roadway construction had begun, only the installation of a turtle crossing.
“It’s been going on over a month now,” stated Denham on January 5. He said that truckloads of fill had been delivered to the site, 400 feet had been grubbed, and that the turtle tunnel was really an engineered bridge that had not been inspected.
“In my opinion, road construction (on Phase II) has begun,” Merlo concurred. “My goal is to establish a line of communication with the developer, [and] find out what types of soils and analysis have been used.”
“This is the third time that construction started before formal meetings have taken place,” said Denham. “Twice on this job and once on Appaloosa.”
Merlo said it was clear to him that the developer had failed to make the necessary effort to set up meetings to discuss the project and request inspections with the Highway and Sewer Departments.
“I’d like to send a letter to Williams to step up his game…,” said Merlo.
Mathieu wanted to give the developer a checklist with set milestones for requesting inspections.
“It is a two-phase subdivision … the market didn’t allow it to happen all at once…,” stated Mathieu. “Right now, the thing is not producing tax revenue for the Town…. I want them to finish this thing.” He said he did not want to put any roadblocks in place that would hinder the developer in completing the work.
This enraged Mattapoisett resident Paul Osenkowski, a vocal opponent to the project since the beginning. He angrily asserted that the developer was not following the rules and is causing problems for the neighbors in the area.
“I request a cease and desist order,” said a more calmed Osenkowski.
Merlo asked the board members to vote on whether or not to send a letter to Williams, putting him on notice that he needed to appear before the board and explain the work that has taken place at the site. Merlo also asked that the wording include the cessation of roadwork until Williams came forward. The board agreed to send the letter and to contact Loomis again for any additional information he may offer on inspections done at the site by a qualified engineer.
Also during the meeting, the aforementioned Appaloosa subdivision situated off River Road was on the agenda.
Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering was present to explain that he was awaiting comments from the Town’s engineering firm, Field Engineering, on the materials G.A.F. had submitted on the project. That information included engineering plans, watershed maps, and drainage calculations.
Grady confirmed that recent percolation testing demonstrated that the two lots were in conformance with Board of Health requirements. He was granted a continuation until the next regular meeting.
Earlier in the evening, the board approved a Form A (application for endorsement of plan believed not to require approval) for David Nicolosi of Deerfield Road to subdivide a five-acre parcel to his neighbor, Veronica Brockwell of 13 Randall Road, for horse pastures. The board voted to accept the request.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for February 2 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.
By Marilou Newell
It’s becoming a New Year’s Day tradition in Mattapoisett, and the 2015 “Freezin’ for a Reason” Polar Plunge, now in its third year, was more successful than ever – attracting more participants and onlookers than last year, and bringing in around $10,000 that will go towards assisting local families battling cancer.
Organizers Michelle and her husband Will are no strangers to the hardship a family experiences when a loved one is fighting cancer. Will has undergone several rounds of cancer treatment, and when the Huggins’ were facing financial strain, a local organization provided them with assistance to keep them afloat. The proceeds from the polar plunge will go directly to helping local families struggling with the same experience.
“I think this third year was the most successful,” said Huggins. “We raised a great deal of money over last year.”
She said participants donning costumes, competing for first place in the best costume contest, really added to the spirit of the event, with teams who really took the challenge seriously.
“People just took that to a whole ‘nother level,” said Huggins. “It was double the fun than last year. It was a mob scene. It was awesome.”
Taking first prize was the eight-member 1980s WrestleMania team, taking home the trophy designed by a local artist especially for the event.
“I mean, it was just hysterical,” said Huggins. She said those honored with the one-of-a-kind trophy would have to return it next year so it can be rotated year after year.
Michelle and Will’s seven year-old son Cy, who raised $200 on his own, plunged for his first time this year.
“He loved it,” said Huggins. She said she encourages her son to maintain a mindfulness of the world around him, saying, “He knows that the world doesn’t revolve around him … I think that’s huge.” She added, “Everyone on that beach felt that way, too.”
Huggins hopes to have another Polar Plunge next year, but the family takes things day-by-day, month-by-month.
The Town of Mattapoisett and all the vendors who donated food, heat sources, and tents were instrumental to the success of the plunge, and she thanked the community for its support.
”There was such a really good feeling on the beach that day,” said Huggins. “I hope we can do it next year.”
By Jean Perry
Cutting a tree might appear harmless enough, but when the tree lives within the boundaries of land protected under the Wetlands Protection Act or the Rivers Protection Act, you need permission before proceeding.
The Rochester Conservation Commission on January 6 approved the cutting of trees within the wetlands 100-foot buffer zone for two property owners – one before, and one after-the-fact.
First, Isaac Perry, on behalf of his wife Karen Perry, received a negative determination – the work being done will not have an impact on the resource area, thus a Notice of Intent is not required – to remove two trees from within the 100-foot BZ located at their 197 Neck Road property.
Perry said one of the trees was leaning at a 45-degree angle and the other tree was already on the ground, having fallen on its own. All he requested was permission to remove the trees, leaving the stump with no excavation work required.
The approval was swift, with no questions from the commission.
“You’re all set, sir,” several commission members told Perry in unison.
Next, Michael Delk of 76 Ryder Road opened with an apology for having removed six trees within the 100-foot BZ, and applied for an additional six trees to be removed.
“Forgive us,” said Delk. “We weren’t aware of the rules, and now I am.”
Delk said the need to cut down the towering pines that lean toward the house stems from the imminent danger the trees pose to the dwelling. When asked, Delk told the commission that no heavy equipment or excavation is required for the work, and one shed will be permanently moved to another location on the property before cutting one tree down.
Commission member Christopher York asked Delk if any of the trees are located within the 25-foot No Touch Zone of the river on the property, and the commission determined that one of the trees is. York said he would prefer to leave the tree be, but Delk said the tree already has one large limb dangling toward the ground that could fall at any time, posing a risk to the children that play on his property.
“They love playing in the creek area over there,” said Delk. “They’re nine, seven, and five [years-old] and they’re always playing ‘pirates’ or something over there.”
The commission granted Delk a negative determination for the work and adjourned the meeting in less than 15 minutes.
The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for January 20 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall; however, the Conservation Department has received no new filings, and the deadline to file is the next day. If there are no items on the agenda, the meeting could be canceled.
By Jean Perry
A citizen’s petition signed by 25 residents that proposes a restriction on the size of commercial and retail structures, aimed at discouraging “big box” businesses from moving to Marion, had its public hearing on January 5, with no public in attendance.
The petition to amend current zoning bylaws to cap commercial and retail structures to 10-percent lot coverage with a maximum of 5,000 square feet will appear on the May Annual Town Meeting Warrant as an article, whether the Marion Planning Board recommends it or not.
The consensus that evening was to table further discussion while the Planning Board Master Plan Subcommittee devises its own, more comprehensive version of a bylaw amendment the Planning Board might ultimately favor.
The citizen’s petition, spearheaded by former Planning Board member Ted North who also sits on the Master Plan Subcommittee, was generally unpopular with the board during prior discussions.
Planning Board Vice-Chairman Norman Hills reiterated his concerns about the petition he referred to in the past as “too thin” and “unclear and confusing,” pointing to the proposed bylaw’s failure to specify which zones would be excluded from the building size restriction, rather than identifying which zones would be affected. He said it also redefines the definition of “gross square-foot area” as already defined by current Town bylaws, renaming it “footprint.”
“I think this is a knee-jerk reaction,” said Hills about the citizen’s petition. “We need to take the time to address this intelligently.”
Planning Board member Robert Lane encouraged the board to reject it with comment and see if the subcommittee can produce a bylaw “of a more complete nature.”
Board member Rico Ferrari advised reserving judgment or any further evaluation until the end of the hearing to allow for public input from citizens.
But, Ferrari said, gesturing to an empty audience, “Evidently there’s not many out there.”
“We’ve only just begun to address the issue,” said Lane. Within a few weeks, suggested Lane, the subcommittee might have something to present to the Planning Board for consideration.
The public hearing was closed after roughly ten minutes of discussion.
In other news, Planning Board Chairman Stephen Kokkins once again defended his stance on appealing the building permit for the Briggs solar farm, after the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals already approved a variance, while Hills maintained his dissent over the matter. Kokkins reasserted that a section of the Town’s solar bylaw requires the applicant to file with the Planning Board for a site plan review, and overlooking this requirement would set a dangerous precedent.
Hills maintained that the project does not meet the requirements that would trigger a site plan review and the matter should be laid to rest.
Hills read aloud an email written by resident Jennifer Francis, criticizing the board’s majority decision to fight the building permit because it will disrupt the development of the community solar garden, which Francis claimed has already sold half its shares. She states in the email that the “dangerous precedent” the board perceives does not exist.
“The Planning Board has a number of important projects and issues already on its plate,” Francis’ email reads. “Surely your time, effort, and resources should be targeted at these critical … activities and not wasted on an appeal that has no merit and has no benefit to the town.”
Kokkins said the intent is not to obstruct the project. It is simply to “preserve the integrity of that process.”
“It is not indicative of opposition to that project,” said Kokkins.
The board debated Town Counsel Jon Witten’s opinion on the matter, delivered in a November 23 letter that stated, “…I concur with the Planning Board’s opinion that the Board of Appeals’ grant of a variance … was not a grant of a variance from the requirements of Section 9…” However, Witten continued, “According to the plans filed by the engineer … the square footage threshold of Section 9.1.1 is not triggered.”
“In two weeks from now, the issue will be resolved by the ZBA,” said Kokkins. That ZBA meeting will be January 22 at 7:30 pm.
The board also briefly discussed hiring a transcription company to provide certified transcripts of the December 15 Planning Board Meeting, as well as future meetings involving the developers of a proposed CVS for the corner of Route 6 and Front Street.
Estimates for the service hovered around $500 per meeting. Kokkins said having the transcripts could be useful “if there’s ever any serious dissention involved in the future.” No action was taken.
Also during the meeting, the board approved paying $12,256 from the FY15 consulting line item to SRPEDD for its Master Plan services.
The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for January 20 at 5:00 pm at the Marion Town House.
By Jean Perry
The Rochester Highway Department will be picking up Christmas trees on January 9 and 16. Please have trees curbside by 7:00 am.
On Friday, January 9 at 4:30 pm, the Mattapoisett Congregational Church will re-open the doors of Reynard Hall for Open Table. The meal will be served at 5:00 pm and all are welcome. Open Table offers a delicious, nutritious supper prepared by volunteers on the first Friday of every month. There is no charge, although donations are gratefully accepted. If you would like more information about Open Table or are interested in helping, please contact the Church office at 508-758-2671, Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 am – 12:00 pm.
On January 3, 2015, after a long illness, Timothy J. Howrihan, Jr. joined the love of his life, his wife Trudi, Gertrude M. (Besso) Howrihan on their continued journey. They enjoyed traveling cross country as well as internationally and were married for almost 60 years.
Born in New Bedford, the son of the late Timothy J. and Helen (Manghan) Howrihan, he lived in Whitinsville before moving to Mattapoisett in 1956. He attended Bristol County Agricultural High School, in Dighton, and served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. As a communicant of St. Anthony’s Church Tim was a member of the St. Vincent dePaul Society.
He was formerly employed as a sheet metal mechanic with Sheet Metal Worker’s Union Local 17, allowing him to work in numerous states as well as in Saudi Arabia. After retirement, Tim would join the ROMEO’s of Fairhaven for weekly breakfast gatherings.
Survivors include his daughter, Anne M. Fenton of Mattapoisett; a sister, Mary Nelson of Rochester; many nieces and nephews, and his grand kitties Abbott and Costello.
He was the brother of the late Catherine (Howrihan) Beaumont and Margaret (Howrihan) Pierce.
His Funeral will be held on Monday, January 12th at 9:30 AM from the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Road, Route 6, Mattapoisett, followed by her Funeral Mass at St. Anthony’s Church at 10:30 AM. Burial will follow in the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne. Visiting hours Sunday, January 11th from 2-5 PM. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Mattapoisett Police Association, 64 County Rd. Mattapoisett, MA 02739. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
Beavering away in a corner on the second floor of the Mattapoisett Historical Society Museum’s church building are two industriously employed women – Elizabeth Hutchison, museum curator, and Lenora Robinson, preservationist.
The sheer volume of work that they have undertaken cannot be overstated. It is massive in scope. Yet together, they are chipping away at inventorying the vast array of archival materials like a two-person army.
It was clear to Hutchison that immediate attention had to be given to cataloging every item in the museum collection, which contains everything from antique articles of clothing to theater programs and personal diaries. Although some cataloging had been done over the years, advances in technology now allow more accurate record keeping and easier sharing of historical information via the Internet.
Robinson has a library science degree and also studied archiving and preservation. A New Bedford native, she lives Westport where she has worked as a museum volunteer for two years, while also volunteering at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
“I’m making my way up the coast,” said Robinson with a shy chuckle.
For some weeks now, she has worked part-time in Mattapoisett with grant monies secured from the Town’s Community Preservation fund.
“If it was just me doing all this work, it would take ten to fifteen years,” said Hutchison. But thanks to the CPC, she was able to hire Robinson and purchase the right type of storage materials for the sensitive fabrics and papers. She estimates that the entire cataloging project will take anywhere from three to five years with part-time hours.
Acid-free archival storage cartons, acid-free tissue paper, and metal shelving units, along with a modest hourly rate for Robinson, have thus far totaled $7306. Hutchison has recently applied for an additional $20,000 from the CPC to continue the project.
And not to be forgotten are the docents who put their willing shoulders to projects such as these. Primarily utilized in the summer months to free Hutchison to do the numerous management-level tasks the museum requires of her time, the docents were instrumental in helping to catalog and place fabrics and clothing items into museum quality containers. All cloth items are stored in an environmentally-controlled storage unit.
“The museum isn’t the best place for them,” said Hutchison.
Robinson has been busy checking old cataloging records, filling in gaps in record keeping, and whittling away at placing every item in the collection into a computer database. Hutchison said that via the Internet, researchers will be able to view the museum’s collections.
And new materials are arriving all the time. The museum recently received a huge turn-of-the-century map of Route 6 from the Marion town line to Fairhaven. Unrolled, it measures over 20-feet long.
Hutchison said that this whole cataloging process has allowed her to put “hands on” the museum’s pieces. This is a type of inventory taking done in museums that allows the curators to check the condition, wear and tear of items, and keep track of things in a schematic uniform methodology.
She opened an archival container and revealed a Bible that was recently donated to the museum.
“See, it’s falling apart,” she said. As she slowly opened the cover, a small piece of the leather came off in her hand. “Animal products deteriorate fast.”
To that I say, “Ain’t that the truth.”
Mattapoisett’s Historical Society Museum is now officially closed for the season. It will reopen in late June. However, Hutchison is available Monday – Thursday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and you may call 508-758-2844 to schedule a visit.
By Marilou Newell
The Sippican Choral Society will begin rehearsals on Monday, January 12 for its special 50th Anniversary Spring concert. The chorus is inviting all past members to return and sing in the concert, even those who sang with the group back in the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. New members are welcome to join the chorus simply by coming to one of the first three first rehearsals.
This will be a special joint concert with the Tri-County Symphonic Band, with which the chorus performed in its very first concert in 1965.
Rehearsals begin promptly at 7:30 pm every Monday evening, but singers are asked to arrive by 7:15 pm for the first rehearsal in order to register and receive music. Rehearsals are held at the First Congregational Church on Church Street in Mattapoisett.
All voices are welcome (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), but tenors are especially encouraged to sing with the chorus this year. No auditions are required.
For the 50th Anniversary concert, which is on Sunday, April 26, the chorus will perform three pieces with the Tri-County Symphonic Band: the Triumphal March from Verdi’s “Aida,” Lacrimosa from Mozart’s “Requiem,” and Chorus of the Gypsies “Anvil Chorus” from Verdi’s “Il Trovatore.”
The chorus will also sing pieces by Haydn (“The Heavens are Telling,” from The Creation), Felix Mendelssohn (“Da Nobis Pacem”), and several other songs, including “Amazing Grace,” “Ride the Chariot,” “Deep River,” and “How Can I Keep from Singing.” All pieces were carefully chosen by the chorus’s music committee from the best of the chorus’s past concerts.
For further information about singing with the Sippican Choral Society as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, please call Peter McDonald at 508-748-0286. If you plan to sing this season, but cannot make the first rehearsal, please let Peter know that when you call.