Marion Fire Chief Thomas Joyce announced his intent to retire in a letter addressed to the Marion Board of Selectmen, and on January 20 selectmen had nothing but good things to say about Chief Joyce who will retire June 30 of this year. Now selectmen must decide where they will look for his replacement – in-house or seek elsewhere.

“We knew that this letter was coming,” said Town Administrator Paul Dawson. “His letter was a very beautiful letter, thanking a number of people and organizations…”

Dawson said it could take some time to appoint a new fire chief, and he recommended the board provide him with guidance as to which direction he should proceed regarding advertising for the position.

Dawson said, in his opinion, the board could find a suitable candidate in-house.

“If we could find a new chief that was as good as he was, we’d be in good shape,” said Board of Selectmen Chairman Jonathan Henry. “I’m very proud of him. He did have a lot on his plate and he handled it without making a public spectacle out of it.” Henry continued, “I personally think you’ve got to go out there and see what’s out there in the fire world.” Henry said it would not be doing the public any service unless they did.

Selectman Jody Dickerson agreed.

“It is a long process. It does take about six months if you do it properly,” said Dickerson. “I think we should throw a large net out there and see what we bring in.”

The board will discuss the matter further at its next meeting.

Also during the meeting, the board gave Dawson authorization to expend a maximum of $5,000 on preliminary legal services from an environmental law office based in Washington D.C. to assist the Town with its NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) dilemma with the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA rejected the Town’s request to extend the comment period for 180 days, but did allow for a 30-day extension until February 2 due to the holiday season interrupting the Town’s initial 30-day comment period.

The law firm of Hall and Associates will assist the Town during the initial comment period to build a case against the science that the EPA used to determine the new lowered nitrogen limits for the NPDES permit, as well as the pending requirement to eliminate the lagoons.

In other matters, the Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity house to be located at 185 Wareham Street can finally break ground now that selectmen have passed the final hurdle – a vote to execute the deed and the accompanying easement on the property.

“Talk about Murphy’s Law,” said Dawson. “If there was anything that could go wrong here, it did.” He said the Town and the organization “soldiered on” anyhow, and both parties were now at the finish line.

Henry commented that even the Louisiana Purchase took less time to complete than this project.

The Friends of the Marion Council on Aging gave a brief update on data they collected to assist the Town in studying the feasibility of a senior center for Marion.

As of 2010, 30-percent of the population in Marion is over 65, and Priscilla Ditchfield told selectmen that by 2023, it will reach 40-percent. She said senior citizens reside in about half the households in Marion, with one-fourth of the remaining seniors living alone. The lack of a central “hub,” said Ditchfield, is a concern among seniors.

Representatives from SRPEDD approached the board for feedback regarding a regional transportation plan. Selectmen cited County Road as a major concern, as well as the intersection of Routes 6 and 105.

The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen has not yet been scheduled, but the board will hold a special meeting before the NPDES permit deadline date of February 2.

By Jean Perry

On January 20, the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Commissioners met with AECOM, an international architectural and engineering firm that provides turnkey infra-structure solutions to a variety of industries as well as municipalities. They were employed by the Town to provide research and propose solutions for several high-profile water and sewer projects.

Doug DeNatale of AECOM has been working with Water and Sewer Superintendent Nick Nicholson for a number of years with a focused effort over the past three years on an old, unused well known as ‘Pump Station 2.’

This location began pumping water for the Town in 1925, but it had been abandoned. Nicholson and DeNatale both believe that it could be a viable fresh water source for the Town and at a cost far less than sourcing new wells or buying water from other towns.

DeNatale told the commissioners that the yield study demonstrated a flow of 400,000 gallons per day. That figure represents half of what the state now permits Mattapoisett to pump daily. This source could, if needed, supply a substantial amount of potable water to the Town’s residents.

The quality of the water was also deemed of such a high quality it would not have to be treated before being introduced into the system, DeNatale stated. Pump Station 2 was also cleared by Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act as having no environmental impact or threat to habitat.

Nicholson noted that re-introduction of this well into the system has been 15 years in the making.

“We don’t ever want to lose a water source.” Nicholson said that this will be a back-up should another well go down.

The next step for Nicholson and AECOM is securing a water management permit from the state. AECOM’s full report has been sent on to the Department of Environmental Protection and MEPA for their seal of approval, although MEPA’s November 2014 report and DEP’s January 9 letter both indicate acceptance of the well into the system.

Funding of the project to restore Pump Station 2 will have to be accepted by the voters at Town Meeting in the spring, Nicholson confirmed.

Before it can go to the voters, Nicholson said that costs associated with the well will need to be part of the capital planning process.

“It will never get less expensive than now,” Nicholson said, further noting that monies would have to be borrowed to foot the bill. No cost estimates were discussed.

AECOM was also in attendance to present their outline for the replacement of the water main on Mechanic Street. A late winter bid cycle is planned so that firm figures can be presented at Town Meeting in May.

And the third project AECOM’s team has been researching for the Town is repair options for water mains on Route 6 to Aucoot Road.

These ancient, cast iron pipes have caused many problems over the years, not only for the Water and Sewer Department (“…many a cold late night call…,”Nicholson said), but also in service disruptions.

The six-inch pipes in question cover a 4,000-foot distance. Steve DeFrancesco of AECOM said the most cost effective option is to line the old pipes versus digging them up and replacing them. Rehabilitation of existing public water supply system pipes was described as the most viable option.

Such a project would be done during the warm weather months. DeFrancesco suggested a possible March bid date. He also said that the Massachusetts Highway Department design approval and permitting processes would take approximately a month. Although not necessary due to the non-jurisdictional location of the proposed work, DeFrancesco said AECOM would send a letter to the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission so they are aware of the work before it begins.

Earlier in the evening, Nicholson asked the commissioners to review and support the completed new Open Space Plan saying, “…this is a good step forward for the Town.”

The draft document has taken just over a year to complete and runs many hundreds of pages. The commissioners’ support was needed before the document could be forwarded to the State for final approval.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Commission is scheduled for February 3 at 6:00 pm at 19 County Road.

By Marilou Newell

An intense argument over minutes overshadowed budget discussions, as the Marion Planning Board was divided 5-2 (a consistent number that night) in its opinion regarding how Planning Board Clerk Robert Lane should be taking minutes. The debate led to a motion by member Steve Gonsalves to keep meeting minutes limited to bare-bones information such as date, those in attendance, motions, and votes – a move board member Norman Hills said went against Robert’s Rules of Order. Lane disagreed.

Lane, Gonsalves, and Chairman Stephen Kokkins argued that the video recordings taped by the cable access channel could serve as a reference for those wishing to review the meetings, and Hills was adamant that it was unacceptable to replace meeting minutes with DVDs.

The argument on January 20 was continued from a previous meeting when the September 15 meeting minutes were first presented for acceptance. Board member Eileen Marum opposed descriptive language included in the minutes that she considered editorializing, specifically when Lane wrote that Marum “forcefully criticized” the Planning Board assistant, resulting in her leaving the room. Marum contested the description and objected to other references to tone.

Lane amended the minutes to reflect Marum’s supposed request for a verbatim transcript of what was said, and during the contentious January 20 meeting, Marum denied the claim.

Hills and Marum continued in their criticism of Lane’s September 15 minutes, relentlessly.

“In nine years never, ever, ever have I seen this,” interjected Gonsalves. “This is insane. This is never going to stop. Where do we go from here? It’s like a merry-go-round. It’s ridiculous.”

Gonsalves motioned to simplify meeting minutes, and Lane promptly seconded.

“What’s the problem with writing down what happened at a meeting?” Hills asked, questioning why Lane refuses to include in the minutes words pertaining to a motion Marum made during the September 15 meeting.

Kokkins, in trying to keep the discussion on track, suggested there was a philosophical difference among board members.

“There’s nothing to be gained by not putting the information in the minutes,” continued Hills. He said it was valuable information that people in the future might refer back to. “If you don’t like it, then it’s too bad. It’s the way it happened,” said Hills. He then turned to Gonsalves and called his motion for “skimpy” minutes irresponsible.

Nowhere in Roberts Rules of Order does it say cable access recorded DVDs can replace minutes, Hills pointed out.

“There’s nowhere that says you can’t,” replied Lane.

The vote to approve the “minimal minutes” passed 5-2, but even then the arguing continued. Hills brought up further issues he had with the minutes, with grammatical errors and misspellings like changing “tilted” to “titled” as it should have been written.

Marum alleged that Lane’s employment of a transcript service for the contested portion of the September 15 minutes had ties to his business, and thus had the appearance of a conflict of interest. Lane denied the claim. When Marum insisted, Gonsalves laughed, causing Marum to turn to Gonsalves.

“Excuse me,” said Marum. “It’s not funny.”

“Yes it is,” said Gonsalves.

Board member Rico Ferrari asked Marum if she was a trained attorney, and then called for the question, saying the meeting was getting out of hand.

“I’ve got more comments,” said Hills. Lane slammed his draft minutes onto the table.

The vote to accept the amended September minutes was again 5-2.

In other contentious matters, earlier in the meeting the board talked about hiring a transcript service to record past and future meetings relative to the developers of a CVS at the corner of Route 6 and Front Street. Not having the funds for the service budgeted for fiscal year 2015, the board voted, 5-2, to amend the FY15 budget by transferring funds from one line item to the consultant line item in the amount of $950 to record two past meetings with the CVS developers.

Hills and Marum argued that it was not necessary, given that no application has been filed yet and if needed in the future, the board could revisit the matter.

As for FY16, Ferrari suggested taking the $500 budgeted for travel and meeting expenses and moving it into the consultant line item for transcript services in the future, a move Marum opposed since she is the representing board member for SRPEDD and travels occasionally to attend meetings and educational sessions on behalf of the board.

Ferrari said he saw no return on the money and the board, as a whole, did not benefit from Marum’s continued education. Marum told Ferrari that he could “tap into [her] knowledge” at any time, but suggested that he was unwilling.

“It’s up to you,” Marum told him.

“Then I say strike it totally, with that attitude,” Ferrari said about funding the line item. He said he would “pass” on opening up that “can of worms” when it came to Marum’s knowledge.

Ferrari motioned to de-fund the travel expense line item, with no second.

“There must be some value there,” said board member Michael Popitz. He wondered if the board was taking advantage of the information Marum was learning and if she ever brought back informational pamphlets and such for the board to see.

“I have brought them here,” said Marum. “And nobody was interested.”

Ferrari then suggested level-funding the expense line, keeping it at the FY15 level of $290 and plugging the remaining $210 in the consultant line. The motion passed, 5-2.

The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for February 2 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Jean Perry