“I don’t think we were ever notified,” said Rochester Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson on November 12, displeased over a variance for signage the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals granted to Rochester Crossroads.

Johnson described the situation as the applicant jumping over the Planning Board and heading straight for the ZBA to obtain approval for five signs slated for the proposed commercial development at the intersection of Route 28 and 58, facing Route 495. The approved signs would exceed the maximum size limit of the Town’s bylaw.

“We get notifications from other towns but not from our own…” said Johnson.

A careful reading of the ruling from the ZBA noted that its decision does not supersede action taken by other boards.

“I think we need to put the building inspector on notice,” said Johnson, to ensure that a building permit was not issued before the Planning Board could appeal the ruling.

The board agreed to seek an appeal of the ZBA ruling and contact Building Inspector Jim Buckles.

“We’re not being notified on a consistent basis,” stated Johnson, citing the need for improved communication between boards.

Also during the meeting, the board discussed the Hartley Mills subdivision still standing in a state of suspended animation since the developer stopped construction on the site many months ago.

Johnson said the permit is about to expire, and he pondered what the board might do to assist the applicant.

“In good faith they started it,” board member Gary Florindo said. “Shouldn’t the permit still be valid?” Florindo said it was not the developer’s fault, since economic crises caused the project to halt after some roadway and infrastructure work.

Town Counsel Blair Bailey had told Johnson that if the permit expires, the applicant would have to start from the beginning, incurring additional fees and expenses. Johnson said he would check again with Bailey to make sure the permit was in jeopardy of expiring and work with Town Planner Mary Crain to notify the applicant of same. Johnson said that Crain is looking at all open permits and developing a database to ensure that applicants are notified when expiration dates are nearing in an effort to keep all parties informed.

In other matters, the board reviewed issues at Connet Woods. Highway Surveyor Jeffrey Eldridge informed Johnson of some missing berms and possible problems with stormwater management at the site. Johnson referred to the development as a work in progress.

Board member Susan Teal suggested having the Town’s engineers and surveyor work with the contractor to ensure that sidewalks, roadways, and drainage basins function properly, calling it “adaptive management.”

Two of the evening’s public meetings included an Approval Not Required (ANR) application from Susan McCarty of “Lucky Farms” at 570 New Bedford Road that was approved. McCarty, who currently resides in California, is planning to return to the 46 acres she owns in Rochester, keeping approximately 25 acres in permanent protected status from development in the future. Agricultural activities are planned, as well as a small parcel designated as residential for a single-family dwelling and two barns, and another parcel for a possible residential subdivision.

The other public meeting was for The Pines at Hathaway Pond. The board voted to accept code violation rectifications as “minor” on the plan of record and accepted a report from Ken Motta of Field Engineering that the work had been completed to code.

The November 25 meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is cancelled unless they receive an ANR application. Their next meeting is December 9 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell

It was a sign of the times on November 13 with members of the Old Rochester Regional Joint School Committees contemplating the unthinkable during a demonstration of an advanced school security software system called Mutualink™ Edge, a collaborative suite that allows virtually instant interagency and interschool communication in the event of an emergency.

Mattapoisett Police Chief Mary Lyons introduced Bob Galvin, a retired police officer now working for the Connecticut-based Mutualink™, who gave a presentation on how the program operates to an attentive school committee and a couple town officials in attendance.

The software streamlines the emergency response process by instantly forming multimedia communications via a secure network that can connect a school with police, fire, other schools within the district and other agencies, and connect them to video surveillance cameras within the school, computers, tablets, smart phones, and hand-held radios.

On the computer screen, a user can open an incident box and drag and drop those agencies the user desires to be included in the emergency response. By accessing the existing video surveillance cameras within the school, police can assess the situation and respond.

“It gives the police what I call ‘situation awareness,’” said Galvin. Police can take over the intercom system and inform the school staff and students where an intruder might be located within the building so they can react accordingly.

A hardwired panic button is located at the main office, with “soft” panic buttons available to designated staff via an app on their smart phone or tablet.

“In the event of an emergency, time is of the essence,” said Galvin.

Galvin said the system’s secure network is military-level encrypted, the highest level of security available.

“There’s no cure for what we’re talking about here,” said Galvin, after the phrase “school shooting” was spoken several times throughout the evening. “I really shouldn’t have to be here because we shouldn’t have to be talking about situations like this.”

Other school districts in the region have heard the same presentation and some have opted to adopt the program. Galvin said it makes schools safer.

“I believe in this system,” said Galvin.

The cost to install the system is $17,000 per school, which includes training. It is then $1,100 annually per site for maintenance and continued support.

Superintendent Doug White said the three towns would have to vote at Town Meeting to back the school district financially if The Joint eventually decides to pursue the program.

Chief Lyons said all the Tri-Town chiefs are on board with adopting the program and the town administrators are discussing it.

Also during the meeting, principals presented their 2014 MCAS scores from each of the schools – some celebrating and some vowing to improve their scores by taking specific measures to support students and staff in preparation for the 2015 PARCC exam and MCAS in high school.

Assistant Superintendent Elise Frangos gave an overview of the schools’ scores and shared some insight into some of the reasons why not all schools improved their scores as much as they had hoped.

“We’ve experienced some drops this year because of the full implementation of the Common Core,” stated Frangos.

Sippican School Principal Lyn Rivet had much to sing about, with the school’s recognition as a commendation school – the highest level of achievement for schools – for the first time. To achieve commendation school status, MCAS scores must reflect that achievement gaps have closed, which all the participating grades at Sippican accomplished.

A point of pride for Sippican is that English Language Arts (ELA) scores were strong and increased significantly in grades three through five, ranking Sippican number one for its cohort (a smaller grouping of school districts sharing similar demographics).

Center School and Old Hammondtown celebrated commendation school status for its third year, one of only five school districts in the state to receive the honor for three consecutive years. One of Mattapoisett’s points of pride is that 96percent of sixth-graders scored in the advanced or proficient category in ELA, and 91percent of them fell within the advanced or proficient category in Mathematics.

Rochester Memorial School ranked number one in its cohort for growth comparison. Eighty-one percent of sixth grade students scored advanced proficient in ELA, and 86percent scored proficient or advanced in Math.

ORR Junior High School Principal Kevin Brogioli explained a significant dip in progress in the Math portion of the MCAS, and laid out plans on how the school will address the issue.

Brogioli said a math text expert and a math coach to support staff with the curriculum have been brought in to support students and staff during this transition into the Common Core learning standard.

“It points to a big area of concern from sixth grade to seventh grade,” said Brogioli, adding that the math coach will assist by modeling lessons, observing, guiding, and providing instructional strategies to increase student engagement.

“[We are going to] roll up our sleeves and get after it,” said Brogioli, “and that’s what we’re going to do.”

ORR High School Principal Michael Devoll started his presentation by saying said the Common Core “hit us.”

“And it hit us pretty good,” he said. Devoll continued, “High needs students were not reaching their potential and that was causing a gap for many of our students.”

Devoll described a summer school skills class for entering freshman that need catching up on Algebra 1, where a discrepancy in learning appears to have an impact on freshman and sophomore MCAS performance.

Devoll was happy to announce that the school made the Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Roll, with increased participation and test performance in AP classes.

School Committee members weighed in on their thoughts about MCAs performance, and Co-Chairman James O’Brien told Brogioli that the committee would continue to support him as long as he kept the committee informed throughout the year.

“I can’t change what was,” stated Brogioli, “but I can go from what is, to what it ought to be.”

The next meeting of The Joint School Committee is January 15 at 6:30 pm in the Old Rochester Regional Media Room.

By Jean Perry

The Mattapoisett Planning Board was expecting to hear about drainage improvements at the Appaloosa Lane sub-division on November 17. What they heard instead was all about percolation testing lots.

Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering, representing Michael Solimando, owner of a parcel that has spent months in front of the Planning Board, told them that he had stopped all work on the property until updated perc testing could be preformed. A percolation test is required before designing a septic system.

Grady’s news prompted Chairman Tom Tucker to question Grady’s motives.

“Are you saying if it doesn’t perc you are not going to fix the existing problem?” Tucker asked Grady.

Grady said he felt confident that the soils would perc to the satisfaction of the Board of Health, but until those tests were completed, everything was on hold.

Grady said he had spoken with Board of Health Agent Dale Barrows regarding testing completed in 2001 at this location. Barrows told Grady that new tests were required to meet current regulations before the lots would be permitted for construction. That was when Grady halted further drainage investigations the Planning Board has been patiently waiting for since last spring.

Neighbors have been before the Planning Board on numerous occasions waiting to hear that Solimando would make the necessary repairs to the drainage system – a point of contention for years.

When Solimando purchased the property, the abutters had hoped that a newly engineered drainage system would resolve problems they experienced on their properties. Drainage improvements have yet to take place. And, the joint study between the Town’s engineers, Field Engineering and G.A.F., has been stalled for weeks.

On November 18, weather providing, Grady said that Barrows would witness the new perc tests.

“You were supposed to have answers for us – you have nothing,” stated Tucker. Before Tucker continued the hearing, Planning Board member Ron Merlo told Grady, “Stress to your client we want resolution for the [drainage] problems.”

Also meeting with the board was Alan Ewing, engineer representing Mason and Jean Smith for property located at 22 and 24 Ned’s Point Road.

This exploratory discussion gave Ewing the opportunity to learn if the board might allow the property owners to build a road or long driveway from the public road into the property for about 113 feet to a waterside lot.

The new lot would have to be permitted via a Form C application, and the roadway would require the reconfiguration of lots 22 and 24 at the site to accommodate its inclusion.

Tucker told Ewing that a similar request had been accommodated in the vicinity, setting a precedent in the area that might allow Ewing to move forward into the planning stages.

Before adjourning, board member John Mathieu asked the other members if they could “dust off” their notes on bylaw improvements so they could continue their work on this project. They agreed that at the next meeting they would continue their efforts of text edits and upgrades on a number of zoning bylaws.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is December 1 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell

During its November 18 meeting, Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon reported to the Rochester Conservation Commission that volunteers are urgently needed to assist in crafting the 2016 open space plan.

The current plan is set to expire in October 2015, but with a lack of citizen participation, creating such a critical plan will prove difficult.

Open Space plans tie into a variety of other town plans, and are oftentimes required by the State of Massachusetts and federal government when cities and towns apply for grants and funds.

Anyone interested in lending their time and talents to this effort should contact the Board of Selectmen, Farinon told the public. Letters of interest can be sent via email to vlafreniere@townofrochester.com or by mail to: Board of Selectmen, Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way, Rochester, MA, 02770.

Farinon also discussed options for updating websites and web pages for the Conservation Commission.

She said that they could pursue a stand-alone site until such time as the Town’s main website is overhauled. A stand-alone site would be linked to the current Town site, costing about $1,890 to create and $30 per month for outside maintenance and uploads.

The commission asked Farinon to move forward in talking to the Board of Selectmen about possible funding sources, including from fees collected from Notice of Intent filings.

Public meetings included a Negative 1 determination for tree removal at property owned by Thomas Ferreira on Walnut Plain Road. Ferreira proposes to build a home on the lot.

The commission issued Certificates of Compliance for David and Linda Gomes of 13 Briarwood Lane; and David Fredette for the City of New Bedford, 1 Negus Way, for a new gas service that has been installed for the Quittacas Water Treatment Plant.

The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for December 2 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell