Rochester Fiscal Year 2016 School Budget discussions came to a close on April 2 with the approval of the $5,780,343 budget, a 1.9 percent increase from FY15.

Driving the budget were contractual obligations, increased contracted services, and supplies, but with decreased transportation costs and special education services.

The Rochester Memorial School student population, currently at 487, is projected at 477 for the 2015/2016 school year, although Superintendent Doug White said there are currently several pending building permits that could bring up the student population in time.

But with a budget set for just a $108,000 total increase from last year, White said, “There’s support for us to move forward with this type of increase.”

“This budget represents exactly the number of students, and takes care of exactly the number of students that we have,” said School Committee Chairman Sharon Hartley. She addressed the matter of the building permits for house construction in town saying, “We need to watch that carefully, and we will be watching our class sizes … carefully…”

With that in mind, the School Committee voted to opt out of adding any school choice slots for the next school year to keep class sizes in check.

“I think this budget supports the enrollment of 477,” said White, adding that last year an additional 30 students unexpectedly moved into the district. “I really think your obligation should be the individuals living in this community at this time. The way our structure of our school is,” he continued, “I’d hate to give those slots away.”

Also during the meeting, Library Media Specialist Sandy Sollauer presented the committee with the new library curriculum, which focuses more on the use of computers and technology, digital citizenship, and online research and learning.

“It’s certainly not a quiet space,” said Sollauer. It is a place for creativity, she said, adding that she plans to phase out the Dewey Decimal System and organize books by genre and topic, “so it’s more like a bookstore feel.”

The committee approved the new curriculum. It also approved a new school store at RMS, which is just starting up but showing positive feedback from students and staff.

The next meeting of the Rochester School Committee is scheduled for May 7 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

The Rochester Conservation Commission met April 7 to review the Notice of Intent to sell for other use a 116-acre plot of land located on Snipatuit Road.

The commission voted unanimously to pass on the Town’s Right of First Refusal for the $485,000 plot of land, citing the high price and the availability of other parcels of land in Rochester as the reasons for the refusal.

“It’s a lot of money. It’d be a hard sell at a town meeting,” said Conservation Commission member Kevin Cassidy.

“We also have other properties that are on the horizon that are key pieces,” Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon said.

The commission discussed the possibility of working with whoever decides to buy the property to create an easement at the back of the property in the future.

Farinon updated the commission on the status of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Municipal Stormwater (MS4) permit requirements. Farinon believes that Rochester is eligible for a waiver from the new requirements, which impose more rigorous testing of the town’s stormwater systems.

“A new draft permit just came out … and we are in an area that’s been designated … an urban area,” said Farinon. “When the program started a number of years ago … we looked into it further and found that we could apply for a waiver, and did apply for a waiver, and did receive a waiver.”

Farinon is currently working a waiver proposal letter and said they are just waiting on some more specifics.

“Not that the town doesn’t care about pollution of waters because we do, but the requirements are getting more and more stringent for sampling and a lot of stuff,” said Farinon. “It will cost a lot of money. We simply shouldn’t be in the program.”

Farinon also brought up that there are Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (BBNEP) grant opportunities approaching. These particular grants would add up to $40,000 dollars and would be divvied up between the 16 towns around Buzzards Bay that are eligible to apply for a fraction of this money.

“It’s directed towards wetlands protection and land acquisition. I know there’s a lot of interest in it,” Farinon said. “I would like everyone to put their heads together so we could come up with the best project idea.”

Farinon said there is still time for these grant proposals, which are due in mid-May, and she would like to see it discussed further at the next ConCom meeting on April 21.

If Rochester is successful in securing some of this grant money, it could be used for a number of conservation efforts around the town including land surveying.

“Our open space plan is going to expire in October,” Farinon said. “And we’ve had some interest from people … who are willing to sit on this committee.… We’re going to need some money.”

An open space plan is a report that must be delivered every five years to the state, which details a town’s plan for using its open space. One of the prerequisites of this plan is an up-to-date survey of the land, which Farinon said the town needs.

The costs associated with the survey include printing copies of the results of the survey, distributing them to residents of the town, and holding public forums on the results, as well as the cost of the survey itself.

“With budgets the way they are now, they’re extremely tight,” she said. “We (beg and borrow) to help, not just ourselves, but to get a number of things done.”

The plan is necessary for many reasons, Farinon said, but one of the primary reasons is that, without one, that town becomes ineligible for certain state-funded grants.

To help with the plan, Farinon said that the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) awarded the commission a grant to help take care of some of the technical aspects of the plan. The value of the work from the grant is estimated at $12,000.

Other topics of business included the unanimous recommendation from the Board of Selectmen to reappoint Christopher York to the Conservation Commission.

The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for April 21 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Andrew Roiter

Once again the Mattapoisett Planning Board met with Brad Saunders, managing partner of D & E Management, LLC regarding proposed bylaw changes for the Town Meeting warrant – changes that he deemed necessary and improvements to several existing zoning bylaws.

Having failed at the Fall Town Meeting to garner voters’ approval of the changes, Saunders returned to the Planning Board over the winter, this time receiving their willingness to sponsor the bylaw amendments. Thus, the public vetting process began again and then concluded on April 6.

The amendments Saunders proposes would change the following: zones designated as general business districts would be made available for cluster housing projects; zero-lot line structures would be allowed as a design option up to 20 percent of a permitted cluster subdivision where served by public sewer service; and limited industrial districts could be counted for open space calculations for cluster housing projects.

In the audience were residents Bonne DeSousa and Brad Hathaway, whose questions were answered with clarity by Saunders, causing DeSousa to infer that had she been more fully informed, her resistance during the last Town Meeting might not have been necessary.

Hathaway voiced his concern that business districts should be used for businesses and not housing, causing Chairman Tom Tucker to comment, “You are reversing yourself, Brad.” Tucker said, “I’m sure you’d rather see houses than businesses,” which Hathaway agreed was true.

Tucker once again reminded the public that nothing was being voted on at the Planning Board meeting, and the voters at Town Meeting will determine all bylaw decisions.

There were some humorous asides when the problem of arbitrary zoning lines was brought up by member John Mathieu, with Highway Surveyor Barry Denham saying it would have been easier if the Pilgrims had established the zoning districts versus establishing lot lines.

Late into the evening, the problem with the subdivision at Brandt Island Road was again kicked around with resident Paul Osenkowski for a third time demanding that the board seek a Cease and Desist Order. Tucker said he would talk to the town administrator the following day to pursue that course of action.

Denham added that one of the roads in the subdivision had a failure of about 40-feet during the winter thaw, causing the board to ask him why he hadn’t brought this to their attention. He retorted swiftly, “I’ve been telling you guys!”

Board secretary Tammy Ferreira said he had not told her in what was to have been Denham’s weekly report on the construction activity at this site. That prompted Osenkowski to gesture and state, “This is going off the cliff.” Tucker said he would get back to Osenkowski after speaking with the town administrator.

In other business, Tom Brownell of Mattapoisett Self Storage had an informal discussion with the board about his plans to add two additional buildings at his industrial park site.

Todd Rodrigues of Yard Boss came in to informally discuss his plans to add two office buildings at his Route 6 location, with the possibility of courtyard style parking.

Also, Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering returned to tell the board that the engineered water management plans for the Appaloosa Lane subdivision had been completed with the assistance of the town’s engineering firm, Field Engineering. He will return for the May 4 Planning Board meeting to inform them when construction will begin.

DeSousa asked if the board had received a response from town council on the board’s ability to still weigh in on the Goodspeed Island private pier. Ferreira said she did not receive a response to the three emails she had sent requesting guidance.

Due to a holiday on April 20, the next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for May 4 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell

Continuing their long journey towards the Annual Town Meeting, the Mattapoisett Finance Committee on April 1 met with Town Administrator Michael Gagne and Harbormaster Jill Simmons.

Simmons was making a return visit to the FinCom after having had an opportunity to meet with Gagne and learn what type of Fiscal Year 2016 budget details were needed from her. On this night, she was fully prepared.

Simmons presented the committee with her suggested FY16 budget and started her commentary by saying, “I have to sit down with the selectmen … I’m basically working all winter instead of the part-time job this was supposed to be…” On the worksheet she presented, the FY15 column noting her salary was set at $24,250. On the FY16 worksheet she is requesting $30,000 for her salary.

And with only marginal increases in a few categories, the harbormaster’s budget was level-funded.

Simmons noted that the electricity bill for Shipyard Park was out of control. She wondered aloud if all that consumed electricity should be allocated to the waterfront enterprise fund.

“We will break out electric used at Ned’s Point and the lights around Shipyard Park,” said Gagne. “We’ll pull some of that electric away from the harbormaster.”

Another expense that Simmons questioned was the telephone bill.

“I don’t know what I need to do,” said Simmons, regarding the $1,900 expense her department had incurred. Gagne said he would discuss investigating these costs with Verizon.

Regarding the revenue from the waterfront enterprise, Gagne said that FY16 would be the first year the account would be receiving the full excise boat tax collected. He hoped these assets would offset expenses.

On the issue of needed repairs to the wharves, Gagne said that a combination of Community Preservation funds, appropriations, and other grants would help with the multi-million dollar long-range needs of the waterfront.

Simmons and Gagne discussed winter damages to pilings associated with the wharves. Gagne said that some funding would be coming from the State’s Public Access fund, while other repairs will need to be funded locally.

Simmons’ budget totals approximately $121,408 versus an FY15 request of approximately $146,979. The big difference reflects boat equipment needs satisfied in FY15 that are not required in FY16.

Next up was the Old Rochester Regional school budget. On the evening of this meeting, the ORR School Committee was meeting at another venue to vote on their FY16 budget. Gagne presented to the Finance Committee the budget he hoped would be passed.

The total price tag for FY16 for the ORR budget stands at $12,818,923 (including transportation). In a conversation he had with ORR District Superintendent Doug White, Gagne said that White committed to work within the budget presented if the School Committee passed it.

An area of continuing concern was the OPEB obligation the School Department is facing, Gagne stated. He said that the towns had not been given an opportunity to review the audit of the school finances.

“Why aren’t we entitled to see the audit?” asked Finance Committee Chairman Patricia Donoghue. “This is baloney.”

Gagne guessed that the ORR OPEB obligation stood somewhere around $12 million, while agreeing that the towns should have visibility into the schools’ finances.

Rounding out their evening of topics, Gagne touched on several areas that affect the Town’s coffers.

He said that there was a need to increase the on-call firefighter hourly rate. Gagne said it was tough to get people during the weekdays and that it was imperative that the Fire Department has a reliable source of manpower.

The bike path will continue to require financial support from the Town. Gagne explained that the documentation required to build a bridge across the breach at Eel Pond was not unlike any other bridge funded by the state, requiring the same level of copious paperwork and engineering detail to the tune of as much as $70,000 just for that portion.

On the theme of OPEB at the municipal employee level, Gagne said he wanted to continue to put away money in that fund and bring it up from $278,000 per year to $325,000 to be on the safe side.

The aging management profile of town employees was also on his list of “things to be aware of,” as Gagne noted the average age of department heads and senior level staffing is 57 years old. He said the Town should look at succession planning now in order to be prepared with qualified personnel for the not-too-distant future.

Gagne also asked the committee to let him invite Library Director Susan Pizzolato to meet with the selectmen, whom he would also invite to the next FinCom meeting. He said he wants Pizzolato to present for herself her need for a new part-time librarian.

During Pizzolato’s FinCom presentation, she indicated that her staffing was stretched to the limit. She said that the Sunday hours had been a great success, but also caused staffing concerns. Another point she made was that the community’s need for technical expertise in the library staffing is high. Gagne asked if she could return with the selectmen to more fully express the need. Pizzolato’s return was agreed upon.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for April 8 at 6:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell

Mattapoisett Town Administrator Michael Gagne met with the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen on April 7 to present the Fiscal Year 2016 budget and to answer their questions and flush out areas of concern in advance of Town Meeting.

Gagne and the Finance Committee had been plugging away for weeks, meeting with department heads and reviewing line-by-line departmental budgets expenses and revenues.

Their conversations focused on the larger departments such as schools, highways, and emergency services. They also found themselves talking about some issues that potentially could pose grave consequences for the town if unaddressed.

During their review of the Highway (FY16 $533,932 versus FY15 $536,292) and Sewer (FY16 $2,202,504 versus FY15 $2,246,917) budgets, the conversation turned to concerns regarding the sewer pipe crossing the Eel Pond breach.

Gagne told board members that the Town may engage a firm from Maine to discuss replacing the existing pipe using a boring method for $450,000 and explained how the technology would work.

“I think you’re throwing money away,” said Selectman Tyler Macallister. Macallister proposed that instead of spending money on replacing the sewer line in sensitive ecological conditions, it should be used to explore sending the line up to Route 6 via Depot Street.

Selectman Jordan Collyer concurred that the current location of the pipe was like a ticking time bomb saying, “If they are to open up that pipe … if anything happened, we are in a world of hurt.” He continued, “Soils under a new pipe will be loosened and that may cause the pipe to settle and crack…”

And that wasn’t the only troubling location for the town’s public sewer lines. Collyer said an even bigger concern was the sewer line running along the railroad bridge near the YMCA camp.

Selectman Paul Silva asked Gagne if the town would be eligible for federal funds, and Gagne’s said yes. Gagne said he would pursue that option before exploring repairs to what all considered a very poor location for raw sewer transport.

Getting back to the budgets, Gagne walked the board members through several cost centers.

For the Planning Board, Gagne pointed out that a small increase of $3,704 was called for to increase the part-time hours presently worked by the secretary from 14 hours per week to just under 19. The selectmen felt the additional hours were necessary. The Planning Board’s total FY16 budget stands at $20,914.

The Police Department budget for FY16 is $1,949,954 versus FY15 $1,887,133. The lion’s share of the increase is wage step increases.

The Fire Department budget for FY16 is $402,784 versus FY15 $384,549. Here, Gagne explained the need to increase the on-call personnel line item from $122,000 to $140,000, saying daytime coverage is a problem and he hoped that an increase would encourage young members of the department to come forward when needed. But Gagne also said that younger volunteer fire personnel work out of town or can’t simply leave their jobs. He suggested looking into encouraging people who live in town and either work in town or very nearby to consider becoming a volunteer firefighter.

In the inspectional services category, Gagne discussed the $10,000 increase needed for the combination of an outside inspection professional to assist the Town and a third of the money going towards services provided by the conservation agent.

Collyer asked how much money the department brought in last fiscal year and Gagne said approximately $295,000. The total budget for this department for FY16 is pegged at $198,351 versus FY15 $185,377.

Gagne shared with the selectmen that the school committee had agreed to use an adjusted state figure instead of relying on the governor’s number for budgeting purposes.

“This has been an historic battle,” said Collyer. “Everyone’s using the governor’s numbers.”

The school budget is 2.9% greater than FY15, which was $11,747,395.

There was a candid discussion regarding manpower at the Highway Department with all agreeing there was a need to increase part-time hours and look at other staffing solutions. The FY16 budget comes in at $533,932 versus FY15 at $536,292 – a savings of $2,360 unless those monies are moved to wages before Town Meeting vote.

The big whopper of the night was SEMASS. With the closure of the multi-decade contract comes a higher solid waste cost, Gagne told the selectmen.

For FY16, the number is $123,000 versus $68,000 in FY15. On the bad news front, that number will continue to climb unless competitive sources could be found, Gagne said. On the good news side was the hope that more recycled solid waste would equate to savings for the town.

“The public needs to understand that the more they recycle, the more money the town will save on solid waste removal,” said Silva. He said that every time people use the ‘orange lid’ containers, they are helping save tax dollars. Solid waste removal is anticipated to be $165,000 in FY17.

The notion of adding a new staff position for the library met with some raised eyebrows as the selectmen wondered at the need to increase part-time hours and also hire a new part-time person. They agreed with one another that it should be either/or, but not both. FY15 was at $358,966 versus the FY16 request of $391,317.

Gagne said that the selectmen would be meeting with Highway Surveyor Barry Denham and the Town’s engineering consultant, Field Engineering, at the next Selectmen’s meeting. At that time, the board will have a chance to discuss in greater detail roadway and sidewalk repair planning and associated costs, priorities and timelines. The selectmen felt that with the Town’s debt service standing at -$99,808, the Town was in a good position to secure funding for much needed repairs.

Wharf repairs were touched on with Silva asking if a professional grant writer should be hired to help the Town articulate its need for federal assistance of these valuable assets. Gagne agreed and more to follow on this was assured.

The selectmen will look at the FY16 budget again before signing the document for Town Meeting, but that date has not been set.

By Marilou Newell