In a lead up to the annual town meeting and special town meetings that will take place beginning May 12, Mattapoisett’s Board of Selectmen met with Town Moderator John Eklund. Eklund told the board that he needs members of the community to be fully prepared for town meeting in order to preserve the smooth flow of business and to ensure that amendments to articles in the warrant are presented in a manner that meets legal requirements.

Eklund said that if anyone in the public is planning on speaking from the floor with an amendment, he would like them to bring their planned text to his attention so that town counsel can be consulted beforehand. He urged the community to come forward as soon as possible so that legal guidance may be offered as needed. He went on to say that if anyone is planning on using a PowerPoint presentation to present information during town meeting, those presentations must first be vetted by him to ensure they are cohesive, to the point, and no longer than 10 minutes.

Town Administrator Mike Gagne said that the town’s website contains information about the articles in the warrant as well as a video explaining the 2015 budget. This reporter visited the website to get a sense of the information available and found it to be comprehensive and easy to understand. Selectman Paul Sylvia, along with Gagne, provide residents with complete details on the 2015 budget as well as explanations on what some of the more complex line items are, including all expenditures and revenue sources. Go to www.mattapoisett.net and scroll to the bottom for the video link.

Both Gagne and Eklund invited the public to avail themselves of all the information necessary to be fully informed prior to attending town meeting on May 12 (also May 13 and 14 if needed) at 6:30 pm in the ORRHS auditorium.

Gagne also said that the Mattapoisett League of Women Voters is hosting a talk about town meeting and the warrant articles on May 4 at 1:30 pm in the library.

Gagne asked the selectmen for permission to send a letter to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation advising them that the fire and police chiefs, along with the highway superintendent, are in support of not making a bike lane from the pillars at Depot Street to the end of Goodspeed Island for the purposes of the bike path. Given the wetlands bordering the roadway, designating a bike lane would not be feasible he said. However, the state required a uniform response before accepting that as part of the bike path engineering plan. The selectmen agreed and a letter will be drafted for their signature.

In other business, Laurie Trueheart of Hollywood Scoops received a license to open and operate her new restaurant on Route 6 next to Bowlmor, while licenses for Bowlmor and Rick’s Tavern were renewed.

They read into the minutes a letter of resignation received from Raymond Harrington, chairman of the Mattapoisett Historical Commission. It was with regret that the board accepted his resignation, noting his 15 years of outstanding service.

The board members discussed the new sign scheduled to be installed at the re-named industrial park, now known as Mattapoisett Business Park. The new sign will be situated in a better location at the entrance to the park and be constructed of attractive materials with uniform lettering. Gagne applauded the efforts of Tom Brownell and Kim Fields who have worked hard on this project. It was also suggested that electrical service be brought to the sign’s location for future illumination of both the park’s sign and the town’s welcome sign that is located nearby.

Selectman Sylvia asked if the new sign will meet the upcoming by-law changes that the Planning Board will be bringing to the public for consideration. After some conversation, it was determined that the new sign will not be in violation.

The BOS proclaimed April 25 as Arbor Day, notably establishing Mattapoisett as a “tree city” for the eighth year running. The Tree Committee will be planning activities to commemorate the day.

Stephen Cassidy was appointed to the Old Colony School Committee.

Town Hall will be closed on Monday, May 26 for Memorial Day with observances taking place at 1:30 pm in front of the library.

During the summer months of June, July, and August the selectmen will meet only on the second Tuesday at 7:00 pm. Their next scheduled meeting is May 27 at 7:00 pm.

By Marilou Newell

Marion Finance Committee members are unhappy with an article on the Annual Town Meeting warrant requesting “x amount of dollars” for a new fire engine with a pump, and Finance Committee Chairman Alan Minard is sending a letter to selectmen telling them FinCom plans to oppose the article on the Town Meeting floor.

Committee members lashed out at Fire Chief Thomas Joyce over his “unwillingness to cooperate,” and for not providing “timely and accurate information” about the actual cost of the fire engine.

FinCom member Jeffrey Dickerson wondered why the Town does not just “get us a chief that can collaborate with the Town.”

According to Dickerson, the committee has spent 70 percent of its time on 12 percent of the budget – the Fire Department budget.

“This isn’t a witch hunt, guys. Look at the time we spent on this,” said Dickerson. “And it’s not just about the fire engine.”

Dickerson argued that Joyce lacks transparency and, when pressed for information, “he gets defensive.”

“And I’ll yell, ‘yeah – bull****’ at that point,” said Dickerson.

Minard said that a couple of weeks ago he began looking into quotes for new fire truck pumpers like the one Chief Joyce seeks to purchase. He said he found quotes for roughly $290,000. So why, he asked, is the one Joyce is requesting estimated at $540,000?

Show me the specs, said Minard, and by specs, he meant the seating, the color, and why the proposed fire truck requires a stainless steel frame.

Minard said the chief got the verbal $540,000 quote through hearsay, and there is no hard dollar quote from any official bid.

“How is it that we can have an article in the warrant without a formal quote in hand?” asked Minard. Last year, he said, the article was turned down for the same reason. “And now, a year later,” he continued, “we’re still jumping around.”

“Same old, same old,” said committee member Margherita Baldwin.

And there is a question on the ballot with no specified number, said Minard, “which I still think is wrong.” How could anyone vote for a fire truck that could be $500,000, or $1 million, he asked?

“It’s just wrong,” said Minard.

Dickerson did his own research and found several bids in the low $200,000s for a fire truck with a pumper, prompting committee members to question the necessity of a stainless steel frame.

“I’m going, ‘hmmm?’ Do we live in such a caustic environment that we need a stainless steel frame?” asked Minard.

“Marion always has to buy the Rolls Royce option,” said a cynical Dickerson. He wondered why the Town even needed a new fire truck pumper when “99 percent of the residences in Town are covered by hydrants.”

The committee recalled a prior estimate from the fire chief on how much the Town could get for a trade-in with the old fire truck pumper, and the chief said about $2,000. Dickerson said in his research he found that, today, the Town could get roughly $50,000 for the trade-in.

“I’m not Archimedes, but I think we should wait another two years and get $100,000 for it,” said Dickerson sarcastically.

“I think we should stand against [the article] like we did last year,” said Minard. “And we should get the selectmen to stand up, too.”

Dickerson said he has had enough. “We’ve been here for over a year. A year!” said Dickerson.

Minard said no one with whom he has spoken understood why the Town needs the new decked-out engine.

“Is it just boys with their big red trucks?” asked Minard. He said he plans to express in his letter to the selectmen that they, as a Finance Committee, “are violently against [the article].”

“Otherwise, we just embarrass the chief on the Town Meeting floor, and so be it,” stated Baldwin.

Maybe Marion would be better off with a full-time fire chief instead of a part-time fire chief, suggested Minard. “We certainly wouldn’t want a part-time police chief.”

Let us stay in our own “swim lanes,” suggested Dickerson, and move away from personnel issues and stick to finance.

The committee voted in favor of Minard sending the selectmen a letter expressing the committee’s likely intent to oppose the article at Town Meeting.

The Finance Committee was unsure of their next meeting date, but spoke about possibly attending the Board of Selectmen meeting next Tuesday, May 6 at 7:00 pm, but nothing was decided.

By Jean Perry

A Rochester woman must get rid of three of her six dogs after the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals denied Karen Morrison’s petition for a special permit for a kennel at her 617 Mary’s Pond Road property.

The Town by-law limits dog ownership to a maximum of three dogs. To keep four or more dogs, a special permit is required to keep a “kennel” at a residence.

Morrison said she moved to Rochester in December from Mattapoisett, which does not have a by-law limiting the number of dogs, according to Morrison. When asked why she had so many dogs, Morrison explained that her two Golden Retrievers had puppies and she kept four of them because she was unable to find homes for them.

Eight neighbors came out to ask the board to deny the special permit, saying that Morrison’s six dogs bark whenever they are outside, and sometimes late at night. One neighbor was concerned that his tenant might move out because of the noise.

“They are never outside when I’m not home,” said Morrison. “If they start barking, the first thing I do is bring them inside.” She said she thinks the move had a lot to do with the dogs barking so much.

The police were called to the home one time after one of the neighbors called to complain about the noise, but no other complaints have been documented.

“It’s brutal. It’s brutal,” said Michael Secour. “To put it bluntly, if I were buying my house now, I wouldn’t buy it.” Secour added that he has heard “blaring music” coming from the home as well, which has kept him up at night.

The neighbors were concerned that if the board were to grant the special permit to Morrison, it would be setting a precedent for other residents to keep more than three dogs.

“There is no such thing as a precedent with the Zoning Board of Appeals,” said Chairman Richard Cutler. “Each case is heard on its own merits.”

The board sympathized with Morrison, but unanimously denied the special permit.

Leaving Town Hall, when asked what she was going to do about three of her dogs, Morrison glumly replied, “I don’t know.”

Also during the meeting, the board approved an information sign, which slightly exceeds the nine square-foot maximum, for the restroom wall at the Doggett’s Brook property. Conservation Commission member Rosemary Smith told the board that the sign is manufactured at 45- by 33-inches, which the board eventually calculated, with the assistance of several cell phone calculators, as 9.3750 square feet.

The board also approved the placement of a kiosk, which also slightly exceeds the nine square-foot maximum, by the boat launch at Leonard’s Pond. Smith said the purpose of the kiosk is “to make it (a walking trail on the property) more visible that it is public open space for everyone to enjoy.”

By Jean Perry

Residents who raise a ‘ruckus’ get attention. This was apparent at Wednesday’s Conservation Commission meeting at the Marion Town House where a Notice of Intent filed by the Town of Marion, c/o Department of Public Works, to rehabilitate River Road in order to improve roadway infrastructure and roadway safety was discussed.

On April 9, residents heard a presentation on the repaving and reconfiguration of River Road and expressed concerns regarding the presentation by Shawn Syde of CDM Smith. The overall feeling of the four residents who spoke at that meeting was that the work, as presented, would not solve the basic issue of constant flooding and water pooling in the road after heavy rainfall and snow melt.

After the April 9 meeting, Syde met with DPW Chief Rob Zora, went out to River Road and met with residents, and spoke with other residents over the telephone. The project was reworked, with berms on both sides of the road to keep water runoff in the road and off residents’ properties. The existing outfall pipe will be replaced with a new pipe at the same location.

Syde presented a revised proposal of what and how River Road looks now and how it will look after the repaving. At issue are continual flooding of the road during heavy rainstorms, snow piles – created by plows – sitting over a catch basin and blocking its use, and sand washed into basins rendering them only partially useful.

The proposal has River Road staying at the same elevation and width, but straightened out in certain places. The entire road will be replaced, a 12-inch pipe will run underground beneath it, and two filtered catch basins with catch hoods will collect any oil and grease. The Department of Public Works will maintain the drainage swales and basins.

“This looks great, we are looking forward to it,” said Chris Collings of 13 River Road. Collings noted that the town purchased a vacuum truck several years ago to suck sand out of drains. “We look forward to more than annual cleaning of the drains,” said Collings.

Syde will provide copies of the new and improved plan to the board, and they will be available to the public to view at the town house.

In other business, a Notice of Intent from the Town of Marion, c/o Harbormaster, to replace an existing 96- by 12-foot float system with a new 110.4- by 10.6-foot concrete float system held in place with eight piles at Island Wharf was discussed. Harbormaster Michael Cormier and Scott Skuncik of CLE Engineering addressed the board. The project has already been approved by the Army Corps of Engineers. A Waterways Chapter 91 permit for a ‘modification to an existing license’ has also been approved.

“The float will be more narrow, but longer,” said Cormier. Skuncik noted that the new pilings will be capped and should have a lengthy lifespan. “The existing pilings have an expected life of approximately 26 years, but they were not capped. The new pilings will be capped and will last longer,” said Skuncik. The greenhouse pilings will not be treated, making them more ecologically safe, according to Skuncik. The float will stay in the water all year and not be removed for the winter.

The next hearing was a Notice of Intent by the Town of Marion, c/o Harbormaster, to attach a 30- by 6-foot float, held in place with a pile, at the end of the floats to the right of the launching ramp at Old Landing, off Front Street, to add two piles to the eastern-most floats off the north wharf and to replace up to six piles as needed. Cormier explained that the extension of the float will allow three boats to be hauled at one time. “This is a hurricane preparedness improvement,” said Cormier.

The board discussed an Amendment to an Order of Conditions for landscaping activities for N. George and Laurie Host of 456 Point Road. The amendment is to increase the scope of work to include the installation of two pilings to anchor the float, as required by Department of Environmental Protection Waterways. David Davignon of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates represented the applicant. The request was for the installation of two pilings and to eliminate the bottom anchor chain system and replace it with a Danforth lock anchor system that would eliminate a chain moving back and forth on the bay bottom with the rise and fall of the tide. Two abutters attended the meeting and said they supported the project as presented.

Last, a Full Certificate of Compliance for razing the existing dwelling and constructing a new dwelling with an attached garage, and for replicating wetlands and landscaping was issued to William and Karen Curley of 154 Spring Street.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry