With a full board in attendance after the holiday break, Mattapoisett’s Conservation Commission heard several applications.

First up was David Davignon of Schneider & Associates representing Robert and Lisa Barboza of 5 & 7 Shore View Avenue. Their proposed project is the construction of a boardwalk over an existing jetty. Davignon described the details of the construction process that would include activities both on the land and from the water since a 40-foot extension is also planned.

Several abutters to the property came in support while one abutter, David Wordell, voiced opposition. Wordell’s opinion was that the existing jetty was sufficient for water access and recreational activities, and he was concerned that by extending the pier, boats would not be able to easily maneuver in that area. Commission member Tom Copp also expressed his concern that storm water movement would be restricted by the erection of a walkway over the jetty and extension thereof. Copp said, “I worry about the down drift impact of this,” in reference to a seasonal shellfish bed contiguous to the jetty. In the end, it was determined that the project could move forward given that the jetty has been in place for more than 40 years without negative environmental impact issues. The vote was carried in spite of Copp’s negative vote.

Then followed a Request for Determination of Applicability filed by Sally Curtis and Pamela Moller of 83 Aucoot Road for a small addition and enclosed porch. The commission found that they did not have any jurisdictional overview with the project, and they thanked the applicant for checking in with them.

David Davignon was back for an informal discussion regarding the installation of a ‘Real Estate for Sale’ sign for property located at 0 Marion Road. Davignon described the need to cut down some brush and shrubs in order to install the sign and make it visible to the traffic moving on both sides of Route 6. The commission agreed to the work as described.

The agent’s report followed. Elizabeth Leidhold told the commission that a hearing was scheduled this week for Good Speed Island’s DEP certificate of compliance. She would keep the group informed after her participation at that hearing. Leidhold also said that she recently received some complaints from residents on Mattapoisett Neck Road about wetland filling activities across from 28 Mattapoisett Neck Road. She has taken some photographs and will share those with the commission as it does appear to be true. She plans to send the property owner a letter inquiring about the work that is taking place at the site.

Chairman Peter Newton then discussed a request that he received from the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Department asking the commission’s support of ongoing work on Ram Island for the protection of endangered sea birds. He said that they, along with the town administrator, are simply looking for support of the project but that such support would not commit the commission to any permitting in the future.

Paul Osenkowski was recognized and voiced his concern about the Federal government’s failed efforts on the island. He said, “…the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result…” Osenkowski said that for years the Federal government has been modifying Ram Island in an effort to assist the population of endangered birds and has failed miserably. He said they have even poured sand from aircraft in the past to increase the sandy areas for the birds – sand that has been washed away by storms. He urged the commission not to sign or send a letter in support of the project.

Chairman Newton appreciated Osenkowski’s appeal, but in the end the commission felt they could support the effort especially since it did not commit the commission to any permitting that would be required in the future. Osenkowski felt that the letter would indeed commit the commission. The commission agreed to draft a letter in support of the request and vote on it at the next meeting.

The Mattapoisett Conservation Commission meets again on January 27 at 6:30 pm.

By Marilou Newell

Joint Tri-Town School Committee members debated on January 9 the elimination of professional development-related early release days during the school year, with Chairperson Sharon Hartley pushing for a change in the half-day policy and asking committee members if half days are productive or if they are a waste of resources.

“A lot of money goes into bringing students to school every day,” said Hartley. “Are [half days] meaningful to us?”

Eliminating half days seemed like a “no-brainer” to Mattapoisett School Committee Chairperson James Higgins. “It doesn’t seem like the most effective way to learn.”

Superintendent Doug White’s philosophy was that breaks in the school week result in breaks in education, and students benefit more from whole, consistent weeks of uninterrupted learning.

He proposed the following scenario for the 2014/2015 school calendar year: Take the two professional development no-school days from November and January, move them to the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, and give the students that Wednesday off. This would result in one whole week off for Thanksgiving break and two additional uninterrupted weeks during the school year.

During the PD-half days in September and March, substitute teachers would be employed to allow teacher “teams” to go for PD in morning and afternoon shifts, so that students could remain in school for the full day rather than being released early.

“Doug and I do not agree,” said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Elise Frangos. She explained that having PD days separated by a few months, rather than having the two sessions back to back, allows teachers to learn new techniques, try them out, and then reassess them at the subsequent session. She said the PD would be more like a two-day conference and could be overwhelming with information.

“I think you incur a different kind of fatigue,” said Frangos.

“We can always change it back if things don’t work, “said White, who successfully tried a similar structure in the past in a different school district, and he proposed that the district give it a try for a year. White acknowledged, however, that he has not received much support for the change from the staff members to whom he has spoken so far.

“I’m not surprised that it hasn’t been accepted with open arms,” said Rochester School Committee Member Robin Rounseville. “Anyway, it should be what is best for the children, not the staff.”

Rounseville questioned whether adding substitute teachers to complete the full school day would even be worthwhile.

“Does learning suffer in that regard?” she asked. “It’s a lot of things to consider.”

Members tossed around ideas and opinions, but took no vote – not without first assessing the cost of adding substitute teachers to cover the half days and receiving feedback from parents and faculty. The committee will vote on the half-day policy, as well as accept the 2014/2015 school calendar, at the next meeting on March 13.

Also during the meeting, Marion School Committee Member Jay Pateakos suggested that the joint committees consider televising their meetings in the future.

“I think that we owe it as elected officials to be televised,” said Pateakos, “but that’s just me.”

Pateakos felt the only disadvantage to the group would be holding meetings in a different room downstairs, farther from the restrooms. Other members, however, strongly opposed televising the meetings, saying democracy would suffer because of camera shyness.

“I didn’t sign up to be on TV,” said Mattapoisett School Committee Member Nick Decas. “I signed up to serve on a committee.” He also doubts that citizens would even watch it.

“I might talk less if I’m on TV,” said Higgins.

Old Rochester Regional School Committee Chairperson James O’ Brien chimed in, saying that by the time he arrives at evening committee meetings, he has been “at it all day,” and if the public wants to know what is going on during meetings they should “rise up and drive over, or become an elected official on this board.”

O’ Brien stated that there is always talk about “reaching out to the community,” but, “You know what?” he asked. “Bring the community here.” He pointed out that, despite a multimillion-dollar budget, no parents were present at the meeting that evening.

Hartley, speaking against televising the meetings, added that oftentimes when meetings are televised, certain officials tend to perform for the camera while others are inhibited. She declared that she was old-fashioned in her opinion of democracy and that a ‘couch potato’ democracy, like what televised meetings would encourage, was ineffective.

Playing devil’s advocate, ORR School Committee Member Tim Scholz said the top reason for televising is transparency.

“With no cameras…behavior can sometimes be very bad,” said Scholz. He said cameras would keep officials in check.

“It’s obvious where you guys are going,” said Pateakos. He said he just wanted to give the public the option of televised meetings.

“There’s a population of people … the elderly and the disabled … that can’t come,” said Frangos, in favor of televising. “That transparency would be optimal … Not all of our constituency can come out at night.”

“I don’t think there is one thing that isn’t transparent here,” said Decas.

Pateakos requested that the committees refrain from voting that night and wait until the March meeting to take any action.

Earlier in the meeting, White gave a mid-year review presentation on the progress of the district’s education goals so far. According to the new Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) evaluation system, the district must come into compliance by June 2014, which White stated will happen as most of the benchmarks of the goals have already been met or are in progress.

The goals focus on education evaluation, safety and security of schools, technology, supervision, and writing improvement.

By Jean Perry

After going without a Town Planner since late August, the town of Rochester has hired Mary Crain, who most recently served on the Mattapoisett Planning Board and who has past experience with city planning as well.

Following former Town Planner John Charbonneau’s departure to Raynham, a subcommittee consisting of members from the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen was formed. Recently, the subcommittee narrowed it down to six resumes, with Crain being the final and only candidate interviewed at Tuesday’s joint meeting between the two boards.

Crain said that she’s been a planner for 14 years with experience in Everett, Salem, and Watertown, and that she graduated from Rutgers University with a Master’s Degree.

“I really think that Mary is an excellent choice for the town,” said Town Administrator Richard LaCamera. “I’m very confident she [meets all the qualifications].”

Crain added that she especially enjoys dealing with personalities and personal issues, and she sat in with the Planning Board for the rest of her regular meeting.

As of this meeting, Crain’s salary has yet to be determined, but officials said that they would come up with it in the near future.

Board Chairman Arnold Johnson also announced that Board Administrator Patrice LaForest had prepared their fiscal year 2015 budget review, keeping the numbers the same as last year with Crain’s salary to be filled in upon approval.

The Board also discussed the recent flooding on the property of Jim Carberry of 423 High St. after water spilled over from a water-collection basin for nearby Connet Woods.

“There’s a lot of new water that was never coming in before,” said Carberry. “We’ve never had this amount of water.”

Carberry said that he was concerned the flooding could eventually contaminate his well, which he said is shallow and which he uses for his business, Robin’s Nest Ice Cream.

Johnson said that the town engineers had taken a look at the area, and they will continue to do so until they can come up with a remedy to the issue.

“We’re going to take a look at [the situation], and we’ll have that info for you by the next meeting.”

By Nick Walecka

Mattapoisett’s Board of Selectmen meeting, the first in several long weeks since the holiday break, dealt with wide-ranging matters. However, nothing during the night touched those in attendance more than one small boy and his determination to have someone from the town honored posthumously.

Alex Craig, son of Julie Craig, 77 Aucoot Road, came before the board to share his desire to have Milton Silveira, a former town resident, honored for his work with NASA. Craig had done some research on town residents whose lives reached far beyond the town line and he found Silveira. Silveira, Craig told the board, was raised in town and loved Ned’s Point. Craig had the opportunity to strike up a pen pal and phone relationship with Silveira before he passed away. Now Craig has partnered with Silveira’s daughter, and he is asking if the town would honor this man with a bench or some trees at Ned’s Point. Craig said that the Silveira family would seed the project with $1,000 and that fundraising, spearheaded by Craig, would mean that no tax money would be used. This comment elicited charmed chuckles from the board and public. Craig’s presentation of Silveira’s career highlighted his work for NASA on the Apollo and Gemini space programs and his invention of a lightweight breathing apparatus for fire fighters. Craig’s enthusiasm was contagious as the board approved Craig’s request and suggested that a member of the board make a site visit to Ned’s Point with Craig to select the best location for a bench. Craig was thanked for his good work on behalf of this former resident.

In other matters, the Selectmen accepted the resignation of Tricia Weaver from the Recreation Committee, appointed Kathleen Damaskos as a member of the Cultural Council and voted several individuals to the Flood Plain Advisory Committee. Those new members will be: Al Meninno (Water Commissioner); Bill Cantor (town resident); and Carmelo Nicolosi (Board of Health). The Flood Plain Advisory Committee will work with other coastal communities to try to correct FEMA maps and find relief from soaring insurance rates.

N-STAR came before the board to get approval for placement of a stub utility pole to help support a pole already in place on Tinkham Hill Road. This is necessary for the future load that will be carried from the solar farms scheduled for sites on Tinkham Hill and at the closed landfill. The board approved the request. Abutter Pat Aiello asked when the work would begin by Blue Wave on the multi-acre site closest to her home. Town Administrator Mike Gagne said that work would begin in the spring. It was questioned why the work had not begun this winter, as that had been the agreement when the ZBA approved the project – giving the residents respite to enjoy their property during the warmer seasons without heavy construction noises, dirt and disruption. Paul Silva asked Gagne to look into this issue.

The Selectmen publically thanked David Perkins of Peter Briggs Insurance for flag donations, noting that these 8 foot by 12 foot full-sized American flags are being used throughout the community at no expense to the town.

There was discussion about the number of members on the Marine Advisory Board and the Recreation Committee. The selectmen felt that these large boards were having difficulty making a quorum, especially during the winter months when most of their work needs to take place. The selectmen plan on reviewing goals and participation of members of all boards and committees to ensure that time and talent are not being wasted. They agreed to bring in Mike Cormier, a resident of Mattapoisett and harbormaster in Marion, as a consultant to the Marine Advisory Board to help them navigate through a variety of procedural and tangible issues.

In his report, Gagne detailed the work that had taken place to develop Fiscal Policy and Procedures. With the assistance of the Finance Committee and other town departments, these policies and procedures are now memorialized so that best practices will be available for future decision makers. It also allows a working document to be in place now. Matters such as expenditures, expense policy, and procurement are part of the document. Gagne also said that free cash policy – to be used only for non-reoccurring expenses and never for budget balancing – was part of the completed document. The board members accepted the document for approval with the addition of language around expiring debt.

As part of the Fiscal P & P discussion, Gagne stated that the reserve fund is presently $90,000, that the four parts to the stabilization fund are outlined in detail, and that capital improvements and debt management are all incorporated in the document.

Regarding drainage improvement and roadwork, Gagne along with Barry Denham of the Highway Department and members of the water/sewer department, have been working together and will be holding some workshops with MassDOT to investigate funding sources and technical assistance. He said he wanted to ensure that the residents in the village, down stream of Route 6, also had a chance to have their concerns and issues addressed.

Gagne also said that the Board of Health has been looking into new ways to collect solid waste and recyclables. Information is available on the town web site that gives residents collection dates that will change in July. There is the possibility of a new collection methodology that employs containers for solid waste and a single container for all recyclables; that is, putting paper, glass, metal and plastic together.

Completion of improvements to the Beach House will begin soon with upgrades to the restrooms and changing areas, and a handicap access. Selectman Jordon Collyer asked that Gagne set up a meeting with MattSail, who use the Beach House, to engage them in conversation about the future use of the building.

Paul Silva asked Gagne about an education piece for dog owners regarding the ongoing need to be good citizens and pick up dog waste. Gagne said he’d move forward with a mailing to go out in early April. There are eight new doggie rest stations throughout town.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for January 28 at 7:00 pm.

By Marilou Newell