At a special meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night, members of the Finance Committee told officials from the Town House and Fire Department that they would need more – and better – information before issuing a recommendation on Article 4 of the Fall Town Meeting warrant.

The article reads as follows: “To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury the sum not to exceed $349,108 to supplement the Fiscal Year 2014 Fire Department budget for the purpose of augmenting ambulance staffing and related expenses; or take any other action thereon.”

The funds would pay for shifts for “one paramedic and one EMT to staff the station and be on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Town Administrator Paul Dawson said. They would also provide a stipend for another paramedic and another EMT to be on call “to serve as back-up under the circumstances of a second call or an event demanding multiple personnel and resources.”

None of the additional positions – which would top out at 20 hours per week on an annualized basis – would include benefits.

Dawson said that the Selectmen were putting forth the measure because the town is in danger of not “meeting all of the state protocols” after the Massachusetts Office of Emergency Services deemed Marion’s response times and Continuous Quality Improvement standards “unacceptable.”

In turn, more than $20,000 would be dedicated to a consultant and in-house review to monitor the department’s deficiencies and progress.

While the Finance Committee digested those figures, Dawson went on to discuss the revenue potential of a bolstered EMS, calculating that more than $275,000 in additional insurance reimbursement could be expected to offset the financial impact on the town. Dawson based the number on three factors: a five-year average of 600 calls a year based on recently increased town rates; expanded personnel and resources to handle in-town calls that might otherwise have to be handled by outside communities like Wareham; and those same expanded personnel and resources enabling Marion to provide mutual aid to those outside communities.

But the Finance Committee wasn’t buying it.

“I don’t believe that this thing’s going to make money for the first few years,” Chairman Alan Minard said. “So, the general fund’s going to have to pay for it.”

Minard went on to call the figures Dawson presented as “specious,” saying that “the numbers don’t feel right based on the limited amount of research I’ve done.”

In particular, Minard said he felt that the 600-calls-a-year average was inflated, while Associate Member Peter Winters insisted that the revenue estimates should be based only on calls that included transport, and therefore billing.

After consultation with Fire Department Chief Thomas Joyce, Dawson conceded that his calculations could be erroneous, as the calls he reported as part of the average could have included those in which the deployment of an ambulance did not take place.

“There may be some changes in the numbers,” Dawson said. “That’s something I was not aware of.”

Joyce and Dawson said that they could provide Minard and the Finance Committee the “total number of transports” and “runs” in the coming days. Minard insisted upon it.

“I’m not standing up before the town to say, ‘Hey, this is a great idea,’ based on numbers pulled out of the air or that are unverifiable,” he said. “I’d like to feel sure about what we’re talking about here.”

By Shawn Badgley

On Tuesday night, Mattapoisett’s Board of Selectmen met with Treasurer Brenda Herbeck and Lisa Dickinson, Vice President of UniBank, with whom the town executes various financial activities, including the sale of bonds and notes.

Dickinson started her discussion with the board by congratulating the town for achieving the rare triple A rating from Standard & Poor. Noting that today the rating firm uses criterion that takes risk into consideration, Mattapoisett was considered worthy. She said that due to the town’s conservative spending practices, budget, liquidity, and management environment coupled with the newly achieved triple A rating, investors saw Mattapoisett as attractive, ultimately meaning a savings of $440,000.

Dickinson presented the members with the written vote for the record regarding the bond sale. She said that the sale day had been exceptional. Bond Series A sold to Raymond James & Associates for $1,697,393; Bond Series B sold to Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. for $4,370,000; and sold to Eastern Bank was $598,750 in the General Obligation State House Note. The full notice is available at the Town Clerk’s office.

The board also took the time to present certificates of appreciation to Jeremy Collier, Recreation Director, and Ken Dawicki of the Conservation Commission. Collier’s many contributions to the plans for a vital and vigorous Recreation Department was noted by Mike Gagne, Town Administrator. Chairman Tyler Macallister said that Dawicki’s 31 years of dedicated service to the town was outstanding, and that he brought cohesiveness to a group whose members were from disparate backgrounds. Dawicki said he was just a “small dirt farmer,” but credited his father with getting him involved in the Conservation Commission.

Gagne gave his report to the board. He highlighted the ongoing work taking place at the town’s tennis courts, specifically mentioning the unique post tension concrete slab construction that will help eliminate cracking. The site will also accommodate two shuffleboard lanes and bocce courts.

The land gift from the YMCA to the town for the bike path was also mentioned by Gagne, and that he would be reporting receipt of the title to Massachusetts Department of Transportation when he meets with them soon.

Bonnie DaSousa was on hand to bring the board up to date on her research into ways to add safety features at bike path intersections. She recently found two examples of warning structures from bike paths on Cape Cod that might aid in alerting cyclists of an approaching intersection. She also said that the police department’s website has great information for the public on bike safety. Starting in May 2014, the bike path committee will be holding various community events geared toward safety, cycling rules of the road, and enjoyment of the bike path.

Other agenda items included: accepting the resignation of the Housing Authority’s Marcia Perry; candidates interested in filling the empty term are invited to submit a letter of interest to the Housing Authority; Mattapoisett’s Community Blood Drive will take place on Wednesday, October 23 at the Bay Club from 1:00 to 6:00 pm; Fall Town Meeting is Monday, November 18, 6:30 pm at the ORR auditorium; Town Hall is closed in observation of Veteran’s Day on November 11; the next meeting of the Selectmen is scheduled for November 12 at 7:00 pm.

By Marilou Newell 

Months of back-and-forth admonishments – mostly via letters and the local media – between Town Hall and the Rochester School Committee regarding budgetary matters boiled over on Monday night at the Rochester Board of Selectmen meeting.

School committee members held a last-minute meeting on Monday morning to formulate a plan for funding an additional Rochester student’s attendance at Bristol County Agricultural High School. In a longstanding accounting quirk, the cost of sending Rochester residents to Bristol Ag is baked into the Rochester Memorial School budget, and has historically allowed for as many as 10 students. For Fiscal Year 2014, however, that line item was dropped to eight students, and with a ninth needing tuition and transportation, the School Committee was in search of an additional $33,860.

Their plan? Asking the Board of Selectmen hours later to add an article funding the additional student’s education to Fall Town Meeting Warrant – a document whose deadline for article inclusion was two weeks ago.

Complicating matters was the recent acrimony between the two boards, as on June 17, Selectman Richard Nunes blasted the Old Rochester Regional School District’s budgetary practices and Rochester Memorial School’s decision to fund a tuition-free Full-Day K – which he called “disturbing and shocking,” as The Wanderer reported at the time.

Rochester School Committee Chair Michelle Cusolito responded with an open letter chiding the Selectmen for “continu[ing] to disrespect our committee by discussing school business at BoS meetings and airing complaints through the press instead of talking to us directly. Since the BoS has no authority over the School department, we contend that discussing school business at a BoS meeting, especially when no school officials or School Committee members are present, is inappropriate.”

On Monday, four School Committee members were present, and Rochester Town Administrator Richard LaCamera did not mince words in criticizing their handling of recent budgets. He pointed out that a $49,000 surplus in the FY 13 Bristol Ag budget was spent on FY 14 supplies instead of returned to the town, and that other surpluses are, in his estimation, poorly documented or were transferred haphazardly. In addition, LaCamera questioned the School Committee members on staffing issues, particularly one teaching position that was restored to the budget after having been previously eliminated.

“That’s $53,000 to a teacher brought back who wasn’t supposed to be brought back, and $11,000 in health insurance costs,” LaCamera said. “These are real dollars we’re talking about. … That’s an $11,000 deficit [for the town’s] health insurance. Are you going to pick that up?”

As Rochester School Committee members scrambled for a response, occasionally interrupting what amounted to a lecture, LaCamera pounced.

“You wouldn’t let me talk before at your meeting, so I’m talking now. With all of these issues that have just happened within the past couple of months, I think you can live within your budget,” he said. “If there’s money left over in the budget, you turn it back over to the town. I do that, and my department heads do that.”

School Committee members disagreed with several of LaCamera’s calculations and conclusions, but ultimately agreed that their budgeting was in line for potential reforms. They argued that RMS’s budget should no longer be responsible for Bristol Ag students, but that for now, there is a student whose education needs demand funding.

“The budget is a living, breathing object,” Tina Rood said. “We are asking for an increase based on an expense the town said they would cover. … The cost of the Bristol Aggie students should not be impacting education of elementary students in Rochester.”

Selectman Chair Naida Parker argued that RMS had benefitted from the Bristol Ag surplus in the past.

“You can’t have it both ways,” Nunes chimed in.

Parker said the predicament was in part a result of the lack of communication among the officials – including Old Rochester Regional School District Superintendent Doug White – in recent months.

“It has been a tough four months in terms of communicating with your board,” she said. “It has been extremely frustrating.”

School Committee member Sharon Hartley agreed.

“It has been really troubling to have this discord,” she said. “It’s not good for anybody. Let’s try to have a fresh start.”

That fresh start began with a compromise. Although Parker lamented the precedent that it might set in terms of future late additions to Town Meeting warrants, she was the deciding vote in agreeing to ask Rochester for $18,860 at Fall Town Meeting on November 25. Selectman Brad Morse joined her, while Nunes dissented. That figure represents the cost of tuition for the Bristol Ag student; for the $15,000 transportation cost, which the Selectmen agreed was “exorbitant” in its spike from past appropriations and lacking sufficient documentation, the School Committee is on its own.

Elsewhere on the agenda, the Selectmen also approved several other articles for Fall Town Meeting, including the Community Preservation Act and the Flood Plain District. In addition, LaCamera received authorization from the Selectmen to launch the interview process for a part-time Town Planner.

The next Rochester Board of Selectmen meeting is scheduled for November 4.

By Shawn Badgley

A lively discussion was held regarding parking issues at the Cumberland Farms convenience store and gas station at the corner of Front Street and Route 6 in Marion.

Fender benders, issues at the pumps, and employee parking were discussed at Monday’s meeting at the Town House. All board members agreed that parking and “pulling in and out to gas up” were concerns.

“The width issues, coming in and out of the property, is an issue,” Building Inspector Scott Shippee said.

Board member Steve Gonsalves said that the current parking of employees’ vehicles across the street was temporary, and that permanent parking should be in the plan.

Another issue is the curb cut coming in and out of the modification of a pump.

Douglas Troyer, representing Cumberland Farms, said that there were four employee parking places, but that there needed to be more. Also, Troyer said that there needed to be more spaces available for pulling in and out for both gas and in-store purchases.

Troyer said that he would explore the issues and come back at the November 4 meeting with several solutions to propose.

In other agenda items, the Master Plan discussion was postponed until the next Planning Board meeting, scheduled for 7:00 pm on November 4.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

Representatives of two housing developments came before the Mattapoisett Planning Board to receive approval of covenants or to receive an extension.

For the Brandt Point Village development located off Brandt Island Road, an attorney was back before the board detailing the repairs and completion of other considerations that were previously required before the covenant would be approved. Barry Denham, Highway Supervisor, whose advice to the board during the earlier hearing generated some repairs, was present to attest that work had taken place. The covenant received approval.

Ted Gowdy, Director of Construction for a newly formed entity at the Bay Club site, the Preserve at Bay Club, came before the board to request an extension of an existing covenant. Gowdy told the board that his business would be moving forward with the development of 34 lots over the next three years with four lots being held in the covenant. He noted that this group of homes would have a price point between $500,000 to $600,000 to attract a different demographic than the first homes were geared toward. The homes will be 2,000 square feet, with Cape-style architecture. The group plans to start construction on a spec home in November. Presently, there are 51 homes occupied at Bay Club of the 180 lots available. Gowdy’s request for an extension of the covenant was approved for the next three years.

In other business, William Hall of 25 Mechanic St. appeared before the board to request approval for the removal of a maple tree located in his front yard. Ronald Cote, Tree Warden, was on hand to support Hall’s request. Denham noted that he was “pretty sure” the tree in question did not belong to the town, but instead was Hall’s, therefore the Planning Board did not have jurisdiction over the tree removal or the financial obligation to pay for its removal. The troublesome tree had sustained serious damage during Hurricane Bob, but the biggest problem was the root system that was wreaking havoc on the home’s drainage system and the health of the lawn. Board member John Mathieu moved that if the tree was the responsibility of the town it should be removed, if not, it was Hall’s responsibility. The motion carried.

The board then spent the balance of the evening continuing their work on improving language on zoning bylaws. They reviewed draft changes for parking and signs and began the work on screening, common driveways, and trailers. Chairman Ron Merlo again reassured the public that the board’s effort at improving zoning bylaw language was for easier implementation and use, and that all changes would be brought to the annual Town Meeting in the spring for public discussion and adoption.

The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for November 4 at 7:00 pm.

By Marilou Newell

What does the historic preservation of town records and documents, restoration of the tennis courts, the bridge for the bike path, historic road map conservation, Center School clock tower rehabilitation, and the Cushing Cemetery fence repair have in common? The answer is the Community Preservation Committee. These projects all secured much-needed cash to do projects that have long-lasting benefit to the residents of Mattapoisett.

The Community Preservation Act of Massachusetts (M.G.L. Chapter 44B) passed in 2000. The act allows cities and towns to raise money that may be used for various projects, projects that might otherwise not be funded. The funds are dedicated for use only for open space, historic resources, affordable housing and the acquisition and development of recreational facilities.

Those towns that have adopted the act may raise funds via a surcharge on property tax bills up to 3%. Presently Mattapoisett imposes .0066% to real estate taxes for this purpose.

Adoption of CPA triggers annual distributions from the state’s Community Preservation Trust Fund, a statewide fund managed by Massachusetts Department of Revenue. The state trust is funded via deed recording fees by the state’s Registries of Deeds. The two fund sources, local and state, combine to form the Community Preservation Fund.

Mattapoisett’s committee is headed by John DeCosta with members from various other town boards and committees. Michelle Hughes, Jodi Bower, Margaret Demello, Bill Hall, Jeremy Collier, and Raymond Harrington round out the committee.

Since 2009, Mattpoisett’s CPC has received requests for assistance. Mattapoisett allows the Open Space Committee, Recreation Department, Community Housing, and Historic Commission to request funds through an application process. However, private groups whose project may be of historic significance to the town and its residents may also submit an application.

“Most of the town fathers are buried in the Cushing Cemetery,” DeCosta told me. The cemetery is the final resting place of some local Civil War veterans and other historic figures from Mattapoisett’s past. CPC felt that assisting the cemetery corporation, which is a private group, to repair the antique fence was beneficial to the town.

The committee has been hard at work fine-tuning its master plan, and they are nearing the completion of this arduous but necessary work.

As they work on the details of the revised master plan, the CPC will require any project that receives funding to report back to the board on such matters as project status, original budget, budget spent, and other specifics to insure that the people’s money is being wisely utilized by the requesting group.

The master plan will also require signage during construction of a project so the townspeople will know their money is being used on a project. Permanent signs may also be installed noting the involvement of the CPC. Professionally prepared quotes and letters of support from the community will also be part of the package of information the committee needs for comprehensive project evaluation.

From September 1 through November 15 applications are completed and submitted to the selectmen’s office where they are collected for the committee. The vetting of projects is a multi-phase processes: 1) project is reviewed for compliance of law and affordability; 2) projects accepted are required to provide additional information for further consideration, failure to do so results in the project’s disqualification; 3) formal presentation is made by organization requesting funds, and final evaluations are made on the applications; 4) in March CPC notifies the selectmen what projects will be presented at Town Meeting for public vote.

During the spring 2014 Town Meeting the town will have the opportunity to approve, decrease project fund request, or reject a project. The Finance Committee and Selectmen may also weigh-in at that time regarding projects brought to town meeting sharing their opinion directly with the public in attendance.

On this night, Collier, on behalf of the Recreation Department, brought the committee up to date on the work taking place at the town tennis courts situated next to Center School. He said that the concrete courts would be poured shortly in advance of the cold weather. In the spring, the lines will be painted and fencing installed. Other work proposed for this site include a bocce court and tot yard.

Some projects proposed to the CPC may not necessarily be located in Mattapoisett. DeCosta used the example of open spaces located in Fairhaven but which directly impact the aquifer.

The Community Preservation Act allows cities and towns to receive private gifts as well as being funded from tax surcharges.

During their November meeting the group will begin the process of vetting this year’s applications.

By Marilou Newell