The Marion Select Board’s last meeting was held on April 1, when the members went down a long list of appointments, permit requests, monetary commitments, further Town Meeting discussions with the public, and other action items.

            For appointments, the board approved Peter O’Brien for assistant harbormaster. O’Brien had been a part-time employee at the Harbormaster office, as well as previously serving as a member of the US Marine Corps for 27 years as a Master Gunnery Sergeant. Carl MacDermott III, not in attendance at the meeting, was approved as Special Police Officer. Edward Johnson, also not in attendance, was approved as Police Officer. Re-appointment of Alternate Building Inspector Edward Johnson was then approved. Finally, the appointment of the Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Jody Dickerson as Marion’s representative to the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission and the Mattapoisett River Valley Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee was also approved.

            An annual request for a Mobil Home & Trailer Permit for 507 Delano Road was approved without comment. Following that, a request for sewer connection for 24 West Drive, already approved by DPW, was also approved by the board.

            There was a short discussion on the purchasing of land in Little Neck by the Buzzards Bay Coalition. The organization is awaiting confirmation on a Municipal Vulnerability Program (MVP) grant before moving forward with discussions.

            For water/sewer monetary commitments, there was a large number of approvals. Two quarterly bills, one for $1,119,443.38 and one for $1,624.58, were both approved. A $10,000 commitment for new sewer service was approved, as well as a separate $10,970 commitment for new water and sewer service. A new water service commitment for $1,505 was approved. Finally, a commitment of $1,198.63 to FRMA-Cummings Wagner Co. for low pressure repairs was approved.

            For the Town Meeting Warrant, Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman explained all changes from the board’s last meeting are grammatical and language based. The board again went through the warrant, approving or “recommending” article by article. For Article 17, regarding accessibility, fire suppression systems, building code and ADA compliance, and HVAC, Select Board Vice-Chair Carleton Burr, Jr. said, “I would pull it. I would say, just as the town is having tremendous difficulty balancing our budget and the school’s having tremendous difficulties balancing their budget, many of our townspeople are having trouble balancing their budgets. This is not the time to ask them for a Proposition Two and A Half override.” Burr voted “nay,” though the other members voted to keep it in the warrant.

            Some members of the public used time to speak out against the bylaw regarding the proposed Marion Village Historic District.

            Some important dates were also discussed. There will be a Candidates Forum hosted by the League of Women Voters SouthCoast on Tuesday, April 29, at 7:00 pm in the Sippican School Multipurpose Room, as well as a review of the Town Meeting Warrant held on Wednesday, April 30, at 6:00 pm in the Marion Music Hall.

            Town Meeting will take place on Monday, May 12, and the full Town Meeting Warrant is posted on the town website at: www.marionma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2339/Annual-Town-Meeting-Warrant-for-May-12-2025-PDF.

            The next meeting of the Marion Select Board will be held on Tuesday, April 15, at 6:00 pm in the Marion Town House Conference Room.

Marion Select Board

By Sam Bishop

            Rochester’s Planning Board Tuesday allowed a proposal for a floating solar array at 53 Dexter Lane to proceed from informal discussion to the formal application stage, but not before lodging a complaint against the plan’s expansion.

            In an informal discussion of the project in a prior board meeting, Matt Swanberg of New Leaf Energy explained such a design is only allowed on man-made ponds. That means cranberry ponds used for agricultural purposes such as the Dexter Lane site qualify. New Leaf Energy’s original proposal was for a two-megawatt solar array with the panels on a connected series of floating docks.

            On Tuesday, Swanberg said ground-mounted solar panels are now part of the plan for what he called “a slightly larger array.” Board member John DiMaggio objected to that term. “Your output is three-times the size now. Not ‘slightly above,'” he said.

            DiMaggio pointed out that the floating arrays will generate 1,933 kw of power and the ground-mounted panels another 6,000 kw. “You’re adding a lot,” he said.

            Chairman Arnold Johnson said his concern continues to be screening from the view of abutters. Swanberg said New Leaf is not planning only floating fencing around the floating array to get that fencing closer to those panels. But the ground-mounted ones will be fenced in. At the time of the formal application, Swanberg said additional “simulations” on fencing plans will be presented.

            Johnson then asked if the array’s battery-energy storage system will tie into the same utility substation that other solar energy installations in town are planning to tie into. Swanberg said he cannot answer that question right now. He added that question is for other experts on his team.

            Johnson concluded by instructing Swanberg to see the board’s administrator, Dawn DiMaggio, about the formal application and the $5,000 application fee. “You may move forward with the formal application process,” he said.

            Next, the board informally reviewed a proposed preliminary subdivision plan at 34 Doctor Braley Road. The plan here is to divide the residential lot into two, one with the existing house and the other with a new dwelling unit placed above barn-like storage below it. Johnson instructed the applicant’s engineering consultant, Jeff Youngquist, and petitioner Dawn Allen to return with their requests for waivers in writing when they file a formal application.

            In other action, the board approved a plan for five lots at Rochester Crossroads at Cranberry Highway and County Road, endorsing the project’s Approval Not Required application. The applicant’s engineering consultant, Joseph Sanda, said the plan here is to subdivide six existing lots into eight, six of which will be buildable and two of which will not because they lack the minimally required frontage.

            Johnson informed the board that these lots encompass the area the May 19 Town Meeting will be seeking to rezone to expand the Smart Growth Overlay District there. He explained each lot will be built by a separate developer, which will create better financing for developing each. The 508 residential units that will result will still count towards the town’s 10% affordable housing stock requirement.

            The board continued until its next meeting a proposal to modify the Special Permit and Groundwater Protection District Special Permit for Cushman Road Solar, Cushman Road. The new plan here is to construct additional sub-drainage improvements within the existing driveway off Robinson Road. Johnson explained this new requirement is that the utility pipes must be encased in concrete and must now be newly designed.

            The board introduced the new Town Planner, Michaela Shoemaker, as she attended her first Planning Board meeting.

            The Rochester Planning Board’s next meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 22, at 7:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Planning Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

            On April 8, the Mattapoisett Finance Committee and Select Board sat down with Old Rochester Regional School District Superintendent Michael Nelson and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howard Barber. For more than an hour, Barber laid out all the moving parts of the schools’ budgets with PowerPoint presentations and deep dives into what can be a very confusing process.

            The bottom line for Mattapoisett taxpayers is this: Mattapoisett’s portion of the two regional schools, the junior and senior high schools, is $6,484,514, and the town’s portion of the two elementary schools, Center and Old Hammondtown, is $8,785,207. The overall school budgets are increased by 6.89%. A letter from Barber and Nelson to Mattapoisett’s treasurer Kristi Costa confirms, “…the budget of the Mattapoisett School District is $8,785,207.”

            Finance Committee members were interested in understanding the cost and/or value of ORR’s participation in the School Choice program that allows a specified number of students from outside the tri-towns to attend ORR and from outside Mattapoisett to attend Mattapoisett Schools. Barber said that the town receives $5,000 for reach School Choice student, but given that it costs the school far more to provide an education for some 99 such children, Select Board member Jordan Collyer said there is an unmet delta, one that the town is paying for.

            Regarding Mattapoisett students whose educational needs cannot be met in the local schools, Nelson said that the majority of students with special needs can be and are served locally.

            For the last several years, the school district has set aside funding in a capital stabilization fund. Mattapoisett’s contribution to that fund is $35,170 for FY26.

            In other business, Town Administrator Mike Lorenco said that the upcoming spring Town Meeting will have 33 articles, including a citizen’s petition asking voters whether or not they want to increase the Select Board to five members.

            The upcoming elections will include two ballot questions.

            Question One – “Shall the Town of Mattapoisett be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half…the amount required to pay for the bond issued in order to pay for road reconstruction for Oakland Street…”

            Question Two – “Shall the Town of Mattapoisett be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half…the amount required to pay the costs of designing, planning, engineering, bidding, constructing, equipping and furnishing the renovation of the Mattapoisett Highway Building…”

            Later into the proceedings, the board heard from Barbara Gaspar, who sought Select Board permission for the creation of a 250 Anniversary Committee to celebrate the town. Gaspar said she wishes to bring together interested parties to develop plans. Collyer suggested that she gauge community interest first. Collyer said the details could be developed at a later date and thanked her.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board was not announced.

Mattapoisett Select Board and Finance Committee

By Marilou Newell