A pier jutting out into Sippican Harbor was discussed at Wednesday’s Marion Conservation Commission meeting at the Town House. The application, from Nancy and Gregory Johnson, was to extend an existing timber pile-supported residential pier from 134 feet to 165 feet, and to relocate a gangway and a 12-by-12-foot float. Gregory Johnson rows as a hobby and asked the board for easier access to deeper water.

Commission member Lawrence Dorman asked about the need for channel markers in the harbor, seeing the length and breath of the extension into the harbor. The project is located at 406 Point Road. All existing pilings will be pulled out, except for one, where an osprey nest exists.

Elsewhere on the agenda was a request on a Determination of Applicability for the Kittansett Club to continue to use the existing stockpile area in the southeast corner of the driving range as a burn area and a storage site for materials, including dredged materials from “The Haven.” The project is located at 11 Point Road.

Lastly, the board heard from Robert Cattel, head of the Hammett’s Cove Homeowners Association, who came before the board to get the OK to repave the entrance of Blackhall Court up to, but not including, the cul-de-sac, and adding gravel to rutted driveways. The board decided to take the matter under consideration and adjourned the meeting.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

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