Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen opened with a reorganization of the Board. Jody Dickerson is the new Chairman, Steve Cushing is the new Vice-Chairman, and recently re-elected John Henry is the new Clerk.

The Board then went through how the Selectmen sit on the various boards and events in town, including Dickerson to represent the Board at the ORR graduation ceremony. The commitments of the Board are vast and varied, with Chairman Dickerson representing the Buzzards Bay Action Committee and serving as the School Committee Liaison. Vice-Chairman Cushing will be the representative for the Music Hall Committee and the Capital Improvement and Planning Committee, as well as other boards. John Henry will represent the Board on the SouthCoast Commuter Rail Task Force, the Marion Pathways Committee, and the Plymouth County Advisory Committee, as well as other boards.

The first appointment the agenda was a discussion regarding Sherman Briggs’ status on town boards. The discussion was continued until June 4 at 7:05 pm.

Next up was an approval to send letters to Marion residents who were found to be in violation of connections to the Marion septic system. Thirty-four residents were in violation, and the Board approved the letters of notification that the residents have 180 days or six months to remedy the situation prior to a re-inspection by the town.

The fall town meeting was determined to be held on October 28 at 7:00 pm.

The Board reviewed the draft of a proposed drug and alcohol testing policy for current and prospective employees. The Board will study the proposal and make comments for discussion at the next meeting.

Ambulance rates were discussed and approved by the Board. According to Town Administrator Paul Dawson, Medicare reimbursement rates have undergone various changes, and the base rates proposed represent an “average compilation” of various towns in the area. The Board voted to adopt the measure as presented, effective June 1.

A proposal was made to honor Helene Craver, former secretary to the Selectmen. Several Town House employees proposed to plant flowers and install a birdbath in honor of Craver, who passed away earlier this month. The Board agreed to support the effort. Only private donations, not town funds, would be used for the beautification project in Cravers’ name.

Correspondence from resident Tom Magauran was discussed, with Magauran speaking to the Board. At issue was a question posed at Town Meeting regarding health insurance for elected town officials. Magauran asked about two town-elected officials who were “grandfathered” for health insurance through the town health insurance program.

“The associated benefits of these policies reflect approximately $ 5,600 in one case and over $11,000 in the other case,” Magauran said, “and the only way to end this [grandfathered] practice is to fail to re-elect them, so they would no longer qualify as elected officials for town insurance participation.”

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

With unofficial results tabulated as Town Clerk Barbara Sullivan has yet to declare a write-in winner for the Old Rochester Regional District School Committee, William F. Hubbard beat out Christopher Jaskolka for Water/Sewer Commissioner, while Mary Crain held on to her Planning Board seat in a race against Paul Osenkowski.

No candidates filed for the Old Rochester Region District School Committee spot, but a write-in winner could emerge.

The Mattapoisett Election drew 661 voters for a 14% turnout.

Hubbard earned 379 votes to Jaskolka’s 246, with 36 blanks.

Crain’s 396 was more than enough to hold off Osenkowski, who received 193, with 72 blanks.

“I’m excited and pleased,” Crain said after learning of her victory. “I think voters responded to my experience and background geared toward planning. I’m balanced. I don’t have an agenda; I just want to help out.”

Crain said that the Planning Board will face more challenges during her five-year term.

“We’ll be dealing with solar, as well as cell towers,” she said, adding that public participation will be crucial in the coming years. “We’ll be taking a comprehensive look at zoning ordinances and doing an overhaul on that.”

Elsewhere on the ballot, in response to Question No. 1 – which asked if the town of Mattapoisett should be exempt from the provision of Proposition 2 ½, the amount required to pay for the bond issued in order to pay costs of making general repairs and improvements to the roads within the town as shown as Phase III on the town’s Five Year Road Infrastructure Improvement Plan – 273 voters answered yes, while 188 said no, with 200 ballots left blank.

Jordan Collyer was re-elected to the Board of Selectmen unopposed.

Cary LeBlanc was re-elected Assessor unopposed.

Charles Motta will be back on the Mattapoisett School Committee, while new member Patrick LeClair will join him.

Voters re-elected James Dildine and Mary Magee as trustees of the Public Library, John Eklund as Town Meeting Moderator, Daniel Lee Jr. to the Board of Health, Margaret DeMello to the Mattapoisett Housing Authority, Paul Magee and Kenneth Pacheco as constables, Robert Martin as Herring Inspector, Roland Cote as Tree Warden, and William Hall and Michelle Hughes to the Community Preservation Committee.

By Shawn Badgley

The Rochester Conservation Commission ruled Tuesday night that Gregory Kamon of 11 Briarwood Lane could cut vegetation specified by the Commission on the easement that he shares with David Gomes.

Gomes lives on the adjacent lot, and he disagreed with Kamon’s decision to cut vegetation along the walkway, which borders Gomes’ deck.

“I don’t want to cut a lot,” said Kamon. “I just want it to be passable. I’m not looking to do a lot. For the very few times I put a canoe in, I just want a spot to get it in.”

Gomes argued it was illegal for Kamon to perform work on his property, but the Commission ultimately decided it was reasonable for Kamon to perform plant maintenance to the path.

Gomes has 21 days to appeal their decision, and if he wants to, he can take legal action regarding the matter.

The Commission also discussed the allocation of $5,000 from a grant they received from the Makepeace Neighborhood Fund for the Dogget’s Brook project that is currently under way.

Commissioners said that several people have volunteered their time and equipment to working on the project, and that most of the money from the grant will be used for seeding and new signage on the property. The volunteers will clear overgrown vegetation on the path to the conservation area, as well as clear some large mounds that currently exist on the back of the property.

“It’s exciting,” Commissioner Rosemary Smith said. “It’s going to cost a lot for the seed mix, and it’s going to cost a lot for the signage.”

Smith added that they hoped the work would be done for the end of August so that the seeding could occur in the fall.

The next Conservation Commission meeting is scheduled for June 4.

By Nick Walecka

The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement that warns of strong to severe thunderstorms across the region this afternoon. The storm may produce damaging wind gusts, hail, heavy rain and lightning.

The evening’s meeting started out quickly with a fast turnaround for Brian Porter, Vice President of Brophy & Phillips Co. Real Estate regarding Mattapoisett Landing Units 6, 7, 8, and 102 situated on Fairhaven Road. Porter was before the board to explain plan changes for one unit from triplex to a duplex. With no concerns, the board approved the changes as submitted.

The balance of the night was then given over to Grant King, Principal Comprehensive Planner for SRPEDD for a public hearing on the draft of Mattapoisett’s future in terms of re-zoning, land protection, property protection, and growth.

King prefaced his presentation by stating for the assembled, “This is not SRPEDD’s work; this is your work.” He also made it clear that is was an informal conversation of the draft work that had been done with a coalition of townspeople from Mattapoisett. He then explained the necessity of this work for Mattapoisett’s future.

Putting the material in context, he said that in 2008, as part of the Southcoast Rail Project, an original plan was prepared. Via a PowerPoint presentation, he overlaid the 2012 plan to demonstrate some differences for the group’s consideration.

He then explained that a 2010 state executive order (EO 525) required cities and towns in the corridor region to establish fully fleshed out plans. The directive doesn’t tell municipalities what they must do or develop, plan or build, but that those plans have merit. Throughout his presentation, King emphasized that the draft was the town’s plan, not SRPEDD’s.

He explained the priority development areas were where the group thought types of light commercial or other construction might be reasonable to help revenue sources for the town. One example is a site off Crystal Springs Road that is an old gravel pit; it might be considered for rezoning for low impact development

The meeting was then turned over for public comment.

Bonnie DeSouza said the “landfill area was recently approved for solar farm –  it’s a perfectly good area for that.” She added that “another old gravel pit behind the Knights of Columbus might be a good spot for commercial development” and “the entire length of Route 6 should be more business friendly.” She went on to say “We don’t want to change laws that might affect the use of the boatyard areas, for the important work it does for our water recreation.”

Mary Crain asked, “Can the same be said about the boat yard at Brandt Island?”

King said the same logic would apply and swiftly made the changes to the draft.

Paul Osenkowski asked, “What is low impact development?”

King said it is “mostly associated with storm water runoff … so rather than a CVS coming in, rather than just building a parking lot, we could make them build in swales to divert rain water runoff.”

Osenkowski said, “It seems because of an executive order we are being asked to increase the number of homes and businesses so that we can increase revenue into the town and pack more people into cluster development.”

Again King said, “This is not SRPEDD’s work, this is not the state’s work, this is your fellow citizen’s work.” He said, “this is a basic plan use exercise which is taking place across the 27 communities in SRPEDD coverage.” He continued, “where do the towns want growth, where to the towns want protection … the state is providing grants for towns that have made statements about growth … there is some incentive [to the town] by making money available.”

The state is offering two types of grants. One is for Massworks projects such as sewer extensions, bike paths, roadwork, and the other is for economic development studies that may include residential expansion studies. But King also said, “The state is not trying to influence behavior with funding.”

Brad Hathaway spoke, saying, “25 years ago they tried to extend the business along route 6, the same town meeting they turned the same business area back to residential. … I think this is a very poor turnout by the town on something that is so important to the town,” noting that there were approximately 15 people present.

Hathaway then reminded the group, “We can not protect the wetlands in this town without a wetlands protection bylaws, mostly because of the action of the Conservation Commission. Until we get wetlands protection bylaws, this is ridiculous.”

King responded, “But we are not talking about zoning now … that would have to go to town meeting for public vote before any of these suggestions, before any zoning changes can be implemented.”

Gary Johnson asked, “Can you compare Mattapoisett to Marion,” indicating that he wished to see how the latter had zoned its part of Route 6. He said, “We can’t have non-discriminatory plans for Route 6 from border to border.”

Bob Rogers wanted to clarify that, “business development doesn’t mean it has to be commercial development … it could be medical offices, or senior housing.”

Board member Karen Fields asked King, “What do you see in the future for villages to stay a village?” King replied, “Good planning and good zoning work.”

King went on to say that SRPEDD will review the plans to find the things that are most important for the town. He encouraged everyone to participate in regional meetings and to visit the SRPEDD website at www.srpedd.org/scr-update.asp.

By Marilou Newell

Rochester residents voted during Monday night’s quick Town Meeting to retain their current tax billing system and to remain a part of the Marion Rochester Regional Health District, ending months of infighting on both issues.

Article 9 would have switched Rochester from its current annual tax billing system to a “Semi-Annual Preliminary Tax Payment System,” as proposed by the Board of Selectmen.

But members of the Board of Assessors, who came out against the initiative earlier this year, wasted no time making their feelings known on Monday night: Chair John Mello told voters that the Board prefers a quarterly system and would prepare a proposal in time for the next Town Meeting. The Article had met with little debate before resident Kirby Gilmore moved to table it. The motion passed overwhelmingly.

If voters dealt the Selectmen a glancing blow by tabling Article 9, they connected squarely soon after by resoundingly defeating Article 10. It proposed withdrawal of Rochester from the joint Marion Rochester Regional Health District.

“We have concerns about some of the costs,” Naida Parker said, going on to explain potential liability issues that the Selectmen and Town Counsel see as risky, at best.

But Rochester Board of Health Chair Dale Barrows blasted this line of reasoning, while other members and residents expressed how well the District has functioned under the direction of Karen Walega, whose services the town could have lost if Article 10 passed.

“It’s difficult to find someone of her caliber,” Board of Health member Sandra Keese said. ”This is a silly idea.”

Rochester voters agreed to the tune of 125-2.

One major health-related change that Rochester did approve was the upgrade of EMT services from Basic Life Support to Advanced Life Support. Though it boosted the EMT budget from $191,878 to $321,675, officials argued successfully that the enhanced capabilities would save lives as well as recoup costs with increased call volume and billing reimbursements.

The EMT item was part of the Fiscal Year 2014 Operating Budget of $18,413,066 – aka Article 5, which passed.

As did all other articles elsewhere on the Warrant (and Special Warrant). They included:

Article 2, Elected Officials Salaries: To see if the Town will vote to fix the salaries of the elected officials of the Town for the Fiscal Year 2014 as follows or take any other action thereon.

Article 3, Personnel By-Law Amendment – Classification And Compensation Plan

Article 4, Longevity Pay: To see if the Town will vote to amend PART Vi-Rate increases of the Town Personnel By-laws by adding the following as the second paragraph: “Regular, non-union, employees are entitled to receive longevity incentive pay at the completion of 10, 20 and 25 years of service as a benefitted employee. Longevity incentive pay shall be paid out at the following rate increase schedule. The percentage increase reflects a percentage of the employee’s base pay for each longevity step increase. 10 years (2%) 20 years (1%) 25 years (1%). Employees shall receive the pay increases reflected above be- ginning the next fiscal year after they reach the required length of service.”

Article 6, Departmental Revolving Funds Authorization: To see if the Town will vote to authorize revolving funds for certain Town departments under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44 Section 53E 1/2 for the Fiscal Year 2014 or take any other action thereon.

            Article 7, Natural Resource Expenses: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate and/or transfer from available funds a sufficient sum of money to fund the following recurring Environmental and Natural Resources Expenses or take any other action thereon. Fund 2014 Natural Resource Expenses Department Item/Project: Selectmen Planting of Shellfish (Marion) $300; Total Assessment $300.       

            Article 8, Chapter 90 Funds Appropriation: To see if the Town will vote to appropriate the sum a of money from the proceeds due to the Town under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90; for the purposes of repair, construction, maintenance and preservation of the Town roads and bridges and other related costs which qualify under the State Aid Highway Guidelines adopted by the Massachusetts Highway Authority.

            Article 11, Fingerprinting By-Law: To see if the Town will vote, as authorized by Chapter 256 of the Acts of 2010, and incorporated into the Massachusetts General Laws as Chapter 6, Section 172 B 1/2, to create a by-law enabling the Police Department to conduct State and Federal Fingerprint Based Criminal History checks for individuals applying for the following licenses:
Hawking and Peddling or other Door-to-Door Salespeople, Owner or Operator of Public Conveyance, Dealer of Second-hand Articles, Pawn Dealers, Hackney Drivers, and, Ice Cream Truck Vendors and to adopt appropriate policies and procedures to effectuate the purposes of this by-law, or take any other action relative thereto.
Article 12, Rescinding of Previous Borrowing Authorizations: To see if the Town will vote to rescind the following previously approved borrowing authorizations as approved by previous Town Meeting or take any other action thereto. Rochester Memorial School Renovation/Addition Article 1 – STM – 10/26/09 – Unissued Amount – $14,812,000 RMS Feasibility And Schematic Design Phase Article 6 – STM – 10/20/08 – Unissued Amount – $211,481 Carr Family Bogs Land Preservation Project Article 13 – ATM – 05/17/10 – Unissued Amount – $300,000

Article 13, Establishment Of Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School District “Stabilization Fund”

Article 14, Appropriate For OPEB Liabilities: To see if the Town will vote to appropriate the total sum of $5,000 to meet the Town’s obligations under the Government Accounting Standards Boards Statement 45 to fund the Town’s future obligations for the cost of other post employment benefits identified by GASB 45 Report; and as funding therefore, to raise $5,000 from the Tax Levy, or take any action relative thereto.

Article 15, Stabilization Fund: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate and/or transfer from available funds a sum of money to be added to the Stabilization Fund, or take any other action thereon.

Special Article 1: FY 13 Unanticipated Costs

Special Article 2: Establishment of a Special Education Costs Stabilization Fund

Special Article 3: Transfer to Special Education Stabilization Fund

By Shawn Badgley