The re-paving of Mattapoisett Neck Road could cost upward of $43,000 more than originally planned, according to representatives from a longtime contracting partner of the town.

During a presentation at the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday night, Ron Michalski and Pat Sheridan of Tighe & Bond – the firm handling the improvements – disclosed that the project’s price tag was underestimated at $240,000, and could end up costing closer to $273,000.

The Board of Selectmen was incredulous during a discussion that lasted more than a half-hour, with Clerk Paul Silva making mention of the L word: litigation. Officials speculated on various emergency funding scenarios to complete the long-in-the-works re-paving, none satisfactory to the Board, which expressed a conviction that the responsibility was ultimately Tighe & Bond’s.

Michalski and Sheridan said that there could be a way to split the difference, or that the estimate could be cut by $10- to $15,000, and that the firm could cover the remaining balance.

Elsewhere on the agenda, Old Rochester Regional School District Technology Director Ryan McGee presented requests as part of the Local Schools Five Year Capital Plan Needs for the Center and Old Hammondtown schools. The Selectmen agreed to find at least partial funding for improved capabilities now, but that future requests should be built into the education budget.

Allen Decker of the Buzzards Bay Coalition requested a letter of support for the grant that the organization is currently seeking.

Awards were presented to the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Department, while Friday, April 26, was officially designated as the town’s Tree City Arbor Day.

In addition, the Seaport Ice Cream Slip at Town Wharf was approved for a Common Victualler License; Bowl More Lanes at 22 County Rd. was approved for a bowling alley license, while Rick’s Tavern’s billiard pool license was approved; a one-day special liquor license was granted for the business picnic at the YMCA; the Selectmen appointed Anthony J. Tranfaglia III to an associate member position on the Board of Appeals; a Phase III Road Improvement Question was approved for Town Meeting; and The Wanderer’s own Marilou Newell was appointed to the Mattapoisett Historical Commission.

The next Board of Selectmen meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, 7:00 pm.

By Shawn Badgley

The running public hearing for construction at Shawmut Associates LLC of Cranberry Highway in Rochester continued on Tuesday evening, with Planning Board members estimating that it would take upward of another three meetings to get everything approved by the town’s various boards.

Green Seal engineers recently submitted a site plan review to the town, and they expect the Planning Board to approve it, barring any setbacks.

Town Planner John Charbonneau said that the Conservation Commission will also be issuing an Order for Conditions at the site at some point this month, and unless members take issue with the construction, they would also be ready to approve the changes when they meet on May 7.

According to Gary James, an engineer for Green Seal, there has been a lot of work including topography and controlled grading on the access road that is currently being built. He said that they also installed two drop-inlets to control water flow near the road. The drainage is one area of particular significance to the Conservation Commission.

“We’ll have public hearing one more time,” Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson said. “Once [approval from other boards] comes through, we’ll be able to approve everything.”

He added that things could be complete by the second meeting if all goes according to plan.

“Depending on how things work, maybe we could vote that night, and that would be it,” he said.

The public hearing is continued to May 15 at 7:00 pm.

In other news, Charbonneau said that he and others were going to get to work on zoning bylaws for the sale of medical marijuana. He said that it would fit into bylaws for the adult use district in most towns, and they would follow suit in Rochester.

He also said that towns are responsible for giving permits after applicants receive state approval.

“They have to apply for a license from the state, but they still need local approval,” he said.

He added that the final regulations from the Department of Health have not yet come out, but that they should emerge within a few weeks.

Finally, Johnson said that the town wants to form a subcommittee with the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board to go over and rewrite the town’s zoning bylaws. He said that they want to see if there’s repetition in zoning bylaws and, if so, necessary changes could be made.

“We want to get that going,” Johnson said. “It’s a lot easier with a couple of members from each one. You can easily get together.”

Johnson said that they’d be looking for at least two members from each board.

By Nick Walecka

The Conservation Commission’s schedule was extraordinarily limited, but one meeting carried great importance for the residents of Mattapoisett.

Buzzard’s Bay Coalition’s Allen Decker once again was before the commission seeking its approval for a completed grant application and letter to the state for 16.5 acres the coalition is securing and, will ultimately be owned by the town’s Conservation Commission. The 2010 Fall Town Meeting approved the purchase of the land with the caveat that the price tag associated with the property would be funded from grants and other sources outside the town’s budget.

Decker said, “As you can imagine, funding for conservation from the state is very competitive … but critical to protect the aquifer.” He was seeking the commission’s approval to submit the completed grant application and letter, both of which are required to be signed by the Board of Selectmen this week. Decker has a meeting scheduled on the Board of Selectmen’s agenda for April 25. This grant is seeking $240,000 to help with the $750,000 land purchase from Decas Cranberry Corporation.

Decker detailed the land as a prime location along the river, which will be conserved for public passive recreational activities. He said that the property will not and should not be developed for more public access than it currently supports. He envisions swimming, fishing, and kayaking to be the type of activity the area could successfully accommodate. He also expressed that the commission should plan on putting use restrictions in place to ensure the uncorrupted watershed area would remain as is.

Chair Peter Newton along with commission members Tom Copps and Michael King approved Decker’s request.

A hearing with applicant Kate Marmelo was also heard. She was requesting approval for an in-ground swimming pool. This was approved with several considerations, including hay bales that will be used where necessary to protect limited wetlands contiguous to the property line during dewatering operation associated with the construction.

Two scheduled hearings were continued: one with D & B Construction regarding an after the fact notice of intent for an existing detached shed and outdoor shower located partially with bordering vegetated wetlands.

The other continuance is with David Nicolosi for property off of Fairhaven Road, Lots #33, 34, and 42B for a crossing over wetlands and an intermittent stream.

Conservation Agent Elizabeth Leidhold gave her report, which included notice of the April 25 Open Space public meeting taking place at Old Hammondtown School at 7:00 pm.

After reviewing and approving the previous meeting’s minutes, the commission adjourned for the night.

By Marilou Newell

The Rochester Board of Selectman and members of the Rochester School Committee held a brief joint meeting Monday and discussed the potential reallocation of extra funds from this year’s budget into a special education account in case of unexpected expenses for fiscal year 2014.

Ultimately, the Board approved the three articles presented by the School Committee, but the two groups decided that they would need to further discuss how much of the potential surplus funds would be switched over to the special education account.

Members of the School Committee said that there was roughly $108,000 surplus in the budget currently, and they estimated that after the school year concludes, they would probably have about $50,000 that could be rolled over into the account.

“At this point, they haven’t needed that money available,” Town Administrator Richard LaCamera said. “I recommend that we set this up to deal with any problems in the future.”

Members of the two boards discussed the possibility of having to place students in out-of-district facilities, which would be at its own expense, among other potential expenses. In the past, the school has needed extra funds for special education, but has not had the funds allocated to do so. This would keep that from reoccurring.

Sharon Hartley of the School Committee expressed her gratitude to the Selectmen for approving the articles and offering to meet with them for further discussion.

“We appreciate the idea and the effort and the action of creating that,” Hartley said. “We think it’s a very good idea.”

Hartley also said that they have not yet set an amount or discussed how much they think will be left at the end of the year, but she offered an estimate of $50,000.

After the School Committee portion of the meeting was over, the Selectmen met and reshuffled the Board, with its members ultimately deciding to nominate Naida Parker as Chair, Bradford Morse as Vice Chair, and Richard Nunes to be Clerk.

Also during the meeting, there took place a heated debate between the Selectmen and members of the Board of Health regarding the necessity of insurance liability for members of the Board of Health. The issue was left unresolved after accusations from the Board of Health and their subsequent walkout.

In other news, Parker commended groups of local students and others who helped out in the town cleanup for Earth Day. “Everybody in Rochester appreciated the effort they’ve made to improve our community.”

Parker also announced the resignation of Anna White of the Historical Commission after a long career there. White cited declining health and hearing as her reason for leaving the Commission. Parker added that she was an administrator and secretary for the Board of Selectmen for a number of years.

“It’s disappointing that she needs to give her seat up,” Parker said. “She has an amazing memory for the history of this town.”

Parker added that White would remain with the Commission as an honorary member.

Finally, the Selectmen took a moment to notify the public that members of the Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project would be spraying for mosquitoes during through April 26. The “aerial larviciding” would take place over handpicked swamps, and there will not be spraying over any homes.

By Nick Walecka

After a complex hearing, Blue Wave LLC – whose large solar farm project proposed for Tinkham Hill Road brought out approximately 60 vested residents – was approved by the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals for a commercial special permit. The hearing was one of two that contributed to a sprawling four-hour meeting.

Richard Charon of Charon Engineering presented the project to the board, explaining in rich detail the scope of the project, how it will be placed on the 65-acre site, storm-water management, replacement of woodlands with pasture vegetation, and long-term maintenance. Once he had completed his presentation, Charon launched into why the board had to approve the project.

Massachusetts General Law 40A, which was enacted several years ago, allows municipalities latitude to grant a special permit for alternative energy generation in residential locations. Charon went so far as to state, “You have the authority to approve such projects … you can not prohibit these types of projects.”

Chair Mary Ann Brogan asked Building Department Director Andrew Bobola, “Is that true Andy?”

Bobola responded, “Yes, this is true.”

What ensued was another one and a half hours of question and answers first from the board and then from the residents, who had packed the conference room to air their concerns.

Frances Cairns of Acorn Lane, whose residence is downstream from Tinkham Hill Road expressed concern that by changing the vegetation on such a large area, the development would increase the flooding issues she experiences. She asked the board to request a bond from the landowner, Dennis Mahoney and Sons, to help offset future expenses from damages that might result as unintended consequence from the site deforestation.

Patricia Harding of North Street questioned the general law 40A, section 9, and how such laws could allow a project of this type in a residential area. Bobola said that the town has not put any other bylaws in place that would place restrictions on construction like this and therefore, the general law being used by the applicant (7.2.2) would apply.

Clifton Lopes, whose property sits on the corner of North Street and Tinkham Hill Road, learned that NStar would make the final determination on whether additional utility poles would be required in front of his home to carry electrical cables from the solar inverters to the power grid tie-in.

Robert Allen of Jackie Lane asked if property values would be negatively impacted by having a power generation plant in close proximity to residential neighborhoods. Charon replied that there wasn’t any statistical data that would shed light on an answer.

Sylvia Ouimet of North Street, whose backyard abuts the proposed site, said, “I’ve lived there for 48 years … I’m concerned about a large industrial facility in my back yard.”

Shady Oak resident Diane Ortega asked if the transformers and inverters associated with the 12,000 solar panels could be moved to the east side of the site versus the west side thereby putting them further away from homes and closer to the planned smaller solar farm at the landfill site. Robert Erb of Solar Designs, which has partnered with Blue Wave in this enterprise, said it was “technically possible.”

Many residents voiced concerns over such construction phase hardships as noise, dust, heavy truck traffic, and safety. Each concern was countered by either Charon or one of Blue Wave’s staff members to the satisfaction of the board.

Due to the length of the hearing, the board suspended deliberations until the end of the evening in order to move along other business. In the end, the board did unanimously approve the project with conditions: Bond must be put in place and it must be sufficient to pay for full decommissioning of the equipment, site rehabilitation, and ongoing repairs to the site and plantings; long-term representative contact information for the town and the residents for any future dialogue needs; tree screening for the full length of North Street for the integrity of the scenic by-way status; police details during construction phase; construction start after Labor Day; relocation of inverters and transformers from west side to east side of site plan.

After a short recess, the next difficult hearing began. Applicant Monika Shuler was represented by attorney Richard Manning regarding property at 109 Marion Rd., site of the former Springmeadow Farms. He told the board that Shuler has experienced substantial financial hardship due to her failed agricultural activities on the site, and that the parcel has limited saleable benefits due to extensive wetlands and soils that cannot meet percolation guidelines. Shuler had attempted to build a bog on the high side of the property only to have that venture fail. In her effort to recoup some of those financial losses, she embarked in a creative solution to help sell the property. The solution is a two-prong plan. First a marine business at the back of the site and secondly a residence and farming venture facing Marion Road.

Shuler was seeking a variance to allow prospective buyer Saltwater Marine LLC to use the property for commercial boat work activities. Those activities were described by Manning and Saltwater’s Daniel Crete as environmentally sound boat maintenance, cleaning, and storage. Saltwater’s cutting-edge equipment and the construction of concrete pads designed to capture and contain wastewater and chemicals from the marine services were explained by Crete.

Manning urged the board to consider Shuler’s desire that the property fit into Mattapoisett’s Master Plan for economic development, interest in keeping agricultural activities robust at this location, and her extreme financial hardships.

After the board’s questions were satisfied, which included whether it was appropriate for Shuler’s application to be heard by the zoning board versus the planning board, public comments were entertained.

Those in favor of the variance request were Michael King and John Mathieu. Both believed the project as proposed was an excellent use of the land and provided business growth opportunity along with aesthetics associated with agricultural plantings.

This was countered by the residents and abutters who felt that a commercial marine business in the heart of a residentially zoned area was ill conceived. The board had received six letters from residents opposed to the zoning change citing concerns from residential property devaluation to traffic safety issues on Marion Road. Two homeowners were especially vocal in their pleadings against the variance request.

Beth and Carl Andrews, whose home abuts the Shuler property, stated that Shuler had created her own financial problems by not accepting the reality that the bog was not in a viable location. Beth Andrews stated, “Monika was told the bog was not going to work.” She further stated, “Monika bought the property knowing it wouldn’t perk!” The Andrews shared that Shuler’s activities on the site, including the removal of trees, had caused storm water runoff into their cellar and further changes to the site would only exacerbate those problems.

Peter Brickley, also a resident in close proximity to the 109 Marion Rd., said, “it is quite disturbing to learn that the property could be re-zoned to something other than residential … we will be impacted because the boat yard will be right in my front yard. There is no way to hide this operation.”

The board voted 4 to 1 in denying the applicant’s request.

Other hearings that were more quickly acted upon were:

Applicant Robert Carson of 18 Silver Shell Ave. requested a special permit to enclose an existing porch and create a balcony without changing the footprint of the residence. This was accepted as planned.

Applicant Stevan Gold, for an in-ground swimming pool at 8 Bay View Ave., was also approved.

By Marilou Newell