The Capital Improvement Planning Committee (CIPC) presented their proposed capital projects and improvements over the next five years to the Marion Board of Selectmen on Tuesday evening. The Committee discussed submittals for 18 projects in fiscal year 2014 that total $5,729,030, a number that is larger than previous years.

Included in the top five projects were replacing the pilings at Old Landing and Island Wharf, including the Island Wharf floating docks, at a cost of approximately $150,000. Next was the Phase 1A sewer, drain and road work at South Street and Ryder Lane at a cost of $4.3 million. This would be the first of five phases on those streets projected over the next 10 years.

Other projects included the replacement of 10 windows at Sippican Elementary School at a cost of $66,000, a sewer system upgrade of control systems, including new hardware and software for plant operations, at a cost of $60,000, and an upgrade of school door security at Sippican Elementary School at $28,000.

Further down on the list were project requests from the highway department, fire department, emergency medical technicians, harbormaster and other town departments.

After much discussion on the financial impact of the improvements, Norman Hills, CIPC Chairman, recommended that the Committee look beyond the five year timeline and possibly ask the town to hire a facilities manager to look after the assets of the town. Dawson noted that the town’s 60 structures, including items such as the town gazebo, all have to be looked at for regular maintenance.

A lively discussion followed regarding mold remediation in the basement of the Town House. A low bid of $14,323 was rejected by the Selectmen due to the lack of experience of the contractor on mold remediation.

“Mold is a tough issue, and we need someone who has done this before and had a successful outcome,” said Selectman John Henry.

The Board agreed to award the contract to the other bidder who has experience.

In other business, the Board approved the sale and issuance of refunding bonds which will save the town substantial interest on bonds taken out for the renovation of Sippican Elementary School, the new water tank and the boat pump out station at Town Wharf.

“This will reduce our interest rate on these debts,” said Paul Dawson, Town Administrator.

Last but not least, the Board tackled a letter from the Buzzards Bay Coalition which stated that the town is not in compliance with acceptable seepage and leakage issues from the town sewage treatment plant into Buzzards Bay.

One issue, brought up by both Dawson and Henry, was the fact that the lagoons in town were not lined.

“This is a below ground system, not lined … we need to address this,” said Henry.

After a lively discussion, the Board agreed to rebut the letter and to continue discussing the issues at issue at future meetings.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

The Rochester Conservation Commission met Tuesday night and a majority of the discussion revolved around the future construction of an Alaskan Steeppass fishway at the Hathaway Pond Dam.

Brad Chase of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and Tom Cook, who is the designer and engineer for project, both presented the Commission with their plans for the construction of the fishway, which is designed to help improve the flow of river herring upstream for spawning. The men were at the Commission’s meeting for a Request for Determination of Applicability for the project, which was unanimously approved.

“It’s a project we fully support,” said Chase.

The plan is to replace a former fishway that is currently ineffective with a new structure constructed entirely of aluminum, except for the bolts, which will be stainless steel. It will take place in the center bay of the three bays at the pond.

Doug Beaton, the owner of the property where the project will take place, also owns Beaton’s, Inc., which will do the majority of the work on the fishway. The only part of the project that would not be done by Beaton and his crew would be the initial pile driving at the site.

According to Chase, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service had already conducted a review of the site, which was funded by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.

Cook said that he’s confident on the measurement of the site that had already been conducted, but before they begin work, they’ll have Beaton re-measure the site. He also said that he envisions the project taking no more than five days; however, he said that it would be up to Beaton. He added that they’d like to get the project done as soon as possible.

“We would like to get it done before the herring run [around April 15],” said Chase, but he warned that weather could have an effect on the start of the project. “If we get three inches of rain in mid-March, it’s not going to happen. The conditions could come up where all the sudden we can’t do it.”

“There’s a lot of interest in this particular location,” said Laurell Farinon, the Conservation Agent for Rochester. “We applaud the effort of Mr. Beaton.”

She also commended everyone else who had put work into the project to ensure that it went smoothly.

The next Conservation Commission meeting will take place on Monday, April 1.

By Nick Walecka

A marathon Marion Planning Board meeting lasting over three hours on Monday night attempted to tackle four issues, with the flow of traffic and parking issues at the Cumberland Farms located at Front Street and Route 6 first on the agenda.

Three representatives from Cumberland Farms spoke to the Planning Board at the meeting to address the issue of vehicles pulling in and out of parking spaces and between gasoline pumps at the site.

“There are major congestion and parking problems here,” said Board member Thomas Magauran.

Chairman Jay Ryder said that he is familiar with the site and sees people purchasing gasoline, leaving their vehicle at the pump, and going into the store to buy milk, bread and other groceries and then returning to their vehicle, while others are waiting to pull into the pump.

“That’s a problem and we don’t see a policy on how to manage this,” said Ryder.

Manny Paiva, Project Manager with Cumberland Farms, addressed the Board and discussed the length of the pump line, which only allows a customer to pump from one side nearest to the pump.

“If the station is grandfathered in Massachusetts, the pump line can be longer and can be used by both sides of the pump, but because this is a new facility, you can only pump from the side you pull into, unless you have a small vehicle and can drag the hose to the pump on the other side to use it,” said Paiva.

Paiva, answering a question posed by Board member Steve Kokkins, said that the gasoline pump can pump 10 gallons per minute, or that it takes two minutes to pump 20 gallons of gasoline. In discussing parking issues, it was suggested that employees park at the old Christy’s site, owned by Cumberland Farms, across the street.

Board member Patricia McArdle commented that the current site, employees included, should be considered as whole because the other site could be sold or become unavailable in the future.

Board members asked Douglas Troyer, a lawyer for Cumberland Farms, about the traffic issues. In turn, Troyer asked the Board if they would consider the option of having the store and gas station open on a 24/7 basis so that the tanker delivering gasoline and other vendors delivering goods could do so during the hours between 3:00 and 6:00 am.

“That would help with the traffic issues during delivery times,” said Troyer.

When asked if the old Christy’s site would become another Cumberland Farms site, Troyer told the Board that there were no plans currently to open a gas and convenience store at the site. The Board agreed to use the town engineering firm of Field Engineering to help find a solution to the parking and congestion issues.

Chairman Ryder commented that there were no 24/7 commercial operations in Marion and that the Board had no intention of agreeing to that solution for Cumberland Farms’ parking issues. The Board rejected the idea of a 24/7 opening at the site.

Next on the agenda was a public hearing regarding the application by Jonathan and Amy DiVincenzo for a special permit to build a pier off of 370 Delano Road. Dave Davignon represented the applicants. Several abutters attended the meeting and spoke in both concern for and support of the project.

The DiVincenzos applied to build a 4-foot wide, 163-foot long pier from their lawn into Marion Harbor. The pier will be built on pilings by a crane on a barge at high tide. The abutters with moorings were concerned about whether the DiVencenzos would accommodate the moving or relocating of moorings during construction due to the crane obstructing their access. The applicant agreed to the terms.

In other business, Tabor Academy representatives presented plans to build an addition to the Stone Gymnasium on Spring Street to create an indoor rowing facility with a rowing pool that allows eight rowers to practice rowing indoors during bad weather.

The addition will be on the north side of the gym and create an additional 2,500 to 2,800 square footage.

“We attached it to the gym so that no additional bathrooms or other requirements would be needed,” said Will Saltonstall, the project’s architect. The Board agreed to send the proposal to the town engineer for review.

Last, but not least, the Board heard from the Marion Sustainable Energy Committee which came to present the details of a proposed solar bylaw. After a well-presented PowerPoint slideshow, the Committee addressed questions posed by the Planning Board. After much discussion, the Committee agreed to take their efforts via a signature effort to be on the ballot at the May Town Meeting.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry