The Rochester Planning Board was joined by a standing room-only crowd for their regular meeting on Tuesday, August 28.

Sam Moffett of TRC Environmental, who spoke to the Conservation Commission last week, gave his presentation on the changes to the proposed Little Quittacas solar panel array off North Avenue on land owned by the City of New Bedford. His firm would work in conjunction with Con Ed and the Real Goods Solar company in order to complete the project.

Moffett spoke to the Board as part of the site-plan review process. It was not a formal public hearing.

“We have met with the neighborhood several times and we’ve met with representatives of the various town departments to gather feedback in accordance with your process in order to refine our design and our approach so that what we’re presenting to you conforms to the town requirements,” Moffett said.

The 15,000-panel array would serve to provide electricity for the municipal water systems of New Bedford and is designed to be able to provide enough electricity for the future projected growth of the energy needs of the water department. The city would not sell any of the electricity generated by the array.

The plan has been adjusted since its original proposal, including a reduction in the amount of acreage from 30 to 28.5 acres, as well as different drainage contours so that all the precipitation that falls on the area stays on that land. The plan also includes sand-based firebreaks around the perimeter to prevent a fire from spreading to or from the array.

“One idea was to build a shorter berm with vegetation on top, the other was to build a slightly taller berm,” he said.

Chairman Arnold Johnson said that while the contents of their plans looked satisfactory, their list of applicable waivers was incomplete, including the lack of a traffic study for the area. Moffett didn’t believe it was necessary because the land gets limited vehicle traffic.

“Because the standards of review are kind of extensive, but our standard procedure in the past for these projects was that you guys take our standards for review and go right down the list. The ones you feel don’t apply, you put a reason why you feel it doesn’t apply,” said Johnson.

Moffett said that they would go through the waiver list again in order to provide the most complete picture of the project for the site-review process.

“We want to make sure you have any site lighting or perimeter lighting and erosion control methods,” Johnson said.

The Planning Board had no questions or comments for Moffett following his presentation.

“We’re the people who are going to be most affected by this project. We have no problem with them putting a solar project there. The problem we have is what we’re going to have to look at the rest of our lives,” said Gerald Silva of 12 North Avenue.

He said that the shorter berm planted with trees and shrubs was the preferable design, but was worried about the maintenance of the area, survivability of the trees, and noise pollution that could result from the sound of traffic bouncing off the higher berm design.

“In this particular situation, the land is owned by the City of New Bedford. They have a 20-year lease contract with Con Ed,” Moffett said, adding that it would be Con Ed’s responsibility to maintain the landscaping.

Johnson suggested creating a higher berm but planting native trees in front of it rather than on top. The trees would be more likely to survive because their root systems would extend deeper and the run-off storm water could act as irrigation for the trees.

One worry that was consistent throughout the room was the issue of landscaping and maintenance of the vegetation on or around the berm.  Johnson also said that they could require the landscaping be regularly performed via an order of conditions, but said that long-term maintenance in similar past projects has been tough to enforce and issues have often resulted in litigation.

“I’m concerned that we don’t have a mechanism to enforce the maintenance.  If this is going to be a contract between Con Ed and the city, would we have to sue the city to get the trees replaced if they die?” said Planning Board member Susan Teal.  “We need to figure out what we can legally do.”

“I think we’re all on the same page that you guys are looking out for our best interests and what’s going to work there,” said Malcolm Hathaway of 28 North Avenue.

“It’s all about trying to do something that will address the best of your concerns,” said Johnson.  He encouraged concerned residents to continue providing feedback to the Planning Board and to review the information in the public record at the Town Hall.

The Planning Board’s first public hearing for the solar panel array is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, September 25, 2012, provided Moffett can provide an updated waiver list by Wednesday, August 29.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board will be on Tuesday, September 11, 2012, at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall.

By Eric Tripoli

The town of Rochester will undergo a ground spraying in an attempt to control the mosquito situation that has been plaguing the area all summer.  Over the weekend, West Nile Virus was found in a sample of mosquitoes in Rochester according to Health Director Karen Walega.

Walega said mosquitoes will continue to be a problem until the first frost of the season, which will not happen until mid to late October.  She encourages all residents to take necessary precautions while going outdoors during peak mosquito hours from dusk until dawn.

When outside, residents should use a strong repellant and wear long sleeves and pants. Walega said students waiting for the bus in the morning should be wearing some type of repellant because they are still at risk of mosquito bites.

Because tomorrow’s spraying will be on the ground, residents don’t need to worry about closing their windows like they would typically do during an aerial spraying.

So far this summer, West Nile Virus and EEE have been found in 83 and 33 communities, respectively, in nine different counties.

Nearly a dozen concerned residents turned out to Mattapoisett Town Hall to voice their concerns for a housing construction project on Grandview Avenue.  The public hearing was held during the Conservation Commission’s regular meeting on Monday, August 27.

Mattapoisett resident Dean Withrow filed a notice of intent for a request to build a single family home, driveway and well at 25 Grandview Ave.  Withrow was represented by David Davignon of Schneider & Associates, who was at the meeting to update the residents and Commission about the progress of the planning.

Davignon explained that the property has issues that date back to 2007, when the Conservation Commission first approved the construction of a house on the property. However, Davignon explained that halfway through the project, the construction ceased, leaving a mess behind and a flooding problem for abutting properties.

“It looked like a war zone,” said Conservation Commissioner Ken Dawicki of the state of the property in 2007.

Neighboring residents are concerned with flooding problems during rainstorms because the drainage system was never complete on the property, therefore when rain falls, it drains in the neighboring property of the Henderson family, creating a dam effect.

Davignon stated that the new plan includes a retention pool and runoff plan that would minimize flooding to abutting properties.  Still, residents were concerned that the new plan wouldn’t change enough to decrease the flooding potential.

“We certainly don’t want to approve a plan that’s going to create a problem for the neighbors,” said Conservation Commissioner Bob Rogers.

Davignon will continue to work on the plan. The hearing was continued until the Commission’s next meeting on Monday, September 10.

The Commission also continued a hearing at the address of 52 Pico Beach Rd. which requested permission to install two 100-gallon propane tanks on the house’s property.  The notice of intent was filed by Diane D’Orlando, who was also represented by Davignon.

Davignon proposed the two tanks would be installed in order to provide heat for the residence, and would be anchored onto a 3’ x 6’ concrete pad, secured with a helical anchor and surrounded by a 9-foot fence.  The tanks would be situated in the driveway.

The neighboring McGowan family voiced their concerns that the tanks would be too close to their property and that the fence would create too much shade that would affect plants they have growing in their yard.  The McGowan’s claim the tanks would be less than a foot from their yard.

“We just want them to stay in the foot print,” said Peter McGowan.

The Commission voted to continue the hearing until September 10 so Davignon could draft plans for an alternative location for the tanks.

The Commission voted to continue the hearing for the Notice of Intent filed b Daniel and Laurie DaRosa who requested to install coconut fiber envelopes of sand along a Coastal Bank and plant grasses and shrubs in order to protect them from erosion.  The DaRosa’s were also represented by Davignon.

Davignon said that the proposed bank as it stands now is unstable and that the sand would help stabilize it. The address of the property is 1 Goodspeed Island.

The address of the property is 1 Goodspeed Island. The Commissioners were concerned with the maintenance of the sand and asked Davignon to provide a more detailed maintainence plan at the Commission’s meeting on Monday, September 10 at 6:30 pm in Town Hall.

By Katy Fitzpatrick

The Marion Energy Management Committee met on Monday, August 27, 2012, for their regular meeting at Music Hall.  At their last meeting, the Committee members received the first results from the energy audit they helped organize, the object of which was to determine how the town of Marion can make its public buildings more energy efficient.

Chairman David Pierce said that the energy audit recommendations were sent to the Board of Selectmen and will be meeting with them on September 4, 2012.

“[Town Administrator] Paul [Dawson] said the numbers looked good and felt that we should move forward,” Pierce said.  “I think what we’re trying to solicit from the Selectmen is an idea of the palatability of this coming before the town at the fall Town Meeting, and what sort of aggressive steps we should take,” he said.

Based on the summary, the Committee recommends three priorities for modifications of town buildings, which they sent in a letter to the Board of Selectmen.

                  •Priority #1: Upgrade the lighting and sensors in all facilities except the Town Hall.  The total cost would be $169,000, after applying utility incentives.  About $113,000 would go to updating the Sippican School.  The town would save $65,000 per year in electricity costs.

                  •Priority #2: Replace insulation and boiler controls in the Fire Department at a cost of $7,000.  The payback period, figured over seven years, would yield a savings of $1,000 a year.

                  •Priority #3:  Replace the boilers in Music Hall and the Library at a cost of $44,000, with a payback period of 10 years, yielding energy savings of $3,000 a year.

In the letter, the Committee recommends excluding the Town Hall from action due to the overall uncertainty of the future of the building.  If all suggested recommendations were implemented, it would cost about $148,000 to upgrade the Town Hall.

The Committee also discussed the progression of the proposed large-scale solar photovoltaic by-law.  Members of the EMC recently met with the Planning Board to review the language of the by-law, but the Board felt that some zoning details of the law were inappropriate.

“I have suggested minor changes to things like the control of the lighting, and also if there is quite a large area of land involved, the set-backs be ratioed [sic] according to the size of the lot,” said Committee member Steve Kokkins.  “I would suggest, first of all, the Planning Board, will have some recommendation for their own changes.”

Chairman David Pierce said that he would prefer the EMC to have a workable draft written in conjunction with the Planning Board for a fall Town Warrant article by October.

In other business, the fall Town Meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 26, 2012, at 7:00 pm at Sippican School.  As a result the Energy Management Committee may reschedule their monthly meeting for November 12.

The next meeting will be a meeting of the Southcoast Alternative Energy Collaborative, on Monday, September 24, 2012, at 7:00 pm at Music Hall.

By Eric Tripoli

On Tuesday, August 21, Marion Police Department arrested two subjects involved in the sexual assault of a teenage girl. The incident took place on Tuesday, August 14.  The victim was invited over to the home of one of the suspects, on Whynot Court in Marion, where she was then assaulted by the suspects

Police arrested Andre Ware of Front Street and Xavier Rose of Whynot Court, both 18 years old, on charges of aggravated rape, rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a person over 14. Ware was also charged with an additional count of assault and battery.

Sgt. Jeffrey Tripp, Det. Scott Smith and Officer Alisha Chandler conducted the investigation.  Both subjects were held in custody until arraignment the following day.