As Hurricane Sandy makes her way up the east coast, here is some information on emergency shelters in the Tri-Town that will be opened if necessary.  NOTE:  The shelters are NOT open yet, and will only be opened at the discretion of each town. Each town will notify their residents upon opening of the shelters.  Also, animals will not be permitted with the exception of service animals.

Marion

Sippican School, 16 Spring St.
www.marionma.gov

Mattapoisett

Old Rochester Regional High School, 135 Marion Rd.
www.matapoisett.net

Rochester

Rochester Memorial School, 16 Pine St
Rochester Council on Aging, 67 Dexter Ln.
www.townofrochestermass.com

Also, here are some important emergency contact numbers:

All Emergencies: 911

Marion Police Department: 508-748-1212

Marion Fire Department: 508-748-1177

Mattapoisett Police Department: 508-758-4141

Mattapoisett Fire Department: 508-758-4150

Rochester Police Department: 508-763-5112

Rochester Fire Department: 508-763-2611

National Grid Power Outage Line: 1-800-465-1212

National Weather Service in Taunton: 508-822-0634

As Hurricane Sandy barrels its way past Cuba and toward the east coast of the United States, people everywhere from Florida to Maine are preparing for the worst.  Forecasters are calling for the hurricane to mix with a cold front from Canada and an outgoing storm system.  The combination of the three weather fronts could have a focused impact around New Jersey and lower New York, but high winds and storm surges are expected for the majority of the coastal regions of the upper eastern seaboard.

On Friday, October 26, the Marion Board of Selectmen held an emergency meeting to appoint an emergency municipal liaison to coordinate relief efforts should the hurricane pose a threat to the area.  The Board appointed Selectman Jonathan Dickerson to the position.

“The need for this was to identify a Selectman to be available in case we have to make some sort of storm declaration,” said Chairman Stephen Cushing.

In the event of a violent storm, Dickerson would be required to declare a state of emergency for the town.  He would also be authorized to release emergency funding for municipal purposes and would be in charge of coordinating communication with utility companies and external emergency services, if required.

The meeting was slated for Monday but bumped up to Friday once the path of the storm changed, suggesting an earlier landfall than first predicted.

“At this point in time, it appears the storm is going to take a track up the Atlantic and the early computer models that shown it going out to sea and been eliminated.  It is almost certain that it will make landfall somewhere on the east coast,” said Paul Dawson, Town Administrator.

The area could expect to see storm surges from two to six feet, with possible sustained winds of 100 miles per hour.  The severity of the potential storm surge will also depend on the level of the tides.

“Right now we’re cautiously optimistic.  We still expect to have an impact,” said Dawson.

On Friday morning, the Town of Mattapoisett held an emergency meeting of the department heads to discuss a readiness plan.  The Town of Rochester will determine on Saturday whether or not the emergency preparedness committee will meet.

By Eric Tripoli

Policy took center stage at the quarterly meeting of the ORR District School Committee, as they discussed several policy updates.  The bulk of the debate surrounded the new life-threatening allergies policy.

Due to the rise in the number of allergies in children, as well as the number of children with allergies, schools are on high alert for potential problems from the use of latex gloves by a school nurse to the presence of peanut butter on a student’s sandwich at lunch.

“The superintendent asked us to address the specific policy of life-threatening food allergies,” said Committee member Tina Rood. “Everybody is impacted by this from top to bottom as far as their responsibilities within the policy.”

The district seeks to develop and implement protocols that would minimize the risk of exposing students to allergens that pose a serious risk to school health.  In addition to providing education to staff and administration regarding life-threatening allergies, they will create a plan to deal with the needs of students with serious allergies.

In order to expedite implementation of the new life-threatening food allergy policy, the Committee voted in favor of the plan following its discussion.

In one motion, the School Committee voted to approve policies regarding students leaving a charter school, service animals in school settings, and pre-school and kindergarten tuition.

The Committee also voted to approve six other standard policies set down by the state, including the policy regarding equal employment opportunity, equal education opportunities, school choice, and staff hiring.

 The superintendent’s evaluation system was also under discussion.  Last year, many on the committee, including Superintendent Doug White, felt that there could be a more fair and comprehensive way of judging his performance for the district.

White focused on switching the tool from an objective numerical weight to a system based on specific goals and benchmarks, and how effectively they were achieved.  The tool was developed by the Department of Education.

The new method would allow for each school to better address specific needs.  He stressed the importance of an evaluation for student learning, professional growth, and improvement plans.  The two-step system would begin with a self-assessment on the part of White, followed by meetings with the School Committee members in order to judge his proficiency as superintendent.

“What we need to do as a group is addressing what we need to be working on.  With the evaluation, it ends up being a communication between the school committee and myself, what we should be working on, and how to set those goals,” said White.  “The difficult part for me is that there are four school committees.  If we’re looking at two or three goals for each school, we’re looking at several different directions we could go in,” said White.

 Midway through the process, there would be an opportunity for a talk between the Committee and Superintendent to check-in on how well goals are being met.

Committee member Christine Winters suggested an additional meeting to be put on the schedule near the half-way point of the evaluative methodology.

In other business

                  •The ORR School District will apply again for the state’s Community Innovation Challenge (CIC) Grant.  The district was not chosen to receive those funds last year but more money has been released for the program.  The money would be used to improve human resource training for new hires and maintain a database of employee credentials and qualifications.

                  •Center School teacher Greta Anderson won award for Elementary Art Teacher of the Year.  She will be recognized on November 10, at noon, at Salem State College.

                  •Old Hammondtown School was named a commendation school based off their MCAS scores.

                  •Sharon Hartley was re-appointed as the head of the Rochester School Committee.

                  The next meeting of the ORR Joint School Committee will be held on January 17, 2013 at 6:30 pm in the Superintendent’s Conference Room at ORRHS.

By Eric Tripoli

A house on Delano Road could see an expansion soon if the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals grants a special permit to its residents.  A public hearing for the property was held at the ZBA’s regular meeting on Thursday, October 25 in the Town House.

Architect Will Saltonstall represented Joseph and Lucy Napoli, the owners of the residence at 468 Delano Rd.  The property sits at the corner of Delano and Ridgewood Lane.

Saltonstall asked the board for a special permit that would serve two requests.  The first request would be put an expansion in the rear of the house for an additional bedroom. The addition would be 18′ x 13.5′ in dimension. It would be a one-story gabled addition.

The second request would be permission to reconstruct a storage facility on the property.  The garage’s dimensions would be 10′ x 10′.

Both Saltonstall and Joseph Napoli said the spoke with all abutting neighbors about the project.

“I talked to each and every one about it and they’re all for it,” said Napoli.  “We value the property very much.”

THe ZBA has 90 days to grant the special permit, and if it is issued, residents will have a 20-day window to appeal.

The only other hearing on the board’s agenda requested a continuance until December 13.  The hearing was supposed to deal with the ongoing issue of Tabor Academy’s athletic fields and the Town of Marion.

The Marion Zoning Board of Appeals will meet again on Thursday, November 8 at 7:30 pm in the Town House.

By Katy Fitzpatrick

Washburn Park is about to undergo some major changes.  Sections of the beloved park, which is home to endless summer baseball games and Independence Day horse show, have fallen into disrepair.  A new plan, spearheaded by Selectman Jonathan Dickerson, seeks to restore the park’s original glory.

The proposal includes restoration to hiking trails, new picnic tables, and benches at the skating pond.

The hearing tonight was continued from the last meeting when Selectman Jonathan Dickerson first brought it before the Commission, which was supportive from the beginning.

“After walking around and getting an idea, I think it’s a good idea,” Hills said.

“It’s looking beautiful all the time, there’s a lot of landscaping going on.  The overall park has come a long way,” said Briggs.

Dickerson is going to work with Briggs and Hills in order to come up with a more specific plan for maintaining the skating pond.

“We’ll keep working on the language and I think we’ll be headed in the right direction,” said Briggs.

The hearing was continued until the next meeting on November 14.

The Commission also had a public hearing for Anne Hatton of 183 Front Street, regarding her Notice of Intent to raze an existing garage and replace it with a new garage and deck.

“The homeowner is proposing to construct a two-car garage and a deck.  Our proposal is just fifty feet from the delineated wetland.  The area of disturbance is under the 5,000 square foot [threshold].  And we will be adding a dry-well,” said engineer Steve Carvahlo, who represented Hatton.

Commission Clerk Norm Hills was concerned that the plans also call for a bathroom and possible living space within the garage could pose a problem in the event of high floodwaters. Carvahlo said that the lowest section of the structure would still be higher than the surrounding velocity zone.

 “To be building in a velocity zone, you really should put it up on posts,” Hills said.

The Commission also felt that the submitted plans did not provide enough detail for them to render a decision.

“I think these plans are a bit shy on what we need to see,” said Chairman Sherman Briggs.

“I’m looking at this plan and I can’t tell that you’re proposing a two-story structure,” said Hills.

The hearing was continued so that the engineers can draw up more detailed construction plans for the consideration of the Commission.

Then, a hearing for the Town of Marion was held to discuss the town’s Request for Determination of Applicability to add sand to the existing beach and to use the beach house field as a staging area for regattas.  The proposal was fueled by concern over congestion in the harbor during races, which could include anywhere from 70 to 240 boats.

“This is a way to try to make it work for everybody and make things a little bit easier,” said Harbormaster Michael Cormier on behalf of the town.

With only one regatta scheduled next year, it will be difficult to prove whether or not the proposal would be successful in alleviating traffic issues around the harbor.

“I don’t anticipate a problem,” said Hills, who suggested the Commission visit the site next year after the race to determine the effectiveness of the plan and the Commission voted in favor of the project as presented.

Then, John and Shelley Keith came before the Commission for a hearing regarding their NOI to remove invasive plant species from their property at 15 Shellheap Road.

“When I first met with Mrs. Keith, she had indicated to me that there was a suggestion by the town that they may take part in this because of the work going on at Sprague’s Cove,” said engineer Kevin Forgue, on behalf of the Keiths.  “They would cut the invasive species, apply herbicide, and see how effective it is in a year or so.”

Hills voiced concern over the use of spray-on herbicides and how they could negatively affect the healthy vegetation in the area, but Forgue said that the Keiths were amenable to seeking alternative options for applying herbicide.

The Commission voted to accept the NOI.

The next hearing, for Indian Cove Trust, was held to amend an Order of Conditions issued by the Commission for work being done on Holly Pond Road.  The original proposal called for the construction of a new dwelling with septic system and driveway.  The amendment was to adjust the footprint and location of the house, to shorten the driveway, and reduce the size of the septic leach field.  A detached garage would also be added to the Order of Conditions.

 “We originally submitted the plan back in 2008, it was approved in 2009.  At that time, there was one adjustment to the wetland line and we added some boulder markers around the driveway,” said engineer Dave Davignon of Schneider and Associates.  “The new plans reflect the new flood zone changes.  In this case, the velocity zone actually pulled away from its original location, which allowed us to move the location of the dwelling.”

The footprint of the home must be changed due to a prominent rock ledge located under part of the construction area.

One issue that came up was the condition of a stream local to the neighborhood that empties out into Aucoot Cove.  The stream carries high quantities of nitrogen into the cove and acts as the only safe passage near the road for many animals.  The language of the plans includes dredging the stream, which could have a negative impact on the area.

 “This property was originally conservation land.  The only reason it was not transferred into conservation land is because there was a title issue.  This stream is extremely important to the health of Marion,” said Chris Bryant of the Sippican Land Trust, who indicated that he was not familiar with the specifics of the plan as he had only seen the NOI earlier Wednesday afternoon.

“We purposefully let that stream meander on down there to deliver nitrogen down into the cove,” he said.

Briggs said that mention of dredging was simply boilerplate language for the project and did not mean that the stream would actually be dredged as part of the plan.  The Commission voted in favor of amending the Order of Conditions.

The final hearing of the evening was held for the Kittansett Club, regarding an RDA to construction an irrigation reservoir, pump house, and to discharge salt water that would result from the excavation.

Engineer Susan Nilsen represented the club at the meeting.

“Part of the reason for the project is so the club can have extra ground water on hand during the dry time of the year,” said Nilsen.  During the summer, the club’s water supply for maintaining the golf course runs very low.

“I think this is well-thought out and it’s been a long time coming, for years,” Briggs said.

The Commission accepted the plan as presented.

In other business, there was a hearing scheduled for Sanford Russell Jr., regarding his NOI to replace a carport with a garage and to undertake extensive rebuilding of a stone wall and driveway at 5 Main Street.  The hearing was continued until the next meeting per the request of the applicant.

 The Commission also issued a Partial Certificate of Compliance for John and Sandra Beck, for construction of a walkway over a salt marsh on their property at 17 River Road.

The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission will be held on Wednesday, November 14 at 7:00 pm at the Town House.

By Eric Tripoli