Town Administrator Paul Dawson recommended that the Marion Board of Selectmen consider a merge between the town’s EMS team and Fire Department. Dawson made the suggestion at the board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, June 19 in the Marion Town House.

“We believe the time has come for the board to consider formally merging both departments,” said Dawson. “We think it makes sense. Far more good is going to be accomplished here than negative.”

Dawson’s main reasoning for the merge is to cut down on the redundancy of filing two sets of paperwork for different aspects of each department, which ultimately cuts down on efficiency.

While Selectmen Jody Dickerson, Jon Henry and Stephen Cushing all seemed receptive to the idea, they still wanted more information.

“I would like to see a formal presentation conceptually of what it will look like,” said Cushing.

The Rochester Board of Selectmen met with the Marion Selectmen to discuss plans to extend the water lines 1,200 feet from Rochester into Marion. The lines would affect five homes on Mary’s Pond Road and the water main source would be from Perry Hill. The Marion Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the project. Rochester will draft plans and put the project out to bid to contractors.

Under the recommendation of Dickerson during his campaign, the board will begin meeting regularly with various public offices in town for routine updates to better improve communication among the different departments in town. The first series of these updates came from the Police and Fire Departments as well as the Harbormaster.

Chief Lincoln Miller of the Marion Police Department informed the board that Marion successfully passed all 911 compliance checks that were mandated by the state and that the new protocols are currently being implemented. Under the new regulations, all dispatchers must undergo 80 hours of training to be certified to give instructions over the phone in the event of a heart attack or other emergency situations. Also, all officers on staff must undergo 16 days of in-service training each year.

Chief Miller said due to the increased population in the summertime, particular around the center of town, they would be enforcing speeding laws by doing more speeding checkpoints.

Harbormaster Mike Cormier said from a financial standpoint, the harbor management is right on point, with 90% of vessels in the harbor on moorings or in slips. He also said the facilities are essentially ready to go, minus the handicap access equipment, which will be completed next week.

Cormier is also hoping to be approved for two grants.  The first, which is worth $100,000, would replace the current metal mooring systems in the water with rubber ones. The second grant, worth $60,000, would be used to transport contaminated quahogs from the Taunton River and move them to areas just for recreational use.

Fire Chief Thomas Joyce introduced the new full-time staff member on the department.  Ryan Miller began in May, and since his induction, has been invaluable to the force according to Joyce.

“He’s truly been a major asset already,” said Joyce. “He’s very acclimated to this job. I can’t speak highly enough of him.”

In addition to responding to routine calls, Miller has been essential in keeping all the equipment up to date and keeping the facilities in order. Joyce told the Board that Miller has received high praise from all officers in the public safety offices.

Joyce said the majority of the equipment in the firehouse is in good shape, with the exception of one fire truck, which he will look to replace later in the year. The new fire truck will get the firehouse through the next five years before they have to replace another truck, Joyce said.

Dean Lavoie and Bill Marvel of the Beverly Yacht Club gave an update on the planning for the Buzzards Bay Regatta.  The event will be held August 3-5, and is held on a bi-annual basis.  2012 marks the 40^th anniversary of the race.

“We are pretty ready for the event,” said Lavoie. “We look forward to a great event with the help of the town.”

“Marion is a maritime town,” said Selectman Henry. “This is what it’s all about.”

The Board granted the Rockwell family permission to apply for two grants, which would help fund the restoration of the Grassi and Goldovitz bogs. The grants would help improve trails around the bogs and the dike systems within as well as cut down the long-term maintenance costs for the town.

Lastly, Dawson gave an update on a court hearing between the Town of Marion and Tabor Academy. Dawson traveled to Boston earlier in the day and issued a press release with the results.

In the release it says Tabor must apply for and obtain a building permit in compliance with the town’s zoning bylaws for a backstop constructed on Front Street. They must also obtain a special permit to construct a new lighting system that would put 80 and 90 foot on the property. The poles, according to the town of Marion, would be in violation of the town’s zoning bylaws.

The Marion Board of Selectmen will meet again on Tuesday, July 10 at 7:00 pm in the Marion Town House.

By Katy Fitzpatrick

Concerned about the town’s lack of future vision and coordinated planning, the Marion Planning Board at its June 18 meeting agreed that it may be time to develop a Master Plan.

This decision followed a lengthy conversation on the Planning Board’s role in helping craft a vision for Marion’s future.

“If we don’t watch out, future capital costs will far exceed Marion’s ability to plan, manage and pay for … items,” board member Ted North said in a presentation that evening. He stressed that the “band-aid” approach is not working and the Planning Board could serve as a focal point to integrating input from boards, committees, and taxpayers for a comprehensive plan.

The board discussed how the Planning Board could help town officials make better decisions by fully understanding the town’s long-term needs and how to meet them.

“Right now there isn’t much planning. It is going to be an expensive process if we don’t get involved,” North said.

Board member Steve Gonsalves likewise expressed frustration between the lack of communication between boards and committees.

“Why don’t the chairs of boards sit down in a room and talk about the things going on in town? We are all public servants, there is no room for bruised egos.. What are we doing here? We are complicating the simple. It is a classic example of good intentions: everyone has good intentions but we are all on different pages. It’s frustrating!” he said.

Board member Patricia McArdle said that working on a Master Plan may be the way to galvanize discussion across town boards and residents to develop common goals.

“At least we can get the ball rolling instead of talking about it ad-nauseum all the time,” Patricia McArdle said of pursuing a Master Plan. The board agreed that it would invite members from various town committees to discuss their needs at future meetings.

“The intention is getting a common perspective throughout town by propping up common goals,” said board member Tom Magauran. He stressed that such a plan would require clear and concise goals with definable metrics. The board agreed to tap into the knowledge of SRPPED, a regional planning agency, by inviting one of their representatives to discuss best practices and analytics next month.

North stressed that community involvement is essential to comprehensive planning.

“When there is no ‘buy in’ in the plan, it’s plain dog food,” he said.

Chairman Jay Ryder suggested siphoning off a portion of future Planning Board meetings for its Master Plan effort. But he cautioned that it should not overshadow its day-to-day responsibilities.

“There is a lot of stuff on the horizon right now. I don’t think the town planning aspect is what should get lost in with all the other stuff.. although it is a priority,” Ryder said.

On the agenda also that evening was whether Marion should consider hiring a Town Planner. However, the suggestion did not merit much attention from the board.

In other matters, the board approved the following appointments: Ted North as SRPPED representative, Jay Ryder to the Marion Town House Committee, and Tom Magauran to the Community Preservation Committee.

By Laura Fedak Pedulli

The Rochester Board of Selectmen met with a member of the Park Commission on Monday, June 18 to raise a multitude of concerns the board has over the commission’s operations. Kenneth Ross was the representative for the Park Commission.

The first issue raised by Town Administrator Rich LaCamera was the misuse of the bathroom facilities at the parks located on Dexter Lane. According to LaCamera, the bathrooms are left open all night and there have been a variety of complaints regarding vandalism and trash in the facilities.

“This has been happening for a while,” said LaCamera. “Some of it’s pretty disgusting quite frankly. It’s causing a lot of problems and complaints.”

LaCamera suggested either having the facilities cleaned on a more regular basis or lock the bathrooms like they do with the bathrooms at other fields in town.

Ross was concerned with the amount of money available to the Park Commission from the town, but LaCamera assured that there was $25,000 available to the board; $15,000 of the money is appropriated by the town and the additional $10,000 is taken from the Beach Sticker Revolving Fund to provide extra revenue. LaCamera said the majority of these funds have not been used and are available if requested.

The Selectmen also addressed their concerns of the process by which the Park Commission goes about updating their fields and having different systems installed. LaCamera cited the issue of a tank that is supposed to be installed at one of the fields by June 30. However, the paperwork the Park Commission submitted for this project is not sufficient for a variety of reasons.

First, the initial proposal was not dated. Since there was no date on the proposal, the selectmen worry that the project will be audited. Secondly, the Park Commission only pursued one bid on the job, when the board said they should have consulted at least three different contractors.

“We cannot give out contracts to people we know,” said LaCamera. “That’s the worst thing that we could do.”

The last issue the board raised was that of private entities using the town’s fields as a way to make money for their own businesses. Rock Buddies, a fitness company that has been utilizing the facilities on Dexter Lane, has been writing checks to the Park Commission for use of the field, and they have not deposited them into an account, leaving the Selectmen wondering what happened to the money. Furthermore, none of the private entities using the fields have submitted insurance waivers to the town.

“I have an issue with this,” said LaCamera. “This is a huge liability for the town.”

Ross, although newly elected to the Park Commission, said that he would address the Board’s concerns with the Commission to make sure they get resolved.

In other news, LaCamera gave an update on the proposed solar project that was approved at Town Meeting.  LaCamera said the pilot plans have been executed, however they are still 2-3 weeks behind on the process as they await the final designs to be pitched to the Planning Board. He anticipates the designs to be ready in mid-July.

The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint both Robert Francis as Chairman of the Adult Day Care Project and Diana Knapp as Assistant Treasurer.

The Rochester Board of Selectmen will meet again on Monday, July 2 at 7:00 pm in Town Hall.

By Katy Fitzpatrick