The Marion Board of Selectmen signed the Purchase and Sales Agreement for property at 185 Wareham Street for the Habitat for Humanity house that will be built in the near future. The decision was made at the Board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, September 17 in the Marion Town House.

The Board signed the agreement with the stipulation that the plan will be revised slightly before it is completely finalized. The new plan will be issued to the Board when it is complete. The revisions will be minor and will not affect the structural plans for the property.

Additionally, the Board granted Habitat for Humanity temporary access to the property so that they may demolish the existing structure before the lot is cleared and the construction can begin. Had the Board not granted the temporary access, Habitat for Humanity would have had to apply for an easement at the Fall Town Meeting, ultimately delaying the start of the construction.

In other news, Department of Public Works Superintendent Robert Zora met with the Board to give an update on the department. Zora said that the DPW will be hiring two employees in the coming weeks: one labor position and one truck driver position.

The DPW will be assisting the town in the Sprague Cove herbicide spraying. However, before the area can be sprayed, it needs to me mowed. Zora suggested hiring a mower since the town does not own one that would cut the area sufficiently. The area only needs to be mowed three times each year.

“We will be looking at other options. We can’t justify it right now,” Zora said about purchasing a new mower.

Zora also advised the town that it is time to start looking into replacing one of the town’s water tanks. He said the process should be done every three years as opposed to every five years.  The town will send divers into the tank to inspect the damages and to see how long the current tank will last before it needs to be completely replaced.

The tank will cost approximately $4 million to replace. The existing tank will be torn down and the new one will be located in the same spot. Zora said the town has already allotted $130,000 for design and engineering on the project.

Town Administrator Paul Dawson gave an update on the repainting of the parking lot at the Marion General Store. Two companies submitted bids for the project and Dawson recommended using LBC Construction’s services. LBC will repaint the lot for $1,100 and also recommends seal coating and crack filling for an additional fee. John Ludes, partial owner of the lot, will attend the next meeting to discuss a final decision.

Dawson also updated the board on the Marion Natural History Museum ceiling repair situation. The town has met with the engineer; however, a final price tag on the project is still two to three weeks away. Meanwhile, the museum is trying to secure grant money to try and repair some of the elements inside of the museum that will not be covered by insurance.

“There is progress so that is a good thing,” said Dawson.

FEMA will hold a meeting on Tuesday, September 25 at 6:00 pm at Old Rochester Regional High School. A mistake on one of the flood maps will be discussed. The Board urges residents to attend the meeting to educate themselves on the new maps.

The Marion Board of Selectmen will meet again on Tuesday, September 25 at 7:00 pm in the Marion Town House.

By Katy Fitzpatrick

The Rochester Board of Selectmen and Board of Assessors met to discuss a variety of issues that had been plaguing them for months. The discussion was held at the Selectmen’s regular meeting on Monday, September 17 in Rochester Town Hall.

“Our objective is to clear the air and get some good, constructive ideas going,” said Assessor John Mello.

The first order of business for the Boards to discuss was the tax abatement and interest issue between the town of Rochester and Covanta SEMASS. According to the Selectmen, Tax Collector Beatrice Renauld was never notified that the tax interest for Covanta SEMASS was waived; therefore, the town issued the company money that it didn’t have to. Renauld issued the money back in June and the money has yet to be refunded. According to the Selectmen, it was the Assessors’ responsibility to tell Renauld the interest was waived.

“The collector should have been notified,” said Mello.

The two boards agreed to work together to try and get the refunded money back from SEMASS.

The biggest source of controversy in the meeting was the discussion of the contract, evaluation and working hours of one town employee position: the Massachusetts Appraisal Tehcnical Advisor. According to the Assessors, they never received the original copy of the new contract for the position, which had been renewed when the initial contract of three years expired. The selectmen, however, contested that all contracts for town employees are kept in the same place for the sake of organization.

“You do not have authority over this position,” said Mello.

The discussion about contracts then transitioned into a talk about the evaluation of the town employee. The assessors were displeased that Town Administrator Richard LaCamera had access to the confidential information when they believed that the only people who should be able to access the information are the employee and his direct supervisors.

“The risk of a breach of confidentiality is a concern of mine,” said Mello.

Town Counselor Blair Bailey answered the Assessors’ concerns by saying that LaCamera only opens the evaluations to make sure they are completed with all the necessary information and that he does not read them. Furthermore, Selectman Naida Parker ensured the Assessors that the evaluations were in safe hands.

“The confidentiality of those documents has always been paramount in this town,” she said.

Mello deemed the tone LaCamera addressed the Assessors in as unprofessional and condescending. LaCamera responded by saying that there had been three months of emails from the Assessors that were unprofessional.

In other news, Assessor Jana Cavanaugh updated the Board on the status of the Fiscal Year 2013 Tax Rate. Cavanaugh said a final review of the rate will be conducted on Wednesday, and when an agreement has been reached, it will be submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. From there, the Department of Revenue will respond to the town with an approval or denial of the rate.

“We are right where we think we should be,” said Cavanugh.

In other business, LaCamera informed the Board that he has received a timeline for the project for improvements to Rochester Town Hall. He said he asked the Financial Committee to join the next Selectmen’s meeting in order to further discuss the project. Also, the Board suggested that December 3 be the date for the Annual Tree Lighting. The date, however, has not been completely solidified.

The Rochester Board of Selectmen will meet again on Monday, September 24 at 7:00 pm in Rochester Town Hall.

By Katy Fitzpatrick

No abutters to the River Road two-lot definitive subdivision plan attended the public hearing on Monday, September 17 at the regular Marion Planning Board meeting. Engineer Gregory Morse presented the Board with revised plans which took into account the abutters’ comments from previous public hearings, as well as the advice from town consulting engineer Ken Motta.

“We’ve revised our drainage system,” Morse said. “We’ve rerouted all the flow from this system across the street to a tidal pool.”

The revised plans also included a swale, as well as many new catch basins that will be piped together in a single network.

“This swale now directs stormwater away from abutters to the cul-de-sac,” Morse said.

Furthermore, Morse has revised the grading for the roadway, increasing it so that the plan no longer requires the contentious retention wall. The grade still requires a waiver from the Board, however.

Because Morse is in the process of obtaining an easement, Chairman Jay Ryder expressed slight concern for the project.

“That easement is integral to the drainage system,” he said.

Overall, the revised plans earned the appreciation of the Board, which opened the public hearing with a reading from an email written by DPW Superintendent Robert Zora.

“I am in agreement with the revisions,” Zora wrote.

Board member Thomas Magauran praised the homeowner and Morse for their work on the subdivision plan, citing it as a much-needed improvement for River Road’s drainage system.

“You as an applicant are subsidizing the town’s work on that road,” Magauran said. “You guys are creating a win, win, win for everyone.”

Motta also spoke to the Board, explaining the new documents that have been submitted: an updated cover letter for the project and an updated waiver list.

“We’ve gone through all the waivers,” Motta said. “We feel [the project] is in the best interest for the neighborhood in that area.”

Because a single abutter expressed interest in attending the public hearing but was not able to do so, the Board voted for a continuance.

“I hate to close the public hearing and deny her that right,” Magauran said.

“I think we’re very close,” Ryder told Morse. “And between lines of communication for the next meeting, we may be that close.”

The public hearing will be continued at the Board’s next regular meeting on Monday, October 1 at 7:10 pm.

In its other business, the Board approved two ANR plans, both represented by Brian Grady of GAF Engineering. In both plans, the respective homeowners sought to dissolve interior property lines, thereby combining multiple lots into a single one. Ryder emphasized to Grady that such an action would not be reversible.

The first ANR plan, for property at 7 Cove Circle, was approved by the Board with Stephen Gonsalves abstaining. The second ANR plan, for property at 43 Converse Road, was approved by the entirety of the Board.

In its last business, the Board participated in a discussion with David Davignon of Schneider and Associates, who was representing the owner of Indian Cove Boat Yard. Davignon described the plans for the yard, which includes subdivision into three properties.

“One lot would be located entirely in Mattapoisett,” Davignon said. The remaining two lots would be located in Marion.

After the discussion, Ryder told Davignon that the next step in the process is submitting a formal application with plans. Magauran also advised Davignon to check the bylaws for right-of-ways with Motta prior to submission.

The next meeting for the Marion Planning Board will be on Monday, October 1 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

A representative from the Mattapoisett Town Council was present for tonight’s Planning Board meeting to clear up some miscommunication between the two parties regarding the Board’s jurisdiction over granting a special permit for the construction of a cell phone tower off Jane Lane.  Since the proposed location is not within the designated corridor near Route 195, the authority of the Planning Board was in question.

Attorney Jonathan M. Silverstein, from Kopelman & Paige, P.C., a Boston legal firm that acts as Mattapoisett’s Town Council, provided a ruling to the Planning Board, stating that the ZBA is responsible for the cell tower decision because of the residential location of the tower.

But getting that ruling had proven difficult.  In a previous Planning Board meeting, some members had voiced their concern that they had not had correspondence with Kopelman & Paige regarding the question of their jurisdiction.  Silverstein said that he received a request for information from the building inspector on June 20, but said he was unaware of the Planning Board’s requests for information and apologized for the lack of timeliness of his response.

“The building inspector had asked a question when this application was filed and I answered it when he asked it of me.”

 He said he had first heard about the communication problem between the two parties via an article published in the local press.

“Just for the record, there had been no request of me, at least that got to me, regarding this application.  I thought it important to set the record straight that no request had been made of us.  As Mr. Merlo indicated, he made the request of me on August 28 and the next day, I did get the letter out,” Silverstein said.

He also said he wanted to make sure that they can all maintain a good working relationship and to improve communication between him and his clients and that he wanted to speak face-to-face with the Planning Board as an act of good faith.

In other business, the Board held a hearing for Dennis Mahoney & Sons, regarding vacant land on Marion Road (Route 6).  The applicant is proposing to build a 100-foot right of way as an access path to the proposed cell tower off Jane Lane.  The road would also help provide frontage to two abutting parcels of land.

Jeff Youngquist of Outback Engineering represented Mahoney at the meeting.

“The reason the road is so long, is in case we ever have to sell the property, they can get frontage off this road,” he said.  “All we need is a gravel driveway to get back to the cell tower and that’s basically it.”

 “Just to clarify. . .we’re here to just clean up and give you proper frontage on this existing lot,” said Planning Board member John Mathieu.

The proposed cell tower is located outside of the designated area, a corridor next to Route 195.  Due to its location, the Planning Board does not have the authority to grant a special permit, but must defer to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a decision.

The construction of the proposed road would divide one lot into two, but would be considered to be one lot because there is no plan to develop the land for homes.

“Essentially it’s one lot now and it’s staying one lot, but the use of that lot is not before us now.  This is about cleaning up that lot and creating adequate, legal frontage,” Mathieu said.

As a result, the engineering company has requested waivers be granted for the non-essential features that would be required if the lot was being developed for housing.

Planning Board Thomas Tucker read a letter of endorsement submitted by highway surveyor Barry Denham, stating that the plan adheres to state law.

 “My recommendation would be to accept it and that we make sure of Lot #1 is subdivided in any way shape or form, it comes back before the Board,” said Planning Board member Ronald Merlo.

The Planning Board then voted unanimously in favor of the project.

The Planning Board then heard from Brad Saunders, representing the Bay Club, regarding a Form C Application to subdivide land at the Bay Club.

The proposal would divide an existing lot and add those pieces to abutting lots, with no plans for building construction on any of the lots.

“So basically you’ve got the same amount of open space and you’re reducing it by one lot,” said Merlo.

“It makes some sense in some regards because some of these lots are tight,” said Saunders.

The Planning Board voted in favor of the plan.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board will be on Monday, October 1, 2012, at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall.

By Eric Tripoli

For the last few months, Industrial Wireless has been applying to construct a new cellular phone tower off the end of Jane Lane in Mattapoisett.  The tower, which will measure 145 feet in height, would improve wireless communications around town, especially for the police and fire departments.

As part of the application process, the company is required to run a balloon test, where they fly a balloon at the same height as the tower, so residents can get an idea of the visual impact of a cell tower.  The test is being conducted this weekend, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm on Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15.  The balloon was most visible from Route 6 near Turk’s, but was not visible from Jane Lane.  Shown below is a photos to help illustrate the location and height of the proposed tower.