Monday, April 2 marked the deadline for candidates to submit papers for Marion’s Town Election. This year, two races will be contested on the ballot.

Two candidates, Jonathan Dickerson and Edwin North, are vying for one three-year seat on the Board of Selectmen. Roger Blanchette will be leaving his position and is not seeking re-election.

Two three-year spots on the Planning Board are available. Three candidates are on the ballot for this race: John Sweeney, Stephen Gonsalves and Stephen Kokkins. Gonsalves and Sweeney are both incumbents.

Jonathan Howland is seeking election to the Open Space Acquisition Commission after the seat was vacated by Sue Maxwell-Lewis in October 2011.  The term will run three years.

Jay Pateakos and Joseph Scott are both seeking re-election to the School Committee. Both of those positions would be three-year terms.

John Howard and Ray Pickles are seeking re-election to the Board of Health and Board of Assessors, respectively.  Both of those are three-year terms.

Lastly, David Titus is seeking re-election as Moderator for a one-year term.

The Marion Town Election will be held on Friday, May 25, voting will take place at the VFW hall on Route 6 from 8am to 8pm.

By Katy Fitzpatrick 

The Mattapoisett Police Department is reporting that they have recently had a rise in reports of a scam that has been going on in the area. The situation involves citizens receiving a phone call from a person who says they are seeking donations for veterans and asks that the donors leave money in an envelope in their mailbox or taped to a door to be picked up. The Police Department reports that the situation is a scam and is not related to any known veteran’s aide group. If you receive a call, which you think is fraudulent, you can contact the Mattapoisett Police Department at 508-758-4141, Marion Police Department at 508-748-1212, or Rochester Police Department at 508-763-5112.

The Capital Improvement Planning Committee went before the Marion Board of Selectmen on the evening of Tuesday, April 3 and gave their input on where the town could see improvement in order to make tax dollars go further in terms of long term planning.

The committee spent the past year making educational site visits to numerous town departments. After their visits, they reached several conclusions.

First, the committee believes that the overall maintenance for town buildings needs to be improved in order to extend the lives of the buildings and other town entities. Part of the problem with the maintenance, as the committee sees it, is that there is a lack of long-term planning for any infrastructure or facility in Marion .Improving the planning for these buildings would help them last longer, ultimately costing the town less money.

Specifically, the Department of Public Works and the Harbormaster’s Office are two sites the committee have deemed inadequate, saying that several expensive equipment items are left outdoors because there is no place to put them.

The committee sent budget forms out to several town departments in town to help prioritize the various projects in town that need work. However, the committee said several departments submitted incomplete forms while others didn’t submit them at all, making it very difficult to begin long-term projects.

Longer term projects will help keep the town budget in check, the committee says.  The group expressed concern at the $27 million project the town is undertaking in order to fix the roads, specifically Front Street. Selectmen Roger Blanchette assured the committee that this number is fictitious.

While the figure might not be quite that high and the board is still trying to get a price on the project, Blanchette assured that there is a lot of work to be done before the roads are even fixed.

According to Blanchette, for 20-40 years residents have been using sump pumps in their basements in order to get rid of excess water from rainfall. The pumps, Blanchette says, are being used every three minutes for 24 hours each day, increasing the normal 500,000 gallons of rainfall in the storm drains to an alarming 1.5 million gallons.

As a result of the excess rain, Blanchette states the storm drains need to be larger; a project that must be completed before any road can be repaved to prevent the road from being dug up twice. The Board of Selectmen said they are still researching all options for the project at a variety of different prices.

“I am very confident we will get a good engineered plan,” said Selectmen Chair Jonathan Henry.

While residents might be concerned at how much these large scale projects might cost, they can feel confident when it comes to the town budget.

Finance Committee Chair Alan Miland presented the budget to the board. Miland said overall the town is in good shape in terms of the budget and the town’s recent bond upgrade to AA+ means good news in years to come.

The proposed budget for the fiscal year 2013 did see a 4.29 percent increase from 2012, however.  This is the largest percentage increase since 2007.

Miland cites education as the primary reason for the budget increase. The budget increased a total of $773,515; $322,135 of that figure will be spent on special education requirements for the Sippican School. Also, the regular day budget and transportation for the Sippican School will receive $54,628 and $34,068, respectively.

Other major contributing factors to the budget increase include group health insurance rate increases ($1214,438), Plymouth County Pension Assessments ($100,766) and the ORR Pension ($86,175).

The town did see a decrease in the budget in certain areas. $17,288 freed up as a result of a fire truck being paid off. A reverse fund adjustment from the Finance Committee gave the town an additional $33,084, and fewer students from Marion are attending Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School which saves $69,192.

Another area where the town could see more revenue is the proposed project that would add two 30-foot floats into the Old Landing Boat Slip. Harbormaster Michael Cormier presented the idea to the Board.

The implemented floats would allow Marion residents to rent a place to keep their boat for an affordable price of $800 each year. Each spot could accommodate one boat up to 20 feet in length and 10 feet in width. The project would earn 80 percent of the cost back in the first year, and the Board thinks it’s an excellent source of extra revenue.

“This is one more time I tip my hat to you,” Blanchette said to Cormier, commending his idea.

Cormier said he will begin taking applications on April 9 and would create a waiting list depending on the number of interested residents.

Blanchette, however, expressed concern that a waiting list was not fair to people who would not hear about the opportunity in time. Instead, Blanchette suggested a lottery idea, which was well-received by both the Board and Cormier. Residents can begin submitting their applications on Monday, April 9 at the Town House.

“We’re trying to make it affordable and to allow residents to have a great spot like that,” said Cormier.

The Board gave Town Administrator Paul Dawson the green light to sign two contracts with CDM Smith for design and permitting infrastructure improvements for South Street, Ryder Lane and a portion of Spring Street as well as for Village Loop Roadway Improvements.

Dawson also proposed the idea of possibly installing a solar garden at the landfill in town. Dawson initially saw the project in Brewster, and it would allow residents to buy individual solar panels. The Board agreed to allow Dawson to formally begin consulting with a company to learn more information.

A large portion of Washburn Park has been cleared of unwanted brush, and while the site may be a bit cleaner, Dawson is concerned because the person or persons who cleared the area did so without consulting the Marion Conservation Commission.  Without the consent of the commission, any sort of cleaning or clearing of town property is illegal. Furthermore, the affected area of Washburn Park is close to a wetland, which Dawson says is a town resource and should not be tampered with. Dawson said the incident is currently under investigation.

Lastly, Dawson confirmed that he will be meeting with contractors in the coming days to begin the project of replacing the exterior lights at the Marion Music Hall.  The project was initially proposed in 2010 but Dawson said it “fell off the radar.”

The Marion Board of Selectmen will meet again on Tuesday, April 17 at 7:00 pm in Marion Town House.

By Katy Fitzpatrick

The Mattapoisett Planning Board had its work cut out for them on the night of Monday, April 2 as they tried to wade through questions regarding the new special residential subdivision on Brandt Island Road. In a recent Conservation Commission meeting, several abutters to the developing properties raised concerns that what was being built in their neighborhood was not what was approved by the town. In an effort to clear the air, the Planning Board held a public hearing tonight to hash out some of the details with the abutters and John E. Williams, Esquire, who represented the builder of the first and only home thus far in the new development.

The Board said that the initial drawings submitted before the official plans were accepted are quite different and caused concern that the project is not being completed as approved.            “My concern is this: This board approved a set of plans, and you as the developer are taking what was presented and doing something completely different,” said board member Ronald Merlo.

He noted the placement of the driveway was inconsistent with the approved plans.        “These drawings are just the conceptual ideas for the development,” Williams said as he addressed those concerns. He argued that all of the houses were all going to fit within their respective building envelopes, which was, in fact, in line with the approved plans.

“Every one of those lots has a building envelope on it, and you approved those plans,” Williams said.

After almost an hour of back-and-forth, the Board asked Williams to discuss with them any potential changes in the plans before they begin constructing on other lots.

The Planning Board also held a public hearing to further discuss the plans of Industrial Tower and Wireless to build a 145-foot cell phone tower and maintenance facility off Marion Road. Kevin Delaney, from Industrial Tower, exhibited a Power Point presentation illustrating where the tower would be erected, what it would look like, and where they expect to see improved communication coverage.

The hearing was continued so that Industrial Tower and Wireless could conduct a balloon test, which would give Mattapoisett residents an idea of the visual impact of the tower.  Delaney said that since the area is so heavily wooded, the tower would not be noticeable.

The Board also spoke with Town Administrator Mike Gagne and Department of Conservation and Recreation representative Eric Carlson to discuss changes in the flood plain maps. The updated maps now include several hundred more residents who may be required to purchase flood insurance for their homes. Under FEMA’s National Flood Insurance program, homeowners living in flood areas may purchase flood insurance from the government at lower cost than purchasing insurance from private companies.

Banks require homes within flood plain maps to have flood insurance in addition to homeowner’s insurance. Without flood insurance, many residents would not be able to afford their homes. Board member John Mathieu took issue with the program, suggesting that the federal government is not offering any other alternatives other than to force homeowners to buy into the program.

“It’s like the federal government is saying, ‘Take it or take it.’ There’s no choice here,” Mathieu said.

Gagne, however, cited the fact that FEMA reimbursed the town of Mattapoisett for much of the damage incurred by Hurricanes Irene and Bob, and without that money, the town would be faced with an immense financial burden.

The Board decided to schedule a special hearing on April 30 to continue the discussion so that it may be brought forth at Town Meeting later in the spring.

The next regular meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board will be on May 7 at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall. There will be no meeting on April 16 because of Patriots Day.

By Eric Tripoli