The January 8 meeting of the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee found the members reviewing the needs of the Mattapoisett Fire Department as presented by Chief Andrew Murray for FY25. The list of needs totals a mere $37,000, small potatoes when contrasted against previous years’ needs, as well as needs on the 10-year capital plan.

            The list contains a request of $8,000 for a new pump for the department’s forestry pump truck, $18,000 for hose replacements and $11,000 for new helmets. Regarding the need for new helmets, Murray explained that helmets have a 10-year life span before NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency) regulations require their replacement.

            When asked the frequency of use for the pump truck, Murray responded up to 10 times a year. However, it is the primary vehicle slated for use along the bike path.

            A Firefighter Safety Equipment grant in the amount of $15,500 has been secured, Murray noted, reducing the amount needed from the town’s coffers for the purchase of new hoses.

            Regarding funding of the three capital planning requests, Murray noted they would be funded via free cash. Town Administrator Mike Lorenco stated in a follow-up that free cash stands at approximately $1,000,000.

            The need for a ladder truck has been discussed in several meetings but for now is merely a place holder in the department’s capital planning. Murray said that Marion would continue to provide that equipment in the mutual-aid scenario.

            On the capital planning 10-year horizon for the Fire Department are: $800,000 for Engine 2 replacement FY26; $150,000 for new frame for Engine 1; and for FY28, $800,000 for a new rescue truck.

            Lorenco cautioned that while the immediate financial future of the town remains strong, judicious spending should continue to be the rule.

            Lorenco was to have given the committee his capital needs report for Town Hall, but pressing attention to replacing several department heads has had to come first.

            The town of Mattapoisett needs to replace a library director, a treasurer/collector, a town accountant and a director of inspectional services.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee is scheduled for Monday, January 29, at 5:30 pm.

Mattapoisett Capital Planning

By Marilou Newell

            Former Marion Harbormaster Isaac Perry, now serving the Town of Mattapoisett, will be sought out by the Marion Marine Resources Commission for his help.

            The dock is no longer in service at Old Landing after the last storm tore it away from the pilings. As of Monday, the Harbormaster Department was in the process of removing it from the seawall.

            “That float is no longer able to be used,” said Marion Harbormaster Adam Murphy in his report to the Marion Marine Resources Commission on Monday night. He described a giant hole in the middle of the gangway, having been torn up by the cleats.

            A repair business from Bellingham visited and determined it would cost the town $150 per square foot to replace the dock with a concrete float. The dock would cost $65,000 and the gangway another $13,000.

            The idea would be to build two, 20-foot floats that will tie into the 30-foot float at the end. Deputy Harbormaster Dave Wilson estimated a $3,100 cost for the hardware.

            “We’re going to have to ask for a transfer (of funds) … we’re going to have to have those in the water in April,” said Murphy. “We can build them in March and April in the parking lot. … as crazy as it sounds, … we’ll just have to borrow space.”

            The boat ramp, he said, is fine, but the gangway is no good.

            “We’ve been band-aiding up those gangways for a decade,” he said, noting they are full of salt. “The infrastructure … it’s time we took a good look at it and started budgeting things one thing at a time.”

            Murphy called the insurance company but reported a lack of interest in supporting a claim, contending that flood damage was the cause. Murphy insists the damage was not from the flood but the wind. He said insurance adjusters will make a determination, but the burden falls on the town to demonstrate its claim for coverage.

            “Call it another $80,000 hit to the Waterways (Account) if we have to replace it,” he said. “Even if we ordered one today or in a few months, we’re not going to see it until after the summer anyway … this is really problematic. … We have to do something, we can’t do nothing.”

            This is where Perry would be of significant help in drawing up plans to build two floats for an in-house construction project, something common in the department back when the town owned property on Atlantis Drive and several, part-time workers were readily available for such projects.

            Harbormaster Department member Andrew Miller has been working 40-hour weeks but will be attending the state police academy and will be unavailable for the entire 2024 boating season. Murphy hopes he can get interns from nearby Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

            As its new Maritime Center is built over the next nine months at Island Wharf, the Harbormaster Department faces other major issues.

            The department’s workboat lost its lower unit, and Murphy reported a repair estimate of $5,600 and said he is working with the insurance company on the matter.

            Murphy credited the Marion Fire Department for offering use of its fire boat, especially as a 5:00 am call came in from a group of hunters whose boat had drifted away from them.

            As for the department’s capital-projects outlook, grant funding will be researched, especially considering the Coast Guard’s pullback from round-the-clock policing of Cape Cod Canal.

            Murphy said, under its new schedule, the Coast Guard station in the canal will operate 40 hours from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

            “Cape Cod Canal, one of the most important waterways. We’re the gatekeepers of it,” said Murphy, noting that Marion responds to the worst calls and the majority of calls. “And now the Coast Guard is going to be on call. That’s a bad thing as far as the government stepping back, but … when we write that grant (application for the workboat) … basically we’re at the gate of that canal … that’s Homeland Security. We have a pretty good argument.”

            Other capital costs going forward will include the three main floats in front of the department office at $6,000 or $7,000 each, a replacement of the shellfish up-weller at $30,000, ammunition and new dry suits that Murphy says have been reduced to powder.

            “We’re still trying to do a lot of those things in-house,” he said, estimating it would cost a total of $250,000 to repair everything at Old Landing.

            There was more interest expressed among the membership to raise fees, but Murphy cautioned against seeking more fee increases. He said he has a meeting with new Finance Director Heather O’Brien on Thursday, January 11, at 3:00 pm to discuss the Waterways Account.

            MRC member Tad Wollenhaupt continues to seek clarity on how it gets decided what goes in and comes out of the Waterways Account. Referencing his upcoming meeting with O’Brien, Murphy noted other personnel changes in town offices that he hopes will help bring an end to some of the MRC’s frustration.

            Murphy said the state’s Seaport Economic Council has done everything it can for the town in regards to the new headquarters under construction. He has been quite impressed with the work of Marion Building Commissioner Bob Grillo, who is acting as site manager for the project.

            Murphy anticipates an article on Bird Island and the lighthouse on the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting.

            The next meeting of the Marion Marine Resources Commission is scheduled for Monday, February 12, at 7:00 pm at the Police Station on Route 6.

Marion Marine Resources Commission

By Mick Colageo

            The Point Road Bike Path will take shape this spring, but it is a matter of carefully stacked layers of materials designed to hold the grade and also properly process drainage.

            Deb Ewing, Chairman John Rockwell and Marc Sylvia represented the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission at its January 4 Zoom meeting.

            The meeting began with discussion of a December 27 meeting of vendors to discuss gravel placement and compacting. Rockwell forwarded questions and received several emails from vendors.

            Expecting to read about a gravel surface, resident attendee Shaun Walsh pointed out that the donation being made by Makepeace A.D./Reed Custom Soils is listed as “a very fine sand.”

            Walsh says that is one step away from silt, which would mean no drainage after compaction, but Rockwell explained that the sand is a sub-base material to be under base and top materials. “This is just to bring it up to grade,” said Rockwell.

            Walsh also sought to clarify that the town will remain the responsible party for compaction testing.

            “I’d be surprised if 10 years from now there isn’t some settling,” said Rockwell. “One of the issues that we’re going to have to look at is this issue of drainage coming off Point Road.”

            He recommended putting in stakes and taking note of low spots to fill in and address those areas at the same time the final top is being put on.

            Rockwell estimates the finished product will contain a top material of 3 inches of gravel to the 8-foot width of the path. It is yet unknown of that material will also be donated.

            Ewing clarified that the current bidding process is regarding the fine sand and sought to establish direction for next steps.

            Rockwell suggested that drainage requires on-site observation because, with every 1 to 2 inches in rise, water will flow in different directions.

            Walsh articulated concern about the contract to grind down large boulders and asked about the vendor’s schedule. He thought the project would be completed by now but no longer knows what to expect.

            Ewing said she would reach out to Arne Excavating, which had agreed to take 6 inches to a foot off the stones. Walsh called that activity a roadblock to the project’s progress.

            Bids on the rest of the project were due January 10.

            Walsh asked if Rockwell will be working on the next bidding document for the top material. Rockwell is thinking gravel with process stone on top, a fine material that does not hold up well against rain if placed on a slope. He intends to consult with experts before embarking on that piece of the project.

            All MOSAC meetings except for site visits are held via Zoom, so Rockwell’s southern travel and Ewing’s will not impede their ability to hold meetings.

            Resident Carol Molander volunteered to take photos of the work while Rockwell and Ewing are away.

            The next meeting of the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission is scheduled for Thursday, February 1, at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission

By Mick Colageo

            Deep into a long night of meeting with the Tri-Town Select Board and then holding their regular meeting, the members of the Mattapoisett Select Board heard from Sandy Hering, chairman of the Mattapoisett Tree Committee.

            Hering once again stated her concerns that residents didn’t have the information needed to make an informed decision regarding the Village Street reconstruction project. The project pegged at an estimated $8,000,000 is nearing the completion of 25% design necessary for Massachusetts Transportation Department review for possible funding via the TIP program.

            Hering reiterated that earlier meetings weren’t well-attended and thought the Select Board needed to hold well-publicized public meetings before moving forward with designs that she believed would change the quaint seaside landscape of the village area. “Our citizens are not informed,” Hering stated, asking the board to do what they could.

            But the Select Board responded that some 20 public meetings had been held, primarily in 2017-18 and that if people wanted to share comments or had questions those would be answered, provided emails and letters with residents’ names were submitted to the board.

            Jordan Collyer, Select Board member, said input would be responded to and taken into consideration, but board member Tyler Macallister pointed out that substantive changes to plans accepted by MassDOT would likely not be considered.

            Hering suggested that the town not take the grant money but instead break the work up into smaller pieces, doing it themselves. Town Administrator Mike Lorenco reminded Hering that property owners would have to pay over $3,000 each to make up the difference.

            The Tree Committee chairman returned to previous points made about ideas and a presentation the committee had submitted for the engineers, VHB, to take into consideration as they drew up the 25% design, submissions she said were never incorporated into the planning. Hering again asked for a public meeting be held to educate the public on the full scope of the proposed village streets reconstruction.

            Mike Rosa, a member of Capital Planning and the Holy Ghost Grounds Reuse Committee, said people don’t attend public meetings for a variety of reasons including meetings he holds. “People aren’t that interested unless it’s something big.” He also wondered why Hering wasn’t focusing public information meetings on agendas for the Tree Committee.

            After about 20 minutes, the board determined to place the subject of a possible public meeting on a future agenda, telling Hering that even if the 25% design is accepted by the state, it would be several years before shovels would turn the ground.

            In earlier business, the board accepted an updated flag policy for public buildings and properties. The board felt it was important to ensure that the public understands what flags may be flown on town-owned locations, given recent issues that arose in neighboring communities. The last sentence of the policy (available in the Select Board office) reads, “No other flags shall be allowed to be flown on Town-owned flagpoles as those flagpoles and this policy are not intended to establish or serve to create a forum for private expression.”

            Lorenco noted that several grants were pending or had been received, namely $132,479 from the Community Compact for IT upgrades, $90,000 for broadband upgrades and an ADA grant which is pending. Lorenco also said that the Finance and Capital Planning committees have met several times, ramping up financials for the spring Town Meeting. He hoped to have a draft FY25 in the near term.

            Lorenco said a public-input session addressing the Holy Ghost Grounds project will be held on Wednesday, January 24, at 6:00 pm at the Fire Station.

            The board also approved a letter to be sent to the ABCC (Alcohol Beverage Control Commission), attesting to Mattapoisett’s seasonal population increase to 10,800. Lorenco stated that alcohol permitting is based on populations.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board was not announced before adjournment.

Mattapoisett Select Board

By Marilou Newell