Matt Armando, director of Public Health for the Town of Westport, appeared before the Marion Board of Health during its March 2 public meeting to seek the town’s participation in a Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment and Maintenance of the South Coast Public Health Collaborative.

            The grant, according to Armando, is $300,000 annualized, $45,000 of which goes to the host town Westport and $255,000 to be used according to need in the other five member towns. The first $150,000 was received, and the other $150,000 was expected this month, according to Armando.

            As host town, Westport signs for and manages the grant. Armando said the plan is to hire a full-time inspector and a shared-services coordinator. There will be no plan for allocation. “We’d have to schedule it across the six towns according to need,” explained Armando. “Consultants may be the way we need to go for the short term.”

            Armando said it has been difficult to get the kind of experienced and knowledgeable help for the role and said he believes the intent of the grant is to attract new people into public-health careers, so training would become a necessary element.

            Board of Health Chairman Dr. John Howard asked if this grant can function to offset funds spent at the municipal level, and Armando gave a flat no, explaining that the intention of the grant is to supplement town health programs.

            The board members indicated plans to sign the MOU.

            Howard asked Armando what would please state authorities in terms of how the grant was carried out. Armando said the key point would be that the money was making a difference and being spent the way it should.

            Inspections requiring action followed by a second inspection are not charged in Marion, but Public Health Director Lori Desmarais asked the board about charging for a third trip due to lack of compliance.

            The board members expressed the desire to support a fee, but Howard said the measure would require a public hearing.

            In her update to the board, Health Agent Shallyn Rodriguez told the board there has been progress at 28 Pitcher Street. Permanent exterior repairs will resume in April. No further wildlife has been detected in the building, according to Rodriguez’s report.

            In her Public Health Director’s Update, Desmarais said COVID-19 cases are on the decline from 45 in January to 27 in February. Home tests kits are available at the Town House, fire station and Taber Library. She also noted there are not many flu cases as of March 2.

            Referencing the town’s 2018 vote for $500,000 in a Betterment Program targeting septic systems, Desmarais said she has learned the money is still available. Allocating the funds will require a new application.

            In a brief FY24 Budget update, Desmarais told the board that the department’s biggest increase would be Rodriguez’s hours from 25 to 30 per week.

            A septic variance requested at 694C Mill Street was granted a continuance per the applicant to March 16 at 4:15 pm.

            Board member Albin Johnson recommended Marion’s staff hold contractors responsible rather than homeowners for obtaining correct information.

            In separate votes, the board approved septic constructions at 91A Allens Point Road and also at Lot 27A Allens Point Road.

            Public Health Program Manager Megan DaCosta reported to the board on tobacco, including inspection updates and 2023 Model State Regulations.

            The board agreed to write a letter of support of keeping remote-access meetings an option for municipalities.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health is scheduled for Thursday, March 16, at 4:00 pm.

Marion Board of Health

By Mick Colageo

During the March 14 meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission, on this night chaired by commissioner Barry Lima, a longstanding Enforcement Order issued to Kenneth Wood, 1 Pinebrook Lane, was discussed.

            Brandon Faneuf, the commission’s environmental agent, said that he recently made a site visit to the Woods property where he not only found the installation of PVC pipes in a designated replication area, but also that the replication area had not been planted. Faneuf said that a superseding order of conditions issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection after the property owner appealed an Order of Conditions issued by the commission has not been followed.

            Mattapoisett’s commission had issued an Enforcement Order in September 2021 after discovering failure to comply with the DEP’s orders. Woods did not respond, Faneuf reported. The commissioners voted to contact the DEP for state assistance in gaining compliance from the property owner.

            In other matters, the commission issued a Negative 2 ruling for a Request for Determination of Applicability issued to Robert Barnes, 1 Silver Shell Avenue, for the construction of a 10×14-foot shed installed on helical piles.

            The same ruling was issued to Stacy Walker, 4 Ripple Street, for the construction of a self-supported deck also on helical piles.

            Continued to March 27 was a Notice of Intent filed by the Town of Mattapoisett for reconstruction of Old Slough Road and a Certificate of Compliance requested by Farland Estates III, LLC, for 1 Martha’s Vineyard Drive.

            Also continued was a Request for an Extension Permit for an Order of Conditions issued to David McIntire for property located on Mahoney’s Lane.

            A Notice of Intent filed by Carmelo Nicolosi for the construction of a new single-family home located on Beechwood Avenue was withdrawn.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for Monday, March 27, at 6:30 pm.

Mattapoisett Conservation Commission

By Marilou Newell

            If voters at Town Meeting agree, a tennis court in disrepair off Point Road will become four pickleball courts by the end of the year after the Marion Community Preservation Committee voted to recommend the Town of Marion Recreation Department’s request for $75,000 in Community Preservation Act funding.

            The request was one of 10 approved by the committee for recommendation to voters during the committee’s continued public hearing held live on March 10 via Zoom.

            Recreation Director Scott Tavares told the committee he has received several requests for pickleball courts in Marion.

            New England Seal Coating will resurface the dilapidated tennis courts, painting new lines and installing four sets of ground sleeves and four pickleball nets. Around the playing areas will be an 8-foot-tall, continuous fence with two entry gates. That is included in the funding.

            “I’m not looking into lighting at this point,” said Tavares, explaining neighborhood considerations and the need for a testing ground.

            Unlike tennis’ fuzzy ball, a pickleball resembles a heavier whiffle ball, and the paddles are not strung but constructed with a flat surface, giving off a clicking noise when the ball is struck.

            CPC member Bryan McSweeny noted the ongoing conflict in the City of Cambridge over the noise coming from pickleball courts.

            Select Board Representative Randy Parker said the neighbors in the area have some issues with parking but not with pickleball.

            The wildly popular sport is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S.

            With one withdrawal, the CPC unanimously approved the remaining nine requests in rapid fashion, having already hashed out their questions in prior sessions of the public hearing and before that, informational meetings.

            The CPC approved: $25,000 to the local Historic District Study Group (unused funds expire June 30, 2025), $35,000 to the Marion Historical Commission for Phase IV of its historical and cultural inventory (December 31, 2025), $26,928 to the Marion Institute, $85,000 to the Marion Department of Public Works for its interest in Mattapoisett River Valley Water District’s resilience project (June 30, 2024), $9,150 to Loving Touch Gravesite Care, $15,000 to the Sippican Lands Trust to complete construction of the Osprey Marsh pavilion, $35,000 to Marion Art Center for fire and smoke alarms (June 30, 2024), $17,500 to Marion Natural History Museum for cataloguing work, $30,000 to Sippican Historical Society for ongoing digitization.

            Committee Chair Jeff Doubrava recommended the committee fund the requests from the non-designated account.

            The committee then addressed two applications for extensions to June 30, 2024, from the Marion Garden Group and the Pathways Committee. Doubrava and Parker agreed that the extensions should likewise go before voters on Town Meeting floor.

            The withdrawn project was a $12,529 request from the Elizabeth Taber Library.

Marion Community Preservation Committee

By Mick Colageo