While the Mattapoisett School Committee was eager during Monday night’s public meeting to share in the same positivity pervading the Old Rochester Regional School District at large, the potential consolidation of school building lurks as the UMass Boston Collins Center carries out its study.

            Committee Chairperson Carly Lavin and ORR Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson met with Collins Center representatives on September 8 in what was called an “initial project-oversight team meeting.” Nelson said school-side stakeholders achieved agreements on communications, data sources and impact and also agreed to meet regularly, the next meeting scheduled for October 6.

            The next steps will include site visits in September and October with town-side and school side representatives. It is anticipated that the Collins Center will finalize its report in April 2023.

            “It’s a very aggressive timeline,” said Lavin, who at the same time was pleased with Nelson’s summary. The school district is pushing for two opportunities for the school committee’s participation, one in the evening and one during the day.

            Later in the meeting while giving her first Chairperson’s Report, Lavin told the committee she appreciates the participation of Town Administrator Mike Lorenco and also Chuck McCullough, who filled in for Select Board Chairman Tyler Macallister.

            While many messages indicate district-wide teachers and administrators are happy to be back in school, ORR Director of Student Services Craig Davidson said that for many, school never closed.

            Davidson reported that over 200 students participated in ORR’s SAIL summer learning program, for which he publicly thanked coordinators Charlie West and Kyle Letendre. A summer enrichment program that piggybacked on the SAIL program with afternoon opportunities was attended by 100 other students.

            High school students played a key role in the success of the program, especially as the younger participants sought out the high schoolers as role models and leaders. “The most rewarding part of this program,” said Davidson, was that it brought the community together. “We didn’t want summer to end so we applied for another grant and ran a second Acceleration Academy,” he added. The Acceleration Academy focused on literacy for younger students up through Grade 4.

            In all, ORR’s summer of 2022 saw seven weeks of programming facilitated by 136 staff members, 115 of which are current educators in the Tri-Towns or high school students. “Some actually joined us after the summer so it was truly a rewarding summer,” said Davidson.

            The committee’s Open Comment session near the end of the public meeting yielded two impassioned remarks, one from within the committee and one from without.

            Committee member Jim Muse reported that this summer, after a decade of advocacy at the state house, Massachusetts higher education laws were amended to open up state colleges and universities to students with intellectual disabilities or autism.

            Before the Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative (MAICEI) grant program, explained Muse, unless someone was in a grant program, a student between ages 18 and 22 with an intellectual disability or autism who did not pass MCAS testing and did not receive a high school diploma was prohibited from even auditing in the state educational system.

            The change in the law has been codified and barriers removed. As a result, students with disabilities will be able to participate as nonmatriculating students and participate in extracurricular aspects of campus life.

            “I can’t tell you what a big deal this is,” said Muse, who said that for the first time in the state and “hopefully” as a trend-setting law that could expand across the country, “individuals with disabilities and autism will be able to be life-long learners. This is something that can definitely be on their horizon. … This is a great event for education as a whole.”

            The second comment came from Tom Kearns, 8 Fairview Drive, who told the committee he was looking for a town with antiracial, antibullying policies when he moved his family to Mattapoisett.

            “We believe everyone has a right to exist in a nontoxic atmosphere,” said Kearns.

            Despite the ORR administration’s antiracism policy, resolution and subcommittee, life for students is not without reminders of the past. Kearns told the committee that last school year his daughter ran into some bullying problems, and only three days into the new school year, his son was targeted by racial slurs.

            “I just think we have to do better as a community. Racism is alive and well, so instead of playing whack-a-mole on a case-by-case basis, we need (stricter policies that take the judgment out of the hands of teachers,)” said Kearns, stressing that the vast majority of students conduct themselves as if they have excellent role models. The outliers, he suggests, learn racism. “They’re not born to be racists, they’re taught this. There has to be a clear set of rules.

            “I lost a daughter to this a few years back so I have a personal vested interest. If X, Y and Z happen, your parents are going to get involved.”

            Kearns suggested that bus monitors be positioned midway down the aisle of the seating area, the end game being zero tolerance for racist behavior under the watch of the school system. Kearns readily admits the efforts can only be effective where the message has teeth. “It’s just in this school system, it shouldn’t be allowed,” he said. “It’s a small population … doing this. The educators are great; this should not be put on them.”

            The committee voted to approve changes made in the Student Handbook that serves both Center and Old Hammondtown elementary schools. Changes are accessible on the district and schools’ websites, but Old Hammondtown Principal Kevin Tavares said he would make sure parents seeking a copy of the Student Handbook could get one.

            The committee voted unanimously to approve three donations from the Mattapoisett Parent-Teachers Association and the plan for a student run to support improvements in athletic facilities on school grounds.

            The PTA donated $1,745.63 to replace the unsafe surface under the swings at Old Hammondtown, $1,137.21 fix a loose and rusty staircase and $3,000 for new backboards and rims and new paint for the basket supports at the basketball court.

            The PTA is also hosting an October 18 Fun Run fundraiser event to be simultaneously held for K-6 runners at both Center and Old Hammondtown. Funds raised will pay for playground safety improvements, help defray the cost of field trips and provide programs for enrichment.

            New staff was recognized, including new Center School Principal Linda Ashley, along with three teachers, Jillian Lakey (halftime reading), Allison Dunn (halftime Remedial Math) and Grade 5 teacher Jocelyn Mare. They will help replace Principal Rose Bowman, halftime-reading teacher Diane Lizotte, halftime math teacher Patricia Cooney, reading teacher Holly Maloof and Paraprofessional Teresa Camara. Two teachers transferred: Carolyn Pawlishen from Grade 4 teacher to reading teacher and Kristen Sunde from Grade 5 to Grade 4.

            Pre-school screening will be held on Oct 25 for district-wide families at Rochester Memorial School.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett School Committee is scheduled for Monday, November 14, and the next meeting of the Joint School Committee is scheduled for Thursday, September 29. Both meetings are to begin at 6:30 pm.

Mattapoisett School Committee

By Mick Colageo

            The owner of property at 28 Pitcher Street sent a letter to Marion Health Director Lori Desmarais summarizing repairs and improved conditions, but acting Health Agent Bob Ethier told the Marion Board of Health during its September 8 public meeting at the Police Station that the project has fallen three weeks off the prescribed pace.

            Ethier reported to board members Dr. John Howard and Dr. Ed Hoffer that the letter declared that the roof of the house has been patched, is weather-tight and has been covered to prevent wildlife from gaining entry.

            The letter further stated that temporary repairs to the eaves were expected to be completed within a day and that permanent repairs would be made once it is officially determined that the house is free and impervious to pests.

            A pest-control company was to work at the property on September 12, and the owner said in his letter that the town would be provided with a receipt for those services along with before-and-after photos. Landscaping, the letter stated, was not progressing at the prescribed pace but could, once the pest removal is complete.

            Nonetheless, Ethier visited the address and reported a lack of progress. He said the proposed remediation schedule was off by three weeks as of the board’s September 8 meeting, and he recommended the owner be ordered to appear before the Board of Health.

            “Based on his past, we’re not getting anywhere,” said Ethier. “When people come before the board, there’s a different response.” The board authorized Ethier to order the owner to appear at the board’s next meeting on September 22.

            Ethier said it was more of the same at 33 Pitcher Street, where vehicles are still on the property, and the yard has not been cleaned up. Ethier told the owner’s attorney that the situation is at the point where fines will be imposed. “She wants to build a house, and you’ve got to at least clean up what you’ve got first,” summarized Ethier.

            “We’ve been more than patient,” said Hoffer.

            Howard suggested sending a certified letter to the owner’s attorney ordering an appearance. Ethier said the attorney seems as frustrated as the town is. “I told him we can’t keep doing this,” said Ethier.

            The couple that inherited the property at 278 Converse Road told Ethier they want to build a new house and asked if they can wait on the septic situation until those plans are enacted. Ethier said the Town of Marion requested but has not received evidence of a contract between the owner and a company to pump out the cesspool. The owner, said Ethier, was reportedly told that the company told the owner there has never been any danger of sewerage overflowing.

            Ethier said that the animal hoarding case at 464 Front Street seems to be resolved for the most part, but gaining access to confirm conditions has been elusive. The owner has granted access to other officials with whom Ethier visits but not to him.

            “I need to get in the house; I need to make sure the property is getting cleaned up. … I don’t need anybody to go with us,” he said. “It’s like a police matter in some ways.”

            Getting information has become difficult in the case of 1121 Point Road, where Ethier will need to seek foreclosure attorneys at Wareham District Court.

            The noncompliance issue at Little Neck Village area inside the dumpster is clean and locked.

            A denitrification septic system in the yard at 570 Front Street has been grown over and is not being used or maintained, according to Ethier. Sewer, he learned, is available to the owner.

            In her Public Health Director Update, Public Health Nurse Lori Desmarais told the board that there were 15 COVID-19 cases in August, and by September 8, there had been 12 cases reported this month. Both Sippican School and Tabor Academy require symptomatic testing this school year, but Sippican is seeking permission to test in school and thusly limited to a test-at-home program for now.

            Tabor Academy held a flu-vaccine clinic on September 4 that distributed 148 shots.

            Marion will hold its flu vaccination clinic on Thursday, September 29, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Cushing Community Center. A tent canopy for the drive-through is expected to go up at the site by the end of this week.

            Desmarais said she would be working the Marion clinic with EMS personnel and has reached out to UMass Dartmouth. “It looks like they’ll have some students to help us out also,” said Desmarais.

            A smaller clinic has been scheduled for Thursday, October 6, in the community room at Little Neck Village.

            Given the discovery of a mosquito carrying the EEE virus, Desmarais said Marion’s health risk has increased from low to moderate.

            Interviews for a new Board of Health member will be conducted in joint session with the Select Board at the latter’s next regularly scheduled public meeting on Tuesday, September 27, at 5:00 pm. Alvin Johnson, Mary Nelson and Tina McMichael have applied to serve the duration of the term vacated this year by Dot Brown and will be interviewed. A joint vote of the Select Board and the Board of Health is planned for October 4.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health is scheduled for Thursday, September 22, at 4:00 pm.

Marion Board of Health

By Mick Colageo

            In her Health Director’s update during the September 7 Rochester Board of Health meeting, Karen Walega told the membership that the Town of Rochester would participate in a Capacity Assessment funded by a state Public Health Excellence Grant.

            The end game for this survey and assessment being orchestrated by the state Department of Public Health is a voluntary regionalization of inspection services.

            “It’s going to take a long time. I was hoping to have someone to help with inspections,” said Walega. “The towns that want to sign on, the state wants to get everyone evenly disbursed … not every town is the same. We should all be the same.”

            The Tri-Towns and Acushnet have all signed on for what would be a state-sponsored program for administration and inspection assistance. Once implemented, the program would put tablets into the hands of Board of Health members and board administrator Lori Walsh so they can access up-to-date information.

            The move makes sense for towns like Marion and Rochester. Walega is preparing Rochester for her retirement, while Marion is without a full-time health agent.

            The DPH increased the funding and went before the state legislature. Several retired health agents will review a bidding process and make recommendations. Westport is the grant administrator. Dartmouth opted out.

            “This is the new wave … all the old health agents are burnt out,” said Walega.

            Rochester is on the verge of implementing an online permitting and routing system. Board of Health Chairman David Sousa welcomed the idea, noting how his own business was affected by an inaccurate order number in a job he had done for the Town of Acushnet.

            Walsh’s increasing responsibility led to discussion, a recommendation from Walega and a vote that will result in an increase in her pay. The matter was to next go to town Finance Director Suzanne Szyndlar and the Finance Committee.

            Like most of Massachusetts, Rochester has been in “critical drought” mode, and the state Drought Declaration acknowledging the risk of wetland wildland fires increasing has caused discussion about wells in town and recommendations. Rockland recently had a fire that went on for three weeks.

            Walega recommended minimizing water use including residences relying on private wells. “We’re all drawing from the same aquifer,” she said. The up-to-date situation is posted on the town website, townofrochester.com.

            Last week, the Town of Marion announced that a mosquito carrying the EEE virus was found at the end of August. By September 7, three EEE cases had been reported in Suffolk County.

            The board received a visit from Megan daCosta, the Tobacco Control coordinator for New Bedford. daCosta started in her position this summer, having worked prior to in Fall River. The UMass Dartmouth graduate is currently in her master’s degree program in Public Health at UMass Amherst.

            The town told daCosta it would furnish her with Rochester’s public-health regulations, which are 10 years old; daCosta said almost every town’s regulations are out of date. She will bring the latest information in order to update the town’s regulations to the state level and “anything we can do to make Rochester better.” daCosta serves six area towns and the City of New Bedford.

            Walega provided updates on several properties of concern.

            Upon hearing about 122 Pine Street, Sousa said the property “doesn’t look as bad (as it had) … it’s a mess, but it’s a lot better than it was.” Walega said things at the address are moving in the right direction.

            Mrs. Butts’ property at 515 Rounseville Road has seen changes, as a young lady living in a trailer at the address was reportedly moving out, and the Fire Department had been to the site to address a safety issue. The Building Commissioner was reportedly working with a family member regarding worsening conditions in the yard. Walega said that Town Counsel Blair Bailey was on the case.

            An odor complaint at Lloyd’s market yielded news that the dumpster has been changed and the proprietor is working to rectify the problem. “The guy’s trying, what are you going to do when you’re having a summer like this?” said Sousa, noting that the owner had bought the same chemical used by SEMASS and applies it twice a week. “That helped. I think he’s trying,” said Sousa.

            The septic system at Seasons Corner market has failed, and the owner was last known to be waiting on a contractor to replace the system.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Health is scheduled for Wednesday, October 5, at 4:00 pm at Town Hall.

Rochester Board of Health

By Mick Colageo

            The Marion Zoning Board of Appeals and Town Counsel Jon Witten engaged developer Ken Steen and his attorney Mark Bobrowski on September 8 in a continued public hearing for the Heron Cove project.

            The discussion that ensued at the Police Station was dominated by questions of procedure and the application of conditioning to a draft decision that Witten says he can have ready for the next ZBA meeting.

            Bobrowski said he was expecting to see a draft decision on September 8, but Witten said the ZBA had not yet finished deliberating conditions of approval.

            The conclusion was to continue the public hearing one more time and push off the September 22 regular date for the next ZBA meeting and hold it on September 29, when it is anticipated from all sides that Witten will have written into a draft decision the conditions ZBA members want to see.

            Steen’s 120-unit, affordable-housing development planned off Route 6 near the Wareham town line is a Local Initiative Program (LIP) 670CMR negotiated with and approved by the Marion Select Board.

            ZBA Chairperson Cynthia Callow opened the continued public hearing by reading a letter from Marion Town Administrator Jay McGrail indicating that the latest list of 27 waiver requests made by the applicant Heron Cove LLC fits into the same scope as those that were negotiated by the Select Board over the course of a year before the current LIP application came to the ZBA.

            McGrail’s letter also stressed that neither the Select Board nor the town administration wished to inhibit in any way the vetting process of the ZBA, and he thanked the board’s members for all their hard work on the case. A decision would be required 40 days out from the closure of the public hearing.

            Bobrowski then requested that the ZBA keep the public hearing open and said he would agree to an extension as it becomes necessary.

            Callow and ZBA members Will Tifft and Dr. Ed Hoffer agreed they would vote to approve the project with conditions.

            “The Select Board did not delve into the details. They left it to the ZBA, and I think that is a good use of your time,” said Witten.

            Callow proposed an outline dividing conditions into preconstruction, during and after construction. Hoffer said he found the landscaping consultant’s comments most useful, and Tifft said clarity in landscaping was something he wants to see in the decision.

            Steen told the board he would submit some signage ideas and compared them to low-profile signs currently on Route 6.

            Witten recommended the board not seek to position itself to issue a second approval. The board, he said, can delegate the approval of conditions (signage, for instance) to Marion Building commissioner Bob Grillo but should not seek “a second bite at the apple.”

            Steen agreed to submit a new set of plans, and Witten said he could write a new decision taking into account proposed conditions. Bobrowski will have an opportunity to review the conditions and comment before the public hearing is closed.

            Grillo said there was much in the way of worthwhile content in the 2012 list of conditions. Grillo told Witten he wanted to make sure it’s spelled out very clearly who is responsible for what, including inspections of the roads and culverts, for example.

            “I feel I’m probably going to be the point man, not that I’m doing those inspections, but I just want to make sure that when those inspections are done they’re documented, they’re logged in and they’re in a central location because it doesn’t seem to be that that was the case (with Marion Village Estates, a prior Steen project,)” said Grillo.

            Witten had said that Grillo is not to be thrust into a role of judging anything subjective. In response to Grillo’s concern and Callow’s interest in getting such a process on the record, Witten said he would make sure that request is written into his decision draft.

            Steen’s representative, Phil Cordeiro of Allen & Major Associates, said that writing signage into the updated site plan was the lone remaining change, and Steen indicated belief that the site plan would be updated at least one week in advance of the ZBA’s next meeting.

            Grillo reminded the applicant that online permitting is now in action in Marion, making the application accessible to multiple departments.

            At the start of the September 8 meeting, the ZBA held a moment of silence for Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on the afternoon of the meeting.

            The next meeting of the Marion ZBA is scheduled for Thursday, September 29, at 6:30 pm.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Mick Colageo