Jay McGrail’s final Select Board public meeting as the Marion’s town administrator was dominated by three appointments, the first about the search for his replacement.

            Attending the meeting via Zoom, Bernie Lynch of Community Paradigm Associates provided an update and sought approval from the Select Board with regards to forming a volunteer screening committee, advertising the job and establishing a timeline.

            “We’re into Mr. McGrail for a buck and a half and into you for a few bucks too,” said Select Board Chairman Randy Parker, addressing Lynch. “I agree with $150,000 plus or minus, to get somebody in here good for the Town of Marion.”

            While Select Board member Norm Hills said he preferred to start lower, member Toby Burr doubled down on Parker’s suggestion, saying, “It’s a highly competitive marketplace, so in order to attract somebody who’s good, we need to go to at least ($150,000.)”

            Lynch said in the past five years, two-thirds of Massachusetts municipalities have seen town administrators and/or managers leave. “We just need to be able to attract people to these positions. It’s a very tight market right now,” he said, adding that southeastern Massachusetts “is a little more challenging to bring somebody in.”

            Parker said he would like department heads to have a role in the selection process. The board agreed to pick a five-member screening committee that would send recommended applicants to department heads for a meeting at the Music Hall. Once the list is whittled down to four finalists, their names would be made public.

            The timeline will consist of a November 11 application deadline, and the screening committee will be named at the November 15 meeting of the Select Board. Lynch will conduct his initial meeting with the screening committee in the first week of December.

            The board next voted to approve the formation of a seven-member committee under Massachusetts General Law 40.C to conduct a study to explore the idea of creating a historic district in the Marion village area.

            In a 6:15 pm appointment, Meg Steinberg of the Marion Historical Commission and Will Tifft spoke to the Select Board about the history of failed efforts going all the way back to the 1970s.

            “If you look around the village the past few years, there has been a number of demolition projects,” said Steinberg, referencing Main Street and 49 Water Street, noting the general size and sight of new buildings in the district, including a residence opposite to St. Rita’s Church. She said that as of now, the town has no say other than zoning. “And zoning doesn’t address history and architectural quality.”

            Steinberg further pointed out that the town’s bylaws are a standard for protection that only applies to exterior features visible from a public way. “Right now, the most pressing issue in some historic districts are solar panels and car chargers … you have to adjust to the times,” she said.

            Tifft stressed that the effort comes without an agenda.

            “This is a study committee, literally designed to survey, educate, discuss, hold open meetings … to find out what and what would not be acceptable to the town,” he explained. “It’s not foregone what that recommendation is. This is not a proposal for a new bylaw or zoning changes at this time. The proposal is to do a study …”

            The formation of such a district will eventually require a public hearing and will ultimately be decided by a two-thirds vote at Town Meeting.

            Burr cautioned Steinberg that there will be costs involved for legal counsel, but he praised her for her presentation. “You’ve answered my questions very well.”

            Hills called it a “good concept to get started,” and Parker was happy to hear that Steinberg is “hoping to have it ready for next fall.”

            While Burr engaged heavily in discussion regarding the historic district proposal, he recused himself as a Select Board member for the first time at the third appointment presented by his wife Barbie Burr.

            The proposal for a community garden at the Cushing Community Center was enthusiastically supported by attendees of the meeting at the Police Station.

            Mrs. Burr explained that while Town Meeting and boards and committees tend to present familiar faces, she hopes that a community garden will function to “bring in a much wider circle.”

            The proposal, scaled down per Hills’ advice, calls for the allocation of 10,000 square feet of space in the north triangle of the Cushing Community Center footprint.

            In answer to Hills’ questions about “what’s real and what’s not,” including plans for a 20-foot-long and 8-foot-wide wall and a professional staff, Mrs. Burr delineated between two project phases.

            Careful to note, he is not opposed to the concept, Hills sought to bring definition to the proposal.

            Describing it as a “hard-scrabble farm” not in line with prettier gardens that tend to gain state assistance, Mrs. Burr did not anticipate a lot of money being involved.

            But Interim Town Administrator Judy Mooney, the town’s director of Finance, said the formation of a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in itself would require guidance from Town Counsel.

            “A lot of money will be donated,” said Mooney, noting the building of a well and any donations that would go into a 501(c)(3) account. “We’re not trying to say the community garden is a bad idea, but … you’ve got to take it to a legal level.”

            Parker said he loves the community garden concept and named Needham, Salem and Wellesley among 18 in the state. He suggested Mrs. Burr “get ahold of one of those people and see how they did it. The most important thing is what does the senior center say about this? Because I love the senior center.”

            Asked for his input by Parker, Community Center Working Group Chairman Harry Norweb said, “We have to have very detailed documentation if we’re going to pitch in. Until that is nicely formed, it’s hard to even think about creating marching orders.”

            Merry Conway, chair of the Friends of the Marion Council on Aging, said the Friends were founded in 2014 to support the activities of the COA and are not to get involved.

            “We take direction from the COA,” she said. “It’s hard to know until it’s fleshed out a little bit more. … There are definitely benefits to it, but it’s the genesis of the plan rather than the completion of the plan.”

            Mrs. Burr said she was basing her proposal on the community garden in Dartmouth.

            Parker suggested Mrs. Burr gather information from multiple towns with community gardens, come back to the Select Board with answers to some of their questions and “make sure the team at the COA is on board with this.”

            “We’ve still got a long way to go,” said Hills.

            In his final Town Administrator’s Report, McGrail passed along information about the fundraiser basketball game between the Old Rochester Unified Team and Tri-Town Police officers on Monday, November 7, at 6:30 pm at ORR. A $10 donation is requested from adults and $5 from students.

            Marion resident and Technical Sergeant of the Massachusetts National Guard Mandy Givens will be the guest speaker at the town’s Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, November 11, at 11:00 am at Old Landing. A 12:00 pm luncheon will follow at the Cushing Community Center. Residents are asked to RSVP for the luncheon by calling 508-748-3570.

            A nonperishable food drive will be held on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm at the Community Center.

            McGrail concluded his remarks by thanking Mooney and the Select Board for their support.

            “It’s been an honor,” said McGrail. “Nothing I’ve done wasn’t without her and without you guys. Mr. (John) Waterman was a huge part of it for a number of years. I wish he was here.”

            An open house seeing off McGrail to his new job as town manager in Middleborough will be held on Thursday, November 10, at the Town House.

            In other business, the board voted to approve the acceptance of Sewer Rate Relief for FY23 and the transfer of management of the Sprague’s Cove Stormwater Retention Facility to the Department of Public Works (per MS4 state requirements.)

            The next meeting of the Marion Select Board is scheduled for Tuesday, November 15, at 6:00 pm at the Police Station and accessible via Zoom.

Marion Select Board

By Mick Colageo