Tufts University recently announced the dean’s list for the Spring 2022 semester. Among students earning dean’s list honors are: Charlie Dineen of Marion class of 2023, Rosemary Loer of Mattapoisett class of 2023, Grace Russell of Mattapoisett class of 2023 and Emma Vivino of Marion class of 2025. Dean’s list honors at Tufts University requires a semester grade point average of 3.4 or greater.
Town Planner Nancy Durfee asked the Rochester Planning Board during Tuesday night’s public meeting to consider proposing a solar-farm moratorium for the October 17 Special Town Meeting. Board members mulled whether doing so is worth the effort.
Durfee noted Wareham, Carver and Acushnet all have enacted moratoriums for up to a year that have successfully withstood legal challenges. Such a moratorium would have to be time-limited, no more than a year, Durfee said. But, as such, it would give the town the chance to tweak and improve its solar bylaws. “It’s time we could use to take a fresh look at our bylaws,” she said.
Board members were mainly lukewarm to the idea.
Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson asked to see a sample of the moratoriums in those other towns but later added, “I’m looking at it that it might have unintended consequences. We don’t have any solar farms before us now. Are we going to rattle the cages of these developers? Will we be inundated with solar-farm proposals now so they can be grandfathered in before our changes? I’m not sure the effort’s worth it. I’m not 100 percent for this.”
Board member Ben Bailey asked if restricting solar farms would be on the table if the town set a moratorium. Durfee was not sure that would be the case. Johnson suggested the board could simply go directly to tweaking the bylaw while the current regulations are in place.
Board member John DiMaggio countered, “It might be a missed opportunity. Just because it’s quiet now, now’s our chance.”Johnson had the last word, noting the board could do both, look at either tweaking the bylaw or setting a moratorium. “Let’s just chew on this until the next meeting,” he said in conclusion.
In other action, the board endorsed the Approval Not Required (ANR) application of Bradford and Ruth Correia’s plan for their property at 0 Featherbed Lane. The Correia’s wish to add two nonbuildable parcels to their buildable lots to create a larger living space.
Durfee informed that board that while Town Counsel Blair Bailey told the board last month that a Marion Road parcel where the Buzzards Bay Coalition was clearing trees is state property and not town property, the violation of a town bylaw that prohibits such tree cutting without a permit is still applicable.
That means being state property still makes the property owner liable to the town for the violation. A Buzzards Bay Coalition representative, appearing on Zoom, agreed to set a follow-up meeting with the board.
In other business, the board allowed the Village at Plumb Corner project to continue moving forward by approving completion of the Phase I punch list, agreeing to keep $850,000 for the Phase II bond and endorsing the tree cutting for Phases II and III.
The Rochester Planning Board’s next meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 23, at 7:00 pm.
Rochester Planning Board
By Michael J. DeCicco
An Order of Conditions issued to William and Kathleen Sylvia for work involving a barrier beach at their 41 Cove Street home was reviewed and debated to determine whether the Sylvias had violated the accepted plan of record and Order of Conditions. The case was heard for more than an hour.
After receiving complaints from neighbors in the beach community, the commission invited the Sylvias to the meeting to try to figure out why construction methods written by their engineer Rick Charon and agreed to by the applicants had not been followed.
The main points of contention from the commission’s point of view were that protective matting had not been used at the site to protect beach vegetation and sand movement, that heavy equipment had been used to excavate the site primarily to remove existing structural supports and that the property owner failed to contact the commission’s agent for a site inspection of erosion controls.
Conservation Commission Chairman Mike King, who attended remotely with member Trevor Francis standing in at the Town Hall, stated that William Sylvia “overreached” by using excavating equipment to remove the support I-beams. “Those beams were supposed to be cut flush, not dug out,” said King, whose concern was based on the disturbance of the soil. The compaction, he said, destabilized the site, something he believed put the entire barrier beach at jeopardy due to erosion.
King voiced strong concern that the construction narrative written by Charon had been ignored and that an After-the-fact Notice of Intent now needed to be filed by Sylvia and an Enforcement Order issued.
Sylvia responded, “For two years, we’ve done everything, but the beams were stuck.” He said that hydrostatic pressure constricted them from being pulled out. “We had to dig them out!” he said. With obvious frustration, Sylvia said that the Order of Conditions did not specify that the beams be flush cut but that they were simply “to be removed.” Deep into the discussion, Francis would concede that the language in the Order of Conditions probably should have been more detailed and direct.
Sylvia said that he and his wife want to complete this project. “This is our home. Right now, we don’t have a home,” he said, representing the dismayed couple.
King said that hours of public hearings that respected state law had been poured into the project and that for now, all work should stop until an After-the-Fact NOI is filed. But discussion kept circling back to the lack of a directive that required cutting the beams flush. The commissioners wondered aloud if reviewing meeting notes and videos would shed light on that issue.
The commissioners requested that Sylvia apply for the NOI, hire an independent engineer who would report to the town and follow all conditions as written or return to the commission for consideration of modifications.
King told Sylvia that regulations from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for this project must be followed. “This isn’t us, it’s the state,” said King. State regulations, he explained, take coastal resiliency into consideration especially in projects of this sort. King asked that the Sylvias engage an independent engineer to oversee the balance of the work jurisdictional to the commission.
King said he would like Brandon Faneuf, the town’s contract agent, to represent the town in this matter. He said that Town Counsel had confirmed previously that Faneuf’s private work would not conflict with his contract work for the town. Sylvia said he was comfortable working with Faneuf.
An NOI filed by Jeffrey Dover and Tania Phillips, 3 Pigwacket Lane, was continued to August 22 to give the applicant’s engineer, David Davignon of Schneider, Davignon, and Leone Inc., time to review regulations for the numerous resource areas that exist on the site. Plans include demolition of an existing home and construction of a new residence.
An Order of Conditions was granted to David Halle, 23 Grand View Avenue, for the construction of a detached garage and impervious patio area.
The issuance of Cease and Desist Order for unpermitted beach alterations at 5-7 Shore View Avenue was ordered by consensus of commissioners.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is planned for Monday, August 22, at 6:30 pm.
Mattapoisett Conservation Commissions
By Marilou Newell
Twice Monthly Adult Art Workshops with Jeanine Cappuccino – 2 free art instructional classes per month. Attend one or both classes. Sign up at the library.
Thursday, August 11, 6-7:30 pm: Create a sketch journal and learn the elements of art to create realistic qualities in sketching. Saturday, August 27, 10-11:30 am: Learn one point and two point perspective, then apply techniques to landscape sketching of Various Marion Landmarks (this class involves a short walk around Marion.)
Author of ‘How to Bake a Universe’ Alec Carvlin Friday August 12, 11 am – Join author Alec Carvlin for an interactive reading of his Picture Book “How to Bake a Universe” and some cosmic crafts inspired by his story. Program will be held at the Library.
Ice Cream Social and Splash Party Saturday August 20, 11-2 – Cool off and celebrate the end of summer with ice cream, lawn games, sidewalk chalk and a splash pad!
Check out our new miniature bookstore: reading Room Books! Books, DVDs, gifts & more in the front reading room. All purchases benefit the Elizabeth Taber Library.
These programs are brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
For more information on the Elizabeth Taber Library, visit us at www.ElizabethTaberLibrary.org or call us at 508-748-1252.
In a recent article in the Boston Globe newspaper, there was a story about an archeological dig at a 1725 house in Canton, MA. Among the items discovered, there were three pairs of shoes found in a crawl space under a floor as well as others in the walls. Over the years, our historical society has received several calls from residents who have found a shoe or shoes while renovating an older Rochester home. The shoes are usually in a hall, under the floor or behind a fireplace. The Curator at the Canton house said, “Some early European settlers believed hiding shoes by doorways, windows and chimneys could ward off evil spirits”.
Whenever someone calls us with a report of finding a hidden shoe, we offer to take it off their hands, but most have opted to put it back where they found it, perhaps they do not want to upset the so far appeased “evil spirits.” However, we do have some colonial era shoes. They are very fragile and as you can see in the picture, some are in pieces.
Protected in a glass-fronted case is the sole and parts of a woman’s shoe, a child’s shoe and a wooden shoe form. All of these, as well as the larger pair of shoes were found in the walls of the Samuel Arnold III house, which was built around 1750 and is located at 205 Snipatuit Road. The house was completely renovated by Percy Parent in the 1960’s, and the shoes were donated to the museum by Anne Parent of Rochester.
The larger pair of shoes, like the others, date from the 1700’s and are in unusually good condition. These would have been men’s shoes and are made of a heavy leather. The upper is nailed around the edges to a wooden sole. The strap has a hole that slips over a u-shaped piece of metal. The bottom edges of the sole are reinforced around the forefoot and one-inch heel by a narrow strip of metal.
The small white shoes at the edge of the picture date from the 1940’s and are kid glove leather baby shoes donated by the Benner family.
By Connie Eshbach
Rochester’s three Select Board members overrode the wishes of the two-member Board of Assessors and appointed Finance Director Suzanne Szyndlar as a new member of the Assessors’ panel on Monday.
Board of Assessors Chairperson Jana Cavanaugh and member Diana Knapp had wanted recently retired assessor Debra Lalli to return to the position as an appointee, but because Szyndlar had also applied for the opening, job interviews of the both of them had to happen first.
After the interviews, Knapp and Cavanaugh voted in favor of Lalli. But the three selectmen voted no. The Select Board’s follow-up motion to appoint Szyndlar drew “no” from Knapp and Cavanaugh but still passed by a 3-2 margin.
In the interviews, Szyndlar told the boards about her 22 years of municipal experience, including nine years on the Board of Assessors and experience assisting with assessing procedures as town accountant and town administrator. Szyndlar said she dropped from the Board of Assessors only because at the time, she was the town accountant in both Rochester and Mattapoisett. “I enjoyed being an assessor,” Szyndlar said. “I bring a lot to the table.”
Lalli emphasized the fact she, too, has served the town for 22 years, but all of that time has been with the Assessors Department. She noted she has worked in the department since September 2000 as a clerk, then as an administrative assistant, then as an Assessment administrator.
Lalli became an assessor in 2015 when assessor John Mello retired. She is certified as a Massachusetts-accredited assessor; her current state certification expires in 2024. She retired as Assessment administrator in June in order to collect her pension but had every intention to reapply once the state’s mandatory one-day waiting period had been fulfilled.
The Board of Assessors, Lalli pointed out, is currently engaged in the Massachusetts mandate of recertification. “It is unfair to the taxpayers to appoint someone new during this critically busy time,” she said, adding that she is the one person who can independently step in “to provide the leadership, skills and assistance necessary to carry out the tasks at hand.”
After the vote did not go her way, Lalli said she will definitely run for the position when it appears on the Town Election ballot in May of 2023. Szyndlar’s term in the position expires at the time of that election; Lalli retired from an elected position. Szyndlar, too, said she will run for the position in 2023.
In other action, the selectmen signed a new, three-year contract with the Police union. The highlights of new agreement include new longevity and retention pay. Juneteenth is a new holiday in this contract, and union members will receive a $250, one-time stipend for that holiday this year only.
The Rochester Select Board’s next meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, August 22, at 6:00 pm at Town Hall.
Rochester Select Board
By Michael J. DeCicco
Chief Brian Jackvony and EMS Director Lt. Lyle McKay are pleased to announce that Marion Fire EMS was recently approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Medical Services to conduct Community EMS programs.
Community EMS is a collaborative system that addresses illness or injury prevention through public health services in Massachusetts communities.
Though community outreach programs have been a regular part of the department’s operations, state approval provides Marion’s Community EMS program, titled Marion Cares, with more resources. Marion Cares will provide community risk-reduction programs to the residents of Marion.
As part of the state approval process, the department conducted a community needs assessment to understand the need for programs and services in the community. The 10 programs and services identified include: child passenger safety, emergency preparedness individual evaluation, fire and burn prevention and education, firearms safety, home and community falls prevention, poison control home evaluation, sharps awareness, vaccinations, water safety and well-being checks.
As part of these services, EMS personnel will provide assistance and education to the community through discussions on preparation and prevention, evaluations of the environment and potential risks and by providing recommendations to improve safety.
“We are pleased to be launching this program in Marion and believe that these services will benefit our community members and will promote health and safety in everyday life,” Lt. McKay said. “We will continuously monitor the results of the program and evaluate potential opportunities to improve current programming as well as add new programming. Community EMS is a fairly new program in Massachusetts, and we are looking forward to seeing it grow.”
The Community EMS program is a true community effort and involves other local agencies as well. Each month, members of the fire department and police department meet with the town’s nurse, Council on Aging, Coastline Elderly Services and Bristol Elder Services during which the group discusses cases where members of the community could benefit from services by any of the agencies and is an opportunity to refer members of the community to services.
Marion Public Health Director Lori Desmarais has also been an instrumental part of the creation of the program. Together, the health and fire departments have delivered COVID-19 vaccinations to homebound residents and followed up with community members who have healthcare concerns. The departments will continue working closely to provide Community EMS services to the community.
“Prevention and risk-reduction education is an important part of what we do, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact this program will have on our community,” Chief Jackvony said. “Lt. McKay and Director Desmarais have done a great job coordinating and delivering past community health services and planning for this program, and we are thankful for the participation from our partners at the Police Department, Board of Health, Council on Aging, Coastline Elderly Services and Bristol Elder Services.”
The department is planning to arrange a community meeting in the coming weeks to share the services that will soon be available as part of the program. Additional details on the meeting will be shared with residents as they become available. Anyone interested in any of the services or who would like more information is encouraged to contact Lt. McKay at 508-748-3596, ext. 3212.
Purrington Lecture Series presents author Eric Jay Dolin at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library. There is still time to register for the Purrington Lecture Series featuring Eric Jay Dolin, author of Rebels at Sea and Leviathan, on Wednesday, August 17 at 6:30 p.m. This presentation is cosponsored with the Mattapoisett Museum and will be held in person at the Mattapoisett Library. Dolin will speak about his latest title, Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution.
The heroic story of the founding of the U.S. Navy during the Revolution has been told before, yet missing from most maritime histories of America’s first war is the ragtag fleet of private vessels, from 20-foot whaleboats to 40-cannon men-of-war that truly revealed the new nation’s character―above all, its ambition and entrepreneurial ethos. In Rebels at Sea, best-selling historian Eric Jay Dolin corrects that significant omission and contends that privateers, though often seen as profiteers at best and pirates at worst, were in fact critical to the Revolution’s outcome. Armed with cannons, swivel guns, muskets and pikes―as well as government documents granting them the right to seize enemy ships―thousands of privateers tormented the British on the broad Atlantic and in bays and harbors on both sides of the ocean. Abounding with tales of daring maneuvers and deadly encounters, Rebels at Sea presents the American Revolution as we have rarely seen it before.
Eric Jay Dolin is the author of fifteen books, including Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, which was chosen as one of the best nonfiction books of 2007 by the Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe and also won the 2007 John Lyman Award for U.S. Maritime History. A graduate of Brown, Yale and MIT, where he received his PhD in environmental policy, Dolin lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his family.
To learn more about the Mattapoisett Museum, visit mattapoisettmuseum.org or visit in person Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 4 pm. Admission is free for members and $5 per adult; children under 18 are admitted free.
The Purrington Lecture Series is funded by the Mattapoisett Library Trust, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to expanding the role of the Library in the community. Please visit the library’s website to learn more about the Trust.
To register, send an email to jjones@sailsinc.org or visit the library’s calendar of events to find the registration form. The library’s website can be found at mattapoisettlibrary.org; find great digital resources and learn more about our events on our site.
Tuesday night Ensign racing was a bit breezy and spinnaker flying was limited, but one thing was for sure: Odyssey was cranking on all cylinders as they won both races with plenty to spare. One Love followed with two seconds, and Black Ice finished third for the night with a third and a fourth.
Wednesday night’s PHRF race was sailed under perfect conditions as Kindred Spirits took the first August Series race followed by No Quarter Given and Restless in Class A. In Class B, it was Fir Na Tine in first followed by Hamburgler and Chickadee.
The Rochester Finance Committee took care of some housecleaning items for Fiscal Year 2022 with Finance Director Suzanne Szyndlar during its public meeting on Monday night.
Two year-end transfers were unanimously approved by vote, one for $96,872.80 and another for $30,632.
The latter was handled first and was relatively simple, as $30,632 was moved from the Reserve Fund for the treatment of snow and ice. Szyndlar explained that even if it is not a snowy year, the Highway Department still needs to treat Rochester’s roads with salt and sand.
The Finance Committee did not hesitate to support the transfer of $96,872.80 from Highway Department salaries, group health and Medicare budgets to salary budgets for assessors, tax collector, Police and Fire, EMT, Building and Electrical inspection services, gas, and library and for sick leave and town insurance. However, the motion was not voted upon without some informative discussion.
Finance Committee Chairman Kris Stoltenberg asked Szyndlar if the Police Department’s needs emerged by surprise. Szyndlar said yes, indicating that Chief Robert Small has recently dealt with the challenge of changing personnel, “a couple of officers out,” part-timers covering overtime shifts and an officer having left for another town, necessitating coverage while hiring a replacement.
Rochester had a treasurer retire this year so it was necessary to cover the transition with an $11,095 transfer, part of the overall $96,872.80. The $11,095 figure was the result of turnover with key department heads requiring coverage, training of replacement, overlapping employment and accrued benefits predetermined by contract.
The increase in the cost of fuel necessitated an extra $20,000, and group health insurance is based on an estimate, reaching in excess of $63,000.
Earlier in the day, Szyndlar was appointed by the Select Board to the Board of Assessors to fill the term of Debra Lalli, who retired from her position. Ironically, Lalli was a candidate to continue serving on an appointed basis, but the Select Board chose Szyndlar, the former town administrator/town accountant now working three days per week in the newly created role of Finance director. She will serve the term on the Board of Assessors until the next town election.
“I’m very aware of what I just jumped into,” said Szyndlar, who will be attending board meetings with Board of Assessors Chairperson Jana Cavanaugh and board member Diana Knapp.
In conclusion, Szyndlar reported to the Finance Committee that “revenues look very strong for FY22 as I’m closing the books.”
Stoltenberg asked about process going forward, and Szyndlar said that henceforth Town Administrator Glenn Cannon will be the point person for the committee’s budget-based correspondence.
The next meeting of the Rochester Finance Committee will be scheduled in December when the committee begins its winter-long process of budget review for FY24.
Rochester Finance Committee
By Mick Colageo