For a very simple reason, the Rochester Planning Board has reversed course on its recent attempt to charge regulatory violations against the Buzzards Bay Coalition for cutting trees on Marion Road.

            Town Counsel Blair Bailey told the board during its Tuesday night public meeting that according to the coalition’s legal counsel, the Marion Road parcel is state property, not town property. So Rochester’s bylaw that prohibits tree cutting without a permit on a local scenic highway does not apply in this case.

            As a result of this new information, the board approved sending a follow-up letter to the Buzzards Bay Coalition withdrawing the violation recently issued by the panel.

            Board members complained at their last meeting that approximately two years ago, the coalition had cut trees on 55 acres that it owned on Marion Road without allowing the Planning Board to review

            What has been done since on the property, which is now owned by a farmer, is an improvement, board member Michael Murphy admitted at the time. “But documentation to us is still needed,” he said.

            Board members said it would set a bad precedent to let the current landowner off the hook, and they decided to send a certified letter to the new landowners explaining that if they refuse to respond to requests for a meeting or a plan, the town will start fining them.

            Attorney Bailey noted on Tuesday that this lack of any word from the Buzzards Bay Coalition has a simple explanation. Coalition authorities did not get the board’s emails because the town had an incorrect address for reaching them. He said, nonetheless, the coalition expressed willingness to meet with the board to discuss any such issue.

            Acting Chair Ben Bailey said this jurisdictional confusion means the town’s Scenic Highway bylaw needs to be revised to clear up “what and what is not covered under this bylaw.”

            Town Planner Nancy Durfee said she will immediately consult with Highway Surveyor Jeff Eldridge to make those revisions. She said the new language would probably be ready for consideration at the Fall Town Meeting.

            Tuesday night’s Planning Board meeting was brief, and other agenda items were tabled due to a lack of a quorum and the fact Chairman Arnie Johnson could not attend.

            The Planning Board’s next meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 26, at 7:00 pm.

Rochester Planning Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

            The Building Committee appointed by the Marion Select Board for the purposes of lending various types of expertise to the process of enacting a plan to construct a new Department of Public Works operations center at Benson Brook met for the first time on Monday afternoon inside Town Administrator Jay McGrail’s office.

            Casey Barros, Sherman Briggs and Dan Crete and were three committee members in attendance who neither hold an elected office nor are town employees. The DPW was represented by Director Nathaniel Munafo, Engineering Manager Meghan Davis and Office Manager Becky Tilden. The committee members serving as elected officials are Randy Parker, who represented the Select Board, Planning Board member Andrew Daniel and Zoning Board of Appeals member Dana Nilson, who was unavailable for the meeting.

            No decisions were made and no plans were finalized, but a discussion initially focused on sorting out the procurement process eventually got around to the construction itself.

            If commentary is an indicator, the two-building concept originally set forth dividing vehicle storage from operations and vehicle maintenance appears to be giving way to a single-building theory simply because one footprint avoids costly duplications in construction and infrastructure.

            That savings will likely be swallowed up in the quality of the construction, as lightweight metal is widely believed to be susceptible to mishaps that immediately become eyesores and over time, rusty problems.

            It is also likely based on discussion at Monday’s meeting that the new DPW operations center will not, as previously thought, sit a short walk across the grass from the existing Wastewater Treatment Plant but be set back approximately 1,300 feet near the water tower and the proposed location for a new salt shed.

            Parker said that the site near the water tower has three-phase power but would need sewer and grinder pumps. Briggs noted that the site also holds the potential for growth, while not crowding out the WWTP.

            The procurement process necessarily hinges on a business model, and central to that arrangement of that model is the selection of a point person. While Marion Facilities Manager Shaun Cormier will oversee construction as project manager would, the procurement of goods and services including subcontracting is a wider role that can fall with the designing engineer or the architect.

            Given the fact Saltonstall Architects is under contract with the town as a result of the company’s selection after the initial bidding process for a design concept, the town could theoretically proceed with Will Saltonstall and avoid another bid process. But discussion indicated many moving parts, and getting them sorted out will be a prerequisite for determining an optimum fit in the procurement role.

            At Parker’s recommendation, the meeting received a visit from Morton Buildings representative Steve Marion to explain the company’s methods and to take questions.

Modular procurement would save money on engineering aspects limited to the building itself.

            As for the “eyesore” on Route 6, the current location of the DPW, McGrail envisions a renovation of the one sound structure on the left, the removal of sand, demolition of the dilapidated structures that were moved onto the site decades ago and finally a barrier to separate that land from view for visitors to the adjacent graveyard.

            The committee will next set a meeting for a site visit to three locations including recent constructions nearby at Hiller Dodge, one in Sandwich and also the Rochester DPW.

            The committee will then choose a type of building construction, be it wood or metal, and will also look to arrive at a working model.

Marion Building Committee

By Mick Colageo