Monday night’s final public meeting for Chairman Will Saltonstall and member Joe Rocha as members of the Marion Planning Board was a marathon lasting nearly three hours and addressed a key vote to be taken at the May 9 Town Meeting.

            The discussion on a Request for Determination of Eligibility pursuant to House Bill 40, Section 5, for 0 and 78 Wareham Road would end in a 5-1 vote recommending that a simple majority vote would be needed to approve the zoning change that developer Matt Zuker seeks so he can build his “The Cottages” townhouse-style residential development near the Weweantic River.

            Board member Norm Hills sent the members a summary on the background, law and discussion on the measure that allows town officials to vote for a simple majority.

            Hills cited the density planned by Zuker, the resultant open space and the maintenance of the riverfront as one piece of property that “won’t be chopped up into little pieces.” Acknowledging no bus or train service, he pointed out Route 6 improvements such as the bike path and pedestrian destinations within three-qaurters of a mile in both directions.

            “In my opinion, this checks off enough things that we should be able to approve this as a simple majority vote,” he said.

            Planning Board member Eileen Marum echoed the sentiment and at the suggestion of Town Planner Doug Guey-Lee, read into the record her statement of the eligibility of the location and its suitability for a residential multi-family district.

            While Rocha and Planning Board member Jon Henry also approved the project for a simple majority vote, member Alanna Nelson did not.

            Nelson said she approved of Zuker’s project but citing what she interprets as an unintended fit vis-a-vis the state’s intentions to use the tool for population growth around public transit, was the lone dissenting vote. Nelson articulated concern that future projects would target the tool to sidestep the super majority regularly required for a zoning change.

            Chris Collings, a River Road resident and neighbor to Zuker’s project, recused himself the vote.

            During public comment, Tucker Burr, who is running for Planning Board in the May 13 Town Election, voiced his objection to the measure, as did John Rockwell.

            Rockwell, the chairman of the Open Space Acquisition Commission, stated that zoning changes should be difficult. He quoted television host Geraldo Rivera to say, “Marion is great, there’s nothing here.” Rockwell also pointed to last year’s failure of the zoning change on Town Meeting floor. “Where’s the respect for Town Meeting?” he asked.

            Guey-Lee said the project’s eligibility is a tool for the Planning Board and not a hidden loophole. “It’s out there in the open, it’s state law,” he said. “Even with the eligibility tag, it could still be voted down at Town Meeting, by a simple majority.”

            Town Administrator Jay McGrail appeared at the meeting seeking a non-binding endorsement of a Preferred Development Plan for 7 Barnabas Road currently owned by Lockheed-Martin.

            McGrail said Lockheed-Martin is planning to put property on the market in the next few weeks. Having worked with the Affordable Housing Trust, using a Community Preservation Act grant to contract consultants to make recommendations, the intention is to send the plan to Lockheed-Martin as a marketing tool with the support of the Planning and Select boards.

            Peter Flinker of Dodson & Flinker, Inc. made a presentation on the subject, displaying a “cottage community” in the undeveloped part of the site with a central clubhouse. There would be open spaces with parking off to the side. Flinker compared the design to the Red Mill Village in Norton.

            The town, clarified McGrail, will never own the property, but if it can work in partnership with developers to realize the kind of growth that officials believe Marion needs, then it’s a worthwhile endeavor.

            Collings asked about the adjacent Cushing Community Center as part of the campus rebuilt to meet the needs and modernized. McGrail said that idea is “on the table. … That Community Center is going to be a linchpin of that entire area.”

            “My qualifier is what is the appropriate scale for the project. I want to see Marion maintain some industrial (space) for when they need it in 20 years. We don’t want to force this development on the town, but we want to advance it in a thoughtful way,” said Saltonstall, who was part of the taskforce with McGrail.

            Henry chimed in slowly, “Build a casino.”

            During public comment, local developer Sherman Briggs suggested the board ought to think about building to the contours of the property and “build so they really fit into the land,” he said. “You’ve got to be creative with your stormwater or you’re going to clear every tree. … That land has got a lot of contours to the area.”

            In a continued public hearing, a proposed zoning change to Section 230-8.2 Water Protection District, Zoning Map updates, was approved by the board.

            During public comment, Briggs said he would like to see documentation on the testing of water at the town’s old landfill. Citing a stream that abuts the old dump, Briggs asserted that the board’s priorities are in the wrong place.

            A presubmission conference with applicant Varut Phimolmas, who owns Cilantro Thai Restaurant, ended with a plan to continue gaining information on the premise that the applicant’s dealings with the Zoning Board of Appeals will yield more guidance for the Planning Board.

            Phimolmas plans to change usage of the building at 290 Front Street from retail sporting goods to a new location for his restaurant. Sitting in a residentially zoned district, sporting goods is considered an existing nonconforming use, and Phimolmas already applied to the ZBA. The ZBA next hears the case on May 26.

            Saltonstall advised Phimolmas to “really dig into the flood-zone issue” because the base value of the building is very low. Saltonstall said the critical issue is elevation relative to the flood zone and that the building may not be compliant.

            Board members publicly thanked Saltonstall and Rocha for their many hours of service to the board.

            The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, May 16, at 7:00 pm.

Marion Planning Board

By Mick Colageo

            Representative William Straus kept a 6:15 pm appointment with the Marion Select Board on Tuesday night at the Music Hall, offering encouraging overtures of more financial support from the state, but at the same time cautioning against being overly optimistic.

            The Mattapoisett resident’s advocacy of Marion’s infrastructural upgrades, particularly the recently completed lagoon cleanup, has been impactful for a small town facing enormous expense in the present and future.

            On Tuesday, Straus reported that the House has approved a $25,000 grant to go toward utility connections at the Cushing Community Center. The bill would next go over to the Senate. “Typically, it’s unlikely the Senate follows exactly what we do,” he said. Straus anticipates that Senate action would be presented in late June to Governor Baker, who in turn would sign off in the weeks and months following.

            In summarizing the state government’s activities where it concerns Marion’s lagoon project, Straus said $2,000,000 in funding was based on a 2018 bond bill. Marion received a $250,000 payment.

            The state Department of Environmental Protection, he said, was in touch last week about advancing another $250,000. If the trend continues, he said, in a couple years, the project will have received half of the earmarked $2,000,000.

            Straus also was able to procure $50,000 to go toward the Creek Road pumping station project.

            The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) is responsible for that sum, and Straus told the Select Board that the governor over the last couple of weeks filed Step 2 ARPA proposals.

            A number of local projects could be impacted by another potential $2,000,000, but Straus cautioned that expectations don’t always carry out. “I don’t want people’s expectations to be too high on that,” he said, noting a plan to clarify the direction of the funding with the governor.

            The obvious hope is that over the next three months, the Creek Road pumping station could receive impactful funding. Straus said that the earlier numbers proved to be “pretty solid. The town is getting the kind of cooperation from the DEP that they deserve.”

            Town Administrator Jay McGrail said, “not everyone gets that kind of attention, I really appreciate it.”

            “The money really matters,” said John Waterman in his final meeting as a member of the Select Board.

            Straus said the Marion Select Board is “always a good board to work with.”

            The board wasted little time before voting to approve the Request for Determination of Eligibility for 0 and 78 Wareham Road, paving the way for a simple majority vote on developer Matt Zuker’s proposal to change his Route 6 property to Residence Zone E (multi-family.)

            Zuker’s “The Cottages” townhouse-style, market-rate housing complex is strongly favored by the Planning Board and Select Board as a smart-growth opportunity for Marion.

            The same zoning proposal, then requiring a super majority (two-thirds) ended in a split at Town Meeting last fall and was defeated.

            Based on a state amendment, the town will ask voters at the May 9 Town Meeting for a simple majority vote to approve the zoning change, after which Zuker’s project will go through a full vetting process.

            Waterman said that the usage of the law is project-specific, and while the Select Board members “have the back of the Planning Board … this will be case by case,” he said.

            Suspecting that Lockheed Martin will put its property up for sale in the coming days, McGrail has worked several months with the Affordable Housing Trust and consultant Judy Barrett on a Development Plan that the Planning Board reviewed on Monday night and the Select Board on Tuesday.

            Both boards authorized McGrail to send the conceptual plan to Lockheed Martin on Wednesday in hopes that it will facilitate a sale to a party that could partner with the town on a key development for Marion’s long-term future.

            Paul Naiman updated the Select Board on the Cushing Community Center food pantry that was approved to open in December. Naiman reported that the pantry has assisted 501 people, not only seniors but on a wide-ranging demographic. “The residents have been incredibly supportive of our effort,” he said.

            Among the 501 people, 282 households were represented with Tuesdays the most popular day of the week, especially between 4:00 and 6:00 pm, accounting for 50 percent of the visits. Thursdays and Saturdays (10:00 am to 2:00 pm) are equally divided.

            The demographics were broken down to 55 percent seniors, approximately one-third ages 18-64 and 12 percent under age 17.

            Citing a bevy of volunteers, Naiman also noted that the pantry has received $6,000 in cash donations that he would like to see used to expand the pantry’s offerings beyond the steady stream of items that come from Boston Food Bank through the local YMCA. The pantry, he said, has been offered a refrigeration unit.

            Naiman thanked Tabor Academy for its donation of 100 hams at Easter.

            He would also like to talk to Rochester and Mattapoisett representatives about partnering with them and opening up Marion’s food pantry to those towns. That is a matter that Naiman said will eventually come back before the Select Board.

            As outreach and publicity increases, Naiman said, the pantry will be able to do more.

            Parker pointed out in part for Straus’ benefit that the pantry is based at the Community Center, the subject of the $25,000 grant announced early in the meeting.

            Karen Gregory of the Council on Aging has been the point person for the project.

            McGrail said that, during the May 13 Town Election, a food drive will be held in the Community Center parking lot with an emphasis on items not supplied by the Boston Food Bank including condiments and cat and dog food..

            In a 6:30 pm appointment, the board voted to approve the appointment of Marion Police Officer Sean McAssey as a part-time officer. In announcing McAssey’s retirement effective May 8, Chief of Police Richard Nighelli said it has been a “pleasure to work with Mr. Waterman.”

            McAssey spent 20 years on police forces, working in several departments, including the U.S. Army National Guard from 1984 to 1990.

            Nighelli said he appreciates McAssey seeking the convenience of the department in timing out his retirement from full-time duty. McAssey was the recipient of a commendation for the apprehension of a dangerous suspect in a breaking-and-entering case including pursuit on foot. Nighelli also read the testimony of a resident whose daughter was traumatized lauding McAssey of his kindness and professionalism.

            “We very much appreciate your down-home touch here in Marion,” said Select Board member Randy Parker.

            “I’ll miss it,” said McAssey.

            In his Town Administrator’s Report, McGrail noted key dates including: Annual Town Meeting Monday on Monday, May 9, at 6:45 pm at Sippican Elementary School; Candidates Night hosted by The Wanderer on Friday, May 6, at 5:00 pm at the Music Hall; and the Town Election on Friday, May 13, from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm at the Cushing Community Center.

            In bidding an official farewell to Waterman, McGrail thanked him for “tireless enthusiasm for this truly thankless job. … John has challenged me over the last few years, and that challenge has made me a better town administrator,” said McGrail. “John never takes the easy way out. We wish him and Mallory the best in the future.”

            The board presented Waterman a plaque to commemorate his four years of service and a cake.

            Waterman called it a “great four years” and said he could not have worked with “two greater people,” calling them a team that worked really well.

            In other business, the board approved with stipulations George Morton’s sewer-connection application at 17 Hermitage Road. They also approved a Water/Sewer commitment of $777.14 (final readings April 27.)

            The next meeting of the Marion Select Board will take place at the Annual Town Meeting, Monday, May 9, at 6:45 pm at Sippican Elementary School.

Marion Select Board

By Mick Colageo

During the April 28 meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee, Town Administrator Mike Lorenco shared that one of his many objectives is to provide fiscal planning for large improvement projects facing the community in the now and into the coming years.

            Lorenco’s comments came as Capital Planning Chairman Chuck McCullough reviewed with the Fincom members the recommended expenditures for FY23, expenditures listed in warrant Article 11 of the May 9 Spring Town Meeting warrant.

            As McCullough pointed to the importance of funding highway-improvement projects, Lorenco said, “A lot of things were delayed because of Covid. It behooves us to take a break and see where we are going.”

            Lorenco then called attention to the number of multimillion-dollar projects facing the town, everything from culvert and roadway repairs to wharf repairs, from the completion of the bike path to the need to relocate Town Hall. Lorenco said that in order to pay for the myriad of big-ticket projects, fiscal planning is critical to try to avoid a Proposition 2.5 override. “We are going to have to borrow,” he said. Even with some debt rolling off the books by 2026, Lorenco said that 2026 is also when the borrowing to pay for the new Fire Station rolls on with a $600,000 payment due.

            Another expense Lorenco discussed was repairs and improvements to the town’s Highway Department building on Mendell Road. “That project now is estimated at $1.2 million,” he said. “I want to balance it all out and look at all the projects.” Lorenco said the town is facing as much as $55,000,000 in major projects in the next few years and that he wants a plan to try to avoid an impact on the taxpayers.

            Capital expenses in Article 11 are: road improvements $250,000, mechanical systems in municipal buildings $96,651, telephone systems $40,000, police tasers $50,000, Center School infrastructure master clock $12,500, library outside lighting $25,000, library security cameras $10,000, flooring repairs Old Hammondtown School $25,000, Police Department motorcycle $25,000 and Police Department cruiser $50,000. Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund capital expenses include improvements to freshwater wells at $30,000 and $50,000 ($25,000 from each fund) for new building-design costs and $70,000 ($35,000 each fund) for a new truck.

            McCullough also discussed the Community Preservation Act grants. He stated that although a grant in the amount of $120,000 is earmarked for continued design work for the bike path phases 2a and 2b. “We’ve contributed enough.” He said that the need for spending in the category of housing had not been done at all with the exception of a small grant ($12,000) given some years ago for a study of the town’s affordable housing needs. He said he asked the former town administrator for the report, but that was not forthcoming. He said that the CPA housing category currently holds $256,000.

            Earlier in the meeting, Town Counsel Matt Thomas met with the committee to explain two new P.I.L.O.T. (payment in lieu of taxes) programs, one for Bowman Road Next Grid Solar Article 19 and another for Brownell Boat Yard Article 20. Thomas explained that Mattapoisett’s new Home Rule petition, which went into effect in July, allows the town to negotiate a 20-year payment plan with commercial energy-producing entities giving, both them and the town a dependable payment schedule. The FY23 schedule shows a P.I.L.O.T. combined total for these two sites of $270,726 for Year 1 of the plan.

            The full Spring Town Meeting warrant may be viewed along with supporting narratives and spreadsheets at Mattapoisett.net.

            The work of the Finance Committee is now concluded for the FY23 budget. The Spring Town meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 9, at 6:30 pm in the Old Rochester Regional High School Auditorium.

Mattapoisett Finance Committee

By Marilou Newell