The award letter has gone out to the winning bidder for the clear-and-grub contract for the Point Road Bike Path, but interested parties had not been notified as of the July 27 special public meeting of the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission because the commission had yet to receive a signed contract.

            Meantime, MOSAC Chairman John Rockwell was voted approval to sign on behalf of the commission. He explained during the Zoom meeting that if for any reason, the contract is not signed, MOSAC would go to the next highest bidder on the list.

            MOSAC member Deb Ewing noted that the town drafted the contract and said she is in favor of Rockwell signing on behalf of the commissioners.

            Rockwell was also voted by MOSAC members to act as project manager for the clear-and-grub contract work.

            As an example of the project manager’s role, Rockwell posed a scenario of large rocks and ledge as not being covered by the contract and the potential need to instruct the contractor on a course of action should those elements be encountered.

            MOSAC member Marc Sylvia asked if there is a threshold amount of money that should trigger greater involvement of the commission beyond what the project manager should decide.

            “We specifically said in the RFR that you don’t have to move ledge because it costs a lot of money, but if they hit ledge …” said Rockwell, noting that ledge is not subject to frost heaves. “If you want to put a dollar limit on that motion, that would be fine.”

            Visiting the site, Rockwell and Ewing borrowed some surveying equipment, and Rockwell said the measurements of the planned retaining wall met his estimations plus or minus a foot.

            In order, the clearing out of the bike path needs to be done first, according to Rockwell. “Otherwise, they would have an unfair advantage in bidding this out. You can’t do the retaining wall project until the other portion of the project in that area is complete,” he said.

            MOSAC would like to pay a per-yard price for fill to complete the 2,700-long trench to be topped with gravel.

            Ewing asked about the possibility of a visit from the Marion Department of Public Works to a MOSAC meeting. Rockwell said he has met with the DPW twice about the project.

            “If we run out of money at the end … a couple years from now and there’s some spots that are holding water because the road is not crowned sufficiently, you’ll get a puddle and that puddle will get bigger. It will require the addition of some stone dust. And somebody’s going to have to cut the grass,” he said.

            Ewing said that is why MOSAC has discussed having someone to oversee the entire project. “Is that, again, is that a reason we would try to get this with one contractor?” she asked. Rockwell said MOSAC does not have the funding for that option, but he doesn’t think the project is as complex as road construction because it’s gravel, not asphalt.

            Rockwell read resident Carol Molander’s submitted question into the record: “What will happen when a tree falls on the path? This is town property, the town should maintain it, the town approved the path.” He agreed with Molander’s contention and noted that MOSAC does not have the capacity to remove trees should one fall onto the path.

            Noting the town will eventually have a bike path measuring 3.5 miles long, Rockwell added that MOSAC does not have the capacity to mow the grass bordering the path.

            “We’re not a Parks Department,” he said. “I think directions have to come from Town Hall about maintenance of our open-space amenities.”

            While it’s not pragmatic for MOSAC to have maintenance staff because, unlike the Recreation Department, open space does not require regularly scheduled grooming. He said the matter remains under the Select Board’s purview.

            Resident Shaun Walsh, via the chat function in the Zoom meeting, noted that the DPW mows along the Creek Road multi-use path and suggested that should apply to the Point Road Bike Path. Rockwell agreed but said he cannot speak for the DPW.

            “Maybe we can have a Bike Path Friends group, but who knows? But I think it’s the town’s responsibility to take care – people want to walk and we’re giving them a place to walk,” said Rockwell. “It’s the town’s responsibility to take care of it. The maintenance is somebody has to run up and down the shoulders with a mower.”

            Ewing suggested Town Administrator Geoff Gorman needs to play a role in making sure the DPW understands its role where it concerns the Point Road Bike Path. Rockwell said he would be meeting with Gorman and would address the matter.

            MOSAC will meet again via Zoom on Thursday, August 3, at 7:00 pm.

Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission

By Mick Colageo

            Rochester’s Zoning Board of Appeals on July 27 shot down Building Commissioner Paul Boucher’s Cease and Desist order against the operation of a transportation company at 15 County Road.

            In response to an appeal of that order filed by homeowner Scot Machos, the ZBA overturned what Boucher said he issued after responding to a neighbor’s complaint and concluding that, under town bylaws, the resident’s transportation business was not an allowed use in a residential zone.

            Abutter Christine Murphy of 19 County Road said she and her husband lodged the complaint because of what they see daily. The driveway of 15 County points at their window, and Murphy said Machos and his family are constantly going in and out of their driveway and making noise while vacuuming and cleaning their vehicles.

            Machos said he utilizes three non-commercial, hybrid Toyotas for his transportation business. The drivers are all family members, and all the transportation work is done off site. Town Counsel Elizabeth Lydon said the bylaw allows home businesses, and tradespeople may park their work trucks at their homes. What to look for, Lydon said, is when employees, people who don’t live there, visit the address as part of the business.

            Zoning Board member Michelle Upton paved the way for the board’s decision by noting the resident does have a right to run this type of business from his home if the majority of the business is done off site. “I don’t see anything that goes against this bylaw,” Upton said.

            Board member Donald Spirlet said he agrees with Upton and wished Boucher had given further explanation of the reasons for his decision. Yet, Spirlet added, he might have made the same decision if he were the town’s building commissioner. “His job is to look at things in black and white,” Spirlet said. “For us, it’s more about the intent and the subtleties.”

            The final motion to overturn the building commissioner’s Cease and Desist order passed unanimously, 5-0.

            In its next major business of the evening, the board responded cautiously to Town Planner Nancy Durfee’s proposal to establish a four-member, By-Law Review working group to help rewrite and refine the town’s sometimes-problematic zoning regulations.

            On July 24, Durfee told the Rochester Select Board her vision is of a small group, rather than a formal committee, working to revise and correct problems within town zoning regulations. It would include a member of the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, herself and the building commissioner.

            At the July 27 ZBA meeting, Chairman David Arancio noted fellow member Richard Cutler has already served as a bylaw review committee chair. He said he, too, is interested in revising to improve these regulations. But he questioned the size and scope of Durfee’s plan, which is to create an informal working group, not a formalized committee. He said the plan needs further discussion.

            Clearly frustrated by the board’s response, Durfee said she sees this as the best way for the two boards with different approaches toward zoning regulations, the Planning Board and the ZBA, to revise and refine the bylaws to prepare the town for its future development.

            “I’ve been here two years, and I had already envisioned bylaw changes that are needed,” she said. “A small group is the best way to work. I have 20 years’ experience. I’m here to help this town, not change the world. A 40R development is coming to town. You need to know what kind of development you want.”

            Durfee acknowledged that she has already enlisted the help of ZBA member Thomas Flynn for this effort and added that she would keep formal meeting minutes if that is what town officials prefer.

            The meeting adjourned without a specific plan of action. “We will be continuing discussion,” Arancio said.

            Before adjournment, the ZBA approved a new building permit denial sheet created by Boucher, the building commissioner and zoning officer. Arancio was appointed as ZBA chairman for another year’s term, and Thomas Flynn as vice-chairman.

            The Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals’ next meeting will be held on Thursday, August 10, at 7:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester’s Zoning Board of Appeals

By Michael J. DeCicco