The Rochester Board of Health on December 7 reviewed a draft letter that will request “slowing down” the implementation of proposed new and potentially expensive state septic-system installation regulations.

            Town Health Director Karen Walega said the Department of Environmental Protection is proposing to require nitrogen-reduction systems for even existing septic systems. This new regulation, she said, would require costly system upgrades or require the town to apply for a Watershed Area designation permit.

            The latter would give the town 20 years to see where the water-polluting nitrogen is coming from, she said. This complicated, equally expensive process would have to succeed at reducing the pollutant.

            Otherwise, even the elderly and homeowners on fixed incomes would have to pay up to $50,000 above their other septic-system costs for a new mechanical system including denitrification technology. And that does not include the electricity to run the new fan-based systems, roughly $70 to $80 per month.

            The new system has only gotten “provisional” approval from the DEP, Walega said. Yet the DEP is speeding through the new regulation’s approval process; the current implementation target date is January 3, 2023.

            The town, explained Walega, needs to request the state slow down with that process until more information can be gathered. “We need to all sit down with the DEP,” she said. “We need to slow this down and everyone have a seat at the table to discuss this.”

            Board of Health Chairman David Souza and the other members agreed to have a final draft of its letter to the state ready to be sent by early this week. “There are other systems like it that don’t cost as much and might work more efficiently,” Souza said. “We’ve got to slow them down.”

            Walega noted that while the south coast is being targeted in Phase One of the state’s plan, “This is a state-wide problem,” she said. A Conservation Law Foundation lawsuit regarding high nitrogen pollution in the state’s groundwater is a main reason for this action, she added. “But towns have been called to the table for their input. … Rochester has 2,900 homes. How will we finance that many homeowners? Financially, people just can’t do it.”

            “I’m all for protecting the environment,” Souza said. “But we have to use common sense.”

            Elsewhere on the December 7 agenda, the Board of Health approved a percolation-rate variance to allow the building of a home and farmstand at the 58.5-acre Elliot Farm on Marion Road.

            Souza said the soil there is in “beautiful” condition but will need a lot of fill because it is not too far from land that is wet. He and fellow board members said they were very much in favor of seeing this property developed as planned.

            Also, the board approved the $6,800 recycling/landfill contract with Tighe and Bond for next year.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Health is scheduled for Wednesday, January 4, 2023, at 4:00 pm in the Town Hall Meeting Room, 1 Constitution Way, Rochester.

Rochester Board of Health

By Michael J. DeCicco

            The Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals opened a public hearing on December 8 into a plan to build an 80×204-foot steel building with 10 separate bays and 16,320 square feet of floor space at 19 Country Road. But the board could not even come close to rendering a decision.

            Neighbors who are so concerned about the scale of the plan that they hired an attorney, expressed objections that led the petitioners Robert and Christine Murphy to request a continuance to January 26.

            The Murphys said they were blindsided by their neighbors’ reaction and wanted more time to be better prepared, including contacting their own attorney. They said the neighbors seemed okay with their plan to build a garage when the couple first discussed it with them. “We had no idea they were upset with this plan,” Christine Murphy said.

            Robert Murphy started the hearing by noting the first of his two requests before the Zoning panel is for a special permit to rent this garage space to people who are already storing items on his large property. He would fill the other parts of the garage with his own equipment and his race cars so he could store them and work on them in the winter. His other request before the panel is a variance to run his trucking company with up to three employees there.

            Attorney Michael Kennefick, representing several of the abutters, countered that the proposed use does not belong where it is being planned. The site is in a residential-agricultural zone, and it is surrounded by neighbors. There is a junkyard that is an isolated, non-agricultural use in that area, but Murphy’s trucking company is an unlawful operation in that location, Kennefick asserted.

            To buttress his argument, Kennefick noted a use approved by the ZBA “must be in harmony with the intent of the town bylaw. The number of neighbors here proves this would not be in harmony.”

            Abutter Amy Bennett, 9 County Road, said she and her husband Kevin have a “medically delicate,” wheelchair-bound child. “I’m concerned about what this does to all our lives,” she said. “We have a brand-new deck. From it, we see wrecked vehicles and all the trucks. There’ll be more noise; more trucks will come and go. I never thought I’d be here to stop an industrial use in a residential area. And it will devalue our property. This is really too much.”

            Christine Murphy said she had thought she and her husband had a great relationship with the neighbors. She said they have helped them with their own projects. They are cleaning up their property that the neighbors see from their yards. The new building, she said, “is going to block looking at that junkyard.”

            Board Chairman Thomas Flynn encouraged the Murphys to talk to the neighbors as well as their lawyer before January 26.

            In other action, the Zoning panel approved a setback-requirement variance at 3 County Road to allow the building of a 20×16-foot deck closer than the required 40 feet from the side setback. Board members acknowledged in their motion that the size of the house lot and the location of the septic system would make it a hardship to place the deck elsewhere on the lot.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for Thursday, December 22, at 7:15 pm in the Town Hall meeting room, 1 Constitution Way, Rochester.

Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals

By Michael J. DeCicco

            Having seen the Town of Rochester push back on the state’s winter-2023 timeframe to implement a new regulation requiring septic owners in designated nitrogen-sensitive areas to install expensive denitrification systems, Mattapoisett Board of Health Chairman Carmelo Nicolosi was eager to follow suit when the board met on December 8.

            A debate is growing as to the source of the nitrogen that is polluting the harbors along the south coast and Cape Cod.

            The effort to arrive at reliable conclusions includes surveying for a Nitrogen Sensitive Watershed Study and discussions with the state Department of Environmental Protection about funding the work.

            According to Mattapoisett Land Trust President Mike Huguenin, the mouth of the Mattapoisett River is “very degraded.” A new map produced in 2021 indicates that 50 acres of eel grass has been lost to the mouth of the river and is now “mud flat” according to Huguenin, who recommended the board consult with Buzzards Bay expert Joe Costa.

            In answer to Nicolosi’s question as to any uniformity of results from water testing for nitrogen, Huguenin indicated that going back 20 to 30 years, nitrogen levels were higher in places such as Tub Mill Brook. While up-river nitrogen levels are now somewhat lower, the levels in the harbor itself are trending slightly upward. The data, said Huguenin, is subject to interpretation. “Depends on how you squint at it,” he said.

            While MassDEP is not backing off its timeline for implementation, certain things must happen first that could leverage delays. For instance, the Town of Fairhaven has yet to identify a nitrogen-sensitive area, a task that could delay implementation anywhere from 18 months to two years.

            Fairhaven, along with host Mattapoisett, Marion and to a lesser extent Rochester, is a member of the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District. When the state identifies nitrogen-sensitive areas, it will look at watershed districts.

            The monthly public meetings of the MRV’s Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee and District Commission were to be held on Tuesday.

            While the Environmental Protection Agency has yet to implement a total maximum daily load (TMDL), Nasketucket Bay State Reservation is expected to become the first Mattapoisett area targeted by the state’s septic plan, followed by Aucoot Cove and Mattapoisett Harbor. Any watershed that integrates towns, golf courses and sewerage will be evaluated.

            Bob Field of Field Engineering has been hired by the town to conduct testing and mapping to determine Mattapoisett’s major nitrogen sources, be it farms, septic systems or birds. To finance the research and field work, the town will try to secure some grant funding.

            In other business, the board approved two applications for projects on residential properties. The board granted a variance to allow a 3.6-foot separation from the groundwater table to the base of the septic system at 108 Acushnet Road and approved the relocation of a septic system to the rear of a house on Randall Road.

            The board also discussed a lack of adequate feedback regarding a potential, regional recycling center at the town’s transfer station off Tinkham Hill Road.

            Earlier this year, a private company visited the transfer station to propose the center it would finance and build, inviting residents in surrounding municipalities to participate. The host town holds the first right of refusal in processing food waste up to the capacity allowed at the site.

            State mandates are on the horizon that would require shipping food waste out of town, a costly exercise and one that local taxpayers would not be able to control.

            Finally, the board approved Health Agent Gail Joseph’s proposed policy on the use of its truck, along with associated expenses and reimbursements.

            The next public meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Health was not set upon adjournment.

Mattapoisett Board of Health

By Mick Colageo

The December 12 meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission was one of those rare occasions when a municipal board gets to hear from the youth in the community. Coming before the commission on this night was Boy Scout Murray Copps to discuss his Eagle project.

            Copps has secured permission from various private-property owners, whose holdings include marshlands, to install bird boxes for Tree Swallows.

            Marshy areas are the species’ preferred nesting site. Copps said that the birds feed on mosquitos, which carry Eastern Equine Encephalitis (“Triple E.”) He went on to say that Tree Swallows are a bird species “in decline,” his point being that the establishment of nesting boxes not only helps the birds but us as well.

            Conservation Commission Chairman Mike King called it a great project and good idea, while noting that the commission appreciated learning about the project but that permissions were not necessary, as long as the property owners gave permission. “This falls under wildlife enhancement,” he pointed out.

            Copps said the plan is to install approximately 12 boxes 40 feet apart while standing 5 feet above the marshes. He said the project will be completed by mid-January.

            In other business, a Notice of Intent filed by McGrath Realty Trust, 0 Cove Street, for the construction of a gravel parking area was continued until January 9. Bob Field of Field Engineering, representing the McGraths, was asked to submit a formalized plan that included the removal of boulders and a remediation planting plan.

            Three certificates of compliance were issued to Armand Cortellesso, Brandt Point Road Builders LLC. Cortellesso will receive the signed releases after confirmation by the commission’s agent that site clean-up and proper positioning of wetlands signage has taken place.

            An After the Fact Request for Determination of Applicability filed by John Romanelli, 15 Howard Beach, received a negative determination.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for Monday, January 9, at 6:30 pm.

Mattapoisett Conservation Commission

By Marilou Newell

After Bernie Lynch of Community Paradigm Associates explained that “the numbers we used to see for these jobs have been cut by at least a third” and told the story of a recent search that yielded 13 candidates, only one of whom had been a town manager, the challenge facing a smaller town like Marion became clear.

            The Marion Town Administrator Screening Committee held a public meeting on December 8 to officially launch its part in the search for a replacement for Jay McGrail, who left last month to become town manager in Middleborough, a town of five times Marion’s population.

            “The town administrator for a 4,000 population is the same as a town manager for 25,000, so that’s where we’re coming into the problem,” said Select Board Chairman Randy Parker.

            Noting that Marion had 39 applicants the last time, Parker was eager to add that McGrail was not in the first batch of applicants for the job. He told the committee he believes one among those 39 has once again applied.

            Marion, according to Lynch, fits the entry-level profile for candidates. The committee’s job is to work with Lynch in whittling down the list to bring two to four finalists to the Select Board.

            “After that, there really isn’t a way to get candidates before the board,” said Lynch. “You can give all the resumes to the Select Board, but then they go public … their jobs can be in jeopardy so (the screening process) helps get the best candidates possible.”

            Some towns, explained Lynch, form screening, search and selection committees, but the process is the same as almost all other searches that Community Paradigm Associates has conducted based on his vast background of 40-plus years in town management.

            Lynch was town manager in Chelmsford, then city manager in Lowell for almost eight years, double the average town-manager tenure. Lowell is the state’s fifth most-populated city behind Cambridge.

            In 2014, Lynch left Lowell to pursue other interests, including teaching, consulting, government- relations work and recruitment.

            He has taught political science at UMass Lowell and joined Suffolk University to teach a local-government certification program in an effort to try to develop a new generation of town administrators. McGrail came out of the program.

            “Jay is really one of the good students that we had come through,” said Lynch, who is seeing several now finding jobs. “I think there might be a couple in this batch of candidates.”

            According to Lynch, Community Paradigm Associates has conducted over 90 searches in Massachusetts since 2015. It is the state’s most active recruiting firm, according to Lynch, and has led the way to more town management hires than all other firms put together.

            Lynch personally led the search that yielded McGrail, and he will once again lead this search. He said the last five years have seen mostly retirements among town managers. Generation-X, he said, did not choose government as a career.

            “That’s created a hole,” Lynch said, but was optimistic having previewed the initial group of applicants for Marion’s opening. “There are some very good candidates here.”

            Once the Screening Committee recommends finalists, Community Paradigm Associates will contact references and conduct background checks. Initial steps have already begun. Unless the Select Board sees fit to call back the Screening Committee, its work is completed once the finalists are chosen.

            Marion Finance Director/Town Accountant Judy Mooney is serving as interim town administrator.

            Parker was voted chairman of the Screening Committee and Zoning Board of Appeals Chairperson Cynthia Callow to serve as clerk. The other members of the committee are Building Commissioner Bob Grillo, Finance Committee member Jay Pateakos and citizen at large Mike Sudofsky.

            After Lynch finished answering questions from the committee, the members entered executive session to review resumes.

            The committee did not set a date for its next meeting upon adjournment.

Marion Town Administrator Screening Committee

By Mick Colageo

            In his Tata & Howard Report to Tuesday’s monthly public meeting of the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission, Jon Gregory reported a December 19 meeting with Koch Separation Solutions at the Mattapoisett Water Treatment Plant to go over the filter-changeover schedule.

            “We’ll be operating two systems at the same time,” said Gregory, whose goal is to lay everything out on the table for a last design meeting prior to construction phases.

            The meeting will include confirmation of all piping connections, especially as they affect the retrofitting of the new filtering system into the existing plant.

            “We’re living in a time where lead times on equipment are very difficult,” said Gregory, noting that the MRV is still waiting on SRF funding.

            Citing the goal to push everything out in one bid because there is a certain window of opportunity to do the work during the winter, Gregory said he is proceeding toward a 50% design. Filters must be taken offline while new ones are brought online, and Tata & Howard has reached out to MassDEP to discuss testing during the changeover period.

            “They basically said we would have to go ahead and do a permit waiver,” said Gregory, outlining a sequence to submit the plan to DEP, all the while acknowledging potential pitfalls. “We’re going to need to do a shutdown to get the skids online.” DEP will require more information as part of the permitting process.

            Retiring engineer Paul Howard said, “We’re really looking at the winter of 2024-25 for the construction to be done.”

            “In a normal supply-chain environment, this (timeline) would be less,” said Gregory.

            Mattapoisett Town Administrator Mike Lorenco asked if, “for the next two years, do we have concerns for keeping the current (plant as is) operational?”

            Howard said the plant is in solid working operation, but he admitted to being nervous because the present filter system has already outlasted its projected useful life by several years.

            MRV Chairman Vinnie Furtado was blunt in his assessment.

            “In Fairhaven, we have a tremendous concern over here. The filters are failing. Kudos to Henri Renauld and the staff. What was supposed to be seven years became 14 years,” he said. “We get (complaints) all over. It’s embarrassing. We’re not providing unsafe drinking water, but we’re certainly providing unsightly (water.)”

            Lorenco said he also receives complaints. “I just want to make sure if we’re going to have this operational for two years … I guess preparing for that would be a good idea,” he said.

            Furtado said Fairhaven has received $300,000 in ARPA funding to flush his town’s water.

            “We have to be up front with people and let them know. As time’s going on, the calls have become more frequent from the folks who have dirty water somewhere,” said Furtado, noting that voters approved a remedy in Town Meeting in 2022 that is, thanks in part to COVID-related delays, two years away.

            Before the Town of Fairhaven agrees to attach a cell-phone antenna to a water tower on Sconticut Neck Road, Furtado insisted the MRV discuss the matter.

            “Providing water is the most important thing we do,” he said, noting that cell service is so spotty in the area that the MRV distributes hand-held radios to the staff. Fairhaven would receive a rental fee on a lease.

            At Furtado’s request, Rich Feeley and Rossana Ferrante of Network Building were on hand to present to the commission on the cell tower proposal.

            Ferrante called it a “due-diligence piece” to stress that Network Building is cognizant of other cellular carriers, be it in a hospital or on a tower. “We work with the other carriers to make sure there isn’t any interference,” she said. “Antennas do not get installed without a lot of consideration.”

            While a three-sided monopole is considered the best design option provided adequate space, Feeley noted that Sprint recently built a fiberglass steeple atop a southeastern Massachusetts church that could not afford to rebuild its steeple. The cellular signal goes through the fiberglass.

            Furtado, the DPW director for Fairhaven, told the commission that a past proposal was not approved by the town “because of concerns over communication between the water plant and the tower.”

            A typical term for lease agreements for cell-phone carriers is 20 years.

            Gregory sent the budget out on December 12 for a final look by commission members. The total assessment for FY24 is $2,357,300, a 3.2% increase from FY23.

            “We went over these numbers and tried to make it as acceptable as we could to the communities … yeoman’s task by Jon,” said Furtado.

            Feedback indicated the MRV may need to increase its reserve fund for next year.

            The commission voted to contract Tata & Howard to put together the annual report.

            The commission reported $91,700.73 in total invoices for the month.

            Tuesday’s meeting of the MRV was meant to be the last for Howard, who was thanked by Furtado, the MRV Water District Commission and Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee for his assistance over the years.

            “It’s not often you can get a group of towns that work so harmoniously as this one does. It’s been a pleasure working with you guys,” said Howard, who told both groups he will still be available for consultation. He will remain on the board at Tata & Howard.

            The next meeting of the MRV Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at 3:30 pm with the MRV Water District Commission meeting to immediately follow at 4:00 pm on the same Zoom call.

MRV Water District Commission/Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee

By Mick Colageo