During the December 5 meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board, former member of the town’s long-defunct Open Space and Recreation Committee Bonne DeSousa raised the need for a committee to develop plans for the use of the former Holy Ghost grounds off Park Street.

            DeSousa noted that during the Fall Special Town Meeting, questions were raised when Article 8 came up. The article asked the voters to approve $150,000 for restrooms at the structure situated on the town-owned property.

            Town Administrator Mike Lorenco conferred with Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School, which ultimately agreed to do the carpentry work. He said at the time that if Mattapoisett could not commit to a schedule, the students would be assigned to another project, possibly terminating Mattapoisett’s opportunity for a cost-effective way to get the work done.

            Finance Committee member Colleen Trahan lodged a “nay” for Article 8 when the warrant was being discussed during the committee’s meeting leading up to Town Meeting. Her reasoning was straightforward, a plan for the property was needed before money should be spent on improvements. The majority of voters at Town Meeting thought otherwise. Article 8 passed 41 yes to 18 no.

            On Monday, DeSousa urged the Planning Board’s involvement in possibly developing a committee that would report to Town Meeting in the spring. She also pointed out that the town has not had an Open Space and Recreation Committee since 2016. In the absence of such an entity, DeSousa said the town cannot develop plans, and in the absence of a committee and a fully vetted plan, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation grants cannot be sought.

            Planning Board member John Mathieu said the Select Board is the body that should convene a committee, and in his opinion, “The town shouldn’t own property except for recreation.”

            The Select Board’s December 6 agenda lists discussion of the Holy Ghost grounds.

            In other business, the board approved the Form A request submitted by Next Grid Solar for the creation of three lots on Bowman Road. Before ending their discussion on the application, member Karen Field pointed out that the solar array on Bowman Road owned by Next Grid was “not tidy.” Rich Riccio of Field Engineering, representing Next Grid, said, “I don’t have anything at all to do with that project, but I’ll pass along the information to the owners.”

            David Andrews of the Bay Club came forward to share that letters from the Mattapoisett Highway Department and the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Department indicate no issues with roadways now ready for paving. There was some discussion as to whether it was prudent to pave roads with winter bearing down. Andrew will return to the board on December 19 to confirm the Bay Club’s decision to either finish paving now or ask for an extension and pave in the spring.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, December 19, at 7:00 pm.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

            The future of the Holy Ghost Grounds was a major discussion topic when the Mattapoisett Select Board met on Tuesday night. After hearing from voters at the Spring Special Town Meeting that planning was overdue on the 8-acre parcel located off Park Street, the board delved into which goes first: a plan or a public meeting to collect public feedback on uses for the town-owned property.

            There was considerable exchange over who should serve on a committee that will be charged with investigating the lay of the land to ascertain what type of modifications can be done, including ideas on best uses such as playgrounds, ball fields, a dog park, or bike path, to name a few.

            The board ultimately concurred that development of a committee should come first and that the makeup of that committee should include a member of the Planning Board, Recreation Department, Capital Planning, someone with interest and/or knowledge regarding Fremon Bauer’s proposed dog-park project, and a person 55 or older and recommended by the Council on Aging. Once the committee is established, the Select Board will then select two more committee members from the pool of letters of interest received from residents.

            The board also thought that ad-hoc members of the committee would be needed, drawing from members of the Highway Department, Police Department, Finance Committee and Administrator’s office.

            Bonne DeSousa, a former Open Space committee member (a committee currently not active) asked, as she had on the previous evening at the town’s Planning Board meeting, if a public information meeting could be arranged so that residents could voice their opinions and learn more about the property. But Select Board member Jordan Collyer thinks putting a committee in place first is necessary.

            Tyler Macallister, chairman of the Select Board, thinks the committee could develop a survey for gathering public input on uses for the parcel. Collyer said that public outreach will be a big part of the process but that discussions should be focused for the best use of everyone’s time and talent.

            In discussing possible uses, Town Administrator Mike Lorenco said that a full study of the property has not taken place but that it has water, a sewer stub, and the structure on the property has had roof repairs.

            Anyone interested in being considered as a committee member should send a letter of interest to Lorenco at Town Hall.

            Earlier in the meeting, the Select Board met with Kathleen Costello, administrator of Assessing, to set the 2023 tax classification. Costello reported that the total real and personal property assessed value for FY23 is $2,392,712,342, an increase of 13% over FY22. The average single-family home’s assessed value now stands at $658,604, a 14% increase over FY22.

            Costello’s report further stated that single-family homes will have an average tax bill of $7,409.30, a 3% increase over FY22. The report also included that total revenue to be raised by both tax and nontax sources for FY23 is $39,029,816.85, including Enterprise funds, an increase of 1.4% from FY22.

            The Select Board voted to stay with a single tax classification versus one for residential and one for commercial. “Only 6% is commercial,” Costello pointed out of all taxes collected.

            Costello previously informed the Board of Assessors that she would be retiring. Chairman of the Board of Assessors Ray Andrews publicly thanked Costello for her 11 years of dedicated service to the town.

            Collyer said, “Your candor has always been appreciated, you are best in class.” Macallister echoed those sentiments, saying, “It was always a pleasure to go into your office.”

            Costello responded, “It’s been my honor.” She thanked her staff for their work as well as the Board of Assessors. A search for her replacement has been underway by the Board of Assessors, Lorenco said, noting that Costello may stay on as a consultant during the transition after her December 16 departure date.

            In other business, the Select Board approved and signed numerous licenses for 2023, running the gamut of restaurants to automobile dealers. They also voted to appoint Jan Brodie as an alternate to the Zoning Board of Appeals and agreed that Select Board member Jodi Bauer should represent the board during the sale of the retired Fire Station.

            Lorenco said that he has been researching the charge (responsibilities and expectations) for the Tree Committee but as of yet had not found such a document. He said he would continue to try and locate the charge; barring that he said the board could write one.

            In a Right to First Refusal vote, the Select Board voted to not exercise that right on parcels totaling approximately 25 acres on Assessors Map 21, Lot 7, and Map 21, Lot 40. They voted to approve the installation of two new utility poles at 113 North Street, an application filed by Eversource. They also approved a request by the Mobil Station, 37 County Road, for an amendment to the existing fuel-storage tanks.

            Under News and Announcements, Lorenco reported that a joint meeting will be held with the Marine Advisory Board on Tuesday, December 20, at 5:30 pm to discuss design options for repairs and improvements for Long Wharf.

            And, last but not least, Lorenco invited one and all to the Holiday in the Park on Saturday, December 10, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, with a tree lighting, local food tastings, music and Santa.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board is scheduled for Saturday, December 10, at 5:30 pm.

Mattapoisett Select Board

By Marilou Newell

The Town of Rochester’s building commissioner for only eight months has resigned, but he has already been replaced.

            On Monday night, the Select Board announced that Carl Bizarro, who was appointed as building commissioner in March, handed in his letter of resignation on November 29, stating he will be resigning effective December 18. The board’s next motion was to appoint his replacement, Paul Boucher, who is currently the building commissioner in Carver.

            Before that vote, Town Administrator Glen Cannon noted Boucher was the second choice for the job when Bizarro was hired. Now it is Boucher’s turn to get the job because “it didn’t turn out to be a fit for Bizarro,” Cannon said.

            Cannon added that Bizarro was resigning to take another job in another town. He said the story was the same for the Building Department’s Administrative Assistant Patrice Braz, whose resignation the Select Board also announced Monday night, effective December 18. She, too, is leaving to accept another position, in the private sector.

            It is merely a coincidence of timing that the department is losing two of its personnel at the same time, Cannon said. Braz has served as the department’s administrative assistant for the past 12 years.

            The board began its meeting by appropriating the funds to place two pickleball courts at the Dexter Lane ball fields.

            Park Commissioner David Hughes said he has learned it would cost $3,100 to mark two Dexter Lane basketball courts for pickleball and acquire the pickleball nets that would be kept in a storage box between uses.

            Hughes said the commission budget does not have that kind of money but that the town could take the money out of beach-sticker revenues. “I was hoping you could do something about this tonight,” he said. “I have to let the contractor know tomorrow.”

            The selectmen approved the appropriation but not before making sure enough money was available. Select Board member Brad Morse said he was in favor of the plan but had questions about the money in that part of the budget. Cannon said the account is currently healthy at $50,500, but other draws on that money would actually put the account in an $8,000 hole.

            Morse hinted the town’s Reserve Account would again make up for that loss. He motioned to approve the expense, and the other members, Chairman Woody Hartley and Paul Ciaburri, swiftly agreed.

            The next topic was all about saving the town and residents’ money and headaches under newly proposed, state Title 5 septic-installation regulations.

            Town Health Director Karen Walega said the Department of Environmental Protection is proposing to require nitrogen-reduction systems even for existing septic systems. This new regulation, she said, would require expensive 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. Meanwhile, even the elderly and homeowners on fixed incomes would have to pay $16,000 to $22,000 above their other septic-system costs for a new mechanical system.

            The state-proposed system has only “provisional” approval from the DEP, Walega said. Yet the DEP is speeding through the new regulation’s approval process; the current comment period deadline for these new regulations is early December. The town, she said, needs to request the state slow down with that process until more information can be gathered.

            Hartley said Walega was right that “this is not the time of the year to do this. It’s as if they are just trying to push this through.”

            The Select Board unanimously agreed to request “slowing the process” through letters and telephone calls to Representative William Straus and Senator Michael Rodrigues.

            Ciaburri said he knows an acquaintance in Virginia who is using one of the new mechanical systems. “They don’t work,” Ciaburri noted. “He’s constantly pumping out his system.”

            Walega noted these mechanical systems are different than the gravity systems Rochester residents use. “They use electricity all the time. (The) electric bill will go up too.”

            The Town of Marion wrote a new bylaw earlier this year, requiring denitrification technology in any new septic installations or upgrades, but variances have been voted to multiple applicants. Recent denitrification systems approved by Marion’s Board of Health have been conditioned with a commitment in writing to engage in a prescribed maintenance and recordkeeping program.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Select Board is scheduled for Monday, December 19, at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, also remotely accessible live via Zoom.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco