The boating season has ended, and the Marion Harbormaster Department has cleared the outer harbor of 5 mile-per-hour markers, so all remaining markers are in the inner harbor, including red and green markers with a couple of rock markers left, it was announced at Monday night’s meeting of the Marion Marine Resources Commission at the Music Hall.

            The work of relocating moorings is in progress in Marion Harbor, and department staff went through entire inner harbor. Harbormaster Isaac Perry said they have identified the “more-egregious” permit holders and whittled down to two moorings in order to relocate a small vessel to where a 45-footer was parked. The goal is to permit by March.

            “People were overall receptive to it; there’s one holdout that I’ve got to work with,” said Perry. “We’re trying to take it piece by piece, going after the obvious ones.”

            The waiting list for a mooring in Marion Harbor is approximately 170 deep. Perry said that smaller boats move up the list more rapidly. Whereas a 40- to 45-foot boat will not get a mooring for 20 or 25 years, vessels measuring under 25 feet tend to move up in approximately 10 years.

            Renewals are coming back, Perry said, noting that if applicants miss two subsequent years, they fall off the waiting list.

            “We take the additional steps to record all that stuff. … it’s case by case,” he said. “If you intend to stay on the list and pay the back-renewals, I’ll put you back on the list.”

            There have been more mooring assignments and relocations than in the past.

            “We’re pretty pleased with the movement that we’ve seen on that list,” said Perry, who does not blame Covid or economics for the increase. “A lot of stuff has been moving. Trying to get those larger vessels on moorings that are more suitable. … It’s starting to move, but people are receptive to it.”

            In one case, two moorings were swapped, allowing the Harbormaster Department to get rid of a triangle shape; now there are 1.5 acres set aside for anchorage, an area that depending on the size of the vessels, could accommodate four or five boats.

            There is a moratorium on new moorings in the outer harbor with a cap of 1,414. Perry estimates there are 995 moorings in Marion’s inner harbor. The outer 350 moorings are spread out in the Aucoot, Planting Island, Blankenship, Weweantic and Wings coves.

            Addressing access issues, Perry said a waiting list is up in Wings Cove. He said that 98 moorings were originally permitted there, and he estimates between 45 and 50 boats at present.

            Size is apparently not a confining factor at Piney Point, said Perry, where a 60-footer is permitted. “Draft is an issue, but you get some fairly deep water at Piney Point,” he said, noting that Marion or Rochester residents (the latter with an additional sticker requirement) are allowed. “It’s not ideal over there.”

            Aucoot Cove, he said, offers no public access and is “all driven by the residents.” Indian Cove, he added, did allow access, “but that’s gone away.”

            The department has pumped out 900 boats (and 16,000 gallons), but Perry told the MRC, “It’s really the same boats over and over again. A lot of boats don’t have heads … this is the norm, we’re a little ahead of the game.”

            Deputy Harbormaster/Shellfish Officer Adam Murphy reported on maintenance work and the activity of hauling in floats, something he expects to conclude over the next couple of weeks and to “get that pump-out station tied up for the winter.”

            Perry is looking to get everything wrapped up and out of the water and all boats off the docks by November 1. That is two weeks sooner than the former out-of-the-water date.

            It is already time to begin FY24 budget discussions. Perry anticipates that boat maintenance, which has been outsourced, looms as only significant increase on the horizon. The counter-rotating motor in the patrol boat will be the main expense.

            The state Seaport Economic Council application beat the deadline, and a November meeting may yield a result as to whether the new Marine Center will have its final $1,000,000 grant for construction. “We hope to hear sooner rather than later … if so, great, it’s the last piece of the puzzle. If not, then we need to look elsewhere (for the funding),” said Perry.

            The Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) Bridge Academy for police-reform training will include 120 hours online and 80 hours in person in Randolph. Bridge Academy training is free, except for material costs estimated at $1,500. Certification is a three-year process after which reserve officers emerge as law-enforcement officers (there is no more full- and part-time distinction.)

            Murphy is ahead of Perry in the process and is about to start scheduling in-person classes. The work must be completed by the end of June, but Perry says he wants to get it out of the way by the end of April, certainly in May, as seasonal work for 2023 picks up.

            In his Shellfish Management report to the commission, Murphy explained that Tabor Academy has worked with the town to take over propagation, using town’s upweller. “Then students use it with their biology program, so they’re cleaning them and raising them and putting them in bags,” he said, noting that the shellfish is in floating bags in front of the school. “We’ll figure out the best way to get those out.”

            The department also reports that there is a lot more recreational fishing going on this year.

            New members present at Monday night’s meeting included Cheryl Souza (full member) and Ray Cullum (associate.)

            The Marion Marine Resources Commission set its next meeting for Monday, November 21, at 7:00 pm, at the Music Hall.

Marion Marine Resources Commission

By Mick Colageo

The Rochester Select Board Monday night unanimously approved the Host Agreement that will plant “Megan’s Organic Market,” a cannabis retail store, within the Rochester Crossroads mixed-use development at Routes 58 and 28.

            Before the approval vote, Town Administrator Glenn Cannon and Town Counsel Blair Bailey reported the agreement includes the state-required mandate that the town will receive 3% of its revenues. Plus, the store will have to pay an impact fee of up to $100,000 after its first year of operation.

            Bailey said this fee will be based on the business’s actual impact on the town’s infrastructure after that year.

            The pact also notes the business agreed to contribute some sort of “community investment” to the town, Bailey said. But the specifics of that are yet to be determined, he explained.

            Company principal Nick Andrian told the selectmen in his first meeting with them in August that the company’s typical design is to place the actual products on display on the store shelves, not behind the checkout counter. But since Massachusetts does not allow that, the Rochester store will display “dummy packaging” that customers can take to the counter to do the actual ordering.

            The selectmen started Monday’s meeting with a trio of Rochester Police Department promotions. The board approved Chief Robert Small’s recommendation to appoint Emmanuel Matias, currently a part-time patrolman, to a full-time position. Brendan Emberg was promoted from full-time officer to detective. Officer Jason Denham was promoted to sergeant.

            Next came appointments to the town’s new Personnel Board, an effort sparked by the fact that Rochester, until now, had no such committee to handle the town’s personnel issues.

            The Personnel Board Appointing Authority consisting of Select Board Chairman Woody Hartley, Town Moderator David Arancio and Finance Committee Chairman Kris Stoltenberg appointed to the new board: Marion’s deputy harbormaster and shellfish officer Adam Murphy, retired U.S. Coast Guard officer and Marion firefighter Peter Bourgault, and Christine Nash, a retired educator and school superintendent from four school districts.

            Before the vote, Hartley said until now the town has relied on the town administrators and others with little applicable experience for its decisions on human-resources issues. “It’s an area we need to strengthen,” he said.

            Appointing Authority members said the new board will now handle matters such as cost-of-living increases, pay-step increases and grievances.

            The board then approved two more projects for funding out of the $10,000 that Covanta Company’s recent “outreach contribution” recently gave to the town. The money will go to the Facilities Department to irrigate the athletic fields and to replace athletic field bleachers. The board had previously endorsed the use of these funds for a Police Department emergency restraint chair.

            Cannon announced that $50,000 in state funding facilitated by Senator Michael Rodrigues has been received for the Council on Aging to buy a new minivan for senior transportation. Funds totaling another $50,000 facilitated by Representative William Straus have been received for the Public Safety Infrastructure Feasibility Study.

            The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 31, at 6:00 pm at Town Hall and accessible via Zoom.

Rochester Select Board
by Michael J. DeCicco

            How to replace Jay McGrail, Marion’s town administrator of the past three years, was officially addressed by the Select Board for the first time during Monday night’s public meeting at the Police Station.

            McGrail won the job as Middleborough’s new town manager on October 11 with a unanimous vote of its Select Board. His final day working for Marion will be Friday, November 11.

            “I’m most proud of the team we have built,” said McGrail, who was effusive in his praise of Finance Director Judy Mooney, whom he touted for the interim role of town administrator following his impending departure from the Marion job. “I’ve worked with Judy hand in hand, every single, solitary day for three years. There’s nothing she hasn’t done.”

            The Select Board enthusiastically agreed with McGrail about Mooney’s performance and voted unanimously to name her the interim town administrator.

            In the immediate, the board also voted at McGrail’s recommendation to retain Bernie Lynch, founder and managing principal of Plymouth-based Community Paradigm Associates, to conduct a job search at a cost of $9,500.

            McGrail said Lynch’s initial steps will be calling the three Select Board members for initial guidance, then hold discussions with all Marion department heads. He would present a complete package for the board’s consumption at its November 1 meeting, then post the job that night or the next day. On November 1, it is anticipated that the Select Board will appoint a screening committee for the first round of applicants.

            Select Board member Toby Burr sought to confirm that the process is “not ironclad,” to which fellow member Norm Hills replied, “There’s a lot of flexibility.”

            Middleborough will be McGrail’s second job in the general role, and at 72.2 square miles (second in Massachusetts only to Plymouth) not only is Middleborough geographically nearly three times Marion’s size, the landlocked community that dominates Route 495 between Wareham and Route 24 has approximately five times Marion’s population at over 25,000.

            Atop that, the operations model of town manager will place McGrail in greater authority that he has had as town administrator in Marion.

            McGrail begins his new job on November 21.

            The board also voted to approve a contract amendment drawn up by Town Counsel Jon Witten that covers the timeline of McGrail’s departure.

            Marion’s Energy Management Committee prepared long and hard to use its 6:15 pm appointment with the Select Board to spread awareness and of its work and successes, to stress the need for a municipal grant writer to sustain its work and to urge the board to consider its recommendations to use the two, ongoing, major municipal construction projects as opportunities to make Marion a leader in what the EMC insists must be a locally driven revolution away from fossil fuels.

            Led by Chairman Christian Ingerslev, several EMC members including Jennifer Francis, Tom Friedman, Eileen Marum, Alanna Nelson and Bill Saltonstall all reported to the Select Board on various projects undertaken in recent months by the committee.

            Saltonstall gave a brief synopsis of the town’s progression to become a state-recognized Green Community, highlighting Marion’s five-year reduction of municipal energy use by 18.7%, nearly reaching 20%, a number that triggers more grant-funding opportunities with the state agency.

            To date, Green Communities grants coming into Marion total $691,667. Francis credits the efforts of former Town Planner Gil Hilario, who regularly attended many municipal public meetings as the town’s unofficial remote-meeting manager.

            Hilario’s research into grant-funding opportunities was lauded by Francis, but in the throes of the Covid pandemic, the departure of Lockheed Martin and major municipal and private construction projects, McGrail’s intentions to split grant-writing duties with new Town Planner/Conservation Agent Doug Guey-Lee have not been able to match Hilario’s allocation of time.

            “There’s a lot of opportunity coming down the pike, and if we’re not ready to go, we’re going to miss the boat,” said Francis.

            In response to the committee’s concerns regarding communication with the Select Board, Chairman Randy Parker encouraged the EMC to make regular appearances before the board and delved into discussion about the Department of Public Works construction and its capacity for solar, highlighting opportunistic points at which the EMC should prepare to interject energy-related proposals.

            In reporting long-term cost savings via the replacement of oil and gas-burning systems with electricity, the EMC concluded its report by tossing a question to the Select Board.

            “This has to be the decade that we pull back from climate change, and it has to start at the local level,” said Ingerslev. “What can the committee do to assist the town? We work for you.”

            “You’ve given us a lot to think about,” said Hills, indicating that a proper answer would take some time to formulate.

            In a 6:30 pm appointment, DPW Interim Director Becky Tilden and Jody Dickerson reported on staffing updates, announcing that in the wake of departures of the town’s plumber and mechanic, Andrew Leconte has been moved into the mechanic’s position and Heath Harriman is now a DPW foreman.

            McGrail credited Tilden’s leadership in the recent purchase of a street sweeper and dump truck.

            His update on the DPW Building Committee during his Town Administrator’s Report rebooted discussion with EMC members.

            McGrail also announced the timeline of a hire for the Board of Assessors in the wake of assessor Catherine Gibbs’ passing. A joint appointment with the Select Board will be made. The application deadline for the job is November 10. Interviews will be conducted in joint session on November 15, and a joint vote is planned for December 6.

            The Select Board also voted to approve: to formalize a winter-maintenance agreement for up to 13 private roads, Steen Realty’s installation of sub-metering at Marion Village Estates, the Marion Library Association Agreement, the Warrant for the November 8 General Election and designation of Chief of Police Richard Nighelli to assign a detail.

            In attendance, developer Ken Steen explained that the submetering is not being done for billing purposes but to “monitor consumption … savings and conservation. … Otherwise, there’s just no way that we can do it.” Installation will take place with oversight from the DPW.

            The town will hold a Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, November 11, at Old Landing with Marion Technical Sergeant Randy Gibbons as guest speaker.

            The Town House will close on Wednesday, November 23, at 12:00 pm and remained closed through the weekend per union contract. The Transfer Station will also be closed on Friday but will reopen on Saturday, November 26.

            The next meeting of the Marion Select Board is scheduled for Tuesday, November 1, at 6:00 pm at the Marion Police Station on Route 6.

Marion Select Board

By Mick Colageo

               The Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals started its October 13 meeting by honoring one of its veteran former members.

               Kirby Gilmore, 77, retired this year after 42 years of service on the zoning panel. Last Thursday, he was awarded a certificate of appreciation, “for many years of Community Service and Dedication to the Town of Rochester and its residents.”

               When he accepted the certificate from ZBA Chairman David Arancio, Gilmore was humble yet obviously proud. “I started in 1980 on this board as an alternate,” he said. “I served a lot of years. It’s just nice to see other people stepping up to volunteer.”

               In an obvious nod to his successor on the board, newly appointed full member Donald Spirlet, he said, “You’ve got good people now.”

               The board then turned to a public hearing that attracted several neighbors of 635 Mary’s Pond Road. Surprisingly, the neighbors were there to support, rather than oppose, Rochester firefighter/paramedic Patrick Flanagan’s request for zoning variances to erect a 24×40-foot addition to his home for his elderly parents and a 36×70-foot garage on his small, 1.1-acre lot.

               Flanagan said his plan is to move his mother and father to his home address because they are in their sixties and seventies (respectively) and in failing health. He said he wants to avoid sending them to a nursing home. “I’ve seen how the system treats seniors,” he said. “I don’t want that for them.”

               He also wants to install a prefabricated, Hansen-style, barn-like garage with a metal roof to store his boat, which is now in storage elsewhere and his tools. He said he would like to work on his boat in the wintertime and pursue his hobby of fixing cars.

               The addition will be closer than the 40 feet from the side-lot setback that is allowed in the zoning bylaw, approximately 29 feet back instead. Flanagan said his lot is very narrow on the west side of the lot because of the property’s configuration.

               The garage will be larger than the 1,000 square feet that the bylaw allows for an accessory structure.

               The ZBA unanimously approved the variance after neighbors in the hearing room voiced their support.

               Bob St. Orange of 627 Mary’s Pond Road said he was there to say “I have no problem with his plan.”

               Even ZBA member Jeffrey Costa, who recused himself from voting on the variances because he is also Flannagan’s abutter, said, “I have absolutely no issues with this plan.”

               Neighbor Melissa Dougall added, “I think it’s a great idea. He’s a good neighbor.”

               When motioning his approval vote, zoning panel member Richard Cutler said, “We call this an in-law apartment. And I’d like to see more of them. It would help a lot of people.”

               “No neighbors are complaining,” Spirlet said. “It all looks good to me.”

               The variances were approved with the conditions that the dwellings will not be converted into a multifamily house, no on-street parking, no commercial use and in the case of the variance for the garage, no housing of animals.

               Meanwhile, a hearing into a project at 0 Quaker Lane on the October 13 agenda was continued until October 27 at the request of the petitioner’s attorney. Variances at that address are being requested for the construction of a single house which does not meet minimum lot requirements. Several attendees who were obviously there for that hearing swiftly exited after the announcement.

               The next meeting of the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals will be held on Thursday, October 27, at the town’s office building, 1 Constitution Way, also accessible via Zoom.

Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals

By Michael J. DeCicco