Sippican Historical Society

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Marion (Old Rochester) is one of the oldest towns in the United States, and the Sippican Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of documentation on its historic buildings. In 1998, the Sippican Historical Society commissioned an architectural survey of Marion’s historic homes and buildings. Over 100 were cataloged and photographed. SHS will feature one building a week so that the residents of Marion can understand more about its unique historical architecture.

            The home at 304 Front Street, in the Old Landing area of Marion, was built in 1859 for shipbuilder David Hathaway. It ranks among the town’s most substantial Greek Revival residences and illustrates not only Marion’s mid-19th-century maritime prosperity, but also the Old Landing’s status as the home of sea captains. Hathaway built coastal schooners at his wharf, and these schooners were an important part of Marion’s economy. The coastal schooners carried salt to towns between Nova Scotia and the Carolinas. In fact, the operators of Marion’s coastal schooners named the town after Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion (known by the nickname “Swamp Fox”) of South Carolina, whose exploits in that area became well known to Marion mariners.

FinCom Expands Planning Process

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            Even household budgets require data to be effective in managing expenses and how those expenses will be funded. Now consider the monumental task of building a budget for a town, any town, with its various cost centers, revenue streams, and, of course, contingency for the unexpected. Data is king in drilling down and in projecting future financial needs.

            On January 28, the Mattapoisett Finance Committee, chaired by Pat Donoghue, came together remotely for its first in a long series of meetings, which will find the committee using new and or updated data provided by Town Administrator Mike Lorenco. With his background in finance, budget processes are in his wheelhouse.

            After providing an overview and introduction of new members Tom Kelly and former Selectman Tyler Macallister, Lorenco detailed his planning strategy for FY22, saying of the Capital Planning process: “The updated spreadsheet helps to explain how we are spending money in a more detailed fashion.”

            Donoghue responded, saying, “We want to be better prepared than we have been in the past.… I’m happy to see this.” One area that was briefly discussed was any cost savings from insurance carriers due to COVID-19. “I’m on the lookout for any temporary reductions.… Maybe sock those savings away,” she said.

            Another topic near and dear to Donoghue’s financial planning heart are school budgets. “The way we’ve been balancing the budget is based on lower enrollments and dropping teachers based on decreasing enrollment.… If they don’t reduce a teacher, we can’t meet contractual agreements, not at 2.5 percent.” She said that the per-pupil cost for grades K-6 was “off the charts.”

            Lorenco said one area to look at that might help to improve the ORR District’s School Choice program would be to invite the town of Acushnet to use a negotiated rate. He said a rate of $9,000 per year per student still does not cover the real costs associated with educating that child, but it’s better than the $5,000 the state now allows, he said.

            In a follow-up, Lorenco said that schools represent more than 50 percent of the overall town budget. To better understand the impact that funding schools has on the community, he has provided both the School and the Finance Committees with data covering enrollment trends for the past 15 years and per-pupil expenses. He offered website links that provide better insight into relevant school data located at mass.gov/municipal-databank-data-analytics-including-cherry-sheets, as well as profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/.

            For the town’s many departments, Lorenco said he has provided departmental comparisons, actuals, and trends, including those reported by other cities and towns, to help the Finance Committee through the analysis process. He also said he has advised department heads that level-funding, except for employment contracts, will be necessary for FY22.

            Another analysis and projection tool Lorenco has modified is the 10-year Capital Planning spreadsheet. He said that added to that analytic tool is not only the addition of building maintenance needs, roadway culvert design, and engineering and other heretofore-missing expense pieces, but also a column that directs how each line item will be funded, either by free cash, through debt, or grants.

            And let’s not forget new revenue sources. Lorenco shared his screen, which showed how much new revenue the town could have collected with a meals tax. Between 2012 and 2020, the town missed out on an estimated $800,000 in revenue. He believes that by establishing a 75-cent tax per $100 spent, the town could bring in new and much-needed money. “It spreads the cost of the town’s expenses over a larger group, not just the residents,” he explained. He said that 243 of the Commonwealth’s 351 communities now have a local meals tax.

            Other potential revenue sources Lorenco brought to light include a short-term rental tax of 3 percent, a local room tax of up to 6 percent for hotels, motels, and bed-and-breakfasts, and the current agreement being drawn up for a solar array at the town landfill. Of the array, Lorenco said that this project would “bring in multiple revenue sources, including a PILOT program.” Of the total package of revenue for this project alone, he said, “Annually, it could be a seven-figure sum; it’s much needed.”

            The Wanderer reached out to Capital Planning Chairman Chuck McCullough for his takeaways regarding the new format and process for capturing and funding capital needs.

            “Things are more detailed, more informative, more disciplined,” McCullough began. “We’ll include how each item will be funded, what revenue source.” He explained that in the past, free cash, enterprise funds, or grants were not specified for expenses at the front end and that having that information at the beginning of project evaluation “will make things a lot cleaner.” McCullough also said that Lorenco is providing department heads with much-needed data, giving those cost centers a more detailed approach to capital requests and budgets. He used the example of the new fire station, saying that for at least 15 years, the project was carried on the Capital Plan spreadsheet at $5 million, a construction project he says is now at $10 million.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for Thursday, February 4, at 4:00 pm.

Mattapoisett Finance Committee

By Marilou Newell

Groundhog Day at Mid-Winter 2021

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            We always welcome the arrival of mid-winter along the Southcoast of Buzzards Bay as a seasonal sense of satisfaction that the bleak shoreline outside our picture window is now six weeks behind us.

            On Groundhog Day, the sun rose a few minutes before 7:00 am and set at 5:00 pm for nine hours of daylight that will become 12 hours at the vernal equinox when the hours of light and shadow are the same all over the world.

            The annual ceremony of observance in this country is 130 years old since 1887 in the western agricultural custom of the Pennsylvania Dutch farmers that superseded a religious holiday of Candlemas when candles were lighted for a parade for recognition of the celestial station on earth for mid-winter. The groundhog replaced the badger as the original hibernating prophet in seeing or not seeing its shadow to predict the arrival of spring.

            My illustration is a drawing of a groundhog that came to be known as the celebrated Punxsutawney Phil on the shoulders of a member of the Grundsow Lodge with a top hat to formalize the traditional ritual.

            This moment in time broadcast widely on mass media features Phil being awakened from deep winter sleep and looking annoyed at his handler, who wears gloves to avoid being bitten. If Phil sees his shadow, it is a bad omen for a long winter, which to most people might seem to be the opposite of what might be the more logical deduction.

            However, this atmospheric phenomenon of a seasonal weather prediction that originated in early German history spread all over the world, including France, Russia, and England. The date itself is a cross-quarter day that falls between solstices and equinoxes of the four seasons. Another one is the literary mid-summer night dream of Shakespearian drama.

            The very ordinary farm rodent, also commonly called a woodchuck, plays a perfect role as a seasonal sentinel standing early and late in the day, casting his shadow during daylight hours. When the sun goes down, he retreats to the subterranean chambers of his den to slumber in a twilight zone of a light meter in his head that measures his activities around the clock.

            And on this celestial station in the heavens down on Earth, it is ceremoniously elevated to play a human-like, anthropomorphic prophet to benefit mankind with a weather predication based upon its own shadow. For the readers of this article, I may have illustrated a classic example of modern-day environmental awareness for your entertainment.

By George B. Emmons

The Art of Helen Hiller Hills

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The Winter Exhibit at the Sippican Historical Society opens February 4. This exhibit highlights Helen Hiller Hills’s work in a variety of media including oils, pen and ink, and pastels. We look forward to welcoming you to the SHS at 141 Front Street, Marion. The Winter Museum Hours are Thursdays 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, and Saturdays 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.

Reading Star wins Bruins’ Signed Jersey

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Finn Poulos is one of a select group of young people to receive Boston Bruins prizes for their outstanding participation in Mattapoisett Free Public Library’s summer reading program.

            Chris Matos, head of the Children’s Department, was excited for the prize winner. “We had an unusual summer last year with our program being just kits for the children to pick up, so it was great to have a special incentive for everyone to get excited about,” Matos said.

            Finn Poulos couldn’t be happier. He said he’s going home to hang it on his wall.

            The Boston Bruins first teamed up with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the Massachusetts Library System in 2009. The organizations work with libraries across the Commonwealth to make reading a part of summer fun for all ages. Tuukka Rask, Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand and other Bruins players helped libraries develop Favorite Books of the Boston Bruins (available on mass.gov/libraries), a recommended a reading list that includes librarians’ picks for the best hockey books.

            “The kids really enjoy picking up a book and seeing that it was recommended by one of the Bruins players. It inspires them to want to read it themselves,” said Matos.

            “Summer reading is fun, but it’s also an important part of students’ academic success because it helps them avoid the summer slide,” said James Lonergan, MBLC director. Kids who read just four books over the summer do better on reading comprehension tests in the fall than their peers who read one or no books over the summer.

            On average, more than 400,000 people participate in statewide summer reading programs in libraries across the Commonwealth. Massachusetts has offered statewide online summer reading programs since 2007. To learn more about the benefits of summer reading, please visit www.mass.gov/libraries. The statewide Summer Library Program is made possible through federal funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

MRC: Town Closing Gap on Magic Number

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            The January 25 meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee came with some encouraging news where it concerns the town’s progress in energy savings.

            MRC member Bill Saltonstall submitted Marion’s Annual Report to Green Communities two months ago on time and heard back. The town thus far has achieved 16.5 percent of the targeted 20 percent reduction in energy consumption. Chair Christian Ingerslev will leave the item on the agenda for the next MRC meeting.

            In order to achieve the 3.5 percent that would get Marion to the magic 20 and unlock the theoretical key to new qualifications for grant funding, the MRC needs to be creative. Saltonstall said he would like to see the effects of a hybrid police cruiser. Town Planner Gil Hilario said he would reach out to Chief of Police Richard Nighelli the next day (January 26).

            “I hope they will find it efficient and invest in it,” said Saltonstall, musing at the potential of one car replaced per year. “If they do that, it’s going to help us a lot.”

            Member Jennifer Francis suggested the hybrid cruiser’s inclusion in a July 4 parade. “If COVID lets us have it,” quipped Saltonstall.

            Ingerslev asked, “Are we going to be expected to reach another 20 percent after this first 20 percent?” Saltonstall said it is his understanding that the 20-percent reduction is a one-time threshold.

            The committee turned toward the wastewater treatment plant. “I don’t know if it’s feasible; it might be,” said Hilario.

            Francis said, “I think we should consider leap-frogging gas and going to electric,” citing that gas is still a fossil fuel. “I think that maybe we should be the spearhead…. Let’s talk about electric.”

            Member Eileen Marum agreed. “All the talk is about net-zero buildings and net-zero stretch codes. I’d be really happy if Tabor Academy would do their new Campus Center as a net-zero building because the students are our future.”

            As initially presented to the Planning Board, that is not the case; but the MRC plans to make it known it wants the new Department of Public Works facility to be a net-zero building.

            Saltonstall said there is some interest from the Board of Selectmen and the Harbormaster’s team in considering a scheme to save existing toilets and showers at present grade and not necessarily reconstruct them 14 feet above sea level as presented in the new Harbormaster facility at the Special Town Meeting. “I think they’re working on another scheme, and they have the concern of the people of such a large building on that location,” said Saltonstall.

            Marion has made progress in spending its Green Communities grant funds but discussed what happens when a project is getting hung up by elements out of the town’s control.

            The new windows for the Taber Library will not be delivered until late February or early March. They are guaranteed to fit, so the company told the town it wants to measure a second time. The MRC needs to decide whether to push off the grant.

            “Green Communities said this happens every year,” said Hilario. “Towns cancel projects every year. That’s why they have two [bidding seasons].  They’re encouraging us to finish the project. That’s really the only remaining project left. It’s really a supply issue…. They’re really cautious, and they really want to make sure the windows fit.”

            Marion is canceling its main water weatherization project for this year. The contractor discovered that the attic needs a $12,000 reinforcement that has not been budgeted. Hilario said that Green Communities wants Marion to reapply.

            Francis thanked Hilario and Saltonstall for following up and being so diligent with the projects. “It’s going to save the town a lot of money,” she said.

            Hilario said that the wastewater treatment plant is “going to be a massive project.” Marion, he estimates, would not be ready in the spring to apply for a Green Communities grant, so the town will target the fall in order to prepare a better project application.

            A discussion on heat recovery ventilation systems to produce fresh air in town buildings concluded that, while likely for aged structures such as the Town House and Taber Library, the systems will probably not be eligible for Green Communities grant funding.

            Citing a 30-year payback to establish Green Communities grant eligibility, Hilario said he would follow up to see if the installation will qualify under the CARES Act for COVID-related reimbursement funding.

            Saltonstall gave a Benson Brooks Landfill solar array report and said that, while the study is projected to finish by the end of the first quarter of 2021 and construction is expected to start in the third quarter of the year, “We still don’t know if we have a grid connection at a palatable cost.” Once Eversource gives a cost for the connection, the town can then determine its affordability.

            Saltonstall discussed an emerging alternative to net-metering called Alternative On-Bill Credit (AOBC) that would allow Marion and other towns to go right over the 100 percent solar energy production. He said the program is approved by Eversource and by the state. It is hoped that Liz Argo of CVEC will attend the next MRC meeting and explain in detail how Marion can access greater benefit than is available via traditional net-metering.

            Marion’s net-metering contract with Future Generation Wind caps the town’s financial benefit, whereas AOBC does not.

            “I feel like [net-metering is] limiting us as well from solar projects,” said Hilario, who asked if Marion can rework the legal agreement for solar projects. “If we can make it happen through this [AOBC], it would open things up.”

            The committee approved an appearance by Argo. “She’s very enthusiastic about it,” said Saltonstall, who will report back to the MRC. “If we know and understand this AOBC program and approve of it, we can apply it to a number of projects around town.”

            Saltonstall reported on a phone call with Dick Macomber, who found that mail offers to change energy companies are far less favorable than the energy aggregation program that the town has. Ingerslev noted that offers that come through mailers are only valid for a few months, “And then you don’t know what you’re going to get after that.” Francis noted that the Town of Rochester had joined an electricity aggregation program with Good Energy, LLC.

            Saltonstall suggested the MRC keep a running list of ideas for projects that could seek up to $250,000 in Green Communities grants next year.

            Ideas thrown around began with the library storm windows that have now been pushed into the next round of grant applications, along with Music Hall items including wifi thermostats, the conversion of an old furnace, roof structure work, and insulation. Also discussed were heat exchangers in the Town House, insulation for the Community Center attic, a charging station at the Island Wharf parking lot, and an overhead solar canopy in the Sippican School parking lot.

            The next meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee is scheduled for February 22.

Marion Energy Management Committee

By Mick Colageo

Mattapoisett Woman’s Club Scholarship

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Mattapoisett Woman’s Club is pleased to offer two $2,000 scholarship awards to Mattapoisett residents who are high school seniors graduating June 2021.

            In addition, there will be a $1,000 scholarship granted to a Mattapoisett resident

who is reentering the academic world after graduation and is in pursuit of a post secondary degree. Please go to the website (listed below) for further information or to obtain the application for this scholarship.

            The Mattapoisett Woman’s Club is a philanthropic organization that plans and executes fundraising events to help generate the revenue for these scholarships and other charitable donations. In offering these scholarships, the club supports educational leadership and helps to support the community that has partnered with the club in its fundraising efforts.

            For high school seniors, the scholarship application will be available in the guidance offices of Old Rochester Regional High School, Bishop Stang High School, Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School, Tabor Academy, Bristol County Agricultural High School, and by emailing info@mattapoisettwomansclub.org for those not attending the above schools.

            The final deadline for returning completed applications is March 31. No one will be considered after this date.

            If you have any further questions, you may contact the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club at P.O. Box 1444, Mattapoisett, MA 02739.

Snowy Owl Migration

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            The sudden appearance of snowy owls along our coastline approximately every four years is called an “irruption” because it is so unpredictable.

            For instance, in the winter of 2013 into 2014, snowy owls arrived in surprising numbers, coming down through parts of southern Canada into the United States, with a few migrating as far south as Florida. They seemed to stop in the Eastern seaboard landscapes with bleak open areas like the arctic tundra they came from.

            During a day’s drive from my seaside home on Little Bay in Fairhaven, I saw them on Crescent Beach, Angelica Point, and West Island for several subsequent years at approximately where they first landed. We also got reports of their having to be removed from municipal airports’ runways to avoid congesting the rotors of jet engines of planes landing and taking off.

            The extent of their geographical invasion was annually tied to cycles of lemmings, their favorite prey. The lemming population was somehow connected to winter weather variations, affecting the reproduction and availability of the actual snowy owl population.

            My illustration is of a snowy owl female, with coloring much darker than the male and larger in size for easy identification. Females at least three years old pair up and mate with a male, and the more lemmings that are available, the more eggs she will lay, as many as 10 in number. Owl-breeding experts will often see up to 30 dead lemmings left near the nest by her mate for her stay, incubating until her eggs hatch out and the young are grown on their own.

            The availability of her diet seems to drive their whole arctic ecosystem. And when a booming population results, the competition for hunting territories pushes owls to move and results in an invasion southward. It would ring up that year for the records of a remarkable example of irruption. When they appear surprisingly, coasting down the sky on silent wings for birdwatchers, it might seem to be an atmospheric phenomenon of the coming of a severe winter, but it’s not ever to become so simple.

            In December of 2013, a man by the name of Norman Smith organized a team of scientists to find out more about the snowy owl’s migration by banding as many as possible with a GPS transmitter around the wings that would not interfere with their flight in any way. This program was called Operation Snowstorm and was coordinated with the usual banding birds to locate their destination when they can be netted for inspection.

            Before releasing the owl, its weight and condition are recorded. Cellular tracking devices tell how high it is flying, the direction it is headed, and how fast it is moving every three days. The data is stored for five years to be reviewed and evaluated.

            The transmitter showed that ‘snowies’ were active at night during the winter so as not to be spotted by prey. It was, therefore, the best time to trap and remove them from airports after dark. So after capture, the owls were found to require relocation farther away.

            The number of GPS locations transmitted is the first step to an awareness of the fundamentals of snowy owl migration for birdwatchers seeking education and understanding of how to avoid misconceptions and how to establish conservation programs like Snowstorm for the future.

            We still have a lot to learn.

By George B. Emmons

MOSAC Approves Revised Conservation Restriction

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The Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission briefly met on January 25 to approve the revised version of the Conservation Restriction for the Hoff Property.

            At the Board of Selectmen’s January 19 meeting, Selectmen Norm Hills and John Waterman voted to remove a sentence in the document connecting the Conservation Restriction to the denitrification of wastewater coming from the Benson Brook Transfer Station. Board of Selectmen Chairman Randy Parker recused himself from that proceeding, having donated property in connection with adjacent open space acquired that enhances the Hoff Property.

            MOSAC Chairman John Rockwell told the January 25 meeting that the revised version of the Conservation Restriction went back to the state for reapproval, which came back approved. He, along with fellow MOSAC members Amanda Chace and Casey Gunschel, voted to approve the Conservation Restriction as revised.

            The next meeting of the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission is scheduled for February 4 at 7:00 pm.

Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission

By Mick Colageo

Mattapoisett Library Hosts Julia Kelly

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Julia Kelly, author of “The Last Garden in England,” will talk about her book via Zoom on Wednesday, February 3, at 6:00 pm. International bestselling author Julia Kelly showcased her gift for sharing richly detailed stories and the power of friendships and womanhood in “The Light Over London” and “The Whispers of War.” This January, Kelly returns with a poignant and unforgettable tale of five women living across three different times whose lives are all connected by one very special garden in“The Last Garden in England” (Gallery Books; Hardcover; on-sale January 12, 2021).

            Julia Kelly is the award–winning author of books about ordinary women and their extraordinary stories. In addition to writing, she’s been an Emmy–nominated producer, journalist, marketing professional, and (for one summer) a tea waitress. Julia called Los Angeles, Iowa, and New York City home before settling in London.

            Registration is required for you to receive the Zoom meeting information. Zoom information will be sent the day before the presentation. You can register by sending an email to mfpl@sailsinc.org or by completing the registration form on our online calendar of events. Call the library at 508-758-4171 or email mfpl@sailsinc.org if you have questions. This program is part of the Purrington Lecture Series, a presentation of the Mattapoisett Library Trust, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to expanding the role of the library in the community.