Mattapoisett Select Board Chairman Jordan Collyer told the other board members and the public that discussions with Old Rochester Regional School District Superintendent Mike Nelson had taken place. Included in that discussion was Finance Committee Chairman Pat Donoghue, who had previously urged her committee not to support the FY23 local school budget as drafted but to seek a zero budget increase and a plan from the Mattapoisett School Committee that would bring school spending down.

            Collyer said, “They understand our displeasure with the increase and now have a 2-percent decrease. It’s not ideal but going in the right direction.” Collyer said that Nelson agreed to work closely with the town throughout the year with the ultimate goal of “complete transparency of per-pupil costs.” He said that Nelson wants full transparency as well. Collyer added that during the year-long process “…we’d look at a whole bunch of stuff.” Collyer said Nelson understood, “where we need to be.” Collyer also shared that the topic of school consolidation was touched on.

            In March, the draft local school FY23 budget stood at $8,039,560. A 2-percent decrease cuts $160,791 off the bottom line.

            The Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path came before the board seeking and receiving authority to apply for a $6,400,000 federal grant. FOMBP members Robin Lepore and Rene Pothier said they had just learned of the grant opportunity in mid-March and that the last day to apply is April 14, thus time is of the essence. Lepore said as she waited to come before the board she had begun writing the application and on this night was ready to answer questions while hoping for the green light to move forward.

            The federal grant is part of a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure program, Lepore said. She said that the group had applied previously for similar funding but was passed over. Now, with more fully fleshed out designs and some shovel-ready elements, Lepore believes the town’s chances are good this time around. She said that the town’s match would be 20 percent or $1,200,000 but that those costs might be covered by state grants and monies already earmarked for grant matches.

            Present via Zoom was state Representative William Straus who said that he has focused his efforts at the state level and Phase 2a easements but believes, “The more the merrier … why not federal monies? It might help getting state grants in the future, and it doesn’t conflict with the state’s efforts to get the bike path to North Street.”

            If this large federal grant is secured, it would cover all design and construction costs associated with Phases 2a and 2b, the last two segments linking Mattapoisett to the west with Fairhaven and to the east with Marion.

            Select Board member Jodi Bauer expressed her concern that the town would have to pony up more than $1,000,000. Town Administrator Mike Lorenco said that presently the town has over $600,000 for grant matches. “I’m less concerned about grant matches than about federal requirements,” he said.

            Collyer added that on Friday, April 8, he would be meeting with members of the engineering and management teams from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to walk Phase 1b, which has been held up due to defective planking installed on the bridge over the Eel Pond breach and barrier beach along Godspeed Island.

            Collyer said the meeting would include going over a construction punch list with the intent to try and open one section soon. A recent fire that damaged an older existing wooden span over Eel Pond River would have to be repaired, however, before considering such an option. He said that new planks were being tested, and if all goes well replacement could take place, but timing was still unknown. Collyer added that MassDOT will pay all the costs associated with the planking issues.

            In other business, Lorenco said that VHB, the engineering firm engaged to design roadway improvements for the village streets project, was seeking an additional $41,107 for an additional 150 hours needed to bring the project to 75-percent design completion. Collyer said he wants to speak directly with the VHB team to find out exactly where the project stands and what benchmarks remain.

            Lorenco reported on several ongoing projects. He said that Child Engineering has completed some evaluations including diving around Long Wharf. He anticipates a preliminary report in May. The UMass Boston Collins Center team that has been evaluating school space and the transfer station will provide reports in May, he said. Complete Street funding has been used to purchase signage for the intersection of Mattapoisett Neck Road and the bike path, Lorenco said, and that those signs along with others planned for North Street would be installed this spring. The contract for the roadway improvements planned for Industrial Drive has been signed, he confirmed, but no construction start date has been set. He also reported that work is about to begin on infrastructure improvements to upper Pearl Street.

            Good news for those who enjoy a walk in the woods; Lorenco said that the Tinkham Forest Trails would be opening now that legal work has been completed. This open space, part of early negotiations with the developers of the Bay Club will grant access to all Mattapoisett residents through several access points around the subdivision.

            Town Meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 9, at 6:30 pm at the ORR High School auditorium. Lorenco said there will be 24 articles, seven or eight of which are related to the Water and Sewer departments. Lorenco said that one article would ask for funding for the Police Department accreditation, a process that can take several years. He said of Town Meeting, “It should be pretty straightforward.”

            The Select Board approved a wine-and-malt license to Mike Sudofsky for a new market at the Ropewalk plaza called Poi Market. Issues that had slowed the progress of construction were now resolved, all agreed.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board was not scheduled upon adjournment.

Mattapoisett Select Board

By Marilou Newell

The Rochester Conservation Commission on Tuesday night approved a commission member’s project to construct a driveway on Gerrish Road near cranberry bogs.

            Commissioner Ben Bailey recused himself for the hearing that endorsed the Order of Conditions for the plan to place the driveway within the 100-foot buffer zone to a bordering, vegetative wetlands to access a single-family building lot at Snipatuit Pond Estates. But Bailey defended the proposal by noting he is deed-restricting it so that the lot can only be for one home, and the driveway must remain exactly where it is being placed now.

            Brian Grady of GAF Engineering explained to the Conservation Commission that he and Bailey have spent a considerable amount of time with the Planning Board revising the original proposal, which was to build a road to access the lot. He noted the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals has approved, allowing the insufficient frontage that the plan requires. He acknowledged that the neighbors’ concerns over and disapproval of the first plan contributed to the new configuration, which will now “preserve much of the wooded area.”

            “The revised plan is a much simpler project,” Grady said.

            The strongest objection to the current proposal came from commissioner Dave Gagne, who was attending via Zoom. Gagne said he was concerned the driveway could evolve into a roadway to a solar project in the area of the cranberry bogs.

            Bailey quickly countered that suggestion. “The ZBA is restricting it to a single-family lot,” Bailey said. “I want to deed-restrict the lot for the next owner so the driveway stays where it is and has an impervious surface. I want to protect the neighbors. A solar project? That’s a very abstract question.”

            Grady noted any changes to the plan by a new owner of the property would have to come before town boards for additional permitting.

            The commission’s approval vote was unanimous, and it included two previous orders of conditions previously placed on the property.

            In other action, the commission endorsed a plan proposed by the Rochester Land Trust and the Library Trustees to place Trail Tale poles at the Doggett Brooks conservation restriction off of Dexter Lane. This project will post storybook pages on the poles so young readers may read and hike a nature trail at the same time. The program will take place between June and July and possibly August.

            The commission also approved a change to post its meetings as in-person only with an option to attend by Zoom. Chairman Chris Gerrior explained the commission will now be able to hold a meeting with or without a secure Zoom connection. The commission set its next meeting for Tuesday, April 19, at 7:00 pm.

Rochester Conservation Commission

By Michael J. DeCicco

            Energy Management Committee member Tom Friedman could have been Ray Kinsella looking out at his financially endangered Iowa cornfield, calling Marion “a Field of Dreams situation. If we build it, they will come,” he said, provoking laughter during Monday’s meeting of the members who are otherwise dead serious in their pursuit of green energy.

            Friedman’s remark was in response to the town’s lack of adequate charging stations for electric vehicles. While there are opportunities for people to choose battery-powered cars, a scarcity and sometimes efficiency of charging stations has created an incentive problem.

            EMC member Eileen Marum said charging stations belong at locations such as Silvershell Beach, Harbormaster headquarters, along with an increase of stations at the Cushing Community Center and the Town House, where its one operational station runs slowly according to the members. Council on Aging and town vehicles typically occupy those two locations, according to Marum, who also recommended charging stations for Little Neck, Marconi Village and the proposed residential developments along Route 6 near the Wareham town line.

            EMC Chairman Christian Ingerslev said, once the Town House gets its new power grid up and running, the charging station on site will be upgraded. EMC member Alanna Nelson cautioned that the charging station can do the whole 40 kilowatts required, “but the electric panel can’t handle it.”

            Member Bill Saltonstall suggested that businesses may be able to access incentive programs, and the committee would do well to educate them on such financial opportunities. Nelson said she would write a note to introduce businesses to the prospect of electric cars.

            Reporting on the Mass Energy Insight program, Saltonstall told the committee that he has received a note from Lisa Sullivan, Southeast Regional coordinator for the state’s Green Communities Program.

            Having looked at Marion’s annual report, Sullivan had questioned a home construction project that had not fallen “a little shy of meeting the requirement” of the air test. But that problem was alleviated after Saltonstall’s visit to the Building Department confirmed a new report indicating compliance “by a couple of points.” Green Communities accepted the updated information.

            “I think our report from last year is in good shape,” said Saltonstall, who has figures from the first half of FY22 and only needs Friedman’s help to upload the information.

            As Saltonstall has scoured Marion for unbothered rocks to turn over in hopes of finding new opportunities for upgrades to cleaner energy, he has been flummoxed by the wall restricting pursuits of solar projects. “It isn’t clear to me with why there is a problem with the town leasing panels,” he said.

            Friedman, who discussed the matter with colleagues at Trinity Solar, said any town structure would have to go out to public bid, and few installers are interested in building municipal projects. Saltonstall said he would look into if CVEC has any contractors that work with towns.

            Nelson said that while a number of contractors work with CVEC, the matter of who gets the credit has become a sticking point in some cases. She noted that the parking lot at the Captains Golf Course in Brewster is covered with solar panels, and the income from the lease arrangement is financing a staff person. Saltonstall said he believes My Generation Energy built the array at the Captains Golf Course in Brewster and would follow up. Friedman suggested that the Sippican Elementary School parking lot would offer 100 percent sun exposure.

            Nelson said that solar installers are hitting their market, using as an example one that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations and that CVEC has been building relationships with providers. “If we can just clasp-bond to one of those, that would be great,” she said.

            Completion of the Taber Library project is important to the EMC, which cannot apply for another grant in the fall until that project is completed and paid for.

            In reporting on Marion’s Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan status, Marum discussed a potential educational session with Laura Gardner, the Dartmouth Public Schools librarian who has spoken before on issues and impacts brought about by climate change. Marum suggested transitioning into phases or a series of programs that would lead into the Hazard Mitigation Plan.

            In her report on reducing Marion’s carbon footprint, Nelson said the increase in efficiency of the Green Communities base code has rendered the stretch code in need of an update and hold implications for Marion’s building projects.

            After Marum reported on a regional decarbonization meeting, Ingerslev agreed with the findings and said, “The lifetime cost of a building is what people should be looking at.”

            “If you plan for it ahead of time, it’s actually not that much more expensive,” asserted Nelson, citing the improvement in technology.

            Ingerslev told the members that he has sent three letters to Marion officials, including the committee’s push for a moratorium on the usage of fossil fuels in any new municipal construction projects, the EMC’s interest in changing the committee’s scope and name and its request to the Select Board to approve full voting membership for alternate member Jennifer Francis.

            The next meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee is scheduled for Monday, April 25, at 5:00 pm.

Marion Energy Management Committee

By Mick Colageo

            There is a combined total of 99 School Choice students attending the Old Rochester Regional High School and Junior High, and that’s the way it will stay after the ORR School Committee voted at its March 23 public meeting to retain the current parameters, policies and practices.

            The committee held a Public Hearing on the matter, and with 25 School Choice students scheduled to graduate this year and 37 applications in hand, the vote of approval results in a plan to allow no more than 25 students to fill the vacated spots in the 2022-23 academic year. School Choice students populate Grades 7-12, and the district prioritizes their inclusion in Grades 7, 8 and 9.

            “We are very blessed to have some great students who came to our community and added to the quality just by their presence … the reality is they serve the overall benefit of tri-town students … create more offerings and broader educational opportunity for everybody involved. It has worked for the last several years,” said committee member Jim Muse, who was quickly supported in his comments by committee members Margaret McSweeny and Frances Kearns.

            McSweeny recognized the decline in tri-town student enrollment and recommended maintaining the School Choice program as is “to keep numbers up and keep education broad.” She read the motion prepared by ORR Administration, including a Grade 7 maximum of 18 School Choice students. Currently populated by 99 students, the School Choice program is capped at 125.

            Public Comment was invited during the public hearing, but none was received. The public hearing was closed and later in the meeting the committee voted unanimously in favor.

            In her Chairperson’s Report, Heather Burke revisited the matter of School Choice with a focus on state support or the relative lack thereof. Burke said that, while ORR is enriched by the students it receives via School Choice, the point of the program was not just to use it as a carrot but also to motivate the districts losing students to improve. The funding should go with School Choice students, said Burke, otherwise the program’s goals cannot be fully met.

            Burke also said that, while she is happy the high school track will finally be repaired, it still falls short of Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) standards and therefore does not qualify ORR to host any large track meet. The context of the statement was that the junior and senior high school buildings need updates, and that need extends far beyond athletics to science and technology.

            “If we don’t tackle these topics, it’s only going to become more expensive,” said Burke, urging the committee members to attend and vote at their respective town meetings this spring.

            It was with Principal Mike Devoll’s recommendation that the School Committee held off on a vote regarding the request of the Old Rochester Youth Football Association to use ORR’s multi-purpose field this year. Devoll advised the committee to wait until after the high school lacrosse season to evaluation the field’s condition.

            “I appreciate the early notice from youth football; I feel like last year we were all hurried,” said Devoll. “Graduation’s on my mind in June, I want to see what that field looks like in June.”

            Having secured two dates on the field in 2021, Christine Medeiros appeared on behalf of the youth football organization seeking approval to hold three or four home dates. Youth football plays five age-group games on each game day.

            The committee will meet after graduation, at which time a vote will be taken, but member Jason Chisholm didn’t want to let it go at that.

            A former player at Boston University in the 1990s before that program was cut from the school’s roster of fall sports, Chisholm now coaches his sons in another football program. The Rochester resident told the committee that the hardship ORRYF parents incur in extra travel time lacking a home field has factored in his hesitation to transfer into the local program.

            “I would love for us to figure out a way to support this organization,” said Chisholm. “I can’t say that I would change things now … but it pains me to see that the kids in the tri-towns can’t play on the field where they will probably go (to high school). I respectfully understand the process and effort to the decision, but I would love – even if it wasn’t the multi-purpose field. … I’m biased, but I’ll own that.”

            Chisholm made sure the committee understands that ORRYF has not been able to find a home on any other field in the tri-towns. They therefore play most of their games either in Rhode Island or Dighton-Rehoboth and Seekonk. Participation is slightly down as a result.

            Echoing Chisholm’s sentiments, committee member Joe Pires asked about the current field conditions at ORR. Devoll said the field is in “good shape” and that it was “managed very carefully in the fall.” Referencing conversation with Facilities Director Gene Jones earlier on the day of the meeting, Devoll said more extensive maintenance has improved the field’s resiliency.

            Kearns thanked Medeiros for ORRYF’s diligence in cleaning up after football days and asked ORR Administration if any grants or funding can be pursued for the sake of the field. Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber said that, as of now, there are no such opportunities. The committee tabled the matter until June, when spring sports will have ended. The lacrosse season is coming up this spring.

            The ORR Youth Lacrosse Association was also scheduled to make a request, but that was withdrawn.

            ORR Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson said that the matter of naming the press box will be revived and he will bring an update to the committee at a future meeting.

            After hearing from Junior High Principal Silas Coellner’s discussion on how technology has changed music, the committee voted to approve his proposal to shift the focus from a “Music and Technology” course to “Music for Life” with an emphasis on social-emotional learning.

            The committee also voted to approve ORR’s School Health Unit Application submitted by school nurses Nicole Sadeck and Linda Deveau and endorsed and signed by Nelson and Dr. Jason Reynolds, the school physician.

            In the Administration Report, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Jannell Pearson-Campbell said she is working on creating a professional-development plan for 2022-23. The last P.D. day of the current school year addressed cultural proficiency.

            Director of Student Services Craig Davidson talked about events meant to smooth the transition from elementary schools to the junior high. On Tuesday, April 12, at 6:00 pm, parents will have the opportunity to gain advice on how to speak to their children about racial incidents at school. Registration forms were emailed to families on March 23.

            In his Principals Report, Silas Coellner reported that 100 parents attended the March 22 transition event, which was to be repeated this week with another parent tour scheduled for April 17. “It makes a big difference when they’ve had prior exposure,” he said.

            Earlier in the meeting, Devoll recognized winter season successes, starting with sports including South Coast Conference championships in boys and girls basketball, boys and girls indoor track, and boys swimming. “We don’t have a winter pep rally, but maybe we should,” he said. Colby Gross made nationals in the 300-meter run, and Jen Williams finished seventh in New England in the 55 hurdles. In music, Corinne Hibbert qualified for the Southeast District Festival in flute.

            ORR’s DECA chapter produced state champions including Eddie Gonet, Colin Carroll and Brendan Burke, who will all compete in April in Atlanta. Gonet and fellow senior McKenzie Wilson exceled in Speech & Debate.

            Among committee reports, Muse said the Mattapoisett School Committee’s negotiations with teachers were “going well,” that Kevin Tavares will be promoted at Old Hammondtown School and that the town is looking for a principal for Center School.

            After thanking the Central Office for its hard work, attention to detail and including the school committee in its communications, McSweeny used the floor in the Open Comment segment of the meeting to say she would like to hear from junior and senior high schools about the implementation of discipline. She also asked why the ORR District does not employ a Curriculum coordinator, calling it “a huge job.”

            Gonet reported on ORR’s Student Council, including a spring dance with the freshman and sophomore classes, a junior class semi-formal and the senior prom at the Belmar in Newport, Rhode Island. Spirit Week, he said, will be held before the April vacation with an outdoor pep rally scheduled. Senior Week will be held the week before graduation with a series of events including a parade, a walk-through the elementary schools, an awards night and a breakfast. Gonet said that Senior Superlative Night raised $1,400 for the class to offset prom-related costs. Gonet regretfully reported that nothing came from the regional Student Advisory Council meeting.

            Alison Noyce of Tri Town Against Racism recognized ORR students Grace Long and Angus McLellan after their entries placed in the TTAR Art Contest during Black History Month, calling the work, “very moving pieces that we are extremely proud of.”

            The ORR Senior Class Fundraiser request was withdrawn.

            The committee entered Executive Session at 6:48 pm to discuss collective bargaining strategy and to comply with the provisions of any general or special law or federal grant-in-aid requirements and exited at 7:15 pm.

            Early in the meeting, Nelson held a moment of silence for ORR student Emma Whittaker, who passed away on February 16.

            The next meeting of the ORR School Committee will be held on Wednesday, April 27, and the next meeting of the Joint School Committee will be held on Thursday, April 28, both at 6:30 pm.

ORR School Committee

By Mick Colageo