The Town of Rochester will be allowed an increase of 5,000 gallons per day in its intermunicipal Water Agreement with the Town of Wareham. Now the town’s total allotment is 55,000 gallons per day. As Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar explained, the old agreement was modified to give Rochester 5,000 more gallons for future expansion.

            The Rochester Board of Selectmen met on July 20 in a hybrid format that allowed the board members and administration to be present in town hall and any other attendees connecting via Zoom. But for the second straight time, online attendees had audio difficulties. According to Szyndlar, Town Counsel Blair Bailey had the same system working perfectly for Town Meeting at Rochester Memorial School, but Town Hall continues to pose audio complications.

            Szyndlar provided The Wanderer with clarifications and missing information in a phone call Tuesday.

            Providing the board with an update regarding Plymouth County CARES Act funding, Szyndlar said she is preparing a submission for a reimbursement of approximately $28,000 to cover non-budgeted, COVID-related expenditures dating back to June 30 through the end of FY20 (July 31).

            Allotted $480,000, Rochester’s student enrollment calculates out to an allowance of $225 per student, but since Rochester receives CARES Act funding through Plymouth County and not the state it is not limited to that number per student. 

            The town has to account not only for students in the Old Rochester School District but also residents attending Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School along with Bristol Aggie.

            With the end Fiscal Year 2020 in sight (July 31), town administration is allowed to make appropriation transfers in between departments in the case of deficits or overages. To that end, Szyndlar provided the selectmen with a list of accounts that need money. The board approved the transfer of $28,465.24, an amount Szyndlar considered the least in years.

            Selectman Woody Hartley said that each of the Tri-Town communities may have questions about the ORR School District agreement presented last week to the Board of Selectmen, and expressed an interest in having someone come in and explain changes to the agreement.

            Szyndlar said she talked to new Superintendent of Schools, Mike Nelson, and said Nelson is waiting on the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for comments on the agreement. Szyndlar told the board that changes require Town Meeting vote.

            Old Colony updated its agreement two years ago.

            In other business, Boy Scouts Troop 31 was approved for the usage of the Pine Street facility for its requested dates of August 22-23 for its fundraiser.

            Szyndlar reported to Chairman Paul Ciaburri that the Senior Work-off program had a total abatement of $20,000 for his signature.

            Ciaburri thanked all town officials and boards, people at the Senior Center, and Andrew Daniel for their efforts keeping everything in order during the pandemic.

            The selectmen approved a letter of thanks to George Landry for allowing Rochester to use his photo of Eastover Farms on the cover page of the Town of Rochester Annual Report 2019 that was distributed at the June 22 Town Meeting.

            The board went into executive session, not to return, to discuss the potential purchase of real property.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is Monday, August 3, at 6:00 pm.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Mick Colageo

            During Monday night’s remote access meeting of the Marion Marine Resources Commission, member Peter Borsari reminded Harbormaster Isaac Perry to make sure any changes to the design of the department’s soon-to-be-proposed new headquarters facility suit the needs of the staff, and the rest can be built around that.

            “We need it to function,” said Perry. “If it was a flat roof, I wouldn’t care, but it’s a great looking proposal.”

            Still in its conceptual stages, Perry reported to the commission that drawings by Tim Sawyer, the architect for the project, are available to view at the Harbormaster’s office but are by no means a final draft.

            Perry said there have been minor revisions to the roofline but no substantive changes. Tuning in on architectural details and seeking unofficial feedback, Perry told the commission it is just an architectural design at this point.

            “We’ve really got to nail down the design. Every time you add a dormer to the roof, it changes the cost,” he said.

            Plans are due in October to keep a project timeline eligible to seek funding in the grant round scheduled for November. “That’s kind of what we’re shooting for,” said Perry. “Not sure we’ll make it, but there is another grant round in March, that’s probably the best opportunity to put in for this project… November’s the first opportunity, but I’m already geared toward March.”

            In his Harbormaster’s Report to the commission, Perry said the beachgoers’ trash mess has gotten “a little better” by going back to two, six-yard dumpsters. “Quite frankly, we’re getting tired of picking up trash that’s floating around because it will not fit in the dumpsters,” he said.

            Marion staff has found it mystifying as to why a larger dumpster is ignored while a significantly smaller one adjacent to it is overflowing, resulting in the trash blowing around.

            Perry said that Board of Selectmen Chairperson Randy Parker and Town Administrator Jay McGrail are “well-aware” of the ongoing problem. “I’m hoping the two six-yarders will handle the amount of trash coming in,” said Perry, with an expectation that video surveillance will help curb illegal dumping.

            Perry says a security system like Mattapoisett’s would give Marion surveillance, comparing it to standard home security systems priced under $1,000. It “gives us what we need,” he said.

            Commission member Michael Moore pointed out that the larger dumpster has a sign that reads, “No domestic trash” and asked if that plays a role in how the dumpsters are used by the public. Perry said that experimentation has proven that the dumpster requiring the least amount of inconvenience is the one people will use. He gave an example of a mattress inside the 10-yard dumpster, and Deputy Harbormaster Adam Murphy said a couch and deck was found in it on Monday.

            Fines are “always a last resort,” according to Perry. “It’ll be somebody’s kitchen remodel that we’ll be looking for.”

            Marion has changed its pump-out procedures in wake of COVID-19, and the most significant aspect is that boat owners must now remove the cap.

            “Whether a day before or an hour before… all we’re trying to do it maximize the ventilation tanks,” said Perry, noting the method has become a standard operating procedure in both Mattapoisett and Wareham. “There’s been a little push-back, but people are getting it down now and realizing it’s important to take the cap off before leaving the boat.

            “It’s sped up the whole process because you have a visual on where (the cap) is. I’m pretty happy with the way that’s going,” said Perry, who said he would like to pass any new regulations in face-to-face meetings where people can have “a nice open discussion” and “everyone gets to say their piece.”

            As COVID-19-related restrictions have been loosened during the summer, races at the Beverly Yacht Club are “going off without a hitch,” according to Perry.

            The Junior Regatta scheduled for mid-August has been scaled down to a local invitational format with approximately 40 competitors expected as opposed to the traditional 200.

            Perry said Marion is no longer capable of hosting regattas at Island Wharf so he is working with Recreation Director Jody Dickerson on alternative locations. “We’re not 100 percent (sure) if that’s going to take place on town property just yet,” said Perry, who is also discussing potential sites with the Fire Department and Beverly Yacht Club.

            Public bathrooms have been locked up one side and labeled employees only, and the remaining public bathrooms are now unisex. Perry said the change has helped keep the bathrooms clean for the three weeks the policy has been in effect.

            After two weekend calls resulting in two rescue operations saving five people, Murphy praised the work of Marion’s and Mattapoisett’s staff (see story on the capsized sailboat).

            “A few people are going to call and say the Harbormaster’s boat went screaming through the harbor. Yes, that was me and, yeah, we did do that, but there was a reason,” he said.

            In light of Amy Tamagini’s kelp-farm pitch last week, the commission also discussed the need to create regulations for such farming and also the bacteria Vibrio that can poison seafood.

            Perry traveled to Salem State University and returned with softshell clams that were successfully put out on Friday. “We’ve had a huge increase in recreational shellfishing. I’m excited about that,” he said.

            Open moorings are at a premium in the harbor, and Marion has a waiting list that will be filled once all the town’s open moorings are cleaned up.

            As chairman of the Bird Island Preservation Society, Perry reported having attended two meetings, in September and December of 2008. Recently, he recommended to the Board of Selectmen that the committee be dissolved. At its last meeting, Board of Selectmen Chairperson Randy Parker suggested the town look further into the matter before dissolving the committee. “Bird Island matters are always brought before the MRC,” said Perry. “Through the whole restoration of the island… it was centered around the relighting of Bird Island.”

            The next meeting of the Marion Resources Commission is scheduled for August 17.

Marion Marine Resources Commission

By Mick Colageo