The Rochester Planning Board tackled confusion over updated plans pertaining to a new development on Cranberry Highway in their Zoom meeting held on June 23.

            Phil Cordeiro, representing Steen Realty and Developments, began a presentation of the updates to the project and noted that traffic engineers had been working to develop new plans for the proposed ring road that would surround an existing Seasons Corner Market near the development. Town Planner Steve Starrett explained that, because the plans were submitted late, they were not included in the updated information packet provided to the board members.

            Ken Steen, heading the development, mentioned that the standstill with the Seasons Corner Market had continued. “At this point, the discussions continue with Seasons, and we have a proposal under review,” said Steen. “Seasons, as of last week, submitted an alternative driveway arrangement.” Steen explained that the proposed plan is still under review from his team.

            Andrew Delli Carpini, representing Seasons Corner Market, requested a traffic study for the board to review in order to satisfy the board’s concerns about the turning radius for large trucks leaving the market and entering the ring road. He told the board that the cause of the delay in delivering the updated information was due to a conflict of interest that required his team to consult with a completely different group of traffic engineers at the last minute.

            Delli Carpini expressed frustration at how stalled the plans have become, and he assured the board that his team was doing everything they could to put a resolution forward. “We have been working diligently to get this project to this finish line,” Delli Carpini told the board members.

            John Russell, representing Seasons Corner Market, also mentioned that they are not the ones to blame for the slow progress on the project. “We worked our tail off to push this forward,” Russell explained. “We worked hard to get the traffic study after we were told there was a conflict of interest. We feel that the new plan with the revised radius takes safety into account by putting the access to the ring road on a curve.”

            Cordeiro was able to share the updated plans over Zoom to display the proposed changes to the road access point. The plans revealed an updated center line and showed the truck turning radiuses. This demonstrated the truck movement and showed the changes that engineers had made to ensure trucks can safely exit. The plans also featured modifications to the curb to provide more space for exiting trucks.

            After reviewing the updated plans to address the turning radiuses, the board still commented that the trucks would need to cross the center line to effectively make the turn. In addition, they noted that the issue of trucks having the proper amount of space to queue was not addressed in the updated plans.

            “It feels like we are taking steps backward,” Delli Carpini told the board. “Mr. Steen said that we were almost there apart from issues on the lease. And the only change we needed to make was to make the radiuses gentler.”

            With little hope of resolving the conflict surrounding the proposed plans, Town Counsel Blair Bailey recommended that the board commission their own traffic engineer to review the plans and determine what changes should be made. The board agreed that an independent review would be an expedient way to resolve the disagreements.

            With the issue of the ring road postponed, Steen and Russell also disagreed over whether or not a second access point to the Seasons Corner Market could be changed to be more compatible with the goals of the new development.

            Russell suggested that the access could not be moved due to a previous agreement that Seasons Corner Market had made with the Planning Board and suggested that litigation may be possible if such an occurrence were to take place.

            Steen quickly countered the arguments put forth by Russell. “Every legal interpretation is contrary to what Mr. Russell is portraying to the board,” said Steen. “We have the ability to move the easement.”

            Town Counsel Blair Bailey supported Steen’s statement. “The decision made with Seasons acknowledges that the second access point may have to change depending on the new road,” Bailey said. “It was always anticipated that something may have to change with that access road depending on the property developed behind it.”

            The board ultimately ordered to continue the issue until their next meeting in order to provide time for their independent review of the plans.

            The board’s final business addressed an informal hearing brought by Sarah Stearns of Beals and Thomas. The hearing was to address the construction of a canopy solar system at Eldredge Bogs. The bulk of the project is an agricultural improvement project seeking to improve an older water conveyance system. Further, an innovative solar canopy will be added above the new canals to add a renewable energy source to the site.

            Stearns explained that the idea of the proposal is for the panels to be raised above the reconstructed canals. The innovative orientation was developed to not constrain the cranberry operation. The proposal gives enough room to work the bogs and offers the benefit of adding a renewable energy source to make the bog more sustainable.

            Due to potential zoning issues, the board recommended that plans be brought before the Zoning Board of Appeals before the project is pursued further.

            The next Rochester Planning Board meeting is set to take place on July 14. The meeting will be held in the cafeteria of the Old Rochester Junior High School, but live, remote access will also be provided via Zoom.

Rochester Planning Board

By Matthew Donato

            On June 22, registered voters in the town of Marion met at the Sippican School for the annual Town Meeting to debate and vote on the proposed, 58-article warrant. To address the dangers of coronavirus, Town Administrator James McGrail developed a plan to allow for an in-person event, while maximizing the safety of those participating.

            Outside of the school, masked community members filed into a line with enforced social distancing. After reaching the registration area, voters were directed into one of three different rooms with properly distanced sitting areas. Each location was equipped with microphones, monitors and speakers which fed directly into the main auditorium where the town officials were located.

            The connection between each room was made possible using a Zoom call that allow members from each room to enter debate and voice their concerns about specific articles coming before the town. Community members and officials praised McGrail for effectively organizing and carrying out the event.

            With the voters in their seats and town officials prepared to propose the articles, the meeting began at 7:00 pm with a discussion of the town’s FY21 budget. Board of Selectmen Chairperson Randy Parker explained that the total proposed operating budget would amount to $24,772,528, a 2.55 percent increase from the previous year.

            Significant increases in spending derived from a general government spending of $2,352,122, up 6.52 percent from the previous year, public-safety spending amounting to $3,659,255, up 3.52 percent, and a total education spending of $11,702,044, up 1.41 percent.

            McGrail defended the proposed budget by explaining that the majority of the changes were due to the anticipated costs of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. “Departments were asked to make cuts to new programs after we estimated an offset of 10 percent in the budget due to COVID-19,” McGrail explained.

            Despite a broad swath of cuts across multiple departments, town members questioned why the spending on selectmen/administrative salaries was proposed for a 64.66 percent increase from $60,475 in FY20 to $99,578 in FY21. Parker explained that the increase in spending was due to the unavoidable fact that all three of the union contracts for the selectmen will expire this year, and the increase in costs is due to the collective bargaining that will take place.

            In addition, community members raised questions surrounding the large amounts of overtime pay for police officers in the Town of Marion that was requested in the public safety portion of the budget. Marion Chief of Police John Garcia explained that the large amount of overtime payment derives from the station being understaffed.

            “The problem comes any time one of the officers takes time off. We have a minimum manning of two people on the road and one on the desk,” Garcia told attendees. “The only way we can fill those slots is through overtime pay.”

            Garcia also explained that the hiring of a new officer would not solve the problem, because the additional cost of benefits would be too expensive. According to Garcia, many of the older officers, who are higher on the pay scale, are taking the majority of the overtime.

            The final area of contention surrounding the budget was relating to expenses accrued from recreational services. With the majority of outdoor events and celebrations postponed or canceled due to coronavirus, community members questioned how there could possibly be a 4.3 percent increase in recreation spending.

            McGrail told voters that the recreational services have set fees to run their services. Despite the increase, he explained that the revenue from these events offsets the expense. The set fees in the budget are associated with the few activities that have not yet been canceled.

            With most of the concerns surrounding the budget settled, the vote to approve the FY21 budget was carried by the town. The conclusion of the budget discussion saw community members move on to discuss specific articles in the warrant for their approval.

            Article 14, pertaining to the appropriation of $190,000 to the Sewer Enterprise fund, was widely debated by community members. The sum is to be used to design, engineer and construct updates to the town’s Inflow and Infiltration Mitigation Plan.

            Many community members expressed their aggravation that problems with the sewers have yet to be resolved, and questioned why residents of Marion not connected to the sewer were still expected to contribute to the updates to the system.

            “This is not a change,” said Selectman John Waterman. “We have been spending this for the past four years. This amount of money has already been in the budget, but the previous administration did not act on it so it needs to be done now. If we don’t take care of this, the costs are going to continue.”

            Waterman explained that a reluctance to deal with this issue now could lead to serious problems in the future. “If we don’t maintain these pipes, the sewer system will stop working. They need to be built up to a standard that we can rely on going forward,” he said. The town ultimately agreed with his justification and approved the article for more sewer funding.

            Community members were also divided on Article 15, which relates to the construction of a new emergency egress for the Sippican Elementary School. The desire for the new egress came after an incident where a number of buses trying to leave the school became backed up on Spring Street. Town officials argued that the inability to quickly vacate the school is a potential, public safety hazard.

            Voters expressed the concern that the town should be attempting to save as much money as possible amid the current crisis. While the road would be nice to have, the construction of the new egress based on only one incident might not be justifiable. A large number of community members expressed that this construction should be postponed until more certain times.

            Parker and teachers from the Sippican School defended the egress and revealed that, in the case of an active shooter at the school, a blockage on Spring Street could be devastating for students. In a vote with 56 members for and 38 against, the motion for the construction of the new egress carried.

            The last heavily-debated article of the warrant, Article 51, pertained to an existing bylaw that charges developers increased fees for the construction for affordable housing units in Marion. Waterman explained that the original goal of the bylaw was to generate additional revenue for the town.

            As Waterman explained, since the regulation has been in place it has generated no additional revenue for the town. Even worse, Waterman feared that the addition of this bylaw has had a detrimental effect on the growth of new developments in Marion.

            “We need growth, and we need good growth,” said Waterman. “We need development done right.” According to Waterman, the change to the bylaw would increase the supply of moderately priced housing in the town.

            Some community members expressed that the increase in housing and development might not be good for Marion. They were cautious of development that may eliminate the small-town environment that they feel is vital to Marion.

            Waterman respected the concerns put forth by town voters, but he argued that a managed development would mean more people connected to sewer and water, ultimately driving prices down for everyone. Waterman communicated that, as prices increase, fewer people participating in paying those costs will only mean increased taxes for everyone in Marion. The town voted to revise the bylaw and allow for future developments to go forward without the increased fees.

            The conclusion of the 3.5 hour-long Town Meeting marked the end of direct community participation in voting on particular town regulation until the next Town Meeting, which is scheduled to take place in the fall.

Marion Town Meeting

By Matthew Donato