Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar summarized Town Meeting warrant articles for the Board of Selectmen during its June 1 remote access meeting. The board will hold at least one more meeting before the Monday, June 22, 7:00 pm Town Meeting at Rochester Memorial School.

            The annual operating budget will see a 1.97 percent increase for FY21 to cover general government, public safety, public works, human services, cultural and recreation programs, fixed costs, debt and insurances. The total is approximately $22,200,000. “FinCom worked very hard to get this budget; it covers the needs as well as our fixed costs,” said Szyndlar.

            Szyndlar’s rundown of warrant articles yielded the following highlights:

            Article 10 addresses capital funding from the Capital Improvement Fund: Among the six items recommended are: technological upgrades at Rochester Memorial School in excess of $26,000; an HVAC rooftop compressor; town hall basement work at $7,000; a message-board trailer $16,000, a walk-in refrigerator; and a gas-burner for the Council on Aging.

            Article 11 is a highway excavator at $99,500 that would be paid for with free cash. Capital planning had it as a recommendation but there is no funding source.

            Article 12 proposes a change to the date of the town election to the fourth Wednesday of May, which would schedule the election after town meeting in a departure of the tradition. (Due to circumstances falling out from the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s town election will be held on Wednesday, June 17, with town meeting on Monday, June 22.) 

            Articles 16 and 17 proposed the town’s acceptance of changes to Forbes Road and Douglas Corner Road. Town Counsel Blair Bailey said the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the matter on Tuesday, June 9, and the Board of Selectmen will need one more meeting before town meeting, then town meeting votes on acceptance. Bailey clarified that the two roads affect one section of the Connet Woods development and that the Planning Board will vote on whether the proposal is complete enough to accept.

            Article 18 proposes an easement at Ryder Road and Old Middleboro Road for access to Seaboard Solar Holding LLC. Bailey said the affected stretch of Old Middleboro Road is considered an “ancient way” so the work would not be allowed unless improved to a standard set by the Planning Board. Old Middleboro Road’s traditional route comes close at one point to a wetland. The Conservation Commission was asked by the applicant to encroach town property abutting Old Middleboro Road in order to avoid wetlands. Selectman Brad Morse asked if the easement would result in better access to Rochester’s town-owned property, to which Bailey answered, “Yes. It’ll go far beyond our piece.”

            Article 19 proposes crediting firefighters with up to five years of service toward retirement benefits for years of “call duty” before officially becoming town employees. Bailey explained that several former call firefighters now work for the Department of Public Works or the Highway Department, and this would credit those employees as though they were officially in town employment during their call-firefighting careers.

            Morse and Woody Hartley sought more detail in terms of number affected and financial impact. Exact numbers were not available, but Bailey said it was not many. “We have to know that,” said Morse, who said he is “in favor of it” but that the selectmen have to do their homework and be able to defend the approval at town meeting.

            Article 21 will see the town vote on whether to appropriate $300,000 instead of the originally planned $100,000 addition to the stability fund. “Because of the environment that we’re in and uncertain budget cycles, we need to be prudent and put as much as possible into our stability fund,” said Szyndlar.

            Article 22 is a citizens’ petition to transfer from free cash $50,000 in order to reduce the tax rate.

            In her Town Administrator’s Report, Szyndlar reported having recently received a Green Communities grant contract. Rochester applied for $136,000 to assist with energy conservation measures, lighting controls, spray valves, technical assistance at the Council on Aging, Fire Department, Library, Police Department, Memorial School, and Town Hall. Once the state’s Department of Energy Resources responds, Rochester can approve the targeted projects that were voted forward at last fall’s town meeting. None of the projects, said Szyndlar, fall under the capital funding category.

            “It’s important that we walked through the list,” said Szyndlar. “This money is going to carry over the next few years.” She added a longer-range dimension to their significance in terms of value and “biggest bang for the buck” because Rochester in this scenario is more likely to be granted approval by energy resources. “Some of these seem minor,” she said, “but it’s really gearing up for the future contracts that we have.” Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon played a role along with vendors and consultants. “We did some really great research and made some really good decisions. It was a good team,” said Szyndlar.

            As of June 1, half of Rochester’s early-voting applications had been sent out with the remaining number expected to be received by Thursday, June 4.

            Szyndlar reported that town buildings remain subject to restrictions and protocols including 25 percent occupancy and six feet of personal separation. “Until we can meet these requirements, Town Hall and the Annex will postpone interactions with the public except by appointment only,” she said.

            The town website will soon have details regarding access to Town Hall, Annex, Council on Aging, and Library. “We have to keep the employees safe as well, so we really have to give this some detailed thought here,” said Szyndlar, alluding to the challenge presented by the confined spacing in the town’s public buildings.

            The board went into executive session to discuss the potential purchase of land at Rounseville Road, and came back to public session to vote to approve an order not to exceed $160,000 in an effort to make that purchase.

            Hartley reported a positive meeting with other town department heads, along with an online training he attended on COVID-19 as it affects elections and town meeting. “We spent most of the time (in the multi-department meeting) talking about COVID-19, but it was well attended and a well thought out meeting. It was a good meeting to attend. (It) made you feel good about our town,” he said.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen will be held on Monday, June 8. Typically held at 11:00 am, the meeting will be held at 6:00 pm to include the Finance Committee, Capital Planning Committee, town meeting moderator, and the town clerk for final town meeting warrant review and recommendations, after which the Board of Selectmen will presumably sign the posted warrant.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Mick Colageo

The Marion Zoning Board of Appeals held its first remote access meeting on May 21, solely to approve the minutes from its March 12 meeting. The occasion allowed members of the board to get a run-through on the Zoom video-conference technology that has become, along with similar online platforms, the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic.

            Administrative assistant Anne Marie Tobia told the board she would be scheduling a public hearing with the ZBA in the latter part of June.

            Before the ZBA or any other Marion board or committee holds a public hearing, the town’s Board of Selectmen will do so first on June 16. A dedicated phone line will be used at the police station with Chairperson Randy Parker and Town Administrator Jay McGrail on-site and at a safe social distance from one another. The other board members, participants, and the public will connect remotely.

            No Marion public hearing will be closed in one meeting to ensure the public has an opportunity to be heard via calls to town offices, mail, or email.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Mick Colageo

            A zoning bylaw was debated and dissected on May 18 when the Marion Planning Board met for the first time in six weeks.

            The remote-access meeting was set up to approve a proposed change in the multi-residential housing bylaw No. 230-5.3, decreasing maximum density allowed via the number of units per acre from 12 to eight.

            “Some of the work we’re doing with (Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District right now and analyzing the cluster bylaw and looking more closely at open space and cluster bylaw being changed here … I have some real concerns with the language,” said Chairperson Will Saltonstall. “I think it might be prudent to step back on this and study it a little further this summer and bring it back in the fall in a more organized fashion.

            “In my heart, I think eight units per acre is the right number, but my concerns are more in how we define lot coverage and open space. I feel like a more comprehensive approach to this could be merited.”

            Board member Eileen Marum agreed with Saltonstall. “It would be best to get a little more information, have a couple of more meetings with SRPEDD and bring this back in the fall so that we all have an opportunity to spend a little more time with it and review it in depth,” she said.

            What Saltonstall is pitching is a more in-depth look at the number and perhaps a dynamic application thereof. It’s a potential departure from a one-size-fits-all approach.

            In the days leading up to the May 18 meeting, board member Chris Collings discussed the matter with Saltonstall. Collings took a walk down the bottom part of Main Street into the older part of the village where the homes are close to the street and close together and asked himself what an acre of density would look like.

            “That sounded an awful lot like four (homes) across the course of 300 feet,” said Collings. “Eight units per acre is conceptually, in the broadest sense, most similar to what you would experience if you were to go down Main Street. … while 12 was clearly far more dense than that, … six or four seemed probably on the thin side. That’s how I put it forward to Will.”

            Saltonstall said it varies depending on where one measures including up and down Main Street. “I think the bylaw has to be a little more sophisticated than four or eight or 12,” he said.

            The Planning Board has discussed the concept of density bonuses with SRPEDD and its relevance toward contractors looking to build affordable housing behind the senior center. 

            “There may be times where 12 units per acre is advantageous for certain spots in town; there are other places where standard residential zoning, six or eight may be a better number. But I think we can do a better and more-sophisticated job of defining that, and that’s where I’m just not comfortable where they are. I’m hesitant to put this out there and then come back in the fall with another version of it,” said Saltonstall. “I think our risk in this discussion is two projects: the (Sherman) Briggs project primarily but also setting the tone for the (Henry) DeJesus project.”

            The DeJesus project, said Saltonstall, is on a later timeline and not necessarily impacted by the board’s decision, but Briggs’ project is. The longtime Marion developer has taken heat for filing a higher-density project of three buildings with 42 units instead of the 28 units he originally proposed, but Saltonstall said it’s not Briggs’ intention to build 42 units.

            “He wants to build a more-thoughtful 28 units. He’s been very clear that he did that application just to so-called grandfather against this potential issue coming forward,” said Saltonstall. “My personal feeling is that it’s his intent that he’s going in the right direction with this project.

            “I’ve encouraged him to continue to develop this project, to take into account the comments the board made in the past, and to bring the project forward in a comprehensive manner, and he’s led me to believe that’s going to happen more in the lines of the 28 units, not the three buildings with 42 units. You can say that are risks in not putting this forward is hedging against that project, but I just don’t think this (proposal) is there.”

            Another piece of language in the bylaw that Saltonstall said warrants further scrutiny is the third sentence changing all parking areas to impervious surfaces. “It’s actually too restrictive in my opinion. As we know more, it may be advantageous to pull back on that and wait,” he said.

            Vice Chairperson Andrew Daniel noted that the bylaw deducts sidewalks, driveways and roads from a lot’s square footage. “I’m curious are we taking two steps forward and two steps back because you’re deducting that from your overall space,” he said. “Maybe our goal of changing it from the 12 to the eight isn’t going to have quite the impact or the benefit as we thought it would with those surfaces being excluded from the footage.”

            Saltonstall insisted that, while he doesn’t consider it prudent to make a bylaw change now, he doesn’t want to push it off another year. Rather, he said, the summer is when the Planning Board should come up with a bylaw that can function the right way in various situations.

            “Rush to judgment is a bad idea, let’s take a pause, let’s hit the brakes,” suggested Collings.

            Town Planner Gil Hilario told the board that the warrant for the June 22 town meeting is closed. “I’m more supportive (of the bylaw change) than the board was. Perhaps you could pass some things and pass over others at town meeting. … For example, in my opinion I think the most important element in the bylaw is the density – so the 12 to 8 – and the buyout, and those things might be critical to pass and, then at spring town meeting, while perhaps passing over (article) 3, which seems to be the most contentious right now, but that’s just my thoughts. I think we can pause the entire bylaw until the fall. I don’t think it would make much difference either way.”

            The board unanimously approved passing over the matter at June 22 town meeting with the intention of drafting a better bylaw this summer. The board did approve the article (230.8-1) regarding flood-plain district, thereby allowing Marion residents to purchase flood insurance in FY21. The board also discussed a bylaw change that would create a category of moderate-income housing. Selectman John Waterman suggested a three- to five-person task force to pursue the matter.

            Affordable housing was discussed, and board member Norm Hills said that, if no action is taken to create affordable housing, Marion will eventually fall below the state-required 10 percent. “Another option is maybe we can do something to prevent some of that from rolling off,” he suggested.

            “If we don’t keep up, we’re going to lose our percentage very quickly,” said Hilario.

            Marion is streamlining its application and payment processes and, at the same time, making such submissions reviewable by computer. Saltonstall credited Hilario for his work in garnering grants for the town and on helping push forward the town’s efficiency via technology.

            The next meeting of the Planning Board is scheduled for June 1 with public hearings scheduled for June 15.

Marion Planning Board

By Mick Colageo

            The Marion Board of Health and Town Administrator Jay McGrail wish they could hire both of the finalists for the part-time health-agent position that was created with the retirement of Karen Walega as a shared health director of the recently dissolved Marion-Rochester Health District.

            After May 21 interviews with Anna McEntee and David Flaherty and some deliberation by the board, Flaherty was hired for the job.

            “(Flaherty) would hit the ground running. Anna’s bright and certainly pleasant, but David would be able to help from day one taking over in a challenging environment,” stated Board of Health Vice Chairperson Dr. Ed Hoffer during the deliberations that followed both interviews.

            Flaherty, who has already been working successfully for Marion on a consulting basis, will report directly to McGrail. His official hire was pending successful negotiations.

            According to McGrail, Marion was outsourcing restaurant and pool inspections under the district-era plan and paying the now-defunct health district $60,000 per year. The new part-time salary, he said, was expected to fall in the $30,000 range. “I think the town is going to save some money at least in the short term,” he said.

            Flaherty has worked in public health for 18 years, as a health agent, a health inspector of Title 5 installations, including work as a certified pool operator. He also worked with Walega in Wareham on emergency preparation planning, disaster-mitigation training and with an incident command system. In Raynham, he worked in the area of communicable diseases.

            “I love public health. There’s something new every day, something different,” said Flaherty in his interview. “It’s a way to help the community,” on the business end with food safety, “keeping the town healthy and happy.”

            Flaherty’s career had taken him into the administrative end because there were needs and he agreed to fill vacant roles, but he wanted to get back to public health and Marion held that opportunity.

            Board of Health Chairperson John Howard asked McGrail if any information from Flaherty’s previous jobs gave him concern. McGrail explained an awkward situation from several months ago in which Flaherty was hired as assistant town administrator in Harwich. The town administrator made the hire, but the town’s Board of Selectmen voted against it. Flaherty had given Raynham his notice and the window closed on him returning to that job.

            “I don’t know that any of that was Dave’s fault,” said McGrail.

            McEntee, 27, lacks some of Flaherty’s experience and credentials but made a very strong impression.

            “They’re two really well-qualified people. I think either one of them would do a great job,” said board member Dot Brown, who would ultimately agree with Hoffer’s position. “I think they both hit (their second interviews) out of the park. David has done more of the actual job, Anna has done quite a bit of it. Being part of a team, I think she would be great at that.”

            McGrail, who checked on Flaherty’s references and reported positive responses across the board, identified with McEntee’s situation.

            “I know Dave, if he came in tomorrow, he’d do a fantastic job,” said McGrail. “I feel for Anna. I know what it’s like to need a shot. I want to board to know if we hired Anna, we would still need to use Coastal Engineering for a while to do the sanitation piece. I wish there was a way we could (hire) both of them.”

            McGrail later reiterated his own situation of not having exact matching experience. “If the town hadn’t taken a chance on me, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.

            McEntee has a degree in environmental science, and has assisted sanitarians in Barnstable County conducting pool and restaurant inspections. Despite being laid off from multiple part-time jobs in the field, the Sandwich native has remained positive and industrious, working 20-30 hours a week as a nanny. A professional singer with a band, McEntee sings at funerals in Falmouth. Having eight siblings, along with many nieces, nephews, and in-laws, has been “invaluable” to her personal growth and ability to function in a team environment.

            McEntee was considered a potentially great addition to Marion’s team, but Flaherty also proved through his references and experience that he works well with others.

            “I always tell people if I don’t have the answer, I know who to call to get the answer,” said Flaherty, identifying lead-determination inspection as an area he would seek expert assistance.

            Brown asked Flaherty how he would handle a business owner insistent on opening its doors against the current guidelines. Flaherty said he would engage that proprietor in a discussion.

            “Not in a derogatory way,” Flaherty answered that he would seek explanation and an example of protective measures. If he did not receive a satisfactory answer, he would tell the business owner they should wait until the next phase on the governor’s reopening calendar. And, if that doesn’t work, he said he would tell the business owner, “’You’re welcome to explain yourself to the Board of Health.’

            “I’ll give them every opportunity to explain themselves and, if they don’t want to play nice, we’d go to fines or citations, however you want to handle it.”

            While both candidates made a strong impression, the overriding sense among the members of the board was that the occasion of the COVID-19 pandemic prioritized the more experienced candidate.

            “It’s hard to walk away from somebody who can start on the ground running,” said Brown.

            “Anna is a great lady from a great family, but in terms of what we need especially now I think Dave is ready and, with his own consulting work, he’s comfortable taking the part-time job,” said Howard.

            McGrail said he was impressed with Flaherty’s respectful manner, especially considering his experience. He reported to the board that Flaherty came recommended by Dave Mason, the health agent in Sandwich with whom McGrail worked for two years. “That counts for a lot,” he said.

            Howard, who had experience with municipal government in Wareham, said that he had never heard anything negative about Flaherty.

            Brown made the motion to authorize McGrail to offer the job to Flaherty. Hoffer seconded the motion and the ayes were unanimous. “I’m going to try to get him to start next week. We need the help,” said McGrail.

            Howard thanked Brown, McGrail, and Assistant Town Administrator Judy Mooney for their work in the interview process.

            Being below the 20-hour threshold, the job is not a benefits position. “Up over time it may become that, but right now it’s not,” said McGrail.

            Public Health Nurse Kathleen Downey asked the board who will serve as the department head. Brown suggested more work needs to be done before that decision should be made.

            Brown noted that one other candidate under serious consideration wanted full-time work in the immediate and that, while both finalists were willing to transition into a full-time role, neither made it a prerequisite for candidacy.

            On Tuesday, June 16, the Board of Health will hold a 6:00 pm public hearing regarding the proposed septic-system regulation.

Marion Board of Health

By Mick Colageo