As chairman of the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee for a number of years, Chuck McCullough has been at the forefront of reviewing and bringing to Town Meeting expenditures over $10,000 as requested by town departments. But more recently over the past year or so, McCullough, with the assistance of the committee members, has begun taking deeper dives in order to gain better insight that would aid planning. Everything from culverts to HVAC systems to copy machines and the bike path are town assets and as such need the oversight of those charged with watching the town’s cash register, McCullough believes.

            Capital Planning members have met with department heads to better understand the capital needs of each to plot those needs on financial spreadsheets, but more importantly from McCullough’s perspective to try and anticipate a need before the need becomes an emergency.

            On December 6, the committee met to plan the next steps as they begin to prepare for the annual Spring Town Meeting. Present at the meeting was Town Administrator Mike Lorenco, who said, “I’m planning to have everything from the department heads by mid-January,” in terms of capital needs.

            Lorenco’s effort is focused on having everything done with a bit of time to spare before Town Meeting. He agreed with McCullough that in order to draft a 10-year plan, a primary responsibility of the committee, data is critical to try and avoid surprises. But the unexpected is just that – unexpected.

            “The HVAC controller at Old Hammondtown School is dead,” Lorenco announced. He said the 20-year-old equipment had been declared functional at an assessment but that now it needs immediate attention. The cost estimate, Lorenco said, is $152,000. He went on to share that federal and county monies made available on the heels of the pandemic are not exhausted so some of those funds might be used to replace or repair the HVAC systems at both local schools, Center and Old Hammondtown.

            “We have 1.7 million (dollars,) Lorenco said, explaining that he would try to apply those funds for the ailing schools versus going to Town Meeting and asking voters to approve funding for the repairs.

            The committee returned to the theme of taking on a larger role or, as McCullough framed it, “being a driver” with respect to the capital needs throughout the community. “We need to be the driver, asking the probing questions,” he said. To that end a spreadsheet is in development that identifies Capital Planning Committee members who will partner with specific department heads to have those in-depth discussions and data collection.

            McCullough also said in a follow-up that department heads will be invited to attend a meeting to discuss financial needs and their implications. The invitation, he said, will carry a list of questions from which the committee is seeking responses.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee is scheduled for Monday, January 3, time and location to be announced.

Mattapoisett Capital Planning

By Marilou Newell

            The Marion Planning Board opened discussion on Lockheed Martin’s property during its Monday night Zoom meeting.

            While the future of the land in Sippican Office Park may never fall under the board’s purview, the members’ discussion is the latest step in what is quickly becoming a comprehensive, town-wide effort to evaluate and/or influence the land’s next incarnation.

            Over 400 employees will be affected by the impending closure announced last winter.

            Planning Board Chairman Will Saltonstall reported to the members that Marion’s Select Board has held discussions, created a subcommittee to tackle the subject and hired a consultant to look at options for the property.

            “I don’t think the town is in the market to buy this property,” clarified Saltonstall, who offered the opinion that, while it is important to maintain a space zoned for light-industrial use, he would not rule out the benefits of senior housing. “I think there are some other realities out there that make it tough.”

            Any other use would require a zoning change, and Saltonstall stressed that Monday night’s exercise is only the beginning of a discussion.

            Planning Board member Jon Henry was adamant in his stance that the property “almost at all cost” remain zoned for light industrial use, and he thinks healthcare might be the ticket to drawing new business in town.

            “Lockheed Martin people moved to town, sent their kids to our schools and enjoyed our beaches. This is not a romantic notion that I have, it’s something that has come back to the town in the form of a lot of money. It doesn’t have to be a defense contractor,” said Henry, who marveled at the parks and landscaping he saw during a recent drive through Woonsocket, Rhode Island, where pharmacy giant CVS is headquartered.

            “The cost to maintain a facility of that size is well documented,” he said, alluding to the load on infrastructures such as water, sewer, schools, fire and police. “It’s not a mystery. If we could keep going in that direction, you would have my vote.”

            Board member Chris Collings felt similarly. “Why would we convert that to something else?” he asked. “We have not had a lot of luck in these zonal conversions.”

            Board member Alanna Nelson, who attended a meeting in which the matter was discussed, said, “I thought the consultant did a good job … we have the Master Plan to guide us.” Nelson suggested putting together an aspirational letter.

            Saltonstall said that Lockheed Martin hasn’t been definitive to when the property is going on the market, but he noted a sense of urgency around town. “We can’t afford to go through a two-year discussion,” he said.

            While Saltonstall agreed that the ideal scenario is someone would buy the site and move in with a light, maybe medium industry, he said, “It’s a challenging market” and estimated a $380,000 base in revenue.

            Saltonstall identified four components to the property and noted that there are other access routes to the site, including from behind the Cushing Community Center.

            Board member Eileen Marum credited Henry with raising important points. She said that Marion should have a section zoned for light industrial use “and not mixed with housing.”

            Saltonstall noted that a developer cannot buy that land and put housing on it without filing an application to rezone the land. He said that most of the 400 employees at the site do not live in Marion. He also mentioned his neighbor Duncan McFarland who he said works in biotech. McFarland, he said, identified the challenge of luring another light industry to the site as a workforce problem. “They want to be near urban hubs for that reason,” relayed Saltonstall.

            A controversial plan to tear down a Water Street house and build a new one there was second point of discussion for the Planning Board. The case is being vetted by the Conservation Commission.

            The reason the Planning Board is discussing the case, or at least the bylaws relative to the case, is concern that a trend is underway that could spread and cause much in the way of disgruntled abutters as new designs seek to exploit the limits of the bylaws regarding setbacks and height in order to achieve maximum volume.

            “Somebody’s really pushing the envelope to building as much as they can on the lot, and I think it’s going to be a real eye-opener,” said Saltonstall. “I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more teardowns.”

            So the concern took on the form of a question: Should Marion consider writing a bylaw that places restrictions on house size relative to property size?

            Member Norm Hills said some of the bylaws are offset by exceptions such as a lot is built before a certain date, putting the building commissioner in charge instead of the bylaws.

            Collings suggested adding an open-space requirement to the setback requirements and the elevation limit. By requiring a certain pitch to the roof to establish a certain limit to the shade a structure can throw would leverage a designer away from shapes that seek to exploit the lack of a size limit.

            “Be a little bit clever about it,” he said. “It’s a reality that the codes for housing are climbing at such a rate that it will be less expensive to tear it all down.”

            Asked for comment, Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Cynthia Callow said, “I do not believe that the bylaws are good in this area because, as Norm said, that is exactly what is happening in this case. There is a lot of wiggle room in the bylaws that maybe we need to look at in town.”

            Henry said his home at 49 South Street is a good example of the case. His new structure met all requirements of the bylaw but drew objection from neighbors seeking to revoke his permit. “But at that time there was no grounds to do so. I personally understand the impact,” he said.

            In a public hearing to deliberate proposed changes to four articles under Chapter 300, Subdivision Rules and Regulations, per recommendation of engineering consultant G.A.F. Engineering, the board held off on a vote to approve after Open Space Acquisition Commission Chairman John Rockwell spoke during the open-comment portion of the hearing.

            “You should really put these (changes) online so people can take a look at them,” said Rockwell. “I don’t think it’s a lot of trouble to put these online. Can’t comment on the regulations because I haven’t seen them.”

            Henry immediately concurred.

            Saltonstall asked administrative assistant Terri Santos to post the changes to the town website. Santos said she would post them to the event section to greet site visitors planning to attend any public meeting and said she can also email copies to stakeholders. Nelson suggested the board revise how it announces such information so that people can access it online.

            The board voted to continue the public hearing to January 3, 2022. Marum thanked Hills for his exemplary four years of leadership on the Codification Committee. “Norm has just done a fantastic job,” she said.

            In other business, the board voted to accept the FY23 budget including a change to the annual salary for Town Planner Doug Guey-Lee relative to his predecessor Gil Hilario. While Hilario’s work was divided between the Planning Department and the procurement of grant funding, Guey-Lee is also serving as Marion’s first-ever conservation agent.

            Guey-Lee’s FY23 salary is approximately $74,000, while Hilario was set to earn $60,000, according to Town Administrator Jay McGrail, who explained in a follow-up call that Guey-Lee was originally scheduled to serve as conservation agent on a part-time basis at an annual $30,000 until Hilario’s resignation led to a reorganization in which McGrail has taken on the grant-procurement role.

            Asked for comment on two ZBA cases, the board voted no comment, but Hills cast a dissenting vote on one of those cases, offering his opinion during discussion that a variance should not be granted to the owner of property at 176 Wareham Street, where a deck was built without a permit.

            The board also voted to pay $48 to Gateway Printing for business cards and $78 to The Wanderer for the public advertisement of the Chapter 300 public hearing.

            The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, December 20, at 7:00 pm.

Marion Planning Board

By Mick Colageo