In addressing the October 13 meeting Marion School Committee Vice-Chair Nichole Daniel thanked the Sippican School faculty and staff and Old Rochester Regional administration for its efforts in getting the 2021-22 academic year off to a safe and healthy start.

            “We know that COVID isn’t going anywhere,” said Daniel, referencing a discussion earlier that day with Committee Chair April Rios, who was unable to attend the meeting. “It’s hasn’t been easy for anybody, and many of us are right there in the trenches with you so we know how that is going, so we wanted to acknowledge that.”

            Daniel also thanked the Sixth-Grade Parent/Guardian Group for all of its fundraising efforts and School Nurse Meagan Morais for “all of the hard work she has done and all the hard phone calls she’s had to make, the COVID testing, and the fun things she’s had to do this year, all that while still maintaining that love and care for our kiddos.”

            Daniel said that, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, sometimes people take for granted the day-to-day care that Morais gives at Sippican.

            After Christina Bonney from the Sixth-Grade Parent/Guardian Group spoke to the committee about fundraising plans, and the committee voted to approve three ideas presented and any ideas previously approved in the ORR District.

            Sippican students’ last mountain classroom trip was held in 2019, and Bonney reported that prices have increased to the point where the group is not committed to pursue it but consider alternative activities.

            Discussing fundraising methods, Bonney said that a computer tool being explored would set up secure websites that are pop-up compliant for students to use to request donations and connected to that activity would be three acts of kindness chosen by the students. “They’re not necessarily being paid to be kind, but they give back to their community regardless of whether they’re raising any money,” she explained.

            Raise Craze, the computer fundraising platform, guarantees that 90-percent of the funds raised will go directly to the cause, and students’ financial ability will not deter their participation, according to Bonney.

            The selling of cupcakes and/or donuts and the purchasing of gift cards carrying structured incentive plans are also being considered. No timeline has been established as of yet for the fundraising activities.

            ORR Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson reported on his presentation to the Joint School Committee on ORR’s Accelerated Road Map Vision 2023 and specific targets to hit by the end of year four of the five-year plan.

            The committee, which had reviewed the draft of Sippican School’s two-year School Improvement Plan, voted to approve.

            Before the vote, Sippican School Principal Marla Sirois reviewed the plan, highlighting project-based learning assignments focusing on literacy in the areas of remedial, informational, and communication technology.

            Year-one projects will be shared with grade-level audiences and showcases will reflect on the overall ORR vision for 21st Century Learning.

            Nelson updated the committee on the Sippican School egress project, an emergency plan for a second route out to Route 6 that was not completed during the summer due to a delay in bids for the project. That work is now underway with an anticipated completion date of December 31.

            Sirois told the committee that features including student suggestions will be added to the playground when it is restored after the egress work is completed.

            In her Principal’s Report, Sirois highlighted work being done to reach out to families to foster a sense of belonging in keeping with district goals and to encourage school attendance. She reported a 95-percent attendance for the month of September; Grades 4-6 were above 97-percent.

            Sirois welcomed back teacher Erin Kirk.

            Buttonwood Park Zoo representatives brought animals to present for students’ learning.

            Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber delivered documents relating to the summary FY21 report and revolving account activities for all of FY21 and first quarter for FY22 (July 1 through September 30, 2021).

            Of the approximate $6,300,000 school operating budget, all but $24,000 has been spent and, according to Barber ,will be transferred back to Marion’s free-cash account.

            Breakfast and lunch counts are much higher for the 2021-22 academic year.

            The committee also received a report from Barber via Gene Jones, the facilities manager, on the building updates. Air purifiers have been installed in every classroom at Sippican School. Barber also told the committee that a meeting would be held later this month in which FY23 capital needs will be reported.

            In his Central Administration Report, Nelson called the air purifiers “an important piece of the puzzle for us,” noting that positive reports on air quality have come in.

            ORR’s COVID-19 testing operation in concert with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is up and running.             Nelson reported 23 COVID positive tests to date at Sippican, including 13 cases in isolation as of the meeting and noted that safeguards are being strictly followed.

            He credited Jones and Food Services Director Jill Henesey for their diligence in ensuring student safety since the Boil Water Order that was still in effect for the Town of Marion entering the October 18-22 school week.

            Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Dr. Jannell Pearson-Campbell provided a snapshot of current happenings, including professional development opportunities for ORR faculty and nursing staffs.

            A full day of professional development is scheduled for Friday, November 12, when district teachers will be engaged in activities relating to project-based learning, responsive classroom, and dyslexia.

            Michelle Smith reported on Building and SMEC subcommittee meetings and encouraged listeners to support the Building Subcommittee’s goals at the October 19 Town Meeting.

            The committee entered executive session to discuss collective bargaining strategy and compliance with federal law and only returned to public session to adjourn the meeting.

            The next meeting of the Marion School Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, December 1, at 6:30 pm, and the next JSC meeting is set for January 20.

Marion School Committee

By Mick Colageo

The October 18 meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board found the board handing out continuances, one extension, and a postponement.

            On the postponement front, a draft of a new solar bylaw that the board had been working diligently to have prepared in time for the mandatory two rounds of public meetings before heading to the Spring Town Meeting has been put on hold by the Select Board.

            The Select Board believes a new bylaw should be presented at the more all-encompassing Spring Town Meeting versus a Fall Town Meeting (scheduled for November 8). Fall town meetings are generally used to handle financial matters not anticipated after the Spring Town Meeting as well as other spending articles. Public hearings for the proposed new solar bylaws are tentatively scheduled for March 7 and 14, 2022.

            On the matter of an extension, the Park Lane subdivision project represented by Douglas Schneider of Schneider, Davignon, & Leone, Inc. was first continued until December 6. The continuance allows the engineer more time to work with the town regarding drainage designs primarily centered on a transition of the roadway from public to private. Then the entire matter was extended until December 20 to give the Planning Board time to act after hearing results on matters involving the public to private roadway.

            Beals and Thomas, the engineering firm representing Randall Lane Solar, LLC, submitted written requests for continuance of three matters before the board, an ANR for the creation of a four-lot subdivision, site plan review for the proposed solar array, and application for activity within a flood hazard. The review and public hearings were all continued to November 1.

            Also continued to November 1 was the site plan review for Eldridge Estates, a three-lot subdivision off Prospect Road.

            In the case of Snowfield Estates, represented by Attorney John Mathieu, a two-lot subdivision was conditionally approved for the release of a remaining lot in lieu of a $7,000 cash surety and repairs to a swale including plantings.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, November 1, at 7:00 pm.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

            For the Mattapoisett Bike Path Study Committee, it’s been a long 26 years of trying to work out all the moving parts associated with the construction of a multi-million-dollar bike path that will one day connect through Mattapoisett from Fairhaven to Marion.

            Along the way there have been triumphs and setbacks, but the quest has continued even with the latest issue, defective bridge planking, plaguing Phase 1b.

            At the October 13 meeting of the MBPSC, longtime Chairman Stephen Kelleher told the group that the problem with the bridge planking remains unresolved to date. He did say that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials in Boston were seeking review of the defective materials by an independent third party before settling on a course of corrective measures.

            “Everything is on the table,” he said of the planking dilemma. Kelleher said the resident MassDOT engineer is not involved in the review process at this point, thus everyone is waiting for word from the state office in Boston.

            Still, other complications face Phase 2a, Kelleher explained.

            Phase 2a, a portion of the bike-path design that would wend the pathway from the intersection of Depot Street and Good Speed Island to Industrial Drive, will require easements that have yet to be mapped, including wetland delineations, and assessed for value. Kelleher said he had believed there were monies remaining from a Community Preservation Act grant that the project received in 2016. However, he has since learned that the funds were exhausted on other engineering work associated with the bike path.

            Deepening the complexity of getting the next phase started is the lapse of easements approved at a 1997 Town Meeting but eventually expired due to a lack of action. “It passed at Town Meeting, but it was never acted upon.… There is no record of a taking,” Kelleher stated. He further stated that in 2001 the then sitting Board of Selectmen took what should have been an easement for the bike path, instead using it for a sewer right-of-way.

            Work continues, Kelleher said, with Town Administrator Mike Lorenco trying with Attorney Matthew Thomas to untangle the land issues and get assessments for any land for which taksing and easements will be necessary. “Possibly next month or so we should have costs and get this thing going,” he said.

            New member Dick Grahn asked, “Is there an action plan that scopes out the vision?” Kelleher responded, “We need to get ready to push on Phase 2a to get on the TIP (Massachusetts Transportation Improvement Program) over the next three to five years.” Continuing on, Kelleher said it’s a two-pronged approach. “One, the $500,000 for Industrial Drive and, two, get an article to Town Meeting to get easement rights and appraisals.”

            On a happier note, Kelleher said that the Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path has secured approval from the Select Board on the style of benches and bike racks that it may purchase and place along Phase 1b when it opens and along the recently completed connector at the end of Industrial Drive to the Marion line.

            The board also recently approved the installation of a stop sign at the intersection of Bay Club Drive and Industrial Drive for safety purposes now that more pedestrian and cycling traffic is anticipated in that area.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Bike Path Study Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, November 10, at 5:30 pm.

Mattapoisett Bike Path Study Committee

By Marilou Newell

            Two single-home extensions were granted special permits during the October 14 meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals.

            Janvrin Demler applied for a Special Permit under Section 230-6.1c of the town’s zoning bylaws to allow the extension of an existing non-conforming residence at 80 Front Street.

            Will Saltonstall of Saltonstall Architects, representing the Demlers, said the couple is looking to create a more “fuller-time residence” in Marion.

            As Saltonstall described the plan while sharing the plans with his computer screen, two areas of addition will be made, one toward the back razing an old structure and expanding the existing house over part of that footprint, while also adding a smaller addition toward the front of the house. A screened-in porch and deck will be replaced, the latter in a slightly smaller footprint.

            The old structure to be turned down as part of the project sits 4.4 feet from the side yard lot boundary; Saltonstall is proposing an addition to the existing house that will bring it to within a 9.6-foot setback of the same lot line.

            ZBA member Will Tifft asked about the foundation and the potential for closing in areas presently planned for outdoor porch space.

            “We have some ledge issues on the site that are going to be fun … so the screened porch will not be built in a manner than can be closed in later,” explained Saltonstall.

            There are two bathrooms in the existing house, and there will be two in the revised property.

            ZBA members Margie Baldwin and Ed Hoffer looked at the site and both said the new plan will improve the property for abutters as well as the residents.

            Saltonstall also represented Steve Sughrue, who applied for a Special Permit under Section 230-6.1c of the town’s zoning bylaws to allow the extension of an existing non-conforming residence at 663 Point Road.

            Saltonstall told the ZBA that he lives two doors down and has a strong personal interest.

            Zoned as Residence D, only the 17.3-foot side yard setback to the south property line is non-conforming.

            The addition is compliant with the other side yard and rear setbacks, so the request is confined to the one side yard setback of 17.3 feet, which will not change with the addition, according to Saltonstall.

            According to Saltonstall, Sughrue has discussed his plan with direct abutters to the north and south, and both support the proposal.

            ZBA member Dana Nilson asked about the bulkhead, which sits on the short side yard, and after Saltonstall explained that it is not required to comply with the side yard setback, Building Commissioner Scott Shippey confirmed that Marion’s bylaws allow bulkheads, chimneys, and the other non-inhabitable spaces to encroach the setback area.

            Applicant Jay Flanagan requested a continuance to his application for a variance under Section 230-5.1 of the town’s zoning bylaws to allow a covered entry to sit 4 feet closer to the street than the current non-conforming structure and for a Special Permit under Section 230-6.1c of the town’s zoning bylaws to allow the extension of a non-conforming garage at 267 West Avenue.

            The ZBA voted to continue the public hearing to November 18 at 6:40 pm.

            The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for Thursday, November 18, at 6:30 pm.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Mick Colageo