On May 19th, 2020 at approximately 12:15pm, the Mattapoisett Fire Department was dispatched to 56 Ocean Drive for a reported structure fire. Fire Chief, Andrew Murray arrived on scene at 12:21pm and confirmed a working structure fire with heavy fire and smoke showing. A first alarm assignment was requested to the scene, bringing in engines from Marion and Fairhaven Fire. Rochester Fire responded to the scene with two tankers to aid with water supply. 

During an initial scene size-up, it was reported that there was someone trapped inside. The crew from Engine 1 immediately started making entry into the house to perform a rescue when the occupants were located in the back yard. Once all life hazards were addressed and everyone was accounted for, crews resumed fire suppression activities. The home is an ocean front residence and at the time of the fire, 25-30 mph winds were gusting off the water, creating difficulties with extinguishment. 

Crews worked tirelessly to bring the fire under control in approximately 35 minutes with 22 firefighters. Three people were home at the time; however, no injuries were reported. The fire and smoke damage is estimated around $200,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Mattapoisett fire department and Massachusetts state police fire investigation unit. The Mattapoisett Police provided scene security and assisted with traffic. The last fire unit cleared the scene at 3:32pm. 

Mattapoisett Fire Department Press Release

            On May 9, the Mattapoisett Board of Health held a public meeting, at which time five of eight applicants vying for the position of public health nurse were interviewed either on-site in the large meeting room located at the public library, or via Zoom internet meeting. The hitch in this plan, having the board gather in a room large enough to afford social distancing and remote meeting access, was the audio. Ambient noise in the cavernous room corrupted the voices of the participants, rendering discussions inaudible.

            The Wanderer was unable to decipher the interviews and asked for the curriculum vitae and letters of interest submitted by the applicants to be provided as public records. Board of Health Chairman Carmelo Nicolosi accommodated that request.

            The following are brief outlines from all eight applicants, based on documents they provided. Before the interviews commenced and with the phone positioned adequately for audio output, Board of Health Agent Kayla Davis declared that she had completed full disclosure forms at the town clerk’s office given that her aunt, Elizabeth Russell of Wareham, was one of the applicants.

            Russell’s resume lists a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing from Curry College in 2019. She has worked in public health settings, and as a nurse in both medical and surgical positions. Russell also listed community nursing as part of her career path and has been a case manager for community service groups. She has been a registered nurse for 27 years.

            Kara Bandstra of Upton holds a Master’s Degree in both nursing and public health from Worcester State University and University of Massachusetts respectively, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in sociology from Rhode Island College. She stated that she has been a registered nurse for over 17 years, working in institutional, community, and public health settings including disease investigation and education.

            Emily Field of Marion listed a Master’s Degree in nursing from Boston College in 2005 and as having attended Monash University in Victoria, Australia, where she studied community health. Field’s nursing background points to extensive institutional nursing in medical, surgical, and critical care positions. She has also volunteered at local schools.

            Kimberly Jerome of Rochester holds nursing licenses in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing from UMass Dartmouth in 1993. She lists over 20 years of nursing experience, noting her work in critical care units as well as home-based, healthcare programming.

            Barbara Sylvia of Dartmouth has been a private care nurse for 15 years. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in 1989 from Rhode Island College. Sylvia graduated in 1983 from Cambridge-based Youville Hospital School, where she studied practical nursing. She also listed experience in critical care nursing, medical and surgical units, nursing homes, and psychiatric care.

            Tiffany Taylor-Sullivan of Middleboro has recent experience with COVID-19 patients in hospital settings. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing from Curry College in 2019. She has spent most of her professional career in academia as a high school math teacher. She also lists the publication of educational textbooks as a writer and editor as professional achievements. Taylor-Sullivan graduated from Georgia State University in 2004 with a Master’s Degree in education.

            Jodi Moen of Sandwich has been a nurse for 12 years and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing from UMass Boston. Of her nursing experience, Moen listed positions in trauma units, acute care, hospice, and home-based settings. Her professional background includes being an on-call firefighter, EMT, and animal control officer. She has studied diseases such as the West Nile virus and tick-borne pathogens through her work with animals and the public.

            Lori Desmarais of Assonet is currently working as a public health nurse and has 25-years of experience in nursing. She has worked in pre-operative and post-operative positions and in pediatric private care. Desmarais is also a director in a nursing home setting where she provides staff development programming and infection control procedures. Currently in the wake of COVID-19, she is performing contact tracing and follow-up. She also listed professional positions as an EMT and as on-call firefighter. Desmarais earned a Bachelorette Degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1993.

            The board hopes to make a decision in the next four weeks with input from Davis, public health nurse Amanda Stone and three Board of Health committee members, Nicolosi, Ken Dawicki, and Russell Bailey.

            Stone also gave an update on Mattapoisett’s COVID-19 cases, which she said stood at 21 on May 6. She said that earlier estimates on the number of people that would need to be contacted based on exposure to a confirmed case had been trimmed back. She said that all of the data being collected including symptoms related to the disease is aiding to a better understanding of the virus. When asked what the average age of local confirmed cases was, she responded, “…over fifty (years old).” Stone added that at the present time no Mattapoisett residents were in the hospital with a COVID-19 diagnosis. Of the 21 cases, she said they were all isolated at home.

            Stone cautioned that as more testing was completed confirmed case numbers would rise especially for people working in the healthcare field. She also cautioned, “There are a lot of people in the community we don’t know about; that’s why wearing a mask is so important.” Stone said that many people do not demonstrate symptoms but are, in fact, contagious. “The puzzle is coming together,” Stone stated and that in order to open up businesses and other venues it will be necessary to wear face coverings. “We won’t know (the implications of opening businesses) for a while… there’ll need to be administrative and environmental controls,” she added.

            Of case investigations, Stone said those are determined by many factors such as onset of symptoms, type of symptoms, people in close contact, movement of people that are exposed to a confirmed case, “…all that gets transferred into the database.”

            “Close contacts have to go into quarantine,” Stone stated. “It’s believed that you can get infected if you come closer than 6 feet for 15 minutes or more with an infected person… Staying home helps reduce contact rates.” She said that in workplaces it’s the responsibility of the business leaders to inform employees of confirmed cases.

            The Board of Health moved onto the issue of a part-time versus full-time clerk. Nicolosi said that the town administrator had asked the board to consider a part-time clerk, given revenue decreases expected due to coronavirus-related business shutdowns.

            Former town administrator Mike Gagne confirmed that the plan was to ask for cutbacks from all town departments.

            Staffing at the transfer station was discussed as several employees have not wanted to work during the emergency, Nicolosi said. He said members of the Highway Department have been filling in. The board discussed staggering transfer station hours to Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday through the summer.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Health was not scheduled at press time.

Mattapoisett Board of Health

By Marilou Newell

The Braley Hill North Solar, LLC project has once again been continued, this time because of quorum issues, as only four of the Planning Board’s seven members were present at its May 12 Zoom meeting.

            Cognizant of potential ramifications of resuming the scheduled public hearing for the project without the absent board members, Chairman Arnie Johnson advised presenter Eric Las to request a continuance. After conferring with the applicant, Las thanked Johnson for the suggestion and requested a continuance to the board’s May 26 meeting. “That sounds like the best decision… that seems like the right option,” said Las.

            Because some members not present had already missed the maximum-allowed one public hearing on the matter, missing another would disqualify those members from voting.

            Potential fallout includes but is not limited to the possibility that the Planning Board will not be able to produce a quorum when it comes time to vote, resultant delays could possibly set the project far enough back it would require refiling of all documents and rescheduling of fees, effectively starting from scratch. Town Counsel Blair Bailey added that at some point in the process a unanimous vote might be needed and might not be attainable.

            “I think we’re far enough along in the project that I think we know what needs to get done here engineering-wise,” said Johnson, who didn’t wish to see the project go off the rails.

            A motion to continue the case to May 26 passed.

            The board did schedule a site visit to Braley Hill Road on Friday, May 22, at 4:00 pm. Still listening in on the call, Las told Johnson, “We will have that fairly marked, Mr. Chairman.” Johnson said the board would like to see limited clearing and where the panels are going to be.

            The board also intends to schedule a Saturday site visit for the Connet Woods development, but that date will not be set until the remaining board members have been brought into the loop.

            Of immediate issue are residents’ complaints that, according to attorney Steve Meltzer, are largely leverage based. “We’re going to do everything we’re required to do and more, never less,” he said.

            Seeking to separate the issues of storm drainage and the roadway, Town Counsel Blair Bailey said, “What we’re trying not to do is hold the roadway acceptance (back)” and requested a letter be written to get that disassociation on the record.

            “I will have Bay Colony write a letter to that effect. They are separate and distinct issues,” said Meltzer. “You’ll get a letter from me and attached to it a letter from the engineer making clear that the drainage issues have nothing to do with the roadway.”

            Town Planner Steve Starrett said the board’s next meeting will be full with Connet Woods, Braley Hill and other projects on the agenda.

            “We’re going to make sure we get as many guys as possible to that meeting,” said Starrett. “We can’t afford at the next meeting to have anybody miss.”

            The Connet Woods hearing will be scheduled on the June 9 meeting agenda, falling after that project’s site visit.

            An informal hearing was held to introduce a solar project by Trinity Solar atop the roof of the Rochester Golf Club clubhouse at 353 Rounseville Road (Route 105). Paul Eaton, representing the club, proposed 25 solar panels on the roof facing Rounseville Road. 

            Route 105 is considered “scenic highway” and therefore requires application, but is not in a historical district, according to Johnson. The clubhouse is not visible from the road, and Johnson said the project will not require a peer review. Being below 200 kilowatts, a site-plan review is not needed either.

            “He has to file a site-plan review application, but the extent of our review will be with the Building Department,” said Town Counsel Blair Bailey, estimating the project will bring back a page-and-a-half decision. “As long as they meet the building-code requirements, that’s all that we need.”

            Johnson estimated a two-month process. Eaton, who encountered technical issues hindering his presentation, planned to follow up on May 13 with Starrett.

Rochester Planning Board

By Mick Colageo

            In the event Rochester cannot hold Town Meeting as scheduled on Monday, June 22, Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar was advised to request approval for a “one-twelfth” budget for July 1, 2020, the start of FY21. Szyndlar told the Board of Selectmen during its May 7, remote-access meeting that she intends that presentation of a one-twelfth budget will be on the agenda for the board’s next meeting, Monday, May 18, with cuts.

            Selectman Woody Hartley asked for more specific information on what might be included in budget cuts, citing that real estate taxes account for approximately 70 percent of the town’s operating budget.

            “We do not need the public to start speculating… that’s the worst thing that can happen right now,” said Hartley.

            Szyndlar said she will meet again with the Rochester Finance Committee, but explained her process.

            “This is an ever-changing situation here, and we don’t have much guidance on revenue numbers coming from the state,” she said. “We did get a little bit of some budgetary developments and a letter came in from Senator Michael Rodrigues, and they’re predicting big shortfalls.”

            Thusly, Szyndlar based her one-twelfth budget on conservative revenues.

            “I was not looking at any layoffs, any furlough… It was basically keeping it as is and covering the necessary expenditures, in other words the school, our fixed costs and keeping it as is,” she said. “Well, as time has gone on, we know that we do have some buildings that the programs aren’t continuing. It may be a little while before they continue so we’ll look at that. We’ll look at, possibly, areas that are… not needed at this point in time, and maybe some additional things in the budget that we can forgo until the fall.”

            Hartley clarified that Szyndlar is not suggesting cutting into school or safety budgets.

            “Everything is unknown right now. We’re working with unknown revenues, the state can’t give us much guidance so we’re trying to build something that we don’t have enough information as far as where we’re going to end up with cuts from the state,” she said. “So we continue to do a conservative budget and, as we know more, we can work with the budget. As we know more, we go into the next fiscal year and, (if) things become much more severe than what we anticipated, at that point in time we can start doing some spending freezes, some looking at more programs and seeing where else we need to go.”

            Szyndlar acknowledged the potential for next steps that might include renegotiating contracts or the changing of policies for the use of the town’s reserve revenues or the use of its stability fund.

            “All things are on the table at this time,” she said. “I wish I knew more. People can imagine things, but we have to be realistic. We’re in unprecedented times right now. There’s a lot of unknowns.”

            Hartley acknowledged the unknown quantity, “but people will start speculating. They’ll be throwing out, ‘Oh, they’d better not do this’ and ‘They’d better not do that,’” he told Szyndlar. “I agree that we will not know probably until the day before Town Meeting what the Finance Committee and you as our CEO are going to recommend to the members of Town Meeting what we do. But we don’t want people to be overly concerned at this point.”

            The positive side of the coin, explained Szyndlar, is Rochester’s financial strength.

            “As dire as this is with the revenues, I’d like to point out that fiscally we’re in the best shape for a town to weather this storm. We’ve been really working on our reserves, our financial policies, building up our free cash, not using free cash to balance our budget. We’re playing by the rules and… by the recommendations of the state as far as best practices so we are in much better shape than I think a lot of cities and towns are in,” she said. “We don’t rely on a meals tax, which is a big plus for us at this point in time because any of the cities and towns that have meals tax, that revenue has disappeared. We don’t rely on a marijuana tax payment so that’s a plus for us. Looking at our revenues, we don’t have some things against us, we’re in better shape.”

            In keeping with a requirement under the state’s COVID-19 Relief Fund to ensure that Rochester will be reimbursed for non-budgeted, coronavirus-related expenditures, the Board of Selectmen authorized Szyndlar to send a letter to the state director of accounts, Division of Local Services, requesting written approval to pay emergency liabilities in excess of appropriation (not budgeted by Rochester).

            Under MA General Law 44, Section 31, no department financed by municipal revenues is allowed to incur liabilities in excess of appropriation except in cases of major disaster such as the COVID-19 state of emergency declared by Governor Baker on March 10.

            Town Counsel Blair Bailey noted that Rochester has the SEMASS payment that will continue and may increase with the amount of waste being processed. “Our payments are good,” he said. 

            Bailey explained that a one-twelfth budget cannot include anything that requires Town Meeting approval or include any new number not in the present (FY20) operating budget. Automatic raises and step raises are different because union contracts have already been approved, “but cost-of-living adjustments cannot be in there until Town Meeting passes it,” he said.

            All the COVID-19-related expenditures in the departments and the schools are being dedicated and earmarked as non-budgeted expenditures per Cares Act requirements.

            In other business, the board approved the appointment of Robert Orr as a part-time police officer, along with the reappointments to three-year posts for full-time officers Brendan Emberg, Kevin Flynn, and Alyson Rego.

            The Board of Selectmen officially postponed the town’s Memorial Day festivities and, at the suggestion of Vice Chairman Brad Morse, is angling toward Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11.

            “I think we should plan on not doing anything and sometime in mid-August let’s talk about holding it on Veterans Day since ours tends to relate around veterans, but I don’t think we should have that discussion until we see where things are headed, but end of July and August start talking again,” said Morse.

            According to Bailey, the Board of Health is working on a plan with the fire department going ahead with the annual clamboil fundraiser on a drive-through, pickup scenario.

            Hartley suggested it’s time for a meeting of department heads, and Szyndlar said she would reach out to see when that can happen.

            Anticipating one-on-one meetings with hearing-impaired clients, Council on Aging Director Cheryl Randall-Mach sought verification on the town’s policy requiring facemasks inside town buildings. There is a segment of the COA’s clientele reliant on lip-reading.

            Bailey confirmed that Rochester does require facemasks, but acknowledging that the spirit of the order is for when social distancing is not possible and that those who rely on lip reading sit farther apart than six feet and see if they can effectively communicate.

            Having attended the Plymouth County Commissioners meeting, Board of Selectman Chairman Paul Ciaburri exuded confidence as he reported that the distribution of the $90,000,000 under the CARES Act to reimburse towns for expenditures is expected to be up and running by the end of June.

            “I have faith in them. They run a pretty tight ship,” said Ciaburri. “This isn’t the first time they’ve parceled out money. They have adequate people… I personally support them. They seem to have a great plan. I listened to them… they answered all my questions.

            “None of this money can be used to balance budgets. You have to prove that you spent this money before you can get reimbursed so what Suzanne has done from the start is keep excellent track of this, plus all of the department heads. We’re in pretty good shape, considering.”

            The Rochester Board of Selectmen will go back on a Monday schedule starting with its next meeting scheduled for 11:00 am Monday, May 18.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Mick Colageo