Rochester Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar has learned in a meeting with representatives of the Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District (SRPEDD) that the town’s legwork in accessing state aid via grant funding may get shorter.

            Reporting to the Board of Selectmen during its March 22 meeting, Szyndlar explained during her Town Administrator’s Report that towns could combine 10 programs into one online portal.

            Thanks to the guidance of an emerging online system, Massachusetts invites applications on one timeline and then by way of a letter of interest. SRPEDD will assist with Master Plan and Public Safety-related grant applications that must be filed on an April 22 deadline.

            Town Hall’s April reopening plan took a step forward with a meeting attended by Szyndlar, Health Agent Karen Walega, Town Counsel Blair Bailey, Administrative Assistant Amanda Baptiste, and the building inspector and facilities manager.

            A thorough examination of all aspects of the reopening has yielded a plan to manage building capacity through a video intercom. Each department will entertain one group at a time that all enter through the Town Clerk’s Office.

            “We’re still a small building here, and we’re trying to comply with the social-distancing standards,” said Szyndlar, who reported success with the likeminded plan already in place at the nearby Annex building.

            The Town Hall’s conference room will be used on a limited basis. Public meetings will still be held in a hybrid or remote format, and rules will be spelled out at townofrochestermass.com.

            Szyndlar reported to the selectmen about an article brought forth by citizens proposing to authorize the Board of Selectmen to transfer property for the purpose of constructing affordable housing units.

            The article failed to meet the board’s March 5 deadline, according to Szyndlar, noting that the article proposing 501c3 housing requires 10 signatures to comply with state General Law and the Town Clerk.

            Szyndlar said a couple of issues linger, including improper use of Town Meeting as a platform for the Board of Selectmen to auction property. It would also go against the state’s anti-aid amendment, she said.

            Board Chairman Paul Ciaburri called the proposal “a very slippery slope,” saying, “If you donate property to this place, you’ll have 50 people coming at you (with requests).”

            Selectman Woody Hartley distinguished Rochester Affordable Housing as a private entity not affiliated with the Town of Rochester.

            In her Town Administrator’s Report, Szyndlar also noted that health insurance for town employees would see a rate increase of 2.25 percent for FY22.

            The selectmen agreed to sign road-use requests made by Mark Walter of Westwood-based Sun Multisport Events and Derek Savas of On Your Left Racing in Middletown, Rhode Island, for two area triathlons this June and July. The Patriot Half Triathlon is scheduled for Saturday, June 19, and the race would see cycling between 8:30 am – 12:30 pm and running between 10:30 am – 3:00 pm. The On Your Left event scheduled for Saturday, July 10, includes a choice of half or Olympic-distance triathlons.

            Both events remain subject to state government’s potential move into not-yet-sanctioned Phase 4 activities. Both events emanate from Cathedral Camp in East Freetown and are scheduled to traverse Rochester roads, albeit on vastly different courses, according to Savas. The Patriot Half course has changed since the last running in 2019, according to public documents. Roads will not close for the triathlons but will be marked.

            In other business, the selectmen approved a survey of a 5-acre property off Old Middleboro Road. Morse explained that Highway Surveyor Jeff Eldridge requested the survey in hopes he can clear out a half-acre or an acre to store asphalt grindings. The board will presumably ask Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon to make a site visit.

            Assistant Herring Inspector Robert Gonneville tendered his resignation, effective March 22.

            The selectmen voted to accept a February 2021 SEMASS pilot payment of $831,459.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for Monday, April 5, at 6:00 pm.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Mick Colageo

            Marion has received its delayed shipment of second doses of COVID-19 vaccine for its age 75+ residents who received their first dose through the town’s COVID-19 inoculation clinic back in February.

            On March 2, the Marion Board of Health learned that it would have to reschedule its COVID-19 vaccine clinic slated for that following Thursday because a vaccine shortage in the state had delayed the delivery of the 100 doses. That vaccine clinic was rescheduled for Thursday of this week, March 18, still within the suggested 28 to 42-day timeframe the vaccine manufacturer recommends for the window to receive the second dose, said Public Health Nurse Lori Desmarais.

            Unfortunately, she said, any tentative plans for hosting any future vaccination clinics for Tri-Town educators have been abandoned after Desmarais said the state has confirmed that it would maintain its focus on providing vaccine doses to mass-vaccination sites only and jettisoning its prior support for local vaccine distribution.

            Desmarais reported that there are currently six active COVID-19 cases in Marion for a total of 381 since the onset of the pandemic one year ago.

            Sippican School currently has four active cases with a total of 35 since schools reopened this past fall. There are presently three people in quarantine.

            Old Rochester Regional Junior High School has one active case, none in quarantine, and has had 25 cases since the fall. There are no active cases currently over at ORR High School; five are in quarantine, and that school has had 78 confirmed cases total.

            Tabor Academy continues to do well with its routine COVID-19 testing, said Desmarais, with the school continuing to screen students and staff that present with potential COVID-like symptoms.

            Sippican Healthcare Center has gone 32 days since its last reported positive case.

            Desmarais said she would be resuming her clinical hours from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm every Wednesday at the Cushing Community Center for senior citizens beginning April 7. She said she had received multiple requests for blood pressure checks and, since the majority of those seniors have now been vaccinated, she can resume the weekly health clinics safely.

            In other business, the board will be reviewing a draft set of regulations that control body art, such as tattoos and piercings. The interest comes as a new tattoo parlor sets up shop in Marion, which currently does not have its own set of adopted safety standards and regulations.

            “I would enforce these things like I do for food-service establishments with annual inspections [and] do site inspections before opening,” said Health Agent Anna Wimmer.

            Board of Health Chairman Dr. Edward Hoffer hopes to hold the public hearing as soon as the public hearing’s required legal posting can be accomplished.

            Shortly before the meeting, Hoffer and Brown attended a joint meeting with Rochester Board of Health members Dale Barrows and David Souza to approve splitting the $27,910 annual amount for Karen Walega’s retirement as the former health director of the Marion-Rochester Regional Health District.

            The health district dissolved last year and Walega remained in Rochester as its part-time health agent.

            The total includes $19,935 in pension, $1,674 for insurance, and $1,500 in bookkeeping costs. Hoffer said the town administrators from both towns recommend each town create a new budget line item for the assessment.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health will be held on Tuesday, April 6, at 4:00 pm.

Marion Board of Health

By Jean Perry

            The Marion Marine Resources Commission’s next project is to review the existing moratorium on new commercial moorings and started the process on March 16 after discussing the moratorium’s history, hearing from Marion marine businesses, and ultimately forming a three-member subcommittee to study the topic comprehensively and present its findings to the commission for a recommendation.

            Harbormaster Isaac Perry said he has received inquiries about the availability of commercial moorings in Marion waters and asked the commission to consider where it stands on the issue. Perry’s concern is for the “serious ramifications” to marine-based businesses affected by approval or denial of a commercial mooring transfer request.

            MRC Chairman Vincent Malkoski said the moratorium was established after the early “wild, wild, west” days of harbor management in Marion when commercial moorings were deployed in high numbers, moved around, and rented out. The moratorium resulted once harbor management was “straightened out to bring everything in line,” said Malkowski.

            Current regulations on the transfer of commercial moorings restrict transfers to marine-based businesses only, with no additional moorings permitted. Any commercial mooring transfer, other than that to an immediate family member, is converted to a recreational mooring. Recent applications for transfer requests, business’ renewed interest in adding commercial moorings, and long mooring waiting lists are driving the proverbial bus toward MRC consideration.

            According to Perry, Marion has roughly 1,300 moorings in its waters, with just under 280 of those classified as commercial. Another 40 or so are classified as commercial, such as those moorings held by the Beverly Yacht Club, Tabor Academy, and the Kittansett Club.

            The Kittansett Club has recently expressed a renewed interest in acquiring more commercial moorings, Perry said, and several Marion marine businesses are also exploring the possibility.

            The waiting list for moorings in the inner harbor is as long as a 25-year wait, with other areas between one and three years or less time for those waiting lists.

            MRC member Scott Cowell posed the question: How many boats do we want in our harbor? “Do we want to expand … or keep a moratorium on everything?”

            Malkowski said he knows of no one who would claim that the inner harbor isn’t already full, and the MRC will look at the inner harbor as a part of the whole conversation. “But, honestly, I have a hard time seeing how we can do any expansion in the inner harbor,” said Malkoski. Moorings could be deployed to areas like Aucoot Cove, he suggested. Changes could entail lifting the moratorium while keeping with density limits in certain areas, reallocating existing vacant moorings, and creating a policy on how moorings would be assigned.

            “Can we look purely at commercial moorings without looking at private moorings also?” asked MRC member Peter Borsari. Perhaps, said Malkoski, but with the issue of density, it has to be carefully studied. Still, it’s the “should or shouldn’t” question that will determine the results.

            The commission allowed the representatives from three different Marion-based marine businesses to speak about what they hope to achieve in the long run, beginning with Dan Crete from Saltworks Marine. Crete said he recently bought 600 feet of waterfront in Hammett’s Cove, where he would like to add commercial moorings for logistical purposes and, perhaps, to rent to clients.

            “It’s really difficult to have a boatyard in town and not very many places to keep boats that are in, even just in transition, coming in for haul-out,” said Crete. “It’s really a lot of juggling and keeping a lot of plates in the air …” He said sometimes the boats he services contribute to congestion at the town docks. “It would be hugely helpful,” he said, to have moorings for boats his company boards, and “tremendous” to have a handful of spaces to rent to existing customers. Two other boatyards have “a lot more than a handful” of such moorings, he said. “It would be nice to have a small dog in the fight, at least. … Right now, we don’t have much.”

            Shawn Patten from A&J Boat Corporation said he, like Crete, is looking for convenience for boat drop-offs, pick-ups, and similar transient situations. “Often we can’t complete a job in time,” he said, with the short boating season and tides and other factors affecting each day. Rentals would also be a plus, he said. “We don’t have any revenue generating on the water,” said Patten. The marine industry is expensive, he added, “and any little income that you can use to subsidize will certainly help the businesses and grow the businesses in town.”

            Gregg Nourjian from the Kittansett Club said they talked about installing a pier with a landing for years to accommodate transient guests who want to come play golf, eat, or spend the night. He would be looking for about a dozen moorings in the outer harbor northeast of the point.

            The MRC’s subcommittee has its homework ahead of it, starting with looking to other communities on their own commercial-mooring policies and regulations. Whatever new process Marion adopts, if any, must be fair and equally mindful of the environment, said Malkoski.

            “[The MRC] should do what we can to help existing businesses in town thrive,” said MRC member Toby Burr, who also owns Burr Brothers Boats. “Marion has a problem. It doesn’t have enough businesses … so the few that we have we should help out to the extent possible.”

            Malkoski reminded everyone that no regulations would move forward before a public hearing and vote by the Board of Selectmen.

            Cowell said this should be a collaborative effort between the MRC, the Harbormaster Department, residents, and businesses to determine “what’s best for everybody and what makes the most sense for the waters.”

            “That is always our intent,” said Malkoski. “Even when we tell people ‘no,’ … we’re truly trying to do what’s best for the town.”

            Marion waters is a “finite resource,” said Malkoski. “You can only do so many things in one area. … We have to make choices.” He continued, “We’re trying to re-divide the pieces of our finite pie and see what we can squeeze out of it.”

            In other business, Perry said the department has issued 2021 invoices for inspections and will be working to “clean-up” the handful of aged and overdue inspections. He is also working to reconcile any past overdue excise taxes, something Perry said is a “renewed push” across several town departments. Mooring permit bills have also been issued recently.

            The commission is expected to review a final draft of the updated aquaculture regulations before forwarding it to the Board of Selectmen for a public hearing and vote.

            The next meeting of the Marion Marine Resources Commission will be held on Monday, April 19, at 7:00 pm.

Marion Marine Resources Commission

By Jean Perry

            In their meeting held on March 10, the Rochester Planning Board discussed a previously approved application for the Cranberry Highway Development. The reopening of the discussion was sparked by changes to sign location and orientation on the site.

            Phil Cordeiro of Allen and Major Inc. came before the Planning Board to explain the amended plans to the board members. According to Cordeiro, the plans for placing signs on the development have been in progress throughout the application phase and ultimately fall under Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals jurisdiction.

            After meeting with the ZBA, Cordeiro identified changes in his plans that would need to be brought before the Planning Board for its records and maintained consistently among the plan sets. The changes to the plans were caused by ZBA requirements to identify the lines of sight surrounding the sign placements.

            As the signs are positioned near the road, it is important that the positioning and orientation for signs do not impede the view of oncoming traffic. This point is particularly important for the signs positioned along Route 28. At those junctions, drivers will need a significant amount of vision to anticipate oncoming vehicles before turning.

            Cordeiro went to the site and took pictures of the locations where the signs would be constructed. In addition, he shared images of the lines of sight with drawings of the signs superimposed so that board members could more accurately understand the impact that signs would have on limiting the view of oncoming traffic.

            Due to Cordeiro’s design, the signs’ impact on the sightlines is limited by their spacing at least 11 feet away from the road at all points. This means that, even if the signs are substantial in size, drivers will still have the ability to see around them when turning out of the development.

            The Planning Board was generally satisfied with the position and orientation of the signs, as Cordeiro effectively demonstrated that the signs would not cause any significant restriction to the sightlines. With that, the board informed Cordeiro that it would inform the ZBA that it is in favor of the updated changes to the position and orientation of the signs.

            The next Rochester Planning Board meeting is scheduled for March 23 at 7:00 pm.

Rochester Planning Board

By Matthew Donato

            Intermittent versus perennial is apparently not a simple matter of observation when it comes time to vet a construction project near a stream.

            In responding to applicant W. Dale Jones’ Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation (ANRAD) for the review and confirmation of the wetland resource area boundaries at the vacant lot on Register Road, the Marion Conservation Commission met on March 10 and took a deeper dive into an area uncommon to the commission’s routine cases.

            “We’re a coastal town. We don’t deal with riverfront as much as some other towns might do,” said Shaun Walsh, chairman of the Conservation Commission. The wetland flags look reasonable to him, he said, but added, “I’m struggling with the stream.”

            Following a second site visit on March 6, consultant Bob Gray addressed the March 10 meeting in which he defined wetlands, referring to the typical red maple swamp and pit-and-mound topography. Gray alluded to the “magical 50-percent point” where the topography dictates the planting of flags.

            Gray said he began the wetland delineation at the rear of the site and Jones’ property, comparing soil conditions in the wetland with those in the upland. He described bright soils in the upland and black or gray soils in the wetland before planting flags.

            If the commission issues an Order of Resource Area Delineation (ORAD), it means the wetland area delineation on record is accurate, but there are ramifications to the classification of the stream.

            “If it’s an intermittent stream, then there is no 200-foot riverfront area. If it is a perennial stream, then there is a 200-foot riverfront area associated with that,” said Walsh, noting that the conclusion can potentially impact what can be done on the site. “I want to make sure that we get it right; that’s where I’m coming from on that.”

            Jones said he would not have bought it if he knew he was going to have a problem with the stream. He told the commission he bought the lot sometime around 1978; Walsh told him Marion did not have riverfront regulations at that time.

            “I don’t want to issue something that Mass DEP might take a look at and decide to appeal to themselves,” said Walsh. “I always feel that, if you can get it right at the Conservation Commission level without an appeal to DEP, you’re going to get your decision sooner rather than later and at less expense rather than more expense.”

            The regulations, Walsh summarized, say that if there is a river, there is a riverfront area, and a stream is a river when it’s a perennial stream (i.e., flowing throughout the year). If shown as a perennial stream on the most-recent USGS map, then it’s perennial and, therefore, a river with riverfront area. Conversely, if it is not thusly shown on the USGS map, it’s not a river. The caveat, said Walsh, is when the stream is shown as perennial, but there are documented field observations, and a DEP official can validate that the stream is, in fact, intermittent.

            “And that’s where I am right now,” said Walsh.

            Gray, ConCom’s adviser on the matter, suggested that the commission issue an ORAD acknowledging the stream as perennial instead of measuring the application against the performance standards required by the commission for the lot in the current situation. An inspection by DEP personnel, he suggested, could take a month or more just to accomplish.

            Despite being listed as intermittent, Gray said he is comfortable determining the stream to be perennial based on the USGS topography map.

            Jones said he wants to settle the matter as soon as he can.

            Per Gray’s suggestion, Walsh said ConCom would reach out to the state’s wetland circuit rider and continue the public hearing two weeks out to a 7:00 pm hearing on Wednesday, March 24.

            Two Request for Determination of Applicability filings continued from February 18 were green-lighted without the need to file a notice of intent.

            ConCom voted to issue a Negative 2 determination of applicability for applicant Fikile Portia Ndlovu’s construction of a single-family house in accordance with National Flood Insurance Standards within a FEMA flood zone AE16 at Wilson Road.

            ConCom also voted to issue a Negative 3 determination of applicability for the shed that Michael Isabelle intends to build on the outer limits to the buffer zone to a coastal bank at 196 Point Road.

            The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24, at 7:00 pm.

Marion Conservation Commission

By Mick Colageo