Snapping Turtles Lay Eggs in May

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            From our panoramic picture window on the coastline of Sconticut Neck in Fairhaven, we welcomed the avian parade of migratory birds along the Atlantic Flyway, arriving to begin the nesting egg-laying April ritual reproduction. However, the month of May will be the month when the reptilian Snapping Turtle will rise up from muddy bottoms of brackish river tributaries to trek overland to similarly lay eggs.

            First, the female must meet the male on dry land to mate and fertilize her eggs. However, Mother Nature has already bestowed upon her a woman’s prerogative to change her mind. If she finds that reproductive atmospheric or environmental conditions are not exactly right for her eggs, she is blessed with the innate ability to store the male’s sperm in her reproductive organs until she feels her time is right.

            Case in point, scientific research reports find how her eggs incubated at about 65 F degrees produce only females, 73 F degrees produce both males and females, and 75 F degrees only males. Once she feels comfortable in her heart, she must head overland for as far as a mile or more, as well as crossing a country road or two, in plain sight for onlookers. She may return to the same sandy hillside used last year.

            In less than a single day, she may lay as many as 30 to 40 eggs, as illustrated, and use her tail to bury them in sand out of sight from predators. All too often they are found and dug up by hungry skunks, raccoons and crows. If her buried treasure trove has been dug up upon her return, she somehow knows not to use it again.

            Once she has laid and hidden the eggs, she immediately takes off to return to the path she came on, to the very waters of her departure.

            Her motherhood is finished, and her hatchlings left to fend for themselves. They will, in the fall, emerge from their leathery containers using a small egg tooth to break the shells. They will be about three-quarters of an inch long, with a cute little turtle-like impression and a face only a mother could love.

            As their mother departed in one day, they, too, will take off as soon as they are free to go, tracing her path to head to the nearest direction of the safety of water. Once their shells harden, their chances to live a full life of some 10 years improve, but only 10 percent of eggs laid grow into maturity.

            Egg-laying production is an ancient reptilian ritual, giving them the Latin classification of Chelydra serpentina, perhaps named after the evil serpent in the garden of Eden, mankind’s cross to bear.

            The Snapping Turtle is among the oldest creatures on Earth, even before the Mesozoic age of dinosaurs. They probably were among the original forms of living things that crawled up on land from the primordial soup that produced life-like creatures in the ocean.

            If you should come across a Snapper crossing a road, please do not waylay or disturb its reproductive intention. You will be witness to Mother Nature’s ancient renewal to ensure an unbroken chain of evolution for your own prodigy to read about and environmentally appreciate.

By George B. Emmons

Mattapoisett Annual Town Election Information

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The Annual Town Election is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at Old Hammondtown School. We understand that many people are concerned about the current public health situation. Therefore, we are encouraging voters to request absentee ballots by mail. This way, your voice can still be heard without the worries and anxiety of exposing yourself to any illnesses. Please visit the Town website for updated information regarding the election or to request an absentee ballot. You may also call the Town Clerk’s Office at 508-758-4100 x 2 to request an application for an absentee ballot. Please consider requesting your ballot now because we must receive the voted ballot from you by the close of polls on election day for your vote to count.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

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Dear Editor,

            On April 6th, the Planning Board held its virtual meeting through “go to meeting”. Despite great efforts by individuals responsible for the meeting, it was very disjointed and, in places, very hard to follow. Jonathan Silverstein, Town Council, provided clarification of the Zoning Board of Appeals decision to deny NextGrid their application to build a free-standing solar array in a residential area off of Bowman Road. He discussed the applicants appeal to the land court and explained the town’s decision to seek solutions to NextGrid’s legal challenge rather than go to court.

            Daniel Serber presented NextGrid’s case along with Mr. Chris King of Atlantic Design and a representative of NextGrid. Their presentation went on for over three hours and questions were asked by the members of the Planning Board for clarification of the plans, with no input by town citizens objecting to NextGrid’s proposal. The only opposition was a letter written by Brad Hathaway stating his opposition. It should be noted that Mr. King requested that public comment should be in written form rather than verbal participation; to which Nathan Ketchal responded that all citizens must be heard. As a result, the Planning Board voted for a continuance, much to the disappointment of the NextGrid’s contingency.

            It was only a few years ago that the Planning Board denied Tedeschi the right to have a drive through window in their establishment. Due to opposition by the developer and their threatened legal action against the town, the Zoning Board of Appeals was given the opportunity to override the Planning Board’s decision. Now that the powers of the town wish to abdicate their duties to the citizens of the town and avoid legal confrontation, they request that the Planning Board be given the chance to override the Zoning Board of Appeals. WHICH WAY IS IT, POWERS TO BE. WHO MAKES THE DECISION THIS TIME? If one board doesn’t go along with you, you just change the board.

            To allow a California entity to come in to Mattapoisett, ruin a forest and walk away with plenty of money at our expense doesn’t make sense. Putting this Solar array in the precarious position of a hurricane flood zone only endangers the people of Mattapoisett, not the carpetbaggers from California.

            This whole project should be left until this Coronavirus allows us to meet in a proper venue.

Dr. Paul E. Osenkowski, Mattapoisett

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.

Tri-Town Courses Await Tee Time from Governor

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            Part of the problem the sporting world faces with the novel coronavirus outbreak is the same one all businesses face: the unknown. It makes planning a return nearly impossible for some of the major professional leagues. Ever since the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League went on hiatus, there’s been no sign of traction with regard to a return. Major League Baseball has tried to establish dates but to no avail.

            The one major American sports organization that has established any sort of direction right now is the PGA Tour, which is set to hold events in June. The nature of the game allows for participants to keep their distance from one another, though fans will not be allowed to attend.

            Some states, including New England neighbors Connecticut and Rhode Island, have allowed golf courses to remain open throughout the non-essential business closures. Massachusetts, however, is not among those places.

            Initially, clubs in the Tri-Town area lobbied to stay open. Towns didn’t budge, electing to follow along with Governor Charlie Baker’s stay-at-home advisory.

            “There seemed to be some uncertainty if the town could provide authority to, essentially, supersede the governor’s mandate,” Bay Club General Manager Greg Yeomans said. “And when we realized that (overriding the state) was not the case — we opened for one day upon the town of Mattapoisett’s approval, and then we shut down immediately when we realized that the governor’s mandate stood as the message that all clubs needed to do.”

            Marion Golf Club was in a similar position.

            “We’ve had people coming out here back and forth,” Marion Golf Club clubhouse employee Will Daly said. “We’ve had to, unfortunately, tell them they can’t be playing golf right now.”

            Reservation Golf Club, however, remained open for a time. There was blowback from the outside, but that wasn’t what led to Reservation halting action on the course. The governor’s decision to shut down golf courses, other than maintenance, forced Reservation to end play — leading members to express their frustrations.

            As Reservation took this unique path, the decision-makers at the club were reassessing everything to make sure the club could bounce back from the stoppage in business.

            “As soon as this began, we have been doing a review of our finances,” Reservation Golf Club president Rich Deprato said. “Our club was fairly healthy. We had a pretty robust balance sheet. We had gone to our bank and said, ‘Hey, we’re considering refinancing our mortgage, trying to lower our liabilities.’ And we were given the green light to save some money. That was right at the beginning of this, before they even closed the golf course down. We were already starting to see the writing on the wall — my peers on the board of directors and I.

            “So we pulled that off, we did a pretty robust review of our finances and started moving money around so that we could tolerate a month or two of closing. The other thing we did was, once we were officially closed and we had very little revenue coming in — we do our dues on a quarterly basis, our member dues — so we reached out to our mortgage lenders again, and our creditors for our lease equipment for the equipment we manage the golf course with, and we said, ‘Hey, everybody in the golf industry is in the same boat. We need a break.”

            Reservation got the break it was looking for, pushing back all liabilities until August. Now the club is in the same position as all others in the Tri-Town area: Preparing for the state’s green light.

            “We had a pretty significant modification to how we were going to handle golf,” Yeomans said of The Bay Club. “Essentially, eliminating all the touchpoints: ball-washers, tees, pencils, scorecards, anything that members or even guests would potentially collect before they went out. We actually took the flag sticks out of our greens, and just put every pin in the center of the green. No carts, stuff like that. We had already made some adjustments or key time intervals or 15 minutes apart.

            “And there’s some other things that people are doing or preparing to do. How do you secure or how do you police, I guess, the social-distancing guidelines, making sure people are congregating in one area? So all things that we pretty much took for granted and habits that we’ve always had for a long time are going to change, certainly for the immediate future when we do get the opportunity to reopen.”

            Deprato expects Reservation will keep flagsticks out when the club first opens up, and rakes will not be in bunkers.

            “We’ll probably keep doing the cup-up method, which means we just don’t push the cup all the way down into the hole. It’s above grade two to three inches give or take,” he said. “We’re not sure what the rules are going to be to have our business open, but let’s say that we can generate revenue by selling greens fees and copyright carts.

            “We’re probably going to put up a piece of Lexan (plexiglass) in front of our pro-shop cash-register, and we’ll probably accept greens fees and cart fees there. We have already purchased ample supplies of disinfecting devices like squirt bottles and hand sanitizer. We kind of got ahead of this in the very beginning. And then we’re going to pivot when the government says things are allowed to open a little bit.”

Sports Roundup

By Nick Friar

Concerns Loom if Citizens Dip into Free Cash

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            Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar reported to the Rochester Board of Selectmen at its April 23, remote access meeting that the town’s stability fund is at $1.3 million and that the goal is to get it between $2 million and $3 million.

            “We’ve got to keep working on putting money in the rainy-day fund. Marion and Mattapoisett have a lot more money in theirs than we do,” said Szyndlar, raising concern over a citizens’ petition to lower the tax rate by taking $50,000 from the free cash account. Doing so would put $20 into the hands of 2,500 citizens.

            “We’re in unprecedented times. This is their right to put this to a town meeting. Hopefully, something like this doesn’t pass,” said Szyndlar before asking the Board of Selectmen for comments.

            Selectman Woody Hartley said that over the last few years Rochester has created stabilization funds that are meant to act as a bank if needed.

            Szyndlar clarified that the stabilization fund is not a slush fund. It requires a two-thirds vote to put in, a majority vote to take out, and requires town meeting, but the town can borrow against it in the short term, provided the account is paid back during the same fiscal year. Short-term borrowing can cost Rochester $5,000 per loan.

            “(The account) helps the town greatly,” she said. “This is what’s going to keep us strong through events like what we’re having right now.”

            The town’s Capital Improvement Fund had planned to recommend that $200,000 go into that fund but, since the COVID-19 crisis, has since recommended the matter be revisited in the fall.

            Szyndlar said the same holds true for road improvement funds, leaving Rochester with $250,000 in free cash to either not use and carry over to FY21 or “see where we are in the fall. There’s too many unknowns at this time,” she said.

            The Board of Selectmen agreed.

            It was suggested that the question regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maps may be more important than anything else on Rochester’s Town Meeting warrant.

            Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon said that, despite the coronavirus pandemic’s strain on municipal governments, FEMA is not backing off of its deadlines on the updating of FEMA maps. Farinon said it has been a couple of years since Rochester updated information on the Mattapoisett River and its tributaries.

            New maps become effective on July 22. Rochester’s Planning Board will review the updates on May 26, and Farinon hopes the updates will be on the warrant for the June 22 town meeting.

            Town Counsel Blair Bailey said that FEMA claims it has no regulatory authority to extend the deadlines and agrees with Farinon that Rochester needs to “keep pushing forward” with the prescribed timeline.

            In her report to the board, Szyndlar said that Mark Walter had told the town he may postpone the Patriot Half Triathlon, originally scheduled for Saturday, June 20.

            The website for Sun Multisport Events, the race company owned by Walter, confirmed the postponement in a posting dated April 20. Furthermore, Saturday, September 5, is listed as the new date of the event on the site.

            The select board approved the new date for the race, which starts in Freetown and runs through Lakeville, Middleboro, and Rochester before looping back. Permits will be reviewed in the board’s next meeting.

            Rochester is looking at raising building permit fees. According to Szyndlar, the town has some of the lowest fees among area towns. The board agreed it was time to revise. The Building Department has provided spreadsheets justifying the proposals that Szyndlar will forward to the select board.

            As of April 21, Rochester had eight COVID-19 cases and no deaths.

            Council on Aging Director Cheryl Randall-Mach said the COA is using its website (rochestermaseniorcenter.com), Facebook and press releases to reach out to the community, but would like to post its updates on the town’s website (townofrochestermass.com), use the town’s whiteboard and do a reverse-911 call. “People don’t want to self-identify, we can assure them there is no stigma in getting help,” she said.

            The COA has stationed hand sanitizer right outside its door. The facility remains closed, but Randall-Mach said she would like to see it reopen in September.

            Hartley was encouraged after he and Town Planner Steve Starrett attended an April 22, remote-access meeting of the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD). “I honestly think the video meeting is a lot more effective than everybody driving up to Taunton,” said Hartley.

            The next Board of Selectmen meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 30, at 11:00 am via remote access. According to the town’s website, the board will meet from 11:00 to noon with its regular agenda, setting aside a second hour beginning at noon to meet with Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School representatives.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Mick Colageo

A Thank You to Our Supporters

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            Over the past weeks, we have been asked many times by generous folks what they can do to help The Wanderer. We have received multiple messages of support and even donations. Thank you to everyone who has reached out, and I want to reassure you, The Wanderer is here for you and will be here for you long into the future.

            Like most of the small businesses we have as clients, we have spent years building a sturdy business model that has planned for hardship. We were established in 1992 while the country was recovering from a recession, and we are like a Depression-era family who will always be saving and planning for lean times. We pray those times won’t come, but if they do, we’re ready. In 2001 when the dot com bubble burst, we were here to help our clients rebuild. The bustling economy of 2007 brought many new publications to the area. In 2008, there were five weekly publications serving our area, right up to the recession in 2008. We stood by the small business we had served for years and weathered the storm. We didn’t plan for this, exactly, but we planned for something, and something has happened. 

            The economy of a newspaper is fluid, and in a semi-seasonal community, even more so. As the businesses in our area know, the winter is slow. We see fewer advertisers in the winter because there are fewer customers for those businesses. It’s just the way it is, and we plan for it. This year was no exception and in January and February we work at a loss; we have to. We work off savings from the summer months and cut back our personal expenses, knowing winter is coming. Each year it seems as summer is shorter and winter is longer but it’s still possible, and spring will come. Ironically in 2020, March 12 was the first week where all the bills were covered and everyone was paid in full. It’s ironic because now that was the only week in 2020 that we’ve run in the black so far. But spring will come! It’s just going to be a little late this year, and we’re well prepared for the setback that has arrived. We’re used to it.

            We stand by our advertisers and they stand by us. By supporting those businesses and telling them you appreciate them advertising with The Wanderer you are doing more than your part to ensure the future of The Wanderer and community journalism. We are doing everything we can and adding more daily to get that message out through social media, in print, and through mailings of The Wanderer. Doing more for our clients is what drives us!

            Thank you to those who feel The Wanderer is so important to the community to send in a donation. We will use that money to help the businesses that really need it today!

            As for The Wanderer, we’re here to stay – you can bank on that.

Candidates’ Night Canceled

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Since Massachusetts has proclaimed that all citizens should practice social distancing until May 18, the Southeastern MA LWV annual Candidates’ Night has been canceled.

            The Selectmen have now tentatively scheduled our Annual Town Meeting for late June with Elections to follow. 

            There are three contests in Marion. Selectboard incumbent, Norm Hills, is being challenged by Joseph P. Zora Jr. Assessor incumbent, Pat DeCosta, hopes to retain her seat and is also being contested by Joseph Zora. Finally, Planning Board members Eileen Marum, Chris Collings, and Norm Hills all hope to win re-election, with challenges from Edwin “Ted” North and Joseph Zora. These five candidates are competing for three openings on the Planning Board.

            In lieu of Candidates’ Night, The Wanderer has agreed to provide news articles about all contested candidates leading up to the election, answering questions drafted by the Area League of Women Voters Candidates’ Night Committee.

Marion Moving toward June 22 Town Meeting

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            The anticipated proposal of a Monday, June 22, Town Meeting was among four coronavirus-related items that Town Administrator Jay McGrail discussed with the Marion Board of Selectmen at its remote access meeting on April 28.

            McGrail planned to formalize the plan later this week with an eye on presenting formally to the board for discussion at its Tuesday, May 5, meeting. The flushing out of details involving three large rooms at Sippican School and possibly involving Tabor Academy, will still leave ample time for the required 20 days public notice.

            Working with Town Facilities Manager Shaun Cormier, McGrail is hoping Sippican School’s auditorium, gymnasium, and cafeteria can function as the three primary rooms based on capacity for attendees seated seven feet apart.

            “They’ll have to enter and exit one at a time like they do at the supermarket,” McGrail had told the board during its April 23 meeting.

            If it comes together, Marion will be aiming for Town Meeting on Monday, June 22, with the election on Friday, June 26, but could go to Monday, June 29, if necessary. “That wouldn’t create a problem. This year is one of the few times where that wouldn’t be a problem,” said McGrail.

            His second item for the April 28 meeting was Memorial Day (May 25), for which a celebration is being planned to feature a video montage including remote access interviews with veterans and marching bands performing remotely but woven together. The annual parade has been canceled.

            Third, Harbormaster Isaac Perry will join the Board of Health at its Tuesday, May 5 meeting to discuss the reopening of the town dock and has sought state-level guidance that will be used in concert with Marion-related issues to formalize a plan.

            Finally, the Town House will remain closed through May 18 in keeping with Governor Baker’s extension of the stay-at-home advisory and closure of non-essential businesses that had been scheduled to expire on May 4. Meantime, McGrail is working with Cormier and Assistant Town Administrator Judy Mooney to get more staff into the building.

            McGrail had laid out a concept during the Board of Selectmen’s April 23 meeting in which town officers would meet the public at a window, provide the requested service and then return to their offices. In any case, the wearing of facemasks would be required.

            “If we do this plan, we would build some sort of kiosk area with plexiglass in front of it. It’d be almost like going into a bank,” said McGrail, who would welcome the extra time to prepare that the new May 18 state-closure date provides.

            Bill Saltonstall, a member of Marion’s Energy Management Committee who attended the April 28 Board of Selectmen meeting, gave a rundown on projects related to the Green Community Grant.

            Stressing the priority “to pick projects we could complete within this grant cycle and then go on for a (potential) third grant,” Saltonstall summarized work on five sites: the Community Center (with kitchen and bathrooms the largest of Marion’s Green Community Grant projects); the Music Hall (insulation in the area over the vestibule); the Library (energy savings on interior storm windows); Silvershell Sewage Pumping Station at the corner of Lewis Street (replacing the old, oil-fired furnace with a new, gas-fired model); and the Main Water Station (weatherization work and new furnace using propane instead of oil).

            Town Planner Gil Hilario pointed out that all the furnaces in line for replacement are approximately 30 years old. 

            “We had expected a year ago that, with a grant this year, we might finish the LED lighting at Sippican School, and that’s now been done under a different program,” said Saltonstall. “We had to move on to find other things to fill the bill, and these seemed like the right ones to get done before the end of the year.

            “We couldn’t tackle the big ones like the Wastewater Treatment Plant… It seems to take a lot of oil for the square footage, and tackling a project like that would take more time than we have this year.”

            Hilario said the Wastewater Treatment Plant would require more research. “You can apply for $200,000 (in Green Community grants). The Wastewater Treatment Plant is a huge user of oil, and we just weren’t ready (to tackle such a project),” he said, adding that Green Community grants would not have worked out to fund Town House renovations.

            McGrail passed along comments made by Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative representative Liz Argo letting the board know how valuable Saltonstall has been to CVEC’s board.

            In the Board of Selectmen’s April 23 meeting, it became apparent Marion is ready to expand its use of video-conferencing technology to public hearings, not just public meetings.

            “Although our town counsel (Jon Witten) doesn’t like the format of it, it definitely works. I have some ideas on what other communities are doing,” said McGrail.

            “I think we need to start doing it and schedule hearings in May. I know Jon Witten is extra cautious, but the governor’s blessed it… it’s not in the town’s best interests (to put it off any longer),” said Selectman John Waterman.

            Selectman Norm Hills, also a member of the Planning Board, added, “The Planning Board’s going to have to have a public hearing for the items that are on the (Town Meeting) warrant.”

            “By late May we need to hold some hearings,” said Waterman.

            McGrail said he was working on a hybrid plan.

            “Make sure, if we have those public hearings, everyone – if they don’t have a computer or access – somehow I want those people to be able to have ability to participate. That’s my comment to this,” said Chairperson Randy Parker.

            McGrail said the 30-second delay in transmission can make such a hearing “a little tricky, but not something we can’t get through.”

            Waterman said that residents without access to Zoom technology via computer or smartphone could call in on phone and watch the meeting on ORCTV.

            Argo attended the board’s April 23 meeting on behalf of CVEC to discuss the contracts that Marion is entering into with it and with Distributed Solar Development (DSD) for what is hoped will become a profitable solar array atop the Benson Brook landfill.

            The attraction of DSD’s bid over two others is a straight lease because Marion had already maximized what it could do on a metered arrangement. The 20-year lease agreement is expected to generate $125,000 per year for the town (see Energy Management Committee story in this edition).

            The interconnect with Eversource could prove too costly, but Marion maintains the right to back out of the deal.

            “We need to make sure it’s not a net loss,” said Waterman. “We just don’t want to get surprised. We want to make sure we make money over the 20 years.”

            Marion joined CVEC last year, joining in with a large number of towns represented by the organization.

            Argo expected it will take three weeks to get the first review. DSD would pay for an impact study that could take two months. Then Marion would know where it stands. Argo stressed that the agreement is carefully sculpted to allow termination if the numbers don’t work for Marion.

            Hilario confirmed that the 1.5-kilowatt solar project will only exist on the flat, top part of the landfill.

            Argo said it’s vital that Marion move quickly due to incentive categories designed to drop when there are delays.

            The board accepted the intergovernmental service agreement with CVEC and authorized McGrail to sign the contracts with CVEC and the developer DSD.

            In other business, the Board of Selectmen also approved an engineering proposal from Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., which specializes in road projects.

            In its April 23 meeting, the board held a moment of silence in the memory of former Marion selectman Roger Blanchette, who passed away on March 29 at his home in North Port, Florida.

            The longtime Marion resident was chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals for over a decade, served as Water/Sewer commissioner for four years and Parking Clerk for three years. He also served on Marion’s Finance, Private Ways, Housing Partnership, Buzzards Bay Action and Housing Trust committees. He was an elected member of the Board of Selectmen and served for six years from 2006 to 2012.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for Thursday, April 30, at 3:00 pm.

Marion Board of Selectmen

By Mick Colageo

Old Middleboro Road Solar Near Approval

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            The April 21 meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission was held remotely with commission chairman Mike Conway, vice-chair Dan Gagne, and commissioners Lena Bourque, Kevin Thompson, Maggie Payne, and Chris Gerrior present as well as town counselor Blair Bailey in attendance. After a few minutes of log-in hiccups, the meeting began at 7:22 pm.

            The commission and applicant Pedro Rodriguez of Solar MA nearly reached karma as the commissioners discussed final tweaks needed to the plan of record. Rodriguez was represented by Austin Turner of Bohler Engineering. Turner focused the attention of the commission on refinements requested by peer-review consultant Henry Nover to drainage mounding, with Turner saying “it did not impact stormwater calculations” previously submitted.

            The solar project would transform 35-acres off Old Middleboro Road impacting the 100-foot buffer zone jurisdictional to the conservation commission. The plans do not, however, impact wetlands.

            Previous discussions with the applicant included the protection of historic features, such as stonewalls and homestead foundations. The biggest concern noted on this night by the commission and documented by Nover, was the necessity of improvements to the primarily dirt road, Old Middleboro Road, and construction of the drainage system before work on the solar field begins.

            Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon said that Nover’s letter pointed to the importance of drainage systems to the site prior to tree removal and other disturbances. Farinon asked if the hearing had reached the point where special conditions should be discussed, such conditions as the commission’s right to inspect the site during construction and the requirement that any changes to the plan of record first be brought before the commission prior to execution in the field. Conway said that special conditions and standard conditions could be sent to the applicant for review and that at the next meeting finalized. The Notice of Intent hearing was continued until May 5.

            Also continued was a proposed 208-unit residential and commercial development project located along King’s Highway at a former landscaping and greenhouse operation. Representing Steen Realty and Development Company was Phil Cordeiro. He explained that the project has been moving along behind the scenes with plans modified to remove some resource areas from impact and to review and incorporate comments from peer-review consultant Field Engineering. He also commented that, given the project has already gone through five continuances, this evening’s hearing was a new filing as required by the commission.

            Overall Cordeiro said, “We have been making great strides,” noting changes to the drainage system, reflagging of wetlands, on-site wastewater treatment systems, and the repurposing of an existing greenhouse structure for future storage. He said his client wanted to provide the same set of drawings to both the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission so that each board would be working from the same set of documents. Farinon asked to review the new wetlands flagging prior to the continuance of the new filing. The Notice of Intent hearing was continued until June 2 to give the applicant sufficient time to prepare new drawings.

            SunRaise Investments LLC, represented by Julie Goodwin of Prime Engineering, received approval of the 5,423 bordering vegetated wetlands on property owned by Bradford D. and Ruth C. Correia at 0 Featherbed Lane. An Order of Resource Area was approved for the Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation.

            A continuance was granted to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, 45 Kings Highway at the request of the applicant until May 5.

            In other business, the commissioners approved an emergency contingency plan for the position of conservation agent if necessitated by COVID-19. They voted to engage John Rockwell, local wetlands scientist, if needed. Farinon said with a chuckle, “I have no intention of going down!”

            The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for May 5, time and phone-in conference details to be posted.

Rochester Conservation Commission

By Marilou Newell

Health Director Karen Walega to Retire

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            The impending dissolution of the Marion-Rochester Health District, unfortunately, coincides with the announcement that Regional Health Director Karen Walega is retiring next week.

            Dr. Ed Hoffer, a member of the Marion Board of Health, thanked Walega for her 30-plus years serving the district and on behalf of the district, he wished her the best of luck in her new direction. 

            In the immediate, Marion is looking for a part-time health agent for FY21.

            That matter was taken up in the 3:00 pm Marion Board of Health meeting held only an hour after the district meeting had ended.

            Marion Town Administrator Jay McGrail followed that district meeting with the announcement that, for the remainder of the life of the district and in FY21, the towns of Marion and Rochester will go in different directions.

            The resulting part-time job posting for a new health agent for Marion will be somewhat general, and the actual job description and compensation may depend on the field of candidates.

            “So it could be just the sanitarian depending on candidates,” said McGrail, opening up the potential to beach-water testing, restaurant inspections, and the health-agent role.

            He recommended posting the job as a part-time health agent at 20 hours per week at a rate of pay of $25 to $35 per hour and, after some discussion initiated by Marion Board of Health Clerk Dot Brown, with the preferred qualification of the removal of nitrogen. McGrail will form a subcommittee with Brown and Assistant Town Administrator Judy Mooney to screen applicants, then bring in the potential hires for interviews.

            Marion is discussing reopening its beach parking lot, but without a paved lot with lined spaces, ensuring safe spacing is a challenge.

            Chief of Police John B. Garcia said a physical barrier would limit the number of cars that can park in the beach lot.

            Board of Selectmen Chairperson Randy Parker said it would be necessary to have the guard shack manned. At the same time, no one in the meeting thought that a person should be saddled with confrontations with violators and that spot-checks by the police with ticketing might be a solution.

            Brown noted that privileged stickers give vehicles access to surrounding roadside parking so it may not be possible to indirectly curb beach crowds via parking restrictions inside the beach lot. She doesn’t think any such measure has a realistic chance of success during the month of May.

            “Ultimately, we keep this on the agenda and you can discuss this at your next agenda,” suggested McGrail, who agreed at the request of Board of Health Chairperson John B. Howard to find out if Marion has enough saw horses to place in the parking lot.

            Meantime, Assistant Harbor Master Isaac Perry is planning to prepare the Marion town dock for a potential reopening over the next two weeks.

            Hoffer said that 2020 is probably going to be a bad summer for the EEE virus, noting perennial issues of tick-born diseases. “Everybody’s talking about nothing but COVID, but none of them are going away,” he said.

            Brown added, “Triple E is a three-year cycle and this is year two. You can spray, but you can’t spray yet. We don’t have mosquitoes, and it’s not clear if that works.”

            McGrail requested that one of the experts work with him on answering those questions for the public, estimating a dozen emails so far from concerned citizens.

            Howard said posting on Facebook to remind people about EEE and other cautions is a valuable tool, but the advice should be to “Call your own physician and ask those questions.”

            Hoffer also initiated discussion on the limits of the state’s or town’s authority to impose safeguards on the employees of businesses allowed to remain open during the stay-at-home advisory. He suggested that workers at Cumberland Farms should be wearing facemasks. Howard added that they should have their temperatures taken when they report for their shifts.

            In other business, Hoffer reported that Walega and Health Nurse Kathleen Downey have been talking with the state about contact tracing and a potential Facebook Live discussion on health issues where people could call or write in questions.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5.

            Only 90 minutes before Marion’s 3:00 pm Board of Health meeting, the Marion Rochester Health District passed motions to buy out Walega’s sick time, unused vacation time, personal days and comp-time, pay her part-time hours for May and June 2020 (Rochester only), credit Marion for Walega’s part-time hours in its FY21 operational budget, and vote to not appoint health agents for either town in FY21.

Marion-Rochester Health District

Marion Board of Health

By Mick Colageo