October 21 was the night of the fall special town meetings for Marion and Mattapoisett, but that evening during the regular meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen, Rochester Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar called out an article on Mattapoisett’s warrant – a Home Rule Petition aimed at splitting the cost of a school resource officer at Old Rochester Regional – as irrelevant.

            Mattapoisett’s Home Rule Petition – a request from a city or town for a new type of power from the state legislature – sought to require Marion and Rochester to split the cost of an SRO three ways.

            “Mattapoisett wants Marion and Rochester to send payments for an SRO directly to Mattapoisett as part of an additional annual assessment,” explained Szyndlar. “They feel that having this spelled out in a new special law would make it clear for all towns to share in the cost.”

            According to Szyndlar, both Marion and Rochester believed that cost should be funded as part of each town’s annual assessment to be paid for as part of the ORR school budget.

            Szyndlar said she spoke with Rochester’s town counsel and with representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for clarification on the legality of Mattapoisett’s article.

            “They stated that there is no provision in the regional school agreement allowing for any operating costs to be approved or apportioned outside the budget process,” Szyndlar told the board. “The cost of an SRO may not be added or apportioned through a Home Rule Petition of a single member town or, for that matter, by all member towns, because that would be outside the statutory budget process.”

            “We told them we’d support it in the past,” said Selectman Brad Morse.

But forcing Rochester to pay through a Home Rule petition, said Selectman Greenwood “Woody” Hartley, “Mattapoisett doesn’t have the right to do that to us.”

            “If it’s against the rules, why would you want to do it?” asked Selectmen Chairman Paul Ciaburri.

            Szyndlar said she had only just received the correspondence from DESE that day and had spoken with Doug White, superintendent of schools, to inform him.

            That evening, Mattapoisett voters did approve the Home Rule petition article.

            In a follow-up email the next morning, Town Administrator Michael Gagne stated, “Regardless of the mechanism, the original agreement between the three town administrators and three police chiefs that the cost of the safety officer be shared should be honored.

            “Children from all three towns are being protected,” continued Gagne. “It is not unreasonable for the other towns to pony-up their share of the original agreement. Whatever documentation is necessary, home rule or otherwise, should be drafted.”

            Szyndlar stated during the meeting that Rochester would have no problem funding the SRO, but it must be done properly within the budget process.

            In other business, the board signed a letter in support of an updated version of the town’s Green Community Energy Reduction Plan to submit to the state after a couple changes needed to be made to the plan.

            Once Rochester is designated as a Green Community it will be eligible for up to $900,000 in grants over the next five years to help the town reduce its carbon footprint while spending less on energy.

            “That’s a great start for us,” said Hartley. “That’s wonderful. That’s what we were hoping for.”

            In related news, Szyndlar announced the Rochester had received $5,400 from the Sustainable Materials Recovery Program that will go toward a mattress collection container at the highway barn as part of the town’s recycling program.

            Also during the meeting, the board renewed its annual contract with the Lakeville Animal Shelter, and signed the warrant for the November 18 Fall Special Town Meeting scheduled for 7:00 pm at Rochester Memorial School.

            The Board of Assessors asked the selectmen to continue its tax classification hearing until November 4.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for November 4 at 6:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

            On October 17, the Special Permit application filed by Robert Kirkland, 53 Main Street, appeared to be a rather routine application for a Special Permit to build a single stall garage; however, the public hearing resulted in the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals denying the request.

            Kirkland’s contractor, David Cabeceiras, explained that it was not really an application for the construction of a new single-stall garage, but instead a request to extend an existing shed by 25 feet. The extension would give Kirkland a place to put his new truck, especially during the winter. Cabeceiras said that given Kirkland’s advancing age and mobility issues, having the garage space would relieve the homeowner from having to clean snow off his truck.

            The existing structure is situated near a door to the residence, further granting Kirkland easy access to his truck.

            Cabeceiras noted that the application, if granted, would not make the shed structure or extension “less compliant.”

            But the plan brought out abutter Sarah Storer whose home is located in close proximity to Kirkland’s property.

            Storer said that Kirkland had not shared his plans with her prior to the filing, so she had not had time to discuss the matter outside the hearing. She said the extension as described would block sunlight from entering her kitchen.

            “The kitchen is the heart of our home,” Storer said, where her family spent all their time. She feared not only the blocking of sunlight through her kitchen windows, but a view that would now be the exterior wall of the garage. “Can’t we come up with an alternative?” she asked. Storer would ask for compromises several times during the hearing, while expressing her desire not to stop Kirkland from having a garage.

            ZBA members Mary Anne Borgan and Tony Tranfaglia reviewed the drawings and wondered if the garage could be placed somewhere else on the property, as ZBA member Colby Rottler wondered aloud if decreasing the length by five feet would work.

            Cabeceiras said that placing a garage somewhere else on the property would cost more than the plan he presented, but that he could “cut off five feet” of the extension. 

            ZBA member Kenneth Pacheco said, “He’s basically kind of handicapped… We have to weigh both sides.”

            Yet, Storer insisted that the shed extension would be detrimental to her family’s enjoyment of their kitchen and continued to ask for compromises.

            Tranfaglia suggested a continuance to give the two parties time to discuss matters privately and try to work out a plan that would satisfy both. He also said he was willing to make a site visit and help with that process if Kirkland would agree.

            But Cabeceiras said time was of the essence, given the coming winter season, prompting Brogan to respond, “You should have started sooner.”

            Andy Bobola, building inspector, asked the board to explain the ramifications of voting on the application versus continuing the hearing.

            After explaining that the denial of the Special Permit would mean that Kirkland could not return for two years, there was a silence; but he could file a Repetitive Petition with the Planning Board if he came up with a new plan.

            If the Planning Board agreed that the new plan was “substantially changed” from the original filing, Kirkland could return to the ZBA. Otherwise, it would be two years before the ZBA would entertain another filing.

            Kirkland, shook his head ‘no’ when asked if he wanted a continuance. The vote was called.

            Rottler voted to grant the Special Permit, contingent upon a 20-percent reduction in the extension, as requested. Akin and Pacheco also voted to approve. Brogan and Tranfaglia voted ‘no’. 

            There ensued some question as to whether or not the Special Permit had been approved with Akin asking, “So it passed, right?”

            Bobola said it had not, since it required at 4-1 vote to pass.

            As Storer left the meeting, she said to Kirkland, “I’m sorry, Bob.”

            Kirkland appeared stunned as he followed Cabeceiras out of the meeting room.

            The other hearing coming before the ZBA was for a Special Permit for the construction of a family-related apartment, filed by Craig and Julie Letourneau of 21 Driscoll Lane.

            After a brief description of the project, and with the stipulations that the addition be used solely by family members and that the Special Permit could not be conveyed to future new owners, the ZBA granted the Special Permit.

            The hearing for the Special Permit for the proposed construction of a solar array off Bowman Road filed by Next Grid Bowman of San Francisco, California was continued until November 21 at the applicant’s request

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for November 21 at 6:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals

By Marilou Newell

            Town Administrator Jay McGrail on October 16 gave the Marion Finance Committee some hope for a smooth and sensible start to the fiscal year 2020 budget season.

            The greatest concern for the Finance Committee has always been the timeliness of the school budgets, specifically the Old Rochester Regional school budget since, as FinCom Chairman Peter Winters put it, “It’s hard to make decisions on the other items, you know, until you have those budgets in.”

            Winters said the Finance Committee usually receives its department budgets by the end of December, while ORR submits its later in February or March.

            McGrail said the timeline for his first ride at the Marion budget rodeo is for all departments to submit their budgets before Christmas, review them with the finance director, and then get them to the FinCom as soon as possible. The schools, he said, should have their budgets to him by February 1, he said.

            “That’s better than in the past from what I’ve been told,” said McGrail.

            McGrail said he would be a sitting member of the ORR budget subcommittee and work with them under the guidelines of the “two percent” increase.

            McGrail then advocated for an additional Department of Public Works position to assist DPW Director David Willet in the management of the roughly 20 capital projects slated for the next three years, representing a cumulative total of “upwards and over $200 million,” McGrail told the committee.

            The position would provide another level of management between Willet and the division foremen and the new hire would perform the majority of the project management that the town has historically outsourced to engineering consultants.

            “That’s what’s happened in Marion for decades,” said McGrail. “We depend on engineers and project managers… to oversee the projects, and what’s happened is… problems, constantly.”

            He described a recent blunder with the County Road water main project that was under the management of a consultant. According to McGrail, when the trenches were backfilled, care was not taken to ensure that the valves would align with the valve keys. The work had to be torn up and redone, he said.

            “We had no Town of Marion staff that oversees that project and manages staff,” said McGrail.

            Funding for the position could be split three ways among the three DPW departments through savings incurred from fewer staff members than the budget provided and “Water Department efficiencies,” McGrail said.

            The bottom line is, according to McGrail, the potential savings from this new position funded at $80,000 annually would be “ridiculous.”

            “Makes a lot of sense,” said Baldwin.

            McGrail said he also had a plan to save employees and the town 14 percent in healthcare costs by increasing the healthcare deductible from $0 to $250.

            “There’s more savings in that 14 percent than if they max out that deductible,” said McGrail.

            “Well, thanks for keeping us in the loop of things,” said Winters, “That’s something we haven’t had in the past.”

            “It’s refreshing,” said Baldwin.

            Also during the meeting, Winters stated that ORR was still running at a deficit of about $200,000, “And there may be a bigger deficit,” he said.

            Winters said School Choice numbers have decreased, resulting in a reduction of revenue. Chapter 70 funding has also gone down, he said, and more students are opting to attend private, vocational, or charter schools over ORR.

            Winters commented that the FY20 ORR budget should reflect no more than a two percent increase, “And no adds to staff,” he said.

            “The overall message,” said Finance Committee member Margie Baldwin, “is we want to keep things at the two percent… [but] we will listen to anybody who has a reasonable case to present otherwise.”

            The next meeting of the Marion Finance Committee is scheduled for November 20 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Police Station.

Marion Finance Committee

By Jean Perry