The Marion Board of Selectmen on September 20 reviewed some options for sidewalk improvements under Phase 1D of the village infrastructure project with Department of Public Work Superintended Dave Willet, and ultimately asked him to look into some additional options that could make Marion more pedestrian friendly.

            Under the Complete Streets Program that provides funding for multi-modal road projects to eligible cities and towns, Willet said applying for funding for some of the smaller projects included in the village infrastructure plan would benefit the town and reduce the need to withdraw from its Chapter 90 funding.

            Willet suggested repairing 1,000 feet of sidewalk at two locations on Front Street. The cost is roughly $100,000 per 500 feet, he told the selectmen, of which $75,000 would be paid by the state. Marion would need to contribute $25,000 per 500 feet.

            The town is allowed to apply for funding up to $400,000, said Town Administrator Jay McGrail, “But what we’re choosing to do is to not go heavy this year on our application.” He concurred with Willet’s recommended 1,000 feet of five-foot-wide sidewalk with curbing.

            The next part of the village infrastructure plan the town will tackle with be Phase 1B, which is already 90 percent-complete in the design stage. The selectmen gave Willet the OK to authorize the engineer to finish the remaining 10 percent of the design.

            Engineer CDM Smith initially estimated the entire village project would cost $4.6 million, but over time that cost has risen to $5.7 million. Due to wastewater treatment plant issues, the village infrastructure upgrades were put on hold.

            Willet also gave an overview of the new work order system he implemented several months ago as a way of keeping track of employees’ work duties.

            “I wanted to try to get a flavor, really, for what the… current operating staff was doing out on the field on an hourly basis so I could get them [the] proper equipment,” said Willet. The ensuing data has allowed Willet to track the different categories of work and how often staff is called to different work areas. “A lot of their time is being allocated to splitting time to support other departments,” said Willet, rather than the work they are to routinely perform.

            McGrail said the topic would reappear on the agenda in the coming months as the town enters budget season.

            Also during the meeting, the board closed the warrant and reviewed without discussion the 22 articles slated for the October 21 Fall Special Town Meeting, with half of them related solely to bylaw amendments from the Planning Board.

            The first 10 of those articles, however, will be presented by the selectmen on Town Meeting floor, starting with a request for $25,000 to fund a feasibility study for a new harbormaster building at 1 Island Wharf Road, which the Finance Committee recommends.

            Article 2 authorizes the board to sell the town-owned Atlantis Drive facility, another FinCom-approved article. In fact, the Finance Committee approved all eight of the finance-related articles voters will find on their town meeting warrants.

            Article 3 asks for $28,800 to supplement Article 20 of the 2018 Annual Town Meeting to install epoxy floors at the Spring Street fire station. The funds would be taken from unspent money that was appropriated at the Annual Town Meeting in 2016.

            Article 4 is a request to reallocate $44,573 in funds from a 2014 Town Meeting appropriation, $9,676 from a 2016 Town Meeting appropriation, $10,798 from 2017 Town Meeting, and $24,099 from 2017 in order to fund a new fire tanker truck.

            Article 5 is a request for $30,400 for the design of an emergency access way to connect Sippican School to Route 6.

            Article 6 seeks to impose a six percent local excise tax on short-term rentals like Airbnbs, hotels, bed & breakfasts, and lodging houses.

            Article 7 would impose a three percent community impact fee on those short-term rentals, and Article 8 would impose a three percent community impact fee on short-term rentals in multi-family buildings.

            Article 9 would authorize the town administrator to begin the process for Marion to withdraw from the Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional refuse Disposal District.

            Article 10 would rezone three parcels located off Front Street from Residence A and C to General Business.

            In other matters, Phil Sanborn appeared on behalf of the Marion Music Hall Committee to request $24,070 to install a new soundboard to accompany the piano restoration. The funds will be withdrawn for the Music Hall Advisory Fund.

            The board authorized McGrail to seek a quote from the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association for potential membership. The hope is to avoid future insurance cost increases. Currently, town employees are enrolled in the Gateway Health Group.

            The board appointed Dale Jones to the Marion Water Committee, and appointed Jon Henry to the Affordable Housing Trust.

            The selectmen signed a letter endorsing the Master Plan.

            The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for October 1 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry

            Before plowing into the long list of subjects that the Mattapoisett Finance Committee will be reviewing ahead of the October 21 Fall Special Town Meeting, Town Administrator Michael Gagne announced that amendments to the town’s Zoning Bylaws related to the industrial cultivation of marijuana and the production of marijuana products both for retail and medical purposes would once again be before the voters.

            To clarify how this matter has come and gone and now reappeared on the public stage, The Wanderer contacted Mattapoisett Town Clerk Catherine Heuberger.

            Heuberger stated that the recently advertised Planning Board hearings were for the “exact same amendments as before”, resulting from a citizens’ petition for the article to be placed on the special town meeting warrant. One petitioner, David McIntire, however, had requested that the amendment articles be withdrawn from the warrant, but Heuberger’s office later learned from town counsel that McIntyre’s request could not be carried out.

            “We learned from town counsel that one petitioner cannot withdraw on behalf of 200 petitioners,” she stated. Thus, all petitioners who signed in support of adding the article to the warrant would have also had to request withdrawal, which Heuberger said did not happen.

            “So we had to go through the public hearing process again and that will be in October with the Planning Board,” she confirmed.

            She said that a November 4 Special Town Meeting would be set if the matter reaches that point.

            The Mattapoisett Planning Board will hear the proposed zoning bylaw amendment article on October 7 at 7:00 pm at Old Hammondtown School.

            Gagne confirmed that a two-thirds vote was needed at town meeting for the amendments to pass.

            Getting back on track with topics for budget discussions, Gagne shared updates on the new fire station building. He said construction estimates were holding, and he was pleased with the work done by project manager Context. He said that bids are scheduled to be released in October with a return date of January 1 in anticipation of shovels in the ground by March 1.

            Gagne said that he wanted the FinCom to consider putting additional monies into a Reserve Fund for insurance deductibles in the amount of $25,000+, as well as establishing a reserve account for Mattapoisett’s share of ORR capital needs. On this later subject, he said that discussions were needed with Rochester and Marion to ensure the tri-towns were in agreement.

            Harborside assets were also mentioned, with Gagne emphasizing the need for a plan for Long Wharf repairs. Such details and engineered designs would position the town for grant monies, he said. Gagne also recommended establishing an account for long-term care and maintenance of the bike path. He suggested a starting point of $20,000 per year.

            Gagne also noted Capital Projects’ Debt Stabilization funding, saying, “We need to be putting what we can in there.”

            Road improvements will once again be addressed with Barry Denham, highway surveyor, who will meet with FinCom for a look at priorities. 

            Regarding municipals needs, Gagne said such matters as ADA compliance, town-wide security systems, and an analysis of town hall and local schools for available space were all on the list of things to be evaluated. Also, the school and library both need masonry maintenance work, Gagne reported, and a workplace safety program was “long overdue.”

            Gagne cautioned of the looming new Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act requirements for stormwater management, regulations that need to meet state MS4 compliance. He said that some cities and towns are being cited already for issues related to MS4 and that time was of the essence.

            “It will be one big undertaking,” said Gagne. “We have got to put money in there.”

            Military personnel were not forgotten as Gagne said he wanted to think about what he called a “Bronze Star” article for the warrant. The article would ask the voters to approve a waiver of property taxes for the families of service personnel whose ultimate sacrifice had been given. “We pay those taxes out of the abatement account,” he said.

             The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for September 26 at 3:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Finance Committee

By Marilou Newell

            Marion Board of Health member Edward Hoffer, M.D. said it is time to act on e-cigarettes in Marion and on October 1 during the meeting of the Board of Health he would propose an emergency ban on the sale of all e-cigarette and ‘vaping’ products.

            But now, he may not have to.

            Governor Charlie Baker announced Tuesday afternoon, September 24 that all e-cigarette and vaping products will be banned from store shelves for four months.

            Across 38 states, nine deaths (as of press time Tuesday) and 530 confirmed and probable cases of lung damage related to e-cigarettes have been reported. So, the myth that e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to traditional combustible cigarettes, Hoffer said, “is almost certainly untrue.”

            “I’m not speaking for the Board of Health because it hasn’t yet been discussed or a decision made,” Hoffer told The Wanderer during a phone interview on September 24 before the governor’s announcement. “This is my own personal viewpoint that I’m expressing.”

            E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that work by heating a liquid containing nicotine (or THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis) to produce an aerosol vapor that users inhale into their lungs. The liquid is often flavored to taste like candy, fruit, or mint, and many contain ingredients untested for safety for inhalation.

            According to Hoffer, some e-cigarettes and vaping liquids contain higher amounts of some toxins than regular cigarettes, and he says data shows that when people combine the use of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes there are significantly higher rates of cardiovascular disease than those who only smoke regular cigarettes. (The American Journal of Preventative Diseases published a study last year that suggested daily e-cigarette use combined with combustible cigarette use could lead to a five-fold increase in the risk of heart attack.) Furthermore, Hoffer said, people who use e-cigs to quit regular cigarettes often continue to use both, and underage e-cig users will often eventually start smoking regular cigarettes.

            “What makes it (a ban) urgent is the associated cardiopulmonary disease,” said Hoffer. “It’s sort of become a mini epidemic over the summer.

            “We don’t know exactly what’s causing that illness,” Hoffer continued, “But until we know exactly what’s causing it, we need to basically make these unavailable.”

            Marion Public Health Nurse Kathleen Downey told The Wanderer on September 20 that the town-wide ban on flavored e-cigarette sales would likely be a temporary emergency ban pending further information from the Center for Disease Control.

            “The number of deaths that we’re seeing, it’s across all age groups nationwide – it’s not just kids, it’s adults. We don’t really know what the problem is,” said Downey. “What this motion (to ban) is, is to say: let’s put the brakes on this. We’re in unchartered territory. No one knows what we’re doing and this is very dangerous.”

            So far, Michigan has placed a ban all the sale of flavored e-liquids except tobacco-flavored pods. New York has also banned the sale of e-cigarettes, but will allow menthol and tobacco flavors to remain on the shelves. The Washington D.C. Council introduced a bill to ban the sale of all vaping products outside cannabis medical dispensaries or pharmacies and would require a doctor’s prescription to buy electronic vaping products. The City of San Francisco has banned the sale of e-cigarettes, too, and now Massachusetts has become the next state to ban them.

            The superstore chain Wal-Mart announced last week that it would not be restocking its e-cigarette products once the current inventory runs out.

            “I think it’s a crisis,” said Hoffer. “It’s not just my opinion, but the CDC, the American Medical Association – they’ve all recommended that no one use e-cigarettes. So, I don’t think what I’m proposing is radical.”

            The president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Matthew Myers, issued a statement on the issue of banning the products, urging municipalities that “it’s more important than ever for cities and states to protect kids by prohibiting the sale of all flavored e-cigarettes.”

            According to Downey, several Marion businesses had signed a letter to the Board of Health urging the board not to ban the flavored nicotine products and even mentioned the possibility of initiating legal action. That letter, however, could not be shared with The Wanderer until the board formally receives it in open session during its next meeting. Now, those retailers will have to take their grievances to a higher office.

            The 2018 Youth Tobacco Survey results shows “alarming” increases in middle school and high school e-cigarette use between 2017 and 2018 – 1.5 million more students use or have used them than last year, a 78 percent rise. In 2018, nearly 5 million young people used some form of nicotine product. The survey shows 3.6 million of them use e-cigarettes, making vaping the most common form of nicotine use in youth.

            The CDC and FDA analyzed the data and found that 39 percent of youths started using e-cigarettes because a friend or family member used them. Thirty-one percent said they started using e-cigs because of the availability of flavors like chocolate, candy, fruit, and mint. Seventeen percent believe vaping is less harmful than smoking.

            A similar survey in Massachusetts showed that 41 percent of high school students have tried vaping at least once, and 20 percent had vaped in the past 30 days – a rate that is six times higher than adults. Ten percent of Massachusetts middle school students reported that they have tried vaping at least once.

            Patients suffering lung damage as a result of vaping reported cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain. Some reported nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and some reported fatigue, fever, and abdominal pain developing over a few days or over several weeks.

            The CDC is advising all people to refrain from using e-cigarettes and issued the following statement: “If you have recently used an e-cigarette or vaping product and you have symptoms like those reported in this outbreak, see a healthcare provider.”

            Hoffer says anyone who used e-cigarettes to help quit smoking combustible cigarettes should absolutely not return to smoking regular cigarettes.

            “You’re best, safest decision is simply to stop,” said Hoffer. “The best alternatives are nicotine gum and nicotine patches that can deliver the nicotine your body tells you that you need. There are also prescription drugs that can help ease the cravings.”

            Downey said she supports the ban and expects other anti-smoking advocates will attend the Board of Health meeting next Tuesday, October 1, at 4:30 pm at the Marion Town House.

            “I’m highly suspicious that we’re heading the way that we did with tobacco, with opiates – being told that things are safe until we find out that they’ve totally destroyed peoples lives,” said Downey.

By Jean Perry