Marion Town House

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The Marion Town House is once again opened to the public. Hours of operation are 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, Monday –Thursday, and 8:00 am – 3:30pm on Friday.

            Masks are required to enter the building, and contact tracing information will be collected. Masks will be available in each department if a member of the public is in need of one. Members of the public, as well as employees, must remain 6 feet apart both inside and outside of the workplace. Social distancing will be enforced. The Reopening Standards can be viewed on the website.

            The two entrances on the library side of the building (on the ramp) will be open, as will the back entrance on the Main Street side of the building (staircase near the parking lot). The front two entrances remain closed due to the work being conducted at the front of the building.

            Please note the new location of two offices: The Harbormaster/Conservation Commission Office and the Assessors’ Office.

            The Harbormaster/Conservation Commission Office is now located in the former Town Administrator’s Office. The best entrance to use is the second door located on the ramp on the library side of the building. All stickers, shellfish licenses, and guest passes will now be issued at this new location. The Harbormaster/Conservation Commission Office will be closed for lunch daily 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm. Sticker requests, Conservation Commission submissions, and harbor invoice payments can continue to be done by mail.

            The Assessors’ Office is now located in the rear of the building (in the former Harbormaster/Conservation Commission Office). The nearest entrance is the staircase on the Main Street side of the building next to the parking lot. The ramp entrance can also be used, and the Assessors’ Office can be accessed by going through the Conference Room.

            Any questions, please contact the appropriate department. Thank you for your patience during these unprecedented times.

Take Home Science: Chemistry

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Calling all grade 3-7 young scientists! Do you like to do science experiments? Make up potions? Watch a solution change colors? Launch rockets?

            If so, please join the scientists at SEED, Inc. for a virtual program with the Mattapoisett Free Public Library. You can register to pick up a full science kit that will have all of the materials you need to perform seven unique experiments at home. Each experiment involves a chemical reaction or mixture, and you’ll have a fun time exploring each one! You can follow along with the lessons using custom-made videos that guide you through how to use the materials for each experiment. Come have fun with science in the safety of your home!

            This program is supported in part by a grant from the Mattapoisett Local Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. To register or learn more, visit our website, mattapoisettlibrary.org, or call the library at 508-758-4171.

Farinon, Starrett Exits Will Require Reset

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            The Town of Rochester will lose two key employees at the end of Fiscal Year 2021, Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon and Town Planner Steven Starrett. Both employees’ resignation letters were officially accepted by the Board of Selectmen during its April 5 meeting.

            Farinon was recognized for her 27 years of service to the town, as the board voted to accept each resignation and send out letters of appreciation to both her and Starrett.

            “We wish her the best in her new endeavor,” said Board of Selectmen Chairman Paul Ciaburri of Farinon. “I’m sorry to see [Starrett] go, but hopefully we’ll find somebody as good.”

            Town Counsel Blair Bailey identified the challenge of the coincidental departures as an opportunity to put heads together including those of Farinon and Starrett so that town officials can gain the understanding necessary to best define the respective jobs going forward and navigate toward what will be two pivotal hires.

            “This is a good opportunity, at least from my end, for us to look at both positions and see what we want from a priority standpoint,” said Bailey. “Because they’re both open, we really need to look at [both positions] as one package. …We just definitely need to jump on this because they’re both gone at the end of the fiscal year.”

            FY21 comes to an end on June 30.

            As Rochester’s only conservation agent, Farinon’s original part-time job soon became full-time, and her multiple adjudicatory boards in town and the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District commission and safety committee have benefitted from her guidance. While Starrett has been the town’s planner on a part-time basis, the experience and institutional knowledge that both have brought to the town cannot be replicated.

            Starrett has served Rochester in a part-time capacity the past four to five years, according to Ciaburri.

            While deferring to Selectman Brad Morse’s experience, Selectman Woody Hartley volunteered to represent the selectmen in a think tank that would presumably include Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar, the chairmen of the Planning Board and Conservation Commission, and input from Farinon and Starrett.

            “Initially I think it needs to be all three of us, I really do, because this is a monumental change time that we can really see where we’re heading with our planning [and] conservation,” said Morse. “That’s a major personnel change.”

            Without Starrett’s representation to the Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District (SRPEDD), Bailey suggested that the Planning Board appoint one of its members.

            Reporting on behalf of Szyndlar, who was absent, Bailey told the selectmen that the FY22 draft budget of $22,858,381 constitutes an approximate $631,215 or 2.84-percent increase.

            The Board of Selectmen will finalize the budget proposal at its April 20 meeting, where it will be joined by the Finance Committee to go over the draft warrant for the Annual Town Meeting.

            Rochester received some good financial news, as the town’s third CARES Act funding request for $113,132.75 is complete. Federal CARES Act funds reimburse individual municipalities for non-budgeted, pandemic-related expenses.

            In other news, Hartley announced that the state Department of Transportation has informed the town that it will not be required to kick in 20 percent of the $53,000 Senior Center improvement project.

            SEMASS, meanwhile, sent Rochester a $10,000 check for outreach, so the selectmen have $20,000, including the $10,000 that was not spent last year, and will consider requests on April 20.

            In other business, the board approved the ambulance hardship application for funds, and approved the appointment of Jordan Latham to the Rochester Cultural Council.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for Tuesday, April 20, at 6:00 pm.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Mick Colageo

Marion Projects Receive Federal, State Aid

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            The Town of Marion hopes it is turning a fiscal corner after Representative William Straus presented its delegates with a $250,000 check on April 2, part of a $2 million commitment from the state to assist on debt payment associated with the rehabilitation of the Wastewater Treatment Plant lagoon off Benson Brook Road.

            Later that same day, the town received a second check for $150,810.52 in federal CARES Act funding administered by Plymouth County. The money is reimbursement for non-budgeted COVID-related expenses in response to scheduled applications.

            Straus explained that the $250,000 delivered on April 2 to support the lagoon project applies to the current fiscal year, FY21.

            “Other projects elsewhere in the state weren’t as far along when this money became available, but we’re still working with the [Department of Environmental Protection] commissioner…. It’s not like he gives a grant all at once; it’s a progress statements kind of thing,” said Straus.

            The way the bond authorizations work, explained Straus, the town can draw upon the funding over several years. Careful craftsmanship played a role in securing the funding.

            “It doesn’t say Marion, but what it does say is certain kinds of sewage-treatment projects on Buzzards Bay,” explained Straus. Marion’s wastewater lagoon is the only item that checks the stipulated boxes.

            Marion’s steadfast attempts to secure debt funding is only a piece of the financial challenge that the town faces where it concerns a lagoon project that has been projected to eventually exceed $12 million when all is said and done.

            The latest estimates indicate that 370 tons of sludge are yet to be removed from the lagoon, which is 70 tons more than previously estimated. Selectman John Waterman told Straus that the new information required a change in the article for funding that will appear on Marion’s upcoming Annual Town Meeting Warrant.

            The CARES Act funding, made possible via reimbursements for non-budgeted, pandemic-related expenses, enabled Marion to mobilize as a COVID-19 vaccine distribution center, initially inviting first-responders from Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, and Wareham, then tackling the eldest bracket of the town’s residents.

            In addressing Plymouth County’s delegation that included Commissioners Greg Hanley and Jared Valanzola, Treasurer Tom O’Brien, and Register of Deeds John Buckley Jr., Esq., who were gathered around the Elizabeth Taber statue in Bicentennial Park, Town Administrator Jay McGrail pointed to the drive-thru vaccination clinics the town held.

            “This is an unbelievable check for us to get for one specific reason. Included in the funding for this check is the tent that we purchased, and we used that tent since starting in January to vaccinate over 2,000 people in this community, including almost 90 percent of our 85-plus population,” said McGrail. “We’re still using it this week … for second shots, which will be the last of our vaccinations that we’ll be receiving from the state.”

            McGrail continued, “When we look back in history and think about what we’ve done since January 1 with that tent that you paid for with that check … honestly, those people wouldn’t have gotten those shots without that check.”

            O’Brien said Marion’s well-organized application resulted in one of Plymouth County’s first reimbursement checks. Friday’s was the second, and will not be the last, according to O’Brien, who noted that county administration of the program has resulted in more funding for towns, along with crucial accounting services that became critical when the federal government determined that six expense categories were not sufficient and expanded the application to 17 categories.

            April 2 did not solve all of Marion’s problems, but the aid indicates that the image of Marion as a well-off, quaint little seaside resort inhabited by the wealthy is a false assumption and was not a deterrent to the lagoon funding Straus secured, but part of his job as a state representative is to make sure the state realizes that there is much more to Marion and Mattapoisett than some waterfront homes.

            “We have diverse towns … frankly, going back to whaling days,” he said. “Marion and Rochester, some of the population, particularly even the Cape Verdean communities in the towns, some members of a family would be out on whaleships, some would be on the (cranberry) bogs. That diversity in these towns is still present, as we all know.”

By Mick Colageo

Elizabeth Taber Library

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Beginning April 8, the Elizabeth Taber Library will be open by appointment every Thursday. Book your timeslot for in-person browsing or computer use between 11:00 am –3:45 pm. Curbside pick-up is still available through the library, with new extended pick up hours on Tuesdays. Curbside pick-up is available Tuesday, 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm; Wednesday, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm, and Saturday, 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

Road Status Remains Up in Air

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            Evidence was unearthed supporting the belief that Cross Neck Road is at least partly a public way, but arguments and data presented at the April 6 meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen fell short of concluding that the entire road is public.

            Marion resident David Gulley appeared before the selectmen seeking an update on behalf of the Cross Neck Road Homeowners Association.

            What is at stake is whether Gulley and his fellow association members will gain assistance from the town with a collection of water in the roadway, the result of an owner’s deflection of water that had been running through a storm drainpipe and onto property until it was purchased in October 2019.

            If it is determined that the west end of Cross Neck Road to where it meets Point Road is, in fact, a public way – there seems to be no debating that the east end of Cross Neck Road is public – then residents will be entitled to services provided by the Public Works Department.

            Gulley told the selectman he was informed after correspondence with Town Administrator Jay McGrail and Town Counsel Jon Witten that the road is a public way, but any repair projects would fall under capital items, so there are no funding guarantees.

            Since then, Gulley said he was told that funds have not been budgeted, but he did concede that the road has gotten much more professional attention in the wake of recent rainstorms.

            McGrail reported on an October 2020 opinion from town counsel saying it does clearly state it is the easterly section in the 1930-1934 land-court decision. As for the west end of the road where the problem lies, McGrail admitted that there might be “no definitive answer.”

            Having served on the Conservation Commission, Selectman Norm Hills cited the Wetlands Protection Act and cautioned against the idea that water can be directed away from wetlands at the whim of residents.

            “Being the nosy guy that I am, I’ll interject myself in this and help try to get it resolved,” he said.

            While presenting information via screen share on Zoom, Gulley clarified that the association is not responsible for maintaining the road. “That’s not the purpose of the association,” he said, defining its reason for being to maintain the septic system that runs under the road. He also noted that the association does not represent owners of Nos. 125, 130, 174 and 175.

            Board of Selectmen Chairman Randy Parker suggested McGrail review the matter with town counsel, while it’s presumed that Hills will seek comment from the Conservation Commission.

            Marion’s ambulance billing rates have not been increased since 2013, according to Fire Chief Brian Jackvony whose request that the town adopt the Plymouth County average rates as of November 5, 2020, was approved by the selectmen.

            Average rates across the state include: Basic Life Support at $1,379 (Medicare/Medicaid $390); Advanced Life Support at $1,921 (Medicare/Medicaid $469); and Advanced Life Support II at $2,009. Marion’s old rate has been below state averages at $851. By comparison, Abington’s rate is $1,650.

            McGrail noted that the new rates will only affect those with private insurers, as Medicaid and Medicare rates are capped, plus Marion can assist residents with hardship cases. McGrail estimates that three or four hardship cases have reached his desk during the last two years.

            The Board of Selectmen voted to close the Annual Town Meeting Warrant, a process that began shortly after Labor Day 2020. McGrail estimates the warrant took 70 percent of his time and thanked Finance Director Judy Mooney and Administrative Assistant Debra Paiva for the role she played.

            Article 13, a vote on policy role of selectmen representative on committees and subcommittees, will be updated and officially adopted by the selectmen. While John Waterman participates in Finance Committee meetings, he does not vote. Hills and Parker, on the other hand, are elected members of other boards and do vote.

            That topic led to discussion on DPW Engineer Meghan Davis’ role as treasurer for the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District, a role the town is apparently looking to end considering Marion’s minor role in the MRV and the large amount of time Davis needs to prepare reports.

            Police Chief Richard Nighelli reported to the selectmen on his department’s reaccreditation, something done every three years, including successful review of 270 mandatory standards and 125 optional standards.

            “It really is a team effort, and I applaud our team. It really is a testament to them,” said Nighelli. “We appreciate all the support that we get not only from the board but from the community.”

            In his Town Administrator’s Report, McGrail discussed the work Town Planner Gil Hilario has been doing to secure grant funding with Marion’s ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) access plan and Hazard Mitigation Plan in conjunction with the Woods Hole Group. The latter will help fund an elevated Creek Road Pump station.

            On Monday, April 26, at 6:00 pm, a new presentation will be made on Zoom for the Harbormaster facility. McGrail said the new plan, scaled down from last summer’s presentation at a public meeting, is ready for public consumption.

            The selectmen voted to approve three appointments.

            Alanna Nelson was appointed to Cape and Vineyard Electric Collaborative (CVEC). Marion’s commitment as a CVEC member requires providing a member to its board. Bill Saltonstall stepped down from the position and recommended Nelson.

            Bruce Hebbel was appointed to fill a three-year vacancy as an associate member on the Conservation Commission. Hebbel has served on Marion’s Conservation Commission in two prior stints and was enthusiastically recommended by Hills.

            Hannah Moore was appointed to the Memorial Day Committee, an item McGrail was surprised to learn. “She does a lot for Memorial Day; I had no idea she wasn’t on the committee,” he said, citing her service to the event.

            The selectmen approved Water/Sewer billing commitments in the amounts of $986,936.19; $957,346.07; $27,613.17; and $977.61.

            Three donations were approved by the selectmen.

            Margie Baldwin’s proposal of a memorial bench at Silvershell Beach in memory of Dagmar Unhoch, who passed away on June 30, 2020, has been accepted. A beloved citizen, Unhoch was known to pick up trash around the beach during the winter and swam daily at high tide in the summer.

            A donation of $23,850 to the Fire Department/EMA for the transportation and treatment of injured patients, and a donation to the Recreation Department of an 8-foot fiberglass skip valued at $300 value and in good condition, was also accepted.

            A “pre-Town Meeting meeting” is scheduled for Tuesday, May 4, at 5:00 pm in lieu of the selectmen’s regular meeting. Town Meeting is being held on Monday, May 10. The next regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen is scheduled for Tuesday, April 20, at 4:00 pm.

Marion Board of Selectmen

By Mick Colageo

Mattapoisett Combats Fire on Ned’s Point Road

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Just before 1:30 pm on April 6, the Mattapoisett Fire Department was called out to 18 Ned’s Point Road for a reported fire in the attic.

            Before even arriving on scene, the police dispatchers reported multiple calls about the fire.

            Chief Andrew Murray was the first on the scene and reported heavy fire conditions. Engine 1 and then Engine 4 quickly followed Murray to the scene. The fire crews entered the structure and advanced to the upper floors to combat the fire. The structure, which is listed as a single-family home, is over 9,000 square feet in size with two stories and an attic and is formerly known as the Silver Gull Inn.

            Efforts to combat the fire were complicated by limited space for the equipment to approach and low water pressure once efforts were underway.

            At about 3:00 pm, the command unit at the scene reported the fire under control. The chief also requested the Fire Marshal’s Office send an investigator to the scene.

            Fairhaven, Marion, and Rochester Fire Departments assisted Mattapoisett at the scene, and the Acushnet Fire Department sent an engine to the Mattapoisett station for coverage during the incident.

            This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride

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The Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride provides one of the most scenic coastal cycling courses in all of New England, and it returns for its 15th year on Sunday, October 3. Cyclists of all ages and abilities can sign up now to bike 35, 75, or 100 miles at the Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride by visiting www.savebuzzardsbay.org/ride.

            Participants who sign up before Monday, April 5 will save 50 percent on the registration, too.

            The Watershed Ride is a fun community event that supports a great cause: clean water in Buzzards Bay. More than 300 cyclists participate in the Watershed Ride each year, pedaling through 11 coastal communities and passing more than 3,300 acres of conservation land protected by the Buzzards Bay Coalition and other conservation organizations.

            “The ride is the highlight of the fall because it brings together so many people who are excited to be outdoors enjoying the beauty of our Buzzards Bay watershed region, and it celebrates the resources we are working to protect for the future,” said Mark Rasmussen, president of the Coalition. “Last year’s ride was a great success, despite the changes we made to adapt to the pandemic. We’re looking forward to an even better event this year.”

            In 2021, the Coalition plans to return to its traditional 100-mile route. Starting at Sakonnet Point, it travels past coastal farms and villages, picking up the 75-mile riders at Horseneck Beach State Reservation in Westport, and the 35-mile riders at idyllic East Over Farm in Rochester. All three route options finish at a waterfront celebration in Woods Hole on Cape Cod. With a fun food truck lunch stop, water and snack stations every 20 miles, ace bike mechanics on the route, and shuttles for both people and bikes, cyclists are well cared for and supported. Details on the finish line festivities will be determined closer to the date of the event.

            Marion resident Daniel J. Cooney plans to be part of the ride, along with other members of the cycling team that he led last year. “Team Naughty by Nature will be back and better and stronger than ever for this year’s Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride,” he said. “We came for the incredible ride and volunteers and are staying for the cause of a swimmable, sustainable bay. We can’t wait to (lovingly) trash talk the strong, generous, and capable teams that will ride along with us in October. Game on!”

            Last year, riders like Cooney collectively raised more than $200,000 to support the Coalition. Each rider raises a minimum of $300, and prizes go to riders and teams that raise the highest totals. Many riders participate as members of a team. The teams are organized by friends, such as the “Naughty X Nature” team; community organizations, such as the “Bourne Rail Trail Blazers” and the “South Coast Bike Alliance,” and local companies, such as Hutker Architects, Blount Seafood, and Stone Path Malt.

            To sign up for the Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride, visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org/ride.

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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Captain Judah Hathaway, born in 1832, began his maritime career in 1849 at the age of 17. He shipped aboard the whaler Hickley under Captain Alan Besse. They sailed around Cape Horn and were at sea for four years. Having worked his way up to first mate, he sailed from Marion on the schooner Admiral Blake.

            During the Civil War, New England whaleships and schooners were at the mercy of the Confederate Navy when sailing in southern waters. The Alamaha, out of Marion, commanded by Captain Gray, with Captain Hathaway as first mate, was taken captive by the Confederate ship Alabama. The ship was burned, and those onboard were sent in chains to Fayal in the Azores. Hathaway shipped out once more. This time, as Captain of the William Wilson in 1867.         However, the next year he retired from the sea and began a second career as a miller at the perennial mill site downstream from the Eastover Farm area, the current location of The Pines at Hathaway Pond. He also partnered with Isaac Hiller, Hathaway’s daughter’s husband, and Robert Hiller to turn cutover swamp land into cranberry bogs. Hathaway lived out his years in his home at 56 Marion Road.

By Connie Eshbach

Barrett Chosen for Feasibility Study

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            The Marion Affordable Housing Trust voted on March 30 to recommend Barrett Planning Group, LLC to assist the town with a feasibility study on options for older adult housing.

            Members of the Affordable Housing Trust enthusiastically accepted Barrett’s bid, the lone response to Marion’s request for quotes.

            “I attended [a webinar] and I was very impressed with Judi Barrett. I would have no problem contracting with her,” said AHT member Norm Hills.

            Chairperson Casey Cole-Vieira and members Ethan Gerber and Cynthia Thomas recognized her group’s work outside the Town House and Taber Library. “I liked her a lot, and was impressed with her knowledge,” said Cole-Vieira.

            Barrett has 33 years of experience as a planning and community development professional in state and municipal government and in business. For almost two decades, she has been a consultant with the Massachusetts Housing Partnership Chapter 40B Technical Assistance Program. Barrett will partner with landscape architect Dodson & Flinker.

            The Affordable Housing Trust also voted to approve an $817.15 invoice from the Southeastern Region Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) for work on its Housing Production Plan.

            The May 11 meeting scheduled for the Marion Affordable Housing Trust will be moved up to May 4 to get it ahead of the May 10 Annual Town Meeting. The next meeting of the Marion Affordable Housing Trust is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, April 13, at 6:00 pm.

Marion Affordable Housing Trust

By Mick Colageo