Town Planner Gil Hilario told the Marion Planning Board at its March 2 meeting that the report on the Route 6 Corridor Study Draft from the Southeastern Regional Planning Economic and Development District (SRPEDD) has been updated on the town website, MarionMA.gov. Comments are due by March 17 and can be mailed to SRPEDD Project Manager Jed Cornock at 88 Broadway, Taunton, MA 02780.

            The report recognizes the need for more crosswalks, LED lights and making sidewalks (American Disabilities Act) compliant. The Spring Street intersection had a poor score, and Hilario said that a lot of results are screaming that Marion has some of the worst Route 6 conditions.

            Selectman John Waterman, who attended the meeting, said, “The challenge for us… we’re afraid this plan is going to go on the shelf and nothing’s going to get done unless we push… Getting it from study to reality is another thing.”

            Board member Eileen Marum noted that sidewalks were reconstructed in Fairhaven but left the utility poles in the middle, making them unusable for the disabled.

            Board member Christopher Collings said the condominium projects proposed at the Wareham town line will add 25 percent more traffic “in one fell swoop.” Waterman countered that the development does not compare to traffic that the marijuana dispensary will pose (i.e. 2,000 cars per day).

            What was clear from both comments was the challenges Marion is facing on Route 6 and with infrastructure.

            “We don’t have enough sewer to support these projects,” said Collings. “If we’re not at max capacity, with this (condominium) project we will be.”

            Of the 575 gallons processed each day at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, half of it is infiltration of water, according to Waterman. “We’re never going to get rid of 250,000 gallons of water a day, but if we can do half of that…,” he said would make a significant difference.

            Earlier in the meeting, Hilario’s Green Communities Projects Update outlined ideas to meet the next grant-round deadline of March 27.

            After a walkthrough at Sippican School, the Harbormaster building and other town facilities, Hilario said his search for new-project ideas and strategizing on what to apply for this year in order to make Marion competitive for aid yielded options in the area of conversion from oil to gas. Furnace conversion, replacement, and insulation at some facilities around town were discussed. 

            “I did look at Town House a little bit,” he said regarding its windows.

            Marum asked Hilario if he had considered a heat pump to get away from fossil fuel. Hilario said a heat pump works better in small spaces. “We are looking at it. We’re looking at the options with the most payback,” he said.

            Marum also brought up electronic controllers, and Hilario said geothermal could work in a new building.

            Andrew Daniel, the vice-chairman acting as chairman in Will Saltonstall’s absence, stressed the importance of what he called “the envelope” and “air-gapping.”

            The specialty windows at Town House rule out a grant, according to the board.

            “So you may not get a grant for new windows, but they’re still worth doing,” said board member Joe Rocha.

            Board member Norman A. Hills said the town removed and reinstalled the windows in the Music Hall and it made a difference.

            Hilario recapped his presentation by noting that the ventilation system at Sippican School that went on and off received CO2 sensors resulting in a savings of $12,000 a year. The total savings on such projects is $22,000 for the year.

            “I thought that report was very comprehensive because in the end, they ask you, ‘What did you earn?'” said Marum.

            The Planning Board also discussed two cases currently before the Zoning Board of Appeals, one at Heron Cove Estates, Plan 7 Lot 28, and the other at 36 Main Street, where Albert and Julia Menino wish to give adjacent St. Gabriel’s Parish the property it already uses as a parking lot.

            “They’re having problems selling their house with the parking lot in the back. What they want to do is make it clean, give it to the church,” said Marum.

            The current easement, said Waterman, allows the church to use the lot in perpetuity, which it paid to do. “It’s not a buildable lot. There’s nothing to protect the buyer of the house from liability. This cleans it up,” he said of a transfer of ownership to the parish.

            At Heron Cove Estates, Collings discussed the importance of a bicycle lane or a combined bicycle-and-pedestrian path, noting that the separated driveway appears to include 12 feet of elevation. “People have to understand what’s coming,” he said.

            In other business, $150 in funding was approved to cover the costs of attendance by Marum and Hills at the Citizens Planner Training Collaborative Conference on Saturday, March 21, at Holy Cross College in Worcester. Marum plans to attend seminars on inclusive zoning and zoning pratfalls and pitfalls. She hopes that she glean fresh ideas on how to attract young families and small businesses to Marion.

Marion Planning Board

By Mick Colageo

            On February 28, before the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee opened its meeting, Town Administrator Mike Gagne said the town had been awarded several grants.

            The town received a much sought-after U.S. Economic Development Administration grant, totaling $735,000. Gagne said he had been learned of the award on February 28. The grant is earmarked for infrastructure and roadway improvements to Industrial Drive.

            Adding to the big payday, Representative Bill Straus’ office announced two grant awards known as Coastal Community Grants. Straus stated, “Mattapoisett will receive two separate awards. Improvements at Long Wharf will benefit from a $216,000 coastal-infrastructure grant, and the town will also receive a $120,000 planning grant for the development of a municipal waterways plan.” That’s a stunning total of $1.071 million, Gagne said.

            Continuing on with good news, school facility director Gene Jones had some to share when he met with the Capital Planning Committee. He shared that a whopping $1.2 million had been spent by Eversource to upgrade lighting throughout the schools located in Mattapoisett. “This means a savings of about $8,000 a month,” he said of energy-cost savings from the retrofit program.

            Local schools’ capital needs were also discussed with Jones saying it was necessary to advance a request for telephone upgrades in the amount of $30,000 from FY23 to FY21. He said copper telecommunication lines are not functioning properly and that an internet-based system was mandatory to ensure that security systems and interagency communications were functional.

            Gagne inquired if the Old Rochester Regional District School Committee was ready to present its capital needs. Jones responded that in two weeks that plan would be ready for review. Gagne acknowledged that funding of capital needs for the ORR schools still needed to be worked out between among the Tri-Town communities, but having the plan was critical towards understanding short and long-term funding requirements, he said. Jones said the ORR report would include a breakdown for each town indicating their portions.

            Jones also reported that the roof system at Old Hammondtown School was at the end of its warranty and that cost estimates were $1.3 million. However, he said that a program offered by the Massachusetts School Building Authority would offset that figure. Jones stated that he would draft a letter to MSBA outlining the need for the building’s roof replacement. He said the letter was a prerequisite before applying for funding.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee is scheduled for March 5 at 6:30 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee

By Marilou Newell