Mattapoisett Conservation Commission Chairman Mike King opened the January 27 meeting with an announcement: “In anticipation of one of our regular members resigning, there’ll be an opening on the board.”

            He said that Chris Nicolosi would be unable to complete his term, having taken a job that would conflict with the commission’s meeting schedule.

            King also stated that commission member Chapman Dickerson would miss a number of meetings. Dickerson recently joined the Mattapoisett Fire Department and would be in training sessions on Monday evenings, therefore unable to attend meetings for some weeks.

            King expressed concern that making a quorum would be difficult under these circumstances, although former commission member Tyler Macallister, also a former selectman, had been sworn in as an alternate. That did not, however, guarantee that a quorum could be achieved.

            While having related experience and training is a benefit, King said it wasn’t a necessity; all that is required is a positive intent.

            “If you have a desire to protect and defend wetlands in Mattapoisett,” King said, then interested parties should send a letter of interest to the Board of Selectmen.

            With that said, commissioners Trevor Francis, John Jacobsen, and King attended to the agenda.

            David McIntire’s Notice of Intent for the expansion of agricultural activities at 0 Wolf Island Road was reopened with engineer Richard Riccio representing the applicant.

            Riccio said that the wetlands had been delineated and confirmed with Conservation Agent Elizabeth Leidhold and that approximately six acres of trees were planned for removal, of which two acres were in a jurisdictional buffer zone.

            King questioned why stormwater calculations were part of the documents submitted, asking if it was just to show that no impact would occur from the disturbance of transitioning a forest to a field. He broached what abutters previously had voiced as their concern that a solar array was planned for the parcel.

            Ricci said that McIntire was “keeping his options open, but now only expanding the agricultural area.”

            “I love to see any type of agriculture,” King commented.

            The NOI was approved and issued an Order of Conditions.

            Rich Charon of Charon Engineering represented John Grant, 5 North Road, who submitted a Notice of Intent for the razing of an existing home and the construction of a new residence in a flood-zone, including a new septic system. After discussions regarding the inclusion of stormwater collection and recharge on site and confirming that the project would meet all the performance requirements of FEMA, the application was approved and conditioned.

            Also approved was an NOI submitted by James Craig, 0 Aucoot Road, for the selective removal of trees for the purposes of locating the best position of a future home site. Mat Leone of Schneider, Davignon and Leone, Inc., representing the applicant, was advised that the commission had received a letter from the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) specifically noting that the property in question had been mapped as a nesting site for the diamondback terrapin and, therefore, recommendations for protecting the habitat during and post-construction would be incorporated into the conditions.

            A Notice of Intent filed by Michael and Aimee Bean, 15 Park Street, for the demolition of an existing garage and construction of a new garage, a 12×13-feet addition to the existing house, and an addition of a 13×20-foot screened-in porch was also approved with the condition that straw or compost wattles and silk screening are added to the conditional requirements.

            A Request for Determination of Applicability filed by Stephen Napolitano for two lots located off Brandt Island Road was given a Negative determination (no Notice of Intent required) to complete perc testing. Discussion revealed that the property was in an area mapped by NHESP.

            Napolitano also stated that a manmade ditch was discovered running between the lots he wished to develop.

            King advised the applicant to hire an engineer to assist in further development of the site and to ensure regulations were being followed.

            Also receiving a Negative determination was an RDA filed by the Town of Mattapoisett Harbormaster’s Office for the repair of timber members in an existing wale system.

            An RDA submitted by Constance Pallatroni Living Trust, Sea Marsh Way, for the confirmation of coastal wetlands resource areas as determined by Stan Humphries, Environmental Consulting and Restoration, LLC, also received a Negative determination.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for February 10 at 6:30 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Conservation Commission

By Marilou Newell

            With the three finalists waiting in the wings, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen began the interview process for selecting a new town administrator on January 28.

            Selectman Jordan Collyer said he needed to make a disclosure that one of the candidates, Michael Lorenco, was related to his wife’s sister, but he said he felt he could be impartial and did not feel there was a conflict of interest.

            Bernard Lynch, who had assisted the town’s search committee for weeks now, explained that he would ask each candidate a series of questions over a one-hour period, questions designed to help the selectmen learn more about each candidates such as strengths and weakness on subjects like dealing with personnel issues, grant writing, managing departmental budgets, coastal resilience matters, economic development and relationships with school committees.

            Up first was John Bugbee. Bugbee, the former town administrator for Tisbury of nine years, said he was interested in the position because he is a good fit for the job. He felt that the issues he dealt with in the island community were similar to those faced in Mattapoisett.

            Bugbee said his management style was open with deep respect for all people, adding, “I’m a good listener; everyone’s opinion matters.” In the area of employee management, Bugbee said he takes a team-building approach to personnel, while setting appropriate attainable goals and providing adequate training.

            Regarding finances, Bugbee said, “I’m a big believer in finding new answers to old problems.”

He said he had been able to reduce the municipal electrical costs by the installation of solar panels on the town’s capped landfill.

            “I have a philosophy of fiscal conservatism,” said Bugbee, and during Tisbury’s $20 million budget process he said he wouldn’t just increase the budget by 3 percent, rather he “looked at departmental budgets and trends.” 

            Bugbee did not, however, have experience with preparing budget overrides, and OPEB (other post-employment benefits) was handled by another department. He was also unfamiliar with 

PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) programs, but said he understands their role in generating new revenue, has experience writing grants, spent a deal of time handling personnel matters, and had worked on several large municipal projects, including a $7.9 million emergency services building that was LEED certified.

            Regarding Tisbury’s waterfront, Bugbee said, “They wanted it to stay as it was: ferry service, fishing, recreational use…” He said a Master Plan was necessary to help guide the process.

            Next up, James Duggan of Dracut has more than 30 years in the public sector and reached a point in his career where, he said, “I can pick and choose where I want to go.”

            He said he was familiar with Mattapoisett and thought it was a great place.

            Lynch compared Dracut to Mattapoisett in terms of size and population saying, “Here you’d wear many hats, would that be a problem?”

            Duggan said that would not be an issue. “I like hats.”

            Duggan said he likes to be engaged in the community and invite people to talk. He noted visiting with businesses and organizations such as the Rotary Club as one way of being involved. Duggan said that the town should have a Facebook page to encourage community communication.

            Duggan said his leadership style is “diplomatic,” that he likes to coach staff members and offer professional growth opportunities and tools to employees. “I’m trustworthy, a man of my word,” he added.

            Duggan was the town administrator for the Town of Gloucester, and expounded on the balance that was necessary when the demands of a port town include commercial entities, development for tourism, and commercial fishing. “You have to bring different groups together and decide what is in the best interest of the community.

            “Budgets were mine,” said Duggan when asked how those were handled. He said he met with each department head, drafted a budget, reviewed it with the finance committee, and then sent it on to the board of selectmen.

            For economic development, Duggan said one must look to the town’s Master Plan, talk to the community leaders, and find the town’s niche. He said that Dracut had said ‘yes’ to marijuana for retail sale and cultivation, which would generate new growth along with healthcare. He was also familiar with PILOT programs and was conscious of OPEB liabilities.

            Rounding out the evening was Michael Lorenco, formally of Mattapoisett and now of Eastham where he serves as the assistant town administrator.

            Lorenco has a strong background in finance and desires to work in the public administration sector. “I know I’m young,” he began, “but I think I can bring something to the table.”

When Lynch asked if Lorenco was prepared for all the challenges the position would hold, he said, “…I have drive.”

            Lorenco talked about the issues facing Eastham with sharks impacting tourism and recycling becoming a growing issue. Lorenco said he’s got an open-door policy when it comes to employee management, but said that Eastham has had difficult with many key positions turning over in a short period of time, some due in part to retirement. “It’s been bumpy,” he said, but communication is key, he added, and meetings were held to give staff the opportunity to talk about issues.

            Lorenco said he has been responsible for the town’s budget and working with each department head before passing the draft to the town administrator. He said he attended every finance committee meeting and worked on strategic planning, and also said that during the budget process, he identifies areas where savings are possible.

            Lorenco has experience writing grants and, on ways for generating revenue, he said that beach permits were very important to the people in Eastham and that “people came in paying $15,000 in back property taxes so they could get a permit.” He said the town earns $800,000 a year in beach stickers alone.

            Added to his list of accomplishments, Lorenco said he wrote a fiscal policy handbook that was currently under review and he has also been involved in matters related to the regional school district.  

            Lorenco confided that many areas of responsibility discussed in the interview process were primarily handled by the town administrator, but said that he was fully entrenched in the day-to-day financial dealings in the community, including the tax office. “I deal with some very difficult people in the tax office,” he chuckled.

            Regarding OPEB, Lorenco said that Eastham’s liability was not well-funded but that, under his tenure, the town had been able to put aside $400,000.

            Currently, Lorenco does not directly deal with the Board of Selectmen, but said, “The board is the elected office of the town; the [town administrator] is to support them… It’s an active relationship.”

            Lorenco concluded, saying, “I’m young in my career; I don’t have a lot of experience managing staff, but open communication is important.” He said that Mattapoisett meant a lot to him and that if he was not selected, he would understand, but that one day, “I will be a town administrator.”

            Follow up one-on-one meetings were then scheduled for January 31 at 4:00 pm to allow the Board of Selectmen the opportunity to ask more questions. Silva will be taking those meetings behind closed doors, he said, while Collyer said his door would be open.

            The Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen will hold a meeting on February 4 at 4:30 pm at the Mattapoisett Town Hall, during which the selectmen will announce their preference for the town administrator position.

Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen

By Marilou Newell