The January 22 meeting of the Rochester Planning Board proved to be a long night’s journey under a fading Blood Moon, as three solar array projects came before the members.

First up with an informal presentation and discussion of a proposed solar array field on Marion Road located on property owned by Craig Canning, Rochester Farms LLC.

Represented by Sarah Rosenblat of SWEB Development, Canning’s project caused one abutter to tear up, and another to question how impacted his views would be once the solar panels were installed.

Rosenblat described a project where the panels would be installed on 2-foot tall support racks, meaning that the completed installation could not be seen from the roadway once the 7-foot tall stockade fencing was installed along with additional screening of native trees and plantings.

The 4-megawatt system will be one of the largest solar energy projects in the area, but Rosenblat asserted that that did not equate to more construction noise or disruption. She estimated that the project would take approximately six to eight weeks to build.

The Planning Board members for their part were primarily concerned with how the completed project would appear to the abutters and if the low profile of the panels would impact their efficiency in collecting the sun’s energy.

There was also some discussion amongst the board members as to whether or not the developer should be required to lease the screened areas as well as the production acreage versus simply using easement rights to maintain landscaping. This would become a bigger bone of contention when the next informal discussion came before the commission.

Abutter Dolores Dernier, 198 Marion Road, whose property is next door to the Canning property began her comment by saying, “I’m not going to object…” but found herself overcome by emotion and needed a moment to collect her thoughts, continuing on to lament “how one family can block my beautiful view.”

While the board was sympathetic, they also recognized Canning’s right to develop his property, with Chairman Arnold Johnson saying, “This wasn’t the project we wanted.” He also assured those in attendance that this was just an informal discussion and nothing was set in stone yet.

Rosenblat said Canning plans to continue to farm much of his acreage, but that some other parcels might be sold in the future. She said a rental agreement with Canning and a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement with the town were the financial plans for the project.

But the board members also struggled with the height of the solar racks and their concern that heavy snowfall would bury the panels, prompting Planning Board member Ben Bailey to ask, “Is design of the project really up to us?” He thought it wasn’t in the purview of the Planning Board to concern itself with the design of the project but instead to focus on the screening of the project, while Johnson took a more holistic approach, believing the entire project was their responsibility.

“I disagree: I don’t think we should tell them about their design,” Bailey said.

Rosenblat presented 3-D renderings and visual simulation of what the project would look like once completed, and agreed to check several other abutters’ views before returning with more fleshed out technical documents.

Johnson said that, with a long list of large, complicated projects coming before the Planning Board in the coming months, the board would only be hearing such cases once a month versus several times in any given month. Canning’s project is awaiting a formal filing, so a continuation date was not noted at this time; however, a peer-review consultant fee of $3,000 was set.

Clean Energy Collective was next for their informal discussion of a proposed solar array on Sarah Sherman Road. Represented by Evan Watson of Prime Engineering, and Doug Carton of Clean Energy Collective, their project plans were basic and not ready for more than that, as Watson discussed the placement of solar panels well away from jurisdictional wetlands. He said, given the location of the solar arrays away from roadways and most existing structures, extensive screening might not be necessary. Watson invited the board members to visit the site, which was agreed upon.

Then once again came the issue of easements used for landscaping and screening purposes versus leased lands.

Johnson argued that leased lands stood a better change of being maintained for screening purposes versus easements. Watson and Carton countered that it was a matter of liability for the developer. Bailey again said he wasn’t opposed to expanding the leased area, but questioned if the board had the right to mandate such a business detail, saying, “What is our authority?” After further debate it was determined that town counsel should weigh in on the parameters of the board’s authority in such matters.

Borrego Solar Systems, represented by Steve Long, also came before the Planning Board as his solar array project located on Rounseville Road was faulted by the board for flooding on Mendell Road.

Long tried to explain that the stormwater flow could not have been anticipated, a point questioned by Johnson at several intersections in the conversation, and that they were working towards the removal of berms so that water would move away from the roadway. Johnson said that the removal of eight acres of mature pine trees was the problem, that the trees not only soaked up water they also held water back. Long countered that his project did not add more water to the property than prior to clearing, a point lost on the board members. Long will instruct the construction crew to remove berms and monitor stormwater flow moving forward.

Also coming before the board in a continued public hearing was Bob Rogers of G.A.F. Engineering for a site plan review for property owned by Decas Real Estate Trust. The project is a planned conversion of an existing building for a daycare center. Stormwater plans were reviewed and Rogers pointed out changes that were made at the request of the Planning Board.

Things moved along smoothly until Johnson told Rogers that, given the heavy agendas anticipated in the coming weeks, his project wouldn’t be heard at the first meeting in February. Rogers took umbrage to having his client’s project pushed off, and urged the board to hear their filing as a pending real estate closing in April was in jeopardy. Johnson relented, as did the other board members. The application was continued until February 12.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for February 12 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

No one attending the Old Rochester Regional School Committee meeting on January 17 disagreed that the athletic fields at ORR are in need of improvement, and a facilities subcommittee that night presented its revised and downsized $2 million plan to the ORR School Committee and the public. But the School Committee will hold off on taking a vote to advance that proposal forward until the weeks just before the annual town meetings of the three towns.

ORR School Committee Chairman Carey Humphrey said that subcommittee recently met with various selectmen, town administrators, and finance committee members who urged the subcommittee to consider having the School Committee save its vote to advance the proposal until the spring so it can be forwarded as a warrant article on the annual town meeting warrants.

“We listened because we want to have a collaborative work towards a solution,” said Humphrey. “We’re not here as a group or subcommittee to try to push an agenda toward the towns, the selectmen, and town administrators that would cause problems. That’s not what were here for.”

And although not all stakeholders agree on all the aspects of the matter, Humphrey said, “… but we’re here for similar reasons.

“We walked away from that meeting feeling like we have a positive path towards getting on the warrant for the town meeting.” The subcommittee’s goal, he continued, “is to get this to town meeting so that our citizens can decide if they want to approve this, and that’s kind of where we’re at today,” Humphrey said.

During a 20-minute slide presentation, Hal Rood, an advocate for the athletics complex rehab project, broke down the project that has been reduced in scope and price, from $5 million to $2 million. Rood, an original member of the 501(C)(3) group known as T.U.R.F. (Tri-Town Unified Recreational Facilities), helped organize a group of citizens interested in studying ways to improve the athletic complex at ORR that Rood said is “over-used” and “in need of help.”

Using funds raised by T.U.R.F., the group had an engineer draft a design that included repairing the running track, two artificial turf fields, including the main field, two other full-sized grass multi-purpose fields and irrigation for those and the baseball diamond, a field house with bathrooms and concession stand, partial re-fencing of the tennis courts, irrigation and care for the softball field, LED lighting, spectator seating for the track and multi-use field, and a covered press box.

The project has been scaled down to one artificial turf field at the main stadium, lighting upgrades, a new track, and also new lighting and sound equipment for the auditorium to benefit the drama club.

According to Rood, the current state of the main field at ORR leaves student athletes at a higher risk of falls and concussions because the ground is so compacted. This also causes drainage issues, a reason why the soccer team had to play many of its games away from ORR when the field was underwater, Rood said. Artificial turf instead of grass, he said, would allow the amount of usage the field currently obliges, which is far too much for natural grass.

But the $2 million project will require approval by voters at the three towns’ annual town meeting before moving forward any further.

Breaking down the cost, Rood said if the project was financed through a 15-year loan, the average single-family size home in Mattapoisett would see an annual tax increase of about $19, about $25 in Marion, and just over $34 in Rochester.

The project cost, Rood said, includes all the “soft costs” as well as a 10% design and construction contingency. Rood added that perhaps Marion and Mattapoisett Community Preservation Act funding could be used to help fund the project.

“I was elected to represent the students and their parents,” said Humphrey. “I look at this project as – we have a great school system, we have great leadership, we have great academics, we have a great athletics director, we have champion athletics teams … we have award winning performing arts students…. I believe that as a participant of this group that this is a project that’s well worth our support.”

The next meeting of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee is scheduled for February 27 at 6:30 pm in the ORR Junior High School media room.

Old Rochester Regional School Committee

By Jean Perry

Fees for recreational boaters in Marion are going up this fiscal year in order to fund a long-range 10-13-year plan to replace the harbormaster’s main patrol boat.

Harbormaster Isaac Perry presented his proposed fee hikes to the Marion Board of Selectmen on January 22, which resulted in approval of the fees that will result in a roughly $54,000 annual increase in revenue.

A new patrol boat is priced at about $500,000-$600,000, Perry said.

Fees have not been increased since “the mid-2000s,” Perry told the board, and a portion of the increase in revenue will be set aside in the Waterways Account every year to replace the 13-year-old patrol boat that is now 13 years into its roughly 25-year life expectancy.

The boat berth fees at Island Wharf and Old Landing are going up from $150 to $200, and from $75 to $80, respectively. The fee for dinghy and kayak racks will go up from $40 to $50, and the per-foot fee will go up from $4 to $5 per foot.

Personal and commercial mooring fees are also increasing from $60 to $70, and $150 to $180, respectively.

Fiscal year 2018 revenue from waterways fees totaled about $313,000, and the increase will bring that revenue in FY19 up to $365,543.

Island Wharf is by far the biggest increase, Perry pointed out, due mainly because of the expansion the wharf has undergone and the fact that more employee work time has resulted because of the expansion.

“[Island Wharf has] tripled in size since this fee has been enacted, so we think it justifies the increase,” Perry said.

The fee amounts were adopted after Perry researched other area waterways fees in towns such as Wareham, New Bedford, Dartmouth, Mattapoisett, and towns on Cape Cod.

“We wanted to keep ours in line with what the norm is throughout the state,” said Perry.

In other matters, an appointment with Finance Committee Chairman Peter Winters will have to be rescheduled after Winters emailed Dawson that day to inform the board that he would be unable to attend the meeting that night. Runner up representative of the FinCom Alan Minard also emailed Dawson stating that he would also not be able to attend.

The topic of the meeting was so that the selectmen could discuss the Finance Committee’s decision last Tuesday to delay the approval of the board’s request for a Reserve Fund transfer in order to fund the town administrator’s 5.4 percent pay raise. During that FinCom meeting on January 15 there was some obvious contention between the committee and representatives from the Town House, Selectman John Waterman, and especially with Finance Director Judy Mooney.

Winters, Minard, and the rest of the FinCom asserted that the transfer was not necessary at the time, and went ahead and approved a Reserve Fund transfer to fund the fire chief’s pay raise of 8.8 percent. [See the article in the January 17 edition of The Wanderer titled “FinCom Chairman is a ‘(Bleep)’”.]

Also during the meeting, the members of the Town Administrator Search Committee have been chosen, with selectmen appointing at-large residents Judith Rosbe, Jim Ryba, and Elise Frangos, who will join Selectman Randy Parker and Harbormaster Isaac Perry in the five-member committee. The committee is tasked with reviewing the resumes recommended by headhunting consultant Bernard Lynch and ultimately presenting finalists to the board.

The board also voted to transfer the responsibility and authority over Sprague’s Cove from the Board of Selectmen to the Conservation Commission.

The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for February 5 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry