Marion Town Planner Gil Hilario informed the Planning Board on November 4 that he has submitted an application for an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) grant to fund a self-evaluation of town facilities and an accompanying transition plan to move Marion closer to ADA compliance and handicap accessibility.

            October was a busy month for Hilario when it came to applying for grants, but he hopes the October 16 ADA grant application he filed with the state will be awarded to the town so it can hire a consultant to undertake the evaluation of all town-owned buildings and parks for ADA compliance, make a list, and formulate a plan of action in order to apply for further ADA grants to fund potential accessibility projects.

            The state allows municipalities to apply for up to $250,000 a year in grant funding from the Massachusetts Office on Disability. The state has made $2 million available for such grants annually.

            For now, Hilario said, “Forget about the buildings being compliant to ADA code. We’re required to have a plan and we’re not even there yet.”

            Once the evaluation and plan are completed, only then can the real work begin.

            “This grant would hopefully at least get us that far,” said Hilario. “A lot of people think that it’s just having your buildings up to code; but, no. You’re required by federal law to have a plan – it’s called an ADA transition plan, so, hopefully, this grant would allow us to get one paid for us.”

            Hilario said the evaluation will also assess the town’s website for accessibility, ease of use, and “how easy it is to find information and things like that,” he said.

            Also during the meeting, the board accepted the Approval Not Required application filed by Laura McCord Grauer, 23 Water Street.

            The public hearing for the Definitive Subdivision off Beach Street filed by 22 Cove Street, LLC was discussed and then continued again until November 18 in order to allow time for the board’s peer-review engineer to provide further input and give the applicant’s engineer, David Davignon, time to make the necessary adjustments to the plan.

            The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for November 18 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Planning Board

By Jean Perry

            The Rochester Planning Board is preparing to wrap up two prominent agenda listings come January: the solar farm project proposed for Middleboro Road and the Repurpose Properties age-restricted housing development slated for Rounseville Road beside Plumb Corner.

            On November 12, the board discussed the Middleboro Road solar farm proposal filed by Pedro Rodriguez of Solar MA Project Management and scheduled the board’s first site visit for November 24.

            “This one’s been kicked around for a long time before we headed to the hearing stage,” said Planning Board Chairman Arnie Johnson during a follow-up. “I would expect that we’ll have a decision on that by the end of January.”

            The Middleboro Road solar farm project has been in the pipeline for nearly a year, Johnson said, even months before the recent filing of the Special Permit application.

            Across the street from the Town Hall, the REpurpose Properties project now has very few remaining issues left to iron out, Johnson said.

            “The board is mostly waiting for engineering,” Johnson told The Wanderer. “A few things, nothing major.

            “We’ll probably be done with [the REpurpose Properties project] in January as well,” Johnson continued. “We’re waiting for engineering reports on both projects.” Johnson was referring to this project as well as the Middleboro Road solar project. “I don’t anticipate anything major coming out of them.”

            Members of the Rochester Historic District Commission attended the Planning Board meeting on November 12 and confirmed that they held no concerns about the REpurpose Properties site regarding any matters under the commission’s jurisdiction.

            In other matters, the Planning Board will conduct a site visit at the Mendell Road solar farm site on November 24 to sign off on the project as complete.

            The board accepted an Approval Not Required application for the 40R project proposed by Steen Realty and Development Corporation to be located where Route 28 and Route 58 meet.

            “And we’ll probably have a filing for the 40R development by January, too,” Johnson stated.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for December 10 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Planning Board

By Jean Perry

            During a November 12 emergency meeting of the Marion Board of Health, Town Administrator Jay McGrail was present to advise the board to rescind its November 5 vote condemning a house on Wianno Road.

            “I’m concerned about the order that you placed on the property,” said McGrail. McGrail said that after he was made aware of the board’s vote to condemn the house, he consulted with town counsel and Police Chief John Garcia after he reviewed the process Health Director Karen Walega followed leading up to her request last week asking the board to condemn the house.

            “I’m recommending that you rescind the condemnation order,” stated McGrail. “There are some situations at the house that obviously need to be dealt with,” he added, but the process the board took in condemning the house was improper and “may make it harder to deal with the issue later on…”

            According to Chapter 2 of the State Sanitary Code, local boards of health are authorized to enforce of the state’s sanitary standards and the enforcement process is quite specific. The process begins with an appointment for a representative of the board of health to inspect the dwelling with the property owner present in order to determine if there are any violations and, if so, what repairs or alterations must be made to bring the dwelling into compliance.

            The board’s representative – in this case, Walega – must fill out an inspection report containing specific details mandated by the state, which must include a list of violations and a brief summary of the legal remedies available to the occupant or the property owner, and provide copies to the affected parties. The timetable for compliance includes a period for the owner or the occupant’s representative to submit a written request for a public hearing and an appeal period of the decision.

            In this case, the occupant is an elderly woman with a heart condition that has resulted in at least two long-term stays in the hospital.

            According to Walega, the home is infested with bedbugs and an accumulation of belongings has at one point impacted the ability to safely pass through the house.

            On November 5, Walega asked the board to condemn the house while it was still vacant to prevent the woman from returning to “unsafe” living conditions. But, according to McGrail, the process by which Walega led the board in condemning the house was improper.

            In a follow-up with The Wanderer, McGrail described the process taken in condemning the elderly woman’s home as “archaic” to a degree.

            “You can’t condemn a house due to a bedbug infestation – you just can’t,” said McGrail.

            The property owner’s son was not present for the November 5 meeting and was therefore unable to address the board on his mother’s behalf, but on November 12, he was at the Town House to discuss the matter and confirmed the insect infestation, as well as the presence of mold spores that have since been treated. The insect infestation has proven to be more difficult and costly than anticipated.

            The property owner’s son described the duress he has experienced while trying to support his mother throughout her hardship and lamented the assistance state social workers have provided him and his mother, saying that he is “appalled” by their lack of compassion and he may seek legal counsel.

            His mother remains hospitalized.

            Board of Health member Dot Brown made the motion town counsel crafted for the board to rescind the prior vote condemning the house. The conclusion to the motion was cautionary: “We (the board) urge the homeowner to take prompt and comprehensive actions to remediate these public health conditions without delay.”

            McGrail suggested that the elderly homeowner may qualify for emergency funding through the Marion Council on Aging and offered to assist her son in the process.

            Public Health Nurse Kathleen Downey also offered her support without judgment, saying, “We’re trying to put your mom in a safe position now and we’re trying to work as a team.”

            Brown regretted that the board was unaware it had not followed the proper procedure and offered her support as well. She asked Walega, should another case of a potential condemnation of a house arise in the future, to compile a list summarizing Walega’s visits and inspections for the board “to see it all in one place,” said Brown. “That would just be really helpful.”

            Board of Health Chairman John Howard stated that during his tenure on the board he recalls having made at least one “walkthrough” of a house before condemning the property and suggested it be considered in the future.

            “I think that’s fair if we’re putting a signature on a paper,” said Howard.

            McGrail further suggested that town counsel be involved in similar matters that may arise in the future.

            The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Marion Board of Health will be on November 19 at 4:30 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Board of Health

By Jean Perry