The Marion Select Board reviewed the 11 articles for the Special Town Meeting warrant during its August 17 Zoom meeting. Town Meeting will be held on October 19. The deadline for articles and citizen petitions is August 31, and the warrant closes on September 21.
Town Administrator Jay McGrail summarized the articles for the Select Board members, beginning with an estimated $22,000 in capital funding for electrical upgrades for underground generators and HVAC systems. McGrail said that free cash will not be certified by October 19, so capital funding becomes the best source.
The second article is for $35,000 from the Waterways Fund to reach the required 25-percent match of grant funding for the Maritime Center construction fund. If the state does not approve Marion’s grant application in its September 9 meeting at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, then the town will pass over the article at Town Meeting.
Select Board member Norm Hills drafted a Litter Prevention Bylaw that was initiated by the request of an Old Rochester Regional High School student. “Not a lot of towns that do have them,” said Hills, who said he drafted a short bylaw and noted that the Planning Board, of which he is also a member, will be scheduling a public hearing for bylaw updates.
As a key member of the Bylaw Codification Committee, a subset of the Planning Board, Hills spearheaded an update to Marion bylaws that will be presented as articles in the October 19 Town Meeting warrant.
Select Board member John Waterman asked that the bylaw be clarified to note that the Select Board shall approve any fines for littering.
The fourth article will correct the process of changing the name of the Board of Selectmen to Select Board, as it was pointed out that the change, approved at the Annual Town Meeting, failed to include a public hearing prior to placing it on the warrant. The Planning Board will also need to hold a public hearing on the matter.
Article 5 is the dissolution of the Council on Aging Advisory Board. COA Chairman Harry Norweb is still moving forward with the plan, according to McGrail.
The COA, incidentally, is holding “An Evening on Sippican Harbor” fundraiser for the Cushing Community Center pavilion on Thursday, August 19, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at 1 Water Street.
Article 6 is the ORR District Agreement. KP Law, which Marion regularly retains, is jointly representing the Tri-Towns in the matter and, according to McGrail, reports that there are no strategical hang-ups with the agreement. Two joint sessions, with the Marion Finance Committee on Wednesday, August 25, and with the Mattapoisett Select Board and Rochester Board of Selectmen on September 1, will be held. Members of the Mattapoisett FinCom may also attend on August 25.
“I think the majority of the questions asked by Mr. [Peter] Winters have been resolved,” said McGrail, noting that the Marion FinCom chair remains concerned about introducing a significant financial article to a Special Town Meeting instead of the regular Annual Town Meeting.
Waterman suggested there is little to gain by delaying the matter and asked if the outcome would change. McGrail pointed out that, in order to have the five-year average in play for FY23, the ORR agreement needs to be approved in the fall. Hills agreed with Waterman that the Special Town Meeting needs to be promoted for attendance’s sake.
Articles 7 and 8 create bylaws for the town moderator and tree warden positions, while proposing tweaks. Town moderator, an elected position, will be changed from a one-year term to three years, and the tree warden, heretofore an elected official, would henceforth become a one-year appointment. McGrail said that Marion has many one-year appointments.
Article 9 subtracts a handful of uses that would no longer be in the Water Protection District Bylaw in order to comply with the state law.
Article 10 clarifies what requires a special permit and what does not in the Solar Bylaw and resolved a contradiction. The altered wording will make the bylaw enforceable by Building Commissioner Scott Shippey.
Article 11 answers to a request from the town clerk for clarification on the kennel bylaw, changing terms from “a dog” to “one dog” and no less than $25 “per dog.”
Hills told fellow Select Board members that all of the proposed changes were agreed to by the Bylaw Codification Committee.
In his Town Administrator’s Report, McGrail was thrilled to report that the Wastewater Treatment Plant Lagoon is empty of all sludge except for one large pile. “I’ve been driving up to the Wastewater Treatment Plant for two years and it never looks any different. Today I was in shock,” said McGrail.
McGrail intends to send photos to state Representative Bill Straus and ask if there is more funding available for the project. Straus was instrumental in helping Marion secure $250,000 for the lagoon project in June and, according to Waterman, indicated that more funding could be forthcoming.
Noting that the banks of the lagoon have been scraped, McGrail said, “We’re ultimately weeks away from the lining project being started.”
In other business, McGrail reported that Rochester Bituminous Products, Inc. won the bid for the Marion Roadway Improvement Project, the paving of key roads including some mill-and-overlay work. Bituminous was $50,000 cheaper than the second place bid in the sealed-bid process managed by DPW Engineer Meghan Davis. Work is scheduled to begin on August 30 and be completed by October 15.
Marion-based Arne Excavating, LLC came in under budget and won the bid for the Sippican School egress project; the construction end date has been extended to December 31. The town is preparing an award letter to Arne, and G.A.F. Engineering was credited for fixing what McGrail called “a pretty screwy situation” that had lasted three years.
West Bridgewater-based D’Alessandro Corporation made the low bid and will conduct the 2021 Sewer System Improvements that were approved at the Annual Town Meeting. The work, which will address situations at the Cushing Community Center, the Marion Fire station, Mill Street (Route 6) and Hiller Street, is scheduled to begin on October 1.
A state Coastal Zone Management (CZM) grant of $148,500 will fund sewer projects at the Front Street pumping station.
McGrail plans to attend the band concert on Friday, August 20, and speak on behalf of the Select Board at the rededication of the bandstand at Island Wharf.
Hills told the board that a public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, September 9, on Zoom to discuss the Hazard Mitigation Plan being developed by the Woods Hole Group. Waterman pointed out that the ramifications for the Creek Road pumping station are significant. McGrail said that the contract for the plan has been awarded to Woods Hole Group.
The Select Board voted to create an alternate seat on the Affordable Housing Trust and appointed Gary Taylor to fill that seat. Taylor has attended meetings as a guest, but with no full openings on the recently reorganized, five-member AHT, the Select Board saw fit to make Taylor the AHT’s first alternate.
The board voted to accept a donation of $1,849 from the Friends of Marion Recreation for a floating “Mobi-Chair” (wheelchair) to help the disabled access Silvershell Beach. Users will sign a liability waiver when taking out the chair. Administrative Assistant Donna Hemphill reports “really good feedback” on the recent installation of a handicap accessible mat. Hemphill described the three-wheel wheelchair as a recliner shape and says the chair has been available for a week.
The board voted to approve a water/sewer commitment of $1,159.56 dated August 2.
The next regular meeting of the Marion Select Board is scheduled for Tuesday, September 7, at 6:00 pm via Zoom. The board is also scheduled to participate in two joint sessions: with the Marion Finance Committee on Wednesday, August 25, at 5:00 pm, and with the Mattapoisett Select Board and Rochester Board of Selectmen on Wednesday, September 1.
Marion Select Board
By Mick Colageo