On the heels of the 2020 spring Town Meeting, Mattapoisett’s Board of Selectmen now turn their attention to other pressing matters: setting goals and objectives for Town Administrator Mike Lorenco and making their work more transparent to the public they serve.
Each selectman, as well as Lorenco, came prepared to the August 25 meeting with a list of objectives that could be crafted into goals. After much discussion, the list contained four major areas deemed in need of improvement or reorganization.
First on the list was a complete review of all boards and committees including current members, vacancies, and the responsibilities or “charges” of each group. Lorenco said there was a 30-page list for boards and committees, but whether or not the volunteer entities were all still active and, if active, whether the member list was accurate was in question.
Selectman Jordan Collyer said, “This should be in an Excel spreadsheet so we can filter as needed.” He also said, “There are too many vacancies, and keeping track of the voids is important. This data should be more state-of-the-art.” Selectman Paul Silva said it would be helpful for the public is see where vacancies are and possibly how they might help as a volunteer. The selectmen discussed how best to document what the committees and boards are charged with doing on behalf of the community, and Lorenco suggested that each group draft what they believe are their areas of responsibility as a starting point.
Selectman John DeCosta, along with Collyer and Silva, expressed concern over vacancies on the Capital Planning Committee, a seven-member board with two vacancies. It was determined that by the next meeting Lorenco will provide the beginnings of a spreadsheet list and the charges for each group with a completion date of early October.
The second priority brought to the fore was emergency planning and response. While the town does have emergency planning, the board believes that the COVID-19 pandemic has proven challenging, especially in terms of continuity of town hall business.
Collyer said, “We need a written continuity plan. We have a general idea, but we need to plan for who should work from home, what staff may be curtailed, and when. We need a document we can implement at a moment’s notice. There’s an emergency plan, but not one for business continuity.”
Spring-boarding from this plan was the need for reorganization of the administrative office staff, suggested by DeCosta. Lorenco said he had thoughts and has had conversations with staff members and would provide a written proposal for the board’s review by October 31.
They also agreed that such documented plans should be available to the residents and discussed having it posted to the town’s website. Silva asked that Lorenco work with the Police and Fire departments to create a video on emergency planning with plans posted to the website.
The third area that is on the goals and objectives list is the reorganization of the shellfish officer’s role. Collyer said this was number one on his list and included moving this to the Harbormaster office. “They have the right equipment and manpower. We are at a good point to make a transition. It’s a game of efficiency,” he said.
The board members were in agreement and plan to have a full transition completed by April 15, 2021. Silva said, while they were reorganizing this department, the animal control agreement with Rochester also needs a review and a written agreement.
Turning their attention to local receipts as number four on the list, the selectmen discussed the municipal transfer station. Lorenco said that nearly since he was hired six months ago, there had been conversations with the Board of Health over the transfer station’s operation. He said they needed a scale to ensure accuracy when collecting fees for dumping. Collyer commented, “We have been subsidizing people.” Silva said, “We need to figure out the revenue… if we can pick up $25,000 to $50,000 for the operating budget, that is a big number.”
Collyer stated, “We need to talk to the Board of Health. Kayla (Davis, director) doesn’t have much interest in managing it. Can it reside with someone else? I think Kayla could do wonders, but is that what we want her spending her time on?”
Silva responded, “We have to look at a lot of things. We have to review our policies with respect to local receipts. If we can pick up $100,000, that’s a nice number.”
Moving on to other matters, Lorenco said that the Master Plan about to be studied and updated with the assistance of South Eastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) was to kick off with two Discovery Workshops airing remotely on August 26 at 7:00 pm and August 29 at 10:00 am. There is also a Master Plan Survey, which Lorenco said anyone could complete. All details are available at mattapoisett.net. He said the selectmen’s involvement in the process was important. “The board should be heavily involved in the process for the next year.”
Collyer said, “What I’d like us to do is full transparency.” He said objectives should be available to the residents, including tracking the board’s progress towards achieving goals.
The board had high praise for Lorenco and his team in pulling together many working parts to ensure that the recent outdoor Town Meeting was a safe and productive environment for the residents. Silva noted a comment made by one resident regarding the lack of visibility regarding the schools’ budgets. He said they should get the data out prior to the public hearings held for the schools’ budgets so that residents can review the line-item budget versus just being asked to approve a single appropriation.
Lorenco said he could work with the ORR District business manager.
In other business, Lorenco sought and received approval to pursue a Mass Works Grant in the sum of $450,000 for a new traffic signal and crosswalk at the site of the new Fire Station. He said cost estimates for the equipment and installation hover around $498,000.
The Acushnet Road bridge-replacement project is slated to begin in mid-September, Lorenco said with an October completion. Unforeseen delays have pushed the project from its original start date of June.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for September 8 at 6:30 pm by remote access.
Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen
By Marilou Newell