After many, many hearings, REpurpose Properties, LLC finally received conditions for the construction of 22 duplex units for people over the age of 55. During the Rochester Conservation Commission March 3 meeting, Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon presented a long list of conditions for the commissioners to consider. Nearly 40 conditions, ranging from those related to the construction process to those that will reach into perpetuity, were discussed.
Chairman Michael Conway added the requirement for keeping logs for various aspects of maintenance. Those logs would cover such systems, as stormwater discharge rates, maintenance of surface infiltration systems and that copies of the logs be provided to the Conservation office.
The commissioners were unanimous in closing the public hearing and issuing the order-of-conditions. The project has not completed processes related to the Planning Board, but Brian Wallace of J.C. Engineering, the developer’s representative, said that at that board’s next meeting he anticipates receiving a draft decision.
Also coming before the commission were members of SEMASS/Covanta for an Emergency Certification for tree pruning and removal within a 25-foot “no-touch zone.”
Daniel Peters, Sr., Environmental Engineer for SEMASS/Covanta, explained in detail the necessity of removing 51 trees and pruning nearly double that number. He said that during plant upgrades, it was found that a critical fiberoptic cable was in imminent danger of being severed by tree branches. He said that discussions with Eversource, owner of the communications cable, uncovered the importance of the line – if it goes down the plant goes dark.
Peters said that the resource-recovery facility handles more than a third of all waste in the Commonwealth. “…the cable is a critical link between Eversource and SEMASS/Covanta,” he said.
The 1,500 feet of cable is suspended between utility poles, prompting discussion between the commissioners that it should be placed underground. Peters agreed that in retrospect that should have been considered. However, time was of the essence to protect the cable now, he asserted, while admitting that the last thing anyone wanted to do was work within a no-touch zone.
“If this facility goes black, it would be a catastrophe for the Commonwealth,” Peters concluded. The work was approved.
Continued until April 7 was the RDA for improvements to Leonard Pond Recreational Area off Mary’s Pond Road, as well as the NOI filed by Steen Realty and Development Corporation for construction of 208 affordable-housing units off of Route 28 near the junction of Route 58.
The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for March 17 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall meeting room.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Marilou Newell
This report is timely. I have been wanting to move back home since I retired from Keene State College, and have been checking The Wanderer for reports about Senior Housing and this project. At this time I’m at the ocean in New Hampshire, but my longtime friends and lifetime family are in Mattapoisett where I grew up. My home at 22 North Street is up For Sale, and so I go to the website and bring it up on-line to hold memories close.
i threw myself
to the world
and expected
to be caught,
little did i know of the world
and what it was not
the net
the fall
falling caught
Nancy K. Sylvia Paquin
from my CD, Wait Till You See the Rainbow I’ve Planned
Thank you for allowing me to share my work. My deepest hope is that Mattapoisett will find a way of building affordable Senior apartments back home. Please enjoy a poem written, while visiting with my sons. My son, Jeffrey was fishing down at the wharf when he was just 6 years old – when he caught a fish, he needed to throw it back in, for it was too small.
a small boy
a small fish
and catching
is all the fun needed –
but what does the fish think
when he is too small
to eat, and enjoy
is thrown back
in the water
to swim
and be
caught
again?
Nancy K. Sylvia Paquin
from my CD, Wait Till You See the Rainbow I’ve Planned
Note – The Painting on the jacket, I did at the end of the Wharf on the Mattapoisett Beach
I was devastated when I learned of your tornado back home, and prayed that you were all safe. At 7 1/2 years old,
after climbing a tree in our yard, I wrote:
Climbing trees
of apple branches high
is all over,
once you get to the top.
I was wanting to climb the apple tree in our yard on Church Street Mommy and Dad were gone for the day and we had a babysitter. I moved slowly and climbed the tree. The sitter told my parents what I had done. Dad said, “Nancy come with me to the shed to get a saw.” After we got the saw, Dad said, “Now Nancy, we are going to cut the lower limbs off, because we don’t want your baby cousin to climb the tree as you did. Will you help me?” And I did.