On December 9, 2020, the Mattapoisett Master Plan Committee met for the first time to begin the two-year process of building a 10-year Master Plan.
The short-range goal is to consider a variety of subject matter from school consolidation to sea-level rise, cultural enrichment and many other topics and then come up with lists of recommendations for each category in a living document with input from all sectors of the community.
Over the past 15 months, the town’s Planning Board has striven to act as the moderator and appointed overseer of the many-handed effort to produce an updated Master Plan, but it has not been an easy task even with the expert assistance of a team from the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD.)
Topics overlap one another. Conversations begin in one general direction and turn down unforeseen tributaries. The volunteers, a committee of 19 residents, have been participating more or less intact, attending regularly and contributing to the conversation. Probably the most delicate and difficult aspect of the committee’s work has been and will continue to be coming to a consensus, especially given the number of conversations that have yet to be concluded.
And so, in an effort to circle back on topics that were not, thus far, fully vetted, on March 2 the group returned to sea-level rise and the associated impact on this coastline community, along with Route 6 as a barrier to future growth, opportunity and safety.
Host and Planning Board member Nathan Ketchel opened the sea-level rise topic by sharing a FEMA map of just what might happen to Mattapoisett’s coastline neighborhoods by the year 2100. The map in brilliant color drew a dire picture of the village area completely underwater as far as 550 feet away from the current high-tide mark. Town Hall would be one of the causalities in that scenario.
In considering school consolidation and where a new Town Hall facility might be located in the next few years, the group seemed to recognize that repairing the current Town Hall building is not fiscally prudent.
Committee member Carlos DeSousa said that it isn’t practical to spend money on the current Town Hall building to bring it up to standard conditions. “There’s probably hazards in there we don’t want to talk about.” He believes that spending money to retrofit the town offices is fiscally ill advised. “It would cost more to renovate than to construct a new building.” DeSousa has been suggesting a new municipal complex located on town-owned property adjacent to the Police and Fire Departments.
In discussing reuse of the Town Hall property, ideas included tearing the building down and using the space for a skateboard park or playground – sea-level rise aside.
The conversations also touched on potential uses of the town-owned Holly Ghost Grounds including but not limited to rental for private events, outdoor sports venue, and rest area for those using the bike path proposed to traverse the acreage.
In addressing the issue of Route 6 and the current limitations confronting residents looking to cross the busy state roadway, Committee member Mary Dermody said she has given the topic a slogan, “Let’s fix Route 6.” She asked what had become of an earlier Route 6 study that ended after SRPEDD produced several conceptual designs, all of which included a dedicated bike lane.
It was determined that nothing more had come of that effort, but the committee left open the door to how a dedicated bike lane on Route 6 might impact current bike-path planning. Robin Lepore, committee member and member of the Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path, said that to her knowledge both Marion and Wareham are considering use of bike lanes along portions of Route 6 as it travels through those towns. She said she had no knowledge to plans for Route 6 in Mattapoisett.
Dermody wondered if the town should take over ownership of Route 6 and, with it, complete latitude over its future design.
Regarding other topics, the committee heard from SRPEDD’s Lizeth Gonzalez, who shared that the UMass Boston Collins Center, the group studying town facilities including the Transfer Station, Town Hall and public schools, had been in contact with her and that data sharing was taking place. She also said the Master Plan would include a full housing production plan.
The next public meeting of the Mattapoisett Master Plan Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, April 6, at 7:00 pm.
Mattapoisett Master Plan Committee
By Marilou Newell