For over an hour and a half on September 20, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen met with candidates vying to be of service to the town by appointment to either the one Conservation Commission seat or one of two seats on the Planning Board. Those boards had interviewed the candidates in open meetings held over the past couple of months.
Seeking the single open slot on the Conservation Commission were five candidates that Chairman Tyler Macallister said were “five very strong applicants.” Those applicants were Diane Tsitsos, Chapman Dickerson, Janice Robbins, Michael Sites, and Bernice Kaiser.
Chairman of the Conservation Commission Bob Rogers was asked to step forward. He said that the commissioners had drawn a secret ballot and provided the selectmen with their recommendation. He asked if the board would consider increasing the number of voting commissioners, expanding the board to seven members from five. They agreed to do that in the near future so that qualified candidates would not be lost.
The board of Selectmen unanimously selected Chapman Dickerson.
During the interview, Selectman Jordan Collyer asked him if he would have a conflict of interest, given his job. He replied, “No.”
Dickerson, whose background was not made clear in his letter submitted for consideration, wrote in his letter of introduction, “The knowledge gained in my highly regulated profession has given me the ability to read, understand and interpret regulatory language provided by state and federal authorities.”
Dickerson is currently a member of the Agricultural Commission.
There were four candidates for the two open seats on the Planning Board. Robbins, who also applied for the Conservation Commission seat, was considered along with Todd Philie, Paul Osenkowski, and Gail Carlson.
The selectmen chose Robbins and Carlson.
Gail Carlson, a resident of Brandt Point Village did not provide a resume but voiced her desire to be of service to the town. Carlson has been a regular attendee at Planning Board meetings since moving to the sub-division in 2014. She said she served on other boards in other towns.
Robbins, a lawyer originally from Raynham and Mattapoisett resident since 1979, offered her rich background in real estate transactions and familiarity with SRPEDD. She said that she had been involved with planning boards due to her representation of real estate clients and understood the importance of engaging engineers for technical input.
In other matters, Town Administrator Michael Gagne reported that the Coast Guard public hearing on the disestablishment of some navigational aids in Buzzards Bay is scheduled for September 28 at 6:00 pm at Mass Maritime Academy’s Glyns Hall. Harbormaster Jill Simmons will be in attendance as will Gagne.
The mandatory water restriction was discussed with all non-essential watering restricted to hand watering only between the hours of 6:00 – 8:00 am and 6:00 – 8:00 pm. A full notice is available on the town’s website. Gagne said that the area is down 12 inches of water and that recent rainstorms have produced less than 3 inches.
In other business, Stephen Brodo was appointed as alternate building inspector; Paula Butterfield is stepping down as veterans clerk; John Cornish is stepping down from the Marine Advisory Board; Lebanese Kitchen received an entertainment license; and the Lions Club received permission to hold a Fall Family Festival on October 29 from noon to 8:00 pm.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for October 11 at a new time of 6:30 pm in the town hall conference room.
By Marilou Newell