Action on Article 31 of the warrant for the May 13 Annual Town Meeting asking Marion voters if the town should opt out of the state’s Stretch (building) Code and effectively resign from its membership in the state’s Green Communities program will be postponed indefinitely after the Select Board determined Tuesday night that there is much more to be learned on both sides of the debate less than a week from Town Meeting.
The Town House Annex conference room was packed with citizens, including three members of the town’s Energy Management Committee that spearheads Marion’s participation in the incentive-based, state program that since 2018 has yielded $548,975 in grant funding with an application due to be submitted on Friday for $262,000 in municipal, energy-saving projects.
The motivation for the town to reconsider its participation stems from changes that are making the Stretch Code more stringent. Marion Building Commissioner Bob Grillo explained that it was his duty to bring the matter to the Select Board’s attention to ensure the town understands the laws he will be obligated to enforce.
Opinions were many on the floor, and EMC member Bill Saltonstall told the crowd he opposes the article “because it’s misleading and confusing.”
The note on the warrant that the Finance Committee withholds recommendation due to no financial impact is “simply not true,” said Saltonstall, asserting that an approval at Town Meeting would prevent the town from substantial state grants and Eversource energy savings.
Lisa Sullivan, the regional coordinator for the Green Communities program, was in attendance to field questions and offer clarifications to the board and residents.
Those against the article appeal to Marion’s 24% energy reduction since joining Green Communities in 2018 and assert that if the article is approved, the town may never be able to get its municipal projects completed.
There was plenty of support for objections to the article, each greeted with a round of applause.
Christian Ingerslev, the chairman of the EMC, said that while disadvantages of the Stretch Code include higher construction costs due to stricter requirements than the base code, up-front costs can be reduced via the MassSave program and competitive grants that can offset third-party costs.
Ingerslev also said that while the Stretch Code can add layers of complexity, additional time and the need for professional expertise and can be particularly onerous with older buildings, the code brings better energy efficiency, HVAC performance and sealing of buildings.
From an environmental standpoint, greenhouse gases are lowered, helping combat the effects of climate change and offering better indoor-air quality, supporting the state’s broader goals for stewardship of the environment.
“Marion should be a forward-looking town,” he said, adding his recommendation to vote no and to keep the Stretch Code and the town’s Green Communities designation.
Select Board member Randy Parker said the key to supporting a move out of Green Communities is, “what we adopted in 2018 is not what we’re going to be presented.”
Parker said it is important that residents understand that the question was asked in 2018 if the Stretch Code would affect existing dwellings and “the answer was no.” That’s what Parker understood would be changing until Sullivan laid out some thresholds that she believes have far less potential to trigger the updated Stretch Code than what Parker believed coming into the meeting.
During the discussion, Parker had also addressed concerns about the town’s historical district. Longtime resident Chris Washburn, also an electrician, said he has seen many homes in Marion and that if the Stretch Code is applied, many would become teardowns and the town would lose its character.
Grillo wanted to make sure the town understands that with changes in the Home Energy Rating System (HERS), the Stretch Code has effectively become the Base Code. Sullivan found herself correcting conclusions being drawn by residents regarding the interpretations of how HERS ratings will affect their home projects.
Select Board member Norm Hills suggested that such a trend is not new and continues. Parker, however, disagreed in the newness of its application limits.
Resident Shaun Walsh identified a fear of the unknown in the room and a “real lack of information about this, and that tells you that this article should not pass.”
Walsh asked what percentage of building permits issued by the town over the last five years would have triggered the new Stretch Code. Sullivan estimated that the answer is probably closer to 5% than 50%.
Hills said he dug through the last three years and pulled 27 building permits … all big houses, he said, and concluded that “this code, I don’t think, would impact that.”
Margie Baldwin said, “The reason the state did this is climate. Some of us have to take our lumps … yes, it hurts some pockets, but … this is something that’s real. … We have to face reality.”
Select Board Chairman Toby Burr asked Sullivan and Grillo if they knew what the ramifications are for the construction of sports facilities like ice rinks and bubbles.
Resident Catherine Collings said that rebates have come slowly from MassSave.
Resident Chris Collings suggested that although an excess of $500,000 in grant funding sounds impressive, the figure represents a miniscule fraction of the town’s annual operational budget and therefore would be better realized within the budgetary process so as to escape the hooks that come with the grants.
Resident Tucker Burr questioned if the state puts more money into the Green Communities bucket or if grant applications become more competitive.
Sullivan said Green Communities started with $10,000,000 and has been doubled. There are 295 municipalities among the state’s 351 communities, four of which joined over the last year. Citing the requirements on its already-expensive plans for a new fire station and police headquarters expansion, the Town of Rochester recently became the only town to ever opt out of the program.
As more residents acknowledged a need for more education on the subject, Parker changed his stance and supported holding Article 31 with the stipulation that the town host Green Communities for three informational meetings in a larger space with the possibility of bringing the article back to a special fall town meeting.
“This isn’t going away,” he said before making his motion. Hills and Toby Burr agreed, bringing applause from a gathering that Town Administrator Geoff Gorman had to ask to disperse so that the board could conduct the rest of its agenda.
Early in the meeting, Police Chief Richard Nighelli appeared before the board to request three appointments to his staff, beginning with Assistant Harbormaster Andrew Miller. The board approved and also approved the appointments of full-time patrol officers Patrick Adams and Mark Norman.
Since 2020, Miller had become a regular on the Harbormaster’s staff and, under police reform, was required to leave the department to pursue state certification as a police officer so he could join Adam Murphy’s core with Deputy Harbormaster Dave Wilson.
Miller is a 2018 ORRHS graduate and Massachusetts Maritime Academy and will join the Harbormaster Department effective Sunday, May 12.
Marion Fire Ladder truck No. 1 will be junked at a profit of $10,000. With its replacement due in the fall, the town has arranged for support from surrounding departments, including Wareham and Onset.
Kelli McSweeny was appointed to the Music Hall Advisory Committee.
The board granted Tri-County Music Association a Special One-Day Alcohol Beverage License for a June 9 scholarship fundraiser, band concert and 250-guest event from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the Tabor Academy Alumni tent.
The board granted Tabor Academy a performance time extension to 11:30 pm for live music for the dinner/dance, part of the school’s Reunion Weekend June 7-9.
The board also approved: Annual Water Restrictions from June 15 to September 15, a Mobile Home and Trailer Permit at 507 Delano Road, the town’s Water & Sewer Abatement Policy and Water/Sewer commitments for final readings of $329.58 (April 12) and $304.36 (April 23).
The board disapproved a Water/Sewer Abatement of $2,226.73 requested at 44 Rocky Knook Lane.
In his Town Administrator’s Report, Gorman noted major events coming up such as the Annual Town Meeting to be held on Monday, May 13, at 6:45 pm at Sippican Elementary School, the Annual Town Election to be held on Friday, May 17, from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm at the Cushing Community Center on Route 6 and the town’s Annual Memorial Day Remembrance ceremonies to begin with a 9:00 am procession from the Music Hall up Front Street to Old Landing, where the observance will be completed.
Independence Day Parade applications are available at marionma.gov and at the Marion Town House.
Gorman said that after a $10,000 donation from Tabor Academy, the Fireworks Committee is still $7,000 of its $40,000 goal and has until June 16 to raise the money to hold the event scheduled for July 6 (rain date July 7).
The Annual Town Party scheduled for August 24 at 4:00 pm at Silvershell Beach is also soliciting donations.
Parker said the Harbormaster construction has now begin shingling the roof and that plumbing work has started with electrical installation anticipated over the next week.
The next meeting of the Marion Select Board will occur at the Annual Town Meeting to be held on Monday, May 13, at 6:45 pm at Sippican Elementary School with the board’s next regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, at 6:00 pm at the Town House Annex building.
Marion Select Board
By Mick Colageo