All things canine garnered most of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen discussion despite a full agenda that contained some important achievements and information.

Many residents came out to get clarification on where dogs are allowed to walk and where they are restricted. Others wanted to voice their concern that dogs were being targeted for fouling the bay waters with e coli, and still others wanted to see higher penalties for dog owners not complying with restrictions currently in place.

Chairman Paul Silva said he had spent some time researching the issue of fecal matter contamination and reported that 400 dogs and associated droppings were sufficient to close the beaches.

“The first thing we have to do is educate the public,” Silva said. He pointed out that Mass Environmental Health Agency had a great pamphlet that could be stuffed in water bills, helping to enlighten the public about the importance of cleaning up after dogs. He also said that fines need to be increased and bylaws reviewed. He went on to say that keeping the ground clean of fecal matter was part of a larger effort to keep our environment clean. Other portions are the sewer project and protecting the aquifer.

Town Administrator Michael Gagne said officials will look at increasing fines. He plans on putting together language for the fall Town Meeting. He said that the Natural Resource Officer Kathy Massey and her staff had been doing an outstanding job in patrolling and issuing tickets. He also said that he had witnessed dogs on the grass park area at Ned’s Point regardless of signage stating “No Dogs Allowed.” Massey said that enforcing the pooper scooper law is challenging. Gagne said the town is looking at installing more dispensing stations.

Kristine Voss, 30 North Street, said, “I’m really pleased to hear we are putting fines in place, when I see other people not picking up I go up to them with a bag.” She, too, felt that education is necessary.

Jean West of Pine Island Road felt that visitors to the town need to understand that Mattapoisett has laws in place regarding dogs. She asked about additional signage.

Becky Lockwood, 2 Mulberry Drive, asked the Board if they had reviewed the bylaws that Fairhaven has in place, and said that its signs seem to be working well for that town, especially around the bike path area.

In other news, Gagne shared with the Board that state funding is available for what is titled “Mattapoisett Corridor Improvements” for Main Street, Water Street, Beacon Street and Marion Road. MassDot’s Highway Division Project Review Committee has deemed the Mattapoisett project eligible for Federal aid. The amount is estimated at $3.75 million for construction, police details, engineering, contingencies and participating utility relocation. The town would be responsible for design, right of way acquisition and environmental permitting.

In a letter Gagne shared with the public dated July 29 from MassDot, it is noted that the eligibility designation is not a commitment of funding. There are several additional layers of government agencies whose agreement is needed to secure funding, such as Southeast Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA), Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GARTA) and Southeast Regional Planning & Economic Development District (SRPEDD).

Regarding the Town landfill photovoltaic proposals, EMI Energy of Boston has been selected and will be meeting with Gagne in the coming days to enter into an agreement.

One of the most inspiring moments of the evening was when the Board thanked the Mattapoisett Fire Department for their fine work in refurbishing the Veterans Memorial Cannon situated on the library grounds. Firefighters Sam Hill, Hayden Vierra and Tim Murray, along with Chief Murray, accepted a plaque for their effort in making this landmark shine again.

Gerry Johnson was also presented with a certificate of appreciation for his 15 years of dedicated service to the school committees.

And rounding out the agenda items were: Bonnie DeSousa receiving permission to move forward in securing grant funding for bicycle stands slated to service several locations throughout the village and school areas; the scheduling of fall Town Meeting for November 18; and the Lions Club received permission to host family movie nights at Shipyard Park.

By Marilou Newell

Officials announced on Tuesday that Town Planner John Charbonneau has accepted the position of Director of Planning and Development for Raynham.

Rochester has not named a replacement for Charbonneau, who was a part-time employee for the town. Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson said that a full-time replacement is not currently an option, and that Rochester has not decided when and if officials will advertise for the position, appoint an interim planner from within the government, or go without one for a while.

“I don’t want [the town] to get used to not spending the money on a planner,” Johnson said. “From an efficiency standpoint, it would be better to have someone here for consecutive days instead of bouncing back and forth, because obviously we have different needs than other towns.”

Charbonneau also served as Wareham’s planner, alternating days with Rochester.

Elsewhere on the agenda, the Planning Board conducted a Site Plan Review Pre-Submission Meeting with representatives from Covanta Energy and Clean Energy, who have proposed a compressed natural gas refueling station at the SEMASS facility at 141 Cranberry Highway. The station would service both waste haulers and public vehicles on separate islands.

“Our primary customer base is the local community,” Covanta engineer Larry Swartz said. “The refuse collection industry is aggressively pursuing CNG vehicles, not just because of environmental concerns, but because it’s cheaper than diesel. The last three years have seen a groundswell of interest.”

Johnson expressed concerns about traffic, while Planning Board member Gary Florindo said the safety of the surrounding neighbors “is the most important thing for me. Explosions, maintenance and containment.”

Swartz said “the heavy truck traffic will be about the same as it is today. It’s a fast fuel process.” He pointed out that haulers will use an existing employee access road, but told the Planning Board that the company would present officials with either a new traffic study or apply for a waiver.

Clean Energy’s Drew Drummond, meanwhile, addressed Florindo by saying that the station will tap into an existing National Grid gas line, keeping 3,600 pounds of CNG above ground at any given point and drawing gas up only when tanks are low. There will be no transport of gas, he told the Planning Board, and said the 24/7 facility will use emergency protocols that the company’s “400-plus stations throughout the county” already use. Drummond added that waste haulers using CNG are 90 percent quieter than those using diesel.

“It’s ideal for trash, transit and localized fleets,” Drummond said.

The Planning Board decided to conduct a site visit on September 7. Rochester engineer Ken Motta will visit the site earlier to inspect storm-water infrastructure.

By Shawn Badgley

This wasn’t a dog’s day of summer type of evening for the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission. With numerous items on the night’s agenda and a full house of residents waiting to be heard, the commission got down to business.

First up was Natalie Richard of 4 Sagamore Rd., who sought approval to construct a building addition to an existing residence. This small addition would allow Richard to have a washing machine for the first time ever, now that her home is connected to the public sewer systems. Richard received approval to move forward.

The Town of Mattapoisett had several road repaving projects; Jowick Street, Linhares Avenue, Church Street, and Pepper Bush Lane. All projects were granted approval with considerations put in place for wetland protection as needed in those areas, which fall under the purview of the commission.

The Jowick Street project consists of 200 feet of repair and repaving, including the removal of a vegetated island in the middle of the cul-da-sac, which restricts snow plows.

Another road project is Linhares Avenue, which includes 600 feet of total repair and repaving. And finally, the largest of the road projects consists of Church Street from North Street to Route 6 and all of Pepper Bush Lane. Wetland considerations will be made. Barry Denham, who was present throughout the evening, said, ”These streets have not been repaved since 1979-80.” Denham added that residents will be pleased with the finished results versus the deteriorated conditions of the roads presently.

A number of residents had come out to hear about the extent of the road work that the town is proposing, after living through various other projects which required the roads to be torn up, they expressed some concern. In the end all seemed satisfied that the work was needed and the end result an improvement.

Next Mary Flaherty, 4 Woodland Ave., represented by Bob Field of Field Engineering, with a notice of intent to construct a single family dwelling, slab on grade, with associated driveway, utilities and landscaping within FEMA flood Zone AE. This parcel is a grandfathered lot and falling under earlier setback requirements, which several abutters expressed surprise over. They also questioned how this new structure would ultimately impact storm water run-off. Field will return with updated plans as requested by the commission that will show some minor compromises to help minimize the impact on the neighbors. It was also learned during discussion with the abutters that the lot is presently not served by a public water supply. Discussion is continued until Aug. 26.

June Smith and Kenneth Shwartz of 49 Mattapoisett Neck Rd., came before the commission with a notice of intent proposing to install deck footings within the footprint of an existing deck to be renovated. Bob Field represented applicants and said there will be siltation control and other wetland protecting materials such as hay bales. The applicant received permission to continue.

Next came Jon Ruel, 1 Atkinson Way, with a request for determination of applicability to repave an existing driveway and repair an old drain pipe. Denham said, “Dr. Ruel has contacted me many times, I’ve told him he needs an engineer to find out about the drainage as it now exists and how its going to impact town storm drainage.”

This private roadway and surrounding lots apparently have drainage but no one presently knew exactly where those pipes are located or how they drain into the public system. Acting Chairman Bob Rogers said, “I’d like to get it documented – before we do anything. The application requires a notice of intent not determination of applicability due to the severity of the drainage problems.”

He advised the contractor working for Ruel to “come back with a plan that shows the driveway.” Once the commission receives assurance that the repaving project will stay within the present design and that the drainage will not be disturbed at this point in time the applicant was assured he could move forward. This item is also continued to Aug. 26.

David Nicolosi, 5 Perkins Ln., off Fairhaven Road continued notice of intent to cross a wetland and intermittent stream crossing, road construction and four point source discharges. Nicolosi has been in contact with the various wildlife heritage groups and management programs due to issue of Box Turtle habitat disturbance from his proposed housing development project. Nicolosi has several options, which he can exercise to stay within the state’s guidelines of habitat preservation. He can pay hefty fees per acre to simply move forward without regard for the animal, or he can swap 2 for 1 acres of land at another location. He wanted the commission to know what he had learned through his research, he was not prepared to make a decision, although he was leaning toward the land swap plan as the most tenable plan.

By Marilou Newell

A three-hour Special Meeting on a proposed solar bylaw was held by the Marion Planning Board on Monday evening. Four members of the Marion Energy Management Committee attended, with much back and forth on issues around screening ground-mounted solar systems and the allowable size of a ground mounted or roof system.

Bill Saltonstall, a member of the Energy Management Committee was the only individual who actually has a solar installation at his home, and his knowledge helped the Planning Board and those in attendance understand some of the complex mathematics around the size and energy generation of a solar installation.

The two committees are trying to hammer out the wording of the proposed bylaw, which they hope to bring to a vote at the fall Town Meeting on Monday, Oct. 28.

In discussion, the Planning Board focused on the visual impact upon abutters, while the Energy Committee is focused on the need for alternative energy for the future. That dichotomy appeared to be the root difference between the two committees in the discussion at the meeting.

John Rockwell reminded everyone in attendance that the reason the town is even considering a bylaw is because of our country’s massive use of foreign oil and the impact of global warming on the planet. “We had a war in Kuwait, the Bouchard oil spill in Buzzards Bay, we made part of the Middle East very rich and we are dealing with a prediction that 20 percent of the earth’s species will become extinct due to global warming,” Rockwell said. “We need solar energy everywhere.”

Some progress was made as the two committees, with public input, worked out the details, but the six-page document, presented by the Planning Board, required more discussion.

One of the issues discussed was a ground mounted solar installation in the front yard of a Marion resident. The proposed bylaw, as presented by the Planning Board, did not allow it. But, after hearing from various members of the Energy Management Committee, Planning Board member Steve Gonsalves remarked that “we are cutting off a percentage of the Marion population that may have a front yard exposure to the sun and we should not deny them the right to install a system, as long as it is screened from the public … this is a democracy.”

After much informative discussion the Planning Board and members of the Marion Energy Committee reached an accord on many issues and those will be incorporated into the proposed bylaw. Future meetings will be held, with the public invited, to determine how Marion will address a solar bylaw. Both the Marion Planning Board and the Marion Energy Committee are seeking public input on this issue.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry