The controversial subject of library resources was once again discussed during a school committee meeting, this time as an item on Monday night’s agenda of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee.

            Michelle Smith, committee chairperson, provided a draft statement for the committee’s consideration, highlighted by an existing policy that the selection of library resources is the primary responsibility of the library staff.

            The approved selection criteria would necessarily include a wide range of educational materials representing many different points of view and afford the public access to review materials by filing a request form that can be found on the Teaching and Learning page of the district website. The School Committee, meanwhile, will continue to govern school-library procedures by adhering to existing law and policies.

            After a motion to approve was made, committee member Joe Pires motioned to allow the public to comment on the policy. Smith stated that public participation in committee deliberations is confined to budget-related items.

            Pires abstained from the vote that otherwise approved the existing policy putting resources (including book selection) in the hands of library staff.

            In recent months, Pires has publicly objected to what he considers pornography on the shelves of ORR’s school libraries. The same literature is considered by community activists as crucial and even foundational to an inclusive society.

            An ensuing debate between Pires and others including committee Vice Chairperson Frances Kearns spread onto social media. During the recent Joint School Committee meeting, Pires questioned if membership in the grassroots non-profit group Tri-Town Against Racism poses a conflict of interest. Outside the committee, he has publicly suggested so.

            Later during Public Comment, Frances Kearns’ husband Thomas Kearns objected to the suggestion his wife resign from the committee and suggested the person on the other side of the argument (Pires) do so instead.

            Despite Pires’ self-identification as a minority and insistence in his support of equity and inclusion, his conflict with Tri-Town Against Racism has only escalated.

            Monday night, Smith drew the line to keep the simmering conflict from rendering the ORR School Committee dysfunctional.

            Smith started by publicly apologizing for having “failed” the committee. She expressed regret for not taking charge in accordance with her role during recent meetings in which she stated that multiple members used inappropriate platforms such as subcommittee reports to engage in diatribe on topics not on the meeting agenda.

            “I will not allow any off-topic agendas, nor allow the public to be disrespectful. My role is not to take any sides but to follow policy … I’m done with all the disrespect,” said Smith. “I will stop any member who speaks off topic on an item that is not on the agenda, and I will stop any member of the public from speaking disrespectfully to a committee member.

            “They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well it takes a unified school committee to lead us forward.”

            Also during Public Comment toward the end of the agenda, ORR student Alia Cusolito, who identifies in gender as non-binary, spoke on behalf of the high school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance and BIPOC club.

            “You’ve all been talking about students rather than with us, which is now continuing as we are unable to have a conversation when we’re not on the agenda,” read Cusolito from a prepared statement.

            In acknowledging the committee’s commitment to anti-racism policy and culture, Cusolito encouraged the membership to consider the students’ other needs and perspectives.

            “Despite the negativity expressed by some community members, we believe that advocating for the safety and well-being of all people is the most effective and empathetic course of action. We respectfully ask that you seek our expertise rather than having adults outside of the school speak on our behalf. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate on any actions that directly impact us.”

            ORR student Isabella Doyle spoke about her experience encountering racial stereotyping that persisted outside class after she asked for name calling to stop. She said ORR needs to strengthen its “messaging” to students of color that the support in school policy will be enacted upon incidents of racism.

            The ORR School Committee held several votes, unanimously approving recommendations to tweak the 2023-24 ORRHS Program of Studies.

            Additions include: Honors Human Anatomy, Physiology I, College Prep-level Portuguese III and Honors Portuguese III as continuations; Cyber Security I and II as a Computer Science prerequisite, expansion of Unified Physical Education to Grade 9 (maximum 21 students per semester, total 42); renaming English 12 Communication in the 21st Century according to its former name English 12A (to distinguish it from the honors class); Unified Arts ceramics (including written work); Black & White Photography; emphasis on the artist’s role in society in Art History; Honors Human Anatomy (conceptual learning of various systems requiring the use of primary sources); opening Computer Science Principles to tech-driven freshmen (new prerequisite for Computer Science per the advice of college boards); and removal of a course on creativity and inspiration that had “very little student interest.”

            New language in the high school and junior high student handbooks meant to distinguish between excused and unexcused absences was approved by the committee. The refined policy will strive to seek information on why students are absent that will help district administration offer assistance to those students.

            The committee approved the use of the use of the high school’s multipurpose field by the local girls youth lacrosse league. Pending the league schedule, the organization requested a total of four Sundays during April, May or June. Each Sunday would include four 50-minute games for a total of 200 minutes on the field.

            “This has my full support,” said ORR Principal Mike Devoll, speaking on behalf of himself, Facilities Director Gene Jones and Director of Athletics Bill Tilden. He noted that the program already practices on the ORR campus. “We will collaborate as we do with all of our youth organizations on when the fields are not playable.”

            According to lacrosse-program representative Sara Jacobsen, the area boys program uses the Dexter Lane fields in Rochester. Asked if the high school coaches support the new presence of youth football and now lacrosse, Devoll said, “All of our coaches – I’ll speak for all of them – want our kids on our campus.”

            Nelson told the committee that the resurfacing of ORR’s track is headed toward a June completion date. The spring track programs are working to secure a practice and competitive schedule on rivals’ campuses.

            The committee approved the School Health Unit applications submitted to the state Department of Public Health by school nurses Nicole Reedy (ORRHS) and Linda Deveau (ORRJH.)

            The committee approved four donations from Cape Cod 5 Educational Mini-Grants to district faculty: $490 to Brian Almeida for three 3D printers, $360 to assist Eugenia Tilley in teaching Latin, $500 to Andrew Apperson to support disc golf on the ORR campus and $496 to Allison Barker for digital story-telling resources.

            ORR announced the hire of custodians Justin Almeida and Stephen Gaudet and Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Melissa Wilcox. With the announcement that Secretary Diana Russo is retiring, the committee voted to appoint Wilcox both as committee secretary and recording secretary.

            ORR golf coach Chris Cabe was recognized for guiding the Bulldogs to the 2022 fall season MIAA Division 2 championship.

            Student representative Sakurako Huyhn Aoyama reported on activities and events including theme dressing and an “Adam Sandler Day.”

            The Central Office Report yielded news that there are open spots available for the Math Acceleration Academy during February vacation, and Devoll publicly acknowledged the ORR boys swimming team for winning the conference championship, Markus Pierre for his Golf recognition in The Standard-Times and 2022 ORR graduate and Harvard University freshman Eddie Gonet, who brought Harvard’s oldest a cappella club, the Krokodiloes, to ORR where they performed before an audience reaching 400. “I think we’ll be making that a yearly event,” said Devoll.

            The committee voted to enter executive session, only returning to adjourn.

            The next meeting of the ORR School Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, March 15, and the next meeting of the Joint School Committee will be held on Thursday, March 30. Both meetings will begin at 6:30 pm in the ORR Junior High media room, also accessible live via Zoom.

ORR School Committee

By Mick Colageo

      The Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee met on Monday night to continue their work in crafting an updated, 10-year plan, part of which now displays projects and any associated grants. Town Administrator Mike Lorenco shared details on a variety of grants the town has received or is pending approval.

      First on the list was a $260,000 Complete Streets Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The grant has been used to fund upgrades to bike-path intersections, electronic speed signs used for traffic calming and a planned sidewalk at the north end of Pearl Street.

A MassTrails grant in the amount of $120,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is being used to create a pre-engineering design of bike path Phase 2A. A state grant program for municipalities seeking assistance in upgrading fiber-optic conductivity was granted to Mattapoisett in the amount of $154,043. The Old Slough Road reopening plan applied for and received two grants totaling $614,902, one of those a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant.

      The National Estuary Program (NEP) grant in the amount of $35,000 was secured to perform stormwater studies at outfalls located near Ship Street and Ned’s Point Road. The Long Wharf reconstruction project received two grants totaling $216,000 from the Seaport Economic Council, and the same agency has received an application from the town for $120,000 for the development of a Harbor Management Plan.

      The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded Mattapoisett $735,000 for redevelopment of Industrial Drive. A Shared Streets Grant from MassDOT in the sum of $237,849 will be used to construct a sidewalk along a portion of Mattapoisett Neck Road. And last but not least, a Massachusetts Community Compact Grant of $60,000 is funding two studies performed by the UMass Boston Collins Center for the Transfer Station and school-consolidation analysis.

      In other business, the committee met with Harbormaster Jamie McIntosh to discuss the department’s FY24 capital needs. Listed in the plan is $45,000 to replace timber pilings, $30,000 for a Harbor Management Plan (the town’s share of a grant application to the Seaport Economic Council), $20,000 for floats and docks and $25,000 for dinghy docks. In discussing the Long Wharf project, Lorenco and McIntosh concurred that construction will not be imminent.

      The committee also met with Library Director Jennifer Jones. The library’s list includes $45,000 for new carpeting and $85,000 for historic slate-roof repair and restoration.

      The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee was not scheduled upon adjournment.

Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee

By Marilou Newell           

            Casey Barros and Dick Giberti of the Capital Improvements Planning Committee presented Tuesday night to the Marion Select Board, working off of CIPC Chairman Paul Naiman’s letter on the committee’s FY24 project rankings and 10-year plan.

            As Giberti explained, the CIPC confines its interest to projects costing at least $10,000 with a useful life of at least five years. The committee, made up of Barros, Giberti, Naiman, Steve Nojeim, Dave Janik, Finance Committee Representative Bill Marvel and Select Board Representative Randy Parker, interviews all department heads making capital requests, exhaustively scrutinizing each department’s pitch with an end game to provide the Finance Committee and Select Board credible results borne of legwork, research and deliberation.

            Ability to fund projects plays a role in the CIPC’s rankings.

            This year, the CIPC divided its FY24 rankings into two categories: requests related to the Department of Public Works and those that are not DPW-related. The reason for the division, explained Barros, is funding scores will be higher across the board for DPW requests due to enterprise funding. If combined into one rankings list, “the others fall by the wayside,” he said.

            Interim Town Administrator Judy Mooney told the CIPC representatives that the town will see how much funding it can dedicate toward the projects. “All these sewer projects cannot be funded, I know that right off the bat,” said Mooney. “Based on your rankings, where does the money stop? That’s it.”

            Some enterprise funding must be used for sewer betterments so it cannot be used for capital projects.

            “This team does a super job,” said Parker.

            Thirty projects totaling $3,700,000 were submitted by town department heads and the ORR School District. Fourteen were submitted by the DPW for almost $1,300,000, 16 more totaling $2,600,000 were submitted by the Police, Facilities, Schools and the Council on Aging.

            Funding for all 30 capital projects would come from: General Fund $1,125,000, Sewer Enterprise Fund $740,000, Water Enterprise Fund $287,000, Mariner Enterprise Fund none and Debt $1,600,000.

            A notable slider down the rankings ladder is a Fire/EMS Ladder Truck listed at $1,600,000 (though Parker said that number is now down to $1,000,000.) In examining pros and cons of buying used versus new, Barros noted that all fire trucks built from 2012 to 2019 “are deficient” as in prone to rotting out due to a stainless-steel component.

            The Ladder Truck would require Marion taking on more debt that would affect the tax rate. The CIPC’s recommendation is that the Finance Committee and Select Board consider grant funding and used equipment.

            A large swell of supporters packed into the Police Station conference room for a public hearing that ended in enthusiastic applause when the Select Board voted to grant Cast, the new restaurant at 7 Cottage Street, an on-premise, all-alcohol beverages license.

            The owner, Bree Swierkowski, owns and operates Ella’s Italian Restaurant on the Cranberry Highway in Wareham. “I love the history of the building and everything it represents. We’ve done a lot of research and plan on honoring the history of that building,” she said.

            During public comment, Cottage Street abutters Martha Woodward and Ann Ziegler articulated concerns about noise and street parking.

            Swierkowski assured them that the bar will be inside only, and there will be no new seating beyond 8:00 pm in order to comply with the 9:30 pm expiration of the license. She also said a sign will greet patrons asking for them to be respectful to the neighborhood.

            Select Board member Norm Hills explained that no one can limit public street parking. “It’s free for whoever shows up,” he said.

            Ziegler asked the town to consider a faux speed bump, at which point Mooney and Parker noted in stereo that Marion is amidst a program to lower speed limits throughout town-controlled roadways.

            “We’re excited to have the owners of Ella’s come to Marion. They’re upstanding people. I think this is a win-win,” said resident Margie Baldwin. “I understand the abutters’ concerns, but we can’t legislate parking. I applaud the fact they’re coming to town.”

            Holmes Street resident Jack Gierhart commented on the positive side of bringing people into town. “This would add an incredible amount to the community,” he said.

            In a relatively brief public hearing, the board voted to approve installation of a new Verizon/Eversource utility pole and anchor at the side of 2 Teel Street.

            The board voted to remove the interim tag and officially appoint long-time town employee Becky Tilden as the DPW director.

            The board publicly acknowledged Jon Witten’s letter of resignation as Marion’s lead legal counsel after 20 years representing the town. Witten will remain in the role of special counsel to bring closure to a couple of lingering matters and wrote that he will work with KP Law, Gorman and Mooney.

            Mooney indicated that KP Law’s Tim Zessin will take on the role of Marion’s lead counsel. Parker said that Amy Kwesell is also “very good.”

            Parker’s main concern is immediate accessibility, something he says the town had with Witten, even on weekends.

            Board of Assessors Chairman TJ Walker noted that the Town of Rochester is also losing its lead counsel (Blair Bailey) and that Marion should take a look at that town’s decision to go with a New Bedford-based firm. Marion is under contract with KP Law through June.

            In her Town Administrator’s Report, Mooney noted Geoff Gorman’s hire as new town administrator. Gorman will start March 1.

            In other business, the board voted to: approve the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission Annual Report for 2022; the appointment of Carl McDermott III as special officer, per request of Police Chief Richard Nighelli; approve Mooney as the certifying authority to file and authority to file final loan documents for the State Revolving Fund/Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust; approve Tabor Academy’s request for a Common Victualler License for the new Travis Roy Campus Center; accept Mallory Waterman’s resignation from the Historical District Study Committee and appoint Jill Pitman as her replacement; approve a $194.78 abatement at 9 Shellheap Road; deny an abatement request at 929 Point Road and approve a Water/Sewer commitment of $669.72 (final readings January 18.)

            The town’s Building Committee will meet Monday, February 13, at 4:00 pm to receive cost updates on the new DPW operations center construction from lead designer Will Saltonstall.

            The Stewards of Community Open Space will hold a public meeting on Thursday, February 16, at 7:00 pm at the Music Hall.

            The next meeting of the Marion Select Board is scheduled for Wednesday, February 22, at 6:00 pm.

Marion Select Board

By Mick Colageo