Marion Annual Town Meeting
May 11, 2015

For a complete text of the Articles click here for the PDF of the Meetng Warrant

Special Town Meeting

Article S1 To see if the Town will vote to transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $100,000 to supplement the Fiscal Year 2015 budget of the Department of Public Works to pay expenses associated with the removal of snow and ice from public ways during said Fiscal Year; or take any other action relative thereto.
PASSED

Article S2 To see if the Town will vote raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $10, 732 to pay unpaid bills from Fiscal Year 2014 as follows:
PASSED

Article 1. To see what compensation the Town will pay its elected Town officials:
PASSED

Article 2. To see what sums of money the Town will raise and appropriate and/or transfer from available funds in the treasury in order to pay interest and maturing debt and for charges, expenses and outlays of the several Town departments and Reserve Fund for the ensuing year.
PASSED

Article 3. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate and/or transfer from available funds the sum of $2,009,704 to be used to operate the water enterprise fund, the following sums to be appropriated to salaries and expenses, $924,642; reserve fund, $60,000; debt, $722,353; and indirect costs, $302,709; and the funds be raised from department receipts, $1,609,704 and $400,000 from water retained earnings; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 4. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate and/or transfer from available funds the sum of $2,700,588 to be used to operate the sewer enterprise fund, the following sums to be appropriated to salaries and expenses, $913,566; reserve fund, $60,000; debt, $1,429,958; and indirect costs, $297,064; and the funds be raised from departmental receipts, $2,300,588 and $400,000 from sewer retained earnings; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 5. To see if the Town will vote to transfer from the Overlay Surplus Account the sum of $25,000 to be used by the Board of Assessors for the revaluation of real and personal property as mandated by the Department of Revenue; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 6. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $30,000 to the compensated absence account for the purpose of funding accrued benefits for retiring employees; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 7. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $200,000 to the Other Post-Employment Benefit Liability Trust Fund as established at the Annual Town Meeting of 2010 under Article 14; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 8. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $30,000 to the Stabilization Fund; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 9. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $50,000 to the Capital Improvement Projects Stabilization Fund ; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 10. To see if the Town will vote to raise or appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $12,900 to be expended by the Board of Selectmen/Town Administrator to recodify and reorganize the Town of Marion By-Laws; provide for a fully searchable, online code; and to print ten (10) new copies of the codified bylaws; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 11. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $6,475 to replace the batteries for the Police Dept. UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply); or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 12. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $3,300 to be expended by the Facilities Department purchase 15 new voting booths for the Town of Marion; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 13. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $25,000 to be expended under the direction of the Building Commissioner to be used for the demolition of dangerous and/or abandoned structures in accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 143, s. 9; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 14. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $20,000 to be expended under the direction of the Marion Planning Board to engage consultant services to assist in the development of a Town Master Plan; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 15. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $30,000 to be expended under the direction of the Marion Planning Board to hire a part-time planer; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 16. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury the sum of $455,000 to be expended by the Board of Selectmen, acting in their capacity as Sewer Commissioners, for the following purposes: to provide continued technical assistance to support the negotiation of a successor NPDES permit and technical evaluations that include receiving water studies; to conduct a study of the existing lagoons to include minimum storage requirements to operate the Wastewater Treatment Plant, options for partial abandonment of the lagoons, approaches for closure of the lagoons, and planning for future sludge disposal; and for the purpose of completing a baseline Capacity, Management, Operations and Maintenance (CMOM) Program Needs Assessment in accordance with EPA guidelines in order to establish a baseline of the Towns current CMOM Program practices; and, that to meet this appropriation, $455,000 to be transferred from Sewer Enterprise Retained Earnings; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 17. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $17,775 to be expended by the Facilities Department to install a fire alarm system with related equipment at the Towns Atlantis Drive Facility; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 18. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury the sum of $14,195 to be expended by the Facilities Department to replace faulty gutters and flashing, rebuild top brick courses of building, remove corroded steel headers, and to repair/repoint the Main Water Chemical Storage Building and that to meet this appropriation the sum of $14,195 be transferred from the Water Enterprise Retained Earnings; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 19. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $237,000 for the purpose of purchasing a new emergency ambulance for use by the Fire/EMS Department, including costs incidental and related thereto, and to determine whether this appropriation shall be raised by authorizing the Treasurer, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to issue bonds or notes under the provisions of Chapter 44 of the General Laws, or other appropriate enabling authority; subject to voters approval of a debt exclusion under the provisions of Chapter 59, Section 21C of the General Laws; or to take any other action thereon.
PASSED OVER

Article 20. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury the sum of $35,000 to replace the Point Road Sewer Station generator, and that to meet this appropriation, the sum of $35,000 be transferred from Sewer Enterprise Retained Earnings; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 21. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $540,000 for the purpose of purchasing a new or used fire pumper engine for use by the Fire Department, including costs incidental and related thereto, and to determine whether this appropriation shall be raised by authorizing the Treasurer, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to issue bonds or notes under the provisions of Chapter 44 of the General Laws, or other appropriate enabling authority; subject to voters approval of a debt exclusion under the provisions of Chapter 59, Section 21C of the General Laws; or to take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 22. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury the sum of $63,700 to be expended under the direction of the Harbormaster for the purpose of replacing two (2) department trucks and trading in the existing vehicles, and that to meet this appropriation the sum of $63,700 be transferred from the Waterways Account; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 23. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $18,000 to be expended by the School Department for the purpose of purchasing security communication hardware and software; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 24. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $20,000 to be expended by the Fire Dept. to make repairs to Marion Fire Engine 2, including costs incidental and related thereto; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 25. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury the sum of $56,000 to purchase a one-ton utility truck for use by the Water Dept. and that to meet this appropriation the sum of $56,000 be transferred from the Water Enterprise Retained Earnings; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 26. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $11,395 to be expended by the Facilities Dept. to make extensive repairs to the bathroom facilities and to the storage area at Washburn Park; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 27. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $56,000 to purchase a one-ton utility truck for use by the DPW Highway Division; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 28. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $14,000 to be expended under the direction of the Fire/EMS Chief for the purpose of purchasing one (1) Lucas Devices (automatic EMS cardiac thumper); or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 29. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds in the Treasury (Free Cash) the sum of $27,000 to be expended under the direction of the Fire Chief for the purchase of dispatch and record-keeping computer software; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 30. To see if the Town will vote to act upon the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee to appropriate, from Fiscal Year 2016 estimated annual revenues, $2,000 to the Community Preservation Committee for administrative expenses; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 31. To see if the Town will vote to act upon the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee, from the Fiscal Year 2016 estimated annual revenues, $89,920 for the purpose of meeting the requirements of the Community Preservation Act, MGL c. 44B, s. 6 for the purpose of Open Space, Community Housing, and Historic Reserves for Fiscal Year 2016; and $191,480 to the Community Preservation Act Budgeted Reserves; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 32. To see if the Town will vote to act upon the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee to appropriate $59,470 from Historic Preservation reserves and $440,530 from undesignated fund balance for a total of $500,000 for the purpose of financing the final design, construction and equipping, including costs incidental and related thereto, for renovation of the Marion Town House; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 33. To see if the Town will vote to act upon the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee to appropriate $37,785 from Open Space reserves for the planning and design of an accessible boardwalk and viewing platform at Osprey Marsh; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 34. To see if the Town will vote to act upon the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee to appropriate $131,360 from the Housing reserves and $168,640 from undesignated fund balance for a total of $300,000 to be combined with $150,000 of available Marion Affordable Housing Trust funds for the purpose of securing nine (9) affordable units at 80% of Median with all units counting towards the Towns Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) and having affordable housing deed restrictions for ninety-nine (99) years; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 35. To see if the Town will vote to act upon the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee to appropriate $21,322 from Open space reserves to replace 250 feet of fence at Point Road Playground; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 36. To see if the Town will vote to act upon the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee to appropriate $5,750 from Open Space reserves to replace 1,200 feet of fence/guardrail around the main fields at Washburn Park. The current guardrails are old telephone poles that were installed in the 1980s; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 37. To see if the Town will vote to act upon the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee to appropriate $350,000 from undesignated fund balance to be used for the engineering studies, design, permit applications, and construction plan and specification preparation for the 3.85 mile Phase I of the Marion Pathway; or any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 38. To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of $2,000 from the Chester A. Vose Fund, said monies to be used by the Assessors for the reduction of taxes; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 39. To see if the Town will vote to accept an easement from SBS Marion Partners, LLC for the development, use and maintenance of a bike and pedestrian pathway, said easement more specifically identified as Parcel C on a plan entitled Plan of Land, Spring Street & Mill Street, Assessors Map 24, Lots 24, 35, and 36, Marion, Massachusetts, Prepared for Baldwin Brothers, Inc., 3 Barnabas Road, Marion, MA 02738, Thompson Merrill Engineering and Land Surveying, Co. dated October 2007 and recorded with Plymouth County Registry of Deeds, Plan Book 53, Page 834 and subject to an Easement Agreement executed by SBS Marion Partners, LLC dated December 19, 2013 and to authorize the Board of Selectmen to execute and record any necessary documents to fulfill the purposes and intent of this Article; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 40. To see if the Town will vote to grant a permanent and irrevocable Natural Resources Management and Protection Easement to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game for the permanent protection of the entirety of land known as Bird Island, said Easement being intended to provide for the management and protection of species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act and under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, including habitat for said federal and state-listed species, and said land being more particularly shown on a plan of land dated 22 December 2014 entitled, Water Resources Development Project, Section 206, Bird Island Restoration, Marion, MA, Real Estate Plan and to authorize the Board of Selectmen to execute any necessary documents to fulfill the purposes and intent of this Article, including the grant of authority to the Board of Selectmen to exclude a portion of the above noted land, should the Board of Selectmen choose to do so in the best interests of the Town of Marion, provided however, that an affirmative vote on this Article shall be null and void should the General Court deny or reject passage of the petition authorized by Article 41 of the Annual Town Meeting 2015; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 41. To see if the Town will vote to submit to the Massachusetts Legislature a Home Rule petition substantially as follows:
PASSED

Article 42. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to research, develop, and participate in a contract or contracts to aggregate the electricity load of the residents and businesses in the Town and for other related services, independently, or in joint action with other municipalities, retaining the right of individual residents and businesses to opt-out of the aggregation; or take any other action thereon.
PASSED

Article 43. To see if the Town will vote to add the following Section 5.0 to the Marion Zoning Bylaws ARTICLE X SECTION 5 to limit the gross ground square footage area of Commercial and Retail Buildings and Structures:
POSTPONED INDEFINATELY

Article 44. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen or its designee to make application on behalf of the Town to the appropriate agency of the Federal or State Governments for grants in aid or other funds or to private foundations or other foundations to further carry out certain programs hereinafter listed and to expend such grants to the Town; said applications and expenditures may include, but not be limited to, the following:
PASSED

Article 45. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to institute, defend, or compromise suits of law; or take any other action thereon
PASSED

Article 46. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to sell any article belonging to the Town, provided the Town has no further use for the same; or take any other action thereon
PASSED

Article 47. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to sell or transfer any taxation possession property held by the Town, pursuant to General Laws, Chapter 60, Section 77, after the Board of Selectmen has notified the Planning Board, Open Space Acquisition Commission, Conservation Commission, and the Affordable Housing Trust of the availability of such land and said agencies may report in writing within twenty (20) days to the Board of Selectmen any recommendations that they may have with regard to the disposition of said land; or take any other action thereon
PASSED

Article 48. To consider the reports of the Town officers and committees and act thereon; or take any other action thereon
PASSED

Article 49. To choose by ballot all necessary officers for the ensuing year, viz; One Selectman for three years; one Assessor for three years; one Moderator for one year; one Board of Health member for three years; two Planning Board members for three years; two Marion School Committee members for three years; one Open Space Acquisition Commission member for three years; and to act on the following ballot questions, commencing on Friday, the 15th of May, 2015, at 8:00 oclock in the morning in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall, 465 Mill Street (Route 6), in said Marion:

Question 1. Shall the Town vote to accept the provisions of section six C of chapter forty of the General Laws, which authorize cities and towns to appropriate money for the removal of snow and ice from private ways therein open to public use?

Question 2. Shall the town of Marion be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to purchase a new or used fire pumper engine for use by the Fire Department, including costs incidental and related thereto?

Question 3. Shall the Town of Marion be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to purchase a new emergency ambulance for use by the Fire/EMS Department, including costs incidental and related thereto?