Towns plan road, building repairs for 2013
Ridding roads of cracks and repairing faulty roofs of several town buildings are at the top of the 2013 to-do lists for Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester officials.
In November, Marion received a $1 million grant from the state’s MassWorks Infrastructure Program, which will be used for road repairs on South Street and Ryders Lane.
The town will need additional funds to complete repairs on these roads, which will have to be approved by Town Meeting, said Town Administrator Paul Dawson.
Dawson added that the town is waiting on additional engineering reports as to how to proceed with further road repairs in the Village.
In Mattapoisett, Highway Surveyor Barry Denham said repaving Mattapoisett Neck Road, which was approved at November’s Special Town Meeting, will begin in the spring following the completion of a sewer project there.
Denham also plans to continue road repairs to Mattapoisett Village this summer.
“We will hopefully do some blacktop work on Church Street from North Street to Route 6,” he said.
The highway department received a $125,000 boost from a recent town auction for repairs, but Denham said the project will also depend on the arrival of state funding.
Earlier this month, 13 parcels were auctioned off that the town had acquired for nonpayment of taxes. Of the 13, seven were sold.
Other projects, such as the reconstruction of parts of Marion Road, Beacon Street, Main Street, and Water Street, are also awaiting proper funding resources, said Denham.
Mattapoisett Town Administrator Mike Gagne hopes another town auction will bring in more funds for the Highway Department’s projects in 2013.
“We have a lot of projects in the fire,” Denham said. “We have a pretty good schedule of things over the next 20 years or so.”
In October, Rochester Special Town Meeting approved $897,000 for renovating several town-owned buildings including the Town Hall.
Last month, the Selectmen approved a bid of $86,000 from the Wareham-based SEMASS Construction to begin repairs to the roof as well as the siding of the building and windows.
“The Town Hall is a major thing that needed to be done and we’re fortunate the townspeople made that commitment,” said Town Administrator Richard LaCamera.
A portion of the funds approved by Special Town Meeting will also go toward renovating the basement of Plumb Library.
LaCamera said the town is looking to install an elevator lift to make the space handicap accessible.
“There’s a lot of usable space down there that’s not being used at the moment,” LaCamera said. “This would increase the space in the library significantly.”
LaCamera said the town would be repairing two old fire engines after the New Year. The funds have already been approved by Special Town Meeting to complete the repairs, which should add 10 years to the vehicles’ life span, LaCamera said.
Members of Marion’s Town House Advisory Committee have been working on plans to renovate the Town House for some time. Officials have discussed whether to fix the building, tear it down and rebuild, or leave it as it stands.
At the Special Town Meeting in November, committee Chair Jay Ryder said he is hoping to have three proposals ready in time for Town Meeting in May.
Special Town Meeting approved $26,500 to repair the building’s basement, which has incurred significant damage due to a water infiltration problem. Prior to Special Town Meeting, the town had already spent $58,000 on basement repairs.
Mattapoisett officials are currently working on improvements to make Shipyard Park’s bathrooms handicap accessible.
“Once that plan is done, we’ll go out to bid on that,” said Gagne. “I want that to be done by spring. That’s a top priority.”
A new roof and paint for the gazebo and a new fence around the park are also projects that Gagne would like completed before the summer.
The buildings at Ned’s Point need new roofs, and Gagne said the beach house at the Town Beach needs a lot of work.
Gagne said he is looking to get plans together to get those buildings repaired in the next several months.
For more on 2013 projects in the three towns, visit www.SippicanVillageSoup.com.