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Reported by us | Marion

Marion voters decide Nov. 9 on $1.3 million in sewer plant upgrades and land for a Route 105 path

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, at Sippican School, 16 Spring St. The Select Board recommends all three articles; the Finance Committee recommends the sewer money and makes no recommendation on the two land articles.

By the SC360 Town Hall Desk | Published Nov. 5, 2026 | Last verified Nov. 5, 2026, 2:48 p.m. ET

MARION Marion voters will decide Monday, Nov. 9, whether to spend $1,297,895 on phosphorus removal upgrades at the town's wastewater treatment plant, money the warrant says would come from sewer connection and infiltration and inflow fees collected from Marion Pointe.

The same three-article Special Town Meeting warrant asks voters to hand town land along Front Street and Spring Street (Route 105) to the Select Board for a public way and a shared use path, and to accept new layouts of Washburn Park Road and Spring Street. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Sippican School, 16 Spring St., and needs a quorum of 50 registered voters, the town's meeting page says.

The Select Board recommends all three articles. The Finance Committee recommends the sewer money and "makes no Recommendation" on the two land articles, according to the warrant. Chair John W. Hoagland, Vice Chair Carleton Burr Jr. and Clerk Randy L. Parker voted 3-0-0 on Sept. 30 to recommend the articles and close the warrant, the board's minutes show.

What the sewer money would pay for

Article S3 would appropriate $1,297,895 for "engineering, design, permitting, construction, equipment, and other costs associated with phosphorus removal upgrades to the Town's wastewater treatment facilities required to comply with federal and state regulatory requirements," the warrant says. The money would come from Sewer Enterprise Fund receipts "reserved for appropriation derived from sewer connection fees and infiltration and inflow (I&I) fees from Marion Pointe."

Marion Pointe sits off Wareham Road (Route 6). The town's Oct. 30 construction update put the new Route 6 water main work at its entrance, near 59 Wareham Road.

Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman walked the board through the draft warrant Sept. 15, including "articles relevant to the Shared Use Path and for funding the phosphorus mitigation," the minutes of that meeting say. The warrant does not give a total cost for the plant upgrade or a construction date.

Land for the path on Front and Spring streets

Article S1 would move care and control of town-owned parcels shown on an "Alteration Plan of Front Street and Spring Street (Route 105) in Marion, MA," dated June 11, 2026, and prepared by Greenman-Pedersen Inc., to the Select Board "for public way and shared use path purposes." It lists parcels E-2, BP-2, BP-7, BP-9, BP-15 and TWLR-1, and it would let the board petition the Legislature to allow the transfers under Article 97 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution.

Article S2 would accept "the altered layouts of Washburn Park Road and Spring Street as public ways for public way and shared use path purposes," including parcels E-1, E-5 and E-6 on the same plan.

The Legislature has already acted on one piece. Chapter 153 of the Acts of 2026, approved July 31, lets the town's Open Space Acquisition Commission give a 2,977-square-foot strip, parcel BP-8, to the Select Board for the path, as shown on Massachusetts Department of Transportation plans for Phase 1 of the town's shared use path. In exchange, the board must move 13.38 acres at Old Indian Trail to the commission for passive recreation and conservation. Article S1 still includes wording to amend "the special legislation currently pending before the General Court relative to Parcel BP-8," if that applies.

The path has drawn other money questions this fall. On Sept. 15, Jeremy Packard of Foth Infrastructure and Environment asked the board for $100,000 for design work outside the scope first approved and said that is the final design amount, the minutes say. The minutes note that environmental requirements "have become more strict since 2016" and that the project was out to bid. Hoagland and Parker suggested an application to the Community Preservation Committee covering construction and a funding timeline. On Sept. 1, Gorman told the board that wetland reclamation is part of the job and that the estimated project timeline is now 1,900 days.

Separately, the Select Board and Board of Assessors will hold their continued fiscal 2027 tax classification hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front St., the boards' notice says. The hearing was first on the Select Board's Nov. 3 agenda.

Mattapoisett votes the same night

Next door, Mattapoisett's Special Town Meeting opens at 6:30 p.m. the same Monday at Old Rochester Regional High School, 135 Marion Road. Its Article 2 asks voters to approve $3,956,500, raised, transferred or borrowed, to design and build a new Water/Sewer building on Industrial Drive, a question that needs a two-thirds vote, according to that town's warrant.

How to take part

Registered Marion voters may attend and vote. The last day to register for this meeting was Oct. 30, the town clerk's page says. The Elizabeth Taber Library is offering Childwatch during the meeting, the town said in a Nov. 2 notice. Questions about the meeting go to the Town Clerk's Office at 508-748-3502, and the full warrant is posted on the town's Town Meeting Warrants page.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every article, parcel, dollar amount, fund source and recommendation comes from the Special Town Meeting warrant the Marion Select Board signed Sept. 30. The board's votes and the path and phosphorus discussions come from its approved minutes of Sept. 1, Sept. 15 and Sept. 30, the Nov. 17 hearing from the boards' notice of a continued hearing, the meeting place, quorum and registration date from the town's Town Meeting and Election Information page and its Nov. 2 notice, Marion Pointe's location from the town's Oct. 30 construction update, and the parcel BP-8 law from Chapter 153 of the Acts of 2026. Mattapoisett's figures come from that town's warrant. We read them on Nov. 3 and read the warrant, the meeting page and the town's notices again on Nov. 5. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar: Monday, Nov. 9; Wednesday, Sept. 30; Tuesday, Sept. 15; Tuesday, Sept. 1; Friday, July 31; Friday, Oct. 30; Tuesday, Nov. 3; and Tuesday, Nov. 17. The warrant does not give the full cost or schedule of the plant upgrade.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (12)

  1. Town of Marion, Town Meeting Warrant for the Special Town Meeting to be held Nov. 9, 2026 (Articles S1 to S3), signed by the Select Board Sept. 30, 2026Town of Marion. 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, Sippican School Auditorium; every article, parcel, amount, fund source and recommendation used here; constable's return says it was posted Oct. 8, 2026. Scanned PDF read page by page. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
  2. Town of Marion: Town Meeting and Election InformationTown of Marion. Nov. 9 Special Town Meeting, 6 p.m., Sippican Multipurpose Room, 16 Spring St.; quorum of 50 registered voters; Oct. 30 last day to register; Town Clerk 508-748-3502. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
  3. Town of Marion News Flash: Reminder: Special Town Meeting on Monday, November 9, 2026 (posted Nov. 2, 2026)Town of Marion. 6 p.m., Sippican Multipurpose Room; Elizabeth Taber Library Childwatch during the meeting; links the warrant. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
  4. Marion Select Board and Water/Sewer Commissioners minutes, Sept. 30, 2026 (approved Oct. 20, 2026)Town of Marion. 3-0-0 votes to recommend the articles and close the Nov. 9 warrant; members present. Clerk stamp Nov. 2, 2026. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
  5. Marion Select Board and Water/Sewer Commissioners minutes, Sept. 15, 2026 (approved Oct. 20, 2026)Town of Marion. Foth Infrastructure and Environment $100,000 design addendum for the shared use path; draft warrant review with the path and phosphorus articles. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
  6. Marion Select Board and Water/Sewer Commissioners minutes, Sept. 1, 2026 (approved Oct. 20, 2026)Town of Marion. Town Administrator report: shared use path bid, wetland reclamation, 1,900-day timeline; fall town meeting date and place. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
  7. Marion Select Board and Water/Sewer Commissioners agenda, Nov. 3, 2026 (clerk stamp Oct. 30, 2026)Town of Marion. 6 p.m., Town House, 2 Spring St.; classification hearing; Point Road Shared Use Path Alternatives. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
  8. Town of Marion Select Board and Board of Assessors, notice of continued public hearing, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, 6 p.m., Marion Music Hall (PDF)Town of Marion. Continued hearing at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street, Nov. 17, 6 p.m., "for the purpose of determining the classification of real property"; signed by John W. Hoagland and Patricia A. DeCosta. Read Nov. 5, 2026.
  9. Town of Marion News Flash: Construction Update, Wareham Road (Route 6) Water Main Installation (posted Oct. 30, 2026)Town of Marion. Work at the entrance to Marion Pointe, near 59 Wareham Road. Read Nov. 1, 2026, from the News Desk record.
  10. Chapter 153 of the Acts of 2026, An Act authorizing the transfer of a certain parcel of land in the town of Marion from the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission to the Marion Select BoardMassachusetts Legislature. Parcel BP-8, 2,977 square feet, for the shared use path; 13.38 acres at Old Indian Trail as mitigation; approved July 31, 2026. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
  11. House Bill 5388 (2025-2026), petition of Rep. Mark D. Sylvia and Sen. Kelly A. Dooner by vote of the townMassachusetts Legislature. The Marion parcel transfer bill as filed April 17, 2026. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
  12. Town of Mattapoisett, Special Town Meeting Warrant, Nov. 9, 2026Town of Mattapoisett. 6:30 p.m., Old Rochester Regional High School, 135 Marion Road; Article 2, $3,956,500 for the Water/Sewer building. Read Nov. 2, 2026.

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