Annual Town Report of the Year 2008
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ANNUAL TOWN REPORT OF THE YEAR 2008 MARBLEHEAD, MASSACHUSETTS MARBLEHEAD TOWN REPORT Board of Selectmen 3 Warrant for Annual Town Meeting 7 May 5, 2008 and Annual Town Election May 12, 2008 Results of Annual Town Meeting 21 May 5- 6, 2008 Results of Annual Town Election 64 May 12, 2008 Warrant for Presidential Primary 69 February 5, 2008 Results for the Presidential Primary 71 February 5, 2008 Warrant for Special State Election 74 March 4, 2008 Results of Special State Election 75 March 4, 2008 Warrant for Special Election 76 June 17, 2008 Results for Special Election 77 June 17, 2008 Warrant for State Primary 79 September 16, 2008 Results for State Primary 80 September 16, 2008 Warrant for State Election 83 November 4, 1008 Results for State Election 87 November 4, 2008 Officials Elected 92 Officials Appointed 95 Vital Records of 2008 - # of 107 births/marriages/deaths and causes/death Department Reports: Abbot Public Library 110 Board of Assessors 113 Board of Health 115 Building Commissioner and Inspectional 129 Services Cable TV Oversight Committee 131 1 MARBLEHEAD TOWN REPORT Cemetery Department 132 Conservation Commission 134 Council on Aging 136 Department of Public Works 140 Engineering Department 142 Financial Services 143 Fire Department 145 Fort Sewall Oversight Committee 157 Harbors and Waters 159 Marblehead Cultural Council 161 Marblehead Historical Commission 163 Marblehead Housing Authority 165 Metropolitan Area Planning Council 173 Municipal Light Department 184 Old and Historic Districts Commission 192 Planning Board 193 Police Department 195 Recreation, Parks & Forestry 201 Sealer of Weights & Measures 211 Shellfish Constables 212 Task Force Against Discrimination 213 Veterans’ Agent 215 Water and Sewer Commission 216 Zoning Board of Appeals 225 School Reports Marblehead School Committee members 226 organization and meetings Admission Requirements 226 No School Announcement/School Hours 227 Superintendent of Schools 227 Marblehead School Committee Report 230 Administration, Faculty and Staff 233 2008 MCAS Summary 248 Scholastic Aptitude Test Scores (SAT) 252 5 year history Marblehead High School Class of 2008 253 Enrollment Summaries 260 Town Warrant – Annual Town Meeting 262 May 4, 2009 2 MARBLEHEAD TOWN REPORT BOARD OF SELECTMEN The Board of Selectmen meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 7:30 PM in their Meeting Room in Abbot Hall. All meetings are open to the public and are posted as required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Open Meeting Law. The board is comprised of five members, each elected annually. Current members of the Board of Selectmen include: Jackie Belf-Becker, Harry C. Christensen, Judith R. Jacobi, James E. Nye and William L.Woodfin II. Mrs. Belf- Becker was elected unanimously by her colleagues to serve as our chairman until the next annual election in May 2009. In 2008, the 1893 bronze ship’s bell from the USS Marblehead (C-11) was accidentally discovered by Marblehead native Christopher Benning, during a tour of a federal warehouse while attending a seminar at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park. The USS Marblehead , a Montgomery-class cruiser, was built in Boston’s Naval Shipyard, launched in 1892 and commissioned as a United States Naval vessel in 1894. The USS Marblehead was involved in spirited action off Cuba during the Spanish-American War and her log indicates that she was berthed in San Francisco Bay at the time of the 1906 earthquake. The USS Marblehead was decommissioned in 1919 and removed from the Navy’s registry of vessels in 1921. The Board of Selectmen recognize the following individuals who assisted in coordinating the return of this bell to its proper home in Marblehead for permanent display: Christopher Benning, late Town Counsel Paul L. Lausier, Wayne Butler, William Conly and their colleagues on the Marblehead Historical Commission and Mr. David Smith of Marblehead. In order to provide a place of honor for the display of this bell in Abbot Hall’s transept (next to the bell from its successor USS Marblehead (CL-12) commissioned in 1923 which saw action during WWII), a new double display pedestal was constructed by William Kuker, with materials donated by the Tower School and Blue Anchor Woodworkers and finished by Scott Campbell of John W. Campbell & Son Painters of Marblehead. The Board of Selectmen gratefully accepted this bell on behalf of the townspeople of Marblehead along with the gift of the skills of these craftspeople to construct its dais at no cost to the Town. The reconstruction of the Veteran’s Memorial Causeway seawall was completed during 2008. The project involved the complete reconstruction of the seaward-side wall that supports the Ocean Avenue causeway and passage to Marblehead Neck. The existing sea wall was built in 1911and had deteriorated considerably over time due to alkali silica reaction, heavy wave action from hurricanes and major storm events. 3 MARBLEHEAD TOWN REPORT The total replacement of the sea wall with a curvilinear steel-reinforced replacement engineered to withstand a 100 year storm event was constructed by RDA-PIHL and was completed under budget and on time, in accordance with an aggressive construction schedule overseen by the town administrator, Marblehead’s department heads and Vine Associates, Inc. to ensure adequate construction design and quality standards. The Board believes that this causeway seawall should faithfully serve the future citizens of Marblehead for many decades to come. The Town’s perambulation of the town’s public ways was held on May 17, 2008 as an annual event sponsored by the Board for Selectman and the Marblehead Conservancy to publicize town public ways and the Town’s role in ensuring that they remain passable and unfettered by private intrusion. As the local licensing authority, the selectmen renewed and/or issued the following licenses concerning its licensed serving establishments: Annual All Alcoholic Restaurant (15) Annual All Alcoholic – Package Store (5) Annual All Alcoholic Fraternal Club (3) Annual All Alcoholic Club (3) Season All Alcoholic Club (2) Annual Wine & Malt – Package (1) Annual Wine & Malt Restaurant (7 Day) (4) Annual Common Victualler (40) Annual Entertainment (18) Sunday Entertainment (14) Second Hand Dealers (6) Automatic Amusement Device (15) Annual Auto Class II (1) Annual Lodging (3) During 2008, the Board of Selectmen was proud to recognize the extraordinary athletic achievements of two Marblehead residents: Shalane Flanagan who was the bronze medalist in the 10,000 meter women’s track event at the 2008 Olympics and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker who was the gold medalist in the two person keel boarding sailing event at the 2008 Paralympics. The Town received several grants from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and other sources including a priority development fund grant to examine how a MGL Chapter 40R ‘smart growth’ initiative could be adopted by Marblehead’s annual 4 MARBLEHEAD TOWN REPORT town meeting for the development of additional affordable housing. In addition, the Town also received funding for the development of a harbor master plan to ensure the proper stewardship of this asset for generations of Marbleheaders to come. The Board of Selectmen was also pleased to authorize the placement of a plaque at Fort Sewall during 2008 to commemorate Marbleheaders’ defense of the USS Constitution as she outran two British man-o-war vessels during the War of 1812 and memorialized her subsequent visits to Marblehead during 1931 and 1997. The Board of Selectmen recognizes the efforts of Fred Goddard, Thomas McNulty, former Constitution Commander David Cashman and the Fort Sewall preservation committee for their efforts to memorialize these important events for the remembrance of future generations of Marbleheaders. The Board recognizes and thanks the countless volunteers throughout the boards and committees of its Town government and local philanthropic organizations that devote substantial amounts of their personal time working for the betterment of Marblehead as well as all of those who contributed financially to the various funds established for the benefit of the Town. Without the dedication, involvement and generosity of these volunteers and her citizens , Marblehead could not operate as effectively as she has for over 3 centuries. The Board believes that it is because of the citizenry’s personal sense of ownership and pride that Marblehead remains the wonderful place it is which we are all proud to call home. The Board encourages publicly spirited citizens to volunteer to serve the Town in a role that they believe can add value/expertise as this is what has made Marblehead and her government successful for the benefit of future generations that will eventually assume the role as her stewards. The Board of Selectmen is aware of the personal financial difficulties of many of its citizens as well as the town, the Commonwealth and the nation as a whole to weather the tough economic climate that we have faced in the past year and is forecast for at least the next 18 months. The Board pledges that it will strive to apply its best judgment to exercise frugality, care and responsible stewardship of Marblehead’s assets, resources and programs during these tough economic times. The Board and the Town’s management team will endeavor to do the best it can to maintain the current level and quality of services while mindful of the economic limitations of its citizens to pay for these services during our nation’s current economic difficulties. You have our promise that we will do the very best we can to responsibly manage the Town of Marblehead for her current citizens and generations to come. 5 MARBLEHEAD TOWN REPORT The Board of Selectmen recognizes the efforts of Town Administrator Anthony M. Sasso, Town Planner Rebecca L. Curran, the Selectmen’s office staff of Deborah Fadden, Kyle Wiley and Jane Tricomi (who joined the office in March replacing Patricia Cerrutti who earned a well deserved retirement) and Marblehead’s department heads and employees for serving the citizens of Marblehead and the Board of Selectmen with diligence and care.