Jacqueline Schmidt and Lilia Cabral of the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) met with the Rochester Board of Selectmen on March 9 to discuss any needs the board felt Rochester had related to transportation including bike paths, road changes, public transportation, and more.
“We’re here tonight to get your take on what you’d like your transportation system to look like,” said Schmidt.
The board asked the representatives if they had any knowledge regarding County Road in Rochester. According to Town Administrator Michael McCue, several years ago there was an effort to extend Route 58 past Interstate 195 onto County Road.
“That road is in a constant state of disrepair,” McCue said. “My understanding is Wareham was in favor of it, the Town of Rochester was in favor of it, but there may have been some hesitation on the part of Marion. I don’t want to speak out of turn, but that’s my understanding.”
He asked if there was any way to increase movement on this plan with the help of SRPEDD. He said that this was one of the biggest transportation concerns the board had at the moment. Reclassifying the road as part of Route 58 would secure state funding for the road’s upkeep.
“It’s a major feeder road, and it’s not designated as a major feeder road,” Chairman Bradford Morse said. “It’s a back country road that gets a lot of traffic.”
Cabral recommended the board send an official request to SRPEDD on that subject.
Selectmen also requested information on general transportation trends in the area.
“There’s been a lot of bicycle planning that’s been going on, especially with the South Coast Bikeway,” said Schmidt. “There’s been talk in the past of Rochester tying into that.”
The South Coast Bikeway is a planned bike path that would connect Providence, RI to Provincetown through 13 communities. According to Schmidt, some projects in Mattapoisett, Fall River, New Bedford and Dartmouth have already been completed.
“It’s gaining a lot of momentum,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt and Cabral also presented a transportation survey, which can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/regtransplan. The survey will help them develop their regional transport plan.
In other matters, McCue updated the board on the fiscal year 2016 budget, saying that there has been a great deal of effort put into the budget, but progress is slow.
“I wanted to say we continued work on the budget,” McCue said. “The meetings are, if not daily, then they’re every other day. We’re making very, very slow progress towards our goal.”
McCue said it is still “extremely difficult,” despite some minor adjustments in the right direction … “However, it’s taking an awful lot of work,” he added.
Also during the meeting, McCue said that the Planning Board has made some changes to the draft for Annual Town Meeting warrant and asked for comments on it. He said that it was open to amendments until March 23.
McCue also told the board he would like to see Rochester become a Tree City USA.
“I would like the Board of Selectmen to consider an official proclamation for Arbor Day,” McCue said. “The reason for such is I’d like to see the Town of Rochester receive recognition as a Tree City USA.”
One of the requirements is that the Board of Selectmen gives an official proclamation. McCue plans to present a plan to the board at a later date with the help of Eversource. There would be no cost, as the labor involved would come from volunteers.
McCue reminded the board and the general public that the seats for appointed boards and committees are due to expire on April 31, and anyone interested in applying for a board or committee position should put in a request to selectmen prior to that date.
Under correspondences received by the board: The Town will conduct a rabies clinic on April 7 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm at the Rochester Grange.
The annual Tri-Town herring meeting will take place on March 24 as part of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen meeting.
Selectmen also voted to approve the extended Sunday hours of Adrian’s Package Store located at 711 Mary’s Pond Road in Rochester to 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for March 16 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
By Andrew Roiter
