Rochester held its Annual Town Meeting on Monday May 21, 2012, in the cafeteria of Rochester Memorial School. The beginning of the meeting was delayed about 20 minutes because a voting quorum of 75 was not present. Some in attendance called friends and family, asking them to come down so the meeting could proceed. In total, 83 voters turned out for the meeting.
There were 17 articles on the Town Warrant this year, but very few generated any discussion. Article 4, the Town Operating Budget, resulted in one question regarding the cut in hours for the Town Clerk. The Board of Selectmen indicated that the decrease in hours was the result in reduced office hours during the summer and because some responsibilities have been passed to other branches of the town.
Article 15, regarding the construction of a solar array to provide the City of New Bedford Waterworks with its electricity needs, was expected to generate much debate, but there were no questions from the audience. The article would authorize the Selectmen to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes from the New Bedford Waterworks in exchange for use of Rochester land for the project. Rochester Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson did address the meeting regarding the installation of the solar array.
“There is no application for this project currently in front of the Planning Board,” he said.
The final piece, Article 17, did inspire a few comments and clarifications from the Board of Selectmen. The article deals with the Town of Rochester appropriating money to tie residents on Marion Road and Mary’s Pond Road into the town water system due to the discovery of higher-than-normal levels of contaminants in several samples taken by the Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP found high levels of trace chemicals found in fireworks in samples taken from town land. They also requested to sample well water from a total of 22 homes in the area.
Originally only seven consented, with three more agreeing months later. Normal levels of the chemicals were found in those samples, but as the investigation continued, the DEP later found a slight increase in only two samples taken from the residents’ wells. The DEP concluded that the Town of Rochester was the most likely responsible party for the presence of these chemicals, and in an effort to rectify the situation without litigation, the town has offered to cover all costs associated with hooking up residents affected by the contamination to town water service.
To view the Annual Town Meeting Warrant in full, visit this link. Below are the results of the meeting’s votes.
- Article 1: Annual Report of the Town Officers and Committees: Carried 79-0
- Article 2: Elected Officials Salaries: Carried 80-0
- Article 3: Personnel Bylaw Amendment- Classification and Compensation Plan: Carried 80-0
- Article 4: Town of Rochester FY13 Operating Budget: Carried 80-0
- Article 5: Departmental Revolving Funds Authorization: Carried 80-0
- Article 6: Natural Resources Expenses: Carried 80-0
- Article 7: Chapter 90 Funds Appropriation: Carried 80-0
- Article 8: Continual Educational/Professional Development Account: Carried 82-0
- Article 9: Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical School District Incurring Debt: Carried 82-0
- Article 10: Section IV.E. Industrial District Zoning Bylaw Amendment: Carried 82-0
- Article 11: Section XVI Site Plan Review Amendment: Carried 82-0
- Article 12: Flood District Bylaw Section VII Amendment: Carried 82-0
- Article 13: Accept MGL Chapter 200A Section 9A: Carried 82-0
- Article 14: Power Purchase Agreement: Carried 82-0
- Article 15: Solar Array Payment In Lieu of Taxes: Carried 82-0
- Article 16: Boats: Carried 82-0
- Article 17: Marion Road, Mary’s Pond Road Water Service: Carried 82-0
By Eric Tripoli
Carried 82-0