Plymouth County Commission Treasurer Tom O’Brien and State Senator Michael J. Rodrigues came to Rochester Monday to present its Board of Selectmen a $413,605 check for new Police Department digital radios and new Fire Department turnout gear.
The oversize cardboard check the pair came to town hall with represented two actual checks Rochester has been granted from county ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) monies, O’Brien explained. One is a $234,000 check for the radios. The other is $189,520 for the firefighter gear.
O’Brien boasted Plymouth County was the first county to spend every penny of the ARPA funds it had been allocated and at a lower operational cost than the other Massachusetts communities. “The average cost to administer is 7-8 percent,” he said. “We administered using 1.4 percent because other counties partnered with us to administer the funds.”
Next, the board approved the placement of a new Eversource Energy ‘stub’ utility pole on the south side of Hartley Road as proposed by Verizon New England INC and NSTAR Electric Company. This approval came after objections from Highway Surveyor who said he would rather see the pole on the island there. Selectman Brad Morse agreed. “My concern is visibility of the road to motorists,” he said. The Verizon representative said the company had already answered Eldridge’s request to place the pole further off the road, as far as was possible.’
In other action, the board approved placing a proposal to create a Town Administrator bylaw with a set of regulations for the position on the January 27, 2025 Special Town Meeting warrant. This vote came after Town Administrator Cameron Durant reported that he and the town’s labor counsel Jane Friedman had worked together to create the proposal. Both selectmen who were present, Brad Morse and Adam Murphy, said they were satisfied with the results and moved to place the measure on the warrant. The board appointed six members to the new Events Committee who will serve three-year terms. They are Sarah Paiva, Kami Mederios, Renee Duffy, Maureen Viera, Sharon Hartley and Michelle Hamilton. Durant noted there is one spot open on the seven-member board and anyone who would like to join should send town hall a letter of interest.
The board also appointed its first member to the Opioid Task Force, Michael Kovadevich, who will serve a three-year term.
The selectmen continued until its next meeting discussion of increasing building increases proposed by Building Commissioner Paul Boucher and approving a new Police Department towing policy. Both issues had to be delayed because there was no third member; Paul Ciaburri was unable to attend.
Murphy said he struggles with increasing building fees only because the town’s number of building permits went down this past year. “The cost of permit should meet the cost to administer it,” he said. “I struggle to pass a cost like that to the consumer.” Morse said he had no problem with increasing fees to align with surrounding communities’ fee rates and acknowledged a third board member is needed to break the tie.
Police chief Michael A. Assad, Jr. explained the new towing policy would add regulation of the towing companies the town uses. Driver must look and act the part, Assad said. The policy requires proper licensing and insurance and bars use of any controlled substance, cannabis or alcohol on the job.
The next meeting of the Rochester Select Board is scheduled for Monday, December 16 at 6:00 pm at 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Select Board
By Michael J. DeCicco