Rochester’s Select Board Monday set a Fall Special Town Meeting for October 21 and approved August 9 as the last day to submit articles for the warrant.
Asked by The Wanderer what articles they might have in mind for the October date, Select Board Chairman Brad Morse said there are a couple of zoning articles that will need to be on the warrant. Interim Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar said she isn’t sure at this point what budget items might also be up for a vote in October, but she speculated some fiscal year budget cleanup measures may be included.
The Select Board approved Interim Police Chief Don Kemmett’s appointment of new officers, one full-time and one part-time. The new full-timer is Scott Smith, whom Kemmett said has been a part-time member of the Rochester Police force for eight years. The new part-time officer is Rick Bartley. Kemmett said Bartley has been a reserve police officer in Rockland for 10 years. He is also the Logistical and Fulfillment manager for Emulate, Inc., in Boston.
In other business, the board approved a new Eversource pole for new utility service on Vaughan Hill Road to accommodate Tree Talk Natives, LLC, the new tree nursery business there.
The board awarded an employee citation “for nine years of work and dedication” to Executive Assistant Amanda Baptiste. It then announced that Baptiste has handed in her letter of resignation, effective June 21.
The board reappointed Chris Peck and Steve Pena to the Capital Planning Committee for terms to expire on June 30, 2027.
The board accepted a donation of four, 24-foot aluminum stands from Old Rochester Youth Baseball to the town.
The board appointed resident Dennis McCarthy as a Zoning Board of Appeals associate member. Zoning Board Chairman David Arancio cautioned the board that he has not had the chance to speak to McCarthy to make certain he understands everything a ZBA member needs to know. Morse said he will forward McCarthy’s contact information to Arancio, so he can have that conversation.
The next Rochester Select Board meeting will be held on Monday, July 1, at 6:00 pm at the Rochester Council on Aging, 67 Dexter Lane.
Rochester Select Board
By Michael J. DeCicco