An annual gift to the Town of Rochester for $10,000 recently offered by Covanta Energy, owners of SEMASS, will benefit the Rochester Country Fair this year after the Board of Selectmen approved the allocation of $5,000 of the sum to help cover costs of this year’s event.
Waste Manager at Covanta met with selectmen on February 22 to formally present the funds, which are in addition to a previous $10,000 the company donated to the Town to help cover the cost of the town’s new fire truck.
“We consider it a privilege,” said O’Connor of the funding contribution. “You people have always been very supportive of our project and we appreciate that.”
SEMASS, off Cranberry Highway, is located on 95 acres in the northeast part of Rochester. It is the largest of seven waste-to-energy combustion facilities in Massachusetts, processing about 1.2 million tons of waste annually and generating, in turn, about 650,000 megawatt hours of electricity every year. Covanta owns four of the state’s waste-to-energy combustion facilities.
“It’s all working out quite well, and we enjoy a great working relationship with you,” Town Administrator Michael McCue told O’ Connor. “We look forward to working with you for many … years to come.”
The board also awarded the Rochester Lions Club with $700, or the total cost of the police detail, for its upcoming Leprechaun Race on March 12.
Also during the meeting, Selectman and Town Clerk Naida Parker said voter registration has increased significantly, and she anticipates a high turnout for the March 1 presidential primary.
Parker said another roughly 200 residents have registered to vote since the last annual election, calling that “unheard of” here in Rochester. There are now 4,250 registered voters in Rochester.
Parker said she has also processed a surprisingly high number of absentee ballots for this primary election, which she said, will likely show a high voter turnout.
“This one I think is going to be a surprise,” Parker said.
In other matters, McCue told the board it may likely be a moot point holding a Special Town Meeting, given that it likely would not be held until the end of April, as long as the special legislation the Town is seeking to ratify the last Annual Town Meeting is approved. The Annual was held without a quorum.
McCue said he expects the 2016 Annual Town Meeting to be held in either May or June, and holding off the special until the annual could save money.
The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for February 29 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
By Jean Perry
