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12:53:50 am Neighbors' Complaints Dog Rochester Selectmen During Hearings

Categories: Rochester

A regular meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen was called to order on Monday, July 14 at 7:01 pm by Chairman pro tem Dan A. McGaffey. Also present were Selectman Brad Morse, Town Administrator Richard LaCamera, Town Counsel Blair Bailey, and Administrative Assistant Veronica Lafreniere. Selectman Richard Nunes was not present for the meeting.

Chairman McGaffey first wished to recognize the recent passing of Arthur Lionberger, a longtime Rochester resident and "pillar of the community," according to Mr. McGaffey, who was the town's oldest resident. As former keeper of the Boston Post cane, Chairman McGaffey noted the cane has been given to the Rochester Council on Aging for presentation to the town's next eldest citizen at a later date.

After approving the minutes of the June 23 meeting, the board noted the next regular Selectmen's meetings will be held on July 28; August 11 and August 25. Resident Scott Hartley also submitted a letter expressing interest in serving on the Finance Committee (FinCom), which has been forwarded to them for consideration.

The board also received a letter from Attorney Joseph Perry regarding property owned by Hiller Brothers which is currently under a Chapter 61A conservation restriction. The board unanimously voted to pass on their purchase of the parcel under the "right of first refusal" option.

At 7:05 pm the board opened a Dog Hearing upon a complaint against Ed Rose and his dogs located in a kennel on his property on Walnut Plain Road.

Resident and abutter Tim Scholz first noted that he and his fellow neighbors are seeking relief under Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) Chapter 140, Section 157, with regard to dogs being a nuisance.

"I think the number of people here pretty much constitutes a public nuisance," Mr. Scholz said. "I have copies of the police records which show in 2008 there were eight complaints against (the Rose dogs). We live across an open field from where Mr. Rose has placed his dogs. The dogs bark continuously ... up to two and three hours at a time. In the years that Mr. Rose has operated this kennel, no attempt has been made to hide the sight line from the road, so the dogs can see the road and bark at (all passing traffic). In the wintertime when there are no leaves, the sound travels right up to our neighborhood."

While this hearing was convened solely to consider alleged violations under Chapter 140, Section 157, some residents like Mark Collins wanted to know if other issues could be addressed regarding Mr. Rose's dog breeding hobby.

"This is a quasi-legal judicial hearing," said Town Counsel Blair Bailey. "Any other issue discussed outside the particular statute as advertised ... would require another hearing."

Abutter George Thomas was upset that nothing has been done about this problem for over a year and a half. "We've been calling ... the Animal Control Officer (ACO) and the Police Department and absolutely nothing has been done. Someone has to be responsible for these dogs. We all have dogs -- but we don't let them bark. That's all we're asking: just keep the dogs quiet. I don't think it's unreasonable."

Tom Forcier, who just moved to Rochester last November, said within days of his moving in he heard the incessant barking and "thought we had made a mistake."

"This is starting to become a bashing," Mr. Rose interrupted. "People are talking about how I take care of my dogs. Are we going to stick to the agenda of barking dogs?"

While Christopher Beck agreed that "it's all noise for me and my family," another of Mr. Rose's neighbors, Craig MacAlpine, said the only time he's heard the dogs barking is when people go up to the kennel. "That's the only time I've ever heard the dogs bark in the time I've spent there," he said.

"I've called the police and had the dispatcher say they can hear them barking in the background," said Sharon Fugeron. "I just can't express the words that we all have for it. One night it was so unbearable ... I called the Selectmen's office and left a message for (Selectman) Nunes. It doesn't cost anything to be a good, cordial neighbor. We're not here making this up, (but) we've been left with no choice. Part of being a good pet owner is being responsible."

"I've responded to a lot of the complaints," noted ACO Anne Estabrook. "Mr. Rose did buy barking collars, but they didn't work. He did buy another device and he's said he's tried to move the dogs so they would be inside at night."

"I haven't seen anyone come to (my house) and ask me what needs to be done," Mr. Rose said in response to his neighbor's complaints. "I don't want to be a jerk and be a bad neighbor. Saying the dogs bark 24 hours a day is not the truth. I was going to (build a new kennel) and the Building Inspector stopped me. I want the dogs away from (the neighbors). But I got into a little tiff with (him) because I'm making a new situation for the dogs."

According to Mr. LaCamera, he met with Mr. Rose after receiving numerous complaints from neighbors and went to Mr. Rose's house to investigate.

"I went down there myself and as soon as I got there, the dogs started barking," Mr. LaCamera told Mr. Rose. "The dogs stopped barking because you were there. If you weren't there, the dogs would be barking. You said you would try to address the issue. You said you submitted something to the Building Inspector to build (a new kennel). There was no plan submitted to the Building Inspector. So I came to you and asked when you're going to fix the problem. You refused to give me a timeframe. We wouldn't be here if you had given me a timeframe."

Attorney Robert Perry, who was representing Mr. Rose, explained that his client was looking into bringing a used mobile home to permanently locate on his property from which he would strip out the plumbing and use to shelter the dogs.

"He wants to use it to contain the dogs during the day so there's no outside stimulus," he said.

At this point, Town Counsel Blair Bailey suggested closing the hearing to public comment and ask that Mr. Rose and his attorney draft a proposed solution for submittal to the board prior to their next regular meeting on July 28.

"Mr. Rose, can you come up with a solid plan with a timetable and budget to solve this problem by July 28?" Chairman McGaffey asked.

When Mr. Rose and Mr. Perry agreed, the board unanimously voted to continue the hearing to July 28 at 7:00 pm.

Under the Town Administrator's report, Mr. LaCamera noted the window installation project at Rochester Memorial School is proceeding nicely and is ahead of schedule. A Liberty Elm tree will be dedicated on Thursday, August 14 at the Plumb Memorial Library beginning at 6:30 pm.

Under incoming correspondence, the board received notification from the Rochester Police Department that they have been awarded a grant in the amount of $5,000 to purchase Child Passenger Safety Equipment. SEMASS/Covanta also sent payment in lieu of taxes in the amount of $273,516 for refuse collected during the month of June. They also received an update from Alewives Anonymous of the latest herring counts, which showed a marked increase in fish over the last three months, but still fell short of herring counts recorded in 2000 which topped out at 130,296.

At 8:00 pm the board opened a second Dog Hearing upon a complaint against Jessica Snow and Brian Carlson and their dog.

According to neighbor Liz Barros who filed the original complaint, the beagle owned by Ms. Snow and Mr. Carlson is constantly in her yard, digging up the grass.

"Basically he's been digging up our yard, in all areas," Ms. Barros said. "We've been woken up in the middle of the night and early in the morning with him barking. I've talked to the owner and she told me they have an invisible fence, but they haven't installed it yet. The dog is constantly barking. I was on my own deck one morning, and he actually showed his teeth at me and growled. He's urinated on our mailbox and our vehicles, so he's marking his territory."

"I've seen the dog out loose numerous times, and it's not licensed either," added ACO Anne Estabrook.

There being no one else present to offer input, the board unanimously voted to close the hearing.

With that, they also moved to have the owners provide proof of dog license and rabies vaccination, and also ordered that the dog be confined to his own property via non-electronic means -- either tied to a run or kept in a fenced-in area.

There being no further matters to come before the board, they unanimously voted to adjourn for the evening at 8:11 pm.

By Kenneth J. Souza

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