“We have enough signs already,” commented Conservation Commission Chairman Rosemary Smith from the back of the room when it came time for the Board of Selectmen on July 11 to approve the hanging of two Tree City USA signs given by the Arbor Day Foundation.
Selectmen must have heard her because, when Smith suggested only one sign be hung and the other be kept as a back-up, all three selectmen agreed.
Selectman Brad Morse suggested hanging one at the entrance to the Town Forest by Old Colony RVTHS, which was approved by the two other selectmen.
Topping the agenda that night was conservation, with Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon on hand to present selectmen with copies of the newly revised second edition of the town’s Explore Rochester guide to Rochester’s open spaces and the walking trails featured at each property.
As Farinon pointed out, the first edition was released back in 2014 and, since then, three new properties have been added, and the name of the Olde Field Farm property was renamed the Shoolman Preserve.
“We applied for a grant from A.D. Makepeace,” said Farinon, which helped fund the revised edition.
Other changes to the guide include a general layout change, as well as a spiral binding that Farinon called “more user-friendly.”
Copies of the latest edition of the Explore Rochester guide are available at the Town Hall Annex, and the Rochester Land Trust will have them available during the Rochester Country Fair.
In other matters, the board approved the appointment of Jana Cavanaugh back to the Board of Assessors. Cavanaugh retired from the board back in early June at the same time she retired from her position as a teacher at Rochester Memorial School in order to receive her pension. She has now been reappointed this new fiscal year and will serve on the board of Assessors until April of 2017 when she will have to run for election.
This was the first Board of Selectmen meeting for new Town Administrator/CFO Suzanne Szyndlar, currently the part-time accountant for the Towns of Rochester and Mattapoisett.
Szyndlar is the first female town administrator in the Town of Rochester since the position was first created.
The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for July 25 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
By Jean Perry
