After going without a Town Planner since late August, the town of Rochester has hired Mary Crain, who most recently served on the Mattapoisett Planning Board and who has past experience with city planning as well.
Following former Town Planner John Charbonneau’s departure to Raynham, a subcommittee consisting of members from the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen was formed. Recently, the subcommittee narrowed it down to six resumes, with Crain being the final and only candidate interviewed at Tuesday’s joint meeting between the two boards.
Crain said that she’s been a planner for 14 years with experience in Everett, Salem, and Watertown, and that she graduated from Rutgers University with a Master’s Degree.
“I really think that Mary is an excellent choice for the town,” said Town Administrator Richard LaCamera. “I’m very confident she [meets all the qualifications].”
Crain added that she especially enjoys dealing with personalities and personal issues, and she sat in with the Planning Board for the rest of her regular meeting.
As of this meeting, Crain’s salary has yet to be determined, but officials said that they would come up with it in the near future.
Board Chairman Arnold Johnson also announced that Board Administrator Patrice LaForest had prepared their fiscal year 2015 budget review, keeping the numbers the same as last year with Crain’s salary to be filled in upon approval.
The Board also discussed the recent flooding on the property of Jim Carberry of 423 High St. after water spilled over from a water-collection basin for nearby Connet Woods.
“There’s a lot of new water that was never coming in before,” said Carberry. “We’ve never had this amount of water.”
Carberry said that he was concerned the flooding could eventually contaminate his well, which he said is shallow and which he uses for his business, Robin’s Nest Ice Cream.
Johnson said that the town engineers had taken a look at the area, and they will continue to do so until they can come up with a remedy to the issue.
“We’re going to take a look at [the situation], and we’ll have that info for you by the next meeting.”
By Nick Walecka
