A Rochester business was recently cited for selling alcohol to a person under 21, Rochester Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar informed the Board of Selectmen on January 7.
Szyndlar told the selectmen – the governing authority that issues licenses to sell alcohol in town – that she received a letter from the Police Department disclosing that, during the department’s annual alcohol compliance checks, one of the few businesses authorized to sell alcohol in Rochester was found in violation.
“Unfortunately, one employee at Lloyd’s Market did not request identification from an underage purchaser, so there was a violation,” Szyndlar said.
Szyndlar recommended the board to take the issue under advisement to allow her to discuss it with Rochester’s town counsel as far as the process the Town has taken in the past.
“And if we have a written policy, we’ll follow what that policy is,” said Board of Selectmen Chairman Greenwood “Woody” Hartley.
Hartley said the board would likely hold a public hearing in the near future on the matter.
Also during the meeting, at Szyndlar’s recommendation, the board set the 2019 Annual Town Meeting date for the third Monday of May, May 20, at Rochester Memorial School.
“It might be a pretty good-sized warrant,” Szyndlar said, so she will be looking into also reserving Tuesday, May 21, as a spillover date.
The board voted to open the warrant that evening, and set March 15 at 4:00 pm as the deadline for article submissions.
In other matters, the continued dog nuisance public hearing for Liberal Teixeira will be held on January 14 when the board will render its final decision on the matter. Teixeira has allegedly been operating an unpermitted dog breeding business at his North Avenue home in violation of a prior Town order to cease from all kennel operations after years of noise complaints from neighbors.
Monetary donations totaling $2,750 from the Annie Maxim House were accepted that evening, with the Police Department receiving $1,000, Fire $500, Ambulance $500, Highway Department $500, and $250 for the Council on Aging.
Selectmen signed a volunteer citation thanking Laurene Gerrior as she resigns from the Conservation Commission after many years of service. There is now an opening on the commission, and the board has received two applications, which it will review when all three selectmen are present at a future meeting.
The board also accepted the resignation of Lisa Fuller from the Rochester Cultural Council.
The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for January 14 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
Rochester Board of Selectmen
By Jean Perry