Dog Training to Resume at Fairgrounds

The Rochester Country Fair Committee was there to report on the progress of this year’s fair to the Rochester Board of Selectmen, but while at the June 26 meeting, Selectmen Chairman Brad Morse asked Co-Chair Dave Souza and committee member Kelly Morgado about noise complaints lodged by neighbors of the country fairgrounds over dogs barking.

For some time now, the South Coast Working Dog Club has held dog training and working dog shows at the Rochester Country Fairgrounds on Pine Street with a set schedule approved by the country fair committee. Over the course of time, some neighbors, particularly one, has called Town Hall to complain about dogs barking, which prompted Morse to interrupt the country fair update and get up to speed on the dog training.

Morse said he had been unaware that dog training was being held at the site, which led to a discussion over communication between the selectmen and the country fair committee over fairground use by outside entities.

According to Morgado, neighbor complaints started a couple of months ago, but she defended the dog training club’s usage of the grounds.

“It’s very, very beneficial for the fair to have the dog training on the site. We had a lot of vandalism before. That has since gone away.”

The money the committee generates from renting the field for the dog training also helps to significantly offset the country fair costs, Morgado said.

“From a fair perspective,” said Souza, “we would like to have that continue on site.”

The trainers and club members, said Souza, are a positive group of people and have respected the fairgrounds and the committee with every request it has made thus far.

“Man, you will never find a pile of dog poop there,” Souza said. The trainers also mow the grass and are considerate of the property, Souza added. “There are so many positive things…. We like to keep everyone happy, but as you guys know, it’s almost impossible to do that.”

Preston Costa from the South Coast Working Dog Club said the group often gets blamed for noises in the neighborhood that are not necessarily from the fairgrounds while they are using it. Costa said there is one neighbor in particular who has been the source of the bulk of the complaints.

“She will keep complaining until we’re gone,” said Costa. “It doesn’t matter what we do, what we change … she wants us gone.” Costa said the neighbor threatened to continue to complain despite mitigation efforts.

Morse took issue with the fact that the selectmen had not been aware of the fairgrounds being rented out for this use, calling it a lapse in communication.

Morgado and Souza said that when the trainers first approached them, the country fair committee spoke to the former town administrator and apparently the information never made it to the Board of Selectmen.

The board requested that the country fair committee approach the selectmen with all future requests to use the fairgrounds to give a final say on future use.

And as for the country fair?

“Going strong,” Morgado commented.

In other matters, the selectmen voted to sign the conservation restriction agreement for property on Wolf Island Road purchased by the Town of Marion for water resource protection. The land will be protected from development in perpetuity, and the land will be open to public use for passive recreation, including hunting.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is July 10 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry

 

One Response to “Dog Training to Resume at Fairgrounds”

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  1. Kelly Morgado says:

    just to clarify – the Rochester Country Fair is not renting out the Fair grounds to the SouthCoast Working Dog. Nor does the Fair rent the grounds to any other club or individual. The Rochester Country Fair does not benefit financially by anyone using the grounds.

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