Rochester’s new town administrator, Cameron Durant, grabbed the reins of his job quickly at his first Select Board meeting Monday.
The former Human Resources director for the Town of Fairhaven’s first motion as Rochester’s head administrator was to recommend disbanding the Town Administrator Search Committee, which the Select Board quickly did.
“We’ll do another in another 30 years,” Durant said. To this, Select Board Chairman Brad Morse responded with a smile, “I sure hope so.”
Next, Durant motioned and received approval to extend Interim Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar’s contract for that job for another month, to obviously assist him with the transition. Szyndlar will remain the town’s finance director until her retirement on June 30, 2025.
The town administrator position was vacated by the prior administrator, Glenn Cannon, when he accepted a similar role in Carver in March.
Durant requested that he be authorized to sign all grant awards and day-to-day operational agreements with town vendors. Before approving the latter, the Select Board voted to raise the monetary limit he can spend on such operations from $50,000 per contract to $100,000 per contract.
In other action, Durant announced the bid opening for the Gifford Park playground construction project will be held on Thursday, September 12, at 11:00 am at Town Hall. The 3,649 square-foot children’s playground’s full cost will be $81,881.70. Half of that cost will be borne by the local non-profit “Tri-Town for Protecting Children.”
Durant announced he will be available for a “meet and greet” with the public on Thursday, September 12, at 6:00 pm at the Council on Aging Senior Center, 67 Dexter Lane.
The Select Board approved two new Rochester Police policies and procedures recommended by the new police chief, Michael A. Assad, Jr. One is a new policy for promoting department officers. The other is a policy for town police officers and patrolmen taking a patrol car home.
The board appointed Arthur Smith to the Registrar of Voters for a term to expire on April 30, 2027.
The board approved the Buzzards Bay Coalition’s route through town for the Watershed Ride on October 6 and the Charles River Wheelers Ride route through town on October 13.
The board endorsed a citation to retiring employee Lorraine Thompson for her 11 years of service with the Council on Aging.
The board approved plans for 29 new Eversource and Verizon utility poles on Snipatuit Road between Numbers 722 and 865, 655 and 694, 500 and 610 and 280 North Avenue, and a new utility pole on Stevens Road.
The board continued to January 27 its public hearings into plans for Eversource utility pole and manhole cover locations on Rounseville Road. An Eversource representative attending the meeting said the six poles in the island right-of-way have been moved, but the company is awaiting permission from the landowner for the relocation, and it needs wetlands permits for three of the poles.
The board continued to January 27 its public hearing into plans for a new utility pole on Featherbed Lane.
Both of the public hearings will take place at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
The next Rochester Select Board meeting will be held on Monday, September 23, at 6:00 pm at the Senior Center, 67 Dexter Lane.
Rochester Select Board
By Michael J. DeCicco