The Rochester Select Board Monday night reviewed the 34 articles proposed for the spring Annual Town Meeting and instantly added one more, perhaps the most impactful of them all.
Select Board member Brad Morse motioned to add an article that would remove the town as a Green Community, and the board unanimously agreed. He noted Article 34 is a citizens petition to make this move but felt that this step should come from the Select Board as well because the board agrees with it.
The state provides grants and technical assistance to support implementing clean-energy projects in municipal buildings, facilities and schools to any town or city designated as a Green Community.
But, said Morse, who is also a member of the town’s Public Safety Facility Study Committee, in Rochester right now that means having to adhere to needlessly expensive building codes as the town plans to build a new fire station and construct an addition to the police station.
“It will cost us a lot more as a Green Community,” he said. “I think this board should support the citizens petition.”
Town Administrator Glenn Cannon cautioned the Select Board on lending this support. He said Town Counsel has advised the town that it should not mix citizen-petition action with board action and that the board should not actively support a citizen-sponsored article.
Planning Board member Ben Bailey, who is sponsoring the citizens petition, noted his article also moves to rescind the strict “Stretch” building code that he says makes such capital projects too expensive. Morse responded the board’s article, in effect, would accomplish that but noted some stretch codes must stay because they are state codes.
The Select Board began the meeting by approving a new full-time Rochester Police officer, Conner Leddin. Chief Robert Small said a full-time spot became available due to a recent retirement, and Leddin was a finalist for the opening because he had already been academy-trained. In his introduction to the board, Leddin said he is a native of Pembroke.
Next, Capital Planning Committee Chairman David Arancio met with the board for an update. He said his board has compiled a spreadsheet of every item on its list of projects that shows the progress with each and includes everything already funded, needing funding, funding source and for what department.
Select Board Chairman Woody Hartley said that after five years in operation, Capital Planning is making a big difference. He said the capital-budgeting process should include setting the bigger items aside to find other funding sources for them but always start with Capital Planning Committee consideration first.
“The process will continue to evolve,” Arancio said. “But all the departments have been a great help.”
The Select Board then approved a new agreement with Bristol County Agricultural High School. Cannon explained the school has been asking the town to pay two bills, its yearly per-student assessment and a Capital Bill related to new school construction. The latter is the one the town should not have to pay because it doesn’t have a fund for that cost, Cannon said, leading to the need to change the school agreement to reflect that.
Under the new agreement, the town will only receive one bill to pay, he said. But the town will still have to pay the outstanding Capital bills for the last two years.
Next, the board approved its latest draft of the town’s Town Counsel Access Agreement. Hartley said the new draft has been sent to and reviewed by all departments. He motioned that pending further comments, the board should accept the current draft with the provision that the agreement will be amended as needed.
The original policy states that to better control how town departments and boards may access the town’s legal adviser, such requests must come through the town administrator. A board’s request for opinion and/or use of Town Counsel must be approved by a majority vote of the board. Requests to initiate litigation or defense will require approval of the Select Board.
Lastly, the Select Board met with the Finance Committee to decide on the Cost of Living Adjustment for town employees for FY24. The two boards agreed on a 3% increase. Finance Committee Chairman Kris Stoltenberg recommended this number as being a good one, considering the effects of the economy on the town’s budget.
Cannon said this decision is “the last piece of the puzzle. Now the Finance Committee can compile harder numbers for the proposed FY24 budget.”
The Rochester Select Board’s next meeting will be held on Monday, April 3, at 6:00 pm.
Rochester Select Board
By Michael J. DeCicco