Rochester’s Select Board on Tuesday approved the request from Bristol Asphalt, Co., Inc. for a Flammable Fluid License to store liquid asphalt at 99 Kings Highway that crowded the hearing room with concerned abutters in late December.
In the last meeting of 2025, the plan to place two 15,000-gallon liquid asphalt tanks at the site drew abutters and their attorney, environmental lawyer George F. Hailer, who took issue with how much of a nuisance and fire hazard these tanks would impose on their residential neighborhood and asked the state fire marshal to get more involved. Town Administrator Cameron Durant began the January 20 hearing by informing them the permitting procedure does not start that way. It is the town’s responsibility to issue the permit, he said. Then the state fire marshal will be responsible for inspecting what is constructed and making sure the installation complies with safety and other regulations.
Attorneys for the abutters continued to say the tanks are too close to some residences and should be inspected before being permitted. Fire Chief Scott Weigel assured attendees the tanks that will be installed are double-walled and in full compliance with regulations. “It can’t be inspected until it has a license,” Chair Adam Murphy added. Murphy noted questions on the design of the operation should have been addressed in the Planning Board and Conservation Commission approval stage, which the project has already been through.
Next, the board decided against exercising the town’s right to purchase two lots covering High Street, County Road, Cross Road and Forbes Road and five acres off of Pierce St. Durant explained the Buzzards Bay Coalition was in the middle of negotiating with the landowner to transfer these properties to that land conservation group until the deal was recently called off. This freed the board to make its own decision, leading it to waive its rights to purchase the land.
The meeting concluded with the board setting the town’s two most important 2026 dates. The Annual Town Meeting was set for May 18 and the Annual Town Election for May 27. The board also agreed that the deadline for submitting citizen petition articles for the annual meeting will be March 6. Durant added some stark budget news for FY2027 that the town meeting will have to tackle. He reported that as currently projected the town is looking at $600,000 budget deficit for the next fiscal year. “This is going to be a challenging year,” he said. “We’ll have to see how many wants we will need to set aside.” He noted FY2027 school budget numbers have yet to be received or accounted for.
In other action, the board endorsed the Rochester Land Trust’s plan to seek funding for Americans With Disabilities Act related upgrades to one of the town’s walking trails, specifically widening the trail for wheelchairs and adding signage and benches.
The next meeting of the Rochester Select Board is scheduled for Monday, February 2 at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Select Board
By Michael J. DeCicco