For about 30 minutes on June 8, the Town of Rochester’s regionalized 911 dispatch service experienced a communications failure. And although the police, fire, and EMT services in Rochester could still communicate with each other, the Regional Old Colony Communications Center, or ROCCC, (pronounced like ‘rock’) 911 dispatch was down.

Rochester Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar revealed the occurrence to the public and explained the situation to the Board of Selectmen on July 2 after she attended a meeting with the ROCCC and its client towns on June 19 to hear more about what happened.

Industrial Communications, the company that manages the microwave and fiber networks, Szyndlar said, took full responsibility for the communications failure.

“This system-wide failure impacted many of their customers, not just the ROCCC,” said Szyndlar.

To clarify, Szyndlar explained, Rochester’s local equipment did not go down. Emergency response departments could still communicate by switching to the radio frequency backup.

“So, basically, what happened was that Industrial’s microwave network went into failure, and the redundant backup system also failed, causing loss of connectivity of around 30 minutes with the ROCCC,” said Szyndlar.

She said Industrial Communications has since implemented another added layer of redundancy and has completed a radio tower expansion.

“They are also in the process of replacing microwave and fiber systems with updated systems,” said Szyndlar. “As we all know, equipment can fail at any point in time, but the goal is to come out of this stronger and better prepared.”

The ROCCC is based in Duxbury and provides 911 dispatch service for the Towns of Rochester, Duxbury, Plympton, and Halifax. Rochester just switched over to the regionalized 911 service on May 22 of this year.

Also during the meeting, he’s the acting chief for just a few more months, but Rochester Police Sargent Robert Small introduced three police appointees to the Board of Selectmen, including one promotion to permanent sergeant.

Shawn Peterson has been acting as sergeant for two years, Small said, and now, as the September 16 retirement date for current Police Chief Paul Magee approaches, it’s time to make that sergeant position permanent.

Peterson has been on the force since 2010, Small said, adding, “He’s a very motivated police officer.” Especially now, Small emphasized, during these past few months as Small eases into his position as chief and Peterson has assisted in Small’s sergeant duties.

“It’s been a lot of extra work,” said Small. “[Officer Peterson] stepped up … taking on a lot of my responsibilities as I try to take on a lot of the chief’s.”

The switchover is still a few months away, Chairman Greenwood Hartley pointed out, adding, “The Police Department has been outstanding in the way they’ve helped us do this. … They really work together.”

The board appointed Ben Coucci as a reserve officer to assist during storms and take on police details. Coucci is an Old Rochester Regional graduate and has a BA in criminal justice.

Casey Levecque was appointed as a part-time officer and has an Associate’s degree in criminal justice and is working towards his Bachelor’s at UMASS Dartmouth.

In other business, the board appointed two members to the Capital Planning Committee – Steve Penna and Chris Parks.

The committee was formed years ago by a Town Meeting vote, “And this is the first time it’s been instituted,” said Hartley. The selectmen will appoint two members, the Finance Committee will appoint two more, and the Planning Board, one. The committee will meet to make recommendations on planned capital improvements and present it annually at Town Meeting.

“Our capital plan is finally starting to take shape,” said Hartley.

Also during the meeting, the board approved a 10-year bond for the estimated $498,000 tanker pumper approved by Town Meeting.

Szyndlar recommended the 10-year bond over the 15-year bond, saving the Town an additional $60,000 in interest. An interest rate has not yet been set, and Szyndlar said she would not be able to lock in a fixed rate for this loan, as rates are about to go up.

The rates presented to the board that night were only estimates – starting at 2.25% in 2019 and inching up to 5% in 2029 in increments of about .20-.25% each year.

And in other matters, as the Town sets its sights on a Green Community designation, the board, in speaking with Planning Board Chairman Arnie Johnson, determined one thing is certain: “People want to learn more,” as Hartley put it.

The selectmen and the Planning Board are going to hold a joint meeting and invite Seth Pickering, Green Communities regional coordinator, to a public meeting to give further information and offer answers to any questions the public may have. The selectmen will announce that date once it is scheduled.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for July 16 at 6:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry

Acting Superintendent of the Marion Department of Public Works Jon Henry said he would withdraw his resignation on Wednesday, June 27, at the request of the Board of Selectmen, but under one condition: no more micromanaging.

According to Henry during a follow-up after the meeting, things had been going great for him as interim superintendent, even despite the March storms that set the department back both financially and in its capacity to maintain its regular duties after an extensive storm cleanup. But where things went sour was when newly elected Selectman Randy Parker approached Henry during a time that coincided with talk on social media about the state of publicly maintained properties such as cemeteries and parks, alluded Henry.

Therefore, when Board of Selectmen Chairman Norm Hills asked if Henry would be willing to rescind his resignation and continue as interim superintendent, Henry replied, “I would do that with one requirement that I think is essential to meet – micromanaging has to be avoided.

“And I consider Mr. Parkers’ approach to be micromanaging to the point that I was required to resign,” said Henry.

On Friday, June 22, Henry submitted a letter immediately resigning from the temporary superintendent position he has held since February, which was meant to carry the Town into August when results of an efficiency study of the DPW would guide the Town on how to evolve the superintendent position based on any future restructuring of the DPW.

Henry, a former selectman, replaced former DPW superintendent Rob Zora after he retired in December 2017 without notice after 33 years.

With the results of the study not expected until mid-August, plus the subsequent time needed to hire a permanent superintendent, whatever that position may look like, the board quickly determined that it could facing three to four months with no one leading the DPW.

“We need to have something in the meantime,” said Hills after a brief discussion on the progress of the efficiency study.

Town Administrator Paul Dawson could again manage the signing of the payroll and paying of bills like he did just before Henry’s appointment, but, as Dawson pointed out, the day-to-day DPW operations wasn’t something he could fully take on with his current role.

Before the conversation came back around to asking Henry to continue as interim superintendent, Parker pushed for other alternatives, wondering if another longtime in-house employee could manage the department for four months.

“Just because they’ve been there a long time doesn’t mean they have the capability of running the entire department,” said Hills. Dawson concurred. Each DPW office has its own foreman capable of running their division, Dawson said, “But I don’t think that there are any of those people who currently are experienced in the budgeting or the administrative – what I call the bigger picture, the administrative piece of it.”

“The other option,” said Hills, “is if Mr. Henry was willing to reconsider his decision,” which is entirely up to Henry, Dawson pointed out as Henry sat nearby. “That’s the quickest decision,” Hills added.

Parker, still considering other options, said, “The quickest isn’t always the best.” Either way, he continued, “We’re on a short shoestring. If you post [the temporary position] you’re looking at six weeks.”

Parker pointed to the six weeks that spanned Zora’s retirement in December to Henry’s appointment in February when the DPW was able to function without a superintendent, and pushed for taking that time to post for another temporary position.

Selectman John Waterman stated, “I thought Mr. Henry was doing a good job. … The optimal decision would be – honestly, I don’t think we can find a better person [than Henry].”

Hills preferred to avoid the “nitty-gritties” behind Henry’s reason for resigning, but said to Henry, “Basically, as a department head, you are responsible to the board as a whole, and, in fact, we can only act as a board as a whole in open meeting …and individually outside that meeting.” Hills said he would like to think, should Henry experience problems, he would bring to the board as a whole and vice versa, “And as a board, the board handles it.”

“You know what your expectations are,” said Waterman to Henry, “and I don’t think it’s our job to get in the way of the day-to-day dealings.”

The Board of Selectmen’s administrative assistant had not yet filed Henry’s letter of resignation with the Town Clerk’s Office, even three business days after the receipt of the letter, so Hills refrained from calling for a vote to accept Henry’s resignation or his withdrawal.

Henry said he would resume his interim position, adding the caveat, “With the warranty that that won’t happen again, I would gladly pick it up and run with it.”

Henry explained that, after the late winter storms, the DPW was “$200,000 in the hole.” Town Meeting appropriated another $150,000, Henry explained, “But it’s still $50,000 in the hole.”

“That’s the reality of the situation,” said Henry, “but that will right itself this Monday,” the fist day of the new fiscal year.

“I don’t mean to be critical,” continued Henry. “It was a tough assignment because of the long [tenure] of my predecessor.” It took time to gain the confidence of the DPW employees, explained Henry. “And I’m not a babysitter, I’m there to do a job – I’ve developed my own plan, I have my own list, and I’m following them, at least I was until then.”

Waterman was satisfied with the decision to continue with Henry, and Parker said he had no comment on the matter.

After the meeting, Henry told The Wandererthat post-storm budget restraints have prevented him from hiring the extra summer help that is customary every year; instead of the usual five seasonal workers, he only has two. And with the trash truck breaking down and not enough workers to cover the town, Henry said, “If you don’t have the manpower you can’t get it done.”

Marion Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry