As part of its commitment to safety and controlling costs, the town of Rochester’s Police Department was awarded a $5,000 loss control grant to purchase an emergency trailer and equipment such as barricades and safety cones that will protect police officers and other municipal employees, motorists, and pedestrians in and around emergency areas, road work and construction zones.

Rochester received the grant from the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA), which provides property and casualty insurance to the town. MIIA awards loss control grants to its member municipalities to fund equipment purchases and implement training programs that address safety and loss prevention issues. These proactive efforts help protect the town, its employees and citizens by avoiding accidents and potentially costly claims.

“This is a great asset for the Town of Rochester,” said Police Chief Paul H. Magee. “The trailer is loaded with traffic control equipment such as traffic barrels, barricades, traffic cones, detour signs and clean up equipment. It will be used to enhance scene safety at major incidents and at town events like the Country Fair and Memorial Day Boat Race.”

The Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association is the non-profit insurance arm of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. As a member-based organization, MIIA’s only focus is to provide excellent service and quality risk management solutions to Massachusetts municipalities and related public entities. MIIA insures nearly 400 cities, towns, and other public entities in Massachusetts. For more information please visitwww.emiia.org and www.mma.org.

Prior to their regular meeting on Tuesday, February 26, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen met with Finance Committee to review the status of the town’s budget.

The Finance Committee presented a list of known budget increases for Fiscal Year 2014 which totaled $436,054. The largest of these items were health insurance and school budget increases. The projections for FY 2014 also included $712,681 in new revenues from an increase in levy limit, state aid and local receipts. Items that have not yet been factored into the budget include supplementing the smaller department budgets which have been level funded for the past five years, as well as future employment contracts.

One item that the Finance Committee wanted the Board to consider was the addition of a new position in the Highway Department. Selectman Jordan Collyer stated he felt very strong about adding the position to the Highway Department.

“I know that if we add that person we will be able to recoup the cost just by doing one project a year with the Highway Department. This will be the first new position added to the highway department in 25 years,” stated Collyer.

The budget process is ongoing in preparation for town meeting in May and both the Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen will be reviewing items in the upcoming months.

At 7:00 pm, Chairman Collyer began the regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen. At the meeting the Board received a citation from the Pilgrim Sands Rider’s Club for their continued support of the club’s activities. The PSRC holds rides at the town landfill twice a year with their next meet scheduled for April 21.

The first appointment was the annual meeting of the Tri-Town Herring Inspectors. The herring count for the past year has doubled from the previous year and stands at about 28,000 in Snipatuit Pond.

“We’re way up, which is good,” Mattapoisett’s Herring Inspector Bob Martin said. “At one point we were down to six or eight thousand, so a 100 percent increase in a year is encouraging.”

Harbormaster Horace Field briefed the Selectmen on the progress of the re-grid project on the east side of the harbor. After surveying other harbors, the new spacing has been set at 140 feet.

“Also, there are seven or eight moorings in the channel currently, mine included,” reported Field. “They’re going to have to move, I’m moving mine.”

“This will add 10 spots which will cover the cost of moving the moorings within a couple years,” said Selectman Paul Silva.

Chairman Collyer asked if the town’s software could be used to re-grid the Mattapoisett Boatyards moorings to try and get them into their allotted area. The Harbormaster agreed that they could and that doing so may free up some space for town moorings as well.

“I still have some moorings to give out this year, people just aren’t paying,” said Field. Currently there are about 70 people on the waiting list for moorings.

The Board approved $2,500 to re-grid the east side of the harbor.

Town Administrator Gagne reported that they are looking into the required equipment to add Wi-Fi to the wharf area. The service is expected to be free to use, as it will encourage commerce with local businesses if visitors are able to find information easier.

Field also reviewed the lighting for the wharf area. He is currently researching prices and will advise the Board when he has a plan. He is also waiting for a replacement sign for Holmes Wharf; the new sign that was received by the town arrived misspelt so it wasn’t posted.

Field reviewed several electrical repairs and upgrades that are needed. Selectman Collyer suggested putting together a line item for town meeting, which would include all the electrical repairs and upgrades that are needed for the waterfront.

“This way we can just get these items done all at once after town meeting if it’s approved.”

The last item Field addressed with the Board was a meeting he had with the Coalition for Buzzards Bay regarding the use of certain materials for flotation, mainly un-encapsulated Styrofoam.

“I’m adamant that something be done as it’s seriously impacting a resource area,” reported Field.

The Board reviewed the interviews for the position of Town Council. Administrator Gagne reported that they had conducted three interviews and thoroughly reviewed all three and now needed to make a decision on how to proceed.

“I believe we decided to choose all three,” said Selectman Macallister.

Gagne reported that each candidate worked well in different areas where the town needed advice.

“It may be worthwhile for the Board to carve up the need for services,” he stated.

Collyer raised the question, saying, “At the end of the day we need to appoint a Town Council. How do we appoint more than one?”

Gagne stated that the Board would appoint one Town Council and any other as an Assistant Town Council.

Macallister was concerned with responsiveness and suggested that a local council would suit their needs. The Board approved Jonathan Silverstein from Kopelman & Page as Town Council with regard to Town Meeting, areas of land acquisition and zoning, Attorney Anthony Savastano as Assistant Council, and Attorney Thomas as Assistant Council with regard to issues of real estate.

In other business:

• Administrator Gagne reviewed the state Ice cream truck regulation.

• Sexual harassment training will be held on March 12 at 8:00 pm at the library.

• The photovoltaic project has been advertised and there was a review of the site last week which 10 vendors attended including some very reputable companies which specialize in solar. Gagne said he is going to try a second site visit next week for some additional vendors which are interested in the project.

• The Barstow float and the finger pier work has been completed.

• All the successful high bidders in the land auction held in December have paid and the land has been transferred. The town is looking at a possible second auction in May for some additional parcels. The revenues from those items would then be available for the fall town meeting to be used for road projects.

• Melody Pacheco wanted to remind everyone about the Rabies Clinic being held at the Fire Station on Sunday, March 3 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

With no other items on the agenda for the regular meeting, the Board entered executive session to discuss a police grievance, collective bargaining, non-union employee negotiations, and interest in land discussion. The next regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen will be on March 12.

By Paul Lopes

The Rochester Planning Board met Tuesday night and among many issues discussed was the potential implementation of a moratorium bylaw for future marijuana dispensaries within the town.

In November, a state law passed that regulates the cultivation, distribution, possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes. This law would enable the creation of marijuana distribution centers across the state.

John Charbonneau of the Board recommended that it approve a future motion to create a moratorium bylaw that will not allow marijuana dispensaries to operate within Rochester until the state figures out what they want to do about legislating the new law.

“The state does not know how to deal with the fact that each county must have at least one dispensary and no more than five,” said Charbonneau. “That’s [the moratorium] what I’m recommending. They’ve done the same thing in New Bedford and Wareham.”

The moratorium would have to be approved at a future town meeting in order to take effect.

The Board also unanimously approved a motion to continue the public hearing on a potential project at Shawmut Associates, LLC of 50 Cranberry Highway in Rochester.

The applicants have requested permission to make numerous changes to their existing facility. The plan is to add to the current structure, which is approximately 37,000 square feet. The new structure would be approximately 89,900 square feet. They are also requesting a permit to install solar panels on the new roof.

It appears that many requirements must be met prior to approval for changes to the site. Regulations regarding water, rainfall basins, repaving of existing roadways around the facility, wetland setbacks, buffer setbacks, and numerous other requirements must be met. Also, engineers will have to work to make sure the redevelopment can occur legally.

Representatives for Shawmut Associates said that they also plan to cap a pre-existing well and remove a transformer that would be in the way of the new paving changes. They also need to have a site plan review by someone from the Board as well as approval from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection before work can begin.

“We’ll probably set a date at our next meeting and get out there and inspect it,” said Johnson.

The Board showed some concern that the pre-existing truck scale may be too close to part of the potential building, and they’d like to make sure there was ample room.

“It’s just something that we’d like to see,” said Johnson.

Johnson added that there will future hearings to keep those who are interested in the project up to date.

A motion to continue the public hearing will be held on March 12 at 7:30 pm, after the Planning Board meeting.

By Nick Walecka

The Rochester Board of Selectmen met Monday evening and spent a good deal of time discussing snowstorm Nemo and commending multiple different departments within the town for their teamwork during the storm.

“All of us will agree that this was a very difficult storm for this town,” said Richard LeCamera of the board.  “At least 45 homes had damage from trees. The majority of the town, or 94%, was without power for 24-36 hours.  It was a very difficult time for the Fire Department and public safety.  I have to say that we have a great team of people that works together and gets the job done.”

Rochester Police Chief Paul Magee said that his staff handled 167 police calls for service from Friday to Wednesday, responded to eight motor vehicle crashes, and to numerous downed wires and tree calls.

“I’d like to thank the other public safety departments,” said Magee.  “I thank them for the full cooperation that we always get.”

Magee also commended the work of several volunteers at the temporary shelter that was set up at the Senior Center in town.

“I’d be remiss to leave out the folks from the COA that ran the shelter,” said Magee.  “The people there were very grateful.  They did a nice job.”

He added that he would leave information sheets with the board for town residents about how to access emergency notifications for future storms, and that the Fire Department has information on their website about storm preparation.

Several other people representing multiple departments spoke about the commendable jobs each department did, including the Fire Department, the Highway Department, the Communication Center, and the volunteer staff at the shelter, among others.

“A big credit goes to this group here,” said LaCamera.  “If anyone in the community has any suggestions (regarding future storms), we’ll take them.”

The board also unanimously approved deficit spending resulting from the storm regarding snow and ice removal.

Another issue discussed at the meeting was the potential implementation of a change from quarterly tax bills to semi-annual bills.  LaCamera is requesting that the town’s assessors attend that next meeting of the board to further discuss this potential change.

Also discussed were increases in school budgets that had been approved for fiscal year 2014.  According to LaCamera, Old Colony has been approved for an increase of approximately $24,800, ORR for a $103,000 increase, and Rochester Middle School for a $53,000 increase over last year.

The board also addressed the problem of mounting maintenance issues at Rochester Memorial School that they had received numerous complaints about.

“The Board of Selectmen have been hearing about maintenance issues at the RMS, and the town has invested a lot of money,” said Richard Nunes of the board.  “The board has been getting info that there are maintenance issues that are taking a while to be addressed. There’s a lot of equipment that needs maintenance. I don’t know if these issues are being addressed.”

A motion to authorize Nunes to enter into conversations regarding maintenance issues at Rochester Memorial was unanimously approved by the board.

“The population of the town look to us for leadership,” said Naida Parker of the board, adding that they needed to address this issue immediately.

LaCamera said that the money for maintenance comes from budgeting from the Rochester School committee and Superintendent’s Office.

The next Selectmen’s meeting has been moved from March 11 and instead meetings will be held on March 4 and 18.

By Nick Walecka