The Rochester Planning Board met for their regular meeting on Tuesday, October 9 in Rochester Town Hall. The only public hearing on the agenda for the night was in regard to the site plan review for the proposed ground-mounted solar panel array for the Little Quittacas Pond region of town off North Avenue.

Last week, at the project’s technical review meeting, the plans came under fire because the construction of a drainage swale would extend into the public roadway.  TRC Engineering agreed to redesign that part of the plan.

The property on which the proposed array would be located is owned by the City of New Bedford.  The array would draw solar power that would be routed to the power grid in order to offset the electricity used by New Bedford’s water department.

“We’ve been looking at this project now for a period of months and we’re very grateful for the many opportunities we’ve had to talk to with the Planning Board and other officials in Rochester, as well as people from the neighborhood.  I’m now happy to say we’ve submitted our site plan and we think what we’ve put together here is a design that achieves the purpose and need of our clients, and even more importantly, is a design that’s well suited to the environment where we want to put this project,” said Steve Moffett of TRC Engineering.

The plan calls for slight re-grading of the area, removal of some trees, and the installation of several storm water basins that would maintain all local precipitation within the site.

“There are two wetland systems we’ve identified in the area and we’ve maintained a very wide separation between our project and those resource areas.  That’s been confirmed by the Rochester Conservation Commission,” Moffett said.

There is also a proposed berm as part of the project, which would shield abutting residents from seeing the site.  Moffett said there are two options for the style of the berm and would let the abutters choose which they felt was best.  One would be a plain 12-15 foot earthen berm that would not require maintenance, while the other would be three feet high, planted with native grasses, trees, and shrubs, and would require maintenance.

“I’m wondering why you’re proposing to seed it with grasses that would need to be mowed.  It seems counterintuitive to have a solar panel array that requires fossil fuels to be used for maintenance,” said Planning Board member Susan Teal.

Moffett said that part of the original plans suggested planting clover, but the idea had since been abandoned.  The main concern was providing landscaping that would also act as erosion control in the event of precipitation.

“My concern is whatever you put there has to be appealing to the neighborhood.  I feel as though it should be maintained to some degree so it doesn’t get out of hand,” said Board member Gary Florindo.

“I’m not liking the location of the berm.  I think it needs to be pushed back.  With the amount of snow coming in, that’s a snow fence,” said Planning Board chairman Arnold Johnson, who felt that it was too close to the edge of the road.

Florindo then suggested that the company mark the dimensions of the berm, followed by another site visit by the Planning Board.

“We don’t want to look at a pile of dirt.  We want to look at trees,” said Donald Loader of North Avenue, who said that he had a list of 17 other abutters who were in favor of the shorter berm planted with vegetation.

Johnson then recommended a third option be available in the form of a tiered berm, with a shorter front section near the road that would be planted with trees, and a taller section behind the vegetation to help cut down wind speed through the neighborhood.

The hearing was continued until the November 13 meeting of the Planning Board so the engineers could stake out the dimensions of the berm suggestions.

In other business, the Planning Board voted in favor an Approval Not Required application for the combination of two lots that are part of the Porter Bog property on Hiller Road.  No area or frontage changes would occur.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board will be on Tuesday, October 23, 2012, at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall.

By Eric Tripoli

Rochester Memorial School PTO has cancelled all after school activities for the autumn, with no guarantee that they will resume for the spring semester.

                  When asked during the public comments portion of the October 5 meeting of the Rochester School Committee, White deferred until after the meeting to answer questions.

                  According to White, the PTO made the decision to cancel the teacher-run after-school activities program the week of September 17.

                  “We didn’t have the personnel to run the activities,” he said.  White was unable to comment on whether or not the activities cancellation was an effect of the current contract negotiations between the Rochester Teachers Association and the Rochester School Committee.

                  “We’re working to make sure we can provide the best support for our kids both during the school day and afterward, and we continue to look for opportunities to help the kids,” White said.

                  Tina Rood, PTO treasurer, did not return a phone call requesting a comment.

                  Dr. Moira Rodgers, Rochester Memorial School’s new principal, did not respond to questions during the recent school committee meeting nor did she return phone call seeking comment on the situation.

                  White encouraged members of the community seeking after-school programs to register at the local YMCA.

By Eric Tripoli

A random drug search is underway Friday morning at Old Rochester Regional High School.  More than a half dozen cruisers and K9 units from Mattapoisett, Stoughton, Weymouth, Yarmouth and Plymouth County Sheriff aided in the search.

The search is one of a few scheduled each year in order to ensure the school and students are in compliance with drug laws.  As of 9:00 am, nothing had been found.  We will update this story as more information becomes available.

               The Rochester School Committee met at the Town Hall on Thursday night for their monthly meeting.  Superintendent Doug White began the meeting with his report.  He highlighted newly released information from the state regarding MCAS. According to the new numbers, the entire Old Rochester district has consistently scored above the state averages in reading, math, and science.  A special presentation detailing the MCAS was scheduled but due to the lack of a digital projector, was postponed until November’s meeting.

                  Then Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Elise Frangos, briefed the committee on her report, which focused on the success of the September 26 professional development afternoon.  Each school in the district hosted a different workshop to improve the performance and abilities of teachers.

                  Frangos also said that over 800 fourth through eighth grade students from the Tri-Town will be participating in a bread-baking outreach program as part of the King Arthur Flour Grand Project.

                  “As part of the program, children will be learning about the history of bread and how to bake their own bread,” Frangos said.  King Arthur Flour would donate the materials to the students and they would bake bread at home as part of the program.

                  The Committee voted in favor of proceeding with the King Arthur Flour project.

                  Frangos also mentioned the up-coming parent-teacher education forum, to be held on Wednesday, October 24 at Old Rochester Junior High Library. It will be led by Katie Collins, RN, and will include topics like eating disorders, self-injury, social and physical impacts of puberty and how to support children with difficult peer relationships.

                  “It’s a great way to understand adolescents and how they’re growing up, as well as how to deal with the concerns they have or their friends have,” she said.

                  Then, Dr. Moira Rodgers, RMS principal, gave her report.

                  “One of the most dramatic things that happened in the past month was the lock-down the building had on September 11.  It just reinforced for me the virtues of being prepared,” Rodgers said.

                  She spoke with Police Chief Magee about the procedures for safely responding to dangerous situations.  They had discussed holding a lock-down drill in October.

                  “There were no safety threats to the children or the community, but I have to say I was very impressed with the staff and student response.  It was truly impressive that the people followed the protocol and managed the situation perfectly.”

                  She added that better walkie-talkies would help the staff stay in better contact with one another during emergency situations.

                  “As principal, it was apparent to me that that’s a real need, as well as contact out on the recess field,” Rodgers said.

                  The larger school building makes for some challenges with the present radio system and Rodgers is looking to purchase new walkie-talkies in the near future.

                  In addition, Rodgers said that her “Coffee with the Principal” program has been successful so far and will be holding two more dates, on Tuesday, October 9 from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm and Friday, October 19, from 9:00 am to 10:00 am.

                  “I look forward to meeting with more parents,” she said.

                  Ryan McGee, the Rochester technology director, then offered his quarterly report which highlighted the diverse use of technology in RMS classrooms, such as using iPod audio books to help reading fluency and posting video math tutorials to classroom websites.  Creating new ways to use technology to educate is something that the staff has largely supported and embraced.

                  “We’re definitely looking to share all of our resources, talents and skills,” he said.  “We’re having a parent night in November, but we’re working on dates.  We’re trying to get the community involved, get the schools involved.”

                  After the Committee approved the minutes from past meetings, White offered his financial update.

                  “As of the end of the month, we have $477,626 remaining, which is 8.57% of the budget remaining,” he said.

                  White bullet-pointed a few line items on the budget report.

                  “As you know one of the areas that jumps out is the principal’s line. That is actually a result of us having an out-going principal an in-coming principal,” he said, which required RMS to pay out a larger amount of salary due to the overlap.

                  He noted savings resulting from the shuffling of personnel around the district and from a new transportation contract for students who attend Bristol Agricultural High School.

                  “We have also have some students who may have some needs that aren’t being met by this budget,” he said.  “Building the budget on what you know compared to what you have, there may be the need for some transfers from other places.”

                  Committee vice chair Sharon Hartley was concerned about the costs of school utilities versus what is reflected in the budget, citing a potential shortfall of funds later in time.

                  “If that continues, that would leave us in a difficult position,” she said.

                   White continued the meeting with a discussion regarding the creation of a new superintendent evaluation tool that would allow fair judgment of the position across the different district school committees.

                  “I’m looking for some guidance from each of the committees and what your thought process is and how we can guide this,” he said, noting that different schools may prioritize performance standards differently.

                  White is responsible for creating an annual self-assessment in addition to being subject to the evaluation of his performance by district teachers and administrators.

                  “If I came in and I said I wanted to focus in on family and community, and the committee wanted me to focus on curriculum and instruction, where are we on that? What’s the work that needs to be done to address that?” White said.  “My suggestion would be the committee give their information to the chairs, and I meet regularly with them, then they can guide me.”

In other business:

•The Committee voted to accept a donation of $2,691.25 from Target, via the retailer’s Take Charge of Education initiative.

•Mark Ponte was hired to replace Teah Mazzoni as third grade teacher.  Mazzoni was recently appointed the ORR district ELL Specialist.

•The School Committee voted to adopt the new emergency response plan for RMS.  The complete plan is available in the school’s main office.

•Terri Hamm spoke to the Committee about the need for the addition of a new paraprofessional position to reinforce the special education needs of RMS students.  The school has hired a temporary sub to assist special needs students in transition, but she said there may be a need to create a permanent position this year.  The matter will be discussed further at the Committee’s November meeting.

                  The next meeting of the Rochester School Committee will be held on Thursday, November 1, 2012, at 6:30 pm at the Town Hall.

                  By Eric Tripoli