Lawn signs that say “Protect the Second Amendment. Stop HD Bill 4420” are all over Rochester. The signs refer to a revision of state gun regulations that according to the Mass Live website, “would require a police officer to conduct a personal interview with anyone seeking to apply for a gun license” and “would create a database that tracks guns used in crimes, surrendered or taken by law enforcement.”

            The opposition to the bill, based on the argument that it threatens Second Amendment rights, may be strong around Rochester, but on Monday night, the Select Board said no to allowing the signs on town property.

            Facilities Manager Andrew Daniel asked for the board’s recommendation on the issue after noting there is a “Stop HD Bill 4420” next to the “Sippican Rod and Gun Club” sign at the beginning of Dexter Lane, which is technically town property.

            Daniel and Building Commissioner Paul Boucher have tried to take it down, only to have it reappear there, he noted. When the building commissioner started receiving threatening looks and comments when trying to remove it, Daniel knew it was time to ask for the Select Board’s guidance.

            “I could put it back up or email everyone with a new policy,” Daniel said.

            The board basically decided he should do the latter. Select Board member Brad Morse said he knows about the bill and would be glad to have someone put the sign on his lawn, but the sign does not belong anywhere but private land because it is a political statement. “I do not support seeing it on town property,” he said.

            Select Board member Adam Murphy swiftly seconded Morse’s motion, and the move to bar the sign from town property passed without further discussion.

            The Select Board’s other important debate came over a proposed amendment to the Solect Energy Development power-purchase agreement for the solar-canopy installation planned for the back parking lot of Rochester Memorial School.

            After returning to open session from an executive session on the issue, board members indicated they had concerns about the developer Solect Energy’s request to raise electricity bill rates beyond the maximum rate set in the original agreement. They said the company wants to increase the fixed rate for electricity from originally .121 pba to .135 pba in the amendment and said there are other questionable financial pieces in the new agreement.

            As a result, there will be a delay in signing the agreement that will move the project forward. Solect Energy officials attending the meeting said prices simply must increase because of many factors and asked to meet to discuss the issues involved. The board agreed to set that meeting for October 2.

            The board began the meeting on an equally contentious issue by reading letters critical of the installation of a “Little Free Diverse Library” in front of the Plumb Memorial Library.

            Rochester resident and Zoning Board of Appeals member Jeffrey Costa, as a follow-up to his complaint before the Library Board of Trustees on September 14, appeared before the Select Board regarding the letters he has sent the town asserting that the little library should not be placed so close to the main library building on public property, especially one with that type of messaging.

            In the letters, Costa, his wife Amanda and his mother Roxanne Costa criticized the small library as being unnecessary because it is so close to the main facility and that LGBTQ literature is an inappropriate message for young people and constitutes political messaging.

            Upon Costa’s request, Select Board Chairman Paul Ciaburri read the letters aloud and explained that the board has limited control over the library’s management because the facility is controlled by its own Board of Trustees.

            Town departments assist the library with maintenance projects, such as installing the Little Free Diverse Library in front of the town library to save the town money, he said. As evidenced by its meeting on September 14, he added, the library board will decide soon a direction for the little library.

            In other action, the board approved the Council on Aging’s contract for a new generator, costing $70,000 and paid for with a $35,000 grant and the remainder through Town Meeting appropriations.

            The Personnel Board presented an update on its progress since organizing in 2022 to revise the town’s Personnel bylaws and practices. Board Chairperson Kristine Nash reported that Personnel regulations revisions will be reviewed by Town Counsel in October. The biggest step after that, she said, will be deciding whether Personnel regulations should become bylaws or merely policies.

            The Rochester Select Board will meet next on Monday, October 2, at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

            Given the floor on Tuesday to offer the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission a Treatment Plant operations update, Henri Renauld got right to the point.

            “We got hit by a tornado,” he said, describing a scary scenario in which both gates were temporarily blocked with one person at the site. “Mr. Barros got the doors open, got to the main propane tanks and shut off the gas. Power was restored overnight but no ability to run it remotely. The generator switch didn’t transfer correctly so someone had to stay at the plant.”

            Two days later power was restored, so it was a 48-hour period of spot checks at the facility, according to Renauld.

            The August 8 EF-1 tornado that ripped through a northerly section of Mattapoisett and also inflicted damage to the town’s Highway Department brought about a list of MRV-related claims totaling $75,214.52 that have been submitted to vendors and the commission’s insurance company. Renauld said the MRV will be receiving a check for the fence tree removal and the fence itself.

            The Water Treatment Plant incurred an estimated $220,000 in electrical damage, so the MRV will be moving forward with that claim.

            The MRV is using Fall River Electric as its vendor, which Renauld described as a big union shop with extensive knowledge on the level of damage affecting the MRV. Bailey sought to ensure that the insurance company that labeled its payment as “a settlement check” understands that action does not conclude the MRV’s claims.

            Member Nick Nicholson asked if the $220,000 claim will include work to replace the transfer switch at the plant. Renauld said the plan is to set up a portable generator for a week, putting low-testers on MRV’s generator to test it. “We’re hoping to get it figured out in two or three days, which would lessen (amount on) the invoice – right now it’s set at a week and $220, 000,” said Renauld.

            Member David Pierce asked about the roof. Renauld said there is a tarp over a hole in the roof that is presently working. Mattapoisett-based DB Services has been to the plant, where it had done $12,000 worth of repairs and is now doing a $16,000 replacement.

            In the wake of the tornado, Jon Gregory of Tata & Howard noted that downed trees have made the old monitoring wells that Dave Watling measures on a monthly basis difficult to access.

            Pierce publicly thanked Renauld and his staff for their work amidst the tornado crisis, noting there was never water interruption anywhere.

            Gregory reported on the Water Treatment Plant filter project. He said in regard to equipment procurement, a contract with Koch has been signed and executed with hard copies going to Koch this week. The filtering-system vendor has indicated long-lead items like membranes will be submitted by this week so they can send back approvals and get them manufactured.

            As of December 6, 2022, the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust Dec. 6 approved additional SRF funding to close the gap between the old figure of $1,800,000 and the revised cost of $2,900,000. A second contract addressing insulation involves working with an electrical engineer.

            Gregory said that Tata & Howard wants to meet with MassDEP regarding the two-phase project that involves permitting and upgrading an existing facility so it’s presumed the MRV needs state input and approval. Gregory will update the MRV on a meeting with MassDEP over the next couple of weeks.

            Renauld noted that the zero-interest borrowing rate hoped for will actually be a 2% interest rate. The MRV will push for 20 years on its new loan; Furtado reminded the commissioners that the 2006 loan comes off the books in a couple of years, making it a short overlap. Renauld said that the current system has been working for 13 years so the new system may last 15 or 16 years.

            Loan rates are based on a tiered system measuring a municipality’s median household income against the state average. The MRV falls into a middle-level tier.

            In a brief Tata & Howard Report, Gregory said that annual Emergency Response Training will be held in two sessions: November 1 and 2 at the Marion Music Hall.

            Earlier during the public meeting of the Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee, Gregory was authorized to purchase a second reserve level logger. “We have one spare in hand and four of the originals still in place. At any point, they’re pretty much past their useful life,” he said. Gregory also noted that Watling, who had been dealing earlier this year with a leg injury, is “back in full force doing his work.”

            With separate Unibank accounts containing $345,000 and $21,000, the commissioners voted to authorize Vinnie Furtado and Anne Carreiro to transfer those funds to the Town of Fairhaven, the administrative home of the MRV.

            As vice chairman and one who reports on invoices for Water Treatment Plant, Renauld requested a second signatory for all checks he signs. Angie Lopes Ellison, who works for the Town of Fairhaven, noted that only the town treasurer signs any check written by the town.

            The MRV is sitting on a class-action lawsuit regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that are made up of a large, complex group of synthetic chemicals emanating from consumer products since the 1950s.

            According to Marion DPW engineer Meghan Davis, there has been no PFAS detection in any of the MRV member communities. Attorney Blair Bailey, attending the meeting, noted that no action is the appropriate stance, especially since there have been no damages to this point. “I think we just wait and see what comes of it,” he said.

            Both the committee and the commission voted to keep leadership roles the same for another year.

            Water District Commission invoices for September totaled $85,935.56. The commissioners voted to pay the bills as presented by Renauld.

            With committee treasurer Jeff Furtado on vacation, MRV Chairman Vinnie Furtado reported four July invoices paid led by $5,261.60 to Tata & Howard and an ending balance of $139,525.73. The committee approved the report and voted again to approve the payment of three new invoices including $1,619.14 to Tata & Howard for river-monitoring services.

            The committee determined that a solar project at Cushman Road in Rochester makes no negative impact to Zone 2 and recommended approval of the project.

            Before the committee adjourned, Alan Decker of the Buzzards Bay Coalition updated the members on the water-supply resilience project spearheaded by Mattapoisett. Decker was pleased to announce that the layer of protection has occurred and that all of the necessary land acquisitions took place in July.

            The area that completes the project is known as Red Brick Farm East (102 acres north of Wolf Island Road and east of Long Plain Road primarily in Mattapoisett but also in Rochester.) That land is now owned by Mattapoisett and managed by its Water/Sewer Department, according to Decker.

            The western and southern components had already been completed.

All the CPA funding has been collected, he said, and stressed that the Buzzards Bay Coalition is trying to coordinate with state officials to hold a ribbon-cutting event to officially open up the property sometime in late September or early October.

            Pierce confirmed that the project received the $150,000 appropriation that the MRV had set aside. Decker assured him that had happened early in the process.

            A regional meeting of water officials will be scheduled in accordance with the availability of member-town representatives, including Select Board members. Davis will organize the meeting on the basis that it will be held via Zoom.

            The next meetings of the MRV Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee/District Commission are scheduled for Tuesday, October 10, at 3:30 pm and 4:00 pm, respectively.

MRV Water District Commission/Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee

By Mick Colageo