Rockland Sets Special Election for Fire Station, Ladder Truck Projects
Board votes for September 13 ballot after town meeting approval, April election defeat
ROCKLAND - June 3 - The Rockland Select Board has unanimously approved a special election for Saturday, September 13, 2025, giving voters a final opportunity to decide on the fire station building project and ladder truck purchase.
The projects passed at Town Meeting but failed in the April election, creating a split decision.
"This is the process that we discussed in the very beginning. We're not changing stride," said Select Board member Michael O'Loughlin. "It was overwhelmingly approved at town meeting, and I think I feel very comfortable voting for a September 13th vote special election tonight."
The fire station project represents a scaled-down version of a proposal rejected two years ago. Town Administrator Doug Lapp explained that voters had asked for a smaller, less expensive project, which is what the town delivered.
"We came back with a smaller project. We also had a separate question for a one-year capital exclusion for the ladder truck," Lapp said.
Select Board member Steven O'Donnell emphasized the health risks firefighters face in the current station.
"It's a health hazard, and we're asking our firefighters to go in and work every single day to protect the members of this community with cancer-causing agents," O'Donnell said. "They've been patient. They've worked with the town. They've heard the feedback. They've come back with a proposal that was 23% cheaper than the original proposal."
Vice Chair Lori Childs noted that firefighters face significantly higher cancer rates than the general population.
"There's a 250% higher rate of cancer for firefighters than there are for anybody else," Childs said. "Having a separate living quarters from where the bays are, where the diesel dust from the trucks does not get all over your eating area, it's ridiculous."
The board selected the September date to ensure maximum voter participation, scheduling it after summer vacations and the Labor Day holiday.
In other business, Kristel Cameron, Superintendent of the Abington & Rockland Joint Water Works, provided an update on the recent boil water order that affected both communities.
The order was issued after water samples tested positive for total coliform bacteria and E. coli. Cameron confirmed this was the first boil water order in the department's history.
"We had a boil order because we had a positive total coliform hit that resulted in repeat samples that had a total coliform hit along with an E. coli sample that came back positive as well," Cameron explained.
The water department followed state protocols for notification, including reverse 911 calls, website postings, digital signs, and newspaper notices. Cameron noted that all subsequent testing has come back clear.
"We resample, and there's a certain protocol to when you get a hit. You go upstream from that site, you go downstream from that site, and you resample the original site," Cameron said. "All of the sites came back absent for coliform, absent for E. coli."
Cameron suggested the positive test might have been related to the sampling site rather than an actual contamination of the water supply.
The board also addressed several other matters:
• Rockland Day is scheduled for Saturday, June 14, from 2 to 9:30 p.m. at Rockland High School stadium, featuring 100 vendors, 11 food trucks, and entertainment for all ages. The board approved one-day liquor licenses for the beer garden.
• Robert Mahoney was reappointed to the South Shore Regional Vocational Technical School Committee for a three-year term.
• The board appointed members to the Housing Production Plan Committee, with Jeff Phelps and Margie Carr serving as ex-officio non-voting members.
• Town Administrator Lapp reported that Whitman has authorized the sale of Camp Alice Carleton land adjacent to McCarthy Farm. The town has hired an appraiser and is working with Whitman on next steps.
• Lapp provided updates on town meeting warrant articles, including the demolition of Lincoln School planned for this summer, implementation of opioid initiatives, and the Bicentennial Track Project.
• Board members congratulated the Rockland High School Class of 2025 on their recent graduation.
The board also discussed the need to potentially change the town's process for debt exclusion votes to avoid the situation where projects pass at town meeting but fail at the ballot box.
"We need to figure out a way so it never gets to this two-out-of-three stuff again," said Select Board member John Ellard, suggesting the town could hold a special town meeting before the election for capital or debt exclusion votes.
The next Select Board meeting is scheduled for June 16, with Town Administrator Lapp participating remotely.