From the Rehoboth Town Clerk:

Posted Thursday, May 5, 2016 11:50 am

Hello All ~ Happy May! – The Spring flowers are here, birds are back, and the leaves have popped! The snow is gone and I’m sure the warmer weather is just around the corner. If it is May, it must be tax day . . . as a reminder; quarterly taxes were due Monday, May 2^nd.

Annual Town Election Details

I would like to thank the 375 voters who came out to vote at our Annual Town Election on April 4, 2016 in the middle of a horrible snowstorm. Even though we only had 5% of our voting population of 8,163 we did have five more voters than last year’s Annual Town Election; which is wonderful. Thank you all 375 voters for braving the storm and taking the time to participate in what I believe is one of our greatest freedoms; the right to vote. Thank you also, Mike Tyler-Highway, Linna Sherman-COA (Senior Center), Captain Dan Noons, and Chief Frank Barresi (Rehoboth Fire), for promoting the Annual Town election on the signs in front of your buildings. I know that alerted our residents to vote on Monday ~ thank you all!

I have to say, I anticipated a potential snowstorm for our March 1, 2016 Presidential Primary Election, but not our Annual April 4, 2016 Town Election! I would personally like to thank all my dedicated election workers, who all showed up to work on Election Day, even though the weather forecast was terrible. Thank you also for staying the entire day without one person voicing a concern about the weather or their ride home. I appreciate your dedication! The election workers all had to clear several inches of snow off their cars after they finished closing out the election at 9:00 p.m. I thank all the Wardens, Clerks, Inspectors, Constables, and Police for helping us run another successful election. I was truly impressed that there was not one complaint; in fact, everyone seemed genuinely happy to be working the election ~ thank you all! I must thank Lynn Shaker as well since she had to travel to and from Somerset to assure our elections ran smoothly. Thank you also to our Election Setup Supervisor, Neal Harrington and Veterans David Daggett and John Maguire who helped Neal set up and take down the voting booths on our stormy Monday; again, not one complaint! Speaking of no complaints, I would also like to thank our Highway Department for making sure each precinct had salt for the walkways, and that the parking lots were plowed, when they had a full-time job trying to keep up with the storm. Finally, a huge thank you also goes out to Sara and Billy Vigneau of Vino’s Family Café for your amazing turkey dinner that all the election workers enjoyed. I cannot thank you enough for delivering the meals – warm – to each of the three precincts during the snowstorm. Thank you so much for your continued support and wonderful dinners you provide for our election workers. Without everyone’s help, this election could have been a catastrophe ~ thank you all for all you do for the Town!

Congratulations to our incumbents; MODERATOR - William (Bill) Cute, Jr. (1 year term), SELECTMAN – Frederick E. Vadnais, Jr. (3 year term), ASSESSOR – Eugene P. Campbell (3 year term), TREASURER – Cheryl A. Gouveia (3 year term), PLANNING BOARD – Robert J. Moitozo (5 year term), PARK COMMISSIONER, Robert D. McKim, Jr. (5 year term); CONSTABLES, Kenneth E. Abrams and Michael P. Deignan and WATER COMMISSIONERS – Edwin (Ted) C. Ballard, Jr. and Joseph A. Nunes (3 year terms).

Congratulations also to our newly elected Town Officials – D-R REGIONAL DISTRICT SCHOOL COMMITTEE – Melissa G. Enos for a 3 year term, HOUSING AUTHORITY – Robert D. McKim, Jr. (5 year term) and George Cardono (3 year term), PLANNING BOARD – William A. Costa, Jr. (3 year term); CONSTABLE – William A. Dalpe (3 year term), and WATER COMMISSIONERS – Kathleen J. Conti and Patricia A. Vadnias for a one year term each.

Election Workers - Talent Bank Forms

Would you like to be a part of the Election team, too? If so, please complete a talent bank form (there is one included in the upcoming May 9, 2016 Town Meeting Warrant) and send it to Town Hall (148 Peck Street, Rehoboth, MA) as soon as possible. Twenty One election workers are utilized for each election and receive a nice stipend along with breakfast and dinner on the day they work. Assorted homemade baked goods are even supplied by the Town Clerk J for each election. We will be holding a workshop this fall to review the new election procedures we will need to follow for the upcoming Presidential election. Now is the time to come aboard and learn the new process with us all. If you are interested and would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact me (508) 252-6502 x-3110. Elections are usually held on Mondays for Town elections and Tuesdays for State and Presidential elections. Polling hours are usually 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. We will be offering to our election workers the ability to split shifts if residents are concerned about the long day. We tried the concept at the last election and it seemed to work well. Our election workers are a great team to be involved with, and we hope you will consider joining us by filling out a talent bank form soon.

Annual Town Meeting

Now is the time to have your voice heard. Rehoboth voters have been notified, through delivery of the Special and Annual Town Warrant to their home on Saturday, April 23^rd, that the date for Annual/Special Town Meeting has been scheduled by the Board of Selectmen and will be held at the Dighton Rehoboth Regional High School beginning on Monday, May 9, 2016 at 7:00 pm. The Special Town Meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. and the Annual Town Meeting will follow immediately at 7:30 p.m. I urge all voters to come out to the Special and Annual Town Meeting and let your voice be heard. It is up to you to vote how your town government runs and how your money is spent.

The last day for Voter Registration, to be eligible to participate in the Special and Annual Town Meeting, was Friday, April 29, 2016. The Town Clerk’s Office was open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on April 29 to accommodate last minute registrations. As always, if you would like to register to vote, or change your party affiliation, you may go to the Secretary of State’s Election Division @ www.RegisterToVoteMA.com and complete the voter registration form online. If you would like to check you voter status (active or inactive), you may go to: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus.aspx and see if your registration is active and what precinct you will be voting at.

Annual Town Census

The Annual Town Census has resulted in our new population total, as of April 14, 2016, being 12,219. In last month’s Reporter article, I mentioned the new population figure was 12,208 – up 200 from the year before (2015). However, when I ran the extract for the Printer of our Street Listings on April 14^th, we added another eleven residents to our database during that short timeframe (15 days) and I wanted them to all be accounted for. Since the Street Listings are being prepared now, our 2016 Official final population figure is = 12,219. Now all the report totals will match the final extract of 12,219 residents. I anticipate the Street Listings being available mid-late May for those of you who like to purchase them for $15. Please call our office before heading up to town hall to see if the Street Listings have arrived.

After calls to households from our Registrars, we still have a total of 180 households still outstanding: 64 census forms that have not been returned for Precinct I, 60 non respondents for Precinct II, and 56 non respondents for Precinct III. Please send in your census/street listing forms as soon as possible ~ thank you.

2016 Dog Licenses

Dog licenses were due and payable on April 1^st. Any dog license not paid by May 31^st will be assessed a $15.00 per dog late fee in addition to the license fee(s). You may renew your dog license online, by mail, or in person. Currently we have 553 dogs that are unlicensed; we hope to hear from you soon. Reminder cards were sent out in early April in hopes that we would avoid having to impose late fees. Please renew your dog’s license as soon as possible and definitely before May 31^st. Thanks so much!

Anyone having questions regarding any of the above information may call the Town Clerk’s Office at 508-252-6502, X3109 or X3110 or e-mail me at LSchwall@town.rehoboth.ma.us . In closing, I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to Lynn Shaker who celebrates her birthday in May. In addition, Lynn and I wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in Rehoboth. We also wish everyone a healthy and safe Memorial Day. Hopefully by Memorial Day the weather will be perfect. As a reminder, the Memorial Day parade is in Dighton this year. Thank you again for your continued support and the opportunity to serve another year as Rehoboth’s Town Clerk. Please have a happy month of MAY!

~ Laura & Lynn ~