Town father Mike Rolli passes
Published on September 3rd, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - Stoneham lost one of its most dedicated town fathers on Monday when native passed away at a Reading family hospice.
The 84-year-old, who most recently served as longtime chairman of the Board of Health, served Stoneham in various capacities for over 50 years.
A former Selectman, Rolli was considered one of the founders of the board's annual senior holiday party, and was also a proponent for the Town Common.
Never shy about offering his opinion, Rolli was a frequent contributor at Town Meeting, often advocating for the Board of Health during his final years as Chairman.
He also served on the Board of Appeals, Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Committee, and the Stoneham High School building committee. A World War II veteran, the town father served for the U.S. Navy and participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
The father of three's funeral will be held on Friday.
Fire Station rehab has begun
Local residents driving by the Stoneham Fire Station in recent weeks might have noticed that the trim on the building's facade has been completely stripped.
According to Town Administrator David Ragucci, the much-awaited rehab work at the historic Central Street firehouse commenced after officials handled a brief setback to the work early on in the project.
In addition to a fresh coat of paint, the rehab job will also include the installation of new bay doors at the station, which will reportedly match the same green tint of the original building.
Specifically, work crews discovered that some of the flooring in the area had decayed due to water damage, a safety issue that needed to be addressed immediately.
According to the Town Administrator, thanks to the efforts of State Senator Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield), as well as State Reps. Paul Casey (D-Winchester) and Patrick Natale (D-Woburn), Stoneham has secured additional state funding for restoration work at the firehouse.
The money, which was secured by overriding Gov. Deval Patrick's veto of the funding, will be slated towards window replacement.
Liquor license fee change?
The Selectmen announced that they will convene a public hearing next month to determine whether to raise the amount the town charges for liquor licenses.
According to rookie Selectman Frank Vallarelli, who initially suggested that the fee schedule be examined, a town-by-town comparison compiled by Town Counsel Bill Solomon illustrated that Stoneham charges far less than surrounding communities for the license approvals.
Vallarelli is specifically interested in raising the cost for initial liquor license applications - as opposed to renewals - as the volume of paperwork during that phase is much larger.
"We have to let the businesses know. So why don't we put this on the October agenda," suggested Selectman Chair John DePinto.
"It should be a public hearing. I don't want them to think we just rammed it through," agreed Vallarelli.
Solomon has suggested that Stoneham raise its initial application fees for eateries with all-alcoholic licenses by $1,000, raising the charge to $3,500. Under the same recommendation, existing license renewals in that category would increase by $500 to $3,000.
A similar increase is proposed for beer and wine licenses for restaurants.
Selectman veteran Robert Sweeney later led the opposition to a proposal to switch over responsibility of liquor license renewals to the Town Administrator.
According to Paul Rotondi, while the Selectmen should rightly deliberate on new applications or transfers of existing liquor permissions, simple renewals would be better handled by the Town Administrator.
"I think we could spend our time better by going through the problems of the town than these processes," said Rotondi, who argued that the renewals created nothing but a paperwork burden for the Selectmen.
Sweeney later challenged that contention, arguing that the Selectmen usually had a much better grasp of the happenings within town - especially whether a particular establishment should be granted a renewal.
"I haven't come across any issues that would warrant a change in this procedure. And we've been doing this since day one," said Sweeney. "We're the ones who get the calls in town, if something's wrong."
"I agree," DePinto chimed in. "If we have a problem in town with an establishment, we get the calls. So we have our hands more on the pulse [of the town]."
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!