Rehoboth Select Board Reorganizes and Hires Police Recruit for June Academy

REHOBOTH — April 13, 2026 — Rehoboth Select Board reorganized Monday and raised alarms over a halved firefighter safety grant tied to the town's MBTA 3A zoning noncompliance. The board named Skip Vadenet chair, Lenny Mills vice chair, and George Solis clerk after the annual post-election reorganization, then voted unanimously to accept a fiscal year 2026 firefighters safety equipment grant of $10,987.54 — a figure Mills called the lowest among comparable communities and roughly half of prior-year awards. Mills tied the reduction directly to Rehoboth being the only town in its peer group not compliant with the MBTA 3A zoning law, noting the gear is needed to replace PFAS-contaminated turnout equipment: "This is the first year we've gotten cut that deep on a grant for safety." The board also appointed Clayton Dyer as a police recruit officer pending completion of the June 1 academy in Marlboro, and Mills reported Chapter 90 highway funds are projected to exceed $1 million this year after years of work to document qualifying roads.