Carver Select Board unanimously selects Sergeant Matthew Rainer as next police chief

CARVER — September 2, 2025 — Carver Select Board unanimously chose Sergeant Matthew Rainer as the town's next police chief and approved a slate of ambulance fee increases at its September 2 meeting. All five board members — Chair Mark Cannon, Sarah Hewins, Matt Hoffman, Paul Ryan, and Carter — independently named Rainer as their first choice in a round-robin before voting 5-0 to offer him the position and enter salary negotiations; the two other internal finalists, Sergeant Kelly and Sergeant Ferriol, both congratulated Rainer from the floor. The board also voted unanimously to raise ambulance billing rates across six categories — base rate, non-emergency base rate, ALS 1, ALS 2, ALS non-emergency, and mileage — bringing Carver to the Plymouth County municipal average, effective September 1; EMS Chief Ryan noted the department is the only one in the area that is 100 percent self-funded through billing revenue, and that 82 percent of transports involve Medicare or Medicaid patients whose rates cannot be negotiated. The board unanimously approved two alternate parking lots for King Richard's Faire — an airport lot at 246 South Meadow Road in Plymouth (capacity 450 to 600 cars, served by continuous shuttle buses) and a secondary lot at 235 Main Street in Carver — and ratified a union memorandum of agreement with AFSCME Council 93 Local 1700 covering fair support work. It also approved an affordable housing deed restriction under MGL Chapter 184 for 11 Green Street, to be held by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth, with total project spending to date of $96,364.75 plus a $125,000 materials commitment from CPC funds. The meeting opened with the board accepting a $300 donation from nine-year-old Jordan Utley, who raised the money through a lemonade stand for homeless veterans and received citations from both the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives.