Board of Selectmen Meeting 4/13/26

The Freetown Board of Selectmen met on April 13, 2026, beginning with an organizational restructuring following the recent town election. Outgoing Chair Jared Zager welcomed newly elected member Chad Cavallo, and the board unanimously voted to reorganize with Carlos Lopes serving as Chair of the Board of Selectmen, Chad Cavallo as Chair of the Personnel Board, and Jared Zager as Chair of the Board of Parks Commission. The board then tackled regular municipal business, voting to table the 2026 summer concert and movie series due to staffing transitions and space limitations, conditionally accepting the donation of a Japanese red maple tree for the Wing Avenue cul-de-sac pending DPW review, and closing the warrant for the June 1, 2026 Annual Town Meeting for review by town counsel.

The board approved multiple contracts, bids, and capital procurements. Approvals included renewing the accounting software agreement with VADAR Systems through June 2029, transitioning town payroll to Harpers Employee Forward for paperless distribution, declaring a retired transfer station trailer as surplus, and awarding the FY2027 winter sand contract to G. Lopes at $27 per ton. They also awarded the hydrant replacement project to JUSD Construction for $28,146 and the Fire Station 3 roof replacement to NSI for $33,000, accepted a grant-funded quote of $149,897.90 from Axon Enterprises for police body cameras, approved a $41,090 post-closure monitoring contract with Riverhawk Environmental at Holland Road landfill, granted the Tuesday Club of Assonet exclusive use of the bandstand for the Strawberry Festival on June 21, and authorized Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School to use the town seal in their new entrance.

Town Administrator Deborah presented an overview of the FY2027 budget and major capital projects. Due to tight revenues constrained by Proposition 2 1/2, rising regional school assessments from Bristol-Plymouth and Bristol Aggie, and a $477,920 snow and ice deficit, several vacant town positions were cut and OPED contributions reduced. She provided an update on the proposed joint Council on Aging and Library project, which was value-engineered down by approximately $5 million to a total cost of around $26 million; supported by a $9.6 million state grant and town stabilization reserves, it will likely require borrowing between $7 million and $8 million subject to town meeting and debt exclusion ballot votes.

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