Select Board Meeting — May 27, 2026

Good evening and welcome to the Wednesday, May 27th, 2026 Select Board meeting here in the Town Hall meeting room.

Would you all please rise and join me with a salute to the flag and a moment of silence?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

Okay, Mass General Law Chapter 38, Section 20F requires any person recording must notify the chair at the beginning of the meeting.

All select board meetings are recorded via audio and video and are broadcast live on CCOC Channel 96.

Okay, board and committee openings.

Who would like to read them?

Can I— I'll read them.

Okay.

Volunteers are needed on the Capital Improvement Committee, 3; Commission on Disability, 6; Economic Development Committee, 4; Energy Committee, 3; Finance Committee, 1; Historical Commission, 2; Human Services Council, 1; and the Recycling Committee, 1.

Okay.

Priority matters: recognition of National Police Officers Week, May 10th to the 16th, 2026.

Great.

This is a proclamation from the town of Seekonk, Mass., in recognition of National— wrong one, sorry— National Police Week, May 10th to the 16th, 2026.

Whereas National Police Week occurs every May to honor our dedicated law enforcement community and honor the fallen, and whereas we recognize our committed officers for safeguarding and protecting our community, the Seekonk Police Department serves and protects residents and visitors in everything from minor traffic incidents and noncriminal calls to preventing and solving serious crimes.

As the community grows and changes, our officers must adopt and continuously train as they encounter new situations present within the mental health crisis and increases in substance abuse and opioid-related incidences.

And whereas we acknowledge the past and present law enforcement officers for their dedicated services and thank them for putting their lives on the line each day to protect the the town of Seekonk.

And now therefore be it resolved that the town administrator and select board proclaim the week of May 10th to the 16th, 2026 as National Police Week.

We take this opportunity to thank the Seekonk Police Department and encourage our community to observe this week and recognize all of our police officers, support our retired officers, and honor the fallen officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

And it's signed by the select board.

And we have, uh, the deputy chief here.

Would you like to come up, sir?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks, Deputy.

And we also have National Public Works Week, May 17th to the 23rd.

Whereas the American Public Works Association has proclaimed May 17th through May 23rd, 2026 as Public Works Appreciation Week, and whereas the 66th Annual National Public Works Week theme, Rooted in Service, Powered by Community, emphasizes the deep commitment of public works professionals to their communities.

The week is an opportunity for citizens to learn about public works, appreciate the workforce, and understand the critical infrastructure that sustains daily life.

And whereas the services provided by the Seekonk Public Works Department are an integral part of residents' everyday lives, the town's infrastructure facilities and services could not be provided without the dedicated efforts of public works professionals who are responsible for rebuilding, improving, and protecting our town streets and sidewalks.

The DPW is conscientious and diligent regarding snow removal, stormwater management, public buildings, landscaping, trails, and field maintenance.

And now therefore, be it resolved that the town administrator and select board hereby proclaim the week of May 17th to the 23rd, 2026, as Public Works Appreciation Week.

We take this opportunity to thank the Secaucus Department of Public Works for the essential role they play in our town and encourage our community to recognize all of our Department of Public Works professionals.

Signed by the select board.

And I saw Mr. Cabral.

Oh, there he is.

Okay, front center.

Okay, thank you very much.

Much appreciated.

Thanks, Dave.

Thank you.

Okay.

Accept the donation of $100 to Human Services in memory of Eugene B. Haru Sr.

So moved.

Do I have a second?

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

Accept the donation from Bristol County Savings Bank in the amount of $50,000 towards the purchase of a Jaws of Life rescue tool.

So moved.

Second.

Second.

Moved and seconded, and we thank them.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

Next is to consider the appointment of Christine Durkee to the Human Services Council for a term to expire 2027.

Mr. Chairman, my recommendation is that Christine Durkee be appointed to the Human Services Council for a term to expire in 2027.

We had the opportunity to interview her and And she'd be a great asset.

She is at the senior center every single day, so she, she knows where the building's located and, uh, won't probably start tomorrow.

I think I will.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

Thank you.

Okay, would you like to say anything?

Not really.

Okay.

You okay?

Thank you for applying.

You're welcome.

So moved.

Second.

Moved and seconded.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

Community speaks.

Oh, Chris, you put the mic right there.

Hello.

Hi, my name is Joan Webb.

Can you get closer to the mic, please?

My name is Joan Webb.

I live at 130 Jacob Street in Seekonk, and I'd like to ask about the installation of solar panels into town.

I, I did a little research and I, I see that in a town meeting of May of 2022, there was an article that was passed that authorizes selectmen and school committee members to negotiate with parties for solar panel projects on town and school buildings and properties.

And I know that there was some original talk about putting solar panels on the landfill that's near the gristmill, and I don't know what happened to that.

And then I also came before this body maybe a year ago or so and, and was told that there was a plan to put solar panels on the new DPW building.

But since that has fallen through, I'm just wondering Um, what, what you're planning to do.

I think it's a win-win-win situation because if the town can lease land for solar panels, that will bring income to Seekonk and help the economy and help with climate change.

So we've actually been working with Ameresco, so they did an initial study for us.

So we'll be looking at the solar panels, just not on the landfill itself, but also town facilities as well as the school department.

So we did a presentation, I want to say January, February.

So now the next step for us is actually to go out to bid.

So we'll be doing that this summer, to go out to bid to have an ESCO company come in, and they will do a full audit which will give us some financial buyback purchases and what the actual financial gain would be for the town.

And then once we do that, the Board of Selectmen will determine on what that project looks like.

Probably be a multi-phase project.

So that determination will be made by the board and then presented to town meeting for approval.

Great, thank you.

You're welcome.

Okay, good evening.

Michelle Hines, Rickard Street.

I wanted to come and talk again about the wastewater from Ann Arbor since I'll Well, since your last meeting and with the advice from Mr. Sagar, I went and talked to our health agent and our conservation agent.

And they are— Brian and Nolan are up on this entire situation as far as the wastewater plant in Attleboro relieving themselves into our Ten Mile River.

They get notification.

The health agent gets a notification every single time it's done because even though this is the first time I ever received notification, this this happens— I can't say on a regular basis, but it has happened many times before.

So he's— oh, he is up on it, and so is Nolan, and they keep track of it.

And also on top of that, the state does.

So the state also gets notification.

They're on top of the inspection and everything to make sure that nothing is over and above what the discharge is supposed to be.

So that was very Very good to learn.

Also, I wanted to mention, I know you have it on your agenda about the Warrior plaque over at the— in the gym at the high school.

Did you receive your letters from the school committee or the superintendent?

We have a correspondence dated today.

Yes.

Okay, I know about it.

The family got a hold of me today and they are very happy with the agreement that they have made with the school committee and the administration over there.

As long as they it comes to fruition, as they said, with what they're going to do and everything.

They could not be here, they have a family emergency, but she's— she was, uh, very— the Robin who came here, Mr.— Mrs. Slebeck, she was very happy with their mutual agreement as long as it, you know, comes to fruition.

Okay, thank you.

Anybody else?

Okay, general business, public hearing.

Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Your name, ma'am?

Bonnie DeBlois, 380 Prospect Street.

Um, I was here about a, a year ago now, I think, asking about the speed limit on Prospect Street.

Now, at the time, several of us were here and we were told that a study, a speed study, had been done and that the decision was to try to get the speed limit lowered on half of— it's 40 miles an hour— half of it to 35, and from Walnut Street to Reed Street, 30 miles an hour.

And I'm just wondering where that stands.

There's no changes been made, and it's been at least a year since that was said.

Yeah, so I don't have an update.

I assumed that they were done, but Mr. Cabral actually left.

So if you want, if you can email me tomorrow, I'll follow up and get you a response.

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah, I thought there was, um, something that had to go to the state maybe, but they had— there was a letter.

I thought we finished all everything we needed to do, so let me, let me just confirm.

The limit hasn't been changed.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, anyone else?

Okay, public hearing.

Considering requests from Gary, the new CN Ocean State Multisports, for one-day special event permit for a waiver of strict compliance to hold 2 road races to be held on June 14th, 2026, and November 26th, 2026.

So we'll open the meeting at 6:13 PM.

6:13.

Okay, Mr. Healy.

Motion.

Cazorla, second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

Sir, all set?

Yep.

Oh, thank you very much.

We have a new director at the YMCA, so let's, uh— oh wait, wait, there's a brand new director at the Y, so— and she's really good, so I think the Y is going to do a lot of good things pretty soon.

All right, before you run away, Mike, Yeah, have a great night.

Well, whoa, whoa, oh, I'm not done yet.

Sit down, please.

Okay, I'm sitting down.

So can you tell me the route?

I know you do this all the time.

Yes, this is our 15th year.

Yep.

Um, there's a 5K, I mean a 5K and a half marathon.

The 5K go, they both go down Arcade.

Yeah.

Take a right on 152 and the 5K goes down Rye Street, Applejack, Sykes and back to the Y.

And the half marathon goes down 152 to Brown Ave, then down Pine Street all the way to the end of Pine to Broad.

There will be a, uh, Rehoboth officer at Broad and Pine Street.

They make a right, they take a right on Ledge, and then a left onto Arcade back to the Y.

Okay, pretty good.

Yeah, this is the 15th year and Knock on wood, there's never been an issue.

Okay, any questions by anybody?

No, like you said, never any issues.

That's what we're in.

Okay, all right, so I would entertain a motion to close the public hearing.

Yeah, good ask.

I'm sorry, is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak in favor of this event?

Seeing none, anyone to speak in opposition?

Seeing none, all right, I'd entertain a motion to close the public hearing.

615, Chrysora.

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

And on the application itself, make a motion to approve as submitted.

Okay, second.

Moved and seconded.

All in favor?

Aye.

So voted.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Okay, licensing.

Consider request for a mobile food truck permit for Thomas Chakels of Chakels and Lucas Enterprises, LLC, doing business as the Hamilton Diner, to sell food and ice cream, 1641 Fore River Avenue.

Yep, it's all— I believe the license application is all in order.

Get my paperwork here.

Yes.

And you are, sir?

Thomas Shakilis.

How are you?

What was that, sir?

For the record, your name?

Oh, Thomas Shakilis.

Okay.

So you want to tell us a little bit about your plans?

So the plan is ultimately to make it a little more cost-effective.

I know we had extended our hours a little bit, so we already served food and ice cream inside the diner.

This would just be a little bit more outside for the summer months, get a little bit more sun.

And just keep everything pretty much outdoors instead of indoors all day.

Okay, so the only way to do that would be to put it in a mobile food cart.

Yeah.

Does your assistant have anything to add, or is he all set?

Anything you want to say?

What do you want to say?

Ice cream?

You want ice cream?

All right, there's a boy.

We do all— all I know, I'll die.

I'll second that.

Okay, so do we, uh, any questions of the board?

If not, I'll take a motion.

I'm good.

You good, Chris?

Yep.

I make a motion that we approve as submitted.

I'll second.

Moved and seconded.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

Uh, next is the— they're all set.

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you so much, everyone.

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you.

Incidity approval of the 2026 Seekonk Speedway rules and regulations.

Uh, speaking with Miss Testa today, they requested an extension.

They did, to June 10th.

Okay, okay, June 10th.

Yeah, on the committee.

All right, item D, consider authorizing the submission of One Stop for Community Growth grant for the development of the Seconk Housing Production Plan.

Mr. Chairman, members of the board, here this evening looking for authorization for a grant application to the state's One Stop for Community Growth grant program in coordination with SERPA SRPD has prepared a quote and a scope of work for the project.

This represents the last element of the master plan to be updated.

It's something I've kind of been working on since I got here almost 11 years ago now.

We did have a housing production plan in draft format when I, when I was here that was never adopted back in the 2012-14 time period.

CIRPIT has put together the— has basically prepared the draft grant application.

I did provide the board with a copy of Chapter 41, Section 81D, which is the enabling statute for the master plan, as well as the project budget and scope.

The only real question is we do have planning board funds that are available both in this current fiscal year and next fiscal year, currently budgeted for consultants that we could put towards this application.

Unfortunately, one of the best ways to make an application more competitive at the state level, particularly for a town like Seekonk, is to add some of our own money into the, into the kitty, so to speak.

So that's the only real question I kind of have for the board other than the overall authorization.

As far as the amount for those funds, right now we have $4,000 in the consultants line item that we haven't touched this year.

My suggestion would be if we were to consider that and maybe $1,000 from next year, allotment.

So it'd be $5,000 to add to that, which would bring the grant request down and again make it a little bit more— that much more competitive.

However, I have not put that forward with, you know, as far as any— with SERPIT until I spoke to the select board, particularly given the fact that, you know, Mr. Kadeem and Jen Argo are more focused on the budget than I am.

And, you know, I'm always hesitant to spend town funds.

So without authorization So if the board has any questions about any of that, by way of update on the master plan, I haven't been here to speak with the board in a while on that.

We did have a public work session last week on the public facilities and transportation elements of the master plan.

Those are the 2 that we're currently working on.

We'll have those in draft very shortly and hopefully have those adopted by the end of the summer.

This project will run over into next fiscal year as well.

So with that, if there are any questions, and then again, we just need to discuss that, that one line item.

Okay, any questions of Mr. Orban?

I do have a question, John.

When you say the small starter homes— oh, that's next item.

Oh, okay.

Uh, nope, I'm good with this one then.

Bruce, you all set?

I'm all set.

Mr. Gadeem, are you okay using that?

Yes, the planning money.

Yep, this year and $1,000 from next year.

Okay, I don't have a problem with them.

Just $4,000 from this year and $1,000 from next year for total out of the consultant line and in the planning board budget, just for clarity on the record.

Okay, all right, if everybody's all set, I entertain a motion to grant the request.

Second.

I'm sorry, someone Second.

Moved and seconded.

Any discussion?

Uh, so we're going to add the $5,000 to that authorization also, right?

Just because it's not in the— oh, okay.

All right, just— is that okay, Liz, to the original motion?

Yes, yes.

He's asking for authorization, then we're going to add the $5,000 to that.

Yep.

That he's requested to go along with it.

That'll bring the grant request down to, uh, $23,820.

Okay.

All right.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

And the second item is to consider issuance of a letter in support of a Regional One-Stop for Community Development grant application by the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District, SERPD, for the Regional Starter Home Zoning Technical Assistance Program.

Mr. Chairman, members of the board, this is an application that SERPD is putting into the same grant program for a regional technical assistance program to provide technical assistance with regard to starter home districts that are allowed for under Chapter 40Y.

Looking at— looking forward and kind of applying this to SEACONC and looking at the requirements of 40Y, I don't know necessarily that it's, you know, a perfect fit for SEACONC or whether or not we would go forward with this type of a district.

However, I would see it being part of the discussion as part of the housing production plan.

And again, this is a request for a letter of support, not a letter of signing on to developing one of these districts in town.

I did look at the 40Y enabling legislation.

Yeah, there are pluses and minuses to it.

It does provide for small— for kind of more dense development at 4 units per acre.

It does provide for inclusionary zoning.

There are some limitations as to lot sizes.

And again, I, you know, I said it last week at the public facilities work session, the master plan work session.

You know, we set our zoning a long time ago here in Seekonk and are very hesitant to change it.

So I don't know that necessarily Seekonk would ever go forward with a 40-wide proposal.

But as far as being supportive of a regional technical assistance program as having another tool in the toolbox to address the housing crisis that the state is facing.

I, you know, in my personal opinion, I don't think it's a bad idea.

So, but the letter of support— how would we ever put 4 units on 1 acre with septic?

Again, that's why, that's why I don't think it's really a fit for SEACONG.

However, I do think regional programs that provide for communities to put tools into the toolbox like the 40Y is never a bad idea.

All right, board members, any questions?

That was my question with the small housing and how you're going to squeeze it on.

Yeah, I, I really don't foresee it, you know, until we tap into the Attleboro sewage plant, um, happening in, in Seekonk.

Um, however, again, like I said, it's a tool in the toolbox that's out there, um, and unfortunately the tools that we have are provided for by Mass General Law, so they're kind of dictated through that.

Okay.

And again, this is just a letter of support.

It's not signing on to this in SECONG.

Okay.

So then the chair would entertain a motion to grant the request of the planner to issue a letter of support.

So moved.

Second.

Moved and seconded.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So ordered.

Thank you, Mr. Ormond.

Thank you.

Have a good night.

Thanks, John.

All right, consider authorizing the town administrator to enter into discussions and negotiations with town council and Verizon regarding a potential license agreement in process.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

So I had the opportunity to meet with representatives from Verizon on May 6th.

During that conversation, they've expressed interest in obtaining a cable license with the town similar to what we have with Comcast.

For those that have been following negotiations with the cable contract, the board has always been pushing to try to get additional competition in so it's not just Comcast.

So we did— we have reached out in the past trying to actually pursue this.

And this obviously would provide some real competition and provide residents with additional options moving forward.

But as we had reached out, there was— for some engagement in terms of the interests associated with it, Verizon did come back at that time looking at the infrastructure investment that was needed and then the rate of return that they would see.

They've always said no.

So to have the conversation now and to see that there's a real viability there makes sense.

So I'm just really looking for the board to give me authorization to sit down with town council and begin that process, which is a pretty significant process.

It's probably 2 to 3 month process.

Verizon said that they would absolutely match what Comcast has, so I would think the negotiation of what we're looking for in terms of investments coming in should be pretty straightforward.

So I just really need the okay to— You know, I know in the past it's— they've been asked, and like you said, they wanted nothing to do with it.

I wonder now why the sudden change.

Yeah, so they've been spending money and investing in And for a while now, especially in the north end of town, they've been doing it.

So for whatever reason, they're seeing that there's some profitability for it.

Well, yeah, there's no issue with it.

We have the deal with Comcast, right?

And we can have 2.

We can have 5, 6.

Yeah.

So competition should— residents, yeah, the residents, a choice.

Would it also provide a PEG access channel?

Do you know?

So they would— I don't know if they would provide a channel.

That'd be a good question.

I'll be proud of the conversations that we could have with them.

So it's interesting because I'm just used to dealing with Comcast.

Yeah, so they may.

And what I would say is that when we start talking about Comcast, I know we've had this conversation internally that this is probably going to be one of our last 10-year contracts where we see significant revenue coming in to support it because the charge is on cable, it's not on internet or any streaming services.

So as that's starting to kind of dwindle down and folks are shifting towards streaming and just internet-based, the revenues associated with that are not going to be providing what we're used to providing.

So, okay, okay.

All right, so let's entertain a motion to authorize the town administrator to enter into discussions and negotiations with Verizon regarding potential license agreement and process.

So moved.

Second.

Moved and seconded.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

Item G, consider awarding the owner's project manager OPM contract to CHA Consulting for the library renovation.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Uh, so the The contract that I'm looking for the Board to just authorize and allow me to sign is KP Law's standard OPM contract.

It was the contract that was actually submitted in the bid documents.

So there were no changes and it's consistent with what was bid.

So CHA came back, was fine with that.

We didn't make any modifications whatsoever.

CHA's original fee proposal was $1.1 million, so through further discussion and negotiation, able to get that fee reduced down to $799,549, which is roughly 11% of the estimated construction costs.

So at town meeting, we were appropriated $10.4 million.

That's for the entire portion of the building project itself, which would include engineering services and architectural services.

So the actual estimated construction cost was $7.2 million.

So, I had anticipated the fee to be anywhere between 8 to 10% based on what we have seen in the past for OPM services.

So, while this comes in slightly higher than what we thought it was going to be, it's significantly lower than the original fee proposal that was submitted and is still within the reasonable range of the expectations.

So, I would just request that the Board approve the authorization of the contract.

Contracts and authorize me to sign the contracts.

And then if that's approved, our next step would have a kickoff meeting with the Building Committee where the OPM comes in and then we start this very similar process for design services.

That number was $799,549.

Okay.

Still a lot of money.

It is, yeah.

Chris, you have any comments?

I'm gonna get it cheaper.

What?

No, I got nothing.

Liz?

No, other than good job getting it down from $1.1 million to $799,000.

Wishing I could get it lower, but yeah, I'm sure you could have, but it ain't gonna happen.

Okay, so I'm gonna entertain a motion that we enter into the contract?

So moved.

And allow the town administrator to sign it?

Yep.

Is there a second?

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

Okay, so discussion of the select board summer schedule.

What We're doing is we're just following the every other week, and so I'll just continue with that.

Sorry, everybody.

What I did, um, suggest to the members, even if we did it on a temporary basis, what would you think of changing the start time to 5:00 PM?

I just said it's sometimes it's difficult for the people that are on the agenda to make in front of us with traffic and such at 6 PM.

So I just don't want to inconvenience them or make it harder when they're trying to get in here for different permits or different things.

That's the only thing that my concern was.

Yeah, I agree with Chris on that.

I mean, it all depends, but I also think it would benefit town employees because most of them are getting off work, they don't have to go home and come back.

So there is a benefit for the people who work here who have to come in, whether they're a department head— I mean, the fire chief, police chief, deputy, DPW, anybody in town hall that's going to come in front of us— they're getting off duty instead of having to go home and come back or sit around, wait till we get started.

It does accommodate their needs a little bit better.

And it's an inconvenience for the people who have to be here.

If you're a business owner that's coming in for a new license or something like that, they don't just come in earlier.

Yeah, but if they know we start at 5 and they— why don't we— we want to try for the summer?

We could.

June, July, and August, and then evaluate it then.

Will there be a way though to follow up on hearing, you know, getting feedback from the residents?

That's my concern.

Uh, just go on Facebook, they'll tell you.

I try to stay off that these days.

Sorry.

You're right though, someone anonymous will post something.

Um, yeah, no, that's my only concern is, is what Chris had brought up, people being able to make it here on time.

And, and we could try it for the summer.

I mean, that's fine.

And my only concern is to make sure that everybody is okay with that, or they— people that aren't have a way to communicate that to us.

Yes, more importantly, are you okay to make a 5 o'clock I know sometimes you have meetings and such.

No, no, listen, 5 works better for me.

Just easier, especially when we get longer meetings that we're not dragging into the later hours when we start getting negotiations and things of that nature.

But I don't disagree.

I think ultimately we got to make sure that we're, you know, responsive to the, to the business owner.

So if that becomes a problem, I think we would just change it, address it.

So are we good to try it for June, July, and August?

I'm good to try it.

I mean, do you want to go for the second meeting in June instead of the first one?

So we have over like almost a month to get it out there, that change it, because if we just do 2 weeks, it's kind of short.

Yeah, that's a good idea.

Yeah, so we give it a month at least.

So on the 10th, we'll meet at 6, and on the 24th, it'll be at 5.

Yeah, and we can, we can always schedule, uh, you know, license hearings, things that further down in the agenda if that becomes an issue, and we'll do all the priority matters and things up front.

Okay.

Okay.

I had also asked everybody to bring their goals and objectives to this meeting, but Mr. Archambault was unable to attend, so I was gonna wait until our next meeting in June so we'll have a full board.

Okay.

Discussion and approval of the letter to the school committee regarding the Warrior mural.

Uh, yeah, we did receive a correspondence from the school department today, but let's back up.

We had the, uh, resident that came in, and Robin Cholobek, and we voted to send a letter to the school committee.

We did.

And having the ability of a professional writer Being with Miss Almasion.

Oh, I don't know if I'd go that far.

Well, you teach 3 classes at colleges on writing, so that makes it in my world.

I don't know.

All right, so you authored the letter, and I think it's very good.

Would you like to just read it into the record?

Sure.

Okay.

Okay.

Um, we the select board present this letter in support of a matter that was presented at our meeting on Wednesday, May 13th, 2027.

6.

Resident Robin Schlaubeck appeared before the board with a concern over the removal of the Warrior mural painted in our high school gymnasium.

Her concerns to preserve the mural are grounded in the town's desire to retain its history, as well as the sentimental significance of the artistic contribution made by her father, Norman Boland, a long-standing resident of Seekonk.

I may have spelled his last name wrong, I'm not sure.

Before addressing the historical context behind the Warrior mascot, the meaning of the word warrior needs addressing.

The literal meaning of the word is a soldier or combatant, one who is highly experienced, brave, and skilled in fighting.

The metaphorical meaning, one more commonly used on a day-to-day basis, is one who is battling a personal hardship or facing adversity while demonstrating resilience.

Whether using the literal or metaphorical meaning, we can all agree that the term warrior personifies courage, vigor, and strength.

The warrior mascot became a symbol of Seekonk High School from the time the school opened in the 1960s.

Given our history, the adoption of the mascot was considered complementary to our athletes and a tribute to the indigenous people who first inhabited the area now known as Seekonk.

Essence, a symbol of strength.

The use of the mascot extends beyond our schools and athletes.

Our residents take pride in its use because of what the word transcends.

The mascot was and continues to be a symbol of how our town reflects the spirit of our residents.

Although there has been considerable debate regarding the political correctness of mascots associated with indigenous peoples, the meaning of the word warrior extends far beyond the limit of such an association.

The term Warrior reflects broader values such as strength, resilience, and perseverance, qualities we strive to embody as a community.

The Warrior image is how we see ourselves and how we wish to portray ourselves individually and collectively as a community rich in pride and tradition.

The Select Board respectfully expresses its concern that the removal of the Warrior may implicate issues related to free expression and community representation.

The board further believes that any decision regarding the retention or removal of the mascot properly rests within the elected school committee rather than being determined solely through administrative action by the superintendent of schools.

This matter has generated significant public interest and controversy within the community.

Accordingly, we strongly encourage careful consideration of the potential legal, financial, and community impacts associated with any decision to remove the mascot.

In particular, such action could result in protracted and costly litigation initiated by third parties, creating an unnecessary financial burden upon the town and its taxpayers.

Very well written.

Well, how do the members feel?

Chris, what do you think?

How do you feel about the letter?

No, I feel it's good.

Um, did the— did you want to read what the school's response was?

Yeah, I'll do— I want to act on this first.

Um, I'll save my comments for that then after.

Okay, you can hear that, the response.

Michael?

Oh, I like the letter.

I think we should send the letter as it's presented.

Um, I do have the letter in front of me from the schools.

Um, it's stating that they're gonna convert it to some type of large banner and stuff like that.

But as far as I'm concerned, this letter does not guarantee where it's going to be and how it's going to be presented.

So, well, this, you know, the lady Robin that came before us, she was very passionate about it because it was her dad that did it.

But there is a lot of passion within the community to see that mural remain as is.

There is.

So I'll read certainly the letter we, we got handed to us today, uh, from the schools, but I still think we should sign this one and, and send it and get it on the record of how we feel.

Okay, so the letter that we received today is, uh, dear members of the Board of Selectmen, today Wednesday, May 27th, Robin Gilbert, Superintendent Rebecca Kidwell, Robert Girardi and Emily Field met to discuss the mural on the gym wall and the best path forward regarding its preservation.

During our discussion, we reviewed the water damage affecting the mural and explored the best options to preserve the artwork while also addressing the future needs of the space.

Using professional photography and digital restoration techniques, Emily Field was able to digitally preserve the mural image and restore it to its original appearance.

We shared the concept with Robin, who was very supportive of the idea of reproducing the artwork as a large banner displaying the original mural.

We would like to officially report that we believe we have reached a solution that preserves the artwork in a meaningful way while also creating a positive outcome for everybody involved.

So what's the board's comments on their letter?

We can't make any assumptions.

Is this banner mirror, the whatever it's going to be, going to be in the same place?

It's going to be hung in the gymnasium?

It's going to be hung in the school?

That's— this is a little ambiguous as to, um, where it's going to go.

My concern is doing away with, um, the mascot, the Warrior mascot altogether.

And maybe that's— maybe I'm putting the cart before the horse, but I'm just listening to residents and how passionate they are about this topic.

Um, I think if we had— I mean, I am— I'm in agreement with signing the letter, sending the letter.

Um, I would just like that part outlined as far as where this mural is going to go.

So I have the same concerns Mr. Healy had and Miss Almazian.

Miss Hines did come up and said the family spoke to her and they were excited about what they were presenting.

The problem is, in front of me I see 5 options.

What option are they going with?

Where is it going?

Is it gonna be permanent?

Is it gonna be moved?

And on the other hand, they can tell us to go pound sand because it's technically not our jurisdiction, it's not our building, so they can do whatever they want.

So I agree with sending the letter, but in hindsight, they could really just throw it in the trash and say we're going to do our own decision.

They can't.

This is more, okay, let the school committee decide, not the superintendent.

That's more of what this letter is saying.

We leave it in the hands of the school committee.

Right, right, right.

And that lady did reach out to us, and so we are just responding to a constituent's concern.

I agree.

I just wish that in their, um, response letter they said we're going to go with option 5, it's going to be hung in the gym such and such.

We, we had more detail, you know, of what— so it gets on record at our meeting, so residents that hear us, they can, they can look forward and hold it accountable in the future.

Um, but I am supportive of sending the letter.

Okay, so along those lines, uh, let's hear a motion that we sign the May 27th, 2026 letter.

So moved.

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

And I'd like these— this letter, Mr. Nadine, to be attached to the minutes of this meeting.

Okay, for future reference.

Okay.

All right, discussion on Wheeler School.

Mr. Badim, you want to start it?

Uh, sure, Mr. Chairman.

Uh, so for the board members We ended up having conversations with the Wheeler School and the director over at the Wheeler School initiated with myself and the former chairperson, Ms. Hynes, with regards to a pilot program and services that they had offered.

In having those conversations, the Wheeler School was suggesting that there was a lot more options and opportunities for services or mutual services that could be used by the town.

And, and the Wheeler School.

So we ended up setting up a tour for the departments that we felt could potentially benefit with this partnership between the Wheeler School and the, and the town and the schools.

So we had myself, Mr. Sagar, Miss Almazian went with us, the 2 chiefs, so fire chief, police chief, as well as Brittany from Human Services, and then we had a representative from the schools.

We walked the entire facility.

It was actually a great opportunity to have conversations.

And some of the bigger takeaways is just, number one, space that can be used for training purposes or conferences and seminars that we may not be able to hold here that could potentially have a financial savings for us.

So for public safety, police and fire will hold trainings where if If they get so many people, then we get some free members that can go in from our department that can take the conference or the seminars for free, and we do the hosting.

So the Wheeler School is more than willing to allow us to use that.

A large part of the conversation was the brand new pool that they have, which is an amazing facility.

It's an outdoor pool that is actually covered by a dome, so it's used year-round.

We did have those conversations, and when While Wheeler is targeting obviously students and children, so their commitment has been to children of all ages, but they stop at children.

We were able to have the discussion and surround and have that conversation surround seniors as well.

So they are willing to make the exception to allow the seniors to be able to use the facility as well.

So in terms of potential aquatics programs over at the, the Wheeler School for the, for the seniors.

That, that's been discussed and agreed to.

So we've had a number of conversations.

I don't know what else was left off, but they're— they've also opened up the facilities.

They've got the rope course over there, so if there's any team building that needs to be done.

And then there's more conversation surrounding the use of facilities from the, from the school side.

So the schools need to have a little bit more discussion there.

We did have a lunch.

Mr. Sagar was pretty adamant about trying to get some additional benefits for the fact that there's no taxes that would be implied because they are nonprofit.

So those conversations did take place, and I thought it was a very fruitful and worthwhile conversation.

So yeah, I just basically told them that, you know, Mary Wheeler bought the property in 1912.

So next year they'll be there for 125 years.

So I just made the comparison that the town of Seekonk has been a great neighbor to Wheeler, and this is their chance that they can finally be a good neighbor to the town of Seekonk, because they do nothing for us.

We get nothing out of it.

And I told them too that the, uh, our state rep also suggested that we might be able to file special legislation.

So, you know, to help.

Yeah, I'd be curious to see, um, to do a comparison of what the town would gain versus with use versus monetary.

Monetary.

Because, um, I know this is a sticking point, but we have a pool.

No, we do.

Like when I, I didn't know, but that day I found out that our seniors can't use the pool for water aerobics, which I couldn't believe that.

Um, so that's my only thing, like, can we just compare or find out, you know, what the dollar amount would be that the town would be able to collect overall compared to what the overall use would be?

Because the fields aren't going to be of any use to us because of the schedule, right?

And rightfully so.

They would, they would come first, although they rent— that's the other thing, they rent out.

Yeah, it's a matter of schedule.

If they want— right, if they wanted to step up, they could step up.

That's my deal.

So I think it'd be the pool, the ropes, you know, the, the trails.

Um, they want to give us the scraps.

No surfer turf.

Yeah, no surfer turf.

Yeah, yeah.

So, so we can, we can do it.

We can do an analysis.

I, I I can do it one of two ways.

I would suggest that we probably do it the way of how I think they would literally be taxed.

I think it would probably be taxed like chapter land almost.

So we would have some of that property that would be just open space.

So that would be— so if you have the open space similar to Firefly, they only pay 25%.

Is that similar to like a pilot tax, like what the colleges pay in Boston?

No.

So the chapter land, if you keep it for open space and recreation, you only pay 25% of your value.

Value.

But with that comes the right of first refusal for the property if you change the use or remove the open space and recreation piece, which is how we came about purchasing Firefly.

So I think because a lot of that space is open, so you can make the argument that it'd probably be open space.

So we could look at it from that standpoint, and then I can give you, uh, the value, the assessed value on the entire property, obviously.

And it would be a very top level.

Obviously, we wouldn't be able to walk through the facilities to really get an assessed value on there unless they allowed us to.

But because after the, after the parade, Representative Howitt, he and I were talking and he said one option would be to write legislation as far as putting together a pilot tax like the colleges pay in Boston or pay the city, right?

And I, I don't know how that works, like how you calculate a pilot tax.

Yeah, so I don't know what legislation he's speaking to, but typically a pilot— so there's, there's no leverage from the town because they don't need to enter into a payment in lieu of taxes.

So it would just be negotiations in terms of a dollar amount that they feel, right?

So, okay, uh, at that point it's really a conversation and discussion because there's no law requiring them to enter into a pilot.

So Uh, it's essentially either tax them or don't, right?

Yeah.

Okay.

The lady that was sitting next to me with the laptop, would you get a copy of those, please?

Yeah, I can reach out.

Yeah.

Yep.

Okay.

So what I didn't hear, which was troubling, is when we're going to meet again.

So if you come up with those valuations, we— I think we should have a follow-up.

Okay.

Certainly.

Yeah.

Okay, anybody else have anything?

No?

Okay.

Okay, consider accepting the open session minutes in the joint meeting with the Finance Committee of May 11th, 2026.

So moved.

Second.

Moved and seconded.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

So voted.

Okay, community speaks.

Anybody want to speak?

Okay, seeing none, other business.

Discuss other topics not reasonably anticipated by the chair 48 hours before the meeting.

Uh, Mr. Chairman, I have one item, uh, that I'd like the board to consider.

Uh, so currently our, uh, building commissioner is on medical leave, and we have, uh, a building inspector who is filling in per diem.

And then we've also lost— we had the resignation of our other building inspector, so we don't have any inspectors in the department full-time currently.

So in order to issue occupancy permits, you need to have an inspector who has a commissioner's license, and that's difficult to come by.

And we have a number of inspections that are in need of certificate of occupancies, which are really time-sensitive.

So I'd like the board to, um, give a, uh, an appointment for John Santos, who used to be our building commissioner, uh, and have him, uh, be the per diem building inspector to fill in as, uh, until, uh, Mr. Mello comes back.

And he can also stay on and help with some additional, uh, inspections and reviews of plans while we fill the, uh, the staff— go get the staff, uh, to the point where we need to, to be.

So this would allow us to— and we've got some significant projects.

We, we've got the Whole Foods projects that needs to be looked at.

Then we're also going to have the Market Basket.

So we want to make sure that these inspections are being conducted in a timely manner as, as well.

So make a motion to hire John Santos as a per diem building commissioner until we see necessary.

Okay, a second?

Second.

Moved and seconded.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

I'm going to abstain, Mr. Chairman, for personal reasons.

Okay.

So 3 in favor, 1 abstention.

Okay.

Thank you.

Administrator's report.

The only update I have is just on the Medeiros Farm.

So we're still in a similar boat with the library building project where we're looking for— well, it's design of services, not OPM.

Finally received the fee schedule It's taken a very long time to get the fee schedule back, so I received that today.

We have a meeting scheduled for Monday, so I'm hoping that we'll be able to have a contract before the board at the next meeting to review that.

I quickly glanced through it.

The fee that they're looking for is within the budget that we have left over once we pay the OPM contract and stuff like that.

So that's a good start.

Just really need to vet at what the scope of service is and what they're, they're charging.

So I'm hopeful that at the next meeting we'll get that finalized.

All right, so accounts payable warrant, we've taken care of that and signed those.

TB9 laser, nothing at this time.

Okay, Bristol County Advisory, Mr. Archambault obviously not with us.

So now selectmen's comments.

Liz, do you have any?

Um, I spoke to Mr. Howard about a number of things, but I think I'd rather wait until Mr. Archambault returns, if that's okay.

Sure.

Okay.

You have anything else?

Um, no.

Michael?

Nope, nothing at this time.

Chris?

Yeah, just a couple things.

Um, Mr. Auburn brought it up earlier about sewer connection.

Do we still have an open invitation for sewer connections?

Over at Attleboro?

Attleboro or in the south end of town, Route 6, or is that all closed up?

Attleboro, they're not allowing any new capacity coming in.

In the south end, we've been trying to have conversations with the Narragansett Commission to see if that was viable for the Route 6 corridor, but we haven't really proceeded on that.

Town, voted that in years ago.

The other thing that was brought to my attention during the Memorial Day parade was, have we ever looked at, and it's probably more for the Veterans Council, about moving how we have plaques and memorials all over scattered town, but bringing it all to one destination?

Like in front of the Commons, you have, I think World War II is over there.

Vietnam.

Vietnam.

It's like no one ever parks there to see it.

I'm not sure when they, I'm trying to remember back in the day, when they designed by the library to bring all the memorials to one place instead of having them scattered throughout town where people don't really visit.

Um, I don't even know if that's our jurisdiction or veterans, or if you remember that conversation years ago.

Yeah, so I guess it would be a combination of the board and the Veterans Council in terms of what we would want to do with that.

But I know particular areas are dedicated for specific reasons, so I do know the Veterans Council was working with Jim to identify all the locations and then coming up with essentially a storyboard for all the locations and be able to put it on our website so somebody could go to the website, look at the various locations, and then have again the storyboard, the history, and, you know, why it was dedicated there.

So I can follow up to see where that project is and have a conversation about whether or not they entertain consolidating a location, if that makes sense.

And/or we can request a representative come before us to have those conversations.

Yeah.

And, and also along those lines, I've asked them 2 years ago about Seekonk being a Purple Heart town, and they told me they were working on it.

Yeah, that was 2 years ago, right?

So if they come in, I'd like to have an update so we know exactly what's going on.

You all set, Chris?

Also, congratulations Congratulations to the graduates of Seekonk High this week as they move on in life and leave high school.

Yeah, then they'll finally realize how good they had it, right?

That's true.

All right, so I've had some discussions with my counterpart at the school department, Mr. Girardi, and I had mentioned— and we had a, I guess they call it a leadership meeting here— and I told them how I'd like to have an early quad board meeting and discuss certain facets of operations— finance, special education, and maintenance.

So he wanted to see a potential agenda for that meeting, so, so I got this to him.

There you go.

There's 2 there.

This is just a basic outline of what I was trying to do.

Thank you.

And the word I get back today that he'd like for the leadership group to meet, and that would include On his side would be him, his vice chairman, and the superintendent.

And on our side would be Mr. Gadeen, me, and, and the vice chairman.

So whenever they're going to schedule, I don't know that.

But he wanted an agenda, I put one together, and now the word I got back, he wants to see it could be streamlined.

So I don't, I don't understand that.

But what do you mean streamlined?

I don't know, streamlined.

We haven't even met You know, we're looking at areas and, you know, if we're going to have people look at this, I don't want to handcuff anybody.

It's got to be thorough.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, so get one shot at this.

So to be continued.

All right.

Now, previously, Liz, you brought in about you had a resident.

Yes.

On Brown Avenue.

Yes.

Um, he had a number of concerns.

Um, speeding, the cars obviously speeding, going too fast, uh, the traffic, the truck traffic.

But it was primarily, um, the, the speeding of the, the vehicles.

So we had discussed that with, um, Mr. Kadeem.

I think you had reached out to the chief.

Yep.

And I have since heard back from from, um, the resident, and he said he has seen an improvement since the, um, digital speed— yeah, sign is up, um, and the police presence has been, you know, has increased.

He said motorcycles sometimes race at night, you know, after dinner, but his only concern at this point is the truck traffic.

Yeah, well, you know, I think one of the confusing things on Brown Avenue is you have 2 different speed limits going in each different direction.

So I have noticed that because I go to and from Bristol, and I know that way, talking with you, that gentleman's primary concern was the trucks.

Yes.

And the trucking company that's on Pine Street, right?

Well, lo and behold, last night I happened to be in an establishment and there was an individual there with a vest that said the name of that company management team.

So I grabbed his ear and told him of the concerns, and so he said he'd address it to the management team and put a warning out to all the drivers and the staff that slow down.

Yeah, I think if they just slow down, I think that will— that'll make them happy.

Can you give us an update on the ARPA funds, what's left, and next meeting?

Yeah, I can, I can give you— they've been spent down.

I think we only turned back like maybe $100 or whatever it was.

It was so many.

Yeah, we gave it to the schools.

That was the first round, the CARES Act.

Yeah.

All right.

You showed us before the meeting the bid for paving.

Yes.

Do you think we'll get any paving done this year?

Oh, we— yeah, no, we're definitely going to get paving done this year.

Um, so I was just sharing with the, uh, the chair the bids came in.

Uh, so Pawtucket hot mix came in at $2.6 million.

The next lowest bid was about $600,000 higher.

The third highest bid was actually $600,000 higher than the, the second lowest bid.

So they're pretty significant in terms of the discrepancy.

The concern obviously we had was Pawtucket hot mix, but it's just hard to forego Pawtucket hot mix.

I mean, we can try to go back out to bid.

I'm not sure we're going to get a better price or a lower price.

You know, when you start talking about $600,000, it's, you know, our Chapter 90 allotment is $900,000, so it's almost, you know, 2/3 of that amount.

Right.

And I keep forgetting to tell you this, the Opticon system at Baker's Corner is not operational.

Okay.

All right, is there anything else?

We do have executive session tonight, so there's nothing else.

The chair would entertain a motion to adjourn open session to go on executive session and reconvene in open session for potential contract approval.

Item 8, to conduct a strategy session with respect to negotiations with DPW, AFSCME Council 93, per Mass General Law 30A-21A, Section 3, as having the discussion open session would be detrimental to the litigation or bargaining position of the town.

And consider approving the executive session minutes of April 15th, 2026, and April 29th of 2026.

Not to reconvene.

Not to reconvene.

But you have it on here to reconvene.

Yeah, no, it always says it.

No.

Okay, so we are not going to reconvene.

Okay, so, so move at 7:03 PM.

Second, Michael Healy.

Okay, roll call vote.

Elizabeth Almeida.

Chris, all right.

Michael, really?

I— Gary, say all right.

Okay, thank you folks for coming.