News Notes

Nomination Papers Available for Town Election April 3
Nomination papers are now available for anyone wishing to run for local office in the annual town election scheduled for Monday, April 3. Voting will take place at Seekonk High School from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. For further information, including a list of positions that will be on the ballot, see Town Clerk Jan Parker’s column in this issue.

Special Town Meeting Scheduled for Feb. 27
A Special Town Meeting will be held on Monday, Feb 27 at 7 p.m. at Seekonk High School to review bylaw changes and other items.

Residents Urge Selectmen to Help Fight Gas Pipeline Project
Residents asked selectmen to join the fight against the proposed gas compressor station that is part of the Access Northeast Project, according to an article in the Sun Chronicle. Although the compressor station is going to be constructed in Rehoboth, opponents say that it will affect Seekonk as well. Selectmen were reportedly sympathetic about the issue and said they would do what they could to help, but they don’t think it will be an easy battle. The Access Northeast Project is being planned by Spectra Energy, Eversource Energy and National Grid to upgrade the existing gas pipeline to increase natural gas availability in the area.

New Tax Rate Set
Selectmen approved new tax rates for the next fiscal year. The new residential tax rate will be $13.47 per $1,000 home valuation, an increase of 2.2 percent. The average residential bill will increase $93. The commercial/industrial tax rate will be $28.33 per $1,000, an increase of 3.2 percent. There is a 10 percent exemption for small businesses. The average commercial tax bill will increase $455.

Selectmen Discussed New Buildings for Animal Shelter & DPW
Selectmen discussed a new animal shelter and a new building for the department of public works. Town Administrator Shawn Cadime told the board that constructing a new building for the animal shelter would be better than expanding the current shelter, according to a Sun Chronicle article. He also said the shelter could be built next to the senior center. The department of public works building also needs upgrading according to Cadime. Residents would reportedly need to approve funding for feasibility studies for both projects.

Selectmen to Survey Residents on Marijuana Dispensary
Selectmen plan to seek residents’ opinions on a marijuana dispensary now that recreational marijuana is legal in Massachusetts. The town is reportedly considering adopting new bylaws to regulate the operation of dispensaries. The board may put a question regarding the issue on the April ballot.

School Roof Repairs May be Delayed
Repair work on the roofs at Aitken Elementary School and Hurley Middle School may be delayed. Town meeting in November approved approximately $900,000 to replace portions of the two schools’ roofs. The town is hoping to be approved for reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority program for the roof projects. However, the timeline for the program would not allow for the roofs to be repaired next summer, which the school department had originally planned. Members of the school committee believe the roofs should be repaired as soon as possible, according to a Sun Chronicle article. The school committee plans to continue discussing the issue.

Area Unemployment Rates Continue to Drop
Local unemployment rates are at all-time lows. In Seekonk, the November unemployment rate was just 2.4 percent, which is down from 4.0 percent last November. The data is from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

Home Sales in the Area Continue to Increase
The real estate market continues to be strong, with Seekonk seeing one of the largest increases in home sales in the area compared to last year. In Seekonk, sales rose from 14 in November 2015 to 22 in November 2016, an increase of 57 percent, according to data from the Warren Group published in the Sun Chronicle. Statewide, sales of single family homes rose 26 percent in the same time period. Other towns with a spike in sales included Foxboro (87%), Norton (90%) and Rehoboth (120%).

Swansea Sears Store and South Attleboro Kmart Store to Close
The Sears Store at Swansea Mall and the Kmart Store on Rt. 1 in South Attleboro are closing, according to several media reports. Sears Holdings announced that it will close 30 Sears and Kmart locations in 2017, which includes these stores. Liquidation sales will begin on Jan. 6. The stores are expected to close for good between March and mid-April. The number of employees affected was not available. Sears has closed more than 200 stores this fiscal year, according to the Sun Chronicle, due to declining sales.