Monthly News Notes

Special/Annual Town Meeting Scheduled for May 8
The Special/Annual Town Meeting will be held on Monday, May 8 at 7 p.m. at the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School auditorium. There are four articles on the Special Town Meeting agenda. All four require funding and the total amount requested is $604,723. There are 22 articles on the Annual Town Meeting warrant and five require funding including the annual town budget of $26 million. The budget is a 4.89 percent increase over the current year’s budget.

Timilty Leaving State Senate
State Sen. James Timilty, D-Walpole, announced he will be leaving the state senate to take the position of Norfolk County Treasurer. Timilty has served as state senator for the Bristol and Norfolk districts since 2004. The district includes Seekonk, Rehoboth, Foxboro, Mansfield, Norton and part of Attleboro. Timilty was appointed to take over the treasurer position from Joseph Connolly who resigned effective April 28. Timilty will start the job on May 2, according to media reports. He will have to run for election in 2018 to complete the final two years of Connolly’s term. A special election will have to be held to elect a new senator, but the date has not been set yet. In a statement, Timilty said he would “truly miss being the senator from Bristol and Norfolk.”

Selectmen Consider Putting Municipal Complex on Town Meeting Agenda & Then Decide Against It
After voters rejected the ballot question on the debt exclusion for the new municipal complex, selectmen were going to put another article on the May 8 town meeting warrant so residents could vote on it again, but they decided against it. Selectmen want to have a structural assessment conducted on the town hall and public safety building before asking residents to vote again on the project. The ballot question called for a temporary override of the state Proposition 2 ½ tax-limiting law that would have increased taxes $120 a year for the average homeowner. The facility would be located at the site of the current public safety building on Anawan Street and would have included town offices, the police and fire departments, emergency management agency and the ambulance service.

Town Will Repair Buildings, Possibly Move Employees to Portable Trailers
Selectmen are going to authorize repairs to the town hall and public safety building to address health and safety concerns. There is mold and asbestos in the town hall that needs to be removed, the roof is leaking in the police department and there are problems with the electricity there. Also, the holding cells in the police department need work in order to make them compliant with state regulations. Town officials have discussed renting portable trailers to house employees while the work is being conducted. The cost of the trailers and relocation expenses would have to come from the town’s operating budget.

Selectmen to Send Letter to State Opposing Compressor Station
Selectmen plan to send a letter to state officials informing them of the results of the non-binding ballot question on the compressor station. Voters overwhelming opposed the project. There were 2287 in opposition and 226 in favor of the station. The compressor station is part of the Access Northeast Project being developed by Eversource Energy, National Grid and Enbridge (formerly Spectra Energy) to expand the Algonquin natural gas pipeline system in the New England area. The compressor station is planned for a site off Finnegan’s Way, near the Seekonk and Attleboro lines.

American Lung Association Reports Bristol County Air Quality Poor
The American Lung Association, in its 2017 “State of the Air” report, gave Bristol County a failing grade for ozone concentrations, although air quality in Massachusetts overall is improving, according to an article in the Sun Chronicle. The report analyzed air quality date for 2013 through 2015. The Boston-Worcester-Providence area ranked 37th worst out of 228 metropolitan areas for the number of days when ozone concentrations were too high. In response, the Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection said that outdoor air in Massachusetts remains in compliance with federal health guidelines.

Bob’s Store in Seekonk to Close
Eastern Outfitters, owners of Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports, announced it will be closing 48 of its 86 stores, including the Seekonk Bob’s Store located at 150 Highland Ave/Rt. 6 in Seekonk. The closing is expected to take place before the end of June. Eastern Outfitters filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February. The company is planning to sell its assets to U.K.-based SportsDirect International.