Seekonk Selectmen Outraged by ZBA Resignation Threats

The Board of Selectmen voted Wednesday to reappoint Gary Sagar to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Two members of the Zoning Board had threatened to resign if Sagar was not reappointed.

Selectman David Andrade called the members’ ultimatum “completely unacceptable.”

“This is our appointment,” Andrade continued. “We never said we were going to not appoint (Sagar). We simply wanted to have a discussion.”

“You’re trying to hold the town hostage,” Chairman Justin Sullivan said to Sagar, who said he never “solicited” any of the Zoning Board members to resign on his behalf.

Sullivan had received messages from residents who were concerned about a building project Sagar has planned for the north end of town.

“There is nothing personal here,” Sullivan said, noting there could be the perception of a conflict of interest if Sagar remained on the board. “I have residents who are reaching out to me with a deep concern of somebody who has been sitting on the (ZBA) for 20 years.”

“I made myself available to everyone,” Sagar noted, adding he had obtained approval for the project from the Planning Board and had also appeared before the Conservation Commission.

Sagar, a former selectman, explained “residents didn’t educate themselves on the process.”

Zoning Board Chairman Keith Rondeau thanked the board for reappointing Sagar, who Rondeau said “has a really good record in town.”

Town Administrator Shawn Cadime, who recommended Sagar’s reappointment, said he was “extremely disappointed in how the process played out.”

Cadime said the board of selectmen would “need to have a dialogue” with other boards to avoid a repeat of the turmoil in the future.