Seekonk: The Year in Review

Major financial decisions and a leadership change for one of the town’s Public Safety departments were among the big stories in 2024.

Department of Public Works Building
A proposed $40 million facility for the Seekonk Department of Public Works was rejected at November’s Fall Town Meeting. The facility would have been located on Town-owned land at 351 Fall River Avenue. The proposed design was for a 61, 815 square-foot building.

DPW Director David Cabral explained the current building on Route 44 is 75 years old and lacks necessities including showers and restrooms. Cabral noted the garage is unable to accommodate large vehicles.

Town Administrator Shawn Cadime said the DPW was the “backbone of this community,” noting the employees had done “a phenomenal job with the lack of space they have.”

Cadime said a debt exclusion, which is a temporary tax increase, would have been necessary to pay for the bonds over a 30 year period. The owner of an average single family home would have paid an additional $272 a year to pay for the project.

The Select Board pledged to go ahead with plans for a new building.

“Our board was all in support of this project,” member Justin Sullivan said at the December 4 meeting. “None of us spoke up. We let the residents down on that and I think we let the guys at DPW down on that.”

Member Pam Pozzi agreed with Sullivan, stating the board “failed to provide the background” on warrant articles to the voters.

Sullivan acknowledged the residents “spoke loud and clear” and that it was “back to the drawing board” for a new DPW.

Purchase of Firefly Gold Course
Voters did approve the Select Board to go ahead with the purchase of the old Firefly golf course on Fall River Avenue. That property, along with 55 acres on Arcade Avenue, will cost $6.9 million. Developer Charles Tapalian had hoped to construct 280 housing units on the property.

David Andrade, a former member of the Board of Selectmen, warned of the consequences of allowing more residential construction. Families with children would be moving in, which would result in an increased population for the schools, Andrade noted. “You don’t know what’s coming if you vote no,” Andrade said.

Select Board Chair Michelle Hines told the assembly there were no immediate plans for the property. “We’re going to need new things,” Hines said. “Think of what’s coming up if we don’t buy this land.”

Zoning Bylaws Amendment
Voters also approved amending the Town’s Zoning Bylaws to create a Multifamily Development Overlay District. The purpose is to allow for the development of multifamily housing development in accordance with G.L. c. 40A, § 3A, and to promote the development of a variety of housing sizes and types.

Town Planner John Aubin noted the town would be in compliance with the state’s MBTA Communities Act. The Act requires 177 Cities and Towns to establish “at least 1 district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right.”  Where possible, the district must be within a half mile from public transportation (commuter rail, bus station, ferry terminal or subway). MBTA Communities must permit the development of housing suitable for families with children, and may not impose age restrictions, within the district.

The new 90 acre Overlay District will provide capacity for as many as 750 housing units.

Michael Brady, a member of the Finance Committee, warned about an influx of new families moving into town. Building 750 units would impact the police and fire departments, as well as put a strain on the school system, Brady noted.

New Fire Chief
Shawn Whalen was appointed to serve as Fire Chief last March. Whalen has been with the department for over 22 years. Adam Dalessio was appointed to serve as Deputy Chief. Former Chief Sandra Lowery retired last February after two years in the position. Michael Small, a former Falmouth Fire Chief, served as Chief on an interim basis until a permanent replacement could be appointed.

TV9 Gets New Deal
Local access channel TV9 shut down operations in April. Tensions between the town and Seekonk Cable Access had intensified after $128,000 in funding designated for TV9 was withheld. Those funds are given to the town by Comcast for the purpose of providing PEG access to the subscribers.

Last May, the Select Board voted to rescind the designation of the Seekonk Cable Access Corporation as the cable access provider for the town. Cadime said the town’s legal counsel had made the recommendation.

A new contract with TV9 was approved on December 17. TV9’s PEG access designation was restored.

Growing Student Population Taxes School Department
The Seekonk School Department struggled to come up with a reconfiguration plan to deal with a growing student population. For the 2023-2024 school year, there were a total of 2,061 students with 1,021 students at Aitken/Martin and 1,034 students at Hurley and the high school.  

One option which had been proposed would be to move the fifth grade out of Aitken and Martin elementary schools to Hurley Middle School. School Committee member Emily Field said the parents she has spoken with were not in favor of moving fifth grade students to Hurley.

In 2021, the 10 classroom addition to Aitken Elementary School was completed at a cost of $11 million. Former School Superintendent Rich Drolet said the project was needed to reduce class sizes.

“I think it would be a mistake of us to assume the Aitken project was going to fix everything,” said School Superintendent Rebecca Kidwell. “We’re definitely coming up on the edges of what we can sustain.”

The impact on special education will be costly, according to Kidwell. “If we cannot increase our in-district special education programming because of space limitations, there would be an increase in out of district tuition costs. There are five to seven students likely to be in this classroom.” Kidwell noted the cost per student would be $90,000 for a total of $540,000.