Select Board Quarrels With Residents About Medeiros Farm

Following heated debate and discussion, Seekonk Select Board Chair Gary Sagar is seeking to move the troubled Medeiros Farm project forward.

Sagar intends to have the Medeiros Farm Committee at the September 30 meeting to convince them to take the project before the Zoning Board and to initiate a traffic study.

At their September 2 meeting, the board voted 2-2 to approve a traffic study in order to aid with the design plans for the project. Sagar and Elizabeth Elmasian were in favor, with Chris Zorra and Michael Healy opposed. Robert Archambault recused himself from the discussion and did not vote following complaints from some residents about Archambault being an abutter to the Medeiros Farm.

At the May 2023 Town Meeting, voters authorized the spending of $150,000 from the Community Preservation Fund to hire a consultant to develop a master plan for the Medeiros Farm.

The project has been plagued by controversy for over a year. Residents on Elm and Lincoln streets objected to multiple soccer fields being placed in their neighborhood. Two citizens’ petition articles were placed on the November 2025 Town Meeting warrant. One was to rescind $825,000 in funding already appropriated for the project. The other was to rescind the appointment of the Medeiros Farm Committee. Both articles failed.

At the June 24 meeting, the board rejected a bid award for designer services to CHA Consulting for $549,450.

Zorra and Healy were in favor, with Sagar, Elmasian, and Archambault in opposition.

Elmasian and Archambault have received some criticism for their votes from supporters of the project.

The $2 million purchase price for the 40 acre property was brought up again at the September 16 meeting.

“I encourage people to educate themselves and read the appraisal, because we overpaid for that piece of land,” Sagar said.

John Alves, the Chairman of the Community Preservation Committee, insisted that was not true.

“The appraisal said it was worth $2 million,” Alves said.

“As a residential subdivision,” Sagar interjected. “The highest and best use as a residential subdivision identified nine to eleven lots. That’s the highest and best use. With the restrictions put on (the property) a million dollars would have been the max. Under (Chapter) 61A, the town has the right of first refusal so we were in the driver’s seat. Everybody was in a hurry (to acquire the property). Let’s call it what it is: that’s a soccer complex disguised as a historical preserve.”

“It’s not a soccer complex,” Zorra replied. “It’s recreational fields.”

Zorra also had a tense exchange with resident Doreen Taylor, a friend of Paul Medeiros, whose family owned the property. Zorra claimed Medeiros supported athletic fields, which Taylor disputed.

“(Paul) may have had desires, but you made plans,” Taylor said, referring to executive session minutes from 2021, prior to the purchase. “You made specific plans behind closed doors.”

“That’s false,” Zorra said. “Mr. Medeiros basically dictated what he wanted on that property. That was all part of the negotiations.”

The tension among the board continued to escalate when member Michael Healy chastised fellow members for what he perceived as a lack of “decorum” by engaging with residents during the Community Speaks portion of the meeting.

“To me, it’s absolutely sickening,” Healy explained. “This board has got to such a low level in my opinion. I haven’t seen this type of activity on a board in years. I apologize to Mr. Alves and I apologize to anyone else who comes up to speak for Community Speaks. What we’re doing is wrong.”