Freetown Awards Bridge Engineering Contract, Approves Police Cruiser Lease With Dissent

FREETOWN -- August 19, 2025, Freetown Board of Selectmen selects McClure Engineering for bridge project, approves police cruiser lease over one dissent. The board unanimously chose McClure as top-ranked firm, scoring 124 out of three competitors, for the federally funded South Main Street Bridge Preservation Engineering Project at its August 19 meeting, authorizing Town Administrator Deb to negotiate and execute the contract; construction is not expected before 2027. The board voted 2-1, with Selectman Lopes opposed, to lease two 2026 Dodge Durango police cruisers from All American Investment Groups LLC for $165,000, with Lopes arguing the existing fleet shows no signs of failure and questioning the replacement schedule. The board also ratified a municipal fiber agreement with ContractCorp, approved a not-to-exceed $30,000 consulting contract with Eric A. Kinsherff CPA LLC to modernize the treasurer-collector's office, and approved $344,662 in ambulance write-offs for July, described by officials as the largest single-month total on record. Library Director Nicole Devyon's resignation, effective October 15, was acknowledged unanimously, and the board directed a pre-K playground fence and a roughly $1 million school boiler replacement to a December 8 town meeting.