Freetown Select Board Approves ARPA Spending, Paving Deal, and First Hazard Plan

FREETOWN — August 8, 2024 — Freetown Select Board clears 26 votes in a single session, committing over $630,000 in ARPA funds. Town Administrator Deborah Lopes told the board that Bristol County ARPA money must be fully obligated by September 30, driving unanimous approval of $500,000 for a new ambulance, $85,000 for a fire truck, and $75,000 for a 12-by-40-foot office trailer to relieve critical space shortages at Town Hall, with the board also granting Lopes broad discretion to redirect remaining ARPA balances without returning for individual votes. The board awarded a $547,500 paving and milling contract for Howland Road and Assonet Bay Shores to low bidder PJ Keating Company, and approved a $78,354 paratransit van for the Council on Aging — net cost to the town approximately $28,354 after $50,000 in grants. Consultant Craig Pereira of Horsley Witten Group presented Freetown's first-ever Hazard Mitigation Plan at a public hearing, noting that FEMA approval would make the town eligible for federal hazard mitigation grant funding for five years; the public comment period closes August 12 and the plan must reach MEMA by August 30. The board also required a minimum of two police officers at every polling location for the September 3 state primary, responding to a written request from Town Clerk Cheryl that the election is "highly elevated."