Freetown Select Board Approves Pickleball Court, ARPA Demolition Funds at Tuesday Meeting

FREETOWN — February 20, 2024 — Freetown Select Board backs pickleball court at Hathaway Park and targets ARPA funds for blighted Main Street demolition. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to site the town's first pickleball court at Hathaway Park, replacing a deteriorated basketball court, with construction costs estimated at just over $14,000 and a $7,500 grant covering roughly half; Town Administrator Debbie Chaves said remaining costs will come from federal ARPA funds, of which about $400,000 must be committed before December 31, 2024. The board also directed up to $100,000 in Bristol County ARPA money toward demolishing the long-derelict red building at 4 South Main Street — a structure in tax title since 1994 that Chaves described as a collapse risk — with a fallback to schoolhouse rehabilitation if the demolition cannot be executed before the county's June 30 reallocation deadline. In a joint session, the Select Board and Finance Committee rejected a motion to appoint Kayla Churchill to the Finance Committee by a 6-2 vote, with members citing the impracticality of a one-month term after Churchill did not return nomination papers; Churchill said she plans to run as a write-in candidate at the April 12 annual election.