Freetown Select Board Eyes $100,000 Town Beach Overhaul at Special Town Meeting

FREETOWN — March 3, 2025 — Freetown Select Board approves a dozen routine items and signals a $100,000 park improvement push for the town beach. At the March 3 meeting, the board — composed of Selectman Lopes and Selectman Zeger, with Town Administrator Debbie present — unanimously authorized department-head-only, read-only access to newly installed cameras at the transfer station, highway department, and libraries, following public comment from resident Susan Sergeant of 32 North Main Street, who described falling unnoticed at the transfer station two weeks prior. The board approved a roughly $2,313 Vertical Communications phone system upgrade for the police station, authorized fitness-in-the-park classes at Hathway Park from April 23 through June 4, and set the annual and special town meeting for June 2, 2025, at Apponequet Regional High School. Board members declined to vote on a separate special town meeting for MBTA Communities Act zoning, citing a July 15 state deadline and staffing constraints, and denied a refund request from the former owners of Independence Harbor for 2025 license renewals. The most extended discussion centered on the town beach in East Freetown, where officials said bringing electrical service — estimated at $22,000 — is the first step toward pickleball courts, lighting, and expanded programming, with a warrant article of roughly $100,000 in park improvements expected for the upcoming special town meeting.