Freetown Select Board Unanimously Advances $26.5 Million COA-Library Project to June Vote

FREETOWN — April 27, 2026 — Freetown Select Board sends $26.5 million COA-library building to June 1 town meeting and June 8 debt-exclusion vote. The board voted unanimously Monday to advance the combined Council on Aging and library community building, with Town Administrator Deborah Pettey outlining a financing structure that includes roughly $9.5 million in municipal savings, a state grant of just under $10 million paid over five years, and a long-term borrowing expected to land near $7.5 million. Pettey is recommending a 20-year declining-debt bond she said would cost the average Freetown homeowner — assessed at $560,000 — roughly $135 in the first year, decreasing annually, and save taxpayers approximately $1 million in interest compared with a level-debt alternative. Selectman Mark Zager raised concerns about cost certainty, staffing needs in a 14,000-square-foot library, and the $300,000 annual operating estimate Pettey projects for the new building, noting the current police station runs $6,000 per month in electricity alone. The board also finalized both the annual and special town meeting warrants for June 1, including a $60,000 police station technology upgrade and a $25,000 grant match for a Village Schoolhouse feasibility study, and authorized a joint response with the Water and Sewer Commissioners to a DEP letter requiring assessment of town buildings on private wells for public water supply compliance.