Freetown Select Board Votes to Apply for State Library Construction Grant

FREETOWN — November 20, 2023 — Freetown Select Board votes to pursue state library grant while honoring officer who saved cardiac arrest victim. The board unanimously approved applying for a Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners construction grant at its November 20 meeting, following a presentation by building consultant Mary Briny, whose completed building program recommends a new facility of approximately 14,248 gross square feet to replace two existing library buildings she described as lacking running water, adequate parking, and basic meeting space. The state grant covers roughly 45 percent of eligible construction costs on a project the board estimated at $14 million to $15 million; the town has already set aside $150,000 for the planning and design phase. The board also heard from Town Administrator Deborah El Petty that the three-year-old police station has accumulated roughly $27,000 in HVAC expenses alone this fiscal year, with a failed boiler requiring full replacement. Earlier in the evening, Police Chief Scott M. Rose presented Officer Philip J. Pine with the department's life-saving award for using a defibrillator and CPR to revive a Bradford Steel employee who suffered cardiac arrest on November 1.