By Beth David, Editor
Effective the week of 3/23/26, Fairhaven Town Hall will no longer be open on Friday afternoons. At its meeting on 3/9/26, the Select Board approved a recommendation by Town Administrator, Keith Hickey, and approved by the unions to amend town hall hours.
The new hours will result in town hall being open for 41.5 hours, instead of 40, but will also close on Friday afternoons. The new schedule adds an hour in the morning, opening at 7:30 instead of 8:30; and adds 1.5 hours on Monday nights, closing at 6 instead of 4:30. Fridays, the town hall will close at 11:30 a.m.
New hours are: Monday, 7:30 a.m.– 6 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
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- Fairhaven Town Hall will have new hours beginning on 3/23/26, resulting in an extra 1.5 hours of operation overall, but also closing at 11:30 a.m. on Fridays. Submitted graphic.
In another matter, the board voted to close the section of the bike path that runs along the old Atlas Tack building and divert users to South Street, which will be closed to through traffic.
The results of an inspection indicate there is a risk of falling debris from the deteriorating building. The debris could fall on the bike path and be a danger to users. The one block section is between Pleasant Street and Adams Street. There is one house on South Street, and that home owner will be allowed to use the road.
The town will place Jersey barriers and install signs alerting bike path users and drivers of the detour.
The town has been trying to work with the owners of the building to have it demolished. When that happens, the road will open up again.
The board also voted on changes to a variety of building department fees. Most went up, but a couple of them were reduces.
Building Commissioner, Rick Forand, told the board he just wanted to make some updates. He also added a couple of fees in the electrical division. The new fees are on the website.
The board also voted to accept a new contract for the police department. Changes include an increase in the hourly rate for details.
Police Chief Daniel Dorgan told the board that Fairhaven pays less than surrounding towns, by as much as $30/hour, making it difficult to get officers to work details in town. The rate will be $75/hour in the first year of the contract, then $77, then $80.
Salaries will increase by 1% for each of the three years of the contract. The sick leave buy back has been eliminated.
SB member Keith Silvia proposed that SB members waive their stipend due to the budget constraints the town is facing this year.
Mr. Silvia said he has been attending Finance Committee meetings and they are going over the budget with a “fine-tooth comb” to find savings, cutting as little as $50.
He said if the town is going to ask for a Proposition 2 1/2 override to close the projected $1.5 million deficit, then the board should show it is serious. SB members receive $6,687/year. The savings would be just over $33K.
SB member Natalie Mello asked if the waiver would be contingent on the override failing or if they would just eliminate it.
“We just give it up,” said Mr. Silvia, saying the town needs to cut even if the override passes.
“It’s not a lot, but it’s something,” said Mr. Silvia.
SB member Andrew Romano, said the proposal put him in an uncomfortable position. He said the amount of money will not make or break him, but he felt they should wait until the election to let new members decide.
He said the five of them may not need the money, but other people might. He said the reason a stipend was recently increased was to be an incentive to entice a diverse pool of volunteers. The job entails a lot of weekends and evenings. If someone works evenings or weekends, they may have to miss work to be on the board.
Mr. Silvia said he did not feel that anyone who runs for Select Board would really need the money.
“I don’t think that money is going to hurt them,” said Mr. Silvia.
“I don’t think we can make that assumption,” said Mr. Romano.
Mr. Hickey explained the timeline if they waited to vote, to get the change into the budget for this year. He also said it could be waived for just one year, and they could reinstate it when the fiscal situation is better.
Mr. Silvia said his mind was made up so it would not matter if they waited until the next meeting.
Ms. Mello said she was in support of the motion, but she wanted to “take issue” with the assumption that this amount of money would be a motivator or not. It may not have any bearing on the present board members, but it might matter to others.
In the end it passed, with Mr. Silvia, Andrew Saunders, and Ms. Mello voting yes; Mr. Romano voting no; SB chairperson Charlie Murphy abstaining because he is not running for reelection.
In another matter the board reviewed suggested changes the state has made to the proposed charter. Changes were mostly edits to language and not substantive. Town Counsel, Heather White, reviewed the changes with the Charter Committee last month. The changes will now go back to the state to be approved for the townwide ballot vote in the local election on 6/9.
During the public comment period, Erin Carr and Bob Espindola both asked that the full investigative report on the Timothy/Hiller subdivision constructive approval be released. The board voted at its last meeting to release the executive summary but not the full report.
The board also convened in executive session “to discuss results of complaints regarding the constructive approval of the Timothy/Hiller Subdivision under the Former Land Use & Planning Director.”
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