Melanson Pulls Out of Select Board Race
Hello, my name is Cathy Melanson and I would like to take this opportunity to speak with you regarding the upcoming election and the two open positions on the select board.
I am a businesswoman and have lived in Fairhaven my entire life along with my husband of 47 years. I am a mother of 4 daughters, 13 grandchildren and one great grandchild expected next month.
As a businesswoman, I have dedicated myself, my years of experience and knowledge to serve the town in various capacities.
I am currently the chair of the planning board, chair of the Economic Development Committee, member of the Charter Committee, Capital Planning Committee and a representative on the Rogers School Reuse Committee.
During the interim of four months when the town did not have a planning director, I stepped up and volunteered my time and service to ensure the daily business of the department would continue without interruptions until a new Planning director was hired. During this time the planning office, along with the building Commissioner Randy Bassett, successfully created a streamlined permitting process for those wanting to do business in town. We instituted a program of a pre-meeting with the applicant and the various town department heads. The pre-meeting enabled the applicant to know exactly what plans and permits are required for their project. This common-sense streamlining approach saves the applicant and town months of unneeded expenses and valuable time.
For example, the Starbucks project went through the streamlined process and was able to obtain all needed permits in just 2 meetings.
Instituting this seamless process benefited the applicant and the town in revenue. We are seeing our few vacant store fronts now coming to life.
With the many new projects being planned, along with the pursuit of the 40R project, we need to ensure responsible town growth which will be a win-win for all. Our successes exemplify Fairhaven as the place to establish and do business. We must never accept complacency and always seek to continue forward in all our town endeavors.
In my current positions, I still have much work to be done in helping steer our town forward. I am dedicated to see all planned projects and future ones to completion. I have decided not to continue my campaign for Select Board at this time. But not ruling out the future possibilities.
I wish to thank all those who continue to encourage, support and work with me in my current capacities as together we continue to make Fairhaven a great place to live.
Cathy Melanson, Fairhaven
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