By Beth David, Editor
At its meeting on 7/27/26, the Fairhaven Select Board voted to call a Special Town Meeting for Tuesday, 11/17/26 at 7 p.m. at Hastings Middle School. Citizens petitions must be submitted by 8/12 at noon and require 100 signatures of registered voters in Fairhaven.
Town Administrator, Keith Hickey, said there was not one pressing issue to hold the Special TM, but there were a few “housekeeping” items the town could take care of, and some citizens petitions.
Any resident who wishes to submit a petition should contact the Town Clerk’s Office to learn the procedure, 508-979-4023, ext. 8105.
The board also voted to sell three properties that are in foreclosure proceedings for back taxes: one on French Avenue, one on Harding Road, and one at 5 Newbury Avenue. The French Avenue and Newbury Avenue parcels area awaiting the final judgment from the court; the French Avenue property already been acquired by the town. The board voted to sell all three, pending the judgment of the court.
The town must use an independent realtor to list and sell the properties. If a property does not sell after 12 months, then the property has to be auctioned off.
In another matter, the board also discussed the possibility of sending a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about an issue that SB member Rick Trapilo called “a stinky subject matter.”
Mr. Trapilo has long been advocating for the City of New Bedford to upgrade its Combined Sewer Outflow (CSO) system to stop releasing millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the inner and outer harbor.
The solutions would cost millions and, it appears, the city has not made any effort to correct the problem. Whenever there is a rainfall, the antiquated system combines both rainwater and sewer, which overwhelms the treatment plant, so the solution has been to simply put it all (CSO) into the harbor directly.
The letter lays out the problem and asks the EPA to compel the City to develop a plan to fix the problem.
SB Chairperson, Andrew Romano, however, questioned the wisdom of sending the letter, especially since the town and the city have been talking about ways to share resources to save money.
Mr. Romano said he acknowledged that the issue is a failure within the city, but asked if maybe it would be smarter to engage with the mayor first so they do not feel “blindsided.”
“May I say I agree with you, Mr. Romano?” said Mr. Trapilo, joking a bit about how they do not always agree.
After a little bit of discussion, and a suggestion that Mr. Hickey should be the one to raise the issue with the mayor, the board decided to table the matter until the next meeting.
Mr. Hickey said he would be happy to meet with the mayor, but pointed out that Fairhaven’s Public Works Superintendent, Vinnie Furtado, has “tremendous knowledge” of New Bedford.
Mr. Hickey will speak with Mr. Furtado and will report back to the board at the next meeting.
The board also unanimously voted to appoint Diane Tomassetti to the Board of Assessors. A licensed realtor, Ms. Tomassetti is a Fairhaven resident and has served on the Planning Board and several other Fairhaven committees.
The board also appointed Patrick Carr to the Public Safety Complex Committee in a split vote. SB member, Andrew Saunders recused himself because he has a business relationship with Mr. Carr.
Mr. Romano voted against the appointment, Mr. Trapilo and Pam Kuechler voted in favor. SB member, Natalie Mello did not attend the meeting.
Mr. Carr made his case for being appointed to the board, saying he has attended meetings and was instrumental in helping the committee connect to the owner of the Citizens Bank building, which may have the potential to house the police department.
Mr. Romano made the case he has made before, asking why Mr. Carr needs to be on the committee if he can make a difference as a member of the public. Mr. Carr said he would be a voting member.
Mr. Carr is a member of the Planning Board, an elected position; and is on the Zoning Board of Appeals and Capital Planning Committee, both appointed positions.
Although Town Meeting voted in May to prevent elected officials from serving on more than one board, the bylaw has not yet been approved by the Attorney General’s Office so it is not yet in effect. Exceptions can be made at the Select Board’s discretion.
In other business, the board accepted a new charge for the Atlas Tack Working Group, allowing it to continue trying to get the Superfund site cleaned up and back as a useful property.
During the board member items part of the agenda, Mr. Romano noted that Police Chief, Daniel Dorgan, sent a letter to Mr. Hickey explaining that the Flock Safety camera system is a valuable tool to identify vehicles associated with a variety of crimes.
Chief Dorgan said in his letter that the cameras are not used for traffic enforcement.
The Flock system has created controversy in other municipalities where it is deployed due to privacy concerns. The system is different than other traffic cameras and license readers for a variety of reasons, including that they record and log more information than just license plate numbers; the information is placed into a shared database connecting cameras nationwide and can be accessed to track vehicles in real time. The system has been used by federal agencies, such as ICE, to track people for non criminal reasons. It can also be accessed by neighborhood groups that have the system.
Several municipalities have severed their contracts.
The matter was not on the agenda, so the board did not discuss it. Mr. Romano said he just wanted the public to know they are “actively talking about it.”
The board also discussed the town’s bleak fiscal forecast, with budget deficits projected to be $1.6 million next year and increasing to $4 million by 2032.
The meeting is available on demand at www.FairhavenTV.com
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