Debate Over the Medeiros Farm

Seekonk Town Administrator Shawn Cadime was peppered with questions about the town’s intentions for the Medeiros Farm property. The Town of Seekonk bought the property for $2 million. At the May 2023 Town Meeting, the Town voted to appropriate $150,000 from the Community Preservation Fund Undesignated Reserve to seek, hire, and direct a consultant to develop a master plan for the Medeiros Farm project at Elm Street and Lincoln Street. A seven member committee was appointed to oversee the project.

Cadime explained the first phase of the project involved a conceptual drawing submitted to the May 2025 Town Meeting for their approval. No money has been allocated for construction of any kind.

Ken Kazarian alleged town residents were being kept in the dark about the plans for Medeiros Farm by members of the committee. “They’re not talking to people about cost,” Kazarian said. “The cost of maintaining these properties. The cost of construction. They’re not talking about maintenance.”

“That’s not true,” Cadime said at Wednesday’s Select Board meeting. “I’ve been to a majority of the meetings.” Cadime said there had been discussions about applying for Community Preservation Act funding through the Community Preservation Committee.

There has been speculation about using Medeiros Farm for multiple soccer fields, which Cadime denies. “There wasn’t a survey for soccer fields,” Cadime noted. “There was a survey of what people wanted for Medeiros Farm.” Kazarian believed multiple soccer fields would be used for tournaments, which could exacerbate the town’s traffic problems. 600 residents participated in the survey and letters were sent out to all the abutters. 

“We did our due diligence,” Cadime added. “Over 100 people attended the first public hearing. We had several public meetings, we had surveys that went out. At the end of the day, town meeting voted on it.”

“The message is going out in every way we can get it out,” Hines told Kazarian, who claimed he was never informed about the possible use of the property. Hines explained the Medeiros family intended for the land to be used for recreational use, not for new housing.

Doreen Taylor, a resident who has served on numerous town committees, expressed her frustrations over the project. “I voted on this at town meeting based on when you created the committee, based on the hopes of preserving the culture of Seekonk in that corner (of town),” Taylor said. “It would be nice to maintain the culture of Seekonk, which is agricultural.”