Seekonk DPW Project On Hold

Plans for a new Department of Public Works facility are on hold following a discussion at the March 12 Select Board meeting. Chairperson Michelle Hines supports the project but wouldn’t commit to placing an article on the Spring Town Meeting warrant.

“It’s not the right timing,” Hines explained.

“I guess I don’t have the same mindset as you people do,” said Gary Sagar, who is running for an open seat on the Select Board. “Let’s get to work, let’s get (DPW Director Dave Cabral) a facility that he needs.”

Sagar proposed keeping the current facility at 871 Taunton Avenue and combining it with a property located at 911 Taunton Avenue. The tax increase for the average home would be $106.88 a year, according to Sagar. All the work could be done “in house” by one company. No Office of the Project Manager (OPM) would be necessary.

Sagar said the total cost of the new project would be $16 million, a far cry from the $40 million DPW project which was going to be situated at 351 Fall River Avenue. Voters at last November’s town meeting were not supportive of the proposal, which required a debt exclusion (temporary tax increase). There were complaints about the cost and the proposed location.

Board member Justin Sullivan expressed his doubts about the procedure Sagar laid out.

“Despite the leg work that you’ve put into it, it still skirts state procurement and bid laws. You need to have an OPM (Office of the Project Manager) for the project, you can’t rely on the staff that we currently have in this town to manage a multi-million dollar, multi-month process construction phase. I think we need to make sure we’ve done our due diligence before we go into the purchase of a million and a half dollar property.”

Sullivan noted the $16 million amount Sagar cited “has all the potential of being even higher.”

Town Administrator Shawn Cadime said the original estimate for the project was $15 – 20 million.

Cadime said a request for the money required to buy the 911 Taunton Ave. property would have to be put before the voters at Town Meeting.

“Let’s continue the process if the Board directs me, the process doesn’t stop, we’re moving forward,” Cadime added.