Seekonk Plans for Ad Hoc Committee

There will soon be a five member ad hoc committee to make recommendations on repairs to town buildings, including schools.

One member will be from the Select Board, one from the school committee, one from the finance committee, one from the Capital Improvement Committee, and one town resident.

“This Select Board has listened to one sided reports from (the) school committee and everyone can take it for what it’s worth,” said Justin Sullivan. “Two members from the Select Board are not always going to agree, two members from the school committee are not always going to agree. Got get a tiebreaker in the middle if that’s what you need. That should be an independent resident.”   

Seekonk School officials warned of a failure of the heating system at Hurley Middle School in a joint meeting with the Select Board on January 6.

Over $106,000 has been spent to patch the Hurley boiler since last July.

“That is significantly over what we would have budgeted,” said Superintendent Rebecca Kidwell. “We’re definitely in a challenging situation there. The biggest need is the heat by far.”

The school committee will hold a discussion on the ad hoc committee at Monday’s meeting.

Select Board chair Michelle Hines believes getting the approval for major building projects from town residents will be more likely after the committee forms.

“Hopefully, it will be an easier presentation because then we will all back each other up,” Hines explained.