Seekonk Select Board Approves Five Town Appointments, Grants Red Line Auto Extension

SEEKONK — January 8, 2020 — Seekonk Select Board fills five municipal posts and extends charter debate at January 8 meeting. The board unanimously approved the promotion of Andrea Russo to Animal Control Officer, accepted conditional offers for two DPW truck driver-laborers — Donald Morin, approved unanimously, and Stephen Hamilton, approved 4-1 — and formally appointed Joshua Young to a third DPW post with a January 27 start date. Diane Perry was named to the Board of Registrars for a two-year term and Gregory Gauthier was appointed as a Zoning Board of Appeals alternate. The board voted 4-1 to extend a compliance deadline for Red Line Auto at 1853-4 Fall River Avenue without reinstating its dealer license, after Building Inspector Neil Abelson reported roughly 55 vehicles on a site permitted for 35; the operator said he had located off-site storage in Rhode Island and was told to notify the building inspector's office when in compliance rather than return on a fixed schedule. In a joint session, the Charter Study Committee's advisory group walked the board through draft revisions to the Home Rule Charter — covering a proposed censure mechanism, a recall-petition threshold reduction from 15 percent to 10 percent, a recommendation to eliminate the Capital Improvement Committee, and new ground rules for selectmen-department-head contact — with the board scheduling a follow-up session for approximately February 19.