Seekonk Select Board votes to sell County Street Fire Station, backs fire staffing budget

SEEKONK -- April 29, 2026, Seekonk Select Board votes to sell former County Street fire station and backs fire budget over Finance Committee objections. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to direct Town Administrator Sean Cadim to prepare 170 County Street for public sale, requiring soil contamination testing before any listing, with potential SERPED grant funding to cover phase-one environmental review. In the meeting's most charged exchange, Chair Gary Sagar called Fire Chief Whalen to the table under "other business" to disclose that the Finance Committee had voted 5-1 the previous evening to cut four mid-year firefighter hires from the proposed budget, after Whalen had already left the meeting. "It is our budget to present," said board member Michael Lill. "They can make any recommendation they want." The board also formally ratified six Medeiros Farm Committee members after Board member Robert Archambault read into the record a KP Law conflict-of-interest opinion and a State Ethics Commission concurrence allowing him to participate in appointment votes as an abutting property owner, provided he filed a 23B disclosure, which he confirmed he had done.