Select Board awards Bedford Street water main contract, explores meals tax and approves veterans parking signs and permits

The Town of Lakeville Select Board on Oct. 21 awarded a contract for a water main extension on Bedford Street and discussed several other operational and revenue items during a meeting with the Finance Committee.

Water main contract The board voted to award the Bedford Street water main extension contract to RFS Corporation for $272,759.07, a low bid that came in substantially below earlier cost estimates. The procurement was reviewed and certified complete by the project engineer prior to the award; the contract is subject to standard town legal review and signature by the town administrator.

Meals tax exploration Town staff presented initial research into adopting the Massachusetts local meals excise (a local option of up to 0.75 percentage points on the state meals tax). The presentation noted the tax is collected by the Department of Revenue and remitted to the municipality; in nearby Bristol and Plymouth County communities revenue ranged widely in FY2025 depending on retail and dining mix. Staff recommended further analysis and local revenue projections before placing an article on an annual town meeting warrant; the Select Board agreed staff should prepare a draft article for possible consideration at the spring Annual Town Meeting.

Veterans parking signage and community permits The Select Board approved placing veteran‑designated parking spaces at primary municipal facilities. The board asked staff to start with one signed space at each main municipal building (Town Hall, Council on Aging, Police and Fire buildings, and principal parks facilities) and to return with a list of locations and sign specifications; the veterans’ services agent offered to source sample signs and suggested working with local arts students on painted parking‑space designs in future phases.

Licenses and permits The board approved a one‑day Massachusetts State Lottery Commission application for a local nonprofit’s “beano” event on Nov. 8 and approved a public‑way license for a Veterans Day 5K run to be held Nov. 8; both moves were by voice/roll‑call votes. The fire chief had cleared the event plans and no safety objections were recorded.

Thorndyke project liaison The Select Board appointed a board liaison to the Thorndyke project team to attend project meetings and report back to the board; the liaison will serve as the Select Board’s point of contact for information coming from the developer’s outreach effort.

Contract details and next steps Town counsel will review the water main contract and the town administrator was authorized to sign the contract once legal review is complete. The select board directed staff to prepare targeted revenue projections for the meals tax, and to return with a vendor/specification list for the veteran parking signs.

Ending: The board closed routine business and prepared to enter executive session on pending litigation and bargaining matters.