Lakeville candidates stress balance on growth, schools and transparency at Select Board forum

Three candidates vying for two open three-year seats on the Town of Lakeville Select Board spoke Thursday evening at a public candidates forum hosted by town moderator Katie Goodfellow and moderator Joanne Upham, outlining differing approaches to growth, school capacity, water and transparency.

The candidates — Leah Fabian, a current Select Board member; Christopher Planca, chair of the town Finance Committee; and Paul Hunt, a former Lakeville police officer — focused on balancing development with infrastructure needs and town character while keeping taxes manageable.

Fabian emphasized outreach and practical planning. “We have our town website,” she said, and noted the board recently started a community newsletter and is encouraging use of online notifications. Fabian, who said she opposed the town taking ownership of the former Lakeville Hospital property to secure a brownfields remediation grant, told the forum, “I have 0 interest in taking any ownership of the property.” She also urged residents to test private wells and cited recent school maintenance costs: “We just did a $2,000,000 doors and windows project at Assawompsett.”

Planca framed the issues as budget-driven and tied to state mandates. He said the town is roughly “about 5%, only about halfway there, to get the affordable housing number,” and called both Chapter 40B-style developments and the MBTA Communities requirements “unfunded state mandates.” Planca said he supports careful…