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Reported by us | Freetown

Freetown selectmen to vote Monday on Nov. 9 Town Meeting warrant, with data center zoning on the draft

The draft lists 17 articles, from a fire command truck to new zoning for data centers. The Finance Committee takes up the articles the same night.

By South Coast 360 staff | Published Oct. 18, 2026 | Last verified Oct. 18, 2026, 5:25 p.m. ET

Updated Oct. 18 with more detail.

FREETOWN Freetown's Board of Selectmen is scheduled to vote Monday, Oct. 19, on finalizing and closing the warrant for the Nov. 9 Special Town Meeting, according to its posted agenda. The final warrant was not on the town website as of Oct. 18. Minutes of the board's Sept. 14 meeting list 17 article titles on the draft, including new zoning rules for data centers.

The Finance Committee meets the same night at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom to "discuss and vote on Warrant Articles for Town Meeting on November 9, 2026," its agenda says. Voters make the final decisions at the meeting itself.

What is on the draft

Spending articles on the draft would fund a command truck for the Fire Department, a truck for the Highway Department, repairs to Alexandra Drive, and training and equipment for an in-house weights and measures program, according to the Sept. 14 minutes. Others would add money to the tree warden's budget and to three Water and Sewer Commission lines: vehicle maintenance, gasoline, and tools, gear and equipment.

The draft also asks voters to approve a town match for an EPA grant to extend a water line to the Transfer Station, pay prior fiscal year invoices, let the Board of Health spend opioid settlement money, pay fees for what the minutes call an "Employee Tax Issue Fix," and put money into what the minutes call the Capitalization Stabilization Fund. Four articles change bylaws: new zoning for data centers, new zoning for craftsman and tradesman bays, adding an employment position to the bylaws, and accepting personnel bylaw updates. The minutes list titles only, with no dollar amounts.

Data center zoning

The Planning Board's Oct. 6 agenda scheduled a public hearing on "a new Data Center Bylaw, §300-13.0, and a new Craftsman / Tradesman Bylaw, § 300-5.1, to regulate their development in the Town of Freetown." At the board's Sept. 1 meeting, the town's planner, Nancy Durfee, reported that the bylaw package was nearly final. The data center rules sort projects into three tiers "based on a review of Mansfield's approach," with "all tiers directed to the same zoning districts," the minutes say. She said she would produce a map of the affected areas before Town Meeting. Minutes of the Oct. 6 hearing were not yet posted.

Also on Monday's agenda

Selectmen will discuss the scope of a boiler replacement at Freetown Elementary School. On Aug. 25, Town Administrator Deb Pettey listed money already set aside for the school's building, including "$1,250,000 from a boiler article," according to that meeting's minutes. The board will also vote on mailing a postcard about the Nov. 9 meeting to every household and on picking a vendor for it, on awarding a bid to install a salt shed at the Highway Department, and on 2027 health insurance rates for retirees.

How we got here

The board voted unanimously Aug. 3 to call the meeting and adopted a timeline that opened the warrant from Aug. 4 to Sept. 8 and set public posting "no later than" Oct. 23, the minutes say. Citizen petition articles needed 100 signatures from registered voters. "Board members acknowledged the timeline is front-loaded but noted that it goes quickly and is consistent with the established approach for prior Special Town Meetings," the minutes say. On Sept. 14 the board voted 3-0 to add the draft articles, close the warrant to new submissions effective Sept. 8 and send the draft to town counsel.

How to weigh in

The selectmen, Chairman Carlos A. Lopes, Jared C. Zager and Chad S. Carvalho, meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the Police Station Community Room, 15 Memorial Drive, East Freetown. The agenda ends with public input. The Finance Committee's Zoom meeting ID is 835 0632 3196. The Selectmen's Office, on the second floor of Town Hall, 3 N. Main St., Assonet, answers at 508-644-2201, ext. 1. Selectmen's meetings are recorded and posted on the town's YouTube channel, according to the town website.

Town Meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, in the Robert C. Falcon Auditorium at Apponequet Regional High School, 100 Howland Road, Lakeville.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

How we verified this

Every fact comes from records the town posted: two Oct. 19 agendas, three sets of selectmen's minutes, a Planning Board agenda and minutes, the Town Meeting notice, election notices and two town web pages, all listed below. We read them on Oct. 18. The final warrant was not posted, so the article list comes from the Sept. 14 minutes and may change Monday. Most of the records are scanned copies, which we read page by page. We left out the private people named on the agendas. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar and each claim against the documents. Not heard: no one was contacted.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (13)

  1. Board of Selectmen meeting notice, Oct. 19, 2026 (amended; clerk stamp Oct. 16)Town of Freetown. The warrant, postcard, vendor, boiler, salt shed and retiree insurance items, time, place and public input. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  2. Finance Committee meeting notice, Oct. 19, 2026 (clerk stamp Oct. 15)Town of Freetown. The warrant article vote, Zoom time and meeting ID. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  3. Board of Selectmen minutes, Sept. 14, 2026Town of Freetown. The 17 draft article titles and the 3-0 votes to add articles, close submissions and send the draft to town counsel; recording on YouTube. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  4. Board of Selectmen minutes, Aug. 3, 2026Town of Freetown. The vote to call the meeting, the timeline, the 100-signature rule and the quoted line on the timeline. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  5. Board of Selectmen minutes, Aug. 25, 2026Town of Freetown. The $1,250,000 boiler article named by the town administrator. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  6. Planning Board meeting notice, Oct. 6, 2026 (clerk stamp Oct. 1)Town of Freetown. The public hearing on the Data Center and Craftsman / Tradesman bylaws. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  7. Planning Board minutes, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026 (filed in the Agenda Center under Sept. 10)Town of Freetown. The planner's report on the bylaw package and the tiered data center provisions. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  8. Board of Selectmen meeting notice, Oct. 5, 2026 (amended Oct. 1)Town of Freetown. Names of the three selectmen and the chairman. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  9. Public Notice: Special Town Meeting (posted Aug. 4, 2026)Town of Freetown Board of Selectmen. The Nov. 9 date, time and place. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  10. Board of Selectmen (town web page)Town of Freetown. The Selectmen's Office address and phone. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  11. FREECAM: Board of Selectmen's Meetings on Cable & on YouTubeTown of Freetown. Meetings recorded and posted to the town YouTube channel. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  12. Public Notice: Final Voter Registration Session and Early Vote/Absentee Ballot Options (posted Sept. 18, 2026)Town of Freetown Board of Registrars. Early voting place and hours, final registration session (dates to watch). Read Oct. 18, 2026.
  13. Public Notice: Testing of Voting Equipment for November 3, 2026 State Election (posted Sept. 18, 2026)Town of Freetown Town Clerk. The Oct. 21 public test (dates to watch). Read Oct. 18, 2026.

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