Historic Moment: Two Women Serve on East Bridgewater Select Board for First Time
Mullen joins Julius as board reorganizes; Central School project progresses toward MSBA approval
EAST BRIDGEWATER - May 19 - For the first time in East Bridgewater's history, two women are serving simultaneously on the Select Board following the town's annual election. Katherine Mullen joins Carole Julius, becoming only the fifth woman to ever serve on the board.
"This is a historic moment because never in the history of East Bridgewater have we had two women on a select board," Julius said during Monday's meeting. "Catherine is only the fifth woman to serve... which is really kind of pathetic that it's 2025, and we've only had five women serve on this board, but we've never had two at the same time."
The board reorganized at the start of the meeting, with Peter Spagone as chair, Julius as vice chair, and Mullen taking on the role of clerk.
"I'm honored to serve with both of you, and I am looking forward to continuing to serve with both of you," Mullen said.
The meeting also featured an update on the East Bridgewater Central School building project, which continues to make progress toward a planned September 2028 opening.
Town Administrator Charlie Seelig reports the project is approaching a crucial milestone with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).
"We're getting to the point of having one of the two most important meetings with the MSBA next month in June," Seelig said. "The June meeting is to approve the site that we have asked the MSBA to approve, which is by the softball fields out here, not at the current central elementary school."
According to Seelig, the plan involves essentially flipping the locations of the school and athletic fields. The new school would be built where ball fields currently exist, while the site of the current Central Elementary School would become athletic fields once the new building is complete.
The committee had explored multiple options, including renovating the existing Central School or building at Leland Farm, but ultimately selected the softball field site as the best option.
A subcommittee recently met with MSBA representatives, who were impressed with the educational planning work done by school staff.
"They were very, very complimentary of the work that the central school staff there with Kate, as principal, and then also with Gina Williams, the superintendent of staff over at East Bridgewater Public Schools have done with the educational plan, especially the special education," Seelig said.
If the site selection receives MSBA approval in June, the project will move toward schematic design approval in October. Following that, the town will need to approve funding through both a town meeting vote and ballot question in November.
"The state will be contributing, obviously, a fair amount of money somewhere roughly 35% or so of the total," Seelig explained. "The majority of the money is going to be coming from the town through property taxes."
Mullen, who has attended several school building committee meetings, raised questions about special education considerations in the building design.
"At the two meetings that I've gone to, we had two special education questions," Mullen said. "I think it's worth a conversation maybe at the meeting."
Julius, who serves on the school building committee, offered to discuss the matter with Superintendent Williams.
In other business, the board:
- Recognized Richard O'Leary and his wife Karen for their years of service as owners of the Old Standish Grill, which recently closed after decades as a community gathering place
- Heard from the Traffic Advisory Committee regarding speed limits and traffic calming measures, including a discussion about potentially adopting a townwide 25 mph speed limit on residential streets
- Received an update from Town Clerk Katie Cavanagh about challenges during the recent town election, including parking issues due to multiple events happening simultaneously at the high school
- Discussed moving future town elections to the middle school to avoid similar conflicts
- Assigned board members as liaisons to various town departments and committees, with Mullen taking on roles including Conservation Commission, Council on Aging, Police Department, and the Public Safety Building Committee
- Tabled a discussion about changing the town's financial policies regarding the maximum percentage of investments at a single financial institution
- Discussed the need for a plan to utilize opioid litigation settlement funds, with Mullen emphasizing the importance of ensuring the money benefits East Bridgewater residents directly
The meeting concluded with the board entering executive session to discuss collective bargaining matters.
The next Select Board meeting is scheduled for June 9, when the board plans to discuss priorities for the remainder of the year and hear from Plymouth County Outreach regarding potential uses for opioid settlement funds.