Dighton Select Board Appoints Highway Operator, Tables 40B Housing Committee Bid

DIGHTON -- April 8, 2026, Dighton Select Board honors outgoing member Nicole Mello, appoints highway operator, and tables 40B housing committee bid. The board unanimously appointed Keith Sylvia as Highway Department Operator, Class 1, following a competitive search in which Sylvia was the sole candidate with municipal DPW experience, according to Superintendent Tom Ferry. A proposal by former committee member Jonathan Gale to reconstitute the dormant 40B Fair Housing Committee, which last met roughly five years ago, was tabled to the April 22 meeting after Select Board member Mark Kevin said he needed a written plan detailing composition and liaison structure before acting; Gale noted the town's biannual affordable housing inventory report to the state is overdue and its housing production plan has lapsed. Town Administrator Ralph Patako reported the town is on track to receive $12,961.04 in state grant funds secured by Senator Kelly Dooner for fire department safety equipment, and that planning is underway to align a potential elementary school debt-exclusion ballot question with the annual town election to avoid the cost of a standalone special election. The board also ratified contracts for the fire chief and the Dighton Firefighters Association and approved warrants totaling approximately $1.06 million.