LAKEVILLE – Lakeville’s Select Board made history Monday, meeting for the final time as a group of three. 

After town elections on April 1, the town’s top legislating body will expand to five members. 

Before delving into the meeting, Select Board Chair Brian Day took a moment to point out that this would be the select board’s final night as a trio. “It’s our last three-member board meeting,” he said to kick off the evening. 

Lakeville voters approved the addition of two seats on the Select Board at a Special Town Meeting in November 2022. 

Proponents of the change cited the town’s growing population as a reason to expand. They also said they believed having more members would help the board manage its workload and provide additional points of view.

The change did not happen overnight.

The date of the Special Town Meeting did not allow enough time for legislation finalizing the change to be passed and signed into law by the governor before the legislative session deadline in early December 2022, State Rep. Norman Orrall said at the time. 

As a result, the expansion of the Select Board to five members was postponed until 2024. The bill was finally signed into law by the governor on Oct. 25, 2023, per the Massachusetts Legislature website. 

There are four candidates running for the three open positions on the Select Board, which include the two new positions and that of current board member Lorraine Carboni, who is seeking re-election. At this town election, the top vote-getter will earn a three-year term; the candidates with the second and third highest totals will serve for two and one year, respectively.