Lakeville boards revisit long-term planning goals

LAKEVILLE — The Planning Board met with the Master Plan Implementation Committee on Monday, July 21, to discuss updating the goals for Lakeville’s 10-year master plan.

The plan, published in 2020 and running through 2030, outlines goals and priorities for the town.

A top priority for the Planning Board has been hiring a town planner. Earlier this year, Lakeville hired Nancy Durfee, the former Rochester town planner, to fill the role. However, Durfee left the position after just two months.

Securing a town planner was one of the original goals in the plan and remains a “main focus,” according to Planning Board Chair Michele MacEachern.

“We really haven’t had much time without a town planner,” she said. “We’ve had to prioritize what we can, as opposed to working through Master Plan goals.”

The boards also revisited longstanding planning concerns, including the future of the former Lakeville State Hospital site and the Dewey Bowling Alley, both located along Route 105. The properties have remained vacant for a significant period. The stated goal in the master plan is to “focus on development opportunities” for both sites.

Board members discussed the difficulty of repurposing the abandoned facilities, citing a stalled residential housing plan at the hospital site due to the high cost of demolition — estimated between $14 million and $17 million.

Despite the challenges, members reaffirmed the goals for the two properties Monday night.

The discussion also turned to funding uncertainty for future projects in light of federal policy concerns.

“In this day of financial insecurity resulting from daily activities in Washington, D.C., any amount of money coming into a town or city or state — how reliable is that income?” one member asked Town Administrator Andrew Sukeforth.

Sukeforth acknowledged there is a degree of financial uncertainty.

“Any new project might be in danger, but I can’t confirm that either way,” he said.