East Bridgewater Select Board Votes Unanimously Against Cell Tower Lease at Town Well Site

EAST BRIDGEWATER -- June 9, 2026, East Bridgewater Select Board rejects cell tower proposal, citing risks to municipal drinking water supply. The board voted unanimously Monday not to issue a request for proposals for a cell tower lease on town-owned land after Department of Public Works representative John Haynes presented concerns about two mid-1960s drinking water wells on the site, noting their cone of influence can extend up to 500 feet and that federal security requirements govern the well field. Resident Sean Noonan, a former Brockton zoning board member, told the board the two wells represent 25 percent of the town's water supply, while former planning board member Steve Meltzer, citing experience managing 5,000 cell sites across the Northeast, framed the question as "a real estate decision" and suggested the developer could seek alternative parcels. Board member Peter Riordan, who had been undecided at the prior meeting, said the DPW report "pushed me into the no side of the equation." The board also unanimously waived permitting fees for the Central Elementary School project, reappointed Megan Crosby as treasurer-collector and John Haynes as Director of Public Works to three-year terms through June 30, 2029, and learned that the Gannons, holders of the town's animal control and inspection contract, will not renew beyond June 30, leaving East Bridgewater, Halifax, and Bridgewater simultaneously without contracted animal control services starting July 1.