West Bridgewater Select Board Moves Toward DPW and Water Department Merger Talks

WEST BRIDGEWATER — May 21, 2025 — West Bridgewater's Select Board voted unanimously to explore merging the Department of Public Works and the Water Department ahead of Water Superintendent Wayne Parks's planned December 2026 retirement. Town Administrator Jeff Ponte told the board Wednesday that a $785,000 PFAS litigation settlement — the result of a 2021 vote to join a national multi-district lawsuit against manufacturers including 3M — has begun arriving, with a first check of $157,000 already received and a second payment of roughly $314,000 due within 120 days. Ponte said the settlement, combined with Parks's departure, made a joint meeting with the Board of Water Commissioners "almost" a matter of fiduciary duty to explore, noting that consolidation would require at least a town meeting vote and possibly a referendum. The board also approved six employment contracts each carrying a 3 percent raise, granted one-day liquor licenses to Vineyard Farm and Black Hat Brew Works, and heard that a post-civil-service police officer screening exam drew more than 100 applicants — a figure Ponte described as proof that leaving civil service was the right call.