Acushnet Board of Selectmen Launches Golf Clubhouse RFQ, Charter Cooling-Off Period Repealed

ACUSHNET -- January 20, 2026, Acushnet Board of Selectmen clears eight votes in one session, moving a golf clubhouse procurement and a solar pilot toward action. The board unanimously authorized the Golf Management Committee to begin developing an owner's project manager request for qualifications for a new golf course clubhouse, with a timeline that could yield construction bids by October and a completed facility by spring or summer of next year, with the finalized RFQ returning for board approval at the February 3 meeting. The board also agreed to invite Zachary Farkas of Rewild Renewables to present a solar payment-in-lieu-of-taxes pilot for a site near Clems Way, with town counsel at KP Law to be engaged before any agreement is negotiated. Town Administrator Jamie Kelly told the board that all departments have been directed to submit level-funded fiscal year 2027 budgets, and flagged the trash hauling contract as the most time-sensitive variable, calling for a competitive bid to be completed by early April ahead of a late May or early June town meeting. The board also accepted a governor-signed charter amendment eliminating the two-year waiting period that had barred former selectmen and other elected officials from taking appointed paid town positions.