The Board of Selectmen aims to move the Westfield affordable senior housing project forward by holding a workshop with the Westfield RFP Committee in the new year after a workshop that was supposed to be held Saturday, Dec. 3 was canceled due to lack of interest from developers.

The Dec. 3 workshop, which would have brought together the Board of Selectmen and Westfield RFP Committee - charged with creating a request for proposal (RFP) for the construction of the housing project - was intended to be a discussion between the two groups and developers on how to make the project more attractive for developers, as well as highlight any problems the developers might have with the current proposal.

Selectman Michael Schneider said feedback was received from developers who declined to attend the workshop. He read aloud from a letter sent from Charles Eisenberg, a housing consultant and leader of affordable housing in the Commonwealth, which said that the Westfield project is not developer-friendly because of its lack of financial feasibility and Wareham's "political instability."

The Selectmen agreed to hold the new workshop, inviting the Westfield RFP Committee, on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. in the Multi-Service Center to discuss how to move the project forward.

"[We] need to take a leadership role," Schneider told his fellow selectmen.

The Westfield project was overwhelmingly approved by Town Meeting in October 2010, with a 165 to 32 vote, after being sent back for further study at the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 Town Meetings.

The Fall 2010 proposal included new stipulations that all units be affordable and restricted to seniors, that any developer hired to complete the project be required to maintain the athletic fields on the property, and that not more than one-third of the property be used for housing.

After the proposal passed at Town Meeting, the Board of Selectmen appointed volunteers to the Westfield RFP Committee in February of this year to make suggestions to the Selectmen about what should be included in a request for proposal. In April of this year the Westfield RFP Committee suggested that the number of units be increased from, 150 to 200 units to a minimum of 175 and no more than 280, that any developer hired repair two existing baseball fields on the property, and that the developer construct soccer and football fields.

After several delays, the project was put out to bid in August and received only one bid from developers. The Selectmen extended the deadline to November 10, with resulted in no bids on the project, and then decided to hold the December 3 workshop, which did not come to pass.

In other town business:

• The Carver-Marion-Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District granted the Harbormaster's Department a donation of up to $8,000 for new trash receptacles in Wareham. Harbormaster Garry Buckminster, who has been trying to research funding to help with Wareham's trash problem, said they will start replacing the old trash receptacles in high-traffic areas.
• Polling places for voters precincts 2 and 3 will return to Hammond School and Minot Forest Elementary School respectively. Town Clerk Mary Ann Silva will be sending out postcards to voters to alert them of the changes.
• Phase I of the Village Streetscape Improvements project on Main Street should be completed around the end of this week or beginning of next week if all goes according to plan. Phase II will pick up in the spring, depending on the weather.