Meet Select Board candidate Rick Coletti

If elected to the Select Board, Rick Coletti wants to help residents better understand their taxes and encourage more outdoor community engagement.

Coletti, 70, has lived in Wareham for 40 years and is on the ballot for the one, two-year unexpired Select Board seat left vacant by current member Sherry Quirk who announced her resignation in March.

Coletti is a veteran, former police officer and is currently a constable process server and adjunct professor of criminal justice at Massasoit Community College.

Through his work serving papers, he said he hears concerns about taxes and wants to address those if elected to the Select Board.

"People keep bringing up taxes whether it be property taxes, sewer taxes or trash taxes," he said.

Specifically, Coletti is focused on keeping taxes low and helping residents understand how their tax dollars are being spent.

"Is it a mishandling of funds? Is it wasteful spending? I don't know but I would like to address that," he said.

As a former mountaineer, Coletti is determined to get people outside whether it be on the beach or on the trails.

"I love getting out into the wilderness and away from the hubbub, it's really peaceful," he said.

Along with encouraging outdoor recreation, Coletti also wants to protect Wareham's natural landscapes by limiting largescale ground-mounted solar construction.

"My question is who is getting the benefit of this," he said. "It doesn't seem to be the residents, especially with the high cost of what we're paying for electricity."

Coletti would also aim to get more people on Main Street and promote local business by working to redo vacant store fronts downtown.

"There are abandoned buildings ready to fall apart and that can put people in danger," he said.

Coletti added that fixing these buildings up would present an opportunity for more businesses to move into Main Street which he thinks could have a positive effect on residential taxes.

Right now, residents pay 80% of the taxes and businesses pay 20%. Coletti wants to make that more even.

"If we decide to bring in more commercial business instead of enticing them with a lower tax base, they should pay a little bit more instead of putting the burden on the residents," he said.

He added that promoting events like the Swan Festival and Oyster Festival is another good way to get people downtown.

"We can attract people whether it be tourists, visitors to the community and residents," he said. "I think that this is a great way to get people here. We're not just the gateway, we have good stuff here too."

Coletti also wants to address accessory dwelling units and how they can be beneficial to the town.

Accessory dwelling units are a new housing designation created by a state law last year. An accessory dwelling unit is a second, smaller residence that can be built on properties zoned single family.

"People are living longer and a lot of adult children are taking in their elderly parents instead of putting them in nursing homes," he said. "The accessory dwelling units can help keep elderly parents close by and I like that."