By Theresa Knapp

The last board meeting for Selectman Brian Keyes was May 8, 2023. He was elected to the board in 2017 then re-elected in 2020. He did not run for re-election this year. 

“I have loved every minute of what I’ve done on both boards, it’s hard to walk away from. It’s been six years in this seat and some days it’s felt like six decades, and with all of the climate that’s been associated with it, I still love it and I will miss many things about it,” Keyes said in a prepared statement. 

Keyes said he would be remiss if he did not summarize “some of the low points” that occurred during his tenure, calling some of the issues “disappointing” and “nonsense,” and negative comments from “knuckleheads.”  

He said he endured personal Insults and offensive hand gestures, and was accused of creating a hostile workplace for previous town employees. He also admonished the board for eliminating the Pledge of Allegiance from the start of its meetings. 

Keyes thanked many people including the late Ed Small and the late Bob Burns “because I wouldn’t have served on the Planning Board or even run for this position if it weren’t for either one of them.” He thanked various town employees and departments for their support ofhim and their contributions to the town. 

Former selectman Louis J. Arcudi III attended the meeting to thank Keyes for his time on both the Select Board and Planning Board. Arcudi acknowledged that he and Keyes often did not see eye to eye on town topics but they respected each other. 

‘When Brian was on the Planning Board, he actually did a lot as far as putting a lot of commercial districts in. He zoned a lot of commercial districts that continue to bring revenue into town - Hartford Avenue, Hopedale/Mendon Street, just for a few examples. He led the charge when it came to bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenues on cannabis…He actually helped keep the adult entertainment out of Hopedale by changing some of the bylaws of town.”

Arcudi said Keyes was also instrumental in “getting the beginning of the downtown Draper Mill facility finally moving; it was stagnant for 15 years and part of the board that Brian sat on actually started that project going to what we see today.” 

Arcudi said, “I just want people to remember the impact that Brian did bring to the town…After 32 years of living in town, I can’t think of anybody else that’s actually sat in that planning board role or even as a selectman that actually has had that much impact when we talk about commercialization in town. So, thanks Brian for your service.” 

Resident Len Guertin echoed Arcudi’s comments. 

Guertin acknowledged that he and Keyes “were oil and water…I think we started seeing that we both saw the same goal. At the end of the day, maybe we had different paths to get there, maybe we had different delivery on how to get there, but at the end of the day we were pretty much the same on that topic. So, thank you for all your efforts in town, and thank you for everything you’ve done…and it was nice to go from an enemy to a friend.” 

Chairperson Hazard said, “Obviously, there are so many things that we disagreed about but I always believed that you were in fact advocating for what you believed to be in the best interest of the town. So, I wish you well going forward; I hope you enjoy your new time with your family.” 

Keyes ended his statement by saying, “In the end, I walk away feeling great about my experience and my legacy and, regardless of how some of you feel, I stand by everything I’ve done and only wish the best for the future of Hopedale.” 

To hear Keyes’ comments in full, visit bit.ly/KeyesFarewell2023, starting at minute 1:17:37.