and welcome to the select board meeting of February 13th 2025 tonight we have everybody uh everybody from the select board is here we have Denise Kevin Roger Alec and myself and as always we're going to start with the Pledge of Allegiance flag United States of
America na God indivisible Li and justice for all okay we're going to do a little back and forth here initially we were going to go into executive session but we would love to handle this first item first um under new business I guess we're going to
recognize uh an act of heroism by Quint Perry and we have deputy chief Robins like to come up thank you I appreciate it um sorry about that I'll um I'll let Captain Ferrera get into the specifics here regarding the call and and why he's in
his reasoning behind wanting to present Quint with the award I just wanted to come up quick and and thank our membership um for the the calls that we've had this year with the unfortunate um ice rescues that we've had to deal with and and uh the terrible tragedy in regarding the the pinto family that was
approximately three months or excuse me three weeks before this call um as a department our stance is the ice is never safe um because of undercurrents things like that this this call with with Quint um this proves a perfect example of it um so we do ask that if
you are going to go out on the ice that you do go with a friend or that you leave a note and uh an expected time back to um that you're going to be out on the ice four so somebody knows to come looking for you with that I'll um I'll turn it over to Captain Ferrer
the call that uh we here for tonight was on January 25th 2025 initiated at South Lake View Road units were dispatched for a man through the ice into the water roughly 50 ft offshore while units were responding we
were it was reported that this individual is out of the water on Shore in safe while we when we arrived on scene um we gathered more information and we found out that the reason why this individual is out of the water is
because of quint's efforts that time of year um or that day I should say the weather was uh clear but it was cool 28° with a slight wind of 2 and half milph and average water attemp of
35° at those temperatures a person only has minutes before they go into hypothermia cold water shock loss of muscle control and even worse being risk of being pulled under the ice and turning into a
recovery that Day Quint just happened to be out ice skating on the ice behind his house he noticed a man walking from a Shore further away heading towards open water with all efforts trying to let this person aware that there is open
water in front of them uh unfortunately those efforts fell de is soon Quint noticed this individual fall through the ice into the water and quickly responded with his ice skates and his hockey stick in hand to help this individual and pull
him out of the water with no training not dressed for the occasion not dressed for cold water rescue at all he just did what he thought was right and he knew it was right he remained calm and with these
efforts everything U could have turned into a much worse scenario we appreciate his selfless acts and helping to save a person's life and I'm sure quint's parents and family are proud of the man that he is Quint if
you like to come up on behalf of the fire department we' like to present you this certificate of Merit your actions thank [Applause]
you okay thank you so much hey thank you thank you great job not out of the woods yet so we have we have a few proclamations um one of them is from the
select board and then I'll let Alec introduce the other two that we have okay this is a proclamation from the select board in honor of Quint Perry whereas on January 25th 2025 as he was skating in the safe area of Norton
Reservoir you observed a gentleman entering the South Lake View area onto the ice and approaching open water that stretched from Island Road out to the large island and whereas you called out to the man as you continued your approach to warn him of the thin ice conditions and whereas without
hesitation you selflessly and courageously risk your own safety When You observe the man fall through the ice by lifting him out of the water to safety and whereas the Norton fire department arrived on scene having received a call from a person who had
fallen through the ice off of a 27 Island Road and whereas your bravery and actions in fact in the face of danger have been an inspiration to us all whereas in recognition of your Swift and decisive actions that saved the life and
averted a community tragedy the select board on behalf of the citizens of Norton wishes to commend you for your actions in a moment of Crisis and extend our community's deepest gratitude and admiration for your extraordinary Act of
heroism be it resolved that the select Board of the town of Norton does hereby recognize Quint Perry for demonstrating the very best of human spirit and compassion and proclaims that February 13th 2025 be Quint Perry day and
encourages all residents to congratulate him for his actions and to communicate water and ice safety rules and programs to families and loved ones and individuals of all ages
[Applause] congratulations okay quent we got a few more these are conditional you got to promise After High School season you're going to play Legion this year so the first one is from uh House
of repres Massachusetts House of Representatives be it hereby known to all that the Massachusetts House of Representatives offers its sincerest congratulations to Quint Perry in recognition of your act of heroism and bravery and assisting with a rescue of an individual in the Norton Reservoir
the entire membership extends its very best wishes and expresses the hope for Future Good Fortune and continued success in all Endeavors no [Laughter] [Applause]
pictures yes good job okay congratulations Crim we have another one from uh the state senate official citation be it known that the Massachusetts Senate hereby extends its congratulations to Quint Perry in recognition of uh your selfless selfless Act of
heroism in assist with the rescue of a man who fell through the ice into the Norton reservoir on January 25th 2005 and be it further known that the massachusett Senate extends its best wishes for continued success that this citation be duly signed by the president
of the Senate and ATT tested and a copy thereof transmitted by the clerk of the Senate got a promise Legion Ed thank you congratulations buddy congratulations Perry family [Applause]
conations all right thank you very much uh now at this time I'll declare under general laws chapter 3A section 21 A3 that the purpose of the executive session will be to discuss strategy relating to pending litigation known as Premier fence LLC
versus the town of Norton Massachusetts land court case number 24 um miscellaneous 7:30 kts because a discussion of this strategy in Open Session could compromise the purpose of the executive session and with the board
to return to open session at the conclusion of the executive session Mr chair Mr I move that the board go into an executive session under General Law chapter 30A section 21 A3 for the purpose purposes and reasons declared by
the chair and with the board to return to the Open Session thereafter second okay Denise I Kevin yes Roger yes Alec yes and I yes so we're going to Executive session but we will return thank
you okay we're going to call the regular order uh regular meeting back to order at well what time is it 6:48 6:48 okay so getting right back to the top of the agenda we have an appointment of
kimina to the Recreation Commission Kim here not here oh okay Kim's not here Mr chair Mr um I think Kim would be a great addition to the Recreation Commission so I'd like to make a motion to appoint Kim
Arina to the Recreation Commission second motion and second is well accepted all in favor I I opposed all right um next up we have minutes for limited uh we they're only uh October 10th right yes okay everybody get a
chance to check those out best minutes I've ever seen I know Fantastic Mr SN oh yes um I would like to make a motion um to approve the minutes um for the Open session on October 10th 2024 second have motion of
second favor I I opposed okay um okay I think we have Jill coming now we are uh next up we have the discussion or vote on opting out of mailin voting for the annual Town election Mike do you want to get us
started or should we um Jill's right here oh hi Jill um this is just a copy of the thank you thank you so I think last year we opted out of mail and voting correct Kevin can remind
me I can't remember I think we did and then and I'll let let you go and then we talk about the records indicate that there was was not mail in voting last year from what I can tell through you chair go ahead um Jill
if we were to opt out of mail and voting are you going to have early voting still available for folks to come into town hall and what how many days and hours would you be available for early voting there's for annual elections annual local elections there's typically not
early voting um the I didn't bring that law with me so for early voting um 50% of the registers would have to petition to the select board to opt in for early
voting that's an automatic opt out um so typically there's not early voting for local annual elections the early voting for those would be the absentee yep there's always absent yep and chair
oh good Mr maner and someone during office hours could just come in grab a ballot fill it out put it in an envelope and give it back to you as an absentee ballot yeah right which is I think what what we
Sorry Mr chair which I think what we did last year as well which was to say there's there's opportunities for folks to come in and vote correct AB we using absentee path um so yeah we I I remember we wanted to be clear that that wasn't going to be avoided so we want to make sure the absentee was still available
yeah I just want to make sure there's some option for folks who can't make it on the specific day yeah to be able to do that okay yeah I have my family used it last year so yeah Mr chair Mr Mercy I make a motion that we opt opt out
of early I'm sorry of mail and voting for the annual Town election second okay all in favor I I opposed no extenstions okay all right so did I
hear 4 to one right yeah okay all right and we already recognized Quint which was fantastic thank you thank you Jill thanks Jill okay uh discussion and vote to
Grant the extension for the host Community agreement between the town of Norton and Queensbridge group yeah Mr chairman um I thought Tiffany isome might be here tonight but she's not um queenbridal and we want to see I wanted
to see if You' extend it for a year or two years in the meantime our council is working on amending the HCA to meet the new guidelines that the CCC put out okay so what are you looking for
tonight just to Grant an extension to their HCA Mr chair Mr Rich for a year or two years Mike yeah so how long where where are they in the process last time you did a Year where are they do you know I
they're still um working with the uh CCC to get their license issued do they have an estimated timeline you didn't give me one now I I mean I I'd be okay with a year extension but I don't know if I that to
through through your chair sorry um Mike how long have we had this um HCA in play so far I we've had two extensions so far already right have y so the original
um the first amendment was in um June 13 2020 and the original um post Community agreement was signed on in December of
21 and those are those are good for three years right yeah the the original hcas were three years so we extended it last year for 12 months yeah I mean in all due fairness it is quite difficult to keep up with the
CCC I mean it is crazy some of the hcas that we amended previously based on their guidelines have to be amended again for their new guidelines it's like just
yeah okay I'd be more amendable to a year and I just want to I'm just trying to keep track of it because because the longer we keep it tied up here the less Revenue we're able to generate cuz it's tied up waiting which was my reasoning for yeah for just one yeah Mr chair uh
Mr rich I make a motion vote to vote to Grant an extension for the host Community agreement between the town of Norton and Queensbridge Group Inc second for one year for one year sorry second okay motion of the second
all in favor I I opposed extensions okay so that'll be extended one year now we have the review of the Springtown meeting article list um as you can see on the list um a lot of the Articles of the standard articles that you'd see every year for
town meeting um couple for the water and soore the Cobb Street uh storage pumping facility phase three and the water tank Iration system um previously I think money was approved for that and they need some more on that
um a pilot for the solar facility at 12 Hill Street that's a placeholder pending uh an agreement on that um disposition of town property that's something that we're looking at with
um Habitat for Humanity right now so just a placeholder for now um so any the others if you have any questions just uh and I know as you know Paul's working on his codification and
his MBTA zoning the rest of these seem all pretty standard through you chair it's it's life now Mike what is the establish and fund a compensated absences trust fund
so um that is a um fund that we would have for um retirements this is something that the town accountant is recommending so it would have a fund that when someone retires and you have
to pay the sickly buyback it would come out there'd be money already established in a fund so do we do we not already have that accounted for in a fund somewhere we have it when someone's retiring we appropriate money at town
meeting and then we pay them from that but this would now have a fun like OPB um that would be you could put money in every year to try and get closer to
your liability so so when would that be realized at the end of after fiscal year whatever sick time and this anyone's acred that dollar amount would go to this fund right or every every time you could do the same like oped you could
set a policy once this is established you could set set a policy and say let's put x amount in to try oh okay yeah have it earned some income okay Mr chair Mr Sneider uh
question on Article 19 painting of the Everett Leonard Park pavilion why is that an article I I have to check on that okay it's a fantastic question good point okay okay anyone else we dis work to it
last year one more question Mr chair I am not like I am not seeing the unless it's one of these that I just missed sorry but the bylaw for the MBTA overlay whatever it's called on here that's 20 I
believe it's 20 yes okay yeah they did it as one article I think this this time instead of two CU last time it was the the map and the wording yeah okay so and I'm sure they'll go over that that's that's that's right okay okay any other um brid ofar Oak
Street I just have a question for the board regarding oh my God sorry regarding technology is it possible to have you guys like screen share things on to the board for example like the articles that you're voting on yeah it is possible
and I I will make sure that we're trying to do that it's easier for us um Town residents to see what you're talking about when we can it or or posted in advance either or well projected is preferred but yeah that's all thank you thank you great thank you we've never
had AV before well you know the plan and they showed us how to do it and and we're just not doing it so we need to maybe figure that out it's a good idea yeah I'm thinking up we put the camera you know I actually know how to do it so if
I can do it then anybody can do it I don't know um I guess we have the discussion on Elm Street Water and Sewer improvements uh is this new I haven't heard of this one before
PA do you want to come up so um or do you want to yeah sorry so I wanted to have uh the developer is here and uh Ann brensley and uh I'd like to have Ann come up to talk a little bit
about uh the project and what they're looking what they to do hi uh good evening an brensley I'm with devco North America I am the managing uh partner and I am here with Ed tartufo
which I believe some of you are familiar with he's the consultant who's helping us on this development project and then we have uh Sophia um kugali kugali properties is one of our co-developers on the project so uh I think my intent
was just to give you a really quick uh update on where we are but also a brief history on where we've been uh where we want to go and how it all connects to what you're trying to achieve in the next couple months as a town so uh for those who don't recognize me I was here
in 2022 a couple years ago uh at the annual town meeting in order to start this project and even though it feels like uh a lot of time has gone by there was a lot of work that was accomplished within that period of time and you won't be surprised to know that a lot of the
holdup was legal issues regarding the title of the property um which has now created somewhat of a perfect storm for this town of Norton and the reason is because I have this window for title in order to take ownership of this property
and it actually closes uh and the reason behind that is because I had to open the old entity that owned this property a long time ago and uh it will close and if I don't take title during that period of time then the ability for anybody to own this or do development
uh will close and I believe right now one of the main objectives for the town in the water and sewer is to be able to develop this project into something that actually contributes to the town um the good news is it took two years but we did accomplish that ability to open that
window um so right now as a developer goes as far as devco North America goes uh one of the other major accomplishments was bringing in Krug Nali uh properties uh we do have some information about the projects they've done but they've been very active in these typ gr of projects so we're
looking at about 150 unit project uh residential Apartments we're going to be very focused on what you would expect for a community like this which is retirees who are trying to downsize who want some rich amenities and then also maybe some young professionals or Wheaten graduates who want to stay
within the area and contribute to the area um this isn't a large project 140 units 150 units should be well received within the town uh we've had some Community meetings about it we've received good feedback from Neighbors um
there's still some environmental work that needs to be done that's why there's somewhat of a perfect storm here because one of the abilities to do the development for uh the environmental includes cutting off the existing source of water and that means if we don't have
that existing source of water on that property the only way to do anything with that property is to do a water and sewer um Improvement uh from a financial standpoint what has been amazing and let me just applaud your town because this is something that I know you guys have
been working on you probably Drive P by this spot and just it's just probably an ey store but this town has worked with me for the last two years trying to come up with a financial way to make this happen and asking us as as a major recipient uh to contribute in some way
shape or form to still have a project that is very difficult be financially viable but also take on the expense um of participating in this water and sewer development it it took a lot of work it took a lot of maneuvering it and
it's including uh using incentives like the acff and um tax um plans and uh really the town has already contributed a lot to the environmental side of the project I mean so we are at a little bit of a perfect storm I know you guys have
kind of a deadline with the grant all I can tell you is that we are very very committed we've put two years into it we put the expenses of two years of legal and development if anybody has lawyers you know what that adds up to very quickly two years two years of those
lawyers um but one of the things that I did want to show you is what I think most people are wondering and hoping for which is what can we actually do there if we are able to get this um financed and so we do have some you want to oh yeah
and we can leave these or not leave them but you have understand that they will change right you guys will make us change on planning board but this is what we're looking at very nice and Kali properties this is it this is their
wheelhouse this isn't a new project for them this isn't a new type of space this the height isn't abnormal the unit count isn't abnormal difficult sights isn't abnormal for them this is right in what they do and Pali partnered with us formally and we told them everything
about this site they still um I'm going to ask you if you wouldn't mind could you turn it around so the camera could get a shot of those as well and the people that here could see don't hold us to it the community get a in this um the town the planning
all of you engineering these are just conceptual yeah they're beautiful conceptual plans and they're viable conceptual plans you know just as far as how units and how it might work hopefully some newer cars though when Mr chair s go ahead just through
you an is um is there retail on the first floor of that okay um this has been a question brought to me and it's really about the town and the community behind it so Wheaten has already expressed they found out about the project and approached me about it um
and they need space so if we can contribute that it's it's an added cost that has already been put into the project um but then you have neighbors who say you know what I've been looking for housing my mom's been looking for housing we want every space used for
housing um because these are going to be reasonable um you're not we're not talking South Boston numbers here right so um we are going to definitely be receiving that input from the community great thank you thank you actually I was
on the planning board when this first came to now yeah my last meeting on the planning board was then so um I don't know any further questions folks no thank you for the presentation excellent thank you all right there is
thank you do you just like to say a few words absolutely go my name ised tattoo I've had the opportunity in the past to come before your board to support and endorse other projects uh that have been really
positive projects for the town but this one is so different because it represents a significant PC of History you've got an old building that had a lot of jobs for noton residents probably when it was built most of them probably walked to
work when the business went overseas the jobs evaporated you were stuck with an abandoned building um vacant no taxes no revenue and no life in it um Mar coroli hopes to uh renovate that that space to
something very significant and the town will be proud of and he would be proud of I worked with Marco on other projects one that's probably most familiar to you was resell landing on the end of resell Street um thankful to Marco's patience persistence and capability he was able
to make that project work it took a long time uh he hung in there many phone calls and Communications I had with him to to stay together to make it happen and he did it's a positive thing for our area and you know things like that you tend to get the Zone creep that happens
when you one good project beets another good project and I think that's what we've got happening here so uh Marco's got a track record of building large buildings near aror train station large buildings in the center of Mansfield as well as some smaller buildings that's where he got his his start in doing some
of the small condo projects and Mansfield had made some zoning changes and had been in place for probably 20 years nobody took advantage of it he had the foresight to come in and start with a small five unit building eventually that grew to larger buildings larger buildings larger buildings and grew to
what it is today so uh we're proud to be here and hope we can assist with you again that's conceptual that could change with the site and with planning board approval it could be a mix of of uses there but whatever is acceptable to the town and and the developer can make it work with with an Ann's been working
on this for some time and um not everybody would have have been able to put this project together I've looked at it several times in the past but didn't have the ability to put something together like she did once I saw that we made a connection and I made a partnership with Marco so we're looking forward to really something nice that
happens to not and so again I appreciate being in front of you and hopefully we're back again to see uh approval for this project going forward but uh thank you uh for your time being here thank you thank you thank you very much and I actually did have one question you mentioned there was
um there was a window for the title and it's closing pretty fast how fast and June June yeah uh and don't get me wrong um we it it's much more about a lip lipus test from you guys as a town if we feel like this water and sewer is really
going to happen and that we can come up with whatever we need to do to work with the town to make it happen we will take title so we just need some of that that's why it's a little bit of a perfect storm it's it's not a storm we can't get out of but it's there's a lot of elements coming up at the same time
and so um you know I think we're all committed to something happen there so um we're going to take those risks and leap in if we need to okay thank you very much thank you thank you thank you all right so Jimmy do we want to
discuss a special town meeting or I'll leave it up to the board here uh Mr chair Mr Snider what would be the harm in scheduling a special town meeting my personal opinion would be the cost of it with a regular town meeting
happening not even a month later I mean that's that would be my opinion on it but so are we talking about doing a special town meeting in say April or are we talking about doing it at the same time as the annual town meeting no we talking about having a special town
meeting on March 19th March 19th okay and when is when is the annual town meeting May May 19 thanks Peter and the reason being is um as I said before the water andur department
has extended the contract once with the um developer and I believe the next uh it was extended until sometime in March and the concern is um I I said developer I meant the contractor but uh the
concern is that the contractor has got to line up their work for the spring and um if if we have to wait until May for the town meeting to approve this water and soore project they could line up
another project in the spring and this wouldn't would be put off and we get we're getting closer and closer to that 2026 deadline to spend the 3.5 million and it's the only Mass Works Grant the towns ever had probably one of the largest grants the towns if not the
largest Grant the towns ever had and uh it's really helping to bring down the cost on this project and we don't want to lose it Mr chair Mr SN I don't typically go on Long Rants and I'm going to try not to right now yep um but it's
my opinion that we need to do everything we possibly can to get rid of that property well get rid of what's on that property right now um it's not only an eyesore it's a danger to the town and I know our folks do everything they can to
keep you know to keep it safe but there's no way to keep a property like that 100% safe if you take a ride over there right now there's gaps in the fences there's I'm sure there's people trespassing on it that we don't even know about um and so it's been my
opinion on this project for some time that we need to do everything we possibly can to redevelop this property with the opportunity that we have to take advantage of it would be to me it'd be silly to walk away from $3.5 million that you may never may not ever get um
and you got to strike while the iron is hot to use a cliche um so in my opinion the time is now and if we blow this opportunity and 10 years from now there's still an eyore and a danger on that property you'll only have ourselves
to blame as a town um I completely recognize that this um you know has issues with water and sewer sewer and tie-ins and expenses and you know people
you know having to tie into the system and betterments I get all of that but I also think that it's our job as a board to do what we think is best for the town as a whole and if that means that we vote on this in the
affirmative um to develop this property I think we need to do that so um like I said I'm not going to turn it into a long rant but I would be in favor of having a special town meeting on March 19th all right uh I'm not against pretty much a lot of what you said I I agree
with quite a bit of it um my concern I think I've made it known over the last several meetings when this has come up is is the cost of the residents um in the area and and I know that's being worked on and there's some alleviation coming so that is a huge reason for me to kind of be bending the other way so
um go ahead Al Mr chair I believe there is is and mentioned uh the upti which is um to my understanding the best of my knowledge it is um a grant that has to
do with um I think it's going to be specifically allocated toward towards mitigating the cost to the residents that are directly affected by this so with that being said you know that I don't think a final amount is determined
but but um at just doing the math um say half 3/4 of it is mitigated um you know in my opinion if I owned one of those houses I'd be jumping for joy because I'm going to when my septic system fails it's only going to
cost me half of the amount to install you know to hook up the town excuse me to hook up two Town sewer as opposed to install a new system never mind that's lowline area everyone's systems are
raised systems down there so just being in that field and knowing the septic end of it that um you know with those those tiffs that Ann is working on um in my opinion it's it's a no-brainer if I owned any property on that that street
yeah I mean that was my initial hesitation the cost of the owners and like I said that's been being worked on as much as possible I know um I know Ann's been you guys have all been doing that so um Roger did you have something um just a question uh Mike what what
would a special town meeting cost for us to put on with one article on it I don't there's really not much of a cost as long as we're not charged uh fees for using the uh space at the schools I think we've worked on that
already and um my thought is is that if we oh I'm sorry and I and I already talked to C about spending thousands of dollars on uh a company to come in we don't need that for a meeting like this to do the uh sound so my thought would
be that if we H schedule a special town meeting with one article on it and everybody knows what that article is rather than bury it in a list of articles that are going to be in the regular town meeting that people are just going to hang around until that article comes up I think we'd be better
off to have that so anybody who wants to come out to that meeting can come and have their say about what's going to what's happening with that project through your chair yeah don't let it fool you it's not going to be a short time meeting no just so we're all on the same page well so first of all I want I want to just clarify so when you open
open a warrant for a special town meeting it may not just be the one article people could come in with other articles correct yeah the warrant will be open and it will close um on February 25th at 4M so anyone could spit an
article in between that okay something mind so that's no about 12 days um and my question is more around are we only proposing the option with the T sewer tians and how how and why did we abandon the other
option I I can't answer that water and so we'll have to talk on that um I personally I think if you're gonna dig the street up and put in a new water M and a new soore M people that live along the street should have the ability to tie into it because at some point
they're probably going to wish they had that soore um we've seen that happen before where private s lines go in we have one out here we have one down further on uh East Main Street and then the abutters all of a sudden want to tie
in they can't because it's a private so line so I would hope personally that if we're going to dig up the road we put a so line in that everybody can tie in at some point yeah one of my questions previously on this too was the uh the betterment cost to each unit um and I I don't know if I had said this during a
meeting or if it was offline but I know that if some of it was going to be covered by by a grant that they were still going to be still going to be taxed that betterment that full betterment and that's what I didn't want to it sounded like double dipping to me and for what I know now that's not the case so right so the issue is it's not
like they can tie in if they want to they're going to have to tie in it goes by their street after this 7year period I believe um but it's it's it's flexible right well by law it's seven years and unless they sell the property or their system fails
and in checking there's never been anyone that the town has gone after for not tying in within the timeline just saying yeah I don't know that I would say that but yeah they're compassionate about going after somebody
if their system's a problem they're going to go after them uh Mr chair just for for the board to discuss should we have water and sewer come in and give us just maybe 10 minutes of their time just to kind of give us an update meeting sure yeah I don't think we need that for the special
meeting vote but for the warrant article yeah Mr chair yes so the warrant Artic we'd have to have that warrant article done by would have to be completed by the 25th the warrant article have to be submitted by the 25th so we would have to have it discussed before the 25th
maybe maybe what we could do is just maybe you would have water and sore can submit it by the 25th and you don't then you take your vote at your yeah because we meet on the 27th on the 27th yeah okay M Mr chair I'm going to make a
motion you always do I'm going to make a motion to schedule a special town meeting for March 19th 2025 I'll second okay all in favor I I opposed all right look at this working
together all right thank you all right do we have any topics not anticipated within 48 hours no I don't think so now we have the town manager's report thank you thank you guys for coming yes thank you for coming in thank you good to see you again an it's been three
years Care thank you um so I just wanted to update you on a couple things um we once again have received the the 2025 Municipal cyber security gr awareness Grant uh so
that'll help us uh on keeping uh Town employees aware of cyber security and uh the state works with us on that and there's uh programs that come out to all the employees in town that they have to
read and answer questions Sim similar to like when you do the ethics test um and they send us tests with fake emails and trying to see if people click on them or don't click on them so it it's uh something that I
want to thank Charlene for uh getting that for us again and then uh under the Massachusetts Broadband Institute Capital GPA Grant um which is to increase Broadband to areas that are
underserved um Norton um was picked as one other towns to receive uh assistance on that um the money goes to Comcast who then I actually emailed them today and they said well we know we got the grant we know n Norton's on the list but we
don't know what we're doing more or less so she said she she get she' get back to me when they have a better idea of what they're going to do in Norton uh with with the money they got they got about $1 million or something like that for a number of communities and Mass
Massachusetts to increase Broadband yeah 11, 317,000 that's great excellent excellent and uh Mr chairman uh you have my um retirement letter in front of you uh kind of kind of got a
hip hiccup with this uh last week I shared it with a couple members and then I got a I told them I would be giving it to you tonight we become official and uh I got a text message from the town clerk saying she just read my letter on Monday I'm like how'd you read my letter I
didn't even give it to them I give it to them Thursday night I didn't get it there and so um unfortunately I had to apologize to the people that were finding out in that way I'm sorry um you
know I've worked with them for 14 years but all right so um first Mr units I I want to thank you for everything um since I've been on the board you've been you've been fantastic with me um and I'm going to um I'm going to have our clerk
read this thank you Mr chair oh he this is uh to uh Mr Hornsby Dear Mr Hornsby it is with mixed emotions that are write this letter as notice of my intention to retire with my last day of
service being on or after July 1st 2025 it has truly been a rewarding experience I think back to the day that I first Googled the town of Norton and saw the statement so it was in December 1997 when a traffic light was installed at
the intersection of routes 123 and 140 in Norton and it was the town's First full traffic light and in a manner of speaking it declared Norton isn't maybery anymore with the addition of traffic signalization on East Main Street at
Leonard Street the Route 4 5 overpassed North and South Washington streets and soon to be on West Main Street at North and South wer Street it seems Norton definitely is not Mayberry anymore these signalization projects were all funded with private and state funding not local
funding during my 14-year ten year as Norton's Town manager together we have definitely accomplished a lot for the betterment of this community and I truly consider as my second home when I began my service in Norton the focus was on
establishing an agreement with the towns of Foxboro mans and Mansfield for a regional Sewer District through months of negotiations this District was established and expansion of the wastewater treatment plant began the additional capacity this
expansion provided was essential to the commercial development we would focus on in the future our commercial tax base was increased by adding Horizon bever Al ANM what is
that exactly Pensky Trucking Rider Truck Spears manufacturing uh waste management and the National Weather Service to our Commerce Way Industrial Park I remember Governor Baker at the groundbreaking of nlm saying who is here
from Norton nlm chose to develop here because you get with the addition of these been new businesses the park was almost out of develop developable space we needed to find another area for commercial development in the first months of my
tenure in Norton I met with sered to identify areas of the town for development the primary area I identified was Hon's farm when I heard that Hon's Farm was looking to sell I approached conine development this led
to the development of the blue star Business Park bringing Wayfair Pitney bows Home Depot and Yale Appliance to Norton and increasing a commercial tax base sewer expansion on West Main Street was completed this project was essential to
the fure Future growth in an area that is underutilized development of this area is aligned with the town's master plan that was developed that marks the first master plan completed since 1998 I also think back to the night I
was driving home on East Main Street in the rainstorm and barely noticed The Pedestrian walking on the side of the road the next day I went to see the highway superintendent Keith silver to require why would there are no sidewalks on East Main Street he said don't bring that up the last time that was brought
up people went crazy I told him I'm bringing it up and contacted the state through public forums it was determined that people were actually crazy were actually crazy for it they wanted to go further this agreed to fund the project and we now
have an improved roadway with sidewalks and traffic signalization once this was accomplished I went back to Keith and asked why Norton doesn't have a bike trail on the old railroad right away his response don't bring that up that was a worse
fight than over the sidewalks on 123 I formed an alternative alternative transportation committee and contacted the state the state agreed to fund the development of the bike path and it should be completed this spring the deterioration of our waterways was also
consider of considerable concern one summer I noticed there was a small open area on the surface of w of wonet and the rest was green I formed a water bodies committee and secured funding over the years to clean up and maintain the town's water
bodies this is an important Recreation asset for the town when I visited companies I was trying to attract Norton I emphasized our recreational opportunities as well as location knowing that this was something that they wanted for their
employees actions were also taken to improve on the revenue and efficiencies of the Town budget I worked with a consultant to develop a request for proposals for the construction of solar facility on the former Hill Street landfill this resulted in approximately
$300,000 a year to the town in rent and energy credits we purchased and converted street lights to LEDs saving approximately $100,000 a year we instituted online permitting to improve on the permitting process
creating efficiencies for staff and capturing increased Revenue we became a green community and are benefiting from Grants for Energy Efficiency projects the establishment of the Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Emergency
Communication Center for our dispatch has saved the town a significant amount of money and has modernized dispatch for the town utilizing new state laws concerning health insurance I established a Public Employee committee and instituted changes to the health
care plan resulting in a savings of $1 million to the town we were awarded a safer Grant to allow us to add four fire fighter paramics to the fire department and open the chartle station the development of a water treatment plant
greatly improved the quality for residents we developed the times's First Financial policy plan manual this and sound fiscal management resulted in an increasing of our bond rating to AA
plus and we have maintained that rate over the last 10 years the policy has also led to a commitment to annually direct funds toward W the OPB liability our PEB trust fund that began in 2012
with $11,000 has now grown to over11 million we have strived to increase our stabilization fund which is increased from a balance of 910,000 in 2010 to $4.7 million today sound budgeting
practices has led to the generation of free cash each year ranging from a low of 1.9 million in 2011 an increase of 1 milion 23,000 over 2010 to a high of 6254 million in
2025 free cash over the last four years has averaged $ 4.77 four million the focus on attracting commercial development has provided Norton with a significant increase in New Growth between 2011 to 2014 new
growth averaged $227,500 a year between 20 22 and 2025 New Growth averaged 975,000 a year with a high of 1.6 million in
2025 when I began in Norton town government was a shell of itself there were no Council on Aging employees to provide seniors or Human Services nor were there employees to support the Recreation Commission the town planner was part-time and was not able to
provide any long range planning and Norton shad a veteran service officer with another Community these departments now have qualified staff as I write this letter from my professional office space the accomplishment I am most proud of is
that we finally have a town hall and Senior Community Center the town hall has not only improved both functionality for staff and convenience for patrons as they conduct business but it also represents a community investment that all Norton residents should be proud of
the state-of-the-art senior community center offers a safe and welcoming space that allows the essential social and Human Services service needs to our community to be provided in a confidential and professional environment it was a long process from the
decision to dedicate the $1.7 million for the nlm permit fees towards these projects to the negotiation for the purpose of the two properties for these facilities I remember representative barrows asking me how did you ever get
Clemy to sell you property he doesn't ever sell property none of this could have happened without the great group of dedicated and talented people I assembled around me the town is fortunate to have such outstanding staff I especially want to thank those people
that labored day in day out without much praise Glory or recognition from the general public these are the behind the-scenes workers that carry the water they write the develop the requests for proposals assist businesses and residents with licensing and permitting
requirements prepare vouchers and build payable collect the money manage the money as if it were their own keep the minutes prepare the agendas address concerns of residents and do whatever is required or asked of them to facilitate
the operation of this 77.4 million business often times putting in hours for which they are never compensated they deal with the scorn from residents who often use that Infamous saying I pay your salary but they continue to act
professionally and courteously to all residents please remember and honor these employees they deserve it I have enjoyed my second home in Norton and will truly miss the friends I have had the pleasure of working with
each day tomorrow will the sun will rise who knows what the tide could bring your best Mike units Town manager I just want to say thank you Mike thank you Mike and best wishes on the next phase your M your life lots of
Sun and Fun Mr Rich Mr chair I'd like to say a few words about Mike um Mike I've known you since you got here um all your accomplishments which are all part of that letter are um
are just incredible what you've been able to achieve uh the growth of the town and the staff that you've put together um is second to none I've always spoke everybody that I talk to
um we always speak to that and um I thank you very much for everything you've done you've been a true gentleman to me um with everything uh that I've done in town um during your tenure and I see how you treat people and it's
impeccable um it's going to be very tough uh to find somebody to fill your shoes so thank you very much Mike enjoy your retirement when that day does come um and um God bless thanks thank you
Alec I didn't know we were doing speeches tonight I had one ready for the last meeting but go ahead anybody else would like to say something go ahead Mr chair I'm going to save my speech I think for uh for later on CU I I didn't write anything so um but I will say um that um you know Steve and I have both
been on the board since 2022 um and we both have been chairs of the board Steve currently the chair of the board and um uh I don't know that I ever really thanked Mike for for all the help that he's given us as board members um and sort of shepher shepherding us through all of the questions and processes and
and all that but um but you know when you're the chair you really rely heavily on on the town manager to help you and and I don't know that ever thanked Mike for that so thank you Mike but um you know we'll see you around for a little bit so I'll save the rest for another time all right anyone
else Mr what a job you did for the town in the past 14 years and I was there to thck and thin and you were a good priv that c has been priv for years TR to be the may not you're going to be missed
and no one could ever fill your shoes and Mike I just uh I want to reate reiterate what everybody else said here um I want to thank you for your uh your patience with me as the uh junior member on the board putting up with uh some of
the stupid questions I have um but I also want to let you know that um to a person those folks that are out there standing out there are looking back at you I've talked to everybody in this building I've tried to get into every office and at least say hello or stick
my face in and everybody has nothing but wonderful things to say about you and how you treat the people who work for you and that is uh that is something you can take home with you because that's that means a lot to a lot of people so thank you and it's rare it's rare all
right so after all that we're moving on to select boards report in mail um I did have one thing something came to my attention the other day um I just just wanted to see if it's even viable if if we've done this but there's um the hero
act allows for certain municipalities to have voted to double the property tax exemption for um for eligible veterans so is that something we can look into have we um we I'll get the information for you and you can say what's involved okay yeah because that's
something that apparently the select board can can vote on and if we don't we don't already have that in place I think absolutely should um you've caught the attention of a Stell back there yeah oh all right so so I'm guessing we don't
have that in place right now okay so then let's let's get that maybe on one of our upcoming agendas so we can fastpac get that in there all right yeah okay does anybody want to say anything yeah um I'm going to yes I'm
going to say I approve the warrants as written and then I'm going to say if anybody would like to come up and say anything from the the town you're very welcome to I don't want to put you on the spot you don't have to tonight all
right okay well thank you all very much and Mr chair SN I'd like to make a motion to adjourn this meeting of the Norton select Board second this meeting correct
not this one this all right all in favor I I opposed you better not okay thank you all very much it's too funny I love I love the microphone