Norton Town Meeting Update

NORTON TOWN MEETING UPDATE 

Monday May 13, 2013

By Peter J. Wiggins

A big turnout at the Norton Middle School auditorium as the 2013 Norton Town Meeting got underway with Norton Policemen Thomas Petersen, John Chmelinski and David Schepis, who were there at 2013 Boston Marathon bombings on April 15^th, leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

The meeting started off with a discussion as the Finance Committees raised town road construction, and also paying for town employees retirement expenses, parcels for land by Dorrance Bristol Norfolk Realty and raise transfer from appropriate funds.

The budget has a grand total for $46,638,430 and the bylaw demolition delay of the by law not to prevent a demolition of historical buildings in the town of Noton and the White Farm house on 274 East Main Street on the slate for 40B housing law and the Demolition Delay passed.

The special town meeting highlights are the operation of a solar renewable energy generation facility and operating a solar energy facility in town, using the land across the street from the Daggett-Crandall Nursing for a cemetery and the mandatory connection to common sewer. Since 1988-89, the town is paying for sewer that is connection to the sewer. The town would like to see how to make improvements to the sewer bill and change the by-law from 2 to 5 years.

This act, 40b should apply to low and moderate income housing units to the town from all housing units and the home rule petition will be taken to the Legislature as the Article 14 was passed on a vote of yes by a wide margin of 85-1. Article 15 of 40B passed on a yes vote of 86-1 and they brought up the issue of second hand articles of the issue of Article 20 of the selling of Gold and Silver and Article 20 of the word of the article with persons removed had 51 vote for YES and 30 votes for NO. Article 2 on the road construction was passed as was Article 3 of the employee retirement fund. Article 4 for the Tax Break of the South Shore Millwork, Inc. was passed along with Article 5 of the Regional Wastewater unit. Article 6 was passed on the Water Treatment plant on wells 4, 5 and 6 on Plain Street near Lake Winnecunnet. Article 7 on the Land owned by Dorrance Bristol Norfolk Realty, LLC was passed. Article 8 on the land of A. Brandt and Marie Henderson, owners of the property at 25 South Lakeview, passed by a unanimous 2/3 vote. Article 9 was passed for the Forestry Fund, Home Composting Fund, Recycling Revolving Fund and the Certified Hazardous Materials Technicians Revolving Fund. The Sewer Enterprise Article 11, Water Enterprise Article 10 and article 12 Capital Improvement Fund were passed with ease, but the Article 13 Sewer Enterprise and Water Enterprise Fund was a nail biter. It eventually passed with a 2/3 vote. The Article 14 budget was passed, along with Article 16 on the Delinquent Taxpayers, the Employment Benefits, Longevity Pay of Article 17 and Article 18 on the Proposed Amendments with the Town’s Bylaws strikethrough. Article 19 Medical Marijuana was passed with 2/3 of the vote. Article 20 on the Second Hand was passed by a vote of 51 for YES and 30 for NO.

In the Special Town Meeting, the Finance Committee Free Cash Article 1 was passed. Article 2 with the Collective Bargaining Agreements was passed by majority vote. Article 3 of the operating budget was passed unanimously. Article 7 on the Verizon New England pole and Wire Ta on Overlay Surplus Account was passed along with Article 8 on the Solar Energy in Norton, the Article 9 Solar Power agreement and the Article 11 Capital Improvement Budget. Article 13 of the Mandatory Connection to Common Sewer passed by Majority Vote.