Selectmen Concerned Over Reduction in Police Personnel

Members of the Norwood Board of Selectmen were concerned about a temporary personnel reduction at the police department at Tuesday night’s meeting.

In addition to the department’s July update to the board, Police Chief Bartley King reported that Lieutenant Peter Kelly will soon complete an FBI training program in Virginia. The report mentioned another officer is scheduled for state academy training in October.

Selectmen William Plasko and Paul Bishop addressed their concerns about a reduction of on-duty officers in the town — Bishop said the town could lose “one or two” officers at once.

“Are there any actions you can take to be ready for that hit in personnel?” Plasko asked the chief. 

King responded that the department cannot place officers on the streets without proper training, and “four or five” individuals could be training simultaneously. 

The chief also brought attention to the department’s activities during the month of July, including mentioning a new box at the department for residents to safely drop off unused drugs.

“We get them out of the house and out of the streets,” King said.

Officers issued 449 motor vehicle citations, received 1,771 service calls — including E-911 calls, motor vehicle stops, alarm calls, among others — and investigated 79 motor vehicle accidents. 

Detectives still are investigating the recent robbery at the Sunoco Gas Station, King said.

Selectmen received a report from the Norwood Fire Department. Fire Chief Michael Howard said the department finished its latest fiscal year with “(about) $10,000 left in the budget,” a budget of about $5.7 million.

Howard said the most serious firefighters handled occurred July 8 at 71 Sturtevant Ave. 

“We had a very difficult fire,” he said, where a family left cooking oil on the stove and left the house for a period of time.

Gerard Miller, superintendent of the Recreation Department, also spoke to the board and reported department revenue was down about 21 percent — $43,789 last year to 34,664 now — since July 1. He remains confidence the gap will close as the summer continues. 

Selectmen unanimously approved Miller’s request to close Father Mac’s Pool early on Aug. 21 because many lifeguards have college commitments. Selectman Allan Howard expressed placing special consideration on employees that could work past that date.

The board congratulated Norwood Post 70 on their state title achievements at the start of their meeting, where many of the players stood in uniform to show their trophy.

Local nonprofit members representing TogetherYes introduced themselves to the board, receiving almost full support of their sustainability efforts by selectmen.