Brown joins a number of political and government officials at Nixon Peabody including: Tom Reynolds, a five-term U.S. Congressman who leads the firm’s Government Relations practice; Jim Vallee, former Majority Leader of the Massachusetts House of Representatives; and Navjeet Bal, the former Massachusetts Commissioner of Revenue.
| | | |
|
| | | |
|
Fuel assistance is a federally funded program and is available to Norfolk homeowners and renters (who pay their own heating bills). Eligible participants, regardless of age, can receive financial aid, advice, and assistance with heating and related issues by calling the Norfolk Senior Center at (508) 528-4430. Outreach Specialist Christine Shaw will then contact interested parties with the details and, if an individual qualifies, help with the application process regardless of the nature of the heating system or the type of fuel being used.
Norfolk residents are also encouraged to contact those friends, relatives, or neighbors who may be in need but are unaware of this program. Incidentally, the Senior Center Outreach Specialist also provides advocacy, information, and assistance regarding the full network of community agencies and providers available for a variety of issues faced by Norfolk's many senior citizens. The Senior Center is located at 28 Medway Branch Road and is open Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
| | | |
|
Norfolk's newly-opened Freeman-Kennedy School hosted its first-ever Town Meeting Thursday night in the school's cafeteria, with over 100 town residents in attendance.
A total of 25 articles were discussed and voted on during the course of the three-hour meeting, with most of the measured approved by the attendees.
Town administrators were pleased to announce that the town had around $1.1 million in its "free cash" account (surplus), which allowed the town, in its first vote of the night, to approve $2,235 for fire-department training and $33,847 to fund the salary of an Shared Technology Director in the school system. Also approved were $36,566 toward repairs of fire department emergency radios; salaries and expenses totaling $20,000 toward the town library, which would allow it to reopen on Sundays and thereby meet state certification requirements; and earmark $26,000 to fund the rising costs of veterans services in the town, which is required by the state. The total amount of free cash spent toward the departmental budgets was nearly $99,000, but all expenditures were approved unanimously.
Article 4 saw the unanimous approval of the transfer of $500,000 in free cash to the Stabilization Fund, which is the considered one of the town's primary savings accounts. Board of Selectmen chairman James Lehan stressed to town residents that it was "critical to put this money aside,"and was a "smart financial decision," since Norfolk had not paid into this fund for over 10 years, the account held over $700,000 in free cash, and "it would be poor fiscal management if we just use it for spending."
Also passing unanimously were separate motions in Article 5, which included vehicle and facilities maintenance for town-owned buildings, public-safety upgrades, and also authorized the town's treasurer to borrow funds and appropriate the proceeds toward the purchase of four DPW vehicles, three police SUVs, and a vehicle for the town assessor. Estimated costs for these eight vehicles are expected to approach $287,000.
Town Meeting unanimously approved in Article 6 the licensing authority of the town to grant a full liquor license to Norfolk Food Mart on Rockwood Road, which would replace the store's existing Wine and Malt license.
Much discussion emanated from Article 7, which was intended to shift responsibility for hunting on private land to the hunter, rather than the landowner. In the past, hunters were allowed to hunt on private land if signage were not posted prohibiting it; the measure voted on Thursday would require a property owner who wanted to grant permission for a hunter to hunt on his or her property to file notification with the local police department. It would also require all hunters to register with the police department each day that they intended to hunt to determine if hunting were in fact allowed on the properties where they wished to hunt. After spirited debate, residents approved Article 7 by a 56-42 majority vote.
Two articles that would make it easier for developers to build affordable housing passed easily, but Article 10, which was submitted by the Zoning Bylaw Study Committee to increase the number of bedrooms allowed per lot by developers in the town's B-1 (downtown) business district, generated vociferous debate. The article would have allowed an amendment to the Residential Density of the Norfolk Zoning Bylaws, changing Section 1.4.a.11 to read: "Residential dwelling units, except for assisted living facilities, shall not have more than two bedrooms per unit, and shall not exceed the ratio of 20 units per acre nor 32 bedrooms for any single lot except for special permit." Amending the section would have allowed developers to increase the number of bedrooms allowed per lot to thereby increase the number of units on their lots in the B-1 business district. While the town's advisory committee and planning board endorsed the measure because it could create an incentive for developers in the area, many residents believed it could create too much development, and voted down the amendment by a 47-38 vote.
Article 13 also provided a lively back-and-forth, as the town had hoped to amend the schedule of minimum off-street parking requirements, requiring builders to provide a minimum of just one parking space per dwelling unit (separate from single-family dwellings). The advisory board contended that the lower amount of required parking for this new category would have given builders more flexibility in how they utilized parking spaces, i.e., fewer space allotted to parking meant more space devoted to structures. Most of the residents who spoke about this measure insisted that one spot per dwelling unit was not realistic, even though Selectman Robert Garrity insisted that "downtown residents [who would live] near the train station and businesses probably don't need two cars." Garrity later presented a motion to amend the article to reconsider voting for 1.5 vehicles per unit instead of one, but the article still went down to defeat by a 40-34 vote.
A proposal to amend the town's zoning map to add a seven-acre parcel of land across the tracks from the downtown train station to the B-1 -- Outside the Business Core district also elicited strong opinions in a 45-minute debate. The land, which is currently a residence, is the focal point of "a [local] person interested in doing some development," and that though it currently houses a single-family residence, it was "unlikely to stay that way." Jeff Palumbo, chairman of the town's planning board that backs the proposal, insisted that the amendment would spur on the land "the embodiment of smart growth," and that it was "a particularly attractive property for development." While it was noted that the land was probably "ideal for housing but not for retail [development]" because of its landlocked layout, many residents felt that there was already too much undeveloped vacancy in the nearby downtown area, and one opponent noted, "We shouldn't be changing zoning for one resident." The measure, which would have required a two-thirds majority to pass, ultimately received 49 yes votes against 30 no votes, but the 49 yeas were three votes short of the majority needed to pass the amendment in Article 16.
The appropriated funds would allow the town to acquire the equipment, software, and training to begin the process of digitally capturing all of these documents.
| | | |
|
For the first time, WDIS-AM 1170 captured an award at the Massachusetts annual awards sponsored by the Massachusetts Broadcaster’s Association on Thursday, November 1, 2012 at The Verve Crowne Plaza
The Norfolk based station received 2nd place in the Sports Broadcast division for their broadcast of the King Philip High School Varsity Boys Basketball game vs. Sharon. The game was played in Sharon on January 10, 2012. WDIS-AM beat out scores of stations from across Massachusetts. WBZ won the division for its coverage of the Boston Marathon.
The winning broadcast featured the play by play of WDIS-AM Sports Director Jim Lucas. Lucas has been announcing sports since 1991 when he began his broadcast career announcing baseball for the Miami Miracle in the Florida State League.
WDIS-AM 1170 General Manager Dan Collier said, “It’s an honor for us to receive this award. Jim is an excellent sportscaster and understands our station goal to bring local sports to the area. We’re thrilled to be able to bring local sports to people not only locally, but through the internet, to be able to bring local sports to friends and family around the world.”
Norfolk, Massachusetts has had a radio station on AM 1170 since March 1978, when John Quinlan, then a state senator, obtained a license to broadcast for WJMQ AM 1170. In the 1980s, the station's call letters were changed to WJCC. In the early 1990s, the station became WDIS. Over the years, New England broadcast notables like Janet Jeghelien, Dick Sinnott, Chuck Burgess, and Gene Lavanchy have all been employed at the station. The station is currently owned by Brockton, MA-based Discussion Radio, Inc. The station can be heard locally on AM 1170 and on the internet 24 hours a day at www.wdisam.com.
| | | |
|
It was a moment that touched Norfolk's Caroline Dooley. The 15 year old Bishop Feehan sophomore was out with her mother shopping for school supplies at Wal Mart. She overheard people talking about how the poor economy was making it hard for them to the needed supplies for the upcoming school year. It was a moment that really bothered her. "That really touched me," she says. "That was always something I've taken for granted. I never thought about school supplies as a big indulgence."
That night she started talking with her family and she knew she wanted do something. Soon the idea of Backpack Fairy was born -- provide school supplies to as many people who can't afford it. She and her family decided to reach out to their friends and collect backpacks filled with school supplies for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. "I wanted to help because it was so sad that kids couldn't have simple necessities to do well in school," Dooley explains.
The idea caught on. Originally, Dooley hoped to collect 50 backpacks filled with supplies. Just after three weeks she was already close to reaching that number and now thinks it can be surpassed. "The response has been tremendous," she says. "So far we received enough supplies to fill 40 and we're expecting more."
Dooley says they're collecting basic school supplies such as backpacks, loose leaf paper, notebooks, crayons, color pencils and scissors. "Anything we can use for anyone from the ages of kindergarten through high school," she says. "We've been shown an overwhelming amount of generosity between everyone we know and everyone in our community that has been supporting us with this."
The backpacks will be distributed through Scared Heart Church in North Attleboro and St. Vincent DePaul.There is still time to contribute.
Anyone interested in donating school supplies may contact Dooley at backpackfairy@gmail.com.
| | | |
|
The new solar array built atop the capped landfill off Medway Branch RD. is the latest solar project to go online in Norfolk. Already, the sun’s rays are being harvested into clean energy at MCI Norfolk and Massachusetts Audubon Stony Brook. The town is becoming a full participant in the green energy movement and is one of several Massachusetts municipalities turning capped landfills into energy producing facilities. “This project has turned an old landfill into a producer of clean, domestic electricity,” says Norfolk Selectman Rob Garrity. “We're not using energy derived from foreign natural gas or coal supplies.”
The new solar array went online June 20th and is the result of a partnership between the town and Constellation New England. In this arrangement, the town is the landlord and purchaser of power, while Constellation develops and operates the solar array. Other towns to enter similar arrangements include Canton, Scituate, Easton Duxbury and Holbrook. One of the key factors driving this trend is the positive impact local leaders hope it will have on budgets.
This is true in Norfolk’s case. “The panels will provide the town with a benefit of $230-250,000 per year, at very little upfront cost to the town,” Garrity explains. “We were responsible for clearing and grading some of the land, but we didn't have to front a large amount of money."
The town’s investment was less than $100,000. “We had to invest, $70,000 to clear those trees to prepare the land,” says Town Administrator Jack Hathaway.
The town also had to set aside some additional land to protect the habitats of native Eastern Box Turtles.
The investment has the potential for long term savings. If energy prices go up, the savings could be greater than the projected $230,000 to $250,000. The town has a fixed price for energy purchase from Constellation that goes up slightly over the next 20 years.
The Norfolk solar array project faced typical difficulties but according to Garrity nothing major. “For Norfolk the difficulties were similar to the difficulties any time you do something for the first time,” he explained.
The main issues the town faced dealt with procurement policies, understanding the necessary permits needed, and crafting the request for proposal that would attract the company that would develop, own and operate the solar arrays. One issue Garrity feared never materialized. “It wasn't as hard a sell at Town Meeting as I thought it would be,” he says. “There have been so many very supportive people in town. Folks like Jack [Hathaway], Bob Bullock, Bob MacGhee, the Advisory Board, the other two selectmen, and particularly the Energy Committee which bird-dogged the project throughout the process.”
Now that the project has moved from a concept to reality, town officials are happy with the results. “I am thoroughly pleased with the project,” Garrity says. “On a personal level it's so fulfilling to be able to do something, to see something through to completion, particularly something that will benefit the town.”
Related Links:
The Wrentham Developmental Center is close to finishing a solar array installation. To learn more read The Wrentham Times.
To see the performance of the Norfolk Solary Array go to the online dashboard showing live data on its performance.
| | | |
|
