Message To Foxboro Board: Let It Go

Foxboro Needs To Move Ahead 

by Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle

If I could offer some unsolicited advice to the Foxboro Board of Selectmen, and the good people of that fine community, I would respectfully suggest they listen to the wise words Princess Elsa so eloquently spoke in the movie my grandkids saw at least 100 times — Frozen. “Let It Go.”

That’s what selectmen should do when they consider — for the umpteenth time — what to do with the old Foxboro fire station property in the center of town. At their meeting on Aug. 20, the board should issue a “municipal conversion permit” to King Builders that will end the long, sad saga of this property and allow the important and necessary modernization and revitalization of downtown Foxboro to proceed.

After all, it’s not like this is a sudden or impulsive move. This has been a painfully slow and tedious process, which in many respects it needed to be. Project after project has been proposed, rejected or ignored. This issue has been studied more often than most high school textbooks (they still DO use textbooks in high school, right?).

It is an important piece of property, and what happens with it will set the tone for how Foxboro will grow — not only in this area but throughout the community. It will tell both developers and the townspeople if Foxboro is really serious about making the downtown area better, or if they are just paying the topic lip service once again.

Without rehashing the long history of proposals, this is now down to one. King Builders was chosen in May because selectmen believed they had the best proposal. It’s time to get this project moving. It is time to let the old fire station and funeral home go.

Instead of an unusable eyesore, Foxboro will benefit from having a new restaurant and a new 15-unit apartment building with on-site parking. Four additional units above the restaurant/pub would bring the total residential unit count to 19.

This project will result in additional tax revenue to the town, additional foot traffic to local businesses in the area, and turn a decaying site into a revenue-producing enterprise that might encourage others to invest in the area.

That doesn’t mean the developer has to be given carte blanche to do as it pleases. Reasonable limits and accommodations can be made that protect the interests of abutters, the taxpayers, and people traveling through the center. But those limits and accommodations should be designed to make the project better, not cripple it or cause it to fail.

Nothing will ever get built at that site unless it is economically feasible and advantageous. The last 20 years have proven that.

Only three selectmen will be making the decision on the permit, as two have recused themselves due to apparent conflicts of interest. It would be wise of those three to allow the permit, and then let this project proceed through the normal building process including review by any applicable committees such as the planning board.

The property is zoned correctly. The buyer and developer are in place. The studying has been undertaken and completed. Just one thing now remains to be done here.

“Let it go.”

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and a longtime local official. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.

Norton Doesn't Love That Dirty Water

Norton Water A Dirty Problem

by Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle

To say Norton has a water problem is a gross understatement. But since it doesn’t affect everyone, it doesn’t get the attention it should. Sure, there is a lot of talk about it — but not nearly enough.

In many Norton homes, the water looks like root beer. It can look like mud. It stains clothes, ruins appliances, and costs residents a lot of money for filters, bottled water, and blood pressure medication due to the time it is taking to address the issue.

This is not an exaggeration. Just go online and search “Dirty Norton Water” and take a look at the pictures. It is enough to make you gag.

Local officials are aware of the situation and trying to fix it. Old pipes certainly add to the contamination problem. Some water mains have been replaced — particularly along some main roads.

They claim the discoloration is the result of high manganese in the water. A multi-million dollar treatment plant is currently under construction, and they believe it will solve the problem. The project was initially delayed due to state concerns involving a possible Indian burial ground, but that was settled and allegedly the plant will open next year.

In the meantime, a filtered water machine has been placed at town hall where folks can fill water jugs. Some chemical additives have been made available to help. But those are small, short-term attempts to lessen the problem. They are not solutions.

Town meeting has authorized many millions of dollars to try and make the water system better. The water ratepayers have yet to feel the financial impact of that because the rates have not been altered to reflect those expenditures going forward.

As a lifelong Norton resident — who does not have brown water, thank goodness — my major concern and worry is this.

I’m not at all sure the new water plant is going to solve this issue. I am not sure it is going to be the relief the poor people with ugly, unusable water have been waiting for.

I’m positive it will help and is necessary. But if you just look at the history of the water/sewer department and the piecemeal way water issues have been addressed, it is worrisome.

I would be much more confident if the town had a consolidated department of public works instead of an elected water/sewer commission. There should be a director of public works with experience in this area combined with a board appointed according to qualifications and experience, rather than relying on the goodwill of those who run for election — often unopposed.

The board of selectmen has limited influence in this area because the water/sewer board is elected. The town manager, who oversees the overall operation of the town, is also limited by this.

When the charter commission studying town government makes its recommendations, at the top of the list should be creating a department of public works and eliminating the elected water/sewer board.

That alone will not give Norton residents clean water. But it will certainly give them a much better chance of it than they have now.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and a longtime local official. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.