A fair number of Norwood residents power down for the summer, opting for extended weekends at the beach, and long vacations at the Cape or in the mountains. This year, however, there will be no lull in the action in town, as important decisions are made that will determine the direction Norwood takes in the fall and beyond. And if you’re out of town, you might miss something significant.
Spending time at the seashore in July? You may miss learning who the School Committee and Board of Selectmen pick to represent you on the School Committee to replace Chris Morrison, who stepped down just two days after the April town election with two years left in a three-year term. It could be anyone.
Although there are viable candidates who received the support of a large number of voters in the election, School Committee Chairman Paul Samargedlis magnanimously offered the position to all comers.
“I’m going to put out an open call for anybody who is interested,” Samargedlis said at last Wednesday’s committee meeting. “I’m looking to get someone to hit the ground running because we have a lot of work to do.”
Perhaps he and others who will make the decision can take a cue from the voters and start their search where it should have ended in the first place: in the voting booth.
Dangling your feet off a dock on a lake up north, sharing the cool water with the loons? You could be perched on a tiny stool in the high school cafeteria, offering your input into the design of the new School on the Hill.
Community focus groups will be conducted throughout the summer. In July, groups will explore site and floor plan options, as well as private funding opportunities. August attendees will look into aesthetics, interior finishes, and systems and materials.
Of course, the actual design will not be determined by the townspeople, since residents don’t really agree on much. A group of elected officials and appointees, the project manager, site and building designers, educators and, ultimately, the Massachusetts School Building Authority will actually make those decisions. The voters will decide in April 2009 if they will pay for it or not.
While Norwood families are off frolicking at amusement and water parks, town officials will be riding the wave of euphoria that comes with the approval of a deal with NStar that could bring $40.1 million into town coffers over the next 20 years.
In exchange for installing a system that will allow NStar to bring power through the Ellis Substation to the Westwood line, NStar will pay for the design and installation, and will pay Norwood more than $2 million dollars in each of the next two years. NStar will also pay the Electric Light Department $1.8 million annually for the remainder of the contract for up to 20 years. The first payment to the town could be received as early as today.
Now that the contract has been signed and the funding for the project approved by Town Meeting, town officials are in the enviable position of deciding where the first $2 million-plus installment should go. The Stabilization Fund could get a needed infusion, the town’s structural deficit may be addressed, or deferred capital projects funded. You can be sure that town officials and administrators will not wait until the leaves fall to allocate the funds.
So if high gasoline prices and budget constraints are keeping people closer to town this year, it may be a good thing after all. It is far better to have residents aware of these significant events as they occur and to have full town participation than to have events unfold without community oversight.
[Editor’s note: Going away this summer? Keep tabs on your hometown at www.dailynewstranscript.com.]
Norwood resident Candace Leary’s Midpoints column appears Mondays in the Transcript.
