Norwood Approves Moderna TIF, Capital Project Requests at STM

NORWOOD, MA - Norwood held two special town meetings in the Norwood High School gymnasium on Monday, Oct. 18, where a TIF agreement was approved unanimously for Moderna. Some projects in the capital improvement plan spurred debate before passage, including lighting at the high school field and the relining of water pipes.

The debate about Article One, which allowed the Board of Selectmen to advance a home rule petition to the state legislature to extend the age of retirement of Fire Chief David Hayes, brought up a firestorm of comments. Please read the related article here.

The remaining articles advanced with some debate during the three-hour event. Two separate Special Town Meetings were held, with a separate meeting to consider approval of a tax increment financing agreement, or TIF, for biotech giant Moderna, which has a campus in Norwood and is planning to expand. This would provide for real estate tax exemptions over a 10-year period. This will be the third TIF between Moderna and the town.

The meeting, recorded by NCM, can be viewed here.

Moderna TIF approved

The Moderna TIF agreement passed in a unanimous vote. Beforehand, Selectman William Plasko explained that the Board of Selectmen unanimously approved the TIF at a recent board meeting. It was also approved by the Design Review Committee and the Finance Commission.

He added that Moderna's expansion will provide economic benefits to Norwood. It will provide an investment of $400 million to the town by renovating the former Mercer building while constructing another one. Three hundred new employees will be added, and another 75 wil be transferred to the Burlington campus.

"Everything they've promised, the amount of money they invested and the number of people they would hire have greatly exceeded all of those pledges to the town." Plasko said as he advocated for the article's passage.

Questions arose about whether Moderna used animal testing and the role of Moderna's Norwood complex. It was explained that Moderna does not perform testing on animals. The COVID-19 vaccine is produced at Moderna's Norwood complex with messenger RNA, or mRNA. Other vaccines and treatments for cancer and other rare diseases are in the works.

"I would argue that Moderna, unlike any other Norwood business in the last 150 years, manufactures therapeutics that literally saves lives across the globe virtually every day," said Michael Thornton in support of the article. "My sense is that Moderna is poised to offer a durable partnership with the Town of Norwood that will fuel new and sustainable economic development in our town while literally healing mankind in the process."

Capital outlay projects approved after debate

The other major vote was the approval of the capital outlay plan in Article Two. There were more than 25 projects recommended for funding through free cash totaling $6,574,500. Non-utility borrowing was approved for $6.8 million, while the water and sewer projects would involve borrowing $5,130,000, passed unanimously. Norwood has more than $10 million in certified free cash.

Selectman Helen Donohue brought up the Board of Selectmen's recent discussion about reconsidering what could be considered as capital outlay projects. She also said that the current configuration of the Capital Outlay Committee consists of town officials. Her vision is to include more members of the public.

One major concern was the proposed new artificial turf athletic field at the high school's track and field athletic complex. Facilities Director Paul Riccardi noted that all of the schools that Norwood competes against have artificial turf fields when a question was raised about using grass instead. The new artificial turf field would have padding underneath that the current field does not. Several sports are played on the field, which would make grass not feasible because of wear and tear.

The $650,000 line item for lighting at the field also was questioned. This would allow usage of the field into the evening, as well as possible rental by other entities. It was proposed to implement the lighting concurrently with the field installation so that the new turf would not have to be dug up in the future.

Finance Commissioner Anne Haley, a District Four Town Meeting member, said that when the high school was built, "the neighbors were given a verbal promise that there would not be lights" on two occasions because of concerns about light pollution from abutters.

"It's not a one-night stand for one or two Friday night football games," she said. "Once they are in, everybody uses them."

She made a motion to take out the $650,000 lighting line item, which failed to pass unanimously. After the debate, Haley noted, "I should have gotten that in writing. We made a mistake."

School Committee Chair Teresa Stewart said the committee recently discussed the concern at a meeting. The committee will work with the community on an agreement on field usage if lights are installed, she explained.

NHS Principal Hugh Galligan said the lighting would help the school's culture and get the community involved in supporting the teams.

"Many students find their sense of connection and belonging to a school through those things," he added.

Several members said the lights would be an asset to the field because they would bring the community together in an outdoor setting, a need the pandemic has emphasized.

After a lengthy discussion, the main motion on free cash usage was carried unanimously.

The second portion of the article called for $6.8 million for road repairs and the replacement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system at the Norwood Public Safety Building. Riccardi said the "environment inside that building is in one word inconsistent on an average day."

"We owe it to the people that are in that building who have put up with that system for 20 years to put in a system that operates the way it should," he stressed, calling it "a nightmare." He also said the heat is simultaneously running along with the air conditioning in the summer.

This motion passed unanimously.

The final major issue, raised by Donohue, was in regard to relining the water pipes. She noted that Norwood "is only 150 years old next year." She suggested that the town only use $1 million per year, rather than the proposed $5.13 million proposed figure, as had been done previously. The project would be financed through a no-interest loan from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). This motion also passed unanimously.