SELECTMEN ENDORSE REWORKED FIRE STATION PLAN; DPW TO ALSO GET NEW SPACE
Town officials have cut $20 million off the pricetag of the joint Fire Station/DPW project, bringing it down to $38.5 million, building committee Chairman Derek Haimaidi told selectmen Monday night. The new plan shrinks the proposed central fire station by about a third, keeps DPW administration in its current Summer Street offices, and adds 13,500 square feet of equipment storage sheds in the back corner of the Central Street lot. It also reduces the budget for building equipment and construction fees. Haimaidi said the project would give DPW less space than initially proposed but more space than they have now. The two current fire stations would eventually be declared surplus property and sold off.
Selectman Kevin Donovan, who also serves on the building committee, said cuts were made to make it easier for fixed income residents to support. (The revised project would temporarily add 62 cents to the tax rate.) He said some of the project’s annual bond payments might be offset when the town finishes paying off its pension fund obligations in 2027.
With several members of the Abington Fire Department looking on, the board voted to support the project at the Oct. 14 Special Town Meeting.
FATAL ACCIDENT ON ADAMS STREET
A 24-year-old with Abington ties was killed in a single car crash on Adams Street Wednesday night. Fire Chief Jack Glynn said emergency responders received a 911 call around 9 p.m. about an accident just south of 999 Adams Street. They found a pickup truck in multiple pieces, with the cab on its side about five feet into a wooded area along the road. The cab was on fire when rescue crews arrived, said Glynn. The bed of the truck was about 30 feet away. The driver, Robert Mattson, was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of the accident, which resulted in Route 58 being shut down for several hours overnight, is unknown.
WEST NILE FOUND IN ABINGTON MOSQUITOES
State and local health officials are reminding Abington residents to take steps to protect themselves after tests found West Nile Virus in mosquitoes collected in Abington. The virus can result in serious illnesses ranging from fever to encephalitis. Residents are encouraged to make sure there are no standing pools of water on their property, repair holes in window screens, and wear insect repellant while outside.
LOTS OF CHARITABLE EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
A reminder that there are multiple opportunities to give back this weekend. Saturday is a blanket making event for Annie’s Kindness Blankets. Volunteers are invited to stop by the Senior Center between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and help make the comfort blankets, which are then given to people in emotional and physical need. Sunday morning, is the 2nd annual Abington C.O.P.E.S 5K. The race starts at 9 a.m. at the entrance of the Woodsdale School. The 43rd annual Abington Music Parents Crafts Fair is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will feature more than 80 crafters spread over 2 floors are expected at the Middle/High School. Finally, the organizers of the Abington St. Patrick’s Day Parade is holding a meat raffle Sunday from 2 – 4 p.m. at Lucky 777’s Bar & Grill in Holbrook.
OTHER SELECTMEN’S MEETING NOTES
At their meeting this week, selectmen held moments of silence in memory of former Abington police detective Nicholas Marzocca, longtime resident Joanne Curtis, and the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
The board also appointed Andrew Burbine as an alternate to the Zoning Board of Appeals and Abington’s representative to the Southfield Redevelopment Authority Zoning Board of Appeals, and heard a proposal from an Eagle Scout candidate to build an informational kiosk outside the Groveland Street compost site. Town Manager Scott Lambiase said he expects to start soliciting mixed unit housing proposals for the Center and North School properties in about six months.
UNION POINT ZONING HEARING MONDAY NIGHT
The public can give their thoughts about proposed changes to zoning rules at Union Point this Monday night. Union Point’s new developer wants to consolidate many of the property’s varied zoning districts into one mixed use development district. Doing so will give it more flexibility to attract developers, they say. Unlike past master plans that specified the types and amounts of development desired for different areas of the land, the new master developer wants to loosen rules so it can build based on market conditions. The proposed zoning regulations would allow multi-unit housing on Abington’s land; currently its prohibited. Officials for the master developer can’t say how much housing vs. commercial development will eventually be built on Abington’s property, just that it could be anywhere from a 75/25 split in either direction. The new zoning would also create dozens of acres of protected open space around the property’s entire perimeter in order to meet federal wildlife permitting requirements. The public hearing will be led by the Planning Board Monday at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. The zoning rules will be up for a vote during the Special Town Meeting on Oct. 14.
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