NORTON – Residents at a special town meeting on Monday are being asked to support a tax break for a new business and lowering the speed limit on a busy road.
The rare summer town meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium. There is a mask requirement for all participants, as selected MPs voted on Thursday evening to require masks for the public and staff in all city buildings.
The key point of the three-part warrant or agenda would be a tax break for a home appliance store and the owner of the new business park on Leonard Street off Interstate 495 where the store would be.
Yale Appliance, now based in Stoughton, and Condyne, the owner of Blue Star Business Park, would not have to pay property taxes in full.
The so-called Tax Increment Financing Agreement would run for 10 years, with 85 percent of taxes exempted in the first year and reduced each year, ending at 35 percent in the last year.
A 210,000-square-foot building, valued at $ 17,750,000, is planned on 27 acres of land that the property owner is applying for tax relief.
Yale Appliance, which would rent the building for the new headquarters, distribution operations and retail showroom, is looking for tax breaks on its proposed $ 1 million investment.
The company sells refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers, ovens, grills, and lighting.
Yale Appliance plans to relocate 100 and add 15 more full-time employees over five years. Norton residents would have tackled the new jobs first, and local businesses would have priority as suppliers and vendors.
The members of the finance committee recommend the passing of the tax breaks in order to request the support of the selected board members.
Speed limit on South Worcester Street
Residents are also being asked to support a plan to put a 25 mph speed limit on South Worcester Street.
Local residents who live on the street have long had traffic concerns, including trucking from the former Hallsmith-Sysco site, which is still used for trucking.
Specifically, the article seeks to accept state law that empowers the “Public Safety Committee” to impose a speed limit of 25 miles per hour on every street within a non-federal high-rise or business district.