Medway and Millis January 2018

Page 14 Medway & Millis Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com January 2018
A Year in Review: Medway 2017
By David Pasquantonio
It was a busy year in Medway,
said Michael Boynton, Medway’s
town administrator, as he
reviewed the town’s 2017 highlights
and accomplishments, but
it was also a good year.
Perhaps the biggest news, and
the item with the most future financial
impact, was the final approval
of the expansion of the
Medway Exelon plant on Summer
Street. This will result in an
estimated $3.8 million annual
payment, in lieu of taxes, to the
town starting in FY 2019. Boynton
said that the town is looking
at minimal staff expansion,
instead slotting money towards
various education and infrastructure
needs, along with residential
tax relief.
The $10 million Route 109
redesign project is finishing up
another year. Although some of
the more complex work has been
completed, there’s still plenty to
come in 2018, including work at
two Main Street intersections, at
Franklin and Holliston streets. “I
would say that there have been
no surprises,” said Boynton, adding
that the town has worked
hard to minimize delays.
Traffic has ramped up on
other key streets, including Village
Street, as drivers seek alternative
routes. Boynton said
that the town has ramped up
traffic enforcement as a result.
New speed limit signs on Village
Street have sprung up in the past
few weeks. Beyond the ongoing
Shown is Michael Boynton, Medway Town Administrator.
Route 109 project, improvements
were made to many local roads,
including sidewalks at Saddle
Hill Road, in efforts to enhance
road and pedestrian safety.
The fire department added
four personnel while continuing
its move towards providing Advanced
Life Support services in
its ambulances. Four additional
hires will start in the department
on January 1, thanks to a Staffing
for Adequate Fire and Emergency
Response (SAFER) grant,
Boynton said.
The police department bid
goodbye to four retiring officers:
Lt. William Boultenhouse,
Det. Donald Grimes, Officer
David McRoberts, and Officer
Richard Simard. Lt. David Mc-
Sweeney and Sgt. John Meincke
were promoted, and the department
added four graduates.
The Medway Oak Grove
Urban Renewal Plan received
the needed local and state approvals
for the Medway Redevelopment
Authority to begin work
on the “bottle cap lots” and a
few other adjoining parcels. For
those unaware of why this project
has such an interesting name,
here’s some information from
the town’s website: “The Bottle
Cap lots derive their name from
a 1920’s marketing promotion by
Clicquot Club, which awarded
small parcels to customers with
winning bottle cap lots. There
were originally approximately
1,018 Bottle Cap lots with an
average size of approximately
1,600 square feet and dimensions
of approximately 80 feet by
20 feet. The ownership of many
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A Step Forward,
with a Look Back
As 2018 begins, Local Town Pages took
a journey at the issues and
accomplishments at the forefront of
both Medway and Millis.
of the lots has been consolidated
over the years, but the configuration
of many small, irregularly
shaped lots with multiple owners
remains a significant obstacle to
redevelopment of the area.”
In development news, in May,
the Zoning Board of Appeals
granted a comprehensive permit
for Timber Crest Estates,
which will add about 150 units
of rental-affordable housing to
the town. In August, the board
granted a permit for Glen Brook
Way, which will add another 48
units, and Boynton said that this
brings the affordable housing
total to about 7.2% of the town’s
housing stock. The town also
continued work towards final approval
of Salmon Health’s Willows
at Medway, the 57-acre,
200-unit adult retirement community
slated for Village Street.
At the fall town meeting, voters
approved a comprehensive
playground plan for Choate Park
and Oakland Park and improved
tennis courts for the middle
school. The plan was the result
of much hard work from the
Evaluation of Parks, Fields, and
Recreational Areas Committee,
Boynton said, adding, “EPFRAC
did a wonderful job.” Work will
commence in the spring.
In Department of Public Services
news, after former DPS director
Thomas Holder resigned
in late 2016 to take a position in
Wayland, deputy director Dave
D’Amico was named director,
and Barry Smith, the former
water and sewer superintendent,
was named deputy director.
In the spring, Medway unveiled
an upgraded partnership
with Cleargov.com, a website
that uses snappy graphics to
provide a snapshot of the town’s
budget, population, and median
home prices, among other stats,
and allows residents to compare
how their town stacks up against
similar municipalities.
The town said goodbye to a
longtime building. In April, selectman
voted to raze the former
St. Joseph’s Men’s Club building
behind Town Hall and the
fire department, with plans to
turn the ensuing space into additional
parking. The building was
deemed a structural hazard, and
mailings to the listed club trustees
were returned by the post office.
Boynton has been the Medway
town administrator for
about three and half years, and
previously held stints in Mendon,
Sutton, and Walpole.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
"She breathes dance in and out like oxygen, and reveres the craft and her role as a teacher." ~ Parent