Eye on Town Government

By Susan MacEachron

The proposed location for the new Norfolk fire house is in wetlands and the potential impact from the building and proposed mitigation strategies were presented to the Inland Wetlands Agency (Wetlands) at its meeting on Sept. 12.  

Will Walter, a professional engineer with Benesch, said his firm has been hired by Silver Petrucelli & Associates, the architects for the project, to manage the survey, civil engineering and landscaping.  Walter presented the proposed plan for the new fire house, which will be located on the parcel of town land adjacent to the existing fire house.  

Walter described the challenges the lot poses as a building site, noting its modest size and the proposed disturbance of 8,000 square feet of wetlands.  He said the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) wants input from Wetlands regarding the location and building plan before getting too far along in the design and engineering work.

The proposal under consideration assumes that once the new fire house is constructed the old building will be demolished. A plan to capture and treat storm water in an underground retention system is envisioned. Walter said pervious pavers are planned for the new parking area to help reduce storm water run off. It was also noted that access to City Meadow must be factored into the plan.  A public hearing will be held at a future date.

Wetlands also addressed a concern raised by neighbors of the residents at 71 Bruey Road who sprayed to kill vegetation along the roadside of their property. There are wetlands at either end of the treated area and the town owns the land 5 feet to 10 feet alongside all town roads. Wetlands chair Hartley Mead noted that an effort to eradicate invasive plants is laudable, but expressed concern that the residents refused to tell the neighbors or the wetlands enforcement officer the product that was applied. Meade said he would send a letter to the residents and would ask Riiska to do the same since the spraying was on town land.