Plasko stepping down in April

The Norwood Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday in Room 24 on the first floor of the Norwood Town Hall.

The elevator, which Town Manager Tony Mazzucco said is only six years old, is currently out of service. Mazzucco said residents unable to use the stairs and looking for services from the Assessor’s Office or the Town Clerk can still use those services, but they must check-in downstairs first.

“Just let us know and they’ll come down to provide any services,” he said.

The elevator will be out for a few weeks, as Mazzucco said it requires a good deal of work.

“We’re not happy about it, but the first floor is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible,” he said.

Also on the docket was the resignation of Selectmen Vice Chair Bill Plasko, who will be officially resigning on April 3 of this year at 11:59 p.m.

Plasko said in a letter – he was unable to make the meeting – that while his dedication to the Town of Norwood remains firm, he must make considerations for his health.

“It was not an easy decision to make,” he wrote. “Anyone who knows me knows that I do not take my commitment to this Town lightly. However, at this time, due to health considerations, I must focus my energy on my health and prioritize the time I spend with my family; the people who have stood by me throughout every late-night meeting and challenges we face as a Town.”

Plasko has served more than 50 years in some capacity to the Town of Norwood local government. He has worked as the Deputy Executive Director of the Norwood Housing Authority for 38 years, and has also served on the Finance Commission, the Board of Selectmen, Town Meeting (District 1), the Capital Outlay Committee and “too many special committees to count.”

“I wish to thank my colleagues, on the Board, dedicated Town staff, and so many other volunteers,” he wrote. “It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve alongside all of you. I am incredibly proud of the work we have done together to keep Norwood strong, stable, and a wonderful place to call home.”

Board members lamented Plasko’s upcoming departure and said they would thank him personally when he returns for a meeting in the coming months.

“We’re going to want to embarrass him when he’s here,” said Mazzucco to laughter from the Board.

Selectman Matt Lane introduced a motion to advise the Town Clerk that Plasko’s remaining year of his term be put on the April 6 election ballot as a special election. The Board voted unanimously to approve the motion.

Also at the meeting, Selectman Michael Saad introduced a motion to rename the Norwood Animal Control Building on Route 1 as the Henry Cerqueira Animal Control Building, in honor of retiring Animal Control Officer Henry Cerqueira.

“He’s a longtime South Norwood member, I’ve known him for 50 years since he came over from Portugal, and became dog officer 34 years ago,” Saad said. “We thought it would be a great gesture for the Board to name the building after him.”

The Board voted unanimously to approve.

Also at the meeting, the Norwood Concert Committee came by to promote the upcoming shows at the Norwood High School. Concert Committee member David Tuttle said while the concerts are inside, bad winter weather is still a consideration, and they will post online if any concerts are canceled because of roads made dangerous by snow and/or ice.

Each concert will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. starting on Jan. 25 with the She Bop Swing Orchestra. Feb. 1 will see the Roy Scott Big Band playing, Feb. 8 will see Dan Gabel and his Orchestra, and Feb. 15 will see the Bare Bones Big Band.

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Tuttle noted that Feb. 8 is the Superbowl, but he said they have organized the concert to give residents plenty of time to get where they need to go to see the game (barring any ticket holders who might have to get to Santa Clara, California, to see it in person).

“We guarantee to get you home in time to see the Patriots play, no worries,” he said making a somewhat bold prediction.

In other news, Norwood Police Chief Christopher Padden, Norwood Fire Department (NFD) Chief Tim Bailey and Director of Communications at the Holbrook Public Safety Communications – the shared dispatch the Town uses – all came by to give the Board updates.

Padden said they have had a relatively regular month with about 5,200 calls for December.

“It’s a high-volume month, same as always,” he said.

Padden said they’ve been focusing on traffic enforcement based on calls from neighbors seeing issues. He said once they get a call or two about a particular issue, they send out patrols to prevent bad driving behavior. He said they have had 105 warnings, 468 parking tickets, 107 motor vehicle collisions, and 38 arrests. He said the major cases involving those arrests have all been solved, according to NPD detectives, and they are working with the District Attorney in the courts.

NFD Chief Bailey said they have been working internally lately with some of the department’s vendors to find efficiencies and act on them. He also said they are in the process of installing advanced life support (ALS) equipment on the NFD fire engine and ladder truck, with implementation coming in a few weeks. He said the new equipment will allow the trucks to provide services when an ALS ambulance is taking another call or headed to an outside hospital and the mutual aid ambulance – an ambulance from another town – hasn’t arrived yet. He also said they have installed new gear dryers that have cut the time gear will be washed in half – from eight hours to four hours.

Washing gear is critical, as firefighters face dangerous chemicals in smoke during fires that must be washed out to help prevent disease, notably cancer.