Town set to close on former St. Gerard’s property

Barring any unforeseen problems, the town of Canton is set to become the new owner of the St. Gerard Majella Church property at 1860 Washington Street as of April 15.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, Select Board members authorized spending $3,234,860 to complete the purchase of the five-acre property, which includes the former church building as well as the former church rectory. The purchase price is slightly lower than the $3.305 million authorized by voters at a December special town meeting and subsequent town election.

Select Board Chair Mike Loughran said the consultant hired to conduct an environmental review of the land did not find any problems. The board is still awaiting final reports on the condition of the buildings.

Loughran said the summer Kids Camp held annually on the property will continue this year.

Once the sale is completed, Loughran said the board will begin to plan public forums to solicit input on potential uses of the property. Loughran had previously stated that there will not be any town meeting action in 2022. “We are not in a huge rush. We want it done right,” he said.

In other news from Tuesday night’s meeting, Loughran acknowledged the impending retirement of Police Chief Ken Berkowitz, who announced in last week’s Citizen that he would be stepping down effective June 15. Loughran said discussion on the search process for Berkowitz’s replacement will begin at the board’s next meeting on April 12. Regarding the search for a new town administrator to replace Charlie Aspinwall, who is retiring this fall, Loughran said there is one internal candidate and that person will be interviewed at an upcoming board meeting.

Also discussed at Tuesday night’s meeting was a proposed permit fee waiver for Organogenesis to expand its operations by purchasing more property at 275 Dan Road. A global leader in the emerging field of regenerative medicine, the Canton-based biotech company currently owns three other sites in Canton at 65, 85 and 150 Dan Road.

By allowing Organogenesis to halve its permit fees from $140,000 to $70,000, the company can apply for state economic benefits. In return, Canton would see a property tax revenue increase from $74,000 annually to between …

See this week’s Citizen to continue reading and for more highlights from the March 29 Select Board meeting. Click here to order your subscription today.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=85287

Posted by Mike Berger on Apr 1 2022. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.