Civic Center Referendum Triggers Joint Meeting Between Selectmen and Building Committee-September 4, 1981

The contentious debate surrounding Norwood’s proposed civic center will take center stage next Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. during a joint public session between the Permanent Building Construction Committee and the Board of Selectmen.

Permanent Building Construction Committee Chairman William A. Ward announced the scheduled gathering during the committee’s meeting last night, reading an official request from selectmen to discuss the upcoming September 15 referendum regarding the civic center’s planned construction on the site of the former Aaron Guild School. The building committee will convene an hour prior to the joint session to review referendum strategies.

Legal Questions and Town Meeting Ambiguity

Municipal officials have increasingly questioned whether the June Town Meeting vote that initially authorized the civic center actually approved a specific architectural or operational plan. Town Meeting appropriated $2.2 million to construct “Phase I” of the project as defined by the building committee. However, Town Counsel Justin C. Barton stated that he could locate no formal written report detailing those plans.

Selectman William J. Plasko, a vocal opponent of the project, argued that if the original funding vote survives the September 15 referendum, the building committee would be prudent to petition for a fresh Town Meeting to formally ratify the project’s specifics. “It would be up to town counsel to decide if another town meeting is necessary,” Ward noted, pointing out that his previous report to Town Meeting was entirely verbal and asserting that the building committee must remain neutral rather than acting as proponents or opponents of a particular blueprint.

Swimming Pool Cost Estimates Add Fuel to Debate

In unrelated business, the committee received preliminary financial estimates regarding a potential indoor swimming facility should the civic center project move forward. Philip Porter, a sales representative for Whitten Pool Systems Corp. of Mendon, informed the committee that constructing an indoor pool facility could run as high as $1.2 million depending on architectural specifications and amenity levels.

Breaking down the figures, Porter estimated the pool basin installation at roughly $215,000, with an enclosing building structure ranging from $750,000 to $800,000, though he emphasized these figures were preliminary. Porter noted that Whitten Pool Systems has constructed major aquatic facilities across the country, including institutional pools at Westwood High School, Harvard University, and Charlestown High School.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger