City Council Unanimously Approves Gasification Ban

Ze-gen pushed out of Attleboro others banned from ever getting in.

The Attleboro City Council voted to ban gasification plants from industrial zones in Attleboro during its meeting Tuesday night. The change in zoning was requested by @RISC after the group joined together to fight Ze-gen, a waste-to-energy gasification company in Boston, from opening a plant in Attleboro's old Texas Instruments industrial park. Charlie Adler, spokesperson for the group Attleboro Residents with Important Safety Concerns (@RISC) said the measure also raised the bar for other types of power plants, and for refuse incinerators, by requiring that such facilities receive a special permit from the Municipal Council. "On behalf of @RISC, I would like to thank each and every member of the Municipal Council for their vote tonight, …

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Attleboro Mayor and City Councilors Bang Heads Over Proposed Budget Item [VIDEO]

Attleboro officials debate over possible layoff of one grant-funded position.

Tuesday night's public hearing on the general government annual budget for fiscal year 2012 included a heated debate between some Attleboro City Councilors and Mayor Kevin Dumas. The core of the debate? The $22,297 included in the general budget to pay a portion of the $45,000 salary of Community Development coordinator, Joseph Maia.  The employee's salary is paid by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant. A recent 16.5 percent reduction in the grant, however, forced planning officials to make cuts to their original draft for the coming year. Because the program caps administration costs at 20 percent, planners recommended to the council that half of the city's Community Development Coordinator'…

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Five Things To Know Today

Stretching, Swimming and School Committee All Happening in the 'Boro Today

Not too late to mark your calendar for the city council or school committee meetings and to register for championship swimming.

Fitness classes for differently abled children are being held  from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Attleboro YMCA on North Main Street. The Attleboro City Council meeting is being held tonight at 7 p.m. at City Hall. Attleboro Public Schools is holding its curriculum and instruction sub- committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. tonight in Attleboro High School's school committee conference room. The Attleboro Area Men's Group is hosting a breakfast meeting at Morin's Diner on Park Street at 8 a.m. Today is the last day to register for New England Area YMCA Swimming Championships taking place March 25, 26 and 27. 

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Organizers Need $7,000 to Complete Dog Park by Summer

Residents wait for the day their dogs will have a park of their own.

Shhh! Do not whisper to your dog just yet that the 260-by-75-foot space ceded to the citizens of Attleboro for the Attleboro Dog Park on Pond Street is available for romping, socializing and being out in the open and unleashed air. "We do not have a specific date when the park will be open but we are hoping by the end of the summer it will happen," says Ray Cord, spokesman for the Dog Park Committee, which reports to the Attleboro City Council. There is light on the horizon, however. The park will open when sufficient funds are raised to cover the cost of the four-sided fence to enclose the area. "We have raised $5,000 but we need to have a total of $12,000," Cord says of the estimated cost of the fencing. Cord points out many other parks …

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Special City Election for Ward 2 Councilor Delayed

In order to avoid a logistical mess, the Municipal Council has delayed the special election to fill a vacant seat on the council.

After considering a motion to declare the seat of former Councilman George T. Ross as vacant, the Municipal Council decided to delay the special election process by one week.  The special election to fill Ross' seat was originally slated for April 19, during school vacation week. If that wasn't enough of a conflict, the city's elections office notified the council of a scheduling conflict with Good News Bible Chapel, the location where registered voters in Ward 2 go to vote. The location was not available for the scheduled preliminary and election.  If the date was not changed and a new voting place was established, every voter in Ward 2 would have to be notified by certified mail, according to council President Frank Cook. Besides the …

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Support to Save Tappan House from Demolition Grows Stronger

An effort is underway to stop Sturdy Memorial Hospital from demolishing a historic home in Attleboro.

With support from more than a dozen concerned citizens from Attleboro and beyond, Marian Wrightington, chairwoman of the Attleboro Historical Commission, convinced the Municipal Council to agree to support a resolution to preserve the Tappan House from being destroyed by its owners, Sturdy Memorial Hospital.  This is the second time the Council has passed a resolution to save the Tappan House, which is located adjacent to Sturdy Memorial Hospital on Park Street. In 2002, when the hospital had plans to demolish the house, the Attleboro Municipal Council adopted a resolution to help preserve it. A similar resolution was adopted on Tuesday, which states that the council will urge the hospital's board of directors, Attleboro Historical …

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