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ably will be available beginning in 2018 and then, thereafter, it will occur more rapidly, but I would guess it will take three to five years.” Even so, after years of negotiating, the folks in Canton are beginning to see and appreciate the early fruits of their labors. “This is a home run,” says Del Vecchio. “It had the support of so many boards and commissions, because there’s a little bit of something for everyone, including the schools.As part of the development agreement that was negotiated with the developer to allow it to rezone the remaining portion of about 30 acres, they agreed to an arrangement under state law, called a District Improvement Financing Plan. It allows the use of tax revenues specific to the project that would not otherwise have existed, to be funneled back into the site for various infra- structure improvements, such as repurposing the two buildings,which is going to be a significant undertaking.And it also allows us to provide some capital to the schools so that they can use that for various capital improvements.There are two million dollars set aside in the development agreement, funded from this District Improvement Financing arrangement, again, coming from the taxes of the developer, to permit the schools to use it as best they see fit.” “This was an amazing exercise in the town’s boards and citizens and interested parties coming together for an important project,” says Comeau. “The negotiations were long, but if it weren’t for all of these groups coming together, I don’t PREFERRED VENDORS n Boston Mutual Life Insurance www.bostonmutual.com Founded in 1891, and headquartered in Canton, MA, Bos- ton Mutual Life Insurance offers a wide range of worksite, group, and individual insurance programs nationwide, including life insurance, disability insurance, accident insur- ance, and critical illness insurance. n Stephens Associates Consulting Engineers, LLC www.stephensengineers.com Established in 1999, Stephens Associates Consulting Engineers, LLC provides insightful, cost-saving engineering solutions for bridges, buildings, dams, and other infrastruc- ture from its locations in Brentwood, New Hampshire and Wilmington, Massachusetts. The company’s experience includes projects for national and local public agencies, municipalities, and private sector clients, including seismic, structural, and geotechnical engineering and geological evaluations of existing/historic structures. CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS think it would have passed town meeting. It failed about three other times previous to this. It was an exercise in the way a town should work together and I think it shows that our community is committed to right development but also to the historic nature of our town.” Del Vecchio says, “In Canton, we don’t partic- ipate in government in a partisan fashion at all. In my fifteen years of being on the Board of Selectmen and seven years prior to that on the Planning Board, I have never been involved in a project of this magnitude with this much cohesion and unity.This is a wonderful example of where governance works.And that’s what I’mmost proud of.Yes, I’m equally pleased that we finally attracted the attention and the interest to clean up a hazard- ous waste site, but I’mmore impressed by the fact that this was done by so many different people and groups.” Town Planner Smead sums up: “The redevelopment of this site checks all the boxes in terms of smart growth, in terms of historic preservation, in terms of affordable housing, and in terms of creating a healthy, vibrant, place-mak- ing opportunity.” For the town of Canton,Massachusetts, Paul Revere is not just a character in the Longfellowpoem that every school child inAmerica has heard or memorized.He is a living, breathing presence, and soon to be further memorialized with the establishment of the long-awaited, Paul Revere Heritage Site. Insightful, cost-saving solutions for buildings, dams, bridges and other infrastructure www.stephensengineers.com Certified in W/DBE in MA, ME, NH and VT Brentwood, NH: 603-772-1417 Wilmington, MA: 978-988-2115 Structural | Geotechnical Hydrology & Hydraulics Specializing in structural, seismic and geotechnical engineering, hydrol- ogy, hydraulics and geology of public and private sector facilities, our personnel have experience on medium to large-scale projects. Our staff’s experience is broad-based, involving buildings and infrastructure, with projects including buildings, dams, roads and highways, railroads, tran- sit facilities, bridges, tunnels, airports, pavements, pipelines, industrial, natural gas and petrochemical facilities. We proudly serve the Town of Canton, as a strategic partner and preferred vendor of choice, with dam engineering and related services on many projects, including the Paul Revere Heritage site.