The infrastructure focus extends to water quality, with recent investments positioning Taunton to receive a Lead-free Community designation from the Department of Environmental Protection. This achievement gains particular significance in the context of nationwide concerns about aging water systems following high-profile contamination cases in cities like Flint, Michigan. Public safety infrastructure has also received major attention with the construction of a new public safety building. “The city has not built a new police station in over 100 years. Our police have been housed in temporary facilities for over four decades with promises of a new facility,” says Mayor O’Connell. “When I came into office, one of my priorities was to build a new public safety building to house the police and fire together.” HOUSING SOLUTIONS Taunton’s multi-pronged housing strategy addresses the nationwide housing shortage through a blend of downtown revitalization, adaptive reuse of historical properties, and transit-oriented development. “I 211 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05 TAUNTON, MA
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