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Council schedules March 6 public hearing on Organogenesis tax-stabilization agreement
Summary
The Smithfield Town Council voted to schedule a March 6 public hearing on a proposed tax‑stabilization agreement with Organogenesis Holdings Inc.; the applicant asked that the agreement be codified as an ordinance, prompting a short council exchange about legal protections and future amendments.
The Smithfield Town Council voted Tuesday to schedule a public hearing on March 6 to consider a proposed tax‑stabilization agreement between the town and Organogenesis Holdings Inc., including related entities and parcels referenced in the application.
Councilman Iannotti moved to schedule the hearing; the motion carried on a voice vote. Town Solicitor Glomb confirmed that the agreement and any solicitor recommendations would be included in the packet available to the public at the time of the hearing.
Joe Carnivale, who identified himself as counsel for Organogenesis Holdings Inc., told the council the applicant requested the agreement be codified as an ordinance. "To the extent that by the time we reach final terms on the agreement ... there are any potential variances from the enabling ordinance, it's our position that it would be necessary to have an ordinance authorizing the subsequent agreement be codified," Carnivale said. He added codification would, in his view, make termination of the agreement more difficult for future councils.
Council members debated that point briefly: one member noted a future council can change an ordinance, and another said codification can offer additional legal protections for a contract the applicant considers long‑term. The council president moved to limit further policy debate until the public hearing, and the body voted to schedule the hearing.
The hearing packet and any solicitor revisions will be published for public review before March 6, the council said.
The council also continued, without final action tonight, a separate public hearing on adding Chapter 283, "Seal of the Town," to the code of ordinances; that continuation was set for March 18.
