The following is a letter to the editor and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of BNEWS.
My name is Jim Tigges and this is a letter to show my support for Joe Morandi for re-election to the Selectboard. I have known Joe for decades and I have seen how much he loves the Town of Burlington and its residents. Joe has supported Burlington in so many ways that it’s difficult to list them all here. I served with Joe on the Board of Appeals and for the last seven years, on the Selectboard with him.
While serving alongside Joe, I have seen his commitment to making the Town of Burlington a better place to live and work in. Joe and his forward thinking are part of the reason why Burlington is attracting major life science companies and the ancillary businesses that come along with them. Just look at Blue Sky Drive (formerly Network Drive). Burlington is becoming a hub for life sciences.
Joe supports our Economic Development Office in many ways and concurs with our Economic Development Director that we need to look at rezoning the Mall Road area as we all know the impact that the pandemic had on office space.
Burlington went from what many called one of the worst municipal water supplies to now being one of the best municipal water supplies by connecting to the MWRA and Burlington will have a hybrid water supply for the future. While Joe has been serving on the Board, Burlington became one of the first towns to address and mitigate PFAS. Every town is dealing with PFAS but not Burlington; we already have a PFAS building and filters cleaning our water.
Joe also has the unique perspective of being both a resident and small business owner in Burlington. He knows how important it is to maintain a commercial tax base to benefit the residential tax rate, which is now the lowest since 2005.
So please join me in supporting Joe Morandi for a return to the Selectboard to keep Burlington moving in a positive direction. Sometimes you just need to look around to see how Burlington is thriving and Joe has been a big part of it.
Respectfully,
Jim Tigges