MIDDLEBORO – Tax breaks for a new manufacturing company and a zoning plan to accommodate state requirements for housing near the train station will top the agenda for the Special Town Meeting to be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7 at Middleboro High School.

The tax savings plan would be awarded to Rexa, a manufacturing company in West Bridgewater looking to relocate to Middleboro and construct an 110,000 square foot building on East Grove Street for its corporate headquarters and manufacturing operations. 

The business would receive a tax break averaging 56 percent over 10 years through a tax incentive finance agreement. The company would save about $890,000 over the course of the agreement. 

The Select Board and the Finance Committee, which makes recommendations on financial articles, both support the article. Officials have noted that the company would add $1 million in annual revenue to the town through employee and company spending and would pay about $920,000 in tax revenue to Middleboro in the 10-year period without adding to the school system as housing would do.

Another big issue will be a vote on the proposed zoning plan to accommodate a mandate from the state that multi-family housing be allowed without restriction within a half mile of a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or MBTA, train station. 

The Planning Board has created a zoning district that would meet these requirements. If voters approve the change, the town will “unwillingly comply’’ with the mandate, according to the wording of the warrant article. 

The requirements have been controversial in town, with some select board members describing it as an unfunded mandate that would add expenses to the town’s schools, public safety departments and infrastructure. 

Communities that don’t comply with the mandate could be in danger of losing state grant funding.

Middleboro has filed a friend of the court brief supporting the Town of Milton’s refusal to follow the mandate. Although certain individual members of the select board and finance committees have spoken out against the mandate, both boards have officially made no recommendation on the issue.

Other agenda items include:

Approval of $42,281 to fund the town’s share of a $465,096 federal grant to install an exhaust removal system at the Central and North fire stations and replace the fire department’s handheld portable and truck-mounted mobile radios. The article was recommended for approval by the Select Board and Finance Committee.

Approval of $26,566 to fund the town’s share of a federal grant of $292,228 for the Fire Department to purchase new specialized breathing equipment, gear for fighting brush and wildland fires and overtime for training programs. The article was recommended for approval by the Select Board and Finance Committee.

Approval of $30,000 to fund improvements in living quarters at the Fire Department’s South Fire Station. The article was recommended for approval by the Select Board and Finance Committee.

Approval of $35,000 to paint and make siding repairs to the Council on Aging. State aid will also be used. The article was recommended for approval by the Select Board and Finance Committee.

Approval of $465,000, with $208,581 from surplus revenue and $256,419 from Covid relief funds, to replace the Pratt Farm Stony Brook Dam, which controls water from Stony Brook Pond. The town has received a $1 million grant for the work from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which has deemed the dam as a “significant hazard.’’ The article was recommended for approval by the Select Board and Finance Committee.

Approval of $750,000 to design, renovate and equip the Middleboro skate park. This money will be reimbursed to the town with the recent announcement that the town has received a $495,000 state grant for the project. The article was recommended for approval by the Select Board and Finance Committee.

Approval of $2,479,156 to upgrade a sewer pipe between Mayflower Avenue and Wareham Street. This will be funded through fees charged to sewer users and not from taxes. Covid relief funds totaling $575,844 will also be used toward the project. The article was recommended for approval by the Select Board and Finance Committee.

Other issues to be decided include: spending $50,000 from existing sewer use funds to replace a chemical tank at Rock Well; appropriating $160,000 for the town’s storm water system for tasks including wet weather screening and sampling; and approving $1 million in Covid relief funds to replace the Center Street water main.

A warrant article will also ask voters to accept a $405,000 grant from the Nature Conservancy to purchase about 53 acres off Precinct and Thompson streets to protect the land for the Eastern box turtle. These were all approved by the Select Board and Finance Committee.

Voters will also be asked to approve the definition of “accessory dwelling units,’’ a form of housing now allowed by law in certain locations, in the relevant bylaw and to approve a building height of no more than 65 feet in a general use district, with a special permit issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals. 

Acceptance of Harvestwood Lane as a town roadway and reducing the tourism committee membership requirement from 11 to seven members will also be considered.