Hanson Planning Board Publicly Rebukes Engineering Firm Over High Street Park Delays

HANSON — October 20, 2025 — Hanson Planning Board blasts engineering firm over years of delays on High Street Park project. The board voted 5-0 Monday to continue the High Street Park public hearing to December 8, expressing open frustration after the town planner read aloud an email from senior project engineer Steven Ry stating that design revisions were still incomplete and that "a considerable amount of work" remained. The Planning Board Chair publicly named firm owner Norman Hill and Ry by name, stating for the record that Ry's apology "is not accepted" and that the firm's 40-year reputation had been "tarnished" by its handling of the project. The board also voted 5-0 to endorse a modified street lighting plan for the Metobrook subdivision on County Road, requiring carriage-style lights on eight-foot granite posts with lumens equal to the originally approved subdivision plans, and continued the Main Street pedestrian improvements public hearing — covering approximately 4,000 linear feet of sidewalk from High Street to Elm Street — also to December 8.