Norfolk residents faced off with state officials over the plan to turn the former Bay State Correctional Center into a temporary shelter for unhoused migrant and local families in an explosive town meeting Tuesday night.

“We came to give you a chance to hear what we have been told by this state,” said Norfolk Select Board Chair Jim Lehan at one point over a hollering and booing crowd. “That’s the reason they’re here. Ask your questions. They will try to answer them. But know screaming will get us nowhere. Nowhere.”

Tensions ratcheted to a fever pitch at Tuesday’s two-hour long meeting, with the chair threatening to shut down the meeting and kick out a resident yelling obscenities at different points. The impassioned opposition comes just weeks before the state’s scheduled move-in date.

The state announced a proposal for about 450 unhoused migrant and local families to move into the shuttered Bay State Correctional Center in Norfolk for six to 12 months in early May. Local officials stated they learned about the plan just days before the public.

Tuesday’s meeting was the second Norfolk town meeting on the subject and possibly the last before unhoused families move into the shelter. Adit Basheer, the deputy director of emergency assistance, Allison Bovell-Ammon, lead for pre-shelter services, and Blair Brown, deputy lead for pre-shelter services, were present to answer residents’ questions.

There will be a meeting on plans for Norfolk schools and new students with DESE and school district officials likely in late June after the children arrive, officials said Tuesday.

“You’re pretty much adding 4% to our population overnight,” said one resident. “It will severely impact us. Hearing this and you’re hearing all these issues from us. And you’re seeing that it’s dividing our town. So my question is, is there anything you can do to go back to your boss and say there are issues with this plan?”

The state officials said they would continue to relay concerns to higher ups.

Residents who spoke Tuesday broke into two main camps: those concerned about the quality and safety of the prison facility for the families, and those concerned about the impacts on the town. A couple people stood to critique the other residents’ negative language about the shelter and people intended to be housed there.

Several residents expressed concerns about the safety and environmental risk factors at the facility — alleging the presence of lead, mercury and other toxins — that may be especially impactful for pregnant women and young children. While operational, the facility only housed up to around 270 inmates, other speakers said, a far cry from the proposed 450 occupants.

“I don’t think any of these people, when they decided to come to Massachusetts to seek a better life, thought they were going to be put in prison or former prison,” one resident said. “I think that’s misleading and unfair. You can dress it up and call it what you want, but you’re putting them in a prison.”

Others expressed concerns for the current residents of the town. Several people expressed concerns about the use of limited emergency resources, largely the town’s single ambulance.

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Safety was a big topic for residents, who asked several times about background checks for the shelter occupants and employees.

State officials noted that all occupants 13 years old and up and staff are subject to extensive background checks. They also said all migrants in the system are in the country legally and about half of the unhoused individuals on the waiting list are Massachusetts residents.

“It’s important for our town to take into consideration: how do we get to yes, in order to receive funding to offset the costs?” said resident Stephanie Ackley. “How do we get to yes to help support our firefighters, our ambulances and our police? How do we get yes, working with you folks, knowing that we’ve had no real opportunity for conversations other than tonight, and to incorporate the concerns that clearly this community has moving forward.”