- Okay, we have 121 plus

who have checked in, so

if everybody could take their

seats, we can get started.

Okay. I'm Mark Kaplan,

Wellesley's Town moderator.

It is 7:01 PM Thank you for checking in.

Early on Wednesday, April 6th, 2026,

I have been informed that we

have more than 121 town meeting

members checked in.

So I will now formally

call the third session

of Wellesley's 2 0 2 6 annual town meeting

to order this session.

And all subsequent sessions

being televised on Comcast

Channel eight, Verizon Channel 40

and all sessions are live

streamed by Wellesley Public Media

and Archive For future reference

or viewing, please turn

off all cell phones

and other devices that

make noise of any kind.

Town meeting members should all be

seated in the front section.

Residents who are not town meeting members

and others should be seated in the rear.

And staff members

and members of boards

who will be participating

in tonight's session

can also obviously be

sitting in the front,

but if they're not town

meeting members not

voting on voice votes.

And this is a public school building.

So once again, under Massachusetts

general laws, no firearms

of any kind or smoking

of any kind is permitted in this building.

Now tonight, sixth special day in

Wellesley's history and

I'm gonna call upon Mr.

DeFazio of Precinct F to

remind us of the occasion.

- Good evening

- Everybody. Can you hear me okay? Yeah.

My name is Tory DeFazio Precinct f Mr.

Moderator Mr. DeFazio.

50 years ago I had the privilege

of serving on the town

Centennial Committee.

We planned for three years with a budget

for a year long celebration during 1981.

Since then, when a town meeting

session falls on April 6th,

we celebrate again.

Today is April 6th, 2016.

It is the 145th birthday of the town.

And I am pleased to present

the following resolution,

Town of Wellesley 145th

birthday resolution.

Whereas the town of

Wellesley was incorporated

as a municipality by the state legislature

and signed by the then

governor of the Commonwealth

of Massachusetts on April 6th, 1881.

And whereas this action of

successful incorporation

was the result of 110

years of previous attempts

to separate from the town of Needham.

And whereas this new

town was named in honor

of the Wells family

and Isabella Pratt Wells, the wife

of the generous benefactor

and town leader, Horatio Hollis Honeywell,

who donated the land

and the grounds on which to

build the new town's seat

of government, Wellesley Town Hall.

And now therefore be it resolved

that this town meeting acting

on behalf of the citizens

of the town of Wellesley, recognize

and acknowledge that

April 6th, 2026 is the

145th birthday of our great town.

And be it further

resolved that we recognize

and salute the efforts of

previous town meetings,

which responded to the desires

and the needs of the citizens

to build Wellesley into

the outstanding community

for which it is known today.

And be a further resolve

that we acknowledge

and convey our gratitude to the generous

and dedicated volunteers in

this town who continue to work

for good government, protect

and preserve the natural

beauty of our community,

strengthen our schools and libraries,

and support all of the services

for the good of all citizens

and be it further resolved

that we as elected officials

and town meeting members,

renew our commitment to town

to work for good government

in the spirit of our founders.

And may this resolution be made part

of the official proceedings

of this town meeting

and recorded by the town clerk presented

by Salvatore DeFazio II on the sixth day

of April, 2026, approved by Mark Kaplan,

the moderator, and attested

by Catherine Cato, town Clerk.

And I would like to just mention

that during the break today,

please join us in celebrating the town's

birthday with a cake.

You probably notice it on the

way coming in, it's courtesy

of tonight's refreshment sponsor,

the Wellesley High School Key Club.

So thank you very much and

happy birthday Wellesley.

- And, and thank you Mr. Dio.

And we'll be taking a

break at approximately 8 45

and we'll allow a couple of

extra minutes to make sure

that everybody has a chance

to have a piece of cake.

I'm told that it can be cut

up into enough small pieces

for everyone, so please enjoy it.

Okay, so I hope everybody

had a chance to review the

moderator's bulletin, which

I set out the schedule

for tonight and for tomorrow

night, we should be able

to complete this town meeting.

In the four sessions

tonight, we're gonna have

seven articles that have

been sponsored by the Board

of Public Works and two

motions under Article

15 that are being put forth

by the Community Preservation

Committee, one of them,

which happens to involve the

Department of Public Works.

So hopefully we'll be

able to get through all

of those tonight

and tomorrow night we're

gonna start with Article 22,

which is the Contributory

Retirement Board article on

increasing the COLA base.

Then we have two motions put

forth by the planning board,

one having to deal with

a comprehensive plan

and the other with the issue of the Rios.

So, you know, hopefully

we'll be able to include both

of those tonight in a timely fashion.

So that's the schedule for tonight

and now for the test question,

in order to make sure

that everybody's electronic

voting devices are working

properly, no mystery about

what the question would

be tonight, which is

who will win tonight's

NCAA championship game.

Press one for UU press, one for Yukon, two

for University of Michigan,

and three for you.

Don't know or don't care.

Okay. The voting period is now open.

Okay. Definitely a hometown crowd

be bets will be taken during the break.

So if, if anybody's vote did

not record properly, come on up

and Michelle, our administrator,

will see what the problem is.

Okay? So if anybody's vote

was not properly recorded,

come on up to the table

where the administrator is

and we'll get you a new device

or fix the one you have.

So we can now open up the formal business.

And I recognize Mr.

Wexler, chair of the Board of Public Works

to make the motion under Article 11.

We guess we know how he voted.

- And you're gonna see

a lot of this tonight.

So I I I thought about, you know,

I normally wear a dress shirt,

I wish I had a Michigan dress shirt.

I don't. So this is what you get.

And I have family that went to Yukon.

So tonight's a big night.

So this is the first of

several motions. And Mr.

Moderator, Jeff Wexler precinct, Mr.

Wexler and Chair of the Board

of Public Works. Thank you.

I ask that you waive the

reading of the motion

as it appears on the screen

and was distributed in advance.

- Reading of the motion is waived.

- Thank you. And so this will be the first

of several motions that you'll,

you'll hear from our

department this evening.

Before I ask that the moderator

recognize our wonderful

director, Mr. Cohen, I

would like to just say that

number one, especially

after the winter, we

had, I think we can all

recognize the wonderful and fantastic job

that the Department of Public Works does,

maintaining the

infrastructure and providing

service to this town.

So I'd just like to thank them

for the incredibly hard work

that they provide for us.

And that starts at the top

and it goes through all

100 plus staff members.

And I'm very thankful to be on this board

because I get to celebrate them

and they really are wonderful.

And so I'd just like to

say one thing you'll hear,

I just want to point out a, a theme

that we brought up previously

in, in prior town meetings.

You're going to hear about

the investments that we need

to make in our infrastructure

here in town in

particular tonight around water.

And some of that will

incur the raising of rates.

We've done it a little bit in prior years

and you're gonna see a

little bit more of it.

But we're proud of the

fact that in the face

of significant costs facing

everybody in New England

and in Massachusetts, we're

actually doing a really good job

of maintaining rates

that we believe are some

of the best around.

And that goes back to the hard work

of our staff that we rely on.

So we'll welcome questions at any point,

but I just want to point

out that we are very,

very lucky in this town, both

because of what we pay for the service

and the infrastructure that we have,

but also for the quality that we receive.

And so I'd just like to frame

the entire evening with that.

And now Mr.

Mi asked that you recognize

Dave Cohen, the director

of the Department of Public Works. Yes.

- Mr. Cohen.

Mr. Moderat. Dave Cohen. DPW Director.

Yeah, Mr. Cohen,

small modification here.

So I apologize in advance.

You're gonna see me for

eight presentations tonight.

And coincidentally, there are eight towns

in the Boston Marathon.

So being that this is marathon season,

I'll give you some way

finding along the way.

First presentation is Article

11, we're in Hopkinton.

So here we go. On behalf of

the Board of Public Works,

I'm pleased to present

the FY 27 Water Enterprise

Fund budget request.

So for those of you new to town meeting,

an enterprise fund provides

a service to the community

and charges the users of that

service through its rates.

The Enterprise Fund receives

its funding solely from the

fees that it charges, not

from tax revenues of the town.

In this case, the Water

Enterprise Fund receives its

revenues from the rates

we charge for water.

The budget is based on a break

even cash flow projection

of the water to be used during

a moderate water usage year.

We then modify our rates as needed

to meet our projected

capital and operating needs

and actual weather conditions.

For example, a hot dry summer

versus a cold wet summer.

So this is our proposed water

budget for fiscal year 27.

Compared to the current

year, the total budget,

including non-operating expenses

and contingencies, is $14,385,866

or 6.1% more than FY 26.

The operating budget, personal services

and expenses is essentially flat.

The overall fund increase is

primarily due to debt service

and rate stabilization.

Rate stabilization this year

is for PFAS settlement funds

and MWRA water loan

proceeds, which will be used

to offset future rate increases.

This slide highlights the

primary operating budget drivers

personal

Right there.

Primary operating budget

drivers personal services are

expected to increase by 2%

and includes general increases

of 2% for management pay plan

and 2% for group 40.

We have 0% for our production

unit supervisor unit,

as those collective bargaining

sessions are ongoing

under expenses, you can see here

that MWRA water purchases

will increase by $90,000

and expenses overall will

decrease by about 132,000,

mostly due to health insurance

and reco retirement cost estimates

that we received from financial services.

Now turning to the capital budget

for many years we have

followed a deliberate plan

to upgrade our water distribution system,

which in many places is more

than a hundred years old,

actually dating back to 1884

when the water system started.

This includes a

comprehensive plan to replace

or rely pipe segments, upgrade hydrants

and loop dead end

sections throughout town.

Our plans also target

improvements to our water supply,

including Wells treatment

and our existing MWRA

connection highlights in FY 27,

sorry, include $1.15 million

for water supply improvements,

which include needed upgrades

to our existing treatment plants

and $1 million for distribution

system improvements.

So this slide shows our

water capital budget plan

through FY 31.

In FY 28 through FY 30.

You can see the impact

of major projects that we have planned.

- Oh,

- Put that down.

So in FY 28 through 30, you

can see the impact in red

of the major impact.

The major projects we have planned.

The larger red segments are for interim

and permanent PFAS treatment

construction, beginning

with Mors Pond and FY 28,

followed by Wellesley, ABB

and FY 29 and Rosemary

Longfellow and FY 30.

The dash blue segments are placeholders

for a potential second

connection to the MWRA.

This project would provide

redundancy to our existing system

and talks are ongoing with the MWRA

and neighboring towns

to see if this project will go forward.

And for your information,

we are expecting up

to a 20% increase for water in FY 27.

The makeup of that increase is 8%.

For interim PFAS treatment

design at the Wellesley Ave

and Longfellow Wells, about 6%

for permanent PAS treatment

design at Morris's Pond.

These funds were all authorized

at last year's town meeting

and this work is currently underway

and about 5%

of this rate increase

reflects reduced revenue due

to expected outdoor

watering restrictions due

to DEP drought declarations.

More about that in a minute.

As we contemplate larger

than normal rate increases,

we thought that it would be helpful

to show our rate history.

So this chart shows for

the 10 years from FY 13

through FY 22 that we had

no water rate increase.

So there was 0% increase in FY 23.

You may recall we had a 50%

rate increase driven PRI

primarily due to to PFAS

impacts including higher MWRA

assessments reduced revenue

from lower water water usage

from a of of wet summer

and ongoing capital improvements

to the water system.

After that, we return to

smaller increases of 4% annually

for FY 24 through FY 26 again,

we're currently forecasting

up to a 20% increase in FY 27,

which will be considered by the Board

of Public Works at a pub at a

public hearing meeting in May.

After that, the plan includes

projected increases of 10

to 15% over the next five years.

Those projections are based

on our current capital plan

and conservative revenue estimates

to make sure the water system

remains financially stable.

It has a mind of its own.

So here you see a comparison

of the cost of water, sewer

and storm water for a

household that uses 120 CCF

or a hundred cubic feet of water per year.

The combined total is comparable

with our surrounding communities.

We show the projected FY 27 number here,

even though we don't yet

have this information

for our neighbor, our neighboring towns

water is now a bit

higher than our peers due

to the rate increase needed back in 2022.

But even so, our combined water

and sewer rates continue

to be very competitive

with our neighboring communities

and in the region, the Board

of Public Public Works

will be reviewing rates

next month before a final

rate structure is adopted

for ffy 27.

So coming back to the FY 27

budget on the bottom line,

you see that we're asking

your authorization to spend up

to $14,385,866 in our operating budget,

our operating and capital

budgets this coming year.

And before I wind up, I

just wanted to take a minute

to give an update on a

couple of important topics.

Currently we're in a level

two significant drought

as declared by the state.

This means that use of automatic

sprinklers is prohibited

and only handheld watering is allowed.

The state's drought task

force actually meets tomorrow

to review the drought status.

I'm hoping that with the

weather that we've had recently,

we might improve a little bit,

but we'll see tomorrow if

the status level improves

to a level one drought,

then one day per week

watering will be in effect.

So please stay tuned

and program your irrigation

systems appropriately

and if needed, work with your

irrigation company to comply

with the restrictions.

And we also encourage everyone to sign up

for the online customer portal.

This is a great tool to

help you identify leaks,

which will save you, save you

water, and save you money.

We ask for your favorable

action on Article 11.

- Okay, Mr. Riley, could we

please have the recommendation

of the advisory committee

on the motion under Article

11? That's

- Okay.

Madison Riley Advisory chair

and town meeting member

Precinct F Mr. Moderator

- Mr. Riley

- Regarding Article 11

advisory supports the Board

of Public Works requests

for the funds required to

operate the Water Enterprise Fund

for fiscal year 27.

It funds the operating capital

budgets proposed for, we find

that the operating capital

budgets proposed in this article

appropriate the principle

expenses of the water division are

for the maintenance and

operation of the town wells

and distribution system,

as well as for the purchase

of supplemental water from

the MWRA advisory notes

that due to the need

to mitigate PFAS levels in the

water derived from town ponds

and the increasing cost of

the MWRA water BPW anticipates

that this year's water use rate

set in the spring will be

20% higher than last year.

As you just saw, advisory noted

that the rate stabilization

line item in the budget

will help to re,

to reduce rate shock if costs are actually

higher than anticipated.

Advisory greatly appreciates the quality

of Wellesley's water and the

way the water division is has

handled PFAS

and advisory recommends

favorable action 12 to zero.

- Alright, thank you Mr.

Riley. And it's now 7 25.

The floor is open for question, debate

and discussion of the

motion under Article 11.

- Peter Welburn, precinct seat.

- Mr. Welburn?

- Yes, Mr.

Moderator, I had a question for

Mr. Cohen through you first.

Mr. Cohen, I've given you this compliment

before I, I think you

do an outstanding job

with your presentations consistently.

My question was about the capacity

of the current water system in town.

Do you and your team evaluate

what capacity in terms

of number of homes, number of residents

that the existing system can serve?

And are we getting close

to maximum capacity?

So my question's about capacity

- Of the water system, Mr. Cohen.

The question is the capacity

- Mr.

- Mr. Cohen?

- So I don't have the exact numbers handy,

but it in general, we

have plenty of capacity.

So capacity is not an issue.

We, we, we recognize

that there's significant

development happening in town

and we don't foresee any

issue with being able to meet

that demand through our current system.

- Patty Quigley? Yes. Precinct

- Ms. Quigley

- Through you Mr.

Moderator? 20%

increase is a lot of money to be asking.

I think if we were asking

for 20% increase in our

property tax, that would

have to go to the town.

This is also somewhat considered a tax.

And why don't we have

to go to the town for

that size increase?

- Okay. Mr. Mr. Cohen,

- Dave Cohen, Mr. Moderator,

- Mr. Cohen.

- So for the water and sewer

fund as an enterprise fund,

the process is that there'll

be a public hearing,

public hearing through the Board

of Public Works, which has that authority.

And that's the, that's the

process that we go through

for rate increases for water.

So we'll be advertising

that public hearing soon,

we invite anybody to come.

The 20% is a maximum level, so

it might be lower than that,

but that'll be the

opportunity for the board

to hear any comments that

the, the community might have

and take that under advisement

as they think about the rate

increase as we go forward.

The choice that we'll have to

make is about whether we wanna

move forward with PFAS treatment.

So that's really what

it's gonna come down to

for the board's consideration.

- So is this something that hasn't,

this 20% hasn't been determined for sure.

Sorry, through you Mr.

Moderator follow up?

- Yes, Ms. Squiggley?

- That's correct.

Nothing has been decided

yet, but we're anticipating

and we're projecting that

the recommended rate increase

will be up to 20%.

- Okay. So when this

increase is determined,

are we gonna know how much

the projects are gonna cost?

It sounds like we're

paying for these projects

ahead of them.

We have, and this is seems

to be quite a bit,

- Mr.

Moderator. So actually the,

the increases for projects

that have already been authorized, this is

for the design work that

has already been approved

by town meeting and the the pilot testing

for that work is underway.

The design work will be moving forward.

And so what happens is

those projects will get,

will actually we'll do a

borrowing for for that work.

And then the rate increases needed

to pay off the debt service

of that when it comes about.

So it's for projects that

have already been approved

and the work will be done

and then the money will be borrowed.

And that's why we need to raise the rates.

- Okay. So, all right. And

then f another question.

- Okay. One more question Ms. Quigley,

- I'm sure.

- Can we grab by Patty

quickly, very clear and Cohen

- From a sound perspective

- Well thank, thank you

for raising that question

because I was gonna say

something after this.

The reason I have not been

reframing the questions is I

cannot understand anything

that's coming from either

of the side microphones.

I can hear Mr. Cohen perfectly.

- For us, it's the opposite

- For us,

it's a little opposite

from this microphone.

Sometimes people sound,

- Well, what I'm getting, what what

I'm getting is a total echo.

- Okay, well,

- So, you know, ask the question.

I think Mr. Cohen can hear it. Then

- My final question is, if the rates go up

and whatever, the rates go

up and we finish the project

and get the money we need for PFAS

and all of those other things,

are the rates gonna come back down?

I didn't get, I I know you

talked about it in your presentation.

I just, it was too fast for me.

- Sure. Could we bring

the presentation up real

quick to the presentation?

- What slide?

- It's the, the rate history slide.

Great. History Seven.

That's the one. So this is what

we're projecting right now.

Where there is a an FY 27, the black bar

shows approximately 24

or shows 20% followed by 15, 10

to 15% over the next few years.

And then tailing off after that.

As, as those projects fade away.

The other major impact

on rates is you saw the,

the blue hash line for the MWRA project,

which is not a real project yet.

It's just a concept that's

baked into these rates.

If that project doesn't happen,

then you configure these

will all drop by, pardon me,

those will all drop by

five to six to 7% if

that project doesn't go forward.

- Okay. Mr. Mary,

- Mr.

Mayor, moderator Paul,

Mary precinct, G Mr.

Mary through you to Mr. Cohen,

what proportion of the cost

of the PFAS remedial efforts is

being covered by settlements

or legal efforts to make the people who

initiated the PFAS business into to,

to offset our cost. Thank you.

- Okay. I heard the

first part of that. Okay.

Which is how much of the cost

of the PFAS is part of the,

gonna be paid for out of the settlement?

- Can't do the math. And

my Mr moderator Dave Cohen,

I can't do the math in my head,

but the total cost of

the PFAS re remediation,

if we do it in all three treatment plants,

we're talking about

something like $35 million.

The settlement will bring us in something

like two to $3 million.

So it's a fraction of the

cost, but it's something,

and we look forward to

those dollars coming in.

- A follow up please, Mr.

Moderator a follow up, please?

- Yes. Yes. Mr. Mary,

- Is there any,

any additional litigation

pending now on account

that PFAS that might generate more revenue

to offset the cost?

- Any, any additional litigation

on the PAS, Mr. Cohen,

- Mr.

Moderat, Dave Cohen,

Mr. Cohen? There is not.

Right now the, the main issue

that we have in Wellesley is

that the source of PFAS is ubiquitous.

So there isn't, it isn't though

as though there's a company

that's producing it

that, that we can go to.

And so unfortunately there

is no, there's no smoking gun

that we were able to identify

- Ms.

Cobbin,

- Pam Cobbin

- Precinct, Ms. Cobbin

- Through you Mr.

Moderator, I'd like to ask

Dave Cohen if we, we have

to abide by federal

and state mandates that require us to have

to lower the PFAS in our water

in some way or their numbers

and figures that we have

to adhere to, which to me

that would mean that we have no choice

- To the microphone please. Yeah.

- Did everybody hear me?

I think you can't hear me but

everybody else can. Sorry,

- That speaker may not working.

- Mr. Cohen.

- I got it. Dave Cohen, Mr. Moderator.

So essentially that is correct.

The choice is to treat or not to treat

and in our case we're fortunate we have

three water treatment plants.

So there could be a decision

to not treat at one of them

or two of them and take

more water from the MWRA,

which is more expensive.

I don't think that's the

path that we're going,

but that that is the

decision that the board will,

will ultimately have to make.

- But three Mr. Moderator,

we are required by law

to do that, isn't that correct?

We have to do that. We have

to have certain numbers.

- The extent to which we're

required by law Mr. Cohen.

- Correct? Right. So if we don't treat,

we'll have to shut down the plants.

So thank you for clarifying that point.

- Okay, thank you very much.

- Okay, Mr. Baker Moderat,

- Sean Baker precinct

- At Mr. Baker

- And drew

- You to Mr. Cohen

and I, I think you may

have just answered part

of my question, but we've

been seeing the capital

expenditures brewing for a

while, both on the remediation

of the existing wells

and also getting more MWRA water.

And so just a thought, the

thought process now is none

of those decisions have been made.

If I took that correctly from the answer

to the last question

and then the follow up is just that, given

that the town has quite a

few other capital projects,

is forming a capital committee,

I know these are different

pools with a separate fund,

but is there any thought of coordination

to think about prioritizing

whether you ultimately could do

both of these projects,

one of these projects?

Or will it get wrapped up with

the overall capital projects

and prioritization?

So that might be Mr.

Moderator That part of the

question could be to Mr. Cohen

or to the select board in the

formation of the capital committee.

- Okay. Mr. Cohen,

- Dave Cohen.

Mr. Moderator. So the primary

driver for us has been,

as the previous question came is about

our regulatory requirement.

And so we're really

aiming to tie, make sure

that we're in compliance

when those dates come

and that's coming soon.

So we certainly could

and we should take a look

at the, the whole landscape.

But that for us has been the primary

driver up to this point.

- Mr. Jones,

- Mr. Moderat, Pete Jones, precinct B

- Mr. Jones,

- Do I understand correctly

that if we don't continue with our wells

and continue supporting our wells,

that we will lose them entirely due

to state regulations, et cetera?

- Are we in danger of losing

our wells if we don't use them?

I guess is that, is that the substance

of the question Mr. Jones?

- So Mr. Moderat and Dave Cohen?

Yeah, if we do not treat for PFAS,

we would be an exceedance of the federal

and probably the state limits and

therefore would not be able to

pump water from those wells,

- Which should give us

a substantial problem.

- Yes.

- Mr. Baker?

- Oh,

just follow up on the

second part of the question.

So if I heard the first part

to remediate the wells could,

the existing Wellsley wells

could be about 35 million.

The total in the advisor

report is an estimate

of maybe 22 million to be determined

for another MWRA connection.

So it's just if there's some

thought of coordinating,

you know, potential 50

plus million expenditure

with the capital committee of

the town as we're evaluating

a number of large capital

projects coming down the road.

- Mr. Re So it just so happens

that I think I'm gonna be on

the capital planning committee

and so I'll, I will certainly

be sure to make sure

that along with Joe McDonough,

we'll we'll be talking

about these significant

projects in that plan.

So thank you for that, that comment.

- Mr. Wexler?

- I, I'd like

to just add one thing from the

board perspective for that.

- Answer the microphone please.

- Just as a reminder to

several of these questions.

As a board, we look at this distinctly

because it's an enterprise fund.

So yes, coordination through,

through capital planning

across the town is wonderful.

But also we run this as a business.

So when as a board we look at this

and back to even the

rate setting question,

we have a responsibility

to look at the

infrastructure costs specific

to the water infrastructure

and the water legal requirements

that come from the Department

of Environmental Protection.

And we have to look forward.

So all of this rate increase

in all of this planning

in any decisions we make about raising

or lowering rates always

comes back to are we able

to have a self-sustaining

enterprise independent

of the tax base because

the taxes do not fund

this part of the operation.

This is funded by the rate payers.

So as a board that's the critical

distinction we make from,

for instance, when we're deciding

about paving your streets

and things like that

which come from tax funds.

So just wanna make sure that's

clear 'cause these are great questions.

I just wanna make sure everyone

understand how we think about it. Okay,

- Thank you Mr.

Wex. Right, I, and I hope

people noticed how Mr.

Wexler was speaking into the

phone, into the microphone.

'cause that was the first

comment from the floor

that I could understand in here.

And it may be that turning

the mic to the side so

that it's parallel to the

stage may, may have helped.

And also the distance, you

don't want to be right on top

of the microphone but,

'cause I think that's

what causes the echo.

But if you may be eight to 12 inches away,

that may help it carry up here.

Okay.

Alright. I'm not seeing anybody else.

Are there any non-time meeting

member residents who wish to speak?

Okay, I guess we're ready for the vote.

I think we can do this on a voice vote.

All in favor say aye. All

aye. All the opposed say nay.

Motion one under Article 11 carries

unanimously by voice vote.

Article 11 is closed.

Article 12 was approved as

part of the consent agenda.

So we now move to Article 13.

Article 13. And I recognize Mr. Wexler

- Dave's so good.

He now wants to take my job too.

Wow, this really is high

up. Thank you everybody.

And Mr. Moderator, Jeff

Wexler precinct a Mr.

Wexler and chair of the

Board of Public Works.

I ask that you waive the

reading of the motion

as it appears on the

screen reading the motion

is waived previously.

Thank you. It's actually really useful

to have this come up directly

after we spoke out about water,

because what you'll see with this is

that we will not be

increasing the rates and

because it is a separate enterprise fund,

if you'll remember we recently set it up

that way when we began this enterprise.

And this is one of the benefits of

that is we can distinctly determine

and independently determine

the infrastructure needed

to handle storm water

separately from our sewer

and our water and, and the

scenarios are different.

So with that I'm pleased to ask Mr.

Moderator that you once

again recognize Mr. Cohen?

Yes, Mr. Cohen.

- Mr. Moderator. Dave Cohen.

Yes, Mr. Cohen, director of

Public Works. We're in Ashland.

It's just in case you're

following along on, on behalf

of the Board of Public Works, I'm pleased

to present the FY 27 Stormwater Enterprise

Fund budget request.

So as many of you know, the

new Stormwater Enterprise Fund

was adopted in 2023

and fees for the program started

to be collected in July of 2024.

Similar to our other

enterprise funds, the ongoing

and projected requirements

of the stormwater program are

now funded from fees charged

to each customer and tax dollars are no

longer appropriated for this purpose.

Stormwater fees are based on the amount

of impervious surface on each

property using an equivalent

residential unit or ERU calculation

for equitable distribution

of program costs.

The fee is charged to all

non municipal properties

and set with the aim of

maintaining rate stability

through long range planning.

Based on the approved budget, the Board

of Public Works will review and

finalize the stormwater fee.

And as you'll see, we

anticipate no change in

the fee this year.

Wellesley maintains an

extensive drainage system

that includes 10 primary

watersheds with all

of our drainage eventually making

its way to the Charles River.

The system includes drain

pipe, brooks catch basins,

culverts, and the equipment

used to support the program such

as street sweepers and the

vector truck shown here.

Here you see the requirements

of our MS four permit issued

by the Environmental Protection Agency.

MS four stands for municipal

separate storm sewer system.

Our storm water drainage

system is different

and separated from the

sanitary sewer system

that flows from each customer's home

and eventually arrives at the MWRA sewer

treatment plant on Deer Island.

Our stormwater drainage

system instead conveys

water into the Charles River.

In the middle of the page you

can see the phosphorus control

plan, which is a mandated program

that identifies specific targets

to reduce phosphorus in our stormwater.

Many of the program elements

that you see here have been

in place for many years

and will require increased investments

to comply in the coming years.

So turning to the budget,

here's our proposed stormwater

budget for fiscal year 27.

Compared to the current year,

the total budget highlighted

in yellow and including capital

and contingencies is $2.96 million

and level funded from FY 26.

Personal services are

expected to increase by 1.2%

and like all of our other

budgets include general increases

of 2% for management pay plan

staff, 2% for group 40 staff

and no increase for union staff.

I'll get the H and the S

categories squared away at some

point, but old old habits die hard here.

The stormwater personal services

budget reflects the effort

of about 10 FTEs.

There's no change in expenses, capital

or contingency in FY 27.

So the bottom line shows

that we're seeking your authorization

to spend $2,963,327

in FY 27.

And again, there's no

increase in the stormwater

fee expected this year.

As a reminder of how our fees are set up,

we use the median impervious area

or IA for a single family

residential property.

The median amount is referred to

as an equivalent residential unit

or ERU, which in Wellesley

is 3,100 square feet

of impervious area.

We separate properties into

four tiers for the purpose

of calculating an an equitable

fee across a wide range

of impervious area throughout town.

Tier four also includes non-residential

and multifamily residential properties.

The chart at the bottom

of this slide shows

the rate for each tier.

About half of all properties

are considered to be equal

to one ERU properties

with less impervious area

are considered to be 0.7 eru

and properties with more

impervious area are considered

to be 1.7.

ERUs properties in tier four

are calculated proportionally

based on their actual impervious area.

What that means is that

the average single family

residential property is

charged an annual fee of $225

and this fee appears on your

utility bill in the amount

of $18 and 75 cents each month.

The Board of Public Works will

have a public hearing in May

before fees are finalized

and adopted for next year.

Again, we're planning no

increase in stormwater this year.

It's our goal to provide stable

and predictable rates for our customers.

And we've taken a long-term

view to help ensure

that the current fee of $225

per ERU will not be increased

through FY 29 and

hopefully well beyond that.

We thought it would be helpful to show you

how the proposed fee stacks

up with some of our neighbors.

When we first started compiling

this data, it appeared

that our fee was higher than others.

We learned a couple of important things

during this benchmarking exercise.

First, we found that some towns decide

to not fund their entire

storm water through their fee.

Instead, they continued

to use tax appropriations

to fund portions of their program.

For example, Newton charges

a flat $148 per year

and this does not cover the

cost of their capital program,

which is about $3 million per year.

One other thing that we found is that many

of the early stormwater fee

adopters have not yet had

to incorporate the full impact of of

phosphorus control requirements coming

with the latest EPA permit.

I suspect that we'll see

increased fees for most

of these towns as they start

to incorporate more fo phosphorus control

measures into their program.

One of the recent examples

to come online is the town

of Dedham, and they do

include their full program.

We see that their fee

is just a bit higher,

but in the same ballpark as ours.

By comparison, needham's

rate is much lower than ours

and they still fund

portions of their program

through the general fund.

Here we've got some more benchmarking.

This slide shows some several

recently adopted stormwater

enterprise funds in the area.

I think this indicates that

our neighbors are finding

that the enterprise

fund model is a helpful

way to address stormwater.

And then you see this slide again,

you see the benchmarking

comparison that includes all three

of our enterprise funds, the

combined average residential

bill for water, sewer, and stormwater.

And again, keep in mind that Needham

and Natick still funds some

or all of their program,

stormwater program

through their general fund.

As a reminder, we developed a

stormwater property viewer so

that anyone can look up their

properties impervious area

and to see their fee, you

can go to this QR code

to look up a property

or you can go to the DPW

stormwater webpage anytime

to check out the property viewer.

Just a word about abatements and credits.

Abatements and credits

are an important part

of a successful program.

Abatements are considered

to address mapping

and other issues that

need to be corrected.

And credits are important

because we can't meet

the permit requirements

by town Action alone

credits provide incentives

for stormwater improvements

on private land

and help us comply with our permit.

Partnership on public and

private land is essential.

This slide shows some of the credits

that we're currently offering so far.

The stormwater control

measure credit is the most

frequently credit that we've issued.

And this slide shows the credit

and abatement activity so far,

which you can see has tailed

off dramatically since we started.

We encourage everyone to

review the available credits

and to reach out if you have any questions

and need help applying.

So the next two slides show some

of the many stormwater

related accomplishments.

Over the past year, we've

identified about a hundred capital

improvement projects that

are now in our work plan.

We completed a green

infrastructure project

at Bates Elementary School.

We completed design permitting

and bidding for dredging of duck

and reeds ponds, which

you'll see under Article 15.

And we completed an outfall rela

replacement at Woodland Road.

We also facilitated an Eagle Scout project

to stencil catch basins

with don't dump messaging.

And we've applied for several state

and federal grants to

help offset the costs

of the stormwater program.

For more information, check

out our website@wellsyma.gov

slash 2 2 2 3.

And if you have questions about stormwater

or any of the D PW programs,

please contact us anytime

at dpw, at wellsy ma.gov.

And we also encourage you

to follow us on social media

to stay up with all things dpw, we ask

for your favorable action on this motion.

- Okay, Mr. Riley, we'll now

deliver the recommendation

of the advisory committee

- Madison Riley.

Mr. Moderator Mr. Riley,

regarding Article 13,

the advisory committee

believes that the operating

and capital budgets proposed

for the Stormwater Enterprise

Fund are appropriate.

It also remarked that this

enterprise fund established in at

the 2023 annual town meeting

seems to be working as planned

advisory recommends

favorable action 12 to zero.

- Okay, thank you Mr. Riley.

The floor is now open

for discussion, questions

and debate on the motion under Article 13.

Mr. Criswell,

- Am I doing this right?

Jeff? Paul Criswell precinct.

H Mr. Moderator, Mr.

- Criswell

- Through you Mr.

Moderator, I have a question about the,

the rate stabilization fund

and the emergency reserve.

As I understand this, out

of a total authorized use

of almost $3 million, you've got about

650,000 of it.

It goes into rate stabilization

and emergency reserve.

So I guess my question is what can,

can you talk a little about

the rate stabilization?

What's the, the current

level of, of that fund?

I think it's been funded

around $400,000 for the past few years.

And do you have a, a policy as to

how much you'll pay into it every year

and at what point you'll

start to use that in order

to keep rate increases down.

- Okay. Current Mr. Cohen,

the, the current amount

of the rate stabilization

and is there a policy on

how much show will be

going into it each year?

- Dave Cohen, Mr. Moderator,

- Mr. Cohen.

- So our rate stabilization

fund we're endeavoring to

put aside 10% of revenue into that fund.

And so, so that, that's the

contribution that we're,

we're, we're aiming for.

There is no formal policy in place,

but with our new finance

director, that's something

that we've talked about

and we are looking forward

to coming up with standards for

not just the, the stormwater

but also for water and for sewer.

I hope that answered your question.

- Okay. Thank you. I think I saw

Ms. Robinson right behind Mr.

Chriswell. So Ms. Robinson,

- I'll try Mr.

Moderator Marla Robinson precinct E

- So, so far so good.

- Okay, so I pulled this off the consent

agenda for a couple of reasons.

Several, I had several questions

and the DPW reached out to me

and those were answered in Mr.

Cohen's presentation.

I do have one comment

that I would hope the DPW board

and the DPW department

would take seriously

and give some thought to.

We have a lot of new homes in Wellesley.

Most of the time they're very large homes

and compared to some of our

surrounding towns, we don't have

as robust regulations in terms

of managing the water on properties.

And unless the developer comes

under large house review,

there really is no way to manage that.

If the town is serious about

managing its stormwater,

then I think it is really

important that we look at

how water is managed on

residential properties

and how it does not affect the

neighboring properties along

with the town's properties.

So I would really recommend

that whether the DPW works

with another town board

to develop regulations

or new bylaws, I think it is

time that we look at that.

Seriously. Thank you.

- Okay. Mr. Jones?

- Pete Jones, precinct, Pete, Mr. Myron,

- Mr. Jones,

- Through you, as you know

in the large homes came up as a,

as a topic just a minute ago.

We request that everyone

takes all their storm water

and ba basically buries it

in the ground in very large

devices called cold texts.

These devices cost tens

of thousands of dollars

for these large homes, et cetera.

When you look at that, I, I see

that you do a square footage

analysis, but when you

look at that in the cost

that it costs these individuals

to pay tens of thousands

of dollars for these cult techs,

how much revenue is

lost on an annual basis

by these folks submitting a, a credit

or some sort of a reprieve from that

high stormwater U square footage?

- So the Mr. Cohen, the

amount of revenue that's lost

by people who are using this device

that Mr. Jones referenced.

- Mr. Moderator, Dave Cohen. Yes, Mr. Be

- Mr.

Yep.

- So as far as the the

credits go, that type

of device would be eligible for up

to a 50% credit on your rate.

This is the one you want.

That's the, that's the one.

As you can see, we haven't had that many

of these credit applications so far.

I don't have the revenue amount,

but I would say that it's

insignificant so far.

But we do encourage people

to apply for that credit

as it does significantly

reduce their stormwater impact.

- Yeah. Back up question Mr. Monte.

A second question on that.

So are you saying that possibly

we're not keeping track

of the lost revenue

because if we don't get

the revenue from those

larger houses, that puts

more pressure on the smaller

dwellings, et cetera, that

have less square footage.

And so I guess the question is,

it's revenue loss in both directions.

- Mr. Moderat, Dave Cohen? Yes. Mr. Cohen?

So we're keeping track

of all of the credits.

I don't, I don't have the

dollar amount available,

I don't have it on me right now,

but the value of any

of those credits would

be 50% of their fee.

So if their fee was $225

and they could save 50 of it, 50% of that

through the credit, then

they would save a hundred

and about a hundred dollars.

And if we've issued say one

credit so far this year,

the lost revenue is

about a hundred dollars.

- Okay. Thanks

- Mr. Jaffe.

- Mr. Moderator, judge Jaffe precinct

- G Mr. Jaffe

- For Mr. Cohen?

For you, Mr. Cohen, quick question.

I hadn't appreciated this in prior years,

but if I understand it

correctly now, so none

of the town properties are

contributing to this enterprise fund.

So in the sense that whereas like we

as homeowners are contributing

based on our impervious

surface, if I understand

correctly, no town department has

to budget for paying

for, for example, a fee

for the high schools impervious services.

And so I guess the question

is, is that correct

and how does that compare

with the enterprise funds

for water and electricity?

So for example, is the

school department or

or other departments having

to budget for electricity

and water or are they also not paying?

If there is a difference, if

you could just explain the

thought process behind

that, that'd be great.

- Alright. Is, is there

a different standard

for town property for the

various enterprise funds?

- Dave Cohen, Mr.

Moderator, this is Cohen.

So it is true that

all town properties are exempt

from the stormwater fee.

That was what we found as

we were developing the,

the stormwater enterprise.

That was the, seemed

to be the standard practice

in the industry different from

water, sewer and electric,

all town properties pay

for water, sewer, and electric services.

That has traditionally

been the way it's done.

So there is a difference between the two.

And you are correct

- Paul, question

- Go ahead. One more

- One, one quick call.

Was any analysis done of sort of how

that's affected the distribution of

who in the town is paying for

impervious services in the high

school and other town properties?

So I can imagine like being

able to present to the town that

as a result of that decision,

you know, these types

of homeowners are tending

to contribute more

to those costs than other

homeowners relative to what the,

the scenario was back when we were

paying out of property taxes.

- So the question has

to do with what was the,

what's the impact of the

policy regarding town

property not participating

in the stormwater

- Mr.

Moderator Dave Cohen director.

So yeah, we did do some

analysis about that.

And you might recall from our,

our presentation when we

set up the enterprise fund,

the one thing that was

added into the fund was

it's all properties

except for town property.

So now it does include non non-profits,

which previously would've

been exempt from taxes and

therefore not contributing to the,

to the stormwater program.

So now those nonprofits are so not

tax exempt properties are

contributing to the stormwater fee.

I don't have the analysis at the tip

of my fingers about the town properties,

but the thinking going into it was

we didn't think it would

be a good way to go

to set up an enterprise fund

that was gonna create a new tax

that the town would have to raise.

And so the town department

budgets would then

have to increase to cover that.

And so that's the way we decided to do it.

It seemed prudent, but it is something

that could be discussed further.

- Thanks.

- Okay, Ms. Dy?

- Christina Doherty precinct

age. Ms. Dy through you.

So my question actually

ties into a future article

that we're about to hear

Article 15, motion two,

but basically it's the stormwater fund is

contributing $450,000

to dredging of the pond.

And I'm just curious where

that falls in the budget.

Where would that be the 'cause I'm

- Assuming that's a one time.

Thanks. Okay.

- Where, where does the dredging

money fit within the budget?

- Yep. Dave Cohen, DP of

a director. Mr. Moderator.

So the, the money that we've allocated for

that is actually from our capital budget

and it's from prior year

budgets that we have available.

So it's not an FY 27 expense,

that's from prior year capital

budgets that we have available.

- Okay. Ms. Quigley,

- Patty Quigley, precinct

D, Mr. Moderator, Ms.

- Quigley.

- David, did you mention

that the board was voting

in May on the rates?

Did I hear you correctly?

- Is the board voting in

May on the rates Mr. Cohen?

- Yes.

- So as a follow up,

is there a reason why

the board votes on rates

after town meeting as opposed

to before town meeting?

- Why? Why is the board voting

after town meeting rather than before?

- Right. Actually the, yeah,

good question. Dave Cohen, Mr.

Moderator. Mr. Cohen.

So the board would vote on the rates

after the budgets have been approved.

So it wouldn't be prudent for

them to do that beforehand.

So I think traditionally that's

why there's also some other

information that we get,

especially from the MWRA

and so that information continues

to trickle in sometimes

even after town meeting.

So the idea is that we're

working on the latest

and greatest information when

they go to set the rates.

- Okay. And then just

as a more informational,

when our town does a budget, they can't go

between personnel and expenses.

- Answer the microphone please.

- Sure. And when our

town does their budget,

they can't switch money between

one category and another

and there's a difference with

the schools that they can,

for the enterprise funds,

can they move money around?

- Dave Cohen? Mr. Moderator?

- Okay, question? Yep.

Is can you move the money

around after the budget

- Is approved?

No, we can't. So personal services

and expenses are separate

and need to be kept separate.

- Okay. And then when you

get a discount for impervious

services or Pious lan, do you need

to get that reviewed all the time

or once you have it evaluated, it kind

of sits on your property?

- Okay. Does the exemption

have to be renewed?

- Dave Cohen, Mr. Moderator? Mr. Cohen?

I'm being advised that it

stays with the property

so you don't have to seek that every year.

- Okay. Not seeing any more town meeting

members approaching the microphone.

Are there any non town

meeting members in the back

of the hall who wish to be heard?

Okay, not seeing any? I think

we're ready for the vote.

We can do this by voice vote.

All in favor say aye. Aye.

All opposed nay. Motion one.

Under Article 13 passes

unanimously by voice vote.

Article 13 is now closed.

Article 14 has previously

been approved as part

of the consent agenda.

So we now turn to Article 15. Motion two.

Motion one has been approved

as part of the consent agenda

and I recognize Mr. Murphy the chair

of the CPC for the motion.

- Thank you. Stephen

Murphy, precinct D Chair

of the Community Preservation Committee.

- Yes. Mr. Murphy.

- First off, Mr. Cohen, thank you

for the modification of the podium.

First I'd like to request the waiver

or the reading of the motion

as it appears on the screen.

- Reading of the motion is waived

- And the motion has been

distributed by time meeting.

This motion requests the

appropriation of the lesser

of the sum of $750,000

or 50% of the cost

for from the town CPA

fund for the dredging

of the Duck Pond and Reeds Pond.

The other sources of funding

are from a prior NRC capital

appropriation and

as just mentioned the DPW

Stormwater Utility Fund.

In a moment, the NRC director will walk us

through this project,

but first I would note,

although he will go into further detail,

the bidding has closed, it's been opened,

a contractor has been selected and the,

and the costs have been established

and the cost of the project is

$1,485,800.

So 50% of that which is going

to be the amount expended

from the CPA fund will be

7,004 42,750

and which is about $7,200

less than the seven 50 max

project qualifies for funding

of the Community Preservation

Act as the preservation,

rehabilitation, and restoration

of land for recreational use

and is preservation of open space.

However, since there's only

about $10,000 in the open State

Space Reserve due to the CPA portion

of the North 40 death service,

the appropriation tonight

is wholly from the

CPA Undesignated funds.

Little history. In a 2012

special time beating,

tell many appropriated CP

funds to cover a portion

of the cost for the dredging

of Mors Ponds North Basin

and then a few years later we

appropriated CPA funds first

for the design and then

for the construction

of the pedestrian bridge at the duck pond.

So these two sides are things, activities,

is something we have done before.

Now, Mr. Moderator, I would request

that you would recognize Mr.

Brandis Schmidt, the director of the NRC,

who will carry on with this presentation.

- Yes, Mr. Schmidt? Thank

- You.

- Thank you. Mr. Moderator.

Brandon Schmidt, natural

Resources Commission

Director Mr. Schmidt.

And thank you Mr. Murphy.

And good evening everyone.

Article 15, motion, oh, there we go.

Motion two, ask this Town meeting

to approve existing Community

Preservation Act funding of up

to $750,000 for the dredging

of Duck and Reeds Pond.

The Natural Resources Commission has care

and custody of 10 public ponds.

In coordination with the

Public Works department.

The ponds are managed for

water quality, recreation

and stormwater management.

The nature of the management

strategy depends on several

factors and is primarily

driven by the relative size

of the pond compared to its watershed.

With support from the Community

Preservation Committee in

2015, the NRC developed a

comprehensive pond management plan

with former pond manager, Dr.

Ken Wagner. The plan was an extension

of the Moore Pond Management program.

Outlined the existing conditions

of the town owned ponds

and made recommendations

for management including

phosphorus reduction,

plant management, sediment removal,

and dredging in certain circumstances.

Beginning in January 25,

McAllister Marine Engineering, one

of the town, one of the DP

W'S on-call engineering firms,

began developing design

documents for the dredging

of Reed and Duck Pond.

The designs were discussed

and approved at NRC meetings

and then finalized

and submitted to the

Wetlands Protection Committee

who issued an order of conditions.

That's the wetlands permit in November.

The project also requires a

water quality certification from

the state, and that application

is currently under review

by the DEP six of the town ponds.

Have been dredged over the last 30 years,

including the State Street pond

during the Fuller Book Park Restoration,

and a large portion of

Moore's Pond in 2012 and 2013.

While regulations

and costs make dredging

a challenging practice,

it remains essential for

re restoring pond capacity

and also helps with other pond problems,

including rooted plants, algae

mats, and oxygen depression.

In addition to the typical

pond management practices,

as the DPW Director stated,

they conduct comprehensive

street sweeping catch basin

clearing and brook maintenance programs

to help reduce the impact

of uncontrolled sediment

and organic material.

The approved plans for

Reed's Pond include dredging

approximately 1500 cubic

yards from the pond

during the winter after the

pond level has been lowered.

Dredging sediment will

be dewatered in the pond,

then transported offsite.

The Reeds pond dredge

material requires special depo

disposal as the soil samples

included levels of arsenic

that exceeded thresholds

for regular disposal.

While the DPW removes sediment

from the four bay on a

regular basis, wreath's

pond was last fully dredged

28 years ago.

Duck Pond will be dredged

in a similar fashion

after the pond has been

lowered in the winter

and in two phases, two phases for the east

and west channels.

Approximately 950 cubic yards

will be removed from the pond.

Duck pond was last dredged 20 years ago.

Both dredging projects are

designed to limit disturbance

to the existing conditions at each pond.

The town received a total

of seven competitive bids,

adding in construction management

and environmental compliance,

as well as plan repairs

to the outlet structures at

both ponds and contingency.

The total anticipated budget is

$1,485,000 and $800.

The requested CPC funds will

be matched by existing NRC

and DPW capital funds.

This funding arrangement

reflects the D-P-W-C-P-C

and NRCS collaborative partnership

and commitment to preserving, enhancing,

and investing in the

highest quality out open

spaces for the community.

In closing, and on behalf

of all Wellesley Waterfall

Waterfowl, I thank you

for listening and ask you

for your favorable action

and welcome. Any question?

- Okay. Thank you Mr. Schmidt.

Mr. Riley, can we have the

advisory recommendation on

motion two under Article 15

- Madison Re, Mr. Moderator

- Mr. Reilly,

- Regarding Article 15, motion two.

Duck Pond at Town Hall

and Reed's Pond are

special natural spaces.

They play a critical role

in Wellesley's storm water

management advisory notes

that periodic dredging is important

for the pond's long term health.

For these reasons, advisory

supports, this motion

advisory also feels the

motion is appropriate

and appropriate use of CPC resources

and appreciates the cooperative

effort between the NRC,

the DPW and CPC to

preserve the functionality

and use of these ponds

and commend to all three entities

for supporting this project financially

Advisory recommends

favorable action 12 to zero

with one abstention.

- Okay. The floor is now

open for question, debate

and discussion on motion

two under radical 15.

- Regina Larock precinct E.

- Yes. Mr. Larock

- Through you.

Question to Mr. Schmidt. Yeah.

Could you elaborate on the

source of arsenic in the pond

and how measures will be

taken during the dredging

to prevent contamination?

- I think a lot of us are

wondering about that. Mr. Schmidt?

- I, I'm sorry, Mr. Ade,

what? What did you say?

- I said I think a lot

of us were wondering

about that. I certainly was.

- Yes. Well, I was researching this.

The reality is we don't

really know the source,

but this is, especially

in reeds, this is one

of the largest watersheds

compared to the pond.

So we have neighboring communities,

but much like PFAS, this arsenic is a,

a former product of

agricultural pesticides.

So I guess this is the

perfect opportunity to pitch

of converting your lawns

to a pesticide free.

You can do it right now.

It's the perfect time of year

to stop poisoning your yard.

But yeah, so I think the

primary source of arsenic is

agricultural pesticides.

There is natural arsenic

in our environment,

but again, I think there

are different thresholds.

And this threshold was

the first that's met

that requires special disposal.

- Mr. Moderator, Regina LaRoc?

- Yes. Ms. LaRoc,

- I'm sorry.

If I could just make a follow

up comment to what you said.

I think it's important for us to remember

that our ponds are the filtrate

through which our

groundwater that we drink

happens to be there.

And so I guess I wanna underscore

a topic we've discussed

before, which is that perhaps it is time

to really emphasize getting our

drinking water from a source

that is not contaminated.

IE that doesn't require us to filter it.

So the MWRA has historically not had

as much contamination issues,

and I hope that the Board

of Public Works will be

thinking about this with regard

to our drinking water

sources in the future.

Just a comment. Thank you.

- Okay. Is there anybody else that

wishes to be heard on this? Mr.

- Moderat?

- Oh, Mr. Jones. How did I miss you?

- Pete Jones precinct Pete.

Mr. Jones moderator,

this is a question on cost and whether

or not the culverts have been

checked out, they're

supplying the duck pond

and whether there was any

costs involved in that.

As many people know here in

town, have been here for a while

that the site that Roach

Brothers is currently on used

to be a crystal clear pond,

which they filled in in the early days,

and that's been ducked

over to the duck pond.

And the question is, did

we check out those routes

and the pricing?

Does that include any cleaning

of those Culver paths?

- Okay. Has attention been paid

to the culverts leading to the ponds?

- The scope of this project

does not include evaluation

of the culverts that drain into duck pond,

but there is a, a pipe in

between the two channels that

was evaluated and will be cleaned out.

- Okay? No more town

meeting members rising.

Anybody in the back of the

hall, which should be heard?

Who are residents of the

town? Okay. Not seeing anyone.

I think we're ready for a voice

vote. All in favor say aye.

Aye. All opposed Nay. Motion two.

Under Article 15 passes

by voice vote unanimously.

And Article motion two is closed.

And we move to article motion

three under Article 15.

And I recognize Mr. Murphy,

- Stephen Murphy, precinct

D Chair of the CPC

- Mr. Murphy.

- First of all, thank

you for the last vote.

For the last vote. I request

a waiver of the reading

of this motion as it

appears on the screen.

And it's been previously,

previously distributed

to town meeting members. Okay.

- The reading of the motion is waived

- Through this motion.

We request the appropriation

of $450,000 to the Board

of Public Works for the third

and final stage of the DP

W'S Playground Improvements

Project, and in this

time addresses the needs

for the playgrounds at the Spring school,

the Honeywell Field

tot Lot and Paren Park.

The project qualifies

for funding under the

Community Preservation Act

as the rehabilitation of land

for the recreational use.

The definition of rehabilitation

on the CPA includes in part

that with respect to land

for recreational use,

rehabilitation shall

include the replacement

of playground equipment and

other capital improvements.

The land or the facilities

thereon, which make

or the related facilities more functional

for the intended recreational use.

Statutory language product

includes also the replacement

of the playground surfaces

to meet the AADA a's

accessibility standards

and to provide accessible

play options for all children.

Providing such accessibility

and lands for recreation use

is also an important goal under

the CPA through its definition

of rehabilitation in

section one of the act.

Mr. Moderator, he's been resting

for maybe about 10 minutes.

Would you recognize Mr. David

Cohen, director of the public

or to pirate of the public works

who will continue with

this presentation? Yes.

- Mr. Cohen.

- Dave Cohen. DPW Director, Mr. Moderator.

- Mr. Cohen,

- If you're following your scorecard,

we're in Framingham

now, so it's my pleasure

to present Article 15

playground reconstruction.

This motion, this

motion seeks $450,000 in CP funding.

Funding for the third

and final year of our expedited

playground replacement plan,

which will replace Warren

Structures, improve safety

and accessibility, and

provide for more contemporary

and thoughtful design to meet

the needs of the community.

The town has 18 playgrounds at

16 locations throughout town.

11 playgrounds are on school

property and seven are on NRC.

Property funding was approved last year

for Fisk Ette and Upham Playgrounds.

Work at FIS and Upham

will start this summer.

An ette is scheduled for this fall.

Regarding uumm, we're

planning only minor upgrades

until more definitive plans

are made for that location,

but we have the funds and

we're ready to do more work

and a more complete renovation

at the appropriate time.

Our plan for FY 27 includes Sprague Perrin

and the Honeywell Honeywell Field tot lot.

To give you a sense of where things are,

here's a map showing all the

playground locations throughout

town, the previously funded

locations and and work is shown.

The blue circles and

the playgrounds proposed

for FY 27 are shown in red.

This slide shows the scope of work

and estimated allocations for each

of the playgrounds in FY 27,

and that plan includes play

structures, play surfaces,

fencing, and ad a DA improvements.

We appreciate the CP C'S

support of this program

and we ask for your favorable

action on this motion.

- Okay. Mr. Riley will now

deliver the recommendation

of the advisory committee

on Article Motion three

under Article 15,

- Madison Riley, Mr. Moderator

- Mr. Riley,

- Regarding Article 15, motion three

CPC funds can be used for

recreational activities

and play Playgrounds

certainly fit that definition.

Delightful spaces for

families to be outside,

enjoying playtime together

and promoting mental health and exercise.

This motion continues a

multi-year plan to upgrade all 18

of Wellesley's Playgrounds,

making them more safe,

playable, and accessible.

As one of our colleagues in

this town meeting colleagues

pointed out, there's still

work to be done at Upham.

We had claim, we had said

that if this passes all

playgrounds would be upgraded,

but there's still work

to be done at Upham.

As Mr. Cohen said, nevertheless,

advisory fully supports

the use of these CPC funds

and appreciates the coordinated

effort between CPC and DPW.

We recommend favorable action 12 to zero

with one abstention.

- Okay, it's now eight 19

and we will open the floor

for question, discussion

and debate on the motion

under motion three.

Under Article 15,

- Leanne

- Leiman, precinct C Mr.

Moderat moderator? Yes, ma'am.

A question to through you,

to Mr. Cohen, can you clarify

when the additional

work at Uum will be done

and where will that money

that you said is allocated?

Where is that coming from?

Is it from the money that we

approved last year that was not spent?

- When will the work be done on Upham

and where's the money coming from?

- Right. Dave Cohen, DPW Director,

Mr. Moderator, Mr. Cohen.

So the minor work

that we're planning will

be this spring and summer.

And then our, our expectation

is we've always been sort

of optimistic that we're gonna find out

what the final plans are for Uum,

but that's not forthcoming.

So we don't think it's prudent

to make significant investments

at that location yet.

But we have the money and we're ready

to go when we get Word.

And I think the way I'm thinking of it is

that we'll continue to

work with the school

and see what their intentions are.

And if it doesn't seem like

there's going to be a plan

for Uum, then perhaps we just

move forward with some sort

of renovation at that site.

Now maybe we review that over the winter

and then come into next spring with a plan

for doing something next year.

- Okay. And, and the money is coming

from what we approved last

- Year.

- We already have the money. Okay.

- Thank you

Mr.

Moderator. Regina Larock, precinct e Ms.

- Larock,

- Many communities have banned

artificial turf or other plastic products

for use on playground surfaces.

And these products pose risks

to children as well as toxins

that are leached into the ground.

So I'm curious if there

could be an explanation

of the port in place surfaces

that you're referring to

and how you are thinking

about those issues with regard

to playground construction. Thanks.

- Okay. What consideration

is given to the impact of

the artificial flooring and

what's being done about it?

- Sure. Dave Cohen, DPW

Director, Mr. Moderator,

- Mr. Cohen.

- So yeah, we are aware of concerns

with the port in place surface.

So as we look to u continue

to use that surface at some

of our locations, we, we charge

our vendors with making sure

that we have the, the most preferred specs

that we can look at, which

is generally speaking, the,

the specifications that are

coming outta California.

And we wanna make sure that

we're, we're following that

to that standard.

I also will note that the

NRC for the very reason that

the member mentioned, has decided

to move away from the poured

surfaces on their properties.

And so for any NRC projects

in general going forward,

we'll be looking for

more natural solutions.

And to that regard, we'll

be looking for natural,

so solutions as we go forward.

And what we're always trying

to do is strike the balance

between the need to make sure

that we have safe spaces,

healthy spaces, but also spaces

that are accessible for all of our users.

So it's a balance that

we're trying to strike

and we'll continue to do the best we can.

- Okay. Mr. Fessler,

- Mr.

Moderator, Steve Fessler, precinct C Mr.

Fessler, through you,

I'd like to first of all

rise in support of this motion

and compliment all the work

that's being done on the playgrounds,

but speaking on behalf

of Precinct C would like

to very strongly urge Mr. Cohen

to not hold off on the up A plans until

the overall plan for Upham is decided.

Not because, not in favor of

looking at forward on Upham,

but just realistically in light

of all the capital projects going on here

and the timeframe we're

talking about, the little kids

who are now eligible

and looking forward to play

on the new Uumm playground

might be attending this high

school by the time that we,

we get to a set plan.

So please, please don't hold off on that.

And I'd, I'd like to ask if,

what would the process be

to realistically look at how

the UP plans would be applied?

- Okay. The, the process

to determine when, when

you'll be taking care

of the upper playground.

- Sure. Dave Cohen, DPW Director,

Mr. Moderator. Mr. Cohen.

So the bottom line is that

this is a school property

and so we'll, we're acting on their behalf

and we will take guidance from them.

So our role and our plan for

this spring is to make sure

that we take care of any safety issues

and any, any minor things that,

that need immediate attention.

It's the school department

who's gonna ultimately

decide what the plans are.

But that conversation

will probably dovetail

with the town's capital

planning process to see

what funds might be available

for whatever projects there might be.

So the reason why it's important to know

what the final disposition

of that's gonna be is

because of the type of

playground that you would put in.

If it was gonna be a play,

a preschool for example,

there's a certain type

of structure that you might put there.

If it's going to be elementary age

or older, then you would

do something a little bit different.

So we need a little more information

before we can make that investment.

And I'm in constant conversation

with the school superintendent

who, who is very much aware

and, and I'm sure they would like to come

to some conclusion about

what they're doing on

that property, but that's,

yet, it remains to be seen what

that will be, but know

that it's something that

that will continue to move forward.

We understand the, the

needs of the neighborhood.

We've heard from several

folks from the precinct

and we're very much aware

that we, we don't want it

to wait for too much longer. Alright,

- Thank you.

- Kathy Egan,

precinct CI have a yeah to you Mr.

Moderator, to really just a comment

on the up on playground.

I was there today with my

two of my grandchildren.

I think it's absolutely fine.

I think it could, it could

use a little bit of upgrading.

It does not totally need to be replaced.

The equipment is in very good condition.

My grandchildren enjoyed

their four and six.

They were able to play.

I think we have so many

capital projects we cannot

spend on everything.

And I think it's fine

the way it's, thank you.

- Okay. Not seeing any town meeting

members approaching the microphone.

Are there any non town

meeting members in the back

of the hall who wish to be heard?

Okay. Not seeing anyone rye. Oops.

Oh, I was faked out. Oh, okay.

I think we can do a voice vote on this.

All in favor say aye. Aye.

All opposed, nay carries

by voice. Vote unanimously.

Article 15 is now closed

and I think we can do one more.

Let's do Article 16. The Honeywell

Fields Irrigation System.

Mr. Wexler,

- Mr.

precinct eight. Chair Board Public Works?

- Yes. Mr. Wexler?

- Thank you.

I ask that you waive the

reading of the motion

as it appears on the screen

and was previously distributed.

- Reading of the motion is waived.

- Thank you. And I ask that

you recognize the director

of the Department of

Public Works, Dave Cohen

to Mr. Cohen to this matter.

Thank you.

- Dave Cohen, DP of a

director. Mr. Moderator.

Mr. Cohen, I'm in Natick

now I need some orange

slices so somebody help me out.

So Mr. This article requests

$500,000 from free cash

for the replacement and reconstruction

of the irrigation system

at Honeywell Field.

The system is 40 years old, It's well

beyond its expected service life.

This project has been in our capital plan

and has been deferred previously

due to competing priorities.

The system provides

irrigation on the south side

of the aqueduct for about

five acres of ball fields,

including baseball, lacrosse, soccer,

and the practice football field.

The map on the lower

left shows the location

and extent of the system piping,

which includes nearly two miles of piping

and over 130 sprinkler head

mechanisms shown on the lower

right for your information.

The system does not use water

from the town's drinking water

system and is entirely fed by stormwater

and groundwater from the

nearby aqueduct designed

for this project was funded in FY 25

and we'll complete the work this summer.

If this is approved,

just take a quick plug.

I also wanted to say, I'm

remiss not saying it before.

I hope you've been able

to follow along in the advisory writeups.

I think the advisory book has a lot

of excellent detail about all our programs

and so really appreciate the

work that they put into that.

We ask for your favorable

action on Article 16.

- Okay, now I recognize Mr. Riley,

chair of the advisory committee,

- Madison Riley. Mr. Moderator

- Mr. Riley

- Regarding Article 16,

Honeywell Irrigation system

was originally installed in the

early 1980s.

I was in college now.

Now beyond its life expectancy

and regularly experiencing leaks,

the system has needed

upgrading for several years

but has been delayed due

to other town priorities.

Advisory notes that

maintaining the irrigation

of these fields is consistent

with the town's water conservation plan

because the system uses only

stormwater from the constituent

aqueduct and not from the town.

Water Supply Advisory sees

this motion as reasonable,

timely, and an appropriate

use of free cash

and advisory recommends

favorable action 12 to zero.

- Thank you Mr. Riley. Okay,

the floor is now open for

question, discussion and debate

for the motion under Article 16,

Mr.

Himmel Berger.

- David

- Himmel, precinct H Mr.

- Himmel, - Mr. Moderator, I

don't have a question on this.

I think I'm raising a point

of order with regard to,

I'm looking for the, the reason,

but you can raise it

for disorderly conduct.

And I just wanted to call out.

We have a mouse problem up here.

There are mice scurrying across the stage

and I wanted to alert Ms.

Cato, perhaps Mr.

McDonough to the fact

that we have this issue.

A number of us saw it

during the last discussion.

I didn't want to interrupt the

conversation at that point,

but it was very unsettling.

- I didn't notice that Ms.

Cato was at all nervous.

Anything further on this motion?

- Yes.

- Okay.

I guess we're ready for the vote. We can

do this one by voice Vote.

All in favor, say aye. Aye. All nay. Okay.

The motion under Article 16 carries

by voice vote unanimously.

The motion under Article 16 is, excuse me,

article 16 is now closed.

Just hold on for one

second please. Yes. Yeah.

Okay. So it's 25 off.

Why don't we all go

have some birthday cake

and be back here by five minutes of nine.

He is carrying messages

- Seventh 2026 at 7:00

PM in this same hall.

- All in favor say aye. Aye.

Motion carries unanimously.

Okay. I recognize Mr.

Wexler for the motion under Article 19,

the intersection of

Western and Lyndon roads.

- By way, it scores two, two

for anyone that's wonder.

- Mr. Wexler. - So Mr. Moderator

Jeff Wexler, precinct H?

- Yes. Mr. Wexler Board

- Of Public Works.

And I ask that you

not sure if it's we're

getting some feedback.

Is that, is that okay? Is it

screeching? Yep, it's good.

Okay. I ask that you waive

the reading of the motion

as it appears on the screen

and was previously distributed.

- Motion is waived. Reading

of the motion is waived.

- Thank you. And I ask that

you recognize Dave Cohen,

director of the DPW. Okay.

- And I think he's rounding

into Wellesley now.

So for those who are paying attention

- Coming through the Scream tunnel.

Yeah. So Dave Cohen, DPW Director,

- Mr. Cohen moderator.

- So this article requests authorization

of $600,000 from free

cash to fund the design

of improvements at the intersection

of Weston Road at Linden Street.

The advisory writeup on page 1

44 provides excellent details

and background for this

request, which seeks

to address longstanding

traffic and safety issues.

Primarily, this project will seek

to add a dedicated left

turn lane on the Weston Road

southbound approach to Linden Street.

The intersection will be

upgraded with full signal in,

with full signalization to

replace the blinking red

and yellow lights

currently at this location.

Other improvements will

include upgraded pedestrian

facilities, drainage, and

retaining wall and fence work.

As mentioned in the advisory report,

the 2024 Special Town meeting approved

funds for land taking.

Since we needed the additional space

to construct these improvements,

our grant application

for this project was denied,

but we recently received word

that we may receive a significant earmark

that could partially offset

the cost of this project.

This bill is pending in

the Senate right now,

and we're working with our legislators

to help secure this funding.

Construction funding for

this project is currently

programmed in the

capital budget for FY 28,

and we ask for your favorable

action on Article 19.

- Okay. Mr. Riley

- Madison Riley, Mr.

Moderator Mr. Riley,

regarding Article 19 advisory

and unanimously supports the redesign

of Linden Street and Weston Road.

The intersection, this heavily

used intersection desperately

needs safety improvements.

And this article is a logical next step

to the 2024 Special town

meeting, approval of the purchase

of a budding land for this project,

advisory recommends

favorable action 11 to zero

with one recusal.

- Okay. The floor is

now open for question,

discussion and debate.

The motion under radical 19.

- Tamara Ecky precinct

- G. Yes, Ms. Ecky,

- Last year the discussion

on this acknowledged

that the intersection at 1 35

and Weston Road would

be a downstream impact

and must be a part of this project.

But I don't see that intersection in the

discussion this year.

And it doesn't appear in the photo,

in the, in the book either.

So I'd like to have confirmation whether

or not that intersection will be there.

- Okay. That's the intersection of

- 1 31, 1 35 and Wein

- Road 1 35 and Western Road.

- The concern is that we're just kicking,

potentially kicking the

problem further down south,

basically on Wein Road.

- Dave Cohen, dp, deputy of Director.

- Yes. Mr. Cohen

- Moderator.

So in fact, that is outside

the scope of this project.

That intersection will

be included in the soon

to come Wellesley Square

redevelopment project.

And so that will be, it's

within the limits of the work

that we'll be doing and we have a, a,

a design for that project coming.

So it's related but not part

of this particular intersection.

- And if I could add a follow up.

So what is the timing on

the, the Square project?

What I'm concerned about is

that as that intersection gets

redeveloped at Linden Street,

that they, there's a potential

for, for backup to basically

be created at the intersection

that's already problematic

at 1 35 in West, in Western

- Road.

Okay. So the, the timetable

for the Wellesley Square Rehab.

- Yep. Dave Cohen, Mr.

Moderator, Mr. Cohen.

So actually we're getting

set to award the contract

for the Wellesley Square

project right now.

So those two project will be synced up

and we'll make sure that

they're talking to each other.

It's all the same people who

will be coordinating that work.

- Thank you

- Mr. Criswell.

- Mr. Moderator, Paul

Criswell, precinct h Mr.

- Criswell - Through you a

comment more than is a question.

And as somebody who uses

this intersection regularly,

I can certainly attest to

the fact that the traffic

is, is horrible.

But what I would really like

to urge the DPW to make sure

that you do is to give a equal weight

to the pedestrian aspects of this.

Because as bad as the traffic is

and as inconvenient as it

is to sit there waiting

to make a left turn forever,

it's a whole lot worse

to be trying to cross

that from one of the, one

of the sidewalks and really

taking your life in your

hands to, to do that.

Thank you.

- Okay, Mr. Welburn?

- Yes, Mr.

Moderator Peter Welburn, precinct C Mr.

- Welburn,

- I just want to point out

that in this is an extremely

dangerous intersection in town

and it's been a very

dangerous intersection

in town for a long time.

In 2012,

a gentleman riding a bicycle

near this intersection was

struck by a vehicle and killed.

So I, I speak in favor of this

article tonight. Thank you.

- Any anybody else wanna speak on

the motion under radical 19?

Any non town meeting

residents wanna speak?

Okay, I think we can do a voice

vote. All in favor say aye.

Aye. All opposed? Nay carries

unanimously by voice vote.

Article 19 is closed

and we move on to article

20 feasibility study for the DBW campus.

And I recognize Mr. Wexler,

- Mr.

Moderator Jeff Wexler, precinct H,

chair of the Board of Public Works.

- Mr. Wexler,

- Thank you.

And I ask that you waive

the reading of the motion

as it appears on screen and has

been previously distributed.

- The reading of the motion is waived.

- Okay, thank you. And

in a moment I'll ask

that you recognize Mr. Cohen,

but first I'd just like

to very quickly say

from a board perspective

what you're about to hear.

This is about thoughtful, careful planning

and we've talked a lot

about long-term capital.

It's also thinking about what

investments should be made now

to properly determine the

much larger long-term capital

expenditures so that they're

efficient, cost effective,

and appropriate for the needs for the town

for decades to come.

And with that, I ask that you

recognize Mr. Cohen. Thank you

- Mr. Cohen.

Mr. Moderator, Dave Cohen,

DPW Director Mr. Cohen.

We are undaunted that we

are heading towards Newton

and Heartbreak Hill for this article,

but that's where we're at.

So good evening.

It's my pleasure to introduce Article 20

DPW Campus Feasibility Study.

I'm joined tonight by facilities

management director Joe

McDonough, who will walk

through the presentation.

But before turning it to Joe, I'd like

to give some brief

context for this project.

The Park and Highway

Building system study was,

that was done in 2019, was

one of the final pieces

of a multi-phase project

that started back in

the mid two thousands.

Through the system study, we

identified about $10 million

of renovations needed in the

75-year-old park and highway building.

By the time this project was revived

after COVID, the estimate had

grown to over $13 million.

We decided at that point to take a pause

to see if there might

be another alternative.

And that's when we undertook

the master planning process.

The key objective of the master plan was

to review our entire program to see

how it might more effectively

fit on the Municipal Way

campus and to see if the park

and highway building to see

how it would fit if the park

and highway building were to be replaced

rather than renovated.

While we were going through

that process, we thought

that it would be a good

idea to see if the land use

and FMD departments could

also be accommodated

with a permanent home on the same site.

While not critical for our project

and DPW operations, it seemed

like it could solve a problem

that was coming down the road.

It also seemed like an opportunity

to create a more streamlined

customer experience

through a one stop shop

municipal services building.

For a bit of historical

perspective, the many phases

of improvements at Municipal Way started

with building a new water

and sewer garage in 2009

and then a new DPW administration building

that opened in 2012.

Other aspects of the site were improved

or replaced such as

the Salt shed, the park

and highway roof, the park

and highway HVAC system,

and the fuel depot,

which we just completed

last this past year.

Other phases such as a new

fleet maintenance High Bay

and the storage shed have been

deferred several times over

the years due to competing needs.

But they still need to

be addressed in some

way at some point.

Which brings us to this request

for feasibility study funds.

And with that I'll turn it over

to Joe for the presentation.

Mr. Moderator, could you

please recognize Facilities

Management director, Joe McDonough, Mr.

Mc, Mr. McDonough,

- Mr.

Moderator, Joe McDonough,

facilities Director, Mr.

McDonough. Good evening.

This is gonna be, this project

will be one of the three

or four major projects

that the Town Wide Capital

Planning Committee will be

considering as it starts up, I call it one

of the anchor projects.

So I'll talk about why

I think this meets some

of the criteria of that

town wide Capital plan.

So Dave covered a lot of this,

but very quickly we, we did in FY 19,

we did four small studies.

Two were related to the

Municipal Way campus

that were more building systems.

They were by no means on the

level of a feasibility study.

And we also did work at the RDF,

which actually resulted in two projects.

We replaced the

sprinkler system in the Baylor

building a few years ago.

And if you've been to the

RDF recently, you'll notice

that the foundation for the

new Administration building is

actually going in as we speak.

So there has been some good progress.

Dave covered the, the history.

September, 2020 submitted the report.

There were delays like with a

lot of the other projects due

to COVID and the two school projects.

We ultimately came back with

updated costs to the PBC

and the decision was made at that point.

Let's focus on the RDF

and let's pause on the

Municipal Way project.

And I think Dave covered

that history pretty well.

The gist of it was the new

cost estimate we had was now

approaching $13 million.

This is a 78-year-old building.

We certainly got it service life.

And we found out at that time

that the renovation cost was higher.

But also there was an issue with phasing

where we gonna put the DPW operations

during a renovation project.

The study that we did was also not

as encompassing as it should have been.

It didn't include the cold storage shed,

it didn't include the fuel depot

that was in the process of being replaced.

Didn't look at EV charging

or solars solar panels on the roof.

And also it barely looked at

the fleet maintenance building,

which we have vehicles

that are solar large

that can't even be serviced

inside the building.

So DPW requested $135,000 as part

of an FY 25 cash capital

plan to do a master plan.

We hired Weston and Sampson in 2024.

And as you see here, the goal was

to develop a comprehensive

long-term strategic guidance

for the entire Municipal way

campus, not just the Park

and Highway Building and Fleet.

So some

of you who've heard us talk

about the Tomway Capital plan,

there's very specific criteria

in the plan for consideration

by the Town Wide Capital

Planning Committee as to

what projects should be

included in the plan,

when should they be included in the plan.

And one of, frankly,

what I think are the most

important criteria is

how does the project line up

with the town's strategic plans

such as, you know, the

unified plan, right?

And I think as you've heard

tonight, looking at that picture

of the post blizzard cleanup

at the DPW Park and Highway

and DPW, all of their operations are part

and parcel to all of these plans.

You know, you look at the

unified plan, these are some

of the chapters in the unified

plan, natural resources,

parks, trails, mobility,

public facilities,

infrastructure, sustainability.

This is what DPW does.

So it's such a natural

alignment with all of the plans,

the strategic initiatives in town.

This project definitely aligns up with it.

Some of the other plans,

open space recreation plan,

municipal vulnerability

preparedness, sustainable mobility,

and of course the municipal

sustainable building guidelines.

So the plan itself that

looked at these buildings,

the Highway Park Tree and

Fleet, the water sewer office

and garage, that's the

17-year-old building

that Dave talked about.

DPW administration engineering

building is 12 years old.

Salt storage shed, prefab

shed, it's about 10 years old.

Cold storage shed, we don't know

how old it is, it's very old.

We can't find any plans on it.

And then the new fuel depot

that was replaced recently.

Then we looked at the site starting

with the bulk material handling area.

That's where gravel and sand in pipes

and manholes, large outside

equipment and parts are stored.

That's in the northern part of the site

adjacent to Woodlawn.

There's some environ

environmental restrictions

that we needed to consider

in this master plan,

including an activity use limitation,

an A UL that'll show you

some graphics on later.

And of course the goal is to try to limit

your work in those areas

or avoid them if possible.

The western part of the site

has wetlands in the MBTA track

and we have the cochituate

aqueduct on the right side.

So these are things that we needed

to think about in the study.

So some of the conclusions you see here,

the site is functionally inadequate

and there's not enough space.

And you'll see that we basically,

we need double the square

footage of building space.

What they have right

now, the 1948 building,

we've talked about 78 years old

as is pretty typical with old buildings.

They're modified, they're added on

to become very inefficient.

We found that the newer

buildings, no surprise, right,

the 17 and 14 and

10-year-old buildings, water

and sewer administration

salt, she are adequate

and can stay with little to

no work and highway park fleet

and cold storage were

beyond their service life

and need to be replaced.

So those of you who are

not familiar with the site,

these aerials, I think will

give you a a good sense.

So let's start with the top left.

The park highway and fleet building.

So you're looking kind of

northwest to the far left,

that gray building, that's

the water and sewer garage.

And then this L-shaped brick building

that is park, highway and Fleet.

And then in the foreground

you can see the fuel depot.

And in the background to the right,

that green shed structure,

that's the salt she,

so the inside,

the L-shaped building on the

left side is the garage area.

On the right side is fleet storage

and then kind of the knuckle area.

That's where you have staff

offices, support spaces,

lockers, muster rooms, et cetera.

The lower right photo shows

you the cold storage shed.

And it's called cold storage only

because it has no heat,

it's, it's not refrigerated.

But you can see in that photo

that you know parking

isn't an issue on site.

So these photos are

actually seven years old

and the situation hasn't gotten

much better in seven years.

So, you know, top left Dave's

actually in this photo,

men's bathroom top right, the

welding shop, which is typical

of some of the shop spaces that we have.

I hope that's not the most lower right,

the vehicle wash bay.

So you saw those vehicles

in the first slide.

They get covered with salt and sand

and we know that you can

extend the service life

of these vehicles significantly

by maintaining them,

by washing them regularly.

So this is really a key

part of the program for DPW.

And when we did the initial

study, we realized that most

of the trucks couldn't even fit in here.

So we were gonna raise

the roof, make it wider.

By the time you do that, you're

looking at, you really need

to build something new and then

lower left you can see it's

really tough to get all these

vehicles inside the space.

It's just not big enough. Again,

top left is the highway garage.

Again, you can see the, the vehicles,

the gym packed in there.

Top right, this is a crane

for the parks department in the shed

and it just about fits in there.

Lower left, you've seen

Dave talked about the

one of the vacuum trucks.

These are frontline pieces

of equipment. Very expensive.

And you can see how tight it is

to get it in that particular bay.

You better be a pretty good driver.

Top left, this is the office

space they have, it's crammed.

There's just not enough space

and it's of course it's old top right.

This is locker and muster room.

But it also doubles as

importantly the storm center.

The emergency center. So most

of the new DPW facilities

that you see, they have a

dedicated emergency area

where they can prepare

for storms and blizzards

and hurricanes get the latest weather

and they can determine

how they're gonna go about

and attack these projects.

But this is where they have

to work out of right now,

lower left, this is

mechanical electrical room.

It's in the basement for this building.

And you can see a little bit the

water that's coming in there.

We have some pumps, but

water does get in there

and you know it's not a good thing

to be having your

electrical room in an area

where there's water

coming in and lower right.

These are concrete walls

and concrete ceilings

above that electrical room.

And we have spald concrete.

We actually had to limit

the parking capacity

above on the floor above that.

We had to put some steel plates in there.

So some of the, a number of

concepts were presented to DPW

and FMD by the consultant.

And some of the initial feedback

was the salt shed's fine,

we don't need to do

anything, we don't need

to consider moving that DPW.

Dave and his staff were very sensitive

to the abutters on Woodlawn

and they did not want to have

any additional development in

that bulk storage area

up against Woodlawn.

Parking was an issue,

definitely recognize that.

And we identified the water

and sewer administration, salt, she

and Fuel depot as not

being a part of the project

to do any additional work.

And that the park and highway

and the cold storage building

needed to be replaced.

Some of the other things

that we looked at was travel.

- Mr. McDon, sorry to interrupt,

but we have a little bit

of a problem up here,

maybe more than a little bit.

So we're just gonna take about

a five or 10 minute break.

Just sort it out.

- Okay?

- Yeah, yeah. Okay. Mr McDonough.

- Okay, Mr. Moderator. Mr.

- Mc, welcome back.

- Some of the issues that

we looked at in terms

of design considerations in the

master plan, as I mentioned,

public travel wanted to limit

public travel to the areas

where they would come into

the municipal way complex

and do business and not have

to enter into the yard area

where there's large trucks.

Dangerous situation. We

wanted to maximize circulation

of the DPW vehicles around the

site, around the salt shed,

around the fueling depot.

So this was the preferred concept.

This is, I know many

of you have heard about the a hundred