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8-22-2022 11:49pm
Select Board Votes to Close $1.1 Million School Building Funding Gap; Considers Whether to Skip Fall Town Meeting
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Highlights of Select Board’s meeting on Monday, August 22, 2022 included what was discussed along with what was not discussed.
Select Board discussed its decision to approve applying $1.1 million of restricted American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to address an unexpected increase in costs for the Hanlon-Deerfield School Building Project.
There was also a notable lack of discussion. On the topic of potential funding articles to prepare for resident consideration at an upcoming Fall Town Meeting/Special Town Meeting, it appears there are none.
This may be surprising, given that in January of this year, Westwood's Hale Task Force issued a strong recommendation for the preservation of Hale Education (Hale) property from development. Protecting open space through a conservation restriction at Hale specifically appears as an Open Space Goal and Objective in the Town's updated Comprehensive Plan of 2020. Select Board approved negotiations to take place in pursuit of a conservation restriction with Hale. The issue of funding a conservation restriction at Hale appeared earlier this summer to have generated strong community interest, as demonstrated at a well-attended public meeting on June 14, 2022. Proposing to fund a conservation restriction at Hale, by drafting a warrant article to present at Town Meeting, seemed to be a logical next step.
From the exchange at Select Board’s meeting, however, and the fact that the Town of Westwood has not hosted further public meetings on this issue since June 14th, it appears that negotiations between the Town and Hale either may have been unsuccessful, or a concrete proposal for funding a conservation restriction might not be not progressing in time to present at Fall Town Meeting.
Select Board Votes in Favor of Application to Use ARPA Funds for Hanlon-Deerfield School Building Project
Select Board unanimously approved applying to Norfolk County for $1.1 million in “restricted” ARPA funds to close a funding gap for the Hanlon-Deerfield School Building Project. The funding gap was created when all contractor bids for the project exceeded previous project costs estimates by at least $4 million.
At Select Board’s July 12, 2022 meeting, School Committee member Maya Plotkin reported to Select Board that School Committee had applied funds under its discretion to address the $4 million funding gap, but that an overage of $1.1. million still existed. Ms. Plotkin and John Cummings, Chair of Westwood’s Permanent Building Committee, requested that Select Board apply ARPA funds to cover the remaining $1.1 million. At that time, Select Board declined, expressing support for the building project but preferring to investigate further. It directed Town Administrator Christopher Coleman and Assistant Town Administrator and Financial Director Pam Dukeman to review town resources for potential funding.
Following a report on August 1st by Mr. Coleman to the board that using “restricted” ARPA funds could be a possibility, Ms. Dukeman confirmed at yesterday’s meeting that Norfolk County, the administrator of the ARPA funds, would accept an application from Westwood for such use of restricted funds. Once the application is submitted, said Ms. Dukeman, it could take the county about three weeks to approve the application and release the funds.
If Westwood’s application to the county is approved, its ability to use ARPA restricted funds for the school building project means that Westwood will not have to tap into its unrestricted ARPA funds. This would leave the board with greater ability to use ARPA funds to address other needs of the town’s residents in the future.
No Warrant Articles Proposed Yet for a Fall Town Meeting/Special Town Meeting
Westwood’s charter requires Select Board to decide by September 15th regarding whether to hold a Fall Town Meeting, said Select Board Chair Robert Gotti.
“Chris, Pam, what are your thoughts in terms of are you seeing any need [ ] from a financial standpoint? Any articles to be considered?” asked Mr. Gotti.
“No, Mr. Chair. Not for Fall Town Meeting,” answered Mr. Coleman.
Select Board has not made any final decision yet on whether to hold a Fall or Special Town Meeting.
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Westwood Receives a Green Communities Grant of $90,000
Select Board unanimously approved acceptance of a Green Communities Grant that Westwood’s Energy Manager Thomas Philbin has obtained for LED lighting at Sheehan School and an HVAC system with air cleaning for Thurston Middle School.
Mr. Gotti noted that this $90,000 grant brings the total to almost $1.4 million in grants which have resulted from Mr. Philbin’s pursuit of funding for the town’s energy needs.
Appointments and Reappointments
Select Board unanimously accepted the recommendations of Mr. Coleman for the following appointments and reappointments to town boards and committees:
- Town Clerk Dottie Powers, who has been an ex officio member of the Charter Review Committee has been appointed to the position of a voting member
- Elias Fares has been appointed as Conservation Agent to the Conservation Commission
- Tony Antonellis, Sr. has been appointed to the Council on Aging
- Russell Agrusa and Doug Obey have been appointed Election Officers
- Officers Frank Baker and Stephen Conley have been appointed as ex officio members and traffic/safety officers of the Pedestrian Bike Safety Committee.
- Katie Colthart has been appointed as ex officio member of the Youth and Family Services Advisory Board.
Alcohol Licenses Issued to Two New Businesses in Islington
The Italian restaurant, Neroli Restaurant, has a planned opening at the end of this year and will bring Italian food with a modern twist to the new development in Islington. The restaurant will be open until midnight, seven days a week. Its associated market, Neroli Mercato, has a planned opening of September 8, 2002, and will sell groceries and prepared foods and beverages for takeout between the hours of 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Select Board members enthusiastically approved the licenses, noting the benefit of having the new businesses opening in a walkable location for residents.
Before the licenses were approved, however, Select Board and the public raised a few concerns. Select Board Clerk Michael Walsh brought up the potential issue of outdoor consumption of alcohol. Chair Robert Gotti and Member Marianne LeBlanc Cummings questioned the long hours of operation and noise levels. Resident Joseph Previtera questioned whether enough parking spaces existed for the restaurant with a capacity to seat over two hundred.
Carolyn Conway, the representative for both businesses, noted that staff would monitor the outdoor seating area for alcohol consumption. She said noise would be addressed though “strong training,” proper lighting, and a website directing patrons where to park. Additionally, she envisions that most customers will live in the neighborhood, and will want to return home after dinner.
Regarding adequacy of parking for the new restaurant that can seat over 200 people, Ms. Conway noted that forty parking spots are behind the business location. She pointed to the municipal parking lot by Islington Branch Library and CVS, and parking spaces by Morrison Park. She anticipates the offering of free valet parking will address any self-parking issues.
Nora Loughnane, Westwood’s Director of Community and Economic Development, additionally assured Select Board that there have been no problems with consuming alcohol outside Lambert’s Rainbow Market (Lambert’s) and Wegmans, which both sell alcohol and have outdoor seating.
Regarding the late hours, Ms. Loughnane noted that the hours for which Neroli Market seeks approval are similar to the hours that Lambert’s already has in place.
The parking by CVS is almost never full, she added. If there is a parking problem, the building commissioner can address it with the businesses, she said. Additionally, the Alcohol Review Committee was unanimous in recommending approval of the two licenses, Ms. Loughnane noted.
Updated 8/24/2022 at 8:30 p.m. Edits have been made to increase conciseness which do not affect substance.
