Select Board Meeting: Open Seat on SB, Mask Mandate, Reuse of Obed Baker House

Below is a summary of the information and actions from Select Board at its meeting on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.

Open Seat on Select Board

Select Board Clerk John Hickey announced his decision not to run for re-election. He noted his gratefulness to residents for their trust over six years, and that his decision was bittersweet. “I’ll always contribute to Westwood. This has been a great town to my family and I. But political aspirations at this time are not part of our portfolio,” he said.

Nomination papers for open seats of town government are currently available from the Town Clerk's office.

Mask Mandate for Municipal Buildings

Minutes after concluding the Board of Health’s meeting, Chairperson Dr. Roger Christian and Health Director Jared Orsini joined the Select Board meeting to report on the new face mask policy adopted by the board.

The board unanimously voted to implement a face covering mandate for all residents aged 5 years-old and older in municipal buildings. The order is effective from January 13, 2022 through the end of February 27, 2022. Mr. Orsini reported his expectation that the Omicron surge will peak in Westwood in the next 7 to 14 days. The Board may revise or rescind its orders as conditions dictate.

In response to Select Board Member Robert Gotti’s question of whether the mask mandate applies to Westwood’s schools, Mr. Orsini replied that School Committee is the decision-maker for schools. He was hopeful that students may experience being back in school buildings without a mask at the beginning of March 2022, as the current Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidelines expire at the end of February. Those guidelines similarly require masks indoors for people over 5 years-old, with some exceptions.

Obed Baker House to be Rehabilitated and Reused as Residential Units alongside New Commercial Property

Select Board Chair Michael Walsh described the current state of the historic Obed Baker House as an “eyesore.” No disagreement was had among Select Board members.

Select Board unanimously voted to designate Mr. Todd Sullivan as the developer of the Obed Baker House rehabilitation and reuse project, following review of Mr. Sullivan's bid in response to Select Board's Request for Proposals. 

Director of Community and Economic Development Nora Loughnane advocated for acceptance of Mr. Sullivan’s proposal, and noted that the current Request for Proposals is the sixth time that Westwood has issued one for this property. Mr. Sullivan’s bid was the only bid submitted in response to the current RFP.  In response to the RFP for $150,000, Mr. Sullivan submitted a proposed price of $320,000.

Town Counsel Pat Ahearn noted that Mr. Sullivan’s bid “checks all the boxes” of the RFP.

Mr. Sullivan’s development plan includes adding an “historically sensitive addition” to the back of the Obed Baker House, and converting the building into residential units. One residential unit would be on the first floor and one residential unit would be on the second floor. The existing, nearby cemetery building will be demolished, and a new cemetery building will be rebuilt on the adjacent plot of land.  A 4,000 square foot commercial structure will be added northeast of the Obed Baker House for a veterinary clinic. 

Mr. Sullivan stated that if permitted, he will also “clean up” the bordering vegetative wetland where he says trees are getting strangled by vines and dying.

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Complete Streets Funding Awarded to Westwood

Select Board unanimously voted to accept Westwood’s third Complete Streets Funding Program award from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). This latest award is in the amount of $356,813 for extending the sidewalk on the southern side of Downey Street, between Booth Drive and Canton Street.

MassDOT notes that the purpose of its grant awards is to “fund local multimodal infrastructure projects that improve travel for bicyclists, pedestrians, public transit users, and people using other forms of transportation.”

The first step in Westwood’s Complete Streets project will be design. Construction is expected to be complete in summer 2023 before Downey School opens for the 2023-24 school year.

Eighteen Streets Scheduled for Repaving in 2022

Forty-one miles of Westwood's streets are in no need of current maintenance, and only 0.46 miles of Westwood's roadways currently need rehabilitation, according to a presentation by Westwood's Department of Public Works.

A slide presentation by Department of Public Works Director Todd Korchin and DPW's consultant set forth a preliminary list for roads to be repaved in 2022: Booth Drive, Canton Terrance, Currier Farm Road, Downey Street (Smith Drive to Hawktree Drive), Downey Terrace, Elm Street, Fearing Drive, Hawktree Drive, Phillips Brooks Road, Putting Drive, Saint Dennis Drive, Strasser Avenue, Willard Circle, Brookfield Road, Marshall Street, Meadowbrook Road, Beacon Street, and Park Circle.

Nominations for John J. Cronin Public Service Award

Select Board is taking nominations for the John J. Cronin Public Service Award. The John Cronin Public Service Award is the Town of Westwood's highest honor. It recognizes an individual who has served with distinction and remarkable service, in the spirit of John Cronin, a former Treasurer of Westwood for many years. Mr. Cronin was an active volunteer in the community, serving as president of the Westwood Historical Society and a founding board member of Westwood Interfaith Council. Nomination forms are available here and can be sent to selectboard@townhall.westwood.ma.us

Overview of a Proposed FY 2023 Budget

Assistant Town Administrator and Finance Director Pam Dukeman provided an update on the FY 2023 budget, noting that Select Board historically has approved budgets that represent sustainable, moderate growth. She expects that her office’s preparation of a proposed FY 2023 budget will be in the range of a 3.5 percent increase and expressed hope that the proposed budget will be completed by around February 1, 2022.

Ms. Dukeman highlighted several points:

• COVID-19 costs will not be included in the operating budget unless they are considered to be ongoing. These costs will continue to be covered by a separate fund.
• Westwood has not had to use any of its 3.72 million dollar reserve account to fund COVID-19 expenses.
• Westwood is in the last year of paying for a 20 year high school bond.
• Hotel and meal tax receipts are nearing their 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
• Several senior tax assistance programs continue to be available. They are state exemptions, tax deferrals, Aid to the Elderly fund and a work program.

Regarding availability of senior tax relief, Mr. Gotti asked whether seniors requesting such relief are ever denied assistance. Ms. Dukeman replied that assistance has never been denied due to funding, although there have been denials of assistance based upon eligibility.

Charter Review Committee Candidates

Select Board decided to reschedule its discussion of potential candidates for a Charter Review Committee to its January 24, 2022 meeting because only a few candidates had been contacted or had confirmed their interest. Select Board Clerk John Hickey noted that considering a slate of candidate names together would allow Select Board to choose members who represent different ages, parts of town, shorter and longer lengths of residency, and committee experience.

Initial warrant article discussion

Select Board unanimously approved a motion to close the 2022 warrant of 33 proposed articles and to publish a list of the draft articles on the town website. Select Board voted to keep placeholders for the articles regarding rezoning the Obed Baker house as a mixed use property.

Executive Session

Select Board unanimously voted to leave the public meeting to meet in executive session to discuss strategies for litigation, real property transactions or valuations, general collective bargaining with union personnel, and review of executive session minutes.

Next Meeting

The next meeting for Select Board is January 24, 2022.

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