FS1

It is distressing to me as a resident of Westwood to see how divisive the issue of FS1 has become in our town. I do not believe any resident is “against” the fire station, or our firefighters. Quite the contrary, every person I have spoken to about FS1 has made it quite clear they support our firefighters and support the construction of a safe and comfortable fire station. But unfortunately, many individuals view any dissenting opinion as it pertains to the scope and size of the planned construction as a direct attack on the fire department. Rather than listening to the residents, many of whom have spoken in a thoughtful inciteful manner, those folks are bullied and made out to be liars and obstructionists. Unfortunately, the firefighters are caught in the middle. If the fire station was in such a dangerous state of disrepair, what was the rationale behind our town representatives’ decision to prioritize constructing a new $90 million elementary school? Shouldn’t we have built a new fire station first? That would have

The point getting lost in all of this is what many residents view as the fiscal irresponsibility of town leaders who are supposed to be acting in the best interest of the residents. But I personally don’t feel spending to excess, thus doubling taxes in a 12 – 15-year period, is acting in the best interest of anyone.

It is time for the Select Board take a moment to understand the position of the residents of the Town. They have been charged with ensuring fiscal responsibility, yet they continue to disregard the residents who have said over and over, enough is enough. All one needs to do is drive around town and look at all the For Sale signs. The taxes in town are driving people out. They cannot afford to continue to live here. Now I know what many of you are now thinking, because it has been talked about over and over by our town leaders, “but the tax rate went down”. What is left out of this statement is the valuations of our homes increased at the same time. Valuations, by the way, based on the housing market at the height of COVID. Valuations based on skewed data. Valuations causing our taxes to increase.

The message being sent, that our Select Board members are not hearing, is Westwood cannot continue to construct brand new mega buildings every other year.

Westwood is building for expansion the town will never experience. Westwood is an 11.1-mile area. The U.S. census estimates the population in July 2024 at 16,533, a mere 1.7% increase in total population from 4/1/20 – 7/1/24. There was a significant 11% total population increase from 4/1/10 – 4/1/20, but it is important to note that increase coincided with 100 new condominiums and 350 new apartments built at University Place. A continuation of growth at that rate would be hard to match given the limited area for new home construction in town.

A perfect example of this misjudgment is identified in the Executive Summary of the Westwood Master Plan for the school department (this can be found on the school website) written by Dorr & Whittier, the architects behind the Pine Hill School & FS1. The Pine Hill Elementary School was built with a classroom capacity of 550 students. Enrollment in Fall 2024 was 475 (86% capacity), but, in scenarios 1, 2, and 3 of the master plan, the projected student body in ten years will only be 355, a 25% decline in enrollment leaving the school at 64.5% capacity. The only scenarios that have enrollment at Pine Hill close to capacity are scenario 4, in which yet another brand-new school is built, combining Martha Jones and the Sheehan; or scenario 5, which requires the construction of a new Thurston Middle School. And, interestingly enough, the Pine Hill School, the last major construction project undertaken, which we are still paying for, is the only school in Westwood projected to have a declining student body. So, I ask, was this $90 million + spent for an elementary school, which benefits only a quarter of all families with elementary aged students, worth that exorbitant cost? Particularly knowing that immediately following completion of construction of the Pine Hill School, residents would be asked to fund a new fire station, followed by a new middle school, and an additional new elementary school. And let us not forget we recently completed a new police station as well as a new fire station in Islington. I would say fiscal responsibility has been thrown out the window by town leaders and our Select Board.

Consistently building new large municipal and school buildings, under the guise of projected town growth, is irresponsible and sadly forcing people out of town and pricing young families out of Westwood due to the incredibly high taxes. Residents are frustrated and showing that with our votes. The budget for fiscal year 2025 almost failed, passing by a mere 8 votes. And now this year, the fire station vote did not pass. Again, not because we don’t want the firefighters to have a safe, comfortable building. We are simply asking for the project to be scaled back so that residents can feel more comfortable with the cost and size.

To simply have the Select Board hold a special ballot vote, putting forth the exact same plan that was voted down, and hope to either bully or exhaust the no vote enough to keep them home, is insulting and shows a certain level of disdain toward those tax paying residents of Westwood who have differing opinions.