Your Top 5 in Town News
An easy to digest digest of Town News, served monthly.
1 - Spring Cleaning in Town
Household Hazardous Waste Collection is Saturday, April 3rd at the Public Works Facility on Rt. 20, from 9am to 1pm.The Merriam Street Brush Dump opens for 4 consecutive Saturdays starting April 10th. Transfer Station and Recycle Only permit holders can drop off yard waste from 7am to 3pm and help themselves to rich composted soil and woodchips. Need a permit? Visit WestonMA.gov/TSPermits for information and the application. A Recycle Only permit is sufficient for accessing the Brush Dump.The DPW Water Division is beginning its
annual hydrant flushing program, which will run through June. This is an important operation to help keep water mains and water in good condition for residents. The schedule of when you can expect DPW being in your neighborhood is
available on the DPW website. Be mindful of water conditions, especially if you are doing laundry. Sometimes the process can produce a temporary discoloration in your water. Just run the cold tap until it clears.
Another annual program that is starting up is the DPW
Highway Division's Street Sweeping. This process removes the sand and silt from the winter and helps protect our local waterways. The schedule is
available on the DPW website. If there is sand on sidewalks or your driveway, you can sweep it into the street when the sweepers are expected to be in your neighborhood.
2 - Earth Month
This April is Weston's inaugural Earth Month. In anticipation of the release of Weston's first Climate Action and Resilience Plan, we're focusing our attention to the whole month to encourage residents to think about what we can all do to protect and heal our Mother Earth.
Earth Day is April 22nd and the theme is "Restore Our Earth." Follow Weston on
Facebook,
Twitter or
Instagram to learn more about adopting earth-friendly practices into your everyday life. If you aren't on social media, you can
subscribe to receive Latest Town News or emails from Weston Ahead with summaries of each week and a peek at the coming month.
This weekend, why not spend some quality time with Mother Nature and start thinking about what you're willing to do to help her? For motivation and inspiration, make a visit to the Marian Case Nature Classroom at the Case Estates. Dreamt up by a tree-loving, all things nature enthusiast and member of
Weston Forest & Trail Association, and with the support of the Conservation Commission, Select Board, Weston Public Schools, and
Land's Sake Inc., this clearing beneath the white pines and oaks is a peaceful way to breathe in and appreciate how valuable and precious nature is.
The Climate Action and Resilience Plan is expected to be available for public comment the week of April 14th. Stay tuned!!
3 - Pay As You Throw Report and Bulky Waste
Establishing a program to reduce residential solid waste has been a priority of the Select Board for the past several years. Last year, the Board established the Pay As You Throw (PAYT) Working Group to analyze costs at the Transfer Station and to provide recommendations to initiate the program in Weston by September 2021.
The Working Group will be making its report to the Select Board on April 13th. The meeting agenda will be posted to WestonMA.gov closer to the date and will have the time and public participation details.
Two other recommendations made by the Working Group to reduce solid waste tonnage and Transfer Station costs was to offer composting and to begin charging for bulky waste. The composting program started last October and has been very well received. Food waste is incredibly heavy and takes longer to incinerate, which produces excessive air pollution. When food waste is composted, it produces rich soil for gardening and landscapes. The program at the Transfer Station supplements home composting. Learn more on the Town's website.
The other recommendation made is to start charging for bulky waste. Simply put, anything that cannot fit inside a 13-gallon kitchen garbage bag is bulky waste and a fee will be charge if it is to be disposed of at the Transfer Station. Many bulky items have a second life and there are many places that will accept them. The program was delayed from its original start date of January and is set to start on May 1st. Find detailed information, including an FAQ, fee schedule, and a list of donations sites at WestonMA.gov/BulkyWaste. 4 - Town Election and Annual Town Meeting
The Town Election, where the Town's elected official are selected, will be held on May 8th. All precincts are to report to the Town Hall Auditorium from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to vote in-person. Vote by Mail is being offered again this year for registered voters who do not want to or cannot vote in person. A new application must be submitted to the Town Clerk if you want to vote by mail. The application and the candidates can be found at WestonMA.gov/TownElection. Weston's League of Women Voters will be hosting an online Candidates' Night on April 29th at 7:30 p.m. Details will be posted to the Town's website closer to the date.
This year's Annual Town Meeting, the legislative branch of Weston's Town Government, will be held outside on May 15th at 2 p.m. on the Weston High School football field (Proctor Field). It will be a similar set up to the September meeting. The Warrant and Budget Book was just approved by the Select Board and it will be posted to the Town's website shortly. There will be no visual presentations at the proceedings and all materials, including Weston Media Center video presentations, will be posted to the Town's website to help educate voters prior to Town Meeting. Announcements regarding the warrant and article information will be made through Latest Town News. 5 - Emergency Rental Assistance Program
The Weston Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) provides temporary monthly rental assistance in the form of a grant to eligible households who have a loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ERAP will pay between $350 - $800/month in rental assistance, depending on unit size, for four months. Payments are made directly to the landlord and the program is run through the Regional Housing Services Office. Grant renewals may be possible depending on need and available funding. ERAP is funded with Community Preservation Act funds through Weston's Affordable Housing Trust (approved by the Sept. 2020 Annual Town Meeting).
BONUS NEWS!
The Dana Farber Blood Mobile will be at the Weston Police Station on April 14th. Make an appointment today to donate blood.
The municipally-owned parcel located at 0 Wellesley Street was transferred to the Affordable Housing Trust by Town Meeting vote to develop 4-6 affordable housing units. The Trust issued a request for proposals to find a non-profit developer to develop the housing and selected Habitat for Humanity. Soon, meetings with Habitat for Humanity will be starting and community support is encouraged. The organization out of Boston is collecting emails from residents who wish to follow the progress of this project. Email westonoutreach@habitatboston.org to join the email list to be notified of public meetings and to submit any questions or feedback. The project is expected to move forward as a Local Initiative Project (LIP).
The Weston Affordable Housing Foundation (WAHFI) received a donation of two single-family houses located on Birch Lane. The non-profit organization is seeking Community Preservation Act Funds to rebuild the two houses into two 3-bedroom single-family homes that will be added to Weston's affordable housing stock. The proposal will be reviewed by the Select Board at it's April 13th meeting, details of which will be posted to the Town's website closer to the date. There are other WAHFI-built affordable housing located in Weston. The project is expected to move forward as a Local Initiative Project (LIP).
The Zoning Board of Appeals is reopening the comprehensive permit hearings for the 40B proposal located at 518 South Avenue. Information on the developer's proposal and materials resulting from the hearing process can be found on the ZBA's web pages. Sign up to receive agenda notifications from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The 40B permit hearing process through the Zoning Board of Appeals is a prescribed judiciary process. Information on the this can be found on the Town's website.
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