Annual Town Caucus - March 5th

Elected town officials are nominated during the Town Caucus, which will be held on March 5th at 7:00 p.m. in Town Hall. At this event, Weston residents express interest in serving on one of the many elected seats that are available. Weston voters in attendance nominate the individual they would like to see run for the office and if enough votes are received, the individual(s) becomes the Caucus Nominee and is placed on the ballot for the Annual Town Election (May 5th).

A list of elected Town Officials is available on the Town's website. A guide to the duties and responsibilities for each of the elected boards is also available online. If you are interested in running for an elected seat and have additional questions, please contact the Town Clerk at 781-786-5010.

The following elected offices will have available seats:

Moderator (1 seat) - one-year term
Board of Selectmen (1 seat) - three-year term
Board of Assessors (2 seats) - three-year term
School Committee (2 seats) - three-year term
Recreation Commission (2 seats) - three-year term
Planning Board (1 seat) - five-year term
Board of Library Trustees (2 seats) - three-year term
Board of Health (1 seat expiring 2019 and 1 seat for 2021) - three-year term
Measurers of Lumber (3 seats) - one-year term
Commissioners of Trust Funds (1 seat) - three-year term

Town Manager Announces Retirement

On February 13th, the Board of Selectmen received notice that Town Manager Donna VanderClock will be retiring this September. Ms. VanderClock has served as Weston's Town Manager for the past 13 years but has been with the Town for 34 years.

The process of finding a new Town Manager is outlined in Chapter 80 of the Acts of 2001, which established the position in Weston. The Board of Selectmen has appointed a screening committee of five Weston residents to work with a search consultant to recruit and recommend a list of final candidates, each of whom will be interviewed in open meeting. The five screening committee members are Jeri Cooper, former member of the School Committee, Finance Committee, and Dog Committee; Ann Leibowitz, former member of the Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen; Richard Manley, formerly on the School Committee; Stephen Ober, formerly on the Finance Committee and current Chair of the Community Preservation Committee; and Thomas Palmer, former Finance Committee member and co-chair of the Josiah Smith Tavern and Old Library Working Group. Interested residents can subscribe to receive notification of posted meeting agenda to follow progress.

Ms. VanderClock is Weston's second Town Manager. Prior to the establishment of the position, the Board of Selectmen was assisted by J. Ward Carter, Weston’s Town Administrator for 52 years.

133 Boston Post Road Recommendation

Since late spring of 2017, the Planning Board has been working through negotiations with Boston Properties regarding the proposed housing and commercial development located at the Biogen Idec/Monster site at 133 Boston Post Road. The Planning Board brought in an independent consultant to provide a financial analysis of the development and is now preparing a recommendation for the Board of Selectmen.

On Monday, February 26th at 5:30 p.m. in Town Hall, the Planning Board will be holding a special meeting to discuss its recommendation and is seeking public input. The recommendation will be presented to the Board of Selectmen at its regular meeting on Tuesday, February 27th.

The initial proposal from Boston Properties called for 345 rental units with 25% set aside as affordable housing as well as additional commercial office space. The Boston Properties site was identified and discussed as a potential location for future affordable housing in Weston's Housing Production Plan. The project would help Weston meet its 10% affordable housing requirement and would also help meet the housing needs and strategies identified in the Housing Production Plan. The unit count and the size of the commercial space in the proposal are larger than desired, which prompted the negotiations. If a negotiated proposal is agreed upon, the development agreement between Boston Properties and the Town of Weston will need to be revised, which will require a vote of Town Meeting. This is anticipated to come to the 2018 Annual Town Meeting in May.

Step Up Your Recycling Efforts:
Rigid Plastics

It is difficult to imagine a world without plastic, as it is among the most versatile materials ever developed. Unfortunately, 50% of the plastic we use is used just once and then thrown away. Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times and we only recover about 5% of the plastic produced.

The average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic each year. But your effort to recycle - or even limit your use of - plastic goes a long way to stop the negative influences of plastic on our planet. Recycled plastic can be made into a variety of things from a new container to automotive parts. Your old milk jugs, laundry detergent bottles, water bottles and soda bottles could end up being made into carpeting, clothing or even composite lumber.

Weston's Transfer Station takes rigid plastic #1 - #7 (lids, caps, and rings, too) and they don't need to be sorted. Please rinse clean containers and bottles before placing them in the plastic hopper. Dirty containers contaminate the load, making it unrecyclable.

Plastic bags (for grocery, dry cleaning, food storage, etc.) and wraps (for newspapers, paper towels/napkins packaging, etc.) can be recycled to create new bags and wraps and also composite decking, but the reason that they cannot be included in with rigid plastic recycling is that they jam up the grinders, breaking the machines, and spoiling the load. Many grocery stores, however, accept plastic bags and wraps for recycling. Look for the bins near the entrance. The collection load at a retail location is much larger than at the Transfer Station, which is more desirable for 3rd-party buyers and why the Transfer Station cannot take them.

Learn more about plastic, textile, electronic and composting at weston.org/RSW to find ways you can increase your recycling efforts.

Weston's Plastic Bag Ban

The 2017 Annual Town Meeting approved a Citizens' Petition to add a new by-law to the Town's General By-laws called Article XXXV Plastic Bag Ban. The purpose of the new bylaw is to "protect the Town's unique natural beauty and irreplaceable natural resources by reducing the number of single-use plastic check-out bags that are distributed in the Town of Weston and to promote the use of reusable bags." This vote was approved by the state attorney general's office and the ban will be effective on March 21st of this year. The full by-law is available on the Town's website.

FY19 Budget Season

The recommended operating budget for the Town and Schools for fiscal year 2019 is online at Weston.org/Budget. The budget has been presented to the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee and will be reviewed by the Finance Committee before the annual public Budget Hearing (town and schools) on April 30th at 7:00 p.m. in Town Hall and Annual Town Meeting on May 7th.

The Finance Committee will continue meeting on the following Thursdays to review each piece of the recommended budget. Meetings are open to the public and are also filmed by Weston Media Center. Please refer to the Meeting Calendar for additional information:

Feb. 1: Council on Aging, Facilities, and Information Technologies
Feb. 8: Fire and Police
Feb. 15: OPEB Actuarial and Investment Manager presentations
March 1: Schools
March 8: DPW and Recreation
March 15: Unclassified

The format of Weston's budget and the way it is presented to the public has been nationally recognized for excellence by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Weston has also had its Aaa credit re-affirmed and its MIG 1 rating re-assigned.

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New Blog: WAIC Construction

Construction on the Old Library building has begun and it is anticipated to last for approximately one year. A reuse of the iconic building in the Town's center has finally been found and it will become the Weston Art & Innovation Center (WAIC), a division of the Weston Public Library.

During construction, regular updates on the renovation progress will be posted to the WAIC Construction Blog at Weston.org/WAICprogress. Interested residents can sign up for notification of future blog posts by visiting Weston.org/StayInformed. Additionally, Weston Media Center will be releasing periodic video updates of the progress. These, too, will be shared through the construction blog.

The Blog feature on the Town's website is also being used by the Rail Trail Advisory Committee, to post updates on the coming Wayside Rail Trail, and the Animal Control Officer, who publishes helpful tips and information on animals. Both of these can be found at Weston.org/Blog.aspx

Dog Doo Problems

Besides the obvious reasons for being unsightly and a hazard to footwear, leaving dog waste on trails and fields has many health and environmental consequences, as well. Dog waste can harbor parasites, bacteria, and viruses that can live in the ground long after the dog waste has been washed away or it can be transferred to other dogs or humans. The EPA considers dog waste to be on the same hazard level as oil spills and toxic chemicals.

Bagging waste and leaving it on the trail is just as unacceptable as leaving it un-bagged. Plastic bags are NOT biodegradable and leaving the bags on the trails, on rocks, or hanging from tree branches like an ornament is rude. The law of the land is to leave no trace - meaning if you bring it in, then you must take it out. That includes dog waste.

When heading out on the trails, have a bag with you. Be sure to keep an eye on your pup so you know where his or her business was done, and please dispose of bags in the proper receptacles. If there is no trash barrel at the trailhead, TAKE the bag with you. If you are concerned about the smell in your car, use these tips from other dog owners: secure the poop bag under a wiper blade, in the far corner of your car's windshield, during the car ride home; or secure the poop bag inside a zip-close baggie, effectively locking in the smell.

Let’s be respectful of our neighbors and environment and leave the trails and land for everyone's enjoyment.

Volunteer Opportunities

The following appointed committees are seeking new members:

Zoning Board of Appeals
Weston Cultural Council
Memorial Day Committee (respond to moderator@westonmass.org)

For Selectmen-appointed positions, you can apply online or download an application and email it to selectmen@westonmass.org or mail it to Town Hall, PO Box 378.

Weston Fire and Police Department Promotions

On February 7th, a promotion ceremony for the Fire Department was held at Town Hall. Captain Justin Woodside was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief. Lieutenant Kenneth Case was promoted to Captain, and Firefighter Chris Davenport was promoted to Lieutenant.

On February 16th, a promotion ceremony for the Police Department will be held at Town Hall. Lieutenant Thomas Kelly will be promoted to Captain (a new rank in Weston's Police Department), Detective Sergeant Michael Forti will be promoted to Lieutenant, and Officer Daniel Costa will be promoted to Sergeant.

Community Events Calendar

Did you know there is a community events calendar on the Town's website? On the home page, under Town News and the Meeting Calendar, community events are listed. This calendar is becoming more robust, too, and users can subscribe to receive email/text notification of new events posted to the calendar.

The calendar view can be changed from "List" to "Week" or "Month" by clicking on the tabs. And other calendars on the website, like the Library or Meeting calendars, can be added by choosing them from the "Select a Calendar" drop-down menu. Any non-profit community organization with an event of town-wide interest may submit event information to webmaster@westonmass.org.

What's with the New Password?

Users of the Town's website may have noticed prompts to change their password when using the website. This has to do with a move towards stronger cybersecurity that is occurring at our site's level and at the browser level. Because our website holds email addresses, the tougher security is to ensure that those emails and passwords are protected, which if hacked could compromise user data elsewhere. Yes, we understand that it's kind of a pain to be changing passwords and making sure they fit certain criteria, but ultimately it is to protect your information.

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This month is an example of the long quarterly newsletter. A shorter digest of top news items is released monthly, in between. Past issues are available online and you can subscribe to receive future issues either via email or text.