Your Top 5 in Town News

An easy to digest digest of Town Government news.

1 - Special Town Meeting - Dec. 3rd

Know the Issues

We've made it easy for residents to know all things Special Town Meeting.

If you are seeking some down-time from cooking, turkey bingeing, or a respite from holiday family visits or shopping visit Weston.org/TownMeeting to find supporting information and links to past meetings for the articles on the Warrant and to help you better understand what is coming up for discussion and vote.

If you are new to New England Town Government and have no idea what Weston's Legislative branch is or how it functions, we have you covered there as well. 

Residents wishing to participate in Town Meeting must be registered to vote in Weston. The registration deadline is November 22 and the Town Clerk's Office will be open until 8:00 p.m. that evening to accommodate in-person registration.

2 - Change to Town Hall Hours

Introducing Evening Hours on Tuesdays

The Board of Selectmen, following a recommendation from the Town Manager and Assistant Town Manager/Human Resource Director, has approved a change in the business hours of Town Hall.

Starting January 6, 2020 and until May 2020, Town Hall will be open on Tuesday evenings until 7:00 p.m. This change is being initiated to assist residents who find it difficult to get to Town Hall during daytime hours. The change in hours is on a trial basis and are as follows:

• Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 8:00 to 5:00 p.m.
• Tuesday: 8:00 to 7:00 p.m.
• Friday: 8:00 to 12:30 p.m.

Many neighboring communities have moved to evening hours with a shortened Friday. Weston's Town Hall has traditionally been open to the public for 37.5 hours per week. This trial change will allow offices to be open to the public for 42.5 hours per week. There are no budget increases associated with this change.

3 - 2019 Roadway Construction Program Totals

It was another busy year for Weston's Public Works Department. After the 2015 Pavement Management Study showed that 77% of Weston's roads were in need of base rehabilitation with 14% needing structural improvements, the Board of Selectmen tasked the Department with expanding its roadway construction program. There has been a steady increase in funding in the Town's Operating Budget over the last five fiscal years to accommodate this task and two new road maintenance programs have been initiated to protect past investments.

The Weston DPW 2019 roadway paving totals:

• 28,636 linear feet - about 5.42 miles of roadway, including 6,216 linear feet of chip sealing on Brown Street and Cliff Road (first year program)
• 26,844 linear feet of crack sealing (second year program)
• about 3,775 linear feet (appx .7 miles) of sidewalks and curbing were rehabilitated
• two new parking areas at Concord Road and Church Street were installed for the Mass Central Rail Trail
• and 100 linear feet of new sidewalk was installed at the Church Street spur for the rail trail

Also this year, National Grid has been active in fixing many long-standing gas leaks around town and have identified several others for expedition. 

Any resident who is curious to know when roads have been paved last and what roads are due to be paved can find this information on the DPW's web page, specifically under the Capital Improvement Plans, which are updated annually during the budget process.

4 - Board of Selectmen's Projects & Priorities

The Board's focus for 2019 - 2020 has been updated and is available online. This list provides a good overview of what the Selectmen will be working on in the coming months. To follow progress on any of the items on the list, subscribe to receive email/text notifications when the meeting agendas are posted online. Visit Weston.org/StayInformed to sign up.

5 - Upcoming Events

There are a lot of great events coming up in town that are perfect for friends and family. See Weston.org/Events for additional details and for even more events:

• Land's Sake's pre-Thanksgiving Sale is Nov. 23rd
• Weston Friendly Society's production of "Holiday Inn" begins Nov. 23rd and runs through Dec. 1st
• Small Business Saturday is Nov. 30th - support Weston's Town Center businesses
• Weston Forest & Trail's monthly trail walk is Dec. 1st featuring the Hubbard Trail
• Holiday Marketplace @ the AIC is Dec. 4th & 5th
• Land's Sake Farm's Cut-Your-Own Christmas tree annual event is Dec. 7th
• The Golden Ball Tavern's Annual Holiday Open House featuring festive decorations in each room is Dec. 8th
• The 2nd Annual Women's Community League's Winter Festival is Dec. 8th
• Weston Fire Department's Annual Santa Rides are Dec. 18th & 19th 

Did you know you can subscribe to receive email  notifications of upcoming events? Visit Weston.org/StayInformed and subscribe to the Community Events Calendar. You can also subscribe via iCal.

BONUS NEWS

40B Status

Modera Weston (751-761 BPR) - continued to Dec. 9 & 10
Hanover Weston (518 South Ave.) - still under appeal

Town Center Project

Updates posted online weekly at Weston.org/TownCenter and also emailed. Subscribe at Weston.org/StayInformed

Night work is nearing completion and the goal is to get out of the prime retail area in time for the holiday shopping season.

Holiday Fire Safety Tips

The upcoming holidays are unfortunately a time when incidences of home fires increases. The National Fire Protection Agency has some cooking safety tips to keep in mind when preparing the big Thanksgiving meal and the State Fire Marshall shares some indoor and outdoor holiday decorating safety tips.

Feedback? Comments? Suggestions?

Submit to webmaster@westonmass.org