Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
The Town of Wellesley will follow a holiday schedule on Presidents Day.
A sampling of Wellesley, Mass., meetings and agenda items for the week of Feb. 17, 2025. Note that the meeting schedule is lighter than usual this week because of it being school vacation week.
See info on all upcoming town government meetings.
Advisory Committee (Feb. 19, 6:30pm, online)
Human Resources – ATM Warrant Articles 4, 5, 25 update; Planning Department FY26 Budgets & Planning Board ATM Warrant Articles 38, 39, 40; Community Preservation Committee ATM Warrant Article 16
Housing Authority (Feb. 20, 9am, Barton Road Community Center)
Financial reports; Modernization updates; Interim executive director and chair reports; Resident community meeting updates; Vacancy report
Council on Aging Board (Feb. 20, 4pm, Tolles Parsons Center)
Chair and director reports; Kitchen Construction Update
Natural Resources Commission (Feb. 20, 7pm, Police station & online)
Discuss Land Conservation Plan Prioritization • Morses Pond Beach Project • North 40; Warren Park Renovation; Permit requests for amplification; Review Status of Hunnewell Track and Field Projects and Lighting
Wetlands Protection Committee (Feb. 20, 6:30pm, online)
A handful of Wellesley High School Raider wrestlers qualified for States at this weekend’s Division 1 Central/West sectional in Franklin, though though the individual highlight may have been senior Oliver Knight notching his 100th career win.
Knight, who placed third in his weight class and qualified for Staes, was recognized with his coaches and family at the event.
Also qualifying for States were Will Nixon (2nd), Daniel Woods (3rd), and Charlie McCormack (4th). Qualifying as alternates were Meg Roney, Brandon Hollingsworth, Dom Staunton, Charlie Litterio, and Diachi Lawrence.
The Raiders finished in sixth place overall, with Natick High winning the title.
Related: Wellesley High wrestlers finish strong to top Brookline
We encourage Wellesley sports supporters to share info and photos: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com
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Following the Wellesley Select Board’s approval this week of a bunch of purple signage to help people figure out how to navigate the Wellesley Square train station and its new accessible platforms, the MBTA has announced those platforms will open for service on Monday, Feb. 17. The first trains scheduled are outbound at 5:36 a.m. and inbound at 6:04 a.m.
As we wrote earlier this month, the mini-high platforms on the inbound and outbound sides of the Wellesley Square commuter rail station will make it feasible for more people with disabilities to use the train. The platforms should also come in handy for those with carriages and others.
Some in town have been working toward this goal for more than a decade (we’ve been writing about it since at least 2018). It was announced this past summer that $500,000 in federal accessibility funding secured by Congresswoman Katherine Clark would make completion of the $3M project early this year a reality.
Mini-high platforms allow for level boarding at two cars of the train. Those being installed at Wellesley Square will be connected to the low-level platforms by a ramp. Riders will position themselves on the mini-high platform before the train arrives, and the operator will then provide assistance.
Work on the commuter rail parking lots and sidewalks is scheduled for completion this spring to improve the route between the two platforms.
| Buyer/s | Seller/s | Property address | Date of sale | Sale price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lobkowicz, Richard & Lobkowicz, Phoebe | Brackmann, Christoph & Brackmann, Anna | 9 Wynnewood Rd | 01/24/2025 | $4,360,000 |
| Terrazza 211 T & Lerner, Joel D | Delanson Rlty Partners LL | 100 Linden St Lot 211 | 01/24/2025 | $3,499,900 |
| Chen, Qinlei | Shah, Nimish M & Patel, Maitri R | 56 Edgemoor Ave | 01/24/2025 | $1,820,000 |
| Wellesley Oak LLC | Patriacca, Jennifer N & Patriacca, Todd B | 35 Garrison Rd | 01/24/2025 | $1,380,000 |
| Zhou, Chenchen & Lu, Yao | Nicolo, Frank & Gorbach, Catherine N | 46 Upson Rd | 01/24/2025 | $1,140,000 |
The attached report is republished with permission from The Warren Group LLC.
Past Wellesley residential real estate reports
The latest Wellesley, Mass., sports news:
The Wellesley High School Raiders girls track & field team won its eighth straight Division 2 title on Thursday at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. The team scored 64 points to win by 15 points over runner-up Bishop Feehan on the strength of a deep roster, including 4×800 and 4×400 relay teams that won their events to close out the meet. Kayla Bohlin, Emma Tuxbury and Delaney Dyer raced on both of those relay teams. More on the victory.
Congratulations to the Girls Indoor Track Team winning our 8th straight State Championship pic.twitter.com/npIHzau96q
— Wellesley Raiders (@wellesleysports) February 14, 2025
The Wellesley Youth Hockey U12 Girls team went undefeated at this past weekend’s CHE American Cup tournament in Lake Placid, NY on their way to winning the gold medal game in overtime on a goal by Molly Foley.
The Wellesley team was the only town team, as they faced off vs. club squads from Massachusetts and other states.
The team also shined in the Skills Competition—Goalie Grace Gordon dominated the shootout with a shutout win, while forwards Fiona Coyle and Rose Santry secured an impressive second place in the highly competitive relay race. Several Wellesley players were also recognized for their outstanding performances throughout the tournament, earning “Player of the Game” honors: Molly Foley, Rose Santry, Gigi Harrington, Jill Baldwin, and Debbie Morgan.
The Advisory Committee this week invited the public to a hearing on the 46 articles packing the Annual Town Meeting warrant, but it was only Article 8, which features the omnibus budget, that attracted people to speak up. (See the Feb. 12 sub-hour public hearing via Wellesley Media’s recording.)
Members of the public had nothing to say this night on articles covering topics such as Morses Pond renovation, changes to legal notice publishing, and air conditioning at schools.
The main topic that people spoke out about was the Wellesley Public Schools decision to cut two district-level mental health staff and eliminate partial positions at the high school, middle school and two elementary schools in the proposed $94 million fiscal year 2026 budget (see “Now is Not the Time To Cut’ Mental Health Staff, Parents Tell Wellesley School Committee”).
A half dozen Hardy Elementary School staff and parents queued up to urge Advisory to consider their concerns about planned cuts.
Hardy school psychologist Lisa Goodman read from a statement in which she questioned the data used to justify cuts. “Children’s needs fluctuate and there’s always an increase in our case loads and referrals through the school year. The data that was presented to support the cuts used one data source and does not reflect our day-to-day experience…” Separately, Hardy first grade teacher Renee Lilley said she sees the daily impact a current psychologist has on the community with social-emotional needs of kids on the rise.
Also related to the budget article, two members of the Council on Aging’s board—speaking as citizens, not board members—defended a plan to renovate the commercial kitchen at the Tolles Parsons Center where the Advisory meeting was held. One in particular voiced support for the Facilities Management Department’s (FMD) ability to deliver on the project. FMD is seeking $560K in its FY26 cash capital budget at Town Meeting to cover kitchen construction. The speakers were responding to comments made at the start of the meeting by a citizen, who objects to the kitchen renovation and raised safety concerns for those who use the adjacent room where the Advisory meeting was held that night.
Advisory in the weeks to come will be discussing and making recommendations (or not) about the articles being presented at Town Meeting. So the public will have more opportunities to have their say on topics of importance to them. Advisory’s next meeting is slated for Feb. 19 and covers a handful of articles, including those related to Human Resources, Planning, and the Community Preservation Committee.
Related: What the heck is Wellesley’s Advisory Committee anyway? (from 2022)