The Town of Wellesley depends on the active participation of its citizens in governance of the Town. Wellesley has 11 Boards and Committees on the ballot at the Annual Town election each year in March. The 2020 election will be held on March 17.
It is the mission of the five-member NRC Board to provide stewardship of, education about, and advocacy for the Town of Wellesley’s parks, conservation, recreation and open space areas so the full value of the Town’s natural assets can be passed onto future generations.
There are two candidates running for two three-year positions on the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) Board — Allison Burson and Martin Jay McHale.We invited the candidates to answer a few questions about their qualifications and priorities for the Town of Wellesley. Burson’s Q & A is below. McHale’s Q & A will appear in a subsequent post.
The Swellesley Report: What is your background and what qualifies you for this position?
Allison Burson: I discovered my passion for nature on the wooded trails I used daily as I trained for soccer, lacrosse, and track in high school and for cross country in college. Those trails gave me an understanding of the use of our natural resources and playing fields for athletic purposes. I have a degree in Environmental Studies from Wesleyan, and after college I organized a successful parks levy campaign that funded new green space and playing fields in Seattle. I then worked on environmental and education policy in the Seattle Mayor’s Office. Now I’m the Program Manager for “A Greener Greater Boston” at the Solomon Foundation, a non-profit that supports planning and designing parks and greenways.
I have both professional and volunteer experience with road safety and trail access improvements involving work with Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and elected officials, staff, and volunteers from Wellesley, Newton, Weston, and Natick. In Wellesley, I participated in the Unified Plan and Hunnewell Elementary processes. I recently worked with Sustainable Wellesley, the DPW, and Police Chief Pilecki to fundraise for and install a bike repair station to encourage bicycle travel in town, and I am participating in the Complete Streets planning, and the Route 135 Rotary/Wellesley Avenue design forums.
SR: If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during your three-year tenure on the NRC?
Allison Burson: My mission at NRC would focus on ensuring sustainable management of resources through habitat preservation, stewardship of water and air quality, balancing active and passive recreation, and improved access to Wellesley’s green space for all.
One of my top priorities in 2020 is preparing for climate change by emphasizing resilience in our town’s natural and physical infrastructure. I hope to join the new “Wellesley Will” Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) process to help prepare our town for hotter summers and more extreme weather events. This could include improving the town tree canopy through enhanced bylaws, more tree planting, and improving our tree data, creative stormwater management to help prevent flooding, and native plant landscaping. All of these efforts can also provide a broad range of other benefits to the town.
I also hope to work to deepen partnerships with all town boards and departments to steward our natural resources. For example, by working with DPW, Planning, the Traffic Committee, Trails Committee, Police, and others we can identify a Complete Streets system that connects to a network of off-street corridors, enabling people to safely walk and bike to their destinations around Wellesley, reducing car traffic and air pollution.
SR: There have been a few meetings about potential changes at Morses Pond. What do you think should be the top priorities as they relate to shoreline erosion, the beach area, and protecting the town’s drinking water?
Allison Burson: It’s extremely important to ensure safe drinking water for all our residents by protecting the wellhead area adjacent to the pond. This will become more complicated when faced with climate impacts such as rising temperatures leading to pond stratification and more frequent, severe storms increasing runoff. We must plan for mitigations to potential increases in bacteria and pollution in Morses Pond, which may impact drinking water as well as recreational use of the pond.
With hotter summers, it is even more important that people have access to places to cool off, so we can expect higher demand for summer recreation at the pond. Just as our state parks are planning, we should plan/maintain/and build the amenities to support increased demand for a cool place for people, particularly families and children to cool off in the summer. The conceptual plans for the new facility improvements to the beach house appear to provide thoughtful amenities for users while respecting and protecting the natural environment. The Shore Erosion Mitigation Plan is also underway, and will provide better access to the pond for users (by adding steps, canoe launches, and a launch way for the harvester), to better protect water quality as well as wildlife habitat.
SR: What can Wellesley do to fix the multitude of gas leaks in town?
Allison Burson: Roads and public utilities are not under the NRC’s jurisdiction, but methane emissions from gas leaks negatively impact public street trees and vegetation, as well as air quality (affecting people’s health), and contribute to climate change. The NRC has played a leadership role in tackling this problem by raising awareness, participating in discussions with other affected cities and towns, and working with our elected officials at the State level in advocating for stricter laws, rules and regulations. In March of 2017 I worked with the NRC and Sustainable Wellesley to help tag the over 200 gas leaks in town, and assisted in organizing the public Gas Leaks forum. As a Commissioner I would continue this work and seek to bring in more stakeholders to explore ways to both fix existing leaks , as well as transition towards electrification and renewable energy so this aging gas infrastructure is no longer necessary. I know the DPW and the Select Board work with National Grid to locate and repair gas leaks before our streets are repaved, ultimately resulting in smoother, safer streets for all. It’s important to commend our Public Works, Select Board, Board of Health, Town staff, Sustainable Wellesley, and others in town who have been working together for years to find solutions to this problem. Also, as is shown by the ongoing redesign of the Route 135/Wellesley Ave/Seaver St intersection, Complete Streets redesigns can increase roadside green space and areas to plant new street trees, helping to compensate for those killed by gas leaks.
SR: How do you think the North 40 should be utilized?
Allison Burson: The North 40 is under the Select Board, so I do want to clarify that this land isn’t under the jurisdiction of the NRC. That said, I’d welcome the chance to be part of a planning process to hear all the needs and ideas for use of the North 40. In my current job, and in previous jobs, I’ve participated in community planning processes, and those experiences of planning for public resources would inform my involvement. I’m also aware that there are many other projects going on in town, the schools, town hall annex, and a few housing developments, and that the timing of these projects will affect the timing of planning for the North 40.
SR: Is there anything else you would like to say that the above questions did not cover?
Allison Burson: When I was in high school, my father was on the School Committee. While most of my friends looked forward to voting in national elections when we turned 18, I was really excited to be able to vote in Lexington’s local election and vote for my dad. Even though this isn’t a big national election, every vote matters, as local government can have a great impact on our health and well-being in our everyday lives, and local elected officials have the ability to make a real difference towards our quality of life. Please join me in voting on March 17.
SR: How should voters reach you if they want more information?
Allison Burson: Through my website, Allison for NRC.
SR: How do you think the North 40 should be utilized?
Allison Burson: The North 40 is under the Selectboard, so I do want to clarify that this land isn’t under the jurisdiction of the NRC. That said, I’d welcome the chance to be part of a planning process to hear all the needs and ideas for use of the North 40. In my current job, and in previous jobs, I’ve participated in community planning processes, and those experiences of planning for public resources would inform my involvement. I’m also aware that there are many other projects going on in town, the schools, town hall annex, and a few housing developments, and that the timing of these projects will affect the timing of planning for the North 40.
SR: Is there anything else you would like to say that the above questions did not cover?
Allison Burson: When I was in high school, my father was on the School Committee. While most of my friends looked forward to voting in national elections when we turned 18, I was really excited to be able to vote in Lexington’s local election and vote for my dad. Even though this isn’t a big national election, every vote matters, as local government can have a great impact on our health and well-being in our everyday lives, and local elected officials have the ability to make a real difference towards our quality of life. Please join me in voting on March 17.
SR: How should voters reach you if they want more information?
Allison Burson: Voters can reach me at AllisonforNRC@gmail.com or visit my campaign website
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