Wellesley Select Board takeaways: Decorations policy & a new menorah; Wine & Malt & Shake Shack; Good Karma ahead

The Wellesley Select Board dealtt with a variety of issues at its Oct. 29 meeting, which you can watch in its entirety via Wellesley Media’s recording.

Decorations policy: Nothing says “Happy holidays” like a couple of lawyers setting the stage for a discussion about the town’s policy on decorations, including the tree, crescent and menorah that have been displayed for years in front of Town Hall. But Wellesley’s policy is about 20 years old, so it was definitely time to review it with a fresh eye on constitutional and case law and keeping in mind a broader town proposal to bring more amenities to the Wellesley Square and Central Street area. On the legal front, it appears that Wellesley’s tradition at Town Hall would be considered appropriate “government speech” that is based on emphasizing the cultural and historical, rather than religious, significance of symbols displayed.

Expect a public engagement process involving structured and unstructured feedback opportunities to follow, possibly in the spring or leading up to it. But Board Chair Colette Aufranc proposed from the outset of Tuesday night’s meeting that the town go with the status quo on its decorations this coming holiday season, and the Board concurred (this includes the Town Hall display, plus lights and wreaths on lampposts in town, and tree and menorah lighting events).

Amendments to the policy will be refined by the Board’s policy subcommittee and voted on by the Board, followed by a broader policy review that could include a wider variety of seasonal celebrations. Such a review would be in line with work by the town in recent years, such as through the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force, said Board Member Lise Olney. “Those efforts really produced a mandate that we look at things much more inclusively than we have thus far,” she said. Wellesley Public Schools have also been looking at such matters through its Academic Calendar Task Force.

A member of the public spoke following Board discussion, and thanked the Board for continuing to display the menorah. The Board was encouraged to emphasize outreach to families, such as through the school PTOs, to boost awareness of the public engagement process to come.

Speaking of the menorah, the existing one is at the end of its useful life, per Executive Director Meghan Jop. The Board approved spending $1,799 on a new one.

Restaurant doings: A series of public license hearings included Shake Shake in Wellesley Square getting a wine and malt beverages license, as it has done in most communities where it operates in Massachusetts. La Toscana in Wellesley Square got an adjustment to its all-alcohol license in light of an expansion of its operations. And yes, Linden Square’s Karma is now aiming for a January opening, with a new contractor bringing construction nearly to a close. We previewed Karma’s much earlier expected arrival by visiting the Burlington edition of the Asian fusion restaurant almost two years ago.