Wellesley Select Board gets update on blackout plan; votes on summer hours; preps for Wonderful Weekend

The May 6 Wellesley Select Board meeting was one of the wonkier ones in recent memory, with big chunks devoted to policy discussions and meeting minute approvals. But the Board also heard an update on how the town might handle a power blackout in the wake of the major outage in Portugal and Spain, discussed and voted on town employee summer hours, and previewed Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend activities. (See Wellesley Media recording to watch the whole thing.)

Emergency planning

Upon receiving questions from the community about how the town might handle a blackout, Executive Director Meghan Jop invited Fire Chief Steve Mortarelli and Deputy Chief Chuck DiGiandomenico to share an update on Wellesley’s emergency plan.

“In the event that there was a power outage in Wellesley, we have plenty of fail-safes in place to keep communications systems going so that there would be little to no interruption to any emergency communications in town,” DiGiandomenico said. For starters, repeaters at Maugus Hill and Wellesley College would switch on emergency power via generators, he said. The Warren Building and Babson College also have backup systems.

Any loss of power triggers alerts to the dispatch systems and designated public safety officials. The town also has its own fiber cabling and that has backup power to keep it going.

If there were an outage for more than 24 hours, the high school would be made available as an emergency center. There are plenty of cots and other resources there, though it was acknowledged the center probably wouldn’t get much use unless it was extremely hot or cold outside.

A plan to audit the plan is in the works, and efforts are underway to sync up with the Health Department, Municipal Light Plant, and other departments. Having a handle on the whereabouts of hazardous materials in town would also be part of the plan. Regional (Local Emergency Planning Committee, etc.) and statewide (via the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency) coordination is also part of this plan.

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Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend

Moving on to Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend—approaching fast on the weekend of May 17-18 with its usual lineup of open houses veterans parade and fireworks—Board Member Beth Sullivan Woods talked about the latest. And actually, related activities are on tap leading into that weekend.

These include the dressing of graves at Woodlawn Cemetery on May 10 (volunteers welcome) and a series of talks on May 12 (7-8:30pm) at Town Hall dubbed “Untold Stories from the Cold War to Today’s Battlefields” (this features U.S. Army, Marine Corps., and Navy
veterans).

New this year on Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend, from 2-4pm on May 17, will be an open house at the renovated Town Hall.

Summer hours

Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend is the town’s pre-summer kickoff, and Wellesley is also prepping for summer by nailing down summer hours for employees at Town Hall and 888 Worcester St. The hours are 8am-5pm, Monday-Thursday, 8am-noon on Fridays, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. One exception is on Aug. 1, when tax bills are due: Town Hall will be open until 5pm that day.

Other updates:

• Runners participating in the Boston Marathon through Wellesley’s charity bibs raised nearly $196,000, the highest total ever for the town.
• The Council on Aging Board has proposed that the Tolles Parsons Center kitchen be named in honor of Richard Campana. The Select Board held a public hearing on the topic on May 6, with plans to vote on May 20.  Separately, the Select Board discussed its role in appointing Council on Aging Board members, with four vacancies coming up in June. Select Board Chair Colette Aufranc said the Council on Aging Board warrants special focus this year in light of a needs assessment of the senior community being conducted and upcoming kitchen construction. The COA Board is also awaiting results of a handful of audits and reviews on the COA.
• Wellesley will again celebrate the accessible mini-high platforms at the Wellesley Square commuter rail station on Friday, May 9 at 2:10pm. The platforms went into operation in February. The town last summer celebrated federal funding secured to allow the project’s completion. Meanwhile, in Natick…

  

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