Short & sweet: Wellesley Special Town Meeting warrant is posted

Wellesley’s 13-article Special Town Meeting warrant has been posted, and it includes items on a variety of topics from funding a new Recycling & Disposal Facility (RDF) administration building to allowing for accessibility ramps at the Wellesley Square commuter rail parking lots to updating the animal control bylaw regarding dog kennels.

Wellesley Executive Director Meghan Jop told the Select Board this week that the hope is that Special Town Meeting could be completed in two sessions. It’s set to start on Nov. 3 at Wellesley High School. Town Meeting is Wellesley’s legislative branch, and it meets in the spring for Annual Town Meeting, and typically in fall for a Special Town Meeting.

The details of articles will become clearer once motions under those articles are shared with the Select Board Office by late September.

Beyond those topics cited above, the Special Town Meeting warrant also includes articles related to funding an improved baler at the RDF and funding team rooms at the Hunnewell track & field complex. Public Works is also requesting the setup of a new account for addressing PFAS remediation via settlement funds from 3M and DuPont.

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The Board of Assessors seeks funding to overhaul its data collection, analysis, and reporting software. No doubt all those whopping assessments can burden a software platform.

Also on the warrant are Human Resources clean-ups regarding its policies and procedures, and job classification system.

Regarding the animal control regulations bylaw, the town seeks to comply fully with Ollie’s Law, designed to ensure dog safety at kennels. Town Clerk KC Kate explained the intricacies of this and other bylaw updates at the Aug. 26 Select Board meeting, about 16 minutes into the Wellesley Media recording.

The last article on the warrant, #13, is a citizen petition that seeks to allow 17-year-olds to vote in town elections. The article aims to get this non-binding public opinion advisory question on the next municipal election ballot:

Shall a special act approved by the [November] 2025 Special Town Meeting authorizing 17-year-old United States citizens residing in the Town of Wellesley to vote in municipal elections, but not to run for Townwide office, be submitted to the General Court for enactment?

A bid to lower the local voting age from 18 to 16 at the 2024 Annual Town Meeting was rejected by Town Meeting members.

The Wellesley Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing on the warrant articles on Wednesday, Sept. 24.

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