Wellesley Board of Selectmen push Hardy/Upham School vote to Fall 2018

May 16, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

At the Monday, May 14 Board of Selectmen’s meeting the BoS and the School Committee joined to discuss the June Special Town Meeting. Their focus: whether the warrant for the meeting should be reopened and whether one of the votes regarding the Hardy/Hunnewell/Upham (HHU) project should be pushed to October.

The decisions:

Article 2 — which asks the Town to appropriate $2.5 million for a feasibility study and schematic design of Upham School — will be presented and voted on at an additional Special Town meeting tentatively targeted for early October 2018. You can see the exact warrant wording here.
Article 3 — which asks the Town to approve spending $1 million for a feasibility study of Hunnewell School — will be presented and voted on at the June 5 Special Town Meeting, as originally planned. You can see the exact warrant wording here.

Hardy, Hunnewell, and Upham are the three elementary schools under consideration for either renovation or a teardown/rebuild scenario. Wellesley has 7 elementary schools.

The language in the warrant does not name Hardy School. School Committee Chair Michael D’Ortenzio explains why this is: “The Article 2 was a vote on doing feasibility for both Hardy and Upham, not just Upham. Though the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA) process only allows the naming of one school, the Town boards are committed to doing feasibility studies on both sites…the project is nominally the Upham School, but that school may end up being built at either the Hardy or Upham locations. The MSBA is aware of our plans and has confirmed that we can study both sites as we have outlined to the community. The School Committee, Board of Selectmen, and School Building Committee are committed to a thorough study of both buildings and sites.”

The discussion centered around whether the Town as a whole would be best served by 1) delaying the consideration of Article 2 from the June Special Town Meeting and moving that discussion to a Special Town meeting tentatively targeted for October and 2) going forward with June’s Special Town Meeting regarding Article 3

The logic behind the change came down to communication. School Committee member Sharon Gray said, “We discussed this as a School Committee on Friday. I don’t think we came to a consensus about whether we wanted to go forward now or push it back to the fall. I think it’s fair to say that we were on the fence collectively.”

Ultimately, the School Committee, ended up on the side of the fence that collectively agreed that pushing the Article 2 vote to fall would allow the opportunity for additional communication about the project among community members and Town Meeting members. “If we push Article 2 to the fall, we will want to engage the various PTOs early in the school year,” one committee member suggested.

The emergence of Article 2 without any mention of Hardy fired up supporters of keeping that school and prompted town officials to clarify why Hardy wasn’t mentioned in the warrant.

The Board of Selectmen went into the meeting inclined to take Article 2 off the June warrant. Vice Chair Jack Morgan said, “The Selectmen have discussed and tentatively concluded that our inclination to take Article 2 off the warrant for the June Special Town Meeting would say we want to keep the community informed to the best of our ability.”

The discussion then turned to Article 3. Morgan said, “I think we should go ahead with the [June] Special Town Meeting regarding article 3.”

Hunnewell School, First Day — Full speed ahead for Hunnewell school warrant

The School Committee wasn’t on the fence about this one, voicing strong support to move forward with a vote at the June 15 Special Town Meeting. The thought was that going forward with Article 3 would shed light on the best pathway to walk with the decision-making and information-gathering process about Hunnewell School. “We should go ahead with the June Special Town Meeting, hopefully get the funding for that feasibility study, and find out. The intent of the feasibility study is what can we do? What are the options to solve the physical and educational deficiencies that we see in the building?” a School Committee member said.

Gray said that on May 24, Town Meeting members will be welcomed to tour Hunnewell School.

The upshot

A motion was made to postpone Article 2 until a Special Town Meeting in the fall. The motion was seconded, voted on, and passed.

Article 3 will be voted on at the June 5 Special Town Meeting at 7pm in the Wellesley Middle School auditorium.

Here’s the warrant as it originally appeared.

School committee meeting — Hunnewell, Hardy, Upham update

April 26, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Hunnewell School — Request for Quotation approved

At the Tuesday, April 24 School Committee meeting, the Committee vote to approve a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for a Hunnewell School design. As part of a larger Scope of Feasibility Study the RFQ for the school, built in 1938, will study the question of whether it can be renovated. If a renovation is deemed not feasible, it will be decided which elements of Hunnewell can be used and incorporated into a new building. A focus of the study will be on what the building looks like structurally. If it is found that the structure can’t be reused or reworked, decisions will then need to be made about what elements can be taken from that building and used in a new design.

On May 2 there will be a mandatory site visit for companies interested in bidding on the contract.

On May 9, there will be a follow up meeting for those companies.

On June 5, there will be a Special Town Meeting to discuss Article 3, which is being put forth by the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee. In summary, here’s the article:

Will the Town vote to appropriate $1,000,000 or another sum to be expended under the direction of the School Committee for a feasibility study of the Hunnewell School including architectural and engineering services and all associated costs related to the renovation, reconstruction, addition, consolidation, or replacement of the Hunnewell School?

Hardy and Upham — the rumors continue to swirl

We’d heard rumors around town that it was decided at the April 24 School Committee meeting that one of the elementary schools would be closed. In the interest of putting those rumors to rest, know that there are still many more hoops to jump through before any such decision is made.

Superintendent David Lussier said that the town is committed to fully exploring both of the sites. “The emphasis is on doing a Feasibility Study on both the Hardy and the Upham sites,” Lussier said.

According to Vice Chair Matt Kelley, “Districts must explore a range of options and not enter into the process with a preconceived notion of what the answer is going to be. A necessary part of the process is to study both sites. And that’s what’s going to happen.”

You can see the video of the meeting on Wellesley Media.

Wellesley Town Meeting OKs purchase of 818, 822, 826 Worcester St., properties near Hardy school

April 10, 2018 by bbrown Leave a Comment

40B 818-822 wellesley Rte. 9

Wellesley Town Meeting voted Yes on Tuesday night on motions to acquire 1.3 acres of property at 818, 822 and 826 Worcester St., near Hardy Elementary School for a combined $3.5M by mid-May.

It will add value to the school site for the town, bringing the overall size of the lot to about 9 acres and improving the geometric shape of it, as outlined by Selectmen Jack Morgan during the Special Town Meeting (see Wellesley Public Media video). Importantly, it could help to alleviate Weston Road traffic by allowing access via Rte. 9 directly to Hardy or any new school that could be built on the site, he said.

A developer had originally attempted to purchase 818 and 822 Worcester St., for the purpose of developing a proposed 28-unit 40B project. The town claims it is not buying those properties to “prevent a 40B,” and wound up agreeing with the developer and property owners on a price without resorting to eminent domain, which was an option.

The town didn’t have such leverage on 826 Worcester St., so wound up paying more of a premium for that property, as the owners plan to seek a new place to live in Wellesley and will need a pretty penny to do so.

The acquisitions would be made for school, recreation, or general municipal purposes to be under the care of the BOS. Proposed amendments to reword the motions that would give the School Committee oversight of how the land might be used for school purposes were rejected.

No rezoning of the property is anticipated for commercial uses or affordable housing.

The town has a long history of buying property with either immediate needs in mind or with a long-term view for potential uses. Morgan, in discussing the Worcester Street properties at Special Town Meeting, cited such land purchases as those later used to house the senior center and P.A.W.S. preschool next to Fiske Elementary School.

Town Meeting scorecard

Wellesley plays some 40B defense with properties near Hardy School

February 21, 2018 by bbrown 6 Comments

40B 818-822 wellesley Rte. 9

In Wellesley’s latest effort to take more control of development in town, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday said it’s exploring the possibility of buying three properties on Rte. 9 East that are adjacent to Hardy Elementary School.

Purchasing the properties at 818, 822 and 826 Worcester St., would both enable the town to play some defense against a proposed 40B project at two of those properties and also open the possibility for municipal uses for the land. Wellesley is becoming increasingly proactive about land development in light of a slew of 40B proposals launched over the past year designed to exploit the town’s shortage of affordable housing stock. Among other things, Wellesley has a Housing Production Plan in the works.

The town is cryptic about what possible municipal uses of 818-822-826 Worcester St., might be, but for those holding out hope that the Hardy school will not be done away with under the much discussed Hardy-Hunnewell-Upham plan, such a land grab holds great promise. The Board of Selectmen and School Committee will seek funding at a Special Town Meeting this spring to conduct further analysis of the Hardy and Upham Elementary School sites as the town plots its educational future.

“The Board [with the School Committee’s backing] believes that the purchase of these properties will substantially improve the long-term usefulness of the site to the Town by providing for a means of access and egress directly from Route 9 as well as adding over an acre of land. We are currently in discussions with the owners of these parcels and look forward to providing an update to the community as soon as we are able to,” according to a statement issued by the Board.

What’s murky here is that a developer says he already has a purchase and sale agreement in place with the owners of 818 and 822 Worcester St., and has aired plans to use the properties to construct a 4-story, 28-unit 40B condo complex. The developer’s lawyer spoke briefly at Tuesday’s Selectmen’s meeting to share his client’s objection to the town’s intentions, especially in light of there not being a solid plan for Hardy’s future.

An additional threat by the town to possibly take the properties by eminent domain, if a valuation on the properties can’t be agreed upon, no doubt has rubbed the developer the wrong way. This same developer has already had challenges with plans for a couple of 40B proposals near the Sprague Elementary School.

The town is negotiating separately with 826 Worcester St.’s owner.

Another Wellesley 40B project on Rte. 9 progresses

January 29, 2018 by bbrown 7 Comments

40B 818-822 wellesley Rte. 9 — Condos coming?

Wellesley this past week got word that yet another 40B project — at 818-822 Worcester St. (Rte. 9 East) — is getting serious. The quasi-public MassHousing outfit, which also funds 40B projects, sent a site eligibility letter to the town about this project and has scheduled a site walk for Feb. 1 at 10am, which will no doubt be super convenient for many neighbors.

This proposed 4-story, 28-unit condo complex would pale in size compared to some of the other 40B projects in various stages of planning in town. This project, which would reside near the Hardy Elementary School, would include 7 affordable units that would enable the team building it to comply with the 40B statute and gain possible zoning breaks. Developer Jay Derenzo’s other 40B projects proposed in Wellesley, near the Sprague Elementary School, were reviewed by MassHousing and have not been given the go-ahead yet.

The project description for 818-822 Worcester St., reads in part: “The main goal is to minimize the overall impact on the two neighboring residential parcels. The main geometrical building mass is placed to the rear of the site as far from the existing homes as possible in order to create the maximum open space between the new and existing construction. The largest mass is placed near the mature tree line along the southern property line abutting the elementary school’s open recreational field. Additionally, existing tree lines along the residential neighbors’ borders are minimally disturbed. This area will serve as a visual landscape buffer between structures and will help screen residents’ vehicle lights and noise. The site plan calls for a new, split ingress and egress driveway with a landscaped island in between which will heighten safety for the higher speed one-way traffic along Worcester Street. The radial driveway aids in vehicle deceleration and the landscaped island provides ‘green’ screening of the new construction.”

The Town of Wellesley is working hard to get a Housing Production Plan in place to give it more control over where affordable housing is built. And that means developers will be stepping up efforts to get their projects introduced and approved as soon as possible.

A website for the Housing Production Plan is in the works, and a series of related public meetings are slated in the months ahead, with hopes for the plan’s completion in September.

MORE: Weston Road 40B plan clears hurdle, Town explores development of Wellesley Square railroad parking lots