More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
World of Wellesley, along with over a dozen area organizations, invites everyone to a Zoom event that will examine housing policies through a lens of equity. The interfaith conversation will focus on how a larger and more inclusive community can be achieved.
The drivers of structural inequality that have led to racial, ethnic, and economic segregation in communities, and what community members can do about it, will be explored and discussed.
Wellesley was not among the six communities awarded a coveted Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan (REMAP) grant from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and its partners.
The goal of the grant program is to provide cities and towns with “technical assistance to create racial equity action plans and to take meaningful action to advance racial equity,” according to MAPC, which is partnering with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston on the program.
Wellesley, one of 22 communities to apply, knew from the outset that the process would be competitive. Amy Frigulietti, the town’s assistant executive director, says Wellesley hopes to reapply for the next round of grants next year.
“In the meantime, I will work with the Board to identify additional resources and opportunities for technical assistance and guidance on creating a municipal racial equity action plan. MAPC also indicated that they will be providing resources and support as well,” she says.
Wellesley announced that it was applying for the initial grant in mid-August during a Board of Selectmen meeting at which “Wake Up, Wellesley” participants shared their insights on diversity, equity and inclusion with board members and the public.
Grant recipients are Bedford, Framingham, Lynn, Natick, Revere, and Stoughton.
Human resources manager and John Maxwell Leadership and Personal Development Speaker Julian Hill will be the featured speaker at the Oct. 6th, 7pm– 8pm Zoom meeting of the Wellesley Rotary Club.
During his motivational talk, the East Hartford, Conn., resident will draw on how his decade-plus of human resources management expertise coupled with his personal experiences have helped him overcome the obstacles of growing up with a single parent who suffered from addiction.
The Rotary Club of Wellesley is one of Wellesley’s oldest community service groups and conducts local programs to benefit the Town of Wellesley. The public is always invited to any Rotary program. Due to COVID-19, the club is conducting all meetings on Zoom. Please check the web site www.wellesleyrotary.org for times. If you are interested in attending, please send an email to [email protected] for a Zoom Meeting invitation.
Over two dozen Wellesley residents lined up virtually to be heard last week during the final of three community forums regarding the Hardy/Upham project. Hosted by the the School Building Committee (SBC), the webinar featured an update from Compass Project Management representatives on the status of the Hardy/Upham feasibility study.
School Committee (SC) member and chair of the School Building Committee Sharon Gray noted, “This has been a hot topic for many years,” as she welcomed webinar participants.
The SC’s plan is to build one new school at either the Hardy or Upham site, with a construction start date of summer 2023. The school that is not chosen for a rebuild would be closed until elementary school enrollment increases to the point when a seven-elementary school model is once again needed.
On Thursday, Sept. 24, the SBC is expected to make a recommendation of whether to build at Hardy or Upham. The recommendation must then be approved by the SC, the Board of Selectmen, and the Massachusetts School Building Authority board of directors.
Alex Pitkin from architectural firm SMMA gave a brief summary of each site. He characterized the 12-acre Upham site as rectangular in shape on which ledge, a hill, and a forest are primary elements that have been taken into account during planning. The site can be accessed from all four sides.
Pitkin noted that the 9-acre hourglass-shaped Hardy site has no ledge, but there are soil compaction issues that will have to be addressed when building. There is a stand of mature trees, but the site overall is less forested than the Upham site. In addition, Hardy’s close proximity to Route 9 and busy Weston Road present traffic-related challenges.
Construction on the Hardy site would start during summer 2023, with a targeted move-in date of February vacation week 2025, a period of 19 months.
Construction on the Upham site would also have a start of summer 2023, but the targeted move-in would be during April vacation of 2025, a period of 21 months.
When it was time for community members to speak, Bob Richards, a near abutter to the Upham site, asked, “What happens if Upham is selected and you get into the actual site work and you discover that there could be 5% variance in the numbers because of the ledge” and other issues. “Are we stuck with an imperfect, expensive project,” he asked, “or do we swing over to Hardy if there’s a sizable problem” with the Upham site? Richards also expressed concerns about potential for damage to area homes due to ledge blasting, as well as the neighborhood disturbance that would result from the 2K-3K truck trips that could be required to remove ledge and other materials.
Compass representative Jeff D’Amico took that question, saying that once a decision is made on the site and the actual footprint of the building plans have been OK’d, there can be no abandoning the Upham site to switch over to Hardy. “Once the building committee makes a recommendation and the boards and the MSBA endorse it, we wouldn’t be able to switch to another site. We’d have to work within the site you have and adjust the costs or the geometry of the building.” D’Amico said pricing contingencies have been built into the project to handle unforeseen problems.
Lisa Moore from the Hardy area stressed the environmental impact of the Upham site as compared with the Hardy site. She noted that 1,200 trees will have to be removed from Upham, “along with the ledge and other habitat destruction.” She wanted to know what the plans were for reforestation of the area.
Pitkin said that the plans do not call for full restoration of 1,200 trees to replace the amount that would be felled, but “There are plans to put in trees.”
Raina McManus, chair of the Natural Resources Commission but speaking as a resident, spoke of her concerns about global warming and said she wanted the trees preserved on both sites. She encouraged the SBC to choose the Hardy plan, which would preserve the Upham trees, and added that despite the challenges of swing space, the Hardy trees should also be preserved. “The consequences of removing trees is a problem and will release carbon into the air,” McManus said.
Speakers at the forum skewed heavily toward residents concerned about an increase in traffic on Route 9 and on Weston Road should Hardy be chosen as the site for the new school.
Morgan Norris said, “A neighborhood school means having schools where students can walk or ride their bikes.” He favors building on the Upham site because “1% would have to cross Route 9 to get to school. If we choose Hardy, it goes up to 19%. So 1 in 5 wouldn’t be attending a neighborhood school.” Norris said the Upham site can handle the traffic, but that Weston Road is already extremely busy. “This isn’t about whether or not we’re cutting down some small trees in unhealthy soil behind Upham. It’s about how do we get cars off the road. That’s how we get a more sustainable town.”
Another speaker concurred saying, “People talking about environmental impacts need to think about the next 50 years of all the traffic and idling on top of the safety issue.” Another resident against kids crossing Route 9 to get to Hardy echoed the concerns of many other speakers when he said, “The only issue in this is that of child safety.”
Richard Howes, however, took a risk assessment view of crossing route 9, saying that traffic statistics along Route 9 in the Hardy area “show there have been zero traffic incidents with pedestrians of school age during the school commuting hours since the statistics began to be kept in 2002.”
Many families called in to say that children should not cross Route 9, and that closing Upham would harm the Upham neighborhood. Redistricting came up as well with Michael Ryan, a Bates parent. Ryan asked if there would be an appeals process if a family was redistricted but their home was really near the school their kids have always attended.
Superintendent David Lussier answered that tough question saying, “Unfortunately, anytime you redistrict, someone’s assignment is going to change. People come to love their new schools.” and “we’re going to have great community at either one of these sites.”
Overall, those who called in to speak in favor of building at Upham characterized that district as “a gem of a neighborhood,” and said they were willing to deal with the inconvenience of a major construction project. One resident said he believed that controls are in place and said, “I support the short-term nuisance for the long-term benefit of our town.”
A commenter said building at Hardy would be $5 million cheaper than building at Upham due to what he called the more favorable topography at the Hardy site. He foresaw fewer potential uncontrollable costs at Hardy than at Upham such as abutter litigation, insurance claims, and potential groundwater issues which he said would be the results due to the ledge removal at Upham.
Tom Ahern a Great Plain Avenue resident, pointed out that not everybody in town walks to school. In Ahern’s view, a school community forms based on friendships,”not necessarily on whether the kids take the bus, as ours did, or if you drive or you ride a bike. The school is made up of the people and not the transportation mode.”
Ahern, who lives in proximity to the Fieldstone Way development, said, “The blasting and the ledge removal impacts to nearby houses are likely going to be greater than has been discussed or than you’re going to hear from a blasting company or an engineer.”
Resident Erin Reilly saw the Hardy site as a “no-brainer” from a construction point of view, but her main concern was the potential for Route 9 to become “a social barrier. We don’t need to send a message that the houses with the biggest lots and most expensive houses are the ones who are going to get the brand-new school.”
Michelle Chalmers spoke as a member of the World of Wellesley and said racial equity and diversity should be key factors in rebuilding at Hardy or Upham. “Wellesley needs to both acknowledge and dismantle the racial inequities that continue when major decisions about school and neighborhood improvements are made.”
Chalmers said that white students make up 78% of the school population at Upham, while Hardy has the most students of color at 47%. “Wellesley’s 2019 Unified Plan states that diversity is a core value in the community,” so therefore should be a central factor in all decision making. “Closing Hardy would disregard people of color and sever their sense of belonging and erode trust.”
Hardy supporter Tanya Auger, the mother of a Chinese student at the school, took umbrage at the comments of an earlier caller. “I am offended by the Norman Rockwell reference that an Upham supporter shared tonight in his portrait of picture-perfect Wellesley. Why? Because a Norman Rockwell painting in 100% white. When my daughter looks around the classroom and the Hardy school as a whole, she sees many faces that look like her own. Hardy’s diversity is something to be valued and protected.”
Almost all callers thanked the School Committee and the School Building Committee for their years of time, work, and meetings in service of Wellesley schools and families. “I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes for anything,” was a common consensus.
The Sept. 17 forum was broadcast by Wellesley Media on Comcast Channel 8 and Verizon Channel 40. You can find the meeting on the Wellesley Media Government Channel and on demand.
Swellesley reader SW shared a photo of this sign she saw while walking near the Fuller Brook path. Looks like someone put a lot of work into it, so we figure why not share it with those who don’t pass by?
Welcome back to a post-Labor Day Wellesley that looks a lot different than those of years past. We can remember end-of-summer times when our family just barely skidded back into town ahead of the first day of school. Off we sent the kids, practically tracking beach sand into the classroom.
Times have changed. Given that the Wellesley Public Schools, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, has switched over to a hybrid model of learning that doesn’t start until mid-September, many families may have chosen to hunker down at their summer escape spots for a little while longer. And why not? Remote instruction for students starts September 16th. The transition to a hybrid model that includes in-person instruction will begin on October 1st. So those who have reluctantly left their happy places all too early year after year suddenly have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to extend the season.
Here are some other highlights from Wellesley that you might have missed over the summer:
Hundreds of people, many holding signs bearing the names of those killed in recent years while in police custody, lined Washington Street in Wellesley from Reidy Field past the tennis courts in a mostly silent vigil. SEE PICS.
The somber crowd, facing the road as honking vehicles drove by, urged justice for George Floyd and an end to police brutality. Floyd died in Minneapolis on May 25 after being pinned to the ground by a police officer who kneeled on his neck for over 8 minutes. READ MORE
We had missed the Wellesley Free Library terribly since it closed in March due to COVID-19 concerns, so you can bet we rushed right in to get a first look at the main branch the second it opened. No matter how many rules we had to follow (and there are a lot of rules) it didn’t matter. We just wanted to drift through one of our old haunts and remember better days. READ MORE.
About 200 Wellesley High School graduates took part in a scaled down but still rewarding ceremony to celebrate the Class of 2020’s launch to the future. The entire ceremony clocked in at a bit over an hour and a half. READ MORE. SEE THE VIDEO.
Three recent Wellesley High School 2020 graduates took up their paintbrushes and completed a long-planned project for their WHS Art Intensive course. It had been a long time coming. First the public artwork, a 6′ x 27′ mural-style painting on the curved brick wall at the corner of Linden and Everett Streets, faced delays due to the coronavirus pandemic. Next, the artists were challenged by 90+ degree temperatures. No matter, they got out there and made it happen. Project mentor Alexander Golob said, “The result is a joyous and playful mural that showcases various animals doing activities that community members told us they were doing during the pandemic, baking, listening to music, playing soccer, going for picnics.” READ MORE
Wellesley’s Felicity Bortolan used to remove her wedding ring before showering. But that routine is no more after a close call this summer during a dump run.
“I’m completely fanatical about where I put stuff and my ring, I always take off and put in the same place when I shower,” she says of the jewelry, which marks 21 years of marriage to her husband Paul. “However there were tissues and other things that were on the counter and these covered my ring. In the sheer hurriedness of getting to the dump I swept the trash off the counter and tied the bag. Paul took it to the dump.” READ MORE, SEE THE ROCKS
Colette Aufranc, who cited her financial experience and school volunteer efforts as prepping her for a seat on Wellesley’s Board of Selectmen, won a close Special Election race over two other candidates. Just over half of all registered voters cast ballots. Aufranc’s competition for the position were Gwen Baker and Odessa Sanchez. READ MORE
Don’t be alarmed if you notice the 2-dial Wellesley Square clock disappearing in coming weeks. It’s getting a facelift and more. This Wellesley landmark is being completely renovated and hopefully will be back before the holiday season, says the Department of Public Works’ Mike Quinn, who is superintendent of the Park & Highway Division. YOU’VE GOT TIME TO READ MORE
The Wellesley Police Department has welcomed Winnie, a 10-month old English Cream Golden Retriever, as its community resource service dog. SEE THE CUTE PUP
It’s not what you think. READ MORE
Wayne says, “For approximately the past 10+ years I have had the pleasure & honor of being your “Window #2 postal clerk” at the Wellesley Square Post Office. It has truly been a great & rewarding run! It is time for me, however, to venture on into life’s next adventure as I will be retiring from the United States Postal Service on June 30th after 32 & 1/2 years of employment.” READ MORE
Wellesley announced at the Board of Selectmen meeting this week that it is submitting an application for a grant designed to help the town come up with a racial equity plan.
The Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan, offered through a collaboration including the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, will only be awarded to a handful of municipalities, according to Wellesley Assistant Executive Director Amy Frigulietti.
The goal of the program is to provide cities and towns with “technical assistance to create racial equity action plans and to take meaningful action to advance racial equity,” according to MAPC. Recipients will be announced by Sept. 10.
Word of the grant application came on the same night that a group of recent Wellesley High grads, mostly people of color, shared takeaways with the Board (starting at the 8:30 mark of the Wellesley Media recording) from the recent “Wake Up, Wellesley” series of discussions promoting racial equality. The discussions have featured students, academics, school administrators, and others.
Alex Stoddard said one takeaway from the discussions was the need for schools to accept that students’ experiences can’t be dismissed during discussions and in school work, especially when it involves politics. “So much of the experience of a person of color is political,” he said.
Julia Jordahl-Henry said she appreciated Wellesley Public Schools administrators taking time to meet with the group and believes they care about racial equality issues. But she noted that reaction to that session by those who spoke to her and her family was disappointment in the administration falling back on “talking points instead of really trying to hear and understand our questions and come up with their own personal answers.”
Among several points shared by Yasmine Jaffier-Williams, a recipient of a WHS Class of 2020 Senior Cup, is that “people need to start investing in this work, period.” She noted that the students have done a lot of the heavy lifting to date, and that it’s emotionally taxing for them, especially as they retell stories.
The students said they’d like to see the town invest in more police bias training and increase efforts to diversify the force’s make-up. They also encouraged the town to engage more youths in local government, which could include participatory budgeting and reaching out to them where they live (like on Instagram, via a student intern). Researching ways to improve the town’s hiring process could also be important, they said.
The students would also like the town to consider creation of a diversity, equity and inclusion subcommittee, perhaps under the Board of Selection. Natick is currently exploring such a group.
Meanwhile, the deadline for that Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan application is Aug. 20. Let’s hope the town was able to infuse input from this group into its submission.
Board of Selectmen Chair Marjorie Freiman called the students trailblazers. “As much as you are saying you don’t have the expertise, most important social change comes from young people. You have activated a conversation that will have wide and broad ramifications,” she said.
