The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Why Wellesley smells gassier this weekend

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The Town of Wellesley has issued an art due to planned maintenance work by Algonquin Gas that involves releasing odorized natural gas at two locations in the area on Sunday, August 18 and on Saturday, August 31.

The release locations are at the valve site near 68 Walnut Street in Wellesley and Quinobequin Road in Newton, and at the Needham meter and regulator site on Mary Chilton Road, adjacent to the Wellesley RDF.

There will be a slight odor and noise associated with this work. Gas company personnel will be on site throughout the release process and maintenance work.

Residents in the release areas have been notified, as have Wellesley Fire and Police Departments. Town officials say they have no further details on this work.

For questions, please contact Algonquin Gas at 781-329-3750 during regular business hours. You may also call the Spectra Energy Gas Control 24-hour call line at 1-800-726-8383.

This intentional gas leak is separate from the unintentional ones that Susatainable Wellesley has been calling attention to in recent years.

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Join World of Wellesley for third annual Community Gathering fun

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The World of Wellesley  is excited to invite all Boston and Wellesley families and friends to join in the fun at the 3rd annual Community Gathering on Sunday, August 25th. All Boston and Wellesley families and friends are invited to celebrate the start of school. Come and give a special welcome to all the new Boston families and a big welcome back to our Boston friends.

World of Wellesley, Community Gathering
World of Wellesley Community Gathering, 2018. Photo credit: World of Wellesley

This FREE event brings the entire community together for fun, music, games and refreshments. Meet new friends before the school year begins!

WHEN: Sunday, August 25, 2019

TIME: 2pm – 4pm

WHERE: Warren Park Playground, 90 Washington Street, Wellesley

RSVP here

The World of Wellesley will provide refreshments

Questions or comments email [email protected] or 781.591.9435 (text or call)

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Wellesley holds public meeting on possible Morses Pond area changes

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Weston & Sampson, an engineering and environmental services firm, led a Morses Pond (MOPO) public engagement and listening session about their first ideas for an $80k feasibility and design study of the beach area and bathhouse. Weston & Sampson was hired last year by the Wellesley Recreation Department, and the study is partly funded by Community Preservation funds. The MOPO area stretches about five acres and is owned by the town.

Wellesley Morses Pond
MOPO beach and playground structure.

Additional to-be-announced community meetings will be scheduled, and the goal is for the feasibility study to be completed by late fall.

During a power-point presentation, Weston & Sampson representatives listed project priorities. (You can see the presentation here.) Topping the list:

  • Improve the bathhouse, staff areas, storage
  • Improve exterior site and landscape elements
  • Enhance water-based play experience and accessibility
  • Facilitate walking/hiking and related passive recreational use
  • Enhance natural resources and habitat
  • Expand user amenities and revenue generation opportunities

The group says they are looking at the entire site from an Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) perspective. That statement was met with general approval from the crowd of about 40 Morses Pond abutters, moms of small kids, and general pond users and lovers.

One big idea: to tear down the old bath house and change its location. “There are opportunities here to think about where the bath house is located. Should it be moved or should the face of it be changed in some way?” a Weston & Sampson rep said.

Morses Pond bath house. Photo credit: Weston & Sampson.

Whether a new bath house is built or the current bath house undergoes renovations, the idea is for the structure to be a zero energy building. Such buildings combine energy efficiency and renewable energy generation to consume only as much energy as can be produced onsite through renewable resources over a specified time period.

Interestingly, during recent site visits, the consultant reps found that MOPO lifeguards and office staff don’t like that when they are in the bath house office area, they are completely cut off from what’s going on at the beach. They say the more staff eyes on the area where all the action is happening, the better. Lifeguards are right on the beach during their shifts, of course. But I’ve seen how, for example, before the beach opens up they tend to congregate on the side of the bath house that faces the beach.

Wellesley Rec Deputy Director Brandon Fitts said the current sight lines of the bathhouse reflect that the beach used to be where the boating area now is situated.

One resident said, “I just don’t want to see it get fancy. I like its simplicity. I would hate to see the beach get built up. I don’t think we need a pizza oven.” The pizza oven reference was in response to ideas about how food might be handled at the pond.

Another resident agreed saying, “I’d like to not have a Taj Mahal of a bath house.”

Judy, a 44-year Wellesley resident said, “I really like the idea of moving the bath house and opening up the view.”

DPW Water & Sewer Superintendent Bill Shaughnessy pointed out that the utilities in general aren’t too good in the area, and that the sewage station is old. He also noted that the area is in a water supply protection district, a fact that will have to inform all decisions made.

Slides of the mish-mash of signage were shown with the suggestion that all the information could be presented in a more uniform and aesthetically pleasing way.

Suggestions for the walking paths in the area were to use landscape design elements to reduce erosion and and stormwater runoff; remove invasive plant species; increase biodiversity; and improve the overall aesthetics. One idea: tear down the fence around the Ice House Pond, remove the invasive species that have gained a foothold there, and add a boardwalk around the pond, with viewing platforms.

There was also talk of possibly removing the locked gate on Turner Road, and of making the area a four-season recreation spot officially. Currently the gate is locked during the off-season. Those who want to use the MOPO area at other times of the year park on Turner Road and make the long walk down to the pond and its trails.

Emily, a one-year resident of Wellesley, said that she didn’t even know about Morses Pond until her family moved into town, and now she and her young children use it all the time. She cited important “choke points” for her — car logistics and the bath house, which she said was “kind of not family-friendly. The doors don’t lock. We have child escape attempts.”

MOPO beach fees generated $159K in revenue last year, and the area has attracted between 18,000 to 28,000 visitors per year in recent years.

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Outdoorsy Wellesley families, come pitch a tent at the 3rd annual Family Campout

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Wellesley CampoutThe Wellesley Recreation Department and the Natural Resources Commission will host the third annual Family Campout! Bring your whole family out for a night of fun, learning, and camping, right in your own backyard. There will be family activities provided by Knucklebones, food, and education on camping-related skills. Additionally, the campout is committed to being green and waste-free. No tent or camping gear? No problem! Please let us know so we can help you.

WHERE: Kelly Field (Bates)

WHEN: When: Sept. 7/4pm – Sept 8/8am (rain or shine – within reason)

REGISTER: Call Wellesley Recreation for more information 781-235-2370

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Update: Wellesley vernal pool boardwalk to become accessible soon

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The Wellesley Natural Resources Commission (NRC) vernal pool boardwalk and viewing platforms project is about 90% finished, the stone dust path laid, the major construction of the boardwalk itself built and ready to receive visitors. Still to go: final grading of the start and end points of the 500-foot project to ensure accessibility for users of all abilities including those with limited mobility, young children, and users with strollers. The DPW is expected to return to finish up the final grading of the stone path where it meets the boardwalk in the next couple of weeks. Once that’s done, all comers will be able to enjoy enhanced access to the vernal pool and experience wildlife viewing at the pool and the adjacent wetlands.

You can pay a visit to frogs, salamanders and more at the vernal pool by accessing the boardwalk from the north corner of the Weston Road Community Garden next to 148 Weston Rd. across from Howe St. or from Turner Rd., which is located off Weston Rd.

Natural Resources Commission Director Brandon Schmitt says, “Final stages of the project will involve planting of some additional native species (we already successfully transplanted some hay scented ferns from the middle school to make room for pollinator plants there), and invasive species removal will be an ongoing challenge.  Volunteers for the invasive species removal are much appreciated.” Drop an email to Schmitt at [email protected] to volunteer.

The project was funded via Community Preservation Act (CPA) monies. The CPA is funded through a local option surcharge on property tax bills and a state match on those surcharges. The Wellesley Community Preservation Committee (CPC) made the recommendation to Town Meeting to utilize CPC funds for the boardwalk, and the project as a whole was overseen by the NRC. The boardwalk was built by twenty volunteers who worked 563 hours. Wellesley Conservation Council members were among the workers. The Wetlands Protection Committee and the Design Review Board approved the project ahead of its mid-December 2018 start date.

The stone dust path sections were installed by the DPW in Fall 2018. From there, the project was a volunteer-led effort.

Construction was halted in the spring so as not to affect the reptilian and amphibian residents of the pond, and then picked up again after the peepers stopped peeping.

Wellesley boardwalk
Wellesley Ecocampers make use of the vernal pool overlook. Photo credit: Brandon Schmitt.

The total cost of the project was budgeted at  $65,000, and is expected to come in under that amount.

The funding was completed in two stages. The CPC funded an initial $15,000 for design in FY18 and another $50,000 for construction this fiscal year. The design phase was completed free of charge by Wellesley resident Bill Giezentanner. Since Giezentanner did that work pro bono, the initial 15k CPC design appropriation was then applied to construction. Remaining funds from the $65k originally budgeted funds will be returned to the CPC. Schmitt estimates the returned funds will be in the neighborhood of $15 – $25k once expenses for the DPW work, signage, and additional native plantings are figured into the total figures.

Wellesley vernal pool boardwalk
Suzy Jordan from the DPW waters the new hay scented ferns. Credit: Brandon Schmitt.

Schmitt says, “The volunteers who completed this project should be incredibly proud. Through their sweat, sore muscles and often a little blood, they have created a truly special place.  The boardwalk offers a place for reverie and education, and highlights the importance of this resource and the other vernal pools in Town. The project also demonstrates what is possible when a few dedicated individuals are willing to brave the elements, have fun, and create a great asset for the community. I think it really just emphasizes Wellesley’s greatest assets — its open spaces and people. Watch for the ribbon cutting and grand opening this fall. In the meantime, plan your visit to the boardwalk soon.”

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