A sampling of Wellesley, Mass., meetings and agenda items for the week of March 24, 2025.

See info on all upcoming town government meetings.

Community Preservation Committee (March 24, 7:30pm, online)

Discussion and vote on the resolution for Town Meeting regarding the expenditure from the CPC administrative funds for the Wight Pond feasibility study; Town Meeting discussion.

Select Board (March 25, 6pm, town hall & online)

Public Safety Update from Police Chief and Fire Chief; Celebrations Committee Update; Discuss and Vote Naming of a Council on Aging Room; Public Meeting on Select Board Traffic Recommendation for 192-194 Worcester Street Project of Significant Impact; Annual Town Meeting Preparation

Municipal Light Plan Board (March 26, 5pm, online)

Chair’s update on safety; Director’s update on BESS stats; Canadian Power’s tariffs

Board of Health (March 27, 9am, online)

Chair, director & nurse supervisor reports

Wellesley Housing Authority (March 27, 91m, 107 Barton Rd)

The Wellesley Housing Authority will meet in Annual and Regular Session on Thursday March 27, starting at 9am in the Community Center at 107 Barton Road. The Regular Monthly Meeting will follow the Annual Board Reorganization Meeting.

Cultural Council (March 27, 7:30pm, online)

Formal vote for grant recipients

Permanent Building Committee (March 27, 7:30pm, online)

To come

Agendas included for those available when we post this listing; We update listings here when possible as agendas are posted.

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Michael DiPietro, introduced at Wellesley Annual Town Meeting last March as CFO and finance director, won’t be appearing at next month’s Town Meeting: He’s no longer in those roles here.

According to the town, “Mike has moved on from Wellesley.”

Tiana Moreau is now serving as acting finance director, and it’s unclear what the timeline is for posting the CFO position. Town Executive Director Meghan Jop on Jan. 21 asked for the Select Board’s approval in naming Moreau the town accountant due to the finance director being on leave at that point.

DiPietro had big shoes to fill, following the departure of Sheryl Strother, who retired as Wellesley’s CFO in January of 2024 after 18 years in town.

The town issued a full-blown press release last May introducing DiPietro that gushed: “The Town of Wellesley’s new Chief Financial Officer/Finance Director Michael DiPietro has been on the job a mere three months and is already making an impact. DiPietro took part in his first Wellesley Annual Town Meeting shortly after he was hired in March 2024, and this week his department continued its outstanding performance by receiving a Aaa Moody’s rating prior to the sale of Wellesley’s $19 million General Obligation Bonds to finance the construction of Hardy Elementary School…”

DiPietro boasted more than 25 years of experience in municipal finance, including most recently before the Wellesley job as comptroller for Brookline.

The now-former Wellesley CFO accompanied Jop in discussions with the Select Board this past fall regarding budget recommendations for FY26.

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The Massachusetts House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill that would enable Wellesley and other municipalities to continue holding remote or hybrid meetings board and committee meetings. The Senate is up next, likely later this week, according to a report by the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

Such meetings emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rule allowing remote and hybrid meetings is set to expire at the end of this month. The bill passed by the House would extend the allowance for remote and hybrid meetings until mid-year, 2027.

State Rep. Alice Peisch and State Sen. Cynthia Creem told the Wellesley Select Board in January that they were pushing to make these meeting options permanent.

There are pros and cons to hybrid and remote meetings. They can be more convenient for members of municipal bodies and members of the public, though a lack of face-to-face interaction can have downsides.

More: Watch live and recorded Wellesley government meetings

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The Wellesley Select Board, now with a lineup that includes newly elected Kenny Largess, spent the largest chunk of its March 11 gathering prepping for Annual Town Meeting, though also recognized firefighter promotions and discussed an upcoming open house for the renovated Town Hall building (see Wellesley Media recording of the meeting for all the action).

Town Meeting prep: HR & finance

The Select Board voted to support a couple of Human Resources Board-sponsored Town Meeting articles related to a comprehensive update to the town’s decades-old job classification and compensation plan. As HR Board Chair Tony Bent said during an earlier discussion with the Select Board on this topic, the changes are designed to make “Wellesley an employer of choice for people, and acknowledging that it has not been as easy as we’d like to hire high quality people, and sometimes when we do hire they don’t stay as long as we would all want.” The HR Board gets a steady stream of requests to hire people at higher salaries than the current plan would allow. Turnover is expensive for the town, and Wellesley’s 13% turnover rate in 2024 was comparably high.

Article 4 is to amend the classification plan and Article 5 is to amend the salary plan, and they were both unanimously approved by the Select Board.

The town has been discussing the need for a study of the current classification and compensation system for years, and was able to do it recently thanks to securing a $50K grant. Among the goals was to make sure the town is competitive with other municipalities, ensure salaries are equitable across the town (so say that long-timers aren’t paid way lower than newcomers hired during more competitive times), and be able to hire great candidates and keep them here. As Executive Director Meghan Jop has said, people who work for municipalities essentially agree to make less than they could in the private sector in exchange for getting a desirable pension (well, and the rewarding work).

The Select Board has been supportive of overdue changes to the classification and compensation plan, though members have asked questions about how much the upgrades will cost the town looking out, whether lifting compensation ahead of union negotiations could lead to even higher salaries, and whether the town might want to give itself more flexibility to hire at a lower starting point. Jop and HR Director Dolores Hamilton explained that the HR Board and town budgets could in fact handle the increases, including one-time pay adjustments for non-union employees based on length of service.

“No employees will be harmed with this study in the long run. Everyone will have more room to grow than they do right now,” Hamilton said (with the exception of one employee who with cost-of-living adjustments will hit the top of the new salary range).

Select Board Chair Colette Aufranc said she feels “it’s really critical for staff morale to make these adjustments and move forward in a strong and positive way.”

Board member Tom Ulfelder said the changes are important for employee retention given the cost of losing people and onboarding new ones. Though he did echo concerns raised by Largess about how this could all play out come union negotiation time. “What we need to avoid is just constantly ratcheting up the pay. And we need to send a message to the unions in negotiation that this isn’t an opportunity to stay ahead to the extent that you were before we did the study,” he said, referencing both the town and school budgets. Ulfelder added that he has no interest in an override and that he’s “interested in managing our budget in a way that meets our needs as a community.”

The Board also approved Article 8, which is the big one, the proposed omnibus budget, which totals $224,493,903, per the town-wide financial plan. The Board has been working on this budget for months, having met with other departments, which were given individual guidelines for increases. Along with this, the Board approved the town-wide financial plan, which will be presented to Town Meeting in Article 2.

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Welcome back to Town Hall

Town Hall reopened right before the end of the year after having been closed for renovations. But the Select Board wants to have an official grand opening during Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend on May 17 (2-4pm) to celebrate the gussied up 1880s structure where lots of the town’s work gets done.

This will give Wellesley a chance to recognize those from the Permanent Building Committee, Facilities Management, Select Board and other departments who worked so hard on this project.

Among the lures will be self-guided tours and maybe treats like Town Hall cookies and lapel pins. Speeches and a ribbon cutting ceremony will be kept mercifully short. A video, music, and more will likely be part of the celebration

Also during the Select Board meeting:

• A handful of citizen speakers shared concerns about proposed budget cuts that would affect school mental health staff. A campaign to get the town to rethink this move has been seen as well at School Committee and Advisory meetings. While the Board does not engage in dialogue with citizens during this portion of the meeting, per the meeting rules, members did discuss later on the issue of addressing mental health needs in a broader way through numerous departments, not just the public school system (the Health Department, Police Department, Youth Commission, and other departments play a role in providing services).
• The Board approved a Common Victualler License related to a change of ownership of Deluxe Pizza. We had the scoop on the ownership change last month.
• Firefighters showed up in force at Great Hall for the swearing in of Assistant Fire Chief Charles DiGiandomenico and promotions for deputy chief (14-year veteran Ian McMakin) and lieutenant (18-year veteran Matt Tedeschi). Congrats to them.

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WELLESLEY PLANNING BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON A PROJECT OF SIGNIFICANT IMPACT SPECIAL PERMIT APPLICATION FOR PSI-24-01 – 192 & 194 WORCESTER STREET AND 150 CEDAR STREET

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2025, 6:30 P.M.

ONLINE VIRTUAL MEETING
https://www.wellesleymedia.org/live-streaming.html

The online meeting will also be streaming live and will be telecast live on Comcast channel 9 and Verizon channel 39. The meeting will also be recorded and available for later viewing on Wellesley Media.

The information to access the virtual meeting will be available on the Planning Board agenda, which will be posted at least 48 hours in advance of the Public Hearing. The agenda can be found at the following link: https://wellesleyma.gov/AgendaCenter/Planning-Board-15

In accordance with Chapter 40A, Section 9, of the Massachusetts General Laws, and Section 5.6 of the Zoning Bylaw, the Wellesley Planning Board, acting as Special Permit Granting Authority, will hold a public hearing on the application of Encore Properties Wellesley, LLC, 40 Warren Street, Newton, MA 02459 for a Special Permit for a Project of Significant Impact project located at 192/194 Worcester Street and 150 Cedar Street. The proposed project will entail the construction of a new three-story residential development, with 34 condominium units and 78 parking spaces.

The purpose of the Project of Significant Impact (PSI) Special Permit is to address off-site impacts of projects involving construction of 10,000 or more square feet of floor area in seven specific areas: water, sewer, storm drainage, electric power, solid waste, fire protection and life safety, and traffic and pedestrian safety. The permitting review is administered by the Planning Board in accordance with Section 5.6, Project Approval, of
the Zoning Bylaw, and the Rules Relative to the Issuance of Special Permits adopted by the Planning Board.

Residents with any questions or who are seeking to participate in the hearing are encouraged to contact the Planning Director at earbeene@wellesleyma.gov prior to the meeting.

The submission and plans may be viewed on the Planning Department webpage at: http://wellesleyma.gov/1479/Planning-Board-Applications-Under-Review

Eric Arbeene, AICP
Planning Director
(MW-2/28/25 & 3/3/25 and WT-3/6/25 & 3/13/25)

The latest from the Natural Resources Commission, which met on March 6 (see Wellesley Media recording) and reconvenes on March 20.

Feeling good about Town Meeting articles

NRC member Jay McHale appeared to be optimistic about NRC-sponsored articles for Annual Town Meeting about funding for a supplemental feasibility study on the Morses Pond bathhouse and beach project and another regarding the renovation of the Hunnewell tennis and pickleball courts. The Advisory Committee recently registered 12-0 votes for favorable recommendations on both. A key message on the Morses Pond funding is that much of the roughly $170K being requested really represents funds that would have been spent anyway at during the coming design phase of the project and isn’t necessarily a case of going back to the drawing board, as a member of the public explained during the meeting.

Concessions & bathrooms

McHale shared an update on the concession stand and bathroom buildings coming to the Hunnewell track and field. Expect them to show up during April break, he said.

In a follow-up by email, McHale explained there will be 2 buildings—one with a concession stand and 3 individual bathrooms to be used on a daily basis when the field is open. The second building will have 10 bathrooms, 5 for males, 5 for females, that will open for big games/events on the field.  The cost for all this is in the area of $850K.

Team rooms sneak peek

McHale also shared images of what the team rooms coming to Hunnewell track & field might look like, including options for some cover in inclement weather. There had initially been plans for the School Committee to bring an article to Town Meeting about funding design work, but McHale said the School Committee decided not to do that.

The hope is to have design work and permitting done this summer and have bids in hand for the Fall Town Meeting meeting to get construction done next year (the School Committee had team rooms on its agenda for discussion at its March 11 meeting).

If a tree hearing is posted in a newspaper and no one reads it…

The NRC held a hearing on the fate of four trees in town. The hearing was promoted on the trees themselves (makes sense) and per outdated state law, in a dead tree newspaper. The NRC received no feedback on the postings.

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