Another week, another batch of candidates for Wellesley town-wide offices, including two commissions for which papers hadn’t been pulled as of our previous check-in on the morning of Dec. 11. Here’s an update on candidates who have pulled papers as of the morning of Dec. 18.

The Recreation Commission now has two candidates for two 3-year terms. Incumbent Laurance Stuntz seeks re-election, and Nathalie de Fontnouvelle have each pulled papers for this town body whose mission is “to increase people’s enjoyment of living in Wellesley and build a deeper sense of community, as we provide recreational and educational opportunities to all Wellesley residents, regardless of age, ability & means.”

Stuntz writes: “I’m seeking reelection for a third term because I’m excited to support our excellent Recreation Department as we expand our partnerships with other Town organizations and develop new programs for residents. Importantly, we expect to be working with the Natural Resources Commission to complete the design and the build of the Morses Pond bath house redevelopment. As a project that received overwhelming support at Town Meeting in 2023, I look forward to seeing it to completion as a crown jewel for the Town that we can all be proud of.”

(de Fontnouvelle is busy collecting signatures and expects to check back in with us in January.)

The Natural Resources Commission now also has two candidates for one three-year term. Lisa Gieger and Thomas Hammond have stepped forward to try to fill this slot. Lisa Collins’s term expires in March on this board, whose mission is “provide stewardship of, education about, and advocacy for the Town of Wellesley’s parks, conservation, recreation and open space areas so the full value of the Town’s natural assets can be passed onto future generations.”

Gieger has been busy in recent months promoting “Skip the Stuff,” a concept that would, via an Annual Town Meeting article, put in place bylaw amendments to establish customer opt-in for single-use serviceware and single serving packaged condiments.

Hammond served on NRC from 1992-1996, including as chairman from 1993-1994 (he also served as chair of the Pesticide Study Committee from 1992-1995). While his job responsibilities didn’t allow him to continue in town government after that, he has retired and is now back at it. “One point that I believe needs to be made and that is that too many special interests want to avoid broad policies that were put in place to protect our water and our vacant land,” he writes. “As an NRC member I would work to promote the protection of our open space and passive recreation areas as well as our drinking water.”

Other prominent boards also have new candidates.

Odessa Sanchez has entered the Select Board race, which also includes Kenneth Largess and Michael Tauer. One 3-year term is up for grabs for the town’s chief executive board.

Sanchez and her family have established deep roots in Wellesley over the past 16 years. She has run for the Board in the past, and currently serves as chair of the Wellesley Housing Authority Board. She’s also the varsity cheerleading coach at Wellesley High School. Sanchez writes: “Serving our community is not just a privilege but a responsibility. Whether it’s something as small as carpooling residents to public meetings, my role as chair of the Wellesley Housing Authority Board, sitting on Town Meeting or my tireless work on several other committees and organizations, I live to make a positive impact on our community.”

Illana Nissenbaum has pulled papers for both 3- and 1-year terms on the School Committee, though will need to make a choice come ballot time. Incumbent Sharon Clarke looks to win the 1-year seat. David Bower had earlier pulled papers for the 3-year seat.

No papers have been pulled yet for one 3-year term on the Board of Assessors. Current chair Stephen Mahoney’s term expires in March.

There’s still time for candidates to step forward. Nomination papers for Wellesley’s town-wide offices and Town Meeting member seats became available on Dec. 4.

Pull papers at the Town Clerk’s office, located at 888 Worcester Street, Suite 140 until Dec. 18. As of Dec. 26, nomination papers will be available at the reopened Town Hall building at 525 Washington St.

Nomination papers must be returned by 5 p.m. on Jan. 14, 2025. The annual Town Election is slated for March 4, 2025.

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The Wellesley Select Board on Monday stepped up its focus on 2025 Annual Town Meeting, voting to co-sponsor some articles it has already discussed and considering a handful of newer ones. The warrant for Town Meeting closed today, Dec. 18, for submissions by departments (other than the Select Board Office) and from citizens.

The Board voted by a count of 4-1 to co-sponsor articles about converting the Wellesley Housing Development Corp.. into an Affordable Housing Trust and rezoning property at 156 Weston Rd., a move also related to affordable housing (See “Housing articles appear headed to Wellesley Annual Town Meeting”).

The Board voted unanimously to co-sponsor with the Climate Action Committee an article putting in place bylaw amendments “to establish customer opt-in for single-use serviceware and single serving packaged condiments.” Initiated as a grassroots effort, this is aimed at changing restaurant and customer behavior, and has been dubbed “Skip the Stuff.” Proponents have been doing the rounds at town bodies, including the Board of Health, for the past few months.

New articles to consider

The Board also discussed some possible Town Meeting articles.

One would allow non-civil service fire and police personnel to live up to 35 miles away from Wellesley rather than up to 25 miles. This is in consideration of housing being so difficult to afford in or near town, but balancing that issue with the need for first responders to live relatively nearby to do their jobs. A member of the fire department raised this with town leadership, and when the police got wind of it, asked to get in on this too, according to Corey Testa, Wellesley’s assistant executive director. Approval for this would need to come from both Town Meeting and the state.

The firefighters have actually already worked this into their contract with the town, so if such an article were to pass at Town Meeting and become a special act with the state, it could quickly go into effect. For the police, such a change would need to be included in their next round of bargaining.

Board members had some questions on this matter, such as the cost of living difference between 25 and 35 miles away, and discussion will continue.

Another possible article focuses on allowing the town to publish legal notices (say that the Town Meeting warrant is closing…) on “a newsworthy digital source” only, rather than being forced to publish them in print newspapers as an outdated state law requires. The issue here is that fewer and fewer people read print newspapers, and are more likely to see notices if published on more frequented digital platforms, like The Swellesley Report or perhaps a legal notice repository set up by the town.

Note that the town can run notices in both print and online, which it has done. Though we’ve been working with State Rep. Alice Peisch’s office for years to bring changes to state law that would eliminate the print newspaper requirement, and Rep. Peisch has been persistent in pursuing this, with some recent success on a community level in Lincoln. Getting a change approved at the town level through the state would bypass having to wait for a state-wide change to be made, though Rep. Peisch continues to work on that. Progress is being made on this front in other states as well.

The Board expressed support for this change. Board member Tom Ulfelder said: “I think the question really that we’re trying to address is what form of communication makes it most likely that somebody would see it…” Discussion by the Board and town leadership included ideas for researching how people in town currently get information, and perhaps pairing online communications platforms with physical ones within town.

The Board separately discussed support for the HERO Act, a comprehensive—and expanding—legislative package from the state dedicated to the welfare of veterans. Support would expand Wellesley’s tax exemptions for veterans, taking factors like the consumer price index into consideration. While only dozens of military veterans in town currently take advantage of exemptions, support for the HERO Act’s new provisions could save veterans hundreds of dollars or more per year.

The board was supportive of this. Marjorie Freiman said “We often wish we could do more and here’s an opportunity to do something…”

Also on the table was discussion of a new bylaw regarding the Wellesley Cultural Council, known best for distributing state grants for projects in the arts and humanities. This would more formally recognize the council’s existence, and define its terms of office and its scope. There also could be consideration of expanding the Council’s charge.

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If you couldn’t get enough of Wellesley’s compelling tax classification public hearing during the Select Board meeting on Dec. 3, you’re in luck. A redo has been scheduled for the Dec. 10 meeting: Tune in at 6:15pm to hear from the town’s chief assessor and the Board of Assessors.

I did a double take when I saw the hearing listed on the Dec. 10 Select Board meeting agenda.We had already reported on the Select Board’s Dec. 3 vote for the town to stick with a single rax rate for residential and commercial property. The tax rate went down but assessments went up, so higher taxes for homeowners.

But a “procedural defect” (I need to use that term sometime…) happened the first time around: The Dec. 3 hearing was conducted before the state approved valuations, so this requires that a new hearing be held in order to certify the tax rate for fiscal year 2025.

We have no plans to cover this repeat hearing, unless we learn that something zany happens there.

Can you think of any town services that have gone down in price lately? School bus fees are one. Let us know: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

A sampling of Wellesley, Mass., meetings and agenda items for the week of Dec. 16, 2024.

See info on all upcoming town government meetings.

Planning Board (Dec. 16, 6:30pm, online)

Annual Town Meeting warrant articles, including Addressing Prohibition on Mobile Homes

Municipal Light Plant Board (Dec. 17, 5pm, 4 Municipal Way)

Chair & director reports; financials; sustainability report

Select Board (Dec. 17, 6pm, online)

License renewals; Tax Classification Public Hearing and Vote; Audit Committee Annual Update; Annual Town Meeting Preparation (including Discuss Potential Special Act for Police and Fire Living Distance;  Discussion of Potential Special Act for Digital Posting of Legal Notices; Discuss and Vote Co-Sponsorship of “Skip the Stuff”); FY26 Budget Updates; Town Hall Art Working Group Charge

School Committee Working Meeting (Dec. 18, 9am-4pm, Wellesley Middle School Kingsbury Room)

FY26 WPS Operating Budget Review (Staffing, Central Office, K-12, Capital); FY26 WPS Operating Budget Review (Elementary, Middle and High School)

Advisory Committee (Dec. 18, 6:30pm, online)

Morses Pond Advisory Committee Update

School Committee Working Meeting (Dec. 19, 9am-4pm, Wellesley Middle School Kingsbury Room)

FY26 WPS Operating Budget Review (PAWS, Special Education); FY26 WPS Operating Budget Review (General Budget Review)

Natural Resources Commission (Dec. 19, 7pm, police station at 485 Washington St.)

To be announced

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The Wellesley Select Board this week convened a meeting with departments across town that report to it in order to vet budgets worth tens of millions of dollars ahead of Annual Town Meeting in the spring. Groups from the Climate Action Committee to Facilities Management to police and fire shared their proposed budgets, based on earlier individualized guidelines given by the Board, and answered Board members’ questions.

The meeting lasted 4 hours and 40 minutes, and Wellesley Media has captured it. Your choice: Plow through that or skim through our whirlwind summary… Plus, supporting documents on the town website.

Sustainability Director Marybeth Martello kicked things off, and emphasized outreach efforts to encourage residents and commercial property owners to take steps to reduce their carbon footprints. They’re pumping up heat pumps, working with the Municipal Light Plant to connect interested residents with energy coaches, and more. Looking ahead, Martello is eyeing funds to update the town’s Climate Action Plan in 2029, noting that many actions have been taken, and that changes in the field require a fresh plan. The original one launched in 2022 with greenhouse gas emission reduction goals of 50% by 2030 and hitting net zero by 2050 (Martello says emissions have been cut by about 43% since 2007).

The Facility Management Department‘s Joe McDonough made clear from the outset of his presentation that his group’s $10M-plus budget wouldn’t be too exciting—”no new positions, no new buildings opening” as there were this past year, highlighted by the Hunnewell and Hardy School debuts. He addressed questions on everything from recycling to roof solar panels to a future home for FMD and land use departments in the early 2030s.

Information Technology Director Brian DuPont had nothing too dramatic to share, though was pleased that cybersecurity product licenses aren’t ballooning as much as typical software and technology service contracts, with quotes coming in under 3% increases vs. the usual 5% to 12%. There’s a lot more competition in that field than there used to be. IT will bring in backup Internet service to town hall—not that it doesn’t trust the primary MLP service—but redundancy is key.

The Police Department is staying within its guidelines with its $8.4M-plus budget request, and among the highlights, or at least interesting facts, are that the department is getting new tasers and a new electric vehicle. The town was early into the electric vehicle game, and in doing so had to settle for some less than optimal specs the first time around, but with the new Chevy Blazer, the force will be getting a car optimized for police use. We also learned that bulletproof vests generally last about 5 years, said Chief Scott Whittemore, as the kevlar weave starts to break down (officers are required to wear these if they’re in uniform). “It’s akin to wearing a T-shirt for five years, and after five years, imaybe t’s time to get a new T-shirt,” he said (we’re not sure we want to know how the police would test that such a vest no longer works…). Separately, commuter rail parking revenue has come back to about a quarter less than what it was pre-pandemic, and Lt. Scott Showstead said it looks to be leveling off, with the Tailby and Hills parking lots typically being well below capacity.

The Fire Department continues to undergo an overhaul to restore previously frozen positions and address a structural budget deficit that will in part should cut overtime expenses, said the department’s Nat Brady. The department is emphasizing training for “an unprecedented number of new hires” and to offset the loss of institutional knowledge. Training includes an increase in mutual aid efforts with other communities. On the capital side, the department is readying for a new fire truck and off-road vehicle that could be used for situations like brush fires. Requests for vehicles are being made earlier than usual given lead times to acquire the equipment. Also looking ahead, the town will be working with a consultant next year on a master plan for the department that will look at things like the shortcomings of the historic Wellesley Square station to the possible need for services closer to Cedar Street and Wellesley Park (the Nines apartments).

The Council on Aging budget discussion included an update on upcoming renovations to allow the commercial kitchen at the Tolles Parsons Center to be licensed (we dive into this topic in “Plans for commercial kitchen at Wellesley senior center heating up”). Note that the kitchen renovation funding is not coming out of the COA itself. During the budget summit, Select Board member Tom Ulfelder raised concerns about future operating costs for such a kitchen and encouraged the COA to be ready for questions about its plans at Annual Town Meeting, where construction funds will be sought in FMD’s cash capital budget.

The Building Department runs a lean machine, with its operations largely digital at this point, aside from on-site inspections, etc. But the news isn’t all good: Residential permit fees are going—where else?—up, with slight increases expected for electrical, plumbing/heating, and sheet metal permit fees.

The Executive Director’s office, led by Wellesley Executive Director Megan Jop, is nixing a clerk’s position and adding a creative content coordinator to address accessibility shortcomings on the town website and to boost the town’s efforts to keep the public informed. Discussion took place about the general state of the town’s website, and the challenges involved in updating it.

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