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Wellesley on flight path for helicopters measuring radiation before Boston Marathon

April 12, 2018 by bbrown Leave a Comment

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration will conduct low-altitude helicopter flights over Wellesley and the rest of the Boston Marathon route over the next few days to measure naturally occurring background radiation. This gives authorities a baseline to use in their security and emergency preparedness efforts.

You might get a glimpse of a twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter, which is operated by the Remote Sensing Laboratory Aerial Measuring System from Joint Base Andrews and is equipped with radiation sensing technology. It will fly during the day.

The administration has conducted such flights in support of the Boston Marathon since 2014.

helicopter
Aerial Measuring System helicopter (photo via Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration)
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Filed Under: Government, Safety, Sports

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Wellesley presented with $137k novelty check from State to fund green initiatives

April 5, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Green Communities Division of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources officially declared Wellesley a Green Community back in December, but in my book something like that can’t really be official without a recognition event at Town Hall. That happened today, complete with town and state government luminaries in attendance and an oversize novelty check made out by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the Town of Wellesley for $137,250 to prove it. Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito was on hand, as well as Judith Judson, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources; Ellen Gibbs, chair of the Wellesley Board of Selectmen; Massachusetts State Senator Richard Ross; and town employees and representatives from green groups who have worked toward the effort.

Wellesley, Green Community
Wellesley is celebrated as a Green Community at a recognition event at Town Hall. Town and state government representatives were on hand for the event.

The grant money is to fund two projects:

  • An energy audit that will evaluate the Town’s major water and sewer pump stations and water treatment plants to identify potential energy use reductions throughout the system.
  • An upgrade of one-hundred sixteen (116) existing, wall-mounted and pole-mounted exterior lights at the Department of Public Work’s operations yard and salt shed area on its Municipal Way campus.

In addition, the Green Communities designation and the $137,250 that comes with it makes the town eligible for future grants to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The idea is that the funds will support energy reduction projects that should save the town and taxpayers money. To earn the designation, Wellesley’s Sustainable Energy Committee worked with the Facilities Management Department, Municipal Light Plant, Department of Public Works, Board of Selectmen’s office, Planning Department, and other departments, boards, and committees across town.

Wellesley’s first grant application included an exterior light-emitting diode (LED) project at the Department of Public Works and an audit of the Town’s water and wastewater treatment equipment and operations.

Lt. Governor Karyn Polito.
Lt. Governor Karyn Polito.

Wellesley, along with the approximately half of all municipalities in Massachusetts that also have earned a Green Communities designation, had to pledge to cut municipal energy use by an ambitious and achievable goal of 20 percent over five years and meet four other criteria established in the Green Communities Act. Those other benchmarks are:

  • Work toward renewable energy development by adopting an expedited application and permitting process under which facilities interested in locating their facility in a designated renewable zone may be sited within the municipality.
  • Establish an energy use baseline inventory for municipal buildings and facilities (which can include schools, water, wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations, and open space), street and traffic lighting, and vehicles;  and adopt an Energy Reduction Plan (ERP) demonstrating a reduction of 20 percent of energy use after five years of implementation.
  • Purchase fuel-efficient vehicles for municipal use, whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practicable.
  • Minimize the life-cycle cost of all newly constructed homes and buildings, as well as those undergoing major renovation, by adopting the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards Stretch Code (780 CMR 115.AA). Buildings constructed to the Stretch Code use significantly less energy than buildings built to other current and previous building codes.

The energy audit:

The proposed energy audit will evaluate the Town’s major water and sewer pump stations and water treatment plants to identify potential energy use reductions throughout the system.  The Department of Public Works manages Wellesley’s water and wastewater systems, and drinking water comes primarily from Town wells. Energy required for Wellesley’s drinking water treatment and delivery and wastewater delivery constitutes about 6% of the municipality’s annual energy use. Drinking water equipment uses about 5% of the Town’s annual energy budget in the form of electricity, while wastewater equipment uses just .5 to 1% of the annual energy budget.

The audit will include assessment of the following:

  • Three iron and manganese removal water treatment facilities (Longfellow/Rosemary, Morses Pond and Wellesley Avenue/T.F. Coughlin);
  • Ten drinking water wells associated with the water treatment facilities;
  • Hegarty water booster pumping station;
  • Two large sewer lift stations; and
  • Seventeen neighborhood sewer lift stations.

This assessment will be conducted by a consulting firm, which will assess the energy use/efficiency of current equipment and the potential energy savings that equipment modifications and replacements could offer.

The exterior LED retrofit project at the DPW:

This project will upgrade one-hundred sixteen (116) existing, wall-mounted and pole-mounted exterior lights at the DPW’s operations yard and salt shed area on its Municipal Way campus. The vast majority of existing lights are high-intensity discharge (HID); however, there are about a dozen existing LEDs. Upgrades will include both retrofitting existing fixtures and replacing existing fixtures. It is expected that upgrading the existing DPW lighting with more energy efficient LEDs will decrease the Town’s energy use, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and save money on operating and maintenance costs. In addition, new full-cut-off fixtures will direct DPW’s exterior lighting to where it is needed, while shielding light from neighbors and wildlife.

Representatives from two other communities were also there to bask in the green glow of their own Green Communities designation. Stoneham received a grant of $169,615, while Waltham received $281,000.

Wellesley, Green Community
Look for these signs to crop up around town.

MORE:  Wellesley MLP streetlight survey responses brought to light

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Filed Under: Construction, Dump, Environment, Government, Health, Safety, Technology

Wellesley College Theatre, Decisions

Wellesley issues Request for Proposals for Tailby and Railroad parking lots

March 29, 2018 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

Tailby parking lot wellesley
Tailby parking lot.

Back in February, Wellesley was close to issuing a request for proposals (RFP) that would invite developers to submit ideas for how to reimagine the Tailby Lot (Linden Street) and Railroad Lot (Grove Street near Post Office). The reasoning put forth was that the town seeks to redevelop the lots in an effort to address its affordable and diverse housing shortage, but also to possibly increase parking and better tie together separate parts of Wellesley Square.

Now the town has released an official RFP, which says that it invites “…proposals from qualified developers to enter into one or more long-term leases to develop the Town of Wellesley Tailby (103 Linden Street) and Railroad (7 Grove Street) Commuter Parking Lots for parking and affordable and market rate housing that will be owned and operated by the selected developer(s).”

The RFP includes a history on the various efforts to rethink the space since the 1970s. Here are some of the ideas that have been floated over the years: decking over the Tailby Lot to increase its parking capacity and to accommodate housing; relocating the Wellesley Square railroad station to the vicinity of Weston Road and building a parking facility on town-owned land at that location; using the Tailby lot as part of a link between the Linden Street shopping area and Wellesley Square; co-developing the Tailby Lot for housing and parking”

The 2007 – 2017 Comprehensive plan called for focusing “efforts to create more diverse housing types and affordable housing by attracting rental developments to identified sites in Wellesley ”

Now it looks like 2018 will be the year when the town finally moves forward definitively with choosing a developer for that site. In the RFP’s list of Wellesley’s 15  preferred objectives, there are echoes of the suggestions made over the past three decades. Among them: “To creatively preserve and protect the Town interests in consistent and orderly growth within the Linden Street corridor while maintaining the character of the abutting single-family neighborhoods”;  to create a mixed-use environment that includes subsidized housing inventory, enhanced and increased access to parking that serves the Linden Street and Wellesley Square areas; and to improve traffic flow.

Given the town’s efforts to fend off 40B proposals that some feel would be too disruptive to neighborhoods, it’s not surprising that the RFP addresses this issue head-on, noting in the RFP that “…the Town seeks to take proactive efforts to guide the development of affordable housing to appropriate sites that complement the integrity of the Town’s character, while also working to meet one or more 40B certification thresholds to protect the Town from future “unfriendly” 40Bs. The development of the Tailby and Railroad lots would do just this, allowing for many beneficial objectives to meet, while reducing the likelihood of development of 40B projects that are less ideal in terms of design and location.”

One of the 40Bs the Town references is the proposed 55-unit housing project at 148 Weston Road that would include 11 rental units deemed affordable. That site eligibility was okayed by a quasi-public outfit called MassHousing that also finances such buildings. The town, however, has a long list of concerns about the Wellesley Park project, including its potential impact on traffic, the environment and character of the neighborhood, and MassHousing has instructed the developer to address such issues as it moves forward with trying to get a comprehensive permit from the town. On April 3 there will be a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting that will include that issue.

Another 40B project is proposed for Delanson Circle, off Linden St., and has raised similar concerns to those aired by the town. The fact that two such projects are in the works in relative proximity to each other has ratcheted up neighbors’ concerns. That project will also be discussed at the April 3 ZBA meeting.

The RFP is due June 1, 2018 at noon, and a site visit for this RFP will be held on April 9, 2018 at 10am at the entrance to the Railroad Commuter Parking Lot.

Once the RFPs are in the Board of Selectmen will review them and make recommendations.

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Filed Under: Construction, Government, History, Houses, Real estate, Shopping

Town Meeting, NRC meet Monday, March 26 in Wellesley

March 26, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley Middle SchoolImportant Wellesley meetings:

Town Meeting, at Wellesley Middle School, Monday, March 26, 7pm

The Annual Town Meeting begins on Monday, March 26 at WMS and meets Monday and Tuesday nights until the business of the meeting is concluded.

Among the issues to be voted on:

*Funding the purchase and installation of an electronic permitting system for the town to the tune of $170K
*Approving millions to support key Wellesley operations such as the water, sewer and municipal light plant systems
*Fixing up the Middle School and adding to the Wellesley High track and field facility
*Sprucing up the Library, Town Hall and Grove Street
*Restricting pot businesses
*Rezoning properties like Morses Pond Beach and Problem Rock to protect them under a park/rec/conservation umbrella
*Deciding on outdoor lighting rules
*Reworking animal control laws

Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting, at WMS Room 319, Monday, March 26, 7pm

A hot-button item on tonight’s Natural Resources Commission agenda is a discussion of a draft policy regarding the Hunnewell Field sound system. The NRC Board in a meeting tonight may or may not vote on the policy, which does not prohibit all music from being played on the fields aside from the National Anthem, as rumors swirling around town have it. According to NRC Director Brandon Schmitt, “The Board has seen a draft of the policy, and that draft doesn’t prohibit music. The goal of the policy is to clarify what the sound system will be used for. Right now there is not a clear-cut answer.”

There will likely be a contingent of athletes and parents in attendance at the 6pm public speak to state their case for the importance of music for the atmosphere of practices and games.

On the flip side of the issue, we understand that some neighbors of the field are not happy about the prospect of having their al fresco time being co-opted by the loudspeaker thump of bass and the wail of…whoever it is that athletes these days are getting pumped up to.

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Filed Under: Government, Politics, Volunteering

Wellesley Unified Plan comment period extended

March 22, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

Wellesley Unified PlanThe Board of Selectmen and Planning Board have extended the comment period on the Unified Plan for 30 days. The Draft Unified Plan can be viewed at the Unified Plan site.

If residents have comments on the plan, comments can be made online or by emailing comments directly to [email protected].

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Filed Under: Government

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