The Swellesley Report

Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Wellesley Select Board: North 40 public input plan takes shape; FY26 financial wrap; Special Town Meeting filling up

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The Wellesley Select Board at its Aug. 17 meeting (see Wellesley Media recording) previewed the town’s public engagement plan for the North 40’s future, heard a rosy update on fiscal year 2026 financials, and readied for what’s shaping up to be a packed Special Town Meeting in the fall.

North 40 public input plan takes shape

The town has scheduled a public workshop regarding the future of the North 40 for Oct. 1 at 6:30pm at Hunnewell Elementary School. The event will include an overview and history behind the town’s 2014 acquisition from Wellesley College of this 46-acre property along Weston Road—half the property will be preserved as open space and the rest will be available for municipal uses. A hands-on portion of the meeting will be used to consider possible future uses of the property. Abutters, community garden members, and Town Meeting members will be among those receiving targeted outreach from the town for this public workshop.

Note that the town has pushed off bringing a request for fire station feasibility study funding from fall to spring Town Meeting. A master plan has recommended a location within the North 40 on Weston Road as the site for a new fire headquarters, and the Select Board plans to deliberate on the fire station plan at its Sept. 8 and 15 meetings.

FY26 financial wrap

Town Chief Financial Officer Rachel DeRoche and Town Accountant Tiana Desens shared what Select Board Chair Marjorie Freiman teed up as a “comprehensive, very positive update on the end of FY26.” We are now in FY27, which started mid-year.

DeRoche said that revenue greatly exceeded budget and expenses were way under budget, with reserves projected at 20% of 2027 revenue.

The revenue increase was powered in large part through strong interest earnings, higher motor vehicle excise tax revenue (driven in part by new multi-tenant residences), and a boost in building permit fee intake (Babson had a whopping $700,000 permit for its new lodge and conference center).

Expenses came in $6.9m under budget, fueled by big turnbacks from the schools, for health and other insurances, improved fire department financial operations, and for various projects that never got started despite having capital appropriations.

Looking ahead to fiscal year 2028, the town awaits how union contracts turn out, plus where health insurance and medicare rates land. Also, the new Capital Planning Committee will be making recommendations on major capital projects, and in mentioning this, DeRoche raised the possibility of establishing a capital stabilization fund, as town officials have discussed, especially in light of strong reserves. Nationally, DeRoche said, communities have been seen heading toward reserves of 25%, but Wellesley stands apart from many other municipalities in terms of its pension and other post-employment benefit funds being so highly funded. Select Board member Colette Aufranc advocated for establishing a [capital] stabilization fund “in short order to do what we can to moderate the burden for taxpayers on needed capital work by shaving the peak on borrowing on major capital projects we know are coming.” Fellow member Kenny Largess concurred a capital stabilization fund is important, but also noted that with such strong reserves, the town needs to continue seeking additional ways to reduce the tax and fees burden on residents, especially older adults, and including those hit hard by the permit fees that Wellesley jacked up in 2025.

Special Town Meeting filling up

Special Town Meeting will convene on Monday, Nov. 9 at Wellesley High School, and it’s expected that it could last a few nights. The window to get articles onto the Town Meeting warrant is closing fast, with this Friday, Aug. 21 at noon being the deadline.

Executive Director Meghan Jop shared with the board a handful of potential article topics for Special Town Meeting. This includes about 10 human resources policy-related articles, some considered housekeeping of classification and rates. Union contracts, town bylaw updates, supplemental budget appropriations (including for the Planning Department to possibly transition a senior planner to an assistant or deputy planning director), school air conditioning design funding, comprehensive plan funding, and more could make their way onto the warrant. Citizen petitions related to Wight Pond and a modification to school air conditioning plans may also make the warrant.

Also at the meeting:

  • Jack Walsh, Wellesley’s sealer of weights and measures (checks scales at grocery stores, gas pumps, etc., to make sure they’re legit) is retiring in October after 47 years with the town. Wellesley plans to shift the responsibility to Norfolk County, which works with several communities to provide this service. Apparently, finding a qualified sealer is no easy task.
  • The board ended its night by going into executive session (behind closed doors) to discuss strategy with respect to litigation regarding 40 Oakland St. (MassBay property), to conduct strategy regarding negotiation with the Wellesley Patrol Officers Association, and to conduct strategy with respect to negotiation with the Wellesley Free Library Staff and Supervisors Associations. Also on the agenda were conducting strategy with respect to potential litigation regarding 140 Weston Road and to conduct strategy with respect to litigation with Albany Road-Wellesley, LLC.
  • Bates Elementary School is getting a new sign, more consistent with other new school signs in town.

    bates sign

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Wellesley pushing fire station feasibility study funding request into spring; North 40 discussions to ramp up in October

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The Wellesley Select Board meeting on July 21 began with a resident urging the town to slow down on its site selection for a new fire station, which based on information shared during a recent public forum sounded very much like it might wind up on the North 40 property along Weston Road. The resident got her wish, when later in the meeting it was revealed the town is pushing off its request for fire station feasibility study funds from fall to spring Town Meeting.

(See Wellesley Media recording of Select Board meeting.)

Select Board member Colette Aufranc shared the funding request change of plans before diving into an update on the public engagement process concerning the North 40, land purchased by the town from Wellesley College in 2014. The fire station master plan working group determined that there wouldn’t be time to pull necessary information together for a feasibility study funding request in time for Special Town Meeting in the fall, according to Wellesley Executive Director Meghan Jop.

Regarding the North 40, Aufranc reminded listeners that the purchase was made with the intention for half of the property to be open space and half for other uses to be determined. There has been public discussion about what to do with the 46-acre property over the years, and last month the Select Board held a joint meeting with the Community Preservation Committee regarding next steps in defining a conservation restriction at the North 40 (some $10m in Community Preservation Act funds was used in the town’s $35m purchase of the North 40).

As a key restart to the North 40 public engagement process, the town is looking to hold a public meeting, complete with a staff presentation and community workshop, in early October. The Select Board is looking to vote on the conservation restriction by year-end, and intends to get public feedback on options during that October meeting, Aufranc said (there are parts of the property where things can’t be done, including on an old dump site and an area near the commuter rail tracks).

The board ahead of that meeting will seek to make clear to the public that it has heard concerns about potential locations—including two different sites at the North 40—for a new fire station and will be taking a fresh look at the matrix of possible locations. Board member Tom Ulfelder said getting that message across is important so that the meeting on the overall North 40’s future isn’t dominated by concerns about the fire station location to the point it takes away from ideas of other possible uses of the larger property. Beth Sullivan Woods recommended that the board have a discussion about the fire station ahead of the general North 40 meeting.

Board members acknowledge the tricky balancing act that the North 40 presents, with certain uses impacting the potential for others. The board wants the town to plan for North 40 uses, but also have enough flexibility to respond to needs not yet known.

Aufranc also raised the idea during the Select Board meeting about having a future joint meeting with the Natural Resources Commission to discuss topics such as possible land swaps between the Select Board and NRC, which could relate to North 40 property.

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