Finance Committee votes 5-2 against $720,000 cemetery gate restoration

WESTON -- March 7, 2024, Weston Finance Committee splits 5-2 against $720,000 cemetery gate restoration. The panel recommended town meeting reject a Community Preservation Committee-funded stone-by-stone restoration of the 1937 central cemetery gate and walls, with member Zachary Sadek arguing the project costs roughly twice what a visually comparable new wall would, just to qualify for CPC historical funds where the state match is only about 20 percent. Project advocates Steve Wagner and Phyllis Halpern said Secretary of the Interior standards require historic-mason work and that the gate, designed by Weston architect Harold Willis, anchors the Boston Post Road National Register Historic District. "It would be like tearing down Paul Revere's house and rebuilding it with an exact replica," Wagner said. The committee unanimously endorsed a 0.75 percent local meals tax projected to generate over $100,000 annually, a $965,000 capital article, and a 4 percent property tax deferral rate. Town Manager Leon Gaumond Jr. said the May warrant closed Friday with about 23 articles.