Fire Station Working Group orders executive summary overhaul before December report vote

WESTON — November 17, 2025 — Weston's Fire Station Working Group ordered a top-to-bottom revision of its draft report before a planned December 1 vote on the document. Finance Committee Chair Bharat Venkatraman and Select Board Chair Lisa Revers led calls for a redesigned executive summary that places the project's estimated cost range — roughly $32 million to $34 million for a new primary station at Field 13, reduced from a $37.7 million baseline through value engineering — on the first page alongside the site recommendation and a clear statement that a separate central station renovation on Boston Post Road, estimated at $4.5 million to $5.5 million, is a distinct future phase. Members flagged that cost figures across the 400-plus-page draft do not consistently reconcile with one another, prompting a Friday working session between Venkatraman, newly appointed Director of Facilities John McDonald, and report author Rebecca Hopkins of Tecton Architects. The group also agreed the report needs more prominent language separating the building project from any fire department staffing decisions, which members said carry significant political sensitivity in the town.