Historical Commission authorizes leaders to pull cemetery wall article if vote looks doomed

WESTON -- May 3, 2024, Weston Historical Commission preps a defensive playbook for its $700,000 Central Cemetery wall article. Co-Chair Phyllis Halpern and member Steve Wagner won unanimous authority to pull Article 20 before the floor vote if it looks doomed, with the Finance Committee already opposed and the Select Board declining to take a position. The bid in hand is roughly $580,000, including a $120,000 contingency, with restoration methods driven by Massachusetts Historical Commission and Secretary of the Interior standards because Community Preservation Act money carries a state match. Member Alfred Aydelott urged a positive pitch, calling the gate and wall "the last remaining jewel in the necklace" and arguing against replacing it "with zircon." Halpern will ask historian Pam Fox to speak in favor; the Planning Board has unanimously endorsed the project. Wagner warned delay would push costs up "30, 40 percent" by next spring.