Select Board approves Josiah Smith Tavern preservation amendment, designates town engineer to perambulate boundaries

WESTON — April 28, 2020 — Weston Select Board clears Josiah Smith Tavern renovation hurdle and shelves a $250,000 town-center well. Members voted 3-0 to approve an amendment to the Historic New England preservation restriction on the tavern, allowing routine changes by email and explicitly endorsing the current renovation plans for the Women's Community League's 385-square-foot woodshed shop. The board also declined to drill up to three wells for town-center irrigation, with member Harvey citing a $240,000 to $250,000 change-order estimate and no guaranteed yield, versus roughly $60,000 quoted to the JST project for a single well. Chair Chris floated reducing OPEB funding by roughly a third and holding road maintenance at $1.75 million as compromise positions on a 6.6 percent budget increase that resident Neil Diver said drew more than 100 signatures on an open letter in two days. The board accepted a $1,000 gift from the Stephen and Jill Kramer Charitable Gift Fund for the Council on Aging's Meals on Wheels program.