Select Board urges $43.3 million water tank vote at Dec. 3 town meeting

WESTON -- November 14, 2024, Weston Select Board makes its case for a $43.3 million water tank replacement ahead of Dec. 3 town meeting. Member Tom Palmer outlined a seven-source funding plan anchored by a 2.4 percent, 30-year MassDEP State Revolving Fund loan, $2.5 million in expiring ARPA funds, roughly $350,000 in state grants and about $2 million in town free cash, with the water enterprise fund carrying approximately 85 percent of debt service. Wright-Pierce engineer Amy Couppers attributed cost growth from the 2019 master plan to post-pandemic inflation, a switch to composite elevated tanks at Cat Rock and Doublet Hill, and Article 97 siting complexity; the package includes a $5.5 million contingency. Member Lori Bent called it "a need-to-have…not a luxury," warning that DPW's $5 million renovation estimate "doesn't address hydraulic issues." Three articles must each pass by two-thirds on Dec. 3.