Weston approves $1.9 million Burchard Park pickleball and court overhaul

WESTON — May 8, 2023 — Weston Town Meeting approves $1.9 million in pickleball and court work, narrowly kills rhododendron study. Voters on May 8 backed the Burchard Park project 226-137 after Recreation Master Plan Steering Committee Chair Melissa Crocker said bundling new pickleball courts with tennis and basketball rehab would save roughly $260,000. The fiscal 2024 operating budget passed 478-39, with School Committee Chair Ken Newberg citing a 2.49 percent school increase, and Finance Committee Chair Lisa Raitano projecting a $403 median tax bill increase. A new Wetlands Protection Bylaw extending buffers to vernal pools and isolated vegetated wetlands cleared 311-148 despite objections that residents lacked an inventory of affected parcels. Voters also approved $1 million to design three replacement water tanks — total construction estimated at $25 million to $35 million — and a Weston Provisions petition for a second wine-and-beer license, 153-64. A $20,000 Case Estates rhododendron garden study lost 187-182, and reconsideration failed.