Weston CPC advances cemetery gate, church clock to spring town meeting

WESTON -- February 3, 2025, Weston CPC advances revived $561,000 cemetery gate restoration and scaled-down church clock project to March hearing. The Community Preservation Committee on Feb. 3 took no formal votes but cleared three proposals for its March public hearing: a $42,000 annual assessment for the Regional Housing Services Office, a $561,000 Central Cemetery Memorial Gateway restoration, and a substantially reduced First Parish Church clock face restoration. Committee member and Historical Commission co-chair Steven Wagner said three new contractor bids cut wall reconstruction to roughly $360,000 and allowed the contingency to drop from 20 to 10 percent. Co-chair Phyllis Halpern said a Massachusetts Preservation Project Fund grant due March 14 could reimburse up to 50 percent of stonework. Member Gwen King urged conditioning the town meeting article on the state match: "that's way more of a carrot to town meeting." Resident Peter Hill called the price "a crazy amount of money."