Weston CPC Approves $12,575 for Wellesley Street Land Remediation and Appraisal

WESTON -- May 21, 2018, Weston CPC approves $12,575 for Wellesley Street remediation oversight as Brook School housing costs draw scrutiny. The Community Preservation Committee voted unanimously at its May 21 meeting to fund three expenditures, $3,625 for water tank removal oversight, $5,000 for soil remediation review, and $3,950 for a new appraisal, on a Wellesley Street open-space parcel where lead contamination has stalled a pending acquisition; the vote was conditioned on town counsel confirming the expenses qualify as allowable CPA administrative costs. Finance Committee members John Sally and a colleague pressed the CPC on the town's rising debt load, with Sally noting total municipal obligations are approaching a quarter of a billion dollars when unfunded pension and OPEB liabilities are included. A presenter on the proposed 14-unit Brook School Building E elderly housing project said construction estimates range from $4.9 million to $5.7 million, roughly $400,000 to $500,000 per unit, and that a $250,000 schematic design request is planned for fall town meeting, with a current waitlist of 105 people for elderly housing on the campus.